Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 24 May 2022

Vol. 1022 No. 5

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Deputy Jack Chambers)

I move:

Tuesday's business shall be the Statements on the Role of Journalists in Conflicts across the World (not to exceed 210 mins). Private Members' Business shall be the Second Stage of the Short-term Lettings Enforcement Bill 2022, selected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday's business shall be:

- Statements on Recent Developments in Northern Ireland: the Protocol, Legacy Issues and the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement (not to exceed 210 mins)

- Motion re Extension of Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 (to conclude within 55 mins)

- Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 (Amendments from the Seanad) (to conclude within 30 mins)

- Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022 (Report and Final Stages) (to conclude within 30 mins)

- Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2022 (Committee and remaining Stages) (to conclude within 90 mins)

Private Members' Business shall be the Motion re Strike action by the Medical Laboratory Scientists Association, selected by People-Before-Profit-Solidarity.

Thursday's business shall be:

- Statements on the Irish Apprenticeship System (not to exceed 145 mins)

- Statements on Passport Services (not to exceed 145 mins)

Thursday evening business shall be the Second Stage of the Property Services (Land Price Register) Bill 2021.

Proposed Arrangements for this week's business

In relation to Tuesday's business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the extent that—

(i) oral Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 46(1)(a) shall not be taken; and

(ii) 210 minutes shall be allocated to Government business, with the times for other items of business and for the adjournment of the Dáil adjusted accordingly;

2. the Statements on the Role of Journalists in Conflicts across the World shall not exceed 210 minutes, with arrangements in accordance with those agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for 200 minutes, following which a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, and members may share time; and

3. notwithstanding anything in Standing Order 170(2), the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Short-term Lettings Enforcement Bill 2022 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 2 hours.

In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the extent that—

(i) oral Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 46(1)(a) shall not be taken; and

(ii) the weekly division time shall be taken on the conclusion of proceedings on the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2022;

2. the Statements on Recent Developments in Northern Ireland: the Protocol, Legacy Issues and the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement shall not exceed 210 minutes, with arrangements in accordance with those agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for 200 minutes, following which a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, and members may share time;

3. the proceedings on the Motion re Extension of Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 55 minutes, and the following arrangements shall apply:

(i) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:

- opening speech by a Minister or Minister of State 10 minutes;

- speech by a representative of Sinn Féin 10 minutes;

- speeches by representatives of the Labour Party, Social Democrats, People-Before-Profit-Solidarity, the Regional Group, the Rural Independent Group, and the Independent Group 5 minutes per party or group; and

- speech in reply by a Minister or Minister of State – 5 minutes; and

(ii) members may share time;

4. the proceedings on the amendments from the Seanad on the Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 shall be taken no earlier than 6.29 p.m. and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 30 minutes, and any amendments from the Seanad not disposed of shall be decided by one question which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments to the Seanad amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Finance;

5. the proceedings on the Report and Final Stages of the Consumer Credit (Amendment) Bill 2022 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 30 minutes by one question which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Finance; and

6. the proceedings on the Committee and Remaining Stages of the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2022 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 90 minutes by one question which shall be put from the Chair and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the extent that Government business shall be interrupted earlier than 7.24 p.m. and topical issues shall be taken on the conclusion of the Statements on Passport Services;

2. the Statements on the Irish Apprenticeship System shall not exceed 145 minutes, with arrangements in accordance with those agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for 135 minutes, following which a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, and members may share time; and

3. the Statements on Passport Services shall not exceed 145 minutes, with arrangements in accordance with those agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for 135 minutes, following which a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, and members may share time.

An Ceann Comhairle

Are the arrangements for this week's business agreed to?

Deputy Mattie McGrath

They are not agreed to. Time should be provided this week to discuss the situation in respect of the medical scientists. They do such valuable work in our laboratories and hospitals. Our hospitals cannot function without them. This issue is ongoing since 2001, and the industrial action was postponed during the Covid-19 period. They do tremendous work, they are invaluable-----

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

That will be-----

Deputy Mattie McGrath

-----and there needs to be a debate here. We cannot just ignore it.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

May I raise a point of clarification, a Cheann Comhairle?

Deputy Mattie McGrath

The waiting lists are-----

Deputy Sean Sherlock

I understand the time is being allocated to this issue tomorrow.

An Ceann Comhairle

Perhaps the Deputy is looking for more time; I do not know.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Perhaps we can give them more time. I thank Deputy Sherlock for his help. We can double or quits or whatever.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

We are all very concerned with this issue, Deputy McGrath-----

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Deputy Sherlock had his opportunity.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

-----so let us not try to hog the limelight on it.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Can I continue without interruption, please, a Cheann Comhairle?

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy's time is up now.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I am requesting that the time be extended. It is a very serious situation and we need to deal with it. Our hospital waiting lists are just growing and growing and it is desperation.

Deputy Ged Nash

RTÉ reported today that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, will be bringing plans to Cabinet to amend the Electoral Reform Bill 2022 to ensure that finance from outside the State does not influence elections. This is a very positive development, which we welcome. We have been calling for it for some time, but it needs to be done properly. These amendments, strictly speaking, are outside the scope of the legislation. I spoke in detail on Second Stage of the Bill about the need to introduce legislation on this matter. We are quite surprised that the media have been told that the amendments in this regard will be introduced to the Electoral Reform Bill.

Tomorrow at 11 a.m. is the deadline for amendments to the legislation. Given that there are such significant changes to the initial scope of the Bill, what is needed now - there is precedent for it - is a return to a form of mini-Second Stage debate to discuss in detail some of the significant proposals the Minister appears likely to make in regard to the financing of politics from outside the State. We would welcome that important debate and it is one we should have in this House. I propose that we delay Committee Stage to allow that debate to happen in detail on Second Stage.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Will the Government consider having some discussion on what it has been talking about doing in regard to a vacant property tax, of which we are very much in favour? There has been some discussion on this in the Oireachtas committee, which I understand will publish a report today on the whole issue. It is a matter of extreme urgency that we address the issue of vacant and derelict properties, which could be used to help us to deal with the housing crisis. Does the Government have any plans for some sort of discussion about its own thoughts on the housing committee report and to give us an opportunity to debate this urgent issue?

Deputy Jack Chambers

As Deputy Mattie McGrath knows, two hours are allocated tomorrow for the People Before Profit Deputies in Private Members' time, which gives adequate time to discuss the industrial dispute to which he referred. If further time is required, we can discuss it at the meeting of the Business Committee on Thursday.

In regard to the Electoral Reform Bill, I welcome Deputy Nash's positive comments regarding the Minister's amendments. The latter has given a commitment that a comprehensive briefing will be given to all Opposition parties on the amendments. There also will be full and adequate time given at the committee to debate the amendments being proposed. There will be no time restrictions in that regard. As the Deputy knows, there is no provision within Standing Orders to revert to a Second Stage debate on the legislation. However, full time will be given on Committee Stage and there will be full engagement with Opposition Deputies on the point raised.

A debate on the housing committee's report is something we could prioritise, with the agreement of the Ceann Comhairle and the Business Committee, for the Thursday evening lottery slot. It is a topical issue and the recommendations made require debate in the House. If Members are happy to do so, perhaps the report, which is published today, can be prioritised at the meeting of the Business Committee for discussion.

An Ceann Comhairle

Are the proposed arrangements for this week's business agreed to? Agreed.

Deputy Pearse Doherty

Families are in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis. Those who were planning to holiday in Ireland this summer are being asked to think again as they are faced with sky-high accommodation costs. It is much worse for families from down the country, including in my constituency and elsewhere, who need to travel to Dublin for a hospital appointment - perhaps a child's appointment - and who cannot find accommodation or, at least, accommodation they can afford. In April, hotel and other accommodation prices increased by 8%. In the past year, they have gone up by 20%. We see hotels in Dublin charging eye-watering levels that people simply cannot afford.

The hotel sector, understandably, received billions of taxpayers' money during the pandemic and it is enjoying an extension of the 9% VAT rate, which will cost the State and taxpayers €900 million. Have the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media engaged with the sector and with the Irish Hotels Federation to discuss the prices that are being charged? Have they outlined the expectation that the reduction in VAT that will be extended is to be passed on to customers and is not to benefit the pockets or profits of the industry?

Deputy Jack Chambers

I agree it is important that businesses are mindful of the need for Ireland to maintain its position as a destination that gives value for money. I acknowledge the Deputy's concerns that the tourism sector maintains its competitive edge.

The Deputy is correct in saying that we have extended the VAT reduction and a whole other range of supports, especially supports around Covid. I will ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Tánaiste to revert to the Deputy on the specific details of their engagements with the sector. It is important that Ireland does not lose its competitive edge and that we ensure that businesses provide value for money for domestic tourists but also for those who are arriving on our shores.

Deputy Duncan Smith

I will bring up the issue of the medical scientists' industrial action and direct it to the Minister for Health, as he is here. The remarkable decision not to return to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, after last week's day of action needs to be answered properly. The Taoiseach said that there have been "informal" talks but in his next sentence, he said that things have to be done "transparently". Where is the transparency in that? I have to ask the Minister of Health the question that was asked of me this morning on the picket line: is this a deliberate tactic by the Government to break the resolve of the workers? I refer to the decision not to return to the WRC in the last week. We see more spin by the Government today that there will be an expansion of the number of medical scientists by more than 4%. Actually, it is not expansion, it is replacement because of the retention crisis they have. Is this a deliberate tactic to break the resolve of the workers? If not, can the Minister understand why the workers would believe that it is?

Minister for Health (Deputy Stephen Donnelly)

What we want is very clear. We want all sides to engage in the established dispute resolution mechanisms. The Public Sector Agreement Group, PSAG, was used twice, as the Deputy will be aware. The recommendation for PSAG under Building Momentum was that all sides would revert to the WRC, critically without industrial action. We are all aware that it is causing very significant disruption to the acute sector. There are patients waiting on quite urgent surgery who are having that surgery cancelled. The Deputy and I know that none of those on the picket lines want that. They have worked incredibly hard. They have done incredibly difficult and vital work right through the pandemic. We want to see this resolved. I assure the Deputy and all of the workers that the Government very much wants to see engagement at the WRC. If a-----

An Ceann Comhairle

Time is up.

Deputy Stephen Donnelly

-----resolution cannot be found at the WRC, we would like to see a move to the Labour Court for the issue to be resolved.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I have a question for the Minister for Health. Some 35 children with cystic fibrosis, CF, between the ages of six and 11 have been excluded from accessing the life-changing CF drug therapy, Kaftrio. There was no expectation that these children would be excluded from this drug therapy and the news has come as a crushing blow for the parents and children. Will the Minister confirm if it is indeed a pricing dispute between the HSE and the pharmaceutical company, Vertex, that has resulted in this? What measures is he taking to resolve this impasse for these children?

Deputy Stephen Donnelly

The issue is very much of concern for the 35 children involved and their families. I am engaging with the Department and the HSE on this. As the Deputy will be aware, the HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement on medicines under the community drug scheme and for administration of this scheme. Reimbursement is for the licensed indications which have been granted market authorisation. What is important to me and, no doubt, to the Deputy is that the children get access to the drug they need. Intensive work is going on between the Department, the HSE and the companies involved to that end.

Deputy Gino Kenny

Over the weekend, the Psychiatric Nurses Association confirmed that 11 out of 23 beds would close until September at the Linn Dara site in Cherry Orchard. We were here five years ago. Alarm bells ring when a state-of-the-art facility such as Linn Dara, which provides an absolutely vital service for young people, cannot provide staff. If this happened five years ago, why did the HSE and the Department of Health not foresee this? It is just not acceptable, in 2022, that a facility such as Linn Dara should have to close beds. Nobody accepts that, but it has happened. Will somebody answer these questions, not just for me, but most importantly for the parents and the people who will use this facility?

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Mary Butler)

We are all very upset and disappointed that it has come to the stage that 11 beds have had to be closed in Linn Dara.

Linn Dara is a fantastic facility. It normally has 24 beds and it has an attached school with five teachers. I was delighted to visit it last year. There are 51 funded posts for nurses in Linn Dara and there are 24 staff currently in place. From a patient safety perspective, the facility has been working at between 60% and 70% capacity for the last few months. I am aware that there have been challenges. Every effort has been made with agency staff and trying to bring staff in from multidisciplinary child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, teams in the community. Unfortunately, the issue with staffing is why beds have been closed. Four triaged young people are currently waiting for admittance to the Linn Dara facility. Some 50% of those are in hospital and 50% are receiving community supports. Across the whole country, 11 young people have been triaged and are waiting for supports.

Deputy Denis Naughten

Last month was the 20th anniversary of a meeting that the Taoiseach and I attended with Margaret Best and officials from the Department of Health about the State's introduction of a no-fault vaccine compensation scheme. Over the past two decades, while governments have been committed to the introduction of such a scheme in the interests of public health and the individuals concerned, we have always remained one report away from action. Now we have all of those reports on the desk of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. When can we expect the commitment, which has been promised for a long time, to be implemented?

Deputy Stephen Donnelly

I agree entirely with the Deputy's sentiment. We need this scheme. There have been multiple reports on it. It is being worked on. Unfortunately, it was delayed somewhat by Covid. I know the Deputy will appreciate that many of the resources of the Department and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor had to be diverted to requirements arising due to Covid. It is being looked at. We need to go further because there has been a growing medical negligence sector. Many doctors report that they have to practise defensive medicine, which is in nobody's interests. We need to introduce the scheme. I will revert to the Deputy with a note on that. We need to go further.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

There is something inherently wrong with the felling licences situation at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The number of licences being issued to Coillte is 135% of the target outlined in the Department's forestry licensing plan 2022. Farmers and private landowners have received only 80% of the target number of licences in the same period. Afforestation is at only 54% of its target. The system is not functioning fairly for all applicants. Coillte seems to have no problem getting the licences, but ordinary farmers or businesspeople who invested in afforestation cannot get the licences. Will the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, explain how Coillte has got 135% of its target number of applications over the line this year alone, not to mention previous years, while ordinary applicants, such as farmers or businesspeople, are delayed? There is prevarication and all kinds of obstacles are put in their way.

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Deputy Jack Chambers)

There has been significant investment in the Department's resources, with more ecologists, forestry inspectors and additional administrative staff assigned to licensing. A team of 35 ecologists has been recruited to deal specifically with licensing. In 2021, 56% more licences were issued than in 2020, with 4,050 licences issued, compared with 2,592 licences issued in 2020. In terms of improved output, some 2,877 felling licences were issued last year, 1,532 of which were for Coillte. Critically, the availability of this volume of timber, at nearly 8.5 million cu. m, stabilised supply to the processing sector in 2021. That was the highest volume ever issued in a single year. Some 264 km of forest roads were licensed in 2021, which is more than double the target in the climate action plan of 2019. It was the highest ever volume of forest roads licensed in a single year. The number of afforestation licences remains static, with approximately 4,000 ha of planning approved in 2021.

Deputy Joan Collins

This question is for the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. I have been contacted about the number of home care workers across the country who are currently employed on immigration visas. I have been informed that on previous occasions, the Department of Justice has issued an automatic renewal for visas about to expire.

The most recent automatic renewal applies only to visas due to expire before 31 May 2022. This means, for example, that more than 100 carers employed in south Dublin whose visas expire shortly after that date are ineligible for auto-extension. To date, no such extension of these immigration permits has been announced. We are in a difficult situation with home carers. Will the Minister of State look at extending the auto-extension process urgently in respect of these cases?

Deputy Mary Butler

I am going to ask my colleague to answer that question as he deals with work permits.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Damien English)

As Deputy Collins knows, the permits do not cover that area at the moment but we are doing a review which is starting in the next couple of weeks. We have been engaging with the various Departments and agencies over the last couple of weeks to gather the evidence to make the case. If there is a case being made to extend the work permits into that area, it is something we can do. The decision will be based on evidence. We will work on it.

Deputy Paul McAuliffe

I wish to ask the Chief Whip to expedite the progress of the Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022, particularly the provisions regarding illegal dumping. I welcome to the Gallery representatives from Finglas Tidy Towns who are fresh from their victory at the Irish Pride of Place awards, like many communities across the country. This is far from a parochial issue. Dublin City Council spends more than €1 million every year. I look forward to the Government supporting the provisions. They are very welcome. We look forward to them being put into practice.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (Deputy Ossian Smyth)

I thank the Deputy. The Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill has passed Committee Stage in the Dáil and will be going to Fourth Stage on 1 June. It will introduce the power for local authorities to gather evidence of people who are carrying out illegal dumping. It will allow the use of drones, body cams, CCTV and so on to gather that evidence, which up to now has been precluded by GDPR considerations.

Deputy Alan Dillon

This question is for the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. For months now I have been working with communities from Ceathrú Thaidhg, Porturlin, Srahataggle and Portacloy in north Mayo who are all desperate to avail of a new community water connection. It is hard to believe that in 2022, rural dwellers in County Mayo are still without a piped water supply. This is severely impacting their living standards and quality of life. Hundreds of signatures have been gathered from local residents allowing Mayo County Council engineers to assess the proposed scheme for inclusion in the future multi-annual rural water programme, benefitting these four rural Mayo communities. A pre-water connection was submitted to Irish Water for this new community water scheme, which was deemed to be feasible. My concern is that Mayo County Council and many local authorities have yet to receive the framework for the submission process from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to submit their funding bids for the new four-year cycle. I would appreciate an update on this and when local authorities will be allowed to submit.

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Darragh O'Brien)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am completely in agreement on the importance of the community water connections under the upcoming multi-annual rural water programme that runs to 2025. To give the Deputy an idea for timeframes, the working group is currently finalising a report due. That should be with me in the coming weeks to make recommendations. I will not be delaying upon it. Coincidentally, I was in the constituency of my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, on Friday. We were looking at another rural water scheme there which is very successful. The Government supports this and I thank the Deputy for raising it. We want the process to move on now. Once I receive the report which I expect in the coming weeks, I will revert to the Deputy and inform the House.

Deputy John Brady

My question is for the Minister for Foreign Affairs. This week we have seen the Israeli apartheid regime refuse entry to an EU delegation to the occupied Palestinian territories. This delegation included two Irish MEPs. This follows on from the erroneous designation of six Palestinian civil society and human rights NGOs as terror entities, not to mention the ongoing refusal to allow entry to the UN Special Rapporteur or the UN human rights committee members to the occupied territories.

On top of that, we have also seen the murder of the American-Palestinian journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh. This is a clear attempt to suppress the truth of the Israelis' inhumane treatment of Palestinian people and the reality of apartheid. Is now the time the Minister will actually act and start holding this apartheid regime to account for its grotesque breach of international law? What is the Minister going to do and what is the Irish Government going to do?

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Deputy Simon Coveney)

We are doing a lot. We are doing a lot on every platform on which we have a voice, including the UN Security Council. Today we are hosting in New York a meeting of other UN Security Council members on the protection of journalists. As the Deputy knows, this has been triggered by the killing of a journalist in the West Bank. We will continue to use our voice in the EU and at the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council and the Council of Europe, whose Presidency we will hold for the next six months, to raise these issues bilaterally with Israel directly and also in appropriate international platforms.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is not here but he should know that 5,300 taxi vehicle licences will expire next year because of the vehicle age limit. That represents a huge proportion of our taxi fleet. Let us remember that taxi drivers were hammered for two years. They essentially had no income for two years, so they are asking for a further vehicle life extension to allow them to raise the money to buy other vehicles. In many cases, they will be raising money to buy electric vehicles. I am told the latter are not available. It is almost impossible to get electric vehicles that are suitable as taxis. Also, they are very expensive. You can get a grant of up to €20,000 but the vehicles cost up to €55,000 or more. Taxi drivers therefore need some assistance.

Taxi drivers are also asking me about the statutory instrument that would require them to have a cashless payment facility. While 90% of them have such a facility, drivers need to be protected to ensure that the onus is still on the customer to pay the fare.

Deputy Jack Chambers

I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge the concerns he has raised and the current difficulties we are seeing in respect of taxis more generally in Dublin city and elsewhere. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who has responsibility for this, is not here to answer the specific query, but I will bring to his attention the practical suggestion on the extension, the issue of cashless payments and the need to engage with the sector to respond to the concerns.

Deputy Martin Browne

My question is for the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. On Friday, 8 April, staff at the minor injuries unit in Cashel were told the unit would be closed from the following Monday because of the inability to replace a doctor who had left because of the low pay. After hearing this, we made inquiries. Fair play to the HSE in that we were told the unit would open fairly quickly, which it did, but last week I found myself having to make inquiries again because the unit is now open for only two out of five days because of the pay issue. The HSE states it has a problem finding a doctor to take on the full-time role. This is happening at a time when our emergency departments, especially those in Limerick and Clonmel, which service Tipperary, are under severe pressure. We see how pay issues are forcing the medical scientists to go on strike. What is being done to ensure units like the one in question will not fall victim to problems over pay and subsequent difficulties in securing staff? Could I please get a straight answer from the Minister today?

Deputy Stephen Donnelly

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Both he and Deputy Cahill have raised it with me. Some weeks back, there was a short-term issue. We engaged with the HSE and, to its credit, it responded very quickly. I thank the Deputy for acknowledging that the service was provided. The development in question is of concern to me and of considerable concern to the local community. We are working on it and I will revert to the Deputy with a note on it. He should rest assured that I want to see this fully resolved. What we really need in place is a full-time, permanent consultant lead for the medical injuries unit.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

I congratulate the Carlow and Kilkenny groups on their Pride of Place awards. We are very proud of them.

I recently had a meeting with representatives of the HSE on children’s services. All of us identified barriers between the Department of Education and the HSE. There seems to be no communication and the system is overwhelmed. I am wondering about the system model. Most children are waiting for over two years to be assessed. The schools are now putting pressure on parents to provide a diagnosis in order to secure a school place. Some families, as the Minister knows, are lucky enough to be able to go private but others just cannot afford it. I acknowledge that this is a priority for the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and I am just wondering whether she or another Minister has any update on it. We have all our Ministers here today.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Anne Rabbitte)

I will be delighted to take it. It is important for the Deputy to know that the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and I are working closely together to ensure that all children can access education through the Department of Health and that it is needs-based. I met the Deputy in the past two weeks to discuss children in her area. In relation to children awaiting assessments of needs, a plan is being devised by community healthcare organisation, CHO, 5 to ensure all children awaiting such an assessment will receive it in a timely manner.

Deputy Brendan Griffin

I raise the important issue of the shortage and price of rental cars. It is a huge challenge for Irish tourism and a particular threat to rural areas. Consider the amount of money we spend marketing experiences like the Wild Atlantic Way internationally, which are predominantly driving experiences. When tourists cannot rent cars in the country, it puts that investment and a huge number of businesses under pressure and at risk.

I ask for a whole-of-government approach to addressing the issue and that other ideas, such as the hop-on, hop-off service I tried to progress when I was in the Department with responsibility for tourism, will be revisited for the Wild Atlantic Way, as well as better connectivity to all our air and sea ports as points of arrival. This is a big issue which needs an urgent response from the Government.

Deputy Jack Chambers

I thank the Deputy for his question. There is a necessity for all business and service providers to provide value, particularly with the level of support the Government has given over the past 24 months. I acknowledge the concerns the Deputy has raised. We have all been shocked by the scale of the increases in the car rental sector. While neither the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media nor Fáilte Ireland has a direct role in prices, there is broad concern. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, to respond to the query on the hop-on, hop-off service as well as the escalating prices.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú

I raise the issue of the loss of 307 PayPal jobs, 172 in Dundalk and 135 in Ballycoolin, which will kick in from 27 June. What was the Government's engagement before this shocking news was broken this morning to workers and their families? Promises have been made by PayPal of good packages. This needs to be ensured. We still do not have clarity as to whether these jobs are being relocated. There needs to be continuing engagement to ensure supports and packages and there is a huge job to be done by the Government and IDA Ireland to engage with the company to ensure its commitment to Dundalk and Ireland.

Deputy Jack Chambers

I thank the Deputy. The news will have come as a shock to staff at PayPal's Dundalk and Blanchardstown offices and their families and communities. The Tánaiste has spoken directly with the PayPal leadership team and expressed his disappointment at the decision and the impact it will have on all its employees. The company has assured the Government that PayPal remains committed to Ireland and to the remaining 2,000 staff here whom it will continue to employ.

Consultation with staff will begin this Thursday. We understand that all 307 redundancies will be initially sought on a voluntary basis and that a good redundancy package will be made available. I am conscious of workers and their families receiving this news today. This is coming on top of a difficult couple of years for everyone and will be worrying.

The Government's goal is to ensure there is a job for everyone who wants one and secure, well-paid, sustainable jobs located in every county. We are working hard to reach this goal and have set ourselves the target of having 2.5 million people in work by 2024.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

The Minister for Foreign Affairs knows I am not critical of the people in the Passport Office. The opposite is the case. I am grateful for their excellent work but they are under severe pressure. I will give a quick example related to the telephone line for Deputies. Since 17 March, I have called three times about a passport that has been overdue since then. It has been with a checker with three weeks. In another case, where the name is withheld, the passport has been overdue since 4 April and nothing is happening with it. Another case involves passports for a family of three children, all of which have been overdue since 26 April. A number of calls have been made about this case. The family have missed their flights and still do not have passports. Like everybody else, I am inundated with these queries. I know the Minister is under pressure about this service but we have to do better than we are at present, when there are 200,000 people waiting.

I will make a suggestion with which I am sure everyone will agree, including the Ceann Comhairle.

The Ceann Comhairle is here long enough to remember when there was a service located just down the street that dealt with passport queries from Oireachtas Members. One might ask whether that was-----

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy is out of time.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

One might ask whether that involved favouritism in dealing with the queries of Deputies and Senators, but we are here to try to expedite matters.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy is out of time.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

So are the people looking for their passports.

Deputy Simon Coveney

Those were very different days in terms of numbers. We are currently delivering 5,000 passports a day to people in Ireland. Last month, 170,000 passports went out successfully. This year, we will do about 1.4 million passports. The highest figure in any other year was about 900,000. We are talking about passport demand increasing by approximately 50% in a year. This summer, we will have 900 people in the Passport Office. Last summer, it was 460. This year, we have a special phone line for Oireachtas offices. It has been under pressure and we are adding more people to it today. It has taken well over 10,000 calls so far this year, however. Obviously, we are also looking to put more people on the public call line and the webchat service. We are upscaling by putting far more people in to respond to a massive increase in demand, but we also rely on the public to make sure the applications are online and accurate, where possible. The problems are nearly always linked to first-time applicants. Of all renewals, 43% are given back within 48 hours. It is important to focus on the positives as well as the negatives.

Deputy Brian Leddin

My question is for the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. There are strong reasons for reactivating our large vacant housing stock. There is, of course, housing need, as well as environmental reasons and revitalising towns and villages. My colleague Deputy Matthews, Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, today launched a report that recommends a vacant homes tax. Media reports in recent days suggest such a tax is on the cards for the next budget. I ask the Minister to outline to the House his views on the benefits of a vacant homes tax and if he would support it.

Deputy Darragh O'Brien

I thank the Deputy. I look forward to reading the report from Deputy Matthews and other colleagues on the housing committee. We will be moving forward with the Croí Cónaithe towns and villages fund. We have identified it as a pathway to housing and to tackling vacancy. All three parties in government are serious about doing so.

As regards work on a vacant property tax, data from the local property tax is being collated in the Department of Finance. It and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, in conjunction with me, will assess those data in the coming weeks. We have clearly set out an objective within Housing for All that we will move on a vacant property tax. It is not the silver bullet. It is one of several measures we can take. Work is not yet finalised. The Chief Whip made the point earlier that the report of the joint committee would be a good one for the House to debate. I look forward to reading it. I will keep the Deputy appraised.