As the Taoiseach knows, the British Government’s shameful legacy Bill will go through Report Stage in the House of Lords today. If it goes through, it will definitively shut the door to families’ efforts to achieve truth and justice through the courts. It will, of course, give an amnesty to those who are responsible for their deaths. Heartbroken families who have been fighting for years, determined to get truth and justice for their loved ones, have expressed huge concern. Opposition to the Bill is shared by victims’ families, human rights experts, the UN and all the political parties on this island, as well as officials in the United States and the European Union. Yesterday, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights added her voice to these concerns. She warned that passing the Bill would violate Britain’s international obligations and put victims’ rights at risk. I have a direct question for the Taoiseach. If this legislation goes through - and it appears it will - will the Irish Government take an interstate case to the European Court of Human Rights to vindicate the rights of victims and survivors on this island?
Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
I reiterate and restate the Government’s opposition to this legacy Bill. We think it is entirely the wrong approach to give former army servicemen and former IRA and paramilitary terrorists immunity from prosecution. We owe it to the victims to make sure we all do everything we can to make sure any information that can be given to the police is given to the police and that those people are prosecuted, if at all possible. That is why we are very much against this legacy Bill. I have made that very clear to the Prime Minister, as has the Tánaiste to his counterparts. It has been discussed with the US President and it was discussed at European level as well. The Bill has not yet been enacted. If it is enacted and becomes law, we will at that point give consideration as to whether an interstate case would be appropriate. We do not rule that out. I encourage everyone to play their part when it comes to legacy issues-----
We are over time.
-----because we all have a role to play.
Today, the Not Our Fault campaign group will stage a 24-hour protest outside Leinster House. Its members were also in the audiovisual room today and I was glad to join them earlier. I pay tribute to them and to the Construction Defects Alliance for their advocacy. I will ask two specific questions on their behalf. Last week, the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, spoke on a Topical Issue Debate on construction defects related to the key issue of fire safety. This is an issue that was anxiously anticipated by those living in unsafe Celtic tiger-era homes. A new fire safety code of practice to be published is expected to recommend better fire alarms and safety equipment in advance of the remediation scheme. The Minister of State said the code would be published in the coming weeks. Will it be published before the House rises in July?
My second question relates to the out-of-pocket payments that have been made by so many for remediation works at huge personal expense. I wrote on this subject to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, in March on behalf of constituents.
I thank the Deputy.
The Minister stated that costs already incurred will be recovered. What is the position regarding the reimbursement of those who have paid to make unsafe homes safe?
I do not know when those regulations will be published but I will find out and get back to the Deputy in the next couple of days. The Government has agreed that there will be retrospection with regard to people who have already had to pay for defects to be repaired in their buildings.
The Pride march will take place this Saturday in Dublin. In 2022, 582 hate crimes were reported to An Garda Síochána, an increase of 30% from 2021. According to ILGA-Europe, last year was the most violent year for LGBTQ+ people in Europe in a decade. We know from Irish research that 75% of LGBTQ+ people have been verbally abused, while one in five of us has been punched, hit or physically attacked due to our sexual orientation or gender identity. Hate crime legislation alone will not solve the problem. We need to see a range of measures, including training, education and inclusive relationships and sex education, RSE, in all our schools. The Coalition Against Hate Crime Ireland and individual organisations such as LGBT Ireland have called for a national action plan on hate crimes. That call has gone unanswered. Will the Government commit to such a plan? Apart from the Bill, what is the Government doing to reverse the rise in hate crimes?
I had a very good meeting yesterday with eight of the organisations that represent the LGBT community. The Tánaiste was present, as was the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. We discussed this particular issue. The Minister committed to do two things. First, once the hate crime legislation is signed into law, a public campaign will be run to inform people of the law and what it means. We will run a campaign around hate and incitement to hatred similar to the campaign we have run on Coco's Law on sharing intimate messages with people. The Deputy will be familiar with it. That commitment has been made. A commitment has also been made to engage with An Garda Síochána because there should be greater engagement with the Garda around detecting and prosecuting crimes against the LGBT community. In fairness to An Garda Síochána, it has improved a lot when it comes to that issue but there is always room for further improvement.
We want to express our full solidarity and support for the workers in Iceland in Coolock who have gone in this morning and occupied their store. The Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, met with Naeem Maniar, the new owner of the Iceland chain of stores in this country, which employs 344 people. We are now seeing a pick-off effect with stores being closed. As it happens, staff in the two stores on the north side, in the Northside Shopping Centre and Coolock, went on strike recently to try to secure moneys and wages that were owed to them by this individual. He then went on to say to them:
I'm not your employer. Just to clarify – you're employed by the company Iceland Stores Ireland Limited. So just be very clear I am not your employer, okay.
The office of the Minister, Deputy Coveney, met with this individual recently.
We are way over time.
Will the Minister express solidarity with those workers who were locked out of their jobs today? Having shown respect to the employer by meeting him, will he meet the workers-----
I ask the Taoiseach to respond. We are way over time.
-----and find out what myriad of opaque operations are going to be put in place in another Debenhams-style closure?
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I express concern and support for the many Iceland workers and their families who are being impacted today and over the last number of days. The courts have appointed an examiner to assess the future viability of the company and put in place a support and rescue package for the company, if it is possible to do so. There are legal obligations on employers towards workers, which need to be applied here. If they are not being applied, the workers have the right to go to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. That State infrastructure will ensure that people's legal rights are protected in terms of the obligations that employers have towards workers. That is certainly the case here. We will follow this ongoing story, which is not welcome-----
I thank the Minister.
-----from a retail perspective, to make sure workers are given their full protections and entitlements under the law.
Does this sound a bit like another Debenhams to the Minister? It does to me.
It is not another Debenhams.
On foot of the request of my colleagues in the Regional Independent Group, the rent-a-room relief was extended to people receiving social welfare who wish to rent out a spare room in their home. This benefits older people, who can now rent out a room without it impacting on their non-contributory State pension or on the spouse or adult dependant of a contributory pensioner. It also provides much-needed accommodation in the current housing crisis. However, this change has not been extended to the medical card assessments, as we requested. The HSE medical card section told me last week that, to date, it had not received clarification of when these proposed changes will officially come into effect.
It is pointless if this is not reflected in the medical card scheme. When will that happen?
I will have to follow up on that with the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. It is certainly our intention. It may require a change to primary legislation although I am not sure about that. That could be the reason for the delay. However, I will check it out. We certainly do want to encourage people, and particularly older people who often have a spare room or a number of spare rooms in their houses, to consider renting a room or providing accommodation for a student. We want to reassure them that they will not lose out with regard to their pension, fuel allowance or medical card. That is definitely the plan but I will check with the Minister as to why it has not been actioned.
At this time of year, many people are travelling abroad for holidays, weddings, funerals and, in many cases, work. There is an issue with the passport service. I am not knocking the staff in the Passport Office, who are very co-operative, but there are many different problems. In the Post Passport system, which we should support, it is a minimum of eight weeks before applications are even opened. There are very significant issues and delays which are causing angst. When families are going away, one member may not have a passport despite the holiday being paid for. Something has to be done to reform how we issue passports. There are issues with 24-hour Garda stations and with gardaí not being available. The Passport Office only rings three times to check out a passport application and may not be able to get an answer from the gardaí who are present, who are also stretched. Everybody is doing their best but people are under great pressure and there are knock-on effects with people being unable to do their business, go on their holiday or whatever. Perhaps they have to leave one child or adult behind. In some cases, they have to leave the best man or a groomsman behind. It needs to be sorted out. It is getting worse despite the efforts of Passport Office staff.
I thank the Deputy. We are seeing an enormous and unprecedented level of demand for new passports and passport renewals at the moment. The Deputy will know of the problems that have arisen with regard to car parking at Dublin Airport. There is a lot of financial distress in the country but there is also a lot of money in the country and large numbers of people are travelling. It is important that we provide good turnaround times for passports. Believe it or not, our turnaround times are among the best in the world and the number of passports being issued is breaking all records. However, that is not to dismiss the fact that, very often, people will only realise late in the day that their passport is out of date and that there are delays in getting first passports in particular. The Tánaiste is very much aware of this, as am I because Deputy Ring reminds me on an almost weekly basis. We are doing everything we can to speed things up.
First, I will express solidarity with the workers in Iceland in the Northside Shopping Centre. I was on the picket line with them a couple of weeks ago. A number of workers were let go after that strike.
I bring to the attention of the Taoiseach the situation of Part V council tenants. We have been dealing with a situation with tenants of a complex in Drimnagh, The Davitt. It is a build-to-rent development of 265 apartments with a basement car park, a gym, internal and external play areas and a community events venue. Part V tenants are not given access to the playground for their children and are not allowed car parking spaces. They are housed in a separate block from private tenants. This issue has been raised with Dublin City Council. This is segregation. It is physical segregation in that they are in a separate block and it is social segregation through the barriers to facilities and amenities. This is not unique to The Davitt; it is taking place in complexes all around the city. This is not a plan for housing for all. It is the plain segregation of council tenants and a model the Government is supporting by increasing the Part V requirement in 2026. What is the Taoiseach going to do to stop this segregation and pepper-potting of social housing?
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am not familiar with this particular complex. It is probably a matter for Dublin City Council rather than one for central government.
It has to do with planning applications and the planning process.
However, as somebody who lived for 14 years in an apartment complex which had a mix of owner-occupiers, private renters and social housing tenants, I know that access to the car park and other facilities was linked to the payment of a fee for those services.
What about access to playgrounds?
I do not know the details but there is generally a fee for these things.
I again raise the question of family law reform. I welcome the Taoiseach's outlining of the timeline for that legislation, which is going through the Houses at the moment. However, one issue remains, the issue of those who have become victims of section 47 and similar sections over recent years. This problem still has to be addressed and redress will have to be dealt with because, in some cases, the families are condemned to isolation, sometimes forever, which is grossly unfair. I ask that this be provided for in the legislation.
I will certainly discuss that suggestion with the Minister for Justice. I will take it up with the Deputy later.
The announcement from the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, earlier today regarding Higher Education Authority plans to expand college courses in a range of areas was very welcome. It is very good news for the South East Technological University, which has been deemed to have viable proposals for establishing a veterinary course of some 40 places along with a pharmacy course and an expansion of its nursing course offering. These proposals will now go on to the next phase, where a full business case will be presented. That needs to be brought to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. What is the likely timeline for the process proceeding from where it is now to the point at which we eventually decide that these college courses will open?
That is a very good question. We put out a call to the universities, both the technological universities and the traditional universities, and asked them what could be done, within what timeframe and how much it would cost. The next step in the process is to action it. We are going to need all of these places sooner or later. The question is which do we open next year, the year after and the year after that. That is what needs to be worked out now. It will not be the case that it all happens right away. We plan to agree a phasing to ensure that it does all happen over a period of time.
From 31 January 2021 to 11 February 2021, there were 22 deaths at the nursing home in Ballynoe in Cork. In total, 24 of the 46 residents died. I have met with a number of families whose members died in other nursing homes and hospitals. I have heard their heartbreaking stories. Some of them were on "Prime Time" recently. These are families who were bereaved and left without answers. I recognise the work done by Care Champions, particularly in Cork, and Pat Doyle. They are looking to meet with the Taoiseach and Tánaiste and for a full public inquiry. I have spoken to those family members and they are grief-stricken and heartbroken and suffer guilt. Will the Taoiseach agree to meet with them and to a full public inquiry?
It is not my practice to agree to meetings in the Chamber. That would not be fair on the very many people who do not have a Deputy to raise a request in the Chamber for them. I understand that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has already met with them on behalf of the Government. We are scoping out how best to carry out an inquiry into how Covid was managed in this State with a view to finding out how we could do better should there be another pandemic in the future.
I ask the Taoiseach about the promise made on budget day with regard to medical cards for those on the median income or below. As I understand it, such a measure would bring nearly 400,000 people into the medical card scheme, albeit for GP visits only. As I understand it, this was to be in place before June. The reply I got to a recent parliamentary question raises questions as to where it is at the moment. With regard to discussions with the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, there has been little sign of progress. We all agree that this is a necessary step on the way to building a national health system and implementing the Sláintecare report. Is progress on it faltering? Is it stop-start? What stage is it at? Has the process run into a blockage with the IMO?
As the Deputy will know, we have extended free GP care without fees to everyone under six, everyone over 70 and people in receipt of carer's allowance as well as people who qualify under the means test. The next step is six- and seven-year-olds and people who earn less than the median income. That is a very large number of people, hundreds of thousands. Negotiations are under way with the Irish Medical Organisation, which has raised legitimate concerns with regard to the capacity of GPs to deal with increased attendances, which will arise, and adequate compensation for the loss of private income. We need to get this right. We certainly still intend to get it done this year.
Castlebar Educate Together National School is urgently appealing for immediate and resolute actions to be taken by the Minister for Education to address the growing demand for equality-based education. An application is sitting in her Department. Castlebar Educate Together National School is a multi-denominational school, consisting of four teachers and one SNA, with an enrolment of over 120 students. It has been in existence for the past seven years and had a mere 12 pupils back in 2016. One of the school's significant concerns is that the children have no proper playground or playing facility. They are forced to utilise a car park and public area, which poses considerable risk. The school is also operating from two separate campuses with limited classroom space and inadequate facilities. That is posing significant challenges for its future. I am kindly requesting that collaboration with the principal, Sarah Calvey, and the staff is explored to ensure alternative options are identified and suitable accommodation is provided.
I have been hugely impressed with the Educate Together model and how it has grown in recent years around the country. In my own constituency of Dublin West, we have two Educate Together secondary schools and a large number of Educate Together national schools, whereas we had maybe one or two when I started off in the Dáil. It has been a real addition to education and education choice. I am not familiar with all the details in relation to Castlebar but I will ask the Deputy for more information later in the day and I will certainly speak to the Minister for Education about it personally.
Last Friday night, I attended a public meeting of the Clare Pyrite Action Group. One attendee told me that they will be dead before the opening of the enhanced scheme. Others spoke of suffering heart attacks, strokes and many other serious health issues because of the extreme stress and frustration of delay after delay. A frequently asked questions, FAQ, document was issued last October by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. What exactly is the hold-up here? Clare County Council has assured me that it is ready to go, so it seems the knot in the rope here is in the Department. Every day the Minister delays this process is a day that the stress on these people worsens. For the sake of the health of the members of the Clare Pyrite Action Group and all affected, will the Taoiseach now commit to having the applications open by the end of this month at the latest? These people need a definitive answer and no more moving of the goalposts.
I will have to check with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and come back to the Deputy. I know the pyrite scheme has worked very well in other parts of the country, including Dublin and Meath. I am not sure exactly what the delay is in extending it to Clare or whether that is linked to the mica scheme. I am not sure and do not want to give the Deputy an answer that may be incorrect. I will ask the Minister to get back to the Deputy directly in the next few days.
In recent days, the management of Letterkenny University Hospital, LUH, launched a plan for the improvement of services at the hospital. Hardly a week goes by where I do not hear horror stories from families about the emergency department and what is happening there. The conditions are absolutely unacceptable, both for the patients and the nurses and doctors who have to work there. We do not have enough beds, nurses and doctors in LUH and in the community hospitals. LUHl is the sixth largest hospital in the State. When the allocation of beds, nurses and doctors at LUH is compared with the top ten hospitals - I have done this and published it - there is no doubt that there is inequality. Will the Taoiseach get behind this new plan and ensure fairness for the 170,000 people living in Donegal?
I am afraid I have not seen the plan but I certainly look forward to taking a look at it. I have visited the hospital on many occasions. Obviously, we will consider positively any plans that a hospital has to expand its services. One of the difficulties we often run into when we allocate additional resources for staffing is that hospitals often struggle to find those staff, given the international shortage of health skills. As the Deputy knows, we have expansion plans to provide more beds. Around 1,000 more have already been provided since the Government took office.
The new tenant in situ scheme for private tenants at risk of homelessness, where the owner has to sell the house, takes into account the income of adult children who may have no choice but to live in the house. I understand the scheme is under review. Will the Government consider discounting the income of adult children who live in the house with their parents? They will not be the tenants eventually; it will be their parents.
I certainly will speak to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage about the matter. There will be a meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee on housing next week, so we will have a chance to discuss it then. There may be a risk of a knock-on effect on other schemes. We just have to bear that in mind but the Deputy makes a very valid and fair point.
Members of the Irish Wheelchair Association, IWA, including staff and wheelchair users, were protesting outside today. They may still be there. I strongly urge the Taoiseach to look at its pre-budget submission. All of the wheelchair users I spoke said they feel abandoned and they are not getting the income supports they need to deal with the additional costs of disability, which the Department itself has acknowledged amount to between €9,000 and €11,000. The lack of funding for properly adapted accommodation or housing for people with disabilities was also mentioned but one of the key issues they asked about was pay parity for personal assistants, the section 39 workers. They stated that the Taoiseach had personally said the money would be made available to give pay parity to personal assistants. Without that, there is a drain of those personal assistants out of the IWA, which then impacts on services for wheelchair users. Will the Taoiseach honour his commitment?
There is a WRC process under way involving my Department, the Department of Health, Tusla and the HSE and related to both section 39 and section 56 organisations, which have not seen the degree of pay restoration that civil and public servants have received. That process is ongoing. Our Departments and agencies are participating in it. It has not concluded yet but I hope the process can lead to a satisfactory outcome for many of these organisations.
I hope we will see a satisfactory outcome over the course of the summer.
With our continuing welcome efforts to assist the Ukrainian people, some issues have arisen. There is the absence of a centralised European uniform approach to the provision of financial supports and accommodation for Ukrainians fleeing the war and there is a stark difference in supports offered in the EU 26 and the UK compared to the extensive supports available in this country. There is also a chaotic and reckless approach by Government to procuring accommodation for this purpose; one which is, at times, at the expense of the housing needs of families and students living, working and studying in this country.
A flawed tender was issued by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and won by a UK-based fund that owns student accommodation at Benbulben Court and Milligan Court in Sligo to house Ukrainian refugees, in the latest manifestation of our at times absurd approach. Will the Minister inform the House whether this tender is set to progress to contract, thus displacing 500 students, which constitutes 25% of student accommodation available to support the Atlantic Technological University, ATU, Ireland's newest university?
I thank the Deputy for his engagement, and that of Deputies Feighan and Kenny, on this issue. As the Deputy said, we put out a request for tender for additional accommodation and we received an offer in response from Sligo. When it became apparent that the offer would have an impact on student accommodation, and recognising the pressure on student accommodation in the north west, my Department and our officials immediately engaged with both the ATU and with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Those engagements are ongoing. I do not have a conclusion for the Deputy yet but as soon as I do, I will let him, the other relevant Deputies and the ATU know.
It is like groundhog day. Another month has passed with another record high of young people who are waiting on first-time appointments with child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. There are now 4,513 young people waiting for a first-time appointment, with 747 of them waiting for over a year. These figures have gone up month on month and year by year. When this Government was formed, there were 2,112 children waiting for an appointment. That figure has risen by 112% in the Government's time in office. Last week, Sinn Féin launched a policy document containing a raft of solutions that are fully costed and endorsed by all stakeholders. Will the Taoiseach accept that there is a crisis in young people's mental health? Will the Government implement the proposals set out in the Sinn Féin policy document?
I absolutely accept that there is a very serious problem here. The number of referrals made to CAMHS has increased and our ability to provide appointments is challenged by the real difficulty we have in recruiting staff to work in this area.
That is not unique to this jurisdiction. It is a problem in Northern Ireland as well, and it is a problem in Britain and across the developed world. There is a real shortage of people with these skills. I do not think a plan that is costed is enough. It is more than that; it is about training and retaining the staff but I will certainly take a look at the Sinn Féin proposals.
I want to raise the untenable situation of community pharmacists as they remain subject to the cuts imposed due to the financial crisis. They are the only sector in healthcare who remain in this position. Given the acknowledgement of the great service provided by them during the pandemic and generally in light of lengthy GP waiting lists I have asked the Minister to fully and openly engage with the sector, which is now demanding that pay be restored in line with the public sector pay arrangement and to leave nothing unaddressed.
I thank Deputy Browne. A distinction has to be made between public servants whose only income is from the salary they are paid from the State and pharmacists, GPs, dentists and others who have various sources of income, one of which is the State. This distinction has to be made. When it came to GPs there was a negotiation and there was a partial phased reduction in the reversal of fee cuts in return for additional work, changes in practice and so on. I believe it is the intention of the Minister to engage with the pharmacists on the same basis.