Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:1. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with culture, arts and the audiovisual sector will next meet. [32551/23]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Cabinet Committees
Mick Barry
Ceist:2. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with culture, arts and the audiovisual sector will next meet. [34046/23]
Paul McAuliffe
Ceist:3. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on social affairs and public services will meet next. [37778/23]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:4. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with social protection will next meet. [41218/23]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4 together.
The Cabinet committee on social affairs and public services oversees the implementation of programme for Government commitments in the areas of social policy and public services. The committee covers a range of topics, including immigration and integration, with a particular focus on equality and public service reform. Other topics covered by the committee include support, social protection, arts and culture, and justice issues such as policing reform, community safety and domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The Cabinet committee on social affairs and public services will meet on 27 September and will continue to meet in the weeks ahead.
The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment oversees the implementation of programme for Government commitments aimed at sustainable economic recovery, investment and job creation, including through the implementation of Harnessing Digital, our national digital strategy. Sectoral issues are discussed by the Cabinet committee as relevant and required, and this can include the audiovisual sector. The committee last met on 25 May and will meet again on 16 November. In addition to attending meetings of the Cabinet committee, I have regular engagement with Ministers at Cabinet and individually to discuss priority issues relating to their Departments and government more widely.
For years now, at the request of film crews in the Irish film industry, I have been raising the systematic abuse of fixed-term contracts by film production companies in receipt of public money. In practice, they leave workers wide open to blacklisting if they do not toe the line. I have also been raising the campaign of Irish Equity, including the performers, writers, directors and so on, who are campaigning against the use of buyout contracts whereby they are to sign away their rights to future royalties for their work.
My committee, the budget scrutiny committee, undertook an investigation into some of these issues at my request. It issued a report essentially vindicating the concerns of actors, performers and writers, stating these issues need to be addressed along with the abuse of fixed-term contracts by film production companies. Indeed, there is quite a substantial Irish Equity campaign on the issue of the buyout contracts.
Is the Government going to do anything about the recommendations in the report on these issues? Are we going to treat the film crews, writers, actors and directors – the people who actually make films happen – with respect so they will have proper, quality employment and proper remuneration for the work they do to enhance the culture of us all and the film industry in this country and stop the outrageous behaviour by film producers who are getting large amounts of public money but treating film crews, performers and creative workers in such an unacceptable way?
The Tánaiste nailed his colours to the mast at the end of August when he voiced his support for a new universal household charge, based on devices, to replace the television licence.
Such a charge would hit more households than the TV licence, would represent a new charge in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and would be every bit as regressive as the TV licence. We are in the run-up to a general election and the Tánaiste has flown a controversial kite that is up there now flapping around in the breeze. I am giving the Taoiseach the opportunity to shoot it down today. I will be interested in what he has to say on the matter.
An Teachta Ruairí Ó Murchú.
I was not on the list. I may have put my hand up first.
If Deputy Ó Murchú would like to chair the debate, I will let him.
No, I was just looking after Deputy Paul Murphy.
Deputy Ó Murchú is extremely polite.
The clock is running.
I will follow up on the issues raised by Deputy Boyd-Barrett, about companies that take section 481 tax relief. There have been a considerable number of allegations, especially about workers' rights being over-ridden and blackballing when people make complaints. We understand that some of this relates to how the film industry works, in the sense that it is project by project which can allow for picking and choosing and for certain people to control the entire process. People do not have to take my word or that of Deputy Boyd-Barrett or others, including those who have come to us. One of the recommendations from the report of the Select Committee on Budgetary Oversight is that a stakeholders forum be held. We need support from the Government and would definitely need the Minister to engage. It would be successful if we could create a forum where people could voice all these issues and we could deal with them. Then we could get a better system. We are talking about public money and we are not getting bang for our buck as regards high-level employment and for the stake in what is for some a thriving industry.
Will the Government increase significantly in the budget the monthly rate of child benefit to help families struggling with the cost of living and will it help parents by funding childcare properly? The thousands of people protesting outside are a graphic illustration that the Government's policy of relying on the private sector to provide quality, affordable childcare has utterly failed. It is a failure for parents who pay some of the highest childcare fees in Europe. It is a failure for childcare workers who are still being paid poverty wages by private childcare operators and a failure for many small operators who are struggling to make ends meet while big change such as Giraffe and Safari Childcare have been raking in millions, even during the pandemic. This must stop. Will the Taoiseach commit to fully publicly funding childcare in the budget by abolishing childcare fees, increasing childcare workers' wages by at least €2 per hour as a step towards payscales on par with teachers and moving towards a fully publicly-owned, free, national childcare service.
I thank the Deputies for their questions. As Deputies will be aware, we have a set of minimum terms and conditions that apply to all employees. They have been improved in recent years, with, for example, the move to the living wage, more employment regulation orders, particularly in the private sector, the introduction of sick pay, which I was please to be involved in as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and the expansion of such things as parental leave. There is an issue around bogus self-employment. It is difficult to know how common it is. It certainly exists. The scope section in the Department of Social Protection has a role to play in that, as do the Revenue Commissioners.
I do not know enough about fixed term contracts in the audio-visual sector to give the Deputy a proper response, but I will ask my officials to prepare a detailed response for the Deputy.
One matter on which I agree with the Deputy is that the film and video sectors get a lot of support, sometimes through direct grants from the Government, from Screen Ireland, from the Arts Council and a lot through various tax incentives. It is important that they treat their staff and contractors decently. There are allegations of blackballing. I am sure it happens. I imagine it is hard to prove and I am not sure what suggestions come from the report. I have not had a chance to read it on that subject, but I know the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, will take an interest in it. I will certainly let her know it was raised here.
On the reform of the TV licence, while everyone is entitled to have an opinion on this, including Government Ministers, no decision has been made about it by the Government. We need to grasp the issue of funding RTÉ and public service broadcasting and media more generally. Decisions on that have been deferred down the years for many different reasons, good and bad. I want us to agree on a new system in the next few months, legislate for it in 2024 and ideally have it up and running in 2025. I have said that before.
There are different options, including Exchequer funding from central taxation which has its advantages. Many people would welcome not having to pay the TV licence fee every year, but ultimately someone has to pay. If it comes out of Exchequer funds, the taxpayer is still paying. There are also concerns about the power the Executive would then have to cut funding and so on. Some people have suggested that an independent commission could decide how much would be provided every year. That would not work. Inevitably independent commissions or bodies that recommend a certain amount of Government funding do so in isolation and do not have to make the trade-offs and kinds of decisions politicians have to make when the amount recommended by all the groups and experts simply does not add up to the amount available. The other option that has been discussed is a household charge that would be device independent. That would be fraught with difficulty. As someone who has been involved in introducing new taxes, I know it is never easy to do. Sometimes it is successful, sometimes it is not. I am not a fan of taxes or new taxes for that matter. That would be a difficult option to go for. If that option were chosen, we would have to continue to exempt a large number of households, as is the case now, such as pensioners and people on social welfare.
Deputy Paul Murphy asked about the budget. I appreciate the right of Deputies to ask what will be in the budget but I cannot answer because I do not know yet. It has not been agreed. It is still under negotiation between Ministers and has not yet been presented to the Government. Whether it be about child benefit or childcare fees, any announcement will be made on budget day by the Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath and Donohoe. Child poverty and well-being will be a theme in the budget. I have made that commitment as Taoiseach and will be looking at a number of different measures we can introduce to reduce child poverty and improve child well-being. They will be across different areas including education, social protection and so on. We are working on that package at the moment.
Programme for Government
Alan Dillon
Ceist:5. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the Programme for Government. [34060/23]
Cian O'Callaghan
Ceist:6. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the Programme for Government. [36120/23]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 6 together.
The Government has been working to implement the commitments in the Programme for Government which are advanced through the co-ordinating mechanisms of the cabinet committee structure. The ten cabinet committees established by the Government reflect the core policy areas set out in the programme for Government. The strategy statements of all Departments reflect the national priorities outlined in the programme for Government. The Department of the Taoiseach is continuing to help to advance the programme for Government commitments in the following significant policy areas: the implementation of the Housing for All strategy, including additional initiatives as necessary to advance crucial housing related commitments; the implementation of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021, the publication of the Climate Action Plan 2023; the introduction of Ireland's forestry strategy; progressing on-shore and off-shore renewable electricity support scheme auctions; the publication of a national hydrogen strategy; the launch of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, strategic plan with climate assistance for farmers; the implementation of the carbon budget programme and agreement on sectoral emission ceilings; advancements in Sláintecare, improving access, outcome and affordability for patients, while increasing the capacity and effectiveness of the workforce infrastructure and provision of patient care; oversight of the implementation of the third domestic, sexual and gender-based violence strategy; advancing the Government's commitments on the Shared Island initiative. The Department is also ensuring the implementation of New Decade, New Approach commitments, working with relevant Departments North and South to advance the goals of strengthening British-Irish relations including with the London Government and devolved Governments in Wales and Scotland. It is engaging with EU leaders to advance high-level objectives in the programme for Government, especially economic and competitiveness issues, energy security, external relations with the UK and continuing the strong collective EU response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The Department is also advancing the programme through pursuing our international commitments, including strengthening our relationship with the United States and implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals; oversight of the implementation of A Policing Service for the Future, the Government's plan to implement the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland through the policing reform implementation programme office of the Department; the development of a well-being framework for Ireland and its integration into the policymaking and budgetary systems; the publication of Harnessing Digital: The Digital Ireland Framework in February 2022 and its first progress report in December; progressing four citizens' assemblies, one each on a Dublin directly-elected mayor and local government structures, biodiversity, drug use and the future of education; and the establishment of a child poverty and well-being programme office to progress commitments identified in the programme for Government that will have the greatest impact on the lives of children experiencing poverty and those of their parents and households.
I am very pleased to hear that the N5 Scramoge to Ballaghaderreen project was approved by Cabinet today and will now progress to the construction phase. I know the Taoiseach was fully supportive of this project when concerns were brought to his attention following the collapse of Roadbridge. This is a long-awaited project that is now estimated to cost in the region of €450 million. It will have a significant impact on the safety and quality of life of people in Counties Mayo and Roscommon and beyond. I acknowledge the Government's commitment in that regard.
I will also focus attention on the current capital programme, which I feel does not go far enough to address the major challenges facing our country, and on the need to continue to ensure balanced regional development. Over the next ten years, we will see a major transformation in Ireland with a growing population and an aging society. We therefore need to invest in new infrastructure and services to support growth and to ensure everyone can benefit from the opportunities ahead. We must continue to invest in our regional airports programme, in rail and in roads. We need enhanced capital funding to be provided for this. The Taoiseach has been a real champion of Knock airport and will know that it is a vital piece of infrastructure in our county, supporting tourism, business and regional growth. We need to continue to invest in Knock airport and in the rail network. I advocate strongly for the inclusion of the western rail corridor, a pivotal project in the All-Island Strategic Rail Review. I ask that these projects be supported in the revised capital programme.
The programme for Government makes a number of commitments in the areas of climate change and public transport. It is essential that, when there is investment in public transport, it is accessible to everyone. In Baldoyle, where thousands of homes have been built over the last 20 years, people still do not have safe universal access to Clongriffin DART Station. Temporary access, provided 13 years ago, still remains in place. It is simply not fit for purpose. It is not clean or safe and it does not provide universal access, allowing people to feel safe while using it. For the past three weeks, the lifts in the temporary access route have been out of order. Parents with children in buggies, people who use wheelchairs and people with reduced mobility have been unable to access public transport at the train station at all. This is absolutely unacceptable. Will the Taoiseach and the Government contact Irish Rail about providing permanent, safe and universal access to Clongriffin Station? Will funding be provided for this?
I raise the case of 15 Cork-based nurses who are being denied the €1,000 Covid bonus. These nurses are members of the SouthDoc community intervention team. They administer intravenous injections of fluids, antibiotics and so on to patients who have been discharged from hospital back to their homes and communities. All 15 of these nurses were patient-facing during the Covid emergency. In other words, they risked their health and their lives to care for others in our health service. The bonus would cost their employer a mere €15,000, that is, €1,000 for 15 workers. The HSE has approved it but the direct employer, SouthDoc, pleads inability to pay. I understand a similar situation pertains at midlands CareDoc. Does the Taoiseach agree that this payment should now be made and that a real injustice is being perpetuated while it is not?
The programme for Government says:
Ever since Ireland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, we have signalled to those with a disability that we are now serious about making a difference – a difference that will make things better.
The Government has not done that, however. It has not acted to make things better. I attended a very powerful meeting last Monday night, organised by WALK, an organisation that does tremendous work in supporting people with intellectual disabilities. Service users, relatives, friends and staff packed out the biggest room in Rua Red and powerfully told their stories of how Government choices put up significant barriers that disabled them. There is a chronic shortage of residential places. There are very significant staff shortages because of the Government's failure to give pay parity to section 39 and section 38 workers. People with mild intellectual disabilities are often unable to get the psychiatric support they need. Will the Government act on this? Will it give pay parity and invest in staff now? Will it also make a significant investment in residential places?
The programme for Government also speaks about developing the arts and culture sector. I will return to the points I made earlier so that the Taoiseach will fully understand them. I appreciate that he said he would look into them. Sometimes, I think there is a lack of understanding of what goes on in the arts, culture and film sector because of the magic and dazzle of film. However, behind that dazzle, there are two critically important groups. One comprises people like those involved in set construction, the stage crew and the props people - the production line who make the film happen. It is the same people again and again who make these films, all around the country for different film producers and all funded with public money. Those people work for years and years on fixed-term contracts but never is their service acknowledged or recognised even though they have been doing it for years. That has been going on for years. They are totally vulnerable. They are one category.
The second category comprises the creatives, the performers. They have a different problem. In the past, they used to get royalties from any film they did in perpetuity. Producers in Ireland are almost unique in the world in demanding that actors and writers sign away their rights to those future royalties to the producer company. They are demanding they get back those residuals, as they are called, just as actors, performers and creatives in the rest of the world have a right to their residuals.
We need to see Government support for the stakeholder forum proposed by that report, which would deal with and look at all these issues and make sure they are aired properly, so that we can put in place a system that is fit for purpose. We all want to see the film industry blossom but we want to make sure that people are treated as they should be.
The programme for Government speaks about building stronger and safer communities. There are two things that will not serve that aim. Much has been said about the rosters. It is to be hoped the ongoing negotiations will deal with that. In my own home town, it would mean losing people from community policing and the drugs squad. There was some suggestion that this would not happen to specialist units but I think there is an element of people playing with words in that regard. The issue we have in Louth, along with Cavan and Monaghan, is that we are going to be served by one of the few three-county models to be put in place. Louth will also take in some of east Meath. The Taoiseach knows of the particular issues that have occurred across Louth, particularly in Drogheda with the feud. Dundalk is another very large urban area with particular issues. Whatever about streamlining, it does not make sense to have a single superintendent responsible for serious crime across that entire area.
There needs to be Government engagement with the Garda Commissioner and whoever else to get this rectified.
My question relates to the areas where the National Development Plan and the programme for Government might converge, or in some cases might not converge, leaving questions as to whether they might be advanced in line with the concerns of the local communities, where there is obviously continued activity to pursue these issues. Snags have occurred in the past regarding the programme for Government, and in particular the National Development Plan. How can the Taoiseach at this stage try to use his good influence to ensure that those concerns, barbs and hold-ups are resolved?
I wish to speak on the Garda rosters. I am sure the Taoiseach is aware of this. I was talking to quite a number of younger gardaí over the summer because they attend the summer fairs and police those kinds of community activities. They are four days on, four days off at the moment. For gardaí, and particularly quite a number of younger gardaí in Dublin who live in what they describe as commutable counties, to move to a six days on, four days off roster would mean two additional days of travel. For younger gardaí who are parents, moving from four days to six days on would also mean two additional days of childcare. Obviously, these decisions are in the remit of the Garda Commissioner but if these facts are not already known to the Taoiseach, I was asked to pass them on to him. The roster would have a significant impact on the quality of life and the cost of living of young gardaí.
I thank the Deputies for their questions. As Deputy Dillon mentioned earlier, Cabinet today signed off on the tender and gave approval for the N5 Scramogue to Ballaghaderreen road project to go ahead. It is an investment of about €450 million and will dramatically improve access to and from County Mayo in particular. It will also have huge benefits for towns like Strokestown, Frenchpark and Tulsk in Roscommon, where the through traffic will be taken out, making those towns nicer places in which to live and visit. It is a huge investment in the west of Ireland and probably the biggest single transport project that will be approved this year by the Government. It comes on top of some other big transport investments in the west and the south west. I had the pleasure earlier in the year to open to Westport to Castlebar road and I look forward to opening the Macroom to Ballyvourney bypass later in the year. For people who say that we are not investing in roads or in the west and south west, this is the answer. There are very evident road projects opening and starting, and that pipeline continues.
I agree with Deputy Dillon's call for ongoing and increased investment in roads and rail and also in our regional airports. The challenge for the Government is that there are limitations other than limitations around the planning process, which can take some time and is not always successful. There are budgetary limitations, and increasingly we are constrained less by budgets and more by the availability of skilled people, ranging from engineers and architects to quantity surveyors and construction workers. We have to programme these things out in a way that is deliverable. We also need to appreciate that increasing budgets every year does not always mean that one gets more. Sometimes it just drives inflation, and one ends up paying more for the same. We are seeing a big issue around construction inflation at the moment.
Deputy O'Callaghan raised the issue of access to Clongriffin DART Station for people with restricted mobilities. I was not aware of that as an issue. I know some very new stations like Pelletstown Station in Dublin 7, which is in a new part of my constituency, cost a lot to build but they are very accessible. It was worth it, in many ways, because people can access it in a way they cannot access the older stations. I will certainly make inquiries with Irish Rail and see if it has a plan, or at least if it can have a plan, to improve access to that particular station. It is a relatively new one, so I am disappointed to hear that it was not built in such a way as to accommodate people with restricted mobilities.
Deputy Barry raised the question of the 15 nurses employed by SouthDoc. If I picked it up correctly, he said that the pandemic bonus, the €1,000, was already approved by the HSE. To the best of my knowledge SouthDoc, like the other doctor on call services, receives a mix of public funding and also private fees. I do not know exactly what the balance is there but I definitely think it should be sorted out and should be paid. I will make the Minister for Health aware that it was raised here, and perhaps something can be done to resolve.
On the section 39 bodies and pay parity, we debated this earlier in the Dáil. There is an offer on the table, which is a 5% pay increase in November, 3% backdated for several months and a commitment to further engagement, as was done in the past. What used to happen in the past is there would be a public sector pay deal and then a few months later there would be engagement on how that might apply to section 39 bodies. We would like to get back to that but unfortunately that offer has not been accepted. Perhaps that can change, as it is certainly still on the table.
I will go back to Deputy Boyd Barrett's questions on the film and audiovisual sector. I know some people who work in it. I know that one cannot produce this content or these great films and programmes, which we are very proud of and showcase our country very well, without the people who act in them, write them, and who do everything around the protection line, from riggers to cameramen to sound engineers and all of the people who are essential in this cultural industry. I do not know enough about the payment model but I know that sometimes it is a fee and royalties. Other times, it is a higher fee with no royalties. There should be a choice. I am not sure we can legislate for that but there should be a choice between a fee with royalties, or a higher fee if one forgoes the royalties. The idea of a stakeholder forum is a very good one and I will make sure that the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Gaeltacht, Arts, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, is aware of that. What might work for the sector - I am only saying it might work - is some sort of employment regulation order or sectoral employment order. We have them in other areas like construction, childcare and security, and that at least means a minimum set of terms of conditions and rules that govern the area. Perhaps that might be a way forward.
If we had the forum first it would be helpful.
I agree and like I said, I will make sure that the Minister, Deputy Martin, is aware of the view that we both hold.
On Deputy Ó Murchú's question regarding the new policing model, my understanding is that it is being piloted in a number of areas. Once that is done, there will be a review. The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, might be able to inform the Deputy a bit more about how that is going.
On the Garda roster, all of us can understand why the Covid roster is attractive. It is four days on and four days off, and there is also annual leave and public holidays. It is a very attractive roster in terms of work-life balance. However, it was for the Covid period and there are very few people, if anyone else in Ireland - certainly in the public service - who are still operating on a Covid roster. The difficulty that has been caused is that a lot of the time, gardaí are less available or not available when we need them to be. We have more gardaí than we had five years ago but everyone would agree that gardaí are less available than they were. That is not all down to the Covid roster but certainly, the Garda Commissioner has the view that it is part of the problem. This issue can be resolved by negotiation and that is how it should be done. The Garda Representative Association fought Government very hard to gain access to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. That is where these things can be sorted out. There is potential there for a new agreed roster which could then be balloted on. I encourage the Garda Representative Association to go to the WRC, allow this to be negotiated properly, and then put to ballot a revised roster. Perhaps there is a hybrid roster that might work.
On Deputy Durkan's question around National Development Plan, NDP delivery, there are a lot of different steps on the way to getting a project done. They take time. There is, of course, the whole planning and design part of the process. Sometimes that ends up in the courts and sometimes it does not. Then there is the whole tender process and then the actual construction and commissioning. Part of the role I gave the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, in the Cabinet reshuffle back in December was that enhanced role of NDP delivery, making sure that projects happen and happen more quickly. I am very frustrated, and everyone in the House is frustrated, by how long it takes some projects to get done. We need to improve that.
Cabinet Committees
Cian O'Callaghan
Ceist:7. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Housing will meet next. [36121/23]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:8. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee that deals with housing will next meet. [41208/23]
Paul Murphy
Ceist:9. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [41212/23]
Bernard Durkan
Ceist:10. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Taoiseach when the next Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [41349/23]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 10, inclusive, together.
The next meeting of the Cabinet committee on housing will take place in October.
The committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of Housing for All and the delivery of programme for Government commitments regarding housing and related matters. We are now entering the third year of the implementation of Housing for All. The plan is working with strong performance on many indicators, including new home commencements and completions. Despite considerable challenges in the external environment, building started on almost 30,000 new homes in the 12 months to the end of August and in the first half of this year, a record 14,000 homes were completed, which was an increase of almost 6% on the same period last year. Those comparisons apply to the period since the current way of counting began in 2011. This, coupled with the trend over the past decade of more houses being built in the second half of the year, means we are confident that the target for delivery of 29,000 homes in 2023 will be met and probably exceeded. The future pipeline is also positive, with planning permission granted for over 20,000 new homes in the first half of this year alone.
Under the plan, we have introduced affordable purchase initiatives, including the first home scheme, the local authority home loan, the local authority affordable purchase scheme and Project Tosaigh. We have also extended the help-to-buy scheme. We are now seeing very large numbers of first-time buyers purchasing homes for the first time, with more than 700 first-time buyer mortgages approved every week. The Government has responded to the financial viability challenges facing the residential construction sector as a result of high inflation and rising interest rates. The Croí Cónaithe city scheme is supporting the building of apartments for sale to owner-occupiers and the new secure tenancy affordable rental, STAR, scheme will assist developers to build over 4,000 cost-rental homes. We are working to reduce vacancy with a grant of €50,000 to bring vacant properties back into use and €70,000 for derelict properties.
As well as these schemes, a major emphasis for the remainder of the year and into 2024 will be on measures to improve the long-term sustainability of the sector, including through the adoption of modern methods of construction and enhanced capacity. The planning and development Bill will also be brought before the House in the coming weeks.
Housing for All includes a provision to review and update actions in the plan on an annual basis and work is ongoing on the second annual update, which will be considered by the Cabinet committee in October.
There is a ticking timebomb when it comes to multi-unit developments and their sinking funds. As apartments built during the Celtic tiger era reach 20 years of age, sinking funds will increasingly be needed to fund repairs to leaking roofs and lifts that need to be replaced. When those sinking funds are insufficient, repairs cannot take place and apartment owners may be levied sums they simply cannot afford. Failure to regulate management companies properly, combined with sinking funds being used to fund building defects, means that in the next few years, this crisis will come to a head. It cannot be ignored yet that is what the Government has done.
There was a commitment in the programme for Government to review the Multi-Unit Developments Act but it has not been progressed. While the Housing Agency drafted regulations on sinking funds and service charges last February, the Department of Justice failed to publish them. When will those draft regulations be published? When will the commitment in the programme for Government to reform the Multi-Unit Developments Act be implemented? When will a regulator for management companies with robust enforcement powers be established?
I have been contacted by somebody in Cork about a new development in the rental sector. A company called HomeHak has apparently taken over a significant part of the rental market in Cork and is spreading beyond that area. People are required to put together CVs that include the name of the tenant, background references, employment history, minimum rent desired, maximum rent, the number of rooms desired, the number of household members, the number of children and a photograph of the potential tenant. The CV is put up on a website and after a period of time, people must pay to keep it online. The concern that is being expressed is that people are potentially vulnerable to predatory behaviour because the system is based on photos and so on. This system also creates a two-tier private rental market. Landlords can select people on the basis of these CVs, meaning people on low incomes or with a particular family make-up have absolutely no chance of getting a private rental property. I ask the Taoiseach to look into the matter.
Today's edition of The Irish Times reports that the Government is considering reducing tax on rental income. Why on earth should people pay less tax on passive income than they pay on earned income? Why on earth should tenants pay a higher rate of tax on their income than landlords pay on their income? The justification for this is the idea that there is a flood of landlords leaving the market because they have such a hard time and so on. The evidence does not back that up. We have the highest rents on record. The total in private rent going to private landlords in 2022 was €4.7 billion. The 2016 figure was €3.1 billion. We know the private rental sector is getting bigger rather than smaller. The answer in terms of evictions is for the State to buy with tenants in situ and to leave the tenants in place.
I have a query in respect of this issue. The Government's plans are having success. However, they are, unfortunately, too slow. They were quite successful in dealing with the population as it was four, five or ten years ago but in the present climate, we find that counties adjacent to Dublin city and county are having serious problems with a lack of emergency housing. We in County Kildare have run out of possibilities. We are trying. I am asking the Taoiseach to initiate an emergency programme of modern modular housing to deal with those situations as they arise. We cannot live forever with people being changed around in emergency housing. These are people who will have no other option for the foreseeable future.
It seems that Fórsa has achieved a roadmap to job evaluation for its members in local authorities, which could mean the end of the industrial action. That is very positive except for those people who will now have to take calls and emails from me.
If we are talking about housing, we know we need to see a complete escalation in respect of modern methods of construction. However, I wish to deal with the issue of housing adaptation grants for older people and those with disabilities. Louth County Council got a small amount of money to reopen for applications, for which it had shut, in the next while. At this point, however, we are still looking at something like an 18-month backlog. We know that a review is happening locally. There is also a review happening at Government level. We need to see the outworking of that. We need to look at thresholds because we are talking about trying to deal with people who are suffering in respect, in particular, of mobility issues. We need something that is more fit for purpose, which means the announcement of thresholds and a process for which to do this.
In the Taoiseach's own constituency of Dublin West, 30 schools had 110 unfilled teaching posts last year, according to the Dublin West education coalition, which organised a comprehensive survey. Some 75% of schools received no applications and 81% ended up using unqualified teachers. The reasons for this crisis are many and varied. They include cuts in teachers' pay and allowances, and non-recognition of qualifications and service abroad. However, the issues of housing availability and affordability, and sky-high rents, have been raised again and again. What steps, if any, is the Government taking to address these housing issues? What steps does the Taoiseach intend to take to tackle the teacher shortage crisis in his own constituency?
It was interesting to hear Members opposite reference the tenant in situ scheme which, as the Taoiseach knows, has two strands. One is for social housing tenants whose landlords want to bring their tenancy to an end. The other strand is for those in private rental accommodation whose landlords want to bring their tenancy to an end. In both cases, the local authority or housing association can step in to purchase the house and keep the tenant in situ. Does the Taoiseach welcome the news from my county and share my appreciation of the work being done by South Dublin County Council? A total of 99 tenants have so far availed of the scheme in the South Dublin County Council area.
I believe 133 in total are being processed by the county council. This is not enough but the Taoiseach will agree that it is good news.
I thank the Deputies and I will be as quick as I can. Certainly, when it comes to multi-unit developments, all should have a sinking fund. A portion of the management fee should go into that every year so it builds up over 20 or 30 years and there is a pool of money then to carry out any works that need to be done. Whether you live in an apartment or a house, every 30 years or so you need to do major works to it. That is the nature of buildings, and that is money the owner has to pay.
In terms of the review of the Act, I do not know the timeline on that but I will check with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and will return to Deputy Cowen on that. I am not familiar with HomeHak but I will ask the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, to look into it.
On any tax package for small landlords in the budget, again, no budget decision has been made on this but any time we bring in a tax incentive or concession, it is done for a reason. We brought in a rent credit in the previous budget, for example, which means that somebody renting pays less income tax than somebody earning the same amount of money but who pays a mortgage or owns a house. We did that in recognition of the very high rents people have to pay. I expressed the view and I express it again that if there is any tax concession for small landlords, it must be linked in some way to benefits for the tenants as well. It cannot just be about the landlord.
I agree with Deputy Durkan and others on the progress being made in housing being welcome but still being too slow. We are increasingly using modern methods of construction. We have the new can Construction Technology Centre driving that and the National Construction Training Campus in Mount Lucas. I am a big supporter of modular builds and modern methods of construction but we also need to be realistic. The promise of them being cheaper and a hell of a lot quicker has never actually been realised. It might be quicker but it is rarely cheaper. It has a role to play but we need to be realistic about the extent of the difference it can make.
On the housing adaption grants, I believe that review is complete or nearing completion and it is with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, at the moment. It looks at the issue of income thresholds and the amount of grants that may be needed given the scale of construction inflation in recent years.
Deputy Barry mentioned housing issues and asked what we are doing to reduce rents. We have the rent pressure zones and have introduced the rent tax credit. We are investing in cost-rental housing in particular, which will benefit many people, and we are building more social housing, which allows many people to come off the housing assistance payment, HAP, into social housing, thus freeing up housing for others. These are the kind of things we are doing to bring down the cost of renting.
While there are vacancies in many schools, it is worth pointing out that there are more teachers in Ireland than ever before who are registered with The Teaching Council and employed by the Department of Education. We have initial talks now with the public sector unions on the next pay deal and pay round, which relates to the amount public servants, including teachers, get paid.
I join Deputy Lahart in welcoming the progress made by South Dublin County Council in acquiring 99 houses from landlords under the tenant in situ scheme. It is a very good scheme. It means people who perhaps have been on HAP or the rental accommodation scheme, RAS, for a long period of time can become regular social housing tenants. I am glad that is really taking off, not just in south Dublin but throughout the country.