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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 14 Nov 2017

Vol. 961 No. 4

Topical Issue Debate

Hospitals Funding

I hope the debate this evening provides clarity as to when funding will be approved for Letterkenny University Hospital to provide nurses and support staff to facilitate the opening of the 20-bed short-stay ward as an addition to the hospital. Currently, the short-stay ward is being used temporarily for rehabilitation service patients while refurbishments are carried out in the rehab unit in St. Conal's hospital campus. Previously, the short-stay ward was operating as a full ward of the hospital pending the reopening of the haematology-oncology ward, in which there were 11 beds, as well as the coronary care unit, which had eight beds. Those two wards opened in summer, following the flooding, and the beds and staff from the short-stay ward transferred to the two newly-opened wards. That meant the short-stay ward was vacant. Since then, it has been used for rehabilitation patients who are due to return to St. Conal's by the end of December when the ward will, once again, be vacant and available for use.

To bring the short-stay ward into use to provide the 20 beds requires staffing. In June 2017, hospital management in Letterkenny submitted a request to the HSE for approval for the staff required to open the short-stay ward and provide the additional 20 beds. If open, the ward would enhance the hospital's capacity from 330 patients to 350. To bring that about, funding of €1.8 million was sought to hire 17 additional nurses, six health care assistants and four other staff. As the Minister of State knows from his work in the Department of Health, it takes time to put staff in place. Once approval is secured, it takes weeks or months to get to a situation where beds can be reopened. It usually takes at least four months. Nevertheless, Letterkenny has still not received approval from the HSE or, in particular, from the Government, which is responsible for providing the funding to the HSE to enable that to happen. As a result, 23 patients are waiting on trolleys for admission to Letterkenny University Hospital today. Yesterday, there were 25 such patients.

Since January 2017, 4,000 patients have had to wait on trolleys for access to a hospital bed. They were admitted by accident and emergency department consultants but no beds were available on 4,000 occasions so far this year. That is an increase from 2016, when just over 1,200 patients were obliged to wait on trolleys. As such, the numbers increased almost two and a half times between 2016 and 2017. The hospital's assessment shows that, on average, approximately 20 additional beds are required at a given time. The proposal put forward would deal with that and provide the additional beds. However, that will only happen if the Government gets its act together and provides the required funding. Why has the Minister of State sat on this for the last number of months? Even if the funding is given now, we will have to wait a further period because of the inaction of the Government regarding the approval. Can the Minister of State inform the House today whether the funding will be provided immediately and state that every effort will be made to ensure the additional 20 beds will be available at Letterkenny University Hospital after Christmas for Donegal patients?

I thank Deputy McConalogue for raising this important matter. First, I am delighted that as part of the budget 2018 announcements, €40 million in additional finding was provided for winter pressures in 2017 and a further €90 million for measures to improve access to scheduled and unscheduled care in 2018. As such, we are planning for these particular issues. This is a signal of the commitment of the Government to invest in hospital services, provide additional supports during the winter period, increase hospital capacity and reduce waiting times for hospital procedures.

The additional funding for winter preparedness will be allocated to a range of measures. I confirm that €5 million of the funding for 2017 will be focused on supporting patients to return home, or to an appropriate community setting where clinically appropriate, by providing 45 additional home-care packages and 20 additional transitional care beds per week over the winter period. These measures have already been rolled out to targeted hospitals nationally, thus helping to alleviate some of the pressures hospitals are experiencing at present. Funding will also be provided to increase bed capacity this winter and, moving forward, as part of service planning for 2018. The Department of Health is also undertaking a health service capacity review in line with the programme for a partnership Government commitment. The review's findings, which are due to be published before the end of the year, will provide an evidence base regarding future capacity. In addition, I confirm to the Deputy that all hospital groups and community health organisations have developed and put in place integrated winter preparedness plans for their localities with a focus on planning for periods of escalation, maintaining patient-flow processes and ensuring public health preparedness.

I will turn to the question raised regarding Letterkenny University Hospital. I am aware that a proposal for additional beds in Letterkenny has been submitted to the HSE by the Saolta hospital group. This proposal will be assessed by the HSE in line with current financial and procurement processes and a decision will be made thereafter. In general, there is no doubt that too many patients continue to wait on trolleys for admission to hospital on a daily basis within our health service. I acknowledge the distress that long wait-times in emergency departments cause for patients and their families, including in Letterkenny. The public hospital system is seeing a growing demand for care and Letterkenny follows this trend. This year, accident and emergency attendances at Letterkenny had increased by more than 1% by the end of September, including an almost 5% increase in emergency department attendances by people over 75 years. Notwithstanding the pressure on Letterkenny emergency department, it is worth noting that patient experience times in Letterkenny are above the national average, meaning that patients complete their episode of care more quickly in Letterkenny emergency department. I compliment and thank the staff for that.

I conclude by noting the commitment of this Government to develop and improve services at Letterkenny University Hospital as evidenced by the significant level of investment in capital projects in recent years. These developments include multiple remedial works following flooding in 2013, a new state-of-the-art blood science laboratory in 2015 and a new medical academy and a clinical skills laboratory, both of which were opened last year.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. It beggars belief, however, and is unacceptable. First, I emphasise the tremendous work the staff at Letterkenny University Hospital perform on a daily basis. It is completely unfair that their work and effort is met, as it has been in the Dáil this evening, by the absolute failure of the Government to get to grips with its responsibility to ensure the planning and support is in place so that they can do the job they do their best to perform every day.

The Minister of State said he is delighted that €40 million is available to ease the pressure on hospitals. He also said he is aware that a proposal for additional beds in Letterkenny had been submitted to the HSE and that this proposal would be assessed by the HSE in line with current financial and procurement processes, with a decision made thereafter. The HSE and the Government have had this proposal since June. We are in the middle of winter and the Minister says it will be assessed and considered as part of due process. He said he wishes to acknowledged the distress from long waiting times for patients in emergency departments. We do not want the Minister of State to tell us that he acknowledges people's distress. We want the Government to deal with the matter in order to ensure that people are not distressed.

The hospital in Letterkenny put forward a clear proposal to provide 20 additional beds which would greatly help deal with overcrowding and people having to wait on trolleys every day for admission. Fortunately, when the rehab patients return to St. Conal's after Christmas there will be the physical space in the hospital to provide those 20 beds. Not every other hospital in the country has that capacity. The Government, however, cannot get its act together - even after six months - to provide the funding required to put staff in place for this purpose. It is totally unacceptable.

The Minister of State has two minutes to reply.

I ask the Minister of State and the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, to recognise how they have failed in respect of this very viable proposal. I ask for an immediate answer and that, come the new year, we will have the 20 additional beds in Letterkenny and people will not have to continue to experience being on trolleys.

I realise this is a very important issue but we have gone over time by a minute and that cannot be allowed.

I will bring the Deputy's strong message about Letterkenny University Hospital back to the Minister, Deputy Harris. I agree with the Deputy regarding the staff at the hospital and I compliment them. The patient experience at the hospital is above the national average and there are many examples of good practice. It is misleading to say that nothing is happening. A great deal is happening. The projects under way and planned include: a CCU haemotology-oncology ward restoration upgrade; a radiology and interventional suite restoration and upgrade; a mortuary restoration and upgrade; boiler-house maintenance; and an underground service duct with details at design stage.

Nothing has happened in government. Everything is happening in the hospital. What is the Government doing?

There is a restoration upgrade for the physiotherapy and occupational therapy departments and additional projects are planned. It is unacceptable to have people on trolleys and that will be the focus of our extra spending in 2018. There is €90 million extra to deal with these issues. I will raise with the Minister for Health the points made by the Deputy on the 20 beds and the €1.8 million. I will push this issue but a lot of work has been done. We will continue with that work.

Homeless Persons Data

I hope the Minister of State enjoyed his party conference at the weekend but people were bewildered by the comments that emanated from it. They were bewildered earlier in the weekend as to who advises the Taoiseach and who thought it would be a good idea for him to take a picture of himself putting a spoon into a dishwasher or shared pictures of his "Mr. Taoiseach" mug and another pair of the array of coloured socks he has been receiving from various companies. These were all photo stunts to convince the population that the Taoiseach has a personality and is one of us but all obliterated by the remarks made by the housing Minister and repeated at the party conference by the Taoiseach. It seems Fine Gael are homelessness deniers. The party's members were not willing to debate the most pressing social issue at the party conference, meaning that the main Government party was sending out the message "Crisis; what crisis?" This was followed, disgracefully, by a well-paid Government adviser, Mr. Skehan, whose services are paid for by the taxpayer, going on national radio to say that the poor will always be with us. It is quite incredible and these stark examples bring it home to people that nobody in the Government seems to care or to recognise the scale of this crisis.

I will deal with the figures. The OECD is probably a good place to start when it comes to comparing figures. It estimates six core forms of homelessness. Most countries count some but not all of the core forms and Ireland uses the narrowest definition, only counting three out of six categories, while 18 out of 30 countries count more than that. Ireland only counts three: sleeping rough, emergency accommodation and homeless accommodation. The Irish system does not count people in institutions, such as the cancer sufferer in my constituency who is in a convalescent home and who cannot be released because he has nowhere to go. It does not count non-conventional dwellings, such as caravans or mobile homes, which are very common, sheds in back gardens or tents. It does not count people living temporarily in conventional housing with family and friends due to the lack of housing, which is probably most of the people we come across at our constituency offices. Very few of these are counted but if they were, the figures for homelessness would be multiples of what they are. The other sleight of hand was using two-year old figures - from 2015 - even though the rate of homelessness has almost doubled in two years.

Even if all the figures the Government provided are accurate and we are in a great position by international standards, what comfort will that be to any person who is actually homeless tonight? Should the woman from Blanchardstown, which is my area and in the Taoiseach's constituency, who is bringing several children to three different schools from a bed and breakfast in Gardiner Street take comfort in the statement that we are doing well by international standards? This is an attempt to normalise homelessness and state that it is acceptable. This is what Mr. Skehan's comments were about.

It is true that homelessness is an international phenomenon and that the Government adheres to a neoliberal philosophy which dominates many administrations. This philosophy states that public housing is to be minimised and spending on it is to be slashed. The right to a home does not count for anything any more. One trips over homeless people in America, the richest country in the world, but that is nothing to boast about. It is incredible that the Minister thinks it was apt to state this at his party conference. People now see the reality of the situation.

I welcome the opportunity to elaborate upon the comments that were made by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, at the weekend in respect of lreland's rate of homelessness and to clarify the technical issues associated with making international comparisons. The Taoiseach is very well informed about the situation relating to housing and homelessness. He has immersed himself fully in our Department's brief, along with the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, in the past number of months and has attended a housing summit. He has worked with the Minister to ensure that we get extra money, with over €500 million allocated in the budget. We have secured over €6 billion of taxpayers' money to spend on this matter in the years ahead. The spend next year will be close to €2 billion. The Taoiseach is very well informed and very much aware that the position is not acceptable.

The Taoiseach and the Minister are correct that Ireland's rate of homelessness is low by international standards, including among EU member states and by comparison to our nearest neighbours. It is also important to acknowledge that bringing clarification to this issue is not to suggest that any excuses are being made for the number of households that are currently without permanent accommodation. Let me be crystal clear: the levels of homelessness we are currently experiencing in this country, including recent increases, are absolutely unacceptable. No one is disputing that and the Taoiseach, the Minister, the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Phelan, and I have said it repeatedly.

The figures are there for everyone to see and no one is hiding from this. We have consistently said we will spend money on fixing this over a period but we cannot fix it in a week. We are certainly not hiding from the facts.

It is not good enough that more than 3,000 children are without permanent homes, that families are residing in hotels or that individuals are sleeping on the streets of our cities. However, neither is it acceptable to hear commentators talking down our country. Over the past two years we have seen this narrative reflected in the national media. It has been claimed that homelessness in Ireland is at its worst since the Famine and that we have a crisis that is the worst in Europe. Assertions have been made to the effect that homelessness in Ireland is at such crisis levels that we should be excused from the requirements of EU law in responding.

Some of this narrative has seeped into international coverage of our housing system, and it is damaging to Ireland’s international reputation that our social response to this issue is being portrayed as dysfunctional. As Teachtaí Dála we have a responsibility in this regard, and the good work being done in difficult circumstances needs to be recognised. We compliment the good work that is being done through all our local authorities, housing agencies, approved housing bodies and NGOs working in the sector, which spend a great deal of money tackling this issue. Some of it is taxpayers' money but some they raise themselves. They work night after night to provide services to people who are homeless and to help us find solutions for them. We cannot consistently undermine the great work they do.

There are a number of readily available international comparative studies on homelessness, which illustrate Ireland's position in this regard. One such report is that produced recently by the OECD, which sees Ireland in the top tier of 30 international nations. One of the most comprehensive EU comparisons ever carried out by the European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless found Ireland to have one of the lowest rates of homelessness among member states. Of course, these comparisons need to be contextualised. Direct international comparisons are difficult because of the availability, type, quality and consistency of data in different countries. Some commentators say this lack of international uniformity means that we should not view Ireland’s favourable position in a positive light. However, Ireland is a world leader in the production of consistent and timely quality data. The homelessness data that is available for Ireland is not contested by our homeless services sector, as it is for many other nations where governments are accused of ignoring homelessness or underplaying the figures, which we certainly do not. When we accept the fact the data available for Ireland is timely, consistent and comprehensive then we can understand that, even despite the definitional variations that may arise in comparisons, it is clear that Ireland’s homeless rate is not extraordinary, and is actually considerably lower than many other countries that are comparable in socioeconomic and cultural terms.

I will now provide a direct comparison between our homeless rates and those in England and Scotland. These two nations also put considerable effort into monitoring homelessness and producing data, and so a direct comparison is possible. Based on the most recent reports, which were for September, there are 8,374 individuals, men, women and children, residing in emergency accommodation. These individuals equate to approximately 4,600 households. Based on census data from 2016, we had a national population of 4.76 million, broken down into 1.7 million households. A household can be a single person living alone or two or more persons living together.

I must interrupt the Minister of State because he does not have time now. He will have further time. I know this is a very important issue but Deputy Coppinger must also get her two minutes.

I have the OECD figures in front of me. As I explained at the outset, Ireland uses fewer categories when it comes to evaluating homelessness. The figures for the UK, our nearest neighbour, refer to the number of households applying for housing assistance to local authorities. Such households are accepted as being in the statutory homelessness category during the year of reference. We do not do this. The figures of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government do not count rough sleeping either. Perhaps they are added somewhere else but they are not counted officially on the Department's website. It only deals with those in emergency accommodation.

We could argue until the cows come home, but everybody knows that 464 public houses were built last year. In the 1970s, 8,000 or 9,000 were routinely built each year. This morning, as people got up, they were told that house prices are to increase by 20% in the next couple of years because there is no affordable housing and there is not enough housing for the growing population. The Minister of State can argue all he likes. What was most pertinent about the comments the Taoiseach made at the weekend is that they revealed a real belief. They were backed up later by Mr. Skehan, who is a Government adviser. How can we have somebody heading up the Housing Agency who thinks the poor will always be with us and that we should not get emotional about homelessness? I wish he would tell that to the people I meet every day in the Dublin West constituency, which is a black spot for homelessness because of our young migrant and very transient population. People do not have anywhere to live.

The Minister of State also mentioned the census. Huge numbers of young people aged under 30 are stuck at home. Almost 500,000 of them cannot get out from under their parents' feet and create independent lives for themselves. They are not counted as being homeless either, but they are also in housing need. We were told it would take 40 years to clear the housing waiting list if we wait for the Government, with its neoliberal philosophy, and capitalism to solve the problem. A complete change is required. We need an alternative whereby people who believe in public housing are in control.

I want to make very clear that the figures I tried to give earlier show we have a homelessness rate of approximately 2.7 households for every 1,000 households. In England, the figure is 3.45 homeless households for 1,000. The figure for Scotland is higher again. The Deputy is right to say that the number of those rough sleeping in England, namely, 4,134 people, is also very high. When the census was taken, the figure in Ireland was 123. The count of rough sleepers taken twice a year estimates the number approximately 130 or 140. It might be slightly higher. We try to monitor this figure, deal with it and be very clear.

So the Government is doing a good job.

We provide emergency accommodation and we will provide an increased number of emergency beds in the months ahead to allow for potentially cold weather.

We are not saying that it is acceptable. I want to be absolutely clear on this. Speaking about international comparisons does not in any way try to excuse or normalise homelessness. That is not what this is about. We have put in the resources to fix it. The Deputy, the committee and many others wanted the Government to commit to 10,000 social houses a year. This is exactly what we are doing. The money is being ring-fenced to deliver 50,000 social housing units over the next couple of years. In addition, we also provide many temporary solutions through the HAP scheme and RAS. Per working day, approximately 85 people are given housing solutions. Next year, the figure will be approximately 100. In the year gone by, more than 3,000 people left an emergency homeless situation and went into a house. We are making some progress. We say every week that we know it is not enough and we have to do more. We have put more money into it and we are trying many new measures, including direct build, leasing, acquiring vacant properties and bringing empty properties back into use. We will do all we can to intervene in the market to increase the supply of housing. Please do not keep telling me that we do not care or that we are not trying. Next year, €2 billion, which is a lot of money, will be spent on this. We are making inroads.

It is the same as ten years ago.

It is not the same as ten years ago.

The number of adults is the same as ten years ago, but the difference is that more than 3,000 children are homeless now. We have to put in more money to fix this and we will fix it. Progress is being made. Please do not do down the work that is being done by all of those involved in providing solutions, because 85 solutions a day is quite a lot. It is not enough to deal with it so we will do even more next year and we will get on top of this.

Road Improvement Schemes

I thank the Minister, Deputy Ross, for coming to the House to give me some information on this matter. The N62 is a critical artery through Offaly and the midlands. It links the M6 at Athlone and continues to the M7 at Roscrea and the M8 at Horse and Jockey. It is crucial that the road, which is a national secondary road, be maintained to the highest possible standard because we require it to ensure we can develop our social, economical and cultural offerings in the area. We need access to our power station, forestry and for industrial purposes. We need access to develop the rural economy. We have a very good business park in Ferbane, which has a food campus, and we need good access there.

Unfortunately, some parts of the road are deteriorating, particularly in Ferbane as one heads out of the town towards the Gallen Priory nursing home. A significant piece of the road really and truly is in a dreadful state and needs to be upgraded. We then move onto the roundabout at Cloghan, which is in a particularly poor state. I understand a design has been drafted for public consultation. Good consultation will find an agreement on the design because a solution needs to be found. It is an unusual junction with five roads leading into it. Another measure is required at Boolinarig Cross, which is a very unsafe junction. The speed of traffic along that route means it is frightening to try to exit from those two routes onto the junction.

A number of people are living along those two routes. There is a lot of agricultural activity and ordinary domestic activity along them. A total reconfiguration of that junction is required to help people to exit onto the N62. I understand there has been a little bit of work on it in the past. Agreements with landowners have been negotiated or are certainly in progress. It seems to me that this junction should be prioritised. Further south on the N62, there are concerns about access onto the N52 at Kennedy's Cross. Perhaps that could be examined as well.

I want to impress on the Minister the importance of the N62 to west and south County Offaly. When I was on the midlands regional authority many years ago, we looked at a development plan for the midlands region. There seemed to be a drive to downgrade the N62 at that time. I am glad this did not happen. Along with the other councillors who were members of the authority, I fought to make sure the N62 retained its status as a national secondary route. If that status was allowed to deteriorate, it would be terribly damaging to those of us who live in the area. I must acknowledge that some excellent work has been done on the N62 between Cloghan and Ferbane in recent years. The hard shoulders on that stretch of the road are very narrow, however. I know it is particularly challenging because of the peat foundation. There have been occasions when large vehicles have been pulled off that road, in effect. That has not happened of late, thankfully, but it has been an issue in the past. I impress on the Minister the need to prioritise the N62 in the interests of the west Offaly area.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I appreciate the importance she attaches to the development of the roads in her locality. When I visited the area recently, the Deputy helpfully and kindly showed me the dangerous roads in respect of which measures are needed. We will look seriously at such measures.

As Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, I am responsible for overall policy for and funding of the national roads programme. The planning, design and implementation of individual national road projects is a matter for Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Roads Acts 1993 to 2015 in conjunction with the local authorities concerned. The assessment and prioritisation of individual projects is a matter in the first instance for TII within its capital budget and in accordance with section 19 of the Roads Act 1993. Ireland has a road network of just under 100,000 km. The maintenance and improvement of national, regional and local roads places a substantial financial burden on local authorities and the Exchequer. The national financial position led to large reductions in the amounts of Exchequer funding available for roads expenditure in the years of financial crisis. For this reason, there has been a focus on maintenance and renewal rather than major new improvements in recent years. I envisage that the emphasis on maintaining current assets will continue into the next capital plan period. The 2016-21 capital plan, Building on Recovery, and the capital plan review allocations mark a significant step forward in restoring funding to the levels needed to maintain the road network in a steady-state condition and allowing for some investment in road improvement schemes. The allocations and planned projects for the first years of the proposed ten-year capital investment plan will align with the existing capital plan as supplemented as part of the capital plan review.

I understand from TII that it has invested approximately €8.3 million in upgrade works on the N62 in County Offaly since 2012. Additional funding of €369,000 has been provided by TII for road safety improvement schemes on the route. I accept the Deputy's argument that this is not enough. I acknowledge that further great improvements are needed on this road. After ten years of retrenchment, there are many potential national, regional and local road improvement projects across the country. The scope for progressing new road improvement projects will depend on the capital funding allocated to the Department under the proposed ten-year capital investment plan. As there are many competing demands, the appraisal and prioritisation of projects in line with the requirements of the public spending code and the Department's capital appraisal framework will be central to assessing which suitable major and minor national road projects can be advanced. We will bear in mind the high priority the Deputy has attached to this road and the excellent case she has made for it this evening.

I am sure the Minister will not mind if I take advantage of his presence in the Chamber by mentioning the N52 in the hope that we might get a link from Kilbeggan to Tullamore. The Minister will appreciate the importance of this project in light of his recent visit to the area. I remind him, in the context of the specific improvement grants he mentioned in his response, that many roads in west and east Offaly are built on peat foundations. According to the guidelines on the rehabilitation of roads over peat, such roads require works to be carried out on them four to five times more often than roads that are not founded on peat. We can see as we traverse the county that the current funding allocation is not really sufficient to cover all the roads built on peat foundations. I can clearly see the deterioration in roads built on cutaway bogs. I would also like to take advantage of the Minister's presence by mentioning the inner relief road that is required in Edenderry. He will be aware of the work that Offaly County Council has put into this 1 km stretch of road. It is ready to proceed. I would also like to mention the R400 from Rhode to Portarlington, which is part of the link between the M6 and M7 motorways. Rhode business campus is accessed from this strategic route. I would appreciate it if the Minister could look at the question of peat foundations and impress on those who are carrying out our policies that extra funding is needed in County Offaly for these purposes.

The Deputy was present in Edenderry recently when a comprehensive presentation was made to me about peat foundations. The relief road was also highlighted on that occasion. It is imprinted on my mind because I have come across it twice in recent weeks, thanks to the Deputy and her colleague, the Minister, Deputy Flanagan. I will bear it in mind. I appreciate what Deputy Corcoran Kennedy has said on the issue of peat foundations. I know there is a greater need. The permanence of roads built on peat foundations is extremely questionable. I am happy to acknowledge what the Deputy is saying. Her colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, was there for that presentation as well. In her opening statement, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy mentioned a junction, the name of which I am afraid I cannot remember because the Deputy took me on rather a rollercoaster ride through west and south Offaly. If there is a safety issue, that is certainly a matter of great priority. That will always be an issue I will consider very seriously. If the Deputy can point particularly to road fatalities, I will certainly bring the matter to the attention of TII, which is making road safety a priority above everything else on the instigation of many people in this House and my Department.

Rural Crime

Deputies Niamh Smyth and Carol Nolan are sharing time on the final Topical Issue.

I thank the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, for being in attendance for this debate on the important issue of rural crime. A public meeting was held last night in County Offaly to highlight an issue that has become an epidemic nationwide, unfortunately. I will give two small examples from my constituency. In recent months, there have been eight break-ins at people's homes across an area from Clones, County Monaghan to Mountain Lodge, County Cavan. These crimes happened in broad daylight, generally between early morning and lunchtime. The last of the break-ins in question affected the McGinn family. Luckily, the children were at school when this happened. This young couple had left their house earlier that day to go somewhere. When they came back at lunchtime, they found three men - criminals - ransacking their home. They arrived at the back door to find a man standing there with a hurley stick, ready to attack whoever got in his way.

Again in the Cootehill area, the home of a couple in their early 70s was one of 16 homes and businesses that were broken into in the past number of weeks. Criminality is on the rise. That particular couple had to barricade their farm machinery and equipment and almost barricade themselves into their home and farmyard. On three occasions during the past couple of weeks, that one farmyard and house was broken into, with attempted robbery on one occasion while equipment was stolen on two occasions. A total of 16 homes and businesses within an eight-mile radius of Cootehill were affected.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has just left the House. He was lucky enough to get Stepaside Garda station reopened. The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht represents this constituency and Cootehill is her home base. Cootehill Garda station has restricted opening hours. It is not a 24-hour station. It borders Cavan and Monaghan. Given the statistics I am providing, which are factual, we need that station to be open on a 24-hour basis. Garda resources are starved in this area and we need them to be replenished.

Rural crime is definitely increasing regardless of statistics. The people on the ground will tell one that. Hundreds of people have attended meetings throughout the constituency of Offaly. We have had meetings in Cloghan and Banagher and there was a meeting last night in Coolderry attended by over 200 people in solidarity with Richie McKelvey, the farmer who was savagely attacked. This is spiralling out of control. We need resources. People are living in terror. There are reports of farmers bringing firearms into their bedrooms at night in order to protect themselves. There will be an escalation of this. We need more gardaí on the ground. We do not need to hear about the reopening of Templemore. We want to see the results of that. We want to see more gardaí patrolling and protecting rural communities.

We also want to see part-time stations turned into full-time stations. One example is Edenderry, a big town in north Offaly with a growing population. The Garda station is open on a part-time basis, which is a disgrace because we are seeing increasing crime in that town. It involves rural crime and crime throughout our towns and villages. We need to tackle it head on and we need our Garda stations to be reopened but we also need a strong Garda presence on the ground.

I thank the Deputies for raising this very important issue. I assure the Deputies that An Garda Síochána carefully monitors the activities of criminal groups affecting all areas of the country and is implementing strong policing measures to disrupt and dismantle their networks. The Deputies will appreciate that it is the Garda Commissioner and his management team who are responsible for the deployment of Garda resources, including personnel, to specific areas. However, l am advised that Garda management constantly monitors the distribution of resources in light of crime trends and overall policing needs.

The Deputies will appreciate that very significant resources have been provided to An Garda Síochána, including an overtime allocation of €100 million announced in budget 2018 to support large-scale policing operations, including Operation Thor. It is also worth noting that Operation Thor has now entered its winter phase, which will run from 29 October 2017 to 1 April 2018. The scale of Garda activity against burglary and property crime under Operation Thor has led to concentrated Garda activity resulting to date in over 92,040 targeted checkpoints and 71,700 crime prevention patrols nationwide. This concentrated policing activity has produced in the region of 6,130 arrests and 6,920 charges covering a range of offences, which, in addition to burglary, have included handling stolen properly, possession of firearms and drugs offences.

In addition, Operation Thor has targeted mobile criminal gangs engaged in burglary and related crimes and it is encouraging to note that since the launch of the operation in November 2015, the burglary figures have shown a significant downward trend. The Deputies will be aware that the CSO official recorded crime statistics for 2016 show a decrease in burglary offences of 30% when compared to the previous 12-month period in 2015. This reflects the success of the concerted Garda drive against crime being implemented under Operation Thor. Furthermore, crime prevention officers actively engage with community groups to promote the Safer Communities campaign and advise residents of ways to increase their personal safety and secure their property.

I listened with care to what the Deputies said this evening, particularly to what Deputy Smyth said about her area of Cavan and Monaghan and to what Deputy Nolan had to say about County Offaly. I acknowledge the horrific and totally unacceptable assault on Richie McKelvey in south Offaly and offer my condolences and the condolences and sympathies of Deputy Corcoran Kennedy on what was an unacceptable act. We are in constant contact with An Garda Síochána to ensure those responsible for these unacceptable acts are brought to justice.

As part of the concerted strategy to combat burglary, the Government has made it a priority to secure the enactment of specific legislation targeting prolific burglars in the Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Act 2015. The provisions are now available to gardaí to support prosecutions arising from Operation Thor. Furthermore, the Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act, has commenced. This Act introduced the DNA database, which provides gardaí with investigative links, or hits, between people and unsolved crimes, including burglaries. It is anticipated that this will assist in improving detection rates for burglary over the coming years. I assure the Deputies that I take these issues extremely seriously and that under my watch, I will ensure, as Minister for Justice and Equality in conjunction with An Garda Síochána, that there will be no hiding place in any part of rural Ireland for people engaged in criminal activity.

I sense from what the Minister has said today that there will be zero tolerance for criminality in rural areas. However, I must say that the McGinn family in Mountain Lodge and the McPhillips family in Kill do not feel the benefits of Operation Thor. The McGinns were faced with a criminal standing at their back door with a hurley in his hand and had to wait 40 minutes for a Garda car to come from Carrickmacross, which is in a different county. As I said earlier, Cootehill Garda station has restricted hours so there was nobody available at that time and the McGinns had to wait 40 minutes for a Garda car to arrive. Three hours later, those criminals were seen crossing the Border into a different jurisdiction and had not been apprehended at any point in their spree of break-ins from Clones to Mountain Lodge in County Cavan. Operation Thor certainly does not hold any weight for those people at the coalface.

I compliment the Minister on the CCTV scheme, which has huge potential. However, from working with community groups on the ground, I am hearing that the application form is cumbersome. There are restrictions around Garda stations and council buildings in the community. The communities affected by this such as Ballyhaise and Bailieborough do not have council offices for monitoring and storing data. The scheme needs to be rolled out in a more fluid way so that communities can access the funding. They badly need it and are willing to work and supply the application form. I appeal to the Minister to make it easy for them.

I recognise the setting up of the task force as a positive step but far more needs to be done. We have operations that only target motorways but we have heard reports that these criminals are now using back roads into communities. Communities just do not feel safe. Their confidence has been shaken. If we look at the reporting of agricultural crime, we can see that 45% was not reported. That clearly shows a lack of confidence in the system and that people are almost giving up and despairing. People in rural communities are not asking for anything to which they are not entitled. We want a fair chance and fair play. We want our gardaí on the ground, as it used to be when gardaí were visible and were always present or when local gardaí also acted in the community and struck up a great rapport with those communities. We are calling for that to be restored. We are calling for these communities to receive fair play. I ask the Minister to call for increased numbers of gardaí because they are warranted. Hundreds of people in my community come to my office to ask for it.

In response to Deputy Nolan, I will not indulge in the politics of despair or misery.

It is not politics. It is fact. It is reality.

I will do something about it. As far as County Offaly is concerned, Deputy Corcoran Kennedy and I are in constant contact with An Garda Síochána and are very pleased by the recent task force announced by the chief superintendent which will see a back-up of armed units assisting in tracking down these criminals.

We must all remain vigilant in the fight against all forms of criminality in the community. Budget 2018 will support the continuation of this high level investment in the Garda workforce. I will not call for more gardaí-----

The Minister should.

-----I will ensure-----

He should take responsibility.

I will ensure we have more gardaí.

It will be too late if something happens again.

May I continue uninterrupted? My target is to ensure the overall Garda workforce of 21,000 by 2021 is firmly on track. A further 800 new garda recruits will enter the Garda College next year. An extra 500 civilians will be recruited. I will be in Templemore before Christmas and I will witness the passing out of a further 200 Garda Síochána on top of the recently attested 188 from Templemore in November. I will get things done. The Deputy can continue the politics of misery and despair.

I am not. It is reality.

I will ensure there is a complement of civilians recruited to fill critical skills gaps across the organisation and to facilitate the redeployment of gardaí from technical and administrative duties to front-line operational duties on the ground and on the streets, highways and byways of the country. In addition, I have plans to strengthen the Garda Reserve. I hope the Garda Reserve is fully supported by Deputy Nolan's party, which is not always the case where the Garda Síochána is concerned.

I will not be going into the gutter with the Minister.

There are plans to strengthen the Garda Reserve with new reserves expected to commence training in early 2018. Deputy Smyth raised the very important issue of the Garda fleet. I agree with her and I am very pleased to note that over the past couple of years we have managed an additional 720 new Garda vehicles, some of which are evident on the roads, highways and byways of County Cavan and across County Offaly.

I assure the House that I will ensure the Garda Síochána has the capacity to address the needs of communities throughout the country well into the future.

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