The Order of Business today is No. 1, Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Bill 2023 - Committee and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 11.45 a.m.
An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
I welcome our distinguished guests. This morning I draw the House's attention to the announcement from the Minister and Minister of State for sport and culture of the opening for applications to the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. It is a great fund and is available for sports organisations to apply for funding for important and vital infrastructure that requires funding above and beyond that which is available under sports capital. It is for applications from €600,000 up to €30 million. I specifically urge Dublin City Council to make an application for that funding for the redevelopment of Dalymount Park, the home of Bohemian F.C., in the heart of my own area, Phibsborough. Dalymount Park is a historic landmark in our capital city and our country. It is home to Bohemian F.C., but it is so much more to those of us locally. I want Dublin City Council to make an application for that funding. It has been talked about for a long time. It has secured planning permission. There is a great design in place. The project is shovel ready. The council should move ahead and make an application and I urge the Government to support that application.
I give a big shout-out to Francesca Arkins and the Arkins Dance Academy in the north inner city, which has been teaching young girls and boys on Seán MacDermott Street to dance for almost 30 years. It is now in the incredible position of having been selected to go forward to represent Ireland in the world dance championships in Prague in the Czech Republic. It is fundraising for this trip. It is an incredible honour and opportunity for the 28 young dancers. It needs to raise funds and has successfully raised more than €23,000 already. It has a GoFundMe page, which I encourage everybody to support. For 30 years, it has been bringing dance and music to Seán MacDermott Street and teaching such incredible talent and skills. It is to be encouraged, fostered and supported and I urge everybody to do so.
Will the Acting Leader request an update from the Taoiseach's office on his proposal to establish yet another north inner city task force? I have to say there is an amount of task force fatigue in the north inner city. It is clear what we want - we want to live in a place that is cleaner, safer and more liveable for all of us. We welcome the new Taoiseach's interest in the city centre. However, we would like him to make clear what exactly he is proposing because we would like to contribute to it. We would like to be able to support any initiative that makes the inner city cleaner, safer and more liveable for us all.
I call the father of the House, Senator Paddy Burke.
I would also like to be associated with the welcome for the Polish ambassador and his distinguished guests to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery. They are welcome.
I propose a vote of sympathy to the D'Arcy family on the death of Michael D'Arcy Snr., who was a Member of both this House and the Dáil. He was Minister of State, a TD and a Senator. I served in this House with him for a number of years and he was a hardworking Senator, Deputy and Minister of State back in the eighties. His son Michael D'Arcy Jnr. also served in this House as well as the Dáil. I am sure we will have a day in the future to express our condolences to the family.
I raise an issue concerning the Department of Transport, which acquires routes for upgrading roads and national primary and secondary routes. In doing that it acquires some houses. They are not demolished, but they are taken because of their close proximity to the routes designed. Those houses could be put back into use. I would like to know what the Department of Transport is doing with those houses. Does the local authority acquire those houses on behalf of the Department of Transport? I know there is a number of them lying idle around the country. We have a housing crisis. Those are fine houses - often two-storey houses in good nick - which families moved out of until these projects were completed. With a little money, those houses could be put back into use. They could be sold to families that are much in need of housing. I would like if we could contact the Department of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, about this issue. I have raised this before, but nothing seems to be happening on it. I wish the Acting Leader well in her new role, and ask her to contact the Department about this issue.
I will do so formally next Wednesday when we return after the weekend, but I join the Senator in sympathising with the D'Arcy family on the sad passing of Michael Snr. As the Senator said, he served in this House from the agricultural panel, and also as a TD. He was a Minister of State too. I sympathise with his son, Michael Jnr., his wife Marie and all of the family. We will do so formally next Wednesday and we will have sympathies at a later time, but I thank Senator Burke for raising that. Michael D'Arcy was a wonderful public servant to the people of County Wexford.
I, too, would like to be associated with the sympathies to Michael's family.
I welcome the Polish ambassador. I could not trump the Cathaoirleach's words. He said everything we needed to say. The ambassador is always welcome in the House.
Yesterday, I mentioned overseas development aid and the moneys flowing out of Ireland to other countries. We have to start asking a question. If we are, for example, funding education in somewhere like Mozambique or Zambia, are we allowing that government to put funding it would otherwise have to put into education into other areas instead? I am extremely concerned by the amount of money we are pumping out of this country in the guise of overseas development aid. Some €6.5 billion goes to NGOs. Is it possible that some of that money is only going to them via osmosis – we have always given them money, so we will keep giving them money – and that there is no real oversight of taxpayers’ hard-earned cash that is given to overseas development aid or NGOs? The next Government will have to carry out a root-and-branch examination of where money goes. I do not want to stop funding NGOs or overseas development aid. I just want to ensure that money goes to the right place and gets to the right people and that we are not wasting taxpayers’ money.
This morning, I received a phone call from the son of a former colleague about Jadotville. We are several years on from the independent report on Jadotville. The Cathaoirleach has a significant interest in defence matters. To this day, that report has not been accepted by anyone other than a few people at the top of the military. It is not something for politicians to get involved in. The day politicians start awarding military honours is the day we can pack it in and go home. There was a so-called independent review of Jadotville. My former colleague’s son rang me this morning. During his witness statement, he was asked about his personal mental health even though it was his father that the body was inquiring about. Another woman in New Zealand underwent in-depth questioning about her mental health. What had that to do with the bravery of her father? What had it to do with the military action in Jadotville? Was the body in some way trying to mitigate the evidence it was receiving by saying that, since the poor devil was suffering from mental health issues, it really did not have to listen to that evidence? Deputy Nolan is trying to put together another Jadotville group in the Oireachtas. I ask that people with an interest in this matter join up and at least hear the story once again.
I wish to raise the issue of apprenticeship pay. On 3 May 2023 – almost a year to the day – Labour Party Senators introduced a Bill seeking to ensure that all apprentices would receive the national minimum wage for the duration of their training. The following week, the then Minister and current Taoiseach, Deputy Simon Harris, stated at a Government press conference that he would be looking into how to stimulate apprentice numbers and that it was important that pay rates “are not seen as a barrier to participation by potential apprentices”. On 13 June, he told the Cabinet that he would table amendments to the Construction Safety Licensing Bill 2023. Journalists were briefed that there would be pay increases. The Minister stated that he would be commissioning research. He did so, as we know from the unions that they were contacted. Twelve months on from those announcements, and all there has been is silence. We have seen no other sign of the research, and the Bill appears to have been parked since 27 June last. All the while, construction apprentices are expected to earn €7.16 per hour in year 1 and €10.75 in year 2.
I wish to bring to the House the account of an electrical apprentice. This is someone who is not out of school but changed careers and wanted to become an electrician. He told me he was getting €8.45 per hour, which is well below the minimum age. Last year, Connect Trade Union agreed a pay increase, but most employers would not give it, including his own, because the increase was not law yet. The increase to €8.92 sounds small, but it is a great deal to apprentices. Since starting, he has seen 16 lads starting apprenticeships with the company he works for only to quit because they cannot survive on the wage. He went on to speak about how apprentices at first year level are often used as cheap labour and exploited across all trades. The work is extremely physical and, at times, mentally tough. He believes a wage increase for apprentices would boost morale and entice more people into the trades.
Last year, we spoke at length about the significant issue with recruitment and retention in the construction trades. There is a large backlog, with 3,500 apprentices waiting to finish their on-the-job training. There are serious questions to be asked about the Government’s ambition of achieving 10,000 apprenticeship registrations this year. From what we have seen of the first three months, that is not likely to play out. There are serious questions for the then Minister and now Taoiseach about what he is going to do to ensure that apprentices are at least getting the minimum wage. There is a great deal of talk about there being plenty of money coming from the Government to build houses, but if we are to ensure a pipeline of labour, it is critical that people be attracted into and stay in their apprenticeships.
As the Acting Leader knows, yesterday was May Day, a day of celebration and solidarity for workers and a day to recognise the achievements of our trade union movement. One of the most important sectors of our economy is construction, where unions, including my own union of SIPTU, have fought valiantly to establish a sectoral employment order. This is an order to underpin rates of pay and decent benefits, for example, pensions and sick pay, and it puts a floor under the industry. It is essential for the construction industry to work well. However, the order is being undermined more each week by the significant issue of bogus self-employment, whereby workers are denied all of the benefits I mentioned – pay rates, pensions, sick pay and, God forbid, death in service benefits. As we know, deaths occur in the construction industry.
Yesterday, I was alerted to an issue at a public project on the north quays in Waterford involving between 35 and 40 workers. They have basically been told that the only way they can work is via bogus self-employment. They are not allowed to be employees. There are two aspects to this situation. A contractor – DPPS Contracts – has subcontracted to a company called Enagh, which conveniently is wholly owned by DPPS Contracts. It is a matter of people using contract companies to distance themselves from what is effectively an illegal practice.
What is shocking is that, when my union, SIPTU, highlighted the issue of public funds being used to support bogus self-employment, the Department of Social Protection had no interest in it. The Department was given a collective complaint, but it wrote back to SIPTU and said that, if any of those workers wanted to make individual complaints, they could do so. How on Earth can that be the case? I will be frank with the Acting Leader, in that this points to the fact that the Government does not get the seriousness of the issue of bogus self-employment. My comrades in the trade union movement are furious. Public funds being spent on a key project in Waterford and used to subsidise companies engaged in the practice of bogus self-employment can never be acceptable. It is incumbent on this House to address the issue. I ask the Acting Leader to write to the Department of Social Protection. I would be happy to provide her office with the details of this case. It cannot be let stand that, when this increasingly widespread practice is brought to the attention of the Department of Social Protection, the Department basically shows no interest in it. We need a Department that is proactive and maintains decent standards in the industry. I would hope that we all agree with those decent standards, but the reality is that the Government is not doing enough to uphold them. We have workers on the north quays project in Waterford who have been forced into bogus self-employment. We can, and we must, do better.
Hear, hear.
It is nice to see Senator Currie in the Leader’s chair. Good luck with that.
I wish to raise the issue of rural nursing homes and the lack of footpaths and lighting outside them.
Despite all of the money that is going into active travel, nothing is being given to help nursing homes put facilities in place so that loved ones can take their mother, father, uncle, aunt or whoever for a walk, whether in a wheelchair or otherwise, outside the nursing home. They simply cannot afford to do it. A number of such cases in Galway and Roscommon have been raised with me. When I asked that the Minister be invited to discuss this, I was told he had no responsibility in that regard. I got a letter from the Cathaoirleach to that effect but we must address this issue. If a nursing home is in a town, there are street lights, footpaths and so on but if it is in a rural area, there is none of that. There are many nursing homes in rural areas. I ask that the Minister would be invited again. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, would be delighted to come in to address this issue. We should be able to arrive at a situation whereby the local authorities would be able to give some money to the owners of nursing homes. Many owners are willing to invest themselves to help but they cannot do it all on their own because it is a costly job. Of course, they also have to have the permission of the local authority. That is my call this morning and I hope we will get some progress on it.
I call on the Acting Leader to arrange a debate on oral health and dental services. This is a very significant issue. I read some figures recently indicating that there are 23% fewer dentists working in the HSE now than there were in 2006. The school dental programme, in particular, is of concern. It is actually falling apart at the moment. We put a strategy in place five years ago to deal with oral health issues which contained a list of 41 actions but I do not think any of those actions have been progressed further. As a result, we have a significant crisis. Parents and families have spoken to me about not being able to access the school dental programme. I propose that we invite the Minister for Health to the House to debate this issue. We need to put a strategy in place for the future to make sure we can accommodate everyone in the sector. Those working in our dental services have come forward to say that the sector is in crisis at the moment. Articles have been published in recent weeks outlining a range of frightening statistics. There are tens of thousands of children waiting to see the school dentist. That will have a knock-on effect on the oral health of our population going forward. It is very important that growing children get the services they need to deal with fissures and other dental issues. We should have a debate with the Minister for Health on this really important issue.
The scenes on Mount Street yesterday were nothing short of a farce. They were the epitome and embodiment of the mismanagement and failure of the Irish asylum system. Only hours after the tents were removed from outside the International Protection Office, IPO, up to 50 new arrivals awaiting processing were then turned away. They were told there was no accommodation for the night, the office was closed and they could return the following morning. There were chaotic scenes yesterday at the removal of the tents. Gardaí were required to manage the operation after fighting broke out, as reported on the news this morning. Footage online this morning shows metal railings all around Mount Street, presumably to stop a further encampment from being set up there again. While emergency measures are welcome, they are little more than a Band-Aid on a surgical wound. The Government is planning to convert derelict houses for asylum seekers and international protection applicants.
This is a Government concerned only with its international obligations. I would like to see more conversation about our national obligations, our obligations to the people of Ireland, the people awaiting social housing, who work day after day and can only dream of the opportunity to move out of their home. This Government fails miserably in its national obligations. We face a vote, imminently, on the EU migration pact. Denmark has decided to reject the pact. We are told we will not have access to the system if we do not sign the full pact but there is nothing stopping us signing up for Eurodac while rejecting the pact or part thereof. We have been told that this is an all-or-nothing deal. This pact has come from the EU. Why can we not have an Irish solution to asylum and migration issues that deals with the specific problems we have here at this time? It is time to put our national interests first.
The old adage that prevention is better than cure springs to mind when one considers the gap we have in screening newborn children in this country. Unfortunately, we are very much a negative outlier in Europe on this. We are in the bottom half of the table, which is very disappointing. There had been developments quite recently in this regard in that a newborn screening advisory committee was set up in 2019 but unfortunately, in the intervening five-year period, only one new test has been delivered, which is very disappointing. Developments appear to be far too slow.
Newborn screening directly impacts the lives of every child born in this country. It is estimated that approximately 200 babies' lives could be saved if we had a comprehensive programme in place. Indeed, the health outcomes for those children would also be very much improved. The benefits of early screening include earlier treatment and better health outcomes. Delayed diagnosis adds a great deal of stress and financial pressure on families and, ultimately, on the health service itself. It makes perfect sense to have a comprehensive screening process in place for all newborn babies in this country but for some reason, we are dragging our feet. In that context, I would be very grateful if the Acting Leader would write to the Minister for Health and ask for an update on where we are in relation to the screening of newborn babies and what plans we have to advance this urgently so that we can be on a par with our EU colleagues.
It is great to see the Acting Leader, Senator Currie, in the hot seat. I say, "Well done" to her. I listened carefully to Senator Keogan's contribution. I would argue that our international and national obligations are not mutually exclusive. We have obligations in both contexts. What I would like to see happen is a resolution of the issues that affect us nationally because that will, by extension, resolve the issues arising from our international obligations. I had occasion to be in a hospital recently and almost all of the nursing staff there were Filipino. Were they not there and if we were not able to rely on the tens of thousands of workers who come here from abroad, our health service would essentially collapse.
Well said.
I think of a number of areas that we really need to be looking at right now. Senator Gavan and I would agree that we need to start looking at the US military's use of Shannon Airport. As a country, we are better than that. We do not need to be facilitating the refuelling of American army jets and planes in Shannon Airport. I know I am an outlier in Clare in expressing that view. It would not be a popular view in County Clare but we need to start looking at this situation, especially when we see what is happening in Palestine and the fact that America is not using the influence it clearly has to get a ceasefire over the line. There are lots of issues like that, low-hanging fruit, where we can do the right thing. We must get on and do the right thing.
Finally, I would like a debate on the need for an employment strategy for people who have been give permission to remain in this country. We need a strategy for people who have come here, who have sought refugee status and been granted it, and who are willing, able and want to work. Some of them cannot leave direct provision centres because they cannot find alternative accommodation. Some of them have no car to get to work. These people could make a huge contribution to our construction and service industries if there was a comprehensive strategy in place. I would like a debate on a comprehensive employment strategy for people who have been given permission to remain in this country.
Well said.
I thank the Cathaoirleach and Members for their contributions. If the Polish ambassador was still here I would congratulate him on his country's constitution day. I, too, want to express my sympathies to the D'Arcy family and the Fine Gael party on the death of Mr. Michael D'Arcy Snr., who made a significant contribution to Irish politics as a Minster, Deputy and Senator.
Senator Fitzpatrick rightly brought our attention to the sports and culture Department's large-scale infrastructure fund. I agree that this is vital infrastructure. It complements the work we are doing very successfully with the sports capital grant and equipment grants. I am more than happy to support the Senator's suggestion that Dublin City Council makes an application under that fund for the home of Bohs in Dalymount Park.
The Senator asked for an update on the Taoiseach's commitment to set up a new task force in Dublin city. She is concerned about the north inner city and the task force's role. She is looking for some consultation on this and we will write to the Taoiseach about that.
Senator Paddy Burke again raised the issue of houses that are lying idle because they are beside routes earmarked for the Department of Transport and the wasted resource this is in the middle of a housing crisis. I absolutely agree with him and we should write to the Minister of Transport on this with additional urgency.
I will stop the Acting Leader briefly to welcome to the House the students from Coláiste Dún an Rí, County Cavan, who are guests of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. They are very welcome and I hope they have a very positive and good visit to Leinster House. Céad míle fáilte rompu.
Senator Craughwell expressed concern over the transparency of funding that goes towards overseas aid and development, but he also mentioned NGOs. There is an audit process for any public funds to ensure they are being used correctly. We can, of course, send on the Senator's concern but I also suggest he contact the public accounts committee on this issue.
Senator Sherlock made a really good point, following May Day yesterday, regarding apprenticeship pay, how it should not be a barrier to our ambitions for apprenticeships, especially given how important they are for the pipeline in construction and other crafts and trades, but also its importance in valuing and respecting the vital work apprentices do. We should write to the Minister for further and higher education for an update. If the work has progressed, we need to know the status of that work.
Senator Gavan spoke on similar issues, following May Day, and the importance of the trade union movement. I assure the Senator that we all take the issue of bogus self-employment very seriously. He raised a very specific case, and again, perhaps, he should raise a Commencement matter directly with the Minister for Social Protection, but I see no issue with us passing on the information, as the Senator has suggested.
Senator Murphy raised the issue of connectivity to nursing homes, which again is vitally important. We have many nursing homes in Dublin West, including Marymount Care Centre. It is one of those nursing homes that does not have a footpath to it and cannot be accessed in any way other than by car or by bus. We have an issue regarding social isolation when it comes to our older people, so it is a really good idea that we elevate how important it is that nursing homes be included as part of our active travel initiatives.
Senator Lombard raised the issue of oral health and requested a debate on this matter. This is very timely as well. It has been in the news quite a bit recently that there are 23% fewer dentists in the HSE than are required, that this is impacting on our schools programme and our children's oral health, and that an action plan has been sluggish in its implementation. I also want to raise the issue of the lack of regulation that seems to be a problem as well. This is a very important debate we should have in the House.
Senator Keogan spoke about the activity yesterday related to securing Mount Street. Let us remember that the purpose of that was to provide much improved, safe, healthy and sanitary conditions for the well-being of international protection applicants. I am sure this is a process and will take time but the Government is absolutely committed to ensuring the safety of those individuals.
In her remarks about EU migration pact, the Senator said we need an Irish solution. We only have to look at what is happening in the UK to know that an Irish solution, taken by ourselves alone, will not work considering that illegal immigration, according to the UK, has very much increased since the UK's safety of Rwanda Bill was first put on the table by Priti Patel in 2022. This has eroded the UK's reputation on international law and human rights obligations.
Senator Gallagher raised the issue of screening for newborns and that 200 babies' lives could be saved. I agree with him that this makes perfect sense and is something we should consider as part of our business in the Seanad.
Senator Conway spoke about the importance of the critical skills list, the many visa national citizens we have in the country and migrants who are working in areas that are incredibly important to the functioning of our society, including nurses but also in areas such as IT, and how well our country is doing in the ICT sector. I see it myself every day in Dublin West. Senator Conway also spoke about giving more opportunities to international protection applicants to work, and that is something the House could very much support as well.
I welcome the students in the Public Gallery from St. Cronan’s National School in Swords. They are very welcome. They have joined us at the end of what is called the Order of Business, where Members of the Seanad, of which there are 60, can raise matters of national, local and international importance. The students are very welcome to Leinster House and I hope, as part of their visit, that they find it educational. There is a custom as Cathaoirleach that we would bestow on you an evening off homework. Perhaps that might be given to give your teachers a well-earned break. Céad míle fáilte romhaibh ar fad to Leinster House. I thank you for being here.
Order of Business agreed to.