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Chuaigh an Leas-Chathaoirleach i gceannas ar 14:30:00
Machnamh agus Paidir.
Reflection and Prayer.
Business of Seanad
An Leas-Chathaoirleach:   I have notice from Senator Lorraine Higgins that, on the motion for the Commencement of the House today, she proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the progress being made on the construction of a new primary school for Scoil Éanna, Bullaun, County Galway, and the timeframe for the delivery of a new school.
I have also received notice from Senator Terry Brennan of the following matter: The need for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to ensure that the enforcement powers available to planning authorities under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, against unauthorised development are uniformly and adequately implemented by planning authorities.
I have also received notice from Senator Gerard Craughwell of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Health to discuss the employment of counselling psychologists in the HSE.
I have also received notice from Senator Mary White of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Education and Skills to clarify whether children in the Glencullen, County Dublin, catchment area will be in the school feeder area for the proposed new Educate Together post-primary school, in Stepaside, County Dublin.
I have also received notice from Senator Marie Moloney of the following matter: The need for the Minster of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works to outline whether, in light of the emphasis being put on the Action Plan for Jobs in regional areas, he would consider changing the tendering procurement process to funding only by region to ensure jobs are kept in regional areas.
I have also received notice from Senator Colm Burke of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Health to furnish details of all repayments received under the fair deal scheme from the estates of deceased fair deal recipients.
I have also received notice from Senator Cáit Keane of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Education and Skills to set out details of the proposals, plans and timeframe for the provision of a permanent building for Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna, Knocklyon, Dublin.
I have also received notice from Senator Martin Conway of the following matter: The need for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to outline what funding is being made available to local authorities for housing aids for older people and housing adaptation grants this year and when the funding will be allocated to local authorities.
I regard the matters raised by the Senators as suitable for discussion. I have selected the matters raised by Senators Higgins, Brennan and Craughwell and they will be taken now. Senators Moloney, Burke, Keane and Conway may give notice on another day of the matters they wish to raise. Senator White has withdrawn her Commencement matter, which I had selected, and there was not sufficient time to select another matter for discussion today.
Commencement Matters
Schools Building Projects Status
Senator Lorraine Higgins: This is an urgent matter. Scoil Éanna, Bullaun, Loughrea, County Galway is in crisis. The people of Bullaun are desperate for, and have been promised, a new school. It is astonishing to me that, given the severity of their situation, pupils and teachers are forced to endure this entirely unsuitable and highly dangerous situation nine years after being promised a new building. Scoil Éanna is a standard three-classroom school built in 1959 on 0.6 of an acre. As a result of a huge increase in the local population, its enrolment has spiralled from 39 pupils in 2000 to 187 pupils in 2014. This increase in enrolment has necessitated the instalment of four prefabs, two of which are being accommodated outside the school's rear boundary wall and on the generosity and community spirit of several landowners. This situation has understandably tested the goodwill of people in the area, and in addition to the provision in 2012 of the fourth prefab, which was made difficult by persistent rain, fifth and sixth classes have to be taught in the local hall in Bullaun which was built in 1888. This is causing massive disruption to all concerned and impacts on teachers and students alike.
The annual cost of prefab rental is close to €40,000. A fourth prefab was purchased last year for close to €65,000. Given the glaring need for a new school, the community understandably feels this is imprudent and wasteful spending. I agree wholeheartedly. The installation of these prefabs has also placed huge demands on the 1959 percolation system in place at the school. The adjoining land has been badly damaged during the installation of prefab four, which is also an issue. The school's septic tank is absorbing water from the water table and in the past year has been emptied and desludged several times. A recent health and safety audit condemned the system. The school board has applied for emergency works to be carried out on its percolation system and the Department has sanctioned funding. The school community, however, has been unable to proceed with the project because of space restrictions and difficulties with planning permissions. There is literally no space whatsoever to install the system.
In respect of health and safety and the day-to-day well-being of all in the school, this is shameful and must be tackled urgently. I feel very strongly about this because I have brought it up on several occasions in this House and the staff and pupils of Scoil Éanna have entered their ninth year of waiting for a new school, despite all I have said. I commend the generosity of the patron of the school, Bishop John Kirby, who has agreed to make a sizeable site available for construction of a new school in Bullaun, located beside the village car park, which is a very safe location. There have been site engineer evaluations and hydrologist reports for this proposed new site which deem it very suitable. These facts and the escalating difficulties facing Scoil Éanna and the community lead me to ask in the strongest possible terms why work has not commenced on this new school. I urge the Minister of State and the Minister for Education and Skills to swiftly examine the situation as a crisis because children have graduated from Scoil Éanna having spent their entire primary school education in infrastructure that is not fit for purpose.
It is horrendous and something no child should have to put up with in the 21st century, particularly in an education system that is supposed as good as the one we talk about in this country.
I commend the principal, Fergal Connaire, for all his work. I also commend the teachers, other members of staff and pupils at Scoil Naomh Éanna as well as the local community for the spirit, endeavours and generosity it has shown and the huge efforts it has made in raising funds over the years. The fruits of all their fund-raising efforts lie in a bank account awaiting the commencement of work on this new school. It is high time the Department of Education and Skills kicked into gear and moved on this matter once and for all because no child or teacher should be forced to learn or work in a school building that is so thoroughly unsuitable and that goes back decades and generations. Students are being taught and are learning in a hall in Bullaun that dates from 1888. I stand with every single person in Bullaun when it comes to this issue and am calling for it to be addressed as a matter of urgency. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's response.
Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills (Deputy Damien English): I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, Minister for Education and Skills. I wish to thank the Senator for raising the matter as it provides me with the opportunity to clarify the current position relating to the application for a new school building in the case of Scoil Naomh Éanna, Bullaun, Loughrea, County Galway.
The Senator will be aware that the over-riding objective of education capital expenditure is to meet the demographic challenge facing the education system whereby total pupil enrolment in both primary and post-primary schools is expected to grow by around 107,000 additional pupils between 2012 and 2019 - over 70,000 at primary level and over 35,000 at post-primary - and will continue to rise at post-primary level to the year 2026 at least. The five-year construction plan prioritises major school projects in areas where future significant demographic changes have been identified.
In this regard, Loughrea has not been identified as an area of significant demographic growth. Pupil enrolment projections for Loughrea indicate that enrolments will remain relatively stable for the foreseeable future. However, the Department has acknowledged the accommodation issues outlined here today arising in respect of Scoil Naomh Éanna, Bullaun. Having examined the existing school site, it became apparent in late 2013 that the site is too restricted and cannot be expanded to meet the deficit of permanent accommodation and provide an appropriate wastewater treatment system for the school in question. In that regard, it was concluded that a new school site is required.
In that context, the school advised during a meeting with Department officials in December 2013 that the patron is willing to offer a greenfield site for a new school development. The Department requested site maps and confirmation from the patron that the greenfield site would be offered for development. The information requested was received by the Department in early 2014 on foot of which a technical site visit was undertaken.
Following the site visit, the school's board of management was advised in mid-2014 to appoint a suitably qualified consultant engineer to examine and comment on the ground conditions and water treatment system requirements in respect of the proposed greenfield site. The board of management was also advised that it would also be necessary for the consultant to hold a pre-planning meeting with Galway County Council regarding the site's suitability for development. The consultant appointed by the board of management concluded that a further tier two assessment of the site would be required and my Department's technical advisers concurred with this advice. This completed report was submitted to the Department in early 2015. The report has been considered and the Department is satisfied that the proposed site is suitable for the development of a new school building. As a result of this, I am pleased to inform the Senator that this project will be progressed into the architectural planning process without delay so it is beginning to move through those gears.
The building project for Scoil Naomh Éanna is one of a number of schools which it was not possible to include in the five-year construction programme. However, the school project will be progressed to the final planning stages so that it will be well placed for consideration in the context of future construction programmes. Hopefully, the next one will be announced later on this year. I again thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to clarify the current position in relation to Scoil Naomh Éanna.
Senator Lorraine Higgins: I thank the Minister of State for his response in which he mentioned demographics. This school has gone from having 39 pupils in 2000 to 187 pupils in 2014 which is a sizeable increase. The building in which pupils are being taught and in which teachers are forced to teach is wholly unsuitable. However, I welcome the fact the project will be progressed into the architectural planning process without delay.
It is a good move in the right direction. It is time a review of the five-year construction project is done to allow us to do something constructive for schools, such as Scoil Éanna in Bullaun, Loughrea, which are in a situation that is clearly untenable and unsafe for students and teachers. We must safeguard children's education and if they are going to be taught in places that are wholly unsuitable for their needs, it does not augur well for them on their way to secondary school. I urge the Minister of State, the Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, and the departmental officials to do everything in their power to expedite the process so that Scoil Éanna can look forward to a new school building in the near future.
Deputy Damien English: The Department recognises that, due to increased numbers at the school in the past seven or eight years, the accommodation is not suitable, and this is why it has been allowed to progress to the architectural planning stage and to continue to the planning stage. The figures to which I referred were for the future. During the tight budget constraints of the past three or four years, any money was being set aside for additional accommodation for increased pupil numbers. The spring budget statements are to be announced today. With the fiscal situation improving, the Department hopes to be in a position to add to it. The Senator referred to a review of the five-year plan. Given that we are in the final year of the existing five-year construction plan, it is intended to announce a new five-year plan this year, if possible. Much work has been carried out over the past six or seven months on researching and improving figures.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Senator Terry Brennan is next. Is the Minister of State taking this matter?
Deputy Damien English: I would not chance it with Terry.
Senator Terry Brennan: You would be dead right.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: The Senator has four minutes to make his case.
Planning Issues
Senator Terry Brennan: The issue is a monstrosity of a boundary wall that is 14 ft. to 16 ft. high and was built without permission in October 2007. Louth County Council stopped it in progress and the developer subsequently applied for retention, which the council refused. The developer appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála, which upheld the council's decision, stating in its report, "This development is unsustainable, backland development and totally inappropriate in a residential area". The wall was built seven and a half years ago and it remains to this day and greatly devalues the nearby houses. Some three years later, Louth County Council received an application for permission to build a 2 m wall and granted permission. However, this ugly structure has not been reduced in height and, in my opinion, it never will be. Some three years later, the developer has taken no action.
To add insult to injury, the local authority has deemed the structure unsafe and, 18 months ago, put an unsafe notice on it, which the developer and applicant have ignored. I believe no action will be taken by either developer or applicant and it is long overdue that the local authority take immediate action to demolish and remove this monstrosity. The previous CEO agreed to do it, but given that she was moved to higher places, it has not happened. My raising the issue as a Commencement matter is a last resort due to my frustration at how Louth County Council has handled and prolonged the issue over recent years. I suggest, if possible, that the Minister and perhaps an official from the Department come to see for themselves that I am not exaggerating the situation. It cannot be left any longer.
Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Paudie Coffey): I thank Senator Brennan for raising this important matter. In view of what he has outlined, I can understand his frustration. In that context, I am happy to try to address this issue for him.
The purpose of the planning system is to ensure development takes place in a planned, controlled and sustainable manner which protects the interests of the common good and the many qualities of our natural and built environment. Active and effective enforcement of the planning legislation by planning authorities is critical for the credibility and integrity of the planning system. I am firmly of the view that appropriate enforcement action should be taken in a timely manner where legal requirements are not upheld. This is necessary to ensure the planning system and, more important, public confidence in it are not undermined in any way.
Under planning legislation, any development which requires planning permission and which does not have such permission is considered unauthorised, as is development which contravenes conditions laid down in a planning permission. Under the Planning Acts, comprehensive powers are available to, and clear and extensive actions are required of, planning authorities regarding enforcement in the context of unauthorised development. In the first instance, planning authorities are required to issue a warning letter in respect of any complaints received regarding unauthorised development or in the context of any other unauthorised development of which they otherwise become aware. They are then required to carry out an investigation into the alleged unauthorised development. Following such an investigation, the relevant authority must decide, as expeditiously as possible, whether to issue an enforcement notice. Where such a notice is issued, the planning authority is required to specify that development cease in circumstances where no planning permission has been granted or, where it has been granted, require that the development proceed in accordance with the permission. Furthermore, planning authorities are empowered to specify in an enforcement notice the steps to be taken within a specified period to conform with a permission. Where the steps specified are not complied with, they are empowered to enter on the land and take such steps, including the removal, demolition or alteration of any structure, as are deemed necessary, as well as to recover any costs incurred.
My Department's development management guidelines, which were issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act and to which planning authorities are required to have regard in the discharge of their planning functions, urge planning authorities to ensure that court prosecutions follow in the case of all enforcement notices not complied with. Court conviction can result in both fines and imprisonment. I understand the unauthorised development to which the Senator refers and which involves a 5 m high boundary wall surrounding a particular housing development has been in place for quite a number of years, even though the planning permission granted was for a 2 m high boundary wall. I also understand that, as the Senator outlined, an extension of duration of planning permission was granted in respect of the housing development in question in 2011 and that this was subject to a reduction in the height of the wall to that originally granted. Even though there have been some problems in identifying ownership of the site, effective enforcement action by the planning authority concerned is still essential. I am informed that an enforcement notice has been issued in this case. Given the length of time this unauthorised development has been in place and the adverse effects on the amenity of the adjoining property owners and residents over that period, I expect the planning authority will vigorously follow through on this enforcement notice and take the necessary steps to ensure it is complied with as expeditiously as possible.
Non-compliance with the planning legislation is something that should not be tolerated and non-enforcement in respect of breaches of the planning code sends out the wrong message and encourages further transgressions of the planning laws. I again urge all planning authorities to discharge their functions in this regard and to ensure any breaches of the planning code are swiftly addressed in accordance with their statutory obligations.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Winner all right. Is the Senator happy with the Minister of State's reply?
Senator Terry Brennan: I welcome what the Minister of State said and that enforcement action will be taken. I encourage him to ensure such action will be immediate and that, as was the case in the past, letters, notices, etc., will not be ignored. Perhaps a time limit should be put in place because, as I understand it, neither the developer nor the applicant is claiming ownership of the wall or the land adjacent to it.
The applicant says he has a significant interest in the wall. It is not admitting ownership. The only solution is to knock it. We will find out then who built it unauthorised and he can be brought to court to ensure the local authority is reimbursed for the cost of demolition and removal. I thank the Minister of State sincerely.
Deputy Paudie Coffey: The enforcement notice has issued, despite the fact, as the Senator said, that there were long delays. The local authority has the power to enter the lands where enforcement is not being complied with to make sure the wall is taken down and a charge applied to the owners of the property. There is obvious concern and it is important to ensure public confidence in our planning system. I will, therefore, ask my officials to monitor this case to ensure there is appropriate follow through on the enforcement action and to make sure the residents and the amenity of the area are protected, as was intended by the planning permission granted by the same local authority. I will attend to this.
Health Services Staff Recruitment
Senator Gerard P. Craughwell: I welcome the Minister to the House for the debate on this matter. On 25 March, an independent report into the deaths of 12 children in State care or known to child protection services severely criticised the State's social work and mental health services. Four of these cases concerned young women between the ages of 14 and 19 with emotional difficulties who had taken their own lives. Three of them had been on lengthy waiting lists for psychological services. Dr. Helen Buckley, chair of the national review panel said that one of the girls was unable to access mental health services in the days leading up to her death, which is a damning indictment of our health service. In explaining delays in psychology services, Ms Anne O'Connor, HSE director of mental health services stated it was the lack of psychological candidates and not HSE funding that was causing the delays.
I have been reliably informed that, in November 2014, there were 27 vacant HSE psychology posts in disability, mental health and child and adolescent mental health services but, at the same time, more than 80 counselling psychologists were available on the HSE psychology panel. It appears, therefore, it is not the shortage of suitable candidates but a change in the appointment criteria that is causing this serous and, in some cases, life threatening backlog. Up to 2009, counselling psychologists were actively recruited in all areas of mental health and currently they work in all areas of the HSE, some at senior levels. Given the changed recruitment procedures, they would now be unable to apply for posts they hold. The HSE has never given a reason or evidence for the basis of this change. The professional body for accreditation of psychologists, the Psychological Society of Ireland, PSI, stated, "No candidate should be excluded from applying solely on the basis of their named professional qualification in psychology".
Counselling psychology professionals have made countless representations to the Health Service Executive to request a statement on its rationale for such restrictive eligibility criteria, but none has been given. In a statement obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, a 2013 report of the Commission for Public Service Appointments, CPSA, concluded that in the event of the HSE not adopting the position of the Psychological Society of Ireland in respect of the eligibility criteria, it needed to provide a robust case to support its position. To date, I am unaware of any supporting case having been made, and I respectfully request the Minister to take up the issue with the HSE.
I am aware, however, of a long-established relationship between the HSE and the clinical psychologist profession in Ireland, which has evolved from an apprenticeship model in which the HSE sponsored the training of clinical psychologists and their subsequent placement in posts in the HSE. However, I argue that this model, which was designed to meet the service needs of the HSE and has worked very well for clinical psychologists therein, no longer adequately meets the now urgent service needs of the sector. The time has come for a different, more flexible, expanded and, if necessary, more bespoke recruitment process. Each year the country produces clinical and counselling psychologists of the highest calibre, and it is regrettable, even scandalous, that posts remain unfilled as young people die because of the failure to resolve this recruitment issue.
To sum up, I will ask the Minister a number of important questions. Why were the eligibility criteria changed in 2009? Who made the decision to change them? Who sanctioned this change and why has the HSE sought to recruit clinical psychologists from abroad while refusing to employ counselling psychologists who already have passed HSE interviews and remain on the panels? How was this situation allowed to develop when there are serious waiting lists and people are in dire need of professional medical help? Although there are already fully qualified counselling psychologists on the panel, no appointments are being made. I respectfully ask for the Minister to intervene in this serious situation because, to paraphrase an old adage, service directors differ and patients die. There is far more at stake here than posts and disputes over eligibility criteria.
Minister for Health (Deputy Leo Varadkar): I thank Senator Craughwell for raising this issue today. As the Senator will be aware, psychologists employed by the health service play an integral role in the delivery of a wide range of psychological services. These include working with children and their families who present with developmental, emotional or behavioural difficulties and others who have intellectual and physical disabilities. Services also include working with adolescents with a wide range of difficulties from adjustment problems to serious mental health issues and working with adults who present with mental health problems, including anxiety, depression and mental disorders.
The HSE employs professionally trained psychologists, including counselling psychologists, clinical psychologists and educational psychologists, in a range of roles across the health service. Psychologists working in the health service provide their services in a number of different ways - as part of a multidisciplinary team of health professionals, as part of a network of health professionals or as sole health professionals providing a service to a client. They provide services across a broad range of settings, including community-based health centres, residential centres, nursing homes and hospitals.
Under section 22 of the Health Act 2004, the HSE has the authority to appoint persons to be employees and may determine their duties. This includes appointments to psychology services. The HSE is bound under section 22 of the Act to conduct recruitment in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004, which is underpinned by codes of practice. The Commission for Public Service Appointments is the independent body established in 2004 to ensure that these codes of practice are adhered to. The HSE's national recruitment service conducts all recruitment activity for the health service, including recruitment to all positions in the psychology service. The HSE is responsible for determining eligibility criteria for recruitment purposes, and this has been fully acknowledged and accepted by the CPSA.
As the Senator will be aware, it has been the HSE's intention to undertake a review of the recruitment and selection criteria for psychology grades in the health service. A working group is being established by the HSE and it is expected that the work will commence within two weeks. The terms of reference are currently being finalised and it is hoped the group will deliver its recommendations within six months. In the interests of service users and their families, I, along with the Minister for State with responsibility for primary and social care, welcome the consideration the HSE is giving to this important issue, and we look forward to receiving the group's review report, once completed.
Senator Gerard P. Craughwell: I accept what the Minister says and I understand his own concerns in this area. However, as Minister for Health, he has responsibility for the HSE. The establishment of a working group to report on this matter now is a bit late in the day.
There are vacant posts in the system and there are people available now to fill those posts. I cannot for the life of me understand why we cannot go ahead and fill them. There are people on the panel and there is absolutely no reason this cannot be done, other than a blockage, for some reason or other, in the system. The Minister could, I am sure, do a little bit more in this regard. Perhaps he would not mind doing so.
Deputy Leo Varadkar: Just because people are on a panel, it does not mean they are available or want to take up a post. Often, people on panels, when offered a job, either are no longer available or they do not want the job or to move to the location of the job. It is not the case that just because people are on the panel they will necessarily be willing to take up a post.
Senator Gerard P. Craughwell: There are many people on the panel.
Deputy Leo Varadkar: When it comes to this decision, the HSE must be satisfied that people are suitably qualified for the position they are being asked to take up. This is not a matter on which I have the authority to issue a ministerial order, or on which I would be comfortable doing so. It is a matter for the working group to determine whether it wishes to change what it deems to be acceptable in terms of qualifications. The group will comprise senior psychology managers in the HSE and human resources professionals. It will also include an independent chairperson external to the HSE and will consult with key stakeholders, including the Psychological Society of Ireland, educational bodies and staff representative bodies.
It is worth pointing out that the Psychological Society of Ireland, PSI, is a non-statutory organisation. There is no statutory requirement for psychologists to be registered with the PSI in order to practice in this country. Membership of that organisation is entirely at the discretion of individual psychologists, which is very different from the Medical Council or other similar bodies.
Senator Gerard P. Craughwell: Can the Minister offer some solace in terms of membership of the group including a counselling psychologist?
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: The Minister has outlined his position clearly. The Senator has had a good run at it and should appreciate that the Minister himself came to the House to respond to the matter.
Senator Gerard P. Craughwell: Go raibh maith agat.
Sitting suspended at 3.10 p.m. and resumed at 3.35 p.m.
Order of Business
Senator Maurice Cummins: The Order of Business is No. 1, Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015 - Report and Final Stages, to be taken at 4.45 p.m. and to adjourn not later than 6.45 p.m., if not previously concluded; and No. 2, Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014 - amendments from the Dáil, to be taken at 6.45 p.m. and to conclude not later than 7.45 p.m.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: After watching the PR sideshow in the other House, I have concluded that the Government's new initiative of spring statements, which has no substance and is of no consequence, might afford us an opportunity-----
Senator Paul Coghlan: The Senator has come across some sideshows.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Those who are struggling in mortgage arrears or paying rip-off rates on variable-rate mortgages, and those whose respite care grant has been cut are being given nothing new. It was a set piece to allow the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, to congratulate each other and say that everything is great. Maybe we could assist in some way if the Leader has already scheduled time in the next week or two for both Ministers to come to the House. If they wish to come together, as it appears they get on well together, I would have no problem with that. We can put in another chair and they can sit there and hold hands if they wish. We could go through the spring statement in detail. This is a very strange departure. For a Government that was elected on the promise of doing things differently and introducing a new kind of politics, this is auction politics at its best. It has tried to get a full week's publicity in the run up to statements made today that do not stand up in any shape or form and that are devoid of substance and any type of plan for future action. Will there be a budget in October? What is happening with the self-employed? What is happening with regard to assistance for the self-employed, about which there have been leaks recently, assistance for those on variable-rate mortgages and all the children in this and other cities who have not been able to access early intervention since June 2012 and who have been affected by the reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio? Nothing. It would be useful if the two Ministers came to the House, together or separately, to address these points in the statements and allow us to question them and try to get some element of substance and fact from the statements they made today.
On behalf of my group, I want to say how awful the situation is in Nepal. We offer our sympathies to the people there on the thousands of deaths and injuries due to the earthquake. We welcome the Government's initial response. I know it will be going further by way of humanitarian aid for the people of Nepal, who need it desperately. Most of the country has not even been accessed yet. Some 85% of the people live outside the capital, Kathmandu, and their villages and towns have not been accessed at this stage. The Irish Government has already started to do this, but I call for us to support as best we can all the humanitarian efforts that are being made to alleviate the suffering of the people in Nepal.
Finally, I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that No. 15, the Moore Street Area Renewal and Development Bill 2015, be taken today, before No. 1.
Senator Ivana Bacik: I join Senator O'Brien and others in expressing our condolences regarding the tragedy in Nepal. We all watched with horror as the death toll rose to above 4,000 people. I welcome the announcement by the Minister, Deputy Charlie Flanagan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock, that Ireland will pledge €1 million in aid to the people of Nepal.
We all watched the spring statement today. I take exception to Senator O'Brien's description of it as some sort of PR sideshow.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Bill and Ben. It was great television.
Senator Ivana Bacik: Senator O'Brien and his colleagues are clutching at straws when they seek to trivialise this. When the Government took office just over four years ago, it was unthinkable that we would see this level of fiscal space, as the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, has put it.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Follow their plan.
Senator Ivana Bacik: He and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, have today announced a fiscal space of between €1.2 and €1.5 billion for the 2016 budget, which will take place in October 2015. The Ministers have made it clear that these resources will be allocated on an equal basis between additional spending and reducing the tax burden on low and middle-income earners. The enormous improvement in the economy that this represents has been made very clear to people.
The idea of the spring statement is also to be seen in the context in which the Ministers have placed it. It is part of a reformed budgetary process, enabling Government to plan on a multi-annual basis and to plan expenditure in a much more coherent manner. We all welcome that, particularly the announcement by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, that gross voted current expenditure will be increased in this budget by €600 to €750 million, particularly to ease demographic pressures. There are some very stark statistics coming through on the demographic pressures facing us in education, for example, as well as in the areas of health and social protection. In education, we are conscious that we will need 3,500 extra teachers at primary and secondary level by 2021 to provide education to an additional 50,000 pupils. We know at third level that the number of students is projected to increase by 20,000 in the same period. We are facing significant demographic pressures and it is good that we are able to plan spending on this multi-annual basis and that we have additional money to allocate. This is to be greatly welcomed and the sort of petty comments being made by Senator O'Brien and his colleagues deserve to be seen in the context of their performance four and a half years ago-----
Senator Darragh O'Brien: I am just like that.
Senator Ivana Bacik: -----in leaving this country in an economic mess from which it is now-----
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Let us call it like it is. The Labour Party followed a plan under which it voted against everything-----
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Senator Bacik, without interruption.
Senator Ivana Bacik: -----on the road to recovery. We should all welcome that.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Anyway, enjoy today.
Senator Mark Daly: Frankfurt's way or Labour's way.
Senator Ivana Bacik: We should all welcome the very positive news in today's spring statement.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Fantastic.
Senator Ivana Bacik: Finally, I commend all the youth organisations that came together yesterday to launch a campaign in support of the marriage equality referendum. I see many non-political children's rights and youth organisations coming together to form an umbrella group in support of the referendum. That is very welcome.
Senator Katherine Zappone: As we heard today, the economy is continuing to recover at a faster rate than was previously forecast. I welcome that and I also welcome the 50:50 split between reduction of taxes and increase of public services. Many of us called for that, not least the Labour Party. That is good news. However, we must ask whether, now that we are reaching the point where we can start spending on public services again, this will ultimately be good news for everyone. I will take the opportunity to remind the Government of those who are most vulnerable in society and who have been most severely impacted by the austerity cuts.
I will focus on one group among them, the 600,000 persons with disabilities and their families, including 200,000 carers who were not protected during the downturn. Cuts in HSE funding for disability services over the period between 2008 and 2013 amounted to 14.7%, and that has resulted in those with disabilities having lost the most basic and critical services of income supports which urgently need to be given back. I refer to the primary income supports impacting those with disabilities and their families. The disability allowance and the carer's allowance have also been cut by 8%. There is a lot of spending to be done in that area. The national disability strategy was to be a significant and practical implementation plan to advance social inclusion for those with disabilities. However, the funding cuts have been counteractive to that plan and the strategy needs to be implemented effectively without delay and the funding needs to reflect its objectives.
We heard in recent days and today that the Government is predicting full employment by 2018, yet those with disabilities are experiencing considerable difficulties accessing employment and are excluded from many of the employment activation programmes. The promised comprehensive employment strategy for those with a disability needs to be completed and implemented. I request an update regarding these plans from the Minister of State responsible for disability services, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, and also ask her to comment on whether there is a sincere commitment from this Government to include those with disabilities and their families in the economic recovery.
I have another question relevant to those with disabilities. I ask for an update on the completion of section 12 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2014 which is to replace section 5 of an earlier Act of 1993. It has not yet been published. All the other aspects of that Bill have been published. When can we expect that section of the long-overdue Bill to be finalised in order that it can be debated in the Houses?
Senator Cáit Keane: I welcome the spring statement because often the Government is accused of doing business on the hoof or as a result of lobbying. A projected spring statement is common in other European countries, such as France and Britain. We are part of the European Union where monetary decisions are made, not on a year-to-year basis but on a planned projected basis over three to five years. That is the way good, sound economy-based principles are advocated and that is the way the Government is doing it. In the €1.5 billion fiscal space we will have, there is opportunity. I ask the Leader to ensure we too get an opportunity to put forward our proposals for the fiscal space that has been announced today.
I was at a presentation in the audiovisual room on the national postcode system for Ireland, which I welcome. When it was first announced two or three years ago, I brought up the issue of my area of Dublin 6 west. I am glad to learn that in the Dublin 6W unique to each address, the "W" is allowed for only in the Dublin 6 west area. I welcome that wholeheartedly because I had been making representations on it.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Snobs.
Senator Mark Daly: Snobbery.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Senator Keane, without interruption.
Senator Cáit Keane: It is the only area in Ireland that has its own unique letter, allowed only for Dublin 6 west. Sometimes one's lobbying in the Seanad does work and I welcome it.
Senator David Norris: Will the Leader write to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, to draw his attention to, and ask him to correct, a cruel and unnecessary anomaly in the allocation of pensions? In the 1980s, workers, particularly in the Civil Service, were circulated with a memorandum asking them whether they wished to leave their pension entitlements to a wife or husband. At that stage, long before civil partnership or anything like that, the tiny number of gay persons involved, whether couples or not, replied "No", and this reply, stating they did not want to leave their pension entitlements to husbands and wives, whom they did not have and whom at that stage they could not have, is being used to disbar them now from allocating pension entitlements to their partners. This affects only a small number of persons and, therefore, it is not a financial issue. It is merely some kind of pettifogging regulation. It is a gross injustice and should be corrected.
In respect of the marriage equality referendum, it is extraordinary that the No side is still peddling the old rubbish about surrogacy and other irrelevant issues. The Referendum Commission has stated unequivocally and authoritatively that this referendum has nothing whatever to do with these issues, which were finally and effectively resolved by Parliament by the passage of the Children and Family Relationships Act 2015.
Senator John Gilroy: We must salute and commend Senator Darragh O’Brien in his attempts to find something negative to say today. It really is a remarkable achievement to be able to find a way to criticise the hard work and sacrifice of the people that enabled the economy to turn around.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Give me a break. Come on.
Senator David Cullinane: Senator Gilroy should sit down.
Senator John Gilroy: Is Senator O'Brien now saying that it was not the people who made the sacrifice?
Senator Darragh O'Brien: It was. We know it was.
Senator John Gilroy: If it was not the people whom Fianna Fáil is prepared to say made the sacrifice-----
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: If Senators have personal antagonism, they should please stick to the subject and avoid comment.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: What is the Senator talking about?
Senator John Gilroy: -----perhaps it was the negativity that Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin poured out for the past four years that has turned the country around. On every occasion when the Government announced a target, Senator O’Brien criticised it and said it was unachievable. He said it was announced that we would create the conditions to-----
Senator Mark Daly: What about prescription charges?
Senator John Gilroy: When it was announced in 2012 that we would create the conditions to create 90,000 jobs, Senator O’Brien and his party were the first out of the traps saying it cannot be done. In that time 100,000 jobs have been created. When it was announced that we were reducing the VAT rate to 9% to stimulate employment and activity in the tourism sector, Senator O’Brien, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin said it could not be done.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: I argued against the pension levy that took €2 billion out of the economy.
Senator John Gilroy: The reduced VAT rate has been a great success. No commentator would think differently. When we said we would remove 400,000 people from the universal social charge, which Fianna Fáil introduced in 2010 and it kicked in at €4,000, they said it could not be done.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Senator Gilroy should stand with Kathleen again in the next election.
Senator John Gilroy: By the end of the year 500,000 people will be removed from USC. Senator O’Brien is calling for a debate on the economic recovery, which has been driven by the people, and would like to have one or both Ministers in the Chamber to discuss it. I am fully in favour of that and endorse his views on it. I recognise that it is not possible to do it today but as soon as possible. We will all support that call.
Senator David Cullinane: Whatever about being negative, I am positive about the future of this country.
Senator John Gilroy: Well done.
Senator David Cullinane: There is a big difference between challenging unfair Government policies as we see them and being negative. I support positive and fair policies and I want to see a fair recovery.
Senator John Gilroy: What is the Senator doing in Sinn Féin?
Senator David Cullinane: The Senator chastised people for interrupting him so now it is his turn to listen to what is being said. The quarrel from the Opposition in recent years has not been about any attempt to reduce the deficit or create jobs but how unfair the adjustment has been on many working families.
Despite what we will get from the Government over the next few days, statement after statement, Minister after Minister patting themselves on the back, commending themselves on what a great and wonderful job they think they have done, many families who do not feel any recovery and are living in poverty will be very angry. A total of 20% of all workers in this State are in low-paid jobs. The Minister for Finance made some very outlandish commitments on job creation today when he said we will pass the 2 million mark in employment next year. I do not see how, if 60,300 net jobs have been created over the past four years, the Government will increase that by 50% over the next couple of years. I will see exactly how that plays out, although obviously we would welcome it if it does happen.
Fewer people are employed in the west, where the figure has fallen by 4,800 since the Government took office, there are 5,000 fewer employed in the south west, and while there has been some marginal improvement in the south east recently, unemployment there is still well above the national average. There are huge regional disparities. Many young people continue to emigrate despite the Government saying it wants to bring people back. Patients are lying on hospital trolleys and people wait longer than 12 months to see a consultant despite promises made.
People with disabilities still have problems accessing services. There is no timeframe regarding when any of the cruel social welfare cuts will be reversed by this Government. We can all celebrate a recovery and uplift and the fact that there may be €1.5 billion extra to spend. My quarrel with the Government parties is how that money will be spent, whether any recovery will be fair and whether we will see a dividend to those people who have paid a disproportionate price for the sacrifices made by the Irish people. I am calling for a debate on a fair recovery. It would be useful for us to have this debate in the Chamber because there is much talk of recovery but is it fair and equitable and who is benefiting from it? I do not think cutting the top rate of tax for the top earners when there are such levels of poverty across the State would be considered fair.
Senator Paul Coghlan: It is interesting to see the recent focus on Siteserv and IBRC. I commend the Minister for Finance for the review he has instigated into the transaction. He has moved quickly to demonstrate that any concerns and issues will be quickly resolved. We know that Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society morphed into IBRC. Reading some of the material between the Department of Finance and IBRC, which has been released to the media, it strikes me that there was a real sense of impatience on the part of the Department regarding the manner in which IBRC was being run down. The subtext seems to be that while the Department regarded IBRC as a zombie bank that was in run-down mode, the senior management in IBRC might have had a different view regarding its independence and lifespan. Reading some of the correspondence from IBRC to the Department and some of the public commentary from IBRC sources over the past few days, one could be forgiven for forgetting that IBRC was an entity that was fully funded by the taxpayer and not market-capitalised. I am glad that IBRC was put into liquidation and that processes for winding down its operations in Ireland were accelerated. There were some in IBRC who might not have liked the pace of the acceleration of the wind down under the liquidators but it was definitely the right course of action. I look forward to the report in due course and ask the Leader for the opportunity to discuss it when it is available.
Senator Mark Daly: Today's spring statement is definitely politically strong but economically weak. As we saw in the last budget, which was much trumpeted by the other side of the House, what we see is a continuation of the Government's policy whereby those on €70,000 were four times better off as a result of the last budget than those on the minimum wage. Is this what we can be promised in the next budget? It will be touted that it is an improvement for some but it will not be an improvement for all. The ESRI, which is the Government's own body, has said that it is not an improvement for those on the minimum wage.
I think I have found the pen used by Deputy Ruairí Quinn to sign the pledge that he would not increase the registration fees. I do not know what happened to the prescription charge but I do not see that in the spring statement. I do not see any promise to pay back the €2.2 billion robbed from private pensions. Perhaps there might be something about that in the autumn statement but there is certainly nothing about it in the spring statement. What we must be clear about is that this Government is borrowing money to buy votes. It is as simple as that. We still have interest payments of €7 billion per year and the money is being borrowed. That is about the size of it. Will the Leader organise a debate on this?
The Government talks about more teachers. Last autumn, when the Government spoke in the budget about 1,700 extra teachers, it failed to mention that this was just to keep in line with growing pupil-teacher ratios. That is what it was about.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Has the Senator a question for the Leader?
Senator Mark Daly: Could the Leader arrange a debate on that?
I second the amendment to the Order of Business relating to the Moore Street Area Renewal and Development Bill 2015, which is a very good one produced by Fianna Fáil councillors in Dublin City Council in conjunction with Senator Darragh O'Brien, who has led the charge on this issue. I know the Senator's relatives were involved in the 1916 Rising. It is very important that Moore Street and that entire historical quarter is revived, revamped and revitalised in the same way Temple Bar was.
Senator Darragh O'Brien's proposal will do it, and I hope the Leader will accept the amendment.
Senator Michael Mullins: I join Senator Bacik in extending our sympathies to the people of Nepal on the awful tragedies that have unfolded over the weekend. While I welcome the Government aid of €1 million, I hope we will be able to find much more to alleviate the appalling humanitarian situation that is evolving there and to help other countries to provide resources to rebuild some level of accommodation for those very unfortunate people.
I would have thought that all sides of the House would welcome the spring statement, which indicates, nationally and internationally, that the country is back on track and heading in the right direction. Four years ago we were almost over the cliff, whereas today, through prudent management, we have managed to bring the national deficit from €15 billion per annum to €4.5 billion this year. The Action Plan for Jobs published by the Government at the start of its term of office, indicated that we would hopefully create an environment that would yield 100,000 jobs by 2016. This target will be achieved a year earlier and, hopefully, we will achieve full employment by 2018, with the benefits spreading out into all regions of the country.
It is estimated that the economy will grow by 4% this year and by 3.25% per year for the next decade, which will bring very significant benefits to all parts of the country. The Minister has indicated that he will have flexibility of between €1.2 and €1.5 billion this year, and I am pleased that it will be split 50:50 between tax reductions and spending on vital public services. I want special consideration to be given to children and adults with disabilities and I want additional resources to be pumped into the provision of respite care to give relief to parents who are severely stretched as a result of caring full-time for children with disabilities. I hope today's announcement is a step on the road to further prosperity. There was additional good news in the CSO figures published today that show that 14% more visitors have come to Ireland in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. While we are heading in the right direction, we still have an enormous amount of work to do.
Senator Jillian van Turnhout: I welcome the HSE's statement last Thursday evening on the new alcohol policy it is drawing up. It is looking to ensure there will be no links between the alcohol industry and any HSE funding or policies or any of the organisations it funds. This vindicates the position I have taken, and I hope the Department of Education and Skills and Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, will consider introducing a similar policy.
I welcome the Supreme Court's decision last Friday on the appeals on the children's rights referendum. I attended the court to listen as it adjudicated. Eight hundred and ninety-five days after the referendum, we at last heard that the Supreme Court had dismissed both appeals. It was all over in a matter of minutes. When will the adoption legislation related to the children's rights referendum come forward? I am very conscious that approximately 2,000 children in long-term foster care have not been able to be adopted because of the delay. I am eager that we do not delay further, given that the right to be adopted is extinguished when a child turns 18. It is urgent legislation.
I was also delighted to address the seminar held by the children and youth organisations which came together yesterday to campaign for a "Yes" vote in the upcoming referendum. These organisations campaign every day throughout the year on a wide range of children's rights and welfare issues, such as poverty and homelessness.
They are very similar and they came together during the campaign relating to the referendum on children's rights. Yesterday, they came together again to strongly call for a "Yes" vote in the marriage equality referendum. They also sent a clear message on the issue of surrogacy. There is room for a debate on this matter and it should take place with the Minister for Health, who is drawing up the legislation. Whatever the outcome on 28 May, that legislation will stand alone because it has nothing to do with the referendum to be held on that date. The debate on surrogacy should take place where it belongs, namely, in the presence of the Minister for Health.
Senator Rónán Mullen: In legal terms, Senator van Turnhout is wrong on her final point. However, we will have plenty of time in the coming weeks to discuss how-----
Senator Jillian van Turnhout: On a point of order, I am not wrong.
Senator Rónán Mullen: -----the issue of surrogacy is intimately bound up with the choice the people will be obliged to make in the referendum.
We have often had occasion to discuss the EU and our membership of it has been of great benefit to many people in various ways. However, EU bureaucracy can drive one nuts. It is particularly sad when our Government fails to spot the madness in proposed EU laws and to ensure that such laws are changed in circumstances where they might impact badly on us. An example in this regard is the sustainable pesticides use directive, which was introduced in Ireland during the past year. The stated aim of this directive is good, namely, to reduce the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment. New classes of pesticide users have been created. In particular, farmers will now be classed as professional users of pesticides. The directive stipulates that all professional users must be registered by 26 November next. After that date, only a registered professional or a person operating under his or her direct supervision will be able to purchase and use pesticides. What people do not realise is that in order to be registered, one must first obtain trained professional user certification. As a result, a farmer who uses pesticides, regardless of how much or how little, will be obliged to complete a module of a level 5 or 6 Teagasc-FETAC at a cost of up to €1,000. This directive will apply regardless of whether one uses a small, hand-held pesticide sprayer or a massive, tractor-pulled trailer sprayer. The directive also contains a requirement to the effect that those who use pesticides must maintain records of how and when they are used.
The new regulations that will apply in this regard have been correctly described by John Comer, president of the ICMSA, as being excessive and outright ridiculous. The majority of those involved in farming in this country are grassland farmers who raise livestock. In comparison to large-scale tillage farmers in Britain and on the Continent, these individuals rarely use pesticides. It is absolute madness, therefore, that small livestock farmers will be required to do a training course in order that they might use even knapsack or hand-held sprayers. Small farmers in the areas surrounding Athenry and Tuam who do not undertake large-scale spraying operations will be obliged to sit through lectures aimed at farmers who sprays thousands of gallons of pesticide each year and to pay for the privilege of having their time wasted while they do so. Failure to comply with the requirement will make these people liable to prosecution.
I request that we hear from the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in early course on this matter. The infuriating aspect is that there was originally a proposal that low-level users of pesticides should be exempt from the training requirement. However, this was dropped. Just as in the case of the negotiations on the nitrates directive, the various energy directives, so many other directives and rules and regulations which emanate from Brussels, those who represent the Government seem to have been asleep at the wheel. We had an opportunity to carve out exemptions which would have been tailored to our particular situation here in Ireland. However, the Department either ignored that opportunity or simply did not care enough to seize it. These new rules will impose additional levels of bureaucracy and costs on farmers. As Mr. Comer has stated, they border on the outright ridiculous. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, should review the regulations and, even at this juncture, he should seek an exemption in respect of low-level users of pesticides. It would be appropriate for him to address the Seanad on this matter at the earliest opportunity.
Senator Colm Burke: I welcome today's spring statement by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin. Last week, representatives from Comhairle na nÓg and Young Social Innovators visited the Houses and the students who won the Young Scientist of the Year award for 2015 made a presentation to the Joint Committee on Health and Children. These ambitious young people are risk takers and innovators. They are the future of this country. The proportion of the population comprising young people is growing. We must ensure that they will be able to remain, work and grow old in this country. The Government is trying to engage in careful and balanced planning in respect of spending and investment and that is what the spring statement involves. The statement is a welcome way of dealing with this and other matters and of ensuring that there is no need to rush about making budgetary decisions at the last minute, as was the case prior to our entering office.
Senator Daly has been critical of the spring statement. He should go to his nearest town, Killarney, and talk to people involved in the tourism industry. Every one of them will say there has been a significant change over the past three or four years in the numbers visiting and in the growth and development of businesses because the correct policies have been put in place to encourage foreigners to visit the country and to encourage Irish people to stay there as well. It is important that we are positive about what is happening in the country and that people who visit the country see that we are working to deal with the issues we had to deal with when we came into government.
Senator Mark Daly: One in five children is on the poverty line.
Senator Colm Burke: We had a difficult financial position, which we have stabilised. We are now moving on to plan for the future and that is what the statement is about.
Senator Paschal Mooney: It is sad to reflect on the Government predicting a land of milk and honey on the same day representatives of gardaí have been on the nation's airwaves bemoaning the fact that they do not have sufficient resources or personnel and there is a danger-----
Senator John Gilroy: There are plenty of extra gardaí in Templemore.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: The Senator should not interrupt.
Senator Paschal Mooney: I am always interested in what Senator Gilroy has to say, particularly if he is justifying the Government's inaction in providing resources and pay rates for new and existing gardaí. A member of the Garda representative body said on the national airwaves earlier that gardaí have to sleep in their cars at a time we have to listen to all this propaganda from the Government along the lines of "Live horse and you will get grass". It makes for hollow reading.
It is an absolute indictment of the Government that those who uphold law and order and do a job that most people would shy away from are not only finding that they have inadequate resources to carry out their duties on behalf of all us in order that we can sleep in our beds safely, but they are unable to sleep in proper accommodation because they do not have enough money. I ask that the Minister for Justice and Equality come before the House at the earliest opportunity to outline, in the context of the brand new Jerusalem we have been hearing about from all those on the Government side, what she will do for the Garda. Will the Government parties provide more resources? A rank and file garda in County Monaghan said on radio earlier that he was one of only two members operating out of a station. He or his partner were the only people manning the patrol car and it can take them up to 45 minutes to get to the scene of a crime within their own district. If that is joined up thinking and progressive government, then God help this country. We should have a debate on the Government's proposals for the money it has found and will expend to buy the election next year-----
Senator Maurice Cummins: The Senator does not want-----
Senator Paschal Mooney: That is what the Government parties will do. They must think all of us and all the people in the country are stupid. I ask that the Minister comes before the House to discuss specifically the question of Garda resources.
Senator Terry Brennan: As Senator Mullins mentioned, the CSO tourism figures for the first quarter of this year were issued earlier and they are most welcome. It is a positive message. Tourism is a key element of the Government's economic recovery strategy, which sets out ambitious targets for growth in overseas visitors. This will increase revenue and the number of jobs in the tourism sector. Visitor numbers for the first three months of this year are most encouraging with the number from France up 26%; Spain, 28%; and Italy, 36%. These are remarkable increases.
This trend is to be commended as these figures represent a wonderful start to 2015. It is a tosnú maith and it is the aim of the Government and Tourism Ireland that 2015 will be the best year ever for Irish tourism. There is no doubt but that this year has seen the best start to the tourism year since the days of the Celtic tiger. The growth to date this year in visitor numbers has been at the strongest rate in more than 15 years, which augurs well for the rest of the year. This year could well be a record year for tourism and the achievements made in this regard to date should be celebrated and acknowledged.
Senator Terry Leyden: I share in the concern and sadness expressed in respect of Nepal and the terrible earthquake that occurred there. I commend the relief agencies, including Irish agencies, such as Concern and GOAL, which are on the ground and are helping speedily, in any way they can, to alleviate the suffering of those involved. There may be up to 10,000 casualties with 8 million people affected. It was an horrific event.
I also wish to congratulate Dr. Síofra O'Leary, who has been elected a judge of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. While people may not be aware of this, the Irish delegation last week voted en bloc for the appointment of Dr. O'Leary, who has a tremendous curriculum vitae and who is taking up that role as one of the 47 judges of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. As representatives of Ireland, we were delighted, when the recommendation came out, that the majority recommended her appointment. The entire assembly had a vote on this appointment and she received an overwhelming vote. She will take up her role shortly as a judge of the European Court of Human Rights and I extend best wishes to her on this appointment. At present she is working in Luxembourg and will head to Strasbourg to carry out a very important role. One of the most important roles of the Council of Europe is the Court of Human Rights. I am very pleased that a woman from Dublin has been appointed and has taken up that position.
Senator Jillian van Turnhout: Hear, hear.
Senator Catherine Noone: I was shocked to hear the latest statistics from the Garda Representative Association, GRA, conference this morning, which revealed that 600 gardaí were injured in the line of duty last year, 46% of which were directly as a result of an assault. Gardaí are also being spat at and assaulted by a small sinister minority at some water charge protests. Alarmingly, a new trend appears to have emerged whereby gardaí are being trolled on social media with money offered online to obtain the names and addresses of gardaí policing such protests. At present, gardaí have extendable batons, pepper spray and firearms but nothing in between and what is needed is a deterrent that is effective but which, unlike a firearm, is not designed to be lethal. The current riots in the United States follow a number of previous fatal shootings by police in which firearms were used instead of tasers. Although the misuse of tasers has resulted in relatively minute numbers of deaths globally, they were introduced in the United States as non-lethal weapons to be used by police to subdue potentially dangerous people who otherwise would have been subjected to a firearm. In 2009, the Police Executive Research Forum showed that the number of officers injured dropped by 76% when tasers were introduced. Although I strongly believe it should be used as a last resort, I support the use of tasers if and when the situation merits it. As such, I am calling for resources to be made available to facilitate these.
Senator Maurice Cummins: I welcome all the positive vibes coming from Senator Darragh O'Brien in respect of the spring statement.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: The Leader is welcome. We must get some substance there.
Senator Maurice Cummins: It is wonderful that GDP is growing strongly-----
Senator Darragh O'Brien: There are 5,000 people waiting for procedures.
Senator Maurice Cummins: -----that exports are at historic highs, that employment is expanding and the public finances are in a much healthier position than when the Government took power. I welcome the Senator's positive words in that regard.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: The Leader is welcome. He should-----
Senator Maurice Cummins: One could not be but positive because of those results.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: -----talk to old people waiting for medical procedures.
Senator Maurice Cummins: I assure the Senator that-----
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Talk to the children with no early intervention.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: The Leader to respond.
Senator Maurice Cummins: The Senator asked when Members would have a debate. They will have a debate in this House next Wednesday-----
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Fantastic.
Senator Maurice Cummins: -----from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. on the spring statement. I agree with the Senator it is very important that the benefits that will accrue, as a result of the people making sacrifices in recent years and of Government policy, are debated in this House.
I can assure Senators that we will have that debate. In regard to the Senator's reference to Ministers being very cosy with each other, it is important that Ministers get on.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: They get on very well.
Senator Maurice Cummins: This Government has proven not to be a temporary little arrangement. When Fianna Fáil was in government-----
Senator Darragh O'Brien: This Government is hanging on by its fingernails.
Senator Maurice Cummins: -----it viewed all of its partnerships as temporary little arrangements.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Wait until after the next election.
Senator Maurice Cummins: Fianna Fáil will be waiting a while to find another partner.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Fine Gael might have to talk to Deputy Michael Lowry and another batch of Independents.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Senators are bordering on the unruly. Please allow the Leader to respond, without interruption.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: The Leader is goading me.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Senator O'Brien has had his opportunity to speak.
Senator Maurice Cummins: Senators Bacik and Darragh O'Brien spoke about the dreadful tragedy in Nepal. Our sympathies go out to everybody in Nepal after the earthquake there. Senator Leyden and others have complimented the Irish aid agencies involved in Nepal. We hope the Irish people who are still missing return home safely to this country.
Senator Bacik also mentioned that the spring statement is part of a reformed budgetary framework, which is true. Senator Zappone welcomed the increased economic growth. I can assure her that the most vulnerable will be a priority for the Government. The Senator also called for a debate on disability services. I will endeavour to have the Minister responsible come to the House for a debate on that matter. On the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill, I will find out for Senator Zappone when it will come before the House.
Senator Keane spoke about the national postcode system, with specific reference to Dublin 6. I understand the postcode issue is being debated at length by the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications.
Senator Norris called on the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, to address an anomaly in pension entitlements for gay people. I am sure if the Senator provides the information to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform he will consider the proposal outlined by him today.
Senator Gilroy reminded Senators on the opposite side of the House of the Government's many achievements which they said were impossible. There is no denying that is what was said. On the same theme, Senator Cullinane expressed doubt that we would have 2 million in employment by 2018. Four years ago, the Opposition dismissed the idea that we would have an additional 100,000 people in employment this year. More people will return to employment into the future.
Senator Cullinane also welcomed the good news about jobs for the south east. There is a lot more to be done in that area and for Waterford. Tomorrow, we will hear more good news on the jobs front for Waterford, with more good news to come. I can assure Senator Cullinane that this Government will deliver. There is a lot more to be done in terms of job creation in the south east and Waterford. I am sure the Senator will welcome the number of job announcements made over the last number of weeks and those to be announced over the next couple of months.
Senator Coghlan raised the issue of IBRC and Siteserv. This matter will be investigated and the review will, I am sure, be debated in this House. I will try to facilitate that debate.
Senator Daly suggested that the benefits of the last budget for those on high earnings were proportionately greater than they were for those on low incomes, which is not true.
Senator Mark Daly: It is.
Senator Maurice Cummins: On borrowing to pay for benefits, four years ago Ireland found itself in the situation of not being able to borrow.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: That is not true.
Senator Maurice Cummins: We could not borrow.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: No. I am sorry, that is not true.
Senator Maurice Cummins: We could not go to the markets. We had a deficit of €22 billion.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: The Government still comes up with the nonsense that it was three months from running out of money.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Senator O'Brien, please.
Senator Maurice Cummins: We are now in a position to borrow for good purposes, and we will do so.
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Fine Gael and the Labour Party followed a plan-----
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Allow the Leader to respond. There will be ample time next week for the debate.
Senator Maurice Cummins: Senator O'Brien needs to remember the situation we were in four years ago. We were unable to borrow.
Senator Mullins spoke about the prudent management of the economy. It is the key to having greater resources available for additional services.
Senator van Turnhout spoke about the policy on alcohol. It certainly will not be dictated by the drinks industry. It is something she has mentioned on several occasions in the House. I will find out when we intend to discuss the proposed adoption legislation and get back to the Senator.
Senator Mullen spoke about EU laws and bureaucracy with regard to the directive on the use of pesticides. I wonder why it was not picked up by the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs. I agree these items and directives should be debated by the committee and the House. I do not know how it slipped from the Oireachtas committee involved. I advise the Senator that we in this House will debate the EU work programme next week. A briefing on the European work programme will be held tomorrow, about which I have sent notice, and I hope there is a good attendance at it because we will have a debate on it in the House next week. As part of the EU work programme a sub-committee which was formed in the House will deal with three specific items we intend to debate in the coming months. I hope we will have a great input from Members when we debate the matter next week and that we have a good attendance at the briefing session tomorrow.
Senator Burke reminded us that last week Comhairle na nÓg was here to discuss mental health issues. It was one of the biggest attendances I saw in the audiovisual room. Many other youth organisations made presentations last week. This is to be encouraged and we should listen to the young people, who were very articulate when making their points on a number of issues last week.
Senator Mooney spoke about Garda resources. Additional resources are required for the Garda and there is no question about it. The Government has reopened Templemore college, and 300 extra gardaí-----
Senator Paschal Mooney: Earning €23,000 a year.
Senator Maurice Cummins: And another-----
Senator Paschal Mooney: It is a disgraceful amount of money.
Senator Maurice Cummins: And another 300 are in training.
Senator Paschal Mooney: The sum of €23,000 a year to protect the community is disgraceful.
Senator Maurice Cummins: There is €10 million in extra vehicles and more resources have been provided for the Garda. More are required and there is no question about it. As the economy improves, the resources will become available, and need to become available, for our Garda. I note what Senator Noone mentioned about 600 gardaí being injured in the line of duty last year. I certainly favour greater penalties for those assaulting gardaí or any emergency personnel.
Senator Paschal Mooney: And threatening their families.
Senator Maurice Cummins: I have no problem with the use of tasers by gardaí. The Government is monitoring the situation and I will ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to come to the House to discuss law and order and additional resources for the Garda.
Senator Brennan spoke about the positive messages in the tourism sector. We have seen remarkable increases in the first quarter of this year. As he said, tús maith leath na hoibre. Let us hope it will be a record year for tourism.
Senator Leyden congratulated Dr. Síofra O'Leary who has been appointed a judge of the European Court of Human Rights. I am sure we all welcome the appointment.
I propose to accept the amendment to the Order of Business as proposed by Senator O'Brien.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Senator O'Brien proposed an amendment: "That No. 15 be taken before No. 1." The Leader has indicated he is prepared to accept the amendment. Is the amendment agreed? Agreed.
Order of Business, as amended, agreed to.
Moore Street Area Renewal and Development Bill 2015: First Stage
Senator Darragh O'Brien: I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide the grounds upon which certain approvals may be made by Moore Street Renewal Limited relating to existing or proposed buildings and premises in the Moore Street area, to provide that Moore Street Properties Limited shall be a development company for the Moore Street area and for the compulsory acquisition of land in that area by it, to authorise the Minister for Finance to guarantee borrowings by Moore Street Properties Limited, to make further provisions relating to Moore Street Renewal Limited and to Moore Street Properties Limited and to provide for connected matters.
Senator Mark Daly: I second the proposal.
Question put and agreed to.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: When is it proposed to take Second Stage?
Senator Darragh O'Brien: Next Tuesday.
An Leas-Chathaoirleach: Is that agreed? Agreed.
Second Stage ordered for Tuesday, 5 May 2015.
Sitting suspended at 4.31 p.m. and resumed at 4.49 p.m.
Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): Before we commence, I remind Senators that a Senator may speak only once on Report Stage except the proposer of the amendment, who may reply to the discussion of the amendment. Also, on Report Stage, each amendment must be seconded.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: I move amendment No. 1: In page 6, to delete lines 31 to 38, and in page 7, to delete lines 1 to 30.
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): Do we have a seconder?
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: I think so.
Senator Paschal Mooney: I second the amendment.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I understand this issue was discussed at length on Committee Stage with my colleague, Senator David Cullinane. This amendment proposes the deletion of section 4 which deals with entitlement to carer's benefit, carer's allowance and respite care grant. In a submission on the Bill, the Free Legal Advice Centres and the Community Law and Mediation Centre have called for the deletion of the section, arguing that it does nothing but make it more difficult for carers to access income supports. They describe section 4 as negative law-making. It introduces a presumption of ineligibility for the payment which the applicant will have to overcome, whereas at present, the applicant must demonstrate his or her entitlement and the deciding officer must make a reasoned decision from a position of neutrality and objectivity. The submission notes that the outworking of this change will see more and more eligible applicants having to go to the appeals office to secure their entitlements with the lengthy waits and hardship this involves.
Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection (Deputy Kevin Humphreys): I thank the Senator. He is correct in saying his party colleague debated this issue at length. Unfortunately, I will probably give him an answer similar to what I gave to his colleague. I recognise that the information raises some concern. I want to make it absolutely clear that all claims for all three payments are already decided by a deciding officer and have been since the scheme was introduced. The deciding officer may seek the opinion of one of the Department's medical assessors, in which case in arriving at a decision they will consider that opinion with all the information supplied by the claimant. The claimant always had to provide information to the deciding officer. This section is not negative legislation. The legislation reflects very clearly what has been happening within the Department from the inception of the scheme. I cannot accept the amendment which has been debated by the Senator's party colleague here and also by his party colleague in the Dáil on Committee Stage. It is not putting a negative connotation on it; it is a reflection of what currently happens within the Department. I thank the Senator for raising the issue again.
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): Does the Senator wish to respond?
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: No.
Amendment put and declared lost.
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): Amendment No. 2 is ruled out of order as it involves a potential charge on the Exchequer. According to my officials, the matter is deemed out of order.
Amendment No. 2 not moved.
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): Amendment No. 3 is ruled out of order as it involves a potential charge on the Exchequer. That is the ruling by the executive of the House.
Amendment No. 3 not moved.
Bill received for final consideration.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
Senator Paschal Mooney: I thank the Minister of State for his continuing involvement in explaining and clarifying the various issues that have arisen in this legislation. As he will be aware, two particular issues arose that have generated some controversy and outright opposition from this side of the House in respect of the family dividend and the fact we believe a financial burden will be placed unnecessarily on lone parents who are being forced back to the workforce as a result of this legislation. Let us make no mistake about it; they will find themselves in a situation where their State benefits will be cut to the extent that they will have little choice but to try to seek work. Usually that is part-time low-paid work. I have asked previously and I ask again what will happen to the child in those circumstances who will be left at home? If there is nobody to care for the child, it means the lone parent will have to stay out of the workforce. I have no problem with having a pathway to work, education and upskilling, but the bottom line is that the financial realities that will be imposed on lone parents will not result in the outcome proposed by the Government.
I do not see why there is a need to introduce section 3 of this Bill regarding now having an additional deciding officer for the carer's allowance. It now refers to a medical assessor who is an officer of the Minister. GPs were, and continue to be, quite capable of assessing and evaluating the legitimacy or otherwise of a claim in this regard. This seems to be just an added layer of bureaucracy that will result, ultimately, in some applicants being turned down despite the fact that their GP has approved them, which will save more money. This is not progressive legislation. It is a cost-saving exercise and it is not addressing the priorities in the area of social welfare. In the context of the spring statements today, when we are talking about the proposed new land of milk and honey that is being proposed by the Ministers, Deputies Howlin and Noonan, it is sad that the people who are most disadvantaged in society and who are relying on State benefits will find themselves out of pocket as a result of this legislation. That is a shame on the Government.
Senator Marie Moloney: I welcome the proposal in the Bill for the back-to-work family dividend. This is a very helpful measure to get people back to work. With regard to the one-parent family payments, the transitional payment will ensure that lone parents do not have to be available for work when school is not open and they can be at home to look after their children if they can find a job. As I mentioned on Second Stage, and I spoke to the Minister of State following that debate, it might be worth creating some sort of incentive for employers to put in place a programme specifically for lone parents, so that they can work around school hours. I am sure he will have a look at that in due course and perhaps revert to it.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: Táimse agus mo pháirtí ag cur i gcoinne an phíosa reachtaíochta seo. I remember when the Minister, Deputy Burton, raised the issue of changing the age of children for eligibility for lone parents allowance in this House. We were promised at that stage that it would not come in until we had Scandinavian-type child care-----
Senator Paschal Mooney: Does Senator Moloney remember that? She should remind her Minister of it.
Senator Marie Moloney: I will. I thank the Senator.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: We certainly have not seen that coming online-----
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): The Minister of State is here.
Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh: -----so it is very unfair that these cuts and changes should be brought in. It is another case of the Government hammering lone parents, who have been given a very raw deal since this Government came into office. In addition, the Government has not been willing to take on the amendments we have put forward in good faith. Some of them have been ruled out of order, but we wanted to propose again the raising of the cut-off age for the one-parent family payment scheme to 12 years, instead of lowering it to seven, as the Government is doing. The Government passed legislation in 2012, the purpose of which was to lower the cut-off age for the lone parents scheme from ten years to just seven years of age from this coming July. This is too young, particularly in the absence of the affordable child care and after-school care which was promised by the Government but which has not been delivered on. We propose this so that the social welfare Bill that is currently being dealt with in the committee would call off the scheduled cut and instead raise the cut-off age to 12 years.
It is scandalous that this Bill is being brought forward without all the other elements the Minister said she would bring in to support lone parents, many of whom are fighting to make ends meet. They find it very difficult. They are already in a difficult situation trying to raise children, but this is forcing many of them onto the breadline and forcing some of those who are already working out of the workforce. It is a detrimental move and for that reason, among others, we oppose this legislation.
Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection (Deputy Kevin Humphreys): The back-to-work family dividend is a very positive element. It will help many people who are quite distant from the workforce and who are worried about whether there will be a financial dividend in going back to work. There is a significant benefit for people in going back into the workforce and not having to worry about whether they will lose money. The back-to-work family dividend will help many people back into the workforce.
It is undoubtedly very difficult to raise a child alone. At the height of the Celtic Tiger, a huge sum of money was thrown at this issue by Fianna Fáil, which did not improve matters.
It was done with the best of intentions but it did not improve the circumstances of lone parents and, in fact, they slipped further into poverty. All the research and advice indicates that the way out of poverty is through a job. That is what this Government has been about. The Senator's reference to the proposed new land of milk and honey is a little beneath him, given that I normally respect his contributions. I certainly would love to live in a land of milk and honey where there is jam for everybody. I hope we will get back to a position where we will be able to make significant investments in the social infrastructure after the country was almost bankrupt only four short years ago with only 53 or 54 days of money left. We faced the possibility in the autumn where teachers, nurses and doctors would not receive their salaries.
Senator Paschal Mooney: I think that is a bit of an exaggeration.
Deputy Kevin Humphreys: It is not.
Senator Paschal Mooney: The bailout was forced on the Government. The Minister of State knows that.
Deputy Kevin Humphreys: I beg the Senator's pardon.
Senator Paschal Mooney: With all due respect, we can all rewrite history. Let us talk about the future. Let us forget the past.
Deputy Kevin Humphreys: I have always shown the Senator respect. I know the Senator does not want to go back to history although it is not really long ago. It is four years ago which is a very short time period.
Senator Paschal Mooney: I am not talking about that. The Minister of State is in government. It is the Government's policies that are being debated.
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): Let us stick to the Bill.
Senator Marie Moloney: Look at what we have done.
Deputy Kevin Humphreys: This is not targeted particularly at Senator Paschal Mooney because his contribution to the House goes beyond reproach.
Senator Paschal Mooney: I thank the Minister of State for that.
Deputy Kevin Humphreys: This is not targeted at the Senator. It is just a statement if fact,
Senator Paschal Mooney: This is just-----
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): Will the Senator restrain himself now that he is winning? He is doing fine.
Senator Paschal Mooney: I should stop when I am ahead.
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): I ask the Minister of State to speak on the Bill.
Deputy Kevin Humphreys: That is the reality and that is where we found ourselves. I sat in the parliamentary party room with my colleagues in the House listening to the things that were about to happen and the dire economic straits the country was in and it was a very difficult place. There have been some improvements but it is not a land of milk and honey. I certainly hope we will get there sooner rather than later.
Senator Paschal Mooney: No. The prediction seems to be that-----
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): The Minister of State to continue, without interruption, please.
Deputy Kevin Humphreys: The best way we can help lone parents is by helping them back into good paid work. The Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Gerald Nash, has started that process. The Senator mentioned special arrangements for lone parents. There are some companies that already operate special arrangements. I am aware the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection has raised with the Labour Market Council the issue of looking at areas where we can assist family friendly working hours specifically targeted at lone parents. There is a job of work to be done in that area and that will be done.
There are 25,000 subsidised child care places and many initiatives in place. An interdepartmental review group, under the remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy James Reilly, will report shortly. However, those cannot be reasons to do nothing; we have had that for too long in the past. We need to build a viable working society that values everybody equally and we have to assist everybody back into work, not just lone parents, across the whole spectrum. As a Minister of State with the special responsibility of activation, I see on a daily and weekly basis, when I am travelling and meeting communities, people who have distanced themselves from the workforce for two, five, six or seven years. In regard to single parents, the system that operated distanced those people for 18 to 22 years. I saw them regularly in my clinic when they came in after that period and had no way back into the workforce because their work skills were gone. There is, therefore, a major job of work to be done to ensure that everybody will be able to share in the recovery, which is taking some time, and that people will have a real possibility of actually entering the workforce and working their way out of poverty.
This is the third recession I have seen. I will not remind Senators of the other two. As Senator Mooney is sensitive today, I will not remind him of his party's past mistakes. I have witnessed groups in my constituency left behind in the 1990s. The answer was to throw money at the problem in the hope that it would disappear but it did not and instead created intergenerational unemployment which did nobody any favours. We have to ensure we do not do that again.
I commend the Bill to the Seanad. The issues raised relate to decisions made in 2012 and are being phased in over a period. It should be mentioned that if a lone parent takes up a job and gets the additional hours, there will be a significant increase in take home pay. That point seems to be missed. I agree that we have to do everything in our power to make sure all our citizens have an opportunity to share in the benefits of what the Senator called the land of milk and honey and, hopefully, we will get there. I have always had great time for the Senator but I think he let himself down a little bit today.
Senator Paschal Mooney: I was not talking about the current situation.
Deputy Kevin Humphreys: Please.
Senator Paschal Mooney: Purely on a point of order, to be honest it was only a remark that was made in the context of the spring economic statements today of the prediction based on what was being proposed that we would now enter into a period of-----
Deputy Kevin Humphreys: I did not hear anyone say a land of milk and honey.
Senator Paschal Mooney: In fairness, I would not want it to be misinterpreted that I was talking about the current situation. It was far from that. That was not the point.
Acting Chairman (Senator Terry Leyden): The Senator has made his point. We will move on. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, and his staff for coming in to deal with the Bill and answering any questions that arose. I thank Senators for their contributions.
Question put and agreed to.
Sitting suspended at 5.07 p.m. and resumed at 6.45 p.m.
Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages
An Cathaoirleach: I welcome the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan.
This is a Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil. In accordance with Standing Order 118, it is deemed to have passed its First, Second and Third Stages in the Seanad and is placed on the Order Paper for Report Stage. On the question "That the Bill be received for final consideration", the Minister may explain the purpose of the amendments made by the Dáil. This is looked upon as the report of the Dáil amendments to the Seanad. For the convenience of Senators, I have arranged for the printing, and circulation to them, of these amendments. The Minister will deal with the subject matter of the amendments in each group. I have also circulated the proposed groupings to the House. A Senator may contribute once on each grouping. I remind Senators that the only matters that may be discussed are the amendments made by the Dáil. I call on the Minister to speak on the subject matter of the amendments in group 1.
Question proposed: "That the Bill be received for final consideration."
Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Jan O'Sullivan): I welcome this opportunity to be back in the Seanad where there was considerable interest in this Bill. Indeed, the amendments to which I will refer are largely a response to the debate in the Seanad rather than the debate in the Dáil. I am keen to make that clear. We had a very productive discussion in this House and I welcome the strong engagement of Senators.
In accordance with what the Cathaoirleach just said, I will not talk about the general purpose of the Bill but instead, I will go straight to the amendments. A total of nine amendments were approved during Committee and Report Stages in Dáil Éireann. They all relate to the issue of granting university authorisation, which is provided for in sections 2, 3, 4 and 5. Although these were all Government amendments, I note that several of the amendments were introduced to address concerns raised in this House. The amendments are grouped under two headings. I will begin by setting out the position on the amendments in group 1.
Senators will be aware that the purpose of sections 2, 3, 4 and 5 is to provide for the authorisation by the Minister of the use of the description "university" by a high-quality education provider for specified purposes outside the State. The use of the description is restricted in its geographical application and in the purposes for which it can be used. Use of the description is restricted to outside of the State and for the following purposes: to market programmes of education and training provided by the authorised provider or research services of the authorised provider; and to enter into an arrangement with any person outside the State for the purposes of participating in a collaborative project relating to the provision of programmes of education and training or research services.
Section 3 provides for review of the authorisation to use the description by the Higher Education Authority.
Section 4 provides for the withdrawal of the authorisation by the Minister on the grounds that it is not being used for the specified purpose or that the provider no longer fulfils the qualifying criteria for application. Section 5 provides for an appeals board to hear appeals relating either to a Minister's decision to refuse to grant an authorisation or a decision to withdraw an authorisation.
Following discussions in this House, and in particular the significant input provided by Senator Barrett in suggesting amendments to the draft Bill, amendments Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 were introduced to allow the Minister, when granting a university authorisation, to impose such additional conditions on the provider concerned as the Minister thinks appropriate. The provider would be required to comply with those conditions, although amendment No. 3 provides that the provider can appeal against the imposition of those conditions to the appeals board provided for under section 5. Amendment No. 4 then provides that a review carried out by an t-údarás under section 3 of the Bill would include a review of the provider's compliance with any conditions imposed by the Minister and provides that the Minister can direct a provider to comply with conditions imposed by him or her. These amendments will, therefore, allow the Minister to put in place additional safeguards to ensure that any provider which receives university authorisation is operating to the highest standards.
Senator Averil Power: I acknowledge that the Minister has taken on some of the feedback from this House. We had an extensive discussion on the Bill in this House both on Committee and Report Stages. The Fianna Fáil Senators, Sinn Féin Senators and university Senators all spoke against the Bill and we voted against the legislation when it left this House because we had concerns about the procedure that is being set up in respect of allowing a university to use the name of a university abroad when it does not qualify for university status internally. I acknowledge that the Minister has brought forward some amendments to deal with the process and to improve it, but I still have problems in principle with the proposition in the Bill.
It is duplicitous to allow an institution to use a designation abroad that it is not entitled to use in the State. I accept that there are issues for our non-university third level institutions in terms of marketing themselves abroad and I accept that they are often competing against far inferior institutions that can carry the name of university. I accept that is unfair and that there is an issue here, but I do not think this is the best way to go about it. I also do not accept that RCSI is the only institution in that situation. Many of our institutes of technology, which are fantastic and superior to those that might describe themselves as universities in other countries, have the same issue in terms of marketing themselves abroad and yet, the RCSI is the only institution that fulfils the criteria set out in the Bill. There are better ways of addressing the genuine concerns about marketing, not least by ensuring full implementation of the strategy set out by the last Government for the internationalisation of Irish education and for marketing ourselves more coherently and strongly abroad. There is no doubt that there is a market that we have not tapped into sufficiently, but this legislation is not the best way to address it.
Senator Jim D'Arcy: I welcome the fact that the Minister has accepted amendments giving additional safeguards as to standards. This Bill is a good idea and I welcome it. I also welcome the fact that institutions of such high repute as the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland can market their services abroad on a level playing field with others. Senator Power has acknowledged the high quality of the provision in comparison with other institutions. I do not know how this could be done other than in the manner proposed in this Bill if the idea itself is good. What the Minister is proposing is reasonable. What she has done is very fair and welcome.
Deputy Jan O'Sullivan: To respond to Senator Power, the RCSI obviously is not the only organisation that can apply for this. We have deliberately set the bar high because we need to-----
Senator Averil Power: It is the only one that qualifies.
Deputy Jan O'Sullivan: It may be the only one that qualifies now, but this is legislation for the future. We have deliberately set the bar high because we want to protect the reputation of our universities and our higher education institutions in general. An institution must reach very high standards before it can use the title of university outside the country. The purpose of this provision is to ensure that those that do reach that standard can compete with institutions in other parts of the world, as the Senator mentioned, which can call themselves universities despite not reaching those standards. We have no control over what other states call universities. We can only control what happens with our own institutions. I am satisfied that the purpose is to do that and that the first group of amendments is designed to specifically address the concerns in this House that we need to be absolutely sure that this legislation would not be used inappropriately. It gives the Minister the power, if we do detect something that must be more tightly safeguarded, to do that, so it does address the concerns that were raised in that regard.
An Cathaoirleach: I call on the Minister to speak on the second group of amendments, relating to the hearing of appeals.
Deputy Jan O'Sullivan: The purpose of amendments Nos. 5 to 9, inclusive, is to amend section 5 of the Bill, which sets out provisions relating to the hearing of an appeal against a decision of the Minister to impose conditions in relation to the use of university authorisation, to refuse to grant university authorisation under section 2 or to withdraw university authorisation under section 4. The Bill provided that the Minister, having regard to certain criteria, would upon receipt of an appeal appoint three to five persons to an appeals board. However, the purpose of the appeals board is to hear an appeal against a decision of the Minister and, therefore, the appointment of the appeals board by the Minister could bring into question the independence of an appeals board appointed in this manner. Amendment No. 5, therefore, provides that the Minister shall, upon receipt of an appeal, request the nomination by Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, of three persons to be appointed to the appeals board, two of whom shall be experts in matters relating to higher education and one of whom shall be either a solicitor or a barrister. This will ensure that appeals are not only fair, but are seen to be fair
Amendments Nos. 6 and 7 provide greater clarity about how an appeals board would conduct an appeal, and provide for the establishment of procedures by an appeals board, the provision of written submissions by parties to the appeal and the holding of hearings, where necessary.
The purpose of amendment No. 8 is to provide that appeals will be determined by an appeals board as soon as practicable after its consideration of an appeal. The Bill provided that appeals will be determined within 60 days of the service of a notice of an appeal on the Minister, and this is considered to be too tight a deadline, given the issues which the appeals board will be required to consider in hearing an appeal.
Finally, amendment No. 9 is a technical amendment which sets out a definition for "Quality and Qualifications Ireland".
Question put and declared carried.
Question, "That the Bill do now pass", put and declared carried.
An Cathaoirleach: When is it proposed to sit again?
Senator Ivana Bacik: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.
The Seanad adjourned at 7 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 29 April 2015.
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