Before I first call the party leaders, as per custom and practice, I will read out the names of the 15 Deputies due to speak in order that there is no ambiguity about the matter. In order of those who indicated to me, they are: Deputies Brassil, Murphy O'Mahony, Buckley, MacSharry, Martin Kenny, McLoughlin, Danny Healy-Rae, Eugene Murphy, Mattie McGrath, Aylward, Mick Barry, Troy, Lawless, Fitzpatrick and Ryan. I now call Deputy Micheál Martin.
Questions on Promised Legislation
In the programme for Government there is a firm commitment to "guarantee the delivery of next-generation broadband to every household and business in the country. No town, village or parish will be left behind."
They will not.
There is even mention of the tender process being completed by June 2017. We are now past that deadline. Of course, the tender process is still ongoing, and yesterday SIRO announced its withdrawal from the process.
SIRO is a joint venture between the ESB and Vodafone. There is some speculation in the media that the recent deal between Eir and the Government influenced its decision to withdraw, and it did raise a lot of questions at that time.
Given that high quality broadband access is essential to businesses and households across the country, particularly in the regions and in rural Ireland, when will the tendering process be completed? Is there now a question mark overhanging the tender process because of both the Minister's decision and the decision of SIRO to withdraw? Has the credibility of that tendering process been undermined? Can the Minister reassure us that it has not? When can people expect broadband in their homes?
First, this does not compromise the tendering process. The procurement team has received two very detailed bids from two very credible and competitive operators, one a consortium led by Granahan McCourt, Enet, SSE and John Laing, the other being Eir. The reality is that it is a very competitive process involving a very complex procurement process. It is the first time in the world that we have done anything like this. This is a 25 year contract and the commitment is that we will provide high-speed broadband to every single premises in Ireland, no matter how isolated it is, that will meet their needs not just today and tomorrow, but for the next 25 years. Therefore, it is important that we get this right and that it does not end up like the e-voting machines or mistakes that were made in the past in regard to the national broadband scheme.
This is silly stuff.
As Deputy Martin knows in regard to the national broadband scheme, and this is not an accusation-----
I have to intervene-----
Let me finish this point. That scheme was obsolete the day it went live. This will not be.
Everything the Minister has said is what we were told two years ago.
Some 900,000 homes are to get fibre.
In May the Supreme Court ruled that the absolute prohibition on asylum seekers pursuing employment, as provided for in section 9(4) of the Refugee Act 1996, is unconstitutional and the Government has until 30 November to respond to the court-imposed deadline. In addition, last week retired judge Mr. Brian MacMahon, who produced a Government report on direct provision two years ago, urged the Government to act on its recommendations at a conference marking the second anniversary of its publication. Mr. MacMahon told the conference, which was hosted by the Children's Rights Alliance, that the Government had to address asylum seekers' right to work and, indeed, the length of time people spend in direct provision. Will the Taoiseach tell the Dáil when the Government will respond to the Supreme Court? What is the status of the interdepartmental task force? Will it produce a report, will that be published and when will it be published?
Is there promised legislation?
It is not so much promised legislation as that we are awaiting the interdepartmental task force report. This is quite a complex issue but, rest assured, we will have that report available on time and we will have action proposed on this issue to meet the Supreme Court deadline.
I call whoever is leader of the Rural Independent Group.
Notwithstanding the Taoiseach's earlier remarks, which I appreciate-----
Has it been decided that Deputy McGrath is the acting leader?
Active leader.
Active service. Go raibh maith agat.
Go on. Many colleagues wish to speak.
I will. It is you who is delaying me, not myself. The question of referendums is under decision this week in the Cabinet and also the eighth amendment committee, which the Taoiseach mentioned. Will he support me and call on People Before Profit - maybe the Taoiseach did not know this before he answered - to condemn the actions of the Trinity College branch, which publicly destroyed 32 posters last night advertising-----
This is questions on promised legislation.
It is promised legislation. We have a referendum coming up. Unbroken Ireland is a group of rape survivors who have chosen to proceed with their pregnancies and who campaign to remove the stigma and taboo surrounding the debate on this issue. That other group wants to shut down free speech. Unbroken Ireland is making an address in the AV room tomorrow.
If there is promised legislation, the Taoiseach should answer.
They tore down the posters and pictures on Facebook-----
Give the Taoiseach an opportunity.
Will the Taoiseach ask the Garda Síochána to deal with it?
Do not take advantage. If there is promised legislation, the Taoiseach should give a short answer.
There is no promised legislation.
I want to raise the programme for Government with the Minister, Deputy Naughten.
The draft guidelines on wind farm policy were published in June. What is the timescale for receiving submissions on these guidelines and for the drawing up of the actual guidelines? In the meantime, will the Minister provide assurances that all council planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála are bound to implement, at the very least, what is in the draft guidelines until such time as formal guidelines are introduced by way of legislation?
This comes under promises in the programme for Government.
The guidelines are out for consultation. A formal public consultation will take place next month and we are looking forward to seeing the submissions on that. The guidelines will become official in the new year. We have moved away from the set-back issue, which only deals with the distance to the nearest turbine, to that of noise. This has an impact in respect of the scale of wind farms in particular communities. This is a far broader definition and meets World Health Organization standards. We are looking forward to seeing the submissions. I understand that the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has issued a letter to each local authority on the guidelines.
Will the Taoiseach provide an update on the health (transport support) Bill, the aim of which is to facilitate financial contributions to people with disabilities who are unable to access public transport? People's lives have been put on hold while they wait for news of this legislation. It would enhance their well-being if it enabled them to get out of their homes.
There are ongoing discussions between the Departments of Health and Public Expenditure and Reform regarding the cost of introducing a new scheme. I have politely encouraged both Departments and their respective Ministers to progress this matter with a view to having legislation enacted next year.
Last year, when the Taoiseach was the Minister for Social Protection, I secured an amendment to the Social Welfare Act to have a report compiled on the impact of changes made to the lone parent family payment in 2012 in order to see exactly how those changes were panning out and affecting lone-parent families across the State. A commitment was given that the report would be published well in advance of the budget. It was indicated that it would be published in June but it has not yet seen the light of day. Where is this report? Has the Minister seen it or have its findings been mentioned in the discussions relating to the budget? When will this critical report be published?
I understand it has been compiled but I have not seen a draft or final copy. I will ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, to respond to the Deputy directly.
I invite Deputy MacSharry to ask a question on promised legislation.
On pages 65 and 66 of A Programme for a Partnership Government, specific reference is made to mental health and, in particular, the strategic plan for suicide prevention, namely, Connecting for Life. There has been positive coverage in the media today in respect of the reduction in the number of deaths by suicide. This news is certainly welcome but, unfortunately, we are far better at preparing reports and plans than we are at providing appropriate resources. We have seen this with A Vision for Change and we are certainly seeing it with Connecting for Life, the national policy for prevention of suicide in Ireland.
I shall provide two sets of figures that are significant. In 2016, the Government gave €11.8 million to the National Office for Suicide Prevention. The suicide figure for 2016 was 399, not including those deaths the causes of which were undetermined. In the same year, during which there were 187 road death fatalities, the Government gave €74 million to the Road Safety Authority. That is approximately €375,000 per fatality. For half the number of deaths, the Government is giving 12 times the funding towards needed resources. When will the Government embrace the issue of mental health, particularly as it relates to reducing the loss of life through suicide, and provide appropriate resources?
Go raibh maith agat.
What we are giving is pitiful, especially when the biggest and most worrying figure out of the results-----
The Deputy's colleagues are waiting.
-----that were announced today relates to 8,900 cases of self-harm. This is a 19% increase in recent years. Could the Taoiseach answer my questions?
I join Deputy MacSharry in welcoming the reduction in the number of people taking their lives by suicide.
As I said earlier, one death is one too many and we must continue to work towards reducing the number of deaths by suicide further into the future. Tackling suicide is, of course, about a great deal more than the National Office of Suicide Prevention. Funding for mental health has increased from €711 million in 2012 to €853 million now, which is an increase of €140 million. That increase in the last five or six years dwarfs any annual budget of the Road Safety Authority. Specifically, the National Office of Suicide Prevention has seen its budget increase from €4 million in 2012, when the Deputy's party left office, to €11.6 million today, which is a trebling of the budget since my party came to office, initially with the Labour Party and now with Independents. I do not necessarily agree with the mathematical approach the Deputy takes and would not advocate the funding of any agency on a kind of per-death basis. That would not be the right approach.
Following yesterday's question to the Taoiseach on the programme for Government commitment on people with disabilities, he gave a very warm response on the Government's embracing of respite care. I have been following this very carefully as a huge number of parents are screaming out for respite care. In the discussions I have had with people in the sector and officials within the HSE, I am still being told there is a huge reluctance in the Department of Finance to commit money to respite care. I am told the amount of money being offered for respite care in 2018 is a pittance having regard to what is needed. I ask the Taoiseach for a firm commitment because officials are telling me there is no priority within the Department of Finance to fund respite care for 2018 notwithstanding the crying need for it. I meet parents every day who are in dire straits and need respite care. As I said yesterday, they were promised one week in every quarter but they got four full days in 2017. That is simply unacceptable.
On page 74 of the programme for Government document, there is a short paragraph which refers to "a stronger voice for carers". It states the Government supports the first ever carers' strategy, which was published in 2012, and is fully committed to implementing it. There are a number of things in the strategy, including respite care. However, respite care is in absolute disarray in my constituency, as it is in many areas nationally as Deputy Michael Moynihan said. Solas House in Sligo was built a number of years ago to provide respite services to people in the region, but it is now being closed. It is being suggested that people hire private carers to come to the home to look after the person in exchange for respite. That is completely inappropriate. Is the Government going to put money into the budget for the direct provision of respite by the HSE to these people?
The programme for Government also states that the Government supports an increase in carer's allowance and carer's benefit. Will both of those payments be increased in the upcoming budget?
I cannot provide the House with any specific budgetary commitments today and, for reasons Members understand, will be unable to do so until the Estimates and budget are published. Health budget priorities are, ultimately, not decisions for the Department of Finance. They are decisions for the Department of Health and the HSE, which have the largest budget in the history of the State for health and social care. Ultimately, prioritisation within any budget is not a matter for the Department of Finance, rather it is a matter for the line Department and, in this case, the HSE.
Special consideration is given in the programme for Government to the creation of new jobs in rural areas nationally. Is the Taoiseach aware that the Border region, which includes my constituency of Sligo-Leitrim and south Donegal, has unfortunately witnessed the slowest level of job growth of any region? Can he advise the House of the efforts the Government is making to rebalance job creation growth, in particular in the face of Brexit and the weakening of sterling which has already resulted in job losses in my region?
It is very encouraging that we have seen a fall in unemployment and an increase in the number of jobs in every county in the past couple of years. Obviously, it is happening at a different pace in Sligo. Job creation was only at approximately 2% between 2011 and 2016, which is a much lower rate than in other places.
Leitrim did a little bit better at about 6%. Some Border areas saw significant increases in employment, however. For example, it was 12% in Cavan, 11% in Monaghan and 10% in Donegal. Even within the Border region, one sees considerable variation.
Key to the Government's efforts in improving the environment for job creation is the implementation of the Action Plan for Jobs. This involves several different measures including supporting business to create jobs, increasing the budget for local enterprise offices, and providing a better infrastructure to all parts of the country, not least the north west and Border areas, in terms of road and broadband.
Just for clarification, the Taoiseach referred to Fianna Fáil leaving government in 2012 on several occasions. To the best of my recollection, we left in February 2011 as a result of an unfortunate general election, which did not enable us to stay around any longer.
I introduced the Nursing Home Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2016 in this House earlier this year. It passed Second Stage and I got a firm commitment from the Government that it would go to committee in six months. The six-month period expired on 26 July 2017. Is the Government going to adhere to its commitment to send this Bill to committee? If so, when?
I understand this was discussed at the Business Committee during the week. It agreed that it would go back to the sponsors. The sponsor would have to make contact with the Bills Office to have the Bill ordered. I am not sure if the Deputy has had a chance to get back to the Bills Office yet, but that is the plan.
The Deputy is quite correct that the change of government happened in 2011. The reason I used 2012 is because that was the first full year we had a new Government and the year in which we determined the budget.
Since I was elected 18 months ago, several reports and many ideas have been put forward to deal with the homeless situation. During the summer, the new Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, suggested something be done around the fair deal scheme, where people in nursing homes would give up their homes to put people into them. The word CPO, compulsory purchase order, was put out there as well, and that people's properties would be CPOed.
Will the Government desist from this notion and leave those in nursing homes alone? Everyone in a nursing home has the ambition to get better and go home. If the Government proposes to take their homes from them, it is very same thing as somebody going in and shooting them. It was a horrible thing to suggest. Will the Government leave these people alone and, instead, give money to the local authorities to build houses? There is no other way round this. If the Government is trying to hurt people in those situations, I, and many other Deputies, will not stand for it.
If it is promised legislation, the Taoiseach can answer it.
I want to raise the same issue.
Is it on promised legislation?
It is about the fair deal scheme.
It might be the same issue but two wrongs do not make a right.
Deputy Danny Healy-Rae is correct. There is another anomaly in the fair deal scheme affecting people in the farming community and businesses. A business person who applies for the scheme will be charged 40% of their income from the business, if it is rented, and 3.75% on the value of the property. The same applies to farmers. They are charged 3.75% of the value of their land, as well as 40% of the income from the land. Many of those may not see that income as it goes to family members. The income may come from European funds, such as headage schemes etc. and it is unfair that these are included in the 40% determination.
Vacant homes and properties can be CPOed. We have had confirmation from the Attorney General that this can be done.
In fact, County Louth has led the way in compulsorily purchasing a number of vacant homes and putting them back into use to house people who need them. However, I agree with Deputy Danny Healy-Rae that it would not be appropriate to compulsorily purchase the house of somebody who is in a nursing home. I do not wish to see that happen. I would prefer if more people were encouraged to rent out such homes. While the person is in a nursing home, potentially for the last two or three years of their life, their house could be rented to somebody rather than being left vacant, thus providing an income to that person and his or her family. The way the rules are currently structured mitigates against that because the rent then becomes an income which is counted against the person in the fair deal calculations. That is one change under consideration. Other changes under consideration relate to fair treatment of farmers and business people. The Deputy's point is well made in that regard. However, any such changes would require legislation and we do not have a date for the legislation yet.
The Taoiseach partly answered my question in his reply to Deputy McLoughlin earlier. The programme for Government included a welcome section on job creation. It clearly stated that in excess of 200,000 jobs would be created by the Government and that 135,000 of those jobs would be created in the regions. That is not happening in the regions. My constituency colleague, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten, and I can confirm that if one visits a railway station in Carrick-on-Shannon, Roscommon or Longford at 6 a.m. one will see hundreds of people getting the train to travel to Dublin. Yesterday, in reply to a similar question, the Taoiseach spoke about increased employment. That is the case, and there is a drop in unemployment. The Taoiseach referred to Louth, Meath, Carlow, Kilkenny and Galway city, but there was no mention of any town in the midlands or west of Ireland. I have checked the figures. Very little job creation is happening in the midlands and the west. On the basis that there was a clear commitment on this from the Government and that the Government has put huge emphasis on balanced regional development, can the Taoiseach give an update on the current position in that regard?
The commitment is to continue to create an environment in which jobs are created and unemployment falls. That is happening. Unemployment continues to fall and is close to 6% at present. Long-term unemployment is approximately 3%. I doubt anybody thought five or six years ago that we would get long-term unemployment as low as 3% to 3.5%. Over 70% of jobs being created are outside Dublin, which is very positive. In Roscommon, specifically, since 2011 the unemployment rate has fallen by 34%, which is considerable.
They are leaving the county.
There has been an increase of 6% in employment within the county. I am also advised by the Minister, Deputy Naughten, that in the past ten days six investors have visited Roscommon with a view to considering the county as a place to locate further employment. That is very welcome.
Some of them are near enough to Deputy Eugene Murphy.
Under A Programme for a Partnership Government, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government gave a commitment to address all relevant issues arising from the report of the Waterford local boundary review group and from other recent and forthcoming reports on local government arrangements. Will the Taoiseach confirm that there will be no change to the administrative boundary between counties Waterford and Kilkenny and put this issue to bed, once and for all? I notice the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government is leaving the House-----
No, I am here.
He will be directly affected by this and he is the Minister of State with responsibility for this issue. A former Minister already ruled out a boundary extension. Will the Taoiseach confirm that there will be no administrative border extensions between Kilkenny and Waterford? It is time this was put to bed.
There are six reports on boundaries, four of them concerning county boundaries between neighbouring local authorities, the Cork city and county boundary review and the Galway city and county review, on which a report has been completed. It is the Government's intention that the six reports would be dealt with in the middle of next month, around the time the boundary review committees for the local authority areas for the local elections commence.
My question is about the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Bill. We were told the aim of this Bill is to amend the 1990 Act to give the Garda representative associations access to the State's industrial relations institutions.
Yesterday, however, we read about a working group report produced in advance of the legislation, which advises against trade union status. Interestingly, the report indicated that it recommended against such status to assist in keeping the Garda as a force that can be used against protests and strikes. The report states that trade union status would "generate conflicts with the ability of gardaí to carry out policing duties, particularly in relation to the policing of public protests or trade disputes by unions". We are informed that a memorandum was brought to Cabinet yesterday regarding this report. Does the Government intend to propose legislation that would deny trade union status to the Garda representative associations and, if so, when will it come before the House?
The Deputy's questions would be more appropriately addressed to the Minister for Justice and Equality. The Cabinet considered and accepted the report yesterday and the Minister for Justice and Equality has been authorised to prepare legislation to allow the Garda representative associations to access the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court. It is already the case that the Garda representative bodies are not trade unions.
The Taoiseach's predecessor gave a firm commitment that one of the Government's top priorities would be to introduce new legislation to deal with how commercial rates are calculated and charged. Addressing a public meeting in my constituency, a Government member reassured worried retailers that such legislation would be in place by the end of this year on the basis that the new revaluation process is due to kick in on 1 January 2018. In Longford-Westmeath, 54% of retail businesses have experienced increases in rates, some in excess of 400%. Changes in shopping patterns, including online shopping and out-of-town shopping centres, are presenting serious challenges to retailers. The Government speaks about sustainable job creation in rural areas. When will it introduce legislation to ensure we have a fair and equitable way of charging commercial rates? Rates are a major burden on many small retailers and businesses, not only in Longford-Westmeath but throughout the jurisdiction.
The heads of the Bill have been agreed and it is intended that they will go to pre-legislative scrutiny in committee during this session. While I cannot predetermine the outcome of the committee's deliberations, the legislation will go to committee for consideration in this session.
The programme for Government refers to partnership and democracy and engagement across key groups such as the public, media and other stakeholders. It sets out such lofty goals as greater accountability, reform of freedom of information legislation and more open governance. I raised previously the practice of Government agencies and Departments corresponding in hard copy rather than in electronic format. I suggest this may be a form of obfuscation at times.
I refer to a recent development when ten years of video footage of Oireachtas debates disappeared from the Oireachtas website. Apparently, a policy decision was made to take down the footage and various technical reasons, which did not stack up, were advanced for doing so. Journalists were told that, to access this material in future, they would have to submit a written request and wait for some weeks to be furnished with it. This caused a justifiable storm on social media, which I understand led to the decision being reversed in the past 24 hours. This was not an auspicious start for open and transparent government. Was this incident an aberration or the start of a pattern? Will the Taoiseach give a commitment to provide timely, relevant, accurate and digitally accessible information on the proceedings of the House?
While this is a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, the Taoiseach may respond if he wishes.
This is not a matter for the Government. I assure the Deputy and any conspiracy theorists online that I had no knowledge of and no hand, act or part in this. This is entirely a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.
On the insurance (amendment) Bill, among the issues raised in the Supreme Court ruling on the Setanta case was that it provided for an increase from 65% to 100% in the level of coverage provided by the insurance compensation fund, ICF, for third party motorist claims.
This increase will be funded by the insurance industry and a mechanism will be put in place to protect the industry should a motor insurer be liquidated. When can we expect the legislation to come before the House?
I understand that it is expected to publish this legislation this session, so before Christmas. The legislation is being piloted by the Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy.
The child care (amendment) Bill is promised legislation, its heads were approved last January and pre-legislative scrutiny has occurred. When might we expect it to come before the House? The Bill relates to guardian ad litem arrangements in child care proceedings.
It is expected that the legislation in question will be published in the next session.
I thank the Taoiseach.
Under the heading of climate change, the programme for Government states, "As a matter of urgency the new Government will update the wind farm planning guidelines, within 3 to 6 months, to offer a better balance between the concerns of local communities and the need to invest in indigenous energy projects." This matter is still causing chaos in communities. What is the Government going to do to address this important issue?
That is a question for the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, but the Taoiseach may address it if he wishes.
The Minister provided an answer in respect of a question on that issue some moments ago. I do not remember the exact detail of his answer, but it was comprehensive.