The House will now hear one minute statements on matters appropriate to the Ministers for the Environment and Health. I propose to call on Deputies Ryan, Deenihan, Flanagan, Finucane, Tom Kitt and Enright to make one minute statements appropriate to the Minister for the Environment, to be followed by statements on matters appropriate to the Minister for Health by Deputies Ryan, Deenihan and Ferris.
Adjournment Debate. - Environment and Health Matters.
Is the Minister aware that the town of Balbriggan is being choked to death by traffic, affecting its industrial and commercial life and also causing grave difficulties for the IDA in attracting industry to the town? There is an unemployment black spot being created in my constituency. Would the Minister confirm that the provision of a by-pass is a Government priority. Furthermore, will he confirm that the necessary finance will be made available by his Department in 1991 to enable the by-pass be proceeded with at a faster rate, as a matter of priority, as required by all of the people of the area?
The Minister, through his Department, allocated £879,000 to Kerry County Council in 1990 for the upkeep and improvement of our national primary roads. That was the fifth lowest allocation of the 27 local authorities nationwide, the figure having been the smallest in years. For example, in 1984 the Government allocated £2.135 million and in 1988 £1.927 million were allocated. As Kerry is one of our most peripheral counties we need good access and internal infrastructure from both a tourism and industrial point of view.
It should be remembered that Kerry increased its tourist revenue over 50 per cent in the past four years. Within that period not a single major road improvement project was carried out on the national primary route from Feales Bridge on the Limerick Border to Killarney and Tralee. The section of the national primary road from Castleisland to Farranfore Airport must be the worst in the country. There is grave danger that the growth in the tourist industry could be checked and industrialists discouraged from investing in our county if the Minister will not substantially increase the allocation for the improvement of our national primary roads in 1991.
The need for the Department of the Environment to sanction moneys for up-grading public lighting in the village of Borris-in-Ossory is crystal clear. Two pedestrian fatalities occurred in recent times in a village with a lighting system of a type more suited to the Emergency. Surely this warrants immediate, positive action.
In reply to parliamentary questions, reported at column 455 of the Official Report of Wednesday, 28 November last, the Minister suggested that Laois County Council had not applied for sanction. I contend the Minister's reply was deliberately evasive, designed to provide as little information as possible. The Minister is not presenting the true picture. Laois County Council have been in discussion with the Department of the Environment and a request has been submitted to that Department.
In the interests of safety and, in view of the fact that the village of Borris-in-Ossory is the only village on the national primary route N7 with inferior and substandard lighting. I am asking the Minister of State — who represents the constituency — to pledge to this House and the people of County Laois that this matter will receive urgent and immediate attention.
In the early eighties it was envisaged that a large group water scheme would cover a wide area outside Shanagolden. This scheme was never proceeded with and encompassed too wide an area. Also it was difficult to organise and would have involved significant expenditure. Over the years many of the people originally interested in the scheme proceeded to sink their own wells. For the majority of those interested in the Clashganniff group water scheme it was not feasible to sink wells because of the ground surface. Considerable advances have been made with the co-operation of Limerick County Council and the Department of the Environment. What is now required is the commitment of the Minister to allocate State grants in order that this scheme can be proceeded with, providing a long awaited water supply for up to 30 applicants. I sincerely hope the Minister will now provide the necessary finance for that purpose.
From the south Dublin area requests are arriving on the desks of Dublin County Council engineers on a daily basis for ramps, roundabouts, rumble strips and any available means of reducing speed. The reason for the increase in traffic is the absence of a ring road for south Dublin. From one direction traffic, including juggernauts, drives off the Stillorgan dual carriageway and then seeks out short cuts through estates in Mount Merrion, Clonskeagh and Dundrum. From the west, where part of the ring road has been constructed, heavy traffic arrives at Rathfarnham with nowhere to go. It spreads through Ballyroan Road, Scholarstown Road, Butterfield Park and in general takes every available short cut through what once were quiet and safe housing estates.
The Southern Cross route should, when it is built by 1995, help to resolve this problem. The Dundrum by-pass will also have an impact. In the meantime, Dublin County Council have no adequate funds to provide ramps for these estates that are being directly affected by the dramatic increase in traffic. I ask the Minister in the interest of public safety to make a special road safety allocation to cope with this urgent, immediate need.
I raised the matter of the serious traffic problem in Borris-in-Ossory village by way of a question in this House on 28 November and I want to bring to the attention of the House again the dangerous traffic situation in Borris-in-Ossory. The traffic conditions in the village are a threat to the local community. In the past month there have been two separate fatal accidents. Two highly respected members of the local community lost their lives mainly because of bad lighting and poor road conditions. To aggravate the situation, at least six people were knocked down and injured in separate accidents in the main street. That is why I raise this matter here in Dáil Éireann tonight. The Minister for the Environment must immediately ensure that Laois County Council are given the necessary finances to instal national primary route lighting and a proper road surface in the town. The gardaí have a hand radar on loan from Durrow Garda station. A permanent hand radar should be provided in Borris-in-Ossory village for the Garda Síochána. More vigilance enforcing traffic speed limits in this area is also necessary.
We now come to deal with one minute statements appropriate to the Minister for Health.
Is the Minister aware that the professional staff of the Eastern Health Board are endeavouring to provide an adequate health service in Swords, a town with a population of over 20,000 from a condemned Victorian building built in the early part of this century? Will he confirm that the provision of a new health centre in Swords is a Government priority and that finance will be made available from his Department in 1991 to enable work to proceed? I understand from the Eastern Health Board that they cannot proceed any further without this commitment and the situation is totally unacceptable to the people in Swords.
Tralee General Hospital is the only hospital of its size, apart from Sligo, which is without junior anaesthetic staff. One year ago the Department of Health sent an official to Tralee General Hospital to assess the needs of the anaesthetic department. The official recommended that three junior anaesthetists and an anaesthetic nurse be appointed. These recommendations have to date been ignored by the health board despite the fact that there is a major problem in Tralee General Hospital because of the lack of junior anaesthetists. When one of the present anaesthetists is ill or absent, operation lists have to be cancelled and patients sent home. If junior staff were available these operations could take place. If an onduty consultant is involved in a serious operation he may be called away to an emergency case. This occurred recently when a consultant was called away from an orthopaedic emergency to attend to a Caesarian section. This incident was reported to the Southern Health Board; however, nothing happened.
I appeal to the Minister to ensure that the problem is addressed immediately and that three junior anaesthetists and an anaesthetic nurse are appointed as a matter of urgency.
I rise to mention the continuing crisis in the service for persons with mental handicap. The crisis is twofold. Many persons in urgent need of placement are receiving no service whatsoever and existing services are hopelessly underfunded. Hundreds of persons are at present on waiting lists who receive no service or an inadequate one. There is an acute shortage of residential places throughout the country. Organisations, voluntary and statutory, are struggling to cope but are severely handicapped and hampered by the scarcity of resources. The onus of care falls back on families who are ill-equipped to manage. In many cases the quality of life for the persons and their families is poor and the suffering is considerable. Research shows that at least 2,000 more residential places are required in Ireland.
I realise that £2 million extra this year has been a help, but it is still grossly inadequate. Existing services are then hopelessly underfunded and persons suffering most from these cutbacks are those of disturbed behaviour and the profoundly disabled. The service cannot continue without the necessary staff and input from the Government. I know the Minister is conscious of this. We attended day care centres together in my constituency and he must be aware of the crisis in the care of the handicapped.
Regarding Balbriggan by-pass, I can confirm to Deputy Ryan that the Government accept the need for a by-pass of Balbriggan. I can also tell him that the operational programme, which will set out the timing of all our proposals for major road improvement schemes, will be published next week.
In respect of Kerry roads, until the road grant allocations for 1991 are decided, I cannot say what amount will be available for national primary roads in Kerry next year. However, Deputy Deenihan can be assured that the needs of County Kerry will be taken fully into account in making the allocations.
In regard to Borris-in-Ossory, I fully appreciate the concerns of Deputies Enright and Flanagan about public lighting at Borris-in-Ossory and I also regret the recent tragic loss of life arising from two road accidents. The development of proposals for improvements to public lighting at this location is a matter in the first instance for Laois County Council. On receipt of any such proposals in my Department, the question of road grant funding will be favourably considered.
On the Shanagolden group scheme I have to tell Deputy Finucane that my Department are awaiting Limerick County Council's approval of the Shanagolden group's revised design. When details of the council's requirements are received, my Department will be able to cost the scheme and to deal with the group's application for grants.
Regarding road ramps, I must tell Deputy Kitt that the cost of providing ramps falls to be financed from local authority resources, supplemented by the discretionary grants provided by my Department. Dublin County Council will receive £1.3 million in such grants this year. It is up to them to decide what schemes they will carry out with the aid of these grants.
In reply to Deputy Seán Ryan, we are aware that the present health centre at Swords is inadequate to meet the needs of this growing area. The Eastern Health Board have already purchased a central site for the construction of a new health centre.
The Eastern Health Board are also aware of the inadequacies of the existing facilities and have already made alternative arrangements for community welfare services and for ante-natal classes. The new health centre at Swords is high on the priority list drawn up by the Eastern Health Board.
In recent years the resources provided in the public capital programme for health projects have not been sufficient to meet all the competing demands. As soon as the public capital programme for 1991 is announced consideration will be given to the possibility of granting approval to the development of health centres including the new centre at Swords. The Eastern Health Board intend to carry out a further review of the situation in Swords shortly in order to determine what further improvements can be carried out to the existing health centre, pending the construction of the new health centre.
In regard to Deputy Deenihan's question, as pointed out to the Deputy in reply to a Parliamentary Question on this matter on Thursday last, the provision of anaesthetic services at Tralee General Hospital is a matter in the first instance for the Southern Health Board.
In line with current personnel policy, health agencies generally, including the Southern Health Board, have autonomy to make appointments of staff up to a given number without my Department's approval subject to certain restrictions, including the need to operate within available financial resources.
Officials from my Department are having discussions with the Southern Health Board — indeed I was present at one of them recently — with regard to the board's priority requirements in the context of the 1991 allocation.
The provision of additional staff for the anaesthetic department at Tralee General Hospital will be a matter for the Southern Health Board to determine having regard to its overall financial situation and in the context of other competing priority requirements.
In regard to Deputy Ferris' question, we are aware of the difficulties which exist in our mental handicap services at present. For this reason regional mental handicap co-ordinating committees were reactivated by the Minister for Health to produce multi-annual plans for the development of the service in a prioritised and co-ordinated way.
This year approximately £140 million will be spent on the provision of services to people with mental handicap. An additional £2 million was allocated to meet the immediate priority needs identified by the co-ordinating committees. This allocation enabled 170 residential places and 442 day places to be provided. It was also possible to approve 25 extra staff for other supports.
I must also point out that allocations to voluntary mental handicap agencies funded by my Department have been protected since 1986 in real terms in recognition of the vital service they provide. I feel, therefore, that the Government's record shows a commitment to mental handicap services, and an understanding that this area should be regarded as a high priority.
The priority requirements for service developments in 1991 are being considered by my Department at present and will be incorporated in a national programme for the development of mental handicap services. I am determined that the priority needs established in this national programme will be dealt with in line with the funds made available to the health services in 1991 and future years.
The Dáil adjourned at 11.15 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 6 December 1991.