Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:1. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on education will next meet. [43923/22]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Cabinet Committees
Ivana Bacik
Ceist:2. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on education will next meet. [45727/22]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:3. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on education will next meet. [46016/22]
Paul Murphy
Ceist:4. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on education will next meet. [46019/22]
Mick Barry
Ceist:5. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on education will next meet. [46036/22]
Pádraig O'Sullivan
Ceist:6. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on education will next meet. [46786/22]
Cathal Crowe
Ceist:7. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on education will meet next. [46788/22]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive, together.
The measures announced in the budget last week will continue to strengthen our schools and third level institutions, help families, support students and children with special needs and improve the learning environment for all. I do not have a date for the next meeting of the committee but, obviously, I liaise regularly with the Ministers for Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
In line with our commitment in the programme for Government, we will further reduce the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level to a historically low level of 23:1 and will provide for 2,180 new teachers and special needs assistants. This is a further reduction on the already historically low level and the first time such a reduction has been made in three consecutive budgets. A sum of €50 million has been allocated for the introduction of free books for primary school students from autumn 2023 which will benefit half a million children next year.
Additional funding of €2 million will be made available in 2023 to continue progress on senior cycle reform which puts the student at the centre of the process and includes the development of new subjects and revised curriculums for all existing subjects. There will be a significant emphasis on additional assessment components outside of the traditional final written exams.
We have made an unprecedented commitment to students with special educational needs and their families. We are making an investment of over €2.6 billion to build on progress made to date around additional classes, teachers and supports.
We have provided for a once-off €1,000 reduction in the undergraduate student contribution fee. Student maintenance grant rates will increase from January 2023. Funding of €17.4 million has also been provided for a once-off and extra one-month payment for all student maintenance grant recipients, to be made by this December. All apprenticeship fees will be reduced by one third this year and over 8,000 additional apprenticeship places will be supported. A once-off increase of €1,000 to support eligible postgraduate students will be made available, increasing the figure to €4,500.
The Cabinet committee on education oversees implementation of the programme for Government commitments in the area of education. Its next meeting will take place shortly. I have regular engagement with Ministers at Cabinet and individually to discuss priority issues relating to their Departments. In addition, a number of meetings have been held between my officials and officials from relevant Departments since the establishment of the Cabinet committee in July 2020.
This Government has made great strides in delivering on our education commitments in the programme for Government. Some of the highlights include the massive increase in apprenticeship places and the establishment of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, which will ensure that our commitment to the primacy of learning continues into the future.
In the past two years, we have introduced our plan for reform of the senior cycle of education and significantly expanded the DEIS programme for schools at risk of educational disadvantage.
At third level, we have launched Funding the Future - a landmark policy on the future of higher education. We are also addressing cost as a barrier to higher education, including changes to the student contribution and enhancements to the SUSI grant.
Since 2019, five technological universities have been established and since last year, as part of CAO reform, apprenticeships have been included on the application system for students. We are also working to support inclusion and diversity in our student body through our National Access Plan: A Strategic Action Plan for Equity of Access, Participation and Success in Higher Education 2022-2028.
In the early years and childcare sector, we have continued investment in the national childcare scheme and are making access to early learning and childcare substantially more affordable through the core funding scheme of €221 million which was introduced in September 2022. In addition, employment regulation orders, the first of their kind for the early years services sector, commenced on 15 September 2022. These orders will see increases in funding to early learning and childcare services to support improvements in staff wages.
The annual Education at a Glance report published by the OECD found that Ireland's investment in education as a percentage of GDP is ranked lowest in the OECD. That is the reality. As regards the teaching unions, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, ASTI, has warned that schools are in urgent need of a significant increase in funding. Similarly, the Teachers Union of Ireland, TUI, raised concerns regarding students from disadvantaged backgrounds and that the refusal by the Government to invest appropriately will only serve to widen inequality in Irish society. Indeed, research published recently by Dr. JoAnne Mancini of Maynooth University provides evidence of just how deep educational inequality in Ireland really is. The research found that State investment in post-primary education in Dublin 8 was radically lower than it was in Dublin 4 and Dublin 6. In Dublin 4, 99% of children go on to higher education, compared with just 28% of children in Dublin 8. That is one example; I could give more. The study also found that the Department of Education's planning decisions on school builds are serving to exacerbate rather than remedy inequality. Such is the case for Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire in Dublin 1, which is still not out to tender and has been refused DEIS status.
You are out of time, Deputy. I am sorry. I know it is not satisfactory but there are six speakers to come in.
I thank the Taoiseach for the report on the Cabinet committee on education. A number of relevant questions arise. First, when will we see a date for junior certificate results? I note a events company in Cork is suggesting it will be around 12 October. Approximately 130,000 students and their parents are waiting the results but no date has been set. I would welcome a response on that issue.
We in the Labour Party welcomed the announcement by the Government in respect of free school books at primary level. It is a matter on which we have been campaigning for many years. My colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, has led on that. Will the scheme be extended to secondary schools in the budget next year, recognising the immense cost faced by so many families in the purchase of books for secondary school students?
Finally, I ask the Taoiseach to clarify whether the schools energy retrofit pathfinder programme is going to be expanded to support a sufficient number of schools to make it worthwhile. It looks as though the retrofitting programme will only work for about ten schools a year at current rates. It is simply not enough.
On behalf of people who are studying to be psychologists, I have raised with the Taoiseach on numerous occasions the fact that educational and counselling psychologists who were doing doctorates did not get funding for very expensive courses. In the budget, the Government extended the funding to counselling psychologists but not to educational psychologists, which is madness when one considers the huge waiting lists for assessments of special needs in the area of education and for services and supports. That needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
I was contacted yesterday by a person studying social work, another area in which we need lots of qualified people. The person is doing a master's degree in UCD and stated that students are now required to do 14 weeks of placement unpaid while doing their master's, with no capacity to pay for that because it is not funded. That needs to be looked into as a matter of urgency.
Last year, a study published by Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta demonstrated that only 23% of parents in the Gaeltacht are raising their children through Irish. Thankfully, the use of Irish outside the Gaeltacht seems to be increasing, but there can be no real revival of the Irish language without its native speakers. A crucial part of that is the education system and treating Irish as a living language instead of a subject in which one just needs to pass an exam. Will the Taoiseach commit the Government to supporting the Gaeilge4All campaign and commit the Department of Education to beginning an immediate consultation process to formulate the policy for Irish all the way through the education system? According to information received by Conradh na Gaeilge under a freedom of information request, the State Examinations Commission has expressed great concern about the decision to move paper one of the Irish leaving certificate to fifth year and the grave consequences that would have for students' education, particularly male students. Will the Government reverse that decision?
I wish to raise with the Taoiseach the issue of the school completion programme. I know he is very familiar with it. While I welcome the announcements in budget 2023 last week, such as the €2.6 billion for special education the Taoiseach mentioned, the record number of special needs assistants, the provision for Irish Sign Language interpreters and, of course, the €13 million for the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, the one thing lacking was an up-to-date report on the status of the school completion programme.
Will this programme revert to the Department of Education and be detached from Tusla?
When can members of the junior certificate class of 2022 expect to see their results? They are all anxious to see the fruits of their labour but beyond wanting to get out and celebrate and digest their results, some of them have to make lower level decisions in respect of their fifth-year examinations and what may happen thereafter.
On the school transport measures, this is a fantastic scheme, although there have been glitches with it. Does the Taoiseach envisage the scheme being rolled out in the years ahead? In July and August, people can travel through any town or city because the cars dropping off children to school are gone. From an environmental point of view, it makes sense to have school buses on the road as this reduces congestion on the streets.
Deputy McDonald raised the issue of the OECD. GDP is not the correct metric. GNI* is a more appropriate metric given the particular composition of the Irish economy and the influence of foreign direct investment, FDI. In the OECD Programme for International Student Assessments, PISA, the Irish education system stands up pretty well in respect of literacy, numeracy and so forth, but we need to continue to develop. That is why we will have a record number of new school buildings and extensions completed this year and into 2023. The pupil-teacher ratio has been reduced for the past three years in a row and that will continue. The DEIS scheme is also being widely expanded.
On Deputy Bacik’s point on junior certificate students, which was also raised by Deputy Cathal Crowe, I do not have a specific date on the junior certificate examination results yet. It seems the State Examination Commission, which is responsible, concentrated originally on the leaving certificate and then the appeals arising from that examination because students would be depending on the appeals outcomes for progression to third level. I will speak to the Minister and revert to the Deputies on a potential date for that.
Deputy Bacik also mentioned the pathfinder programme. The Department of Education is at the forefront of design with respect to sustainability in school buildings and its performance has been recognised at both national and international levels, winning sustainable energy awards for excellence in design and specification. The schools that are designed and built in accordance with the Department’s schools technical guidance documents must achieve an A3 building energy rating, which is typically a 20% higher performance than is required by the current building regulations, along with 10% of primary energy being provided by photovoltaic and infrastructure provision for electrical vehicle charging.
Since 2017, the Department of Education and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, have been involved in an energy-efficient retrofit pathfinder programme for schools built prior to 2008. To date the programme has retrofitted 41 schools across Ireland with work on an additional nine schools added in 2021 under way. In 2022, six additional schools are undergoing deep retrofit to a building energy rating of B with renewable heating systems. This is jointly funded, with a €28 million budget from the Departments of Education and the Environment, Climate and Communications. It is administered by the SEAI and the planning and building unit of the Department of Education.
On the issue raised by Deputy Boyd Barrett, I am aware of the issue in respect of education psychologists and counsellors and I will follow up with the respective Ministers in respect of the issue.
Deputy Paul Murphy raised the issue of the Gaeltacht. We have to proceed with care on this matter and perhaps with a greater degree of deeper analysis. Labhraím Gaeilge, bainim an-taitneamh as na Gaeltachtaí agus baineann an-chuid daoine taitneamh astu. Caithfimid a bheith réalaíoch chomh maith. Is ré nua-aimseartha atá ann anois leis na meáin chumarsáide atá againn agus ní féidir aon áit a dhaingniú lasmuigh de gach aon bhall den tír, nó is é sin an tuairim atá agam féin, ar aon nós. Caithfimid níos mó áiseanna a thabhairt do scoileanna sna Gaeltachtaí, do na státseirbhísigh agus, gan amhras, níos mó Gaeilge a chothú. Caithfimid, áfach, a bheith cúramach gan an iomarca brú a chur ar dhaoine ag an am céanna mar go dtarlófaí go mbeidh siad i gcoinne na Gaeilge sula i bhfad má dhéantar é sin. Táim sásta déileáil leis na grúpaí éagsúla chun an cheist seo a phlé in terms of Irish for everybody, Gaeilge for all. It is much more challenging and complex than just a simple mantra.
Deputy Pádraig O’Sullivan raised the issue of the school completion programme, which was also raised on the margins of the recent public sector pay agreement. I spoke on it at the IMPACT conference. I am anxious that the programme move back to the Department of Education because it is an integral part of the education agenda and objectives. It was also part of the 1998 Act, with both the educational disadvantage committee and the idea of school completion being a core aim of education. There have been moves in that direction between Tusla and the Department of Education. I will provide more detail if I can get it in respect of completing that move.
Deputy Cathal Crowe raised the issue of the junior certificate, on which I have already given an answer. He also raised the school transport scheme. We should endeavour to continue that, not least because it is a cost-of-living measure that saves families about €650, but it also gets people out of cars and into buses. That is good for climate action, the environment and towns and villages as it reduces congestion. There always has to be balance when we start providing free schemes because capacity and affordability become issues. In respect of schools, however, we should work towards a model that takes the cost out of it and incentivises the utilisation of buses and trains as opposed to cars.
Cabinet Committees
Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:8. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will next meet. [43924/22]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:9. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will next meet. [44835/22]
Rose Conway-Walsh
Ceist:10. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will meet next. [44918/22]
Ivana Bacik
Ceist:11. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will next meet. [45728/22]
Pádraig O'Sullivan
Ceist:12. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will next meet. [46787/22]
Cathal Crowe
Ceist:13. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will meet next. [46789/22]
Mick Barry
Ceist:14. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment will next meet. [48634/22]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 to 14, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment first met on 8 July 2020. It has met on a total of 21 occasions, most recently yesterday, 3 October. The next meeting has not yet been scheduled.
Membership of the committee comprises the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Employment and Trade, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, and Transport, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht. Other Ministers or Ministers of State attend when required.
The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment is responsible for issues relating to the economy and investment. It had an initial focus on developing the July jobs stimulus in 2020 and has since overseen the development of the Government’s economic recovery plan as well as the review of the national development plan. It is also overseeing the development of government’s national digital strategy. Regular updates and analysis of economic developments are also provided at these meetings. Issues relating to the economy are regularly discussed at full Cabinet meetings where all formal decisions are made.
Again, as we have eight speakers, each speaker will have a little over one minute.
A recent national port study published by Wind Energy Ireland found that Belfast Harbour is the only port on the island ready to construct offshore wind farms. The sector has repeatedly warned the Government that it cannot build 7 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030 from a single port. The opportunity that renewable energy affords our island in terms energy security, affordability and job creation cannot be overstated. There is an urgency to all of this so we need a step change in the pace of delivery from Government that reflects the scale of the challenge in meeting the 2030 target.
If the State does not adequately and strategically invest, we will lose high-quality jobs and supply chain business to other countries. We need to invest in our grid, in developing battery storage and the green hydrogen sectors and in reducing the cost of producing renewable energy on the island. The offshore wind delivery task force is due to complete its work by the end of 2023. Its work will conclude with a roadmap. What preparation is being made now by Ministers to act on the task force strategy once published?
I have an email in front of me from an accidental landlord who has a tenant in receipt of the housing assistance payment, HAP. The person has to sell the property but does not want to evict the tenant. The landlord asked Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council if it would it buy the place at a reasonable price of approximately of €295,000. The council said it would not do so if a tenant is residing in the property. This is a social housing supported HAP tenant. For four years I have been highlighting a similar case in the St. Helen's Court apartment complex owned by a vulture fund, which is trying to evict. This is going on all over the place.
Will the Taoiseach please answer without clever sliding around with language, as the Minister does on this when he says he has told councils they "may" buy properties where people could be evicted? Can he instruct local authorities that they must - I emphasise “must” - buy houses where families and households are going to be evicted into homelessness, particularly when they are already HAP, RAS or leasing tenants?
It is truly shocking that the Government and the EU have been so slow to address the broken electricity pricing system. Last Friday, the EU Governments finally agreed to act. Sadly, “as little as possible and as late as possible” seems to be the policy there, with a token windfall tax that lets oil and gas companies keep the vast majority of profits. How will that even work for the likes of Corrib gas, which has €1.2 billion in write-offs against profit? The tax will not even apply to the electricity companies we see making bumper profits in Ireland, and the ESB made €679 million profit last year. The plan calls for the decoupling of the price of renewable electricity from gas only to set the price against coal. Anyone will tell the Taoiseach that coal is also at historically high levels, which means we will continue to pay four times the price for wind energy. Does the Taoiseach accept we will still be paying far over the odds for renewable electricity? Will the energy companies continue to make huge windfall profits?
We know the greatest risk to jobs and economic recovery this winter is the ever-growing cost of energy and the energy security crisis, yet the Government has not countenanced any kind of cap on energy prices despite most other EU countries pursuing some version of a cap. We saw a report on Euractiv at the weekend. I see the Taoiseach is shaking his head so he might clarify this. It appears the EU energy ministers have now asked the Commission to examine how the Spanish and Portuguese model of a price cap on gas can be extended to the rest of the EU. Can the Taoiseach confirm if Ireland is in support of a price cap on gas at an EU level? Can he confirm whether the Government has considered any mechanism to cap the price paid for gas at the Corrib field? In our Labour Party budget proposals, we called for the temporary nationalisation of the gas field to help us to control the input price of the 30% of our gas needs that we produce here on this island alongside the implementation of the Spanish and Portuguese model, given they have limited the price of gas for electricity production. Has the Government considered either of those options and will it support the EU plans for a price cap on gas?
A tax warehousing arrangement allowed a business to park unpaid VAT and PAYE tax debts that arose from the Covid-19 crisis for a period of 12 months after businesses resumed trading, and there was subsequently a further extension. Support for businesses during Covid was appreciated by all, particularly employment supports, rate cuts and the opportunity to warehouse tax. Will similar arrangements be extended during the period of cost-of-living inflation?
We are very excited in County Clare to see enabling works under way to develop a 1,400 MW €15 million offshore wind farm off the coast of Moneypoint, the Green Atlantic wind farm. Just like Aberdeen in the 1980s, when it became Europe's petroleum capital, we can exploit economic opportunities in the west of Ireland. Will the Government support research and development, higher education courses in the region and spin-off industries, all backed up by robust local infrastructure? There is more to this than offshore wind. There is a whole spin-off industry that can be developed with the support of the Government.
Economic recovery, but for who? Tens of thousands of pay-as-you-go gas and electricity customers are yet to be convinced that the Government has a plan to protect them from disconnection this winter. Meanwhile, PrepayPower made profits of €14.2 million in 2020, up 27% from the previous year. It is majority-owned by Ulric Kenny, who increased his wealth by €30 million in 2020. A major shareholder is Andrew Collins. According to The Times rich list, he made his third fortune from PrepayPower and is reported to have spent €1.7 million on an engagement ring back in 2014, when the country was reeling from austerity. The other big prepay energy company, Pinergy, is owned by Peter Coates, whose family are listed as the 16th wealthiest family in the UK, worth €10 billion, and their wealth increased by more than €200 million last year. PrepayPower is clearly a mechanism for transferring wealth from ordinary householders to the rich. Why will the Taoiseach not stand up to these profiteers this winter?
Last week, in the Minister, Deputy Donohoe’s budget speech, he said we would have an inflation rate of 8.5% this year and 7% next year, and he announced a series of increases in various payments, all inadequate and the vast majority below the rate of inflation. One group of people got absolutely no increase at all for the 13th year in a row, and that is foster carers. These are people who are providing vital care for children at about one twentieth of the cost of doing it in residential care and with generally much better outcomes. There are two rates of foster care allowance, one for children aged between zero and 12, which is €325 a week, and the other for those children over 12, which is €352 a week. That has not been increased since 2009. Since then, there has been at least a 20% increase in prices and they have not got any increase. This is not about paying foster carers; it is about ensuring they have the money to take care of the children in their care and provide the basics, such as food, heating and so on, but also extracurricular activities. Will the Government agree to increase the payment to carers?
Deputy McDonald raised the issue of Wind Energy Ireland. There is no question but that the next ten years will be an exciting ten years in respect of offshore wind development, and it is very important that we do that in a managed and controlled way. The Minister has already issued consents for the first seven wind farms and there is an auction to happen later in the year. That process is under way. The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, the new agency under the maritime legislation, has been established and advertisements are out for the CEO of that agency, which is vital in terms of facilitating planning. The capacity of An Bord Pleanála in respect of wind energy and maritime developments in particular is being enhanced and supported through specific financial resourcing of extra staff. Ports are coming forward with plans in respect of developments and infrastructural investment so they can be ready to benefit from the ecosystem that Deputy Cathal Crowe correctly outlined in terms of the spin-offs that can happen in regard to wind energy. Deputy Crowe is correct that there is a huge potential spin-off, particularly for the west of Ireland and areas that are more rural. To me, this is the equivalent of the financial services sector over the next ten to 15 years. Ireland can become a net energy exporter because of the resource we have with offshore wind. The Government is determined to drive forward with this in every possible way.
Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the situation for somebody in a HAP house or on RAS who is being evicted, and said that a particular council did not see fit to buy a house. The Minister has made it very clear that they can buy a house and they should.
The Taoiseach says “can” and “should”.
Does the Deputy want us to abolish all of the local authorities?
I want the Taoiseach to tell them to stop people being made homeless.
In a situation where somebody is in a HAP or RAS tenancy, they should not be evicted and the council should buy the house. That facility is now there and the Minister has made that clear to the councils. However, the Minister cannot make every operational decision in respect of every housing unit in every local authority area across the country. On another day, people in this House routinely condemn central government for overreach into local authority decision-making. The principle is that we want to stop or reduce evictions, and the facility now exists for local authorities to buy houses in situations like that.
Send a memo to them.
A circular has issued from the Minister.
It contains the word “may”.
In response to Deputy Conway-Walsh, the EU is not broken. I disagree with her assertion.
It is not the EU.
The Deputy mentioned the European Union in terms of the energy security meeting and the windfall tax. We are committed to a windfall tax. The Energy Council last week agreed an approach to a windfall tax and a solidarity tax from fossil fuel producers and a windfall tax from wind generation. The Deputy referenced the ESB. We own the ESB. The State owns the ESB so the facility is there for the State to take a bigger dividend from the ESB in respect of any windfall profits that are made on the back of the crisis. Not all of its profits were on the back of the crisis.
Some had to do with financialisation products and so forth. We want the ESB to continue to invest in renewables also.
We do not believe in giving energy companies a blank cheque, which the Deputy's party does. The Deputy's party has a view that we should just give a blank cheque to the energy companies. We believe in giving supports to the consumers, not to the energy companies. We want to support the customers and reduce their bills and, at the same time, use the windfall tax and the solidarity payment to help the overall taxpayer in terms of meeting the needs of households, protecting jobs and businesses and so on, which is important.
Deputy Bacik raised the matter of caps. There are two issues. The European approach to caps is different from the Sinn Féin Party's view or the United Kingdom Government's view, in that some - not all - are looking at wholesale caps. What happened in Portugal and Spain had unintended consequences for energy security and supply. France ended up buying a lot of it because it cost less. This is a very complex market and we have to be extremely careful. We have a particular supply line from the UK and Norway, which is important in terms of energy security. I do not believe in any arbitrary cap that would undermine that security of supply. Having spoken to people in Europe - we had a meeting yesterday ahead of the meeting we are having later this week in Prague - the European Commission will in all likelihood be tasked with seeing if it can come up with a realistic set of proposals, which will be difficult to do for 27 member states because everyone is in a different situation. The idea that you could have a uniform mechanism is a bit unrealistic. For example, Hungary, Bulgaria and other countries have particular dependencies.
Deputy Cathal Crowe raised the issue of the Green Atlantic wind farm and the whole area of the west of Ireland. I think I dealt with this issue. We would be prepared to support courses and programmes in third level in the region.
Deputy Barry asked for whom the economic recovery was. It was for the 400,000 workers who were unemployed when this Government came into office and who are now working. That is fundamentally what the economic recovery is about.
In terms of prepay, there are mechanisms that the Government, with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, is taking to try to alleviate the pressures in that area to make sure that people are not cut off or nothing untoward happens.
Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan raised the matter of the tax warehousing facility and supports for businesses. We are concentrating in the initial phase on the temporary business aid scheme. This is in line with the European Union's temporary aid crisis framework. We do not envision the full panoply of schemes that we used for Covid-19, but we are going to keep the situation under review. We have to see how this scheme works in terms of uptake and at what level of sufficiency is reached. We are limited at the moment in terms of the temporary crisis framework that Europe deploys. Europe itself is reviewing that.
I think that covers everyone.
Foster carers.
Apologies. The Government is going to examine that matter. It did not feature in social protection because it comes under Tusla, but the Government will examine that situation.
Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements
Alan Farrell
Ceist:15. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Taoiseach if he will outline his engagements with the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on the issue of Brexit and Northern Ireland. [44478/22]
Bernard Durkan
Ceist:16. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Taoiseach the extent to which he has had conversations with the newly elected British Prime Minister. [44710/22]
Neale Richmond
Ceist:17. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his conversation with the new British Prime Minister. [44783/22]
Brendan Smith
Ceist:18. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent attendance at the British Irish Association Conference. [44812/22]
Brendan Smith
Ceist:19. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach if he has spoken with the new British Prime Minister. [44813/22]
Seán Haughey
Ceist:20. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Taoiseach if he has spoken with the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. [44815/22]
Paul Murphy
Ceist:21. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his conversation with the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. [44842/22]
Ruairí Ó Murchú
Ceist:22. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the latest communications with British Prime Minister. [44933/22]
Neale Richmond
Ceist:23. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with the European Union Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, Mr. Maroš Šefčovič. [44784/22]
Ivana Bacik
Ceist:24. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his engagements with the new British Prime Minister. [45729/22]
Bernard Durkan
Ceist:25. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Taoiseach if the Northern Ireland Protocol was discussed during his recent conversations with the British Prime Minister. [46034/22]
Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:26. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his most recent discussions with the British Prime Minister. [48036/22]
Seán Haughey
Ceist:27. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with the European Commission Vice President, Mr. Maroš Šefčovič. [48123/22]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 27, inclusive, together.
First, as Taoiseach I want to put on record my sincere condolences on behalf of the Government of Ireland to the British people on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Il. I have met Prime Minister Liz Truss MP on two occasions since her appointment on 6 September. We also spoke by phone. I had a good call with the Prime Minister on 9 September. During that call, I offered my sincere condolences to her and to the British people on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth Il and paid tribute to the Queen's contribution to reconciliation and good relations on these islands. I also congratulated the Prime Minister on her new role and we agreed to keep in close contact in the period that followed.
On Tuesday, 13 September, the Prime Minister and I attended the service of reflection on the life of Queen Elizabeth II at St. Anne's Cathedral in Belfast, where we spoke briefly. Given the solemnity of that occasion, we did not have a political discussion. At the Prime Minister's invitation, I met her at No. 10 Downing Street on the morning of Sunday, 18 September, on the eve of the state funeral for her majesty. I can inform the House that the Prime Minister indicated that she was keen to have a positive British-Irish relationship. As near neighbours, we discussed a number of common and important issues, namely, energy, the cost of living, the situation in Northern Ireland and the protocol. We agreed that an opportunity existed for the EU and the UK to find a negotiated outcome to issues around the Northern Ireland protocol.
I attended the British-Irish Association conference in Oxford on 2 and 3 September. During that time, I addressed the association, which was a special honour, given that it was its 50th anniversary. I also took part in a questions and answers session with those attending. In my address, I focused on the importance of the spirit of partnership that was needed to underpin the Good Friday Agreement as we approach the 25th anniversary, having witnessed the benefits of peace, strengthened relationships and growing prosperity.
While in Oxford, I also met with the Vice President of the European Commission, Mr. Maroš Šefčovič, where we had a good discussion on issues surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol.
I continue to believe it is possible to reach a satisfactory outcome on the protocol through a process of negotiations. I welcome recent signals and commentary that the United Kingdom Government would prefer a negotiated resolution of the issues. I hope that serious discussions can now get under way between the European Commission and the United Kingdom Government to address the practical difficulties associated with the implementation of the protocol.
I thank the Taoiseach for his response. I echo his words on the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and I express my condolences to the citizens of the UK and to all those around the world who mourn her.
The four weeks since the appointment of the new Prime Minister have been eventful, to say the least. It would make an episode of "House of Cards" look dull. It makes me grateful for our level of stability and the good budgets we have over here.
I encourage the Taoiseach to keep up the good work as regards engagements. It is a new era and there is an opportunity that has not existed for some time to sort out the protocol once and for all and to get a solution that works for everyone, which is in the interests of everyone on the island and the people of the UK. The lack of stability and certainty in the UK benefits no one. In some communities in Northern Ireland in particular, it can lead to gross difficulties on the ground as well as instability.
I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. To what extent, if any, has he sought to advance the cause of debate on the Northern Ireland protocol? Has he seen any evidence of progress in that regard in the relations between Dublin and London? Did he have an opportunity to advance the shared island initiative, which he is committed to, and what was the response like?
I am grateful, as ever, for the Taoiseach's fulsome response. I am also grateful for, and strongly welcome, the surprising comments from the minister of state at the Northern Ireland Office, Mr. Steve Baker, at the weekend. They were long overdue, but welcome, and they form a basis for an opportunity to seal an agreed solution to the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol while also allowing us to return to a closer relationship between Ireland and the UK. What are the planned official meetings between the Irish and British Governments in the coming weeks and months?
I welcome the Taoiseach's statement that he hopes there can be a satisfactory outcome, without much delay, to the negotiations on the protocol and the issues arising from Brexit. A number of us who are members of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly had a useful engagement with a UK minister, Mr. Conor Burns, during August. He was in Dublin and met various groups, including parliamentary groups. He put the clear message to us that he was here to listen to our concerns and bring them back to London. We sincerely hope that what he indicated to us will be followed on by his successors in the Northern Ireland Office.
Thankfully, there is considerable cross-Border trade today in the area that I represent. We have enterprises that are situated north and south of the Border, and they depend on all-island business and do not want interruptions to business. Equally, they want unfettered access to the Single Market. People, regardless of their political outlook, want these issues dealt with so that they can get on with their daily business and protect and grow jobs.
The Taoiseach stated previously that the appointment of a new British Prime Minister was a chance to reset the relationship between Dublin and London.
As we know, the British Government has an important role to play regarding negotiations between the UK and the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol and the re-establishment of the Northern Ireland institutions. Positive signs are coming from London concerning these interrelated issues. The British Prime Minister, Liz Truss, said yesterday that there is no reason the Northern Ireland Executive cannot be reinstated immediately. The British minister of state for Northern Ireland, Steve Baker, has made his apology, as Deputy Richmond said. Negotiations between the EU and the UK are also due to recommence this week. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration continues to exert pressure on the UK to resolve these problems. Does the Taoiseach believe these issues can be resolved by the deadline of 28 October 2022, or is it more likely to be April 2023, when we will mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, before these matters can be finalised?
Liz Truss has been forced to perform a humiliating U-turn concerning her plans to reduce the top rate of income tax from 45% to 40% for those earning more than £150,000. The move was widely condemned as a tax cut for the wealthiest. It was met by mass protests right across Britain from the Enough is Enough cost-of-living coalition. The top rate of income tax in this country, however, is 40%. This is the same rate that the Tories were attempting to bring it down to and were forced to retreat. The latest development is that backbench Tories are in revolt against a move to cut, in real terms, payments to social welfare recipients, that is, to have increases in those payments that are lower than the rate of inflation. Again, this is something this Government actually did just last week. Our budget proposals included a series of measures to increase and have new rates of tax for those earning more than €100,000. Those proposals would raise €2.5 billion, which would be enough to allow for the permanent end of poverty. What does the Taoiseach think of his Government's policies being to the right of the Tories?
But they are not.
In Britain now, we are seeing where Tory politics meet the outworkings of Brexit. I have no doubt that the Taoiseach brought up the worries that would emanate from a British economy in freefall. I welcome that there has been changed language from certain sections of the British Government in respect of possibly doing a deal with the EU. It is absolutely necessary regarding the Irish protocol. Obviously, political unionism needs to be sold that particular message.
It is also fair to say we had a very successful Ireland's Future gig in the 3Arena. Preparing for Irish unity is the conversation out there now. The Taoiseach has said he is not interested in a citizens' assembly in this regard, but I think the people of Ireland are interested in one, or in having an equivalent forum where we can have a discussion on what a new Ireland would look like. We must do the heavy lifting in preparing for Irish unity. This is just what we must do in respect of the referendum that is definitely coming.
The Taoiseach said he welcomed the change in tone from the British Government. Others have pointed out the apology from the minister of state for Northern Ireland, Steve Baker, as well as the U-turn on tax by the new British Prime Minister and her Chancellor. Therefore, is the Taoiseach optimistic about a potential U-turn by the Tory Government on its Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, given this change of tone? Equally, given how fast things have been moving politically in Britain recently, has the Taoiseach been endeavouring to strengthen links with the British Labour Party? I speak having returned just last week from the British Labour Party's conference in Liverpool, where I was glad to lead the delegation from our Labour Party. I was also very glad to meet with Peter Kyle and Stephen Doughty and to hear assurances from them on their intentions if and when the Labour Party is next in government in Britain. They said that negotiations with the EU would be re-entered in good faith and that strong endeavours would be undertaken to repair the damage done to relations by the current Tory Government.
Whatever about a change in tone from the British Administration, which of course is welcome after six years of Brexit uncertainty and two years of threats to break international law, what intervention will the Government undertake in respect of the protocol legislation? It was championed in the first instance by Liz Truss and I understand it is to go to a second reading in the House of Lords on 11 October. What use will be made of the British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference in this regard? It is the only remaining strand of the Good Friday Agreement architecture which is actually working. I believe it will meet in London on Friday. What will the Taoiseach's message be to the British Government? I believe he needs to call on it to match its words with deeds, to stop this destructive legislation in its tracks and to prevail upon the Democratic Unionist Party to return to the Executive, at a time when people are suffering egregiously in the cross hairs of the cost-of-living crisis.
I call Deputy Boyd Barrett, who wants to come in briefly.
Liz Truss and the Tory right have faced a humiliating defeat over their attempts to cut taxes on the rich to the levels that we have in this country, as Deputy Paul Murphy pointed out. In better news, though, in another part of the United Kingdom, the Scottish Parliament has introduced a rent freeze and an eviction ban in response to the cost-of-living crisis. The Tories in Scotland are going mental about this development and making exactly the same argument that the Taoiseach has been making in opposing these measures. Thankfully, however, the majority in the Scottish Parliament voted to protect tenants from evictions and rent increases, given the cost-of-living crisis. Does the Taoiseach not think he and his Government should follow suit?
Deputy Griffin raised the issue of the protocol. To answer in general all the Deputies who have raised issues in this regard, following my meetings with the British Prime Minister, and her meetings with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, there is a preference on all sides for a negotiated settlement. If negotiations commence, let us give them space. I do not think we should be using language such as "U-turns" or anything like that. We want a negotiated solution in the best interest of relationships in Europe and Britain in the first instance, and then in terms of the island of Ireland and harmonious trading relationships as well. If such negotiations commence, there will be difficulties. They will not be simple. Space should be provided to allow an opportunity to get a negotiated settlement.
Deputy Durkan raised the issue of the shared island. When I spoke about providing space, that was a reference to the first part of the question. Of course we discussed the protocol, but I think the language being used is that we would prefer a negotiated solution to these issues. Regarding the shared island initiative, concerning the comments of Deputy Ó Murchú and others, that is the real dialogue that is going on. Up to 3,000 people have now engaged in the shared island dialogue in different sectors, in respect of, for example, the All-Island Climate and Biodiversity Research Network and the All-Island Women's Forum. I attended a very good conference held under the auspices of the latter organisation recently in Dublin. Just yesterday, I was at an event organised by The Wheel and the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action, which are the umbrella bodies for voluntary and community associations North and South. They have developed an iconic project to undertake a North–South approach to voluntary organisations and we have funded that through the shared island initiative. Therefore, I am very much heartened by the youth dialogue that has occurred and the new Irish tourism enterprise. A whole range of dialogues have occurred and these have involved at least 3,000 citizens. It is hard work, but it is the painstaking approach. I say that because building reconciliation and trust is not about just holding one assembly where people get together into a room and everything is solved. I do not think that will work. I think what will be involved will be the long and painstaking building of bridges.
Turning to what the research side of the shared island initiative has brought about, we have commissioned for the first time ever comprehensive research into the different systems that exist in areas such as health, education, enterprise and the services sector, to be undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Institute and the National Economic and Social Council. Weighty outcomes and outputs have resulted, particularly on school completion rates in the North versus the Republic. There are lessons to be learned from that information. Then there is the €1 billion we have provided to fund projects in this regard. We have developed a very rich vein of activities. I appreciate the work of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, and it unanimously endorsed this approach when we met.
I agree with what Deputy Brendan Smith said. The outgoing minister of state for Northern Ireland, Conor Burns, undoubtedly did a great deal of constructive work during August in meeting representatives of different organisations.
I think I have covered the points Deputy Haughey made about the chance to reset the relationship. We raised issues in this regard. The British Government has been contributing to some aspects of the shared island initiative in respect of research centres. I refer to using research expertise available in Britain, Northern Ireland and here to study issues of mutual interest. Turning to the question Deputy Haughey raised concerning the restoration of the Northern institutions, I pressed very strongly for the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly. Prime Minister Truss was adamant that, as far as she is concerned, those institutions should be restored. Now I cannot give a timeline as to when negotiations between the EU and the British Government will result in an outcome. The British Government, however, is of a view that if the Northern Ireland Executive is not restored, there will be elections. This was the view of the British Prime Minister, and she is adamant that should happen.
Deputy Paul Murphy raised the income tax issue. Our marginal rate is 52%, if PRSI and USC are included.
But, in Britain, it is 60%. It is not like they are. I checked it.
We are not comparable. Our taxation system is one of the most progressive in Europe. Those who earn the most in Ireland pay the most in income tax. If the Deputy looks at the Department of Finance documents on that, he will readily see how the top levels pay by far the vast amount of income tax in this country.
They earn the most income.
I dealt with Deputy Ó Murchú's question on the shared dialogue issues. I am not discussing domestic economic policies other than to say, obviously, in terms of us being so close to the British market, it has a great deal of significance for companies in Ireland.
Deputy Bacik raised the protocol. I have dealt with that in respect of the broader question of a negotiated solution. On strengthening links, we talk to all political representatives in Britain, including the British Labour Party. I have met with the leader of the British Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Scottish Nationalist Party, the Scottish Labour Party, the Conservatives, and those in the Welsh system.
Deputy McDonald raised the British-Irish Council, which met in Guernsey. The British Government's position is restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and they want to work with the EU to see if a negotiated settlement can be achieved in respect of the protocol.
In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, we had an eviction freeze here in the context of Covid. One big difference between Britain and Ireland is we have a written Constitution and anything we do has to be within that framework or else it gets struck down or challenged quickly. That said, we have always sought through various legislation to reduce pressure on tenants and we will continue to do that.