Is there a Minister with responsibility for justice in the House?
Adjournment Debate.
Insurance Industry.
There are any number of them.
I am disappointed the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is not present because this is a serious situation, as he acknowledged yesterday. Last weekend The Sunday Tribune published a memorandum to claims supervisors in the Quinn Direct group outlining a series of steps being taken to drastically reduce the cost of claims to this group and therefore to dramatically increase profits. According to the memo, a panel, consisting mainly of retired gardaí and some serving gardaí, was put together to investigate claims and to use “Their negotiation ... and persuasive skills” in settling claims on the doorsteps of claimants against this insurance company. It further outlined that solicitors acting for claimants would be given incentives to persuade their clients to settle claims against Quinn Direct at greatly reduced amounts.
These are explosive allegations. In today's Irish Independent and Irish Examiner newspapers, Quinn Direct has taken out an advertisement claiming the memo is a forgery and denying the claims. I believe the memo is not a forgery and that the claims in The Sunday Tribune will stand up to scrutiny. There is no doubt but that the——
I do not think the Deputy is entitled to make that claim in the House. They are allegations. The Chair is concerned about the use of language in this House, both as regards people outside the House who are not here to answer for themselves and also against Members in the House. There is a long-standing tradition in the House and rulings of my predecessors going back to the foundation of the State, reflected in the Salient Rulings of the Chair, that Members should show restraint in the House in their use of language. I would ask the Deputy to honour that long-standing tradition of the House.
This issue is in the public domain.
I agree it is in the public domain but I do not think Members can draw conclusions that have not been drawn outside the House following due process. We must be the champions of due process in this House.
I will discuss the point with the Ceann Comhairle at another time. I will be more general for the remainder of this contribution. However, I have said things before which have proved to be true.
What is undeniable is that the profits of insurance companies have rocketed in recent years to the tune of hundreds of millions of euro — up to €500 million. Clearly, the number of vehicles on the roads has increased but I have no doubt ruthless measures used by various groups were an important factor. This is not about eliminating fraudulent claims but about pressurising ordinary, genuine people with genuine claims to settle for much less. In claims of personal injury due to motor car crashes, there is a good reason not to rush into a settlement as long-term effects of injuries may not be evident early on. Clearly, profits increased as a result.
In 2005, another major insurance company awarded a lucrative contract worth approximately €40,000 to a recently retired, very senior member of the Garda Síochána to assemble a panel of claims investigators for that company. Meetings of retired and serving gardaí were held in the second half of 2005 to advance this.
The fact that those among the most senior officers of the Garda Síochána can work in a job with serious traffic responsibilities and then, within a short period of retiring, work for multinational insurance companies raises the most serious issue. It is similar to senior planning officials in local authorities resigning and then going to work for developers who have substantial dealings with the planning authority for which these officials previously worked. I believe the insurance companies should be in public ownership to ensure that the interests of the public are served.
A so-called memorandum of understanding was signed by the Garda Commissioner and AXA Insurance providing an extraordinary situation whereby gardaí in the south east were instructed to call AXA recovery agents only to tow away vehicles involved or damaged in road crashes. It is completely inappropriate for the police force to give a clear commercial advantage in an entire region to one arm of a major multinational insurance corporation.
The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform informed me last week that gardaí in the south east had saved €10,000 as a result of this agreement. We seek further clarification on that. Of course, AXA would have gained enormously commercially from the arrangement. The Minister also informed me that an exclusive arrangement between the Garda Síochána and AXA Insurance to have damaged vehicles in the Dublin metropolitan region towed away will be introduced in Dublin soon. The capital has one third of the population of the State and this exclusive arrangement with the Garda would be an enormously lucrative situation for this insurance company. What do the other companies, smaller garages and towing companies think of this proposal? They will be cut out to benefit the major multinational, AXA Insurance. I call on the Minister to halt this arrangement immediately and to arrange for a full discussion on the issues raised by these questions.
On behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who cannot be here, I am pleased to respond to the matter raised by the Deputy.
The allegations to which the Deputy refers emerged in a newspaper article last weekend. Lest there be any doubt about it, these allegations are being taken most seriously. The Tánaiste regards the situation as a matter of the utmost gravity and contacted the Garda Commissioner. The Garda Commissioner shares the Tánaiste's view that the allegations in the article concerning an abuse of position are of the utmost gravity. They are being treated seriously and are being inquired into fully. The Commissioner has appointed a senior officer at assistant commissioner level to investigate the matter. The Garda Síochána would welcome the receipt of any information that would assist the investigation.
The allegation that serving members are being employed in a private capacity by motor insurance companies to assist in settling claims is something that must be treated with the utmost seriousness. The idea that members of the force could use the official resources at their disposal in the service of a private company for their own personal gain is anathema to the notion of public service. The thrust of the Tánaiste's policy on the Garda Síochána since he assumed office, as exemplified by the historic enactment of the Garda Síochána Act, has been to ensure that public confidence in the concept of an effective and impartial policing system is maintained. For that reason, each and every allegation must be investigated and, where evidence exists, the perpetrators must be subject to the full rigours of the law.
In this instance the law is very clear. An explicit prohibition on the disclosure of information was specifically inserted in the Garda Síochána Act 2005. The section covers both serving and former members of the force. Section 62 of that Act prohibits a person who is or was a member of the Garda Síochána, or its civilian staff, from disclosing information obtained in the course of his or her duties. The section provides stiff penalties, fines up to €50,000 and-or up to five years' imprisonment for conviction on indictment in the ordinary course, increasing to €75,000 and-or seven years' imprisonment where persons who contravene its provisions receive any gift, consideration or advantage as an inducement to disclose any information.
These penalties are severe and will cause any errant minority to think twice before considering releasing sensitive information. The provision, in its original draft form, attracted a considerable degree of public controversy during its passage through the Oireachtas on the grounds that it would be unnecessarily restrictive. However, the purpose of the legislation was to deal with a real concern that confidential and personal information about individual investigations was emerging in circumstances which were neither legitimate nor ethical. The penalties in section 62 of the Act strike the right balance. The great majority of members of the Garda Síochána would be appalled at the thought that colleagues might conduct themselves in this way and would instinctively support the fundamental policy aspect of the provision.
In addition to section 62 of the Garda Síochána Act, serving and former gardaí are also governed by the provisions of the Official Secrets Act and the Data Protection Acts. At an operational level, the Garda authorities take all the necessary precautions to ensure that information contained on their computer systems is secure. As a practical measure, members' log-on accounts for the Garda Information System, PULSE-GNIB-FCPS are disabled upon their retirement to ensure that they cannot access any of the Garda IT systems. The Garda Commissioner takes his responsibilities in this area very seriously and every allegation of misuse and abuse of information will be investigated vigorously.
Youth Services.
I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important matter on the Adjournment. The Ballinrobe youth development project has made considerable progress in a short time and has been invaluable to the youth of Ballinrobe. This is a rapidly growing area with an increasingly diverse population, including a long-established and significant Traveller population and many newcomers. The schools strive to support second level students, many of whose families are marginalised. There is considerable concern among those families and in the community that their needs are not being adequately met.
The Ballinrobe youth development project was initiated at a local educational committee meeting in early 2005. The committee's remit is to identify issues in the community that impinge on children's learning in order to address those issues. Committee members represent a cross-section of the local community and include young people, parents, school and community representatives directly or indirectly involved in education. The committee identified the lack of activities and facilities accessible to young people in the area. Parents expressed considerable concern for and about their teenagers, particularly in respect of the lack of adequate facilities and activities. The wider youth population confirmed this in a survey it carried out in November 2005.
Once the objectives were identified, work to establish the much-needed Ballinrobe youth development project began. In January 2006, the project received welcome funding from the Department of Education and Science through the Mayo VEC, for which we thank the Minister. Young people in crisis in the Ballinrobe area had already come to the attention of the Health Service Executive. As there was no youth service in Ballinrobe, these young people had to access relevant support programmes in bigger towns. Ballinrobe youth development project aims to provide direct intervention for young people, aged between 12 and 18 years — second level students — who are at risk of experiencing personal, family, educational or social problems to enable them to grow and develop to their full potential and overcome adversity.
The project also aims to expand and develop a range of voluntary youth group activities for the broader youth population and particularly for young people not involved in youth activities. Ms Tara Gannon started work as the project's first youth worker in December 2006. She is a source of hope for the young people of the area. In her short time with the project, she has consulted widely with the youth, families, schools, wider community and related youth services, identifying key issues affecting young people to address through in-school and after school group activities and individual work. Disenfranchised and marginalised youth have found a voice at last and are already participating in educational programmes and activities which Ms Gannon has set up. She is actively empowering young people as evidenced in a recent open night which was organised and facilitated by young people from the area.
Funding for a contract of four months' full-time work with the project will cease this month. We are all extremely concerned about the implications of this for the young people of the area and for the future of Ms Gannon's work and the project. Her enthusiasm, energy and great dedication has meant that in her short time at the project she has set up considerable activities and programmes to run beyond the expiration of funding. Young people have big expectations arising from the work she has begun with them. The project urgently needs to secure further core funding. I urge the Minister of State to provide this so that young people can see these support programmes and Ms Gannon can build on the impact she has made on the young people of the area.
The management advisory committee has invested considerable time, effort and dedication in developing this much needed project, specifically for the purpose of empowering marginalised youth and young people of the Ballinrobe area. The committee members have invested their time and toil in this project. They have wonderful support from ForÓige, the employer of the youth worker, and ask that the Minister of State recognise the structures and strong links that have been established and support them to enable the project to continue its work on the behalf of youth of the area. Ongoing funding would allow the Ballinrobe youth development project to continue its work, which holds so much educationally, personally and socially for the young people of Ballinrobe. I hope the Minister of State can assist this valuable project and I thank the Ceann Comhairle most sincerely for allowing me to raise this issue.
I welcome the opportunity to comment on youth work programmes and services in County Mayo and in the Ballinrobe area, in particular, and I thank Deputy Cowley for raising this issue. One of my areas of responsibility within the Department of Education and Science is the support and development of the youth work sector in Ireland. The overall purpose of the youth work service in Ireland is to assist young people to realise their potential and to become active participants in a democratic society. I am extremely conscious of the great benefits of youth work to young people themselves and to society. I am also aware that this recognition requires appropriate support. Through the youth affairs section of my Department, I work with the National Youth Council of Ireland, the national youth work advisory committee, which includes representatives of other Departments, and other interested parties to support youth work activities. This support is provided by way of financial and other assistance.
Youth work programmes and services are provided primarily by voluntary youth work organisations. In this regard, my Department provides a range of financial supports to the sector including support for projects for disadvantaged young people under the special projects for youth scheme; to national youth organisations under the youth service grant scheme; to a network of youth information centres, including a centre in Castlebar which is under the aegis of Youth Work Ireland — formerly the National Youth Federation; and to local clubs and groups throughout the country, including a number of clubs throughout Mayo under the local youth club grant scheme.
Under the special projects for youth scheme, grant-in-aid is made available to organisations and groups for specific projects which seek to address the needs of young people who are disadvantaged due to a combination of factors, for example, social isolation, substance misuse, homelessness, early school leaving and unemployment. Projects facilitate the personal and social development of participants thus enabling them to realise their full potential. This aim underpins all programmes and activities covered by the scheme. One special project in County Mayo receives funding under this scheme. This project in north Mayo, which received grant-in-aid of €53,743 in 2006 from my Department, offers a wide range of programmes and services aimed at young people most at risk of early school leaving and involvement in crime.
The local youth club grant scheme was introduced by my Department in 1999 and it aims to support youth work activities at a local level. These grants are made available to youth clubs and groups through the local vocational educational committee. While the scheme is open to all those involved in the provision of youth work services at local level, it is intended that disadvantaged and marginal groups will be the priority targets, with further priority being given to young people between the ages of ten and 24 years. While sports clubs are not eligible for funding under the terms of this scheme, funding for such clubs is available from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, under the sports for young people grant scheme. This scheme encompasses a number of grants that can be grouped under two headings: youth grants designed to aid the ongoing costs of youth clubs and groups and special youth grants, which are once off in nature and intended to aid special youth work initiatives, particularly those aimed at disadvantaged young people. In 2006, County Mayo VEC provided almost €21,000 to local youth clubs in the county on behalf of my Department under this scheme. In addition, €57,000 was allocated to 59 local youth clubs from the dormant accounts fund in recent weeks. These funds ensure local youth clubs and groups are appropriately resourced at local level.
The youth affairs section of my Department has received an application for funding on behalf of Ballinrobe area youth project. This application was submitted for consideration in the 2007 round of grants under the special projects for youth scheme. Funding allocations for 2007 are currently being examined by my Department and consideration will be given to this application in light of available financial resources, existing commitments in the youth sector and other applications. My Department's objective is to finalise decisions on such applications before the end of April.
Housing Management Companies.
In light of a 64% increase in fees on one estate, I wish to draw the House's attention to three case studies which will illustrate the activities of property management companies. All will highlight the fact that such companies are protected by the Government while they rip people off. An estimated 8% of people in Ireland now live in properties managed by companies and the proportion is much higher in Fingal, given the large amount of development there recently.
One of my constituents told me:
I purchased a duplex under the shared ownership scheme with Fingal County Council this time last year. I was told by Fingal County Council that the management fee would be €550 per year with insurance and bin charges included in that fee, though it seems other people were told different things. I was also told the charge was paid for the year.
I live in a courtyard and there was no street lighting in the courtyard. They had the lights but did not switch them on until, if I remember correctly, late October or the start of November, which I found extremely dangerous while walking at night. Also, I cycle a bike and for months I had to keep it in my apartment because they did not have adequate lighting in the bike storage areas. To be honest I do not see much being done around the estate.
Last summer the management company, Murphy Moore in Malahide, resigned. Director Gerry Gannon, comically, is head of the development Robswall, known also as Gannon Homes. A new management company was introduced, Smith Dunboyne, and again Gerry Gannon appears as the director, which is bizarre.
I have not had much to do with them until now. I got landed with a bill for €940 for service charges for my duplex, including €250 for refuse, which is a huge difference from what I was told last year.
They provided a breakdown of the charges and one of the things I found most comical was external window cleaning. I have been living there for a year and not once have they cleaned my windows.
There are many similar cases which beggar belief. Another management company in Balbriggan, Brecan management company, has directors registered as Mark Colgan of Blencam, Kerrymount Avenue, Foxrock, Dublin 18, and Desmond Ryan, Ardfallen, Cunningham Road, Dalkey, but they are no longer directors. The head of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, Mr. Paul Appleby, wants more resources to ensure company law is being upheld but is denied them. People take that as a licence to flout company law so I ask the Minister to tackle these clear cases.
The third example relates to a new form of landlordism, which the inaction of Government encourages and is exemplified by the exorbitant fees being charged. A constituent tells me:
Unfortunately things have not improved a great deal in my area. I have e-mailed Smiths Property Management with the problems in Barons Hall. In fact the only things I have received from Smiths is a bill for €387.26 and a final notice letter that they are going to sue me if I do not pay up immediately. At this stage I am refusing to pay until I see some action being taken.
The thing that angers me most about this company is the fact they do not even have the courtesy to reply to me by telephone, e-mail or letter — nothing.
Smiths seems to be a particularly bad management company. Charles Smith recently appeared on a RTE "Primetime" special about management companies, although he did not want to be interviewed or even show his face. I wonder why.
I have friends in Chieftans Way and Brackenwood here in Flemington, both in apartment blocks managed by Smiths. Both have doors that do not lock. In fact the apartment block door of my friend in Brackenwood has not locked now for two months and lights in the stairway have not worked for the same period. She has e-mailed and telephoned Smiths numerous times and still nothing has been done. This is the kind of service we have come to expect of this company.
If I saw them do something with the green and act promptly when an abandoned car was reported to them I would pay my bill, even though it annoys me so much that this is something Fingal County Council should be doing but the fact they demand money and treat residents with such disrespect leaves me no option but not to pay and go to court if it comes down to that.
If I had a problem with my phone bill... I could complain to a regulator but with the management company there is no regulator...
How the present Government has let these management companies come into existence really gets me angry.
The Deputy's time has concluded.
I am not surprised at that anger. The Government allows the law to favour management companies. There is an embargo on local authority recruitment which often means it is not possible for the council to take into charge because it does not have the staff. The corporate enforcement agency does not have the resources.
I ask the Deputy to give way to the Minister of State.
The Government is essentially giving those management companies carte blanche.
Before the Deputy came into the House, the Chair ruled on this matter. In recent times the Chair is concerned at the number of Deputies coming into the House, naming companies and individuals outside and making allegations against them when those people are not here. There is a very long-standing tradition in this House and many rulings by my predecessors that this is not allowed. I ask Deputies to desist from allegations in future. We have had three matters on the Adjournment this evening and on two of them I have needed to make the same ruling.
Apartment living will constitute a key part in the future of housing in Ireland from a number of perspectives, including spatial policy, efficient land use, sustainability, housing choice and affordability. Successful apartment developments, providing good quality of life, depend on a range of factors, including the standard and quality of the units themselves, the quality of the general living environment, as well as convenience to workplaces etc. A key factor, essential to the success of the sector concerns the quality of management in apartment complexes.
Regarding the local authority's role and my Department's involvement in this area, planning authorities have been advised that they should not attach planning conditions requiring management companies for traditional housing estates, except in very exceptional circumstances. I understand that this advice is now accepted by all planning authorities. A working group chaired by my Department and involving relevant interests has been considering issues relating to the taking in charge of developments, including responsibility for the maintenance of certain shared facilities in newer type mixed estates. It is intended that further guidance for planning authorities, based on the group's deliberations, will be issued shortly.
Management companies are an unavoidable feature of the interdependence that exists in multi-unit developments. It is necessary to have management companies or similar arrangements to manage the common elements of apartment complexes and certain other types of multi-unit developments. On the specific question of management charges, it is important to remember that the charges levied on property owners are determined by the management company of which the owners themselves are the members. I realise that might sound somewhat theoretical, but it ought to be the case.
It does not work.
The members ought to decide the charges and call all the shots. I realise that sometimes when developers hold on to some units they have golden shares or nominee rights. The issue is to try to end them so that the people in apartment and other multi-unit complexes are in control of their co-operative or whatever one likes to call it.
It needs legislation.
Up to recently, property management received relatively little notice in residential housing, but that has changed radically. Much of the focus has been on negatives, including management fees, poor maintenance, complaints, management companies being dissolved and so on, and this has given rise to considerable misunderstanding and even misinformation.
I am glad to say that the information deficit has recently been reduced through a series of publications and consultation processes undertaken by a number of organisations, including the National Consumer Agency, the Director of Corporate Enforcement, Dublin City Council and the Law Reform Commission. There is no doubt that better consumer information and awareness will help to avoid some of the problems and frustration that have been experienced in the past.
My Department is not responsible for the wider range of legislation and regulation relevant to management companies in apartment complexes. The Law Reform Commission's consultation paper on legal aspects relating to multi-unit developments is currently the subject of a public consultation process. Possible measures to be taken in this area will be considered by the relevant Departments and agencies, and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has convened an interdepartmental committee to help develop appropriate legislative responses.
Indeed, a number of legislative measures are already in the pipeline. The Government has already decided that property managing agents will be regulated by the Property Services Regulatory Authority under legislation currently being prepared by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Property managing agents are commercial firms engaged by management companies to provide management and maintenance services for which management charges are paid.
With regard to company law, which is the framework within which management companies operate, forthcoming legislation will also provide a chance to ensure that the framework of law supports the effective operation of management companies. It is a moot point whether there should be further regulation of management companies since they consist of the property owners themselves——
In theory.
Yes, I accept that. They function solely in their own developments. We need clarity about when the management company starts, that is, whether it should start when all the units are privately owned or otherwise. That limbo area is causing difficulty and needs to be resolved.
I believe the different processes I mentioned with deal with the issue. The measures being taken by the different Departments and the interdepartmental consultation process on what is required in law will result in a successful apartment sector. However, we must go through this process before reaching that.