Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 27 Feb 2024

Vol. 1050 No. 3

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 Amendment of Orders of Reference of the Committee on Assisted Dying (without debate)

- Motion re Approval of Appointment of a Member of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (without debate)

- Motion re Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2023 — Taking of divisions in Committee

- Statements on Recent Arson Attacks (not to exceed 3 hrs 32 mins)

Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Second Stage of the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2023, selected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday's business shall be:

- Statements on RTE (not to exceed 95 minutes)

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing an EU Talent Pool (to conclude within 57 minutes)

- Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Bill 2023 (Report and Final Stages) (to commence no earlier than 4 p.m. and if not previously concluded, to adjourn after 60 mins)

- Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023 (Amendments from the Seanad) [changed from Social Welfare (Liable Relatives and Child Maintenance) Bill 2023] (if not previously concluded, to adjourn after 60 mins)

- Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023 (Amendments from the Seanad) [changed from Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023] (if not previously concluded, to adjourn either at 8.49 p.m. or after 2 hrs, whichever is the later)

Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Second Stage of the Protection of Employees (Trade Union Subscriptions) Bill 2024, selected by the Independent Group.

Thursday's business shall be:

- Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Agreement on a Unified Patent Court) Bill 2024 (Second Stage) (if not previously concluded, to adjourn at 5 p.m. and any division claimed to be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage)

- Statements on Child and Youth Mental Health Services (not to exceed 2 hrs 27 mins)

Thursday evening business shall be the Motion re Report entitled "Unfinished Democracy: Achieving Gender Equality”.

Proposed Arrangements for this week’s business:

In relation to Tuesday’s business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(i) the Dáil may sit later than 10.32 p.m.;

(ii) in the event the Taoiseach is unable to attend for questions pursuant to Standing Order 46(1), Government business shall be taken at the time when Taoiseach’s questions would normally be taken; and

(iii) the time allotted to Government business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for Statements on Recent Arson Attacks, with consequential effect on the commencement times for the items following in the ordinary routine of business, namely, private members’ business, Parliamentary Questions to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and topical issues;

2. the proceedings on the Motion re Amendment of Orders of Reference of the Committee on Assisted Dying – extension of reporting deadline shall be taken without debate;

3. the proceedings on the Motion re Approval of Appointment of a Member of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority shall be taken without debate;

4. the proceedings on the Motion re Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill

2023 – Taking of divisions in Committee shall be taken without debate;

5. the Statements Recent Arson Attacks shall not exceed 3 hours and 32 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto:

(i) the arrangements for the statements, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the arrangements agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for 200 minutes, and the Resolution of the Dáil of 20th September, 2023, providing for two minutes for non-aligned members;

(ii) following the statements, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and

(iii) members may share time; and

6. notwithstanding anything in Standing Order 170(2), the proceedings on Second Stage of the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2023 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after two hours.

In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that:

1. (i) pursuant to Standing Order 94(3), the Dáil shall waive its instruction that not more than two Select Committees shall meet to consider a Bill on any given day in the case of the proposed meetings of the Select Committee on Transport and Communications, the Select Committee on Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, and the Select Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, to consider, respectively, the Road Traffic Bill 2024, the Planning and Development Bill 2023 and the Research and Development Bill 2024; and

(ii) the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(a) in the event the Taoiseach is unable to attend for questions pursuant to Standing Order 46(1), the SOS pursuant to Standing Order 25(1) may take place earlier than 1.49 p.m., with consequential effect on the commencement time for Government business; and

(b) the weekly division time may be taken later than 8.45 p.m., and shall in any event be taken on the adjournment of proceedings on the amendments from the Seanad to the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023 [changed from Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023], or where those proceedings conclude within the allotted time, on the conclusion thereof, with consequential effect on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil;

2. notwithstanding anything in Standing Order 170(2), the proceedings on Second Stage of the Protection of Employees (Trade Union Subscriptions) Bill 2024 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after two hours;

3. the Statements on RTE shall not exceed 1 hour and 37 minutes, and the following arrangements shall apply thereto:

(i) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:-

- opening statement by Minister - 10 minutes;

- statements by representatives of Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, Social Democrats, People-Before-Profit-Solidarity, the Regional Group, the Rural Independent Group and the Independent Group - 10 minutes per party or group;

- statements by non-aligned members – 2 minutes; and

- a statement in response by the Minister – 15 minutes; and

(ii) members may share time;

4. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council Establishing an EU Talent Pool shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 57 minutes, and the following arrangements shall apply thereto:

(i) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:-

- opening speech by a Minister or Minister of State - 10 minutes;

- speech by representative of Sinn Féin - 10 minutes;

- speeches by representatives of the Labour Party, Social Democrats,

People-Before-Profit-Solidarity, the Regional Group, the Rural

Independent Group and the Independent Group - 5 minutes per party or group;

- speeches by non-aligned members – 2 minutes; and

- a speech in response by the Minister – 5 minutes; and

(ii) members may share time;

5. the proceedings on Report and Final Stages of the Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Bill 2023 shall commence no earlier than 4.00 p.m. and shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned after 1 hour, and shall not be resumed on Wednesday;

6. the proceedings on the amendments from the Seanad to the Social Welfare and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023 [changed from Social Welfare (Liable Relatives and Child Maintenance) Bill 2023] shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned after 1 hour, and shall not be resumed on Wednesday; and

7. the proceedings on the amendments from the Seanad to the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023 [changed from Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023] shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned either at 8.49 p.m. or after 2 hours, whichever is the later, and shall not be resumed on Wednesday.

In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the extent that topical issues may be taken later than 7.24 p.m. and shall in any event be taken on the conclusion of Statements on Child and Youth Mental Health Services, with consequential effect on the commencement time for the Motion re Report entitled “Unfinished Democracy: Achieving Gender Equality”, and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil;

2. the proceedings on Second Stage of the Forty-first Amendment of the Constitution (Agreement on a Unified Patent Court) Bill 2024 shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned at 5 p.m. and the Bill shall not be resumed on Thursday: Provided that any division claimed on the Second Stage proceedings shall be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage; and

3. the Statements on Child and Youth Mental Health Services shall not exceed 2 hours and 27 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto:

(i) the arrangements for the statements, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the arrangements agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for 135 minutes, and the Resolution of the Dáil of 20th September, 2023, providing for two minutes for non-aligned members;

(ii) following the statements, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and

(iii) members may share time.

An Ceann Comhairle

Is that agreed?

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

It is not agreed. The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, refuses to answer questions when she comes before the Dáil tomorrow. The same Minister was quite prepared to go on live television and, without prior notice, sack Ms Siún Ní Raghallaigh but is not prepared to come before the Chamber and answer questions. The Minister has badly mishandled the RTÉ debacle and has now added to the chaos. A lack of transparency and accountability has broken public trust in RTÉ and it now seems the Minister is not prepared to be fully transparent and accountable. That is not an acceptable situation so we press that the Minister not just make a statement, but also take questions, when she appears before the House.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

I, too, call for the Minister to take questions in the Dáil tomorrow.

It is important, in particular after we saw what was, in effect, a summary dismissal of the chair of the RTÉ board on Thursday night, that is, the forced resignation of Siún Ní Raghallaigh.

I also seek a debate on rough sleeping and what the Government proposes to do to tackle the crisis of rough sleepers. There are more than 1,000 international protection applicants sleeping rough on the streets of our capital city, many around the corner from here on Mount Street. It is a particularly poignant issue for us following the death in my area at the weekend of a local homeless woman, Anne Delaney on Aungier Street. I offer my sympathies and condolences to her family. I attended the vigil on Aungier Street last night. What does the Government propose to do to address the growing crisis of rough sleepers and people who are left without shelter and are forced to sleep on our streets?

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

Today was an historic day in the European Parliament, where we saw the nature restoration law passed. Unfortunately, it is disappointing that two of our MEPs, one from Sinn Féin and an Independent, voted against it. The reality is that what they are voting against is voting to restore nature and to bring our natural environment back to a point where it is not on the brink of collapse, which is what we are seeing at the moment. Some 81% of habitats in Europe are in poor condition and many of our species are on the verge of extinction. I would like a debate in the Dáil, not only on the nature restoration law and also how the Government will transpose it, but also the biodiversity action plan the Minister recently brought in. Biodiversity and nature do not get enough coverage in the Chamber. Considering the citizens assembly and all of the community support for this, it is an issue that we tend not to address in the Chamber. I would like to see more debate on it and now is a good opportunity to have that.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

People Before Profit also wrote to the Business Committee to ask that the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, be willing to take questions and have a back-and-forth debate so that we can get to the bottom of the shambolic mess in RTÉ. The Government should agree to that.

I want to raise another issue about the forthcoming referendum. People with disabilities are absolutely furious about the failure of the Government to insert rights for people with disabilities into the Constitution in the care referendum. People Before Profit is voting "Yes" in both of the referendums, but we are doing so distinctly unenthusiastically. Many people with disabilities who would otherwise have voted "Yes" are seriously considering voting "No" on the care referendum because of the pathetic failure to put in clear constitutional commitments to rights for people with disabilities. If the Government wants to address their concerns, we should have an urgent debate on the optional protocol and inserting real rights for people with disabilities so that they have legal equality in this country.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Farmers, farming and fishing families and everybody in rural communities are devastated this afternoon by the vote that took place in the European Parliament. I salute the two MEPs who are awake to what is going on and voted against it. A total of 20% of our land and seas will be taken out of production by 2030. Then we have the lovely word "ecosystems", which all have to be restored by 2050. Could the Minister tell me what an ecosystem is? Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Greens are lobbying and canvassing every day for the European Parliament elections. They should be ran from every door in the country because they have neglected and abused farmers and the people of rural Ireland. They will not stop until the people are hungry. The people of Dublin and other cities will be hungry. It is a shame on the Government parties. They claim to be the parties of rural Ireland. They have abandoned them, which is bad enough, but they also want to kill them off altogether. The farming community is devastated by this law. Like Deputy Whitmore, we want a debate but we want a sensible debate and try to invite the likes of her to come down to rural Ireland and see the good work farming communities are doing for sustainability and everything else.

Deputy Gary Gannon

She lives in rural Ireland.

Deputy Ged Nash

She represents rural Ireland.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

That is where I am from.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

It is a shocking situation. We need a debate urgently.

Deputy Denis Naughten

Next Thursday, 29 February, is international Rare Disease Day. It happens once every four years. Sadly, in Ireland we have one of the highest rates of rare disease in Europe. One in 17 of our population has a rare disease. The west and north-west of the country have the highest incidence of rare diseases in Ireland. Can I get a commitment from the Government that we will have a debate on rare disease and the Government's commitment to deliver a national rare disease strategy?

Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Deputy Paschal Donohoe)

I thank all the Deputies for the different issues they raised. To begin with the issue raised by Deputies McDonald and Bacik, the Minister, Deputy Martin, is going to be in front of an Oireachtas committee for many hours this evening. She will then be in the Dáil tomorrow afternoon making a statement, hearing the views of Deputies and responding at the end to the questions that are being put to her. The appropriate place in which this matter should be dealt with is the Oireachtas committee that is responsible for the media. For all the party leaders, Deputy Ó Ríordáin and others who are raising this issue, they have party representatives on that Oireachtas committee. Their colleagues will be putting questions to the Minister tonight. Is that how little faith they have in those colleagues who will be raising issues at that Oireachtas committee this evening, where the Minister will be for many hours? She is going in front of the committee to answer the questions that will be put to her by their own party colleagues. That is where those issues will be raised and it is where the Minister will, I know, respond to all of them.

Of course we are aware of all the concerns that are there regarding the future of RTÉ, its stability and the issues that developed there last week. The Government is committed to the steps that are needed to continue with the efforts to regain public trust in RTÉ, to appoint a new chair, to implement changes in governance that will be made on foot of reports we believe we will receive in the coming weeks, and to support the director general in his efforts to bring about change. While I know it is a difficult argument to make given the events of many recent months, we will continue to insist on the value of paying the television licence fee and providing the funding and support that is needed to RTÉ in the valuable work it does.

In respect of the question put to me by Deputy Bacik, I too want to extend my condolences to the family and friends of Ann Delaney. I know she was known to our health and homelessness services that engaged with her and worked with her over many years, and she was well known, I believe, to the community in the Deputy's constituency. I offer my condolences to her family and friends. The Deputy asked what the Government is doing in relation to this. It is the reason €242 million of funding has been made available for homelessness services in 2024. While we know the numbers who are being referred to our homelessness services are going up and the pressure on those services is increasing, it is also the case that we are successful, but we want to be more successful, in preventing people who are at risk of homelessness becoming homeless and also in minimising the length of time our fellow citizens are spending in homelessness services and without a secure roof over their heads.

In respect of the point put to me by Deputy Whitmore regarding the really important vote at the European Parliament, I must say it is very good to see the European Parliament being covered in the way it has been by our media today, recognising the central importance it now has to the development of law at a European Union level. Of course, the Deputy neglected to say the Government MEPs voted in favour of that law-----

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I said everyone except-----

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I know, but you could have fleshed it out a little more-----

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

Do you need that pat on the back?

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Tell farmers that.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

-----just to give a bit of acknowledgement of the support that is being offered. I am going to come to Deputy McGrath in a moment.

An Ceann Comhairle

We are out of time, Minister.

(Interruptions).

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

You just wait over there, the Deputy who does not know what an ecosystem is.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I am asking you to describe it.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

We voted for that legislation-----

Deputy Mattie McGrath

The people know what you are.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Government Members voted for that legislation because, of course, we appreciate how complex this is. Of course we appreciate the concerns that are there, but this kind of law is needed to put in place the steps that give us a chance of protecting our nature in the time ahead.

An Ceann Comhairle

I am sorry, Minister, but we have to conclude. We are out of time.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Very briefly, I would not like Deputy McGrath to think I am forgetting him for a moment.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Farmers know you are forgetting them.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Of course I know what an ecosystem is. It is our nature, our food and our environment, which we are in a battle to protect. Those who know it the most are our farmers, who are closest to nature, and the Government will spare no effort-----

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

They will not vote for you. You have lost rural Ireland.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

-----in continuing to work with them with the kind of transition and change that are needed.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

Shame on you.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Could I get a response?

Deputy Róisín Shortall

Can we have a debate?

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Can I get a response?

An Ceann Comhairle

No, we are out of time. The question is that the schedule-----

(Interruptions).

An Ceann Comhairle

Please stop, Deputies.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Can I get a response please?

An Ceann Comhairle

No, there is no time. The time for these matters is ordered and we are way over time.

Deputy Róisín Shortall

Can we have a debate?

An Ceann Comhairle

The Minister has had his time and we have no more time. The question now is that the order for this week's business be agreed to. Is that agreed?

Deputy Mattie McGrath

It is not agreed.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

We do not know if the Government is going to give us the disability discussion we asked for.

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

The Dáil divided: Tá, 75; Níl, 58; Staon, 0.

Tá

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

Níl

• Bacik, Ivana.
• Boyd Barrett, Richard.
• Brady, John.
• Browne, Martin.
• Buckley, Pat.
• Cairns, Holly.
• Carthy, Matt.
• Clarke, Sorca.
• Collins, Michael.
• Connolly, Catherine.
• Conway-Walsh, Rose.
• Cronin, Réada.
• Crowe, Seán.
• Cullinane, David.
• Daly, Pa.
• Doherty, Pearse.
• Donnelly, Paul.
• Ellis, Dessie.
• Farrell, Mairéad.
• Gannon, Gary.
• Gould, Thomas.
• Guirke, Johnny.
• Healy-Rae, Danny.
• Healy-Rae, Michael.
• Howlin, Brendan.
• Kenny, Gino.
• Kenny, Martin.
• Kerrane, Claire.
• Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
• McDonald, Mary Lou.
• McGrath, Mattie.
• Mitchell, Denise.
• Munster, Imelda.
• Murphy, Catherine.
• Murphy, Verona.
• Mythen, Johnny.
• Nash, Ged.
• Nolan, Carol.
• 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.
• Ryan, Patricia.
• Shanahan, Matt.
• Sherlock, Sean.
• Shortall, Róisín.
• Smith, Duncan.
• Stanley, Brian.
• Tóibín, Peadar.
• Tully, Pauline.
• Ward, Mark.
• Whitmore, Jennifer.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Hildegarde Naughton and Cormac Devlin; Níl, Deputies Mattie McGrath and Denise Mitchell.

Question declared carried.

Deputy Thomas Gould

The Government must scrap the TV licence and support public service media through direct Exchequer funding. This was recommended in the report of the Future of Media Commission. There has been a loss of confidence in the wake of the scandals in RTÉ and this loss has not been helped by this week's additional scandals and announcements regarding the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, the RTÉ board and who knew what when the bumper exit packages were being paid out to top executives. The Government cannot use this mess to put reform on the back foot or to push back the clear need to abolish the TV licence, a licence the Taoiseach himself has described as outdated. Other Government TDs, including even the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, have acknowledged that the licence fee is regressive and that a new funding model is needed. For the sake of public service broadcasting, will the Government abolish the licence fee and provide direct Exchequer funding?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

What public service broadcasting needs is confidence regarding the money that will be available to it in the years ahead, which is what the television licence has offered in the past. If it is to be scrapped, there will be a need to find €130 million or €150 million from someplace else. That is money we will not be able to spend in responding to the issues just raised by party leaders. The Government is considering the future of the television licence at the moment. The revenue the licence fee brings in is very valuable and the majority of people within our country still pay it. The Government will consider this matter in the coming weeks.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

Last Friday marked a new and very troubling record on homelessness. We saw that 13,531 people on the homelessness list are now in emergency accommodation, more than 4,000 of whom are children. That is a really stark figure. Each one is an individual tragedy. In Dublin alone, nearly 10,000 are homeless and yet we are seeing simply no sense of urgency or ambition from Government in tackling the issue. Its house building targets are too low. The Taoiseach has acknowledged that to me in the past. The Government's renters' rights protections are too weak. As the Dublin Simon Community has said, the tenant in situ targets are also too low.

On renters' rights, last week I raised with the Tánaiste the scandalous practices of landlord and investor Marc Godart, who is trammelling renters' protections and employment laws. Despite this, today we see more revelations from Colm Keena of The Irish Times. He reports that two of Godart's companies said in their filings that they lodged all of their income through Dublin ATMs. What is the Minister's Government doing to address this?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

When the Deputy raised this important question earlier, I referred to the budget funding available to homelessness services. This funding ensured that 1,161 households were prevented from entering emergency accommodation through the creation of a tenancy.

During 2023 we saw a 25% increase in the number of adults prevented from going into homelessness versus the previous year. The urgency is there and we will continue to take any step we can, through providing funding, to help those who are at risk of homelessness.

I ask the Ceann Comhairle to bear with me. I had neglected to answer Deputies Naughten and Boyd Barrett earlier. The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, has agreed to statements on rare diseases next week in the Dáil. This is responding back to the issues raised by Deputy Naughten. Deputy Boyd Barrett made the point about disability services. I indicated earlier the Government's willingness to opt into the additional protocol and a commitment to do that across the remainder of the lifetime of this Government.

Deputy Gary Gannon

Advocacy groups such as AsIAm, Down Syndrome Ireland, and Inclusion Ireland have written to the Department of Education asking for the recently revised special education teaching, SET, allocation model to be paused until those most affected are meaningfully consulted. Countless families and advocacy groups felt as though their needs were ignored when the new allocation model was announced. Despite getting in touch with the Department, AsIAm, Down Syndrome Ireland and Inclusion Ireland believe they have not been provided with sufficient clarity that this new model will be inclusive and equitable for all students with the greatest level of need. The removal of complex need in particular has jarred with many. Suggestions from the Department that this is due to an increase in special classes in schools is nothing but a weak excuse.

Beyond that, many parents wish for their children to remain in mainstream schools in an inclusive and accessible setting but the new model makes this increasingly more difficult. In accordance with the wishes of those charities that do incredible work, will the Minister cease this model for the moment in order that we can have a full consultation with those groups? Has the Minister allocated from his Department a budget for any review or appeals?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and the Department, will continue to engage with schools and families in relation to all of this. It should be emphasised that when schools are notified of their special education teacher allowance for this September, there will be an increase of 1,000 teachers to provide special education in our schools. There is an increase in the number of teachers we have, meaning there will be 14,600 special education teachers in place. The model that we are looking to make some changes to has been in place since 2017. I cannot commit to this model being stopped or paused but we will continue to engage with schools and families.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I extend my sympathies to the family and friends of Ann Delaney who tragically died on the streets over the weekend. Her tragic passing further underlines the failure of the Government to address the question of rough sleeping, the wider and worsening homelessness crisis and the number of people in emergency accommodation, the figures for which went up yet again at the weekend. Just bandying around money is not enough. The Government needs to commit to providing own-door accommodation to all those who are homeless and then actually deliver it. Many of those on the street end up on the street because they do not want to go into hostels and dormitories. They are afraid to do so. We also need proactive measures to actually prevent people entering homelessness. In my book, this means bringing in the eviction ban. It means local authorities having a clear policy of not allowing people to enter homelessness.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Again, I offer my condolences to Ms Delaney's family. Deputy Bacik raised the same matter with me some moments ago. This is the reason the Government is committed to building 9,300 social homes this year through our local authorities and approved housing bodies. This will give us the ability to respond back and support those who are on our housing lists and those using our homeless services. I will not repeat too much the figures I had given to Deputy Bacik earlier. I spoke on our efforts to prevent people going into homelessness and while the Deputy may describe them as figures, behind every figure is a life and a life story that we are trying to improve.

Deputy Verona Murphy

There are 3,500 km of local and regional roads to maintain in County Wexford. We have funding that takes care of 200 km. Back in 1995 and 1996, in one of the first reports on roads, County Wexford was number five, which was worse than anywhere in the country. We came in at number five for the worst roads in the country. In 2022 we actually reached the bottom of the list and we have the worst maintained roads in the country. Yet, since 1995 there has never been a review to address the imbalance of funding. There are very good roads in County Kildare, which receives funding on the same basis as Wexford, by which I mean the funding is not dependent on the state of the road; it is calculated per kilometre. The best I can find in reports for the reasoning behind that is because Kildare is close to Dublin. When somebody is killed on the roads in Wexford and we ask the question as to why have we so many road deaths, we need to start looking at the condition of roads and we need to address the imbalance.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

The Deputy does a disservice to road safety by claiming that the reason Kildare receives funding for roads is because it is close to Dublin-----

Deputy Verona Murphy

That is what the report says.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Criteria are laid out that lead to the allocation of funding to local authorities-----

Deputy Verona Murphy

I will send on the report.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I will most certainly engage with and raise the matter with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan-----

Deputy Verona Murphy

I will send the report to the Minister.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

-----because I am aware how important is the investment in our roads to try to prevent the alarming risks that we are seeing with road safety. It is getting worse. I accept that this is a very important matter.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I will ask a question of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, as she is present. The Minister was in Thurles last week and in Tipperary but she did not go to Roscrea. The women, mothers, grandmothers and children of Roscrea took a silent vigil outside the Garda station last Monday night. It was just themselves with no outside interference. The Minister insulted them and decried them greatly by saying they were being manipulated. They were fearful because a man had followed a widow woman into a house on the previous Sunday night. I will not say any more. The Garda is investigating that. The Minister went on to say they were being manipulated by outside forces. Nothing is further from the truth. Deputy Nolan and I had submitted a Topical Issues matter for discussion tonight. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is refusing to come in to answer it. When does the Minister propose to take this matter with us? Will the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, apologise to the good women and grandmothers, those good people who are intelligent, educated and decent people, whom the Minister patronised and insulted in the past week by saying they were being manipulated? It was anything but. I ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to go down to Roscrea and meet those good people at their earliest convenience, with Deputy Nolan and me.

Minister for Justice (Deputy Helen McEntee)

I was in Tipperary last week when I was invited to speak at the president's lunch at the Tipperary Chamber of Commerce. This is why I was in Thurles. As part of my visit, I was also able to travel to Cashel. I wish I had been able to stay longer and meet people. In no way did I suggest that anybody was being manipulated. I was asked a number of questions by a radio presenter and I outlined and responded in a most appropriate way. Specifically related to that case, obviously I am not going to comment on an individual case.

Deputy Catherine Connolly

I welcome the announcement today that the mother and baby institutions payment scheme will finally open on 20 March and that the Government expects payments to be paid out in the second quarter. I welcome it, albeit with a delayed start of that application.

Related to that will the Minister please clarify where he is in relation to the special mediator, Ms Sheila Nunan, who was appointed in May of last year around the negotiations with the religious orders? Is a report ready in relation to that? Will the money that is, hopefully, handed over be used to balance the scheme, which has set an arbitrary exclusion of any baby under six months or any infant, which is totally unacceptable? There is a chance now to remedy that unjust system with the conclusion of the negotiations with the religious orders.

Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Deputy Roderic O'Gorman)

I thank the Deputy. The redress scheme will open on 20 March. All Deputies and Senators will have received the briefing on it today and there will be further briefings with more details on 20 March.

As for the ongoing engagement with the religious orders, I have been very clear that they have a moral obligation to make a contribution in the way the State is. Sheila Nunan is engaging with these orders and she has procured some financial services support in terms of being able to undertake an analysis and an understanding of the resources that are available to these congregations in the context of making a contribution. I have always said that I was not going to give a running commentary as I do not believe that is helpful-----

Deputy Catherine Connolly

But you did.

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman

-----but that work is ongoing. I do not have a specific date for the Deputy today but the work is ongoing.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

Today I again bring up the issue of the Castletown estate, Celbridge, where there is a stand-off between the local people and the OPW. I make a special appeal to the senior Minister at that Department, who is taking the Order of Business today, to listen please to what the local people are saying. They have no reason at all to prolong any engagement that might be seen to benefit them. Every person I spoke to over the weekend was of the same opinion. They are at variance with the action that was taken by the OPW without any cause whatsoever. I ask the Minister to intercede with the OPW to restore the temporary access that was used for the past ten years from the N4 to the car park in Castletown House with a view to ensuring the present impasse be resolved.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I acknowledge that the Deputy has been raising this consistently over recent months. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, and I are very much aware of his keen interest in this and his determination to try to find a way to resolve it. Given that this is a complex matter and that there may well be negotiations that will happen in the future, I do not want to undermine our ability to secure a good outcome for the Deputy and for the taxpayer. I absolutely commit to continuing to engage with the OPW, as does the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, to try to find a way forward on this matter. I know the Deputy is frustrated with it and we will continue to try to do our best to move it forward.

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh

The Government has repeatedly denied since the budget that there is a recruitment embargo in the health service but this does not tally with the reality on the ground. I have spoken to multiple people affected by the freeze and one said to me that in Mayo we have nurses, healthcare workers, psychologists and desperately-needed front-line workers who cannot be placed in permanent positions because of the recruitment freeze. They are left languishing on panels while patients are left languishing on trolleys and ever-increasing waiting lists. We are in danger of losing these people to the private sector or forcing them to emigrate. Then we will run around the world trying to entice people to come home and to work here. It makes no sense whatsoever. Patients are suffering as a result of these shortages. Operations and procedures are being cancelled on an ongoing basis. The remaining staff become burnt out. When will this embargo be lifted in order that local managers can permanently fill the positions needed to deliver vital healthcare?

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

I thank Deputy Conway-Walsh for the question. I was delighted to work with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, to secure 2,068 whole-time equivalent staff out of budget 2024. The service plan was signed off in recent weeks by the HSE board and by the Cabinet last week. We are working through the figures to allocate where the staff will go. This is across all elements of health. There are 2,068 whole-time equivalents funded for this year who will be recruited and put into place as soon as possible.

Deputy Brendan Smith

I am very anxious that the HSE has without delay an open recruitment campaign to enable the appointment of a permanent GP in Swanlinbar, County Cavan. Since the retirement of the previous permanent GP, a locum doctor has fulfilled the role of the doctor in charge on a four day per week basis. This contract is due to end on Thursday. The communities served by this medical practice in Glangevlin, Corlough, Templeport, Bawnboy and Swanlinbar are absolutely clear in their view, which I completely and strongly endorse, that this medical practice should have a permanent GP with a five-day service. The extensive west Cavan Border area has been served very well over the years with permanent medical practices in Ballyconnell, Blacklion and Swanlinbar. This is the configuration I firmly believe should remain as the essential component of healthcare for the people of this widespread rural area.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and I are aware of the issue being raised by Deputy Smith. As for what has happened here, I believe that five separate attempts have been made to find a replacement for the GP who retired. Five separate recruitment campaigns have been run. As the Deputy is aware, more so than I am, these services have been provided on a locum basis since 2020. The HSE agrees with the Deputy that this is not a sustainable way in which the State can provide health services to the Deputy's constituents. The HSE is aware of this matter. It hopes to have a solution to it shortly. I will certainly pass on to the HSE the Deputy's concerns about the matter. I know the Department of Health is already aware of this.

An Ceann Comhairle

We are out of time but we have five remaining Deputies. I will take 30-second questions from them if they are willing.

Deputy Mairéad Farrell

We see that thousands of people feel they have no choice but to go to Australia. I was contacted by one such person who emigrated to Australia recently. He said he has hit the one-year mark in Australia. He is 28 years old and applied for his visa in 2022 and left in 2023. He says he has absolutely loved his time there so far but while constant homesickness makes him want to move back home as soon as possible, he just cannot do so. He is a qualified chef who has worked in the best hotels and restaurants in Ireland but he cannot afford to rent a place, let alone even think about buying a house and setting up a life for himself back home. What does the Minister say to this?

Deputy Richard Bruton

Will the Minister consider a cross-Government initiative to see that everyone gets their entitlements in full? People are losing €250 million in unclaimed tax relief on medical expenses, €280 million in carer's support grant, €62 million in unclaimed GP cards and €140 million in unclaimed working family dividend. Many of these are our most vulnerable families. There are 85,000 children in low-income families who should be getting the working family payment. The list goes on of people who are not getting what is due to them. It needs a cross-Government initiative and I ask the Minister to agree to this.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

The Government has already finished the fishing industry. Following its MEPs' support for the vote in Brussels today, it is making sure it will kill off the agriculture industry as well. A total of 20% of our land and seas are to be excluded from farming or fishing, yet the Chinese are boasting they will have an extra 1 million cows in production this year. The South Americans are building up their herds. Why does the Government hate Irish farmers so much? Why does it hate Irish agriculture, which has been the backbone of our country since the foundation of the State and far beyond that? Why does it hate them so much?

Deputy Patrick Costello

My question is for the Minister with responsibility for disabilities. Will the Minister commit to ratifying the optional protocol of the UNCRPD in the lifetime of the Government? There is not much time left.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

They have too much time left.

An Ceann Comhairle

Be careful what you wish for.

Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne

Two weeks ago, I met the chair of Cahercalla community hospital, former TD Dr. Michael Harty and Carrigoran House CEO Marie O'Malley. They both conveyed to me the enormous pressures that not-for-profit charitable nursing homes such as theirs are facing. The future is not looking bright as long as the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, continues to lowball them in contract negotiations. While these nursing homes provide vital local services to their local communities and do so at a fraction of the HSE cost, they need support. An extra 15% to 20% in their uplift could be the difference between them closing their doors or staying open. What is the Department's long-term plan to support not-for-profit charitable nursing homes?

Deputy Robert Troy

I welcome the fact that the school transport scheme went to Cabinet for approval today. I worry that it is reported that improvements will not be implemented until the 2025-26 academic year. Please do not raise the white flag already. Please try to ensure that recommendations can be introduced in the coming academic year. Working families in particular are waiting on the broadening of the availability of the scheme. Will the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform ensure the Minister, Deputy Foley, is adequately supported in terms resources in order that we can have a broadened school transport scheme for the 2024-25 academic year?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

With the permission of the House, the question from Deputy Healy-Rae will be answered by the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, the question asked by Deputy Costello will be answered by the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman and Deputy Wynne's question will be dealt with by the Minister of State, Deputy Butler.

Regarding the questions put to me, I assure the Deputy that whatever the Minister, Deputy Foley, waves at me, it is not the white flag. She is always making the case for more services and supports for the children the Deputy referred to. The plan she outlined today will take time to implement. We need more drivers and mechanics and we gradually need to fund the system better. Like the Deputy and many Government TDs, the Minister wants to see the scheme improved. I will do my best to provide additional funding, but I have every other Minister also making a case for funding he or she will need in the time ahead. However, I am sure the Deputy will see improvements within the scheme.

Regarding Deputy Farrell’s question, that is the reason we are making such efforts to ensure more homes are built and available to rent or buy. I would respectfully make the case that her own party’s policy is one of saying that no rent increases will be possible. While I know that is popular and attractive, it is one that will ultimately lead to less rental accommodation being available, making it even more difficult for that person to return from Australia.

Deputy Mairéad Farrell

There is nothing to rent.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I agree with Deputy Bruton’s point. Some time ago, a campaign was run by the Revenue Commissioners to make people aware of the entitlements they could avail of within the tax code. The Deputy’s idea was a good one and I will follow up with the Ministers for Finance and Social Protection. The allowances to which he referred can make a considerable difference to taxpayers and families.

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

I will respond to Deputy Danny Healy-Rae. Let us not do a disservice to farmers, who are doing a great deal in respect of nature restoration. What farmer does the Deputy know who does not want to see better biodiversity, improved water quality and lower emissions in his or her area? Farmers are working towards all of that as well as producing top-quality food. There is no need for scaremongering around the nature restoration law. What was voted on today has changed dramatically since the original draft. Farmers’ concerns were taken on board and safeguards are in place. The measures will only be voluntary, and the farmers who take them on will be rewarded financially for doing so.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

The farmers always took care of the land, more than the likes of some people------

Deputy Martin Heydon

Enough scaremongering, Deputy.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

-----and the man beside the Minister of State.

Deputy Mary Butler

I thank Deputy Wynne for her question. I am familiar with Cahercalla community hospital and Dr. Michael Harty, who used to sit on that side of the House in the previous Dáil. I visited the hospital and will meet Dr. Harty again in the next few weeks. The Deputy is correct, in that 3.5% of all nursing homes in Ireland are voluntary not-for-profits. They do not have the same economies of scale or the necessary capital to be HIQA-compliant. I allocated €10 million in recent months to support such nursing homes in carrying out any works they needed to be HIQA-compliant, with up to €25,000 for each nursing home, but I am conscious of the fact that the voluntary sector is challenged. We are examining this matter. I look forward to meeting Dr. Harty.

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman

As the Taoiseach outlined in the House last week, the Government’s commitment is to sign the optional protocol during its term of office. Last August, my Department commissioned external legal advice to see where exactly we were non-compliant with the protocol and on what areas we needed to work. That legal advice will be coming to my Department in the next number of weeks. It is nearly completed. When I get it, I will bring a memo to the Cabinet setting out where the legislative changes needed in my Department and other Departments are while also creating an interdepartmental group so that we can progress those changes, given that some of them will be in other Departments. It is the ambition of the Taoiseach, me, the rest of the Government and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, to sign the optional protocol in the remaining lifetime of this Government. Today, we are setting out a pathway for how we will achieve that.