Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 6 Dec 2023

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue debate. I previously raised this issue over 12 months ago, I think. The response I got was that there would not be a move by the Department to treat home tutors as employees of the Department. Home tutors are paid directly by the Department and taxes are deducted by the Department when payment is made. In other words, home tutors have all the indications of being employees as opposed to subcontractors. The issue has changed over the past few months. There was a Supreme Court decision in a case involving Domino's Pizza concerning the treatment of delivery people. A decision by the High Court was reversed by the Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court then gave a decision stating that these workers should be treated as employees. It set out the criteria, including the following questions. First, "Does the contract involve the exchange of wage or other remuneration for work?". Second, "Has the worker agreed to provide their services to the employer personally?" and third, "If so, does the employer exercise sufficient control over the ... employee to render the agreement one that is capable of being an employment [contract]?". The Supreme Court then stated, "If these three requirements are met the decision maker must then determine whether the terms of the contract between employer and worker interpreted in the light of the admissible factual matrix and having regard to the working arrangements between the parties as disclosed by the evidence". Home tutors provide education when children, for one reason or another, are not able to fit into the school arrangement. We have a large number of home tutors, who provide a valuable service.

The issue is that home tutors are in category S, from a tax perspective. Any contribution they make to a pension is not tax deductible. At the same time, they are not on a programme for a pension. It causes problems for them. It is interesting that the Revenue, following the Supreme Court decision, issued a statement that "any business which currently engages contractors, sub-contractors or other workers on a self-employment basis, (i.e. where that worker is not treated as an employee of the business for income tax purposes), should review the nature of any such arrangement(s)". The interesting line in the Revenue guidelines is "where that worker is not treated as an employee of the business for income tax purposes". Income tax for home tutors is deducted by the Department. I know the Department's argument is that these people are employed directly by the parent of the child and not the Department but the Department pays them, deducts tax and sets guidelines about what they can and cannot do. For instance, home tutors have difficulties getting unemployment benefit during the Christmas, Easter and summer periods, when they are not in employment. They are not entitled to take on additional home tutor work during those periods. The Department sets out clear restrictions and deducts tax, yet tutors do not have the benefits of being employees. They are at a huge disadvantage in every respect. The Supreme Court decision requires the Department to review the current practice as to how it will deal with home tutors.

I thank the Deputy on behalf of the Department of Education for the question and for giving me the opportunity to provide the House with an outline of the home tuition scheme, which is an important resource for a small number of children who require this particular support. The home tuition scheme is one of the many ways in which the Department of Education and the National Council for Special Education continue to support children with special educational needs. I stress that enabling students with additional needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is an ongoing priority for the Government. It is a priority to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to our schools to cater for the needs of children with special educational needs. In 2023, the Department of Education will spend more than €2.6 billion, or over 27%, of the Department's budget on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special needs. This will allow the Department to further increase the number of teaching and special needs assistant posts in our schools. There will be an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,094 special needs assistants in our schools by the end of this calendar year. Further progress has been made in budget 2024, in which an additional €113 million has been provided, which will be dedicated to providing supports for children with special educational needs, allowing for a further 744 teachers and 1,216 special needs assistants to deliver up to 2,700 places for children with special educational needs. This means there will be more than 41,500 qualified and committed people in our schools focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

The Department's home tuition grant scheme provides funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school. By its nature, it is intended to be a short-term intervention. The scheme provides for early educational intervention for children with autism who meet the scheme's eligibility criteria, students with special educational needs seeking an educational placement in a recognised school, and students enrolled in schools who have a significant medical condition or school phobia and-or associated depression or anxiety, which has caused and is likely to continue to cause major disruption to their attendance in school.

In exceptional cases, the Department will consider home tuition applications on behalf of students with a diagnosis of school phobia or associated anxiety which has caused and is likely to continue to cause major disruption to their attendance at school. The exception will only apply when a continued absence from school is required to facilitate appropriate medical or therapeutic intervention with a view to the reintegration of the student in his or her school. The intention of the scheme is that home tuition is provided for short periods; it is not a long-term measure. There is an increased number of special schools and special classes available in recent years; it is intended this will mean fewer children requiring access to home tuition in future.

Given the nature of the scheme, home tutors are engaged by parents and guardians of the child who is to receive tuition and the tutor has no contractual relationship with the Department of Education. Tutors are paid through the Department's fortnightly payroll system and, in accordance with instructions from the Revenue Commissioners, payments under the scheme are subject to statutory deductions at source. In order to facilitate parents, the Department acts solely as payroll agent. The Department of Social Protection has also determined that home tutors are engaged under a contract for service and are therefore self-employed and subject to PRSI class S.

The matter raised by the Deputy is an important one and the Department of Education continues to keep all of these issues under review in light of any legal decisions or changes in legislation.

I know this area is not under the Minister of State's remit. I fully understand that. However, we had the same problem with people working in RTÉ who were treated as self-employed. When that was reviewed, it turned out many of them had to be treated as employees. The issue has also changed because of the Supreme Court decision. It is like the people working for the pizza delivery company. It could technically be said those delivery people were employed by the people who wanted pizza delivered to their house rather than by the person producing the pizza. The Supreme Court has decided they are to be treated as employees.

Even if I do not resolve the issue of whether they are employees or subcontractors, the other issue concerns class S, which they come under for tax purposes. It is a huge disadvantage for them in relation to planning pension, in relation to other employment they may want to take on during the holiday periods and in relation to the fact they are not entitled to get any support when they are not working during the summer, Christmas and Easter periods. That needs to be reviewed. They provide a valuable service for children who have difficulties in attending school, and for their parents. Taking into account the Supreme Court decision, how do we continue to attract people into the area who can provide the service and deliver a good education to people who otherwise who drop out of the system?

I accept the thrust of the Deputy’s question. It probably does not only sit, as he said, with the Department of Education. It is an example of it. The Department of Social Protection has determined home tutors are engaged under a contract for service and are therefore self-employed and subject to PRSI class 7.

The Department of Education continues to keep all these issues under review in light of any legal decisions or changes in legislation. The Department will continue to work with education stakeholders on these issues.

I stress the majority of children are educated in mainstream settings along with their peers. Where it is in the best interests of the child, special schools and classes are provided. However, home tuition ensures, where a child cannot attend regular school placement, he or she continues to receive an education. It is a lifeline for such children and their parents.

I reassure the Deputy the Department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education. I will bring the issues the Deputy raised to the Minister’s attention.

I thank the Minister for being here. I appreciate it. We all recall the terrible events of Storm Babet in Midleton on 18 October. Businesses, houses and roads were destroyed and millions of euro worth of damage was done.

An issue that has come up is the damage to crèches. At least two I know of have closed. One may not open at all; the other will not open until April or May. Well over 100 children are involved and now have no place to go. Parents have been on to me and my colleague, Deputy O’Connor, really distraught. They have taken what time off they can but there is no place available. There are solutions. I have contacted the childcare committee in County Cork. It is very good and proactive. I have contacted Tusla, which has not come back to me. There are a number of premises available but they need to be registered. This is an emergency. Some parents have told me they may have to give up work because they cannot continue. Others have taken unpaid leave. Many are young parents with mortgages and other expenses. Some parents have told me they have been quoted from €480 to €600 per week for childcare in the private sector. As staff in the crèche are getting other jobs, the whole thing is beginning to fall apart.

I ask the Minister to intervene directly in this regard and to talk to Tusla and the childcare committee. A number of premises have been identified in the area that could be used on a temporary basis. One is attached to a large childcare facility already. They have a room they can use but it needs to be registered. That takes time and time is what the parents do not have. This is extraordinarily urgent for them. The Minister can imagine trying to find a place for a two-year-old or a baby or after-school. No place is available. As people have to go to work, what do they do? It is very serious.

Many of these families also had their houses destroyed. They are not only dealing with getting their houses back in order. Some of the houses cannot be lived in. They are also trying to go to work and find a place for their child. Some have to travel long distances for childcare. The Minister and Department are the only ones that can intervene, bring everyone together and identify as a matter of urgency premises that could be used, even on a temporary basis. I know the standards and completely agree we should have high standards but this is an emergency. What are these parents and children to do if they cannot get childcare places?

This is linked to another issue, which is that many developers are building large schemes and are supposed to put in crèches. The crèche is the last thing they put in and then they walk away and forget about the crèche. I have been telling the local authorities to get them to build the crèches first and then build houses. At least there will be a crèche or childcare facility. This is critical across the country but where there is a difficulty in finding childcare places, especially in east Cork, and with Storm Babet on top of that closing down crèches for a long period, the Minister can understand the pressure and stress parents are under.

I am delighted the Minister is here. I ask him to intervene, along with the Department, to talk to Tusla and the childcare committee to identify the places that are there and see if we can put them to use to help these parents.

I recognise the Deputy’s engagement with me in recent weeks on this issue. I appreciate it and know he and other Cork East Deputies are committed to finding a solution. He has described clearly the dual catastrophe so many families are facing in terms of the loss of the home and now the loss of childcare facilities.

I am aware the Cork childcare committee has been engaging with the impacted services to ensure all assistance is in place to support the families and the services affected by the flooding. The childcare committee is proactively engaging with early learning childcare services to identify unused capacity and explore the potential for services to increase capacity to meet the early learning and childcare needs of families in the immediate and wider surrounding areas. This engagement will support referral of affected families where capacity is identified.

Families are being encouraged to contact the Cork county childcare committee directly to gain support in meeting their particular childcare needs. All families impacted by the floods can have their child's registration for ECCE transferred to a new provider. Funding will not be affected. Similarly, any families currently registered with the NCS will be able to transfer their childcare identifier code key, CHICK, to a new provider. In normal circumstances, people need to give four weeks' notice for this, but that requirement will not be applied in these circumstances. This means parents will be able to start claiming under the NCS as soon as a new provider registers their CHICK.

The safety and protection of children remains the first priority in the early learning and childcare sector. This is achieved through the registration and inspection of early years services by Tusla, which is the independent statutory regulator for the sector. Registration of early years services can be granted only where Tusla is satisfied that the premises, and their operation and location, pose no unmanaged risk to children. Tusla has been working closely with the local childcare committee in the areas impacted by the recent flooding. It will engage with impacted services in those areas to help them to reopen their service in a safe and suitable premises and location.

I acknowledge the Deputy's statement that he has not received a response from Tusla to his query. I will follow up on that and make sure the agency gets back to him. I will also look for clarity from the childcare committee and from Tusla's early years inspectorate that all due haste is being given to ensuring potential new venues are inspected. Those inspections must be done. We cannot put children into an unsafe place, even in desperate circumstances. My Department cannot stand over that. Where there is an emergency situation, however, I am sure we can move things rapidly. I will work with the Deputy to achieve that.

The Deputy made some wider points about capacity. I brought a memorandum to the Cabinet yesterday on the measures we are taking to improve capacity nationally, which we will launch later in the week. A key element will be the capital programme, which provides €15 million for investment in new childcare services across the country next year. The memorandum also covers the planning issue whereby developers are either not building a childcare facility along with the houses, or they are building it and, lo and behold, it looks exactly like a house and, three months later, they come back with a planning application to change its use to housing, or they say there is no demand because they will not let any childcare service make a bid to open a facility. A whole load of games are being played. Last year, I had a good meeting with county planners in different locations all over the country at which I asked them for their experience of this. We are working with the Department of housing to revise the 2001 regulations on the delivery of childcare facilities alongside new housing developments. Thousands of housing units will be built under Housing for All. We need appropriate childcare facilities to be delivered as well.

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive and very positive response. It would be a great Christmas present for these parents if they were to have a childcare or after-school place for their baby or child before Christmas. That would be great. As the Minister has acknowledged, this situation is urgent. It is a number of weeks since the flooding happened and the childcare facilities were destroyed.

I acknowledge the endeavours being made by other childcare providers in the area to identify premises and expand their services to look after the parents and children impacted by the floods. I know of at least two large providers that are working hard to achieve this. They need the co-operation of Tusla and the childcare committee and they need the support of the Minister. I am delighted he has acknowledged that this morning and committed to doing what he can to make it happen.

I am really impressed that the Minister has put his finger on the bigger point, which is the need for more childcare premises to be built, and built to plan rather than being built as a house and then flipped. That is hugely important. I am a bit more hopeful now that things will happen. We will, of course, be monitoring the situation closely.

As I said, I contacted Tusla and it did not get back to me. That is not important. The important thing is that the agency is working with the childcare committee and the other providers that have premises available. I acknowledge the Minister's point that premises must be safe. The childcare providers I am aware of that are trying to expand into these other areas would not operate in dangerous premises. They are working hard to make the premises safe and available for the parents who are in dire need. Some of those parents may have to give up their work if they do not find a place to mind their children, with all the consequential financial impact that will have. They are really caught and they really need the support of the Minister. I thank him and his Department for the response this morning.

I thank the Deputy. We should be able to find a way to address this issue and bring in some more capacity, recognising that any premises put forward must meet the requirements of Tusla. The latter has a process and I will ask it to expedite that process in terms of the early years inspectorate. I am willing to help as much as I can but we cannot break the relevant criteria in respect of child safety. I acknowledge that neither the Deputy nor any of the childcare providers that are stepping up are suggesting we do so. We will continue working to see whether we can bring forward solutions.

I raise an issue that is very personal to a constituent of mine named William Porter, who was falsely accused of abusing both his son and daughter. These accusations destroyed his life. His family has suffered hugely, with William himself developing significant mental and physical health problems as a result of the stress this has caused. It now seems incredible that these false claims were believed for so long by the authorities and that Tusla seemingly even fabricated a confession from William.

The situation began in 2010 when William was falsely accused of physically abusing his 13-year-old son, who lived with him in Donegal. His young daughter lived in the North and William was not believed by social services there, despite his son claiming it was a false accusation and that no such incident happened. It took Tusla three years to investigate the alleged incidents. No appropriate explanation has ever been given by Tusla as to why it took three years to investigate the matter. As a result of the delay in investigating these false allegations, all attempts by William to have access to his daughter in the North and to clear his name were met by accusations of harassment by social services staff in the North.

Inexplicably, when Tusla did investigate three years later, it fabricated its records, claiming that William had confessed to a Tusla official to abusing his son.

They have been clarified in the courts, as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will hear in a second. The false recording of a confession was not rectified for two years afterwards. It was two years before William found out, through a freedom of information request, that the fabricated confession by him was on his file. In 2014, the Garda contacted William to explain that during one of the rare occasions when William did get to see his daughter at the time, he had been accused of punching her in the stomach three times. William's name was not cleared until his daughter admitted 11 months later that she was told to say that William punched her.

All records relating to William having abused his son have now, rightly, been deleted by Tusla and Tusla has since officially apologised to William for its failures regarding him and his family. That is the correct position. In regard to the accusation that he assaulted his daughter, those false accusations were handled so badly by the authorities that it has recently resulted in her receiving compensation from the State in the High Court due to the stress that was caused. William's family has lived on either side of the Border at times and, as such, it has been failed both by the services in this jurisdiction and in the North. Partly because of Tusla's action, the matter is still not resolved in the North.

We need to do better in future. We need to ensure the ordeal that William and his family have gone through is not repeated for another family. William asked me to put these issues on the public record. His life has been destroyed as a result of it. It involved a State agency. I understand the seriousness of what I am saying. William only found out by chance, when he put in a freedom of information request, that it was on his file that a Tusla official said William admitted to abusing his child. That record has now been deleted, an apology given and compensation paid to his daughter as a result. However, this family was destroyed.

I commend some of the officials in Tusla whom I worked with when I met William many years later. I saw what I believed to be a person who was genuinely broken as a result of what had happened. When I reached out to Tusla, it did facilitate a process, which took some time, whereby we got to the point where apologies have been given, wrongs have been righted, files have been deleted and the record has been corrected. However, this should never have happened.

The consequences for this family are long-lasting. Maybe it is an opportunity for the Minister on behalf of Tusla to echo that apology to William and his family.

I thank the Deputy for raising this really important issue and outlining in detail the implications for this family of the incorrect and wrong allegations that were made against them. I also thank him for recognising that Tusla has made an apology and that staff in Tusla - which is a big organisation with a lot of very good people and we all recognise that - has done its best to make reparations here in this particular situation. The details of this individual were brought to my Department's attention yesterday so I am not in a position to give the Deputy a very detailed response right now. I am very happy to continue to liaise with him and I can do it on paper or we can have another Topical Issue debate on this on another basis. I hope he does not mind but he has outlined a lot more very important detail here this morning and I would like to read into it a bit more so I can give a more considered response to the issue. I am absolutely happy to give that more considered response.

Since this Topical Issue matter was raised yesterday, we have been in touch with Tusla. My Department raised it with Tusla's chief operations officer. We requested an urgent report and urgent details on this matter. We are very happy to engage with the Deputy further on this particular point.

I will just step back from this case in terms of where an issue is raised regarding Tusla more broadly. There are routes for people who have similar concerns. They can make a complaint through the Office of the Ombudsman, which investigates complaints made about public services. If an individual has a concern about a social worker's practice, he or she can contact CORU, which is the regulator for many of the health and social care professions. Within Tusla, there is the child abuse substantiation procedure, and that is a revision of the policy originally brought in in 2014. It is based on learning that indicated the need to further enhance consistency of practice across Tusla. In addition, changes were also required to incorporate new legal judgments into this complex area of law and practice.

The current child abuse substantiation procedure operated by Tusla has been in place since June 2022. The procedure assists social workers in achieving an optimum standard of child protection practice when they are carrying out those substantiation assessments. This procedure allows Tusla to function within the correct parameters of legal obligations, fair procedures and information management. We all know how important it is that complaints or allegations of child abuse are investigated properly and thoroughly. However, the Deputy has also illustrated what happens when an incorrect, inaccurate and wrong allegation is made and the absolute damage that can do. Over the years, Tusla has continued to enhance the approach it takes to the investigation of these allegations and the 2022 document is the most recent document. From what the Deputy has told me, I gather these allegations significantly predated that document so work on the development of the process to address these types of allegations has continued. I am happy to continue to engage with him on this particular case.

I thank the Minister. I appreciate his response and that he will give a more comprehensive response at a later stage. I raised this issue because William is in a different place since 2016. He now lives happily with his son and daughter in Donegal on a permanent basis. The impact this has had on all three of them has been immeasurable. William wants to go public with his experience. He wants to do all he can to prevent other families going through what he went through and I have great respect for him in doing this.

Tusla has admitted that the impact of their intervention on this family has been significant and that its delays in responding to the concerns have been a part of this negative impact on the family. I understand those working in social and children's services have the most difficult of jobs and that mistakes can be made by all of us, including people in Tusla. However, this is an exceptional case that had significant consequences. It is not just the mistake; it is the time it took for William Porter's issue to be resolved and for him to have his name cleared. That needs to be highlighted. It took three years from the original accusation. Even if this was not a false accusation, which it was, why did it take three years for this accusation to be investigated? William and his family were put through a decade of hell because of false accusations and repeatedly not being believed. During this time, William's reputation was destroyed, his business ceased and he lost access to his daughter. He developed significant mental and physical health problems and we can never underestimate the impact this has on somebody and their family.

I understand that significant changes have been made to Tusla and how the Garda approach such matters since these events. Have the appropriate actions been taken to ensure such a failing does not happen ever again? That is what William wants and that is why I am raising this. We cannot underestimate the impact this has on families. Like the Minister, I also commend all of those in Tusla who do a massive job, and I know William does not want to cast aspersions. We recognise Tusla is made up of really passionate people who care for families and children. In this case, systems broke down, accusations were made and a family was destroyed. The family will continue to live with the consequences, even though apologies and compensation have been made, and errors have been corrected.

I am pleased that the Deputy said that William is in a different and better place now. That is something positive to be taken from this. The Deputy is right to accept mistakes are made everywhere across Departments and agencies, and in every aspect of life. However, when a mistake is made, it needs to be quickly owned, responded to and resolved. What the Deputy has outlined does not show that. It shows that the mistake was resisted and potentially there were even attempts to cover over what happened. That is not acceptable in any Government agency.

Tusla is ten years old. Its tenth anniversary will be in January. It is an organisation that has undergone a lot of change in that time. In the three and a half years I have been Minister, I have seen real reform and real efforts to change across all elements of the organisation under Bernard Gloster and now under Kate Duggan. In terms of the incredibly important but also sensitive issue of investigations of allegations of child sexual abuse, that has changed as well. I understand the false allegation against William probably would have been investigated under a 2014 policy. There is now a 2022 policy that has learned from incidents such as this and learned how a social worker and the team around an investigation can accurately investigate and probe an allegation in a sensitive way but in a way that respects the rights of all parties - those subject to the allegation, those who are making the allegation and the potential victim of abuse. The Deputy has raised an important issue and I have been able to provide only an initial answer today. I will come back to him in writing on this and if he wants to raise this as a Topical Issue matter subsequently, I will be happy for him to do so.

First, why is there no one from the Department with responsibility for the environment present? We were recently told by the Ceann Comhairle that if somebody from the Department or a Minister of State could not attend that, we would be advised of same. That has not happened. It is no disrespect to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. I will proceed but it is totally disrespectful. It has happened to me on a number of occasions now. I have been in touch with the Ceann Comhairle, not on this issue but with regard to Topical Issues, in the past and the firm commitment from the Ceann Comhairle was that in future, Departments would contact Deputies if the Minister or the Minister of State cannot attend. I want to put that on the record.

The recent KPMG report, Act Now, makes for some very concerning reading when it comes to the likelihood of achieving our 2030 climate action targets for wind energy and solar energy.

The plan commits to having 80% of our electricity harnessed from wind and solar energy sources.

I thank Wind Energy Ireland for commissioning this really important and timely report that will inform the debate in this area. It outlines the hurdles the State faces in achieving its desirable renewable energy targets. The report notes that the problems in the renewable energy sector are systemic. We lack the processes, policies, organisations and dedicated resources needed to decarbonise our electricity system. Simply put, the report notes that the State is not doing enough in the field. This finding comes as no surprise as a review in 2022 noted that out of 13 European countries, Ireland scored joint lowest in preparedness to transition to renewable energy.

The KPMG report tells us that 95% of industry experts do not believe Ireland will reach its target of having 80% of electricity generated from renewable sources by 2030. The report from Wind Energy Ireland highlights two main concerns, namely the planning process and the current state of our energy network. The report contains 20 recommendations, four pertaining to grid development and five to the planning process. The authors advise that renewable energy projects are entering a planning system that is unable to handle applications in a timely and efficient manner. Indeed, it highlights the fact that many respondents pointed to the planning system as a major challenge and called for increased resources. What tangible steps will the Government take to address the valid concerns raised in this report regarding grid capacity and planning delays?

This report is appropriately entitled Act Now. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, is at COP28, engaging in diplomatic efforts on climate change but there is a long way to go there, as we can see from the strength of the fossil fuel lobby. At home, the path is very clear on renewables, albeit not so much in other areas. It is very clear that we have the tools, the know-how and the ability to deliver an energy revolution. We can deliver energy independence and security in Ireland but it seems that the Government cannot get out of its own way.

The report has been flagged as a wake-up call. It identifies the main obstacles, although we already know what they are, as does the Minister and the Government. There are issues with the planning system, grid capacity, the approach of Government in respect of connectedness, and the policies in place, all of which need to be addressed so we can deliver on what is a tremendous opportunity for the country and for all of its communities and citizens.

The electricity sector is absolutely fundamental to achieving our national climate objectives and as such, Climate Action Plan 2023 sets a highly ambitious target of having renewable sources meet 80% of electricity demand by 2030. The plan also includes a comprehensive suite of actions through which we will realise the full potential of Ireland’s onshore and offshore renewable energy resources and continue to be an international leader in the development and generation of renewable energy, setting us on a course for a low-carbon, climate resilient future.

A renewable-led system is one of the core foundations of the climate action plan. This will allow us to radically reduce our emissions and our dependency on imported fossil fuels and to protect our energy security with indigenous renewable generation, as enshrined in the Government's recently launched energy security package. To ensure we keep pace with demand, we must accelerate the delivery of renewable electricity generation. This requires accelerating progress across the three pillars of renewables delivery, namely grid, planning and route to market. Two cross-Government and agency task forces have been established to support this. The accelerating renewable electricity task force has been established to coordinate and fast-track the increased deployment and output of onshore renewable electricity generation and support technologies in the near-term. The offshore wind delivery task force was established to drive delivery and capture the wider and longer-term economic and business opportunities associated with the development of offshore renewables.

The national electricity grid will provide the backbone for reaching our renewable electricity targets. lreland’s system operators, ESB Networks and EirGrid, are working on increasing our network efficiency, network resilience, and our ability to integrate variable renewable energy sources while reducing the need for new infrastructure where possible. In January this year ESB Networks published its Networks for Net Zero strategy outlining its commitment to meeting our 2030 targets, future-proofing our electricity network and making the country’s goal of net zero by 2050 a reality. In July this year, EirGrid published an updated version of Shaping Our Electricity Future, its roadmap for an electricity system which will incorporate 80% renewable electricity by 2030. EirGrid has identified more than 350 projects to be delivered at transmission system level and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, has sanctioned a €4 billion capital investment spend on the grid up to 2025.

To facilitate the unprecedented level of development required, alignment between the elements of the planning and permitting system at national, regional, and local levels to support the accelerated roll-out of renewable energy generation is required. Officials from the Departments of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Environment, Climate and Communications are working closely on a range of policy measures to support the further roll-out of renewable electricity. This is in addition to the significant planning reform the Government introduced through the Planning and Development Bill 2023, which will improve the consistency and alignment throughout all tiers of planning, provide increased certainty across the planning system through the introduction of statutory timelines for decision-making, and significantly increase the resources available to An Bord Pleanála.

The Deputies are absolutely correct about the importance of the renewable system in enabling Ireland to meet its carbon targets for 2050 and indeed, more rapidly, for 2030. An enormous amount of work has taken place in a relatively short period of time. We have done a lot in the past three and half years to catch up. We were a long way behind but we are moving rapidly to catch up and meet our ambitious targets.

I thank the Minister for his response. I have raised the concerns referred to in the Act Now report previously. Renewable energy has the potential to be a vital new source of revenue and energy for our market. The development of the sector is our chance to eventually become energy independent. We can either harness renewable energy and export any excess we do not need or we can import energy from abroad. That is the choice we have to make. We need a further commitment to delivering the changes needed to improve our energy grid and planning processes. To do this, we need policy development that will work in harmony with our national grid structure. We need an uptick in the training of planners and a rapid expansion of our energy grid.

Investment in renewable energy is our ticket to a better Ireland. We need to refocus our efforts to ensure that both offshore and onshore wind energy opportunities are grasped. As a native of Limerick, I have a particular interest in the development of Foynes Port and the surrounding area to accommodate offshore wind energy. I urge the Government to do all in its power to address the challenges raised in this deeply concerning report.

There is no denying that the Government is doing a lot, as is acknowledged in the report. The question is whether it is doing enough to deliver on the targets set out. The answer to that question is clearly "No". The Government is further away from our renewable energy targets this year than last year. There is a serious problem with planning. No onshore projects have come out of the planning process for a long while. There are clear proposals here and I encourage the Government to look at them. There are positive proposals in the report, some of which are in line with what is intended and others of which are new. Resourcing is a huge issue and it needs to be addressed. I urge the Government to realise the opportunity of State- and community-owned renewable energy. It has the potential to deliver transformational change but not without adequate resources, planning and grid infrastructure.

Very real progress is being made in decarbonising the electricity sector. We are currently on track to reach approximately 6 GW of grid-connected renewables by the end of this year, with more than 300 onshore wind farms now generating clean energy across the country. Ireland is in the top five globally for both installed wind power capacity per capita and the contribution of wind energy to electricity demand, making us a world leader in the integration of variable renewable electricity into the grid. Climate Action Plan 2023 not only sets out an ambitious target of 80% of demand being met by renewable sources by 2030 but also includes a comprehensive set of measures for facilitating the large-scale deployment of renewables to reach this target. We are accelerating the delivery of our onshore and offshore renewable energy potential, including in planning, grid development and financial support schemes.

On the route to market, in 2023 we held two renewable electricity support scheme auctions.

This included our third onshore auction in which the successful projects represent a 12% increase in our renewable energy capacity from current levels, and our first offshore auction which saw more than 3 GW of capacity being procured. Future auctions will take place in the coming years, as per the indicative auction calendar, to ensure investment in this sector continues.

On planning, An Bord Pleanála has received significant additional resources, including a dedicated marine directorate, to process the offshore RESS planning applications, with an expected 50% increase in staffing numbers from 2021 levels.

On the grid, EirGrid and ESB Networks have identified the changes and improvements required to increase the efficiency and resilience of the grid network to reduce the need for new infrastructure while maintaining our energy security and ability to integrate variable renewable sources.