Research Funding.

Deputy Andrew Doyle

I wish to share two minutes of my time with Deputy Joe McHugh. The need for funding for muscular dystrophy has been brought to my attention by a family who have two young sons, aged four and seven, with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. After my initial contact with the family, all Oireachtas Members attended an information session on 9 April given by the representative association, Muscular Dystrophy Ireland, MDI, where all Members expressed support for and empathy with the families of the sufferers of this dreadful disease. Prior to this meeting I had written to and received a response from Deputy Jimmy Devins, then the Minister of State with responsibility for disability and mental health. The Minister of State said, "It was very positive that Muscular Dystrophy Ireland has secured access for Irish children to the Duchenne muscular dystrophy registry in the UK, so that they can be considered for inclusion in the first systemic trial of this treatment." However, the Minister of State went on to say there was no mechanism or budget for the Irish Government to fund UK health research, and recommended the matter be taken up by the Health Research Board, HRB. He suggested that Muscular Dystrophy Ireland applied for joint funding but he admitted the organisation would have to compete with all other proposals and requests put for funding. MDI made contact with the HRB, only to be told this year's funding was committed. It received €50,000 through another channel within the HRB but it falls far short of the €1.5 million required.

My aim in proposing this enabling legislation is to allow funding to cover research trials that are not taking place or available in Ireland for sufferers of such illnesses as muscular dystrophy. The reasons the research does not take place may vary but inevitably it is because there are not enough people in the core group of sufferers, some 150 families, in this country to justify it. Time is not on the side of these people. We can directly fund operations in Great Ormond Street Hospital or in America and, given there was cross-party agreement on this issue, I ask that this funding be put in place.

Deputy Joe McHugh

I record my appreciation to Deputy Doyle for raising this matter. It took almost a week and a half for it to be accepted and I am delighted it has. His persistence highlights the sense of urgency and immediacy for the families concerned. Numbers form much of the basis for arguing which groups require financing but 150 families — a number which is growing — are affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In the Minister of State's previous role as chairman of a health board he would have been familiar with the issue. Representations would have been made and there was a presentation to the Oireachtas joint committee on the issue. In the meantime, the 18-year old son of one of the families which was lobbying approximately a year ago has passed away. Families whose sons are aged eight, nine or ten are looking at a timeframe of maybe seven or eight years before they have to face a similar situation.

I received a response to a parliamentary question this week indicating this Irish Government would not fund British research. I know policy is policy and we must respect that. At the same time we must be imaginative and there are other ways to ring-fence funding for these conditions. The Government has indicated it would consider matching funding but the families do not have upwards of €750,000 to match the funding to achieve a total of €1.5 million. Two families in my constituency have embarked on a crusade and raised upwards of €70,000 on their own from the community. Their consciences would not be clear if the children pass away and they have not done their best. They have lobbied politicians and are now out in the community and have raised €70,000 in four weeks. We must assist them through transnational research. We refer to co-operation, integration and working together. It is not good enough for me to get a one line answer from the HSE, stating that the HSE does not fund British research, every time I table a question. There is a transnational opportunity and a way around this.

We cannot have families raising €70,000 off their own bat, with no assistance. Their backs are against the wall and they know the children will die when they reach 18 years of age unless there is some intervention. I ask the Minister of State for his indulgence.

Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Deputy John Moloney)

I recognise the concerns of Deputies Doyle and McHugh and that a number of presentations were made to the Joint Committee on Health and Children. I sympathise with the Deputies in respect of the one line response. I will put the issue of transnational research to the HSE.

I am pleased to take this opportunity to address the issue raised by the Deputies. I wish to assure the Deputies that the Government is aware of the situation of families with children suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. While there are no guarantees with trialling new approaches to muscular dystrophy, I can understand the hopes of families for a medical advancement in this field.

It is very positive that Muscular Dystrophy Ireland has secured access for Irish children to the Duchenne muscular dystrophy registry in the UK, so that they can be considered for inclusion in the first systemic trial of this treatment. The Health Research Board comes under the aegis of the Department of Health and Children and is the lead agency in Ireland supporting and funding health research. It provides funding, maintains health information systems and conducts research linked to national health priorities. Researchers must be based in Ireland to qualify for funding under the Health Research Board's various schemes. I have been advised that the funding of health research being carried out in the UK is not appropriate to the Good Friday Agreement, North-South Ministerial Council or the INTERREG programme. Accordingly there is no mechanism for Irish Government funding of UK health research.

I understand that Muscular Dystrophy Ireland held the first information day on advances in the care of Duchenne muscular dystrophy for families and doctors earlier this year. The Government was pleased to be able to support Muscular Dystrophy Ireland by providing more than €9,000 under the national lottery towards the costs associated with the information day.

Therapy services for adults with muscular dystrophy are generally delivered through primary care teams or community therapy services. Due to relatively small numbers, staff are not dedicated to work solely with clients with muscular dystrophy. The HSE advises me that the level of therapy staff employed in primary and continuing community care settings has increased significantly since the formation of the HSE. In December 2007 there were 638 physiotherapy staff and 789 occupational therapy staff. At April 2008, those staff numbers have increased to 670 and 796, respectively. Therapy services for children with muscular dystrophy can be delivered through specialist disability providers or through primary and community care services. Additional resources have been allocated to increase the level of multidisciplinary supports available to children with disabilities in the context of the implementation of the Disability Act and the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act.

At present, the Disability Act 2005 gives children with disabilities under five years of age the right to an assessment of their health needs and a service statement outlining the services that will be provided. In addition, the HSE is required to report annually to the Minister on levels of unmet, assessed needs. The key HSE priorities for the future in developing primary care teams, home care packages and implementation of the Disability Act and the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act will lead to the ongoing development in multidisciplinary supports, which will benefit both children and adults with muscular dystrophy.

In addition to those services, the HSE states that more than €2 million has been made available to date in 2008 to Muscular Dystrophy Ireland, a support organisation for individuals with muscular dystrophy and their families. I wish to emphasise the Government's commitment to providing a high quality service to all people with a disability. Having recently been appointed Minister of State with responsibility for equality, disability and mental health, it is my objective to move the disability agenda to a level which compares with the best in the world. We will do so in partnership with all stakeholders.

Deputy Andrew Doyle

What about Duchenne muscular dystrophy?

Deputy Joe McHugh

Duchenne muscular dystrophy was not mentioned.

Public Transport.

Deputy Emmet Stagg

I wish to convey my appreciation to the Ceann Comhairle for choosing this matter for the Adjournment debate. Without casting any aspersions on the Minister of State, Deputy Moloney, I wish to convey my disappointment that the Minister for Transport did not attend, given that he does not have a Minister of State in his Department. It is a pity that someone from the Department of Transport cannot be here to hear the case I am making.

The collapse of Mortons Circle Line bus service from Celbridge to Dublin has left a vacuum in the provision of transport services and severe difficulties will arise next week unless urgent action is taken. The current difficulties were entirely predictable. Bus Átha Cliath had a long-standing application for a change of route and an upgrade of frequencies before Mortons, which had a minimal service to Celbridge, launched an objection to the Bus Átha Cliath application and a counter claim. The then Minister made a surprising decision, refusing the Bus Átha Cliath application and granting a licence to Mortons for 37 routes in and out of Celbridge. This occurred in October 2006. I warned that Mortons did not have the capacity to fulfil the licence requirements. I suspected it was getting the licence to sell it on but that did not happen.

Mortons never fulfilled the terms of the licence, only running on the prime time routes and cherrypicking. Even then, it could not attract sufficient numbers to make that limited service viable. The reason the company closed was that it could not get enough customers to make it financially viable. This demonstrated the difficulties for a new entrant competing with a well-established service provider like Bus Átha Cliath. I hope the reply will set the record straight on the claims by Mortons that it was crowded out by floods of Bus Átha Cliath buses. In fact, Bus Átha Cliath was prevented from providing extra services to allow Mortons to get off the ground. However, it never did get off the ground. The old saying about the heat and the kitchen comes to mind.

From next Monday, a sizeable number of citizens from Celbridge and Lucan and those along the route to Dublin will be left without a service. They will be severely discommoded and many will be forced back into private cars on already heavily congested roads. Others will not have that option. An urgent solution is now required and is available. I ask the Minister to request Bus Átha Cliath to step into the breach and provide a replacement service, at least on a temporary basis, to the people of Celbridge, Lucan and beyond.

Bus Átha Cliath has the resources and capacity to do so but it needs the approval of the Minister. I urge the Minister to include the cross-city service to Ballsbridge and Nutgrove, that was unique to the Mortons Circle Line service, in the solution. This accommodated students from UCD and workers in the south of the city. Although he is not present, the solution is available to the Minister and I hope he accepts the case I am making. The Minister has a reputation as a man of action and I am confident he will demonstrate that by acting on this matter. The solution is available. Bus Átha Cliath has the resources available to fill the breach and not leave customers stranded next week. Will the Minister request it to provide that service?

Deputy John Moloney

The Minister for Transport regrets very much the loss of employment and the loss of bus services in the Celbridge area arising from the withdrawal of the Circle Line services. Any application for the introduction of new services to and from Celbridge will be urgently considered by the Department of Transport.

This incident highlights what the Minister has stated since taking up office, that the bus licensing regime must be overhauled. It underlines why the Minister initiated and brought the Dublin Transposition Authority Bill, currently in its final stages, to the Houses of the Oireachtas. The next stage in this reform process is legislation to amend the Road Transport Act 1932 which provides the statutory basis for regulating the provision of public bus services by private bus operators.

In accordance with the legislation, private bus operators apply to the Department for licences to operate scheduled bus passenger services within the State. Dublin Bus is not subject to this licensing system. However, the initiation or alteration of a bus service by the company is subject to compliance with a requirement to give advance notice to the Department and to compliance with the provisions of section 25 of the Transport Act 1958 concerning competition with licensed private operators. It is therefore open to any operator to submit proposals to the Department of Transport concerning the provision of bus services in the Celbridge area.

On 23 December 2002 Mortons Coaches Dublin Limited was issued with a licence to provide a bus passenger service on the Nutgrove-Celbridge-Nutgrove via city centre route. Subsequently, the company applied for a significant increase of services and to operate them on a return basis on this route. On 26 October 2006, the amended licence issued authorising the changes which would operate under the name Circle Line Bus Company, a subsidiary of Mortons Coaches Dublin Limited. The company made a number of complaints to the Department with regard to Dublin Bus services and these complaints have been the subject of ongoing communications between the Department of Transport, Dublin Bus and the company. Dublin Bus had been operating in the Celbridge area prior to the granting of the licences to Mortons Coaches, and Dublin Bus advised the Department that it was conforming to its obligations with regard to its service authorisations.

On 19 June 2008, the Department of Transport was advised that the Circle Line Bus Company was going into voluntary liquidation and that services operating from Celbridge would cease to operate from Friday, 27 June 2008. I will pass on Deputy Stagg's comments to the Minister for Transport, who is unavoidably absent from the House.

Legal Aid Service.

Deputy Mary Alexandra White

For many years, I have been campaigning for a dedicated law centre for Carlow run by the Free Legal Aid Board. I welcome this opportunity to raise this important matter on behalf of the people of Carlow who need this service.

The Legal Aid Board does a great deal of important work. The many legal letters and negotiations it deals with for people are invaluable. It provides legal advice, representations and services for those applying for asylum and it provides research for all organisations involved in the asylum process. We are aware of the demand for legal aid in family law cases is increasing — it increased by 7% last year — in areas such as divorce, separation and child care cases. The 17,500 people who were provided with services in 2006 and the 3,700 people who contacted the board looking for advice is testament to the role the board plays in the justice system. However, Carlow is one of only three counties without a dedicated law centre.

Carlow's legal advice centre only sits for a few hours twice a month, which is not good enough. Carlow is a growing town and the county's population has increased from 46,000 in 2002 to more than 50,000 in 2006. Carlow town had a 3% increase in its population during the same period. We are bursting at the seams and we need a legal advice centre.

Organisations in Carlow such as the South Leinster Rape Crisis Centre and Carlow Women's Aid have contacted me and other public representatives over the years. They want this centre for the people of Carlow. Imagine having no car and being separated, with two or three children and having to travel 24 or 25 miles to Carlow town by bus on a wet, ghastly day like today, looking for the services of the Legal Aid Board to find one has to sit in a room and wait for the service. It is not good enough. If we had a service in Carlow that was open five days a week, people could access it readily — the women and men of Carlow want it.

The settlement pattern of County Carlow is spread out through many small towns and villages and there is a rural hinterland under the Blackstairs close to the Wexford border. The clients who ring me and come to my clinics state they are desperate to get a service in Carlow town. When one must wait several months to be means tested and see a solicitor, the long and time-consuming journeys from rural south Carlow to Kilkenny can eat up much time and disposable income in what are often difficult and traumatic lives for those in question.

The Carlow legal aid centre has seven full-time employees. We would like to squeeze some support from Kilkenny for Carlow. The provision of such a service can be low cost. I am certain that suitable premises could be shared by an existing service provider. I ask the Minster to look favourably on this issue and this modest request. It is in tight economic times that the services such as those provided by the Free Legal Aid Board come into greater focus. Carlow must not be left out of the loop.

Deputy John Moloney

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter today. The Minister is aware that the Deputy met his predecessor earlier this year and had a useful and thorough discussion of the issues arising, during which the Deputy had an opportunity to set out her concerns regarding access to civil legal aid services in Carlow.

Civil legal aid services in Ireland are delivered and managed by the Legal Aid Board, in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Legal Aid Act and regulations. The board's mandate is to provide a professional, efficient, cost-effective and accessible legal aid service and the Department works closely with the board at a strategic level to support it in delivering on this objective. Of significance is the grant-in-aid provided to the board by the Department, which represents its primary source of funding. The Minister is pleased to state this has increased substantially in recent years, by 40% since 2003. The eligibility criteria for legal aid have also been updated and streamlined in recent years, greatly increasing the accessibility of the scheme to persons of modest means.

While the funding provided is significant, there are undoubtedly many demands on the board's services and hence the efficient use of the resources available is of great importance. The detailed management of these resources is a matter for the board to assess, taking into account the level of demand for services and the needs of its clients generally. A key indicator at national and local level has been the waiting time for appointments with a solicitor and, while this would certainly not be the sole yardstick by which the board's services should be measured, it nevertheless represents an important strategic focus. The additional resources provided in recent years have been of great assistance in addressing this question but, as I indicated on behalf of the Minister, the demands and the challenges of managing the service are considerable.

In so far as the provision of services specifically in Carlow is concerned, the Minster would like to confirm for the information of the House that the board operates a part-time clinic in Carlow, which is supported by the full-time centre in Kilkenny. The Minister understands the Carlow clinic is normally held on the first and last Fridays of every month or by appointment as necessary. In 2007, 176 clients of the Kilkenny centre had Carlow addresses. Persons living in Carlow can also attend centres in other adjacent counties if for any reason this would be more convenient.

The Minister is further advised by the board that it is satisfied its clients in the Carlow area get a good service and that the board keeps the arrangements for providing the service under review. In addition to the ongoing oversight of the service, the board is engaged upon a broader review of the efficiency and effectiveness of the legal services being delivered by the law centres throughout the country. This review will examine how services are provided nationwide, examining the case profile at each centre as well as the costs of providing services and the various means by which legal needs can be delivered. The review will make recommendations designed to facilitate the provision of a flexible and responsive service to the client while providing value for money to the taxpayer.

One issue the Minister understands will be examined under the review is the extent to which the board provides services though part-time centres and he will pass on for the board's consideration the issues raised by the Deputy. However, opening additional full-time centres in Carlow, or another location, would have fixed cost implications for the board associated with acquiring and maintaining the centre and staffing it on a full-time basis. In an environment of considerable financial pressures, the Minister has a concern that this might not necessarily represent the best use of resources and could be counterproductive not only to the service generally, but also to the clients a new centre would aim to serve. The Minister understands waiting times at the Kilkenny centre, whether for clients living in Carlow, Kilkenny or elsewhere, are well within the board's performance targets and compare favourably to other centres. Diluting resources might make this more difficult to maintain.

In any event, the Minister will await the outcome of the board's general review of its services and assess its findings in the context of how best to support the board in assisting persons in need of its service, given the many demands that will be made on the resources available to it and to the Department.

Environmental Policy.

Deputy Joanna Tuffy

When I tabled the issue, it included the words "and the need to ensure the protection of Irish jobs", which is my purpose in raising it. I tabled this on behalf of Solas, an Irish-owned company that manufactures light bulbs. The company contacted me and numerous other Members, including the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Taoiseach, because it has been excluded from the latest discussions on the future of the lighting industry. Representatives of the company wrote to the Minister in this regard. I tabled this matter last week but it was not selected for discussion, following which the Minister and Department had a change of heart and officials met Solas representatives earlier this week.

However, the Minister's approach to the phasing out of light bulbs is still a significant problem. He made this announcement last year. Solas is the only Irish company manufacturing light bulbs. It is 70 years old and it employs people in Clondalkin and Belfast. A total of 10% of its output comprises CFL bulbs. The company caters for approximately 50% of the domestic lighting market. Management and staff have serious concerns about how the proposal to phase out energy inefficient lighting is approached. They have raised concerns with the Minister, immediately writing to him when he made his announcement last December. Having written to him repeatedly over many months, he met them, but they had a difficult time securing a meeting with him. However, he has been unable to tell them the energy standards that will be imposed in January 2009. Having met him again earlier this week, they are still not sure. A ban on all bulbs of 60 watts and greater, which comprise 60% of the current market, is a possibility.

Solas and other lighting companies say it will not be possible to achieve this by January 2009. If the Minister presses ahead with this, shelves could be empty because there will not be enough light bulbs. People who have dimmer switches will be unable to use them because CFL bulbs are not adaptable to such switches and other light fittings may not be adaptable. The market could face significant difficulty and demand may be met by cheap imports, some of which will be of poor quality and could result in electrocution. Hardship will be cause to those who cannot afford to replace their light fittings or the new CFL bulbs because they are much more expensive.

All the lighting industry wants is the Minister to introduce this measure in a fair way by ensuring proper consultation in order that it can plan ahead. Companies have not been informed what are the standards. Figures are thrown out regularly but the Minister is trying to save face and do as much as possible by January 2009. He does not care about Irish jobs, the impact on pensioners or people who have to replace light fittings because they will be unable to purchase the light bulbs they need.

In addition, his proposal is illegal. Under EU law, he is not entitled to do what he says he is entitled to do. I have received correspondence from the European Commission, which states he cannot implement the ban as he proposes. As a solicitor, I know he cannot do it. However, the Minister is only interested in the public relations element of the proposal and the fact that he can say he was the first to ban traditional light bulb. He does not care about the impact of the ban. He refers to consultation but he is not consulting properly. Only when this matter was tabled on the Adjournment last week and this week did the Minister re-engage with the only Irish company manufacturing light bulbs.

I have no problem with phasing out energy inefficient light bulbs and the general consensus is that it is a worthy proposal, as long as it is implemented fairly. The EU announced such a proposal long before the Minister and it should be implemented as fairly as the EU provided for. The Union is consulting the industry and the public. It proposes phasing out light bulbs over a number of years to allow companies to adapt. A product cannot be unilaterally banned without allowing companies to adapt and purchase the machinery needed to manufacture the new product. The Minister must stop being unreasonable about this matter. He should consult properly and take people's concerns into account and do this in a way that is not illegal, according to European Commission law.

Deputy John Moloney

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The programme for Government commits to phasing out the use of incandescent light bulbs in favour of more energy efficient alternatives. While the national climate change strategy proposed a levy on low efficiency bulbs, a more direct approach is necessary. In his carbon budget statement of 6 December 2007, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government announced that a minimum energy efficiency standard for lighting will be introduced from 2009 and advised that this measure will deliver emissions savings of up to 700,000 tonnes per year from residential lighting alone when incandescent bulbs are fully replaced in all domestic light fittings.

As modern energy efficient lights typically use only 20% as much energy as their incandescent alternatives and last up to 15 times longer, significant savings for consumers are possible. According to the ESB, one compact fluorescent lamp could save up to €170 over the lifetime of the bulb. It has been estimated consumers could save €185 million in electricity costs per annum. From both an emissions and a cost perspective, the energy efficiency standard being developed represents a significant positive initiative for consumers and the environment.

Work on developing the proposed standard is ongoing and the Minister will announce details as soon as they are finalised. The standard will create certainty for manufacturers and suppliers about the lamps that can be supplied, and stimulate the development of alternative lighting technologies in Ireland. It will also provide the greatest assurance as to effectiveness of the desired environmental outcome, both in terms of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and in reduced energy consumption. The Minister is engaged in discussions with the lighting industry on the format and scope of the proposed standard and he will consider all the issues raised, including any impact on jobs.

Climate change presents us with an enormous challenge and the Minister is asking the lighting sector to be ambitious in moving away from old, inefficient technologies. Exciting new technologies are emerging, particularly low energy halogen and LED lamps, and their introduction to the Irish market should be expedited. The constructive engagement of the sector on the proposed standard, and the involvement of IBEC in facilitating the ongoing discussions, is very much to be welcomed.

It is the Minister's intention that the proposed standard, once finalised, will be subject to public consultation and, as part of this process, he proposes to invite submissions from relevant stakeholders. A fundamental objective of this consultation, in addition to the ongoing discussions between officials of his Department and the lighting sector in Ireland, is to ensure all the impacts of the proposed standard are identified and considered. The proposed standard should be seen as a positive step for consumers in terms of the cost of domestic lighting and increased awareness of energy use on the environment. It is also a very welcome development in national energy and climate change policy.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.20 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 1 July 2008.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 26 Jun 2008