Dáil debates

Wednesday, 12 October 2022

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation

 

12:42 pm

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Deputies have up to a minute each.

Photo of Matt CarthyMatt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The finance Bill is set to be published next week. Will the concrete block levy be part of it? We have heard conflicting reports and briefings. I put it to the Minister that the proposal for this concrete block levy should be scrapped. It is a ludicrous notion to increase the cost of building homes at a time when we are facing an unprecedented housing and inflationary crisis. Incredibly, those families that were impacted by the defective blocks scandal and Celtic tiger-era fire safety defects will be forced to pay more to rebuild under this levy. Will the Minister please break through the spin for us, and the briefings and reports, and let us know whether the finance Bill will include provision for this levy? Will he consider a sensible approach and scrap the levy in favour of a more reasonable measure?

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will break through the Deputy's spin. He called for this levy and welcomed it.

Photo of Matt CarthyMatt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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No, I did not. That is not-----

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is the fact of the matter and we need to remind people of that.

Photo of Matt CarthyMatt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister knows it is not.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The finance spokesperson for the Deputy's party welcomed the levy on the day it was announced in the Dáil. Let us put that on the record and be straight.

Photo of Matt CarthyMatt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister answer the question?

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Government is engaging with all those who have expressed a view on this issue. The finance Bill will be published. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, will give very careful consideration to all the issues that have been raised. However, we have to ensure that we can fund a €2.7 billion bill for the mica issue. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has a report on his desk relating to apartment defects, which could cost up to €2.5 billion to resolve. Between those two schemes, there is a bill of €5 billion that somebody will have to meet at some point in time. We will engage, we are considering all the points that have been raised and the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, will respond.

Photo of Aodhán Ó RíordáinAodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour)
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I am sure the Minister will join me in congratulating the Irish women's football team on qualifying last night for next year's World Cup. Five years ago, many of these women had to threaten strike action in order to get basic respect within the FAI. I put it to the Minister that Irish soccer and Irish women's soccer, in particular, has not got enough support or respect from Irish politics. A woman in Ireland cannot be a professional footballer. Young girls who dream of becoming professional footballers have to go to England; many of them are doing that.

Last year, the Government gave €95 million to the horse and greyhound fund. This is a direct fund paid for through a levy on betting. No other sport benefits from it. I suggest to the Minister, and I know the Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Chambers, is quite committed to Irish football, that we find pathways for young women to keep playing in Ireland and should not say to them that they have to go abroad in order to fulfil their footballing ambitions. We should build on the legacy of what was achieved last night for future generations of Irish footballing women.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I join with the Deputy in congratulating the Irish team, including Vera Pauw and goalscorer Amber Barrett. We could not but be touched by Ms Barrett's tribute and the way in which she dedicated her goal to the victims in Creeslough.

I attend underage girls' soccer matches every weekend because my daughters play. I know of the fantastic work that is being done at grassroots level. I assure the Deputy that the Government will support the FAI in all the efforts that are under way to strengthen the supports for girls' soccer in Ireland. That is specifically provided for within the memorandum of understanding the Department has with the FAI. I assure the Deputy of our continued commitment to that.

Photo of Holly CairnsHolly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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This week we learned that the religious orders involved in mother and baby homes have no intention of contributing to the redress scheme. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, continues to stand over the flawed commission's report, which absolved the church of any responsibility. The State and church perpetuated some of the worst human rights abuses in our history, including illegal adoptions, illegal vaccine trials, mass graves and the abuse of children. The Government remains deferential to the church instead of pursuing it to offer some form of compensation to survivors. We also learned the Government's redress scheme will exclude many of the survivors, no doubt with input from the Minister's Department, which was more concerned with costs than justice. The Government is intentionally giving as little as possible to as small a number of survivors as possible, while allowing the religious orders that profited from these crimes off scot-free.

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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To keep the record clear, I have met with seven religious congregations or lay organisations, and the leaders of the Church of Ireland, in seeking a meaningful and significant response from them on redress. Those negotiations are ongoing at present. There has been no conclusion in terms of those engagements.

As the Deputy said, yesterday we brought forward the final redress Bill, which allows for a scheme that will cover 34,000 individuals, recognising the major impacts that mother and baby homes have had on Irish society. It is hoped we will bring that legislation to the House in the next two weeks, and pass it rapidly through the Houses, so those 34,000 individuals can avail of financial payments and 19,000 individuals can receive enhanced medical cards.

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Last week, I highlighted the case of a family with two autistic children who are living in a tent because they are entitled to absolutely no housing support at all, whether that is the housing assistance payment, HAP, emergency accommodation or social housing, because they are over the social housing income thresholds. For about two years now, I have highlighted the case of a mother who works for a State agency, is living with her child in the same bedroom in emergency accommodation, is not entitled to HAP or social housing and, at one point, was threatened with eviction from emergency accommodation.

These are the bitter fruits of the Government's refusal to raise the income thresholds for social housing and HAP. If someone is not entitled to social housing because of his or her income, that individual is not entitled to HAP or emergency accommodation. The Government recently published a review that was completed in November. That review concluded that we need another review. When will we actually raise the thresholds on social housing? My minute is up now.

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Deputy-----

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That was my minute. I was watching.

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I am following the minutes very carefully. I ask the Deputy to co-operate with me. All the other Deputies are waiting to get in under the 30 minutes allocated.

12:52 pm

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I acknowledge that this is an issue the Deputy has consistently raised. Leaving social housing income limits aside, it should not be the case that a family with two children with special needs are sleeping rough so I ask the Deputy to please provide us with the details of the case so that we can make sure it is followed up on. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has increased the limits for five different counties. From speaking with him recently and discussions at a Cabinet committee, I believe he is very close to a final decision on the rest of the country.

Photo of Seán CanneySeán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I will raise a very important issue. Last Monday night, along with other public representatives, I met with some GPs in Ballinasloe to discuss grave concerns about the out-of-hours GP service for a large part of south-east Galway, including Eyrecourt, Lawrencetown, Kiltormer, Kilconnell, parts of Ballinasloe, Portumna and Loughrea. The service serves approximately 15,000 patients and is currently providing full 24-hour cover, including 53 straight hours of cover at the weekend, without a driver, nursing administration staff or a triage service. The HSE has made an application for funding to the Department of Health each year for the last five years but this has been refused on the basis that there is no funding available. Last Monday night, four of the service's doctors told us that they will be retiring very soon and that the whole system will collapse.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Canney for raising this issue, which I know is of great local importance. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is aware of the issue and has agreed to meet with Deputy Canney and other Oireachtas Members this evening to see what progress can be made on it.

Photo of Mattie McGrathMattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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There is currently no special needs education officer assigned to south Tipperary. The special educational needs organiser, SENO, in north Tipperary has been covering the area to the best of her ability. Given the rising number seeking special needs education and supports and the importance of access to SENOs for parents, will the Minister have this situation rectified? It is shocking that we do not have a SENO in south Tipperary. The last SENO did a great job. Given that Tipperary is 115 miles long, it is just not possible for the SENO in north Tipperary to provide that service. Parents are frustrated and children with such needs are not being looked after in a timely manner.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I know the importance of SENOs and the relationships they have with parents in helping them to secure an appropriate school place in communities all over Ireland. We provided increased resources for the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, in the most recent budget. That will result in an increase in the number of SENOs all over Ireland. If the Deputy provides me with the specifics of the case in south Tipperary, we will take it up. There is a new CEO in charge of the NCSE which, as I have said, has been given resources to increase the number of SENOs in the country. I hope that will help to resolve the issue in south Tipperary.

Photo of Marian HarkinMarian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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There is a severe shortage of radiation therapists in the HSE. I put down a number of written questions asking for a progress report but the only response I have got is that there is a review ongoing in the Workplace Relations Commission. Despite a real crisis in the sector, very little progress has been made in getting this review up and running. Approximately half of people with a cancer diagnosis will require radiation therapy and this can only be delivered by a radiation therapist. For the north west, that service is mainly delivered in Galway. Approximately 15% of radiation therapist positions are vacant and that number is rising rather than falling because of poor pay and poor career opportunities. This is not just about staff, however. It is about timely quality care for cancer sufferers. Will the Minister ensure there is no delay in finalising the review?

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am not familiar with the detail of this issue in respect of radiation therapists but I will raise it with the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, who will get an answer from the HSE and revert to Deputy Harkin. I will make the point that we have increased overall staffing numbers in healthcare by 15,000 over the last two years. This is biggest increase in staff since the HSE was established and includes 4,500 nurses and midwives, 2,300 health and social care professionals and 1,400 doctors and dentists. The Deputy has highlighted a particular issue. We will follow up on it and revert to her.

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We have 13 speakers and 17 minutes left. I will give each Deputy up to a minute.

Photo of Cathal CroweCathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister did a good job with Leaders' Questions. I was watching from my office. I have a very quick question. Shannon Airport has submitted an application for a public service obligation route to the Department of Transport. This will soon come across the Minister, Deputy McGrath's desk. It seeks a service between Shannon Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Brexit has been a disaster for everyone on this island but we in the Shannon region are feeling it particularly strongly. We in the west of Ireland are geographically peripheral and distant from continental Europe. We have key companies like Boston Scientific and EI Electronics and many other very large companies that need to get their products out of the mid-west and into continental Europe. We need this service. The proposal has been warmly received by many. At 3 p.m., I am going to the Dutch Embassy to again push this matter. I would love to hear some words of positivity from the Minister.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We fully appreciate the importance of connectivity for the mid-west region. I commend the management of Shannon Airport on its recovery, which is now well advanced, following the very dark days of Covid-19. Government has provided a lot of support and will continue to provide support to Shannon Airport through the regional airports programme. In light of the pressure Dublin Airport has been under, it makes sense to support our regional airports, including Shannon Airport and Cork Airport. I will follow up on the specific issue the Deputy has raised. I appreciate the importance of Schiphol as a key hub and what such a route would open up for Shannon. That is something we will raise with the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

Photo of Neale RichmondNeale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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This week, we have seen the full levels of depravity the Russian regime is capable of in Ukraine. We have also seen the Estonian Parliament and the European Parliament accept motions declaring Russia a terrorist state. Will Ireland join with them and declare Russia a terrorist state?

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Some of the scenes we have witnessed on our television screens and social media feeds in recent days have been utterly shocking. These are attacks on civilian targets, on cities and residential buildings. What is happening there is appalling and subhuman. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to respond to the specific question the Deputy has asked but we have been very clear about whom we are politically standing with, united with and acting in solidarity with, that is, the Ukrainian people.

Photo of Imelda MunsterImelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am glad the Minister for Justice is here. I will raise the sense of abandonment my constituents in Meath East feel with regard to Garda resources. As the Minister will know, there is a Garda station there that is not fit for purpose and which is only manned from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. despite the fact that there is a population of more than 32,000 in the area. The Garda Commissioner's office has said that the Office of Public Works, OPW, is preparing proposals but my constituents in Meath East are asking whether we have a date for when the Garda station will be fully resourced, fully manned and open on a full-time basis and when the Meath East area will be brought into the Drogheda Garda division. We are coming into winter, when we always see an increase in the number of burglaries and other crimes, and my constituents feel abandoned. Do we have a date for when they will see a fully resourced and fully complete Garda station brought under the Drogheda division?

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I stress that there has been a great amount of focus and priority placed on not only the Drogheda area, but an area extending into east Meath. Through the Vivian Guerin report, there has been a great amount of investment in our communities and supporting the Garda across Louth and even into the east Meath area. The Garda Commissioner has visited a number of stations in the area the Deputy has mentioned and there are plans afoot to make sure that we have a 24-hour response and the services that people require. However, I do not have dates for any changes or information on when or where resources are going to be put in place. That is a matter for the Garda Commissioner but I assure the Deputy that this Government and I are absolutely committed to increasing the Garda workforce, including both Garda members and staff. Some 11,000 people applied to a recruitment campaign and the interviews, fitness tests and everything else that needs to happen to get those candidates through Templemore and into places like east Meath, Drogheda and all of the surrounding areas are under way.

Photo of Violet-Anne WynneViolet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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Before serving the people of Clare in this House, I was a member of the Reserve Defence Forces. As a former member, I have taken a special interest in the issue I will raise today. This week marks a year since Katie Hannon's documentary, "Women of Honour", was broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1.

For the first time since the research done by my colleague, Senator Clonan, the voices of those who suffered horrors and injustices at the hands of their superiors in the Defence Forces were heard. After that documentary, the Government scrambled to cobble together an independent review group, IRG, to pay lip service to these very genuine concerns. The Women of Honour are not happy, to say the least, specifically in relation to the IRG, which has not been able to build any confidence. They were assured of a collaborative approach but that was not the case. They wanted a copy of the interim report and that did not transpire. There is a complete lack of transparency. This week, as we celebrate the International Day of the Girl, it is not good enough to see female victims of male oppression in an organisation treated in such a manner. Will the Minister act on the previous commitment by the Taoiseach that he would move to a statutory process?

1:02 pm

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am aware that the Women of Honour issued a public statement yesterday. I heard some commentary on that in the media last evening but I am not fully across all the details. When the review was established, it was regarded as a critical first step. It is significant that it has not attracted the support of the women themselves. That is a concern and a disappointment. I will relay the Deputy's comments to the Minister for Defence and ask him to respond to her directly. It was always envisaged that the judge-led independent review group, chaired by Ms Justice Bronagh O'Hanlon, was to be regarded as a first step. However, it is clear that it does not have the confidence of the women concerned. That is a significant matter. I will ask the Minister to respond to the Deputy.

Photo of Donnchadh Ó LaoghaireDonnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is now nine months since the pandemic bonus for front-line workers was announced. HSE workers were paid quite quickly after that but there are other workers across the State and in every community in Ireland, who would have worked extremely hard during that period and exposed themselves to Covid, whether they were in the fire service, cleaners in our hospitals and healthcare providers, nursing home staff or in the Defence Forces. A lot of these people are getting very frustrated. They feel they have made just as much of a contribution as many others. It has now been nine months. The HSE has said that there are various complications and so on but this should have been anticipated from the start when this was announced. Nine months on, when are these front-line workers, who worked so hard and served us all, going to get their bonus payments?

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Those workers are in touch with us as well. I know many of them are very frustrated at the delay in these payments being issued. It should be acknowledged that almost 124,000 staff have received the €1,000 pandemic recognition payment. In essence, those are the people directly employed by the HSE, which includes many section 38 voluntary hospital staff, but many others are waiting. The Deputy identified a number of different categories. This issue has been discussed in recent days at a political level. It is a priority that we get these payments issued quickly. The Department of Health has brought in additional help to support it in working through some of the complexity that is there. It should not have taken this long but we are determined to get this completed as soon as possible because all these workers deserve these payments quickly.

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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Last week, EirGrid forecast yet again that data centres are on track to use almost 30% of our electricity by 2031. It is a completely unsustainable approach which makes reaching our climate targets even harder. Now, to add insult industry, the Minister for Finance has confirmed to me that data centres will be eligible to receive €10,000 a month each from the public purse because of the temporary business energy support, TBES, scheme. Does the Minister not agree it is utterly obscene that those who are suffering from energy poverty will be paying to subsidise the electricity usage of some of the biggest corporations on the planet? Does he agree that the scheme must be amended immediately in order to exclude data centres from it?

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The scheme the Minister for Finance announced on budget day, which is still being developed, is a broad-based scheme to support businesses with the very high energy costs they are going to be facing over the period ahead. It is based on the relative increase in the per unit price of energy for a particular business. Many of those companies the Deputy has identified, because of their scale and their ability to enter into longer-term futures contracts and so on, may not qualify. However, it is a broad-based scheme. I will relay to the Minister for Finance the concerns the Deputy has expressed.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I raise the commitment in the programme for Government around the improvement of dental services. In Laois-Offaly, we are in crisis. The Minister is standing in for the Taoiseach today. I want to get this addressed. The public scheme is not functioning properly. Dentists are not interested, in the main. Dentists have stopped taking patients for the dental treatment services scheme, DTSS, full stop. Services cannot be gotten and people cannot access them. Those are the facts. The school scheme has also collapsed. In Laois, there are 16-year-old and 17-year-old children - teenagers - who have not yet seen a dentist in their lifetime. Those are the facts of it. The services in Laois-Offaly are in the dark ages. Services across CHO 8 are in severe difficulty. There is a budget and I am trying to find out how much it is. If the Minister could give me the figure, I would welcome it. I have been looking for it from the HSE. There is a budget and we have no service. Given that failure, will the Government now decide to train, recruit and employ public dentists-----

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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The Minister to respond.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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-----through the HSE to provide a dental health service to the children and adults in Laois-Offaly?

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We are over time.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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I have raised this many times with the Taoiseach.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I know this is an important issue and it is one we are committed to addressing. It is undoubtedly the case that a significant number of contracted dentists have chosen to opt out of the dental treatment scheme. It has caused a lot of problems and delays for medical card patients around the country.

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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It has collapsed.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for Health has approved new measures to provide for both expanded dental healthcare for medical card holders in the dental treatment scheme and increased fees for dental contractors. Those came into effect on 1 May. In addition, further funding has been provided in the recent budget to assist the HSE in providing care to adult medical card holders who meet the HSE criteria for emergency care.

Photo of Alan DillonAlan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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There has been an immediate call from early childhood care providers to increase capitation for the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme, from €69 to €76 per week, at a cost of €30 million per annum. I have been contacted by several providers in Mayo who state that their businesses will no longer be viable if increased capitation is not put in place. Despite positive support for employees in early childhood care in this year's budget, the Federation of Early Childhood Providers is asking for more funding to cover the costs of administrating core funding. Children with additional needs are only funded to get support during the ECCE preschool session. Early childhood care providers say the related funding stream aims must be expanded. The Federation of Early Childhood Providers has balloted its members and is now planning two closure days next month. This will have a severe impact on working families. I ask the Minister to engage with these groups to see if a solution can be found.

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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With the support of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I achieved a €346 million increase in the budget for childcare. In 2023 we will spend more than €1 billion on childcare for the first time ever. That is going to deliver, on average, a 25% cut in fees for parents. Importantly for providers, this also allows us to put more money into core funding. Core funding in this academic year will grow by €52 million and in the second academic year will grow to €287 million. ECCE services are funded by core funding as well. It is important to reference that ECCE services benefit from core funding. The majority will see significant increases in income under core funding. That will allow them to better pay their staff under the employment regulation order, ERO, that has been negotiated, allowing for the expansion of services across the country and assisting them to meet their overheads as well.

Photo of Pádraig O'SullivanPádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I raised this issue last week with the Tánaiste but I believe it merits being raised here again. It relates to changes in benefit-in-kind in the new year. In January, the benefit-in-kind rate will increase from 6% to 9%, which means certain car owners will have to pay thousands of euro more to do their jobs. I am not just talking about private employers and employees here. I am speaking about people in medical device companies, nurses and others doing very important work. When the Minister assumes his new role in the new year, I hope he can give this issue the proper scrutiny it deserves.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I have seen some correspondence coming to my constituency office about this from people pointing to individual examples of what this means for them. It is an issue that the Minister for Finance is very conscious of and will be engaging with over the course of the progression of the finance Bill.

I ask the Deputy to engage directly with the Minister for Finance as that Bill is published and on Committee and Report Stages but I will raise the issue with him and relay the concerns expressed by the Deputy.

1:12 pm

Photo of Réada CroninRéada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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In March, the HSE was found to have broken the law on assessment of need. The Department's arrogance continues extending even to its own Minister, who like myself is meeting heartbroken parents day in and day out. The new figures on assessments of need released to Sinn Féin are shocking even by the usual appalling standards. Where are the annual section 13 reports that have been missing since 2014? If you do not report on assessments of need, how are you meant to improve on them for next year? This week, a constituent told me they are taking the legal route because they cannot wait any longer. Their child's future is being destroyed. Another constituent's little boy is losing the chance to speak. What is galling is that the State will be using their money - public funds - to defend the indefensible instead of providing services. It beggars belief. What is the Minister of State going to do about it?

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to reassure the Deputy and anyone looking in here that I was very fortunate in the budget to secure €11.5 million with the help of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to ensure that everyone awaiting an assessment of need since last March will be seen. We will clear the entire backlog of assessments of need. We have provision for all.

Photo of Réada CroninRéada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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When does the Minister of State hope to have it cleared?

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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We are working on that.

Photo of Jennifer Carroll MacNeillJennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I wish to raise the free school books scheme, as announced in budget 2023. The scheme was presented as a universal measure from which all families and children would benefit in a €9.6 billion budget in the Department of Education. A total of over €50 million is being spent on free books but this does not apply to children in fee-paying schools. We have just heard from the Taoiseach in the Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality, who spoke about gender budgeting and universal measures that benefit gender budgeting. Could the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform look again at this scheme, calculate the additional money that would be needed to make it universal and to include all children and explain the rationale for leaving those children out when their parents are taxpayers and this was presented as a universal measure?

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for Education and her officials are working on the detailed design of that scheme and how it will be operated in practice but I was certainly clear in my own mind and in the budget announcement on the day that it was in respect of publicly funded schools. That was the basis of the discussion we had but it is now a matter for the Minister for Education to work through the detailed design of the scheme and I am sure she will take on board the points made by the Deputy.

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is probably aware that a plan for three elective hospitals in Cork, Dublin and Galway have been put forward. We urgently need elective beds and an elective hospital in Limerick and the mid-west. Were the Minister for Health to bring forward a proposal for an elective hospital or elective beds in Limerick, is it something the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform would consider?

Photo of Marc MacSharryMarc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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As the Minister and the Minister for Finance put the final touches to the finance Bill, in welcoming many measures in the budget, could I ask that they use this opportunity, as late in the day as it is, to reverse the decision to place a 10% levy on concrete blocks? As a property professional, I can tell the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that the proposal is counterproductive to the Government's own balance sheet and to our policy to promote housing. In addition, will the Minister also use the opportunity to extend the very welcome €500 tax relief on rental properties to the many parents throughout the country who are paying exorbitant accommodation costs for students? The Minister might take these points on board as the final touches are put to the Finance Bill, as I think the public would greatly welcome them. We are not talking about a huge amount of money , namely, €80 million on the blocks scheme and €500 for our students nationally, who are paying up to €1,300 per month on rent. I am sure the Minister would agree with me that it is needed.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I reassure Deputy MacSharry and all colleagues in the House that the Minister for Finance will give careful consideration, as will the Government, to all of the issues that have been raised regarding the levy. That said, we must raise money to ensure we can fund what is a major remediation programme in respect of mica and the State must make decisions as to how it responds to the apartment defects report as well. Deputy MacSharry and other Deputies have made a number of points in this regard and I am sure he will engage when the Finance Bill comes here on Second Stage and goes on to Committee and Report Stages. The Minister for Finance will consider those points carefully in addition to the rental tax credit, which must be embedded in primary legislation in the form of the Finance Bill. That will provide an opportunity for parliamentary engagement.

In response to Deputy O'Donnell, I understand that the Minister for Health will be bringing proposals to the Government shortly in respect of certain elective hospital projects. The specific case raised by the Deputy is best left to the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to come back to the Deputy having consulted with the HSE.