Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
21. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach the number of meetings that have taken place of the strategic foresight and strengthening policy development research project, jointly overseen by his Department. [15093/23]
View answer22. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach the number of meetings that have taken place of the strategic foresight and strengthening policy development research project, jointly overseen by his Department. [15430/23]
View answer23. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the non-statutory public service modernisation, development and reform functions for which his Department is responsible. [14831/23]
View answer24. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach the number of meetings that have taken place of the strategic foresight and strengthening policy development research project, jointly overseen by his Department. [16420/23]
View answer25. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Taoiseach the number of meetings that have taken place of the strategic foresight and strengthening policy development research project, jointly overseen by his Department. [18008/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 21 to 25, inclusive, together.
The main responsibility for the public service modernisation, development and reform functions is vested in the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. An ongoing joint project between the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform is entitled "Strengthening Policy Development and Strategic Foresight". It was initiated to enhance overall policy development and strategic foresight capabilities across the civil and public service.
Outputs under the project include an assessment report which examines the current state of policy development and elements of strategic foresight in the Irish Civil Service; workshops on how best to advance policy development and strategic foresight across the civil and public service; and the development of pilot capacity building programmes on strategic foresight. The outputs under the project will contribute to the development of a policy infrastructure plan grounded in three core aspects of good policy development. These are evidence, feasibility and legitimacy. This infrastructure is intended to create a platform to promote high quality policy development that is accessible across the Civil Service.
A range of meetings between different groups have taken place under the project, including advisory and steering group meetings, OECD-led workshops and regular updates between project teams in both Departments and the OECD. To inform the outputs of the project, the OECD conducted a research mission in Ireland in May 2022. This mission consisted of multiple interviews with Government Ministers, senior civil servants and Members of the Oireachtas, including, I believe, Members of the Opposition. Overall, in the context of these groups, workshops and the research mission, there have been 35 meetings and more are scheduled to take place before the project concludes. This is in addition to regular check-in meetings between the project teams involved.
Contributors have up to one and a half minutes. I call Deputy Bacik.
In light of yesterday's judgment by the Special Criminal Court, I think we would all agree that organised crime is a key strategic policy concern across Irish society. I commend the work of the Garda in the wake of the Hutch-Kinahan feud and note there have been no murders in the last four years in that regard. I also note that two convictions were secured in the court yesterday. The failure, however, to convict on the charge concerning the murder carried out at the Regency Hotel raised several questions regarding how and why the prosecution was taken, the basis for the murder charge and so forth.
I wish to ask the Taoiseach about a related matter, which is the appointment of the expert group in 2021 to carry out an independent review of the Offences Against the State Acts, and the apparatus of the Special Criminal Court as established by those Acts. That expert group was chaired by Mr. Justice Michael Peart. The then Minister for Justice said in response to Dáil questions before Christmas that she expected the final report of the review group to be received in the first quarter of 2023. Will the Taoiseach confirm if the final report has been received by Government, and whether he or the Minister for Justice has received it? I should say that we very much supported the holding and establishment of that review into the Offences Against the State Acts. That review received widespread support. I believe we would all wish to have the opportunity to debate the findings of that review.
I am not sure if the forum proposed by the Taoiseach to deal with foreign policy, security and neutrality matters is part of this foresight and research group but I would like an answer to the question asked earlier by Deputy Paul Murphy. Why has the Taoiseach decided to abandon the original proposal to have a citizens' assembly made up of a representative but random group, which would be a cross-section of Irish society, and instead have this stakeholder forum where it would appear to me that the Government is looking to find justification for moving us away from neutrality, which I believe the Government wants us to do? Personally, I believe this is what the Biden visit was substantially about. It was about conditioning Irish public opinion to the idea that we should align ourselves with the US and with NATO. What guarantees will the Government give that this forum is not going to be as biased as that visit was in terms of the examination of issues it proposes to look at such as the international rules-based order? I find it extraordinary that we can use those phrases in the same sort of sentence as we welcome Joe Biden and applaud him. He is someone who supports apartheid in Israel. He is someone who sells weapons to the most brutal dictatorship in the world in Saudi Arabia. One can go through the list of brutal dictatorships. In this forum, are we going to examine the threat from US imperialism?
Last month the Council of Europe published its annual conclusions assessing member states' compliance with the European Social Charter on labour rights. The European Social Charter is a Council of Europe treaty that guarantees fundamental social and economic rights to member state citizens. Ireland is in breach of nine separate areas of rights relating to workers' terms and conditions of employment, and trade union rights. Among other matters, the Council of Europe found that the sub-minimum wage paid to workers aged 18 and 19 does not ensure a decent standard of living. Ireland's failure to meet obligations on the right to strike to certain categories of workers under the charter is also raised. Of course, these breaches will not come as news to the Government because these matters were raised with the previous Government four years ago but continue to go unaddressed.
The Minister of State, Deputy Neale Richmond, has admitted the Government is not where it should be - as he puts it - on collective bargaining. In fact, progress and commitments made by the Taoiseach when he was the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment have been glacial. Will the Taoiseach provide us with the timeline for the legislative recommendations on collective bargaining made by the high-level group on collective bargaining and industrial relations?
I want to raise the issue of the so-called broadcasting charge. In response to a parliamentary question I submitted, I was told on 22 March:
Government agreed to establish a Technical Working Group to examine the necessary reform required of the current TV licence system to properly provide for the funding requirements of public service media in Ireland. The Group commenced its work in September last year and is expected to report to me [the Minister] at the end of this month [March] after which the report will be considered by Government.
I am opposed to the current television licence system and I am opposed to a broadcasting charge that includes phones, laptops and so on. I am in favour of a digital tax on the digital media corporations that are making super profits in this State at the moment. I am also in favour of increased funding for public service media. Has that report been submitted yet to the Minister? If not, when does the Taoiseach now expect it?
It is very welcome that we have a body within the Taoiseach's Department looking at the idea of strategic foresight. I believe, however, that there should be a stronger role for the Oireachtas in this regard. Looking to international examples, Finland is one that jumps out immediately. The Government there must make a statement on the future. It also has a parliamentary committee on the future, which sits as one of our joint Oireachtas committees does. The Finnish committee looks specifically at the future.
The best known and probably the most comprehensive example is what we see in Wales which has established a future generations commission. It was legislated for by Jane Davidson when she was the minister for environment. It sits their well-being framework down into a legislative context. It applies that future lens to government policy and to the action of state and public bodies. The role was occupied with some distinction until very recently by Sophie Howe.
I have a Private Member's Bill before the Oireachtas, which puts this forward, but I would be more than happy for the Government to pre-empt me in this regard, to take it off my hands and to begin legislating in a serious way to take account of future generations.
I wonder whether there will be any policy development in relation to the role of gardaí at evictions. There was a huge controversy over the art of Spicebag and his perfectly reasonable depiction of an eviction, over which members of the political and media establishment lost all sense of reason in generating their own outrage about it. Incidentally, Spicebag will be coming to the rally of Tathony House residents, people who are facing eviction, this Saturday at 3 p.m.
Deputy Smith referred to the video that has gone viral of Dr. Raheel being threatened with eviction by a landlord wielding a circular saw against the door of the home, and then against Dr. Raheel himself. Again, this highlights the issue. It seems to me that there are two potential criminal issues here. One is the assault in using a saw against a person. The second is - and I will check whether the Taoiseach agrees - that even if the gardaí say they do not have a role in evictions, where an illegal eviction is taking place, the gardaí have a role. Is that not the case? If it is not the case, then we need to have policy development around this. Illegal evictions are a criminal matter, however, and gardaí should intervene.
I thank the Deputies. On Deputy Bacik's question, I join with her in commending the work of An Garda Síochána, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the courts. As the Deputy said, it is five years since there has been a murder in Ireland linked to a feud involving serious organised crime gangs. Please God, this will continue. I am aware the gardaí have done phenomenal work in that regard as have the prosecutors and the court. Two convictions have been secured this week. There was one acquittal, which was not the outcome the State wanted, but it proves the Special Criminal Court is a place where people get a fair trial. It underlines the case for retaining the court. It is particularly important that we all understand it is one of the reasons we have the two Special Criminal Courts. It is because it allows trials to happen without a jury and it enables us to put some really bad people away who would otherwise intimidate a jury and their family members and make it impossible for there to be a trial at all.
With regard to the independent review, which is being headed up by former Mr. Justice Michael Peart, this is the review of the Offences Against the State Acts. I have not received it and it has not gone to the Government yet. I do not know whether the Minister for Justice has it but I will find out. Ideally, we would like to have it published and debated before June when we will have the vote on the continuation of the Special Criminal Court.
With regard to a citizens' assembly on neutrality and security policy, there was no proposal or draft proposal put to the Government on that. When he was the Taoiseach, I believe the Tánaiste suggested it as an option for consideration but there was never a proposal made to the Government. He gave it further consideration and came up with a different proposal, which was then put to the Cabinet and was agreed. This is the one he is proceeding with at the moment.
On collective bargaining, if my recollection is correct, the commitment we made around legislating for collective bargaining derives from the EU directive on minimum wages and collective bargaining.
We have something like two years to produce an action plan. The commitment we made was to have some legislation this year or next. I have not been across that file for a couple of months and I will have to check with the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, as to where we are in that regard. I am happy to get back to Deputies on that point.
I have not seen the report of the expert group in respect of the television licence or broadcasting charge. I am not sure if the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, has the report yet but it is imminent. We should see that report soon and have a chance to debate it.
Deputy Ó Cathasaigh mentioned Finland and horizon planning. I know a little bit about that but not enough. I am familiar with the fact that Finland has had a committee for the future for a long time. It probably dates back 20 years at this stage. I knew a Finnish member of parliament who was a member of, and advocate for, the committee. I have not had a chance to look at Deputy Ó Cathasaigh's Bill but I will do so. I will see if there is space for us in that. We have an awful lot of committees, as the Ceann Comhairle will acknowledge, but perhaps it is something we could work up for the next Dáil. It could be a part of the programme for the next Dáil to have a committee in that regard.
In respect of evictions or illegal evictions, I am very reluctant to make any comment on any video that has gone viral. One can look at a video online without knowing what happened in the four or five minutes beforehand or afterwards. We need to be careful not to jump to conclusions in that regard. The role of the Garda is to keep the peace and enforce the law. Breaking and entering somebody's property without permission is against the law, as is threatening violence or using violence against someone. That is against the law. These are questions that only the Garda can answer.
