Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 20 Jun 2013

Vol. 807 No. 4

Topical Issue Debate

HIV Incidence

Deputy Jerry Buttimer

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue. HIV and AIDS are back in the news for all the wrong reasons. Recently, the HIV in Ireland 2012 Report was published by the HSE's Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HPSC. It indicates a worrying trend in the incidence of HIV that needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency in a concentrated, joined-up way by all of the relevant agencies and non-governmental organisations, NGOs.

In 2012, 341 people were newly diagnosed with HIV, an increase of 7% on 2011, with a crude notification rate of 7.4 per 100,000 of population, 30% higher than the EU-EEA rate of 5.7 per 100,000 population. These trends and statistics are worrying in themselves, but when one analyses them more closely, they highlight an urgent need for action.

Undoubtedly, gay and bisexual men are most likely to acquire HIV. The diagnosis rate in this group increased by 160% between 2005 and 2012, representing 48% of all new HIV cases. This is a key point. The remaining cohort of 52% are not in this category.

Along with an increase in the overall number of diagnoses, the median age for newly diagnosed cases in the group in question has fallen to 32 years, one year younger than the median age for all those newly diagnosed with HIV. This indicates a reluctance among some young men to engage in safe sex practices and, more importantly, to consider greater health challenges. Another significant worry is that gay and bisexual men represent an increasing proportion of diagnosed cases. We must communicate the message to young men in particular that HIV and AIDS remain a risk and can have a catastrophic effect on life. Many people are under the illusion that HIV will no longer kill them and, as a result, do not think sensibly and engage in practices that are less than beneficial to their overall health and welfare.

It is not just gay and bisexual men who are affected by these increasing rates. In 2012, there was a 12% increase in the number of heterosexual cases, from 116 to 130. The lack of awareness and testing leads to late diagnoses. In 10% of cases of people diagnosed with an AIDS defining illness, HIV was diagnosed at the same time. Of these 34 cases, 56% were heterosexual. This is a significant number.

The HPSC's report indicates that the current policy does not reduce the incidence of HIV cases and that there is a need to increase awareness of HIV and sexual health. It is important that we praise and acknowledge the work of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, GLEN, particularly its director of gay HIV strategies, Mr. Tiernan Brady.

While there is no cure for HIV, advanced medical treatments, including combination therapies, can improve a person's quality of life vastly and slow down the progression of the virus, preventing it from continuing to damage the immune system. Although we have moved away from the devastating consequences of the 1980s, serious repercussions for the health of all men remain. As a society, we cannot afford to let an increase in incidence rates continue without the Government taking measures to counteract it.

To address these issues, we must increase awareness, enact a Government strategy involving the Department of Health and NGOs, communicate a message on how infection can be avoided and, more importantly, make young men aware of the risks associated with their actions so that they can be informed when making decisions about protecting themselves.

Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Sean Sherlock)

I thank Deputy Buttimer for raising this Topical Issue. The HPSC collects data on new HIV and AIDS diagnoses. Data for 2012 showed that the total number of HIV infections reported in all years up to 2012 had risen to 6,629. While the annual numbers of newly diagnosed HIV infections had been decreasing since 2008, there was a slight increase in the overall numbers of new HIV diagnoses in 2012, amounting to 7%, as the Deputy stated.

Of the new diagnoses, there were 166 among gay men, the highest number ever recorded in that risk group. This is the predominant mode of transmission of HIV in Ireland.

While some aspects of the prevention agenda have proven successful in the past and have reached large proportions of the population, the statistics continue to show that increasingly people are either not hearing or are choosing to disregard the messages, and are engaging in risky behaviours. We need to deliver targeted prevention programmes in order to address this situation through partnership between non-governmental organisations, NGOs, and the statutory services.

The ongoing high incidence among the MSM group, specifically among the younger MSMs, is a particular cause for concern especially since the MSM group had responded well to awareness and prevention campaigns in the past. Clearly, not only must the messages reach the target audience, but they must make an impact when they do. We must do this in a cost-effective manner that delivers the biggest impact for investment.

The Gay Health Network, GHN, and the HSE ran an awareness campaign specifically focused for men who have sex with men, or MSM. This campaign, Man2Man.ie, was promoted over a 12-month period, from December 2011 to December 2012, and comprised four phases, with key messages developed by a peer youth group facilitated by BeLonG To Youth Services. It is therefore very timely and relevant that tomorrow the HSE and the Gay Health Network will launch the results of the joint national HIV prevention and sexual health awareness programme for men who have sex with men. Subject to resources, it is hoped to extend this awareness campaign. The 11th annual Gay Health Forum programme targets younger MSMs and aims to raise awareness, build self-esteem and equip men to be able to make safer sex choices.

In the area of responsible sexual behaviour, the ongoing stigma attached to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, STIs, is undoubtedly one of the underlying reasons for the ongoing high incidence level of new cases of HIV and other STIs. On the wider issue of sexual health, the Department of Health has established a high level steering group to oversee the drafting of a national sexual health strategy. It will focus on improving sexual health and well-being and will address the surveillance, testing, treatment and prevention of HIV and STIs, crisis pregnancy, and sexual health education and promotion. Moreover, the strategy will be in line with the framework for health and well-being, which provides a policy framework that addresses the wider determinants of health and health inequalities.

Deputy Jerry Buttimer

It is important that we not only develop a high level steering group, but that we have a national sexual health strategy which targets young men in the age group I mentioned. I should put on record that the Gay Men's Health clinic and Gay Health Network, along with GLEN do powerful work in communicating and working with young men.

What cannot be lost in the bureaucratic maze of the Department of Health and the HSE is the fact that there must be outreach between the NGOs, and a joined up kind of thinking. The largest ever level of increase of HIV cases has just happened. There are many reasons for that but one is the complacency that may exist for some young men who feel they are immune from transmission of disease. We must eradicate that mindset and reach out to people.

I welcome the Minister of State's reply. It is about communicating and creating a strategy that has a joined up approach. It is about education and not just about having that high level steering group to report back. We must see the implementation of that strategy which will pay dividends in the long run. It is important that the wider population be aware there is no cure for AIDS or HIV. Some of the drugs and combination therapies will prolong life and ultimately we hope the level of investment will bring about a cure. It is important that we do not become complacent and that we take note of these figures. The figures are people, not just a statistic and a report, but people whose lives are affected as a consequence of the transmission of this disease. It is important that we acknowledge this is an illness that has repercussions on the quality of life for people.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

To reiterate, I agree wholeheartedly with the points made by Deputy Buttimer, specifically his point that 52% of those concerned are from the heterosexual community. We must bear that in mind in determining strategies.

I am not aware of the membership of the high level group affected but I hope it is reflective of all communities. To reinforce the point made by Deputy Buttimer, there is a very strong role for NGOs to play in the health promotion agenda and in making progress on this issue. I acknowledge the points made.

There is a role for this House, too, to be proactive in this area through the health committee and by whatever means possible. This is something that affects all of us.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan

Most people agree that the winter of 2012-13 was one of the most miserable, wet and cold in living memory. For that reason, about four weeks ago, when bright sunny weather finally arrived, most citizens and families did their best to enjoy the wonderful outdoor facilities with which our country is blessed. For many families in my constituency of Dublin Bay North, that meant flocking to Clontarf, Dollymount, Sutton, Howth and Portmarnock.

Unfortunately, in recent years, serious concerns have been expressed by my Portmarnock and Howth constituents about the misuse of alcohol and anti­social behaviour by a small minority of visitors on a number of brilliant sunny days. This spoiled the enjoyment of most visitors and created threatening and unpleasant situations for both the visitors and residents of Portmarnock and Howth. Some three years ago, for example, there were disturbing scenes on Balscadden Beach in Howth on a beautiful sunny Sunday. Last year, during the June bank holiday weekend, I heard at first hand the concerns of Portmarnock residents when a small section of the 30,000, perhaps even 40,000, visitors to Portmarnock's famous Velvet Strand brought large quantities of alcohol onto the strand and created a threatening and dangerous situation.

In the current welcome spell of good weather there have been further episodes of bad behaviour in both locations. On Thursday 30 May, a large gathering of young people, apparently organised via Facebook and Twitter, descended on the Velvet Strand. Unfortunately, some of these visitors consumed alcohol and behaved in a manner which upset both the families visiting the beach and Portmarnock residents. On the days leading up to and on Saturday, 8 June, a similar phenomenon occurred at Howth Harbour and environs. I witnessed a vast crowd of young people on the West Pier in Howth on the Saturday evening, with a strong force of gardaí deployed to protect visiting families, children and local residents. Marine leisure enthusiasts, small boat owners and parents of young families enjoying Howth Harbour on that and previous evenings told me how threatened and upset they felt. Although young people are very welcome to enjoy the coastal facilities, they may not realise how intimidating for parents and children enjoying the seaside is the sudden appearance and concentration of hundreds and even thousands of young people in a small location.

I warmly commend our local Garda superintendents, Ronan Galligan in Portmarnock and Joe O'Connor in Howth, and Chief Superintendent Frank Clerkin of the Garda North Division on their dedicated, painstaking and intelligent approach to protecting residents and visitors and for addressing the serious problems I have outlined. The Fingal joint policing committee, of which I am a member, has also discussed the issue and local policing plans have been deployed in the past few years.

An Garda Síochána, Fingal County Council, Dublin Bus and Irish Rail, public representatives, residents and business associations of Howth and Portmarnock need to liaise closely to ensure there is no repetition of anti-social behaviour later this summer or in any future year. There is a particular responsibility on the grocery and drinks industry to prevent vast quantities of alcohol being brought to coastal locations. At meeting after meeting with constituents, bitter complaints are made about the irresponsibility of some multiple supermarkets, off-licences and garages in selling large quantities of alcohol to young people. Gardaí have reported that significant seizures of alcohol were made at strategic Garda checkpoints along the entrances to Portmarnock Beach on 30 May.

It is clear that we need to strengthen sale of alcohol legislation to include full product identification of retailers and a strict sanctioned code of conduct for sales to young people during festivals or good weather weekends. Fingal County Council and Dublin City Council might also look at what additional food and light beverage facilities can be developed in the coastal areas. Although social media provide wonderful means of communication, they must also be aware of their responsibilities in keeping young people safe when they get together in vast numbers in such locations.

In spite of the Minister of State's references to the forthcoming budget, which keep us in apprehension and fear, the last three or four weeks of good weather have cheered up the country. The great majority of citizens have enjoyed the weather in a happy and responsible relaxing manner at locations such as Portmarnock and Howth. Unfortunately, through anti-social and threatening behaviour, a small minority has spoiled this for them. I ask the Minister for Justice and Equality and other Ministers to ensure there is no recurrence.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who is attending an engagement in Brussels in his capacity as Minister for Defence. I thank Deputy Broughan for raising a matter of significant public importance.

Extended periods of good weather are no excuse for the type of anti-social behaviour referred to by Deputy. The Minister has been informed by the Garda Commissioner that sufficient Garda resources were available and deployed to deal with all the incidents arising. The House will be aware that the Commissioner is responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel and transport, throughout the organisation and the Minister has no direct function in this. Allocation of resources is constantly monitored by the Commissioner and his senior management in the context of demographics, crime trends, policing needs and other operational strategies on a district, divisional and regional level to ensure optimal use of Garda resources.

A regional operation plan called Operation Irene has commenced in the Dublin metropolitan region incorporating a range of policing actions to be implemented at identified hot spots, such as public parks, laneways and other open spaces, which may experience an upsurge in anti-social behaviour associated with alcohol consumption with the advent of milder weather, longer evenings and school holidays. The operation commenced on 1 June 2013 and will continue until 31 August 2013. Specifically in regard to the incidents at Howth and Portmarnock, gardaí established checkpoints to identify persons bringing alcohol into the areas in question. A number of arrests were made and significant quantities of alcohol were seized. There was close co-operation with local businesses and in one instance a store owner agreed to remove alcohol from sale, which is be commended.

A range of strong legislative provisions is available to the Garda to combat anti-social behaviour. The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2003 provides gardaí with powers to deal with anti-social conduct attributable to excessive drinking, including exclusion orders in respect of premises and closure orders for licensed premises and catering outlets following anti-social behaviour related offences. The Intoxicating Liquor Act 2008 provides for the seizure of alcohol in the possession of a person under the age of 18 which a garda suspects is for consumption in a public place. Gardaí may also seize alcohol to forestall public disorder or damage to property. Fixed charge notices may be issued for the offences of intoxication in a public place or disorderly conduct in a public place. This option has the benefit of a more efficient use of Garda and court resources, while also allowing an offender who complies with the notice to avoid a possible criminal record. While the is satisfied that sufficient legislative powers are in place to deal with these issues, he will keep the matter under close review in consultation with the Commissioner.

Garda management is satisfied that a full and comprehensive policing service is being delivered to the communities in the area concerned and that current structures in place meet the requirements of the delivery of an effective and efficient policing service. The Minister is determined that Garda resources will be used in the best, most effective and efficient manner. He remains confident that the primary Garda objective of combating crime will continue to be achieved and that notwithstanding the pressure on the public finances it will be possible for the force to operate to the optimum benefit of our communities in a manner that will facilitate the prevention and detection of offences.

Deputy Thomas P. Broughan

The Minister of State has indicated that adequate resources are provided but the Fingal coastline is unique in that it contains several major beach and harbour resorts in close proximity to heavily populated areas. Social media is a new factor in that an invitation can be sent to significant numbers of people to congregate in a particular place. Garda resources need to be strengthened in light of these factors.

When is it intended to bring forward further legislation on the misselling of alcohol? Will the Government bite the bullet on minimum pricing, as has been done in Scotland and when will quantity discounts be banned? Finally, will the issue of sponsorship of sports by drinks companies be addressed given that such sponsorship is mainly targeted at young people?

I ask the Minister of State to raise with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, and the Minister of State at that Department, Deputy Alan Kelly, the concerns expressed about Dublin Bus and Irish Rail by Portmarnock Community Council and others, which have asked why it is not possible to prevent people from transporting large quantities of alcohol on buses and trains.

I would also expect Fingal County Council to arrange meetings to plan for the remainder of what I hope will be a sunny summer. My colleagues on the council, Cian O'Callaghan and Judy Dunne, are prominent in this regard.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

To be frank and honest with the Deputy, as I am not the line Minister I am not in a position to answer his specific questions about legislation on minimum pricing and transport. I will, however, refer his questions to the relevant Ministers.

The Portmarnock and Howth areas are patrolled from Malahide and Howth Garda station. Malahide Garda station is in the Coolock Garda district, while Howth Garda station is in the Raheny district. These districts in turn form part of the Dublin metropolitan region north Garda division, the personnel strength of which was 733 on 30 April 2013. The personnel strength of Raheny and Coolock districts on 30 April were 176 and 221, respectively. The personnel strength of Malahide and Howth Garda stations were 36 and 40, respectively, on 30 April. While Malahide Garda station is not open on a 24-hour basis, this does not in any way diminish the policing service to the area in question because it frees up gardaí for operational policing.

Special Educational Needs Expenditure

Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly

Yesterday the National Council for Special Education announced a cut of 10% in support hours for children with special needs. This brings the total in cuts per child to 25% since 2010. The INTO has argued that the cuts are even worse than this figure suggests because the Department of Education and Skills and the council are hiding the true extent of cuts from parents. The needs of these children have not decreased by 25%. Some time ago, when we were trying to reverse the cuts to special needs assistants, I met a parent in Leinster House who told me that an official from whom she was trying to get support asked her if the child was still autistic.

In County Wicklow, nearly 400 hours will be cut at primary and post-primary level. The figures on the level of need in County Wicklow are not available.

We know that need is growing by 10% per annum nationally, and I have no reason to believe the position is different in County Wicklow.

I know as well as any Deputy that money is tight. However, public money is being put to a variety of uses. For example, hundreds of millions of euro have been used to meet the cost of pay increments in the public sector over the same period and the Health Service Executive is buying drugs at several times the price being paid by the British National Health Service. It is not acceptable to force children with special needs to pay for the sins of politicians and bankers. I call on the Government, specifically the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, to immediately announce that the budget will be scaled up to ensure resource hours are not cut.

Deputy Joan Collins

I mean no offence to the Minister of State in pointing out that I submitted this matter with a view to having the Minister for Education and Skills come before the House to discuss it. His failure to do so highlights the need for Dáil reform.

As Deputy Donnelly pointed out, support hours for children with special educational needs are about to be cut again, this time by 10%. With an additional 4,100 children who need resources about to start school, the Government has indicated it will not fund the additional resources they require and will instead maintain spending on special educational needs at current levels. This decision will mean that a child who would have received five hours' support from a special needs assistant in 2010 will receive only 3 hours and 45 minutes of SNA support from next September onwards.

This savage, sickening and unacceptable cut has been condemned across the board, including by the INTO, the joint managerial body which represents secondary schools and Down Syndrome Ireland. It is being made at a time when backbench Deputies are recommending giving children with Down's syndrome access to special needs assistants. The Minister must announce in the next day or two that he intends to reverse the cut. This must not be done at the expense of other services, as occurred when maintenance grants were cut to fund the cost of reversing cuts to DEIS schools. The Government must provide the additional moneys required to fund special needs education for children.

At Stewarts hospital, resources will not be provided for children moving into adult services because the HSE refuses to fund education for 18 year olds. This is another case of people being refused the support they need. The authorities are aware that the young people in question have been in the system for the past 18 years, yet they are refusing to provide sufficient resources to allow them to move into adult services. The position is disgraceful.

Deputy Mick Wallace

I have been contacted by parents of children attending Scoil Mhuire in Wexford who are shocked and saddened by the decision to cut the school's allocation of special needs assistants by 2.5 full-time positions, which follows a cut of six SNAs a couple of years ago. This is the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the ASD unit in Scoil Mhuire. At that time, the Department agreed to provide one-to-one SNA support for each child enrolled with a diagnosis of autism. The ASD unit at Scoil Mhuire became the most successful unit of its kind in the country and one of the most successful in Europe. It succeeded in integrating 57% of its pupils into full-time mainstream classes in a period when the national average was 19%.

In 2011, the National Council for Special Education, following a review of the allocation of special needs assistants to the unit, axed six SNA positions, citing as the reason that pupils were presenting with diminished care needs. The parents of the children in the unit did not agree with the NCSE's assessment but were denied a right of appeal. Two years later, and for the first time since the unit was opened, while some children are partially integrated into mainstream classes, not one child will move from the ASD unit into a mainstream class this September. Effectively, therefore, full-time integration has declined from 57% to 0% in two years.

Parents have nothing but praise for staff in Scoil Mhuire who have done everything possible to make the system work. The challenges facing them, however, are unbearable. Children who are partially integrated may not be in a position to continue with partial integration because the latest cut of 2.5 SNAs will make it impossible for the few remaining special needs assistants to leave the ASD unit to support the children in question. The ASD unit was attached to Scoil Mhuire for the specific purpose of enabling children with autism to enter mainstream classes. Its sole purpose has been all but removed. Denying a child access to an education is one of the forms of abuse specified in the Government's Children First guidelines. The absence of SNA support will mean that education will no longer be available for some children. It would be hard to make this up.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue as it gives me an opportunity to clarify the position on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. While I acknowledge the point made by Deputy Joan Collins regarding the presence of the senior Minister, it should be noted that I am a Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills.

The Government has maintained the €1.3 billion of annual funding for additional teaching resources and special needs assistants, SNAs, to support children with special educational needs at a time when there is a requirement to make expenditure savings across a range of areas. As the Tánaiste outlined to the House this morning, two out of every five adults working in our schools are solely dedicated to catering for the needs of children with special educational needs. We have no doubt about the value of the service that these staff provide and the value children and their parents derive from it. However, we are not in a position to dramatically increase the number of special needs assistants or any other service for reasons of which everyone is aware.

No one can doubt the Government's commitment to special education. We have maintained the number of resource teachers and special needs assistants in the system since coming into office, despite enormous budgetary pressures in education and every other front-line service. That said, as a public representative, I am acutely aware of the concerns that have been expressed by parents and teachers in the media in the last 48 hours. We need to be clear in all debates, both in this House and elsewhere, about what these changes mean to ensure we avoid creating any unnecessary distress or alarm.

The provision for SNA support for the next school year will remain at exactly the same level as the provision for the current school year. In its announcement the National Council for Special Education pointed to an increase in demand for resource teaching posts of the order of slightly more than 10%. Deputies will be aware that children with learning support and special educational needs are supported through learning support provision and NCSE-allocated resource teachers. In primary schools, learning support is provided through the general allocation model and similar direct provision is made in post-primary schools. These supports have been maintained for this year.

The year-on-year growth in the overall student population is approximately 1.3%. This year, the demand for additional resource teachers from the NCSE has grown by more than 10%. While the NCSE is not yet in a position to provide a clear analysis of the underlying reasons for the very large increase in demand this year, it is clear that some of this increased demand arises from the migration of students from learning support provision to NCSE-allocated resource teacher support. This has created a significant additional pressure on the resources available to the NCSE. However, it should also have reduced, by equal measure, the pressure on the learning support resources already allocated to schools.

Schools are encouraged to make maximum use of their resource and learning support teaching allocations through appropriate grouping and pairing of children, as appropriate, to ensure children do not lose out on teaching time. This is a vital point for parents to hear because an increase in the use of more collaborative, team-based approaches to teaching can help ensure that no child will face a significant reduction in the amount of time spent with his or her resource teacher.

Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly

I know the Minister of State did not make this decision, but it is very difficult to speak calmly and with parliamentary language about what is happening in the country. Listening to what the Minister of State said, one would not know anything was wrong. He said the Government was maintaining funding. Let us at least do the children and their parents the decency of being honest about this - it is a cut. For the children with special needs and their parents, it is a cut of 25%, and for the other children, who are in a class where there is a child with special needs, and their parents it is a cut of 25%.

The social welfare bill goes up and down as people sign on and go back to work. If the Government reduced the total amount of social welfare support by half because twice the number of people signed on, it would be a cut. I do not believe this cut is necessary. I believe the money could be found elsewhere. I see other places which are less deserving of support than children with special needs and their parents. Let us find the money and let us please at least acknowledge what is happening to these children and their parents, and call it what it is - per child it is a cut.

Deputy Joan Collins

I agree with Deputy Donnelly. It is very hard for me to hold my temper when I hear the calculated response from the Government the Minister of State represents in trying to play a three-card trick and claim there is not a cut. One of today's newspapers highlighted the case of the Sacred Heart senior national school in Killinarden in Tallaght which applied for 90 resource teaching hours for September but has been given only 63 hours - the same as this year - despite having four more pupils with this entitlement. This year the school has seven special needs assistants, SNAs, which will be cut next year to six even though there are more pupils with an entitlement. That is plainly a cut. The Minister of State cannot dress it up as anything else.

I received an e-mail from Liscarroll national school in County Cork. One particular student because of his needs attends school solely for his resource hours times which were already cut this year. This student will now require to stay at home even longer because of the cuts imposed. I hope the Labour backbench Deputies will stand up for the rights of these children as much as they are standing up for the rights of the Seanad next door that should be put in the dustbin of history. The same set of Deputies are not backing what is needed desperately to support these young children and their parents. It is scandalous to see this happening and we see no outcry from those backbenchers who are supposed to be defending children's rights.

Deputy Mick Wallace

The parents who rang me today found it difficult to listen to the Tánaiste as he played with words this morning because it just did not come across well. We know that SNA support has been very costly and still is. However, it is something that Ireland can be proud of because it sent out a signal that we were a caring society and prioritised those who most needed our help. Are we as caring a society today as we were a few years ago? The manner in which we are organising our society is beginning to leave much to be desired. Things could be different. We set priorities and make choices. We are cutting resources from people who most need our help and it is not fair.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

I wish to reiterate two points. The year-on-year growth in the overall student population is 1.3% and the demand for additional teaching resources from the NCSE has grown by 10%. If we are to be serious about this issue, we must interpret that dynamic, which has not yet been done. The NCSE is not yet in a position to provide a clear analysis of the underlying reasons for the large increase in demand this year.

Deputy Joan Collins

These are people at the coalface.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

There is no overall reduction in resource teacher numbers for the coming school year. The number of posts available to the National Council for Special Education for allocation is 5,265, which is the same as last year. We must ensure we provide the service. That 5,265 is in addition to the 4,450 learning support teachers provided to all schools to support children with less complex learning needs, giving a total of 9,950 teachers for children with special educational needs. We need to hear from the NCSE as to why there is an increase in the overall population of 1.3% and the correlation between that and the massive increase in demand. That needs to be interpreted in some way.

We must also ensure we get the best possible use of the €1.3 billion spent annually to support children with special educational needs. That is why we asked the NCSE last year to provide the policy advice on how students with special educational needs should be supported in future. One of the recommendations made by the NCSE in its policy advice is that a new model should be developed for the allocation of additional teaching resources to mainstream schools based on the profiled need of each school. On foot of this advice, the Minister asked the NCSE to proceed immediately to establish a working group to develop a proposal for consideration of a revised allocation mechanism as set out in the principal recommendation of the report. The aim of this new mechanism will be to ensure all learning support and resource teacher posts are allocated to schools in line with the schools' educational profile and need for such support rather than using other mechanisms such as the number of students in a school or the number of class teachers in a school.

We are conscious there are challenges, and in making any changes to our supports for children with special educational needs, we also need to protect the gains we have made. Based on the allocation of resources from 1993 to now, there has been a massive increase in the level of support by the State for this area. I wish to give assurance that consultation will be a key aspect in the implementation of any of the recommendations.

Deputy Joan Collins

I have never heard anything so callous in my life. The Minister should talk and listen to the people on the coalface in secondary and primary schools, and not the NCSE.

Decline in Town Centres

Deputy Robert Troy

I take it the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, has drawn the short straw as he is responding to all the Topical Issues this evening. With no disrespect to him - he is a Minister of State I admire and he has been obliging to me in the past and is very approachable - this is disgraceful on a day when we talk about political reform. The Government promised that the Topical Issues Debate would be taken earlier in the day and would be answered by the Minister responsible for the issue raised.

Having said that, I welcome the opportunity to put on the record of the House the crisis facing many of our towns. Every day businesses are closing down. I see the Minister of State nodding in agreement because I am sure it is happening in his constituency as it is happening in mine. Less money is in circulation and yet business costs are increasing as opposed to decreasing.

The Government is doing absolutely nothing to address this. Businesses believe, rightly, that this Government is not doing anything to help them. Prior to the last general election, the Minister of State's party made a great play by saying it would abolish upward-only rent reviews. The Labour Party has reneged on this. It is a major issue for many in the retail sector.

There is a major issue with commercial rates and the method of calculating commercial rates is archaic and outdated. It needs to be addressed now. I have spoken to people in businesses in Mullingar, Athlone and Longford. They all tell me that this is one of their biggest overheads, an overhead that is totally and utterly controlled by the State. Energy costs have risen significantly. There have been double-digit increases in recent years in this area and the Government has allowed the Commission for Energy Regulation to pass on those increases to businesses.

I have been contacted by people in several businesses who are at their wits' end. They are not getting any support from the State or from the banks. These are men and women who have invested their time, money and many of their own resources to create jobs in our towns, but they are not being supported. The Government introduced the Living City Initiative for the city of Limerick only. Will the Government consider expanding that in order that businesses in all towns will be able to benefit if they reinvest in the community?

The Minister of State may not be able to answer my next question. Where do Mullingar, Athlone and Tullamore stand in respect of the national spatial strategy? It was announced that the Government was reviewing the national spatial strategy but businesses in those areas are unsure when the review will be completed and what the outcome will be.

Longford town has been totally forgotten by this Government. It has had no IDA visits in the past two years. Despite the lack of support from the State, the local authority, local businesses and the local chamber of commerce are doing their best. They are running a project, supported by the Leader programme, as part of which last year they renovated 48 derelict buildings and unoccupied shops to ensure that the physical appearance of the town was kept well. This year, the project had a further 37 premises to work on, but what has happened? The Leader project funding that they had been reliant on has been cut. The Leader programme was a great support for the town, supporting market days and such initiatives.

What is the Government going to do? I acknowledge that the Government has had success in the foreign direct investment area and in attracting multinationals to the country. However, for the past two and half years the Government has taken its eye off the ball in respect of small and medium-sized businesses, indigenous firms and family businesses on the streets of every town throughout the country. What is the Government is going to do? The Government must prioritise investment and support job creation in this vital sector.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

I am rather disappointed because I thought there might be some imaginative ideas from the Deputy opposite in respect of discussing the actions the Government is taking to address the decline of town centres throughout the country. The Deputy referred to towns within his constituency which are probably similar in character to those in my constituency. I have analysed the situation in the towns I familiar with. During the boom years section 23 investments prevailed and in some instances one could argue these were put together by the party opposite. Now, there is a lack of occupancy in many of the buildings and there are empty storefronts throughout the country as a result of those taxation policies and the ill-informed Government policies of the past. They have led us to the point where many of our towns throughout the country have been hollowed out. If we are to have a reasonable and rational debate on this issue we should not start from the premise that economic history or the decline started only two years ago. We need to go back to 2007 and 2008 onwards in order to figure out where towns are now.

I will give the response that I have been given on the rates issue. The action programme proposes rates harmonisation to cater for differences between annual rates on valuation of towns and counties. The approach of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to rates harmonisation seeks to ensure that, on the one hand, harmonisation does not lead to significant net loss of revenue in individual counties with consequential implications for services, and, on the other, increases in rates do not impact negatively on business and employment. In this regard local authorities have already been asked by the Department by way of circular to exercise restraint, and, where possible, reduce commercial rates in 2013. In fairness to many local authorities, this is what they have done or they have maintained rates at pre-existing levels.

There are several issues. Why have town centres declined? There significant property rights in this country such that it is very difficult for a town council or a local authority to intervene where a building is not occupied or where it is falling into decline. The property rights of the owner seem to take precedence over the wider social responsibility in respect of the upkeep of the premises. That is one challenge for local authorities in terms of attracting new activity to the main street. There is also the fact that in any town throughout Ireland at the moment there is an increasing number of courier vans delivering goods that have been purchased online. This is having a serious impact in terms of high street retail sales as well. One need only discuss the matter with one's peers, friends and family to get a sense of how much activity is being driven online nowadays.

The Deputy made a point about IDA visits. I have no specific knowledge in respect of IDA visits in the areas he referred to but I know from my experience in my region that there have been significant IDA visits. However, often the decision is made by the relevant person, business or company that they wish to locate to larger conurbations because of the particular type of business that is coming into Ireland at the moment, especially in the information and communications technology sector. In this sector, younger companies and younger people are looking to move to clusters around larger conurbations because it is deemed to be more attractive than locating to more regional towns such as my town of Mallow. That is a major challenge as well.

Domestic demand has flat-lined. Therefore, to say that the Government is at fault for the flat-lining of domestic demand makes no sense. The Government, in fairness, is trying to create the jobs and replenish the jobs that were lost. A total of 250,000 jobs were lost between 2008 and 2011. Nobody can convince me that if one puts all one's eggs in the construction basket and if that fails, then it would not have a detrimental effect on retail or the shape of towns and retail businesses within towns. We must create the jobs to create domestic demand and we are making a good fist of it although it is taking time.

We must be more imaginative in terms of how the planning guidelines, which were issued recently, will impact. We must ensure, as per the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, that the planning system plays a key role in supporting competitiveness in the retail sector in order that there is an advancing choice for the consumer while promoting and supporting the vitality and viability of city and town centres and contributing to a high standard of urban design.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Joanna Tuffy)

The Minister of State is over time. Could he quickly complete his response?

Deputy Sean Sherlock

The objective of the guidelines in the manual is to provide a clear framework for the continued development of the retail sector in a way that provides certainty for retailers and communities by strengthening national planning policy requirements for all planning authorities. The remainder of the response will be available to the Deputy. I will respond to Deputy Troy’s supplementary questions.

Deputy Robert Troy

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. As is the current theme of the Government, it is a hands-off approach. It is not the Government’s fault; it is someone else’s fault.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

What ideas does Deputy Troy have?

Deputy Robert Troy

The Minister of State should allow me to speak for my two minutes.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

I will stay here for a while.

Deputy Robert Troy

I thank the Minister of State. I have acknowledged that there is less money in circulation and a reduction in domestic demand, but I also asked the Minister to acknowledge the State’s responsibility and the costs the State can control such as rates. The payment of rates should be based on a business’s ability to pay according to profits made not on an archaic basis such as the size of a premises. It was a core commitment of the Labour Party before the general election to deal with upward-only rent reviews but that did not happen. Energy costs have been allowed to increase, not just in the past two years but prior to that also. It should not be allowed. They are the three major costs associated with doing business in this country.

I asked about the spatial strategy for Athlone, Tullamore and Mullingar but I do not expect the Minister of State to respond today. He might refer the matter to the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O’Sullivan. I also inquired whether it would be possible to roll out the living city initiative that has been introduced in Limerick to larger towns throughout the country. I further inquired about the detrimental effect cuts to Leader funding is having on businesses and chambers of commerce that are trying to do their best for businesses in towns.

The Minister of State asked what constructive proposals Fianna Fáil had made. We launched a document called Streets Ahead, which is a new vision for keeping Irish towns alive.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

When was that?

Deputy Robert Troy

It was launched four or five weeks ago by our party spokesperson on the environment, Deputy Barry Cowen.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

How long was Fianna Fáil in government?

Deputy Robert Troy

The Minister of State asked me for suggestions and I am giving him some. I was not in government.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

Can Deputy Troy not understand the cynicism on this side of the House when we hear proposals of that nature?

Deputy Robert Troy

The Minister of State is in government now. Businesses are suffering. The Minister of State sought proposals and I am making them. First, the Government must review and amend how valuations and rates are charged. If, according to the advice of the Attorney General, it is necessary to introduce a constitutional amendment to bring about the abolition of upward-only rent reviews then the Government should do so.

The Government must change the parking charges structure to encourage people into town centres. It must look at the building usage strategy and develop an initiative to encourage people to take on empty shops. We must change the planning laws to encourage town centre development. That should be done.

We were fortunate that the town of Mullingar did not allow large shopping centres on the outskirts of the town because when that happened it had a detrimental effect on town centres. I acknowledge that mistakes were made but two wrongs do not make a right. We must learn from the mistakes and support businesses which find the situation difficult. Family businesses that are providing employment for up to ten people must be supported. The biggest costs such businesses are facing at the moment are costs that are controlled by the Government, namely, rates, upward-only rent reviews and energy costs. All I ask is that those matters would be given the priority they deserve in the coming months because the people affected deserve support.

Deputy Sean Sherlock

The memorandum of understanding, MOU, signed by the troika introduced the property tax. Fianna Fáil negotiated the agreement with the troika, which is a sovereign agreement. I do not know the Deputy’s position on the property tax but it should be a significant revenue stream for local authorities and should redress the balance in terms of the burden over many decades that has been placed on businesses in regard to the annual rate of valuation. It will be an opportunity, for instance, for councillors of the Deputy’s party to have a clear policy document and prerogative on how it would be implemented at municipal or local authority level. I look forward to seeing some of those ideas within my own local authority, Cork County Council.

The cost of parking is competitive in most towns around the country because there is good interaction between business and local authorities and many businesses are represented on local authorities. The issue is how one regenerates towns. I accept Deputy Troy’s point about energy costs, rates and ability to pay but the singular issue relates to demand. It will take some time to reverse the economic morass in which we find ourselves, such that we can create the jobs to ensure a sufficient level of retail demand. The approach is demand led. I acknowledge the points made about coming forward with ideas for empty shops but because of property rights the local authority cannot force specific types of retail activity into specific areas. It is a difficult thing to do.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Joanna Tuffy)

I must ask the Minister of State-----

Deputy Sean Sherlock

I beg your indulgence, Acting Chairman. We saw the demise of development contributions which were a major source of income for local authorities during the boom years. Cork County Council spent wisely on building up social infrastructure but the funding has practically disappeared. I agree that one can no longer rely on rate payers – businesspeople – to fund local government. That is why I look forward to Fianna Fáil members of local authorities supporting and striking the new rate on the property tax when the time comes in terms of the deviation that is allowable in the legislation to support the type of activity to which Deputy Troy refers.

The Dáil adjourned at 8.20 p.m. until 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 25 June 2013.