Vol. 605 No. 4
16 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the extent to which he will offer increased financial support to communities throughout the country attempting to combat the drugs problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22755/05]
301 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the extent to which he can offer financial assistance to community groups involved in combating the drugs problem throughout greater Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23205/05]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 301 together.
My Department was allocated €31.5 million to fund drugs initiatives in 2005, which represents an 18% increase on last year's budget. Through the funding available to me, the valuable work being done by local drugs task forces, LDTFs, and the young peoples facilities and services fund, YPFSF, will continue to be supported and developed.
In addition, the following new initiatives will be rolled out. A new fund to tackle emerging needs in the LDTF areas will be provided. I hope to make some announcements in this regard shortly. The Department will also continue to support a number of pilot projects which were announced last Christmas specifically to tackle cocaine. Funding will also be allocated to implement the action plans from the regional drugs task forces. In this context, the Deputy should note that I will make initial allocations to six of the regions in the next few weeks. Seven plans have been received and this allocation will consist of a first tranche of the funding. A third round of capital funding under the young peoples facilities and services fund in local drugs task force areas will also be announced shortly. A further round of funding through the premises initiative for community-based drugs projects in local drugs task force areas will also be made this year. Moreover, additional administrative supports for some local drugs task forces will be rolled out.
The Deputy should also note that in addition to the initiatives noted earlier, over recent years a large number of projects which were initially developed through the local drugs task forces and the young peoples facilities and services fund have been taken into the mainstream by various Departments and agencies. It is estimated that in monetary terms, these make up a further €19 million to €20 million so that in total, a sum of more than €50 million has been invested in projects which started at local drugs task force level and which continue on an ongoing basis.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House.
This Government continues to tackle the drug problem in the most comprehensive way possible. In this context, the Deputy should note that the mid-term review of the drugs strategy, which was published in early June, found that there are encouraging signs of progress since 2001 when the strategy was first launched. This suggests our current approach to tackling the drug problem is proving to be effective.
If I speak in Irish, am I allowed speak for longer?
Deputy English should try it.
I might try.
As these are ordinary questions, the Deputy's supplementary questions are limited to one minute.
The Deputy will be permitted to speak for two minutes if he speaks in Irish.
It is like the leaving certificate where one gets extra points. The Minister of State will have a busy summer travelling throughout the country announcing these funds and handing out cheques. I look forward to pursuing him as he does so. However, many of these programmes are under much pressure and need increased grants because of increases in the costs of insurance and staff. Can he examine the programmes which have received grants over recent years to see if it is possible to provide them with extra money? These announcements, which include some new schemes and some new places, will be made in the next few weeks.
With regard to multi-annual funding, is it possible to give projects a commitment over a number of years? In that way, people will not be obliged to spend half the year trying to raise money through golf or poker classics or by whatever means to guarantee money for the following year. They could get on with the job we need them to do, that is, tackling drug abuse and helping young people go down different routes by keeping them busy doing something else. Are there any plans to go down that route?
I did not catch the Deputy's first point. On the multi-annual funding, all the funding is rolled out in accordance with plans submitted and approved. That part is all right. When the projects are in place for a certain period of time, they are evaluated. The theory is that they are mainstreamed back into the Departments of Education and Science, Health and Children and so on, and the funding becomes part of the establishment thereafter. They must be evaluated and examined. Every project does not get the nod or approval. A project might get approval in part. Once projects are mainstreamed, there is consistency of funding. That is built into the system thereafter. What was the Deputy's first point?
I asked about the increase in insurance costs. CE programmes used to get staff but it is becoming difficult for many of them to hold on to them. I refer to organisations such as the National Youth Federation.
If it was part of the organisation's plan and if it was a genuine cost, it would be allowed. An organisation would get a slight increase based on its staff projects.
The question was not really about new projects but about existing ones. I probably worded the question wrongly.
I think that is covered.
Does the Minister of State accept we have had a major crisis in dealing with the drugs issue, particularly over the past five or six months? I welcome the announcements on dealing with the cocaine problem. Is the Minister of State aware that many crimes, including violent crimes, are committed by people who are coked up, or high, on cocaine and that it has been used by those involved in gangland murders?
I refer to strategies to tackle the drugs problem. We need a more targeted response to deal with it because considerable amounts of money are being made from drugs, there are gangland murders and children's lives are being destroyed. Does the Minister of State accept this is a reality for many people? Is he aware of the widespread intimidation of communities every night of the week? There are two areas in my constituency where everything seems to close down after 9 p.m., where there is violence, fear and intimidation and where people are afraid to leave their flat complexes or estates. What response would the Minister of State encourage as part of the strategy to deal with this problem? Is he aware that many of our ports and small harbours are used to import dangerous drugs?
There is a problem in the drugs area and there is a strategy in place to deal with it which is receiving considerable funding from Government. Over the past seven or eight years, approximately €200 million has been provided through the local drugs task forces and the young people's facilities and services fund, not to mention all the money spent by the Garda and Customs and Excise on law enforcement and by the Department of Health and Children on treatment and on education and awareness campaigns. We only provide the money which goes to the local drugs task forces and the young people's facilities and services fund.
I do not know what the Deputy means by a more targeted response. We have just done a mid-term review of the strategy. All the State agencies and voluntary and community groups were involved in it and had an input. The review took almost 12 months. There has been exhaustive consultation so that everyone can feel part of and claim ownership of it. What has emerged is the product of everyone's involvement.
There is crime and there are areas in which there are difficulties but we have provided nearly €100 million through the young people's facilities and services fund, including €3.2 million for the new hall in Donnycarney in the Deputy's constituency. We realise it is not enough just to tell young people not to get involved in drugs. One must try to give them alternatives and point them in the direction of healthy sporting or other pursuits. Much money is being spent in that way.
The youth service, certainly in the Dublin area, has been totally revitalised in recent years through money from the young people's facilities and services fund. It tries to give people in "at risk" areas the opportunity to keep away from drugs and that is part of the way in which the strategy operates.
17 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he will account for the rising demand for housing in Gaeltacht areas that has seen the amount of money allocated for grants under the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts rise by over €500,000 for 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22597/05]
The demand for housing grants under the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts has not increased in the past few years. Indeed, following increases in the number of applications from 1,025 in 1998 to a high of 1,486 in 2000, the numbers have fallen back incrementally to 911 in 2004. It is expected that the number of applications this year will be comparable with last year. This is a reflection of the success of the scheme in improving the housing stock in the Gaeltacht over recent years to a point where the level of applications appears to have stabilised.
In terms of expenditure on the scheme, €4 million was allocated for Gaeltacht housing grants in 2004. However, expenditure did not reach the level anticipated, with €3.5 million of the allocation being spent. An allocation of €4 million has been made for 2005 and it is expected that this amount will be spent in full before the end of the year.
This is one of the good schemes in the Gaeltacht. I wish to ask about older people, particularly those living alone, who want to seal their houses against the elements, that is, windows, doors and so on, and want central heating. Are the number of applications in that category going up or down? If they are going down, is it an indication that, after a number of years, the back has been broken in respect of the number of people whose houses require this type of renovation or refurbishment? It is very important that older people are looked after in this regard. I am interested to know the trends in this regard and what the Minister sees as the ongoing need in that sector in the Gaeltacht areas.
There is a simple explanation for the numbers. The Deputy might remember that my predecessor, Deputy Michael D. Higgins, ended the grants except for over 65 year olds but, to cut a long story short, they were restored following some issue with the Ombudsman. I agree with the Deputy that it is a fantastic scheme. There are a number of attractions. The amount of money concerned is fairly small and is limited. The scheme is now means-tested and it is quick, efficient and demand-led.
In 1999 I changed the rules and, for the first time, people installing central heating as an essential repaid became eligible for grant assistance. At that time the maximum grant was £2,300 and it was increased to £4,000. We increased the island grant considerably to £12,000. The effect of that was a huge rush of applications. The fantastic beneficial effect was that many people, particularly elderly people and people living in poor circumstances, got central heating for the first time because of the change in the rule. There is a rule that once one gets the grant, one cannot get another grant for seven years. Many people received the grant three, four or five years ago and cannot apply for a grant for further works until the seven years have elapsed. The most common applications are for repairs to doors and windows and for central heating, things in which one can make a significant dent with approximately €5,000. Some 75% of the cost, or €5,000, is provided. Considerably more money is available to those on the islands because the cost of building on them is much higher than on the mainland.
Grants were paid in respect of 151 new houses last year. Is there a trend whereby people who had left the Gaeltacht are returning to rear their families or to settle? Would grant applications indicate whether that is happening to any extent?
I do not think so. There was a rule change. In the old days if one did not live in the Gaeltacht at the time of application, one could not get the grant. We changed that rule and said we would sanction the grant even if the individual was not living in the Gaeltacht at the time of application but that we would not pay it until he or she was permanently resident there. We found, for example, that someone got a job in west Kerry who was living in Dublin. The person wanted to build a house but was technically not eligible for the grant because he was not living in the Gaeltacht at the time of application. We changed that, but to safeguard the integrity of the scheme, we do not pay the grant until we are satisfied that the person is permanently living in the Gaeltacht.
I do not have figures on the number of people involved. That would not give us a good indication because in many cases someone moves to the Gaeltacht for a job, rents a house and then builds a house. Therefore, it would be very difficult to ascertain how many people are coming back into the Gaeltacht and then applying for housing grants.
18 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he will provide an update on the progress made to date in implementing the package of measures he announced earlier in 2005 to provide immediate support for volunteering, including measures directed at promoting volunteering in second and third level institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22595/05]
34 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if his Department has discussed the way in which the proposed voluntary work module is to operate in courses offered by the Dublin Institute of Technology. [22735/05]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 34 together.
The progress on the new volunteering package, which I announced in March 2005, is as follows. Core funding will be provided to six volunteer bureaux, totalling €900,000 over the next three years. The Department has recently provided funding to the Ballyfermot volunteer bureau and, subject to completion of contracts, funding for 2005 totalling €50,000 will be made available shortly to the remaining five bureaux and to Volunteer Centres Ireland for the recruitment of a development officer. ADM Limited has requested proposals from all of the partnership companies relating to the further €500,000 of local area partnership funding which was ring-fenced for measures that encourage volunteers and volunteering.
With regard to the Cohesion Fund of €500,000, I hope that the Department will shortly be in a position to make a call for proposals through the city and county development boards of which the volunteering initiative will form part. Funding up to €600,000 is being provided to support the young social innovators programme, including the annual showcase awards, which will receive €75,000 per annum over three years. A total of €45,000 of that has been paid by my Department to date towards the YSI showcase awards for 2005 and, subject to completion of contract, funding of the YSI programme of €125,000 per annum will be made available shortly.
Funding up to €110,000 per annum will be provided by my Department to put the community learning programme on a sustainable footing over the next three years. Funding for the 2005-06 academic year will be made available shortly subject to the completion of contracts. This programme is a relatively new teaching method in our educational system which works by integrating classroom learning in any subject with suitable volunteering activity. The programme has been running on a pilot basis in the Dublin Institute of Technology since September 2001 through the school of hospitality, management and tourism with 12 students involved. By 2004 there were 65 students involved across a wide range of volunteering projects.
The institute's aim is to have the community learning programme method incorporated in all faculties over the next three years. It is my hope that this initiative will serve as a model for other third level colleges over the coming years. The DIT community learning programme includes provision for ongoing review, and the effectiveness of the Department's funding will be assessed within three years.
I thank the Minister of State for that reply. When a parliamentary question was tabled in April on the issue of locating volunteer centres on the campuses of third level institutions, he indicated that in this context he would discuss the relevant matters as they arose with the Minister for Education and Science. I welcome the initiative in DIT as it is moving in the right direction. However, it needs to be spread out geographically. The idea of having volunteer centres on the campuses of universities and institutes of technology is an important initiative as younger people are exposed to the voluntary sector and are educated in community development. This amounts to loving one's neighbour, especially when one's neighbour is in need.
There are also recommendations in the joint committee report. One of them was for an element of volunteering in the transition year. Another was to carry the junior certificate CSPE on to leaving certificate level. These are not directly within the Minister of State's Department, but he indicated that the issues on third level volunteering would be discussed with the Minister for Education and Science as they arose. Has there been any discussion in the interim?
I do not think so. The package announced was for €2 million per annum, which is all we can do at present. It includes the aspect on second level and third level. The young social innovators annual showcase awards were held in Dublin six weeks ago. About 2,000 students were at it and the project is done in transition year. That group existed before we got this funding, but the funding, at €200,000 per annum for three years, will help to promote the project. Many of the projects now being carried out in transition year have a volunteer ethos. It introduces young people to different social projects, many of which are about drink and drug addiction, caring for the elderly and so on.
The third level project which we are supporting exists to create a volunteering ethos among young people. We are trying to make it part of a programme where the students get grades and credits for it. We have not yet done anything about a bureau on campus. We felt that this project would attract young people in second and third level and would give them a taste of volunteering. It is to be hoped that they will carry that on with them into later life. We have not developed it beyond that which we have already announced. I was in DIT a few weeks ago and some of the questions related to education policy. My interest is just to encourage volunteering. I cannot take over the Department of Education and Science. I understand what the Deputy is saying and we may get an opportunity to look at that.
Written Answers follow Adjournment Debate.
