Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 23 Feb 2017

Vol. 940 No. 2

Topical Issue Debate

Road Network

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I am very grateful the Ceann Comhairle allowed me to raise the exceedingly important issue of the N2 road, which runs from Dublin to Derry.

In this jurisdiction, it runs through Dublin, Meath, Louth and Monaghan and then on towards Derry. It takes a good deal of traffic. Two issues arise. One relates to road safety. I believe the issues are common to all these counties. The other issue relates to the efficiency of the road as a national route. This particularly relates to my constituency of Meath East.

The issue of safety is the first and foremost priority. Six people have died on this road since the new year. It is an extremely dangerous road. The road is well known for accidents in Louth and Monaghan. Frankly, accidents could happen on any stretch of this road because of the nature of the road. It is extraordinarily busy. In parts there are houses on it, while elsewhere there are bus stops that are unlit. There should be a full safety review of the road. In some cases people have died unnecessarily because of road safety issues. There have been other accidents that have not hit the headlines. There have been several occasions when the N2 has been closed for reasons that have not resulted in fatal accidents. This really needs to be looked at. It is incumbent on the Minister and Transport Infrastructure Ireland to look at this closely.

When I refer to road safety on the N2, I cannot omit the Slane bypass, which is also relevant for the efficiency of the road. I urge the Minister to get the Slane bypass on the agenda and to ensure it is built. There has been some progress, there is no doubt about that, but we are five years on from a negative planning decision on the Slane bypass and we are only starting to get back on track in this regard. Five years is almost a lifetime in political terms. We need to make urgent progress.

The safety issues at Slane are, in reality, far more severe than the rest of the N2 in terms of the danger and the risk to road users and pedestrians. I cross the road in Slane at the traffic lights on a regular basis - there are many traffic lights in Slane. I am afraid of my life every time I cross the road, even using the pedestrian crossing properly - I certainly would not take a chance elsewhere. It is the same for all the residents of Slane and for anyone driving through the town.

The efficiency of the N2 as a national route is another issue. This road south of Slane is becoming completely inefficient and is not serving its purported function as a national route. There are major traffic delays on the road every morning, especially from the Kilmoon Cross area towards Primatestown on to Ashbourne and on to the Ashbourne bypass, which is a fabulous tranche of infrastructure that has solved the problem at Ashbourne. Commuters are delayed on this stretch unnecessarily because the road is simply not fit for purpose and because of traffic lights installed at Primatestown. They were put in place for essential safety reasons but I believe other solutions could be explored that would marry the obvious priority of safety with the ability of road users actually to use the road in a functional way.

We face difficulties not only for commuters in terms of the efficiency of the road but also for residents and road users on side roads. The Garristown area is between Duleek and Ashbourne. The road there is coming under pressure, especially between Ashbourne and Curragha and Kilmoon Cross. That road is coming under tremendous pressure because of people avoiding the N2 on account of its inefficiency. This, in turn, is putting pressure not only on local residents but on the council budget as well. It is a serious threat to road safety on those roads.

I look forward to the Minister's response on the N2 road.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Shane Ross)

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and for making a particularly strong case on the grounds of safety and efficiency. I was struck by the fact that Deputy Byrne said six people have died. I was unable to work out the period to which he referred.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

That is since 1 January.

Deputy Shane Ross

That is utterly unacceptable and I take the Deputy's point that it is a spectacularly tragic figure.

I took a commencement matter in the Seanad concerning the N2 on 7 February. I am happy to reiterate the points I made at that debate.

As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding relating to the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual road projects, such as the N2, is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993-2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. Within its capital budget, the assessment and prioritisation of individual projects is a matter in the first instance for TII in accordance with section 19 of the Roads Act.

The Government's capital investment plan, Building on Recovery - Infrastructure and Capital Investment, provides the strategic and financial framework for the TII national roads programme for the period from 2016 to 2022. As Minister, I have to work within the capital budgets included in the plan and TII, in turn, has to prioritise works on the basis of the funding available to it.

TII allocates funding specifically for safety works based on its analysis of the network, including the N2. This year TII has allocated approximately €17 million for such works. Under its HD15 programme, safety works are based on an analysis of accident density across the network and those sections of the network with considerably higher than average accident densities are selected for analysis. Sections of road which are amenable to engineering solutions are prioritised for treatment. In addition, TII operates a HD17 programme based on road safety inspection reports. These reports indicate which issues, for example signing, lining or safety barriers, need to be addressed on different sections of road and programmes are drawn up to deal with the priority issues.

Good pavements also contribute to road safety and TII has allocated approximately €50 million for pavements in 2017. In the context of the TII programmes, road pavement overlay and safety schemes were completed on the N2 in 2016, including sections of the route at Balrenny to Knockmooney in County Meath and Emyvale village in County Monaghan. Safety works at Blakestown Cross in County Louth have recently been completed. Within the funding available to the organisation, I understand TII is also hoping to progress minor road improvement schemes on the N2 during the period of the capital plan. These schemes involve the realignment or widening of the existing single carriageway road and include the N2 Monaghan to Emyvale improvement phase 3 scheme, where land acquisition and finalisation of tender documentation is ongoing.

TII has also advised that Monaghan County Council appointed consultants last year to review the safety aspects of the existing N2 between Ardee and Monaghan. This report identified short and long-term measures that could be implemented along the route. The findings of this review are currently being considered by Monaghan County Council. I imagine they should now be considered as a matter of urgency.

As regards major schemes, the proposed N2 Slane bypass has been included in the capital plan among those schemes planned to commence during the plan period. Funding totalling €1.2 million has been provided by TII in 2017 to prepare a new design for the scheme.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I thank the Minister. I am keen to see a whole-of-road approach in respect of the N2. The whole road should be taken together in terms of what reports and studies are undertaken. This has been the problem. We have seen piecemeal works that are very good in themselves but we are not looking at the overall problem.

I do not mean to be parochial but Blakestown Cross is used by people from all three counties, that is to say, drivers from Monaghan, Meath and Louth, where the cross is located. Shortly after the works were finished at the cross two ladies were killed near where the works took place. When those works were done, I was so grateful. I thought to myself that it was so safe. Often, I come in the direction from Drumconrath, Meath Hill and Kingscourt in Deputy Smith's constituency - I imagine he is familiar with that cross as well. It is such an improvement. However, the point is that further down the road, within sight of those works, two ladies lost their lives. Unfortunately, this is going to continue unless we take whole-of-road approach and review the whole thing, including the examination of safety issues.

I urge the Minister to get TII to examine the matter and to examine the efficiency issues, especially in County Meath. The fact is that traffic is building up seriously on this road. It is a small road. It is not built for the volume of traffic that passes along it. There must be some way of making small improvements, especially at Primatestown Cross in County Meath, to protect people and to allow them to cross. The lights should be changed and some other system put in place, possibly a roundabout, to allow traffic to move. This is a major problem for my constituents and for the constituents of Deputy Smith who use the road.

I thank the Minister for outlining what is being done. I am not arguing or fighting with the Minister. I am outlining the facts as I see them. I urge the Minister to take a handle on this road and to treat it as one in all three counties, or four counties if we include Dublin, that it goes through, to ensure it is safe and to ensure that it works as a national road.

Deputy Shane Ross

Undoubtedly, the Deputy has made a good case for the road concerned and I am aware that it runs through his constituency. I have addressed that already. It is a matter for TII, although it can feature in the mid-term capital review. Obviously, the Deputy will make a submission and I will make certain recommendations to it as well. He must understand, and I am not in any sense denigrating what he or anybody else has said, that the competing pressures on the roads, even in cases where compelling arguments exist, make it very difficult to allocate funds between them. As far as I am concerned, the case the Deputy made is very good in terms of the road being necessary for all sorts of improvements but the case for safety is a priority. According to what he said, the safety case was quite bad before this year but if there have been six fatalities in the past month or so-----

Deputy Thomas Byrne

There have been two since the work at Blakestown Cross was done.

Deputy Shane Ross

-----that must be taken as a priority. I consider road safety more important in some respects than the condition of the roads. If there is a case to be made where there is evidence of fatalities on a road and there are identifiable black spots, it is something we will have to consider a top priority when we are examining the allocation of money for roads. I will give the road in question consideration in that light. I am aware of other roads around the country which have black spots that also deserve priority. We are talking about human life here, as against anything else, and obviously it must be top of the list.

Road Projects

Deputy Brendan Smith

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this matter. I am glad the Minister is here to respond. In my observation of the proceedings of the House, he is very amenable to taking Topical Issue debates that relate to his portfolio. That is commendable, particularly as it is not a practice that is always followed.

The Minister and I discussed this subject during a previous Question Time. I commend Deputy Byrne on raising the subject of safety on the N2. A large part of my constituency is served by the N2 as well and, unfortunately, I knew some of the people who lost their lives on that road in recent times. It is most regrettable. Our colleague, Senator Robbie Gallagher, also had a Commencement Matter debate in the Seanad on the need to upgrade the road from Clontibret to the Border in the context of the A5 development, which is critical for all-island development and particularly for the Border economy. I wholeheartedly support Deputy Thomas Byrne's request regarding the N2.

In the early 2000s a strategic study was carried out on the development of an east-west route from Sligo to Dundalk. The chosen route from Sligo went through Manorhamilton, Enniskillen, Cavan town, Cootehill, Shercock and Carrickmacross to Dundalk. Thankfully, parts of that route have been upgraded with the building of the Cavan and Belturbet bypasses. Substantial funding was invested in those projects and they turned out extremely well. The road that requires particular attention at present is the one from Cootehill through Shercock and Carrickmacross to Dundalk. Fortunately, that road carries a large volume of heavy goods vehicles. We welcome the employment in that area. There are some major agrifood enterprises there, such as Lakeland Dairies in Bailieborough, Carton Brothers & Manor Farm poultry in Shercock and Abbott in Cootehill, as well as a number of engineering companies in those towns. They are exporting their products and many of them must get to Greenore, Warrenpoint, Dublin Airport or Dublin Port. If, however, one is behind a lorry when one leaves Cootehill to travel that route, one will not get past it until one is outside Dundalk, as there is a huge volume of traffic on the road.

We welcome that, but there is an additional cost on enterprises in that area because of the slow movement of goods and the delays that occur. The local chamber of commerce in Cootehill and the county councils in Cavan, Monaghan and Louth are strongly of the view that the route must be upgraded. I told the Minister previously that if enterprises in the Border region are to have any chance of remaining competitive in the context of Brexit and so forth the infrastructure must be upgraded. There is a huge concentration of agrifood industries in the Cavan-Monaghan area. Their major export market is the sterling area, so they are already hit with competitive challenges. The one way the State can support existing enterprises, and hope to be able to assist them to grow and create employment, is by ensuring it listens to them and upgrades infrastructure such as the road network. There are huge demands on the Minister's Department and TII but, in the context of what we face, we must re-prioritise capital spending for the Border regions, which are already being affected by Brexit. They do not have to wait until Britain leaves the EU. I see it and I listen to business people in my area, so I am aware of how the uncertainty that has been generated has kicked in as a negative economic ingredient.

The Acting Chairman, Deputy Durkan, and I spent most of today at meetings with members of the House of Commons committee on exiting the European Union and a delegation from the German Bundestag. We are aware of the challenges. The one thing the Oireachtas and the Government can do is deal with the areas within their own competence, such as upgrading infrastructure in those areas.

Deputy Shane Ross

I thank Deputy Brendan Smith for raising this issue. The consistency with which he has raised issues relating to the Border area indicates that whatever Members on the opposite side of House say about the Government, the Deputy is readying people for Brexit and is warning realistically about the dangers for the Border area and the need for infrastructure there. I cannot say how many times he has raised the issue. He is not only consistent in doing so, he is also right to do it in light of current circumstances. The Deputy raised the matter with me most recently on I February during the debate on the Private Members' motion on roads funding and again at Question Time on 8 February. While the position regarding the east-west route remains as I outlined in my reply to him of 8 February, I am happy to address it again today.

Proposals to deliver an upgraded route linking Dundalk to Sligo were being examined before the financial crisis. This would involve linking elements of the national road network and regional roads along as direct a route as possible. Essentially, the scheme would involve upgrade or realignment works on the regional routes from Dundalk to Cavan and on national routes from Cavan to Sligo. The latter would involve a route that passes through Northern Ireland.

With regard to the national element, as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I have responsibility for overall policy and funding relating to the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual national road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. As regards the regional road aspect of the proposal, the improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads in its area is a statutory function of local authorities in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on such roads are a matter for the relevant local authority to be funded from its own resources supplemented by State road grants.

While the recession resulted in major cutbacks in funding and the curtailment of road improvement projects across the country, my Department provided funding of over €2 million to Cavan County Council, acting as lead authority, in the period 2007 to 2014 to progress the regional road element of the project to preliminary design. It was not possible to take the scheme any further. The seven-year transport element of the capital plan published in September 2015 includes provision for expenditure of €6 billion on the road network. In line with the findings of my Department’s strategic framework for investment in land transport, €4.4 billion of this funding is earmarked for essential maintenance and strengthening works on the road network. A further €600 million relates to public private partnership projects and the balance is for investment in a limited number of road improvement projects. The overall funding envelope meant that it was not possible to include a range of projects in the plan.

At an estimated cost of €150 million, the East Link was one of those projects. While there is no provision in the capital plan for the east-west scheme, it is open to individual local authorities to progress the upgrade of sections of the route from their own resources.

On the capital plan review, while there is a strong case for additional funding for the transport sector, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has indicated that the total unallocated capital is about €2.6 billion. In contrast, in the transport sector alone, there are a multitude of possible national, regional and local projects around the country, the cost of which far exceed available funding. Unfortunately, this means that only a limited number can be put forward for consideration. I cannot therefore give any commitment at this time on projects along the route of the east-west link. By the end of the capital plan period, however, capital funding for the road network is expected to be back up to the levels needed to support maintenance and improvement works. At that stage, there may be more scope to consider projects along the route of the east-west link on a phased basis.

Deputy Brendan Smith

I thank the Minister for his reply.

In the context of the review of the capital plan, I appeal to him again to use his influence with colleagues in Government to put a Brexit focus on the re-prioritisation of capital expenditure. It is the one competence we have in addressing Brexit. We will not find it until the next capital plan post 2020 and I appeal to the Minister to try to ensure that sections of the project are included. The section that I am most concerned about at present is the Cootehill-Shercock-Carrickmacross-Dundalk element of the overall route. Other parts of it also need upgrading. Other parts are up to good standard.

The Minister might also pursue with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform the possible availability of cohesion funding post 2020. The current round of Structural Funds, to my knowledge, ends in 2020. I understand there may be scope for us to seek cohesion funding. Back in the late 1990s or early 2000s, I remember many vexed debates in this House about Objective One status for different parts of the country and the division of the country as such. Thankfully, with economic development, we lost and were beyond the criteria to draw down cohesion funding. A case should be made post 2020, with Brexit and the unfortunate challenges and adverse impacts it will have on the Border economy in particular, that as a State we should seek access to cohesion funding again with a view to upgrading the infrastructure in the area that is and will be most adversely affected by the impact of Brexit.

I sincerely hope the Minister will try to pursue a number of aspects of advancing this project with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. We need to support existing enterprise in the Border region and we need to support those enterprises that will hopefully be able to expand. Currently, currency devaluation, the fluctuation of sterling and all of that poses particular difficulties for them, and again we have a huge focus on indigenous industry. Indigenous manufacturing products generally go to our nearest market. Manufacturers in the indigenous sector, such as agrifood, are very dependent, though not solely, on the sterling area for export.

Deputy Shane Ross

Deputy Smith is creative. I do not know the answer to his question about the Cohesion Funds but I will undertake to pursue it with my colleague at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to see if that is available. The Deputy is talking about after 2020. I see no reason why we should not look at that possibility. I do not know whether it will be so. I appreciate the case the Deputy made and that he is a strong advocate for the funding need for the Border for infrastructure and Brexit. I will bear that in mind and inform Transport Infrastructure Ireland and local authorities of the views he put before the House. I will refer back to him on the issue of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

Schools Building Projects Status

Acting Chairman (Deputy Bernard J. Durkan)

I thank the Minister. The next matter is about the education construction programme and delays in extending Lucan community college.

Deputy Gino Kenny

Hopefully the Minister has good news or some clarity on the issue. Currently, Lucan community college is included in the Department of Education and Skills construction programme 2012 to 2016. The extension has been blighted by delays over the last ten years. There are many young people in Lucan. It has a large, growing school population. There is temporary accommodation on the campus currently to accommodate the overflow of students. I understand, because I got a lot of correspondence in the last week about this, that it is at stage 2A of the architectural planning process. That target was meant to be for completion of the extension in 2018. Now that is not going to be met. They have said that this needs to go to stage 2B, which could have the completion date of September 2019. That is still a long time away. Even that could run into difficulty.

I am trying to get clarity as to whether this could be fast-tracked or if clarity could be given to the college and the parents of students in the vicinity, because there is a huge need for this college. The college is about 30 years old. It needs to be updated. I ask the Minister to give clarity on when this can be finalised and completed.

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton)

I thank the Deputy for raising this. He is right. This has had a considerable history and I can understand how people might get confused at the development. I will set it out for the Deputy as clearly as I can.

Lucan community college caters for both boys and girls and operates under the patronage of the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, ETB. The college has been in operation since 1987. Enrolment in the college for 2015-16 was 875 pupils, a 5% increase over the previous five years. Temporary accommodation has been installed on-site to cater for the increased enrolments in the school.

The brief for this project of an extension and refurbishment to the permanent modern accommodation is to cater for 1,000 pupils and a classroom special needs unit on the existing school site. The original design team for the project was appointed in June 2011 on a more restricted brief for an extension to the existing school. This project reached completion of stage 1, architectural planning, in April 2013. As part of that work and following an assessment of the current accommodation, it was agreed by the Department that extensive additional refurbishment works to the existing school would also be required. The Department approved a significant increase in the scope of works for the project to incorporate those refurbishment works. However, directly arising from this very significant expansion in the scope of works, it was necessary to commence a tender exercise for the appointment of a new design team to take the project forward from that point. This process was conducted by the ETB and was completed in October 2014. Tendering rules require that if the value of a project increases by more than 50% a new design team tender has to take place. The new design team was authorised to proceed to stage 2, architectural planning - developed design, in other words the detailed layout.

In March 2015, officials from my Department met with the ETB and its design team about the progression of the project. Further information was requested from the design team, including a reconciliation of areas. This was reviewed by my Department and an increase in the size of the proposed accommodation of more than 1,000 sq. m extra was approved. The newly appointed design team sought a further meeting with the Department to discuss the increased accommodation and to reconcile the areas. My Department facilitated this meeting in June 2016. The stage 2 report was submitted to the Department on 7 November 2016.

Following the stage 2 stakeholders' meeting, which was held on 30 November 2016, the ETB and its design team were requested to submit a stage 2 addendum addressing issues which arose at that meeting. This addendum was submitted by the ETB on 22 December and my Department commenced its review of the report in early January 2017.

Once that review is complete my Department will revert to the ETB with regard to the further progression of the project.

Upon successful completion of stage 2A the project will progress to complete stage 2B, detailed design, which involves obtaining planning permission, fire certificate and disability access certificate, and the completion of tender documents. Following completion of stage 2B the project will then be progressed to tender and construction stages.

Deputy Gino Kenny

I thank the Minister for that technical reply. Can the Minister give a completion date to try to decipher this? These things can go forever. Can the Minister give a completion date saying that it should be completed by September 2019? Obviously, the correspondence I got from some of the parents asked if the completion of stage 2A could be expedited with approval to stage 2B granted as a matter of urgency. I do not know if the Minister addressed that in the reply.

Basically the students and parents are looking for a completion date that the school can plan for. I do not know if the Minister can supply that. I know these are technical things. This seems to have really dragged on to a point where figures can be a bit elusive. I ask for some sort of completion date.

Deputy Richard Bruton

Each stage in the process has to be gone through and I do not control the duration of those. It is expected that by the end of March to mid-April the Department will have completed its review of the stage 2A documents. However, as the reply explains, it then has to submit a planning application, get planning permission, a fire certificate and a disability access certificate, and complete tender documents. I cannot indicate how long it will take to get planning permission, whether there will be snags or appeals. All those things could lead to delays. If the local authority imposed a planning requirement that had not been anticipated in the design, it would have to be reviewed.

I cannot give an accurate estimate of how long that would take. Obviously, if it gets through stage 2B, it is then in a position to commence tendering which is a whole process in itself after which it goes to construction. Unfortunately, as I know from experience, there can be delays in a project like this at any of those points, including at planning stage. There can also be issues with tender documents. I cannot give a clear line of sight.

We are building schools providing 20,000 new school places every year. We try to ensure we prioritise our work so that we have a continuous flow. No shilling ever gets unspent in our Department. We always have projects like this. As it gets through we will be in a position to prioritise it for funding. It is a supply line and I do not control the speed with which the supply moves along. I can fully understand the Deputy's concern. As I outlined in the earlier reply, the history has been a chequered one. People have been frustrated and have had to make adaptations and changes. It leads to the sort of correspondence the Deputy has received.

Israeli Settlements

Deputy Seán Crowe

I am a bit disappointed that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade is not able to be here. I presume there is some reason. Is there?

Deputy Richard Bruton

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade asked me to take it. I convey his apologies. I believe he informed the Deputy's office that he would not be able to take it today. The Deputy could have it withdrawn and resubmitted if he wanted.

Deputy Seán Crowe

No problem.

The issue is the Israeli Government's decision to demolish 42 homes and businesses illegally in the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar, which is between Jericho and Jerusalem. Last year, 2016, was a record year for the demolition and confiscation of Palestinian dwellings and livelihood structures in the Occupied West Bank by the Israeli army. Figures from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and EAPPI, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel, show that 1,089 structures were demolished or confiscated in 2016, leaving some 1,600 Palestinians displaced and affecting the livelihoods of a further 7,100 people. This was the highest annual figure since formal recording began and represented a 96% increase on the 2015 total. The figures for 2017 so far indicate we are heading to have another record year for demolitions.

On Sunday it was widely reported in the Israeli press that 42 homes and businesses were served with demolition orders by the Israeli army. These demolitions, once carried out, would in effect destroy the entire village. Such a widespread issuance of demolitions orders at one time in one village is not only unprecedented but a clear declaration by the Israeli military that it plans to remove the entire community. That is what this whole community is facing. While it is correct to say that many of the structures have been built in violation of the planning laws of the Israeli military, this ignores the fact that these planning laws are unfair, unjust and apartheid-Iike in their makeup. They are also superseded by international law, which bans such actions. Under Article 46, the destruction of such property is in grave contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

This is an unprecedented issuing of demolition orders in this village and it is a very rare occurrence for the Israeli military to issue so many demolition orders at once. If these demolitions take place they will leave hundreds of men, women and children homeless. Such actions would also constitute a grave breach of the of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits the destruction of personal property by an occupying power unless it is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations. It also prohibits all forcible transfers of civilian populations by an occupying power. What they are doing here is wrong under international law.

Israel has avoided large-scale evacuation of Palestinians in Area C in the past, partly because of the protests by European and American diplomats. I am asking the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to make urgent representation to the Israeli Government to reverse these demolition orders.

Deputy Richard Bruton

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade asked me to send his apologies and reply on his behalf. He is very keen to get a full account of the issues the Deputy has raised.

The Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar, to the east of Jerusalem, has been subject to demolition and removal orders for many years. Some houses and other structures have been demolished on a number of occasions. International donors, including the UN OCHA humanitarian fund to which Ireland contributes, have provided humanitarian assistance to replace demolished structures, including water facilities and latrines. Particular attention has been focused on the school, constructed out of tyres plastered with mud, which currently serves five local communities, and has 169 pupils.

However, concern has been heightened in recent days by the issue of a series of new stop-work orders relating to the village structures, and by the imposition of a military lockdown on the community and heavy military presence, giving rise to fears that a major demolition action may be planned. Irrespective of whether this is intended, the object clearly is to increase pressure on the residents to move from the area.

There has been a strong international response to this threat, in which Ireland has taken an active part. In October 2016 the Irish and other EU heads of mission in Palestine visited Khan al-Ahmar to see the situation, demonstrate support and show that the actions of the authorities there were being scrutinised. In response to the recent increased threat, there have been strong statements on the case from the relevant UN agencies on the ground and from the EU representative.

The Irish ambassador in Israel has made a démarche at a senior level in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, drawing attention to the threats and expressing the strong concerns of the Government over the threats of demolitions, contrary to international law.

The Irish representative in Ramallah will be joining other EU heads of mission in a further visit to the community in the next few days. More broadly, Ireland also supports a range of Israeli and Palestinian NGOs that are active in combating human rights and justice issues arising from the occupation. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, has also recently decided that Ireland should join the West Bank Protection Consortium which is made up of a network of NGOs and international donors and works with a total of 392 communities, 188 of which are at heightened risk of forcible transfer. The consortium supports threatened communities and co-ordinates the provision of essential services including material assistance and legal aid to those at risk of forcible transfer. Ireland has allocated €200,000 to the consortium for 2017. In the case of Khan al-Ahmar, the most recent reports today suggest the threat of demolition may not be as imminent as feared. The prompt attention to the case may have helped in this regard but we cannot be active on every case all the time. This is the kind of uncertainty the community has to live with permanently. Ireland's missions in the area will keep this case under very close observation.

Deputy Seán Crowe

I welcome that the Irish representative in Ramallah will be visiting the community in the next couple of days. International pressure, when applied collectively, has an impact and can in some case halt these demolitions. Unfortunately, the number of demolitions is at an all-time high. Last year, there was a 96% increase and this year it seems to be at the same scale. It is almost as if whatever shackles the Israeli Government had have been thrown aside and it seems to be moving ahead with these proposals. We know from our own history, the history of evictions and people being forced off their land. It was burned into the psyche of generations of Irish people. Similarly this is what will happen in this situation. Visiting the village yesterday, the UN co-ordinator for humanitarian aid and development activities for the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper, commented that:

Khan al Ahmar is one of the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank, struggling to maintain a minimum standard of living in the face of intense pressure from the Israeli authorities ... This is unacceptable and it must stop.

The EU delegation in Jerusalem or Ramallah released a statement and I welcome that Ireland is part of it. There was a motion passed in this House on the recognition of Palestine. I call on the Irish Government to recognise formally the state of Palestine. How many more international laws and human rights violations will it take before we collectively stand up for the rights of Palestinians? How many more homes have to be demolished before the Government recognises it is time for action and time to recognise the state of Palestine? If there is any message at all that we can send from this Parliament to those people who are suffering so badly, it is that we recognise their plight, their homeland and their right to be free.

Deputy Richard Bruton

I thank Deputy Crowe for raising this issue. I have set out the response from the Minister. The Deputy will see the Irish representatives along with other international colleagues are very active and recognise the urgency and concern the Deputy raises. On the wider issue of a settlement in the region, it is Ireland's view and that of the European Union that a just and comprehensive resolution to the conflict must be based on two states living side by side in peace and security. That goal remains unchanged.

The Government has also made it clear in its programme for Government that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade keeps under continual review whether the immediate recognition by Ireland of a state of Palestine prior to its real achievement on the ground could be a helpful step towards the goal of resolving the conflict. He has made it clear he will recommend early recognition by Ireland if it would be helpful. He is working very closely with a number of Middle East peace initiatives, both an initiative by the French and preparatory work led by Sweden. It is in the context of those initiatives that the Minister will make a decision on this issue as is committed to in the programme for Government.

I will convey the Deputy's views to the Minister and once again apologise he was not able to make it here on this occasion. It does not in any way diminish his commitment to the issues the Deputy has raised.