I am very disappointed that neither the Minister for Education nor the Minister of State with responsibility for special education is here today. This goes to the heart of the way Scoil Eoin in Ballincollig has been treated. It is insulting to the seriousness of this issue we have tabled that the Ministers are not here to discuss it. Scoil Eoin in Ballincollig in Cork has been trying to secure special classes for over 11 years, since 2013. The principal, staff, board of management and parents have done everything they could to work with the Department to secure funding to provide these much-needed classes. They have been blocked at every opportunity. The school requires €4.5 million to knock and rebuild a section of the school. Given the limited space, knock and rebuild is the only viable solution. A grant of €800,000 has been made towards a subsidence issue in the same section of the school and €300,000 has been sanctioned to replace a prefab in it. That €1.1 million would be better spent on a new build rather than putting sticking plasters over a building that is not fit for purpose and needs to be replaced. I am asking the Minister of State to give a commitment on when the Minister will meet the school community in Ballincollig and a commitment that this money will be forthcoming.
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Special Educational Needs
How many children with autism in the town of Ballincollig have been let down badly by the State and the Government? I know of 21 straight off the bat. They are the boys who attend the Scoil Eoin primary school, who are forced to struggle along in mainstream classes when special classes are what they need. This was recognised three years ago by the National Council for Special Education, which gave the green light for three special classes at the school. Three years on, there is nothing. Why? It is because the Department will not authorise €4.5 million for knock and build, the only option that does not take vital space and services, such as the library, away from other students.
Of course, there are many other children with autism in Ballincollig who are being disadvantaged. They include children who have had to be taken out of Scoil Eoin, away from their brothers and friends, to go to special classes elsewhere, outside the town, often more than half an hour away. I am asking the Minister of State today to arrange a meeting between the Minister and representatives of the school in May, and to encourage the Minister to come to that meeting with some good news for those students and their parents. It is the right thing to do and it has taken too long already.
I do not want to pre-empt what the Minister of State might say. I confirm that I spoke to the Minister last Friday after the public meeting that the three of us attended. She confirmed to me and the principal that she would meet him in the next three to four weeks. That meeting is confirmed and arranged. I suppose that is a first step. I will not dwell on the history because the two previous speakers have outlined it. Over the last number of years in this House, I have always pointed to the deficit of ASD classes in Ballincollig, and it was not even in our electoral area at that point, such is the difficulty for parents there in sourcing ASD places for their children.
Historically, people in Ballincollig would be farming their children out to outlying villages like Ovens, Farran, Dripsey and Inishcarra on minibuses and taxiing them all around the place. The problems in Ballincollig have been known for a long time at departmental level and locally in Cork.
From this debate, and I do not know if this is included in the Minister of State's response, I would like to have it reaffirmed that the Minister is going to have this meeting. As I said, she verbally committed to do so. The most important thing after that, as was previously alluded to, is that a significant amount of work will have to be done on the site. There is probably a two-pronged response to this issue. There will be a medium-term to long-term response in terms of the demolition and rebuilding. There is also the issue of what we are going to do in the short term, which may include looking at modular buildings in the interim while the larger-scale project is under way.
Before I call the Minister of State to respond, I wish to make the procedures here quite clear. When a Deputy tables an issue for a Topical Issue debate and it is selected, the Department is notified. If the Department is not able to supply a Minister or a Minister of State, the Department is required to contact the Member and tell them so. The Member may then decide to proceed with the Topical Issue debate or not. If people were not happy, then they should not have proceeded. If they were happy, then sin scéal eile. We are very pleased the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, is here and that he will cast some light on this matter for us.
Go raibh maith agat. Gabhaim buíochas arís le gach Teachta as scéal Scoil Eoin a ardú inniu. On behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, I will outline how the Department and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, continue to support children with special educational needs around the country and I will deal especially with the issues raised.
It is a priority to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to our schools to cater to the needs of children with special educational needs. In 2024, €2.7 billion will be spent on special education, which is an increase of €113 million. Among other things, this will allow for the opening of up to 400 new special classes in mainstream schools and 300 additional special school places.
The NCSE has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on education provision for children with special educational needs nationwide. Over the past few years, the Department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient mainstream, special class and special school places. These initiatives are bearing fruit, with over 1,300 new special classes sanctioned and seven new special schools established over the past four years. The Department engages intensely with the NCSE on the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. This forward planning work is well under way ahead of the 2024-25 school year.
Along with two new special schools opening this school year, 390 new special classes, which break down to 254 at primary and 136 at post-primary level, have been sanctioned by the NCSE for opening this school year. Of these, 76 are in Cork, 52 at primary level and 24 at post-primary level. This brings to 496 the number of special classes in County Cork, 351 at primary and 145 at post-primary level.
On Scoil Eoin, I can confirm, as the Deputies have outlined, that the Department received an application in 2021 under the additional schools accommodation, ASA, scheme for funding for the provision of three special education classrooms. The Department’s school building technical team carried out an in-depth review of the school site in 2021. The review confirmed that the school and the site are at maximum capacity and that it would not be possible to provide the required accommodation on site unless vast amounts of existing accommodation were to be demolished and replaced with two-storey accommodation. At that time, considering all the relevant impediments to delivering the brief of accommodation and the site constraints, the Department was not in a position to provide funding for the significant demolition of the school building. In light of this, the Department contacted the NCSE to advise it of this and to establish the special classes in other schools in the area.
In January 2024, the NCSE confirmed the need for special classes in the area. The NCSE and the Department are working to identify suitable locations for those classes to ensure that the children who require access to this provision can avail of it as soon as possible. Separately, the board of management of Scoil Eoin subsequently submitted a new engineer’s condition report to the Department in support of its proposal to knock down and rebuild a portion of the school building. The Department's technical team will review the contents of this report and officials from the Department will consult with the school authority on completion of this review. I know that Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan has arranged a meeting with the Minister, Deputy Foley, and there will be a chance to engage on this issue further directly with her then.
Am I to understand from the reply that the Department carried out an in-depth review of the site in 2021 and that it took until January 2024 for the NCSE to confirm that three classes were needed, which it knew were needed before it started in the first place? Is that what the reply is saying?
Yes.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle because I think he has highlighted an important issue. It is shocking to go back over some of the points in this reply. Mention was made of supporting children and enabling students with additional needs to receive an education. The Minister of State also said it is a priority to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement. He said that €2.7 billion is being spent.
He spoke about these points and then, at the same time, he spoke about the Department refusing to knock down what is on this site and then rebuild. He then talked about suitable locations in Ballincollig. I wish to tell the Minister of State something. This has been an issue for 11 years for this principal. He loves this school. The board of management has done everything. It is a disgrace what is happening. The schools in Ballincollig are full. The primary schools are full and the secondary schools are full.
I thank the Deputy.
All the children of the nation should be cherished equally. They are not being cherished in Ballincollig. There are children with additional and special needs who have nowhere to go to school. It is a disgrace.
The Minister of State used a lot of statistics in his reply. I am not going to use statistics. I am going to give him the words of a parent in the form of an extract taken from a letter that was sent. This parent had to move her child out to another school. She wrote that her family is being literally ripped apart and that instead of dropping her three children to school, she is now only dropping two of them. She continued by saying that the worst part, however, is that her most vulnerable child, whose main issue is anxiety and regulation, now has to leave an environment that was so familiar to him and travel in a taxi, without his family as security, for 30 minutes to an unknown school. This person then said she is absolutely gutted as a mother because she cannot give her son what he needs. She said he needs Scoil Eoin, his SNA that he has had for two years and the familiarity of the teachers and his classmates. She finished by saying she felt like she had failed him.
I would say to that parent that, no, she has not failed her son at all. The State has failed him. I would like to get some indication from the Minister of State that when the meeting that has been set up takes place, the Minister will be coming with some good news for the school and for parents like this.
There are a couple of things in play here. I acknowledge initially that approximately 20 children are impacted. They are already in situ in the school. Not all of them will require an ASD class. There are many who are pending assessments and so on. There is, however, still a requirement in this regard. As the Minister of State said in his response, three classes were allocated and this gives an idea of the demand there generally. We are up to 18 children, anyway, based on three classes being filled. The meeting is going to happen, but the most important thing for me is that a commitment was given to review the documentation sent back by the school and the board of management. All I ask is that this documentation is reviewed expeditiously. As the Ceann Comhairle highlighted, it was submitted in January 2024 and it is now four months later. I think four or five months is sufficient time for anybody in the building unit to make a decision one way or the other. I say this because parents and families will have to make big decisions if this development is not allowed to proceed. I think it is in everybody's best interests that it is treated with the utmost urgency and that we just get on and make a decision as expeditiously as possible.
I can assure all the Deputies that the Minister has recently secured significant extra capital funding for the Department. She fought very hard to secure it. The board of management's report will be assessed. Extensive demolition proposals were examined in the original review. The new engineer's conditional report will be assessed. The Minister has committed to Deputy O'Sullivan that she will have the meeting and discuss this issue. I think this issue does need to be explored. To Deputy Barry, I say that statistics are very important because this reflects the number of classes being stood up. I refer to the number of new classes and the level of new provision being stood up in the area.
That shows the Department is investing and making new classes available. I certainly will reflect to the Minister the strength of feeling and the observations of the Ceann Comhairle on the reply to her as well.
Kinsale and Bandon are not local, just to let the Minister of State know that. I see parents who have to take their kids all over Cork. It is not good enough.
It seems to me that the NCSE is the body that has significant questions to answer about how it conducts its business, if it took three years to conclude what the Department had concluded in 2021. There is progress. The Minister is going to meet and hopefully matters will move on for the children, who are the most important people, and they will be looked after.
Schools Building Projects
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a bheith anseo. Scoil Chiaráin was founded in 1970 and educates boys and girls of primary and post-primary age with mild to moderate special needs. Scoil Chiaráin helps them to develop socially and educationally within a stimulating, friendly environment. Every child, particularly those with special needs, should be given whatever supports are necessary to remain in education. Scoil Chiaráin provides a caring and friendly atmosphere that helps children to develop to the best of their ability their social and learning skills. Many of the children struggled in mainstream education. Many experienced bullying because of their disabilities or were overwhelmed by the regular education system. Some self-harmed or developed eating disorders because they were unable to cope in mainstream education. These children have complex needs and many have been out of school for up to three years. Scoil Chiaráin changed all of that for them. It provided smaller classes with a special school curriculum. They have thrived in this caring and welcoming school environment. Scoil Chiaráin teaches children, through adaptive programmes, the life skills and coping mechanisms they need as they grow into young adults and become confident members of their community.
However, this valued school has for more than ten years had to exist with structural problems that no school should have to endure. As long ago as 2012, the process to initiate the redevelopment of the school began. The school was surveyed, only to discover a shocking list of defects identified at that time. The report found that the foundations were unstable and that there were major problems with the sewage system. Along with other structural issues, the school building was deemed not fit for purpose.
Many of the issues identified over the intervening years have not yet been fully remediated. In 2020, the Department of Education agreed to a new build. When some concerns were raised about the initial design, it was revised and subsequently fire safety consultants and landscape artists were appointed. In June 2021, the plans for the new build were approved, thereby completing the design stage. In August 2021 the planning application was submitted and planning permission was granted that December. Both the disability access certificate and the first safety certificate were granted in early 2022. With everything effectively in place, the parents are at a loss to know when construction is to begin on site. At present, there is no library or quiet reading space for the children. There are no rooms for therapists to come in to see children or even to do assessments. The school only has one disabled toilet, which has to serve all the children with physical disabilities. There are not enough classrooms and contrary to the methodology of the school, classrooms are in danger of becoming overcrowded. Therefore the school cannot accept many children who have applied because of the lack of classroom capacity.
This is not a comprehensive list of the current problems. There are too many to outline in the short time I have to speak here. The parents and teachers want to know, and more importantly, the pupils want to know, when is this new build going to begin. There seems to be an inordinate delay in the tendering process. What stage are we at with regard to the tendering process? Will the Minister of State outline for the parents of these children, details of the status of the start of the redevelopment of Scoil Chiaráin? Will he commit to a date for the commencement of construction?
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ceist Scoil Chiaráin a ardú inniu. As the Deputy said, a major building project to provide new accommodation for the students of Scoil Chiaráin is included in the Department of Education’s construction programme being delivered under the National Development Plan, NDP, as part of Project Ireland 2040. The major building project for Scoil Chiaráin is being delivered under the Department of Education's accelerated delivery of architectural planning and tendering, ADAPT, programme. The ADAPT programme uses a professional external project manager to co-ordinate and drive the design team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of architectural planning, to tender and construction. While the original project brief was to deliver a new extension and refurbishment of the current school building, it was agreed, following a review by the design team to revise the project scope to deliver a new replacement school at the current site, in Glasnevin. The design team secured planning permission for the new school design stage in September 2021, which is the start of stage 2(b).
The current building dates from the late 1970s. The new building will provide purpose-built accommodation for students with special educational needs ranging in age from four to 18 years. It will comprise 20 mainstream classrooms, along with additional specialised rooms including art, home economics, woodwork, a library, GP room, a dining space, a sensory room, dedicated therapy rooms and all associated ancillary accommodation. The accommodation will take into consideration the specific needs of the students of Scoil Chiaráin.
The project is currently close to completion of stage 2(b) of the architectural design process. It involves detailed design and the preparation of tender documentation. The next stage, subject to relevant stage 2(b) approvals, will be tender stage, which is stage 3.
Projects are subject to relevant due diligence by the Department at each stage in the process, within the context of the overall programme and budgetary parameters. In late March, following a review of the national development plan, the Government and the Minister, Deputy Foley, approved medium-term capital allocations for the Department of Education for the period to 2026. The Department’s planning and building unit is now reviewing its programme plans in the context of those recently confirmed allocations. Special schools are a particular priority for the Department’s school building programme and I know, and the Minister knows, that the new building for Scoil Chiaráin will be transformative for the school community. Departmental officials will keep the school authorities updated on progress and on the next steps.
Scoil Chiaráin, as I said, is a unique, special school covering the north side of Dublin. It has been more than ten years since the school was surveyed and deemed not fit for purpose. The planning permission was granted in 2021. What the Deputy outlined is going to take us to 2026 and beyond, from what I understand. That is unacceptable. The Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Government, signed up to the UNCRPD for people with disabilities. These children are being treated abysmally. The pupils and the families are not being treated in a proper fashion. It is not good enough. The people want to meet the Minister and representatives of the Department. They want to outline the problems they face. I have listened to the parents about all the work that has been done and the effect it is having on the children and how they are progressing at this school. It is outstanding. This needs to be looked at. We cannot expect that in 2026 or however many more years are added on. That is not good enough.
I did not mention 2026 in my remarks.
The Minister of State did say that stage 3-----
There have been considerable changes to the design and plan of the school. The Department is aware of the current condition of the buildings at Scoil Chiaráin. It is committed to progressing the major school building project and to assist the school to maintain its existing accommodation pending the delivery. As I said, the Department is currently reviewing all its building projects in light of the new, revised allocations. I will once again make the Minister aware of the Deputy's remarks.
Business Supports
Earlier this week, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage made another big announcement with little substance behind it. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, said he was going to waive the fees for local businesses for outdoor seating, but he has provided little clarity around that. There was no clarity for the local businesses because there was no engagement with them. There was no clarity with the council and no clarity on what exactly will be waived or when that will happen.
Currently, small businesses are being robbed for outdoor seating. To place a table and seats on the footpath outside a coffee shop or restaurant, the biggest cost is renting space from the council. I spoke to the manager of a family-run coffee shop this morning. To put three tables and six seats outside that small coffee shop, the charge will be €6,000 per year. That can only be good for the coffee shop for half the year, given the Irish weather. It is being charged, but the seats are unusable for six months of the year. During the pandemic, he spent more than €3,000 installing a high-quality outdoor seating area. This is good for business, but it is also good for the local community. Due to the extortionate fees, however, this family-run coffee shop removed the outdoor seating area just a few weeks ago. The same story goes in Rathmines, where the coffee shops cannot afford seating, so they have scrapped it. There are now empty seats in Rathmines and across the city. These seating areas could have added a nice buzz to the local community and area. It is the city's loss. Ernesto's in Rathmines has a few tiny tables for people to drink coffee and rest. It is a lovely shop. Again, however, it is being robbed and crushed by these extortionate charges. It has to pay €4,500 for a few tiny tables for one year and, again, for most of the year he cannot use them, which means €4,500 for six months. It is extortionate. Businesses feel they are being robbed. Most businesses need to hire a professional to make the planning application, which, of course, is another cost.
Businesses are already hard enough pressed, particularly small independent coffee shops, cafés and restaurants. They have been hit with higher energy costs, higher costs for ingredients, higher staff costs, rent and rates, of course, and then, as if all of this was not enough, the council comes around and picks their pockets. Ernesto's is a small family business but, like all the businesses in Rathmines and across the city, it improves the area and adds to the community. It really seems like there is an attempt to milk every cent out of these local traders. Coffee shops like Ernesto's and Eathos add so much to the community and the city. The Government and councils need to be helping small businesses across the city, such as Ernesto's, not crushing them. Reducing and waiving these fees partially is not just going to support the businesses; it is also going to support the city and, God knows, the city needs help.
Does the Minister of State support these extortionate fees? Will the fees per square metre of footpath be waived? An ad hoc announcement in an election year, which will only last until the end of the year, seems cynical.
I thank Deputy Andrews for raising this issue, which relates to the proposed Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2024.
First, I must state that under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, the Minister with responsibility for planning is specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in respect of any particular planning related matter with which a planning authority or the board may be concerned.
We agree with the Deputy that the hospitality and restaurant sector, and indeed the wider tourism sector, suffered the brunt of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in the Government introducing a range of measures, including measures to facilitate outdoor dining, to manage the impact of the pandemic as well as the impact of cost inflation in recent years.
The Government is committed to providing necessary supports to relevant sectors, where appropriate. The street furniture licence fee regulations will be a repeat of the measures introduced in 2021, 2022 and 2023, which will continue to assist the hospitality and tourism sectors in 2024 by reducing the cost for maintaining outdoor dining facilities in public spaces.
The power for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to make regulations for the fees payable for street furniture licences, such as tables and chairs for outdoor dining, is set out in section 246(1) of the Planning and Development Act 2000. In accordance with section 262(4) of the Act, regulations relating to the setting of fees for street furniture licences that are made under section 246(1) of the Act are first required to be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas in draft form, with the regulations not being able to be signed by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage unless a positive resolution approving the draft regulation has been passed by each House.
The Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2024 were laid in draft form before both Houses of the Oireachtas on 16 April 2024 in accordance with section 262 of the Act. On 30 April 2024, which was Tuesday of this week, the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage to present the Planning and Development (Street Furniture Fees) Regulations 2024, which will set the section 254 licence fees for tables and chairs for the purpose of outdoor dining to zero until 31 December 2024.
Having been discussed and generally welcomed in the joint committee on Tuesday last, the current position is that the regulation to remove the normal licence fee of €125 per table now awaits positive resolutions from the Houses of the Oireachtas. Once the positive resolutions have been adopted - they are expected imminently - it is the intention of the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, to sign the regulation at the earliest opportunity.
Once signed, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will issue a circular letter to local authorities informing them that no fees shall be charged or levied for tables and chairs for the purpose of outdoor dining up to 31 December 2024. The circular letter will also provide any further necessary clarifications on the matter. These regulations are a positive measure aimed at reducing the operating costs of businesses in the wider hospitality sector in these challenging times of increased costs and they have been welcomed over a number of years.
It would also be the intention of the regulations that any street furniture licence fees already paid by businesses in respect of the current year prior to the signing of the regulations by the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, would be refunded by local authorities.
The Minister of State might clarify something. My understanding is that the charge of €125 per table will be waived. However, the cost for renting the space, which can work out between €200 and €400 per square metre, is not going to be waived. Obviously, that it is a huge expense. The waiving of the charge of €125 will going to have a huge impact. It is obviously welcome; anything is welcome. However, the bulk of the charge will be for the renting of the square metre on the footpath and that is not being to be waived. That is having a devastating effect on businesses right across the city. That needs to be waived as well if the Government is serious about helping. I cannot help but think is a bit cynical given that it is during an election year, and it is only until the end of the year. There needs to be some respite given to businesses.
One business not too far from here, Mamma Mia pizza restaurant, is a small, locally run business that adds to the local community. It is on Grattan Street, right next to Mount Street. It has been in existence for 14 years and for the past year, it has been trying to trade with tents facing it and the smell of urine constantly in the air. The Taoiseach mentioned during the week that he did not want an ad hoc approach to immigration. However, the Government's failure on immigration has damaged this family business and may close it. To make matters worse, the council is robbing it with these outdoor charges and is refusing to give it any relief whatsoever. The business has been expected to pay for outdoor seating despite the Government's failure on immigration creating a shanty town in front of this business.
Where is the common sense? Dublin City Council needs to support these businesses, not rob them. The council has shown zero flexibility. Other councils have much fairer payment plans in place. How can the Minister of State justify these charges when businesses are on their knees? The State has failed the Mamma Mia pizza restaurant and should show some support for this small family business.
I can confirm that the power with regard to this fee falls under section 262(4) of the Act, which relates to the fees payable for street furniture, which amount to €125. I would also point out that this was done in 2021, 2022 and 2023, in non-election years. The Minister will sign the regulation at the earliest opportunity.
We have just completed a range of supports for small businesses through the increased cost-of-business scheme, and in the coming days we will be able to provide figures, including for Dublin city, as to the uptake of that.
For clarity, the Minister will sign the regulation at the earliest opportunity, in accordance with section 262 of the planning Act.
The square meter figure, however, will not increase.
Prison Service
It was confirmed to me in recent weeks that the progression unit within Mountjoy Prison has been closed and that it is being used to deal with excessive numbers of sex offenders. My concern is for the inmates who were in the progression unit, which is an important part of the incentivised regime policy within prisons. There are basic, standard and enhanced regimes for prisoners and it incentivises them to engage in positive behaviours and education, for which they are rewarded. The progression unit was the top of this programme and allowed for a more relaxed, safer and drug-free environment that provided better incentives and better rehabilitation options for prisoners.
Now, due to overcrowding, that has been lost, and this is incredibly short-sighted. Prisoners who are doing well are being punished. Those who are engaging in rehabilitation programmes are now losing the privilege. I asked in one parliamentary question whether the prisoners who were in the unit would be kept together to maintain that positive environment, but the answer was unclear and the Department was unable to confirm whether that was the case.
One of our issues with prisons is that, in failing to provide proper rehabilitative services and supports, people who leave prison end up falling back into crime. We end up putting pressure on our prison population, cause continual chaos in our communities and continue to leave people in chaotic lifestyles, rather than help them move beyond that. Part of this is about providing rehabilitative supports in the prison and the links to outside, and the community and probation work to prepare them for release and post release. This is why the progression unit matters and is important, and it is incredibly disappointing it has been closed.
What are we doing to provide for these prisoners who have worked their way up, through the incentivised regime policy, and should be rewarded and supported? There is also the wider question of rehabilitative services within prisons to ensure that in the long run we are reducing the need for prisons and reducing the prison population by tackling recidivism. What are we doing on those two key issues of prison reform?
I thank the Deputy for raising the matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Justice. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, had the opportunity to attend the Prison Officers Association conference last week and spent time with the association talking about the important work prison officers do in our prisons. As the Deputy will be aware, prison environments can be very challenging but are professionally managed by the Prison Service and prison officers who work in them. Their commitment to providing all those in their care with a safe, secure environment that has a strong focus on rehabilitation and education is clear.
The education and training offered in prisons equips people with the tools and knowledge to reform and rehabilitate. It provides a supportive environment in order that they can build purposeful, crime-free lives on release. To achieve this, the Irish Prison Service provides a wide range of rehabilitative and educational programmes to those in custody, which everyone is eligible and allowed to use.
The Minister assures the Deputy the incentivised regime policy is a national policy. All prisoners in the prison estate can access this policy, which strives to reinforce good behaviour and provide tangible incentives to prisoners who participate in structured activities, which in turn lead to a safer and more secure environment. As the Deputy will appreciate, however, the Irish Prison Service must accept into custody everyone committed to prison by the courts. As such, it has no control over the numbers committed to custody at any given time, and the numbers held in our prison are currently particularly high. To manage this, the Prison Service is working closely with the Minister's officials in the Department of Justice to take steps to ensure a safe working environment for staff and the safety and security of all those in custody.
In recent years, the Government has made significant capital funding available to the Irish Prison Service to enhance the existing prison infrastructure and provide additional capacity. The Minister has also recently secured additional capital funding of €49.5 million. This funding will help start four key projects, at Castlerea, Cloverhill, Mountjoy and Midlands prisons, that will create accommodation for up to 670 prisoners. Preparatory work on these projects will commence this year. The funding will also ensure more than 150 additional places come on stream this year. These projects will take time, however, and as part of managing capacity, the Irish Prison Service must make the best use of all available prison spaces.
As advised in the Minister’s recent response to the Deputy’s parliamentary question, sex offenders, both sentenced and on remand, were previously accommodated at four locations, Midlands Prison, Arbour Hill, Castlerea and the Mountjoy training unit. However, due to limitations at these locations and rising numbers of sex offender committals to prison, it was decided to consider other options within the prison estate to accommodate this cohort of prisoner. The progression unit of Mountjoy Prison is self-sufficient and there is no requirement for prisoners living there to interact with or traverse to the main prison. For this reason, it was decided the progression unit was a suitable location to accommodate sex offenders. Those currently accommodated in the progression unit who are not serving their sentences for sex offences will be moved to alternative suitable accommodation within the prison estate.
The challenge is that the tangible incentives the Minister for Justice referred to in her prepared response are gone. Moving out of the progression unit means moving from an environment with no drug use to one with significant issues with drug use, and moving from an environment where education is available to one where educational options are frequently closed, with fewer teachers and fewer subject options. That is the reality of the education provided for the general prison population.
Contrary to what was said, I would argue the rehabilitative supports that are offered are extremely limited. To give one example, the Department estimates 70% of the prison population struggles with addiction issues. In Mountjoy, that translates to about 600 prisoners, but there are only two addiction counsellors in Mountjoy to meet the needs of those 600 prisoners. Likewise, there is significant underprovision of probation officers. I do not agree, therefore, that we provide robust rehabilitative options. As I said, the supports are extremely limited, but if we are trying to invest in people's long-term rehabilitation and prevent crime down the line, we need to invest in those supports.
There are alternatives. There is non-custodial community-based sentencing, a commitment in the programme for Government that is not being progressed, which would be a much better choice than the significant capital expenditure of simply creating more prison spaces, where we are creating the same poor environment that is producing poor outcomes. If we are going to invest in additional prison spaces, we need to look at what is happening across Europe where the RESCALED campaign, to produce smaller prisons with lower numbers in order that services can be offered in a more effective way, is the way forward. We need to invest meaningfully in rehabilitative support services and in the programme for Government commitments to alternatives such as non-custodial sentencing, instead of throwing money at expanding the prison estate.
The Deputy will appreciate we are in very challenging circumstances at the moment and the Irish Prison Service is doing everything it can to manage the prison population in a fair and equitable manner that continues to support the rehabilitation of those in custody. To ensure we have the capacity needed to provide that safe and secure custody, we have modernised the Mountjoy complex, constructed a new prison in Cork and provided additional prisoner accommodation in Midlands Prison.
Capacity across the prison estate has been increased by in excess of 200 new spaces in recent years through the reopening of the training unit in Mountjoy, the opening of new male accommodation in Limerick and the new stand-alone female prison in Limerick.
However, beyond the additional funding recently secured for capital builds, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is also committed to looking at all potential options to meet the current and future needs of the Prison Service. The Minister is establishing a new review group to make recommendations on other future developments, including at Thornton Hall.