Cian O'Callaghan
Question:5. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [49955/23]
View answerWednesday, 22 November 2023
Questions (5, 6, 7, 8)
Aindrias Moynihan
Question:6. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland. [50689/23]
View answer
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:7. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [51155/23]
View answer
Paul Murphy
Question:8. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the well-being framework for Ireland, overseen by his Department. [51158/23]
View answerOral answers (7 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 8, inclusive, together.
Ireland’s well-being framework was launched in July 2021. It consists of 11 dimensions made up of different aspects of well-being, with a dashboard on the CSO website of 35 indicators. The development of the framework is a major new initiative of the Government and is modelled on best practice from the OECD.
We know that no single measure can accurately capture how we are doing as a country but by bringing together economic, social and environmental statistics in an integrated way, this framework helps us to assess where we are and helps us to make better choices and decisions in future. Analysis of the framework is published annually since 2022, and the 2023 analysis was published in June this year. It shows that Ireland is doing well when it comes to most things when we compare ourselves with the past and with other countries. 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.
The Government has also committed to featuring the well-being framework at relevant points in the budgetary cycle. For budgets 2023 and 2024, the well-being framework was a theme at the national economic dialogue, was part of the summer economic statement, and associated analysis was also published on budget day.
We are committed to making use of the well-being framework across the Government as we look to improve the quality of life of our citizens. The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform has published a number of working papers that seek to embed a well-being perspective into public policy and budgetary processes. Other Departments are also progressing work to embed the approach into policy development and decision-making. For example, the work of the new child poverty and well-being unit will make a difference, especially for children and their families.
The pace of the development and integration of the well-being framework reflects well in comparison with other countries. The Government will continue to review, identify and develop data and methods for further use and integration of the well-being framework. As part of this, a seminar on Ireland’s well-being framework will be held next week, which will be an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss the Irish framework, its evolution and future development and its uses in policymaking.
We are also engaging internationally to learn from other approaches to measuring well-being. Yesterday, the OECD launched the Knowledge Exchange Platform on Well-being: Metrics and Policy Practice, which will create a space for peer learning across countries and to share good practice between governments on these issues. Ireland is contributing to the project and will benefit from its outcomes.
I will raise a matter I have raised several times. It concerns the well-being of a number of students who graduated from St. Michael's House, Baldoyle, this year. Shortly before they graduated, they and their families received a generic letter that told them there would not be any places for them in day services in September. The letter was not even personalised.
Despite promises being made by the Minister of State, several of these young people are still without any day services. This is having a detrimental impact on them and their well-being. It is leading to regression in their development and to isolation. They are cut off from their peers and supports. Given that I have raised this with the Taoiseach several times, will he now let these young people and their families know when they will get the places in day services they have been promised by the Government?
The well-being framework refers to the issue of quality of employment. In that context, I draw the Taoiseach's attention once again to issues that will be discussed later this evening during the debate on the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2023. Deputies from Sinn Féin and the Labour Party and I have put forward amendments to the Bill advocating on behalf of people who work in the arts, such as in the film industry, who experience high levels of poverty, financial hardship and employment insecurity. Workers in that industry including actors, performers, directors, stage crew, film crew and so on have to endure this, even though the industry receives huge amounts of public money. They do not have quality employment and training.
This is because film producers who get public money force them to sign buy-out contracts, under which they have to sign away their rights to future royalties and residuals which any actor, performer or writer will say are some of the few ways in which they can potentially benefit from the success of their work. They are being forced to sign those rights away, however. They have been campaigning strongly for the Government to end the use of buy-out contracts by film producers who are financed essentially by the public purse. Similarly, film crew often have to endure working for decades on fixed-term contracts under which they never have any security of employment and are vulnerable to blacklisting. They are never given contracts of indefinite duration and do not get sick pay, holiday pay or pensions. Is that the way to treat our artists and others who work in such an important industry as the film industry is?
I will raise issues about the well-being of staff and animals at Dublin Zoo. Serious allegations have been made about the mistreatment of animals, about a culture of bullying and mistreatment of staff and about the mismanagement of funds and there has been no independent investigation.
I will give a few examples of the treatment of animals. In October 2022, the elephant herd was divided in two and elephant bulls were left without access to fresh drinking water while in their outside habitat for nine months. They were using a contaminated water supply. That goes against the National Parks and Wildlife Service's Irish Standards of Modern Zoo Practice, which state that fresh water should be supplied on a daily basis. In early November 2023, the elephants were inappropriately sedated. They were given a powerful sedative in order to move them to Cincinnati Zoo to make them easier to manage and there was a plan to winch one of the female elephants into a transport crate, again against European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, EAZA, best practice guidelines.
There is a series of allegations relating to staff and a fundamental problem in that HR has been outsourced to a company, MSS Services, which has effectively ignored the issues raised by staff repeatedly. It is not clear why Dublin Zoo does not have its own HR department.
On the mismanagement of funds, during 2020 to 2021, as the zoo was begging for funds to keep animals fed, the lakeside lodge where the director lives as a tenant was refurbished with a hot tub, sauna and an extension and the garden was landscaped. It is not clear where the funds for those luxury items came from.
The Deputy has identified people who are not in the Chamber. I ask him to be careful about naming people.
I add my voice to what Deputy Boyd Barrett said. There is a huge power differential in the film industry between producers on the one hand and actors, crews and directors on the other. We have heard about blacklisting and other issues that do not add to the sustainability of the film industry. We need a stakeholders' forum and to ensure we have a framework for catching those issues.
The well-being framework also deals with environmental matters. I am glad to see that the SEAI has carried out and published a feasibility study on community heating schemes. We all want district heating to work. I am talking specifically about Carlinn Hall. There are possibilities for alternatives, such as geothermal heating and others, and for delivering efficiencies. A serious amount of engagement will be needed with the stakeholders, including representatives of the residents, the likes of Frontline Energy and other companies which might be necessary to the delivery of these solutions, the SEAI and possibly the Department. I would like to think that will be put in place because there are no simple solutions. One of the residents said that was his view at this stage in a message he sent to me.
I thank the Deputies for their questions. This block of questions relates to the well-being framework and I am not sure whether many of the issues raised by Deputies relate directly to that. Of course, they are entitled to raise any issue they wish in the House, but it makes it difficult for me to reply.
Day services in Saint Michael's House, which Deputy O'Callaghan has raised a number of times in the House do not fall directly into my remit, but I will follow up with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte on it and see if she could provide the Deputy with some more comfort and, most importantly, a solution for the people affected.
Deputy Boyd Barrett mentioned the quality of employment in Ireland. Generally, because of reforms pursued by the Government and economic policies introduced by the Government, we have seen the quality of employment improve considerably in the past five years. We have better pay and better terms, conditions and protections in particular. We are moving towards a living wage with a 12.8% increase falling due in January, which is much higher than the current rate of inflation. Sick pay is being expanded at the moment, which is of particular benefit to low-paid workers, women, part-time workers and private sector workers, who often had no sick pay previously. We will bring legislation on auto-enrolment through the House next year, which means that all workers will have an occupational pension on top of the State pension.
Again, a lot of part-time workers, private sector workers, women and migrants do not have an occupational pension. That is going to change. We have changed the laws considerably around parental leave, maternity benefit and parental benefit, all for the better. It is good to see that there are now 2.6 million people in Ireland working, more than ever before, with better pay and conditions than was ever the case before.
The Deputy particularly referred to the film industry. I know he has raised the issue on many occasions in the past. I think that some of the issues that arise there may be connected to bogus self-employment. People who are designated as self-employed ought to be employees, and are therefore losing out on some of the workers' rights that they should have. It is an area that the Government is doing some work on, in consultation with the trade unions and IBEC. There is a new EU directive coming forward on this issue which I think will bring about some changes.
Deputy Murphy raised the issue of Dublin Zoo. I do not really want to comment on the allegations that were made. I am not aware of them and have not seen any evidence to support them, but I encourage the Deputy to pass on any evidence he has to the relevant authorities, whether it is the Garda or whoever may be able to look into these matters. I do know there was a protected disclosure in relation to Dublin Zoo that was considered some months ago. It was found that the allegations did not stack up, but that might be a different matter and not the one that the Deputy has raised.
Deputy Ó Murchú brought up the issue of Carlinn Hall. It is not something that I am directly responsible for, but I know he has a real interest in it and has been a strong advocate for the residents there. Perhaps the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, will be able to find some guidance as to how we might go forward on this.