Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 23 Mar 2017

Vol. 944 No. 1

Leaders' Questions

Deputy Niall Collins

At the outset I would like to sympathise with our colleagues in Westminster and with the people of London who have experienced yet another horrific attack by Islamic extremists. It is almost a year to the day since we had another attack, in Brussels, where 32 people lost their lives. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, my party leader and my colleagues I would like to express our condolences to the families of the four people who lost their lives yesterday and to wish all the other people who were injured as part of that incident a speedy recovery.

The issue I wish to raise with the Tánaiste regards job creation. She will be well aware of the Succeed in Ireland initiative, a concept which grew out of the recent Global Irish Economic Forum. It is an idea and plan for job creation which was sponsored by the Government, managed by IDA Ireland and its running was contracted to an organisation called ConnectIreland. It is fair to say, by any measure, this initiative can be considered an outstanding success when one considers that, around the globe, there are now in excess of 80,000 members of the Irish diaspora connected to this programme in more than 147 countries. We have seen 81 companies locate in this country as a result of the initiative creating more than 2,000 jobs, with a yield to the Exchequer in excess of €300 million over the life of the programme and an estimated yield to our GDP of €1.8 billion.

In addition, it is very important that the Tánaiste knows, appreciates and understands that ConnectIreland is a not-for-profit company. It gets paid for job creation on a no-foal, no-fee basis. Every job it creates costs €4,000 whereas an equivalent job created by IDA Ireland costs in the region of €11,000, so the value for money can be seen. Significantly, it has gone a long way towards addressing the urban-rural issue we have, which has arisen because the Government and IDA Ireland have not been pushing enough jobs into rural Ireland with the result that there has been a concentration of jobs coming into the greater Dublin area.

On Tuesday, 21 March, the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation met with ConnectIreland and officials from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. It was a very unsatisfactory meeting because IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland failed to show. It is fair to say that there was cross-party support and a unanimous view that the work of ConnectIreland has been very successful. It has been proven to bring jobs into Ireland and into rural Ireland in particular. Now we are at a point where on 26 March, which is this Sunday, the contract is due to expire. The contact was extended by a year to allow for a review. That review has not gotten under way. We have had complete inertia from the Government and from the Department in regard to establishing it.

There has been a lot of momentum built up, there have been many leads generated, there have been many contacts generated and there are many potential jobs in the pipeline as a result of the Succeed in Ireland initiative and the work of ConnectIreland. It is coming to a shuddering halt on Sunday next. We are asking the Government to see common sense. Will the Minister step in and extend the contract? There is precedent because the contract was previously extended for a year. She should extend it for the period and duration of the review, which is about to get under way and for which we do not have the terms of reference. Can we have some common sense from Government and extend this contract?

The Tánaiste

I join with the Deputy in his opening comments as this is the first opportunity we have had in the Dáil to respond to the dreadful events in central London and outside Parliament in Westminster yesterday. I know that every Member of this House will join with me in expressing our outrage at this cowardly and evil act against innocent and defenceless people. We, like all right-thinking people, utterly condemn and reject such awful actions. Our thoughts and sympathies are, of course, with the families and friends of those who have lost their lives, among them PC Keith Palmer. He gave his life on duty in Westminster yesterday. We also think of the many men, women and children who have been injured and we hope for their speedy recovery.

I can confirm that there is an Irish citizen among the injured. I am advised that the person's injuries are not considered life-threatening and that the Irish Embassy in London and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will offer all assistance to that person and to their family. I have conveyed my sympathy and offered our full support to the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, MP. I spoke with the British ambassador this morning to express our sense of solidarity and our shock at these awful events. The ties that bind us across the Irish Sea are very close and strong. We feel, very keenly, that same sense of shock and horror that our colleagues, families and friends in Britain feel.

This is being treated as a terrorist attack and it has the hallmarks, as the Deputy said, of other attacks in Brussels and Paris. Whatever the motivation, there can quite clearly never be any justification for this type of inhumanity. I have been briefed by the Garda authorities and I spoke with the Commissioner this morning. An Garda Síochána is in constant contact with its UK counterparts, directly and through its liaison person there. Ireland cannot consider itself immune from the threat posed by international terrorism and extremism. The expert advice is that while an attack is possible here, it is unlikely. All possible steps are being taken by An Garda Síochána, supported by Defence Forces where necessary, to deal with any threat to this country. They will continue to work very closely with UK and international colleagues to make sure that we remain safe. There are a small number of people here whose activities are a cause for concern in terms of supporting terrorism. The authorities will continue to monitor them very closely. Today, however, is really about expressing our sympathy to all who have been affected by this appalling outrage in London.

On the points the Deputy raised about ConnectIreland and the Succeed in Ireland initiative, there was a detailed discussion on that in the Dáil yesterday. The Minister, Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor, made the situation in that regard very clear. It was borne out of the Global Irish Economic Forum with the aim of, rightly, involving our global diaspora. The context that should be put behind this is the fact that job creation has been so successful in this country. A strong policy has brought us to a point where unemployment has reduced from 15% to 6%.

On the Deputy's point on extending the contract, the Minister, Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor, made it clear yesterday that it is not legally permissible, due to public procurement law, to extend the contract. It has already been extended by one year and if the programme is to continue, IDA Ireland would need to put it out to tender. The board considered the future of the programme at its meeting in November and made the decision not to re-tender at this time. That does not mean that a definitive decision has been taken in respect of the initiative's long-term future.

Deputy Niall Collins

It is very important that the Tánaiste appreciates that we will lose a lot of momentum and initiative which has been built up if the contract comes to an end on 26 March. That will be very regrettable because many potential jobs are in the pipeline. The Taoiseach said yesterday that litigation was pending and the matter was sub judice, but that is not the case. We have to appreciate that ConnectIreland is asking for the contract to be extended for the duration of the review, and it will be happy to take its chances when the contract is advertised for re-tendering. Allowing all of the good work to fall does not make sense to me and my party.

On the legal advice quoted by the Tánaiste, ConnectIreland has received legal advice from Arthur Cox. It is one of the largest legal advisers in the country and the Government and State rely on its advice. Arthur Cox has stated:

We cannot agree that there should be any public procurement concern in extending the contract and, in particular, there is most certainly in our view no legal impediment that would prevent an extension of the contract to allow ConnectIreland to generate new leaks and approvals for companies to establish in Ireland depending the departmental review of the initiative and the resulting decision on whether or not to extend the contract ... It is both legally permissible and entirely appropriate in the circumstances and we cannot identify any legal impediment while the IDA are refusing to do so.

Can the Government not see common sense and allow the initiative to continue while the review gets under way, bearing in mind that it is not yet under way? The Department is dragging its heels in a very bad fashion, in terms of getting this up and running. We do not have the terms of reference for the review; rather, we just have drift and inertia. We will lose momentum. Common sense should prevail.

The Tánaiste

No Government has been as committed to job creation as this one. The Deputy can see the fruits of that motivation and work in the numbers of jobs that have been created, which is spreading across the country and different sectors. We will do everything possible to ensure that continues. It has been a driving force behind the work of this and the previous Governments. It is incredibly important for the people of this country, because they want an opportunity to work.

The Minister will answer questions on this matter during Priority Questions later today. She has made it very clear that legal issues are involved and there is no choice but to go out to public procurement at this stage. She has also said she will conduct a review of the overall situation, which is important. She wants to examine the initiative, including its successful elements, and develop knowledge of what has worked and how it could be improved. She is currently setting the guidelines for that review.

There is a legal dispute between ConnectIreland and IDA Ireland, which is regrettable. The Minister has outlined a way forward. The programme has to go out to tender at this point.

Deputy Mick Barry

The acting chief executive of Bus Éireann has raised the question of declaring the company insolvent as a real possibility. It is striking that there has been little public debate on this issue. Bus Éireann plays a major role in the life of this nation, including rural Ireland, the cities outside the capital and the school transport system. The closure of Bus Éireann would mean €59 million payroll taxes from its 2,600 workers being lost, as well as the expense of hundreds of millions of euro in redundancy and social welfare payments. Perhaps the Tánaiste can tell the House the exact amounts that would be involved.

On the "Six One" news programme yesterday, Ingrid Miley said Bus Éireann management had pulled the pin out of the grenade. It was an apt metaphor for what is a declaration of war on workers' wages as many workers will lose €4,000 or €5,000 in take-home pay under the plans. It is also a war on bus services. Dates have now been provided for the axing of some routes and the cutting back of others.

The stakes in this dispute are high, and include the protection of take-home pay, the future of Bus Éireann and the future of public transport in the State. It is in the interests of every public transport worker and everyone who cares about public transport that Bus Éireann workers defeat these cuts and that the Government is forced to properly fund public transport. A national public transport strike involving significant solidarity action from Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus workers could turn a long drawn-out battle with an uncertain outcome into a shorter and sharper clash which secures victory for the bus workers and forces the Government to invest in public transport. Such action now needs to be given very serious consideration.

Public transport in the State is significantly underfunded. The PSO subvention covers a mere 10% of total income, compared to more than 50% in other European states. If Bus Éireann was compensated in full for its free travel pass work it would receive an extra €17 million and the crisis would be averted. Instead, we have a do-nothing Government and a do-nothing Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport who refuses to intervene. The Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, acts as though he is on an episode of "Friends", the one where Ross folds his arms, tells us that it is a doddle and lets the national bus company go to the wall.

What will that cost? Can the Tánaiste give us a precise or an approximate figure? The figure could end up being the cost of the Government's desire to facilitate a low pay and privatisation agenda by doing nothing.

The Tánaiste

I reject the Deputy's characterisation of the kind of jobs we want to create and maintain in this country. I am of course aware of the letter issued by Bus Éireann management to staff which highlighted yet again the company's financial difficulties and indicated the measures it believed it must take to ensure the company's future. Trade unions are meeting today to consider their response. It is regrettable that last week's WRC discussions adjourned without agreement.

It is worth noting that since then the company and trade unions have highlighted that efficiency improvements are possible in terms of how the company organises itself. That is a significant signal which Members of the House should consider. People with real insight into how this company operates have acknowledged that there are improvements to be made in how it works. Last year, the taxpayer provided approximately €230 million to Bus Éireann across the PSO, free travel scheme and capital and school transport funding programmes.

Trade unions and management have publicly acknowledged that issues need to be dealt with within the company in terms of efficiency. They are exactly the type of issues that the Minister, Deputy Ross, has consistently identified when he has addressed this issue. They can only be resolved through realistic negotiations between the company and trade unions. I urge both sides to engage. Disputes are solved by parties sitting down, working through the issues and dealing with the reality of the situation.

It is not simply a question of taxpayer funding. We do not want taxpayers' money to be used in an inefficient manner. It has been acknowledged that there are very real issues within the company that need to be addressed, and they should be part of the discussion. It is regrettable that discussions in the WRC did not work out, but I have to agree with the Deputy that a strike is in nobody's interests, including the company, the employees or the travelling public, which will be completely discommoded if the strike proceeds.

Everyone wants to ensure that does not happen.

What is required is realistic negotiations that will lead to an agreement and deal with the problems the company is facing. Both sides have acknowledged that these are part and parcel of what needs to be addressed. We must restore the company to a sustainable future, which is what the Government wants to see and why we urge both sides to sit down, discuss the issues and come to a resolution of them.

Deputy Mick Barry

The Tánaiste rejects my characterisation of a plan for a low pay agenda at a time when workers are facing cuts in take home pay of between €3,000 and €6,000 per annum. Her position is not credible. The Tánaiste referred to the PSO that is paid. The PSO is 20% down on what it was eight years ago. The Tánaiste's position is not credible. She spoke about ConnectIreland and IDA Ireland and the corporate welfare of €1,500 per job for employers. Here is a company with 2,500 jobs but the Government is not lifting a finger to save them despite the fact that if the company goes to the wall Revenue will be down €59 million in payroll taxes let alone redundancy and social welfare costs. The Tánaiste did not answer my question about the cost to the State. That the Minister and the Tánaiste have not answered it is very striking.

I wish to report to the House that the mood among bus workers, who are ready for strike action if the Government does not back down on this agenda, has very much hardened in the past 24 to 48 hours as has the mood among Dublin Bus workers and Iarnród Éireann workers, who are engaged in serious discussions about what support they might give in the event that solidarity is needed.

The Tánaiste

I hope the Deputy would, as I would, encourage people to get into negotiation mode because that is in the interest of the workers about whom he speaks.

Deputy Dara Calleary

Encourage the management too.

The Tánaiste

Let me repeat what the funding has been. Funding for PSO services, those socially necessary but often financially unviable services, has increased in the past two budgets. This year it increased by 11% and last year it increased by 13%

Deputy Mick Barry

It is down 20% on eight years ago.

The Tánaiste

We all know what the country has been through and what decisions were necessary. As soon as the economy had recovered and we were in the position to invest again, this Government showed its goodwill to those services by investing. There was an 11% increase this year and a 13% increase last year and Bus Éireann received a 21% increase in PSO funding in 2016. I do not believe what the Deputy had to say on the Government's approach is correct. When the money has been available, we have shown our goodwill and invested further. I now encourage both sides to get around the table so that we do not face a strike next week.

Deputy Michael Lowry

I wish to raise the issue of the Government's position with regard to support of Bord na Móna. Bord na Móna, in particular, the Littleton plant in my constituency, has been traditionally known for its production of briquettes for more than 40 years and has given valuable employment to people from Littleton, Killenaule, Templetuohy, Thurles and surrounding areas. The facility in Littleton can be traced back to Bord na Móna's roots. Recently, to safeguard the facility in Littleton, workers have accepted restructuring proposals from management and unions through the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. This is a clear commitment that the workforce at Littleton briquette factory is committed to its future.

Recently we have heard about a Bord na Móna review of peat production operations and briquette manufacturing factories. This has led to concerns and fears among more than 120 workers at the Littleton plant. Bord na Móna is going through a difficult time in terms of the sales of briquettes, principally because of the imposition of carbon tax at the insistence of the Green Party in the 2010 budget. At that time, I negotiated a derogation for peat produced products but it was reintroduced in 2013. Since 2013 the carbon tax has doubled meaning that there is a 50 cent tariff on every bale of briquettes produced. On top of that, the import of unregulated fuel products from Northern Ireland is a massive problem in the marketplace for Bord na Móna.

The current review by Bord na Móna of its peat operations is of fundamental and critical importance. Its recommendations will shape the future of peat production in Ireland. It will determine what quantities of briquette production will be required for the marketplace in the future. It will also determine the number of production facilities and recommend the location of the factory or factories. Its recommendations will have far-reaching implications and shuddering consequences. It has the potential to destroy livelihoods and to consign workers and dependent families to financial hardship. The outcome of the report is capable of wreaking havoc on local communities. Therefore, the report is a very serious matter that must be treated in a professional, responsible, fair and caring manner.

The Tánaiste must understand that this is a nerve-tingling time for the employees of Bord na Móna, whether they are in Tipperary, Offaly or another part of the midlands. The prospect of further rationalisation or consolidation has struck fear in the hearts and minds of employees. What is the Government's position on the Bord na Móna efforts?

The Tánaiste

As the Deputy well knows, Bord na Móna is a commercial State company and the management and operation of briquette factories is an operational matter for the company and not one in which the Government has any direct role or function. However, I recognise the points the Deputy has made on the concerns of the employees in both places at present. Bord na Móna is facing significant business challenges in the context of the deregulation of the electricity market and increasingly competitive and challenging environments across all its business areas, not least its fuels business. It has been operating at a level significantly below capacity in recent times and there are a number of initiatives under way at present.

A comprehensive review is being undertaken at present on the operations at Littleton in County Tipperary and Derrinlough in County Offaly. The review will examine projected demand for peat briquettes as well as the plans for biomass and the combined capacity and infrastructure needed to deliver production to meet the forecasted demand. A serious analysis is being carried out at present on the production capacity and the demand and how they can be matched. As it requires much input from a number of people, the review is not expected to be finalised before May at the earliest. We will await the review and its analysis.

In the meantime, Bord na Móna has been working with and briefing staff and employees in the fuels business have been briefed on the review. I assure the Deputy that I understand that ongoing updates will be provided to them. Management has also provided assurances that no decision on the future of the plants will be taken until the review is completed. At the very least, we must await the outcome of the review in May. No one at this point can predict the recommendations that will be in the review, but there are a number of initiatives taking place which it is hoped will give the best outcome for the jobs about which the Deputy speaks. For example, there is a pilot trial for the production and sale of a biomass briquette made at its factory at Littleton for the past 12 months. The development of a biomass briquette is a significant investment by Bord na Móna Fuels and a critical step in future proofing the jobs the Deputy is highlighting and meeting the particular challenges faced by the company at present. However, the company is investing in research to see how it can best meet those challenges ahead.

Deputy Michael Lowry

It is important to realise that the Government has a responsibility to oversee the policies of Bord na Móna and how they impact on employment. I presume there is a process involved here. As the Tánaiste indicated, the report will be published in May. I presume it will go to the board of Bord na Móna before being submitted to the joint committee with responsibility for energy and natural resources, the Minister and the Government. The future plans and ambition of Bord na Móna must not be curtailed by financial necessity. The Government must encourage and support the company by making available the substantial funds required to invest in upgrading existing plants such as Littleton and providing the €35 million required to install and commission a combined heat and power plant at the Littleton site. The trial at Littleton has been highly successful and made substantial progress. I hope its conclusions will show we can manufacture a biomass peat product and that this product, combined with investment in the combined heat and power plant, will secure the site's future. I ask that the Minister take this into account in his discussions with Bord na Móna.

The Tánaiste

I will ask the Minister to liaise directly with Deputy Lowry on this issue. It is planned to run further biomass production trials alongside peat briquette production in the next few months, with a view to completing a detailed business case for this product. The business case will consider the location for the commercial scale biomass plant. If or when this product is developed, it will offer an opportunity to provide sustainable, long-term, quality jobs in the fuels and feedstock divisions of Bord na Móna. As the Deputy noted, there is still some way to go and we await the review at the end of May and the results of the pilot projects which are assessing the viability of the product and how it could be developed. At that point, there will no doubt be committee hearings on the report. We await with interest the outcome in May.

An Ceann Comhairle

That concludes Leaders' Questions. I should point out that, at the Business Committee meeting this morning, I was requested to ensure that from now on, we strictly adhere to the time limits provided for Leaders' Questions in Standing Orders. For my part, I will do my best to adhere to that request from next week onwards.