I remind Deputies that it is Thursday and we have 15 minutes for this slot. Before I call those with cards in numerical order I am obliged to call either the leaders of groups or parties. Deputy Curran is first on behalf of Fianna Fáil.
Questions on Promised Legislation
On the last day of the Dáil before the summer recess in July, the Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill was debated and concluded Second Stage. The debate was unusual because the Bill as presented on Second Stage was substantially different from the Bill that had undergone pre-legislative scrutiny. The section around defined benefit schemes was not included. The Minister acknowledged that. She said it was a work in progress and that she would bring forward amendments on Committee Stage. She went on to say that the amendments would better protect the benefits of scheme members.
In the interim nothing has happened. Recently, we discovered that Irish Life is in the process of closing its defined benefit scheme.
This will affect 3,000 members. The scheme is in surplus to the tune of €200 million. My concern is that the Government, having introduced the legislation and indicated the changes it intends to make has left a void. The members of other defined benefit schemes face a degree of peril or risk because of the Government's failure to move as it said it would. Second Stage was debated on 14 July and Committee Stage amendments are awaited. In the interim the void the Government has created is causing serious concern among other members of the schemes. Can the Minister give a commitment that those Committee Stage amendments will be dealt with urgently?
I am sure the Minister is working to develop amendments. I am very conscious that this area is legally complex and there are conflicting constitutional rights that must be steered through to ensure that any amendments that come forward are robust and sustainable. I will alert the Minister to the Deputy's concern in light of this development and I hope the drafting of amendments can proceed rapidly to meet his concern.
Several of the Minister's colleagues have signalled a review of the local property tax, LPT, including the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, this morning. We had advised Government from the outset that the local property tax was not a progressive but a punitive tax on the family home. It seems the penny has dropped as property prices and home values are rising not least in Dublin. The Government should be abolishing this tax. As it seems it will not do that can the Minister tell me when this promised review will be completed and will it require any legislative change?
I understand that the Minister has announced that a review will take place from now and hopes it will be completed by the end of August. The valuations on which LPT are now paid were set in May 2013. They will remain the same for 2018 and 2019. There could, however, be revisions on value as of 2020, based on market prices. The Minister has signalled his intention that people would see relative stability in the level of LPT they would pay. He has indicated that there will not be a massive expansion in people's bills. He has also signalled that there should be a review of the structure of the tax. It is a broad-based review. There will be the opportunity for public consultation and for individuals to make their views known. He has reassured people that the rise in property values will not see a surge in their liability. Instead, he expects to see a stable source of revenue coming from this which raises approximately €500 million at the moment.
This tax has made a very important contribution to sustaining services at a difficult time and has moved us away from a very volatile source of property tax in the past, stamp duty.
It is reported that the Government is considering an alternative to the repeal simpliciter recommendation of the all-party committee on the eighth amendment. This was reported to be on foot of legal advice advanced by the Attorney General. The committee considered this matter very carefully, as it did the separation of powers, in making a determination on this matter. Does the Minister for Health agree that we must settle this matter, without further delay, in a very open manner? To achieve that will the Government provide the legal advice, in whatever condensed form, to the Members of this House so that we can understand why an alternative to the committee's recommendation that the article should simply be repealed is being considered?
The Citizens' Assembly and the Oireachtas committee each got legal advice and came forward with recommendations on how best to repeal the eighth amendment. As the Government now navigates this important sensitive issue towards holding a referendum this summer we need to get our legal advice. We are still in the process of doing that. I expect to advise Government on this matter by the end of this month or the start of next month. I would be very happy at that stage to brief Members of this House and all parties and groupings once the Government has made a decision on that.
Last year 15 cyclists lost their lives on Irish roads, the most in a decade; 2017 turned out to be an annus horribilis for cyclists and their families. More than ever people are using their bicycles to go to work or for leisure. I am a very keen cyclist and cycle in here every day and I see that it is dangerous to cycle in the city.
The Minister's colleague tabled a Bill last year, the Road Traffic (Minimum Passing Distance of Cyclists) Bill 2017 of which I was quite sceptical at the start but on getting more information in recent months I think it is a Bill worth bringing forward to the next Stage. Any legislation that saves one cyclist's life in this country is worth debating.
I understand this is a Private Member's Bill. There is provision for Private Member's Bills being taken in this House and we are keen to encourage that. There has been some desire to evaluate its practicality and enforceability and it is reasonable that the House, whether through pre-legislative scrutiny or otherwise, would get information on the enforceability of such a measure and its practical effectiveness. We are open to such a process. The Bill has not been taken but if it were the Government would consider it with an open mind. Presumably, however, pre-legislative scrutiny would be required to ensure that it is workable.
There is a commitment in the programme for Government on education from naionraí and pre-school to third level and fourth level. The amalgamation project between Cahir Boys' national school and Our Lady of Mercy Convent girls' school has been stuck in the bowels of the Department of Education and Skills for decades. Planning permission has been granted and the design has been agreed. Could the Minister please try to resurrect the project and give it some semblance of progress to allow young children from Cahir and the surrounding area in the parish to have half-decent accommodation? They have excellent teachers, staff and boards of management and parents' councils but they are entitled to a fair standard of accommodation to be taught and learn in, not the Dickensian buildings that they have.
We have a substantial capital budget but the pressures on us from the capital side are huge. We have a series of programmes to meet the demographic demand every year, which absorbs approximately 80% of our money. We have programmes for additional accommodation, for emergency works, summer works and minor works. We try to allocate the money as fairly as possible to meet the needs. Every application by a school is given due consideration and has to be prioritised. I will seek information from the Department on exactly what proposition has been put forward by these schools and where it stands and I will communicate with the Deputy.
I remind Members that we are taking questions on promised legislation in numerical order. They should be on promised legislation and not specific questions. What number is Deputy Danny Healy-Rae's promised legislation?
Number 1. The Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, negotiations are about to take place. There are rumours that part-time farmers will not get payments from Europe. I remind the Minister and the Government that 80% of farmers nowadays are part-time.
The question should be on promised legislation.
It has to be remembered in these negotiations that these payments are-----
The Deputy is too specific.
No. These payments-----
Let us be fair. The Deputy is just skiting.
We are protecting the farmers' income.
We cannot allow this. The Deputy should speak on promised legislation.
These payments are compensation for not being paid properly for their product.
Ah, here. Can we move on?
Those payments are compensation for not being paid properly for their produce.
I ask the Deputy to be reasonable.
I am reminding the Government that it has to keep this in mind at the negotiations in Europe.
Will the Minister, Deputy Bruton, deliver the message to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine?
I will, certainly.
It is promised legislation that we protect farmers' incomes. That is promised legislation. I can vouch for that.
We are all aware that the delivery of large-scale infrastructure projects is complex and costly and takes a lot of time. In the mid-west and south, the proposed project to develop the M20 motorway between Cork and Limerick is a classic example. It will cost a huge amount of money - estimated at almost €1 billion. What concerns me at this point, apart from the timeline to deliver it which is yet unknown, is the impact on the potential landowners right along the proposed route.
Promised legislation.
In the context of the proposed review of the national infrastructure development legislation, where are we in terms of amending and updating that? It is a commitment in the programme for Government to deliver these projects on a more timely basis and to remove uncertainty for the landowners who will be affected.
I will have to get a report for the Deputy on that.
Under promised criminal justice legislation, it is widely known that there is an increase of over 14% in violent crime in this country. In my own town of Dundalk, we witnessed the stabbing and killing of Yosuke Sasaki, which made the headlines around the world. In this last month, five people have died as a result of stabbings. I am asking that in the criminal justice legislation we provide for zero tolerance, no bail and mandatory sentencing for anybody convicted of a crime relating to use of weapons such as knives and guns. I am asking that those provisions be brought to this House. What is happening is intolerable.
Allied to that is the fact that a migrant can move freely with no papers, as is the case-----
Promised legislation.
It is in respect of criminal justice legislation being brought before the House.
I do not know of any proposal from Government to introduce mandatory sentencing. This has been a very controversial issue whereby the Oireachtas seeks to remove discretion from judges to evaluate the individual merits of each case. It would have to be done with very careful consideration. The Deputy would have to consider with his own party and with others whether such an approach would command support across the House. I know the Minister of Justice and Equality would have very serious misgivings around mandatory sentencing as a principle. It has not proven particularly effective where it has been introduced. The House would have to give it very serious consideration. That is in no way to understate the genuine concern the Deputy has expressed about the increase in violent crime and the need to have effective policing and justice in those cases.
My question is on promised legislation for health. The programme for Government commits to improving the health care service for all, including to access to services and reductions in the cost of medicines for those with long-term illnesses. Why, then, has it taken the HSE so long to approve the Abbott FreeStyle Libre for inclusion in the long-term illness, LTI, scheme for people with type 1 diabetes?
Abbott submitted an application for its inclusion in the long-term illness scheme in early January 2017 and received acknowledgement from the HSE, which stated it would be considered in line with the Act of 2013. The application was to be assessed for listing under reimbursable items for people with diabetes aged four and above, which is critical, who intensively use insulin, namely, those requiring multiple daily injections of insulin. It has been almost a year now, with very little communication from the HSE. The diabetes community is understandably frustrated with the delay. Can the Minister indicate when a decision might be made and when this game changer for diabetes management will be included in the LTI scheme?
I am very pleased to say that I expect to have some positive news in respect of this shortly. I alluded to this at a diabetes conference in the Glenview Hotel last Saturday. I expect the HSE will conclude its discussions very shortly and put in place a framework to make this device available to people, in the first case in the hospital setting on the recommendation of a consultant. I will update the Deputy and the House on this shortly.
I must declare what could be considered a possible conflict of interest because I am a postmaster.
Would the Deputy first of all declare what promised legislation his question concerns?
It is the programme for Government. In the programme for Government, it is pledged to support our post offices. The online system for renewing passports is extremely quick, easy and convenient. The big difference between online and the paper application is that people do not have to get a garda to approve the online version. Will the Government please carry out a review of the paper passport application? The online version is taking greatly from the post offices because people do not want to spend the time looking for gardaí to stamp the forms. I urge the Government to keep to its commitment to our post offices by carrying out that review.
I will have to refer the question to the Minister responsible as to why there is this distinction between the requirement of a garda signature on one and not the other.
Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh, a well-known barrister, was renewing his insurance with AA Ireland. He happened to speak to somebody who knew Irish; the conversation switched into Irish and then the phone line dropped. He rang back and asked to speak to the same individual. He was told that he could but would not be allowed to speak Irish. The AA, functioning in Ireland, is banning its staff talking to Irish people in Irish.
We are all awaiting the Bill to amend Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla. Is it not logical that companies operating on licence in this country would, in that Bill, be requested to respect the national language and to facilitate Irish speakers?
There is an online campaign under way called níl sé ceart go leor, #nílsécgl. It is in response to the disrespect and second-class citizenship that many Irish speakers experience at the hands of this Government, the public services and commercial organisations. Can we fix this?
I understand that the official languages Bill is under pre-legislative scrutiny at the moment. I imagine the committee will be in a position to consider suggestions like the Deputy's before the Bill is considered here as substantive legislation.
In view of the brevity of the last speakers, I will take one more question.
My question concerns the programme for Government and farmers' incomes. Farmers from the north, south and south west are under huge pressure with fodder crisis, as well as grain and suckler farmers suffering losses in their incomes. This was discussed quite a lot in the programme for Government. For the survival of the suckler farm, would the Government set up a €200 suckler cow scheme to help those farmers?
I know that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is particularly concerned about the fodder situation and has set up a national committee to work with the farming community regarding the fodder shortage. That is in place and Teagasc has had a number of meetings to seek to address the issue, and to help farmers better budget and plan their fodder provision.
I do not know about the other question raised by the Deputy and will ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to respond to him.