Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 4 May 2023

Vol. 1037 No. 5

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Fuel Sales

Deputy Jackie Cahill

I thank the Minister of State for being in the Chamber to discuss this issue. Last week, I met a delegation of solid fuel merchants who are members of a newly formed organisation. Every town and village in the country has a fuel merchant. Unfair competition is shattering their trade. Approximately 50% of the coal that is being used in the country is coming down from Northern Ireland. It is estimated that €100 million worth of coal products will come from the Six Counties into the Twenty-six Counties this year. For better or worse, we have a carbon tax in this country. VAT is also applied to solid fuel products. That puts our fuel merchants in a completely unviable situation whereby they are not able to compete with the products coming from Northern Ireland. Those products are not subject to carbon tax and VAT in the same way as products sourced in the Twenty-six Counties. The vast majority of the products coming down are illegal to be used in the South. Smoky coal is the principal such product. It has been banned in the Twenty-six Counties. Smoky coal is coming down from Northern Ireland in very large quantities nonetheless.

Carbon tax increased again on 1 May and added 90 cent to the cost of a bag of coal. We know that carbon tax is a climate action measure and we are not here to argue about the carbon tax. This is about a level playing field. Unfortunately, there is no surveillance of where products are coming from at the moment. Three recommendations have been made to me by the fuel merchants. The first is that a mandatory licence should be put in place for all fuel merchants. They feel that is the first requirement to bring some regulation to the business. It is unusual for businesses to look for regulation but in this case, the fuel merchants feel their very survival depends on it. If there is no licensing system in place, they do not know how the products coming down from the North can be controlled.

The second recommendation is that if there is licensing in place, all fuel merchants' premises should be open to inspection.

Again, if they are open to inspection and there was illegal product on the premises, that would be seen. If the product was sourced from outside our jurisdiction, that would come to light during the inspection. That would have to bring transparency and fairness to the trade. The third request is that there would be Road Safety Authority, RSA checks on vehicles carrying fuel around the country.

At the moment, we have articulated trucks coming down from the North and couriers also with single axle lorries bringing down significant quantities of solid fuel. There are no checks at any stage on them. We need to have checks on these and if we had the licensing system in place and the inspection regime; if someone is carrying product that is not legal in this country, that would be confiscated.

If there were a number of these checks on roads around the country, we would very quickly see a reduction in illegal products coming into our jurisdiction.

As it stands, fuel merchants are facing completely unfair competition. They will not survive and will go out of business. We have seen some large fuel merchant firms announcing their closure in the past number of weeks. This is getting worse by the week where there is more and more product coming down from the Six Counties and we have to have a level playing field. The product that is sold here has to be legal and has to be subject to the same taxation regime.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Deputy Josepha Madigan)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is important to acknowledge that, currently, solid fuels are generally cheaper in Northern Ireland than in the State. This, unfortunately, is a matter over which the Government has no control. The price differentials arise for several reasons, including the lower VAT rate and the absence of a carbon tax in Northern lreland, which has been mentioned by the Deputy. In addition, the much less stringent environmental standards applying to solid fuels in Northern Ireland allow for the sale in that jurisdiction of lower quality solid fuels, which can be significantly cheaper than solid fuels that meet the required environmental standards in this State. This is particularly relevant with regard to coal as there are no restrictions in Northern Ireland on the sale or use of smoky coal, which is significantly cheaper than smokeless coal.

Revenue has responsibility for administering and enforcing the solid fuel carbon tax, which is an excise duty that applies to solid fuels such as coal, when they are first supplied in the State. I am aware that the Deputy has no issue with the carbon tax collected by Revenue on a self-assessment basis. Compliance with it is enforced using the full range of compliance interventions and enforcement provisions for self-assessed taxes.

VAT applies to supplies of solid fuels in the State in line with EU VAT law, with which Irish VAT law must comply. In accordance with the EU VAT directive, the supply of coal and other solid substances offered for sale solely as fuel are subject to the reduced rate of VAT, currently 13.5%. Liability to solid fuel carbon tax arises when solid fuel is first supplied in the State, which means that neither the movement of solid fuel into the State, nor its physical presence in the State, generate a solid fuel carbon tax liability.

In addition, EU Single Market constraints preclude the use of any EU cross-border controls in the administration of solid fuel carbon tax. As such, coal coming into the State from other member states and Northern Ireland is not subject to cross-Border movement controls typical of harmonised excises on mineral oils, tobacco and alcohol. There is no requirement for such movements of solid fuel to be declared to Revenue, nor is there any requirement for solid fuels to enter tax warehouses or a duty suspension regime. Essentially, solid fuels being brought into the State from Northern Ireland enjoy the same freedom of movement that applies to most other goods. Revenue has no authority to challenge transportation or possession of solid fuel that originated in Northern Ireland, as such transportation or possession are not, in themselves, Revenue offences.

Suppliers making first supplies of liable solid fuel in the State must register with Revenue. In the main, the obligation to register for solid fuel carbon tax applies to solid fuel importers and manufacturers based in the State. However, suppliers based outside the State must register with Revenue and pay solid fuel carbon tax where they deliver solid fuel into the State to a private individual. This means that suppliers from Northern Ireland, who take orders for delivery to private individuals in the State, are liable for solid fuel carbon tax and must register with Revenue. Approximately 5% of carbon tax registrations are suppliers based in Northern Ireland.

While Revenue cannot impose any obstacles to the free movement of solid fuels into the State from other member states and Northern Ireland, such imports are open to challenge by local authorities under the State's environmental standards regulatory regime. The Air Pollution Act 1987 (Solid Fuels) Regulations 2022, which were implemented in October last year, significantly enhanced the State's regulatory regime underpinning environmental standards for solid fuels. The regulations empower local authorities to take enforcement actions, including prosecutions, against solid fuel producers, importers, distributors, retailers and users to ensure all solid fuels placed on the market and used in the State comply with relevant standards. The regulations place specific obligations on anyone transporting solid fuels with accompanying documentation, detailing fuel source, destination and compliance with environmental standards, being required to be available for inspection by local authority staff.

I may read the rest of my contribution into the record when I speak again.

Deputy Jackie Cahill

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. Specifically, solid fuels being brought into this State from Northern Ireland enjoy the same freedom of movement that applies to most other goods. How can she expect a carbon tax to operate in the Twenty-six Counties if we have product coming from outside the State which is coming in and undermining business here? That just cannot be allowed to continue. The estimated figures from the fuel merchants I have for loss of revenue in 2023 is €77 million.

Leaving that aside, we will lose our complete infrastructure of fuel merchants in this country and it is happening as we speak here. They are going out of business.

The reality is, and the Minister of State has said it in her statement, that much of this product which is coming down from the North of Ireland is illegal to be sold here. An inspection regime has to be put in place. I will repeat the three requests I have. These are: fuel merchants here have to be licensed; they have to be open for inspection; and there has to be checks on product being moved from one place to the other within the State to see if the product on those trucks and lorries is legal. That has to happen immediately.

We will have more and more of this issue in the post-Brexit period where the standards in the Twenty-six Counties and the standards in the UK and in Northern Ireland will be different from our own on different products. We cannot allow the homegrown businesses in this country suffer because of that. That is what is happening at the moment. We have different standards, a different rate of taxation, and the fuel merchant businesses are being completely undermined and will become completely unviable. We must impose the same standards where product coming down from the North will most definitely have to be legal and, if it is being used in this country, it must be subject to carbon tax to ensure a level playing field for our fuel merchants here to ensure fairness. This is also to ensure that the environmental improvements which we are trying to achieve from carbon tax do actually happen.

Deputy Josepha Madigan

I thank the Deputy. It is acknowledged that a price differential arises in retail sales of coal between the State and Northern Ireland owing to the lower VAT rate, absence of a carbon tax and much less stringent environmental standards applying to solid fuels in Northern Ireland. Revenue staff have participated in a number of joint operations with local authorities' solid fuel inspection teams, with a view to checking for compliance under several tax headings, and is currently actively engaging with local authorities with a view to participating in future joint operations.

The solid fuel carbon tax is not an import duty and applies when solid is first supplied in the State. Neither the movement of solid fuel in the State nor its storage in the State generate a liability to carbon tax. It is only when solid fuels are first supplied in the State that a solid fuel carbon tax liability arises.

Regarding the Deputy's question on legislation to empower Revenue to prevent smoky coal being brought into the State from Northern Ireland, solid fuels, including all types of coal, as he knows, are not subject to the EU-wide control and movement regime. Under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, a member state may not apply any barriers to the free movement of solid fuel into the State from other member states, including Northern Ireland. Revenue, therefore, cannot prevent smoky coal from entering the State under tax law.

Local authorities, nevertheless, have significant powers under environmental law, namely the new solid fuel regulations, to enforce the legal provisions aimed at preventing the marketing, distribution, sale and use of smoky coal in the State. The Deputy met a delegation of solid fuel merchants. Revenue officials would be happy to meet solid fuel supplier representative bodies and would be particularly interested in gathering any information on suspected tax evasion. They always welcome any information that representative bodies, suppliers or individuals may wish to share confidentially.

Traffic Management

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue again. It is a very important one locally. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, for coming to the House to reply. The issue relates to the local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, insofar as it relates to Maynooth. The town is heavily overtrafficked and relies on a LIHAF award of €10 million-plus to provide bridges, road realignments, footpaths and internal bypasses to facilitate development and the existing traffic, which is from floor to ceiling. It also applies, although in a different way, to Celbridge, which has similar traffic problems, and to Naas, which also has traffic problems. The award in the case of Naas and Celbridge was by Kildare County Council. We are still awaiting the full outcome.

In respect of Naas, a proposal was put to the local authority but it rejected it on the basis that it was not beneficial to a large part of the town. The excuse given at the time was that the people on the other side of the town did not object at all. However, nobody expected them to object because it did not make any difference to them. Traffic congestion and the population are increasing rapidly. There is a need to take serious action to alleviate the traffic congestion in a way that makes it possible for residents to exist in the area, notwithstanding the traffic, and at the same time allows the traffic to flow. If traffic does not flow, everything closes down. At peak times in all the towns concerned, there is a serious problem with traffic. Progress is progress and we have to have it, but the fact of the matter is that while it is possible to alleviate many of the problems, action has to be taken in the very near future.

I had the temerity to table a question way back in January. The reply explained the situation but did not solve the problem. I tabled another question last week but I will tell the Minister of State about that later.

Deputy Josepha Madigan

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

LIHAF is a scheme that funds the building of public infrastructure by local authorities. Its objective is to provide public off-site infrastructure to relieve critical infrastructure blockages to housing delivery. This enables the accelerated delivery of housing on key development sites in Dublin and in urban areas of high demand. The scheme was designed specifically to address the issue of housing supply, a crucial factor in moderating house prices. Infrastructure being funded under LIHAF includes access roads, distributor roads, link roads, road improvements, roundabouts, bridges and parks. The scheme funds roads projects insofar as they open up access to housing land and is not designed to fund more general traffic-management solutions.

In 2017, grant agreements for 30 approved projects were signed between the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and local authorities. These include two projects in County Kildare, at Naas and Maynooth. As the Deputy is aware, the Naas inner relief road project was cancelled by Kildare County Council following the rejection of the Part 8 planning application for the road by the elected members of the council in mid-2019. As the infrastructure was not proceeding, the LIHAF funding agreement was cancelled at that time.

With regard to the LIHAF project at Maynooth, Kildare County Council is liaising with a range of stakeholders, including my Department, to advance the Maynooth eastern relief road, MERR, project. The discussions are ongoing. I am informed that Kildare County Council published, on 6 December last year, the Maynooth Eastern Relief Road – Compulsory Purchase Order 2022 and that the process is ongoing.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage currently has no other funding allocated or project agreement in place with Kildare County Council to facilitate any housing-related road infrastructure in Naas or Celbridge.

While the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has responsibility at central government level for the local government system generally and certain specific functional or service areas, such as planning, housing and fire services, responsibility for policy, funding, legislation, and general oversight and accountability at national level in respect of a number of functions of local authorities rests with other relevant Departments. Accordingly, with regard to any new traffic management proposals beyond those concerning specific infrastructure to open up development land for housing, it is a matter for Kildare County Council to bring these forward in the first instance. Overall responsibility for roads policy and funding at a national level rests with the Minister for Transport. I hear what the Deputy says in that while it is possible to alleviate problems, action is required and traffic needs to flow, especially at peak times. However, that there are ongoing discussions should be of some solace to him.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank the Minister of State for that detailed and very accurate reply. The issue remains that there has to be progress. Since 1 January, I have expected progress. It is necessary, for all the reasons the Minister of State mentioned. The reply I received the other day is the same as the one I received in January. I have some experience in tabling parliamentary questions. The Minister is a very nice and respectful guy but I was a little taken aback by the cryptic note of the reply. He is a lovely guy and I know he would not in a month of Sundays authorise the issuing of a reply to a parliamentary question of the kind received; however, there are people who put a tick on each parliamentary question before it is circulated. There are six in all, at various levels. I ask them to think about this because disrespect for people who ask parliamentary questions is something I will not tolerate. Any time this happened in the past, it became a resigning matter. We all have to live up to our reputations.

The last point I want to make concerns Celbridge, and it is slightly different. The local authority had an agenda there and showed a video of traffic going in both directions at relatively high speeds at an existing bridge. I said the proposal would not work, that some of the traffic would overlap and that there would be an accident. This was dismissed completely but during the course of the showing of the video, it is exactly what happened. It was not amusing but just goes to show that a little local knowledge is no harm at all times. I ask that all those concerned who are dealing with the three subjects I have mentioned be given a call to inform them there is now a need for absolute urgency and commitment.

Deputy Josepha Madigan

Local knowledge is indeed important. I am aware that the Deputy, in particular, has acute knowledge of his constituency and its environs in relation to traffic schemes. LIHAF is proving successful in its objective to ensure key infrastructure requirements are being funded to allow new housing to proceed. In specifically addressing the issue of housing supply, it can also be a factor in moderating house prices.

On traffic management proposals more generally, it is important to note that local authorities provide in excess of 1,000 services on behalf of over 30 public bodies. The provision of Exchequer funding is made on the basis of policy responsibility at national level. The locus of responsibility at national level is determined by where the policy responsibility lies, not by the fact that the services are delivered by local authorities.

The Minister for Transport, whom the Deputy mentioned and who I agree is a nice guy, announced details of a €626 million investment programme for 2023 for regional and local roads, including funding of €26 million under the specific grant category for smaller-scale road improvements. These grants comprise a mix of schemes, including bridge works and measures to improve safety, such as junction reconfiguration, together with schemes to alleviate traffic congestion in towns and improve access to centres of education, businesses and public transport. The Deputy may consider exploring whether this funding may more appropriately address the traffic management concerns he has raised. Kildare County Council is liaising with many stakeholders, including the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, on the MERR project and other matters. I thank the Deputy for his interest in this matter.

Child Protection

Deputy Patrick Costello

I thank the Minister of State for standing in for the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. She could equally be standing in for the Minister for Justice because this issue needs to be addressed from both sides. Unfortunately, when submitting the Topical Issue, I could only tick one box. We have seen in recent days the release of a report by the National Women's Council of Ireland looking at gender-based violence and domestic violence and how we are continuing to let down victims. We saw a report in last week's Irish Examiner on how the State is continuing to let down victims of child sexual abuse and we have seen a report in recent weeks by Geoffrey Shannon on St. John Ambulance that showed that victims of child sexual abuse were repeatedly let down. In the past, we have seen report after report highlighting the need to improve joint working and inter-agency working and how victims, including children, are slipping through the gaps and services are pulling in opposite directions and not giving the support victims need.

I will be honest. There have been some improvements. We saw liaison management teams put in place in many areas inside Tusla. The divisional protective service units in An Garda Síochána constitute an excellent innovation that provides an excellent service and should be continued and supported. They are really improving how the State responds to these things. Equally, there are many continuing failures. From speaking to front-line social workers, I learned that the specialist portal that is exclusively for An Garda Síochána to report concerns to Tusla is rarely used or inconsistently used depending on the area. Specialist interviewers within Tusla, who are social workers trained to conduct forensic interviews carried out jointly with gardaí that can then be used as evidence through a video system, are not being used. We are spending money on training these people but are not using them and many of them are leaving Tusla. There is inconsistency around the country in areas of practice. A joint protocol of working between An Garda Síochána and Tusla calls for annual reviews. This is not happening.

There is a way forward and a way to get them working together, namely, an element of colocation. Seconding duty social workers to the divisional protective service units means they automatically work together from the beginning. We have seen from the section 12 audit conducted in Tusla that there can be strong working relationships between gardaí and social workers that improve outcomes for people receiving support from Tusla but, again, these are ad hoc and inconsistent. These come up because people are working together but if social workers and gardaí are transferred, the structural elements are not there to ensure inter-agency work. This is why we need colocation and the secondment of duty social workers to the divisional protective service units so that they can work together and sit at the same desk in the same office in the same portacabin. This will automatically improve and create better structures. I suspect the Minister of State will raise Barnahus as a solution. Unfortunately, as it is envisaged, Barnahus will not be the solution. I will talk more about that in my further response.

Deputy Josepha Madigan

I thank the Deputy for his Topical Issue matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Children First joint working protocol for An Garda Síochána and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, provides a framework for co-ordinated, co-operative working, which forms an integral part of child protection and welfare services. I note the Deputy said annual reviews are not happening. I am surprised to hear that but I will check that out.

The joint Tusla-Garda protocol outlines the expectation of record keeping, the tracking of notifications, the frequency of the joint Tusla area-Garda divisional liaison notification meetings and case management expectations. Tusla is focused on the assessment of the protection and welfare of the child while the aims of An Garda Síochána regarding child abuse and neglect are to preserve life, vindicate the human rights of each individual and prevent, investigate and detect criminal offences.

Currently, as acknowledged in the Children First joint working protocol, children who witness domestic abuse incidents are often traumatised and suffer emotional abuse. Children residing where domestic abuse occurs may also become victims of abuse and members of An Garda Síochána will take this into account when considering referral to Tusla. Gardaí will identify whether any children reside within the household. Where gardaí identify potential child protection and welfare concerns, Tusla will be notified without delay.

The Department of Justice has launched the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV. A core pillar of the strategy indicates the State will offer a comprehensive, co-ordinated, authoritative, monitored and evaluated set of responses to DSGBV that will be informed by engagement with both key stakeholders and service users at a national, regional and local level with independent oversight. An action listed under that pillar includes the development of a cross-departmental and inter-agency response, which is of concern to the Deputy. I note what he is saying regarding any ad hoc-type of system or consistency so the fact that this includes an inter-agency response is noteworthy. This action will be primarily pursued by the new agency once established with support from the Department of Justice and Tusla.

It should be noted that even with the development of the new DSGBV agency, Tusla will always have a role to play in the child protection and welfare space as it relates to domestic violence. Safety planning for children today remains Tusla's primary duty and this often requires the appropriate sharing of relevant information to safeguard children.

The Deputy will also be aware that the child abuse substantiation procedure, CASP, was introduced in June 2022 as a replacement for 2014 policy, Policy and Procedures for Responding to Allegations of Abuse and Neglect. It is based on learning that indicated the need to further enhance consistency of practice across the agency.

In addition, changes were also required to incorporate new legal judgments in this complex area of law and practice. Prior to its adoption, CASP was subject to extensive consultation within Tusla and with external stakeholders.

Both Tusla and An Garda Síochána aim to work in a child-centred way to deliver services to victims of child sexual abuse. It is recognised that this is a very sensitive area but efforts are under way to improve inter-agency working through the national implementation of the Barnahus model of services. The Barnahus model is a child-friendly, interdisciplinary and multi-agency model of service that aims to improve children’s experience of services and avoid retraumatisation during medical and child protection assessments, evidence gathering and legal proceedings.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is working in close partnership with the Department of Justice and the Department of Health in developing the Barnahus model, which originated in Iceland and is being adapted to an Irish context. Inter-agency co-operation is a key element of the Barnahus project and is promoted at all stages of development and implementation.

A pilot service in Galway was launched in September 2019. Services are operational in a bespoke centre on the outskirts of Galway city, which allows relevant agencies to provide services for children under one roof.

Deputy Patrick Costello

While I know I started with the National Women's Council of Ireland report, which is the most recent report that looks at DSGBV, inter-agency issues come into emotional abuse, child sexual abuse and neglect. We must remember that gardaí often see a lot more of the community than many others and are a vital source of support for the work of social workers and referrals, so it involves that broader piece. While there are benefits and positive developments under the joint working protocol, it is inconsistent. If often turns on local personalities and local practice and procedures.

A change of one or two key people on either side can undo that. We need to look at more structural issues.

Barnahus is an excellent model and I do not want to be seen to be undermining that. It is exactly the sort of thing I have been arguing we need for a long time. The challenge is that it is very limited. I understand there will be a centre in Galway, Dublin and Cork but areas outside those cities will not be very well served. It is also mostly focused on child sexual abuse which leaves behind the domestic, sexual, gender-based violence issues and issues of neglect and welfare. We must bear in mind that neglect and welfare often account for the largest number of referrals in the various Tusla areas. The children's advocacy centre model in America, which predates Barnahus, is much broader and operates on similar levels where all the agencies sit around the table. The reason Barnahus works is that all the agencies sit around the table. We need that in every Tusla local area office, not just three centres in the country.

The bottom line is that we need to do more to support victims, children and vulnerable families. We can do that quickly and without extra resources by ensuring the right structures are in place and creating co-location or co-working between duty social workers and An Garda Síochána's divisional protected services units, or seconding these staff. That way, without extra resources, we can ensure we will support victims who need support and the State will go a long way towards preventing a repeat of previous failures.

Deputy Josepha Madigan

In addition to the dedicated centre in Galway using the Barnahus model, there will be two further locations in the east and south. I understand they will provide national coverage and access for victims and families to the service. A joint EU-Council of Europe project to support national implementation of the model is also under way. An inception report for the project has just been published. The report will guide which areas the project needs to address as a priority in order to support the national Barnahus project in Ireland. I welcome the Deputy’s observation that it is an excellent model. Obviously, it needs to be worked out properly.

The Deputy spoke about seconding social workers into the divisional protected services unit. I will bring that point back to the Minister.

If children are at risk of abuse in any circumstances, or in any cases where a child’s immediate safety is deemed to be at risk, it is essential that a social worker inform An Garda Síochána as soon as possible about any actions that are taken or planned. In some cases, Tusla may request the assistance of An Garda Síochána in making an emergency intervention. The Deputy mentioned section 12 of the Child Care Act, which provides An Garda Síochána with specific powers to remove a child to safety where there are reasonable grounds for believing there is an immediate and serious risk to the health or the welfare of a child. I note the Deputy's point that he does not want the joint working protocol to be ad hoc and that it should be consistent. Having co-operation and co-ordination in the working environment will be at the heart of the framework and will help inform part of the child protection and welfare services. The structure the Deputy spoke about is integral to and will be implemented under the new strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 5.24 p.m. go dtí 2 p.m., Dé Máirt, an 9 Bealtaine 2023.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.24 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 9 May 2023.