Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 12 Oct 2006

Vol. 625 No. 3

Adjournment Debate.

Prison Accommodation.

Mr. Crowe

On 31 July, a 20 year old prisoner, Gary Douch, made a request to prison officers in Mountjoy for protection. They placed him in a holding cell in the basement with at least five other inmates, where he was subsequently battered to death. One media outlet reported he was beaten for more than one hour, had his head forced down a toilet full of human faeces, his chest was stamped on resulting in its collapse and he was eventually strangled. No one saw or heard anything.

The cell was demolished by the Prison Service before members of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture could inspect it this week. Every State failure to protect the lives of those in custody, whether in a Garda station or a prison, must be subject to nothing less than an independent investigation.

In August an investigation was established by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to be conducted by an official from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform reporting back to the Minister. As argued by the Irish Penal Reform Trust, "Surely, a truly independent inquiry, by definition, must include investigators who are not part of the bureaucracy and ethos of the Prison Service and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform". The investigation established by the Minister could be described more as "in-house" than "independent" and as such, it falls far short of our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Inspectors from the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, CPT, tasked with monitoring standards in our prison system, are visiting this week. The Government was notified of the timing of this visit earlier this year. The CPT inspectors could have conducted a genuinely independent investigation into the circumstances leading to and surrounding the death of Gary Douch. They were denied the opportunity to do so because the Prison Service demolished the cell where his murder took place.

I sincerely hope this action by the Prison Service does not turn out to be an indication of a culture of cover-up akin to that operating within certain sections of the Garda Síochána. Twenty year old Terence Wheelock died in Garda custody in June 2005. Gardaí claimed he hanged himself but it is widely believed by his family and friends that he died as a result of Garda brutality. The Wheelock family's solicitor secured a court order to preserve the cell for forensic evidence. However, the order was disregarded and the cell was completely renovated destroying all evidence.

It is only right that we question and get to the bottom of the Prison Service's motive for destroying the holding cell in Mountjoy. It was destroyed before the report of the internal investigation into Gary Douch's murder was published, and to the best of my knowledge, before this report was submitted to the Minister. They destroyed it before any related charges could be laid by the Garda and before the European Committee on the Prevention of Torture could inspect it. At best, the actions of the Prison Service amounts to negligence, at worst a cover-up.

I want to use this opportunity to call for a truly independent investigation into the death of Gary Douch and all deaths occurring in custody or shortly after someone being in custody. Will the Government ratify the optional protocol to the Convention Against Torture as is required by the equivalence provisions of the Good Friday Agreement? Will the Minister introduce legislation to place the prisons' inspector on a statutory footing, introduce a prisoners' ombudsman and remove the current exemption of children in detention from the remit of the Ombudsman for Children? Will the Government establish and resource an adequate number of mental health treatment centres with appropriate levels of security to bring an end to the practice whereby the prison system acts as a dumping ground for people suffering from mental illness?

Only truly independent inquiries will uncover the truth and allow lessons to be learned. By insisting on in-house investigations and allowing the destruction of evidence, the Government learns no lessons. Building a super-prison will do nothing to prevent the murder, torture and inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners. It will simply replicate these conditions on a larger scale.

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

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which operates under the aegis of the Council of Europe, was established under the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment in 1987. The committee is composed of lawyers, medical doctors, prison experts, parliamentarians etc. from the member states and carries out its task by periodic and ad hoc visits and on the basis of full co-operation from states.

During these visits, the committee has the right of unimpeded access at any time of the day or night to any place where persons are detained, whether it be a prison, a Garda station or a mental hospital, and are entitled to speak in private to any detained person.

The CPT has visited Ireland for inspection purposes on a number of occasions. The CPT submits a formal report of each visit to the Irish Government, which is subsequently published along with the Government's response. The report arising from the visit by the CPT to Ireland in 2002 noted that its delegation had received excellent co-operation both before and during the visit.

The Tánaiste completely rejects the assertion that the instruction to close the holding cell referred to was in any way linked to the current visit by the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In fact the Tánaiste views such an implication as quite frankly outrageous and completely at odds with the actions of his Department since this tragic incident. The Deputy should be aware of the appointment of Mr. Michael Mellett to undertake an independent investigation into the events leading to the death of Mr. Douch. He had been to the scene of the crime and had concluded his examination of the area prior to any action being taken to convert them for alternative usage.

Mr. Crowe

Hardly an independent inquiry.

Mr. N. Ahern

The same position applies in the Garda investigation into the incident and they had indicated they had no further requirement of the crime scene for their criminal investigation.

Normal procedure following a serious criminal incident in a prison is that the scene of the crime is sealed and preserved until the gardaí have concluded their examination. In normal circumstances, the area would then be cleaned and brought back into commission in its previous use. In this case it was clear that such a course of action would be completely inappropriate and the Director General of the Irish Prison Service made the decision, in the immediate aftermath of the incident, that for operational reasons, the holding cells would be closed with immediate effect and that they would no longer accommodate prisoners.

The Tánaiste has repeatedly stated on the record that Mountjoy Prison is an unsuitable prison for the requirements placed upon it and that it is incapable of acting as a modern place of rehabilitation and detention for sentenced persons. It is past its sell by date——

Mr. Crowe

So is the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

Mr. N. Ahern

——and this is why the replacement of the Mountjoy complex by the site at Thornton Hall in north County Dublin is such a priority for the Tánaiste, the Government and the Irish Prison Service.

The CPT has not raised any complaints with the Irish authorities concerning access to the B base of Mountjoy Prison.

Mr. Costello

It has asked questions about the prison, as it has every year.

Traffic Management.

Mr. Costello

I would like the Minister for Finance to explain the OPW's new transport policy for the Phoenix Park. The residential community surrounding the park is concerned about the new transportation and traffic plans that the Minister and the OPW have for the park.

This 1,750 acre park, the largest public park in any capital city in Europe, is a wonderful amenity for the people of Dublin. The purpose of the new plan is to reduce through traffic and to make the park more pedestrian friendly. Unfortunately, the new proposals are such that residents fear they will have the opposite effect.

Chesterfield Avenue bisects the park from Castleknock Gate to Parkgate Street and the quays. The new proposals will introduce a bus service for the first time, with 20 new buses on the route. There are no proposals, however, for a quality bus corridor. Consequently, the new service will only add to existing peak hour traffic, making Chesterfield Avenue a major commuter feeder route into the city.

The changes to the other roads in the park will make them unidirectional, with a one way entrance from west and north and a one way exit to the east through Cabra, the North Circular Road and Parkgate Street, directing traffic towards the city every morning. If the OPW is serious about traffic reduction, it would introduce a bus lane and restrict commuter traffic at peak traffic hours through the park.

Outside the park, Blackhorse Avenue in Cabra will undoubtedly experience a considerably greater volume of traffic, as will the North Circular Road, Infirmary Road, Prussia Street and Aughrim Street, which already have high levels of traffic.

I hope the Minister of State can assure us that the report that has just been published will be open for discussion and amendment with the local authority traffic management office, with public representatives and local communities around the park who will be affected by the new changes and that this will all be done before any action is taken regarding the implementation of the report's recommendations.

Mr. N. Ahern

In mid-March of this year, the Commissioners of Public Works commissioned a traffic management study for the Phoenix Park and the following advertisement was published on 15 April 2006:

PHOENIX PARK TRAFFIC STUDY

The Phoenix Park is Ireland's premier National Historic Park, and Europe's largest enclosed city park. It is widely acknowledged as a valuable amenity resource and a major environmental lung for Dublin City. On the other hand there are competing demands arising from increased development and traffic congestion in Dublin City. As a result the Phoenix Park faces a number of challenges in ensuring it remains a sustainable, highly valued and safe recreational amenity.

Against this background the Commissioners of Public Works have commissioned Messrs. Faber Maunsell, Consulting Engineers to carry out a comprehensive traffic study of the Phoenix Park. The study will address the growing pressures on existing Phoenix Park infrastructure and develop proposals designed to protect the Phoenix Park and its users, both now and for the future, while making every effort to facilitate through traffic.

The study will analyse current and future commuting patterns, road safety issues and traffic management proposals. It will examine the potential for public traffic and road safety improvements. Proposals will be made for long-term management and monitoring of traffic in the Phoenix Park, in keeping with the objectives of the Phoenix Park Management Plan.

The study involves an extensive public consultation process with interested parties, which will take place over the coming weeks.

This advertisement sets out the background to the study, which included a public consultation process. A total of 26 submissions from the public were received——

Mr. Costello

And ignored.

Mr. N. Ahern

——and in addition to that, stakeholders in the park, the local authorities, the Garda authorities, the Dublin Transportation Office and the Office of Public Works were consulted.

In formulating the study therefore, Messrs. Faber Maunsell took a wide range of views into account and a firm of environmental consultants, Messrs. ERM Limited, was also engaged to assess the proposed measures contained in the study from an environmental protection perspective, a vital consideration in the context of this national historic park.

On completion of the study earlier this month, a number of presentations on the study were arranged on 10 and 11 October for the parties outlined above who contributed to the process. This included a presentation to resident associations on the perimeter of the Phoenix Park, which I understand Deputy Costello may have attended.

The commissioning of an independent traffic management study for the Phoenix Park was necessary on a number of counts: to protect this national historic park from growing traffic pressures, to ensure the amenities of the park are not degraded, to ensure public access to the park and its amenities is enhanced, to significantly reduce risks to the public arising from traffic movements, to collate a range of proposals to achieve these objectives and to enhance public awareness on the need for these measures.

The commissioners are satisfied that positive intervention to address these challenges is absolutely essential and that the "do nothing" approach is not an option. Following the recent consultation process, the commissioners are considering the phased implementation of a number of the principal measures proposed in the report.

Services for People with Disabilities.

Ms C. Murphy

In the past, we were told it was possible to predict the life chances of babies by looking at their addresses in the maternity ward. The addresses to which this statement alluded tended to be in areas of significant poverty and disadvantage. If the same review of maternity wards were to take place today, the address of a baby would still play a part. However, if a child has a special need or disability, where the child lives will dictate the level of support services available and, as a result, his or her life chances. The reason is inequality in current service provision.

Although the Health Service Executive is a single entity, it appears that eight former health boards continue to function behind this organisation. To highlight what I mean I will refer to three children. Conor, who is aged three years and has a problem with his speech, requires speech and language therapy and has been placed on a list for assessment. I received from the HSE a reply to a query informing me that it currently takes 23 to 24 months to complete an assessment and it is working off the 2004 list. The reason for this waiting period, according to the HSE, is low staffing levels relative to the number of referrals. On checking further, it emerged that more than 1,500 children are on the County Kildare waiting list, a threefold increase since 2002. As Conor's mother cannot afford to go privately, her child will have to wait, with the result that he may commence school before receiving an assessment, not to mention treatment.

In replies from the Health Service Executive, I have been informed that under the "staff employment ceiling" it is not possible to approve all necessary posts. Rapidly expanding counties such as Kildare are disproportionately affected by this embargo on further recruitment. The State is perfectly willing to allow a child to attend school with a known disadvantage in a county with the highest class sizes in the country, yet it wonders why he might underperform.

The second child to whom I draw attention is Tim who was born 18 months ago with Down's syndrome. He lives in my constituency and featured in an article in the most recent issue of The Sunday Tribune. The article compared the services available to Tim with those available to another child with the same diagnosis who was born on the same day and lives three miles away in Lucan. Both children reside in the old Eastern Regional Health Authority region, albeit in different sections of it. While the parent in County Kildare had to fight for every service the child secured, the other parent in the Dublin area received a seamless service.

Services for children with Down's syndrome in south Kildare are substantially better than those available in north Kildare. Tim, like all children with Down's syndrome, requires early intervention which would make him much more receptive to learning at an early stage, an obvious advantage. He cannot wait until the State gets around to providing services.

The third case relates to a child of seven years who also lives in my constituency. He was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was three years old but despite his disability, he is doing well in school. Initially placed in a special class, he has since progressed to mainstream. Until now he has had support from Beechpark services which focuses on early services for children with autism. The child in question requires occupational therapy and speech and language therapy to ensure he does not regress. In response to a query, his parents received the following incredible statement from the HSE:

Unfortunately we must inform you that we do not have resources to treat children with autism as we are not an autism specific service and our staffing levels are particularly low at present. We regret to inform you that we do not have an occupational therapist nor a psychologist on our team presently. We realise that this is an unsatisfactory situation, however it is outside the control of this team. We can only apologise and regret our lack of resources at present. Should you be in a position to source the above therapists in a private capacity, we can forward you some information.

This is shocking. While it is understandable that the major focus of the HSE has been on hospital beds and accident and emergency departments, the life chances of children are being badly affected by the unequal service the organisation provides. As I indicated, the little boy to whom I refer is doing well in school. However, his parents have been told following a professional assessment that if he does not receive the necessary occupational therapy, he will regress. Providing support to this child now is an investment in ensuring he leads an independent life.

There is no problem in finding the parents of the children in question when the State seeks taxation. We need to ensure they receive equal levels of service from the taxes they pay.

Mr. N. Ahern

I take this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. I am pleased to have an opportunity to address the general issues raised by the Deputy.

I emphasise the Government's commitment to providing high quality services to all people with a disability. This commitment is illustrated by the substantial investment we have made in services in recent years and the multiannual investment programme provided by the Government for the period 2006 to 2009. The Government's six sectoral plans on disability, including the plans for the health sector, set out in some detail how we plan to improve the experience of people with a disability.

The recent claims in a newspaper article that "for children it has never been so bad" cannot be supported by the facts.

Ms C. Murphy

They are supported by the facts.

Mr. N. Ahern

I accept some of the points raised by the Deputy and will not defend the HSE regarding some of the unacceptable responses all Members receive. If the Deputy is correct, services should not relate to where one lives. However, considerable improvements have taken place in services for people with a disability. For example, between 1997 and 2005 additional revenue and capital funding of €464 million was provided for persons with intellectual disability and autism. This is not acknowledged in the article the Deputy cited.

The Government provided additional revenue funding of €74 million in 2006 for services for people with physical, sensory and intellectual disability and those with autism. The priority this year is to enhance the assessment and support services for children with disabilities. In particular, these moneys are to meet the costs associated with the commitments in the multiannual investment programme for specific high priority disability services. This will also help to build the additional capacity in multidisciplinary and other support services required under the Disability Act 2005 and the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004.

With regard to the specific services raised by the Deputy, I understand from the HSE that the relevant services in County Kildare are provided in the north of the county by a partnership arrangement between the HSE and the St. John of God services at St. Raphael's Celbridge and in the south of the county in a partnership arrangement between the HSE, Kare and Moore Abbey.

I also understand that the service in west Dublin and south Kildare has developed extensively in recent months but it has proved difficult for logistical reasons to achieve similar progress in north Kildare. The HSE has assured me it will work closely with the St. John of God service to develop early learning services in order that it can attain the type of provision available in south Kildare. The HSE and St. John of God are committed to developing a holistic service that meets children's needs in the area.

The development of high quality services, available on an equitable and equally accessible basis, throughout the country is an important objective of the Minister and HSE. I am confident that, over time, the varying levels of service provision will be standardised and that the HSE, as a single national organisation, will achieve this objective.

I draw the Deputy's attention to the Disability Act, Part 2 of which will be commenced on 1 June next for children under five years. This Part entitles people with a disability to an assessment of need and to a formal statement of services to be provided. It will offer greater certainty and consistency in the level and type of services available for children in the circumstances outlined by the Deputy. I will draw the Minister's attention to the cases raised by the Deputy.

Planning Issues.

Mr. Broughan

Ongoing media reports about the sale by Dublin City Council of 23 acres of land in the area of Balgriffin, Clare Hall and Belmayne in the Dublin North-East constituency have raised serious concerns locally which must be addressed by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The lands are part of the massive new urban district called the north fringe, which is being created in this constituency and which may ultimately contain more than 20,000 housing units and a major ancillary commercial development around a new city boulevard running from Coolock to the sea at Baldoyle and Portmarnock.

Concerns were originally expressed about this sale at the Dublin North-Central area committee of Dublin City Council. The then city managers, Mr. John Fitzgerald and Mr. Sean Carey, informed members that the original sale price was €48 million. When city councillors queried the reasons for this sale and the price, they were informed the sale was necessary to ensure a new city plaza and linkage to the new east-west central boulevard could be created quickly, since the prospective purchasers, Stanley Holdings, already owned some of the lands necessary to create this important public realm. The city council was also informed last July that the funds realised by the sale would be ploughed back into public facilities of all kinds in the north fringe and in Dublin North-East generally.

Despite these assurances, it has emerged that an independent valuation report on these lands, commissioned by Lisney Auctioneers for the city council, was never published or made known to councillors before they approved a managerial report on the sale. This is an extraordinary state of affairs and another typical example of the need for a root and branch reform of local government. How could city councillors possibly do their job when they did not know the real value of the land? I call for the new city manager, Mr. John Tierney, to publish immediately the valuation of the Balgriffin and Clare Hall lands which was prepared by Lisney Auctioneers. It has been alleged the city council's chief valuer at that time has moved to new employment with Lisney Auctioneers.

A key difficulty with this sale from the time it first became known is that there was no open public tender process. The earlier city managers had reported that because part of the site was landlocked from some of the new road developments, the sale price would have been driven steeply down by going to public tender. However, the original north fringe master plan signally failed even to outline the general uses of most of this district, including the 23 acres in question. That was one reason I strongly opposed that area action plan in the late 1990s until it was forced through the city council by outgoing city manager, Mr. John Fitzgerald, defeating a motion in my name calling for a new detailed mixed density master plan with a range of community and public transport facilities.

It emerged recently that the original commitment to sell these lands last June included an uplift clause, allowing the city council to renegotiate a higher price which could be exercised any time up to March 2007. The city council triggered this clause recently and secured a new higher sale price of €60.4 million. City officials are also claiming there will be additional public realm costs of €7 million in favour of the council when the new Clare Hall plaza and boulevard is built. However, with six months to go in the timeframe of the uplift clause and with no end to steadily escalating property values on the north side, many of my constituents still wonder if €60.4 million represents full value for these lands and whether they would be worth €100 million by next March. In an earlier debate in this House on affordable housing, the Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, stated the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, provided this land to Dublin City Council for affordable and social housing. For that reason, the sale of this land should be examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, who should then report on it to the Committee of Public Accounts.

A key failure of local and national government in the development of the north fringe lands is the serious lack of joined up planning and public accountability. The three main developers, Ballymore Homes, Gannon Homes and Shannon Homes, accounting for up to 12,000 housing units alone, have never been the subject of a detailed urban master plan prepared jointly by Dublin City and Fingal County Councils. There have been planning applications, but there has never been a detailed plan. The plan put repeatedly before Dublin City Council was only for part of the city council area of the fringe and is based on vague aspirations and principles which are turning out to be a developers' heaven as they go for ever increasing densities. At the same time, there is almost no public accountability. I proposed the creation of the north fringe forum which was accepted by the then city manager, Mr. Fitzgerald, and which held its tenth meeting last Tuesday and is composed of residents, public representatives and stakeholders. However, the forum is powerless and just an interested talking shop.

For these reasons and because of the disturbing controversy over the Clare Hall and Balgriffin lands, I urge the new Dublin City and Fingal county managers to consider applying to the Minister for strategic development zone status for the remaining undeveloped north fringe lands in Dublin City and Fingal. The SDZ route should especially be considered for the lands of Belcamp College, where Gannon Homes applied last year for a Manhattan style development of skyscrapers and some of the highest residential density ever seen in Ireland. I call on the Minister of State to ensure the valuation is published and that there will be an open public tender, that the city council gets full value for money and that the Comptroller and Auditor General examines this matter. I also call on him to consider strategic development zone status for the north fringe.

Mr. N. Ahern

I am pleased to update the House on the proposed sale of lands at Clare Hall and Belmayne. The purchase of the site was not directly funded by my Department. The site was part of a 30-acre site bought by Dublin City Council in 1999 for €18.8 million, for social and affordable housing purposes, by means of a housing finance agency loan. That purchase had the approval of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The council now proposes to sell 23 acres of the site to Stanley Holdings, which owns sites adjacent to this land, for €60.4 million.

There was some discussion between Department officials and Dublin City Council on the council's decision to dispose of the site. While a public tendering process often yields a higher value, the council felt the particular circumstances surrounding this site meant the preferable option was to negotiate with the adjacent developer. The site being sold is surrounded by lands belonging to Stanley Holdings and any successful bidder under a public tendering process would have to negotiate with that company to secure access rights. This would have the effect of reducing any bid for the lands being sold by the council. It was the view of the council that negotiating directly with the adjacent developer would leverage the maximum possible outcome for the site.

In May 2006, the council negotiated a price of €48 million with Stanley Holdings, with an uplift clause built in that would enable the council to revisit the deal if it felt subsequently that a higher valuation of the site was merited. The council subsequently invoked this clause and recently negotiated a deal worth €60.4 million. Contract negotiations are nearing completion at this stage. However, the deal is worth more than the €60.4 million agreed. Part of the north fringe master plan involves a plaza and the development of a new main street and DART station from Baldoyle to this junction at the Malahide Road end. As part of the deal negotiated with Stanley Holdings, the company will construct this plaza and new main street on their property within 18 months, and it will then come back into public ownership.

A resolution agreeing to the disposal of the lands was passed by Dublin City Council. It is proposed the council will use the funds arising from the sale of these lands for capital projects within the city. The remaining seven acres from the original 30-acre site purchase by the council in 1999 is being held as part of the council's land bank for future housing needs.

The Deputy will note that I had reservations about the sale of this site. It was bought for social and affordable housing and I thought it should be used for that purpose. The Deputy's party has a majority on the city council and the job of disposing of land is the responsibility of the councillors.

Mr. Broughan

Does the Minister of State not agree that the councillors did not have the information?

Mr. N. Ahern

I expressed my concerns to councillors and they were raised on the floor of the council. I would have preferred that this land was used for a different purpose. The Deputy has often voiced his concern about housing waiting lists and so on and I was shocked when councillors from different parties, including my own and that of the Deputy, agreed to sell this. The process has gone through in accordance with the regulations. The motions and the approval of the decision——

Mr. Broughan

The contracts are not signed.

Mr. N. Ahern

The contracts have not been signed, but the decision to sell has been approved by Dublin City Council. Despite my reservations, I do not know how that can be changed at this stage.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.20 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 17 October 2006.