Seanad debates

Wednesday, 11 November 2020

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

 

10:30 am

Photo of Lisa ChambersLisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Senator Lombard raised the issue of Brexit, in particular fisheries. I concur with him. In my county of Mayo, fishing is an industry that still employs people. Senator Flynn also raised the issue. It is one of the few remaining issues to be resolved in the Brexit negotiations. The UK knows it is of considerable importance to Ireland and that is why it has not been resolved to date. I am not sure if we will get a resolution to the level of satisfaction that we want. The matter is still under discussion.

Senator Keogan raised the issue of the Moorhead report. We spoke earlier about the need for greater engagement at a council level on matters regarding the EU. In regard to the Conference on the Future of Europe, if we are going to engage with citizens across the board it would be much easier if we had proper structures in place at local level. It is helping us to highlight the deficiencies. I agree with her. In terms of the Moorhead report, I will make contact with the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to seek a date to discuss the report at the earliest possible opportunity.

I disagree that we have let councillors down. From the perspective of Fianna Fáil, we have not been in government for the past five years. Since coming into government, the report has been published and there is a commitment on page 119 of the programme for Government to address it. That is a positive step in the right direction.

I note that Senator Bacik welcomed the Jadotville debate later today and Senator Wall's involvement in that motion.

I am sure Senator Bacik will have seen that the Cathaoirleach has selected the elimination of the gender pay gap as the first item to be discussed in terms of the labour panel engagement with stakeholders, which is a very positive move for Seanad Éireann. I look forward to engaging on that topic. It is an issue of particular interest to me.

I also want to acknowledge the work that the Labour Party has done in terms of a Bill on transparency around the gender pay gap in organisations with more than 50 employees. I would fully support that. We need movement on that. Until companies are transparent and can be seen warts and all, I do not think we will see considerable movement on the issue.

I agree with Senator Ó Donnghaile that it is very welcome to note that conversations happened yesterday with the UK Prime Minister and the Taoiseach on the Good Friday Agreement and many other issues in respect of the US presidency. The Taoiseach congratulated President-elect Joe Biden on his historic win and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on her significant and historic win. She is the first black woman to take up the position of Vice President-elect and I am sure she will look at the top job in four years' time. I congratulate the Cathaoirleach, along with the Ceann Comhairle, on being very quick off the mark in issuing an invitation to President-elect Biden to address both Houses of the Oireachtas at the earliest possible opportunity. We all look forward to that happening. I suggest that the Cathaoirleach extend the same invitation to Vice President-elect Harris. I am sure we would love to hear from her. I agree with Senator Ó Donnghaile that we need to keep the Good Friday Agreement on the agenda and continue to remind the British Government that it is a co-guarantor of the Agreement. It is quite telling that they neglected to mention that the topic was raised with them by President-elect Biden. I am very glad that the US President-elect has publicly acknowledged that he sees it as a priority for his presidency, as do we.

Senator Flynn raised the issue of the Safe Ireland report, as did Senators O'Loughlin and Gallagher. I concur with what all Members have said on this issue. It is the hidden trauma and cost of the pandemic. Men and women are affected, but it is predominantly women who are at home in very tense environments with their abusers. That women have made a step forward to try to escape that situation yet find themselves with no refuge to go to is quite shocking. I am not sure which Senator mentioned the figure, but I read that it takes in excess of 30 incidents of domestic violence for a women to leave a situation, and it can take many more. The actual act of getting up and leaving is huge and cannot be underestimated. For women to find they have nowhere to turn and have to return to where they came from is a massive failure of the system. Senator Dooley raised the issue of the decarbonisation of electricity generation, and the impact of turbines on communities. I absolutely agree on that. It is a debate we have in Mayo as well. The size of turbines has increased, but the fact they are being given planning permission under old guidelines is just wrong. We need to bring communities with us because they want to play their part in the greener production of electricity. Offshore wind farms are where it is at and there is huge potential on the west coast for it, but onshore wind farms will also be part of the solution. However, we cannot just bulldoze those through communities and fail to facilitate communities coming on board. It looks very underhanded that we are using old guidelines to bring through what is new technology. It is not fair play with communities which are not stupid, will see it for what it is and will object to them all the way. It is hard to disagree with them on that point.

Senator Seery Kearney raised the issue of ASD units. I welcome her comments on the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan's work on this issue, and I look forward to hearing more about it. The Minister of State would be welcome to come before the House at some point to outline her work in that particular area.

Senator Craughwell raised the issue of sharp practice. I am not sure that I can provide the Senator with any reassurance that the leaking of information will cease any time soon. There was significant debate on a similar and related matter in the Dáil last night. It is part and parcel of political life. I can assure the Senator that I have never put out information that was not publicly available beforehand, but at the same time, I note that other Senators have commented on the fact that perhaps the Senator himself is quite prone to contacting councillors. In any event, I do not think it is the pressing issue of the day.

Senator Byrne raised the issue of the fair deal scheme and its impact on farming families. I know from dealing directly with families that the question of whether or not a loved one will go into a nursing home is at the forefront of their minds, even though the loved one might really need that care. However, the loss of the family farm is not only about the loss of income and the economic side of it, but there is also a huge attachment to the family farm that may have been passed down through generations. If that cap is not applied to the family farm as well as the home, the family farm could be so devalued that it is of no use to anybody. From a Fianna Fáil perspective, protecting the small family farm is at the core of what we are about - it is party policy - and we need to see action on that issue immediately.

Senator Carrigy raised the issue of the level 5 qualification requirement for childcare workers. I take a slightly different view on the issue. Having listened to childcare workers, they want to see value attached to the qualifications that they have. Many of those working in the childcare sector have levels 6, 7 and 8 qualifications. If we want to increase the number of people working in the childcare sector, we must pay them properly and not underestimate the work they do. There is a reason they are not staying in the sector: it is because they are paid a pittance. It is no coincidence that it is primarily a female profession and it is only beginning to get air time now. In no small part, this is because the workers have become unionised and the issue has been increasingly debated in both Houses of the Oireachtas in recent times. It is incumbent on all Members to do more to make sure that those in the childcare sector are paid properly. During this pandemic, we have seen the impact that having no childcare has on the country. The whole country comes to a halt because parents need childcare to go to work, and people need to go to work to keep the economy running, so it is all part of the same circle.

Senator Moynihan raised the issue of the change of use of purpose-built student accommodation into holiday apartments. If that is what companies, landlords and builders are doing, then we need to put a stop to it because that is not what the law was intended for. If they are circumventing the rules, and if those rules need to be tightened, then we will do that. In the short term, because of the pandemic and the fact that many of the students are at home, if there is a change of use to allow emergency workers to use the accommodation, then that is fine because it is a genuine change of use. However, if there is an underhandedness to it, and I will certainly bring it to the attention of the Minister, then we need to put a stop to it. It is a significant development for the community in Dublin 8 to have a development of that size, and if it is being used to undercut hospitality businesses in the area and to bring in with co-living through the back door. That is not something Fianna Fáil or the Government would support. I thank the Senator for raising the issue because this is the place do so.

Senator Crowe raised the issue of bars and restaurants. I note he is anticipating what the Chief Medical Officer might suggest in terms of his advices. I know Dr. Holohan will not be drawn on what his advices might be and he is, of course, waiting until he gets the latest data before making any announcement. I agree with the Senator on the impact of restrictions on the hospitality sector and the knock-on effect impact on families because it affects their income. Many of them are on much less income than they would be if they were back earning. I note also that the Christmas period is when many hospitality businesses make their money to survive the first six months of the year until they get back into the summer period. It is therefore of huge concern and I agree with the Senator that the Government needs to take into account not just the public health aspect, but also the social and economic aspect of restrictions. To date, I think it has done so and it did not go to level 5 restrictions straight away in that there was a period of a few weeks lead-in to try to prepare better for them. There is a real cognisance of the impact of restrictions. All we can do for bars and restaurants is to use any opportunity we have to get a takeaway and support our local business because every little bit helps in these months. Drinking pints out in the cold is not something we do in the west of Ireland because in the winter months, it is almost a necessity to drink indoors but it is different in the summertime. I am hopeful that we can protect those businesses over the winter months.

Senator Buttimer raised the issue of the flu vaccine. I only know what the Senator knows on what has been reported this morning. I have not received an update from the Minister for Health on that particular issue. I find it very hard to believe that 600,000 flu vaccines have gone missing. I am sure that in the coming days we will get a reasonable explanation as to why that is. I note that some GPs have said they have been so busy that they have not had time to process the paperwork and to put in the claims for the flu vaccines, so that might account for some of the discrepancy. We should wait to hear back from the Minister for Health on the issue, following his engagement with the HSE and with GPs on the issue. I am sure there is an explanation for it because 600,000 vaccines do not just go missing. They are somewhere and I have no doubt that they will be found. We will seek an update for the Senator from the Minister for Health on the issue.

Senator Boyhan raised the issue of the backlog in driver tests. I am aware that this has been raised previously by Senators Burke and Byrne and it is a massive issue. I note that Ógra Fianna Fáil is running a campaign on this issue because it is affecting many younger drivers who are getting on the road for the first time. There is a 30-week backlog, which really needs to be addressed. I was not aware of the concentration of the backlog in the Tallaght, in particular, and it is clearly not fair that one community is more affected that others. There should be a reallocation of resources to tackle that particular issue because clearly that is well above the backlog in other areas.

Senator O'Loughlin raised the issue of Safe Ireland. The UN's International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is 25 November and I have been informed that the Minister for Justice intends to come before this House the day before on 24 November to discuss her plans around supporting women in situations of domestic violence. During the pandemic, an additional €2.1 million was allocated to services to try to address the deficiency in services and supports. I know that An Garda Síochána and the Court Service are prioritising those cases, so efforts are being made. However, when one looks at the numbers, which were highlighted by Senator Gallagher also, of 3,450 women and 589 children who contacted services in that six-month period, and 90 women and three children per day, it is quite stark. Women are bearing the brunt of this, it is having an impact on children at a young age, and it needs to be addressed. I look forward to hearing from the Minister for Justice on 24 November as to what her plans are in the Department of Justice to tackle this issue.

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