Prior to being elected to the Dáil, I spent many years advocating for change in how we facilitate immigration in Ireland, how we allow migrants to enter, what rights we grant migrants who enter and how we help people to become and feel part of society. In the past ten weeks, 28,000 Ukrainians have come to our shores seeking refuge from war. We have provided accommodation to all who have asked for it, some 19,000 people, and people across the country have opened their homes to them. In terms of facilitating integrat…

I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and I utterly condemn the deplorable violent attacks that took place in Dublin city centre over Easter and wish the victims of these incidents a healthy recovery. People should be able to feel safe and be safe, whether they live or work in Dublin, or want to visit and enjoy our capital city. I urge anyone who may have witnessed these or any other violent incidents in Dublin city recently, or who may have any information…

It should be on the way. I apologise that it is not available now.

I thank the Deputies again for raising this matter in the House this morning. I will take their messages back in terms of visibility, resourcing and gardaí on the beat. The Minister is determined to continue to drive the implementation of the range of community safety policy actions to combat criminal activity and antisocial behaviour. We are very conscious of the effect these behaviours can have on the quality of life for local communities and those visiting in the community. Incidents of assault or intimidation a…

I thank Deputy O’Rourke for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Ryan. I understand that the Deputy’s question is with regard to the inclusion of private bus operators in the young adult card and other fare-reduction initiatives. From the outset, I would like to assure the Deputy that I have been advised that it has always been the intention of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to include commercial bus operators as part of the young adult card initiative. Licenced bus and coac…

I will bring the Deputy's message to the Minister. I think the school bus transport issue may go to the Minister, Deputy Foley. I take the Deputy's point, however. I would like to reassure him that both the NTA and the Department of Transport have been engaging directly with commercial bus operators to help inform policy decisions with regard to the public transport sector, particularly those related to the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on the sector and the various fare initiatives being introduced this year. In addi…

The Minister for Transport thanks the Senator for raising this matter. Driving licences are usually issued for a ten-year period at a cost of €55. An applicant may be issued with a one-year or a three-year licence for medical reasons. The fee for a three-year licence is €35. There is no fee for a one-year licence. To drive a vehicle, a driver must meet strict medical standards. Driver fitness standards are developed on foot of EU law and international best practice. The relevant Irish legislation is the Road Traffi…

To reiterate, there is no fee payable for a one-year driver licence for a person who must renew it annually due to a medical condition that must be assessed regularly. The fee for the three-year licence is €35. The community welfare system is available to anyone struggling with specific costs including those related to their transport needs. I very much take the Senator's point. The effective costs relate to the medical certificate. Perhaps it is one of the issues, of which there are many, that falls between the st…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the carbon tax is not behind the current spike in energy prices as the annual rate of consumer price inflation, as measured by the European Union's (EU) Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, picked up sharply over the course of last year, and stood at 6.9 per cent in March - the highest reading since the series began in 1997; — the key driver of this increase is increases in wholesale energy prices as a…

For instance, the budget 2022 carbon tax increase, which came into effect in October last year, added approximately 2 cent per litre in tax to petrol and diesel. The increase in rates for home heating fuels such as kerosene, gas and solid fuels was delayed until 1 May 2022 to mitigate impacts during the winter heating season. The May 2022 increase will add approximately €21.56 to the cost of 1,000 l of kerosene. It is clear, therefore, that carbon tax is not the cause of current energy price inflation. Taxation on …

I might need to go over by a minute if I am allowed.

This provided for a 20 cent reduction in the excise rate for petrol and a 15 cent reduction in the rate for auto diesel, with a proportionate 2 cent reduction in the excise rate on marked gas oil, MGO. These measures were VAT inclusive and were set to last until 31 August 2022. This was estimated to cost €320 million. Last week it was announced that these measures would be extended and enhanced. We have taken the decision to extend these reductions until 11 October 2022. The Government is also providing for a furth…

As the Deputy is probably aware, Government is working to ensure that local capacity, resources and knowledge are brought to bear on the overall humanitarian response to people fleeing Ukraine and seeking protection in Ireland. My Department's key focus is to ensure the resources, skills and capacity of the local development, community development and charity sectors are utilised to maximum effect to help address the challenges arising. Building on structures developed during the Covid-19 pandemic, community respon…

I am aware of the project the Deputy mentioned and I hope to visit it at some stage. I am in the process of getting out and about as much as I can, so I can see the level of response and see if there are gaps. We will be working closely with the CCMA, as I said, which will be getting the feedback from the ground up. Now that we have the structures in place we will be getting more consistent feedback from the ground up and that will come through the CCMA to us and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heri…

The search for vacant properties is largely being led by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It could well be that the community response forums are taking it to another level in looking at what is happening at a local level as well. I want to say to representatives of community groups who may be listening to the debate that I would appreciate it if they made contact with their local community response forum. We are trying to maximise the available resources, goodwill and effort to make sure e…

The Government is working to ensure that local capacity, resources and knowledge are brought to bear on the overall humanitarian response to people fleeing Ukraine and seeking protection in Ireland. My Department is contributing to the effort by linking with key stakeholders at community level, providing information, assisting the co-ordination of supports through the community sector and enabling flexibility in programme delivery to shift focus onto the Ukraine response. My Department recently hosted an informatio…

I would add that 600 community development workers have been freed from the majority of their core work to assist with helping and supporting people who are arriving from Ukraine into their locality. There was also a 10% increase in the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, budget from last year. That will add a significant additional resource and capacity to the local development companies going forward. In terms of community volunteering, exceptional additional funding for staff resources is…

I accept the Deputy’s point. I think we will see an improvement in co-ordination at a local level over the coming weeks with the establishment of the community response fora. There is capacity at a local level that has not been best utilised because of the lack of co-ordination over the initial few weeks. There have been small areas of overlap. There have also been people who have not been reached. That cohort is most important and is a priority at the moment. I would urge the public to contact our local volunteer …

I thank the Deputy. To answer Deputy Gould's initial question about contact with our Department, my Department has not had a direct approach from Ballyvolane residents in relation to the building of a community centre in the area, although I am informed there were meetings between the residents and Cork City Council on the matter. In terms of the supports we provide, the community centres investment fund, which was recently announced by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, will be launched shortly. This will support com…

I thank the Deputy. I think it is fair to say there is a planning function here as well. If a local authority is granting permission for large swathes of housing, it needs to plan for a community centre in that area as well. That is not happening everywhere. The question of whether we will actually support the local authority to do that comes up occasionally in this House, even if the local authority does not have a plan. Local authorities need to have a plan. We have some funds that can support such plans to build…