Mary Lou McDonald
Question:9. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [25561/23]
View answerTuesday, 20 June 2023
Questions (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
Mick Barry
Question:10. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [29264/23]
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Neasa Hourigan
Question:11. Deputy Neasa Hourigan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [29295/23]
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Gary Gannon
Question:12. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [29332/23]
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Marc Ó Cathasaigh
Question:13. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [29514/23]
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Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:14. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [29535/23]
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Bríd Smith
Question:15. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department [29538/23]
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Paul Murphy
Question:16. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [29541/23]
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Cian O'Callaghan
Question:17. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [29566/23]
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Alan Dillon
Question:18. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [29570/23]
View answerMick Barry
Question:19. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [29626/23]
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Aindrias Moynihan
Question:20. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [29760/23]
View answerOral answers (12 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 20, inclusive, together.
Ireland's well-being framework was launched in July 2021. Last week, we published the report for 2023. The development of a well-being framework is a major new initiative of this Government and is modelled on best practice from other countries. We know that no single measure can accurately capture how we are doing as a country. By bringing together economic, social and environmental statistics in an integrated way, this framework helps us to assess where we are and to make better choices and decisions in the future. It shows that Ireland is doing well when it comes to most things and when we compare ourselves with the past and with other countries in the present.
We should never lose sight of the fact that Ireland is one of the best countries in the world in which to live, grow old, raise a family, pursue a career or run a business. It also shows that there is plenty of room for improvement too. This year's report shows that Ireland is on the right track as a country and is making solid progress in most areas but there is still much work to do. We are committed to making use of the well-being framework across government as we look to improve the quality of life for our citizens. The work of the new child poverty and well-being unit in the Department of the Taoiseach will also make a difference, especially for children and their families.
The well-being framework for Ireland obviously has to take into account the disability sector. The voluntary sector provides about two thirds of disability services on behalf of the State. That enables people with disabilities to live independently, further their education and avail of much-needed respite for themselves and their families. The HSE previously reported that many voluntary disability services are not financially sustainable and identified this as a major risk on its corporate risk register. The Irish Wheelchair Association has contacted me. I will give a number of the recommendations it put forward for its pre-budget submissions. They include providing funding for full pay restoration for section 39 organisations and returning to alignment with HSE pay scales. That is an absolute necessity. I could go through the rest but I do not have time. It needs to be dealt with.
I wanted to return to this idea of cultural and language expression as a measurement within our well-being framework. I wanted to compare and contrast what we measure here in Ireland versus what is measured in Wales, with its well-being framework. The Welsh model measures the percentage of people attending or participating in arts, culture or heritage at least three times a year, the percentage of people who speak Welsh daily, the number of people who can speak Welsh, the percentage of people who can speak more than a few words of Welsh, the percentage of people participating in sporting activities three or more times a week, and the percentage of museums and archives holding archival or heritage collections meeting a UK accreditation standard. By contrast, the one indicator that we measure for cultural expression is persons who have experienced discrimination in the last two years. That is absolutely an important measure. Some 15% of people have expressed that they have experienced that discrimination. It means that in cultural terms, this well-being framework has nothing to say about 85% of the population.
On Monday, a young woman with her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, both of whom are homeless, came into me and said they had nowhere to go. I got into the Dublin Region Homeless Executive and in fairness, it responded quickly and they got a placement. Then I got a text from the young woman saying the place was not the best and was absolutely manky. It stated the cooker was in reach of the baby and she was told yesterday that a little boy had already burned himself on it. It stated there is nowhere to do her washing, which means she will have to come out to Dún Laoghaire from town most days to get clothes washed. The text stated there are bugs all over the ground and that when she goes out, she has no key to lock the room and all her belongings are in there. The text asked if there was anything I could do to help her. That is not the first report I have heard. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan has raised this issue many times. It is just not acceptable to put mothers and children in those sorts of conditions. Something needs to be done about it urgently. I point to the fact that many people are sent to hotels and hostels. I cannot understand how Jurys Inn in Dublin 4, with hundreds of rooms, has been sitting empty for the last number of years and is not being used for this sort of situation.
Part of the well-being framework is climate change. I want to ask about the absence of any reference to climate change except as a threat with regard to these consultative forums and the ready-up that starts on Thursday. The only reference is to climate change as a threat and driver of conflict. There is no reference to the role of the military in driving emissions. It is a completely underestimated and under-accounted for area because there is not compulsory accounting for greenhouse gas emissions from the military. It is estimated that about 6% of global emissions come from the military across the world. That includes shipping, aviation and more, all combined yearly. We had recent news about how our carbon budget, that is, the emissions we can emit to give us a 50% chance of avoiding 1.5°C of warming, is down to 250 gigatonnes. We emit about 40 gigatonnes a year. It is incompatible to engage in a new arms race and be serious about avoiding climate catastrophe.
The national well-being strategy recognises that housing and having a home which is a safe, secure place to live is absolutely key to well-being. When the Government took office, the programme for Government promised to hold a referendum on the right to housing. Every single day, we see the effect that the housing crisis is having on people throughout the country. When will this referendum that was promised be held?
It was great to see the recent announcement of €2.5 million dedicated to the construction of the Daisy Lodge facility in Cong, County Mayo, for cancer services for children. It is great to see the Government utilising the shared island fund to support these cross-Border initiatives, which will undoubtedly have a positive impact on people's lives. Given the organisation's connections between North and South, the announcement today will play a crucial role in facilitating the construction of the much-needed therapeutic facility, enhancing the well-being of many people across the island, with an estimated cost of over €15 million. While appreciating this funding today, we must also examine the allocation of respite services within our HSE capital budget to address the shortage of provision of respite services for families, individuals with disabilities and the elderly.
The well-being framework is setting out to go well beyond just economic measures in gauging progress for the country. It takes in environmental and social issues together as opposed to separately or in isolation. It is a fresh approach. The framework is showing positive results in ten of the 11 dimensions. This year, the Government has focused on equality in the analysis. There seems to be a particularly large difference in housing and the built environment despite record funding in housing and a huge range of support for people to buy their own homes, for example. In my community, we see the largest social housing push ever locally, in Ballyvourney, Macroom, Millstreet, Rylane and Ballincollig.
Some 150 families have moved into brand-new social homes and more are under construction. There is clearly delivery on this and the framework shows that delivery aspect of it, but there is inequality. Will the Taoiseach outline what he attributes that inequality to and what the Government plans to do to deal with it?
Bord na Móna workers have created a modern, climate-solutions company. The company was valued at €400 million in 2018. Today, it is valued at €1.25 billion. Derrinlough briquette factory was closed on 1 June. How many of those individuals who were made redundant were redeployed to Bord na Móna's energy generation business? That should be the definition of a just transition as opposed to handing skilled technicians and engineers redundancy in a rural location with little local employment available. To add insult to injury, a few kilometres down the road, Bord na Móna has provided a private wind farm developer with Bord na Móna land to develop a privately owned wind farm. We have this ludicrous situation whereby the Norwegian state-controlled company, Statkraft, is securing land across the midlands of Ireland for wind farm development for the benefit of the Norwegian people, while the State, through Bord na Móna, is handing land away to external parties and at the same time firing staff. How is that a just transition?
I thank the Deputies for their diverse range of questions. I will do my best to answer as many as I can. I associate myself with Deputy Dillon's remarks regarding the funding announced today for Daisy Lodge in Cong, County Mayo, to develop a respite care centre for children with cancer and their families. Cong is a particularly beautiful part of Mayo. It should not be forgotten that it crosses into County Galway in parts. We are very pleased we are able to provide that funding. Many people behind that centre do a fabulous job. It will now have a stronger cross-Border aspect to it than was the case previously.
On section 39 bodies, as we all know, section 39 organisations do very valuable work, which includes hospices, many disability services and some smaller bodies and charities. Some receive most of their funding from the State and some do not. Some receive very large amounts of funding while others do not. They are not all the same and the staff in them are not public servants. The State is not their employer. They do not form part of the single pension scheme for the State and do not pay the public service levy. Their pay scales and pensions are different and are not aligned with the HSE. Sometimes they are better and sometimes worse. As I know from working through the process of turning the section 39 hospices into section 38 hospices, it can be a very complicated process to do and throws up all sorts of anomalies. People think they will be better off under the HSE and as a section 38. That might be true for most people most of the time but it is not true across the board. It involves making a higher pension contribution to become part of the State pension scheme. In some cases, though not all and not the majority, terms and conditions are more favourable in section 39s than the State-----
Staff are in limbo.
-----and they would have to be revised downwards. It is not a straightforward thing at all. We increase the funding for section 39s to reflect the fact that pay increases are being paid across the economy at the moment.
On Deputy Ó Cathasaigh's question on culture and language, my regret is that we did not include it in the first place. It probably would have made sense to do so. I am not sure why we did not but the advice from my officials is there is a concern that if we adjust the framework and change what is measured, we would not be consistent. It would be impossible to make year-on-year comparisons, or comparisons with other countries, if we change what is measured every year. Having said that, I do not entirely accept that because the same argument is made regarding the census, and we change census questions and add new census questions. It is something I have an open mind on. We will do a half-day seminar later in the year on the wellbeing framework and, as part of that, we can consider whether we add new measures or take out measures and add a new measure on culture and language.
On Jurys Hotel, my understanding is that the former Jurys Hotel is not available and there are plans at present to develop it. I will check that out.
Deputy Paul Murphy raised the issue of greenhouse gas emissions from the military, including from aeroplanes, aircraft and vehicles. I have no doubt that is the case. I do not know the figures but I am sure he is correct in saying that military equipment can be responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. I give the assurance that Ireland will not participate in any arms race. We will improve and modernise our equipment but that is something quite different.
There is a programme for Government commitment to hold a referendum on housing. The Housing Commission is doing some work on that currently but has not reported back to Government yet. Until we see that, we cannot set a date but the wording will be very important. I would like to see an amendment on housing in our Constitution but I want to be sure it will actually help people get housing. The last thing we need is an amendment that results in people having the opportunity to sue the State for not having housing, but not getting any more housing. We could have a situation whereby one court rules against housing on one ground while another court rules in favour on another. Getting the wording right is crucial. I want to see wording that will tip the balance in favour of housing, houses being built, and courts taking the view that the right to housing is something meaningful. If it conflicts with another right, the balance should be tipped a bit more in favour of homes being built. A right that does not make it easier to get or build a house will be a pyrrhic right. It is all down to the wording. We do not have any draft wording yet.
On the issue of Derrinlough, I do not have figures on that. It is generally the case that when a facility is closed people are offered redeployment or redundancy. I do not know exactly what happened in the case of Derrinlough but I will look into it. Sometimes, it depends on the workers and their skills and what else is available, but I will check it.
Deputy Aindrias Moynihan raised the issue of housing inequality. We have considerable housing inequality in Ireland. What we are trying to do to close that inequality includes all the things in Housing for All, namely, increasing the supply of new housing, trying to make it more affordable for people to buy, reducing the cost of rent through the rent credit and other measures such as that.