I thank the Cathaoirleach. I also thank the Members who contributed to the Order of Business.
Senator O'Loughlin welcomed the fact that Diageo will be able to move ahead with its investment into its plant in County Kildare. This will be worth €200 million and will create 1,000 jobs, now that the single objector has withdrawn their objection. I wish the company and County Kildare well. It is a fantastic investment into the area.
The Senator also spoke about the memorial ceremony held by the St. Conleth's branch of ONE that she attended last Sunday. It is probably the largest branch of that organisation in the country and I wish it well. It provides a valuable service to ex-service personnel in the area and further afield.
Senator O'Loughlin also referred to St. John's Convent in Rathangan. The latter will no longer be used as a convent but will provide accommodation for people over 55 and for those with disabilities. Much misinformation, however, is being distributed in the area by those who seek to disrupt. The Senator wished to make this point very clear.
Senator O'Doherty spoke about the access-to-cash issue and the moves at EU Commission and European Parliament levels to digitalise payments. She made an important point that many members of our society, especially the older generation, still rely very much on cash.
The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, announced the general scheme of the access to cash Bill in January and I understand it is undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny. We hope to get that law on the Statute Book soon. It will provide that businesses will have to accept cash as legal tender and that pillar banks will have to provide ATM access within a particular distance, which will be set down by the Bill. We look forward to that legislation coming into effect.
Senator Keogan raised an important issue around child protection and safety, which the Senator often raises in the House, and the Policing Authority’s report on policing performance. It is good to see that there have been improvements, but there is still a long way to go. Many children have been lost within and outside the system and vulnerable children are being exploited for devious purposes, but it is good to finally see movement in the right direction on tackling this scourge on our society.
Senator Moynihan discussed the childcare crisis. There have been considerable improvements in access to childcare and the reduction of fees during this Government’s term. Many parents, myself included, have seen a reduction of approximately 50% in their childcare fees. A great amount of work has been done on the issue of parents’ costs, but I acknowledge that providers, many of whom have seen their fees frozen since 2017 or even earlier, are struggling. There are few things today that you will pay a 2017 price for. Running costs and overheads have increased. The upcoming budget will be an opportunity for the Government to do something about childcare providers. They want to pay their staff well. One of the Government’s main focuses has been to increase access to places, reduce fees for parents and improve pay and conditions for childcare workers. While that last has been done, there is still more to do in that space.
In discussing childcare places, we also need to have a conversation around facilitating parents to be at home with their children. Many mothers do not want to return to work when their babies are just six months old, but they have to out of financial and economic necessity. This is an issue we need to consider. The same applies to fathers. There is work to be done on increasing maternity leave to one year and on increasing paternity leave for fathers and partners. We should aspire and endeavour to provide to parents the option of staying at home with their children, particularly in that first year. This would alleviate pressure. One of the matters providers raise with me is that many of them have had to close their baby rooms because the staff-to-child ratio is so small and the running costs are so high. Places for babies are the most difficult to get, but it would take some pressure off the system if parents had the option to stay at home. Many do not but would like to.
Senator Mark Daly extended his congratulations to Mr. Tim Kennedy on becoming a Congressman. Senator Daly also pointed out that the legacy legislation was taking effect today. He reiterated his support for the Irish Government’s challenge to the legislation and reminded us of the letter that was signed by all parties on the island in opposition to the law.
Senator Maria Byrne discussed University Hospital Limerick, which she has done nearly every week for the past year. She has always kept the issue at the top of the agenda. She acknowledged that a fresh team was now in place. There are ongoing challenges. There is an acknowledgement that there has been significant investment in University Hospital Limerick in terms of increased bed capacity and staffing and further funding, but there is clearly still a way to go. The Senator put it out there that the Barringtons hospital was up for sale and suggested that, given that it is already laid out as a hospital, the HSE should consider purchasing the building to facilitate or complement the area’s other health services.
Senator Boyhan reiterated his support for healthcare workers as well as the trade unions and the umbrella body ICTU that were supporting them. He asked for the pay and numbers strategy to be published without delay and for a debate on same. We will try to arrange that debate for him.
The Senator also discussed the June vote on the mayor of Limerick. It is the first time there will be a directly elected mayor in the country and it is an important step forward in local government. I wish all of the candidates well. It will be the first time any of them will have contested an election like this. It will be challenging. We will see the outcome in a number of weeks.
Senator Malcolm Byrne proposed an amendment to the Order of Business, seconded by Senator Casey, to the effect that No. 8 – First Stage of the Protection of Retail Workers Bill 2024 – be taken before No. 1. I am happy to accept that proposal. We will schedule that Bill when the Senator is ready to move.
I concur with the Senator’s remarks on Lyric FM. I wish the station a happy birthday on its 25th anniversary. I had to smile when the Senator said Lyric FM was a welcome respite from the other stations that we tend to listen to every day. I certainly listened to it often during the period of the eighth amendment referendum, as I found listening to the other radio stations intolerable. Even the tone in which the news is read out is softer and more calming. At times, it is just a nicer way to start the day. It is a fantastic and important station and part of the cultural offering from RTÉ. Birthday wishes were also extended to it by Senator McDowell and the Cathaoirleach. I hope those at the station enjoy the day.
Senator Joe O’Reilly welcomed the extension of the children’s allowance in respect of 18-year-olds still in full-time education.
Senator Craughwell placed some figures on the record as regards overseas development aid and the levels of defence spending in the countries mentioned. I take his point. It is important that we continue providing funding for overseas development aid. As a country, we are proud of that. When it comes to funding our own Defence Forces, though, we are not at the races. It is accepted that we will never be a big military power, but there has been a level of attrition from the Defence Forces over the past two decades, especially the past ten years. This has included the loss of experienced personnel at the highest levels, some of whom are nearly irreplaceable. We cannot pluck those skills out of the private sector. They have to be grown internally, so it takes a long time to replace experienced people at the various ranks. The Government has committed to proceed to level of ambition 2 and increase defence spending. The debate on defence in this country is maturing, if I can put it that way. There is more of an openness to discussing how we defend the State because people now realise this involves more than just boots on the ground, but also cyber. Our geography is no longer our protection. People know we are here; we are not invisible out in the Atlantic. There is an acceptance that we need to do more. The Irish public are willing to see us co-operate and collaborate more with our European partners on appropriate projects. I suspect this will be an ongoing debate, and I expect there will be more debate in the coming weeks on some of these issues. At least, I certainly hope so, given that it is a European issue as well. Sometimes, there is a lack of awareness of just how vulnerable the State is. Senator Craughwell mentioned the Naval Service and our coastline in particular. Having just one ship at sea at times offers virtually zero protection of our sea border, which leaves us vulnerable in many ways. We will have this debate again.
I take on board the Senator’s point about reviews of overseas development aid and NGO funding. We should never be afraid to review them and see how they are working, if they are still working and whether we need to make changes. It is public money and we need to be sure we are spending it properly. I would have no issue with such reviews.
Senator Casey spoke about the low uptake in the increased cost of business grant. He hit the nail on the head. Businesses have told me that they do not want to engage with their local authorities because they may be behind on their rate payments and they first have to pay those to get money back. The grant is a good sum of money and the intention was to help businesses with increased costs. Uptake has varied across counties. The rate in some has been in the 30% to 40% range while others hit the 50% or 60% mark. We had hoped that the deadline would be extended to try to get the money out. Some 130,000 businesses are eligible, but the last time I checked, 35,000 or 40,000 had applied. The number was quite low. I agree with the Senator on the commercial rates system. When we consider the levels of commercial vacancy in some towns across the country and how particular businesses are competing with online retailers that have smaller overheads, we need to reimagine the costs. We would rather those vacant premises be filled, but commercial rates are a significant deterrent to setting up a physical business. The system needs an overhaul. In fairness to local authorities, commercial rates are such a large part of how they run the show and keep the lights on, they cannot afford to reduce them too much. Otherwise, they will not be able to pay their own bills. There is a job of work to be done in terms of local government funding.
Senator Ahearn raised the issue of the N24 Limerick-Waterford road. I support his call for funding to be made available for that project. There was an agreement between three parties to advance road projects across the country. Those projects should be delivered and funded as agreed by the three coalition parties four years ago. I hope that, given the scale of the project, €2.5 million is a small request to continue the design work and get the project to planning. That money should be delivered.
Senator McDowell discussed the EU migration pact and the joint Oireachtas committee’s consideration. Extra time was provided to the committee.
That was the wise decision to make. I am glad that Members have more time to discuss it and we will have a more full debate in this House when it comes back in.
On a number of occasions I have requested a debate on immigration with the relevant Minister but I have not been given a date; the Senator's request slightly differs as it is on the future sustainability of long-term migration for various reasons. Whether it is fleeing conflict, climate, economic desperation or whatever I do think we need to have a conversation about it. I will lodge a request with both Ministers, as the Senator mentioned, and await a response. I think it is a different conversation from what we are currently having. We do need to think medium and long term about the issue because it is a challenge that is here to stay. In the past two years we have managed a huge number of people. While a lot of things have been done well there is certainly a feeling that we could have done better and a feeling that the horse having bolted before we closed the gate. It is a humanitarian response and people want us to look after anyone who is in need, which has always been the point made by all voices. However, the issue must be managed to the satisfaction of our citizens. Also, citizens need to feel the Government is in control as we move from the emergency phase to a more medium and long-term managed way for doing this. Honesty across the board is needed as to how difficult it is to deal with this challenge, and it is not just in this country but in lots of countries. I will request the debate and keep the House updated in terms of getting a date for that.
