Bernard Durkan
Question:1. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [30954/23]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Cabinet Committees
Mick Barry
Question:2. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32132/23]
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:3. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32199/23]
Pádraig O'Sullivan
Question:4. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32452/23]
Ruairí Ó Murchú
Question:5. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32455/23]
Rose Conway-Walsh
Question:6. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32508/23]
Alan Dillon
Question:7. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32515/23]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:8. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32541/23]
Paul Murphy
Question:9. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32544/23]
Bríd Smith
Question:10. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32548/23]
Cian O'Callaghan
Question:11. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32557/23]
Paul McAuliffe
Question:12. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [32822/23]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 12, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on housing has met eight times in the past 12 months and most recently on 26 June. The next meeting is currently being scheduled. The committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of Housing for All and the programme for Government commitments regarding housing and related matters.
The plan is working. In the first three months of this year, over 6,700 new homes were built, an increase of almost 20% on the same quarter last year but still not enough. The pipeline for home-building is strong. In the year to May, building started on almost 13,000 homes, up 7% compared with the same period last year but still not enough. In May alone, building started on over 3,000 new homes, a rise of 11% on May of last year. Planning permissions in the first quarter of this year were up by 40% compared with the same period last year, with well over 11,000 new homes approved for construction.
We are seeing the highest number of people buying their first home than in any period in well over a decade and perhaps in even two. Data released last week showed that over 700 first-time buyers are being approved for mortgages every week. This is the highest figure since records began, at least with regard to this series.
We are implementing several significant reforms including an overhaul of our planning legislation, aimed at increasing the delivery of new homes and bringing clarity and efficiency to our planning system. We have also approved the review of the national planning framework, NPF, and published a roadmap to complete this. Undertaking this review will help us to better respond to developments since the NPF was published in 2018, including changes in our population.
The Government understands the major challenges facing the residential construction sector, from high inflation to rising interest rates, and we have taken action to reduce the viability gap. We are kickstarting new apartment development in our urban centres through the Project Tosaigh and Croí Cónaithe initiatives. We are temporarily waiving local authority development contributions and refunding Uisce Éireann water and wastewater connection charges to encourage the further building of homes. These measures and others in Housing for All are the most effective way to accelerate housing supply. The Housing for All progress report for quarter 2 of 2023 will go to Cabinet next Tuesday and be published thereafter.
Given the number of questions, I suggest 30-second contributions from each Deputy.
Can we extend the the time for the grouping? The next one is short.
If Deputies wish to take five minutes from the second grouping, we can take one-minute questions from each Deputy. Is that agreed? Agreed.
I acknowledge everything the Taoiseach said and congratulate the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Government on the work they have done in providing houses throughout the country in a measured, reliable and sustainable way.
Another issue that is developing, however, relates to the lack of adequate emergency or homelessness accommodation spaces. The question of beds in every area is now one of acute importance. I have never dealt with a situation as serious and urgent, where, in many cases, people who are on the housing list have to go 50 miles or 60 miles away, leaving their job behind. They might have a job and be able to go to it, but travelling 60 miles in each direction daily to hold on to it is something we should not aspire to. Is it possible to examine extraordinary remedial works to provide something like the private sites accommodation that previously existed in County Kildare and a number of other counties and is still readily available? It involves subsidised sites that are made available at an affordable rate to suitably qualified applicants.
The housing crisis has changed to a housing disaster, as the rocketing rents and record homelessness figures show. We have reached a watershed in this country where having a job and going to work no longer guarantees you a roof over your head, whether to rent or buy. The social contract is not the only thing broken; the people coming to my constituency office are broken too. In the past year, homelessness is up by 20%, and 22% for children, but as bad as these statistics are, they do not show the people who couch-surf, that is, who go out to work and pay their PRSI, USC and other tax while sleeping on friends’ floors. Nor do they show the women and children sleeping in domestic violence centres.
The social contract is broken. When will the Taoiseach act as Taoiseach instead of merely commenting on the housing crisis?
I again raise the issue of Louth County Council and housing adaptation grants. Louth County Council has a request in for €570,000 but even if it gets that, it will need match funding of €114,000 and that will not even begin to cover the list, which currently stands at 580 people. I have spoken to the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donnell, about the fact the review needs to relate to the entire system in order that we can engage and offer the right amounts for those people who need grants for housing adaptation, such as those with severe mobility issues, whether older people or people who are disabled.
The system is not working. We are failing a huge number of people. Louth County Council needs that money, but I would say it will not allow it even to wash its face with regard to what is needed. At this point, the council is not even allowing anybody to put in new applications because, as I said, 580 applications are already on the books.
I again welcome Aaron. Yesterday, the Government finally published the defective concrete block scheme. Despite a clear promise the updated scheme would open by the end of 2022, it has taken the Government a full year to get the scheme up and running. I am still reviewing the details of the regulations but I am concerned it will still leave many people behind. Changes to the scheme will provide much-needed relief for some of those affected, but I believe it will leave many homeowners and tenants in Mayo behind.
Does the updated scheme provide 100% redress and retrospective redress? Does it include foundations impacted? Can the Taoiseach assure me the damage threshold will not be used as a barrier to access the scheme? Will people be allowed to use independent engineers to ensure no one is coerced into partial remediation?
I commend the Government on its delivery under Housing for All, but I will now address the status of affordable housing goals, especially in counties previously overlooked by Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage targets. While we acknowledge the critical need for social housing, it is essential to foster a balance with affordable housing catering to those who seek homeownership. Previously, I brought this issue to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donnell, emphasising a realistic target of 100 affordable houses in County Mayo for the coming year, and was advised specific targets for all local authorities were under consideration. Where does that stand?
I support Deputy Ó Murchú’s point. I was alarmed recently to hear about the limitations on Mayo County Council’s budget in respect of home grants for elderly and disabled residents. Regrettably, only €400,000 remains this year for crucial adaptations. Will the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage grant significant enhancements to local authorities in respect of home adaptations for those who live independently at home and to reduce the burden arising from these types of adaptations?
If someone on the social housing list who is facing eviction gets the housing assistance payment, HAP, it is nearly impossible to find accommodation. If someone is over the threshold for social housing, however, they are absolutely goosed because they do not get HAP and cost rental is for the most part unavailable, so they are trapped. I am dealing with a working mother and her child who have spent four years in emergency accommodation because she is not entitled to social housing or HAP and is trapped. She is not even counted on the official housing figures because she is not on the social housing list. I am dealing with another family who are just about to be evicted from their home through no fault of their own. They are slightly over the cost-rental threshold, so the cost-rental tenant in situ scheme is not available to them and nor are they entitled to HAP, which, if they could get it, would probably allow them to find somewhere.
Will the Taoiseach immediately address this? Significant numbers in those categories are working people but are not ticking the boxes for the current schemes, and they are going to end up homeless or, in some cases, trapped in homelessness for several years. I appeal to the Taoiseach and the Minister to do something about this before the summer break. I have asked at the Business Committee that we would have a debate on these anomalies in these schemes to address them as a matter of urgency before the summer break.
I raise an issue regarding the operation of the investment fund landlord LRC RE-1.
It is based in Luxembourg and has assets estimated at €6 billion. It began buying property in Ireland in 2016 and now owns an estimated 1,700 homes across the State. Having bought these properties, LRC RE-1 unsuccessfully attempted to flip them in 2021. LRC RE-1, trading as Jersia Limited, is evicting multiple residents from their homes at Applewood in Swords. In each case, the residents are families with children who have nowhere else to go. In most cases, these families are being evicted due to the landlord's refusal to offer further Part 4 tenancies, in other words, the landlord is seeking to hike the rent. The landlord has failed to maintain many of the properties and tenants are paying exorbitant rents to live in slum conditions. There is evidence that LRC RE-1 is evading rent pressure zone controls by charging for other services. In at least one case, it has failed to comply with a finding of the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB. LRC RE-1 is precisely the sort of parasitic corporate landlords this and successive Governments have sought to attract into the State, only for them to profiteer, let their properties fall into disrepair and then evict tenants who are paying their rent. Will the Government take action to protect these tenants and force the landlord to repair and maintain the properties in an acceptable condition?
I raise the latitude or discretion afforded to local authorities when making decisions about the allocation of social housing and the purchase of housing under the tenant in situ scheme. Mr. Denis Murphy and his family were offered a home before Christmas by South Dublin County Council. The family's means were assessed and the income was over the threshold. The reason was that Mrs. Murphy had worked as a carer, as asked and called upon by the Irish State, over and above the call of duty during the Covid crisis. Discretion is afforded to local authority to overlook that and allocate the family the home but South Dublin County Council decided not to avail of it and refused the family the home. Not only that, but the council also removed the family from the housing list. This is cruel, harsh and unnecessary.
There is another aspect to this discretion afforded to local authority officials, who are decent people and I am not here to beat them up. The problem is that we do not have oversight of this discretion. I have written many times to the Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, about this. He is the Minister of State in charge. Local authority officials are often not using discretion to buy back properties under the tenant in situ scheme because, for example, it may be a three-bedroom house and two people might benefit from it or the local authority may have reduced the cost it would pay to the landlord by 20% below the market value and the landlord cannot afford to absorb that. There are many instances of this. I am referring to ordinary Ballyfermot landlords. I am sure there are lots of such landlords around the country. We are accused of never sticking up for them. I am sticking up for both the landlords and the tenants who are in situ. In the case of Denis Murphy and his family, I am highlighting the cruelty and lack of latitude and discretion shown by the local authority. Where do we go in these instances? The Department tells us it does not interfere with decisions made by local authorities. Going to the Minister is no good to us and certainly no good to the people whose lives are blighted by this.
I ask the Taoiseach about young people leaving State care and what the Government is doing to prevent them from becoming homeless. When this Government took office, 8,699 people were living in emergency homeless accommodation. That figure is now 12,441, an increase of 43% and the highest number ever on record. It does not include people who are sleeping rough in cars and tents and on couches and floors. Young people leaving State care are at very high risk of becoming homeless. This should and could be prevented. There are two things the Government could do to prevent this. First, the capital assistance scheme for care leavers needs to be properly funded. Second, the 2014 circular on young people leaving State care, which is well out of date, needs to be updated urgently. Will the Taoiseach commit to taking these two actions to help prevent young people leaving State care from becoming homeless?
I thank Deputies for their questions. I will give the best answers I can but as some of the questions are quite detailed and technical, they would be probably best answered by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, or the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell. If I do not answer them, I will make sure a more detailed response is provided to the Deputies in writing.
Deputy Durkan asked about the serviced sites in towns and villages. I will definitely follow up on that. We have already approved, in principle, a scheme to service sites in our towns and villages that people could then use to build a home. There are lots of advantages in that, not least that people would be able to get their first home or a new home for their families. It also reduces the pressure for once-off rural housing, which is also a benefit. From talking with councillors around the country, I get the sense that this is just not happening in practice. We need to work out why that is and I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, about it.
I was asked to act as Taoiseach on housing. I am very much acting as Taoiseach on housing. When I first entered Government, we were building 7,000 houses per year and when I first became Taoiseach, the figure was 14,000 houses per year. Now, it is 30,000. I know that is not enough-----
Homelessness is increasing all of the time.
-----but in my time in office, we have quadrupled the number of new homes being built and the figure has doubled since I became Taoiseach the first time. We will do a lot more. To take social housing as an example, the Government has often been unfairly criticised for overreliance on the private market. In the past couple of years, we have seen the biggest expansion in social housing since the 1970s. One of the most interesting aspects of the census figures that came out only a few weeks ago was not just the raw numbers but that the percentage of people living in social housing has gone up in the past ten years, not down. That totally demolishes the claims of the left with regard to this Government's approach to social housing. The numbers of families living in social housing is up, in raw numbers, by about 40,000, I think. The percentage of people living in social housing had gone up in the past ten years, not down. We need to increase that further because, in my view, the amount of social and public housing should be closer to 20%.
Does that include HAP?
No, it does not. That is the whole point and it is why the Deputy's arguments in the past couple of years around the approach taken to social housing by this Government and the party I lead have been so false. Tens of thousands more people are living in social housing than ten years ago and in percentage terms, there has been an increase as well. That is significant and it ought to be acknowledged more frequently. The people who make those false claims should be taken on by journalists, presenters and informed commentators.
We are seeing a real increase in the number of first-time buyers buying their first home. Again, it is nowhere near enough but 700 mortgages are being approved every week and 400 or 500 individuals and young couples are buying their first homes. It is great to see that. This is not happened by accident. It has happened because of Government policies that increase supply, such as waiving development levies, which the Opposition opposed; the help-to-buy scheme which helps people to get a deposit and which the Opposition wants to take away; and the first home scheme, which bridges the gap between the mortgage people can get and the cost of the home they want to buy. These are all things the Opposition wants to take away. I am absolutely certain that if there were a change of Government, within months, and certainly within a year or two, we would see the supply of new housing go down and the number of first-time buyers go down considerably because it would take away all of the things that are helping people at the moment, including the help-to-buy and first home schemes and the measures that encourage builders to build more. In my view, if there were a change of Government, the consequence would be that the good things about Ireland would go bad and the bad things about Ireland would become worse.
The Taoiseach is not answering the questions.
I spoke about the mica issue earlier in the Chamber. To add to that, the Act was commenced back in late June and regulations have been signed. The enhanced scheme is now open to new applicants. It provides an evidence-based system for additional counties and parts of counties to be designated as required following a technical assessment by the Housing Agency. The enhanced and current schemes are not compensation or redress schemes. They are remediation schemes of last resort, put in place by the Government in order to voluntarily assist homeowners to remediate damage caused by the use of defective concrete blocks. Engagement is ongoing with Banking and Payments Federation Ireland on specific issues raised by homeowners to see what can be done to respond to their concerns. Existing applications to the current scheme will benefit retrospectively for the new enhancements being brought under the new scheme. The legislation provides for transitional arrangements from the current to the enhanced grant scheme. Homeowners will also be able to apply for ancillary grants for alternative accommodation and storage in accordance with the legislation.
There has been a constructive series of meetings with Donegal County Council over the past number of weeks. Updated rebuilding costs for 2023 for both Donegal and Mayo were received at the end of February. These updated costs relate to eight house types and provide for an increase of between 13% and 15% since the first report back in 2022. The reports for Clare and Limerick were received on 18 April and are currently being considered.
The expert group also made recommendations to the Minister to operationalise the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, SCSI, report to address all options to be included in the regulations.
To answer the Deputy's question, the scheme provides for 100% grants, subject to an overall maximum grant of €420,000 per dwelling, which we think is fair. Grant rates are in keeping with advice from the SCSI. A Government guarantee in the form of a second grant option is required for a period of 40 years. A revised application process removes the financial barrier to scheme entry and there is an independent appeals process. Alternative combination storage costs are allowed up to a maximum value of €25,000, including immediate repair. The expertise of the Housing Agency is being used in assessing applications. There is the inclusion on the RTB register of rental properties and the inclusion of Clare and Limerick in the enhanced scheme upon commencement and options for other counties to enter the scheme, which I mentioned earlier. Exempt development status for like-for-like remediation works is also completed under the scheme.
Regarding the specific targets for affordable housing schemes per county raised by Deputy Dillon, I will have to come back to him on that. There should be affordable housing schemes in every county but we need to bear in mind that the cost of housing varies considerably from county to county and there are some counties where it is more expensive to build a new home than to purchase an existing one. That needs to be borne in mind in anything we do.
On the housing adaption grant and the disabled persons grant, DPG, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, has done some work on this. We acknowledge that the cost of home adaptions has gone up considerably. We have to recognise that and that there is a lot of demand for the scheme. We want to make sure it is properly funded because housing adaptions enable people to stay in their homes for longer and to be discharged from hospitals quicker. It is not just a benefit for them; there is a wider social benefit too. The Minister of State has developed a paper on that which we will consider soon.
I congratulate Deputy Cian O'Callaghan on his appointment as deputy leader of his party. It is a very important role. We will give consideration to his suggestions regarding young people leaving care. I acknowledge that young people leaving care cannot just be abandoned and sent off on their way at the age of 18, given their background and their experience in life. They need a plan and ongoing help and if we do not provide that for them, the costs will be much greater.
We will have to take those two minutes from the next question.
Departmental Programmes
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:13. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the role of his Department in the north-east inner city. [30734/23]
The Mulvey report, entitled Dublin North East Inner City: Creating a Brighter Future, which was published in February 2017, contains recommendations for the social and economic regeneration of Dublin's north-east inner city. This report has been further supplemented by the north-east inner city strategic plan 2020-23. Implementation of the Mulvey report and the strategic plan is overseen and progressed by the programme implementation board. The board meets on a monthly basis and its members include representatives from relevant Departments and agencies, business and the local community. The board is assisted in its work by six subgroups composed of Departments and Government agencies and community representatives. These subgroups look at enhanced policing; maximising educational, training and employment opportunities; family well-being; enhancing community well-being and the physical landscape; substance use, misuse and inclusion health; and alignment of services.
Officials from the Department of the Taoiseach work closely with the board, the subgroups and the dedicated programme office based on Sean MacDermott Street. The chair of the programme implementation board reports to an oversight group, chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach. Membership of the oversight group comprises senior civil servants across Departments and agencies who are actively engaged with the work of the north-east inner city initiative. This group ensures strong and active participation by all relevant Departments and agencies and deals with any barriers or issues highlighted by the board.
In May of this year, I appointed Mr. Jim Gavin to the role of independent chairperson of the programme implementation board. Mr. Gavin has taken up the position on a pro bono basis and will continue the important work being undertaken by the programme implementation board in driving delivery on the objectives of the Mulvey report and the strategic implementation plan 2020-23. The Government is committed to ensuring that the programme implementation board has the necessary resources to achieve its targets and fulfil its ambition. From 2016 to 2022, inclusive, the Government provided almost €40 million to the initiative. Funding was increased last year by €1 million to provide €7.5 million for the initiative and we have committed a further €7.5 million for this year.
As the Taoiseach knows, over the past two years my party leader, Deputy McDonald, and others have been raising the alarm about the decision by the Department of Health to effectively shut down the north inner city drugs and alcohol task force. It is a mystifying move given the task force is so badly needed. Unfortunately, the Taoiseach's most recent written response on this to Deputy McDonald simply repeats a narrative that is just not accurate and with which no progress has been made over the last two years. All the while, people are suffering. The North Inner City Community Coalition wrote to the Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy last month and to the official in the Taoiseach's own Department who is responsible for this initiative. The coalition was at pains to point out that this shut-down was completely unacceptable and highlighted its members' credentials in this matter since the task force model was first developed and put in place there over 25 years ago. They are the experts with the lived experience as a community. They should be heeded. They are giving their expertise to make sure things in their community work better. Deputy McDonald and others have long outlined the wrongs and listed the failures by the Department of Health in its attitude and actions on the task force. This wrongdoing is also damaging the great work of the north-east inner city initiative and its long-term mission in the community. What is needed now is meaningful action and intervention from the Taoiseach and from his Department. It needs to be the right action. He can act to end this impasse. Will he do it?
I ask Deputy Ó Murchú to be very brief.
Necessary interventions have to be taken, whether we are talking about the north-east inner city or elsewhere. Similar interventions were laid out for Drogheda following the feud. We had the Guerin report and the Drogheda implementation plan and a board was put in place. I would bring up the issue again of the family addiction support network, which is an absolutely vital cog that provides supports that no one else does for families. This is not only for the Minister of State responsible for the national drugs strategy but the Minister for Justice, who is the custodian, to a degree, of the report and the implementation plan. There is a failing around providing sustainable funding. An Garda Síochána is doing fundraisers for this organisation. The former chief superintendent of An Garda Síochána in Louth, Christy Mangan, is still on the board. This is absolutely excellent, necessary work. Sometimes the people who find themselves under the cosh as regards drug debt and intimidation will make their approaches to this organisation. We need to look at sustainable funding and there needs to be a wider conversation on it. It is necessary that the Taoiseach bring this up with the two Ministers.
I thank the Deputies. Deputy Cronin asked about the inner city drugs and alcohol task force. This ceased to function at the end of 2021 due to an impasse concerning the appointment of an independent chairperson and some other issues. The Government remains committed to tackling the drug and alcohol issues affecting the north inner city, in conjunction with community-based service providers, and has provided significant additional resources for drugs and alcohol services in the area and the Dublin north region. The Department, through the City of Dublin Youth Services board and the HSE, provides over €2.2 million annually to community-based drug and alcohol services to ensure continuity of funding to front-line services in the north inner city in the interim.
The Government is committed to establishing effective, inclusive and transparent governance of the task force in the north inner city. To this end, the Department of Health has engaged with stakeholders in the north inner city to establish effective, inclusive and transparent governance of the task force and the funding it allocates. The Department of Health has concluded consultations with members of the task force and other stakeholders on the next steps to re-establish the task force. This involves a series of meetings with public representatives, statutory and non-statutory members of the task force, front-line community and alcohol projects funded under the ambit of the task force, community and service user representatives, staff employed by the task force company and other stakeholders. I had a briefing on this from officials in the last week or so and I understand the report has been submitted for consideration to the Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy, Deputy Naughton, on the next steps to achieve this goal. Some additional clarifications were sought. These clarifications have now been received and we expect a decision from the Minister of State to be announced in the very near future. We will of course inform Deputies McDonald and Donohoe and other Deputies once that is done.
Deputy Ó Murchú raised the issue of Drogheda, and I know from Deputy O'Dowd that a lot of progress has been made on the ground since the feud and the awful events that occurred a few years ago. A lot of good things are happening. Regarding the funding of the particular organisation, I will have to come back to the Deputy on that when I have chance to speak to the relevant Ministers.
National Economic and Social Council
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:14. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, a statutory agency operating under the aegis of his Department. [30735/23]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:15. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the NESC. [32542/23]
Paul Murphy
Question:16. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the NESC. [32545/23]
Cian O'Callaghan
Question:17. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the National Economic and Social Council, a statutory agency operating under the aegis of his Department. [32558/23]
Mick Barry
Question:18. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the National Economic and Social Council, a statutory agency operating under the aegis of his Department. [32644/23]
Brendan Smith
Question:19. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the National Economic and Social Council, a statutory agency operating under the aegis of his Department. [32833/23]
Christopher O'Sullivan
Question:20. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the National Economic and Social Council, a statutory agency operating under the aegis of his Department. [32844/23]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 to 20, inclusive, together.
The National Economic and Social Council advises me on strategic policy issues relating to sustainable, social and environmental development. The NESC is currently working in five main areas. The first is good jobs. The council is examining how good jobs could provide a mechanism to improve worker well-being, drive innovation and enhance productivity. It is expected that the NESC report on this will be completed in quarter 4 of 2023.
The second is climate action, just transition and agriculture. This work explores, in practical terms, how climate targets and the transition they entail for Irish agriculture can be achieved in a manner that encompasses social equity and inclusion, environmental sustainability and economic well-being. The report is expected to be published shortly.
The third is natural capital accounting. This work, which is an action in the current climate action plan, examines how integration of ecosystems accounting can progress. The NESC convened three policy round-table discussions with stakeholders. This NESC report will be completed in quarter 3 of 2023. The NESC continues to engage with the shared island unit. A report on social enterprise was published in late May and includes an overview of the state of social enterprise in Ireland and Northern Ireland and on a shared island basis.
On well-being and inequality, this work examines how Ireland's well-being framework can help identify inequalities and how it can point towards new means of confronting such inequalities. This work will be published shortly. In addition, the NESC was established in 1973, and plans to mark its 50th anniversary with a major conference in the final quarter of this year.
In its report, Understanding the Irish Economy in a Time of Turbulence, the NESC recommends transposing the European Union directive on adequate minimum wages in order to do two things, namely, to strengthen the national system of collective bargaining and to increase collective bargaining coverage. The research shows that countries with high collective bargaining coverage tend to have a lower share of low-wage workers and tend to have higher minimum wages relative to the median wage and overall, lower pay inequality. It also shows that higher wages attract more capable workers and that higher wages reduce staff turnover, boost quality and customer service and increase productivity. They also deliver better health outcomes for workers. What is not to like for all of society?
Yet in my own constituency, Tesco will not let trade union organisers inside the door. It does not want unions representing workers and the dot.com pickers and drivers in the Tesco store in Monread, Naas, or in the larger stores in Celbridge and Maynooth. Does the Taoiseach not think it is so short-sighted and old-fashioned, when one sees the whole-of-society benefits from proper wages and good representation?
Last week, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, called for effective implementation of the high-level group report and of the EU directive on adequate minimum wages. We know the directive must be transposed into Irish law by 2024. Can the Taoiseach confirm that he will implement the high-level group report? I know that when we had him in at the Joint Committee on Gender Equality, he was quite happy and certainly did not disagree with the questions we raised with him. Does he agree that collective bargaining should be the workplace norm, rather than the exception and will he show that he is ambitious for all of our workers?
Last week, Deputy Bríd Smith and I met a group of Tesco workers, who are so-called dot.com workers. In other words, they are the workers who pick the products if one orders online on tesco.com. They have to pick between 180 and 190 products per hour, and they are the delivery drivers who deliver that shopping to people's doors.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, these were the people who made sure that vulnerable people were able to get their groceries on a week-to-week basis but they are being treated horrendously by their employer, Tesco. They have had their hours changed unilaterally, which has had the consequence of a huge cut in their pay. Some of them are down up to €4,200 a year, which has a big impact on the organisation of their family lives, childcare and so on. Does the Taoiseach agree that Tesco should withdraw these unilateral changes and should agree with their workers and their union Mandate?
On social development, I want to ask the Taoiseach about a lack of adult day services for students who have finished school this year. For example, students leaving school in St. Michael's House, Baldoyle, have received a letter stating that there are no placements available for them in adult day services. This letter explains that St. Michael's House is not in a position to offer these placements due to a combination of staffing shortages, a lack of facilities and significant waiting lists for adult day services.
Many families and students who have been engaging with St. Michael's House over the length of their education have now suddenly been told that there are no adult day services available for school leavers. It is vital that these young people have access to adult day services, if they need them when they leave school, to ensure they can continue with their educational and social supports. If they do not get these adult day services, a lot of the progress they have made over the last number of years can be lost. Consequently, it is vital that they do.
What is the Government doing to ensure there are adult day services made available for everyone who needs them when they leave school?
As the Taoiseach knows, library workers have been subjected to a campaign of harassment and intimidation in recent months by far-right activists who are objecting to books on LGBTQ+ sexuality. Nowhere has this been more the case than in Cork city. Library staff have been subjected to abuse, have had "paedophile" slurs hurled against them, and have been filmed against their wishes. The film was put up online.
This Friday, these workers will march from Cork City Library to Cork City Hall with their union, Fórsa, other Cork City Council work colleagues and members of the LGBTQ+ community to demand that Cork City Council management takes action to protect their health and safety. Does the Taoiseach agree that more needs to be done in Cork and across the country to protect the best interests of library workers who provide such an important public service?
We all accept that remote working is a real positive for many people. I have brought up the issue before with regard to cross-Border remote workers who are not facilitated at present. I use the example of PayPal in Dundalk, when it closed its premises and everyone was put on remote working, that those in the North needed to be transferred to PayPal UK. Obviously, a large international company can do that. As small companies are not capable of doing that, we are failing many of those in the Border areas.
The OECD is looking at this on an international basis, but we could be waiting a hell of a long time for it to come up with a solution. I would like to think that this was being brought up at Cabinet level, and that those engagements - some of which may have happened between Revenue and HM Revenue and Customs, HMRC - would be escalated to a higher level, and that we might even look at a bilateral agreement between Britain and Ireland on ensuring that we can deliver a shared island solution.
I thank the Deputies for their questions.
As the House knows, Ireland is required to transpose the EU directive on adequate minimum wages and collective bargaining. I began the work of doing that during my previous role as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. On the adequate minimum wage side, there is not much that we have to do. Our laws are already up to the European standard, and indeed ahead of them. We have a Low Pay Commission, and a national minimum wage that is the sixth- or seventh-highest in the EU, even when one takes account of the cost of living. We have a plan to introduce a living wage that is being phased in and that will be pitched at 60% of median earnings. That is all very much under way, and we are entirely compliant with the directive already.
On collective bargaining, we have some work to do. We are developing a two-year action plan to implement that directive, and we will implement it, and transpose it into Irish law. There is an engagement ongoing between employers' groups, unions and Government on that, under the auspices of the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF.
In the round, I agree that collective bargaining is a good thing. It enhances workers' rights and terms and conditions, advances social progress, and can lead to increased industrial productivity. We need to get our laws right in this regard, and there is a bit of work to do there still.
I will never forget something a very senior trade union official said to me once. It was that you can force people by law to meet, but you cannot force them to negotiate in good faith and you certainly cannot force them to agree. Ultimately, decisions will be made by a ballot of union members and by a decision of the board or shareholders. That can be taken away by moving towards a judicial process of industrial relations where unions and employers cannot say "No", but as I do not think that is the route we want to go down in Ireland, we need to get the laws right. Work is being done on that.
In regard to the Tesco dispute; as is the case with any industrial relations dispute, there are processes and systems to be followed. I am not going to express a view on the detail of it, but I do think the company should engage or at least meet with Mandate. I do not think anything could be lost from that. As I said earlier, to meet with somebody is not necessarily to agree, but the company should not refuse to meet the representatives of the workers there, provided it can be established that the workers want to be represented by that particular union and their representatives.
In relation to St. Michael's House, I answered a question on that yesterday. I will send a note to Deputy O'Callaghan with some more information on it. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, is engaging on the issue and is trying to find a solution for the school leavers affected.
Deputy Barry raises the very important issue of the attacks and protests that are occurring at our libraries and against some librarians. I want to express my solidarity with the library service and people who work in libraries. This is not a country that bans books because people do not agree with the contents of them. In places where they ban books, it is shortly after that that they start burning books and then sometimes burning people. That is not a road we are going to go down as a country. We do support our librarians. Libraries are not just a place where books are stored or loaned out; they are a repository of information and provide access to knowledge for people. It is important that we make sure that librarians are supported in their jobs and feel safe in their jobs. That is what the Government is committed to.
Deputy Ó Murchú raised once again the issue of cross-Border workers and the interplay of our different revenue and welfare laws North and South. It is a complicated area and it is difficult to get right, but certainly we will talk to the Revenue and the British authorities as well. We would certainly be open to an agreement that would work, but it is never straightforward.
Is féidir teacht ar Cheisteanna Scríofa ar www.oireachtas.ie.
Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.
Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 2.03 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 3.04 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 2.03 p.m. and resumed at 3.04 p.m.