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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 7 Mar 2007

Vol. 633 No. 2

Adjournment Debate.

Decentralisation Programme.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for providing time on the Adjournment for me to be updated on the major announcement that was made by the former Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, in the budget of 2004. To have the head office of the Department of Education and Science with the Minister in situ in the town of Mullingar is of major importance. It was one of the main announcements made by this Government during its term of office and it is of major significance in terms of the potential surrounding one of the biggest spending Departments being located in one of the premier towns in the midlands.

With salaries totalling €12 million and a workforce of 300, along with it being the permanent seat of the Minister for Education and Science, regardless of what Administration is in power, this initiative is certainly a boost to Mullingar and to members of the business community there. Many of these are family businesses which have been in operation for three or four generations.

Some 6,000 people travel from County Westmeath to work in Dublin every day. It is great that Dublin can give employment to the people of Westmeath. Nonetheless, I have been inundated over the past month or so with queries from at least 70 people wanting to know when the Department will finally decide on the site in Mullingar. When one considers the amount of time spent sitting in a car travelling up and down to Dublin every day, it would be a Godsend for those people who have proven themselves in the Civil Service, to return and work in Mullingar.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, for taking the Adjournment matter. Will he outline whether a site has been agreed? If so, have the contract documents or the heads of agreement been agreed? We are all waiting in hope because we have been told that departmental offices in Carlow, Portlaoise in the Minister of State's constituency, and Mullingar will have the same contractor. We do not want to be in a triangle that may hold up progress for the people of Carlow town or Portlaoise, as well as ourselves in Mullingar. I wish to know from the Minister of State whether a site has been identified, contract documents agreed and the initial heads of agreement signed. If so, have any of the various tests that must take place on the site, such as an archaeological dig or whatever, taken place at Mullingar?

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Government's decentralisation programme envisages that the headquarters of the Department of Education and Science is to be relocated to Mullingar, County Westmeath. The total number of posts to be decentralised to Mullingar is 300. These numbers will provide a significant and welcome economic boost to the town of Mullingar.

The Office of Public Works has the task of sourcing suitable property solutions to meet the requirements of decentralising Departments and Government agencies throughout the country. The OPW has made good progress in this regard. To date it has completed or significantly advanced property acquisition negotiations in 37 of the 50 locations targeted under the decentralisation programme. Sites for the balance of the decentralisation locations are being actively pursued. The OPW has also been successful in identifying temporary solutions for advance parties in 26 locations.

In the case of Mullingar, a suitable site has now been identified and terms have been agreed. Contracts for sale are currently being processed by the Chief State Solicitor. I am not at liberty at this stage, unfortunately, to reveal the location of the site or any other details. When the contracts are completed by both parties all relevant matters will, of course, be disclosed.

Regarding the construction of the building in Mullingar, it has been decided that it will be part of a major PPP project which will include the provision of office accommodation for the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in Carlow and the Department of Agriculture and Food in Portlaoise. Expressions of interest have already been received from experienced developers and contractors.

The project will be procured on a design, build, finance, maintain basis and a single contract will be placed covering the three buildings. Financial advice is being provided to the OPW by the National Development Finance Agency. Evaluations of expressions of interest are nearing completion and the OPW expects to be in a position to invite tenders in the near future. When selected it will be a matter for the preferred tenderer to secure satisfactory planning permission in respect of each of the locations. On receipt of satisfactory planning permission, the preferred tenderer will be instructed to prepare working drawings, specifications and bills of quantities with a view to a contract being placed and construction work commencing on the three sites. Construction in each case, including Mullingar, is expected to be completed in 2009.

Hospital Services.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this very important matter as regards CAT scanner equipment at South Tipperary General Hospital. The Minister for Health and Children has some serious questions to answer on this whole issue.

Why is this vitally important equipment being housed in a prefab? Several years ago people in south Tipperary held a large number of very successful fundraising events to buy the CAT scanning equipment. However, it was housed in a prefab and there are difficulties. I recently visited the hospital to see at first-hand patients being carried over on trolleys to use the equipment. The staff are at a serious disadvantage on the whole issue. Union agreement is not in place because no consensus can be reached as regards the temporary structure. It is therefore essential that a new building is put in place.

Recently a transfer of services took place between Clonmel and Cashel. At all stages everybody in south Tipperary had accepted and waited for the time when a new building would be available. In that event, a union agreement could be put in place which would allow people to work the CAT scanner 24 hours a day. Instead patients are being sent to Waterford while the equipment stands idle at certain times of the night and at weekends. It is therefore essential that this equipment be properly located.

Whenever I raise this matter, as I have done many times, even in the Seanad, I was told it was a matter for the health board. I hope the Minister of State will have some positive information in this regard or that he can tell me at what stage in the future this issue will be addressed by the Government.

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Harney, the Minister for Health and Children.

As the Deputy will be aware, operational responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services is a matter for the Health Service Executive, HSE. The Deputy will also be aware that until January 2007, acute hospital services in south Tipperary were provided on two sites, South Tipperary General Hospital, Clonmel, and Our Lady's Hospital, Cashel. Acute hospital services amalgamated in Clonmel in January 2007 following a major capital development to facilitate the transfer of accident and emergency, general surgery and oncology services from Cashel at a cost of €30 million. Funds raised by the local community funded the purchase of the CAT equipment and the provision of a temporary CAT building at Clonmel pending the provision of a permanent building.

The HSE has advised that South Tipperary General Hospital currently provides a CAT service five days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The service is provided to hospital inpatients, outpatients and emergency patients. Some 3,000 scans were undertaken in 2006. Emergency patients who require CAT scans out of hours and at weekends are mainly sent to Cork and Dublin, depending on diagnosis and condition.

The HSE has further advised that an extended CAT service is not in place due to ongoing industrial relations issues with radiographers. The provision of an extended service has also yet to be agreed with the consultant radiologists. The HSE has advised that a permanent CAT building will be completed as part of the €2.2 million expansion of the accident and emergency department. This project is currently in the planning phase.

It is a matter for the HSE to consider the progression of this new development at South Tipperary General Hospital in the context of the overall capital and revenue funding resources available to it.

Broadcasting Legislation.

I appreciate this opportunity to speak about a decision that was recently taken by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, the BCI. I hope the controversy about the decision will encourage everybody to be even more generous than they have been in the past in donating money to Trócaire's Lenten campaign.

The construction the BCI has put on Trócaire's campaign advertisement, citing section 10(3) of the Radio and Television Act 1988 in doing so, is as extraordinary as it is unacceptable. The 1988 Act, which was brought into force before I became Minister with responsibility for broadcasting, was introduced by my predecessor, the former Minister, Mr. Ray Burke. Section 10(3) of that Act states that "no advertisement shall be broadcast which is directed towards any religious or political end or which has any relation to an industrial dispute". Those who crafted that legislation, as well as those who discussed it in this House and the other House at the time, did not have any intention of extending its remit to cover campaigns of a moral character. I refer to campaigns which aim to advance the philosophy, principles and practice of the United Nations, for example. Section 10 of the Act was introduced to eliminate any potential abuse of the broadcasting medium for religious or political purposes within the Irish State, for example during elections and campaigns to institutions governed by the Irish State or the European Parliament, for example.

The construction that is being put on the word "political" by the BCI means that any campaign — against bonded labour, child soldiers, trafficking or slavery, for example — could be precluded from broadcast even if it were the subject of a UN resolution. A further and more dangerous consequence flows from the fact that the basis of the BCI's decision may have been that it regarded as political the call for a Government action plan to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which relates to gender inequality. Either of these constructions, and the conclusions which flow from them, would be appalling — one would exclude campaigns with a moral basis and the other would constitute censorship. In the month in which we will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire, which resulted from the long campaign of William Wilberforce and others, it is sad that we regard the prosecution of an international campaign in support of the equality and protection of women and girls as being so political that it is not suitable for mention on radio.

I suggest, to be practical and to help to resolve this matter, that a simple amendment be made to the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006 on Committee Stage. The amendment, which would amend section 10(3) of the 1998 Act, should clarify what is meant by the word "political" in that section. The words I propose are as follows:

(1) For the purposes of section 10(3) of the Radio and Television Act 1988, an advertisement is directed towards a political end if and only if it is directed towards one or more of the following purposes namely:

(a) to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the interests of a political party, a political group, a member of either House of the Oireachtas or a representative in the European Parliament;

(b) to promote or oppose, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate at a Dáil, Seanad or European Parliament election or to solicit votes for or against a candidate at an election; or

(c) otherwise to influence the outcome of an election.

(2) In subsection (1), “candidate”, “Dáil election”, “election”, “European Parliament”, “European Parliament election”, “political group”, “political party” and “Seanad election” have the same meanings as in the Electoral Acts 1992 to 2001.

Such an amendment would clarify the situation by removing the basis for the confusion which has arisen. It is appalling that damage has been done to a campaign that would help women in Darfur, for example. Trócaire has supplied a great deal of evidence in support of its Lenten campaign. A woman from Burundi has suggested how international campaigns aimed at the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 of 2004 could help vulnerable women and young girls throughout the world. I do not attribute any malevolence to anybody in this regard, but it seems that bad judgment has led to this appalling error. The amendment I have suggested should be included in legislation in the appropriate place if that error is to be rectified and not happen again.

I thank Deputy Higgins for raising this issue. On behalf of the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, I will update the House on a legislative review that is under way in the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. The legislative proposals contained in the draft general scheme of the broadcasting Bill have been submitted to the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources for the purposes of public consultation under the e-consultation initiative. The proposals include provisions relating to the establishment of a broadcasting authority of Ireland to assume the functions of the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission, as well as the existing regulatory functions of the RTE Authority. The proposals also detail the statutory duties to be imposed on broadcasters, including those relating to advertising. The Minister is awaiting the outcome of the joint committee's e-consultation process in advance of the introduction of the broadcasting Bill to the Oireachtas later this year.

The Deputy spoke about the BCI's most recent action, which was based on its interpretation of section 10(3) of the Radio and Television Act 1988. I remind the House that the BCI is a statutory independent body. The discharge of its functions, which are set out in the Radio and Television Act 1988, the Broadcasting Act 2001 and the Broadcasting (Funding) Act 2003, is a day-to-day matter for the BCI itself. Any action taken on foot of section 10 of the Radio and Television Act 1988 is a matter for the BCI — the Minister does not have any role in it. Section 10(3) of the 1988 Act states that "no advertisement shall be broadcast which is directed towards any religious or political end or which has any relation to an industrial dispute". Section 10(6) states explicitly that the BCI has a duty of care to ensure that sound broadcasting contractors comply with that requirement.

I will outline the action taken by the BCI to date. At the request of Today FM, the BCI considered the script for Trócaire's Lenten advertising campaign, as the station was concerned that the advertisement was in breach of section 10(3) of the 1988 Act. The BCI has undertaken a thorough consideration of the content of the advertisement, the aims and objectives of the organisation placing the advertisement and the details of the specific campaign being promoted. It has come to an initial view that the advertisement is contrary to section 10(3) of the Radio and Television Act 1988, which prohibits advertising directed towards a political end.

It is an appalling decision.

In reaching its view, I understand the BCI took into consideration the element of the advertising campaign that encourages members of the public to participate in a campaign for gender equality by signing a petition lobbying the Government to enact UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

That is censorship.

In addition to advertisements for political parties, advertisements which are directed towards procuring or opposing changes to legislation, Government policies or policies of governmental authorities are deemed to be directed towards a political end and are therefore contrary to section 10(3) of the 1988 Act.

The abolition of slavery 200 years ago would not have been possible under those rules.

The BCI has asked Today FM to stop broadcasting the advertisement pending a final decision. It has invited the views of Today FM and the advertising agency placing the advertisement about the matter. They can make submissions in writing, outlining why they believe the advertisement is not contrary to section 10(3) of the 1988 Act. Given that a final decision has not yet been reached, it is incorrect to suggest that a final interpretation has been issued under section 10(3) of that Act. The process is ongoing. Any subsequent decision on the advertisement is solely a matter for the BCI, after it has conducted an independent assessment in accordance with its statutory role.

Will the Government consider my proposal?

Road Network.

I appreciate this opportunity to raise an important issue. I am sure the Ceann Comhairle remembers the extraordinary condition of the roads in the Cavan-Monaghan area in the early and mid-1990s. It was impossible to travel on many of the roads in the region at that time. The first major increase in the area's road grant was sanctioned in 1995. While the amount of money that was allocated at the time might seem fairly small by comparison with the costs which have to be met today — there has been a massive increase in material — it started the process of putting better structures in place. The existence of better structures, in general, is adding to my concern about what has happened in recent times. My Fine Gael county council colleagues are extremely worried about what has happened in the Castleblayney, mid-Monaghan, south Monaghan and Clontibret areas. This is as a result of the good work in building the Castleblayney bypass which goes from north of Clontibret village to the Dublin side of Castleblayney. However, there is no quarry in the immediate area and the stones and other materials had to be transported long distances on regional and county roads. A total of 35 minor roads are involved along with a number of regional roads. I will mention the Oram road, an important cross-Border road. This road has an allocation this year of €900,000 as a result of the decision by the county council and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Ballybay road has also suffered dramatically. A road called the Cavanakilta road stretches from the Carrickmacross road and bypasses part of the town. This road has been greatly abused.

Monaghan County Council identified a need for €5,547,000 for mid-Monaghan roads alone but the NRA will give a grand total of €282,000. Once again the NRA has a baseline figure. It gives a certain percentage of the overall cost of the job for the restructuring of the roads in the area.

I remind the Minister of State that this is a unique situation. This is a network of small byroads together with one or two major regional roads. They have been destroyed and they are back to the condition they were in during the old days of the 1980s and early 1990s. They will not be repaired without realistic funding.

While I appreciate more than most, the money that has been allocated to the N2 over the past number of years, it is money that we are due. The Carrickmacross bypass, the Monaghan bypass and the Castleblayney bypass are all vital pieces of infrastructure. Reference was made earlier tonight to the €1.5 billion being spent on railways but we have no railways in Cavan-Monaghan. We have no other means of transport other than the roads and therefore this job is essential.

I fought with the Ceann Comhairle and others to ensure we got the funding. We never missed an NRA meeting or a meeting with the Minister. We received tremendous support from the management of Monaghan County Council and consultants were brought in to do a survey of the roads ten years ago. This work is good. The people living on these wee roads and using the regional roads cannot be ignored. I beg the Minister of State to ensure that the funds are made available to restructure these roads otherwise it will cost far more in the long term.

On behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The improvement and maintenance of non-national roads in County Monaghan is a matter for Monaghan County Council to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State grants provided by the Department. Before turning to the specific issue of the roads in County Monaghan, I wish to avail of this opportunity to outline the progress being made in the significant resourcing of non-national roads.

In January, the Minister announced the 2007 grant allocation for non-national roads, which at over €607.5 million is the highest ever. It represents an overall increase of 9%, or almost €50 million, on the 2006 allocation. In 2007, the initial allocation to Monaghan County Council is some €15.1 million, an increase of 6% over 2006.

Responsibility for national roads is a matter for the relevant road authority and the National Roads Authority which operates under the aegis of my colleague the Minister for Transport. I understand that where non-national roads have been damaged as a result of construction work on national roads projects, including the transport of materials to and from the projects, the National Roads Authority normally funds remedial works as part of the national roads scheme. In this regard, the Minister understands that Monaghan County Council is in correspondence with the NRA regarding funding for the improvement of a number of non-national roads which it indicates have been damaged as a result of work on the Castleblaney bypass scheme. This is a matter to be determined between the local authority and the NRA and the Department has no function in the matter.

All non-national roads grants for 2007 have now been committed and there are no additional funds at the Minister's disposal from which he could make a further grant allocation to Monaghan County Council for improvement works to non-national roads. It is, however, open to the council to fund eligible works from its discretionary improvement grant provided by the Department or from its own resources. This year, a discretionary improvement grant allocation of €667,000 has been made to the council, an increase of 3% on the 2006 figure. The selection of works to be funded from this allocation is a matter for the council.

The Department will also be seeking applications under the specific improvements grant scheme later this year and it will be open to Monaghan County Council to submit applications for consideration for funding in 2008 under the scheme. The initial selection of projects under this scheme is a matter for local authorities.

Apart from non-national roads funding, general purpose grants from the local government fund may also be used by local authorities to meet their ongoing and special expenditure requirements. In this regard, the Minister has made available increased allocations of almost €948 million in general purpose grants to all local authorities in 2007. Monaghan County Council has received an allocation of over €15.7 million in 2007, representing an increase of 9% on its 2006 allocation.

The Dáil adjourned at 10.25 p.m. until10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 8 March 2007.
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