Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 18 Oct 2023

Vol. 1044 No. 2

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Active Travel

Deputy John Lahart

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for selecting this and I thank the Minister of State for being in attendance to take the issue. The Minister of State and I have often spoken about this. We both know that the public wants to play its part in mitigating climate change. Everyone wants to help sustain a planet that can sustain our children and grandchildren and future generations. The more people are included and involved in projects by the Government and by local government that help to create an environment like that, the more positive and included they feel. Generally, this will make them better disposed towards the projects that we are trying to bring in.

The Tallaght to Oldbawn active travel scheme is a case study in how not to proceed and how not to win public approval for a measure that the Government and local government want to bring in. It involves the active travel scheme along a road called Firhouse Road West and Killinarden Way and it runs from the N81, which is the Tallaght bypass, to the Oldbawn Road. However, it is also part of a larger route that potentially connects the N81 at Tallaght to Dundrum town centre, almost 10 miles away. This is an orbital corridor that provides huge scope and potential for a bus corridor along with the active travel links that are being proposed. The active travel scheme is anything involving cycling or walking that displaces people from cars. This measure certainly will not encourage people to take public transport.

One of the issues here, among many, was the manner in which the public consultation took place or rather, did not take place. I tabled a parliamentary question to the senior Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, who said in his response that he had responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to active travel schemes. The scheme was advertised and consultation was done on it under section 38 of the Road Traffic Act. I said at a meeting recently that I would have encouraged the council to have undertaken a full Part 8 public consultation. As someone said at a public meeting recently, the advertisement for the scheme went up on signs attached to lamp posts and there was some newspaper advertising. However, this is a radical intrusion, to some degree, in people's lives. It is a radical change to the road layout in the area and it is only a part of the jigsaw of road layout changes that are proposed. As someone said at a public meeting, if this was Eir or Virgin, everyone would get an individual letter telling them what was coming down the line and at least giving them some visual idea of the impact that it was going to have on them.

What we have seen, in some parts of south Dublin and parts of my constituency, are individual cycle tracks on both sides of the road. Then in other schemes there are two-way cycle tracks on one side of the road. That is what has happened here. One of my issues with it is that if we want people to abandon cars, we have to create safe cycleways and pedestrian ways. This is one of the most significant flaws in the scheme. We also need to offer public transport as a real option to people. The idea of a bus corridor that could potentially go from Tallaght to Dundrum has been done away with now because of the way this road has been laid out. There is simply no way of putting a bus corridor on both sides of this road. There is actually a bus corridor from Ballyboden to Dundrum, so half of it is there. That is the first layout, I just want to set out the stall in this regard. This was not the way to do it. A Part 8 full public consultation is the way to go.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport (Deputy Jack Chambers)

I thank the Deputy and I acknowledge his local experience and feedback relating the active travel scheme. The Department of Transport has responsibility for the provision of funding and setting of policy in relation to transport issues, including active travel. The National Transport Authority, NTA, has responsibility for the allocation of funding to projects at local authority level and works with the local authorities to ensure delivery of same.

The Deputy will be aware that a significant increase in funding has been allocated to walking and cycling infrastructure projects in recent years, following a commitment of approximately €360 million per annum in the programme for Government.

The NTA’s active travel programme receives most of this funding each year, with around €290 million allocated through that agency across all local authorities in 2023. Of the 2023 funding, South Dublin County Council received an allocation of just over €22 million. One of the projects funded through this allocation is the Dublin 24 neighbourhood cycle network, which aims to rapidly deliver approximately 11 km of protected cycle facilities that will fill in the gaps in the existing cycle network and provide direct links to twelve schools, parks, sports clubs and local amenities.

This project is a two-phase scheme. Phase 1 including Killinarden Heights, Killinarden Way, Whitestown Way, Kiltipper Way and Firhouse Road West. It is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in the middle of next year.

Phase 2, encompassing Killininny Road, Ballycullen Road, Ballycullen Drive and Ballycullen Avenue, is expected to commence early next year. Speed surveys carried out prior to the commencement of these works showed that just under 20% of vehicles were travelling in excess of the speed limit, which is obviously undesirable in built-up areas with a number of schools on the route. The project is one of the Department's 35 pathfinder projects. These aim to reduce emissions from transport by enabling the shift to cleaner transport choices. The programme seeks to increase delivery and momentum at local level by providing exemplar templates that can be replicated and scaled up elsewhere.

The majority of roads in the Dublin 24 neighbourhood cycle network are part of the Cycle South Dublin programme, a blueprint for the delivery of 260 km of new and enhanced active travel routes across 65 projects. The network is being implemented under section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1994. I am informed that three briefings were delivered to South Dublin county councillors and, although not obligatory, a public consultation took place in late 2022. The 26 submissions received during this process were taken into consideration as part of the design process.

I have been informed that South Dublin County Council is considering amendments to facilitate feedback. I also have been informed that the network complies with the current design manual for urban roads and streets around road space reallocation.

As part of active travel projects and if pathfinder projects are going to be exemplars for the future, in the context of bringing people in communities with us, then it is important that there be strengthened engagement with local communities. I will certainly reflect the feedback Deputy Lahart has given me to the National Transport Authority. This is important in the context of other projects. We were both involved, at different points, in the BusConnects public consultation, which has taken a significant length of time to evolve from the original proposal to what we have now. If there had been more of a middle ground from the beginning, then I believe we would have seen progress being made sooner. It is important, though, that there is community buy-in. South Dublin County Council has said it is considering amendments to facilitate the feedback from the local community. I will certainly reflect the wider concern that Deputy Lahart has about this local engagement, which is of fundamental importance to drive active travel across communities.

Deputy John Lahart

I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. Stakeholder buy-in is critical. Who are these stakeholders? Obviously, these include the local people who live in the area and use the roads. I refer in particular to parents, who are under pressure in the mornings. One of the things that happened was that school drop-off points were eliminated. Those school drop-off points that had been there were lost as a result of the construction of the cycle track. Public representatives, including Deputies and councillors, are also stakeholders. The Minister of State said that councillors were briefed on several occasions on this project. The impression I get, though, is that the visuals they were given were not impactful and did not give the councillors, or some of the local community organisations contacted, the required information. I am not being critical. I offer this observation in the spirit of acknowledging that we need to do things better. I say this because I have cycled and walked this route and I am very supportive of active travel. Returning to the point regarding Deputies and councillors and other stakeholders, we need better visuals.

I was at a transport forum meeting last week in Tallaght. The bus drivers said they were not consulted about two buses driving side by side along this road. They told me that even though it is mathematically possible in terms of the road width, overhanging trees mean that a bus has to lean out a little further onto the road, which means eating up some road space. In fairness, South Dublin County Council engineers said they will accompany drivers on a bus along the route. The NTA and bus companies were consulted, but the bus drivers who drive the routes were not consulted.

Turning to pinch points at particular junctions, advantages for public transport should be considered. They should just be an essential part of this context. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in his response to a parliamentary question from me, stated he is "considering proposals to strengthen the public consultation requirements in accordance with Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1994". Additionally, he said that his "Department is working with local authorities in order to create an environment whereby there will be greater levels of community engagement". It is not too late on this project. I encourage the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to talk to representatives of South Dublin County Council and the NTA to see what can be done in relation to the Tallaght to Oldbawn cycle track even now, because it is not even near completion, and this would certainly result in buy-in from the local community.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I call the Minister of State to reply within the time remaining.

Deputy Jack Chambers

I will try. I thank Deputy Lahart and I hear what he is saying clearly. Feedback from local communities and stakeholder engagement is of fundamental importance to get community buy-in, with public representatives here in the Oireachtas, councillors and the wider public. I will reflect this in the context of the wider active travel programme we are seeking to roll out.

I have responsibility for the safe routes to schools programme. There are possibilities across communities to try to encourage opportunities for active travel and for people to switch from the use of vehicles to active travel options in cases where people are living in close proximity to schools. Based on the feedback the Deputy has given me, the design process needs strengthened engagement. As I said, I will certainly reflect this point to officials in my Department, in the active travel and public transport unit, and to the NTA in the context of how we can build momentum on these pathfinder projects. We want to enable the shift to cleaner transport options. If this undertaking is caught up in disputes, delays and concerns, however, this will undermine our wider investment programme, about which we are ambitious. A key part of this is building stakeholder momentum and a collective push in this regard, which I think most people are on board with. I appreciate the points made by the Deputy and I will certainly reflect them in the Department and with the NTA. I appreciate the Deputy raising this subject today.

Deputy John Lahart

I thank the Minister of State.

Taxi Regulations

Deputy Paul McAuliffe

I thank the Minister of State for being here. The last question dealt with stakeholder engagement and this topic touches on it too. I refer to the representative groups who represent taxi drivers. The Minister of State will have met many of them in his constituency, as have I, Deputy Troy and many others, in regard to many issues.

One issue that has seemed to come to the fore, mostly because of the Government's decision, rightly, during Covid-19 to extend the lifetime of a taxi vehicle, is the anomaly whereby if a licence was granted before 2009 and the vehicle was associated with that licence from 2013, then that vehicle can last for 15 years. Yet we are now asking that cars older than ten years be taken off the road. We are taking newer cars off the roads while allowing those that were in place during implementation to remain on the road. Wheelchair-accessible taxis have up to 15 years. We also now have electric taxi vehicles coming on stream. Is the arbitrary limit of ten years the right way to approach this subject in future? Would a more standards-based approach be appropriate? The changes made have to be unwound to get back to the ten-year time period gradually and doing so may create further anomalies.

Regarding the supply of wheelchair-accessible taxis or electric vehicles, in both these cases we are battling the supply chain and trying to adapt a regulatory system that matches it. I feel, therefore, that what we should be looking at is the standard of the car and the experience for the passenger, rather than an arbitrary age for a vehicle. Specifically, though, I refer to the issue of the anomaly between those cars dating from before 2010 and newer cars and the challenge of unwinding the extension of ten years up to 2024 and beyond. Has the Minister of State examined this context? How does he propose to address it?

Much of this consultation is undertaken with the taxi advisory committee, TAC. The real difficulty with this is that while it purports to be representative of the industry, everybody accepts the process does not capture all the voices in the industry. Members of several of the representative bodies will not serve on it because of their experience. While the NTA governs many of the issues I dealt with previously concerning the regulations, the TAC is dealt with by legislation in the Department. It is time for us to review how we consult with representative bodies in the sector.

In some ways, we are a regulatory body for independent private contractors and so at times it is appropriate to have an arm's-length approach. Equally, though, we know that taxis are a key part of the public transport network and it is also important that we help their operators address some of the challenges being faced. I am sure the Minister of State has got the same queries into his office time after time. The bureaucracy involved around making applications for licences and grant schemes, and how these schemes interact with the applications for licences, get in the way of taxi drivers applying for them. There is often a requirement that they are off the road for several weeks. In many cases, this situation prevents taxi drivers from making the decisions we want them to make, which is to decarbonise the fleet and to have more younger people come to the industry in order that it continues to be vibrant. I ask the Minister of State, therefore, to reflect on some of these issues in respect of how we consult with representative bodies.

Deputy Jack Chambers

I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this matter. The regulation of the small public service vehicle, SPSV, industry, including enforcement and compliance in the sector, is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the NTA, under the provisions of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013 and Public Transport Act 2016.

Neither the Minister, Deputy Ryan, nor I have a role in the day-to-day operations of the SPSV sector. The National Transport Authority, NTA, as regulator, sets the standards and requirements for the SPSV sector, which includes rules about vehicle standards, suitability of drivers, and insurance requirements. The NTA also enforces legislation which includes taxis, hackneys and limousines. Regulations made in 2010 first established a maximum permissible age of ten years for new standard taxis and hackneys. The ten-year rule was adopted in recognition of the need to strike a balance between achieving standards that offer the customer confidence, comfort, and safety and allowing industry members to operate successfully.

It is worth noting that the Irish ten-year rule for standard taxis and hackneys is not particularly onerous when compared to other jurisdictions. Wheelchair-accessible taxis and hackneys are permitted to operate up to 15 years of age. No maximum permissible age is prescribed for limousines in recognition of both the vintage nature of many of these vehicles and their generally reduced mileage. The situation to which the Deputy refers, relates to regulation 31(2) of the Taxi Regulation (Small Public Service Vehicle) Regulations 2015 whereby when standard non-wheelchair accessible taxi and hackney licences granted before 1 January 2009 had the same vehicle associated with that licence on 1 January 2013, the vehicle can be licensed up to the 15th anniversary of the date of its first registration. As a result of the emergency regulations introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, and updated more recently in November of last year, 386 of these vehicles remain in the SPSV fleet. Therefore, they remain eligible to continue to be licensed by virtue of the time-bound regulations. During the pandemic, standard age limits for taxis and hackneys were extended on several occasions and are currently extended through to the end of 2024. This change helped to ensure no operator exited the industry based on the age of a vehicle because a replacement vehicle could not be purchased in the prevailing exceptional circumstances. All eligible vehicles were required to successfully complete both a roadworthiness and an SPSV suitability inspection every six months to ensure standards and quality remain at an appropriate level. The 2022 regulations provide for a graduated return to the ten-year age limit, with vehicles with a ten-year limit originally set to expire in 2020 or 2021 now extended to 2025, those vehicles with an original limit in 2022 or 2023 now extended to 2026, and those with an original limit in 2024 now extended to 2027. The NTA introduced these exceptional contingency regulations to provide assurance to licenceholders and to further extend the dates of expiring vehicle licences as in the NTA’s view, the capability of taxi and hackney licenceholders to secure new vehicles was affected by international developments during 2022, with lead times of one year not being uncommon. There are a few factors facing licenceholders seeking to replace end-of-life vehicles, resulting in a very constrained and limited supply of new and used vehicles for purchase. These factors include and unpredicted continuation of the global shortage of semiconductor chips and palladium, which is affected by the war in Ukraine; energy rationing in Europe; and supply to Ireland as Europe’s largest right-hand drive car market for auto manufacturers; the UK being more attractive for new car sales. A pragmatic response is required to control the impacts of matters outside of the State’s control. Therefore, that is why the NTA made these temporary exceptional contingency regulations regarding the maximum permissible vehicle age limits of vehicles due to reach their end-of-life before 2025. In the current period, there is a degree of certainty now for many licenceholders out to the end of the 2024 and beyond.

Deputy Paul McAuliffe

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome his clarification that the anomaly exists that those cars under section 31(2) will be older and yet we will be asking newer cars to come off the road. It is an anomaly. It is a very significant purchase for many taxi drivers. The Minister of State finished his contribution by saying that it was done for the uncertainty that exists in the market. There is always going to be uncertainty around supply and around the delivery of new vehicles. As we move into an era where e-cars are available, I am not certain whether forcing people to change their cars more frequently where perhaps components of the car may need to be changed is the best environmental approach either. Will the Minister of State reflect on that and perhaps raise it with the NTA specifically?

On the broader point I raised on the interaction which we have with the industry, will the Minister of State consider how we might better interact with the industry? That might start initially with some exploratory meetings with those representative bodies. I know the Minister of State is always willing to meet people. I hope we could start a conversation with these bodies about how we can better engage with them. One example that has been raised and has causes great frustration is the whole issue of transferability, so that when somebody passes away, his or her licence can be transferred to another family member or to a third party. However, if somebody is sick for a very long period of time, or incapacitated, he or she is not able to do that. Such people then are forced to license it out or lease it out and the person who is often caring for that sick person ends up also being involved in all these business transactions in which they do not want to be involved at all. There are many different small issues that frustrate many people in the industry and which discourage people from entering it. I believe taxis are a key part of the public transport network and I ask the Minister of State to do everything he can to try to work with the stakeholders and to see how customers and taxi drivers can get a better deal.

Deputy Jack Chambers

I appreciate the points made and the engagement by the Deputy. In the past number of weeks alone, I have met some taxi drivers, as we have discussed ourselves, and am happy to engage directly with others. There needs to be a strong level of engagement by the State with the representatives. I am certainly willing to engage with them and we can organise that.

As I have said, before introducing regulations and vehicle age limits, the NTA publishes its proposals for public consultation for a one-month period. Any views received are considered before new regulations are introduced. As a Department, we have been supportive of the SPSV industry during the pandemic, as I have said, and this has ensuring that no one has left the industry due to his or her inability to upgrade his or her end-of-life vehicle due to the unavailability of a replacement vehicle. The NTA also introduced a small public service vehicle regulation in 2021, the purpose of which was to double the period that taxi, hackney and limousine licences may rest in inactive status after expiry, prior to losing the capacity to be replaced, which is a permanent amendment to regulation 17. The situation to which the Deputy refers relates to a small number of vehicles in the context of the ten-year age limit. As well as having a vehicle age extension, licenceholders have that opportunity in the context of the electric small public service vehicle, eSPSV, grants which are also there. Some 1,779 grants have been paid between the beginning of the scheme in 2018 and 1 September 2023, with associated funding of more than €32 million, which shows a degree of momentum. We can see it here and elsewhere that there is an encouraging number of electric vehicles now translating into the fleet. On the point of engagement, it is important that the voice of taxi drivers is heard in the context of policy discussions and we will try to strengthen that.

Covid-19 Pandemic

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

There are four speakers to discuss the supports needed for those suffering with long Covid. Each Deputy will have one minute.

Deputy Paul Murphy

I think Deputy Kenny is not here.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Then Deputies will have a little extra time.

Deputy Paul Murphy

In the future, we look back at this moment and at how the governments of the world are treating Covid-19 and we will say it was a social crime. It is a decision to allow Covid to basically let rip, condemning millions of people to death but also tens of millions to a marginalised existence due to long Covid and how states are treating it. Hundreds of thousands of people in this country are affected by long Covid. This is an ongoing mass disabling event. We are not just talking about people being a little bit fatigued. We are talking about children who are not able to go to school, adults who are no longer able to work and people who are not able to breathe properly. This is a very serious issue. The problem is that the State has good words, and we unanimously passed a very good resolution in the Dáil almost a year ago, but that has not been acted on. The long Covid clinics are not functioning properly. They are barely open one day a week, and half a day a week in some cases. The Government has no approach towards stopping the continuous spread of Covid. It has not brought back masking in healthcare settings. There is no awareness campaign for people. The Government is not taking it seriously and it needs to.

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

I thank Deputy Murphy for co-ordinating an audiovisual room event and for the submission of the Topical Issue.

It is very important and timely. The points have been made already. When I speak to constituents who are living with long Covid and their families, neighbours and friends the issues raised are the lack of public awareness, completely inefficient HSE services, clinical pathways, services and supports for children, a co-ordinated vaccination strategy that recognises long Covid and the need for continued support. What we really hear about from people is the lack of recognition, voice and support, particularly in terms of clinical pathways and clinical and financial supports.

Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh

I thank Deputy Paul Murphy for his work in this area, for co-ordinating the briefing in the AV room and for co-ordinating this Topical Issue debate. People living with long Covid do not feel heard. They do not feel supported or believed. I have been open about the fact that I meet a person with long Covid every day as I live with one. These people look fine and healthy. When they report to their GP, there is no test they can take for long Covid so everything else is ruled out. People suggest that they are a little bit down in themselves and suggest it is this or that.

The provision of services is inadequate, as is awareness not only among the general population but among our GP cohort. In the region that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and I represent, no long Covid clinic is available. A clinic in Waterford city that provides health services for 600,000 people in the wider region has no long Covid clinic available. For those struggling with their energy the idea of travelling to Dublin, Cork, Limerick or Galway to access services is untenable.

We do not have a clear picture of what this issue actually looks like. The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Butler, in reply to a question I asked spoke about a follow-up after disease acquisition survey to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year but there is no correlation between acute Covid and long Covid. How will we access these people? How will we find out how many people in the general population are affected by this disease? I am not seeing an approach at Government level.

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

I thank Deputies Murphy, O'Rourke and Ó Cathasaigh for raising this important issue. I hear loud and clear what they are saying about people not feeling supported. It is of great concern and I want to reflect this. I advise the Deputies that the HSE has developed an interim model of care for long Covid that aims to build on existing service provision in addition to establishing new services in GP, community and acute hospital settings. The HSE identified early in the pandemic the need for this service and set up a multispeciality, multidisciplinary team to develop the interim model of care, under the auspices of the chief clinical officer.

The priority is to ensure there are long Covid and post-acute Covid clinics operating in each hospital group - and I note the point made by Deputy Ó Cathasaigh - to ensure a national service as close to home as possible for those suffering from long Covid. To ensure this national service can be put in place, the Minister allocated funding that facilitated an overall investment of €6.6 million for long Covid service development in 2023, a trebling of the allocation for 2022.

At present, six long Covid clinics and seven post-acute Covid clinics operate nationally. The long Covid clinics operational under the model of care include St. Vincent’s University Hospital and Beaumont Hospital. The post-acute Covid clinics operational under the new model of care include the Mater hospital and Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown. In addition, Tallaght University Hospital, St. James’s Hospital, Cork University Hospital, University Hospital Galway and University Hospital Limerick are operating combined post-acute and long Covid clinics. The HSE has also advised that there is a tertiary neurocognitive clinic in St. James's Hospital, led by a consultant neurologist with a background in neurocognitive disorders. This clinic is accepting referrals from long Covid and post-acute clinics around the country. Recruitment, which includes consultants in a number of disciplines and administration, is under way. To date, 65.9 whole-time equivalent posts have been sanctioned across all of the post-acute and long Covid clinics. As of 8 September 2023, 46.1 of these posts have been recruited.

The HSE also commissioned a HIQA review of international evidence to further inform the development of the service, the results of which were published in December 2022. The review examined 24 guidelines and two models of care and found that approaches and recommendations in the interim model of care are broadly consistent with those identified in this international literature review. An online epidemiological survey, FADA, is under way, which will provide insight into the prevalence of long Covid in the Irish population and the risk factors for developing long Covid. The FADA study will determine the prevalence of long Covid for individuals diagnosed with Covid-19 between March 2020 and 31 Jan 2022 by PCR testing. The results of the survey are due later this year.

Most children with Covid-19 infection have asymptomatic or mild disease. Fortunately, the incidence of severe disease and hospitalisation of children with Covid-19 is low. At present, the diagnosis and care for children and young people suspected of having long Covid is provided by GPs and existing referral pathways within paediatric services. The evolving evidence regarding the impact of long Covid in children is being monitored by the HSE to ensure service delivery is adapted as needed.

I thank the Deputies again for raising this issue. I will bring back their responses to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. I note the very serious concerns they have raised.

Deputy Paul Murphy

I thank the Minister of State. What people with long Covid say is that the current model of care is simply not working and action is needed to change it. The first thing to be done to try to stop more people having long Covid is to stop people getting Covid infections or reducing the number. We need to have education campaigns, an emphasis on ventilation and clean air, vaccination and masking in healthcare settings. Those suffering are also calling for an awareness campaign to let people know there is a danger of getting Covid. There needs to be a proper review of the non-Covid clinics. They are not working. There are not enough of them and they do not operate enough. There are not enough referrals from GPs. There also needs to be financial support for people affected by long Covid.

Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh

I will pick up where Deputy Murphy left off. If our health provision for long Covid is hit and miss, then it is substantially more miss than hit. The actual services provided in the long Covid clinics that exist are uneven at best. There absolutely needs to be an underpinning in terms of social protection for those people suffering in the long term. The reliance on PCR diagnosis misses the large number of people who are diagnosed through a red line on an antigen test. There is no register of people who are suffering from long Covid.

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

The points have been made and I thank the Minister of State for his reply. There is a singular focus on the clinical side and referring back to the Minister for Health. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, also needs to be involved in this. With regard to the clinical aspects of the capacity of services and clinical awareness in the services, the point has been made to me, and the Minister of State picked up on this, that the focus is on pulmonary and cardiac and less so on neurology. This is also needs to be addressed. This will be an ongoing issue and it needs a priority focus.

Deputy Malcolm Noonan

I thank the Deputies and I take the points made on public awareness, ventilation and clean air. There is a winter vaccination programme and I encourage people to avail of the vaccine over the coming weeks and months. The Government continues to support the roll-out of the national service for long Covid, with €2.2 million in funding for the implementation of the model of care approved for 2022, which trebled to €6.6 million for 2023.

The interim model of care was developed by a group of clinicians across a range of specialties and disciplines, including leadership and representation from primary care, older persons, respiratory medicine, chronic disease, infectious disease, mental health and neurology. As part of this, a number of long Covid and post-acute Covid clinics are operational and seeing patients. There are challenges and it is important to make tweaks and respond to the needs of people.

Estimates of the proportion of people who go on to experience long Covid-type symptoms vary considerably in the international literature. As this is a relatively new condition, there are still considerable unknowns relating to the prevalence and duration of symptoms and the impacts of factors such as virus variant type, vaccination status and the interplay of underlying medical and social conditions with post-Covid reported symptoms.

The development of effective therapeutic options for patients suffering from long Covid poses significant challenges. Many of the proposed interventions for people with long Covid symptoms do not yet have sufficient evidence to support them and overall, effective strategies that address the multifaceted nature of long Covid remain elusive. Future research investigating the effectiveness and safety of interventions is required, and a large number of trials are currently ongoing. A recent HIQA report advised that in the absence of strong evidence to support the effectiveness of interventions for long Covid, a holistic symptom management approach should be used to support those living with long Covid, including medical assessment and referral to the appropriate specialist. In the few seconds I have remaining, I encourage people to avail of the Covid vaccine. I will pass on the response to Deputies. I note the considerable concerns they have brought here today.

Water Quality

Deputy Michael Ring

I should not have to come to the House today to raise this issue. It has been going on for 15 years. Irish Water, and Mayo County Council before it, have not deal with this issue. There are 115 houses affected. It is a terrible thing when people pay their taxes, water charges, local property tax and everything they are asked to pay, yet they have to come home every evening to find an awful odour in their homes. Irish Water staff came out two weeks ago, looked at it and did some work, but a week later it was back again and these families have to suffer. It is not right in this day and age. There is a health and safety issue here. Reports have been sent in to Irish Water. Today, I am asking the Minister of State to set up a meeting with the CEO of Irish Water, me and officials from his Department to find out once and for all why honest and decent taxpayers have to put up with this. The houses I am referring to are in the town of Claremorris. A new sewerage system was put in many years ago and there is no doubt that there is a fault somewhere along the line. Something has gone wrong and somebody did not do their job along the way. The people who are suffering are the people of Claremorris and the owners of the 115 houses affected. It is not right. There are families with children who have been sick. When this happens in the evening time, particularly when there is fine weather though we do not have too much of that, these people cannot open their windows. The smell is in their houses. They are embarrassed to bring in friends and neighbours. It is a terrible thing. When they are eating their dinner in the evening, there is a terrible odour. It has been happening for the past 15 years. They have been pleading with the county council and with Irish Water and nothing has been done. Irish Water seems to be out of control at the moment. It does not seem to be doing what it is asked to do. It is not answerable to public representatives. At a recent meeting of Mayo County Council I heard that it has been trying to get representatives of Irish Water in for the past number of months to discuss other issues and they have not come in. They are not Gods. Taxpayers are paying their wages. The ordinary people out there are paying their taxes. The least these public servants can do is to come in and tell us what the problem is and how they are going to fix it. It has been going on for too long. It needs to be dealt with and I want it dealt with now. I ask the Minister of State to set up a meeting with Irish Water. I have written to the management and I do not even think they replied. It is not good enough. I want this issue resolved. We need to find out what the problem is and how to get it fixed. I want it done immediately.

Deputy Malcolm Noonan

In the first instance, the county council is responsible for investigating and dealing with complaints of poor air quality, including odours. I note the serious issues raised by the Deputy relating to Knock Road, Claremorris. All potential sources of the odour would need to be investigated to establish the cause and origins of the issues. The county council may be able to deal with the issue from within its own book of powers and functions. If the issue involves an Environmental Protection Agency-regulated site, the local authority will pass the complaint to the agency for a response. The EPA, as environmental regulator, is responsible for setting quality standards and enforcing compliance with EPA Licences. I understand from inquiries that have been made with Uisce Éireann that the company and the local authority water services area staff are investigating sewers as one potential source but have not identified any specific source of the odour issue. Pumping stations in the area are operating normally and there is no evidence of blockages in the sewer system. Uisce Éireann source control has advised that there are no business or commercial discharges on this section of network. Further investigations are to be undertaken for any potential unlicensed discharges in this area.

This area of the sewer network is included in the odour control programme and Uisce Éireann is currently gathering and processing data for the next stage of the assessment. Options for remedial action will be developed once this assessment has been completed. If the matter is indeed related to the public sewers, that is the sole responsibility of Uisce Éireann, as the Deputy will appreciate. The company is responsible for the maintenance and cleaning of the public sewer network. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. Private sewers are a matter for the individual owners to address. Additional information and advice on the public collection and treatment of wastewater is available on Uisce Éireann’s website.

To respond to the Deputy specifically, he has requested that I organise a meeting with the CEO of Uisce Éireann and officials from my Department. That meeting should be with Uisce Éireann officials locally and with area staff from Mayo County Council. I know they have met previously but Uisce Éireann is working to resolve and identify the source of the problem. If the source of the problem is not the sewer network, area engineers need to find from where it is coming from. Certainly, we can pass the Deputy's note on to Uisce Éireann. The responsibility lies with Uisce Éireann and, hopefully, the matter will be resolved in a timely manner.

Deputy Michael Ring

I will not be unkind to the Minister of State because I know he is trying to be helpful. The people have been completely frustrated with Mayo County Council for the past 15 years. They are frustrated with Irish Water. Staff were out two weeks ago and they could not find the source of the problem. They had machinery in there. We can land a man on the moon now and we can fly vehicles all over the world. Surely to God, Irish Water and Mayo County Council can find where this problem is between them. It is terrible that 115 houses are affected. The problem has not been created by the people themselves. The houses do not have sceptic tanks. They are connected to a sewerage system that was put into Claremorris a number of years ago. There is a problem, and it is a serious one. I know the Minister of State will do his best. I will raise the matter again. I ask him to contact both Irish Water and the council. I have been on to Mayo County Council and have been told it is a problem for Irish Water. This is the new line. It is a bit like the Government and the HSE. The Minister of State says he has no responsibility and the council says it is a problem for Irish Water. I do not care who has responsibility. These people are paying their taxes, including the local property tax. Every one of them is out there working hard, picking up their children and coming home. One of them is a manager of a big company in Mayo. He has done a lot of work and paid a lot of money to look into it. He has sent in graphs and has supplied details of the times when the smell appears, yet nothing has been done. I ask the Minister of State to get back to Irish Water. I certainly will contact Mayo County Council again, but as I have said, it is like going to the moon to bring down a sewer from the moon. That is the truth.

Deputy Malcolm Noonan

I reiterate that it is a matter for Uisce Éireann to investigate issues that pertain to its own sewer network. Certainly, we will pass on the message to Uisce Éireann with a view to resolving the issue, if it pertains to its network. My own experience with Uisce Éireann has been very good. I acknowledge that from time to time Deputies complain about the lack of accountability and its lack of engagement but it is quite good. It responds at a local level. The Deputy will find good levels of response with the area engineers. A concerted effort is being made to resolve this issue for the people of Claremorris. It is something that they have been putting up with for far too long and it needs to be addressed. There is no doubt that every effort is being made. Certainly, I will pass on the Deputy's concerns to Uisce Éireann.