Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 21 Mar 2007

Vol. 634 No. 1

Adjournment Debate.

Cancer Screening Programme.

Dr. Cowley

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this important issue on the Adjournment. There has been great difficulty rolling out BreastCheck. It was rolled out for half the country in 2000 but not for the other half of the population. No marks are given for guessing that the half of the population covered was on the east coast area, while the south and the west were left without this essential service. I have calculated that since the roll-out in 2000, a minimum of 60 women have died each year as a result of the unavailability of the service in their area. Therefore, since 2000 this amounts to a minimum of 500 women.

I was pleased to hear, as I am sure the Minister of State will confirm, that the roll-out of BreastCheck is on schedule and that it will be completed in the final quarter of 2007. I was pleased to hear too that BreastCheck is interested in providing a mobile service before then. The Minister for Health and Children has been anxious to provide this service, which is helpful. However, I understand the mobile unit will serve more as a facility for testing equipment and will only screen 40 women.

The question must be asked as to why the service was not provided long ago. No excuse can be given for the fact that so many women have died while waiting for the service. In 2003, the Galway clinic offered to provide a BreastCheck service until such a time as BreastCheck proper was up and running. That offer was refused because the Galway clinic offered a digital service while the BreastCheck service was an analogue service. However, since then BreastCheck has gone digital. Therefore, there is no reason not to allow the Galway clinic offer a temporary service in the meantime. People have died because of the lack of a service. The plan was to put BreastCheck in place in the region in 2004, but there has already been a delay of three years. The design team was approved on 5 May 2005. I suggest the delay in implementing the plan is due to the lack of funding. Money was not spent to allow the BreastCheck service to be rolled out.

My maiden speech in the Dáil was on the need for the Government to expand the BreastCheck service, but of course that has not happened. I was also responsible for the board and executive of BreastCheck being called before the Joint Committee on Health and Children to explain the delay. I also organised a march in 2003 on the issue. I cancelled a march that was due to take place at the end of last year because, having met the board of BreastCheck, I was told nothing I would do would advance the roll-out further.

There has been the offer of a mobile unit, but this would have been on offer in any case before the roll-out in any area. There is a problem with regard to the roll-out of the service. I believe many of the staff required are not in place or available. Many of the clinical staff required are in America and will not be back until the end of the year. We already have a major problem in UCHG where theatre time is not available for essential treatment. I am aware of ten cases of people waiting to have prostate implants to treat their cancer. Breast cancer surgery has also been cancelled in the hospital in the past few weeks because of the lack of theatre space. This is a real problem and I wonder how it will be addressed. I hope it will be addressed. The system is overburdened. I am also concerned that holiday time is approaching, which may mean delays in treatment for these cancer cases. However, I welcome the promise to roll out the service.

I ask the Minister to take on board the proposal that women up to the age of 70 should be screened. Currently, women from 50 to 64 years of age are screened. There is capacity in the Galway static unit, which will be completed in September, to provide the service up to that age. It is not practical to do that until the first cycle is completed in 2009. The Minister should work towards injecting necessary money into this area. Screening should start at 40 years of age because 11% of breast cancer cases occur in women aged between 40 and 49.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science (Mr. Haughey)

I am taking the Adjournment debate on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney.

I welcome the opportunity to address the issues raised by the Deputy and to set out the current position on the roll-out of the national breast screening programme in the west. I can confirm that BreastCheck screening will commence in the west from next April. My colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, has met with representatives of BreastCheck. They are fully aware of her wish to have a quality assured programme rolled out to the remaining regions in the country as quickly as possible. For this to happen, essential elements of the roll-out must be in place, including adequate staffing, effective training and quality assurance programmes.

At a recent meeting with the Minister, BreastCheck reported on the significant progress that has been made in preparation for the roll-out in the west. The Minister approved additional funding of €8 million for this year. This is for BreastCheck to meet the additional costs of roll-out and an additional 69 posts have been approved. The clinical director for the western region took up her position last November. BreastCheck has recently appointed three consultant radiologists, two consultant surgeons and two consultant histopathologists, all with a special interest in breast disease. The recruitment of radiographers and other staff is under way. These are the essential multidisciplinary staff required to implement a quality assured breast screening programme and primary treatment programme.

The Minister has also made available an additional €26.7 million capital funding for the construction of two new clinical units and the provision of five additional mobile units and state-of-the-art digital equipment. The BreastCheck clinical unit in the western area at University College Hospital Galway will have two associated mobile units and is on schedule for hand-over in September followed by a three-week commissioning period.

The expansion of screening to the west will take place in advance of the commissioning of the static unit. This expansion will cover counties Galway, Sligo, Roscommon, Donegal, Mayo, Leitrim, Clare and Tipperary North Riding. There are approximately 58,000 women in the target age group in these counties.

A breast screening programme is a complex multidisciplinary undertaking that requires considerable expertise and management involving population registers, call-recall systems, mammography, pathology and appropriate treatment and follow up. A programme must be quality assured and acceptable to women who attend for screening.

The first phase of the programme is of a high quality and a similar quality in the west is essential. BreastCheck is committed to the earliest possible provision of quality assured screening in the west. In response to a request from the Minister for Health and Children, BreastCheck is to achieve the early deployment of a mobile unit in a location in the west in accordance with her target date of the end of April. BreastCheck is putting all of the elements in place to meet the April roll-out. BreastCheck expects to confirm details of the actual roll-out in early April.

The Minister wishes to acknowledge the significant efforts of the staff at BreastCheck to deliver on the commitments to the west. The expansion involves existing professional and management staff at BreastCheck who have shown considerable leadership in supporting this roll-out.

Dr. Cowley

It is welcome but it is not a full roll-out and will not be until October.

Homeless Persons.

Mr. Gilmore

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for permitting me to raise this issue. It concerns the future of the two largest hostels for homeless people in Dublin, the Morning Star and the Regina Coeli hostels. I raise the issue by way of a question through the Minister of State who is taking the Adjournment debate to the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government with responsibility for housing.

I understand the Health Service Executive owns both hostels but that the Legion of Mary operates them under a lease arrangement. I appreciate the work of the Legion of Mary in providing services to homeless people at these hostels. Issues have arisen recently that may call into question the future of the two hostels and of the sites on which they are located. Both are in need of modernisation. My information is that the HSE and the Legion of Mary have been discussing this and that the future ownership of the hostels and their sites has arisen in this context.

I would like the Minister of State to answer a few questions. Does the HSE own the two hostels? Is it true that the freehold of the two hostels is being transferred to the Legion of Mary or to a trust associated with the legion? If so, will the Minister of State tell us on what terms such a transfer is taking place, how the decision was made to transfer the leasehold, by whom and at whose behest? What arrangements are being made for the upgrading and modernisation of the hostels? Are these arrangements in any way linked to a possible future sale of the hostels and their sites? If so, will the Minister of State outline the value put on the hostels and their sites and how that compares with the cost of renovating or renewing the hostels? Have any contracts or legal agreements been entered into in respect of any of these matters and what consultation, if any, has taken place with the Homeless Agency on these issues? Has the Minister or anyone else in Government been involved in these matters?

The Morning Star and Regina Coeli hostels have served the homeless of this city well. They need to be modernised and that should be done as soon as possible. I would, however, be concerned if issues that have arisen recently regarding the condition and suitability in modern times of these hostels were to be used to justify their sale, especially considering that they are located close to an area of the city which is due for redevelopment. There is a need for some clarity on what is happening in respect of the ownership and leasing arrangements of the hostels. If there is an agenda from wherever and for whatever reason which involves the sale of the hostels and realisation of what is undoubtedly a considerable asset at that location, that needs to be put face up on the table.

Mr. Haughey

I am taking the Adjournment debate on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children and thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

Irish policy is that appropriate health care is accessible to all. While the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government holds lead responsibility for the provision of accommodation to homeless persons, the provision of health services to this group is primarily a matter for the Department of Health and Children and for the HSE.

Homelessness — An Integrated Strategy, published in May 2000, aimed to tackle all aspects of homelessness, through the joint efforts of the Department of Health and Children, the HSE, the voluntary service providers, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and the local authorities.

Since the publication of the strategy, the Department of Health and Children has provided just over €33 million additional funding to the HSE towards its implementation. In the same timeframe the HSE has made significant progress towards meeting the in-house care costs along with developing new designated services for homeless adults who are not ready or able to avail of mainstream services. This has included the development of primary care services in hostels and day services, including dental, GP, nursing, chiropody, alcohol detoxification and counselling services. In addition, outreach teams and dedicated mental health teams have been established with the aim of linking people who are homeless into mainstream services.

In 2006 the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government commissioned a review entitled Homelessness — An Integrated Strategy to evaluate outcomes. The findings of the review form the basis of the current draft of a new integrated homelessness strategy, produced in consultation with the Department of Health and Children and the Health Service Executive. The strategy is now well under way.

The new strategy will aim to meet the target of eliminating long-term homelessness by 2010, as set out in the new social partnership agreement Towards 2016. Such a goal should have a positive impact on approximately 500 households. Priority will be given to those in emergency accommodation. An emphasis on interagency service co-ordination, and on improving the case management approach, has been agreed to respond holistically and optimally to the needs of homeless persons. The establishment of a national homelessness consultative committee, including representatives of the social partnership, community and voluntary pillar, under the aegis of the housing forum, will enhance participation of the voluntary and co-operative housing sector. This sector would include organisations such as the Legion of Mary.

I understand from information provided by the HSE that in late December 2006 and early 2007 it carried out a review of the Morning Star and Regina Coeli hostels, which are run by the Legion of Mary from HSE premises. As a result of that review, the freehold of the premises has been transferred from the HSE to the Legion of Mary with covenants. These premises had been made available rent-free to the Legion of Mary until the transfer. The covenants transfer responsibility for the premises in full to the legion as owner and require that the legion provide quality charitable services. The HSE has confirmed that it will remain in contact with the legion with regard to an evaluation of services and a strategic plan for service development.

I acknowledge the work of the Legion of Mary in supporting homeless persons and other vulnerable people for many decades at these and other centres, and at community level.

School Accommodation.

Mr. Deenihan

I raised this issue in the House on 20 May 2004 but there has not been much progress since. Dromclough national school, my alma mater, has 197 pupils and had 176 in 2004. The school is therefore expanding but unfortunately the Department has been very slow in providing proper accommodation.

There are 11 teachers in the school, including seven class teachers, three resource and learning support teachers and a principal. There are six classrooms and one prefab. Four of the classrooms are deemed unsuitable for teaching and this is implied in the report of the inspector.

In January 2006, a new school of eight classrooms was approved by the Department but representatives of the school are still waiting for an architect, quantity surveyor and official from the Department to visit the site to decide on the exact design and determine whether two of the classrooms of the existing school could be integrated into the new one. This is very unlikely. In the meantime, progress has been made on new schools in the locality and there have been amalgamations. When the site had to be identified, two existing schools had to be more or less ruled out for further extension. Dromclough, however, seems to have been left behind. I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, to make a special case for the school such that a team can visit it as soon as possible to decide on the exact design of the new eight-classroom school.

I will not elaborate on the conditions in which the teachers are working as I did so three years ago. The conditions are still the same and the principal's office is in a converted bathroom, which is just not acceptable.

I appeal to the Minister of State to mention this case to one of his officials so he or she will remind the Department that it should be treated as a matter of urgency and not be left on the long finger. The principal, her staff and the parents are becoming increasingly frustrated at the apparent lack of action given that they see action in respect of other schools in the area, including those in the same parish.

Mr. Haughey

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter as it affords me the opportunity to outline to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and also the position of the Department of Education and Science on the application for an extension to Dromclough national school, Listowel, County Kerry.

Modernising 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, in addition to the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth. Nonetheless, since taking office this Government has shown focused determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure that appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. As evidence of this commitment, over €540 million will be available to be spent on schools building and modernisation projects in the coming year. This will cover both primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.

Since 1997, a total of €3 billion has been invested in school buildings and this has delivered over 7,800 school building projects. The further investment of over €540 million will build on these achievements and focus in particular on the provision of school accommodation in areas where the population is growing at a rapid rate. As further evidence of our commitment, national development plan funding of approximately €4.5 billion will be invested in schools over the coming years.

I am sure the Deputy will agree that this record level of investment is a positive testament to the high priority the Government attaches to ensuring that school accommodation is of the highest standard possible. Moreover, to reduce red tape and allow projects to move faster, responsibility for smaller projects has been devolved to school level. Standard designs have also been developed for eight-classroom and 16-classroom schools to facilitate speedier delivery of projects and save on design fees. The design and build method is also used to expedite delivery where the use of standard designs is not possible. Taken together with the unprecedented level of funding available, these initiatives ensure that building projects are delivered in the fastest timeframe possible.

Dromclough national school is a co-educational primary school with a September 2006 enrolment of 194 pupils. Enrolments at this school have increased in recent years from 164 pupils in 2001 to 194 pupils in 2006. The school has submitted an application to the Department for an extension and the long-term staffing figure on which accommodation needs will be based has been determined and notified to the school authority. It has been agreed that appropriate accommodation should be provided to cater for a long-term projected staffing of principal, eight mainstream assistants and ancillary, ie. an eight classroom school with appropriate ancillary accommodation.

The next step is to carry out a technical investigation of the existing building and site to determine their suitability. When this inspection has been completed the project will be progressed in the context of the school building and modernisation programme.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and allowing me to outline the progress being made under the school building and modernisation programme and the position with the application for an extension to Dromclough national school, Listowel, County Kerry.

School Closures.

Mr. Broughan

I thank the Minister of State for coming in for this Adjournment debate.

There was a report on the RTE news at 9 o'clock a few weeks ago about the pending closure of Greendale community school in Foxfield St. John parish, Kilbarrack, Dublin 5. The coverage was of a farewell reunion of the 3,000 or so students who had passed through the school in the past 30 years. It was an astonishing turn-out on the night, with many famous faces, including former teachers such as Roddy Doyle and Paul Mercer, two of our great writers, and Brian Mullins, one of greatest Dublin athletes, who with the rest of the staff under the valiant principal, Mr. Anton Carroll, contributed so much to Greendale and the wider Kilbarrack community.

Recently a meeting was organised by the parents' association of Greendale community school. The association made disturbing points about the negative impact of the closure on the current generation of second level students in Kilbarrack. The final third year group is reaching its end, ready for its junior certificate, but when those third years transfer from Greendale to other schools, they will not have a chance to pursue the senior cycle programmes, including the LCA. Students transferring to some other schools will not be allowed to choose their key subject options until the indigenous students have made their choices first. Greendale students, who have enjoyed a school completion programme, supports and participation in the Trinity College access programme, which was a vibrant part of the Greendale community, with 1,000 adult pupils, will no longer have these facilities. Students transferring from Greendale to join transition year programmes elsewhere also face stiff charges.

The committee complained bitterly that some parents from low income households must resort to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for financial assistance. Greendale community school always made a point of taking everyone who presented to the school and giving them whatever support was necessary. That was Mr. Carroll's policy and that of his board and the staff for the past 30 years.

There has been a traumatic impact on the second level students in the east Kilbarrack area. We have the amazing situation that the sports centre, which is home to a club from the Minister of State's constituency, the famous Killester Basketball Club, one of the great national clubs which revamped it to the quality of an American university basketball championship facility, will be totally closed down. Most of all there has been a negative impact on the wider community and the grave fear of many residents, led by Mr. Thomas Moore and others, is that the whole site will fall prey to developers who will try to put a high density, high rise development because of the location's proximity to the DART.

The worst aspect of the closure process over the past three years, as Mr. Carroll, the staff and the trade union representatives made clear at the recent meeting was that the distinguished staff of 40 teachers and other educational workers, have been treated extremely badly. There has been no consultation at all, only one meeting took place. Everyone agrees that is a disgraceful way to treat such dedicated staff.

There is still time to reverse this disgraceful decision and to seek other sponsors to create a new school board that would relaunch Greendale community school. In my constituency, a major new city of 25,000 housing units is being built and they could access the Greendale site by DART so why should we close such a school?

The Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Brian Lenihan, told me that the Department would be open to any discussions on the future educational and community use of Greendale. I urge the Minister of State, as a local Deputy from the neighbouring constituency, to take vigorous action in this regard. The last time I raised this issue I proposed that all the local stakeholders and public representatives, the Kilbarrack community, Killester Basketball Club, Naomh Barróg, Kilbarrack United and all the other famous local groups, together with the local north central city council management team, led by Ms Céline Reilly and Ms Elaine Mulvenny, and the VECs, TCD, DCU and UCD come forward with a proposal for the site.

Deputy Haughey and I have served together for many years on the Northside Partnership and have wide experience of creating community development bodies based in former schools. Deputy Haughey knows that Northside Partnership and the Coolock Development Council, of which I was founding chairperson, are based in an old school building. We have done this before and I urge the Minister of State in the final months of the Government to set in train talks that will ensure the Greendale site is preserved in perpetuity as a community educational and social facility for all the people of Kilbarrack, Raheny, Donaghmede and surrounding districts.

Mr. Haughey

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with an opportunity to outline to the House the current position of the Department of Education and Science with regard to the planned closure of Greendale community school, Kilbarrack, Dublin 5.

Greendale community school is located in the Howth deanery, a unit of 13 parishes in the archdiocese of Dublin. Located in Kilbarrack, Dublin 5, it was built in 1975 to accommodate 800 pupils. The school expanded quickly to exceed its enrolment capacity and an extension to bring the school's capacity up to 900 pupil places was provided by the Department of Education in the early 1980s.

In line with demographic changes in the area, the school has experienced a steady decline in enrolments in recent years. Since 1996-97, enrolment has declined by 50% from 449 students to 215 students in the 2003-04 school year. The Department officials held meetings with the trustees in 2003 to discuss the future of the school because there did not appear to be adequate pupil numbers in the locality to enable it to regenerate.

The trustees advised the Department in March 2004 that a decision had been taken to close the school in June 2007 and that there would be no further intake of pupils from September 2005. When Greendale Community School closes in 2007, ownership of the school property which is currently vested in the trustees, will revert to the Department of Education and Science. The Department is currently considering all available options in regard to the future use of the school property.

I take on board the suggestion made by Deputy Broughan and will take an active interest in the issue along the lines he has suggested. I thank the Deputy once again for raising this matter.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.20 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 22 March 2007.