My apologies for being late and I now ask the Deputy Leader to outline the Order of Business for today.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
The Order of Business is No.1, motion regarding an appointment to the Policing Authority, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate; No.2, motion regarding the proposed approval by Seanad Éireann of the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the collection and transfer of advance passenger information for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime, and amending Regulation (EU) 2019/818, to be taken at 12:45 p.m. to conclude today at 1.30 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister not to exceed five minutes, all Senators not to exceed five minutes, and the Minister to be given no less than five minutes to reply to the debate; No. 3., Regulation of Lobbying (Amendment) Bill 2022 – Committee Stage, to be taken at 1.30 p.m. and to adjourn at 2.30 p.m., if not previously concluded; No. 4., address to Seanad Éireann by the president of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Mr. Larry McCarthy, to be taken at 3 p.m. in accordance with the arrangements set out in the motion agreed by the House on 20 April 2023; and No. 128, Private Members' business, motion No. 10 regarding public water connection charges, to be taken today at 4.30 p.m., with the time allocated to this debate not to exceed two hours.
At the beginning of our Order of Business I welcome a very distinguished group of young women to the Gallery. I say that deliberately because they all commenced school together in 1966 in the Presentation Secondary School, Thurles. They are all very welcome. I hope that the friendships endured, that there is not so much rivalry or slagging now and that they have a wonderful day here in Leinster House. We are so honoured to have these guests here and I thank them for being with us this morning.
I call on Senator Crowe to speak now, please.
I thank the Cathaoirleach and I also welcome the ladies, who are from mighty hurling country in Thurles.
I first wish to comment on and welcome the housing announcement yesterday by the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and the Government. This represents a €1 billion increase in funding to build more social, affordable and sustainable homes and to enable more people to own their own home. There is a significant reduction in the levy charges of €12,000, an increase in the vacant homes and derelict home grants, as well as an increase in funding for affordable homes.
Moving on from that topic, I also raise an issue this morning that is relevant to my home city of Galway. Recent decisions have been made by An Bord Pleanála in respect of a number of housing developments across the city of Galway and as far out as to Oranmore have been refused. This is an issue which needs to be raised.
The reasoning given by the board, for example on the application on the Headford Road, is that this development will be too car-dependent. The proposed development is located an absolute maximum 15-minute walk from the city. This reasoning is bizarre and has been widely condemned by both officials and relevant councillors in Galway city. We all recognise the need for an independent agency to oversee planning but when it turns down developments for such baffling reasons, it certainly raises questions with people across the city who are scratching their heads. We are all aware in this House that we require more housing and turning down plans to build homes because of a brief five-minute cycle that might have to be made for such a development just does not add up.
I raise this issue because there was surprise and disappointment across the city. Of late, even the city manager has also raised this issue and one cannot fathom it. We are seeing progress being made on housing. The building of a record number of homes has started in the first quarter, as the Cathaoirleach and Deputy Leader will be aware, but we cannot have that progress being consistently undermined by the decisions of the board.
I ask the Deputy Leader to raise the issue with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and that he be invited into the House in order that we can debate the matter. I am sure that this is an issue that is not unique to Galway and other Members may wish to raise similar decisions in their own counties.
I second and support the Deputy Leader's proposals for the Order of Business. I particularly want to welcome and look forward to the speech by the president of the GAA. He is a very significant individual but the GAA is also a very significant organisation in the country and one that is always worthy of great support. I am aware that this association has very significant support across these Houses, as it also has in local government.
I wish to raise a few issues. On yesterday's announcement by the Government on the suspension of the levy, there were mixed messages yesterday morning from the Taoiseach that it would be a three-year period. Later on in the day, when we had greater clarification, it came down to 12 months.
I have a view on development levies. Developers are levied by local authorities. The levy contribution scheme is a fully reserved function of all of the locally elected members of each of our 31 city or county councils and it is a matter for them. They propose, adopt and amend the scheme. There was no consultation with city or county councillors in respect of this. I spoke to the Minister yesterday afternoon during an engagement at the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage and he confirmed that while the County and City Management Association, CCMA, was involved, which does not come as a surprise to many of us in this House, the city and county councillors were not involved.
There is now to be another layer of administration in local authorities and we have not heard about the resources. To be fair to the Minister, he needs time to set out the finer detail. I have a deep concern about that because I do not believe in gifting developers additional taxpayers' money. It is not the Government's money; it is the people's money. I would have liked to have seen movement on VAT as a possible option but that was not pursued. This is to suggest that we are going to give developers another gift. These are the same developers who lobbied for the strategic housing development scheme, which this current Government abolished. They are the same developers who have hundreds of sites with full planning permission, which they are not activating. I sit on the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage and hear this every day of the week. We have a problem with developers, who seem to have an open charter and open door to walk around the corridors of Leinster House lobbying on behalf of the construction industry. These developers have it within their grasp to deliver these houses but choose not to because it is not profitable for them at this time.
They control the land and they control development and now we are handing money out to them. One part of the scheme I do like, however, which came about as a result of pressure within 24 hours of the scheme's formal launch, is that it will benefit those building one-off houses for 12 months. That is significant because the cost of development levies could be up to €20,000, particularly on rural houses. The Government must within weeks honour the commitment to deliver rural housing guidelines. There is now a window of opportunity of 12 months, possibly with an extension, for a full waiver on development levies. The folks in rural parts will not be able to build the houses, however, because they do not have the permissions as we do not yet have rural guidelines.
I remind Senators that members of Macra na Feirme will be at Leinster House at lunchtime. They are well on their way at this stage. Their key issues are the need for rural housing guidelines and an easy system of navigating the planning processes in order that they can remain living on their farms and in their rural communities to support their elderly parents and families and that they can bring their children up in the land of their forebears, which they have inherited. Let us support them.
I note the momentous occasion yesterday in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital when the families of the Stardust victims heard that after a four-decade long campaign, the new inquest into what happened to their loved ones that night when the fire took place in the Stardust Ballroom will finally begin. I pay tribute to all the families. They have never given up hope of finding answers to what happened. The original inquests were rushed. They only gave the medical reasons why their loved ones died. They did not give any detail about the circumstances of what led up to the fire or why the casualty figures were so high when 48 young people with an average age of 19 lost their lives on that tragic night.
After that, we had the Keane inquiry, which effectively blamed the community for what happened to it. Now, after that long campaign, the families have finally had a new inquest granted to them. I wish them well. I pay tribute in particular to Gertrude Barrett and Mrs. Bisset, who were the first to read the pen portraits of what happened to their loved ones, which was no easy task. The pen portraits are a critical part of this inquest and should be borne in mind when we reform the inquest process. They allow relatives to bring the personalities of their loved ones into the inquest court and talk about what their interests, dreams and aspirations were and what they meant to their families. They were not just numbers; they were real people who had hopes and dreams. It was very moving yesterday to hear both Gertrude Barrett talk about her son Michael and Mrs Bisset talk about her daughter Carol, and how all their dreams and hopes were seized from them.
I wish the families all the best. It will be a tough six months for them, particularly the next two weeks when the pen portraits will be read into the Coroner's Court record. It will be an emotional roller-coaster. They will need all the support of the public and each other. I pay tribute to them because it has been a very long campaign. They never gave up hope and hopefully they will now finally get answers to all the questions they have had for the last four decades.
I welcome the students in the Gallery from St. Mary's CBS in Portlaoise. They are very welcome to the Houses of the Oireachtas.
I wish to move an amendment to the Order of Business: "That No. 21 be taken before No. 1."
I want to highlight a wonderful event I attended last Friday in the European Parliament Liaison Office. It was the launch of a report making the case for Irish unity in the EU, which was commissioned by Members of the European Parliament and written by legal experts, Mr. Mark Bassett and Professor Colin Harvey. It is truly a great piece of work. The authors have excelled in the difficult task of making the notoriously technical and dry area of EU law accessible and compelling. I encourage all Members and anyone watching to read the report. To summarise the authors' argument, there is no legal barrier to the EU supporting constitutional change on the island of Ireland. In addition, the authors make a compelling public policy case for the EU to take such a position and assist Ireland in the planning and preparation for potential constitutional change.
Many of the people who live in the North of Ireland have availed of their right to Irish citizenship. This, in turn, makes them EU citizens, and the best way their rights as EU citizens can be vindicated is reunification. The European Council stated in 2017 that should unification occur, the whole island would be in the EU. We all know that the people of Northern Ireland were pulled out of the EU against their will. They have had to endure the political dysfunction and economic impact of that decision ever since. Despite the promising recent developments with the Windsor Framework and the economic benefits it may offer, the best way for people in the North to protect their human rights and grow their economy is to rejoin the European Union. The only plausible path to that is constitutional change on the island.
The EU was an important partner in the Brexit negotiations and close collaboration between EU and Irish officials, on which I commend them, helped protect vital Irish interests. Many issues remain, however, one of which is that Irish diplomacy in the EU should build support for constitutional change on the island of Ireland. This is the best way to resolve the issue of Brexit, protect human rights, drive economic development and heal the wounds of partition.
I also note that the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act is being commenced today, which is warmly welcomed. It is a huge moment that has been a long time coming. There are some flaws in the legislation but it is a huge step forward. Let us seize this momentum to progress swiftly with the reform of the Mental Health Act and the creation of adult safeguarding legislation.
At this juncture, I welcome to the Public Gallery Ms Sharon Bradley, co-ordinator of the Dublin 12 drugs and alcohol task force, who is here with her family. She is the guest of our colleague and friend, Senator Seery-Kearney. I thank Ms Bradley for the tremendous work she is doing in the community. The work the committee is doing is incredible. I thank her very much for being here today.
I ask the Leader to arrange a debate regarding newly-zoned land areas within local authority areas. I have received several representations from councillors regarding people from around the country whose land has been zoned, particularly from Councillor Tom Connolly in County Mayo. The only avenue that is open to those people now is to appeal to An Bord Pleanála. An exemption from the tax liability on the basis of farming activity being carried out on residentially zoned lands is not a provision in the Finance Act 2021 but the purpose of the draft residential zoned land tax, RZLT, map. People have to appeal to An Bord Pleanála in this regard. Many people do not want their land zoned. They want to farm; they have been farming the land for years and they do not want to develop it. I hope the Leader will arrange a debate on this matter in the House because many issues arise. This is impacting on family farms and families who would like the issue addressed. Perhaps this House is the ideal place to have a reasoned debate on the issue.
Before I ask Senator Malcolm Byrne to address the House, I thank him for the event he is hosting on media freedom today at 12.15 p.m. We are joined in the Public Gallery by Ms Caoilfhionn Gallagher, who has been recently appointed as the Irish special rapporteur for children. She is a barrister by profession and has been very involved in many high-profile cases. I thank her for her work. We are also joined by Mr. Sebastian Lai, who is a prominent Honk Kong journalist and political activist. He is the son of Jimmy Lai who, as Senators will know, is a newspaper editor who has been jailed by the Chinese authorities. Ms Gallagher and Mr. Lai are guests of Senator Byrne. We are also joined by Rhoda Kwan and Tatyana Eatwell. They are all very welcome. I thank them for being here today. We send Mr. Lai and his father our best wishes.
I thank Senator Dooley for allowing me to contribute at this time. I also welcome our guests. In this country, we take for granted media freedom and the right to peaceful protest.
When our guests were coming in through the gates of Leinster House today, a peaceful protest was taking place outside. Unfortunately, in Hong Kong that is not the case. Because of the use of the national security law by the Chinese Communist Party, Jimmy Lai and many others have been jailed simply for expressing their opinion. Jimmy Lai is a political prisoner and many other political prisoners are being held in Hong Kong. In a unanimous, cross-party decision of this Chamber, we called out the Chinese Communist Party, not just for what is going on in Hong Kong, but for what is happening with the Uyghur people, in Tibet, against other minorities and for how they use technology against their own people.
I am sure it is on behalf of all the Members of this Chamber that I join the Cathaoirleach in sending our solidarity and support to Jimmy Lai and other political prisoners being held unjustly by the Chinese Communist Party. I ask the Cathaoirleach to continue to raise it with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and that, at every opportunity at EU level and globally, we continue to raise the plight of the people of Hong Kong. We take for granted those important rights in this country and an important part of our foreign policy is that we stand up for those human rights on the global stage.
I will raise two related points. On 8 April, a young man in his 40s dived into the River Liffey to save another. That was a fella called Jimmy Nicholl. He was a homeless man who had suffered drug addiction. He was a wonderful character. I knew him well. I met him nearly every week and we chatted on the streets. You had to understand what he had come through in the past couple of years to know what kind of person he was.
The second point I want to make is to recognise the wonderful public sector broadcasting Joe Duffy does. We all give out about Joe Duffy on occasion or compliment him when he does something really good. His programme yesterday and the day before reflected on Jimmy’s life and the difficulties he faced. He had been interviewed by an RTÉ journalist at some point and Joe played that with great compassion and recognition. He talked about how we should have some honours system in this country to recognise people who have made great sacrifice, particularly those who sacrifice their life. What happened here has kind of gone unnoticed. This man was homeless, in his 40s and had been battling drug addiction. I think he was clean at the time. The last time I met him he told me he was there or almost there. Maybe he was on a support programme. He saw somebody else in the river and dived in to save him. Both of them sadly perished. If that was any member of the public, of our Defence Forces or a guard, there would rightly be more about it. That is not to cast aspersions there, but it would be right and fitting to find a way to recognise what some people achieve in life. In the interview he did with somebody walking around with a microphone, he took responsibility. He never blamed the Government. Any time I met him, he might have seen me on television the night before on heard me on radio and would compliment me or say I had had a rough one and had not been great or whatever. He was tuned into what was going on. He had such a positive outlook on life and wanted to help others. We should find a way to recognise people like that.
St. Gabriel’s respite home is a centre for children with disabilities and is run by St. Gabriel’s Foundation. It is headed by Elaine O’Riordan, who is the respite manager, and Treasa McAuliffe, the CEO. They got a complimentary bill of health from inspectors when they visited recently. It was said the children are treated as if they were the children of the people looking after them. That is a great compliment. I give a special thank you to the team there because they look after vulnerable children all year round, six children at the one time.
Riverfest is happening in Limerick this weekend. It is a festival that has grown. It is about using the River Shannon and there are many activities around the river. If anybody is passing through Limerick or staying there over the weekend, I encourage them to attend this successful festival. Especially if the sun shines as it is shining today, it will be a lovely event to have on the river.
I call for a debate with the Minister for Finance about creating tax incentives for people to live in the commuter belt areas of our cities. Such tax breaks could help to stop the brain drain we are experiencing. Many young people are leaving the country because they see no future for themselves here. Teachers, healthcare workers and people in traditional middle-class professions are struggling to build a life for themselves. Now we are educating people to go abroad. Many are going to places where housing is more affordable or they do not have to pay as much tax. Places such as Germany, Australia and the United Arab Emirates often appear more attractive than Ireland.
Many workers undertake long commutes that are very unappealing to them. Areas like Drogheda, Athy and Tullamore have housing for sale and rent that is more affordable than areas of Dublin. These areas have excellent rail infrastructure and could become more appealing if the Government was prepared to offer tax breaks to individuals. Any area that is a 50-minute commute from our larger cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick could be considered.
This could help revitalise local economies nationwide. Keeping high earners here via tax incentives would also provide councils with much-needed additional revenue. When so much of the money we take in from multinational corporations is indirect, it is essential we find ways to keep people in Ireland. Tax incentives like this exist in countries like Portugal and Italy. Some countries offer tax incentives to digital nomads to live in certain areas. Could the Government look at something similar?
The European Court of Justice case on Apple's tax bill is due for hearing at the end of May. With interest, this could be approximately €16 billion due to the Exchequer. At a time when the Government will be giving tax breaks to the developers keeping the cost of rent and property artificially high, could it also focus on helping to look after our young people, who are leaving in droves? Let us incentivise our people to stay in Ireland.
One such incentive is the announcement yesterday in relation to the vacant property refurbishment grant, which will now give people who own a derelict property up to €70,000 in grant support to bring that into productive use for themselves or another family. It is another important incentive introduced by Government to proactively engage with the owners of those properties to try to bring them back into use. That can be combined with the better energy support grant, meaning one can get nearly €100,000 in grant support to bring a derelict property back into use as a result of the decision made by Government yesterday, something that is promoting home ownership.
Another scheme in that vein is the help to buy scheme. That has helped over 38,500 individuals and families to get their foot on the ladder in recent years. All Opposition parties, bar none, want to abolish that essential support for young people to buy a home. Let us take a €300,000 house. At the moment, you can get a grant through Revenue of four years of tax you have paid to get €30,000. That is your deposit, 10% of the price of the home. If that scheme was abolished in the morning, what is the Opposition saying it would give young people in return? Opposition Members say they will give them one month’s rent, giving them €2,000 with one hand and taking €30,000 with the other. Even if you bought into their rhetoric that it would lower prices, let us take €30,000 off that €300,000 house. That is €270,000.
The Central Bank requires young people to have a 10% deposit, which is €27,000. What is their solution for that €27,000? The answer to that is “None”.
First, I second the proposed amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 21 be taken before No. 1.
The other issue I want to highlight is announcements this week by Western Sahara Resource Watch, which published its tenth in a row detailed annual overview of the companies involved in the purchase of phosphates from occupied Western Sahara. The illegally exported and exploited phosphate rock is one of the Moroccan Government's main sources of income from the territory, which it is holding without a mandate under international law. In 2022, a total of 23 vessels departed the territory with 1.23 million tonnes of phosphate rock. The practical doubling of global phosphate prices during 2021, as a consequence of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, means that Morocco's illegal exports are becoming increasingly lucrative. The exact income is not known because the exact prices are not known, but the data reveal that the price is substantially higher than the international market price. Western Sahara Resource Watch has estimated approximately that Morocco’s income from Western Sahara's phosphates could be as high as €655 million in the year 2022.
There is a call on all companies involved in this trade to immediately halt because Western Sahara is an occupied territory and has been internationally recognised as such. This territory is still awaiting a long-awaited referendum in respect of self-determination. Morocco does not have a mandate and we know that, much as in the case of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, under international trade law there should be no trading where there is not a mandate and where there is, in fact, an occupied territory.
In that regard, I ask that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment would ensure that at least we do what we can in Ireland by ensuring that goods from occupied territories are labelled as such, and that there is, for example, a business advisory to Irish companies that they should not engage in such trade because there is no legal basis for such trade.
Thank you. The time is up.
A small point I would make-----
Go ahead and make the point.
Thank you. It is a very small point in regard to the housing piece. I am delighted with anything that pushes vacant properties into use, but I am very concerned that we have been waiting a long time with the carrots when we have sticks that have not been used adequately. The 0.3% vacant house levy is deeply inadequate. Back in 2017, in the Seanad, we proposed a much higher levy.
We can have that debate another day.
The collection in regard to derelict housing is not happening. If we are debating it, and I have heard others raising the issue of housing policy, we need to look to the sticks as well as the carrots.
Thank you. Before I call Senator Mullen, I welcome the students from St. Columb’s College in Derry who are with us this afternoon. We are joined by Mark McConnellogue, James Tourish, a student who was the winner of the life advocate awards essay competition, and Adam McIntyre, Aaron Kelly and Geraldine Ahern, who are here with them today. As members will know, St. Columb’s College is one of the most illustrious colleges in the country, with Nobel laureates, sportspeople, musicians, academics and even an RTÉ correspondent as part of its illustrious alumni. I call Senator Mullen.
A Chathoirligh, I thank you for welcoming our friends from St. Columb’s. Later this morning they are going to visit the bust of John Hume, a former past pupil of the school, which was unveiled here just recently. I congratulate James Tourish in particular on being the winner of the life advocate awards. Those awards are about encouraging respect for human life at all stages. It is in that context that I raise today the issue of the Government's three-year review on abortion. The radical nature of what is being proposed by the reviewers is tragic but far from surprising, given there was a terrible lack of independence right from the get-go. It was pointed out in this House that the person chairing it and those doing the research were either supporters of repeal or abortion activists.
That is a real tragedy because these recommendations show that there was no engagement with women who, for example, changed their mind after their first appointment. Some 4,000 over the past three years did not have their abortion after the first appointment. Some of those, of course, may have been miscarriages but not one single woman was interviewed and there was no desire to see if that three-day waiting period saved lives, which we all know it did. There was no interest either in late-term abortions or the complete lack of mandated pain relief, even precautionary pain relief.
There is something heartless and callous about what is in this report and, of course, it also goes against all of the guarantees that some politicians said were sufficient to satisfy them to support repeal. When we see such callous disrespect for human life in one area, we cannot but wonder in what other areas of our life is that lack of respect for human life going to break out. We live in a time when we need to be showing solidarity with each other, and solidarity means including everybody, including the unborn, including the person with disability, including the refugee. We have abandoned that solidarity in these Houses in recent years. I hope we can work together to recover it.
I listened to a very interesting debate on radio yesterday about the State Examinations Commission, SEC, and how it is dealing with dyslexic children and adults, in particular those going through State exams. This is about having additional time for exams. In most jurisdictions, if people are dyslexic, they get additional time to do the State exams, whether the equivalent of the junior certificate or leaving certificate. Unfortunately, the SEC has ruled against that idea. Some 10% of the population and, therefore, 10% of the student population, is dyslexic. The majority of these need extra time in the exams to help with the reading and decoding of the paper so they can reach their full potential.
I am shocked that the SEC has taken this bizarre road and has now decided it is going to try to exclude these people from having the capability to reach their full potential. The real issue is that when they get to third level, they will get the additional time to do their exams. It is completely bizarre. What needs to happen is that the Minister for Education needs to intervene. There is no logical argument. Internationally, and in the third level education institutions here currently, extra time is given for the 10% of the population who are dyslexic. It is bizarre that the commission can stand over this. The Minister needs to come to the Chamber to have a significant debate about what her plans are to ensure dyslexic kids have the right and fair opportunity when it comes to sitting these exams. It is stressful enough for these kids on a good day, without adding this extra pressure. Something needs to be done to support them.
The Garda Commissioner presented in front of the Garda Representative Association, GRA, in Westport yesterday. The issue of rostering of gardaí for both the GRA and the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, AGSI, is a major problem and we have known for some time that it is a problem. The Commissioner said he is not the only one who has to compromise. It strikes me that he is not willing to compromise because, going back to my trade union days, people who are willing to compromise sit around a table and they thrash out their differences. We have known for some time that the AGSI and GRA are opposed to what the Commissioner is trying to introduce. I ask that the Minister for Justice be contacted - I will contact him myself as well - with a view to him asking the Garda Commissioner to convene a meeting of the representative bodies, and let us try and put this to rest.
Our gardaí go out on the streets every evening not knowing if they will come home that night or if they will finish up in hospital because of some thuggery that goes on in our society. We depend on our gardaí on Christmas day and every day to be there, to face down the criminals of this country, to face down situations that none of us would like to face. I recall the situation of my own brother as a young garda.
He was 19 at the time and his first duty was to tell a family that their son had been killed. That is the sort of thing they face daily so I plead with the Commissioner to sit down with the two representative organisations and sort this out. We will never sort it out on Twitter or in the public domain. It needs to happen around a table.
I wish to raise two items. First, I have previously raised the pandemic payment for duties performed during Covid-19, which front-line workers so thoroughly deserved. I ask the Deputy Leader to contact the Minister and the Secretary General of the Department. I raised this with the Minister at committee today. Aramark employees who worked at University Hospital Galway have not received the pandemic payment. This is despite the payment being announced, agreed at Cabinet and - I hope - paid out to a majority of people across the country. The Minister said he personally met these workers when he was in Galway and promised them they were entitled to the payment, but they still have not received it. I ask the Deputy Leader to intervene on this matter because they put in the shifts in difficult circumstances and they are entitled to that payment.
Second, I ask the Deputy Leader to contact the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, about coming in to give an update on the waste action plan for a circular economy. The domestic compost bins, or brown bins, service is a great service in urban and many rural areas across the country and assists in reducing bills and the amount of waste going to rubbish tips. The service is available in urban areas and areas with a population of more than 500 so small communities where there are a number of estates qualify. However, outlying areas, including rural roads encompassing Moycullen, Rosscahill and Oughterard in my area, would not qualify because this service is determined on a townland basis and very few townlands in rural areas have a population of more than 500. It is sort of an arbitrary boundary perhaps around a town plan, and the rural areas around that are not covered. I ask that the service be rolled out to all of those areas. I know that is the vision of the Department but it needs to be expedited under the waste action plan for a circular economy.
Níl éinne eile ag iarraidh teacht isteach ag an bpointe seo. Glaoim ar an Leas-Cheannaire.
I thank colleagues. Senator Kyne asked me to investigate or at least discuss the matter of the Aramark employees who had been promised the €1,000 payment for their Covid-19 service and who have not yet received it. He asked me to find out what is going on with the Minister. I will certainly send him a note today.
Senator Kyne is also looking for a debate on the extension of the waste action plan for a circular economy to all households, particularly the brown bins. The cynic in me tells me that given there are some companies who will try to start to charge for brown bins, it will not be too long before this is rolled out to all households. However I take Senator Kyne's point and will certainly raise it with the Minister.
Senator Craughwell brought to our attention the reports from the address by the Garda Commissioner to the GRA yesterday. I too thought it was ironic that the Garda Commissioner said he is not the only one who needs to compromise. That compromise will only happen at the table, as the Senator suggested. Given that the GRA and the AGSI have both said they are willing to compromise, I think it is foolish that we are now sending that dispute to the Workplace Relations Commission. I know they fought for the opportunity to use those State mechanisms for years but I believe, as I think the Senator does, it can be resolved around the table. Although it is an operational matter, I will ask the Minister if there is any way he can intervene and I will come back to the Senator on that.
Senator Lombard brought attention to a really bizarre decision made by the State Examinations Commission, which has acknowledged that we have children and young adults who, as students, are doing their leaving and junior certificate examinations and need extra resources to help them to fulfil their potential, but is trying to tie both of their hands behind their backs so that they cannot do their best. I will certainly bring this issue to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and ask for a debate on the issue.
Senator Mullen raised his disquiet about the recommendations arising from the three-year review of the abortion legislation that was introduced a number of years ago. The only assurance I can give the Senator is that all of those recommendations will be sent to the Oireachtas Committee on Health, where there will be plenty of time for airing them. That committee can decide who they would like to invite to discuss the recommendation. I suspect and hope that people who have dissenting views on the recommendations will make their views heard and we will ultimately have a balanced approach once the decisions have been made.
Senator Alice-Mary Higgins spoke about the illegal farming, if that is the right word, of phosphate in Western Sahara by the Moroccan Government. She specifically asked me to bring to the attention of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, the need for any products arriving to Ireland from those occupied territories to be labelled with their source so we can all be aware of what we are buying.
Senator Cummins spoke in an educated way this morning about the impact that the housing grants are having. The vacant property and derelict property grants allow people to refurbish houses. They can be combined with the energy grants. We support the help-to-buy scheme, under which 40,000 families have been able to avail of a four-year tax reclaim over recent years.
Senator Keogan is looking for a debate on tax incentives to live in commuter towns, and I believe in cities, with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath. I will try to arrange that.
Senator Maria Byrne spoke about St. Ita's respite home and the great reports it received recently. She also mentioned the Riverfest which is taking place on the River Shannon in Limerick this weekend.
I was really struck by the remarks of Senator Dooley, who eloquently described the heroic nature of the actions of Jimmy Nicholl. In bringing those actions to our attention, he said that most people would probably not know about them. I did not know about them but that is not to say anything. I think we should have a mechanism whereby people's bravery and courageous actions can be taken into account. I might bring that to the Committee on Parliamentary Privileges and Oversight to see if there is anything we can do in this House.
The national bravery awards may be a vehicle through which we can honour the gentleman in question, but we can have a conversation about that as well.
Yes, it would be nice to do something to recognise his bravery. Senator Malcolm Byrne mentioned the guests from his media freedom event this morning. He recognised the illegal detention of Jimmy Lai, whose relatives were present in the Chamber this morning and to whom I wish to send our solidarity.
Senator Black proposed an amendment to the Order of Business - it was seconded by Senator Higgins - and that is no problem at all. She also spoke about the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2022, which came into play from yesterday. I am really mindful that only 8% of those adults have applied for enduring power of attorney so it is important we all make sure everybody has access to the new legislation.
Senator Burke spoke about having a debate on land that has been newly zoned up and down the country against the landowner's wishes. He said that this will have implications for the plans that local authorities are devising, and is also against the wishes of people who want to continue to farm or will never let their land be developed. I will organise that as quickly as I can.
After many years of supporting the families in looking for an inquest, Senator Boylan brought to our attention the establishment of the Stardust inquest. She is dead right when she says that the next couple of weeks will be really emotional for all the families. As the Senator said, it is important that everybody understands the loss of life and who those people were in order that they are no longer just statistics.
Senator Boyhan spoke about welcoming Larry McCarthy, which we are all looking forward to doing today. He also spoke about the development levy suspension and set out some queries and concerns about that.
Senator Crowe welcomed the housing measures but is also looking for a debate on planning permission refusals by An Bord Pleanála with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien.
Senator Black has moved an amendment to the Order of Business, "That No. 21 be taken before No. 1." Is that agreed? Agreed.
Order of Business, as amended, agreed to.