Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 23 Feb 2022

Vol. 1018 No. 5

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Mental Health Services

Deputy Claire Kerrane

The Minister of State will know that the e-mental health hub in Castlerea was opened in June 2020 as a state-of-the-art, first-of-its-kind hub for mental health. This was to serve the western region as a psychiatry of later life day hospital and a child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, Connect, that is, to serve the needs of both young and old.

I first began asking questions in late 2020 on the staffing levels at the hub and the services that were available. One reply from the HSE on 7 December 2020 advised me that one post had been filled and it was at recruitment stage with three posts out of a total of 21 posts. After further questions and a number of meetings in 2021, it then became apparent – unbelievably so – that no funding had been provided at that point for 2021. This was not common knowledge until I raised it in the House on a number of occasions last year. At that point, in July 2021, the Minister of State made a funding announcement more than halfway through the year.

I have previously asked the Minister of State my first question and I hope that she will answer it today. Why was funding for the e-mental health hub not continued into 2021? Why did it take until July 2021 for an announcement to be made, given there were no posts in place, the vast majority were vacant and there were no services available? Almost two years on now from the opening, the latest information I have is that five posts out of the seven for the psychiatry of later life remain unfilled and there are three posts vacant for CAMHS Connect. I also hope the Minister of State will be able to tell me what services are being provided in the e-mental health hub today, if the psychiatry of later life day hospital is functioning, and if it is not, when it will be.

The Minister of State will know that before it became an e-mental health hub, this was the Rosalie home. It was a home to dementia patients and older people with dementia. They had been promised by a previous Government they would be allowed to see out their days in that home. That promise was reneged on. They were sent all over the place to different nursing homes. Their families were absolutely distraught. It was incredible how they, our most vulnerable citizens, were treated. It has been difficult to see that replaced and opened with great fanfare and not even funded by the HSE, particularly the psychiatry of later life given the importance of that service, especially in a county such as Roscommon where we have an older population. When it comes to health services, the people of Roscommon feel like the poor relation.

This, unfortunately, is yet another example of something state-of-the-art and one-of-its-kind that opened in Castlerea in Roscommon and was not funded. Today, almost two years on, we still have posts that are vacant. There is no excuse for this. Had funding been put in place and continued into 2021 and there was a real effort made to fill those posts throughout last year rather than leaving it until more than midway through the year, we would not be in this position today. There are no guarantees we would. These are important services for young and old for the western region. If this is a state-of-the-art service, then it needs to be funded continually. We need to get the posts filled and we need to get those services in place. They are very important.

I had a message from a lady in Ballinasloe the other day. She just messaged me basically to query and raise the fact of the number of young people committing suicide. It is incredible. We need the supports there for young people and older people. We need them as quickly as possible. This should not have taken until now to get these posts filled. They should have been filled. I hope the Minister of State will be able to answer those questions.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Mary Butler)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The e-mental health project was launched by the Tánaiste in mid-2020. Two main elements were identified for development as part of the Castlerea hub: a CAMHS Connect telehealth service and CAMHS day hospital. In addition, a psychiatry of later life day hospital was also identified.

Work was progressed by the HSE through 2020, including capital works and initial recruitment of staff. This involved expenditure in the region of €400,000 for refurbishment and €400,000 for staff. The hub was further developed in 2021 in the context of overall funding allocated for mental health that year, including further recruitment of staff. For 2021, 14 posts are approved, with €1.4 million in revenue allocated. This is real money. It is there to hire staff and there was no ambiguity about that. For 2021, 14 posts are approved and it is expected to be fully staffed in 2022. It is the first of its kind nationally and will form the core of the new Castlerea mental health hub across HSE West.

In response to the Deputy's question, the CAMHS day hospital is operating on a seven-day basis and currently serves counties Mayo and Roscommon. The team is flexible and provides intensive home-based treatment and assertive outreach, as required, which has been very important over the past two years when we have had the challenges of Covid. Provision of evidence-informed psychological and talking therapies form the cornerstone of supports provided, which include family therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and similar service approaches.

The HSE indicates that the latest position on the CAMHS Connect service and day hospital is that approval has been received at community healthcare organisation, CHO, level for the following posts: consultant psychiatrist, non-consultant hospital doctor, NCHD, advanced nurse practitioner, ANP, senior social worker, clinical nurse specialist, senior psychologist and senior occupational therapist. The consultant, NCHD, ANP, and senior social worker for this team have all been recruited and the remaining three posts are at an advanced stage of recruitment. This facility has core mental health staff and telepsychiatry facilities to enable remote consultations. This is essential for Roscommon, which has experienced significant difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff.

On the psychiatry of later life day hospital, an NCHD and a senior psychologist have been recruited. The remaining posts are going through the recruitment process at present and will be filled as soon as possible. These posts are for a consultant psychiatrist, advanced nurse practitioner, social worker, clinical nurse specialist and a senior occupational therapist. We have to point out that the HSE is experiencing challenges in recruiting staff across mental health and, more broadly and in fact, this is an international issue as well. All these positions are funded. The €1.4 million was allocated to put in place all of these staff in the Castlerea hub.

The psychiatry of later life day hospital will provide medical, nursing, occupational therapy, social work and psychology services.

The aim is for the day hospital to be the new base for the team and to provide a service five days a week. It also aims to provide a service to Roscommon-north Galway and to provide separate programmes for those with functional mental health difficulties and those with dementia who attend on different days. On the broader front, the development of all aspects of our mental health services nationally remain a priority for me.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

I thank the Minister of State. She still has not answered the question, though. We deserve answers as to why funding was not continued into 2021. Funding was provided in 2020. The Minister of State said work was progressed by the HSE, including initial recruitment in 2020, but by 7 December one consultant had been recruited - just one. There was nothing significant in regard to work progressed at that time. The real question is why funding was allocated in 2020 for the recruitment of staff and was then gone in January 2021. That is the main question. We deserve answers as to why that happened. I appreciate there are posts outstanding and there are issues in regard to recruitment and retention. I acknowledge that. However, there was a long gap from January to July 2021 when there was no funding and the hub was simply sitting there. That is not good enough and I want to know why that happened. I also want to know if funding at the present level will continue annually into the future to ensure we do not see that happen again.

I am particularly concerned about the psychiatry of later life element. Two posts were filled last October. Five posts remain unfilled today and that is of concern. We need to see that element of the hub opened as soon as possible. I ask the Minister of State to look, in particular, at that psychiatry of later life element. The CAMHS part is important. There are three vacancies there. Given the role the Rosalie Home played in the community of Castlerea, that element of psychiatry of later life for our older people is very important.

Again I ask why funding was dropped or not continued into 2021. Why did it take until July last year for funding to be put in place when we had a state-of-the-art hub where no vacancies were filled and no services were available by the end of 2020? Why then stop the funding into 2021? That is the only question.

Deputy Mary Butler

The Deputy is missing the point. Funding was not stopped. In 2020, €800,000 was allocated by my predecessor, former Deputy Daly, and the Tánaiste to develop the Castlerea hub. In 2021, we moved very quickly to put in place €1.4 million to allocate staff. It takes a while to put staff in place. This Castlerea hub is a fantastic hub and I am delighted to say I secured funding in this year's budget to continue the roll-out of telehealth hubs. We are going to see a further one in Cork and a further one in Limerick this year. Because of Covid-19 and the challenges with staffing in certain areas, it is important for young people to be able to access telehealth hubs.

I visited Castlerea before Christmas. I went along and met the staff that actually do exist and I spoke to them. On that particular day, young people availed of services. I visited the psychiatry of later life. There have been challenges with staffing, but psychiatry of later life is so important. Even in this year's budget I moved to get funding for three pilot sites to incorporate psychiatry of later life with integrated care programmes for older people, ICPOPs, that are being rolled out throughout the country.

The Castlerea hub is the cornerstone of how we are moving now in regard to care for young people, care for teenagers. It will be funded going forward. It pains me that it takes quite a while to get staff in place, especially when the posts are funded. Previously, we would not have had the staff because we would not have been able to fund them. The funding is in place and the most important thing now is that we get on with that particular service and support all the young people and the older people who need mental health supports.

School Facilities

Deputy David Stanton

I brought this up last week on Question Time and I was very pleased with the response the Minister gave at the time. The reason I brought it up was that a number of people in growing communities had contacted me because, now that we have come out of the pandemic, many youngsters in some of these communities have nowhere to go in the evening time. I acknowledge that a very significant amount of work has been done, but the issue is that there are primary schools in these communities that are closed every evening at 3.30 p.m. My argument is these should be open and made available to the public. I acknowledge the circular that was issued in 2005. Much work was done by the Minister in 2017 and guidelines were issued at that stage. Much of the heavy lifting has been done. What I am arguing for is that these guidelines should be reissued. The Minister of State with responsibility for community development could engage with the Department of Education and with communities and add his voice to this issue to make these schools available. Many obstacles were identified in 2017 and responses put in place. I am looking forward to the Minister of State's response.

Deputy Richard Bruton

More flexible use of this infrastructure could release enormous potential in our communities, as Deputy Stanton has said. I can say, as a former Minister for Education who issued those guidelines, they simply have not delivered as we expected. The Department of Education now has to go further.

I suggest three things that should be done. First, the education and training boards, which are entirely within the State remit, should develop a best practice model of opening up their premises to flexible use in all sorts of areas such as childcare, youth work and so on. Second, all school patrons should have to provide, as an integral part and a condition of any application for an extension of their premises or improvement works, a policy on how they are going to open those facilities to wider use. That could be a very important nudge. Third, the Department of Education should work with other Departments to develop the campus concept with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media so that schools in our communities become genuine campuses of activities.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

Ultimately our people look to us as policymakers to provide leadership in the area of enhancing community life and well-being in general. Our school facilities are funded by the State, by the taxpayer, and there is a dearth of provision in such areas as youth work, local community-based childcare and the provision of sports facilities. In recent months we have seen some interesting collaborations between schools and local sports clubs, supported through the sports capital grant scheme. We can leverage much of that in the future. There is a significant opportunity to build on that kind of collaboration. Ultimately, that needs school authorities and patrons to open their doors to local school communities.

Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development (Deputy Joe O'Brien)

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter in regard to enabling access to school facilities for use by local community organisations and youth groups outside of school hours. Schools are very much valued in their communities in that they provide a vital link to sports and social activity but also to local heritage, and in rural areas they help sustain populations. Indeed rural schools make up the majority of our primary school sector. Nearly 2,000 out of just 3,200 of the State's primary schools are in rural areas. Schools are often the centre of community activity and there can be mutual benefits in building links with the local community. Indeed many schools recognise this, play an important role in the wider community and make their facilities available outside of school hours for a variety of community and other activities.

As the Deputies may be aware, the policy of the Department of Education is that school premises and facilities should be used for community and recreational purposes, where possible. In October 2017, following consultation with the relevant school authorities, the Department published guidelines on the use of school buildings outside of school hours. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide information for schools in regard to the use of school buildings outside of school hours and for those schools that are considering putting such arrangements in place. Any decision to make school facilities available lies with the relevant trustees or property owners, having regard to the requirements of the school, staff and students.

My Department, through its policies and funding interventions, continues to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. In regard specifically to playgrounds, public green space and public parks, which are all key to community well-being, the following supports are available. My Department provides funding for the development and upgrading of playgrounds under LEADER, CLÁR, and the community enhancement programme. The community enhancement programme provides small capital grants to community groups to enhance facilities, including playgrounds in disadvantaged areas. From 2018 to mid-2021, €29.7 million has been provided in funding for the community enhancement programme, supporting more than 10,000 community groups and organisations. Funding is allocated by my Department to each local authority area. The local community development committee, LCDC, with support from its local authority, administers the funding. Some €4.5 million was available in 2021, with €145,203 allocated to Mayo and €156,299 allocated to Cork, for example.

From my own Department's perspective, funding has been provided under the CLÁR programme for a range of measures to be delivered by schools and communities, including for the enhancement or development of play areas and multi-use games areas, MUGAs. The conditions attached to the CLÁR programme require that such facilities should be available for wider community use. In the case of schools, I appreciate that the use of play areas and MUGAs by the general community may need to be restricted to times outside of normal school hours. Many schools in CLÁR areas are willing to make their playground facilities available for community use and have received support under the programme on this basis. The objective is that these facilities would be available to local families and visitors to the area.

Under measure 2 of CLÁR 2021, €2.3 million in funding was provided to support outdoor community recreation facilities, including playgrounds. Emerging from this call, my Department recently announced funding for 20 playgrounds, both new and upgrades to existing playgrounds. We expect to launch the next round of CLÁR funding shortly.

LEADER can also fund the renovation of community centres, playgrounds and other community amenities, which play a very important role in community development. My Department is also responsible for a number of national policies containing measures to improve the lives of people throughout the country, including Our Rural Future, which places an emphasis on building resilience and enhancing participation and inclusion in rural communities. The availability of suitable spaces for use by local communities is an important element of supporting inclusion and participation.

Deputy David Stanton

We are all agreed on the principle that we should sweat the asset, for want of a better way of putting it, and that schools should be used outside of school hours as much as possible for all the activities communities need. I am particularly concerned about areas where there are no community facilities at all. Many such communities are growing. Even where there are community facilities, the adage, build it and they will come, applies.

I am involved in a community centre in my town of Midleton. We built a small centre and 1,000 people a week are using it. We are now putting on an extension, as more and more people want this kind of stuff to happen. Could I suggest to the Minister of State that an awards scheme would be put in place for schools that get involved in communities, a badge of honour, as it were? We need to be proactively involved. I ask that these guidelines would be reissued. We need to nudge schools that are not bothered or are worried and afraid because they probably want to do it as well, and need encouragement and support. We are all on the same page here. I thank the Minister of State for his response. Let us move on with this.

Deputy Richard Bruton

Parents are tearing their hair out for childcare facilities. I have a specific case in my area in Sutton where a school is expanding, and a childcare facility is being displaced. The Minister of State should speak to his colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, as well as the Minister for Education and advance the three proposals I made. Private patronage models served us well in the past, but community needs have moved on and we now have to develop a campus-style concept of how these facilities operate. The Minister of State is correct that patrons have the decision-making ability, but we must change that. The nudges must be put in place to make that change.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

It was an interesting statistic in the Minister of State's response that 2,000 of the 3,200 primary schools are located in rural areas. One of the key findings of a recent policy initiative from Fine Gael's policy lab on childcare is that there is a dearth of effective childcare provision predominantly in rural communities. I know that a number of school principals are very proactive in this area, but they are the exception rather than the rule. We need to highlight best practice and perhaps provide the administrative support for schools, for principals, in particular, to make this happen. I support Deputy Stanton's request for the 2017 guidelines to issue again. This is exactly what we need to see happening.

Looking locally across my constituency in Galway East, at times it is a shame to see people being denied access to fine, state-of-the-art facilities provided in the past five to ten years, that are the pride of those school communities. That should not be happening. From engaging with the Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, I know that there is a very strong ethos in favour of throwing open the doors of these facilities to people across Galway East. I would again argue that is the exception rather than the rule and we must make it the norm in the future.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I thank the schools that are opening their doors and facilitating a variety of community groups. It happens quite a bit and many of us perhaps do not realise it happens because many of the activities are school-related, for example, homework clubs, breakfast clubs, summer camps and sporting and other activities. We almost assume that they are part of the school process, but they are very much a community function as well.

I would like to add my voice to the call that has been made. I ask schools to consider opening their doors even if they have concerns or are reluctant to do so. The document issued in 2017 is a pretty good one on the guidelines on the use of school buildings outside of school hours. It outlines a comprehensive list of areas schools must be aware of and issues of which they should be cognisant if they are thinking of doing that. That said, on foot of Deputy Stanton's question last week, I have written to the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and asked for engagement on this issue. She said she will look into it and get back to me. We are actively looking into the matter.

I acknowledge Deputy Bruton's points about specific issues we can examine. I will take them away. We have a new capital fund for community centres and we expect that to be announced soon. It is all part of a range of measures that we as a Department implement in supporting community spaces. The community services programme does a great deal of work in that regard as well. I am very pleased to push this on further. I will also make contact with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, because the matter is relevant to his Department also.

Harbours and Piers

Deputy Thomas Pringle

This Topical Issue matter relates to damage caused by the recent storms at Polawaddy slipway. I am glad to see the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is present to respond to it. As a fellow Donegal Deputy, he knows the slipway I am talking about at Polawaddy on Árainn Mhór. He knows too the extent of the damage it suffered from the pictures that were sent to us by members of the Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation. The recent succession of storms that hit Ireland caused disruption and damage in numerous areas across the country. I acknowledge that in most instances the damage could be categorised as what we would expect from such weather events or as nothing out of the ordinary. Certainly, the destruction was not anywhere in the range of storms such as Storm Ophelia or Storm Desmond of recent memory, but there are always exceptions, and in this instance Polawaddy is in that category.

I acknowledge the increase in funding the Minister provided last year, which benefited Donegal County Council to the tune of more than €850,000. As the Minister is aware, the local authority in Donegal has more than 150 piers and harbours under its control, one of the highest, if not the highest number of any local authority in the country. I am also aware of the recent provision of a new funding stream under the Brexit adjustment fund for piers and harbours, as recommended by the Seafood Task Force. Unfortunately, it is hard to see how emergency repair works such as are needed in Polawaddy would properly fit the bill under this fund.

Our inshore fishing sector relies on piers, slipways and harbours, such as Polawaddy, and they have been hit hard by successive Governments due to restrictions and bans being placed on the types of fishing they can engage in. Yet many are still engaged full time in the sector and draw their sole income from it. It is beyond a job for these people; it is a way of life, one that has more than just an economic value to be placed on it. There is also the culture and heritage value of the traditional fisheries which utilise such local infrastructure. These aspects were recognised by the Minister's party, in opposition, when it wholeheartedly supported the Island Fisheries (Heritage Licence) Bill. I hope that recognition survived the transition across the floor to sit with Fine Gael.

On a serious note, the main reason I bring this issue to the Minister's attention today is the immediacy of the funding need in this case. I ask that he look to make a one-off allocation of emergency funding to cover the cost of repair and ancillary works required to protect from a similar occurrence. Perhaps he could do so in collaboration with his ministerial colleague in the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government. Will the Minister commit in the House today to engage directly with the marine engineering section in Donegal County Council and commit to funding the costs of these repairs?

Paramount to what I ask for today are two things - speed of decision and a straightforward yes-no answer to bring back to our constituents. Speed of decision is an urgent matter because this happened unexpectedly, and the slipway needs to be got back into operation as soon as possible. Perhaps works could be carried out at the same time to protect the pier from future storms as well. A straightforward yes-no answer would be very important as well, as Donegal County Council would know where it stands and it could begin to plan what is also needed to be done. It would be vitally important for it to know that this would be done. The storm damage is exceptional. It is a one-off event.

The Department should be able to take that on board and make this right for the people of Arranmore as well.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Charlie McConalogue)

I thank the Deputy for raising in the Dáil the need to address the damage done to Pollawaddy pier. I am glad to be able to provide a broad overview of the work I and my Department are doing to support Donegal County Council and other local authorities in terms of improving our small piers and harbours.

In regard to Pollawaddy slipway, I have spoken to the county manager, John McLaughlin, on the matter. The county council will be assessing the case. I have no doubt the county council engineer, Cathal Sweeney, who does tremendous work throughout the county in the maintenance and development of our small piers and harbours and is an Arranmore islander, is very much on top of this case in terms of assessing the impact of the damage. The Department has not yet been formally notified of the impact of the damage. In the first instance, as it is a local authority-managed pier, it is a matter for the local authority to assess and to identify the repair challenges and how they can be addressed. On my role in this area and that of the Minister for Rural and Community Development, if we get any feedback from the county council on the challenges, we will engage. It is important this key pier and harbour is repaired. It is crucial for the islanders in the fishing sector there, and for the inshore fishers in the work they carry out and who need to be able to get on with their livelihoods in a safe manner.

No more than Deputy Pringle, the inshore sector is one I value and support, which we have to do. It can be a difficult lifestyle and livelihood but it is a really important part of our heritage and economy, in particular a really important part of our island economy. Pier and infrastructure funding is crucial in that regard. Last year, I announced record funding for small piers and harbours throughout the country. As mentioned by Deputy Pringle, Donegal received the highest allocation of any county in respect of its piers and harbours. A few weeks ago, for the first time ever, I announced a support scheme that delivers €4,000 for inshore fishers with boats longer than 8 m and €2,800 for smaller vessels, again as a means of supporting inshore fisher incomes. Crucial to their income is having the capacity, the facilities and the infrastructure.

The Government is putting very significant emphasis on the development of our piers and harbours, in particular on their availing of the opportunity under the Brexit adjustment reserve. I have been engaging with my Cabinet colleagues on an ongoing basis on how we leverage the available funding to maximise the benefit in every way we can for small piers and harbours and that infrastructure. There has been a real challenge in the quota impact arising from Brexit. We fought to represent our national sector in every way possible. Coming out of that, we want to build, support and fund the sector. We want to ensure the infrastructure is there and to develop the piers and harbours.

In the case of Pollawaddy, it was impacted by Storm Franklin. It was a very challenging night across Donegal as regards infrastructure. It was a particularly challenging night, as the Deputy will know, for mica homeowners as well. It was very distressing for everyone. A reflection of the impact of the storm was the damage done at Pollawaddy. As I said, the local authority is assessing the damage and, as Minister, I will engage with it in any way I can to be supportive of ensuring the repairs are completed.

Deputy Thomas Pringle

I thank the Minister for the overview in regard to the piers and harbours. There are two aspects to this, that is, the ongoing maintenance in respect of the Brexit reserve fund, which was mentioned by the Minister, and normal Government funding for piers and harbours. Donegal may have received the largest allocation, but as it has the highest number of piers, that makes sense. It is a pity we had to have a Minister from Donegal to ensure that would be recognised. It is at least recognised now. It is to be hoped that will continue.

In this instance, we need once-off funding. That is important. The Minister has gone some way towards recognising that. I acknowledge he has spoken to the county manager and he is awaiting a report from the local authority. The Minister will need to put pressure on the council to ensure it reports back to him. It will then be a matter for the Department because the council would not have the resources to deal with this. I urge the Minister to keep the pressure on Donegal County Council, as we all will do, in regard to a timely report and to ensure, following on from that report, that funding will be made available. It is vital this pier is repaired as soon as possible. I urge the Minister to keep the pressure on and to be ready to put in place the funding on receipt of the report.

Deputy Charlie McConalogue

I again thank Deputy Pringle. In the first instance, Donegal County Council as the local authority that manages the pier and harbour, is assessing the impact of the damage and repair requirement. I have no doubt it will engage, as appropriate, with me and the Government in regard to the challenges there. It is important the work to repair the pier is carried out as promptly as possible.

The islanders will be well represented in the engagement with Donegal County Council. The Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation is a very important producer organisation on behalf of inshore fishers. Last year, I worked hard to ensure it got producer organisation status, which I believe is a big step forward for our inshore fishers and for islanders, in particular. Since it has received full producer organisation status, the chairman, Jerry Early, and chief executive officer, Seamus Bonner, have been tremendous advocates on our national fishing scene for islanders and inshore fishers. I have no doubt they will be engaging and working with the local authority to have this particular issue regarding Pollawaddy pier fully considered. Local councillor, Noreen McGarvey, has been in touch with me specifically on this issue as well to highlight the importance of a prompt resolution.

I thank Deputy Pringle for raising this matter in the Dáil. It is important there is an acknowledgement of the importance of these piers and harbours on our islands, in particular, that they are recognised on the floor of the Dáil as being very important, and that we all then work together to ensure the infrastructure and facilities in place are appropriate to supporting our inshore fishers in carrying out their livelihoods. Following on from the storms such as we have seen, it is important we act promptly. I know Donegal County Council will do that. I look forward to working to support the council in that work.

Planning Issues

Deputy Thomas Gould

In summer 2020, Cork City Council took the very welcome move to pedestrianise a number of streets and to allow on-street dining. This was revolutionary for businesses in light of the Covid-19 restrictions. It also greatly improved the atmosphere of the city and was the start of a return to some sort of normality for both the business community and the people of Cork.

Unfortunately, this decision involved the relocation of several disabled parking spaces, but this was done with little consultation with the disabled community. Eighteen months later, we are still awaiting a resolution in regard to the relocation of these disabled parking spaces. Ordinary parking spaces, with no ramps or extra space, have been painted blue and designated disabled parking; there are bollards blocking ramps on to the footpaths and, most dangerously, people with disabilities have to exit their cars onto really busy roads. Despite intervention by the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and continuous calls from me to rectify this situation, these issues have not been addressed.

There is engagement by Cork City Council with the voluntary group, Cork Access Group. Realistically these are volunteers but they do their best. They are being involved on a statutory basis but they are not having the impact they should have on planning and they are not being involved at the concept stage.

Public realm planning is a vitally important aspect of how we live, move, shop and survive in cities, towns and villages. Changes to the public realm often have unforeseen consequences but more and more, these consequences are falling unfairly on the accessibility of spaces. I am simply asking that when local authorities undertake public realm planning they do so with accessibility in mind. They should undertake and publish an accessibility impact study prior to public consultation. This would allow them to see whether disabled parking needs to be moved and whether footpaths will be narrowed or become shared. Consideration must be given to the use of tactile paving because at the moment in Cork, some tactile paving is being used as decoration.

Yesterday, Cork was found to be the best European city for economic potential. This is welcome but we cannot build a city and a prosperous economy if it does not include everyone in our society, especially those with a disability. The guidelines exist. We have the UNCRPD, the universal design guidelines, the Blind Guide and the NTA's own walkability audit. Local authorities have the tools but not all of them are using these. The Government must ensure that when we improve our public spaces we improve them for everyone. We want to be an inclusive society and an inclusive State where those with a disability know they are respected, listened to and considered when planning cities, towns, villages, buildings and our public realm.

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Malcolm Noonan)

I will give a general overview of disability provision and the Disability Act and then offer some possible solutions to the case the Deputy has raised. The ongoing implementation of disability-related measures has a statutory footing under the Disability Act 2005. The Act comes within the policy remit of my colleague, Deputy Rabbitte, who is Minister of State with responsibility for disability at the Department of Health and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The Act is a legislative framework which enables and places obligations on Ministers and other public bodies to provide services and related measures to meet the needs of people with disabilities, consistent with available resources. I am providing this summary of the Act solely for context and understanding. Deputy Rabbitte would be the appropriate person to speak about this legislation. However, I take on board the Deputy's point that this is a local government issue.

To support people who may have particular needs, section 26 of the Disability Act 2005 requires the authorisation of at least one officer of a public body to provide, or arrange for and co-ordinate, assistance and guidance to people with disabilities in accessing its services. This officer is referred to as an "access officer" in the Act. Associated costs must be met in the course of the normal operations of the public body. Until recently, the access officer in my local authority was the county architect. Other provisions of Part 3 of the Disability Act provide for accessible public buildings where practicable, the compulsory provision of accessible information and services and access to heritage sites. The National Disability Authority has produced codes of practice that are designed to assist public bodies in meeting these obligations. Where a person believes that the provisions of the Act are not being properly adhered to, section 38 entitles specified persons to make a complaint in writing to the head of the public body in question, and outlines the procedures for such a complaint.

In addition to the provisions under Part 3 of the Act, there are requirements for new buildings, and extensions or material alterations to existing buildings, to comply with the legal minimum performance standards set out in the building regulations 1997-2019. In this context, the building regulations relating to Part M and the accompanying technical guidance document on access and use, which came into effect on 1 January 2012, set out the minimum statutory requirements that buildings must achieve. Part M aims to foster an inclusive approach to the design and construction of the built environment. While the Part M requirements may be regarded as a statutory minimum level of provision, the accompanying technical guidance encourages building owners and designers to have regard to the design philosophy of universal design. Guidance on how to design, build and manage buildings and spaces so they can be readily accessed and used by everyone, regardless of age, size, ability or disability is available in Building for Everyone: A Universal Design Approach, which is published by the centre for excellence in universal design at the National Disability Authority.

The issues the Deputy has raised this morning relate to the public realm and the reconfiguration of public streets during Covid. He quite rightly mentioned the loss of disabled parking spaces. That is something for each individual local authority to deal with. Where a disabled parking space is removed they are obliged to reinstate them in other parts of the urban area. Pedestrianisation in itself is good for people with disabilities because it provides safe spaces for people of all abilities to enjoy towns and urban centres. There are a number of things that other local authorities, including my own, have done in recent years to try to improve public accessibility. It is not just about people with physical disabilities. People with intellectual disabilities require good, safe urban spaces as well. I will try to address that specifically in my summary.

Deputy Thomas Gould

There is an accessibility officer in the council. I have no doubt that the person in question takes their job seriously, but realistically, they are not making the changes that need to be made. I know from talking to people within the council that this person wears a number of different hats, and that is not what is needed. We need someone with lived experience and the right connections. We need a full-time position of disability officer. I proposed this in a motion to Cork City Council a number of years ago. I am being fobbed off because there is an access officer available. I am asking for a disability officer in every local authority. The current accessibility officer does not seem to have any role in planning. They do not seem to reach out to the disabled community. I have yet to see a public realm planning application from Cork City Council that fully takes into account the impact changes will have on the disabled community. I want Cork City Council to hire a suitable and qualified disabled person with links to the disability community in Cork, who will act as a voice at the highest level of local authority. While public consultation has a role, we cannot expect so much from disabled people. They have enough burdens to deal with in fighting for services, employment and supports. They should not be expected to fight for the right to move around their own city or community. Publishing accessibility impact studies prior to all public realm planning would create transparency and remove some of this burden. There is much talk about supporting people with disabilities and including them. Actions speak louder than words. Let us make sure that Cork City Council, and every local authority, has a full-time disability officer who has just one job.

Deputy Malcolm Noonan

A number of years ago when I was a member of Kilkenny Borough Council, an initiative was brought forward by a person who was working with people with disabilities to bring in a disabled parking bay monitoring scheme. The monitors who worked, and are still working, on the streets of Kilkenny are themselves wheelchair users. They monitor the disabled bays and report back to traffic wardens where the disabled bays are being abused or being parked in by people without disability badges. That is one scheme that was brought in and it was very successful. Similarly, there is an individual in Kilkenny, Paul Crilly, who is bringing easy-read menus into our restaurants. He is doing fantastic work. Our access officer was at a senior level as an architect, so perhaps the responsibility lies at a senior grade in the local authority, such as a planner. There was a good access group. There must be an infrastructure there, first backed up by a development plan-----

Deputy Thomas Gould

Does the access officer have one job or multiple jobs?

Deputy Malcolm Noonan

They have multiple jobs but within their brief------

Deputy Thomas Gould

That is no good.

Deputy Malcolm Noonan

-----they are looking at access all the time. Every planning application and every public realm plan is disability-proofed before it goes out for public consultation. The access group had oversight of those planning applications. That is where the strength lies at local government level, in how effective and active the access group is.

I take on board the Deputy's point that they are voluntary, but they have an important role to play along with an access officer, who is in place at a senior level within the local authority. They are all signatories of the Barcelona declaration. I wholeheartedly agree that public access and the public realm are good for our towns and cities because they include everybody. From that point of view, I suggest Cork perhaps look to counties such as Kilkenny, where work has been done and a good infrastructure, while not perfect, is in place.

Deputy Thomas Gould

Every local authority should have a disability officer.