Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 13 May 2004

Vol. 585 No. 4

Adjournment Debate.

Industrial Development.

Mr. Morgan

The announcement by Galen Pharmaceuticals that it is not now going to develop a factory in Ardee is not a surprise to me. The company's financial position has been less than inspiring of late and there are rumours that its plant in Coleraine is in financial trouble. Nevertheless, the announcement is a blow to the people of Ardee and that is why I am raising the issue.

The Tánaiste should outline what is being done to bring employment to the County Louth town of Ardee. What efforts has she, her Department or its agencies been making? Can we expect success in this regard in the near future? Ardee has no substantial industrial base and has been neglected for decades by successive Governments. Will the Tánaiste visit Ardee and by doing so demonstrate to the people of the area that she at least knows where it is located? The town council has issued an invitation to the Tánaiste on three occasions without even a reply, much less a visit.

It is important to set the record straight about the issues of planning permission which arose for Galen Pharmaceuticals in Ardee. Concerns arose about emissions from the proposed factory and local residents rightly expressed concern about how such emissions would be monitored. It was their legal right and, arguably, their obligation to protect the environment, their health and the health of their children. These citizens are in no way responsible for the decision taken by Galen Pharmaceuticals and to say otherwise is to undermine our appeals process and excuse a pharmaceutical company from its obligations to the entire community. The judicial review was due to be heard on 6 May but was postponed until 26 May because An Bord Pleanála was not in a position to proceed. Does anyone believe that a decision due in less than two weeks would cause a company to pull out? I certainly do not.

Now that Galen Pharmaceuticals has left, it is the urgent responsibility of the Tánaiste to attract jobs to Ardee. These need not be from the transnational companies sector. Greater assistance to indigenous companies and business might yield greater and longer lasting results for the town which so badly needs increased employment opportunities for its residents.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Mr. Callely)

I thank Deputy Morgan for raising this matter. I would like to clarify some issues for him and he may be able to assist in finding a satisfactory conclusion.

In April 2001, IDA Ireland approved grant support towards a new project from Galen Pharmaceuticals for approximately 200 jobs in Ardee, which involved a €45.7 million investment and the construction of a 153,000 sq. ft. facility on a 52 acre green field site at Ardee, County Louth. The facility was planned to produce a range of female health care products and would require a 21 month construction and fit out-validation timeframe. The company planned to be in production and delivering products to the market by October 2003.

In making its planning application for the construction of the new facility, there were a number of objections which continue to be heard in the High Court. Deputy Morgan could perhaps help to resolve some of these issues.

Meanwhile, Galen Pharmaceuticals continued to be under pressure to deliver products to the marketplace in line with the growth in demand. To facilitate this, a suitable facility became available in Puerto Rico and, to enable the company meet its market objectives, Galen has now acquired this facility. I note that Deputy Morgan said that there had been an announcement by Galen not to proceed. That strikes me as news, unless Deputy Morgan has information not available to me. My information, which I am sure Deputy Morgan will welcome, is that Galen has not decided to abandon its plans for Ardee.

Mr. Morgan

Deputy Kirk said that.

Mr. Callely

I am only trying to be helpful.

An Ceann Comhairle

Allow the Minister to speak without interruption.

Mr. Callely

Galen is continuing with the planning process through the High Court, and further discussions with IDA Ireland and the company will take place on the outcome of the High Court decision. IDA Ireland has maintained close contact with Galen management. In the past few years, conditions in the global economy have been difficult, and Irish firms have had to win business against a backdrop of declining external demand, pricing pressures and an increasingly competitive international environment. However, the labour market is strong and unemployment has remained low at 4.7% by European standards. An improvement in the global economy now seems likely. Since our economy is so open to world trade flows, we are likely to benefit more from accelerating global growth than from indications that more positions have been advertised in the media.

IDA Ireland is currently developing a new business and technology park adjacent to the south Drogheda intersection. In addition, it has received planning permission for three office blocks on the new park. The agency is also actively marketing several units provided by private developers at Dunore, Newgrange and other business parks. In Dundalk, IDA Ireland has engaged consultants to prepare a plan in conjunction with other State and private partners for its considerable land holdings to the south-west of the town. It is hoped that it will become a significant campus for new investment, once again capitalising on Dundalk's status as a gateway under the national spatial strategy, with which my good friend and colleague, the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, has been closely associated.

IDA Ireland has received planning permission for five buildings in total at Finnabair Business Park. The agency is also marketing units at the Science Services Centre at Finnabair and at Blackthorn Business Park. Enterprise Ireland's activity is focused on the creation of new jobs through supporting entrepreneurs with high potential start-up companies, the creation and retention of new jobs in existing companies and enhancing the innovation capability of Ireland at national and regional level through support and research in companies and third level institutions.

In September 2003, the Tánaiste announced that Ardee Community Development Company Limited had been approved a capital grant of €250,000 towards phase 2 of its enterprise centre under the Enterprise Ireland community enterprise centre programme 2002, with which I understand Deputy Kirk has been closely associated. Work on the extension of the existing centre is expected to commence shortly. Enterprise Ireland supports the third level college in the region to foster links with industry, thereby encouraging it to increase its use of technology.

Under the Government's major decentralisation programme announced in the budget, 300 jobs are to be relocated to County Louth. That move demonstrates the Government's commitment to balanced regional development and will provide a further boost to enterprise development in the County Louth area. I assure Deputy Morgan that the State development agencies under the aegis of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in co-operation with local interests and public representatives will continue actively to promote Ardee town and County Louth for investment and job creation. I hope that I have been of help.

Heritage Projects.

Mr. Deenihan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment this evening. The Jeanie Johnston project was initiated in 1995 with the aim of providing a replica of the Jeanie Johnston sailing ship which transported emigrants to the USA during the Famine. It was first intended as a Famine commemoration project and the plan was to sail the replica vessel to the USA in 1998 to mark it. However, construction of the vessel turned out to be more complex and expensive than originally planned. The completion date was put back to 2000, with the intention of making it a millennium project. However, that deadline became impossible because of financial and technical difficulties. In May 2002, the project was taken over by a company comprising representatives of Kerry Group, Shannon Development, Tralee Town Council and Kerry County Council under the chairmanship of Denis Buckley of Kerry Group and the project’s chief executive officer, Denis Reen.

The board of directors completed the original objective of the Jeanie Johnston project by undertaking a very successful transatlantic voyage in 2003. In the course of the American voyage, the replica Famine ship was enthusiastically received in 14 US and seven Canadian ports, attracting more than 100,000 visitors on board the ship. It generated extensive media coverage and public awareness, reaching far beyond the Irish diaspora in the US and projecting a very positive image of Ireland today. In the course of its American voyage, the Jeanie Johnston demonstrated its potential for sail training. Under the international fund for Ireland Wider Horizons programme, 93 young people from both sides of the Border and from Unionist and Nationalist communities in Northern Ireland completed a sail training programme on board the Jeanie Johnston.

At a meeting of the Jeanie Johnston board last Friday, a summer programme for the replica ship was agreed which will include a return voyage to North America. However, in a statement released after the meeting, the board announced that, in the absence of Government interest in acquiring the ship, it would have no alternative but actively to pursue a sale option for the tall ship. I agree with the board in its conviction that, under Government ownership, the Jeanie Johnston can have a successful future as a high-profile ambassadorial ship for the promotion of Irish tourism, sail training and cross-Border initiatives, maintaining the project’s important North-South dimension.

The ideal home for the Jeanie Johnston is with Coiste an Asgard, which operates the sail training vessel Asgard II. An Coiste receives an annual lottery grant for its operation. That amounted to €693,000 for 2004. The grant could easily be increased, with funding from the national lottery, to include the running costs of the Jeanie Johnston in the event of An Coiste taking over ownership and management of the vessel. I understand that the Asgard II is overbooked, especially during the summer months. It makes an average of 24 sailing trips each year, with 20 trainees on each trip. As I said, during the summer months in particular, it cannot meet the demand. The Jeanie Johnston can take up to 40 trainees and has the capacity to sail to any part of the world, something I understand the Asgard II is unable to do. Some years ago it had to be taken to Australia in a container ship.

The board is convinced, and I agree, that under Government ownership the Jeanie Johnston can have a very successful future. I understand that next Tuesday the Minister will meet the board. I strongly appeal to him to direct Coiste an Asgard to take over ownership of this very fine sailing vessel. Otherwise, the board will have no option but to sell it off to some private investor. It would be a major loss to this country and a major embarrassment if the board had to do so. I appeal to the Minister of State to ensure that the Minister is aware of the case that I make this evening and acts accordingly next Tuesday.

Mr. Callely

I thank Deputy Deenihan for raising this matter on the Adjournment and for his compassion and desire to preserve public ownership of the Jeanie Johnston. My colleague, the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Dermot Ahern, regrets being unable to take this debate this evening. He would like to have been able to do so but he has other commitments.

I concur with much of what Deputy Deenihan said regarding the importance of retaining the ship in public ownership and the benefits that could accrue therefrom. In light of the fact that Deputy Deenihan mentioned the training courses on the Asgard II vessel, my son, who has a great interest in the marine, is currently enjoying a seven-day training course on it.

As regards the Jeanie Johnston, we all know the project and are aware of some of the difficulties associated with it. The project was commenced in 1996 and is being run by the board and management of the Jeanie Johnston (Ireland) Company Limited. The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources first became involved in June, 2000 when the then Minister agreed to provide grant aid of up to €2.54 million to enable completion of the project. However a due diligence report commissioned by the Department identified that additional funding would be required for the completion of the project and, following the drawing up of a rescue plan, the Minister sought and obtained Government approval in April 2001 to provide additional funding, bringing the total allocation by the Department to this project to just shy of €4 million.

Since the Government decision in April 2001, the primary role of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources in the Jeanie Johnston project has been to oversee the allocation of the Government’s grant funding to the project to ensure that construction of the vessel was completed to the highest possible standards of safety and quality and that it undertook its planned transatlantic voyage to North America.

Following a High Court re-structuring of the Jeanie Johnston (Ireland) Company Limited in late 2002, a consortium comprising Kerry County Council, Tralee Town Council, Shannon Development and Kerry Group plc took over ownership of the Jeanie Johnston replica famine vessel. At the time, my colleague and Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Dermot Ahern, welcomed the decisions taken by Kerry County Council and Tralee Town Council to take over the project in partnership with the Shannon Development Company and the Kerry Group plc. In doing so, the Minister recognised that this initiative provided the only real alternative to an unstructured liquidation of the project, and that it might well be the final chance to preserve the use of the vessel for the tourism and heritage purposes for which it was originally intended.

The Minister also recognised that despite its troubled existence, the Jeanie Johnston project has continued to receive vigorous support from politicians of all political persuasions North and South. Due to my own marine interests, I took the opportunity to visit and board the Jeanie Johnston and I congratulate all who have been involved in the project to date.

Under its new ownership structure, the ship completed its successful maiden voyage to the US and Canada during 2003 where it illustrated the historical famine era links between Ireland and those two countries and generally demonstrated the nature of and cultural and social contribution made by Irish emigration during that period.

All the grant funds allocated by Government to the Jeanie Johnston project have now been paid by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. The Minister is aware that the current owners of the vessel have recently announced that they intend to undertake a return visit with the ship to the US this year but that they have made it clear that they do not intend to operate the vessel on an ongoing or long-term basis.

I also understand that, following this trip, the owners would like to offer the vessel as a gift to the State given the large amount of Exchequer funding which went into its construction. Their belief is that this ship should remain as an asset to the State to be utilised mainly as a sail training facility and maritime tourist attraction, both at home and abroad, in the years to come.

The Deputy will no doubt be aware that the State's direct involvement in sail training in Ireland comes under the auspices of Coiste an Asgard, which is chaired by the Minister for Defence, Deputy Michael Smith, and that responsibility for tourism matters comes under the remit of the Minister for Arts, Tourism and Sport, Deputy O'Donoghue. While I can fully understand and support to a certain extent the expression of his views by Deputy Deenihan, I will ensure this matter is brought to the attention of both of my colleagues. We will report back to Deputy Deenihan on what progress can be made on the issue.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases.

Mr. Costello

This is a serious health issue that has not received as much attention as others. I attended a packed meeting last Tuesday night in St. Bricin's, Arbour Hill, on the extent of prostitution in the general area of Montpelier, Arbour Hill, St. Bricin's and surrounding areas in the Oxmanstown and Stoneybatter part of Dublin. It was quite clear that there has been a considerable escalation in the incidence of prostitution in that area alone. Last month I tabled a question to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Arising from that he had two gardaí specifically appointed to patrol the area and to focus on prostitution and how to deal with it. Many young women and even children have been accosted by the clients of prostitutes, and even local residents have been accosted by the women and insulted if they said anything to them.

There is a serious problem. The statistics the Minister gave me on that occasion showed that there had been 115 arrests in 2002 and 117 in 2003 and that these were being processed. Last Tuesday night, the meeting heard that the two gardaí designated to deal with the matter had been effective in arresting 38 in the month of April alone. If this is multiplied by 12 that would be 456, which would be a fourfold increase on the numbers arrested either in 2002 or 2003. Once gardaí were dedicated to dealing with the issue, many more people were arrested. Clearly the issue is much broader than people had originally thought. It has undoubtedly escalated.

That is one side of the matter. The other side is the question of health. We know there is a considerable amount of sexually transmitted disease and that HIV, drugs and prostitution go together. The health of the clients must also be considered. They can be infected or, in turn, infect some of the women plying their trade. There is a major health issue to be considered and it remains under a shadow in terms of being effectively dealt with because the law criminalises prostitution and those associated with it.

Has the Minister of State a health treatment centre or liaison unit in place that would be proactive and outgoing and that could meet with prostitutes in a non-confrontational context to enable them to receive the health treatment they often need but may be afraid to seek out or which might not be available in the normal manner that health services are usually available? We need something of this nature to ensure the necessary checks and screenings for disease take place so that the health of the women is regularly reviewed and that a system of protection against sexually transmitted disease is in place. I would like to know what steps are being taken by the various health boards or the Department of Health and Children or the hospitals and whether individual local units or services are available. What is in place on a policy scale in broader terms to deal with this particular health problem?

Mr. Callely

Irish policy is that health care is available to all. The health boards have statutory responsibility for delivering these services. Deputy Costello focused on an area at the centre of the city so I will refer to the services being provided by the Eastern Regional Health Authority which has in place a women's health project whose aim is to promote the health and well-being of women involved in prostitution. The Deputy said this should be provided in a——

Mr. Costello

In a non-confrontational manner.

Mr. Callely

That is the manner in which it is provided. The women's health project provides a wide range of services including user friendly drop-in clinics, sexual health screening with contraception advice and provision, cervical smear screening, STI screening, hepatitis C, and HIV testing with pre-test counselling, vaccinations, addiction services, community welfare advice, outreach services, training and most important, education. The women's health project liaises with other agencies to identify the specialist needs of women trafficked into the country for sexual purposes to assist in developing appropriate services. The project is represented on the eastern regional committee on violence against women and on the ERHA working committee to deal with needle exchange and health promotion for the national drugs strategy. The ERHA also provides funding for Ruhama, a religious voluntary organisation that works with women involved in prostitution and trafficked women. It provides a full range of services to women involved in prostitution to ensure full utilisation of health board facilities or other services as appropriate.

It is important to recognise that it is not just women who are involved in prostitution. In this regard, the ERHA funds the Gay Men's Health Project which promotes sexual health among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. All men attending for the first time are encouraged to have a full STI screen and blood tests for HIV, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Outreach and counselling services are an important function of GMHP. The service provides one-to-one support and advice on sexual health, STIs and screenings, isolation and relationship problems. Education is a very important aspect of raising awareness of the dangers of engaging in risky sexual behaviour which could result in a sexually transmitted infection. Health boards undertake information and awareness activities at regional level and among the issues addressed is the prevention of sexually transmitted infection. The ERHA is developing a sexual health strategy which focuses on prevention and management of STIs. One of the recommendations of that strategy will be that support for services available to those working in prostitution should continue to be provided.

The health promotion unit of my Department in conjunction with the Crisis Pregnancy Agency has commissioned a national survey of sexual knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. This survey will provide robust and comprehensive data to effectively plan sexual health policies and strategies and to inform effective approaches to promoting positive sexual health messages. This information will assist efficient allocation of resources and provide quality baseline data for future surveys to monitor change over time and allow for long-term planning. In addition the HPU continues to invest in ongoing education and awareness strategies, for example, the convenience advertising campaign which runs nationwide in pubs, clubs, colleges and places of entertainment. The HPU is also working with the CPA to deliver integrated sexual health messages, most of which specifically target the I8-35 age group. There are specific services in place to protect the health of those involved in prostitution and I am confident these services make a difference to the lives of the people concerned.

Hospitals Building Programme.

Ms Burton

I welcome the Minister of State who spoke on this matter on 9 October 2003. If the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, and his Ministers of State, Deputies Lenihan and Callely, were subject to penalty points on this debacle they would be long off the road and their ministerial cars would have been taken from them. Equally if they were contestants in this weekend's Eurovision Song Contest their score would be "nul point" for failing to manage public resources properly. A total of €105 million has been spent on the new building and the new wing for Blanchardstown hospital. Despite being ready for more than nine months, beyond an extended snag list period the new, state-of-the-art accident and emergency unit remains empty while staff work next door in prefabs that would shame a developing country.

The new operating theatres, costing many millions of euro, lie dark and unused as do the intensive care unit and many of the new surgical beds. Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 and the areas of County Meath served by James Connolly Memorial Hospital are among the fastest growing areas in Western Europe. The latest consequence of the failure to commission fully the new buildings in the hospital is that other hospital facilities are under severe strain. For example, since yesterday the Northern Area Health Board refuses to clarify the future of the drug dispensing and treatment service at James Connolly Memorial Hospital for people with drug addiction.

This drugs dispensing service may be transferred to the Mountview health centre in the heart of Lohunda and Mountview parish. The health board seems to be about to pull community welfare staff out of this building and instead convert the building to a drugs treatment centre for the whole of Dublin 15. This is despite the fact that the Mountview health centre is located in a spot notorious for anti-social behaviour and vandalism, is beside a primary school, two youth clubs, a neighbourhood family centre and the local church. Were the new hospital building to be fully opened, there would be no need to relocate the drug dispensing services which have been carried on for several years successfully in the grounds of James Connolly Memorial Hospital. I was one of the politicians who negotiated that extremely successful arrangement with the community and now it is to be upended because of this Government's total failure of management and ineptitude.

On 9 October, 2003, the Minister of State, Deputy Callely, speaking on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children, promised that the new facilities would be open within a matter of months and he said, in good faith:

The Eastern Regional Health Authority, Northern Area Health Board and management of James Connolly Memorial Hospital are also finalising arrangements to transfer existing accident and emergency services to the new facility upon its anticipated completion in November. I understand the completion date is within four weeks. We expect the building will be in use in November.

To date, there is one small department dealing with rheumatology and a couple of medical beds open simply for the optics. They are welcome but the rest of the building lies unused. I want the Minister of State to apologise on behalf of his senior Minister to the people of Blanchardstown and Dublin 15 for such a blatant mis-statement of the truth. Last week the Government acknowledged the waste of €52 million on the e-voting debacle. It is outrageous that elderly people are waiting on trollies in James Connolly Memorial Hospital and that in last week's report of the treatment purchase fund, the James Connolly Memorial Hospital is listed as one of the four hospital black spots for waiting lists in the Dublin area.

The dedicated staff of doctors and nurses there have said over and over again, and as recently as last week in response to that report that many hundreds of new procedures could be performed if the theatres, ICU and surgical beds in the new unit were fully commissioned. Fianna Fáil and the PDs have refused to commission these desperately needed facilities for the sake of a €5 million operating deficit. Ironically, €1 million of this deficit arises from a "fine" imposed on the hospital for lack of efficiency in the turnover of patients. We are living in Alice in Wonderland when a hospital housed in Dickensian conditions can be fined for inefficiency. I thought Fianna Fáil was so clever at politicking that the Minister for State would be out with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health and Children cutting the ribbon on the new hospital. It would be a political stroke but I would have accepted it. The Minister of State does not seem to be able or willing in this case to perform that stroke. It is a disgrace.

Mr. Callely

Deputy Burton has responded to her final comments about political strokes. It is not our business to trade in that fashion.

I am pleased to have an opportunity to respond to the debate and to put on record the innovation, commitment and dedication of those involved in the health board in driving forward the project for the development of James Connolly Memorial Hospital. Many other people had an opportunity to develop this hospital but failed to do so. The hospital provides acute medical and surgical services to the catchment area of Dublin north west, north Kildare and south County Meath, which has a population in excess of 250,000. There are currently 348 beds at the hospital, 110 of which are extended care beds, and some 1,000 staff are involved in the provision and delivery of excellent professional services.

Ms Burton

In Third World conditions.

Mr. Callely

Accident and emergency services are provided in James Connolly Memorial Hospital 365 days a year on a 24 hour basis as part of the eastern accident and emergency service regional network.

The major development at the hospital is being jointly funded by the Northern Area Health Board, through the sale of surplus lands, and the Department. The projected full project cost of the development in the hospital is over €100 million.

Ms Burton

Some €105 million has been spent to date.

Mr. Callely

Deputy Burton stated that only a small part of the unit is utilised and the rest lies idle. The information I have available——

Ms Burton

I was out there yesterday and——

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Burton should allow the Minister of State to speak without interruption.

Mr. Callely

The coronary care unit, formerly located in unit 7, has already moved to the new hospital together with 35 medical-cardiac beds. In addition, the therapeutic psychiatry of old age unit has moved to its new location on the ground floor of the new facility. The rheumatology service has also transferred to the new building.

Ms Burton

I mentioned that earlier.

Mr. Callely

That is the only one to which the Deputy referred.

An Ceann Comhairle

It is not in order for Deputy Burton to go beyond the time allotted and then to try to take the Minister of State's time as well. I will adjourn the House if she interrupts once more.

Mr. Callely

When fully commissioned the capacity of the hospital will be significantly increased with the provision, for example, of two additional theatres, 12 extra beds, including ten day beds and two intensive care unit-coronary care unit beds, a new and expanded accident and emergency department and a new acute psychiatry unit.

The further commissioning of the development is under consideration by the Eastern Regional Health Authority, in consultation with the Department. As one would expect, it is my desire, and that of my ministerial colleagues, to progress the commissioning of all the facilities involved in this significant investment of €105 million as quickly as possible.

Ms Burton

One year later.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.25 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 18 May 2004.