The Taoiseach was bragging there about the Government's achievement in housing. Meanwhile, a new report published by Morgan McKinley Ireland shows that Ireland faces a brain drain across the economy. Workers in many professions are emigrating because of a housing crisis and sky-high living costs. Accountants are heading off to Australia and Canada and the construction sector has also been badly hit as the lack of availability in housing has seen workers packing their bags for the United States and Canada. The inability to find a home where they can build a life is driving young people abroad; the very workers with the education, skill, talent and energy we need to build and drive our society and economy. This brain drain is a direct result of the Government's disastrous housing policy. This report might serve as a wake-up call to the Taoiseach. Will the Taoiseach study the report and accept that we need a massive ramping up, as the Deputy has suggested, of State-led delivery of affordable homes to buy and rent?
Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
I have only read the headlines, I have not had a chance to read the report but I will. I hope the Deputy has read it too. I hope she also will read other reports and look at the Central Statistics Office, CSO, and ESRI analyses of these matters because, as she knows - even though she refuses to admit it - in the past three years, while 80,000 Irish citizens have gone to live abroad for many different reasons, 90,000 have returned. That is a fact. Every year, tens of thousands of people come to Ireland from other parts of the EU and from the UK and bring their skills and qualifications with them. Every year, we issue tens of thousands of work permits to people who are non-Europeans who come here with their skills and qualifications. The Deputy needs to know that because it is a fact.
Today, more than 70,000 students are getting their junior certificate results, which is a record number of students. I wish them well. For many students, the education budget announced last week will have been a serious disappointment because once-off supports for schools have been cut to only €60 million, compared with €91 million last year. There was no permanent increase in capitation until September next year, 11 months away. For schools struggling with increased costs this winter, the once-off grant is lower and the cleaning grant is gone. There is particular concern for disadvantaged schools as the expansion of DEIS is leading to a dilution of focus. Yesterday, my colleague, Deputy Ó Ríordáin, asked the Minister, Deputy Foley, about a specific commitment to fund a new focused DEIS plus scheme with trauma-informed supports for extremely disadvantaged schools. A group of 30 school principals is leading this campaign. As the Taoiseach says his priority is child poverty, will he agree to meet a delegation of the principals fighting for a DEIS plus scheme? Will he reverse the cut to once-off capitation funding for schools?
As the Deputies know, it is not my practice to organise meetings in the Chamber. If somebody wants to meet me they can write to me in the normal way and I will provide time to meet them if I can. I would always meet people with the Minister. I join the Deputy in congratulating junior cycle students on their results today. It is a great day for a lot of young people. We are seeing the highest number of children and young people ever completing the junior cycle. The education budget for 2024 is the highest budget ever, which needs to be acknowledged. The cleaning grant was for Covid. It is not necessary in the way it was previously.
My generation is the first to be worse off than our parents. A new report from the CSO helps to explain why. It all comes down to housing. In 1973, average house prices were four and a half times the average salary. Today, they are more than seven times higher. Wages have increased too but not enough. Wages are 21 times higher than they were in 1973 but house prices are 35 times more expensive. In five decades, house prices have increased at three times the rate of inflation. The fact is that it has never been harder for people to own their own homes. Many now have lost all hope that they ever will and have lost all confidence in this Government because the affordability gap keeps increasing on its watch. Average house prices today are €66,000 higher than they were when this Government took office in 2020. House prices have more than doubled in the decade during which Fine Gael has been in power. Home ownership rates have collapsed. I want to ask what the Taoiseach will do about it but, unfortunately, he still needs to accept that his approach is failing. Does he accept that?
I do not accept the Deputy's charge. Young people in Ireland are better educated than ever before. More are completing third-level education than ever was the case in the past, from such a diversity of backgrounds.
Young people are more likely to gain employment than ever was the case before. Young people, in particular those of us who are LGBT or women, have rights and freedoms that would have been unimaginable in previous generations. They are the improvements and they are significant. I fully accept that housing is an enormous challenge, particularly for younger people and also for the Government, but we are making real progress. Record levels of social housing are being built. Last year, we had the highest level since the 1970s. Every week we see about 400 first-time buyers buying their first home. I want to see that figure become a lot higher.
The barbaric slaughter that Israel is visiting on the people of Gaza and its publicly stated intention to ethnically cleanse 1 million Palestinians from northern Gaza under the threat of massive aerial bombardment are war crimes. Does the Taoiseach acknowledge that his constant references to Israel defending itself are completely inappropriate in the face of Israeli war crimes publicly declared against the people of Gaza, that he should stop using that language, and that he should in fact now impose sanctions on the Israeli regime by expelling the Israeli ambassador and calling publicly with his European counterparts and internationally for the Israeli Government and military officials responsible for those war crimes to be referred to the International Criminal Court for violations of international law and war crimes against the people of Gaza?
I think any state has the right to defend itself against terrorism. This State had to defend itself against terrorism for a prolonged period but it has to be done within the rules of international humanitarian law. We have been very clear about that from day one.
I went into my local pharmacy last weekend and I again praised the staff for the great work they had done during Covid. The owner of the pharmacy was angry. She told me that the pharmacy was on the front line during Covid while doctors closed their doors and answered phone calls, which they were well paid for. Pharmacists got nothing, not even to cover the cost of printing all the country's prescriptions. They even made home deliveries to elderly people and they kept the show on the road. Her staff were not considered healthcare workers so they did not receive the €1,000 recognition payment. They do not feel valued. Given the amazing work pharmacies did during the Covid pandemic, will the Government consider giving them the €1,000 payment? I think it is worth doing that.
It is open to any pharmacist to pay the €1,000 bonus to their employees. Lots of private companies and business owners have done so. The Government helps by allowing them to do so tax free. That is a change we made in the last budget. I know it was not Deputy Fitzpatrick's reference but, quite frankly, I do not think the reference by the pharmacist about GPs was fair. GPs did not close their doors during the pandemic; they kept them open. They saw patients but, where possible, they did consultations by phone or by video because they did not want to expose their patients to the risk of infection.
Budget 2024 will see a €200 million cut in funding for main road projects. This is a misguided decision by the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, who has an overt influence on the Cabinet. It is the third consecutive year there has been this level of cuts to major infrastructure. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, said there were four deaths on the N24 and 11 serious injuries between Limerick Junction and Cahir. We have already had two losses of life this year. The Government must put this money back into these roads - the bypass for Tipperary town and the upgrade of the N24 between Limerick and Waterford - as it is vital for infrastructural connectivity to our ports and for Tipperary town. People cannot live there. The task force there is doing great work with Councillor Annemarie Ryan and others trying to get this bypass. The Minister for Transport promised it but he seems to have totally stopped any road projects and he is against any improvements.
The time is up.
Will the Government please listen to the TII when it says that lives will be lost and there will be more injuries because of a lack of investment in these roads?
That is one particular budget line. There is also funding through the Road Safety Authority and there is funding through local authorities as well. We will be doing a review of the national development plan allocations in the next couple of weeks. I would anticipate that will involve an uplift for road projects. I can guarantee the Deputy that it is not the case that road projects are not going ahead. In the next couple of weeks we will open the new bypass of Macroom and Ballyvourney.
Thank God.
We will open the new Athy distributor road, turn the sod on Tulsk to Scramoge-----
I am looking forward to that.
-----and open the Moycullen bypass. It is never going to be possible to fund every road project in any given year. That never was the case.
I want to raise with the Taoiseach the need to increase the top-up payments for the rural social scheme, RSS, and the Tús community employment scheme. Right now that top-up payment is €27.50 per week. It was increased by €5 a week in this year's budget but there is nothing for next year. Those participating in those schemes work three to five days a week. They fact the cost of travel to work, including for petrol, diesel, bus fares or whatever else, and they may have childcare responsibilities. If they even buy a cup of tea or coffee, it means they are out of pocket. These schemes are hugely important for the participants themselves but also for the communities they serve. There needs to be a greater incentive for participants. Even an extra €5 or €10 a week would help. There needs to be a further training element in Tús. I believe it would be of benefit to lift the restrictions on the number of people from one household that can participate in the RSS.
We are coming towards the end of a review of the rural social scheme. There has been very intense engagement on it. I have attended a number of workshops and had a lot of discussions with supervisors, participants and the implementing bodies involved as well. It is an amazing scheme. I have seen what it does. It not only provides services and gives an opportunity for people to engage in their community, but it is a vital tool for mental health. A lot of single men in rural Ireland with small farms rely on it as their main social outlet and they contribute hugely. It is very important that when we review the RSS that we make sure it has a future and that it helps to keep small farmers and small fishers doing what they do.
Earlier this week, I attended a public meeting organised by the Taoiseach's constituency colleague, Fine Gael Senator Emer Currie, who is with us today in the Chamber. It related to the Silver Bridge, which links Waterstown Park in Palmerstown to the Strawberry Beds in Lucan. The bridge is currently being repaired and restored through a €1.5 million investment but it is not being reopened. Obviously it would cost an awful lot more than that to ensure it is safe to be reopened to pedestrians. There are also land ownership issues at play. Paul from the Rebuild the Silver Bridge campaign and Joe from the Liffey Valley Park Alliance spoke at the meeting while Senator Currie gave a very good presentation outlining the potential the bridge offers if it was to reopen in terms of connectivity, tourism, and the creation of a Liffey Valley park and as a local amenity for the community. Will the Government look at funding local authorities to do a feasibility study on this, as suggested by Senator Currie, which was fairly endorsed at the meeting this week?
I thank the Deputy very much for raising this important issue. I recognise Senator Currie's work on it. The area straddles both our constituencies. On a number of occasions in the past, the Government has allocated funding to restore the Silver Bridge and for some reason or another, it was not drawn down, so I hope it actually happens this time. That in itself would be very significant progress. I would love to see the bridge reopened to pedestrians so they could cross the river and avail of the amenities on both sides of the river, including Waterstown Park in the Deputy's constituency.
I would have thought it is something that the local authority could have funded out of its own resources or perhaps jointly with South Dublin County Council but we are happy to examine any proposal for Government co-funding as well.
The Palestinian people have long suffered under an illegal occupation, apartheid, annexation and Israeli onslaught. They have been provided with no real hope for the future. Israel's security-only policy has not provided security for anybody. At this point in time, Gaza, long an open prison, is suffering carpet-bombing and forced displacement, and there is not enough water, energy or fuel. They have all been cut off by Israel.
We were all shocked and appalled at the actions of Hamas but the problem is that what we have is collective punishment being provided to the Palestinians on the basis of anger and possibly worse. At an international level, the only calls can be for a ceasefire now and for the necessary opening in regard to those necessary resources to save Palestinian lives.
What interactions has the Irish Government had at international level with regard to delivering this and what interactions will it have, particularly at European Union level, and the disgraceful green lighting of Israeli actions by Ursula von der Leyen?
The Government is calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. We believe such a ceasefire must be respected by all sides: Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Israeli Defense Forces. We are calling for the creation of humanitarian corridors so that we can get water, supplies, fuel and medicines into Gaza and get refugees and foreign passport holders out. I called for that at a meeting of the European Council yesterday. We are also engaging at UN level and the Tánaiste has had a series of phone calls with other countries, including Jordan, Iran and others, to push that case.
The response to the budget in Kerry over the weekend was overwhelmingly positive on most fronts. Most people were very happy with the measures contained therein. However, one of the sectors I received many calls from over the weekend was the tourism sector. I heard from employers, people working in the sector and operators and there was a lot of concern that tourism is no longer a priority for this Government. That is something that needs to be tackled. Can the Taoiseach reassure people in the sector that the industry is prioritised by the Government? Will he give details of the assistance that will be provided? Will he respond to the concerns expressed by the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation today that the industry is not being given the assistance it needs to return to the levels of revenue it was earning before the Covid pandemic?
I am a big supporter of the tourism industry, as I know Deputy Griffin is, and I believe this Government is too. I remember that, 12 years ago when we were in the middle of a very deep economic crisis, it was the tourism industry, the farmers and the multinationals that lifted us out of that. I will never forget that. They deserve our support for that reason alone, as well as for many other reasons. I will come back to the Deputy with more details but I know there is funding for Tourism Ireland to promote Ireland abroad and funding for Fáilte Ireland to invest in attractions around the country. Many tourism businesses will also benefit from a scheme being developed by the Minister, Deputy Coveney. This is a €250 million scheme to provide cash grants in recognition of some of the high costs these businesses are currently facing, particularly with regard to energy and higher wage costs. The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, also wants to work on a bespoke scheme that will help some of the tourist-facing businesses that have been affected by the fact so much of our hotel stock has been taken up by refugees from Ukraine.
I raise the issue of the significant increase in the number of cars stolen throughout the State. We have seen a surge in Dublin 15 and Dublin 7 in particular. It is many years since I have seen joyriding and cars being burnt out on a such a scale. There is a solution, however. Most, if not all, of the cars are imported from Japan and have no alarms or immobilisers, making them incredibly vulnerable to theft. In Dublin 15, gardaí are dealing with this proactively by stopping people in those types of cars and warning them that their cars are vulnerable to attack. Would the Taoiseach support legislation that would ensure that cars imported into the country would have an alarm, an immobiliser and proper security measures to prevent their theft?
I am very much aware of this issue in the constituency the Deputy and I share. On the face of it, such legislation sounds like a good idea but we will have to look into it because we are part of the European Single Market and there are EU rules that supersede any national rules. We also have a trade deal with Japan and would have to make sure the legislation was compliant with that. It is certainly something we will give consideration to.
Page 84 of the programme for Government states:
Community safety is at the heart of the ongoing transformation of An Garda Síochána. The...Government will ensure that this will be a key part of our social contract with citizens. An Garda Síochána is enriched by its resilient links in the areas it works with and protects.
In Laois-Offaly, there is an ongoing and serious issue with Garda recruitment numbers. We all know that morale is very low in An Garda Síochána at present but morale will be even lower and we will face an even greater exodus of gardaí if we do not support them in every constituency. In my own constituency of Laois-Offaly, we have seen the number of community gardaí drop and drop. The response to a parliamentary question I submitted last year showed that there were 44 community gardaí covering the constituency of Laois-Offaly in 2009 and this figure dropped to just seven last year. I call for more gardaí, for the reopening of Garda stations in Banagher, Kilcormac and Kinnitty and for the operational hours of these stations to be increased.
Garda recruitment is ramping up and we are confident that we will recruit 700 or 800 new gardaí this year. In the next few months, the total number of gardaí will again exceed 14,000 so total numbers will be rising again and will do so again next year. How gardaí as assigned to different parts of the country, as the Deputy knows, is a decision for the Garda Commissioner rather than for the Government. However, I meet the Garda Commissioner every six months or so and I will make sure that the Deputy's request is passed on to him directly.
I have heard the Taoiseach condemn the killing spree carried out by Hamas in Israel, and rightly so. I have also heard him condemn the nightmare being visited on the people of Palestine and Gaza by Israel, and rightly so. I am very proud that Ireland, as a country, has the conviction to call out war crimes, including those being committed by Israel, while other nations declare their support for these actions. The question people ask me most often is what we, as a country, can do to stop this murder and slaughter of innocent civilians and of innocent children. Ireland has a very influential voice on the world stage. The Taoiseach has a very influential voice on the world stage. We need to use that voice. Let us reach out to our neighbours in the UK and ask them to stop sending weapons to Israel to support these war crimes. Let us reach out to our close friends in the US and ask them to question their actions and stance. The only way to stop the murder of innocent civilians is with peace. Let us use our voice to find that pathway to peace.
We are only a small country and we certainly are not a major military or economic power but we do have a voice and we are at the table when it comes to the European Union and the UN. We are certainly using that voice in the international bodies of which we are members. When the moment is opportune, these are the conversations we are going to want to have with our American allies and our British friends. We all accept that, after 75 years of war and terrorism, there is no military solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. There can only be a solution based on peace, security and justice.
During his budget speech, the Minister for Finance said that the residential zoned land tax was "an important initiative to activate suitably zoned and serviced land for housing." He also went on to say that he was "extending the liability date of the tax by one year to allow for the planned 2024 review of maps to take place and to afford affected people with a further opportunity to engage with the process." Does this mean that land that has been zoned can be unzoned or rezoned? How will this work in practice? The Taoiseach may be able to give me an answer now or he may send me a note in that regard later. Some people's land was zoned without them knowing or wanting it to be zoned and they are now liable for a tax, which seems a bit unfair. Will the Taoiseach enlighten us on the matter?
The reason for the year's deferral is to allow us to give landowners another year to seek the dezoning of their land or to properly update various different maps to show which land really is serviced because there are some disputes as to whether land is serviced or not. We need a little bit more time here. The idea behind the tax is a very good one. When land is zoned and serviced, the taxpayers, through their investment and decisions, add huge value to that land. That land should not be hoarded in the middle of a housing crisis. It should be developed so that people can have homes to buy and live in. However, there are anomalies. There are situations where a family may have been actively farming land for generations, never sought for it to be zoned and would like it to be dezoned so they can continue to farm it. That is an anomaly that needs to be corrected. However, there is a concern that, if we do that, people will seek strategic dezoning in order to avoid the tax. We need to work that out. That is one of the reasons we have deferred the tax for a year so we have a bit more time.
Flight paths on the north runway at Dublin Airport are not as planned. Houses, schools, businesses and communities are being overflown that were never intended to be overflown. This is causing huge consternation.
On Tuesday, 3 October, RTÉ's "Prime Time" covered this issue very well, and the impact it is having on communities. It also presented a potential solution, as presented by Mr. Gareth O'Brien and others, to bring flight paths more closely in line with what was originally planned, reducing the impact on households, businesses and schools. Is the Taoiseach aware of this issue? Has he seen this proposal and would he support its full exploration?
I am very much aware of the issue because part of the Dublin West constituency is in the flight path and I have an ongoing relationship with parts of Fingal that used to be in my constituency which are also very much in the flight path. I am aware of the issue. I have not seen that particular proposal but if he wants to send it on to me, I can check it out.
I want to raise with the Taoiseach the case of Templeogue College, which I have raised with him before, where a majority of staff have said that there is a toxic culture and atmosphere. There was a collective grievance filed by 24 members of staff against the conduct of the principal, citing a culture of homophobia and non-inclusivity propagated at the school.
No Deputy, it is not in order to start talking here about an identifiable individual.
I have raised this case before.
Not in my presence, and you are not going to raise it now either because we are not going to use this Chamber to attack somebody outside the House who is not in a position to defend themselves.
This is all documented. There was a whole-school evaluation report.
No Deputy, it is not in order.
Okay, I will not mention anyone again. One example of this was the fact that the Pride flag was removed due to apparent "misalignment with 'Spiritan Ethos' and not 'supporting certain lifestyles'". That is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the range of issues that have been exposed here and are documented by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, ASTI. There was a whole-school evaluation report during the first half of this year but nothing fundamental has changed. The board of management was dissolved and replaced by a single manager. The single manager was involved in the appointment of the principal in the first case. Will the Department of Education take action to ensure that we have an appropriate working, learning and teaching environment in this school?
I will ask the Minister for Education, Deputy Norma Foley, to come back to the Deputy with a reply.
Our private and voluntary nursing homes are facing significant challenges and urgent intervention is necessary to halt the alarming trend of closures we are witnessing. Last year, a staggering one in three private and voluntary nursing homes ran at a loss. Their operating costs have soared by 36%, forcing many to shut their doors. In my own back yard in Mayo, we have felt the sting of this crisis. St. Anne's Nursing Home in Charlestown is already closed, and now there are looming threats of closures in both Claremount Nursing Home in Claremorris and the St. Brendan's nursing unit in Mulranny. St. Brendan's has already been forced to cut its bed count from 35 to 24 due to spiralling costs.
While the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF is tasked with addressing such issues, its efforts seem to be inadequate in the face of these escalating situations. I ask the Taoiseach what immediate measures the Government is considering to ensure that private and voluntary nursing homes remain operational and how we prevent the further loss of these invaluable beds and care for our elderly.
While I understand that some nursing homes are closing, there are new ones opening all the time. An additional €45 million has been allocated for nursing homes in the budget for next year, including €10 million set aside to aid private and voluntary nursing homes that are struggling with Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA compliance. We are very conscious of the financial challenges faced by the nursing home sector, especially the smaller and voluntary nursing homes that might not have access to the economies of scale that larger nursing homes or groups would.
The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Mary Butler, has regular interactions with the NTPF and has met with it to discuss ways to help the sector, where necessary and appropriate, to complement the normal process of negotiating rate increases when contracts are renewed. Anyone who has a scheduled renegotiation of their deed of agreement this year with the NTPF has seen a significant uplift. The average baseline increase in price per bed has been between 6% and 7%, which of course runs ahead of the rate of inflation for this year and ahead of the average rate of wage growth.