Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

----- and has established an expert group to examine the situation. When that expert group reports I am sure we can have a debate on it in this House.

Senators O'Donnell, Hayden, Wilson and others raised the proposed sale of the national lottery. The proceeds from that sale will go to funding the new national children's hospital. With regard to approaches by the Camelot group, I have not been approached by that company. It is wrong to bring these people in. We have a register of lobbyists now and we should implement it with regard to people who come to the Oireachtas. As was said by Senator Hayden, there should be a distinction between charities and groups such as Camelot coming to the House. Such people coming here to lobby for their own gain should be discouraged.

Senator O'Neill spoke about farming and the lack of quality forage. He asked that the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Marine apply for access to the hardship and solidarity funds. I am sure the Minister will make every effort in that regard. He will be in the House after Easter to discuss Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, reform, labelling and the horsemeat situation, all of which are items Members have asked that the Minister come to the House to discuss.

Senator Quinn raised the Construction Contracts Bill. I assure him that as soon as it returns from the Dáil we will deal with it immediately. There will be no delay in this House on that very important legislation. I acknowledge the long delays that have occurred since we first dealt with the Bill. The Senator also spoke about organ donations and new developments in that area. I will find out from the Minister what the position is with regard to introducing legislation to deal with that matter.

Senators Whelan, Wilson and others raised the property tax. The property tax is being introduced to help fix the massive deficit in funds. It is being introduced as it is six times more job friendly than taxes on labour, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI. The Government fully agrees that households in unfinished developments that are in a seriously problematic condition should be exempt from payment of the local property tax. However, there has been a general misunderstanding of some of the facts surrounding the local property tax waivers. They have been unfairly compared with the household charge waiver, which people claim benefited 43,000 households. In fact, 20,000 of these houses were neither complete nor occupied, so the waiver benefited nobody in those circumstances. In light of more accurate information, this anomaly has now been removed.

The regulations signed by the Minister, Deputy Phil Hogan, last week to prescribe estates that qualify for an exemption from local property tax are based on the 2012 national housing development survey, which was carried out over the course of the summer of 2012. That survey was based purely and objectively on the actual state of completion of a development. It expressly included estates that were deemed by local authorities to be in seriously problematic condition. This definition includes estates that have outstanding development issues in many areas. With regard to the differences between the local property tax and the household charge waivers, the experience of dealing with unfinished estates presented a need to redefine the criteria used, in particular a need to distinguish between housing within estates. Many estates are built in phases and serious issues might only apply to a small proportion of houses that were generally built or begun in the later phases. That clarifies the matter in respect of the household survey. The files have been updated. The original number of 43,000 waivers was quoted in the newspapers, but the actual number was 20,000. That is the situation.

Senator Cullinane raised the issues of mental health funding. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, was in the House and stated that the funding for mental health is ring-fenced.

Moneys that were not spent last year will also be part of the additional funding for mental health services this year.

Senator Noone referred to the interesting concept of the levy on multiples that is now in place in Northern Ireland and the prospect of reducing rates for smaller businesses. I am sure the relevant Minister will certainly consider the position in this regard.

On the point raised by Senator Ó Murchú, we all realise that people are experiencing grave difficulties and there is no question that they are finding it very hard to make ends meet. Fianna Fáil signed up to the property tax, however, and if it were in power, such a tax would have been in place since last year. Fianna Fáil seems to have undergone a Pauline conversion in respect of the property tax.

Senator Colm Burke referred to the cost of drugs and variations in price between pharmacies. According to the survey the Senator mentioned, it would appear that some pharmacies are not passing on the benefits of lower prices and reduced mark-ups to patients and customers. This is very disappointing. The public awareness to which the National Consumer Agency price comparison survey gives rise in respect of this matter is welcome. The Minister for Health is raising the issue of price transparency with the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, PSI, the regulatory body for pharmacists in this country. While it would not be possible to display the prices of the approximately 7,000 medicines currently on the market here, the PSI has been asked to examine how greater price transparency can be achieved. The latter should happen and the price of a particular medicine in one part of the country should not be double that which is charged elsewhere.

Senator Harte referred RTE. I am not aware that coverage of this evening's match by the station will in some way be blocked from being broadcast in Northern Ireland. We all wish the Republic of Ireland soccer team every success in its endeavours tonight.

Senator Barrett referred to the reforms required at the Department of Finance. Last week, we debated the Finance Bill at length. I agree that reforms are necessary and that regulatory impact assessments should be available when we dealing with such legislation in the future. Senator Conway also referred to this matter in the context of discussing submissions in advance of the budget. Such discussions took place to a degree last year and I hope we will continue in this vein in the coming year. As Senators are aware, the budget is due to be introduced in October. This is earlier than in previous years.

Senator Gilroy referred to a matter of which I was not aware with regard to outdoor staff employed by Cork County Council and indicated that the sanctions imposed are too harsh and are the result of an over-reliance on red tape and an over-abundance of health and safety regulations. I invite the Senator to raise this matter on the Adjournment in order that he might obtain specific information in respect of it.