This morning there was a joint operation to remove more than 100 tents that were pitched alongside the Grand Canal in Dublin. There were 168 people moved to alternative accommodation. We welcome this because everybody can agree it was not sustainable for those living in the tents or for the communities in the area. This cannot be allowed happen again. It is abundantly clear that the Government is limping from crisis to crisis. It is also clear that it has no coherent strategy or thought-out plan to deal with this situation. Last week, the Taoiseach said he would not allow makeshift shanty towns to develop in Dublin or any other cities or towns. Those are his words, not mine. Will the Tánaiste assure the Dáil that we will not be back here next week or next month facing a similar situation, with another 100 tents erected down by the canal or anywhere else across the city?
Ceisteanna Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
I agree that is not sustainable for tents to be on the canal or anywhere in the public realm. It is not good for migrants and asylum seekers or for residents of the general areas involved. It is not acceptable, and there is a plan to deal resolutely with tents wherever they are pitched. I also make the point that there is a wider plan, first, in dealing with the increase in people seeking asylum here. There has undoubtedly been a substantial increase in line with the rest of Europe, and in line with worsening conditions as a result of war and famine overseas. Applications are now being assessed in record time. The number of applicants from safe countries has fallen by 50%. There is a new system to respond quickly to any upsurge from one country. There is an increase of almost 100% in international protection staff since 2022.
Will we be back here next week?
I hope the Tánaiste had the opportunity last weekend to read Erica Tierney's article in The Irish Times. Ms Tierney wrote about her experience of being pregnant while diagnosed with breast cancer. She finished her treatment on 30 April 2020, and one week later was informed by the Department of Social Protection that her maternity leave had run out. Ms Tierney is the inspiration behind the Irish Cancer Society's Leave Our Leave campaign, which has been calling for amendments to the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004, to allow women going through a cancer diagnosis during pregnancy or postpartum to defer their maternity leave. This has cross-party support. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, said it was to have been brought in by the end of 2023. When will this legislation, which would be simple and short, be brought in? It would make a huge difference to the more than 60 women who every year are diagnosed with cancer while pregnant. If a father is diagnosed with cancer or falls ill, they can defer their paternity leave, but women who are pregnant cannot defer their maternity leave.
I pay tribute to Erica Tierney for her advocacy and her openness in discussing her personal situation. As the Deputy says, the Minister has committed to legislating on this front. My understanding is that the Department is working on that. I will revert back to the Minister and come back to the Deputy about timelines.
In response to a previous contribution, the Tánaiste said there is a plan to deal with tents that are popping up across the city. Will he tell us what that plan is? What we have seen is tents removed, fences put up and the problem moved to other streets. Less than six hours after tents were removed from the canal, they are now down in Ringsend and East Wall. This is clearly not a sustainable solution. We need to hear exactly how the Government is going to deal with this matter because fencing every single street in the city will neither work nor be practical.
That is my point. We need a firm and fair immigration policy and procedures. I outlined in earlier that we are dealing-----
What is the plan to deal with the tents?
The phrase "open border" has been tossed about the place. We never had an open border in this country because there were always procedures to govern people coming into the country.
Answer the question.
What is the plan for people who are seeking asylum?
This is not acceptable.
The Tánaiste is not answering the question.
The Deputy is not allowing me to answer.
He is not answering the question. This is the second time he has been asked.
I have told her the plan has to both be in terms of reducing and dealing fast with applications that come in from those seeking asylum. The second has already been published by Government in terms of its accommodation strategy. The third is that we do not believe it acceptable that tents should be in the public realm. This has emerged in more recent times, and we will continue to focus on it.
Hide them away.
I hope the Government has a large supply of fences, because that is its response to this.
My other point is that many-----
I am sorry, but we are out of time.
The 50th anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings will occur on 17 May. The families of the victims of the bombings are still looking for truth and justice. A film documentary opens tomorrow, which again looks at those bombings and the murders. The producer of the film "Anatomy of a Massacre" is in the Public Gallery. I met him and a relative of one of the victims. I refer to Cathy Doyle, whose sister, her husband and their two baby children, Jacqueline, 16 months and Anne Marie, four months, were murdered. That is just one terrible and tragic case relating to the slaughter that took place. There is widespread belief that there was British state collusion in that. However, the question they ask, as we approach the 50th anniversary is, will the State release the Garda files relating to this matter? I refer to the investigative files on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings which 29 Ministers for Justice have refused to release to the families.
The Government has done everything it can, and will continue to do so, to get to the truth behind these terrible events. We remember the victims, survivors and all those affected by these barbaric attacks on 17 May 1974. We will attend commemorative ceremonies on Talbot Street and in Monaghan. I recently met Sir Iain Livingstone, the officer in overall command of Operation Kenova and the lead on Operation Denton, and who has been liaising with An Garda Síochána. My understanding is that An Garda Síochána has been co-operating with Operation Denton. I am hopeful that Operation Denton, the report relating to which will be published in the coming months, will provide more answers for the families of the victims of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings and other related incidents.
My view is clear. An Garda Síochána and our security forces have to provide material to the statutory processes that are on the way, as do British Government security sources-----
Time is up please.
Not all material has been supplied to date to the Irish Government's inquiries in the past------
Time is up please
We have made this point consistently to the UK Government.
If someone else would like to come up here, sit down and call time, feel free to do so.
I apologise.
Ireland has the highest incidence of rare disease in Europe. It is one in every 17 people, including all children with cancer. One of the critical tools in securing a diagnosis, and, as a result, a possible treatment, is genetic testing. However, when the Crumlin hospital relocates to the national children's hospital the genetics and genomics laboratory will be left behind. We have now been told that the Crumlin hospital site will be redeveloped as an elective hospital. Where will our national genomics laboratory be housed?
Children's Health Ireland has produced a strategy and there is a national strategy for accelerating genetics and genomics medicine to build a strong national genetics service. It was launched in December 2022. It is important. It is key to improving the evidence base and infrastructural support in genetic testing. The HSE is currently examining national testing capacity and developing a national testing directory for genetics and genomics which will map the current genetic tests conducted across Ireland, providing a more transparent process for referrals. A sum of €2.7 million was approved and key staff were appointed in the newly established national genetics and genomics office. These appointments include a national director for genetics and genomics a bio-informatics laboratory director, two clinical genetic consultants and six genetic consultants. Budget 2024 allocated a further €1.9 million to fund additional front-line posts, laboratory expenditure and staff training. There is no fear for the service, but the Deputy asked about the physical location. I will come back to him on that.
On Saturday, 600 people marched in Clonmel begging for improved services for people with disabilities. We heard testimonies of patients whose children have no school places for September and almost have to travel to Mayo from Tipperary to get a psychological appointment. We heard stories of efforts to recruit staff to the children's disability network teams, CDNTs, which have been unsuccessful. Accommodation in Clonmel is a problem for that as well. I raised this with the Tánaiste last week and he acknowledged there was a problem. The organising committee, Action for Autism, thanks him for that and now wants him to come to see them. I handed the Tánaiste a number of letters they sent to me that detail very personal accounts of their trauma and journeys with their children. I want the Tánaiste to visit Scoil Aonghusa and Scoil Chormaic in Cashel, two wonderful schools that are bursting at the seams. They have invited the Tánaiste to come and see that for himself. Services are just not there. The Tánaiste acknowledged last week that it was not working. We need to come together to do something for these people.
I met another young mother who has a five-year old child who is non-verbal and has not met or been assessed by anyone. It is very frustrating. I ask the Tánaiste to please do something if he can.
The Deputy did raise that issue. I will talk to the HSE, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, and the Department of Education and I will ask the Minister for Education, and the Minister for Health in respect of the CDNTs, to come back to the Deputy on this. As I said earlier, we need multidisciplinary teams in schools. The progressing disability services programme has not worked. It has not been effective and quite a number of communities have been impacted negatively as a result of the withdrawal of therapists from special schools in particular over the years as a result of implementation of the progressing disability services programme. I have argued this with the HSE. My view now is that the sufficiency of recruitment has not worked in terms of some CDNTs. There will have to be change and my preference is for stronger multidisciplinary teams in special schools.
I understand the sale of alcohol Bill to reform the alcohol licensing system and extend licensing hours for bars and restaurants has been in the works for a while now. The Government initially indicated the Bill would be introduced before the summer recess. However, the Taoiseach, Deputy Harris, recently expressed scepticism about meeting the summer deadline, citing the need for careful consideration and to avoid unintended consequences. During pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill at the Joint Committee on Justice, it was advised that a health impact assessment of the legislation should be made. It has been called for by almost 80 NGOs and advocates. Will the Tánaiste clarify that the sale of alcohol Bill will not be published before the summer recess? Will the Government make a commitment to carry out a health impact assessment of the legislation, as advised, before it comes before the House?
I will revert to the Minister on the timelines for the legislation. My observations are that no one in Ireland has any difficulty in accessing alcohol. Alcohol or certainly excessive alcohol use has negative impacts. However, there are broader questions underpinning the legislation, to be fair. Many people in the House have called for reform of the licensing laws. It would be useful for more detailed proposals to emerge. I will come back to the Deputy on the Minister's position on a health impact assessment and the timeline.
I will ask about community employment, CE, schemes. A lady who is a cancer survivor took a place on a CE scheme because she could not find part-time work. She was on disability allowance before taking up the scheme and her spouse was also on disability allowance. She has now been asked to do a means test. She was very upset the other day and said to me that she would not have taken the position if she had known. If her welfare payment is reduced, she will have to leave the scheme. She is doing well and she loves the scheme. There is a barrier there. What can we do as she is doing so well and enjoys the scheme? This is a real concern for her and I believe there are others like her.
I will take that question. That should not be the case. We want to incentivise people to get onto CE schemes. We have lots of vacancies and we are particularly interested in those with disabilities because a high rate of people with disabilities are unemployed. We have taken measures under the CE schemes to try to encourage people on disability allowance to take up the scheme. I would be happy to look into the case if the Deputy sends me some details.
Under the Tánaiste's watch, homelessness has reached levels never thought imaginable. In March, almost 14,000 people, including more than 4,000 children, were in emergency accommodation. Since the Government took office, all categories of homelessness are up. Overall homelessness is up 59%, child homelessness is up 56% and pensioner homelessness is up 67%. Meanwhile, hundreds of people every single night sleep rough on our streets because they lack adequate emergency accommodation.
Last month, the Government published a so-called housing progress report update which made no mention of rising homelessness, did not contain any new proposals to stem the rise and did not make any commitment to reduce the number of people entering emergency accommodation month on month. Will the Tánaiste tell the Dáil what new initiatives the Government intends to introduce in the coming weeks and months to finally start to get a grip on this escalating homelessness crisis?
First, as the Deputy will be aware, 12,000 social homes were delivered in total last year, 2023. The provision of social housing is a very effective intervention in reducing homelessness and reducing the time people spend in emergency accommodation. The homelessness situation is now much more complex than it was five or ten years ago - the Deputy knows that despite the shaking of the head-----
Address the question.
-----regarding the composition of who becomes homeless, how people become homeless and so on. The first-----
Are there any new measures?
Yes, we have had new measures. The Deputy knows that.
Are there any new measures to deal with the current crisis?
We successfully intervened in reducing-----
Deputy Eoin Ó Broin: It is not reducing anything. It is rising.
Working with the homeless organisations-----
Are there any new measures?
----- to reduce and get access for homeless people to social housing much more quickly-----
Are there any new measures to address rising homelessness?
-----than any time in the past.
It is a simple question.
Deputy, you asked the question. Let the Tánaiste answer.
I would appreciate-----
If you would stop interrupting he might be able to answer.
I did not think he was willing to answer, in fairness.
Kindly stop interrupting, have manners please.
I am done.
Okay.
Absolutely, you are done.
First, I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for his recent visit to Kerry to announce the purchase of lands for the new national park. It is welcome. On that issue, I raise the case of Inch beach in the locality where I live. For many years, I have been advocating for the purchase of public lands to include a traffic management plan for the beach, for the sustainable expansion of car parking and for the provision of public conveniences. There was a masterplan and funding was announced for Inch in November 2021. Imagine it was that long ago, two and a half years ago.
We still have not seen the master plan. Will the Minister of State ensure the NPWS will liaise with Kerry County Council in the construction of this master plan to ensure this new element of the recently purchased lands will be included? Will we see the master plan as soon as possible to ensure the new land provision will be included in the plan as well?
I thank Deputy Griffin for his continued support for this initiative. He is correct that the purchase of Inch Strand by the NPWS on behalf of the State now forms part of the new Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, along with Derrynane, Conor Pass, Owenmore and Sceilg Mhichíl. The marine national park is a really important and wonderful initiative by the State. At the announcement, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and I were clear that we want to develop a management plan for entire national park and we are embarking on that process now. We looked at the issues while we were there a couple of weeks ago, particularly around the car parking on the strand, and we want that to form part of the management plan. In terms of forming a sustainable approach to it, nothing changes for the immediate term but it is important we engage with communities, Kerry County Council and all other stakeholders to develop a sustainable management plan for the national park. Of course, we will underpin this by new national park legislation, the heads of the Bill which we will develop later this year. Certainly, it is our intention to embark on a collaborative process to develop a new plan.
I spoke to the Tánaiste previously with regard to the need to eliminate the disparity in pay levels for employees of section 38 and section 39 organisations and those employed directly by the State such as by the HSE. People with similar qualifications and providing similar services on behalf of our State should not have such a differential in their pay. This pay gap issue needs to be resolved without further delay. In my own constituency, organisations such as Enable Ireland and the Irish Wheelchair Association have and continue to experience serious difficulties in recruiting and retaining employees who provide vital and essential services for persons with a disability or children with additional needs. Those children and adults need the appropriate supports and services now. Far too often people in need of early intervention do not, unfortunately, get access to relevant therapies in a timely manner. Long-term solutions are needed now to resolve such recruitment and retention problems and ensure services are provided for those in need in a timely manner.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue of section 38 and section 39 organisations and parity. We are close to full employment in this economy and one of the biggest challenges in the health service has been, notwithstanding funding being provided, recruiting sufficient staff in certain categories. More than 28,000 extra people have been employed in health service in past four years and that has created pressure on the agencies and on the section 39 bodies in particular. That has been compounded through pay issues although there has been some degree of resolution to that issue. There has been an acknowledgement in the current pay rounds that the agreements that have been arrived at would deal very quickly with the section 39 staff as well to improve parity. I take the Deputy's point about the longer term issue.
We are over time.
He is absolutely correct. It cannot just drag on year to year and a fundamental reappraisal is required, in my view.
I have submitted several parliamentary questions on the issue of the Loughcrew megalithic tombs, also known as the Hills of the Witch. This is a group of neolithic passage tombs near Oldcastle in County Meath. Spread over four undulating peaks the tombs date back to approximately 3000 BC. Cairn T of Loughcrew is older than the pyramids in Egypt has stood silent over the Irish landscape for millennia, keeping the secrets of our prehistoric past locked beneath its stone cairn and within its ornately carved chambers.
However, coming up to six years now since 2018, Cairn T in Loughcrew has been closed to the public and propped up with an aquajack. The closure of Cairn T, which is older than the Egyptian pyramids, has impacted local tourism in north Meath. Rabbits are currently burrowing and damaging the structure while the OPW shows very little urgency in preserving Cairn T. I request that the Government intervenes with urgency and confirms a firm date for when the restoration works on Cairn T will begin? The allocation of necessary resources and expert attention to this site must be made a priority, something not done by the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, before his promotion. Is that what the Taoiseach does with all of his failures: promote them?
That was a disingenuous comment.
I want to appreciate the number of Sinn Féin Deputies who have called me Taoiseach this morning.
You have another couple of months.
That was a disingenuous comment by Deputy Guirke. I will follow this up with the National Monuments Service, liaise with the OPW on this matter and revert to the Deputy in due course.
I want to raise the issue of summer provision for children with special educational needs. It is not an added extra but in some cases that is exactly how it is being treated. A variety of people from my own constituency have contacted me with regard to this, and I expect it mirrors other areas, where sanction was sought from the Department of Education but that sanction was not given.
Which sanction?
Sanction was sought from the from the Department of Education for summer provision for special educational needs. This goes back to court cases where parents took the State to court for appropriate education. Where there is July provision for some weeks each year, some people are getting it for their children and some people are not. There has to be a consistency in this but there certainly is no consistency.
My understanding is that about €40 million was spent on the summer provision scheme last year.
Some people are being told they will not get it at all.
They can get it wherever people have a service to provide. The Minister has improved-----
It is the Minister who wrote-----
The Minister has added further incentives. I will ask the Minister for Education to come back on this issue to the Deputy but my understanding is that the Minister has recently brought forward proposals for this summer, again with more incentives to try to encourage the provision of summer schools and participation in summer schools.
It is a requirement, I think, that the schools themselves be willing to participate.
That is right.
Yes. There may be potential financial incentives to facilitate that. I will ask the Minister to communicate with the Deputy.
Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur ort maidir le Teach Siamsa na Carraige in iarthar Chiarraí. Tá a fhios againn go bhfuil deacrachtaí airgeadais i Siamsa Tíre agus bhí bord Shiamsa Tíre chun é a dhíol. Teastaíonn ón bpobal i gCorca Dhuibhne é a choimeád i seilbh an phobail agus gan é a dhíol. Is achmhainn thábhachtach é don phobal in iarthar Chiarraí ó thaobh an Ghaelainn, an rince, an ceol, an amhránaíocht agus an drámaíocht a mhúineadh de agus bhí na céadta leanaí ag foghlaim na tradisiúin dúchais ann agus ag iarraidh iad a chaomhnú. Tá a lán féilte beaga chomh maith i gCorca Dhuibhne agus tá easpa áiseanna ann. Given the Government's intentions in its recent Irish language arts strategy it would be a shame if this key piece of infrastructure, Teach Siamsa na Carraige, were to be lost or overlooked. Will the Tánaiste make every effort to make sure it remains available to the public.
Go raibh maith ag an Teachta as ucht an cheist thábhachtach seo a ardú. Beidh mé ag caint le hAire na Gaeltachta, Thomas Byrne, go háirithe i gcomhthéacs na ceiste seo. Admhaím gur áis thábhachtach é seo do mhuintir Chorca Dhuibhne. Níl cúlra an scéil agam ina iomláine ach déanfaidh mé an cheist a fhiosrú. Bhíos i gCorca Dhuibhne le déanaí in Ionad an Bhlascaoid. Bhí an Rialtas sásta an-chuid infheistíocht a chur isteach in Ionad an Bhlascaoid agus tá torthaí an-mhaith ag teacht as. Táimid báúil le níos mó áiseanna a chur ar fáil do na Gaeltachtaí agus go háirithe do Chorca Dhuibhne.
The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking Bill) 2023 focuses on trafficking for sexual exploitation. There is still a need for dedicated legislation to cover trafficking for labour exploitation. I will give a recent example. I have seen correspondence between the International Transport Workers' Federation and the Garda relating to a case where fishers from Ghana were issued with contracts suggesting they would be working in the UK before being put working illegally in highly exploitative conditions on an Irish boat, the Ambitious, which sank two months ago. Despite documentary proof, the Garda concluded the fishers came of their own free will, a conclusion that justifiably earned an excoriating response from the ITF. These fishers now languish undocumented in this State while co-operating with Workplace Relations Commission and Marine Survey Office investigations. As the ITF said in its letter, this approach by the Garda poses a systemic threat to the welfare of non-EEA migrants. This is not good enough. When does the Government intend to bring forward such legislation?
A situation containing any exploitation of workers, especially international workers who are lured into particular jurisdictions and then are not given any rights and exploited in terms of their labour, is absolutely unacceptable.
I will refer this to the Minister for Justice in terms of the legislation and the timeline for that. We will perhaps get the background to the wider story in terms of what occurred.
I wish to raise very serious concerns about mental health services in my locality. A young man aged 19 is currently in a psychiatric ward in a public hospital because he wants help and his family wants help for him as they no longer feel they can keep him safe. He has attempted suicide twice and has threatened it again. The young man's personality completely changed two years ago. His family want tests done to establish exactly what the issue is. The hospital wants to discharge him. A consultant psychiatrist said to the family that if something happens to him, the family should not come back with a solicitor. His diagnosis from his short time in CAMHS has been dismissed. He is not being given the medication he has been prescribed while in hospital. A home-based support team was promised in February after a suicide attempt, but that never materialised and as a result the man is back on a psychiatric ward just two months later. Properly resourced mental health services are required urgently so that people can get the help they require irrespective of ability to pay. I want this issue raised with the Minister.
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. As she knows, I cannot speak to an individual case on the floor of the Dáil, but if she wants to pass on the details, we can certainly have a look at the case. We currently have 51 inpatient beds across all of CAMHS operational at the moment and there is capacity. There are currently 19 beds available. I am updated weekly on the capacity we have. We have invested more in youth mental health this year than ever before.
I want to raise a very serious matter in UHL, namely, the embargo in place for certain positions. It is having major effects on service delivery. I heard how ultrasound, nuclear medicine and other important services will suffer closures because at least 15 radiography positions have not been filled. I heard that morale is non-existent at this stage and more staff will leave because they are struggling to get cover for their holidays. Final year students in radiography will qualify in three weeks. Where will they work? I have been told that HR processes, especially in UHL, mean that in order for the students to start work in September they need to get a job offer now. They are currently researching job prospects in other countries as they will not be able to afford to live in Ireland with no job. This is a disaster. The HSE embargo needs to be lifted now, especially in the case of UHL. The Government has recognised it as an outlier. I plead with the Minister to take action. This is not a management issue; this is a Government policy issue.
I thank the Deputy for raising the situation in UHL. My understanding is that the Minister will announce a HIQA review of urgent and emergency care in Limerick. A wide range of issues there need to be reviewed, including the need to determine whether a second emergency department is required in the mid-west. The Minister will announce a wider review and a HIQA review of emergency care in Limerick. I will leave it at that at this stage.
Yesterday, the Minister, Norma Foley, announced that she will continue the free primary school book scheme for 2024. She said the funding is to provide, at a minimum, schoolbooks, workbooks and copybooks and any surplus is to be used to eliminate the cost of pens, pencils, etc. However, the funding has been cut by 16 6%, from €96 last year to €80 per pupil this year, despite the fact that every single book, copybook and workbook has increased in price since last year. Even where schools made every effort to get secondhand books last year, there were was still no surplus funding to buy pens, pencils and calculators. For example, the third class core textbook for the new maths curriculum costs €26 and the sixth class book costs €27.30. Will the Minister ask the Minister for Education to review this? I ask her to speak to stakeholders, including parents and schools, so that she can assess the real costs.
If the scheme started last year, books were purchased by schools on behalf of pupils. As those in first year move on to second year, schools do not have to buy an entire supply of first year books again. That is the case across the country. The idea is to retain a lot of books for the next year, keep them in working condition and so on. I suspect and surmise that is the context for the figures the Deputy has presented. It is not a cut. In fact, as the Deputy knows, the scheme is being expanded to junior certificate students. We will consider this in the Estimates process, but I hope we can expand the scheme to leaving certificate students for the following academic year.