Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 3 May 2023

Vol. 1037 No. 4

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Deputy Hildegarde Naughton)

I move:

Wednesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 2) (Qualifying Conditions) Regulations 2023 (without debate)

- Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of Planning and Development Act (Exempted Development) Regulations 2023 (without debate)

- Motion re Twenty-Fourth Report of the Committee of Selection (without debate)

- Further Revised Estimates for Public Services 2023 [Votes 38 and 40] (to be moved together and decided without debate by one question)

- Construction Safety Licensing Bill 2023 (Second Stage) (if not previously concluded, to be interrupted and stand adjourned at either 5.30 p.m. or 1 hr and 40 mins after the conclusion of Taoiseach’s Questions, whichever is the later)

Private Members' Business shall be the Motion re Support for Household Energy Bills, selected by Sinn Féin.

If not previously concluded, Thursday's business shall be the resumed Second Stage of the Construction Safety Licensing Bill 2023, to stand adjourned at 6.30 p.m., if not previously concluded.

Private Members' Business on Thursday shall be the Motion re Transport Support Schemes for People with Disabilities, selected by the Regional Group.

Proposed Arrangements for this week's business

In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as set out in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(i) Government business shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned at either 5.30 p.m. or 1 hour and 40 minutes after the conclusion of Taoiseach's Questions pursuant to Standing Order 46(1), whichever is the later, with consequential effect on the commencement time for private members' business; and

(ii) notwithstanding the provisions of Standing Order 34A(1), oral Parliamentary Questions pursuant to Standing Order 46(1) to a Minister other than the Taoiseach shall not be taken and topical issues shall be taken on the conclusion of private members’ business, with consequential effect on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil;

2. the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) (Amendment) (No. 2) (Qualifying Conditions) Regulations 2023 shall be taken without debate;

3. the Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of Planning and Development Act (Exempted Development) Regulations 2023 shall be taken without debate;

4. the Motion re Twenty-Fourth Report of the Committee of Selection shall be taken without debate; and

5. the Motions for Further Revised Estimates for Public Services 2023 [Votes 38 and 40] shall be moved together and decided without debate by one question which shall be put from the Chair.

In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that:

1 the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(i) the Dáil shall meet at 10.30 a.m.;

(ii) in accordance with the Order of the Dáil of 25th April, 2023, oral Parliamentary Questions pursuant to Standing Order 46(1) shall be answered for not more than 90 minutes and by a Minister or Ministers from one Government department only;

(iii) no private member’s Bill pursuant to Standing Order 102 or motion for a Committee report pursuant to Standing Order 160 shall be taken;

(iv) private members' business pursuant to Standing Order 159(1) and Standing Order 169 shall be taken for two hours on the conclusion of the suspension of sitting pursuant to Standing Order 25(1); and

(v) topical issues shall be taken no later than 6.30 p.m. and the Dáil shall adjourn on the conclusion of topical issues; and

2. if not previously concluded, the proceedings on the resumed Second Stage of the Construction Safety Licensing Bill 2023 shall be interrupted and stand adjourned at 6.30 p.m.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

An bhfuil sé sin aontaithe? Is that agreed?

Deputy Paul Murphy

It is not agreed.

Last week, the Taoiseach described the proposal for a question-and-answer session with the Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Niall Collins, as a "kangaroo court" and the Government voted to block it. The result was a deeply unsatisfactory statement by Deputy Collins last Thursday in which he failed to clearly state whether he knew that his wife had expressed interest in the land when he participated in the decision to put it up for sale. He referred to a number of offers received by the council. He mentioned three in particular but failed to note that two of those three offers actually came from his own wife. He did not disclose who the second proposed purchaser of the land was, with whom the council was dealing up until quite late in the process.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We are discussing the Order of Business.

Deputy Paul Murphy

I object to the Order of Business on the grounds that we need a question-and-answer session with Deputy Collins this week.

Deputy Ged Nash

We need an urgent debate in this House on the extraordinarily high price of groceries. The biggest daily issue facing households throughout the country is the extraordinarily high price of bread, milk, butter and eggs, the basic staples on which we all depend. Last weekend, the major supermarket multiples, in an almost synchronised fashion, reduced the price of milk overnight, on the same day and by practically the same amount. I am deeply suspicious as to how and why that happened. We know that the cost of producing goods is coming down but the cost to consumers is still extremely high.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

On the Order of Business, please.

Deputy Ged Nash

We need a debate on this issue in the House and, in the meantime, I call on the Taoiseach to engage the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, and enable it to carry out an investigation into price gouging and competition in the retail grocery sector in this country.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

On behalf of the Rural Independent Group, I call for a debate in the House on the madness that is going on with the importation of wood chippings from Brazil, peat from Latvia and anything else from any other part of the world that we feel like, rather than using our own peat and allowing farmers to cut down their own forestry to be used here. We need an urgent debate in this House. The green tail is wagging the dog and it will keep wagging until the tail falls off. What is happening is insane. We need a reasonable debate on this to try to effect a change to these stupid policies.

The Taoiseach

On the cost of living and the high grocery prices that people are facing, we are seeing evidence now that inflation is slowing down. It peaked at around 10% and is now around 6% and we expect it to fall to 5% by the end of the year. While inflation slowing down is not the same as prices coming down, there is some evidence that some prices are coming down. Certainly the price of petrol and diesel peaked quite some time ago. We are now seeing the price of milk and butter coming down, given the announcement today by one of the supermarkets.

When it comes to the CCPC, I wrote to it in November in my capacity then as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It has the powers to investigate price signalling and cartel behaviour. It has the resources to do that. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, are following up on that. I specifically asked the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, to bring forward the next meeting of the retail forum in order that we can engage further with retailers. He will take action on that in the next couple of days. I want to be clear about this. Retailers and other businesses increased prices when input prices went up. That is understandable. If input prices are coming down, then they now need to reduce the prices that they charge consumers. I am clear about that. We are going to be monitoring it.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

What about my issue?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

There were two other questions.

The Taoiseach

Sorry, yes. In regard to the issue on wood chips, I do not have any information on that but I will come back to the Deputy on it, if he lets me check it out.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Everybody knows what is going on.

The Taoiseach

In regard to the issue raised by Deputy Paul Murphy, again I want to be clear about what I meant last week. It is the job of Dáil Éireann to hold Ministers to account. Of course Ministers should come in here and make statements and answer questions in regard to their ministerial responsibilities. However, this matter does not relate to the Minister of State, Deputy Collins's, ministerial responsibilities. It relates to events of the Bruff area committee, 16 years ago. That is a different matter, in my view.

Deputy Paul Murphy

It was the same with Deputy Barry Cowen. The issue with Deputy Cowen was not about ministerial responsibilities.

The Taoiseach

If Deputies are going to come in here-----

Deputy Paul Murphy

It was the same with Deputy English and Deputy Troy. Ethics in public office.

The Taoiseach

-----and account for their actions that are not related to their ministerial functions, why is it that the Deputy did not come in here? He detained two women against their will in Jobstown several years ago.

Deputy Paul Murphy

No, I did not. There was a trial that found me not guilty.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We are on the Order of Business in relation to-----

(Interruptions).

Deputy Paul Murphy

That is scandalous. Another abuse of privilege.

A Deputy

What happened then?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy, thank you.

The Taoiseach

It found him not guilty of a particular offence-----

Deputy Paul Murphy

Of detaining two women.

Deputy Heather Humphreys

You did.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Taoiseach, we are on the Order of Business, in regard to the issue that has been raised.

The Taoiseach

The Deputy was found not guilty of a particular offence-----

Deputy Paul Murphy

A scandalous interference with our courts, the media, the Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, the Dáil. You do not respect any of them.

The Taoiseach

-----but given that case was even more recent than the Bruff local area division meeting, why is it not appropriate for Deputy Murphy to come in here?

Deputy Paul Murphy

I am very happy to come in here and answer questions. I went through a trial and if the House can change the order, I am happy to answer any questions, to facilitate any questions that exist.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We have had the questions. I am putting the question in relation to the Order of Business.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I did not get an answer, to be fair. The Taoiseach said he does not know about the wood chippings. The children on the street know about the wood chippings and the peat-----

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy, please, resume your seat.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

-----coming from Latvia to supply our power stations that used to use turf. That is not an answer and he is the Head of the Government.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputy, resume your seat. I have allowed the questions. I have given latitude. I have allowed the Taoiseach to respond. They are the answers.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

He did not respond. He should know about this. It is not North America.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We are going to eat into the time and I will not continue in regard to the additional people who will not get in if I do not have Members' co-operation. Is the Order of Business agreed to? Agreed.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

If I can say for the record, the Taoiseach's response to Deputy Murphy was pretty disgraceful.

Homeowners are bracing themselves for tomorrow when the European Central Bank, ECB, will sign off its seventh mortgage interest rate hike since July of last year. This means that tens of thousands of workers and families will pay hundreds of euro extra per month compared with last year. People were under pressure even before this additional hike. It is becoming harder for homeowners to absorb these increases. For now it is in fact unbearable. Incredibly, the response of the Government has been to do nothing. Last week, it voted down Sinn Féin's mortgage interest relief plan but did not present a plan of its own. In my view, it is not good enough for the Government to tell struggling homeowners, fleeced by hike after hike, that they are on their own. Will the Taoiseach tell us what action he will now take to support these families that are under huge pressure from spiralling mortgage costs?

The Taoiseach

I am not surprised the Deputy believes my earlier response to be disgraceful because she is another person who refuses to come into this House to answer questions. Accountability should not be just for Ministers. Questions have been raised about her party's finances-----

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Time is running for the reply.

The Taoiseach

-----and about her party's links to organised crime and she will not come in here and make a statement and take questions.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

You are a disgrace.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The time is running.

The Taoiseach

These are much more serious matters than what happened at the Bruff area committee 16 years ago and she refused to come in here and answer questions about her party's finances and her party's links to organised crime.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

That is disgraceful.

The Taoiseach

It is not a surprise she would align herself with Deputy Murphy in this regard.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

You shame your office.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Deputies, please.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

You are an absolute disgrace.

The Taoiseach

Accountability should not just be for-----

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

You shame your office.

The Taoiseach

-----Ministers or people on the Government benches; it should be for all of us.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Taoiseach.

The Taoiseach

The Deputy demands accountability of others and evades it always when it relates to herself and her party, and that is a fact.

Deputy Simon Coveney

Hear, hear.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

You are shameful, Leo.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Taoiseach, the time is running in relation to the issue. I am going to have to cut you off now and the issue has not been answered.

The Taoiseach

On the question, interest rates are set by the ECB-----

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

We are well aware of that.

The Taoiseach

-----as the Deputy will be aware. When it comes to the issue of mortgage interest relief, that can be considered only in the context of the budget. As I have said in the past in the House, we cannot be changing the income tax system every couple of months. It is best done at budget time and we will consider it in the wider context at that time.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Táimid thar am. We are out of time.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

I raise a real issue facing real workers. As the INMO conference gets under way this week, more than 700 patients are waiting on trolleys. It is an outrageous figure, but one that has somehow become the new normal under this Government. To still have more than 700 patients waiting for beds in May, well past the peak of respiratory illnesses, is indicative of a year-round trolley crisis. Our overcrowded healthcare service has become unsuitable for both patients and workers. We hear harrowing stories from the INMO and from individuals on the front line, who feel they cannot provide adequate care in the circumstances. All workers deserve to work in a safe environment where they are supported to deliver the highest standard of care. It is no wonder we are seeing retention and recruitment crises across the healthcare service, given the sort of issues and conditions that are under way. The INMO has consistently raised overcrowding. Will the Taoiseach act now to ensure safe staffing levels across our healthcare services and to address the concerns raised by the INMO?

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy. We are and we will. As I mentioned earlier, more than 1,000 additional beds have been added to our acute hospital system since this Government came into office. We have added about 6,000 more doctors, nurses and midwives than was the case three years ago, so we are doing those things. There is an engagement between the Government and the nurses' union on particular issues involving safety in the workplace as well.

Deputy Holly Cairns

In January 2021, the Government first wrote to the religious orders asking them to contribute to the redress scheme for mother and baby institutions. A series of meetings between the Minister and the religious orders began to take place and we had an update on those negotiations this week. According to the Irish Examiner, they have been put on the back burner. We have now been hearing the same thing from the Government for more than two years, namely, the religious orders should make a significant contribution to redress, but no progress has been made. It now seems likely the orders that profited from illegal vaccine trials, illegal adoptions - the list goes on - will not contribute a red cent to redress. It is despicable and it is shameful. As we all know money is at the root of the discriminatory exclusion of tens of thousands of survivors from the redress scheme, why is the Government allowing the religious orders that ran these institutions to run rings around it and walk away from their obligation to contribute to redress?

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Deputy Roderic O'Gorman)

Nothing has been put on the back burner. At the time, I said we were initiating a process with a number of the religious orders. I met a number of them. That process is ongoing. I also always said the priority was the passage of the legislation that would allow for the-----

Deputy Holly Cairns

Is there an update on negotiations?

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman

-----payment of redress. As I said, those negotiations are ongoing. I do not believe one can have a genuine negotiation and hold one in public at the same time, so once those negotiations are completed we will bring an update to Dáil Éireann.

Deputy Gino Kenny

My question is the same as that of Deputy Bacik. The INMO is holding its annual conference today. A survey by the organisation found 65% of nurses and midwives felt patient safety was at risk and conditions were not conducive to a safe workplace. Something important the Government can do is to implement the safe staffing framework. It should be implemented and underpinned by legislation. That would be conducive to a safe environment for healthcare professionals and also patients.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge it is the case that patient safety is put at risk at times in our health service.

It is never possible to eliminate all patient safety risk, but we do try to reduce it to the lowest level possible. We have increased the number of staff in our health service very considerably - there are 6,000 more doctors, nurses and midwives working in our health service than was the case three years ago - and we are implementing bit by bit the safe staffing mix, which is really important. I do not think putting it in legislation would make it any easier, though. Ultimately, it is a case of being able to find adequate numbers of suitably trained staff in an economy that is at full employment in a very competitive global market. Putting that into law does not make that any easier or change it, unfortunately.

Deputy Noel Grealish

There is a growing problem due to a shortage of drivers to operate school bus services, which could have a serious impact on the running of those services in many areas around the country. Drivers who work for companies contracted by Bus Éireann to provide school bus services are being forced to retire once they reach the age of 70 years. However, there is no such requirement on drivers employed by commercial bus companies running other services. These are experienced drivers with perfect track records who are fit and healthy and perfectly capable of working for many years to come. At the same time, companies operating school bus services are finding it difficult to recruit drivers. Will the Taoiseach give a commitment to review this rule and raise the age of retirement to 75 years even if it means these drivers have to pass a medical test every year?

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy. I understand this is a matter that is under review by the Minister for Transport. Like the Deputy, I do not like the idea of a numerical cut-off age. I am sure there are people over 70 who are in good physical and mental health and who can continue to drive buses. There may be insurance issues involved, though. It is something the Minister for Transport is examining at the moment.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

By now, the Taoiseach will know Ms Cara Darmody from Ardfinnan, County Tipperary. She is presenting in the audiovisual room as we speak. She has three simple requests. First, carers of children with special needs should not be charged for assessments and such assessments should be addressed under the national treatment plan. Second, the carer's allowance should not be means-tested. Carers work for €1.34 per hour. Third, an independent oversight body should be set up to examine the many cases where young people and their parents have been denied services. I believe the Taoiseach has met her. Most of the party leaders have. She is presenting in the audiovisual room. She is only 12 years of age and is sitting her leaving certificate maths exam in a fundraising effort to support families – not her own – with special needs children. She has two special needs brothers.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy. We are always examining ways in which we can support carers better. As the Deputy is aware, there have been increases in the carer's allowance. We have relaxed the means test, provided free GP care to all carers, expanded respite services and so on. I cannot make any particular comment on the particular requests being made now. I will have to confer with the line Ministers on those. As a Government, though, we are very committed to improving the financial and other supports that surround family carers.

Deputy Joan Collins

In December, I submitted a question on the lack of development assessments for newborn babies at three and ten months of age at the Old County Road Health Centre. The reply I received explained there was a deficit of public health nurses and that a plan was in place to see children on the waiting list in January 2023. I put the question again in the Dáil at the end of January, after receiving emails from constituents saying there was still a delay. The reply was that a plan had been put in place by services in Crumlin. I received an email from a young first-time mother on Friday. She wrote that she rang to get her child's three-month development check but was told they would not be seen at that time. She asked whether they would be seen at six months but the centre said that was not likely. She was advised to go to their local GP to get the development check. This is not on. The services at Crumlin and Drimnagh, where public health nurses are being moved from one healthcare centre to another on Armagh Road, are leaving children vulnerable. They are being failed by the public health service.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy. It is certainly a matter of concern to me and to the Government that development checks are not happening in some parts of the country. I believe it is linked to a shortage of public health nurses in some areas, but I will have to ask the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to revert to the Deputy with a more detailed reply, if that is okay.

Deputy Joan Collins

Okay.

Deputy Paul McAuliffe

The Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021 is on Fourth Stage in the Seanad and, I hope, will be completed soon. It contains important amendments relating to the illegal use of scrambler bikes that will give crucial new powers to the Garda to limit such activity in our communities.

Will the Taoiseach ensure the Government does everything it can to make sure that Bill is passed and signed into law before the summer and that An Garda Síochána is ready to implement it? Will he join with me in thanking the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, Deputy Lawless and the Attorney General for putting in place measures that will be of real benefit to my community and that of the Taoiseach?

The Taoiseach

This is a particular problem in the summer period and it affects my constituency as well as that of the Deputy. My understanding is that the Bill is going to the Seanad this month. I cannot guarantee it will be enacted before the summer recess but that is certainly what we are working towards.

Deputy Frankie Feighan

In light of the amalgamation of Geevagh National School and St. Joseph's National School, Kilmactranny, County Sligo, from September 2023, parents are seeking assurances from the school transport section of Bus Éireann or the Department of Education that the current bus routes will remain the same. It is thought that more than 20 children will be affected if these routes change and that parents would then have to drive those children to a new pick-up point. Bus Éireann has opened up bus ticket allocation for the next school year and there is confusion, as parents do not want to apply for tickets until they have clarity on the routes.

The Taoiseach

I thank Deputy Feighan for raising this important issue. I am afraid I do not have a detailed reply to give him but I will certainly let the Minister, Deputy Foley, know the issue was raised and will ask her to come back to the Deputy directly.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

The Taoiseach answered somewhat the question regarding quads and scramblers. Over the weekend, there was a massive increase in the number of these being used right across Dublin, including in my constituency. I ran into them several times myself. There are Government amendments to the Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021 that seek to tackle the sort of antisocial activity that is going on but it remains to be seen whether these amendments will be successful in dealing with this plague of antisocial activity. I support any measures that go some way towards tackling this issue. I urge the Taoiseach to move forward with this Bill as quickly as possible and not to delay. This issue has been going on for more than ten years. I have been dealing with it in this Dáil for at least ten years and we are still not there. We are almost there. Let us get there and see if this will work.

The Taoiseach

I hear the Deputy. This issue first crossed my desk when I was a member of Fingal County Council so it has been going on for that long. For a long time, there were disputes as to whether new legislation would help. Let us see if it does. Let us get this legislation done as quickly as we can.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

My question is about the extra €200 that was to be paid to long-term social welfare recipients, including those on carer's allowance, disability allowance, the working family payment and pensions. I welcomed this, but in my office last Friday I received many phone calls from people who thought they were going to get the additional payment to deal with the cost of living but who did not receive it. I understood that everyone who got the Christmas bonus was to get this payment but many who got the Christmas bonus did not. Is there a bit of a glitch or error in the system? Will the Minister give me an update in order that I can ring these people back and explain?

Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Heather Humphreys)

I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for raising this matter. This was a lump-sum payment of €200 on the primary payment. It was different from the Christmas bonus and the October double payment because they were both double payments. This was not a double payment. It was a lump sum of €200 paid out to 1.2 million people at a cost of more than €250 million. I suspect that the cases the Deputy has raised with me involve people on qualified adult payments. If she will send me on the specific details, I will be happy to look into them for her.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

I raise the case of Robert Pether, which I have previously raised in this House. Mr. Pether has now spent two years in a Baghdad prison after being imprisoned following a dispute between his employer and the Iraqi Government. In March last year, the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention released a report on his detention. The group found it to be in breach of international law and arbitrary. It called for his immediate and unconditional release. I have been advised by the Department of Foreign Affairs, and by the Minister during a recent Topical Issue debate, that officials in the Department continue to engage with Australian officials - Mr. Pether is Australian although he is resident here - and that they are raising concerns with the Iraqi authorities.

I have sent the Taoiseach correspondence and I ask that he looks at this. Robert's wife and three children live in my constituency. They want their dad back. He has been gone now for over two years. Will the Taoiseach please look at that correspondence and see what more can be done? His situation is more and more grave by the day because there are fears his skin cancer has returned. I ask the Taoiseach to please look at this.

The Taoiseach

I am familiar with the case. I know that our people on the ground in the United Arab Emirates are working on it and doing all they can to help. I am not up to date on it, so I will ask for an update from the Tánaiste and pass it on to the Deputy.

Deputy Colm Burke

There is a difference of €744 per bed per week between the cost of a nursing home bed in a public nursing home and the cost of such a bed in a private nursing home. This does not make sense. In County Laois, for instance, the average cost is €2,585 per public bed while the average cost of a private bed in a private nursing home is €1,039. That is a difference of 148%. Why is there such a disparity? The problem now is that it is difficult to get people out of hospitals. The nursing homes cannot pay for the additional staff they require because of the moneys they are receiving under the fair deal scheme, yet the public nursing homes are costing over €744 more than the private nursing homes. Can this issue be dealt with?

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The Department of Health acknowledges that there are variations in the cost of care across public centres, as well as across private nursing homes, with public nursing homes generally having a higher cost of care. This is often linked to higher staffing levels and the more complex care needs of the residents who are there. The HSE will always step in where residents' needs are sufficiently complex and they cannot be cared for elsewhere in the community or in a private nursing home. The HSE needs to be staffed to deliver that kind of complex care.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

Since the Government closed Shannonbridge and Lanesborough peat power plants in the middle of the country, it has come to light that it has been importing woodchip from Brazil. As has been said already, it has been importing peat from Latvia and it also imported coal from Russia to keep the Tarbert plant going. Since Shannonbridge and Lanesborough were closed, the cost of electricity has gone up every day. A new compensation payment scheme for farmers - the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES - stipulates that if you cut turf on your land, your farm payments will be cut. How can the Government justify this, in light of the fact that we are all under the one sky whether we are in Brazil, China, Russia, Latvia or anywhere else? Are farmers going to be penalised for cutting turf on their land?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Taoiseach to respond.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

When is the Government going to call stop to this nonsense?

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We are over time.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

The people of Ireland, especially the people in rural Ireland, are really angry to think that the Government will try to stop or prevent them from cutting turf on their own lands.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Martin Heydon)

ACRES, which has been raised here, is a hugely popular scheme with farmers. While we had a target of attracting 30,000 farmers into the scheme, it was oversubscribed and 46,000 farmers applied for it. Great work was done in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to be able to facilitate all of those applicants and meet the huge level of demand from farmers. I am not familiar with the specific points raised by the Deputy but I will look into them and come back to him specifically on peat.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

It is oversubscribed. The Minister of State should not try to get people out of the scheme by saying that if they are cutting turf on their lands, their payments will be cut. That is very wrong.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

Since the eviction ban was lifted, my office has been inundated with calls from tenants who have been issued with notices to quit. This is the biggest thing my office and staff are working on at the moment. I welcome the tenant in situ scheme. Working with Wicklow County Council, we have had some successes with it. Given the incredible pressures on housing and affordable housing in County Wicklow, I ask why an allocation of just 30 houses was given to Wicklow County Council under the tenant in situ scheme. Will the Taoiseach commit to expanding that allocation if Wicklow County Council needs to purchase additional properties?

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Darragh O'Brien)

I thank Deputy Whitmore. The targets set were baselines. We have said there will be at least 1,500 homes this year and I assure the Deputy the local authority in Wicklow is excellent. We have well over 1,000 homes in process now. If this figure is exceeded, then we will provide more resources to the local authorities. We were very clear about this in the circular too. The more tenant in situ units we can get through the better. We also have the cost-rental backstop in place and assistance for people to purchase their home through the first home scheme. There is no ceiling on the tenant in situ scheme at 1,500; this is the base and the floor.