Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cheann Comhairle as a fhocail dúinn ansin. Today's HIQA report paints a worrying picture. It pointed out that, since 2019, 50 nursing homes have closed their doors, causing the loss of more than 1,500 beds at a time when our older population is growing rapidly. This crisis seems to be escalating. We had 14 closures of nursing homes last year alone, which resulted in more than 400 beds being lost from the system. It is not just in the private or community sector. We now have 1,000 fewer public beds than we had a decade ago. Alternative home care options simply do not exist while thousands are on waiting lists. Community and private nursing homes are saying the same thing about rising costs, staffing issues and rising complexity of care making many of their homes unviable. Sinn Féin has proposed to reset the balance, invest in more public capacity, increase funding for hospitals to lease more nursing home beds and to review the fair deal pricing mechanism to recognise the cost of complex care. Some of these providers have blamed Government policy for their closure. What will the Government do to respond to the fact we have seen a drastic reduction in nursing home beds at a time when we need them? Thousands have been lost.
Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I think the statistics he outlined about the level of activity are quite significant. I am conscious that there are many staff in various Departments who are very enthusiastic in responding to the 52,000 parliamentary questions - I say that in jest. We have to remember the people who toil in the offices across the public service to do their best to get transparency and to answer the questions. We thank them for that work. It was a very useful summation, which reflects the positive productivity of this House and democracy. Aontaím go hiomlán leis an méid a dúirt an Ceann Comhairle. Tá súil agam go mbeirimid go léir beo ag an am seo arís. Is é an saghas meoin atá agam féin ná go mbeimid anseo roimh an Nollaig seo chugainn. B'fhéidir nach mbeidh gach éinne eile den tuairim chéanna.
The closure of nursing homes is distressing for residents and their families. It puts pressure on local health services and social care facilities. We are conscious of the financial challenges faced by the nursing home sector. That is why we have provided substantial support to nursing homes over the pandemic and beyond the pandemic. We have the fair deal scheme, which is a significant scheme that facilitates the provision of nursing home supports.
More than €40 million in additional funding has been provided this year in respect of that.
I wish everyone well as we break for Christmas and thank all the staff in Leinster House for the great work they do and support they provide.
On this, the last sitting day before the Christmas break, I welcome to the Public Gallery, Finola Cassidy, the tireless campaigner from the Irish Thalidomide Association, which is a persistent and courageous group of survivors who yesterday said "As the Dáil year ends ... sadly there is no end ... to the Thalidomide saga". It has been 62 years since the drug thalidomide was withdrawn from the market. We know the awful consequences of the use of that drug for survivors. Survivors want to see an end to their endless quest for justice. Australia offered its thalidomide survivors an apology this year. The Tánaiste has been closely engaged with this so I ask him now, in December, whether he will follow the example of countries such as Australia, offer an apology and, crucially, commit to restarting negotiations with the thalidomide survivors in January, so that survivors and their surviving parents can at last see an end to their quest for justice and a resolution of their situation in the new year.
I am also extremely frustrated with what has transpired. We started a mediation process and it should never have broken down. We were looking at, first, dealing with the health dimension so that there would be absolute provision of healthcare benefits for victims of the thalidomide scandal, whole-of-life care in respect of housing adaptation and so forth, and a third aspect that was to be discussed through mediation. The Government entered that in good faith. I share the Deputy's view. I would like to see negotiations restart early in January to get this issue dealt with comprehensively once and for all.
It is important that everyone can access public transport safely. At Clongriffin DART station, there is an urgent need for safe, universal public access to be provided for commuters from Baldoyle. Recently, a decision was taken by a developer to close this access after midnight. This means that shift workers returning home on the night bus are cut off from getting back to their homes in Baldoyle when they get off the bus. There is an urgent need to reopen the access on a 24 -hour basis. There is an urgent need to provide safe, universal public access. Will the Tánaiste ask the Minister, Eamon Ryan, to visit the area to see for himself how bad the access is to public transport? When will the Government act to ensure there is safe, universal access to public transport for people in the area?
I will talk to the Minister Eamon Ryan, but no Member of this House is more passionate about advancing public transport and accessibility of public transport. Our budgets fir public transport infrastructure have increased exponentially to meet the needs of the climate issue and provide greater capacity and access for people.
Christmas should a time of joy, but for huge numbers of people it is a time of extreme financial pressure and hardship. James, who has worked all his life, had to go on a jobseeker's payment because of an injury that left him unable to do his old job. He went onto the back to education allowance. He has a wife and three children and because the Government has excluded people who have been on jobseeker's allowance for less than a year or who are on back to work and enterprise allowance, back to education allowance and illness benefit from the one-off cost-of-living payments and the fuel allowance, people like James and his family and thousands of others on those payments will have to endure all the cost-of-living hikes, the high bills and the cost of Christmas without getting the Christmas bonus, the fuel allowance or any of the one-off payments, including the double week payment in January. That is just not fair. I am asking, as I did last year, and we got a bit of movement last year-----
Thank you, Deputy
-----for those one-off payments and fuel allowances-----
Time is up, Deputy, please.
-----and additional payments to be extended to the people in those categories.
The Government took a range of measures, as the Deputy said, including the €12 increase in weekly social welfare and pension rates, which will apply to all cases, increased rates in the qualified child payment, increased thresholds for the working family payment, which does not apply in this case - I do not know the full circumstances - the extension of child benefit to 18-year-olds in full-time education, and the various other measures we took to facilitate families-----
What about these groups?
----which will apply to those groups. Many of these-----
No, it will not.
Some aspects the Deputy identified will not, but many others will-----
Why have they been left out?
Wait now. We will not have a back and forth.
-----in respect of the various reductions we have facilitated right across-----
They are being left out unfairly.
-----the cost of public services more generally.
I associate myself with some of the kind comments made this morning about Private Seán Rooney on the first anniversary of his death. I also convey my deepest sympathies to his family and wish Trooper Shane Kearney a speedy recovery who was seriously injured during the incident.
This time last year, three investigations were launched to look into the incident, one by the United Nations, one by the Irish authorities and one by the Lebanese authorities. In the short time available, will the Tánaiste update the House on the status of those investigations? How does he foresee the findings of those investigations being published? Does he have an update on the three investigations?
Which three?
The investigations into the killing of Private Seán Rooney.
Yes, but-----
The United Nations one, the Irish one and the Lebanese one.
The length of time these investigations are taking is distressing for the family. A further court case is imminent, as the Deputy will be aware, in the Lebanese judicial system. We have a lawyer in court monitoring it, who cannot intervene on behalf of our State. The Garda Síochána investigation is advanced for the purpose of preparing a report for the coroner. It is almost complete. Two UN reports are complete. One is the earlier investigative report for UNIFIL and the other is the UN board of inquiry report. I have written to the UN Secretary General to ask his permission to share the board of inquiry report with the family. I have also asked for internal work in Defence Forces on an inquiry.
Thank you, Tánaiste.
However, the most significant one I am waiting for the is one from An Garda Síochána.
I join in the earlier remarks. I thank the Ceann Comhairle, An Leas-Cheann Comhairle, the staff, including the ushers, the gardaí and everyone else. I wish gach duine a very happy, holy and peaceful Christmas.
I will go back to the issue of the knackeries. It is distressing enough to lose a fallen animal, but for that animal not to be collected from a yard is terrible. I received two calls to my office this week about it. One person has had two animals lying there for two weeks and the other case is lying for ten days. There is no sign of a resolution between the renderers and the knackeries. The Department must intervene.
The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, said this morning that they could get a licence to bury these animals. That does not happen anymore. You cannot get a licence to bury them, full stop. It is distressing enough that farmers are waiting for payments from the Department that, in many cases, have not come through this year and the issue is serious. The weather is mild and the Tánaiste will be aware what happens to animals when they are deceased. It is just not good enough to have these animals-----
Thank you, Deputy.
Serious intervention is needed to get this resolved so that animals can be moved off farms immediately.
My understanding is that the Department is aware of the issues and will work to see if they can be resolved. I will raise the issue with the Minister for agriculture.
I would also like to be associated with the remarks wishing all the staff a very happy Christmas on behalf of the group.
On 18 May 1988, former prison officer Sean O'Brien overpowered and apprehended a prisoner attempting to escape from Portlaoise prison, while under a hail of fire from Irish Army personnel stationed on the roof. Attempts were made in the aftermath to get Officer O'Brien to sign a false statement about the events of that day and a number of inaccurate records are in existence. At the time, he was told he would receive a commendation for valour. That never occurred. A reply from the Minister for Justice to a parliamentary question from me says that the window for consideration of historical cases closed in 2017 and that the issue was out of time. The Department of Justice has consistently refused to release records relating to the shooting incident, claiming that to do so may potentially compromise the security of the Defence Forces.
That excuse does not stand up to scrutiny. Can I ask for this matter to be looked at again and for the Tánaiste to direct the release of all records at this time?
Again, if the Deputy can send any documentation he has, we would welcome any perspective. I will ask for an update in respect of the position of the Departments of Justice and Defence.
The horrific violence and loss of life in Israel and Gaza continues to shock us all. When the EU General Assembly calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, backed by 150 countries including Ireland, it is a significant step. It highlights the growing isolation of the United States and Israel. I acknowledge the efforts of the Tánaiste and Taoiseach in condemning the war and calling for an immediate, permanent and sustainable ceasefire. As a Government we must continue to lead the pursuit and de-escalation of the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The indiscriminate bombing and the far too high number of Palestinian civilians killed, as stated by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, is continuing and is completely unacceptable. Children in Gaza cannot suffer any more. Can we leverage our close ties with the Biden Administration and the EU to end the suffering despite international pressures? It has resisted calls for a ceasefire which would be of benefit to Hamas, as it has stated. We need to do more to help to stop this conflict.
Ireland is doing everything it possibly can at every forum to intensify the pressure for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The situation in Gaza is intolerable and unacceptable. Over 18,000 people have been killed and 1.9 million people have been displaced. The death toll is totally shocking. The relentless bombing and slaughter of innocent civilians has to stop. I welcome the UN General Assembly passing the resolution which calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and for all parties to protect civilians in respect of international humanitarian law. We co-sponsored the resolution and voted in favour of it, in line with our consistent calls for a humanitarian ceasefire. It illustrates the absurdity of the veto that so many people voted for the resolution, which is something we might keep in mind in respect of how that veto gets misused.
I welcome the Government's opening of the interim scheme for the full funding of the interim measures to provide fire safety in apartments and duplexes. This is an issue I have raised since the early days of my election to this Chamber. The remediation scheme, which includes water ingress and structural damage, will be funded under a statutory scheme that requires legislation. Can the Tánaiste give a timeline for when he expects the scheme's legislation to be completed?
I will revert to the Deputy. I will discuss this with the Minister for housing and get a date for him.
My constituency of Kildare North is one of the youngest and fastest growing in the State. However, parents have contacted me already regarding uncertainty about school places in secondary schools next year. I have been inundated with calls from parents in Prosperous and Clane. It is only a matter of time before I hear the same from Maynooth and Kilcock. I have already submitted parliamentary questions to ask about a emergency plan for the area. I wish the replies would stop referencing the geographical information system, GIS, in the replies because it is not working for north Kildare. I have written to the Minister, Deputy Foley, to look for a meeting like the one we had last year with the principals of schools. Can the Tánaiste arrange that meeting? The principals I have spoken to found the meeting last year really useful.
I will talk to the Minister for Education. There has been a significant building programme this year. There are certain areas of the country where the population is growing very fast, such as north Kildare. It is challenging in terms of keeping up with increased population numbers. I will talk to the Minister to see what interim steps can be taken to resolve the issue.
A couple of years ago, RTÉ wrote to Catherine Martin, the Minister, to ask for permission to use the pension fund to pay for the administrative costs of the fund. This is not normally done; the employer normally pays the admin costs. The figure involved would be upwards of €30 million over the lifetime of the fund. She refused, but RTÉ appealed and apparently she has done a U-turn on that. Why would she have done a U-turn? If Paschal Donohoe signs off on this, and apparently he has to, will it have to come back before the Dáil for our approval? Would it have implications for other schemes in the semi-State sector? If this is done for RTÉ, could CIÉ, An Post or whatever dip into their pension funds to pay the admin costs rather than the employer paying them?
I will raise that with the Minister, Deputy Martin. I will ask her to revert to the Deputy on the issue.
On the issue of scramblers, unfortunately our communities are not feeling safe or supported. A 50% rise in the number of gardaí leaving the service is deeply worrying in terms of tackling this scourge. Since the introduction of legislation, only one significant action has taken place, which was in Limerick where 44 scramblers were seized. Will the Tánaiste join me to urge parents and guardians not to purchase a scrambler or quad bike over the Christmas period if they are going to be used on our streets, parks and open spaces? Would he support the establishment of a specialised anti-scrambler unit, as such units have been set up across Britain and in Europe?
I am well aware of the scrambler issue. Deputy Paul McAuliffe led the charge some time back when the Government was formed to get the legislation passed because of his experience on various forums in Dublin City Council. I endorse what Deputy Donnelly has said about the purchase and use of scramblers by young people, which can endanger life and cause significant injury. These are operational matters for An Garda Síochána and the Commissioner. There is an argument that because it is prevalent in urban areas, if we confine the response to one unit that be may not be optimal in dealing with the issue.
The River Dodder is one of the most biodiverse waterways in Dublin. Dodder Valley Park is beautiful and the council invested €5 million in it recently. However, every time there is heavy rainfall the manholes close to the weir overflow with sewerage. Obviously, that has a damaging impact in terms of people who live in the area, has an impact on the enjoyment of people in the park and threatens wildlife. Every time it happens, the council cleans it up but the underlying issue has not been addressed. It is a question for Uisce Éireann, in terms of the need for capacity works at the Dodder Valley sewer. I have not been able to get a substantial answer from Uisce Éireann, despite repeatedly pursuing it on the issue. I wonder whether the Tánaiste will join me in urging Uisce Éireann to do the necessary work so this does not continue to occur.
One of my discoveries in Dublin late in life was the Dodder. I have walked the length of it on many occasions.
You have not tried swimming it, have you?
I have not tried swimming the Dodder yet. It is a bit shallow at times.
I do not think a duck could swim the Dodder.
On New Year's Day I am swimming in the sea for the RNLI. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who has a particular interest in the Dodder, and Uisce Éireann. It is a fantastic amenity. There is tremendous biodiversity there and there have been tremendous improvements over recent times. It is a facility and amenity that is availed of by many people. The Deputy's point is well made.
The Ceann Comhairle will be very glad to hear that I kayaked the Dodder in my younger days.
Innovation, research and design are subjects I know are close to the Tánaiste's heart and are also at the heart of our health system. New drugs represent not just hope for patients but the pinnacle of research and intellectual endeavour, not least here in Ireland. The Tánaiste is aware of my personal interest in this area of new drugs and rare diseases, as chair of the cross-party Oireachtas group on the matter. Can the Tánaiste the update the House on any positive developments in funding from the Government for the whole area of new drugs?
I thank the Deputy for his championing, along with Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, of new drugs, or orphan drugs as they are called, in particular for rare diseases.
It has been a huge issue for many people across the country and globally. The REV Estimates have additional funding allocated to the Department of Health in respect of new drugs and therapies. There is a nexus between new developments, clinical trials and advancements in the treatment of conditions. We cannot do that if we do not trial them and work in a proper context to develop new technologies. Additional funding is now being made available to ensure there is a sufficient budget for the rare disease area, orphan drugs and new drugs generally.
Ar an gcéad dul síos, guím Nollaig shona agus athbhliain faoi mhaise ar an gCeann Comhairle. Tá súil agam go mbeidh bliain síochána ann an bhliain seo chugainn.
I also grew up beside the Dodder but I will not talk about the Dodder today. Local radio provides vital public service broadcasting, particularly in current affairs, news and sport. The coming year will see a whole series of elections. I believe public service broadcasting should cover these elections. With 57 seats available in County Galway alone, for example, it is not possible for one national broadcaster to cover it in the detail that will be required. That vacuum will be filled by local radio in particular. It provides a vital local service but it is a very expensive thing to cover the pre-election, the election and the counts and post-election. Are there plans to provide public service broadcasting status to local commercial radio stations so that they can give full, adequate and detailed coverage not only to the preparations for the local elections but also to the counts themselves?
The Deputy raises a valid and interesting point. I cannot say there are immediate plans to do anything more than what has been done all along. There is a broader issue around the media commission’s report and the funding of public service broadcasting more generally, including the national broadcasts but also public service content on local radio and in print media. Hopefully we can get that resolved. I doubt whether that would be in time for next year’s local elections. I will take on board what the Deputy is saying to see if anything can be done on an interim basis.
Residents in the new houses in Ringsend are being held hostage every single night and morning because of two two-way cycle lanes running up each side of Seán Moore Road. Residents in Bremen Avenue, Bremen Grove, Cymric Road and Pine Road are unable to get in and out of their homes. Getting out of the estate is impossible and it is very unsafe. I know the Tánaiste is going to say that the local authority should be addressing this and he would be right; the local authority should be addressing this. However, there is no other option because the council has ignored the residents, every single one. They have no other option but for the Minister to intervene and get the council to do the job and fix the cycle lanes on Seán Moore Road before someone is killed or badly injured.
What is the council doing about this? Is that not its job?
But they are not doing it.
With the greatest of respect, the Deputy should be telling them.
The senior management of the council has blocked any efforts and treated residents disgracefully and it is about time that somebody intervenes because someone will be killed or injured.
I would appeal to the local authority and its members to work with local residents to get this issue resolved. Very often we have a dilemma here because people decry the taking away of powers from local authorities on an increasing basis. If we centralise everything, I think we will be in difficulty too. I do not know the specifics of the case but it is something that should be resolved with the council - not only the management but the representatives as well. Surely there must be mechanisms to do that. In any event I will ask the Minister to examine it and see what he can do.
Farmers in the State are under huge pressure with input costs and paying bills. There is a great deal of frustration about the delays in the ACRES payment. I acknowledge there is a huge volume of applications to be processed but I want to support the IFA’s proposal that certainty be given and an 85% advance payment be made to farmers by 18 December. Is that possible? Could it be made possible by redeploying staff from other Departments to help to get the payments out? It is not fair or acceptable if 27,800 farmers must wait until February 2024 when they are already under huge strain. Can we give certainty today?
I discussed this earlier when other Deputies raised the issue of the ACRES payment. The Minister was very effective in expanding the numbers who can avail of the scheme and everything is being done to get the payments out as fast as possible. I will speak to the Minister on this.
On that very issue, there is increasing speculation within the House, and particularly outside it, and I would like to give the Government the opportunity to dispel it. The speculation is that the reason for the non-payment is not computer problems but rather that the Minister’s ambition for the scheme overshot his budget. That is an acknowledged problem in other Departments but I want to get clarity on it because there is increasing speculation that the reason it is not being paid out is because the Department does not have the money.
I am not aware of that at all.
I can say it is circulating.
Of course. It is the easiest thing in the world to create a rumour and send a hare up the field. We have expanded it; the money is there to do it and we will be doing it. Administratively, if you go from 30,000 to 46,000 or 50,000 clearly there is an impact on the administrators trying to get everything sorted out.
The money is not there.
I also want to mark the anniversary of Private Seán Rooney. I think all of our thoughts are with the families of peacekeepers who are separated from their loved ones this Christmas.
The drugs task force co-ordinator position in Finglas and Cabra has been a funded post for many decades. A vacancy has arisen because the co-ordinator passed away. The recruitment process is under threat because of the recruitment problems in the HSE. It is not a HSE position but it is funded by the HSE. It should not be delayed in any way. It distributes significant amounts of public money through the drugs task force. It is very important that a co-ordinator or chief executive-type figure is there to ensure that public money is distributed correctly. I have raised this with the Minister for Health and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton. Both of them want to resolve the issue. I ask the Tánaiste to use his offices, if he can, to deal with this.
It is a separate issue. It is not a health employee per se; it is a very important post in the wider community agenda.
It occurs to me that earlier I omitted inadvertently to say thank you and to wish happy Christmas to Peter Finnegan, represented here by Elaine Gunn, and the Houses of the Oireachtas Service. In every aspect of the services they offer us, they are superb and without parallel. We are deeply grateful to them as we are to the civil servants who work here in Leinster House, and to the political staff who support us.
Finally it would be a travesty not to wish happy Christmas and all the best to the members of the press corps whose constant surveillance of us here is an important part of the democratic process. Guím Nollaig shona agus athbhliain faoi mhaise orthu.
I think they should take a break. They work too hard altogether.