I remind Members who indicated this morning that I gave a commitment yesterday that there would be a carry-over into today. All of those who are on it will be very happy. Please show some discipline and before the question is asked please make reference to the promised legislation or the programme for Government and do not try to circumvent.
Questions on Promised Legislation
About two years ago, after the general election of February 2016 there were many talks about different policy issues. The Independents were talking with various parties and we met with the officials in the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten's Department, to discuss the roll-out of broadband. That followed a general election in which Fine Gael made a commitment that broadband would be rolled out all over the country by 2021. I asked the officials not to promise something they could not deliver, but of course they proceeded to say that broadband would be rolled out by 2021. The tender document was to issue that autumn. The latest news is that it will be early 2018. There is no timeline for the award of the contract for bringing broadband to houses and businesses across the country. We are still in the procurement phase. Meanwhile, across the country businesses, SMEs and households are finding it impossible to grow. It is a huge hindrance to them and an inhibitor in terms of the capacity of business already in the regions of rural Ireland to grow and develop and indeed to attracting new business and investment into rural and regional Ireland. It really is farcical at this stage. I would like to know, in line with the programme for Government, when the procurement phase will end and when we can realistically have the extension of broadband by the State to homes and businesses across the country.
I can tell Deputy Martin that broadband is being rolled out across the country through the commercial aspect of the national broadband plan. Currently 300 farms a week are getting fibre outside their door. We are passing two premises every minute of every working day with pure fibre. On the issue of the procurement process, it is a complicated process, as I have explained to the Deputy in the past. It is a 25 year contract. It is important that we get this contract right so that it does not end up like electronic voting machines-----
Ah now.
-----or like the national broadband scheme which was obsolete the day it actually went live. We need to make sure that this not only meets the needs of the current generation but the generations to come. It is a very complex procurement process. I accept that. However, what we are doing currently is putting the mechanisms in place so that as soon as the contract is signed the roll-out can begin as quickly as possible thereafter and that by 2020, 90% of premises in this country will have direct access to high speed broadband.
The programme for Government contains a commitment to update the national eye care plan. The Taoiseach made some reference to it earlier this morning. Last night's "Prime Time Investigates - Public vs. Private: The Battle for Care", highlighted very serious issues and discrepancies regarding the time worked in public hospitals by a small number of consultants. I listened to 90 year old John Paul Harrington describe how he would have to wait four years for a cataract operation. The crux of the issue is the failure of the HSE to oversee adherence to consultants' private practice limits.
As a result, some consultants are breaking their limits and spending a disproportionate amount of their publicly contracted time solely dealing with private lists. The Taoiseach is a former Minister for Health. Does he accept it is unacceptable for a consultant who is publicly contracted to do 39 hours' public work to get away with doing as little as 13 hours? Will the Taoiseach ensure that the Minister for Health and the HSE urgently address this issue?
I have already answered that question in my response to Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. The cataract waiting list has fallen from 10,300 to 867 and those waiting more than a year and a half have fallen from 1,694 to 421, which is a 75% fall in people waiting for ridiculously long periods of time. Our implementation model around eye care is starting to make a difference. Part of this is more primary care ophthalmology, which we think will also make a big difference.
In response to Deputy Barry's earlier question, the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, confirms that the new definition of substantial refurbishment will be out tomorrow and can be put on a statutory basis if needs be. He has also announced 200 additional beds, almost all single beds in rooms rather than cots, for rough sleepers in Dublin, which will be available over the winter period. The intention is that there be a surplus of beds available as a result.
The programme for Government contains several commitments to support the self-employed. I want to ask about those forced into false self-employment. Thousands of people across the country are being forced into bogus self-employment rather than being given proper contracts of employment. This is happening in construction, in the media and in the growing gig economy in a variety of sectors. The problem is resulting in significant losses of employment contributions to the PRSI system, and workers are suffering loss of rights including sick pay, redundancy entitlements and so on. The taxpayer has been deprived of the PRSI payments employers should be paying and my colleague, Senator Ged Nash, published a Bill yesterday to outlaw false self-employment, a Bill which has garnered a great deal of support from across the trade union movement. When will the Government legislate in this area? When will the Government publish the report on bogus self-employment that was commissioned more than two years ago by the then Minister, Deputy Burton?
The report is currently being looked at by my Department and I hope to have it published very soon.
This side of Christmas?
I genuinely hope so. It is being worked on at the moment with a view to deciding what the next steps are between my Department and the Revenue Commissioners to address the issues outlined by the Deputy. There is a section dealing with this area in my Department, known as Scope, and there will be a campaign around its activities in the new year to let people know exactly what their entitlements are and what avenues are available to them to self-determine or get an independent adjudicator to look at their case if they feel they are not really self-employed. I hope to issue the report sooner rather than later.
I call a representative of the Rural Independent Group.
A statutory instrument signed into law by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, about a month ago affects tractors which can do 40 km/h or more. The Minister has since announced that he is withdrawing it but I understand that a statutory procedure has to come before the House for the House to decide to undo or remove the statutory instrument. There is only 30 days for it to be rejected by the Dáil but the tractors in question are necessary for our agricultural economy. We are running out of time, as the Chief Whip knows, as the end of the 30-day period is next week. When will the process to reject the statutory instrument be brought before the House?
On the same issue, Deputy Fitzmaurice and I put down a motion on yesterday's Order Paper. In fairness to the Minister, Deputy Ross, I understand he has agreed that the statutory instrument was done in haste and should be reviewed, allowing for more consultation with the farming community. Will the Government agree to take the necessary motion, without debate, in the coming days in order to resolve the situation?
The Minister, Deputy Ross, has agreed to do so and we have agreed so it will be given priority.
There is less than a week.
Will it be done in the next few days?
The officials are working on it and I will get back directly to both Deputies on it.
The motion is there - it is just a matter of agreeing it.
A Programme for a Partnership Government includes a commitment to promote sustainable transport, in particular cycling. In a tragic situation, another cyclist died last night bringing the number to 15 this year, a 50% increase on the previous year. I listened to the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport answering questions earlier and whenever he is asked about sustainable transport his answer is always "I have no money". He only has billions and billions to spend on motorways and nothing to spend on cycling. What is going to change in the Government for it to live up to the commitment to promote sustainable transport and make cycling safe? Does A Programme for a Partnership Government mean anything? What is happening at the moment is not right and has to stop. Some 1,000 cyclists were outside the House yesterday, lying down on the ground because we are fed up with people ignoring the issue. What is the Government going to do about it?
I offer my condolences to the family and friends of the cyclist the Deputy mentioned. We are all affected by road safety and by deaths on the road and most of us, or our families, would know somebody who lost their life on the road. There are more and more people cycling, to work and recreationally, and that is very encouraging. The bike to work scheme, which the Deputy was involved in initiating, has been very progressive. There is additional money for cycling facilities, reflected in greenways that have been built all over the country in recent years, including those for commuters along the Grand Canal. In the capital envelope for the next four years there will be more money for similar projects, for cycling priority in cities and for greenways and this will also be in the ten-year plan. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, has tabled an amendment to the Finance Bill this week offering accelerated capital allowances, which are essentially tax incentives, to employers who put facilities in their workplace that are friendly for cyclists, such as bike racks to park their bikes and showers, in order to encourage more people to cycle.
From yesterday's list, I call on Deputy Eamon Scanlon.
The Western Development Commission recently issued a report on employment in the north west over the period 2011-16. The increase in the north west was 2.2%, compared with 11% nationally. During questions on promised legislation last week, Deputy McLoughlin stated that the Action Plan for Jobs in the north west was not working, something we have been saying for some time. The Taoiseach stated, "It will be a priority of Government in the months and years ahead to ensure that those parts of the country where the recovery has been slow will experience an acceleration in their recovery." I respectfully ask the Taoiseach to have a look at the national planning framework document for 2020 to 2040, which proposes five major economic zones, namely, Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Cork. There is nothing above the line from Dublin to Galway and no mention of Carrick-on-Shannon, Sligo, Donegal or Letterkenny. The plan is flawed. We do not want a fancy plan but balanced regional development where the north west has an equal chance of producing jobs.
It is out for public consultation. Letterkenny, which is twinned with Derry, is indeed north of the Galway-Dublin line, as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will know. We want to avoid a repeat of the pointless, disastrous, unnecessary and useless national spatial strategy we had with Fianna Fáil in office. It started off quite well, with a number of growth centres and cities, but turned out to include 20 or 30 across the country and became a joke. That is not spatial planning at all.
It is not a realistic objective to turn every town in Ireland into a city, it is neither realistic nor good planning and we will not produce such a plan.
It is encouraging that unemployment has fallen in every county in Ireland. The number of jobs in every county has increased, but it is uneven and it is not merely a case of greater Dublin versus the rest of the country. It is much more uneven than people might think, for instance, there has been a large increase in employment in County Monaghan but not as much in County Sligo, as the Deputy is aware. The game-changer for Sligo will not be a planning framework but investment in very necessary infrastructure, particularly the N4 to connect that growing town to the motorway and road network, and also broadband. I anticipate these are the kinds of things that will be in the ten year capital plan.
It is important that maternal deaths are fully investigated by way of a coroner inquest and that there is greater clarity and transparency in mandatory reporting of certain types of deaths. It will be an offence for a responsible person not to report a mandatory reportable death to the coroner. The Bill will also extend legal aid for certain inquests in civil law. This is a priority Bill. When can we expect the Coroners (Amendment) Bill before the House?
I met the Coroners Society of Ireland yesterday and am very keen to report progress on the Bill, the heads of which were approved by Government in May this year. Priority drafting work is underway. I do not have a date for prelegislative scrutiny but I would expect that this will be some time in the new year. I am happy to keep the Deputy informed.
The programme for Government gives a clear commitment to improve the lives of families and people with disabilities. Deputies across the House will be aware that respite care is a crisis for families across the country, and not least in County Louth. Following funding applications which have been made to the HSE for a unit for respite care in Louth which would provide for some 60 or 70 families in at 12 month period, premises have been identified and purchased by Praxis Care. The only thing that is preventing the project from happening is a commitment from the Government, through the HSE, to provide the funding. Will the Taoiseach ring-fence the money for this project immediately? There is no doubt that many families would benefit who are in serious crisis. I will continue to raise this issue until the Government realises that there is a major crisis in respite care, particularly in my own county.
This will probably be a matter for the HSE national service plan for 2018 but the Deputy might put a Topical Issue question to the Minister for Health of the Minister of State with responsibility for disability who might be able to give a more detailed answer.
I have done that already.
On behalf of the Government, I acknowledge that there is a deficit in the availability of respite care for those who need it. From our constituency clinics, we all appreciate the extent to which a day or two a week or a week or two a year can be a lifeline for families and carers who need a break themselves. It is something I am conscious of and it will be discussed at the Cabinet subcommittee on health tomorrow.
The following name is on the list, I call Deputy Danny Healy-Rae.
Earlier this year, the Government promised it would find a mechanism whereby it would be possible to transfer some of the money from the fair deal scheme across to people who need more hours of home help. We have been waiting for this when last week, we read in the papers that the Government will means test the elderly to see if they will pay for some of the public home help they receive. I remind the Taoiseach that most of the elderly receive only a quarter of an hour each day, some of them half an hour daily, and occasionally two or two and a half hours in total weekly. Very few get any home help on Saturdays, Sundays or bank holidays.
Will the Deputy ask a question?
Most families and elderly people pay for private home help themselves to make up the deficit. Now we hear the Government is going to charge them for the measly hours and minutes that they are being given. Why is the Government doing this to our elderly people? Why will the Government not assist them to stay in their homes as long as possible? Why is the Government doing this?
Other Deputies wish to come in.
The Dáil passed a motion and the Taoiseach promised he would find a mechanism.
The Taoiseach has been asked about the transfer of moneys from fair deal to some place else.
The fair deal scheme needs as much as it has. I do not know if it would be possible to transfer funds from the fair deal scheme to home help. What is being considered, it may be at consultation stage or it may have completed that, is to set up a scheme similar to fair deal for home help and home care packages. The fair deal scheme works very well. People who need a nursing home and are assessed as such can get a place in about four weeks. Part of the reason it works well is that it is a statutory scheme with a standard assessment across the country and involves those who can afford to do so making a contribution. It may well be the model for a statutory home help and home care scheme which would guarantee people the home help and home care they need within weeks, but may include a contribution from those who can afford it.
The next questions are from Deputies McConologue, Moynihan and Harty.
About two months ago, I asked the Taoiseach about the report of the expert panel on defective concrete blocks which had identified that there were some 5,000 homes between Counties Donegal and Mayo affected by defective blocks as a result of mica in those blocks. In some cases, the homes are falling down and crumbling. I asked the Taoiseach two months ago had the report been discussed by Cabinet and he indicated that it had not. Has it been discussed since then? The deadline for the report's publication passed a year and a half ago, and what the homeowners have been waiting on since is a Government commitment that a funding scheme will be put in place to help remedy those homes in the same way it was done for the pyrite homes. Will the Taoiseach give us an update and a commitment on this today?
I has not been discussed by Cabinet yet. I understand that the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Damien English, hopes to have it brought to Cabinet before Christmas.
The programme for Government gives a commitment that medical cards will be given to cancer patients. This is not happening. I am aware of two people who have been given serious cancer diagnoses who have applied for medical cards and are going through the rigours of the system to get them. It is difficult enough for a person who has received the serious diagnosis of cancer to cope with that without having to go through all the necessary paper work to get a medical card. I am not saying they should not be tested but there ought to be an emergency medical card given for the initial two or three months, at least, to allow them to start treatment. Earlier this week, a man who was beginning chemotherapy came to me. He had to pay out €600 for drugs, and he simply did not have the money. He was starting chemotherapy yesterday, on Tuesday. It is vitally important that a direction is given that when a letter goes in for a medical card from a GP or consultant in relation to a cancer diagnosis that it is given the urgency it requires, which gives space to the families to gather the necessary paper work, the P45s, P21s or P60s or whatever is required. In God's name, give the people that have received the diagnosis a medical card for a short period.
There is an automatic medical card for children with cancer; I do not think that it applies to adults.
It should.
Adults are means tested in the first instance and after that, they can be given on discretionary grounds, for terminal illness or, I believe, on emergency grounds in certain circumstances. Professor Frank Keane undertook a detailed review on this matter and determined that it would be unfair to select some diagnoses and not others, that there could not be an automatic right to a medical card for cancer, for instance, but not for multiple sclerosis, that it would have to be done on other factors rather than diagnosis.
On the cost of medicines, the maximum any household has to pay is €140 monthly and this will be reduced to €130 from January. We will continue to reduce this amount.
The Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016 is currently before the Dáil. It is a Private Members Bill sponsored by Deputy Gino Kenny.
The Joint Committee on Health carried out pre-legislative scrutiny on the Bill and came to the unanimous decision that it should not proceed due to fundamental flaws in it. The committee's report was debated in the Dáil on 9 November and the Government chose to reject it, although it had been unanimously agreed by all members of the committee, including Fine Gael members. In his summing up in the debate, the Minister of State, Deputy Stanton, said he would not recommend that the report would be accepted by the Dáil, although he conceded that the Bill was fundamentally flawed. In fact, he recommended that the Bill should be redrafted rather than amended. The decision to disregard the committee's recommendation must have had the approval of the Minister for Health and the Taoiseach. I believe this has set a precedent for other committees that recommend Private Member's Bills should not proceed. Why did the Taoiseach adopt this stance, which effectively undermined the position of the committee as well as the Fine Gael members on the committee?
It did not have my approval. I did not find out about it until later that day or the day after. I cannot remember exactly when. However, there was no consultation with me on it at all. When I heard what had occurred, I was not happy. I felt Deputy Harty, as Chairman, was put in the invidious position of defending a report that had been agreed not only by the Government parties but, I think, by the main opposition party, only to have it unwind itself on the floor of the Dáil. I do not think that is the way for us to conduct our business and have advised Ministers that I do not want it to ever happen again.
The Taoiseach got no email.
My question relates to the programme for Government and local government reform. This week Louth County Council's draft budget for 2018 was comprehensively defeated, with 75% of the elected members voting against it. This is a wake-up call that Louth County Council is dysfunctional. It is not able to provide a service to the community or local economy. There are poor public services and amenities and services are being removed. Above all, it is a lack of accountability and transparency which has led to this situation. For example, there is no proper assets register in Louth County Council. Houses were purchased four years ago but the audits that were carried out were not published. A lack of transparency has led to this situation. I know that the issue is currently on the Minister's desk. However, will the Taoiseach encourage the Minister to send in a strong team not just to listen to the concerns that were raised but also to examine the dysfunction in County Louth's local authorities?
I understand that the Minister of State, Deputy John Paul Phelan, is examining the issue at the moment to see what are his options from a legal point of view, including a new election, the appointment of a commissioner or the possibility of the council attempting to put together a budget even now at this late stage. He is examining the matter with the Attorney General and I am afraid I cannot give a further update at this stage.
The programme for a partnership Government states that "we will commence the design of a new [emergency department] in Beaumont later this year with a view to funding for the construction being provided as part of the 2017 Capital Plan". By any stretch of the imagination, that timetable has now flipped somewhat. Budget 2018 provided just €100,000 to fund design team fees in this regard and the project will cost approximately €40 million, so we have a long way to go. There is talk of the project commencing in 2019 but I have my doubts about that. The HSE is still talking about preliminary design works, including appraisal, project brief, design feasibility studies and so on. To me, that sounds like we have a long way to go.
This hospital was opened 30 years ago and is one of the busiest in the country. Its catchment area is rapidly expanding and it has an ageing population. There has been no major investment in the hospital since it opened. Therefore, when will construction of this long-promised emergency department commence?
I honestly do not know the answer. However, it is in the programme for Government and it will be done. I cannot give the Deputy a timeline but I will ask the Minister to clarify the situation.
In the programme for Government, there is a commitment to improving services and increasing support for people with disabilities, particularly in the area of early assessment and intervention for children with special needs. Today I want to raise the issue of assessment of needs for children in Cavan-Monaghan. The reality on the ground for parents is stark. They are being told that it will take two to three years to get an assessment for a child they know has autism or another intellectual disability and needs intervention. Then, having got the assessment, in most cases they wait two to three years for the intervention, whether occupational therapy, speech and language therapy or physical therapy. The Taoiseach and I both know that early intervention is crucial and critical to the development of those children. Will the Taoiseach see to it that these services are delivered in a much speedier fashion?
There is additional funding of approximately €90 million this year for services for people with disabilities and there will be additional funding next year as well. In terms of the specifics of it and where it will go, tabling a parliamentary question or a Topical Issue matter to be dealt with by the Minister of State with responsibility for disability issues would elicit an answer for the Deputy.
There is a commitment in the programme for Government to review the current tenant purchase scheme, which the Taoiseach will probably agree with me is unfair, unconscionable and possibly unconstitutional. This time last year, having raised this matter in the Dáil, I got a letter from the Taoiseach's predecessor stating that the Government would review the matter in the first quarter of 2017. Can the Taoiseach tell me if this review has taken place? If so, what did it recommend and what action will follow as a result?
I thank the Deputy for his brevity.
I cannot. I will ask the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, to follow it up.
I know that Deputy Healy-Rae will observe-----
Yes, fully. With regard to the programme for Government and phone coverage and the updated exempted development regulations for telecom companies, it is my understanding that a joint circular from the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, and the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Michael Ring, which includes the detail on the updated regulations and how recommendations should be interpreted by our local authorities has been shared with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. Those recommendations are scheduled to be discussed and reviewed in the Oireachtas before the end of the year. Their enactment would allow for the smoother deployment of telecommunications infrastructure, in keeping with proper planning, to ultimately enable better coverage of services for counties such as County Kerry. Does the Taoiseach have an update on the matter?
Did the Minister hear the question?
Yes. Those regulations are being drafted and I think the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, intends to present them to the committee before the end of the year. I wish to highlight, however, that local authorities are still going against Government policy and direction from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government and charging development contributions for the roll-out of communications infrastructure. I plead with colleagues in this House, some of whom spoke earlier on the roll-out of infrastructure in their constituencies yet they are taxing the roll-out of infrastructure. It needs to be resolved quickly.
Will the Taoiseach provide an up-to-date status on the family leave Bill? This will consolidate all family leave legislation, including carer's leave, maternity leave and adoptive leave. I have a special interest in carer's leave.
Work is really only at the very early stages of that legislation. We hope to have heads of Bill next year. We have to bear in mind that an EU directive on work-life balance is on the way. We do not want to introduce legislation only to find out that it contradicts a new European directive. However, we expect to have heads of Bill next year.
What is the status of the insurance (amendment) Bill. As the Taoiseach will be aware, the Bill will amend the Insurance Act 1964 and implement the recommendations of the Review of the Framework for Motor Insurance Compensation in Ireland report. It is important that it would come before the House to be dealt with.
That legislation is being handled by the Minister of State, Deputy Michael D'Arcy, and is due for publication this session.
Given that the Central Bank (consolidation) Bill is unlikely to come before the House before the end of this session, might urgent consideration be given to the introduction of a stand-alone Bill to introduce a new code of conduct for application for by the Central Bank throughout the financial sector, with particular reference to the primary lenders and secondary lenders, many of which have now adopted a very aggressive stance that will end up in many homeowners being excluded from their homes in the very near future?
I honestly do not know whether that can be done. It possibly can. I will ask the Minister for Finance to consider it.
I have a question for the Taoiseach, or perhaps the Minister for Justice and Equality, on the cybercrime Bill. It is very important that it be introduced as quickly as possible. I am receiving many complaints from people concerned about online bullying. I am sure Members throughout the House are receiving them also. The problem affects young people, parents and teachers. The vast majority of people are very concerned about online bullying. Could the Minister give me an update as a matter of urgency?
There are a number of initiatives in this regard that encompass areas beyond the scope of the Department of Justice and Equality. Only yesterday evening there was a preliminary meeting with a view to closer contact between the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and me on the specific question of the cybercrime Bill. That Bill is to give effect to certain aspects of a Council of Europe convention of some time ago. There are gaps in our law. It is too early for me to state a timeframe in any definitive manner but, in conjunction with my ministerial colleagues, I assure the Deputy that work is under way, albeit at very early stage.
It has been two and a half years since the Children and Family Relationships Act was signed into law. This historic Act truly embraced the notion that families are diverse and should be treated equally. Parts 2 and 3 of the Act provide for parentage through donor-assisted human reproduction and have yet to be commenced by the Minister.
Numerous families are running into difficulty regarding birth certificates and passport registration. It leaves parents vulnerable when it comes to kinship rights and emergency decision powers. The Minister has gone on record to state that it is intended the sections in question will be commenced later this year. Could the Taoiseach confirm that this is still the case? If not, when will the sections be commenced?
I am not familiar with those sections of the Act but I will ask the Minister, Deputy Katherine Zappone, to correspond with the Deputy.