Speech Archive APRIL 2005
Each speech listed here is an edited speech. If you'd like to see the speech or debate in full, please go to the Oireachtas website and click on "Seanad Eireann" and then "Seanad Debates" and click on the relevant date as listed with each speech on this page.
State Pathologist (28/04/05)
Export of Irish Waste to China (28/04/05)
Waste Management (27/04/05)
Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists (27/04/05)
Lamb Prices (21/04/05)
Report on Immigration (20/04/05)
Second Terminal At Dublin Airport (20/04/05)
Maritime Safety Bill 2004 (20/04/05)
Western Rail Corridor (19/04/05)
Catherine McAuley Special Needs School (19/04/05)
Immigration & Residence in Ireland: Discussion Document (13/04/05)
Special Educational Needs (13/04/05)
Increase in Minimum Wage (13/04/05)
GAMA Issue (12/04/05)
Expression of Sympathy on the Death of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II (12/04/05)
State Pathologist
28/04/05 - This House should support the State pathologist on the issue of a driver and I do not think there would be a difference of views in the House on this matter. This is a serious matter. We know the roads because we are always on them. The idea that someone could drive to a murder scene in north Donegal and then drive to a similar scene in Kerry and operate at peak performance is asking too much. It is wrong. There is no doubt the State pathologist should have a driver and we should appeal to the Minister to ensure this happens. The Minister says it is up to the Garda to supply a driver. As Senator White has stated previously, he is the most opinionated member of the Cabinet and I am sure he has an opinion on this matter. We should at least ask for his support to put our case to the Garda. It is a serious issue.
The State Pathologist has also made a quite superb offer. She said she is quite happy to make herself available to meet the families of people killed in circumstances that are the subject of Garda investigations. That would provide a great deal of comfort and support to families who often have to wait months and even years for the court process to conclude before finding out details of the death of a loved one. The Minister should articulate a clear view on these issues to see what can be done. I completely support Senator Brian Hayes in this regard.
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Export of Irish Waste to China
28/04/05 - Yesterday I sought a debate on the export of Irish waste to China. Last night I researched the impact of this policy on the province of Dong Yang in China and it is quite horrific. I was not aware when I raised this yesterday that a series of major demonstrations undertaken by ordinary people in the province was suppressed by the Chinese news agency. News of these demonstrations has only been leaked in recent days. Dark toxic clouds have been reported in the area, which are damaging the health of young children and leading to significant numbers of still births and babies born with deformities while various other difficulties are being experienced. During the most recent protest people were killed in an attempt to stop them demonstrating. This is the result of waste exported from Ireland and the UK being dumped on these people. The waste is sifted through for reusable goods and then it is burned in uncontrolled circumstances to the detriment of the health of the people in the area. This is unacceptable. What we are doing is barbaric and I would like a discussion on this issue.
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Waste Management
27/04/05 - I also wish to raise the matter of waste. This issue has been in the news a great deal recently. A large section was devoted to it in The Irish Times yesterday, and there was a discussion this morning on “Morning Ireland” regarding the decision of the European Court of Justice.
One aspect of this matter has not been referred to in any publication I have seen in the past week despite all the discussion on it. I do not know if people realise that hundreds and thousands of tonnes of waste are being exported from Ireland and England every week more than half way around the world to China where it is burnt and disposed of to the detriment of the people living in those areas. While we have nice European Union regulations about the disposal of waste and while the Green lobby and others are happy for us not to deal with incineration, landfills or such like, we are washing our hands in a Pontius Pilate fashion, sending our waste to underdeveloped parts of China where ordinary people are choking and suffering from the pollution that goes with getting rid of our waste over there. This is utterly unacceptable.
We require a serious debate on where we stand on incineration and landfill. I accept that we dealt with this matter before. If members of local authorities have neither the possibility nor the political capability of taking decisions on where to put sites, etc., then we should devolve that power to local referenda where people can make a decision on where to locate them from a choice of four or five sites. We had better deal with this matter.
It is utterly unacceptable that we are exporting our filth to clean parts of the world. This is happening at a time when people are writing letters to newspapers all over Europe about the waste of energy in importing kiwi fruit from New Zealand to Europe. Let us compare that with the amount of energy we are wasting sending our dirt to China to pollute and damage the health of ordinary people there. We should cry “Stop” on this one.
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Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists- Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004
27/04/05 - What we are doing is completely wrong. As Senator Feeney correctly pointed out, physiotherapists are referred to in some countries as physical therapists. Both terms are used in Ireland to describe different disciplines, hence the difficulty.
The legislation is concerned with regulation and quality. That cannot be diluted in any scenario. I agree very much with Senator Henry that the qualification of physiotherapist is precious and we should hold it in the highest regard and make sure it is protected in legislation. On the other hand, physical therapists do a different job. I asked that physical therapists should be regulated, perhaps under a different title, but I was informed there was no way this would be accepted. We are inheriting a problem and creating a greater one.
When a patient makes an appointment, he or she needs to know precisely the qualifications of person with whom he or she makes the appointment. There have been problems in recent times with alternative practitioners. Those problems arose because of a lack of understanding about the practitioners patients were attending. This does not mirror the physical therapist issue because that would imply physical therapists are in some way dangerous. I have the height of respect for physical therapists as they fulfil an important function and, as Senator Henry said, there is no reason they cannot work in a complementary fashion with physiotherapists. We need to distinguish between both disciplines and we need to establish that they should be regulated.
I examined all the literature and submissions I received on this legislation from various groups. We should regulate physiotherapy using the current qualification standard. The Minister should then avail of the provision in the legislation which allows him or her to define other groups and those who are engaged as physical therapists could be renamed within that group. I called the representatives of physical therapists to find out whether they could come up with a name but nobody could come up with one with which I was satisfied because physical therapist is a global term for physiotherapists and that needs to be protected.
Amendment No. 32 provides that one can only use the titles of physiotherapists and physical therapists if one has achieved the appropriate qualification, which in Ireland is a degree in physiotherapy. That is not provided for in the legislation.A gate is being left open, which is unfair to physiotherapists. They are worried not because they are anti-physical therapists, but because they want to protect what they have built up. Reputation is hugely important to medical professionals given that it provides the basis on which patients attend their clinics.
Both titles are interchangeable around the world and Senator Browne proposes that they should be protected at a particular level. The legislation should outline the function of physiotherapists, the entry requirements and academic qualifications and the way in which they will be regulated. Anybody, therefore, who wants to call himself or herself a physical therapists must get over the same bar. In other words, the title does not matter as long as patients know what they are doing and how they achieved their qualifications. A difficulty will be created by not doing so and it will come back to haunt us.
If the Minister of State is not of a mind to accept our thinking, we will have to come back to the House to address the difficulty in time. Nobody will win. Hassle will be created between different physical therapists and physiotherapists and confusion will be created for Irish physiotherapists who travel abroad. More thought needs to go into this. The issue will build up and the arguments about what we must do in this regard are highly persuasive. Will the Minister of State, at least, concede the merit of the argument on this issue?
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Lamb Prices
21/04/05 - While it was not my intention to raise the same issue as Senator Brian Hayes, I support his comments. When I raised this issue last year I investigated the price of lamb in four different parts of France and contacted the president of the IFA to ask why Irish lamb is cheaper in all parts of France than in supermarkets here. I also discussed the matter with a Seanad colleague who has some knowledge in these matters but is not present this morning. I have failed so far to get an answer to my question as to why Irish lamb can be sold more cheaply in France than Ireland.
Something significant is wrong and Senator Brian Hayes has raised an issue of merit. I pleaded with the IFA to get involved because this is the type of issue which would bind people together in support of farming and agriculture.
On a related issue, I have been waiting and watching for the publication of the report of the consumer strategy group which I understand was completed two months ago. I may be wrong but it does not appear to have been published, unless it was launched quietly in the past fortnight. I understand the report proposes some degree of consumer involvement in planning, which is a frightening prospect. I am told it also proposes the establishment of a super-regulator to regulate the regulators and the removal of the retail prices order, the issue which receives most publicity. In addition, it appears the report also proposes significant changes in the area of consumer protection and the offices dealing with it. These issues should be discussed along with the matter raised by Senator Brian Hayes as they are all interlinked. We need some answers.
The Minister for Agriculture and Food or the appropriate Minister should answer two simple questions. Why is Irish meat sold more cheaply in France than in Ireland and why are reductions in the wholesale price of meat never passed on to the consumer? Those at both ends, the farm gate and the consumer, lose out as a result, which is not acceptable.
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Report on Immigration (20/04/05)
20/04/05 - We had a discussion before our recent break on the need to consider the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform’s document on immigration, which outlines his thinking with a view to future legislation. Many of the speakers on both sides of the House felt this would be useful. There is no crisis issue in this area currently as it has calmed momentarily. Now and not in the heat of battle, as it were, is the time we should be discussing it, when we can sit back and examine the system. There are matters in this about which we must be clear. If we all buy into a system we must live with the downside and the upside but we can at least put our views on record.
It would be helpful if we could be given notice of a discussion on this document to allow people to consult thereon. This is one of the issues on which we spoke about consulting people outside the House in terms of Seanad reform. Many people are involved in this issue. Indeed, I noticed the Leader speak out over the weekend. We have all met groups with different views on the issue. We now have an opportunity to do something and I would like the Leader to give perhaps ten days notice of when we might deal with this issue to allow Members to consult.
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Second Terminal At Dublin Airport
20/04/05 - I am well acquainted with Dublin Airport as I live beside it and many of my neighbours work there. I have visited many airports worldwide but have encountered only one in the past two years, Gerona Airport, in which free parking was provided. I returned to this airport twice in the past three months and discovered that once it began attracting more business, those parking their vehicles were subject to a charge.
Parking in Dublin is expensive. It is amazing to hear people complaining about parking costs in the airport but passing no comment on the similar prices in locations across the road. It is a question of Dublin prices. If the Dublin Airport Authority were to provide free parking, there would be Members who claimed this was typical of the public service and its inability to make a shilling. The authority is charging €20 per day for parking because that is what the public is prepared to pay. This is what market forces and privatisation are about.
With regard to security, Senator Daly is correct that it is very frustrating that passengers with connecting flights are obliged to undergo security checks more than once. However, the same situation pertains in Los Angeles, Heathrow, Stansted, JFK and so on. This is now international practice.
If one travels to Stansted Airport with the airline owned by “Mr. Efficiency”, Michael O’Leary, one must disembark the aircraft, collect one’s luggage, walk half a mile to the end of the terminal, go through the check-in process and walk back again in order to take one’s connecting flight. This is how Mr. O’Leary, the god of the private sector, manages the process in his operation. It is not his fault that it must be so but rather it is the security requirement. This is the reality. As Senator Feighan observed, the private bus operator which was to solve all our problems in Dublin Airport will not allow buses to depart until there are enough passengers to render such journeys economically viable.
We must recognise that this economic reality will also apply in the case of the new terminal. Services will not be cheaper. However, the Fine Gael motion is correct in its contention that the Government should have made progress on the new terminal. It is inexcusable that this has not been done.
I shall conclude by outlining the main issues. First, if a new terminal is built, the number of security checkers per passenger will not be any more than it currently is because it would not pay for airport management to appoint more. Second, it is not the case that only one new terminal is required. This issue has caused such ideological conflict that one may ask why we cannot have a terminal for each ideology. Let SIPTU build one and Senator Daly’s constituent in Ennis, Mr. Michael McNamara, build another. None of us will be concerned as long as there is a train link between the three terminals. The best man will win in this situation, just as it should be.
However, the motion is correct in urging the Government to take a decision on this issue.
Such a development will create more jobs and more capacity. We must recognise, however, that it will not reduce the cost of parking in Dublin Airport or the security queues. Those responsible for building and operating the terminal will want to make a profit and will scale back their costs as far as possible.
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Maritime Safety Bill 2004
20/04/05 - This new Part 4 of the Bill makes provision for passenger boats, fishing vessels and pleasure craft and the three sections mirror each other. In each, the phrase used is “may provide for the registration” of these craft. As far as I am aware, this is the first time in legislation that the registration of pleasure craft has been provided for. Perhaps this is not the case. I know it could be done earlier. Can the Minister of State indicate how it might work? There are many reasons this seems to be the case.
It is very difficult to recognise an individual boat. Irish pleasure boats, some of which can be quite expensive, are generally not registered. The reason for this is a difficulty with the Department, which is not anyone’s fault but is simply the way things are. Currently, getting a pleasure craft registered requires a person to go through 90% of the same procedure as if one were getting the Queen Mary registered. This is not an exaggeration and one must go through all the same steps. I have informed the Minister of State previously that we should have a simple method whereby someone can register a boat very much like one would register a car.
This issue will be important in the future. At some stage the Minister of State will regulate that a boat must pass a safety test, a sort of NCT for boats, to ensure it is a safe craft. There must be some element of registration involved and the Minister will never require people to go through the current process. We need an easier process to do it as it is currently very hard to prove.
The Minister of State’s Department should create an easy method to register a boat in the same way as a car, whereby one takes the engine number, the hull number, where it came from, where it was made and the year, registers the number and puts it on the side.
The lack of a number also facilitates crime. In recent times, in a number of locations along the Shannon and at sea, boats have been stolen. It is very difficult to trace a boat that does not have a number on it.
It is very strange that pleasure craft in Ireland do not have numbers. We need a measure for pleasure craft. I apologise for belabouring the issue but it is important in terms of safety, taxation, imports and exports and the regulation of the industry to know how boats are bought and sold, where they are placed, who owns them, where they are and where they have travelled.
The small vessel register is a necessary measure. …. I agree this should be introduced on a voluntary basis. It is a good way of beginning and discovering where difficulties lie. A responsible boat owner will go out of his or her way to register because people who have an interest in boating and waterways will wish to do so. I have no difficulty with this.
The Minister of State’s comments on secondary legislation worry me. He should give himself power now by introducing a Schedule to the Bill to allow him to establish a system for small vessel registration by ministerial order rather than any other requirement. I was under the impression the Minister of State could do this under the legislation and I see his official nodding. This is the way it should be so the Minister of State can now examine what comes before him.
Places where people can pull in must be developed as there is a shortage of such places on the Shannon. I spoke earlier on the need for urgent infrastructural projects but the difficulty in having environmentally friendly marinas built and provided along the Shannon is worrying. I have examined some of the proposals that were ruled out of order and would think myself to be as environmentally friendly, conscious and supportive as anyone. The Minister of State’s Department should get involved in supporting responsible people who are trying to provide a good service by supplying proper environmentally-friendly marinas along the Shannon in particular.
I am delighted the Minister mentioned the coast guard. The Department could be a little more supportive of members of the coast guard on whom our lives very often depend, which the Minister of State quite rightly said, and to whom we owe a great debt of gratitude. These people should get some type of call-out fee, some element of support or some financial help. They put their lives at risk, particularly the coast guard which is not part of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. They are very much dependent on the Department. I know this area is being restructured, which is important. Will the Minister of State ensure the types of supports and structures in place for them are adequate?
It is not necessary for surveys to be carried out by personnel from the Department. If I buy a boat and get it insured, it is my responsibility to get a marine surveyor to survey the boat. Most boats which have been bought have been surveyed along the way. It should be enough for the Department to recognise the person carrying out the survey. One of the major problems has been having to depend unfairly on the Department to get surveys done. That pressure should not be on the Department and people should use qualified surveyors. There are a number of recognised qualifications for marine surveyors who are very diligent about their work because their reputations depend on it. They will not state a boat is safe if it is not because it will come back to haunt them.
…. legislation should be passed to provide that people on boats should use only eco-friendly detergents. It is a small thing as they are not much more expensive. Most supermarkets along the Shannon and other waterways sell such products, particularly along the inland waterways. Sink waste is more damaging to the environment than sewage and biological detergents cause more damage than anything else. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should introduce legislation, a directive or a ministerial order stating that only eco-friendly detergents should be used on boats.
On the question of safety I support this section. As far as I can recall, the section deals with those who steer, drive, manoeuvre or pilot their boats. A significant number of the call-outs are by those who have been careless in their planning and have taken no notice of the weather. They think that because they have a new boat with a big engine they do not have to worry about anything. Suddenly they find that at a headland they are not ready for the force 7, 8 or 9 winds on the other side. There should be a requirement in passage planning for any distance that people check on the weather.
Met Éireann is helpful and good at what it does but in terms of improving safety at sea it requires significantly greater resources. For most of the coastland of the UK and even of Northern Ireland, it is possible to get a localised sea area forecast. … If more resources were provided to Met Éireann it could, in addition to the national forecast provided to RTE radio, provide a more detailed sea area forecast to the local radio stations, such as Hyland Radio, North West Radio and Radio Kerry. In this way one would get a much more detailed forecast. That should be done. Met Éireann has the ability to do this but it does not have the resources to make it available. More money should be put into Met Éireann.
… It is important that we attempt to ensure this legislation is enacted before the summer, if only for the propaganda value of raising awareness. This would signify a clear new beginning for the new boating season which starts at this time of year. The Government should be mindful of the importance of this.
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Western Rail Corridor
19/04/05 - Approximately two months ago, I raised the report on the western rail corridor with the Leader and she gave an undertaking that we would have a debate in the House on it. Despite the urgings of Senator Ross and others for the State to spend €400 million on buying out a few hundred metres of roadway on the M50, we should look at investing properly in the western rail corridor. I ask that the report be published as soon as possible and that the Government gives a commitment to investing in it sufficiently to make it worthwhile. The publication and launch of the report should also take place in Ennis or some other place along the western rail corridor area. We should give some attention to this issue and move it forward.
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Catherine McAuley Special Needs School
19/04/05 - I recently visited the Catherine McAuley school in Limerick. It has 175 pupils with special needs, all of whom have been assessed as having a mild learning disability. The average intelligence quotient is 100. In most of the rest of Europe, children with an IQ of between 70 and 80 are considered to have a mild disability. Those with an IQ under 70 are considered to have moderate disability which is much more significant. Astonishingly, as a result of a decision taken here to protect resources, children with an IQ of between 50 and 70 are regarded as having only mild disability.
While the school is a special primary school, two-thirds of the pupils are of post-primary school age. Most local post-primary schools teach the usual range of subjects in addition to subjects such as art, physical education, home economics and woodwork, which are crucial for children at second level. This school is allowed, under certain conditions, to appoint teaches who will deal with art, physical education, economics and woodwork, and it has good rooms to cater for this. For example, it has an extraordinary computer room which is of great importance to children with special needs. It also has a cookery room and other rooms to cater for the subjects I mentioned.
However, the school is only allowed to make part-time as opposed to permanent teacher appointments in these subjects. This means that the teachers recruited and appointed are not employed full-time. Sometimes the school can be fortunate in being able to appoint a teacher who is only interested in working part-time, but generally, it appoints good teachers who will only stay in the school until such time as he or she gets a full-time permanent job elsewhere. While such teachers cannot be blamed for following their career requirements, this situation creates a certain instability in the school. This problem applies to all special schools in the country.
I ask the Minister to ensure that every special school should be entitled to appoint a certain quota of specialist teachers on a permanent basis or to a panel serving a number of schools. This will create stability as the teachers will build up a relationship with the school, the pupils, the principal and other staff. This is very important.
We all know these post-primary pupils require the support of specialist teachers. The teachers cannot be employed permanently with the result that the pupils deal continually with a changing group of part-time teachers, who are usually recruited through the local VEC. I understand that in a small number of schools, such teachers are appointed on a more permanent basis. That is the way to address this matter and I ask the Minister to respond positively.
...I was careful not to argue about the number of teachers available to the school. This is not the problem. The staffing support, in terms of its hours, is sufficient. The problem is that the teachers are all changing while these children need stability. They build relationships, which is where the difficulty lies.
This could be done for a small amount of money as it is the difference between employing someone on a part-time basis as opposed to permanently. It would be somewhat, but not a great deal, more expensive. One could still carry this out in such a way that a number of schools were covered and the people involved could be assigned to a panel or something similar. However, the teachers would then have security of tenure and would build up relationships with the schools and the other staff. This is why I am asking that it be done. There are three or four different ways to do it. I will ask the school to make a representation as to how it might best be done and copy it to the Minister for Education and Science. I ask that its representation be taken into consideration in the proposed review.
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Immigration & Residence in Ireland:Discussion Document
13/04/05 - We have had discussions on a number of occasions in this House with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the issue of immigration. The Minister has today produced a pretty extensive document - a discussion document that is neither a Green Paper or a White Paper - on immigration. On glancing through the document, it touches on many of the issues which we have asked be discussed, although no decisions have been taken. I believe that this is the House where that should be debated and I ask the Leader to raise this matter with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform within the next few weeks so that the Seanad may have the opportunity to discuss the document which deals with such issues as economic migration, family reunification and all the relevant matters we have discussed. Now is the time to influence legislation before it is published.
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Special Educational Needs
13/04/05 - Despite all of the discussions, the 20:1 pupil-teacher ratio commitment set out in the programme for Government will not go away. It will have to be delivered. While I accept the Minister requires time to achieve the target and do not agree that tonight is the right time for a row, such a row is brewing. The Government has committed itself to doing something but has provided no indication of how it will be achieved. I want to hear how it will happen. I intended to table a motion on the issue next month as I thought, having listened to the Minister recently, that she was working on a project, the details of which could be provided to us. Time is running out however.
The background to the provision is that approximately 1,500 schools will lose access to special needs assistants while another 1,500 gain access to them. While 70 extra assistants will be provided in the process, it will be in the context of the absolute chaos which will emerge when Members on the Government side begin to receive deputations from local schools which lose supports. No one understands why that must happen. It is certain to create great anger in schools nationally in the absence of a plan to agree and announce a process to reduce class sizes. People with special needs will not receive what they want, smaller schools will lose teachers and over 1,500 schools will lose their special needs assistants without any sign of class sizes being reduced. It is a recipe for chaos. Someone is leading the Minister into a situation which must be dealt with.
What concerns me is that there is no mention of a 20:1 ratio. I would like confirmation from the Minister that the objective on class size is still 20:1, as stated in the programme for Government, and that this will be delivered. I am a reasonable person. What people want to hear is how the objective on class size will be achieved and in what timescale. It is not an unreasonable demand.
The Minister also referred to the number of untrained personnel in classrooms. Will something be done about that issue this year? The Minister said she would write to every primary school board of management. Everybody in this Chamber would support her in ensuring that qualified teachers who are seeking work would get jobs rather than untrained personnel. It would be helpful if that letter were sent out now so that people could begin to address the issue. That letter could be sent out in the morning. Why can it not be done immediately?
Estimates suggest that between 400 and 700 jobs would be created next year as part of the campaign to reduce class sizes. Will the Government make these jobs available? By how much will we reduce class sizes? It is even more worrying that the Minister stated that in the next school year there would be smaller classes for children in disadvantaged schools. That is a definite commitment.
I do not think anybody can argue reasonably with the Minister’s statement that she is giving priority to special education and educational disadvantage at various levels. People can argue against it but it is a valid position for a Minister to take. There are four issues to be taken into account in this regard. The first relates to the loss of special needs assistants, SNAs, and how schools will cope. Another issue relates to what we will do for the disadvantaged in the next school year. There is also the question of what we will do to reduce the average class size to 20:1 over the next two or three years, beginning this year. The last matter is what we do in regard to special education. It is not unreasonable at this stage to ask the Minister what exactly will happen and what she will do.
One of the things I find most alarming in terms of special education - speakers have commented eloquently on it - is the fact that in the UK a child with an IQ between 50 and 70 is defined as moderately disabled whereas here such a child is considered to be mildly disabled and, therefore, is not provided with any support. That is appalling. There is no point in trying to reach international standards in that respect. I accept this was the case before the Minister was appointed to this office. That situation is not fair nor acceptable and we must look carefully at this matter.
Let us hear a restatement of the commitment on class sizes of 20:1. Let us hear the process by which it will be delivered. Let us see what will be invested in educational disadvantage over the next year. Let us hear that the letter will go out to schools outlining the fact that we want untrained people out of classrooms. Let us hear what will be included in special education and how we will deal with the gap created by the loss of SNAs.
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Increase in Minimum Wage
13/04/05 - I congratulate the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Killeen, for ignoring the whingeing, selfish and ungenerous shouting and bleating from IBEC, the employers’ body, over recent weeks. He has introduced a much welcomed increase in the minimum wage. It is part of what we wanted and expected and it is significant that he has had the courage to do that. We did not have IBEC representatives on hand yesterday to look at the exploited workers and the disadvantaged firms in Ireland, as regards the Gama issue. Neither are they on hand today to look at people who are at the lowest level of payment in this country. This is something which the House should welcome and we should thank the Minister of State for moving swiftly in this regard.
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GAMA Issue
12/04/05 - There has been a demonstration today outside the gates of the House regarding an issue concerning workers at Gama, of which we are well aware. It is appalling that only those on the left side of politics appear to have taken an interest in this matter. Is it that we cannot add, count or read? Workers, builders and the Irish economy have lost an opportunity because these unscrupulous people, as well as exploiting their workers, were also able to undercut fair-minded, compliant and honest contractors in making a bid for the work which Gama has robbed. This is not just an issue for trade unions and workers, but also for IBEC, the employers’ body. IBEC should be out there today. This is one of those issues in which the importance of national wage agreements is well reflected. It is of equal importance to people in all strands of Irish life, on all sides of the economy and the political spectrum. I would like the House to make its position very clear on this. It suits a great many if the matter is just hived off to a group of people who are clearly identified with left wing politics, fair play to them.
This is an important European issue. We are considering a constitution for Europe, about which we have previously fought. People such as I have stood before groups of workers and argued that one of the important aspects of a constitution for a broader Europe is that it will bring fairness and compliance - health and safety regulations that apply in Ireland will cover all who work in this country or within the European Community. Gama flouted that, undermined the European idyll and what we stand for. It is a fundamental issue of crucial importance to all of us. I know the House will discuss aspects of the way migrant workers are treated in this country later this week but this is an economic issue of importance to Government at all levels. It should be made absolutely clear that these people will be routed out of Ireland, to ensure they no longer cause damage, not just to Turkish workers, but also Irish workers and the economy.
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Expression of Sympathy on the Death of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II
12/04/05 - In my personal response to the Pope’s death, I thought of the things that inspired me, annoyed me and entertained me. In celebrating someone’s life, we must recognise that there are many great people with whom we have disagreed over the years. There were many great philosophers with whom I would disagree completely on some issues. However, I would still recognise their ability and their contribution to debate.
The situation is similar with Pope John Paul II. He was squeezed out of oppression and the most difficult background imaginable. He lived through that and maintained dignity and respect at all times. It is true that there were issues on which I felt let down. I felt let down on his attitudes towards women, especially the ordination of women priests. As far as I recall, he was opposed at one stage to alter girls. On the other hand, I got a great lift from his extraordinary commitment to peace in the world. That is something he learned in his youth. He had the courage to take on one of those fights which he knew he could not win, when he publicly took on the might of the US and the UK in both wars in the Middle East in the past 15 years. That is where people like me saw the other side of him.
I regret that he did not buy into the liberation theology of South America. At the same time, we should not be surprised to find that the Pope was a Catholic, nor should we be surprised to find that there were different views within the broader church. He created strong debate and he reached out to groups around the globe that had never previously felt connected. He gave a space to other groups and people, through the number of saints created and the number of cardinals appointed from parts of the world that never previously had a cardinal.
Pope John Paul II will be remembered for the challenges he threw down. He will be remembered as a Pope who created a discussion on issues that were never discussed previously and as someone who had a great commitment to peace. To me, he will always be the great peacemaker. One of his defining qualities was the way he reached out to people who were not part of the church. He took a stand for peace, even when he knew he could not win. He was clearly committed to a more inclusive, global society. The fact that he did not move quickly enough for me is my problem, not his. It does not take from his contribution. I recognise a great statesman and leader, with whom I disagreed in many ways. May he rest in peace.
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Seanad debates are available in full on the Oireachtas Website
Each speech listed here is an edited speech. If you'd like to see the speech or debate in full, please go to the Oireachtas website and click on "Seanad Eireann" and then "Seanad Debates" and click on the relevant date as listed with each speech on this page.
State Pathologist (28/04/05)
Export of Irish Waste to China (28/04/05)
Waste Management (27/04/05)
Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists (27/04/05)
Lamb Prices (21/04/05)
Report on Immigration (20/04/05)
Second Terminal At Dublin Airport (20/04/05)
Maritime Safety Bill 2004 (20/04/05)
Western Rail Corridor (19/04/05)
Catherine McAuley Special Needs School (19/04/05)
Immigration & Residence in Ireland: Discussion Document (13/04/05)
Special Educational Needs (13/04/05)
Increase in Minimum Wage (13/04/05)
GAMA Issue (12/04/05)
Expression of Sympathy on the Death of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II (12/04/05)
State Pathologist
28/04/05 - This House should support the State pathologist on the issue of a driver and I do not think there would be a difference of views in the House on this matter. This is a serious matter. We know the roads because we are always on them. The idea that someone could drive to a murder scene in north Donegal and then drive to a similar scene in Kerry and operate at peak performance is asking too much. It is wrong. There is no doubt the State pathologist should have a driver and we should appeal to the Minister to ensure this happens. The Minister says it is up to the Garda to supply a driver. As Senator White has stated previously, he is the most opinionated member of the Cabinet and I am sure he has an opinion on this matter. We should at least ask for his support to put our case to the Garda. It is a serious issue.
The State Pathologist has also made a quite superb offer. She said she is quite happy to make herself available to meet the families of people killed in circumstances that are the subject of Garda investigations. That would provide a great deal of comfort and support to families who often have to wait months and even years for the court process to conclude before finding out details of the death of a loved one. The Minister should articulate a clear view on these issues to see what can be done. I completely support Senator Brian Hayes in this regard.
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Export of Irish Waste to China
28/04/05 - Yesterday I sought a debate on the export of Irish waste to China. Last night I researched the impact of this policy on the province of Dong Yang in China and it is quite horrific. I was not aware when I raised this yesterday that a series of major demonstrations undertaken by ordinary people in the province was suppressed by the Chinese news agency. News of these demonstrations has only been leaked in recent days. Dark toxic clouds have been reported in the area, which are damaging the health of young children and leading to significant numbers of still births and babies born with deformities while various other difficulties are being experienced. During the most recent protest people were killed in an attempt to stop them demonstrating. This is the result of waste exported from Ireland and the UK being dumped on these people. The waste is sifted through for reusable goods and then it is burned in uncontrolled circumstances to the detriment of the health of the people in the area. This is unacceptable. What we are doing is barbaric and I would like a discussion on this issue.
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Waste Management
27/04/05 - I also wish to raise the matter of waste. This issue has been in the news a great deal recently. A large section was devoted to it in The Irish Times yesterday, and there was a discussion this morning on “Morning Ireland” regarding the decision of the European Court of Justice.
One aspect of this matter has not been referred to in any publication I have seen in the past week despite all the discussion on it. I do not know if people realise that hundreds and thousands of tonnes of waste are being exported from Ireland and England every week more than half way around the world to China where it is burnt and disposed of to the detriment of the people living in those areas. While we have nice European Union regulations about the disposal of waste and while the Green lobby and others are happy for us not to deal with incineration, landfills or such like, we are washing our hands in a Pontius Pilate fashion, sending our waste to underdeveloped parts of China where ordinary people are choking and suffering from the pollution that goes with getting rid of our waste over there. This is utterly unacceptable.
We require a serious debate on where we stand on incineration and landfill. I accept that we dealt with this matter before. If members of local authorities have neither the possibility nor the political capability of taking decisions on where to put sites, etc., then we should devolve that power to local referenda where people can make a decision on where to locate them from a choice of four or five sites. We had better deal with this matter.
It is utterly unacceptable that we are exporting our filth to clean parts of the world. This is happening at a time when people are writing letters to newspapers all over Europe about the waste of energy in importing kiwi fruit from New Zealand to Europe. Let us compare that with the amount of energy we are wasting sending our dirt to China to pollute and damage the health of ordinary people there. We should cry “Stop” on this one.
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Physiotherapists and Physical Therapists- Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004
27/04/05 - What we are doing is completely wrong. As Senator Feeney correctly pointed out, physiotherapists are referred to in some countries as physical therapists. Both terms are used in Ireland to describe different disciplines, hence the difficulty.
The legislation is concerned with regulation and quality. That cannot be diluted in any scenario. I agree very much with Senator Henry that the qualification of physiotherapist is precious and we should hold it in the highest regard and make sure it is protected in legislation. On the other hand, physical therapists do a different job. I asked that physical therapists should be regulated, perhaps under a different title, but I was informed there was no way this would be accepted. We are inheriting a problem and creating a greater one.
When a patient makes an appointment, he or she needs to know precisely the qualifications of person with whom he or she makes the appointment. There have been problems in recent times with alternative practitioners. Those problems arose because of a lack of understanding about the practitioners patients were attending. This does not mirror the physical therapist issue because that would imply physical therapists are in some way dangerous. I have the height of respect for physical therapists as they fulfil an important function and, as Senator Henry said, there is no reason they cannot work in a complementary fashion with physiotherapists. We need to distinguish between both disciplines and we need to establish that they should be regulated.
I examined all the literature and submissions I received on this legislation from various groups. We should regulate physiotherapy using the current qualification standard. The Minister should then avail of the provision in the legislation which allows him or her to define other groups and those who are engaged as physical therapists could be renamed within that group. I called the representatives of physical therapists to find out whether they could come up with a name but nobody could come up with one with which I was satisfied because physical therapist is a global term for physiotherapists and that needs to be protected.
Amendment No. 32 provides that one can only use the titles of physiotherapists and physical therapists if one has achieved the appropriate qualification, which in Ireland is a degree in physiotherapy. That is not provided for in the legislation.A gate is being left open, which is unfair to physiotherapists. They are worried not because they are anti-physical therapists, but because they want to protect what they have built up. Reputation is hugely important to medical professionals given that it provides the basis on which patients attend their clinics.
Both titles are interchangeable around the world and Senator Browne proposes that they should be protected at a particular level. The legislation should outline the function of physiotherapists, the entry requirements and academic qualifications and the way in which they will be regulated. Anybody, therefore, who wants to call himself or herself a physical therapists must get over the same bar. In other words, the title does not matter as long as patients know what they are doing and how they achieved their qualifications. A difficulty will be created by not doing so and it will come back to haunt us.
If the Minister of State is not of a mind to accept our thinking, we will have to come back to the House to address the difficulty in time. Nobody will win. Hassle will be created between different physical therapists and physiotherapists and confusion will be created for Irish physiotherapists who travel abroad. More thought needs to go into this. The issue will build up and the arguments about what we must do in this regard are highly persuasive. Will the Minister of State, at least, concede the merit of the argument on this issue?
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Lamb Prices
21/04/05 - While it was not my intention to raise the same issue as Senator Brian Hayes, I support his comments. When I raised this issue last year I investigated the price of lamb in four different parts of France and contacted the president of the IFA to ask why Irish lamb is cheaper in all parts of France than in supermarkets here. I also discussed the matter with a Seanad colleague who has some knowledge in these matters but is not present this morning. I have failed so far to get an answer to my question as to why Irish lamb can be sold more cheaply in France than Ireland.
Something significant is wrong and Senator Brian Hayes has raised an issue of merit. I pleaded with the IFA to get involved because this is the type of issue which would bind people together in support of farming and agriculture.
On a related issue, I have been waiting and watching for the publication of the report of the consumer strategy group which I understand was completed two months ago. I may be wrong but it does not appear to have been published, unless it was launched quietly in the past fortnight. I understand the report proposes some degree of consumer involvement in planning, which is a frightening prospect. I am told it also proposes the establishment of a super-regulator to regulate the regulators and the removal of the retail prices order, the issue which receives most publicity. In addition, it appears the report also proposes significant changes in the area of consumer protection and the offices dealing with it. These issues should be discussed along with the matter raised by Senator Brian Hayes as they are all interlinked. We need some answers.
The Minister for Agriculture and Food or the appropriate Minister should answer two simple questions. Why is Irish meat sold more cheaply in France than in Ireland and why are reductions in the wholesale price of meat never passed on to the consumer? Those at both ends, the farm gate and the consumer, lose out as a result, which is not acceptable.
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Report on Immigration (20/04/05)
20/04/05 - We had a discussion before our recent break on the need to consider the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform’s document on immigration, which outlines his thinking with a view to future legislation. Many of the speakers on both sides of the House felt this would be useful. There is no crisis issue in this area currently as it has calmed momentarily. Now and not in the heat of battle, as it were, is the time we should be discussing it, when we can sit back and examine the system. There are matters in this about which we must be clear. If we all buy into a system we must live with the downside and the upside but we can at least put our views on record.
It would be helpful if we could be given notice of a discussion on this document to allow people to consult thereon. This is one of the issues on which we spoke about consulting people outside the House in terms of Seanad reform. Many people are involved in this issue. Indeed, I noticed the Leader speak out over the weekend. We have all met groups with different views on the issue. We now have an opportunity to do something and I would like the Leader to give perhaps ten days notice of when we might deal with this issue to allow Members to consult.
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Second Terminal At Dublin Airport
20/04/05 - I am well acquainted with Dublin Airport as I live beside it and many of my neighbours work there. I have visited many airports worldwide but have encountered only one in the past two years, Gerona Airport, in which free parking was provided. I returned to this airport twice in the past three months and discovered that once it began attracting more business, those parking their vehicles were subject to a charge.
Parking in Dublin is expensive. It is amazing to hear people complaining about parking costs in the airport but passing no comment on the similar prices in locations across the road. It is a question of Dublin prices. If the Dublin Airport Authority were to provide free parking, there would be Members who claimed this was typical of the public service and its inability to make a shilling. The authority is charging €20 per day for parking because that is what the public is prepared to pay. This is what market forces and privatisation are about.
With regard to security, Senator Daly is correct that it is very frustrating that passengers with connecting flights are obliged to undergo security checks more than once. However, the same situation pertains in Los Angeles, Heathrow, Stansted, JFK and so on. This is now international practice.
If one travels to Stansted Airport with the airline owned by “Mr. Efficiency”, Michael O’Leary, one must disembark the aircraft, collect one’s luggage, walk half a mile to the end of the terminal, go through the check-in process and walk back again in order to take one’s connecting flight. This is how Mr. O’Leary, the god of the private sector, manages the process in his operation. It is not his fault that it must be so but rather it is the security requirement. This is the reality. As Senator Feighan observed, the private bus operator which was to solve all our problems in Dublin Airport will not allow buses to depart until there are enough passengers to render such journeys economically viable.
We must recognise that this economic reality will also apply in the case of the new terminal. Services will not be cheaper. However, the Fine Gael motion is correct in its contention that the Government should have made progress on the new terminal. It is inexcusable that this has not been done.
I shall conclude by outlining the main issues. First, if a new terminal is built, the number of security checkers per passenger will not be any more than it currently is because it would not pay for airport management to appoint more. Second, it is not the case that only one new terminal is required. This issue has caused such ideological conflict that one may ask why we cannot have a terminal for each ideology. Let SIPTU build one and Senator Daly’s constituent in Ennis, Mr. Michael McNamara, build another. None of us will be concerned as long as there is a train link between the three terminals. The best man will win in this situation, just as it should be.
However, the motion is correct in urging the Government to take a decision on this issue.
Such a development will create more jobs and more capacity. We must recognise, however, that it will not reduce the cost of parking in Dublin Airport or the security queues. Those responsible for building and operating the terminal will want to make a profit and will scale back their costs as far as possible.
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Maritime Safety Bill 2004
20/04/05 - This new Part 4 of the Bill makes provision for passenger boats, fishing vessels and pleasure craft and the three sections mirror each other. In each, the phrase used is “may provide for the registration” of these craft. As far as I am aware, this is the first time in legislation that the registration of pleasure craft has been provided for. Perhaps this is not the case. I know it could be done earlier. Can the Minister of State indicate how it might work? There are many reasons this seems to be the case.
It is very difficult to recognise an individual boat. Irish pleasure boats, some of which can be quite expensive, are generally not registered. The reason for this is a difficulty with the Department, which is not anyone’s fault but is simply the way things are. Currently, getting a pleasure craft registered requires a person to go through 90% of the same procedure as if one were getting the Queen Mary registered. This is not an exaggeration and one must go through all the same steps. I have informed the Minister of State previously that we should have a simple method whereby someone can register a boat very much like one would register a car.
This issue will be important in the future. At some stage the Minister of State will regulate that a boat must pass a safety test, a sort of NCT for boats, to ensure it is a safe craft. There must be some element of registration involved and the Minister will never require people to go through the current process. We need an easier process to do it as it is currently very hard to prove.
The Minister of State’s Department should create an easy method to register a boat in the same way as a car, whereby one takes the engine number, the hull number, where it came from, where it was made and the year, registers the number and puts it on the side.
The lack of a number also facilitates crime. In recent times, in a number of locations along the Shannon and at sea, boats have been stolen. It is very difficult to trace a boat that does not have a number on it.
It is very strange that pleasure craft in Ireland do not have numbers. We need a measure for pleasure craft. I apologise for belabouring the issue but it is important in terms of safety, taxation, imports and exports and the regulation of the industry to know how boats are bought and sold, where they are placed, who owns them, where they are and where they have travelled.
The small vessel register is a necessary measure. …. I agree this should be introduced on a voluntary basis. It is a good way of beginning and discovering where difficulties lie. A responsible boat owner will go out of his or her way to register because people who have an interest in boating and waterways will wish to do so. I have no difficulty with this.
The Minister of State’s comments on secondary legislation worry me. He should give himself power now by introducing a Schedule to the Bill to allow him to establish a system for small vessel registration by ministerial order rather than any other requirement. I was under the impression the Minister of State could do this under the legislation and I see his official nodding. This is the way it should be so the Minister of State can now examine what comes before him.
Places where people can pull in must be developed as there is a shortage of such places on the Shannon. I spoke earlier on the need for urgent infrastructural projects but the difficulty in having environmentally friendly marinas built and provided along the Shannon is worrying. I have examined some of the proposals that were ruled out of order and would think myself to be as environmentally friendly, conscious and supportive as anyone. The Minister of State’s Department should get involved in supporting responsible people who are trying to provide a good service by supplying proper environmentally-friendly marinas along the Shannon in particular.
I am delighted the Minister mentioned the coast guard. The Department could be a little more supportive of members of the coast guard on whom our lives very often depend, which the Minister of State quite rightly said, and to whom we owe a great debt of gratitude. These people should get some type of call-out fee, some element of support or some financial help. They put their lives at risk, particularly the coast guard which is not part of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. They are very much dependent on the Department. I know this area is being restructured, which is important. Will the Minister of State ensure the types of supports and structures in place for them are adequate?
It is not necessary for surveys to be carried out by personnel from the Department. If I buy a boat and get it insured, it is my responsibility to get a marine surveyor to survey the boat. Most boats which have been bought have been surveyed along the way. It should be enough for the Department to recognise the person carrying out the survey. One of the major problems has been having to depend unfairly on the Department to get surveys done. That pressure should not be on the Department and people should use qualified surveyors. There are a number of recognised qualifications for marine surveyors who are very diligent about their work because their reputations depend on it. They will not state a boat is safe if it is not because it will come back to haunt them.
…. legislation should be passed to provide that people on boats should use only eco-friendly detergents. It is a small thing as they are not much more expensive. Most supermarkets along the Shannon and other waterways sell such products, particularly along the inland waterways. Sink waste is more damaging to the environment than sewage and biological detergents cause more damage than anything else. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should introduce legislation, a directive or a ministerial order stating that only eco-friendly detergents should be used on boats.
On the question of safety I support this section. As far as I can recall, the section deals with those who steer, drive, manoeuvre or pilot their boats. A significant number of the call-outs are by those who have been careless in their planning and have taken no notice of the weather. They think that because they have a new boat with a big engine they do not have to worry about anything. Suddenly they find that at a headland they are not ready for the force 7, 8 or 9 winds on the other side. There should be a requirement in passage planning for any distance that people check on the weather.
Met Éireann is helpful and good at what it does but in terms of improving safety at sea it requires significantly greater resources. For most of the coastland of the UK and even of Northern Ireland, it is possible to get a localised sea area forecast. … If more resources were provided to Met Éireann it could, in addition to the national forecast provided to RTE radio, provide a more detailed sea area forecast to the local radio stations, such as Hyland Radio, North West Radio and Radio Kerry. In this way one would get a much more detailed forecast. That should be done. Met Éireann has the ability to do this but it does not have the resources to make it available. More money should be put into Met Éireann.
… It is important that we attempt to ensure this legislation is enacted before the summer, if only for the propaganda value of raising awareness. This would signify a clear new beginning for the new boating season which starts at this time of year. The Government should be mindful of the importance of this.
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Western Rail Corridor
19/04/05 - Approximately two months ago, I raised the report on the western rail corridor with the Leader and she gave an undertaking that we would have a debate in the House on it. Despite the urgings of Senator Ross and others for the State to spend €400 million on buying out a few hundred metres of roadway on the M50, we should look at investing properly in the western rail corridor. I ask that the report be published as soon as possible and that the Government gives a commitment to investing in it sufficiently to make it worthwhile. The publication and launch of the report should also take place in Ennis or some other place along the western rail corridor area. We should give some attention to this issue and move it forward.
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Catherine McAuley Special Needs School
19/04/05 - I recently visited the Catherine McAuley school in Limerick. It has 175 pupils with special needs, all of whom have been assessed as having a mild learning disability. The average intelligence quotient is 100. In most of the rest of Europe, children with an IQ of between 70 and 80 are considered to have a mild disability. Those with an IQ under 70 are considered to have moderate disability which is much more significant. Astonishingly, as a result of a decision taken here to protect resources, children with an IQ of between 50 and 70 are regarded as having only mild disability.
While the school is a special primary school, two-thirds of the pupils are of post-primary school age. Most local post-primary schools teach the usual range of subjects in addition to subjects such as art, physical education, home economics and woodwork, which are crucial for children at second level. This school is allowed, under certain conditions, to appoint teaches who will deal with art, physical education, economics and woodwork, and it has good rooms to cater for this. For example, it has an extraordinary computer room which is of great importance to children with special needs. It also has a cookery room and other rooms to cater for the subjects I mentioned.
However, the school is only allowed to make part-time as opposed to permanent teacher appointments in these subjects. This means that the teachers recruited and appointed are not employed full-time. Sometimes the school can be fortunate in being able to appoint a teacher who is only interested in working part-time, but generally, it appoints good teachers who will only stay in the school until such time as he or she gets a full-time permanent job elsewhere. While such teachers cannot be blamed for following their career requirements, this situation creates a certain instability in the school. This problem applies to all special schools in the country.
I ask the Minister to ensure that every special school should be entitled to appoint a certain quota of specialist teachers on a permanent basis or to a panel serving a number of schools. This will create stability as the teachers will build up a relationship with the school, the pupils, the principal and other staff. This is very important.
We all know these post-primary pupils require the support of specialist teachers. The teachers cannot be employed permanently with the result that the pupils deal continually with a changing group of part-time teachers, who are usually recruited through the local VEC. I understand that in a small number of schools, such teachers are appointed on a more permanent basis. That is the way to address this matter and I ask the Minister to respond positively.
...I was careful not to argue about the number of teachers available to the school. This is not the problem. The staffing support, in terms of its hours, is sufficient. The problem is that the teachers are all changing while these children need stability. They build relationships, which is where the difficulty lies.
This could be done for a small amount of money as it is the difference between employing someone on a part-time basis as opposed to permanently. It would be somewhat, but not a great deal, more expensive. One could still carry this out in such a way that a number of schools were covered and the people involved could be assigned to a panel or something similar. However, the teachers would then have security of tenure and would build up relationships with the schools and the other staff. This is why I am asking that it be done. There are three or four different ways to do it. I will ask the school to make a representation as to how it might best be done and copy it to the Minister for Education and Science. I ask that its representation be taken into consideration in the proposed review.
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Immigration & Residence in Ireland:Discussion Document
13/04/05 - We have had discussions on a number of occasions in this House with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the issue of immigration. The Minister has today produced a pretty extensive document - a discussion document that is neither a Green Paper or a White Paper - on immigration. On glancing through the document, it touches on many of the issues which we have asked be discussed, although no decisions have been taken. I believe that this is the House where that should be debated and I ask the Leader to raise this matter with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform within the next few weeks so that the Seanad may have the opportunity to discuss the document which deals with such issues as economic migration, family reunification and all the relevant matters we have discussed. Now is the time to influence legislation before it is published.
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Special Educational Needs
13/04/05 - Despite all of the discussions, the 20:1 pupil-teacher ratio commitment set out in the programme for Government will not go away. It will have to be delivered. While I accept the Minister requires time to achieve the target and do not agree that tonight is the right time for a row, such a row is brewing. The Government has committed itself to doing something but has provided no indication of how it will be achieved. I want to hear how it will happen. I intended to table a motion on the issue next month as I thought, having listened to the Minister recently, that she was working on a project, the details of which could be provided to us. Time is running out however.
The background to the provision is that approximately 1,500 schools will lose access to special needs assistants while another 1,500 gain access to them. While 70 extra assistants will be provided in the process, it will be in the context of the absolute chaos which will emerge when Members on the Government side begin to receive deputations from local schools which lose supports. No one understands why that must happen. It is certain to create great anger in schools nationally in the absence of a plan to agree and announce a process to reduce class sizes. People with special needs will not receive what they want, smaller schools will lose teachers and over 1,500 schools will lose their special needs assistants without any sign of class sizes being reduced. It is a recipe for chaos. Someone is leading the Minister into a situation which must be dealt with.
What concerns me is that there is no mention of a 20:1 ratio. I would like confirmation from the Minister that the objective on class size is still 20:1, as stated in the programme for Government, and that this will be delivered. I am a reasonable person. What people want to hear is how the objective on class size will be achieved and in what timescale. It is not an unreasonable demand.
The Minister also referred to the number of untrained personnel in classrooms. Will something be done about that issue this year? The Minister said she would write to every primary school board of management. Everybody in this Chamber would support her in ensuring that qualified teachers who are seeking work would get jobs rather than untrained personnel. It would be helpful if that letter were sent out now so that people could begin to address the issue. That letter could be sent out in the morning. Why can it not be done immediately?
Estimates suggest that between 400 and 700 jobs would be created next year as part of the campaign to reduce class sizes. Will the Government make these jobs available? By how much will we reduce class sizes? It is even more worrying that the Minister stated that in the next school year there would be smaller classes for children in disadvantaged schools. That is a definite commitment.
I do not think anybody can argue reasonably with the Minister’s statement that she is giving priority to special education and educational disadvantage at various levels. People can argue against it but it is a valid position for a Minister to take. There are four issues to be taken into account in this regard. The first relates to the loss of special needs assistants, SNAs, and how schools will cope. Another issue relates to what we will do for the disadvantaged in the next school year. There is also the question of what we will do to reduce the average class size to 20:1 over the next two or three years, beginning this year. The last matter is what we do in regard to special education. It is not unreasonable at this stage to ask the Minister what exactly will happen and what she will do.
One of the things I find most alarming in terms of special education - speakers have commented eloquently on it - is the fact that in the UK a child with an IQ between 50 and 70 is defined as moderately disabled whereas here such a child is considered to be mildly disabled and, therefore, is not provided with any support. That is appalling. There is no point in trying to reach international standards in that respect. I accept this was the case before the Minister was appointed to this office. That situation is not fair nor acceptable and we must look carefully at this matter.
Let us hear a restatement of the commitment on class sizes of 20:1. Let us hear the process by which it will be delivered. Let us see what will be invested in educational disadvantage over the next year. Let us hear that the letter will go out to schools outlining the fact that we want untrained people out of classrooms. Let us hear what will be included in special education and how we will deal with the gap created by the loss of SNAs.
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Increase in Minimum Wage
13/04/05 - I congratulate the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Killeen, for ignoring the whingeing, selfish and ungenerous shouting and bleating from IBEC, the employers’ body, over recent weeks. He has introduced a much welcomed increase in the minimum wage. It is part of what we wanted and expected and it is significant that he has had the courage to do that. We did not have IBEC representatives on hand yesterday to look at the exploited workers and the disadvantaged firms in Ireland, as regards the Gama issue. Neither are they on hand today to look at people who are at the lowest level of payment in this country. This is something which the House should welcome and we should thank the Minister of State for moving swiftly in this regard.
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GAMA Issue
12/04/05 - There has been a demonstration today outside the gates of the House regarding an issue concerning workers at Gama, of which we are well aware. It is appalling that only those on the left side of politics appear to have taken an interest in this matter. Is it that we cannot add, count or read? Workers, builders and the Irish economy have lost an opportunity because these unscrupulous people, as well as exploiting their workers, were also able to undercut fair-minded, compliant and honest contractors in making a bid for the work which Gama has robbed. This is not just an issue for trade unions and workers, but also for IBEC, the employers’ body. IBEC should be out there today. This is one of those issues in which the importance of national wage agreements is well reflected. It is of equal importance to people in all strands of Irish life, on all sides of the economy and the political spectrum. I would like the House to make its position very clear on this. It suits a great many if the matter is just hived off to a group of people who are clearly identified with left wing politics, fair play to them.
This is an important European issue. We are considering a constitution for Europe, about which we have previously fought. People such as I have stood before groups of workers and argued that one of the important aspects of a constitution for a broader Europe is that it will bring fairness and compliance - health and safety regulations that apply in Ireland will cover all who work in this country or within the European Community. Gama flouted that, undermined the European idyll and what we stand for. It is a fundamental issue of crucial importance to all of us. I know the House will discuss aspects of the way migrant workers are treated in this country later this week but this is an economic issue of importance to Government at all levels. It should be made absolutely clear that these people will be routed out of Ireland, to ensure they no longer cause damage, not just to Turkish workers, but also Irish workers and the economy.
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Expression of Sympathy on the Death of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II
12/04/05 - In my personal response to the Pope’s death, I thought of the things that inspired me, annoyed me and entertained me. In celebrating someone’s life, we must recognise that there are many great people with whom we have disagreed over the years. There were many great philosophers with whom I would disagree completely on some issues. However, I would still recognise their ability and their contribution to debate.
The situation is similar with Pope John Paul II. He was squeezed out of oppression and the most difficult background imaginable. He lived through that and maintained dignity and respect at all times. It is true that there were issues on which I felt let down. I felt let down on his attitudes towards women, especially the ordination of women priests. As far as I recall, he was opposed at one stage to alter girls. On the other hand, I got a great lift from his extraordinary commitment to peace in the world. That is something he learned in his youth. He had the courage to take on one of those fights which he knew he could not win, when he publicly took on the might of the US and the UK in both wars in the Middle East in the past 15 years. That is where people like me saw the other side of him.
I regret that he did not buy into the liberation theology of South America. At the same time, we should not be surprised to find that the Pope was a Catholic, nor should we be surprised to find that there were different views within the broader church. He created strong debate and he reached out to groups around the globe that had never previously felt connected. He gave a space to other groups and people, through the number of saints created and the number of cardinals appointed from parts of the world that never previously had a cardinal.
Pope John Paul II will be remembered for the challenges he threw down. He will be remembered as a Pope who created a discussion on issues that were never discussed previously and as someone who had a great commitment to peace. To me, he will always be the great peacemaker. One of his defining qualities was the way he reached out to people who were not part of the church. He took a stand for peace, even when he knew he could not win. He was clearly committed to a more inclusive, global society. The fact that he did not move quickly enough for me is my problem, not his. It does not take from his contribution. I recognise a great statesman and leader, with whom I disagreed in many ways. May he rest in peace.
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