Dáil debates

Tuesday, 23 May 2023

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions

 

2:00 pm

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I also extend a very warm welcome to our friends from Malawi.

A report by the Central Statistics Office, CSO, yesterday revealed that since March 2022 wholesale electricity costs have fallen by 57%. Yet, electricity bills have soared by 63% for households in that same time. It is very clear, therefore, that these savings are not being passed on to consumers. While big companies’ profits keep rising, workers and families continue to be fleeced.

The real-life impact of these extortionate costs is felt in homes the length and breadth of the State. Last week, my colleague, Deputy Clarke, shared the story of an elderly woman in Laois who is unable to pay for a headstone for her late husband’s grave. Why is this the case? It is because she was hit by a huge energy bill she simply cannot afford. She is distraught and her family found her sitting at home alone in the dark, terrified to turn on the lights for fear of her next bill. That is the reality of what these unaffordable energy costs mean for people.

On 1 March, when challenged about these costs, the Taoiseach stood in this Chamber and said he would take action if companies did not pass on the savings. Let me remind the Taoiseach of his words at that time. He said:

“We expect to see electricity and gas companies reduce their prices over the course of the coming months for businesses and residential customers. It will not just be about polite encouragement.”

We are 12 weeks on and not one energy company has reduced its prices for domestic customers. While everything has changed for big companies, nothing has changed for ordinary people who are still being hit with these unaffordable bills. What will the Taoiseach do beyond polite encouragement and cosy chats, to get these savings passed on to customers? While he fails to act, ordinary people pay the price.

We saw the same approach when it came to spiralling food costs. People are struggling with grocery bills and need help urgently, but what did they get from the Government? They got a meaningless encounter between the Government and food retailers, while prices continue to soar and families suffer. The Taoiseach said a fortnight ago that there is profiteering from food retailers. What has he done to address that? Has he contacted retailers to confront them? Has he sent them the dossier compiled by the Minister about this gouging? All we seem to get is PR stunts and no change, as well as optics and no action.

Tá daoine buailte le costais mhóra mhillteacha agus ní féidir leo níos mó a thógáil. Tháinig laghdú ar chostais mórdhíola fuinnimh i gcomhair na comhlachtaí móra.

Ach tá sé soiléir nach bhfuil na coigiltí seo á gcur ar aghaidh chuig teaghlaigh. Ní mór don Railtas cinntiú go gcuirfear na coigiltí seo ar aghaidh ionas go laghdófar billí na ndaoine anois. Agus ní mór dúinn freisin gealltanais shoiléire a fheiceáil, ní gealltanais doiléire.

People cannot take any more. The time for excuses is over. People need to see costs come down now. My questions to the Taoiseach are as follows. He said there is price gouging by the big food retailers, so what is he doing to end it? Is there price gouging by the energy companies? What will he do about this? He said there would be more than polite encouragement, so what is he doing to confront big companies and ensure that prices come down?

2:05 pm

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. At the outset I acknowledge that electricity prices have gone up a lot in the past year or so. What generally happens is wholesale prices go up first on the international markets. After that companies put up their retail prices for businesses and customers. After the prices on the wholesale markets come down, the reductions at retail level, to customers, businesses and homeowners come after that. What we see is the prices on the wholesale markets going up first, retail prices not going up immediately and not going up by as much. However, as wholesale prices fall, retail prices fall after that because companies buy ahead. They do not just buy on the spot market today and sell that electricity to customers. They buy ahead, six months or a year in advance, and the price they pay is passed on to consumers. That is how the electricity market works.

The Deputy asked what the Government is doing about it and whether the Government is acting. It is acting in five ways. We have had energy credits of €600 for every household to help with electricity bills. We reduced VAT to 9%, which is the lowest VAT rate ever for electricity and gas. We have taken a special dividend from ESB. About €300 million in a dividend has been taken from that State company which we can use to help homes and businesses over the period ahead. Just today at Cabinet we approved the extension of the temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS, for small businesses until the end of July to help them with their energy costs. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, gave approval to help businesses that use kerosene, particularly those in rural areas that have not had anything yet because they use kerosene rather than gas.

The other thing that is happening is a windfall tax being imposed on the profits of the energy companies. The legislation is being developed at the moment and will apply from September. When it comes to difficult cases and hardship cases, which happen and the Deputy mentioned one earlier, exceptional needs payments are available from the Department of Social Protection. There are hardship funds in place to avoid such scenarios from happening.

In regard to food, the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, are taking the lead on this. The powers that exist lie with the Consumer and Competition Protection Commission, CCPC. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, is meeting with the CCPC in the next few days. The Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, has already met with the retail sectors. The powers are there with the CCPC to carry out an examination to see whether price fixing or anti-competitive behaviour are under way. The Government is very much engaged on those issues in particular.

Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil an costas maireachtála an-ard. Tá an costas leictreachais an-ard freisin. Tuigim go bhfuil teaghlaigh, go leor daoine agus gnóthaí faoi bhrú ach tá tacaíocht ar fáil agus tá an Rialtas ag obair maidir leis sin.

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I described for the Taoiseach a scenario in which an elderly woman could not put a headstone on her husband's grave. Her family found her sitting in the dark so terrified was she of another high electricity bill. The exceptional needs line the Taoiseach gave me was of absolutely no assistance to her. The Taoiseach has given a list of things the Government has done but the one thing it has not done is to intervene to ensure the big drop in wholesale costs gets passed on speedily to the consumer. I know all about hedging and the process he described to me, but that is no good to that woman. The Taoiseach talks about windfall taxes and high-level initiatives.

At what stage will that woman and every other household see a drop in their bills? That is what people need. So far, the Taoiseach has come up blank on that. He has simply passed the buck. Similarly in terms of the cost of groceries, he describes processes, meetings, the never-never, on tick or mañana, mañana-----

2:10 pm

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Time is up, Deputy, please.

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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-----but no actual result for households. What will he do now to effect a drop in energy bills for households, for the lady to whom I referred and others? Equally, what is he doing now to bring costs down at the till in supermarkets?

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I think I set that out in my answer-----

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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You did not.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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-----but allow me to set it out again. As regards individual cases, it is difficult and I do not wish to speak to individual cases in the Chamber because I do not know all the facts. I know from my constituency service that on many occasions I have been able to help people to get exceptional needs payments for funeral expenses and that is available. Maybe it is not happening in all cases but it is available and-----

Photo of Brian StanleyBrian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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It was refused.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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-----is paid out to a lot of people, and rightly so. How is the Government acting? We brought in energy credits, with €600 already taken off the bills of every household in the country. There is the business scheme. We decided today that we are extending it to July and introducing a special scheme for businesses that use kerosene, particularly in rural Ireland. We have reduced the VAT rate to 9%, the lowest VAT rate we have ever had for electricity and gas, and that is helping people with their bills. We have taken a special dividend off ESB of €300 million which we can use to help people with their bills. We have legislation on a windfall tax being developed at the moment. Those are the actions the Government is taking and they are practical actions that are making a difference in people's lives.

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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They are not having the desired effect.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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As regards the retail price of electricity and gas, as the Deputy knows and has described, it is done through hedging. Companies buy electricity and gas ahead of time. They do not buy it today and sell it on to customers today; they buy it in advance.

Photo of Mary Lou McDonaldMary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The woman is sitting in the dark, afraid to turn on her light.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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That is why retail prices will fall but there will be a time lag in when they fall.

Photo of Holly CairnsHolly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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I want to condemn the intimidation and aggression outside asylum seeker accommodation in recent weeks. In Dublin, homeless asylum seekers were terrorised and their tents set alight. In Inch, we saw checkpoints set up on public roads with people asked to confirm their ID details before being allowed to walk around and go about their lawful business. In Santry at the weekend, masked people on the far right acted with apparent impunity and controlled entry into an industrial estate. Last night, it was revealed that gardaí in Corofin were investigating the alleged assault of a 70-year-old man during another protest against asylum seeker accommodation. He had to be hospitalised. The scenes we are witnessing around the country are frightening. There are fears of this violence and intimidation escalating. The explicitly racist language being used by far-right groups is giving cover to others to engage in more subtle forms of racism. Tropes about the dangers posed by people who are not local are now becoming alarmingly commonplace to hear.

Ireland as a country has always prided itself on being welcoming. For most of our history, we were a nation of emigrants. Millions of us left in search of a better life. Many who left Ireland suffered discrimination in the countries in which they sought refuge. We cannot allow that kind of targeted racist abuse and vilification to get a foothold here. That kind of behaviour cannot and must not be normalised or viewed as an acceptable form of protest.

Everyone in this House has a responsibility to show political leadership on this issue. There should be no equivocation about condemning the treatment of asylum seekers that we are witnessing. I commend the actions of local communities all over the country which have already welcomed tens of thousands of refugees into their areas. Many have and are setting up welcoming committees to help integration in their communities but they cannot do this work all alone. That is why we need to seek communication from the Government with communities, not to offer vetoes but to outline supports and provide resources that will help with integration. What we are learning so quickly is that without communication, there is a huge void and that void is being filled with misinformation, the consequences of which are horrific.

What is the Government doing to address the recent spate of aggression and intimidation directed at asylum seekers? The migrant integration strategy of the previous Government began in 2017 and concluded in 2021. When can we expect to see a new integration strategy for asylum seekers and refugees?

2:20 pm

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Cairns for raising this very important question. I join with her in condemning the violent protests, the intimidation and the racism we have seen occur by some people at some protests in the past few weeks and months, and also the blocking of a public road. Restricting people's freedom is never acceptable. I also condemn the alleged assault of a man in his 70s in County Clare the other day. I extend my best wishes to him and I hope he makes a speedy recovery. I know the Garda will want to interview him and take action on the case.

There is always a place in a democracy for peaceful protest. People have a right to have their voices heard but engaging in violence, intimidation and racism and restricting the freedom of others in a public place is not a legitimate form of protest. I want to be very clear about that. I think the House stands united on that.

When it comes to this matter, we should never lose sight of the bigger picture. We are facing a major refugee crisis, not just here in Ireland but all across Europe. In most years we would have seen 3,000 to 4,000 people coming to Ireland each year looking for protection. In the past year it has been closer to 100,000 people, most of whom are fleeing the war in Ukraine but there are also a very large number of people seeking international protection from other parts of Europe and from outside of Europe. We are struggling to deal with it but I believe we have done a lot. Almost all of those 100,000 people who have come to our country in the past year have been provided with food, shelter, accommodation, access to health care, access to housing and access to education. In many cases they have been provided with employment as well.

I particularly thank the Garda for the work they have done in managing these protests. It is a very difficult job in a difficult situation. I also recognise the communities that have accepted newcomers into their communities. I was pleased to be present with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Heather Humphreys, in the north inner city in Seán McDermott Street only last week to announce €50 million worth of funding to communities around the country, recognising the value of their welcome and making sure that those communities benefit from investment in services and infrastructure. I have asked Ministers to work on the possibility of a similar fund again in a few months' time, given how well it has been received.

I absolutely agree that information and communication is important. More than 100 new centres have been established to accommodate people from overseas. In the vast majority of cases it has gone well. There have not been protests and communities have accepted those newcomers. I accept, however, that in some places things have fallen down and we need to do better. We all need to do better in that regard. I will give the House a small example. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, and the Minister for Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, and their teams have done over 20 meetings with local elected representatives and community groups just in the short period behind us and this of course will continue. We are beefing up the communications teams around the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and led by my Department as well.

Photo of Holly CairnsHolly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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We all appreciate that but we need to see more of it. The point is that when there are no meetings taking place the empty void is filled with misinformation and we are seeing the consequence of that. It is too horrific to allow to continue.

The Taoiseach mentioned the bigger picture. In her report last November, Dr. Catherine Day urged the Government to develop a long-term strategy to the crisis. Dr. Day said it was imperative that the Government act quickly and build State-run, not-for-profit, reception and integration centres. She said it was feasible to deliver two by the end of this month and a further four by the end of the year. Has there been any progress on that?

Last week there were more than 500 asylum seekers on the street with no available accommodation. The Irish Timeshas reported that there were 1,250 vacant rest centre beds in 27 locations across the country. As we speak 250 homeless asylum seekers are still looking for somewhere to go. They are only being provided with a €28 Dunnes voucher. It is difficult to feel there is a real overall strategy that is actually working and having an impact on the ground and in the communities.

The Taoiseach said on Friday the Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, has asked for and been given additional staff. Will the Taoiseach confirm how many additional staff have been seconded from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to assist with this work? What is the plan for the long-term strategy for State-run integration centres?

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is working on a range of new equality strategies. The Deputy will be aware that the national action plan on racism has already been published. Work is also being done on a migrant integration strategy, a Traveller and Roma strategy, a new national strategy for women and girls, and the process of developing a new migrant integration strategy will begin soon.

The Catherine Day report is a very good report. She and her team did some excellent work. It is important to point out, however, that it was all done based on the assumption that somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000-----

2:30 pm

Photo of Holly CairnsHolly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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No, this is the updated report.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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-----international protection applicants would arrive every year. The world has changed since then, but it remains our policy that we want to move away from direct provision. The Minister is developing proposals for a dedicated migration agency and more State-run facilities; we have some already. The number of staff has increased by 250. There are 250 additional staff in the Department and more are sanctioned. We are also doing a lot of work to speed up decision-making. We need to make sure people who come here, apply for international protection and have the right to stay here get a decision in their favour soon. However, those who should not be here and are not people genuinely fleeing war and persecution should also get their decision quickly so we can affect deportations or, at least, issue deportation notices. We have to do that as well.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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Last week, Age Action, the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, Active Retirement Ireland and the trade union SIPTU, launched their pension promise campaign. The campaign is to hold the Government to account on the promises made in the pension reform policy, A Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023. The policy states the State pension should be indexed at 34% of average earnings and tied to the consumer price index on average earnings. That commitment would put our State pension at €310 per week, which is €45 more than it is now.

Before the last budget, there was a call from groups such as Age Action, the Disability Federation of Ireland, Threshold, Irish Rural Link, Barnardos and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to increase welfare payments by a minimum of €20 a week. This was explicitly called for not as an increase but to allow people to stand still during the cost-of-living crisis. Instead, the Government gave a below-inflation €12 a week increase. Age Action called this: "a political choice to cut the living standards of older people". It was, and not just for older people but anyone who relies on a fixed income from the State, a political choice made by the Government to make the people who are least able to deal with the cost-of-living crisis poorer.

Over the past two years, there was a sharp decline in living standards for many in this country. We have seen poverty rates and homelessness go up. More people have to choose between food and energy and more people are in utility and mortgage arrears. The Government has not just overseen a massive step back in the quality of people's lives but has voted for it. It is its policy. Last year, the number of older people at risk of poverty increased by 55,000 compared with 2021. Consistent poverty among older persons rose by a third. Enforced deprivation among older persons rose by more than a half. One in three older persons living alone is at risk of poverty. It was up to one in five in 2021. In addition, many older people are now facing notices to quit following the lifting of the eviction ban.

This is not acceptable, not for our older people and not for one of the wealthiest countries in the world. It is far past time to see the increases in the State pension that were promised in 2018 and that we indexed our social welfare rates to a minimum standard of life that allows proper quality of life, which would mean no person relying on a fixed State income needs to live through the harm of another cost-of-living crisis. Does the Taoiseach stand by that promise made in 2018, when he was previously Taoiseach, to increase the State pension to 34% of average earnings? Will he support the pension promise campaign?

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I can absolutely assure the Deputy of one thing: there will be a further increase in the weekly pension. That will be in the budget. The exact amount has not been decided yet. That will have to be discussed between now and October and will have to be seen in the round with other things the Government wants to do. There will certainly be another pension increase. A decision on that will be made at budget time, as it always is.

I would have to read back on what was said in 2018 and what is in the programme for Government from 2020. I am not exactly sure that we made a commitment to benchmarking or indexation.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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You did.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I will have to double-check that but it might not be the case. Obviously, it is the programme for Government from 2020 that applies now and not things from previously.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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It is 2018 to 2023.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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There is a difference between something being proposed by a Minister or Department and an actual Government decision or commitment. Again, I will come back to the Deputy on that.

The Deputy made some fair points in her remarks but it was only one side of the story. She mentioned the €12 increase in the weekly pension payment, which came into effect in January, but she did not mention the expansion of the fuel allowance to 70,000 lower income people who are pensioners, which has helped a lot of pensioners to get the fuel allowance who did not get it before, or the series of one-off payments ranging from the energy credit, to double pension payments, to the €200 payment a few weeks ago. When they are taken in the round, and if the Deputy is being fair, she should take them in the round, income has kept up with inflation or is at least close to it. If the Deputy is being fair and accurate, she must also acknowledge those increases. She cannot focus on the weekly increase and ignore every other increase. She would not do so if it was the other way around so she might want to expand on that in her further reply.

She is correct that poverty rates among pensioners and older people increased last year. largely as a result of the cost-of-living crisis and the high inflation everyone has experienced. However, she did not knowledge that pensioner poverty is lower than poverty among working-age people. Pensioners or older people are less likely to experience poverty than adults of working age. It is important to acknowledge that. While poverty rates increased last year due to the cost-of-living crisis, they had been falling and trending downwards for many years. I believe that with incomes recovering, prices stabilising and the actions the Government will take in the next budget, we will see it improve again.

2:40 pm

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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It was A Roadmap for Pensions Reform 2018-2023. It is now 2023 and we are going into the next budget, for 2024. The policy states the State pension should be indexed at 34% of average earnings and be tied to the consumer price index and average earnings. As I said, the commitment would put our State pension at €310 per week. The increase of €12 per week that was given in the previous budget was below the cost-of-living rate. It was below the €20 figure that many of the organisations and NGOs which represent people, such as Age Action and the National Disability Authority, put forward clearly. They said the Government made a political choice to cut the living standards of older people. A weekly income is more important than one-off payments. People base their annual bills, shopping, clothing, medicine costs and all things older people need on their weekly income. Will the Taoiseach check that out and confirm what the Government confirmed in its policy in 2018 and implement the 34% of average earnings index in budget 2024 or before?

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I will. That sounds like a roadmap for reform as opposed to a Government decision, but I will not get technical about the differences.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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It is a policy the Government committed to.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I will check it out and come back to the Deputy about it. When we assess things such as payments as a percentage of median income, we do not only take into account weekly payments. We also take into account supplementary payments such as the fuel allowance and other payments. Total income is not only what people get every week. It is the total income over the course of the year.

Photo of Joan CollinsJoan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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It is what people depend on every week. It is like a wage and people depend on a wage.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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We would certainly include everything in any benchmarking exercise. What have we done already? We increased the weekly pension rate by €12, expanded the fuel allowance to approximately 70,000 more pensioners, gave a €600 energy credit to every household and made one-off payments last autumn, at Christmas and in spring this year. That is a lot and we will do more in the context of budget 2024.

Photo of Danny Healy-RaeDanny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I am glad to get this opportunity to raise a few issues that are preventing people from obtaining planning permission to be able to do the most basic thing in life, that is, to build a home and put a roof over their heads. At a time when the Government is struggling to house massive numbers of people who are on the social housing list and people from other countries who are fleeing wars and conflicts, it is ironic that the Government and its agencies are doing their level best to prevent people building a house which does not cost the Government a cent.

They actually contribute to the Exchequer with the VAT and other tax collected from them.

A short few weeks ago I asked the Taoiseach in this Chamber about the restrictions preventing people from getting planning permission where they wish to have exits from their houses and where an exit already exists onto national primary and secondary roads in Kerry. The Taoiseach agreed with me at that time that a blanket ban was not the correct way to administer restrictions that were put in place back in 2012 by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and signed by the relevant Ministers, one of whom was Deputy Varadkar. This forced councils to administer these restrictions on national roads with speeds of more than 60 km/h. We have more kilometres of national roads than most counties, with 100 km of national primary roads and 300 km of national secondary roads. We have more than most counties and others have motorways and their former national roads are now regional roads, for which these restrictions do not apply. We have no motorways in Kerry and the Ring of Kerry road was built in the 1800s. In the 2015 to 2020 county development plan, we agreed exemptions with Transport Infrastructure Ireland for some of the secondary roads but it objected to these in our new 2022 plan. The sons and daughters of farmers cannot get planning permission if their exiting roads are not in the charge of the local authorities.

The planning regulator has insisted that under the new county development plan, more areas are to be designated to be under significant urban influence. These areas are expanded, which means that many applicants who have been born in or lived in an area for all their lives cannot get permission to build homes there. Where are these people to go? They are over the income thresholds for social housing and they cannot afford houses on sites in towns like Killarney, Kenmare, Killorglin or Dingle. Where are they to go? I am asking the Taoiseach what the Government will do to help these people.

The Government will have to do something about anonymous objectors. They should be made to identify themselves and they should have to pay a more realistic fee. With the way application and building costs have gone, €20 is not enough. They should be charged from €500 to €2,500, and maybe that would make them cop on a bit.

2:45 pm

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of housing and I want to report some encouraging news on housing to the House. In recent days we received from the Central Statistics Office, CSO, the housing commencement figures for April so we know that the number of new homes that started construction in April was 10% higher than in April of last year. Just since New Year's Day, more than 10,000 new houses and apartments started construction in Ireland, and I am increasingly confident that we will be able to meet, if not exceed, our target of 30,000 new homes being built in Ireland this year.

We also know from the numbers that house prices are falling and have been falling for the past six months in Dublin, which is encouraging. We know that more than 400 first-time buyers are buying their first homes every week, the highest we have seen since the Celtic tiger period. That is almost certainly an underestimate because it does not take account of the fact that many first-time buyers are couples, which are counted as just one person. It is encouraging to see that progress and I am happy to share that information with the House.

I was in Tipperary on Friday and spent the day around the county. I had a chance to open a social housing development and to speak to members of the council, council staff and people working in the community information service there. They said they are seeing a huge interest and increase in people contacting them about the vacant property refurbishment grant. This is an important and useful innovation by Government, giving people grants of between €50,000 and €70,000 to bring homes back into use. They might be homes in our towns and villages or they might be homes in rural areas and I would encourage people to look at that as an option. It does not always have to be a new build. Renovating or bringing back into use derelict and vacant buildings makes a lot of sense and I want to encourage people to take up that grant. We also offer the help-to-buy scheme for people who are building their homes.

In terms of one-off housing, as the Deputy knows, it is always about getting the balance right. We want people to be able to build a house on their own land or their family's land if they have a genuine local need or reason to live in the area, but we need to balance that with environmental concerns, such as increased commuting and the higher cost of services if people are more sparsely spread out than if they are living in areas that are more densely populated. There are thousands of permissions granted every year for one-off housing. I believe the vast majority of planning permissions are granted. I cannot remember the exact figures, but the vast majority are granted.

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, has particular responsibility for the planning area. He may want to come back to the Deputy with some more information and detail later on in the day or during the week. I am not aware of the issue of anonymous objectors. I will look into it. I did not think it was possible but I will double-check and if it is we will review it. I would have thought that anybody making an objection would have to give their name. We will double check that.

2:50 pm

Photo of Danny Healy-RaeDanny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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Does the Taoiseach want to blackguard me and the people of Kerry with the answer that he is after giving me there, because he answered very little of what I asked? He travelled to Tipperary and other places and talked about goodies that he says he is carrying around the country. I am talking about the Ring of Kerry and the national primary and secondary routes where people are totally denied the opportunity even to apply for planning permission. They cannot apply for it. The Taoiseach agreed with me the last time I raised this that a complete ban was the wrong way to go. He promised that he would do something about it and he would talk to someone. He has talked to no one and he does not want to anything about it.

The other issue that I have raised was the expansion of areas that are under significant urban pressure away out from towns like Killarney, Kenmare and Kilorglin. People cannot get planning permission in these places to build a house for themselves to put a roof over their heads. The Taoiseach is standing here presiding over this. He signed the directive into law back in 2012 when he was either Minister for transport or the environment - one or the other. He gave the powers to Ground Investigations Ireland, GII, to stop people from using existing entrances. This is what the Government is doing in Kerry, and in most of Kerry between the national park and the national roads. There is another road that has not been built at all yet. There are four different routes. The Killarney bypass project is still in abeyance, all the people in that area cannot apply for planning permission and the Government is doing nothing about it. I have raised the issue several times, and what does the Taoiseach come back with? That was in Tipperary last Saturday or last Friday. He should stay in Tipperary or stay up here, because he does not want to know anything about Kerry anyway.

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Different rules apply in different areas for different reasons because we have different local authorities. There are also areas that are under special amenity area orders and areas that are under urban pressure. I do not want to come back to the Deputy with an inaccurate response. There are different rules in different places for different reasons. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is the Minister of State responsible for planning. I will ask him to come back to the Deputy directly over the course of the week, and specifically on the issue of the use of existing entrances. I agree that there should not be a blanket ban where there is an existing entrances. There is a difference between using an existing entrance and a new one. I will come back to the Deputy on that.