Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 21 Mar 2017

Vol. 943 No. 1

Topical Issue Debate

Local Authority Housing

Deputy Imelda Munster

The issue I raise concerns whether the Minister has completed collating the data for the landbanks available for housing and what plans are in place for funding housing provision on same. Is the Minister aware that there are almost 4,000 people on the housing waiting list in County Louth? Many of them have been waiting more than nine years to be housed. The situation in County Louth is shocking, and given the scale of the housing crisis I am sure that is replicated right across the State. The number of applicants on the housing waiting lists exceeds the entire supply of council-owned housing stock in County Louth. That is a shocking statistic to bring to the attention of the House. Three generations of families live under one roof in overcrowded conditions. There are no affordable properties and there is a chronic shortage of private rental accommodation, and such accommodation that is available is not affordable for most. Where rental accommodation is available, landlords refuse to take tenants in receipt of the housing assistance payment. Meanwhile, there are 54 acres of council-zoned landbanks throughout the county. In the case of Louth County Council, it must pay €3 million a year in interest only for the loans on the landbanks. The €3 million comes out of the local authority's own budget so citizens are deprived of vital services and amenities because the council must pay such an amount in interest on the landbanks. Meanwhile, the land lies idle and barren as not a single house has yet been built.

Last July, the Minister launched his Rebuilding Ireland document, yet several months later in November, when I asked him about council-zoned landbanks and landbanks belonging to local authorities, he said he had not collated any data. It surprised me that in the middle of a housing crisis one of the first ports of call would not be to ascertain what land belonged to local authorities across the State on which one could roll out a proper social housing provision programme. The Minister had not even bothered to collect the data. That adds weight to the criticism of the Minister and the Government that the Government's response to the housing crisis is developer led and developer driven. The landbanks in County Louth consist of almost 54 acres. They are in Mullavalley in Louth village, Kilkerley, Ballymakenny Road in Drogheda, Mount Avenue and Point Road in Dundalk and Newtown Meadows in Drogheda.

There are over 20 acres of those 53 acres of land in Drogheda and not a single house has been built. What plans does the Minister have? Why is he, point blank, refusing to give funding for the roll-out of a social housing building programme on these lands I have identified?

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Deputy Damien English)

The Deputy's general question was not specific to Louth but I will certainly deal with Louth as well. Rebuilding Ireland contains a number of integrated actions to underpin active land supply management for the delivery of housing. Initially, this involves identifying and mapping sites in local authority and public ownership, with appropriate lands to be master-planned to deliver increased mixed tenure housing, including social and more affordable homes, to meet demand. Our aim is to use publicly-owned land banks much more strategically than we did in the past. The mixed tenure approach allows for risk sharing and far quicker delivery of homes on the site as a whole. Most important, mixed tenure developments are about meeting the housing need of those on the housing list as well as those who do not come under the income thresholds in terms of qualifying for social housing support but still have difficulty meeting the cost of their accommodation.

With regard to the mapping project specifically, the Housing Agency, in close consultation with my Department and local authorities, including Louth, has already commenced the mapping of approximately 700 sites in local authority ownership and those held by the agency under the land aggregation scheme, showing their location, size, boundaries and other information. The data that was compiled did not exist when the Deputy initially asked the question. This mapping exercise will form part of the broader national land supply management strategy as committed to under action 3.5 of Rebuilding Ireland, which is being developed within the context of the national planning framework, Ireland 2040. We expect to be in a position to publish a map of some 700 local authority and land aggregation scheme sites, together with lands zoned for residential development, in the coming weeks. This map will be updated regularly over time to ensure the best possible information is publicly available.

With regard to funding providing for housing on local authority-owned lands, under Rebuilding Ireland, a highly ambitious programme of 47,000 social housing homes will be delivered by 2021, with funding of €5.35 billion. My Department engages on an ongoing basis with all local authorities, including Louth, Meath and others in the greater Dublin region, to consider proposals for the delivery of their social housing programmes. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, and I have met directly with local authority chief executives and elected members, assuring them that funding is available to advance new projects and to urge the swiftest possible progress on the overall building programmes. The Minister and I were in Louth and met the chief executive of that council, as well as councillors, stressing the need to bring forward a pipeline of projects.

Already a substantial pipeline of new social housing construction projects has been created, reversing the decline of previous years, when local authorities and approved housing bodies had seen much reduced activity in the area. In the Deputy's own county of Louth, for example, there are now 26 projects. Louth County Council and various approved housing bodies will deliver 348 homes at various stages of the construction project life cycle. My Department recently published a full list of social housing construction projects, involving 8,430 homes in total across 504 projects. They are available on the website and I have the list for Louth here. I can give it to the Deputy, as it lists 26 projects and the various stages at which they are. We are keen that all projects should be advanced as quickly as possible and I have assured local authorities that funding is available for well-planned, quality projects that fully support efforts in this regard.

At its heart, the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness is about increasing and accelerating housing delivery across all tenures to meet housing needs. The active pursuit of housing provision on State lands, including local authority land, is an important part of delivering on the overall ambition. A vital first step is to identify and map the sites in local authority and public ownership with appropriate lands to be master-planned to deliver increased mixed tenure housing, including social and more affordable homes to meet demand. That work is well under way and I expect detailed mapping of local authority housing lands to be completed by the end of March.

I spoke directly with the Deputy's housing officials in Louth, along with councillors, to help bring this forward and make suggestions for various sites. We are in the business of doing that and they will bring forward initiatives based on the various sites they own. Approximately 55 acres of land belong to Louth County Council and we have asked it to bring forward a pipeline of projects with that. There are 26 in play now and we are open to discussing more on that, including the various lands referred to by the Deputy. We have been very clear with Louth County Council and we want more development. We are willing to work on that.

Deputy Imelda Munster

Imagine we are now over eight months after the launch of the Rebuilding Ireland document and the Government still has not completed the mapping of the local authority land banks. That demonstrates the priority afforded by the Government to the funding of social housing provision. It is eight months since the launch and we are in the midst of a housing crisis but the Government still has not completed the list of land banks across the State. It beggars belief.

The Minister of State indicates there are 26 different projects but only six are being done by the local authority. The rest are from public-private partnerships and approved housing bodies. With the six developments, there will be a total of 123 homes over the next two to three years. There are 4,000 people on the housing list and the Government plans to provide 123 homes over the next three to four years. Of those homes, 20 have an unknown date of completion, seven are regeneration projects and 24 come from the acquisition of vacant units. There are three being done up on Bóthar Brugha in Drogheda that are just being renovated. There seems to be no roll-out of a proper Government-funded social housing provision.

Not all the local authority members were impressed by the Minister of State or the delivery he has overseen. The Government still has not finished the report detailing the mapping of council-owned lands. It is essentially saying, right in the midst of a housing crisis, that Louth should be happy enough with 123 houses, with only a certain number being newly built, over the next three to four years. The problem will be compounded further. It is clear as a bell that the Government's entire policy to solve the housing crisis is developer-led and developer-driven. That is just not going to work.

Deputy Damien English

I had the same mantra from the Deputy's colleagues in the Seanad earlier but we are clearly not what they describe. We are committed to social housing projects and putting the capacity back in the system to deliver social housing. There is a commitment of approximately €5.5 billion for social housing and 47,000 housing units throughout the country. Louth will play a major part in that. We have engaged the local authority and we have the land bank compiled for Louth County Council. There are 55 acres and I can go through all the sites as it is here in front of me.

Deputy Imelda Munster

The Minister of State did not have it a few months ago.

Deputy Damien English

Please do not try to say we do not have it. We have engaged with the local authority to ask it to bring forward proposals for all these different sites. On some sites there has been an application for funding from the local infrastructure fund; that will be announced at the end of the month and I hope some of the sites in Louth will be able to benefit so we can activate these sites. Most of the housing projects that have been committed to are being done in conjunction with or through Louth local authority. There is a total of 594 houses already in play but I am not in any way saying that is enough. We want much more than that and we have engaged with local authorities on the issue. We have made it clear the funding is there to develop this pipeline of houses. We will use land banks of public lands but we want to see more housing. We have said that to the council in Louth.

Contrary to the Deputy's opinion, we had a very constructive meeting with all the councillors, including those from the Deputy's party, on two occasions. All the questions would have been answered and dealt with and they were probably surprised by some of the responses. I totally accept that Sinn Féin claims it wants to build more social housing, although I have not seen funding for that.

Deputy Imelda Munster

The Minister of State's party is in government.

Deputy Damien English

As I indicated to the Deputy's colleague in the Seanad, we have put in place a plan to reactivate the construction of social housing. It had been closed down well before the recession. We do not have Sinn Féin's magic pen to make that happen tomorrow. All we can do is put in place plans to deliver that over the years ahead. We have made strong commitments in that respect. The money is there to do it now. We have been very clear in saying that Louth's local authority should bring forward its proposals. There are plans in place for a pipeline of nearly 600 houses. It is not enough to solve the housing crisis and we want to do more. It is not true to say there are 4,000 people on the social housing waiting list in Louth as the figure is 2,600. The Deputy should use the facts.

Deputy Imelda Munster

The figures are factual.

Garda Station Closures

Deputy Josepha Madigan

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this very topical issue of the re-opening of Stepaside Garda station. This station was one of those closed between 2012 and 2013 when 139 were shut due to budget cuts. I have always opposed the closing of this Garda station and I endeavoured, particularly during the general election campaign, to say to the residents of Stepaside that I am very committed to having this Garda station re-opened, although I could never give a guarantee in that regard. The Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality has said there will be a review in May and I very much welcome that. I have a number of questions for the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee.

There is a good argument, as far as I am concerned and as far as the Policing Authority should be concerned, for the re-opening of this particular Garda station above and beyond any other one. There is a 10% increase in population - 2,632 people in Stepaside itself.

I also take this opportunity to mention the Stepaside business people, who seem to have been lost in all of the media coverage of this Garda station and who started the petition. Mr. Des Kennedy was one of them. There is Mr. Michael Fleming, there is Garda Pat Cullen, who has acted as a community garda liaison, and Mr. John McCluskey of The Step Inn. I refer to many of the residents' committees, such as of Leopardstown Hall, Sandyford Hall and The Gallops.

There have been a lot of issues regarding the exploitation of the fact that there is no Garda station in the Stepaside area. We have had incidents at Hallowe'en. Ms Antoinette Cunningham, who is the president of the AGSI, criticised the station's closure and cited a significant increase in burglaries in the area, and I am very concerned about that. It was reported last year that there was a 50% increase in burglaries recorded in the general environs of Stepaside since the closure of this Garda station, and with the growing population and an increased demographic, it is clear that this community needs a Garda station.

The questions I would like to put to the Minister are as follows. Why was the report's publication delayed for so long? It is now four years since the closure of this Garda station. The review is taking so long.

What criteria will be used to determine which Garda stations will be re-opened? Obviously, there is a concern in Stepaside. The Policing Authority is an autonomous authority and has to be independent. Even so, I would like to know what criteria will determine which Garda station will re-open.

How long is it expected to take, following the publication of the Garda review in May, for the six pilot Garda stations which have been outlined in the programme for Government to be picked? How long will that pilot period be? What factors will determine whether the stations will remain open after the pilot period?

Will the stations to be re-opened under the pilot scheme be upgraded and refurbished as per the programme for Government's promise for, "new and refurbished Garda Stations throughout the country, which will be critical to delivering effective policing". That is enunciated quite clearly in the programme for Government. I was involved in those negotiations. I would like to see whether that will be delivered in the case of Stepaside Garda station if that station is picked as a pilot station.

What level of staffing will be given to the re-opened stations? There is no point in having a Garda station that is not manned. If Stepaside Garda station is successful in being picked by the Policing Authority, I would like to know whether it will be staffed. I note there is Operation Thor, but there is some comfort to be taken by the people knowing that gardaí are there in the station available to take calls when its needed.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Helen McEntee)

On behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality who, unfortunately, cannot be here, I apologise and thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I will not be able to answer all of the Deputy's questions but I have taken note of them, and those that I cannot answer, I will bring back to the Tánaiste.

The Deputy will appreciate that the Garda Commissioner is primarily responsible for the effective and efficient use of the resources available to her, including regarding Garda stations.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Garda Síochána district and station rationalisation programme gave rise to the closure of some 139 Garda stations in 2012 and 2013, following the completion by An Garda Síochána of a comprehensive review of its district and station network. 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 Tánaiste has been informed by the Garda authorities that the closures have allowed front-line gardaí to be managed and deployed with greater mobility, greater flexibility and in a more focused fashion, particularly with regard to various targeted police operations.

The programme for Government commits the Government to ensuring a strong and visible police presence throughout the country in order to maintain and strengthen community engagement, provide reassurance to citizens and deter crime. A cornerstone of this commitment is the Government plan to achieve an overall Garda workforce of 21,000 personnel by 2021, comprising 15,000 Garda members, 2,000 Garda Reserve members and 4,000 civilians.

Revisiting the decisions made to close Garda stations at the depths of the recession is also part of that commitment. In this context, the Tánaiste, as the Deputy correctly pointed out, has requested the Garda Commissioner, while fully cognisant of her statutory functions, to identify six stations for re-opening on a pilot basis to determine possible positive impacts that such openings will have on criminal activity, with special emphasis on burglaries, theft and public order. The pilot will feed into the wider review being undertaken by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate, at the request of the Policing Authority, of the dispersal and use of resources available to An Garda Síochána in the delivery of policing services to local communities.

I understand that work is continuing in An Garda Síochána to identify the six stations for inclusion in the pilot - unfortunately, I cannot inform the Deputy of some of the criteria of how they are picked - and that consultations have taken place with relevant stakeholders, including the Policing Authority. I also understand that the Tánaiste expects to receive a report from the Commissioner by the end of May in connection with the exercise.

While I can appreciate that the Deputy would wish that the process was completed sooner, I am sure she will agree that a comprehensive and evidence-based analysis should be carried out, taking account of all the relevant factors, before a final decision is made in respect of the stations to be reopened by the Commissioner. I am sure the residents in Stepaside would agree that such a process is probably extremely important and worthwhile.

Deputy Josepha Madigan

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, for her response to my queries.

I appreciate, as I stated earlier, that the Policing Authority is autonomous and that we cannot predetermine the outcome of its review of Garda stations. Having said that, I would like to know the Minister of State's response regarding me not being allowed know the criteria for the reopening or otherwise of a Garda station. While I accept the Minister of State saying it is evidence based, I do not understand why I am not allowed to know what the criteria are. It would be helpful for the residents to know that.

As the Minister of State can appreciate, the Stepaside area and the suburbs, because it has become such a national issue and the media have been so strongly talking about it, has been exposed for over four years at this stage and the residents are concerned that it is left as an own-goal for vandalism, hooligans and robberies. I would like to be able to tell them the criteria that will be used by the Policing Authority. In some way, we may be able to help the Policing Authority in informing its decision that Stepaside is a valid Garda station to be re-opened, not only on a pilot basis but on a permanent basis, and as I said, that it would be a refurbished Garda station because the building itself needs significant work and that it would be staffed on a daily basis so that it will be in a position to take calls when there is an incident in the area. I would be grateful if the Minister of State could answer those questions.

Deputy Helen McEntee

The Deputy will be aware that there are 139 stations and communities that would also like to know the criteria and would also like to be included in this pilot scheme. I suppose everybody would have some merit in being included in the scheme. I am not aware of whether the Tánaiste has the criteria or whether she is allowed to let that information out to various different areas.

I stress the Government's commitment to ensuring that there is a strong and visible presence of the police force on the ground within the stations supporting the communities. I stress the commitment to a workforce of over 21,000 personnel by 2021.

I understand the Deputy's frustration on this issue. I suppose reports generally tend to take longer than we would like but there is the commitment that this report will be finalised by the end of May.

Of course, I will bring Deputy Madigan's concerns and the various questions that she asked that I have not been able to answer to the attention of the Tánaiste and ask her to respond to the Deputy directly.

Cancer Services Provision

Deputy Jim Daly

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, as ucht an deis a thabhairt dom labhairt ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo anocht. I thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, for the opportunity to raise this important issue on the floor of the Dáil. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, for coming in to take this Topical Issues debate.

I can say with confidence that, normally, if I have an issue with the HSE, I can deal directly with the management and they are co-operative and always forthcoming with information. I have always found them most helpful.

However, this issue caused me some alarm over the past week when the Dáil was not sitting and I was anxious to bring it to the Minister's attention on the floor of the House.

I refer to the significant delays in the provision of radiotherapy treatment at Cork University Hospital, CUH, for cancer patients. Patients attend on a daily basis for radiotherapy treatment as they battle cancer. CUH is a centre of excellence serving County Cork and the only facility providing this treatment for cancer patients. Obviously, it is of vital importance to an enormous region in the context of a very dangerous illness, cancer. As such, we want to ensure that the service runs at 100% of capacity. Having spoken to a number of patients who have been availing of the radiotherapy in CUH, I understand that there have been significant delays in treatment in the past number of weeks. The service is operating at 75% capacity usually but on the Thursday before last an incident with one of the machines meant it was running at only 50% of capacity. That delayed the treatment of patients, many of whom had to wait for hours. That wait of hours occurs in a context where patients must attend every day for a period of six to eight weeks. They travel long distances from the constituency I represent in west Cork. If one lives on the Beara Peninsula and must travel to CUH, it is a round trip of more than three hours. If one has delays of two or three hours each day during one's treatment, it is very significant and an added trauma we want to avoid for patients at all costs.

There is also an issue with optimum treatment time. If a person is post-operative, it is ideal to have the treatment begin within six weeks. However, I spoke to someone whose treatment did not begin until nine weeks after an operation due to the delays in CUH. While the treatment is not being cancelled, it is certainly being delayed significantly for patients. There appears to be a level of underperformance at this centre of excellence and I am adamant and anxious on behalf of patients that whatever resources are needed be given to the management of CUH without delay to ensure that radiotherapy services can operate at the optimum level so that patients get timely access to life-saving and necessary treatment. We must avoid inflicting any further stress on them. Every patient to whom I spoke asked me to acknowledge the exceptional courtesy, care and attention they receive from staff at CUH. They are clearly doing everything they can to ensure that patients are looked after. However, I understand that there are a number of issues with resources. I am grateful to have been allowed to raise this important issue.

Deputy Helen McEntee

I thank Deputy Jim Daly for raising this extremely important issue. I join him in acknowledging the excellent work of the staff and the care they provide. The priority is to ensure that people who are suffering do not have that suffering added to. We must provide them with as much support as possible. The Minister, Deputy Harris, sends his apologies, but I welcome the opportunity to speak on the issue.

The radiation oncology unit at CUH is currently installing a new oncology information system which requires the transfer of patient data to a new system. The work is being undertaken on a phased basis and two of the four linear accelerator machines in the radiation unit in Cork have now been upgraded to the new system. Following this upgrade, there were some delays which affected capacity on the linear accelerators. The cause of this problem has been identified and the necessary changes to the software have been made to rectify the situation. CUH has assured the Department that at no stage during this installation programme has a patient's treatment been cancelled. The CUH management team is continuously monitoring the upgrade programme. I acknowledge, however, that while no appointment has been cancelled, there have been some delays because the service has been unable to operate at full capacity.

Radiation therapy is an integral part of cancer treatment with 50% to 60% of all cancer patients requiring it at some point in the care pathway. Modern radiotherapy now requires highly sophisticated hardware and software to deliver treatment. This increased complexity has resulted in the more accurate delivery of radiation doses to cancers while simultaneously sparing more normal tissue. New advances are being made in radiation therapy treatments, including the provision of brachytherapy, leading to improvements in patient outcomes. Radiation oncology is provided in five public hospitals in Dublin, Cork and Galway and services are contracted from private facilities in Limerick and Waterford. Patients from the north west can now be referred to the north west cancer centre at Altnagelvin Area Hospital in Derry for treatment. That offers them treatment much closer to their homes than was previously available. The national plan for radiation oncology will oversee the further development of radiation oncology facilities in Dublin, Cork and Galway. The completion of the national programme for radiation oncology is a priority for the Department.

I am pleased to inform the House that work on the new radiation oncology facility at CUH is under way. Construction on the main contract to provide what will be a very important and much-needed facility for patients receiving radiation oncology services in Cork commenced yesterday. The new unit will comprise five new linear accelerator machines which is one extra over the current capacity. It is expected that the new facility will be fully operational by the end of 2019. The Minister reiterates his commitment to providing safe high-quality radiation therapy to patients in Ireland and assures the House that at no stage through this installation programme has a patient's treatment been cancelled. However, I acknowledge that the hospital would like to schedule more patients for treatment on daily basis. Due, however, to the outdated machines currently available, that has not been possible. With the five new accelerator machines, which is one additional machine, the hospital will be able to increase provision.

Deputy Jim Daly

I thank the Minister of State for her reply and the HSE for the prompt response today. "Cancellation" is a word which the HSE can state definitively does not apply, but I understand that one cannot cancel radiotherapy treatment as such. It must continue albeit it can be delayed for a day or two. However, it cannot be cancelled. We may be mixing up words or perhaps it was not the best word to put forward in the debate. While I appreciate that nothing has been cancelled, there have been delays and it is that issue which is causing people concern. The HSE has put up its hands and said the installation of new equipment has caused delays. No party to this debate needs me to explain the trauma cancer imposes on people. It is incumbent on the HSE management and on us as legislators to ensure that when new systems are put in place, a smooth transition occurs and that no delays are caused. They contribute very significantly to the burden on patients who are attending on a daily basis and must wait around for three, four and five hours for treatment. Others may have to wait for another week for a treatment to start. It is not good enough that we are using the installation of new machines as an excuse. This is a modern era in which we should be able to prepare for such transfers and avoid adding these delays and traumas to people's existing burdens. The cancellation issue arises in respect of the rolling closures of the theatre for cancer patients which is an added complication. Several procedures for cancer patients have been cancelled in theatres because of staffing issues at CUH, which is another cause of concern and something I wish to bring to the attention of the Minister of State to pass on to the HSE.

Deputy Helen McEntee

I do not disagree with what the Deputy says. The HSE's national cancer control programme has set performance targets to measure timely access for patients to radiation oncology treatments. The target is that 90% of patients will undergo this therapy treatment within 15 days. According to the national figures for 2016, 83% of patients commenced radiotherapy treatment within 15 working days. In Cork, the figure was 71%, which was slightly below the national average. The latest figures available, which are for January 2017, show that the national figure was 75%, with 72% of Cork patients commencing treatment within 15 working days. While it is not an excuse, the HSE has identified the new equipment as the reason patients' treatment was not able to progress. The HSE hopes the extra linear accelerator machine will allow CUH to process patients faster and possibly outdo the national average.

On the rolling closures, the recruitment embargo has left many hospitals, including CUH, in a difficult position. The opening up of that recruitment means it is hoped to fill those places and to cease rolling closures by the end of April this year. Any of the Deputy's other queries which I may not have addressed, I will bring back to the Minister on his behalf.

Social Welfare Schemes

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I am very concerned about recent reports of cuts to community schemes such as the community employment scheme, Tús and the rural social scheme. The deadline for the rural social scheme in County Cavan is today and my office has been inundated with requests for application forms. They are being well utilised. One need only look around communities in the country to see the valuable work that would not be completed if these schemes ceased to exist.

The Government's argument is that unemployment figures are in decline but not everywhere in the country has seen the benefits of economic recovery and I refer to my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan. In truth, these schemes fill the holes in State structures that have been left by Government cutbacks. I speaking of the cuts to staffing and resourcing that Cavan and Monaghan county councils have endured. One need only consider the poor conditions of the road network and the impact the lack of a local improvement scheme is having on rural communities although this discussion is for another day and with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport.

As for the community employment schemes, Tús and the rural social schemes, my constituency office has received hundreds of calls since Christmas to report incidents of illegal dumping. In my native town of Bailieborough, people are willing to help through such community schemes and throughout the constituency, great work has been done to clean up the countryside. People living alone in rural villages in Cavan and Monaghan benefit hugely from the rural social scheme. In 2016 approximately 37,000 people were working in Tús, community employment schemes and the rural social scheme and were doing valuable work in our communities. How can rural Ireland sustain any cuts to these important schemes?

I call on the Minister for Social Protection to give assurances that the future of such community schemes will be protected and, if anything, enhanced. In particular, I seek the abolition of the time limit for certain schemes. Community schemes such as the community employment scheme, Tús and the rural social scheme are invaluable programmes in which local people provide important services in towns, villages and rural areas throughout the country. Community ventures such as the maintenance of football pitches, green areas and community halls are carried out by people on such schemes. In many cases, were it not for these programmes the work would not be done at all as many local authorities lack the resources or manpower to do them. This is where they fill a gap.

My offices in Cavan and Monaghan have been contacted by a number of people who are concerned about the future of the Tús scheme in particular. I need assurances from the Minister that the scheme, along with the community employment scheme and the rural social scheme, will be continued and that the repressive time limits for certain schemes will be lifted. The benefit of these schemes include giving participants a sense of purpose, re-engaging them with the workplace and ensuring essential work is carried out in communities. Many of the people who participate in the schemes can find it difficult to get into the workplace. The idea of forcing them back onto jobseekers' allowance is counter-productive. It can have a negative impact on people and would deprive communities of experienced workers who could make a valuable contribution. I call on the Minister to examine the time restrictions attached to some of the schemes in order that people can continue to participate in these essential programmes. The value is for both the individual and the local community.

Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection (Deputy Finian McGrath)

I thank Deputy Smyth for raising this important issue. I am taking this debate because the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, is detained in the Seanad.

The community employment scheme and Tús are part of the Department's range of programmes and schemes catering for long-term unemployed jobseekers and those most distant from the labour market. They are designed to break the cycle of unemployment and maintain work readiness, thereby improving a person's opportunities of returning to the labour market. Employment programmes are a vital service in local communities, especially throughout rural Ireland. The programmes deliver on two levels. They provide a person who is unemployed with the opportunity of work experience and to develop new skills to prepare him or her for employment in the open labour market. They also play a very important role in augmenting service delivery to local communities in key areas such as child care, health and social care, drug rehabilitation and local amenities.

All areas of the country have benefited from these programmes. In fact, I have seen this at first hand over recent months when I visited various schemes throughout the country. As the economic recovery takes hold and the overall level of unemployment continues to fall, the need to adapt employment programmes to the changing circumstances, opportunities and the needs of jobseekers has become more apparent and urgent. With this in mind, the Department undertook an analysis of the community employment scheme, and while the primary focus was on this scheme, the review also looked at other employment programmes such as Tús. The report made a number of recommendations on the operation of these schemes.

As the Deputy may be aware, the Minister recently brought a memorandum to Government on the programmes and obtained approval to publish the review report and to progress the various recommendations. He intends to publish the review report within the next two weeks. As part of the roll-out of the new measures, the Department will consult key stakeholders in the coming weeks and implementation of the new measures will be progressed thereafter. The nature and format of the consultation process are being finalised by officials of the Department. I assure the Deputy the work being done through programmes such as the community employment scheme and Tús is highly valued and recognised by the Government. The changes to be rolled out over the coming months will strengthen the schemes and help to ensure they continue to support unemployed people and the provision of services across communities in Ireland.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I thank the Minister of State and I hope the commitment is there to strengthen and enhance the schemes and that there will be no reduction in them. I am being honest when I state rural constituencies such as Cavan-Monaghan have not seen the economic recovery about which we hear so much talk in the Chamber. It really has been the more urban areas which have been affected by it. Rural areas totally depend on such schemes and as their local authorities do not have the manpower they used to have for roads, libraries and community spaces such as playgrounds, the schemes are very important in this regard. Concerns are being raised about access to JobPath for community employment scheme participants. It appears JobPath seems to take precedence. My colleagues in Fianna Fáil and I have had huge issues involving people who have a place available on a community employment scheme and who have a genuine interest and skills to impart and use in their communities. Once they are signed up to JobPath, however, there does not seem to be any room for manoeuvre or to be able to negotiate going from one scheme to the other. This is a huge problem which needs to be dealt with.

Community employment schemes have grown to develop great social and economic benefits for our communities and we must be mindful of the impact JobPath is having on them. While the goal is to move the majority of people into full-time sustainable employment, we need to be cognisant that a one-size-fits-all approach is not suitable for everybody and therefore a degree of flexibility is needed in the activation scheme, along with an awareness of the people's age, skills set, previous experience, needs and goals. Many Deputies have been contacted by people having huge difficulties because they have signed up for JobPath and wish to move to a community employment scheme but the flexibility to do this does not exist. It is a specific issue that needs to be addressed.

Deputy Finian McGrath

The Deputy acknowledged that the unemployment rate has reduced to 6%. She spoke about County Cavan and mentioned that she has received a number of calls in recent days in this regard and this is an issue I will bring back to the Minister. She raised other points regarding infrastructure, transport and roads in rural areas and this is something about which I can speak to the Minister, Deputy Ross. I accept the importance of community employment schemes for the 37,000 people on them because it gives them a sense of purpose and I totally agree with the Deputy on this.

Even this morning, the Ministers, Deputies Leo Varadkar and Simon Harris, and I were dealing with the issue - it is not directly related but is in the same territory - of 250,000 people with disabilities receiving a social welfare, illness or disability benefit, weekly payment. We have accepted and are looking at the idea of employment for them. We have come across and examined very closely the barriers stopping them from getting involved in more meaningful employment. There is the threat of the loss of a medical card on lower earnings. Where the system does not support early intervention, the issue of overall income support for people with disabilities is very complex and people with disabilities are reluctant to lose the security provided by the social protection system. That fits in with what we are doing.

Deputy Bríd Smyth mentioned access to schemes and the need to manoeuvre. That is a very valuable point. I accept the Deputy's point that one size does not fit all when looking at schemes. I mentioned those in my area responsibility - the disabiliy sector. We have to have flexibility and be able to manoeuvre. If there are people with particular skills in certain areas, whether it be child care, the disability sector or in dealing with mental health issues, we should be looking seriously at particular projects. I will bring all of the issues raised by the Deputy back to the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar.