Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 16 Jun 2015

Vol. 882 No. 3

Topical Issue Debate

Educational Disadvantage

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for selecting this matter and I thank the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, for attending.

Everybody acknowledges that the DEIS programme to combat disadvantage in schools at primary and post-primary level has been a significant success since its introduction. Under the DEIS programme additional resources have been made available to the relevant primary and post-primary schools to deal with disadvantage. All Members also accept the importance of identifying areas of significant disadvantage in both urban and rural areas, which is done under the DEIS programme, measuring the level of disadvantage in as scientific a manner as possible and providing the type of resources that are necessary to combat that disadvantage. We accept that society benefits enormously from retaining children who come from a disadvantaged background in education and ensuring that they can maximise their potential while within the education system.

The issue is that the DEIS programme has effectively been closed down since approximately 2011. The Minister did not do it; her predecessor was somewhat involved in the process. The outcome of the closure of the DEIS programme to new entrants means that newly developed schools, schools that have merged and newly built schools have not been in a position to avail of the resources available to other schools previously existing in the DEIS programme. It is difficult to quantify the number of schools at issue. I estimate approximately 30 new primary schools were built between 2011 and 2013, but I am not sure how many post-primary schools have been developed from 2011 to now.

I have a certain interest in this because I chaired the board of a post-primary community school created through the amalgamation of three post-primary schools, two of which had disadvantaged or DEIS status. It is virtually incomprehensible that, although the feeder schools to this school have DEIS status and two of the schools that formed part of the new entity had DEIS status, the new entity itself does not. There is something fundamentally unfair, unreasonable and wrong about this.

I understand that the Minister is undertaking a review and that she has set up an interdepartmental working group to ensure a joined-up approach to the delivery of services. She has set up a technical group to develop a revised identification process for schools that might be brought into whatever new system is created.

The students from disadvantaged backgrounds need the intervention now. That they have been without that intervention since 2011 is offensive. That the Department is setting up some sort of framework to examine how they might be included in the future will inevitably give rise to undesirable circumstances. The students who are going through primary school and will subsequently go through post-primary school will have only one chance of availing of supports but if those supports are not in place now, they will not be able to avail of them.

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Jan O'Sullivan)

I thank Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl for raising this issue. On a point of clarification, it was long before 2011 that schools were no longer allowed enter the DEIS scheme. In fact, very few were admitted after 2005. There was a very small number admitted up to 2009. After that, the scheme has not reopened for new schools.

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Was Deputy Ruairí Quinn not going to give it the chop altogether?

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan

The aim of the DEIS programme is to ensure the educational needs of children and young people from disadvantaged communities are prioritised and effectively addressed. As the Deputy may be aware, last month saw the publication of a report, Learning from the Evaluation of DEIS, which was commissioned by my Department from the ESRI. This report assesses the main findings of research and evaluations carried out to date on the DEIS programme. This research was conducted by the Educational Research Centre and the inspectorate of my Department. It reviews other Irish and international related research on educational disadvantage and provides advice to inform future policy direction on educational disadvantage. The report highlights some of the encouraging findings concerning the performance of schools catering for the highest concentrations of educational disadvantage. A change in approach within DEIS schools is evident, with a significant improvement in planning for teaching and learning and in setting targets for achievement. There has been a significant improvement over time in literacy test scores among students in designated disadvantaged primary schools. Levels of non-attendance between urban primary schools and non-DEIS urban schools have narrowed.

Following the publication of the ESRI report, I announced a process for the renewal of the DEIS programme. I have already commenced consultation with the education partners to inform the development of appropriate measures to continue to support those at risk of poor educational outcomes. Submissions are expected to be returned to my Department within the next week.

Socioeconomic differences in educational outcomes cannot be viewed in isolation from the broader social context. The interconnectedness of different domains of children's lives points to the importance of joined-up thinking between educational policy and broader social policy. Therefore, I am also establishing an interdepartmental working group to ensure a joined-up approach to the delivery of services in future policy on educational disadvantage.

A technical working group will consider what eligibility criteria are now appropriate to re-identify the level of need in schools. This work will take place over the course of the 2015-16 school year. The outcome of this process will form part of an overall proposal for the delivery of future interventions to tackle educational disadvantage. Any revised identification process for schools will be clearly set out and communicated to schools. All schools that meet the set criteria will be included.

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl

I commend the Minister on what she is proposing to do. Nobody could disagree with her proposals but, meanwhile back at the ranch, children are going through primary and post-primary schools that warrant DEIS classification but which do not have the resources required. She is effectively saying to the students she will not be able to do anything for them and that they will have to continue within their primary or post-primary schools under such circumstances, despite there being a cohort of students in DEIS-categorised schools that she will look after. She is implying she will look after children in the non-DEIS schools at some time in the future when the commissioned reports are brought forward.

I examined data on one of the schools only today. An analysis of the second-year students in that school showed that 77% were at or below the 50th percentile in verbal reasoning. Some 76% of the students in third year were at or below the 50th percentile. We all know the importance being attributed to mathematics. With regard to numerical ability in the school in question, 87% of the students in the second year were at or below the 50th percentile, while 82% of the students in third year were below the 50th percentile. We have got to do something for children in such circumstances.

When one couples the failure to expand and develop the DEIS programme to keep pace with the expansion of schools with the fact that the Department took away the guidance support service that so many schools had, one realises a dreadful disservice is being done to disadvantaged students, in particular.

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan

I remind Deputy Ó Fearghaíl again that after the DEIS scheme was set up in 2005, a handful of schools got in up to 2009. After 2009, no schools got in. The kinds of schools the Deputy is talking about, which were amalgamated and so on, could not get in either from 2009.

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl

The Minister should change it. It is not good enough.

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan

That is precisely why I have decided to change it. We have to produce figures to determine which should be in and which should be out.

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl

What is happening to children in the meantime?

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan

We have to decide on the criteria.

New schools that were founded since 2009 did not get in either. Therefore, there is a problem. I am addressing it but it will take time to identify exactly which schools should be included and which should not. We need to ensure we provide the funding that is necessary. Inevitably, there will be more schools coming in. I do not want to cut the budgets of schools that are already in the DEIS scheme; nobody in this House would want to do so. Therefore, I will have to identify the funding that will be required for the schools that will be eligible under the new procedures. However, we have started work on this already and will work as quickly as we can. Doing the work within one year is difficult enough. It is a tight deadline. There are very detailed technical specifications that have to be worked out. We will do the work in the timeframe and announce our decision as soon as we can.

I have a very strong commitment to educational disadvantage and always have had. I want to ensure that we include as many schools as possible in the DEIS scheme so we can have more equality of opportunity for all children in schools.

Literacy Programmes

Deputy Patrick O'Donovan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter and the Minister for Education and Skills for attending.

Last Friday I attended a presentation of certificates in the Limerick Education Centre, with which the Minister will be very familiar. The certificates were for teachers who have recently obtained a qualification to deliver the Reading Recovery programme. As the Minister will know, this is an early intervention programme offered to children in senior infants and first class to improve their literacy. The participants have an obvious need of help of a concerted one-to-one nature. The programme has been in operation for a number of years. In excess of 20,000 children have benefited from it since its initiation and there is widespread support for it. In the recent past, the Department of Education and Skills has sanctioned the provision of Reading Recovery to non-DEIS schools. This follows on from the previous debate.

The main issue concerns the training of Reading Recovery teachers and those teachers who are on secondment being returned to their posts after five years. This leaves a gap in respect of the ability of education centres like the Limerick Education Centre to train Reading Recovery teachers. It is estimated that there are seven leaders. An extra two leaders would be able to train an additional 28 teachers for schools across the country. This would benefit in or around 200 children. Anywhere between 280 and 300 children would potentially benefit from this.

I know that a huge number of schools has already signalled that they would like to be able to get into this. I think in excess of 155 non-DEIS schools have applied. While the Department has allowed non-DEIS schools to enter the Reading Recovery programme, the fact that we are short of Reading Recovery leaders because they are returning to the classroom to carry out functions in their base schools means we do not have the capability to train them.

I do not believe anybody really disputes the merits of Reading Recovery. If one saw the five children who were present last Friday afternoon when I visited Marshal House in Limerick, listened to their parents talk about the change in confidence and behaviour the programme has brought about and listened to their teachers talk about the transition those children can make from first class up through the ranks without having recourse to learning support and resource, which is the usual safety net that is left when children move from first class and do not have the basic literacy levels attained, one could see that this crutch is removed. This is an 18 week programme. It is a short stint and is a very focused, intensive and parent-supported scheme that works.

Unfortunately, if a child is in a small rural school or an urban non-DEIS school, they may not have access to it. A child can be educationally disadvantaged in any location in the country. Their postal address does not dictate whether they will or will not be disadvantaged. Going back to the previous discussion, the model of assigning resources, be they for Reading Recovery, learning support or resource, based on a postal address is a bit outdated. A child can be every bit as socially and educationally disadvantaged in a very affluent area as they can be in a so-called socially deprived area. Could we get those Reading Recovery leaders in place to put the necessary teachers out into the schools through our education centres to deliver this programme?

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan

I have met with some Reading Recovery teachers and certainly their dedication and commitment to the programme is evident when one speaks to them. I am pleased to have been given the opportunity by the Deputy to clarify the position on literacy supports for primary schools. My Department's policy in this area is outlined in Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life - The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy for Children and Young People

2011-2020. The strategy required that a greater emphasis be placed on literacy and numeracy within a balanced curriculum across all schools. This strategy has also been prioritised for investment. This year, an additional €6 million has been provided for the implementation of the strategy, bringing the annual budget to €13.8 million.

I am pleased to inform the House that standards in the areas of literacy and numeracy have shown substantial improvement over the period of the strategy. A recent study by the independent Educational Research Centre, ERC, found that overall performance in reading and mathematics by students in second and sixth classes was significantly higher than in the 2009 assessments. These are the first significant improvements recorded by the national assessments in over 30 years.

Targets for improvement in the national literacy and numeracy strategy 2011-20 were thought to be ambitious in 2011 when they were set. These results show that the targets have already been met for the overall student population well in advance of the 2020 target. The strategy places a special emphasis on the needs of schools serving areas of disadvantage.

Reading Recovery is a literacy programme offered to DEIS band 1 and band 2 schools only as part of Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion, which was launched in May 2005. Reading Recovery is an early intervention designed to provide children who have particular difficulties in reading and writing after their first year in primary school with a period of intensive individualised teaching support. Schools in these areas were invited to have teachers trained in the programme. In some areas where training took place in local cluster groups, additional schools were facilitated in participating in the programme. My Department has prioritised support for the programme and has spent over €4 million on it over the past five years. Current plans provide that support will continue for over 500 schools involved in the programme. Since 2010, over 20,000 students have benefited from the provision of the programme.

The recent ERC evaluation of the DEIS programme made positive findings concerning the impact of the programme on student learning. While the intensive phase of training is completed, my Department support services continue to offer training where required, for example, new teachers.

In conclusion, support for literacy will continue to be a priority for my Department. The evidence shows that the current approach is yielding good results for student learning. Significant investment is being made across all schools. However, my Department is anxious that we continue to target schools with the greatest need with most supports, particularly in a climate of constrained budgets.

Deputy Patrick O'Donovan

On a day when the country is talking about literacy through the exploits of Leopold Bloom, giving a child the ability to read independently is probably one of the greatest gifts one can give. It is better than a situation I experienced recently. A man in his fifties arrived at my constituency office. I gave him a form for a housing adaptation grant and he told me he could not fill it out because he was illiterate. The only other person who knew that was his wife. He had reared a family and put them through university. Early intervention does work and I acknowledge the Minister's reply in respect of that.

The Minister mentioned DEIS band 1 and band 2 schools. She knows the make up of my constituency as she is in a neighbouring constituency. She knows that there are very few DEIS schools there. However, a child can be as educationally and socially disadvantaged in a small rural school or a small urban school as they can be in an inner-city school or on an island. One does not need to be fixed in a particular postal address box to be educationally disadvantaged. This is the point the teachers and I are making. If one likens it to learning support and resource, can one imagine the hullabaloo that would occur if the Department said that only DEIS band 1 and band 2 schools were to get learning support and resources. There would be uproar from parents and rightly so.

This programme works. We saw children last Friday from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds and diverse backgrounds. They had very little in common other than the difficulty they had in their early capture of literacy. The programme worked. It does not matter whether one is the child of a millionaire in Sandymount or the child of an unemployed person in Ballydehob. It is a very short programme held during the late part of senior infants and the early part of first class. The Minister referred to second class and she is dead right because that is the point where these issues are measured. That is the point when the MICRA-T and the SIGMA-T are administered in schools and the child is essentially categorised as needing learning support and resource or not. It is too late at that stage, which is why I am asking that every child, regardless of where they come from, their parents' occupation or their school, would have access to a programme like this that will allow them to enjoy what the rest of take for granted, namely, the ability to pick up something and read it independently.

Deputy Jan O'Sullivan

I again assert my commitment to this. I have been to a lot of primary schools where I have seen children in a variety of programmes, including Reading Recovery, that are focused on small groups of children - I know that in this case, it is one to one - and that ensure they have the opportunity at that very early and crucial stage to learn how to read. I agree with the Deputy that it is a very basic skill that every person in the country should have.

I think the Deputy said there are seven Reading Recovery teacher leaders in place currently. They deliver the training to teachers so the teachers go out and work in the schools. I will certainly look at those numbers. Obviously, it would be subject to finding the resources. I certainly agree with the Deputy that it is a programme that has delivered very good results so we will have a look at it.

Post Office Network

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue of post offices. I express my disappointment that a question I had tabled to the Minister earlier was disallowed for some technical reason. It should have been answered.

The interim report on post offices has just been released. Its authors have analysed all of the relevant issues. I wish to make a number of comments on the report. The Department of Social Protection has changed its policy such that forms sent from it are encouraging people not to uses post offices. The whole-of-government approach, from which this decision emanates, was announced prior to the European and local elections in 2014. Mr. Bobby Kerr took over stewardship of the review of the post office network in February this year. While I welcome the work he has done, surely if there is a whole-of-government approach, it cannot be right for the Department to distribute forms which suggest the post office network should not be the first port of call for the collection of social welfare payments. That is a very dangerous step. Social welfare payments and the fees payable thereon are the fundamental rock on which the post office network rests. It is totally unacceptable, therefore, for the Government to talk ad nauseam about the importance of ensuring the future of the post office network while the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection is authorising her Department to undermine the network in such a shameful way. We had a Topical Issues debate on the post office network some time ago during which the Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, said the aforementioned forms would not be sent, but that is far from the truth because they are now circulating.

The report makes reference to everyone having a post office within 5 km of his or her home and the fact that we should take this as a basic prerequisite for the future of the post office network. An Post must be obliged, through changes to its memorandum of understanding, to maintain the network as constituted. We have been talking for years about processing motor tax payments in post offices. Responsibility for processing driving licence application forms should have been given to post offices. All Departments should endeavour to increase the number of transactions completed through the post office network.

An Post operates savings and other financial accounts and handles large amounts of money. The main banks have left large tracts of rural Ireland without financial services. Much of the media debate has focused on the move to the digital age and the increased use of the Internet and the challenge this poses for the post office network. The network should be the point of contact between the State and local communities. We must examine in detail what financial services could be offered through the network and An Post should continue to process social welfare payments. It is not good enough for one arm of government to direct people towards banks. They should be able to access their money through An Post in the same way as they would in any bank. The report outlines the challenges that lie ahead. We are at a crossroads in the case of the post office network. We must decide as a people and a state that we are going to support post offices in tangible ways that will have a meaningful effect.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Alex White)

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the day the initial report of the post office network business development group has been published for consultation. I established the group which is led by the entrepreneur Bobby Kerr in January to explore commercial and public service opportunities to secure the future of the post office network. It has found that a disproportionate amount of business is conducted in relatively few of the country's 1,140 post offices. Two thirds of all transactions are conducted in 300 post offices, while a further 48% of post offices account for just 12% of total business. In addition, the post office network is hugely reliant on two contracts, one with the Department of Social Protection and the other with the NTMA. Changing consumer preferences mean that many consumers do not go to the post office any more. The way in which people do business has changed markedly in recent years. This means that post offices must continue to diversify and modernise in order to provide the services that will attract customers. The business development group makes the point that post offices have the potential to thrive if they diversify into areas such as financial services, public service delivery and white labelling. In the coming weeks the group will explore these business areas further.

An Post remains a trusted brand the length and breadth of the country, with 1,140 active company and contractor-operated post offices and 128 postal agents. Approximately 65% of post offices are located in rural areas where they provide important services for local communities. Despite the challenges faced by post offices, the number of closures has fallen dramatically during the lifetime of the Government. There were 24 net closures between 2011 and 2014 compared with 198 between 2007 and 2010. I encourage everyone interested in maintaining the relevance of the post office network to communities to take the opportunity to respond with their views and suggestions during the consultation period which opened today and which will run until 28 July. The initial report and the consultation questions are available on my Department's website. This is a real chance to have an input into the workings of the business development group and represents the best opportunity to place the post office network on a sustainable footing for the future. I look forward to receiving the final report of the group which I expect to receive later this year.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

Of the 24 net closures of post offices, four were on the northern side of my constituency. The most recent was in Milford in north Cork. I made an enormous effort, with officials of An Post, to try to maintain that post office. It was a retrograde step for the community there that the post office franchise was not readvertised.

Has the Minister and officials of his Department met the board of An Post recently? An Post seems to be content to let the network to die out. It is not making any effort to go after new business or offer new products to attract new customers. Has the Minister and his officials met the board with a view to exploring new business opportunities? Has the board taken any initiative in the past year or so in that regard? The Minister announced the whole-of-government approach in April last year and appointed Mr. Bobby Kerr to lead the business development group in January this year. My party will be making a very strong submission in response to the initial report. Has the Minister told the board that he does not want to see more post offices closing and that the company should aggressively go after new business and make sure it is relevant in the digital age in which we live? Communities are desperate to ensure their post offices will be maintained. They believe that if they lose their post office, they will lose the heart of their communities. Where post offices have closed, the heartbeat of communities has been lost. Has the Minister and his officials met the board of An Post recently to challenge it on what it is doing? Postmasters are very concerned about their futures. As elected Members, we must reflect this view very strongly and make sure there will be a viable post office network.

Deputy Alex White

I have met the chairman, the chief executive and the board of An Post. As the Deputy may be aware, Mr. Christoph Mueller has decided to retire from the position of chairman.

We are now in the process of appointing a new chair of An Post, which will happen in the coming weeks. I look forward to the new chair being appointed and the opportunity I will undoubtedly then have to engage with him or her on these important issues.

There is ongoing contact between my officials and An Post on these questions. I reject any suggestion that the policy of either the Government or An Post is to let the post office network fizzle out, to use the phrase the Deputy used. There is no such approach, belief or policy. We cannot conjure up business for post offices; we have to work on it and have a plan to do it. We have to have the kind of expert advice and input that Mr. Bobby Kerr is bringing to the process. We have to have people's ideas and experiences. I look forward to hearing the Deputy's proposals and other proposals from across the House as to the practical steps we can take to allow An Post to attract business, which I have no doubt it can. I have huge confidence in An Post as being a terrific organisation with marvellous roots in communities throughout the country. However, we need to work in a systematic way to ensure business is brought into An Post both from the public sector and the private sector.

I am sure we all have the same interests here. I might be allowed to remark that it is a pity that four, five or six years ago the then Government did not anticipate the kinds of problems we are seeing now. I suggest it would have been possible to anticipate the change in consumer patterns and the manner in which people do business, both in rural and urban areas. It is a pity that some of this work was not done by the previous Government. At least we are now grappling with this issue in a systematic way. We have had very few post office closures compared with the period when the Deputies opposite were in government.

However, the key thing is for us all to work together in a practical and pragmatic way to attract activity into post offices. I am happy to say Mr. Bobby Kerr is leading that process. He gave us the interim report today and I look forward to the discussion on that interim report and then the final report in September.

Water Quality

Deputy Terence Flanagan

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, for his presence here to deal with this issue. Like many of my constituents in Dublin Bay North, I have major concerns about the presence of lead in the water supply. Many of those people are concerned about the negative health effects of lead in the water, in particular that the consumption of lead can affect brain development in young children. Babies in the womb are most at risk according to the HSE and the Environmental Protection Agency. It is an issue that is being raised frequently on the doorsteps in Dublin Bay North.

We know that lead was predominantly used in service connections to buildings and in internal plumbing up to the 1970s. The maximum allowable limit which was 50 micrograms per litre in 2003 was reduced to 10 micrograms per litre in December 2013. It is very unfair that we are asking householders to pay water charges when they are getting the advice that their water is not fit for consumption and they are advised to run their taps for a considerable length of time to flush out their supply before consumption. The Government needs to consider this when it comes to charging people who find themselves in this unfortunate situation.

Some households in Raheny and Clontarf in particular have lead levels far in excess of the EU limit. In one house on Watermill Drive it was measured at 825 micrograms per litre which was massively over the limit of 10 micrograms per litre. People are rightly concerned about their and their children's health. They want the matter addressed urgently by Government. The residents' committee in St. Anne's estate in Dublin Bay North has contacted the Minister to seek a meeting. It is doing everything to help the local residents. The Minister might see it fit to meet those residents who seem to have the highest level of lead in their water supply.

Deputy Barry Cowen

Last week the Minister, Deputy Kelly, informed us that up to 200,000 houses were taking water through lead pipes and that the content of lead contaminating water is at a level that requires those pipes to be replaced. He assured the public that he had prepared and would shortly announce a programme of rectification which would be funded in part-grant form, similar to the septic tank grant qualification method and said funding would be available from January.

On the face of it, this seemed positive, but past experience convinced me to check it out. I raised this issue in June 2014 following the Government's decision to proceed with Irish Water along the lines of Fine Gael's 2009 NewERA document. The then Minister, Commissioner Hogan, had given the distinct impression that a first-fix policy was inclusive of all possibilities. When I asked for confirmation about lead pipes, the answer was not quite forthcoming, possibly because we were facing into a charging scenario that would not be along the lines of €400, €500 or €600 per house and so Irish Water felt it would not have such an extensive first-fix policy.

Last Wednesday I attended Irish Water's clinic in the House with some specific questions further to what the Minister had said. For example, I asked a senior Irish Water official to outline the methodology used to arrive at the figure of 200,000. Was there any scientific basis for the figure? Was there any breakdown of pre-1962 buildings? Was there any breakdown on the villages, towns and cities which have predominantly pre-1962 mixed-use buildings with lead piping? The senior Irish Water official told me there was no scientific basis and no specific methodology was used even though there was ample time and notice of this predicament.

I then asked if there was any correlation between this figure and the metering programme, because the Minister had specifically said it was related. I had feared that was an attempt to justify the €540 million that had been spent on the metering programme with no obvious benefit in the immediate or near future. The answer again was "No".

On the basis of a senior official disputing what the Minister had said, what proposals is he putting to Cabinet in the absence of any methodology or scientific basis for the argument over the amount of pipes that need rectification? That being the case, how can he give a commitment to the people that funding will be in place next January when he has no indication of the extent of that funding, considering he wants to use the methodology used for the septic-tank grant system?

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Paudie Coffey)

I thank the Deputies for the opportunity to outline the position on the matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Kelly.

With effect from 1 January 2014, Irish Water has been responsible for public water services. Under the European Union (Drinking Water) Regulation 2014, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library, suppliers of drinking water are required to ensure that the water supplied complies with the chemical and microbiological parameters set out in the regulations. The maximum allowable value for lead is 10 micrograms per litre, which came into effect in December 2013.

The Environmental Protection Agency is the supervisory authority with responsibility for monitoring Irish Water's compliance with the drinking water regulations. In the event of non-compliance with the quality standards set out in the regulations, the water supplier will investigate the cause in consultation with the EPA and, if a potential risk to human health exists, with the Health Service Executive, to ensure that the appropriate remedial action is taken. A case-by-case approach will be considered by Irish Water, in line with its statutory responsibilities and in recognition of the statutory responsibilities of the HSE and the EPA.

I understand that lead exceedances in the Dublin Bay North constituency have been reported to the EPA arising from samples taken at individual private dwellings. The EPA has indicated to my Department that in each case its investigations have concluded that the appropriate actions were taken and advice was given to the householders concerned. No water restriction has issued under the drinking water regulations to consumers in either of the areas in question.

Irish Water has informed my Department that, having over recent months replaced the approximately 2 km of water mains which contained lead, no part of its estimated 60,000 km of distribution system now contains lead. However, there are a significant number of lead public service pipes between the water mains and the customer stopcock or water meter. Irish Water is identifying the location of such lead service connections during the meter installation programme.

The number of houses currently identified as affected stands at 5%, but this figure is expected to be higher in town centre areas. Irish Water also estimates that there may be a further 30,000 to 40,000 houses with shared lead backyard service connections and it has informed my Department that it intends to invest in public lead pipe replacement schemes, primarily service pipes, including shared backyard service connections, over the next ten years. Irish Water is also reviewing its water treatment processes to ensure it can mitigate the risk in the short term. In line with the provisions of the Water Services Act 2007, responsibility for the maintenance and replacement of the water mains and public side service pipes to the boundary of the property lies with Irish Water or the water supplier, while the owner of a premises is responsible for the maintenance from the boundary, including the internal plumbing.

Last week, the Government approved a national strategy to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water. The strategy was prepared by my Department in consultation with the Department of Health, Irish Water, the HSE and the EPA to assess the scale of the problem and identify measures to mitigate any risks to human health posed by lead in drinking water. Following consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the Minister, Deputy Kelly, will announce details of a grant scheme to assist low-income households with the replacement of lead pipes in their homes and he expects that householders will be able to avail of grants later this year.

Deputy Terence Flanagan

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Families who find themselves in this situation, particularly those with young children, are very concerned about the quality of the drinking water coming into their homes and they require help urgently. A residents committee from the St. Anne's estate, set up to provide information on this situation to householders, contacted the Minister in January asking if it would be possible for an alternative water supply to be provided to their area until such time as the new pipes have been installed and that all of the water in their area, which had the highest reading of 825 micrograms per litre, be tested. Will the Minister meet the committee from the St. Anne's estate in an effort to set their minds at ease?

Replacement of lead pipes is expected to cost €5,000, which is a substantial amount. Not every family has that amount of money. While I welcome the proposed introduction of a grant scheme, as an income limit of €75,000 per household applies, not every household will qualify for the grant. While I accept that Irish Water proposes to replace all lead piping over a ten-year period, any householder who undertakes replacement of pipes servicing their homes will still face problems from the public side because work in that regard might not be completed for up to ten years. Can the Minister of State provide any reassurance to the families concerned?

Deputy Barry Cowen

I, too, thank the Minister of State for his response, on foot of which I have further question. In regard to the Minister's statement that the Government has approved a national strategy to deal with this issue on foot of the scale of the problem having been quantified by various Departments in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, will the Government publish the methodology and scientific basis of that quantification? Perhaps then we would get a indication of what level of funding the Government is providing in the coming year to deal with this issue.

In regard to the grant assistance scheme, in particular in relation to septic tanks, if a constituent comes to me and tells me that his septic tank is overflowing and that it is possibly polluting the watercourse, which, because there is an underground water source in my county, is very possible, I will inform him that a grant scheme has been introduced by Government in respect of which he must apply to the local authority. If, following application to the local authority, he is refused the grant on the basis that to qualify for it his water supply must first fail a test initiated by the local authority on foot of the Government's instruction and he then asks that that test be carried out, the authority might refuse to do so on the basis that the test is only carried out on supply drawn by lots. While there might be 5,000 registered septic tanks in the county of Offaly, only ten inspections will take place. This is akin to having to match six numbers in the lotto to have a test carried out in the first instance before being eligible to apply for the grant. Irish Water has washed its hands of this. If in the scenario outlined there is no grant available, who will pay? The public will eventually pay because Irish Water, the local authorities and the Government are not doing anything to prevent this happening. This is the result of the preparation that went into the establishment of Irish Water in the first instance, prior to which responsibility for all matters such as this lay with the local authorities. To say that things have improved is, unfortunately, not the case. I hope a great deal more thought will be put into any proposal in relation to grant aid to deal with this issue in order that it might actually do what it says on the tin.

Deputy Paudie Coffey

While not wishing to engage in political point-scoring across the House, this is another legacy issue with which this Government has had to deal. These lead pipes have been in existence for generations. Unfortunately, there has been no investigation heretofore of the level now under way, which is a great pity. The matter is now being addressed. I am sure Deputies opposite and all Deputies will welcome that the Minister has given a commitment to introduce a grant scheme to assist low-income households in replacing lead piping.

With effect from 1 January 2014 Irish Water has statutory responsibility for all aspects of public water services planning, delivery and operation and national, regional and local levels, including the delivery of the water services capital infrastructure. Irish Water has indicated that its records show that there is no lead water mains in the system and, therefore, the drinking water leaving treatment plants and distributed to the public water mains meets the requirements of the drinking water regulations in relation to lead. As part of its metering programme, Irish Water has identified significant numbers of lead service connections between the public mains and the customer stopcock and water meter. Irish Water is committed to replacing these over time.

In the case of privately owned premises, the property owners are responsible for maintenance of the internal plumbing. In a joint position paper on lead, published by the Environmental Protection Agency and Health Service Executive in 2013, it is recommended that all lead pipes and plumbing in public and private ownership be replaced over time. The Water Services Act 2007 provides that the owner of a premises is responsible for the maintenance and renewal of the internal water distribution system. A key objective of the national strategy to which I referred is to raise public awareness of potential public health issues arising from the risk of lead in drinking water. As part of that strategy, I will be establishing a new grant scheme to assist low-income households in replacing lead pipes in their homes. The scheme will be administered by the local authorities and be in line with drinking water regulations. The available resources will be prioritised to those areas of highest risk, which is only fair. Funding in 2016 for this measure will be finalised in the context of the coming budget.