Many homeowners are experiencing sharp and sudden hikes in interest rates. The vulture fund, Pepper, has warned borrowers it will hike interest rates again, with many now facing mortgage repayments which are as much as €3,500 higher than last year. It is now clear that the assurances made by Ministers that those whose mortgages were sold to vulture funds would be no worse off were false. In the months ahead, these homeowners will face further rate hikes and higher mortgage repayments. Fianna Fáil championed mortgage interest relief in 2017. Its Minister for Finance introduced legislation to cap interest rates in 2016. It has since, unfortunately, done a U-turn on both. Will the Tánaiste outline what measures the Government will take to address this issue? Will the Government consider Sinn Féin's proposal to introduce targeted and temporary mortgage interest relief until the end of the year?
Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Sinn Féin is very adept at using language like "targeted", "interim" and so on. When mortgage interest relief was last in operation in 2008, it cost about €700 million. Research showed that the top two deciles of income benefited the most. The broader cost-of-living measures we have introduced in the past 15 months, from January 2022 onwards, will help those who are coming under pressure with increased mortgage repayments. However, we still have the third lowest rates in Europe, at 2.69%. In December, it was revealed that 93% of those who have mortgages have a fixed rate. Those rates are higher than tracker rates and so on. Those who have mortgages from non-lending institutions are a particular focus of the Central Bank. The Minister for Finance, Deputy McGrath, met the Central Bank in respect of that issue recently.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for enabling us to mark the anniversary of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine with a minute's silence today and a powerful exhibition in Bucha. The Labour Party lends our unequivocal support and solidarity to the people of Ukraine. I also wish to express sympathy for the PSNI officer injured in the horrific shooting in Omagh, John Caldwell. I offer my thoughts to his family, friends and community.
I want to raise the situation pertaining to adult education tutors, many of whom I met on Tuesday afternoon. I stood with them last week. Despite their vital work, they lack fixed working hours or a set pay scale. They need better terms and conditions. They have an order from the Labour Court but the Departments of Education and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform have still not made them an acceptable offer. When will we see an end to this stalemate? What does the Government plan to do to ensure better security for adult education tutors?
I dealt with this issue last week. It is a very fair question. Discussions are currently under way in respect of the issue, which essentially involves pay and conditions. The Departments of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and Education are working on addressing the situation pertaining to adult tutors. Improvements have been made in recent years, but there is no doubt that we need to resolve this matter once and for all.
I have raised the plight of people who are reliant on district heating with the Tánaiste several times. They are paying utterly exorbitant prices for their bills. In one development in my constituency, renters tied into a district heating system by their landlord, Greystar, were blocked from getting any independent access to their meter readings.
After more than a year, they have now finally been able to see their readings and they have discovered that they are being charged through the nose, even when they do not use any heating or hot water at all. In another apartment complex, 20% of the social housing tenants have been entirely cut off from heat and hot water because they are on prepaid metres and cannot afford the outrageously high prices. People are now using basins to wash because they cannot afford showers. A steering group has been set up to look into this, but we need urgent action now. When will the Government act urgently on this?
The Government has acted, particularly for prepaid users. People should not be cut off.
But they are.
They are.
If Deputy O'Callaghan can give me the specifics of the particular location where that happened, I would appreciate it. The package we have provided over the last 12 months amounts to approximately 3.5% of GNI and includes well over €1 billion in supports to households. There is a specific issue around district heating, which the Deputy has identified. Regarding the prepaid situation, we also brought in measures to try to deal with that and provide protection and supports.
Before Christmas, I raised with the Tánaiste and the Government the issue of establishing a special committee on assisted dying. That was three months ago. The Government stated the committee would be established either before or after Christmas. Three months later the Government has not nominated any of its five members. There is a ridiculous situation where the chairperson of the committee, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, and I mean no disrespect to him, has emailed all the Whips asking when the committee will be established. He wants to get the committee established as soon as possible. This is such a serious issue. Is the Tánaiste taking it seriously or not? I want to find out today when that committee will be established to examine this very serious issue. There needs to be a national discussion on it.
It is my understanding that the Government appointees will be announced imminently or in the next while. It will be within the week.
I call Deputy Verona Murphy.
That is a terrible answer.
Please, Deputy.
It shows complete disrespect for the idea. The Tánaiste did not even stand up.
Will Deputy Kenny please resume his seat?
I did stand up.
The Tánaiste did not stand up.
Can I just clarify? I do not want the charge that it was disrespectful to stay on the record.
It is important-----
Will the Deputy let the Tánaiste answer?
-----to have a better reply than that. It is important to-----
Please let him answer without interruption.
The Deputy asked me about the Government nominees and I said they would be made imminently, which means the committee will be able to meet. That is the point the Deputy was raising with me.
Some 23 months ago, the Ireland East Hospital Group, IEHG, announced that a new 96-bed unit for Wexford General Hospital had gone to design stage. That was 23 months ago. On 11 January 2023, our local newspaper reporter, David Looby, said there is no design stage. Why are the people of Wexford less important? We got a measly €780,000 out of a €23 billion budget from the Department of Health. Wexford was allocated €780,000.
That is not true.
That is true. I have the figures here. I have the response to my parliamentary question from the Minister, who now says we are only at the strategic report stage. We have now gone from being at design stage, which was confirmed, to not being anywhere near it and having no capital budget for the unit. I ask the Tánaiste to clarify for the people of Wexford when they will get not another politician, but their 96-bed unit.
This is a matter the Deputy and I have discussed, and on which the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, engages with me probably on a weekly basis. There was a delay that I and none of the Wexford representatives are satisfied with. I have intervened. We are looking at a rapid-build process, which the Tánaiste referenced earlier. We are all aware that it takes too long to put these essential builds in place. I am working with colleagues across the Government and with the HSE to see not only what beds we can put in place but how we can do it quicker than the normal process would allow for, for the very reasons the Deputy has outlined.
Can it be clarified how it went from the design stage?
The south Tipperary children's disability network team is in total disarray. The disability network manager has recently resigned, as has the network social worker. There is a senior occupational therapist vacancy, a speech and language therapist vacancy and a psychologist vacancy. What is going on? There are five whole-time equivalent vacancies in the network. Children with disabilities are being placed on waiting lists with ever-increasing delays. That is not acceptable to anyone in this day and age. It is simply not acceptable to allow children to wait for three or four years when early intervention is vital for the children, their peers, their parents and everybody else. Something has to happen here. The Minister just answered a question from a Deputy who was not satisfied. None of us is satisfied with the way the HSE is carrying on. It just tells us there are staff shortages and pushes us back down the line again. It is just not acceptable to the daoine óga. Cherish our children. What we are doing? We are letting them languish on waiting lists for three, four and five years. It is not acceptable.
It is not acceptable and it is an issue in the Deputy's constituency and right across the country. What the Government has done is funded a very large number of posts. There are several hundred posts in the Progressing Disability Services for Children and Young People which have not been filled. I have asked the Department and the HSE to find solutions to this, including, for example, more senior roles and more advanced practitioners. At the same time, the Deputy will be aware of the assessment of need ruling the HSE is dealing with. Very significant progress was being made. There were over 70,000 children on the waiting list and that came down to below 55,000 and was moving quickly in the right direction.
There are 50,000 waiting.
The ruling on the assessment of need has, unfortunately, caused real problems for the HSE in terms of getting the children the care they need. We have to resolve the assessment of need issue and the recruitment issue the Deputy quite rightly raised.
When?
I am glad to see the Minister for Health is here because I have another question for him. I have raised issues around aspects of diabetes services many times over the past three years. The answers the Tánaiste and his predecessors gave on the floor of the Chamber have been generic. The promised follow-ups hardly ever happen. On 18 October last year, the Tánaiste told me the following in relation to rolling out insulin pump services at Sligo University Hospital: "I am not so sure it is a funding issue but I will have the matter looked into". As usual, there was no follow-up from the Tánaiste so I contacted the hospital management myself and they told me the following:
I wish to confirm that SUH did submit a business case for additional nurse specialist to start Insulin Pump service in mid 2022. Due to the lack of funding with 2022 allocations, the business case was not approved.
Management has again looked for the resources it needs this year, yet the Government is failing to make it happen.
The time is up.
How many more times does he think I will have to come here and raise this issue before the people of Donegal and the north west see any action?
If the Deputy wants to give me the particulars after this session on that issue, I will look into it. There is now significant funding for diabetes. Deputy Devlin, who is present, chairs the all-party committee on diabetes. Deputy Devlin and I met Diabetes Ireland before the last budget. I committed to Deputy Devlin and to Diabetes Ireland that we would put a strategy in place. One of the issues, as Deputy Pringle correctly pointed out, is that there is no national strategy in place for diabetes and there are therefore gaps in the service. I have asked the Department to work with the HSE and stakeholders because we need a new diabetes strategy. We have allocated funding through the budget for this year to start improving the services. If the Deputy wants to give me the particulars of the matter he raised, I will look into it.
As the Tánaiste may be aware, the support scheme for free Irish Sign Language, ISL, interpretation for events and services is provided for in the Irish Sign Language Act 2017, although many sections of the Act have yet to be implemented. Half of the public bodies included in a report this year were either not aware of the Act or their responsibilities under the Act. This support scheme combats extreme marginalisation facing the deaf community. It is vital that we allow the deaf community the same access. Could we get an update on the implementation of the various aspects of the Act?
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. If I am not mistaken, I think that was an initiative taken by Senator Mark Daly at the time. It very much came from both Houses. We need to examine the implementation and commencement of all sections of that Act. I will follow that up with the relevant Departments.
Sheep farmers are the second largest farming sector in our country and produce a world-class product. These farmers are a crucial component of our local economy and generate employment in rural communities across the country. However, low incomes in this sector are prohibiting new entrants, with many sheep producers grappling with increased production costs, while price falls and the supply carryover of stored lamb are real factors of concern. Over 19,000 farmers have applied for the sheep improvement scheme but the €12 per ewe is inadequate to protect the economic viability of the sector.
I am calling for the sheep improvement scheme to be enhanced with a direct, targeted support to ensure farmers applying have a better payment of €30 per ewe to ensure new entrants into the sheep farming sector can have the opportunity to build their flock and also to protect the existing farmers in this area.
I thank the Deputy for raising that issue. I will certainly engage with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in respect of it. There have been an ongoing wide variety of supports under the Common Agricultural Policy more generally, but I will engage with him on the issue of targeted supports. Obviously, there are cyclical aspects to the industry and to different sectors within the industry. I will make the Minister aware of the issues the Deputy raised.
Last year, I asked the Tánaiste, who was then Taoiseach, to intervene personally to address Garda numbers in Kildare and Laois. Unfortunately, we are back here again. On Wednesday, 21 December, there was a serious issue where a garda was needed. Nobody answered the phone initially and then no car was available to attend from the nearest station. In January, there was an attempted child abduction in the constituency. A female garda was on her own and, again, there was no Garda car. Then, on 7 February, the Garda was called over an incident late at night and, again, no Garda car was available. All these issues relate to the same station and I can supply details if the Tánaiste requires.
This is rural Ireland. It is a disgrace. The Garda numbers must be addressed and proper recruitment and resources dealt with so that people will feel safe in their homes and on the street. Equally, our gardaí must be looked after. Surely we cannot think it is okay to have one garda on her own in a station when somebody rings in with an incident in the current climate. Can I please have the issues addressed urgently?
The Government is very conscious of the need to expand the numbers in An Garda Síochána. We have provided funding for 1,000 new gardaí this year and we are seeing more Garda recruits enter Templemore every 11 weeks. The Garda Commissioner, obviously, is responsible for the deployment of gardaí operationally and the Minister for Justice engages regularly with him to monitor resources in any given area and to deliver on the target. The total number who completed or began training last year was almost 500, and a further recruitment campaign, which will be launched, will ensure a pipeline of suitable candidates. Over 14,000 sworn members are currently working in the Garda organisation. Obviously, there were issues during Covid with training and so on, but the recruitment campaign is ongoing and the funding is there in respect of recruiting a substantially higher number of gardaí.
I am being contacted regularly by people who worked in front-line jobs throughout the Covid pandemic but who have not been allocated, or told whether they will be allocated, the pandemic special recognition payment. Some are unsure whether their employer has applied for the payment. One person, who worked in a nursing home but no longer works there, suspects her former employer has received the payment but has not passed it on to anyone who is no longer employed there. Another is a cleaner in an ambulance station who is constantly being fobbed off by the employer and told to check her emails. Another worked in a residential unit for young people in care under the auspices of Tusla. She is not sure whether she is eligible and she cannot find out whether her employer has made an application. The scheme administrator engaged by the HSE engages only with employers, so there is no way for employees to find out whether they are eligible, whether they will get the payment or, indeed, whether their current or former employer has even made the application. Could a mechanism be put in place whereby employees could find out whether they are going to get the payment or whether an application has been made?
That is concerning to hear. The HSE has engaged in good faith and the Government has funded the payments in good faith so that those in the voluntary sector and the private sector, such as in nursing homes, would make these payments. The criteria are clear for those employers in terms of the periods when the workers would need to have been there and whether they were involved in patient-facing areas, so there should not be a problem. It is concerning to hear the reports the Deputy is getting, so I will take them back to the Department and the HSE. If healthcare workers are entitled to this payment, they deserve answers and deserve to know whether their employer has applied to the HSE. I can confirm that the great majority of those who are entitled to the payment have got it, but we will keep going to ensure everybody does.
I would like to ask about further funding that is going to be allocated for the provision of community services, in particular family resource centres. The Tánaiste will be familiar, from his recent visit to Youghal, which we appreciate, that this is a concern in the community and the town of Youghal. These centres have many benefits. Is the Government in a position to assist with this? Could the Tánaiste perhaps liaise with some State agencies and the Minister for Social Protection to try to provide further support in order that we can secure the family resource centre for the people of Youghal and for east Cork and west Waterford?
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I joined him in Youghal recently, where we visited a number of schools and the family resource centre organisation regarding a location for Youghal. A permanent base has been sought and we will work with Cork education and training board, ETB, to see whether a solution can be found. I pay tribute to all the schools for their generosity and warm welcome for Ukrainian children in substantial and significant numbers. The warmth of the welcome was something to behold, as was the dedication and commitment of the teachers to all in their care. In that context, we have to recognise that type of community response where significant numbers come into a given area. I will share that with my Government colleagues in respect of supporting the community in a number of ways.
As the Tánaiste will know, the fishing industry is going through a huge crisis, as quota losses have led to many taking the dreaded decision to decommission, which will have further devastating consequences for west Cork's rural towns and villages. Small inshore fishermen are also in deep trouble as the shrimp and velvet crab market has collapsed, leaving them without an income in recent months. A call for an aid package, similar to the one for the pig industry given last year, for the inshore sector was refused in response to our motion a few weeks ago, leaving inshore fishermen, like our larger fleet fishermen, fending for themselves.
There is one way the Government can help all fishermen, big and small, namely, through the introduction of a fuel subsidy. There is a European fund to which the Spanish and French Governments applied and were granted in 2022 to aid their countries’ fishermen. This fund is so freely available that the French Government, on behalf of the country's fishermen, has gone back for a second round of the fuel subsidy in recent weeks. On behalf of fishermen from Castletownbere, Bantry, Schull and Union Hall to Kinsale, I ask why the Government has chosen to ignore their pleas and not seek this fuel subsidy to help salvage something following a number of disastrous years for fishermen.
First, the Government has not ignored any representatives or group within the fishing industry, and we have been working extremely hard on the Brexit issue and the adjustment reserve fund, for example, to provide supports as a result of the very negative consequences of Brexit on our fisheries, which was beyond the Government's control. Britain decided to leave, with very negative consequences for our fisheries. Bilateral consultations are going on between the European Union and Norway and our interests in those negotiations, of course, relate to the transfer of blue whiting quota to Norway to pay for other fishing opportunities. Again, we are seeking the best possible result.
On the inshore issue the Deputy raised, we will do everything we possibly can to give support within whatever means we have at our disposal, be they national or through European mechanisms.
The despicable shooting in Omagh reminds us starkly of that awful era in our country when so many innocent people lost their lives and so many were seriously injured. Last night's horrific incident strongly reinforces the message that the Government must always ensure every necessary resource is provided to An Garda Síochána and all other relevant statutory agencies to rid our society of this small number of criminals and thugs who shamelessly masquerade as so-called republicans. It is also essential we continue to have the best possible cross-Border collaboration in policing and security issues.
We need to have the ability to apprehend terrorists who may come in to our jurisdiction. There are unique policing demands in Border regions. Garda authorities at national level in allocating resources must be mindful of those additional demands on our Garda personnel. I sincerely hope the PSNI does the same in Northern Ireland. The political vacuum in Northern Ireland serves the interest of nobody and it is to be hoped we will have progress quickly in that respect.
I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Smith, who has a long-standing commitment to peace on the island. In his work as a public representative over many years he has been a significant contributor to peace on the island, particularly in the Border region, so I know his comments are heartfelt. We were all very shocked at the callous and depraved manner of yesterday's attack, which injures society as a whole within Northern Ireland and on this island. Our thoughts are with the PSNI in general now as a result of this attack. Their colleague, Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, was highly respected among his peers and indeed among the Garda for his extraordinary work in detecting many serious crimes. He is a very significant person in his own right, in policing terms and in terms of community support as well. That idea of ensuring the proper resources and proper co-operation, which is at a high level between the PSNI and the Garda, is without question.
I bring to the attention of the House the scandalous situation of the treatment of women who are mothers who are going through the family law courts, wherein their rights are being abolished virtually. Under the in camera rule, they are being subjected to the kind of abuse that was used in prisoner-of-war camps in years gone by and which is totally alien to the Irish Constitution and justice system and to human rights. I ask that the present legislation which is going through the other House be expedited and, in the interim, that the use of the so-called parental alienation theory be abandoned.
The Deputy has had a consistent position and has raised this consistently in the House. As he says, there is legislation in the other House, which is subject to the rules and procedures in that House. Certainly I think everybody will be anxious to progress that legislation as quickly as possible. I will relate to and discuss with the Minister for Justice the Deputy's other comments in respect of general principles that are currently governing family law cases.
This year it will be five years since the national planning framework was published. Since then, and especially in the past year, we have had population growth that had not been projected and, as a consequence, we have an accommodation shortage. I think everyone will agree that we need to do everything to deal with that accommodation shortage. We have seen already with the crisis in An Bord Pleanála that was not dealt with in time how long it is taking to resolve it. As we stand here, it is taking two years to get ordinary planning appeals heard and six years if a substitute consent is involved. Is it intended to bring forward the review of the national planning framework from 2024 to this year to start with? That review could take up to two years. In the meantime, this crisis will not be dealt with. I believe the national planning framework is becoming a drag on resolving the housing crisis.
I appreciate the comments the Deputy has made. I will revert to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and to Government more generally. There is a need to review the planning framework earlier than perhaps was originally intended because of significant growth in population and to evaluate what has happened in recent years. We need that constant evaluation so we can inform future policy.
Tá Lá Fheile Pádraig trí seachtaine uainn agus an séasúr turasóireachta os ár gcomhair agus níl aon bhogadh ar an gceist atá á ardú agam anseo. A major feature of our tourism offering in this city and elsewhere is the horse and carriage jaunts. Many of those involved ply their trade without insurance and with unfit carriages and drivers, many of whom have no vetting at all. I have raised this issue regularly for the past five or six years and have been told that there is an engagement with stakeholders with a view to repealing the 1853 to 1855 Acts which regulate this trade, if we can call it regulation. When is that stakeholder engagement taking place and when will the legislation or at least the heads of a Bill be published as promised by many Ministers?
I do not have the exact timeline here for the Deputy but I will revert to the Minister and seek to get a timeline for the Deputy in respect of that proposed legislation.
Last week I welcomed the approval in principle by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, of 22 one-, two- and three-bedroom houses for Moore Street in Kilrush. I want to raise the matter of demand for the larger four- or five-bed units which the Government is no longer building. In my constituency, there are 164 families approved for four- or five-bedroom homes, and in my town of Kilrush alone there are seven. What are we going to do with these people if we are not building homes that reflect the size of families? What am I to tell these people when they come to my clinics every week? We know the rental market is unattainable because the housing assistance payment, HAP, is far too low. I have challenged the Minister, Deputy O'Brien on this many times. We also know local authority emergency accommodation is at full capacity.
The Minister is very conscious of that particular issue, and in quite a number of schemes some provision is made for four-bedroom houses in respect of larger families. In this era, housing is provided in a range of sizes, smaller houses for smaller families and for individuals living on their own and so forth. The full range should be provided. As we build up the schemes and get more critical mass in house-building - we built 30,000 houses last year - we will be endeavouring to make provision for the particular group the Deputy identified who do need housing and accommodation for large families.
It is good to hear that the population of Clare is expanding.