Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 17 Nov 2022

Vol. 1029 No. 5

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Planning Issues

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, the best after his incident yesterday. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for coming in and substituting for the question. This is my third time speaking on this issue. I am passionate about it. I served as a county councillor for six years before I had the honour of being elected to this House. I have fundamental concerns about the direction of local democracy, particularly in regard to the issue of the powers of the Office of the Planning Regulator, OPR. One of the few remaining powers that local councillors have in city and county areas is their development plan. It is the one thing they can take ownership of. It is great that they have that say at local level in their own local electoral areas, counties and cities. I understand the role of the OPR. There has been correspondence between myself; the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien; and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke; in regard to this issue. I can nearly predict the answer that the Minister of State will read out shortly. I understand the role of the OPR but I believe there is over-reach. When the OPR was initially mapped out, I do not believe it was envisaged that it would to go into each and every local area plan in such minute detail.

I have spoken here before about the role of the OPR in recommending the dezoning of land that is serviceable. I could speak about instances in Fermoy and Bantry in County Cork. Deputies Stanton and O’Connor in east Cork regularly mention an outlet centre in Carrigtwohill, which is the best example of the OPR’s over-reach. I will give the House an idea of what that relates to. On two occasions, Cork County Council took legal action against the Minister in respect of the OPR’s recommendations and on both occasions the council was vindicated. Despite being vindicated on two separate occasions in two separate legal cases, the OPR continues to recommend to the Minister that he put a halt to this potential outlet centre in east Cork. If a court makes a judgment and that judgment is stood over not once but twice, I do not see how the OPR can put the Minister in a difficult position by continuing to recommend that the project be shelved. Thankfully in that situation the Minister, on foot of receiving his own advice, sided with the county council essentially and did not enforce the OPR’s recommendation. That said, how did the OPR get into a situation where not once but twice it went against two legal judgments? It is reprehensible that it would put the Minister in that position.

I understand why the OPR is there. I understand why we must be careful about land zoning in view of the history we have in the State with regard to the Moriarty and Mahon tribunals. For me, the OPR is not the police officer. If there are allegations of impropriety or illegal activity, the Standards in Public Office Commission or some other body that is legislated for should enforce any difficulties with regard to zoning. I do not believe this role was initially envisaged for the OPR. My rant is the same; it is about the OPR over-reaching, particularly in the case of Carrigtwohill when it ill-advised the Minister. I know that the Minister has not always agreed with the OPR. I have asked numerous parliamentary questions about it and obtained the statistics on that. For me, fundamentally it comes back to local democracy in action. If we do not leave these powers with councillors, what are councillors there for?

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

I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien; and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke. I wish the Minister of State the very best as well.

I thank Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan for his question on the activities of the OPR concerning county and city development plans. It is probable that the Deputy has already heard much of the response I am about to give him. The Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, gives the OPR a statutory basis to carry out three main functions. One core function of the OPR is the independent assessment of all local authority and regional assembly statutory plan-making processes. This includes county and city development plans, local area plans, and regional spatial and economic strategies. The OPR provides observations during the drafting of statutory plans. If the OPR finds that a local authority's plans are ultimately not consistent with relevant regional or national policies, it can recommend the use of ministerial powers of direction to bring plans back in line with statutory requirements and best practice. If the Minister does not agree with the recommendations of the OPR, he or she must prepare a statement of reasons for this decision which is then laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas.

Recommendations issued by the OPR relate to clear breaches of the relevant legislative provisions, the national or regional policy framework or Government policy, as set out in ministerial guidelines under section 28 of the Act. As such, the planning authority is required to implement or address recommendations made by the OPR in order to ensure consistency with the relevant policy and legislative provisions. The Minister's powers pursuant to the section 31 process are invoked on receipt of a notice issued by the OPR in accordance with section 31AM(8) of the Act. Since its establishment in April 2019, the OPR has assessed and evaluated 22 city and county development plans to adoption stage. Of the 22 adopted plans, 13 have been the subject of a section 31AM(8) notice letter from the OPR to the Minister of State with responsibility for planning and local government recommending that the Minister issue a draft direction. All 13 draft directions have been issued by the Minister. The OPR has to date recommended that the Minister issue final direction notice letters on 12 of those, with the outstanding one due to be issued to the Minister by mid-January 2023. To date, final section 31 directions have been issued on seven development plans. The remaining recommendations are under consideration by the Minister.

The planning issues which were the subject of the seven section 31 final directions issued by the Minister on county development plan reviews can be summarised generally as follows: excessive and inappropriate land use zonings for a variety of land uses, often in peripheral locations at a remove from settlements or subject to a number of specific site constraints including flooding, access and servicing; the inclusion of conflicting wind energy policies; prohibitive policies related to the banning or limiting of certain types of development; and flood risk management. There have been four occasions when the Minister has decided not to include all of the recommendations made by the OPR in issuing either a draft or a final direction. The four directions in question are as follows: the section 31 draft direction on the Kerry county development plan 2022-28 did not issue on one of the recommendations made by the OPR relating to renewable energy targets; the section 31 final direction on the Cork county development plan 2022-28 did not issue on two of the recommendations made by the OPR relating to retail planning policy, to which Deputy O'Sullivan referred; the section 31 final direction on the Westmeath county development plan 2021-27 did not issue on one of the recommendations made by the OPR relating to renewable energy targets, specifically wind energy; and the section 31 final direction on the Laois county development plan 2022-28 did not issue on one of the recommendations made by the OPR relating to renewable energy targets, specifically wind energy.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. She has given me much of the same information I have been given on previous occasions when I have raised this matter. I am not trying to undermine the OPR. In the overall argument, I know the OPR has a job to do.

While I cannot speak for all of us, most of us here would have started as county councillors and city councillors. We know how important it is locally to our constituents that we are involved in this process.

The way the OPR has acted at times has been counterproductive to local democracy in action. I note all of the other county development plans that were referenced here but I can speak to Cork. Cork city development plan is still being actively scrutinised by the Minister’s Department pending those recommendations being implemented or not. I know the Minister has said he cannot speak to those, and I understand that. However, of the nine items that are listed in the city council plan, for example, at least three that I am aware of are on serviced land. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has said previously that no serviced sites should be dezoned - he said that on the record - but I can flag three separate occasions in the city plan, which has yet to be adjudicated on, where that has not happened.

As I said, I do not want to sound like a broken record but Carrigtwohill is the one that really sticks with me. I think the OPR's recommendation put the Minister in a very tough spot. The court case was quite clear and it was quite clear that the OPR was defeated, essentially, in what it was proposing yet it still went on to recommend to the Minister that it would implement its recommendation. For me, there should be massive alarm bells ringing at that. I know the Minister of State cannot comment on the live issues but I believe the future of local democracy is on the line and now is the time to question it.

Deputy Mary Butler

I know the Deputy has raised this issue on several occasions. To conclude, there were four occasions where the Minister had decided not to include all of the recommendations made by the office, and they were in regard to Kerry, Cork, Westmeath and Laois. For each of the four, the Minister has prepared and submitted a statement of reason to both Houses of the Oireachtas as to why he had not agreed with the recommendations of the OPR. As the Deputy said, seven development plans are still undergoing the review process and will remain subject to evaluation and assessment by the OPR.

It is worth remembering that the Office of the Planning Regulator was formally established in April 2019 on foot of recommendations made by the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments – the Mahon tribunal. The appointment of an independent planning regulator empowered to oversee the planning system in Ireland was one of the key recommendations of the tribunal. Since its establishment, the OPR has been a key part of our national and regional planning infrastructure. It has a valuable role in ensuring that the process and formulation of city and county development plans are consistent with national planning policies. The Office of the Planning Regulator is an independent body tasked with ensuring that local authorities’ plans are consistent with relevant national and regional planning policy objectives.

The Minister is empowered to direct a planning authority to take specified measures in regard to a development plan further to a recommendation of the OPR. In the case where the Minister does not agree with the recommendation of the OPR, he must prepare a statement of reasons and that is what he has done on four occasions when he has not agreed in regard to some of the recommendations from the OPR.

I will certainly pass on the Deputy's concerns to the Minister. As I said, I know he has raised this several times before.

Traveller Accommodation

Deputy Denise Mitchell

The Ombudsman for Children launched a report in May 2021 detailing the very serious concerns for residents in Spring Lane, Cork. It found that the living conditions were deplorable. The ombudsman’s report had ten recommendations, with 17 actions which needed to be taken. Last November, Deputies Ellis, Joan Collins and I visited the site as part of the committee and, to be upfront, we were absolutely appalled at the conditions the Traveller community had to put up with. They raised concerns with us on the day and we brought these issues back to Cork City Council, which we met later that evening.

We have since been contacted by residents to tell us that these issues still have not been resolved a year later. There are issues where toilets are still not up to scratch and are still backing up and flooding during bad weather and Cork City Council has not concreted a bay at the lowest point of the site, which it promised to do last February. One family who spoke to us on the day had a leaking roof; they received a guarantee that this would be addressed but a year on, it is still not sorted. As we go into the winter months, it is very concerning.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Cork City Council need to make sure these issues are addressed with urgency. The reality is that we are 18 months on from this damning report and these families are still living in deplorable conditions. The Minister of State will agree it is totally unacceptable.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

The Ombudsman for Children issued a damning report in May 2021, which said that the rights of Traveller children were being violated at the Spring Lane halting site in Cork. The report details what was described as failure after failure to improve living conditions, with children being left in filthy, overcrowded, rat infested, cold and damp living conditions. It was concerning to say the least that families and young children were living in such atrocious and unsafe conditions. The site required a radical overhaul and extensive refurbishment as a matter of urgency, particularly with regard to washing and toilet facilities and living facilities. The Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community visited the site last year. As a member of the committee on that visit, I can confirm that many of the issues highlighted in the report and raised by the local Traveller community were witnessed by me and by the other members of the committee.

Additionally, the report found that the implementation of Traveller accommodation plans had been discriminatory and unfair. We were assured at the time at a meeting with Cork City Council that these issues would be dealt with and it is disappointing that many of these serious issues have not been properly addressed. The outstanding issues need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. At the time, Cork City Council said it would have the system independently equality-proofed in autumn but that does not seem to have happened either. Excuses were made as to the reasons why it did not meet its targets, blaming weather, security events and lengthy court proceedings. It is simply not acceptable. We need action.

Deputy Joan Collins

The Office of the Ombudsman for Children published No End in Site in May 2021. One of the recommendations, at section 7.14.2, states, “That a system is in place to ensure routine and emergency maintenance works and upgrade works are addressed in a timely manner and that contracts with external service providers are proactively managed.” Cork City Council formally responded to this, stating it would put an updated system in place to ensure routine and emergency maintenance and upgrade works are carried out efficiently in quarter 4 of 2021. We are now in quarter 4 of 2022.

As Deputies Ellis and Mitchell said, we visited the site last year and were appalled at the conditions people were living in. We met one mother of a large family and the family's youngest son, who suffers from the rare Williams syndrome. They highlighted the damage caused to the roof of the family’s Portakabin. The matter had been reported to Cork City Council prior to our visit but it saddens me to report that, almost one year later, the matter remains unaddressed. In fact, it has got worse, as the roof started leaking and the leak has got steadily worse. The mother said on Friday that she can only imagine what will happen given the heavy rains, and today is the first clear rain day in Cork over the past four weeks. There was also another situation where a family at the lowest end of the site had literally to step into a mini-swimming pool to get out of their unit, even though three contractors had already submitted assessments to put in concrete flooring. This cannot go on.

The Traveller accommodation unit of the Department should be following this up strictly with Cork City Council and directing it to implement the things it was supposed to do and fix the issues.

Deputy Mary Butler

I compliment the Oireachtas committee members who have taken such an interest in the Spring Lane halting site. I am aware of the ombudsman's report. It is disappointing to hear from all three Deputies that things have not improved after the site having been visited and funding provided. I agree wholeheartedly that these issues need to be addressed urgently. I am taking this Topical Issue matter on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien.

The Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998 provides that local authorities have statutory responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of multi-annual Traveller accommodation programmes in their areas in order to meet the identified accommodation needs. The role of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is to ensure there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist the authorities in providing such accommodation, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding.

The 2022 budget provision is €18 million, an increase of €2.5 million on 2021, and I am pleased to note this will increase further in 2023, to €20 million. The full capital provision of €15.5 million was expended in 2021 providing Traveller-specific accommodation and, this year, is on course for full spend.

Cork City Council is working on a range of measures in response to the recommendations in No End in Site, the report of the Ombudsman for Children's Office, in order to improve conditions on the halting site. I am informed by the Minister's office that the council is focusing on immediate short-term measures, as well as progressing projects to provide a longer-term response to the accommodation needs of the families on site. The Department undertakes regular monthly meetings with Cork City Council in order to monitor progress by the council, while also ensuring the necessary supports are available in a timely manner. To this end, the Department has provided funding of more than €1.4 million for improvement works at Spring Lane halting site since 2015. In addition, a mediator funded by the Department has been appointed to assist the council in assessing the needs of individual families on a continuous basis to establish long-term housing solutions.

The Department is informed that the city council is working towards publishing a Part 8 planning application for the redevelopment of both Spring Lane and Ellis Yard as well as a third local authority development which will provide long-term accommodation for the families. Funding of more than €6 million has been approved by the Department for plans under way by the council for the development of a group housing scheme at the adjacent and disused Ellis Yard site. In addition, Cork City Council is preparing a number of applications under the pilot caravan loan scheme, introduced by the Department, which supports the provision of Traveller-specific accommodation by providing preferential loans to Travellers to purchase their own caravan for use as their primary residence on halting sites.

Meeting the needs of all Traveller communities continues to be a priority for the local authorities and the Department under my colleagues, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke.

I have been working closely with Travellers in respect of mental health. Last week, I was at Pavee Point when a new website at youngpavee.ie was launched. The website is entitled Mind Your Nuck. Nuck means head. I was delighted to work with young Travellers that day. In the context of providing mental health supports for Travellers, it is important to note that this is a cross-departmental issue that may involve inadequate housing, social welfare or education, and the relevant Departments have to work together. I have noticed that the mental health of Travellers can be seriously impacted by their living conditions. Although I see that the Minister has put the financial supports in place, it is disappointing that little has changed heading into winter.

Deputy Denise Mitchell

I thank the Minister of State. I agree with her. Although the response from the Department speaks to looking to the future, we have to support the families on the halting site in the now. I appeal to her to go back to the Department and ask it to look at the issues this community is experiencing in the context of maintenance. The Department needs to ensure that, for now, the roof is fixed and the concrete bay put in, and then we can go forward with the other plans.

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community published its report last year in this House. The report set out 18 recommendations relating to accommodation for Travellers. One of the recommendations was that an audit of all sites be carried out to examine the living conditions. It is not the brief of the Minister of State but could she ask the Minister for housing whether any of those audits have taken place? If they have not, will she ask him when they will take place?

Deputy Dessie Ellis

The Minister stated that €1.4 million has been allocated to Spring Lane since 2015. I wonder how much of that ended up as an underspend. That is what has happened across the country. We have seen underspend on many projects relating to the Traveller community.

I was impressed by the resilience of the community on the halting site. They greeted us and brought us into their homes. Even though the conditions there were so bad, they were still in great spirits and very welcoming. The Minister of State mentioned the that the council is considering another site and that Part 8 has gone through, but I hope that is being done in proper consultation with all the people on Spring Lane and that no one is left out. I ask the Minister of State to ensure there is consultation. There are many issues happening in this situation. Young kids are missing out on education because of the conditions on the halting site. It is also giving rise to issues relating to mental health, as the Minister of State recognised.

Deputy Joan Collins

There are two issues here. The first is the long-term development of Spring Lane, and that seems to be moving along. What is not being addressed, however, is the maintenance of the halting site at the moment. The Cork Traveller Visibility Group wrote to us in that regard. The letter states:

As you should know, [this family's] temporary, makeshift bay is one of the lowest points of the site, ... one of the places which floods first and worst. The family has been both self advocating and advocating through the local Traveller organisations for improvements to their immediate living circumstances, the required 'upgrade works', as the long-term permanent accommodation is still several years in the future.

The basic improvements the family has been looking for includes a permanent, raised surface in the temporary bay ... including measures to take rainwater away, a proper step into the mobile home, and a covering to the underside of the mobile home to improve heat retention and to aid rodent control.

The council came back after three procurements and three companies going to the site and said that all the Traveller accommodation unit could do was to put a temporary base on the mobile home and it did not have the back of the mobile home to improve the heat retention. It has not even implemented what it put money into getting procurement for. It is now saying it is not implementing what it paid those people to do. I do not believe a word out of Cork City Council's mouth when it comes to the Travelling community at Spring Lane. The council has not delivered on what it said it would do, which is to deal with maintenance.

Deputy Mary Butler

As regards the points made, it appears that plans are in place for a long-term solution, with €6 million having been approved by the Department for plans under way by the council for the development of a group housing scheme at the adjacent and disused Ellis Yard and the redevelopment of Spring Lane and Ellis Yard. Officials from Cork City Council have been in ongoing engagement with the families on the site, with the aid of mediators funded by the Department, which is welcome, to reach agreement on long-term accommodation solutions for the families. We all welcome that but the issue seems to relate to what needs to be done in the short term. The Department is saying it will continue its ongoing engagement with the city council to provide the necessary supports to ensure the council is well positioned to meet the challenges in this case in a timely manner.

I again compliment the Oireachtas committee. It is really proactive of the Deputies to go down to Cork, meet the Travelling community and get feedback afterwards. I will bring it all back to the Minister because, as I said, it crosses over to my brief. We have a plan coming shortly. It will relate specifically to the health and mental health of the Travelling community.

If people's living conditions are not appropriate, it is very hard for that not to affect their physical and mental health. I thank all three Deputies for coming together on this matter. I will certainly feed it back.

An Ceann Comhairle

I thank the Minister of State. This is a very important matter that we had the opportunity to discuss. Having advocated the establishment of the all-party Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community, an ad hoc process is in place while we are waiting to re-establish it on a permanent basis. The case the Minister of State has brought forward is proof positive of the need to get that committee back into permanent existence-----

Deputy Mary Butler

I agree.

An Ceann Comhairle

-----so she can travel the country and see these halting sites. I am amazed that the esteemed officials in Cork need to bring intermediaries in to interpret what the requirements of the Traveller community in Cork are. They all speak the same language so it should be possible for them, without the aid of intermediaries, to work out what is needed, especially if there is €1.4 million in the coffers to do the work.

Family Law Cases

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for again affording me the opportunity to raise this issue in the House. As he knows, I raised it several weeks ago, when he gave me permission to do so, as did the Leas-Cheann Comhairle subsequently. Since then, matters have got worse as opposed to better. Normally, as the Ceann Comhairle knows, if one raises a matter in this House, there is usually a hurried rush to make changes and to ensure nothing is happening that should not be happening. That is not the case in this situation.

The situation continues whereby mothers, in the course of their rightful entitlement to go before the family law courts, are being ridiculed, despised and treated with contempt, and are having their self-esteem and confidence removed from them to such an extent that they are now afraid to go back to the courts in case they lose. In fact, they know they will lose. They are losing all the time. The rule of law does not apply to them. Due process and natural justice is no longer available to them because in the confrontational system that now applies in the courts, there is a bargaining situation between custody and whatever else might be available or possible in a settlement.

We all know that people fall in and out of love. I am not making any complaint about that at all; it happens. It is an extraordinary situation, however, whereby a gentleman in the United States some years back coined the phrase, "parental alienation", on the basis that children should be examined to find out the cause of their dissatisfaction with one parent or the other. This is after a separation. There is a simple answer to it: there is a separation. It is not the same as before. Something needs to be done to help out and not make the situation worse, but that goes on.

There are situations where constituents of the Ceann Comhairle's and mine have been put in cells while going through the process and their future was discussed in their absence. That is an amazing situation in a democracy. There have been situations where children have been taken away in the middle of the night, placed in very doubtful custody circumstances and locations, and where cases of sexual violence, and attacks made on that basis, have been subsequently brought to the attention of the institutions concerned. This is an appalling situation. It is particularly appalling in the context of the veil of secrecy and the veil of the in camera rule that protects everybody involved and nobody can ask questions about it. As the Ceann Comhairle knows, he allowed Members to raise questions about this, thankfully. I identified some of the chief conspirators, as I call them, in this particular situation. It is not them exclusively; more than one institution is involved. The fact remains, however, that women who are mothers are being treated despicably in the first place and children are being treated with absolute contempt when, for example, gardaí were ordered to go into a school, remove the children from the classroom, and place them in the custody of the other party.

This is not one occurrence but several. It continues to be the case that a parent is not allowed to rebut the allegation made against her in court. I presume it is because she is a woman. The system is so overbearing insofar as women are concerned. We thought that, down through the years, we had produced legislation in this House to protect women and children. We did so but that protection is not happening. It has now been brought to public attention again.

I thank the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, for bringing in new rules for the conduct of cases. That is important but we need to deal with the particular issue that prevails at this time and the victims of it.

An Ceann Comhairle

Before I call the Minister of State to respond, I will say that when it comes to parliamentary questions and Topical Issue matters, I am advised, as all my predecessors have been, on whether I should accept or reject particular questions. There have been a whole host of questions from the Deputy on this particular matter and, with very few exceptions, the advice I have got is to rule him out of order, which I have not done. The reason I have not is that while I fully accept the separation of powers, I also fully accept that Deputy Durkan is a long-serving, distinguished Member of this House who does not raise matters without good reason. He has consistently raised this matter and he is entitled to get a proper and adequate response. I do not know what the response should be. I do not know where right or wrong rests in this, but the very least he or any Member of the House is entitled to is a response.

Deputy Mary Butler

I convey the apologies of my colleague, the Minster for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who cannot be here for this matter due to another commitment. I am happy to respond on her behalf.

On behalf of the Minister, I thank Deputy Durkan for raising this important matter and for giving me the opportunity to provide clarity on some issues. As the Deputy is aware, I am unable to comment on any individual case or category of cases. The Deputy may be interested to know that, yesterday, the Minister published the first national family justice strategy and secured Government approval for the family court Bill 2022, which will be published in the coming days. These are the mechanisms by which the Minister intends to reform how our family justice system operates to make it more efficient, more user-friendly and less adversarial, and to develop a system that puts the family at the centre of its work. Everybody will welcome that. This is a key commitment in the Minister's Justice Plan 2022. The family court Bill will provide many of the building blocks essential to the reform of the family justice system. The Bill will create new dedicated family courts as divisions within the existing court structures, with family court judges assigned on a full-time basis.

To support the legislative changes proposed in the family court Bill, the Minister established a family justice oversight group to develop the first national strategy for the reform of the family justice system. The oversight group was chaired by the Department of Justice and made up of representatives from the main statutory agencies across the family justice system. The work of the group was informed by a wide-ranging consultation process. As well as relevant stakeholders and members of the public, a bespoke consultation took place with children and young people who engage with the family justice system. The strategy has nine goals and more than 50 actions, with the aim of establishing a strong foundation for a future system that will be child and family centred, and more streamlined and user-friendly, which everybody will welcome. Among the actions in the strategy is the examination of the role of expert reports in the family law process and to make recommendations regarding their future application and function.

In addition to this progress, the Minister recently held a public consultation on the topic of parental alienation, which the Deputy referred to. This provided a valuable opportunity to stakeholders and citizens to express their views on this complex issue and inform her Department's thinking on whether any legislative or policy changes may be required. All views, opinions and experiences submitted as part of that consultation have been welcomed and the responses received are under review.

We can never ignore lived experience so I hope this answers some of the Deputy's questions.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank the Minister of State and the Department for attaching importance to this issue. That deals with the issue for the future, which I welcome. Unfortunately, it does not deal with the current situation, which continues unabated. The question of parental alienation was always scoffed at by contributors in family law. It is regarded as a flawed resolution to a particular problem, which creates a further problem at the expense of mothers.

We as creators of the law have put in place the necessary procedures whereby women and children are protected. We learn from past experience again and again over the years that we should have listened to the children. Remember that? We spoke about it in this House several times. What the children are saying is a warning to us in these cases but their warnings and those of their mothers are being dismissed. This cannot continue and it will not continue. Whatever must be done will be done in the shortest possible time to release from that burden the people who are suffering because mothers and children are part of the population of this country. They are in an area where they expect to be well treated and get due process and natural justice. They are not getting it. It is slowly stripping away from them any power and voice they thought they had and it is sad that we have to make this reference. I hope to see some dramatic changes in the next few days as to what might be done to deal with the system that cannot go on.

Deputy Mary Butler

On behalf of the Minister, I again thank Deputy Durkan for raising this really important matter. The Minister intends to reform how our family law system operates to make it more efficient and user-friendly and less adversarial and to develop a system that puts the family at the centre of its work. That is very welcome.

The Department also arranged for a separate strand of independent research on parental alienation to be carried out last year. The Minister is pleased to say that a draft report has been received by the Department and is being reviewed. It is expected that the research and the public consultation will create a deeper understanding of the issue and inform the Department's consideration of policy in law in this area. Work is ongoing to integrate these strands of work and the Minister expects a report outlining the outcome of the research and consultation process and any resulting recommendations. I take on board the Deputy's point. This is really welcome news and cannot happen soon enough but it is the immediate term about which the Deputy is concerned and I will certainly pass on his comments to the Minister.

Road Tolls

Deputy Duncan Smith

The increase in tolls came as a bolt out of the blue for everyone, including Government, today. I am probably the only Deputy in this Chamber who does not have to go through a toll to get to Leinster House. I am looking at the M7, M8 and M9. We are all used to paying tolls. The M50 and the Dublin Port Tunnel are in my county.

This is not about tolling as a revenue raiser. Nobody likes paying tolls but it is accepted across the world as a way of paying for a road system. This is not about raising money for climate or congestion measures. It would be a totally different argument if it was. This is raising tolls to the maximum allowable under the existing contract by eight private companies in PPPs with the State for the running of a toll road system and the M50, which is wholly State-owned. The M50 brought in €140 million in revenue last year, which was a year of curtailed movement and economic activity, and €1.2 billion over the past ten years. These are huge revenue raisers for the State for reinvestment in our road network.

What has happened now is just a undefined and unexplained grab for the maximum allowable revenue by these companies under the guise of keeping up with inflation. We have an Oireachtas transport committee, a Committee of Public Accounts and the Dáil. We have spokespeople who can be contacted directly. We have plenty of opportunities for TII to come to us and say "we know we are in a cost-of-living crisis but these companies feel they need to raise that" and to let us interrogate that. I do not believe they need to raise tolls. The Tánaiste said today that he is not happy with it, that it caught him by surprise and that now this has been announced, the Government will engage. I hope that as the sun sets and rises tomorrow, the Government does not think this has moved on and that people will just absorb another ten, 20 or 30 cent increase in their tolls. I will use my local example. If you have to travel from Swords to Ballymount to go through the M50 every day, that is €110 to €120 per month for tolling alone excluding fuel costs, which as we know, have increased by 60% to 70% over the past year. We know the external reasons for the increase in the price of fuel. We will not go into them. However, this is something the State has a direct interest in and can influence and control. I know the Minister of State does not have responsibility for this but we cannot just have a script that mentions the contract and TII. The Government can act here. It can contact TII. TII will accept a phone call. The Government can engage with these companies.

People are making micro-savings in their weekly budgets to put food on their table and heat their homes. Everything is down to the euro and the cent so this makes a big difference. This cannot just be allowed to slip through. There should be a price freeze. I want to be clear that this is not about tolling in general. It is about this toll and this price increase.

Deputy Mary Butler

I think I drew the short straw today. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I was very glad that I was here for Leaders' Questions because this issue was raised and the Tánaiste answered and it was also raised under Questions on Promised Legislation. I reiterate what the Tánaiste said today. He said that we are not happy about it and that "obviously, news of the increase is not welcome.". He was unaware of it before it happened and he said the issue would be taken up with TII when the details of its proposals are published. I welcome the fact that the Government will take it up with TII because the setting of tolls is a statutory function of TII. In line with that statutory function, the TII board has agreed to a toll increase for 2023 on the M50. TII has also reviewed and agreed with the toll increases submitted by the PPP companies for the eight PPP routes. There will be no changes to toll rates for the Dublin Port Tunnel.

I am with the Deputy on this issue. This came out of the blue. It was not what we were expecting and I welcome the Tánaiste's words today.

Deputy Duncan Smith

I hope he follows through. I was not expecting this today. I was not down to speak today. I am usually a suit man when I am speaking in the Dáil but this issue is such that I had to submit a Topical Issue matter. People are angry about this. Sometimes an issue can be the straw that breaks the camel's back. These tolling companies do not have to put their prices up. I have never read an article stating that tolling companies have lost money or even broke even. These are cash cows and rake in the money. It is not just on the M50 but all over the country. This is a licence to print money. These are some of the most attractive companies for public-private partnership, PPP, contracts. They are cash cows.

This is gouging at a time when we have a cost-of-living crisis where every cent counts. I call on the Government to take action and put pressure on these companies. They will have to respond because, ultimately, the Government and the State are the gatekeepers for all future contracts. They own the roads. If the Government and the State come down heavily on these companies, they will have to respond and extend a freeze through the winter and into 2023. We cannot just accept this development based on some loose inflationary reason. These companies are cash cows and this is gouging people. The Minister of State has said she is with me.

Deputy Mary Butler

Yes.

Deputy Duncan Smith

I think everyone in this House is. I have had representations on this issue from all over the country today, as I am sure everyone else has. People do not want to accept this increase. It is just too tough for them.

Deputy Mary Butler

I will set out the position. Toll revenue is used for purposes that include motorway maintenance, toll collection and operation and for the maintenance of the wider national road network. Nobody is happy about this increase, but these are the facts. The money is reinvested. Returning to the point the Deputy is raising, in a time of inflationary cycles people are at the pin of their collars. This development goes against everything we tried to achieve in the budget. This week, for example, recipients of the fuel allowance will get a one-off payment of €400, while anyone on the living alone allowance will receive a payment of €200. Carers and those on disability payments will receive a one-off payment of €500. This is welcome and will go some way to alleviate the pressures. Moving away from the script, what we heard today concerning an increase in tolls is in total contradiction in this regard. I will certainly bring the Deputy's concerns back. As I said, I was heartened by what the Tánaiste said in the House today. He repeated that twice when the matter was raised, so it is timely that the Deputy raised the issue today.