Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 14 Feb 2024

Vol. 1049 No. 5

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

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

Family carers do incredible and compassionate work looking after loved ones. As the Taoiseach is aware, they save the State billions of euro, yet they always feel that they are forgotten, left behind and ignored by the system and the Government. On Monday last, my colleagues, Deputies Carthy, Tully and Cullinane, met with families affected by the lack of disability services in County Monaghan. Dozens of families attended. For years, they have been crying out for a children's overnight respite care service. They are currently dependent on a Cavan-based service which is completely overstretched.

They have heard Ministers promise that this will be resolved but in fact the situation on the ground has gotten much worse. They believe that this again shows an absolute lack of respect and support from Government for carers and the everyday struggles they face. The families in Monaghan are at their wit's end. They are tired, stressed and they feel very forgotten. They need a respite service urgently. Can the Taoiseach tell these families how he will respond to this desperate need?

The Taoiseach

I will certainly look into it and see what can be done. Over the past number of years we have tried to improve the financial position of carers. We have increased the carer support grant which is not means tested. We relaxed the means test for the carer's allowance, increased it and extended free GP care to anyone in receipt of the carer's allowance. We will strive to continue on that pathway of improving things for carers. I appreciate that when it comes to respite services we have some real difficulties. Generally speaking that has been down to finding staff who are available to staff these centres. I do not know the exact situation in relation to Cavan at the moment but I will check up on that and come back to the Deputy during the week.

Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

There was a remarkable admission last night during oral questions to the Minister for Education when the Minister of State with responsibility for special education said that the new allocation model for special needs resources will mean that 33% of schools will now have less special educational needs resources. She admitted this on the floor of the House last night. This is because complex needs are now being taken out of the criteria for the allocation of special educational needs resources. She said that she had a wide consultation on this but the INTO is saying that this model is fundamentally flawed. Many Deputies across the House have had contact from schools which are horrified at the loss of special educational needs resources. The Minister of State said that 67% of schools are not losing resources or are gaining resources but that means 33% of schools are losing. Will the Government revisit this model and ensure that schools will not lose the resources they have on the basis of complex needs, which are now not being accounted for under the new allocation model?

The Taoiseach

My understanding is that the allocations are made every year based on the profile of the children in the school. For example, in any given year children with particular needs may leave the school and move on to another one or more kids with special needs may come in. It is based on the profile of the children in the school, not on the school itself. I understand that what Deputy Ó Ríordáin is saying is correct. We have 1,000 more special education teachers than we had back in 2021 and two thirds of schools will be gaining hours or having the number of hours remain the same. About one third of schools will be losing and in most cases, this loss will be less than five hours. My understanding is that this is based on the profile of the children currently in the school or due to be in the school for next year.

Deputy Catherine Murphy

Every five years we are asked to fill out a census of population form so that the Government can plan for services. We are told that this is the reason people are asked to fill out the census form, which I would encourage everyone to do. However, there is no real evidence that there is a follow through in relation to services. In Kildare there is a real crisis in school places at both primary and secondary level. There are 15 secondary schools in my constituency but 13 of the 15 are completely full. People are getting multiple rejections although I understand that the second round eliminates that and some of it is to do with how the application system works. Can the Taoiseach give a guarantee that every child will get a secondary school place this year in Kildare? I understand there is a particular pinch point but what is the point in filling out a census form if the Department of Education's planning unit does not know how to count?

The Taoiseach

I can guarantee that. It might not necessarily be their school of first preference but I can guarantee that everyone in Kildare and also in my own constituency of Dublin West, where this also occurs, will receive a secondary school place. That is an absolute commitment and an absolute guarantee. Figures are used from the census and also from child benefit data. When it comes to secondary schools, the number of children enrolled in primary schools determines the need for secondary school places. What we have, though, on a lot of occasions is children's names being put down for multiple schools but schools cannot share that information for data protection reasons. What happens, and it certainly happens in my constituency, is that it appears at the start that there is a huge number of children without school places. Then, when the places are allocated and accepted or not, that number becomes much smaller and very often those children are not actually in the catchment are of the school to which they have applied.

Deputy Catherine Murphy

The schools are full.

The Taoiseach

If it is the case that children are not able to find a place, we will make certain that they get one but we cannot always guarantee that it will be their place of first choice, particularly if the school is not in their catchment area.

Deputy Paul Murphy

I want to raise the case of adult education tutors who will gather in large numbers outside the Dáil today at 1 p.m. For years they have been fighting for pay parity, for an end to discrimination and for proper contracts and pensions but they continue to be denied these by the Government. Effectively, the Government is trying to get away with not providing proper incremental payscales, is offering piecemeal pensions and is demanding that they do the work of administrative staff. These are teachers. They do the work of teachers, including lesson planning, preparation, teaching and marking and they deserve to be treated equivalently to their full-time, permanent colleagues. Will the Government go out and meet the tutors and will the Minister, Deputy Harris, accede to these very just requests?

The Taoiseach

I understand that a proposal was issued to staff representatives last year to establish a new grade of adult educator, with a standardised payscale aligned to Youthreach. A key issue that has been raised relates to incremental progression. The Ministers, Deputies Harris and Foley, who have regulatory responsibility for the ETB sector, have submitted an updated proposal to the Minister, Deputy Coveney. Officials are engaging on this updated proposal and hope to be able to conclude this matter an early opportunity.

Deputy Noel Grealish

I utterly condemn the brutal Hamas attack on 7 October, when 1,200 innocent Israeli people died but does the death of 1,200 innocent people equate to the death of 30,000 innocent civilians in Gaza? This number continues to rise daily as the humanitarian crisis grows. Ireland has great friends in the United States Senate and Congress and in the White House. Will the Taoiseach use his influence and that of his Government with contacts in Washington to put pressure on the Biden Administration? Will he use whatever channels are available through the EU to get Israel to call a halt to the slaughter of innocent people, most of whom are women and children, and bring a halt to this humanitarian crisis?

The Taoiseach

I hope to travel to the US next months for the St. Patrick's Day events and I will, of course, use the opportunity, both in public and in private, to share the views of the Irish people, and my own views, on what is happening in Israel and Palestine. I hope by then there is already a ceasefire. Let us pray there is but either way, I will be sharing our views with our friends and colleagues in the US. It is important to say that the US, Egypt and Qatar are working together on a ceasefire proposal and it is incumbent on Israel and Hamas to accept the ceasefire proposal that is on the table.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Adult education tutors have been campaigning for a public service contract with a common, sector-wide incremental payscale for many years. The campaign finally bore fruit when in May of last year the Department of further and higher education published a contract proposal. However, that proposal was full of ambiguity and was not acceptable to the tutors. As was said earlier, they will be outside the gates of the Dáil today. Tutors do the same work as their full-time colleagues in the further education and training sector and they want the same terms and conditions. That is not a big request but is only a mark of respect. As I said, they will be protesting outside the gates today. Will the Government commit to re-engage with the tutors and to provide them with pay parity and fairness in the context of the work they do? Parity is all that they want. What they got last May was full of ambiguity. It was not transparent or fair. They need parity of esteem because they do tremendous work, which we all value.

The Taoiseach

As is often the case, industrial relations disputes can be quite complicated. I have a four-page note that I could read out for the Deputy but I am not going to do that because time is limited but of course, the employer and the Government will engage with the representatives of the adult tutors with a view to coming to a resolution. If that cannot be done then, of course, there are options like the WRC or the Labour Court.

Deputy Marian Harkin

We now have the totally unacceptable and unbelievable situation where a new €37.6 million community hospital in Ballyshannon, with 52 long-stay beds, 20 short-stay beds, eight dementia-specific assessment beds and a day hospital service, has been ready to open its doors for several weeks now.

However, because of a dispute between the HSE, SIPTU and the INMO on planned staffing levels and clinical governance, which unions say would pose a risk to staff and patients, a state-of-the-art facility that could relieve some of the awful pressure on trolley numbers at SUH and LUH and, crucially, would support the healthcare needs of patients, in particular older patients, remains closed. Donegal is unique in having no dementia assessment service. This hospital would provide that.

An Ceann Comhairle

I thank the Deputy.

Deputy Marian Harkin

I ask the Taoiseach to use his influence today to get this community hospital opened.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this important issue. It has been raised with me by Deputies Feighan and MacSharry as well. It was expected that patients and staff at The Rock community hospital would move to the new community hospital in Ballyshannon this week. However, it emerged that following a vote taken by the nurses' union, staff refused to move to the new facility, citing concerns over staffing levels. In the interests of maintaining good employee relations, the HSE has agreed to defer the planned move and has requested further discussions on it. The Government stands ready to intervene. That would be through both sides going to the Workplace Relations Commission, which is under the auspices of the Minister, Deputy Coveney. The opening of the new community hospital in Ballyshannon is a priority and it will be fully operational at the earliest possible date.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

Last week when I raised with the Taoiseach the question of the continued use of the in camera rule in the context of family law in this country, he quite correctly answered that the rule was there to protect children. Unfortunately, that has changed because of the introduction of parental alienation. In fact, it now leaves it open for children and their parents to be abused due to the secrecy provided by the rule.

Notwithstanding the Minister's proposal in this regard, which is due shortly, in the evolving situation we have, could the Taoiseach perhaps give the House an assurance that measures will be taken to correct the new situation that is developing as a result of the introduction into the Irish family law system of an alien facility?

The Taoiseach

I will have to look into it a little bit further. I am not an expert in how the courts operate but I do know they operate independently of this House and of the Government. I think it is the case that judges have discretion as to whether hearings are held in camera but they are done to protect vulnerable people, including children. I will make some further inquiries about it, in particular with the Attorney General and get back to the Deputy.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank the Taoiseach.

Deputy Joe Flaherty

I welcome the THRIVE programme, which was announced by our colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, earlier this month. It offers regional and rural towns an opportunity to refurbish historic buildings up to a value of €7 million. It is a great opportunity for a town such as Longford to regenerate Connolly Barracks. The local authority is already looking at submitting plans in that regard. Significant money has been spent on regeneration, active travel and other such initiatives but the centres of many of these towns have been hollowed out and we need to invest in them. This is a great opportunity and I hope the Government's full support will be behind Longford County Council as it finally seeks to come up with a plan for the Connolly Barracks campus in Longford.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy very much. He can be assured that the Government will be very keen to fund any plan to bring the barracks back into use and back to life. I do not know the details of the project but the Deputy can be assured that it is now very much on my radar.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

As the Taoiseach knows, the upgrading of the A5 to a dual carriageway from Derry to Aughnacloy is crucial, not just for road safety but for the economic regeneration of the north-west region. The Government committed to co-fund the project under the St. Andrews Agreement. That was withdrawn. With the restoration of the executive, there is a renewed momentum. The Taoiseach will be aware of the public hearings. We are very hopeful that project can commence this year. Will the Government recommit to co-fund the project to make sure that it is done as soon as possible and with no further delays?

The Taoiseach

We did not actually remove our commitment but we did reduce it substantially on account of the financial crisis that occurred here 12 or 15 years ago. To cut to the chase, the situation is now different. We are in a much better place as a country, financially, and the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly are back up and running. I had a chance to speak to the Minister, Mr. O'Dowd, about this on my trip to Stormont last Monday. In the next week or two we should be in a position to make a revised financial commitment to the A5. The figure has not yet been agreed by the Cabinet but once it is agreed, we will inform the House.

Deputy Brendan Smith

Throughout this country we are very fortunate to have a great presence of small and medium enterprises in villages, towns and rural parishes. I welcome the very significant contribution those enterprises, whether it be in hospitality, retail or manufacturing, make to employment, the economy and the overall well-being of areas such as counties Cavan and Monaghan. Typically, owners of such enterprises work extremely diligently and hard, and with great commitment to keep the businesses going and to retain and where possible create new jobs. Businesses say to me very clearly that they need help now to offset additional costs that have arisen in recent years and that they will not be in a position to keep their doors open if costs are not reduced without delay. The increased cost of business grant was announced in budget 2024, which is welcome,but it needs to be rolled out at a very early date, as envisaged. I hope it will be rolled out seamlessly and that it will be business- and customer-friendly.

As a society, we cannot countenance the loss of such businesses that in many instances are the lifeblood of and central to our local communities.

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

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am very aware of the pressures that some small and medium-sized businesses are under, in particular in food hospitality and in certain types of retail. That is why we insisted at budget time that we would set aside more than €250 million to support 143,000 businesses across the country. That is 95% of all rate-paying businesses. They will get a cash injection or grant in the coming weeks to recognise the fact that we hear the pressure that they are under and while we do not want to entirely compensate for the increased cost of doing business, we will certainly make a contribution in recognition of that.

We are looking at other policy initiatives that we can adopt as well for those sectors that have particular pressure points. I hope I will be able to bring some ideas in that regard to the Government in the coming weeks.

Deputy Colm Burke

Earlier this week the new Dunkettle Interchange, which is a major project costing €215 million, opened. It is really important to have completed the project, and within budget. There are a number of important projects in Cork city, especially the north ring road, the Mallow bypass and the Cork to Limerick road. All commercial traffic travelling to the Port of Cork from the north side of the city has to pass through a residential area in Mayfield. Could a north ring road for Cork city be prioritised in view of the fact that the volume of traffic increases every week, month and year? I ask that this project and the Mallow bypass would be given priority in the forthcoming allocation of funding for 2024.

The Taoiseach

There are a number of really important projects in Cork that we are keen to progress. the Deputy mentioned three of them: the north ring road, the M20 between Cork and Limerick and the Mallow bypass. There are other projects too such as the ones in Castlemartyr and Ringaskiddy. I could name a few more such as the project linking Carrigtohill, Midleton and Youghal. We will do our best to fund as many of the projects as possible. We are certainly keen to keep them alive and keep them going. We will have allocations on that agreed some time this week or perhaps even today. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, will be doing that.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

I met with local retained firefighters in my constituency last week. They are still waiting for the increased retainer that was promised to them last year. This was to be agreed before the public service pay talks commenced. Counties such as Roscommon and Galway, which I represent, are heavily dependent on the retained fire service. The delay in this increase is making the recruitment crisis across the retained fire service even worse. There are 27 vacancies in Galway alone. When will the increase be agreed, announced and paid to retained firefighters?

The Taoiseach

I will have to come back to her on that. To my recollection, a number of increases were agreed on foot of the resolution of the dispute in the summer and then increases agreed in the public service pay agreement, which has not yet been ratified by the unions.

I will come back to the Deputy with more detail when I can.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

The major sports events unit of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is looking at a request for €15 million in funding to host the FIA World Rally Championship here in 2025 to 2027. Motorsport Ireland has identified the excellent locations of County Kerry, of course, as well as counties Limerick and Waterford. This will bring a €300 million return to local economies in the host regions. We earnestly seek the necessary Government support and funding to make this world rally championship event happen here. We will give the Taoiseach a drive in a rally car and everything if he secures the funding for us.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is the Taoiseach into rallying?

The Taoiseach

I understand that submission is currently with the Department and officials are going over the numbers to see what level of contribution would be appropriate. I will mention to the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, and the Minister, Deputy Martin, that it was raised in the Chamber today.

Deputy Michael McNamara

Article 41.3 of the Constitution states: "The State pledges itself to guard with special care the institution of marriage ... and to protect it against attack". If the referendum proposals are accepted by the people and passed, will there be favourable measures that apply to married couples that will not apply to persons in a durable relationship? What favourable measures that apply to married couples now will continue in the event that this is passed?

The Taoiseach

If the referendums are passed and the Constitution is so amended, it will still be possible for future governments and the Oireachtas to discriminate in favour of people who are married. That will not change. It will obviously be up to the Oireachtas and Government at the time to decide exactly on what basis they wish to favour or discriminate in favour of people who are married.

Deputy Martin Kenny

I raise the issue of damage to power lines, particularly in recent storms. In County Leitrim, there are large areas of afforestation. Where there is afforestation, power lines go through it. As part of licence conditions, forestry is supposed to be kept 10 m back from the power lines. Often, that does not happen and it is not being enforced. There are cases of trees coming down on top of power lines. People were out of power sometimes for the best part of a week in the recent storm. This has been a continuous problem. The guidelines are that the forestry be kept 10 m back. People do not adhere to them and there seems to be no enforcement. Electric Ireland is trying to get in to deal with this, take away the trees and sort this out but it simply cannot do so because it does not have access. There needs to be a review of the licensing mechanism for afforestation to ensure that critical infrastructure such as power lines is protected. Dozens of people were out of electricity and many businesses were closed for over a week in the recent storm. This will be a problem across the whole country as more forests grow higher and take down these lines.

The Taoiseach

This issue has not been brought to my attention before. Now that it has, I will make inquiries of the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and ask them to come back to the Deputy with a more thoughtful and detailed reply.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

Today marks the first meeting of the patients' forum to support the development of the national rare disease plan. As the Taoiseach knows, more than 300,000 people in Ireland have a rare disease. I welcome the initiative the Minister for Health has shown in reviewing and committing to implementing the recommendations of the Mazars report and in instigating the review of the national rare disease plan. That is a cause for optimism. Nonetheless, as we found out this year, there is no designated funding for new drugs for rare diseases and the plan depends on savings being made elsewhere. I am concerned about how the recommendations of the rare disease plan, when it is published, will be implemented in the future. In preparing for budget 2025 in the months to come, I impress on the Taoiseach the need to make an allocation to ensure whatever recommendations are made can be implemented.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for his ongoing interest in the issue of rare diseases and orphan medicines. He and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, are two of the strongest advocates in the House on these issues. There was a change in the Revised Estimate in December in which we allocated a certain amount - I cannot recall the exact amount - for new medicines. It was not specifically for rare diseases but for new medicines generally. That means the HSE can approve new medicines out of the dedicated fund and from savings in the drugs budget more widely. I agree with the Deputy that it is important, when it comes to the strategies we produce, that we provide the funding to implement them. I know it has been a source of a lot of frustration, particularly in healthcare. There are some very good strategies and models of care but not always the funds to fully implement them.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

In 2016, as Minister for Health, the Taoiseach said the national children's hospital would be built in 2020 for €700 million and, short of an asteroid, it would happen by 2020. Obviously, this was untrue. It was costly rubbish, to be honest. The cost of the national children's hospital has risen to more than €2.2 billion and there is no specific date for its opening. There is an overrun in the budget of €1.5 billion and thousands of children in the interim are suffering significantly owing to the lack of treatment for their illnesses. This is not the only action of complete waste this Government has been involved in. It is squandering taxpayers' money on an industrial scale in a lot of different projects. There are plenty of excuses for it. Indeed, the Government is fluent in excuses. It is also allergic to accountability, which is the key issue. If there is no accountability, there is no change. Given that the Taoiseach was Minister for Health, the buck stops with him. Will he accept personal responsibility for this calamitous failure? What consequence will there be for him?

The Taoiseach

Of course I accept responsibility for it. I am the Taoiseach and the head of Government. I accept responsibility for all that is good about this country and also for trying to put right all that is wrong. That is my job as Taoiseach. The national children's hospital project is not a waste of money. It will be an absolutely fabulous facility.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

The overruns are a waste of money.

The Taoiseach

It will make an enormous difference. It will be there for 50 or 100 years. It will be comparable with and better than any children's hospital in the world. I know it has cost too much and taken too long. Like many other big projects, such as terminal 2 in Dublin Airport or the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire, nobody will regret it when they see it.

Deputy Pa Daly

There are serious concerns among health staff and the community in County Kerry about the disgraceful situation of a 14-year-old boy who has been existing for 56 days in a windowless room off the emergency department in a hospital in the county. The room has no bed. It is not the responsibility of University Hospital Kerry - that is not the place for him. This is a human rights violation because the disability services have not acted. The boy is a former CAMHS patient. I was told by his mother that he had ADHD and moderate autism but was put on antipsychotic medication when he was eight years old. He has received an apology for the deficits in his care but has long-term side effects as a result of this medication. You would think he would be prioritised and fast-tracked to get the help he deserves and needs. Instead, he is in a windowless room off the emergency department. Will the Taoiseach step in to ensure he receives immediate short-term residential treatment close to home, not 300 km away, so his mother can visit him as often as she wishes?

The Taoiseach

I am very sorry to hear about that case. I read about it in the media. As the Deputy will be aware, the Health Act precludes-----

Deputy Pa Daly

The Taoiseach may not have heard about it. That might be another case.

The Taoiseach

Perhaps it is a different case. Either way, I am sorry to hear what that boy and his family have had to experience. The Health Act, for very good reasons, makes it unlawful for me or any Minister to direct the HSE to do anything for any particular patient. That would not be right, for all sorts of reasons. If the Deputy sends me on the details and permissions from the family to take an interest in the case, I will do that.