Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jun 2009

Vol. 686 No. 2

Adjournment Debate.

Bilingual Messages.

Deputy John Perry

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for this opportunity to raise the issue of pre-recorded bilingual messages in lifts and on telephone answering systems in Leinster House and other public buildings. Before moving on to speak on the specific issue of pre-recorded bilingual messages, I am compelled to observe that the lack of any response to my letters and telephone calls over the past 22 months is disappointing.

When I first wrote to the then Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Noel Ahern, in Sept 2007, I considered that my query related to a relatively minor technical issue and not a complex policy matter with international ramifications. After several follow-up telephone calls and no response, I then wrote to the current Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Martin Mansergh, in November 2008, again without any response. A situation such as this, where a Department will not respond in a businesslike manner to a written request for information, is deeply unsatisfactory.

In the case of voice annunciators in lifts, that is to say, the voice that announces going up, down, floor numbers etc., making provision for a local person to record the bilingual annunciator messages and to have them included with new lifts being installed in State buildings, is a minor technical issue. It simply means that this requirement be included in the specification of equipment to the bidders, and then giving the selected lift supplier a tape recording of the actual messages to be used on installation. Retrofitting a locally recorded bilingual message into the annunciator unit is an equally small technical issue. For many modern lifts it is simply a matter of loading the new voice messages into the annunciator chip. This would cost in the order of €200 per chip. For older lifts it might require a new micro processor card, something smaller than the size of a 20 pack of cigarettes. I am advised that this would cost up to €1,000 per lift.

New voice chips, micro processor cards and indeed hand-held programmer units to record voice messages are available commercially. I understand that such a retrofit was carried out a few years ago in Áras Mhic Dhiarmada. A competition was held among the staff to find the best bilingual voice. They then recorded the standard messages to tape, had the annunciator chip reprogrammed and reinstalled on the three lifts. There was no problem in doing it.

Recording and retro installing bilingual voiced automated telephone greetings is even simpler than for lifts. Such message recording and installation is being done every day of the week in commercial and office premises across the country. There can be no valid reason as to why Leinster House cannot carry out the same procedure.

I ask the Minister of State to initiate a survey of lift and telephone messaging in public service buildings so as to quantify the work needed to retrofit locally recorded bilingual messages. I also ask him to ensure that the requirement for locally recorded bilingual messages is included in the specification of equipment for all future enquiries for lifts and telephone systems in the public sector.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Martin Mansergh)

It is a worthwhile objective that we have bilingual recordings, in both Irish and English, in all our new lift equipment in State buildings. The Deputy raised this issue with regard to Leinster House and I double-checked my recollection. Some lifts do not have any recordings at all in them. One certainly does and in the other one it is so faint as to be practically inaudible. The lifts in Leinster House operate on a different basis, depending on where they are located.

I have instructed the relevant officials to ensure that the standard specifications for lift equipment include such a requirement. I am assured that every reasonable step will be made to ensure that all new lifts will be fitted in this way. Similarly in the case of telephone answering equipment, the same thing is highly desirable. This is an issue for each Department and Government organisation. In the case of the Office of Public Works, every reasonable effort will be made to have this arrangement put in place.

The Office of Public Works procures or acquires buildings in a variety of ways, and in many cases this is well after the installation work is complete. Much of the building portfolio is rented and in these circumstances it is not always practical to manage immediately to have such facilities as the Deputy requests. The emphasis up to now has been on the safety and operational aspects of buildings. The Deputy will understand that in dealing with builders and contractors nearing the end of a project there are many pressures on all sides to reach an acceptable level of completion. In such circumstances and with the resources reasonably available, it is not always possible to attain perfection. Some things, which might be considered serviceable but not entirely ideal, have been accepted. It has been the experience of the Office of Public Works that, even where money has been withheld, it has not always been possible to have changes or corrections made at the last minute.

In previous correspondence, the Deputy referred to Áras Mhic Dhiarmada as an example, where a local voice, both in Irish and English, was used in the enunciators in the lifts. The Office of Public Works arranged for the lift refurbishment works to be carried out as part of a lift replacement programme. In that case there was a competition among the staff to find the best enunciation and this was then used for the lifts. The Deputy will appreciate that the term "local accent" in a pluralist and indeed multicultural Ireland is somewhat more problematic than it might have seemed in the past and that conditions laid down have to be consistent with equality requirements. We find on trains these days that eastern European accents have become local accents.

It is estimated that there are 400 to 500 lifts approximately in buildings for which OPW is responsible across the country. I am advised that it is not considered practicable that there would now be a programme of work to revisit each site and retrofit either a new announcement in the existing equipment, or replace the enunciator equipment as might be required. The cost of this, even by the Deputy's own estimates, would be at least €100,000. In reality, the total cost would be well in excess of this, when management and processing costs are taken into account.

It is reasonable that the specification for all new installations will require a bilingual message in enunciators in lifts. I would like to assure the Deputy that the OPW will ensure that all reasonable steps will be taken so that this will be done. Also, particular emphasis will be given to ensuring compliance with this, when buildings are being handed over on completion of the works. It is hoped also that other organisations in the State will follow suit.

Sport and Recreational Development.

Deputy Lucinda Creighton

I am grateful to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for affording me the opportunity to raise this issue and I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh is present.

This is a very important issue. I am proposing that part of the public green open space at Iveagh Gardens that are under the auspices of the OPW be made available for some sporting facilities for young children in the area. As the Minister of State is aware, the Iveagh Gardens are located just off St. Stephen's Green in the heart of the city centre. The demography of this area has changed dramatically since the 1986 census. The population of the inner city of Dublin has increased by more than 40% in the last 20 years or so, and we have seen a radical change from what was predominantly bed-sits and flats to a significant increase in the number of family homes. There are many young families and we have been actively encouraging sustainable living in the inner city. In addition, there is a significant amount of local authority housing in the area, with many young families and young children.

One of the difficulties associated with sustainable living in the inner city is the lack of recreational and sporting facilities for children. Efforts have been made, particularly with regard to the provision of playgrounds for young children, which I appreciate. However, matters are more problematic when it comes to the needs of older children. As the Minister is aware, the Iveagh Gardens are of major historical and cultural interest in the city. They are a hidden treasure where people go for walks, lunch and so on, and it is a wonderful facility and a great amenity.

It was envisaged that the Iveagh Gardens would be more than just a location for shrubbery and for people to sit and have picnics. The original use included tennis courts and facilities for bowling and so on. It would be appropriate to try to enhance the amenity and make it available for children so they can play there. I am aware of children living in the vicinity of the Iveagh Gardens having been ejected for kicking around a football, so why not make a part of the Iveagh Gardens available for that purpose and allow children to play there legitimately?

We have a serious lack of sporting facilities and amenities for children. This is an ideal location and an opportunity which, with a little lateral thinking, could be used to provide facilities for them. The Minister is aware that the Iveagh Gardens have been made available for commercial events such as the Taste of Dublin and there was a burlesque show there last summer. Those uses do not necessarily fulfil the cultural criteria. It would be an honourable thing to do for the needs of younger people.

The health aspect is important. We are constantly talking about our concerns about obesity in children and the need for them to engage in sports and live a healthier lifestyle, but it is very difficult for children living in the inner city because the opportunities are not there. This would provide such an opportunity. There are many deprived and disadvantaged children in the inner city area who, unfortunately, as the Minister knows, often end up resorting to drugs and other unpalatable ways of life because of a lack of diversions at a younger stage. Let us do something positive and constructive and try to provide sporting facilities for those children.

Deputy Martin Mansergh

The Iveagh Gardens are among the finest and least known of Dublin's heritage parks and gardens. Designed by the landscape architect Ninian Niven in 1865, the gardens demonstrate the artistic skills of landscape architecture of the mid-19th century. The gardens, only six hectares, 15 acres, in extent were landscaped as part of the Dublin International Exhibition of 1865. One of the objectives of Ninian Niven seems to have been to demonstrate the skills of the landscape architect, and this explains why such a wide variety of landscape features were incorporated into such a relatively small area.

The Dublin Exhibition Palace and Winter Garden Company was established as an institution to "afford to the people of Dublin and its neighbourhood national amusement, blended with instruction". As well as the gardens, a winter garden, a glass building, was constructed for "exotic" and "choice plants", horticultural exhibitions and musicals. A concert hall and exhibition areas were also constructed. As we know, the modern Iveagh Gardens are very close to the National Concert Hall which will shortly undergo extensive expansion.

The gardens display a unique collection of landscape features which include rustic grottos and cascade, sunken formal panels of lawn with fountain centrepieces, maze, rosarium and archery grounds. The conservation and restoration programme of the gardens by the Office of Public Works commenced in 1995. The cascade and exotic tree ferns all help to create a sense of wonder in this "secret garden".

The beautiful surrounds of the Iveagh Gardens have been host to a number of events including a series of concerts and family events held in association with the National Concert Hall and Bud Light Revue, a modern comedy carnival presented by Aiken Promotions, and on a recent weekend the Taste of Dublin festival, at which I met a former leader of Deputy Creighton's party, Dr. Garret FitzGerald, and his daughter, Mary.

It seems to have been a feature of these gardens over their history that they periodically fell into disrepair. In a previous incarnation as Coburg Gardens, they were described as "uneven, trampled and anti-picturesque" when purchased by Benjamin Lee Guinness from the Earl of Clonmel in 1862. It could be argued that another period of benign neglect characterised their stewardship by University College, Dublin, while the main campus of that body was located at Earlsfort Terrace. In 1991, because of their heritage value, the gardens were placed under the stewardship of the OPW, whose brief was their restoration and conservation, while allowing greater public access.

The OPW brief was under six distinct headings: to conserve and restore a unique city centre park, which has remained largely unaltered since its layout by the landscape architect Ninian Niven; to improve public accessibility by constructing a new entrance from Hatch Street; to focus attention on one of Ireland's most influential landscape architects and horticulturists, Ninian Niven, by conserving one of his few surviving landscape creations; to conserve the internal and perimeter vegetation to screen out adjacent office blocks and buildings; to highlight the large range of landscape features for public enjoyment and landscape appreciation; and to restore these gardens creating a major tourist attraction offering a unique landscape not available in other city parks and gardens in Dublin.

While the restoration programme is now substantially complete, this oasis of calm and tranquillity remains submerged in, but largely unaffected by, the busy hubbub of the city centre. While the comprehensive conservation and restoration works programme undertaken in recent years has, in enhancing the beauty of the site, undoubtedly raised its public profile, it had nevertheless retained its original secluded atmosphere. I used to work in Iveagh House and one or two of the windows may have overlooked the Iveagh Gardens in the distance, but having worked in Dublin for 20 or 25 years I only entered the gardens for the first time in the past eight years. I say that to my shame, not to my credit. I have been there a number of times since but it reinforces the point that many people do not know about them.

While the Iveagh Gardens were never designed for or envisaged as a venue for anything other than passive recreation, in recent years the OPW has come under pressure to make them available for large-scale public events. Their proximity to the National Concert Hall makes them a natural venue for promenade concerts and open-air theatrical performances. They have also seen the public display of artworks, all complementary to the OPW's stated goal of making them more accessible to the public for compatible purposes. They have also been used to host events such as a comedy festival and the Taste of Dublin food fair, as I mentioned, which involves limiting public access to a large part of the gardens for the duration of these events, usually for a period not exceeding a few days.

These events can have an effect on the physical infrastructure of the gardens, which has to be managed. The water table is very high underneath the gardens, particularly at the archery grounds, and prolonged heavy use of this area leads to damage to the grass. The Iveagh Gardens are a very small site and full of historic landscape features. They are, on a smaller scale, in the same category as St. Stephen's Green and Merrion Square, and I am not aware of suggestions that part of either of them should be turned into a football pitch. Recreational facilities for young people in suitable locations close to where they live and in their schools is very important, but care is also needed not to lose for good the character of an important, if partially hidden, piece of the city's heritage.

Crime Prevention.

Deputy Martin Ferris

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for this opportunity to raise this matter which relates to problems facing Caher outside Abbeyfeale, County Limerick, on which Deputy Deenihan, other elected representatives and I met with local people last night. I had previously met with the people from the area and this was a follow-up meeting to it. What has been happening there for the past 12 months in particular is nothing short of blatant intimidation and involves threats, abuse and criminal damage against a rural community that has never known anything like this in its lifetime. An indication of how bad the situation has become there is that there have been 47 reported incidents in the area in the past 12 months, whereas in the previous year there were three. This has come about because a criminal family has moved into the area and has been living there for more than 14 months. During that period houses and cars have been burnt, windows have been smashed, and people have been verbally abused and threatened blatantly and openly. As a result, people are afraid to confront these people or to make statements to the Garda. There is also the knock-on effect of the suspicion that may or may not be true that this criminal family is associated with one of the criminal drug gangs in Limerick city. That fear is palpable among the residents in the area.

The local superintendent, who was also present last night, confirmed everything that we were told regarding the number of incidents reported. He confirmed the increase in the Garda presence in the area was such that gardaí had been taken from another area in order to try to deal with this issue.

Two members of this family who are of school-going age apparently have not attended school. One of them has been barred from his own house. There is no parental control or accountability and there is no indication that this is about to come about. As was evident from last night's meeting we need a multiagency approach to deal with the problem. I hope the Minister of State and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will deal with the matter forthwith.

Deputy Jimmy Deenihan

Like Deputy Ferris, I attended a meeting of residents, mostly from the townlands of Caherconnell, Caherhayes, Caherleen and Meenkilla, at the Fr. Casey's GAA club in Abbeyfeale yesterday evening. The residents expressed serious concern about the increasing level of crime in their community. Over the past eight months or so, 47 incidents emanating from this community have been reported to the Garda in Abbeyfeale. This spiralling wave of crime has coincided with the arrival of a family from another part of Limerick to the area. Prior to this family taking up residence in Caherconnell, there were very few if any incidents recorded for this neighbourhood. In the Abbeyfeale Garda district, headline crime has increased from approximately 70 incidents to 120 or almost 60% over the past year.

It was obvious that the people who were at the meeting are living in fear and are terrorised by the activity of this family. Many people either purchased or built houses in the area because of its tranquillity and picturesque and idyllic landscape. They saw it as an ideal and safe environment in which to raise their children with Meenkilla national school in the heart of the community. There are a number of elderly people living on their own in the area. They are prisoners in their own homes and are afraid to even open the door or leave their homes for any length of time in case that they would be burgled or, as happened recently, subject to arson attacks. Two houses and two cars have been subjected to such attacks in recent times.

The residents are most complimentary of the local gardaí in Abbeyfeale, who have been responsive at all times to callouts. However, they simply do not have enough manpower to police their area, never mind deal with this particular problem. The Abbeyfeale district has lost five permanent gardaí over the past year. Four gardaí in Abbeyfeale have retired and have not been permanently replaced, as has one in Tournafulla. Extra manpower has been provided on occasions, but this is not the same as having a permanent presence to monitor and police the perpetrators of this reign of terror on decent law-abiding people.

I am appealing to the Minister to fill these vacancies immediately so that order can be restored in this community and that people can live in peace and be afforded the protection they deserve from this family. I feel that the Criminal Assets Bureau, the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the Department of Education and Science have a role to play in ensuring that the law of the land is enforced in this case. Unless this problem is faced up to and resolved, other communities in west Limerick and north Kerry will be similarly affected.

There was complete agreement at the meeting between residents, politicians and the local superintendent that this problem must be faced up to now and cannot be allowed to escalate.

Deputy Martin Mansergh

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter of public duty on the Adjournment. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is unable to be present owing to other business, but I assure the Deputies that the Minister shares their concern about incidents of anti-social behaviour in the Abbeyfeale area and is conscious of how distressing such incidents are for the local community. The Minister has been informed by the Garda authorities that they are aware of difficulties being experienced by residents in the area. While certain crime categories, such as burglary, criminal damage and theft-related offence, show an increase recently, overall crime in the Newcastle West Garda district has reduced by 9% over the same period.

Investigations into several criminal incidents in the area have resulted in criminal proceedings being commenced against a number of persons, with three persons currently before the courts for a range of offences, including a number of incidents of arson. Other incidents currently under investigation include threats to witnesses and members of the Garda Síochána. Local Garda management has reallocated personnel within the Limerick division, with additional personnel allocated to Newcastle West district. The situation will continue to be closely monitored. Furthermore, the local superintendent has held meetings with local residents and public representatives to discuss issues of concern to them, most recently yesterday as the Deputies mentioned.

The number of attested gardaí has increased significantly in recent years, from 11,895 at the end of 2002, to 13,755 at the end of 2007 and to 14,478 in the most recent figures — an increase of 22% since 2002. Even in this year of budgetary constraints, the Minister expects some 900 gardaí to be attested. The most recent figures show that the personnel strength of the Limerick Garda division is 644, the strength of the Newcastle West Garda district is 45, and there are seven members based in Abbeyfeale. In addition, divisional resources are further augmented where necessary by a number of Garda national units such as the Garda traffic unit, the Garda national drugs unit, the Garda National Immigration Bureau and the Criminal Assets Bureau.

The Minister and the Garda Síochána are aware of the harm and distress anti-social behaviour causes communities. The Garda policing plan for 2009 reflects the priorities set for the force by the Minister and contains a series of measures aimed at reducing the impact of crime and criminal behaviour. One of the strategic goals identified in the plan is to reduce significantly the incidence of public disorder and anti-social behaviour in communities.

Strong provisions are already in place to combat anti-social behaviour. The Criminal Justice Act 2006 brought into force additional legislation to target public disorder and anti-social behaviour. In January 2007 behaviour warnings and civil orders were introduced for adults, and in March 2007 behaviour warnings, good behaviour contracts and behaviour orders were introduced for children.

The Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 increased the powers available to the Garda to tackle the misuse of alcohol. The Act places restrictions on the availability and visibility of alcohol and provides for more effective enforcement to deal with the consequences of alcohol abuse. Gardaí may seize any bottle or container from a person under the age of 18, and which a garda suspects contains alcohol to be consumed by a person under 18 in a public place. They may also seize bottles or containers containing alcohol where there is a reasonable apprehension of public disorder or damage to property and require a person to leave the place concerned in a peaceable and orderly manner. The Act also allows for the issue of fixed charge notices for the offences of intoxication in a public place and disorderly conduct in a public place, which are offences under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994.

I assure the House that both the Minister and the Garda authorities will continue to attach the highest priority to tackling anti-social behaviour, and the legislative provisions dealing with anti-social behaviour are kept under continuing review by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

Special Educational Needs.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

I wish to share time with Deputy Stanton.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Very good.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

For almost a month the country has been rightly convulsed following the publication of the report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse.

I have never at any time in my life heard so many guarantees that from now on we will treat all of the children of our nation equally, that we will respect them and that what happened will never happen again, and rightly so. However, those words ring very hollow when one considers what will happen in this country from September next.

Since January 2007 the Department of Education and Science has laid down four criteria in regard to eligibility for the home education grant. Home education grants are given to the parents of preschool children who are in need of education to ready them for primary school, usually children two and a half to five years old, most of whom are autistic and must be taught how to learn. They are children who, for instance, need to be taught how to manage their behaviour, communication skills — most of them are non-verbal — self management and social and play skills, all of which we, who do not have such difficulties, take for granted. They must be taught toileting and hygiene skills, cognitive and sensory skills, all of which must be learned to ensure when they go to primary school they are capable of integrating into mainstream education.

Under the new criteria for home tuition grants, which will change from September next, parents will have to seek a qualified teacher to teach their child. A qualified teacher in this respect means a primary or secondary teacher, people with H.dip qualifications who do not have the skill sets to teach these children. If they do, why then do primary schools continue to seek the assistance of organisations dealing with children with autism? Primary school teachers do not have the required skill sets to teach these children. We have been through all of this before. That argument was made a long time ago when the new criteria was introduced and is being made again now. I believe that the reason for this change is the Minister's desire to have more qualified teachers employed in this area. I ask the unions not to co-operate with this. These teachers are not the people we need to prepare these children for mainstream primary education.

If the words we have been hearing for the past month in regard to the children of our nation are to mean anything, surely the parents who have fought long and hard for these limited rights for their children should continue to receive them.

Deputy David Stanton

I thank Deputy Lynch for allowing me to support the case she is making here this evening. I believe this decision was made centrally. The impact of this decision will be that tutors, who in some cases have up to eight or nine years' experience dealing with children with special needs and autism, who have studied and gained qualifications in early childhood studies and working with children with ABA but who do not have a B.Ed or primary education certification will be told their training and experience is no longer relevant in this area. They are to be told that from September next they will not be allowed to carry on the work they have been doing.

I ask the Minister to reconsider this decision. It is important these people, who have training and experience in this area, are allowed to carry on the work they have been doing. The parents want them to continue with their work and are happy with them. As Deputy Lynch stated, primary school teachers are also happy to receive these children into primary school at the age of 5 or 6 years having gone through this early preschool special education system with people who are trained, experienced and passionate about what they are doing.

The Minister is saying that only a person with a qualification as a primary teacher can do this work. I contend that is not possible. It is false, dangerous and damaging to these children. I ask the Minister to reconsider this decision.

Deputy Martin Mansergh

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe.

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to clarify the position in relation to the criteria for eligibility under the terms of the home tuition scheme. In particular, I wish to clarify that no changes have been made to the criteria for eligibility for home tuition.

As the Deputies will be aware, the home tuition scheme provides funding to parents to provide education at home for children who, for a number of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for children awaiting a suitable educational placement and to provide early educational intervention for preschool children with autism.

Home tuition is available for children who cannot attend school or are absent for a significant proportion of the school year and where the degree of absence is such that without supplemental instruction the pupil is unlikely to be able to perform academically at the level appropriate to his-her level of ability. Eligibility in this regard is determined by reference to a completed medical report from a relevant professional and attendance records supplied by the school in which the pupil is enrolled.

Home tuition is also available for children with special educational needs awaiting an appropriate educational placement, as an interim measure and for children aged——

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

Surely there must be some indication in the reply of what the debate is about.

Deputy David Stanton

There is none.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

There is none at all. I have heard Ministers ramble a little but nothing in the reply relates to the question asked. Surely, the Minister——

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Minister of State is entitled to give whatever response he determines appropriate.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

——for shame sake——

Deputy Martin Mansergh

Home tuition is also available for children with special educational needs awaiting an appropriate education placement as an interim measure and for children aged two and a half to five years who have been assessed under the Disability Act by the HSE as having autistic spectrum disorder, thus requiring early educational intervention. Eligibility for home tuition is determined in consultation with the National Council for Special Education which must confirm that there is no educational placement available.

I hope this clarifies the position for the Deputies whom I thank once again for raising the matter.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

The Minister of State knows the reply does not clarify the matter.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 1 July 2009.