Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 28 May 2009

Vol. 683 No. 5

Adjournment Debate.

Decentralisation Programme.

Deputy John O’Mahony

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue for debate, which is of great local importance in east County Mayo. Since the news emerged last weekend from the office of the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, that there would be a further delay in the permanent move of his Department to County Mayo, there has been confusion, consternation, conflict and uncertainty in east Mayo as to what is the real motivation of the Government in this respect. I intend to outline the questions that are being asked locally and to provide some background to this issue.

At present, 100 people are located in temporary offices in Tubbercurry. Originally, they were due to relocate to Ireland West Airport Knock but when planning permission was refused there, the destination was switched to Charlestown. The question now being asked is whether this announcement constitutes a further delaying tactic, in order that the Department will continue to rent offices in Tubbercurry, which have cost €300,000 thus far, as I learned recently from a reply to a question I tabled. Alternatively, is this an election gimmick to string along the people of both Charlestown and Kiltimagh, in the hope they might land the major prize, were they to support the Government candidates in the local elections?

The reason now being given for the further delay is that new offices in Kiltimagh are under consideration and clarity on this matter is required quickly. There is no reason this could not have been provided by now and I call on the Minister to stop playing games with this issue. I do not wish to make a political football out of it and in fairness to the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, he has been consistent in his replies to questions I have tabled to him on this issue over the past two years. He has stated repeatedly, after planning permission was refused at Ireland West Airport Knock, that these offices will be located in Charlestown. On foot of those answers and commitments, the people of Charlestown have had and still have a legitimate expectation that these jobs will be delivered to them.

While Kiltimagh is another town that has suffered great neglect over the years and which also deserves investment, it is reprehensible that the Government's incompetence on policies, or the lack thereof, has put two towns at each other's throats in recent days. In the past, people in Kiltimagh have sought investment for the town and have worked for the town and its environs, which is laudable. The latest episode again brings into sharp focus how the implementation of decentralisation has been poorly thought out and badly handled. The proposal to locate the Department in County Mayo, which is a rural county, was highly appropriate and should never have been subject to criticism. It was both welcomed and fully subscribed to, with staff who wished to transfer there. Nevertheless, all these other problems emerged, which incidentally was not the case in other parts of the country. More than €300,000 has been spent on renting and a further €390,000 was spent on a site at the airport for which planning permission was refused. The least the people of my county deserve is clarity and they need it quickly. I ask the Minister of State to clear up this confusion.

Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (Deputy John Curran)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and I will respond this afternoon on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív. Under the decentralisation programme, it is been agreed that the headquarters of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs will relocate to Charlestown, County Mayo. The decentralisation programme is well advanced in the Department and significant progress has been made to date in fulfilling the Department's commitments on the programme. From a total of 140 staff due to decentralise, 100 staff now have relocated to an interim temporary location at Tubbercurry, County Sligo, where two properties are being rented to accommodate the staff concerned.

I can confirm that a significant number of business units of the Department, including the full rural, community and financial business units now are operating successfully at that temporary decentralised location. As indicated previously, the eventual destination identified by the Government for the Department is Charlestown, County Mayo, and the Office of Public Works has been engaged in the process of selecting and purchasing an appropriate site in Charlestown to build a permanent headquarters for the Department. It should be noted the Office of Public Works is liaising at present with the relevant authorities in respect of a particular site in Charlestown, which it has identified as being suitable for the Department's headquarters.

I should add that the Department of Finance was recently approached by a community development organisation from Kiltimagh, County Mayo, in respect of a turnkey potential property for the headquarters of the Department in Kiltimagh. On foot of this approach, the Office of Public Works is currently examining the property in question to ascertain its suitability as accommodation for the staff of the Department and its suitability to act as a departmental headquarters. I emphasise this is a sensible and prudent response to an approach which has been made to the Government.

The position therefore is that the Office of Public Works is currently examining the options outlined previously, in consultation with the Departments of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and Finance and will advise the Government as to the options available, taking financial and other considerations into account.

Water and Sewerage Schemes.

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl

I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to raise in the House the matter of the proposed new waste water treatment system for Kildare. The proposal to upgrade the Kildare sewerage scheme dates back more than two decades and the current proposal, which forms part of the national development plan, has been approved in principle in the water services investment programme for 2007 to 2009 of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley.

There are two aspects to this project, which it is estimated will cost more than €21 million. It will involve the construction of a new treatment plant, with a capacity of 28,000 people's equivalent, P.E., in modular form on the existing site at Tully Road, Kildare, as well as the further construction of a new collection system with a new outfall to the River Barrow.

Over the period from 2003 to 2004, interim works, which cost in excess of €500,000 were carried out on the existing plant, due to the failure of the high rate biological filter. However, the case for an entirely new waste water facility is overwhelming. For several years, all the development in Kildare town has ceased, save that undertaken by the local authority itself, due to a lack of sewage treatment capacity. At the height of the boom, when construction was under way throughout the county and nationwide, zoned lands around Kildare town remained undeveloped, which forced the sons and daughters of local people to travel southward along the N7 to source affordable accommodation in places like Portarlington, Ballybrittas and Mountmellick. In the absence of an adequate treatment system, jobs also have been lost to the area. New enterprises that were interested in establishing businesses locally have been lost, while established businesses in expansion mode have moved out of the town when faced with a planning policy that refuses to allow any new buildings to be occupied, pending the commissioning of a new treatment plant.

Therefore, it is evident that the local community has suffered in respect of housing availability and employment. However, the lack of visible progress to date with the sewage treatment project also has affected the local environment. The existing sewage treatment plant discharges effluent to the nearby Tully river, or stream, which, via the Boherbaun river, is a tributary to the River Barrow. A recent water matter study of the Tully described its overall ecological status as "bad", while the river recorded a "fail" result under the general physicochemical heading. Obviously, this situation must not be allowed to continue.

Local councillors and planning officials will undertake the task shortly of making a new local area plan for the town while conscious that the last plan, which was adopted in 2002 following much work and careful consideration, had little effect due to the sewerage issue. On 2 April 2009, I was advised by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, that his Department had just received and would assess Kildare County Council's tender report for the expansion and upgrade of the treatment plant. The Minister further advised that his Department still awaited Kildare County Council's submissions of revised contract documents for the new collection system. I understand from Kildare County Council that it is hoped these documents will be with the Department by the end of June.

However, I must acknowledge the council has not achieved even one of the indicative timescales or target dates it set itself for this vital project. I ask the Minister to approve the tender report on the treatment plant element of the project which has been with his Department for some weeks now. Given that his Department has already allowed Kildare County Council to divide this scheme into two contracts, one for the plant and one for the collection system, I would respectfully suggest that the treatment plant be allowed to proceed and that no further time be lost unnecessarily in waiting for the council to address the collection system.

In advancing the delivery of the national development plan, the Government has decided to prioritise projects that carry economic, social and environmental benefits. I believe the Kildare wastewater treatment system is just such a project. I would also suggest that in a time when financial resources are seriously constrained, the Minister should consider innovative ways of delivering such schemes. As with the case of the Minister for Health and Children and the isolation units for cystic fibrosis patients at St. Vincent's Hospital, this design, build and operate project spread over 15 to 20 years might allow for deferral of initial payments, thereby reducing the burden on the Exchequer and the local authority in the initial stage.

We face many challenges in meeting the standards set down in the EU water framework directive. As a country, we are at risk of incurring heavy financial penalties. This is yet another reason this project should be allowed to move to construction without further delay.

Deputy John Curran

I welcome the opportunity to clarify the position on this important scheme on behalf of my colleague the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Kildare town sewerage scheme is included for funding in the current water services investment programme 2007-09 at an estimated cost of €21.4 million. The scheme will provide for the expansion of the existing wastewater treatment plant, the upgrading of the town's existing collection system and the construction of new sewers to the west and south east of the town. This will have both economic and environmental benefits. In addition to facilitating future residential, commercial and industrial growth in the town, the scheme will also improve water quality in local waterways such as the Tully Stream and the Finnery River, which, in turn, feeds the River Barrow.

The Minister's Department is currently examining Kildare County Council's tender report and recommendation for the wastewater treatment plant element of the scheme, which were recently received. The council expects to submit the contract documents for the collection networks to the Department shortly.

Looking at the wider picture, a provision of €500 million is available for the water services investment programme for 2009, which is a 1% increase on the record outturn on the programme for last year. The Minister expects that the available resources will allow up to 50 major new schemes to commence this year, some of which have already begun. His Department will prioritise the remaining schemes yet to begin, including the Kildare town sewerage scheme, having regard to both environmental and economic objectives, namely, schemes required to meet national and EU environmental standards in regard to drinking water and wastewater disposal, European Court of Justice cases and works that will support the economic development of hubs and gateways under the national spatial strategy. Due priority will also need to be given to water conservation measures.

Taking account of the aforementioned objectives, the Department will work with local authorities over the coming months to identify the priority projects to form the basis of the next phase of the water services investment programme. The Kildare town sewerage scheme will be considered as part of this process. The Minister assures the Deputy that he is fully aware of the importance of this scheme to Kildare town. His Department and Kildare County Council will continue to work closely together to ensure that the council is in a position to advance the scheme should it be approved to start later this year.

Criminal Assets.

Deputy Joe Costello

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this important issue. A number of local drugs task forces in the city-wide drugs crisis campaign and many other organisations connected to dealing with the drug problem are campaigning strongly on the issue. Since the establishment of the Criminal Assets Bureau in 1996, those of us who have been involved in trying to cope with and take steps to deal with the drugs problem have asked that the money seized by CAB would be ploughed back into the local communities from which it came. This is money that has, by and large, been made on the backs of ordinary men and women from ordinary communities when drug barons have taken fine teenagers and turned them into heroin and cocaine addicts.

Over the years the CAB has been eminently successful. It is one of the finest organisations we have set up to counteract the drugs business, which is enormous and estimated to be approximately €1 billion, making it one of the most successful businesses in the country and one that is blooming in this time of recession — there is no recession in the drugs trade. Already, the CAB has collected nearly €120 million from the drug barons in taxes that it has managed to obtain and it has over €70 million under interim restraint orders and €35 million under final restraint orders. All of this money will come into the Exchequer kitty in the coming years. As matters stand, we must wait seven years before this money can be used by the State but, nonetheless, it goes into the Exchequer and is not used for purposes related to the drugs trade.

At present, over 400 people die annually from drug-related causes, which is in excess of the number who die on our roads. Gangland crime, violence and shootings are very much related to the drugs trade, which is now the major form of criminality in this country. Moreover, this type of gangland activity terrorises communities and is a major threat to the well-being of the citizen. Of course, the fact that people are addicts, particularly in times of recession, means they will commit crimes to feed their addictions so as we know, burglaries and larcenies are on the increase at present.

All of this could be dealt with if we put enough money back into the disadvantaged communities that particularly bear the brunt. This should be done through treatment, prevention and rehabilitation facilities, as well as dial-to-stop-drug-dealing programmes such as the one the Minister launched last September, which provides a confidential telephone line for those drug addicts and their relatives who are afraid to go to the Garda. It is services like this that make the difference. The only way we can succeed in this area is if we can ring-fence a certain amount of money that would be used in the communities to maintain the services that are in place.

The Minister has been doing his best to prevent cutbacks in this area but, nevertheless, there have cutbacks in the areas of drugs services, drug projects, drug treatment facilities, community-based programmes and drugs task forces and, of course, the dial-to-stop-drug-dealing campaign will come to an end in September. We need to use this money in the best way possible, namely, to ring-fence the money that has been seized by the CAB given that it, in turn, was seized from disadvantaged and deprived communities, in particular from youngsters and families whose lives are being destroyed. Let us put it back into schools, facilities and programmes and let us fight this drugs trade.

Deputy John Curran

I thank Deputy Costello for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I will respond on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who has asked me to set out the Government's position on this matter. The proposal to ring-fence and use assets seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau to fund drug services has been raised and discussed in this House on a number of occasions recently. The Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, and his colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, accept that the proposal has been made in good faith. Both Ministers believe there is some potential symbolic value in the idea of diverting seized criminal assets that were accumulated through drug dealing to communities where such dealing took place. While the suggestion that the moneys in question could be used to fund drug services, for example, is an interesting one, it is problematic in so far as it raises a number of difficulties. The difficulties in question lead the Government to believe that, on balance, it is best advised to continue to use the standard Estimates procedures to secure the ongoing provision of significant funding to tackle drug misuse, particularly in those areas where the problem is most acutely experienced. I will elaborate on some of the difficulties to which I have alluded.

The Constitution requires, and Government accounting principles provide, that public moneys be spent as voted or approved by Dáil Éireann, unless otherwise provided by statute. It would be contrary to the normal Estimates process if we were to ring-fence moneys obtained by the Exchequer and reallocate them for a specific purpose. Under the normal process, revenue accumulated by the Criminal Assets Bureau is paid into the Government's Central Fund. The Government draws from this fund for its expenditure on all necessary public services and investment, including the provision of drug services. While there are some specific targeted exceptions, it is believed that earmarking revenues for a specific expenditure programme would constrain the Government in implementing its overall expenditure policy. It could be argued that a significant proportion of the moneys secured by the bureau is owed to the Exchequer in any event, as recompense for the non-payment of taxes and social welfare fraud. I am sure Deputies will agree that the Government is already allocating considerable resources to a wide range of Departments and State agencies, as well as to the community and voluntary treatment sectors, to tackle the issue of drug misuse. I understand that the amount provided for drug services last year was well in excess of €260 million.

There are practical difficulties with Deputy Costello's proposal. The variable nature of the value of the assets seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau in any given year might cause problems as funds are being provided, on an ongoing basis, to fund drugs programmes and projects. Difficulties might also be caused if there are delays as a result of legal challenges to court disposal orders. Such an uncertain revenue source would not facilitate the proper planning of drug treatment programmes by organisations involved in delivering such services. One could argue for the ringfencing of receipts if it was seen as a motivating factor in the generation of higher receipts. However, there is no indication that the Criminal Assets Bureau needs additional motivation in doing its work. I remind the Deputy that additional costs would accrue in the administration of any scheme to divert the bureau's funds to drug programmes. It is not desirable to accrue additional administrative costs without generating additional revenues. I am sure the House will agree that the bureau continues to achieve considerable success in depriving people engaged in criminal activity of the proceeds of such activity.

Members are aware that significant drug services are being provided in disadvantaged urban communities. I emphasise that local and regional drug task forces have been in place for some time in the areas most affected by the problem of drug use. The Government continues to commit substantial resources to task forces to help them to develop a comprehensive and co-ordinated response to the drugs problem at local and regional levels. The State is continuing to invest significantly in a wide range of local drug projects, which have been set up through the task force mechanism. For all the reasons I have mentioned, the Government believes that the policy currently applying to the assets secured by the Criminal Assets Bureau is the most appropriate one.

The Deputy referred to the "Dial to Stop Drug Dealing" campaign, which was launched in September 2008. I rolled out the last phase of the campaign — the midlands phase — in Athlone last week. Deputy Costello's remarks reflect the perception that there are funding issues. We have delivered a specific programme of targeted intervention on foot of last September's launch. When people talk about this issue, they often mention the funding of the telephone line. The most innovative step being taken is the information-generating campaigns that are being organised by task forces on the ground. It is not fair to suggest that such campaigns have been stopped due to a lack of funding. That is not the case. We developed a programme and launched it last September. I rolled out the last phase of it last Friday. It has been delivered, from start to finish, in the same way that it was initiated. It will be evaluated in the future to see what lessons can be learnt from it. It is not a repeat of some model that has been used in other jurisdictions — it is quite unique to Ireland.

Deputy Joe Costello

We should keep the call centres open.

The Dáil adjourned at 3.55 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 9 June 2009.