Written Answers Nos. 560 - 581
560. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if a Brexit sub-committee has been established in her Department; if so, when the sub-committee was convened; the number of times the sub-committee has met; the number of members on the sub-committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36207/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn the day of the EU UK Referendum result, I established a Coordination Group on the response to the EU UK Referendum within my Department. The members of the Group comprise the Chief Executive Officers of IDA and Enterprise Ireland and relevant senior enterprise, single market, and trade officials from my Department. The Group has met regularly since 24th June. I chair this Group, and I will continue to do so as part of my Department’s ongoing Brexit response.
The work of this Group will feed into the Cabinet Committee on Brexit which is chaired by an Taoiseach and will also be supplemented by the Senior Officials Group on Brexit, which is being established in my Department and which will monitor developments across the Department on a regular basis at official level. In addition my Department has established a dedicated Brexit Unit to lead on matters consequent to the Referendum.
561. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the details of vacant sites, properties and land owned by her Department or by bodies and agencies under the aegis of her Department, in the Dublin city council area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36224/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI thank all Deputies for their contributions. It was a good proposal on the part of Deputy Joan Burton and I am glad to be able to respond to it. We had further consultations with the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, which had some observations on the extending of eligibility to local authority tenants as against private tenants. It said local authority tenants may be more inclined than private tenants to carry out home improvements because they hold a lifetime tenancy. Also, the local authority tenants might be inclined to carry out home improvements as they generally have an option to purchase the home at a reduced price at some point in the future. It is interesting that the life tenancy would be an incentive to tenants to carry out works. It is obvious, but worth remarking on.
Deputy Pearse Doherty made the point about some people not having a taxable income. This tax relief can be carried forward as a credit. If the person has a taxable income at some point in the future, it can be used as a credit against that taxable income. If a person were to go back to work after a period of unemployment, it might be helpful.
Deputy Doherty is correct about the uptake being different from county to county. The large urban areas around Dublin and Cork have the highest levels of uptake, followed by counties such as Wicklow and Kildare. The national average is one per 118 people availing of the home renovation incentive. The Deputy's county of Donegal has the lowest uptake, with one in 573 availing of the scheme. However, if we look at the amount of money spent under the scheme, Donegal has the highest average of €27,000 per valid application, which is close to the maximum allowable qualifying expenditure of €30,000.
A number of issues have been raised which are really matters for local authorities and so on. Members can take those up with the relevant Minister.
562. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of the succeed in Ireland contract; when she expects a decision to be made on it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36274/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Succeed-in-Ireland initiative has been operated by Connect Ireland (CI) on the basis of a contract that was agreed with IDA Ireland on 27 March 2012. This contract was due to expire to 26 March 2016. However, in advance of that date, CI and the IDA agreed to extend the term of the contact for a maximum period of one year. The purpose of that extension was to facilitate both parties in effecting an orderly wind down of the original agreement, which is now set to conclude on 27 March 2017.
563. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 644 of 11 October 2016, her views on correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35750/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe correspondence supplied relates to a situation where a childcare provider operating the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme will have been paid in respect of seventeen weeks childcare provision prior to Christmas 2016. The next ECCE payment is due to be received by providers by December 9th, at which point services will have been paid for up to twenty weeks of provision. For the 2016-17 programme year, ECCE providers have been afforded the ability to enter their own 'non-payment weeks' for the first time - these weeks are intended to correspond to the closure of services for Christmas, mid-term, etc, and this means that the actual number of weeks' payment received will differ from service to service.
Notwithstanding the above, I appreciate that services may face difficulty in budgeting over the Christmas period, and I am currently considering an amendment to the payment calendar in this regard.
564. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes will publish an interim report; the cost to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35755/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was established in February 2015 (S.I. No. 57 of 2015). The terms of reference require the Commission to submit three reports, namely an academic social history report; a confidential committee report on witness hearings, and the final report of the investigation into the 14 named Mother and Baby Homes and a representative sample of County Homes.
An interim report from the Commission was published on the 27th July 2016. This first Interim Report focused exclusively on the Commission's request for an extended time frame for the completion of the reports of the confidential committee and social history modules. The Government agreed to the requested extension and all three reports will now be completed by February 2018. This remains within the three year timeframe provided for this statutory investigation. Importantly, the extension of time will serve to accommodate the large number of witnesses coming forward and to ensure that new information being discovered can be fully analysed to give a complete understanding of the social history involved.
In granting the extension the Government also asked the Commission to separately report on any additional matters outside of its scope which it considers may warrant further investigation in the public interest as part of its work. A second interim report was submitted by the Commission on the 16th September 2016 in response to this request. Since receiving this report I have met with the Commission to discuss the report and the general progress being made with the investigation. Given the broad scope of the Commission's work, a number of issues in the report extend beyond the remit of my Department. For this reason, it has been necessary to consult with my Cabinet colleagues and the Attorney General on these matters. I have also sought additional information from the Commission to assist in these deliberations. My intention is to publish the report in conjunction with Government's response to the Commission's findings. I hope to conclude this process as quickly as possible and I will ensure the publication arrangements are notified directly to the various advocacy groups representing former residents and their families.
The costs associated with the Commission are met from my Department's Vote. Since its establishment the Commission has directly incurred costs totalling €3.015m (to end of October 2016). This expenditure consists of €1.630m in pay; €1.117m for operational costs (including accommodation), and €0.268m for other costs related to the investigation. In addition, my Department has also incurred costs to date of approximately €0.386m in supporting the establishment and operation of the Commission.
565. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans regarding medical information for those adopted and fostered, including those whose adoption was forced by religious institutions, in order for them to have access to clinical information pertaining to them and their known family for medical purposes. [35770/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Adoption (Information ) and Tracing Bill 2016 was submitted to Government this week, seeking approval to publish the Bill. This Bill provides for adopted persons to access medical information, that is in relation to an adopted person his or her medical history, and the medical history of his or her birth parent, where that history is, or is likely to be, of relevance to the maintenance or management of the physical or mental health of the person or of a relative of the person. The Child and Family Agency will provide adopted persons and their relatives with medical information held on an adoption record and will facilitate tracing of and contact with, a birth parent to seek further medical information where requested by the adopted person.
The National Standards for Foster Care include a standard to ensure that the health and developmental needs of children and young people in foster care are assessed and met. They are given information, guidance and support to make appropriate choices in relation to their health and development. Case records for children and young people in foster care contain clear and complete records of all health and development information from birth. Efforts made to obtain any missing information are recorded on case files.
566. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when the review of practices at Oberstown detention centre will be completed; if the review will be published before the end of 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35861/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the review of operations and best practice of the Oberstown Children Detention Campus (Oberstown) announced on the 19th September 2016 was commissioned by the Board of Management of Oberstown, I am referring the matter to the Board for direct response to you.
567. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of applications that have been refused for injury warrants under the superannuation Acts since 1995 within her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35980/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Injury Warrants are a series of statutory instruments, made under the Superannuation Act 1887, which provide benefits to or in respect of officers, who, through no fault of their own, are killed or injured while performing their duties. These benefits comprise (a) annual allowances, (b) gratuities, (c) loss of earnings, allowances and (d) refunds of certain expenses. All claims for any of these benefits must be submitted to the Department of Finance for consideration.
Since its establishment in June 2011, my Department has received no applications for Injury Warrants.
568. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs when it is anticipated that a children and young persons' residential care facility (details supplied) shall fully reopen for service users; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36138/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAt the end of June 2016, there were 209 children in statutory care of Tusla in Donegal with over 96% in foster care, broken down by 79% in general foster care and 17% in relative foster care. Less than 2% of children were in general residential care with the remainder in other placements determined by their care plan. This compares very favourably with the national figure of just over 93% of children in care in foster care.
Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has confirmed that the purpose and function of the centre referred to remains under consideration while the premises is being upgraded. The local placement needs, as determined by social work services in the area, will be taken into account when deciding on the future of the centre.
569. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of staff allocated to the HSE and health board's separated children team in each of the years 2000 to 2014. [36180/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs Tusla, the Child and Family Agency was set up in 2014 it can provide the number of staff allocated to its Unaccompanied Minors Seeking Asylum teams since establishment which is as follows:-
|
Year |
Number of Staff |
|
December 2014 |
WTE 12.33 |
|
December 2015 |
WTE 12.79 |
|
September 2016 |
WTE 12.82 |
Tusla has further advised that it does not hold staffing details for Unaccompanied Minors Seeking Asylum services prior to 2014 as these services were previously funded by the Health Service Executive.
570. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if a Brexit sub-committee has been established in her Department; if so, when the sub-committee was convened; the number of times the sub-committee has met; the number of members on the sub-committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36199/16]
Amharc ar fhreagra
571. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the details of vacant sites, properties and land owned by her Department or by bodies and agencies under the aegis of her Department, in the Dublin city council area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36216/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Children and Youth Affairs does not own any vacant State property or land, including car parks not in use.
I can confirm that the only known sole occupancy property currently owned by Tusla, and which is vacant, is located at 69 Amiens Street, Dublin 1 in the Dublin City Council area and has been vacant for two years. Tusla is endeavouring to secure funding for a change of use from residential to office accommodation in order to meet future office accommodation requirements for the Agency.
572. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if there is anticipated to be an underspend in her department in 2016; if so, if she will consider the needs of the family resource centres and their wide range of programmes directed at children and families, as an appropriate area to absorb any surplus funding that may not yet be utilised or likely to be utilised before the end of 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36251/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI thank the Minister for responding. I could not quite catch everything he said but, as I understand it, he is suggesting that there be a broad impact assessment report that would be made available to the Dáil at the end of September.
573. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if additional funding will be allocated to Tusla in view of the anticipated increase in numbers of refugee children arriving here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36263/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have asked Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, to review its ability to provide safety, protection and hope to greater numbers of unaccompanied children, and this includes the assessment of the resources that may be needed. Any decisions regarding resources will be made in this context.
574. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will publish figures provided from Tusla of adults and children in domestic violence refuges on a monthly basis to allow the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government to include these figures in their monthly homeless reports. [36272/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn 2016, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has allocated funding of €20.6m for a network of some 60 organisations providing services to victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in Ireland. Almost €12.0m is provided for emergency refuge and support services, a further €4.6m is provided for other community based domestic violence support services and €4.0m is provided for rape crisis centres.
In 2016, Tusla is providing funding for 147 family units of emergency refuge spaces and eight family units of emergency non-refuge spaces. This includes eight additional family units of accommodation; six additional family units of emergency accommodation in Dublin and Kildare and two emergency safe housing units in Sligo which were funded by Tusla in 2016. On foot of Budget 2017, Tusla will be increasing its investment nationally on domestic violence services. The level of increase will be set out in Tusla's 2017 Business Plan, which will be submitted to me for consideration.
In 2016, Tusla established a project to address data and information needs for domestic, sexual and gender based violence services as a first step to achieving a comprehensive dataset across domestic, sexual and gender-based violence services and to enable it to meet its reporting obligations nationally. Tusla will continue to work with service provider organisations to achieve an enhanced dataset in 2017. Data collected will be published and shared with all relevant stakeholders. Tusla will also engage with stakeholders to progress data developments that are in the interest of service user needs.
My priority, and that of Tusla's, is to ensure that the needs of women and children fleeing domestic violence are being met in the most effective way possible. I am committed to continuing support for these vital services.
575. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence further to Parliamentary Question No. 538 of 8 November 2016, the powers or responsibilities he has not delegated to the Minister of State in his Department, in tabular form. [35799/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraPursuant to the Defence (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 314 of 2016), statutory responsibility for a wide range of Defence matters as provided for in enactments relating to the Department of Defence has been delegated to me. As well as specifying the powers that have been delegated, the Order also specifies the Ministerial powers and responsibilities arising under these enactments that have not been delegated. These are as follows:
- the power conferred under the enactments specified in the Order to prosecute an offence;
- powers arising under section 11, section 17, section 87 and section 88 of the Defence Act 1954.
576. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the status of a pension in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35912/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince October 2015, the processing and payment of monthly Defence Forces pensions on behalf of the Department of Defence is carried out by the Payroll Shared Services Centre (PSSC) operated by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
The person concerned is in receipt of a Defence Forces occupational pension, which is liable to income tax and the universal social charge on the same basis as applies generally. These are statutory deductions based on specific instructions issued to the PSSC by the Revenue Commissioners. The relevant PAYE and USC details are shown on his pension payslip. In addition, he is also in receipt of a military disability pension, which is exempt from income tax under taxation legislation.
If the person concerned has any queries regarding the deduction of income tax including the reason his tax credits were reduced recently, he is advised to contact his local Revenue office directly, the address of which is shown on his Tax Credit Certificate or on any correspondence received from Revenue.
577. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if he will report on the cancellation of the Defence Forces deceased members remembrance ceremony due to take place on 6 November 2016; the reason for this cancellation; if this will be a standing annual event; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35955/16]
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578. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the number of applications that have been refused for injury warrants under the superannuation Acts since 1995 within his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35982/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere has been no application for injury warrants under the Superannuation Acts in my Department in the period since 1995.
579. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if a Brexit sub-committee has been established in his Department; if so, when the sub-committee was convened; the number of times the sub-committee has met; the number of members on the sub-committee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36201/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe outcome of the vote of 23 June 2016 in the UK will have implications across all aspects of the business of the European Union.
While the vote does not give rise to fundamental strategic issues for Defence Forces operations or for Ireland’s continuing engagement within the EU in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), it is expected that Brexit will have an impact on future developments in the Defence sphere.
The structures put in place in the Department of Defence to address the potential challenges arising from Brexit include the assignment of responsibility to a senior official in relation to Brexit related matters. The senior official is leading the Department’s input to deliberations within the framework established across Government and is supported in his role by a number of branches in the Department. In addition, the Management Board is acting as a clearing house for Brexit and maintains oversight on an ongoing basis.
The Deputy will appreciate that the UK has not yet left the EU and withdrawal negotiations cannot begin until Article 50 has been triggered by the UK. Negotiations will probably take at least two years to complete and all potential consequences of the vote will remain the subject of ongoing consideration by my Department.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has adopted a contingency framework to deal with all issues arising in respect of the UK vote to leave the EU. Accordingly, any issues arising, including those within the Defence area, whether bilateral, or in respect of developments in CSDP, or regarding our wider international multilateral defence engagements, will be also addressed within that framework.
580. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence the details of vacant sites, properties and land owned by his Department or by bodies and agencies under the aegis of his Department, in the Dublin city council area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36218/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that the only vacant accommodation owned by the Department of Defence in the Dublin city council area are three vacant apartments, in a small development of former married quarters, located outside of Cathal Brugha Barracks in Rathmines. It is the Department’s policy to sell off vacant married quarters which are located outside of Barracks. However, in the case of these three apartments it has not been possible to proceed with the sale pending resolution of some outstanding legal issues.
581. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Naval Service ship, LE Aisling is stood down; if so, if he has determined a future plan for the ship to be retained in the ownership of the State; if it is intended to move the vessel to another port or whether the ship will be sold, leased or gifted to a third party or State; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that maintenance costs may be increasing due to depreciation. [36276/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI concur with the comments of previous speakers on the epidemic of suicide, but I would like to refer to another epidemic in our society, that of gender-based violence. This Friday women around the world are, for the first time, being asked to go on strike or wear black as part of an international day of action against violence perpetrated against women. One in three women in the world will in her lifetime have experienced being beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused. Safe Ireland estimates that one in four Irish women has experienced physical and sexual violence by a male partner or non-partner since the age of 15 years. One in three has experienced psychological violence, which can also be extremely difficult. At what is meant to be a special time in a woman's life, the Rotunda Hospital estimates that one in eight pregnant women experiences violence. If 25% of all violent crimes involved a man assaulting his wife or a partner or if this was gangland crime, it would be shouted from the rooftops and there would be screaming headlines, but this issue is barely spoken about in schools or workplaces. How much of a priority is it for the Government? How much does it care about the issue of domestic violence and violence against women? Based on the evidence, it does not rate very highly.
The question is often asked, "Why does she stay?" What can a woman expect if she tries to escape a violent relationship in Enda Kenny's Ireland? First, she may not be lucky enough to even get through on the telephone to one of the helplines because the Government has systematically cut funding for organisations such as Women's Aid. If she seeks refuge, she will probably become one of 6,000, the number of women who were turned away from refuges last year, amounting to 16 every day. Does the Taoiseach know what happens to them? That is a jump of 1,000 on the figure for the previous year, but the Minister responsible for housing is only promising to provide eight refuge spaces next year. If a woman needs to move on from a refuge, there is no housing available because of the housing crisis that has been allowed to fester. The domestic violence charity Sonas told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing and Homelessness that many women were staying in the home to be abused rather than risk homelessness. If a woman tries to obtain a safety order, she will hit a wall as the waiting time for a hearing at Dolphin House is 20 weeks and there are no emergency barring orders granted when a court is not in session. The Government has increased free legal aid fees from €50 to €130 since 2013 alone.
In a "Prime Time" special last night we saw the level of violence against women. Male violence is a product of centuries of patriarchal culture and I am not asking the Taoiseach to solve it in one day. Will he specifically agree to increase the number of refuge spaces to the European norm of one per 10,000 people? Will he agree to provide rent allowance for any woman fleeing domestic violence? Will he stop the cuts for the rape crisis centres, Women's Aid and other services and instead invest properly in them? Will he also agree to the legislative changes we need? Will he drop the fees for any woman who is seeking a protection order?
