Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 10 Nov 2011

Vol. 746 No. 2

Topical Issue Debate

Hospital Services

Deputy Patrick Nulty

I wish to address the urgent matter of Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown which serves 331,000 people. There are some 35,000 attendances at the emergency department each year and I welcome the commitments given a couple of weeks ago by the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, that the Government will retain a 24-hour full service at the accident and emergency department.

However, services in the hospital are under pressure and I call for a resolution of this issue. Last January, 32 beds were closed in Connolly Hospital and that number has now risen to 44. The total number of closed beds in our health service has spiralled and on 11 October last there were over 2,000 hospital beds closed throughout the Republic. A recent review conducted by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, revealed high levels of overcrowding in our emergency departments. The record numbers of people waiting on trolleys is the result of cuts in services, reducing the number of long-term care beds and increasing the volume of acute bed closures.

The Health Service Executive has implemented a number of measures to achieve so-called savings in Connolly Hospital. First, there has been a reduction in the use of agency staff and overtime hours. Second, the surgical day ward was temporarily closed and re-opened with eight places rather than 24. This ward will close fully again for three weeks from 19 December. The result of these reductions and bed and ward closures is increased waiting lists, growing numbers of patients on trolleys and an increased risk of the spread of infectious diseases.

The implementation of crude cuts and financial controls by HSE management is pushing services in Connolly Hospital and other hospitals to the brink. The decision to implement these cuts as we head into winter, when demand for hospital beds and services is at its highest, undermines the capacity of our health care professionals to deliver a fair, safe and efficient service. A recent report published by the Think Tank for Action on Social Change, TASC, showed that access to health care and life expectancy is determined by class and social background. An immediate and urgent strategy is required to eliminate the inequalities in life expectancy that exist in Ireland today. The first part of such a strategy must be to halt the implementation of crude cuts and closures in our health care system.

On behalf of the people who loaned me their vote and sent me to Leinster House, I call for the lifting of the recruitment embargo by the HSE. In Connolly Hospital, for example, 50 nurses have been taken off the roster, with the gaps being filled by agency work and overtime. This is not providing value for money. We must review that policy if savings are not being made, as well as the impact on patients. I also call for the opening of closed beds and hospital wards and for emergency funding for Connolly Hospital through the winter. A guarantee must be provided that full accident and emergency services will be retained in the future. I welcome the previous assurances and I hope to receive them again today.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Kathleen Lynch)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue on which I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly.

Connolly Hospital is an academic teaching hospital which provides a full range of acute services, including a 24-hour accident and emergency department. It serves a catchment population of 331,000. Multidisciplinary teams of medical, nursing and allied health professionals, as well as management and general support staff, play a pivotal role in the development, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of these services.

The efficiency of all services is being reviewed by the HSE in view of the current budgetary and financial position. The Minister for Health has emphasised to the HSE that budgetary compliance must be maintained with the delivery of service levels set out in the national service plan. Activity and expenditure at Connolly Hospital are ahead of the levels approved in the 2011 national service plan. A comprehensive review of services at the hospital has been undertaken by the HSE and hospital management, and certain measures have been taken as a consequence of this review. These include a reduction in the use of agency staff and overtime hours and some limited bed closures. The latter measures include the temporary closure in the latter quarter of the year, for two short periods, of the surgical day ward. There will also be a limited reduction from 24 to eight places in the surgical day ward from early November. In addition, there are currently 24 acute inpatient beds closed in Connolly Hospital, although it is planned to open these beds where feasible to relieve specific pressures during peak times over the winter period. Two of the 11 critical care beds at the hospital are also closed but are being utilised when they are clinically required.

Deputy Nulty, being a new Member, might not know this but usually the ministerial reply on a topical issue debate is circulated when the Minister stands to speak. The copies of my reply have not yet arrived but the Deputy will receive one.

I congratulate the Deputy on his recent victory in the election.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I do likewise. The copies of the reply are on the way to the House.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

Good. I was anxious to let the Deputy know.

The Minister has made it a priority to unblock access to acute services in our hospitals by improving the patient flow through the system. Access to services is not about bed numbers per se but is about how the bed capacity in a hospital is managed to maximise throughput and provide safe and quality care to patients. This can be seen in the variations in performance in hospitals across the country.

The special delivery unit, SDU, which was established by the Minister in June this year, is focusing on these issues. The SDU is in the process of establishing an infrastructure based on information collection and analysis, hospital by hospital, in order to ascertain what is happening in real time. It provides information tools for hospital managers, including clinical managers, to map and measure bed capacity in their hospitals depending on variations in, for example, the average length of stay of patients. This will allow the Department to begin to embed performance management in the system, to manage bed capacity and to sustain shorter waiting times.

In principle, opening additional beds is not a panacea to resolve the difficulties in the hospitals.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Minister of State should conclude shortly as we must move on.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

I will conclude. The entire reply will be included in the Official Report and will be supplied to Deputy Nulty. I again congratulate the Deputy on his election.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

In the absence of real and sustained change in how the existing capacity is managed, additional beds will be quickly absorbed without any net gain for patients. The aim of the SDU is to unblock access to acute services by improving the flow of patients through the system. The SDU's initial focus is on emergency departments and it will work to support hospitals in addressing excessive waiting times for admission to hospital.

As part of the process of forming the overall picture of the emergency departments situation nationally, the SDU has identified 15 hospitals, which between them account for 80% of the trolley wait problem in the hospital system and of which Connolly Hospital is one. Liaison officers from the SDU are working proactively to support these sites including Connolly Hospital.

The Minister also has agreed that some additional funding may be provided, on a strictly one-off basis, based on specific proposals from the hospitals to reduce waiting times. Adherence to the agreed criteria will be closely monitored by the SDU. The SDU is currently examining a plan for some additional funding for Connolly Hospital. Where this type of support has been provided elsewhere it has been on the strict understanding that it will only be released to hospitals where the specific performance measures and specified conditions have been met.

The conditions and performance measures which hospitals must meet are as follows: for the remainder of the year and throughout January 2012, no patient will wait more than 23 hours in the hospital's emergency department. In addition, the trolley wait target must be maintained at least 70% below the maximum daily trolley count since January 2010. Other conditions or performance measures include seven-day ward discharge rounds, achievement of all acute medicine programme milestones and implementation of approved measures to stream elderly patients effectively. For the plan from Connolly Hospital to be seriously considered, it must convince the SDU that hospital management, by which I also mean clinical management, is fully signed up to the kind of performance measures needed to deliver real change.

Deputy Patrick Nulty

I commend the Minister of State on the fantastic work she is doing in the areas of disability and mental health. She is dealing with serious issues under difficult circumstances.

To return to the issue under discussion, the manner in which the moratorium is being operated must be examined. The argument is that the moratorium will provide savings. However, as frontline staff are being replaced with agency workers and through overtime, I do not believe it provides savings to the Exchequer. Therefore, a pragmatic approach should be taken, particularly in respect of frontline services such as health, whereby frontline staff who need to be replaced should be replaced in the conventional way.

In addition, while I agree beds constitute just one aspect of the delivery of quality health care, it is an important aspect. In the health sector, both patient care and value for money are crucial but ensuring an adequate throughput of patients requires staff and requires beds to be open and operational, particularly in winter. Consequently, I ask that funding to ensure the operation of Connolly Hospital at an appropriate and high quality level be assured over the winter and that the accident and emergency unit, which serves 330,000 people, will be secured. I thank the Minister of State for her response.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

Briefly, I concur fully with the Deputy's comments. In addition, I note the Minister is not averse to providing additional one-off funding to ensure the waiting times in Connolly Hospital are reduced. Moreover, he is committed to ensuring the lengthy stays on trolleys seen in the past of people who are ill will be greatly reduced. However, as the Deputy is aware, it is not always about care but sometimes relates to something more fundamental, namely, structure and management. This is a longer term goal even though I do not believe we have the time to wait and must act more urgently.

Self-Harm Incidence

Deputy Dan Neville

I welcome the opportunity to raise the issue of the report of the national registry of deliberate self harm, which is under the auspices of the National Suicide Research Foundation, on the level of attempted suicide and self-harming 2010. Last year, 11,966 presentations, involving 9,630 individuals, were made to hospitals due to deliberate self-harming. Taking the population into account, the age-standardised rate of individuals presenting to hospitals following deliberate self-harm in 2010 marked a significant 4% increase over the rate for 2009. Moreover, it constituted the fourth successive increase in the national rate of hospital-treated deliberate self harm. In 2010, the male rate of deliberate self-harm was 4% higher than was the case in 2009. This again is the fourth successive year in which male deliberate self-harm increased, and the female rate also increased by 4%.

The economic recession is likely to be a key contributor to the recent increases in hospital-related deliberate self-harm. Since 2007, that is, the year before the onset of the recession, the report states the male rate in deliberate self-harming presenting at accident and emergency units has increased by 27%, while the equivalent increase in female rates is 7%. While there is a number of notable changes in the deliberate self-harming rate between 2009 and 2010, the most striking one concerns the 20 to 24 age group. The rate for men in the aforementioned age group increased by 19% from 2009 to 2010, while the rate for women increased by 30%.

This reveals how significant is the increase in attempted suicide and deliberate self-harming that is developing. This issue is somewhat under the radar and I have been trying to raise it for six weeks. However, I appreciate the Ceann Comhairle's office received 27 requests today and perhaps this issue is not topical. My purpose in introducing this issue is to make it topical. There also is a widespread variation in the male and female rates when examined by city and county. The lowest rates for females was recorded in County Leitrim, while the highest was in Limerick city. Relative to the national rate, a high rate of deliberate self-harm was recorded for male and female city residents, as well as men living in Sligo and women living in Longford, north Tipperary and south Dublin. I ask the Minister to look at some of the most common methods, because this is the key to involvement in this regard. Finally, the director of the National Suicide Research Foundation, Dr. Ella Arensman, and international research have shown that for each person who presents at an accident and emergency unit having deliberately self-harmed, at least six to seven others who self-harm do not present to such units. They present to their general practitioners, who do not report it at all, their families hide it because of the stigma or such people may not even report it to their own families. On that basis, between 70,000 and 80,000 people each year are deliberately self-harming in Ireland and this is a serious issue that must first be recognised by society.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

I thank Deputy Neville for raising this important issue. It is not the first time he has done so and given his commitment to the subject, I dare say it will not be his last. At the outset, I note that just this morning, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Coveney, and I launched a leaflet on behalf of Shine and the IFA in respect of farm stress. While one sometimes is inclined to think of this issue as only pertaining to one particular group, it affects everyone in all sectors of society.

Over the years, all Members have been aware of deliberate self-harm but few realised the extent of the problem. It is difficult to imagine that 9,630 individuals, representing 11,966 presentations, presented to emergency departments in 2010 having self-harmed. It also is worrying that one fifth of all deliberate self-harm presentations were due to repeated acts. It also is important to recognise the aforementioned figures do not include those who engage in self-harm but who never present to an emergency department. Deliberate self-harm is a serious issue and it is hard for many people to understand the despair of a person who engages in deliberate self-injury. International studies have found self-injury to be one of the most significant risk factors associated with suicide and those who engage in self-harm are 20 times more likely to die by suicide eventually. Moreover, studies have shown that at least one third of all suicides have a history of self-injury. I believe early intervention with people who engage in deliberate self-harm would prevent some people from continuing to self-harm and could prevent some deaths by suicide. Several initiatives are ongoing and in development that take account of the recommendations of the recently published national registry of deliberate self harm report for 2010.

The National Office for Suicide Prevention, NOSP, is working to progress a more unified and consistent response to self-harm presentations in emergency departments. A self-harm awareness training programme is also being developed which will be rolled out nationally in the coming years, beginning next year. The HSE clinical care national lead on mental health is working with key stakeholders to develop a uniform approach to self-harm assessments in emergency departments in order that all those who present will receive the most appropriate care and treatment. In addition, a pilot project is under way in the Cork Hospital Group to train all appropriate clinical staff in self-harm and suicide management and it is planned that in due course this will be rolled out to other hospitals. The NOSP has also funded a number of suicide community assessment nurses, SCAN, who work primarily with GPs to provide early intervention services for clients in suicidal crisis and thus avoid admission to hospital. A number of voluntary organisations also provide services for those who self-harm.

The total annual funding available to support suicide prevention initiatives is in the region of €9 million. This includes the annual budget of €4.1 million for the national office, with the balance of €5 million used to fund resource officers for suicide prevention, self-harm nurses in hospital emergency departments and the development of local suicide prevention initiatives. The additional €1 million provided for the national office this year is being used to develop the number and range of training and awareness programmes, improve and standardise the response to deliberate self-harm, develop the capacity of GPs to respond to suicidal behaviour and ensure helpline supports for those in emotional distress are co-ordinated and widely publicised.

I acknowledge there is great commitment in many sectors to tackle this serious health and social issue. The Government's commitment to the development of mental health services in line with A Vision for Change and Reach Out was clearly shown in the programme for Government which provides for the ring-fencing of €35 million annually within the overall health budget to develop community mental health services, ensure early access to more appropriate services for adults and children and implement Reach Out, the suicide strategy within A Vision for Change. We must all continue to work together — researchers, policy makers and service providers — to identify people at risk and ensure appropriate services are in place to provide the help and support needed. Everybody recognises that this is a crisis issue within communities and the Government will do its very best to address it.

Deputy Dan Neville

I welcome the Minister of State's commitment and again welcome the Taoiseach's commitment two weeks ago to ring-fence €35 million annually within the overall health budget to develop community mental health services in line with A Vision for Change, a vital issue in the development of the mental health services.

The National Office for Suicide Prevention has asked that priority be given to effective interventions at multiple levels, including the early identification of people at risk of self-harm by introducing evidence-based depression, self-harm and suicide awareness and skills training for professionals working in health care and community based services. It is also recommended that we seek to prevent repeated self-harm by introducing uniform procedures for assessment and the after-care of deliberate self-harm patients presenting at hospital emergency departments. In order to deal effectively with the needs of deliberate self-harm patients following discharge from hospital, it is recommended that a wider range of evidence-based treatment programmes should be made available for this high risk group, the focus on which is vital. I have seen programmes in other countries for this group of people who are discharged from hospital. It is vital to inform the general public about the symptoms of depression, warning signs of suicidal behaviour and relevant help services through positive mental health promotion campaigns. While there have been some such campaigns, the issue of promoting mental health awareness and de-stigmatising mental illness has to be re-examined because it is vital that we tackle the very serious issue of attempted suicide, deliberate self-harm and completedsuicide.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

I cannot disagree with anything the Deputy said. This is a crucial group, one we have identified. There are, of course, others within the group who never come to the attention of the medical profession, but, nevertheless, it is an issue about which we will have to do something very quickly. The training programmes we are rolling out, including the pilot programme in Cork, will give us the expertise we need both to identify and treat patients. I could not agree with the Deputy more that when people are released from care and discharged back into the community, follow-up, if only a telephone call to have someone to make that connection, is vital. We simply cannot abandon people as soon as they are discharged from care because, clearly, they are in distress or they would not have been admitted to the service in the first place. We hope the €35 million which the Taoiseach has guaranteed us will be available from the health budget will be used to put in place the people we need to deliver this service.

Harbours and Piers

Deputy Noel Harrington

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this topic for debate as it is of vital importance to the 125 residents of Oileán Chléire — Cape Clear island — in going about their daily work. There is a huge problem in that the Bull's Nose pier at Trá Ciarán in the north harbour has been battered by the sea since it was built during the Famine. It is in danger of collapsing and blocking the harbour to all navigation, thereby closing this gateway for the 125 residents and almost 120,000 visitors who visit the island every year. If the phrase "a stich in time saves nine" was ever applicable, it is in this case. The pier is in urgent need of remedial works, as it is the gateway for an industrious and hardworking population who, since the fourth century, have made mammoth efforts to combat their remoteness eight miles into the Atlantic — Ireland's most southerly point.

I thank the Minister for his attendance. I know he has a comprehensive interest in and deep knowledge of marine and maritime affairs and is very familiar with this pier. The problem is that if this pier, one of three in the north harbour, collapses, it will totally block access to the other two piers and effectively close the island to the outside world. The pier acts as a breakwater for the rest of the harbour and has already been deemed to be unsafe since the late 1990s, when severe and deep cracks appeared in the concrete capping on the original pier in the 1920s. Berthing at the pier has been prohibited for some time.

The pier which is only 20 m in length has four major cracks which run the length of the pier and has been the subject of different studies and reports since 1997. In fact, I was informed only this morning that further studies were being carried out by UCC to examine the swell and wave heights at the pier. There is a tidal difference of at least 3 m at the harbour walls. While I accept these studies have to be carried out, it is 14 years since the first one began. Efforts were made to patch the pier at the turn of the century by pouring concrete into the cracks, but this work was immediately stopped when the concrete, unfortunately, ran straight into the sea.

The people of Oileán Chléire desperately need decisive action to be taken to secure the pier for the foreseeable future by the completion of the studies and the putting in place of a plan to conclude the work required. I note that yesterday the Government launched its website to prepare the population for possible severe winter weather. If this pier was to collapse at this time of the year, it might well be May or June of the following year before construction equipment or materials could be brought onto the island to undertake the necessary repair work.

There has been significant investment on our islands in recent years. They are one of our greatest resources. Off the west Cork coast there are seven inhabited islands, each of which has massive tourism potential and a resilient and hard-working native population that fights in challenging times to maintain the island way of life. I compliment the work of Cork County Council, through the county development board, which has focused as a priority on these islands off the west Cork coast in recent years and adopted an inter-agency islands strategy to deal with the problems they face. I earnestly ask the Minister to support this issue on Oileán Chléire and to help to resolve this engineering issue, which is a terrifying prospect for local people.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Simon Coveney)

I know the island and the pier well. I have visited every year for the past 15 years and, therefore, I am aware of the issue raised by the Deputy. I accept this is an issue of concern. The maintenance and development of the harbour at Cape Clear Island is my responsibility and that of my Department. The main portion of the harbour was constructed in the mid-1800s and it is of masonry construction. In the early 1900s, there were further works consisting of an inner harbour cross wall with entrance and booms at one end. Repairs and improvements to the harbour walls and deepening of the inner harbour were carried out under the Marine Works (Ireland) Act 1902. The layout of Cape Clear Harbour has remained substantially unchanged since these works.

The various bodies charged with responsibility for the harbour have carried out significant works over the years to preserve its fabric. In 2005, my Department carried out major works at a cost of €870,000 to refurbish and stabilise the main pier, known as Duffy's Pier, which is on the left hand side as one enters. This is used by ferry services as the main landing pier for the island and it is currently in a safe structural condition. My Department has set aside an annual budget for maintenance and safety works at Cape Clear with annual outturns in the years 2008 to 2010 of €30,000, €43,000 and €28,000, respectively, and an allocation of €30,000 for 2011. A number of studies were also carried out at a cost in excess of €50,000 between 2008 and 2010.

Two matters are a cause for serious concern. The first relates to the penetration of large waves into the harbour during storms which render the harbour unusable. During these events, all boats retreat in to the inner harbour, which is then sealed by means of wooden booms put in place by a crane. The second concern relates to the deterioration of the outer end of the main harbour breakwater, which is referred to as the Bull's Nose and which has been exhibiting signs of stress and deterioration for years. This has manifested in several large cracks in the sides and surface of the structure. Repair works were carried out in 1999 but do not appear to have been successful.

The Department has been monitoring the Bull's Nose structure since 2006 and has noted a slow but steady deterioration. In 2009, it took the precautionary step of closing access to, and prohibiting berthing at, the Bull's Nose. Berthing and unloading of goods and passengers can continue at the main landing pier. In recent years, the Department has undertaken extensive measurements and analysis of wave conditions at Cape Clear Harbour. It is clear from this work that wave conditions are complex and the issue of wave penetration into the harbour does not present a ready or obvious solution.

With regard to the stability of the Bull's Nose, the Department appointed consulting engineers in 2010 to report on the condition of the structure and to prepare a detailed design for the construction of a new or modified structure. The consultants' terms of reference stated that cognisance should be taken of the information available on the wave conditions and access problems at this harbour and, rather than reconstructing the Bull's Nose as it currently exists, should make provision in whatever way could reasonably be made for further works to improve access to the harbour. During their work, the consultants retained specialist hydraulic consultants from the Netherlands and University College Cork to provide detailed advice on the storm wave aspects of their evolving design. A report has been received from the consultants, which is being reviewed by and discussed with the Department's engineers.

Deputy Noel Harrington

I sincerely thank the Minister for his reply. However, the islanders need to know when the necessary remedial works will start, how long they will take, when the pier will be made safe and when it will reopen for berthing. I acknowledge the Minister may not have the answers to these questions in his brief but I ask him to provide the answers over the coming weeks. The pier was originally constructed during the Famine. We have had years of studies of wave movements, swells and tides by scientists, engineers and departmental officials and the islanders feel it is time to make a decision on what is to be done while acknowledging it is a historical pier, which was built 160 years ago. The islanders at that time invested in the structure to make the harbour safe. The officials need to reflect on that and focus on coming to a decision on how this issue can be progressed on the basis of the studies they have conducted. It is frustrating for the islanders to have to wait for further studies.

Deputy Simon Coveney

The islanders will not have to wait for further studies as the studies have been carried out. We are examining the conclusions of the consultants which provide an expensive six options. The cost ranges from €750,000 to €20 million. There is no easy, quick fix, cheap solution to this. However, there is a concern that the Bull's Nose is unstable and could collapse at any time, as the Deputy has pointed out. He is correct to raise this issue, as are the islanders. I will give an assurance that we will try to make this project a priority. I face budgetary constraints in making commitments. This is not a case of making a decision and paying out the money; I must find the money. People will be aware following the announcement at midday today of the limitations on capital expenditure faced by all Departments over the next five years. However, we have a responsibility to make this harbour safe. It is not a safe harbour in certain conditions and we need to improve that situation if we can while solving the structural problems at the Bull's Nose, which is now a breakwater rather than a pier.

This is not the first time this issue has been raised and I have spoken to the Deputy about this previously. He is correct to keep raising it and to keep the pressure on. I will try to respond as quickly as possible and in as comprehensive a way as is possible and affordable in the current climate.

Water and Sewerage Schemes

Deputy Brendan Ryan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this most important issue and I welcome the Minister to the House to respond.

Over the past few weeks, the communities of north County Dublin have mobilised in an unprecedented manner to voice their resounding opposition to the proposed monster sewage treatment plant planned for the area. Fingal County Council, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, has nominated nine potential sites in the townlands of north County Dublin for the plant. These sites are within a short distance of the heavily populated towns of Lusk, Rush, Swords, Loughshinny, Skerries, Ballyboughal and the Naul. Essentially, every town and village in Fingal is now living with the threat of having a monster sewage treatment plant constructed within its environs. We have had public meetings in Lusk, Rush and Loughshinny. Tonight I will be in Ballyboughal and I will attend meetings in Swords and Skerries next week. These were not poorly attended public meetings. There were hundreds of people in attendance with standing room only and people spilling out into corridors. Last Saturday, so many people turned up to voice their disapproval at the plans at Fingal County Council's open day for the project that the council had to put stewards in place to manage the crowd. Taken together, this demonstrates a collective rejection of this proposal by the people in north Dublin who I represent.

Why are the people so understandably outraged? There are very valid environmental considerations. The proposed monster sewage treatment plant would process up to 1,000 litres of sewage per minute from Dublin and surrounding counties. This is similar to the capacity of the Ringsend plant in Dublin. The negative impact that the Ringsend plant has had on the environment of the surrounding landscape and seascape in Dublin Bay has been well documented. The traffic created by the construction of a monster plant in north Dublin would be intolerable on the rural roads of the region. The traffic caused by the removal of the solid waste sludge from the plant once it is up and running, with some estimates stating it would require 40 trucks per hour, is also of major concern.

We must not forget that north County Dublin is a combination of towns and large rural areas which grow fruit, vegetables and flowers. Fingal is the market garden of Ireland, with 60% of our horticulture produce being grown in the area. To quote one constituent of mine who wished to have her objection read into the public record, "Who would buy food grown near a monster sewage plant?" This is a valid point and needs to be reflected upon.

North County Dublin has taken more than its fair share of projects which have had negative environmental impacts. Balleally landfill near Lusk and Rush has taken the waste of greater Dublin for almost 40 years. The Nevitt super-dump planned for the same area hangs threateningly over both communities. The EirGrid east-west interconnector which makes landfall in Rush has and is causing upset for that community. The sub-sea gas interconnector between Loughshinny and Moffat in Scotland has caused untold problems for the people of Loughshinny.

Fingal is lacking in so much, with inadequate water infrastructure and public transport systems and today we heard that metro north has just been deferred. We need infrastructure which has a net positive effect on the region rather than just being the dumping ground for the State's problem projects. I stood with the people of Portrane and Donabate when this idea was earmarked for that area and I stand with all the people of north Dublin who oppose this proposal now. It is a costly plan, it is an environmentally negative plan, it is a flawed plan and most importantly, it is a bad plan.

This Government was elected to bring fresh ideas and impetus to this country. I ask the Minister, with his responsibility for the environment, to revisit this proposal with a view to examining alternative approaches thoroughly, including the possibility of smaller treatment plants to cope with the waste from smaller clusters of towns. A good example is the Portrane plant which will deal with the sewage needs of Portrane, Donabate, Lusk, Rush and Loughshinny. People will accept that.

Deputy Simon Coveney

I am taking this issue for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, who apologises for not being able to be here. I am aware this issue is causing a great deal of concern in the part of Dublin Deputy Ryan represents.

The greater Dublin strategic drainage study, published in 2005, analysed the existing drainage system in the greater Dublin area and proposed policies, strategies and projects for developing the drainage system to meet the development needs and anticipated population growth of the area for the period to 2031. This study was undertaken by Dublin City Council on behalf of the other local authorities in the area.

This study took account of the needs of the greater Dublin area, including parts of Meath and Kildare. The study took account of the needs which would be met from the proposed new wastewater treatment plants in Shanganagh, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and at Portrane in Fingal. Both these plants are nearing completion, with funding being provided under the water services investment programme for 2010-12.

The study examined eight possible solutions for new treatment capacity for the entire Dublin region but six were ruled out due to technical, social, economic or environmental constraints. The recommendations therefore were for capital works estimated at €2.3 billion involving an upgrade of Ringsend wastewater treatment plant to its full design capacity; a new wastewater treatment plant in north Dublin which the study referred to located in Portrane; and an orbital sewer and a series of trunk sewers.

Fingal County Council subsequently decided that certain aspects of the GDSDS should be subjected to a strategic environmental assessment. The SEA assessed 16 strategic drainage options for the greater Dublin area and involved a public consultation phase. The recommended strategy arising from the SEA is that a new regional wastewater treatment plant be built in the northern greater Dublin area and that the outfall should be located along the north Dublin coastline following a detailed site selection process. The location of the new plant is to be determined based on the site selection criteria set out in the environmental report of the SEA.

Fingal County Council has now engaged consultants to prepare a preliminary report for the scheme, including the site selection process. The council is currently engaging in an non-statutory public consultation on the site selection process, with the consultation period due to draw to a close next week, on 18 November.

The Minister's main role in water services projects is to provide capital funding for the work through the Department's water services investment programme and he may in the future have a statutory role should there be a requirement for a foreshore licence for a project. It would therefore be inappropriate for him to engage in discussions which might prejudice his statutory role.

Deputy Brendan Ryan

This proposal was formulated and promoted under previous Governments and has in essence been inherited by this Administration. Like many things inherited by this Government we must revisit the rationale and costing behind those decisions, especially with major infrastructural projects of this size. It is only prudent to do so. Estimates place the cost of constructing this facility at the high end of €2 billion. Is that the case and is the money available given current strictures on capital funding?

Taking all things into consideration — the environmental impact, the potential for high financial cost to the Exchequer and the many other negative impacts — will the Minister consider looking at alternatives such as smaller treatment plants? The people of north County Dublin have no problem treating their own waste in this fashion. The smaller plants approach would allow for a more modular approach that would spread the costs over a longer period and would have less of an impact on the surrounding environment. There is cross-community and cross-party opposition to this proposal, including from the Labour Party and Fine Gael representatives, and the arguments against it are sound. The alternatives to it, like the one I propose, are also sound.

I appeal to the Minister to at least review the rationale and the assumptions which underpin the proposal to see if they are valid today and put the project on hold until that has been done. They may be out of date because of the recession. The people of north County Dublin demand a change in policy from Fingal County Council and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government on this matter and I fully support them. I ask for a positive response.

Deputy Simon Coveney

I will pass the Deputy's concerns to the Minister. The note I have makes it clear that additional wastewater facilities are needed for the Dublin area in the medium to long term. It is also clear that despite the downturn generally, the population of Fingal has shown strong growth and the area will require further additional wastewater facilities in the coming decades to meet demographic and enterprise needs. The strategic environmental assessment process, including public consultation, examined the issue of the number of treatment plants that should be constructed and determined the optimum solution was to provide one plant. I know the Deputy disagrees with that and I will pass his objections to the Minister.

It is worth noting that the project will require planning permission, which will be subject to an environmental impact assessment and may require a foreshore licence. Each of these has a statutory public consultation element to it so it would not be appropriate for the Minister to engage in discussions directly that might prejudice his role in that process. I will highlight to the Minister the strength of the arguments put forward by Deputy Ryan on behalf of his constituents and ask him to revert to the Deputy directly in respect of this matter.