Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 6 Mar 2025

Vol. 1064 No. 3

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions

Deputy David Cullinane

The cost-of-living crisis has not gone away; far from it. Workers and families are still finding it very difficult to make ends meet. People face extortionate bills and prices right across the board and for many, it is never-ending. It is runaway rents, childcare fees that equate to the cost of a second mortgage, the cost of the weekly shop and insurance costs, but perhaps where households have come under the most pressure is when it comes to rip-off electricity and gas prices. In recent years families have been hammered by a barrage of sharp increases in energy costs. They have just gone up and up, to the point where households in this State pay the second-highest electricity prices in the EU.

This morning, unfortunately, there is more bad news for those households. An internal briefing document to the Government from the Department of energy and climate shows that the energy rip-off is going to continue for five more years. Workers and families will continue to face increased electricity and gas prices every single year for the next five years. As usual, big energy companies will enjoy more bumper profits while ordinary workers and families who are already under enormous pressure get squeezed even further. The report goes on to advise that households will need support from the Government to meet these hikes because they cannot take any more. As the briefing to the Government notes, gas bills are already 90% higher today than they were at the start of the crisis and electricity bills are 61% higher. What does that mean for people's pockets? It means that, on average, people are paying a whopping €1,779 per year for electricity and €1,503 per year for gas. Is it any wonder that families in Ireland are being forced into energy poverty? We have hundreds of thousands of families in arrears. Let that sink in. What does that tell the Minister and the Government? It tells me and many people watching that people are finding it harder and harder to pay these extortionate prices. How on earth are people supposed to afford the increases that are coming down the tracks? The Minister needs to answer that question. The Government needs to answer that question because there are struggling families the length and breadth of this country in despair this morning. They do not have the answer and they certainly do not have the means to pay for more increases.

Incredibly, this briefing flagging further rip-off hikes in energy bills and calling for Government supports for households was provided to the Government in January. Yet, the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, came out last month and announced to those same struggling families that there would be no more energy credits, despite being briefed that energy bills would continue to increase over the next five years. That is deeply cynical. I talk to people every day in my constituency, as I am sure many Members do, who tell me that they cannot keep up with their bills, their lives are getting tougher, and they are struggling to get by every single day and every single month. They are doing their best but they need support. I am sure everybody in this House meets people with similar experiences. Their concerns matter. Their lives and their worries matter.

The Government cannot keep talking about what it has done in the past, which is what it reaches for when we raise these very serious issues. People are being hit by these bills now, today, and it is hurting them, big time. If they are facing long-term energy price hikes then they need long-term support. Does the Minister now accept that the Government has to step up to the plate? Will it continue to provide support for people to meet their energy bills? Will the Minister assure householders today that the Government will come forward with measures that will provide relief to all of those families who are in desperate situations?

Minister for Finance (Deputy Paschal Donohoe)

The Government and all of my colleagues on this side of the House absolutely understand the consequences of the uncertainty of the world that we are now in and what that means for households and businesses. We see a world that has become more dangerous, more volatile and full of uncertainty. We on this side of the House are absolutely aware of the concern and anxiety that is causing for many in our country, whether that be small businesses trying to keep jobs or householders worried about whether they will be able to pay their bills and keep their homes in the future. I see that in the eyes of my constituents. All of us see that in the engagements that we have with those we serve across the length and breadth of our country.

This, of course, is most manifest in the cost of living and the impact that increased bills is having on very many at the moment. In terms of what the Government is currently doing in relation to this, we have to look at what we can do to prevent the impact of the cost of living on households and businesses and at the support we can make available in the future. What we are already doing, for example, includes the measures that we have put in place in relation to the retrofitting of homes. A sum of €230 million was invested in this scheme last year, helping over 7,000 homes. In the past two years we have seen 129,000 energy upgrades to homes across our country. This year's budget alone has €280 million set aside for the warmer homes scheme, which is an eleven-fold increase in funding in comparison with where we were a number of years ago.

In addition to what we can do to prevent and mitigate these kinds of cost increases, which will be difficult, we also want to look at the regulatory model that we have here in Ireland. That is why the Government has laid out its commitment to assessing the role of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, within our country in terms of the role of affordability and competitiveness within its mandate.

As we face into these kinds of challenges, they will be made no easier and no less difficult for so many by adding an air of dishonesty or cynicism regarding what any Government or politician can do. It is precisely because we are in difficult and volatile times that the Government needs to do two things. First, we must recognise what that means for those we are privileged to serve, and we do. Second, the Government must look at what it can do in a way that can help, which is why the Minister, Deputy Chambers was right. The Minister and I, and the Government, are very clear on what we can do and what we want to do in this regard. I cannot stand here in front of the House today and say that the level of payments that we have made available over the last number of years can become the norm. Those payments were made available at a time in which inflation was at 5%, 10% and 15%. They were made available across a world that is very different from today. That level of payment is something that, if we begin to normalise it and say it will be available year after year, of itself runs the risk of creating difficulties for our country and economy in the years ahead. However, as the Minister, Deputy Chambers said only today, as we approach the budget and respond to the challenges that are there, we will look at what measures we can put in place that will be targeted and can offer support to those who need it the most. We want to be clear in recognising the great challenge and worry that exists within our country at the moment but, equally, we want to be honest and say that we cannot and will not do anything that adds to the risks that we may face but at the same time, we want to identify how we can and will help.

Deputy David Cullinane

Undoubtedly there is volatility and uncertainly around the world. There is also volatility and uncertainty faced by so many families who are struck by, and who are dealing with, all of these increases, particularly in rising energy costs. The Minister has said he cannot take to his feet and say to people with all credibility that he will continue with the supports that were previously put in place. The Minister says this knowing that price increases are on the way. What he has not said is that during the course of the election campaign his party leader was well able to stand up and commit during the course of the campaign to cut electricity prices. During the election campaign we had one story for those struggling householders that we would cut energy costs and now he is coming in, knowing and being told by the experts that energy prices will increase, and saying that the supports for those families will be cut and rolled back. It is simply not good enough. What are people faced with? They are faced with five more years of increases.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy.

Deputy David Cullinane

They see bankers' bonuses increase, bumper profits for these companies, and a Government that will throw all of these families under a bus.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you Deputy Cullinane, your time is up.

Deputy Thomas Gould

Broken promises and strokes.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

It is interesting Deputy Cullinane should bring up the election because he is representing the most unsuccessful opposition party in Europe at present. It is the only opposition party that managed to go into an election at a time prices were high and lose votes.

Deputy Thomas Gould

We have more TDs than you. You lost the election.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

It lost votes. The reason it lost votes is because the people of Ireland knew the economic policies it was bringing forward were not credible.

Deputy David Cullinane

Speak to the people.

Deputy Thomas Gould

You made promises.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

If you promise everything, you are for nothing. You were seen through at that time.

Deputy Thomas Gould

You are the third-largest party.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I have noticed the trend that Sinn Féin has now, whereby it grows unhappy when I interrupt its heckling. This will not deter me-----

Deputy David Cullinane

You have not answered any of the questions.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

-----and it will not deter the Government from doing two things-----

Deputy David Cullinane

Bluff and bluster.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

-----first, from calling out the fact that Sinn Féin's economic policies and solutions were seen through.

Deputy David Cullinane

What are you going to do about it?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Where would we be now if we had followed its policies and been entering into a scenario with a Government borrowing while jobs were at risk.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Minister.

Deputy David Cullinane

You are throwing families under the bus.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

That is what Sinn Féin offered. It was seen through.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

As I said, despite the best efforts of the Sinn Féin Opposition-----

An Ceann Comhairle

The time is up, Minister.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

-----the Government will be honest in how we can help.

An Ceann Comhairle

Minister, your time is up. Thank you.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

What we will not do is do so-----

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you Minister. The time is up.

Deputy David Cullinane

Pure guff is what we are listening to.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

-----at the expense of the honesty that is needed at a time when the country and Europe are facing new challenges and new risks.

An Ceann Comhairle

I ask the Minister to respect the Chair. I call Deputy Sherlock.

Deputy David Cullinane

We have bluff and bluster by a Minister. That is what we have.

Deputy Paul Donnelly

And 40,000 houses.

An Ceann Comhairle

I ask the Deputies to have respect for their colleague.

Deputy Marie Sherlock

I hope the Minister and I can agree we need more GP care in this country and, in particular, in Dublin's north inner city in the constituency we are both elected to represent. My question to the Minister today is what he is going to do as Minister for Finance to stave off the closure of the GP Care For All practice in Summerhill in Dublin 1. As he and I know, this GP care practice is run by a medical charity. It directly employs GPs because no one else has been willing to set up a GP practice there. This is because the partnership model of privately owned GP practices would not work there.

The double taxation issue with regard to the GP practice arose in early 2024. It has already been well aired. The reality is that in 2025 we have had no progress. We have had unworkable solutions from the Department of Health. Two of these solutions were vetoed by the HSE. We have a farcical situation whereby the HSE has paid for legal and accountancy advice to be given to the Department of Finance and we have heard nothing back from the Minister's Department, the Department which instigated this mess in the first place.

Last November, in the middle of the election campaign, the former Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, went on RTÉ's "Prime Time" and said there was no way we would let this practice close. He said not only would it not close but that it would be used as a pilot project and a practice would be opened in Finglas. What is happening here? The five GPs tell us they cannot stay open past June if the double income tax payment issue is not resolved. If it does close, the impact will be devastating, and not only for the 2,600 patients in the practice. This is not just about Summerhill. It is about Finglas, where there are 14 GPs on the GMS schemes in east Finglas and no GP in west Finglas. It is about the dire shortages we see throughout the country in terms of timely access to GP care. It is about the impact of these shortages, including delayed diagnosis, the deterioration of people's conditions, increased hospitalisations and premature deaths.

The reason we have these shortages is the private system of GP care in Ireland. Time and again when we speak to GP trainees they tell us they want to work as clinicians and do not want to set up businesses. At present, the only way we can ensure GP care in some of the most socially deprived parts of our communities is for the HSE to recruit directly or to let medical charities continue in operation. We need to join the dots. Even The Lancet this week pronounced on how we need to change. It devoted an editorial in its March edition on how Ireland is an outlier with a private system of GP care, how our inaccessible primary care system places tremendous strain on hospitals and how this is a political choice.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy.

Deputy Marie Sherlock

I have to say this is a double taxation issue and the buck stops with the Minister for Finance.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy. The time is up.

Deputy Marie Sherlock

I ask the Minister what he is going to do to save this medical charity and other medical charities throughout the country.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising an issue with which I am familiar. In particular I recognise the work that GP Care For All has done, and the person at the heart of it, Amanda Farrelly. I was hoping to meet them myself tomorrow but another Government commitment has got in the way. I am well aware of the importance of the work they do and the value of the service. While I very much welcome and acknowledge Deputy Sherlock's right to raise this here, making points such as that the Department of Finance is at the heart of this mess does a disservice to the complexity of the issue. I hope a bipartisan approach to try to correct it can play a role.

I know Deputy Sherlock is aware the HSE wants to recruit GPs who can work directly for the public service. I know she is aware of changes that have already been made to tax legislation to try to deal with this issue. Unfortunately, changes that were made by my predecessor, Deputy Chambers, to deal with an issue that had been raised have not made the progress we had hoped. I hope and know Deputy Sherlock is aware of how much work has gone on in the Department of Health and the Ministry of Finance to try to identify options for dealing with this issue, which so far have not yet had the success we would want.

The very heart of this issue, as Deputy Sherlock well knows, is the relationship that is in place from a contractual perspective between GPs and the HSE, which goes back to legislation from 1970, and the tax consequences of this which mean that, as a matter of law, income under a GMS contract belongs to the GP who entered into the contract with the HSE. This assessment was confirmed by the Tax Appeals Commission's determination in January 2022. This is the background to the issue.

There are officials and politicians of goodwill who have worked to try to find a way of resolving this. I, as the Minister for Finance, in conjunction with my colleague the Minister for Health will continue to do what we can to try to make progress on this issue. If goodwill alone could have solved this issue it would have happened and Deputy Sherlock knows this is the case. She knows work has happened on it. I and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, will prioritise this issue. We will look at the options that are there. Certainly from a tax perspective I will engage on this issue and see whether steps can be put in place. I look at the progress we have made in opening a primary care centre in Summerhill, what it means for those on Sean O'Casey Avenue and in the surrounding communities and the difference it is making from a health perspective. I look at the great work these GPs are doing and Deputy Sherlock is raising this issue on their behalf. I know the impact and the role they play in supporting the health of their patients.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Minister.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

We will do our very best on this issue and I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising it.

Deputy Marie Sherlock

I thank the Minister. There is obviously goodwill on all our parts towards the practice but what I am not hearing today is a sense of urgency with regard to this situation. The chair and the practice manager are in the Public Gallery and they are waiting to hear answers from the Minister. The reality is that the 2,600 patients in the practice include some of the most vulnerable people in our community, as the Minister and I know. The practice is turning away ten to 15 patients per day. The stalemate at present is preventing the opening of a further list in this community. With regard to the plans in Finglas and other parts of the country, there are people who are not accessing GP care at all. I ask the Minister to bring a sense of urgency to this.

The reality, as we understand it, is that the changes instigated in the 2023 Act were designed to try to tackle corporates taking over private GP practices. As I understand it, they have found a loophole, and yet the people who should not be affected by these medical charities are being affected. That is wrong.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Deputy Sherlock knows we are treating this issue with urgency. She knows that. She knows the Minister is and she has acknowledged that to me. She knows we are working on it. The Deputy does the issue a disservice by suggesting otherwise. I ask her to please acknowledge, as I have done, that if this was an issue that was simple and that could easily be dealt with, we would already have done so.

We have acknowledged that this is a complex issue. Unfortunately, that complexity means that a group of deeply committed healthcare professionals, who have decided to provide services in communities that the Deputy and I are lucky enough to represent, are now facing the vista of them not being able to continue that work, and what is suffering or could suffer from that is the health of those we are doing our best to stand by.

What I have done is outline the work that has already happened with regard to this, which I know the Deputy is aware of. We have put in place different options to try to resolve the issue but I know they are not leading to the outcome that I want. If I was in a position to outline a detailed solution to this today, that detailed solution would now be implemented, and what we will do is continue to work on this issue and do our best to find a solution to it.

Deputy Brian Stanley

I raise the issue of staffing of children's disability network teams across the country. I have replies here from the HSE that say between 22% and 29% of posts are vacant. In Laois, I can tell the Minister that there are posts where there is 100% vacancy and 67% vacancy.

In Laois, there is a chronic situation regarding staffing. The figures for network 12, which covers most of the county, are absolutely shocking. I will give the Minister a flavour of what they are. Occupational therapy is 33% staffed and 67% vacant. Speech and language is 46% staffed. Physiotherapy is 50%, and these are the three critical disciplines, as I understand it, for children who are on the autism spectrum. If you go down to therapy assistants, there are zero levels of staffing. Dietetics, zero. Behaviour therapists, incredibly, are zero.

I raise this with the Minister on behalf of parents who are at their wits' end on this issue. For children who badly need services and who have autism, ADHD, dyspraxia or a range of other disabilities, the services are not there. These children are missing out on assessments, therapies and, crucially, on care at a crucial stage in their development. We all know that children with special needs require the early interventions. Early intervention equals better outcomes but late or no interventions lead to huge problems later in life. This can cause huge problems for families and children do not go on to live the full lives they should. It is putting enormous pressure on families, so parents, including those who cannot afford it, are going private for assessment and in some cases are borrowing thousands of euro. Sometimes that is from the credit union or from family and friends but sometimes it is from moneylenders.

Voluntary organisations such as Laois Offaly Families for Autism try to plug the gap. A voluntary organisation tried to plug the gap for some families and provide whatever services they could out of their limited resources but they can only do a small percentage of what is needed, so there are gaps in services. This is not a new problem. The problem is older than this House, or the time I am in this House, I should say, and going back to when I was a county councillor. This problem has been raised with me for the last nearly three decades, way back into the 1990s.

A particular problem in Laois is that there is only a third of OT posts filled, with some of the other ones outlined, and some posts have no staffing whatsoever. I know it cannot be fixed overnight, and it means increasing the pipeline. What is being done by Government to increase the workforce supply pipeline? We cannot flick a switch, I understand that.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I thank the Deputy. As he began his contribution, I will begin mine by acknowledging the huge anxiety and distress that families can face when young girls and boys with additional needs need additional support and have various conditions that we want to make a difference to. We see what that does to them for their start in life, and what it does to their families, their mams and dads, who are trying to get the support they want to give to their son and daughter when they know they need it.

I also recognise, as the Deputy has done, those voluntary organisations and service providers outside of the State that play a very valuable role in supporting the State and those families who need the help we all want to see them get. I also appreciate the Deputy's honesty in acknowledging that despite the importance of this issue - and it is one we are doing our best to make a difference to - it is going to take time when time is short for those young girls and boys who need the help we want to give them.

To directly answer the Deputy's question around what the Government is doing on this, we are doing three particular things. First, at a political level, it is the reason the Taoiseach is chairing a Cabinet subcommittee on the issue of disability. All of us meet those families, children and their parents, and we see at first hand what that means to their journey in life. We want to better co-ordinate the resources that the State is making available, and through our budgets build on the progress we have made recently from a funding and recruitment perspective. The Taoiseach has decided to chair a Cabinet group to look at how we can do that.

Second, we are looking at what we can do from a supply perspective to ensure that we have those in our universities and places of higher learning who, in turn, can become the very therapists that we need. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and in fact all of the Ministers here, are working on this issue. What we are seeing in so many parts of the world is a demand for these therapists and healthcare professionals, and it is why the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, the now Tánaiste and my colleagues here have looked at what we can do in our universities to ensure the supply of these professionals is progressing. That is under way.

Finally, and most importantly from a recruitment perspective, we are making efforts in this area. We know we need more therapists and healthcare professionals but we have seen, for example, 272 more healthcare professionals in this area now, and an overall increase in the numbers working in that broad area. It is the reason we are putting more therapists into our schools, and it is the reason we are looking at what measures we can put in our schools early in the educational journey to make sure this support is provided at a time it is most urgently needed.

Deputy Brian Stanley

I thank the Minister for his reply. While there are moves afoot, it needs to be at a scale and a pace to match the demand that is there.

The HSE states in one of its replies to me that there is an apprenticeship programme for social workers. Can there be apprenticeship programmes for other disciplines? Maybe that cannot be done but that is possibly one area that could be used.

We agree that the current situation cannot continue. We have to expand what is there. However, on the way home last night at 9.30 p.m. on the local radio, I heard an advertisement from a private company seeking people in these disciplines and are recruiting them. There is a huge problem there with retention in the HSE. The Minister is right about increasing the supply because obviously that has to happen.

On training places, I mentioned apprenticeships. That may not be appropriate for some of those disciplines because it may be required at a different level. I do not know the ins and outs of that but where apprenticeships can be used, can we look at doing that and increasing the supply? This year, with the new academic year, can we further increase the places in universities in those disciplines?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I thank the Deputy again for raising the issue. I can make the case to him that the vacancy rate within these healthcare professions has decreased. It has decreased from 29% in 2023 to 21% in 2024, and that is an improvement, but we have so much further to go because we know the level of human need that is there. We know we need to be helping families and the children they love so much in a better way than is happening at the moment. I can make the case for how much more money we are spending. I can make the case that my colleagues are giving this all the priority they can. I could point to how many more healthcare professionals we have there. We need to continue with this and we will.

Going to the further important point the Deputy made, he made the point regarding whether we can put in place staff to assist these therapists and their healthcare professionals in doing their work. That is being done at the moment.

We have a budget of €500,000 in place to allow the hiring of a further 20 health and social care professional assistants or therapy assistants to help with this work being done. I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue today.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

Ireland is facing a significant economic storm. The threatened tariff war with the United States could do immense damage to the current Irish economic model. Proposed changes to the US corporation tax could be catastrophic in terms of the Irish economy. Successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have put all our economic eggs in bargain basement corporation taxes. For sure, FDI is good and needs to be nurtured and promoted, but FDI is more mobile than indigenous businesses and it could move with ease depending on the prevailing international economic winds. Ireland is currently facing into headwinds blowing against us from the United States. Tariffs will decimate the Irish economy. Irish exports to the United States, relative to other European counties, are far more. Last year, we exported €72 billion worth of goods, €58 billion of which were pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Under the threatened tariffs, these products could become much more expensive and demand could fall. Many of the businesses will not accept that fall in demand and could shift their production elsewhere.

Then there is the whole issue of corporation tax. A significant change to US corporation tax could actually gut the taxation system in this country. It would create a huge hole in our budget. It could lead to a situation where we have to cut public services, infrastructural spend and maybe even increase taxes in this State. Ireland is looking at, potentially, a fall in jobs, an increase in taxes and a fall in GDP. Ireland has not seen a potential economic shock such as this for at least two decades. The actual word "austerity" could be discussed in this Chamber again if the US proceeds with this particular tariff war.

One of the things that amazes me so much is that so little is being done regarding this potential economic existential threat by this Government. In fact, this bubble has spent more time fighting a speaking rights row with regard to Government-supporting TDs' speaking time than it has actually developing a system to help in this regard. I asked the Minister for Finance a couple of weeks ago what he had done and who he had engaged with in terms of senior US Administration to mitigate the potential damage as a result of the tariff war and the Minister said he has no responsibility to the Chamber with regard to answering such a question. I could not believe it. This morning, the Minister for Finance was on "Morning Ireland", in which he was asked what the Government's strategy is to deal with trying to persuade the US not to proceed with tariffs against Ireland and his answer, basically, was that we have to show that there is a reciprocal relationship of benefit between the two counties.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

Correct.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

That is hardly enough in this regard.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

I am asking the Minister what engagement he has had with the senior US Administration? What engagement have the Taoiseach and Tánaiste had with the US Administration-----

An Ceann Comhairle

Allow the Minister to answer.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

-----with regard to trying to mitigate against the damage of a tariff war?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

The veil has slipped for a second time when it comes to Aontú on jobs within our economy. It is not so long ago I was in this Chamber when Deputy Tóibín referred to people who were working for large employers as transitional jobs. Here today, the Deputy now referred to corporate tax profitability receipts as "bargain basement".

Deputy Paul Murphy

That is what it is.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I invite Deputy Tóibín to walk into the large employers for which many of his constituents work and tell them that the efforts that they are putting in are bargain basement and that the taxes their work is creating are bargain basement. I invite the Deputy to do a tour of the large employers across our country that have played such a critical role in paying the tax at a time we need it, and in the modernisation and creation of jobs within Ireland, and tell them that this is bargain basement. That is the Aontú agenda.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

Will the Minister answer the question that I asked today, not the question I asked two months ago, please?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

That is the Aontú agenda. That is your agenda, Deputy Tóibín. I hear it again and again. As the veil slips, it is also characterised by typical misinformation from the Deputy. I heard the Minister, Deputy Chambers, on "Morning Ireland" this morning. I heard him outline a number of different things, including the reality that we have to yet consider what the United States may do, and, in doing so, it is essential we make the case for trade that is mutually beneficial and that creates jobs and investment in America. The Minister also outlined the work the Government is doing, that he is central to, in understanding what the economic impact of the environment we are moving into could be, which he and I will jointly conclude with the stability programme update, the economic forecast that will be presented to the Government and the Oireachtas in a few weeks' time.

He also made the point. that I will repeat here today, that we are doing that in an environment in which there have never been more people at work in Ireland than there are today. There are 2.8 million people at work. I did not hear the Deputy refer to the unemployment figures that came out earlier in the week which indicated that the unemployment rate is nearly at its lowest ever in the history of Ireland or the fact that we have gone by a position of full employment. We are also in a position that we are running budget surpluses, the very budget surpluses the Deputy has always said, like his former colleagues in Sinn Féin, we should be spending day after day.

The Deputy concluded amidst his diatribe with one question to me regarding what kind of engagement I am having. I am engaging directly with the OECD, which is the key organisation from a tax perspective in this regard. I met its representatives last week regarding this. I have met them on two occasions in recent weeks. This Government, most notably through the engagement we will have with President Trump next week, will look at all ways and at all layers in which we can engage in what is indeed a great challenge to our country.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

It is a point of amusement that the Minister's instinct is to get tribal every time an Opposition TD puts him under pressure.

Deputy Robert Troy

Under pressure.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

It is incredible, when a straight question is asked regarding the engagement the Minister, the Minister for Justice, the Tánaiste or the Taoiseach have had with senior elements of the US Administration, in what is possibly one of the biggest existential economic threats to Ireland at the moment, that in the three or four minutes the Minister had to answer that, the summation of his response was "zero". At this moment in time, the Minister cannot tell me of any senior engagement between his Government and the senior US Administration, despite the fact that pharmaceuticals are a target of these potential tariffs, on which we are so heavily dependent, and despite the fact that our corporation tax as a country is more dependent on those sectors than any other country. It would create a massive hole in our budget if that corporation tax were taken.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Deputy. Your time is up.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

I ask the Minister to leave the tribalism aside for one minute and answer the question directly if possible.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Leave the tribalism aside. That is a bit rich coming from the Deputy in this regard. He asked me the question regarding what engagement the Government, the Tánaiste has had-----

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

With the US.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

-----with the Secretary of State of the United States of America during the week and the fact the Taoiseach will meet President Trump next week. I have engaged with the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, through a G7 meeting that happened last week. I have met twice with the organisation that is, on a global level, involved in dealing with this issue. That is the engagement we have had. I invite the Deputy to go back. I am informed that international employers in 16 different companies in County Meath employ 3,047 people in the Deputy's constituency and county. Again, I extend the invitation to the Deputy. Go into those companies-----

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

I said FDI in Ireland is good. I said FDI is positive.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Go into those companies and tell them-----

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

The Minister is arguing a point that nobody has made.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

-----that the tax receipts they are involved in generating are bargain basement and-----

Deputy Paul Lawless

It is about protecting FDI, Minister.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

-----perhaps he might tell them again that their jobs are transitional.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

The Minister is arguing a point that nobody has made.

Deputy Paul Lawless

The point is about protecting these jobs.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Across Cork, there are dozens of children with special educational needs who do not have a place for September. In the past three weeks alone, I have been contacted by eight parents of children who need a place in a special school for September who do not have one. The pressure this is putting on them, the anxiety they are carrying, the uncertainty they are facing and the worry they have for their children is absolutely enormous. They are doing everything they can. One mother I spoke to had her child's name down on nine waiting lists. I will be joining several of these parents on a march in Cork city on Saturday. Will the Minister tell me when will the additional special school for Cork be delivered? Will he commit to ensuring every child who needs a place in a special school for September will have one?

Deputy Thomas Gould

Hear, hear.

Minister for Finance (Deputy Paschal Donohoe)

If the Deputy had given me an indication that he was going to raise a single school in Cork, I would have been in a position to perhaps answer his question. He did not. What I am able to do is to give an indication of the absolute commitment the Government has to trying to make more special classes and schools available. There are 3,336 special classes in operation nationwide to do what we can to support those who, early in life, need the educational support. They deserve it and we are working hard to give it. For this school year alone, more than 400 new special classes have been sanctioned on top of the 1,700 that have been sanctioned in the past five years and the 11 new special schools that have been opened, with five more to come. That is our commitment and I am sure the Minister for Education will be working and doing her best regarding the important school in Cork.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

On a brief point of order, the Minister said to me-----

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy, there is no point of order. We are on Questions on Policy or Legislation. I call Deputy Duncan Smith.

Deputy Thomas Gould

Will there be a space for every child?

An Ceann Comhairle

There is no point of order. These are Questions on Policy or Legislation.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

If I have not made the point of order, how does the Ceann Comhairle know if it was a point of order?

An Ceann Comhairle

Because we are on Questions on Policy or Legislation. The Deputy has had his time. I call Deputy Duncan Smith.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

The Minister adverted to something in relation to me that was not correct.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy can write to the Minister.

Deputy Thomas Gould

Will there be a space for every child in September?

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

I made specific reference to a specific school, unlike what the Minister said.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputies, please. You are encroaching on other Members' time.

Deputy Duncan Smith

While an awful lot of attention has been focused on the deteriorating security situation in Europe, less focus has been placed on the appalling action of the Trump Administration in the freezing of the USAID programme, which accounts for 40% of all global development aid. Vulnerable, sick and poor people all over the world are struggling to access programmes, including HIV care, tuberculosis care, and famine prevention programmes. Medication is locked in warehouses. While Europe is discussing more bombs and bullets, Trump has dropped a financial bomb on the global aid programme and it has a chilling impact on NGOs, which are afraid to speak out because they fear if they speak out, the freezing will become a permanent cut. What can Ireland, with our allies, do to help ameliorate this some of this immoral, appalling action by Trump?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I genuinely thank Deputy Smith for raising an extremely important issue. As we see, the way in which the world conducts itself and the rules it depends on can be changed and challenged. We should redouble our efforts to ensure those who have the very least do not pay the most, which is a risk due to the decision that regrettably has been made with regard to USAID.

Deputy Smith asked what we are doing about it. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, will be at the United Nations next week as part of her St. Patrick's Day bilateral engagement. We will engage with the United Nations on this issue to see what support we can offer. We have many bills coming in but I assure the Deputy we will do our best on this issue. Second, regarding the two programmes we jointly fund with USAID in Zambia and Malawi, and I have been in Malawi itself and know how much it needs this support, we are looking at what options or decisions we can take to support those projects.

Deputy Gary Gannon

In May 2024, the Government the Minister was part of formed the city centre task force for Dublin with an aim of restoring our beautiful city to what it can be. In September, that report was delivered to Government by the overseer of the report, David McRedmond. In November, the report was released to great fanfare and much PR. It features in the programme for Government. Whenever I ask, however, or whenever a question is raised in Dublin City Council, for example, seeking an update, we are told no funding stream has yet been allocated. The Minister walks the same streets I do and understands the need for investment. He is the Minister for Finance. When can we see a funding stream allocated to the city centre task force for Dublin so that we can bring our city back to what it should be?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I thank the Deputy. He and I are really lucky to represent the north side of the city centre. I agree with him about the importance of that report. I am meeting a number of councillors on a cross-party basis from Dublin City Council tomorrow on this issue. I can see the changes that are happening in the city centre. I can see more gardaí. I can see the efforts the city council is making to keep it cleaner and safer. The Deputy will also be aware of the opening of the new healthcare facility by the Rotunda in the heart of our city centre.

Deputy Gary Gannon

The funding stream, Minister.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

That, Deputy Gannon, is indeed funding. It is evidence of the commitment we have to make a difference. In conjunction with our budgetary process, which is the way all these things have to come together, we will look at how we can support that report and make sure it gets the funding it needs, just as we have done with the north inner city task force

Deputy Paul Murphy

Shocking new figures were published in The Mirror today about Irish horses slaughtered in English abattoirs. They suggest that 782 horses with Irish passports were slaughtered in England last year. A total of 538 of those had racing industry passports. In other words, they were racing horses. At least 46% of these were five years old or younger. To be clear, these were not euthanised. They were stressfully transported and then slaughtered for meat in abattoirs. Why are horses barely a few years into their lives being slaughtered for their meat rather than being rehomed when this industry receives €80 million a year in public funding? What has happened to the Government commitment to leave no stone unturned following the "RTÉ Investigates" programme into what happened at Shannonside and other slaughterhouses? Are we going to address the issue of rehoming horses? Are we going to deal with the issue of systemic overbreeding of horses? What is happening in Horse Racing Ireland?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Deputy Murphy is raising an important issue. The welfare of horses is critical to the future of our breeding industry here in Ireland and we also need to ensure the right standards are adhered to to fulfil the commitments we have to animal welfare. I will have to revert to the Deputy, and I will, with a detailed answer to his question because it is important and I do not have a briefing in front of me today that allows me to give the answer the Deputy's question deserves.

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl

I congratulate the Minister on his return to the Department of Finance. I raise a matter related to that raised by Deputy Duncan Smith. We have heard a lot in recent years about the fact that the planet's poorest people have suffered as a result of the ravages of climate change but the geopolitical situation that we find ourselves in now has rejuvenated and turbocharged the arms race. As we in Europe in particular justifiably and understandably seek to spend more and more on defence, will the Minister assure us that the commitment in the programme for Government that we will defend the funds we have ring-fenced for development aid will be protected? How will the Minister use his enormous influence in the European Union to ensure other member states of the Union protect their funds reserved for development aid too?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

It is really important we have two Deputies here today raising an issue that is so important to global welfare and to many countries that need further support at this time of difficulty. Deputy Ó Fearghaíl asked two questions. The first is about our commitment. I confirm that we will uphold the commitments we have at the moment. Unfortunately, that is not the case for every country at the moment due to the pressure they face, but we will protect the commitments we have to investment in multilateral bodies and our overseas development aid. In conjunction with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, we will do what we can to build upon them. To answer the Deputy's second question, I will be making the case for this to my colleagues but I appreciate that many of them are facing moments of great danger and risk and are having to make hard choices, which just adds to the responsibility of Ireland to do our bit to make a case for this funding and to add to it where we can.

An Ceann Comhairle

I apologise. Deputy Gogarty was actually next.

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

We import in excess of €6 billion in energy every year. From a strategic point of view, given the dangers that we are facing in the world, energy self-sufficiency is more important than ever, yet there is nothing tangible in the programme for Government and we have done very little on wave energy investment. We are lagging behind Scotland, Australia and Portugal. There are huge untapped resources. An energy company called NoviOcean estimated that there is a theoretical potential of 440 TW annually, which is about 16 times our current electricity consumption.

Foras na Mara said a little more modestly that we could meet 75% of our electricity requirements. One way or the other, we could be a net exporter of wave-generated energy or convert it to hydrogen. That would save us money in the long term. From a Government perspective, we need to put in the investment and shift our policy towards energy self-sufficiency.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I agree with the Deputy. I disagree with him that the programme for Government does not contain a reference or a commitment in relation to that. It does.

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

I said “significant”.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

The Deputy is correct that we have to accelerate our path to energy self-sufficiency and do that through green energy. The three ways in which we will do it are: first, through the support of MARA and the implementation of the new planning framework off the shores of our country; second, by continuing to put in place the investment that we are committed to putting in place in our ports and directly, where we can, into the energy sector to allow private sector investment to flourish; and third, through the co-operation we can have with the United Kingdom and the European Union to deliver very large projects. I am pleased that this kind of co-operation was discussed by Prime Minister Starmer, the Taoiseach and their ministerial teams this morning. That kind of co-operation is vital.

Deputy Noel McCarthy

I wish to raise the need for the development of the IDA site in Fermoy in my constituency of Cork East. Formerly the Fitzgerald Camp Army barracks, the site was handed over by the Department of Defence to the IDA some 23 years ago but it has, unfortunately, remained idle since. This is a massive shame considering the associated infrastructure is in place on-site. However, no tenants have been found in that time. The site is in a prime location only five minutes from the M8 motorway, the main Cork to Dublin route. I am sure the Minister agrees that the development of such a site would be an enormous boost for businesses in Fermoy and across the Blackwater region as a whole. Therefore, I am asking the Minister to examine the matter and to liaise with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to see what can be done to finally kickstart the development of this site.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I acknowledge the role that Deputy McCarthy is playing in trying to support the development of the IDA site in Fermoy. I agree with him regarding the potential it has and the important role it could play in supporting jobs in his community. The IDA is committed to looking at how good and productive use can be made of this site. While it has received some approaches, that has not yet translated into the jobs the Deputy is looking for and that should be available. I will raise the issue. The IDA is aware of it but I will also make sure that the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, is aware of the point that the Deputy has raised today. The IDA will continue to work with large employers to identify how we can make use of the site and lands to get more jobs into the Deputy’s community and ensure that international employers continue to want to be present in Cork. I thank Deputy McCarthy for his work in this regard. I will make sure the Minister and the IDA are aware of it.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

The current wind energy guidelines are now 19 years old. Last year, the Taoiseach promised that the new updated guidelines would be published by the end of 2024 but the date is now quarter 1 of 2025. At the same time, rural communities are being forced to battle with large companies, sometimes after repeated planning permissions are submitted. We have a particular issue in south Roscommon and north Galway. Some rural communities are banding together to try to gather money and, in some cases, are ending up in court. We need to see updated wind energy guidelines. Will the date of quarter 1 of 2025 be the actual date on which we will see the updated guidelines?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I know that is the commitment with regard to the publication of these important guidelines. I am not aware if there is any reason why that deadline will not be met but I also know there is a new Minister in that Department, and I am sure the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, will want to consider this issue carefully. I am sure he will want to publish them as soon as possible and having the Deputy raise this in the House today will only add to his awareness of it as an important matter. I am sure it will happen soon. I will make sure that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is aware that Deputy Kerrane has raised the matter.

Deputy Martin Kenny

I want to raise the issue of the storms six weeks ago. Most people in my part of the country were without power for some time, some for a long time, and dozens of people still have no phone line, in particular elderly people living in rural areas. Dorothy, who is in her 80s and living in north Leitrim, has no phone line and had no electricity for three weeks. She has a panic button in case she falls or anything happens in her home because she is elderly, but it does not work without a landline. Open Eir is supposed to be bringing in these landlines, putting up poles and so on, but it is not doing it and that is not happening for many people. Kathleen was 38 days without power and still has no phone service. Rosemary, a woman in Aughavas who has a child with disabilities, only got her phone service back the day before yesterday. Tess and Dan in Carrigallen still have no phone line and they were four weeks without power. I want to particularly mention Terence in north Leitrim, who is an elderly man living up in the hills. He has been without a phone line. He is very vulnerable and has a lot of home help coming in to him, but he cannot get Open Eir to put the phone line back.

I know that ComReg has a role and the Minister has a role. It is totally inappropriate that critical infrastructure like this has not been replaced six weeks after a storm.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

It is important to emphasise that the fact those lines have not yet been connected is not because the Government does not care. It is because a huge amount of damage was done.

Deputy Martin Kenny

I understand that.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

We have been successful in working through the regulator and the Department to see the majority of the connections repaired. I agree with the Deputy that for anybody to be in a situation where they do not have contact with loved ones, their local community or the health service is a significant problem. I will ensure that the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, is aware of this issue. I know that huge efforts were made to bring back connections as soon as possible and to put back in place vital infrastructure, but we have to keep going until everybody is connected.

Deputy Carol Nolan

Under the programme for Government, there is a commitment to balanced regional development, rightly so. However, in my county of Offaly, we are particularly disadvantaged given that we have endured the brunt of the just transition, with 53% of the job losses. This is coupled with the fact that Cardinal Health in Tullamore, the main town in the county, will see 315 job losses at the end of this month. It is vital that every possible intervention is made to urgently create more jobs in County Offaly. What actions will the Government take to ensure that priority is given to job creation in County Offaly? If we are to achieve balanced regional development, it is counties like Offaly that need the focus. A focus needs to be put on our county.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I am aware of the bad news that the Deputy’s county has had to confront in terms of job losses. I know the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and the LEOs will work hard to support those who are losing their jobs at a moment when there is already uncertainty across the world. With regard to Offaly, I want to reassure Deputy Nolan and the communities and constituents she represents of the commitment that the Ministers, Deputy Peter Burke and Deputy Dara Calleary, have to balanced regional development and the investment in place behind that. I know, of course, that the Deputy will want to see proof of that so those who have lost a job have confidence they can get another job. That is why the State agencies will work hard to create an environment in which that can happen.

Deputy Michael Murphy

The lack of HSE ophthalmology services across south Tipperary is deeply concerning and is a growing source of frustration. This follows the planned retirement of a consultant ophthalmologist in August of last year. In correspondence that I received from the HSE on 14 January, it was confirmed that the post has been approved and is currently in the recruitment process. I appeal to the Government to intervene directly. The Minister will agree it is unacceptable that children across my constituency have been left without essential eye care.

Minister for Health (Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill)

I thank Deputy Murphy for his question and his focus on this issue. With regard to the specific post in question, which is a badly needed post, as the Deputy said, it is approved for filling and the process for recruitment is ongoing. One of our biggest challenges where we have funded positions is to make sure those positions are filled, and filled quickly, because patients need that, as the Deputy has highlighted again today. I will raise it again with the HSE and look for a further weekly update on the process of recruitment. However, we are in need of the staff to come into the system as well.

Deputy John Paul O'Shea

Could the Minister provide me with an update on the 243 bus service from Newmarket to Cork city? The NTA published a consultation on this in October 2023 and there was good feedback from the community regarding it but we have been waiting for the NTA and Bus Éireann to make an announcement on the proposed service. Many people in my area are looking for an enhanced service. There is an enhanced proposal but the NTA has not finalised it. We are looking for an update on that as quickly as possible.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

To return firstly to the previous matter raised by Deputy Michael Murphy, I acknowledge that he has been raising his issue with me but as the Minister for Health is here, I thought a direct response from her was perhaps more helpful to him.

In response to Deputy O'Shea, I acknowledge the importance of the issue and thank him for raising it. I know an awful lot of work has happened on this. Funding for rural transport went from €12 million to €57 million in 2024. It is planned to put in place significant improvements to this service this year. The NTA is engaging with Bus Éireann on this matter. It has informed me that it will be able to introduce the enhancement in the coming months. I will follow up with it to find out the date of the announcement and to make sure it is aware of the Deputy's interest in and support for this proposal.

Deputy Roderic O'Gorman

It is not often that I find myself in agreement with the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, but this morning, he tweeted that the Government had opened the door to commercial LNG facilities becoming part of the energy mix in Ireland and I fear he might be correct. Could the Minister clarify whether the Minister of State is wrong? Will the Minister commit that this Government will follow the policy of the previous Government and oppose commercial LNG facilities becoming part of the energy mix in Ireland?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

Yesterday, the Government made a commitment regarding a State facility. It made this commitment in order to ensure we will have available to us emergency reserves that could be used if we find ourselves in a position where supply into our country is in some way threatened. We want to identify if there is any role for the private sector with regard to this. I emphasise that the announcement the Government made yesterday is about a State-led and State-owned facility. For me, that is the key point.

Deputy Seamus Healy

Jigsaw is a youth mental health charity that provides free, non-judgmental and confidential therapy to young people between the ages of 12 and 15. It also gives families, educators and those who support young people's mental health ways to cope and the skills to be there for young people. Thankfully, after pressure from public representatives, this service was established successfully in County Tipperary, based in Thurles, and has been up and running successfully for a number of years. A commitment was given to establish an outreach centre in Clonmel. A totally inadequate token one-day-a-week service is available in Clonmel, which one of the biggest towns in the country. I ask the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to follow up this matter and provide the resources necessary to establish this service properly in Clonmel.

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

I acknowledge the Deputy's role, and that of Deputy Lowry and other colleagues, in raising the issues regarding Jigsaw. We established Jigsaw in Thurles and a commitment was given to extend a kind of hub-and-spoke model. The mental health budget last year supported Jigsaw to the tune of €14.5 million. It has 70% physical coverage in the country but has 100% online coverage. It has also made some changes to its model of care in how it provides its supports and has been looking at all its organisational roles to see how it can best support our young people. It told me when it was moving to expand supports from the hub-and-spoke model that it would be certainly be led by the demand it is seeing. I will raise the matter with it to see what kind of figures are coming through its offices from the Clonmel area and revert to the Deputy.

Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere

The Government has committed €1.3 billion in funding to flood relief programmes under the national development plan 2030. Six of these schemes are County Kilkenny at Graiguenamanagh, Thomastown, Inistioge, Freshford, Ballyhale and Piltown. The scheme in Graiguenamanagh is one of the first 100 schemes in the first tranche. The scheme was approved in March 2020 and consultants were appointed but we are still only at stage 1, five years later. I am looking for a commitment from the Government that there will be renewed urgency in getting going not just with the Graiguenamanagh scheme but also with flood relief schemes around the country. This is a significant issue. The funding is there but we need to see more urgency in getting these schemes over the line for the peace of mind of those towns and villages.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue in relation to Graiguenamanagh. The introduction of these flood relief schemes does two things. Firstly, it increases confidence in moments of flood risk. Secondly and most importantly, these schemes work. I have experience of flooding in my constituency on a very different scale from other parts of the country. I have seen at first hand the harm and stress it causes. The work of the OPW is really important in terms of the larger flooding events we are trying to avoid. I confirm that funding is available to the OPW to move forward on these projects, as the Deputy acknowledged in his question. We are aiming to change and have changed our planning system so that key projects like this are in a position to move forward. I will ensure that the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, is aware of the issue in Graiguenamanagh raised by the Deputy and ask him whether anything more can be done about it. I will pass on the Deputy's support for the project.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Minister managed to mention Graiguenamanagh more times than Deputy Cleere.

Deputy Louis O'Hara

I wish to raise the issue of dereliction. The former Shannon Oaks hotel in Portumna, County Galway, has lain idle and derelict for close to 15 years. The site is an eyesore and is attracting antisocial behaviour. It is a serious health and safety issue because the site is not properly secured. It is being entered very regularly, which is very concerning because it is a very unstable structure that has been damaged after a fire. It is an accident waiting to happen. Galway County Council is not willing or equipped to deal with the issue of dereliction. The last time I checked, there were only four properties on the county's derelict sites register, which is nowhere near an accurate reflection of the situation on the ground. Shannon Oaks is not on that register so there are no penalties for the owners of this site, Brian and Luke Comer, who are very wealthy individuals, that would encourage them to bring the hotel back into use - this is what the people of Portumna want above all else because it was the only hotel in the town and crucial for the area - or, at least, address the safety concerns and encourage them to give it to somebody who will bring it back into use. Will the Government finally get its act together on dereliction and empower and resource local authorities to deal with this issue and enforce the derelict sites register?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

The Government has redoubled its efforts regarding dereliction. The previous Government did so with the introduction of a number of grants that are being used in a very successful way to turn derelict properties into homes. There is a derelict sites register that is used at the moment. I am sure Galway County Council does not lack will regarding the issue. It sounds like the hotel mentioned by the Deputy is of a bigger scale than a mere home. I will pass on this issue to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and its local authority unit to see what can be done. At the bare minimum, any site like that should be made secure and should not be adding to any difficulties that a community is facing.

Deputy Colm Burke

There are 26,700 residents in private nursing homes and 5,600 residents in public nursing homes. The enhanced community care programme and the chronic disease management programme were agreements between GPs, the HSE and the Department, but GPs are not paid under these programmes for dealing with residents in public and private nursing homes. As a result, private nursing homes face a significant problem in getting GPs to provide care in these nursing homes. As a result, some of these nursing homes are physically paying GPs to provide care for medical card patients. This is about keeping people in nursing homes and out of hospitals. The only way to do this is by having a comprehensive medical card programme provided by GPs in each of these nursing homes for the residents there who are entitled to it.

What efforts are being made by the Department to engage with GPs to make sure we can have that scheme put in place for all residents in all public and private nursing homes?

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I am going to deal with this issue because it is an issue of such importance to Deputy Burke. He has raised it with me on a number of occasions in addition to raising it with the Minister for Health. As he knows at the moment the capitation fees that are paid to GPs in respect of nursing home residents are the highest paid in respect of any patient recognising the complexity of health needs that I know Deputy Burke will understand probably better than I do. I know this is a difficult issue because we need to find ways in which we can meet the care needs of nursing home residents but we also know the demands on GPs at the moment and the challenges they are already facing. The Deputy has raised this issue with me and the Minister of Health today. We will look to see if any steps can be taken which are affordable and sensible that will better meet the needs the Deputy is referring to. He is right because if we do not meet these needs, the health needs of patients only grow and the functioning of nursing homes becomes more difficult.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 1.11 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 1.51 p.m.

Sitting suspended at 1.11 p.m. and resumed at 1.51 p.m.