Bernard Durkan
Question:21. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Taoiseach the various Cabinet committees dealing with urgent issues that have met the least in the past twelve months. [25907/23]
View answerWednesday, 14 June 2023
Questions (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
Violet-Anne Wynne
Question:22. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Taoiseach if he will provide on update on recent meetings of Cabinet committees, with particular reference to the committees on housing, children and education and health. [25992/23]
View answer
Cian O'Callaghan
Question:23. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach the various Cabinet committees dealing with urgent issues that have met the least in the past 12 months. [27436/23]
View answerCian O'Callaghan
Question:24. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach if he will provide on update on recent meetings of Cabinet committees, with particular reference to the committees on housing, children and education and health. [27437/23]
View answer
Alan Dillon
Question:25. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Government co-ordination will next meet. [28359/23]
View answer
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:26. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach which Cabinet sub-committees will meet before the summer recess. [28607/23]
View answerOral answers (8 contributions)
I propose to take Question Nos. 21 to 26, inclusive, together.
Cabinet committees meet as appropriate according to their work schedules. In addition to meetings of Cabinet committees, I often meet with Ministers on an individual basis to focus on particular issues, which are also regularly discussed at full Government meetings. From June to December 2022, the Cabinet committees on economic recovery and investment and on Europe met three times; the committee on housing met four times; the committees on health and on environment and climate change met twice; and the committees on social affairs and equality and on Brexit and Northern Ireland each held one meeting. There were no meetings of the committees on Covid-19 or on education.
Since January this year, the Cabinet committees on economy and investment and on EU and international affairs have each held one meeting; the committee on environment and climate change has met twice; the committees on health, on housing and on social affairs and public services have each met three times; and the committee on the humanitarian response to Ukraine and migration, has met five times. There have been no meetings yet of the committees on Brexit and Northern Ireland or on children and education. The new Cabinet committee on children and education will have a specific focus on child poverty and well-being and will oversee the functioning of the newly established child poverty and well-being unit. The Cabinet committee on Government co-ordination has met 17 times. It generally meets on Monday nights in advance of Cabinet meeting on Tuesday mornings. The Cabinet committees on Government co-ordination, on health, on social policy and public services, on EU and international affairs, on housing, on environment and climate change, and on children and education are expected to meet in the coming weeks.
Regarding the Cabinet committee on housing, I ask the Taoiseach about the numbers of people who are sleeping rough. An article written by Laoise Neylon in the Dublin Inquirer stated that last November 180 people were counted as sleeping rough in Dublin by the Dublin Simon Community outreach team. Yet despite this, the official figure of the number of people sleeping rough published by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive Dublin, DRHE, was just 91. How is it possible that half of the people who were counted as sleeping rough were not included in the official figures published? Does the Taoiseach agree that everyone who was counted as sleeping rough should be included in the official figures? Will he contact the DRHE and ask it to stop excluding people who are sleeping rough from the official figures?
In recent years, Ireland has made several applications to host large-scale sporting events, including the Ryder Cup 2026, the UEFA European Football Championship 2028, and the Rugby World Cup 2023. However, we encountered challenges in making a substantial impact once these bids were submitted, primarily due to the lack of co-ordination among Departments and sporting organisations. The independent evaluation report following the decision to award the Rugby World Cup 2023 to France highlighted significant deficiencies in our transportation and venue infrastructure. This outcome served as a wake-up call and emphasised the need for improvement in these areas. Additionally, it was revealed last year that Ireland and the UK organisations opted not to bid for the 2030 World Cup, instead focusing on a bid for Euro 2028. This strategic decision required a comprehensive capital investment strategy that involved co-ordination between many Departments, including the Department of Transport and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, as well as organisations such as Fáilte Ireland, the national sporting groups and local sporting bids. To ensure greater success in our bids for hosting these events, both at European and international levels, it is imperative we establish a co-ordinated or central body to oversee the entire bidding process and ensure all aspects are included. I ask the Taoiseach to give this consideration into the future.
I wish to draw attention to the fact we live in changing times and there may be an urgent necessity for certain Cabinet committee meetings to take place at very short notice to deal with emerging situations. For instance, the former President of Russia made an announcement to the effect that it was in order for the Russian authorities to pursue the various installations, subterranean and submarine, and justified that. There is a need for an immediate reaction and response in those kind of situations.
I am not sure whether the Taoiseach answered on whether the Cabinet committee on housing will meet before the summer recess. He might repeat what he said if he did. It is very important the housing committee meets before the summer recess to tackle a number of things. One of them is the one I have mentioned as it is a serious issue, namely, that the eligibility criteria for cost rental do not align. Huge numbers of the people applying for that, who are supposed to be in the cohort affected, are being told they cannot even apply. It is crazy.
I also want that Cabinet committee to look at the income thresholds for social housing, and therefore for HAP. If the Taoiseach goes on daft.ie and looks at Cherrywood, which is the biggest residential development in the country, he will not find anything for less than €2,600 per month. The homeless HAP threshold is €1,950. A person must be homeless to get that rate and standard HAP is much lower. In other words, the new housing coming on stream in most of Dublin is totally unaffordable to anybody, except the big investors that can go in and buy it up. Something must be done as a matter of urgency to ensure there are some options for people. Otherwise, the number of people going into homelessness is just going to grow and grow. It is increasingly working people with jobs, kids and so on, who pay their taxes, who are being forced into homelessness because there are no options for them.
I want to revisit the issue of housing adaptation grants. Louth County Council is not dealing with any new ones and is just working through its backlog. It also has an insufficient amount of money. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, spoke about the fact there needs to be, and there is going to be, a review of these adaptation grants for those with disabilities and older people with mobility issues. We will have to look at figures on the amounts and all the rest, because at this point in time we are failing and in some cases people are not able to leave hospital or there are people dealing with young people with severe needs and, as I said, we are not able to deliver for them.
I thank the Deputies for their questions. The number of people sleeping rough was in or around 100, or just below that at last count. I do not know what the discrepancy is between the Simon Community count and the DRHE count. I will ask that question. It might relate to the time of night at which it is done. It might also relate to whether it is done on a single night or over an average number of nights, which would be much more accurate than a count done on a single night. Emergency accommodation is available in Dublin for anybody who needs it. That might not always be true, but it is generally true. It is important to bear in mind a large number of people who are sleeping rough are offered shelter but choose, for various complex reasons, not to avail of it. That needs to be taken into account as well.
Deputy Dillon raised bidding for major sporting events. We will give consideration to a central body. It is very much a cross-government effort. It is not just about sport as it is a tourism issue as well. We have to know whether the accommodation will be available or whether we will just be displacing other accommodation. There are issues around travel and access to ports and airports. There are justice issues because policing is needed. Then there is also capital investment, which comes with costs for the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. Thus, it needs to be a cross-government effort. Having been involved in some of the bids, successful and unsuccessful, they are very different. There is a world of difference between looking for the Ryder Cup and looking for a stage of the Giro d'Italia, or the Volvo Ocean Race or a major soccer or rugby tournament. They are such totally different beasts that sometimes a central body might not be what is needed and a bespoke body would be better, depending on the type of bid being made.
The Cabinet committee on housing will meet again before the summer recess. As I mentioned earlier, the cost rental and social housing income limits are kept under review and have been revised upwards in the past. I am sure they will be again, but I cannot say when at this stage.
To be clear to Deputies, while the Dáil and Seanad go into recess, the Government does not. Government meetings will continue throughout July, as will Cabinet subcommittee meetings. They will happen in September as well. There might be a three- or four-week break in August where there are none, but we will certainly continue to operate even while the Dáil is in recess.
On the housing adaptation grants, I understand there has been an increase in funding for this. If more is needed we should allocate more. I certainly do not want to see a situation whereby people are stuck in hospital because adaptations cannot be made to their homes. That is not right. It is also a false economy because the cost of somebody being in a hospital bed when they do not need to be there means huge numbers of other people do not get into the hospital or do not get the treatment they need. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, about that and if local authorities need additional funding for housing adaptation grants through the course of this year, I am sure we will be able to find it, unless it is a massive amount of money.
The amounts and so on need to be reviewed as well.
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Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 1.57 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 2.58 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 1.57 p.m. and resumed at 2.58 p.m.