The Government is pushing forward with Fianna Fáil's Bill that will cost local sporting clubs, charities and community organisations thousands of euro in vital fundraising. It is doing this because it is conflating fundraising with gambling across the board. We support the regulation of gambling. A quick search shows that Tus GAA Club, a playgroup, Club Limerick GAA, Tang GAA Club, Oranmore Football Club, Vision Ireland bingo on Highland Radio, North West Hospice bingo on Ocean FM and Kilmacanogue GAA will be affected. What Milford GAA and Buncrana GAA did last year will be made illegal if the Bill goes through. All of those clubs and organisations, along with GAA and soccer clubs, community development and charities that support people with Alzheimer's, cancer, in palliative care and with blindness, need to fundraise in their communities. The restrictions being imposed on them by the Bill will make what they are doing now illegal. The Government needs to stop this Bill going through. We need proper regulation, but not of these kinds of groups.
Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
As the Deputy knows, the gambling Bill is important legislation which the Government has been committed to bringing forward to address the many challenges we have with gambling in society. Obviously, the Government is working to make sure it is proportionate in how it is applied. It is being considered on the floor of the Dáil as it makes its way through the Houses.
On the potential impact on advertising restrictions on charitable fundraising, charities may continue to advertise and promote their work in all fora without hindrance. The advertising watershed will only apply to charities and philanthropic organisations in respect of advertising gambling activities and not advertising generally. The power to regulate gambling advertising will be under the remit of the gambling regulatory authority of Ireland. Amendments will be brought forward on Report and Final Stages to exempt charitable and philanthropic licensees from the watershed restriction on gambling advertising where the maximum wins do not exceed €10,000.
Conor Gallagher in The Irish Times reports today that former soldiers of the elite Defence Forces Army Ranger Wing have resumed military training operations in Libya in an apparent breach of international sanctions. Through their company, Irish Training Solutions, these former elite special forces members are training troops of a Libyan warlord, Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Russia. The Irish Times reports that this contract is worth more than €10 million. It is appalling to see images of men wearing the Irish flag, our tricolour, teaching Haftar’s strongmen in Libya to be snipers.
The Tánaiste has already condemned the deeply concerning activity that has been reported, which UN experts have said is worsening the conflict in Libya. It has been reported that criminal investigations may ensue. Can the Minister provide the House with an update on the plans of the Government to introduce new regulations to put a stop to this alarming practice?
The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence has made it very clear that media reports that former members of the Defence Forces may be involved in training members of the Libyan National Army are deeply shocking and cause reputational damage to Ireland and our Defence Forces. No Irish citizen should knowingly be involved in activities that breach UN sanctions or EU restrictive measures, least of all former members of the Irish Defence Forces.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has since confirmed that the matter has been referred to An Garda Síochána, and a range of restrictive measures covering persons and activities regarding Libya has been in place since 2011, including an arms embargo prohibiting the sale, supply or transfer of arms or weaponry to Libya, subject to certain exemptions.
The horror in Gaza continues to deepen. The latest is the discovery of mass graves at hospitals, including one with more than 300 bodies at a hospital in Khan Younis and another at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza city. The Tánaiste has said the people of Gaza are being collectively punished by Israel and that he believes Israel intends to attack Rafah, where more than 1.5 million people have fled or are attempting to survive and who face being slaughtered in the coming weeks. The question is what the Government is going to do about it. Will it please stop the US military from using Shannon Airport, including, potentially, to transport weapons en route to Israel? Will it expel the Israeli ambassador and impose sanctions on Israel? Why is it left to ordinary people like those who are going to participate in the flotilla to break the blockade or those occupying college campuses in the US and elsewhere?
It is certainly very traumatising for everyone to hear the stories coming out of Gaza at them moment. The Government has been absolutely proactive on this and has shown leadership at international level from the outset, particularly on the absolute need for a ceasefire and for humanitarian aid to be let into Gaza. As we speak, the Tánaiste is in the region once again, very much advocating, on behalf of Ireland and the international community, the importance of an immediate ceasefire and a way forward, but especially the need to bring much-needed relief to those in Palestine. The response of Israel has been absolutely excessive and unacceptable. The trauma it experienced in the first instance was massive and unprecedented in scale but the response has been totally disproportionate. It has gone totally overboard and has led to much destruction. We need a ceasefire immediately.
I raise an important issue, having regard to an email I received from a concerned citizen. It relates to the circumstances in Dublin whereby residents and business people are affected negatively by what is happening at Grattan Hall, Mount Street, Grattan Court and adjacent areas. I want to know what the Government is going to do about this. The description I have indicates there is a large encampment of hundreds of young males, wearing hoodies, outside windows and doors of residents at Grattan Court and such places. The stench of urine is awful and the refuse situation has become a health hazard as the refuse companies are unable to collect the refuse of the residents. Postal deliveries are not being made by the relevant agencies and pedestrian access to Grattan Hall is being impeded by camps. Men are frequently seen urinating on the streets as they wait to get to a Portaloo. What is the Government going to do for the residents? Will the agencies and the Department involved meet the residents as a matter of urgency?
The situation in Mount Street is unacceptable to everyone. A number of Departments and statutory agencies have been working together to alleviate the problems experienced by those camping there as well as the residents, local businesses and workers. This includes offering accommodation to many of those encamped outside the building in question and in its environs, providing regular waste collection in the area, policing the area and assessing the situation from a public health point of view. Representatives of agencies have met in recent days to assess the situation further and determine the appropriate responses. Meetings are ongoing between the relevant Departments and agencies in an effort to resolve the situation.
The Minister present is the Minister for agriculture. We are talking all the time about the crisis in agriculture due to the weather. The Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors of Ireland has been appealing to the Minister and the Minister for Finance not to go ahead with an increase of 2 cent per litre, plus VAT, on agricultural diesel on 1 May, which is next week. The estimated cost to the farm contractors is €10 million. The association added that it will not be possible to pass on the increase to farmers because, as we know, they are struggling already. It brings into question the future viability of agricultural contractors and raises the issue of whether farmers will have enough fodder next winter. There is a ripple effect all the way along. We are rubbing our hands saying we will do something for farmers, yet we are imposing a carbon tax on 1 May, in addition to removing the rebates. This is putting the whole industry, including the farm and forestry contractors, in jeopardy because they will be unable to provide the services given the extra costs, which will result in a shortage of fodder next winter.
I attended the annual conference of the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors of Ireland a couple of months ago. The contractors comprise an important part of our farming infrastructure and are under considerable pressure given the amount of work ahead – work that was not possible to do in recent weeks.
Generally, farm businesses are exempt from the carbon tax. There is a rebate system in place. Farm and forestry contractors are not exempt and the carbon tax does apply to them. The Government has no plans to adjust the tax or make any budgetary adjustments in this regard but it is certainly working hard to support the farming community and the sector.
Despite promises given by the Taoiseach and former Minister for Health, diabetes care in Donegal is in a critical situation and requires immediate intervention. In Letterkenny, there are no consultant endocrinologists, no advanced nurse practitioners in adult diabetes, no podiatrists, no paediatric endocrinologists and no physiologists. There is no shared centre of excellence for children between Letterkenny and Sligo University Hospital and no access to adult insulin pump therapy due to a severe shortage of endocrinologists for over ten years. Recall waiting list times are now over 36 months in some cases although HSE guidelines state people with type 1 diabetes should be seen by an endocrinologist every six months. This is unacceptable and must not be allowed to continue. When will the Government start to provide people in the north west with care at the same level as that in the rest of the country? Diabetes Ireland has written to the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, about this. When will he address this crisis?
I am very much aware of the issue. I have been liaising with the Donegal branch of Diabetes Ireland, including Paul Gillespie, on this matter. Like the Deputy, I have been working on the issue over recent years. We have seen significant improvements in paediatric diabetes services in Letterkenny in recent times. Additional supports have been provided that have brought about improvements in paediatric diabetes services, which presented a significant challenge and one we were all working on together.
There is a genuine challenge regarding adult diabetes. The permanent consultant retired recently and the hospital is going through the recruitment process to find a replacement. However, it is an ongoing issue. I am in touch with the Minister for Health on it and we will all work together, including with the hospital, to try to resolve it.
Will the Minister convene a group to develop a circular economy strategy for the food sector? The climate committee will be starting to consider that issue. The facts are there. The Minister will know well that food waste is over 1 million tonnes and accounts for 5% of our global emissions. Half of compostable waste does not find its way to compostable outlets. Excess packaging in the sector accounts for two thirds of all plastic packaging. Long-distance imports are a feature. Premium payments are not adequate for people producing sustainably. There is significant opportunity in this sector to have a better strategy.
I thank Deputy Bruton for his question. This is very much part of our policy platform under Food Vision 2030. It involves taking a sustainable food system approach to how we develop Irish agriculture and particularly how the various sectors integrate with one another. I will certainly give further consideration to any potential place for the Deputy's suggestion and would be happy to chat to him further about how he thinks it might work. Everyone in the sector is working to the objective of making sure it continues to improve. It is already a very sustainable platform.
I welcomed the major investment of over €25 million in our public library service recently. I know the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, was in Kilkenny to open the €7.2 million Mayfair library in the heart of Kilkenny, which was really welcome. My problem is that an extension for Carlow library and refurbishment of the Presentation building, which was classified as priority level 1 under Carlow County Council's multi-annual capital programme for 2023 to 2025, did not get the funding. The Department issued stage 3 approval for this project in August 2022 for Carlow County Council to proceed to tender with the works, but the tender did not get the funding. It is unacceptable. I know the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is covering today. I met the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, yesterday. We spoke about it. She will meet me next week. It is not acceptable. The council was told to work away and get stage 3 approval, but then it did not get the funding. It is unfair on the people of Carlow that this new library extension will not happen.
How many millions does the Deputy want?
A sum of €10 million.
Has the Minister €10 million for Carlow?
I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for raising this. I absolutely agree with her on the importance of public library services. They do great work across the country and in different counties. I know this has great potential in Carlow. I know the Deputy is working on it with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. I will certainly pass on to her that the Deputy mentioned it here today as well. I hope the Deputy can make progress on it. I have no doubt, with Deputy Murnane O'Connor on the case, that every effort will be made to ensure it progresses.
Does the Minister accept that the Government has been underfunding local roads? Does he accept that the local road network is in its worst state in many decades as a result of this underfunding? I know that in County Monaghan, I see a local council trying desperately to maintain roads that are in a desperate state. It is carrying out patching works when full resurfacing is required. I am told that the situation is similar in Donegal. Will the Government allocate the necessary funding to allow these local roads to be resurfaced? Will the Government commit not just to some gesture in advance of the local elections but also to a comprehensive allocation that recognises that people in rural communities pay their road tax and their excise in fuel, which the Government keeps increasing, and deserve to be able to drive to work without breaking the suspension or the tyres on their cars?
I thank Deputy Carthy. I do not accept that the Government is underfunding roads. It is putting record funding into roads. In the last day or two, we had an announcement from the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, of a record €40 million this year for local improvement scheme roads.
That is lanes.
The weather has been a particular challenge, like with many other aspects of life, with the wear and tear on our roads over the last number of months, but we are responding to that with record funding for local authorities across the country, which do really good work in this regard.
The situation in Cork University Hospital, CUH, is severe and has been for some time. The workforce report which came out during the week identified that Cork has the second lowest level of front-line staff of any hospital in the State and is down 80 nurses and midwives over that period. The workforce generally speaking rose across the system. Does the Minister accept that CUH is in need of particular attention? Does he accept that the recruitment embargo is an exceptionally blunt instrument? We have a situation in Cork where housekeeping staff are effectively being told that there are no days of leave and there is no scope for holidays for them. Does the Minister accept that the recruitment embargo is a blunt tool that is significantly restricting the ability of hospitals to respond to the current crisis they face?
I do not know the specifics of CUH but I know that the Government has put unprecedented resources into the health system, with a 20% increase in staffing across the board over the last four years with the objective of improving services and bringing down waiting lists. We are seeing progress on that. That progress has been seen in improving health outcomes and life expectancy in our country. I will certainly pass the Deputy's particular query on to the Minister for Health and have him respond directly.
The issue I want to raise is about our ambulance services. I have raised in this House many times the huge distances that our ambulances have to travel. The point I want to make today is about the critical level of paramedics operating in the service at the moment. It is putting the service at a dangerously low level. It is at breaking point. We urgently need to recruit paramedics for our ambulance service.
I thank Deputy Cahill for raising this. I know he has been raising it and bringing it to the fore as a TD for Tipperary. I will certainly pass on to the Minister for Health the fact that the Deputy has raised it here today. I know the Deputy raises it on an ongoing basis. It is something the Government is looking to prioritise. It is an important service. Response times are crucial for good outcomes in rural areas in particular. I will certainly engage with the Minister on Deputy Cahill's behalf, subsequent to him raising it here today.
I know the Minister commented earlier on the Irish Dental Association, which has painted a stark picture of children's oral healthcare. It was before the Joint Committee on Health last year and will be again next week to address screening. More than 100,000 children did not get the basic screening in primary school. I remember, when I was growing up, a dentist coming three or four times during my primary schooling. Children not having this screening is having a detrimental effect on oral healthcare. This has been a downgrading of public service, particularly in dental healthcare. Can the Minister correct the wrong, particularly the shortage of public dentists?
I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this. We addressed it in Leaders' Questions too. The Government is investing significantly in this. Additional funding was put in place in the budget last year. Up to 900 additional staff were being recruited across the services at the end of last year, which we hope will feed through into this important service. It is crucial that young people get intervention at an early age because it prevents problems down the line. It is something the Government is working on.
Last November, 68 elderly residents living in the Willow and Sycamore units in Cherry Orchard were told they would have to move out of their home. So far, 40 residents have moved and approximately 16 remain. At least 19 residents have died during this period. Families have been protesting outside Cherry Orchard since November. Information I received in November highlighted structural problems in the units. The response I got from the HSE in February said there were no significant structural problems. Something is not adding up here. The residents, families, loved ones and staff need clarification. The families have three asks. Will the Minister of State with responsibility for older persons meet them? Will the Minister allow independent examinations into the decision to move these elderly residents with complex needs from their home? Can the remaining 16 residents be moved to Willow East, as it is my understanding that work has already been carried out there?
I thank the Deputy for his question. In May 2023, a HIQA inspection identified concerns about the flooring of both the Sycamore and Willow units at Cherry Orchard hospital. These presented a significant potential health and safety risk. A subsequent HSE review indicated that the flooring had underlying structural issues which required immediate remedial work. I think if the Deputy was standing in my position, he would know that I cannot ignore a HIQA report-----
I would meet the residents.
Excuse me, Deputy. I will answer the question. I cannot ignore a HIQA report that identifies concerns saying that there is a significant potential health and safety risk. The transfer of residents has begun, as the Deputy knows. Forty-three residents have been transferred from Cherry Orchard campus, with 17 residents still on site. The health and safety of each resident is the most important thing. This is their home from home.
Unfortunately, HIQA has deemed it not fit for purpose and the residents' removal will have to continue.
Will the Minister of State meet the families?
The Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, signed a contract for 500 beds at the D Hotel without consulting anyone, blindsiding everyone. However, it emerged from a letter he sent to me yesterday that the contract was signed without there being an appropriate fire certification in place, meaning that the maximum number of people who can stay in the hotel is 250. In the 51 days since he signed that contract, the taxpayer has been exposed to a loss of almost €1 million. This is disgraceful. Due diligence was not done on the contract. There was no consultation. There is no cooling-off period in the contract. The people of Drogheda are angry at being blindsided, as are all of the public representatives. This situation needs to be addressed urgently. I have written to the Comptroller and Auditor General asking that he examine this contract to determine whether there is a way for us to recover the €1 million that has been wasted by the Minister.
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I will pass the details of his comments on to the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, for a direct response.
The Government supports the nature restoration law at European level. That law contains some important and admirable ambitions. The problem is that there is a lack of a dedicated funding mechanism, or any funding mechanism at all, for farmers who will be required to reduce or abandon farming activity on lands governed by the law.
At a domestic level, the Government stopped funding the Burren Life project and the hen harrier project in respect of farms on designated lands. The Minister was to discuss with his Cabinet colleagues, in particular the Minister with responsibility for heritage, whether there was any possibility of finding funding to restart these important projects. Has he had any success? Are those projects going to be restarted soon?
Colleagues and I worked hard at European level to ensure that the nature restoration law was significantly adjusted so that it would be appropriate to Irish circumstances. If the law is passed, the onus will be on us as a country to put our own plan together for how to implement it. We have been clear that CAP funding cannot be impacted in any way by whatever needs arise in that regard. That is a commitment from the Government.
The Burren Life project, which was a European innovation partnership project, was a temporary pilot in nature and has been subsumed into the wider ACRES programme. As such, there are more people taking part in it now and it spreads the production and positive outcomes that can happen. A small number of farmers with larger landholdings who were involved in the initial pilot have seen their payments reduced. I am examining that matter to determine how we might respond.
In the same week that thee was another serious warning about climate change from the EU’s Copernicus programme, which told us about the catastrophic challenge we were facing, is it not extraordinary that the Green Party’s leader – a member of the Government – would take a legal challenge against the Swiss women activists who won a court case and showed that the high emissions governments were responsible for were a threat to their health because of their gender and age? I fall into that category. Is Eamon Ryan afraid that women like me might be able to take him to court because of his failure to reach emissions targets? Is it not time that this Government, including Eamon Ryan, issued an apology to those women for daring to challenge them? When the Government is supposed to be doing everything it can on climate action, it challenges those women in a legal case in Switzerland. This is outrageous. The women are known colloquially as the Swiss grannies, but they are actually proud older women who are fighting to stop climate change.
I am not aware of the specific details of the case, but I will relay to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, that the Deputy raised the matter and ask him to respond to her directly.
The Neurological Alliance of Ireland gave a presentation in the audiovisual room in Leinster House yesterday describing the fact that Ireland is near the bottom of the European table in terms of the availability of neurologists. In fairness, the Minister created extra neurology nursing posts, but most of those have not been filled. We need to examine this matter. The issue is particularly acute in west Cork. The neurologist in the largest hospital in my area, Bantry hospital, will retire in May. As yet, CUH, which administers the hospital, does not have the resources to fill the position. This leaves people with MS and Parkinson’s disease in a particularly precarious situation. I ask that the message go to the HSE and the Minister for Health that steps need to be taken immediately to recruit a new neurologist in Bantry. The geographical area that the hospital covers is enormous.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I will relay his points directly to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, but it is important that I relay to the House that there is no embargo on the recruitment of neuroclinical nurse specialists. We have 17 such posts filled and are going at full throttle to ensure we fill all 28. There is no embargo on filling positions on the four community neuro teams around the country either. We are filling those posts as well.
I wish to start my contribution by extending my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the beautiful Aoife Johnston during what can only be described as the most heartbreaking and difficult time for them all. The worst that could happen at UHL has happened. I acknowledge the protest outside Leinster House today and the work of its organiser, Mike Daly, who sadly lost his beloved father at UHL. I would encourage a Minister to step outside and meet the protestors, as I will.
UHL is grossly overcrowded daily. I have requested that its senior management be brought before three Oireachtas committees so that we can get answers and accountability. Will the Government support this request? In 2008, the Hanly report recommended investment in Ennis Hospital. Interestingly, that clinical advice was not taken. There are now three campaign groups. The Minister for Health is familiar with the document from the Friends of Ennis Hospital group. Why are we being left as the only region in the country without a model 3 hospital?
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am conscious that the coroner's inquest is ongoing, but I wish to acknowledge the pain and suffering of the Johnston family at the loss of their beautiful daughter and sister.
The Government is placing particular priority on resources at University Hospital Limerick in terms of investment and support. We have invested significantly over the past period, but we also need to see stronger and better management and Limerick embracing the reforms that have worked elsewhere.
This is a difficult time for the Johnston family. Our thoughts are with them as they go through the coroner’s process.
Some 186,000 Irish people are living with a neurological condition, with 50,000 diagnosed with such a condition annually. In Europe, there is an average of nine to 14 neurologists per 100,000 people. In Ireland, there is an average of just 1.3 neurologists per 100,000. We have a serious problem. The World Health Organization has stated that one in three of us will develop a neurological condition in our lifetimes. Will the Minister of State support a neurological unit at Wexford General Hospital, given that the programme for Government states that people are entitled to the right care at the right time and in the right place?
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, about it. It is important to point out that, under the programme for Government, Ireland now has a neuro strategy and that, for the first time, we have put clinical nurse specialists and community teams in place.
There are no nurses.
Yes, we have. We have funded them completely and there is no recruitment embargo on them.
There are no nurses in Waterford.