On Tuesday, the Central Bank's latest motor insurance report was published and it makes clear that the insurance industry is continuing to rip-off its consumers. It is now two years since the personal injury guidelines came into effect. These guidelines significantly reduced the cost of claims for insurers but motor premiums have only fallen by 5%. When the industry was campaigning for this in 2019, the CEO of Zurich Insurance Group told the committee that if soft tissue personal injury awards fell by 50%, and insurers did not reduce prices between 10% and 15%, then questions should be asked. Instead of passing on the savings to customers in full, what is happening is that the insurance companies are pocketing the savings to bolster their profits. The time is up for the industry. I introduced the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021, which is before a committee, and I ask that the Government works with me in holding the industry to account. This legislation would ensure the industry would have to report to the Central Bank detailing how it has or has not passed on all of the savings euro to euro to customers. It is two years on and premiums have not come down to where they should be. We need to act on this.
Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. Some of the costs have come down but I take his point overall on the broader need. Once we make the reforms, reductions should follow given that the industry pushed hard for some of these reforms and that a group of Ministers, which was convened at the start of this Government to work on this, brought forward a range of reforms. Government will always be anxious to work in a constructive fashion with the Deputy in respect of legislation. He knows that well.
I raise the proposed reforms in the roles and responsibilities report for the National Ambulance Service. As the Tánaiste will be aware, this time next week, SIPTU members and the National Ambulance Service are due to ballot for industrial action because the pay claim in relation to the proposed reforms is not being progressed. This report began with management in the HSE and the National Ambulance Service in line with the workers. There are a whole host of reforms across the National Ambulance Service, including increased pay scales, more ambulances, and doubling the numbers of workers. An awful lot of service level arrangements have and are being implemented but the pay levels have not been reformed. It is the view of SIPTU, and one which I support, that the business case for this is not a pay claim; this is from management. The management needs to find the money for these reforms as it is the management's plan that is being implemented and it should fall outside the Building Momentum negotiations.
As the Deputy is aware, we are not in a position where we can say that management says its staff needs a pay rise therefore we simply take that out of the national pay agreements and give them the pay rise. The Deputy's party is signed up to it as is Government and these kind of issues are public sector pay issues, which need to form part of broader discussions in terms of public sector pay. The Minister for Finance, Deputy McGrath, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, are now looking at the next round of that but it would not be the case normally that simply because a management team says in good faith that it recommends a pay rise for its workers, that this can simply be lifted out of the national pay agreements. It is something the Department is engaged in. I appreciate the Deputy signalling that it is in the context of a very significant increase in funding, capacity and work coming from our excellent ambulance services.
I ask the Tánaiste about facial recognition technology. Although I disagree, I understand why the Garda Commissioner would want to fast track such a technology. However, one would also have to appreciate why civil liberties groups are urging us to tread very cautiously when it comes to introducing one of the most privacy-intrusive tools in the history of policing in this State without a comprehensive public consultation and proper pre-legislative scrutiny. This runs entirely contrary to good parliamentary practice. Does the Tánaiste agree with the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, who recently said he is at the end of his tether with those who wish to protect our privacy laws and those who to engage in parliamentary debate or can we have pre-legislative scrutiny? We cannot fast-track this important measure through with an amendment.
I respect the Deputy's perspective on this and people are entitled to have different positions. I support the initiative to facilitate facial recognition, in respect of certain areas such as child sexual abuse, for example, where its use could mean getting to a perpetrator early to intervene or in a murder case or for the prevention a crime, but not to be used wholesale. There is no proposal to use it on a broad basis or to take a wholesale approach. There is always a balance in trusting our gardaí too. They are dealing more and more with sophisticated criminals who are also using technology. To a large extent, one could argue some of the criminal gangs are ahead of police forces globally. Technology is advancing and this poses real challenges to us. We should always seek to use technology for the public good and for the benefit of our public and our citizens. That is the motivation behind the Minister of Justice's admission, which I support. I accept the different perspectives people have, which are valid.
This morning, I attended a press conference of a number of groups concerned about reproductive rights for women in this country in response to the report from Dr. Marie O'Shea. The Irish Family Planning Association said this is a landmark report which draws on extensive public health evidence and expertise. The National Women's Council said it is long-awaited and marks a critical juncture in progress towards realising reproductive rights for all. My question is one that was raised this morning by all the groups, including Doctors for Choice Ireland and others. What is the position in progressing this report through the health committee? Will the Government or the Department legislate in line with this report in the lifetime of this Government? Is that the intention and has the Cabinet discussed it? Finally, will we get an opportunity to have statements on the abortion review in the Dáil over the next week or so?
We can certainly facilitate a debate or statements on the report. The entire report has been referred to the health committee. Obviously, I anticipate that the health committee will focus on the legislative options or recommendations but there are also a number of operational recommendations. The Government has agreed that the HSE will establish an implementation group to progress those particular recommendations. The proposals around legislative change are then being referred to the Joint Committee on Health. It will be a matter for this committee to progress and to come forward with its report. At that stage, Government will examine that and take decisions in respect of this report.
Increasing numbers of people in Tipperary and across the country are facing energy debt. To compound the frustration being felt by Irish energy users, they have seen consumer prices fall across the rest of the eurozone. Ireland now holds the unenviable title of the most expensive country in Europe for electricity costs. The public are puzzled and angry because they realise the Exchequer raised 40% more in VAT this year compared with other years. As I said, electricity last year provided a huge take for the Exchequer. Wholesale prices have reduced in this sector but the reduction has not been passed on to the consumer. What progress has been made in regard to the introduction of a windfall tax? The revenue from such a tax could then be able to be passed back to the consumer.
I appreciate the Deputy's concerns as to the high electricity costs in Ireland, particularly arising from the impact of the war in Ukraine.
We did bring in significant intervention measures over the last 12 months to try to cushion somewhat the blow on households and consumers. The windfall tax is progressing in respect of the levies on the excess profits made by companies during this crisis. This revenue would then be channelled back to consumers and households, in particular. The measures we took are applicable right up to the current month. We will then have to look at the overall situation in the round come the autumn in respect of the cost of living and the impacts on people-----
I thank the Tánaiste.
-----with a broad range of measures.
Major sporting, hunting, shooting and farming organisations have serious concerns regarding the recently published report of the firearms expert committee, FEC. There are also concerns regarding the make-up of this committee. Firearms users have come together to form a representative body and they want to meet the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, and to be consulted about safe and proper access to firearms. These groups are trusted. We are talking about part of their culture and heritage. All they want is to be involved, to be engaged with and to ensure that whatever proposals emerge, there is agreement and that they can be broadly accepted. I ask the Tánaiste to ask the Minister of State if he will meet with representatives of the umbrella group for all these groups in the interests of ensuring rural pursuits can continue safely in future.
I will speak to the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, regarding engagement with the organisation referred to by the Deputy. Obviously, the overall agenda is the safety-----
-----and protection of people. This is all that informs any legislative or regulatory proposals that come forward. I will talk to the Minister of State regarding the issues raised by the Deputy.
I raised this matter by way of a question to the Minister for Justice, Deputy Simon Harris, last week, and I am raising it again today. I will explain why. In the context of Part 4 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, there is a statutory obligation to carry out a review. This was to be carried out within three years of the Act becoming operational in 2020. It is now more than three years later. The Minister for Justice gave some explanation which worried me, and I reflected on it. He said one of the major causes for the delay with that report was because the person in charge was side-lined onto the familicide and domestic homicide reviews. Neither of these reviews are available. When I looked back over that response, it did not make sense to me. On the untimely death of Norah Gibbins in 2020, the woman in charge of both reviews was asked to take on the review. Subsequently, she was then appointed to review the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017. That response, therefore, does not make sense to me. She was not waylaid. She was already appointed on one review when she was then asked to take on another review. We are now being told that she was waylaid to take on this role. It does not make sense. Both reviews are extremely important and the Government is failing in its legal obligation to carry them out.
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I will make two points. First, statutorily, if the review should happen, it should happen. Second, from what the Deputy has said, and I do not have the benefit of seeing the Minister's reply, that there are human resources capacity issues. One person should not be doing everything in situations like this. I will speak to the Minister regarding this issue and see what the plans are in this regard.
I welcome the strength of the public finances. This is positive news for everybody. Will the Government give serious consideration to tackling the rates of the universal social charge, USC, workers must pay? As the Tánaiste is aware, this was introduced at a time when the economy was in extreme difficulty and the public finances were in a very poor position. Many workers are asking me why they have to continue to pay such high rates of this punitive tax when the public finances are performing so strongly. I feel strongly that people who are working hard should be rewarded more for the work they are doing. This is an issue that the Government can and should tackle given the strength of the public finances. I ask that this matter be given serious priority.
Again, in the context of this year's budget, a broad range of measures will be discussed. Housing will continue to be the number one priority in respect of taxation and expenditure measures. The finances are in a good state; the Deputy is correct. Obviously, a significant element of these revenues comes from corporation tax, which the Department of Finance is concerned about as being once off. We must, therefore, be prudent in how we deal with the once-off dimension of corporation tax revenues. In the context of the forthcoming budget, however, we will do everything we can to alleviate pressures on people across the range of measures we have at our disposal, including taxation. There are other measures as well.
People in Crossmolina in County Mayo are still waiting for the River Deel flood relief scheme. It needs to happen now.
Which one?
The River Deel.
The River Deel. The people there have had surveying and ground-testing into oblivion. This has been going on for months and years and the people in the town are still living in fear. No developments can take place there until this scheme happens. The people there have been told the money is ring-fenced. When will the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, confirm the scheme so that the work can start?
I cannot talk about Crossmolina without acknowledging the sad passing of Dr. Mickey Loftus. I extend my sympathies to Edie, Michael, Orla, Patrick and Joe. His membership of the 1951 Mayo team is well documented, as is his legacy as the president of the GAA in 1985. His legacy of courage, kindness and leadership, as well as love of his family, his community and his county, must be acknowledged, as must his understanding of and stance on the impact of the abuse of alcohol on families. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
We all agree with the Deputy in extending our sympathy to the Loftus family.
I knew Dr. Mick Loftus and his family very well. He was a fearless campaigner on alcohol when it was not fashionable. He stood up to the lobbies and advocates for the alcohol industry in a fearless way as a medical person. He was also an outstanding president of the GAA and a great footballer, as well as being a referee of some note. He refereed some important Cork matches down through the years. That included minor matches, and there is a great old story connected to my family, which I will not go into on the floor of the House.
Good.
Dr. Mick Loftus was a legendary, iconic figure reflecting the best of the spirit of the west and of Mayo.
On the River Deel, I will follow this issue up. From the Deputy's presentation, I am not clear as to whether it is a planning issue that is the problem, if the money is ring-fenced, but I will talk to the Minister.
The Deputy has got in twice.
More than 2,000 people who were residents of nursing homes died during Covid-19. Rightly and properly, the Government funded supports for nursing homes to the tune of, as of December 2022, €145 million. There are problems, however, regarding the funding of some of those nursing homes. An example on the HIQA website is Ratoath Manor nursing home, which received more than €405,000 in temporary assistance payment scheme, TAPS, supports. Yet it is quite clear that the HIQA inspectors are not assured that this is a well governed nursing home. There was extensive non-compliance over three consecutive inspections from September 2021 to March 2022. Some of those assessments were rated red or high risk. Repeated non-compliance was found in infection control, medicine and pharmaceutical services, the rights of residents, governance etc. This case demands that a forensic audit be undertaken of this entire €145 million and, specifically, regarding this nursing home.
I take the point made by the Deputy. We must treat the two issues in parallel. Regardless of the efforts made, or the success or failure in any specific nursing home, we must still ensure that State funding is going to these homes to protect the residents. In parallel to this, we must take the patient safety and regulatory issues very seriously. To that effect, just last night, the Patient Safety (Notifiable Incidents and Open Disclosure) Bill 2019 finished its passage through the Houses. It is going to the President for his signature now. One of the critical elements of that legislation, of which I know the Deputy was supportive, is that it extends HIQA's powers to allow it to investigate individual patient safety issues, instead of the power it did have, which was a general investigative one, which had not been satisfactory.
I was contacted regarding a site at Kingscourt in County Cavan.
It has been zoned for housing and has the ability to provide 50 to 60 new homes for Kingscourt. A construction company put together a planning application for the site and found out there is not sufficient capacity in the wastewater treatment plant for the town to allow any further development. It has been suggested that a temporary wastewater treatment plant be constructed on the site in the meantime, but that is so costly it would leave the development unfeasible. Uisce Éireann is a State-owned company. Has the Government been in negotiations or talks with it to see how it can escalate the provision of a wastewater treatment plant? This issue does not affect just Kingscourt, but many other towns in east Cavan and other counties. I tabled a parliamentary question but was told the Minister did not have a remit over this, which I find hard to understand. In the interests of providing more housing, which we know is needed, can we escalate the provision of wastewater treatment?
We have significantly increased investment in wastewater treatment plants since the Government was formed. Investment in wastewater treatment has been consistent over the years. I do not have the specific data on the progress of the one the Deputy identified in Cavan. The Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, and his predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, gave particular attention to the allocation to Uisce Éireann in respect of capital allocation to try to get these plants built more quickly. The Deputy is correct. There is a clear connection between that and getting housing developed.
Electricity and energy prices continue to financially cripple families and businesses throughout this State. This is happening despite a quantifiable drop in natural gas prices, which determine electricity costs. Electricity companies have not acted. I acknowledge that the Government has provided some measures to families to help cushion the blow. However, given that the Government is a 96% shareholder in the ESB, it is unacceptable that it continues to charge extremely high prices. Will the Government bring in the senior management of the electricity companies and demand they reduce their prices? Families are suffering and businesses are closing. The Tánaiste mentioned the windfall tax proposal. If the tax is introduced, it needs to be expedited. I would like a timeframe as to when it will be put in place.
The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, can supply a timeline in regard to that. The bottom line is that the Government has resources and has allocated substantial resources to deal with the cost of living to try to help people deal with what have been exceptional increases in the cost of living due to the war in Ukraine and energy crisis. I take the Deputy's point on the need to reduce costs and for the retail price to follow the reduction in wholesale prices. I accept that forward pricing has been a factor in this regard but the time has now come for the downward pressure to be reflected in retail prices. I will get the timeline for the windfall tax for the Deputy.
As the Tánaiste is aware, there is a shortage of bus drivers and drivers for heavy goods vehicles. This impacts on the operation of school transport services at times. Bus Éireann will not employ qualified drivers aged 70 or over. In instances where a school bus driver is off sick, Bus Éireann finds it extremely difficult to recruit a temporary replacement. There is no prohibition on a person of that age driving a bus that is not engaged in a public contract. Additional drivers are needed or we will face more problems in the next school year. I am not suggesting in any way that safety should be compromised, but surely a case could be made for a person to carry out short-term work, having undergone regular medical checks. It is an issue that should be revisited by Bus Éireann and the Department of Transport. In no way would I suggest compromising safety. There is disruption at times in the operation of the school transport service which is not tenable.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. In terms of age more generally, there needs to be more reflection on the regulatory framework governing age in terms of qualifications for things like driving because chronological age does not correspond to medical fitness or health. Someone could be aged 72 or 73 and be very fit, while someone who is aged 55 could be very unfit. Deputy Kenny is smiling at me but I think he gets my drift.
We are getting to that age.
I am a bit off it yet. I read recently that lifespan in Ireland has increased by 25 years over the past 100 years. Otto von Bismarck introduced a retirement age of 65, thinking that there would be no one alive at 65 and, therefore, pensions would not be a significant cost. We are now in a situation whereby there are people aged 75 doing marathons. We will stick to bus drivers for the time being. Flexibility should be applied and I take the Deputy's point.
I want to raise the issue of early intervention youth mental health services. Yesterday I met representatives of Youth Work Ireland in Buswells. This issue came up with the North Connaught Youth and Community Services, NCYCS, which has applied for funding for this initiative that provides brief intervention and support for people aged 12 to 25 who do not reach the threshold for the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. As we know, it is under serious pressure. We recently found out that in the community healthcare organisation, CHO, 1 area there has been a 35% increase in waiting times. The initiative to which I refer involves engaging with young people before they are in a situation whereby they need to go to CAMHS. NCYCS was assured by the HSE that funding would be provided, but there is a lot of foot-dragging. It set out to employ people, which has not happened. We need to know why that has happened. At the other end of the CHO 1 area, Cavan-Monaghan has the scheme up and running but not in Sligo-Leitrim. I need an intervention to ensure that the service is put in place because it is vital. It will catch young people in time before they get into a situation whereby they need to go to CAMHS.
I thank the Deputy. I am aware that youth services held a meeting across the road yesterday. One of my staff members went over. As I was in a meeting, I was not able to attend personally. If the Deputy sends me the details, I will have a look at them. He is quite right in what he said. Some young teenagers have emotional distress, anxiety or low-level mental health challenges that can escalate if they do not get the correct interventions. Work is up and running. I know organisations do extremely good work. Low-level counselling is important. I can talk to the Deputy offline about this.
Can the Tánaiste update the House on the final cost of the Dunkettle interchange? It was originally signalled at €77 million when first mooted, then the figure rose to €88 million. I gather it was signed off in the early days of the Tánaiste's premiership at €216 million. Even that sounds a lot for a fancy-pants roundabout. Some 23 years ago, the Jack Lynch tunnel cost €133 million; adjusted for inflation that is around €216 million today. With a two-for-one split between public transport and roads hardwired into the programme for Government, this overspend has killed off road projects elsewhere. It certainly stands in stark contrast to the lack of any development on the N24 or N25, which is vital infrastructure for developing the south-east region. What is the bill for the Dunkettle interchange? If the Tánaiste does not have the detail, can he respond to me in writing?
To be fair, it is excellent infrastructure. It is designed to facilitate the hordes of Waterford supporters who will come to Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday to play Cork. It will mean a faster slipstream into the Jack Lynch tunnel, aptly named after one of our greatest hurlers and a man who won six all-Irelands in a row. Inflation happens and costs go up. There is no doubt that piece of infrastructure is a necessity, as is the N24 and N25 the Deputy mentioned.
They are not happening.
I do not think we should pit one against the other. There has been an overall increase in the allocation for infrastructure. I hear what the Deputy has said regarding those specific projects. On the bill, we will hand the Deputy the bill when we get it. There is a framework that we agreed already, which has gone through a huge examination by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.
Supermarket food costs are continuing to rise at an alarming rate. The rate of inflation is, thankfully, easing, but families are not seeing that in their shopping trolleys. In fact, the cost of food is continuing to rise. An average food shop costs 6.8% more than it did a year ago. I am not just talking about luxury products, but also basics like milk, eggs, butter, meat, cereal, tea, coffee and baby formula. They are substantially more expensive and are showing no signs of decreasing in price.
We saw prices went up very quickly last year, but they are very slow to fall. What are the Tánaiste and Ministers doing to protect consumers and ensure that reductions in supply-chain costs, electricity and energy prices and inflation are passed on to shoppers through price reductions?
This is of considerable concern to everybody in the Government. There are understandable inflationary costs in groceries, as we have seen in every sector of the Irish economy, with regard to supply-chain issues and energy costs. That is understandable and can be factored in. We have seen many cost-of-living measures being taken in every Department. However, groceries in particular are of considerable concern. I intend to raise the issue at the next retail forum, which I chair. It has been made quite clear to retailers that, while we know they are struggling, serious supports have been provided for the Government. If there are instances of gouging, the Government will not be found wanting in using the Consumer Protection Act 2007, but I hope we will have no reason to do that.
Last year, the Tánaiste launched a DEIS connect programme in my old school, St. Kevin's Community College. The DEIS connect programme aims to bridge the digital divide in disadvantaged communities. The Tánaiste will agree this was a wonderful initiative he launched. However, South Dublin County Council is ignoring that there are digital divides in some disadvantaged communities. The council's move to an online system to report maintenance issues excludes residents who do not have the capacity to use online systems. Previously, residents would contact the council by phone, or their local representatives, to report the issues. I have explained to the council that some residents simply cannot use the online system. I am getting the same copy-and-paste answer directing residents back on to the online system. This is disrespectful to the residents and to public representatives. Can local authorities be contacted to ensure they are including all people, including those who have digital literacy challenges?
That is a very fair point. As we move online and increase the digitalisation agenda, we should always look out for those who are not as efficient online or who find it very difficult. I will ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, who has responsibility for local authorities to follow up on that. Local authorities and councillors should also engage with the management to make sure there is a balanced response.
I came from the Committee of Public Accounts this morning, where we got a very thorough briefing on issues within An Bord Pleanála by its senior management. The members of senior management told us An Bord Pleanála is only processing 90 decisions per month, when it wishes to process 300. It has just €17.1 million in funding. We have a €26 billion of a surplus in tax revenues in the next two years. I am pleading with the Tánaiste to do something about the funding within An Bord Pleanála, to help it get to its desired target of 300 decisions per month, because it is holding up the construction of 65,000 homes in this country per year. The issue is purely administrative and very easily fixed. It needs both an international campaign and a very strong ground campaign to fill the vacancies within that organisation, which I know is a priority for the Government. However, I plead that more be done.
The Minister inherited a difficult and challenging situation in An Bord Pleanála. Resources have been allocated to increase staffing, to the order of 60% of an increase. The challenge when one wishes to rapidly increase human resource capacity is to recruit at the right pace and with the right quality. In the planning area, like everywhere else and every other sector, there is a considerable premium on people. Different organisations are looking for the key expertise. However, no one disagrees there has been a significant strengthening of An Bord Pleanála with regard to human capital and resource. That will continue and while I have no doubt that the leadership of An Bord Pleanála will present its case again to the Minister, I hear what the Deputy is saying. Government is absolutely full-on in this, to try to get infrastructure and develop housing and wind energy. We are conscious of the role of planning and that is why there will be a new environmental planning court established as well.