Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 21 Mar 2023

Vol. 1035 No. 4

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Deputy Hildegarde Naughton)

I move:

Tuesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 4(2)) (Scheme Termination Date) Order 2023 (back from Committee) (without debate)

- Motions for Revised Estimates for Public Services 2023 [Votes 1 to 10, 13, 29 and 33] (back from Committee) (to be moved together and decided without debate by one question)

- Motion re Referral to Select Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the terms of the Convention on the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation (without debate)

- Finance Bill 2023 (Second Stage) (to conclude at the end of the first speaking round)

Private members' business shall be the Motion re Eviction Ban, selected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday’s business shall be:

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on the European Union Agency for Asylum and repealing Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 (back from Committee) (without debate)

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 (Treatment of Persons in Custody in Garda Síochána Stations) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (without debate)

- Statements pre European Council meeting of 23rd-24th March 2023, pursuant to Standing Order 124 (not to exceed 110 mins)

- Health (Amendment) Bill 2023 (Second and remaining Stages) (Second Stage to conclude within 1 hr 55 mins and any division claimed to be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage, but in any event, no earlier than 6 p.m.; Committee and remaining Stages to be taken no earlier than 6 p.m. and to conclude within 2 hrs)

Private members' business shall be the Motion re Reform of Carer’s Allowance Scheme, selected by the Independent Group.

Thursday’s business shall be:

- Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023 (Second Stage, resumed) (if not previously concluded, to stand adjourned at 3.14 p.m.)

- Statements on Safe Staffing levels in Hospitals (not to exceed 145 mins)

Thursday evening business shall be Second Stage of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Bill 2020, sponsored by Deputy Eoin Ó Broin.

Announcement of proposed arrangements for this week's business:

In relation to Tuesday’s business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(i) the Dáil shall sit later than 10.30 p.m.; and

(ii) the time for Government business shall be extended for the purpose of allowing Second Stage of the Finance Bill 2023 to conclude, with consequential effect on the commencement time for private members' business, Parliamentary Questions to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and topical issues;

2. the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 4(2)) (Scheme Termination Date) Order 2023 shall be taken without debate;

3. the Motions for Revised Estimates for Public Services 2023 [Votes 1 to 10, 13, 29 and 33] shall be moved together and decided without debate by one question which shall be put from the Chair;

4. the Motion re Referral to Select Committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the terms of the Convention on the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation shall be taken without debate; and

5. on Second Stage of the Finance Bill 2023, on the conclusion of the first speaking round in accordance with arrangements agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, whereupon proceedings on Second Stage shall be brought to a conclusion.

In relation to Wednesday’s business:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(i) in relation to the suspension of sitting pursuant to Standing Order 25(1), the following arrangements shall apply—

(a) the SOS shall be taken on the conclusion of Statements pre European Council Meeting of 23rd-24th March, pursuant to Standing Order 124; and

(b) the House shall stand suspended for either an hour, or until 4.30 p.m., whichever is the later;

(ii) the weekly division time shall be taken on the conclusion of the SOS;

(iii) Government business shall resume on the conclusion of the weekly division time; and

(iv) the Dáil shall adjourn on the conclusion of proceedings on the Health (Amendment) Bill 2023;

2. the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 December 2021 on the European Union Agency for Asylum and repealing Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 shall be taken without debate;

3. the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 (Treatment of Persons in Custody in Garda Síochána Stations) (Amendment) Regulations 2023 shall be taken without debate;

4. the Statements pre European Council Meeting of 23rd-24th March, pursuant to Standing Order 124, shall be taken immediately following oral Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 46(1) and shall not exceed 110 minutes, with arrangements in accordance with those agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for 100 minutes, following which a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, and members may share time; and

5. in relation to the Health (Amendment) Bill 2023, the following arrangements shall apply:

(i) on the proceedings on Second Stage, the first speaking round shall be in accordance with the arrangements agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, save that the times shall be halved in each case, and on the conclusion of the first speaking round, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply, which shall not exceed 10 minutes, whereupon proceedings on Second Stage shall be brought to a conclusion; Provided that any division claimed on the Second Stage proceedings shall be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage of the Bill, but in any event, no earlier than 6 p.m.; and

(ii) the proceedings on Committee and remaining Stages shall be taken no earlier than 6 p.m. and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 2 hours by one question which shall be put from the Chair and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Health.

In relation to Thursday’s business:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the extent that topical issues shall be taken on the conclusion of Statements on Safe Staffing Levels in Hospitals, with consequential effect on the commencement time for Second Stage of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Bill 2020 and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil;

2. the resumed proceedings on the second reading motion of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023 shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned at 3.14 p.m., and shall not be resumed on Thursday; and

3. the Statements on Safe Staffing levels in Hospitals shall not exceed 145 minutes, with arrangements in accordance with those agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for 135 minutes, following which a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, and members may share time.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Is that agreed? Not agreed.

Deputy Chris Andrews

Last Thursday, Dr. Geoffrey Shannon's report into sexual abuse within St. John Ambulance was published. It makes for bleak reading. St. John Ambulance put the reputation of its organisation ahead of vulnerable young children. The report would probably not have been carried out and published if it were not for survivors such as Mick Finnegan and the many other survivors. The board should sit down with an independent administrator taking charge. There are serious questions also for Tusla and the Minister to answer. I ask for the Minister to come into the House to make a statement on the matter and to answer questions on the Shannon report.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

Yesterday, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, issued a final warning on climate change with some deeply concerning findings including the fact that temperatures have been rising faster in the last 50 years than for the previous two millenniums. The science is very clear. There is an urgent need to decarbonise our economy and society. I ask that we would have a debate on this new and urgent report as a matter of priority in the coming weeks.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

For a number of weeks I have been asking at the Business Committee for a debate on the sheep sector. In many areas of agriculture, including sheep, pigs and now even the calves, there is a huge pressure on farmers with the cost of inputs for materials such as fertiliser. There is a constant berating and demonising of our farming community. I remind the House that farming families have looked after this country very well through the decades since the inception of the State. There is a constant demonisation, downgrading and blackguarding by reports that identify farmers as being not good people to look after the environment, which is totally untrue. We need a debate in this House on those issues. We need to respect the farmers and the farm families of Ireland and what they produce.

The Taoiseach

I thank Deputies for their contributions. We have no objection on this side of the House to having a debate on the St. John Ambulance report. I am very conscious of the distress that the report's contents must have caused the victims and the survivors. It was published only last Thursday, so the appropriate first step is for Tusla to come into the committee. I understand that this is scheduled. Perhaps we could then discuss it in the Chamber thereafter. The first step is for Tusla to come into the committee. That is the place to have a discussion with them about it.

Again, I am happy to have further debate on climate change and the most recent report. That should be scheduled by the Business Committee.

I understand that time is set aside next week for discussion on the sheep sector.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Are the proposed arrangements for this week's business agreed? Agreed. Leanfaimid ar aghaidh anois. I thank Members for their co-operation. We are doing well.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

The Taoiseach presides over a homelessness catastrophe. We have 12,000 homeless people, more than 3,000 of whom are children. Some 3,000 eviction notices will fall due in April. What is an acceptable level of homelessness? Will the Taoiseach tell us where those 3,000 households will go in the event of losing the roof over their heads? Will the Taoiseach guarantee to this House that no family will be forced to present itself at a Garda station to be accommodated? Can the Taoiseach give those guarantees as he moves ahead with the Government's catastrophic decision to lift an eviction ban and to plunge thousands of households and families into chaos and distress?

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy. I am not sure if that is a further leader's question or a question on promised legislation. I will be guided by the Leas-Cheann Comhairle as to the length of the response because that seemed to be a number of different questions.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Taoiseach has one minute and the time is running.

The Taoiseach

Okay. We are going to have a debate on this today, as I understand it, and a vote on it tomorrow.

We have instructed local authorities to provide additional emergency accommodation, if it is needed, and we have been very clear with them that the tenant in situ scheme should be used. The resources are there to purchase 1,500 homes so if somebody is a social housing tenant, the house can be bought by the council or an approved housing body and the tenant can move from being a HAP or RAS tenant to being a proper social housing tenant. That is actually a positive thing, in my view. When it comes to people who are above the income limits, we can use the cost-rental mechanism.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

Two weeks ago, news broke that building has been paused on 58 school construction projects around the country, including four urgent school construction projects in my constituency of Dublin Bay South, two in Harold's Cross and two in Sandymount. All four are Educate Together schools whose campuses I have recently visited. I am getting so much correspondence from parents and staff in those schools who are deeply concerned at the halting of these projects. These are schools that are growing exponentially and that require additional space. This is also true of many of the other schools on the list.

I have not yet received nor have we seen the complete list of schools that apparently are not to be constructed now. We have not been given any indication from the Government as to why this pause has happened. I have written to the Minister for Education and tabled parliamentary questions on the matter. Just ten minutes ago I received a response from the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform indicating that there are no plans in place to fund the resumption of these projects. This is causing real alarm in my constituency, in the four Educate Together schools affected in Sandymount and Harold's Cross, as well as across the country. Can the Taoiseach throw some light on what has happened here and when the building will resume?

The Taoiseach

I am happy to confirm and give the reassurance that funding will be provided for those 58 schools to continue construction this year. The Department of Education is running over budget at the moment for lots of good reasons, mostly beyond its control, including higher construction costs. The Ministers for Education, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform have been working together as recently as yesterday to try to bottom out what additional funding would be required. Additional funding will be required but I can give the reassurance to those schools that the delay is going to be a short one.

Deputy Holly Cairns

There has been a concerted effort by the Government to downplay the significance of the Dáil vote on the eviction ban as meaningless. Government representatives have been trotting out the same line. They say that the result is not binding so it does not really matter. I can assure the Taoiseach that the vote is highly significant for the many thousands of families who are facing imminent eviction, it is highly significant for the children who will grow up in homelessness and it is highly significant for elderly people who will face losing the homes they have lived in for decades. This vote is also highly significant for Members of this House, in opposition and in government. Deputies will vote either to increase homelessness or to try to control it. As a Member of this House, the Taoiseach should have respect for the votes that are carried. If a majority in this House votes to extend the eviction ban, will he reverse the shameful decision to end it?

The Taoiseach

I have answered that question on several occasions now and have done so very clearly. I do not know about individual responses from individual politicians, strategies, public relations or that type of thing but I do know the facts regarding the Standing Orders of this House and the Constitution, and Dáil motions are not binding. That is a simple fact.

Deputy Holly Cairns

So the Taoiseach will not extend it if everyone votes-----

The Taoiseach

I have been very clear. Excuse me now, but if I was not clear, I do apologise. On every occasion that I have been asked this question I have been clear in answering it. It was a temporary winter eviction ban, it will end on a phased basis from 31 March, and Dáil motions are not binding.

Deputy Bríd Smith

I want to challenge the Taoiseach on a number of things he said regarding the eviction ban. First, he said earlier in response to Deputy Bacik that one thing we can all agree on is that the eviction ban will have to end sometime. No, we do not. We do not agree with that because no-fault evictions are not the norm in Europe. The Taoiseach often throws the example of Europe back at us when we try to change legislation and normal practices in this country. This is not the norm in Europe; Lorcan Sirr said so on radio this morning and we have repeatedly made that argument in this House.

People need fixity of tenure. That is an age-old demand of the Land League and we still have not achieved it after 100 years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael ruling this State. The Government needs to look at the legislation and maintain the ban on no-fault evictions. If people wreck the gaff, do not pay their rent or cause antisocial problems, there should be evictions, but where there is no fault, evictions should not happen, end of story.

The Taoiseach argues that the Government gave people a few more months to find an alternative. They have not found an alternative, so where do they go?

We say they need to stay where they are. Rather than go on the streets, they need to stay where they are.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We are way over time.

Deputy Bríd Smith

We will give them as much backing and solidarity as we can, and we will keep arguing in this House that the law has to change to protect tenants.

The Taoiseach

I want to acknowledge that the Deputy and her party have a different view on this, but it is a different view from all the Government parties, Sinn Féin and the Labour Party, who all acknowledge that the eviction ban has to end at a certain point. I appreciate that People Before Profit-Solidarity has a different view even from the rest of the left on this.

It is true there are different laws in different European countries. There is a wide variation of different laws in different European countries but where permanent, no-fault eviction bans exist in other European countries, people would have bought a property on that basis and they would have known that. The Deputy is essentially saying that we should change our law retrospectively in Ireland so if somebody bought a property thinking they could move back into it when they came back home from Australia or Britain in a year or two, that would be taken away from them. I do not think those countries ever passed a law that retrospectively changed the rules. It would be one thing to say that if somebody was going to buy a house now, they would have to rent it out and could never regain possession of it, even if they wanted to move back in, but to change it retrospectively would almost certainly be unconstitutional-----

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

They can change them.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

We are over time.

The Taoiseach

-----and it would be unfair, I think.

Deputy Bríd Smith

Is the Taoiseach going to change it?

Deputy Verona Murphy

Last week, the elected representatives from Wexford met with the management of Wexford General Hospital. The Taoiseach will be aware there was a fire some three weeks ago. I heard Deputy Shanahan’s question to the Taoiseach this morning. It has put significant pressure on University Hospital Waterford. The difficulty is that Dr. Yousif, who is the sub-director, confirmed yesterday morning on South East Radio that it would be four to six weeks before the emergency department opened in Wexford again. I spoke with the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, who gave a commitment that we would all work collectively. What is being asked for at this point is a meeting with the Minister and, equally, that we fast-track an emergency provision for the 97-bed unit to go under construction now, as we put the restorative process and building works in place. That would provide an extra 47 beds for Wexford.

The Taoiseach

I was in Wexford General Hospital and University Hospital Waterford in the past two weeks since the fire and I had a chance to speak to the management, doctors and other healthcare staff there about the situation. It is putting huge pressure on University Hospital Waterford, St. Luke's General Hospital Kilkenny and other hospitals. Part of what is happening is that a minor injuries unit has been reopened in the hospital. There is a new 22-bed ward opening in Kilcreene Regional Orthopaedic Hospital Kilkenny to help out as well. Patients are being repatriated to Wexford too. Staff are being transferred. Mowlam Healthcare, a nursing home in Tramore, is being used as well.

If it is possible to do a modular unit or to do something to provide additional capacity, we should do it. I gave that indication to the management when I was there. The emergency rules that applied during the Covid-19 period no longer do. The advice we got from the Attorney General on that is not favourable. I know people for very good reasons feel that all these things are emergencies, but everything cannot always be an emergency, and Covid-19 was a particular set of circumstances.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

In recent months, there have been some appalling attacks on innocent flocks of sheep. The Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Rural and Community Development have set up a working group, but we need more than a working group. We need tangible action against these savage attacks and against the dog owners who do not look after their dogs - although most dog owners do - and leave them run wild and cause marauding attacks on innocent little sheep. It does damage to the whole flock and it causes injuries. It also causes trauma to the families who own those sheep, as well as to the veterinarians and people who go out to treat them. It is very serious. We need this working group to report. This is the height of the lambing season. It is a wonderful, joyous season to have spring lambs being born outdoors, but there are these attacks. There must be more stringent controls on dogs that are not muzzled and are off leashes and that go on to these farms. We must have severe punishments for these animals when they are caught.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Charlie McConalogue)

I thank the Deputy for the question. It is obviously a really important issue and there have been a number of really distressing incidents over the past two or three months in particular. It is an issue that the Government takes very seriously. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and I are in the two Departments that have responsibility for overseeing the issue of dog control.

We established a working group, which has completed its report. We will shortly bring proposals to Cabinet on that and further legislation will be brought forward as well, which will cover enforcement and fines and better bring together oversight of the issue. We want to ensure that people who have dogs take full responsibility for their ownership and that farmers or people going about their normal lives are safe. If somebody does not take their responsibility seriously, there should be strong penalties in place, and that is something the Government will expedite.

Deputy Marian Harkin

Many of my constituents have contacted me about the situation where the Revenue office in Sligo is not open to members of the public who wish to discuss their tax affairs. Revenue offices are open in Dublin, Limerick, Cork and Galway but not in Sligo. I know this is not the Taoiseach's direct responsibility but surely the Government should be able to ensure there is some public access to Revenue offices throughout the country. When we contacted the Revenue appointments helpline, we were told that an appointment could not even be made to see somebody in Sligo. Why can the office not be open for two or three days per week? Sometimes tax matters are not straightforward and face-to-face meetings are needed. They say that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. Surely people should be facilitated to pay their taxes.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill)

I thank the Deputy for raising the question, which speaks to a broader issue about access to individuals in key financial services and being able to talk to somebody about decisions. I will take that back and address it with Revenue and I will come back to the Deputy with a response.

Deputy Jackie Cahill

In recent weeks I have received a growing number of complaints from constituents regarding the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, ranging from a lack of communications, lengthy delays in processing applications and long waits for assessments and the appointment of contractors. The list of complaints is growing and more and more people have been affected. The warmer homes scheme is supposed to provide fully funded home upgrades for those on some social welfare benefits but we are seeing instances of pensioners and people with disabilities being told they will have to wait a minimum of two years to have their energy upgrades carried out. I have one case in County Tipperary of a pensioner in his late 80s who waited two and a half years for the works he cannot afford and in the end his application was refused. In another instance, a visually impaired man was told that the old aluminium windows and doors in his house could not be replaced as he had previously insulated his walls and attic. This happened after him waiting for more than a year for the SEAI to proceed with his application. If extra staffing is required, this should be addressed. The Government needs to seriously look at the efficiency, communications and services of this State-funded body.

The Taoiseach

I want to acknowledge the Deputy's contribution. I have also heard from my constituency office about delays in processing SEAI applications. I will let the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, know that this was raised here and ask him to come back to the Deputy with a full reply.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

I welcome the decision of the Government to have an inquiry into nursing homes during Covid, but the reality is that when HIQA staff visited the Oaklands Nursing Home in County Kerry in November 2020, 27 of its 32 residents had Covid. The general manager and the person in charge were both absent and the person further identified to manage the centre in the event of the absence of those people did not step up and take responsibility for the centre, albeit from a distance as this person lived abroad. That is appalling and disgraceful care of elderly people. The only reason we know about that is that the system worked in the context of HIQA. HIQA discovered it, went in there and during its investigation took over the care and management of that home. Things have worked well and of those 27 people, most survived, although nine of them sadly passed away. If we compare and contrast that with Dealgan House in Dundalk, 22 people died and nobody turned up to help them, neither doctors nor nurses.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Mary Butler)

I thank the Deputy for his question, for his continued advocacy for nursing homes and older people and for all the work he does on this. The Covid pandemic bore down very hard on our older people, especially those in nursing homes. In the early days, there were a lot of learnings relating to personal protective equipment, PPE, infection prevention and control and best practice.

I also welcome the fact that there will be an inquiry into what happened in respect of Covid over the past three years because there is a lot of learning to be had. In fairness to the Minister for Health at the time, Deputy Harris, he put the expert panel review into nursing homes in place very early in 2020 and all those recommendations have been taken on board and are being put in place. I sympathise with the many families all over the country who lost a loved one in a nursing home during Covid.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

I would just make one correction. Nurses and doctors did turn up but not immediately. Most of them did not turn up when they were asked.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Deputy will have to take it elsewhere. I call Deputy Gould.

Deputy Thomas Gould

An elderly lady contacted me. She has stage 4 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, and is on constant oxygen. She is going to be evicted in April as a consequence of a decision the Government has taken. The Taoiseach is a doctor. Can he imagine the devastating effects this stress and worry are having on this lady, who needs a walker to get around, is on oxygen and is going to be homeless in April? Where is the compassion of the Taoiseach and his Government for this lady and many others? I am imploring him now, even at this late stage, to please reverse this decision. Let us work together to find a solution.

The Taoiseach

I am very sorry to hear about that lady's circumstances but without knowing all the facts, I cannot comment on the matter. I set out in response to Deputy McDonald earlier the four things Sinn Féin could do to help us. Please do them.

Deputy James O'Connor

I wish to ask about the free school meals programme. Some 148,800 pupils avail of this vital programme, which is very much supported by the good work of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys. However, there are areas of the country, including in my constituency, particularly in Youghal, where students do not have access to it in secondary schools or in some of the primary schools. Is the Government going to look at the further expansion of this scheme as a further cost-of-living measure? We know the positive benefits of the work that has been done by the Department recently in other areas of the country.

Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Heather Humphreys)

I thank the Deputy. I am pleased to say that as part of the cost-of-living measures, we are going to extend the hot school meals programme to all DEIS primary schools and all special needs schools. We are actively working on expanding it. It is so important that young children avail of a hot school meal, particularly in the middle of the day. We all know the benefits of that. It helps their educational attainment and it means they get a staple meal. Some who may not get it at home get that staple meal every day when they attend school. It is something I am very committed to and it is something the Deputy has raised with me on a number of occasions.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

One of the more effective tools in the Government's housing policy is the residential zoned land tax, which seeks to release land that is zoned for development to housing. An anomaly is arising in a number of local authorities with regard to those that use the zonings R1 and R2, R1 being priority residential zoning and R2 being land that is to be developed only after all the R1 land has been developed. I have been contacted by two landowners in two towns in my constituency of Galway East who have an R2 zoning. Their land is technically zoned for housing but they have been informed by the local authority that they cannot develop it. It is serviced and I expect they will be lumbered with this tax even though they do not have the capacity to develop the land right now. Could that anomaly be looked at to see if it could be resolved?

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Darragh O'Brien)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. A number of people have raised the matter of phased zoning, where the zoning will take place after another development is done. We are looking at that specific issue. The residential zoned land tax, as the Deputy rightly said, is about activation and making sure people are not sitting on land that could be developed and ensuring it is developed. In those instances, we are looking at a solution where the land's zoning is predicated on other lands being developed before it. We can work through that and I will keep the Deputy informed on the issue.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I hope the public respond to the Government's cold-hearted decision to lift the eviction ban by coming out in their thousands on the demonstration on 1 April outside the Dáil.

I genuinely want to know what the Minister has to say to people in my area, where currently there is no family emergency accommodation at all. For his information, there is a six-month waiting list. If people are made homeless in our area, they are sent to the other side of the city. A woman wrote to me last week who is in a hostel in Drumcondra. She has to get her child to a crèche in Monkstown and if she is late on five days, she will lose her place in the crèche, which means she will lose her job because she works as a carer. She has to do that every morning. There is a six-month list. Now we are going to have dozens more people put into that situation with their families and children. What do we say to that woman and others who are going to be in a similar situation?

Deputy Darragh O'Brien

The Deputy may not have heard the Taoiseach's response earlier. All local authorities have been given the full financial resources to expand their emergency accommodation provision, including in the Deputy's area. The tenant in situ scheme, which is being accelerated and expanded, applies to the Deputy's area too. We are also bringing in the cost-rental scheme for those tenants whose income is above the social housing limits. This is a matter I have discussed with the Deputy on a number of occasions and, in fairness, he has made an input to that.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Is it in place now?

Deputy Darragh O'Brien

There are a number of measures we are bringing forward. We are also increasing the housing supply right across the country. We built more social homes last year than in any year since 1975. We have affordable homes for the first time in a generation both to purchase and to rent. We will continue to improve on that this year.

Deputy Réada Cronin

I raise again the lack of school places across north Kildare and the fact that parents are fed up with the copy-and-paste replies to parliamentary questions they are getting as to why they cannot send their children to the schools they can see from their front doors. The replies state the schools are oversubscribed. The problem is not overexuberance on the part of parents and their children as regards applications but under-provision by the State. I specifically mention Nicole from Kill. Nicole is autistic and she has severe, profound disabilities. She has no secondary school place as the three suitable schools to which her mother Lorraine has applied have no spaces because they are under-provided for by the State. The special educational needs organiser, SENO, has suggested Nicole go to Kilkenny, Wexford, Laois or Carlow. Where is the humanity in putting a nonverbal youngster on a bus for four hours every day? The Department has known since Nicole started primary school that she would need this place, the same as every other child who started primary school that year needs a place. Why did the Department not plan for a place for Nicole?

The Taoiseach

If the Deputy passes on Nicole's details to my office, with her permission to look into her case, I can certainly engage with the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, about it and see if it can be resolved. I know from my own constituency service that it is often the case at this point in the year that children do not have a school place but long before September it is possible to find an appropriate one. That is not always the case but it is in the vast majority of cases. If the Deputy passes on the details and permission to make representations, I can take the matter up with the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan.

Deputy David Stanton

I acknowledge the work and passion the Minister of State, Deputy Anne Rabbitte, is bringing to the area of disability. However, some young people aged over 18 who have intellectual disabilities can be vulnerable and have difficulties attending training centres and places of employment. There does not seem to be any fund to assist in this regard. Can this matter be addressed?

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Anne Rabbitte)

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. This matter can be addressed on two counts. The first is through the transition planning the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, have put in place for children as they are exiting school. Second, this can be complemented with additional personal assistant, PA, support to ensure people get equal access to further education so they can access employment. The PA route is a solution.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

Is the Taoiseach aware of the implications that the reduction in the nitrates derogation to 220 kg of nitrogen per hectare will have on dairy farmers? It will have a significant economic impact and could potentially remove €236 million from the rural economy. It will also threaten food security and increase the cost of food. Farms will become unviable. A farmer who now has 58 cows has been told that when the register comes into place and the derogation is changed, he will have to reduce his stock to 42 cows. His operation will become unviable. Will the Taoiseach and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine deal with this? It is not fair.

It is not right for farmers or for consumers. The Government is hurting both.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I thank Deputy Healy-Rae. This issue concerns many farmers. The nitrates derogation is not something that we are guaranteed. We have to apply for it at European level. The standard stocking rate across Europe, which is a common market area, is 170 kg of organic nitrogen per hectare per annum. A state can apply for a derogation, which other member states have to vote to give. If a state gets that derogation, it means that it can stock at a rate of 250 kg of organic nitrogen per year. We received the derogation up to 2025. There is a mid-term review later this year. If water quality is not improving as part of that mid-term review, then under the derogation we have, that could drop to 220 kg. That is a challenge we have. If it drops to 220 kg, there is no doubt it would have a significant impact on some farmers.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I thank the Minister.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

The challenge with the derogation is that we are not guaranteed it. We have to work for it and secure it from other member states. I am conscious of it and will engage on it further, along with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and his team, and the European Commission.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

Over recent weeks, I have been contacted by staff who work for the company Iceland. It appears that in January, the company was sold to the Project Point Technologies company. Workers were told at the time that it would be a standard transfer of undertakings and that they had nothing to worry about. In recent weeks, however, many have not been paid and some have been paid incorrect amounts. I have tried to make contact with the new owner without success. There are 450 workers. They see that stock is low in stores and the company does not appear to be trading in the way it had been. They are fearful for their jobs and future. I ask the Taoiseach to use his office to intervene to try to get the new owner to at least talk to the workforce and let them know what is happening. We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. As the Taoiseach knows, these people need their wages and many have not been receiving them.

The Taoiseach

Between my office and the office of the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, we will certainly look into that. The Deputy may have given the Minister of State the details already. If she has not, if she passes them on to both of us, we will try to make contact with the company.