Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 18 Oct 2022

Vol. 1027 No. 7

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:

- Motion re Supplementary Estimates for Public Services [Vote 40] (back from Committee) (without debate)

- Motion re Instruction to Committee on the National Cultural Institutions (National Concert Hall) (Amendment) Bill 2022 (without debate)

- National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2022 (Second Stage)*

- Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022 (Second Stage)*

Private Members' Business shall be the Motion re Domestic Electricity and Gas Disconnections, selected by Sinn Féin.

* If not previously concluded, proceedings shall be interrupted on these two Bills either three hours and 10 minutes after the conclusion of Taoiseach’s oral questions, or at 7 p.m., whichever is the later

Wednesday’s business shall be:

- Motion re Supplementary Estimates for Public Services [Vote 29] (back from Committee) (without debate)

- Statements pre-European Council meeting on 20-21 October 2022 (not to exceed 110 mins)

- National Tourism Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2022 (Second Stage)**

- Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022 (Second Stage)**

- Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 (Second Stage)**

- Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2021 (Report and Final Stages) (to be taken no earlier than 7 p.m. and to conclude within 90 mins)

Private Members' Business shall be the Motion re Mother and Baby Institutions Redress Scheme, selected by the Social Democrats.

** If not previously concluded, proceedings shall be interrupted on any of these three Bills either two hours and 20 minutes after the conclusion of the SOS or at 7 p.m., whichever is the later.

Thursday’s business shall be:

- Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022 (Second Stage)

- Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 (Second Stage)

- Regulation of Lobbying (Amendment) Bill (Second Stage)

Thursday evening business shall be Second Stage of the Coercion of a Minor (Misuse of Drugs Amendment) Bill 2022.

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 following extent:

(i) the Dáil shall sit later than 10.30 p.m.; and

(ii) Government business shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted either at 7 p.m. or 3 hours and 10 minutes after the conclusion of Taoiseach’s Questions pursuant to Standing Order 46(1), whichever is the later, with consequential effect on the commencement time for private members’ business, Parliamentary Questions to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and topical issues;

2. the Motion re Supplementary Estimate for Public Services [Vote 40] shall be taken without debate; and

3. the Motion re Instruction to Committee on the National Cultural Institutions (National Concert Hall) (Amendment) Bill 2022 shall be taken without debate.

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 following extent:

(i) the SOS pursuant to Standing Order 25(1) shall be taken on the conclusion of the Statements pre European Council meeting of 20th-21st October, pursuant to Standing Order 124, which shall be taken on the conclusion of Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 46(1), with consequential effect on the time for the commencement of Government business; and

(ii) no further Government business shall be taken following the conclusion of proceedings on the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2021, with consequential effect on the commencement time for the weekly divisions and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil;

2. the Motion re Supplementary Estimate for Public Services [Vote 29] shall be taken without debate;

3. the Statements pre European Council meeting of 20th-21st October, pursuant to Standing Order 124, shall not exceed 110 minutes, with arrangements in accordance with those agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for 100 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;

4. the proceedings on any second reading motion of a Government Bill shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted either at 7 p.m. or 2 hours and 20 minutes after the conclusion of the SOS, whichever is the later; and

5. in relation to the Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2021, the following arrangements shall apply:

(i) Report and Final Stages shall take place either at 7 p.m. or 2 hours and 20 minutes after the conclusion of the SOS, whichever is the later; and

(ii) the proceedings thereon 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 Justice.

In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the extent that topical issues shall be taken either at 8 p.m. or on the conclusion of Government business, whichever is the earlier, with consequential effect on the commencement time for Second Stage of the Coercion of a Minor (Misuse of Drugs Amendment) Bill 2022 and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil, which may be later than 9.27 p.m.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

The Order of Business is not agreed.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I was going to ask whether it was agreed, but I thank the Deputy for anticipating.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

The tax on concrete products proposed in the budget has created a major problem in the concrete production industry in Kerry and throughout the country. This includes the export industry for concrete products. If the Government is doing a U-turn in the finance Bill, there should be a full and open debate in the Dáil this week to clarify and rectify the harm it has done to this hardworking sector. Young couples going about building their homes were hurt and horrified when they heard that the Government wanted to increase the costs of the concrete products for their homes. Local authorities were left reeling as there was and is great uncertainty about what the Government is actually going to do. I ask that the Government scrap its concrete tax proposal, and not just fiddle with it in the finance Bill, in order to give certainty to this hardworking sector and to the people affected by its proposal in the budget. These are people who want to build their homes.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I thank the Deputy but we are over time.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

The proposed concrete levy has affected costings that were being done for builds. People have been left reeling by the uncertainty the Government has created.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I thank the Deputy. Deputy Gannon is next.

Deputy Gary Gannon

For over a year, I have been writing to the Business Committee to request statements on the city of Dublin specifically. Tonight, "RTÉ Investigates" will lay bare the reason I have been doing so in a programme on our nation's capital, its main thoroughfare and all the related issues. This Chamber needs to take an interest in the capital city. There are issues there that go across Departments and strike at the very heart of problems like the absence of local government, health and how we treat people who are in the throes of drug addiction, and justice with respect to how we police these streets. This warrants a discussion in the Chamber. I ask that we do it at the nearest available opportunity.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

The Government has been dragged kicking and screaming into introducing an eviction ban.

It is still not clear from what the Taoiseach has said - from the wording he has articulated - whether people who have current notices to quit will be protected. If they are not, his proposal is almost useless, frankly. Will he clarify that those who have current notices to quit, who may be overholding and have nowhere to go, and who are facing the imminent prospect of homelessness will be protected by the ban he is introducing?

The Taoiseach

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae raised the concrete levy. There was a debate on that matter last week on a Private Members' Bill. The Minister for Finance will publish the finance Bill on Thursday. That will contain proposals regarding the concrete levy, its application, timelines and so on.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Watering down the concrete.

The Taoiseach

There will be a comprehensive debate on the finance Bill next week. It will give Deputy Healy-Rae and others ample opportunity to discuss that issue and to make their points. There were legitimate points on this all round. The Government is doing an awful lot for first-time buyers. That is evidenced by the fact that, this year, we have had more first-time buyers buying homes than in any year since 2008. Much has been done through the help-to-buy scheme, the first home scheme and other initiatives to help first-time buyers. That will continue.

Deputy Gannon asked for a debate on the capital city. He raised violence and addiction, particularly drug addiction issues, in the capital city. I would value such a debate. It is an important point. The Chief Whip has informed me that a debate is being planned for the middle of November. Deputies Gannon and McAuliffe and others have consistently raised those concerns with me, as well as the positives of the capital city.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

The Taoiseach did not answer my question.

The Taoiseach

Sorry, I am not finished. Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the eviction ban. That legislation will be published. The day after the Bill is enacted, anyone facing eviction-----

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Is it the case that anybody who has a notice to quit now will be evicted?

The Taoiseach

Would Deputy Boyd Barrett listen? We have to enact the Bill as quickly as possible. People will be protected from that date - the day after the Bill is enacted - onwards.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Everybody else is not.

Deputy Paul McAuliffe

Deputy Boyd Barrett did not listen.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I did listen. Everybody is trying to understand what the Taoiseach is saying.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is í an cheist anois ná an bhfuil na socruithe-----

The Taoiseach

Sorry, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. This is an important point. This is the Order of Business and we are ordering debates and so on. There will be a debate on the eviction Bill when it is published.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

You have made that point. We are not going back to interactions.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

People facing evictions deserve clarity from the Taoiseach. We have asked three questions today and we still do not have clarity.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

An bhfuil na socruithe gnó aontaithe? Are the proposed arrangements for the week agreed to?

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Not agreed.

Deputy Alan Farrell

What is the Deputy not agreeing to?

Question, "That the proposed arrangements for this week's business be agreed to", put and declared carried.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Bogfaimid ar aghaidh anois. We will move on to questions on promised legislation and policy. Tá suas go dtí nóiméad amháin ag gach Teachta.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Two weeks ago, the Taoiseach gave a commitment that no household would be disconnected from electricity this winter, including households using prepaid meters. However, since then, the Government has not introduced any plan to protect prepay customers from disconnection. This can and must be done. As the Taoiseach knows, some prepay companies already have bans on disconnections at weekends and on some public holidays. This ban should be extended to provide 24-7 protection for prepay customers. It should kick in now and run until the end of March. This is a simple solution to a big problem that affects hundreds of thousands of households. Why is the Taoiseach waiting? Will he engage with the energy companies and agree this solution with urgency?

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The winter moratorium on disconnections for all domestic customers for non-payment has been extended to three months, from 1 December 2022 to 28 February 2023. Furthermore, the moratorium on disconnections of registered vulnerable customers for non-payment has been extended to six months, from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2023.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, has decided to suspend the €200 gas meter exchange site works charge associated with a customer moving from a pay-as-you-go gas meter to a bill-pay credit meter for all domestic customers. That is welcome. The level of emergency credit for people on meters was increased by the CRU from €10 and €20. That is essentially an overdraft. That issue is under review in terms of any potential further increase. However, the Minister has met with the suppliers. He has met with the CRU, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service. There is a view that extending the overdraft or putting people further into debt may not be the best way to go. The Minister is having further discussions on that and keeping it under active review.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I thank speakers for staying within time. I call Deputy Bacik.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

I wish to raise the plight of householders in the Carrickmines multi-unit development in south County Dublin. As we know, after the financial crash the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, took over the estate and became the developer through its appointed receiver. A range of defects became apparent in the development and while some remedial works were carried out, in 2017 the owners' management company, OMC, had a review carried out and there are still quite a number of identified issues and defects remaining. The OMC has refused to agree to a handover from the receiver of the development to its management due to these issues. We know a court case is due to take place next week with the receiver operating on behalf of NAMA taking the OMC to court. When will we see an effective scheme for redress for the many homeowners who through no fault of their own in Carrickmines and elsewhere now face massive bills for the costs associated with remedying defects that were left in developments? The finance Bill is to be published on Thursday. Will we see a redress scheme in that Bill for homeowners?

The Taoiseach

As I have said before, I accept it is a pressing issue. On 29 July, the Minister received the report of the working group to examine defects in housing constructed between 1991 and 2013. That was a programme for Government commitment. It outlined the scale of the issues, with up to 100,000 apartments impacted. It has a potential overall total remediation cost ranging from approximately €1.56 billion to €2.5 billion. The Minister, in consultation with Government colleagues, will develop options with a view to providing support for homeowners who find themselves in a difficult financial situation through no fault of their own. He will have proposals in play before the end of this year.

Deputy Holly Cairns

Almost two people per day die in Ireland as a result of drug-related deaths. That is more than 1,700 people since the Taoiseach took office. Our rate of drug-related deaths is almost five times the figure of those who die in road traffic accidents and is twice the European average. This is a national disgrace. There is no urgency because of the continuing stigma that attaches to the communities primarily affected. People with addictions are treated as criminals rather than receiving medical care. Grieving parents and families have no supports. At a time when countries across the world are bringing in reforms to drug policy, Ireland remains entrenched in a failed war-against-drugs mindset. This Government chose to prioritise a citizens' assembly on the Dublin mayor over a citizens' assembly on drugs. When will we get the long-overdue citizens' assembly on drugs policy?

The Taoiseach

I have been with Deputy McAuliffe on a number of visits recently where addiction is treated as a health and holistic issue, and not as a criminal issue.

Deputy Holly Cairns

These are-----

The Taoiseach

I do not accept the basic premise that all people who are addicted are treated as criminals. I wish to put that on the record.

Deputy Gary Gannon

We criminalised-----

The Taoiseach

I did not interrupt anybody. I have met people who have been addicted and who have come through very good programmes provided with assistance from the State. It must also be said that there are community organisations working on the ground in many communities throughout the country. It is not as if everyone is out to criminalise all those who are addicted to drugs, alcohol or anything else. Addiction is a terrible thing for which the addicted person needs help.

Deputy Holly Cairns

When will these-----

The Taoiseach

Please accept our bona fides in that regard. As I have said, we have to get through the Dublin Citizens' Assembly and the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, which are commitments. We will do this as soon as they are complete. I would like to think that early in the new year, we will have the citizens' assembly on drugs.

Deputy Gino Kenny

I have just come from a very lively protest at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. This protest was called by shop workers who are protesting against the imposition of car-parking charges for staff. These charges will be up to €600 per year. The staff feel aggrieved about this, given all of their hours and years of hard work at the shopping centre.

To add insult to injury, yesterday Liffey Valley Shopping Centre announced that customers will be free for one month if they register their details, yet the staff who make all the profits for the shopping centre are charged €2.50 and more per day. Does the Taoiseach think this is fair in light of the National Transport Authority's proposal that it would have walking, cycling and public transport infrastructure in place, yet it has not? It is months away. It is an absolute disgrace that during a cost-of-living crisis, workers are paying to go to work.

The Taoiseach

I find it difficult to comprehend in the sense that most employers I meet at the moment are trying to make the situations and conditions attractive to employees. All employers are saying they are finding it difficult to recruit people. Therefore, having an imposition on employees going to work is a difficult one to comprehend. In the first instance, that is an issue between the shopping centre and its employees and the unions that represent them. I presume there are unions in most shopping centres. There are unions there.

Deputy Gino Kenny

Yes, there are.

The Taoiseach

These are issues that should be resolved through the normal partnership arrangements that take place.

Deputy Gino Kenny

Perhaps the Taoiseach could have a word.

Deputy Verona Murphy

Due to a lack of carers, some 542 families in Wexford are waiting on the delivery of the home care support services that they have been granted by the HSE. Yesterday, the strategic workforce review group issued its report with 16 recommendations, among which were that recruitment issues should be solved by permit applications and pay and conditions, just to name two. In the absence of the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, whom I wish well in her recovery, I ask the Taoiseach to make a commitment to the House that he will implement those recommendations before he leaves office to ensure the 542 families who are in need of the package in Wexford will receive it by Christmas.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising a very important issue. That report outlines the group’s key findings with regard to the complex challenges affecting the recruitment and retention of care workers. Those recommendations will be progressed immediately via a dedicated implementation group which deals with pay and pensions for home support workers, healthcare assistants and private and voluntary organisations.

The total number of people waiting for home support had reduced from more than 9,000 at the start of 2020 to 5,744 by the end of March 2022. I note that despite capacity challenges, overall service delivery has increased by approximately 17% year-on-year. The additional funding for 5 million more home support hours in 2021 has been maintained. In a sense, that expansion of the programme created difficulties in terms of recruitment. We will go through and particularly activate ones we can do quickly.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Will the Taoiseach ensure that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Transport provide extra emergency funding to County Tipperary? Huge damage was done on Sunday evening in the Knockmealdown and Galtee mountain ranges, in the villages of Ballylooby, Burncourt and Ballyporeen and in Thurles town, where a huge number of houses and properties were flooded because of lack of infrastructure and poor infrastructure from Irish Water and others. The county council has expended its maintenance budget for this year. Will the Taoiseach ensure emergency funding is provided for those districts to ensure those householders will not suffer the same fate again? More bad weather has been forecast and it is just not fair on people. One particular building that flooded is a thatched-roofed pub that is currently closed. It was always insured but it cannot get insurance now. I also want to wish well one of the general services supervisors, Walter Doheny, who was out in the floods on Sunday night, who suffered a heart attack. I ask for funding to help the council.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising that matter. I wish that gentleman the very best also. There is a flooding scheme in terms of supports that can be applied for and made available. I will talk to the Minister in respect of the issues that the Deputy raised.

Deputy Thomas Pringle

A number of constituents have contacted me in recent times about the delay in being able to access insulin pumps due to the chronic underfunding of diabetes services in the Saolta Hospital Group hospitals in Letterkenny and Sligo. For example, there is a waiting list of more than 80 referrals in Sligo alone. It is affecting people’s quality of life. I have been raising the various aspects of the diabetes service in the north-west region through parliamentary questions constantly over the term of this Dáil and I get some lovely aspirational replies from the Minister and the HSE. Yet, on the ground, the reality for my constituents in Donegal is that nothing changes. Can the Taoiseach have a word with the Minister for Health and see that funding is provided for insulin pump services for the hundreds of Donegal-based diabetes sufferers who are in need of it?

The Taoiseach

I will speak to the Minister on that issue. I would point out that health spending generally has gone up by more than 20%.

Deputy Thomas Pringle

Not in Donegal.

The Taoiseach

I am not so sure it is a funding issue but I will have the matter looked into and raise it with the Minister, given that it has been raised by the Deputy.

Deputy Willie O'Dea

As the Taoiseach will be aware, this country has a long and honourable tradition of military neutrality. It is a policy enshrined in the Constitution and it has served the country well, particularly in the context of the regard and respect that Irish peacekeeping troops enjoy all over the world. It is also important from a diplomatic point of view as the country is seen as an honest broker that is not militarily aligned to any side. Does the Government propose to ask the Irish people to jettison that policy to enable this country to join a military alliance?

The Taoiseach

No, there is no decision on that. No one has considered it. From time to time, in terms of a broader issue, there has been talk about it, and I have suggested the convening of a citizens' assembly if people want to discuss the wide-ranging nature of that, but "No" is the answer.

Deputy Brian Leddin

As the Taoiseach will be aware, in 2019 there were plebiscites in his home city of Cork and in Waterford and Limerick with respect to bringing in legislation for directly elected mayors for the cities. Cork and Waterford did not decide to go ahead with this but Limerick did. We are three and a half years on but there is no sight of the legislation. It seems that it has been deprioritised. The Taoiseach mentioned earlier that planning legislation is critically important for climate, energy and transport and so on, and I understand there are legislative priorities, but this should also be a priority because it is a critically important reform of local government. When we get it - it is a matter of "when" - it should be meaningful reform in that the directly elected mayor of Limerick should have real powers. When will we get this legislation?

The Taoiseach

The Government became concerned that Limerick had won too many All-Ireland Championships and decided to slow this down. I say that in jest. It is getting priority drafting and as soon as the legislation is published, we will be in a position to give a timeline. We are very keen on fulfilling the wishes of the people of Limerick as expressed in that plebiscite.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I am trying to get a straight answer from the Taoiseach and I would appreciate one. The Government would have had to vote on the Solidarity-People Before Profit eviction ban Bill next week but now it has announced that it will bring in an eviction ban. The situation is still not clear, however, and I ask the Taoiseach to please clarify it. I have been contacted by families for whom this is a very important matter. They have received notices to quit before the date of the legislation coming in. Will they be protected from eviction over the next few months? Furthermore, as a matter of policy, will local authorities be told to purchase the homes of people who are threatened with eviction? If that is the case, will the homes of people threatened with eviction who are over the social housing income thresholds be purchased as well?

The Taoiseach

The full discussion on this will take place when the Bill is published but I stated earlier that, specifically, the Bill will defer certain notices of termination served on tenants for the period beginning on the day after the passing of the legislation and ending on 31 March. I could not be clearer.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

So those who get notices to quit beforehand will not be covered. Can the Taoiseach just clarify this, for God's sake?

The Taoiseach

The Deputy and everyone else knows the legislation has to be passed, for God's sake.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

The Taoiseach will not give a straight answer. It is unbelievable.

The Taoiseach

That is a straight answer.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Will the people who have notices to quit be covered - "Yes" or "No"? It is a simple question. The answer is "No".

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy, we are way over time. I call Deputy Carthy.

The Taoiseach

I did not say that.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Jesus Christ.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Taoiseach, please. Through the Chair.

The Taoiseach

I have a similar sentiment as the Deputy has. You are felon-setting, Deputy. That is what you are doing.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I am just looking for an answer.

The Taoiseach

You are felon-setting.

Deputy Matt Carthy

The leaks from today's Cabinet meeting suggest that the concrete levy will be reduced from 10% to 5% and introduced next September rather than in April. This was clearly a decision made in response to the correct assertions from the Opposition in this House and every expert outside it that the levy would increase the cost of building homes in the midst of a housing and inflationary crisis.

Did the Cabinet seek or receive any advice that a 5% levy would not also increase the cost of building homes? What advice has the Cabinet received that any such increase would impact less in September as opposed to April? Can the Taoiseach also please outline why the Government has not sought to place the cost of the defective block redress on those that are actually responsible rather than on ordinary homebuyers?

The Taoiseach

To be fair, the Deputy's party put forward the idea very strongly that there should be a concrete levy. Sinn Féin finance spokesperson, Deputy Doherty, in welcoming the budget, did say "I welcome the concrete levy at 10%."

Deputy Matt Carthy

Did the Taoiseach get advice?

The Taoiseach

He was very clear on that and I am sure that he got very strong advice from his party and its very strong research team on that.

Deputy Matt Carthy

Did the Taoiseach get any advice on the levy and what did it say?

The Taoiseach

Of course, we have received advice on that and as far as we are concerned, the details of this will be fleshed out.

The honest position, as the Deputy knows and if the party he represents would be equally honest with the public, is that any levy can find its way to the finished price, although not in all circumstances and there is no point in doing Jesuitical stuff and saying if one applies to this or that within an industry. There are amending measures now and what has originally been proposed will be amended and the details of that will be published in the finance Bill.

Deputy Matt Carthy

The Government got no advice.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We have six speakers left and I call an Teachta Murnane O'Connor now, please.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

We are actively telling people that if they are having difficulty with their energy bills to seek assistance from their community welfare office. There is a high number of applications for supplementary welfare allowance. Timeframes for the decisions on claims are dependent on the volume of claims presenting and, therefore, more and more people are waiting. These are people who need this support now. The social welfare offices are doing their best but people are finding it hard to get through on the phones to speak to someone. In the meantime the Citizens Information service is not available to help people because of lack of resources. I tabled a parliamentary question last week about funding through the social welfare offices and I am told that there is plenty of such funding there. Can we see some urgency here in increasing resources for the public?

The Taoiseach

The Minister for Social Protection has increased resources, is increasing and will continue to increase resources in respect of the additional needs payments. I am also anxious to get the timelines improved and we discussed that this morning. The Minister for Social Protection is also anxious that this issue is addressed because of the winter period we are entering. The Deputy may be interested that there have been thousands and thousands of additional applicants, which means that the scheme is responding.

Deputy Maurice Quinlivan

As I have raised with the Taoiseach on many occasions, University Hospital Limerick, UHL, has almost the highest number of patients on trolleys every day. The high number per day in the emergency department, ED, means that it is in a perpetual state of crisis requiring continued cancellation of elective procedures. The number of people treated on trolleys so far this year is 14,370 people, which already exceeds the significant total in 2021, and did so by the end of August.

The recently published Deloitte report commissioned by the University Limerick Hospitals Group found that an additional 302 inpatient beds are needed by 2026. It also outlined the detailed demand for additional staff in the emergency department with 83% of beds allocated to those who presented through the ED.

While a new 96-bed unit has started construction, this project remains 18 months from completion and will only deliver 48 additional beds. One does not need to be a mathematician to work this out. Following the Deloitte report, will the Taoiseach intervene or will the people of Limerick have to wait for years before they see any solution?

The Taoiseach

The HSE’s performance management and improvement unit led an intensive engagement with UHL team members throughout the summer in response to concerns about how the hospital was functioning. Progress has been seen in recent weeks, including the removal of ward trolleys and an overall reduction in admitted patients waiting on trolleys.

The Deloitte report, as the Deputy said, was commissioned by hospital management to carry out a review and that was published on 30 September. There is a bespoke site level plan for Limerick as part of the national winter plan.

It must be pointed out that 150 additional beds have been opened in UL Hospitals Group since 1 January 2020 - that is in two years - and 98 of these have been in UHL itself. A suite of 24 single rooms was completed on the UHL site, which operates as a dedicated haematology and oncology unit. A separate temporary building with a 14-bed single room block was also completed. A 60-bed block, which comprises four storeys with three inpatient wards of 20 en suite single rooms over basement level was opened in phases in late 2020 and early 2021. We are going to do everything we can to accelerate the capacity.

Deputy Alan Farrell

Last year, 800 children in my constituency and just around it were awaiting access to children's disability services, and this year the number is 1,200. With the best will in the world, the policy that we have implemented cannot achieve its outcome without an intervention, and that is primarily to do with recruitment but, more importantly, retention of staff. On behalf of those 1,200 children and their parents, I ask the Taoiseach as respectfully as I can to try to intervene or lend assistance to the HSE in the provision of the services. It is becoming a very serious issue which, as he well knows, has very profound impacts on children in the long term.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. Since 2013, the HSE has been developing a progressing-disability policy and programme. In latter years, because of increased resources, it has pursued that. They would argue that has led to what is a holistic, family-orientated model, but that it has diluted services in other areas, particularly in special schools. I have intervened and I have convened meetings of officials in the Departments of Education, Health, and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Ministers concerned to try to deal with this issue. Recruitment is one aspect of it, policy is another and there is also the nature of interventions. Certainly, there are many families out there who are not happy, correctly so, with the length of time they have to wait.

Deputy Michael Collins

Zenith Energy Bantry Bay Terminal Ltd. proposes the redundancy of its entire permanent employed maintenance workforce at the Whiddy Island oil terminal, comprising three plant operators, three craft positions and the only higher craft role in health, safety and environment operations, to be replaced with outside contract workers. The breakdown of much of the work being done by the existing excellent permanent workforce can be emergency maintenance to include but not limited to the loading and off-loading of cargo, where qualified personnel can respond day or night at short notice. If this maintenance is to be outsourced, the company may struggle to access personnel with the necessary skills and experience, given the notice required. In addition, these proposed redundancies will have a severe negative effect on the local Bantry and west Cork economy.

The State cannot lie idly by as these workers’ rights are being railroaded. Whiddy Island is a national oil storage base. I ask the Taoiseach to call on Zenith Energy Bantry Bay Terminal Ltd. to step back and to do all it can to save these jobs, and treat the workers and the people of Bantry and its surrounds with the respect they deserve after they have shown such loyalty to Whiddy Island terminal's owners down through the years, and before a full strike is called.

The Taoiseach

Again, I do not know whether the Deputy has spoken to the company, but we would certainly support the retention of the plant operatives and technicians. We cannot dictate to companies in terms of their employment operations or how they decide to do things, but there are the employment and labour mechanisms, be it the Workplace Relations Commission or otherwise, to try to resolve any issues. In the first instance, the Deputy is asking the company to reflect on and reverse its policy of outsourcing, as opposed to having in-house plant operatives, if I take the point correctly. Again, these are matters on which the company and the unions concerned will have to engage.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

With the Taoiseach's co-operation, we will take the two final speakers together. I call Deputy Louise O'Reilly, followed by Deputy Paul McAuliffe.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

Workers in the security industry have not had a pay rise since 2019. In August, and for the second time, a small number of employers in the industry have secured an injunction against the employment regulation order, ERO. Can the Taoiseach confirm that this ERO will be challenged by the Government? Can he also give us an indication as to when these workers are going to receive the pay rise they desperately need and deserve, and the other improvements to their terms and conditions of employment?

Deputy Paul McAuliffe

This week, I visited Ballymun Anseo school completion programme, SCP, which, along with the Finglas SCP, does fantastic work. I do not need to persuade the Taoiseach of their merits, given he introduced the schemes. There are issues around governance since the transfer of the programmes back to the Department of Education, which is very welcome, particularly for those SCPs covered by education and training boards, ETBs. Will the Taoiseach consider the matter and come back to me with any clarifications on staffing and pension arrangements for employees, who are often members of staff of the ETB on secondment? There are also many in those projects who are not ETB staff.

The Taoiseach

Deputy O'Reilly has raised this issue before. We would be anxious to defend the ERO and I agree with her on the importance of that and of EROs more generally.

In response to Deputy McAuliffe in respect of those SCPs, that has been raised on the margins of the recent talks on Building Momentum and the replacement. We have to work to try to give a sustainable employment and career pathway for those involved in school completion, which is often the most important work in our education system, to enable young people to complete their education.

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, last week during the Order of Business, in an exchange with Deputy Paul Kehoe, a very brief exchange, as to whether I shared his concern about some journalism in that week's Sunday Independent regarding an interview recorded with former Minister, Shane Ross, about his book on Deputy Mary Lou McDonald being dropped, in agreeing with Deputy Kehoe, I speculated that the reason the interview was dropped may have been a fear of being sued. I also said, “apparently a political party got access to the interview”, but that I stood to be corrected. A closer reading of the interview showed that it was actually extracts of the book that were to be offered to Sinn Féin rather than the interview. I am happy to clarify that and to correct the record.