The Order of Business is No. 1, the Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken today at 12.45 p.m. and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after three hours by the putting of one question from the Chair which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government; No. 2, motion regarding statement for the information of voters in relation to the Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023, to be taken on conclusion of No. 1 without debate; No. 3, the Fortieth Amendment of the Constitution (Care) Bill 2023 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 4 p.m. and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after three hours by the putting of one question from the Chair, which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government; No. 4, motion regarding the statement for the information of voters in respect of the Fortieth Amendment of the Constitution (Care) Bill 2023, to be taken on conclusion of No. 3, without debate; No. 130, motion 7, our Private Members' business, which is a motion on China, to be taken at 7.30 p.m. or on conclusion of No. 4, whichever is the later, and the time allocated to this debate is not to exceed two hours.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
I wish to be associated with the Cathaoirleach's comments about former Member, Mr. Tom Hussey. Senator Murphy will speak later and will second the Cathaoirleach's motion, if that is all right.
I wish to raise two issues. I am a broken record on the first issue, which relates to the hospitality sector. I am calling again for a holistic debate on the value of the hospitality sector in Ireland. There have been significant closures in the Cathaoirleach's constituency in the recent period. The heart and soul of the hospitality industry is gradually coming apart. A number of hotels are providing emergency accommodation but there is a reason for that, which is that hotels are not financially viable. We are only now starting to see the impact on restaurants. That is happening despite the enormous support the Government gave the sector during the Covid-19 pandemic, which did untold damage to the industry. There was fundamental damage done to the structure of the sector during that period. Just as we came out of that period, we hit the highest inflation costs the country has seen in decades. It is not just one factor but multiple factors that are causing these issues. An increase of €1.40 to the minimum wage has been introduced. By the time you add holidays, PRSI, the new pension enrolment and the additional sick days that can be taken, that €1.40 quickly rises to €2.37. That is a 20% increase on the minimum wage in one year, following a 10% increase last year. Hospitality is built on staff. It is the one thing that makes us unique. We cannot afford that cost. On top of that, we are the country with the highest insurance costs. We also have the highest utility costs. Our food costs went up in the same way that domestic food costs went up. We have seen the cost of chickens rise by 100%. It is doing untold damage to communities, especially the more rural communities where the hotel is the heart of the community. There is a spin-off from the hotel to restaurants and the whole tourism sector. The sector is being damaged. The majority of beds being taken out of the hospitality sector are from low-market, budget hotels. In excess of 40,000 of the beds in the sector are now taken up by refugees. There are, therefore, price increases.
I wish to organise a meeting with the Minister for Transport about the main scheme projects that have been paused or stopped. I would like to discuss, relating to my own constituency, the main N11-M11 scheme at junctions 4 to 14. The scheme must be put back on the table. A bus priority scheme is currently proposed. We are wasting millions of euro and throwing it down the tube because at the end of the day, the main scheme must happen.
The Senator made good points about the hospitality sector, especially as they apply to Cork.
I join the tributes to former Senator, county councillor, Minister of State and TD, Mr. Tom Hussey from Galway. I did not know him personally but I know of him and of the positive reputation around his role in the county. I express my sympathies to his wife, Bridie, and his children James, Thomas, Paul, Ciarán, Sinéad and Triona.
I also join the tributes to, unfortunately, the now former Senator David Norris, former father of the House, and his extraordinary role and positivity in his advocacy over a long career. I wish him well in his retirement. I also wish former Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile well in the next stages of his career.
I call for a debate on a matter pertaining to Inland Fisheries Ireland. I have raised the matter on numerous occasions in this House.
Before Christmas, the Workplace Relations Commission adjudicated on a case which is now on the public record - anything I say now is on the public record - of Pat Gorman to whom I have spoken and whom I know is the complainant and Inland Fisheries Ireland as the respondent. A case of unfair dismissal was taken. It was based on an anonymous letter that was received by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. Four days later Mr. Gorman was met, personally, by the chief executive officer and by the director of operations of Inland Fisheries Ireland at the hatchery in Cong and suspended. The Workplace Relations Commission decision states:
That potentially any member of the public could secure the immediate suspension of a member of staff by writing an anonymous letter without providing any evidence is quite shocking ... In the circumstances I conclude that from the outset of this process the Complainant [that is, Mr. Gorman] was not being treated fairly or reasonably by the Respondent [that is Inland Fisheries Ireland].
It goes on to talk about the role of the chief executive officer, and again this is on the public record:
The Respondent's CEO [Mr. Francis O'Donnell] did not attend the hearing or give evidence. This has left large gaps in the Respondent's case.
As outlined above I do not have the CEO's account of why he suspended the Complainant. I can see no reason why this step was necessary. I am satisfied from the Complainant’s evidence and the evidence of Ms Campion and Ms Bradley [of Inland Fisheries Ireland] that the impact of the suspension on ... [Mr. Gorman], his family and their standing in the community were likely foreseeable to the ... [chief executive officer Mr. O'Donnell].
From the Respondent’s own investigative report, it is clear that the CEO [that is, Mr. Francis O'Donnell] sought to influence the investigation off the record. He explicitly asked to speak with the investigator privately. The investigator is to be commended for refusing to facilitate this and in recording the request in his report. I do not know whether the CEO’s attempt to influence the disciplinary process surreptitiously was an isolated event or not.
The CEO also took it upon himself to find and review the CCTV footage of the Complainant returning the tractor to the Cong Hatchery. Out of context this action [by the CEO] would just appear unusual, but alongside these other issues-----
Go raibh maith agat.
-----it does seem like the CEO was targeting the Complainant for some reason.
The Senator's time is up.
The decision also states that:
Having regard to all of the evidence, I am not satisfied that this decision was arrived fairly or that it fell within the band of reasonableness...Having regard to all the circumstances I do not accept that a lesser sanction and the context surrounding the Complainant’s error were seriously considered by...[Inland Fisheries Ireland]. The dismissal was unfair.
On behalf of Mr. Pat Gorman I thank Marie O'Connor of SIPTU for her diligence in bringing this case forward and going above and beyond to support Mr. Gorman in this very important matter. I also acknowledge the work of the Workplace Relations Commission.
As we move through the period up to the referendum on 8 March for the thirty-ninth and fortieth amendments to the Constitution, it is vital and important that the public is protected from mis- or disinformation. The women of Ireland can thank the Irish Countrywomen's Association and several other women's associations that led change in Ireland over the years. Many of those associations are now covered by the National Women's Council. It is a matter of grave concern to me that Orla O'Connor, director of the National Women's Council, writing in The Irish Times on 6 January stated the following:
Moving to the referendum on a woman’s place in society: a No vote here would be a truly retrograde step. It would say that we accept a Constitution that says a woman’s place is in the home. Article 41.2 may not hurt women directly-----
Can I remind the Senator that there will be debate on the referendums later this afternoon?
I appreciate that this is not the debate. She wrote:
Article 41.2 may not hurt women directly, but it frames our lives, our society and our value. It gives the State the oppressive role of keeping women from careers or employment of our own, ensuring “that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home”.
Ms Justice Denham addressed Article 41.2 in a ruling and she said that, "...41.2 does not assign women to a domestic role. Article 41.2 recognises the significant role-----"
The Senator is moving into the substantive debate and I do now want to have a row with him but, to be fair-----
No, no. It is important-----
I thank the Senator, hear me out.
Fire away.
There will be debate on the two referendum Bills later in the afternoon. This is the Order of Business. The Senator is straying into the substantive debate on the referendum and on the Bill.
I understand the Cathaoirleach's perception there-----
It is not a perception; it is the fact.
No, the fact here is that disinformation and misinformation is being spread by one of the agencies funded by this State, that is, the National Women's Council. She is directly-----
That is the Senator's opinion.
No. She is directly opposing what Ms Justice Denham said. Ms Justice Denham stated the recognition and acknowledgment does not exclude women and mothers from other roles and activities. We must be very straight. It is no secret I am opposed to the referendums.
That is fine.
We have to be very clear in the information we put into the public domain. Of all agencies, the National Women's Council that was founded-----
What is the Senator actually seeking in the Order of Business?
I am seeking a retraction by the National Women's Council for this scurrilous statement.
That is not a matter for the Order of Business, to be fair.
It is a matter for this House-----
Okay.
-----and the National Women's Council can hear it from here.
I thank the Senator, His time is up anyway.
Hang on a minute. The Cathaoirleach cut me off several times. Give a guy a break here.
In fairness, the Senator has been given a lot of latitude this morning.
Listen now. The year 1973, more than 50 years ago, was when the marriage ban disappeared so let us be honest with people. Let us be straight. The judgment in the Supreme Court yesterday-----
I thank the Senator.
-----changed the rules regarding children. I will speak more this afternoon.
I appreciate that.
I love the way the Cathaoirleach cut me off, I really do, but these things are important. Accurate, clear information for the public is what is needed, not rhetoric.
I thank the Senator. I did not cut him off and I have no issue with his position on anything, as the Senator knows quite well. As for the rules of the House, he has been here for a long time now and I remind all Members that the time allotted is not to be necessarily aspired to. Members can reduce their contribution time as well, in some cases to get their videos in, but I appreciate Senator Craughwell's sincerity.
Yesterday's Order of Business was a special occasion. It was fitting, appropriate and a dignified occasion. I commend the Cathaoirleach, the Leader and all Senators on making it a very special moment for any Senator to be present for. I hope and do not doubt that Senator Norris appreciated it. Yesterday reminded us all of the importance of public service and that public service to the people and to your communities matters and of how one individual, in 26 years of unbroken continuous service, could make such a big impact and did so as an independent. He was probably the sole or biggest reason the House was retained at the time the Government of the day tried to abolish it. People looked to the likes of David Norris as a fine ambassador for this House.
I had intended today to seek leave from this House to introduce my Bill, the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024, but realising that, under Standing Orders, Senator Norris would be gone as soon as it was announced by the Cathaoirleach I took the decision to move the Bill yesterday so I would not have to remove his name as a co-sponsor. He kindly agreed to do that. I thank the House for facilitating this and for granting me leave to introduce that Bill yesterday on that very special occasion. It was important and an honour to have David Norris as a co-sponsor of the Bill.
What I did not have time to say yesterday, which was rightly devoted to Senator Norris, was that on behalf of the Green Party grouping I also wanted to wish Niall Ó Donnghaile well. I always found him to be a most courteous, articulate Senator and he was a passionate republican. He might be described as a new brand of a younger Sinn Féin and many parties in the Republic came from a dark past.
Sinn Féin probably rightly gets the spotlight because its association with violence to achieve political aims is of a more recent type. Whenever I heard the former Senator, Niall Ó Donnghaile, speak here, he held firm on the future. He never looked back and he always had a constructive role. He was a huge advocate of the Good Friday Agreement and the new Ireland we want to see. It would be churlish of me not to mention the former Senator's contribution. It is also great to have a northern voice from Belfast in this Chamber. It is not for today but I hope that is brought into consideration when a replacement is considered for this House so that we do not lose that northern voice.
When we talk about the Good Friday Agreement, it would also be slightly churlish not to mention a guy called Gerry Adams who had something to do with that. We need to be generous and acknowledge Gerry Adams. Sometimes he can be airbrushed out of the history of that fantastic peace deal. I am delighted Senator Warfield is here today. I did not have time yesterday on behalf of the Green Party group to pass on our very best regards to our former colleague, Niall Ó Donnghaile. I hope he is keeping well.
I thank the Green Party for those very kind remarks and I will be sure to pass them on to Niall Ó Donnghaile. It was very generous of Senator Martin.
I call for a debate on emigration. Between July 2022 and July 2023, some 21,000 visas were issued to Irish citizens going to Australia. That is double the number the previous year and it makes Ireland the highest recipient of those visas per capita. It is no surprise that people are leaving because housing consumes absolutely everything, affecting the ability to live and work in our cities and the ability to work in our health service as well. A banner that was unfurled on the steps of the Sydney Opera House stated, "Give us a reason to come home". Those 21,000 people did not leave as a result of some spontaneous collective sense of adventure. They left because the vast majority cannot afford in a country they love. I have been a wild rover. That is the Irish dilemma. That is the Irish blues and some things do not change.
That is a direct result of Government policies that mean the average house price rose to €320,000 last year. The average price of a new home is €433,000 and rents have doubled since 2010. All of that sees nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals working in overcrowded, underfunded hospitals going abroad. We need to give them a reason to come home. At what point do we say that emigration not just a result of Government policy but it is actually Government policy? How many more people have to get on a plane? How many of our friend groups and families have to be broken up before the Government will even acknowledge that people are leaving because they see no future here? What hope do we have of addressing this issue if Government will not even acknowledge that it exists? Sinn Féin would, therefore, like a debate on emigration.
I second the amendment to the Order of Business. I also pay tribute to the former Senator, Niall Ó Donnghaile. He was always a nice guy. He made many good suggestions and statements in this House. He was certainly very friendly to all of us. I wish to send my good wishes to him.
I wish to speak about the late Tom Hussey, a former councillor, Senator, TD, Minister of State and Parliamentary Secretary. In 1977 and 1978, he was Parliamentary Secretary and, from 1978 to 1980, he was Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture. In 1980 and 1981, he served in the Department of Social Welfare and also in the Department of Health. He certainly had a very distinguished political career. He came from Patch, Glenamaddy, County Galway, not too far from the Roscommon border. It would be fair to say that he was a really helpful politician to all who came his way. He was a very calm and cool man. I would say he never turned anybody away and listened to everybody's story. He had many political achievements in his life.
Even though he had reached a good age, this is very sad time for his wife, Bridie, and their six children, Sinéad, Triona, James, Thomas, Paul and Ciarán, and his sisters, nephews, nieces, grandchildren and all the other family relations. Tom Hussey was steeped in agriculture. When I went to his house a few years ago, I noticed the lovely little layout he had for three or four horses he had. In his junior ministries, agriculture was certainly very important to him. He was also great fighter for the west of Ireland and for communities in the west. Along with many others, I will lament his passing. He will lie in repose this evening and will be laid to rest tomorrow. I am sure everyone will join me in expressing my sympathy to his wife and family at this time. May his soul rest in peace.
I thank Senator Murphy for that lovely tribute.
I join Senator Murphy in paying tribute to Tom Hussey. He gave many years of service in many different Departments, including the Departments of agriculture and Health. I wish to acknowledge his family because we all know how much families give when a family member is involved in public service. I am sure the people of Glenamaddy are also of great support.
I wish to expand on what Senator Casey said about hospitality. It is really important that we acknowledge the workers' rights. In previous years, the Taoiseach has spoken many times about the five workers' rights that we were fighting for, including benefits relating to sick pay and redundancy. We acknowledged the absolute difficulties and challenges over the two years of the Covid pandemic. Tribute was paid through the national holiday that we are looking forward to in remembrance of everything we went through those two years. The challenge we have now is that those in hospitality, in particular restaurants, are struggling. We need to see these rights expand and we need to see a minimum wage. I am very proud that past Governments involving Fine Gael have sought to increase the minimum wage, which has to match a living wage.
However, we also need to consider how we support our entrepreneurs and small businesses. I know the Minister, Deputy Coveney, is looking closely at the increased cost of business, the ICOB grant. That will come forward in the coming months and will be crucial for businesses. We have taken on board feedback last year to ensure it is simplified. I hope it will be an automatic support for businesses particularly targeting small and medium-sized businesses. I have heard from restaurant owners in Ballinasloe, Castlerea and Roscommon, who are all struggling. It is a difficult time of the year but I was hearing this before Christmas. What additional supports can the Minister provide particularly for the hospitality sector?
I am calling for a debate on the children of Ireland who are failed egregiously by the State. A full debate will be needed to even touch upon all the failings of the Government and the Minister for children. Since 2017, 62 migrant children have disappeared from State care after arriving in Ireland alone. Twenty of those disappearances were in 2023. These children left, or more likely were taken from, Tusla accommodation. We do not know where they are. We do not know who they are with and what is being done to them, and no one seems to care. Three quarters of the time, the Garda does not even put out an appeal for information on missing children.
Had these children remained in Tusla care, they might not have fared out much better. We learned last year that Tusla care homes have become hotbeds for organised sexual exploitation with lines of cars outside containing men waiting to pick up their 14- and 15-year-old victims. Front-line workers attest to the fact that the authorities know that this happens and they have become desensitised, meaning this is allowed to continue. More than 4,000 kids are on the CAMHS waiting while more than 100,000 on hospital waiting lists. One in five, that is, 20,600 children, have been waiting longer than a year for treatment or assessment by a hospital consultant. In Roscrea recently, the Minister chose to send migrant women and children into the middle of an ongoing protest, presumably to send some sort of political message that protests will not stop him from enforcing his plans for every town he sets his sights on with no consultation with locals as yet.
Yesterday, it was reported that unvetted persons subcontracted by Tusla were given access to children at risk.
Any one of these scandals or crises would lead to a resignation in a serious government, but Ireland has long ceased to be governed by a serious people who are serious about governance. Instead the Government circles the wagons around Ministers every time and, with the complicity of the media, works tirelessly to insulate itself from the criticism of the people it is supposed to serve. Therefore, while what we really need is an election, I will settle for a debate on the State's constant failure of the children.
The Deputy Leader may have seen the documentary "Jackie & Coco" on RTÉ last night but she will be very familiar with the very moving story. It was a beautifully put together documentary by the filmmaker Ger Walsh and Atom Films for RTÉ. This is the sixth anniversary of Nicole Fox's death. She died, as people know, as a result primarily of online bullying. Her mother describes herself as very much an ordinary person - she never anticipated what she had to do - but she is an extraordinary woman. She fought to ensure we had what has become Coco's Law. As politicians, we meet many people, but what a towering bundle of energy Jackie is. She is certainly hurting because she knows she will never be able to get her daughter back. I pay tribute to Brendan Howlin, my Wexford colleague, who took this initiative early on. It got cross-party support and Helen McEntee, as Minister, was determined that it would come through. The online space, however, is still not a safe space and, unfortunately, we know that there continue to be dangers out there and a lot of online harms. I think our message today is that we should encourage as many people as possible to watch that documentary and for that story to be shared in schools around the country. We should also say that our first duty as legislators is the safety of our citizens and people living here. That is as crucial in the online space as it is in the real world. Also, the message we need to send out to Jackie Fox is that she has made a real difference and continues to make a difference.
I have come in here on many occasions and advocated for access to fertility. I speak ad nauseam, probably, about surrogacy, but also noting the fact that people with disabilities need access to surrogacy. It has been the consistent theme I have had with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, as we bring through the AHR Bill. That comes from and is prompted in me by the extraordinary work of Selina Bonnie, a disability activist and changemaker. Sadly, Selina passed away last week. I want to pay tribute to her on the record of this House. I first met her on my very first International Women's Day as a Member of this House. She addressed the Committee on Disability Matters and spoke about her experience as a disabled woman in wanting to have fertility support. A practitioner told her she could have it only if she could guarantee that the child she would have would not be disabled, an appalling discrimination as regards her rights as a woman and a disabled woman to pursue her motherhood. Thankfully, she went on to have a beautiful daughter, and it was one of her proudest moments. She was the vice chair of Independent Living Movement Ireland and was an extraordinary advocate.
Once I met her on International Women's Day, I followed up because I was so moved, struck and challenged by her experience. We went on to have a friendship outside of politics in which we championed each other. I often got messages on particularly difficult days. She would send me a cheery message and was just an incredibly thoughtful person. She worked for South Dublin County Council advocating for disability rights there and was extraordinary. She was part of the Reproductive Justice campaign and an advocate for that. The best tribute we can give to her is to ensure that, as the AHR legislation comes through, persons with disabilities have absolute access to fertility treatments. When we guarantee that and I hear the Minister in this House guarantee that, I will pay tribute to Selina then. I just want her remembered by the Seanad.
I want to say how pleased I am and how much I welcome the news that the Minister for Education, Norma Foley, is this morning updating her Government colleagues on the implementation of the landmark Louise O'Keeffe judgment. What a brave and courageous woman she was against all the odds in terms of how she had to go public time and time again about her abuse. I commend Norma Foley on her work on this and, from that, as she herself said, the learning. We can have all these tribunals of inquiry and judgments, but the reality is that the European Court of Human Rights found in favour of Louise O'Keeffe in its judgment and found that the Irish State was liable for sexual abuse she suffered while in her primary school - her primary school. What a job she had to convince people and what a road she had to take. I understand that the action plan is to be published by the Minister, subject to Cabinet approval, and the details of that action plan will include child protection procedures in schools and update the State on related compensation schemes. As I said, I salute Louise O'Keeffe but I also thank the Minister because she did something about this, unlike so many people in the past.
Finally, the European Court of Human Rights decided that there has to be a framework of laws in this State that will cover the issues and protect our children in our schools against the risks of sexual abuse, the material effect of which authorities knew of, or ought to have known of, at that time. I thank the Government for being proactive and thank in particular the Minister, Deputy Foley. More important than anyone, however, I thank Louise O'Keeffe, a brave and courageous woman who told her story. As a result, hopefully, we will have legislation stemming from this, and that is all very positive.
Like others, I welcome the decision of the Supreme Court yesterday in the case of Johnny O'Meara and his family, who took what was a very difficult case for them, I am sure, Mr. O'Meara having lost his life partner and the mother of his three children. Unfortunately, the State challenged the case every step of the way and did so again in the Supreme Court at a time when we are preparing to go out to campaign to change what we understand to be the conventional notion of what a family is. I know there is potential for moral hazard and there are other consequences that may flow from this, but it should not be beyond the capacity of the State to ensure that where the loving embrace of a family existed, regardless of whether or not the parents were married, had signed a piece of paper, etc., there could have been a way that would have dealt with that without putting them through what they had to go through. Thankfully, however, they have found justice, and let us hope that others like them will be facilitated. I hope the State does not take the view that the widow's pension should now kick in only from the next point of application, that it should go right back to the beginning in this case. It is not easy for one person on his or her own to raise a family in the struggles and the issues that arise, not just the loss of the other partner.
I also call for a debate in this House, as I have done on a number of occasions, on the issue of immigration and migration. It is the right Chamber for it. I hope we can do so in an open and fair manner. There are real, significant issues out there. The debate is being infiltrated by the hard right, but there are also genuine and real concerns among people that need to be addressed and, unfortunately, some people are jumping to conclusions based on sound bites they are hearing. We have it in this House nearly every week.
Well said.
There are one or two or three Senators who will trot in here and make some outrageous comment and it is gone, and we do not get a chance to challenge it. I would therefore like an open and frank debate here in which those who clearly have a different view from me get an opportunity to debate it and to challenge the Minister on their 30-second sound bites.
It gives all us of an opportunity to broaden the debate so that at least the reportage of what happens here then has all of the facts laid out rather than a carefully-crafted 30-second sound bite that engenders, instils and creates fear in the minds of so many. Can we please try to arrange that at the earliest opportunity? I know the Deputy Leader wants to do that, and I am sure it takes others to help.
I wish to show my appreciation to An Garda Síochána in Blanchardstown village on Christmas Eve, which is supposed to be the most special and magical night of the year. What became a double murder unfolded like a horror film on our main street in a very popular family restaurant. This morning, a seventh person was arrested by gardaí. Four people have been charged over the past few weeks, and I want to thank the Garda for the way it is managing this case.
I know full well the fears that have been in communities about retaliations and reprisals. I know the work that went into the policing plan around the funerals. I am incredibly proud of our gardaí in the K district. They are acting decisively and swiftly. Some 45 people came in on Christmas morning to assist after what happened. During the Dublin riots, 65 police volunteered to support their colleagues, and by extension us, going in to help on that evening. That does not say to me that morale is where it is reported to be.
The K district has one of the highest workloads in the country, covering Finglas, Cabra and the wider and growing area of Blanchardstown, gangland crime, antisocial behaviour and issues like everywhere else. It also manages Áras an Uachtarán. It managed the visit of the Chinese Premier last week effortlessly, as it seems to us. I am delighted that five community gardaí are starting this week, two in Blanchardstown, two in Finglas and one in Cabra. It is hoped there will be another two in February - one in Blanchardstown and one in Cabra. They are among the recruits who came through Templemore in December. It is hoped there will be more in March. Resources to support our gardaí and communities are our top priority, and safer streets. Let us remember to appreciate the people who put themselves on the line for us every day.
I would like to follow up on the call by Senator Warfield for a debate on emigration. The Senator and I are a similar age. When we were maybe 18 or 19, people were emigrating from this country in their droves. They were doing that because there was no employment in this country. There were physically no jobs in this country. Today in Ireland, we are at full employment. People emigrate for a variety of reasons. With all due respect to Senator Warfield, he outlined that housing was one of the biggest reasons people were leaving Ireland to go to Australia.
I have had a quick glance at some Australian headlines in the past six months. "No-one can escape the housing crisis" in Australia, said ABC News in November 2023. "Australia property crisis deepens with soaring house prices" and people forced into poverty, said Bloomberg in December 2023. The housing crisis is pushing "more and more Australians into deep poverty," The Guardian said in July 2023. "Australia's housing crisis is a warning for the world," said Bloomberg in September 2023. Within those articles, one finds that 90% of first-time buyers are unable to buy a home in Australia. Let us compare that to the 400 first-time buyers in Ireland who are buying homes today under this Government. There was a 22% increase in Australian house prices between April 2021 and April 2022. Let us compare that to an increase in prices here in this country. Renting a one-bed in Sydney costs AUD3,000, which is €1,800. In Melbourne, it is AUD2,500, which is €1,513. In Perth, it is AUD2,000, which is €1,211. Let us compare that to my county of Louth. In the past year, we have built 1,118 units, the year before, it was 809 while the year before that, when half the country was closed down with Covid, it was 1,002. We are building homes in this country, and my God, things are not greener on the other side when one talks about Australia and housing prices there.
I thank Senator McGahon for being on time as well. Anois, an Seanadóir Garret Ahearn.
It is good to see such a factual contribution. When we talk about having contributions on other things, it just shows that when the facts are there, we can actually have a reasonable debate.
I ask that we have a debate with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Simon Coveney, regarding business closures in the hospitality sector. Two restaurants in Tipperary town have closed in the past number of days. Prime74 and Flanagan's were two fantastic restaurants with huge reputations built up over a number of years. It is a devastating blow for the town.
We have other restaurants opening up in other towns. There is one opening up in Cahir. Two opened up recently in Clonmel, and Cashel is doing really well. However, we have a problem with Tipperary town and with certain restaurants and hospitality sectors that are struggling. When one listens to noise from the Opposition, one would swear it is the Government's fault but if one actually goes through the detail of it, and listens to people like Adrian Cummins from the Restaurants Association of Ireland, they do not actually criticise any of the measures Government has brought in, including increasing the minimum wage, auto-enrolment and sick pay legislation. These are all the right things to do. The problem we have is that they have all come in extremely quickly, and they all came in on the back of unexpected inflation. This has been very difficult for those businesses and we need to recognise that. While we have goals to get to certain stages, such as a living wage by 2026 and ten days' sick pay in just over two years, we need to recognise that is very challenging. We need to look at broadening out our timeframe on when we can deliver these things. We need to understand the challenges that businesses have and to recognise that there are things we can do.
Something I said on the radio yesterday, and we really need to focus on it, is that in the long term - and there are short-term things we can do - we need to be realistic about our VAT rate and recognise that there are different areas. We cannot justify having a 9% VAT rate for hotels in Dublin that are making thousands upon thousands of euro in profit while restaurants and pubs in my county are really struggling and would benefit. In the long term, we really need to be looking at a VAT rate separate for those of 9% and for big hotels in Dublin at 13.5%.
We are all experiencing difficulties with HSE responses to queries at the moment, especially parliamentary question responses. One of those a colleague of mine submitted regarded the costs associated with reviews of medical cards for those over 70 years of age. The reason I am looking for the cost of doing those reviews for over-70s is that I estimate that more than 100,000 of those reviews are done every year, and by their nature people who are over 70 are on fixed incomes. Barring winning the lotto or starting a new job in their eighth decade, it is the same but it adds huge stress on those people in gathering all of the information together in order to submit for it to be reviewed, only for their medical card to be renewed again.
We all deal with those queries from people who are over 70 and, of course, reviews have to be done to ensure eligibility is still there. However, for that cohort of people over 70, I would seriously question the cost-benefit of doing so. Even if there are a few people - and I have never found one - who are over 70 and who have a medical card, and who lose it on review, one really has to question the cost of doing all of those reviews in the course of a year versus the savings that are made. As we cannot get the answers to those questions at the moment, I would like a debate in this House on other health matters, where I can raise this matter with the Minister and get the exact figures and costs that are involved in carrying out those reviews versus the savings that are actually made by the State. There are significant savings to be made that would assist in not putting older people under the pressure and stress that we do.
I agree with and support Senator Dooley and others on having a debate on the immigration and asylum seeker issue. I would call out some of the people who speak unfounded nonsense and make unfounded comments, not just in this House but also in the Dáil, and some not too far away from Senator Dooley and myself, who are gaslighting difficult and tricky situations and gaslighting situations where we are dealing with fake information and unfounded allegations. It would be useful if we could have that in the near future.
I welcome the proposal by the Minister, Deputy McGrath, to introduce legislation to ensure there is the required number of ATMs in the country to meet a critical mass. Many people still deal in cash. I remind the House that cash is still legal tender and if people wish to deal in cash, they should be allowed to. Many small businesses are still paying staff in cash, and while that might be unbelievable to certain people, it is a fact. State agencies should be obliged to accept payments in cash, for example, when somebody books a driver's test. All State agencies should accept cash, whether it is in regard to car tax, paying fines or any other State service.
It is legal tender and it should happen. I commend the councillors on Clare County Council who passed a motion calling on the driver test centres to continue to accept cash, or to reintroduce the accepting of cash where they do not. We need a reality check. Not everybody has a laser card on their phone and not everybody is comfortable or has confidence when tapping. I admire the Minister, Deputy McGrath, for dealing with the availability of cash but this debate needs to go further. People need to be able to transact in what is the legal tender of the State.
Before I call the Deputy Leader to reply, I welcome her back and sympathise with her and her family on the sad loss of her dad, Paddy, who was a wonderful gentleman. It is good that the Deputy Leader is back with us. We remember her dad with great affection.
I thank the Chair and everybody here. I did not realise until recently the value of kindness and how much it means to people when they are distressed, so thank you.
Senators Conway, Ahearn and Dolan, led by Senator Casey, are looking for a debate on the hospitality sector. We hear daily of the struggles, not just from Adrian Cummins, who is famous in nearly every household at this stage, but from so many hard-working people who are not only supplying jobs, but also the services that most of us rely on in our towns and villages. If we did not have somewhere to go for a cup of coffee or a pizza on a Friday evening, we would certainly know all about it. Senator Ahearn made a very valuable contribution, noting that any of the employment rights that we have introduced during this Government, whether increased sick leave or the increased minimum wage, are not something that anybody would give out about. More employment rights mean a healthier and better workforce. Every one of us has a pension and I do not think we would begrudge the people in that sector, the 30% who go out to work, a pension. However, the speed and frequency at which it has all come together have posed major problems. I am conscious that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, is looking at how he can best provide support. The VAT issue is obviously going to raise its head again. A debate would be very valuable to see what our contribution and our tuppence worth might be regarding how we can support that industry. I thank the Senators for that.
Senator Cummins raised the delays in responses from the HSE and sought a debate so he can get answers. I concur with that and will organise a debate as quickly as I can.
Senators McGahon, Conway, Dooley and, probably for other reasons, Senator Warfield are looking for a debate on immigration. It is something that we need to have. If I am to be very honest, and I will not speak for others, it is a debate that I was probably fearful of for a long time because if you say the wrong thing, even when not meaning to say the wrong thing, either you are suddenly cancelled or you have the legs cut off you. It is probably beyond time that we all need to have that conversation. The one thing I know is that the vast majority of people in this country, 99.9%, are warm, hospitable, compassionate and empathetic. We have known for generations the value of emigration and immigration, and we want to be wholeheartedly welcoming to the people who are coming to our shores, who are less well-off and more distressed than we are lucky to be. I am flabbergasted at the volume of such a small number of people and how they seem to attract attention. There is also, as Senator Dooley said, the misinformation that is so easy to believe and is being believed by normal, decent, hard-working, generous and supportive people.
Fearful or not, it is our responsibility to make sure we make the truth known. Sometimes the truth is not exactly honourable. Sometimes there are flaws in a system that we know can be improved. However, hiding behind not having a conversation is not helping any of us and is certainly not helping the people who come here, who must be fearful of the responses they see on television and in some of our towns and villages. It is responsible for all of us to help. I will certainly organise that with the Leader as quickly as I can.
Senator Currie spoke of her pride in the local Garda Síochána force in Blanchardstown, and we can all relate to that. They had an horrendous Christmas but the response was phenomenal. Some of us have seen the photographs of the scene on that awful night, and it looked horrendous. It is only right and proper that seven people have been arrested and four people charged, and, hopefully, there are more charges to come. I acknowledge her support for local gardaí.
Senator Dooley spoke of Johnny O’Meara. The State sometimes does really ridiculous things. I say that because when I was Minister for Social Protection, we did something equally stupid in trying to take a pension off a man who happened to be in prison. We did it and we do it because of the law and the legal position, and we say it cannot be tested, although all of that is nonsense, to be honest. I am so pleased for Johnny and his family that he won yesterday. It is easy to see, however, that he did not win in the High Court, so it is very important that people have the bravery, even in sad times, to be able to tackle the State. Hopefully, he has led the way for many more families. Notwithstanding Senator Craughwell's comments earlier on the two referendums that are coming up, families come in all shapes and sizes, and Johnny's family is no different from my own or anyone else's. I congratulate him and say, “Fair play”.
Senator Boyhan spoke of another courageous lady, Louise O'Keeffe. I am very glad that the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, has taken the initiative because, to be fair, others before her may have delayed and did not work to bring it to fruition. The action plan, when it is published, will show us all leadership. I offer praise to Louise for her tenacity over many years and for doing what she has done.
Senator Seery Kearney spoke about another leading lady, Selina Bonnie, who passed away last week. The Senator made a lovely tribute to her.
Senator Malcolm Byrne spoke about Jackie Fox. We are praising a lot of ladies today but Jackie Fox is a particularly impressive, tenacious and dogged lady. I know it arose from an awful tragedy and loss, and I cannot even imagine what she must have gone through but, my goodness, she has so much to be proud of and her daughter’s legacy is a real testament. We all have a law. I know everybody is associated with success and takes credit for it, but we would not have that law without Jackie Fox. I am so pleased when I see her going to the European Parliament and being welcomed by member states that do not even know the history and only learn it from her. I genuinely think that law will become a European law sooner rather than later. I thank Senator Byrne for that.
Senator Keogan sought a debate on the children of Ireland, which I will ask for. I dealt earlier with the issue raised by Senator Warfield.
Although I missed the tribute to him yesterday, David Norris is a living legend. I have had some really lovely experiences with him over the years, one where he absolutely cut the legs off me, which was interesting. You could not have anything but an enormous grá for him. The Cathaoirleach's speech yesterday was lovely and I watched it online from Brussels. I hope he has a long, happy and sunshine-filled retirement when he moves abroad. I wish him well.
I am sure Niall Ó Donnghaile is at home, laughing at the lovely things that have been said about him here this morning. It is all good.
Senator Craughwell sought the retraction of the National Women's Council of Ireland statement. The only thing I can suggest is that he writes directly to the chair herself. I am sure many people would disagree with many statements. The one thing that is important is whether you agree with the current Constitution and whether you want change or do not want change.
It is that the Irish people's opinion matters. We can all tell you what is right or wrong for you but the Irish people's opinion is the one that should be the most important to us. Once we have passed this legislation today, the Electoral Commission will have a body of work to do to give people factual information, not my opinion or the opinion of the Senator or the National Women's Council of Ireland. They will then make up their own minds and we will respect the outcome, whatever it is.
Senator Kyne requested, as he has many times previously, a debate on Inland Fisheries Ireland. He also spoke about the recent WRC judgment.
Senator Casey requested a debate on hospitality and a meeting with the Minister for Transport, which I will request in writing today, specifically about the projects the Senator highlighted.