Alan Dillon
Ceist:1. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will meet next. [49640/23]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Cabinet Committees
Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:2. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach to report on the work of the climate action unit of his Department. [49685/23]
Pádraig O'Sullivan
Ceist:3. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will next meet. [49831/23]
Christopher O'Sullivan
Ceist:4. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will next meet. [49832/23]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:5. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will next meet. [50901/23]
Paul Murphy
Ceist:6. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change will meet next. [50904/23]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on environment and climate change oversees the implementation of the ambitious programme for Government commitments on the environment and climate change. The committee has met four times in 2023 and its next meeting will take place on 27 November. The climate action unit within the Department of the Taoiseach seeks to co-ordinate and drive climate action across all Departments by assisting the work of the Cabinet committee and associated senior official groups.
The unit also provides secretariat support to the climate action delivery board, which is composed of the Secretaries General of those Departments that have core responsibilities in ensuring the Government's climate objectives are met. The board oversees the delivery of the climate action plan and acts as a forum for identifying solutions to any challenges or obstacles impeding delivery. It last met in October and is due to meet again in the coming weeks.
The climate action unit also monitors implementation of actions agreed as part of the climate action plan. Each quarter, it reports to the Government on progress under the climate action plan and these reports are published on the Department's website. The unit chairs several interdepartmental groups in the areas of climate research and modelling, climate communications and EU climate policy developments. It also assists the climate action units that have been established in each Department.
I wish to address energy security and the potential for indigenous gas supply in Ireland, recognising the need for gas as a transition fuel until renewables are fully brought online. Ireland currently imports a significant proportion of its gas, leaving us dependent on imports once Corrib is no longer viable. Europa Oil and Gas has requested an extension of its exploration licences at the Inishkea site, which is next to the Corrib gas field off the coast of Mayo, to complete further survey work and find a partner to commence drilling at the gas field. Initial surveys indicate the new site could extend the life of the Bellanaboy gas terminal by at least 15 years, preserving up to 180 jobs and making Ireland up to 75% self-sufficient in gas. The Inishkea prospect certainly has the potential to ensure Ireland has 92% more than previous estimates, which would make it much larger than the Corrib gas field. Given the significant benefits of the project, including energy security, job creation and economic development, will the Taoiseach provide clarity on the Government's stance on supporting it and ensuring Ireland's energy security through indigenous gas supply?
The Government is great at setting targets and disgraceful at delivering them. It is nearly December and we are still waiting for the climate action progress report for quarter 3. When will that report be published? In mid-October, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, advised it would be delivered shortly. More than a month later, there is still no update on how Ireland is addressing climate change. Will the report be delivered this side of Christmas?
According to the Climate Change Advisory Council, 49.3% of the 2021-25 carbon budget has been used in the first two years and we are on track to exhaust 123% of the allocated budget by 2030. By refusing to depart from its business-as-usual approach, the Government will almost certainly max out the 2025 carbon budget before it has left office. Budget 2024 reaffirms that position. According to a report by Eurostat, Ireland lags way behind our European counterparts. When it comes to reducing emissions, we are the worst performer in the EU.
The RESS 3 auction cleared the lowest amount of renewables to date at the highest price. Is it any wonder that our electricity sector is in fact the worst performing of all sectors? Despite the announcement of solar panels for schools announced by the Government more than one year ago in budget 2023, not one school has been fitted with a solar panel and nor are there any details of the scheme. Will the Taoiseach admit that this Government is setting Ireland on a path to certain climate failure?
The impacts of climate change are there for most of us in this Chamber to see and to acknowledge. The change was evidenced recently in the magnitude of the flooding events in Cork and nationwide. We had our various ministerial visits over that month but the most important one for me was the visit of the OPW. At the time genuine conversations were had with locals about interim measures that could be taken outside of the flood prevention scheme that already has works under way. There was a hope that certain in-stream works could be undertaken out of season. I am of the understanding that once the deadline of 30 September has passed, in exceptional emergency circumstances requiring relief from flooding, landslide and subsidence and relating to human safety, in-stream works by local authorities out of season can be permitted, subject to strict conditions by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. In this scenario it must be shown to the Department's satisfaction that the relevant local authority is taking all precautions and making such provisions for the protection of fisheries and so on. Will the Taoiseach provide an update, if possible in the coming days, from the OPW to see if the office is seriously engaging with allowing the contractors that are already there on site to go in and do some in-stream works to help unclog and unblock much of the river that is already blocked up?
I recently introduced a Bill in the Dáil around the whole area of anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is the really cool process where organic material is turned into biogas, which can then be used in energy or electricity production. When we think of anaerobic digestion we think of the bigger-scale anaerobic digesters, ADs, taking inputs from the agri-sector and from industry but less well known are the small, miniature anaerobic digesters. There is an excellent company based in west Cork called MyGug. The website is mygug.eu. They have small anaerobic digesters that can be used in the household. It is an excellent premise whereby food waste such as peelings from vegetables or even cooked food that has not been eaten can go into the AD and produce a gas, which can then be used to do cooking. It is the perfect example of the circular economy. It can also be used in businesses. One can imagine hotels, cafes and restaurants using this very effectively, saving money, saving emissions and reducing emissions, as well as dealing with the food waste issue. The problem is that while people can get grants from the Department of enterprise for energy efficiency grants, these small ADs are not covered. Very simply I am asking if a small amendment could be made to the efficiency grant scheme whereby these small and miniature anaerobic digesters can be available under grant aid.
Many thousands of people swim in Dublin Bay every day, particularly during the summer. Even during the winter very hardy souls swim. The numbers are growing all the time. For years now - and this continues to be the case - when heavy rains come down the sewage mixes with the rainwater, at least in our area, and the pumping station off the West Pier is not able to pump the stuff out quickly enough. This problem is supposed to be resolved by the upgrading of this sewage treatment plant in Ringsend but it is still happening. Regularly when there is heavy rain, the warning is given that one cannot swim at Seapoint and around Dún Laoghaire because we still have not resolved this problem to ensure water quality for swimmers. Is the committee aware of this and when will it be resolved? It has been going on for years. Swimming is a healthy pursuit and exercise for many thousands of people but we are still in this intolerable situation when heavy rain comes and people are told they cannot swim.
It is another day and we have another devastating report predicting catastrophe for humanity if we continue on the track we are on. The UN environmental programme report on the emissions gap says we are heading for 3°C. It says that by 2030, we will have overshot the carbon budget to give us a 50% chance of avoiding 1.5°C, and then we will keep going.
The Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, has said that all of this is a failure of leadership, a betrayal of the vulnerable and a large missed opportunity. If he wanted to know why, if he listened in to the debate in this Chamber over the past hour he would get an illustration of precisely what that looks like. A backbench TD from the Taoiseach's own party was calling for more drilling of oil and gas. The Taoiseach himself just a few moments ago said that we cannot have system change, that system change takes time and that Ireland only produces so many emissions so there is only really so much we can do. This Government is committed to business as usual while the world burns and while we head towards absolute catastrophe for billions of people on this planet, including in this country with more floods, and the impact of climate change worldwide with droughts, famines and so on. Why does the Taoiseach refuse to act? Why is it business as usual? Is it because the profits for the fossil fuel companies, the data centres, the big tech, and the big agribusinesses come before people and the future of our planet?
Has the Taoiseach read the report issued by Oxfam and others in the past days on the wealth divide in the context of carbon emissions? They tell us that the richest 1% in the world account for more carbon emissions than two thirds of the world's population. They tell us that someone who is in the poorest 99% of the world's population, which is the vastly overwhelming majority of humanity, would take 1,500 years to account for the same number of carbon emissions as that of some billionaires today. They conclude that "The super-rich are plundering and polluting the planet to the point of destruction and it is those who can least afford it who are paying the highest price."
I am aware the Taoiseach is a little bit ideologically committed on this issue but would he not see the error of his ways and admit now that there is a need for serious wealth taxes on the super wealthy to pay for the measures we need to tackle the climate crisis and that we need to go further and end the rule of the rich and the system of capitalism itself? Maybe the Taoiseach would look again at his policies in that regard.
I thank the Deputies. Deputy Dillon asked a question on energy security and gas security. The Government's view, which I endorse strongly, is that long-term gas security is secured through the development of green hydrogen and biogas, and biomethane in particular. In the medium term, our security comes from the Corrib field and the interconnectors with the UK. There will also be a need for some form of LNG storage, either floating or fixed. That is to be determined over the next few months.
With regard to new blue gas fields, no new expiration licences are being permitted by the Government but existing ones can be used. I do not know the details of the specific licence the Deputy referred to. I have read something about it the newspapers but I do not know all the facts. It has to be considered by the Department officials rather than by the Government.
On the implementation of the climate action plan for this year, the climate action plan for 2023 sets out how Ireland will respond to the climate crisis by placing the delivery of climate solutions at the heart of the development of our society. This plan includes actions to tackle the mitigation and adaption challenges posed by climate change. The Department of the Taoiseach prepares quarterly progress reports on the delivery of measures committed to under the climate action plan. These are published online for full transparency of the climate action plan implementation. The progress reports provide a detailed breakdown of completed and delayed actions each quarter. The latest progress report for the climate action plan was published last week on 14 November and placed on the Department's website. It reports on actions that were due to be completed in quarter three 2023. There have now been three progress reports produced under the Climate Action Plan 2023.
A delivery rate of 75% was reported for quarter 1 of 2023 a delivery rate of 63% was reported for quarter 2 of 2023 and a delivery rate of 29% was reported for quarter 3 of 2023. Combined, this gives an overall implementation rate of approximately 67% so far this year. The Deputy's attention is drawn to high impact measures across all progress reports highlighting the actions with more significant emissions reductions or adaption potential. The latest progress report details progress made on the 42 climate actions due for implementation in quarter 3 of this year. All delayed measures listed in the quarter 3 progress report will be carried forward and reported on in quarter 4. A considerable number of delayed actions in this quarter's report are minor delays and are expected to be completed shortly. Some high impact measures that were completed in quarter 3 and were highlighted in the progress report include the onshore RESS auction, the establishment of the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, the launch of the new forestry programme and the introduction of a national fertiliser database.
I do not have an update on Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan's question about flood relief in Cork. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, is aware of the issue. I might ask him to come back directly on that. He is interested in exploring interim works that might help but is also aware of the problems we ran into with Lough Muckno, in Roscommon and so on in going ahead with work that might then be stopped for environmental reasons.
Anaerobic digestion is definitely a big part of the future as regards producing biogas and we are keen to encourage and support that as part of the systemic change that needs to happen. I am not familiar with small ones at household or business level. I am glad to hear they exist. I am not sure how they work or how the gas is stored but I will follow up on the issue of whether grants could be provided for that technology. As someone who composts, I have been able to avoid a lot of waste. I did not know it could be turned into biogas in a house. Perhaps it can. I would be interested to see how that works. It is a revelation for me.
I will send the Taoiseach the details.
Please do.
The condition of the seawater at Seapoint and Dún Laoghaire in Dublin Bay after heavy rain has not been discussed at Cabinet subcommittee level, but I will bring it to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. My understanding is that the Poolbeg upgrade is supposed to deal with that. I hope it will. I will seek further information on it.
I did not have a chance to read the Oxfam report - I have seen the summary - but it will not be a huge revelation to anyone that the richest people produce the most emissions. They have the biggest houses and cars and they fly most often, so it stands to reason that they produce the most emissions. There are all sorts of carbon taxes that now apply to people using fuel in their cars, ETSs and so on. The evidence around wealth taxes imposed unilaterally by individual countries is not good. They tend not to raise very much money and tend to lead to wealth leaving for lower tax jurisdictions, which would mean everyone becoming worse off and would not help with funding climate action.
Cabinet Committees
Mick Barry
Ceist:7. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Government co-ordination will next meet. [49678/23]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:8. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Government co-ordination will next meet. [50902/23]
Paul Murphy
Ceist:9. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Government co-ordination will next meet. [50905/23]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on Government co-ordination generally meets in advance of Government meetings. Its next meeting is scheduled for Monday, 27 November. I am a member of the committee alongside the Tánaiste, the leader of the Green Party, the Secretary General to the Government, my chief of staff and the chief of staff for the Tánaiste. The leader of the Green Party also sits in on meetings. The committee reviews the agenda of Government meetings, discusses political priorities and reviews the activity of Cabinet meetings. I should say the chiefs of staff of the three leaders sit in the meetings, but the three leaders are all members.
Some 19 femicides have taken place in this State since the murder of Ashling Murphy. I put it to the Taoiseach that if that number of people had been killed by a paramilitary organisation, the State would rightly be moving mountains to try and achieve change, but male violence against women seems to bring forth a less urgent response. GREVIO - I hope I pronounced it correctly - the Council of Europe group of experts on violence against women, reported recently and made some serious criticisms of the Government and the State in this regard. I do not have time to detail them all but I will mention some. It said that data collection was insufficient, disjointed and incomparable on this issue. It said that the legal obligation on victims to disclose their therapy and counselling notes would discourage victims of violence; pointed to the need for more financial support by the State of women's rights organisations, particularly for multi-annual funding; criticised the frequent application of lenient sentences and the tendency to rely on suspended or conditional sentences for acts of violence against women; and pointed out that it seemed to be the case that offences of violence against women were considered offences of lower social danger. These are serious criticisms. I would like the Taoiseach to comment on them and on the issue in a general sense.
It is clear from the Taoiseach's response earlier during Leaders' Questions that he is not even aware of the Government's legal obligations under the genocide convention to act to prevent genocide, incitement to genocide or complicity with genocide. I strongly urge him to check on the Government's obligations under the convention because they are onerous, and with very good reason. The convention was established in 1948 after the Holocaust to ensure genocides never happen again. I can assure the Taoiseach that all the experts, including many Jewish experts on the Holocaust, are saying what Israel is doing in Gaza fits the definition of genocide and that the world is failing in its obligation to prevent it.
I will also ask about hostages in Gaza. There are 2.3 million hostages and there have been for 16 years, whose entry into and exit from Gaza is controlled by Israel. That is a war crime by the way. On Irish hostages specifically, although some have left and some of their families have arrived home, Israel is not putting some of them on the list. Two of them are Zak Hania, who people will have seen on television in recent weeks describing the horror of how his family has been driven out of northern Gaza and then bombed in southern Gaza, and Mohammed Hania. There are others, as far as I know. Israel is holding them hostage. My question to the Taoiseach relates to them. What is the Government doing to get the Irish hostages still being held by Israel released? Israel has absolutely no right to hold on to people, to control their exit or entry. They are Irish citizens. It has no right to control the exit and entry of anyone in Gaza under international law, but it certainly has no right to prevent Irish citizens leaving the horror that is Gaza.
I will read a sentence from the programme for Government, which states "The ambition of this Government is to provide each citizen with accessible and affordable healthcare, housing, education, childcare and disability services". That ambition is not being met. The State is failing fundamentally to meet the rights of many people in this State but in particular, the rights of children with additional needs.
I will raise a particular case, which illustrates the point. Rocco is four years old. He is in junior infants. He likes going to school but he is currently only able to go to school for nine or ten hours per week because no special needs assistant, SNA, has been allocated to him. Rocco is suspected of having ADHD or ASD or both but there is no official diagnosis. He is on a long waiting list for an assessment of needs. The principal of his school applied for a minimum of four SNAs and got one. Rocco alone needs a full-time SNA, but the school got one for the entire school. The result is that the school told him it would love to have him at school full time but it cannot possibly provide for his needs. Therefore, he has been told he can only go to school for nine or ten hours per week. His right to an education is being denied. Similarly the school tried to get a psychological assessment for him through NEPS and was told that no psychologist has been allocated for the local area, so he was not able to get it.
It is absolutely scandalous that a four-year-old boy in this country is being failed in such as way by the State. What is the Government going to do about it?
It is a huge issue that Israel has never been called out or held to account for its many crimes. There is a particular right-wing regime, run by Benjamin Netanyahu, which has the worst elements of the settler movement. We are talking about annexation, apartheid and the idea of a greater Israel right at the heart of the Israeli Government that is absolutely committed to there being no Palestinian state or self-government of any real and meaningful sort. Disgraceful cover has been provided by both America and the EU.
The Taoiseach has said that the EU cannot continue to trade with Israel as normal on the basis of Israel engaging in what is genocidal slaughter and war crimes. How does he plan to deal with this as regards the Israel-EU Association Agreement? How does he intends to do this on the basis of where many of the European countries stand at the minute? Ireland may have to go it alone and take those first steps. My party has been very clear on referral to the ICC, but there are particular things that we can do ourselves. There is the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2022, which I asked the Taoiseach about previously. He referred to the Minister for Finance, but it is something we need to deal with. We cannot invest in companies that are involved in the occupied territories. The occupied territories Bill has to be looked at, and beyond that, recognising the state of Palestine. Often, the Taoiseach and many others have spoken about the fact that there is a particular history in Germany and other countries as regards the genocidal crimes that were carried out during the Second World War in Sobibor, Treblinka and Auschwitz. The fact is that it is a fairly new phenomenon. In 1973, when the Arab armies attacked Israel and Israel asked for help from many European countries, it was refused because they were obviously more worried about oil at that stage. When Nasser engaged German rocket scientists and when the German Government was asked to assist Israel, there was a refusal at that point in time. This is a relatively new phenomenon and there are huge relationships between many European governments, including the German Government, on a security and business basis. Unfortunately, that is some of the call. It is about how we address it.
Deputy Barry raised the issue of gender-based violence, violence against women and femicide, in particular. As I have said previously, I believe we face an epidemic of violence women not just in Ireland, but across the world. As the Deputy said, there have been approximately 20 murders since the killing of Ashling Murphy. By comparison, this year so far, thankfully, we have only had one murder related to so-called gangland violence related to organised crime. One is one too many, but when it comes to the murder of women by men, the figure is closer to 20. In some ways, that puts in perspective how serious this issue is and how we need to be serious, as a country and a Government, in combating domestic and gender-based violence, and that is what we are doing. This is a major priority for Government. I do not think any Minister before the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has prioritised this in the way that she has. There are tougher sentences, new offences, including very specific ones, for example, relating to strangulation, dedicated trained gardaí, special victims units in every region, new women's refuges and safe houses being established all over the country, changes to the law around consent in particular, and public information campaigns on all of those issues, including on image-sharing and so on. A huge amount of work is being done by the Government, led by the Minister for Justice, on this really important issue.
In reply to Deputy Boyd Barrett, I will certainly seek advice and get a note on our obligations under the genocide convention. I did so on the International Criminal Court, when he raised the issue a couple of weeks ago. What he said did not turn out to be legally correct. I will certainly check it out. It is not helpful to get into a debate about what constitutes genocide and what does not.
It is in the convention.
I do not think it helps.
It is in the convention.
The Deputy mentioned the Holocaust, or Shoah, being a genocide. A total of 6 million people were killed by the Nazis, and they would have killed another 6 million people if they could. I know that there are active debates around the Famine and the treatment of indigenous populations in America and Australia. If people want to use words like "genocide" and "apartheid", I am not going to dispute that, but that does not bring us anywhere or achieves anything. What this is about is making sure that-----
Would the Taoiseach say the same about the Nazis?
-----we have a ceasefire, that the killing stops and that the hostages can be released-----
That is an amazing statement.
-----so that we can get aid into Gaza. Those are the things that are most important.
Listen to what the Israeli Government officials are saying.
I am happy to answer the questions, but it is clear that when the Deputy does not hear exactly what he wants to hear, he shouts you down. I have kind of lost my-----
I am not shouting the Taoiseach down.
I lost my train of thought in that regard.
I am sorry.
What is clear is that what the Palestinian people have faced for 75 years is dispossession, the loss of their lands and being made into refugees. They have not got the level of support that they should have from the international community to date. The most important thing now is that we secure a ceasefire so that the violence and killing stops, aid can get into Gaza and hostages can get out. The only solution - and I know the Deputies disagree with this - is a two-state solution. If the two peoples that inhabit that area are not able to live together, it is better that they live in separate states. Both of those states-----
They are able to live together.
-----need to be viable and need to be secure.
With regard to Irish citizens who are in Gaza, almost all who want to leave and their dependants are now out, or at least the majority are. We are working on a few further cases. We engage with the Israeli, Egyptian and Jordanian authorities, and others, on this. I know there are people who want us to expel the Israeli ambassador. Being able to talk to the Israeli ambassador at least gave us someone to talk to when it came to getting our citizens out of Gaza. I want to acknowledge that, and the work of the Egyptians and the Jordanians in that regard.
The individual case of Rocco was raised by Deputy Murphy. I am very sorry to hear about the case, but it is not something I can comment on without knowing all the details. Certainly, if the Deputy wants to pass those on with permission from his family to make representations on his behalf, I would be happy to do that.
On the Israel-EU Association Agreement and the human rights clause, the EU-Israel Association Council is an important forum for raising all matters of mutual interest. This includes areas where the EU and Israel disagree. At the association council in October of last year, the EU clearly restated its position that all agreements between the State of Israel and the EU must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. We have been consistently vocal in ensuring the application of this policy across all sectors of co-operation. The association council provides a platform for the EU to deliver, where necessary, clear collective messages on issues of concern, including with regard to human rights and international law. As Deputies will be aware, trade is an EU competence and we cannot take unilateral actions on trade or trade sanctions. As I have said previously, sanctions only work when they are done on a multilateral basis. The whole point of sanctions is that they should do more harm to the country being sanctioned than the one imposing the sanctions.
Social Dialogue
Cian O'Callaghan
Ceist:10. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [49953/23]
Ruairí Ó Murchú
Ceist:11. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [50720/23]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:12. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [50903/23]
Paul Murphy
Ceist:13. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [50906/23]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 13 together.
The social dialogue unit, part of the economic division of the Department, co-ordinates and assists the Government's overall approach to social dialogue. This includes the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, which engages with representatives of employers and trade unions on economic and employment issues insofar as they affect the labour market, and which are of mutual concern. The most recent meeting of the LEEF took place yesterday, 20 November. This provided an opportunity to look at current challenges, in particular in the area of the cost of living. A range of LEEF subgroups deal with issues such as employment and enterprise, housing, pensions and early years issues.
Social dialogue and engagement also take place through a variety of formats including: the National Civic Forum for dialogue with the community and voluntary sector, the second of which was held last week; the National Economic Dialogue, which was held on 12 June; the National Economic and Social Council; the National Dialogue on Climate Action; the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council; and many other sectoral groups and consultative forums. Another model for broad-based social dialogue are citizens' assemblies. In addition, I and other members of the Government regularly meet bilaterally with representative groups to hear their views on a wide variety of issues. The social dialogue unit will continue to assist me and the Government in these engagements with the social partners in the period ahead.
I want to deal with the issue of the ambulance services. Much fine work is done by many who work in the system but talking on a local or even a State-wide basis, one will hear about the many deficiencies and issues that need to be looked at. It is an issue that I brought up with the HSE. On Friday, 10 November 2023, a 93-year-old woman waited from 5.20 p.m. until 9.05 p.m. for an ambulance to come and help her. Her son told me she fell in her home and was unable to move. She was in a huge level of pain. There were a number of conversations over and back, and I think one ambulance had been rerouted, but the fact is they did not get anybody to her house until 9.05 p.m. They had requested that she be moved but she was unable to move; such was the pain she was in. In fairness, when the paramedics arrived, they were absolutely brilliant and fabulous work was done. I have brought this up with the HSE as regards an investigation. However, it fits into the scenario, whether talking about County Louth, including Drogheda, Dundalk and everywhere in between, or right across this State, that there are huge issues putting a system in place to deliver ambulance services. Whatever issues there may be regarding hospital inadequacies, this is something that is not on in any way. Drastic action needs to be taken.
One of the purposes of social dialogue is to address the question of poverty. I raise the issue, as the social welfare Bill begins its journey to the Dáil, of the fact that the series of one-off payments the Government is giving to help people with the crippling cost-of-living crisis as we head towards the winter will not be extended to people who are on short-term payments. This is grossly unfair. We raised it with the Taoiseach last year and the Government was prompted to make some changes. I am asking him to extend the fuel allowance, and the one-off payments that flow from it, to people who deserve it every bit as much as those who are getting it. Why on earth would people on short-term payments such as, for example, the back to education allowance or illness benefit, not be entitled to the fuel allowance and the one-off payments that flow from it? They are not going to get it. With regard to the back to education allowance, I am dealing with a case of somebody who is going back to education and who previously received the fuel allowance. They are now going back to education, which is a good thing, to try to upskill themselves to contribute to and to work in our economy, but they are effectively being punished because they are not entitled to fuel allowance or the one-off payments. A wide range of people on those short-term payments are not getting these benefits and I ask the Taoiseach to address this in the social welfare Bill so people get these one-off payments and the fuel allowance.
Successive Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Governments have reduced our health service to a permanent state of crisis through years of underfunding, privatisation and neoliberal mismanagement. Now, the Government is forcing through a recruitment freeze that will make the crisis even worse. I heard the Taoiseach's reply earlier to Deputy Kenny. He seems to be denying the fact that there is a recruitment crisis because there will be 2,000 extra staff in a total workforce of 140,000. It is in black and white in the memo from HSE chief executive officer, Bernard Gloster, that a recruitment freeze is happening. Does the Taoiseach accept this? Heathcare workers are already heroically shouldering workloads that should be shared out among thousands more staff. The Government has a massive surplus that could transform our health service into a proper, single-tier, universal health service with no waiting lists, but instead it is doing the opposite and imposing a recruitment freeze. The INMO has threatened industrial action if the recruitment freeze goes ahead. Medical scientists are preparing for industrial action next month. Will the Taoiseach call off the recruitment freeze and guarantee significant pay increases for all healthcare workers?
I thank the Deputies. Regarding ambulance services, I am genuinely sorry to hear about the bad experience that Deputy Ó Murchú's constituent had. Certainly, nobody would want that to happen to anyone or in any constituency. We have increased investment in ambulance services all the time. We have new paramedics, new vehicles, new basis and systems for call out, but sadly, there will always be occasions where multiple calls happen at the one time. It happens with An Garda Síochána as well. That can result in delays but it is always the most urgent calls that get prioritised, or at least that is what is supposed to happen through the triage system.
On the one-off payments, I know the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, will examine that. There has to be a cut-off point somewhere but she has made some modifications in the past where one-off payments were extended to some smaller groups who were not covered initially so that is something to which she will give consideration.
Regarding health, all I heard from Deputy Murphy was him quoting ideology and rhetoric but no facts. The health budget is bigger than it has ever been in cash terms. On a per capita basis, we are mid to high on the table in the western world. We have 20,000 more staff than when the Government came to office. The HSE will be able to hire an additional 2,000 staff members on top of that next year. We have pay deals with public servants. We are beginning negotiations on another round of pay increases for our staff in the health sector. We have added more than 1,000 beds since this Government came to office. For the first time since the foundation of the State, the majority of people in the country qualify for free GP care. We have abolished inpatient hospital charges for children. For adults, we have State-funded IVF now. We have made contraception free for a lot of women. We have a major hospital building programme under way. This is not privatisation or cutbacks; this is the reverse of all of that. It is a parallel universe that the Deputy tends to read from.
Has the Taoiseach visited the hospitals? Has he seen the waiting lists? They are getting longer.
I regularly visit the hospitals. The waiting lists are 22% lower than they were from peak levels. They are still too high-----
Does the Taoiseach accept there is a recruitment freeze?
-----but they are not going up.
He does not even accept there is a recruitment freeze.
We have four minutes and 39 seconds. We might as well use it.
The Deputies can have a go-----
On another issue-----
The Deputy has one minute.
I will be quick. It is on social dialogue so it is the same grouping.
I brought up with the Taoiseach, as has Deputy Ó Murchú, on a number of occasions the budget scrutiny committee report on section 481. People before Profit, Sinn Féin and the Labour Party all have tabled amendments to the Finance Bill 2023 on the issue of employment conditions and remuneration for writers, actors, performers, and stage crew in the film industry. So far, the Minister for Finance has not indicated any willingness to accept those amendments but at the very least it would be useful if we could get commitments around the stakeholder forum, which is very much about social dialogue and real engagement between the Government and the multiple Departments, which is part of the problem. There are several Departments actually consulting in a serious way with all stakeholders about what workers in the industry say is them being robbed of the proper rights and remuneration to which they are entitled in an industry that is very substantially funded by the taxpayer.
It is not the first time that the employment conditions within the film industry has been brought up with the Taoiseach. The power differential is huge at times. The stakeholder forum is a means of addressing these issues so the sooner the better. It is absolutely required. As much as we would like to deal with some of these issues through the Finance Bill, this is something that is required across the board, whether we are talking about actors, crew members, directors, or whoever else, and it is about maintaining a sustainable film industry.
Does Deputy Murphy want to contribute?
I endorse what Deputy Boyd Barrett said.
Does the Taoiseach want to respond?
I appreciate that this issue has been raised a number of times in the Chamber. As I said previously, the idea of a stakeholder forum is a good one. I cannot see what harm it would do, and it exists in other industries. I know the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, is giving some consideration to it at the moment.
That concludes that business.
Two precious minutes were wasted there. We will let it go.
Has the Deputy anything to say?
Of course he has something say.
I have loads of say but I will not get it said in two minutes.