The Order of Business is No. 1, Research and Innovation Bill 2024 [Dáil] – Committee Stage (resumed), to be taken at 12.45 p.m.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Senator Fitzpatrick is first, I think.
That is correct, Máire Nic Giolla Phádraig anseo. I will start by recalling that this week is the 50th anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. The bombings which took place, without any prior notice, in Dublin and Monaghan killed 34 people and injured more than 300 people. The bombings on Parnell Street, Talbot Street and South Leinster Street in Dublin city and in Monaghan town left families and relatives, and 50 years on still leaves those families and relatives grieving for the loss of their loved ones and grieving for justice. We all know that justice delayed is justice denied. These families and relatives deserve justice and this House should renew calls for justice to be provided to them.
Second, I congratulate the Bohemian Football Club. Tonight the club will host an historic event in Dalymount Park, Phibsborough when the Palestinian women's soccer team will pay Bohemian FC women's team. This fantastic event is sold out so if people do not have tickets then hard luck but they can still support the Bohemian Football Club and the Palestinian cause by going online at bohemianfc.com to buy a ticket, stream the event and make a donation. All of the proceeds will go to the Palestinian cause.
Finally, I draw the attention of the House to the latest report on housing commencements. The construction of housing commencements in this State has risen to an historic high of 18,000 new homes commenced in the month of April alone. That number follows on from an historic high of 12,000 in the first quarter. Housing commencements are obviously key to increasing supply and supply is hugely important in terms of meeting the human need of housing adequacy. I want to call out the gross hypocrisy of the leader of Sinn Féin in the Dáil yesterday. On the one hand, she uses her position to lament the plight of families stuck in emergency accommodation but, with the same breath, hypocritically objects to the State providing those families with homes. If we are to believe her then we must believe that she and her party believe that it is better for families to be stuck in temporary emergency housing than in purpose-built family homes that the State not only is building but can also lease. That type of hypocrisy should not be tolerated in this House or any other House in this country.
I call Seanadóir Paddy Burke, the father of the House.
I wish to raise two housing issues. If a person builds his or her own house but starts the work before applying for a council loan from Mayo County Council then he or she will not get the loan, which I think is crazy. If people have a certain amount of work completed and then decide they do not have enough of their own money to complete the work then they will not get a council loan. I have checked this matter with the relevant Department which says that this is probably the letter of the law but the local authority could find ways around that. I ask that the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications make further regulations, or if there is a review by the Housing Authority that it would make recommendations, to ensure where a person is building a house but has some of the work completed and then decides to apply for a council loan that he or she will not be refused on those grounds alone. I ask that because if the house were put up for sale, another person could get a council loan to buy the house and finish off any work. It is crazy that one person can get a loan while another person cannot; therefore, the Minister should address the matter.
I refer to the reconstruction grant of €70,000 for old houses. The scheme has a very tight timeframe of 12 months to complete the work. I ask the Minister to review the regulations, or the Housing Authority if it reviews regulations, and look at this matter because 12 months is a very short period to start the work. There are quite a number of people who are afraid to start the work because they may not complete the work on time and, therefore, will not get the €70,000 grant or whatever amount of grant for which they would qualify.
I ask that the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications examine these two very important housing areas. As I have outlined, they will not make any great difference but they make a great difference to the people who apply for either the loan or grant. As I think the Minister could immediately review these matters I ask the Acting Leader to bring them to his attention or arrange a debate on these matters.
I, too, want to raise a housing issue. I am very much a strong advocate that housing need amendments should reflect the rural circumstances for communities. I have continually raised the issue of rural housing and the need for rural housing. I am sure that the Acting Leader will understand that as she represents County Kildare because many parts of that county are very rural and urban. Today, I call on the Government to ensure that all local authorities are obliged to plan, deliver and support housing in rural communities whether it is one-off housing or small clusters of housing. We do not need everyone to live in larger towns or villages. We need to support rural communities.
We need to support families who have access to or own land on family farms that is suitable, as I have already mentioned, for housing. I am a member of the Oireachtas committee on agricultural as well as the Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage and I know a good deal about this issue of local housing and the need for it in rural communities. I understand the issues of rural housing and the need also for greater support for the help to build scheme. It is an important support and should be available alongside the help to buy scheme. They are two distinct and different issues but they are both important and provide for a housing need that would reflect on the nature of the market, in particular, in rural parts of the country and provide practical support for those wanting to pursue the self-build option which many people wish to pursue in rural parts of Ireland.
Rural housing fund guidance should encourage community stakeholders and local authorities to enter into appropriate affordable housing opportunities at all stages of life and foster greater community cohesion. Again, this is a very important fact if we are to sustain our rural communities. People should be allowed to remain in or return to their rural community and their rural roots and I support that.
Issues around homelessness should be properly recognised in rural communities and in many cases that is not being recognised and the traditional answer is that we will send people into county homes. In latter years, however, they are sent into the towns where they do not feel that they belong, have a place or want to live and are not necessarily connected to these places. Even if they do not have family they have that connection with local community and local supports. Rural housing policy, therefore, needs to address depopulation, to deliver affordable housing options, support community development and cohesion, as I have said, and grow and sustain rural communities.
Geographic equity is important for everyone who has a right to have a home in their place of origin or where they choose to live. I would favour local authorities being provided with financial resources for a strategic site assembly to secure land sites in particular priority areas.
Finally and I will close on this, the housing infrastructure fund has the potential to identify, resource and secure small infill sites in rural communities and I ask that we have a debate on these issues. I thank the Cathaoirleach.
I welcome the students from Swords, Scoil an Teaghlaigh Naofa Sinsear, who are here in the Gallery. They are very welcome and are guests of Deputy Farrell. I had the pleasure of meeting them in the corridor. They are a wonderful group of students. In keeping with the tradition, I have offered them homework off tonight. They have said "No" and that they want to do homework but I think that that might change when they get home. I thank their teachers and all of the staff in the school for looking after them. I hope that they have a very pleasant end of term and I wish them good luck next year in their new secondary school, to which ever one they go to.
Anois, glaoim ar an Seanadóir Gavan.
As the Cathaoirleach knows, I am spending quite a bit of time in Cork at the moment and last week I had a very good conversation with one of the local taxi drivers there. He was telling me about how tough it is in the industry at the minute, of the huge hours they have to work, issues, unfortunately sometimes, of antisocial behaviour and the fact that it is very hard to get younger drivers to join the industry.
He also told me about an organisation called Taxis for Ireland which, despite the title, does not contain any taxi drivers or representatives of taxi drivers in the organisation. He went on to tell me that our colleague, Senator Lombard, with whom I get on very well here, actually held a meeting for Taxis for Ireland here in the Oireachtas a few months back to talk about how to casualise and de-regularise the industry, to turn it from a full-time job into something one does for a few hours a week to try to scrape a living.
There were people from the tourism industry there, hotels and pubs but the one set of people who were not there and were not invited were the taxi drivers. With all due respect, how can one plan a future for the taxi industry without the taxi drivers? Apparently, that is what Fine Gael's policy appears to be. It is not the first time I have had conversations with taxi drivers across Limerick, Clare and Tipperary who are telling me how hard it is to make a living. They are telling me that they are getting squeezed out of the industry and are very worried about this strong movement now to de-regularise the taxi industry and to exclude them from that conversation.
Taxi drivers have many of the solutions. They know the problems first hand and how to basically build a better future for the industry. These are issues like transferability of licences, the reissue of saloon licences, the cost of wheelchair accessible vehicles and the fact that the grants that are available are not upfront and the costs upfront are so big they cause huge difficulties for the industry.
The fundamental point I want to make is this. These problems can all be solved. It is in all of our interests to ensure a secure future for the taxi industry and for those who work in it. One will not do it by de-regularising the industry and one will not do it by excluding taxi drivers. I am calling for an urgent debate on the future of this industry and am calling for the people in the industry, regardless of where they are, to be properly respected. I know that de-regularisation is the Fine Gael ideology but it is not the way forward here. We can and must do better.
I would like to join with the sentiments of my colleague, Senator Fitzpatrick, on the anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. These were a series of explosions which killed, maimed and ruined many lives and created intergenerational trauma which we are still seeing today. A total of 34 innocent lives, including a full-term unborn child, were taken that day. It was probably one of the bloodiest days of our Troubles and, as my colleague said, we still do not really know the truth of what happened that day and there are still so many unanswered questions. I join with the calls for more investigation into these bombings.
I came here today to discuss and commend the Government's plan to increase the legal age of purchasing tobacco from 18 years of age to 21. We know that from December, the sale of vapes to under-18s has been illegal and, separately, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is bringing in legislation to ban flavours, colours, colourful advertising and point-of-sale promotions. There is also ban on disposable vapes.
According to the National Cancer Registry, there are more than 200,000 survivors of cancer in Ireland. Smoking rates in Ireland remain, amazingly, at 18% for the past three years. Tobacco remains the single biggest contributor to both preventable diseases in Ireland and the National Cancer Registry in Ireland predicts that by 2035, more than 4,600 cases of cancer will be attributed to smoking. Half of smokers have, in fairness, tried to quit smoking with 23% of them being unsuccessful. We know that lung cancer, for example, which has a direct link to smoking, probably claims the most lives when it comes to cancer. People are very unaware of the symptoms of lung cancer - difficulty breathing, a cough that does not go away, repeated chest infections, wheezing, a hoarse voice, coughing up phlegm and so many symptoms that are very important for us all to be aware of.
We need to ensure that we have early diagnosis. I am calling on the Government to introduce a national lung cancer screening programme, similar to BreastCheck and cervical screening, to help save lives. It is very important that we have lung cancer diagnosis at an early stage. There are so many drugs available and I would very much encourage the Government to introduce a national lung cancer screening programme.
The Senator has raised a very important topic. I call Seanadóir Clonan to speak now, please.
I raise an issue on which I have been contacted by survivors of the St John Ambulance Ireland of an appalling scenario where young people, who were handed over in loco parentis and in good faith to participate in the activities and learnings associated with St John Ambulance Ireland and that public service, were sexually assaulted and raped. I know myself from the work I have done in this area with members of the Defence Forces the deep moral injury which is associated with sexual violence, particularly where trust is violated and where the survivor is a child.
Those survivors were written to by the judge who carried out the inquiry on 28 November 2022 and were told that the inquiry had concluded and that the recommendations had been issued. It is now 18 months later and despite the fact that the State is funding a safeguarding officer at St John Ambulance Ireland, those recommendations have not yet been implemented. That is a disgraceful and reprehensible state of affairs which is there in full public view. We as public representatives must hold St John Ambulance Ireland to account for this because that deep moral injury caused by sexual assault and rape, particularly of a child, is compounded by the moral distress of realising that the organisation concerned is not implementing the recommendations of the judge's report.
I recall being in a radio studio with Colm O'Gorman of Amnesty International when he outlined the manner in which he had been groomed and sexually assaulted and how the trust that his parents had placed in a priest was betrayed. He commented on the statement that you should forgive the person who committed these offences. Colm O'Gorman said something that has stayed with me ever since. He said it is up to them to forgive themselves, but in order for them to forgive themselves, they have to admit or have insight into the wrongdoing. St John Ambulance is clearly an organisation that has not reached that state of self-awareness. The fact that it has not implemented the judge's recommendations is an insult to survivors and compounds their moral distress. I want a debate in this House about St John Ambulance, Scouting Ireland and all the other organisations that are recidivist and that resist the necessary changes required to safeguard our young people.
I welcome to the Public Gallery the guests of Senator John McGahon from CBS Dundalk, County Louth. They are joined by Maria Doyle, who is known to many of us, and the parents. They are very welcome. I thank them for being here today. I hope they have a pleasant visit and make sure that Senator McGahon looks after them properly.
It is great to have the parents from CBS Dundalk here. I really appreciate that they get to come here and see our national Parliament.
I congratulate everyone involved with the Louth football team. What an incredible performance that was at the weekend. To come within the four points of arguably the greatest football team known was something to be really proud of for all those footballers from County Louth.
The issue I want to raise has been raised a couple of times previously. It is the Leave our Leave campaign, which is backed by the Irish Cancer Society. It is to make an amendment to the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004, which would allow women who have received a cancer diagnosis after giving birth to be able to defer their maternity leave. At present, approximately 60 women in this country have to have chemotherapy or radiation treatment and have to use up their maternity leave to facilitate that. Interestingly, if you are a man who is diagnosed with cancer and are on parental leave, you are able to defer that parental leave. That is catered for under an Act that was implemented in 2016. The Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, has been clear that he wants to fix this. He announced that last October.
My concern is that we are at the tail end of this Government's term of office. We are coming into the final furlong. All that is needed is a simple legislative amendment to the 2004 Act, which needs to be changed. The relevant legislation has been lumped in with other Bills. The heads have not even gone to Cabinet yet. Rather than putting it in with various other issues, I appeal to the Leader and the Cathaoirleach to, in turn, appeal to the Minister to fix this issue with a simple amendment. Let us amend the 2004 Act. Let us not lump it in with other legislative priorities. Let us get it done and have equality and fairness for women who are diagnosed with cancer after giving birth.
The Acting Leader may be aware that, at the weekend, the open finals of the RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival took place in Athlone. The overall winner was Ballyduff Drama Group from County Waterford, directed by Ger Canning. It had a superb production of The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth. I had the privilege of seeing it when it was in Gorey as part of the festival circuit. Dalkey Players were second and Ballycogley Players from County Wexford were third. I am sure Senators will join with me in congratulating the Amateur Drama Council of Ireland for organising this event and all of the drama groups around the country that took part, particularly Ballyduff, on its success. It shows how amateur theatre continues to be very much alive right around the country. The Acting Leader will be aware of how strong it is in Kildare. We in Wexford certainly know how integral a part of our local community it is.
It is critical that, while State support was made available to the amateur drama movement and amateur musicals during Covid, that it would continue. I have raised in this House previously the possibility of the development of an arts capital scheme along the same lines as the sports capital and equipment scheme. This would be on a much bigger scale than the scheme that is currently administered by the Department that has responsibility for the arts. We know that our artistic and cultural infrastructure in all our communities is critical to our well-being, not just for entertainment purposes but for challenging us, making us laugh, and engaging us within our communities. After the GAA, the amateur drama movement has the largest number of members and people involved throughout the country. In congratulating those who have reached the pinnacle of amateur drama this year, I hope we would also look at the State continuing to support it at a local level.
Congratulations to all involved, and well done to Senator Byrne on treading the boards.
Next Saturday, the picturesque village of Glaslough will open its arms to President Michael D. Higgins, who is going there to celebrate the national award it won in 2019. Unfortunately, during the Covid pandemic he was not able to visit. However, he will be going to Glaslough on Saturday to celebrate its success. We look forward to that. The various Tidy Towns groups and volunteers we are all deeply indebted to are busy making sure that their villages and towns are looking their absolute best. We commend them on the work that they do. As we know, the local and European elections will take place on 7 June. This corresponds roughly with the time when the adjudication relating to the Tidy Towns competition takes place. Some villages and towns have asked canvassers not to put up posters, which is fair enough, and some have not. Some volunteers are afraid that because their town or village has allowed posters or billboards to be erected, they might lose points. Some of the new candidates are concerned that they might not be able to get their faces out to the public in those towns and villages where they have been asked not to put up posters. To my mind, there seems to be a simple solution to this. I wrote to the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, this morning and asked her to delay the adjudication until after 7 June. That would seem to make perfect sense. It is only a week or so later. Therefore, candidates can rest assured that they will have no issues in that regard, and the volunteers of our Tidy Towns groups will be reassured that their town or village will not lose points because of the fact that they have posters or billboards erected with the faces of candidates, both in local elections and indeed the European elections. I would be grateful if the Acting Leader would write to the Minister, if Members are happy for her to, along similar lines.
Senator Mary Fitzpatrick commenced proceedings this morning by speaking about the Dublin-Monaghan bombings on 17 May, some 50 years ago, and the families who are still grieving and seeking justice. She has renewed the call that justice be given to them. I certainly echo and support that.
The Senator also spoke about the match between Bohemians women's soccer team and the Palestinian team that will take place tonight. If anybody is free, it would be a worthy cause to support.
The Senator gave us the good news about the latest report on housing commencements and the fact that 18,000 houses were commenced in April alone. That is significant because key to providing housing is increasing supply. She also called out the hypocrisy of the Sinn Féin leader in the Dáil yesterday in respect of this matter.
Senator Paddy Burke spoke about one-off housing and the fact that those applying to build such homes seemingly cannot get local authority loans. It seems to vary from one local authority to another. I would agree and support the recommendation that we ask the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to recommend that this be included in local authority loans that would be giving out. The Croí Cónaithe grant has a tight timeline of 12 months, so maybe we could look for more flexibility. We will write to the Minister and ask for that.
Senator Boyhan spoke about the need for rural housing. I agree with that. He believes that local authorities should have particular plans for rural housing and should support families with access to their own land if that land is suitable to be built on. There should be geographical equity.
We will look for a debate on that issue.
Senator Gavan spoke about taxi drivers and the fact that there is a group called Taxis for Ireland that does not include taxi drivers. He made the point that there was a meeting recently with a number of different organisations and groups but no taxi drivers were included. There are many issues that taxi drivers have concerns about. They should not be excluded from any group. Senator Gavan is seeking a debate in the House on this issue.
Senator Ardagh concurred with Senator Fitzpatrick regarding the anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. Listening to much of the narrative on radio over the past two or three weeks, it is heartbreaking to listen to testimonies that have been gathered in the past and testimonies from those still living.
Senator Ardagh also raised the issue of the Government's plan to increase the age limit on purchasing tobacco to 21. She also referred to vaping and noted that the smoking rate is still 18%. As we all know, tobacco is the biggest contributor to death in this country, particularly through lung cancer. The Senator stated that the symptoms are sometimes not easy to identify as relating to lung cancer and there is a need for lung cancer national screening. I particularly concur with that. My father died from lung cancer. It was only diagnosed two weeks before he died because he had COPD and the symptoms were very similar. I totally support the Senator's call for lung cancer national screening.
Senator Clonan spoke about the tragic and horrific situation of the abuse that was carried out within St. John Ambulance brigade and called our attention to the fact that, 18 months after recommendations were printed, they have not been expedited or implemented at this point. The Senator is correct. It is an absolute insult to the survivors. The Senator is looking for a debate on the matter. We had a debate on it in this House previously. I did not get to check that with the Clerk of the Seanad but we will come back to the Senator on it. It is my understanding that we had a debate on the matter not long ago but, most certainly, we should call for the recommendations to be implemented.
Senator McGahon welcomed guests from County Louth and also praised Louth football. It is great to see any of our football teams doing well. The Senator also spoke about the need to support young mothers who contract cancer during their maternity leave. There are approximately 60 women a year impacted. The Senator is absolutely correct. We totally support the call for them to have extended maternity leave and we will contact the Minister again. We need the 2004 Act to be amended. We will certainly write directly after this.
Senator Malcolm Byrne spoke about the national drama festival in Athlone. I congratulate Ballyduff, Dalkey and Ballycogley. The festival circuit is an incredible one. We have drama festivals in Rathangan and Kildare and we get to see the very best of amateur drama from around the country. I congratulate Mairéad Broderick, who is the secretary for the national drama festival and lives in Rathangan. What they do for our towns and villages, in terms of opening up the whole world to us, is hugely important.
Senator Malcolm Byrne also called for the development of an arts capital scheme. It is not only for those who entertain us; it is critical for our own well-being and our entertainment. We have an excellent sports capital grant scheme and it would be good to see this extended to the area of arts and theatre. I certainly support that call.
Order of Business agreed to.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 12.04 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 12.46 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 12.04 p.m. and resumed at 12.46 p.m.