I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte and thank her for her patience.
I welcome the Minister - potentially future Minister, but now Senator Byrne, who, like the rest of us, was stuck in traffic this morning.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Coast Guard Service
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach and cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit.
I am raising the case of the Courtown Coast Guard station. The station serves both north County Wexford and south County Wicklow. It is one of the old rocket stations. The Minister of State is the third Minister or Minister of State to deal with a Commencement matter on this issue since I entered the House. Five Ministers and Ministers of State have visited the Courtown Coast Guard station and a range of commitments have been made to the station, none of which has yet been delivered. I appreciate that the Minister of State is taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW and I hope she will have some good news.
When I raised this matter on Thursday, 24 February 2022 with the Minister of State's colleague from Galway, the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, she indicated that six possible sites had been identified and stated: "The OPW has commenced preliminary investigative work on these potential sites and will update us as these investigations progress." She also stated that this project had been prioritised and was "on the building programme priority list". On 23 November 2022, the Minister, Deputy Harris, responded to the matter. He was quite familiar with the issue, given that the station serves part of County Wicklow. He outlined that this was"one of the key priorities" for the OPW, indicated that the OPW was investigating all potential sites and assured me that "OPW officials are giving this project every priority possible at this time". Eleven months ago, the OPW was giving this project every possible priority.
I have been in regular contact with the Minister's office. All sorts of concerns were raised, such as that the county council was not fully on board with the project. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, visited Courtown and met Wexford County Council and the Coast Guard. The county council said it was perfectly happy with the preferred options on site. During the summer, I was told that the OPW was looking at five preferred sites, which was a little better than when it looking at six preferred sites 15 months earlier.
The problem I have is that I keep being told by the OPW that this is a priority, that it is on its priority building list and what wonderful work the Coast Guard does. Coming from a coastal constituency like I do, the Minister, Deputy Harris, knows exactly how important the work of the Coast Guard is. However, the reality is that the team members who operate and put their lives at risk at the station in Courtown, continue to operate in a completely unsuitable old Coast Guard station. Sites have been identified and pointed out to the OPW. The Coast Guard wants to see this done as quickly as possible. I hope that, if this has been on the OPW's list, as all the Ministers and Ministers of State have said, and if it is giving this project every priority, as I have been told, that the Minister of State will finally have some good news, not for me, but for the coastal communities of north County Wexford and south County Wicklow.
I thank the Senator and appreciate that he finished on time because we have six Commencement matters and a tight schedule today. The Minister of State is welcome to the House on this busy day for the Government. I appreciate her time.
I thank the Acting Chairperson and Senator Byrne. He is raising this matter for the fourth time today. I am pleased to provide a further update on the matter, which I know he previously raised with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, on whose behalf I am taking the Commencement matter. He sends his apologies for not being in a position to attend this morning.
I will let the Senator judge whether we have made progress.
The Irish Coast Guard, a division of the Department of Transport, has 44 units based in 58 Coast Guard stations. The Coast Guard building programme, which includes the provision of new or upgraded facilities at a number of locations across the country, is managed by the OPW on behalf of the Department of Transport from planning design to build and ongoing maintenance. These projects are funded by the Department of Transport.
Programme priorities are decided by the Irish Coast Guard and the programme is overseen by a programme oversight group consisting of representatives from Department of Transport, the Coast Guard and the OPW. The OPW provides advice and assistance on the design of such projects, site feasibility studies, acquisition of sites from the local authority or others, planning and detail design and manages the delivery in line with the requirements of the Department of Transport and the Coast Guard.
New accommodation for the Courtown Coast Guard unit is included as one of the key priorities of this delivery programme. The existing Courtown Coast Guard station is a single-room limestone-built building originally designed for storage of rescue equipment. It is situated at a busy intersection of three roads and has no available off-road area in which to park. The OPW has carried out some minor remedial works to the building in the past to provide dry storage and office space and to address essential health and safety issues. Although building works alleviated some of the problems, use of the facility in its current form is unsustainable. As the current site is only slightly larger than the building footprint and is bordered to the rear by a steep river gulley, there is very limited capacity to provide for any expansion or upgraded facility.
Since this matter was last raised, the OPW is continuing to liaise with the Irish Coast Guard to progress a proposed new location for the Coast Guard station at Courtown. As outlined previously a number of potential sites in the ownership of the local authority had been put forward by the Coast Guard but these sites are no longer available. However, the OPW has continued to engage with Wexford County Council and received clarity in late June regarding a potential site that, subject to the completion of legal due diligence, may be available. In addition, a market trawl identified a number of other potential sites that may meet the requirements of the Coast Guard.
All potential sites are going through an appraisal process in accordance with the requirements of the public spending code. As part of the appraisal process, feasibility studies will be carried out on the potential sites in the coming weeks to ensure that all the Coast Guard requirements can be provided for and that there is no impediment to the proposed development, which will be subject to planning. The feasibility studies will allow the appraisal process to be completed and a preferred site to be identified. Following this, the OPW will enter into discussions on the acquisition of the site with the owner and the project will move forward to the next stages in the process. As the appraisal process is still ongoing, we are not in a position to provide further information on individual sites at this time.
Unfortunately, at this time, it is not possible to provide a commencement date for the start of the construction of a new facility in Courtown. However, once a suitable site is acquired, the Minister of State's officials will assign a project team to commence the planning and detail design and manage the delivery of the programme.
Most of that reply told us things we already knew but I do welcome the fact that there is an acknowledgement by the OPW that the current site is unsustainable. A number of potential sites were put forward by the Coast Guard but are no longer available. This is because the OPW has taken so long. Sites do not just sit around waiting for the OPW to make its decision.
One identified site has been on the market for some time. In terms of legal due diligence, this speaks to the meeting that was arranged with the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Chambers, in June. It is now October and one would have hoped that the OPW would have carried out due diligence on this site by now. I worry that I am going to be here in six months time and we will not have any answers to the questions. I therefore ask the Minister of State to bring this back to the Minister as a matter of urgency.
I certainly will bring it back to the Minister of State.
He is probably listening in to the Commencement debate this morning.
The public spending code has been reviewed with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, so that might enable the pushing of the project along a little quicker.
I thank the Minister of State for her time on what is a very busy day. I appreciate it.
Special Educational Needs
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, an Teachta Byrne, go dtí an Teach.
The World Health Organization estimates that one in 160 children has an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, but some studies have reported a figure as high as one in 59. Whatever the figures, we all know that the number of children being diagnosed with autism is continuing to rise. That is a worrying development and a statement that poses many questions.
ASD, as the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, knows, entails a wide range of symptoms, including problems and difficulties with social interaction, impaired language and communication skills, and different patterns of thought and physical behaviour. Symptoms can range from mild to severe, and while many children, with support, thrive in mainstream schools, some require more targeted and specific supports in ASD units, where class numbers are small. A special class for autism has a pupil–teacher ratio of 6:1.5, and usually two special needs assistants, SNAs, are allocated to each class. I acknowledge the growth in the number of special and early intervention classes for children with autism that are attached to special and mainstream schools, as well as special classes for children with Asperger's syndrome.
I appreciate that in 2023 the expenditure on special education supports for children and young people with special educational needs and their schools was substantially in excess of €2.6 billion. That is money very well spent. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the educational provision for children with special educational needs nationwide. I understand that it has introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient mainstream special classes and special places, with more than 600 new special classes sanctioned at primary level and more than 300 new special classes sanctioned at post-primary level and five new special schools established over the past three years. The Government, therefore, has been very proactive in this regard. I welcome the progress, as I am sure many do.
However, parents of children with ASD in Monaghan town have raised the lack of special classes or units in local schools. Their children have to be transported to units in rural locations some miles away, necessitating longer travelling times and longer days for children who already have many challenges. Parents want the Minister of State to explain how the development of ASD units in the county under the supervision of the NCSE has led to the largest town in the county, which has the largest schoolgoing population in the county, having no ASD unit. More important, perhaps, can he advise on a pathway forward to address this particular issue? I look forward to his response.
Gabhaim buíochas as an bhfáilte. Tá mé anseo in ionad an Aire, an Teachta Ní Fhoghlú. Tá sí ag binse an Rialtais faoi láthair.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as an t-ábhar seo a ardú inniu. A priority for this Government is to ensure all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to schools to cater for the needs of children with special education needs. It is important to remember that the vast majority of children with special education needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. To support children with more complex needs, special classes in mainstream schools and special schools are provided.
This year, the Department will spend in excess of €2.6 billion, or more than 27% of its budget, on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs. For 2023, the Department has further increased the number of teaching and special needs assistant, SNA, posts in our schools. There will be an extra 686 teachers and an extra 1,194 SNAs in our schools by the end of the year. For the first time ever, we will have more than 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and more than 20,000 special needs assistants who will be focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.
The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. The Department of Education and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient mainstream special classes and special school places. The initiatives are bearing fruit, with almost 1,300 new special classes sanctioned over the past four years and seven new special schools established in recent years.
As the demand for new special classes at post-primary level will increase significantly over the next few years, the Department and the NCSE have engaged with post-primary stakeholders regarding the provision of special classes. In October, the Department wrote to all post-primary schools, including all of those in Monaghan town, to advise them of the need to begin planning to provide additional special classes. It is envisaged that all post-primary schools, including those in Monaghan town, will be required to provide special classes over the next three to five years, with an approximate average of four special classes in each school. As a result of forward planning, two special schools for 2023-24 have been announced, with further capacity being expanded in 11 other special schools. Along with the two new special schools, 389 new special classes - 252 at primary and 137 at post-primary level - have been sanctioned by the NCSE for opening in the 2023-24 school year.
Senator Gallagher referred specifically to Monaghan, and I have information with me in respect of County Monaghan. In County Monaghan three new classes have been sanctioned for the new school year - two at primary level and one at post-primary level. This brings the total number of special classes in the county to 42, of which 28 are at primary level and 14 at post-primary level.
The NCSE has advised the Department that there are sufficient special class places to meet the needs of children known to it for this school year. As further children become known to the NCSE during the course of this school year, it will be available, as always, to support those families at local level to work to secure an appropriate placement for their child. The Department and the NCSE are already working closely in relation to the forward planning of further special classes for the coming school year and beyond.
I thank Senator Gallagher for his commitment to County Monaghan. Both the Department and the NCSE will continue to monitor and review the need for further new special classes and schools or the expansion of existing special schools over the coming months and years.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. As I outlined, quite a number of parents from Monaghan town are transporting their children to different parts of the county in order to access special needs provision for their children. They ask genuinely asking whether there should be more places available in Monaghan town where the families themselves reside. I welcome the fact that the NCSE and the Department wrote to all schools asking them to come forward with projected numbers in that regard. I look forward to a situation arising where more places are available for parents and their children in Monaghan town so that families will not have to get their children up early in the morning and travel miles to school. It is important that they can do that as close to their locality as possible. I look forward to developments going forward.
The Department continues to look for strategic locations for special schools provision. That is happening in County Monaghan as well. We are also working with parents, as is the Senator, schools, patron bodies and stakeholders in Monaghan to provide sufficient specialist places for children with special educational needs. As I said, there is a strategic review under way and four special classes will be provided in all new post-primary schools. There will also be other large-scale projects. The Department will not build large-scale projects for schools if there are no special classes in them so that is something schools should bear in mind. Schools have received correspondence from the Department this year and in October last year, the Department wrote to all post-primary schools noting the need to plan for additional classes. It would be just as well for schools to respond to that as soon as they can. If certain schools are unwilling to do so, that will simply not be permitted under the new legislation.
It is not possible for the Department to consider expanding large-scale building projects if special classes are not provided.
I thank the Minister of State for his time on what is a very busy day for him.
Hospital Facilities
It is always important to start with the proud history of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Athy. It can be traced back to the opening of the Athy workhouse on 9 January 1844. This came just in time to relieve some of the hardships and effects of the Famine in and around the area of south Kildare. The next big event was the arrival of the Sisters of Mercy in 1873 and in 1898 it became a county home.
As I have said here before, St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy has a proud history in the care of older persons that is unrivalled among hospitals. The staff of well over 100 have a reputation for a level of care such that there is always a waiting list of families hoping to get a bed for their loved one. Not a week passes where some family or individual will not tell me of the level of care and attention their loved one is receiving or has received in St. Vincent’s Hospital. It attracts people from all over Kildare and neighbouring counties. So many people hold St. Vincent’s in high regard and it is a source of pride to the people of Athy that the hospital is located in the town.
In early 2019, we received confirmation from the HSE that a design team had been appointed for the new hospital and that the HSE was working towards a stage 2 scheme design. The reply confirmed that planning permission would be sought in 2019. At the time, it was said that the new addition would provide St. Vincent’s hospital with the modern facilities that mark a 21st century healthcare system at a cost of approximately €9.3 million. Following the continuous raising of this matter by myself and all public representatives in Kildare South, planning permission was submitted on 4 August 2022. Thankfully, it was granted by Kildare County Council on 2 August 2023.
St. Vincent’s Hospital has stood on the site since 1844. Today it is a model of care with the best staff and management that any family could hope for to look after their loved ones. I hope the Minister of State will confirm the new facility will proceed and despite the delays over recent years, this much-needed hospital for older population of our county will be put back on track and delivered in the quickest possible time. We all know our population is getting older. The outstanding services in St. Vincent’s are needed. I sincerely hope the HSE and the Government recognise that and invest in this great facility which I hope will provide care to those who need it most for the next 175 years.
The people of Athy and Kildare simply want to know that this new hospital will be delivered; they want to know when and how quickly this can be done.
I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to provide an update to the House on the replacement 92-bed community nursing unit, CNU, at St. Vincent’s hospital in Athy, County Kildare. I know the Senator has raised this on many occasions and I am happy to provide this response on behalf of the Minister for Health.
The hospital, first built in 1844, provides rehabilitation, respite and extended care to both male and female residents with the majority of residents over 65 years of age. The standard of care delivered to residents in public units is generally really high, but we recognise that many of our community hospitals are housed in buildings that are less than ideal in the modern context. Without them though, many older people would not have access to the care that they need. It is important therefore that we upgrade our public bed stock, and the purpose of the HIQA compliance CNU replacement programme is to replace, upgrade and refurbish these care facilities, as appropriate, across the country. The CNU at St. Vincent’s, Athy, is part of this programme.
A design team has been appointed to progress the CNU at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Athy. The design for the overall scheme of this development has been adjusted to account for lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The new facility will provide for over 7,000 sq. m. of total floor area, including single-storey dementia wards, over a phased build and will see the demolition of the five single-storey prefab wings attached to the existing protected structure. This project will be completed in two phases, with the 48-bed unit to be delivered as part of the first construction phase at the rear of the site. The second phase will entail the addition of 44 beds, including two ten-bed dementia units and three associated courtyards, over one and two storeys.
The project was included in the capital programmes for 2022 and 2023. An application for planning permission was submitted by the HSE in the third quarter of 2022. I am pleased to confirm that planning permission was granted for the phased construction of the 92-bed CNU on 2 August 2023. The scope of this project will enable the HSE older persons services to decant and vacate the protected structure building. All capital development proposals must progress through several approval stages, in line with the public spending code, including detailed appraisal, planning, design and procurement, before a firm timeline on a funding requirement is established.
The delivery of the capital project is a dynamic process and is subject to the successful completion of the various approval stages. This project is now progressing through stage 2c, the detailed design and tender process. The final decision to proceed with construction cannot be made until the tender process has been completed and the costings reviewed to ensure the proposal delivers value for money and remains affordable and that sufficient funding is available to fund the project to completion, including equipping and commissioning costs. I hope the Senator will agree this is good news, as we are making significant progress.
I agree this is good news for the people of Athy and south Kildare. There is always concern when mention is made concerning value for money, such as at the end of the Minister of State's response. I assure the Government and the HSE, however, that the people of Athy will stand over the value for money provided, day in and day out, by the staff and management of St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy. As the Minister of State will know, and as I said in my introduction, there is a need now, as our population gets older, to ensure we have facilities like St. Vincent's Hospital.
I welcome, therefore, that the Minister of State has given a detailed response. I also welcome that this project will go to the tender process but I ask him to go back to the Minister for Health to encourage him to ensure this project will be brought to finality in the quickest possible time. I say this because I do not think there is a person or a family in south County Kildare or its neighbouring counties who has not had a loved one who has been under the care of the staff in St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy. Additionally, as I said earlier, the people of Athy are rightly proud of the hospital. I welcome the reply from the Minister of State but I ask him to encourage the Minister to ensure this project is completed as fast as possible. I thank the Minister of State for his time.
I again thank the Senator for continuing to keep this issue firmly on the agenda. I am sure this bit of friendly pressure has helped in terms of delivering this project. The current national development plan, NDP, provision is fully allocated annually, underpinned by a strong pipeline of capital projects being progressed by the HSE and the Department of Health, including several new hospitals and significant new facilities for existing hospitals and community-based services. Within the current NDP, the Government has agreed gross voted capital allocations for the period from 2021 to 2025.
The capital development project at St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy, will construct 92 replacement CNU beds, with accommodation in line with current HIQA standards. Strategic reform in the model of delivery of care of older people is currently under way in pursuit of the goal of supporting older people to remain living independently in their own homes and communities for longer. This will involve a shift in the provision of health and social care services from hospitals to community settings, in line with the Sláintecare goal of people receiving the right care in the right place at the right time. For those who avail of long-term residential care, however, it is critical that the public investment in this infrastructure is maintained at the level that enables the appropriate standards to be met and the public residential care capacity to increase in the coming years. The ongoing successful implementation of the HIQA CNU programme, including the development at St. Vincent's Hospital, Athy, will contribute to achieving this goal. I will take the Senator's message back to the Minister for Health.
Housing Provision
I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am raising the issue of the provision of social and affordable housing in Dublin city and, specifically, in Dublin Central. As the Minister of State will know, this is the constituency where I grew up and where I live. Today, I wish to talk specifically about the proposal to deliver homes on a Dublin City Council site at Stanley Street. For those who do not know it, this is a city council-owned site right in the heart of Dublin 7.
It is between Stoneybatter and Grangegorman Lower, just off North Brunswick Street. It is kind of a hidden site. You would pass by North Brunswick Street and you might not even notice it. Since the 1900s, it has been used as a city council depot for waste management, engineering and mechanical activity. There are old tram lines running over the cobblestoned streets. The site has been earmarked for the development of housing as part of the Housing for All plan in Dublin Central. Housing for All is funding the development of almost 2,500 new homes, which will be a mix of social and affordable homes. This proposal is very welcome because it is more than a decade since any new homes were built in Dublin Central.
The reason I raise the issue in the House is the concern that there is scope to accelerate the pace at which the housing development is being progressed by Dublin City Council. Will the Minister of State inform the House of the current status of the development of housing on Stanley Street? How many homes will be built there and what is the timeline for completing them? While Housing for All is a €20 billion plan that is delivering thousands of homes, each and every one of those homes is desperately needed, most acutely in the city. I hope the Minister of the State has a good update for the House and I look forward to his answer.
I always bring good news to the House. I am very familiar with Stanley Street. It is in a beautiful part of Dublin city. I was in Stoneybatter last week and it, too, is a wonderful and historic part of Dublin. It is also an important part of the city's sustainability.
Building on the successful model of social housing, including public private partnerships, PPPs, introduced in recent years, which will deliver in the region of 15,000 social homes across three bundles nationally, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is increasing the use of PPPs to deliver social housing under Housing for All. The social housing PPP programme involves a partnership approach. Following the launch of Housing for All, the Department has been actively engaged with relevant stakeholders, including the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, housing delivery and co-ordination office and Dublin City Council, with its experience as lead local authority for bundles 1 and 3, to support the roll-out of the new programme of PPPs.
The homes are being delivered using an availability-based PPP model in which a private sector company designs, builds, finances, maintains and operates social housing developments in return for a monthly payment from the State. The unitary charge paid during the operation period, usually 25 years, only commences once construction has been completed. The charge is subject to the performance of required services and availability of the homes for social housing tenants, with deductions to these payments being applied where required standards are not met. The PPP model provides a delivery structure whereby social housing units remain in State ownership throughout.
Regarding progress to date, construction was completed on bundles 1 and 2 in 2021. These delivered 534 and 465 homes, respectively, across 14 sites. The procurement process for bundle 3, which will deliver 486 new social houses and apartments across six sites, commenced in quarter 4 of 2022. In June 2022, bundles 4 and 5 of the new programme were announced. These will deliver in the region of 16,000 new homes. Bundle 6 was announced in January 2023 and is expected to provide approximately 500 new homes.
The Stanley Street depot forms part of bundle 4, which is currently advancing through design development, with a number of layout options being considered for the site. The site has a capacity to deliver up to 175 new social homes subject to the most appropriate layout option being selected. Construction work on bundle 3 is expected to commence in 2024, with homes being delivered in the first quarter of 2026. Commencement of further bundles will allow, on a phased basis, home completions in bundle 4, which includes the Stanley Street depot, and bundles 5 and 6 towards the end of 2026 and throughout 2027, subject to the statutory planning process. I will make a supplementary response after the Senator replies.
It is welcome to hear of the thousands of homes that are being delivered. I take the direction of Dublin City Council, the relevant local authority, which has had success in partnering in the delivery of homes.
In fact it has already delivered homes in Stoneybatter just a stone's throw from Stanley Street. I am concerned about the reply and I would like the Minister of State to bring this back to the Department. The reply indicates that while the homes will remain in State ownership, which is very welcome, and that there will be 175 new social homes, it does not allow for any affordable homes. I ask the Minister of State to go back to the Department and the local authority and ask them to explore the possibility of providing a mix of social and affordable homes on this site.
I also ask the Minister of State to ask the Department to accelerate the delivery. The timescale describes bundle 4 being progressed towards the end of 2026 and throughout 2027. This timescale is just not good enough, particularly when the Department and the local authority are partnering with private providers. One of the advantages of partnering with private providers should be an acceleration of delivery. If this acceleration of delivery cannot be achieved we need an explanation as to why not.
I again thank the Senator. I will certainly take these issues back to the Department and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. The use of PPPs is a good model and a good way of delivering. As I outlined earlier, the figures that I gave will deliver social housing to more than 2,500 individuals and families. Work is ongoing to progress further phases under the programme. It is proposed to announce bundle 7 imminently. The success of this initiative is evident from the high-quality houses delivered under the programme so far. The Stanley Street depot site is part of bundle 4 and is in the design phase. Work will commence on site in 2025.
I take the point on accelerating delivery. It is complex in terms of scoping out sites and design and tendering but certainly we cannot be building these fast enough. I do think we have to get this right. I will take back to the Department and the Minister the points made by Senator Fitzpatrick on the 175 social units and the possibility of affordable housing being included in the mix.
I thank the Minister of State for his time on budget day, which is always a very busy day. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond to the House to take the next Commencement Matter.
Legislative Measures
This Commencement matter is on the non-commencement of section 6 of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014. This Act was passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas on 27 November 2014 and was signed into law on 4 December. As per section 1(3) of the Act, the Minister must commence certain sections. This last happened in 2020 with SI 550, which commenced sections 5, 7, 8 and 9. This was brought to my attention yesterday by the assistant registrar general of the Department. I was misled by a contradiction on the Irish Statute Book website regarding the commencement of these sections. Section 6 of the Act has not yet been commenced. It has been 3,240 days and the commencement order has not been given. I have submitted a Commencement matter so that we might hear why this is the case.
The sections in question relate to the registration of births and the naming of the children's parents on documents in cases where the parents are not married. It provides that it is the duty of both parents to comply with the registration of the birth of a child notwithstanding that they are not married to each other. Where the mother of the child attends alone she must provide information as to the father's name and contact details. Where the mother furnishes evidence and a statutory declaration that her spouse is not the father of the child the registrar must make responsible efforts to contact the spouse.
Where parents fail to agree on the surname to be registered, a registrar may complete the registration by leaving the surname field blank or where a surname is already registered, leaving that surname in place. These are practical and common-sense provisions that were debated and voted in favour of almost nine years ago. They will also allow people in the future to be able to trace their lineage back, more importantly, to get in contact with estranged family if they wish to do so and engender greater certainty in the birth registration system.
I understand that an amending Bill is being drafted by the Department to correct a technical issue in section 6, causing it to reference subsection (1A) instead of subsection (1). If this assists in getting a section commenced, it is a welcome move, but why has it taken so long? I understand that legislative drafting is necessarily an exceedingly exact science and one that cannot be rushed, but nine years seems an awfully long time to wait for commencement. I hope the Minister of State will be able to shed some light on the matter.
The Minister of State will not be able to address what the Senator said about being misled. That is a separate issue and is more of a legal matter.
That is fine.
I thank the Senator for introducing this extremely important topic as a Commencement matter. I am pleased to take it on behalf of my senior colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys.
As the Senator will be aware, the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act principally amends and extends the Civil Registration Act 2004 and the Act itself was signed into law on 4 December 2014. Sections referring to the law relating to marriage contained under Part 6 of the Civil Registration Act 2004 were commenced in 2015 and these sections primarily refer to marriages of convenience cases. Other sections were commenced in 2016 and 2020. Sections 6 to 9, inclusive, of the Act, referred to by the Senator, are related to the requirements under Part 3 of the Civil Registration Act 2004 to the registration and re-registration of births.
I am pleased to inform her that sections 7 to 9, inclusive, of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act were commenced on 20 November 2020. Sections 7 and 8 substituted existing legislation concerning the re-registration of births. The new sections permit a birth to be re-registered in circumstances where the mother was not married to the father, amend some of the regulations around acceptance of court orders and provides a new system of rebuttal of paternity in cases where a married mother requests a registrar to re-register a birth with a father who is not her husband.
Section 9 introduces a mechanism around registering a birth where there is a failure between a mother and father to agree a surname for the child.
The only section referred to by the Senator that has not been commenced is, of course, section 6. That section introduces new provisions relating to the registration of the father where the parents are not married to one another. The section sets out that the mother, if she attends alone, is required to name the father of the child, with limited exceptions applying. Registration of the father will then be dependent of the man acknowledging paternity of the child. Commencement of these provisions was subject to the HSE arranging dates and venues for the delivery of training to registrars. This training was delivered in early 2020. However, prior to commencement, a technical error was discovered in the relevant amending legislation. This technical error is required to be corrected and this will be achieved in the forthcoming civil registration (electronic registration) Bill, which, as the Senator will be aware, was considered in pre-legislative scrutiny and approved for drafting by the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development, and the Islands. The Bill is currently with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and is at an advanced stage of drafting. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, looks forward to bringing the Bill to the Oireachtas shortly.
Given the passage of time since the training was delivered and the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, further engagement with the HSE will be needed to ensure operational readiness prior to commencement. I am pleased to inform the Senator that officials in the General Register Office are engaging with the superintendent registrars to have a plan for training in place prior to the commencement of section 6. Officials in the Department of Social Protection are happy to engage directly with the Senator if there are any outstanding questions.
I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate today is a busy day for the Minister. I appreciate the Minister of State coming to the House to take this important matter. It is important for the fathers out there. This is important legislation to ensure their names go on birth certificates. They have been waiting for this legislation for nine years.
I understand that it is being drafted at this moment. The urgency is there for these fathers who have been waiting for this legislation for a long time. Not having that name on the birth certificate does not give them the rights that they deserve as fathers. I welcome it coming as quickly as possible and I welcome the Minister of State taking the time to answer this important question today.
The commencement of section 6 will provide an opportunity for all fathers' names to be recorded on the register of births. While this anomaly affects a small number of people, I do not for a second underestimate how important it is, not just to fathers but also to mothers and indeed children. It is the Government's view that where possible, all children should have the rights to know the details of both their parents. The commencement of section 6 will also complete the commencement of all sections of the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 in relation to the registration and re-registration of births. Together with the forthcoming civil registration (electronic registration) Bill, it will provide for a modern and efficient civil registration service. I have no doubt but that this will happen speedily. Time is of the essence. There was, as the Senator rightly pointed out, an anomaly discovered in the original section that must be corrected. The training that is required must be delivered to suitable registrars. I understand and appreciate that time is of the essence. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, confirmed to me that she will make this an absolute priority to bring to the Houses.
Flexible Work Practices
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber to take this. My question today relates to the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. Why, more than six months after the President signed this Act into law, are parts of this legislation not operational? As of October 2023, we still do not have a statutory right in force for domestic violence leave, a right to request remote work, a right to request flexible work, powers granted to Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, officers in the case of disputes on remote working arrangements or protections for workers when employers are refusing or distorting the processes. I am conscious that these things take time but this is beyond taking due time.
The WRC was tasked with putting in place a code of practice. The closing date for consultations was 9 June. That is almost 18 weeks ago. On 3 July, the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, commenced sections of the Act relating to carer's leave and breastfeeding leave, yet some of the most important and crucial parts of the Act remain uncommenced. I feel very strongly about the right to flexible work for all workers in workplaces where it is possible, because of the chances it offers to so many people who want to work and cannot, or those who want to work full-time but cannot because of commuting, the lack of childcare available or circumstances in their lives. In particular, this includes working parents, lone parents, those with a disability and those who had to relocate out of Dublin, Cork and the other major urban areas because they are priced out of them by house prices and rents. Almost one in three women at work in Ireland today work part-time. Not all work part-time because they want to. They do so because of the lack of childcare and the lack of flexible work arrangements on offer in their workplaces.
I think any Government that is serious about reducing the gender pay gap and improving the share of women in full-time employment has to realise that flexible work arrangements are really vital. Members of the Minister of State's party made those arguments passionately when we were debating this Bill. The Government obviously decided to introduce a much narrower and more restrictive version of a right to flexible work in the Bill, confining it to only certain categories of workers, which I believe is a mistake. Nonetheless, we now have an Act on the Statute Book with large parts of it uncommenced.
The key thing that I want to say to the Minister of State is that the delays are having a real impact. A lone parent contacted me a number of times during the summer and as recently as two weeks ago, to say she is trying to do her best for her family and cannot access after-school care for her child because of the black spot with regard to childcare and after-school care in our area.
She wants to finish at 3.30 p.m. every day in order to collect her child but her employer is making her work until 4.30 p.m. She has nobody and no family around to collect that child. There is no framework for her to try to assert her right. Indeed, there is no framework or guidance for the employer as to how it should act in that regard. I am thinking of a family with two children who had to move two and a half hours up the road from here because they simply could not afford to continue renting in Dublin. They are now being forced back into the workplace, which is a Government Department, and there is no framework for negotiation on a right to request remote work.
I want to hear from the Minister of State that there will be a speedy commencement of these sections of the Act and that he accounts for why the WRC has not produced that code of practice to date.
I will outline my absolute support for the Act. I am not just saying that as a politician. In my daily life, we talk a lot about being at effective full employment. It is a nice thing to say and it shows the power of the economy but for employers that means a very tight labour market. One thing I was boosted by in the first half of this year was that when the unemployment figures again went down, we saw that 75% of those who returned to work were women. We do not need to go into the details but women still remain the primary caregivers at home, be that for children, elderly parents or relatives. Women were able to return to work because of that increased level of flexibility and the right to disconnect, which will allow them to return to the workplace in a manner that is realistic and accepts the genuine needs outside the workplace.
I fundamentally agree that this requires legislative underpinning. In many cases, the change is moving voluntarily but that is not enough. It needs strong legislation and a strong code of practice, which will be achieved through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act enacted on 4 April 2023. As the Senator highlighted, however, the code of practice is crucial to making sure the Act is implemented. That code is currently being prepared by the WRC. This work is ongoing. The code will have practical guidelines for workers and employers on how to treat applications for remote working. This is something that must be done correctly. As we know, it will be of great importance to so many workers and employees.
The WRC held a public consultation, which received submissions up until 9 June. In total, 51 submissions were received. The WRC then reviewed the submissions that were received as part of the consultation process, as well as reviewing other relevant policy documents, research and best practice in other jurisdictions, as part of finalising a working draft code. A working group has been established, which is working towards agreeing the contents of this draft code. The group includes representatives of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, and IBEC to ensure it can represent employees and employers alike. This group met again just last week on Thursday, 5 October. We expect the group to meet every two weeks to complete this code as soon as possible. With this in mind, the code will be published as soon as is practicable following the conclusion of the work.
I will give the Senator an undertaking. It is a fair request that this work should be done speedily and brought about as quickly as possible. I 100% agree with her; she has no disagreement. We have tasked the WRC and its working group with a very important piece of work. We know it has to be got right to make sure it underpins the Act but it has to be done in an expedited manner. I will once again take the Senator's representations back to that discussion. I underline that I will press this, as the Minister of State responsible as much as anything else.
I thank the Minister of State for his response and for taking back the representations. However, the people I referenced in the examples I gave, and the many others who are looking very keenly for this framework and code of practice, will not be reassured because no dates were given in his reply. I appreciate there has to be engagement with ICTU and IBEC but the pace of progress is far too slow.
The other key element is that other important parts of the Act, such as domestic violence leave, have not yet been commenced. There are questions the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, has to answer in that regard. The key message from my contribution is that while meeting every two weeks is great, it is now three and a half years since hundreds of thousands of people were forced to work from home. The Government has dragged its heels. We had two Bills and we now have one Act. We have had a lot of discussion about this. It is not good enough that we are coming to the end of 2023 and there is still no framework for how we negotiate a right to request remote work in this country.
I take an element of the Senator's criticism as fair but I have to reject some of it because this has to be got right. We have tasked the relevant people in the WRC, and people who are trusted both within the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and IBEC and who have experience to make sure that code of conduct is done correctly. I am not just going to put a set date on it because if we set a deadline, we are just setting a target to be missed. I want this to be got right. We all agree about what the end destination needs to be but it has to be underpinned by legislation and a code of conduct that can stand the test of time and meet any sorts of challenges. Absolutely, yes, I will be pushing for this to be done as quickly as possible but I want to make sure it is done right.
As I said, I will take the Senator's very well articulated and fair concerns on board and bring them back. When I next meet with the WRC, however, I will of course be asking how the last two weeks went and how many more weeks we have got in the future and we will make sure we get this delivered as quickly as possible.
I thank the Minister of State very much for his time on what is a very busy day for him and his staff.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 12.31 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 3.30 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 12.31 p.m. and resumed at 3.30 p.m.