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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 26 Apr 2018

Vol. 968 No. 2

Questions on Promised Legislation

I compliment the staff from the Tánaiste's office and the Passport Office who gave a briefing yesterday on the current delays in processing passport applications. Can the Tánaiste confirm how many extra staff have been recruited in the Passport Office to deal with the summer backlog? Is he taking any additional measures to address the delays?

I thank all the Deputies who took the time to come to the briefing. There was standing room only, which reflects the interest and involvement many Members have in and with the passport service. The Ceann Comhairle is also very familiar with that. At this time of year we take on a lot of extra temporary staff to deal with the increased demand through the summer months. We had particular challenges and problems during the very bad weather and these resulted in the targets we had been setting for turnaround times being temporarily undermined. We are now back on track in terms of the target turnaround times for both postal and online services. We intend to continue to try to improve those turnaround times.

Tuesday's "Prime Time" programme focused on a particularly shocking case of abuse and a failure on the part of State agencies. I take this opportunity to commend Rachel Barry and the women who asked to be identified as Amy and Sarah on their bravery. I have raised the issue of resources in the area of child protection before. However, no shortage of resources could ever excuse this level of failure or these children being left in danger when there was full knowledge of the risk that existed. The victims have said that they do not have any confidence in the review mechanism to which the Taoiseach referred yesterday. They do not believe that it will lead to a satisfactory outcome. They have called for a fully independent investigation. The Taoiseach has a responsibility to see that this happens. These women have written to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Zappone, requesting the establishment of a commission of investigation similar to that relating to the Grace case. I urge the Taoiseach to respond positively to this request and to engage with the victims in order to ensure that such a commission is established.

As the Deputy indicated, the national review panel is reviewing this case. The Minister has received correspondence from the solicitor involved in the tragic case to which the Deputy referred. The Minister is considering whether she should make a recommendation to Government as to whether we would look at a different form of review. That decision has not yet been made but it is certainly under consideration.

Other Deputies have already raised the disturbing and shocking case involving CervicalCheck and Mrs. Vicky Phelan. The HPV vaccine protects young girls from developing cervical cancer. The vaccine also protects boys against HPV-related cancers later in life. This House discussed a Labour Party motion on these matters some two weeks ago. That motion was passed. One of the elements of the motion involved a call on the part of this House for the Government to extend the HPV vaccination programme to include boys in their first year of secondary school. When will the terms of that motion, which was passed unanimously by Dáil Éireann, be implemented?

I am afraid I will have to ask the Minister for Health to get back to the Deputy on that issue. I do not have an exact date.

I want to place on record my welcome for the news that Vera Twomey's campaign to get reimbursement for medical cannabis has succeeded. Her fantastic speech at the People of the Year Awards last week was also welcome. She received a standing ovation in respect of the progress of the legislation. I want to ask the Tánaiste a specific question about the report I am holding, which was commissioned by the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, and published in January 2017 and which relates to cannabis for medical use. This report was published 15 months ago and absolutely nothing has been done in the interim. People are way ahead of this Government in respect of medical cannabis legislation. The recommendation from the HPRA is that an access programme should be set up. The Bill we put forward is in limbo. Will the Tánaiste comment on this matter please?

Vera Twomey is someone I have gotten to know very well in recent years. She and her daughter, Ava, now have not only the treatment they were looking for but also the financial support of the State to ensure that medication will continue to be provided for Ava. I understand that medication is working very well. That is a successful outcome to what has been a difficult case. The Minister has always said that he has an open mind in terms of the medical use of cannabis. How that might best be introduced has not been finalised. It is currently possible for the Minister to provide an import licence for drugs as part of a course of treatment supported by the advice of a consultant doctor.

This is, of course, how we got the Vera Twomey case finalised in the end. It is not true to say nothing has been happening here, but we need to proceed with caution in this area because it is not straightforward.

The submission was made eight months ago.

A very good example has been set this morning and I am sure Deputy Healy-Rae, or Deputy Mattie McGrath, will follow it.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I have no cap. It has been reported today that the HSE spends approximately €400 million per year on medication for the treatment of mental illness. At the same time, a mere €10 million per year is spent on psychological and counselling care services. This is a huge imbalance. The second interim report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Future of Mental Health Care indicates mental health options get €917 million per annum, or a mere 6.3% of the overall budget this year. This is a desperate imbalance given all the problems being raised by all of us and being experienced throughout the country. What will the Tánaiste and the Government do to correct this imbalance and help people who are suffering with mental illness? There is a huge imbalance.

As the Deputy is aware, medication is a clinical issue. The Minister does not have any say whatsoever in the medicating of patients who have mental illness. This is an issue on which I cannot comment.

It is a decision taken by clinicians, such as consultant psychiatrists, as to what medication is necessary for patients. With regard to spending in the area of mental health, as the Tánaiste pointed out earlier in his contribution, the budget is €910 million. It has increased by €200 million since 2012. It is not the need for resources or for financial support from the Government that is holding back the delivery of services. An issue I have addressed here on numerous occasions is recruitment, and the Tánaiste referred to the fact that 2,000 positions have been approved and funded but the people with the necessary skill set are not out there. There is a worldwide shortage of consultant psychiatrists, which is delaying the delivery of these services. We need to look more at earlier interventions. We need to look to schools, and the Minister, Deputy Bruton, and I are working in this area to build services in schools and build more proactive services at primary care level and not at the acute level.

Page 70 of the programme for Government mentions improving the lives of people with disabilities through better access, supports and independence. I want to bring up the case of a little boy, Noah Myers. He is seven years old and lives with his family in Mitchelstown in County Cork. He suffers from a condition known as Escobar syndrome, a rare congenital disorder that affects his joints. He also has scoliosis and respiratory problems. There are probably only 100 confirmed cases of this in the world. Last June Noah's family applied for a new wheelchair, only to be told by the HSE that no funding was available. Eleven months on and nothing has happened to rectify this problem. Noah needs the wheelchair and he needs it now. His mother said it is not a luxury item but an urgent request. Recently we ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This is an absolutely atrocious situation for a seven year old child.

I do not think it is appropriate that I respond to an individual case, but if the Deputy would like to send me on the details I will make sure the Minister for Health gets them.

I would really appreciate it.

No. 2 is Deputy Danny Healy-Rae. A very good example has been set this morning.

The cost of rent in Kerry for families and one-parent families with three or four children has become very high. It is €1,200 a month. I want to ask about the housing assistance payment cap. The housing assistance payment in Kerry is capped at €575. Other counties have a much higher cap. In light of the increase in the cost of houses per month, which is €1,200 to €2,000 per month in Killarney and other big towns such as Kenmare and Dingle, will the Government do something about raising the housing assistance payment cap in Kerry?

I recently met the chief executive and staff of the local authority in Kerry and that matter was not put to me as one of their main issues of concern. There is enough room with the housing assistance payment in certain cases, as there is a 20% allowance to go above the cap if needs be. It was not raised with me, but I am happy to discuss it with the Deputy and with the local authority. If there is evidence, we will look at it. We keep these levels under consideration throughout the country. In most cases, the 20% space allowed for is not used.

In 2007, a ban on inshore fishermen using salmon drift nets was put in place. It was meant to be reviewed after seven years. This has led to inshore fishermen not being able to fish for salmon and is leading to huge losses for local rural communities. It has now been proven that inshore fishermen were not to blame for the loss of salmon stocks as stocks are still dropping. This is due in a large way to rivers not being looked after. Spawning pools are overgrown by trees. It is even suggested that cutting trees near rivers leads to nutrients going into the water, which has led to a loss of stocks. All in all, proper research needs to be done immediately. While this research is ongoing to find the real facts as to who is to blame for the loss of salmon stocks I ask the Minister to lift immediately the ban on inshore fishermen using salmon drift nets.

This is an area in which I have a lot of personal interest. I do not think it is credible to say that drift net fishing for salmon did not have an impact on salmon stocks. There are, of course, other issues that need to be investigated fully by the State, but it is very unlikely we will see a reversal of the drift net ban.

I asked about the review which was to take place after seven years.

The housing crisis is something that is hitting us throughout the country, particularly here in the city of Dublin. One of the agencies of the State which receives a vast amount of money every year is Horse Racing Ireland. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has a piece of land near Leopardstown racecourse, 20% of which is waste ground, in the ownership of Horse Racing Ireland, which would build 400 houses. I understand Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has written to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine who funds Horse Racing Ireland to a very large amount, and to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government with regard to this. I appeal to the Government to put pressure on the board of Horse Racing Ireland immediately to make this land available to build social and affordable housing in that part of Dublin.

My understanding is there is an ongoing discussion between Horse Racing Ireland, the local authority and the Department concerned, from a housing and education point of view, in terms of a potential school.

That is the other side of the road.

Recent comments made by a number of Front Bench spokespersons and some of the Fianna Fáil Party opposite have sought to undermine and damage the Government's efforts with regard to Ireland's overall Brexit strategy and on the overall preparedness of this country's business for Brexit.

In my opinion this very unhelpful approach was continued when the Fianna Fáil's leader recently said prolonged negotiations with the UK on Brexit could harm Ireland. Will the Tánaiste provide for me, the House and the public listening an accurate update on the ongoing progress on Ireland's Brexit preparedness?

This week's star from the Fine Gael press office is for Deputy McLoughlin.

We are trying to accommodate a few more Members.

I will try to be brief because I hope we will have an opportunity for statements on Brexit. There will be statements in the Seanad next week, and certainly there will be an opportunity for them in this House soon. There is a lot going on with regard to this issue. All I will do is to ask colleagues for their co-operation when we talk about Brexit and the negotiations to ensure people are fully informed. My office is happy to brief people in detail on where we are and where we intend to be in June and, subsequently, in October, which are the next key dates with regard to Brexit outcomes.

When will the remainder of the GLAS and sheep farm payments from last year be paid? Is a system in place so there will not be any further delays next year?

I thank the Deputy for her brevity.

I will have to get the Minister, Deputy Creed, to come back to the Deputy on that.

I wanted to talk on the same issue.

It would have been the same answer.

It all depends on what way you put it.

You will get the same answer.

My question is on housing.

It concerns an update on the report of the expert panel on defective mica concrete blocks in Donegal and the work of the National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI, on the development of a protocol that the Minister committed to have completed by the end of April. When he met residents of affected homes last December in Donegal, he also gave a commitment to provide an update on this matter and on the future of a redress scheme to help homeowners repair their houses. As we know, more than 5,000 homes are potentially affected. Will the Minister provide an update on this matter? Will the protocol be completed by the end of April? Will he ensure that a commitment is given to homeowners in the form of the promised scheme introduced to help them fix their homes?

The Deputy and I were at the meeting to which he refers. The timeline given at the meeting was that we would hopefully be in a position to publish the protocol in February or March. We are a little behind that now, but the protocol is practically ready to be published. It is the work of the NSAI; it is not work my Department can do directly. We asked the NSAI to prepare the protocol as quickly as possible. It should be published in the coming weeks and then we will be able to move on. I did say we should be in a position by May or June to bring a lot of certainty to this matter, and we are still on track to do that.

I call Deputy Durkan. I will cut off the questions after No. 9, Deputy Brassil.

The Garda Síochána (compensation) Bill, concerning malicious injuries suffered by members of the Garda, has been on the list for some considerable time. Given the fact that between 4,000 and 5,000 gardaí have suffered serious and malicious injuries in the course of their duty, and given the Bill's importance, I ask the Tánaiste when it might be possible to bring it before the House.

Not during this session, I am afraid. However, it is on the list.

This morning, the issue of the post office contract was raised. I would like clarification on this because it is very important. Will the Tánaiste confirm that the deal post offices have been offered is to buy out the old contract and that if a postmaster accepts that offer, there is nothing to preclude a new contract being offered in respect of the same post office at the same location but with a different proprietor involved?

The current contract dates back to 1908 and is being revised. Should a postmaster decide that he or she does not wish to proceed, a clear protocol is put in place. In the first instance, the intention is to offer a contract to any other business in that community that may be willing to continue to provide the service. There is a clear protocol and this, I understand, will be published by An Post.

I thank the House for its co-operation.

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