Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There was a time in Ireland when the teacher, and especially the primary school principal, held a celebrated status in the village or the community. The literary achievements of our people, the economic expansion from the 1960s onwards and the overall development of our society was built on a foundation of good quality teaching at primary and second level schools. It is key to continued societal development and health.

The key dynamic in the learning experience remains the relationship between teacher and child and the teacher and the student in the classroom. To nurture that relationship we need to invest in our teachers, in their training, in their pay and conditions and in the quality of their teaching experience. In short we must always seek to attract our brightest and best to the teaching profession. We are not doing that at the moment in this country. Second level schools in particular are finding it extremely difficult to recruit teachers in the subjects of science, technology, engineering, maths, Irish, German, French and much more. Overall, the applications to become second level teachers have dropped precipitously from some 3,000 in 2011 to just over 1,000 in 2017. There have been only 600 applications as of 9 January 2018.

The costs of becoming a secondary school teacher are too expensive. It costs more than €10,000 to complete a postgraduate Master's in Education over a two year period. Unfortunately, postgraduate programmes have now become the new cash cow for universities to help them deal with the neglect by the Government and the starvation of Government funding towards universities. Our capacity to attract young people into teaching is damaged as a result of this reality. Six years to become a second level teacher is, in my view, excessive. This needs urgent review.

There is a substitute teacher supply crisis at primary school level. The Catholic Primary Schools Management Association estimates that 90% of schools experience difficulties in sourcing substitute teachers, which is especially acute in special education where there are huge difficulties in this context. More than 3,600 unqualified people were employed as teachers in the past year. The State Examinations Commission reported a crisis in attracting suitably qualified teachers to conduct examinations.

We need an urgent intervention. We also need a roadmap for achieving full pay equality for teachers. Why has the Minister been so lethargic and inept in dealing with this issue? The Teaching Council completed a report in 2015 around teacher supply in Ireland and it was suppressed until May 2017. Why is there a lack of a comprehensive approach and intervention to resolve this crisis in teacher recruitment?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

First, I believe that the school principal still holds the position of very high respect and regard in our society. I do not believe that has changed. School principals are still very much leaders of our communities. It is also the case that teachers hold the position of high respect and high regard in our communities. I do not believe that has changed. Compared to other countries, Ireland has a very good and well performing education system and education service. This is in no small part due to the quality of our teachers, now and in the past.

Since the change of Government, since Deputy Martin's party left office and my party got the privilege to lead the Government, we have had 8,900 more teachers working in our school than we had then. There has been a significant increase in the numbers of teachers working in our schools. This has escalated particularly in the last two years. There are 5,000 more teachers than two years ago working in our schools and teaching our children. This is evidence of the Government's commitment to education. When considered in cash terms, the education budget for 2018 is €10 billion. This is the first time the education budget has exceeded €10 billion. This demonstrates our commitment. I believe that the people who are going in to teacher training are among the brightest and the best. I do not agree with Deputy Martin's comments that the people going in to teacher training are not among the brightest and the best. I disagree with that. I think people who are-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

When did I say that?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy must read back what he said.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Do not mislead the House.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

People who are going in to teacher training are among the brightest and best still, notwithstanding the fact that applications have gone down. Applications for college courses are very cyclical. We see this all the time. When the private sector and the economy are going well lots more people gravitate towards courses such as information communication technology, business and architecture because there are enormous opportunities there. When the economy is going less well the CAO applications tend to go much more towards public sector jobs because they are more secure and one may be more likely to get a job there at a time when there are lay-offs in the private sector. That is to be expected and it is a normal, cyclical approach that happens with CAO applications.

Pay restoration is very much under way. The starting salary for a new teacher is in the region of €35,000, which is a good starting salary by any account. We are engaged in discussions with unions about a pathway to restore and equalise the pay of new entrants. That is something we want to do, but we also need to bear in mind the other demands. We want to set aside money, for example, for special needs assistants. We have more special needs assistants than we have gardaí at the moment. We also want to set aside important funds to improve the quality of our school buildings. We have to balance these different demands.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach should answer the questions that are asked. The Taoiseach has a tendency to engage in partisan politicking in response to genuine questions asked. The Taoiseach distorts and gives dishonest responses. I never said that we were not attracting the brightest and the best. I said we had a crisis in attracting teachers in the first instance, which we have. The Taoiseach has failed to address the figures.

The Taoiseach has also failed to address the issue of the postgraduate master's degree in education. The number of applications fell from 3,000 in 2011 to 600. School principals throughout the country are articulating the crisis, particularly in second-level education. Why? It is because there has been a lack of a comprehensive response from the Government to the teacher recruitment issue.

We all know that the demographic dividend is a key factor in the increase in the number of teachers and that, in the confidence and supply agreement, Fianna Fáil forced the Government's hand to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio. However, the underlying issues in teacher recruitment remain, particularly at second level. There has been the casualisation of the workforce at second level, the postgraduate master's degree is expensive and it takes up to six years to qualify, and there is a lack of numbers in the undergraduate programmes offering concurrent degrees for teachers. All of these issues have been highlighted over the years but there has been complete inaction by the Government on the teacher recruitment crisis that schools are currently experiencing. Will the Taoiseach accept that there is such a crisis and that it needs comprehensive intervention from Government?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

With respect, if the Deputy does not wish to be partisan, he will have to lead by example and not be partisan in the statements he makes and the questions he asks.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is not true. There is a crisis.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

He cannot be partisan at one moment and then accuse me of being partisan in my response. Whatever standard that we apply in this House in terms of partisanship should apply to everyone and not just to the Government.

The number of people graduating from teaching programmes is stable and the percentage of people getting jobs in Ireland has increased. As I said, 5,000 more teachers are working in our service than two years ago. There are difficulties in certain areas. We are very much aware that many schools are struggling to get substitutes.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Government is doing nothing.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This is in part down to the fact that so many younger teachers now have permanent posts. We need to examine encouraging retired teachers, of which there are so many now, to come back and substitute. In addition, there are real difficulties recruiting for certain subjects, particularly specialised subjects. The Minister is examining this aspect. However, as is the case in other areas of the public service where a general recruitment problem does not exist but there is a specific recruitment problem in particular areas, this requires making decisions for which it can be difficult to get support, that is, by making distinctions between different teachers teaching different subjects. That type of thing can be difficult to agree.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Government has made no decisions. It has done nothing on this.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

They have taken the Taoiseach's advice and gone abroad.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There is hardly a person in this State who has not at one stage or another witnessed politicians in this Chamber speak about ill-treatment, persecution and disregard for women in Ireland. Many like to think that the ill-treatment and disregard of women is a historic issue. However, unfortunately it is not. Nowhere are these injustices and this ill-treatment more acute than in the provision of health care services. Last night, RTÉ's "Prime Time" programme aired a feature on women suffering from the side effects of transvaginal mesh implants. I commend Janet Roche and Lesley-Anne Stephens who participated in the programme and bravely shared their stories.

I have been raising the issue with the Minister for Health since last October. I, along with mesh victims and their representatives, have spent months trying to get information on the issue. In particular, I wish to highlight the work of Margaret Byrne of Mesh Survivors Ireland, solicitor Melanie Power, who has been representing a number of these women, journalists such as Michelle Hennessy who have reported on this continuously, as well as my colleagues Órlaithí Flynn and Caoimhe Archibald, who have been to the forefront in this campaign in the North.

Transvaginal mesh implants have been widely used as a simple less invasive alternative to other more traditional surgical approaches to treat urinary incontinence and prolapse conditions that commonly occur after childbirth. However, many women have now come forward, and more come forward all the time, to report the side effects of the use of these implants. They have reported chronic and debilitating pain, with some being left unable to walk, drive or have any sort of a sex life. The use of transvaginal mesh devices and their long-term side effects for some women have recently come to prominence across many countries, not least England, Scotland, America, Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand and Australia have banned the use of the product, deeming it too risky for women. Closer to home, Britain's health watchdog has recommended restricting the use of vaginal mesh implants.

These women have marched on the Dáil today and are protesting outside as we speak. They will be in the AV room at 2 p.m. today if Deputies want to hear about this first-hand. I have four questions on behalf of these women. Will the Government ensure that there is recognition of the complications of mesh products and stop fighting these women on this issue and that there is a centralised report for treatment for these women by the HSE? Will it ensure that the HSE obtains a translabial scanner? This machine, which is used to detect mesh implants, is not currently available in the State. Will the Government commit to a retrospective audit of the number of women who have been implanted with a mesh device? Finally, given the available international evidence that the risks which accompany their use is too high, will the Government move to ban or limit the use of these mesh products in women? These four crucial measures are necessary to protect women's health. Will the Taoiseach grasp this opportunity and ensure that the suffering of these women is acknowledged and that women's health is protected?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. My sympathy and concern goes to any patient suffering complications as a result of an operation or procedure they have had. I wish to put that on the record. I did not see the TV programme last night although I read some things about the issue in the newspapers in recent times. However, I am not an expert on it and I was not aware the Deputy was going to raise the issue today. Therefore, I am not fully briefed on it.

As always, anything the Government does will have to be guided by the best clinical and medical advice from obstetricians and gynaecologists who are experts in this field. While I am a qualified medical doctor, I am not an expert in this field and I would not like to make pronouncements about these issues as a doctor or a politician without the best advice from those who are educated and specialist in the area. It is not this House or Government that decides which medical devices are legal. That is a function of the Health Products Regulatory Authority, and should be so.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

When I raised this issue with the Minister for Health, he advised me that he had only become aware of it when he saw reports in the media. It struck me as odd that his officials were not keeping him briefed on it given that there is a large number of multi-party actions in this respect under way in other jurisdictions. The Taoiseach has an opportunity, which I urge him to take, to acknowledge the suffering of these women and to give a message to the HSE that international evidence will be used. As a medical professional, the Taoiseach knows that an evidence-based approach is the way to go. There is a wealth of international evidence. I asked the Taoiseach four specific questions and I would be grateful for an individualised response, either here or in writing following the debate.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

As I said, I was not aware this issue would be raised and I cannot answer for the Minister for Health directly. However, I will ask for replies to be provided to the Deputy on each of the four items she raised. If there are legal cases under way, the Deputy will appreciate that those cases are in the courts and, therefore, need to be heard in the courts and not adjudicated on here.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I was very clear that those cases were outside of this jurisdiction.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I absolutely expect that the HSE and the Department of Health will consider this matter based on evidence and not just evidence from this State. As is the norm in any kind of medical issue, one examines peer-reviewed international evidence as well as domestic evidence and take them together. In health care, one will always find evidence going one way and then evidence going the other way. It is, therefore, necessary to take all the evidence together to see which of it is peer-reviewed and strongest and make a judgment based on that. Any response from the Government, the HSE and the Department of Health will be compassionate and understanding and respectful of the pain and suffering of anyone who is enduring complications as a result of an operation. Further, any actions taken by Government will have to be guided by best clinical advice from the experts in the field and it will have to be evidence based.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Last Friday, I visited the completed Loreto college in Wexford town. It is a fantastic facility. We were told that pupils would be occupying the building yesterday. It is one of six schools in the schools public private partnership, PPP, bundle 5. Of these schools, 90% are complete and a couple are in turnkey condition. The principal of Coláiste Ráithín in Bray has said he was due to receive the keys of his school on Monday. These schools were built by InspiredSpaces, a joint venture involving a 50-50 partnership between Carillion and the Dutch Infrastructure Fund. After financing and building the schools from its own resources the joint venture would receive payments over 25 years. Under the terms of the partnership, it is my understanding that it falls now to the Dutch Infrastructure Fund to deliver on that contract. The PPP company appointed Carillion Construction to deliver the buildings and it, in turn, subcontracted to Sammon, which has built the schools.

Last week, I was assured by the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, that the PPP contract was so robust that there would be no interruption in the scheduled opening of these schools. Yesterday, everything changed. Teachers who were physically bringing in teaching equipment to the buildings were denied access. In Wexford, 700 pupils and their teachers, special needs assistants and other support staff were given firm assurances by the Department of Education and Skills and the NDFA that they could move into the school yesterday. Instead, the site was shut down. The school had to seek permission to retrieve teaching equipment that had been moved on site so that it could continue to operate in the old school building.

I understand the complexity of PPP agreements. I was assured that one of their attractions is that the State is guaranteed speedy delivery of buildings and that, because such arrangements are watertight, public moneys would not be at risk. The Wexford and Bray schools are ready for occupation. Whatever outstanding issues have to be resolved so that the legitimate expectation of the Irish people and, more especially, the school communities at those six sites must be resolved immediately. The State is the owner of these schools and will fund the projects over the next 25 years through unitary payments and the PPP system. When will teaching begin in Loreto college Wexford and at each of the other sites involved?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This is a very important issue and a matter of enormous concern to the six schools affected. The schools are located at four sites in Wicklow, Wexford, Meath and Carlow. They are all replacement schools. The existing schools are still available but we want people to be able to move into the new facilities as soon as possible. It will take a couple of weeks to sort this out. We will sort it out. We are in strong position. The schools are 90% complete. The State owns the buildings and the payments made so far by the State to the PPP contractor are of the order of €4 million to €5 million. It costs much more than that to build one school, let alone six, so we are in a strong position to have this sorted out but because of the collapse of one of the partners it will take a few weeks to conclude matters. Even if this was not a PPP, a similar situation could just as easily have arisen with a traditional construction contract where a contractor or private company building a school or any building could go bust and enter into liquidation. We are confident that we will have this sorted out within a few weeks. The NDFA and the Department of Education and Skills are very engaged in respect of this matter.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The selling point for PPPs is that if one of the partners collapses, then, legally, the remaining partner must take on the responsibility. In this case, that is the Dutch Infrastructure Fund, one of the largest conglomerates in Europe involved in PPPs. This will involve serious reputational problems for it and it will be anxious to resolve this matter, so I was assured last week. Why is there not a proactive move on the part of the NDFA and the Government to ensure that the remaining partner, the Dutch Infrastructure Fund, meets its legal obligations immediately in order to ensure that the timeline agreed with these school communities will be fulfilled and that the facilities can be occupied? The NDFA and the Government cannot be passive onlookers; they must be proactive. I ask the Taoiseach to give instructions to the NDFA to ensure that this is done.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I can absolutely give Deputy Howlin that assurance. The NDFA and the Department of Education and Skills are very much involved. We will do everything we can in the next couple of days to have this issue resolved in a matter of weeks so that the children and their teachers can move into these fabulous new school buildings. We have a statement from the Dutch Infrastructure Fund explaining that the collapse of its partner happened more quickly than expected and that said collapse came as a surprise. It also says that its top priority is to resolve this complex situation as quickly as possible. There will be a delay while it deals with the subcontractors and other stakeholders in the project.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Did the fund contact the Government or is the Taoiseach reading that from RTÉ.ie?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Meanwhile, it is offering assurance to people in all of those areas that where schools are being built-----

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

RTÉ.ie.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

-----it will work as hard as it can to find a solution.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That was on the RTÉ news. It has not contacted Government.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Government, the NDFA and the Department of Education and Skills will be deeply involved in that.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The €5 million spin office is not really doing its business.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The World Economic Forum has placed Ireland eighth in its inclusive development index for economic performance. That report also points out that Ireland is faced with high income inequality and soaring wealth inequality. The theme for the World Economic Forum, which the Taoiseach is going to attend, is a "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World". A significant way to mend that fracture is by a real commitment to tax justice and a commitment to those measures that have been identified as being capable of putting an end to the dodging, evasion, avoidance and tax havens. All of that tax injustice deprives countries of the resources they need, impacts on developing countries and prevents them moving beyond reliance on aid.

When he addressed the European Parliament last week, the Taoiseach said "Ireland is not a tax haven ... and we don't want to be seen or perceived as a tax haven". Two reports were issued recently. The first, Tax Games: the Race to the Bottom, is from Tax Justice Network Ireland, and the second, Reward Work, Not Wealth, is Oxfam's annual report and it came out just before the forum at Davos commenced. Both point to the need to challenge and change international tax rules that keep so many people in poverty and ensure inequality within and between countries. According to the Oxfam report, the executives in the top five global fashion brands make in four days what it takes all the garment workers in Bangladesh to earn in a lifetime. If Ireland is committed to tax justice, we will adopt full country-by-country reporting of all large companies and multinationals, which will be publicly available for each country where these companies operate, with a breakdown of turnover, employees, physical asset sales and taxes.

Spillover analysis relating to another report shows that Ireland is also a leader in the context of the impact of its tax system on the developing world. Some developing countries are experiencing an increase in serious investment from Irish businesses. For that and other reasons, there is a need to consider tax spillovers again and how, for example, capital gains tax is avoided at a time when valuable assets in developing countries are being sold offshore. We need to review the tax free treatment of royalty and interest flows, our growing role as an international holding location and a conduit for intellectual property, and the need for a clearer and less complex system for taxing multinationals and large companies because international tax advisers are offering their clients opportunities to use Ireland as a conduit in precisely the ways that the spillover analysis said could not happen. Will the Government re-examine tax spillovers, particularly in the context of their impact on some of the poorest countries in the world?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I had a chance to read the World Economic Forum report on inclusive economic development last night in advance of my visit to Davos today. As is always the case with a report, it is possible to pick out negatives and positives. However, this report is very positive about Ireland and it is worth recording some of the items it contains. In terms of inclusive economic development, Ireland ranks eighth out of 30 in the world. We have risen from 12th to eighth. We are already ahead of Britain, France, Australia, Germany and Canada and if we continue on this path, we will overtake Sweden and the Netherlands in the next couple of years. It is important to put that on the record because we often do not get a reasonable outing for reports like this.

The report also points out that Ireland generates a strong performance in growth and development in intergenerational equity and that we benefit from a high gross domestic product, GDP, per capita, being fourth in our peer group and second highest in labour productivity.

It also notes how public debt has been reduced drastically, by 43%, over the past five years, which is the largest improvement of any advanced economy. It certainly identifies wealth inequality and income inequality, but as Members will know from the survey on income and living conditions, income inequality in Ireland is actually narrowing. It has gone down for two years in a row, as have poverty and deprivation rates. It is important that we all acknowledge those facts. The report draws particular attention to rising wealth inequality, much of which is related to the bounce-back in asset prices, rising home values, the recovery of pension funds, businesses gaining value, and the fact that more people are able to save more. There are often reasons behind these things.

In terms of tax avoidance, this Government is absolutely committed to country by country reporting. We have already signed up for that. It means that this year, for the first time, the Revenue Commissioners will share tax information with revenue commissioners in other countries. Until now that information has been confidential, so we did not know how much different companies paid in different countries. We have signed up to country by country reporting so that we will be able to compare notes with other revenue authorities and see if companies are paying their taxes in different countries. We have already eliminated the possibility of companies being stateless. We have removed the double Irish, and we are absolutely open to other measures which will reduce or help to crack down on tax evading and tax avoidance. A public consultation on that issue is under way at present on foot of the very detailed Coffey report which was published only a few months ago.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The positives will be undermined unless we really look at the negatives. We have a considerable reputation when it comes to humanitarian aid. Irish Aid is 100% untied. We also have a major reputation because of our work on the sustainable development goals. The Government launched a national plan on business and human rights. Part of that report is about policy coherence. It outlines that human rights have to be protected, as well as promoting economic trade, growth and investment. They should complement each other. We are being undermined by very reputable reports which say that our tax code is harmful to developing countries. Instead of the double Irish, we now have what is known as the single malt, and one way to deal with that is to ensure that all Irish registered companies are tax resident here. It would also mean supporting a UN intergovernmental body on tax. It also means supporting transparency around treaty negotiations and an analysis of the tax breaks in Irish law that multinationals can and do exploit. Surely if we want an economic and tax policy which benefits everybody, the Government will be committed to doing that, and will also ensure that we are not a tax haven. If the EU was to apply its criteria to EU members, there would be EU countries on that blacklist, and Ireland might very well feature.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is certainly not the case; I assure the House that we are not going to feature on that list. The positives will always be undermined if we only ever focus on the negatives, and it is important that we, in this House, acknowledge from time to time some of the positive things happening in this country and in the world. The "single malt" is a feature of Maltese law. It is not something we are in a position to change, but it demonstrates why we can only deal with the issue of corporate tax evasion and tax avoidance on a European level. We can change our laws as much as we like, but companies can simply move money and move their operations. We need to deal with this issue on an international basis, through the OECD, and that is how we intend to address it.

In terms of tax policy in general, the Government is absolutely committed to tax sovereignty. While we will co-operate on an international level through the OECD and with the European Union, it is our firm belief that our taxes, whether taxes on companies or on people, should be set in this House. National taxes should fund national budgets and that decision should be made by a national parliament. We should not forget that our low corporation profit tax of 12.5% has been an enormous success. It is by no means the lowest in the EU. Other countries have a lower headline rate and and effective rates than we do because of the many exceptions they have. However, the certainty Ireland provides is really important. Companies know that if they invest in Ireland, base their operations in Ireland and employ people in Ireland, there is a political consensus in favour of retaining the 12.5% tax rate. I am glad that the three major parties in this House have committed to retaining that 12.5% rate.