Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 4 Apr 2007

Vol. 635 No. 2

Adjournment Debate.

Schools Building Projects.

Mr. Stagg

I thank the Minister for allowing me to raise this matter. I assume the Minister is not coming into the House to deal with it. If anything symbolises the failure of this Government, it is the scandal of Kill national school. After ten years of this incompetent Government and four Fianna Fáil Ministers for Education and Science, no progress has been achieved.

Kill national school is still situated virtually on a traffic island in the middle of a motorway. It is grossly overcrowded and there is a waiting list of children who cannot get a school place. Mr. Tom Cunnane, the excellent principal, is besieged by angry parents and he is taking flak which should be directed at the Minister for Education and Science. He is left carrying the can for the Government's repeated and long-standing failure to honour its undertakings to the people of Kill.

I pay tribute to Mr. Cunnane and his staff for doing an excellent job for the children of Kill despite the difficulties they face, which the Minister has failed to remove. I know the Minister was acutely aware of the situation in Kill during the by-election in Kildare North and in case she has been distracted by other matters, I will refresh her memory. The school was built in 1951 and caters for a population of 4,000. It consists of the old building and numerous — at least ten — prefab classrooms. It has no PE room, no staff room and very little usable playground. In 2000, the Minister decided that a new school was to be built in the town. Since then nothing has been done by the Minister to achieve that objective.

Through the efforts of the principal, a local landowner and Kildare County Council, an agreement has now been reached on acquiring a site for a new school. The site will be legally transferred to the Department of Education and Science very shortly. On 1 March 2006, I raised this matter on the Adjournment and the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, responded with a solemn undertaking to build the school ten months after acquiring the site. She also said she would use the interim to establish the size of the school required and said, in September 2006, that a 32-class new school had been agreed.

She has again reneged on her undertakings. Her Department's website is now advertising for the new school and the following is taken from the expressions of interest notice:

The project will entail the construction of a new primary school comprising between 24 and 32 classrooms plus associated ancillary accommodation and site works. The new build accommodation will total somewhere between 3,600 sq. m. and 4,550 sq. m. The definite scope of the project, i.e. the number of classrooms to be provided, will be decided by the client, namely the Minister, shortly. Candidates should be aware that this accommodation is required by September 2009.

I was thunderstruck when I read that notice and could not believe that the Minister would mislead the House and the parents and teachers of Kill in such a barefaced manner. Not only has she not decided on the size of the school, contradicting what she told the Dáil on 1 March 2006, she has now abandoned the ten-month building period and has pushed the project into 2009 or beyond.

The Minister needs to explain herself to the House. I call on her to stand by her early undertakings and her promises to Kill school and its people. She must instruct her officials to act accordingly as nothing less will be acceptable. Kill wants its school ten months after it gets the site, as she promised.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. N. Ahern)

On behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, I will update the House on the proposed new primary school for Scoil Bhride in Kill, County Kildare.

Last November, the Department announced details of 72 primary schools and eight post-primary schools that were given the go-ahead to proceed with major works such as new school building projects, extensions or refurbishments. The proposed new primary school in Kill was one of those listed. The first key step in the project is to appoint an architectural design team which will design and plan the works. To that end, an advertisement seeking design team consultants for Kill was placed on the public procurement portal on Monday, 26 March 2007, with the closing date for the receipt of expressions of interests being Friday, 27 April.

After these pre-qualification applications have been assessed by the school building section, further instructions will issue to all of the shortlisted candidates seeking further submissions so that phase two of the appointment process, the award stage, can commence. I have been advised that the design team should be formally appointed in July.

Officials from the school planning and building section of the Department have been in regular contact with representatives of the school authority since the November announcement and met with them again recently to discuss their interim accommodation needs. This consultative approach is working well and the Department is satisfied that the co-operative approach of the school authority will ensure that all eligible pupils have access to a place next September.

The Deputy makes reference to a Dáil Adjournment Debate of 1 March 2006. Initially, this project was identified as a possible generic repeat design, GRD, school and it is true that this build method can be delivered in a shorter timeframe than would be the case otherwise. However, subsequent technical evaluations indicated that such a build type is not possible on this site. An early construction start date in 2008, with an expected occupation date in 2009, is the new timeline to which the Department and the school authority will be working. The Department will use whatever construction method is feasible that will allow us to deliver this school on this site in the shortest possible time.

Regarding the matter of the site acquisition, the Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of the Department generally on the acquisition of sites for schools, has identified a suitable site for St. Brigid's national school in Kill. Agreement on the site acquisition has been reached, subject to contract. While draft contracts have been exchanged, I am advised that the conveyancing process continues to be delayed pending the outcome of a planning application by the vendor.

I assure Deputy Stagg that the Department of Education and Science is fully committed to providing suitable facilities for Kill national school at the earliest possible date.

Turbary Rights.

Mr. Penrose

I will share my time with Deputy Paul McGrath. This is an extremely important issue which was raised at a meeting we both held with the IFA in Mullingar two or three weeks ago. It has provoked strong responses from approximately 75 people with turbary rights in the geographical area covered by Carn Park and Crosswood Bogs in south Westmeath near Athlone and Mount Temple.

The proposal is for special areas of conservation in accordance with the 1997 habitats regulations. People who make these decisions seem to have very little understanding of their impact on turbary owners in such areas, who require bogland to harvest turf as a source of fuel for domestic use. While these areas might have been proposed as SAC areas in December 2002, the people impacted on heard and saw nothing more until physical action was taken by officials of the Department on the turf bank.

Surely the Department uses the agreement between the Government and farming organisations, copies of which both Deputy Paul McGrath and I have, on the review of the implementation of the habitats regulations 1997, whereby it should notify affected persons in writing, explaining in clear language the scientific reasons for the designation, and hold follow-up discussions with them. That is the least to be expected when turbary land, which people are using effectively, is to be confiscated and sterilised.

Appendix C deals with the compensation for turf-cutting under the agreement and states that, in the case of raised bogs and where it is necessary to prohibit turf cutting in blanket bogs, save in exceptional circumstances, people will be allowed to continue domestic cutting on their plots for up to ten years. After the ten-year period the Department would review whether there were particular circumstances under which domestic turf cutting could continue on raised bogs without damaging them. Based upon a simple interpretation of this agreement, Deputy Paul McGrath and I concluded that the 75 turbary owners based in Carn Park and Crosswood Bog should have until 2015 to continue utilising their bog areas for the purpose of harvesting turf for domestic consumption.

It was the suddenness and the pre-emptory nature of the Minister's action that aroused the ire of the turbary owners in the area. Why not have some consultation with the groups so severely impacted by these proposals? Why could these people not be offered alternative areas in close proximity to allow them to harvest their turbary requirements? Why has the agreement between the Government and the farming organisations, particularly the IFA, which included two meetings with the former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, been totally disregarded in this important process? I ask the Minister to revisit the decision and enter discussions in consultation with the affected people in this geographic area. It is not too late to do so.

Mr. P. McGrath

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing Deputy Penrose and me to raise this important issue. As someone brought up in the city, the Minister of State will not fully appreciate the huge impact of taking away turbary rights from people in rural areas. Many people in rural areas have had turf-cutting rights on bogs for generations and they guard this right very jealously. Not only does it provide them with a source of fuel over the winter months, but it is also a great form of therapy. Many people enjoy their long evenings spent in the bog. I was brought up in a country area and spent many evenings in the bog. While I did not appreciate it at the time——

Mr. Penrose

The Deputy got whelks on his hands.

Mr. P. McGrath

——my father ensured we were there and looking back we had some enjoyable times. However, 75 people in south Westmeath with turbary rights are now being cut off and told they no longer have those rights. Deputy Penrose and I recently attended an IFA meeting where we witnessed these people's anger. We met greater anger from the IFA officials present who had negotiated with the Government on behalf of such farmers around the country who would be affected. They gave us a copy of the document entitled "Agreement between the Government and Farming Organisations on Review of Implementation of the Habitats Regulations 1997". It outlined what was decided in the 2003 Sustaining Progress partnership agreement. It stated that the designation process should "be brought to completion as speedily as possible, while having full regard to the need for consultation with land owners and users, in order to meet legal obligations and to remove uncertainty for land owners and users".

Deputy Penrose quoted from Appendix 3 of the document which, in respect of compensation for turf-cutters, under the heading of "Additional incentive payment" stated:

The following applies in the case of Raised Bogs and also applies where it is necessary to prohibit turf cutting in Blanket Bogs.

Save in exceptional circumstances, people will be allowed to continue domestic cutting on their plots for up to 10 years.

The IFA official present who negotiated that agreement with the Government was very much of the opinion that this would mean the ten years up to 2015. Deputy Penrose tabled a parliamentary question to the Minister, who stated these rights would cease next year and they would need to stop cutting then. We need to resolve this issue. The people who negotiated the agreement believed they had ten years from that point. The Government is now interpreting it as a two-year deal, which is not satisfactory. We need an interpretation on the matter. I ask the Minister of State to talk to the farmers concerned. Some compromise needs to be reached.

Mr. N. Ahern

I am answering on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Roche. Carn Park and Crosswood Bog were designated as special areas of conservation in December 2002. SACs are the prime wildlife conservation areas in the country. They are important on both a European and national level, and must be protected for future generations. Both these bogs comprise raised bog, which is a rare habitat in the EU and is becoming increasingly scarce and under threat in Ireland. As Ireland has more than 60% of the total EU resource of raised bog, we have a special responsibility for its conservation at an international level.

Although these bogs have been designated as SACs, turf cutting for domestic use only will be permitted on less sensitive areas of the bogs until the end of 2008, subject to the condition that so-called "sausage machines" are not used.

Mr. P. McGrath

Does the Minister of State know what they are?

Mr. N. Ahern

The Deputy already made reference to my upbringing and I apologise.

Mr. Penrose

Perhaps the Minister of State was lucky. He need not apologise.

Mr. N. Ahern

I appreciate the impact the cessation of turf cutting at the end of 2008 will have on turbary right owners in these and other SAC designated bogs. In view of that impact the previous Minister agreed in 1999 that domestic turf cutting could be permitted on less sensitive areas of bogs designated as SACs for a period of up to ten years. This was to allow cutters the opportunity to make alternative arrangements for their domestic heating supplies and as I have indicated it was also subject to the condition that so-called "sausage machines" could not be used.

Regard for the impact on local turf cutters was also the reason my Department introduced the cessation of turf cutting scheme. Under this scheme my Department purchases either freehold title or turbary rights in raised bogs in designated areas. This approach ensures the survival of the bog and provides a financial resource for those availing of the scheme to purchase an alternative source of energy, including the purchase of non-designated bogs.

My Department will purchase turbary rights at a cost of €2,975 for the first acre or part thereof and €2,550 for each subsequent acre. Higher rates are available to those who sell full title. A generous bonus scheme is also in place in recognition of the impact the cessation of turf cutting may have on those concerned. I intend to keep this scheme open at least until the expiry of the ten-year derogation period.

While turf cutting in areas designated as national heritage areas may continue until 2014, SACs such as Carn Park and Crosswood Bog are the prime conservation sites in the country, important at both EU and national level, and it would not be appropriate to allow a further extension of the period for ending turf cutting in these areas.

Irish Language.

Mr. Deenihan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue. Although Dingle is not in my constituency a number of individuals from Dingle have been in contact with me in the past two weeks regarding the uncertainty surrounding the signposting of their town, which continues to be a matter of grave concern among the vast majority of Dingle's inhabitants.

A recent survey carried out by local businesses has shown that 84% of tourists who travelled to Dingle by car over the St. Patrick's holiday weekend experienced difficulty finding the town because of the omission of the name Dingle from signposts. The survey was conducted in a number of local bed and breakfasts, restaurants, shops and pubs in the town. Tourists were asked whether their visit was hampered by the omission of the word Dingle from the signposts, which, since the introduction of the place names order by Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, read only "An Daingean". Some 84 out of the 100 tourists surveyed said they had difficulty finding the town travelling by car and 95% said they knew the town only as Dingle not as An Daingean. Some 94% indicated it would be more beneficial to visitors to the area if the names on the signposts were indicated in English and in Irish. Some 93% indicated they preferred the name Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis.

One visitor from Iceland said he and his companion wasted a considerable amount of time trying to find the town after a long journey and was very annoyed not to see signs to Dingle. Mike Ekberg from Iceland stated: "Our guidebook helped us to clarify that we were in Dingle. Without this help we might have been lost. In Kinsale and Kenmare, our inn keepers referred to this town as Dingle".

The survey came about following mounting frustration in the town owing to confusion being experienced in the town by tourists. Local bed and breakfasts report that the past winter was the quietest they ever had and fear that casual trade, that is, those travelling by car without a set plan, is bypassing Dingle as the name can no longer be seen on any signpost in Kerry. Locals point out that bilingual signposts are in place both inside and outside Gaeltacht areas in Cork, Galway, Mayo and Donegal, and they ask why Dingle is the only town to have had its name taped over.

A total of 93% of local qualified electors in the area voted to return the bilingual names of Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis last October. It is unfortunate that the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, is not present tonight, given that he is responsible for causing this confusion. I hope the Minister of State will clarify, once and for all, what is the Government's real intention with regard to restoring Dingle's original names.

Mr. N. Ahern

I understand Deputy Deenihan's desire to raise an issue of particular interest to the people of the town and of the Corcha Dhuibhne Gaeltacht. The Minister's placenames order of December 2004, issued under the Official Languages Act 2003 and covering in excess of 2,300 placenames, had the effect of changing the placename of Dingle to An Daingean. Under the 2003 Act, there are three contexts only in which the use of the English language version is no longer permissible: Acts of the Oireachtas and statutory instruments; road and street signs erected by or on behalf of a local authority; prescribed maps produced by Ordnance Survey Ireland.

As recognised by the Official Languages Act 2003, placenames are an important component of local identity. Placenames orders give legal status to the Irish language placenames of Gaeltacht areas, but do so without preventing the continued use of the English language version by any private citizen. On 20 October 2006, Kerry County Council conducted a plebiscite under the Local Government Act 1946 to ascertain whether the majority of the qualified electors in the non-municipal town of An Daingean consented to an application being made to the Government for an order changing the name of An Daingean to Dingle Daingean Uí Chúis. Of the 1,222 electors, 1,005 gave their consent to Kerry County Council's proposal. The county council then resolved to apply to the Government to make an order under Statutory Instrument No. 77 of the Local Government Act 1946 to change the name to Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis, which the Minister, Deputy Roche, received in November 2006.

Kerry County Council conducted the plebiscite having previously been informed of the conclusion of the Attorney General, issued on 7 April 2006, that the local government code could not be used to change the name of a place subject to a placenames order, such as An Daingean. In view of this advice, it is not legally possible to give effect to the plebiscite while An Daingean is subject to a placenames order.

The Minister, Deputy O'Cuív, has sought to resolve local concerns through regular visits and meetings with the local community and its elected representatives at which alternative and complementary approaches were considered. He has indicated that tourist signs could use the English version of Dingle, provided that they are not erected by a local authority. However, it is not within his powers under the Official Languages Act to declare a bilingual placename.

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, has also recently met interest groups from the town and its hinterland and he is aware of the strength of local feeling on this issue. Kerry County Council's plebiscite has articulated the views of the townspeople. However people living in the wider area, who regard An Daingean as the capital of the Chorca Dhuibhne Gaeltacht, have expressed support for continuation of the official placename of An Daingean.

This placename issue and its legal complexities are the subject of deliberations involving the relevant Ministers, Departments and the Attorney General. The Government's position will be determined shortly having regard to all the factors involved.

Water and Sewerage Schemes.

Mr. P. Breen

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this important issue. Last Monday night I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the Doolin Tourism Co-Operative Society at the community centre. The members of that society are extremely angry. The Minister will be aware that Doolin is not just a tourist attraction of national importance, but is renowned internationally. It has been featured in Time magazine and is famous for its music, through Micho Russell, and its scenery, atmosphere and the friendliness of its people. However, it does not have a proper sewerage scheme.

It would be bad enough if this was the extent of the problem. Unfortunately, however, every other piece of critical infrastructure gets long-fingered due to the fact that there is no sewerage scheme in place. Clare County Council is refusing to put in place any critical infrastructure until it is in place. I do not know if the Minister has ever had the pleasure of visiting the area. If he has not, I recommend that he do so. Other Ministers have visited in recent times, including the Minister of State with responsibility for the marine, Deputy Browne, in the course of their electioneering.

Doolin is situated at the edge of the Burren. It attracts many walking tourists who spend a night or more in the village. The village has four hotels, four hostels, 40 bed and breakfast establishments, two campsites or 120 self-catering units. Visitors use Doolin as a base for visiting the new Cliffs of Moher interpretative centre or the Aran Islands. Like many rural Irish villages, Doolin has an extended character. It is a long village with commercial interests dotted from Fisher Street to the Roman Catholic church. This necessitates much walking between different areas of the village. However, with record traffic levels in recent years, it is uncomfortable and unsafe to walk through the village.

Doolin has a limited number of footpaths, little public lighting and the road through the village is narrow. Anybody who has driven through the village to access the ferry to the Aran Islands will remember how difficult this can be, particularly in the summer season. There is not enough space for two vehicles to pass. This makes it extremely uncomfortable for residents and tourists who are on foot. It is, as was pointed out this week, a health and safety issue apart from anything else.

This is a problem facing many such villages, not just in Clare but also nationally. It is a problem for the people of Quilty, further down the coast, who lobbied for many years for a sewerage plant, pointing out that the village was dying because of the lack of this critical infrastructure. Other villages on the Clare coast include Liscannor, Spanish Point, Carrigaholt and Labasheeda, all of which lack development and sewerage schemes. It is true that in recent weeks schemes have been approved for Scariff, Feakle and Mullagh. However, many other towns are affected by the lack of such facilities. The Minister should heed what happened in Galway. As a result of the infrastructure not being put in place, the city has a huge water pollution problem due to the sewerage plant at Oughterard.

One of the best selling points of Doolin is the magnificent quality of the waters on the coast of Clare. This is what attracts tourists to Doolin. Approximately 2,500 travel through Doolin every day during the summer months. That is a huge number for a small village with no critical infrastructure or sewerage scheme. These tourists look out on the blue Atlantic not realising the problems being experienced by local people.

I understand from Clare County Council that there is a delay with the Doolin scheme, which is coupled with Ballyvaughan and Corofin. It relates to the council's application for a foreshore licence from the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. However, as the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is the overall co-ordinator of this application, I ask the Minister to fast track this process in the interests of tourism and the people of west Clare. Doolin is the jewel of west Clare and it is wrong that one of the biggest tourist destinations in the county is so under-developed. This shoddy service is not good enough. Perhaps the Minister will outline the updated position and whether the foreshore licence issue can be resolved, so the people of Doolin can have a 21st century sewerage andwastewater system.

Mr. N. Ahern

The Doolin sewerage scheme, which is being advanced as a grouped project with schemes for Ballyvaughan and Corofin, is approved for funding in the Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2005 — 2007. The estimated cost of the schemes is €17.5 million, the vast bulk of which the Department will be funding. Doolin is one of more than 20 schemes being put in place to provide modern water and wastewater services in almost 40 different areas of the county. The overall value of this package is €196 million and it will make a huge difference to environmental standards and development opportunities all over Clare.

The Doolin-Ballyvaughan-Corofin project will provide new wastewater treatment plants for each of the three locations, as well as new and improved sewage collection networks. The modern wastewater infrastructure being put in place will be able to cater for the current population, as well as having spare capacity to accommodate future needs. It will play a major role in facilitating development and supporting the tourism sector, which is of paramount importance in these parts of Clare.

High unit costs have been an issue with a number of sewerage schemes in Clare and have required careful fine-tuning to bring the costs down to a level where they could be justified in economic terms. This was successfully achieved with the Feakle-Scarriff-Quilty scheme where the Exchequer contribution has been agreed and the council is now in the process of inviting tenders for the collection systems. It should soon also be able to go to tender for the treatment plants.

The same issue of affordability has arisen with the Doolin-Ballyvaughan-Corofin project, although the costs in this case are much less severe and will be easier to resolve. Clare County Council was asked by the Department to review the costings for the three areas and to make any necessary adjustments to the proposals to ensure that the most cost-effective solutions were being put forward for Exchequer funding. The council's response is being examined in the Department and I expect it to be able to respond later this month. I am optimistic that the response will be positive.

I am also aware that the council has applied to the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources for foreshore licences for the Doolin and Ballyvaughan schemes where the discharges will be into the sea. The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources has consulted my Department's national parks and wildlife section, NPWS, because of the possible impact of the sea outfalls on special areas of conservation, SAC. As part of this process, the council intends meeting NPWS shortly to discuss how best the SAC dimension can be dealt with and I hope these discussions will pave the way for early approval of the foreshore licences.

I emphasise that the funding has been allocated for these schemes and it is now a matter of getting them through the planning and procurement stages as quickly as possible. I will do everything I can to be of assistance in that regard. Once the foreshore licences are in place, the council will be able to prepare contract documents and then move on to tender stage. I understand Deputy Pat Breen's desire to see the works starting as quickly as possible and I look forward to and hope we can expect early progress in that direction.

The Dáil adjourned at 11 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 5 April 2007.