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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 18 Jan 2018

Vol. 963 No. 7

Leaders' Questions

The housing crisis continues to get worse. When Deputy Coveney was Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government in 2016, he said that it would get worse before it gets better and, unfortunately, he has proven to be correct. The number of homeless families has increased by 26% while the number of homeless children has increased by 30% in the last year alone. The bottom line is that there are far from enough social housing units being built, there are no affordable purchase or rental schemes and the barriers to construction have not been taken down. The media have been inundated with figures from the Government relating to the housing assistance payment, HAP, and the rental accommodation scheme, RAS. These are nothing more than temporary stopgaps but they are now being trotted out as semi-permanent solutions. Rent costs are going into a different stratosphere, especially in Dublin. Young professionals and tradespeople are living at home with their parents, if there is room. HAP is masking the real picture. I know of one family in Galway that has been on the housing waiting list for nine years. They are 80th on that list but no social houses were built in 2016 or 2017 in Galway. That was at a time when the Government was telling us to keep the recovery going. Young working adults between 25 and 40 cannot afford to rent or save to buy a home. These people are in addition to the 91,000 people on waiting lists, as well as those who are on HAP and RAS. The latter schemes, as I have said, are temporary stopgaps but participants in those schemes are not on the housing waiting lists. They are on a transfer list that goes nowhere.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, on Monday the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, claimed that the Government had exceeded its housing targets. That has to be one of the most cynical pronouncements in a while and there has been plenty of them. The Minister failed to explain that he moved the Government's targets and reduced them by 25%. He told the Dáil last October that the Government's target was to build 3,200 social homes in 2017. On Monday he claimed the Government had exceeded the target that was set at 2,400. The bottom line for Fine Gael in Government is that it is trying to blind people with announcements and pronouncements while not providing new homes. There are no homes being built in communities throughout the country where they are needed. That is the statistic that people can see for themselves.

When will the spinning cease? When will the Government start delivering affordable and social homes rather than relying on what are meant to be temporary stopgaps? When will it honour the commitments to provide significantly more social homes, to provide affordable rental and purchase schemes and to remove the barriers to private sector construction?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue which is undoubtedly one of the major challenges that we face as a country. Having been through the crisis that we experienced, we know for a fact that it was the phoney boom in property and housing that brought that crisis upon us. It is not entirely surprising, therefore, that the most difficult sector to fix is the one that dragged us down, namely, the housing sector. I reject the Deputy's suggestion that the Government is not serious about this issue. The Government is committed to getting housing supply back on track. The Deputy rightly points to social housing as an area which was neglected by his own party in Government and subsequently. The situation in respect of social housing is that in 2016, only 650 social homes were built but in 2017, that number more than trebled to 2,245 units. There is a strong social housing pipeline in place, with 190 sites open and almost 4,000 units under construction. There is a real, sustainable change in the social housing programme. It is the Government's intention that 33,000 social homes will be built. Last year a total of 7,000 new social homes were made available through acquisitions, the restoration of voids and new leases. That was substantially ahead of what was achieved in 2016, which was just over 5,000 social housing units. Real and sustainable progress is being made.

In respect of creating a more affordable market, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, announced in the budget a series of measures designed to support the private sector in getting to grips with building. These measures include using the experience and ability of NAMA and providing an additional fund of €750 million. In addition, there have been interventions to help individual families to get a deposit together so that young families can start to access homes. Indications from recent figures are that we are seeing, at last, more young starter families getting access to new homes and that is a positive development.

I would be the last to suggest that this problem is solved. However, I recall that when I was seeking to address the unemployment issue, we set the target of 100,000 jobs and many said that it was not realistic and that we were not making progress quickly enough. We put in place a systematic plan containing a lot of different measures that changed the performance and we see the positive consequences of that, with fantastic employment numbers in the country now. I believe that the measures being put in place will solve this problem but we must be absolutely committed to getting quicker responses not only at national level but also at local government level. Each and every local authority has a responsibility to deliver on this programme.

I thank the Minister for his response and for correcting the discrepancies in last Monday's announcement and for confirming that only 2,200 new social homes were made available. There was nothing wrong with the Government's targets, its plan or the work that went into devising that plan. The issue was always going to be implementation, and the slow pace and lack of urgency is all too obvious. The Government is way behind its own schedule and targets. It is my job and duty to represent those who have given me the privilege to be here and to lay on the table the Government's failings. A total of 1,500 rapid-build units were to be provided but only 75 have been completed. The Minister made reference to acquisitions.

In many of those cases the people who left the homes could not afford to stay in them. They had to move out of their homes and go on waiting lists. The local authorities then took others off the waiting lists and put them into these homes.

The Government has also failed in the area of supply. It has failed by relying on old and tired systems that are not up to scratch and do not meet the demands placed on them. Land identified many years ago by local authorities and the State has not been acted on.

Ceist, a Theachta.

It is taking too long to develop land where planning permission has been secured and no objections have been received. Procurement is also taking too long. I could name many sites in my constituency and others that were identified three years ago and for which planning permission has been granted but nothing has been built.

The Minister to respond.

The Government keeps going back for more. There is nothing new. The Minister referred to the €750 million announced in the budget in competitive finance. That would help, but it has gone nowhere.

The Deputy has had two minutes.

It is another example of an announcement or pronouncement that solved the problem for the day that was in it in the hope people would walk away without getting responses. The Government needs to do this differently.

A new sense of urgency is required. The Government needs to do things differently in order to get results.

The Deputy has exceeded his time by one minute.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for his forbearance on this most crucial issue facing the country.

I agree that it is crucial and think we need to have an honest debate. Last year 25,892 families were assisted into social homes under the housing assistance payment scheme or by way of social provision. That was a massive increase on the 19,000 families who had received such assistance the previous year. Solutions are being provided for families, although the Deputy might not agree. Every time we deliver on a target, he denigrates it and says we should be addressing another one.

Is that a permanent solution?

Last year there was an almost fourfold increase in the number of social homes constructed and delivered.

We doubled the target number of voids to be delivered into the social housing stock and used as homes by families. We are making real progress in all of these areas. We have accelerated the planning process for housing supply by the private sector. As the Deputy knows, developments of more than 100 units can proceed directly to An Bord Pleanála.

The Government has not staffed An Bord Pleanála.

We have made it easier for builders to build apartment complexes.

This is nothing new.

Easier provisions are in place to contend with the real shortage of apartments. We are taking initiatives across every area where initiatives can be taken. We have provided rent zones to control rents. We are continuing to look at the residential tenancies legislation to ensure it is up to speed. We want to ensure these provisions are not abused by landlords. A systematic programme is in place. The Government is attaching huge urgency to this matter.

I ask the Minister to conclude as the same rules apply to him.

There will be a further meeting of all stakeholders to make sure we are acting to the best of our ability in every area.

People who are being discriminated against under the current State pension provisions will protest outside Leinster House again this afternoon. The Minister is probably aware that this issue affects approximately 40,000 citizens who are campaigning for the full restoration of their pension entitlements. They want a full rather than a partial solution. Some of them are out of pocket to the tune of €30 a week as a result of the changes introduced in 2012. As the Minister knows, this discrimination disproportionately affects women and is a direct result of measures introduced by Fine Gael and its Labour Party partners when they were in government in 2012. Deputy Joan Burton's changes have made it extremely difficult for women who exited the workforce, perhaps to raise children or attend to other caring duties, before returning to employment later in life to qualify for the maximum payment. I cite women as an example because they are affected disproportionately, but I am conscious that the changes also hurt some men. This discrimination did not happen by accident. It was not an oversight or a mistake. The Government of the day made the changes in the full knowledge of the impact they would have on these citizens and the disproportionate effect it would have on women.

Sinn Féin has been calling on the Government for some time to sort out this matter. A motion we proposed in the Dáil in December 2016 to address this injustice was rejected by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. The alternative budget we published in October 2017 showed the Government how funding could be provided to rectify and correct this discrimination, but, again, it was rejected by the Government. We raised this matter during Leaders' Questions on a number of occasions before Christmas. Every time we have proposed solutions to this problem we have received evasive and non-committal responses from the Government. Time and again, it has chosen not to do right by the people affected.

It has emerged that the Government is now considering partial restoration. I understand the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, has acknowledged that the citizens mentioned have been wronged and vowed to fix this anomaly. However, she has expressed the view that something magical will have to happen if the money is to be found. I remind the House that the Government infamously conjured up €5 million to fund a strategic communications unit as the Taoiseach's vanity project. It was able to find enough financial space to introduce tax cuts which disproportionately benefited the well off. Now it is telling us that financial wizardry would be required to find €70 million to correct an injustice perpetrated against 40,000 people. The people who will protest at the gates of Leinster House today are telling us loudly and clearly that they will not accept being treated as second-class citizens any longer. The Government's job is to find a solution for them. Comforting words and expressions of sympathy are not enough because a solution is needed. Will the Minister tell the people standing at the gates of Leinster House that the Government will provide the €70 million in funding needed to enable them finally to receive their full entitlements?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am aware that the removal of the anomalies in the pensions system is of acute concern. It is also a difficult task. As the Deputy knows, a disregard for home caring was introduced in 1994. Many people who opted out of the workforce in the years before 1994 have been severely affected by averaging. The averaging system is an embedded part of the way we calculate whether people have made sufficient contributions to receive full pensions. It is embedded in the system. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection is committed to introducing a total contributions approach as a long-term solution. It will overcome the anomaly whereby some people who have made the same number of contributions as others are treated less fairly because their contributions are averaged over a longer period with a gap somewhere in between. Such anomalies will be removed by the long-term solution proposed. As the Deputy said, the Minister is examining various short-term options, on which she will report to the Cabinet in due course. I understand a report on the issue has been put together and will be brought before a Cabinet committee.

When we are making any change in the pensions area, we must ensure it will be sustainable in the long term and not create additional unfairness or new anomalies elsewhere. We also have to ensure it can be funded on a sustainable basis. Such requirements have to be teased out by any responsible Government to ensure the changes made in response to a set of challenges - I recognise that there are challenges in this regard - are sustainable and will not create further unfairness elsewhere. The Government will take time and care to ensure that when we are addressing these problems, we will not create problems further down the road for others. This issue will be carefully assessed by it. We will look at the cost implications and the equity of anything proposed.

I thank the Minister for that answer. I do not for one second deny the complexities involved in pensions policy, provision and reform. I am not challenging that, but the Minister needs to understand the absolute simplicity of the case being made by those who are gathering at the gates of Leinster House. The simple fact is that the changes introduced when Fine Gael was in government in 2012 are costing approximately 40,000 citizens as much as €30 a week in some cases. That is a lot of money for people on limited incomes.

Deputy Brady informs me that the paper of which the Minister spoke will be presented to a Cabinet committee today and is due before the full Cabinet next Tuesday. Will the Government provide the €70 million required to correct this matter? I would like a straight "Yes" or "No" answer to that question. I ask the Minister not to hide behind other anomalies or quirks in the system that need to be dealt with or use them as an excuse for not doing right by the people concerned. The Government must show us the money to make this right.

As the Deputy knows, the budget for 2018 has been agreed and I do not have €70 million in my pocket, nor does the Minister for Finance for that matter. We must consider all changes in this area in a balanced manner. The Deputy recognised the complexity of the issue. If one makes a change in one area, one can create anomalies elsewhere. Under the old system, people who had paid approximately 40% of contributions received the same pension as people who had paid 95% of contributions. It featured anomalies and we must ensure any reform we introduce or contemplate introducing in another budget is thought through, is fair to all those involved and does not create new anomalies elsewhere in the system. The Minister's approach has been to bring to Cabinet a detailed report that fully examines the potential knock-on effects of any change in order that a decision can be made on any future changes with the full information available.

As I stated, it is the Government's ambition that we move to a total contribution scheme, which would be much more equitable and fair to people who are affected. We continue to have the non-contributory pension as a safety net for all pensioners.

I will take the Minister's reply as a "No".

I raise serious road safety issues on the N22 primary road leading into Killarney. I will start with an issue in Glenflesk village located on the N22. On dark Saturday nights, people attending a church located at the junction of the R570 and N22 must manoeuvre back and forth across a road that traffic may travel along at 100 km/h. I ask the Minister to take note of the points I raise and bring them speedily to the attention of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. I have been raising these issues in Kerry County Council since 2009. I tabled motions in the council and led deputations on this issue in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 and since then, my daughter, Councillor Maura Healy-Rae, and other members of the council have tabled numerous other motions on this issue.

Recently, a lovely, beautiful young girl was tragically killed crossing the N22 at Glenflesk. Fr. George Hayes, the Garda, local people and people from neighbouring parishes are asking that the speed limit be reduced from 100 km/h to 60 km/h at Glenflesk. I do not have anything against people in Lissarda or County Cork in general but a 60 km/h limit applies on the same road at Lissarda.

Five fatalities have occurred at a dangerous bend at Rusheen Beg, which is down the road from Glenflesk. We ask that the camber of the road be examined to identify what is wrong at this location because there have been crashes and fatalities involving traffic travelling in both directions. We also ask that a crash barrier be erected at his point to prevent cars from crossing the verge where the two most recent fatalities occurred. We ask that a speed limit be applied on the stretch of road from Lissivigeen Roundabout to the bottom of Pike Hill. Tragedies, including one fatality and many serious injuries, have occurred at a junction on this stretch road of leading up to the lough.

We ask that rumble strips and public lighting be installed at Poll Gorm bridge, another junction on the Cork side of Glenflesk where many serious accidents have taken in place. My brother and I were nearly blown into oblivion one night when we were hit from behind because there is no lighting at this dark and dangerous junction.

The Deputy will have to slow down now.

There have also been several accidents, including one recent fatality at another junction on the N22 where the Lewis Road meets the bypass leaving Killarney.

The Deputy has overshot the runway.

This is a very serious issue.

I know it is serious.

All we are asking is for signs to be changed at these locations. Will the Government do that? It could not cost much to change the signs on both sides of these junctions. I ask the Government to do so.

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising these road safety issues, which I am sure are extremely important. Unfortunately, I do not have access to briefing material on the detailed specifications of points on the N22 at which the Deputy wishes speed limits to be changed or junctions made safer. However, I will refer the issues to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. Allocations for road improvements have been made to local authorities, which have greater powers in respect of speed limits and other adjustments they may make to meet road safety needs. I will ask the Minister to ensure the relevant local authorities have access to advice on locations at which problems such as those the Deputy highlighted could be resolved if they do not currently have the powers to do so.

I regret that I am not able to give a detailed response to the mile-by-mile critique the Deputy has provided. I assure him, however, that I will pass on his concerns. I am sure that through his family members on Kerry County Council, there will be a facility for discussions to take place with adjoining local authorities to ensure concerns such as those the Deputy highlighted are properly aired in the relevant authority.

For poor Denise Crowley, a lovely girl, it is too late. I will tell the Minister what has been happening. When we tabled motions in Kerry County Council we were told that responsibility lay with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII. However, TII claims these matters are the responsibility of local authorities. I want the Government to intervene and make someone responsible for doing this necessary work. We do not want anyone else to be killed at these places.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, talks a great deal about saving lives. He now has a chance to do something to save lives in our area. The people of Kerry and those who travel through the county are important to us. Something could be done and low cost safety measures could be introduced. It would not cost much to change road signs, which is what we are asking the Government to do.

A pedestrian crossing, with tiles and so on, has been installed at Glenflesk to cater for a blind person. Can the Minister imagine a blind person trying to cross a road on which traffic is moving at 100 km/h or more? It is ridiculous and something needs to be done about it, even if it is too late for many people.

While I have no doubt that something needs to be done, to suggest the solution to problems such as this are to be found in Kildare Street is not the way to handle these issues.

The Government has a Minister with responsibility for transport. He should come down to Kerry to look at these places because I am fed up with dealing with the issue.

Local authorities have powers in this area. They also have the power to meet the relevant national authorities if they wish. I do not imagine that Transport Infrastructure Ireland is refusing to meet local authorities to discuss their concerns. To suggest that every issue has to come to Kildare Street for a solution contradicts the approach to empowering local government the Deputy advocates.

The Minister should be fair. I have been asking about this issue for years.

Deputy Healy-Rae, please.

I am asking the Minister to meet representatives of Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the local authority. I am asking him to intervene.

Deputy Healy-Rae, you are normally behaved.

That is what I am asking for. We are elected to here by the people to raise these issues.

We will move on to the next question.

In 2010, the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and the HSE decided to close the 50-bed acute psychiatric unit for inpatients at St. Michael's unit, South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel. The unit catered for patients suffering from mental illness from all over County Tipperary. There was no consultation whatsoever with stakeholders about the decision. The first patients, family members, staff and the public knew about it was when a HSE official announced the closure on local radio.

Stakeholders immediately recognised that the decision to close the unit was a major blow to undermine the psychiatric services for patients and their families in Tipperary. Patients, carers, nursing staff, medical staff, general practitioners, public representatives and the public opposed the closure vehemently. Lobbying of Ministers and deputations to Ministers followed but all of it was to no avail.

The then Minister of State at the Department of Health, Kathleen Lynch, bulldozed the closure through in 2012, sending north Tipperary inpatients to Ennis and south Tipperary inpatients to Kilkenny. The Rolls-Royce community-based service promised has turned out to be a Mini Cooper, understaffed, underfunded and under-resourced. As bad as the community service is, the inpatient service at the department of psychiatry at St. Luke's General Hospital, Kilkenny, has turned out, as predicted, to be an absolute disaster for patients, their families and staff. It is a nightmare to be a patient, a family member or a member of staff at the department of psychiatry at St. Luke's General Hospital, Kilkenny. The unit is constantly overcrowded. Despite the HSE knowledge of this situation, nothing has changed and nothing has been done about it. Patients are being admitted to an overcrowded and unsafe place. They are being admitted to couches and chairs and sleep on mattresses on the floor of the unit. Last Monday was yet another straw that broke the camel's back, when 51 patients were in a 44-bed unit. This included seven patients on couches, chairs and mattresses on the floor of the unit.

What is the Government going to do to solve this overcrowding problem? Is it acceptable that patients are admitted and put in chairs and left to sleep on mattresses on the floor? If it is unacceptable for general medical patients to be on trolleys in accident and emergency departments, why is it acceptable for psychiatric patients to sleep on mattresses in this unit in Kilkenny?

It is now accepted widely, even within the HSE, that the decision to close the unit at South Tipperary General Hospital was a major mistake. It is now time for the Government to approve the reopening of acute psychiatric beds in South Tipperary.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Any report of patients being treated in a manner where the standards are not up to an acceptable level is of acute concern to the Government. Certain authorities have responsibility for investigating levels of care. I know the authorities have shown no unwillingness to address failings by the HSE or others. If the Deputy has concerns, they should be brought to the attention of HIQA and other bodies that can intervene. I will ensure that the script the Deputy has provided to the Dáil is brought to their attention.

There is an overall mental health budget. The Government has been determined to try to bring mental health out of the dark corner it was in. Each year, in good years and bad, Ministers have made provision to expand mental health services. This has involved new staff being provided and new centres being provided. We are seeing a consistent rise in the number of young people and adults who are being provided with care in mental health services.

There is a change in the approach, with an increasing emphasis on treatment of persons with mental health issues in the community using the normal accident and emergency services and facilities within the community rather than the old hospital settings. That transition obviously creates difficulties. There is a danger that some of these changes can have bad effects on individuals. It is important that, as we expand these budgets, ensure that we reach more people and bring these services into a wider community setting, we do not lose or leave anyone behind.

Unfortunately, I cannot give a detailed response to the specific condition in Clonmel to which the Deputy refers. I do not have briefing on the matter, but I assure the Deputy that I will bring the Deputy's concern in this area to the attention of the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris. I assure the Deputy that, from the Government's point of view, mental health and the development of our mental health services are high priorities. We believe we are making significant progress, albeit needs are expanding rapidly as well. As we all know, increasingly stressful and pressurised problems are emerging, especially among young adolescent men. I will bring the issue to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Harris. I hope he can provide the Deputy with a fuller response.

The situation at the department of psychiatry at St. Luke's General Hospital, Kilkenny is outrageous, disgraceful and unacceptable. As the Minister is aware, there has been a cluster of unexplained deaths associated with the unit. Tipperary patients are suffering delayed admissions due to the overcrowding as well as inappropriate early discharges. Travel and visiting difficulties make it almost impossible for carers and family members to support patients in the unit. The staff are at breaking point, to the extent that nurses held a lunchtime protest outside the unit recently.

The situation in Kilkenny needs to be investigated immediately. The Government needs to ensure that acute psychiatric beds for Tipperary are reopened in Tipperary at South Tipperary General Hospital. It must be done urgently.

I am informed that there has been a HIQA investigation in this area and the authority has found fault with some of the facilities. Officials have carried out a revisit. While they did find considerable improvement, there is recognition that infrastructural problems are involved. Clearly, the Government is making investment and we want to see care being provided in more of a community setting. The parallel development of these services is an important long-term structural change. Clearly, we need to ensure that as we expand the new community facilities, we do not create acute problems in some of the traditional facilities. I will ask my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Harris, who is now present, to respond to the Deputy in writing on these issues in view of the seriousness of the matter.

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