[Mr. Morrissey   ]
An additional 400,000 people have joined the workforce since 1997, which is positive. We boast that 77,000 housing units were built last year and a lower figure will be built this year, primarily in the eastern region, which the commuter rail lines from Drogheda, Arklow, Maynooth-Longford and Carlow are trying to service. It is no longer good enough to have to wait for additional services as thousands of extra people join an overcrowded system every year. Ministers are delighted to partake in photocalls on the Luas and the DTO boasts about the fantastic QBC system between Stillorgan and the city centre. However, no Minister has travelled on the suburban rail lines, which transport people to and from work. The conditions are so bad that men are bringing extra shirts with them on the train so that they can change when they get to work. That is not acceptable in a country that is so flush. I demand that the Government’s ten-year plan should be launched immediately and that the Irish Rail five-year strategic plan, which was approved 12 months ago, should see the light of day with an interconnector provided in Dublin so that a decent service can be provided. Every year these plans are delayed, the situation worsens. A scheme comprising 2,000 houses is being built in the Phoenix Park. As part of the planning permission, a train station must be provided. The developer is providing it but how will trains service this station? Irish Rail’s strategic plan should not be held up by the Government’s ten-year investment plan. The suburban rail system could be linked through an interconnector. People in the regions have been forced out of Dublin to buy houses and they could get to work more easily if it was built. I travel a mere 20 minutes into the city on the train. However, commuters from as far away as Carlow experience these overcrowded conditions and we hear nothing about it. As a public representative, I cannot stand on a platform and say nothing about what is happening. I intend raising this issue non-stop until I achieve positive action. The Government established a Department with special responsibility for transport. What is happening? Debates in this House are not adequate to address the issue and I have been forced to table an Adjournment debate. However, my anger is nothing compared with the anger of those who commute daily. I only travel by train two or three days a week but many people travel five days a week, 48 to 50 weeks a year. I cannot accept these conditions any longer. Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. Fahey): Following a number of years of underinvestment, the Government has provided significant funding for public transport since 1999. The role the railway plays in moving large numbers of people in an efficient manner has been particularly recognised. More than €1 billion has been spent in recent years in bringing the rail network up to an acceptable level to cater for the increasing demands made on it. Almost all the trackwork has been renewed and is now continuous welded, the signalling system across the network is undergoing renewal and a phased introduction of new rolling sock is taking place. By the end of 2007, larnród Éireann will have the most modern rolling stock in Europe. In the case of the Maynooth line, which is the basis for the Senator’s matter, Iarnród Éireann doubled the trackwork from Connolly Station to Maynooth in 2000. The company purchased 20 railcars specifically to operate on the line, thereby doubling its capacity as well. Subsequently, under the national development plan, and with EU assistance, the company purchased a further 80 diesel railcars, many of which were assigned to that route. This allowed Iarnród Éireann to increase peak hour trains to eight-car length, the maximum possible on the route. Additional frequencies were also added over time so that the line is now at capacity. Since June 2005, Irish Rail has accepted into service a further 36 diesel railcars. These railcars will be used to replace older rolling stock on the Sligo-Dublin route. In December this year, frequencies on that service will increase from three to five each way per day and will benefit both longer distance commuter and Intercity passengers. The DART upgrade project will be completed by year end and one of the benefits of this work is that it has allowed Iarnród Eireann to operate additional trains through the Pearse Station-Connolly Stationbottleneck in the morning and evening peaks. The additional train paths are to be assigned to the Dundalk and Maynooth services exclusively. These additional services, similar to the Intercity services I mentioned, will come into effect with the timetable change in mid-December 2005. In the longer term, the issue of continued growth and demand for rail services must be addressed in an integrated and planned way. A feasibility study into the reinstating of a railway line between Clonsilla and Dunboyne M3 has been completed by Iarnród Éireann, and was presented to a steering group comprising the rail company, Meath and Fingal County Councils, and the Dublin Transportation Office earlier this year. The study examined the line from Clonsilla to the M3 interchange at Pace, which is 7.5 km in length. Three stations are considered at Hansfield, Dunboyne and a major park and ride facility at the proposed M3 interchange. Service frequency would be about every 15 minutes at peak, and every 30 minutes off-peak. larnród Éireann is examining the feasibility study at present and will make specific proposals to the Department if it wishes to proceed with this project. A complicating factor in the provision of additional services on the Maynooth line and the construction of the spur to Dunboyne is the fact that the central corridor between Pearse station and Connolly station is at full capacity in the peak hours. In view of this, any further capacity increases along the Maynooth line are dependent on the construction of a new city centre railway station. Iarnród Éireann is currently examining suitable locations in the Docklands for a new station. The Dunboyne line would, at best, cover its direct operating costs, and would not generate profits to fund financing or depreciation costs. However, when wider economic social benefits are taken into account such as time savings, accident savings, environmental benefits and decongestion, the project yields a positive rate of return and is economically viable. Iarnród Éireann has submitted a greater Dublin integrated rail network plan, which proposes the enhancement of all suburban and outer suburban services into Dublin and not just those of the Maynooth line to cater for demand into the future. The proposals are being examined by the Department at present in the context of the multi-annual investment framework for transport and a decision is due soon. I appreciate the frustration of the Senator and it is shared by people in Dublin, the west and the south. The major economic growth of recent years has left us with a deficit but this is something with which we must put up. The comprehensive reply given highlights the time it takes to make these improvements. Many complications are involved and it is not simply a matter of providing additional rolling stock. Significant infrastructural improvements are needed and significant funding has been directed toward this in the past few years and this will continue. The Minister for Transport and Iarnród Éireann are determined to improve the standard of services as quickly as possible.  Homemakers Scheme.
Ms Terry: I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Seán Power, to the House. I raised this matter on the Adjournment as I believe there is a group of women being discriminated against in our society. Some of them were discriminated against in the past when forced to give up their jobs in the late 1960s and early 1970s because of the marriage ban. Subsequently, other women chose to give up their jobs, remain at home and rear children or care for a sick child or relative. They are discriminated against because they are not included in the present homemakers scheme, which is only applicable from 1994. That scheme recognises women who choose to leave the workforce for a period not greater than 20 years to care for children or a sick child or relative. I urge the Minister to apply the same scheme retrospectively from 1970. It should be a parent’s choice to remain at home for a number of years and the State should recognise this and support the parents. Currently there is no support but hopefully this will change when we address the child care issue and the State will recognise the work of parents who choose to stay at home for a number of years. However, a group of women is in limbo and has been actively discriminated against by the introduction of the homemakers scheme. It is wrong that the Minister introduces legislation to address a certain group yet discriminates against another group. Perhaps this could be challenged by the Equality Authority. I urge the Government to address this anomaly in the forthcoming budget. At present there are 110,000 home carers receiving the tax allowance who are raising children up to the age of 18 years. In the year 1970 and before, women chose to remain at home to raise children or care for elderly parents. We know the contribution made to the community and I want that to be recognised. This could be done simply without huge cost to the State by recognising the years out of work and by granting the women eligibility to a pension in retirement. In this society we recognise equality, attempt to gender-proof legislation and avoid situations giving rise to discrimination but this is one area that must be addressed. I ask the Government to examine this matter and address it. Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Mr. S. Power): On behalf of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Seamus Brennan, I wish to reply to the matter raised by Senator Terry whom I thank for raising the matter. The social welfare pension rights of those who take time out of the workforce for caring duties are protected by the homemakers scheme. The scheme was introduced from 1994 and allows up to 20 years spent on caring duties to be disregarded when a person’s insurance record is being averaged to assess entitlement for contributory pension purposes. However, it must be borne in mind that the scheme will not of itself qualify a person for a pension. The standard qualifying conditions for pensions, which require a person to enter insurance ten years before pension age, pay a minimum of 260 contributions at the current rate and achieve a yearly average of at least ten contributions on their record from the time they enter insurance until they reach pension age must also be satisfied. The homemakers scheme is designed to mitigate the effect of periods spent on caring duties when a persons insurance record is being averaged for pension purposes. The Government is anxious to ensure that as many people as possible can qualify for pensions in their own right. A number of measures have been introduced over the years to which make it easier for people to qualify for pensions. In 1997 the yearly average number of contributions required for pension purposes was reduced from 20 to ten and in 2000 a special half rate pension was introduced based on pre-1953 insurance contributions. Pro-rata pensions are also available to allow people with mixed rate insurance records to receive a payment and this is of benefit to people who may have worked in both the public and private sectors. This set of measures is of particular benefit to women who may have less than complete social insurance records due to working in the home. It is estimated that approximately 87% of women aged 65 years are at present receiving social welfare support, either in their own right or as qualified adults on the pension of their spouse or partner. There are, of course, those who will not benefit from the homemakers scheme and who cannot qualify for a pension in their own right. In this regard, the Government is committed to increasing the payment for qualified adults, age 66 years or over, to the same level as the personal rate of the old age non-contributory pension and to facilitate the direct payment of the allowance to spouses and partners. A number of special increases have been given over several budgets in pursuit of this target, totalling €56.47 per week since April 2000. Qualified adult allowance rates for those over 66 are now between 66% and 77% of maximum personal rates, which were between 60% and 67% in 2000. Also, since 2002, new pension claimants can opt to have the qualified adult allowance paid directly to their spouse or partner. The administrative and legislative implications of enhancing these provisions are being examined to ensure that more qualified adults can receive a personal payment. In August 2000, the Department of Social and Family Affairs published a review of the qualifying conditions for old age contributory and retirement pensions. This review also included a general examination of the homemakers scheme and the report suggested a number of reforms for further consideration. These included the possibility of changing the operative date of the scheme and replacing the disregard system with one based on actual credited contributions. In general, changes to insurability of employment, etc., are not back-dated, and the same principle was applied to the homemakers scheme in 1994. Apart from that, there would be practical difficulties in certifying periods of caring and very significant costs involved. As I already indicated, the scheme will not of itself qualify a person for a pension and, consequently, a significant proportion of any cost will involve improvements for those already in receipt of a social welfare pension. As Senator Terry may be aware, the Minister is currently reviewing the operation of the social welfare pension system, including the relationship between contributory and non-contributory schemes, and the operation of means testing in the context of old age pensions. The needs of people who are outside the social welfare pensions system, including those excluded by virtue of time spent on caring duties, can best be addressed in the context of that review. Genealogical Projects. Mr. Bannon: I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter on the Adjournment, which I am sure he will agree is important to people providing a service in genealogy. Genealogy is the key that unlocks the mysteries of our past and in doing so makes sense of our present. As Aristotle said, if you would understand anything, observe its beginnings and its developments. With an estimated 60 million people worldwide claiming Irish ancestry, there is no shortage of quests to find Irish roots, allied with a natural curiosity about the role of Irish families and a deep-rooted wish to know what a particular family has contributed to our history or the reason ancestors left their original birthplaces. We are not on opposite sides here in saying that such projects provide an invaluable service and open pathways to our past but a difference of opinion may arise in the way the service is assisted and the provision of funding opportunities, which are not equitably distributed. I have been contacted by a constituent of mine in County Longford, Noel Farrell, who approached the Irish Genealogical Project last summer assuming it would promote and encourage all valid genealogical projects. This man, whose project entails months of data entry and indexation similar to the work undertaken by the IGP, expected that his proposal would be met with a clear affirmative or rejection. However, he was informed that it was not in the remit of the IGP to help genealogical projects other than its own. Appeals for funding to the Heritage Council, the Leader programme and the Arts Council, as well as the IGP, met with rejection. My concern is that if all other genealogical projects are ignored in favour of the Irish Genealogical Project, the promotion of Irish genealogy as a whole suffers. That leads to an indifference or distorted competition in the genealogy market and also raises questions about the main objective of the IGP and its role in promoting Irish genealogy. How many other projects have met with refusal and been required to compete in an imbalanced market? This question is perhaps answered in part by the lack of other genealogical projects such as that of my constituent because they could not survive in a market where one project is granted annual funding and has the added advantage of using FÁS subsidised workers to help with its data entry work while others must struggle to survive. The local project being undertaken by a Longford man, Noel Farrell, entails helping people in Ireland search their family tree without a cost to the taxpayer. Mr. Farrell has already published 27 books covering 30 towns in Ireland and plans to publish 25 more covering a further 25 towns but with a small return and no funding to provide for essential day to day living expenses that work becomes increasingly difficult. Funding for my constituent’s project should be sourced from the national development plan and Tourism Ireland or FÁS, which finances the Irish Genealogical Project. The amount of funding required would be performance related. For coverage of an additional 20 towns, the total requirement would be €40,000, averaging €2,000 per town, which would cover the time needed to complete all research for the individual areas. I call on the Minister to provide the necessary funding for the project I have highlighted and also for other similar undertakings in this specified field to allow genealogical projects to survive and to maintain competition in an increasingly expensive market. The funding of the IGP at the expense of other valid projects will inevitably breed an ESB style monopoly where the people of Ireland will have no option but to pay a large fee to the State’s genealogical centres while every other genealogical project collapses. I have two or three copies with me today. I gave one to the Cathaoirleach earlier. Mr. Farrell is doing an exceptional job and for a small amount of money he would do a great deal for Irish society. Acting Chairman: The Irish project is doing an exceptional job. Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food (Mr. B. Smith): I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O’Donoghue, who is unavoidably absent due to departmental business. The position in regard to the Irish Genealogical Project providing funds to genealogical projects is simple. The Irish Genealogy Project is a genealogical project funded by the State. It has no funds for, and was not established to, fund genealogical projects. It is a project in its own right that is funded through Irish Genealogy Limited, which is itself funded through the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism. The project evolved from the task force on roots, genealogy and tourism in the late 1980s. The primary goal of the project is to generate economic activity and employment throughout the island of Ireland by boosting roots tourism. The assumption underlying the strategy is that the availability of a world class, country-wide genealogy service, with the potential of pin-pointing the exact point of origin of emigrant families and supplying on-the-ground orientation in Ireland, will represent a powerful attraction for ethnically Irish visitors from America, Argentina, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Britain. The intention is to attract these visitors to the various genealogical centres, which will provide a marketing or sales opportunity. The centres could provide an opportunity for individual genealogical researchers or authors to market their wares. The diaspora is variously estimated at between 50 million and 70 million people; however, the ties between the diaspora and Ireland may well be weakening.  3 o’clockThe business plan for the project envisaged the establishment of a central agency that would be responsible for market research, marketing and the development of a range of common products and prices across the network of genealogical centres. It was also expected to create and operate a central computerised index of the records held in local centres, which could be used to direct potential customers to the specific local centre or to a professional genealogist. In 1993 a company, Irish Genealogy Limited, was incorporated to act as the required central agency. The company represents diverse interests in genealogy, including the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland, the Association of Ulster Genealogists and Record Agents, and the Irish Family History Foundation. In 1996, after some delay, a chief executive and administrator were appointed. IGL is the umbrella organisation for genealogy in Ireland and is charged with completing the Irish genealogy project. The company’s primary aim, as set out in its mission statement, is “to promote and foster quality local genealogical research services in Ireland to enable those of Irish descent and those at home to research their family histories with the objective of boosting tourism and cultural and economic activity in the local communities.” Following a value-for-money report from the Comptroller and Auditor General and the project’s transfer to the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, a full review was undertaken by an officer of the Department. That review was completed in early 1999. Copies of the report were given to the Committee of Public Accounts and the Department of Finance and placed in the Oireachtas Library. The recommendations were accepted by the Minister and the board of IGL. The project called for the recording of 29 million records, drawn from church and civil records, the 1901 and 1911 censuses, Griffith’s valuation and the tithe applotment books. A central signposting system would be established utilising data fields drawn from the database records. IGL has now decided to limit itself to working on church records only since the Ulster Historical Foundation has placed all the data from the tithe applotment books onto compact discs available to the general public; Griffith’s valuation is available from the National Library of Ireland and over the Internet; access to the census data from the 1901 and 1911 censuses is available from the National Archives, with a joint Canadian-National Archives project digitising those data; and access to the civil records of births, deaths and marriages is available through the General Register Office. Some 76% of the 13.7 million church records have been indexed and inputted into the computerised databases while some 2.7 million records in 11 counties may be accessed through the central signposting system. The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism has supported the project, with funding of €2.5 million from 1998 to 2005. In addition, FÁS contributed €32.2 million in the period to 31 December 2004 through the payment of wages to staff inputting records into the databases. The countrywide genealogical centres, in co-operation with FÁS, have delivered a most successful training programme for that funding, of which thousands of citizens have availed and which has achieved placement success rates of up to 90%. While there have recently been difficulties between the Irish Family History Foundation and Irish Genealogy Limited, the two sides have entered into discussions to resolve them. It is also true that the attachment of the Irish diaspora to Ireland appears to be weakening. Accordingly, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O’Donoghue, has arranged for the project to be examined to determine its future. Mr. Bannon: My concern is that other genealogical projects are being ignored in favour of the Irish Genealogical Project. The man to whom I have referred provides a very important service, and the Cathaoirleach has been given one of his books. He does so at very low cost, and perhaps the Minister might consider forcing funding through the aegis of the national development plan, the tourism budget, the Leader programme, FÁS or the Heritage Council. There may be an area where funding could be provided for him to continue his very valuable project. The Seanad adjourned at 3.05 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 25 October 2005. |