The Order of Business is No. 1, Finance Bill 2016 [Certified Money Bill] - Report and Final Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m.; No. 2, motion re Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2016, to be taken at 2.30 p.m. and conclude not later than 3 p.m., with the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed four minutes each and the Minister to be given three minutes in which to reply to the debate; No. 3, Knowledge Development Box (Certification of Inventions) Bill 2016 - Committee Stage, to be taken at 3 p.m. and adjourned not later than 4.30 p.m., if not previously concluded; and No. 4, Private Members' business, Registration of Wills Bill 2016 – Second Stage, to be taken at 4.30 p.m., with the time allocated for the debate not to exceed two hours.
Order of Business
I ask the Leader to raise with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the issue of the ongoing detention of Ibrahim Halawa and the Government's lack of forceful engagement with the Egyptian Government. The House has had a number of statements from the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and those statements have continued to be at variance with previous statements. He has now stated that he is supporting the application for a presidential decree under Law 140 whereas in July 2015 he said the position in relation to the conviction and retrial of Peter Greste, which was the precedent we were using for the application of Law 140, would not apply in the case of Ibrahim Halawa. He said the presidential decree and its terms would not be applied where an individual was in the course of a court process. That was the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in July 2015 and that is what he told the House. He said the Government could not interfere or ask for the application of Law 140 and a presidential decree until after the court case but he has now changed his position again. It demonstrates the lack of engagement and concern on the details of this issue.
The Australian Government succeeded in getting Peter Greste released by forcefully looking for a presidential pardon and getting it, but it was only because it asked and made every diplomatic effort possible. Ibrahim Halawa's case has been postponed for the 17th time and he now faces trial again. He addressed the court and the judges for ten minutes yesterday. Even though there are 400 defendants, he was allowed to address the court. Amnesty International has stated he is a prisoner of conscience and innocent of all charges, yet an Irish citizen is about to enter his fourth year in prison without trial.
I ask the Leader to raise with the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, Deputy Simon Coveney, the issue of rent certainty. One fifth of the population are now renting houses. Rents have increased in some areas by 40% to 50% and those people who are renting now have no opportunity to buy because it is virtually impossible to save the money for a deposit while paying rent. We are concerned that the Government is only concerned about Galway and Dublin. It is talking about designating other areas as zones of rent certainty in the future. While we have a debate over the issue of 4%, an immediate issue is what happens in Greystones, Ashbourne and the rest of the commuter belt as soon as one puts rent certainty into Dublin. Those areas will have no rent certainty. In Galway, Waterford, Limerick and other towns and cities, rents have been increasing but there seems to be no proposal in relation to them. In towns and villages around Ireland, there has been a huge increase in rents in the past few years and to simply put a cap on rental increases is not the solution. In County Kerry and other areas there are thousands of vacant houses which are not being refurbished and rented out by their owners because it simply would not pay them to do it. That is not to mention the fact that trying to get the money to do it in the first place would be difficult. There are thousands of houses that would become available if the Government implemented initiatives that would incentivise landlords who have houses but will not rent them out because it would not pay them to do so. We have concerns about the Government's proposals and look forward to the debate on the issue when it comes before the House.
I echo some of the sentiments expressed by Senator Mark Daly on the housing crisis and the Government's response to it. It is relevant to the Order of Business to note that we can anticipate that legislation in that regard will come to the House from the other House in whatever shape or form in the coming few days. The problem with that is that a national debate is already taking place as to whether this strategy is enough or too much or whether it will have a beneficial effect on the rental market in the short, medium or long term. That debate is starting.
We now read in the newspapers that it is even happening within Government, let alone among the parties in this House.
I regard it as unsatisfactory that this House, at the 11th hour and 59th minute, would be confronted with a statutory proposal of such importance without having had an opportunity to debate it carefully. We did debate it in principal in terms of some of the amendments that were put before us when the Bill was going through this House, but now we have what the Government states to be its strategy in the matter. If both Houses of Parliament are not in a position to consider carefully and give enough time to teasing out the implications of what it is doing and measures are pushed through without adequate time for consideration, it makes a rubber stamp not merely of this House but of the entire Oireachtas.
I appreciate that the Government has a minority in both Houses of the Oireachtas and, therefore, there has to be consensus before anything can happen. However, the real issue is why have we found ourselves, with hours to go before the end of this session, being forced to confront issues that we have not teased out. Whatever about the Ministers involved, we have not had the expert advice. We have not seen the justification for a 2% or 4% cap, or for the designation of particular zones, etc. Simply to say that it can be discussed some time next week when it will be far too late for a reasoned discussion to take place is most unsatisfactory.
While I say that, I appreciate that there is a crisis. We do not have the leisure of doing nothing for months while we consider the matter but it is a shame that we are being railroaded into a decision without having had the opportunity to consider whether we are doing the right or wrong thing by tenants, landlords and the market in general. We are not being given a fair opportunity to consider the issues.
I ask that the Leader would bear that in mind in terms of all of the arrangements for business proposals in the House over the next few days. We should not be in this position. We should not have been corralled into a situation where we are going to be confronted with a "Yes" or "No" binary decision next week. If this House makes any amendment to the Dáil amendments, nothing will happen until the new year, which is most unsatisfactory.
I agree with Senator McDowell. The solution to what he spoke about would have been for the Government and Fianna Fáil to have supported the Rent Certainty Bill that Sinn Féin proposed in June.
Hear, hear.
Absolutely.
Trying to shut the door after the horse has bolted is difficult, but I agree that cramming this in at the last minute without scrutiny is not the right way to do business and it certainly is not new politics. Of course, our Bill was a Sinn Féin Bill and we could not have that - new politics would not provide for it.
Today I will speak to the review of the concessionary charges and rules element of the school transport scheme that was published yesterday. On reading the report, it is clear that the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skill, Deputy John Halligan, has not listened to those who raised concerns in respect of the operation of the scheme. Almost 7,000 children throughout the State have applied for school transport but were refused a seat despite claims from the Minister of State that no child would be without one. In County Mayo alone, 497 concessionary primary tickets and 589 post-primary tickets were issued. There were 289 requests for a concessionary ticket that were refused. In fact, a number of people paid for the tickets but still did not get them.
That this review proposes retaining the status quo is unacceptable and does not take into account the reality on the ground. The policy changes, which in all fairness were imposed by Fianna Fáil, do not take account of the traditional catchment areas, health and safety concerns and community links. Areas such as Ballycroy and Louisburgh in County Mayo have been deeply affected by these changes. Pupils are forced to go to a different school to that of their siblings and parents are forced to reduce their employment hours or give up their jobs to provide private transport for their children.
That it would cost a mere €7 million to provide every child with a school bus seat adds insult to injury and will be no comfort to the affected families. In our alternative budget, Sinn Féin provided for a €7 million investment in school transport. For the benefit of Senator Buttimer, who appears to have a continuous difficulty in grasping basic economics, this could be paid for twice over by phasing the withdrawal of the private school annual State subsidy over five years bringing about an annual saving of €15.85 million. If the Senator does not believe me, he can check it out.
Withdrawing services and reducing the size of buses prevents children from using school transport and is a short-sighted move that feeds into the economic and social inclusion of, in particular, the working poor. Those families work long hours on low wages and are already creaking under the weight of high interest rates and ever-increasing household bills.
In order that the families affected this year and the many families who are lined up to be excluded from school transport next year are taken care of, will the Leader arrange for the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, to come before the House at the earliest opportunity to discuss the report in detail?
As we all know, the housing crisis is the result of more than 30 years of Government policy, during which the State moved away from the provision of social housing. Rent certainty would be the best Christmas gift the Government could give to the thousands of people who are at risk of losing their homes because of rising rents. The homelessness situation is at an all-time high and the solution of limiting rent increases to 4% per year will only exacerbate the problem.
I personally know of two instances in the past two weeks where people are being forced to vacate their homes because of rent increases. A friend of mine living in Bray had his rent increased from €1,500 per month to €1,900 per month. As a result, he had to leave his home and has moved to his parents' family home. My niece has also had her rent increased, from €1,100 to €1,700 per month, and has to move out, but she cannot find alternative accommodation in Dublin. These exorbitant rent increases will make more people homeless and are totally unjustifiable.
If people in rented accommodation at the moment are unable to pay their rent, how can a policy of allowing landlords increase rent by 4% per year help the situation? The Peter McVerry Trust stated that rents will rise from the present monthly average of €1,545 to a monthly average of €1,737 in three years. Inflation is at 0.5% at present so what is happening is that landlords are being allowed to increase their profits while more and more people are becoming homeless.
The definition of insanity is to think that if we keep the landlords happy the market will provide. I, for one, am shocked that the Government thinks that rent predictability is better than rent affordability. I have a question for the Leader. Are the profits of landlords more important to the Government than the need for affordable accommodation for families or is it that the Government is not in touch with the people of this country? Can it not see what is happening? Whole communities are being devastated by increasing rents and it is time to tackle this problem and show the people of this country that we care.
The programme for Government of May 2016 provides:
The new Government understands the divisions and distress caused in local communities who feel that new energy infrastructure, like wind farms and pylons are imposed on them. The technology and scale of wind farms has evolved significantly since the last set of planning guidelines were introduced in 2006. As a matter of urgency the new Government will update the wind farm planning guidelines, within 3 to 6 months, to offer a better balance between the concerns of local communities and the need to invest in indigenous energy projects. These ... planning guidelines will be informed by ... public consultation process and best international practice.
On 11 December 2016, a number of families in County Cork won an action against a company called Enercon, which had imposed wind farms near their homes and caused these families to move due to noise.
The families have won the case and they are only returning to the High Court in early 2017 for damages to be agreed. It is quite clear, therefore, that the State stands to be held responsible for all the families across the country affected either by noise or light flicker from wind farms and that it is facing a massive case because of its unwillingness to act and bring forward planning guidelines that would properly protect citizens living near wind farms. I ask that the Minister with responsibility, Deputy Denis Naughten, outline in the House his plan to introduce new guidelines. I have always said wind farms need to be at least 1.5 km away from any residents. I ask the Leader to request the Minister to come in early in the new year.
I wish to talk about the subject of Syrian refugees. The United Nations stated this morning that the al-Assad regime, with the support of the Russians, was responsible for the complete meltdown of humanity. They are executing civilians and rebels and going from door to door to do this. The Irish Government needs to do what it can to put immediate pressure on the regime to allow a proper ceasefire, not the ceasefire that was supposed to have occurred last night. This would allow people to get out.
That leads to my next point, about which I feel very strongly. Refugees coming to this country need to be housed. Documentation on the Government's Irish refugee protection programme states that in County Westmeath, for example, there will be up to 30 families resettled in the new year. The families will be split between Mullingar and Athlone. I welcome this, although we are under severe pressure owing to our own housing crisis. It is welcome that there will be 30 families coming to County Westmeath to be resettled. However, I am concerned about where they will be settled. Westmeath County Council has responsibility to house the families, but there are already 2,200 people on the housing list. Therefore, it is a big job for the council. I am concerned about where the people will be housed. The Minister responsible, be it the Minister for Justice and Equality, who has responsibility for bringing in the refugees, or the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, needs to come to the Chamber to hear how Senators believe people should be housed. Columb Barracks in Mullingar might be considered. It was looked at, but I do not know whether this will happen. There is an asylum unit in Athlone where families have been living for over ten years in mobile homes. Circumstances have improved in the centre in recent years, but the centre is not appropriate for families considering what they have been through. This is an important issue that Senators should debate with the relevant Minister. I ask the Leader to do what he can to bring in the Minister.
I thank the Leader and our party Whip for putting on the Order Paper today No. 4, Registration of Wills Bill 2016. It is in my name and co-sponsored by Senators Catherine Ardagh and Lorraine Clifford-Lee. I ask every Member to support the Bill. This is my third attempt to introduce it. I made an attempt in 2005, at which time the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport was a Senator, and in 2011.
Where there is a will, there is a way.
The Bill is my latest attempt.
The moral of the story.
The plan is still the same. There are quite a number of new Members present. All parties backed the legislation initially and then there was a slight hiccup on the next occasion, for some reason. Now we have a new Seanad that is more likely to consider the matter afresh. I will be available throughout the day. I ask for support on Second Stage, when we will go into more detail. I am willing to accept amendments from Members and to discuss them in due course in the new year. The Bill is worthwhile and I ask for the full support of my colleagues.
We expect the same for our Bills.
Yesterday our colleague Senator Colm Burke stood up and said there was a major problem in the private nursing home sector. I thought that, at last, a Fine Gael Senator was going to stand up for working people. Of course, I was wrong. His concern was about the subsidy paid to public nursing homes.
The Senator is wrong. He did not hear what Senator Colm Burke said at all.
I did. It is on the record. What I want to do is read a contract belonging to Silver Stream nursing home. It is typical of a contract in the private nursing home industry. It states the company will require staff to work a variety of shifts, including days, nights, evenings and weekends, as part of their normal working week. It states the company cannot guarantee any set working hours for staff. That is how the private nursing home industry operates. It is a standard contract. I know this because I worked on trying to organise the workers. There is considerable fear. If the staff told their employers they were members of a trade union, they would not get any hours the following week. That is the reality of how private nursing homes operate in this sector. The workers are paid the princely sum of €9.58 per hour, including a 3.5% premium for working nights and Sundays. That industry is nothing less than a disgrace. Let us have the debates and call in the Minister for Health. We will make sure we have trade unionists in the Visitors Gallery to hear exactly what is going on in the sector. Let us have no more lobbying on behalf of Nursing Homes Ireland. It refuses to engage with the real issues in the industry and, as we all know, it refuses to engage with trade unions. This affects tens of thousands of workers. Typically and unfortunately, it is mainly migrant workers who are exploited. They are living in constant fear that if they do not do what they are told, they will not get any hours the following week. The issue of low hour and zero hour contracts is a disgrace in private nursing homes. All of us in this Chamber should rally behind the workers in the industry.
Just over two weeks ago, we had an excellent opportunity in this House to hear from the First Minister, Ms Nicola Sturgeon, on ongoing relations between Ireland and Scotland in the light of Brexit. I was a little disappointed, however, that it was the first time ever that a Head of State or foreign leader had addressed the Seanad, considering that we had in the same week visits by the Maltese Prime Minister and the President of Cyprus. I came to believe the Seanad could be the ideal forum for foreign Heads of State when they visited this country, rather than simply having them meet the Taoiseach and relevant Ministers. It would be ideal to have a public forum with elected public representatives in which to discuss the aims of visitors' countries and of their countries' partnership with Ireland. Most important, they could outline the important challenges their countries will face in partnership with Ireland in the coming years, particularly because of Brexit. I call on the Leader and other relevant individuals to consider making the Seanad a central platform, as part of protocol, every time a Head of State or dignitary visits.
That is a matter for the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
I ask that my request be passed on to the Committee on Procedure and Privileges in order that we can accommodate addresses to the Seanad by foreign leaders on their visits.
I wish to talk about the housing list system used by county councils throughout the State. My county, County Westmeath, has over 2,000 people on the council housing list, as referred to earlier. The system is totally dysfunctional. There needs to be a serious review of how we treat people who are looking for housing from the State. Most people in the system are housed in the private sector. Many of them are quite happy with where they are housed. I am curious in that we often have figures and lists that are totally unfit for purpose. There has to be a better way of identifying the people in serious need of housing. They should be on top of the list. When the councils start to build and acquire houses again, these people should be accommodated.
Yesterday we saw the publication of the rent pressure zones. Any action is welcome in its own way. I live in the centre of Dublin. Most mornings I wake up to the sound of suitcase wheels rolling along the ground. I also hear it late in the evening. People are either coming from or going to the airport. They are mainly staying in Airbnb properties that were in the rental market.
It is estimated that approximately 2,500 units in the greater Dublin area have been transferred from the private rental market to Airbnb. If we want to deal with rent pressure zones, this issue must be addressed through regulations or legislation. The Minister stated he would circulate a letter to local authorities before the end of the year, but we need action. Regardless of what legislation or regulations we introduce, if we do not deal with the migration to Airbnb from the private rental market, we will not resolve the issue in the rent pressure zone of Dublin. If one travels through the city at 4 p.m. or 5 p.m., one will see two or three people waiting outside apartment blocks for the landlord to arrive with the key in order that they can get in and stay overnight. Many Senators are using Airbnb properties because they cannot access hotels. The migration is causing a crisis in the private rental market. At Spencer Dock, apartment owners have introduced rules to prevent people from renting their apartments with Airbnb. The issue must be addressed. We can introduce all of the emergency legislation we like, but if we ignore this issue, we will not solve the problems in rent pressure zones and the migration will continue. This morning I listened to "The Pat Kenny Show" on which a landlord talked about leaving for Airbnb. This issue must be addressed through regulations or legislation, not circulars. Will the Leader raise the matter urgently with the Minister? The Minister will be in the House next week to deal with other legislation, but if we do not receive a response, I will raise the issue with him time and again, as Senator Denis Landy has done. We need action now, not more talk.
Will the Leader ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan, to condemn the killing of certain family members in cold blood by the Assad regime in retaking Aleppo? What I watched on CNN this morning was heart wrenching. The Minister should ask the Russian ambassador to Ireland, Mr. Maxim Peshkov, in the strongest terms not to allow the Russian army to stand by and watch this massacre happen. What we are seeing is genocide, but the watching world is doing nothing. We are not taking sides in the conflict. There are rights and wrongs on both sides, but what I saw happening this morning was not right. Yesterday morning I heard that 76 young men and boys who had been trying to get out of Aleppo had been caught by the regime and disappeared off the face of the Earth. Family members cannot get in contact with them and their mobile phones are not working. Something is wrong. I want the Minister to tell the Russian ambassador that the Irish people will not stand by and watch this slaughter of the innocents.
Tá mé ag ardú ceist ar maidin a d'ardaigh mé roinnt uaireanta roimhe seo. There are reports that there are more than 60 patients on trolleys or in overcapacity wards at University Hospital Galway, UHG, a record high. It is reported that one patient has been on a trolley for almost five days. According to spokespersons, nurses are regularly calling the INMO to raise concerns about the levels of overcrowding and the impact it is having on patients. The hospital is facing a third month of near constant code blacks, which has led to the manager, Ms Chris Kane, to say patients are suffering. A new 75-bed ward at the hospital - an €18 million development - is to open in the near future, but we are told that it will not add to bed capacity because three existing wards will be closed as part of the development. The issues are ongoing. Hospital management is constrained in increasing capacity by planning restrictions and provisions included in the city development plan which require an adequate number of parking spaces to be provided in the event that additional beds are provided in the hospital. It has been said UHG is no longer fit for purpose. The Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, is to visit it in the near future. A public rumour on a local radio station this morning has it that he might be visiting Galway during Christmas to open the new 75-bed block. If so, will it be opened at full capacity? Will it lead to increased bed capacity in the hospital? We are hearing that only a number of beds will be made available. Will the block be fully staffed? I have asked the Minister a question a number of times, including in the Commencement debate. Does he not now accept that, at the very least, a feasibility study of the development of a new hospital in Galway is needed? The clinicians, management and patient representatives are saying it is. We must consider it if we are to deal seriously with the chronic issues in Galway. Will the Leader call on the Minister to debate the issue in the House?
I agree with my colleague, Senator Michael McDowell, that we should be given adequate time to debate any amendment reverted to us from the Dáil. The Leader indicated yesterday that that would be the case and it is important that it should be. While the legislation might not be perfect, it will at least be a start. We will have to wait to see what we will receive from the Lower House.
More than 1,600 people in Ireland suffer from narcolepsy, a life-long illness that impacts on all aspects of their lives. Sufferers must live with a range of debilitating symptoms, including hallucinations, cataplexy, an increased risk of accidents and obesity. An organisation was brought to my attention by Councillor Michael Sheehan from Wexford. Sufferers of Unique Narcolepsy Disorder, SOUND, is a support group for more than 80 young people who developed the disorder as a result of being given the swine flu vaccine Pandemrix.
The HSE committed to providing €1.6 million for St. James's Hospital in Dublin. However, the money has not materialised. It is vital for existing paediatric services that they receive this funding. It would provide for extra staff, including a neurologist, a neurophysicist, a respiratory consultant, a clinical nurse manager, a dietician, a laboratory nurse and four lab technicians. Given that €1.6 million is a minuscule amount in the HSE's budget of more than €14 billion, will the Leader use his good offices to impress on the Minister as a matter of urgency, the fact that the money is very important and necessary?
I wish to respond to Senator Rose Conway-Walsh who referred to how what was being done was not in the spirit of new politics. It is a pity that she is not in the Chamber. If Sinn Féin believes so strongly in new politics, it is incumbent on Deputy Gerry Adams, given the brutal murder of Brian Stack, to come forward and disclose-----
The Senator is transgressing new politics. That is not a matter for the Order of Business.
It is important as we hear the phrase being bandied about constantly. If Sinn Féin is so keen on having a truth and reconciliation commission, with which I have no issue-----
The Senator is better than this.
No, I am not.
Okay.
I know Gerry McCabe's widow, Ann McCabe, well and know the suffering she has gone through. Gerry McCabe and Brian Stack were carrying out their duties on behalf of the State. If Sinn Féin believes in new politics so much, Deputy Gerry Adams should come forward and help in the Brian Stack murder case. I say this because Sinn Féin is bandying about the phrase "new politics" too much.
I do not think it is relevant to the Order of Business.
It is very relevant.
The Senator should find another way of raising it.
I join other Senators in raising what has been happening in Syria in the past few weeks, months and years. We have watched one of the great atrocities in recent years in Aleppo. We are not taking sides, but we need to raise the issue and have already done so with the ambassador and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. How can we, in the western world, watch while an unmerciful tragedy is happening in that part of the world with women, children and innocent bystanders slaughtered? It is a frightening scenario. We should do whatever we can do as a nation because history will look back at these moments and judge us for what has happened in the past few months. It is appalling. Society will have to come to grips with what is happening and do what it can.
I also want to mention the unfortunate and sudden death of a former colleague of mine and sitting member of Cork County Council, Claire Cullinane, who was with me on the local authority for many years. It might not be in order, but she was a very capable woman and brought a lot to local government. Her loss will be greatly felt throughout Cork County Council and in Cobh.
Yesterday I raised the issue of the cost of nursing home care. My colleagues raised it this morning. I raised it because the cost of public nursing home care is €1,700 per week. The cost in the private nursing home sector is €850 per week, a difference of €850. Private nursing homes have no problem in increasing wages and salaries if they receive the remuneration to do so.
That is news.
In the past five years there has been an increase of 13% in the cost of public nursing home care, despite the fact that it costs €1,700 per week per bed. The argument is that they look after people with dementia, but so too does the private sector. In the private sector there has been an increase of 1.75% in those five years. If one takes the logic of my colleague's point this morning, the cost of private nursing home care to the taxpayer is approximately €1 billion per annum, for 23,000 beds, at €850 per week per bed. Taking on board what Senator Paul Gavan said, the cost would go to €2 billion per annum. He might outline to the House in due course how he proposes the extra €1 billion would be collected.
There is no excuse for exploitation.
Please allow the Senator to continue.
Senator Colm Burke obviously wants a debate on the matter.
Senator Paul Gavan might also deal with the cost of building a public nursing home. The cost of building a public nursing home in County Donegal is €22.75 billion for a 130-bed unit, at €175,000 per bed. If a person in the private sector borrowed money at 5%, the cost of each bed in interest payments would be over €8,000 per annum.
Then the Senator will agree to a debate.
Let us have it.
The public sector does not have to carry that cost, but the private sector does. Let us have the debate.
If the Leader accedes to the request for a debate, we can have it. The Senator has made his point, as has Senator Paul Gavan.
The private sector has responded very responsibly and delivered very well for a large number of families. That needs to be acknowledged.
We live in very interesting times. Two weeks ago Ms Nicola Sturgeon, MSP, the First Minister of Scotland, was here and everybody was urging Scotland to vote for independence. That was wonderful and on Monday in Dublin and London the British House of Lords launched the Brexit: UK-Irish Relations report. The report was very practical and measured and showed an interest in Irish-UK relations that I do not think we had seen before. Ms Sturgeon's presence in this Chamber was invigorating and generated great debate. It is what this Chamber should be about. At the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Cardiff two weeks ago diplomats from Gibraltar made a presentation on how concerned they were about Brexit. It is an overseas dependency and 96% of its inhabitants voted to remain in the European Union. It wants a special arrangement, too. We should invite Mr. Fabian Picardo, Chief Minister of Gibraltar, to this House to discuss its concerns and ours. We need to build an alliance with Malta, Cyprus and EU-committed members which have a link with the United Kingdom. We should not be fearful of teasing out all of the options because they are not just Irish-UK options but also involve all of the European Union and the various dependencies. We need to work very closely together. I will be calling on the Leader to invite the Chief Minister of Gibraltar to the House for an open and measured debate.
That will be a matter for the Committee on Procedure and Privileges.
I thank the 18 Senators who contributed on the Order of Business.
I join Senator Tim Lombard in paying tribute to the late councillor Claire Cullinane and sympathising with her family on her very sudden death. She was a very powerful presence on Cork County Council and left an indelible mark.
Senator Mark Daly raised the case of Ibrahim Halawa. We all share his concern and frustration. It is disappointing to note that the trial has been postponed again. However, a few things in the Senator's analysis such as the lack of an intervention by the Government need to be clarified. On 12 November and again on 17 November the Taoiseach wrote to the President of Egypt urging him to return our citizen to Ireland without delay. On 12 November the Taoiseach spoke to the Egyptian ambassador and expressed concern about the delay. He also underlined the Government's strong desire for Ibrahim Halawa to be returned to Ireland as a matter of urgency. In addition, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade continues to liaise with the family and the embassy in Cairo. It also maintains close and ongoing communication with lawyers in Egypt. In the Dáil the Taoiseach has expressed his frustration and annoyance at the constant adjournments and delays in the trial. The Government, through the Taoiseach, has been in direct contact with President el-Sisi on numerous occasions and the two men have met face to face to discuss the case on two occasions, as well as speaking on the telephone. We all join the Senator in wanting to see the matter resolved as this is an Irish citizen who needs to be brought back to his country. We need to work together, as we have done in the past, to ensure that will happen.
Senators Mark Daly, Michael McDowell, Rose Conway-Walsh, Frances Black, Aidan Davitt, Kevin Humphreys and Diarmuid Wilson referred to the housing and rental strategy which was launched yesterday. There will be no rush from this side of the House in the way we operate. Last night the select committee completed Committee Stage of the Bill. Report and Final Stages will be taken in the Dáil tomorrow and, perhaps, on Friday. There was an opportunity to debate the Bill in this House on Friday, but, in the interests of Members and given the importance of the legislation, I took the decision to have it debated on Tuesday afternoon instead.
It is the intention, provided the Bill is passed in the Dáil, to bring it to us on Tuesday when we can sit for as long as we want to discuss it. There will be no time limit and we can sit until the wee hours of the morning until the debate is finished. It is important to recognise that between now and then there is a need for much discussion between all sides on the Bill. I am sure all Members have a view and that the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government will be ready to work with everyone to ensure the Bill that is returned to the House will be the best it possibly can be. The Bill is important. It is somewhat cheap to say the new provisions are about landlords or protecting certain people. They are not; rather, they are about creating certainty, security and ensuring we will have supply and standards and that the Residential Tenancies Board will be beefed up to ensure tenants' rights are protected. None of us involved in politics wants to see people without houses or sleeping on the streets or in hotel rooms. We all want people to be provided with housing, whether through the rental market or social or private housing. The language used on all sides of the House is important. Nobody flies a flag for any particular band of sectoral interests. This is all about people who require housing.
Senator Rose Conway-Walsh again questioned my understanding of economics, but that is okay. We will have a debate about the school transport scheme when the relevant Minister can come to the House once the Senator understands Sinn Féin's history of high taxes and spending is the bedrock from which she comes.
Senator Denis Landy mentioned the very important issue of wind farms and matters before the courts. I will be happy for the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, to come to the House in the new year to discuss the matter.
Senators Gabrielle McFadden, Ray Butler and Tim Lombard referred to the situation in Syria. It is fair to say we are all appalled by the lack of leadership in what is happening. George Osborne summed it up well yesterday when he spoke about a vacuum of leadership. We have not had the leadership needed to bring a resolution to the region. We all stand united in condemnation of the attacks by the al-Assad regime and its allies. It is time the international community joined together to ensure the barbaric behaviour will come to an end. There is no justification for it, good, bad or indifferent. We have seen images of defenceless people being killed in their homeland. We need to see the targeted attacks being brought to an end. That requires international leaders to stand up and be counted. I hope the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade will do so on behalf of the Government.
Senators Paul Gavan and Colm Burke referred to private nursing homes. I will not go into that issue today, as it was discussed yesterday, but I will be happy for the relevant Minister to come to the House to deal with the matter.
Senator Neale Richmond made a proposal concerning the visits of Heads of State and Government. It is a very worthwhile proposal that should be considered by the Committee on Procedure and Privileges. I will be happy to have that discussion with the committee through the good offices of the Cathaoirleach.
Senator Aidan Davitt referred to housing in County Westmeath, a matter about which I will be happy to have a discussion. The Senator could table a Commencement matter to discuss it.
Senator Kevin Humphreys referred to Airbnb, separate from the rental strategy. The Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government spoke on radio about the matter, but the Senator has made a very good point that needs to be addressed.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh referred to University Hospital Galway. I will be happy to have the Minister for Health address the issue. The Senator cannot table a Commencement matter before Christmas because the Minister will be unable to come to the House before the holidays to discuss it. I am aware that he is due to travel to Galway. I am not sure of the exact date, but I do know that he is planning to visit a number of places.
He is due to come to Galway on 28 December.
The Senator is ahead of the curve.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh must have been invited.
Absolutely, but normally we are not.
I hope I have given Senator Diarmuid Wilson an answer on the allocation of adequate time to discuss the issue raised by him. He also referred to narcolepsy. Yesterday the former Senator, Deputy Michael D'Arcy, tabled a Topical Issue on the matter. I watched the debate. As a former Chairman of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, I was involved in some work on the issue. Senator Diarmuid Wilson is correct in that regard. A small amount of money, €1.6 million, has been allocated. We should work together to ensure-----
To clarify, the money is for adult services.
It is affecting-----
It should be ring-fenced.
As the Senator said, it is a debilitating illness. It is something that people perhaps do not understand until it affects them. Listening to those who appeared before the committee, one could not but have been struck by their testimony. It is an issue on which we will work together.
Senator Kieran O'Donnell referred to new politics. We should all call on the members of Sinn Féin to ask their leader to co-operate with An Garda Síochána. Senator Paul Gavan shook his head in disdain when the matter was raised, but it is of fundamental importance to us all, whether we are involved in new or old politics. A member of the security forces, a prison officer, was killed in the line of duty. Whether it happened during or after the Troubles, it cannot be condoned or supported. We should all work together to ensure we obtain answers for the family. I am sure, as a trade unionist, Senator Paul Gavan will agree with me that the family deserve answers. Let us be fair. There is a need to provide answers for the family who have lost a loved one. I appeal to the Senator who is decent to work with us to ensure that will happen.
Senator Frank Feighan referred to Brexit. The matter may be raised at the Committee on Procedure and Privileges today. There is a need for clarity.
I think I have covered the points raised by everyone.
The Leader did not.
My apologies to the Senator. I knew I had missed something. In fairness, he who waits the longest gets to hear the piper play the tune. I hope we will all be here as long as he has to celebrate the day. I congratulate him. As Leader, I am happy that we will not oppose his proposed legislation. Equally, I hope, in the spirit of new politics, he will support the Government's intervention on the issue of Roscommon University Hospital and Senator Frank Feighan.
I think Senator Denis Landy said that where there was a will, there was a relative. That is my view. I rarely comment on matters on which the Leader responds. I understand the point made cogently by Senator Michael McDowell was that the Bill that would be returned to the House next week had already passed all Stages in it. There will be limited scope for amendments. I am not saying, however, that there will be limited scope for debate. However, as I understand the rules and regulations, subject to being corrected, while we will not entirely be in a straitjacket, there will be limited room for Members to table amendments. We will be somewhat but not entirely curtailed. I understand that is the point he made. We will sit next week. I will not, however, pre-empt the debate or what might happen next Tuesday.