Mick Barry
Ceist:1. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach how many new jobs were created in Cork during the period 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2022. [33642/23]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Job Creation
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:2. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach how many new jobs have been created in County Meath in each of the past five years. [33723/23]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together.
The Central Statistics Office, CSO, produces a number of outputs with employment estimates. The labour force survey, produced by the CSO quarterly, is the official source of estimates of employment in the State. It is mandated at European level and provides figures that are internationally comparable as the official measure of the labour market. Due to the methodology and sample size of the survey, it is not possible to produce reliable county estimates from the labour force survey.
Regional estimates of employment are produced by NUTS 3 level. NUTS are the geocode standard developed and regulated by Eurostat. The NUTS 3 south-west region comprises counties Cork and Kerry. In quarter 1 of 2018, there were 314,800 persons aged between 15 and 89 in employment, based on standard International Labour Organization, ILO, criteria. In the south-west region, in quarter 4 of 2022, there were 368,800 persons aged between 15 and 89 employed. This is an increase of 54,000 persons, or 17.2%.
The NUTS 3 mid-east region comprises counties Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow. In quarter 1 of 2018, there were 317,100 persons aged between 15 and 89 in employment, based on standard ILO criteria. In quarter 4 of 2022, there were 384,800 persons aged between 15 and 89 employed in the mid-east. This is an increase of 67,700 persons, or 21.3%.
This information relates to the overall stock of persons employed at given points in time. It is not possible to determine from the survey whether a job is newly created. These figures, and further data relating to the Irish labour market with a regional breakdown, can be accessed on the CSO website.
I raise an important issue relating to jobs in my county, namely, that of Tara Mines. Tara Mines has been closed since early June. Three months later, there is no word on the mine reopening. It is by far the largest employer in County Meath. It is estimated that about 2,000 jobs currently depend on a functioning mine, and this is especially important because Meath has had a lower investment per capita from the IDA and Enterprise Ireland for the past 15 or 20 years. Unfortunately, Meath has been allowed by the Government to develop as a commuter county and, as a result, the majority of workers living in Meath have to leave the county every day to go to work, which happens in no other local authority area. Tara Mines, therefore, is critically important to Meath.
The key components of that closure were the cost of zinc and electricity. We know energy costs in this country are way out of sync with other countries. Ireland is the most expensive country in Europe for electricity at the moment. It is safe to say the Government's energy policy is costing jobs in this State. From speaking to workers at Tara Mines, I am told other employers are reluctant to employ Tara Mines staff at the moment because they are on temporary layoff. They are of the view that the workers may not stay with the other employer at this time.
Other issues, too, are coming into the mix. A ten-year mining licence is to expire in November. Four licences have been worked on over the past year and they are up for renewal in November. It is incredible that it takes 12 months to process an application for a licence at the moment in this State but we are living at a time of enormous bureaucracy and red tape wherever normal citizens engage with the State. What is the story with those licences that are coming up for renewal?
The date of 12 October is looming large. That was the date when, we were told, the reopening of Tara Mines was going to be revisited. What has the Government done in the intervening three months to try to get Tara Mines open? What is the date for recommencement? Can we give any hope to these families regarding when they will get a decent job back? Many of them are suffering on very low incomes of €220 a week. Moreover, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, stated a year ago that she believes there should be an income support for workers who suffer redundancy. She stated that it should be up to 60% of their original income, and here we are a year later with no detail on that. An opportunity is coming up for the Government to put detail on it, namely, the budget. Will the budget include details on where we can increase the income of workers such as those in Tara Mines who are in trouble?
Another point with regard to Tara Mines relates to childcare, which is important for work and jobs but also for people having the ability to work within the State. A question was put to the Minister of State's colleague the Minister, Deputy Coveney, earlier regarding childcare. Childcare is in a state of crisis in this State, and I genuinely mean that. So many providers of childcare and early learning are seeing their incomes radically reduce and be corroded. These are people who are earning less than they did 20 years ago and who are taking out personal loans to keep their business afloat. These are mostly women who are going to go on strike next week in an effort to keep that sector open. They have tried a dozen times to engage with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, on this but he is simply refusing to engage. Indeed, I understand he walked out of a meeting that was organised with sectoral representatives in recent times. This is a car crash happening in slow motion and the Minister seems not to know what is going on in that area.
Will the Minister of State and her office, with the influence they have, influence the Minister for children, Deputy O’Gorman, to make sure these workers get a decent income in order that providers of childcare, especially in provincial towns such as that of the Minister of State and my own, are able to stay open? It is critical for parents to have a choice as to whether they can work in the labour market at the moment.
I thank the Deputy. Some of those questions are specific to relevant Ministers but I take the points regarding childcare, an issue that will be addressed as part of the budgetary process. The CSO statistics go by region or IDA Ireland markets, and Meath is part of the mid-east region. There are 103 IDA client companies in that region, employing 21,861 people. Specifically in 2022, 18 companies in Meath employed 2,449 people. Employment, and continuing to ensure we keep people in employment through retraining and upskilling, is a priority for the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and, indeed, for the Minister, Deputy Harris, in his brief as well. I will relay the issues the Deputy raised to the line Ministers, who will come back to him directly.
Departmental Bodies
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:3. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the work of the national statistics board under his Department. [33727/23]
The National Statistics Board, NSB, is the body assigned to guide the strategic direction of the Central Statistics Office. The formation of the NSB, its functions and its membership are set out in the Statistics Act 1993. The director general of the CSO has sole and independent responsibility for the operation of the CSO and the delivery of the statistical work programme. The main function of the board is to guide, with the agreement of the Taoiseach, the strategic direction of the CSO by establishing priorities for the compilation and development of official statistics in Ireland.
These priorities are set out in the National Statistics Board five-year strategy Quality Information for All - Numbers Matter 2021. The strategy sets out a vision for a world-class system of official statistics using the best available data to provide high quality, timely, independent and readily accessible information that informs an understanding of Ireland’s society, our economy and the environment. The strategy emphasises the importance of the Central Statistics Office, CSO, and the Irish statistical system in remaining a trusted, independent source of data; staying relevant by monitoring the transformations taking place in the environment, society and the economy; linking data sources in an innovative way, in line with the requirements and protections of the Statistics Act and GDPR; and providing the best possible insights and communicating these insights in a clear way to users of official statistics and to the public generally.
The board meets at least five times a year to monitor the progress being made by the CSO and across the Irish statistical system in implementing this strategy. To date, the National Statistics Board has met four times this year: 26 January, 29 March, 11 May and 14 September. The board is scheduled to meet again on 7 December. The agenda and minutes of each meeting are published on the National Statistics Board, NSB, website. At each meeting the board is updated by the director general of the CSO on relevant developments within the office and across the Irish statistical system. The board regularly reviews the progress being made under each theme and priority of the NSB strategy and receives presentations on developments and innovations being made in the CSO and across the Irish statistical system.
Some examples of the board's activities during the year include organising discussions on statistics, data and information on disability and on labour market statistics and current and future data needs; visiting the CSO office in Cork where the board received a presentation on the safety of the person survey and met the social data collection team; receiving a presentation on new outputs from the environment and climate divisions and on the uses of environmental-related administrative data; and visiting the census in CSO Swords where the board was given an overview of census 2022.
I thank the Minister of State.
On statistics, one very serious issue came up over the summer which concerns children in State care. This issue has come to the fore. Statistics that have been released to me by Tusla show that on average last month there were 67 children residing in special emergency accommodation. This figure excludes unaccompanied minors or separated children. One year ago the average was about 40. There has also been an increase in the number of separated children or unaccompanied minors who are seeking international protection living in special emergency accommodation. In July of this year that figure stood at 93 such children in special emergency arrangements, SEAs, while in October of last year it was only 17. We are, therefore, seeing a massive increase in the number of children being put into special emergency accommodation. It is important to note that in its letter to me Tusla said that these are mostly unregulated placements, they are in rented accommodation in apartments and houses and they are staffed with third party staff who may not be vetted and who are not regulated at all. This is an absolutely stunning situation, which is very difficult, where children most in trouble and most vulnerable have been placed in State care - often in residential State care because this is the last resort location we have to help them - and the Government is not using the regulated organisations such as the businesses that are supplying facilities there. They are now using, at a massive cost to themselves, special emergency accommodation where there is no regulation and no vetting. I am stunned to think that the State would place children who are so vulnerable into such a place. It is an absolute scandal.
Will the Deputy allow the Minister of State a chance to reply?
I will. The Minister of State's preamble was at least five minutes long.
I will look forward to that so.
How many children are located in special emergency accommodation that is unregulated and staffed by unvetted staff?
I thank the Deputy. I do not have those figures but I will certainly ask the relevant Minister, the Minister for Health or the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, to come back to the Deputy on that specific issue.
I understand that this question is new and I am sure it is not part of the Minister of State's background brief. It is part of the background brief of the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. In my view it has been linked with the situation where Judge Dermot Simms, who has since retired, wrote a letter to the Minister with four reports that give information on specific cases. I put a parliamentary question in to the Minister on what happened to those reports. The Minister told me that he deleted three of those reports. He deleted three of those reports, which is an incredible situation. These reports outline in an anonymous fashion really difficult situations that children are in and which the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has deleted. I ask the Minister of State if there is any chance the Minister would go back to Mr. Simms to get those documents and find out how we can help those children who are in trouble.
That concludes Taoiseach's Questions.