As there are 18 Members wishing to speak, I ask that we stay within the time limits. Someone will lose out. I call Deputy McDonald.
Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
I wish to raise the issue of staffing levels at the children’s hospital. A serious letter has been written by all 12 surgeons at the department of paediatric surgery and urology at Children’s Health Ireland. I believe it has gone to the Minister for Health. In this letter, the surgeons outline bizarrely that the plans for opening the new children’s hospital will see it understaffed from day one. The surgeons believe that they have been ignored and that the recommended workforce of 17 paediatric surgeons has not been factored in. In their words, they believe that will impact negatively on the provision of safe and sustainable services. They go on to outline their concerns that this risk has not been properly assessed. I am sure the Taoiseach will agree that this is an unacceptable situation. This hospital is now delayed five years and there still is no proper plan to open it. What will he do in respect of this staffing shortfall?
In the opening of any major hospital facility - I have experience of both sanctioning and providing the funding for some major facilities from my time as Minister for Health and Children - there is always a subsequent debate and issue around the proper commissioning and staffing of a hospital, particularly in the context of movement from the older facilities to the newer facility. I understand that Children’s Health Ireland has been working on this for quite some time and that there has been a whole range of structures set in place to facilitate a smooth transition from the existing paediatric hospitals and tertiary hospitals to the new national children’s hospital. I accept that this will be on a scale never experienced before, particularly in paediatric medicine. In my view, the new facility will be state of the art. There will be a huge step change in terms of health and we need to match that with the required staffing levels.
Monday will mark three years since Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. I wish to express my solidarity, and that of the Labour Party, with the people of Ukraine who have endured such devastation over those three years and have defended their country so courageously against Russia’s imperialist aggression. I condemn last night’s remarks by US President Donald Trump implying that Ukraine had started the war. Indeed, I condemn what we are seeing now with the sidelining of the European Union and, most importantly, the sidelining of Ukraine from Trump’s so-called peace negotiations with Putin. Ireland is militarily neutral but we are not, and should not be, politically neutral when it comes to standing with Ukraine. I am asking how the Government can best continue to show solidarity with Ukraine as we approach this anniversary. Will the Taoiseach commit to retaining support for the accommodation recognition payment at its current level?
I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I will be attending a virtual meeting of European leaders later this afternoon convened by President Macron regarding the unfolding situation on the war in Ukraine. We will take that opportunity to reiterate our support for Ukraine. I will also be pushing strongly for the EU to accelerate the membership process and the application from Ukraine to become a member of the EU. Apart from the economic, social and wider aspects of membership of the EU, there would be a significant security benefit to Ukraine by virtue of being a member of the EU. The Ukrainian Government has responded very admirably. I welcome what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, namely, that there needs to be a sustainable and durable peace and that Europe and Ukraine will have to play a part in any outcome to any talks that may develop.
What about the accommodation recognition payment?
The Minister for Justice is dealing with that.
Families in Dublin South Central are contacting me because they are in fear of becoming homeless. This issue arose today a number times during the debate on our Private Members' motion. The home they are living in could be sold to Dublin City Council and the landlord is willing to do so. However, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has not allocated the funding for the tenant in situ scheme so, therefore, they cannot do that. The landlord is willing to sell and the council is willing to buy but the budget has not been allocated. Today is 19 February so I would like to know when the Minister will allocate the budget this year. I would also like to know that this is done in advance for next year and subsequent years. If there is money in the budget and there is a plan for it, what is the reason for the delay?
Is this one family or a particular family?
Several.
The tenant in situ scheme has been subject to a short review in terms of targeting and making sure we get the best value for money but also making sure that families most in need benefit from the scheme and we get the best outcomes all round in terms of the application of that scheme. There has been engagement within the Department on that issue and we expect that to be resolved shortly.
The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act was passed in 2017. Under that Act, there was not merely a promise but a legal obligation to carry out a review. That Act was brought in ostensibly to provide better protection for sex workers on the ground. There was much debate at the time so the review is essential to see if the legislation is achieving what it was set up to do. We were promised it in 2020, 2021, mid-2022 and on into 2023 but no review has been completed, although I am given to understand that it may have been completed. Has the report been completed and, if so, when will it be published? If it has not been completed, when will it be completed?
Do I have to take this or can it be the Minister?
The Minister can answer during Questions on Promised Legislation.
I raised that issue in the Department shortly after I was appointed. I am aware that the review has been ongoing. It is not yet completed but I agree with the Deputy regarding the urgency of it being published. I will go back to the Department and find out the date of publication.
I am delighted by the news today that the Government is planning to exempt cabin-style units at the back of family homes. This is a wonderful idea. My brother, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, and I have been looking for this for many years never more so than now. It is a great idea and I thank the Government. This is a real attempt at housing people that can happen very quickly.
In tandem with that, many people are being denied planning permission in respect of sites at their parents' homes. They are being deprived because of something called urban-generated pressure. "Urban" to me means town or village. These people never lived in a town or village. They lived in their parents' house in the country. Why are they being disallowed planning permission? These people will cost the Government nothing. They want to build the houses themselves and all they are asking for is the green light.
The issue of exempted development was raised and we dealt with it at the Cabinet sub-committee at the beginning of the week to set in train measures to facilitate that. I welcome what appears to be a broad welcome from the Opposition as well in respect of that. Perhaps the Social Democrats are not in favour of it but Sinn Féin seems to be welcoming it anyway. We will have to move the issue quickly. As I have said here repeatedly, every avenue has to be looked at in terms of increasing housing supply. Regarding the Deputy's point about people in rural Ireland who can develop housing on their own land or their parents' land, we have to look at existing guidelines to facilitate capacity for young couples, in particular, to do that. I will come back to the Deputy on that.
As the Taoiseach knows, I speak a lot in this Chamber about Shannon Airport and advocate for it. I was delighted to see the Government take on my proposal that Shannon be a test bed for new forms of aviation over the lifetime of this Government. Indeed it is in the programme for Government. I would like to hear some expansionary thoughts from the Taoiseach as to what that role could be. The future mobility campus in Shannon, which many Ministers have visited, could play a major role in this.
A few years ago, I travelled to Rotterdam Airport with the then Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell and former Deputy Joe Carey. We witnessed a significant amount of incredible stuff going on such as electric aircraft, vertical take off and landing and drone technology and I think Shannon could play a massive role in terms of developing some of this in Ireland. Regarding the future mobility campus testing all forms of new vehicles and AI-powered vehicles, it could also have a role in testing some of the new Garda fleet when it is provided.
It is true to say that the Deputy has been a very consistent and strong advocate for Shannon Airport and the Shannon area. At the beginning of the week, we met with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. One of the first comments he made regarding Ireland's historic relationship with China involved the degree to which China took on board the example of the Shannon free development zone. Shannon was one of the first areas he highlighted regarding how it led the way in terms of industrial development and how the Chinese more or less followed through on similar proposals decades ago. I take on board what the Deputy is saying because there will be very significant developments, particularly around AI, future mobility testing and so on. I will take the points made by the Deputy about the expansion and development of certain industries allied to Shannon Airport back to the Minister
Could the Taoiseach provide an update on the new proposed Garda station in Clonmel and tell me whether a contractor has been appointed? I welcome the commitment in the programme for Government to provide funding for 5,000 additional gardaí during the lifetime of this mandate. Ensuring law and order is also a challenge for towns and villages in rural Ireland, including my constituency of Tipperary South - towns like Tipperary, Cashel, Cahir, Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir and Fethard. It is so important that we strengthen and better resource the community policing model at a local level. Can the Taoiseach give me an assurance that constituencies like Tipperary South will get their fair share of the additional gardaí that will come on stream during the lifetime of this Government?
I have been told by my Department that a contract has been signed in respect of Clonmel Garda station, which, as the Deputy knows, is badly needed. I am also told that it will be finished by the end of 2026, which is very good news.
Obviously, we are doing our best to ensure we recruit up to 1,000 gardaí each year. The intention is that they will be spread around the country. Obviously, Clonmel in the Deputy's constituency will be very much supported by the gardaí when we get the extra resources in.
It will come as no surprise to the Taoiseach that I wish to raise the ongoing crisis in University Hospital Limerick. As we sit here, 113 people are on trolleys there.
These are people who were assessed as in need of a bed but no bed was available for them. The trolley crisis at University Hospital Limerick continues to impact patient safety and well-being, as the Minister is well aware. Already this year, we have had 3,392 people treated in this manner. It is totally unacceptable. It is not fair on them and their families or on the staff who must deal with them, often in an unsafe and desperately overcrowded emergency department. The lack of beds affects nearly all departments across University Hospital Limerick. Much of the normal activity in the hospital is suspended daily. Additional patients are moved onto wards and into hallways outside emergency units. Elective surgeries are cancelled. People arrive at the hospital to be told that their scheduled procedure has been cancelled due to the lack of beds. What steps is the Government taking, here and now, to deal with the numbers of people on trolleys and to stop the cancellation of procedures in the hospital because there are no beds available?
I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. A number of different things are happening. As the Deputy is aware, Limerick has already been the beneficiary of additional bed capacity and staffing. Another 96-bed unit will be completed shortly. There is also a surgical hub. The Deputy mentioned scheduled procedures being cancelled. Those procedures will be scheduled in the surgical hub and that will be followed by an elective hospital. Limerick is the beneficiary of considerable investment in beds and staff. There are still problems, however, and I thank the Deputy for highlighting them. He is quite right to do so. As he is aware, I have this week placed a particular focus on the deployment of all of the contracts in all of the hospitals to ensure we are getting the best outcomes for patient safety and to ensure that all hospitals are consistently using all the levers available to them to avoid the consistent problems that Limerick has.
Is the Taoiseach aware that women in Dublin are struggling to find childcare before they return to work? They are spending endless hours ringing around crèches and on childcare websites instead of spending quality time with their new babies. Some mothers delay their return to work not because it is the best option for their families but because it is the only option. There are 262 childcare services in receipt of core funding in Fingal and there have been at least 62 fee adjustments, impacting hundreds of parents, since December. Those fee increases are coming out of the enhanced childcare subsidies that were implemented in September. Smaller local providers still feel they are more likely to drop out of core funding. Will the Government move immediately on commitments to increase capacity through State-led and private childcare services and fix core funding for parents and providers?
We are well aware of the pressures on childcare services across the country and in Dublin. The last Government, in particular, introduced a number of initiatives on the childcare front, such that the investment in childcare is now approximately €1.37 billion. The data shows that more children have places, more services are operating and more parents are benefiting from State subsidies. Between 2021 and 2023, the number of enrolments increased by 8%. That said, we have to do more. We must start by stabilising and creating proper career pathways and income supports, and improving the pay and conditions, for people working in childcare services. The first ever pay agreement was arrived at with the unions and was facilitated by Government funding. We froze the increase in fees through significant allocations. There is, however, an issue in respect of smaller providers, which have been impacted by the changes.
Will the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health join me in my constituency to visit Beaumont Hospital? It is a fantastic hospital that does amazing work but it is in need of further capital support. I and many other local TDs saw the unveiling of a new theatre in the hospital. It has amazing potential and uses AI and many other new technologies. Some key areas, such as critical care, the emergency department and the new 95-bed unit, are still within the capital programme. We would welcome that investment and its progress through the capital programme system.
I will, of course, visit Beaumont Hospital. I would be delighted to do so. Perhaps the Minister wants to take it from there.
The Taoiseach and I might go together. It is an excellent hospital that needs more investment. I am happy to speak to the Deputy about the capital plan for the coming year. I will be opening a new lung care research facility in the hospital shortly and I ask the Deputy to come along. It is an excellent hospital that is deserving of continued investment.
The Taoiseach and Minister are welcome.
The hardworking staff at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee, all of whom have the best interests of the people of Kerry at heart, have been contacting me because they are frustrated with the situation there. It is at breaking point. The average waiting time in the accident and emergency department is now ten hours, which is the second highest in the country. One woman told me that she was waiting with her son for 19 hours before he was finally put on a drip. Some 390 people were waiting on trolleys in January, which was a 10% increase on last year's figure. That is a bad start to the year.
Year after year for the past five years, elective surgeries have been cancelled. They have been cancelled in University Hospital Kerry since 19 December 2024, which was a full two months ago.
Thank you, Deputy.
What is the Government doing?
Taoiseach to respond.
We need a minor injuries clinic close to where-----
Thank you, Deputy.
-----the people who attend the accident and emergency department are.
The Deputy is in other Members' time.
We also need a modular day unit.
I thank the Deputy. I am more than happy to sit down with him about the provision for Kerry more generally in the capital plan. He is right to highlight the trolley situation. At 8 a.m. on Saturday, 1 February, for example, there were only four people on trolleys in University Hospital Kerry. By Tuesday morning, that number had risen to 18. There were 24 the following day and 28 thereafter. The number then fell to two the following Saturday. It moved to six before going back up to 20 on Monday and Tuesday, following the weekend. I am happy to speak to the Deputy about the underlying issues in respect of capacity but there is a weekend issue in University Hospital Kerry, as much as there is in other hospitals, and we must get to the bottom of that. It is not acceptable that the Deputy's constituents are more likely to wait on a trolley on a Sunday or Monday than on a Wednesday. That is not okay.
Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur ar an Taoiseach faoi rud éigin a bhí sa Teach an tseachtain seo caite. Will he outline a timeline for when we expect to see the Occupied Territories Bill brought back into the House with the necessary legal changes? The Bill, when brought back, needs to preserve the original intention. I want this to be done. Will the Taoiseach outline the timeline for the Irish people?
Go raibh maith ag an Teachta as an gceist agus ní dóigh liom go mbeidh sé ag tarlú roimh an gCáisc. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is progressing the Bill and looking at amendments that must be included, as I have been clear about from the outset, in a new Bill. It will not happen in the spring session because most of the Bills we have put on the Order Paper are drafted and ready to go. It is a short session between now and Easter. I hope in the aftermath of that-----
Thank you, Taoiseach. I call Deputy Boyd Barrett.
Vital bus routes and public transport services should not only run if a private company can make a profit out of them. A private company, Aircoach, has just announced that it is going to cut several routes, including one that goes through my area. The cut means there will no longer be a route going from Shankill, Ballybrack and Loughlinstown to Dublin Airport. Bus drivers in my area are telling me that the No. 7 route is possibly to be handed over to Go-Ahead Ireland. That is a company that made losses last year and is failing to fulfil its contract to provide routes all over the place. Incredibly, it will be rewarded with one of the best routes that Dublin Bus has. This stuff has to stop. Privatisation of public transport is a failure. We need to put in place a service to the airport because it is a necessary public good. Similarly, we should not be privatising more Dublin Bus routes.
We continue to invest in public service transport, and will continue to do so. In respect of the specific issue, approximately €660 million has been assigned for the public service obligation, PSO, and Transport for Ireland Local Link services. That is a significant increase on previous budgets. It also covers various fare initiatives, such as the young adult card and the 90-minute fare, until the end of 2025.
The Airport Hopper bus services that the Deputy has identified-----
It is an Aircoach route.
-----between Maynooth and Tallaght and Dublin Airport were withdrawn by the operator. If there is a withdrawal, it is a matter for the Minister, and the NTA in the first instance. Decisions will be made as to whether we can resume with the help of the PSO and whatever else, but an evaluation has to take place first.
I again raise the issue of hormone replacement therapy, HRT, which I raised a couple of weeks ago. Free HRT was promised in the most recent budget and was due to begin in January. We have not yet seen it happen. I know the Minister has inherited this problem, but does she have a timeline for when it will be available to women who are experiencing the menopause? There are also issues in respect of the different menopausal products. Has the Minister sought to identify the supply chain issues?
I am aware of the issue and am beginning to examine that. It is a pan-European problem so perhaps I can come back to the Deputy on it. I am very aware of it. On the cost of HRT, provision was made in the budget for HRT products but not for the dispensing fee. That is covered in parliamentary questions going back to October and November last year and that position has not changed. The Government set aside money to pay for the products but not the dispensing fee for pharmacists. I have met the pharmaceutical union. I am engaging with it to see if there is something we can do but the reality is we do not have the budget to carry the dispensing fees. Patients are being charged €48 or €62 or whatever the fee is, but you do not see the breakdown of the cost. If a woman is getting two HRT products, for example, she is paying two dispensing fees, which might be €7, €8, €9 or €10 per product. We intend to cover the cost of the medication. If we were to extend the budgetary allowance for that, I would have to take that from somewhere else and that would mean we would not be able to do something else. I am trying to find a resolution. I ask the Deputy to please allow me a couple of weeks to do that. I hope the pharmaceutical union will come back with something we can work on.
I wish to ask the Taoiseach about yesterday’s top story in the Irish Examiner. Once again, it was news about the Redbarn Quality Hotel, where approximately 370 people going through the asylum seeker process have been based. This was done without consultation. As a local Government TD in the constituency, I only learned this was happening, and the number of people who have been placed in the hotel, from the report in the Irish Examiner. The community is wondering whether this is coming at the detriment of the 450 or so community members from Ukraine who are there under the BOTP system. If the Government is planning a change in use of this building, will it return it for tourism, give the hotel back to the people of Youghal, a tourist town, and restore about 70% of the tourist accommodation that has been stripped from the community by the Government?
On the issues in respect of Youghal, our view, and I have been very clear about this, is that we need to bring hotels back for tourism purposes. I do not believe that Ukrainians should be treated in an unfavourable manner. If they are part of the local schools and have been in a given location for quite some time, I do not approve of their being summarily turfed out and moved on to locations far away. I will discuss this with the new Minister for children in terms of the need to be conscious of the needs of children, Ukrainian children in particular, because of the trauma they have already experienced through having to flee their country because of war. We do not want to add to that trauma.
I will come back to the Deputy on the issues around the development of the Redbarn facility. In some instances, as the Deputy will know himself, the owners have come forward and made their facilities available. There is huge pressure on the system but Youghal has done more than its share in respect of facilitating both Ukrainians and IPAS.
I was delighted to see in the programme for Government a commitment to develop a long-term strategy to address gender inequality in sport. In particular, we have an issue with retention rates among young people once they get to those teenage years. This is particularly acute among young women. What specific measures is the Taoiseach planning to take to address gender inequality and increase retention in sport among young women?
One of the more significant measures taken by the outgoing Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Thomas Byrne, was to make it very clear that failure to have gender equality on the boards of sporting organisations, for example, would result in the withdrawal of funding and a reduction in funding. He made that very clear.
We will continue to support women’s participation in sport, young girls in particular, through funding but also through a variety of other initiatives. Retention, as the Deputy rightly said, is a key issue. Retention of young people generally beyond 18 years is a big issue in sport today. It is essential for the health of the nation. The growth of other sports has helped enormously. I have seen a tremendous growth in rowing, women’s soccer, football, rugby and so on. We need to continue to support all of those sports and many more as well.
Yesterday, the Taoiseach told Deputy McDonald there was a robust legal framework to deal with knife crime, suggesting there were no gaps in the powers that gardaí have to address this serious crime. Nor did the Minister for Justice, Deputy O’Callaghan, suggest there were any gaps in the legislation until last night, when he indicated new laws would need to be introduced to give gardaí greater powers to stop and search people they suspect of carrying knives. Can the Taoiseach or the Minister tell the Dáil when the Government became aware that existing knife crime powers were not adequate to deal with the issue? Was the issue raised with them by members of the Garda or was the Government aware of this deficiency when it championed its previous legislation that it told us addressed this issue? Will the Government now accept that no amount of new laws will cover up for the fact that we simply do not have enough gardaí on the streets of our cities and towns?
There must be a multifaceted response to knife crime. One of the responses has to be ensuring that we have greater numbers of gardaí on the streets to seize knives. Last year, over 2,100 knives were seized by An Garda Síochána. That is part of the solution.
Another part has to be powers for An Garda Síochána in order that gardaí can stop and search people so that they can seize knives from them if they suspect they are carrying knives. The Deputy will be aware of the Garda powers Bill, the heads of which were published last year. I will bring that legislation forward to this House. I hope Deputy Carthy and Sinn Féin will support that legislation and that all members of the Opposition will support it. It is clear we need a strong, clear statutory basis in order for gardaí to seize knives which we all admit are a dangerous threat to people in our community.
What about the question I asked?