Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 Sep 2023

Vol. 1042 No. 5

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

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

I move:

Tuesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (without debate)

- Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill 2023 - Motion for a Financial Resolution (without debate)

- Statements and Questions and Answers on Children's Health Ireland Patient safety concerns and reviews in paediatric orthopaedic surgical services (statements for 137 mins, followed by 60 mins Q&A, followed by Ministerial response for 10 mins)

Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Reversal of Planned Fuel Price Increases, selected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Leave to Introduce Supplementary Estimate [Vote 40] (without debate)

- Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023 (Second Stage)*

- Domestic, Sexual and Gender- Based Violence Agency Bill 2023 (Second Stage)*

- Historic and Archaeological Heritage and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023 [Seanad] (changed from Historic and Archaeological Heritage Bill 2023) (Report and Final Stages) (to be taken no earlier than 5 p.m. and to conclude within 3 hrs)

- Control of Exports Bill 2023 (Report and Final Stages) (if not previously concluded, to stand adjourned after one hour)

* Please note: if not previously concluded, proceedings shall be interrupted on either of these two bills at either 5.00 p.m. or 2 hrs 10 mins after the conclusion of the SOS, whichever is the later

Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Suspension of Scrutiny Requirement for the Eviction Ban Bill 2022, selected by People- Before- Profit- Solidarity.

Thursday's business shall be:

- Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023 (Second Stage, resumed, if not previously concluded)**

- Domestic, Sexual and Gender- Based Violence Agency Bill 2023 (Second Stage)**

** Please note: if not previously concluded (and if reached), proceedings on any Government Bill on Thursday will stand adjourned at 6 p.m.

An Ceann Comhairle

Are the proposed arrangements for the week's business agreed to?

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

They are not agreed.

Yesterday Fórsa, SIPTU and the INMO announced three weeks' notice of their intention to take industrial action in the voluntary and community sector. They have been in discussions to resolve this dispute for years. This matter is now incredibly urgent for service users and for their families who rely on these agencies for supports, day services and respite services, basic interventions that keep their family going. The Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform needs to come into the House to outline what steps he has taken to resolve the looming strike. We need to debate this on the floor of the Dáil. I am asking for time to be put aside for this important debate. Thousands of families are going to be impacted.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

I return to the issue I raised earlier on the proposed action in the community and voluntary care sector. The Taoiseach's response to me will give little reassurance to those parents who are relying on services provided by Enable Ireland and to those relying on services provided by organisations that provide such vital services to so many across the country. All he said in response to me was that Tusla and the HSE are preparing to make contingencies. That has the sound of a let-them-eat-cake approach to a collapsing care system and is simply not good enough. I did not hear from the Taoiseach an indication of engagement to ensure that the action will not go ahead on 17 October.

We need to debate in this House with the Taoiseach, the Minister for Health, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and Ministers who are directly responsible for the provision of these services. We need to have a debate on this so that we can ensure that the action will not go ahead on 17 October and that pay parity will be restored because it is such a vital issue and it cuts across so many areas. When we say the community and voluntary sector, it sometimes sounds like a vague thing, but these are people providing services on the ground in all our communities.

Deputy Catherine Murphy

On the same subject, some of these services will collapse. There is no obvious mechanism to resolve this because the State is the funder. As the Taoiseach said, if the section 39 bodies did not exist the State would have to provide the services directly. The problem is that if the State does not come back to the table, there is nothing to negotiate. We cannot talk about the industrial relations mechanisms being available. We urgently need to have a discussion about this. It is fanciful to think that Tusla and the HSE can in some way magic up a contingency. What is going to happen is we will shut down absolutely vital services. We cannot allow the vital 20 days between now and 17 October to go without discussing how to get a resolution to this and it needs to happen urgently.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I refer to the people outside the gate today, a lovely peaceful protest by workers in small childcare facilities, mainly from rural areas, along with parents and some páistí as well. Earlier the Taoiseach gave a very glib answer, saying that there was only a small crowd of them there. They are very passionate about what they do and they are being treated terribly. The core model of one size fits all is not working, as I said to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, last week. They are on the first day of a three-day strike. They love what they do and are passionate about it. They do not want to be up here with the parents protesting but they have no other choice. It will have a huge impact, especially in rural villages. I met a group from Ballynacarrigy in Westmeath there today. It is small villages like that. In the surrounding ones, three of them have closed. It is the same in Tipperary. They are under pressure and will disappear.

Rural villages and rural communities are going to be affected. Families in those areas need the childcare services to continue their work, their own business or whatever else. It is a hammer blow. Dismissing them as a small number or only one organisation is not going to get very far. I appeal for a debate in this House.

The Taoiseach

I thank Deputies. The Chief Whip informs me that the issue of the childcare protests was not put to the Business Committee as a matter for debate in this House. That would be the best mechanism by which to find time for it. The sections 39 and 56 strike action is planned for 17 October. I believe there is plenty of time between now and then to avoid it happening. Of course the Government wants to avoid it happening. I reiterate that an offer has been made of a 5% pay increase to apply in November, with 3% backdated, and further engagement on more if and when there is a public sector pay deal. We regret that that offer has been rejected. As is always the case, there are means to resolve disputes to make sure they do not happen, including two Government offices, the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. Using those mechanisms, the strike can potentially be averted. I certainly hope it can be.

An Ceann Comhairle

Are the proposed arrangements for this week agreed to?

Deputies

Not agreed. Vótáil.

Question put: "That the proposed arrangements for this week's business be agreed to."

The Dáil divided: Tá, 67; Níl, 56; Staon, 0.

Tá

• Brophy, Colm.
• Browne, James.
• Bruton, Richard.
• Burke, Colm.
• Butler, Mary.
• Byrne, Thomas.
• Calleary, Dara.
• Cannon, Ciarán.
• Chambers, Jack.
• Collins, Niall.
• Costello, Patrick.
• Coveney, Simon.
• Cowen, Barry.
• Creed, Michael.
• Devlin, Cormac.
• Dillon, Alan.
• Donohoe, Paschal.
• Duffy, Francis Noel.
• Durkan, Bernard J.
• English, Damien.
• Feighan, Frankie.
• Flaherty, Joe.
• Fleming, Sean.
• Griffin, Brendan.
• Haughey, Seán.
• Heydon, Martin.
• Higgins, Emer.
• Humphreys, Heather.
• Kehoe, Paul.
• Lahart, John.
• Lawless, James.
• Leddin, Brian.
• Lowry, Michael.
• MacSharry, Marc.
• Madigan, Josepha.
• Martin, Catherine.
• Matthews, Steven.
• McAuliffe, Paul.
• McConalogue, Charlie.
• McEntee, Helen.
• McGrath, Michael.
• McGuinness, John.
• Moynihan, Michael.
• Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
• Naughton, Hildegarde.
• Noonan, Malcolm.
• O'Brien, Darragh.
• O'Brien, Joe.
• O'Callaghan, Jim.
• O'Connor, James.
• O'Dea, Willie.
• O'Donnell, Kieran.
• O'Dowd, Fergus.
• O'Gorman, Roderic.
• O'Sullivan, Christopher.
• O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
• Ó Cathasaigh, Marc.
• Ó Cuív, Éamon.
• Phelan, John Paul.
• Rabbitte, Anne.
• Richmond, Neale.
• Ring, Michael.
• Smith, Brendan.
• Smyth, Niamh.
• Smyth, Ossian.
• Stanton, David.
• Troy, Robert.

Níl

• Andrews, Chris.
• Bacik, Ivana.
• Barry, Mick.
• Boyd Barrett, Richard.
• Brady, John.
• Buckley, Pat.
• Cairns, Holly.
• Canney, Seán.
• Carthy, Matt.
• Clarke, Sorca.
• Collins, Joan.
• Collins, Michael.
• Connolly, Catherine.
• Conway-Walsh, Rose.
• Cronin, Réada.
• Cullinane, David.
• Daly, Pa.
• Doherty, Pearse.
• Donnelly, Paul.
• Ellis, Dessie.
• Fitzmaurice, Michael.
• Fitzpatrick, Peter.
• Funchion, Kathleen.
• Gannon, Gary.
• Gould, Thomas.
• Healy-Rae, Danny.
• Healy-Rae, Michael.
• Howlin, Brendan.
• Kenny, Martin.
• Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
• McDonald, Mary Lou.
• McGrath, Mattie.
• Mitchell, Denise.
• Munster, Imelda.
• Murphy, Catherine.
• Mythen, Johnny.
• Nash, Ged.
• O'Callaghan, Cian.
• O'Donoghue, Richard.
• O'Reilly, Louise.
• O'Rourke, Darren.
• Ó Broin, Eoin.
• Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
• Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
• Ó Ríordáin, Aodhán.
• Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
• Pringle, Thomas.
• Quinlivan, Maurice.
• Ryan, Patricia.
• Sherlock, Sean.
• Shortall, Róisín.
• Smith, Bríd.
• Smith, Duncan.
• Tóibín, Peadar.
• Tully, Pauline.
• Ward, Mark.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Hildegarde Naughton and Cormac Devlin; Níl, Deputies Mattie McGrath and Michael Healy-Rae.

Question declared carried.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

On 1 September, the Government increased the price of petrol and diesel by 7 cent and 5 cent per litre, respectively. As the Taoiseach knows, we are in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis. In that regard, it makes no sense and flies in the face of any semblance of fairness to go ahead with the increases the Government has proposed for 11 and 31 October. If they go ahead, the Government will have increased the price of petrol and diesel again by more than 10 cent and 8 cent per litre, respectively. This evening, Sinn Féin will table a motion in the Dáil that aims to reverse the Government’s commitment in that regard. Will the Government support that motion? Will it be fair about this situation and recognise that any further increase in petrol and diesel prices in October would be unfair to families who are struggling in a cost-of-living crisis?

The Taoiseach

I appreciate that prices at the pump have gone up in the past couple of weeks to in or around €1.70 or €1.80 a litre, and higher in some places. Everyone is very aware of that. Due to the price of petrol, diesel and electricity going up by so much, the Government reduced excise on petrol and diesel and VAT on electricity and gas. Of course, we will have to make a decision on that on budget day, and that will be part of the budget arithmetic.

We will not support the Sinn Féin motion because, as I understand, it stops the carbon tax. Sinn Féin is an anti-climate action party. It talks the talk but certainly will not walk the walk when it comes to climate action. Young people thinking about Sinn Féin should know that. It is an anti-European party opposed to climate action. Any tough decision that would ever have to be made when it comes to climate would not be taken by Sinn Féin.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

That was a pathetic answer.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

I want to return to the issue of childcare and early years education as currently early years educators, parents and providers are up in arms because childcare is not working for them. We hear from many parents about the shortage of places nationwide, expensive fees and providers closing their doors. I have a constituent who is still waiting to hear from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth about whether a mechanism even exists to deal with her complaint of a failure to freeze fees by her crèche. We in the Labour Party acknowledge and support progress being made towards greater State investment in childcare but it is too slow. We are very concerned about the lack of progress on the promised further reduction in fees for parents. Last month, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, confirmed that parents cannot expect the promised 25% further reduction. Today, on "Morning Ireland", he did not say one way or the other whether that reduction would happen. There is still time for the Government to make a positive U-turn on a reduction of fees for parents. We believe the Government should set out a clear pathway to a universal public system of childcare.

The Taoiseach

The commitment the Government made was to reduce the cost of childcare for families by 50%. We have gone halfway there this year. We will decide on budget day how much further we can go for 2024. We will go as far as we possibly can but, as Deputy Bacik rightly pointed out, when it comes to childcare and early years education, there are many demands and needs for additional resources to bring down fees for parents, to create more spaces and make them more available, to do things that are targeted at lone and disadvantaged parents in particular and to improve quality and pay. We have to look at all four of those and decide what the best way to use resources is.

Deputy Cian O'Callaghan

Since this Government took office, it has not come remotely close to meeting its targets on affordable housing. This year, the Government promised to deliver 5,500 affordable homes. In the first half of the year, just 22 cost-rental and 101 affordable purchase homes were completed. The Land Development Agency, LDA, did not complete a single affordable home. More than 500,000 adults are living in their childhood bedrooms. Does the Taoiseach believe the Government will meet its affordable housing targets this year? Will he support the Social Democrats' proposal to provide early-stage financing for affordable housing projects so that planning and design costs can be met?

The Taoiseach

When it comes to housing, delivery figures tend to be lower at the start of the year and increase throughout the course of the year. We are helping people to buy their first homes in many ways. There is the help to buy scheme, which must be factored in, the first home scheme, which is very popular, and vacancy grants for turning derelict properties into use. There are also local authority home loans. There are many ways in which we are helping people to buy their first homes. It is important that those are included in the figures.

The Deputy was right; it is the case that roughly 500,000 people still live at home. It is roughly one in seven or one in eight adults. It was much the same ten or 15 years ago. Included in that are people who are students and people who are 18 and still in school but the Deputy did not say that part of it.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

In February, the Dáil passed the People Before Profit Eviction Ban Bill 2022, which would reinstate an emergency ban on no-fault evictions for the duration of the housing and homelessness emergency. Tomorrow, during our Private Members' time, we will ask that the Dáil expedite that Bill. Whatever the Taoiseach may have said back in February during the debate or since or to justify the decision to lift the ban, the situation has gotten catastrophically worse. Since then, more than 1,000 extra people have ended up in emergency accommodation, including an additional 400 children. The number of notices to quit issued in the second quarter of this year jumped by 21% compared to the previous period, up to 5,759. It is getting worse every single week.

Families, individuals and children are being driven into the trauma of homelessness. Will the Taoiseach reconsider and support our motion to expedite the reinstatement of a no-fault eviction ban as we head into the winter months?

The Taoiseach

We will not be supporting it. There were two no-fault eviction bans in recent history. Both happened while I was in government. The last one did not work. Homelessness increased and the number of people in emergency accommodation increased for almost every month that it was in situ. It just deferred homelessness and made a bad situation worse later. That is not a solution. The solution is more supply of housing in general and more supply of social housing in particular. I am glad that last year we built more social housing than in any year since the 1970s and we are going to break that record again this year.

Deputy Seán Canney

I wish to raise an issue relating to the school bus transport system that has evolved since schools went back into class. A number of bus routes, including routes in Corofin, Belclare and elsewhere in my constituency, started off with a school transport service in September but, a week later, the buses just disappeared. There are now at least five routes on my books that have no bus to bring students to school. These are not students with concessionary tickets. Rather, they are people who are entitled to a bus to school but, for whatever reason, it has not happened. In addition, some special needs students are not getting a bus. It is a small part of the overall scheme but many students and their families are in disarray right now because there is an element that is not working. I ask that the Department and Bus Éireann get together as an emergency measure to tidy up these loose ends as a result of which a number of people who are entitled to school transport have not got it.

The Taoiseach

I understand there are a number of places across the country where it has not been possible to provide school transport. What I am told is it mostly relates to difficulty getting drivers but that might not be in the case in the areas the Deputy mentioned. If he passes on the details, however, I will make sure the Minister, Deputy Foley, responds to him directly.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

There are delays across the public service and indeed the private service, including in the National Driver Licence Service, NDLS. If a young or other person in Clonmel applies today for a driving test, it will be nearly the end of February before he or she will be allowed to go on the portal to apply again. There is a waiting list of up to nine months for people to do a driving test in Clonmel. These are young people who want to go to employment or college. Their parents are driving them and trying to accompany them, given the regulations the Government brought in, and they cannot get a driver test. Why are tests not offered on Saturdays and Sundays? That effort should be made. The situation has regressed badly in recent years and it is just not acceptable. Young people want to be in employment and employers want to take them on but, whether they are contractors or farmers or whatever, they cannot get work as a result of this issue. Employers are crying out for people to work for them. These young people are enthusiastic and want to do their test, get on the road and do everything right but they are not being allowed to do so. They cannot get a driver test. In 2023, it beggars belief that it will be February before they are allowed to go onto the portal. It is not acceptable.

The Taoiseach

I understand there has been a significant increase in demand for driving tests since 2019, pre-pandemic. That is a reflection of the fact, perhaps, that there is an increased population in the country and more people at work. I appreciate how important it is to have a car in many parts of the country. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, has provided a report to us on this. Additional driver testers are being hired and we expect the situation to improve in the coming months.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

Breis agus ceithre bhliain ó shin, bunaíodh tascfhórsa i nGaillimh maidir leis an ngéarchéim tithíochta mar bhí sé, agus tá sé, chomh dona sin. I mo thuairim, tá sé níos measa ná an ghéarchéim i mBaile Átha Cliath. Faraor géar, níl tásc ná tuairisc ar an tuarascáil sin. De réir mar a thuigim, tá sé i lámha an Aire ó mhí Iúil ach níl sé foilsithe fós. In the few seconds I have left, I will translate, although I know the Taoiseach understands Irish. More than four years ago, a task force was set up in respect of the very serious housing crisis in Galway. Four years later, there is no sign of a report. That gives a bad name to a task force as the housing crisis intensifies in Galway. I understand from the replies to a series of parliamentary questions I tabled that, finally, the report has been in the hands of the Minister for housing since July. It is almost the end of September. Cá bhfuil an tuarascáil?

The Taoiseach

I appreciate the translation. I picked up almost all of it but not everything. I have not seen the report but I will check with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and ask him to get back to the Deputy directly.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

Alongside the excellent work being done in the delivery of housing supply, there is significant potential for additional supply in our rural towns and villages. In recognition of that, in April of last year the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, announced a special funding opportunity for our rural towns and villages, namely, €15 million for wastewater treatment plants to allow them to develop to their full potential. A year and a half later, there has been no further announcement on that funding. My local authority submitted two villages for consideration, Craughwell and Clarinbridge, both of which could offer people a wonderful opportunity and a very attractive place to live in close proximity to Galway city. However, both of those villages and, indeed, all of the villages that have similar potential across County Galway have their development potential suppressed right now because they do not have the resources to develop those wastewater facilities. Could the Taoiseach inquire as to where that report is, along with findings of the review into how exactly we can develop those villages and give them the resources they need?

The Taoiseach

I will certainly make inquiries with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and come back to the Deputy directly on that. It is a very good scheme. We want all of our villages and small towns to be able to expand and to have some room for natural increase not in a way that causes sprawl, but in a way that allows more building close to the village and town centres. That requires some investment. I will get back to Deputy Cannon with a further reply.

Deputy Robert Troy

This morning, we learned that 12% of ESB customers are in arrears, up 55,000 on the first quarter of this year. Last year, Government had to subvent households, businesses and community groups the high cost of energy. At the same time, we realised that energy companies like ESB and Energia had profits of €847 million and €354 million, respectively. What progress did the Taoiseach make with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in their meeting with the CEOs of these companies to ensure they pass on the reduction in wholesale prices to their customers so that Government does not have to use tax resources to subvent the cost of energy?

The Taoiseach

All four of the companies the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and I met have announced reductions in their prices. Since then, some other companies have announced competitive prices as well. However, the message from us to them was very clear. We do not think their prices are coming down enough. We want to see further reductions in the next billing cycle in the new year. They pointed out to us that there is not a direct link between wholesale prices and retail prices, and people understand why that is. The retail companies are not making substantial profits; it is the generators that are making the substantial profits. What are we going to do about it? There will be a temporary solidarity levy on fossil fuel producers and a windfall profit tax on the generators and we are taking special dividends from companies like ESB. We will be able to use that money to help families with the cost of energy during the winter period. The detail of that will be announced on budget day.

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

It is more than 250 days since the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, met with homeowners affected by Celtic tiger fire safety and structural defects about a redress scheme. At that meeting, the Minister promised the homeowners three things. First, that funding would be made available this year for emergency fire safety works, particularly for those homes that are currently unsafe; second, that draft legislation would be published this year for the wider redress scheme; and third, that there would be a retrospective provision included in that legislation for those people who are currently undertaking structural remediation works. Can the Taoiseach tell us if Government intends to make that funding for those essential emergency works available this year? Can he also recommit to publishing the legislation by the end of the year, and confirm that the Government's position remains that that funding will be retrospective?

The Taoiseach

It remains our position that once the scheme is introduced it will be retrospective - first, because that is fair and, second, we do not want to discourage people from carrying out works now that they would not carry out were it not retrospective. The last time I checked, although it was some time ago, I was informed that there would be some funding this year for emergency fire safety works, but I will have to double-check with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and get back to the Deputy directly.

Deputy Brendan Griffin

Last Thursday, I raised the issue of cocaine use in our communities, and the normalisation of the use of cocaine that we have seen creep in in recent years. The reaction that I got over the weekend was one I did not expect. There was an enormous reaction. I received many very difficult phone calls from the heartbroken parents, spouses and siblings of people who have fallen into addiction and on the wrong side of drug dealers, and who have incurred major debts and encountered huge issues. It is that normalisation that is the problem that we really need to face up to and address. I am conscious that there are events unfolding off the coast of Wexford today that may well illustrate just how prevalent this problem is. I ask the Taoiseach to take personal responsibility for fronting-up an effort from Government across all Departments to try to address this problem, because it is literally destroying thousands of lives and the very fabric of our communities around the country.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

We could put a few boats on the sea.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, in her role as Minister of State with responsibility for the national drugs strategy, leads on this issue, but it is a cross-government effort. We are taking action both in terms of increasing services around addiction, which is really important. Drug use has changed and people are addicted to different substances than would have been the case in the past, and polydrug use is a much bigger issue as well. I think we will see that there is a very strong response from the Garda, our Naval Service and others, which is evident off the coast of Wexford today.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

Tá dhá chraoltóir seirbhíse poiblí teilifíse sa Stát seo – RTÉ agus TG4. Agus cinneadh á dhéanamh maidir le cistíocht do chraolachán seirbhíse poiblí don bhliain 2024, caithfear déanamh cinnte nach dtabharfar tosaíocht don tseirbhís nach raibh in ann cloí lena buiséad seachas an tseirbhís a chloí lena buiséad, a chuir ard-seirbhís ar fáil ar bhuiséad an-teoranta agus a rinne é sin i dteanga nach labhraítear go forleathan ar fud an domhain, sé sin, an Ghaeilge. Le go bhfásfadh TG4 i gceart an bhliain seo chugainn, theastódh €15 milliún breise. I gcomhthéacs an airgid atá á lua le RTÉ, is airgead beag é. An féidir leis an Taoiseach a dheimhniú go mbeidh an t-airgead sin ar fáil agus, san fhadtéarma nó sa mheántéarma, go dtabharfar an cineál cistíocht do TG4 a thugtar trasna na farraige uainn do S4C do chraoladh i mBreatnais?

The Taoiseach

I will have to ask the Minister, Deputy Martin, to come back with a more detailed reply on the funding, but we did approve the TG4 annual report today. It is a body that is producing very good quality programming. About 82% of people watched the channel at some stage over the course of the year, which is a very high number. We have the new children's channel as well, which I think is a good addition too.

Deputy Imelda Munster

The Obelisk Bridge at Oldbridge in Drogheda has been closed since August for restoration, and will be closed until May 2024. It was closed without any sort of traffic management plan, and has caused traffic chaos. It was the only crossing for people living in the immediate vicinity to get from the north to the south side of Drogheda. As a result of that, people are now forced to use the toll section on the M1 daily to take children to and from school. I have been liaising with the Minister for Transport and I have been onto Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII and Louth County Council, and the State bodies are all passing the buck. The obvious solution would be to provide an M1 toll pass for those living in the direct vicinity for the duration of the works. It could be distributed using Eircodes. I have been back and forth and the Minister has not been of much help as of yet. It is one thing asking people to put up with that expense during the cost-of-living crisis for a couple of weeks, but it is extremely unfair to do so for the guts of a year. Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister to liaise with Louth County Council, TII and the toll operator to come to some workable agreement on this, and to issue toll passes for the duration of the works?

The Taoiseach

I am not familiar with the details, but I can hear that it is causing a lot of inconvenience for people in Drogheda. I will certainly make some inquiries with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and see if there is something that can be done. I am not sure whether a toll pass would be workable, but I will certainly make sure he is aware of the suggestion.

Deputy Michael Collins

Today, thousands of early childcare providers have converged on our capital for a decent, peaceful protest outside the Dáil. For three days their services will be closed in a desperate effort to wake a sleeping Minister and a very much sound-asleep Government on this issue. Is the Taoiseach aware that 97 services have closed this year so far? Is he aware that many more are on the verge of closure in west Cork and throughout our country? Is he aware that many providers are borrowing money to fund their services, and many more are not taking any wages at all? This Government is completely out of touch and the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, angered these great providers last week by saying there is no need to have a three-day stoppage.

Only this morning did he give a little ground by saying there has been underinvestment in the sector for years. The Government is nearing four years in office, so the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has had plenty of time to avert a crisis. Will the Taoiseach now intervene personally in the crisis and in what is behind this protest, which I fully support? The parents of children who use the providers are outside supporting the providers today. I will go one step further and request the resignation of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, if he cannot get to grips with this crisis in the coming days.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy. I gave a comprehensive reply on some of these issues earlier. However, with regard to services closing, it might be worth putting on the record of the House that data from Tusla show the number of services that have closed so far in 2023 is substantially lower than in previous years. Therefore, while there are some services closing, the number is fewer than in previous years. There are, of course, new services opening, with 48 new ones having opened between January and August of this year alone. Some existing services are expanding their number of places as well.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

Today, thousands of early years education and childcare workers went on strike and protested outside the Dáil. They did this because their sector is being destroyed by the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. He is literally closing down childcare services in this State. He actually said the strike was unwarranted. Is it not a bit rich for a Minister on a salary of €183,000 per year to tell providers and staff, many of whom are on salaries less than the minimum wage, that a strike is not necessary? Is it not a bit rich for him to tell workers who are going into personal debt to keep the businesses open that their strike is not necessary? The Minister is hammering the childcare sector, a sector led mostly by women and that mostly involves small family operators, mostly located in provincial towns and villages where there is no other option available. At the same time, he is boosting the coffers of the large multinational operators in the cities. He seems to be living in a parallel universe.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy. The time is up.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

The people outside the gates are saying something completely different from the Minister. If he cannot keep childcare open, should he not resign?

The Taoiseach

That is unfair and inaccurate. Under the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, the budget for childcare and early years education has increased dramatically. It is in excess of €1 billion now. Fees have come down for parents this year and they will come down again. Pay and terms and conditions have improved for the staff in the sector and will improve again. As the Deputy knows, the vast majority of childcare and early years services are open today and are not taking part in the protest.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

Why are they striking?

Deputy Michael Collins

Out of touch.

An Ceann Comhairle

Since Members are taking more time than they have been allocated, we have now run out of time, but I want to take two brief questions from Deputy Verona Murphy and Deputy Wynne.

Deputy Verona Murphy

In March of this year, the Taoiseach visited Wexford General Hospital after the disastrous fire that occurred there. At the same time, he promised that the 96-bed unit would be forthcoming. The people of Wexford are facing a winter of discontent because we are no further along with the 96-bed unit. I note that the Minister for Health is present, so could we have an update on when we will see the delivery of the 96-bed unit? We are going to face overcrowding. The hospital has faced considerable turmoil this year. The staff are worn out, and even constituents are worn out.

Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne

I want to raise the case of my constituent Joseph in Kilkee who, only for policy reasons, has been discriminated against by the State for having the cheek not to be related by blood to the carer he lives with and who does absolutely everything for him. I find it disgraceful in this day and age that we are still discriminating against carers on the basis of blood when it comes to the criteria for the disabled drivers and passengers scheme. I wrote to the Minister about this six months ago and am still waiting for a reply. I ask the Taoiseach, on behalf of my constituent Joseph and the thousands of others in similar circumstances, to take action on this and remove the criterion requiring a relationship by blood. As we all know, family is sometimes about much more than bloodlines.

Minister for Health (Deputy Stephen Donnelly)

To respond to Deputy Verona Murphy, the 96-bed block, or the 97-bed block, as the team keeps reminding me when I go to Wexford to meet it, features prominently in this year's capital plan, as she will be aware. It is being advanced. A detailed design is being advanced and we will be seeking to proceed on a rapid-build basis.

The Taoiseach

On Deputy Wynne's question, I do not have all the details on the gentleman in Kilkee. If the Deputy wants to pass them on to me, I will have them checked out. When it comes to any scheme, we all understand there have to be terms and conditions and rules and controls. However, if I picked up the Deputy correctly, the individuals are perhaps living in the same house. I can understand why it might make sense to make the change but I do not necessarily want to make any commitments here. If the Deputy passes on the details, I will engage with the Minister on the matter.