Mary Lou McDonald
Question:1. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the Government Information Service unit of his Department. [51354/22]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Government Communications
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:2. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the Government Information Service unit of his Department. [54841/22]
Paul Murphy
Question:3. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the Government Information Service unit of his Department. [56314/22]
Mick Barry
Question:4. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the Government Information Service unit of his Department. [56448/22]
Ivana Bacik
Question:5. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the Government Information Service unit of his Department. [55389/22]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together.
The Government Information Service, GIS, includes the Government Press Office and the MerrionStreet.ie content team and works on a cross-functional and collaborative basis to provide the Taoiseach, the Government and the Department with press office and communications support; to ensure strong collaboration and co-ordination among press and communications officials in other Departments and agencies; to co-ordinate, support, amplify and create communications around key Government priorities, such as Housing for All, climate action and energy, Ukraine, the shared island, Brexit, Covid-19 and the national well-being framework; to lead the development of Government communications, support and encourage capacity-building in the area of communications and engagement across the civil and public services, and to manage the Government of Ireland identity and unified web presence, www.gov.ie.
It appears that last week's Supreme Court judgment on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, was a shock not only to the Government but also to the Taoiseach's communications officials. Throughout the CETA debate, Government parties consistently sought to reduce the discussion to one in which one was either for trade or against it. The reality, of course, is that no one in this Chamber is opposed to trade that incorporates and protects environmental rights and the rights of workers. Investment courts actively work against these rights and ride roughshod over democracy and domestic judicial systems.
I commend Deputy Costello on pursuing this matter through the courts. I am sure it was a difficult decision for him. The Government parties must now take time to consider in depth the significant judgment, which includes the seven separate opinions of the Supreme Court members. As has been stated repeatedly, the trading element of the agreement is already under way. There is no urgent requirement for Ireland to ratify it. Several EU countries, including France and Germany, have not yet ratified it in full. Ireland is not alone in its concerns. There is growing opposition across Europe and in the US to investor courts, for which there is neither a need nor a legal basis. I urge the Government's three party leaders to fully consider the implications of the judgment and, if they remain wedded to the investor courts system, to put the question to the people through a referendum.
One of the most depressing aspects of being a Deputy is dealing with the hardship and despair of people suffering from the housing crisis and the fact that they just do not know what to do. This week, I had two families in tears in my clinic. They felt absolutely hopeless owing to the prospect of their being made homeless with their children. They were worrying about the mental health impact on their children, who were on the floor with depression at the prospect of being made homeless. In addition to addressing all the policy issues related to delivering affordable and public housing and stopping evictions, many of which the Government will not address, could the Taoiseach, at a minimum, provide better Government information on what people should do so they will have a place to go? I suggest that we develop a housing hub or portal as part of the GIS. It should be widely advertised on radio and television in order that there would at least be a place for people to get information on what they should do in a crisis and how they should access affordable housing or cost-rental accommodation. It should deal with all the frequently asked questions of people in acute distress because of the housing crisis, giving them a place to go. I will set aside the wider policy debates, which we have had many times. At the very least, the Government could vastly improve the information it makes available to people, particularly those in desperate circumstances.
I presume the Taoiseach is aware that the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, decided, on the basis of a 3:2 majority, that it would not investigate further my complaint about the leaking by the then Taoiseach, now the Tánaiste, of the GP contract to his political supporter Maitiú Ó Tuathail. I want to focus on the reasoning set out by the commission. In its concluding paragraph, it states, "The commission carefully considered its legal advice and all the evidence before it, including the acceptance by the respondent that he did disclose the agreement but that it was done pursuant to the functions of the office of the Taoiseach and in furtherance of the policy goals of the Government." It adds, "In such circumstances, where the commission is of the view that it has no role and/or remit to consider either the lawfulness of the action or the extent of the powers of the office of Taoiseach, it is the opinion of the commission that evidence sufficient to sustain a complaint is not and will not be available, even in circumstances where the disclosure of the Agreement is not in dispute." Effectively the Tánaiste, the then Taoiseach, used the Nixon defence or Trump defence: I leaked the contract, broke the ethics legislation and breached the codes of conduct but did it as Taoiseach in pursuance of the policy goals of the Government, and therefore it is okay. The commission has accepted that defence and does not go into whether it is true. It does not make a judgment on whether the former Taoiseach did what he did in pursuance of the policy goals of the Government. Once he raises the defence in question, the commission states it cannot look into the matter any further. Does the Taoiseach agree there is a problem here that creates a very troublesome precedent, whereby the next Taoiseach, who just happens to be the person complained about, or another future Taoiseach will be able to blatantly breach ethics legislation and stop any investigation by simply saying he did what he did as Taoiseach?
You are at the cinema, the lights go down and the ads start up. If the audience is going to groan at one of the ads, which one will it be? I bet it will be the one that ends with the words, "This ad was brought to you by the Government of Ireland." When the punter goes to the cinema or switches on the television, he or she should be able to watch the movie or television show without having to swallow a dose of Government propaganda. A person who, for example, strongly dislikes this Government and its policy might, unfortunately, be more inclined to ignore public health advice if it is part of a package that finishes up by telling him that the ad and information have been brought to him by the Government of Ireland. Does the Taoiseach agree with the point I am making? Does he agree that it is high time for Big Brother to take a bit of a hike on this issue and for the Government to decide to lay off on the propaganda?
On the GIS, who in the Taoiseach's Department now oversees the commissioning and production of television and radio advertisements generally for Government information campaigns? Is there political oversight of these advertising campaigns?
I welcome the news that the Taoiseach will be meeting the Irish Thalidomide Association tomorrow, 17 November. It is a long overdue meeting. Colleagues will be aware that I have circulated the text of a cross-party motion calling for action to be taken by the Government for the members of the association and their parents, and for the establishment of an engagement process to resolve all outstanding issues between the association's members and the health authorities. I hope the Government will move to act on these calls.
The Taoiseach is meeting the association tomorrow but I have circulated a cross-party motion and I would welcome support for that.
I will reply to the situation pertaining to CETA, as it was raised first. I have welcomed the clarity the Supreme Court has brought to the issue in respect of the manner in which CETA can be ratified. The ruling by a 6:1 majority was that CETA could be ratified by the Oireachtas if certain changes were made to domestic legislation, in particular the Arbitration Act 2010. The Deputy opposite criticised me for raising free trade but it is my view that her party has been very negative about CETA and has never commented on the benefits of the free trade deal with Canada, which as she outlined, has provisionally been in operation for five years. Trade has increased by 30%. It is good for jobs in the country. I have never heard ringing declarations from Sinn Féin about free trade. It has always been the opposite, consistently, in recent years. That has been Sinn Féin's position. The party is entitled to have the position it has held, and it may change it. I am even beginning to detect subtle hints of change already in the Deputy's contribution this afternoon. We will see.
More fundamentally, I would make the point that all the free trade agreements have a standard practice globally of using arbitration mechanisms. It is not to enable companies to sue countries on anything but rather to make sure that the terms of the actual agreement are met in terms of fairness and the application of the rules pertaining to any agreement. It is very clear that as a member of the European Union, we cannot engage in any practice via the trade agreements that would be contrary to the treaties. It is the European Union, specifically the Commission, that negotiates these trade agreements with parties like Canada, which is a liberal democracy itself. The overall benefit to Ireland is always very positive from such trade deals.
It never gets acknowledged in the debate that it has been a positive for Ireland, right across all the various trade deals that have been negotiated. We are a small country with an open economy and we sell most of what we produce and make, which creates jobs and enables companies to develop and grow. We will analyse the judgment. We will give sufficient time to all parties to do so, and we will come forward with our view then in respect of how we deal with the situation. To date, some 16 of the 27 EU member states have ratified CETA. It remains provisionally applied, as the Deputy says, since 21 September 2017. In respect of this, in the past five years, the world has not caved in. Canada is a very important export market. Some 400 Enterprise Ireland client companies are doing business in the Canadian market now. We exported approximately €4 billion worth of goods and services to Canada in 20-----
The investment court system, ICS, has not been applied.
If the Taoiseach is so confident, he should hold a referendum.
We exported €4 billion worth of goods and services to Canada in 2020. CETA is in the interests of workers, taxpayers and businesses in rural and urban Ireland. All agreements have dispute resolution mechanisms.
Deputy Paul Murphy raised the SIPO decision. SIPO has decided. It is a body that is independent of the Oireachtas. At times, I worry that if a decision does not go a person's way that it somehow has to be re-interrogated and it must be wrong because it does not accord with the Deputy's position. Every decision can be subject to subjective analysis. In this case, the Deputy has a perspective on it. Whether one likes it or not, the decision has been taken by an independent body that is independent of the Oireachtas. We should respect that decision. There already has been an investigation that went the whole way to the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP. The Deputy knows that the decision was that there was no case to proceed with. SIPO should be allowed to continue to act independently of the Oireachtas in respect of all its duties and in terms of decisions. There is a danger of indirect pressure being put on SIPO to get the right result.
Yes, I can imagine.
No, I mean from the Deputy's perspective. By raising it in the manner he did, he raised the spectre of not liking the result, suggesting it is wrong and that it should be changed. That would be a concern of mine.
Is the Taoiseach saying that we cannot challenge these decisions?
No. My point is that if we create independent bodies, there comes a stage when they make decisions and adjudicate, and we must just get on with it.
In terms of Deputy Barry's point, I would love to be at the cinema. I have not been there for quite some time.
The Taoiseach is nearly there.
I missed the Cork Film Festival this year, for the first time in a long time, so busy was I. in terms of the Government message at the end of the advertisements, depending on the quality of the advertisements, some people like watching them while others are impatient to get on with the film. I recall that some years back I went to see the premiere of "Michael Collins" in the Capitol cinema in Cork and a rather innovative PR adviser to the Fianna Fáil Party at the time decided to put advertisements about getting tough with the drug lords, and lo and behold, at the end of the advertisement, it was announced to the full audience that the advertisement was brought to them by Fianna Fáil. There was a collective groan from the audience, which was waiting for the premiere of "Michael Collins". Deputy Barry brought that memory back to me. Covid proves him wrong. The vaccination level was 96%. The advertisements were brought to the people by the Government of Ireland and people responded to the public health message. In fairness, they were brought in a very non-political way. It is important that that is the case.
The Taoiseach did not respond to my question.
I apologise.
He did not deal either with my question on thalidomide.
I am coming to that. I was missing a pen when Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue about housing. There is a cross-government communications approach to housing. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has clear communications portals for people to contact depending on their housing situation on the various schemes they can access. I will come back to Deputy Boyd Barrett and follow up on the point he made about his suggestion for a one-stop shop. I think his suggestion was along those lines.
I will come back to him in that regard. It was a fair point.
In response to Deputy Bacik, during Covid, an assistant secretary in my Department oversaw the Covid situation and co-ordinated with other Departments. Advice was taken from professionals in the field about the type of advertisements and other such issues. Research was done by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, and other such bodies as to the best type of advertisements. There are professionals in that field and there is no political involvement in terms of either the content of advertisements or how they are designed.
I am meeting with the Irish Thalidomide Association tomorrow morning.
Sustainable Development Goals
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:6. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the senior officials group chaired by his Department to provide a strategic overview of the implementation of the sustainable development goals. [52762/22]
Christopher O'Sullivan
Question:7. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the work of the senior officials group chaired by his Department to provide a strategic overview of the implementation of the sustainable development goals. [54582/22]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:8. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the senior officials group chaired by his Department to provide a strategic overview of the implementation of the sustainable development goals. [54840/22]
Paul Murphy
Question:9. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the senior officials group chaired by his Department to provide a strategic overview of the implementation of the sustainable development goals. [54843/22]
Ivana Bacik
Question:10. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the senior officials group chaired by his Department to provide a strategic overview of the implementation of the sustainable development goals. [55385/22]
Mick Barry
Question:11. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the senior officials group chaired by his Department to provide a strategic overview of the implementation of the sustainable development goals. [56703/22]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 11, inclusive, together.
The sustainable development goals, SDGs, adopted in 2015, are the United Nations blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.
Under the programme for Government, the Government is committed to continue work towards the 17 goals. This is a whole-of-government effort, led by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, who has lead responsibility for promoting and overseeing the coherent implementation of the SDGs. The implementation of measures associated with individual goals is the responsibility of relevant Ministers and Departments. Political oversight is provided through the Cabinet committee system and, where necessary, at Government level.
A senior officials group, chaired by my Department and supported by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, provides a mechanism to co-ordinate and monitor progress towards the goals. It brings together representatives of all Departments responsible for implementation.
In addition to monitoring implementation, it provides strategic input on tasks including development of Ireland's national implementation plan, the second iteration of which was published in October. It will also support preparation of Ireland's second voluntary national review of progress towards the goals, which is due for delivery at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum in July 2023. The group's work is supported by an interdepartmental working group, chaired by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, and by the Central Statistics Office's data governance board.
The Government's vision is for Ireland to fully implement the SDGs at home and to contribute to their achievement in order that no one is left behind. I was pleased, therefore, to launch Ireland's second national implementation plan for the SDGs along with the Tánaiste, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and other Government Ministers on 5 October 2022. The plan sets out Ireland's implementation strategy until 2024 and is focused on ensuring that the goals are better integrated into our work across Government, and more widely across local government. It sets out five key strategic objectives and 51 actions, involving 119 individual measures, to significantly increase Ireland's ambition and strengthen our implementation. Implementation of the goals is both a domestic and international priority.
I was pleased to meet with the President of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, at the UN General Assembly high-level week in September and to agree to his request that Ireland take on the role of co-facilitator of the political declaration for a UN SDG summit to be held in New York in September 2024. Ireland is deeply engaged in the elaboration and adoption of the goals. In that context, I very much welcome this opportunity for Ireland to play an ongoing role as we approach the mid-point in the journey to implementation by 2030. As I highlighted in my address to the United Nations General Assembly in September, progress made in implementing the goals in previous years has stalled, or in some cases gone into reverse, more recently as we have grappled with the Covid-19 pandemic, increased natural disasters and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, including for food security. It is all the more important, therefore, that governments redouble their efforts ahead of the summit in 2024 and in the years remaining to 2030.
There are six Deputies, so each will have up to a minute.
The Government's national implementation plan for the SDGs contains important principles and objectives shared with countries across the globe. The core commitment of Agenda 2030 is a pledge to leave no one behind. A focus is placed on ensuring the needs of the most vulnerable are met and quality and accessible services are to be enhanced. The Taoiseach has outlined the 51 actions involving 119 individual measures, but Ministers must deliver on outstanding Government commitments upon which these goals are built. An example is the transfer of disability services from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which has still not taken place despite there being a commitment in this regard in the programme for Government. I understand the blockage to the transfer lies with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, but no clarity has been provided as to what the issue actually is. We now have a crazy situation where the Minister for Health will no longer answer questions on services and budgets he says he is no longer responsible for and the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, will not address these matters until such time as the transfer has taken place.
Goal 4 refers to quality education and goal 10 refers to reducing inequalities. Both apply to a developing situation at Scoil Eoin in Innishannon, which I recently visited. It is a fantastic school with amazing staff. It has children with a whole range of intellectual disabilities and it is crying out for extra special needs assistants, SNAs. Not only is the school having an issue securing an extra SNA allocation, it is struggling to get the special educational needs organiser, SENO, to visit the school to see the situation on the ground. The SENO was supposed to visit the school on 26 October but now it has been put back. This is not only impacting the education of the children at the school but also the school's ability to provide education to future pupils with intellectual disabilities. I ask the Taoiseach to use his offices to intervene and ensure that at the very least, the SENO visits Scoil Eoin as soon as possible.
The SDGs are an internationally agreed set of progressive goals and aspiration. Goal 16 relates to justice, strong institutions and access to same. I put it to the Taoiseach that the Government's commitment to CETA threatens access to justice. He should not throw sand in people's eyes with talk about who is for free trade or trade generally. I am for fair trade, by the way, rather than free trade for the sake of it with no regard to whether it is fair or not. I am absolutely for trade that is mutually beneficial. The issue with CETA is the investor court system, which has not been implemented. The Taoiseach says trade with Canada has improved.
I thank the Deputy.
That is fine but we do not need this body standing above normal institutions for justice and favouring multinational companies and threatening access to justice for ordinary people.
I wish to pursue an issue Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach about yesterday but did not get anywhere with, namely, the corporate sustainability directive. This is a potentially important directive that would make corporations responsible for abuses of labour rights, environmental protection and consumer protection right through their supply chains. However, a massive corporate lobbying effort to water it down is happening. An important part of that effort is saying finance should be excluded. The Irish Coalition for Business and Human Rights met the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, last week and asked if the Government has taken a position on this. The coalition was told the Government has not done so. However, the next day Reuters reported:
Luxembourg, Ireland and Germany have indicated they want to exclude asset managers and institutional investors from scope [...] Ireland said in a submission it could not signal its agreement to including financial undertakings, and called for an assessment from the EU's securities, insurance and banking watchdogs ...
Is that the Government's position? How can the Taoiseach possibly justify it?
It is welcome that the Government recently recommitted to the SDGs, as the Taoiseach outlined, with the launch of the new national implementation plan up to 2024. I wish to speak about two goals. Goal 6 concerns clean water and sanitation, which speaks to an issue in my constituency of Dublin Bay South. I welcomed the recent announcement by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, that water quality monitoring would now take place year-round, in response to an ongoing campaign I have been running along with Deputy Carroll MacNeill. It is very welcome. In the interest of public health and goal 6, will the Government now inform swimmers about how to ensure safety in water as we see more and more recreational use of our water? I am taken with the Taoiseach's reminiscence about the cinema. It has been a long time since I went to the cinema but we can see an advertising campaign "brought to you by the Government of Ireland", informing people about water safety. I met Water Safety Ireland recently in Galway and it has some great creative advertising campaigns that deserve more support.
I refer also to goal 7 on affordable and clean energy-----
The Deputy is out of time.
-----and ask the Government to rule out the developments relating to liquefied natural gas, LNG, and the proposal to build LNG terminals.
It was not at the cinema but I was watching the Taoiseach over in Sharm El-Sheikh doing his best-boy-in-the-class routine again. While he was trotting out the hype in Egypt, the reality at home is very different. Take the well-being framework for example. The framework monitors 35 indicators of well-being and the 2022 report finds progress in some areas, a neutral, as-you-were situation in others and only one that was negative. Which indicator was negative? It was environment, climate and biodiversity. The report noted Ireland now has the highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita in Europe after Luxembourg and scored poorly on water pollution, etc. Will the Taoiseach accept Governments led by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael that were beholden to big business interests that put profit before the environment have failed, and are failing badly, on these crucial issues?
I thank the Deputies for raising the issues. The focus today is very domestic, whereas the SDGs have declined globally to a far more significant extent, especially with respect to nutrition. The World Food Programme is extremely alarmed at how, over the past five years, the numbers facing famine have grown exponentially and reversed the progress of the previous decade.
This is a big worry. That said, we need to keep a global focus on the SDGs.
In terms of the transfer of disability services from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, that was a decision the Government took at the beginning of its term. I am concerned at the length of time it is taking. I have told all Ministers that I want that brought to a conclusion as quickly as possible.
The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is working away all the time, with the HSE and within her Department, in terms of advancing a range of issues pertaining to disabilities more generally. To be fair, she has secured pretty significant additional resources over two budgets in respect of children with special needs and disabilities. I want to get the issue of the transfer brought to a conclusion. I do not disagree on that. It is something we will pursue.
Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan raised the issue of Scoil Eoin in Innishannon. I will certainly follow that up with the National Council for Special Education in the context of the SENO visiting the school. That is important. There has been a dramatic increase in expenditure and investment in special needs education in the past two years. The increase is quite dramatic when we look at it nationally. We should be in the position to help out in terms of what the issues are in that regard.
Deputy Boyd Barrett again raised the issue of CETA. I do not believe CETA represents a threat to justice or access to justice. As I said to him, all trade agreements have dispute resolution mechanisms.
No, they do not. That is not true.
I did not-----
The Taoiseach should stop saying it. It is not true. He has been saying it non-stop.
The Taoiseach, without interruption.
They are now standard practice and the Deputy knows that.
No, they are not.
I am answering Deputy Boyd Barrett.
I represented the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment at the European Parliament. They are not standard practice.
Let the Taoiseach respond, please.
This is nonsense
It is not nonsense.
It is not true. You keep saying that.
I am sorry, Deputy; you have a view. You are anti-trade and anti-enterprise. That is your position. Deputy Boyd Barrett made his comments in terms of his preferred trade and trade that is of mutual interest. We never hear ringing declarations, however. Let us be honest. Deputy Paul Murphy should be honest. His political philosophy does not believe in a capitalist system.
Yes, but-----
I believe in a social democratic system-----
Sure you do.
-----which is what we have in this country. We have much State ownership in this country. We own the railways. We own the water supply, unlike our neighbours, and so on.
It is not compatible with the idea of investor courts.
You guys do not believe in any enterprise at all. You ideologically do not believe in it, which is your entitlement.
That is not true
That is where you are coming from in respect of CETA and other trade agreements. You should be honest about it.
Answer the question.
That is where you are coming from.
We are honest.
The point is that the Supreme Court clarified what can be done here. Given where this country is coming from and the need to continue to create employment, we must be open and proactive with regard to accessing fair and accessible markets in terms of growing jobs in this country. I do not believe that is Deputy Boyd Barrett's position. He has an ideological perspective, which is his entitlement.
The Taoiseach is running out of time.
The Deputy should be honest about it and call it out. In the future, the Japanese and Singaporean agreements will have dispute resolution mechanisms. That will be a feature. There are protections we can build in. One of ours is that we have a written Constitution. We are also members of the European Union treaty. Europe is going Fit for 55. It is not entering into trade agreements to undermine its own policies on the environment-----
We are going to run out of time.
-----which are very strict policies. Let us get a bit real about all of this too.
Taoiseach, we are going to run out of time.
Deputy Murphy Paul Murphy talked about the corporate sustainability directive. That has not passed. There is always-----
Is the Taoiseach lobbying to get rid of finance?
I am sorry. There is always engagement between governments regarding a range of issues in terms of any directive. No one is passive when a directive is being negotiated at European level.
Are you lobbying to get rid of finance?
We are not having a discussion.
I am just making a point to you.
Will you answer the question? You are not here to make a point.
We do not lobby. We are members of the European Union.
Yes.
As a country, we have an entitlement----
Yes.
-----to seek amendments and give opinions and views-----
To remove what?
---as a directive is being debated.
If we could pause for a moment; the interaction has to stop. We are going to run out of time. I want to get to the next round. Members should please give responses through the Chair.
I am doing it through the Chair but I am being interrupted all the time. That is fine too; I take it on the chin.
Please, let the Taoiseach respond.
Are you lobbying to get rid of finance or not? The Taoiseach will not answer me because that is what is happening.
Deputy Bacik raised the issue of water quality monitoring. I endorse what she said about some very imaginative advertisements around water safety. Her view is that we need to do more in terms of water quality monitoring. That is improving now. It is going to enhance for swimmers, in particular the quality of water in their bays. I read Mr. Mark Henry's chapter on this. There has been a dramatic improvement over 20 or 30 years in water quality. The lesson is that we could do more faster in the current era to get more water treatment plants done, and also flood protection schemes. They are being objected to left, right and centre, however.
We have gone way over time.
People are very vulnerable. There always has to be a balance and trade-offs in terms of trying to get the vital infrastructure that protects water quality and protects people from being flooded on a continuing basis in place. There are always groups that want to get the optimum in different situations, and we have problems with infrastructure.
I can tell Deputy Barry that I was not doing the best-boy-in-the-class routine at Sharm El-Sheik. What you quoted from the well-being framework is what I quoted some weeks ago in this House in answering questions to your good selves.
Did the Taoiseach quote it in Sharm El-Sheik?
No interruptions, please.
I highlighted it. I have been very modest about Ireland because Ireland has been a laggard for the last ten years of respect of climate change. We are now catching up but we have a long way to go and much to do. What I said at Sharm El-Sheik was that the carbon tax gave us very substantial funds to enable us to combat fuel poverty, provide for environmentally friendly farming and, above all, provide for a comprehensive sustainable retrofitting programme for the next ten years.
I thank the Taoiseach. We are way over time.
These are things the Deputy opposes all the time.
We are way over time. Ten minutes have now gone on to the clock for the last round of questions.
Defence Forces
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:12. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the high-level steering board, chaired by the Secretary General of his Department, to oversee the implementation of the high-level action plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. [52764/22]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:13. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the high-level steering board, chaired by the Secretary General of his Department, to oversee the implementation of the high-level action plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. [54842/22]
Paul Murphy
Question:14. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the high-level steering board, chaired by the Secretary General of his Department, to oversee the implementation of the high-level action plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. [54844/22]
Sorca Clarke
Question:15. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the high-level steering board, chaired by the Secretary General of his Department, to oversee the implementation of the high-level action plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. [54853/22]
Ivana Bacik
Question:16. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the high-level steering board, chaired by the Secretary General of his Department, to oversee the implementation of the high-level action plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. [55386/22]
Mick Barry
Question:17. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the high-level steering board, chaired by the Secretary General of his Department, to oversee the implementation of the high-level action plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. [56449/22]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 to 17, inclusive, together.
The high-level action plan for the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces sets out initial implementation and oversight structures. It was agreed by the Government on 12 July 2022. Under the action plan, a high-level steering board will oversee the implementation of the report's recommendations. In addition to supporting and guiding the implementation, the board will also act as a clearing house for issues or blockages in the implementation of the Commission's recommendations.
The steering board will be chaired by the Secretary General of my Department. Membership of the board will include the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, the Secretaries General of the Departments of Defence, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Public Expenditure and Reform and the Environment, Climate and Communications, as well as the Chair of the implementation oversight group. It would not be anticipated that the board will meet until the implementation process has had some time to get under way.
The independently chaired implementation oversight group will oversee and drive progress with regard to the implementation of the recommendations of the commission. Significant work is progressing on the early actions and the development of the implementation plan. To support this work, the implementation oversight group met for the first time on 3 October, with a further two meetings due to take place before the end of the year.
A civil-military implementation management office has been established to support the implementation of the overall programme required to implement recommendations from the commission's report. The initial focus of the office is the implementation of the 38 early actions as set out in the high-level action plan and the development of an implementation plan within six months of the Government decision in July. Reporting mechanisms have been established to facilitate regular progress on the early actions.
I ask for Deputies' co-operation. Deputy Clarke has one minute.
In the same week that the high-level action plan was published by Government, it was reported that female members made almost as many sexual allegations in the previous 12 months as they had in the previous decade. Yet, the Minister was told in June 2021 there was just one such allegation to that point.
How can the Women of Honour group and others have confidence that the review group that was set up after the Sinn Féin motion calling for a full statutory inquiry will effect the necessary change when such contradictory information surrounding even the level of reporting exists? We should not confuse engaging with that review as complete support for that review.
Has the Taoiseach seen the interim report by the review group? Does it address the allegation processes that sought to limit or circumvent reporting? Does it address the use of non-disclosure agreements? The majority of those in the Defence Forces are honest, hard-working people. They also need to have confidence in this report. When will the transformational change to modernise the organisation culture be in place, namely, the civilian head for transformation and the gender adviser?
I thank the Deputy. Her time is up. We have to be fair to everybody.
Does the Taoiseach intend to publish a progress report before he leaves office?
I thank the Deputy. Next we have Deputy Boyd Barrett. He has one minute.
The decision of the Putin regime to sanction the Taoiseach and other Ministers is a further worrying sign about what is happening to our reputation as a neutral country.
It has implications for our Defence Forces whose safety when deployed on missions is also linked to our reputation as a neutral country. We all condemn Putin's bloody war and the escalation we are seeing at the moment. However, the Government's association with and echoing of the NATO line, abandoning a position of neutrality which should be about upholding opposition to war and military solutions in dangerous conflicts like this, is undermining our neutrality and our international reputation as a neutral country. Ultimately it is endangering the Irish Defence Forces.
The latest in the undermining of what is left of neutrality and participation in a process of European militarisation is reported today, with Ireland backing a plan for EU member states to team up to purchase jointly military equipment. That comes on top of the revelation that Ireland participated in person at two meetings happening at NATO headquarters in Brussels over the last couple of months and one meeting at NATO allied air command at the Ramstein air base in Germany. It also comes just before participation in a military training exercise for Ukrainian troops. According to the press statement, the aim of the mission is to contribute to enhancing the military capability of Ukraine's armed forces. It is clearly a full spectrum. Will there be a vote in the Dáil?
Why is the State continuing to use non-disclosure agreements against women in the Defence Forces who take court action on the issues of sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual violence within those forces? The Defence Forces have had a culture of sexual harassment, sexual assault and sexual violence which has thrived on secrecy. That culture of secrecy is now being bolstered and supplemented by the State's use of these non-disclosure agreements. We are told that the independent review group will submit its report to the Minister by the end of the year. Can the Taoiseach be more exact? Will it be next week, or the week after? When is the Taoiseach going to concede the necessity of a full statutory inquiry which the Women of Honour have been forced to wait for for too long now?
All the questions are about the implementation of the high-level action plan in respect of the Commission on the Defence Forces, which is a broader issue and is going at pace. In respect of the Women of Honour issue, I have met with both groups and we are waiting for the conclusion of the review. It was important to do that review and then to take further action depending on its recommendations. There is a need for fundamental culture change within our Defence Forces in respect of the treatment of women, parity of esteem, respect and true equality.
Why is the State using non-disclosure agreements?
In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, I am very disturbed by what he has said. He effectively justified Putin's decision in sanctioning my good self and others. He said it is a worrying sign in terms of Ireland's reputation as a neutral country.
It is not.
We are now seen as protagonists.
By Putin. We are seen by Putin as a protagonist and the Deputy is sort of saying he is right, that the Taoiseach should be worried because Putin sanctioned me. I do not understand where he is coming from, genuinely. He added on that dangerous line about endangering the Irish Defence Forces because Putin is a bully and is trying to intimidate people.
We have respect as a neutral country.
The Deputy should let the Taoiseach respond.
The Deputy should withdraw any implication or suggestion that Putin's sanctioning the Taoiseach of the day in this country is somehow confirmation that Ireland is not neutral.
I am saying the Taoiseach is now a protagonist in a war.
We are militarily neutral. We are not protagonists in this war. We have welcomed Ukrainian refugees into this country.
We are training their military.
We have allocated humanitarian aid to Ukraine. We have worked with our colleagues in the European Union. We are part of the European Union, a political bloc which values liberal democracies and has no truck with and does not believe----
Except in Palestine, western Sahara, or Saudi-----
Europe is the biggest donor to Palestine. That is the Deputy's classic line on this. That is why I doubt his commitment totally. It is all whataboutery with Deputy Boyd Barrett. Of course we condemn it, he says, and then he moves on. I always note his emphasis and where he focuses.
These are consistent principles.
It is always predominantly against Europe and the West, and less so, frankly, against Russia. He throws out the one line about Russia and moves quickly on.
We have been condemning Putin for years. When Bertie Ahern was shaking his hand we were condemning him.
That has been the hallmark of all of his contributions in this crisis. I take issue with what he has said in respect of Putin's sanctioning of my good self as somehow confirmation that we are perceived no longer to be neutral. That is an outrageous assertion. We are militarily neutral. We are not members of any alliance.
We have taken sides in a conflict between military blocs.
We are taking sides on behalf of a country that has been invaded on the basis of an imperialist 19th century view that Ukraine has no right to exist. The Deputy is saying we are taking sides. Absolutely, we are supporting Ukraine in its right to its territorial integrity and sovereignty and the rights of the Ukrainian people to a decent life, not to be bombed every single day by a despot.
What about non-disclosure agreements? Not a word.
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