On two occasions here today, the Taoiseach has been given the opportunity to give the explanation for the exclusion of children who spent less than six months in a mother and baby home or a county home from the redress scheme, and on two occasions the Taoiseach has failed to set out very clearly why that decision has been made. He said it is not a matter of cost containment. We will take him on his word on that. Will he set out, in clear language, why it is that the Government is proceeding in this way and insisting on the exclusion of these survivors from the redress scheme? It would be really helpful if the Taoiseach did not read a precooked scripted response.
Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Like the Deputy does with her questions.
I would like to know his understanding and his justification, as Head of Government, for this approach.
Come on now, Deputy. I think you use scripts quite a lot in this House. Usually when you are asking me questions, you use a script and I answer without one.
Yes, absolutely.
Give us your view.
Leaving that aside, I think we have explained it.
You have not.
I did in my response, and the Minister has in the debates in the Dáil.
Just for the record,-----
Please, Deputy.
-----that is a non-explanation because you cannot defend this. You cannot stand over this.
Please, Deputy.
That is the truth.
I call Deputy Bacik.
I want to raise the serious news that Google has announced that it plans to cut 240 from its Irish workforce. My thoughts today, like those of all of us, are with those individuals who are affected by this announcement and with their families. Of course, the job losses will impact those employed by Google within my own constituency of Dublin Bay South, in particular, where Google has a very significant presence. Indeed, it has a significant level of engagement with local communities in Ringsend, Irishtown and around Pearse Street and the south-east inner city. I acknowledge that staff have been informed and that Google has notified the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and public representatives in the area, including me. That is welcome, but it is of huge concern to see these announcements being made. We are conscious that it represents only 4.3% of Google's Irish workforce, so it is less than the 6% cut being applied globally by Google. That is one small positive. I wish the employee representatives well as they enter talks in the consultation period. What plans does Government have to reassure other employees in the tech sector who may also be facing this sort of announcement?
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, is engaging with the tech sector and, indeed, was on the west coast of the US only a week or two ago engaging at the highest level with those companies. I am very sorry to hear about the job losses in Google today. Obviously, my thoughts are with those affected and their families. The Government will make sure that everyone receives their statutory rights. We hope it will be possible, as it usually is in these circumstances, to negotiate an enhanced redundancy and exit package. That would be the norm for companies of this nature. We will make sure that people affected are fully aware of all the opportunities available to them, whether it is job search, education, training or help setting up their own business. All of those things will be put in place. While I would not diminish any job losses in any way, it does appear that the kind of retrenchment we are seeing in the tech sector is in the region of 5% to 10%. It still means many more people work in the tech sector today than did two or three years ago. In the medium term, we are still going to see the sector grow and hire again.
Last week, the Taoiseach disregarded the research of Barnardos that stated 10% of families were using food banks. He seems to be disregarding the research of the ESRI as well. Less than a year ago, it published a report showing how the Government's poverty target could be achieved with a focus on the working family payment and the qualified child increase. Why, then, were these benefits only given a cursory glance in the budget and totally ignored in this week's cost-of-living package? I am sure the Taoiseach is going to tell me about the child benefit payment announcement this week and the back-to-school payment, but the ESRI research shows child benefit is one of the least effective ways to reduce poverty precisely because it is universal. While free books and school meals are very welcome, they will not affect the poverty rate, as that is measured by income. The Government says it has grand ambitions around poverty, but as the saying goes, show me how you spend your money and I will show you your priorities. Why are these key payments still being ignored?
They have not been ignored.
Yes, they have.
We increased the qualified child allowance and the working family payment in the budget. Just yesterday, we announced an additional payment for those who are recipients of the working family payment.
I want to return to the issue of the mother and baby home redress scheme. As the Taoiseach is aware, I was adopted and I spent an uncertain amount of time in a mother and baby home. I am acutely aware that the vast majority of adoptions, where mother and child were separated, were a result of the stigma and pressure that was put by a frankly twisted morality of church and State about children being born outside wedlock or mothers becoming pregnant outside wedlock. How much time was spent in that regard, in terms of the primal wound of the separation - effectively, the forced separation - of mother and child, is not the issue. Even the most cursory understanding of human child psychological development tells us that the separation of mother and child at the earliest point is a trauma for that child and, indeed, for the mother. The Taoiseach has not responded to that point and he has not explained why the Government would have this arbitrary threshold of six months when it is self-evident that damage can be and was done to mother and child before six months.
There will be many opportunities to debate this further in the House and, indeed, in the Seanad. As I indicated earlier, the response is not just a financial response.
There is a lot more to it than that. The biggest change we have made, in many ways, is giving people access to their birth information. In the past, they said it could not be done. With a lot of work from Government and through a lot of co-operation with advocates and the people concerned and the assistance of the previous Attorney General, we were able to change the situation to allow people to get access to their birth certificates and early life information. That is a response that should not be discounted.
Of the 27 EU countries, only 21 deployed small medical teams and search and rescue teams to Türkiye in the aftermath of the recent earthquake. Ireland, unfortunately, sent nobody at all. I accept the fact we provided approximately €10 million, which was a good thing, but money is of little use to families who are caught beneath the rubble. It is a pity. We have the Civil Defence and the Reserve Defence Force. We have the rapid response corps in the Department of Foreign Affairs. The ultimate expression of solidarity is to put people and boots on the ground. Would the Taoiseach agree that this is an area for improvement? Will he agree to look at this matter over the coming weeks? We could place teams on standby to deploy to the next natural disaster abroad when it comes.
I thank the Deputy. I agree this is a matter at which we need to look. I discussed the matter with the Tánaiste, Deputy Martin, because as Minister for Defence he is responsible for emergency response. I may be wrong, but it would appear that one of the reasons we did not send a team abroad is because we are not set up in that way in Ireland. For example, when the terrible events happened at Creeslough, we were largely dependent on people coming from Northern Ireland to do search and rescue for us. We are obviously not set up for earthquakes but we need to be set up for things such as gas explosions and, God forbid, bombs. It seems we are not. It is not just a case of not having a crew to send abroad. We do not really have the right set-up should an event like that happen here. That is a matter we will look into.
The Taoiseach has visited Clonmel Garda station in the past. It is a Dickensian station. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, opened the lovely new plaza, which involved considerable investment, on Monday. There is a site there for the Garda station. Planning permission has been granted and the plans have been approved. For some strange reason, and this is downright unacceptable, that project is being bundled with Clonakilty Garda station and the new children's court. The new children's court is a different proposition altogether. Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister for Justice to remove Clonmel Garda station from that bundle with the children's court? Different buildings, architects and contractors are required for public private partnerships. I ask that the bundling is ceased. I have no problem with other Garda stations with the same footprint being involved, but that Clonmel Garda station has been lumped in with the new children's court in the past 15 months is off the wall. It is further delaying matters and could delay them for years to come. It is not acceptable to the gardaí in Clonmel or the public.
I understand the bundle comprises Clonmel Garda station, Macroom Garda station and the Hammond Lane court complex. I know this issue is also of great concern to Senator Ahearn and Deputy Cahill.
It should be of concern to them.
I met this week with the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery, and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Deputy O'Donovan, and the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris. We are now examining the option of splitting the Garda station projects from the courts project.
It should never have happened.
That might allow them to go ahead more quickly. We want to be sure that is the case and we also need to work out how we will reprofile the funding. It would not cost any more but the funding line would fall differently. That is being worked on at the moment.
Carrickfinn Airport in west Donegal has been regularly voted one of the most spectacular and scenic airports in the world. Unfortunately, the service currently available to the public leaves a lot to be desired. There have been constant delays and cancellations of flights, sometimes without notice, which is worrying for people who depend on the service, particularly cancer sufferers who rely on it to access treatment in Dublin. Many patients cannot sit for long periods on bus journeys to attend clinics. The air service is vital for such people.
Service users are being told that flights are being cancelled due to technical issues. Are these issues that there are no staff to staff the flights or are substandard aircraft being used? The term "technical issues" needs to be explained. What are the technical issues the flights are encountering? Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister for Transport to intervene to see what the problem is and resolve it?
I thank the Deputy. Carrickfinn is an airport I have used on occasion. I know it is a valuable service for people in Donegal. It plays a genuine public service obligation, PSO, role. People use it to get to medical appointments in Dublin and things like that. I am glad we are able to continue to fund it.
I do not have a detailed response to give the Deputy. I am aware there are some difficulties but I am not aware of their cause. I will make sure that either the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, or the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, comes back to the Deputy on the issue.
I raise the issue of access for private patients to GP care. A number of constituents have contacted me in recent weeks because they cannot get access to a GP. We welcome the many Ukrainians who have come to our county. We are building a village in Thurles with 60-plus modular units. We are providing other buildings for refugees from Ukraine. It is essential we have the services, both medical and educational, to ensure everyone has access to the services they need. The lack of GP services for private patients is becoming a big issue in my county.
I thank the Deputy. I am aware this is an issue not only in the Deputy's county but throughout the State. People are struggling to find a GP with whom to register. It is certainly an issue in my constituency too. We have more GPs with HSE contracts than ever before but, of course, we also have a bigger population than ever before. We have an ageing population with growing medical needs. We are keen to work with the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, and the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP, to find solutions to this issue. We are dramatically increasing the number of GPs we are training to try to increase the number of GPs working in the service.
Drogheda is the largest town in Ireland and it has the longest waiting list in the country for driving tests. If you apply for a test today, it will be 27 November before you get an invitation to formally apply and 2024 before you sit your test. That compares badly with Dundalk, where the waiting time is three months, Navan, where the waiting time is two months, and Monaghan, where the waiting time is less than two months.
The Road Safety Authority, RSA, has promised to establish a permanent test centre in Drogheda but has failed to do so despite the many suitable proposals that have been made. Will the Taoiseach raise this as a matter of urgency so that Drogheda people can be treated the same as anybody else in the country and can get a driving test in an appropriate amount of time?
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which I know will be of real interest to people in the greater Drogheda area, in wider County Louth and in County Meath. The RSA has statutory responsibility for all aspects of the national driving test. The test centre in Marian Park, Drogheda, is due to close by the end of February when the lease on the site expires. The authority has reviewed several options in the area but to date has not found a suitable alternative location to host a test centre. The RSA continues to investigate locations to provide the Drogheda area with a better driver testing service.
Sanction has now been given to increase the number of driver testers from 100 to 130. It is hoped that, when those people are hired, we will see an improvement in waiting times.
I listened while others were talking about the upcoming anniversary. There is another anniversary coming up, as the Taoiseach is aware, with regard to Ballyseedy. People may or may not know of the incident, nearly 100 years ago, when eight prisoners were taken from custody, tied to a landmine and blown up. I recently spoke to the nephew of one of the men who was killed. He is upset that, following the massacre, a court of inquiry was established and the results of that inquiry were read into the Dáil record, stating, "The civilians in question lost their lives in explosions while removing obstructions on the road placed there by Irregulars." That is clearly not the case, which, in fairness to the Taoiseach, he has acknowledged. I will be writing to the Ceann Comhairle to see how the Dáil record can be corrected. I am asking the Taoiseach to support us in our endeavours to ensure that happens and to acknowledge those events did not happen in the way suggested.
I thank the Deputy. This is a sensitive matter. Perhaps we can try to deal with it in the way he has mentioned, that is, through correspondence with the Ceann Comhairle and other engagements. I acknowledge that things happened during the Civil War that should not have happened. Atrocities were committed on the side of the National Army and the Government and on the side of the Irregulars and those who opposed the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Indeed, many atrocities have been committed more recently than that by people who decided to use violence for political ends. We need to respond to these things in the round.
I wish to raise a concern about the continued incursion into Dublin Airport's airspace by private drones. Are there plans to step up or improve detection methods? Is there potential for the modification of technology to deliver better outcomes? Can we be more effective in the area of enforcement? This is a source of considerable concern and disruption. We need to get to grips with it.
I very much agree with Deputy Bruton on this. It is something the Government is very much seized of. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, have engaged with Dublin Airport Authority and the Irish Aviation Authority on the matter. It should not be the case that a person remotely controlling a small drone can disrupt people's lives and disrupt air travel. That is not acceptable. It is not fair on people. It disrupts people's lives and it disrupts families and businesses. The Ministers are working hard to find a solution.
I recently attended a community meeting with local gardaí on antisocial behavioural issues in a town in my constituency. The gardaí at the meeting said this is a priority area but that there were no gardaí to put out on the beat. This is not their fault, of course, but it is very worrying for the town itself. It is particularly worrying for rural communities in which Garda stations have been closed in recent years. Yesterday morning, I heard the general secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, on the radio. She described the recruitment issues in the Garda as grave. They are grave because the targets being set by Government are not being met. There were to be 800 gardaí recruited last year but fewer than 120 actually enlisted. This is an issue of great concern for all of us with regard to keeping our communities safe. It is clear that more gardaí are leaving - some 107 resigned last year - than starting. The AGSI has put forward proposals in this area and did so again on the radio yesterday morning. What is the Government going to do about the recruitment and retention crisis in An Garda Síochána?
I have discussed this matter with the Minister for Justice and the Garda Commissioner, who was one of the first people I met when I was reappointed to the office of Taoiseach. They have plans in place to ramp up recruitment dramatically this year. Funding has been provided for an additional 1,000 gardaí. If successfully recruited, this will mean more new gardaí than retirements or resignations. A recruitment campaign is due to launch quite soon.
I raise with the Taoiseach a situation in Gortnahoo in Tipperary, where Eir is trying to construct an 18 m mast. The county council has turned down planning permission for this mast, as county councils throughout the country have done in similar cases. However, in its wisdom, An Bord Pleanála has overturned that decision. The residents in Gortnahoo want their broadband and all of that. They have offered four different sites but Eir has not even looked at them. Why are county councils spending a fortune drawing up development plans when An Bord Pleanála is overturning decisions by county councils throughout the country? Will the Minister intervene, help the likes of Gortnahoo and small villages like it and ask An Bord Pleanála to stop overturning decisions made by local authorities?
I do not believe so. Planning decisions are made by local authorities in the first instance and final decisions on appeals are made by An Bord Pleanála. The only recourse is a judicial review in the courts. I do not believe the Minister has the power to intervene.
Does the Taoiseach realise what it would cost for a small business to seek a judicial review?
The National Transport Authority, NTA's roll-out of BusConnects has been, to be blunt, a bit of a mess. In my constituency, residents are losing the services they like without any clarity as to when the improved infrastructure to make the bus service run effectively will be in place. The 58 is due to come once an hour, which is not sufficient. The number 60 comes once an hour, leaving people without effective public transport. I will be raising this directly with the Minister for Transport, but I want assurances that Government will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the NTA delivers effective public transport including, if necessary, reviewing the structure of the NTA itself if it is failing to deliver effective public transport.
I appreciate the matter the Deputy raises will be of real concern and interest to people living in Dublin South-Central. These are, of course, matters for the Minister for Transport and the NTA. I know that, when such issues arise in my constituency, it is sometimes a question of a trade-off between a more convenient service that picks you up closer to your house and a more frequent service that requires you to walk a bit of a distance. It can be hard to convince people that this is an improvement. Indeed, sometimes it is not, which is why it is important the NTA listens to communities and to the Deputy's remarks.
As the Taoiseach will be aware, earlier this week, it was reported that the independent energy operator Pinergy is to offer customers a very welcome 7.1% reduction in electricity costs. This will equate to an average reduction of €183 per customer. This has clearly shown us that the other energy companies have nowhere to hide. In the event that the other energy companies do not give customers reductions, will the Taoiseach direct the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to come to the House and explain the rationale for fleecing customers such as ordinary households, farming families and businesses? This has to happen. Only two weeks ago, I was very saddened to see the closure of a great family business in Birr, County Offaly, Milne Foods. We do not want that happening. I recognise the Government is putting a scheme in place but the energy companies also have a part to play.
The Deputy is right; the energy companies do have a part to play in this. It is welcome that Pinergy has reduced its prices. It was one of the more expensive suppliers in the market in the first instance. There is, of course, an interplay between wholesale prices and retail prices and hedging forward. I understand, as we all do, how the energy market works. It would not be acceptable to see energy companies recording massive profits this year while saying that, for some reason, they cannot reduce their retail prices. I do not buy the argument that, although prices went up within months, they cannot come down for years. If wholesale prices continue to fall, there will come a point at which the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and I will bring the energy companies in to have a conversation about this.
The Teachers Union of Ireland is here today because the Government has failed to act on the Labour Court recommendations in respect of adult education tutors. The Labour Court made its recommendation back in March 2020 but still no offer has been made to these tutors. There are approximately 2,500 full-time adult education tutors. Despite most being full-time, they are employed on a part-time basis. There are different rates of pay for tutors depending on the education and training board that employs them. They are mostly paid at an unregistered teacher's rate despite the fact that many are fully qualified teachers registered with the Teaching Council. By far the biggest issue is that their hours are capped at 22 hours of class contact time per week. They are not paid for any preparatory or other work. They are forced to sign on the dole for summer, Christmas and Easter. They deserve a proper contract of employment. In March 2020, almost three years ago, the Labour Court recommended that the Department of Education make the tutors an offer. In June last year, the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, stated that he expected his Department to be in a position to make a proposal. What has caused the delay? When will this be changed?
I am not sure what the reason for the delay is. I will certainly raise the matter with the Ministers. I am aware of the dispute. As the Deputy has said, it is a dispute between tutors and the education and training boards that are their employers. We have an industrial relations process to resolve matters such as this. I certainly hope the dispute can be resolved and that these workers can have their terms and conditions regularised.
The Government has very ambitious climate action targets. We also want to support small businesses. This is why we have very generous grants for taxi drivers wishing to switch over to electric vehicles, EVs. Last year, there was no stock but many people who wanted to change over. The scheme closed in December 2022 and has not yet opened for 2023. The Taoiseach has heard me ask about this in the House before. We have stock in garages, customers who want to buy these vehicles and a Government that wants to support them in doing so and yet still the Department of Transport and the NTA will not open the scheme. Will the Taoiseach ensure the scheme is opened? My constituents, Bríd and Liam, are going to make a decision this week to buy a diesel car.
Everybody I have spoken about wants to buy an electric vehicle. It is madness.
I thank the Deputy for his question and once again recognise his interest in and advocacy for taxi drivers in Dublin and elsewhere. I do not know why the scheme has not been reopened yet. I will need to make inquiries with the NTA and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, but I will do that.
More than 1,000 people, mostly women, attended a sexual assault treatment unit in 2022. It is the first time the figure has gone above 1,000. It has increased by 20% in just a year. One fifth of the people attending those clinics were children. Reported sexual offences have increased by nearly 100% in the last ten years. The number of rapes has increased by more than 100% in the last ten years. CARI, an organisation which works with children, says there has been a 44% increase in the number of sexual assaults by children on children in just two years. Men and women who work with victims of sexual assault are calling for the Government to clarify its approach on how children will be taught about pornography under the new junior cycle. Parents are worried that children will be taught that pornography can be benign or ethical for children at a young age. Will the Taoiseach confirm that teachers will give clear ethical guidance to children that pornography consumed by children is dangerous, damaging and clearly linked to sexual violence?
The level of sexual violence in our society is truly shocking. The amount of violence against children and sexual violence against children is even more shocking. Some of the court reports in recent weeks are hard to read, quite frankly. It is almost impossible to listen to reports that people could commit such crimes against children. Sometimes it is their own parents or their parents organised it. It really is shocking and almost unbearable to try to fathom why these things happen. I think it is increasing. I would like to believe that the reason we are seeing more prosecutions and more attendances at clinics is because more people are reporting it and more people are coming forward, but I am afraid that is probably not the case. It is becoming more prevalent in our society and we need to do everything we can to protect people, particularly children, from sexual violence.
I am not a teacher or an educationalist. I do not know what the right or wrong way is to educate children about pornography. Children need to be prepared for life and it is better that they are prepared for the things that they will encounter because they will. I definitely do not think that any curriculum should somehow suggest that it is benign because, of course, it is not.
I understand the public health (tobacco and nicotine inhaling products) Bill was to have been published by the end of last year. It has not been published. Pre-legislative scrutiny was completed in July. Latest figures show an increase in the use of tobacco products. There is also a need for an urgent regulation of the use of nicotine products. When is the Bill expected to be published and what is the timeline for its passage through both Houses of the Oireachtas?
I am informed that drafting is ongoing. I am afraid I do not have a definitive timeline for legislation yet but we hope to make meaningful progress on it in this calendar year.
I thank the Taoiseach and all the Members. I think it is the first time we have ever completed Questions on Policy or Legislation within the allocated time.