Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 23 May 2006

Vol. 620 No. 1

Adjournment Debate.

Violence Against Women.

Ms Harkin

Why was no additional allocation provided for frontline organisations responding to violence against women in the 2006 budget and Finance Act? Frontline services are trying to operate with the same funding they were allocated in 2002. These services are essential for women and families. Between 1996 and 2002, 115 women were murdered in Ireland. They were ordinary women — mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughter — of all ages. Given the awful effects of domestic violence, a national strategy for women is needed as well as resources to address the acute funding crisis being experienced by organisations that respond to violence against women and that work with women trying to rebuild their lives. This is a national issue and it is estimated an additional €7 million will be needed this year to deal with it.

WAVES Women's Support Services, a community-based organisation in Sligo, Leitrim and west Cavan, was established in 2004 to provide essential frontline services to women experiencing domestic violence. Prior to this, no dedicated service was in place for such women in the region and many women had nowhere to go to access support, information and advocacy. WAVES provides a free and confidential service to women throughout the area and its workers are specially trained and supported to respond to women at risk. The group has five staff but the funding for one of the workers will run out in less than 12 months. WAVES cannot cope with the number of women and families who need their help. The organisation wants to advertise its services to women in the area who live in terror and who are at risk of abuse and violence daily, but it is stretched. It is a dreadful that the organisation knows that people need help, information, services, advocacy, security and support and it could deliver this. However, it is helpless because it is working at capacity and knows much more needs to be done.

WAVES works in partnership with the Health Service Executive which provides core funding and full support. However, the Government has not increased funding in this area since 2002 and, therefore, the HSE north west region has been unable to respond effectively to the needs of WAVES and other frontline organisations. In 2005, WAVES dealt with 2,811 support calls from women experiencing violence and abuse and received 76 requests for emergency and long-term accommodation but was only able to address 29 cases. What happened to the other 47?

Much of Sligo, Leitrim and west Cavan is quite rural and, therefore, outreach services are needed for women. WAVES is endeavouring to provide services to women wherever possible but, given the failure to increase resources and the threat of losing staff, women living in isolated areas are being discriminated against because they do not receive a service. The position is dire. In 2006 the organisation's projected expenditure is approximately €34,000 more than its projected income and, therefore, it is in trouble. There is a four to five week waiting list to meet a member of staff one-to-one, despite many women not even knowing the service exists.

This is an emergency for women experiencing violence in Sligo, Leitrim and west Cavan. I ask the Minister of State to provide additional funding because it is not too late. Approximately €7 million is needed nationwide. A fraction of that amount would address the problem in my area.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Mr. T. O’Malley)

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children. I thank the Deputy for raising it.

The national steering committee on violence against women was established following the 1997 report of the task force on violence against women. It is chaired by the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Fahey. The Department of Health and Children and the Health Service Executive are represented on the committee. The purpose of the committee is to provide a multidisciplinary, multi-agency and cohesive response to the problem of violence against women and, in so doing, to progress the recommendations of the task force.

The steering committee is representative of a wide range of interests concerned with violence against women and has a number of objectives, which include ensuring that regional and local structures are established; developing public awareness campaigns; co-ordinating and advising on the distribution of resources among the health regions; and co-ordinating and advising on ongoing development of policies, including those concerning perpetrators, criminal justice intervention, services and supports. Last year, the committee undertook a national review of sexual assault treatment services. That report is complete and is due for publication in the coming weeks. The Minister is keen that the report's recommendations should be treated as a priority within the HSE and I anticipate that executive funding priorities for 2007 will reflect this.

The Government is committed to working with all interested parties, including service providers, and it has undertaken a range of measures to reduce the incidence of domestic violence, to respond to the needs of both victims and perpetrators and to raise awareness among the public about the dynamics of this crime. These measures can be seen across a wide range of Government policies and include legislative measures, Garda response, health services, the national steering committee on violence against women, national research, and treatment programmes for perpetrators.

A key indicator of Government commitment to the issue can be seen in the funding for service provision. Funding for victims is channelled primarily through the Health Service Executive Vote. In addition, other Departments, such as Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Education and Science, Social and Family Affairs and Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, also contribute to the response to the issue. The provision of all emergency housing, including women's refuges, is a matter for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Funding is provided by the HSE for the running costs of existing refuges.

Funding from the health sector has increased from approximately €3.8 million in 1997 to approximately €12 million in 2005. Arrangements for funding these frontline services is a matter for the Health Service Executive. The HSE and, formerly, the health boards have worked closely for many years with a range of non-governmental organisations. My Department will continue to monitor investment in these services.

In keeping with the recommendations of the task force on violence against women published in 1997, the HSE works through regional planning committees whose function is to determine the needs of their localities and to co-ordinate both statutory and voluntary approaches to these needs. A regional planning committee is active in the north west and it comprises representatives of local NGOs. The committee is also supported by a senior HSE manager.

Sligo Rape Crisis Centre, WAVES Women's Support Services and Sligo Social Services are NGOs which provide frontline services in responding to violence against women in Sligo and Leitrim. The 2006 allocation to the NGO service providers within this sector in the region is €360,109. Through the regional planning committee, the HSE will continue to engage with these organisations in the context of service demands and development requirements. The HSE was funded to maintain existing levels of service in this area in 2006 and, therefore, existing service providers may expect to be funded to similar levels as last year to maintain service provision.

I acknowledge the valuable work undertaken by all the organisations that provide many essential and important services in the violence against women sector. I also acknowledge the direct supports provided by the HSE through its sexual assault treatment units, counselling services, accident and emergency units, social work services, general practitioner and community services.

Flood Relief.

Mr. Naughten

I wish to share time with Deputy Connaughton.

As I speak, water levels on the Shannon are rising rapidly and this has a devastating impact on the habitat of the Shannon callows. The callows consist of a flood plain of approximately 6,000 hectares with two very important bird habitats, namely, the wet meadows where the corncrake breeds and the damp pasture that is used by waders. The number of corncrakes and waders has declined drastically in the past 20 years. This unexpected and unseasonal flooding of the callows has wiped out the internationally important breeding on the callows for this year and this is seriously threatening the survival of the corncrake population, which is Ireland's only globally threatened bird species. It also has a dramatic impact on farmers and their livelihoods. Up to 10,000 acres of land have been flooded and farmers are forced to purchase fodder for their livestock.

Flooding is expected during the winter months but not at this time of the year. There are a number of mitigating steps which can be taken. The OPW produced a report on the Shannon flooding, which outlined potential mitigation options and the economic viability of a flood relief scheme. The report was subsequently distributed to the 22 stakeholders, but no further action has been taken on this report and it is now gathering dust. If a sum of €5 million was set aside for maintenance of the watercourse, it would have a direct impact on the vulnerability of the callows to flooding and thereby protect the wild birds, farmers and the navigation of the river itself.

Proposals have been presented to the Joint Committee on Environment and Local Government to develop a wetland park in the north midlands, in County Roscommon and County Longford, which would increase the capacity of the flood area north of Athlone and thereby address the extent of the flooding in the Shannon callows. This proposal could help to alleviate flooding as there is potentially about 30,000 hectares of cutaway bog, which would naturally flood by up to 4.5 metres if such a project was developed. To get the project up and running, all that is required is the formal approval of the Government. This would provide a major buffer to the current and potential flooding in the Shannon basin and benefit farmland, callows and towns such as Carrick-on-Shannon and Athlone.

There are approximately 600 farmers in the Shannon callows. Current environmental restrictions such as the nitrates directive place a significant financial burden on those farmers, on top of the cost of this flooding. Under the terms of the EU directives, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government must compensate landowners for losses or costs incurred as a result of such designations. However, this issue is outstanding for the past nine years. If it was resolved, it would be an important and timely boost to farmers who now have to find replacement feed for their livestock.

Roscommon County Council has made a submission to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to raise roads, improve safety and provide access for isolated communities in the areas of Clonown and Drumlosh. However, that has fallen on deaf ears in the Department.

It is imperative that any debris along the river south of Athlone is removed immediately, especially the debris caused by Waterways Ireland and the ESB in the vicinity of weirs.

Mr. Connaughton

I thank Deputy Naughten for sharing time.

The River Shannon and its tributary, the River Suck, are very angry this evening. The floods have broken the banks and have spilled out over thousands of acres of farmland. That farmland was just getting into full production this month. The silt left behind this evening destroys the hay, the silage and the grass for the year.

A report of a joint Oireachtas committee of which I was a member and an OPW report in 2004 came up with certain proposals. We must be realistic because, economically, we cannot drain the Shannon. However, remedial works would be of great benefit, such as removing the silt that blocks the normal flow. There should be better management of the weirs, as well as a decent compensation package for the farmers of the Shannon callows. They are looking for it for nine years and I cannot understand why officials from the relevant Departments do not recognise the disadvantage suffered by those farmers.

Mr. T. O’Malley

I am replying to this matter on the adjournment on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, who is abroad on Government business.

The Minister of State and his officials in the OPW are aware of the current level of flooding in the Shannon callows. While winter and occasional summer flooding is a feature of the callows, severe flooding of the kind experienced at present is not. The current exceptional flooding is due to the unusually heavy rainfall which we have experienced in the month of May. Rainfall this month may prove to be the highest May rainfall on record.

The Office of Public Works has no responsibility for the maintenance of the River Shannon. It is open to the commissioners under the provisions of the Arterial Drainage Act 1945 and the Arterial Drainage (Amendment) Act 1995 to prepare a scheme to prevent or substantially reduce flooding in an area. The possibility of undertaking an arterial drainage scheme for the River Shannon has been considered on a number of occasions and has been ruled out on economic and environmental grounds.

In 2003 the Commissioners of Public Works undertook a further preliminary assessment of the Shannon flood problem. This assessment reviewed the previous reports and their conclusions in the light of the changes that had occurred in the catchment in the intervening 40 years. The review considered a variety of issues, such as conditions in the river, competing uses of the river, perceived changed climate patterns, changed agricultural regulations and practices, different economic circumstances for agriculture and other industries, the higher values being placed on environmental and heritage assets, as well as tourism opportunities, to establish if the possibility existed that a more detailed study might identify viable options to alleviate the flooding problem. It recommended that a pre-feasibility study of possible flood risk management opportunities should be undertaken. That study was completed in late 2004 and copies were given to the stakeholders.

The study concluded that the application of non-structural measures appeared to offer the best way forward. This would include the identification of flood risk areas and the development and implementation of a flood warning service, within the context of a catchment-based flood risk management planning framework. The plan would be developed under the umbrella of a lead agency, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, and would set a long-term strategy for management of flood risk within the Shannon catchment.

The Office of Public Works intends to prepare catchment flood risk assessment and management plans for all river basin districts, including the River Shannon. This is a substantial programme of work and will take a number of years to complete. The commissioners are in the process of commissioning consultants to undertake a pilot study of the lower Lee catchment. It is not possible at this point to say when the study of the Shannon will commence.

Mr. Connaughton

About 20 years.

Mr. T. O’Malley

While scientific issues relating to flora and fauna are primarily the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, they will also be taken into account through the strategic environmental assessment which forms part of the catchment flood risk assessment process. These issues may also come up for consideration in the preparation of the management plan for the River Shannon basin, which will be prepared in accordance with the water framework directive.

Schools Building Projects.

Mr. Cassidy

I ask the Minister for Education and Science to purchase a new site for the Mercy secondary school in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, as a matter of urgency. A deputation from this school met the Minister on 1 February 2006. The school principal, Ms Catherine Moynihan, two sisters from the Mercy order, as well as Councillor Tom Cowley, Senator O'Rourke and I met the Minister to highlight the opportunity that would be presented in the Kilbeggan area. The Sisters of Mercy, who have been in Kilbeggan since 1893, have made an immense contribution to the entire area by taking on the challenge of educating the children of the area when it was not fashionable to do so. I represent County Westmeath and want to make a strong case for this school on behalf of students, parents, teachers and the board of management. The current school, which has stood the test of time, has 22 exits. The time has long past for the construction of a new school because the educational needs of second-level students should be paramount. A CSA report published in May 2005 noted that the existing site offers little scope for expansion or refurbishment and recommended that the school should be relocated to a greenfield site as a matter of urgency in order to cater for increased enrolments and new housing developments in the catchment area.

The Sisters of Mercy have generously agreed with the board of management and teaching staff to make available a ten-acre site located a mere 200 metres from the existing site at a reasonable price. We all know the construction of the M6 from Kinnegad to Kilbeggan has caused the price of land in the area to shoot through the roof. This opportunity may not present itself again. As a Government Deputy for County Westmeath, I urge the Minister for Education and Science to avail of the offer being made by the good sisters.

Kilbeggan is located between the gateway towns of Athlone, Tullamore and Mullingar and this school's reputation in terms of its comprehensive curriculum is second to none. The school's rural catchment area of Kilbeggan, Rahugh, Tyrrellspass, Castletowngeoghegan, Dysart, Streamstown, Durrow, Ballinagore, Bohar and Horseleap contains decent and hard working communities which deserve to take advantage of the opportunity presented by the sisters to the Department. The board's provision of lifelong learning opportunities represents a significant contribution to the area's communities.

There is an urgent need for a technical assessment of the new site. Enrolment at the school was 301 in 2000, rising to 400 in 2006, and an enrolment of 500 to 550 is projected by 2010. Any fair minded person would have to agree the current opportunity will not be available next year because the road will by then be opened. I call on the Minister to give urgent consideration to this request and to bring the matter to a conclusion as quickly as possible so the people of the Kilbeggan area can be assured of a new site.

Mr. T. O’Malley

l thank Deputy Cassidy for raising this matter, which I will address on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science. I wish to outline to the House the plans of the Department of Education and Science for the proposed new secondary school in Kilbeggan.

Modernising the facilities in our 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task, given the legacy of decades of under investment in this area as well as the need to respond to emerging demands in areas of rapid population growth. Nonetheless, this Government has shown a sincere determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum.

This Government has invested in the largest school building programme in the history of the State. Between 1998 and the end of 2004, almost €2 billion was invested in school buildings and in the region of 7,500 large and small projects were completed in schools, including 130 brand new schools and 510 large scale refurbishments and extensions. Funding for school building and renovation projects has increased fivefold since 1997. In 2006, €500 million will be spent on school building projects, compared to just €92 million in 1997. The 2006 allocation is an increase of over 9% in real terms on the 2005 allocation.

At the end of last year, the Department of Education and Science outlined its spending plans for primary and post-primary schools for 2006. With €500 million to be spent on school buildings, there will be more than 1,300 ongoing projects in schools throughout the country. This significant investment will allow the Department to continue to progress its major programme of school building and modernisation, which includes improving new technological equipment and information technology.

On 16 August 2005, the Department of Education and Science published a new area development plan for the N4-M4 corridor which charts the way forward for school planning over the next decade. With regard to the proposed secondary school for Kilbeggan, the N4-M4 area development plan recommended that Meánscoil an Chlochair, Kilbeggan, should be relocated to a greenfield site and could cater for 500 to 550 students. A strict enrolment policy should be in place to ensure priority is given to students within the catchment area.

The Department is anxious to be proactive in planning the needs of rapidly developing areas and this plan equips it with a blueprint for development in an area that will continue to experience rapid change in the coming years. An examination of the school's long-term projected enrolment is currently being carried out by staff in the school planning section of the Department. Factors being taken into account include population growth, demographic trends, current and projected enrolments, recent and planned housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet the demand for places. Once the long-term projected enrolment is established, the school will be asked to complete an educational worksheet based on this figure and return it to the Department's senior educationalist, who in turn will draw up a schedule of overall accommodation for the proposed new school. In addition, staff in the school planning section of the Department will arrange a technical inspection of the existing school building to assess its condition. Following the outcome of this assessment, the issue of site acquisition will be examined and officials from the Department will contact all relevant parties.

Mr. Cassidy

I ask the Minister of State to use his influence to ensure the assessment is completed before the summer recess.

Mr. T. O’Malley

I will speak to the Minister for Education and Science on the matter.

Mr. Cassidy

I congratulate the Minister of State on Munster's incredible success.

Water and Sewerage Schemes.

Mr. Neville

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise the issue of Government's failure to address the severe infrastructural projects in west County Limerick. The failure to fund new sewerage schemes is starving our towns and villages of the resources they need to expand their populations and create new jobs. West County Limerick has experienced a serious drain from the land and the farming community there has decreased considerably in recent decades. The number of people whose income is derived solely from farming has also suffered a significant drop.

Planning restrictions have deprived people of the opportunity to build houses in rural areas. To be eligible for planning permission in 80% of rural areas of County Limerick, applicants must be from the area and cannot already own houses. The general response of the local authority to one-off rural housing is to refuse rather than grant permission. The planners will say that towns and villages should be developed rather than allowing a pattern of one-off housing but, because of the lack of proper sewerage facilities, housing and business developments cannot be facilitated. Towns and villages in Limerick West which are starved of development owing to the failure to provide adequate sewerage include Askeaton, Shanagolden, Foynes, Athea, Pallaskenry, Dromcollogher, Adare, Patrickswell, Bruff and Kilmallock.

The 50-year-old sewerage system in Kilmallock is seriously hampering any development and is resulting in environmental and developmental concerns in the village. There is concern that damage is being done to the Loobagh and Maigue rivers as a result of the lack of adequate facilities for sewage disposal in Kilmallock. The proposals before the Department to develop the town's sewerage scheme will provide for a population equivalent of 4,000 with a possibility for future development. The former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, promised a new sewerage scheme in 2004 and we are no nearer to having this developed.

Shanagolden is in an area of great population decline where the exit from farming or the transfer to part-time farming has been very pronounced. An injection of economic activity into the area is needed. The construction of a new sewerage scheme would ensure this. Several attractive proposals from developers to regenerate this village have been discussed with Limerick County Council but such development cannot take place until there is a new sewerage scheme.

I was informed by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government that the Limerick county trunk water mains scheme servicing Patrickswell and Adare has been approved for construction in his Department's water services investment programme 2004-2006. Submissions have been made to Limerick County Council on a sewerage scheme which would substantially increase the population of Patrickswell. This population boost cannot take place until the new sewerage scheme is in place.

On 26 January 2005, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, informed me in this House that the Patrickswell-Adare sewerage scheme would commence construction in 2005. It did not. On 9 March 2004, the former Minister in the Department, Deputy Cullen, informed me that the Adare sewerage scheme was approved for construction under his Department's water services investment programme 2003-2005. This Minister also failed to honour his commitment. In 2003, the Minister, Deputy Cullen, also informed me that Adare sewerage scheme would commence construction in 2003 and that the revised preliminary report was approved in July 2002, but we are still waiting.

A Bruff development plan is being completed and a town development plan is being drawn up. Key to the development of Bruff is an understanding of when the sewerage scheme will be introduced and developed. Serious flooding takes place in Dromcollogher, which is among the many problems that require a new sewerage development. Athea, which is in the western part of the area and nearest to the Kerry border, is an excellent community in a rural area with great potential for development and has always responded to developing its community but is hampered because of this.

Limerick County Council has made comprehensive submissions to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on this but the Department always returns with another question, issue, clarification, reduction or query on consultancy fees. Limerick County Council has been trying to progress this but every time it answers a question fully, it receives another query, development or a new approach on consultancy. The neglect of west Limerick must be addressed. The Minister should give us a chance to develop. The population is declining in most areas and the introduction of sewerage schemes is key.

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

There has been unprecedented investment by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in the provision of modern water services infrastructure in recent years and this has made a key contribution to the economic growth that has benefited every part of the country. The Department's water services investment programme 2005-2007, published in December 2005, includes funding for more than 20 water and sewerage schemes throughout Limerick county and city. Under that programme, towns and villages such as Adare, Patrickswell, Athea, Askeaton, Foynes, Glin, Shanagolden, Kilmallock, Mungret, Dromcollogher, Hospital, Pallasgreen and Bruff can all look forward to new or upgraded sewerage schemes.

Mr. Neville

When?

Mr. N. Ahern

Many areas will also benefit from improved water supplies from the major upgrade planned for the Clareville water treatment plant, improvements to the Shannon estuary water supply scheme and extensions of the Limerick county trunk water mains. Almost €158 million has been allocated under the programme for water and sewerage infrastructure in Limerick. I am as anxious as the Deputy to see these schemes get to construction and completion as quickly as possible and my Department is doing everything it can to ensure this happens. The Deputy will also appreciate that multi-million euro schemes funded by the taxpayer must go through detailed planning and development processes——

Mr. Neville

It has been 28 years for Adare.

Mr. N. Ahern

This is to ensure they meet their intended objectives, are designed and constructed in an economical manner and produce drinking water or treated waste water to a standard that meets national and EU requirements. Necessary procedures such as the acquisition of land or fulfilment of statutory planning requirements such as environmental impact assessments, EIAs, must be completed before tenders can be invited for the construction of any scheme.

The Department recently extended a greatly increased level of responsibility to local authorities to speed up the process of new water services infrastructure. For every project in the water services investment programme valued under €5 million, local authorities are, as soon as they receive preliminary approval, clear to proceed right through to construction without further reference to my Department. This gives local authorities unprecedented authority to advance individual schemes with a minimum of departmental involvement. I hope the result will be a significant speeding up of hundreds of individual schemes from drawing board to completion. It will also mean that my Department's expertise can be concentrated on advancing the larger and more costly projects.

My Department's funding on water and sewerage schemes is not limited to the schemes included in the water services investment programme. Funding is also provided for the rural water programme, which includes funding for both water and sewerage schemes. National spending on rural water has increased dramatically from around €15 million in 1997 to €133 million in 2006. Real progress where it matters, on the ground, is being achieved throughout the country on the back of this increased investment.

When I announced the block grant allocations for the rural water programme in February, Limerick County Council received an allocation of €11.65 million, of which €650,000 is towards small public water and sewerage schemes. The allocation of €11.65 million compares with a spend of €4.35 million by the council in 2005.

I have listened carefully to what the Deputy has said and I thank him for the opportunity to outline my Department's support for the provision and upgrading of water and sewerage infrastructure in Limerick. I will have to check his statements on previous commitments and letters he received. I do not know whether the delay was at county council or Department level.

Mr. Neville

It is on the record of the House.

Mr. N. Ahern

If incorrect submissions come in, they are sent back. Things must be in order. Perhaps we can find out why a project on an earlier programme is still on the next one and whether the delay was on the part of the Department or the county council. They are all included on the programme. The money is in place. The increased authority to proceed with the smaller schemes once initial approval has been given without answering 1,000 questions should speed up matters. The €158 million that has been allocated is significant and I hope there will be no further delays.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 24 May 2006.