Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 24 Sep 2024

I move:

Tuesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions (without debate)

- Motion re Sittings and Business of the Dáil (without debate)

- Motion re Thirty-Second Report of the Standing Committee of Selection and Appointment of Committee Cathaoirligh (without debate)

- Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024 (Second Stage) (to conclude after the first round, with any division claimed to be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage on Wednesday)

Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Health Services in the Mid-West Region, selected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Report of Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform on Rota for Leaders' Questions (without debate)

- Motion re Statement of Estimates for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (without debate)

- Health Information Bill 2024 (Second Stage)

- Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Bill 2024 (Second Stage)*

- Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024 (Committee and remaining Stages) (to commence no earlier than 6.00 p.m. and to conclude within 1 hour)

- Microenterprise Loan Fund (Amendment) Bill 2024 (Report and Final Stages) (if not previously concluded, to adjourn either at 9.00 p.m. or after 1 hour, whichever is the later)

Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Carer’s Allowance Means Test, selected by the Regional Group.

Thursday's business shall be:

- Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024 (Second Stage)**

- Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Bill 2024 (Second Stage) (resumed, if not previously concluded)

Thursday evening business shall be the Second Stage of the Local Authority Public Administration Bill 2023.

Proposed Arrangements for this week’s business:

In relation to Tuesday’s business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(i) the Dáil may sit later than 10.32 p.m.;

(ii) oral Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 46(1) shall not be taken, with consequential effect of the commencement time of Government business; and

(iii) the time allotted to Government business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for Second Stage of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024, with consequential effect on the commencement times for the items following in the ordinary routine of business, namely, private members’ business, Parliamentary Questions to the Minister for Social Protection and topical issues;

2. the proceedings on the Motion re Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions shall be taken without debate;

3. the proceedings on the Motion re Sittings and Business of the Dáil shall be taken without debate;

4. the proceedings on the Motion re Thirty-Second Report of the Standing Committee of Selection and Appointment of Committee Cathaoirligh shall be taken without debate; and

5. the following arrangements shall apply in relation to the proceedings on Second Stage of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024:

(i) on the conclusion of the first speaking round in accordance with the arrangements agreed by Order of the Dáil of 30th July, 2020, for Second Stage and the Resolution of the Dáil of 20th September, 2023, providing for two minutes for non-aligned members, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply, which shall not exceed 10 minutes, whereupon proceedings shall be brought to a conclusion; and

(ii) any division claimed on the proceedings shall be taken immediately prior to Committee Stage of the Bill on Wednesday.

In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(i) oral Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Order 46(1) shall not be taken, and the SOS pursuant to Standing Order 25(1) shall take place at the time when oral Parliamentary Questions to the Taoiseach would normally be taken, with consequential effect on the commencement time for Government business; and

(ii) the weekly division time may be taken later than 8.45 p.m. and shall in any event be taken on the adjournment of proceedings on Report and Final Stages of the Microenterprise Loan Fund (Amendment) Bill 2024, or where those proceedings conclude within the allocated time, on the conclusion thereof, with consequential effect on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil;

2. the proceedings on the Motion re Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform on Rota for Leaders' Questions shall be taken without debate;

3. the proceedings on the Motion re Statement of Estimates for the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission shall be taken without debate;

4. in relation to Second Stage of the Health Information Bill 2024, and, if reached, Second Stage of the Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Bill 2024, the following arrangements shall apply:

(i) the proceedings shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned either at 7.00 p.m. or 4 hours and 56 minutes after the resumption of proceedings following the SOS pursuant to Standing Order 25(1), whichever is the later; and

(ii) the proceedings shall not be resumed on Wednesday;

5. the proceedings on Committee and remaining Stages of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024 shall commence no earlier than 6.00 p.m. and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after one hour by one question which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Justice; and

6. the proceedings on Report and Final Stages of the Microenterprise Loan Fund (Amendment) Bill 2024 shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned either at 9.00 p.m. or after 1 hour, whichever is the later, and shall not be resumed on Wednesday.

In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that:

1. the ordinary routine of business as contained in Schedule 3 to Standing Orders shall be modified to the following extent:

(i) topical issues pursuant to Standing Order 37 may be taken earlier than 7.24 p.m. and shall in any event be taken on the adjournment of proceedings on Government business, or where Government business concludes within the allocated time, on the conclusion thereof; and

(ii) the proceedings on Second Stage of the Local Authority Public Administration Bill 2023 may be taken earlier than 8.12 p.m., and shall in any event be taken on the conclusion of topical issues, with consequential effect on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil; and

2. in relation to the Second Stage of the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024 and, if reached, the resumed (if not previously concluded) Second Stage of the Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Bill 2024, the following arrangements shall apply:

(i) the proceedings shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned either at 6.30 p.m. or 4 hours and 46 minutes after the resumption of proceedings following the SOS pursuant to Standing Order 25(1), whichever is the later; and

(ii) the proceedings shall not be resumed on Thursday.

It is not agreed. I reiterate the concerns raised by Deputy Paul Murphy earlier today in respect of the carpet-bombing of Lebanon, the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the brutality and violence instigated by Israel in the West Bank. We need a statement from the Taoiseach and also from the Tánaiste. We need an opportunity for questions and answers in respect of weapons of war passing through Irish airspace. I understand that at least nine such flights have passed. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, has reiterated the position that permissions were neither sought nor granted. That does not take from the fact that it appears this has in fact happened.

There is an issue of sanction and punishment for those who have breached Irish domestic law, then there is the wider necessity to move beyond simple condemnation from the Government and into concrete action that makes it absolutely clear that not alone will the State condemn acts of war and genocide but we will do everything within our power to prevent those actions occurring, including criminal sanctions and the occupied territories Bill. The list is longer than that but for these purposes-----

The Taoiseach has said in recent days that homelessness is heavily impacted by the fact that many people are seeking asylum and protection here. This is wrong and I want to express my concern about the language. What is impacting most heavily on homelessness is Government policy and the Government's failure to provide enough homes for people. That needs to be acknowledged by Government Ministers.

As the Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, rightly pointed out, asylum seekers are not counted in official homelessness figures and are not entitled to HAP or other housing supports. People leaving direct provision who have status represent just a small cohort of those entering homelessness. We need a debate on housing but I think we and particularly Cabinet Ministers need to be careful in a debate on housing not to conflate migration issues with homelessness issues, and not to pass blame for homelessness figures - the appalling figure of 4,401 children in homelessness - or suggest in some way that is attributable to inward migration rather than to Government policy.

For over 12 months now, we have watched on with horror as depravity was rained down upon the population of Gaza by the state of Israel. Throughout that time, many across the Opposition, including ourselves in the Social Democrats, have asked for action and consequence. We have been met solely with words.

Now, not only are we finding out that all the Government has offered is words but we have also blinded ourselves to what is occurring over our own airspace, where weapons of war have been transported through our airspace to rain hell down upon the population of Gaza and now southern Lebanon. It makes us complicit. The people are demanding - you will see it outside the gate later on - and have made further calls for the enactment of the occupied territories Bill. There has been renewed legal advice. We need a statement on this. We need Ministers to be held to account, to update the House on legal advice and tell us why they were so wrong when they stated with such confidence that no such aeroplanes carrying weapons are flying through our airspace. We demand it this week because the urgency of it matters.

One of the oldest tricks in the book of a cynical government under pressure is the tactic of divide and conquer, and scapegoating innocent people for that government's own failing. That is what we heard from the Taoiseach, Simon Harris, over the weekend, when he essentially hung a target on the backs of asylum seekers, people exiting direct provision and immigrants generally by suggesting-----

The Taoiseach used dangerous and dishonest language, suggesting things that are simply not true about asylum seekers and people exiting direct provision, when it is the Government which has exacerbated the homelessness crisis by lifting the no-fault eviction ban and by failing to address the deficit in social and affordable housing. Why does the Minister not ask the Taoiseach to stop scapegoating asylum seekers and immigrants and have, as we have been seeking for months, the discussion that the Government promised we would have on the Housing Commission report, which, of course, laid the blame for the housing crisis where it belongs, namely on the shoulders of this Government?

The Rural Independent Group and I tabled a motion in 2018 to have the site for the children's hospital changed from the current site. We brought Dr. Jimmy Sheehan, Fin Breatnach and others from Connolly for Kids in here in 2015 to tell Members that it was the wrong site. They had a 70-acre site out beyond the M50. Dr. Sheehan said that he would build a hospital there in 11 to 13 months for €900 million to €1.1 billion. Here we are and the Government will not take accountability for the appalling mess it has made of this. The Taoiseach, Deputy Harris, signed the contracts, and the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, who runs, evades, ducks and dives, is overseeing the project along with the Secretary General of the Department of Health. Nobody is taking accountability. It is simply outrageous. Many people, including sick children, languish as they wait for services. We have a runaway train at the site, and there will not be a hospital there in 2028, never mind 2026. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It is the wrong site. There is no access, no parking and no helipad. The Government is persisting with it and is trying to put a spin on what is happening. This is an unmitigated disaster on the part of the Fine Gael Government, supported by Fianna Fáil. Sinn Féin agreed with the choice of site as well. It voted down a motion to change the site. Ye can all hang your heads in shame.

I want to add my voice to those of other TDs who asked for time for a debate on Palestine and Lebanon. We are complicit by our silence, despite our words and recognition of Palestine. As a neutral country, we should be using our voice, now more than ever, in the context of brining peace to the world. The EU is still trading with a country that has flagrantly breached every international law and that is committing genocide. We have failed to enact two Bills, the occupied territories Bill and the divestment Bill. The Minister stands here today and tells us that he has used strong words. We need much more than strong words. I for one will not be complicit in the slaughter that is being carried out while we, as a European partner, trade with Israel.

I will deal with the different issues that were raised. Deputies raised the ongoing and terrible conflict in the Middle East and the risk of that escalating further. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste are at the United Nations. I am sure that, upon their return, they will be able to deal with the issues or questions that Members of the House want to raise with them. I emphasise again that position regarding the suggestion that the Government has some way been complicit with the passage of munitions through our airspace. I categorically reject it. Deputies have all accepted on one hand that no requests were made and those requests were not granted but at the same time they make allegations of complicity.

I have no doubt at all that upon their return from their efforts on behalf of the people who are subject to such violence, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste will be in a position to give an update to the House. Through our words and actions, we have shown our view on this issue. We have and will continue to take whatever actions we can or make the statements that are needed to try to create the conditions and play our role in this terrible war and conflict coming to an end, with those who are innocent losing their lives in the way they are.

I want to deal with the issue that has been raised by Deputy Boyd Barrett, among others. The Deputy cannot make the case about divisive language and then use the phrase "target on the backs of asylum seekers".

The Taoiseach has, including in the interview which is the cause of the Deputy's question, talked about the rights we have to look after those who need support and the benefits migration and openness bring to our country and economy, which he has done on many occasions. Regardless of where somebody comes from, if they are born here, making Ireland their home or if they seek refuge here, they have a right to expect that we will do all we can to prevent them from being homeless and give them support, which we do. It is the reason that the Government spends more than €200 million per year to try to prevent people being homeless, that we have the largest social housing programme for many decades and that our ongoing efforts to accommodate those looking for refuge and to provide more homes are the responsibility of two different Departments. We made the case for openness and for the rules in relation to migration. We also made the case for the great benefits migration and openness have brought to our country.

As I rehearsed with the Minister earlier, the Government, and he, as Minister for public expenditure, are presiding over the building of the most expensive hospital in the world. Of course they have also presided over the construction of what I imagine has to be most expensive bicycle shed in the world, at a cost to the taxpayer of €336,000, paid out by the OPW, which comes under his Department. Five weeks on, we still have no answer as to how all of this happened. It seems to me that the approach of the members of the Government to this matter is the same as their approach to the children's hospital: they act as commentators. They seem to take no responsibility whatsoever. Will the Minister say who will be held accountable for the most expensive bicycle shed in the world? Does he accept any responsibility for this outrageous waste of the public's money?

Of course I accept that the spending of so much money on a bike shed has caused great anger among the public. It was not a decision that I made but I am responsible for the use of the country's money. I understand that the Office of Public Works recently engaged with the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission.

I believe a report from it will be forthcoming on the subject and will lay out what happened and the recommendations to avoid this happening again.

I want to return to the desperate situation unfolding in Lebanon and the ongoing carnage we are seeing in Gaza and the West Bank. I heard Munier and Gadier Zabad speak on "Morning Ireland" this morning. They are among the Irish families fearing for their safety and are now trapped in Lebanon with no way out while under brutal Israeli bombardment. We are seeing an horrific escalation of the awful conflict in the Middle East and more unthinkable levels of civilian casualties. Israel continues, it appears, to act with impunity in causing such carnage and an horrific level of death. As others have done, I call on the Minister to use every diplomatic lever at Ireland's disposal to help to bring an end to the carnage and make Israel accountable. Last week, I called on the Government to pass the occupied territories Bill. It was indicated that the Government was seeking the advice of the Attorney General on the prospect of passing the Bill. When will we see that advice and get an answer as to whether we can pass the Bill? We also need accountability for the fact that planes carrying military equipment for Israel have passed through Irish airspace. It is a very serious finding.

The Deputy raised the status of the occupied territories Bill with me earlier this afternoon and I did not respond to her. I am glad to have the chance to do so now. She will be aware, given her legal eminence, of the fact that trade competence sits with the European Union and the Commission of the European Union rather than us at national level. The Taoiseach has, given the obvious sensitivity of this issue, sought further legal advice on the matter. As it is the Taoiseach who sought that advice, I do not know when it will arrive with him. I am sure he wants it as soon as possible. I will raise the matter with him. As I have said, I am sure he wants to get that advice as soon as he can. Regarding the terrible situation we now see unfolding, I want to go back to the stance of the Government, what we have already done and the work of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste in the United Nations at the moment.

Recently, a constituent reached out to me. Her daughter had an epileptic seizure and she called an ambulance, but had to wait for four hours. That is not an isolated incident. Response times for ambulances are too long, especially in rural areas. Due to staffing shortages, the service depends on workers on non-rostered overtime. This issue is particularly acute in the south west. Incredibly, instead of finding a solution to this, the HSE management decide to slash the ambulance service across the region. For example, there was to be no cover in Skibbereen on Mondays and no cover in Castletownbere on Tuesdays - the list goes on. It is welcome that the Minister for Health intervened to prevent that, but the initial problem remains. The HSE has said it does not have the funding to pay overtime for these shifts and no extra staff are available to work them. Until funding and staff are provided, there is no certainty about the future of the ambulance service across the south west. This leaves people in danger and is extremely unfair on ambulance staff. Will the Minister ensure that the necessary funding is provided for the National Ambulance Service to be able to do its job?

I thank the Deputy for raising that matter. I am sorry to hear of the obvious distress that would have been caused to the Deputy's constituent who had to contact her. From a funding point of view, we are providing, and will continue to provide, record levels of funding to the HSE. The funding that was provided for this year, and which will be provided next year, is a comprehensive attempt by the Government to ensure our health services are well funded in the context of demand. I know the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is aware of the issue regarding ambulance services.

I also want to ask about staffing in the health service. In July, the Government announced a lifting of the recruitment embargo in the HSE. However, over the past few weeks I have started to receive desperate calls from staff in multiple departments in my local hospital about a recruitment embargo being imposed in St. Michael's Hospital that is endangering patient safety and means workers are demoralised. I looked into this a bit further because I wondered whether this was a local matter. I then discovered from the INMO, as well as from speaking to people in the National Rehabilitation Hospital and elsewhere, that there is a recruitment embargo under a new name, called a pay and numbers strategy, which has created arbitrary staff ceilings based on posts that were filled in December 2023. The consequence of that is that thousands of unfilled posts at that time have disappeared and been suppressed, leaving our health services understaffed and unsafe.

In the middle of the year, we provided additional funding to the HSE for not only this year, but in advance of budget 2025, to ensure it is better funded than it had been before and to respond to the funding difficulties that began to develop at the start of this year. The HSE can only recruit those it is funded to recruit. It is not an embargo. It is the way every other Government Department and public service works.

It does not matter how much money we make available to the HSE in the Deputy's world. It does not matter what we do. It is a fundamental part of how we have to spend the country's money that in order to recruit somebody to do a role, the money has to be there to pay for it. The budget that we make available to every part of our public services contains a recruitment budget that we need our public services to operate within. It will lead to more people being recruited for health services and more funding being made available for the work we know needs to be done.

As the Minister knows, I have raised the bizarre situation whereby there are no plans to relocate the genomics lab at Crumlin Children's Hospital when other services move to the St. James's Hospital site. It has now come to my attention that we are sending Irish samples to the United States, the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Finland for genomics testing. There are concerns about how the data on Irish patients' genetics is being handled. This issue could be addressed and the tests returned quite quickly - in a fraction of the time, in fact - in a newly accredited private lab in Dublin. Why is the HSE refusing to inform me about what is happening with Irish patients' samples? Why can we not have Irish scientists testing Irish samples?

The Deputy is a person with a great interest in scientific matters and has a lot more expertise than I do in this area. I hope he knows that the HSE, if it is procuring genomics testing in other parts of the European Union or elsewhere in the world rather than Ireland, will only do so if such testing is carried out in laboratories in which it has confidence. It will only send samples to other places of research that it believes meet the right standards. I cannot give the Deputy a specific answer regarding the status of the genomic laboratory in Crumlin hospital, but I will ensure that the Minister, Deputy Donnelly is aware he has raised this issue and he receives a response. I am not denying the Deputy an answer, but he needs and deserves one.

Sabrina Kelly, a mother of two children with special needs from Clonmel, has been failed by the National Council for Special Education and the Department of Education. She is struggling to get a school place for her youngest son, Josh. He is five years old and was due to start school this month. He was eventually offered a place in Powerstown National School beside Clonmel. However, the school is no longer in a position to cater for Josh's needs. Sabrina met the Taoiseach in Clonmel a number of weeks ago and he promised he would come back to her and confirm what he said to her. Sabrina has said that all of the empty promises are taking a toll, especially on young Josh. I met her and Josh on the street last week. He is a lovely young boy who is entitled to the special education he deserves.

His brother has a place, thankfully. It is putting enormous pressure on Sabrina and other mothers, and there are many, who are trying to get a badly needed place for their special children.

I thank Deputy McGrath. I will follow up on that particular case again. I have weekly meetings with the NCSE to ensure children with additional needs have an appropriate school place. I reassure the Deputy that where section 67 powers need to be applied - when schools are asked to take in particular children - we have done so across the country. We do not want to be a position of having to do that, but sometimes it is required. I will follow up again, in particular in relation to Josh's case.

When people apply for a primary medical certificate and it is refused, they have to go to the appeals board. The Minister will be aware that the appeals board was not sitting for quite some time. In my office it has been lately brought to my attention that there is a waiting list of more than two years for people with serious disabilities applying to the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal for a primary medical certificate. I found it hard to digest that information. I do not blame the board. What resources will be put in to deal with the backlog once and for all?

After the resignation of the board that took place a number of years ago, the Department of Finance was successful in reappointing the board. I will raise the issue with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, this week in the context of our budget discussions and see whether there are any issues I can help with. I imagine that the heart of the issue is not lack of funding, but the difficulty of getting the right people to do the work the Deputy referred to. However, I will raise the matter with the Minister as the board provides an important service and without it being in place people cannot be evaluated for a medical certificate to access a car.

I see the Minister for Justice is here so she might be able to respond to this. I raised with the Taoiseach a few months ago, before the Dáil recess, the issue of individuals or groups wearing masks during protests, thereby preventing identification by CCTV, Garda body cameras or eyewitnesses in the event of criminal behaviour being alleged against them, or even detection by An Garda Síochána and follow-up with prosecutions. The Taoiseach shared my concern at the time. However, I have read some media reports lately and am looking for a progress report. Will the Minister inform the House whether any progress has been made on dealing with the matter, which seems to be a growing habit during public protests?

I have consistently engaged with the Garda Commissioner and colleagues on what more can be done to support An Garda Síochána in its work and efforts to combat and deal with what have become more violent and more challenging protests. No stone should be left unturned. Certainly, while every individual has the democratic right to protest peacefully, there is no reason people should have their faces covered. It obstructs An Garda Síochána in its work. I have engaged extensively with the Garda Commissioner, the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, about this and I intend to bring proposals to the Cabinet in the coming weeks to progress the matter.

I raise the issue of the single school enrolment plan and the taskforce for Dublin 15. Eleven children are currently without a school place in Dublin 15 and parent advocacy groups I met yesterday have identified that more than 30 students will require a school placement in 2025. There are huge concerns that the process will not be speedy enough to deal with the situation for 2025. Can the Minister of State give an assurance that the process will be speedy and that the 2025 cohort will not be in the same position as those 11 students who do not have a school place in Dublin 15 today?

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. The precise reason I am setting up the Dublin 15 taskforce is to ensure the NCSE, schools, patrons and boards of management in that area are all communicating. I want that taskforce also to work on a common application process so we are not in this position next September. The reality at the moment is that there is an information gap in the NCSE about the number of children who are waiting for an additional special class or special school place. That will be the role of the parents, boards of management, patrons and schools all working together and I want to see it rolled out across the country. That will be the important task of the taskforce I want to get up and running in the coming weeks.

The Minister will be aware that adult education classes have been extremely important for a huge number of learners on an annual basis. They have enabled people to develop skills and obtain qualifications that literally changed their lives. In Cavan-Monaghan, thanks to the good work of the education and training boards, ETBs, over many years, we have had active and dynamic programmes. Unfortunately, a number of the planned autumn programmes in adult education in Cavan and Monaghan have been deferred. ETBs were encouraged to extend the range of courses and now the necessary funding has not been provided. This has caused serious disappointment and anger among learners, who in many instances were in the middle of courses.

Tutors expected the tutor-to-adult-educator conversion process to be implemented this month. Implementation has now been put back to January 2025. This process would put the conditions of their employment on a proper footing, which should be the case for all employees of the State. Some tutors, never mind not having their conversion process completed, do not have any work now. The Department of further education or Solas or both need to ensure that additional funding is allocated without delay to enable classes that were due to start this month to resume. It is extremely important for learners and tutors that the Department and Solas deal with the matter with the utmost urgency.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Government has invested significantly in further education and training in recent years by increasing funding from approximately €900 million in 2020 to just over €1 billion. That is all in current terms. We have also put in place a new grade for adult educator, to which the Deputy referred. That post and role was formally established in April of this year.

The Cavan and Monaghan ETBs have confirmed that some classes have been deferred. I understand Education and Training Boards Ireland is now working through the process and has made the decision to postpone the roll-out of those contracts until January. I will raise the matter with the Minister for further and higher education, because the Deputy is concerned about the impact this will have on students and those who were due to do the work.

It is 31 years since the decriminalisation of sexual activity between men and six years since the Government, when apologising for the State wrongs, promised it would quash any such convictions which wrecked the lives of many. Disregard legislation was recommended by the working group report published last year by the Minister for Justice. She also stated in January of this year that the heads of the Bill would be published this year. However, in the Government's promised legislative programme for autumn that was published, it appears only as "work ongoing". When will the heads of the Bill be published so that once and for all we can see some progress in addressing the wrongs by the State?

I share the Deputy's frustration and his ambition to right many of the wrongs inflicted on many people over the years. I thank the individuals and various groups and organisations which came together to make the recommendations and ensure we could right those wrongs. The work in ongoing and I hope to progress it as soon as possible but I do not have a definitive date for it yet.

What is the Government policy on dispatch-down, which is compensation paid on constraints and curtailment of renewable energy generation? Leading operators are to be compensated by individual homes and businesses, albeit indirectly, by higher bills. How much is estimated to be paid out this year and how much was paid out last year for this?

I return to this strange letter from the Minister for Health to the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, the Taoiseach and many others regarding the children's hospital. Why has the Government not asked the board why the independent adjudicator keeps awarding large sums in favour of the contractor? It is a pretty obvious question. Sums of €17 million and €108 million have been awarded. Last May, the CEO of the board told me at the Committee of Public Accounts after a lot of questioning that he had full confidence in the independent adjudicator. Why, prior to that, did the board require the eminent retired judge to adjudicate on whether this adjudicator should stay in place?

Standing or independent; it is the same point. It is not really a question for the board as to whether it has confidence in that independent adjudicator. Indeed, it has challenged the decisions that were made by the adjudicator recently through the initiation of High Court proceedings. As I said in answer to questions earlier, I expect and support the board to take all the steps it needs to minimise the cost to the taxpayer.

I raise the very serious issue of posts that are waiting to be filled in hospitals in Kerry. University Hospital Kerry has 50 vacant posts for nurses and carers. In Tralee Community Hospital, there are five vacant posts for nurses and there is no director of nursing in place. Dingle Community Hospital has three vacant nursing posts. We wish to have some Irish-speaking nurses appointed to that hospital. At Killarney Community Hospital, there are six vacant posts for nurses. Caherciveen Community Hospital has two vacant nurse posts. In Kenmare Community Hospital, staff need to be put in place before a number of beds can be put to use.

All of these posts are waiting to be filled under the HSE's safe staffing guidelines. Beds will remain idle or closed until the posts are filled. This is due to the staffing embargo the HSE put in place before the end of 2023. This is shocking given the huge waiting lists. These beds cannot operate if the posts are not filled.

We need the HSE and the hospitals to ensure that the posts they recruit for are posts that are budgeted. That is the general stance in regard to the funding of posts within our health service, as it is across the rest of government. I will raise the specific hospitals the Deputy mentioned with the Minister for Health.

Ballynacarrow is a village on the N17 in County Sligo that immediately needs traffic-calming measures, yet nothing is happening. In 2024, Sligo County Council allocated €264,000 to safety improvement works for the entire county. That is a great deal less than the cost of the bicycle shed out the front of this building. While there is no traffic calming in Ballynacarrow, Sligo County Council is now proposing a pedestrian crossing on an adjoining road. There was widespread local consultation on this issue. Despite unanimous local objection and the councillors in the municipal district not supporting the proposal, it is going ahead with no changes. The consultation was just box ticking. Locals are totally frustrated. I have two questions. Will the Government ensure that consultation is actually meaningful? Second, will there be significant increases in road safety allocations?

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

People are absolutely furious, rightly so, about the debacle, and the waste of money, that is the Leinster House bike shed. The mission statement of the Department of public expenditure and reform is "to serve the public interest through sound governance of public expenditure". As senior Minister with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Donohoe is uniquely positioned to answer questions regarding that expenditure. Has he met with officials within the OPW specifically in regard to the €350,000 that was wasted on the bike shed? What reforms will he put in place? Clearly, the public spending code is not robust enough to ensure that waste of money does not happen again.

I have engaged with the Minister of State with responsibility for this area. Neither he nor I played any role in the decision on the bike shed. It was made at official level. I entirely understand and appreciate the anger in regard to it. No Ministers were involved in that particular decision. On our receipt of a report the chairman of the OPW is preparing on this issue, we will look at what steps can and should be taken in this regard.