More clarity needed on plans for HPV catch-up scheme for under-25s, says Roderic O'Gorman
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Irish Times
12 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Delay of law proposal adds to uncertainty around redress for clerical abuse survivors
A proposal for a law that would allow religious organisations to be held liable for abuse by their members will not be considered by the Government until 2027 at the earliest. Many religious organisations are unincorporated bodies. This means they as entities cannot be sued and their assets may be beyond the reach of the courts if and when one of their members are found liable for damages against child sex abuse survivors. Individual members of such religious bodies can face legal action, but case law shows it can be difficult to legally pursue the organisation itself for redress. There are concerns about how the State will recoup redress funds from religious bodies for a scheme being considered for survivors of sexual abuse in schools. READ MORE If set up, it would likely be the largest and most expensive redress scheme in the history of the State. Since 2022, the Law Reform Commission (LRC) has been considering whether the Government should legislate to give unincorporated associations, such as voluntary religious orders, their own legal personality or set out another way by which they may be held liable. Minister for Education Helen McEntee has said: 'The Government will review any recommendations made by the commission in its final report, with a view to introducing any necessary legislative or administrative changes in due course.' However, a spokesman for the LRC said its report on changing the legal status of bodies such as religious organisations will not be ready before the end of next year. 'The report about the liability of unincorporated associations is being scoped at present. We do not yet have a completion date but we do not expect it to be published before the end of 2026,' the spokesman said. Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik has expressed concern about whether a delay in progressing such a law would stymie the ability of the Government to access religious organisations' assets, or the lay-run trusts that their assets may have been transferred to. Ms Bacik said her party is trying to bring forward a Bill that would allow civil proceedings to be taken against unincorporated bodies like religious orders. It would allow any damages awarded in such cases to be recovered from a religious organisation or from 'associated' trusts. The same law, if passed, would also add a one-year extension to the normal limitation period provided for in the statutes of limitations. The Labour Party leader said this was to allow any proceedings that the Bill would cover to be brought within 12 months of it being enacted. She recently personally handed a copy of the Bill to the Attorney General. Given the upcoming Commission of Investigation into historic abuse in schools, the Government cannot afford to 'sit back and wait' for the LRC report to finish, she said.
Irish Times
12 minutes ago
- Irish Times
New Garda commissioner faces challenge of expanding force as retirements set to rise
Hopes that a surge in departures from An Garda Síochána during the Covid-19 pandemic was part of the 'great resignation' from the workforce appear to have been optimistic. Resignations surged by almost 250 per cent in the four years to 2023 – to 171 – before declining by 20 per cent last year, raising hopes the worrying trend was dissipating. But the latest figures show there were 68 resignations in the first half of this year. That means the pace this year is keeping up with that of last year, when 138 Garda members resigned – opting out before being eligible to retire on a full pension. When the new Garda commissioner is appointed on Tuesday, to succeed Garda Commissioner Drew Harris after seven years in the job, he or she will have another major headache. READ MORE Between 30 and 40 years ago, a recruitment drive was undertaken by the Garda because of the security challenges posed by the Troubles. This generation is now coming to retirement age. It means we are set for a decade-long increase in Garda retirements at the precise time recruitment is sluggish and resignations appear stuck at about 140 per year. It will all impact on Garda numbers and make it harder to provide a quality policing service, from responding to 999 calls to investigating crimes and catching the perpetrators. And yet the Government is continuing to make promises of hiring 1,000 new gardaí per year, increasing the force's strength to 15,000 members and then continuing to expand until it reaches 18,000. [ Garda numbers begin to grow, though 15,000-strong target will take four more years Opens in new window ] The requirement for a 15,000-strong Garda force was first mooted in a submission to Government by then Garda commissioner Noel Conroy 20 years ago, citing population growth and other factors. When Conroy called for 15,000 gardaí, the Republic's population was 4.13 million. It had increased to 5.5 million by April 2023, according to the most recent estimate available from the Central Statistics Office. The force was growing in early 2020, and would likely be at 15,000 by now, or close to it, before the pandemic struck and the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, was forced to close. But since it reopened, with the economy booming, hiring gardaí has proven more difficult. However, Garda Headquarters said numbers in the force have been rising for some time and had reached 14,318. The resignation rate was 'approximately 1 per cent' per year. This compared with up to 10 per cent in some British police forces and 10 to 20 per cent in the private sector. The Garda Representative Association (GRA), which represents more than 11,000 rank-and-file gardaí, said the drop in resignations last year appears to have been a 'false dawn'. 'Coupled with the fact that almost 1,900 gardaí are eligible to take up retirement over the next three years, it appears that the target of a Garda strength of 15,000-plus is now just a pipe dream,' said GRA general secretary Ronan Slevin. He believed incentives were needed to retain more gardaí, which would also make the force more attractive to potential recruits. It was 'imperative' the new commissioner addressed the issue. The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), said in light of population growth, it was clear an 18,000-strong force was needed; a target Harris suggested in the early years of his commissionership. AGSI general secretary Ronan Clogher said gardaí were required to take on a higher workload, which had become acute and was having a 'corrosive' impact. He was 'worried' as resignations were no longer largely confined to young rank-and-file members of the force, with sergeants and inspectors now also leaving to take up other jobs. [ Garda numbers crisis: 'We could lose 30% to 50% of our organisation in five years' Opens in new window ]
Irish Times
36 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Spending on infrastructure makes sense, cutting VAT on hospitality is quite mad
Looking at the performance of the economy over the last 18 months, things look pretty good, as long as you aren't looking for somewhere to live. On to an already buoyant economy, last year's election budget ploughed in more money, equivalent to more than 1 per cent of national income. With full employment, this served to further drive up domestic demand, and also house prices. It hasn't made us much better off, even if it proved popular and garnered a few votes. As election budgets go, it could have been worse. The election budget of 1977 was the biggest culprit in the economic misery of the 1980s, and the election budget of 2007 pushed the economy and house prices to new heights, leaving it even further to fall in the ensuing financial crisis. By these standards last year's election splurge, while ill-conceived, was much less damaging. This year, with no election in sight, it should be time for wiser counsels to prevail in government. While we are seeing continuing growth in the economy, the Department of Finance provides a much more sombre assessment of what is to come due to US president Donald Trump 's wrecking ball. READ MORE Tariffs and a possible trade war would directly affect Ireland, with possibly more serious consequences stemming from the damage done to the wider European Union economy. While this downbeat assessment calls for fiscal caution, instead of heeding their own advice, the Government plans to increase expenditure next year by more than 7 per cent, while national income may rise by 5 per cent. This might be acceptable if they also planned a big increase in taxes , to avoid stimulating an already fully employed economy. However, without tax increases it will add to inflationary pressures. [ What did the summer economic statement really tell us about Budget 2026? Opens in new window ] The Government also, correctly, has highlighted the huge deficit in infrastructure in Ireland stemming from the economic success of the last decade. In countries such as Germany, Italy and Greece, more older people die each year, vacating their homes, than new young households are formed. As a result, these countries don't need a big increase in housing or in related infrastructure. In contrast, with our rapidly growing population, we need to invest in more housing, water and energy, as being provided now in the updated National Development Plan (NDP). [ We need to confront the reality that the housing shortage can't be solved Opens in new window ] While the Government has the money to spend on building more infrastructure, this will work only if a range of other complementary policies are implemented. Firstly, while spending money on infrastructure makes sense, in a fully employed economy we need to redirect resources from other sectors to building and construction. For example, the plan to cut VAT on catering and accommodation is quite mad. The latest data shows that that sector is booming. Instead we need to free up resources for new building by spending less in other economic sectors. In sectors that are already thriving, it could make more sense to raise taxes than to lower them, to encourage redirection of labour to our most urgent problem, housing . David McWilliams on how 'big incentives' to build could save Dublin city Listen | 36:51 The NDP sensibly provides funding to build new wires to link homes and businesses with electricity generation. There is also funding for a long overdue metro for Dublin , and to bring water from the Shannon to Dublin to tackle the knife-edge water supply in the capital. However, these projects will get under way only if the planning and regulatory systems are dramatically reformed. It has already taken five years for planners to consider a verdict on the metro. Countries such as Spain would have built the metro in that time, instead of merely scrutinising the plans. The North-South electricity interconnector was announced 20 years ago, while planning delays on both sides of the Border mean it will be 2032 before it finally happens. Once started, the actual construction will just take months to complete, not the decades spent in planning. The need to pipe water from the Shannon to Dublin was established over a decade ago, yet it could be many more years before it is delivered under the present planning system. In the 19th century, specific legislation was enacted to build our railway system. As Michael McDowell has suggested, a similar legislative approach should be taken today to developing key infrastructure. [ There is a way to unblock Ireland's infrastructural logjam Opens in new window ] We need to enact a specific legal mandate, in the overriding national interest, to drive forward critical projects and avoid the endless round of planning applications, appeals and judicial reviews. Had we done that for the metro, it would have been finished a decade ago. But unless the planning system is reformed, I'm unlikely during my lifetime to ride the metro or drink Shannon water from my tap.
