Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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23. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [5648/23]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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24. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit in his Department. [8113/23]

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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25. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [8206/23]

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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26. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [8379/23]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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27. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [8420/23]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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28. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit in his Department. [8504/23]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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29. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [8575/23]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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30. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [8578/23]

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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31. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [8579/23]

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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32. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [8580/23]

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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33. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the social dialogue co-ordination unit of his Department. [8631/23]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 to 33, inclusive, together.

The social dialogue unit, part of the economic division of the Department, co-ordinates and assists the Government's overall approach to social dialogue. Social dialogue takes place through a variety of mechanisms. This includes the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, which engages with representatives of employers and trade unions on economic and employment issues insofar as they affect the labour market and which are of mutual concern.

The most recent plenary meeting, which I chaired, took place on 8 February. This was an opportunity to look at current challenges, in particular in the areas of energy and the cost of living.

Social dialogue and engagement between Government, the trade unions and other representative groups, also takes place through structures like the national economic dialogue, the National Economic and Social Council, the national dialogue on climate action, the national competitiveness and productivity council, through many sectoral groups and with Ministers and Departments directly. Another model for broad-based social dialogue are citizens' assemblies.

The social dialogue unit will continue to assist the Government in engagements with the social partners in the period ahead as we work to strengthen the social dialogue and deal with the many major challenges facing the country.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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There are 663 patients without beds in hospitals across this State today, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO. Its members continue to be concerned about their ability to provide safe care in what the INMO describes as an intolerable situation for vulnerable patients and front-line workers alike.

After a month-long consultation, the INMO executive has sanctioned a campaign of industrial action on safe staffing, with ballots to take place on a location-by-location basis. Nurses are reporting that unsafe staffing is now the norm and the Taoiseach continues to preside over a severe and protracted staffing crisis in our hospitals. Like the junior doctors who balloted for strike action last year, nurses and their representatives will not have come to this decision lightly, as the Taoiseach will know. It is the last thing they want to do. They want to be on the wards, doing the work for which they were trained. It is astonishing that the INMO has to call out the Department of Health and the HSE to produce a fully funded strategic workforce plan for the coming winter. Surely it is now time for the Taoiseach to establish a high-level group, to include him, the Ministers for Health; Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, to develop and produce a formalised ten-year health workforce strategy.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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Charity events are a big part of the social fabric of Ireland but they are under threat right across the country and are being cancelled because of insurance issues. The Taoiseach is probably familiar with the idea of a cheval ride. Those who did French for the leaving certificate will know it is a charity horse ride. Such rides are under threat because insurance companies are not giving cover for a horse and trap. A horse and trap is designed to take two or three people as passengers. Those who participate in a horse and trap are being asked to sign a document saying they will not take a passenger when traps are designed to take passengers. I do not mean to parrot what my friends in the Rural Independent Group would say, but it does seem almost like an attack on rural Ireland that these types of traditions cannot take place. If we are looking for sustainable transport, a horse and trap is one of the most sustainable, low-emitting ways to get from A to B. I would like this matter looked into so we can continue this tradition and, most importantly, raise funds for important causes.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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Tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday to say that racism and fascism are not wanted in this country. It was an important start to building the militant anti-racist movement we need. Why did gardaí harass anti-racist campaigners as the march began to assemble in Parnell Square? Why were attempts made to prevent members of the Socialist Party handing out placards? Those placards stated simply, "Government and system to blame, not refugees." Why were leaflets confiscated from members of People Before Profit? People Before Profit and Solidarity are writing letters of complaint to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, and the Garda Commissioner and asking for this matter to be investigated. Is the Taoiseach prepared to say that these actions were wrong? Quite simply, they were wrong. They should not be repeated. Anti-racists have a right to put their point of view across. They were doing an important duty on Saturday and what happened was very wrong.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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I wish to raise two specific issues. In October, the Labour Party brought forward a motion calling for pay rises for workers in the community and voluntary sector, in line with Building Momentum. Indeed, the Fórsa national executive has backed a proposal for strike action in section 39 agencies funded by the HSE. At the weekend, the Minister for Health announced €81 million in once-off funding for providers but that will not address the long-term pay issues. Will the Taoiseach and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform put in place a standing forum and mechanism for collective bargaining on pay and conditions with recognised trade unions in the community and voluntary sector.

I also raise the issue of assaults against front-line healthcare workers and members of the Garda Síochána, as we saw with yesterday's dreadful news of assaults. We know that plans are required to address this. Labour Party Senators will tomorrow introduce a motion on the welfare and safety workers in the public health service. The INMO is seeking a fully funded workforce plan from the Department of Health and the HSE. Will the Taoiseach guarantee it will be put in place?

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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In the past couple of days, Aontú has received information that shows nearly 400 people have died while homeless in this State in the past five years. That figure is shockingly sad. Many people in this country have died in homeless situations in a short period of time. The figure does not even include people who have died while rough sleeping. It only includes those who have accessed homeless services. Shockingly, that figure is only for Dublin. It does not reflect what is happening in the rest of the State. No one collects the figures for people who die homeless in any other county in the country outside Dublin. The Taoiseach will agree that it is a human disaster that anybody dies while homeless. What does it say about a country when it does not even bother to collect the information about those who die in the other 25 counties in the State? How can we improve access to addiction services, mental health services and emergency accommodation if we are not even collecting the information and know so little about these individuals?

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The forthcoming anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement is a good time to reflect on the great benefits our country has derived from that agreement, which include the cessation of violence, the saving of lives, the development of the all-Ireland economy and its generation of a new business environment and a surge in cross-Border trade resulting in new employment opportunities. The Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement recently held a discussion on the benefits that have arisen for all of our country as a result of the Good Friday Agreement. One issue that arose was the need to establish an all-Ireland labour market. Perhaps the social dialogue could involve informal linkages with our representative organisations' counterparts in Northern Ireland, allowing us to initiate an all-Ireland labour market. There are shortages in places and there are still people looking for employment. Benefits can accrue from marrying the needs of the economies North and South and developing such a market on an all-Ireland basis.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Over many decades, tens of thousands of women and children were wronged by the church and the State in this country. The twisted morality of the church and State at the time forcibly separated mothers and children. The Government apologised and promised to bring in a redress scheme. However, as the Taoiseach will know from the many emails that have been sent to Deputies and Ministers, it then shockingly decided that people who had been in a mother and baby home for less than six months did not deserve redress. This was an absolutely arbitrary and illogical decision that gives no acknowledgement to the fact that the forcible separation of mothers and children, whether for one week, five weeks, six weeks, six months or two years, is a great and grievous wrong. Will the Taoiseach, at the last minute, amend this legislation to remove this arbitrary and unjust threshold and acknowledge the wrong done to all in mother and baby homes?

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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A report by the trade union Mandate showed that two thirds of retail workers are earning less than €400 per week. It also clearly showed that companies are actively choosing to bypass offering hours to existing staff to keep the employer's costs down. The union has called for legislative change to the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018. Will the Government review the Act and changing the legislation to stop this practice?

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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We all welcome the long-awaited citizens' assembly on drugs that is to commence in April. Many of us accept that the war on drugs is well and truly lost and see that our approach should be one of harm reduction and be health-led. We understand that our approach must also be about dealing with the substantial negative impacts on families and communities. However, I want to ensure we deal with the issue of drug crime and specifically the issue of drug debt intimidation. We must engage with a sufficient number of stakeholders on that matter. I accept we need to look at international best practice. We might even need to look at international solutions. We then have to move from the assembly to its report to whatever work is done in the Oireachtas and then to action as quickly as possible.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I was heartened and encouraged to see the very good turnout at the rally at the weekend. People were saying no to racism and that refugees are welcome in Ireland. The numbers who turned out dwarfed the attendance at any anti-migrant protest we have seen to date. Everyone was encouraged by the number of people who were willing to be there. I will say two things in addition to that. I really believe that, for any anti-racism campaign to be as strong as it can be, it should be inclusive of everyone and of all parties. Nobody should feel unable to attend or not welcome. We undermine the anti-racism cause by being partisan or ideological. It is important that everyone be included and feel involved, including the business sector, all political parties, unions and NGOs. We should all be together in saying no to racism. We can defend people of colour, their rights and their humanity by making sure that any campaign is broad and fully inclusive.

I agree with what Deputies have said about the far right exploiting the country's problems. People with extreme ideologies will always do that. Every country has problems. The housing crisis in this country gets blamed on migrants. The unemployment crisis in other countries gets blamed on migrants and, in countries with high murder rates, crime gets blamed on migrants. It is important we never mistakenly in any way validate the anger of people who are racist when it comes to these matters. We should try as best we can to divorce racist anger from the very real problems we face. We should, of course, address these problems, but we should not be naive enough to believe that people who have racist thoughts and who are consumed by racist anger would not just find another issue to blame refugees for. We all need to be honest about that because we know it is true. Historically, diseases, weather events and many other things were blamed on migrants. It is naive to believe people holding such views would not just move onto the next issue. The strongest anti-racism movement is one that is non-ideological, non-partisan and inclusive of everyone in society.

I am not aware of the Garda actions Deputy Barry referred to. I suspect there may be more to the matter than he has described but, not having heard the other side of the story, I cannot know for sure. I am sure the Garda Commissioner and the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission will respond appropriately.

Deputy Smith mentioned the issue of an all-island labour market. To a certain extent, there is an all-island labour market because of the common travel area between Britain and Ireland. We also have the EU Single Market, which is also a common labour market. However, we should definitely look at ways to enhance this. In some ways, I am a little bit surprised that more people do not move from North to South or from South to North to work. When we carry out recruitment campaigns seeking people to come to work in our public services, we often look very far afield. Perhaps we should look North and see if there are people who live in Northern Ireland who might be interested in taking up employment here or even just gaining experience here. The Deputy raises an interesting point that probably needs a bit of thought. It is something we should discuss with the social partners.

On the issues in the public service and the healthcare work plan, it is important to acknowledge in the House that we have more people working in our health service than ever before. Since this time three years ago, approximately 6,000 more doctors, nurses, dentists and midwives have begun working in our public health service. It is a struggle to recruit and retain staff but the increase of 6,000 in three years is considerable. Last year, the HSE had a record year for recruitment, recruiting approximately 15,000 staff. This was more than in any other year in its history. While I do not think there would be any problem with having a fully-funded workforce plan - it sounds like a good idea to me - the real challenge would not be fully funding the plan, but training, recruiting and retaining enough people in what is a very dynamic and international labour market. The reason Irish healthcare workers go to work abroad is not only the terms and conditions but also because there are great deficiencies in those countries as well. That is why they need to recruit internationally. It is something every country is grappling with.

On insurance cover, I agree with the Deputy. It is very sad to see any event having to be cancelled. Since the Cabinet committee on insurance started its work, we have seen an improvement in the availability of insurance although perhaps not in its cost, at least not in respect of public liability and employer liability insurance. The Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is taking on this work from the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, and the Tánaiste is going to take over my chairmanship of the insurance subgroup. We are always keen to know about particular events or particular types of events or businesses that cannot get insurance. The matter can sometimes be resolved, as was done in respect of play centres, adventure parks and so on. Perhaps this is one of those areas in which we could help out.

The mother and baby institutions redress scheme is very substantial, costed at approximately €800 million. It is probably the largest scheme of its nature. As a Government, we have gone well beyond what the commission of investigation recommended and even beyond what the senior officials group recommended. That should be recognised. Crucially, those making claims under the scheme are not required to prove harm or to do any of the kinds of things one would have to do in court proceedings. It was important for the scheme to be designed in that way.

The commission of investigation found that many people were culpable for what happened in mother and baby institutions - the church, the State, religious orders, the men who were responsible and the families who were also responsible. It is significant the State is stepping up here and accepting its responsibility-----

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Six months.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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-----for its part in that injustice providing a scheme that is-----

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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What about the 400 deaths of people in homelessness?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Regarding the 382 deaths among those using homeless services in Dublin in 2018, we need to recall that the behind every number there is a person. We must always remember that with any death of a person experiencing homelessness, there is a family and loved ones who are grieving the loss of that person. Of course, just as is the case for people who are not homeless, people who are homeless can die for any number of different reasons.

I am advised the article is based on information released by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive, DRHE, under freedom of information, FOI, which detailed number of deaths notified to the DRHE from January 2018 to December 2022 in each of the services it supports. It should be noted that the DRHE records death notifications from all its funded residential and outreach services. These include, for example, people who are in permanent tenancies and who have homes, people in Housing First tenancies who are in supported housing, people in long-term supported accommodation, and people receiving tenancy support. Some 43% of the deaths reported were in one of these categories. Of the 382 reported, 216 were classified as homeless at the time of their death. Of those 216 deaths, not all would have occurred in emergency accommodation. For example, some of the people would have died in hospital or in hospices while receiving treatment for a medical illness.