I remind Members that the floor of the House is not a debating chamber. People must leave in silence and allow Deputy Perry the opportunity to speak on the matter he wishes to raise.
Adjournment Debate.
Hospital Services.
The HSE is proceeding with the planned removal of oncology services from Sligo General Hospital. This week the Minster of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Devins, stated publicly that he condemned the HSE plan to downgrade Sligo General Hospital. Later that same day the Minister, Deputy Harney, endorsed the HSE plan for centres of excellence. I tabled this matter to get some clarity on the cutbacks proposed for Sligo General Hospital.
The HSE's planned removal of oncology services from Sligo General Hospital will over time drive that hospital into a lower division. On Monday of this week the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Devins, stated on a local radio programme that he condemns the HSE's plan to downgrade Sligo General Hospital. People in the region served by that hospital are becoming alarmed at the HSE's plans to transfer services elsewhere and to downsize the hospital. The effect of all this uncertainty has been to destroy the morale of the professional medical and nursing staff. There is much talk of centres of excellence, but it is planned that a centre of excellence in Galway will be downgraded from a five day to a three day service. That is what is being discussed in Galway.
The HSE's proposal to downgrade Sligo General Hospital is not acceptable and it will not be accepted by the people of the region. It will be at the Government's peril to proceed to remove the breast cancer services from Sligo General Hospital. First, we had the budget cutbacks. The Minister and the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children told us there would be some budget cutbacks, but they said there would be no service cutbacks. A range of local health service professionals have stated that service cutbacks are now a fact of life. While budget cutbacks are bad enough, at least there is hope that when the budget position improves the services that were cut will be restored. However, the issue of most concern to me is the planned permanent ending of a range of health care services in Sligo General Hospital, starting with the transfer of breast cancer services to other locations.
The factual position is that the area manager has been given until the end of this month by the HSE to produce a plan for ending breast cancer services in Sligo General Hospital and for their transfer elsewhere. I ask the Minister of State to confirm or deny this statement. I am disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Harney, or the Minister of State, Deputy Devins, is not present to take this matter. That is not a reflection on the Minister of State present, but I am very disappointed about that.
I believe that the transfer of breast cancer services from Sligo General Hospital is the start of a process of transferring the full range of oncology services from that hospital. The HSE logic that drives the transfer of one cancer service will be slowly applied to the full range of oncology services. This will result in the downgrading of Sligo General Hospital by a process of 1,000 cuts.
The local Fianna Fáil politicians are bewildered and confused about what is happening to oncology services in Sligo General Hospital. It seems impossible for the Progressive Democrats-Independent-Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government to accept responsibility for standards of service in health.
In the past few months we had the Shannon fiasco and we are still wrestling with who knew what and when. Let us not make the same mistake with health cutbacks in Sligo General Hospital. The Minister responsible for health sector reform, who is not present, must take firm control of the situation. The Minister established this arrangement and must ensure that it delivers a health service that is in the best interest of citizens and delivers real value for all the extra taxpayers' money being spent.
The people of Sligo and the medical staff in Sligo General Hospital need to know what is happening. The Minister for Health and Children must tell us clearly what is going on. The Minister of State with responsibility for children is present but it is very much regrettable that the Minister is not here to take this matter.
It is not good enough for the Minister for Health and Children to act like a junior Minister in the Department of Finance, effectively acting as a courier in the delivery of €15 billion to the Health Service Executive, and take no responsibility for such expenditure. The confusion between the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Devins, must be removed. Clarity is needed.
A fantastic service is available in Sligo General Hospital and I appeal for the retention of the oncology services there. While there is much talk of centres of excellence, a plan is being debated as I speak, a proposal to remove those services to Letterkenny General Hospital and to the centre of excellence in Galway. This week it is planned to downgrade the services in Galway from a five day to a three day service. Will the Minister confirm whether the HSE has been instructed to downgrade a mammogram service, attended by 30 patients per week, in a centre which also has an excellent oncology service?
I am disappointed that the Minister of State, Deputy Devins, whom I saw in the Chamber five minutes ago, is not present, that he did not have the courtesy to wait to take this matter and that he referred it to the Minister of State with responsibility for children. Where is the Minister, Deputy Harney? She has delegated all the functions to the HSE.
The Deputy's time has expired.
I sincerely hope that the Minister of State's reply will clarify the position because a large public meeting will take place on this matter in Sligo tomorrow night and the people will certainly need answers.
I thank Deputy Perry for raising this important issue. I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Harney, who is unavoidably absent.
She was absent on the last occasion as well.
Ministers have Government commitments. I welcome this opportunity to set out the current position on the restructuring of cancer services with particular reference to Sligo General Hospital. The HSE has appointed Professor Tom Keane as national cancer control director to lead and manage the establishment of the national cancer control programme. The delivery of cancer services on a programmatic basis will ensure equity of access to services and equality of patient outcome irrespective of geography. This will involve significant realignment of cancer services to move from the present fragmented system of care to one which is consistent with international best practice in cancer control.
The decisions of the HSE on four managed cancer control networks and eight cancer centres will be implemented on a managed and phased basis. The HSE plans to have completed 50% of the transition of services to the cancer centres by the end of 2008 and 80% to 90% by the end of 2009. The HSE has confirmed that services will not be transferred until appropriate capacity has been developed in the receiving centres.
Sligo General Hospital has a dedicated inpatient oncology unit, comprising 15 beds, and a dedicated day services unit, comprising eight beds. The HSE has informed the Department that in 2006, Sligo General Hospital had 285 patient discharges from its inpatient unit and 3,849 discharges from its day care unit.
The HSE has designated University College Hospital Galway and Limerick Regional Hospital as the two cancer centres in the managed cancer control network for the HSE western region which includes counties Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal. The designation of cancer centres aims to ensure that patients receive the highest quality care while at the same time allowing local access to services where appropriate. Where diagnosis and treatment planning is directed and managed by multi-disciplinary teams based at the cancer centres, much of the treatment, other than surgery, can be delivered in local hospitals such as Sligo. Cancer day care units will continue to have an important role in delivering services to patients as close to home as possible.
Patients from Sligo needing radiotherapy are referred to the radiation oncology unit at University College Hospital Galway for treatment. The HSE has informed the Department that in 2006, University College Hospital Galway treated almost 1,000 radiation oncology patients. The number of treatments increased from 11,300 in 2005 to 18,500 in 2006. The hospital expects treatments provided to increase by 7% this year over last year. The Department and the HSE have been working closely on the examination of procurement options in order to expedite the delivery of the national plan for radiation oncology. The Minister has been assured that the HSE will have in place radiation oncology capacity to meet the needs of the population by 2010. After 2010 the HSE will continue to increase capacity to ensure that these needs continue to be met. The Minister is fully confident that this will be achieved through a combination of direct Exchequer provision, public private partnership and, where appropriate, the use of the private sector.
In conclusion, the Government is committed to making the full range of cancer services available and accessible to cancer patients throughout Ireland in accordance with best international standards. The developments outlined will ensure that a comprehensive service is available to all patients with cancer in the western region, including Sligo.
Regional Airports.
I appreciate the opportunity of discussing the implications of this regulation. A Council regulation is binding, while a directive may require domestic legislation. Regulation 95/93 has been amended some 40 times and the consolidated version is that of 2002. It lays down the fundamental principles of the management of slots in airports and aviation policy.
It opens by stating that the objective of the regulation is to give a proper answer to the "growing imbalance between the expansion of the air transport system in Europe and the availability of adequate airport infrastructure to meet that demand". While the directive and its amendments deal with co-ordinated airports Shannon is not a co-ordinated airport and Dublin briefly was. The regulation lays down fundamental principles upon which aviation policy in the EU was to be based: "The use of flexibility is limited, it cannot be used for slots related to routes considered vital for economic development of the region where the airport is located, nor disturb airport operations, when another carrier with less frequencies has not been able to obtain landing and departure slots within two hours before or after." Therefore it accepted that where a particular slot was vital "for the economic development of the region where the airport is located" that had to be borne in mind.
This brings me to the nub of the matter — compliance with the regulation was a Government responsibility. The original allocation of slots was a matter that had been discussed intergovernmentally. Therefore, on that fundamental principle, BMI could not, for example, move its slots to Shannon without reference to a co-ordinator or the co-ordinating committee.
On the other hand, the Irish Government, while under an obligation of compliance, decided to leave it to the board to comply even though the Government had not appointed members to the board. In turn, the board delegated a decision of this magnitude to what was regarded as an operational decision by the executive. This is absurd.
One of the reasons I raise this was to seek to resolve this issue. It could be resolved but we are not helped in Galway, the west or the mid-west by the bilious comments of the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív. In his lecture in Bunratty yesterday he stated:
While you must recognise the challenges and deficiencies in your region, never sell your region short. By always highlighting the difficulties and never the advantages, a great disservice is done to a region.
How dare he say this. Those of us asking for fair treatment of Shannon are asking only for equality. He goes on to give his Joyce country céilí band speech: "In my experience, in the Joyce country where I live, the vital turning point came when the people's attitude towards their area changed from one of despair and negativity to one of positive thinking and pride." I have no problem if he regards himself as John the Baptist in the mountains but I object to his distortion of a genuine campaign. I condemn his ignorance of regional planning. No integrated regional planning has come about as a residue of open market thinking. It has required equality of infrastructure.
The Minister, like me, represents Galway West. He is happy that not one cent from the national development plan, under Transport 21, will be spent on an integrated transport service at Ceannt Station. More than ten acres of a 14.5 acre site will be sold to raise money for minor adjustments in Galway city. Instead of co-operating with us to see how we can make progress he gives these "up the airy mountain, down the rushy glen" speeches around the country. He claims we are talking ourselves down. We seek equality of treatment and when we speak of connectivity, it is not to highlight difficulty in the region but to refer to the capacity of the region. I have no objection to how he wishes to describe himself but he is being grossly unfair to the alliance and the workers.
My reason for this debate was to see how the Government is complying with a Council regulation, by which it is legally bound.
I thank Deputy Michael D. Higgins for raising this issue. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, is unavoidably absent. The EU regulation to which the Deputy refers is of no relevance to the decision of Aer Lingus to discontinue its Shannon to Heathrow service. The regulation in question is Council Regulation (EEC) No. 95/93, as amended, on common rules for the allocation of slots at community airports. I propose to set out the background to the regulation and how it is applied.
The regulation lays down common EU rules for the allocation of slots to air carriers at airports in the community. Essentially the regulation took responsibility for the slot allocation process out of the hands of airport authorities at congested airports and made it the responsibility of slot co-ordinators who are designated by the member states. The Commission for Aviation Regulation has been designated as the competent authority for the regulation in Ireland.
Under the regulation, airports in the community are either co-ordinated or schedules facilitated, as referred to by Deputy Higgins. Generally, congested airports will be designated as co-ordinated airports by the relevant authority in the member state concerned which means that a carrier cannot operate a landing or a take-off at such an airport without being allocated a slot. A more flexible regime can be operated at schedules facilitated airports where capacity is not so constrained.
The application of Regulation 95/93 in Ireland is concerned only with the allocation of slots at Irish airports and Dublin airport is the only airport in the State that has been designated as a co-ordinated airport by the Commission for Aviation Regulation. The slot allocation process at London Heathrow is entirely a matter for the UK authorities.
With regard to the wider issue of the withdrawal by Aer Lingus of the Shannon to Heathrow service, the Deputy will be aware that the Government is extremely disappointed with the decision taken by Aer Lingus and has clearly conveyed that disappointment to the management of the company, both publicly and privately.
And late.
The Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, made it clear to the company that the decision ran counter to public policy in several respects, including the national spatial strategy, regional development and aviation policy——
That is exactly what the Council regulation is about.
While it was recognised that Aer Lingus was not an instrument of Government policy, there was an expectation that it would take these wider policy issues into account in making commercial decisions. The Minister also made the point that Aer Lingus should have engaged more with its customers and wider stakeholders before announcing its decision. The Aer Lingus Chairman informed the Minister that the decision was taken to establish a new base at Belfast International Airport following extensive evaluation of growth opportunities throughout Europe. He said the decision was commercially robust and the company would not reconsider it.
The company has reiterated that position consistently and it was evident from early on that Aer Lingus would not deviate from this position. Given that fact, the Government began to look at the possibility of restoring connectivity on the route. A number of options were explored in that regard. The Minister investigated the possibility of the State acquiring Heathrow slots to replace the service. The Minister was informed that this was not legally possible. It is not open to the State to acquire slots as the applicable rules allow only for slots to be assigned to airlines. The option of providing funding to assist in acquiring such slots was also examined, but again this or any other form of direct subvention of a London Heathrow slot is constrained by the state aid rules.
Arising from this it was clear that the focus of attention had to move to securing a replacement service for the Shannon Heathrow route. It was indicated clearly to the Shannon Airport Authority that the Government would assist it in any way that it possibly could. The Shannon Airport Authority, which has direct responsibility for securing such services, has been actively pursuing all options in this regard since then. The authority has specifically identified airline services to the key European hub airports of London-Heathrow, Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt as being of key strategic importance to its ongoing development. The airport recently published a European hub airport incentive scheme for services to come into operation in 2008, which provides for significant discounts in airport charges and for the possibility of marketing support to be provided by Shannon Airport for new services.
Regarding connectivity for the mid-west region, it is accepted by the Government that this decision by Aer Lingus will have an adverse effect on the region——
Deputy Smith should tell that to Deputy Ó Cuív.
——particularly in relation to business travellers to the Middle-East, Asia and Australia. The Minister is very committed to ensuring that the mid-west region will continue to have the widest possible range of connectivity options available for the benefit of business and tourism throughout the region.
We can all go to Athenry and get the train.
School Services.
This is a fairly straightforward matter for the Minister of State to address. It involves the fundamental rights of approximately 2,500 deaf parents of hearing children who are currently denied automatic rights in terms of being able to sign with teachers and principals in the primary and post-primary school system. This is not a new issue. This matter has been on desks in the Department of Education and Science for five or six years. The society that represents these parents wants this issue to be resolved finally.
If the Minister was a parent and his child was in school, one of the most basic rights that he would have is to speak, on a regular or six-monthly basis, with a principal or teacher. That right is currently denied to the 2,500 deaf parents of hearing children here. Those parents face particular difficulties as a result. I am aware of cases where some schools refuse to provide Irish sign language interpreters for parents to access meetings that take place in the school. Some deaf parents are forced to pay for their own interpreters before a meeting with a teacher or principal. Many deaf parents are afraid to tackle schools over interpreters and are understandably embarrassed by such requests. Some parents are forced to use written communication with teachers even though they have literacy problems.
This situation has gone on for five or six years. The former Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey, said in 2002 that this issue could be resolved by the Disability Bill, in terms of putting in place a national interpreter system for deaf people. However, nothing happened because the Bill was only enacted in the latter days of the last Dáil. In recent times, in correspondence between the Irish Deaf Society and the Department, the view of the Department is that schools have capitation budgets they should use if they want to provide this facility.
I ask the Minister of State, in the first instance, to immediately issue a circular to all primary and post-primary schools demanding that the 2,500 deaf parents of hearing children are afforded some respect and decency in our school system and informing them that principals and teachers have an absolute obligation to ensure those parents are given information. Second, I ask him to give a commitment to the House to provide funding for these schools where parents are in this situation. Such parents find themselves in a very difficult position, where their children are communicating, can hear and are part and parcel of society but the parents are embarrassed by their situation. The Irish State, PLC, for the past five years, has given them bureaucratic reasons they do not have the right to sign in the context of the primary and post-primary sector.
I ask the Minister of State, who is a compassionate man and a person of commonsense, to deal with this issue now and desist from reiterating the kind of nonsense we have heard from the Department of Education and Science in Marlborough Street for the past five years.
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and will convey the contents of his contribution to the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, who is unavoidably absent.
I wish to clarify the position regarding the provision to schools of interpreters, or funding, to assist deaf parents in communicating with teachers. Schools' running costs are met by the Department's scheme of capitation grants, which affords schools considerable flexibility in the use of resources to cater for the needs of all their pupils. The Minister believes this is a preferable approach to putting in place grants for specific items.
As Deputy Hayes is aware, the primary school capitation grant has been increased substantially in recent years. Since 1997 the standard rate of capitation grant has been increased from €57.14 per pupil to €163.58 per pupil. This represents an increase of more than 186% in the standard rate of capitation grant since 1997.
There have been other significant improvements in the level of funding provided to primary schools in recent years. Since 1997 the standard rate of the ancillary services grant has increased from €38.09 per pupil to €145.50 per pupil at present. The amount of grant paid to an individual school is determined by the enrolment in the school, subject to a minimum grant of €8,730 for 60 pupils or fewer and a maximum grant of €72,750 for 500 or more pupils. Furthermore, enhanced rates of capitation funding are paid in respect of children with special educational needs who attend special schools or special classes attached to mainstream primary schools. The current rates range from €418 to €805 per pupil.
Significant improvements have been made in recent years in the level of funding for voluntary secondary schools. With effect from January 2007, the standard per capita grant was increased by €18 per pupil and now amounts to €316 per pupil. In addition, voluntary secondary schools have benefited by the increase of €30 per pupil in 2007 in the support services grant, bringing that grant to €189 per pupil.
The cumulative increase of €48 per pupil in a voluntary secondary school brings the aggregate grant to over €500 per pupil. These grants are in addition to the per capita funding of up to €40,000 per school that is also provided by the Department to secondary schools to meet the costs of secretarial and caretaking services. For example, in the case of a secondary school with 500 pupils, the annual grants towards general expenses and support services are over €290,000. This represents an increase of 83% since 2000.
Budget allocations for schools in the VEC, and community and comprehensive sectors are increased on a pro rata basis with increases in the per capita grant. All schools are eligible for recurrent per capita grants towards special classes and curricular support grants.
Both primary and post-primary schools have benefited from major increases in funding in recent years. Schools can use some of this funding to pay for interpreters. The Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, has no intention of introducing specific grants for this purpose. However, she will continue to prioritise increases in capitation and other grants paid to schools.
So nothing will happen. That is pathetic.
Garda Investigations.
I have raised this matter because I wish to highlight the horrendous murder which happened in my constituency, Cavan-Monaghan, at Tullycora, Oram, County Monaghan, last Saturday.
First, I to extend my sympathies to Paul Quinn's parents, Stephen and Brid, and to his family and friends. This murder was one of the most barbaric acts ever committed on a human being in this country. It only takes one person to kill another with one blow. This young man was lured to an isolated rural area, man-handled out to a shed and up to 15 people with bats, crowbars and pickaxe handles brutally ended his young life.
The point has been made that these savages did not mean to kill Paul Quinn. What other outcome could be expected when a gang of masked men repeatedly attacked one lonely man with weapons? Several politicians were quick to claim they knew who did not commit this awful atrocity. However, there are people who know who did and there are people who instructed that this savage act be carried out.
As a public representative for my constituency, I hope and expect that any honourable citizen of this island, north or south of the Border, who knows anything would give such information to the Garda or the PSNI. I commend Senators Eoghan Harris and David Norris on their statements of a similar nature today in Seanad Éireann.
If there was any paramilitary involvement in this murder, it could have serious ramifications north and south of the Border. We cannot afford to regress and undo the years of hard work which has delivered the new institutions in Northern Ireland. I will always advocate a peaceful resolution to any problem. We have learned over the years that violence is not a resolution to any dispute or cause, and the people who committed this barbarous act are nothing but thugs.
The wall of silence that surrounded the murder of Robert McCartney in Belfast must not be repeated in this case. A newspaper at the time said the dogs on the street knew who did it but still no one has been convicted of his murder. It could well be the same with this case. No one has the right to take the law into their own hands. In the McCartney case, the complete lack of respect for human life coupled with walls of silence has led to no prosecution since that awful killing in Belfast in January 2005. This must not be repeated in this case.
Tied in with this case, it must be noted that Ireland's homicide rates are due to hit a record high this year. I urge the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to introduce new legislation which favours the victims not the criminals. Zero tolerance has become something of a dirty phrase in political circles but that is what is needed to protect the silent majority who are law-abiding citizens.
We, as legislators, must act for the welfare of all citizens of this island. We must act with strength. We must pass anti-racketeering legislation, make our criminal legislation more victim-centred and allow the Garda and the PSNI to cross the Border while in pursuit of criminals. As a Border constituency Government Deputy, I will be pushing this at every opportunity.
Murder is murder. The Lord giveth life and only the Lord may taketh away. There is not just one victim of this crime. A community is in mourning. Paul Quinn's friends, who unwittingly were forced to call him to his death, must be badly affected and traumatised. It is his family who are ultimately left devastated by this heinous crime. They must live with the consequences of these thugs' ruthless and savage actions and their personal loss for the rest of their lives.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.
I thank Deputy Conlon for raising this serious matter. I also condemn the dreadful nature of this crime. I am certain Deputy Conlon will understand I am somewhat constrained, however, in what I can say in the House on this matter. There is an ongoing investigation into this appalling crime in two jurisdictions. Nothing I say, therefore, should interfere with that process. I have a particular responsibility as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in this regard.
All Members were shocked to hear of the vicious murder of Paul Quinn last weekend. I extend my sympathies to his family and friends who have been robbed of him prematurely.
From the information available at this stage, it appears that Paul Quinn was lured to a farmhouse near Castleblayney, County Monaghan, where he was set upon by a number of individuals. The Garda Síochána was made aware of the incident at 6:10 p.m. on Saturday 20 October. Gardaí arrived at the scene at 6:20 p.m. and found Paul Quinn badly injured. Basic first aid was administered at the scene, and he was transferred by ambulance to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda. He was found to have serious injuries to the head, lower body and legs. Despite the best efforts of the medical staff in Drogheda, he was pronounced dead at 8:40 p.m.
There has been speculation that the intention behind this vicious assault was not to kill but to teach a lesson. That is utterly irrelevant to the barbaric and fatal outcome. Likewise, there has been speculation that the attack was linked to illegal activities in the Border area, including fuel-laundering. Again, whether there is any truth to this, in my view it is irrelevant to the heinousness of the crime.
The Garda Síochána, in close co-operation with its colleagues in the PSNI, is carrying out a full and comprehensive investigation into the murder. It will pursue those responsible with the utmost vigour. In so doing the Garda will have our full support. I urge any member of the public with information on this matter to come forward. If any member of the public can give information on a confidential basis to the Garda Síochána, I would urge them to do so.
I share the Deputy's concerns but, as I have already indicated, there is a limit to what I can say on an ongoing and active Garda investigation. The investigation is at an early stage.
The Garda Commissioner has advised there is no information available to the Garda which suggests that this attack was carried out by, or on behalf of, any paramilitary grouping. The Chief Constable of the PSNI shares that view.
The Garda has appealed for anyone who has knowledge of the attack to come forward. It is vitally important that people with information which might help the Garda find the people responsible and bring them to justice make themselves known.
The details of this murder have already been subject to various theories and speculations, one or two of which I have mentioned, and none of which can at this time be verified. I hope people will allow the investigations of the two police services to run their course and not seek to prejudge this matter. None of us must lose sight of the central fact here, the murder of a young man, the brutal taking of his life by those to whom humanity and decency are complete strangers. Deputy Conlon expressed it very well in her contribution and I echo the appeal of the Garda Commissioner and others for anyone with information about this matter to co-operate with the gardaí and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Deputy Conlon touched on the whole subject of reform of the criminal law and mentioned a number of topics in that connection. One topic she mentioned concerned the whole question of whether officers in the PSNI or the Garda Síochána could have powers of arrest on the other side of the land frontier. It is a measure of the advance we have made in the mutual confidence in policing in this country that a Deputy for a Border constituency can call for that to happen. Certainly, I am prepared to discuss with the Garda Commissioner what can be done to further enhance co-operation between the two police forces on this island. Co-operation between the two forces is already at a very high standard and we must build on that. Any constructive suggestions in that regard will be taken on board. Bringing the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice must be a top priority.