I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, to the House and call on Senator Warfield.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Culture Policy
Nightlife and the night-time economy remain under severe threat in our towns and cities and, by the looks of it, the Government is dragging its feet on reform. Rising property costs, rip-off insurance, extortionate licensing fees and archaic licensing are crippling businesses and cultural activity. I call on the Government to reform licensing laws immediately and implement the raft of more than 30 recommendations made by the task force on the night-time economy as soon as possible. I particularly call on it to introduce its legislation to reform this area. We cannot fall into the same trap we have fallen into for the past 20 years of telling this industry to wait. There were 522 nightclubs in 2000; there are only 85 left now. By any measure, that is an alarming loss of cultural space, music venues and nightclubs. With them go jobs for musicians, sound engineers, lighting designers, bouncers, hospitality staff and bar workers. I see young and older people who work in the industry choosing to leave because their careers do not support their survival in Dublin.
They are going to Berlin and Glasgow and further afield.
I would like the Minister of State to tell me that the Department of Justice is prioritising this issue and is actively focused, day-to-day, on producing a final draft of this legislation. I ask this because it does not seem to me to be prioritised. The proposed sale of alcohol Bill 2022 is not new. A draft of this proposed Bill has existed for about 20 years. Many promises have been made to this industry and many political parties, particularly those in government, have benefited from announcements made in recent years. People come up to me and say it is great to see the reforms taking place in the industry. This proposed legislation, however, is nowhere near being over the line. People actually believe these changes have been made because of the number of announcements made by the Government.
This legislation needs to be enacted and I hope this will happen by the end of the year. No new venues have been opening. In this time, the cost of insurance has also been going up and venues have been holding on for dear life. The special exemption order, SEO, reforms in the context of the budgetary changes were much appreciated. I refer to the situation which existed after Covid-19 when those fees were waived and reduced. These changes were welcomed but we need them to be put on an official footing. The industry has been waiting and waiting and costs are as important as opening hours in ensuring the survival of these venues.
From a broad perspective, it does not look like much change has been made concerning insurance. Killing the costs is crucial in addition to extending the opening hours. I hope, therefore, the Minister of State will be able to tell me if the Department is actively working on this legislation day-to-day, when a Bill will come to the Dáil and the Seanad and when we will see this proposed legislation become law.
I thank Senator Warfield for raising this important matter regarding an update on the proposed sale of alcohol Bill 2022 and when opening hours will be extended. I convey the apologies of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy Helen McEntee, who regrets she cannot be here for this Commencement matter debate due to another commitment.
I thank the Senator for raising this important matter and for giving me the opportunity to provide an update on the drafting of the sale of alcohol Bill 2022 on behalf of the Minister. Supporting our night-time culture and its economy is a central promise in the programme for Government and in the justice plans of the Minister. To do so, we need modern laws that are fit for purpose, while also recognising that the sale of alcohol must be regulated with public health and public order very much in mind. What we have now is a patchwork of more than 100 laws, some two-thirds of which predate the foundation of our State a century ago. All these laws need modernisation and reform. With the publication of the sale of alcohol Bill 2022, we will, instead, have one modern piece of legislation to regulate the sale of alcohol. Consultation with the relevant stakeholders is important to ensure the proposed provisions will be effective in achieving our goal of revitalising the night-time economy in a safe and sustainable manner.
To that end, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice conducted pre-legislative scrutiny in late January 2023 and the resulting report was published in March 2023. Officials in my Department are also in ongoing consultations with stakeholders, including An Garda Síochána, other Departments, stakeholder bodies, such as those representing publicans and restaurateurs, and public health groups, to progress associated matters. An implementation group, composed of officials from the Department of Justice, the Courts Service and the Revenue Commissioners, was established to assist with the smooth transition to the reformed licensing system. Several bilateral meetings are also taking place to address specific queries and the requirements of each group. Despite the considerable length and complexity of the general scheme of the Bill, the Minister intends to publish the legislation and introduce it into the Oireachtas later this year.
With direct reference to the issue of opening hours, I take this opportunity to outline our intentions. We will regularise opening hours for on-licence premises. Standard opening hours will be from 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 a.m. every day of the week. Additionally, we will introduce two new licences to allow for later opening hours for on-licence premises. A late bar permit will allow premises to open until 12.30 a.m. and a nightclub permit will allow premises to open until 6 a.m. It is intended that these permits will be granted on an annual basis as opposed to the one-off basis as is currently the case.
I thank the Minister of State and welcome the commitment to publish a Bill and introduce it to the Oireachtas this year. I plead with the Government to include this Bill in the autumn schedule so that it can be on the books before the end of the year because a pattern of behaviour of delay when dealing with this industry is all too common. I welcome the Minister of State's commitment and plead for this to be included in the autumn schedule to ensure it is on the books and in law with the reforms enacted before the end of the year.
I again thank Senator Warfield for raising this important matter. I know it is important to the Senator and, of course, it is very important to our night-time economy.
As I mentioned, our licensing laws are not fit for purpose in the context of supporting a vibrant and modern night-time economy. The sale of alcohol Bill will go a long way towards correcting that. However, we are not simply waiting for the Bill to be enacted to support our night-time and hospitality industries. As part of budget 2023, the Ministers, Deputies McEntee, Donohoe and McGrath, announced that the cost of a special exemption order would be halved to provide immediate support to businesses in the night-time economy. We have also recently extended the legislation facilitating outdoor dining until the end of November this year. Again, this was done to provide support to the hospitality industry through the summer and autumn while we work on the fundamental reform of alcohol licensing laws. I have touched on one aspect of this reform today, the overhaul of opening times. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, looks forward to publishing the sale of alcohol Bill later this year and, at that point, outlining in detail the wide-ranging reforms we intend to enact, which will revitalise our night-time culture and economy. I assure the Senator that this matter is a priority for the Government.
Social Welfare Eligibility
I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter and the Minister of State for taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, who is unavoidably at an event in Wexford. This is a topic on which we need to make further progress. I strongly believe that self-employed persons need to have a safety net if they become seriously ill. In recent years, we have made great strides by expanding access to a range of social insurance benefits to self-employed contributors. The payment of class S PRSI now gives contributors access to adoptive benefit, guardian's payment, the contributory invalidity pension, self-employed jobseeker's benefit, maternity benefit, parent's benefit, partial capacity benefit, paternity benefit, the contributory State pension, treatment benefit and the widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's pension. The benefits to which class S PRSI does not provide access are carer's benefit, health and safety benefit, illness benefit and occupational injuries benefit.
For the purpose of today's Commencement debate, I will focus on illness benefit, the eligibility criteria for which need to be changed as soon as possible. To demonstrate the need for changes to the eligibility criteria for illness benefit, I will highlight the case of a constituent of mine who has been diagnosed with cancer. Their partner is the sole carer for their child, who has significant additional needs, and my constituent was the sole earner for the family until their recent diagnosis. This individual has worked all of their life as an employee paying class A PRSI and has an unblemished record of 15 years in employment. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, they became unemployed for a short period and took up self-employed work for a period of more than six months because they could not afford not to be in work. They paid class S contributions over that period but, at the moment, these do not count towards eligibility for illness benefit and the 22 weeks of class A stamps that were paid in 2021 fall four contributions short. As a result, this person's claim for illness benefit has been refused. It is important to note that enhanced illness benefit was extended to self-employed persons during the Covid-19 pandemic. I believe now is the time to extend it further. Independent of the argument for extending illness benefit to self-employed persons who pay class S contributions, there is a strong case for building further flexibility into the system and allowing Department of Social Protection officials to look back over a longer period than the two years currently assessed for eligibility.
If someone becomes very ill in 2023, as in the case I outlined, the two years which are examined are 2021 and 2020. If 26 contributions are paid in each of those two years, people have eligibility for illness benefit once they have paid 104 contributions in their lifetime. However, if they have 52 relevant contributions in 2020 and 22 relevant contributions in 2021, they are assessed as being four contributions short and have no eligibility. Equally, if people have 52 relevant contributions in every year preceding 2021 but only have 22 contributions in 2021, they are assessed as having no eligibility. That is an anomaly that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Officials in the Department of Social Protection should be able to look back over a three, four or five-year period at the cumulative contributions made during that period when assessing eligibility.
In summary, I am looking for an extension of illness benefit to class S contributions. I am also looking for a new system of eligibility which examines cumulative contributions over a longer period than the two-year period currently in place.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as an ábhar seo a chur ar chlár oibre an tSeanaid inniu.
Illness benefit is the primary short-term income support provided by the Department to those who cannot work due to illness of any type and who are covered by social insurance. Eligibility for illness benefit depends on the person's PRSI record and class. People must have made the required number of contributions of class A, E, H or P to qualify. In general, self-employed people make PRSI contributions in class S, which does not count towards eligibility for illness benefit, as the Senator has outlined. However, self-employed contributors who cannot work due to an illness or disability may apply for disability allowance and means-tested social assistance payment or invalidity pension, a social insurance payment.
Illness benefit is funded by the Social Insurance Fund through PRSI contributions. The fund is central to our social protection system and the Government needs to make sure it can provide adequate and sustainable social insurance pensions and benefits for a growing and ageing population. Self-employed people pay contributions to the fund at a lower rate of 4%. This is over 11 points lower than the combined employer and employee contribution of 15.05% made in respect of employed contributors. Since 2017, self-employed contributors have gained access to a number of social insurance benefits such as invalidity pension, treatment benefit, jobseeker's benefit, self-employed paternity and parents' benefit without any increase in their rate of contribution.
Self-employed contributors now have access to over 90% of benefits available from the fund. The Senator outlined these. They are adoptive benefit, guardian's payment contributory, invalidity pension, jobseeker's benefit, benefit payment for 65-year-olds, maternity benefit, parent's benefit, partial capacity benefit where in receipt of invalidity pension, paternity benefit, contributory State pension, treatment benefit, and the widow's, widower's or surviving civil partner's contributory pension. The only benefits in class S that are not provided are carer's benefit, health and safety benefit, illness benefit and occupational injuries benefits.
The actuarial review of the Social Insurance Fund, published in March, found that if illness benefit was extended to self-employed contributors on a cost-neutral basis, an increase of 12% to the class S PRSI rate would be required. Extending the other remaining benefits to the self-employed would require the class S rate to increase by 15%. The review also found that self-employed contributors already have materially better value for money from the Social Insurance Fund when compared with their employed counterparts despite not having access to all the benefits. I am aware that we do not have the specific circumstances of the individual case the Senator outlined today, but if he wants to pass on those details, we will make sure the Department can look into them fully. The Minister has given the Senator that commitment and expresses her regrets that she cannot be here.
I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate the actuarial review that was done, which needs to be considered. If there is to be an increase in benefits, while I would not necessarily agree with the 12% increase in the rate outlined, people would be willing to support a modest increase in PRSI to adjust towards paying for that.
While the S class is a problem, not being able to look at cumulative contributions is a wider issue in the context of the case I outlined. It is definitely not the only case where that has happened. I am asking that cumulative contributions, albeit for a different class, namely, class A, can be looked at over a three, four or five-year period, rather than just looking at 2020 and 2021. This individual and others have a long track record of contributions but because of the issues in 2021 they are being penalised for getting ill in 2023.
I acknowledge the circumstances the Senator's constituent is undergoing and I wish that person the very best of luck with their health challenges. As I have said already, if he could outline them in more detail to the Minister I am sure she would be very happy to get her officials to look at the matter.
The Government in recent years has already extended a number of social insurance benefits to the self-employed without any increase in their PRSI rate. It is well known that the Social Insurance Fund will face significant financial challenges in the years ahead. Therefore, any changes have to be considered in an overall policy and budgetary context, including the contribution rates for the self-employed. It is worth pointing out that the Government has already decided to keep the State pension age at 66. This in itself will require increases to PRSI in the future and Government has been very upfront and honest with people about the need to increase PRSI to pay for that. I take the point the Senator has made but we need to be straight with people on this. If we are going to pay for extra benefits from the Social Insurance Fund, that will require increases to PRSI.
Local Authorities
The Minister of State is very welcome to the House.
I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter. It is an important one. Last Friday, we had the Kildare County Council AGM and I was very glad to be there to see my friend and colleague, Councillor Daragh Fitzpatrick, take the position as first citizen. I congratulate him and wish him well in the year ahead.
The previous day, Kildare County Council launched its 2022 annual report. I can honestly attest, as a former member of Kildare County Council and a former mayor, to how diligently and how hard both the staff and the elected members work to deliver for all the communities and towns within Kildare. The annual report gave a very important overview of the council's programme of work delivered in 2022 and many significant and important projects and milestones were advanced by Kildare County Council. There were grants to many different businesses to support different areas of business development such as start-up expansion and export marketing and funding for the Athy food, drink and skills innovation hub, which will act as a home for our county-wide food cluster and education hub and manufacturing space. That is hugely important and we look forward to it. On the housing front, Kildare County Council reached its target of 372 new homes, in addition to 261 new homes through a social leasing programme and significantly increased expenditure on housing grants programmes. Some 75% of the work has been completed on the Athy distributor road and of course there is the maintenance of roads and footpaths and the provision of litter and amenity services. I could go on.
It is very clear that Kildare County Council, under the leadership of our new CEO, Sonya Kavanagh, her team and our councillor colleagues are delivering for their communities but they are doing this from a position of relative financial weakness when compared with all other local authorities. Population, as we know, is a key demand driver for all local authority services, from planning to housing, from libraries to fire services, from recreation to roads and across all services.
Over the past 30 years, Kildare's population has doubled and increased by just over twice the national rate. However, when it comes to funding, Kildare County Council is not getting its fair share. I thank Ms Fiona Millane, acting head of finance in Kildare County Council, for sharing figures with me. When we compare statistics, Kildare is fifth out of 31 local authorities in terms of population. It is seventh of 31 for local property tax, LPT, generation. It is tenth out of 31 for overall budget but it is 31st out of 31 for expenditure per capita. In terms of the overall budget, that is shocking.
In 2022, the average spend per head of population nationally was €1,078, while in Kildare, it was €715. Kildare residents pay more than €21 million in LPT, the seventh highest figure in the country. The scale of the underfunding is such that in order for Kildare to have the same per capita expenditure levels as the local authority that is next in line, at 30th of the 31 local authorities, there would need to be an uplift of more than €5.4 million in funding. To have the same expenditure levels as the local authorities in 28th and 29th places would require an uplift of more than €26 million.
Kildare is a blossoming county which the Minister of State knows well. Our communities are bursting at the seams. Recent data from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, show that we have one of the highest rates of population increases in the country, at 11.4%. We are seeing towns such as Newbridge, Kildare, Kilcullen, Monasterevin, Rathangan and many others growing and attracting huge inward population growth. We are welcoming a lot of people from the Dublin area who have been priced out but we need to get the support we deserve.
I thank the Senator for raising this issue in a Commencement matter. Kildare is a county I am very familiar with as I have strong family connections there. The Department acknowledges the funding pressures on local authorities generally. I also acknowledge some of the innovative work and funding the Senator outlined. Kildare County Council continues to do exceptional work.
As committed to in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future, the move to 100% retention of the LPT has taken place in 2023. All equalisation funds are now met by the Exchequer, ensuring that all authorities receive, at a minimum, an amount equivalent to their baseline. In addition, the move to a 100% local retention model will lead to an increased surplus for those authorities, including Kildare County Council, with LPT income above their funding baseline. These authorities shall now retain a greater proportion of that surplus for their own use in 2023, an increase from 20% of the overall yield to 22.5% in 2023. The remainder of the increased surplus will be used to self-fund housing, roads or other services in the local area.
As the Senator may be aware, all local authorities have the opportunity to increase or decrease their base rate of LPT by up to 15%. The Minister and I acknowledge the elected members of Kildare County Council for taking the decision to increase this rate by 10% for 2023 and 2024. This upward variation will lead to almost €2.3 million of extra income for 2023 alone, which will be of great assistance in what is a challenging financial time ahead. This brings Kildare's total LPT allocation in 2023 for its own use to €19.3 million. The remaining €6.2 million of the allocation will be used to self-fund housing services in the local area.
The Government is making a significant contribution of €481.3 million in 2023 to support the local government sector. A large portion of this figure, €287.2 million, will go towards assisting local authorities with the cumulative impacts on pay costs arising from national pay agreements and the unwinding of the financial emergency measures in public interest, FEMPI, legislation. This allocation, which has seen an increase of €77.6 million from 2022, will ensure the sector will have the necessary human resources to perform their functions and provide essential public services to our citizens - in excess of 1,000 services in fact. These services that local authorities provide are increasing year on year and that is what we want to achieve. We want to devolve more power to local authorities.
Kildare County Council received €5.9 million towards increased payroll costs for 2022 and will receive €8.2 million for this purpose in 2023.
The Minister and I are very aware of the current financial environment in which local authorities are operating and, in recognition of the ongoing pressures, additional support of €60 million has been secured to assist the sector in 2023. The purpose of this additional funding will be to assist Kildare County Council and other local authorities in meeting the increasing costs, and in particular increasing energy costs, involved in providing a wider range of services. Kildare County Council has been provisionally allocated €2.5 million in this regard.
I will come back with a supplementary answer in respect of the other points raised.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. The fact that our expenditure per capita is at the level it is in Kildare is simply unacceptable. As many in this House will be aware, I regularly raise the issue of the infrastructural deficits we have in south Kildare, such as that relating to the second bridge for Newbridge. We have a huge issue as regards traffic management and congestion, the root cause of which is the single bridge crossing the River Liffey. We have significant school place pressures at second level that are now starting at primary level and a lack of basic community infrastructure, such as playgrounds and other amenities. We are one of the fastest growing populations with the lowest expenditure per capita. That figure will only get worse as time goes on.
The Minister of State mentioned that Kildare County Council has been provisionally allocated an extra €2.5 million. That still means we are placed 31 out of 31 local authorities by a gap of €2.5 million compared with the county next to us. The Department is doing nothing to even the playing field for Kildare. I hope that the Minister of State will have more and better news for Kildare in his concluding remarks.
I will conclude by referring to the Government's support for Kildare, in particular since 2020. Across all schemes and funding sources, my Department provided €151.7 million in 2020, €155.9 million in 2021 and €164.9 million in 2022 to Kildare County Council. Included in this is the unprecedented level of support provided by central government to local authorities during 2020 and 2021, rightly so, in respect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2023, a working group was set up to carry out a comprehensive review of the local property tax baselines. This group included elected and executive representation from the local government sector. My Department has engaged with key stakeholders in the course of this review. Submissions were invited for consideration from other interested parties. The work of this group recently concluded and the recommendations are currently being considered by the Minister. It is intended, subject to the agreement of the Minister, to apply the recommendations to the 2024 LPT allocations. The review took into account the overall funding position of all local authorities and included consideration of the ability of each authority to raise income locally, along with the main drivers of expenditure, such as area and population, as the Senator rightly pointed out.
I disagree that the Government is not doing anything. The Government is working with local authorities to try to equalise and ensure that local government, including Kildare County Council, is adequately funded to carry out the vital work it does.
Climate Change Policy
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. We have had the two Malcolms mixed up and referred to as each other in the past.
I will raise a question regarding what, in the past, might have been regarded as a once-in-100-year climate or weather event but which, unfortunately, as the Minister of State and I know, is happening far more frequently. Last weekend, we saw freak rain and hail showers in Enniscorthy - people saw the images of what happened - that resulted in the flooding of a number of businesses, in particular. Unfortunately, this is something we are seeing with increased regularity, for instance, in New Ross last August. The only way to describe that weather is "biblical" and it caused significant damage to a number of businesses and shops. We saw a tornado ripping through parts of Foulkesmills and Clongeen that caused a lot of damage to farms and households at the time. We have also seen damage in Gorey. This is something that is happening throughout the country.
While the Government is taking the issue of responding to climate change quite seriously, the concern with regard to this involves businesses and households on the ground, what support measures are in place and how easy it is for businesses and households to be able to access them.
There is increasing concern that it will become more and more difficult for people to access insurance, especially where there is a fear of an increased risk of flooding or that businesses will be subjected to freak weather events. Our overall response must be to continue with our efforts to address the challenges of climate change. However, I am asking what practical measures are in place through local government and other agencies. For instance, Oireachtas Members representing Wexford met the Minister for Rural and Community Development and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, to talk about the aftermath of the Foulksmill-Clongeen tornado to consider whether a special package could be put in place. However, we will probably be in a position where we almost need a rapid response unit. Unfortunately, we will see more of these events, which have real implications for the lives of citizens, homeowners and business people. They need to know that the State and local authorities are in a position to advise them and provide them with the necessary supports as quickly as possible.
A more general concern will arise if insurance companies choose not to continue with insurance in particular areas or if we see premiums rise to such an extent that they are out of the reach of consumers. More competition in the insurance market is welcome but we can also debate that. This Commencement matter is about the assurances the Government can give to those who are impacted by these events, especially about the challenges of local government.
I thank the Seanadóir for raising this important issue. My home town, Kilkenny, was also inundated through what can only be described as freak weather events that are happening far too consistently now.
Local authorities are designated as principal response agencies and are the lead agencies for co-ordinating the local response to severe weather, including that causing flooding, as per the Government decision relating to the framework for major emergency management of 2006. The arrangements for emergency management have evolved and are seen to have worked well when called upon, especially responses to flooding and other severe weather emergencies led by local authorities.
All local authorities have severe weather and flood plans in place to support the response to weather emergencies as part of individual major emergency plans. Local authorities also have severe weather assessment teams in place that monitor warnings from Met Éireann and other agencies such as the Office of Public Works, OPW, as well as European Flood Awareness System, EFAS, warnings and high-tide advisories.
As set out in the Government-approved Strategic Emergency Management National Structures and Framework of 2017, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is designated as the lead Department for co-ordination of responses to flooding and other emergencies at national level where warranted. The Department's national directorate for fire and emergency management undertakes the role and works closely with local authority severe weather assessment teams. At a national level, the Department is responsible for the co-ordination of the whole-of-government response facilitating collective decision-making and cohesive action among the broad range of Departments, organisations and groups that have a role to play.
Since 2009, it has been established practice for the Department to assist local authorities in meeting unbudgeted costs such as staff overtime and the hire of plant and contractors associated with clean-up and other necessary immediate works following severe weather emergency events, including flooding. This is in recognition of the exceptional nature of activities carried out by local authorities when responding to these types of emergencies and the fact that the cost of these unprogrammed activities cannot be met with existing resources. This practice is considered to be a vital enabler of local authority responses by providing the assurance that the availability of resources is not a limiting factor in providing an effective local response. The repair of local infrastructure is funded by the relevant Department in line with sectoral responsibility. Capital costs associated with infrastructural damage, for example to the roads network and coastal protection infrastructure, are therefore not included in the aforementioned arrangements.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage works closely with all local authorities during severe weather events and once notified of instances of flood damage to homes, small businesses or the community sector, requests the standing up of humanitarian aid schemes run by the Departments of Social Protection and Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Department of Social Protection has an important role to play in assisting households in the immediate aftermath of flooding and other severe weather events through the humanitarian assistance scheme, which was approved by the Government in November 2009. The purpose of the scheme is to provide income-tested financial support to people whose homes are damaged and who are not able to meet the cost of essential needs, household items and, in some instances, structural repair.
Following a severe weather event, community welfare staff closely monitor the situation on the ground and engage with the relevant local authorities and other agencies. Levels of payment under the scheme depend on the relative severity of the damage experienced, and the household's ability to meet these costs, ensuring the funding is appropriately targeted. The basic principle of the income test is that individuals and families who have average levels of income will qualify for assistance. In general, householders seeking assistance under the scheme are residents in areas where there is a known likelihood of flooding and insurance policies do not provide cover for flood damage. As the Senator rightly said, this could extend to far more areas far more frequently as things stand. Support for small businesses, community, voluntary, and sporting bodies affected by flooding and who have been unable to secure insurance due to flood risk is administered by the Irish Red Cross on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The scheme can be invoked on an ad hoc basis upon notification of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that there has been a flooding incident which requires such support.
Regarding Enniscorthy, the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, NDFEM, is working closely with Wexford County Council to identify homes and businesses impacted by heavy hail showers and flooding at the weekend. Once identified, their details will be forwarded to the Department dealing with the appropriate humanitarian aid scheme. Go raibh maith agat.
I thank the Minister of State. I want to praise the local authorities for their response in every case, often under very difficult circumstances. We need to have a much greater awareness on the ground of the kind of supports that exist, almost a one-stop-shop, to be able to move in as quickly as possible. As part of a whole-of-government approach I have become increasingly concerned, for instance about the number of cases that have happened in County Wexford. The Minister of State will be aware of the number of cases that have happened in County Kilkenny. These are events that people normally talk about happening once in a lifetime or once in 100 years. If they continue to happen more regularly and if it becomes more difficult for businesses and households to get insurance, a broader approach will be needed. We cannot have an ad hoc response every time we have one of these events and I hope this is something the Minister of State's Department can consider, in partnership with the local authorities.
The Senator has made a really valid point and it is important we take on board what he proposes. The idea of a one-stop-shop and a whole-of-government approach - a whole-of-government approach is happening - and information and communication on the supports that are available are critically important. In the longer term, if we look at the vote at the EU environment committee today and the opportunity I see in the nature restoration law and regulation and having to look at catchment management nature-based solutions in urban areas, there is a fantastic opportunity to be seized now. Given that these increased events are happening and the scale and the ferocity of them, nature is our solution and nature can be our answer. It is critically important we embrace the nature restoration regulations and, in the shorter term, comfort the families and businesses affected by events in Enniscorthy. The Government will continue to support them. As the Senator said, that broad government approach and co-ordination around what unfortunately will be increasing events into the future is important.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 1.13 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 1.30 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 1.13 p.m. and resumed at 1.30 p.m.