Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I move the following Revised Estimates:

Vote 25 — Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Revised Estimate).

That a sum not exceeding €9,709,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2025, for the salaries and expenses of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and for payment of certain grants.

Vote 40— Children, Disability and Equality (Further Revised Estimate).

That a sum not exceeding €6,101,872,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2025, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, for certain services administered by that Office and for the payment of grants.

I welcome the opportunity to present the Further Revised Estimates and the Revised Estimates for the children, disability and equality Vote group for 2025. The Vote group encompasses Vote 40, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality, which has an overall financial allocation for 2025 of €6.028 billion for current expenditure and €100 million for capital expenditure. The 2025 allocation supports a range of key services in respect of children and young people, such as Tusla, the Child and Family Agency; early learning and care and school-age childcare; and youth participation services. The allocation also covers funding for disability services. In addition, it provides for the Government’s response to the legacy of mother and baby institutions where so many people had difficult, challenging, distressing and awful experiences. The allocation also contains funding for the areas of equality and inclusion, encompassing human rights, gender equality, LGBTQI+, Traveller and Roma and disability policy.

The Vote group also includes Vote 25, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, IHREC. IHREC is an independent public body that accounts to the Oireachtas with a mandate established under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014, for which I, as Minister, have responsibility. The 2025 gross allocation for IHREC is €9.81 million.

Following the formation of the new Government, the Department has been the subject of two transfer of functions orders in 2025. Migration functions have been transferred to the Department of Justice and youth affairs functions have been transferred to the Department of Education.

The Further Revised Estimate of Expenditure for Vote 40, which is before the House today, provides for the transfer of the corresponding financial allocations. Accordingly, it reflects the fact that €2.046 billion associated with migration functions is transferring to the Department of Justice. A further €90.4 million associated with youth affairs functions is transferring to the Department of Education.

The allocation of €6.128 billion set out in the Further Revised Estimate of Expenditure for Vote 40 relates to all of the functions which remain with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. On a like-for-like comparison, this 2025 allocation is 9%, or €528.5 million, higher than the corresponding 2024 allocation. In terms of the composition of the allocation in 2025, over 97% of the Department’s funding is concentrated in four areas of the Vote. These four areas include specialist community based disability services which accounts for 53% of the total allocation; early learning and childcare which accounts for 23%; Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, which accounts for 20%; and the response to the legacy of mother and baby Institutions, including the mother and baby institutions payment scheme which stands at 2%.

I will now briefly address these areas in turn. This year my Department has secured more than €3.2 billion for disability services. This represents an increase of €171.4 million over the 2024 Supplementary Estimate allocation. This funding will allow us to support service providers to continue to do their crucial work in what is a challenging economic environment while also supporting the progressive roll-out of the action plan for disability services and the roadmap for children’s disability services. The funding will support improvement and expansion of services in areas including residential care services to respond to demand for priority placements; adult day services for new school leavers; respite, which can play a crucial role in delaying or preventing a move into full-time residential care, with 65,000 day respite sessions and 161,000 overnight respite delivered in 2024; and additional personal assistance and home supports providing for approximately 95,000 personal assistance hours and 40,000 home support hours.

Early learning and care and school-age childcare funding for 2025 stands at €1.385 billion and accounts for 23% of the Vote’s allocation. This represents an increase of €218 million, or 19%, over the 2024 Supplementary Estimate allocation. The increase in funding will support the full-year cost of the 2024 national childcare scheme rate increase. In 2025, the families of more than 200,000 children will benefit from the changes to the minimum hourly subsidy rate, from €1.40 to €2.14. It also reflects an increase in core funding for the 2025-26 programme year from September 2025 and an increased capital allocation of €26.4 million. This 2025 allocation provides for the continuation of the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme, the free universal two-year pre-school programme which will benefit more than 100,000 children this year.

It provides additional funding for an increasing cohort of children with a disability availing of targeted access and inclusion model supports, numbering more than 7,000 in 2025; as well as additional funding for the extension of these supports beyond time spent in the ECCE programme, both in term and out of term.

In 2025, I will also deliver on other key commitments, including continued roll-out of the equal participation model; the delivery of the building blocks capacity grant, which was announced this week, to provide 15,000 early learning and childcare places; and a range of regulatory and quality measures. The allocation under this area is, I believe, a clear demonstration of the Government's commitment to continuing to grow investment in early learning and childcare given the benefits it confers on children and their families, society and the economy.

My Department's Estimate contains provision of approximately €1.2 billion for Tusla, which represents an increase of €63.3 million, or 6%, over the 2024 Supplementary Estimate levels. This funding will allow Tusla to continue to provide support for foster carers, with provision made for the full year costs of the increases in the weekly foster care allowances brought in part way through last year, as well as additional funding for support to foster families during the initial placement of a new foster child.

The funding will allow for expenditure on special care and residential care as well as providing for expected increases in the numbers of separated children seeking international protection.

Funding is also being provided to maintain and grow family support services and early intervention and preventative programmes across Ireland, including an expansion to the network of family resource centres. I recently opened the application process to increase the number of family resource centres.

In responding to the final report of the mother and baby homes commission of investigation, the Government approved an action plan with measures designed to respond to the priority needs and concerns of survivors. Many of these key measures are now in place and the programme for Government reaffirms the Government's commitment to continued delivery of the plan. To support implementation of the action plan, funding of €125 million is being made available in 2025. This allocation has been provided to fund a range of measures which respond to the harrowing legacy of mother and baby institutions, including the mother and baby institutions payment scheme, the complex and sensitive excavation of the former mother and baby home institution at Tuam in County Galway, the special advocate for survivors and the national centre for research and remembrance. The mother and baby institutions payments opened to applicants on 20 March last year. To date, 6,500 applications had been received and 5,700 decisions have been made.

In relation to the rest of the Vote, there are other important policy areas that will be progressed in 2025. The 2025 Estimate sees increased funding which will allow the Department to progress new national strategies on Travellers and Roma, LGBTQI+ inclusion, and women and girls. These will aim to address key equality issues and improve opportunities for diverse groups at risk of discrimination.

While the youth affairs area has transferred to the Department of Education, I would like the House to note that my Department retains important child and youth participation functions. These include a grant scheme to enable city and county councils to create and upgrade playgrounds, making them more accessible, inclusive and enjoyable for everyone. The provision of playgrounds for young children has improved in recent years, with around 960 playgrounds available in 31 councils around the country. I was pleased earlier this month to announce €500,000 in grants for 28 playgrounds and play areas around the country.

The significant resources under the Department's Vote for 2025 allow for the continuation of vital services and supports to children, young people, families, people with disabilities, survivors and those facing disadvantage or discrimination. They also provide some important opportunities for targeted development and improvement of services. Deputies may be assured that I will continue to work closely with all sectors and stakeholders as we strive to maximise positive outcomes from the resources being considered today.

I appreciate Deputies' attendance and I commend the motion to the House.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister for her statement and the documentation we have been provided with that details the elements of both Votes. I will focus my contribution on Vote 40 and raise some issues with what has been outlined and what the Minister outlined, much of which is welcome, particularly the increased budget for disability which we must acknowledge. It has been rising and that is welcome.

That said, one of the key measures here is to progress the action plan for disability services, which is very important, but very much to focus on the supports and services to ensure they are person centred and enable those who rely on them. I recently met representatives of the Brothers of Charity in Roscommon town. Their overall budget this year is down by €8 million. They have seen a drop in funding for County Galway of €2 million and it impacts Roscommon by a loss of about €500,000. When I met the Brothers of Charity, both the manager of the Roscommon area and of Galway, there was a list of parents seeking respite. The manager had, I think, about €10,000 and was trying to work out how to divvy it up between parents, some of whom had children with additional needs aged 18 years and who had never had respite. It is frightening to think how in this day and age, with a surplus of more than €8 billion this year and when we are one of the richest and most successful economies in Europe, somebody is in a position where they are trying to work out if they can give a few hours' respite here or there and who is going to lose out or who will get respite. It is frightening to think that is the position we are in when we are such a rich country. These are our most vulnerable citizens. Therefore, while we talk about disability funding, and I acknowledge that it has increased, we must make sure the funding is getting to those who need it most. I cannot understand how those like the Brothers of Charity are down €8 million of funding and are scrimping and scraping, especially when it comes to desperately needed respite. The representatives told me they have about 35 people on the list for long-term residential care and there is nowhere for them. They also spoke about the huge difficulties they have with transport and transport costs. This is particularly acute, as the Minister will know, in rural areas especially.

On the assessment of needs and the continuation of the waitlist initiative, I want to press the Minister again on Cara's fund and additional funding for that as well as the long overdue need for a workforce plan. Yesterday, I spoke of the issue with CORU recognition. While I appreciate it is not under the Minister's Department specifically, I would ask that she speak to the Minister for Health on that. A pathway has been found for occupational therapists where they train in England for their masters there and come home. The same pathway should be there for speech and language therapy but it is not. Will the Minister please engage on that? I am dealing with someone who has been ten months home, who is a fully qualified speech and language therapist and who cannot work. We are crying out for them. Her training was in England. It was not in the Third World. We need to look at that.

I welcome that there has been movement on pay for the section 39 workers but we need to go much further. I would like to see additional funding and a commitment to that, especially as we approach the budget, to give certainty to those in our community and voluntary organisations who, when it comes to assessment of needs and various therapies, do exactly what they do in the HSE but are not paid anything like what they are paid in the HSE. We need to look at that, especially when waiting lists are as they are.

I welcome the additional funding that has been made available to family resource centres. Unfortunately, I understand only a very small number of family resource centres will have the opportunity to come in under the national programme for funding which is so important to them. The Minister will have huge demand with the family resource centres wanting to come in. There are two which I engage with a lot in my constituency. One is Ballinasloe, a town in County Galway that is identified by Pobal, particularly in the town area, as extremely disadvantaged. It should have had a family resource centre two decades ago but there is one there now. It is fantastic in the services and supports it provides but it will be hamstrung if it cannot get sustainable funding as it starts off. Similarly, South Roscommon Family Resource centre, based in Roscommon town, also provides wonderful services and supports to its community.

It very much relies and will depend on this funding from the Department. Of course, not everyone will be able to get in, but everyone in this House recognises the work of family resource centres. We need to look at opening that up to many more of them.

On the expenditure allowance for special care, there is an allocation of €1.2 billion and a list that includes special care. The Minister will be well aware of the external report published yesterday on behalf of Tusla. It makes very concerning reading, particularly in respect of the severe recruitment and retention crisis. We are seeing departure rates exceeding recruitment. In fairness, it seems a lot has been done to try to recruit but due in particular to the violence, harassment and aggression that is being seen, people are really struggling. There is a high level of absenteeism as well. That needs to be looked at in the context of funding. Again, it is not just about funding. The report is very clear on that. It reads like a cry for help in terms of the need for other Departments and State agencies to be at the table and to play their part, which, from the look of the report, they are not doing.

Additional funding is going into early years. Nobody can deny that, but the reality is we still have huge waiting lists, significant capacity issues and parents are still paying far too much for childcare. Many families are really struggling.

I welcome the building blocks capital programme, which provides a great opportunity for an awful lot of communities. I raised the matter of Ballinasloe Community Childcare Group in my constituency with the Minister. Demand there far exceeds capacity. It looked to that capital programme but because it does not own the land, it cannot access the funding. I appreciate that it is taxpayers' money but this is a genuine case. This group has an existing childcare building it is looking to extend. The owner of the land is willing to develop that. This group will then buy the land, as it did for the building it is in today. Given the capacity issues, I ask that we try to find ways, in genuine cases, where the benefit of where the money is going can be very clearly shown, to possibly look at that as an avenue.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I welcome the Minister to the House. I also thank her for the briefing note. As Deputy Kerrane said, it has been very helpful to us in preparing our few words tonight.

I want us all to go back to the previous debate and our discussion of the accommodation recognition payment. I again put on record our thanks for that payment and state how helpful it has been to the Ukrainian community in helping them integrate into the many communities they are in. I look forward to working with the Minister and the Department of Justice on that. The payment has been extended to 2026.

I again raise the matter of the national childcare scheme website. I previously raised it as a priority question. As the Minister knows, the website does not list fees for childcare providers for 2021, which is a key year in which fees are benchmarked against core funding. We spoke about this previously, when the Minister informed me that an update of the website was coming. If the Minister has an update on that, I hope she can share it with us because that information is so important to parents and those working in the sector.

I agree with my colleague on assessments of need. We had a long debate on that yesterday. There is obviously a need to fund Cara's fund and to get that workplace schedule in place as quickly as possible. I gave some examples yesterday of those on the assessments of need waiting list. I will not go back there again, but safe to say it is a huge issue for so many people in public life, as I am sure it is for the Minister and her office.

I note and welcome the increase in childcare expenditure, which is now combined for early learning and care. The school-age childcare division in the Department has €1.39 billion. However, UNICEF has proposed an investment of 1% of GNI, which equates to an investment of €2.7 billion. That is something the Government has to seriously look at in the context of the childcare proposals. Every political party spoke about a public childcare model during their election campaigns. We also spoke about the €200 per month cost. The Minister referenced that over the lifetime of the Government she hopes to bring in cover for this €200 cost for parents. This is a huge issue for areas such as Newbridge, in my area. It is a second mortgage, as I described previously, for so many parents. We need to look at this again. We also need to bring in that childcare measure of €200 per month as quickly as possible. It is to be hoped, as the Minister works through the budget, she will look at getting that cost down for so many parents as quickly as possible.

I will also mention many of the rural and smaller childcare providers who are suffering. I have spoken with so many of them. They need help. Many of those providers are in areas where others may not provide childcare. They are doing such a great job that they need to be protected, encouraged and developed. I hope the Minister can take that on board because these small and medium childcare providers are in and for communities. They are allowing so many people to get to work and to have children minded as well.

On page 4 of the briefing note, the disability budget is referenced. The increase in that is very much welcome. As is stated on that page, the Government is committed to supporting and empowering people with disabilities and to providing funding in the area of specialist community-based disability services. I take this opportunity to thank all those working in this area, especially section 39 workers. I note that this Vote will pay the public sector pay deal and the WRC section 39 deal. That is to be welcomed. I thank all those section 39 workers who go above and beyond, day in day out, with disability services. The one area I will ask about, and the Minister's Department may not be directly involved in it, is that of empowering people to gain employment. It is a major issue for the disability community and many of those I deal with. I hope that through the additional money we have we can investigate that, work with section 39 organisations and, more importantly, employees, to try to identify ways we can get more people with a disability into employment. It is one of the biggest areas that is raised with me on a weekly basis by people who are asking for assistance in that area. Hopefully, it is something we can work on together into the future.

I welcome the fact the Minister plans to extend family resource centres. There is a number of them in south Kildare that do great work, including one in the town of Athy, which does great work, day in and day out. I met with a number of them recently in north Kildare - my colleague, Deputy Farrelly, may take this up a little more - where there is a desire, given the population, that we increase the number of family resource centres there. It is something they will be contacting the Minister about. I welcome the fact that applications have been opened.

I am always interested when a Minister states she is getting more money, in this case, for playgrounds. It is a huge area for so many people. I welcome the fact she mentioned inclusivity and specialist playground equipment because that is huge in so many playgrounds. Many of the playgrounds in Kildare and elsewhere are not, unfortunately, fit for purpose for those with a disability, but they are changing. I welcome that the Government is recognising that. I hope we can work with the Minister to continue rolling out specialist equipment for them and for everybody, and to have inclusive communities so everybody, and all children, can enjoy the playgrounds that are available to them.

As I said, I thank the Minister for tonight's briefing note. I look forward to working with her through this brief. It is a very important one for so many people, including those in our childcare services, who have looked for proper funding for years. I have campaigned for a long time, along with a number of people, for a public childcare model. It is something the Minister will hear me speaking about a great deal in the coming weeks and months. It is time that we took this seriously. It is time that we paid staff in childcare services, who have long campaigned for proper pay and conditions. Those smaller and medium-sized childcare providers need to be protected. These are the issues on which I look forward to dealing with the Minister in the coming weeks and months. I thank her for her engagement tonight.

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I thank the Minister for the opportunity to speak and to echo the comments made so far by my colleagues Deputies Kerrane and Wall on the eve of our first committee meeting that will take place tomorrow. The brief the Minister has before her is one that is ripe with optimism about impact and outcomes for children, young people and those affected by issues of equality in our society.

I wish the Minister continued success in her brief over the next couple of years. Having had the honour of becoming spokesperson for children for the Social Democrats, over the last couple of months I embarked on a series of engagements with stakeholders involved in childcare and early years services, as I am sure the Minister has done in her brief. I have met unions, private providers and parents. Notwithstanding the very impressive sum the Government is committing to the sector, I appeal to the Minister to question, over the term of this Dáil, the way in which we are spending money. I am aware that I probably sound like a broken record here, and I apologise to colleagues for that, but our expenditure really does remind us of the way in which we used to speak about healthcare. Reference was made to record budget after record budget but, for so many, the outcomes associated with how they interacted with the sector did not change or improve. The Minister does not need me to tell her about the position of so many who are trying to access childcare and early years services, certainly where populations are growing at very unsustainable rates on foot of housing development and growth. Deputy Wall and I have both experienced this in Kildare. We must question the way we distribute funding through early years services and whether our childcare model represents the right way to do things.

I have raised the issue of páistecare in this House before. It is something I hope to raise with the committee. I appeal to the Minster to consider a special committee on this in the Oireachtas. We should do for childcare and early years education what we did for health through Sláintecare. This would mean working with key stakeholders to spell out a vision for the future of our early years and childcare sectors. Deputy Wall has already referred to the recruitment and retention issue facing the phenomenal staff who are working for our children, families and communities, and to the ability to access services and the way in which we are delivering capital projects. A key to success in this regard for the Government would be to really ramp up the community childcare facilities.

I used to work in the LHD in Newbridge as a youth worker and I saw at first hand the incredible work being done there. It was a really positive example of what community childcare can look like. The outcomes for the children involved were remarkable. I appeal to the Minister to genuinely consider this model alongside considering a vision for the future of childcare and early years services that entails a public model that would complement the private model. As we did with the healthcare system, let us consider it together. We have a genuine opportunity to do that.

I echo Deputy Wall’s comments on family resource centres. I worked in some and worked in collaboration with many as a youth worker over the years. If you want bang for your buck in terms of investment, you will not find much better than the family resource centre in your community. We believe every community should have one. Their cost is minuscule considering their impact on children, young people, adults and communities. They are hubs, supportive places, spaces for information-sharing and ultimately places where children, young people and their families can be, learn and develop together. I encourage the Minister to continue to prioritise investment in family resource centres to get to a place where we might be considering a universal approach to family resource centre delivery in terms of capital projects.

Specifically on disability, I have experience of working as a social care worker in the St. John of God services in Celbridge, County Kildare, and Walkinstown, Dublin, and I have worked with the Ability programme in Kildare. All of these programmes are doing phenomenal work but, as the Minister will be very much aware, they are doing it on a bit of a shoestring. I really meant it when I said the Minister will not find better bang for her buck than in the brief she holds. Any euro spent in the sector under her brief will be returned to the State and society tenfold.

I really welcome our speaking so positively this evening about increased budgets and I wish the Minister and those working with her in her Department continued success. However, with regard to childcare and early years services, we will have to press pause at some point and question the way in which we are distributing the funding. Is it being spent in the right way to yield the maximum output for children, staff and families?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I had something prepared but I will do my best to run through some of the points that were raised.

Deputy Kerrane should note that on the challenges regarding respite, residential services and others, it is positive that we can say there is a €3.2 billion budget for disabilities. This has been raised by other speakers as well. It has led to considerable improvements in some areas but, without doubt, there are challenges. It is our ambition, as we will be looking towards a new budget, to do more and more in this space.

On assessments of need, which have been raised by others also, and specifically the issue of additional funding, I want to be really clear: €10 million has been made available to access private assessments this year. However, as I have said previously, I want to be 100% clear that if there is an opportunity to make additional private capacity available and if it takes more money to achieve it, money will not be the barrier. We are aware that there is a limit to private capacity but the Government has given an absolute commitment that if more can be done, money in excess of the €10 million will be found and put in place.

The workforce plan will be done in 2025. On the accelerated pathway for speech and language therapy, which I acknowledge Deputy Kerrane has raised time and again and on which matter she has given a very good personal example, I will take the matter up with the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill.

On the section 39 organisations, which I know others have referenced, we have made a lot of progress. I am not at all suggesting it is a finished journey. I welcome the fact that a pay deal of around 9.25% was almost overwhelmingly accepted by the workforce. Critical was the fact that there will be a link to all future pay deals. Therefore, we have made some progress on this journey. I welcome the fact that everybody sat around the table with the absolute intention to come to a solution. Indeed, one of the first things I did as Minister was ask for a return to sitting around the table to find a solution. I recognise the work of everybody who made that possible.

Family resource centres, which others have raised as well, do extraordinary work. They are absolutely invaluable to us and are hubs for so many. They are open to all, which is probably the most important aspect of them. There has been an increase in funding for family resource centres. There is, as Members will be aware, a plan to have additional family resource centres. Everybody is keen to have one in his or her own area. There is a limited number this year but I hope we will be in a better position going forward. This is an ambition of mine. I recognise the great work the centres do.

On special care, significant funding of €1.2 billion has gone to Tusla this year. Without doubt, there are challenges over personnel but there is great work being done by Tusla by way of recruiting from abroad and bringing in a new category around special care. There is extraordinary work being done by the individuals on the ground and we will continue to do all we can to support them.

Early learning and childcare actually represent 23% of the Vote. It is a substantial investment. Points have been raised over the need to do more. I am aware that Deputy Farrelly raised access and the need to have an opportunity to avail of the services. There are three aspects to what we intend. The first is that there should be affordability for parents. We have walked quite a distance of the journey in this regard. Deputy Wall has referred to the €200. The Government commitment is absolute. Affordability for parents must be matched by the availability of a workforce. That is really important. Those in the workforce must be rewarded and compensated for the work they do as expert professionals in the field. We have made progress in this regard. It is a case of recognising where there are gaps in provision. There is a commitment to move towards the public model.

I acknowledge that private providers are doing great work. For the first time, the State has invested just short of €1 billion in what is now called core funding to facilitate providers to ensure fees are kept down for families.

The building blocks scheme has resulted in an additional 1,500 places. Deputy Wall referred to the fund, early learning and childcare and the providers who are under duress. I absolutely accept that they are but, as I said, we have invested quite heavily there. The Deputy referred to section 39 organisations and to playgrounds. A small amount of funding makes a huge amount of difference. The €500,000 was very well spent.

I will finish with Deputy Farrelly. He referred to the new committee. It will be an honour for me to work with it. I recognise the great integrity of everybody who is here and who wants to work towards solutions. I look forward to working with them. The Deputy referred to the family resource centres, disability and-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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You are way over your time, Minister.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I know, but there were very few speakers so I took the opportunity. I thank all of them.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I move the following Further Revised Estimate:

Vote 24 - Department of Justice (Further Revised Estimate)

That a sum not exceeding €2,590,495,000 be granted to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st Day of December, 2025, for the salaries and expenses of the Office of the Minister for Justice, Probation Service staff and of certain other services including payments under cash-limited schemes administered by that Office, and payment of certain grants.

As Deputies will be aware, the programme for Government commits to the transfer of certain functions between Departments. On 1 May, following approval by the Government, a number of functions were transferred to the Department of Justice from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The main body associated with the transfer was the International Protection Accommodation Services, IPAS, which offers accommodation and related services to persons seeking international protection. The co-ordination of Government policy relating to anti-racism and migrant integration, the operation and implementation of integration programmes for migrants, and the provision of access to suitable accommodation for persons enjoying temporary protection were also transferred. Those are the individuals who emanate from Ukraine and who are beneficiaries of temporary protection. We also transferred the management of the resettlement in the State of refugees admitted as part of the UN resettlement programme. The final part we transferred was development and provision of policy advice to the Government on those related matters.

This is the largest transfer of functions in the programme for Government. It involves transferring approximately 330 staff and 150 contractors and a budget allocation of more than €2 billion. The sum of €2.59 billion mentioned in the resolution reflects the addition of €2 billion from the Department of children Vote to the existing 2025 allocation in the Department of Justice Vote.

Deputies will recall that the Revised Estimate for the Department of Justice was approved by this House on 1 April, in advance of the commencement of the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 and the establishment of the Votes for two new statutory agencies, the Policing and Community Safety Authority and Fiosrú and, therefore, I seek the approval of the House this evening to a Further Revised Estimate for the Justice Vote. The Revised Estimate as approved by this House on 1 April is unchanged other than to provide for the transfer into the Justice Vote of funding relating to international protection and Ukraine accommodation and associated services.

The budget allocated for international protection accommodation in 2025 is €1.2 billion. That is an eye-watering amount. It is driven by the number of individuals coming to Ireland seeking international protection. We need to recognise that the drivers of the IPAS budget is the numbers of individuals arriving into Ireland seeking international protection. It is therefore appropriate that the accommodation service is linked again within the Department of Justice, which has responsibility for the appraisal of applications for international protection. As Deputies will know, back in 2024, the number of people seeking international protection in Ireland was 18,500. That is a very significant increase on previous years. As a result of that, there was very considerable pressure and a very significant increase in the budget in order to deal with international accommodation as required by it.

Ireland and other EU member states have responded to a very significant increase in the number of people seeking international protection. As a result, the number of people being accommodated has increased significantly. Back in 2022, we were accommodating approximately 7,000 people. At present, we are accommodating more than 32,000 people. The Government is taking further steps to try to speed up the process. I am unambiguous about the fact that I want to reduce the numbers of people coming here seeking international protection. I need to do that to ensure the system operates efficiently and effectively. I also need to do it to ensure we can get the growing budget associated with international protection accommodation reduced. However, I am justified in doing it as well, as I have said before because according to the numbers of persons who have had their applications processed for international protection this year, more than 80% have been refused or determined to be inadmissible. We need to recognise that to reduce the amount of accommodation we need and the cost of the accommodation and we need to take the legitimate steps of trying to expedite the international protection process and to reduce the numbers correspondingly.

As regards accommodation itself, it is Government policy to increase the proportion of State-owned beds and reduce the degree of reliance on commercially-provided accommodation. That is part of this reform. Deputies will be aware that I recently brought before the Government the general scheme of an international protection Bill, which was approved. It is in the process of being drafted. That legislation must be in place by June of next year and we intend to ensure that it is in place. That legislation will strengthen border security and it will provide an EU approach to asylum and streamline asylum procedures. The legislation will provide for faster processing, including having all decisions and appeals concluded within three months for certain categories of applicant.

Placing responsibility for international protection, including the accommodation of applicants and integration policy, under one Minister and Department creates a cohesiveness to the management of all aspects of international protection and builds on what was, up to 1 May, a close working relationship between officials in international protection in my Department and those with responsibility for accommodation then located within the Department of Children. I welcome all those civil servants back into the Department of Justice.

We are also dealing in this resolution with accommodation being provided for beneficiaries of temporary protection. In that context, we are talking about people from Ukraine who have come to Ireland seeking protection as a result of the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Once again, the Irish people deserve to be commended on their generosity not just in respect of their response to people coming from Ukraine, but their response to all people coming to Ireland, whether they are seeking international protection or whether they are entitled to temporary protection. That is something that, as politicians, we should always acknowledge.

We know, however, that when it comes to temporary protection, since February 2022 more than 89,600 beneficiaries were provided with accommodation by the Department of integration. More than 24,000 of those are currently in State-supported accommodation, with a further 38,600 hosted in accommodation supported by the accommodation recognition payment, ARP. Colleagues debated the reduction in that payment a few moments ago from €800 to €600. The ARP was introduced to recognise the generosity of people who have opened their homes to provide accommodation to those fleeing Ukraine, and the House will be aware of the reduction. I wish to make people aware - I am sure Deputy Carthy is aware of this already from the previous resolution - that the reduction will take effect from 1 June but in reality will be noted by the recipients of those ARP payments only when they receive their payment in July.

The Department of integration also delivered the first phase of ten sites of the rapid build homes project, with 2,312 residents having moved into their new homes. Works are nearing completion at the final development at a HSE-owned site in Haywood, Clonmel, which will provide a final 82 units to accommodate 328 Ukrainian people who are the beneficiaries of temporary protection.

The Vote I put before the House this evening is very much a technical one.

Notwithstanding the technicality, when one looks at the purpose behind it, one can see it makes a lot of sense that the whole area of accommodation for international protection applicants and persons who have the benefit of temporary protection should be dealt with by the same Department that deals with international protection assessments. It is a worthwhile transfer of functions.

We need to recognise there is a big challenge in the budget for international protection accommodation. I want to see that budget reduced. An eye-watering amount of money has been spent on the fulfilment of our international obligations. If we adopt a more effective, expedient and efficient system for the assessment of international protection applications, we will reduce the number arriving in Ireland claiming international protection and there will be a consequent saving on the cost of accommodation.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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As the Minister said, the motion regarding the further Revised Estimates for public services, Vote 24, just relates to the transfer of functions to the Department of Justice. Had committees been established in a more timely manner, as they should have been, this motion would have been properly dealt with by the justice committee. Ach buíochas le Dia tá an coiste dlí agus cirt bunaithe anois agus ba mhór an onóir dom a bheith ceaptha mar Chathaoirleach. Bhí ár gcéad cruinniú againn inné agus táimid réidh le dul i mbun oibre.

On 1 May, responsibility for integration, international protection and Ukrainian accommodation transferred from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to the Department of Justice. I welcome this transfer. I hope it will improve accountability for migration issues. The Minister will agree that, for months, there was a sort of dichotomy where one Minister answered questions on migration-related issues while another took the political lead. As an Opposition spokesperson, it was hard to get clarity on things like the accommodation recognition payment and, particularly, the impact on the private rental sector. I hope this Minister will be more forthcoming.

As the Minister said, the whole area of accommodation in respect of international protection and the temporary protective directive has reached huge levels - I believe the Minister cited €1.2 billion as the anticipated spend for this year. Even from a purely financial point of view, it is imperative that we ensure we get better at dealing with things. Decisions are still taking too long, particularly when appeals are involved. I believe it takes 2.5 years on average for non-accelerated procedures.

I hope the Minister will indicate this at some point, but we need a plan for the end of the temporary directive in respect of Ukrainians. It is called "temporary" for a reason. A plan is needed for when that directive ends in March that moves beyond emergency measures for a medium-term and long-term approach that recognises all of the realities.

There is also a need to rethink how information about IPAS accommodation is provided. I thank the Department for answering panicky emails from me and other elected representatives over the past couple of days. Every time a workperson shows up at a vacant site, somebody is on social media saying it is an IPAS centre and then we have to run to departmental officials to seek clarification. I urge the Minister to turn it on its head and inform local elected representatives as soon as negations or conversations take place in respect of these sites. Otherwise, it will get to the point where virtually every empty building in the State will be subject to a query to the Department. Let us be upfront with elected representatives and, just as important, communities.

As we are dealing with Revised Estimates for the Department, I also raise with the Minister an urgent matter related to budget allocations. I raised this issue with him during questions last week. As we speak, domestic violence survivors are being denied access to justice because of problems in accessing civil legal aid. Those seeking to secure a barring order who have a civil legal aid certificate are not able to secure legal representation because of the fees paid to solicitors. There are simply not enough solicitors who will take on the work because of how the fees are currently structured. From responses to parliamentary questions I received this week, it is clear that the number of practitioners on the District Court family law solicitors panel has fallen significantly in most counties over the past year. The overall number of solicitors on the panel went from 528 in January 2024 to 377 in January this year. In Dublin, the number fell from 115 to 85, from 44 to 31 in Galway, from 78 to 60 in Kildare and from 62 to 50 in Wicklow. People working in this area tell me the system just does not work for victims of domestic violence. They have to be rejected by three solicitors before they can go back to the Legal Aid Board. This is a crazy barrier for those seeking to break free of domestic violence. There is worrying anecdotal evidence that many are giving up and returning to abusive and sometimes very dangerous situations. From the Minister's response last week, I am concerned that there is not an acknowledgement of the urgency of the issue for those who need legal aid to secure barring orders. There is no use in the House talking about zero tolerance on the one hand and, on the other, referring to a review of civil legal aid that was established in 2022 when we ask for immediate action on the problem. The kind of response we have been receiving shows no understanding of how big a step it is for someone to seek a barring order. It is not something that can be put off while everything moves at a snail's pace in the Department. The Minister told me recently that he had received the report of the review group of civil legal aid chaired by former Chief Justice Mr. Frank Clarke and that it was being examined. It is three years since this review was initiated. We need urgency. The specific issue I raised needs to be addressed regardless of the wider recommendations of the report. As we are discussing the budgetary allocation for the Department under this motion, it would be appropriate if the Minister addressed this issue and, in particular, whether he will make additional funds available to address this very real problem impacting the safety of victims of domestic violence, whether he will increase the fees to solicitors on the District Court family law solicitors panel to address the crisis and whether he will look at District Court case fees for private family law proceedings and introduce an additional payment for each subsequent adjournment. I am told the absence of an additional payment in these cases for subsequent court appearances is part of the problem in terms of why solicitors are not taking up this work. I would welcome some impetus in the Minister's response.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I take it it is all relevant, Deputy.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Absolutely.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Minister will tell us, I am sure.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It is all financial- and budget-related.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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As we do not have the requisite speakers, we move to Deputy Tóibín.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I welcome the transfer of some powers and funding away from the Department of children to the Department of Justice. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth had a lot on its plate with Tusla, childcare, mother and baby homes, Green Party leadership and failed Government referendums in the previous Government. There is no doubt about that. There were huge problems in that Department in terms of funding for early childhood education providers, the massive budget to Tusla yet no real direction on how it was spent, and the disgraceful way survivors of mother and baby homes were treated in that time and stopped from getting redress.

I wish to touch on a number of issues concerning the powers now vested in the Department. There is chaos in the country over the location of IPAS centres. The whole space is now rife with speculation and rumour. There is no doubt in my mind that certain investors are putting in applications for IPAS centres on properties they do not own.

There are also applications for planning exemptions in respect of those properties. It is rumoured that one of the reasons this is being done is because it has the effect of knocking down the price of a site they may wish to buy. The owner of a site may feel pressured into selling if he or she thinks the property may be damaged as a result of speculation about its use. There is chaos in this regard at present. The situation must be rectified.

A total of €1.2 billion will be spent on IPAS this year according to the reply to a parliamentary question I received from the Minister’s Department. That equates to €35,000 per person for the year, which is an incredibly high figure for what is permanent accommodation. The whole system, which makes a small number of people extremely wealthy in certain parts of the country, is damaging for local communities and the taxpayer. The Minister needs to get a grip on the cost of this process.

I have submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister on the number of people whose applications under the IPAS system are failing. The Minister indicated that up to 80% of applications so far this year have failed. This means one of two things. Either the application process was not being implemented strictly or properly in the past two to four years - in 2022 only a quarter of first applications failed - or a new cohort of people are applying to IPAS. The latter may be the case, particularly as the message sent out from this country in the past four or five years was incredible. That message was that Ireland was a soft touch when it came to IPAS applications. People could come here and apply and it would take years for their applications to be processed. If someone's application failed, they could appeal and it would take years for the appeal to be processed. If that failed, they could get a judicial review that could take years to be processed. While people in this situation could be the subject of deportation orders, it was believed that these would more than likely never be enforced. For the past three or four years, the vast majority of deportation orders have not been enforced. A big problem within the system is that there are no exit checks at our borders. There are no exits checks at airports or ports. Unless gardaí actually walk with an individual to the plane and sit in the plane with them, the Government does not know whether that person has left the country. That is a big problem.

In the context of the management of immigration, the Border is a big weakness with which the Minister has to get to grips. That may be possible now because of the so-called relationship reset with Britain. There are approximately 270 roads that traverse the Border. The idea that spot checks are going to solve this is madness. If a person is stopped in Dundalk and brought back to Newry, they can get the next bus or taxi or even walk back across the Border if they wants. The only way to manage this is with an Irish sea border. The principle of an Irish sea border has been accepted by the British when it comes to the movement of goods such as sausages and so forth. It is recognised that in order to maintain the integrity of European and British markets, an Irish sea border for certain goods is needed. We must ensure that an Irish sea border will cover the movement of people in the future. This would mean that people would apply for asylum at Belfast airport, Derry airport or wherever if they are coming to this island. It would suit the British because the flows of immigration go in both directions at different times.

If 80% of people are failing the asylum process, and the asylum process is costing €1.2 billion, it is fair to say that we are spending hundreds of millions of euro accommodating people who are not fleeing war and violence but who are, rather, moving to Ireland for economic reasons. While I believe we have a moral responsibility to try to protect people who are fleeing war and violence, it is clear from the Minister’s figures that many, if not the vast majority of, people involved in that process are not fleeing war and violence. We must send a strong message internationally that only people who are fleeing war and violence will be considered under the process. We need to say that this process is extremely strict and protective of the Irish system.

Work visas are another important issue. There are many good people from other countries doing fantastic work and making a great contribution to this country. Indeed, many essential workers are keeping our hospitals and nursing homes in operation. However, we are giving out many working visas and student visas that are not essential. Given the pressure on the system, it is time the Government began to row back on the number of visas being handed out. We added 100,000 people to the population of this State last year. That is the equivalent of the population of Galway city. Galway has a university, a hospital, dozens of schools and tens of thousands of houses. That level of infrastructure is not being built in this country annually. Dan O’Brien, who is a well-respected economist, has been writing about this. It is important that we start to match the number of people coming into the country with the resources we have available. If we do not do that, it will put pressure on society and make people feel that they are in competition for those scarce resources. That leads to the breakdown of the cohesion within society.

I wish the Minister luck in his new role. We need to ensure we get to grips with this situation for the benefit of those who really need help and for the citizens of this country.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy Gannon has arrived. I propose, with the agreement of Members, to allow him to speak even though his slot has passed. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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I thank An Ceann Comhairle and Members for the latitude. Similar to Deputy Carthy, I thank the staff in office of the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and the staff of IPAS for helping in recent weeks and months to dispel, where they arise, myths that are being spread purposely by far-right agitators. There was a particularly difficult situation in my locality in recent days. I am grateful to the Minister of State, his office and IPAS staff for their work in this regard. This goes right to the heart of what we are dealing with. This is a real and serious issue, which, if we continue to get wrong, will play into the hands of agitators. These agitators are using people who have, in many cases, come here for sanctuary as scapegoats for the systemic failures of the State in order to advance their own causes. While Ireland is not full, these agitators tell people in communities that are running on empty that other people are to blame when it comes to resources. I thank the Minister’s Department for helping with this matter.

The transfer of assets from another Department to the Minister’s Department makes absolute sense and is very welcome. In the previous Dáil term, there was almost a pass-the-parcel approach when it came to taking responsibility for this serious issue. That did not reflect well on anyone. Taking it all under one Department certainly makes sense.

The Minister referred to expediting decision processes. I wish to touch on that for a moment. It is relevant because the Minister discussed it. Rushing decisions will endanger lives. The time that is required should be taken in respect of these decisions. While they absolutely should not have taken as long as they have in the past, imposing three-month deadlines for asylum decisions prioritises bureaucratic speed over human fairness. International protection claims often involve trauma, persecution and complex histories. Arbitrary deadlines will inevitably lead to rushed, wrongful refusals and the real risk of deporting someone back to the danger from which they fled. That requires resourcing, much of which is contained in what we are discussing now.

What is proposed attacks the right to appeal. As we transfer the allocation of budgets, we must acknowledge that the proposal to limit oral hearings strikes at the heart of fair process. Oral hearings are essential for many applicants who cannot fully tell their stories through paperwork, particularly for those facing trauma, language barriers or mistrust. Removing this safeguard will mean more unjust outcomes. It will also weaken political accountability. Handing direct deportation powers to the International Protection Office will remove a crucial layer of democratic oversight. Deportations should remain politically accountable decisions rather than being behind closed doors, which, of course, would require resourcing.

We are caving in to far-right narratives. We should acknowledge the 42% fall in international protection applications this year. The Government is still acting as if there is an asylum crisis when, in reality, this rush to be tough on migration plays directly to far-right talking points. It legitimises misinformation and fearmongering at a time when leadership should stand for truth and calm.

While the Minister may claim these changes align with the EU migration and asylum pact, the pact demands both efficiency and fairness, including the right to individual assessment and meaningful appeal.

Ireland is choosing to interpret this pact harshly by cutting safeguards to protect basic human rights when what is necessary is humanity and not a race to the bottom.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies for their contributions.

Deputy Carthy raised the issue of when temporary protection would be up. That is not an issue I can answer. What is apparent from the statistics is that after the war about 117,000 people from Ukraine came to Ireland and received temporary protection. The figure for Ukrainians in Ireland now is around 74,000 or 75,000, so clearly it is the case that many Ukrainians want to go back home. We all want to see an end to the war. We all want to see Ukraine survive as an independent country with its borders restored and intact. If the war ends, people will want to go back to Ukraine, which is their homeland. They fled because they were forced to by the illegal invasion.

Deputy Carthy also said he thought it would be a better idea for the Department to inform people in the locality when there were discussions in respect of an IPAS centre. I do not think that is a good idea. However, I take into account what Deputies Carthy and Tóibín said. There is a situation where if somebody sees an application under section 5 for an exemption for international emergency accommodation, they assume there is going to be an IPAS centre there. That is not the case. In the vast majority of circumstances an IPAS centre will not be going in there. There needs to be a recognition that the situation has changed since this time last year. The State was the entity in pursuit of sites then and now it is the case that sites are in pursuit of the State. That has changed the dynamic of the international protection accommodation issue.

Deputy Tóibín referred to the number of applications that were rejected. The way to deal with this matter is to speed up the process. Speeding up the process leads to a fairer situation. Deputy Gannon mentioned he thought rushing the process would result in an unfairness. I am not suggesting it will be rushed at all, but the process has to be sped up. Setting a timeline in which a person has a hearing and an appeal within three months is reasonable. We need to recognise what is involved in the application for international protection. You arrive, set out your narrative as to why you are being persecuted and why you are entitled to asylum. That does not have to be an exceptionally complicated process. People have to set out that narrative. They will be asked questions about it and they can provide evidence in respect of it.

I disagree with what Deputy Gannon said about oral hearings. There will still be oral hearings. However, they will take place at the first instance process. For the first instance hearing, an applicant will have a full oral hearing. What is going to change is there will not be automatic entitlement to have an oral hearing at the appeal stage. That is a change I have to implement. I am conscious as well that we will be able to have full engagement on this when the legislation comes before the justice committee, of which the Deputy is a member. There will be pre-legislative scrutiny and it will come before the Dáil. It is my view, allowing for an oral hearing during the appeal process when there has already been an oral hearing at the first stage is unnecessary. People will have an entitlement to an oral hearing at appeal stage if there is no transcript of what they said in the first instance and if there is no recording of what they said in the first instance. The person determining the appeal will be able to hear and read what was said in the first instance.

Deputy Tóibín mentioned having an Irish sea border. If he can achieve that, I will commend him. I do not think that is going to be achievable in the short term. What is useful is the continued co-operation between Ireland and Britain. We can see migration into Ireland, in terms of asylum applications, is very much affected by what is happening in Britain and the United Kingdom. We talk a lot about people coming down from Northern Ireland and claiming asylum in the Republic, but similarity people in Britain complain about the fact that many people arrive in Dublin, move up to Belfast and get into Britain that way.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Yes. It is both ways.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I was very sorry to hear about the issues of concern Deputy Gannon raised and very pleased to hear the Department was of assistance to him. I want all Deputies to know the Department will always be of assistance in dealing with any issues like that. It is there to facilitate not just Deputies but the public.