The Order of Business is No. 1, Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021 – Second Stage, to be taken at 1.30 p.m. and to adjourn at 3 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the Minister's opening speech not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, with the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 2, Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022 – Committee Stage (resumed), to be taken at 3 p.m.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Yesterday, at the Wild Atlantic Words festival hosted in Castlebar, I met a remarkable young woman who I went to school with, Geraldine Lavelle. Geraldine sustained a very serious injury in an accident a number of years ago and is now paralysed from the neck down. She was an active fitness person and she cycled and went to the gym regularly. She was a fantastic athlete as well as being a scientist and an exceptional young woman. She remains all of those things and has fought her way back from what was a devastating injury. Yesterday, she published her book entitled Weathering the Storm. I have not yet had the pleasure of reading it. It is on my list to read very shortly and I encourage others to purchase it as well. If ever there was a story of getting through adversity, barriers and everything that could be thrown at someone, this is it. She lost so much on that particular day and has come back to show that anything is possible if one puts one's mind to it. I was in college with her sister while Geraldine was the year below me and I know the family very well. She is an inspirational young woman and has come through so much. Yesterday, she was rightly acknowledged for her fantastic new book Weathering the Storm. Geraldine is a regular columnist with The Western People and teaches in the Atlantic Technological University Sligo. She is, as I said, a scientist as well.
I congratulate Geraldine on her fantastic success - no doubt the first of many. She has dedicated much of her time since her injury to helping other people who have acquired a similar injury or paralyses. She has dedicated her time to helping others to come through the most difficult and devastating thing that can happen to anyone. I wish her well and congratulate her on the publication of her book.
A separate matter is the issue around school transport, concessionary and eligible tickets and all that comes with that. Every year, every single public representative is contacted - particularly in rural areas - by people who do not qualify for the bus because they are not going to the closest school and whatever. We make it really difficult for people. In this time of trying to get people out of their cars and onto public transport, we need to move to a system where there is no such thing as eligible or concessionary tickets. Any student that wants to take a bus should be given the option to do so. It is simply not safe in many parts of the country to cycle or walk to school, even if one lives quite close, because the cycling and walking infrastructure is not there yet. Some day it will be.
I request a debate at the earliest opportunity with the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, to have a discussion about the future of school transport and how we might move away from concessionary and eligible tickets and move to a system where any student who wants a school bus, can get one. In my own county of Mayo, we have had particular difficulties as did every other part of the country. Straide in Mayo was a good example, among others, where people who had a concessionary ticket for many years did not get one this time but are now on a list to do so. I commend and thank the Minister, Deputy Foley, for securing the extra funds in budget 2023, to bring on stream additional capacity of more buses and more drivers. I also welcome the decision made by the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Cabinet to prioritise those students who previously had a concessionary ticket and always availed of the bus service, and to deal with them first. That was the right decision to make. I would welcome such a debate.
I welcome our Acting Leader to the House. Yesterday, the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland held a briefing in Buswells Hotel for Members of the Oireachtas around the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill and the medium-term Future of Media Commission report. I think we all recognise that local radio plays a huge and important role in urban and rural communities across Ireland. I commend all those involved in local radio and ask that we as a House have a debate with the Minister on the future of local radio. We have had the Bill which is going through the Houses of the Oireachtas but yesterday's briefing spoke about a number of very important issues around the broadcasting levy and the implementation of the Future of Media Commission report recommendations on the funding of local radio. We gave huge acknowledgement to local newspapers with the reduction of VAT so surely it is time, in the context of the broadcasting levy, to look at how we support local radio. As a Government, we gave money in the budget to RTÉ and TG4 all of which we support, but there is a need to have a look at how we can support independent local radio.
My second request is that the Minister of State at the Department of Education with responsibility for special education and inclusion, Deputy Madigan, would come to the House to have a debate on special schools. Special schools, to my understanding, are not sanctioned for the post of home school liaison officers. We must give consideration to expanding this position to special schools, which require home school liaison officers far more than any other school community. It is important. If we look at why, and who attends our special schools, then the whole issue of home school community is one that we can debate. Those attending do not have a community of their own. They come from a myriad of communities. Again, it is about the scaffolding of support we put around the school, the child and the families of those with special needs. These pupils deserve the same support as those in a regular school. I hope the Minister of State will come to the House as a matter of urgency for this very important debate.
I want to thank the Estonian ambassador, H.E. Kairi Künka, who set up a visit for me two weeks ago to a number of interesting cybersecurity places in Tallinn for the Louth Meath Education and Training Board to go out and see how a cybersecurity centre of excellence actually operates. With that in mind, I want to thank the NATO centre which brought us in and showed us its system. CR14 brought us in and showed us its system. I also thank CybExer and the Tallinn University of Technology.
What we saw was out of this world and only showed me that we are light years behind a tiny little country such as Estonia. Sadly, because of other commitments I was not around to engage with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, on defence issues. I agree with my colleague Deputy Berry that we are a defenceless nation. We have so much data coming through our economic zone in the Atlantic and who is responsible for it? It is the Garda. The Garda does not go to sea. We do not have a Naval Service that is capable of monitoring what is going on. We do not have an Air Corps that is capable of monitoring what is going on. We are, for all intents and purposes, the talk of Europe with our failure to defend not only ourselves but the assets of the European Union that come through our economic zone.
We also have a situation where soldiers are walking out. My colleague, Senator Buttimer, is aware that an entire class of Naval Service apprentices has been bought out and they have gone to work for a private company. This could not happen if we were paying people correctly. A simple thing that could have been sorted out months, if not years, ago is the working time directive. People are sitting on their hands doing absolutely nothing about it and we are slowly watching our entire force implode. It has to stop.
We have to start taking a serious approach to our defence. What will happen is the foreign direct investment we are so proud of, and rightly so, will walk out of this country when there is a serious attack one day. If any one of them is hit and it is found to be our problem, they will walk out of this country and it will devastate places such as my home county. I know how hard the acting leader works in Galway visiting places and making sure resources are made available. We have to step up to the plate on defence. The Garda cannot protect cables under the sea. We speak about the data being in the cloud. The cloud is actually under the sea and that is the truth of the matter. Unless we wake up and start taking care of the assets that are keeping this country front and centre we will lose all of this.
This morning I met a wide-ranging group of community employment supervisors who, because of their plight, had taken the time to come here to meet Sinn Féin. I know the acting leader is very familiar with this because, unfortunately, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Governments have refused to give any pay increase to these workers for 14 years.
No pensions.
They have no pensions. The starting rates of pay for an assistant community employment supervisor is €11.01. It will actually be less than the minimum wage come the beginning of next year. What is most regrettable is that government after government has taken the line handed to it by the Civil Service and repeated it parrot like, that the State is not the employer and that it is up to the employers to give the community employment supervisors a pay rise. At the same time, if employers dared to give community employment supervisors a pay rise they would be penalised financially.
Who pays the money?
Last week we had the budget. I think the Government told us it spent approximately €11 billion. Fair play. The issue with the community employment supervisors would take a fraction of a fraction of that money to resolve. Once again Government Deputies and, unfortunately, Senators decided they would not do this. This is a political choice. This is the point I made to community employment supervisors this morning. A political choice is being consistently made by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to deny these people a pay rise. Then we think about the work they do. These people are the glue that holds our communities together. They began to list all of the work they do and they could have spoke for the rest of the meeting. They provide meals on wheels services. These are the workers who were at the front-line during Covid. They tripled their output during Covid to ensure people got decent hot meals. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were very happy to applaud them but not to give them a pay rise. That would be going too far. After 14 years of denial they have been left on poverty pay with no prospect of change.
Let us be clear. This is an eminently solvable issue. What it is lacking is the political will from the Government to finally tackle it. What is lacking is recognition of the crucial work these people do not only with meals on wheels but with the Irish Wheelchair Association, in community childcare where they play a massive role, with Enable Ireland, with Cheshire Ireland homes, in recycling, in housing associations and in hospices and hospitals. This is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the work they do. I want the acting leader to acknowledge that this and previous governments have made the wrong political choices with regard to community employment supervisors. I ask for an urgent debate on the matter. I want to hear what people have to say on this topic so we can pressurise the Government to do the right thing. Frankly there is no excuse for 14 years of denying pay rises to some of the most important workers in our communities.
Did Senator Gavan acknowledge that the pensions issue has been resolved?
It was not.
It was.
Talk to the community employment supervisors. It was a gratuity. It was pointless.
Wrong again. The Senator is misleading the House.
They have no pension.
Senator Sherlock without interruption.
The first thing to say is that it is disgraceful that it has been 14 years since community employment supervisors and all those working in section 56 and section 39 organisations have had a proper pay increase. It behoves the Government to act urgently to address this long-running sore for those who are providing vital services in our communities. We all speak at length about how important these services are but these people do not feel respected or appreciated because of the many years since they last saw a pay increase. I support Senator Gavan's comments in this regard.
I welcome the comments made last Saturday by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on reviewing and dramatically reforming the build-to-rent planning conditions that exist in this country. This is a long overdue announcement. It is something for which we have been calling for a long period of time. While it may not have huge relevance outside the main urban centres, here in Dublin it is massive. The only show in town with regard to building anything at present, particularly in the centre of Dublin, is building to rent. This excludes anybody who wants to buy a home from ever being able to do so. We have 5,000 build-to-rent units under construction, approved or going through the planning system at this point in time in the small area comprising Dublin 1, Dublin 7 and Dublin 3.
My main call this morning is to ask that the Minister come to the House sooner rather than later to set out to us very clearly what he intends to do to bring to an end build-to-rent and to set out the timing. In September 2020 a report landed on the Minister's desk on bringing to an end the co-living model that was introduced in 2018 under the former Minister, Eoghan Murphy. It took the Minister until days before Christmas to eventually sign the order. This gave well over three or four months of a long lead-in time for anybody to rush in a planning application. In the area I live in, planning applications for co-living that were rushed in during that period have yet to be built. We cannot have a situation where we have a long lead-in time on making an announcement to reform build-to-rent and then leaving it for many months before it is put into action. I want the Minister to come to the House.
This morning I want to discuss again the latest narrative on potential energy shortages. The Minister with responsibility for energy needs to come to the House for a debate on the issue. I would like to see the debate focused on the role of the energy companies in this potential and threatened crisis. I can give a number of examples. I have been contacted by somebody who installed solar panels and is prepared to supply energy to the grid. To get this energy accepted and paid for is an unbelievable task.
The power generation company in question has no interest. It is putting up hurdle after hurdle. It has changed the format of one form, which has already been submitted and now a new form has to go in.
I have another example of a factory that put a great many panels on its roof and would be in a position to supply an enormous amount of power back into the grid. That industry closes down at 1 o'clock on Fridays. One of the directors noticed on his phone, which shows the graph of how much power is being generated, that the line dropped to a straight line across the bottom at 1.30 p.m. on the first Friday the panels were in situ. When he went to research what was going on, he realised that, unbeknownst to himself, since this was the first time he had ever done anything like this, he had signed a contract containing something called a kill switch. Therefore, when his machines stopped running and drawing energy, the power company cut off the power. The power that was then being generated was being dumped.
Do the energy companies want this energy? We hear about potential shortages and then we hear stories like those. Why is there even such a thing as a kill switch in such contracts, irrespective of whether or not the person reads the small print, if we are potentially faced with an energy shortage? The latest narrative is that smart meters would solve all this, that we should all have solar panels and that anyone with a smart meter would be able to put power back into the grid. Now the narrative on the smart meter is that it will be used only to measure peak-time electricity and that there will be peak-time charges. Now people are refusing to take smart meters. The narrative is totally wrong. The Minister needs to come in and discuss this, but he also needs to sit down with the energy companies because they do not seem to want the power that, according to the story they keep peddling, they do not have.
I rise today to raise a number of issues. First, I congratulate the artist Mr. Roger McCarthy, a Limerick-born Cappamore artist, on his contribution to the Limerick Art Society on its 80th anniversary. He was awarded a silver medal recently at the society's 80th birthday celebrations for his contribution not only to life in Limerick but also to the greater mid-west and to Ireland. He had a number of students. I myself was honoured to be one of his students over many years. He has given his love for arts and culture to many of them. I congratulate him on the receipt of his medal last week.
The second matter I wish to raise is the good news Ryanair announced at Shannon Airport today. It is good news for the mid-west region. The airline announced two direct routes from March 2023, one to Newcastle-upon-Tyne and one to Béziers, France. I compliment all at Shannon Airport on the Trojan work they are doing in developing flights from Shannon. I remind people that Shannon is a fantastic experience and that passengers can go through security and come out the other side in less than 20 minutes. There are great facilities between parking and everything else on site.
Lastly, I know that Senator Kyne is representing the Leader today. Something I had asked the Leader to follow up on related to the Revenue Commissioners. Only today I again received an email from a fellow constituent in his 70s who cannot get through to the Revenue Commissioners. It is a disgrace that a public organisation or a public service is not open to the public. The Revenue Commissioners have opened up for appointments in both Dublin and Cork. That should be spread out to the rest of Revenue offices. It is not good enough that people who want an appointment have to travel to Dublin or Cork.
This year, Ireland's population will increase by about 90,000 people, the fourth highest annual increase since the Famine. Some 27,700 of that figure will be due to natural change. More than 61,000 of the figure is net migration. This figure, massively inflated from our yearly average, is obviously due to the intake of Ukrainians fleeing the war. According to figures released by the Government this week, 79% of these people have notified the Government that they will require accommodation. It is right and honourable that we as a country should help those in need and do all within our power to assist those we can. It is also the case that attempting to do that which is outside our power ends up serving no one and it is past time we acknowledged the inconvenient truth, rather than accusing anyone voicing it of not caring about Ukrainian people. These people need long-term homes, secure jobs, education for their children and grassroots ties with their local communities. There is a limit to how many people we can provide that for, and that limit has already been passed. There are 10,800 people in emergency accommodation, 60,000 households on local authority housing waiting lists and tens of thousands of young people frozen out of the housing market. I am not sure what jigsaw the Cabinet is looking at but unlimited inward migration does not appear to fit into the picture the rest of us are looking at. Today's edition of The Irish Times contains a very worrying article. It relates to thousands of asylum seekers arriving into Dublin Airport with no travel documents. Between January and July this year, 2,915 people travelled into Dublin Airport and did not produce travel documents to border management officials, meaning they were refused leave to land. Of those, 2,232, or 77%, then claimed asylum.
Lastly, many of us have huge concerns about the Department of Defence's misnamed Building the Ecosystem event happening today in the Aviva Stadium, which is actually a military event with international representatives from the arms industry. The event subheading, "Identifying connections for collaboration in security, defence and dual-use technologies", does not serve to ease the concerns of many people in this country who sense that our military neutrality is being gradually eroded. Just whom is Ireland to collaborate on its security with, and to what end? I caution anyone with ambitions for Ireland to be a key player in the military field that our size and our power makes us more likely to be a pawn than any other piece. Ireland's neutrality has served us well, and I, alongside many in this country, do not want to see it undermined in service of special interests half a world away.
There has been a big increase in antisocial behaviour in Clonmel and the surrounding areas in recent weeks. This has been brewing for a number of years. Gardaí are doing their best but their resources are limited. We have now got to the stage where a young farmer was beaten so badly this week that he almost died. There is a fear within the community, across Clerihan, Lisronagh and Powerstown, about this and about the inaction there. Members of the Garda are under pressure themselves but there is a real fear within the community now. We try to promote stronger, safer communities and this is a prime example of good rural people who need to be protected and safe in their community.
A big meeting is to be held tonight at Moyle Rovers GAA club, in Moanroe, that everyone is asked to attend. I have been working with Councillors John FitzGerald and Michael Murphy and we have been talking to a great many of the concerned residents of the villages and the surrounding area. Members of the Garda, public representatives and members of the public will be there. I suggest that, following that meeting, along with me and Councillors Michael Murphy and John FitzGerald, the Minister might meet a delegation of the group that will be there tonight. There is real concern. This is a beautiful area just outside Clonmel. The residents should not have to be in fear of their lives because of the actions of a minority group of people. Everyone in the area knows who is involved in these acts of terrorising and assaulting people. We really need the opportunity to meet with the Minister, Deputy McEntee. I ask Senator Kyne, in his capacity as acting Leader today, to support me in arranging a meeting with the Minister and a select delegation of the group that will be at the meeting tonight, along with Councillors Michael Murphy and John Fitzgerald.
I ask that the acting Leader invite into the House the European Commissioner with responsibility for regulation of the medtech area. Most Members of the House had a meeting yesterday with the Irish Medtech Association and IBEC regarding the approval of medical devices in Europe. There is a huge backlog in respect of the approval of all these medical devices.
It will have a major effect on the European population because EU regulation systems put patient access to medtech at risk. These devices are not being approved, and others are being approved at a very slow pace. A lot of start-up companies are now looking to the USA where FDA approval is much quicker. This will have a significant effect on Ireland. In Mayo, we have Baxter, Allergan, Hollister and Meissner, to name just a few. In the Cathaoirleach's area of Galway, there are a huge number of medical device companies. This is putting jobs in Ireland, the people who need to use the medical devices and hospitals at risk. I ask that we consider inviting the Commissioner with responsibility for this area to the House so that we can determine where the backlog or hold-ups are regarding the approval rates which are one in four. It will take up to 2024 before the backlog is approved.
I want to raise two issues today. I wish to flag with the Acting Leader the possibility that we could have statements on a committee report on dog welfare. People will know that I regularly raise issues around dog welfare in the House. The Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will produce a report next week which has nine powerful recommendations. I would welcome a debate on the report in the House.
I also wish to raise the fact that this Saturday is migratory bird day. The theme for this year is light pollution, something that is very close to my heart because we are seeing a proliferation of LED billboards around Dublin city. One in Rathmines made the airwaves recently because of how bright it is. These billboards have an impact on migrating birds. Ireland lies on the east Atlantic flyway for migrating birds. Natural darkness has a conservation value to them in the same way as clean water, air and soil. This year's migratory birds day is to raise awareness of light pollution and its negative impact on those birds. We know it is increasing, with the number of artificially lit outdoor areas rising by 2.2% per year from 2012 to 2016.
There are solutions to reducing light pollution, which include ensuring that environmental impact assessments are conducted for projects that can result in light pollution. Some cities have taken the step of banning LED billboards and are looking at the type of public lighting they have. We need to update outdoor lights to ensure they are fully shielded so that the light shines down rather than up towards the sky. We need to invest in lights that are on a timer and motion detector to reduce their overuse, as well as minimising blue light emissions by switching to warm coloured light bulbs. These are measures that I hope we will take on board in this country, given Ireland's importance as part of the pathway for migratory birds. We are in the middle of a biodiversity crisis. We have a citizens' assembly on it and we need to do everything we can to protect nature.
I would like to ask for a debate with the Minister for Education regarding the Access programmes rolled out in our schools, and the suitability and vetting of the programmes and the persons running, facilitating and funding them. Schools throughout the country are currently availing of a programme run by Drinkaware. While it has good and useful material on its website, it is a charity funded by the drinks industry. It is going into schools and putting out a programme that is about education on alcohol and alcohol reduction. However, there is no transparency as to the content of that programme. The fact it is going into schools has in the past 24 hours been condemned by the Taoiseach and the HSE, as well as organisations such as the Irish Community Action on Alcohol Network, ICAAN, which is funded by the HSE. ICAAN is headed up by Paula Leonard and provides great supports to drugs and alcohol task forces around the country, and would be well placed to run programmes in schools. There seems to be automatic access. The detail of the programme which has been rolled out has been sought on several occasions and is not being provided. There needs to be transparency about the programmes that are run and the suitability of the organisations which run them and have access to young people.
I am involved with the Dublin 12 drugs and alcohol task force which, along with Canal Communities, put out a video earlier this year and did a research project on the availability of alcohol in various areas. The availability of alcohol has increased by over 100% or 200%. For people who are recovering, a simple walk between where they go to for support and their home may involve passing several outlets selling alcohol. The proliferation in the sale of alcohol is enormous.
It is not appropriate that Drinkaware runs programmes in school without transparency. We had an issue with inappropriate autism sentiments in schoolbooks last year and the books were withdrawn. There does not seem to be any regulation in the Department of Education as to what and who has access to our schools. I would like a debate on that.
I would like to raise the issue of the victims of thalidomide, the effect it has had on their lives and the fact that they have never received an apology or compensation from the State. This is one of the scandals that will eventually be dealt with, but the sad reality is that the community which has been affected is getting smaller and smaller all the time.
These are people who were born to women who took the drug during pregnancy. There are two tragedies. The first is the women who took the drug and the guilt they felt and still feel as a result of what happened to their children. The second tragedy is the thousands of lives that have been destroyed throughout the world and the people left with no compensation, apology or recognition. I call on the Acting Leader to organise a debate in the House with the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, so that, for once and for all, a pathway can be put in place for a State apology, compensation and access to proper medical supports such as medical cards and other supports which these people need.
These people are getting older. Some have died and many others are very unwell. We have a moral responsibility to deal with this issue. I commend the Scottish Administration which has addressed the issue. Let us be a leader and let Ireland be the next country to apologise and put the necessary supports in place.
Well said.
It is five weeks since we discussed children returning to school and the lack of school transportation. The matter has not yet been solved and is a major issue for many people throughout rural Ireland. In my part of the world, children in Rossmore, Newcestown, Dunderrow, Nohoval and Ballinhassig have all contacted us in the past week seeking clarification on the Minister's announcement last week regarding putting money aside to put in place a scheme that ensures children can get to school. There is a complete vacuum of information.
It is coming up to the mid-term break at this stage. Families are struggling trying to get kids to school. Children need access to education. A lady emailed my office yesterday to tell us she was unable to take her child to school because her husband was working abroad and she was not in a position to travel. That child did not go to school yesterday because of the lack of a school bus ticket. The child has been on the school bus for the past three years.
There are issues with three cohorts of children. The first comprises those who applied in February, but then received a subsequent email because the scheme had changed and, as a result, they did not get onto the list. The second are first years, who are considered to be in a different bracket because they were not previously on a bus. The third cohort comprises late applicants. This is all about trying to get kids to school in an appropriate and safe manner.
We have changed the rules and taken school bus passes from children who had them. Families are struggling. We need a solution.
If nothing will be done, we need to tell the parents. If there is a policy change that needs to be enacted, let us enact it but we need to have a timeline. We have no timeline and because of that, kids all over the country are waiting at a crossroads for a bus that will never turn up.
I thank the Senators for their contributions. We started and finished with Senators Chambers and Lombard, respectively, regarding school transport issues. Both request a debate with the Minister, Deputy Foley, on this. We welcome the €13 million additional funding in the budget for school transport. I agree that there are many children and parents not knowing where they stand. Senator Chambers talked about getting rid of the whole issue of concessionary tickets and eligibility and ensuring that there is a bus place for all school-going children who want one. Senator Lombard talked about people who are still none the wiser five weeks after the announcement that something will be done. I am dealing with those cases myself, so I certainly call on the Minister, Deputy Foley, to come in before us to discuss this at the earliest opportunity. Senator Chambers also talked about her friend and neighbour, Geraldine Lavelle, and wished her well on her new book, titled, Weathering the Storm. I will look out for that as well in bookshops.
Senator Buttimer spoke about independent broadcasters, the broadcasting levy and the future of radio. I will request that we have a debate on this issue. All of us, particularly rural Senators, would know the importance of local radio stations. At times of Covid, local radio was important for everything, whether it be Sunday Mass, the death notices, sports results or coverage of local sporting games. Local radio is hugely important across the regions. The levy they pay is a regulatory levy. There is some concern that if you scrap it entirely it will not be fair to other bodies, whether it be teachers or others, who also pay regulatory levies and there is a principle there. It is certainly a burden on local radio. If it can be reduced, at the very least, that would be welcome. Senator Buttimer also called for a debate on disability matters and I will request that from the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan.
Senator Craughwell raised cybersecurity and defence. Unfortunately, he could not make the debate during the week on the Defence Forces because he was abroad. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, was here and gave a good outline of the present status of the action plan, the commission report and what Cabinet has agreed. I note that in the past 24 hours, at the PDFORRA conference, he announced measures to increase the pay rates for private three-star naval seamen in the first three years of service, starting at €34,798 in year one, €36,128 in year two and €37,253 in year three of service. He also referenced the recently agreed extension to the Building Momentum pay agreement which, if ratified, would further improve members’ pay and allowances to the order of 6.5% over 2022 and 2023. In recognition of a particular concern raised at the conference, that Defence Forces personal daily ration allowance should be raised to reflect present-day inflation prices, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, announced an increase in the daily ration rate of 52%. All of that is welcome. Senator Craughwell raised a number of other issues. As I said, the action plan on the report that has been commissioned will see priority in relation to radar and increases in personnel within the Naval Service and our forces. I certainly welcome that. On cybersecurity, obviously, the Minister is aware of the matter. Reference was made to the underground cables. It is hugely important that we are able to defend them. If he has any particular issues in mind, the Senator might be able to raise these in a Commencement debate.
Senator Gavan talked about community employment, CE, supervisors having had no pay increase for 14 years. In February, the Government welcomed the decision of the CE supervisors and assistant supervisors on voting in favour of ending the long-running dispute regarding pensions. They will receive an ex-gratia payment at an overall cost of €24 million. I know there is still an issue with the rural social scheme, RSS, and Tús, but I will contact the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, for a debate on the area. Obviously, no more than the section 39 organisations that I raised here myself recently, not having a pay increase for 14 years for any sector, particularly very important community sectors and all those involved in disability services, such as Ability West, is not good enough. I will request debate on that.
Senator Sherlock requested that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, come into the Chamber to discuss issues regarding build-to-rent planning and reforms in that. I will certainly request an overall debate in housing. We have not had the Minister in for a while to discuss housing and Housing for All.
Senator Daly spoke about energy issues, which are absolutely crucial and vital. The EirGrid report stated there is a shortfall of supply over demand for the next decade. The statement published described the situation as stark and serious. EirGrid’s chief executive talked about a tight winter ahead and could not guarantee that there would be no blackouts. There are a number of issues, including the performance of existing power plants as poor. Some 590 MW have been taken out of the system. Some 630 MW of power, which was contracted to come from new plants, has failed to materialise, as developers have pulled out. There have been technical and planning difficulties causing delays. Senator Daly also talked about something I had not heard of, the “kill switch”. The Senator can table a Commencement matter on that. However, I will request the Minister to come in to discuss issues related to that. That makes no sense. There may be technical reasons involved relating to storage, but I do not know what they would be. If power has been generated and not collected and stored in the grid, that makes no sense.
Senator Maria Byrne congratulated Mr. Roger McCarthy on his service to the Limerick Art Society. She also welcomed the two new direct Ryanair routes from Shannon to Newcastle and Beziers. I agree that Shannon is an excellent airport. It has a quick throughput, whether it be for pre-clearance to the United States or for general security. It is very handy. Together with Ireland West Airport, it is certainly my first port of call, if possible, for a break away. They provide an excellent service. The Senator also asked that we contact Revenue regarding the opening of public offices. There are some things that are still delaying a resumption on normality post-Covid. People being able to meet with Revenue officials to discuss their issues in public should be provided in all offices, particularly outside of Dublin and Cork.
Senator Keogan talked about the intake of Ukrainians, long-term homes and limits to how many people we can accommodate. I am proud of the response of the Irish people in government on a humanitarian issue where people had to flee their homes. We have all seen the television footage of what is going on in Ukraine and the atrocities that have been committed in Bucha and other areas. I am proud that the European Union and Ireland have stood up and welcomed people. People have welcomed others into their own homes and offered accommodation. I do not think we are taking away from Irish people, as the Senator put it. There is a housing situation and I accept that but it is not caused by Ukrainians. They have been welcomed into people’s homes. They have been provided with accommodation in hotels and other buildings. We need long-term solutions and the Government is looking at modular homes. However, I agree that we need to also provide, as far as I am concerned, modular homes to deal with the housing situation across the board. We do not need to have a “them versus us” fight. Many good people have come to this country. In addition, we have shortages of people. We are crying out for nurses, home care assistants and staff for nursing homes up and down the country. We need people, thankfully, because we have full employment.
Senator Ahearn talked about the big increase in antisocial behaviour in Clonmel and said the people involved are known. That is good in one way, but it is about trying to ensure they are apprehended. There is a meeting tonight on that. I certainly will convey his request to the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, to meet with a delegation from the public meeting to discuss issues of antisocial behaviour. Obviously, allocations of Garda within the country is a matter for the Garda Commissioner. In the recent budget, we increased the funding for new Garda as well, which is important, by more than 800, excluding retirement.
There will be a net increase in the number of gardaí allocated and deployed across the country.
Senator Burke talked about the Irish medtech meeting yesterday, which I also attended, and called for a meeting with the European Commissioner to discuss the issue. I will certainly ask that the issue be raised with the Commissioner although it might be more appropriately discussed at the Joint Committee on Health or the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Certainly, I would be concerned that jobs are being put at risk. There is a new European directive on licensing. All existing products have to go through a new approval process so there is a backlog and I agree that it has to be resolved. The deadline is March 2024 but there is a backlog. Innovative medtech companies are concerned about the impact here.
Senator Boylan talked about the fact that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be producing a report on dog welfare and I look forward to that. Perhaps we will get an opportunity to discuss it at a later date. She also talked about the impact of light pollution on migratory birds. This is an interesting issue and one that could be debated in the Seanad or at the relevant Oireachtas committee in the context of our heritage and additional resources for the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS.
Senator Seery Kearney called for a debate with the Minister for Education on the vetting of programmes rolled out in schools. She referenced Drinkaware, a charity funded by the drinks industry, and argued that there is no transparency regarding what it does. I will certainly request that debate. I agree with the Senator's point about the numerous outlets selling alcohol. A former Minister of State at the Department of Health, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, put in place legislation regulating the visibility of alcohol products in off licences and supermarkets. It is now less visible than it was previously but it is still visible. There is no doubt that the ease of access to alcohol is of concern around the country. I will ask the Minister to look at this in the context of Drinkaware and other bodies that have access to schools and to the minds of our children.
Senator Conway raised the important issue of thalidomide. RTÉ aired a "Scannal" documentary on the issue during the week, which I have not seen yet but I will watch it on the RTÉ Player. There are a small number of survivors of thalidomide - approximately 40, I believe - and very few of their parents still survive. I can only imagine the guilt that parents felt, through no fault of their own. Thousands of lives have been impacted. I understand that there is a big possibility of a legal bill to defend cases. It would be a shame if we spent millions upon millions of euro to defend cases rather than using that money to provide some comfort to the affected families. Perhaps there could be stand-alone legislation to provide supports for people who suffered because of thalidomide. There were no medicine licensing boards at that time but nevertheless, people were impacted through no fault of their own and the State should acknowledge that and provide support to the survivors and those impacted.
Order of Business agreed to.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 12.54 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 1.30 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 12.54 p.m. and resumed at 1.30 p.m.