I welcome and thank Minister of State, Deputy Sean Fleming, for coming into the House.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Aviation Industry
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach. We know that aviation's climate impact is disproportionate and it continues to grow quickly. Emissions from private jets are growing even faster than the rest of the aviation industry with a 31% increase in CO2 emissions between 2005 and 2019. In just one hour, a single private jet can emit 2 tonnes of CO2 whereas the average Irish person emits 12.3 tonnes of CO2 over the course of an entire year and that is high by EU standards.
We know from the Oxfam carbon inequality report that flights are a major contributor to the carbon footprints the rich and famous. Footprints from aviation alone were found to be in excess of 1,000 tonnes per year for some celebrities. This summer the twitter account @CelebJets was used to highlight the outrageous carry-on of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Drake and Kylie Jenner and their absurdly short journeys by private jets from as little as ten minutes. People were rightly outraged because it points to the deep hypocrisy that currently exists around climate action where wealthy people seem to be exempt from any sort of change.
Sinn Féin believes that not all emissions are created equal. Climate justice scholars have long distinguished between luxury emissions and subsistence emissions. The latter arise from people meeting their basic needs in the absence of alternatives, while the former are produced by wealthy people who demonstrate just how wealthy they are. For too long, climate action has been about punishing ordinary working-class people and heaping guilt on them for living in a society that has locked them into a carbon-centric lifestyle and makes it very difficult and expensive for them to change. At the same time the wealthy seem to be exempt and continue to live carbon-intensive lifestyles.
Sinn Féin believes luxury emissions need to be pursued, not only because it is the right thing to do to tackle climate change, but because it demonstrates to wider society that we are serious about a just transition. It would also help to bring people along in the enormous challenge for society of tackling climate change. Sinn Féin proposes a tax of €3,000 on the departure of private jets from this State should be introduced. Canada has recently imposed a luxury tax on the sale and importation of high-value cars, planes and boats, while Switzerland has proposed taxing private-jet flights. According to data collected by the NGO, Transport & Environment, 5,998 private jets departed from the State in 2019 and in its paper, Private Jets: Can the Super-Rich Supercharge Zero Emission Aviation?, Transport & Environment proposed a €3,000 levy on private jet departures to account for the environmental damage that they cause.
These are genuine behavioural taxes because, as we all know, feasible more environmentally friendly alternatives are available to individuals to choose instead. The same cannot be said for the general carbon tax which does not distinguish the luxury from the necessary, nor consider the alternatives.
Such a tax shows there is an alternative to generating the revenues needed to fund the wider fight against the climate crisis but I urge the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, to consider a tax on luxury emissions. This is just one example of them, namely, to try to get a handle on the completely unjustified depletion of the world's scarce remaining carbon budget by those who have very, very deep pockets and who are well able to fund the decarbonisation process.
I thank the Senator for raising this matter in the House today. First, I wish to apologise to Senator Boylan and to the House for the non-availability of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, or myself yesterday, or of a Minister of State to speak on our behalf. I appreciate the forbearance of Senator Boylan in agreeing to speak on the Commencement matter today. I thank her for that.
At the outset it should be noted that neither the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, nor the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, have given consideration of a levy on private jet departures to date. However, it is noted that Switzerland is well-advanced with such a proposal, although it is understood that it has not been commenced yet and neither has the levy rate been determined. The Swiss proposal would apply to private non-commercial flights departing from an airport situated in Switzerland and provides for a list of exemptions, including emergency medical service flights, military flights, flights operated under a public service obligation, etc. It is understood that France is giving consideration to the introduction of such a levy as well as in an effort to make transport greener and fairer.
In this regard, it should be noted that the issue may be raised by the French minister for transport at the upcoming informal Transport Council that will take place in Prague in the coming days, 20 to 21 October.
Before consideration could be given to any proposal of this type, we would need to gather information about the accurate number of private jets departing from Irish airports and I note the figures Senator Boylan mentioned. We need this on a yearly basis to establish the feasibility of such a measure. Private flights is a broad term without a specific definition, which can capture many different types of flights such as privately owned jet aircraft, to which the Senator refers, business aviation, fractional ownership by multiple owners, to name a few. At present the Department of Transport does not hold complete data on the number of private flights that pass through our airports as non-commercial operations are not required to apply for a flight authorisation prior to landing in an Irish airport.
I would like to touch on the taxation of fuel used for aviation, which is the responsibility of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe. Ireland's excise duty treatment of fuel used for air navigation is governed by European Union law as set out in directive 2003/96/EC on the taxation of energy products and electricity, commonly known as the energy tax directive, ETD. The ETD was transposed into national law in the Finance Act 1999. Under the ETD member states are obliged to exempt from excise duty certain mineralised fuels used for commercial aviation purposes. In aviation fuels, the scope of the ETD exemption covers jet fuel, described as heavy oil, which is the most commonly used fuel type in air navigation. The exemption must encompass all jet fuel used for intra-community and international air transport purposes. A member state may, however, waive this exemption for intra-community flights but only where it has entered into a bilateral agreement with another member state to tax the fuel. Ireland has no such agreement at present and, therefore, the exemption from taxation is applied to all jet fuel used for commercial intra-community flights. The ETD provides that member states may opt to fully or partially exempt from taxation jet fuel used for commercial, domestic or air navigation. Currently, Ireland's mineral oil tax law provides that a fuel relief to apply to jet fuel used for all commercial air navigation, including domestic intra-community and international.
With regard to aviation fuel for commercial international transport, the scope for a member state to take a unilateral approach on taxation on aviation fuel is limited not only by the ETD but by international law and a range of bilateral and multilateral agreements that operate under the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention.
I thank the Minister of State. I call on Senator Boylan to respond.
I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I also thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for the apology, which I accept completely. I am glad he was able to take the matter today. I see a glimmer of hope in the response he gave. It is interesting that again France seems to be leading the way in innovative approaches to climate action. I had a Commencement matter last week looking at the ban on fossil fuel adverts which again France is leading the way on. I would like to know the Government's position ahead of that Transport Council meeting because we know that is what is critical. It is all well and good for France to bring the proposal to the Council meeting but will Ireland back it up and support it? I would be interested to hear, the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming's view on that.
According to the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming's response, it is interesting to note the State is not collecting the necessary data in order to do that tax. This is another example of why Ireland needs to get its head around collecting data on wealth. Apparently, we do not have the data from the Government when it comes to a wealth tax and we are being told we do not have it when it comes to private jets. Of course the Sinn Féin proposal would allow for exemptions for emergency medical service and military flights.
I thank Senator Boylan. The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, will have the final word.
Under the current legislative framework there is effectively no scope for Ireland to unilaterally tax commercial aviation fuel used by private jets. I have given the Senator the background and once there is agreement with another countries, it could be done. Senator Boylan mentioned that France is considering the introduction of this as well as a debate at the Transport Council in Prague on 20 to 21 October. We have not seen any specific details but closer to the time, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, will certainly respond to that, if that is on the agenda that particular day.
The House may be aware, however, that a proposal to revise the energy tax directive is currently being negotiated at EU level and Ireland is actively engaged in these discussions. One area under consideration during these negotiations is the taxation of fuel used in commercial aviation which would, by definition, include private jets. There is still a long way to go with this proposal. However, as one of its essential purposes is to support faster uptake of cleaner fuel by taxing fuels on the basis of energy content, the environmental performance, rather than by volume, it is likely that aviation fuels, including those used by private jets, will fall within the scope of those discussions.
I thank the Minister of State and Senator Boylan.
Vacant Properties
I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. I also thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for coming to the House this morning to take this Commencement matter. I am sure he will agree with me that tackling vacancy and dereliction across our cities, towns, villages and rural countryside is something of great importance. It is a passion of mine. I have worked constructively since my election to this House and my appointment to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to engage with Department officials and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, on a number of proposals, some of which have been acted on and some of which are still under consideration. I hop that by tabling this Commencement matter this morning, we can move the dial on one particular scheme which has the potential to do a whole lot more.
In my county of Waterford, we have had tremendous success with schemes such as the repair and lease scheme, the buy and renew scheme and, to a lesser extent, the Living City initiative, which has been extended in budget 2023 to the end of 2027 and which is a welcome move. The benefits of bringing vacant and derelict buildings back into productive use are huge. It cleans up streetscapes, provides much-needed homes and is environmentally sound because it results in less carbon as it reuses what is already there.
The Croí Cónaithe towns and villages fund has been very well received across the country. I understand that local authorities have had very strong interest from prospective property owners looking to bring vacant and derelict properties back into productive use. With success of television programmes, such as "Room to Improve", "The Great House Revival" and "Cheap Irish Homes", we have seen what is possible when we think outside the box in delivering our dream home.
The obvious difficulty with vacant and derelict properties is that one does not know what is going to be there when one opens the property up. That is why this scheme, which provides a grant support of up to €50,000, is so welcome. The fact that it can be combined with measures such as Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, grants gives people the potential to have a significant portion of the costs of renovation covered through grant aid, which is very important for young individuals and couples in particular who are trying to get their foot on the ladder.
Not everybody wants to own or can afford to own a brand-new home in a city or a town. The target under the scheme of 2,000 properties by the end of 2025 is not ambitious enough. We should be aiming to deliver a multiple of that but we will not do that if we do not expand the scheme to rural one-off houses and to cities and suburbs. I hope the Minister of State will be able to give a positive response as to the direction of travel in this space. The benefit of supporting rural one-off vacant and derelict properties is huge. It benefits rural communities, brings people back into the areas and supports the services, clubs and schools in those areas. The ideology within the Department that we should not support the renovation of rural one-off houses, in particular, needs to be consigned to the dustbin, to be quite frank. We need to be more ambitious with this scheme. It is an excellent scheme that is there to support first-time buyers in owning their own houses but we need to expand it to our cities and suburbs and to rural one-off houses.
Thank you Senator Cummins. I call on the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Fleming, to respond.
I thank Senator Cummins for raising this important issue and allowing me the opportunity to provide an update on this matter. Pathway 4 of Housing for All sets out a blueprint to address vacancy and make efficient use of our existing housing stock. Many areas of cities, towns and villages of all sizes face the blight of vacant properties, which, if brought back into use, could add real vibrancy to, and provide new accommodation in, those areas. The Croí Cónaithe towns fund is a key initiative that underpins the policy objectives set out in pathway 4 of Housing for All. Schemes under this fund, which are delivered by local authorities, will provide new choices for people to live in towns and villages in Ireland through the provision of a grant to support the refurbishment of vacant properties and by providing serviced sites in towns and villages to people in order to build their own homes.
On 14 July this year, the vacant property refurbishment grant, funded by the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, was launched. The scheme will be of benefit to those who wish to turn a formerly vacant house or building into their principal private residence. It is important to note it is not for rental purposes; you must live in the house. The grant of up to €30,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence, including the conversion of a property which was not previously used as residential. An additional maximum top-up grant of €20,000 is available where the property is confirmed to be derelict, bringing the total grant available for a derelict property up to a maximum of €50,000. On that, if the house is on the council's derelict register, that is sufficient. If it is not on the register, the applicant can get a commercial consultant to provide a report stating it is derelict and the local vacant homes officer will then come out and inspect it. Once that is agreed, it can fall under the scheme. It does not have to already be on the derelict register.
On 21 September, the ready-to-build scheme, also funded by Croí Cónaithe towns fund, was launched. Under the scheme, local authorities will make serviced sites in towns and villages available to potential individual purchasers to build their own homes. These sites will be available at a discount on the market value of the site for the building of the property for occupation as the principal private residence of the purchaser. When the fund was launched, a commitment was made to ongoing review of the scheme. Feedback on the vacant property refurbishment scheme to date has been overwhelmingly positive, with 169 applications submitted up to the start of September.
Given that the key objective of pathway 4 of Housing for All is to ensure that houses we already have are being fully utilised, a decision has been made to extend the eligibility of the vacant property refurbishment grant to vacant properties in both our cities and rural areas. This is a significant development. I want to take the opportunity to confirm this. The Minister announced it at the National Ploughing Championships recently. Both schemes under the Croí Cónaithe towns fund will continue to be only for those who intend to occupy the property as their principal private residence. Officials in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will work with the vacant homes officer in each of the local authorities in the coming weeks to update details of this grant, with a view to expanding the scheme. We hope to have that major expansion available in November of this year.
I thank the Minister of State. I call Senator Cummins.
I thank the Minister of State for his very positive response to this Commencement matter. I stand corrected but my understanding from what the Minister previously said in relation to this was that it would be expanded to cities. However, it was not actually stated that it would be expanded to rural one-off houses. The fact the Minister of State is confirming that this morning is hugely welcome. It will be welcomed by local authorities right across the country and by young individuals and couples who are seeking to get their foot on the property ladder.
The Minister of State also referenced the flexibility in the top-up amount of €20,000. That is really positive as well, because there was a misconception at the start that it had to be on the derelict sites register. The fact that you can get a structural engineer to state that significant structural works need to be carried out to access the additional top-up is hugely welcome.
I really want to thank the Minister of State for the positive response. The fact that it will be open to all derelict and vacant properties across the State will enable us to expand on that 2,000 target up to 2025.
I thank Senator Cummins. I call on the Minister of State for a final word on the matter.
I want to join the Senator in welcoming this good news. When I was asked to stand in for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage this morning, I spoke at length with officials to confirm the details. Like everybody in rural areas, as soon as the scheme came out and was extended to villages of 400 or 500 people, we were immediately asked about the derelict houses in rural areas. This announcement by the Minister that it will be extended to rural areas is fantastic. They are now working with the vacant homes officers. Some 25 of the 31 local authorities have full-time vacant homes officers in place; the others need to get one in place urgently. I would advise people to work with the vacant homes officer in the local authority to progress this scheme. Discussions are ongoing. It will be November before the final details are available.
I thank the Minister of State and Senator Cummins.
While we await the Minister for Senator Buttimer's Commencement matter, I would like to welcome the young people and their teachers in the Gallery. It is wonderful to have them here. They are witnessing the part of the day, known as Commencement Matters, where Senators raise particular issues with Ministers and get responses. They are in the Houses of democracy and I hope some day one of them will be here representing their community.
Early Childhood Care and Education
I welcome the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
I would like to welcome the students. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth who is present is responsible for many aspects of their lives.
The issue I am raising is to do with young children, specifically, the pre-school in the Morning Star National School, Ballyphenane, County Cork, and the fact the pre-school has not be reopened. I thank the Minister for being here. It is a testament to the importance of this issue that he is here. I accept it is not the Minister's direct responsibility, but Tusla's, as I will explain later. That the Minister is here is a credit to him and underscores the importance he attaches to the matter. I thank him for that most sincerely.
I have been contacted by the parents of 15 young boys and girls, aged between three and four, who are waiting to attend pre-school. As the Minister will know well, early childhood development is very important. This pre-school has been doing huge work in the area for young children. I have spoken to the parents and to Mary, the manager of the pre-school. To say they are frustrated is an understatement. A small cohort is affected. As I said, it is 15 students. However, it is 15 young children who, in some cases, have developmental needs in terms of early development that needs to be progressed. The issue has been ongoing with Tusla since April of this year. As the Minister knows, Tusla is required to make the decision.
What has made the whole matter frustrating and disconcerting is that the pre-school in the exact same room was open until mid-April of this year. Due to a change of management and a change in use of a room in another school, the existing pre-school in Morning Star National School had to change its modus operandi. Mary, the manager, used to be based in Glasheen, but that had to close as the room was required. The opportunity arose for this pre-school to continue in Morning Star National School.
The person in charge is of high calibre, great competency and much experience. Many of the parents just cannot comprehend the frustration being experienced now with what seems to be bureaucracy by Tusla at one level. I know the Minister is aware of the situation. I will describe the situation encountered by a parent whom I will not name. This person said they were concerned for their child's well-being and his mental health and understands, as a primary schoolteacher, the importance of school for his development. The communication continued by saying this person's son also has a speech and language delay, that he had made great progress since he had started preschool last year and that it is vital he returns to the school as soon as possible so he does not regress. This is the core of this issue. It is about progression and not regression.
I have spoken to many parents who have come to talk to me about this issue, and I thank them. It is hard to come by places in preschools. There had been an issue in this case with fire safety, health and safety risk assessment and planning permission. All those requirements have now been fulfilled and complied with by the management. Therefore, I hope we can see progress. Tusla is well aware of this matter and the issues with the building and the fire safety certificate. I believe there is an exemption from planning permission, an engineer visited the building to undertake a risk assessment, the fire brigade found adequate fire certification and fire exits are in situ.
This is a one-room classroom. There has been no change of use and it has a planning permission exemption from the city council. I have spoken to people in City Hall about this issue. The start date has been pushed back. We are in the first week of October and there is an urgent need to expedite this matter. I again thank the Minister for being here and I appreciate his genuine interest. I am speaking on behalf of the parents and the young boys and girls they are advocating for. I am also advocating for them in this important matter. I hope we can see this situation resolved for the sake of the young people themselves.
I welcome our guests in the Public Gallery as well and I hope they find their trip to the Oireachtas very interesting. I thank Senator Buttimer for raising this important issue, for advocating on behalf of the parents of the children attending the Morning Star preschool, and for emphasising the importance of this early education for those children as well as the support it provides for their parents.
Tusla is an independent statutory regulator for the sector. It is wholly responsible for the registration of all early learning and care and school-age childcare services. Approximately 4,000 early learning and care services and 2,200 school-age childcare services are registered with and inspected by Tusla. While my Department is responsible for the legislation governing the sector and we do work closely with Tusla, obviously the implementation of the regulations is solely a matter for Tusla. I am also restricted from intervening in specific cases.
It is a legal requirement under the Child Care Act 1991 regulations for those proposing to open an early years service to submit an application for registration with Tusla at least three months before it is proposed to commence operations. This is to allow sufficient time for the processing and approval of such applications, in line with the relevant statutory requirements. It is the responsibility of the providers of early years services to ensure they have all the documentation required in place, including fire certificates and planning compliance documents. Providers should also ensure they are ready for Tusla's fit-for-purpose inspection, if required. Registration of early years services can be granted only where Tusla is satisfied that the premises, operation and location of the services pose no unmanaged risk to children. We can all understand why those regulations need to be adhered to.
Tusla cannot process applications that do not contain all the required documents, but it does inform providers who submit incomplete applications of any missing documents. The service then has an extra ten days to submit any outstanding documents. If it is not possible to provide the documentation sought in that timeframe, the application is closed. Open applications that are not being updated by providers are a drain on the resources of the early years inspectorate registration team, and this is made clear to all services seeking to apply for registration with Tusla. Therefore, although the onus does rest with prospective service providers to ensure their applications for registration are fully completed on submission, the inspectorate does work closely with applicants to help new services to open as soon as possible and to allow existing services to grow their capacity. The requirements and associated timelines for the processing of new registrations to ensure opening by September 2022 have been clearly communicated to the sector. In the interests of having a fair and transparent policy, therefore, Tusla will only review applications in the order they are received. This is in line with the organisation's registration policy.
My understanding of this case from Tusla is that some documentation was missing when the original application was submitted in August. Some of those documents remain outstanding. A revised application for registration was received on 30 September, however, and that is now being progressed based on Tusla's registration process. Therefore, it is important to say the application is now in train. It is hoped all relevant documents will now have been submitted. I suggest, though, that the management of the preschool double-check with the Tusla inspectorate and the city and county childcare committee in Cork that all those documents have been received to ensure there is no delay in this application being addressed and that it can be processed. It is to be hoped we will soon be able to see this facility for young people in the area reopened for them to resume their ECCE programme.
I thank the Minister for being here and for his response. I accept there was an ongoing issue with some of the documentation. My understanding, however, is that all this has now been rectified. Issues were addressed in respect of fire safety and planning and all the requisite documents were submitted. From talking to the people involved, I believe all these aspects were addressed. I welcome the Minister's reply. Notwithstanding that, however, I ask if the application could be backdated to when it was originally submitted rather than having the clock starting at the end of September. This would help to expedite the situation.
As the Minister said, though, it is important there is engagement with Tusla. I appreciate this. There is a great need for this to happen. I will talk again to the people involved to ensure all the relevant documentation has been submitted and that there is clarity in this regard. The important point here is that I hope Tusla will expedite this matter. I say this because I think it is a bit unfair to the 15 students and their families that we have a situation where there is now a lacuna in the provision of these education services, when the documentation clearly illustrates there are no health and safety issues and no planning permission is required. I again thank the Minister wholeheartedly for his reply.
As Senator Buttimer said, it would appear we now have a full application containing all relevant documentation. This is important and will allow for the application to be processed. Tusla is aware of the need to work expeditiously to ensure applications are processed, and the agency understands children will not be able to access education until this is done. Tusla's early years inspectorate is all about providing for the best form of education.
Additionally, that we are also now beyond the late summer period when the inspectorate was dealing with a great many registrations will mean it will now have the scope to focus on this application and to get it done. It is, however, important there is engagement in this regard and that it is clarified that all documents have been provided. Once that is the case, this application can be processed as expeditiously as possible.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 11.08 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 12 noon.
Sitting suspended at 11.08 a.m. and resumed at 12 noon.