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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 29 Nov 2011

Vol. 748 No. 1

Topical Issue Debate

Anti-Racism Measures

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for choosing this topic. I expected to see the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, as he is the relevant Minister.

Quiet please, in the Gallery.

I raise this issue as I believe urgent steps must be taken by the Minister — hopefully he will return to the Chamber soon — and this Government to tackle the increasing problem of racially-provoked attacks on foreign national members of our community. These racist incidents cover the entire spectrum including physical, verbal and psychological attacks. As Irish society becomes more diverse, our primary agenda as parliamentarians in tackling the problem of racially provoked attacks should be to make Irish society more inclusive, tolerant and open to accepting and understanding our new friends and neighbours who have come to Ireland from other countries.

While attacks on members of our new communities cannot be deemed to be racist in all cases, there is substantial evidence to suggest that racism is on the increase in Ireland. A very recent and tragic example was the attack on and subsequent death of Moses Ayanwole, a Nigerian taxi-driver. This attack has created great fear in the African community. I spoke to the leaders of the African community in Ireland at a press conference in Buswells Hotel and their fear is palpable. I refer also to the horrendous attack on Alexandra Trotsenko, an artist whose three fingers were severed in a burglary attack on her home. There has been an allegation of a gang rape of a young African girl. I also wish to highlight the sad and tragic experience in my constituency of Dublin South-Central when two Polish men were savagely beaten and killed with a screwdriver. I commend the work of the integration centre, the Immigrant Council of Ireland, Show Racism the Red Card and Dublin City Council's office for integration. These bodies do tremendous work in attempting to counteract racism in Irish society on very limited budgets and with stretched resources. Not enough is being done. I ask the Department of Justice and Equality and specifically the office for the promotion of migrant integration to work closely with these bodies to have a sustained and targeted campaign to tackle racism in all its forms in our society.

The Minister of State will be aware it is Government and local government policy that Ireland and Dublin, in particular, are internationally marketed as a country and city open for business. Dublin is marketed as an open, friendly, tolerant, diverse and welcoming city. Students from countries as diverse as China and Oman have been invited to come to Ireland to study and our universities are encouraged to look wide and far for international students. The Department of Health has recruited people from India and Pakistan to fill the skills shortage in the health service. We must take urgent action to prevent the spread of racism. If racism, and in particular racially-motivated attacks, continue to occur, these will have a detrimental impact on the economic progress of our society. The reputational damage for Ireland or Dublin will be massive if racism takes a foothold. It is essential that we are seen as an attractive place for inward investment and therefore racism must be tackled. Foreign multinational companies will not invest in a country that is open to racism. I conclude on that point but I hope to deal with some additional points after the Minister of State has spoken.

The Deputy will have the opportunity for a supplementary question.

I compliment the Deputy on his ongoing commitment to this issue and he has spoken out against racism over a long period.

Recent attacks on foreign national members of the community are the subject of ongoing Garda investigations and therefore I cannot comment on these cases nor on whether any racist motivation was involved. Any such attack must be strongly condemned and I urge anyone with any information to assist the Garda Síochána in its investigations.

Ireland has strong legislation prohibiting incitement to racial hatred along with robust equality legislation supported by an institutional infrastructure to promote equality and to provide redress where discrimination, including discrimination on grounds of race, occurs. There are currently a number of official mechanisms in place to record complaints of both racist crime and racial discrimination. All crime statistics, including statistics on reports of racially-motivated crime, are collated by the Central Statistics Office, using the data elicited from the Pulse system of An Garda Síochána. Information on reported criminal racist incidents from 2006 onwards is publicly available on the website of the office for the promotion of migrant integration and is broken down into ten different categories of crimes. The Central Statistics Office advises me that a further breakdown of the data in relation to, for example, gender and geographic location, is not made publicly available as this could lead to the identification of individual cases. The trends in these statistics are monitored by the office for the promotion of migrant integration and are updated on a regular basis.

There is no evidence of a significant upward trend in reported incidences of racist crime. In 2009, the total number of reported racist crimes was 128. In 2010, the total number of reported racist crimes was 122. The total number of reported racist crimes for the first three quarters of 2011 was 112. There is, however, no room for complacency and the Government is committed to combating and challenging any and all manifestations of racism. Depending on the nature of the racist incident, members of the public can report to a number of other organisations besides An Garda Síochána, including the Equality Authority, the Equality Tribunal, which deals with complaints of discrimination in the provision of goods and services and in employment, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, for complaints against members of the force, the Office of the Press Ombudsman, the crime victims helpline and the Irish Internet hotline. Contact information about the various organisations and the avenues available to the public, in addition to a range of statistics on reported incidents, are available on the website of the office for the promotion of migrant integration and also the organisations which the Deputy has identified and which have played a significant part in ensuring that people who come here from abroad are helped to integrate.

Ireland was one of the first states in the EU and, indeed, in the world, to develop a national action plan against racism. The plan was launched in 2005 and it was conceived as a four-year programme to run until the end of 2008. It was designed to provide strategic direction towards developing a more intercultural and inclusive society in Ireland and was largely integration driven. Under the plan, support was provided towards the development of a number of national and local strategies to promote greater integration in our workplaces, in An Garda Síochána, in the health service, in our education system, in the arts and sports sectors and within our local authorities.

The Deputy outlined all these areas in his contribution. The remainder of the reply will be available to the Deputy.

I thought the Minister, Deputy Shatter, would be dealing with this topic and I do not wish to embarrass him in his absence. If he had been present I would have said to him that this gentleman from Naas, Councillor Scully, has done irreparable harm to race relations particularly in the Kildare area. He has achieved notoriety by his statements. I suggest to our coalition partners that the leadership of Fine Gael is very slow in properly reprimanding that gentleman who has undermined completely the work of people engaged in promoting integration policies. He should have been expelled from the Fine Gael Party the day he did that radio interview.

In the past, there was a Minister of State who worked closely with the Dublin City Council office for integration in targeting racism and bringing about integration. There is a bit of a disjoint and I appeal to the Government to make sufficient funding available, particularly to the office for integration in Dublin so it can work more positively in addressing the integration issue and combating racism.

I applaud Dublin City Council. I remind Deputies that Dublin has been ranked fourth of 29 cities by the Council of Europe on the basis of integrationist policies. We must redouble our efforts to create the type of society on which our international economic policy is built, namely, one which is open to inward capital and labour. We must also support integrationist policies to ensure people go out of their way to come here to live and work.

I again thank the Deputy. It is particularly important that elected representatives are careful in the language they use, not only on race but across a range of issues. Local authorities must drive policy on these issues and ensure that people with a disability or mental health issue and those from different cultures, races and nationalities live in comfort and security in our communities. I commend Cork City Council on its forum and Dublin City Council on ensuring the capital is close to the top of the league in terms of openness to outsiders.

Suicide Prevention

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this topical issue, particularly as I was unable to contribute on the Private Members' motion on mental health tabled last week. The tragic death of Gary Speed in England at the weekend highlighted the issue of suicide, as did two recent tragedies in County Kildare in the past two weeks when people took their own lives. Globally, the equivalent of one quarter of the population of Ireland take their own lives each year. Last year, 486 people died by suicide in the Republic. We should bear in mind that for every suicide, at least 20 people attempt to take their own lives. This figure does not take into consideration the number of people who self-harm and may or may not be admitted to accident and emergency units.

The safeTALK training programme is one of the suicide prevention training programmes available through the Health Service Executive's suicide prevention resource officers and their partner agencies. It is co-ordinated by the National Office of Suicide Prevention, NOSP. According to the NOSP, safeTALK is a half-day training course which prepares participants to identify persons who have thoughts of suicide and connect them to suicide first aid personnel and resources. These specific skills, known as suicide alertness, are taught with the expectation that the person learning them will use them to help reduce suicide risk in their communities.

It is interesting to note that safeTALK is one of a number of suicide prevention programmes which provided training to 3,689 people 2010. This begs the question as to whether a sufficient number of people are being trained in suicide prevention. I am informed that the target ratio for such training is to reach one in eight people. Based on the figures available to me, the ratio achieved here is one in 550 people. We must ensure funding and staff are available to co-ordinate and offer safeTALK to as many people as possible. There are 89 trainers of the programme. In one area, the number of safeTALK trainers has declined from ten to four.

The benefits of the safeTALK course are straightforward. It offers a large number of people a learning process by which they can discover precisely how to recognise individuals who may have thoughts of suicide. Other courses are also available, for example, Reach Out and ASIST, the latter of which is aimed at professionals. In addition, a new dialectical behaviour therapy, DBT, programme is being rolled out. The beauty of the safeTALK course is that it focuses on young people aged from 18 years and upwards. It is widely recognised that the 18 to 26 years age group is the most vulnerable to suicide. The two and a half hour course, which is not time consuming and is not as advanced as the ASIST course, has been internationally recognised, having proved successful in many countries.

I thank Deputy Lawlor for raising this issue which, as he will be aware, is close to my heart. The Deputy has also done considerable work on suicide in his locality.

I recognise the importance of the safeTALK suicide prevention course which is one of a number of suicide prevention training programmes available through the Health Service Executive suicide prevention resource officers and partner agencies, including the Defence Forces, National Youth Council of Ireland, national Traveller suicide prevention project and RehabCare. To revert to the topic we discussed a few moments ago, we must be conscious of the need to ensure the safeTALK and ASIST programmes are culturally appropriate.

International and national evidence shows that for suicide prevention training to be effective it needs to be done in a co-ordinated and targeted manner. No single training programme is effective within communities on its own and a higher proportion of community members need to complete suicide awareness training with smaller proportions of health professionals or community gatekeepers completing suicide prevention alertness and skills programmes. The HSE's National Office for Suicide Prevention, NOSP, recommends and funds the delivery of suicide prevention training programmes across the country, including the safeTALK programme, a half-day training course which trains participants to identify persons with thoughts of suicide and connect them to people and agencies. Training in the programme was provided in 2010 in 199 workshops to some 3,600 people and continued in 2011.

The National Office for Suicide Prevention continues to work with key professional and community group, such as the Garda Síochána, Fire Service and education personnel, to ensure the most appropriate programmes are delivered across these groups. We must seriously consider making participation in the programme a compulsory element of health and safety programmes in all jobs and workplaces. Surely suicide prevention awareness is as important as insisting that employees are taught how to lift heavy items or deal with fires in the workplace. We must start to speak to the whole of government about how to make suicide prevention part and parcel of everyday training.

The National Office for Suicide Prevention is responsible for the implementation of Reach Out, our policy strategy on suicide prevention which outlines the actions that need to be taken to prevent suicide and deliberate self-harm and increase awareness of the importance of good mental health and well-being. Reach Out identified the development of a national training programme as one of the key priorities for the NOSP. Funding for suicide prevention activities is approximately €9 million in 2011. This figure includes the annual budget of €4.1 million for the National Office for Suicide Prevention and €5 million which is used to fund resource officers for suicide prevention, self-harm nurses in accident and emergency departments and the development of local suicide prevention initiatives.

Apart from the development and implementation of the national training programme, a number of suicide prevention initiatives have been progressed in recent years, including the development of mental health awareness campaigns, continued support for voluntary organisations working in the field of suicide prevention and the launch of a "tough economic times" information and training programme for the staff of organisations such as Citizens Information and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service.

I acknowledge that there is a great deal of commitment in many sectors to tackle this serious health and social issue. The Government's commitment to the development of our mental health services, in line with A Vision for Change and Reach Out, was clearly shown in the programme for Government, which provided for €35 million to be ring-fenced from within the overall health budget each year. This money will be used to develop community mental health services, to ensure early access to more appropriate services for adults and children and to implement Reach Out. This is being considered as part of the Estimates process for 2011 and future years. We must continue to work together to identify people at risk and ensure appropriate services are in place to provide the help and support needed. I have not even dealt with the issue of stigma and the reasons people do not reach out for help.

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply. I took part in the SafeTALK training programme in the Oireachtas a number of weeks ago. I was the only Deputy to do so, unfortunately. There were some other people there. Another training course is taking place this Thursday. I encourage as many Deputies as possible to take the course. We deal with people who may have suicidal thoughts. We need to be able to recognise if that is the case. We should be in a position to identify that at an early stage. Deputies deal with people who are under pressure for all sorts of reasons. The possibility may exist that some of these people might consider taking their own lives. The last thing a Deputy wants is for someone who has passed through his or her office to decide eventually to take his or her own life because he or she cannot deal with the pressures that exist in this country. I encourage as many Deputies as possible to attend the SafeTALK programme on Thursday. If they are not in a position to do so, perhaps their staff might attend instead.

I welcome the Minister of State's repeated commitment to ring-fencing the HSE's mental health budget of €35 million. It is vitally important that we send a signal that we are serious about mental health and that we intend to reduce the number of people who take their own lives each year. I welcome the Minister of State's comments about the stigma associated with mental health matters. One of the reasons I am in favour of the SafeTALK course is that it ensures as many people as possible in the community are aware of the problem of suicide. If more people talk about and highlight this problem, it will surely be prevented in the future. We need to send a serious signal that we are determined to reduce the scourge of suicide in our communities.

I thank the Deputy. I agree with him that we need to talk about this matter every time we get an opportunity to do so. It is no longer a hidden subject. We have to get rid of the taboo that surrounds it. We need to start breaking the silence that is causing the stigma, which in turn is preventing people from reaching out for help. When people decide to reach out, we need to be able to point them in the direction of the help that is offered by those who have been trained in programmes like ASIST and SafeTALK. Sometimes we have to provide that help ourselves. I thank the Deputy again. The more we can talk about this matter, the better.

Sport and Recreational Development

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important topic. I refer to the recent resignation from a Government high level co-ordinating group of the president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, Mr. Pat Hickey. The group was established to find ways in which Ireland could capitalise on the fact that next year's Olympic Games are being held in London. In particular, it was charged with identifying and pursuing business and tourism opportunities. I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, when I say I am disappointed that the Minister of State with line responsibility for this area is not in the House. When this endeavour was instigated, the Government indicated that senior Ministers and Ministers of State with line responsibility would be in the House on a daily basis. That seems to have slipped. It is unhelpful to this process, which is about giving Opposition Deputies an opportunity to question the relevant Minister in some detail about specific matters. With the greatest respect to the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, who is very competent and well-versed in his own area, it is clear that he cannot be expected to respond to me in the kind of detail I am seeking today. I am not making a negative reference to the Minister of State when I make that point.

I am extremely concerned about some of the comments made by Mr. Hickey in the letter of resignation he sent to the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Ring. He said he was "disillusioned" with the level of progress being made by the London 2012 co-ordinating group. He referred to the group as a "toothless talking shop". He said it has achieved nothing, in essence, over the past two years. That is a damning indictment of the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Ring, and the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Sport, Deputy Varadkar. We were all happy when a senior official like Mr. Hickey, who has considerable experience, took a position on the co-ordinating group. He brought with him his network of contacts around the world. We had high hopes when this group was established by the former Minister, John O'Donoghue, to co-ordinate the roles of sport and tourism in assisting the promotion of Ireland's efforts and endeavours in this regard.

During statements on sport in the Seanad in early October, the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, said he was chairing a high level co-ordinating group which is identifying opportunities for Ireland across the sports, tourism, cultural and enterprise sectors from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Minister of State mentioned that tourism opportunities were being pursued. The president of the Olympic Council of Ireland, Mr. Pat Hickey, seemed to be suggesting the opposite when he said — I do not want to be repetitive — that it is a "toothless talking shop". The previous Government was accused of establishing various quangos that had little or no effect and no capacity to intervene in important areas. This country's proximity to the host country of the 2012 Olympic Games should be a startling opportunity. However, we seem to be failing miserably to capitalise on it. My understanding is that many national delegations have already made arrangements for their teams. Various incentives have been offered by England. These countries are taking up opportunities in the host country. It seems ludicrous that we have failed in a real way to capitalise on that and thereby benefit the country from a long-term perspective.

We need urgent clarity from the Government on the progress of the high level London 2012 co-ordinating group. We want the Minister of State to clarify or outline the number of Irish cultural events, for example, that will take place in London next year. Can he give details of the different measures that will be taken to promote Ireland as a destination for those attending the Olympic Games? I do not expect the Minister of State to be able to answer my questions but I will pose them anyway. Have the Minister of State with responsibility for sport and the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, been in contact with any of the delegations? Has face-to-face contact been made with the delegations from around the world that will attend the Olympic Games in London? Have the Minister or the Minister of State contacted the relevant sports ministers in other countries and jurisdictions by telephone or in person? Has the Government taken a hands-on approach to encouraging teams to base themselves in Ireland and thereby benefit this country during the important phase I have mentioned?

I am replying on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, who is the chair of the London 2012 co-ordinating group. As the Minister of State is in Brussels for a meeting of European sports ministers today, he cannot respond to the Deputy in person. The high level London 2012 co-ordinating group, which was established in 2009, is looking at opportunities for Ireland across the sports, tourism, cultural and enterprise sectors that arise from the proximity of next year's Olympic and Paralympic Games in London. The group comprises representatives of the Irish Sports Council, Paralympics Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, the Arts Council, Culture Ireland, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. A letter from Mr. Hickey advising of his resignation from the London 2012 co-ordinating group was received by the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, last week. The Minister of State responded to Mr. Hickey on 24 November last to thank him for his contribution to the group since its inception. While the Minister notes Mr. Hickey's views regarding the group, he believes the group has been most effective in its brief to identify opportunities across all sectors that can benefit from the London games. The discussions of the London 2012 co-ordinating group are taking into account the current economic situation and the findings of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics task force report, which was published in 2009.

The taskforce report made several recommendations arising from an audit carried out of high quality sports facilities in Ireland and the findings of a report by Indecon, International Economic Consultants, on the economic evaluation of the benefit to the island of Ireland of the London Olympic Games. It concluded the largest potential benefits of the games were in the enterprise and tourism sectors and these are being actively pursued. Enterprise Ireland is pursuing opportunities for Irish business and to date, Irish companies have secured over €300 million worth of contracts relating to the games.

The tourism agencies are working closely with a range of partners at home and overseas to maximise the tourism opportunities. Tourism Ireland is working with several official agencies and official sponsors of the Olympic Games to bring incentive and corporate meetings to Ireland during the games. Several familiarisation visits have taken place and further visits are planned to secure this lucrative business. Tourism Ireland is continuing to pursue this area with the key agencies in London.

To secure additional business for Ireland both as a result of displacement and additional long-haul opportunities, Tourism Ireland is working closely with tour operators in all markets. The visa waiver scheme presents additional opportunities which are being exploited. Tourism Ireland is also working with the official operators in several markets to assist them in offering package extensions to Ireland for their clients who are attending the games. The agency is also working on an extensive consumer campaign during 2012 to target displaced Londoners and those wishing to escape the games. These are just a number of the areas that Tourism Ireland, in conjunction with the London 2012 co-ordinating group, is exploring to maximise the potential from the games.

A proposal was made to Tourism Ireland on the Ireland House concept raised by Mr. Hickey, seeking funding of between €50,000 and €300,000, which was evaluated. Tourism Ireland considers this proposal would not make sense for the organisation as a stand-alone project or did not justify an investment of this scale by the taxpayer, particularly in the current budgetary conditions.

The potential to attract international athletes to train in Ireland in the lead-up to the games is another issue that the co-ordinating group has been pursuing. Several international teams, including the US synchronised swimming team and the UK Paralympic swimming team, have chosen the National Aquatic Centre as a training base, a reflection of the world-class calibre of this facility.

The Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport is working on attracting other teams to train here and has prepared a CD outlining the facilities available in Ireland which has been distributed to all embassies abroad and to national Olympic committees around the world. A difficulty that arises in attracting teams is that the UK is offering financial incentives to international teams to train there in the lead up to the games and it is not possible to provide such incentives here.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

Another recent positive development around the London games is that the Irish Hockey Association has secured the hosting rights for a men's Olympic qualifying tournament which will be held at the National Hockey Stadium in UCD next March. This event will give Irish people a flavour of London 2012 and will enhance the Irish hockey team's opportunity to qualify for the games.

The cultural agencies are also developing a number of proposals for a cultural programme around the games. I have given a brief outline of the wide range of issues that the London 2012 co-ordinating group is considering. The group will continue to meet regularly over the next year to ensure the various initiatives already agreed by the group are brought to fruition.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, for his frank position but it is not adequate that the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, is not present in the Chamber.

This co-ordinating group seems to have identified opportunities arising from the London 2012 Olympic Games. Unfortunately, many people can sit there and identify opportunities. What is needed is an action plan to exploit these. On what Mr. Hickey has said, this is not happening and the group is just a toothless talking shop. Opportunities that existed have been lost.

The Olympic Games will begin in nine months. Due to the detailed planning involved for teams and even spectators, many have already decided their itineraries without including Ireland. The horse has bolted; we are gone past the notion of sending out CDs. Sending around Foster and Allen CDs to national Olympic committees is ridiculous. With the relative size of its budget, a local authority puts together CDs to promote its county. For the State to do so is an appalling and disappointing approach. It speaks volumes of the so-called hands-on approach of the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Deputy Varadkar. We want the Government to provide an action plan. We need the Minister to sell this country as a location for Olympic teams to his various counterparts across the world.

I do not know if Foster and Allen were involved in the production of the CD but I would not like Deputy Dooley to get the impression this is the sole action of the co-ordinating group. Enterprise Ireland secured more than €300 million worth of contracts, a substantial outcome. There is considerable communication between the Minister and embassies abroad in selling Ireland as a destination, particularly for training in the lead-up to the games. We have been successful in attracting two teams already. It must be remembered, however, we are competing with the UK which offers £25,000 to each team which decides to locate in the UK. That is a difficult incentive to compete with in a time when we are faced with major budgetary constraints.

I do not agree the horse has bolted. The co-ordinating group meets regularly and will do so right up to the start of the games. The group is scheduled to meet Tuesday next. It is being most proactive in identifying any opportunity that may arise. Its results to date indicate its efforts have been successful. It gives the hope that they will have similar positive results in the run-up to the games.

The Minister of State, Deputy Ring, would have been quite happy to respond personally to the Deputy on this matter in the Chamber this afternoon. However, just as Deputy Dooley stressed the importance of Ministers going abroad to sell the country, the Minister of State is in Brussels at a meeting for European sports Ministers. I am sure he will use every opportunity available to him to sell Ireland as a destination for Olympic teams and spectators.

Schools Building Projects

For the record, Foster and Allen are a great Westmeath group.

Coosan national school was originally built at its current site on the outskirts of Athlone in 1964 as a two-teacher country school. In 1987, five new classes were built while the original two classrooms were converted into a general purpose room. The current school consists of the main building, housing five mainstream classes, one language and two resource teachers with the general purpose room now again being used as a classroom. A further eight mainstream classes, along with one language, one learning support and one resource teacher, are in prefabs.

In 2005, the school enrolment stood at 247. Now it is 351, a 42% increase. Of the 351 pupils, 226, 64.5%, are being educated in prefabs. Three of these prefabs are being rented at an annual cost to the Department of Education and Skills in excess of €32,000. Two were purchased by the school's board of management and six are the property of the Department. The school no longer has any form of indoor activities area — no gym, no hall, nowhere for band practice or assembly.

The growth in enrolment is a direct result of increased housing development in the school's catchment area. Growth in school-going numbers is expected to continue over the next four to five years as many young families have moved into the area.

Having been originally sanctioned by the Department for development of a new 16-classroom school on the present site in January 2007 and with a design team having been appointed subject to Department approval, the process was put on hold due to "progression of all projects being reviewed under restructuring of the multi-annual building programme budget" in January 2008. In other words, this was due to a lack of funding and the design team was not ratified.

Communication between the Department and the school continued over the following two years, with the appointment of a departmental architect to the project and, eventually, in September 2010, the approval was reactivated and the board of management was advised by the Department to enter the process of appointing a design team under new guidelines. The team was duly contracted in accordance with the Department's requirements in January 2011. The team has presented reports to the Department to the point of completion of stage 1 of the development. Subject to departmental approval, the school is ready to seek planning permission from Westmeath County Council. In light of recent announcements regarding the Government's capital programme, as it relates to primary school developments, can the Minister of State update the House on the intention of the Department to proceed with the development of this national school?

I am replying to this topical issue on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter, as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and to clarify the current position in regard to Coosan national school, County Westmeath.

The school authority submitted an application for major capital funding in 1999. As part of the assessment process, a project is assigned a band rating under published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. These criteria were devised following consultation with the education partners. There are four band ratings overall, of which band one is the highest and band four the lowest. The current major project for Coosan national school has been assigned a band rating of 1.1

My Department is forecasting an increase of more than 45,000 primary pupils by the start of the 2017-18 school year. The delivery of new schools together with extension projects to meet the needs of our increasing population of school going children, will be the main focus for capital investment in the coming years. The primary aim will be to ensure every child has access to a school place. The Government's medium-term infrastructure and capital investment framework, which was published this month, includes an allocation for education capital of in excess of €2.2 billion over the five years of the plan — an average annual allocation of approximately €440 million. The investment for the next five years will provide more than 100,000 permanent school places of which 80,000 will be additional school places; the remainder will be replacement of temporary or unsatisfactory accommodation. This substantial investment will result in more than 11% of the total school population benefiting from new permanent places delivered between 2012 and 2016.

Coosan national school has 13 teachers and it had 341 pupils enrolled in the 2010-11 school year. Enrolments have increased by 24% in the school over the past five years. The brief for the major capital project for the school will provide a new 16-classroom school and a two-classroom special needs unit on the existing site. The site is approximately 4.75 acres and it is located north of the gateway town of Athlone. The existing school is a single storey structure constructed in 1953. The project is currently at an early stage of architectural planning. The design team was appointed in February 2011. Officials from the planning and building unit of my Department met with the board of management as the client for the project and its design team in May to expedite the preliminary design process.

The board of management and its design team are currently finalising the stage 1, initial sketch design report, which includes examining all design options on the site to facilitate the delivery of the required accommodation. The design team has advised that all options to be considered will comply with my Department's technical requirements. As part of the stage 1, the board of management and its design team have also held pre-planning discussions with the local authority. Upon completion, the stage 1 report will be submitted by the board of management to my Department for technical review. Thereafter, and assuming no issues arise, the next steps for the project will be the completion of stage 2(a), developed sketch design, and stage 2(b), which will include applications for planning permission, disability access certificate and fire safety certificate.

The Minister has announced his intention to publish details of the school building programme for 2012 early next month. Early in the new year, the Department will publish a five-year plan outlining the projects to be constructed in that time. All school building projects, including that for Coosan national school, will be considered as part of this process.

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. It is encouraging but the cost of prefabricated units at €32,000 is astronomical. I would like this school to be part of the schools building programme for 2012 and not just to be considered as part of the process.

I concur wholeheartedly with the Deputy's assessment of the resources spent on prefabricated units across the school network. The Minister is undertaking a major programme of construction which will, hopefully, negate the need to rent such units in the future. Towards the end of the Government's term, there will be a significant reduction in the number of prefabricated units throughout the country.

I take on board the Deputy's concerns about Coosan national school and I undertake to pass them on to the Minister.

I thank the Minister of State.

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