Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 5 Jul 2023

Vol. 1041 No. 4

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation

Deputy Pearse Doherty

The Government has finally commenced the revised scheme for the many victims of the defective blocks scandal. This time last year, the affected homeowners told the Taoiseach that the legislation underpinning this scheme was seriously deficient and that many families would be left behind as a result. The Taoiseach did not listen. At that time, we in Sinn Féin, and indeed Members across the Opposition, submitted 80 amendments on behalf of homeowners. The Government rejected every single one of them, pleading at the time that this was urgent, that we needed to move on and that we had no time to consider these amendments. Yet, here we are one year on, and another year has been wasted for these devastated families.

Next Thursday, the homeowners’ representatives from counties Donegal, Mayo and Clare will be before the housing committee. They will spell out the changes that need to be made to this legislation and to the scheme. Will the Taoiseach finally listen to them and act on their demands for justice and fairness?

The Taoiseach

Before I respond, I want to welcome two visitor groups to the Gallery. Visitors from the Deise Women's Shed are here from Dungarvan as guests of Senator Cummins. They are all very welcome. Also, visitors from the Portlaoise Active Retirement Group are here as guests of the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming. It is great to have them all in the Chamber this morning. I hope we did not disappoint.

In relation to the Deputy’s question, I understand the impact mica is having on people in Donegal. It does not just impact their homes, but their families and mental health. I have visited many times, have met groups and have been in the houses. The main thing we want from Government is to have this new scheme up and running. There will always be people who will have suggestions to how it can be changed or how it can be improved. We are not going to dismiss them, but the most important thing now is to have this scheme up and running. It has been going on for far too long and I know the Deputy will agree with that. I want to see not dozens but hundreds of houses under repair and reconstruction next year. That is what we expect to see. We want this scheme up and running. We want to see repairs, demolitions, restorations and rebuilding happening as soon as possible.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

Half an hour ago during Leaders' Questions, the Taoiseach expressed his confidence in the RTÉ executives, but he said that might change the situation changes. Indeed, things are changing at a rapid pace. As Senator Sherlock has said, this constant, ongoing drip-feed of new revelations is unsustainable. Since the statements before this House last night, we have learned about the existence of three barter accounts, we have learned about €2.2 million in losses for the toy show musical and, in the past half hour, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, issued a statement to say that she had spoken to the chair of the board and the chair has informed her that the board have seen their trust and confidence in the executive being eroded and have requested that swift action be taken. The chair is to speak more on this issue before the media committee today. Clearly, things are changing at a rapid pace.

Does this new detail, as outlined by the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, change the view the Taoiseach expressed half an hour ago of expressing confidence in the RTÉ executive? If not, how much longer will the Taoiseach and the Government give them the benefit of the doubt?

The Taoiseach

It does not. I spoke with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Tánaiste this morning and I read part of her statement into the record of the House so it does not change the position.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I believe I am speaking for the majority of parents of secondary school children when I say we are sick and tired of forking out huge amounts of money each year for school books. We are tired of having to recycle perfectly good books and of buying electronic codes that cannot be transferred between siblings. It is hugely costly and wasteful. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of school books recycled or thrown out every year, simply because of small changes or because the electronic codes cannot be shared. This has been going on for an awfully long time. I would like to see free school books for secondary school students as well but until that happens, will the Taoiseach bring in the publishing companies and the Department and have a discussion about how the costs can be reduced for parents? This is an unacceptable waste of money and resources.

The Taoiseach

I appreciate that going back to school is an enormous cost for parents and families and Government is acting on that. In June, we had the special child benefit payment for all families of an extra €100 per child. We have increased the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, which is targeted at low-income families and parents. From September we are bringing in free school books in primary schools. I hope that will be a great success and if it is, we can consider extending it further to secondary schools but it is far too early for that at this stage. We are also expanding the free school meals programme, particularly for hot school meals. This Government, more than any government in a long time, has shown that it is serious about helping families with the cost of going back to school. We showed yesterday with our agreement with the Irish Medical Organisation that the vast majority of children in the country will no longer have to pay to see their GPs. This is a Government that is delivering when it comes to families and children but we will consider what more we can do.

Deputy Mick Barry

Jenin in July 2023 needs to be added to the list of the Israeli state's war crimes. At least 12 Palestinians were killed, at least 100 were hospitalised and 3,000 people were evacuated. The Israel Defense Forces may have withdrawn but Netanyahu holds out the threat of more, stating: "I can say that our extensive activity in Jenin is not a one-time operation". The US Administration has defended the right of the Israeli state to carry out murderous raids of this kind. It is precisely those forces that arm the Israeli state that the Government wants to align the State's foreign policy with. The Palestinian Authority is rightly seen as corrupt and collaborationist by the Palestinian masses and the actions of Hamas offer no way forward. Yesterday, a Palestinian general strike took place on the West Bank. Protests, albeit small, took place on the other side of the Green Line too. These actions of the Palestinian masses and of those on the other side of the Green Line who are prepared to speak out against war point the way forward in the fight against capitalism, imperialism and oppression.

The Taoiseach

That was a statement; there was no question.

Deputy Verona Murphy

Some eight months ago, in November, a freak tornado swept through south County Wexford, in particular in areas like Clongeen and Foulkesmill, leaving a trail of pure and utter devastation. To date, the people affected by this event have been lied to by local Fianna Fáil councillors, continually fobbed off and passed from one Minister to the next with no sight of any meaningful compensation or plan for same. Last week, a freak summer hailstorm caused havoc in Enniscorthy. Within minutes there were scenes of flooding along the quay and 2 ft of water swept through Wickham Bros. butchers and The Holy Grail restaurant, to name just two businesses. The storm has also destroyed the crop yield for local farmers. In November last I requested a number of times that the Taoiseach would visit the areas devastated by the tornado but he declined each time. Now it seems he is a fair-weather Taoiseach and he is going to visit our main county fair, the Killag show. When will meaningful engagement and recompense for all of those affected by these freak weather events be put in place? If it will not, will the Taoiseach tell them to their faces at the Killag show?

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Simon Coveney)

I will take that. The Deputy knows that we met to discuss this issue to try to find a way, if it exists, to support some of the families in properties that have been damaged by that freak event. There is not an easy way to do that. From the point of view of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, it is not predominantly businesses that have been damaged but residential houses. I am happy to continue to talk about what is possible and what is not, but it is important to be honest with people about what the options are as regards current schemes that are available or not.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

The Vee Valley Day Care Centre in Clogheen, County Tipperary, is facing a funding crisis with community employment, CE, staff finishing and its inability to hire staff from the HSE funding. The centre, which is run by Michelle Sweeney and a voluntary board with PJ English as chairman, has sought additional section 39 funding, which was refused. When I put a question to the Minister on this, the reply came back that the committee should look for voluntary contributions from the clients and for donations and fundraising. That is impossible in these times, and the Taoiseach knows they have done lots of that in the past. Now everybody is strapped for cash and this funding is necessary. I welcome the recent engagement of the HSE and the Department of Social Protection in visiting the centre to see what is going on. It is an excellent service with wonderful staff and patrons. They look forward to it so much and they love it now that it is back after Covid. There are many other day care centres that are probably in the same position. It is becoming ever more difficult to get CE participants and these people are retiring. We need the service to be protected and enhanced because it is so important to these service users and to the community.

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

I thank the Deputy for the question. Was it Clogheen that he mentioned?

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Yes.

Deputy Mary Butler

We have 330 day care centres open all over the country and I was in one in Fethard during the week. I visited it with Councillor Imelda Goldsboro. The Deputy is saying that day care centres are challenged because of the lack of CE workers and we are hearing that everywhere. One of the unintended consequences of having full employment is that there are not as many people available for those schemes. I allocated €5.2 million in recent weeks to the nine community healthcare organisations, CHOs, including €3.5 million for day centres and €1.7 million for meals on wheels, so an allocation will be going out to all the day centres very shortly. It will be a small allocation to help them through this. I have been speaking to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, about the CE issue.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

The new agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, was welcomed by many farmers. There was to be a system of a scorecard and an app that the Department had put together, especially for those in the commonage areas, for marking the different types of flowers and so on. This app has not worked properly and it was 23 days late in transferring the different portions of land across. The planners around the country are under ferocious pressure and they are asking the Government if it will extend the deadline from the end of August, because they will not get to it. I was talking to a lady planner on Saturday and she could not even get the Internet and the app was not working properly. It is causing huge problems.

Second, there is a huge problem coming down the line in the licensing of cobalt. Will the Government address that with the EU? There is a huge problem there, especially with sheep.

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

I will respond to the Deputy. ACRES is a hugely important agri-environment scheme and we have seen a massive amount of ambition from Irish farmers in this, with 46,000 of them signing up for it. It was a big undertaking for us in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to make sure we could facilitate that oversubscription because originally there were only 30,000 places available. We made it clear at that time that timelines are tight to make sure we get people paid. I take the Deputy's point of view on the app on board. I will bring that back to my officials and raise that point but I am hugely cognisant that what is important to the farmers and advisers who are undertaking all these measures is that they get paid this year and that they get paid when they expect to get paid. Any delays in the process have a knock-on impact in terms of pay and that is why getting the app right is really important. I will bring that point back as well as the Deputy's point on cobalt.

Deputy Brendan Griffin

In 2018, a man wrote down the abuse, the bullying and the cover-up that he alleges he endured at RTÉ when he was working there in the 1990s. He sent the information to Dee Forbes and he did not receive a response. He sent it to Moya Doherty, the then chair of the board, and did not receive a response. He also sent it to a HR executive board member and received a very unsatisfactory response. At the time, RTÉ was saying "The Truth Matters" and it was in vogue for the organisation to say it was going to give justice to people and listen to their stories. It certainly did not happen in this case. Will the Taoiseach ensure, with the process that has been announced by the Government, that people like this man will have their stories listened to, will receive justice and will be taken seriously, so that they can get some closure in relation to very traumatic experiences?

The Taoiseach

I thank Deputy Griffin for raising this important issue and for the very effective work he has been doing on the joint committee recently in relation to this matter. I am sure all of us are now receiving correspondence from former staff members of RTÉ or people who had interactions with RTÉ in the past. As is always the case with matters such as this, when people are making allegations, some will be true and can be proven, some will be true and cannot be proven, and some will not be true. That is why it is important that, first of all, we take any allegations seriously, but secondly, we do not jump to judgment. I think we will need to have a system or a process put in place to look at these allegations again, and fairly and in good faith. I am going to speak to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, about that. It can be done either through the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner or perhaps a different mechanism. We have done it before with respect to other bodies. We will need to do it here too.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

Carlow children's disability network team is in crisis. There are families getting YouTube tutorials. I know of one family that is in urgent need of therapies and essential medical equipment. South East Community Healthcare has secured some funding to tackle enormous waiting lists, but in many cases it is working on refusals from a good few years ago. There are preschool children who are entering school in September with no assessment. There are only 48 special classes between primary and secondary school in County Carlow. I know that families are travelling to Cork for assessments. I understand the hard work that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is doing on this and I pay tribute to her. I know that she is very keen to set up regional assessment hubs that would quicken the process of dealing with the long waiting list for assessments. I am asking the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and everyone to get together to support the Minister of State in getting these hubs set up around the country to get the assessments done.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising this important question. I think all of us, across our constituencies, are running into the same difficulties and doing the best that we can to help parents and families who are facing unacceptable delays for assessments of needs and for therapies thereafter. The Government is fully behind the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, in her efforts to improve the situation. The difficulty we are running into is not so much a lack of political will or a lack of finance, but being able to find the staff with the appropriate skills to fill the positions available. That is a real challenge, but we are not going to leave any stone unturned on this.

Deputy Johnny Guirke

Over 400 people a year are dying from drug addiction, and 40% of them are women. Tabor House Trust in Navan, County Meath, is involved in a proposal for a secondary addiction centre for women called Misneach, or courage, which it plans to develop on the Slane Road in Navan. The new centre, which will cater for 48 women in recovery from addiction per year, will change the lives of the clients and will lift young children from the pain, trauma, insecurity and chaos of living with addiction. It will be the first centre of its kind in Ireland for women. Tabor House has taken this project as far as it can. It has got planning permission and has acquired the site. The HSE has given the okay for it to cover the day-to-day running costs of the centre. I have written to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage regarding capital funding and he has responded, stating that it is the remit of the Department of Health. Can the Taoiseach follow this up with both Departments to get capital funding approved as soon as possible for this badly needed addiction service? It was reported in newspapers the other day that people are calling out for addiction services across the country. This centre would the first of its kind for women in Ireland.

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

Some €130 million a year is allocated to the HSE for the provision of addiction services under the Health Act 2004. As the Deputy is aware, the HSE is required to manage and deliver those services. I can come back to the Deputy directly in relation to his specific query. I assume that an application has been submitted by the addiction service to the Department of Health. Perhaps we can look at that. I do not know where it is at, but I can come back to the Deputy directly on it.

Deputy Réada Cronin

It feels like Groundhog Day when I have to raise again here the case of my constituent, Graeme Meehan, as I did a few weeks ago. Raising his case on the floor of the Dáil - with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, actually taking the trouble to act on it - still has not been enough to get the HSE to do its job by contacting Mr. Meehan's mother, Maura, to get the ball rolling to give him the rights he deserves as a citizen. I am grateful to the Minister of State. I received an email from her this morning identical to one that Graeme's mother received on 2 November. The Minister of State is appallingly unsupported when challenging the HSE. The HSE spent the guts of half a billion euro on external management consultants - not medical consultants - last year. It spent €456 million of public money on the top six management consultancy firms, yet it cannot rouse itself to make a phone call after eight months. Is the Government in charge at all, or is it like the case of RTÉ? Is the HSE running rings around it? Can it not even insist that the HSE makes a call?

The Taoiseach

I will certainly speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, about it. If we can help, we will. The Deputy mentioned a number of items. I will get my office to liaise with her and with the Minister of State about the case she has raised.

Deputy Brendan Smith

The British Government's Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill is an absolutely deplorable piece of legislation. Yesterday, most regrettably, this Bill was passed in the House of Lords and returned to the Commons with amendments. The only suitable amendment to this reprehensible legislation would be to withdraw it in its entirety. This Bill, as proposed, would give murderers and the perpetrators of other heinous crimes the right to give themselves an amnesty for such misdemeanours. That would suit criminals belonging to British state forces and paramilitary organisations. In any democratic society, this should not be acceptable. Our total opposition to this Bill must be outlined repeatedly to the British Prime Minister and his Government. Dealing properly with the legacy of the past is very important. Families who have campaigned with such grace and dignity over decades cannot be abandoned through the implementation of such legislation. I repeat again that the closing-off of access to the inquests, police ombudsman investigations, civil cases and police investigations simply must not happen.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill again and for very much keeping it on the agenda of the Government and this House. The Government has consistently said that this Bill is not fit for purpose in its entirety. We remain deeply concerned about the shutting down of all other avenues to truth and justice, including inquests, police investigations, ombudsman investigations, as well as civil cases, as the Deputy outlined. I have raised the issue with Prime Minister Sunak at every available opportunity, as has the Tánaiste with his counterparts. The Government's firm view is that any way forward on legacy must be based on human rights, in particular the European Convention on Human Rights with victims at its centre, and ideally should have the agreement of the five main parties in Northern Ireland.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

Sinéad Kelleher, who is a reporter with The Kerryman, has run a front-page story today with the headline "Nightmare Ordeal". Brendan "Cap" Murphy of Portmagee suffered a horrific injury in an accident in his late mother's house on 1 June, when he fell from the attic and completely ripped his leg open to the bone from the knee down. He was left hanging upside-down for over 20 minutes before he was able to remove himself. He waited for three hours and no ambulance came. I am not blaming the ambulance people in Cahersiveen or in the Iveragh Peninsula in south Kerry. Mr. Murphy was eventually seen after three hours by a first responder car that had to come from the Dingle Peninsula. The Taoiseach knows what that journey is like. He eventually was airlifted and is at home now trying to recover from his horrific injury and the ordeal. What in the name of goodness are we going to do about the ambulance service?

We cannot have a situation on the Iveragh Peninsula where people can be left in a do-or-die situation.

The Taoiseach

I am very sorry to hear about that gentleman's experience and I hope he makes a good and full recovery. We are continuously investing in and expanding our ambulance service. The Deputy mentioned that the man was airlifted to a hospital. Twelve years ago, there was no helicopter ambulance service whatsoever. Now, we have two, and we are continuing to invest in first responders, ambulances, ambulance stations and helicopters. I know we have more to do in terms of investment, and that is planned. There will also be occasions when multiple calls happen at the one time, however. Even the best ambulance service in the world - which we do not have, by the way - will struggle when it has several emergency calls happening at the same time.

Deputy Martin Browne

We had the nursing home providers in here last week. In my view, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, insulted and belittled them with his patronising remarks when he called them "mom and pop" providers. These are professionally run homes by these families. The Minister had some cheek. Like I said, these are professional owners. They are nursing home operators and have been for decades now. They contacted me during the week and told me how belittled and insulted they felt by the Minister's remarks when he called them "mom and pop" operators. Will the Taoiseach, when he stops having a conversation, or the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, make an apology to these families for the remarks that were made last week?

Deputy Mary Butler

I thank the Deputy for his question. As he knows, I was at the Private Members' business debate last week, which the Government supported. We will continue to support nursing home providers the length and breadth of the country.

Deputy Martin Browne

I did not ask that. I asked whether the Taoiseach or Minister will make an apology for calling them "mom and pop" operators.

An Ceann Comhairle

Please, Deputy Browne. Deputy Dillon is next.

Deputy Alan Dillon

Our public dental services are at crisis point in County Mayo. We have more than 55,000 medical card holders served by only ten dentists. That is a staggering average of more than 5,500 patients per dentist. The dentists are overwhelmed and are no longer accepting new patients. Medical card holders are suffering. They are stuck on long waiting lists or contemplating seeking treatment abroad. In February, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, promised a review of a modern, streamlined dental treatment service scheme, DTSS. Where is that review? How many dentists have returned to the scheme or signed up for it? What is the plan to improve access to the dental service for medical card holders? This is a serious concern for the people who contact us on a daily basis who need access to dental services. We need answers. We need action and we need it now.

The Taoiseach

I appreciate the fact that we are running into some real difficulties with the DTSS, with many dentists pulling out of the scheme and concentrating solely on private practice. It is worth pointing out that the number of registered dentists in Ireland is at its highest ever level, at 3,472 in total. That is 153 more dentists than this time last year.

Regarding DTSS access in County Mayo, HSE figures indicate that there are currently 45,418 patients eligible for the service in the county and 21 contractors in County Mayo submitted claims to the HSE for payments in 2023. Comparing claims submitted in County Mayo from January to June with the same period in 2022, an additional €250,000 was paid out to dentists, an additional 341 patients were seen and an additional 2,276 treatments were provided. There has, therefore, been an increase this year on last year. At least, that is what the figures indicate.

Deputy Paul Murphy

Kyphectomy surgeries at Temple Street hospital have been paused since 7 November last year while an internal and external review of spinal surgeries carried out on children with spina bifida over the past three years is being carried out. These reviews are taking place on foot of a much higher complication rate than would be usual and with allegations that unlicensed implants have been used in children. I understand that a draft report of the external review has now been sent to hospital management and that the Minister had meetings about this issue. I am seeking confirmation from the Taoiseach that the internal and external reviews will both be published in full. It is vital that they are published in order that we can decide exactly what happened and that lessons for the governance of surgeries in our hospitals can be learned.

The Taoiseach

I am afraid I have not seen either of these reports so I cannot make a commitment on the hoof here in the House. However, I imagine that the parents of the children concerned and the patients themselves would be very keen to see those reports. I will certainly let the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, know it was raised in the Chamber and get back to the Deputy.

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

Ms Tracy Dube is a Zimbabwean international living in the Clondalkin Towers direct provision centre. She works as a part-time healthcare assistant in a nursing home and is studying social care full-time in Technological University Dublin, TUD. She received her leave to remain in October 2021 and was approved for homeless housing assistance payment, HAP, in October of last year. Since then, she has been desperately trying to find private rental accommodation and is actively using the place finder service. In March, she received a letter from the international protection accommodation services, IPAS, saying that if she had not moved out by June, she would be moved to County Clare. On Friday, a taxi arrived by IPAS to move her against her will from Dublin to County Clare, which would have had an enormous impact, resulting in her losing her job and her place in college. There is no merit to this policy. IPAS gains nothing from it. The big losers will be working people like Tracy. I urge the Taoiseach to explore and give a commitment to end this practice and withdraw the threat to displace this woman from her home, work and college in Dublin to a place she knows nothing about.

The Taoiseach

I do not want to comment on the individual case because I do not know all the information. However, we have a serious issue because thousands of people living in direct provision who have status are working and not paying any rent. That is not a tenable situation because we need those spaces for people who are new applicants for international protection. Single people, in particular, have been asked to find alternative accommodation and in almost all cases, they have. In a few cases, we have had to provide alternative accommodation for them in another location and that has been done.

An Ceann Comhairle

We are almost out of time. I will ask Deputies Cathal Crowe and Cullinane to please ask 30-second questions.

Deputy Cathal Crowe

There are two pieces of law that cover horse control and horse welfare in Ireland. There are many people who live within those laws and many who do not. Nobody in this country has a cultural entitlement to unconditionally own a horse. Many of our families in the 1940s and 1950s had horses and carts before the family bought a motorcar. That does not confer a right on any of us nowadays to own a horse. I would have loved a horse growing up, and perhaps the Taoiseach would too, but my parents did not have land. We did not own a horse. We did not put it in the living room or tether it to the local signposts where we lived. We did not do any of that because we have respect for animals. These laws are robust. The enforcement of them often is not. I am not blaming the Garda, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine or the council.

An Ceann Comhairle

I thank the Deputy.

Deputy Cathal Crowe

The resourcing is poor. No one has any right to own an animal unconditionally and treat it like a horse was treated recently in Ballymaley in Ennis. A two-year-old mare had all of her ribcage showing and no water or fodder to eat.

An Ceann Comhairle

I thank the Deputy. I call Deputy Cullinane.

Deputy Paul Murphy

I trust Deputy Crowe is opposed to greyhound racing as well then.

Deputy David Cullinane

Last year-----

Deputy Cathal Crowe

I beg your pardon.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I did not say anything.

Deputy David Cullinane

Last February, my party leader and I wrote to the Taoiseach asking about the status of the pandemic inquiry into nursing homes. In his response, he said that a scoping inquiry would be established. We had asked that there would be sufficient engagement with organisations like Care Champions, the Irish Association of Social Workers, Safeguarding Ireland and others as well as briefings and discussions with the Opposition and party leaders to ensure the terms of reference for that scoping inquiry are robust.

Can the Taoiseach inform the House where we are with that inquiry? When are we likely to see it? Will he confirm that there will be sufficient engagement with all stakeholders in advance of any terms of reference being established for that inquiry?

An Ceann Comhairle

I am sorry; Deputy O'Dowd is not on my list, but he may go ahead.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

There are almost 2,000 wards of court. These are people who the court has decided are unable to look after their own financial and other affairs. The court oversees investment of approximately €1.5 billion to look after their needs but there have been significant losses. My colleague, Senator Seery Kearney, has called for an inquiry into an audit into these funds. Because they are under the jurisdiction of the courts, I ask that the Government make up any of the significant losses these vulnerable people have suffered.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputies. I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, to answer the question on horse control.

The scoping exercise and pandemic inquiry has now advanced. I have not seen it yet, but I am told it is close to conclusion and after that, we will have engagement with stakeholders and the Opposition on the terms of reference. I should say that the purpose of the pandemic inquiry in Ireland will be to look at the general response to the pandemic, not specifically nursing homes, although that will be part of it. We want to have an inquiry that is about working out what we did right, what we could have done better and what we did wrong. It is not about pursuing individuals. We do not want to go down the route of the one in the UK, which will go on for years and probably achieve very little in our view.

Deputy O'Dowd's question speaks to elder abuse. I thank him again for always keeping that on my agenda and that of the House. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act was commenced in April. As the Deputy is aware, the commencement of both Acts replaces the wards of court system with a new rights-based system of supported decision-making. Importantly, adults currently in wardship will now transition to the new decision-making support arrangements on a phased basis over the three years from the date of commencement. As part of this, the circumstances of every individual will be examined by the courts as part of this transition. I will make sure the Deputy's proposal and that of Senator Seery Kearney is considered by the relevant Departments in this context.

Deputy Martin Heydon

I agree with Deputy Cathal Crowe, who outlined that we have robust animal welfare legislation in this country. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, funds a number of animal welfare charities with grant aid to assist with and defray some of their costs. We work closely with our local authority system and the veterinary staff in local authorities on the enforcement of such animal welfare legislation. I would appreciate if the Deputy could share any specific details that have been highlighted and I will bring them back to the Minister and my officials.