I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue. The report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland was released yesterday and there has been a great deal of talk about gardaí working more closely with the community. Working more closely with the community makes a great deal of sense for An Garda Síochána and is in the public interest. The public would like it. In the recent incident on Frederick Street North, however, 12 public order gardaí went in wearing balaclavas with at least six other regular gardaí attending, giving a total of approximately 18. It is a bit mad and it does not create the right public impression. If the owner of the building gets a court order to evacuate the building and decides to hire a group of gurriers to accomplish that, gardaí should not reinforce them. It does not do them any good.
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Garda Operations
On 11 September, a group of men from a private security firm carried out an eviction at 34 Frederick Street North. These men were masked along with three members of An Garda Síochána. Also attending was a Garda riot squad, a public order unit, a Garda Transit van and a Garda Jeep with dogs. Some of these gardaí were also wearing masks and not displaying ID numbers.
What investigation has been set up to determine whether human rights abuses were committed, as Amnesty Ireland states? The questions that need to be asked are very serious ones. When did the landlady get the enforcement notice? Normally, it would be the sheriff who would implement the eviction using whatever resources were required. Was the security firm approved under health and safety legislation? Were the men from the security firm who were outside the door vetted? Those questions are very serious. Following what Commissioner Drew Harris said, why were gardaí wearing masks?
There was a certain irony in the situation that developed in Frederick Street North after the new Garda Commissioner had come out and called for transparency in the service. That appalling incident then occurred where we had members of An Garda Síochána wear balaclavas to deal with citizens. Under the Constitution, the owner of the site had a right to organise to have her property vacated. In that sense, it was a private matter between the owner and the people occupying the property. That gardaí felt it was their role to take sides in that situation is reprehensible and will set back any attempts being made to foster trust between the community and An Garda Síochána. In that context, what investigation has the Minister called for with regard to those events? They have set back trust in gardaí to a very great degree in that property was valued ahead of human rights.
Deputies will be aware that the deployment of gardaí and Garda operations generally are solely matters for An Garda Síochána. While the Taoiseach addressed some of these issues during Leaders' Questions yesterday, I can perhaps add some additional detail to the record of the House today. The Garda Commissioner has issued a statement on the incident referred to and we all now have a greater level of clarity as to what took place. I am advised by the Garda authorities that, following the making of an order by the High Court, a small number of community gardaí were present to keep the peace. They were present to facilitate a peaceful protest and the enforcement of a High Court order. Gardaí were not involved in the vacation of the premises, which had been illegally occupied. A private security firm acted for the owner of the premises on foot of the High Court order. The law and procedures governing the execution of court orders are contained in the Enforcement of Court Orders Acts and the Rules of Court which have been made under them.
Any dispute concerning the enforcement of a court order is solely a matter for the courts. Accordingly, the persons involved in the execution of the High Court order are not licensable by the Private Security Authority at present. I must advise the House, however, that my officials are currently examining the law governing this area and I am giving the matter further consideration.
As An Garda Síochána has stated, a small number of community gardaí were initially present. As the situation evolved, they were supplemented by more gardaí, and then a small number of officers from the public order unit were deployed. To be clear, the purpose of the Garda presence was to keep the peace and facilitate a peaceful protest and the enforcement of an order of the High Court. I know there was some disquiet about members of the public order unit wearing hoods. The Garda Commissioner has said they should have been worn in conjunction with helmets. Members will be familiar with public order police around the world wearing helmets in the course of their policing duties.
It is a sad fact and a worrying development that gardaí, particularly those who undertake public order policing, are frequently personally targeted and subjected to vile abuse and threats, particularly online. At the protest, gardaí were subject to sustained abuse, including in one incident racist abuse. I condemn this behaviour and I am sure all Members of the House will do likewise. Where behaviour crosses the line into criminality, it may be investigated, but it would be preferable if the crime did not occur in the first instance. I appeal to those involved in such protest to recognise that gardaí simply doing their jobs should not be targeted in this way. This message needs to go out from all sides of the House, and I ask colleagues to join me in reinforcing it.
A small number of people were arrested at the protest for public order offences. As these matters are subject to ongoing Garda inquiries, the House will appreciate it would not be appropriate for me to comment on them. I note, however, Commissioner Harris's recent statement on the protest and I understand he has requested a report from the assistant commissioner, Dublin metropolitan region, DMR, to see what lessons can be learned from the event. I also note the Policing Authority will pursue the matter with An Garda Síochána.
Everyone in this House will agree that the right to protest is a fundamental right in any democracy and one which must be protected and facilitated. However, this right must also be exercised peacefully and with respect for the rights of others. In this context, we must not lose sight of the fact that the members of An Garda Síochána present were enforcing the law of the land in what were very difficult and tense circumstances.
The Minister says gardaí should not be targeted by protesters. We agree 100%, and under no circumstances would we target gardaí, but nor should gardaí have been exposed to this. I would like to know who sent them in there. I do not believe for a second that Commissioner Harris did so, nor do I believe it was his decision that they wear balaclavas. I am sure he has better things to do than engage in incidents such as this. We would, however, like to know who took these decisions and whether anyone will be held responsible for them. I know the Commissioner is having his own investigation into the matter. I know the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC, cannot carry out a section 102 investigation without the Commissioner or the Minister authorising it, just as GSOC was not allowed to investigate the Corrib gas incident. This incident, however, should be investigated in the interest of An Garda Síochána. We want the public to trust An Garda Síochána 100%. For that to happen it is important that when incidents such as this arise, they be investigated thoroughly, and I ask the Minister to facilitate this.
Did the landlady employ the private security firm in question to enact the court order? Was she not supposed to get an enforcement order? The Minister says this is solely a matter for An Garda Síochána. Why did the Garda believe it necessary to send out a Garda riot squad, a public order unit, a Garda Transit Connect van and masked gardaí without identification numbers? The masked men from the private security firm did not have identification numbers either and there was nothing to identify who they were working for or what they were doing there. This incident was very sinister. I stand with my colleagues in saying I do not condone violence. When I was arrested on Parnell Road, I was standing peacefully on a water meter and I did not in any way challenge the gardaí present. If gardaí think someone has done something wrong, they arrest that person, who may subsequently be convicted. Whatever the issue is, one does not go into an incident such as the one we are discussing with batons, dogs, pepper spray and so on. It was a peaceful protest. The people inside the premises left it peacefully, and there was no need for heavy-handed tactics and what looked like very sinister efforts on the part of the Garda and the private security firm.
We must be very conscious that this incident has set back public confidence in An Garda Síochána considerably. That is my starting point on this issue. We have as the backdrop an unprecedented housing crisis, whereby people, including families, are homeless. That the Garda organisation, whose motto is supposed to be "to protect and serve", rallies around those carrying out an eviction resonates really badly with the Irish public. One may call it political with a small "p"; it was certainly lunacy on the part of whoever made the call. Like Deputy Wallace, I do not believe it was the Garda Commissioner.
The Minister says the gardaí were only upholding the law. My neighbours' house was broken into and when they called the Garda, they did not see a garda for love nor money. That is also the job of the Garda. It chose to take sides in this instance. There was no signal that there would be public order problems of the scale that merited masks and balaclavas and all that kind of carry-on and palaver, which was highly intimidating. The matter deserves an investigation, particularly given that concrete evidence has been produced which shows that the security firm was breaching the law, yet the perception was that the gardaí were present to protect the firm and not the public.
I agree with Deputy Clare Daly that trust and confidence in the police service is vital in any democratic society. I say to Deputy Joan Collins that those present were acting in accordance with a High Court order, which, by my understanding, was lawfully obtained and was being lawfully executed. I reiterate that the gardaí present faced a most difficult task in managing protest and enforcing the law. There was abuse, including racial abuse. Online threats and intimidation came to light at the weekend. Such threats are utterly unacceptable and rightly being investigated. Gardaí work on our behalf. They need support from the public, not intimidation or abuse.
As I have said, Commissioner Harris has made a statement on the protest. I understand he has requested a report from assistant commissioner, DMR, to see what lessons can be learned from the event. I assure the House that my Department continues to work closely with all stakeholders, including An Garda Síochána, to further enhance the safety of the public at such events, while safeguarding the fundamental right of people to protest. If people have concerns about the way in which gardaí behave, concerns which I have just heard, in respect of this or any other matter, there are established procedures for pursuing such matters. Deputies are aware of the role of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission in this regard.
Is the Minister taking the next Topical Issue matter?
We will pause for a moment to allow the Minister for Education and Skills to attend. I note the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, is here to discuss the third Topical Issue matter. If Deputies are agreeable, we will discuss the third matter now and take the second matter when the Minister for Education and Skills arrives.
Light Rail Projects
I thank the Minister for being here ahead of time.
The reason for tabling this Topical Issue matter is that a number of weeks ago I met a group of residents living in a place not far from here called College Gate on Townsend Street in Dublin 2. The reason they contacted me was that they were particularly anxious about the fact that the plan for MetroLink which was published a number of months ago included a proposal to demolish their apartment block. It is important to point out that the apartment block comprises 70 homes. It also contains at ground level the Dublin City Council Markievicz leisure centre which is used widely by people in the locality. More than €1 million was spent on its refurbishment in late 2015 and early 2016. It is apparent, therefore, that this is not just some small location that is being proposed for demolition in order to facilitate a major infrastructural project. It is a large location and its demolition is going to greatly inconvenience people.
The people I met were generally young couples who had recently purchased apartments in College Gate. There are also many apartments within College Gate that are owned by Dublin City Council and which are rented to tenants. It is astonishing, at a time when there is a major housing crisis in Dublin, that a statutory body could recommend that an apartment block containing 70 homes be demolished. The Minister will be aware, like everyone else in the House, that when major infrastructural developments are proposed, it will, of course, be the case that, on occasion, individuals will be inconvenienced. Land will sometimes have to be compulsorily purchased. On other occasions, buildings may have to be demolished. However, what is being proposed is outside the norm. I say this for two reasons. First, it is extraordinary that a statutory body would propose to demolish 70 homes in the centre of the city at the time of such an extraordinary housing crisis. Second, the proposed demolition of the apartment block is not actually necessary. The National Transport Authority, NTA, and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, state they need to demolish it in order to construct a top-down station for the MetroLink at Tara Street, but there are many other locations in the vicinity which would be suitable. I know that the residents made a proposal or submission to the NTA and TII which stated the well known location of Apollo House could properly be used for the purpose of constructing the new underground station.
The second part of this Topical Issue matter relates to the fact that, although the MetroLink will be a very welcome addition to the infrastructure of Dublin, some sensible political thought needs to be put into the route outlined by TII and the NTA. The proposal is that there will be an underground route from Dublin Airport into the centre of the city - a perfectly sensible idea - and that then when it reaches Charlemont it will come above ground. The Luas line is going to be dug up from Charlemont the whole way out to Cherrywood and replaced by the MetroLink. The Minister is well aware that there are certain parts of the city that are very poorly served by public transport infrastructure, particularly rail transport infrastructure. The areas that really need rail transport infrastructure are in the south west of the city and include areas in my constituency such as Harold's Cross and Rathgar and also areas on the way out to Firhouse and Templeogue. The Minister should recognise this and inform the NTA that it would be far better to leave the MetroLink underground and direct towards south west Dublin.
I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to address this matter in the House. As he is aware, the recently published national development plan which was launched earlier this year by the Government as part of Project Ireland 2040 brings together the metro north and metro south projects, as envisaged by the NTA’s greater Dublin strategy, in one project called MetroLink. The MetroLink project involves the development of a north-south urban railway service that will run between Swords and Sandyford, connecting key destinations along the 26 km route. There will be 25 stations in total, 15 of which will be brand new. A large proportion of the route will be underground, including where it passes under the important city centre area and Dublin Airport. The underground section will terminate close to the Charlemont stop on the Luas green line in the south city area to where the MetroLink will connect and run southwards on the existing Luas green line. The Luas green line will be upgraded to metro standard as part of the project. It will provide Dublin with a high capacity, high frequency cross-city rail corridor, serving critical destinations such as Swords, Dublin Airport, Dublin City University, Ballymun, the Mater Hospital and existing destinations along the Luas green line to Sandyford. MetroLink will provide faster reliable journey times to and from these key destinations, while offering an interchange with other rail, DART expansion, light rail and bus services. It is predicted that capacity for 15,000 passengers per direction per hour during the busiest peak times will be required along the corridor. MetroLink will have capacity for 30 trains per hour in each direction; therefore, it will greatly enhance the public transport offering in Dublin. The creation of approximately 4,000 jobs during construction is also envisaged, which is very significant for the economy in the region.
The NTA, in conjunction with TII, completed a public consultation process on the emerging preferred route earlier this year. The emerging preferred route is the proposal that has been identified as the likely optimal scheme from a technical design perspective, without the benefit of public consultation and input. It is not a finalised and selected scheme; the final layout will only be determined after consideration and evaluation of the issues raised during the consultation process. The purpose of the process that also included public consultation meetings was to obtain the views of the general public, particularly those along the identified emerging route, and take that input into account in finalising a selected route. TIl and the NTA received approximately 8,000 submissions, including one from the residents in College Gate apartments, which they are reviewing, with assessing changes to the scheme in order to address a number of the issues raised.
The NTA is aiming to complete a report shortly identifying a final preferred scheme, which will be the subject of a further public consultation process. The report is expected to be published later this year, following a full appraisal of all stakeholder submissions. While I absolutely understand the concerns raised by affected stakeholders, I believe there are many benefits that the MetroLink project can bring. I am confident that the NTA and TII, through the consultative process they undertook, will find a way of delivering the MetroLink project and maintaining good routes that will interchange with other public transport services, while doing so in a way that respects the social and community life of the city. Until the public consultation report is published, it would not be appropriate for me to comment any further on the details of the proposal at this time.
Like the Minister and, I suspect, every person in this House, I think MetroLink is a good idea. The city requires such an underground service. In fact, the sooner we have it the better because there is a difficulty for people travelling from the outskirts of the city into the centre quickly. We have seen from another transport proposal, BusConnects, that the intention is to try to get people from the outskirts into the city promptly. However, the BusConnects project does not really take into account the fact that there are also people along the route into the centre of the city, in the urban villages, who have to be served.
The Minister has indicated that it is for the NTA to determine this matter which is still out for public consultation. However, it is astonishing that so little coverage has been given to the proposal by a statutory body to demolish a group of 70 homes. I commend Olivia Kelly of The Irish Times for covering it today. At a time when there is a severe housing crisis in the city, it is simply not acceptable for proposals such as this to be made, particularly when they are not necessary. There are many other routes and locations available for the construction of the underground station at Tara Street.
It is also obviously a political decision. Previously we saw the benefit of a lot of campaigning in the case of Na Fianna GAA Club in the constituency of the Minister for Finance. As a result of that campaigning, changes were made and it was indicated that the club would not be inconvenienced in the way that had been proposed. I commend and congratulate Na Fianna on its success, but we need to recognise that the Government has a role to play in developing important infrastructural projects.
We cannot simply have a situation where the Government states there is a statutory body in place which is performing a public function and the Government washes its hands of it. The Government funds these projects and should have a say in respect of them. Will the Minister recognise the concern of the people living in these 70 homes at the proposal that their houses will be knocked down?
The Deputy understands my position quite as well as I understand his. He is at liberty to champion this particular cause. If I were in his position, I might well be saying the same things. I am not at liberty to intervene in a process that will take me down the road which would be absolutely chaotic, however. That is why there is a public consultation. The Deputy will understand how the whole purpose of this is a thorough and democratic procedure.
The National Transport Authority, NTA, is in charge of what happens but is subject to one public consultation, maybe two consultations in certain cases, which are serious. It would not be going to them if they were not serious. I am certain that not only will the NTA be sympathetic to the 70 residents and their homes, which have been targeted and compiled in the Deputy’s motion, but also that it will look at the non-political but reasonable requirements that have been made. I have full and total confidence in this consultation process the NTA is running. It is perfectly legitimate for people to campaign. Many campaigns are based on logic, reason and humanity. I am sure the NTA will take all of those considerations into account when it comes to its final decision, which is still several months away.
Land Development Agency
I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this important matter for debate. I welcome the creation of the Land Development Agency, LDA. It will be a significant positive incentive in terms of its proposal to deliver 150,000 houses over the next 20 years. I would be grateful if the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, could update me on any legislation required and the powers of the agency. From the original press release, I note a chief executive and management team are in place in the agency.
I want to focus on Columb Barracks in Mullingar which was closed in 2012. It has an important historical significance for the town with events such as the capture of General Seán Mac Eoin in 1921. He was later Minister for Justice from 1948 to 1951 and Minister for Defence from 1954 to 1957. We need a solid framework to ensure the managed development of the Columb Barracks site which will encompass a strong social dividend, rehabilitate its listing buildings and ensure they have a sustainable use. We should also examine the potential of having a military museum at the site due to its historical significance. It has massive tourism potential for Mullingar. The site has a national significance and its history is part of the various milestones in the birth of the State.
The development of the site must have a strong social dividend for Mullingar. Several clubs and societies, like Lakeside Wheelers, the Olympic Boxing Club and the Order of Malta, are housed in the buildings of Columb Barracks. For example, Councillor Andrew Duncan, who works with me in Mullingar, is trying to get a framework to develop the site in a more sustainable way.
The fact the site will be under the control of one agency, the LDA, is positive. It will have the power to develop housing in a sustainable manner on the greenfield site as well as ensuring a sustainable future for its listed buildings. It will assist in developing a project which could be of benefit for the town of Mullingar.
I know the Minister is relentlessly focused on delivering housing and is successfully incentivising supply. He is also redressing the balance in State provision of housing. For so long, our State relied on the private sector to deliver housing under the Part V model. It is important to redress that balance to get the State to deliver housing again. The policies the Minister has implemented to achieve this are worthwhile and will bring significant dividends.
I want to ensure the LDA will not slice and dice the Columb Barracks site. I want to be confident that it will work with the local authority in having a framework to develop the site as an entity, as well as ensuring a sustainable use of the listed buildings with a social dividend for Mullingar and a bright future for the site.
I thank Deputy Burke for raising this important matter, which is a key priority for the Government. Following a Government decision last Thursday, both I and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, signed an establishment order under the Local Government Services (Corporate Bodies) Act 1971, establishing the Land Development Agency, LDA, on an interim basis. The establishment order is very much an initial and enabling measure to get the agency up and running as quickly as possible while at the same time recognising that the Government must act swiftly in providing a fuller primary legislative basis for the agency and its intended scope of powers and operations.
Work is under way on this and I expect to have the general scheme of the Bill to the Government in November. This will take account of the intended functions of the agency, which will include co-ordinating appropriate State lands for regeneration and development, opening up key sites not being optimally used, especially for housing delivery, and driving strategic land assembly working with both public and private sector landowners to smooth out peaks and troughs of land supply, stabilising land values and delivering increased affordability.
The legislative basis for the LDA will also need to take account of its role in addressing the historical and traditional volatility in land prices as a result of land speculation as well as alleviating delays in delivering housing and strategic urban redevelopment generally. This can often be as a result of hold-ups in delivery due to disparate land ownership and cost allocation for infrastructure.
In addition, the legislation will need to take account of the intended positioning of the LDA as a commercial State-sponsored body with appropriate corporate governance and oversight arrangements and one which, like any other market operator, will act within a clear Government policy framework. In that context, it is critically important to take account of the decision that the Government has made requiring all public land repurposing to deliver at least 40% of any housing potential on such lands in the form of social and affordable housing.
My Department is working closely with the LDA establishment team, which is advancing its work on key sites as well as engaging with public bodies that control key sites, in developing the detailed approach to the scope of operations of the agency and learning from best practice abroad in similar public land agency type organisations. This detailed and preliminary input is key to informing the development of the general scheme of the Bill, for which I intend to bring a further memorandum for the Government in early November. This will seek approval to the detailed drafting of the legislation, which we will be working hard to complete, so that a Bill can be published and brought before the Houses.
Allowing for those considerations and complexities, at this point the ambition will be to secure the enactment of the legislation by Easter 2019. That said, the agency has been established on an interim basis. An allocation of €20 million has been made available by my Department until the legislation is put in place and the capitalisation by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, of €1.25 billion can be made.
I thank Deputy Burke for all the work he has done with me and my Department to date, as well as with his local authority, to ensure we meet the concerns of his constituents when it comes to the delivery of more affordable housing from public lands. By doing so, we can also meet the concerns of his constituents in how we protect ongoing uses of these sites and the ongoing interests of the community. This will be a significant benefit to Mullingar. The new agency will see that the public land is put to use for the public good. The LDA will be the developer to do this. It will consult local Deputies and the county council, as well as other interested community groups when it comes to the master planning and development of the site. It will be an early win for the LDA because it is a priority site agreed with the Minister for Defence. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, for his co-operation to date on this.
This is not about slicing and dicing land. This is about bringing forward public land for housing for the public. By using this site in this strategic location, we will be able to deliver more housing, both subsidised and social housing, at a more affordable price and also housing for the public. What is more, it will not just be housing delivery on these key sites. The Land Development Agency, LDA, has a mandate beyond housing. We have tied in that important housing mandate but it will be able to meet the other interests of the community, as necessary, when we are talking about a site of such scale and strategic importance.
I thank the Minister for his detailed response. I want to focus specifically on Columb Barracks in Mullingar. Councillor Andrew Duncan works very solidly in Mullingar and he and I are clear in our minds that a key element must be a solid dividend from the development of this site. The listed buildings should have a sustainable use that will benefit Mullingar. Projects could be developed in the interests of the nation and of the people of Mullingar in terms of a museum, the highly significant historical events that are part of the DNA of Mullingar and, indeed, the proud history of the 4th field artillery regiment, which, unfortunately, left Columb Barracks in 2012.
It is a welcome development that we have an agency to drive forward this site and ensure we will have an increase in housing supply in our locality. It can ensure there will be no slicing and dicing, as the Minister said. There is a framework to develop this site in a sustainable manner and to protect and find a sustainable use for the listed buildings. With Brexit and all the various uncertainties and Mullingar being quite close to the Border area, no one knows what future this significant site may have. The Minister is focused on delivering housing. The chief executive of the new agency has met representatives of Westmeath County Council and I expect him to interact and liaise with all elected officials and the local authority to ensure the best possible use is secured for this site for the people of Mullingar to bring more vibrancy to the town and also to ensure that the site will not be sliced and diced.
The Deputy is right to be proud of the history of the barracks and the people who were stationed there. It has a new future ahead of it and it is important we work together to protect that future in the public interest. There must be a social dividend from this site and it is important that dividend will be there for the people of Mullingar to enjoy.
I would just make a few more general points about the LDA. We are talking about State land, public land, which is not being used efficiently, that is in very desirable locations and that could be much better used for housing, schools or other community uses, including the ones the Deputy outlined. We now have, for the first time, a requirement that State land must be used more strategically in the public good and must be made available for housing for everyone, not only public housing for the public but also locking in 50% of houses for social and subsidised housing. That does not mean that we are selling 50% of the State land to private developers. Neither does it mean that 50% of houses on these sites will be unaffordable. Anyone who says otherwise is misleading the public. The State will be the developer. That is the purpose of the LDA. It is not to sell off the land to other developers. We will be the developer and we will use different methods to deliver and guarantee housing for the public in the public interest as well as other public goods, as necessary.
Without this new agency, State land that is in needed locations might never have been used for housing. When we look around our urban centres and our town centres on the outskirts of some of our villages, we can see how State land is not being used where it should be used for housing. When we think about our ambitions in Project Ireland 2040, there is a key role for the Land Development Agency here. If we are going to double the growth of our cities other than Dublin while also growing Dublin in a sustainable way, we need an agency to co-ordinate State land better and bring it forward for housing delivery and other types of delivery. If we are to smooth out the peaks and troughs that we have seen that have led to numerous housing crises in the history of our State, we also need the State to be bringing forward its significant landbank for housing delivery.
While the agency meets certain needs regarding the current shortage that we have, there is a longer-term ambition and strategic goal for it. We have needed such an agency for decades. It is very good we have one now as it looks to the future of particular sites, including the barracks in Mullingar, which the Deputy is right to be so protective of, and that we ensure we lock in protections for those sites and for the public in Mullingar into the future.
Education Funding
The Carline Learning Centre in Lucan, County Dublin, has been providing a unique educational social care and psychological service to young people for more than 25 years. It works with young people who, for a variety of reasons, are no longer able to remain in mainstream schools. They are often young people with complex needs and issues in their families or in their communities. It provides them with a stable learning environment, first, to try to reintegrate them into mainstream school but also to give them real opportunities in life. The centre has an enormous success rate. In the past year, 17 young people who entered the school completed the junior certificate examination, and 53% of the young people who go through its doors are reintegrated back into education.
The centre's funding situation is precarious but the central problem the three Deputies from the constituency want to raise today is that it does not have access to capital funding. Currently, it has an urgent capital funding need to bring the building up to health and safety standards, and we are urging the Minister and his Department to intervene. I got a reply from the senior Minister recently to a parliamentary question. It was disappointing that he described this service as out-of-school provision. This is a form of school for young people who desperately need the support. The building they are in should meet health and safety standards and we are asking the Minister to work with us to try to resolve the current funding difficulties.
Deputy Ó Broin has set out clearly the role of the Carline Learning Centre, which we had the opportunity to visit last week. I reiterate that the children who are attending the centre, of whom there are approximately 50 at any given time, are dealing with a range of issues. The reality is that without this facility, they would be excluded from education. The centre's outcomes are very successful. As Deputy Ó Broin indicated, having done the junior certificate, more than half of these children return to mainstream education. The Deputy pointed out clearly that there is an issue regarding the condition of the physical structure of the building and, while we have received a reply, the various funders are washing their hands of it because it is funded in an unusual manner. There are probably four primary funders, including the education and training board, the local drugs task force, Tusla and the Department.
The primary concern is for the children, who range in age from 13 to 17. There is an obligation on the State to ensure they receive an education. Most of those children are obliged to attend an educational facility. They are not of an age where they can leave that environment, yet no one is addressing the issue of providing the capital funding required. Most of the funding the centre gets goes on current expenditure and staff wages. The challenge is that the current building is not fit for purpose and without the Minister taking a proactive role and addressing this issue, the future of this institution is of concern to us.
I concur with my follow Dublin Mid-West Deputies. This is a unique project that has been in operation for 25 years in the Clondalkin-Lucan area. I have first-hand knowledge of it. My niece attended the Carline project. She will not mind me saying this because I have said it to her already but she dropped out of school. She went to the Carline project, completed the leaving certificate this year and is now doing a full-time course. She says that if it had not been for the Carline project, she probably would have taken a different road education-wise. I can say that in respect of the many young people who use the facility. It is a great facility that prevents young people taking a different road from the one they should take. It is imperative that this project is properly funded.
I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Bruton, who is attending to other Government duties today.
As the Deputies will be aware, the Carline Learning Centre, Balgaddy, Lucan, County Dublin, was established as a community-based project in 1993 to assist young people who were not availing of mainstream education. Since then it has developed into a social care centre of learning which offers a combination of educational, emotional and social care programmes. The centre caters for young people aged 13 to 18 with a current enrolment of 27.
Education is provided in line with the primary school year calendar. Referrals to the centre are made by Tusla’s educational welfare service, Garda juvenile liaison officers and Tusla social work teams and care homes. Currently, 63 part-time hours per week are provided by the Department of Education and Skills at an annual estimated cost of €150,000. The Department also provides an annual non-pay grant of €170,000 to Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board, DDLETB, to meet the day-to-day running costs of the centre. In addition, the centre receives annual funding from Tusla. In 2017, Tusla provided €91,190 comprising an annual allocation of €60,000 plus additional funding of some €30,000 for that year.
In addition to the funding provided to the Carline learning centre, the Department of Education and Skills funds a range of national programmes catering for early school leavers, such as Youthreach, community training centres and youth encounter projects, which are represented in Dublin. The Department’s DEIS plan 2017 sets out the vision for education to more fully become a proven pathway to better opportunities for those in communities at risk of disadvantage and social exclusion. Action 88 of the plan provides for a review of current out-of-school provision to inform future policy in this area. This review is being carried out by a working group chaired by the Department of Education and Skills and includes representatives from Tusla and the education and training board sector.
With regard to capital funding for the Carline facility, the Department of Education and Skills has no record of an application for capital works from the centre and, consequently, it is not aware of the issues to which the Deputies refer. The Minister has asked that I inform Deputies that the Department is willing to consider an application for funding to address fire safety and health and safety issues at the centre. The Department has already been in touch with the DDLETB and it has agreed to contact the centre to assist its board in this matter. Once an application is received, it will be turned around as quickly as possible.
I thank the Minister of State and the Minister for the very positive answer. In her previous career, the Minister of State was aware of the challenges faced by teachers in schools. Having met some of the teachers in the Carline learning centre, I am aware that they go beyond what would normally be expected of teachers to ensure that the very vulnerable young people with whom they work get the best quality education. They also have a very impressive voluntary board that is putting a considerable amount of time into the development of the centre to ensure its governance and other affairs are in order. If we are able to get this application, on which we will communicate with the school as a matter of urgency, into the education and training board as soon as possible, we would hope the Department and the Minister of State, through her good offices, would be willing to assist in expediting it as quickly as possible. Clearly we cannot have a scenario where young people in an educational institution are at risk due to a lack of adequate capital funding. It is not a large amount of money. I thank the Minister of State for the encouraging response. We will stay in touch with the Minister of State over the coming weeks.
I thank the Minister of State for her positive response to this issue. She indicated the various sources of funding made available to the Carline centre. and she is absolutely correct. The vast majority of that funding, however, goes on one thing only, namely, staff wages. Very little funding is left to run such a facility. The positive response and willingness to deal with requests for capital funding to address some of the serious outstanding issues in the school are very welcome.
I concur with my colleague and place on record my appreciation for all who are involved in the Carline learning centre, including the volunteers, members of the board and especially the staff. The outcomes are very successful. I indicated that at any given point in time approximately 50 people will be participating in programmes to complete the junior certificate. The outcome is that 50% of participants return to mainstream education. For those who have entered the centre with the complex issues that we identified at the start of the debate, those outcomes are very positive.
I thank the Minister of State and ask her to convey to the Minister that we are very happy with the response that the Department is prepared to consider the request for capital funding and that the Minister of State is prepared to do so with a degree of urgency.
The Minister of State has given a positive response. It is safe to say that the building complex is relatively old. Staff at the centre have indicated it needs refurbishment, particularly for health and safety reasons. As Deputy Ó Broin noted, the amount of funding involved is small when one considers the services the centre has provided to young people who have availed of its programmes over the past 25 years. If it was not for this service, who knows where those young people would have ended up? The staff and founders of the project have guided young people in a different and safer direction for educational purposes and put them on the right road in their own lives and those of their families. I hope the centre will secure the funding it needs to be a viable project for the future.
I will raise this issue with the Minister. I am glad the Deputies are happy with the response. I hope progress will be made quickly.