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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 26 Jan 2017

Vol. 936 No. 2

Topical Issue Debate

Garda Districts

A decision was made in 2012 by the then Garda Commissioner with the consent of the Minister for Justice and Equality. At the time, I described it as the worst decision made in policing in County Wexford since independence. I will provide the Minister of State with some background.

The current Garda district of Gorey and Enniscorthy is now the Enniscorthy Garda district. I held a meeting at the time with the assistant commissioner, Jack Nolan. Our figures showed a population of 85,000. Let us put that in context. That is larger than the populations of counties Carlow, Longford, Westmeath, Leitrim, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo, Cavan, Offaly or Laois. Some of those counties have a single Garda district. Carlow has a population of 55,000, Leitrim has a population of 32,000 and Laois has 78,000. The Gorey Garda district has a population of 85,000. It is too large.

We have a problem with crime and with the area being the largest growth area in the county by a long way. We also have a problem with it being a significant tourist area. I will set out another statistic. In the 2011 census, the Courtown area registered a population of 5,500 and some 4,000 homes, 52% of which were unoccupied. There are difficulties and problems. The decision dating from 2012 on the part of the Minister for Justice and Equality at the time and the Garda Commissioner at the time was terrible.

All five Deputies and Senators at the time said that it was a bad idea. Moreover, today, all five sitting Deputies want to have the Gorey Garda district reinstated to the status it had prior to the decision in 2012. At the time there was one district in Gorey, one district in Enniscorthy, one superintendent and various ancillary staff.

The original decision in 2012 was to reduce all staff above the rank of sergeant. The civilian staff, four in number, along with the inspector were to go with the superintendent as well. It was correct that that did not happen and I believe that was a good decision. Now, what is badly required is to go the rest of the way, which means the full reinstatement of the district with a 24-hour station, a superintendent, inspectors, sergeants and the appropriate number of gardaí for a fast-growing area.

The population of the Gorey area increased at twice the national average in the period 2011 to 2016. It also increased at 2.5 times the rate of growth for County Wexford as a whole. We know that 52% of the population increase in County Wexford has been in the Gorey area alone. The area is growing fast and strongly.

It is now time to rescind the decision going back to 2012 made in line with the programme for Government. It is now time to reinstate the Gorey Garda district fully. We need one district, one superintendent and one or two inspectors, as appropriate, depending on the population base. We need to do this correctly. It was a bad mistake and now is the time to rectify it. The decision is now with the Garda authorities.

On behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. The Tánaiste sends her apologies because, unfortunately, she cannot be here today.

The Deputy will be aware that following the completion by An Garda Síochána of a comprehensive review of its district and station network, the Garda district and station rationalisation programme gave rise to the closure of 139 Garda stations in 2012 and 2013 and the amalgamation of 32 districts into 16 larger districts. That review was undertaken with the objective of identifying opportunities to introduce strategic reforms to enhance service delivery, increase efficiency and streamline practices within the organisation. The review concluded that a revised district and station network commensurate with the organisation's resource base would best meet public demand.

The Tánaiste has been informed by the Garda authorities that the closures have allowed front-line gardaí to be managed and deployed with greater mobility and flexibility and in a more focused fashion, especially with regard to various targeted police operations.

In November 2013, the Gorey district was amalgamated with the Enniscorthy district, resulting in an enlarged Enniscorthy district. I understand that no station within the former Gorey district was closed. The Garda authorities have confirmed to the Tánaiste that the district officer at Enniscorthy, in conjunction with the inspector at Gorey, ensures that the policing arrangements within the Gorey area are effectively managed on an ongoing basis and that there is no diminution in the policing service provided within the context of existing available resources in the area. Local Garda management continues to monitor the allocation of resources closely to ensure optimum use is made of Garda resources and to ensure the best possible policing service continues to be provided to the public. This situation will be kept under review.

Having said that, the Government has recognised in A Programme for a Partnership Government that community policing is the embodiment of An Garda Síochána. The Government envisages the force providing a means of recognising that every community, urban and rural, has its own concerns and expectations. The document commits the Government to ensuring visible, effective and responsive policing in every community, including through ensuring the most minimal response times possible.

In support of this objective, the Deputy will be aware that the Policing Authority has been asked to oversee a review of the dispersal of Garda stations in rural areas as well as in developing urban and suburban areas. The purpose is to ensure an efficient and optimum geographical distribution of stations and minimal response times. The review will take account of station closures since 2012. I note what the Deputy said about the growth of the area in question.

These measures cannot be viewed in isolation from the Government's overarching commitment to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. In furtherance of these aims, in July 2016 the Government approved the proposal from the Tánaiste for an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Garda Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. In addition, the Government's capital plan for 2016-21 provides €205 million for investment in Garda information and communications infrastructure and €46 million for investment in the Garda fleet. Taken together, I believe the above measures reinforce the Government's commitment to enabling significant reform in An Garda Síochána and to allowing the force to provide a high-profile and visible policing service for our communities.

There was not much in that reply about Garda district amalgamations. That was what my question was about. That is an ongoing criticism I make about the quality of answers.

More than half the population of the county is in one district. Wexford is a big county. I will provide some statistics. There has been a 100% increase in drugs detected in the three years since the districts were merged. Theft is up by 25%.

The area is challenged. I see drug dealing on the streets in broad daylight. I see it outside my office on Main Street in Gorey. Ever since the decision was made I have campaigned vigorously to put one person in charge of this area. That someone is in charge of this area operating from another district means he does not do as good a job as a person from the area.

By all accounts, Operation Thor has turned out to be a success. There is high visibility and the Minister of State has touched on that. However, there is a more highly visible way in which to impact on criminality in the area where I live. It is to ensure a superintendent is in charge of the district. In that way, the district looks after itself. I do not mean to be disrespectful to anyone but someone from somewhere else will look after his primary area first. Gorey is now the second largest town in Wexford. The population in Courtown is in the district too, and that area has the fifth largest population in Wexford. Enniscorthy town is in the larger district. The current district is too big and unwieldy. A mistake was made. I appeal to the Minister of State to bring my strongly held views back to the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality, the Garda authorities and others.

The joint policing committee in Wexford has met. It is fully supportive of the reinstatement of the Garda district. As I said, all of the five sitting Wexford Deputies fully support this. The closure of the district was a mistake. It is now time to rectify that mistake in line with the programme for Government, which promised to review the 2012 consolidation of Garda districts.

I again thank the Deputy for bringing this matter to the floor of the House. As I said in my initial response, the Garda district and station rationalisation programme took place. That followed the completion by the Garda of a comprehensive review of its district and station network. That gave rise to the amalgamation of 32 districts into 16 larger districts, as I said. That was done to ensure that the organisation’s resource base would best meet public demand. The Tánaiste has been advised that the revised structures have allowed front-line gardaí to be managed and deployed with greater mobility and flexibility and in a more focused fashion, particularly with regard to various targeted operations. However, as I also said, the Policing Authority has been asked to oversee a review of, among other things, the dispersal of Garda stations in rural areas and in developing urban and suburban areas, as the Deputy has described. I certainly will bring this matter to the attention of the Tánaiste as the Deputy has requested.

The creation of an enlarged Enniscorthy district in November 2013 did not give rise to the closure of any station in the former Gorey district. The Tánaiste has been assured that there is diminution in the policing service provided within the context of its existing available resources in the area. In addition, local Garda management keeps under review the allocation of resources in the area as well. As I informed the Deputy, the Government is fully committed, in line with the programme for Government, to ensuring visible, effective and responsive policing in every community, including the most minimum response times possible. This commitment is underscored by the Government's accelerated recruitment programme and the ongoing major investment in the Garda fleet and the ICT infrastructure of An Garda Síochána, which will facilitate a provision of high visibility and mobile policing services to communities. Taken together with the ongoing Garda modernisation renewal programme, these measures will better equip An Garda Síochána and facilitate the provision of a 21st century policing service that fully meets the expectation of our communities. I will bring the matter to the attention of the Tánaiste. I am sure that the Policing Authority and the Garda Commissioner will also be taking note of what the Deputy has raised today.

With the indulgence of the Chairman, I welcome to the Visitors Gallery, from the area in which I live, a school group from St. Colman's community college, Midleton.

HSE Funding

I raise the issue of funding for Tiglin rehabilitation centre in Ashford, County Wicklow. I know that the Minister of State is aware of this matter and has had the opportunity to visit Tiglin in the past. Tiglin was established in about 2008 in a fairly remote part of County Wicklow. For anybody who has had the opportunity to visit the facility, there has been a transformation in the past seven, eight or nine years since its very humble and modest beginnings. The centre provides residential rehabilitation programmes for both males and females in addiction. Its programmes are very holistic and complete. It is not just about dealing with addiction but also about trying to equip people to go back into normal life, giving them skills - whether that is in terms of doing courses in manual handling, HACCP, first aid or parenting - and eventually helping them with housing and so forth. It takes a very rounded and holistic approach. I had the opportunity at one point to sit in the Minister of State's seat. From the visits I paid to Tiglin, I was really impressed with the work done there.

Like many organisations dealing with residential rehabilitation, Tiglin is working on a shoestring budget. Funding is insecure from year to year and is in most cases dependent on voluntary contributions and local fundraising efforts. Residential rehabilitation does not come cheap. On the other hand, the outcomes are very good. The cost of having somebody continuing in addiction is much higher than treating a person who can live a life free from it. I do not want to get into the details now - as they can be discussed later - but the outcomes arrived at in respect of those who access Tiglin have been proven to be extremely good. I have met people from my area who have gone through the process, having been in residential care in Tiglin for a year, and who have moved on with their lives, do not use any substances and are free of addiction. They now lead different lifestyles.

I am raising this issue today because, for the past couple of years, Tiglin has received funding from different HSE regions. The problem is that the services it provides cannot be turned on and off. A few weeks ago, right at the end of last year, the centre received a letter from the HSE Dublin north - I think it is in CHO area 9 - effectively advising it that no funding would be forthcoming this year. In my view, that is a very unreasonable thing to do with no advance warning and no preparation time given. From the point of view of the rehabilitation service, it is not in a position to close its doors and tell people to go home as it has no place for them. That would be unthinkable.

The amount of funding involved in recent years was €50,000. The underlying concern is that, because of where Tiglin is located, it is not a locally-based resource. In other words, it does not just pick people from its own immediate catchment area. People from all over Dublin are using the service. When I made inquiries - the Minister of State is probably aware of this - I discovered that one quarter of the people who are in residential care in Tiglin are from the HSE Dublin north catchment area. It has chosen this year to withdraw its entire funding, which is only €50,000. That money would not cover 20% of the cost of dealing with the cohort from the area in question who are using the service. However, the loss of that €50,000 has put an unbearable strain on Tiglin. What is worse is that HSE Dublin north has suggested to the organisers, the CEO and those running Tiglin that they should apply to a different HSE region for funding. That is not compatible. There needs to be joined-up thinking. The organisation does not have the wherewithal or the capability to apply to various parts of the HSE in order to seek funding. It is looking for a joined-up response from the Minister of State and the HSE regarding the provision of funding. The latter should - at a minimum - be provided at the same level as has been the case up to now, particularly as the demand for the services offered at the centre is increasing rather than decreasing.

I thank Deputy Curran for raising the issue of the provision of funding for Tiglin residential rehabilitation services. As the Deputy is acutely aware, problem drug use continues to be one of the most significant challenges facing our country and is becoming more complex, with a wider range of drugs issues and abuse. I would like to emphasise this Government’s commitment and ongoing support, in line with the national drugs strategy, for initiatives to tackle the drug problem. The overall objective of the strategy is to tackle the harm caused to individuals and society by the misuse of drugs. The strategy emphasises the need to provide opportunities for people to move on from illicit drug use to a drug-free life where that is achievable.

In the context of the Government’s commitment to addressing the drugs issue, an additional €3 million in funding has been allocated to the HSE this year for addiction services. The increased budget includes funding for a pilot supervised injection facility, more detox places and improved access to treatment services for under eighteens and others.

With regard to the specific issue raised by the Deputy, I am advised that the HSE provided over €390,000 in funding to Tiglin in 2016. An additional grant of €50,000 was also provided by the HSE last year in respect of the provision of residential drug treatment episodes. This funding was issued by the HSE on a once-off basis and Tiglin was informed that it was not a recurring payment. I understand that the overall funding for residential drug treatment services currently provided by Tiglin is being examined by the HSE in the context of the national unit cost study. This study will highlight the funding required to maintain an appropriate level of service to individuals receiving residential treatment services funded by the HSE. This will involve an assessment of the needs of service users.

The HSE has assured me that the allocation of available resources to residential drug treatment services this year will be informed by the outcome of the unit cost study. Finally, I emphasise to the Deputy that the Government is committed to putting the national drugs strategy in place this year in order to provide leadership and a renewed response to address the drug problem in Ireland. It is expected that the drug strategy will build on the harm-reducing approach of previous policies.

I made some inquiries about the withdrawal of funding before I came down to the House. As I said, it was a once-off payment by the HSE CHO area 9. I emphasise to the Deputy that I have been to Tiglin a few times now. Nothing can describe the work that is done out there with people who find themselves trapped in drug addiction.

I assure Deputy Curran that I will examine why the funding was withdrawn. The Deputy made a very good point about the fact that many of the people who are in Tiglin are actually from the CHO area so I will continue to follow up on that.

I am glad the Minister of State replied to this matter because she understands the issue involved and there is no need for me to explain in detail. She has obviously looked into it and been given a note. Perhaps she can clarify one or two points for me.

The Minister of State indicated that an additional grant of €50,000 was also provided by the HSE in 2016. I am advised by Tiglin that it has received correspondence about its business request for additional funding for clients attending the centre and confirming that the €50,000 was approved. Tiglin was told that the delay in the money landing in its account was due to the setting up of the vendor code, which should have been sorted before Christmas. This was in 2015. The correspondence said that, in addition, the 2016 funding would be sorted and that Tiglin would receive a monthly cheque of €4,167 from the HSE. My point is that as far as Tiglin is concerned, there were two previous years. The centre received €50,000 in 2016 and €50,000 in 2015. I want the Minister of State to consider that particular point. Tiglin is saying that it was two years and that the funding has now been switched off. The correspondence from the HSE, which is appalling, also suggests that Tiglin should engage with the HSE addiction services in CHO area 7. The HSE is saying that Tiglin should go to another area for funding. That is appalling, considering that the people CHO area 9 should be funding are from its own area. There is an anomaly in this regard.

I accept what the Minister of State says regarding the fact that there will be a review and that resources will be informed by outcomes, etc., but while the review is going on I ask her to please not turn off the funding. One cannot start and stop rehabilitation services. At the very least, last year's level of funding should be maintained until there is a review and until the Minister of State has decided to make a co-ordinated change. It would not be acceptable for Tiglin or other residential centres to be left in limbo or with reduced funding while such a review is ongoing.

These are the three main points I wish to make: Tiglin got funding of €50,000 in 2015 and 2016; it is not fair that it is being asked to go to CHO area 7 Dublin west to seek funding; and the Minister of State might consider maintaining funding to the centre until the review has been completed and new funding structures been put in place.

I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter. He knows that the State has come through a very tough period. As a result of visiting different groups in recent months, I have become very much aware that many of them lost a great deal of funding and that services have been curtailed as a result. I hope that we may be able to reverse the position in this regard in the coming years.

I wish to emphasise that I cannot speak highly enough of Tiglin - I mean this most sincerely - and I have visited the centre on a few occasions. Deputy Curran made the point about the €50,000 being once-off funding. I will raise that issue. If Tiglin got this funding in 2015 and 2016 and there was no emphasis made that this was once-off funding, then this surely indicates that the opposite was the case. I agree with the Deputy about the tone of the letter, especially the part in which it is stated that Tiglin should go elsewhere to look for funding. I do not believe that is acceptable in any way. One of the things I have learnt in the past couple of months is that throughout all of the CHO areas, everybody is responsible for people coming in to a service from that particular area, so they should be able to fund the services to help those people in a place such as Tiglin. I will not say any more but I will certainly examine the matter further in the next day or two and revert to Deputy Curran in respect of it.

Rural Development Plan

Tá áthas orm go bhfuil an tAire Stáit anseo tráthnóna. Mar dhuine as Conamara agus atá ina chónaí i gConamara, tuigfidh sé cén fáth go bhfuil díomá orm maidir leis an bplean seo.

I feel sorry for the Minister of State, Deputy Kyne, in terms of the way in which he has been put in the position of trying to defend a plan that is literally just a reheated dinner. Not only is it a reheated dinner from yesterday, it is one from months and years ago. Basically, the Departments - including the Minister of State's own Department - have listed all their actions and said that, inevitably, every action they are taking or proposing to take is obviously going to have some effect in rural Ireland. When one analyses the plan, however, one discovers that it contains nothing new. If there is anything new in the plan, it is a promise to spend €20 million a year in 600 towns, which is €33,000 per town. As someone who is involved in plenty of these schemes, I believe we should be putting money into them. An average community centre costs over €1 million. The Minister of State opened a community centre recently in Cong that cost over €1 million. That is the reality. Funding of €33,000 would not pay for the tarmacadam footpath outside a community centre. Some work is being done in the village nearest to where I live, Corr na Móna. This work is being done by the community. If it was being done by the local authority, we would be talking about funding of a few hundred thousand euro for one footpath. These are real costs.

When we look at the action plan for rural development, it is interesting that costings are not provided in respect of the extra measures to be delivered over the next three years. There is something that is even more chilling is the fact that it appears to be a case of "Thank you very much for the plan for rural towns and villages; now can we have a plan for rural Ireland?" I cannot see any significant strategic approach to some issues. For example, the first question one is asked at any meeting in a rural area relates to roads. All we get is a rehash of whatever major plans the Government has for the main routes. The Minister of State and I know that the reality is that our regional and county roads need upgrades if business is to be attracted. There is nothing in the plan about putting sewage systems into those towns and villages that do not have them. There is nothing about extending water supplies to those houses in the State that do not have a connection, either through a group water scheme or the main supply. The reality in respect of the rural broadband scheme is very simple. In the next two years, private companies - with no State assistance - will connect 300,000 properties to high-speed broadband and in many cases to e-fibre. I welcome that, even though in the newspapers this week the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works somehow managed to criticise the moves. In the same period, we will be lucky if the Government manages to sign a contract in respect of the national broadband scheme.

The reality is that the network must be remapped. I have a question for the Minister of State in that regard. The Government must remap all the work for the umpteenth time, when everybody has known for five years that the answer to this problem is the running of a little hair-like line into every house and business in the State at a net cost to the Exchequer of about one fifth of the proposed cost of bringing water to Dublin from the Shannon. When I read the plan-----

There is a chilling statement in the plan regarding the promotion of town and village housing schemes as an alternative to one-off housing.

As Professor Caulfield has pointed out, this State has a 4,000 year legacy of dispersed communities. Parishes are built on it, townlands are built on it and our entire geography is built on it.

The Deputy has gone way over time.

This Government is hell-bent on destroying the thing that gives us in the rural parishes of Ireland-----

Ask the hurlers from a County Clare parish of 300 people who are playing in an All Ireland final what makes them great. They will say that it is the structure of their communities. I thank the Acting Chair, I could not hear him.

I am not surprised, but the Deputy will hear me the next time.

I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for his impassioned speech, although I will not respond to everything he said. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, who, together with the Taoiseach, myself and several other Ministers, got a great welcome in the Ballymahon library from the cathaoirleach, councillors and staff there.

The action plan for rural development builds upon the model established by the successful Action Plan for Jobs, which has seen the unemployment rate come down from 15.1% to 7.2% between 2012 and 2017. It takes a whole-of-government approach to the economic and social development of rural Ireland and acts as an overarching structure for the co-ordination and implementation of initiatives across Departments and other public bodies. The action plan was developed following a comprehensive consultation process with key rural stakeholders. In particular, a series of meetings was held with sectoral interests in rural areas, including farming and fishing organisations, Teagasc, Macra na Feirme, Údarás na Gaeltachta, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Chambers Ireland, the Western Development Commission, the Association of Irish Local Government, Irish Rural Link and Waterways Ireland. These meetings were supplemented by six structured workshops held across the country with representatives from local community groups, local government, rural stakeholder groups and relevant State bodies and agencies.

The Minister also sought input to the action plan from our colleagues in the Oireachtas with the holding of an information session for Members during which we issued an open invitation to submit proposals for inclusion in the plan. I should point out that a number of Members and their groupings availed of this opportunity, as did the members of the Joint Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, both collectively and individually. The Minister and I would like to put on record our thanks for the submissions provided, both by Oireachtas Members and those who took part in the wider consultation process. I can assure them that their points and observations were considered during the formulation of the plan and, ultimately, helped to improve it.

That is the basis of this whole plan. It is not that the Minister sat down at her desk one day and just decided to write it out. She has consulted widely with all the stakeholders and this is the plan they imagined, drew up and formulated. I and others have put forward a number of suggestions on some measures which, thankfully, were included in the plan. We want to communicate the aims and objectives of the plan as widely as possible. The Minister has already offered to meet the joint committee to discuss the plan further and she will also address Seanad Éireann on the plan in February.

Having launched and published the plan, our attention and that of the Department will now turn to monitoring its implementation. As the Deputy will appreciate, the implementation of such a comprehensive and wide-ranging action plan, encompassing more than 270 actions, will be challenging. The action plan sets out a clear roadmap for monitoring its implementation, a process which will be overseen in the first instance by a monitoring committee to be chaired by the Minister. The membership of the committee will be comprised of representatives from the relevant Departments and State agencies, as well as representatives from key rural stakeholders and experts in the area. The Deputy will see progress reports on the website, www.ruralireland.ie.

In addition, it was announced by the Minister at the launch that she will appoint Mr. Pat Spillane to act as the ambassador for the action plan for rural development. Mr. Spillane's brief will be to encourage businesses, communities, sporting organisations and other organisations to engage with the plan. He also played a key role in the report of the Commission for the Economic Development of Rural Areas, CEDRA. The Department was resourced with additional staff for the new section when the original rural section was brought into the Department in the reconfiguration, and those staff will have key role in the implementation.

With regard to the Supplementary Estimate for the action plan, I should point out the action plan is intended to run for three years. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, the Minister of State, Deputy Ring, and I will work with our colleagues across the Government as part of the larger Estimates process to ensure there is significant investment in rural communities over this period. I note the rural development division of our Department has increased its funding by 29% when compared with the 2016 baseline, that is, from €61.2 million to €79.2 million. The action plan is the first whole-of-government approach to rural communities. It is my view that the role of all in the House is to ensure this multifaceted, cross-agency, cross-departmental plan is implemented and resourced. We look forward to the Deputy's support in regard to ensuring we get additional resources in the years ahead.

I have heard scripts but I have never heard one as poor as the one the Minister of State was asked to read out today. This is so sad. If I had time, I would go through the 276 actions. The action plan states, for example, that €1.2 billion per annum will be paid out in single farm payments. I will not say what I would like to say about that in the Houses of the Oireachtas. This €1.2 billion has been paid out for the past ten years because that is what the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, provides. The plan tells us that €4 billion will be spent on the CAP. First, the Government is not spending it and, second, that is an old commitment. The plan tells us the Government will spend €250 million on the Leader programme when it was €340 million the last time. It goes on and on. It is laughable. One of the great boasts is the Government will again roll out the RAPID programme, which it never should have stopped. However, we know this is primarily an urban programme, although provincial towns are involved.

Tuam and Ballinasloe.

I agreed it includes provincial towns. However, given we have the reheating of some actions for towns, will the Government give us the plan for rural Ireland? Does the Minister of State realise there is one town in the whole of Connemara, which he represents, with a population of more than 1,500 people, namely, Clifden? Does he realise there are 980 towns in the country with a population of more than 1,500? The Government will not even be able to give €33,000 a year to more than two thirds of those towns. What of all the towns and villages in Connemara, with which the Minister of State is well familiar? One town might qualify. This is not a plan.

Will the Minister of State answer one straight question? The Government is going to implement this plan and the Minister of State tells us this is something new and above what was already in all the Estimates that were provided for when Members voted through the budget. Will he tell me how much of a Supplementary Estimate the Government will have to bring in this year to implement this plan? That is the acid test. If the answer is níl, it proves this plan is just an amalgam of reheated dinners, as I said at the beginning, and is a disgrace. If this is what the stakeholders want, the stakeholders are not serving the people. It is no excuse.

Clearly, no single silver bullet is going to save rural Ireland.

Roads, water and sewerage might.

This plan is a cross-departmental plan that encompasses nearly all Departments and State agencies that have a role in rural Ireland. For example, the roads budget is separate and has been announced. The investment in sewerage, which was mentioned by the Deputy, comes from Irish Water where there has been underfunding for years. Broadband is being rolled out, as the Deputy knows-----

It certainly was not rolled out in 2005, when I was on the council and saw lovely bright maps coming from the Deputy's Government.

This is 12 years later.

As the Deputy knows, next June or July the signing will take place of a very complex contract of more than 2 million words that is future-proofed for future generations.

The capital plan for housing, which the Deputy welcomed yesterday-----

It is reheated dinner.

In the last two years, during bad economic times, up to 24 social houses were provided in Letterfrack. I know the Deputy turned the sod there two years ago, so obviously he would welcome that. It is a clear investment in rural Ireland. Roads funding comes from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and there is Enterprise Ireland funding. We have the IDA, the LEOs and the housing plan, and a range of other plans are coming from across various Departments.

There is nothing new.

No single thing will save rural Ireland. The Deputy talks about towns. Towns, villages and the rural hinterland are all interconnected, as they are connected to Galway city. We want to see all areas thriving. They are all working in conjunction-----

The Government wants to do away with one-off houses.

I welcome the Deputy's support to implement all the measures. As I said, we can work together to try to secure extra funding and I am sure the Deputy will be debating that at the Oireachtas committee. This is a very welcome initiative for rural Ireland. We will continue to fight to ensure it is implemented across every Department that has any role or does any work within rural Ireland. I hope Deputy Ó Cuív will join us in that battle.

Film Industry

As the Minister, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, is aware, Ardmore Studios is synonymous with the Irish film industry. It is, in effect, the birthplace of the Irish film industry as an industry. Since it opened in 1958, it has propelled Irish film making into the top flight of film making in the world.

It has played host to some of the greatest actors in the world - Richard Burton, Fred Astaire, Mel Gibson and Ralph Fiennes. Some amazing films have been produced at Ardmore, winning a total of 14 Oscars and numerous BAFTAs, Emmys, Golden Globes, etc.

From the point of view of the local area, Ardmore Studios are critical. They are responsible for 500 direct jobs and thousands of indirect jobs. I understand that 500 people attended a public meeting in Bray last night -unfortunately, I could not be present because the House was debating the Stardust tragedy - at which it was stated that the studios are responsible for up to 8,000 or 9,000 indirect jobs. The Minister will be aware, not only from the Wicklow and Bray area, that there are many tradespeople, creative individuals and those merely who only appear in productions as extras who are constantly working in Ardmore. Any threat or possibility that Ardmore Studios might cease to operate would simply be unacceptable. It would be the destruction of a central part of our film heritage and culture and, obviously, a massive economic blow to a large number of people and to a wide catchment area.

I talked to some of the trade unionists involved, who welcomed the fact the Minister had engaged with them. What everybody wants to hear is that there will be a commitment that, one way or another, Ardmore Studios will be kept as a going concern and that whatever is necessary will be done to ensure that happens. Under no circumstances should we allow a situation whereby Ardmore might be bought by property speculators or whatever. The facility should be maintained. We should use initiatives at local level to ensure that the whole complex is zoned for film production only. The Government should also step in and take whatever action is necessary. Enterprise Ireland already has an obligation to ensure that the jobs and the industry are retained. Whatever other initiatives are necessary should be taken.

A point made by the workers who spoke to me earlier is that in so far as subsidies are given to domestic film production companies, there is an absence of the obligations on such companies to use facilities such as Ardmore. If this were done, it might ensure that there is joined-up thinking across the film sector.

A proposal of which the Minister will be aware is that relating to a possible buy-out by the workers. I am of the view that this would be the optimum solution, particularly as it would involve those with all the fantastic skills necessary for film production. Everybody I talk to in the film sector states that the technical skill level at Ardmore is second to none. A workers' buy-out, facilitated by the Government, would be another solution.

I hope the Minister can give us words of comfort to the effect that Ardmore Studios will be retained in order that they might play a critical role in Ireland's film industry.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

I am conscious of the anxiety that the uncertainty around the sale of Ardmore Studios creates for the workers concerned, as well as for the local community. Ardmore Studios is a commercial entity, owned 68.33% by private interests and 31.67% by the State. The State's shareholding is managed by Enterprise Ireland. Enterprise Ireland inherited the stake from NADCORP, the former State investment agency, in 1986. As a passive investor, Enterprise Ireland has no enterprise development role in Ardmore or any involvement in its day-to-day operations. Furthermore, while Enterprise Ireland offers supports to exporting companies involved in film and the creative sector, policy responsibility for the development of the film industry rests with my colleague the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Humphreys.

The sale of the Ardmore Studios is a commercial decision by the majority owners of the studios. The facility is being placed on the market for sale as a going concern. Enterprise Ireland has not placed any pre-conditions on the pending sale of Ardmore Studios due to the existence of planning restrictions on the site, which safeguard its use as a film-making facility into the future. Wicklow County Council has confirmed this and it agrees to maintain the film-only zoning as a matter of policy. Enterprise Ireland's primary concern will be to maintain the business as a going concern, as well as ensuring the best economic and financial return for the State. Enterprise Ireland will make its decision in consultation with me and I, in turn, will consult the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

I assure the Deputy that both I and the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, will do whatever we feel is best to support Ardmore continuing as a strong commercial proposition and a key piece of infrastructure for the development of the film industry in Ireland, not only to safeguard employment but to enhance employment prospects in the film sector.

At many levels, I welcome what the Minister says, but there are a few details I would like to hear to be more assured. First, there should be absolutely no consideration of the Government selling its stake in Ardmore. Critical to maintaining it is for the Government to retain that stake.

The zoning itself is not sufficient protection because the facility could be bought, somebody could sit on it for a couple of years and if it is left derelict, the zoning could be changed further down the line. What we need now is intervention of a level sufficient to ensure that it continues as a working studio, whether that is a viable film-making concern taking over the private share that is being sold by Mr. Ossie Kilkenny and Mr. Paul McGuinness, facilitating a workers' buy-out as has been suggested or even full-scale nationalisation if that is necessary in order to sustain the facility.

I would not want to put a figure on the facility's overall value but it was suggested at yesterday's meeting that the economic impact in one year of that studio - working at full capacity and in full production - is three or four times' the amount for which it might be sold. The value to the local area and the economy in terms of employment is several multiples of what we might have to pay for it if we decided to nationalise it, if that is necessary. What we need is a commitment that no option will be considered that will lead to its closure and that whatever action is necessary to ensure its survival will be taken by the Government.

I have had three meetings: one with the workers and the unions; one with Oireachtas Members; and another with Oireachtas Members and the chief executive of and officials from Wicklow County Council.

I hear the Deputy talking about nationalising. In fairness, Enterprise Ireland is not a film production company. It is not a Disney. It will never be able to make films such as those to which the Deputy referred and which won Oscars. That is not Enterprise Ireland's area of expertise. Its expertise lies in ensuring the very best outcome.

The workers have the expertise.

Yes, absolutely, and not Enterprise Ireland. However, the workers-----

I am not asking for Enterprise Ireland.

May I finish? We had the meeting with Wicklow County Council and all of those people were in attendance. Bryan Doyle, the chief executive of Wicklow County Council, wrote to me. He welcomed my recognition of the importance of Ardmore Studios to County Wicklow and the mid-east region and my acknowledgement that the development of the film industry is a key pillar of the action plan for jobs for the region. That is what Enterprise Ireland is good at. He went on to point out that the audio-visual industry is one of the primary objectives set out in that action plan and that Wicklow is the lead authority in this action area. He said that the local enterprise office, LEO, in Wicklow, together with four other LEOs in the south east, has initiated the south-eastern creative corridor project aimed at creating a vibrant, viable and growing cluster in the region.

I emphasised at the meeting that the intention is that the studios be sold as a going concern - I have been saying that repeatedly - and that the final decision would be taken with me and the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. All of the county councillors and the chief executive gave me a strong commitment that the zoning would not change. The Deputy was a county councillor so he knows about zoning. If the county councillors continue to be influenced by the local people and local representatives, the zoning will never change. Enterprise Ireland and I want it sold as a going concern. We are not in the business of film production and do not have that expertise, but we have the expertise to ensure we develop the action plan for film production in the area.

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