There were 669 people on hospital trolleys yesterday, 28 of whom were children. This is the highest ever level of hospital overcrowding for the month of October. Some 15 hospitals across the State did not have a single bed available. My colleague, Deputy Cullinane, has information showing that the average wait in an emergency department this year is nearly 13 hours. It is nearly 15 hours for those aged over 75. As the Taoiseach will know, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, has repeatedly warned of a catastrophic winter for our hospitals, so this crisis was entirely foreseeable. The big question is, where is the plan and the action needed from the Minister for Health? Where is the plan for emergency departments he promised last April? Where is the multi-annual plan for tackling hospital waiting lists the Minister promised more than 18 months ago? Why are these plans lying on the Minister's desk while our people are lying on trolleys?
Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
There is nothing lying on the Minister's desk. There has been a very substantial increase in core funding for the health service. The Minister has published an initiative to deal with this winter. There are concerns about a combination of a flu outbreak and a return of the Covid virus, which could cause very significant difficulties with regard to admissions to hospital. That is why there has been a stronger focus on primary care and community care. The enhanced community care programme is a very significant development and initiative, which will prevent people from having to go into the hospitals in the first instance. Key to this is patient flow, that is, keeping patients moving efficiently through hospitals and making sure there are facilities for discharge to the optimal location for them to recover when they have finished the acute phase of their treatment.
I will raise the plight of children with autism, who are still being failed by the State. Back in July, we in Labour put forward a motion on the need for better co-ordination and improved services for children with autism that got cross-party support and yet, over recent days, Deputy Ó Ríordáin and I have been hearing from school principals who are deeply concerned at a new instruction from the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, that they are to carry out assessments of need on their own pupils in the place of educational psychologists. This is a matter of real concern. There is a need for clarity on this.
Furthermore, I learned today that the Milne twins from north Dublin, whose plight I raised with the Taoiseach in May, have still not received an appropriate school place. Kyle and Ryan Milne are twin boys. The Taoiseach gave an apology with regard to their case in May and their plight was addressed on two different "Prime Time" programmes on RTÉ. Despite this, their mother, Gillian, has said that, even though we are now coming up to the Hallowe'en mid-term break, her kids are still at home and there is no school place ready for them. They will be 12 next March. It is simply not good enough.
There has been a very significant expansion of special needs education in both the primary and post-primary sector, the budget for which increased by a further 12%. Approximately €2.6 billion is now spent on special education. We have established additional posts including posts for new special needs assistants and teachers. Approximately 392 new special classes have been sanctioned by the NCSE for the 2022-23 period. Those are the figures. I will seek clarity on the issue the Deputy raised with regard to the NCSE and I will talk to the Minister about it. Everything is designed to get people in situ as quickly as possible. We do not want children without school places and we want children to have access to services as quickly as possible. I can only surmise that the NCSE is asking whether we can get children into special classes and special units to get services provided but I will seek clarity in that regard.
In terms of the Milne twins-----
No, we are moving on.
----I will again pursue that issue with the Minister but it is my understanding that there has been considerable engagement. I will come back to the Deputy on that.
As a regular visitor to Cork South-West, the Taoiseach will be aware of the desperate need for a bypass for Innishannon and for the development of the Bandon relief road. Both communities have been waiting years for these vital projects. Innishannon is basically divided in two because of the amount of traffic and the tailbacks in the morning and evening are only getting worse. In Bandon, heavy goods vehicles and other large vehicles are being forced through the centre of the historic walled town because of the inadequacy of the relief road. The Minister for Transport has basically said that the Innishannon project has been shelved. Will the Taoiseach assure the community that this is not the case? The planned schedule for the Bandon relief road means that the project is still years away. Will the Taoiseach help to accelerate it?
I will pursue the issue of the Bandon bypass with the Minister and come back to the Deputy with the details. Did the Minister give the Deputy any reason as to why the Innishannon project had been shelved?
I am well used to the queues.
I will raise with the Taoiseach a particular case that illustrates the problems in our health service and the fact that children with complex needs are being failed by the State. Brody Martin is eight years old and has multiple complex needs that mean he cannot be left by himself. He has to be minded at all times. He needs to have spinal surgery every six months. He was due to be in Crumlin hospital this Tuesday but his operation was cancelled on Friday. His mother was told this was because the hospital could not offer any supports, that is, when she went to drop Brody's brother to crèche, there would be nobody available to watch him. His consultant has said that, if he does not get his surgery before winter, he is in danger of getting pneumonia. His mother has said to me that he is not an animal, he is a child. It is incredible that we do not have the resources to ensure that children with complex needs can get the operations they need.
I do not know the background to this case so it is very difficult to respond. It is my view that the service should make every effort. If a date is given for surgery, the child in question should have that surgery and every effort should be made to provide wraparound services. I do not know why that is not the case here. It should be.
I refer to motion No. 152 on the Order Paper. I seek the Taoiseach's direct intervention in the humanitarian crisis facing eight families in Ballagh and Lisfelim in the area of south Roscommon. Along with six of my colleagues from across the country, I have tabled a motion seeking the establishment of a cross-departmental and cross-agency task force to address emergency climate adaptation measures to protect homes nationwide.
I ask the Taoiseach, as the Head of Government, to establish a national task force to take on this role. It should set as the first item on its agenda the authorisation of the flood alleviation works at Lough Funshinagh in County Roscommon and use that as a case study.
I will examine the proposal and will consult with Ministers on it. We have to move in a more proactive way. I am not saying we are not doing that already; there are moves being made on adaptation in general. We have to avoid the worst consequences of climate change through the actions we take but increasingly, we have to look at the adaptation side of the issue as well and take more proactive measures to prevent damage to communities, towns, villages, coastal areas and so on. We can see what is happening with the frequency of storms over the last number of years across Europe. I recently saw a survey showing €150 billion of damage in Europe alone this last season due to climate change weather events.
In the middle of acute crises in housing and health, as well as the total mess the Government has made of the refugee situation, have the Taoiseach and the Cabinet nothing better to do than try to undermine and destroy publicans throughout the country? That is what the Government is doing with its proposals for late openings up to the morning in cities and big places, opening the pubs earlier in the morning in the country and deregulating the licences. That is what I understand the Government is trying to do. That was needed one time with the taxi regulations but we saw what happened after that. These are family businesses in many cases have that have given excellent service for generations and support their communities in every way. It looks like the Government is going to give a licence to anybody to have a bar now. Has the Government nothing else to do, with the crimes statistics and everything else, only come up with these mad proposals in a time of crisis? Is it just a distraction it is trying to create? The Taoiseach has six weeks left in office. Is that going to be his legacy, that he will not deal with any of the serious problems but will bring in all the sideline stuff that nobody wants and nobody is interested in? It is only going to destroy our young people and our countryside.
There is no shortage and no challenge or difficulty in accessing alcohol in the country. If we did nothing, there would be no issue accessing alcohol.
I know that. There is plenty of it already.
What the Minister for Justice brought forward, and what the Government is supporting, is legislation for how we regulate that, identify venues and locations, and the conditions and the framework around that. Some organisations in the hospitality sector are welcoming this. Others may not. Regarding the points the Deputy made, I presume he is talking about the extinguishing of licences. Again, there are conditions attached to that.
And new licences.
It is not a full extinguishing. In terms of a new licence-----
There are hundreds of them for sale.
-----the existing system inhibits a person in rural Ireland, for example, who may want to provide a service from having that option.
You cannot give away a pub.
I think the Deputy is being a bit overdramatic-----
I am not.
-----in his description of the legislation that has been brought forward.
It will destroy our country.
It will not impact on me to any great extent.
You will be gone.
There might be some younger members of the Cabinet who could avail of the 6 a.m. closing time but I do not think I will be among them.
You might not get any green tea.
I think I will get more green tea now.
Despite the problem dereliction presents across the entire State, there were only 1,415 sites across the whole State on the derelict sites register of the various county councils at the start of this year. No property was compulsorily purchased in 17 counties last year and no levies were levied by 14 county councils. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has introduced a grant scheme to do up derelict houses. That is very welcome but someone cannot buy a house unless it is for sale. Does the Taoiseach think there are only 1,415 derelict sites in this State? If not, what will his Government do to bring about the greater use of the derelict sites levy and the derelict sites framework so these houses will be put on the market and done up and families can move back into them? That is what we need across both rural and urban Ireland.
I think there are more. I take the Deputy's point. I do not think the existing Derelict Sites Act has been effective. That is why the Government is moving to add measures and instruments to deal with dereliction. The urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, has been very effective in respect of dereliction in our cities and our major towns but it is going to take time for it to feed through. The equivalent rural fund will do likewise. The combination of those with the Croí Cónaithe fund will do far more than any derelict sites Act has done with regard to dereliction in our towns and villages. The town centre first policy, which has been published, is a further policy instrument to enable us to reduce and try to eliminate dereliction across the country. Fundamentally, given the enormous housing need, we have to use every mechanism we have to get empty buildings into use.
The Minister for Finance just left a moment ago. Would the Government consider a deferral of the rates re-evaluation that is currently under way in Clare, Donegal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Galway, Kerry and Mayo? These areas are currently facing their first commercial rates re-evaluation in 160 years, the last one having taken place in 1862. They have been well supported by the Government during Covid and well supported in the recent budget but this is a cliff edge for many businesses. I have received emails from many of them. They are facing rates hikes of 33% and more. There are looking for the Government to step in and do something. This could cancel out all the benefits that just accrued to them in the recent budget. They need a deferral. It happened during Covid and it can happen again. There are legislative processes to be followed here but a statutory instrument could defer this. It would be sensible and prudent given that small businesses, coffee shops and retail outlets are facing an existential crisis.
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It is an important issue. I cannot say anything here but I will talk to the Minister for Finance about it and examine the proposal the Deputy has made in respect of a deferral. We are going through very difficult time with the energy crisis, and business and industry is as well. It has been deferred already but I will examine it. I will talk to my Cabinet colleagues, and particularly the Minister for Finance, about the point the Deputy has made.
This question arises from one of the recommendations outlined in the report of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare, which is an excellent report. I would recommend all Members of the House read and give careful consideration to it. Recommendation 12.2 reads:
The Commission recommends that working-age payments should be reformed to move towards an income related working-age assistance payment available to all households. The payment should be designed so as to avoid subsidising low-paid employment.
This chimed with commitment number 43 in the Pathways to Work strategy, which undertakes to "Prepare a paper on options to modify the longer term jobseeker assistance payment by utilising the Revenue real time earnings data to adjust payment levels in line with a person’s weekly earnings, to guarantee a basic income floor and ensure that in all cases a person’s income increases when they work." Can the Taoiseach inform the House when it is planned for that options paper to be prepared and published?
I thank the Deputy for raising this. Work is under way on progressing this commitment in the Department of Social Protection. Consideration is being given to the development of a new working age payment. The Minister for Social Protection will be in a position to provide more detail as this project develops. It is a very significant project and requires detailed analysis. Options are being examined to modify or merge existing supports by utilising Revenue's real-time earning data to adjust payment levels in line with a person's weekly earnings to guarantee a basic income floor and to ensure that in all cases, a person's income increases when they work. Technological advancements support this type of model through the sharing of real-time earnings data between the Department of Social Protection and Revenue. The Commission on Taxation and Welfare has also recommended that working age payments should be reformed to move towards an income-related working age assistance payment available to all households, and that the payment should be designed so as to avoid subsidising low-paid employment.
There is a recruitment and retention crisis within the retained fire service, a service that is simply not fit for purpose. The strain of being on call 24-7 in understaffed fire stations has morale on the ground. The situation is putting at risk the safety of both firefighters and members of the public. Failure is to address the issues within the retained service has resulted in firefighters having to serve two weeks' notice of their intent to ballot for industrial strike action. This is not a matter for local authorities. This is a failure of Government policy in relation to the retained service. What is the Taoiseach going to do to stop that strike going ahead and fix the crisis that is ongoing right across the State within the retained fire service?
First, I pay tribute to the retained fire service generally.
I saw it at first hand with the retained fire service units in Donegal who behaved in a most courageous and challenging way in the recent Creeslough accident and tragedy. I have spoken to the Minister in relation to the broader system, with a preliminary discussion in terms of the broader system. That will take some time but it is an issue we do have to examine.
I wish to ask the Taoiseach about CERN. I raised the matter with the Taoiseach a number of weeks ago on what is the Government's position on joining the international research programme.
As the Taoiseach may be aware, 23 member states across Europe are members of this organisation, with Ireland being the exception in terms of membership in western Europe. Will the Government give some consideration to joining CERN, given the multiple benefits? We welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, back to the House. Under the Minister of State's leadership at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Business, Enterprise and Innovation, an in-depth report was undertaken while we were in opposition with regard to the benefits of such a move. I ask that the Government would show some consideration to this, given the extraordinary progress that has been made in this programme, and the multiple benefits of Ireland's membership for our academic community in Ireland, for our engineering science and for research.
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I will talk to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, about this. I would be an advocate for joining CERN. Obviously, there are competing priorities within the Department but I believe it would be advantageous to the country, particularly given our need and our desire to be at the forefront of research and development in technology and innovation. I will certainly pursue the matter with the relevant Ministers in respect of Ireland joining CERN.
Two years ago today this House voted by 81 votes to 71 votes to progress the Dying with Dignity Bill. Since then, progress on the issue has stalled. I believe this is a derogation of this substantial issue. It is imperative that the recommendation made by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice to establish a special Oireachtas committee to examine the issue is constituted as soon as possible. It is important. The indication is that the Irish public would support a change in the law around assisted dying. When will the Government commit to a special Oireachtas committee to give us, and more importantly to give the public, a chance to examine the issue of assisted dying?
Given the work programme, it is my understanding from the Whip that it is a matter for the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform in respect of the facilitation of the legislation at this stage. That is my understanding. I will come back to the Deputy with a more comprehensive note.
I wish to raise the case of early years providers and in particular, those services which are reliant on the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme. This vital sector has sought and requires an immediate increase in their capitation. The Taoiseach will be aware that ECCE was introduced in 2010 at €64.50 per child per week. That capitation has remained static over the past 12 years. Spiralling costs are putting the viability of ECCE-reliant services in question. We cannot really afford to lose these vital services. The request from the Federation of Early Childhood Providers is that the capitation is increased to €76 per week per child. Will the Taoiseach, as Head of Government, ensure that this will happen?
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. On a more general level, budget 2023 announced a record level of investment in the early learning and childcare sector. This will exceed €1 billion next year. Core funding is distributed to services based on the number of child places offered, the hours per week, the weeks per year that the places are offered and the age group of children for whom the places are available. There is also additional investment for graduates in leadership roles.
To date, with the scheme in operation for just one month, 91% - well over 4,000 providers - have signed up for the core funding. Some providers have raised concerns about the impact of the change to the funding model on smaller services. The majority of services will see an increase in their funding. No service will see a decrease in funding on last year. We will, therefore, examine and keep it under review, considering there are those who have significant concerns. We will ensure that those services that are most vulnerable will have at least the same income as previously. Apparently, this applies to fewer than 100 of the 4,000 providers. I will follow up on that with the Minister also.
It is of huge concern that the 11 child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, beds in Linn Dara that were closed in May remain closed indefinitely. We had assurance from the HSE and from the Government, including from the Taoiseach, that these beds would be reopened in September. It is now almost November. Information I received today from the HSE has said that it is not possible to give a specific reopening date for these beds. This is simply not good enough. There is a crisis right across CAMHS. Has the Government engaged with the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland on this matter? Will the Taoiseach give assurances that every child who needs acute mental health inpatient treatment is getting it? Can the Taoiseach give a guarantee that Linn Dara will be back to full capacity by the end of the year?
I thank the Deputy for the question. The most important thing to look at here is the fact that we have children who need supports but when they get the supports, we must also have in place safe staffing numbers. Unfortunately, at the time if my memory serves me correct, there were 63 staff funded at the time but we only had 27 in place. That decision had to be taken from a safe staffing perspective. I have kept this under review the whole time. If there are any cases of children who need the supports, we have acquired private capacity. Yes, I have met the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland.
My questions are the same as Deputy Carey's question. It is a hugely important issue in each constituency, as the Taoiseach is aware. The early childhood care and education programme was introduced in 2010 at €64.50 capitation grant per week per child. By 2018 it had increased to €69, where it stands today. If capitation had kept pace with inflation, it should be at €76 per child. The approach has been to leave capitation where it has been for years and early years service providers are absorbing the rise in inflation. This means that in many cases early years providers are, effectively, subsidising their businesses at a personal cost. They have not had an increase in capitation in four years. It must be borne in mind that this is an increasingly expensive essential public service that has been delivered by private business owners. There must be fairness in the funding levels. Will the Government increase the ECCE capitation from €69 per week to €76 per week per child, with immediate effect, before some of these crèches see closures?
The information I am receiving from the Department is that the Federation of Early Childhood Providers, FECP, is seeking an increase in capitation for the ECCE programmes to €76 per child per week. The argument is that capitation has not increased in line with inflation. Data from the FECP show that capitation rates from 2010 of €64.50 per child, adjusted in line with inflation capitation rate would be €76. With core funding, however, the weekly capitation for a child would be at least €78.75 per week. That may not apply to ECCE-only services in terms of the core funding model. Because of the nature of ECCE, which is 15 hours per week over 38 weeks of the year, it is equivalent to 23% of the annual hours of a full day service operating from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. We will engage with the Minister on the points the Deputy has raised.
I wish to raise the issue of disability transport services in Dublin and specifically on south Dublin. In rural Ireland there is a Transport for Ireland Local Link, which goes door to door and which is on demand public transport. A person can use his or her free travel pass on it. This is especially important for people with disabilities or with mobility issues. In Dublin, there is no such service. We have a door-to-door disability service on 15 and 20-year-old buses where a person cannot use a free travel pass. It only takes one wheelchair at a time. People need that service for medical appointments, for jobs, and for social life of any kind. In February 2022, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, said that the service was not adequately funded. In a letter from December 2021, the Taoiseach also addressed the matter. The service desperately needs capital funding, hopefully from Transport for Ireland, for ten new buses to provide any service for transport for people with disabilities and mobility issues in south County Dublin. Will the Taoiseach help me to secure a meeting with Transport for Ireland to try to advance that on behalf of the people of south Dublin?
Does the Deputy mean the National Transport Authority, NTA?
Yes, it could be. If it is capital funding we must go to the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, or wherever the Taoiseach can direct me to help with the request.
I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, about this. Generally speaking, we are of the view that we should provide proper transport for people with special needs, including children with special needs and people with disabilities more generally. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to see what is the best model to do that and how best to do it through the NTA.
I want to lodge with the Taoiseach directly my very real concerns about the direction of the forestry strategy in the State.
There is a target in the programme for Government of planting 8,000 ha of new forestry each year. Our climate action plan assumes that we have been planting 8,000 ha of new forestry, but we are only managing about a quarter of that on an annual basis. It is getting worse since the Government took office. We hear lots of rhetoric. We are working on the basis of a forestry programme that dates back to 2014 and that should have been renewed in 2020. It was not renewed at that point and is only being updated this year. The absence of that programme means that between now and March, we are unlikely to see a single tree planted. Saplings will be destroyed, and there is a real potential for job losses. Will the Taoiseach intervene to ensure that we have a forestry strategy that works and delivers?
Since this Government came into office, it has worked very well to get rid of a backlog occasioned by serial objections. This is a matter of which the Deputy will be aware. Those objections were not from his quarter, but there were-----
That was felling; this is about planting.
-----serial objectors across the board and this impacted on confidence in the forestry sector. A new strategy is being worked on by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, and the Minister of State, Senator Hackett. That strategy is nearing completion. Hopefully, we will be in a position to publish it very shortly. Meanwhile, huge resources have gone into the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which has issued 3,914 licences, or 92% of the projected average at this point in the year. There are about 7,000 ha ready for planting. There are currently 953 approved afforestation licences. The backlog was reduced from 6,000 in August 2021 to 3,700 in January of this year. It now stands at 1,639. Much work has happened since we came in. We brought in legislation. We need to drive on and get more trees planted.
In response to a recent parliamentary question, I received a letter from UL Hospitals Group informing me that the reason the essential services at Ennis injury unit were forced to close their doors for a full day in August and at other times in Nenagh and St. John's this summer was down to a staffing crisis. The crisis in our health service goes far beyond staffing, as the Taoiseach well knows. The programme for Government contains a commitment to target an increase in opening times for unscheduled care, radiology and diagnostic services in the community when we cannot see a stabilisation of the hours already committed to. What is the Government going do to secure the opening hours at Ennis injury unit in order to prevent further closures? How exactly does it plan to extend them? A €2 million state-of-the-art unit is no good to communities in Clare when that unit is closed for business.
On the broader issue of staff recruitment, there has been substantial recruitment in the health service over the past two years. I have not seen the documents the Deputy referred to but every effort is being made to streamline the recruitment processes more and to have more effective recruitment programmes in the HSE. The last two years have seen record numbers recruited but we need more and to do it more expeditiously.