Adjournment Debate.

Employment of People with Disabilities.

Mr. Connolly

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this item for debate. I have been approached by a number of families who find that there is no work outlet for the disabled member of the family. Such people can avail of sheltered employment for a period of time but this eventually comes to an end because the idea behind sheltered employment is to prepare people for employment in the real world. Yet when it is time to move on, there are often no vacancies available. This is despite the fact that these people want to work, as do able-bodied people. We all want to work because a job gives us a sense of dignity, esteem and purpose in life. We believe we can make a worthwhile contribution to society if we have a job. A job also provides a wage package at the end of the week, which helps people to socialise, lead as normal a life as possible and integrate into society.

Statistics show the poor position of people with disabilities within the job market. The unemployment rate among people with disabilities is 70% in an economy with an unemployment rate of approximately 4.5%. Ireland effectively has full employment but people with disabilities are very badly treated by society. In the mid-1970s, a policy was introduced whereby 3% of people with disabilities were to be employed in the public service. Some organisations in the public sector have met this target and have been seen to make an effort and some have reached rates of 2.7% or 2.8%, but others have not. The organisations that have met the 3% target will not exceed it and cannot be accused of not having made an effort. They appear to regard the target as sufficient. Despite the holding of the Special Olympics and the activities of the Year of the Disabled in 2003, a large section of society is being left behind.

People in organisations that have met or are close to the 3% target will remain in the workforce and, therefore, no new vacancies will arise. People with disabilities who are now coming on stream find it impossible to secure employment. It is time to review the 3% target. Organisations that have not met the target should strive to meet it. However, the target should be upwardly reviewed to come closer to the European average, which, for the most part, is way above the Irish target. The target is 4% in Austria, 6% in France, 7% in Italy and 5% in Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal. Ireland lags well behind these countries. Only 15% of people with disabilities are unemployed in Germany, a country with an unemployment rate of 7%. People with disabilities are not as badly off in Germany as they are here, a situation which we must address.

I share the concerns of the Irish Wheelchair Association, which claims that the Government is guilty of discriminating against people with disabilities who want to return to the workforce. It claims that when a person with a disability returns to work, his or her carer loses entitlement to the carer's allowance, regardless of the number of hours worked or the money earned. However, a carer can earn €125 per week — €200 in the case of a married couple — and still qualify for the carer's allowance. Therefore, people with disabilities are being discriminated against.

The report of the working group on the review of the illness and disability payment schemes issued recommendations in a number of key areas that should be targeted to improve the situation of people with disabilities. The report recommended reducing the drop-out rate from education among young people with disabilities and increasing job retention rates after the onset of a disability. We must address the issues I have raised because there is a large section of society which is coming into the job market but is being left behind because we do not have jobs for them.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. M. Ahern)

I thank Deputy Connolly for raising this matter. Responsibility for the policy in respect of the employment of people with disabilities in the Civil Service lies with the Minister for Finance. Responsibility for the policy in respect of employment of people with disabilities in the public service lies with the Ministers for Finance and Justice, Equality and Law Reform under the Disability Act 2005. Under the Act, other Ministers are given the power to specify compliance targets relating to the recruitment and employment of persons with disabilities in the public bodies accountable to him or her.

Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005, which came into effect on 31 December 2005, established a new statutory framework for the implementation and compliance monitoring of the 3% employment target in the public sector. The Act provides that the Minister for Finance, with the consent of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, may specify compliance targets in respect of the Civil Service. Compliance targets in respect of the wider public sector may be specified by the relevant Minister, with the consent of the Ministers for Finance and Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

To review the operation of the policy on the employment of people with disabilities in the Civil Service, the Department of Finance commissioned independent research from Goodbody Economic Consultants. The research, which was published as employment and career progression of people with a disability in the Irish Civil Service, included a detailed study of a number of Departments which showed that 7% of existing Civil Service staff have disabilities.

In light of the consultants' recommendations, the Government looked in detail at the policy in this area and decided to emphasise two aspects, the continued recruitment of people with disabilities to work in the Civil Service and the need to ensure that there are proper supports tor all staff with disabilities. Given the importance of offering employment opportunities to people with disabilities in the Civil Service and in light of the research and the independent consultants recommendations, I understand that the Department of Finance is discussing a programme of recruitment with the Public Appointments Service to maintain work opportunities for people with disabilities in the Civil Service. It is expected that a work programme will begin in the autumn.

The Department of Finance has also employed a disability advisory officer who is preparing guidelines for monitoring, reporting and recording arrangements for staff with a disability in the Civil Service. Work is also taking place between the Department of Finance and the National Disability Authority to identify new approaches to supporting staff with disabilities, including the possible use of a survey based on voluntary self-disclosure for new and existing staff.

On the employment of people with disabilities in the private sector, my Department promotes a policy of flexibility and supports for employers in regard to the employment of people with disabilities. Under the Government's mainstreaming policy, my Department, through FÁS, seeks to increase the participation of people with disabilities in the private sector through a three-pronged approach involving facilitating progression into sustainable employment through skills development, stimulating awareness among employers of the contribution disabled people can make and encouraging their recruitment and providing specific employment supports for disabled people and employers.

The Department, through FÁS, prioritises training and employment supports for people with disabilities within available resources. This includes a range of schemes and grants aimed at promoting or facilitating the employment of people with disabilities within the private sector, including a wages subsidy scheme. This scheme was launched in July 2005 and is currently being implemented by FÁS. It operates by offering subsidies to employers under three separate strands and employers can benefit under one or all simultaneously. Strand one involves a wage subsidy based on the employee's agreed productivity level, strand two involves grant assistance to cover additional supervisory, management and other work based costs where a company employs more than two disabled people and strand three involvesgrant assistance to employ an employment assistant officer where an employer employs 30 or more disabled workers.

Eligible employees can benefit from the Department of Social and Family Affairs back to work allowance scheme, which allows the retention of a percentage of their social welfare payments and medical cards for three years. Unlike other schemes, the potential exists for both the employee and employer to benefit financially.Other schemes include the supported employment programme, a workplace equipment-adaptation grant, a job interview interpreter grant, a personal reader grant, a disability awareness training support scheme and the employee retention grant scheme.

In addition, the sectoral plan my Department is finalising under the Disability Act 2005 will, in conjunction with sectoral plans being finalised by a number of other key Departments, set the agenda for addressing remaining issues for people with disabilities participating in the labour market. It is an agenda the Government is committed to implementing.

Site Acquisitions.

Mr. Healy

Will the Minister for Education and Science immediately earmark a three-acre site on the Tipperary institute campus on the Frank Drohan Road in Clonmel, which has been identified as the preferred option by the Office of Public Works for the gaelscoil site?

Parents, teachers and pupils in Gaelscoil Chluain Meala are frustrated with the long delay in identifying a site for a new school. The school was founded on a temporary basis in 1994 and received permanent recognition in 1995. When it began, there were approximately 41 pupils and there are now approximately 240 pupils. At the time, South Tipperary County Council made available the old engineering offices, as we called them, in Irishtown, Clonmel.

While everyone was happy to have the building, it was provided on the basis that it was a temporary arrangement for a small school. The building was founded as a school in 1830 but has seen various uses since, including the county engineering offices for south County Tipperary. No one considered the gaelscoil would still be there 12 years later with no site in view. It is an historic building, but it does not conform with the needs of Gaelscoil Chluain Meala.

The parents, teachers, pupils and community are urging the Minister to earmark a site, as they believe the quest for a site has gone on for too long. The building is old, inadequate and dangerous. A recently completed whole-school evaluation states: "Moladh don bhoird dul i dteagmháil leis an Roinn láithreach maidir le cabhair a lorg chun an leath den díon nár deisíodh sa bhliain 2001 a dheisiú anois".

Mr. Hayes

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for providing the opportunity to discuss this matter, which has been an issue for a considerable time. As a member of the county council 12 years ago, I remember its decision on whether the building would be knocked or left to the gaelscoil for a year or two. The council voted on the issue.

We have been waiting for an alternative site for 12 years. It is unrealistic to expect anyone to wait that length of time. I do not know what the Minister of State will say in her reply, but I urge her to listen to our comments. This matter has been ongoing for 12 years. It was the first gaelscoil in the county, but more have mushroomed, including beautiful new buildings opened by the Minister for Education and Science while Clonmel has been left on the long finger.

If the Minister of State's answer is not positive, will she explain the matter to her superior? This is the longest saga of any gaelscoil and is unfair. There is agreement across the different parties involved that the site should be provided. It is for the Department to make a move. I impress on the Minister of State the need to do something to get the project moving.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science (Miss de Valera)

I thank the Deputies for affording me the opportunity to outline the proposals of the Department of Education and Science in respect of the provision of a new facility for Gaelscoil Chluain Meala in Clonmel, County Tipperary.

As the Deputies have said, the school opened in 1994 with provisional recognition and was granted permanent recognition in November 1995. Enrolments for the school year 2005-06 totals 211 pupils. The school is currently occupying a former school building rented from South Tipperary County Council. The cost of site and schoolroom rental is grant aided by the Department of Education and Science at the rate of 95%.

The property management section of the Office of Public Works, which purchases sites for new schools on behalf of the Department of Education and Science, was requested to explore the possibility of acquiring a site for the school. Following an advertisement placed by the OPW seeking proposals of possible sites, a number of responses were received. Six sites have been visited and their technical suitability as a location for the gaelscoil was considered.

The preferred location for the new school development is a three-acre site on the existing Tipperary Rural and Business Institute site, which is in the ownership of Tipperary Rural and Business Development Institute Limited. However, the TRDBI has proposed to the Department of Education and Science that its campus in Clonmel be relocated to a largescale technology park. Approval from the Department of Education and Science to this relocation proposal is conditional on, inter alia, the institute assisting the Department in the matter of the provision of a site for the gaelscoil.

Expressions of interest were sought by TRDBI in June 2005 from private sector property developers to determine what exactly could be provided at the technology park in exchange for the institute's current property in Clonmel. The expressions of interest sought required the incorporation of a suitable site for the gaelscoil on the current campus or on an alternative site approved by the Department of Education and Science and the Office of Public Works. The expressions of interest received by TRDBI are currently being evaluated.

Having regard to the process under way in TRDBI and the ownership of the site, it is not appropriate for me to earmark a site for the gaelscoil on the TRDBI site. When a firm decision on the future of the TRDBI site in Clonmel is made, the details of the availability of a site for the gaelscoil can be confirmed.

Meanwhile the Department of Education and Science has requested the property management section of the Office of Public Works to revisit the other remaining site options to clarify their availability and suitability.

I assure the Deputies that the permanent accommodation needs of this school are being addressed and that the provision of a permanent building for the school will be progressed in the context of the school buildings and modernisation programme when a suitable site has been acquired.

I thank Deputy Healy and Deputy Hayes again for raising this matter.

Compensation Payments.

Mr. Connaughton

I thank the Minister for his presence. The farming community in the Shannon callows area, in the general Clonfert, Esker and Eyrecourt areas of County Galway and in areas of Roscommon, Westmeath and Offaly which are in the Shannon callows area, is extremely annoyed about the lack of action on what it sees as rightful compensation. This low-lying area was very badly flooded during the downpours last month and many farmers have seen their silage and hay crops ruined this year. The farmers are up in arms because of the protracted nature of the deal being negotiated with Dúchas. Representatives of the farming organisation and of Dúchas have been meeting for a long time to try to settle this long saga. My understanding is that compensation rates have already been agreed for the corncrake land to secure its preservation.

The Shannon callows is a unique area with environmental features not seen elsewhere in Europe. Everybody wants to see the corncrakes propagate and survive for the enjoyment of generations to come. The farmers in the area take their responsibilities very seriously in that regard. Some of the stipulations surrounding the compensation are reasonable from the point of view of the plight of the corncrake but others will not allow farmers to cut a hay crop on the Shannon callows after 15 September each year for many years. I am sure the Minister is fully aware that, given the weather patterns in Ireland, particularly in the west, a farmer could hardly be expected to cut silage after 15 September, never mind hay. It is out of season and the land seems to have been handed over to the environment.

The Department of Agriculture and Food also had a say but not in this specific scheme, which is why I am delighted the Minister is present. It will be interesting to see how soon he expects the deal to be finalised, and in what circumstances. We are talking about the land owned by the farmers not designated for the corncrake. At recent meetings officials from Dúchas, under the direction of the Minister's Department, seem to have suggested that the payment per hectare will be subject to a ten hectare limit, meaning that more than ten hectares will not qualify for payment. I know what I am talking about and know the area extremely well.

I do not want to fudge the specific issue by raising many other issues in the area which are not specifically within the Minister's remit, such as the age-old question of flooding and the draining of the Shannon. There is, however, a huge case to be made for a maintenance programme on the Shannon. There have been several pilot projects and plans over the years but one or two recent reports suggested a pilot project to take the silt out of the Shannon river over a two or three mile stretch on the Clonfert side, to see if it would create more room for the water.

I await the Minister's response with open ears.

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche)

Whatever about the corncrakes I will not talk about the drainage of the Shannon.

Mr. Connaughton

I know that.

Mr. Roche

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Shannon callows is designated as a special protection area, SPA, for birds under the EU birds directive. The SPA has an area of some 6,000 hectares running through five counties. In former times the corncrake was widespread in Ireland. However, over several decades, a combination of the intensification of farming practices and, in particular, the change from hay-making to silage-cutting, have resulted in the species being left only in the coastal areas of the north and west, and in the more extensively farmed floodplain, or callows, area along the Shannon.

However, in the callows, the number of corncrakes has declined greatly over the past 20 years. A prescription for corncrake-friendly farming was drafted using best current practice. This involves late cutting of the meadow and cutting from the inside of the field outward to allow the young to escape.

Up to and including 2006, payments to farmers for corncrake-friendly farming in the callows and other areas have mainly been made under a voluntary scheme referred to as the corncrake grant scheme, operated by BirdWatch Ireland with funding from my Department. Last year, landowners in the callows received €102,000 for some 20 pairs of nesting corncrakes, which is expensive nesting. Farmers have also been paid under REPS.

In May of this year, the callows flooded and many of the remaining corncrakes were driven off their nests. Because this threatens the total loss of the Shannon callows corncrakes, my Department is funding BirdWatch Ireland to offer payments at especially high levels to farmers who voluntarily undertake late cutting in September. The money offered under the corncrake grant scheme is the highest ever. I hope this will encourage farmers to provide the necessary habitat for the corncrakes to successfully raise this year's young.

In the future, compensation will be paid to an individual land owner for actual costs or farming losses incurred, either through the rural environment protection scheme, REPS, as administered by the Department of Agriculture and Food or via the farm plan scheme of my Department. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government's farm plan scheme was launched in February last following agreement with the farming organisations. However, it has not been possible to agree terms for the corncrake prescriptions for the Shannon callows, despite numerous meetings that have taken place between officials from my Department, officials from the Department of Agriculture and Food and farming representatives over recent years.

I regret that it has not yet proved possible to resolve this matter. My Department is maintaining contact with the farming representatives to see how agreement might be reached in the context of the new farm plan scheme.

Water and Sewerage Schemes.

Mr. J. Higgins

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cheann Comhairle as ucht an ábhar tábhachtach seo a roghnú le haghaidh díospóireachta. The Pallaskenry-Kildimo community in west Limerick comprises approximately 1,200 homes. For 50 years it has had a natural supply of spring water from neighbouring Bleach Lough. Currently, Limerick County Council is attempting to force on the Pallaskenry-Kildimo community a new supply of water from a sometimes heavily polluted source, the River Deal. This means that the supply is heavily chemically treated. Unfortunately, Limerick County Council has resorted to bullying the local community. On Monday this week, a young mother from the community came close to being imprisoned by the High Court. The council adjourned the case until tomorrow and there may be another adjournment until next week. The residents' resolve to protect their natural spring water supply is strong and they will not give up their environmental right in this regard.

Why is Limerick County Council pushing this agenda? The arguments do not add up. Limerick County Council said there was a danger that Bleach Lough might be polluted in the future, but the River Deal is polluted. The council said there may not be sufficient water in Bleach Lough for the community in future. I was on the lake ten days ago and there is no sign of a water shortage. There has not been a shortage for 50 years and it is quite clear that, even with additions to the residential community in the area, there is sufficient water for the future. Bleach Lough and the neighbouring lough beside Dromore Castle comprise approximately 100 acres.

Local residents feel there is a hidden agenda, about which the county council has not been up-front and honest. The agenda may be to take water from Bleach Lough. The Aughinish Alumina plant, which is a major industrial enterprise, has applied for a major extension which will need massive extra water supplies. Residents have noted in the past that the River Deal water supply goes down in summer time. The council's agenda may be to take water from Bleach Lough to supply Aughinish Alumina with the extra water it requires. If so, why is the council not being up-front and honest with the community? It could sit down and discuss the matter with the community without forcing water from a polluted source on residents or joining up the supplies. There has been no genuine consultation. There was some consultation with neighbouring parishes but not with Pallaskenry-Kildimo.

The Kilcornan neighbourhood beside Pallaskenry-Kildimo has had terrible water for many years. The council has attempted to blame the community of Pallaskenry-Kildimo for not allowing the River Deal water in, but that is totally false. I investigated the matter and travelled the route. The council could have supplied Kilcornan with water from Bleach Lough decades ago and could immediately give it water from the River Deal. It is not necessary for the community in Pallaskenry-Kildimo to have this water foisted upon it.

I ask the Minister to intervene in this situation. He should ask Limerick County Council to pull back from the course of confrontation on which it seems to be resolutely set. I read in the Irish Examiner today that in another village in County Limerick, Kilfinney, people are spending a fortune on bottled water every week because they cannot drink the local water supply. Why does the county council not give those people water from the River Deal or elsewhere, rather than imposing a supply on a community that does not want it?

The county council has said that it will bring the water pipe into the village but will not connect it until a High Court action is heard. Why does the council put itself to all this extra cost when the High Court may order a public consultation and maybe at the end of the day the council will not be allowed to join it up? The pipe may be useless in that case. The arguments do not add up. I do not know what the Minister's officials are telling him but he should ignore their advice. I am asking him to intervene directly in this situation. The Minister knows from what he has heard that the people have an absolutely valid argument.

Mr. Roche

I thank Deputy Joe Higgins for raising this issue. He spoke to me privately about the matter. I am used to being pressed by Deputies about the need to put new water infrastructure in place to improve people's living standards and the economic conditions of communities. The situation described by the Deputy is an unusual one, taken against this background. I am particularly conscious that the dispute in this case has been, and will be again, before the courts. I do not want to say anything that will be regarded in any way as prejudicial. The Deputy has raised the issue, however, and will be aware that the elected members of Limerick County Council, who are closer to the situation than either of us, have formally endorsed the new scheme.

The council is the sanitary authority for the area and the work in this case is being carried out under contract to it. The council is the owner of the water scheme the Deputy has described. This scheme is being funded by the Department on the basis that there is an objective need for the new infrastructure to service new areas, to improve the reliability of the supply to existing consumers and to provide a source for a number of group water schemes that have suffered from substandard water quality for many years.

My Department was aware of objections to the decommissioning of the current Bleach Lough source in favour of a new supply. It suggested to Limerick County Council as far back as 2001 that the council should establish what the view of the proposal was on the ground. The consultation meeting referred to by the Deputy was held in November 2002. The Department was supplied with a report about that meeting from Limerick County Council which stated:

8.6% of the people who attended the public consultation and completed the questionnaires were against changing their water supply source, 34.6% had general or no comments and almost 57% required the new water supply source. In total, over 91% of people either had no comment or were in favour of being provided with a new water source because of difficulties experienced with the reliability of water quality, pressure, etc. of their existing supply.

I know that Deputy Joe Higgins has some views on the process and he has mentioned these to me. However, I was told that at least some of those who are currently objecting were at that meeting and people were aware that it was taking place. In that light and in view of the pressing need for additional water capacity to facilitate development in the area, the capacity limitations of the Bleach Lough supply, its vulnerability to pollution, and the position of a number of group water schemes that were suffering from serious water quality problems and needed a new source, my Department confirmed to Limerick County Council in May 2003 that Exchequer funding would be available for the extension of the Shannon estuary scheme to Pallaskenry and Kildimo as planned, approved and requested by the council.

There have been references in recent days to the new scheme replacing a community scheme, as if something owned by the community was being taken away from it. In fact, that was my personal understanding until I inquired into the matter. I can now clarify that the existing Bleach Lough scheme is owned, managed and operated by Limerick County Council. It is not a group water scheme. The new Shannon estuary scheme is also owned, managed and operated by Limerick County Council. The water supplied to the local community, whether from Bleach Lough or the Shannon estuary scheme, will be treated to the exact same standards required by the EU drinking water directive. It will be treated by Limerick County Council.

I understand that there will, in fact, be a combination of the two sources, at least for the time being, in terms of the local supply. I also understand that other consumers already connected to the Shannon estuary scheme have consistently enjoyed a high quality water supply which has always been compliant with the quality standards. On the other hand, and despite claims that the council is wrong about the vulnerability of the Bleach Lough source to pollution, I am advised — in fact, I specifically raised this issue — that the intake had to be moved some years ago to take it away from a section of the lough.

As I said at the outset, this is a local issue and it will have to be resolved at local level. I am not particularly anxious to take sides. However, I am appalled at the idea of anyone being imprisoned over a dispute like this. I urge everybody involved to allow good sense to prevail and to work towards a satisfactory outcome. At the end of the day, this issue will be resolved by dialogue and not by court action. Dialogue is the way forward.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.40 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 15 June 2006.

Dáil Éireann debate - Wednesday, 14 Jun 2006