I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, here this morning.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Forestry Sector
I welcome the Minister of State. I want to raise the issue of ash dieback, which is of deep concern to farmers, landowners and rural communities across Ireland. Ash dieback is not just a crisis for forestry; it is an environmental, economic and cultural disaster. For generations, ash trees have been a defining feature of our landscape, vital to biodiversity and central to our rural heritage. Since its introduction, the disease has devastated our woodlands and up to 90% of our ash trees are expected to succumb to it over the next couple of years.
The Government has put grant support in place for landowners who have ash plantations but these supports are deeply flawed. As the grants are paid in stage payments rather then upfront, farmers are expected to shoulder the financial burden of felling and replanting ash trees before they can claim any assistance. This is entirely unrealistic for many landowners, particularly small farmers who do not have the financial reserves to absorb these costs. The landowners are being asked to take on substantial debt just to access the support they are supposedly entitled to. This is not a workable solution.
Furthermore, there is a glaring gap in the current system. Landowners who have ash trees in their hedgerows but did not plant them under the formal forestry scheme are completely excluded from any support. These farmers did not plant their ash trees under a Government contract. They planted them as part of responsible land management, maintaining biodiversity and contributing to our rural environment. Yet, when these trees succumb to ash dieback, they are left entirely on their own – no grants, no compensation and no recognition of the loss they have suffered.
This is not acceptable. The response to ash dieback must be fair and inclusive. If we are serious about tackling this crisis, we must reform the grant system so that financial supports are provided upfront, not in staged payments that place undue financial strain on farmers, and so that landowners with ash trees in hedgerows on their land, regardless of whether they were planted under a formal forestry scheme, are included in any support measures.
The Government has a responsibility to stand by rural communities in times of crisis. Ash dieback is one such crisis, and it demands a response that is both practical and fair. I urge the Minister of State to take this back to the Minister for agriculture to act now to revise the grant system and support all affected landowners to ensure no farmer is left out of pocket due to circumstances beyond their control.
On behalf of the Minister for State, Deputy Healy-Rae, I thank Senator Collins for this question on supports for ash dieback. I welcome the opportunity to update the House on the supports in place to assist affected forest owners.
The Minister of State is keenly aware of the impact this devastating disease has had on forest owners who planted ash. The need for support is well recognised by Government, which is why we have a new reconstitution scheme for ash dieback in the forestry programme. The scheme has a new site clearance grant and enhanced replanting rates. The site clearance grant is being doubled, going from €1,000 to €2,000 per hectare. Improved replanting rates have been reintroduced as well to reflect the increased rates for planting under the new programme. For example, there is a grant of nearly €4,000 per hectare for conifer forests. If one chooses to replant with native trees, that grant goes to €6,744 per hectare, and for agroforestry it is €8,555 per hectare. Furthermore, grants of €2,888 per hectare are available to cover deer fencing. We are also paying annual premiums due to those whose forests have been affected by this awful disease. In addition, farmers whose plantations were impacted by ash dieback and who are still in premium now receive a top-up to bring them in line with the new increased premium rates under the new forestry programme.
Notwithstanding the introduction of a new scheme in 2023, questions about the impact of the disease remained. To address these in a fair manner, an independent review group has been set up. In May 2024, the ash dieback action plan, which was based on the review group’s report, was approved by the previous Government. The action plan addresses all 13 of the review group’s recommendations. It provides for, among other things, an additional €79.5 million in funding to pay for a new climate action performance payment, CAPP, scheme. This payment of €5,000 per hectare is available to forest owners who fully engage with the Department’s reconstitution schemes and carry out replanting. This brings to more than €230 million the overall financial package available to ash plantation owners who are dealing with or have dealt with ash dieback.
As part of the action plan, a task force was established with responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the plan. This task force comprises officials from the Department and stakeholders, including ash forest owners. The role of the task force is to ensure the plan is implemented in an effective way, with a co-ordinated response and a resolution of obstacles to its implementation. The task force has met four times and is scheduled to meet again in June. Some useful clarifications have been made in those meetings and actions agreed to progress the implementation of the plan.
The Department has been receiving applications for the CAPP first instalment since late August 2024. The applications received so far have paid out nearly €3.5 million. There are obviously many more ash owners eligible to apply for the first instalment, and the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, encourages them to do so through the Department’s agfood facility. To promote awareness of supports available for ash dieback, we have placed clear and accessible information in the farming media and will continue to do so, with a renewed awareness campaign also planned. Department staff will also be in attendance at the Tullamore Show and the National Ploughing Championships and will speak to owners about the financial assistance available. The Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, encourages ash forest owners who have not yet applied for the enhanced reconstitution scheme to do so. This would give them the financial support to clear and reconstitute affected sites and also enable them to apply for the climate action performance payment of €5,000 per hectare.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. The crisis did not happen by accident. It was due to Government failure to address the lack of good import controls. I am concerned about where the costs will land. Plantation owners who applied for the grant will get it back but it will come in staged payments, so they will be out of pocket until they have the trees planted. What about the landowners who have ash trees in hedgerows or elsewhere on their land, who did not apply under the scheme? I hear it said all the time that lessons will be learned but if the cost falls to the landowners, the only lesson they will learn is not to take up a scheme, not to plant ash trees again and not to plant the next thing the Government wants them to plant because they will end up in the same situation.
I thank Senator Collins for her contribution. The Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, is committed to supporting those forest owners who have been so adversely affected by ash dieback. He encourages all to avail of the financial help and very generous support in the programme the Department has put in place.
Weather Events
I thank the Cathaoirleach's office for choosing this matter for the Commencement debate this morning. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, to the House.
The west coast was hit by Storm Bert in the middle of the last general election. Many other parts of the country and the UK were also affected. On Friday, 22 November, a deep Atlantic low-pressure system brought extremely wet and windy weather to Galway and Connemara, with 60 mm of rain falling within a short period. Saturated ground, combined with snow accumulation, led to a surface run-off into streams and rivers, which led to a rapid rise in local rivers. The storm resulted in significant levels of damage to roads infrastructure. The run-off of the precipitation caused landslides on some of the hillside areas of Maam and Leenane in Connemara in particular. The impact of the storm resulted in the destruction of fencing on many upland farms. In many cases, in the first place, reaching those areas involved helicopter drops to bring in the fencing materials to put the fences in place. Thousands of euro worth of damage was caused. It is necessary to replace the fencing. Farmers can prove the fencing was in place because they have receipts for the fencing they put up in recent years. The investment of two or three years ago has been wiped out and the fences must be replaced.
Unfortunately, there were also cases of sheep being swept away in the floods. One farmer lost at least 70 ewes, which were drowned or entangled in trees and wire and were recovered the next day. He also had the cost of disposing of the carcases that were recovered. An act of God, if one likes, in Storm Bert has resulted in accumulated costs for farmers.
There is a precedent in the support scheme in the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth which was put in place for farmers after a similar storm there. Only active farmers with herd numbers who were in the basic investment scheme, BIS, were supported. They were able to provide receipts for the damage and loss and the replacement cost of fencing, including helicopter drops, and the loss of sheep and the disposal of carcases. I urge the Minister to look at the issue, accept the precedent from the Cooley Peninsula and put in place a similar scheme for the Maam-Leenane valley of Connemara on foot of the damage caused by Storm Bert.
Unfortunately, with the impact of climate change, this could be more likely to happen in the future. With higher rainfall and a greater chance of storms happening, there is potential for greater damage across Ireland, which could impact on farmers up and down the country. The Department must be cognisant of this. In light of the precedent of the Cooley Peninsula scheme, it is right and fair that a similar scheme be put in place for the area of Maam and Leenane to compensate farmers for the added costs and disruption resulting from Storm Bert.
I thank the Senator and apologise on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Heydon. I know the Senator has spoken to and engaged with him directly on this issue in the past. He sends his apologies that he cannot be here to deal with the matter in person today.
I will make a few points on his behalf. Like the more recent Storm Éowyn, Storm Bert is part of a pattern of extreme weather which can result in flooding which will affect the country and has done so. Last November, Storm Bert became the second storm of the 2024-25 season, bringing with it the high winds and heavy rains the Senator mentioned in his contribution. Fortunately, its impact was not as persistent and severe as that of Storm Éowyn in late January. Nevertheless, wind and rainfall warnings were issued for affected areas, alerting people to the possibility of severe flooding. However, no forecast can fully cover the effects of unpredictable weather on local topography. I understand that the Maam and Leenane areas of County Galway were seriously affected. Senator Kyne has described the severe rainfall and thawing snow that led to major flooding and landslides in the affected areas.
It is recognised that the drystock sector is vulnerable to losses arising from extreme weather events. Sheep farming is clearly no exception to that. There are existing supports that are specifically targeted at the sector in recognition of its vulnerability and regional importance, particularly along the western seaboard. These supports include multi-annual schemes co-funded under the CAP strategic plan along with annual schemes fully funded by the Exchequer. Helping farmers with income resilience gives them the tools to cope with extreme weather events in the best way on their own farms. On Monday, the Minister, Deputy Heydon, announced the opening of the new national sheep welfare scheme, which is worth €22 million to farmers this year. The budget for the scheme is €7 million more than the budget for its predecessor scheme in 2024 and will allow participants who fully complete the required actions to claim up to €13 per breeding ewe. The scheme's actions are practical, easy to implement and suitable for both upland and lowland flocks. The closing date for applications is 15 May and the Minister strongly encourages all sheep farmers to read the scheme's terms and conditions on the Department's website and to submit an application by that date.
The sheep welfare scheme is separate from but complementary to the sheep improvement scheme, which is funded until 2027 under the CAP strategic plan. The sheep improvement scheme, SIS, supports farmers in carrying out actions that improve animal health and welfare on their sheep enterprises. That has a budget allocation of €100 million. Approximately 16,000 farmers received payments totalling €18 million for participating in the first year of SIS. Under the 2024 national sheep welfare scheme, just over €15 million was paid to 16,300 farmers who completed the required actions.
It is positive that market conditions for sheep farmers are currently buoyant and expected to remain so, at least in the short term, because of supply constraints in both the domestic and overseas markets. However, as is the case with all severe storms, we must review the lessons learnt with a view to better planning for such events, business continuity management and building resilience and readiness across all the sectors.
I thank the Minister of State for the response and the sentiments expressed. It is unfortunate that the Minister, Deputy Heydon, cannot be here this morning. The reply does not answer the question. It does not state whether it is possible or likely that the Minister will provide a stand-alone scheme for farmers in the Maam-Leenane area. As I have said, I have come here because of the precedent set on the Cooley Peninsula, where a scheme was put in place. In light of the precedent of that scheme, which the Department and the previous Minister sanctioned, it is right and proper that a similar scheme be put in place for farmers affected in the Maam-Leenane area. A stand-alone scheme should be provided for a select cohort of active farmers who have suffered damage and loss, allowing them to directly apply for some recompense for additional expenditure caused by Storm Bert. That is my request, which I ask the Minister of State to bring to the Minister, Deputy Heydon, as I will certainly do on behalf of the farmers in the area.
I fully hear Senator Kyne and the excellent and valid points he has made. I will, of course, take his remarks back to the Minister and I know the Senator will engage with him further on this matter. It is important to reassure the Senator that the Government will continue to prioritise policies to protect and enhance farm incomes, including those in the sheep sector. Under the programme for Government, the Government is committed to increasing supports for those sheep farmers over a five-year term in office, ensuring straightforward measures to encourage uptake. I will bring back the Senator's specific point to the Ministers, as I have said, and I have no doubt the Senator will as well.
Child Safety
I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter. While I know it is not his brief, I appreciate the time he has taken to come to the House to take it this morning.
In my Commencement matter, I asked that the Minister of State with responsibility for public health, well-being and the national drugs strategy, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, come before the Seanad to provide a detailed breakdown of the budget and the supports contained within it. I have before me the Healthy Ireland Framework report, which sets out four goals. Goal 1 is to "Increase the proportion of people who are healthy at all stages of life". Goal 2 is to "Reduce health inequalities". Goal 3 is to "Protect the public from threats to health and wellbeing". Goal 4 is to "Create an environment where every individual and sector of society can play their part in achieving a healthy Ireland". The outcomes in 2024 were excellent because 19 Sláintecare health communities were established in disadvantaged areas, 14 Departments partook in the framework, 500 GAA organisations were part and parcel of it, 4,500 people benefited from the Sláintecare age-friendly homes programme and five new policies were developed, which are what I want to focus on. These were evidence-led policies and action plans addressing sexual health, physical health, nutrition, obesity, alcohol and mental health protection. Additionally, third level institutions implemented the healthy campus programme.
I read the entire Health Ireland Framework document and the words "cyber safety" are used only once in it. There is a continuous conversation regarding how we mind our children online and how we protect them. This is a fantastic framework which lasts until 2027. I want to bring to the Minister of State's attention that she needs to focus on another line in the framework, or its expansion, regarding how we can support parents, not just young people. The digital age has moved on so much that when we discuss the 4,500 people availing of the age-friendly homes programme, we also need to look at the cohort of parents who have missed the digital age and whose young people are way ahead of them in order to help parents understand how to mind their young people online. I raise that whole awareness and community grouping that is done with various organisations and works through the local authorities with co-ordinators. I am looking to expand the brief within the framework in order that it would capture, for example, cases where parents want information workshops and ensure funding is allocated through the local authorities in support of and in conjunction with local schools and various organisations. We should not limit that to one organisation but extend it to all organisations. There is a gap in information here, and it is not with young people but with parents.
We have experts in An Garda Síochána, a policy in Coimisiún na Meán, psychologists and people in the tech sector. They are the experts that can bring this talk in a meaningful way and communicate it to parents in local community halls. How is the money being spent? Can we find funding that would capture the parents who do not know who to turn to when their young person is online? Parents feel their child is safe when he or she comes in the front door. Times have changed, and now the bully follows them in the front door. We need to be able to speak to parents about how to support their young people. That is health and well-being.
I thank the Senator for the opportunity to present to her on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor. Apologies for her absence today.
The Healthy Ireland framework and action plan form our national road maps to support good physical, mental and sexual health well-being, including children's health priorities such as preventing obesity, increasing physical activity levels and minimising underage tobacco and alcohol use. The national sex health strategy contains information on educational measures to support children in learning about their bodies, reproduction, safe sex, the importance of sexually transmitted infections, contraception and consent in an age-appropriate way from primary school to senior cycle. Learning about health and well-being across the life course is included in the well-being and SPHE curriculums in our schools, supported by the HSE which works with the education system.
Healthy Ireland collaborates with local authorities and committee partners through the healthy city and counties and Sláintecare healthy communities programmes, and supports Ireland's most disadvantaged areas. The period dignity programme supports women and girls living in period poverty. The Sláintecare healthy communities programme includes parenting, cooking and diet support programmes for families with children aged up to 12 years and engages with families and children living in disadvantaged areas.
On supporting increased physical activity levels and child obesity prevention, the Department of Health works closely with Sport Ireland and the Department of Education to promote physical activity in schools through the active school flag and cycling safety supports. A core objective of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 is to address young people's relationship with alcohol, delaying the age at which they begin. These are some of the measures to reduce access to alcohol for young people and create an environment free from alcohol.
I listened to the Senator's contribution, and heard her raise some valid points around the importance of cybersafety. She spoke of the need for programmes not only targeting children, who may already have an awareness level, but also engaging with parents. I agree with her 100% that we need to target resources at parents. I will, of course, take the opportunity, on foot of the Senator's contribution, to raise this with the Minister. I have no doubt the Senator will raise it directly with her, and probably has on previous occasions. It is important, considering the totality of the other measures around health, the risk of alcohol abuse and the overall health measures for children, that part of the integrated approach should also take account of cybersafety. Safety is part and parcel of parental awareness of what is happening. I will be very pleased to take the comments of the Senator back to the Minister.
I thank the Minister of State for going off script and acknowledging his deep understanding of my ask. I am no different from anybody else. My kids have moved on and are in their 20s now, but I was a parent who did not have information. I have no doubt that if I was a parent of teenagers at the moment, be it boys or girls, having seen the programme that was released last week I would accept there is a huge awareness and information gap. Parents are willing to come together and work as collective communities.
We have good strategies, policies and frameworks. I ask for the bandwidth to be extended to capture the piece that may require a laser focus at the moment. It is in all of our interests to support parents. We know all of them in our communities. I again thank the Minister of State. I will certainly liaise with the Minister. I notice the reply did not refer to the breakdown of the money. That is okay. We will chase that again.
That is no problem at all. I am sure the breakdown is worth chasing. The Senator's points are well made. As I said in my contribution, it is something that needs to be examined because cybersupport for parents to tackle these issues is important.
Care Services
Before I start, I would like to acknowledge a former Deputy and Minister, Damien English, in the Gallery, along with his guests. I hope they have a happy visit to Leinster House today.
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take this important Commencement matter. My call is for the provision of a long-term assisted care facility for young to middle-aged adults with additional living needs. I am currently working with the family of a young woman who is 38 years of age. She has lived happily at home with her mother for those 38 years but she has a lot of additional needs. She has attended the Avista daycare centre in Dooradoyle in Limerick every day for the past ten years and has many friends and associates there. However, the young woman's mother has become sick and is no longer in a position to care for her daughter. They are looking at a long-term care facility in Tipperary, and while I mean no insult to the Chair, I believe that moving her from an area she is used to, where her daycare and work is located, will be to her detriment. There are many more people in a similar position. Some are in nursing homes for older people and are often the youngest there. The fact that most of the people in nursing homes are in the older age category makes such accommodation an unsuitable solution. There should be long-term care facilities available for people who are still young but who cannot live at home anymore because there is nobody to look after them. Ideally, they would live in an assisted living environment and continue to go to their work every day.
I join Senator Byrne in acknowledging my friend and former colleague, Damien English, who was a source of great wisdom and advice to me in all my years in public life. It is lovely to see him here today with his guests.
I thank Senator Byrne for raising this important issue and affording me the opportunity to respond. We know there are many reasons people seek residential supports. For some it is by way of services to allow them to remain in their homes with family, while for others, it is a residential service. The aim has been to facilitate living and inclusion in the community. Increasing the provision of disability residential services is a key priority area for this Government and the HSE and there has been significant investment in residential services over recent years. We have seen significant increases in investment in specialist disability services, with a budget increase from €1.7 billion at the close of 2017 to in excess of €3.2 billion in 2025. Supporting residential services accounts for approximately 58% of the total specialist community-based disability services budget.
In this year's budget, €107 million was provided to residential services, €79 million of which will meet the incremental cost of 2024 new residential services and €28 million is additional funding for 2025. This funding will also support additional moves from nursing homes and decongregation to community settings. As of January 2025, approximately 90 service providers supported more than 8,600 residential places. As of mid-2024, however, there were in excess of 1,400 applications for residential services. This number does not include those who might be prioritised for decongregation, those who are under the age of 65, are in nursing homes and require a residential place, and young people with disabilities who are ageing out of Tusla and who require residential services.
All applications for residential services are managed by the HSE, taking into account the needs of the individual. However, the nature and level of demand is such that the placements delivered can tend to be in response to emergency needs and often only those with the highest priority can be placed. Over recent years, the number of residential places delivered has exceeded what was initially envisaged in the HSE national service plan. In 2024, 220 new residential places were delivered. There were 23 new places in the CHO 3 area, which covers Clare, Limerick, north Tipperary and east Limerick. While residential services can be an appropriate response to a person’s needs, it is worth pointing out that it can be more appropriate to support people to remain in their homes with their families. The specialist disability budget also supports a range of measures to this end, including home support and respite services.
Before I call the Senator to respond, I welcome to the Chamber the guests of former Minister of State Damien English: Mark Convery. Conor Sheridan, Adam Mulligan and Brian Mannion. They have come on a very good day. We had a debate with the Tánaiste this morning on international relations. Leaders' Questions will take place in the Dáil in a couple of minutes. It is a very interesting day to be here and I hope they enjoy it. It is great to see our former colleague.
I thank an tAire Stáit for his reply. I appreciate that there are possibly settings available but they are more on a regional basis. I recognise it is very difficult to accommodate everyone but the young person I referred to is used to going to her workplace every day. If a place is provided in Tipperary, that will not facilitate her daily activities. For her own mental health and everything else, it is important that she be kept in the environment she is used to. While it will not be appropriate for her to live at home anymore, there is a need to find a balance between a nursing home for older people and a care-assisted setting for younger people. I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. Will he take it to the Minister to see whether consideration can be given to finding a smaller facility for this individual within the Limerick region?
I will, of course, take the case to the Minister. In the Senator's contribution, she highlighted the important point that a humane approach should be taken in the devising, development and implementation of services. It is so important we take account of how an individual service in a smaller community can have an impact. This is something the Senator has campaigned and worked on very passionately in her role as Senator. I will be more than happy to bring the matter to the Minister on the Senator's behalf, as I am sure she will do directly as well.
I thank the Minister of State. When is it proposed to sit again?
At 2.30 p.m. next Tuesday.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar athló ar 11.23 a.m. go dtí 2.30 p.m., Dé Máirt, an 8 Aibreán 2025.
The Seanad adjourned at 11.23 a.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 8 April 2025.