Mary Lou McDonald
Question:1. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with agriculture will next meet. [57559/22]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Cabinet Committees
Ivana Bacik
Question:2. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will next meet. [58885/22]
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:3. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery will next meet. [59151/22]
Jackie Cahill
Question:4. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with agriculture will next meet. [59153/22]
Ivana Bacik
Question:5. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with agriculture will next meet. [58890/22]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:6. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on transport will next meet. [59252/22]
Aindrias Moynihan
Question:7. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with agriculture will next meet. [59341/22]
Paul Murphy
Question:8. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on transport will next meet. [59255/22]
Brendan Smith
Question:9. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with agriculture will next meet. [59342/22]
Bríd Smith
Question:10. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on transport will next meet. [59258/22]
Michael Moynihan
Question:11. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with agriculture will next meet. [59343/22]
Cian O'Callaghan
Question:12. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery will next meet. [60871/22]
Peadar Tóibín
Question:13. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will next meet. [60881/22]
Peadar Tóibín
Question:14. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with agriculture will next meet. [60882/22]
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Question:15. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Taoiseach which Cabinet committee deals with transport; and when it will meet next. [60895/22]
Cormac Devlin
Question:16. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach which Cabinet committee deals with transport; and when it will meet next. [60896/22]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 16, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment first met on 8 July 2020. It has met on 23 occasions, most recently on 28 November. The next meeting has not yet been scheduled.
Membership of the committee comprises the Taoiseach; the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment; the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, and Transport; the Minister for Finance; the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform; and the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Other Ministers or Ministers of State attend when required.
The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment is responsible for issues relating to the economy and investment. The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment had an initial focus on developing the July jobs stimulus and has since overseen the development of the Government's economic recovery plan, as well as the review of the national development plan. It has overseen the development of the Government's national digital strategy. Regular updates and analysis of economic developments are also provided at these meetings.
Issues relevant to agriculture can arise, as required, at a number of Cabinet committees. This includes the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment but can also include other Cabinet committees, such as the Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change. The agriculture sector is the largest indigenous industry in the country and has a key role to play in the economic and social vibrancy of our towns, villages and rural communities, as well as in achieving our decarbonisation targets for 2030 and 2050. The Government works closely with all stakeholders in the sector on key challenges facing the agriculture sector.
In July, the Government reached agreement on sectoral emissions ceilings, including for the agriculture sector. The emissions ceiling for agriculture has been set at a level requiring a 25% reduction in emissions below 2018 levels for the period to 2030. Further work is ongoing to finalise a sectoral emissions ceiling for the land use, land use change and forestry sector.
The revised climate action plan is at an advanced stage of preparation to ensure that the actions it contains are sufficient to meet the reduction targets that have now been made explicit. While openly acknowledging that achieving these targets will be challenging, and that agriculture has a central role in this effort by virtue of its share of Ireland's overall emissions, the carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings are an essential framework to guide our efforts. No sector is, or can be, unaffected by this shared, all-encompassing but necessary transition.
We will continue to support all sectors through this transition. In October, Government approved the Common Agricultural Policy strategic plan for the period from 2023 to 2027. This will provide almost €10 billion of support to farmers and rural communities, with a specific focus on the contribution of agriculture to environmental and climate goals. This funding, including carbon tax funding ring-fenced for environmental actions, will support sustainable farming practices in Ireland.
Issues relevant to the transport sector can arise, as required, at a number of Cabinet committees, most notably the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment. As outlined in the national development plan, the Government is clear in our commitment to deliver quality transport infrastructure and services in a way that addresses the objectives of compact, sustainable growth and regional connectivity and meets our climate and environmental targets.
As with all policy areas, agriculture, transport and economic issues are regularly discussed at full Government meetings, where all formal decisions are made.
Given the number of questions grouped together, we will not get them done in ten minutes. Can we take ten minutes from the remaining two blocks of questions to assist us to get through these?
Let us see how we get on.
Alternatively, we could allow 30 seconds per question.
I suggest we see how we get on because the two other groupings are shorter.
All right.
However, we should give extra time to this grouping.
We can give an extra ten minutes to this one.
Three years ago, the Dáil voted in favour of a Sinn Féin motion which described the proposed Mercosur trade agreement as a bad deal for Ireland and for the planet. Both Fianna Fáil and the Green Party supported that motion, which mandated future governments to reject this deal at a European level. This agreement would flood the European market with 100,000 tonnes of South American beef produced at a cost of up to twice the carbon footprint of Irish beef. As the Taoiseach knows, the European Ombudsman found that the Commission's failure to complete a sustainability impact assessment of the agreement constituted maladministration. The Tánaiste said the Government is seeking further enforceable commitments, as he called them, regarding climate and deforestation while Brazil has announced an expansion of its production equivalent to Ireland's national herd by 2031. Surely Brazil can provide no commitment sufficient to allay the insurmountable unsustainability of this deal. When the Taoiseach attends the European Council later this week, I ask him to formally communicate Ireland's opposition and make it clear that we will neither support nor ratify this deeply flawed agreement.
The Taoiseach again referred to the revised climate action plan due to be brought before Cabinet next week after the Dáil has risen.
I reiterate the concern I expressed earlier about the delay in the publication of this climate action plan. Indeed, it feels like Groundhog Day because the sectoral emissions ceilings earlier this year were not published until the Dáil had risen for the summer recess. There seems to be almost a strategy of delaying publication of these essential documents seeking to ensure that we meet our climate targets until after the Oireachtas has risen, thereby depriving us of the necessary scrutiny and debate. I renew an appeal to the Taoiseach to ensure that we will be publishing these climate action plans in the future in better time and not with the sort of delays we have seen to date.
I also raise with the Taoiseach a large question about economic investment, one of the largest capital projects of the State, namely, the national children's hospital. We have seen that the final bill, while still unknown, is likely to exceed €2 billion.
On the issue of the hospital itself, I am aware that the Taoiseach will be aware of the campaign to name the hospital after Dr. Kathleen Lynn. I lend my support to that campaign as Dr. Lynn was a suffragette and active participants in some of the key movements leading to the foundation of our State. We unveiled a portrait to her in the corridors of this House in the past week, a very worthy portrait. She was a trailblazer in so many ways, not least in her founding of St. Ultan's Children's Hospital in my constituency of Dublin Bay South back in 1919, and in her work to tackle poverty and disadvantage, especially for children. There could be no better person after whom to name the children's hospital than Dr. Lynn. We have named too many public buildings after men and I appeal to the Taoiseach, on his last session of Taoiseach’s Questions, to lend his support to the campaign to name the hospital after Dr. Kathleen Lynn.
There have been many reports in recent weeks on different sectors in farming. I am extremely worried about the focus of these reports. Any change in policy which impacts our ability to produce sustainable food will be termed a failure. We have the modern technology which can allow us to achieve our emissions reduction and we cannot hinder our production base because that will ruin the foundation on which our agrifood industry is based.
On 9 April 2020, more than 1,000 Debenhams workers received an email telling them they had lost their jobs. The researchers who are making a film about the Debenhams dispute have just uncovered evidence that suggests very strongly that the three vulture funds and a consortium including Bank of Ireland had orchestrated this liquidation precisely one year before in order to get around Irish law. That consortium, including Bank of Ireland, I stress, loaded €200 million of debt onto Debenhams Ireland and the Norwegian branch, which branch was later released from that debt, so the entire debt was loaded onto Debenhams. That debt, however, could not have been enforced against Debenhams Ireland unless one year had passed. Exactly one year to the day after the debt was fixed, the 1,000 workers were sacked. Involved in this was a company headed up by somebody who is an ex-KPMG employee. KPMG was later appointed by Debenhams as the liquidator.
This poses very serious questions about the orchestrated sacrifice of 1,000 jobs in Debenhams and raises questions about what the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment knew when it was notified by KPMG of the liquidation and of the tactical and cynical manipulation of, essentially, the Debenhams group to sacrifice 1,000 workers.
I have sent the Taoiseach the material because I cannot go through it all here and I ask him very seriously to look into this.
When did the Deputy send the material to me?
I sent the Taoiseach today the evidence that has been dug up by the researchers making the film about Debenhams, which, by the way, will be shown in the Dublin Theatre Festival in February or March, but they would like some answers in advance of that in respect of who knew what and the role of KPMG, the Bank of Ireland and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in this whole matter.
Did the Government discuss the issue of redress for the 100,000 apartments and duplexes affected by defects at the Cabinet meeting this morning? I know that the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, had a webinar last night with many apartment and duplex owners. They were not satisfied with that, certainly the ones I spoke to, because there was not a clear commitment to 100% redress, nor was there a clear timeline for having a redress scheme in place, nor was there a clear commitment to retrospection. The Not Our Fault campaign is having a protest tomorrow outside of the Dáil at 7 o’clock in order to press the point home that this 100% redress, with retrospection, is the only just and workable solution. If it was not discussed at Cabinet this morning, and if it is the intention to discuss it next week, is that not quite problematic? Is that not a deliberate attempt to avoid parliamentary debate and public debate by doing it in the week before Christmas, when the Dáil is no longer sitting?
I concur with the comments of my colleague, Deputy Cahill, in respect of the ill-informed commentary that is made sometimes in respect of farm food production and its contribution to climate change. Thankfully, over many decades, there has been a very significant investment by the State and by the farming sector in modernising their farming techniques and in lowering emissions. Recently, there was a report from the Food Vision Beef and Sheep Group, and one of its proposals would provide for a sharp reduction in the suckler herd. That is not acceptable under any circumstances. It is a huge contributor to the rural economy and to our export earnings and it is similarly the case with the dairy sector.
Again, the lazy and ill-informed narrative from so many areas in regard to climate change, the role of food production and farming techniques does not take into account that if Europe substantially reduces its food production, then food will be imported from other systems, particularly from South America, where their farming systems are not nearly as sustainable as ours in Europe. We need a balance in this debate and we also need an assurance to the farming community, and to the food industry in general, that it will be able to continue to produce food in such a good and progressive way and that their food production systems will not have to be reduced.
One has to go back to 2009, when we started to grow food exports substantially. Food Harvest 2020 provided for a sharp increase in food production. Let us remember that during the years of a very serious economic downturn, it was that sector which provided very valuable and much-needed employment in every parish in this State.
We all know that the housing shortage is creating a void in respect of the number of workers who are available in essential services like education and health, but this is also true in transport. Thankfully, recently, the Minister for Transport did a U-turn on the insane idea that we need 1 million electric vehicle, EV, cars on the road to replace 1 million petrol cars, with a much greater concentration on public transport.
How does the Government propose to deal with the question of recruitment and retention of bus drivers in Bus Éireann, Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland? All three companies are having very significant difficulty retaining bus drivers. The main reason for this - and this has been shown through their unions and in surveys - is that the companies start the drivers on much lower pay compared to their more senior colleagues. The second reason is that the shifts have become very onerous. They have very little work-life balance and time with their families and it does not suit young workers. Will the Government sit down with the National Transport Authority, NTA, and look at the model where companies have to compete with one another for contracts in public transport? That is effectively driving a race to the bottom and causing us to lose, and not to retain, hundreds of young drivers.
There is a major problem with the market structure in farming at the moment in this State. There are three main elements to that market structure. There are the farmers, then, typically, factories, and then supermarkets. What is happening across a number of product ranges is that the factories and the supermarkets are an oligopoly, which means that they have massive buyer power and can force the prices and the terms and conditions out of the farmers. We saw it in the beef sector, in which they pushed the price of beef below the cost of production for a large number of years, meaning that farmers were making a loss every time they sold a beast.
The same is happening now in pig production and in poultry production, especially in the production of eggs. In Cavan and Monaghan recently, farmers have had to go to supermarkets to protest about the prices they are getting for these products. Will the Government start the process of fixing the market structure in this sector and will it bring about or support the Aontú Bill to prevent the below-cost-of-production sale of agricultural items in this country in order that these two massively powerful elements of the agricultural sector, the factories and the supermarkets, are no longer allowed to abuse the power they have and to force farmers into poverty?
This is one of the last Taoiseach's questions in this Dáil term. We are now 12 sleeps away from Christmas. Many children, having written their letters to Santa, are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus. I know that Santa, Mrs. Claus and all the elves are very busy making all the presents and the arrangements for them to be delivered across the world. Can the Taoiseach confirm that arrangements are in place for Santa and reindeer to enter Irish airspace on Christmas Eve? It is a tough question for the Taoiseach on his last day taking Taoiseach's questions.
Maybe the Taoiseach would like to start with the last question first. You might not get time otherwise.
I wish to confirm, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Santa will be facilitated in terms of access to Irish airspace and our intelligence is that Santa will arrive duly on time for the children of our nation. They may rest assured of that. We may not guarantee a lot of other things, but we will guarantee that most definitively.
Hear, hear.
I thank Deputy Devlin for raising that matter.
Deputy McDonald raised the Mercosur beef deal. I am of the view that the deforestation of the Amazon has been terribly damaging in respect of climate change. I also believe there has to be balance in terms of how the food chain and food production systems across the world work. This will not be on the agenda at this week's meeting of the European Council, but I have certainly made the point at previous meetings that Mercosur is now a real problem given its irreconcilability with sustainability issues. When the motion was passed, President Bolsonaro was leading Brazil with a strong deforestation agenda. It remains to be seen how the new Government will discharge its duties in respect of the Amazon, biodiversity restoration and sustainability more generally.
We have one of the more carbon-efficient food production systems in the world, even within Europe. Therefore, it does not sit well that we would jettison or reduce a relatively carbon-efficient food production system in place of a system that is much worse in terms of climate and sustainability more generally. That debate has to happen a bit more globally than it has to date. It certainly has to happen with the European Union.
Deputy Bacik asked about the climate action plan and sectoral emissions. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, has joined me. I am sure he would agree with me that there is no strategy to arrive with a climate action plan towards the end of the Dáil recess. I can assure the Deputy that in the new Dáil term in January and February, there will be ample time to resolve the matter. Perhaps now is the time to resolve this with all parties present. We will create space for a significant debate on the climate action plan when the Dáil resumes in January. That is the way to approach it. There is no strategy. It is a comprehensive plan that involves huge challenges for society. The issue will be delivering on the plan. There is no attempt to, in any shape or form, prevent the Opposition from debating the plan because we want it to accept the plan in all its challenges. We want Opposition and Government collectively to resolve this and, as a society, to try to change direction and meet the targets contained in the plan. As I said, that will be extremely challenging. Deputy Bacik also raised the issue of Dr. Kathleen Lynn, a leading suffragette and key leader during the revolutionary period. Senators Mary Fitzpatrick and Catherine Ardagh have been strong supporters of the campaign and have urged me to lend my support to it. She would be a very worthy choice in terms of naming the new hospital. A lot would lend favour to naming the hospital after Dr. Kathleen Lynn.
Deputy Cahill raised an important issue in respect of meeting our climate obligations and maintaining a sustainable food production system. Travelling the length and breadth of the country, I have met many farmers who are very keen to fulfil their obligations. From what I can see, they spend a lot of time on this issue unlike other sectors of the economy. They examine it in detail because it is their bottom line in respect of farm enterprises. They want to do things properly and above board. In other words, they do not want to fight it or be told to reach a particular percentage without knowing how to get to that point.
In respect of anaerobic digestion, microgeneration and a range of other schemes, farmers need to see delivery of those to assist them in meeting the targets contained in the new climate action plan. Across the globe, the world is under pressure in terms of food production and security. We need balance in terms of the variety and diversity of our food production system. We need to be careful of over-intensive and monoculture farming. I recently visited Devenish, as did Deputy Cahill, and was struck by how it can develop a carbon-neutral farm with zero emissions in terms of multi-species swards, better quality soil and so on. Farmers are willing to adapt to new technologies to improve and render our food production systems more carbon-efficient. That is the challenge.
Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue of Debenhams. I do not have access to that material. He acknowledged that he sent it to me today but I have been in the Chamber for most of the day. It is not possible to address that. I will look at the issue and talk to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Deputy needs to be clear. There is no agenda in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to be involved in any shape or form in any conspiracy to liquidate any company that will involve the loss of 1,000 jobs.
Did they look into it?
I thought there was an implication in the Deputy's presentation that there might have been.
A failure of oversight.
We will examine all that. I want to see the material. I cannot comment until I see it.
In response to Deputy Murphy, there were 46 items on the Cabinet agenda today. The Minister has made it clear that he wants to publish his proposals in advance of Christmas. There is a session of Dáil Éireann in January and February. There will be ample time for Deputies to discuss this issue with those most involved, namely, apartment owners and residents, in respect of redress for apartments and defects. The Minister has been very clear on this and has committed to it. He undertook a review and so forth and he will publish the details of the redress scheme very quickly. It is to be hoped he will be in a position to bring it to Cabinet next week.
Deputy Smith joined with Deputy Cahill in respect of our food production system and broader system and the need to grow the industry sustainably. Over the past decade or so the dairy industry has grown exponentially from where it was when quotas were removed. That has to be factored in. Around the Border area in Cavan-Monaghan there are some very innovative entrepreneurs involved in food production, in particular poultry. I discovered that Silver Hill Duck is the dish of choice in Singapore.
Discerning people.
There are discerning people in Singapore. There is no doubt about that. Apparently, it lends itself culturally and so on to the method of cooking there.
Just one of many products.
Absolutely.
Deputy Bríd Smith raised the issue of the shortage of transport workers, in particular bus drivers, in terms of pay levels. In terms of the broader issue, there has been an expansion of services which has to be factored in. Our population is growing and there are normal industrial relations practices which facilitate terms and conditions in the industry. We should have more EVs in the country, as well as more active travel and public transport in parallel with that.
Deputy Tóibín must be aware that the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, published an ombudsman Bill which is designed to provide price transparency in the agricultural industry between primary producers, factories and supermarkets. Legislation on below-cost selling is not simple. I know that from experience.
The Taoiseach did it before.
I banned it.
He banned it.
Yes, because it was useless. What was in place was just a charade.
Time is up. We need to move on.
It is very difficult to do.
It would help farmers significantly.
It is problematic when we do not have it. I do not dispute the points the Deputy is making.
I hope, however, that the Minister's Bill will deal with the issue in respect of the agriculture industry.
We are way over time.
I have dealt with Deputy Devlin's question about Santa.
We have just ten minutes for the next group of questions.
Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:17. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent engagements with church leaders. [59155/22]
Ivana Bacik
Question:18. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent engagements with church leaders. [60874/22]
Mick Barry
Question:19. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent engagements with church leaders. [60884/22]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:20. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when he will next meet with church leaders. [61329/22]
Paul Murphy
Question:21. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when he will next meet with church leaders. [61332/22]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 21, inclusive, together.
My most recent formal meeting with church leaders took place on 15 April 2021, when I met with the leaders of the all-island Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland, the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church and the Irish Council of Churches. We discussed the ongoing contribution to peacebuilding and the ongoing work churches undertake at community level in Northern Ireland. Both the church leaders and I recognise the importance of engagement with and respect for all communities and traditions on these islands. Like public representatives generally, I meet church leaders informally from time to time in the course of attending official or public events.
I wish to mark the recent passing of Bethany Home survivor and campaigner, Derek Leinster. With the love and support of his wife Carol, he fought a tremendous battle for all the Bethany Home children, who suffered such horrific neglect and abuse. We owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude. Our thoughts are with his daughters, Deborah, Amanda, Gail and Kerry. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.
What engagement has the Taoiseach had with church leaders on their respective contributions to the mother and baby home redress scheme? Has progress been made on the matter? I must note again my disappointment with the Government's decision to exclude from the redress scheme children who were boarded out. Religious orders and the State had a direct hand in the exploitation of such children, who were in effect abandoned to devastating exploitation, neglect and abuse within the families and communities to which they were boarded out.
Finally, the Adoption Authority of Ireland has confirmed that it is unable to respond to applications for birth and tracing information within the 90-day statutory timeline and that it will be early autumn before current applicants will receive their information. Will the Taoiseach and the Government sign off on the provision of the additional resources identified by the authority to meet its statutory obligation?
The revelations of abuse from Blackrock College and the Spiritan order have led to many more survivors coming forward to disclose abuse in other schools run by religious orders, including the Vincentians, the Dominicans and others. I ask for an update on the Government commitment to hold an inquiry into these abuse claims. It has now been nearly a month since that indication was given, and it was reported then that the Government hoped to announce more detail of the plans for an inquiry before Christmas. I know the Minister for Education has been engaging with survivors, and that is very welcome. However, I have heard from survivors in recent days and weeks wondering when we will hear an announcement as to whether the inquiry will be a statutory one or whether there will be a scoping inquiry similar to that conducted in respect of the Ferns report or the Scally scoping inquiry. Will the Taoiseach indicate to survivors when they are likely to see a decision made on this important issue?
Members need to be very brief now. I call on Deputy Boyd Barrett.
In the interest of time, I will let my question go.
Last week Archbishop Eamon Martin, the most senior Catholic archbishop in Ireland, backed protests outside maternity hospitals by anti-choice activists. He claimed it was "perfectly reasonable" to intercept pregnant people on their way into medical appointments. He said that to have safe zones would be "tantamount to enforcing a ban on pro-life activities, including prayer and respectful witness". Of course, it would do no such thing. Those who oppose abortion are still free to campaign against it. People are obviously still free to engage in prayer. What the legislation does is state that those who are going for medical appointments cannot be subject to intimidation by anti-choice activists. Did the Taoiseach discuss this and the need to stop these intimidatory, misogynistic protests in his discussions with church leaders? Will he expedite the long-awaited legislation on safe access zones in the new year?
I ask Deputy Tóibín to be very brief.
I support the request by Deputies Bacik and McDonald in respect of abuse in the past, but I also ask the Taoiseach, in the interest of balance, if the State has ever made any effort to quantify the positive contribution by the churches in this State. I think of the Covid crisis, for example, and, when many people were dying on their own and isolated from their families, the support they got from many religious in this State. Many religious buried people during the Covid crisis at great threat to themselves. They were the only group the State never thanked for the help provided during Covid. I think of Fr. John Joe Duffy, for example, who managed to hold together his community in Creeslough. I think of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Trócaire, Fr. Peter McVerry, Sr. Stan, the Capuchin Day Centre and all the schools that do tremendous work in educating our children. Is there any quantification done by the State of the positive impact that has on society?
I agree with Deputy McDonald and join her in expressing our sympathies and our thanks for the work Derek did. As for the redress scheme, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, wrote to the churches seeking a contribution to the redress scheme. My understanding is that legislation is still going through the Houses, or perhaps it has gone through already. I note the Deputy's concerns about some aspects of the legislation.
The point about the Adoption Authority is a fair one. I read about that during the week. I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, and he is concerned about it, so we are seeking to see if we can expedite and accelerate a solution because that is a bit long for people to have to wait. I think the authority underestimated the level of interest and the number of applications. It is good that so many people are applying and using the facility provided by the legislation.
On the inquiry, which was raised by Deputy Bacik, the Minister for Education has met with the victims concerned. I think all of us were appalled again by what we saw on "The Late Late Show" last Friday night. What the two brothers featured revealed was shocking. I will come back to the Deputy. I think the Minister spoke to Opposition spokespeople and is assessing the best course of action. We will consult with Government colleagues as to the most effective way forward to get to the truth of this. That is important.
As for what Deputy Paul Murphy raised, I did not realise Archbishop Martin had made those comments. In my view, hospitals are no place for protests, no matter what the issue is. They should be safe spaces. People generally visit hospitals under stress and strain for a variety of reasons. The last thing they need to see is someone protesting, any agitation or anything to do with that. It just runs counter to what hospitals should be all about.
Deputy Tóibín made a fair point. I do not think there has been such a quantification. I was at the Presidential Distinguished Service Awards ceremony last week and there was a Fr. O'Riordan from Cork there. He spent most of his life in South Africa and did time in jail there because he lived among the black townships in the apartheid era and was imprisoned for that. So many members of churches throughout the world have led with great bravery. Unfortunately, there are those who have been involved in terrible abuse also, but there has not been quantification of the positive contributions. Most recently, I attended a new homeless facility in Cork, Edel House. An order of sisters established that many years ago and provided shelter to women who were homeless or being abused or for whatever other reason. That thrust has been maintained in the modernisation of that centre now and its mission to provide safe shelter to women in various vulnerable situations. Deputy Tóibín's point is a fair one.
Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements
Ivana Bacik
Question:22. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his most recent engagements with the social partners. [58891/22]
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:23. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his most recent engagements with the social partners. [59156/22]
Cormac Devlin
Question:24. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his most recent engagements with the social partners. [60897/22]
Cian O'Callaghan
Question:25. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his most recent engagements with the social partners. [60902/22]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:26. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when he will next meet with the social partners. [61330/22]
Paul Murphy
Question:27. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when he will next meet with the social partners. [61333/22]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 to 27, inclusive, together.
The Government recognises the importance of regular engagement with all sectors of society. In recent months I have had a number of engagements with social partners in a variety of formats. This includes through mechanisms such as the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, which brings together representatives of employers and trade unions with Ministers to exchange views on economic and employment issues as they affect the labour market and which are of mutual concern.
The most recent plenary meeting of the LEEF, which I chair, took place on 5 December. It was an opportunity to look at current challenges, in particular in the areas of energy, the cost of living and winter challenges. Under the auspices of LEEF there has been significant progress on issues such as the introduction of statutory sick pay, workplace safety during Covid and the report of the high-level review group on collective bargaining.
Other engagements I have had with social partners include meetings in recent months with both the community and voluntary pillar in August and the environmental pillar in October to discuss how social dialogue can be further strengthened, as well as issues of concern to the sectors.
Social dialogue and engagement between the Government, trade unions and other representative groups also takes place through structures like the national economic dialogue, the National Economic and Social Council, the national dialogue on climate action, the national competitiveness and productivity council, through many sectoral groups and with Ministers and Departments directly. Citizens' assemblies, including the current assembly on biodiversity loss and the recently concluded assembly on a directly elected mayor for Dublin, are other models for broad-based social dialogue.
November saw the launch of the first civic forum for the community and voluntary sector, which I opened and which will further support dialogue between the sector and local and central government.
The Government looks forward to continuing its engagements with the social partners in the period ahead as we continue to strengthen social dialogue and work collaboratively to tackle major challenges facing the country.
I thank the Taoiseach for his briefing and update on LEEF. We know the high-level working group on collective bargaining has reported under the auspices of LEEF. Beyond that, can the Taoiseach say what specific measures the Government will take to improve collective bargaining rates and how to provide for that in law? On a related topic, the forthcoming EU directive on adequate minimum wages gives us two years to transpose it into law and contains specific measures to ensure that where the coverage rate of collective bargaining is below 80% member states must establish an action plan to promote collective bargaining. How does the Government propose taking concrete action to reach 80%, given that we currently rank 15 out of 23 countries in collective bargaining coverage with only 33%? For the Labour Party this is a huge issue, given that in particular we have some of the highest rates of low pay in Europe. The directive on minimum wages and wage setting itself is very welcome but it is also welcome because it will see us having to promote collective bargaining in law and having to move away from the voluntarist model that has characterised collective bargaining for too long in this State.
I want to raise two issues that I have raised before and on which progress has not been made. First is the imminent closure of the Mater Hospital long Covid clinic as a result of a HSE decision not to fund its work. Frankly, I find this decision inexplicable. I have written to the Taoiseach on this and I know Dr. Jack Lambart has done so too. The Taoiseach previously undertook to investigate the matter. What progress has been made? Is it the intention of the Minister or the HSE to respond formally to the Mater's request?
I also raise the transfer of disability functions from the Department of Health to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. No progress has been made by either Department in the distribution of emergency one-off funding for services announced in September's budget as a consequence of the protracted delay in concluding the transfer. It was the Taoiseach's view last month that the transfer would be brought to a conclusion quickly and that the additional funding and resources would follow. That has not happened. The services concerned are in desperate straits. Will the transfer be completed by the end of this month?
Budget 2023 delivered significant emergency support to cushion households from the worst affects of the energy crisis. One key welcome change was the expansion of eligibility limits for the fuel allowance payment for people over 70 years. The income threshold for those over 70 years has been increased to €1,000 a week. That is a significant and very welcome improvement to the scheme. I thank the Taoiseach and the Minister for making this important change. Will the Taoiseach commit to asking the Minister to arrange for a publicity campaign to let people know about the positive change coming into effect in January?
To be clear about what I was saying about Debenhams, the Debenhams group which had been taken over by three vulture funds including two banks, Barclays and Bank of Ireland, saddled a floating charge of €200 million on the Irish operation. That would have been clear to anyone who was looking at it and should have been clear to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment when KPMG informed it of the liquidation. It demonstrated that this was a cynical, tactical liquidation that was orchestrated precisely to the day a year in advance in order to ensure that 1,000 workers who had given decades of service to that company would lose their jobs and not get a cent because artificial debts were imposed on the company. An ex-employee of KPMG, which is, I remind the House, the liquidator, was involved in this transaction that took place a year to the day before those workers received their notice. Had it been received anything less than one year before then, the €200 million debt would not have been there. It could not have been done. It explicitly exploited a loophole in company law which the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment should have known about and which KPMG should have and I suspect did know about. Did it tell the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment what was going on? These are the questions that need to be answered. I am asking the Taoiseach to look into them, as he was the Taoiseach when all this happened, for the sake of the 1,000 workers and others who could face a similar fate.
Currently, more than 3,000 civilian staff work with An Garda Síochána. These are people who applied for civil servant roles and were allocated, under the Department of Justice, to work in An Garda Síochána. At the moment, they can transfer out to work in another civil servant role. They are 100% civil servants like any other civil servant. However, the Government's new policing Bill would have a dramatic impact on their employment conditions. It would effectively cordon them off and make their employer An Garda Síochána. It would mean that they could no longer transfer out of An Garda Síochána. They could no longer apply for open competitions and it would likely have a significant impact on their terms and conditions down the line. Their union, Fórsa, says there has not been engagement on this matter. Will the Taoiseach commit that the Government will not proceed with the Bill as currently written without the consent and agreement of these workers, who will be very badly affected?
Very briefly, less than 30 seconds for Deputies Tóibín and Bríd Smith.
I have raised this very serious issue with the Taoiseach before. Small-scale childcare and early childhood care and education services throughout the country are in serious trouble as a result of the core funding plan by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman. They are going out of business. They are getting loans to pay for staff over Christmas. They are letting their children go. No other businesses will be able to open in their place. I understand that more money is going into it and that there is benefit for some but there is a sector which is far worse off and will leave and will not be able to provide a service very shortly. These are in small towns where no one else will go near it. Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister to meet with them?
In his discussion with the social partners, did the Taoiseach discuss the employment regulation order for the security industry which is being held up because of a court challenge by a number of big security companies? This is pretty pathetic, especially since the Government recently made arrangements to lift the pay limits on very well-paid bankers but security workers who are paid the minimum wage and are entitled to a pay increase and improvement in their terms and conditions are being held back for the last year because of this court challenge. Will the Government intervene? Will it show that it supports the workers in this court challenge and not allow them to be held back the way they are? We can intervene on bankers' pay. We should intervene for this group of front-line workers who are very low-paid and very badly treated.
The time is up. We have no time for a response but the Taoiseach might take two or three minutes.
Deputy McDonald raised the Mater Hospital long Covid unit. That is a matter for the Mater and the HSE. I do not know what is behind all this or what is going on in there in terms of the various sets of relationships. I know the Minister is here. My understanding was that it was going to be continued but that is a matter on which we will engage with the HSE to see what the real story is. It is uisce faoi thalamh, b'fhéidir.
Uisce faoi thalamh.
Is deacair a dhéanamh amach cad atá ar siúl.
Deputy Devlin mentioned the fuel allowance for the over-70s. It is a very good idea to have a publicity campaign to ensure that people are aware of the increased eligibility thresholds in order that people who heretofore did not qualify will avail of the free fuel allowance.
It is a very good idea, in terms of the publicity campaign, to make sure people are aware of the increased eligibility thresholds such that those who did not qualify heretofore for the free fuel allowance, for example, may now avail of it. The Minister should take note.
Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue of the Debenhams Group. I hear what he is saying. I have not seen the material but will of course examine it. I will ask the Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to do so also in respect of the issues that have arisen.
On Deputy Paul Murphy's point, in any State or Government initiative we always protect the terms and conditions of employees within the public service. That has happened with Irish Water and so on. However, the broader issue of the Bill relates to policing reform and the policing commission's recommendations, so that reform has to proceed. Parallel with that, the issues can be resolved through the normal channels and mechanisms.
On Deputy Tóibín's point on small-scale childcare and the early childhood care and education scheme, the Minister responsible, Deputy O'Gorman, has announced a review of the sector. He has had discussions with the federation regarding it, and it called off its action in response. I hope the review can bring to light the issues the Deputy has raised and see them resolved.
There is nothing new on the table.
Sorry?
The review was announced last August.
We cannot have a conversation about it.
Deputy Bríd Smith raised the issue of the employment regulation order for the security industry. Again, that is in the courts. We do not intervene in the courts. The comparison made is false because there was no court case regarding the banking decisions. The matter arose from a review carried out concerning the banks themselves, particularly those not owned by the State and in which we have no involvement. We do not get involved in court cases normally but we are keeping a very strong watching brief on the matter to make sure the employment regulation order is ultimately adhered to. Whatever steps we have to take to ensure workers' rights are protected, we will take.
What about my point on collective bargaining?
I apologise. The high-level review group on collective bargaining made substantial proposals, as the Deputy knows. The Tánaiste and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment propose to work with the partners to have them implemented throughout 2023.