Joan Burton
Ceist:6. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet committee B, social policy and public services, will next meet. [13573/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 17 April 2018
Ceisteanna (6, 7, 8, 9)
Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:7. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet committee B, social policy and public services, last met; and when it is scheduled to meet again. [15859/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:8. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet committee B, social policy and public services, will next meet. [16371/18]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Brendan Howlin
Ceist:9. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet committee B, social policy and public services, last met; and when it will next meet. [16462/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (15 píosaí cainte)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 9 together.
Cabinet committee B last met on 26 March and while the date of its next meeting has not yet been scheduled, it is likely to meet next month. The committee covers the areas of social policy and public service reform, including education, children, social inclusion, Irish, arts and culture, and continued improvements to and reform of public services.
Through the work of Cabinet committee B, the Government is keen to ensure policies and services not only protect the most vulnerable in society but also provide opportunities equally for all citizens to learn, work and prosper, irrespective of gender, race or social status.
The Cabinet committee aims to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the delivery of commitments in A Programme for a Partnership Government and provide the opportunity to shape proposals on issues such as equality, disability and disadvantage, which require input from multiple Departments.
Recent measures advanced include ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability, which will come into effect on Thursday; gender equality measures; and implementation of structures and funding to support the North East Inner City Initiative, which seeks to bring a transformational change to an area that has struggled with deprivation for many generations.
Budget 2018 measures included an increase of €5 across all welfare and pension payments. Working family payment thresholds increased by €10 per week for low-income working families, and the national minimum wage was increased to €9.95 per hour.
A social impact assessment of budget 2018 conducted by the ESRI confirmed that these measures are effective in ensuring everyone is benefiting from the recovery. It also finds a similar progressive pattern in budget 2017 measures, with the biggest gains going to those on the lowest incomes.
There is obviously a broad array of questions that I could ask. I will just focus on the issue of pensions reform because I know the Government published a roadmap on it recently. The Oireachtas has been waiting since last year for Government amendments to the Social Welfare, Pensions and Civil Registration Bill to deal with issues that affect defined-benefit pension schemes, in particular. The Taoiseach will be aware that there are ongoing and growing numbers of disputes over pensions provision. He will know the controversy over the CIÉ pension scheme. There is a certain irony in that the staff of Irish Life, the largest pensions provider in the State, went on strike last week because their own defined-benefit scheme is to be suspended as and from June. When will the legislative provisions to deal with these matters be advanced?
The Bill is in limbo since last year. Will the budget include provisions for auto-enrolment in pension schemes in order that robust provision can be made for people's pensions into the future? The Taoiseach will recall that we, in government, substantially changed the public pension scheme to make it affordable into the future. We need to have general provision throughout the economy for pensions into the future. Will there be a State contribution alongside contributions by employers and employees to ensure robust payments are set aside to provide properly for ageing citizens?
The Taoiseach stated that the aim of the committee is to protect the most vulnerable. I would like to return to the issue of housing and homelessness, which was raised in the previous batch of questions, because I think we can agree that those without a roof over their heads - individuals and families in homelessness - are among the most vulnerable. I understand the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government is bringing forward a new set of proposals. He believes they will tackle issues for tenants in the private rented sector and I hope he is right. The proposals include a rent register and an increase in the minimum notice period. We will support anything that is credible, progressive and has a prospect of working. We have been saying for a long time that tougher sanctions are needed for landlords using illegal notices to quit and for breaches of the rent pressure zone, RPZ, legislation. We welcome the fact that the proposed legislation will make it a criminal offence for landlords to increase rents in RPZs above the 4% cap, but this must also apply to letting agents, online rental platforms and to student accommodation. We have to make sure that new sanctions are enforced.
I would like to raise one glaring omission from the legislation, which is the Focus Ireland amendment. This would prevent buy-to-let landlords who benefited from tax breaks from seeking vacant possession if they seek to sell their property. We need to restrict the criteria for issuing notices to quit. Landlords can use them when a family member needs the property. This clause should be removed from the Residential Tenancies Acts. The proposed Bill is set to be first substantive piece brought forward by the Minister since assuming office almost a year ago. When will it be published? Will the Taoiseach confirm that it will include some of the measures I have described? Most important, contrary to his position in 2016 when Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil voted down the sensible and proportionate Focus Ireland amendment, will he ensure that the amendment is inserted in the legislation because it is necessary and it would be a tiny step in the right direction?
The Taoiseach did not answer my final question about the unaffordability of rent and accommodation and, therefore, I will try again. DCU students were protesting outside Leinster House earlier. They are being asked to swallow a 30% rent increase, bringing their rent up to almost €9,000 annually. This is because student accommodation was not covered by the Government's inadequate rent cap legislation. Will the Taoiseach do something for the DCU students and other students who will be unable to continue their studies if they are asked to swallow these rent increases? Does he accept that a 4% rent cap is ineffective? Even the imposition of criminal sanction in the legislation mooted earlier by the Minister would be a futile, half-baked exercise in closing the door after the horse has bolted because the problem is rents are unaffordable. Will the Taoiseach please address this point? There is no point limiting average rents of between €1,800 and €2,000 in Dublin to a 4% annual increase. Rents need to be reduced to affordable levels. These average rents equate to 70% of the income of the average worker. That is not sustainable or payable. I mentioned the young student nurse who wrote an open letter to the Minister for Health about how nurses are going home at the end of the week in tears because they only have between €4 and €6 left in their pocket after they have paid their rent. I ask in all sincerity what the Taoiseach will do about that. If all the Government is promising is to limit unaffordable rents to 4% annual increase, that is a complete waste of time.
I have just been thumbing through an article by Tony Connelly of RTÉ regarding our economic growth figures. Apple iPhone exports account for 25% of our growth according to an IMF estimate. Earlier I asked the Taoiseach about quantitative easing and low interest rates. There is a great deal to be unearthed yet from our economic data in the context of a discussion on the economy. With regard to social policy and public services, the public, unfortunately, does not have confidence in a range of public services, with housing and health being the top two. The rental issue is, as has just been articulated, putting enormous pressure on people on a number of fronts such as young people who move to cities for work and so on. A significant proportion of their income goes on rent and they are left with little disposable income. The lack of security of tenure for many families has led to the homelessness crisis and continues to compound that. Fundamentally, there is a lack of supply. The Department of Finance conducted an analysis of the lack of action two years ago in the context of incentivising supply. That is needed. The rental market is contracting in some regards despite all the talk. The number of units available now is lower than two or three years ago and, therefore, we have a critical issue on the supply side that needs to be dealt with.
With regard to the health sector, we need honest budgeting and transparency at the core of what it will take to make sure people do not have to wait inordinate times to access basic treatment, surgery and consultants. The figures, unfortunately, have not improved by any significant yardstick.
The Taoiseach can only take three minutes to respond to these questions because we are running out of time.
I will cover as many as I can. I will begin with Deputy Howlin's questions on the roadmap to pensions reform that has been agreed and published by Government. I am committed to this. I started this work as Minister for Social Protection and I am keen to drive it through to completion if I have the opportunity to continue in my current office. We have run into some difficulty getting it right when it comes to further protections for defined benefit, DB, schemes. We still intend to have the legislation processed before the summer recess but we want to protect members and former members of DB schemes in such a way that this does not put companies out of business. Legislation that would put the entire deficit on the shoulders of the employer could put companies out of business in many cases and, as a consequence, cause people to lose their jobs and their pensions. In other cases, and this would apply to semi-State companies, in particular, while it might not put a company out of business, the legislation would make the company's debt so high that it would be unable to invest anymore. That would have a serious impact on the public good because large State-owned enterprises need to be able to borrow to invest in infrastructure and if they cannot do so because the pension scheme deficit has to be put on their balance sheet, that would create huge problems for society. Whatever we do, we have to get it right. We are not quite in the position that we have that right but we are still working on it. We anticipate having a social welfare and pensions Bill enacted before the summer recess.
Auto-enrolment will commence in 2021 and it will be very much targeted at the private sector.
Nearly everyone in the public sector has a pension, a reasonably good pension in most cases, and pays into the fund. Two thirds of those in the private sector have no pension provision, other than the State pension. That is an enormous inequality with which we need to deal. We are setting the date at 2021 because we need time to prepare. First, we need to put the legislation and systems in place. We also want to give employers, employees and their unions notice that this will happen. If employers or employees are required to pay into a pension scheme fund, that will impact on business plans and wage demands. We want to give people good notice. As part of our renewed and deepened engagement with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, and IBEC, we are working very closely with them on these proposals because we want to do it on a tripartite basis, with the Government working with employers and unions to get it right. It will not work without support from IBEC and ICTU. We are very keen to have them on board.
It is intended that there will be a State contribution roughly similar to what is available under the current tax relief system. Roughly one third of whatever contribution an individual makes would be the State's contribution. We intend to publish a straw man proposal - a rough outline - in June as to how this will work and allow people to comment on it. Giving people in the private sector decent pensions is one of the really big changes we could make. Two thirds of them have no pension provision beyond the State pension. If we can do this, we will have done a good service for them when they retire. It will not make a huge difference for those who are now in their 50s or 60s, but it will make a huge difference for persons who are now in their 20s, 30s and 40s. It is a big long-term change and reform with which I want the Government to be associated.
I am sorry, but we will have to proceed to Question No. 10.
There is still no answer to the question on housing, despite it being asked twice. There were three minutes spent on one issue. Could it be spread out a little?
Can we take two minutes from the next slot?
I am easy. Do Members want to take it? There are just nine minutes remaining.
There are only nine minutes remaining.
I can try to answer the rest of the questions.
We can move on to the next ones.
Can we, please, have the answers to the next questions?