Before I call anyone, I want to remind you that this is for questions on promised legislation. In addition to the groups, I have 17 requests. Some Members are going to be disappointed. We will finish this in 15 minutes. I will call on the representative of Fianna Fáil first, Deputy Chambers. After that, I will call on those who indicated first to me – there is no priority.
Questions on Promised Legislation
My question relates to the health (amendment) Bill. We read reports last night to the effect that the HSE has withdrawn its High Court appeal of an Employment Appeals Tribunal decision to give a pay rise to two consultants based on historical contracts. To put it mildly, this presents a potentially serious strain on public finances. I am keen to know the reason for the withdrawal. Can the Minister confirm what this Employment Appeals Tribunal decision will cost the State? How are we going to pay it?
I am not going to comment on any specific legal case. Clearly, it is Government's intention that further cases will be vigorously defended. We have legal officers who will support the work on such cases. As Deputy Chambers has said, this is a major potential cost and it is right that we seek to protect the taxpayer in that respect.
Commitments contained in the recent strategy for the private rental sector, published as per the programme for Government, aim to encourage banks and landlord borrowers to agree solutions to buy-to-let arrears. The latest figures show that 7,148 people, including over 2,500 children, were in emergency accommodation in the week before Christmas 2016. That is an increase of 36% year on year and a 91% hike on figures seen two years ago. It is out of control. We know that the single greatest cause of families losing their homes at present is the sale of buy-to-let properties in the rented sector.
At the end of last year, Focus Ireland proposed an amendment to the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill that would have made it more difficult for professional landlords to evict tenants on those grounds. We supported the amendment, but it was blocked by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.
We do not believe that it will be possible to get agreement between landlords and banks on the basis of the current rental strategy.
Deputy, allow the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to respond.
Will the Minister introduce legislation in the coming term to give the necessary protection to these families, as per the amendment put forward by Focus Ireland and supported by Sinn Féin?
You have to consider other Deputies. There are others in your group. We have to give backbenchers an opportunity. The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Coveney, will give a short answer.
Deputy McDonald referred to the figures for December. They are a stark reminder to the Government that a great deal of work remains to be done to solve the problem of homelessness. The family figures remained more or less the same. In fact, the number of dependants reduced by 44. That is understandable since in many cases children will stay with extended family during the Christmas period.
The Deputy raised the issue of protecting tenants. We introduced a new amendment to prevent tenants from being evicted when one institutional investor sells a development property to another institutional investor. That is exactly what we did. There were limits to it on the basis of advice from the Attorney General’s office. The Deputy is or should be familiar with that.
The Deputy referred to further protections for tenants in rental properties that may be in receivership. We have given a commitment that, by the end of the first quarter of this year, my Department and the Department of Justice and Equality would examine ways to transfer the kind of legal responsibilities that landlords have to receivers. That process is under way.
In October 2015, we agreed a budget that included €10 million to fund the extension of free general practitioner care to all children under 12 years of age. The programme for Government extended that commitment to all children under 18 years. Last October, a full year after we budgeted for those under 12 years, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, confirmed that negotiations had not even begun on the issue. Extending free GP care to all those under 18 years will require further legislation, although there is no mention of that in the published programme.
Will the Minister indicate when we will see the legislation to provide for the extension of free GP care to all under 18 years, as set out in the programme for Government? When will the commitment, made in October 2015, to provide GP care to all children under 12 years be fulfilled?
It is not on the list as I understand it. The main legislation in this area is the immediate and urgent extension of medical card cover to children who have domiciliary care allowance. That legislation is being urgently prepared.
I did not ask the Minister about that.
It reflects-----
Is the free GP care being abandoned by Government?
No, by no means. It is clear from the programme for Government that we wish to continue the-----
It is not in the legislative programme.
-----extension of primary care. I believe the approach of the Minister is to see a greater level of service being delivered within the primary care system. As the Deputy knows, that includes the construction of primary care centres and also the gradual extension-----
That is not what I asked.
-----of primary care cover. The legislation is not on the list but it is obviously intended as a longer-term commitment of this Government.
What laws will the Government introduce to deal with what happened yesterday in Limerick where 12 workers face losing their jobs and 64 men who are living in a hotel as refugees have been evicted from their homes of long standing? On page 29 of A Programme for a Partnership Government, there is a commitment to provide greater protection for mortgage holders and tenants whose loans fall into the hands of vulture funds. Here we have the most vulnerable tenants that one could possibly think about in this country: people in direct provision. They were being given refuge by one arm of the State and their loans were sold by another arm of the State, NAMA. It is a quite incredible situation. What is the Government going to do about these vulture funds getting their hands on, in this case, a State service for the most vulnerable? What happens to workers in these situations? The Government talks about protecting businesses but says nothing about workers whose loans fall into the lap of vulture funds as well. There are 12 people unemployed. Is this the great service the Minister, Deputy Noonan, was talking about the vultures doing?
The housing strategy includes a range of measures to increase housing supply. That includes supply to people who are moving from direct provision. That is an element of the housing strategy-----
That is not what I asked.
The legislative elements have already been outlined in that strategy. We have had numerous debates on this-----
I am not talking about the housing strategy.
The Minister has just replied to Deputy Mary Lou McDonald on the amendments in respect of the transfer of loans to other funds. I believe the Minister has just responded to that. The legislation is in the housing strategy. If there are new legislative initiatives, the Minister will obviously bring them forward.
With respect, that is not the question the Minister was asked.
I cannot allow Deputy Coppinger to respond.
He was asked about a specific situation in Limerick-----
I have a responsibility to look after the interests of all.
-----involving a vulture fund. It is not going to be dealt with by that legislation.
I was asked what legislation is being brought forward. I have indicated the legislation that is being brought forward.
Nine families can be evicted under that legislation.
We are moving on to the Rural Independent Group and Deputy Mattie McGrath.
Deputy Coppinger asked me about legislation. We have just had an answer from the Minister on the precise legislation.
So the Minister has nothing to say to the refugees or the workers in Limerick. Great.
Please, Deputy Coppinger. There are 17 other Members who wish to ask about legislation. I call Deputy McGrath.
I want to ask the Minister for Education and Skills about the DEIS status. Under the programme for Government, the Government said that it will support disadvantage in education and elsewhere. This issue is being dealt with by the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Social Welfare. The four schools in Tipperary town, led by St. Joseph's, have co-operated and have come-----
Which legislation is the Deputy asking about?
I am asking about promised legislation on supports that are due announcement. The schools have co-operated in a wonderful spirit of unity. They have an application-----
Promised legislation, Deputy.
They missed out in Tipperary town years ago. When is it going to be announced that the schools-----
Please have respect for the others who want to ask questions.
I did not even get a half a minute. I am just asking-----
The Deputy is not entitled to any more. It is a question.
A question, yes. I want to finish my question. When is it going to be announced?
Work on this strategy is nearing completion. However, I think it will be of some reassurance to the Deputy that additional money was provided in this year's budget for DEIS, both from my Department and from the Minister for Social Protection in respect of the school meals programme. Additional resources are being made available. This plan will be published shortly. It is our intention that the new provision will start in the next school year, in other words, from September. New schools that are coming into the scheme will receive support from September coming.
In the programme for Government and subsequent to it, many commitments have been given on the reform of the insurance industry. Is the Minister aware of the insurance crisis out there for businesses, home owners and personal insurance? A situation came to my attention during the week in which a company director whose company had a claim is now finding it nearly impossible to get personal insurance. Surely to God this goes against all regulations within the insurance industry. What plans has the Government in place to address immediately the crisis in the entire insurance industry?
The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Eoghan Murphy has, as the Deputy knows, published a strategy to deal with the insurance sector. It includes 33 areas of recommendation. He has set an 18-month period during which it will be implemented. I understand that part of it involves a review of the declined cases arrangement that is in place to deal with situations in which people who are legally required to have insurance are not able to get it. I believe the Government recognises that this is an area of real challenge. However, I believe if the Deputy reads the report, he will see that the sources of this problem are very numerous. It will take systematic action across a number of headings, including by the industry itself. Part of that will be to make the way insurance costs are put together more transparent. Under the Minister of State, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, we will see a very determined pursuit of this issue.
On page 26 of A Programme for a Partnership Government, there is a commitment to target new measures for survivors of domestic violence. The Government's Action Plan for Housing states that Tusla "will provide additional emergency refuge spaces so that victims forced to flee the family home often late at night or in the early hours of the morning do not find themselves homeless". Can the Minister tell me when Tusla's 2017 business plan will be published? What level of additional funding will be provided for domestic violence accommodation services and how many new emergency refuge spaces will be provided for those experiencing domestic violence?
I have been engaged for the last month or so with Tusla on its business plan. I expect that it will be published shortly. There were additional funds that were provided to Tusla, particularly for the issues that the Deputy raised. The Deputy raised that last particular question with me before and I will be in contact with Tusla to ensure that part of that budget is devoted to that measure.
What is the status of the greyhound industry Bill?
I understand that work is under way on that but-----
Out of the traps.
-----it is not yet ready to be put on the legislative programme for this session.
Under the Haddington Road Agreement, staff officers and executive officers in the Department of Social Protection were to be put together. This was an agreement made in 2014. As and from 1 January of this year, it was to be completed. Unfortunately, I have written to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, but seemingly for the last two or three weeks he has not been able to sign a letter. Is this going to be done in the Department of Social Protection or not? The Civil Public and Services Union, CPSU, is involved but seems to be dragging its feet on it. It seems to have other interests about union membership rather than in solving this problem for these people.
I am happy to answer that. It is a matter that is still under negotiation between my Department, the relevant unions and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We are confident that we will have the matter resolved in the near future.
There is a ballot under way within the ASTI and I am not going to get into it. However, there an issue with junior certificate English, which is a part of that ballot. As things currently stand, Government policy is that if the ASTI membership rejects the offer that is on the table, junior certificate English students in ASTI schools this year will automatically lose 10% of their marks. That is not really putting the best interest of the children first. I know the Minister, Deputy Zappone, is present too. What is the fallback position for those students? What comfort can the Minister give those students that they will not be penalised in their junior certificate English this year?
As the Deputy recognised, in the course of very lengthy negotiations between all of the teacher unions, we have come forward with a set of proposals that include resolving the long-running dispute in the junior cycle. That vote is under way and I am not going to seek to influence it. We have indicated in the past the approach that could be taken and that has been taken in respect of junior certificate English. Let us wait and see the result of the ASTI ballot. We will act on the back of that.
Will the Minister give to the House a rationale for the Government's decision to not proceed with the High Court case regarding hospital consultants' pay? Will he also inform the House of the consequences of that decision in possible legislation and costs? We hear that this could be up to €700 million. When is the Minister for Health going to outline to the House exactly what are the consequences of not proceeding with this High Court case?
As I have indicated to Deputy Lisa Chambers, I cannot comment on an individual case and the conduct of that case, but as I have said, the Government will defend cases that would be taken to the courts by consultants and is determined to continue to do that. That is the position.
Before Deputy Martin Kenny speaks I want to say that the Deputies on my list, who I took as they indicated, are Deputies Nolan, Burke, Durkan, Collins, Rabbitte, Fitzpatrick, O'Loughlin, Cassells and Burton. Unfortunately I cannot take them. We may have to review this but I have no control over it.
On page 48 of the programme for Government there is a section on protecting local services which specifically deals with post offices. Earlier this week the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten, went to Ballymahon and announced a whole lot of things to help rural Ireland. Yesterday, I discovered that the post office in my area, Aughavas in County Leitrim, is going to be closed because the pub and business there has been sold and An Post is saying that it may not renew the contract to have a post office in that area. If the Government is making such efforts to invest in rural Ireland, one of the first things it should be doing is to ensure the services that exist in rural Ireland are not withdrawn. That is the basic principle of it. This post office has been in the community for more than 150 years and to think that at the drop of a hat it can just go. We have a similar situation in Ballygawley. Yesterday, I brought up the issue of the regional veterinary services being withdrawn and centralised to Dublin-----
The Deputy's time is up.
We have serious problems in rural Ireland. The Government is talking about investing money in it while at the same time it is withdrawing these services.
Minister-----
It is outrageous. I want the Minister to indicate what he will do and do not tell me that An Post-----
Deputy Kenny.
-----is a separate entity. It is in the programme for Government. It is the responsibility-----
Deputy Kenny, allow a response, please.
-----of this Government to ensure services are maintained in rural Ireland.
The Deputy will recognise that for the first time in my memory, and I am in the House a long time, we have a coherent strategy for rural areas. It covers employment, service levels, tourism, homes and primary care. For the first time there is a genuine strategy seeking to support the delivery of local services.
Will the Government maintain what is there?
The Deputy raised the issue yesterday of veterinary services and the Minister provided a very categorical assurance that the approach he was taking was not assuming this service was going to be centralised to Dublin. The situation of An Post is, as the Deputy has recognised in his own question, that An Post has a responsibility in the operation of its own services.
So you are going with the Government.
Deputy, please.
As the Deputy knows, however, there has been considerable work done by Government and under Mr. Bobby Kerr on the proposal to develop initiatives that would see a long-term and strong future for our postal services. It is by implementing a strategy such as this that we deliver a future for local services.
The Government is withdrawing the services.
We must take a strategic view of these issues.