Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach when the annual report of his Department for 2021 will be published. [35871/22]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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2. To ask the Taoiseach when the annual report of his Department for 2021 will be published. [36011/22]

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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3. To ask the Taoiseach when the annual report of his Department for 2021 will be published. [36170/22]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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4. To ask the Taoiseach his views on his Department’s recently published annual report 2021. [44836/22]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together.

My Department's annual report for 2021 was published on gov.ieand laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas last July. The report sets out the work of my Department in 2021 to deliver under the strategic priorities set out in the Department's three-year statement of strategy.

My Department continues to work at the centre to ensure that the policies developed support the Government's commitment to developing Ireland in a sustainable way that supports economic development and social progress. Through the work of the ten Cabinet committees supported by my Department, a range of cross-Government work was advanced during 2021 in line with the strategic priorities set out, for example, management of the whole-of-government response to Covid-19, including the national vaccination programme roll-out. The economic recovery plan, with a progress report on implementation published in June, is helping to drive a jobs-rich recovery and supporting the economy in transitioning towards a decarbonised and digital economy. Among the deliverables progressed is a new national digital strategy, Harnessing Digital - The Digital Ireland Framework, co-ordinated through my Department.

Other work included: the publication of the Housing for All plan, an ambitious and far-reaching plan to address the provision of housing, increase the supply of housing and provide a sustainable housing system into the future; supporting the cross-Government work to manage the ongoing economic and political impacts of Brexit; driving delivery of our commitments on the shared island initiative on a whole-of-government basis through the shared island unit in my Department and the shared island fund; and supporting Ireland's role in Europe and the world, including through my participation in the European Council, Ireland's seat on the UN Security Council and with respect to ongoing developments regarding the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol.

Other social policy work advanced during 2021 included wider health service reforms, further education and special education needs provision and finalisation of the White Paper on direct provision. Other work included: delivery of an initial well-being framework for Ireland and a supporting information hub, which are being developed to better understand and measure our progress as a country; the completion of the work of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality; the launch of the revised national development plan, setting out the roadmap for investment of €165 billion in new and upgraded infrastructure over the decade ahead; the signing into law of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021; the establishment of the marine planning framework; the publication of the Climate Action Plan 2021; and three legislative programmes published during 2021 setting out priority legislation across Government.

My Department's priorities for the coming period will include advancing work to protect energy supply and mitigate the impact of the rising cost of energy; a continued focus on the Government's humanitarian response to the situation in Ukraine; economic recovery and investment; driving delivery of Housing for All and measures on climate action; and progressing health and wider social reforms, EU engagement and Northern Ireland, including continuing to advance our shared island agenda.

Furthermore, my Department will continue to be responsive to new and emerging challenges.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We have five questioners. The Taoiseach will have time to respond. We have to keep the questions to about a minute each. I call Deputy Bacik.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I thank the Taoiseach for setting out the detail of the Department’s annual report. I am glad to say that we, in the Oireachtas special Joint Committee on Gender Equality, are on track to complete our work in December and to produce a report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality. I look forward to engaging with the Taoiseach on that.

In terms of strategic priorities for our economic development and social progress, one glaring issue which requires prioritisation by the Taoiseach and Government is childcare and early years education. The State is currently investing millions into a mostly privately run, for-profit sector, but we are still no closer to the sort of public, universal childcare service for which the Labour Party has long advocated. Our current system is failing parents, professionals, providers and, most importantly, children. Every day, I hear from constituents who cannot access any place in childcare and this is particularly the case for babies who are under 12 months old. One woman who was very distressed contacted me. Her baby is yet to be born, but she anticipates that she will have immense difficulty in finding any crèche place, let alone one that is affordable, particularly until her child reaches 12 months old. We have seen recent reports in The Irish Times citing the average cost per month for childcare in Finland as €150. The cost in Dublin is almost ten times that at €1,100, €1,200 and €1,300 per month per child. We have called for the Government to introduce a radical and creative measure in this budget to cap childcare costs at €200 per month, per child. We believe that sort of investment by the State would cost approximately €270 million per year to do that. We believe that would be a real investment in an equal early years approach to children, children's rights and to that ensuring parents would have some help and some support in meeting these exorbitant rising costs that they are facing with childcare, which are like a second mortgage for so many.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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The annual report speaks about the role of Ireland in the world. I would like to ask the Taoiseach whether the role he envisages is one of allying with and participating in NATO. I ask the Taoiseach whether the Irish Government participated in the fifth meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which took place at the Ramstein US air base in Germany, which also happens to be where the NATO military headquarters are based. After the meeting, the US Secretary of Defense said, “I am extremely proud of the progress on the discussion to intensify our efforts to support Ukraine and strengthen our NATO alliance.” He was speaking there about the 50 countries that attended. To be clear, and we have been clear and consistent throughout, we are absolutely opposed to Putin's imperialist invasion of Ukraine. We are also opposed to the attempt to use that horrific invasion to drive militarisation, to undermine what is left of neutrality here and to try to rebuild the idea of joining NATO. It is clear from that approach by US Secretary of Defense that that is the aim and that is what is happening here. Did the Irish Government participate?

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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In recent weeks we have seen queues of hundreds of people, renters, who have been going for viewings. We have had reports of a student being asked for intimate photographs from a landlord. We have had students who cannot find anywhere to live who are sleeping rough. We have had a homeless woman who is sleeping in her car on a beach and having to wash in the sea as she has nowhere else to wash. Our rents are among the highest in Europe. House prices have surpassed the Celtic tiger peak, according to data released by the CSO today. Homelessness has reached record levels. There are more people living in emergency accommodation now than at any other point in the history of the State. Young people who have skills that we desperately need are being forced to emigrate. After failing to come even close to meeting any of the Government’s housing targets last year, the Taoiseach promised that this year would be a year for delivery. Instead, and this is not mentioned in the areas of the report dealing with housing, the capital spend on housing at this year is actually 21% lower than it was at the same time last year. This means that none of the targets on delivering social, affordable or cost-rental homes will be met. I want to ask the Taoiseach why the Government is failing to meet any of the targets that it is setting itself in terms of housing. What is it doing to urgently address this? What emergency action will it take to ensure that people can get the housing that they desperately need?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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In the Taoiseach’s capacity as part of the Cabinet Committee on Social Affairs and Equality, I have raised with him on a number of occasions in the last year the issue of Accessible Community Transport Southside Ltd., ACTS, which is a door-to-door, voluntary-run, not-for-profit transport service for people with wheelchairs. It moves hundreds of people who otherwise could not get out of their homes to go to doctor appointments, to get around, to have a social existence and who cannot use the normal public transport system. I warned the Taoiseach that it was going to go out of business for the lack of approximately €250,000. Despite the suggestions that something would be done and that it would be looked at I was absolutely shocked to receive an e-mail from that service today saying that it is winding up. It is gone. We see these ACTS buses all around the city. People in wheelchairs are already obstructed from having equality of access to life, to services, to their doctors and so on and now their service is gone because of the lack of €250,000 and the refusal of the Government to give them the money to provide this service. It is gone and finished. Next week, people who have doctor appointments will have no transport to take them there. They have asked again and again for specialised transport for people with wheelchairs, with severe mobility problems, with disabilities and so on, to be seen as an integral part of our public transport system and for that to be properly funded but because of a failure to do that, that service is now gone. I ask the Taoiseach what he will do about this because many vulnerable people now have no transport service. It is shocking and it is shameful.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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The Taoiseach increased the minimum wage this year by less than 3%, which is in real terms a very serious pay cut for the country's lowest-paid workers. Now he intends to increase it for next year by less than 8%, which is another pay cut in real terms. His annual report talks of building a better society. How can he say that he is doing that when a worker in this country who is on €11.30 an hour cannot live a decent life? This increase would not feed the pigeons. I want to invite the Taoiseach to come down to the Grand Parade this Saturday to observe the Cork cost-of-living demonstration. He will see thousands of people who are anxious about heating their homes this winter, who are discontented about the lack of action from his Government and who are demanding real change - not token change, but real change - in this budget. It might be a useful way for him to spend an hour of his time this Saturday.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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I want to raise with the Taoiseach the issue of the third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, DSGBV, which was launched before the summer. Of course, the decision by the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, to publish the strategy’s implementation plan was also welcome. It placed an emphasis and on obligation on all relevant Departments, including the Taoiseach’s Department, with regard to that. I understand that the oversight of this legislation and policy rests with the Cabinet Committee on Social Affairs and Equality, which is chaired by the Taoiseach. We have previously raised concerns about this particular committee and how it operates and, particularly, about the fact that it meets so infrequently to be able to oversee this strategy. Perhaps the Taoiseach would set out in practice how the committee is working in terms of oversight of the strategy. The strategy also commits to the establishment of a high-level oversight board, chaired by the Secretaries General of the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Justice, with a secretariat from the Department of the Taoiseach. Perhaps the Taoiseach could confirm that both are now up and running and that the Taoiseach’s commitments and obligations in the areas of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence are to be included in the Department’s key priorities in the future.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Taoiseach has only two and a half minutes to respond, so his answer will be a bit truncated, if he does not mind.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yes. A whole range of issues were raised there. Deputy Bacik raised the issue of childcare. The difficulty is that if we were to move completely to a State system, it would involve very significant engagement with stakeholders to dramatically and radically transform the area. As I said, we dealt in the last budget with a significant allocation for pay and conditions. Working between employers and employees, an agreement was arrived at in terms of the two employment regulation orders. This was good, but this year we have to increase affordability.

If the Deputy wants to send the details of her proposal to us, I know the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is working on proposals for the forthcoming budget in respect of childcare. Childcare is very expensive in this country. We have to try consistently to get the cost down in a programmatic way that sustains into the future from a public finance and expenditure point of view. We are increasing expenditure on childcare significantly year on year.

On the question raised by Deputy Murphy, I am not aware of the specific meeting in question, but I would say I do not believe he is correct in his analysis that people are using the war in Ukraine to drive the militarisation of the world or NATO. I think that is a perverse analysis because nobody wanted the war in Ukraine except Putin. The leaders of European countries like Germany and France, including Chancellor Scholz and President Macron, did everything they possibly could to prevent the war and to stop a war. War has consequences. When a leader wages war in an unprovoked and brutal fashion on a neighbouring country simply because he believes the country does not exist and is possessed by some sort of 19th century imperialist view of the world, then the neighbours of that neighbour have to take note. The Continent has to take note. We cannot have an endless continuance of that policy. That is why people closer to Russia are taking extra measures to protect themselves, unfortunately. It is why Finland and Sweden have applied to join NATO. They see it. I met the Finnish Prime Minister and President. They are balanced and reasonable people, who have navigated a relationship with Russia for a long time. Their view is that this brutal invasion of Ukraine has changed everything. All they were told in their childhoods and the ultimate fear came to be realised in the invasion. People in Estonia, Poland and the Baltic states more generally are all very anxious and worried about what has happened. That is the natural response that has occurred. The vast majority of people obviously would have preferred if this had never happened, and that we did not find ourselves in this situation.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Can we get two or three minutes extra? There are only one or two questions-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy O'Callaghan raised the question of renters. Housing for All is our strategic response to housing. It is the most substantive housing policy. I have seen nothing near it from any Opposition party in terms of substance, breadth or depth. The reality is we will need a range of measures to deal with housing and homelessness. Unfortunately-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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May I interrupt? We will add three or four minutes to the reply, if Members are happy with that. Let us say, four minutes. Thank you, Taoiseach.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The population is rising, and is more than 5 million. There are more Irish people coming back than Irish people leaving. The housing issue is not just Irish; it is European. It is an issue everywhere, basically.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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My question was about the Government missing its own targets.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy made his points. I am addressing all the points he made, because I have written down what he said. We need to study the facts. The bottom line is that a number of factors have really conspired against us, Covid being one, but more importantly, the war and the increase in the cost of commodities. However, we are responding to that. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform reformed the public tender framework so that builders would not be caught for the entirety of the inflationary increase and they could continue with social housing projects. This year we have completed the highest number of social housing projects on record, between approved social housing bodies and local authorities. Likewise, we are making progress on affordable homes and cost rental. There is a suite of measures. The new shared equity scheme is gaining huge traction with young purchasers and the help to buy scheme is impacting on people. I mentioned earlier there has been an increase in the number of first-time buyers.

However, there are still huge challenges. We need to build more houses and get houses built. There are many objections to houses. There are people and politicians objecting to housing developments. Leadership needs to start in this House and come from political leaders in these issues. I believe it is the number one crisis over the constant period that will endure unless we continue to facilitate the construction of houses and not always seek to block, block and block. Younger people, in particular, deserve to have access to affordable houses. We need to get up to 35,000 units at least being built annually. We will do everything we possibly can from a Government perspective. Some €4 billion a year has been allocated to housing - way above what was allocated before this Government came into office. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has been very innovative in his response to this.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Will the Taoiseach address the other couple of questions?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am coming to them. Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue of the transport service in south Dublin. The funding was obviously coming through some agency prior to that, was it not?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It was brought up with the Taoiseach and-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I know, but what agency are they dealing with?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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All agencies.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Government did not meet as a Government and say they were not getting funding. The Deputy should know that. He made the political point that the Government refused it. We did not.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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They asked for the money.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Who did they ask?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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They asked the Department.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Normally, in terms of groups in that specific area, funding is provided through a particular agency or whatever. I do not know the full background to the case.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The service is gone now. It is unbelievable.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Well, there must be other reasons and factors we need to tease through.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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They have not got the money - the €250,000. That is it.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Barry raised the issue of the minimum wage, which is a 7.6% increase. Last year's increase was higher than inflation, actually.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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Last year's increase was higher than inflation?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is my understanding, yes.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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At 2.9%?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In terms of the year it applied to, yes. This is just narrowly lower. It is an independent commission, not the Government, that decides the minimum wage. We want to move up as quickly as we can to a new living wage. For the first time in the report, a living wage has now been identified, so progress has been made. The Deputy is aware the vast majority on the minimum wage are not the main income earners in families. We have to continue to improve, and we will. We all agree on that - maybe not all. There is an independent commission that examines this issue in great detail and takes all the factors into account, including employment and so on, to facilitate an increase in the minimum wage.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are going to have to move on.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The practice has been to accept the recommendation of an independent commission. However, in the budget and the cost of living package, we will be taking other measures to help people on the minimum wage to get through the current crisis.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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The Grand Parade?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have an official State event here on Saturday.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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We need to move on to Question No. 5, from Deputy Bacik.