Mary Lou McDonald
Question:1. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change will next meet. [4364/22]
View answerCabinet Committees
Questions (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
Alan Kelly
Question:2. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change will next meet. [4807/22]
View answer
Peadar Tóibín
Question:3. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will next meet. [5146/22]
View answer
Jennifer Whitmore
Question:4. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will next meet. [5957/22]
View answer
Christopher O'Sullivan
Question:5. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will next meet. [6048/22]
View answer
Cormac Devlin
Question:6. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will next meet. [6257/22]
View answer
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:7. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change will next meet. [6398/22]
View answer
Paul Murphy
Question:8. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change will next meet. [6401/22]
View answer
Bríd Smith
Question:9. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change will next meet. [6404/22]
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Mick Barry
Question:10. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change will next meet. [6461/22]
View answerOral answers (24 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 10, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change last met on Wednesday, 8 December, and is next scheduled to meet on Monday, 21 February. This Cabinet committee oversees the implementation of the ambitious programme for Government commitments on the environment and climate change. The key climate change commitments are now reflected in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, which sets out challenging carbon reduction targets for 2030 and the added statutory commitment of achieving a climate-neutral economy by 2050.
As part of its remit under that legislation, the Climate Change Advisory Council has proposed three five-year carbon budgets for the period until 2035. The carbon budgets are the overall, economy-wide emissions ceiling that we must work within if we are to achieve our reduction targets for 2030 and beyond. The proposals by the advisory council have been considered by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action, which yesterday published its recommendations. Over the coming weeks, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, having considered these recommendations and the original proposal by the advisory council, will bring a proposal to the Government on determining these budgets. When the budgets are agreed, the Government will then proceed to setting sectoral emission ceilings. These will determine the upper limits of emissions for each sector, which when added together must keep within the overall carbon budget.
Agreed policies and measures designed to ensure that sectors quickly and significantly reduce their emissions have been set out in the Climate Action Plan 2021, which was published by the Government before Christmas. The plan will be further revised this year to ensure the actions it contains are sufficient to meet the reduction targets that will have been made explicit through the setting of the carbon budgets and sectoral emissions ceilings.
Climate change is a profound challenge for this planet and Ireland must play its full part in addressing it. Just as the threats of climate change will touch each of us, the journey towards carbon neutrality on which we have now embarked will require all of our efforts. We have much to gain. We in government will take the lead and provide support where we can. Ministers will now be answerable for their performance on emissions reductions and ensuring that the sectors for which they are responsible play their part in cutting greenhouse gases. However, this is a shared journey. It will challenge us all to rethink how we work, how we live, how we heat our homes and buildings, how we grow our food and manage our land, and how we travel. Opportunities abound if we have the confidence to grasp them.
The Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change will continue to meet regularly throughout 2022 to progress all these aspects of the Government's ambitious climate action and environmental policies.
There are many questioners present, but they will each have just one minute.
Last week, the Tánaiste expressed his frustration with the Government's slow rate of progress in accelerating plans and ambitions for renewable electricity and new fuels such as green hydrogen. If the programme for Government's commitments are to be realised, a Government-led hydrogen strategy is urgent. We can lead from the front on green hydrogen. This is the view of public and private energy providers, all of whom emphasise the role of green hydrogen in meeting our 2030 and 2050 climate targets. Currently, Scotland leads the way on offshore wind and published its first hydrogen strategy seven years ago. My colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, will introduce the hydrogen strategy Bill tomorrow. I hope that all Government parties will support it.
There is an urgent need for a comprehensive strategy with a focus on State-led investment delivering a return for the public purse and energy security. Ireland has one of the best offshore wind resources in the world. Capturing just a portion of this for the production of green hydrogen could deliver significant environmental benefits, green jobs and a return for the State. When can we expect publication of the Government's hydrogen strategy and the updated climate action plan for 2022?
The Cabinet has approved retrofit grants of up to €25,000. There will also be low-interest loans. The aim is to retrofit 500,000 homes by 2030 and install 400,000 heat pumps. The €352 million allocated for this year is just shy of €1 million per day compared to last year's €221 million for Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, schemes. However, there was a large underspend across SEAI grant schemes in 2021. The better energy, warmer homes scheme had a budget allocation of €100 million last year and the warmth and well-being scheme had a budget of €9 million. These provided for free upgrades for lower income households. Even allowing for the pandemic, though, only half of that allocation was expected to be spent last year. Even when the State was picking up all the costs of retrofitting, we were not getting the numbers done. How will this be addressed?
The Taoiseach stated that climate change was a profound challenge that would require all of our efforts to address it. I agree. Akin to how we dealt with Covid, it is a fundamental societal challenge. When we were debating and dealing with Covid, we followed the scientists' lead and the evidence.
At the committee dealing with carbon budgets in recent months, the independent scientists were clear that the proposed carbon budgets did not go far enough. Not only did they not go far enough to meet our climate targets, but they did not go far enough to meet the Government's commitment under the programme for Government for a 7% per annum reduction. In fact, only a 5.7% reduction is provided by these budgets. Is the Taoiseach concerned that the carbon budgets coming to the Cabinet for approval do not meet the commitments that it made in the programme for Government and what will it do about that?
As the Taoiseach well knows, protecting and maintaining our woodlands and forest cover is a key element of reaching our climate action targets, especially given that Ireland has the least tree coverage of any European nation. That said, I ask that the Taoiseach support the communities in Riverstick, Belgooly and the Kinsale area in preventing the sale of 22 acres of pristine woodland at Ballymartle Woods into private ownership. I visited the site yesterday. It is a stunning location. I got a full tour. It has woodland walks and old oak woodlands, and it is a perfect example of the type of amenity that we should be keeping for communities. I ask the Taoiseach to support them in their efforts to prevent the sale of 22 acres of that woodland into private ownership.
The Taoiseach will be aware of the significant impact that inflation is having on individuals and families across this country. The budget's increases in the fuel allowance were welcome, as are plans to give householders €113 credit against their electricity bills. However, these measures will only go so far. We know that inflation is likely to be higher than what was anticipated at the time of the budget. Will the Taoiseach consider increasing the electricity credit beyond €113 and rolling out an improved retrofitting scheme for minor improvements, for example, attic or other home insulation schemes?
The average cost of retrofitting a house is approximately €53,000. It can be €70,000 or €80,000 for older houses to get them up to the highest building energy rating, BER. If someone is wealthy, the mooted changes in grants will benefit him or her. They might allow someone to cover the difference between €25,000 and €53,000 or more. However, the hardest hit by the energy price hikes will simply not have the money.
The social housing retrofit programme is a joke. In my area last year, 1% of the social housing stock was retrofitted. There are similar targets for this year. For those in private rented accommodation, this offers absolutely nothing. Why does the Government, therefore, not get the State to invest in the retrofitting of all homes on a much bigger scale, upfront, so we will generate savings further down the line that benefit both the climate and the householder?
Last week, I raised with the Taoiseach the case of the strategic litigation against, and bullying of, Ballyboden Tidy Towns group by the developer Ardstone. He responded that no one should ever intimidate a Tidy Towns committee. I agree but it is clear that Ardstone does not. In response to our interaction here, its representatives wrote another letter to the Ballyboden Tidy Towns group. It stated the group has continued to brief against their client, Ardstone, referring to what I said in the Dáil and calling for an undertaking not to defame Ardstone to any person, media body, Deputy or other entity at any future time. It is clear that what is taking place is precisely bullying and threatening behaviour to get the group to back down from standing for sustainable planning.
This is not the only case. Councillor Dean Mulligan in Swords brought to my attention a similar one. It concerns MKN Property Group, which relies on McCann FitzGerald for a judicial review, but rely on AMOSS Solicitors in respect of correspondence that threatens a group of residents, the South Swords Residents Group, with legal action, again to prevent public participation. This seems to be widespread. What will be done to prevent this from happening?
The retrofitting of homes should be the low-hanging fruit in any campaign against climate change. Making houses warmer, more efficient and cheaper to run and reducing carbon emissions should be the first steps the Government takes. Ten years ago, I published a plan that would have resulted in the deep retrofitting of 500,000 homes within five years. It was at a time when many skills that we needed to keep were being lost from the country. The target for the past three years was the retrofitting of 50,000 homes. Last year, 18,000 homes were retrofitted. If we have a larger target, how will the Government be able to ramp up to reach it in the next couple of years?
The Taoiseach has a little over three minutes in which to respond.
On Deputy McDonald's points on green hydrogen and offshore wind, the Government is of the view that offshore wind energy has enormous economic potential in this country. It could do a great deal to redress the imbalance in economic development between the eastern and western seaboards. It will commence in a serious way off the east coast. Wind energy generation off the west and south-west coasts could be the equivalent of the Irish Financial Services Centre in Dublin for the regions. The Government, therefore, is really committed to a multidisciplinary approach to both wind energy and green hydrogen, which has enormous potential, and to working with the EU on its plans.
The marine area planning legislation we passed in this House just before Christmas is a very significant step forward. We now need to establish consents and get the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, up and running to enable us to work within our timelines and give the industry confidence we can achieve the targets we have set. Investors are waiting to get involved. There is significant potential. The line Minister will be publishing detailed delivery plans in respect of this.
Deputy Duncan Smith raised the issue of the upgrades, and several Deputies referred to retrofitting in general. Approximately 465,000 houses have had some retrofitting or other between 2000 and 2020, or since schemes really began in earnest in 2000. We must accelerate the rate of progress dramatically-----
It is less than 10%.
-----and that is what the plan we are publishing today will do. Today's Government decisions are significant. They represent a very significant ramping up of the retrofitting agenda.
Deputy Devlin raised the issues of attic insulation and cavity walls, for which the grants are to be up to 80%. There will be a significant take-up. We will facilitate people to proceed on a phased basis. The grants are far more generous than any we have had before. Deputy Boyd Barrett should note it would not be feasible to announce that the State, on its own, would do every single house in the country; it is just not going to happen. That is not a real-world possibility.
Why not?
The key challenge for us, even in the targets we have set, as alluded to by Deputy Duncan Smith and others, is on the skills front. That is why it is important that we map out how the carbon tax revenues will be used for the retrofitting programme. Approximately €5 billion in carbon tax revenue will be used for retrofitting over the next decade. That is what is enabling it to happen. Without it, it just could not be done at the scale we are attempting to achieve. The skills part is the key.
Tax the profits of the energy companies.
The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is working on ramping up in respect of the skills requirements. We need to give the industry certainty and clarity regarding the roadmap and invest in-----
I thank the Taoiseach. We have to proceed to Question No. 11.
Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan raised the issues of woodland and forestry. I accept the points he was making. I am uncomfortable with Coillte selling valuable woodlands of the kind in question given that, to me, Coillte, Bord na Móna and other State agencies must now be leaders in respect of climate change. To be fair to Coillte, it has done some fantastic work across the country.
What about the carbon budgets and the 7% commitment?
To be honest with the Deputy, we have an enormous challenge ahead of us to achieve what will be in those carbon budgets. We need everybody in the House to support this. We currently do not have the support, even in the House, to achieve the targets we have set.
The Government has support to do more.
We have to move to Question No. 11. We need to talk about how we handle all these things because it is not satisfactory. Members ask the Taoiseach many questions and then do not give him time to answer. When discussing Dáil reform, we might consider how to improve the system. It is much better than it was ten years ago but it is far from satisfactory.
Cabinet Committees
Questions (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
Alan Kelly
Question:11. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment last met; and when it will next meet. [4371/22]
View answerMary Lou McDonald
Question:12. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Economic Recovery and Investment will next meet. [5959/22]
View answerChristopher O'Sullivan
Question:13. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will next meet. [6146/22]
View answer
Joe Flaherty
Question:14. Deputy Joe Flaherty asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will next meet. [6147/22]
View answerCormac Devlin
Question:15. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will next meet. [6256/22]
View answerRichard Boyd Barrett
Question:16. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment last met; and when it will next meet. [6399/22]
View answerPaul Murphy
Question:17. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment last met; and when it will next meet. [6402/22]
View answerMick Barry
Question:18. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment last met. [6462/22]
View answerPeadar Tóibín
Question:19. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment last met and will next meet. [6685/22]
View answerOral answers (30 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 19, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment first met on 8 July 2020. It has met a total of 17 times, most recently on 13 December. The next meeting is scheduled for this Thursday. Membership of the committee comprises the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Ministers for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Transport, Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Other Ministers or Ministers of State attend when required.
The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment is responsible for issues relating to the economy and investment. Its initial focus was developing the July jobs stimulus and it has since overseen the development of the Government's economic recovery plan, as well as the review of the national development plan, NDP. It has also overseen the development of the Government's new national digital strategy. Issues relating to the economy are, of course, regularly discussed at full Cabinet meetings, where all formal decisions are made.
Last week, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, representatives were before the Committee of Public Accounts to discuss MetroLink. A sum of €250 million has been spent on metro north up to this point. Some €83 million has been spent since it became MetroLink in 2018. Given that it is supposed to be a priority of the Government and that there is cross-party support, why are State agency representatives continually appearing before Oireachtas committees or briefing the media with a view to pushing out the date and pushing up the cost, to the point where people believe the project will not happen? Dublin Airport is targeting 40 million passengers in the next eight to nine years. We need a light rail system.
While this is happening, there are tandem developments ploughing ahead, such as that at Fosterstown, Swords.
I, too, wish to put on record the intimidation noted by Deputy Paul Murphy in respect of the South Swords Residents Group, which has sought a judicial review to protect sustainable planning and local democratic master plans. The group is being put under intense pressure by solicitor firms and developers to withdraw its judicial reviews and actions, which it is entitled to take and which are very difficult for ordinary people and groups to pursue.
The Oireachtas social protection committee published its report last week in response to the Commission on Pensions. It recommends no further increases to the qualifying age for State pensions, which is welcome. Workers should be entitled to retire with a pension at 65 if they so choose.
The committee also supports the recommendation to allow workers to retire at 65 once they achieve the required contributions. The commission and the committee have finished their work. What happens next from a Government point of view? The programme for Government commits to action within six months of the Commission on Pensions completing its work. Will the Government's response include State pension provision for long-term carers, a commitment to rule out pension age increases and – what needs to happen – a return to the right to retire at 65 and an end to mandatory retirement? I ask the Taoiseach to respond to each of those specific points.
As on previous occasions, farming has always led the way in economic recovery. However, this time around, it is becoming a massive challenge because of the increased cost of farming. I do not just refer to the cost of fertiliser, which has been well highlighted in this Chamber. It is also about the cost of ration, which has gone from €1 per kg to €1.30 per kg.
What is it?
The cost of ration. As we know, the cost of fertiliser has doubled. In terms of sustainability, farmers are not looking to spread more fertiliser, they are just looking to maintain the level at which they were spreading it. However, it is prohibitive when fertiliser is doubling in cost. Inevitably, this increase in costs does not just impact the farmer; it gets passed onto the consumer as well. As the Taoiseach knows well, farming is the backbone of our rural communities. We need to protect it, intervene and provide supports. From the sustainability perspective, one of the key measures is protected urea, but that is also increasing in cost because of the energy crisis. I would like to hear the Taoiseach's thoughts on measures to protect that sector.
Amid concerns over sustained inflationary pressures, and as the midlands struggle to adapt to a new era with the fast-tracked decarbonisation and the closure of Bord na Móna and the ESB operations in those areas, I ask the Taoiseach if he has a view on giving some consideration to a further decentralisation of Government Departments and agencies in Dublin, and bringing them out to areas that have been most adversely affected and have paid the biggest price in the understandable move towards decarbonisation.
Workers have returned, and are returning, to offices across the country, with many now working on a hybrid basis. Some work some days in the office and others work remotely from locations either at home or within the local town or village. However, the increased cost of fuel is having a significant impact on those workers. As part of efforts to combat climate change, promote modal shift and support workers, will the Taoiseach ask the Minister for Transport to consider introducing free or discounted public transport options on a trial basis, perhaps here in the capital? This could include free or discounted fares for 90-minute journeys for all commuters across DART, Luas, bus or intercity services.
Economic recovery means very little if you cannot put an affordable roof over your head. In my area, average rents are now €2,200 a month and average house prices are in excess of €600,000. If you are on HAP, you are goosed, because the most they will give you is €1,900. So, what are you supposed to do? I would like to know what the Taoiseach thinks I should say to people coming into my clinic who are saying they have no place to live and they cannot afford to pay those sorts of rents. Of course, social housing should be the answer. However, figures just revealed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council this week will really shock Members. Does the Taoiseach know how many council houses were delivered in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area last year? Zero. Next year, the number of council houses that will be delivered in the area will be in single digits. It is just beyond tolerable. Seriously, what does the Taoiseach expect me to say to people who are coming into my clinic and who are faced with homelessness because there is absolutely nothing for them?
Retail and hospitality workers were applauded over the last two years for helping to keep society running during the pandemic. Does the Taoiseach agree that those workers deserve a raise? Very many of them are on the minimum wage. The minimum wage in this country is a poverty wage. Does the Taoiseach think that is okay? Does he think it is acceptable that someone should work full-time and still be below the poverty line? For example, the average cost of a one-bed apartment in Dublin is around €1,600 a month. A full-time minimum wage worker earns less than €1,700 a month. How can someone be expected to survive on that income? Could the Taoiseach survive on that income? The German Government has announced that it will be increasing the minimum wage to €12 an hour from October. Will this Government do the same? Will it go further and agree with People Before Profit's proposal that we should move to €15 an hour? That is the equivalent of €30,000 a year for a full-time worker. At the very minimum, I ask the Government to accept the motion brought forward by Deputy Barry to have an emergency review of the minimum wage now to ensure that it is above the rate of inflation.
I see the Taoiseach was out peddling the old Thatcherite myths earlier on about wage increases causing inflation. He was at it again. At a time when inflation stood at 5.5%, the Government increased the minimum wage by 2.9%. It is a statement of fact that the Taoiseach's Government and the Taoiseach have introduced a de facto pay cut for the lowest paid workers in this State. At a time when the average minimum wage increase across the European Union is 6%, the Taoiseach's Government has decided to increase Ireland's minimum wage by less than half of that. Tomorrow, in the Dáil, I will move a motion calling for an emergency review of the national minimum wage rate, for an increase that at least fully compensates for price increases as they impact on the low-paid, and for a new rate to be introduced no later than 1 May 2022. Many out there believe that the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, only said what the Taoiseach and his Government colleagues believe and say to themselves behind closed doors. Do the Government parties intend to vote for my motion tomorrow? If so, do they intend to act on it?
There is a tale of two countries currently. The foreign and direct investment sector is motoring away at the moment, but many elements of the indigenous sector, which employ the majority of people in this State, are in big trouble. Walking through any provincial town, you will see many shops that are shuttered and closed. We know that 40,000 jobs that existed in hospitality in 2019 will not exist this year. Some €3 billion of taxes has been warehoused from businesses that cannot afford to pay their taxes this year. We had a deficit of €7.5 billion last year. We have a national debt of around €250 billion that nobody in this House ever talks about and we are facing interest rate hikes from the ECB which will increase the servicing costs of that debt on this State in the future. All of that is eclipsed by racing inflation. Fiscal prudence is based on the fact that we take in as much tax as we need for expenditure. Does the Taoiseach agree with Fine Gael that there should be tax reductions for upper income earners in the coming years?
There was quite a range of questions. In response to Deputy Smith's question on MetroLink, as far as I am concerned, we need to get it going. It will happen. It could be subject to delays. If there are planning delays or judicial reviews, that will delay it, but some of those issues are beyond our control and people are entitled to exercise their rights, and so on. However, we should be under no illusion that one of the biggest challenges for infrastructural projects in this country is progressing through all the various stages and so forth. The Government has made a decision to proceed with this and we will proceed with it.
In response to Deputy McDonald's question on pensions, again, the Oireachtas committee evaluated and gave its response to the report of the Commission on Pensions. We have asked the Commission on Taxation and Welfare to review the recommendations because there are recommendations on PRSI and potential increases in PRSI to deal with a range of measures to improve pay-related sick pay and pensions as well. We will ask the Commission on Taxation and Welfare to give its views on that. The Government stated that six months after the publication of the report of the Commission on Pensions we would return with our views on it. There are no easy answers here. We should stop pretending that there are easy answers. The adult generation in this country needs to ensure that there is a sustainable pension system for younger generations. From what I am hearing in the House, I do not get the sense that there is really buy-in to that. I think there is a strong tendency in the Opposition to kick this down the road and to oppose any measures that would give pension sustainability, but that is the way politics works I suppose.
We are committed to fulfilling that and getting meaningful recommendations too.
As regards the points raised by Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, I fully take on board the additional costs point on fertiliser and ration and other issues pertaining to farming. It is challenging; there is no question about that. Again, however, we hope through other measures and other income streams we can provide that we could try to offset that. I know the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is engaging with the stakeholders in farming to address some of these issues but they are not easy. The Deputy mentioned fertiliser. I mentioned cars earlier. The increased cost of fertiliser results from the global supply chain issue and part of the gas costs issue. It is a further illustration that what is happening globally on inflation is having an impact in Ireland.
Deputy Flaherty put forward a good idea in terms of decentralisation. I would be very open to that, given remote working and the fact that I remember being involved in the decentralisation to Carlow of part of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Almost everybody working in Carlow was from that wider region. Instead of having to commute to Dublin, they were able to work in that unit in Carlow and it made absolute sense on a whole range of issues.
The point raised by Deputy Devlin is very imaginative. We are looking at a number of imaginative ideas around transport. Public transport has to be the way of the future also. We have to increase participation on public transport and cost is a key aspect of that.
In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, I would simply say that I do not understand why Dún Laoghaire had zero, or very few, social housing completions last year.
The council.
The council, yes. It should have had more. Other local authorities are doing much better on the social housing front and in 2022 the target is 9,000 additional builds through approved social housing bodies and through the council. I am not clear whether the approved social housing bodies-----
It is a Fianna Fáil-run council.
I am not clear whether the approved social housing bodies-----
It is a Fianna Fáil-run council.
We do not run too many councils these days. We have a healthy-----
Fianna Fáil runs that one with the Green Party.
We have the largest number of councillors across the country but, as the Deputy is aware, all councils are fragmented between different parties. It takes a collective-----
Fianna Fáil and the Green Party run that council.
What I have known in many councils, though, is that many parties to the left just keep opposing housing developments until the cows come home.
We have not been opposing council developments.
Deputy Paul Murphy raised the issue of retail and hospitality workers. Again, just on the minimum wage, ours is the second highest in Europe right now. Even if you take in purchasing power, we are the sixth highest within the European Union. I think we need balance. We are above the average European wage. Again, we support wage increases, particularly linked to productivity. We do not want to go chasing inflation forever because that does not work, but we do believe we can introduce measures that will help people on low incomes and that is something we are working on.
Deputy Barry misrepresented what I said, but that is par for the course. In terms of the de facto situation around pay and so on, pay has increased. In fact pay, more generally, has increased over the past 12 months. I have a figure here for the growth in pay more generally. The Central Bank expects the domestic economy to grow by more than 7%. It is projecting that wage rises will outpace price increases over the next three years. That is what the Central Bank is predicting, notwithstanding the spike in inflation this year. The most important figure, though, is that unemployment is at 7.8%. The rate was above 20% in November 2020.
I thank the Taoiseach.
That is an extraordinary recovery in our economy which one would not-----
Tell that to the low paid.
Well it has been an extraordinary recovery. Employment is the best way out of low pay.
Good pay is the best way out of low pay. Low-paid workers are employed. It would be desperate if the record was so skewed.
Citizens' Assembly
Questions (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
Mary Lou McDonald
Question:20. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach the expected timeline and order of citizens' assemblies committed to in the programme for Government. [4718/22]
View answerAlan Kelly
Question:21. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Taoiseach the expected timeline and order of the citizens’ assemblies committed to in the programme for Government. [5961/22]
View answerChristopher O'Sullivan
Question:22. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach the status of the commitments on citizens’ assemblies in the programme for Government. [6342/22]
View answerRichard Boyd Barrett
Question:23. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach the expected timeline and order of citizens’ assemblies committed to in the programme for Government. [6400/22]
View answerPaul Murphy
Question:24. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach the expected timeline and order of citizens’ assemblies committed to in the programme for Government. [6403/22]
View answerBríd Smith
Question:25. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach the expected timeline and order of citizens’ assemblies committed to in the programme for Government. [6405/22]
View answerMick Barry
Question:26. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach the expected timeline and order of citizens’ assemblies committed to in the programme for Government. [6463/22]
View answer
Neasa Hourigan
Question:27. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Taoiseach the timeline and order of citizens’ assemblies committed to in the programme for Government. [6523/22]
View answer
Cian O'Callaghan
Question:28. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach the expected timeline and order of citizens’ assemblies committed to in the programme for Government. [6524/22]
View answerOral answers (17 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 to 28, inclusive, together.
As the House will be aware, the most recent Citizens' Assembly, on gender equality, concluded its work in June 2021. In the intervening period, circumstances pertaining to the Covid-19 pandemic have meant that it has not been possible, until now, to arrange for the establishment and running of further assemblies. The recent easing of public health restrictions means it is once again possible to plan for the running of assemblies with in-person meetings.
I am pleased to confirm to the House that the Government has today agreed to the establishment of two citizens' assemblies, one dealing with the issues of biodiversity and the other dealing with the type of directly elected mayor and local government structures best suited for Dublin. It is proposed on this occasion to run the two separate assemblies concurrently, with inaugural meetings planned for April 2022. This will be the first time that two assemblies will run concurrently, and presents a significant opportunity to design and implement an operational model that can allow for a greater number of citizens' assemblies to be run.
It is envisaged that a citizens' assembly on drug use will follow these two assemblies, with the intention of running it concurrently with a citizens' assembly on the future of education. That decision, of course, will be taken later this year and will be informed by what we learn over the coming period about the benefits and challenges of running assemblies concurrently.
The matters to be considered by both assemblies are important and urgent, and the Government wishes to move with speed to get the assemblies up and running. The formal establishment of the new assemblies will require a resolution to be passed both in this House and in the Seanad. The Office of the Government Chief Whip will be engaging with the Business Committee this week to make the necessary arrangements to bring a motion before the Oireachtas next week.
The terms of reference for each assembly have been designed so that they are sufficiently well-defined to ensure a clear focus for the assembly, while at the same time not being so prescriptive as to inhibit the scope of the assembly to define its work programme as it deems appropriate. The terms of reference for the Citizens' Assembly on biodiversity derive from, and are consistent with, the resolution passed by Dáil Éireann in May 2019 which declared a climate and biodiversity emergency and called for a citizens' assembly to examine how the State can improve its response to the issue of biodiversity loss.
The terms of reference for the Dublin Citizens' Assembly derive from, and are consistent with, the programme for Government, which contains a commitment to establish a citizens' assembly to consider the type of directly elected mayor and local government structures best suited for Dublin. The full terms of reference will be included in the motion that is to be brought before this House next week.
In conclusion, let me reiterate that the Government wishes to move with speed to establish both these assemblies and we look forward to further progressing this matter this week and next.
There are several speakers and the time is limited.
First, I welcome the establishment of the Citizens' Assemblies on the directly elected mayor for Dublin and biodiversity. However, I have raised previously with the Taoiseach the fact that key agencies such as the National Biodiversity Data Centre are underfunded and understaffed. They are not even underpinned by legislation. That needs to be sorted out as a matter of urgency.
Equally urgent is the need for a citizens' assembly on the future of education. That was manifestly the case during the whole leaving certificate debate and debacle. There is also the issue of a citizens' assembly on drug use. I am very concerned that there has been a notable row-back by the Department of Health, with intervention by the HSE moving key services and supports away from their community focus. I am very concerned at the lack of capacity and focus, particularly on the issue of recovery. For example, despite the lack of capacity in recovery care, the HSE does not plan to reopen Keltoi drug rehabilitation beds at St. Mary's Hospital in the Phoenix Park. That decision is madness at a time when one cannot get a detox or recovery bed for a person in dire need.
We are going to run out of time for other speakers. I call Deputy Ó Ríordáin.
Since I have come back into this House I have been raising consistently - as have Deputies in government - the need for a citizen's assembly on drugs. We have tried to approach this in good faith so that all the issues we have in respect of drug policy can be discussed in a robust fashion at a citizens' assembly. We believe we have been mature and responsible in that respect. Last Thursday night, I pleaded in this Chamber with the Minister of State with responsibility for drugs to prioritise the citizens' assembly on drugs because lives are at stake. The difficulty is that, unfortunately, Irish society does not value the lives that are at stake. When the announcement came today about the Citizens' Assemblies on biodiversity and a potentially directly elected lord mayor of Dublin, there was a level of devastation within the communities and families that are deeply affected by the issue of drugs. I ask the Taoiseach to please give us some level of hope of a timeline for the citizens' assembly on drugs.
With the announcement of the Citizens' Assembly on biodiversity, this is an incredibly positive day for the efforts of this country to tackle biodiversity loss and the protection of wildlife. In fairness to the Taoiseach, last week he stated we need to act swiftly and with conviction, and here we are today, announcing the Citizens' Assembly will have its inaugural meeting in April. It is important that we continue the other work we are doing.
There is the review of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, the establishment of the wildlife crime investigation unit and the bolstering of that unit so that it can do its work properly. There is also a need for a proper agri-environment scheme that instead of penalising farmers for having a habitat on their land will actually reward them for this. I thank the Taoiseach again for his leadership on this issue. It is a very good day for those who care about wildlife in this country.
If we are going to protect and improve biodiversity and increase forest cover as part of that, something radical has to change in Coillte, the State forestry company. The Riverstick forest sale is an absolute disgrace. Before Christmas I had to help the local community in the Enniskerry area to ring alarm bells about Coillte’s plan to sell a public forest in that area, which is a public right of way used by the local community. Luckily, we were successful in that campaign but what is going on in Coillte? We need to address its mandate. Part of the problem is that it is driven, a bit like the ESB making all the profits from the energy crisis at the moment, by profit. It is not driven primarily by a concern to expand the forest estate but by making money. That has to stop and we need to change the mandate of Coillte.
The Taoiseach spoke about how in May 2019 the Dáil declared a biodiversity emergency and called for a citizens’ assembly. Three years will have passed by the time an assembly will have been established. That is not exactly moving swiftly or recognising the scale of the emergency that faces us. One quarter of bird species in Ireland are a "serious conservation concern". Some 77 species of plants and animals are officially endangered. The European Commission has 15 open infringement cases against Ireland on environmental issues. There is an absence of action from the Government.
For example, with regard to marine protected areas, the then Government in 2010 promised that we would have 10% by 2020. It did not have this and it is still at 2.4%. There is still no legal definition of "marine protected areas" and the ones that we have really just exist on paper. The question is whether the Government will take action following the inevitable advice from the citizens’ assembly.
Will the Taoiseach admit that the idea of raising the pension age to 67 and then 68 is now dead in the water? The most recent general election showed that there is as much potential support for this measure as a race for a return of water charges. The Oireachtas committee was only recognising the reality that, politically, this is now a complete non-runner.
Increasing life expectancy raises important issues about funding pension arrangements. Will the Taoiseach now accept that there are alternative ways to doing this rather than just levying extra taxes on the workforce? Extra taxation, for example, could be levied on rental incomes, bank profits, profits of big business and taxes on the incomes of the very wealthy. In fact, will he not concede that the end of the road for the raise the pension age argument should mark the starting point for a real debate about the levying of real wealth taxes in our society?
As a result of the pandemic, the landscape of drug consumption in Ireland has utterly changed. Before Christmas the Tallaght Drug & Alcohol Task Force issued a report on the increased use of crack cocaine. In my constituency, the North Inner City Drugs & Alcohol Task Force is experiencing a precarious funding situation. We need coherent funding strategies and an approach that is embedded in the community.
The current policies do not address the impacts of drug consumption on families, on health and on social interaction, on children and what happens when people are criminalised, which is what we are doing right now. I am glad to see other citizens’ assemblies but we desperately and urgently need to reframe our national policy position on drugs. We need a national conversation that places the very vulnerable people in our communities that experience this issue at the heart of it. I urge that we put a timeline in place and take urgent action on this issue.
The majority of the citizens in the North voted to remain in the EU. Most polls show that the majority of citizens in the North either support the protocol or can live with it. The Good Friday Agreement is meant to put the will of the people at the heart of the direction of the North of Ireland yet we have the DUP, which is a minority party with a minority view, holding the whole of the North to ransom at the moment. Stormont is dysfunctional, broken and is not working for the people at the moment, which the Taoiseach himself admitted.
There are 44,000 people in the North on housing waiting lists, 4,200 homeless and on the streets, 250,000 living in poverty and 250,000 on hospital waiting lists for more than a year. We need to move beyond Stormont as it is currently constituted. The institutions need to be fully reformed so that no one party can ever tear it down again. When will there be a 32-county citizens’ assembly to redesign the new institutions in the North to prevent this happening again?
I am afraid the bad news for the Taoiseach is that there is only one minute left for all of these questions.
I welcome the comments made in respect of the biodiversity citizens’ assembly articulated by Deputies McDonald and Christopher O’Sullivan. I take the point that we need to do more in a review of the NPWS and indeed the agri-environmental scheme. We need to work on this as that is why the carbon tax is important to provide funding for that agri-environmental scheme.
On the citizens’ assembly on drugs, raised by Deputies Ó Ríordáin and Hourigan, I said that this would not happen until the latter part of the year but in the interim, and not just interim, officials in my office are working and endeavouring to recreate an area-based partnership approach in key areas that are suffering the most from the drugs epidemic and the impact it is having on communities. We need to revert back to the old RAPID approach of drug task force areas where we need a multidisciplinary and multi-pronged approach across Departments and agencies from the bottom up to deal with much of what is happening on the ground right now.
We are not waiting for the citizens’ assembly to do work on the drugs issue but the intention is that we have the drugs citizens’ assembly set up in the latter part of this year.
There was no answer to the question I asked on the-----
I answered that earlier. My own view on reconciliation on the island is that we need to engage at both political party and community level with different traditions coming together. I am not clear that a citizens’ assembly is the best model for dialogue and for the more consistent long-haul engagement that is required. This is the sort of long-haul engagement that was required that led to the Good Friday Agreement. A citizens’ assembly would not have led to the Good Friday Agreement.
Stormont needs to be reformed now.
Gabh mo leithscéal ach táimid thar-am anois.