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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 8 May 2019

Vol. 982 No. 4

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Gangland Crime

People in Dublin 15 have been reeling with shock following incident after incident of gang warfare, linked to the drugs trade, being played out on the streets in different parts of Dublin West. Children are afraid and their parents are afraid for them, even when they are walking to school. In one particular area parents and teachers are fearful because of two incidents where a gun was fired in front of a primary school and a week or two later, outside a secondary school. What, if anything, does the Government intend to do to address this?

I recently asked the Minister for Justice and Equality how many community gardaí are working in the area, which has a population of over 100,000.

There are 13 community gardaí, of whom one is a sergeant and 12 are gardaí. All of the different policing reports, with which the Minister will be familiar, suggest that community policing should be at the heart of policing in this country. In an area that is bigger than Limerick city or Waterford city, there are only 13 community gardaí - two hands plus three more fingers. Are we asked to believe this is adequate?

Some weeks ago the Minister committed to addressing this problem. The Taoiseach himself, who represents the area, pronounced that he was extremely concerned about what was happening on our streets. Absolutely nothing has been done however. We need a special crime task force, interventions to help young people, and interventions to provide alternatives to crime for teenagers who are being drawn in by the drugs gangs. We need to help parents who are being levied with drug debts on behalf of their children. We need to see action from this Government. Fine Gael has always talked of itself as a party which, when in government, seeks to keep law and order. In certain parts of Dublin 15, it is failing dramatically. This is because it is not competent to run the Garda, the policing service, in a way that provides citizens and their children with the help they need.

What is more, we are being told that Tusla is proposing to withdraw the limited counselling services it provides in a number of DEIS schools. These services are provided in schools in which children have seen young men with guns about 100 yd from the school gate and Tusla is withdrawing them because they are not part of any Tusla-type medical service. What is going to happen? I really am perplexed as to why a Government which suggested at its outset that it might have some competence is unable to learn the lessons of what happened in the north inner city because of the ongoing drug feud in that area. It has now allowed a parallel drug feud to explode in another significant area of the city and appears to have absolutely no answer for it.

I am taking this Topical Issue debate on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality who, unfortunately, cannot be here as he was required to be in London for the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. He regrets not being able to be here in person and has asked me to thank the Deputy for raising this important issue.

The Minister is very much aware of the impact that this type of criminal activity can have on a community whether in Blanchardstown, Drogheda or elsewhere. It can profoundly affect a whole community and not just those involved. It is simply unacceptable for people to feel threatened when they should feel safe and secure in their locality. As the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, has said, this type of criminal behaviour will not be tolerated. The Minister is advised that An Garda Síochána is conducting full investigations into each case. It would be inappropriate for me to comment while these investigations are ongoing.

Last Thursday, the Minister visited Blanchardstown Garda station and met with two detective inspectors. He was briefed on the ongoing operations including the outcome of a number of searches which have been conducted since the beginning of the year. The Minister has also been informed by An Garda Síochána that a crime prevention and detection initiative, including high-visibility uniformed and armed patrols to disrupt criminal activities, has been put in place by senior Garda management in the Dublin metropolitan region west. This operation is specifically targeting criminality associated with disputes between crime groupings in the region and is being managed and co-ordinated through the incident room established to co-ordinate the related criminal investigations.

An Garda Síochána has further advised that every opportunity to target the criminal activities of those involved directly in the ongoing dispute is being availed of in order to maintain control of the situation. Local gardaí, both uniformed and plain-clothes, are working with other national units, including the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the special detective unit and armed support units, as well as security and intelligence branch in Garda headquarters to ensure that all intelligence available is circulated in a timely manner.

Both the Minister and I would like to take this opportunity to thank local groups and other statutory agencies for the vital role they play at a community level. The Minister is assured that An Garda Síochána will continue to make every effort to disrupt the activities of any groups which may be involved in these incidents, to arrest and prosecute offenders and to deny access to the road networks for those involved. Finally, I take this opportunity to urge anyone that may have information regarding these incidents to contact their local or nearest Garda station or to avail of the Garda confidential line, the telephone number for which is 1800 666 111, as soon as possible. Any information, no matter how small, could be of great assistance to the ongoing Garda inquiries.

I thank the Minister for his answer. I appreciate him taking the debate. I also appreciate that the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, is involved in talks regarding the North and I wish him well in that respect. I am not hearing anything about the number of extra community gardaí the Government is going to supply. With regard to the 13 I mentioned, many serving gardaí laughed at the idea that there were 13 community gardaí available because they are diverted to other duties all the time. I am sure the Minister appreciates that community gardaí are the backbone of the policing service. They get to know the people. They get to know the kids who may have got into a bit of trouble and who can be deterred away from it. They get to know the families and where the problems are.

Dublin and Ireland are in the grip of an epidemic of heroin use and, in particular, cocaine use the like of which we have not seen for 30 years. This is happening on the Government's watch. What is it going to do about it? The gangs in Dublin west seem to have control over the streets. I get phone calls regarding some streets. Gardaí come up in a van or a car for a period of time but as soon as they go stuff starts to happen again because there is no constant presence. I appreciate gardaí pleading with local people to assist them. Local people and organisations have done a tremendous job, particularly in trying to deter young people and, indeed, older people in their 20s and 30s away from cocaine and to prevent them seeing it as simply some kind of party drug.

If the Minister talks to any doorman working in any pub in Ireland he or she will tell him that there is a tide of drugs in this country which is causing severe damage. I will say again that it is happening on the Government's watch and it is not offering any competent remedies to communities. Instead what is happening is what happened in central Dublin. As the Minister himself said, that spread to Drogheda. It is now in Dublin west and pretty soon it will be all over the country.

I share the Deputy's concerns, as does the Minister, Deputy Flanagan. I thank her for bringing her comments to the attention of the Minister. Let us be clear: this type of criminal behaviour has no place in civilised society and will not be tolerated. Gardaí in the Dublin metropolitan region west have put in place a policing operation to prevent, detect and mitigate against any further escalation of violence. We wish them every success in their work.

In the last month alone, gardaí in that division have conducted a number of successful operations in the locality. Gardaí investigating an incident of criminal damage by fire to a house in Blanchardstown on Saturday, 4 May have already arrested two males in connection with the incident. A file is now being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. On Tuesday, 2 April, gardaí responded to a report of shots fired in the vicinity of the community college on Blanchardstown Road North. Gardaí carried out searches in the Corduff area and a man in his 20s was arrested and detained. On Friday, 26 April, gardaí from Blanchardstown, supported by members of the Defence Forces, carried out a search of waste ground and discovered a loaded pistol and silencer. At a separate location they discovered a small quantity of ammunition. Forensic testing was carried out and inquiries are ongoing. On Tuesday, 30 April, a residential premises and wasteland at Sheephill Park, Blanchardstown was searched. During this search a loaded semi-automatic sawn-off shotgun which had been concealed in undergrowth was recovered.

The weapon has been forwarded to Garda headquarters for ballistic testing and investigations are continuing. I acknowledge the commitment of An Garda Síochána in endeavouring to make our communities safe. Like the Deputy, I also acknowledge the role of communities and leadership within them in ensuring there is a comprehensive approach to this. I assure the House that the Minister for Justice and Equality will continue to monitor developments closely.

Unless the Government commits more resources to Dublin 15, the gardaí are doing an excellent job but they will not be able to get on top of this.

There is no provision in Standing Orders for this, Deputy. I was very generous with the time.

Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries

I thank the Minister for taking this matter tonight. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on the interim report on the mother and baby homes. It is ironic that this week is the 20th anniversary of the State's apology to the survivors of Ireland's industrial and reformatory schools. I want to discuss the major findings of the report, some aspects of which are worrying. I want to get them on the record and I want people outside this Chamber to understand what is going on. The major findings of the report centre around Bessborough and Tuam, both of which raise major issues regarding the failure to record burials properly. The estimates for the number of children believed to have died at these homes have also increased significantly. Sean Ross Abbey has more than 1,000 children and 29 mothers, Tuam has 973 children, and Bessborough has in excess of 900 children and 14 mothers. A total of 1,343 deaths occurred in respect of the institutions in the Cork County Home and Saint Finbarr's Hospital. Bethany has 220 children and one mother, Castlepollard has 220 children and eight mothers, and Pelletstown and the Dublin Union are unclear because the commission is still investigating.

It is about 2,000.

That is frightening. The report also notes there are 830 missing bodies and refers to misleading affidavits from nuns. There surely has to be some repercussions for it. It bewilders me. It states in the report that there is a small burial ground in the grounds of Bessborough that was opened in 1956 for members of the congregation. The report notes that it seems to have been assumed by former residents and advocacy groups that this is also where the children who died in Bessborough are buried as there are occasional meetings and commemoration ceremonies held there. I go every year, and three years ago I met an elderly gentleman who thought he was the only person ever to be adopted into Canada from Ireland. He did not get any answers and, unfortunately, he is now dead. This is what I want to get across to the Minister. We can do all these reports and people can understand. Ideas have been mooted about putting up plaques and stuff, but I spoke to many survivors or victims, whichever we might call them, and they do not want that. They have some horrific memories. What they want is to be heard and understood.

The report goes on to state that the commission finds that affidavits supplied by the nuns who ran the Sacred Heart homes in Bessborough, Sean Ross Abbey and Castlepollard regarding burials were in many respects speculative, inaccurate and misleading. It is unbelievable, and still nobody has been punished for this. On the reality of what this has done to families and their mental health, a very close friend of mine was in Bessborough. It is well documented. She was forced to breastfeed her child while facing a wall. That child was torn from her chest. It took her 43 years and the State did everything to deflect any services or help. It was through pure luck and pure determination that eventually she found her son. This is happening to hundreds and possibly thousands of people. I am afraid about the Retention of Records Bill 2019. To bury everything for 75 years is killing off four generations of these people and it is an atrocity what the State is doing to them.

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter of the fifth interim report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters, which I published on 17 April 2019. This comprehensive report focuses on the burial arrangements in the institutions being examined by the statutory commission of investigation. The report also provides detailed information on the transfer of remains for the purpose of anatomical examination. It is clear that the commission has examined and cross-referenced a huge amount of material in a way never before possible. The report reflects the sheer depth and complexity of the work the commission is undertaking in the public interest.

The report includes a number of important findings relating to the burials at Tuam and examines the practices in a number of other institutions, including St. Patrick's, Bessborough, Bethany Home, Castlepollard and Sean Ross Abbey. The commission states that many of the children who died in the Tuam home are buried in the underground chambers on this site. The commission has determined that the burial chambers were not in a recognised burial ground or purpose-built, and they did not provide for the dignified interment of human remains. In addition, the commission concludes that there is little basis for the theory that children were sold to American couples rather than having died. The report also has wider implications for forthcoming legislation. Officials in my Department are working on legislation to enable the proposed forensic standard excavation, exhumation and identification of remains at the site in Tuam.

With regard to Bessborough, the commission reports that more than 900 children who were born or admitted to Bessborough died in infancy or early childhood. There are a number of locations within the grounds where burial could have taken place. Cartographic and landscape assessment was arranged by the commission. To date they have found no physical or documentary evidence which indicates burials. The commission is of the opinion that burials may have taken place in Carr's Hill cemetery in Cork city. Despite extensive searches, however, the register of burials has not been located to date. While at this point it cannot say for certain, the commission considers that it is highly likely that burials did take place in the grounds of Bessborough. It concluded, however, that it was not feasible for it to engage in an excavation of a 60-acre site. The commission confirmed that children who died in Dublin Union premises, including the former St. Patrick's on the Navan Road, were buried in Glasnevin Cemetery where detailed records of these deaths and burials are maintained. In addition, the commission states that it has no reason to doubt that the majority of the children who died in Castlepollard are buried in the burial ground on this site. Mount Jerome Cemetery was the main burial site for the children who died in the Bethany Home. The commission reports that deaths of children were properly recorded in the Bethany baby book register maintained by the home's authorities. The commission has undertaken a geophysical study and test excavations of the burial site at Sean Ross Abbey and its report notes that the results of this work are being examined by the commission.

This report will take some time to absorb fully but it undoubtedly advances our understanding of the burial practices at these institutions. While the commission makes no specific recommendations, it calls on anyone who may have information relating to burials to come forward and speak to it. I strongly endorse this call by the commission and encourage anyone with relevant information to contact the commission immediately. This report is not necessarily the commission's final say on burials at these institutions. Any further information will be included in the commission's final report, which is due to be submitted by February 2020. The publication of the fifth interim report is a significant milestone in the work of this commission. We can be reassured that the commission has not shied away from the difficult questions. Its work will shine a light on this dark period in our history.

I thank the Minister for her reply. She mentioned that the Government is fully committed to this. The Retention of Records Bill - the Minister who introduced it, Deputy McHugh, has just left the Chamber - proposes to withhold from public inspection every document gathered or made by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the Residential Institutions Redress Board and the Residential Institutions Redress Review Committee for no less than 75 years. That is very worrying. I do not want to see it happen. We need to get to the end of this. This is where the State is responsible.

As I said in my opening contribution, 20 years ago the then Taoiseach made a State apology.

I want to point out a few more things that are of concern to me. Almost no prosecutions appear to have arisen from the investigations of the Ryan commission to inquire into child abuse. The ongoing mother and baby homes commission of investigation is refusing to provide survivors or family members of the deceased with any of the personal information that it holds concerning them. Meanwhile, as reported by Conall Ó Fátharta of the Irish Examiner recently, the commission is refusing to inform families of the whereabouts of their relatives’ graves because underpinning legislation makes it an offence for anyone, including a member of the commission, to disclose or publish any evidence. Regarding the Magdalen laundries, the Department of the Taoiseach has repeatedly refused to release any of the contents of the McAleese committee archive, claiming that it is holding the archive for safe keeping and not for the purposes of freedom of information.

Another concern in respect of the survivors or victims is that there is no statutory right for adopted people, whether lawfully or unlawfully separated from their family, or people who were placed in informal or illegal care arrangements as children, to access their early life files. This means some of these people cannot even get a passport. The suffering is ongoing. I want a commitment that they will never shut these secrets away. We need to set up a national repository and people should be entitled to obtain their own information.

My personal sentiments are with the Deputy. It was awful to listen to the Deputy outline the story of the woman who was in one of the homes. Most of the Deputy's commentary relates to information that has been provided, but they cannot get access to it. My personal sentiments reside with the Deputy.

The Retention of Records Bill provides for a 75-year period because of the legal advice from the Attorney General. That is required because of the commitments or agreements on information given. I still had difficulty with it, myself. I suggested that there should be a review of that period of time, and that is included in the Bill at a certain point. At a personal level I do not accept that - I am with the Deputy - although the advice is otherwise.

The Deputy said that the mother and baby homes commission of investigation, which also receives the testimony, is not providing access. I am aware of that. He referred to relatives not getting information. I also read that report by the journalist. In one case where a child was buried and they assumed from the report that it might have been a child related to them, again they could not get information. Both of those are examples of the interpretation of the commission itself, supported by the Attorney General, that the Commissions of Investigation Act inhibits that kind of provision of information. That is why it is happening.

Scoileanna Lán-Ghaeilge

Ba mhaith liom filleadh ar roinnt ceisteanna curtha agam le tamall anuas. Cén fáth go bhfuil €103 in aghaidh an chloiginn sa bhreis á íoc leis na scoileanna deonacha le hais na scoileanna a thagann faoi na ETBs, na scoileanna pobail agus na scoileanna cuimsitheacha atá ag múineadh trí Ghaeilge? Faighim an freagra céanna i gcónaí, is é sin, nach é an Roinn a leithdháileann an t-airgead ar na scoileanna a thagann faoi na ETBs. Ar ndóigh, mura bhfaigheann na ETBs an t-airgead, ní féidir leo é a roinnt. Íoctar na liúntais céanna, nach mór, leis na ETBs faoi gach uile aicme eile de liúntas seachas an liúntas múineadh trí Ghaeilge de €103 in aghaidh an dalta in aghaidh na bliana. Is léir nach bhfuil fonn ar dhuine éigin istigh sa Roinn cothrom na Féinne a thabhairt sa chás seo. Tá 71 meánscoil ag múineadh trí mheán na Gaeilge. Is scoileanna deonacha iad 20 acu siúd, agus tá cuid acu in áiteanna rachmasacha. Is scoileanna ETB iad 46 acu. Is scoileanna pobail nó cuimsitheacha iad na cúig scoil eile. Chomh maith leis sin, tá cúig cinn de na scoileanna a thagann faoi na ETBs, nó na coistí gairmoideachais mar a bhíodh, ar oileáin. Dhéanfadh an €103 in aghaidh an chloiginn an-difríocht dóibh. Cén fáth a bhfuil an ceart seo á shéanadh ar dhaltaí na scoileanna lán-Ghaeilge atá faoi chúram na boird oideachais agus oiliúna nó atá ag feidhmiú mar phobalscoileanna nó scoileanna cuimsitheacha?

Is é bun agus barr an scéil ná go bhfuil míchothromaíocht i gceist anseo. Is dócha go n-aontaíonn an tAire nach féidir leanúint ar aghaidh le míchothromaíocht. Tá scoileanna áirithe - na scoileanna deonacha - ag fáil airgid, ach níl na scoileanna cuimsitheacha, na scoileanna pobail agus na scoileanna a thagann faoi Bhord Oideachais agus Oiliúna na Gaillimhe agus Ros Comáin ag fáil airgid. Is ceist thar a bheith simplí í an cheist seo. An féidir leanúint ar aghaidh leis an mhíchothromaíocht seo agus gan cothrom na Féinne a thabhairt do gach uile scoil, beag beann ar cé atá i gceannas ar na scoileanna sin? Tá an t-ábhar seo ardaithe go mion minic linne mar pholaiteoirí i nDáilcheantar Gaillimh Thiar, mar shampla ón bhord oideachais agus oiliúna. Nuair a bhí cruinniú againn i mí an Mhárta, bhí an cheist seo ar an gclár oibre arís. Tá an cheist á ardú againn arís inniu agus muid ag iarraidh a fháil amach céard iad na pleananna atá ag an Rialtas chun fáil réidh leis an mhíchothromaíocht atá luaite agam. An féidir leis an Aire freagra díreach a thabhairt dúinn ar an scéal seo?

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí as ceist mhaoiniú na scoileanna a tharraingt anuas i gcás an deontais do mhúineadh trí Ghaeilge agus an deontas do mhúineadh tríd an dá theanga. Táim buíoch as seans a fháil chun an cheist sin a shoiléiriú. Tá an deontas Gaeilge agus an deontas dátheangach ann mar chistiú do scoileanna a mhúineann trí Ghaeilge. Is léiriú iad na socruithe atá déanta ag mo Roinn leis na scoileanna agus coláistí deonacha, na scoileanna dara leibhéal, na pobalscoileanna, na scoileanna cuimsitheacha agus na scoileanna a thagann faoi na boird oideachais agus oiliúna ar na socruithe éagsúla bainistíochta agus úinéireachta atá i réim trasna na scoileanna dara leibhéal.

Is le deontais chaipitíochta a mhaoinítear na meánscoileanna deonacha. Faigheann na scoileanna sin deontais in ionad na dtáillí a bhíodh á ngearradh roimh 1967. Íoctar deontais chaipitíochta breise le meánscoileanna deonacha ina múintear cuid de na hábhair, nó na hábhair go léir, trí Ghaeilge. Ní íoctar an deontas le pobalscoileanna, scoileanna cuimsitheacha ná le scoileanna na mbord oideachais agus oiliúna. Íoctar leithdháiltí leis na pobalscoileanna, na scoileanna cuimsitheacha agus leis na scoileanna a thagann faoi na boird oideachais agus oiliúna ar bhonn buiséid bhliantúil.

I gcás na scoileanna a thagann faoi na boird oideachas agus oiliúna, áirítear ar an gcistiú airgead don cheannoifig agus do chostais eile, costais scoileanna san áireamh. Tugtar ardleibhéal féinrialachais do scoileanna na mbord oideachas agus oiliúna chun a mbuiséid féin a bhainistiú agus a chionroinnt. Tá cead ag gach bord oideachais agus oiliúna a leithdháiltí a dháileadh de réir a thosaíochtaí agus a riachtanais féin. Ní mór aon easnamh ar chistiú i scoil ar leith a thagann faoi na boird oideachais agus oiliúna a bhainistiú as buiséad an bhoird oideachais agus oiliúna lena mbaineann. Ní leithdháileann mo Roinn cistí ar scoileanna aonair in earnáil na mbord oideachais agus oiliúna. Rud casta is ea cistiú a chothromú ar fud na hearnála iar-bhunoideachais, agus ní mór raon tosca a chur san áireamh ann, leithéidí an tslí a n-íoctar costais fhoirne agus costais neamhphá eile.

Tá an freagra glic, seachantach agus bréagach. Íocann an Rialtas airgead leis na boird oiliúna agus oideachais. Adhmhaím é sin. Tugtar cnapshuim do chuile cheann acu. Ach tá sé sin comhdhéanta d'airgead in aghaidh an chloiginn bunaithe ar líon na ngasúr atá ann agus mar sin de. Mar sin, níl fadhb ar bith againn teacht ar réiteach ar an bhfadhb seo. Is féidir leis an Aire leithdháileadh lárnach de €103 in aghaidh an chloiginn do chuile ghasúr atá á mhúineadh trí Ghaeilge ag an Education and Training Board i nGaillimh agus Ros Comáin, mar shampla, a dhéanamh agus ligean don ETB é sin a roinnt amach. Ag deireadh an lae - díreoidh muid díreach isteach ar fhírinne an scéil seo - tugann an tAire €103 níos mó do scoileanna deonacha atá ag múineadh trí Ghaeilge ná mar a thugann sé do phobalscoileanna, scoileanna cuimsitheacha agus ETBs. Más í an rud é go bhfuil dáileadh lárnach á dhéanamh, cén fáth nach n-íoctar é seo do na scoileanna cuimsitheacha agus do na pobalscoileanna? Sin rud eile a seachnaíodh sa bhfreagra. Chosnódh sé €1 milliún sa mbliain.

Tá trí leathanach go leith de fhreagra ann. Tá meas agam ar an Aire agus tá a fhios agam go bhfuil a chroí san áit cheart, ach tá trí leathanach go leith againn agus ní thuigim an freagra ach amháin an rud atá ar eolas againn cheana, is é sin nach n-íoctar an deontas le pobalscoileanna, le scoileanna cuimsitheacha ná le scoileanna na mbord oideachais agus oiliúna. Tá a fhios againn é sin. Sin an fáth go bhfuil an bheirt againn ag seasamh suas ag cur ceiste. Cén chaoi is féidir leanúint ar aghaidh leis an míchothromaíocht sin? Níl aon mhíniú tugtha dúinn sa fhreagra. Cén fáth go bhfuil an Rialtas ag leanúint ar aghaidh leis an míchothromaíocht? Tá scoileanna áirithe, na scoileanna deonacha, ag múineadh trí Ghaeilge agus ag fáil breis is €100 in aghaidh chuile dhalta. Níl na scoileanna eile, dóibh siúd faoin mbord oideachais, na scoileanna cuimsitheacha, agus na pobalscoileanna, ag fáil aon rud. Ní féidir leis an Teachta, mar Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna, glacadh leis sin. Ní dóigh liom go bhfuil sé sásta leis. Tá réiteach ag teastáil. Ní féidir idirdhealú mar sin a dhéanamh, idirdhealú atá, bun agus barr, bunaithe ar an míchothromaíocht agus ní féidir a bheith anseo ag tabhairt freagra mar sin.

Ní mhaoinítear an dá earnáil ar an shlí chéanna. Cuirtear cistiú ar fáil d’earnáil na meánscoileanna deonacha i bhfoirm deontais chaipitíochta agus d’earnáil na mbord oideachais agus oiliúna, do na pobalscoileanna agus do na scoileanna cuimsitheacha i bhfoirm buiséad bliantúil. Ní cistiú ar bhonn iontamhla é, agus tá sé ceaptha le costais éagsúla, cuid acu cosúil agus cuid acu difriúil, a ghabhann le reáchtáil an dá earnáil, a chlúdach.

Dá n-iarrfaí aon mhéadú eile ar na buiséid do mhúineadh trí Ghaeilge, ba ghá iad féachaint orthu i bhfianaise bhuiséad iomlán mo Roinne agus a tosaíochtaí ginearálta maidir le cothromú an chistithe don earnáil iar-bhunoideachais trí chéile, nithe de dhroimh an phlean gníomhaíochta reatha don oideachas agus tosaíochtaí agus cuspóirí eile a bhaineann le hábhar.

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí arís fá choinne na ceiste. D'ardaigh cúpla duine ó Ros Comáin an cheist seo nuair a tháinig mé isteach sa phost úr. Bhí mé ag labhairt le mo chuid oifigeach sa Roinn fadúda na rudaí seo. B'fhéidir go mbeidh athrú ar na rudaí sin i gceist agus an comhrá roimh an bhuiséad atá le teacht ag dul ar aghaidh. Dá mbeadh an Rialtas fós ann roimh an bhuiséad i mbliana, beidh seans ag na Teachtaí labhairt linn. Dá mbeadh aon athrú ag teacht, beidh seans acu labhairt linn tríd an chóras sin.

Ba chóir don Aire é a chur ar an liosta siopadóireachta. Is airgead an-bheag é i gcomhthéacs an €10 mbilliún atá aige.

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