I welcome the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Michael Creed. I am sure he is pleasing the farmers with the weather. Maybe I should not say too much about that.
Commencement Matters
Agriculture Industry
I welcome the Minister and acknowledge his presence. I ask that his Department develop a long-term strategy to ensure the sustainability and resilience of the agricultural sector during and after periods of extreme weather. It has been both an unfortunate and amazing year if one takes into consideration what has occurred in the past eight or nine months. We started off with Storm Ophelia. We then had nearly 2 m of snow in my part of the world in March and April and it has now been four weeks since we had rain. This is part of the pattern of climate we are seeing.
Most Oireachtas committees have a major focus on climate change and the drastic changes it is bringing for all sectors of society. It will continue to have a major effect on the agricultural sector, for obvious reasons. We are dependent on what the weather will bring in many ways, whether it is the storms and snow that arrived in the early part of the year or the drought we have experienced for the past three and a half or four weeks.
In many ways, we need to revisit our strategies. I am calling for a long-term strategy to be put in place to ensure the agricultural sector will be more sustainable and robust when it comes to dealing with these dramatic weather changes. For that to happen, a major body of work must be done by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This will involve many stakeholders, including Teagasc, to ensure appropriate strategies are implemented. We do not want a repeat of the two fodder crises we have experienced in the past five years when we had to purchase fodder abroad. I have no problem securing fodder abroad but these crises have a major impact on the sustainability of the agricultural sector.
In many ways, we need to build a new ethos for how agriculture, the agricultural community and industry can deal with major environmental changes, which will continue in the years and decades to come. The body of work I am asking for should include education for farmers to ensure they have more stocks and training for agricultural advisers to ensure they treat spring as an important time of year. In the event of a drought, discussion groups should meet every 14 days to respond to the climate changes that are taking place.
In making this suggestion, I do not claim to have all the answers. I hope the Minister has some answers. In many ways, this is about a changing ethos and ensuring the agricultural industry moves and changes with the changing environment to remain sustainable and robust in the face of dramatic weather events such as those of recent years. I hope the Minister will start this process. We are dealing with a very short-term issue at the moment and the issue of fodder will also need to be addressed because problems will arise again in the coming months and years. In my part of the world, winter fodder is now being used as feed, which could unfortunately have consequences in the coming winter.
I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for the words of welcome and Senator Lombard also for raising this matter.
As was the case for many other sectors, agriculture has been affected to varying degrees by a series of weather-related events in recent years. Some of these were localised in extent such as the flash-flooding experience on the Inishowen Peninsula in August of last year. Other events such at the severe flooding of the winter of 2015-16 was regionally focused, in this case the west and midlands. The winter and spring just past on the other hand were characterised by a prolonged and persistent period of poor weather, in the first instance affecting mainly the west and north west of the country. Following the snow of Storm Emma in March, the situation, particularly as to the availability of fodder, spread to all parts of the country.
Extreme weather events can therefore be anticipated to occur at greater frequency and the agricultural sector is most vulnerable to the effects of these events, which are partially inspired by climate change. My Department is now preparing sectoral climate change plans for the agricultural, forestry and seafood sectors, in line with the national adaptation framework, published earlier this year. A key priority of these plans will be to provide guidance on adaptation planning at farm level to build resilience in the farm sector. It is the building of this resilience that is at the core of my Department's focus in addressing the challenge of climate change.
As occurrences of such events increased in recent years, the response of my Department to each severe weather challenge has been informed by the specific needs of the particular situation and delivered in a timely fashion within state-aid rules that specifically apply to the sector. For example, in response to pressures on fodder supplies, felt initially in the west and north west, caused by a long wet winter and spring, I introduced the national fodder transport support measure in January 2018. As a further support I introduced a fodder import support measure in the first week of April in response to the need for additional sources of fodder from abroad and also to complement the more locally-based fodder transport support measure. These two interventions, working together effectively, addressed issues around fodder availability in the country due to the most recent weather event.
I fully share the view that the agricultural sector must be enabled to sustain itself and build up resilience in the shorter term in the face of external weather challenges. It was for this specific purpose that last May, last month, I requested Teagasc to convene a stakeholder group representative of industry, banks, agricultural media, farming bodies, etc., to co-ordinate advisory messages to farmers this summer concerning replenishing fodder stocks that have been used up. The first meeting was held on 11 May with further regular meetings planned throughout the summer. The message to farmers to harvest sufficient fodder, including a buffer amount, is continuously being amplified across the sector through Teagasc advisers, private advisers, FAS advisers, media, co-ops and banks. I am very strongly committed to the work of this group and linked in by telephone with its most recent meeting which took place yesterday morning, to receive a first-hand update on progress so far and to urge no let up in activity until all issues around fodder security for next winter are fully addressed.
A key information tool in this respect is a survey of the current level of fodder conservation on different farming systems in different regions. This information will help shape the direction and content of the next stage of work by the group. Today I am launching the first of two such Teagasc fodder surveys at Beef 2018, in the Grange research facility.
Sustainability and resilience are not only about fodder but encompass the entire farming activity. In this respect the group is also focusing on best practices in matching livestock numbers with available fodder. Financial budgeting is a key part of fodder budgeting and indeed overall sustainability of the farming system and must be a routine aspect of all farming enterprises.
While outside agencies can provide some support to farming communities in exceptional circumstances, farmers themselves must take appropriate actions to ensure their own resilience and sustainability into the future. Some actions are within the capacity of farmers themselves such as those being addressed by the Teagasc-led group, but others require the availability of specific tools to manage more complex threats, including risks posed by weather events. I have asked my officials to examine options both under the CAP 2020 proposals, but also under existing programmes, that might provide an appropriate risk management option for farmers in light of these increasingly regular weather-related events.
I thank the Minister, does the Senator have a supplementary question?
I wish to thank the Minister for his very comprehensive answer to the question. I welcome that he is launching today in Grange the beef survey regarding fodder supplies, which is a very positive step.
Obviously, the dairy industry would need something similar to be launched and I am sure the Minister will announce that in due course. Those are the key issues. We need to balance our increasing livestock numbers with an increased volume of fodder, and have a buffer in place. These are very positive steps.
I again thank Senator Lombard for raising this issue. As will be seen at events like that at Grange today, the farmers who are engaged in this process will obviously take the messages on board. The problem is farmers who are more difficult to reach, who are perhaps age profile challenged or in enterprises where the returns may not be as good. A key part of my message to this working group is to make sure that, through their networks, whether it is the farm organisations, the co-op structure, Teagasc or the private advisory service, we need to be specifically focused on those farmers who are harder to reach in order to make sure they are part of the message. They can also be part of the solution. There is a lower stocking density on some of these holdings so there may be capacity for better fodder conservation measures.
We have all the stakeholders around the table and this is comprehensive. Sustainability is critical to our international image; it is also a key part of Food Wise 2025 and is one of the five pillars within it. We will be maintaining this initiative for as long as necessary so we can ensure that sustainability is an ingrained part of the operation of any individual farm, be it dairy, tillage, beef or otherwise, as that is very important.
Citizenship Applications
I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor. I assume she is taking this on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality. I know she cannot comment on specific cases, which is a given. However, I would like her to clarify, as best she can, what people should do when they find themselves in a situation such as the one I am about to outline.
A constituent of mine had his application for naturalisation rejected in April of this year. His application, which he made in October 2016, was refused as a result of a motoring offence conviction. In the letter of rejection sent to him, it was stated, and this is the important part, "The onus is on each applicant to disclose in their application all appropriate information and evidence to help demonstrate that he or she satisfies the conditions for a certificate of naturalisation, including being of good character." This individual applied for naturalisation on 27 October 2016. His motoring conviction occurred on 23 March 2017.
Therefore, he could not have notified the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service, INIS, of his conviction at the time of application, as it did not exist. How can the INIS expect a person to inform it of a conviction that has not yet happened?
This person, having lived in Cavan town for many years, was hoping to purchase a home and settle down with his family permanently. Naturally, he was awaiting the outcome of his application prior to purchasing a home. It has taken more than a year and a half for him to get this decision on his application. As the Minister of State can imagine, he is most disappointed.
I do not want to make light of any conviction, no matter how minor it may be. This individual is known to me personally. He is a responsible and valued doctor in Cavan town, a man of integrity and, most certainly, good character. I am only too happy to provide references in that respect if necessary. I understand that he has submitted another application, in which he has outlined his motoring conviction and that he paid the €300 fine that accompanied it without delay. Will the Minister of State advise me and any person who finds himself or herself in this situation as to the next steps? Currently, there is no appeal process.
I have taken notes on the person's position. I apologise for the absence of the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan.
I cannot comment on individual cases. However, I am happy to set out the position generally in respect of the processing of applications for citizenship. The Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956, as amended, sets out the law governing Irish citizenship and distinguishes between the entitlement to Irish citizenship by birth and descent and the acquisition of Irish citizenship through the naturalisation process. Should a non-national apply for Irish citizenship through naturalisation, the applicant must fulfil certain statutory requirements, for example, residency and good character. The Minister has absolute discretion and may dispense with the statutory conditions in whole or in part in certain circumstances.
It should be noted that it is incumbent on any applicant to disclose the fact and circumstances of any ongoing matter that the Minister should be made aware of in the context of a naturalisation application. Moreover, applicants are advised that reports are obtained from An Garda Síochána and other agencies relating to applications for naturalisation, and that any failure to disclose any matter at any stage of the process will adversely affect the application. The guidelines for the application form advise that, should adverse information come to light in the processing of that application, it will be taken into consideration. In the particular section of the application dealing with background, this notification is repeated, stressing that applicants should disclose information even if they do not consider it material to the application.
It is a matter reserved exclusively for the Minister to determine what factors are to be taken into account in assessing whether an applicant for naturalisation is of good character. During the course of the processing of an application, information can come to attention from the various background checks that the applicant could reasonably have foreseen could be taken into consideration in the decision-making process. The Minister is not obliged to give advance notice of this information of which the applicant was already aware.
Decisions on naturalisation are taken having considered all of the available information. It is expected that applicants will comply fully with that process. It would not be appropriate to discuss the details of an individual's application on the floor of this House and the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, has asked me to inform Senator Wilson that his officials will speak with him on the matter.
I thank the Minister of State for the response. However, it does not rectify the situation regarding the rejection of an application on the basis that the individual had not included in the application information regarding convictions. The offence had not been committed at the time the application was submitted. It did not occur until some months after and the court case did not take place for some time after the event. To reject an application on the basis that a person did not provide information at the time of application is unjust, in my opinion.
I welcome that the Minister's officials are willing to speak with me on the matter because I have been in communication with the Department and the Minister on this matter for a number of months and, to date, I had not received any response. That said, there should be an opportunity within the application process to allow individuals to notify the Department of issues arising, minor or major, subsequent to the submission of an application. I look forward to meeting the Minister's officials and to hopefully progressing the naturalisation application of this respected doctor and member of the community in Cavan.
It must be remembered that Irish citizenship is a great privilege and naturalisation is a privilege and not a right. The Minister is under no obligation to grant a certificate of naturalisation. As already stated, the onus is on the applicant to disclose in his or her application all appropriate information and evidence to demonstrate that he or she satisfies the conditions for a certificate of naturalisation, including character. It is incumbent on all applicants to reveal any information pertinent to the application, particularly where a case of dangerous driving is pending and a conviction for careless driving arises subsequently, prior to a decision on the application being made by the Minister. There is no appeals process under the legislation. However, applicants should be aware that they may reapply for the grant of a certificate of naturalisation at any time. When considering making such reapplication, the applicant should have due regard to the reasons for refusal given in the first instance and ensure that all relevant information is provided to the Minister for his consideration. All applications are examined individually and assessed on their own merits. The decision was arrived at following an individualised assessment of the application, having taken into consideration all relevant matters and information. This is particularly the case in this instance, where the adverse consideration is one of which the applicant was already aware.
As I said, the Minister's officials are willing to meet the Senator on this issue.
Student Accommodation
I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, for coming to the House to discuss the issue of third level student accommodation.
This issue usually arises at this time of the year as thousands of students finish their leaving certificate and look forward to going on to third level education. They will be looking for accommodation for the end of August and the beginning of September once they get their results. The problem is that there is an increasing number of students and a decreasing amount of accommodation. In addition, the cost of the accommodation available is increasing far above the rate allowed within pressure zones. I will give a specific example of that shortly.
The Government's national student accommodation strategy of July 2017 showed there was excess demand for purpose built student accommodation of over 23,000. That will increase to over 25,000 by July 2019. The figures in that report outline what the problem is and how it is increasing. I met some student leaders in Galway last week. They said that in the middle of their examinations in May the cost of official student accommodation in the National University of Ireland Galway, NUIG, was increased by 18%. That confused me because Galway city is a rent pressure zone, which does not allow rent increases of more than 4% for accommodation. However, I was told that this does not apply to student accommodation. Perhaps the Minister will clarify that. Am I wrong in the assumption that it should apply everywhere? This will lead to students commuting long distances to get over this problem, sleeping on the couches of friends and mental health issues.
I am seeking information on the developments at all universities and third level institutions. Is much extra student accommodation planned? Is much being built at present? If more student accommodation became available it would alleviate pressure on private rented accommodation for the general public. Would the solution be to give some incentives or grants to provide student accommodation on the campuses of our universities or colleges? That would in turn provide an income stream, help the overall development of those third level institutions and, perhaps, take some pressure off the Government to provide extra funding. I am merely passing on the concerns that were raised with me and I hope the Minister can reply to some of the questions I raised.
I have met and spoken with the students' unions in Dublin City University, DCU, and NUIG, where there were particular problems during the last term. To answer the Senator's question, student accommodation is being built. At the end of May last, 2,990 student bed spaces had been completed since the launch of the Rebuilding Ireland report. Nationally, there are 7,070 student bed spaces actively being built, and 2,354 will be available in the coming academic year and over 2,800 will be available in the following year. The potential pipeline of accommodation is also encouraging. Some 7,017 bed spaces have been granted planning permission. Therefore, we should meet, if not exceed, the Rebuilding Ireland target of 7,000 purpose built bed spaces by the end of 2019 and 21,000 bed spaces by the end of 2024.
By increasing the available supply of student accommodation we can alleviate some of the pressure on the private rental market, which will in turn help to decrease price. In tandem with the Housing Finance Agency work has been carried out to assist in the provision of finance for higher education institutions.
Work has been carried out to assist in the provision of finance for higher education institutions. The Housing Finance Agency has implemented a streamlined application process to assist such institutions to access finance for the construction of purpose-built student accommodation. Provisions have also been made which allow applications for new, purpose-built student accommodation developments to move through the planning process at a faster pace.
Alongside these initiatives, the Union of Students of Ireland and the Departments are working through the interdepartmental working group on student accommodation to promote and facilitate the provision of digs accommodation as an alternative to both purpose-built student accommodation and the general rental market for students. The 2018 campaign was launched on 25 June and will seek to increase the number of homeowners offering accommodation to students during academic term time.
The recent rent increases in privately run, purpose-built student accommodation are a significant cause for concern. I have met my colleague, the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Damien English, to discuss this issue and we continue to work together to ensure that students are accommodated in the current housing market. Officials from the Departments of Education and Skills and Housing, Planning and Local Government are working in close co-operation to identify a solution that will provide the longevity sought from any intervention. This is a complex issue which may well necessitate legislation that is robust and does not give rise to unintended consequences. As such, it is necessary to ensure that any potential solution is robust enough to withstand scrutiny from many different perspectives.
I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply. I am glad to hear of the many initiatives that are being taken. The Minister of State referred to the rent increases in privately run, purpose-built student accommodation. Does the 4% limit on rent increases in rent pressure zones, RPZs, apply to such accommodation?
Obviously that is a loophole that must be closed off. I thank the Minister of State for that clarification. She outlined a number of welcome initiatives. It is important that we try to solve the student accommodation problem. Students experience considerable stress in the lead up to their exams and then they stress about results. They experience more stress when trying to find accommodation so anything that lightens their load is to be welcomed.
Does the Minister of State wish to respond?
First, I reiterate that the RPZ restrictions do not apply to student accommodation. Second, we must make sure that any solution proposed is constitutional, robust, does not have any unintended consequences and can withstand scrutiny from different perspectives, including those of owners and students.
Schools Administration
I welcome the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Bruton, to the House. The next Commencement matter is from Senator Gallagher.
Ar dtús ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire agus comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis as ucht a bheith sa Teach inniu.
I welcome the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton, and thank him for his presence in the Chamber this afternoon. I acknowledge that the Minister comes to the Seanad on an ongoing basis and that is very much appreciated.
I commend and thank the teaching profession for their hard work and dedication on behalf of our children. We are very fortunate to have so many hard working and dedicated teachers. Today I am raising the current role of the school principal. In primary schools, the school principal is the manager or the captain of the ship. He or she is the leader of the school. Currently primary school principals are reaching out to the Department in respect of their ongoing workload and are seeking to have the allocation of release time increased in order to lessen the crippling workload they are undertaking and give them time to concentrate on their teaching responsibilities.
As the Minister knows, 56% of school principals teach a class of children full time. In addition to their responsibility to teach in the classroom, they have the responsibility of running the school, which includes administration, staff, curriculum, pupils, pupils with special needs, the board of management, the parents and building and maintenance of the school. The teaching principal really is a multi-tasker.
The situation has got to a point where it is no longer sustainable. Teaching principals are at crisis point. They are requesting the Minister to address this issue. A few miles over the Border from my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan teaching principals enjoy time out from the classroom one to two days a week to do administration work. They can plan to have a regular substitute teacher in place to allow for continuity for the benefit of the children in the classroom. That facility has been in operation north of the Border for the past ten years. Clearly I am here to plead with the Minister to look at the plight of school principals and the workload they currently have to undertake. It is unsustainable and in many cases it is affecting their mental well-being. It is at crisis point. Something needs to be done. I ask the Minister to review the current situation so that the role of school principals and their workload can be looked at with a view to finding workable solutions.
I thank the Senator.
I thank Senator Gallagher for his kind remarks and for postponing this debate so that I could be in the Chamber to take it. I absolutely agree with him that one of the most important things we can invest in is the quality of leadership in our schools. If one looks at what influences a child's success in school, one is the teacher he or she experiences and second is the quality of the leadership of the school. I am very keen to invest in upskilling and upgrading leadership. I have done a number of things already. In the past two budgets, I made provision for 3,000 additional posts of responsibility in our schools, both at primary and post-primary. At post-primary, 475 deputy principal positions were created. At primary and post-primary, 1,300 assistant principal posts were sanctioned. The other very significant improvement is the new circular on management that has been negotiated with the trade unions and now circulated. It provides for a much more flexible distributed system of management in our schools and allows for more flexible allocating of responsibilities and a more open system for identifying and reporting on what is done under that and the possibility for changing those responsibilities. That is a real breakthrough in the way we allocate posts.
I know the Senator's particular concern relates to small schools that have teaching principals. As my reply outlines, I made an arrangement this year to increase the number of days off that such principals have. The number of days off in each of the three size categories was increased by two days, three days and four days, respectively. As the reply sets out, I have added extra days so those who used to get 15, 20 or 25 days off now get 17, 23 or 29 days off, respectively. This reflects the need to provide more leadership resources and capacity.
I am very keen to see more initiative devolved down to local level. The new model of resource teaching allocation, which we discussed in this House last week, puts much more trust in the local school to allocate how teaching resources are deployed across the range of children with special needs. It represents a move away from the very inflexible system that has been in place up to now.
I have agreed to the creation of 50 cluster posts, which will be of benefit to small schools. This will allow groups of principals to combine their release days as a permanent position. The holder of that position will be able to fill in across the various schools. This will ensure principals do not have to contend with the hassle of trying to get substitute teachers on days which they have chosen to take as release days and allow them to plan the allocation of time in a much better way.
It is worth mentioning that we are making a significant and specifically designed investment in the Centre for School Leadership. This year, 1,000 of the country's 4,000 principals will have opportunities to avail of coaching or mentoring or to pursue postgraduate study. We are putting money into enhancing the quantity and quality of leadership time.
I gather from the text that has been provided that the specific request made by the Senator would cost €12 million if we were to accede to it. When these things are being put together as part of October's budget, we will have to look at the competing requests that are being made. As the Senator is probably aware, there are many other requests. We have debated them in this House and in the Dáil. We will have to make decisions on where priorities lie. As we have seen, it will be a fairly tight year for additional resources.
We will not relent in our interest in investing in the quantity and quality of leadership. We are investing in the Centre for School Leadership and building clusters to enable schools to come together for substitution and to do things together, for example, in the digital and DEIS spheres. I know there are many DEIS schools in the Border counties, perhaps not in Monaghan but certainly in Donegal. We are trying to encourage individual school leaders to show more leadership by working with others to achieve new things.
We are moving away from the much more rigid input-output way of allocating resources across our school budgeting. In my view, the conversation focuses far too much on pupil-teacher ratios, capitation grants and appointment rates. We need to look at what pushes on the experience of children. I think that is where the kind of good and well thought-out investment in leadership that we are trying to sponsor can make a big difference.
I thank the Senator for his interest. I cannot accede to his specific request today, but I will examine it in the context of other things we might be able to do in this whole area.
I thank the Minister for his comprehensive response. Some of its content was not to my liking. I ask the Minister to acknowledge that there is an issue. As he knows, school principals are engaged in an ongoing campaign. I am aware from my own experience that school principals are leaving their posts to return to mainstream teaching because, as I said in my initial contribution, the workload is affecting their well-being. I am sure the Minister is aware of that as well. This issue deserves attention. I welcome the Minister's confirmation that he is not closing the door to consultation with the stakeholders involved. I hope he will make a genuine attempt to find a resolution or a path forward to address this issue.
Like all other measures, we will have to weigh up its impact on outcomes. I am totally focused on outcomes. I wish to pursue measures that lead to children doing better. The Senator's request is quite substantial. As I stated, I granted two to four extra days this year. Senator Gallagher requests an additional seven to 19 days, which would be a significant step up from what we have been able to do. In considering such provision, we must assess the impact of €12 million being spent in this way compared to the impact it would have on the many other areas for which we receive similarly passionate demands for investment. The ultimate arbiter must be whether children will do better as a result. I acknowledge that it is an inexact science and one must make choices but I will consider each proposal with that objective in mind.