Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jan 2024

Vol. 1048 No. 6

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

School Enrolments

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to represent the Minister for Education. This is my third Topical Issue on this issue, which I have raised a number of times in the Dáil with the Minister. In early October 2023, it became apparent that there was a major shortfall of places for secondary school students in Greystones. At that stage, we thought it could be around 100. I raised it directly with the Department during a committee meeting with the forward planning section. It was aware of this shortfall and alarm bells should be ringing there. Since then, we have had discussions and submitted questions to find out exactly what is happening for those students.

The Department had a meeting with the five TDs from Wicklow on 5 December 2023. We were told at that time that it had received the data from the schools, was going to work through all those waiting lists to see how many children needed a place and had asked the schools for information on their footprint and how many children they could take in. We were told on 5 December that we would hear in January about what the solution would be. Unfortunately, we have not heard about it two months since that meeting.

The data the Department was getting from the schools is information it should have. It is the forward planning section. It should know about schools' capacity and how many students are in the area. It could simply look at the figures from the fifth and sixth class in primary schools to see what kind of demand it should be expecting.

I want to get across really clearly that this is causing parents and students in the area huge concern. Transitioning from primary to secondary school is a milestone and something the children should be able to look forward to. Unfortunately, a large number of students do not know where they are going to go in September while their friends are chatting about different uniforms and what classes they are going to take. Indeed the entrance examinations are happening in some schools. While all that chatter is happening, these children have no idea of where they are going and are incredibly stressed as are their parents. I have had endless phone calls from parents as has my colleague Councillor Mark Barry, with whom I am working on this issue. We have been working very closely with the schools and the parents to try to move this process along. I understand that the Department has a job to do to figure out where these students will go. What we need is to see a decision made quickly because we need to let parents know what is happening. I am really hopeful that the documentation the Minister of State has will provide some answers in that regard.

It is not just a matter of what is happening for September 2024. We also need to hear what is going to happen for September 2025. I am not joking when I say that every year since I was first elected, the issue of school places in the Greystones district has been a problem. I do not understand why the Department is still not on top of that despite a number of school projects being signed off on and funding being made available. Hopefully, the Minister of State will have some indication as to the three major school builds that are planned for the area because I do not want to be standing here next year talking about this issue. It is not fair on parents and students. It is not fair on the schools either because a "solution" will be cobbled together and it will put huge pressure on the schools to sort this out in conjunction with the Department so, hopefully, the Minister of State has an answer for me.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Neale Richmond)

Before I give the Deputy the straight reply on behalf of the Minister for Education, both the Deputy and I are in neighbouring constituencies. We do not represent areas that are too different from each other. I am in my 15th year as an elected representative and every year, school places have become an issue and this will continue. Despite seeing ten new schools opening in my constituency during those 15 years, there is still pressure on places. When I see 1,500 new homes built in my local electoral area, on which I served for seven years, I know there will be forward pressure. Indeed I wrote to the Minister for Education as a constituency TD yesterday.

Since 2018 and to the end of October 2023, a total of €145 million has been invested in school infrastructure in County Wicklow. This significant capital investment includes a recently delivered major building project to expand St. David’s Secondary School in Greystones. State-of-the-art, modern school accommodation for 750 pupils was provided at this school.

The Department is currently progressing a major building project for Temple Carrig School in Greystones, which I visited on Saturday, under the national development plan. Temple Carrig Secondary School in Greystones was opened in 2014. I attended the opening and I think the Deputy attended as well before her political career. There is a project underway to provide accommodation at this school for 1,000 pupils, which is currently at stage 1, preliminary design stage. A project for four modular mainstream classrooms has also been approved. These classrooms are now on site and the project is completed.

In line with the Department's demographic projections of post-primary school place requirements, there has been a continued growth in enrolments throughout many school planning areas in County Wicklow. In response, the Department is providing further significant additional post-primary capacity, including a new 1,000-pupil school building for Greystones Community College. Greystones Community College was established in 2020 as a regional solution for the Kilcoole and Greystones area. The project to deliver this new school building is at stage 3, tender stage. The permanent building project will deliver a new 1,000-pupil post-primary school with accommodation, including four classrooms, for children with special educational needs. The project is being delivered under the Department’s design and build programme and is currently at tender stage. The invitation to tender issued in April 2023 as part of a bundle of projects issued to the Department's framework of design and build contractors. The tender process currently takes approximately eight to 12 months. Tender returns have been received and are currently being evaluated. Once a contractor has been appointed, it is anticipated that construction will commence shortly thereafter. In addition to the above projects, there is also the existing school in the adjacent Kilcoole school planning area - Coláiste Craobh Abhann - for which there is a major project approved to expand it to 1,000 pupils. This project is currently at stage 2b and is being delivered by the National Development Finance Agency.

The annual enrolment process for new junior infants at primary and new first years at post-primary is a very large-scale operation that is transacted at close to 4,000 schools across the country involving some 140,000 pupils. In the context of post-primary enrolment pressures in Greystones, the Department of Education is aware of the acute pressures laid out by the Deputy tonight and on two if not three previous occasions in this Chamber. A critical next step for the Department is to establish the actual number of additional first year places as the Deputy outlined. In that context, schools in a number of areas of enrolment pressure, including Greystones, have been requested to share data. This data has been received by Department officials and is currently being analysed with a view to establishing the actual requirement for places. Preliminary assessments indicate that duplication of applications and applications from outside the local area are contributing to enrolment pressures in the town.

The Department is working to clarify the actual requirement for additional school places and to identify particular further capacity requirements for 2024 and forthcoming years. The Department is currently engaging with schools and patrons to put required solutions in place beyond those that are already in train.

Engagement is also taking place with patrons and schools with regard to school place needs more broadly across the county. This close engagement continues. I can assure the Deputy on behalf of the Minister that Department of Education officials will continue to engage actively with schools and patrons to ensure that there is appropriate provision for all students in Greystones for the forthcoming school year and into the future. Families can be assured that any necessary solution will be delivered so that all of the children in the Greystones school planning area will receive a first year place.

Deputy Jennifer Whitmore

I have to say that I am really disappointed with the response. It has been two months and the Department has yet to ascertain how many children in the area do not have a place. How does it take two months to go through that process? How has the Department not yet figured out where there is capacity in schools in the area?

Parents in the area have just two questions. They want to know what school their child will be going to and when they will find out. They are two very simple basic questions and after first raising this in October and after the Department getting all the information from the different schools, the Minister should be able to provide that clarity for parents.

There is a significant irony here. In November, the Minister was all over every single news outlet talking about the school phone ban. She was lauding the fact there were schools and parents in Greystones that had come together to develop a voluntary code when it came to phone bans and she was going to apply this across the country. It is these same children who do not have a place. That is the irony of this. It is these sixth class students in Greystones who do not have a place. With all due respect, the Minister's focus should be on ensuring that children have a school place for September rather than on issuing guidance notes that are voluntary for parents.

I am really frustrated by this. I cannot believe that we still do not have any actual figures as to how many students require a place. Not only have we no figures about that, we have no timeline as to when that information will be given to parents. We also do not have any information on the three school projects that are underway.

The Greystones Community College went out for tender almost one year ago. I have asked that the Department prioritise that in the bundle of ten to make sure there are enough school places for 2025. There is no further information on that. The Temple Carraig school extension has also gone on far too long. We also have Coláiste Chraobh Abhann, which received planning permission more than one year ago and there is still no indication of any progress with that. This is an area where there is huge demand. There is an incredible level of housebuilding going on. This situation is not going to get better and we need to make sure that the Department has this under control for September 2024 and September 2025, and that the schools are fully able to take whatever demand is coming down the road.

Deputy Neale Richmond

I absolutely agree with the Deputy. That is why the Department of Education has made it quite clear that I relay that the critical step is receiving the data, processing it and then going back to the schools with the data. There are two months where you are dealing with quite a number of duplications. Half of the people in my area apply to far more than one, two, three or four schools for their child. That is an impact, and we have to accept that. However, I am told, as per the reply, that this process will be concluded in the coming weeks. At this stage it would perhaps be a good idea to seek a direct deputation with the senior Minister. I am more than happy to go back to her to say that was requested on the floor of the House. If the Deputy does so by letter, I will write an additional supplementary calling on the Minister to do that.

Health Services

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

Carlow health services are important to us all. As the Minister of State is no doubt aware, injury units treat recent injuries that are not life threatening and are unlikely to need admission to hospitals. Such units can help with many of the injuries people go to emergency departments with. For example, with broken bones, dislocation and minor burns, patients can get treatments, X-rays and plaster casts. That is important. The HSE has advised that approximately 130,000 patients attend 12 local injury units in the country each year. They are designed to provide the same level of care as would be available in emergency departments, but more locally and with a shorter waiting time.

A HSE review of the injury units and medical assessment units looked in detail at the activity, capacity, staffing and operations of existing units across the model of what is called two hospitals, as well as areas having the most potential need for additional injury units. This is why I am glad we have someone to take this tonight, and I thank the Minister of State for taking this. There is an implementation plan for the recommendation from the review, which is now being developed. I am pleading that Carlow would be part of this. Carlow has grown by 9%, and is one of the fastest growing counties in the country. Carlow has a population of 62,000. The CSO figures show the population of Carlow town at 27,351. Kilkenny city is a little smaller at 27,184. The Carlow town population figures include Graiguecullen, which the Minister of State knows is just bordering Carlow. In the census, 1,262 people reported bad or very bad health in the county. That was up from 936 people in 2016. Carlow needs its own injury clinic, and I would like this to be supported and for Carlow to have this; we really need to expand in Carlow.

I want to talk about the X-ray unit. We have a fabulous building in Carlow called St. Dympna's. It was a hospital many years ago. We now have the X-ray department there, but it only operates on a part-time basis. This old hospital is a beautiful building, but they have other health services in it. Part of it is an X-ray unit, but it only opens part time; it is not open full time. At the moment it is closed for refurbishment. People from Carlow have to go to Kilkenny for an X-ray. One of the biggest challenges with people accessing healthcare in Carlow is in ambulance response times. The 2014 HIQA report into pre-hospital emergency care highlighted the dynamic development process as a measure to improve response time from the NAS performance generally. This happened, and it is a concern. We have fabulous ambulance paramedics in Carlow. They do an excellent job. However, this dynamic model of ambulance development allows the service to prioritise resource allocations to higher calls that require immediate emergency response. It also allows the categories of non-serious or non-life-threatening calls. This provides a resource appropriate to the patient's clinical need. I am sure the Minister of State is aware of this. The ambulance base in Carlow town supports five emergency ambulances on Monday and four during the remainder of the week. At the moment, a project is commencing to provide a new ambulance base in Carlow town, which was included in the 2023 capital plan and is currently at the appraisal stage.

Deputy Neale Richmond

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. At the discretion of the Chair, I thank her for the warm welcome to Carlow last Friday. It was wonderful to be there. As a segue, I met former Deputy Charlie O'Connor yesterday and I told him that the Deputy had assumed the mantle of Jennifer "Carlowman" O'Connor. He was happy to see that his moniker lives on.

The National Emergency Medicine Programme, EMP, model of care recognises the need to support the development of injury units. These units provide care locally in cases where injuries are unlikely to require hospital admission. I am pleased to say that 13 local injury units are open around the country, each one providing an important service to their local communities. These units are designed to provide the same level of care for certain conditions as would be available at an emergency department, but more locally and with a shorter waiting time. This care includes direct referral to specialties such as orthopaedics, plastic surgery or maxillofacial surgery, in the small number of cases in which this is indicated. As a result, these units also play an important role in reducing the waiting times for patients in emergency departments throughout the country. The services provided at injury units are held in high esteem by patients. This is evident by the large and growing demand for these services. Approximately 140,000 patients attended injury units in 2022, an increase of 30% since 2019. This represents approximately 7% of all urgent and emergency activity in Ireland. I can advise that the HSE has carried out a review of injury units, which was completed in July 2023. The review considered the activity, operations and governance of 13 injury units across the country. These recommendations of the review are broadly based on three themes. These are the need to standardise existing services; consistency of operating hours across established units; and to identify options for future development of injury units in the medium to long term. I believe this is where a case for Carlow may come in. All recommendations will of course also be subject to resource and other considerations and will be delivered through the Urgent and Emergency Care Plan, UEC, for 2024, and successor plans as appropriate.

I think we are at the stage where the assessment has been carried out and the review completed. It is going through the process, but now is the time where local advocates such as the Deputy will continue to push the case for an injury unit in their particular region, or indeed another region as they see fit. I undertake to bring the points made by the Deputy this evening to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and his colleagues in the HSE. I would be more than happy to support the efforts to secure that unit for Carlow.

Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor

At the end I was going to thank the Minister of State as he was in Carlow last Friday. We were delighted to have him in the enterprise board. It was great that we can show off what Carlow has to offer. I thank him for coming to Carlow. These injury clinics are so important when we now see how Carlow is growing. We have Kilkenny hospital, which is also an excellent hospital, but it would be beneficial to everyone if Carlow had its own injury clinic, and it would be great if people could go there. We have the services ready. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is aware of this. I have spoken to him several times about an injury clinic for Carlow. I spoke about the ambulance paramedics who do an excellent job. The system is failing at the moment. A mother came to me last week, who had called an ambulance for her two-year-old daughter who had a seizure. She was waiting six hours for the ambulance to come. I believe the child is now getting tested for epilepsy. If we had the injury clinic it would help everyone. It would help the ambulance paramedics and the great job they are doing. It would help Kilkenny hospital. The main thing for me is that it would be there for the people of Carlow. It would be a service the people of Carlow need. We really need to have it there. We need that service, and it would be of great benefit to everyone. I ask the Minister of State, in his role, to go back to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly on this. I have spoken to the Minister about this several times.

The one thing that needs to be looked at is the urgency of this injury clinic. We have a lovely X-ray unit in Carlow. If we could just expand that to get bigger premises, it would be an absolute win-win for the people of Carlow.

Deputy Neale Richmond

The services provided at injury units provide a safe and convenient delivery of the right care in the right place at the right time and make an immediate positive impact on patients' experience. I once had my ear stitched back on at the side of the pitch in Oak Park. I would have definitely much preferred to have gone to an injury unit. However, that was not today or yesterday. The HSE is reviewing the recommendations and developing an implementation plan for further development of services at injury units. The implementation of these recommendations will be through the urgent and emergency care plan 2024 and subsequent plans, as appropriate. The work is ongoing subject to resource and other considerations. No decision has been reached by the HSE on specific new locations for injury units. However, increasing the number of locations is under consideration, subject to available resources. We all know the demographic changes that are going on throughout the country, but particularly in large towns like Carlow, and the need for additional services. It would make sense to have new injury units. I know the people of Carlow can be assured the Deputy will continue to put this case to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and I am more than happy to join in that call.

Health Services

Deputy Pat Buckley

I meet the Minister of State again at the handy times and he gets all the handy ones. While I am bringing this up, I want to put on the record that the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, also has the full documentation on what I am about to raise. Ms Katie Byrne is a young lady aged 17 from Cobh. She has been waiting for an operation since she was four years old. Katie's family have been through hell for the past 14 years and Katie has been damaged mentally. After a recent visit to the hospital on Monday, 22 January 2024, she was told by a specialist that if they operated on Katie, she would never walk again. This has really upset Katie and she has lost total trust in our health services. A recent article in The Echo stated:

Katie said that the possibility of having to return to a wheelchair permanently has left her “terrified.”

“It’s like I’m screaming but nobody is listening,” she told The Echo.

The transition year student has once again become reliant on crutches and her wheelchair. She said she is extremely disappointed that the HSE has left her family with no option but to fundraise due to restrictions on what country she can be treated in through its treatment abroad scheme...

[Katie said] “I do my best not to cry in front of doctors because it just causes a scene. However, this happened recently and the doctor had to apologise for making me upset. It can feel so isolating.

"Every time a doctor tells me there’s a chance I might end up needing my wheelchair, I’m terrified ... I got out of my chair. I don’t want to have wasted the last 10 years of my life just to get back into it.”

The 17-year-old had a message for the HSE:

My message would be not to look at the X-ray and look at the person in front of you. If I'm telling you I'm in pain then I'm in pain. All I want is for people to believe me instead of disregarding what I'm saying...

I generally experience upset more than I do anger. The fact that I haven't even been offered a referral from those who can't help me or a small contribution for my operation is particularly frustrating. Instead we are being sent from doctor to doctor, all of whom are telling us the same thing.

On Monday, I met with the family here in Leinster House. Katie has now gone from being in the children section to being in the adult section. She was physically upset. She is an amazing strong lady who has been looking for this hip operation from four years of age. Her mother contacted the surgeon they had contacted previously, an American top surgeon, who can do this operation. Her mother wrote:

On talking to this doctor who was very dismissive of you doing both surgeries at the same time because you would weaken her femur and weaken the already weakened muscles, he outlined some risks and basically scared the living daylights out of Katie to the extent that she is now terrified to have surgery anywhere.

Some of the risks highlighted were:

1. Risks of blood clots

2. Risks of Katie never walking again should she have the surgery

3. Because she has cerebral palsy the muscles around the pelvis would be weakened to the extent that she would be left in a wheelchair permanently.

In his reply the surgeon stated:

I appreciate the local surgeon's concerns. However, I don't agree with him. The pelvic operation is done in a way not to disturb major hip muscles. I have done this many times on CP patients and have never made their outcome worse than before. Not only have I not weakened but the opposite, it made the function better because of the improved mechanics.

Regarding doing the femur and the pelvis at the same time: This is something we do all the time. The femur part of the procedure is done using an intramedullary nail (rod inside the bone). We are able to do this part minimally invasively. Meaning only a few tiny incisions.

I will come back to it later.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I know the Deputy has permission from the family but he is also quoting somebody who is not here.

Deputy Pat Buckley

I can finish on this one.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

He is finished now, but he can come back in. I am just asking him to be careful.

Deputy Pat Buckley

No panic.

Deputy Neale Richmond

I thank Deputy Buckley very much for sharing that story in the Chamber. In our constituencies we come across families who face these challenges and it is absolutely heartbreaking for the entire family, entire community but, first and foremost, for the patient at the centre of it. I know the Deputy will continue to make the case for that individual, as he has been doing as a local representative.

Regarding waiting times for orthopaedic surgery patients in Cork East, this feeds into the overall national change that sees that for the second year in a row, national hospital waiting times and waiting lists actually fell. On the core Sláintecare wait time target, an 11% reduction was achieved along with a 3% reduction in overall waiting lists. The target of removing approximately 1.66 million patients from waiting lists in 2023 was exceeded by 5%, with around 1.74 million patients removed. However, higher than anticipated additions to the waiting lists impacted on the total waiting list figures, offsetting much of the progress achieved.

With regard to the number of patients waiting in Cork hospitals for an orthopaedic inpatient or day-case procedure, the most recent figures published by the NTPF for the end of December 2023 indicate there are 311 patients waiting for such a procedure at Cork University Hospital and South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital. This current figure represents a slight decrease of 2% in the number of patients waiting since the end of December 2022.

Some 54%, or 168 patients, are currently waiting outside the 12-week Sláintecare target for an inpatient or day-case procedure. This Government’s commitment to both of these hospitals can be seen in the increased resources assigned to meet the needs of patients. The budget for CUH has increased by 42% since 2019, and the budget for the South Infirmary has increased by 24% in the same period. In addition, there were significant increases in staffing in the same period, with the staffing complement in CUH and SIVUH increasing by 30% and 35%, respectively.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund continues to work with hospitals throughout the country to offer and provide the funding for treatment to clinically suitable long-waiting patients who are on an inpatient, day-case or outpatient waiting list. The key criterion of the National Treatment Purchase Fund is the prioritisation of the longest waiting patients first, identifying patients eligible for NTPF treatment solely on the basis of their time spent on a waiting list. It should be noted that the decision to outsource a patient, the suitability of patients to be outsourced for such treatments and the prioritisation of patients for treatment remains the decision of the referring hospital and its clinical decision-makers.

To build on the progress achieved to date, funding totalling €407 million is being allocated this year to tackle waiting lists, with €332 million of this allocated to the 2024 waiting list action plan and the remaining €75 million targeted at various measures to alleviate community and primary care waiting lists. The funding will encompass core HSE activity, additionality provided through both the NTPF and the HSE, as well as progressing new service developments to further reform elective care.

That is of cold comfort to the family and the patient on whose behalf the Deputy is speaking. However, those are the statistics provided to me here this evening by the Ministry for Health. Individual cases are always difficult. There are always anomalies and many different issues need to be gone through. The Deputy is making representations on behalf of a patient, her family and the people of Cork East more generally. I will happily do anything I can to work with the Deputy and with the Minister to help them.

Deputy Pat Buckley

I appreciate the Minister of State's response. We have worked on issues before, which he has resolved and for which I thank him. I know we have capacity but we also have capacity and performance issues. Based on this response, I can assure the House that this will not set her back from walking. She will be up and out of bed using a walker within a day or two of surgery. Her muscles will work better due to the improved hip mechanics and so they will seem stronger, not weaker.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund is not on the cards because she has to go to America. It is €300,000 for the operation. They have already set up a GoFundMe but I raise it here because I cannot understand why this poor girl has been listening to various doctors and specialists for 14 years and it seems nobody has the capability in this country to carry out that procedure, yet there is a full institution in the US that has a number of experts who do this daily.

Of course I did not expect an answer because the Minister of State does not have the details of the case, and that is fair enough, but my appeal is based on the fact that Katie is probably not the only person in this country in these circumstances. It may not be just hip operations. I understand the point about the National Treatment Purchase Fund, but is something more not possible? Families work here, pay tax and pay into the health system. Has the Government thought of putting €1 million or €5 million aside every year out of a budget to cover specific cases like this? We have a duty when there are specialist cases. They are Irish citizens. Could we not have a fund whereby we pay for the surgery? I grant that they may have to do a GoFundMe for accommodation and flights, but let them have an option. This poor girl for the past 14 years has had nothing but problems and downfalls and to this day could never get an answer except GoFundMe. That is why I wanted to raise it tonight. I have put it in to the Minister and I would love to discuss that option for people. I thank the Minister of State.

Deputy Neale Richmond

The Deputy raises an interesting point. I think all of us have had a case or cases across our desk, or even had family exposure to such cases, involving cancer or orthopaedic care of treatment. It is always so much tougher when it is a treatment for a young person or child. Every day people leave the State to go for treatment. Many of them leave the State with the support of the Government to receive treatment. The much-maligned Government jet and the Air Corps spend much time bringing people for emergency treatment in the UK in sister hospitals in cases where treatment simply is not available on this island due to size, capacity, skills, etc. There is not a specific fund but a considerable amount of money is spent every year to support patients to get treatment outside the State. There is, through various provisions in the European Union and the UK, the option for people to seek treatment abroad.

The case the Deputy raised, like any case, has its individual merits and complications. The easiest way is for the Deputy to sit down with the Minister or officials in the HSE to see if he can get a resolution for this poor child after 14 years. I am more than happy to bring that to the Minister on the Deputy's behalf.

Forestry Sector

Deputy Alan Dillon

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue and the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, for being present in the absence of the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, who is responsible for forestry in the Department of agriculture.

I raise an issue that is causing significant concern among nearly 300 residents in a small community in Mayo, namely, Craggagh, situated between Kiltimagh and Balla. The community is fearful and apprehensive about the potential overforestation of the area by commercial plantations, considering more than half of the townland of Craggagh in Balla has already been planted. I lend my voice, as their local representative, to their concerns about the ability of a small community like Craggagh to accommodate large forestry plantations, especially in light of the news that a French company intends to plant a new 15 ha Sitka spruce forest.

I emphasise the urgent need for consultation between the Department and the local community of Craggagh. It is crucial that a compromise be reached that respects the needs and concerns of the residents and those of the large investment fund. The community is deeply concerned about the new forestry plan. The prospect is that their homes, the local primary school and the local community centre will be surrounded by Sitka spruce woodland, especially when the area already hosts many similar plantations. It has been met with significant opposition and nearly 300 people have already signed a petition objecting to this forestry proposal. The residents feel excluded from the decision-making process as the Department, rather than the council, holds full authority over this type of forestry. This is causing considerable unease in the local community, particularly given the strict planning rules in place for locals wishing to build residential accommodation.

There is a concern around the displacement of the rural population. The physical and psychological impact of this planting has been brought to my attention. I had the opportunity to visit and meet locals at the site last week and they raised the issue of social interaction being necessary to sustain rural populations. For them, it would be impossible due to the impact of this forestry plantation in such close proximity. Local people also feel the forestry has built up over a number of years. The group is concerned about the impact on wildlife and the ecosystem in the area, which contains some of the most important ecosystems in the EU.

I urge the Minister of State to outline these concerns to the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, and her officials. It is imperative the voice of the Craggagh community is heard and their concerns addressed in a meaningful and respectful manner. The resources of Mayo should not be exploited by a foreign-based company and local residents deserve better than having their homes surrounded by 30 ft or 40 ft trees. A balance needs to be struck that respects both the needs of the community and our environmental commitments.

Deputy Neale Richmond

I thank the Deputy for this topical question, which I will take on behalf of the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, who has responsibility for forestry. I appreciate this opportunity to also give an overview of the forestry licensing process.

While I am not in a position to comment on individual applications for which the licensing process is ongoing, my understanding is that the licence in question was submitted in autumn last year. The application has been published on the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s website, and is currently going through the assessment process.

Landowners must obtain a licence from the Department before planting a forest. This is to ensure that all forestry activity respects and protects the environment and that the right tree is planted in the right place. All forestry licence applications are assessed to establish whether they would have an impact on a European site designated under the birds and habitats directive. The Department will only approve a forestry application where it deems that there will be no adverse effect on the integrity of any such site. In addition, the views of prescribed bodies are sought when making licensing decisions, including, where appropriate, the relevant county council and An Taisce. Once a licence application is advertised on the Department’s website, all interested parties have 30 days to make a submission and these submissions are examined as part of the decision-making process. When a decision is made on a licence application, it is published on the Department's forestry licence viewer, which is an interactive portal for viewing all documents associated with licence applications. A licence may be appealed by either the applicant or an interested third party to the Forestry Appeals Committee.

Forestry is regulated to protect and enhance the multiple benefits trees bring to our environment, biodiversity and economy, and to ensure the sustainability of our forests. The licensing system ensures our forests conform with national and international agreements and comply with best forest practice. It is important to see all afforestation licence applications in the national context. The climate action plan has a target of 8,000 ha for afforestation.

The focus for this Government and for the forestry sector more widely is to increase afforestation rates and manage existing forests in order to ensure the targets outlined in the climate action plan are achieved. We have a budget of €1.3 billion behind the new forestry programme, and this funding commitment is a strong message of support from the Government for all types of tree planting. The new afforestation scheme for the 2023-27 period offers landowners a choice of 12 forest types which cover a broad range of planting options. It provides generous incentives to farmers, in particular, to re-engage with forestry. One of the requirements of the new forestry programme is that any productive forest planted now requires that 20% of the trees are broadleaf species. This will ensure that all new forests created are diverse and deliver lasting multiple benefits not just for climate change but also for biodiversity, wood production, economic development and quality of life.

The Government takes very seriously the need to make sure that all trees planted contribute to the shared national vision for trees and forests, while delivering public good for the benefit of all. I assure the Deputy that there is robust and comprehensive assessment. A public consultation process in place to ensure that all relevant information is taken into account before permission to plant a forest is granted.

Deputy Alan Dillon

Go raibh maith agat for that comprehensive response. While I welcome the new terms of Ireland's €1.3 billion forestry programme and strategy, for me, the Government must be aware that there can be an excess of a good thing in our rural areas. As already stated, we must balance both the concerns and needs of a community against our environmental commitments. Creating new forests in Ireland is crucial in the context of our commitment to achieve our climate action targets. Our afforestation targets certainly need to increase from 11.6% to 18%. We need to ensure that forests are evenly distributed across the country in order to prevent blanket forestry. In this instance, we need to consider that there is already a solid block of more than 200 ha of forestry here in a small area. My concern is that this is not being factored in. The Government needs to ensure that this is within the recommended national average. We do not want a blanket of trees over the west and north west. It is really important that we acknowledge that some lands may be more suitable for forest than others, but we need to ensure that there is equitable and even distribution across the country.

I again ask that the concerns of the residents of Craggagh be brought back to the Department. We should be encouraging farmers because they are at the centre of the Government's new strategy in terms of their commitment to plant trees. It should not be just left to foreign pension investment funds that are buying up large swathes of land to make a quick buck at the behest of the local community. The concerns of the people of Craggagh are extremely important. I look forward to further engagement with the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, and her officials in the weeks ahead.

Deputy Neale Richmond

I reiterate that the Government takes very seriously the need to make sure that all trees planted are contributing to the shared national vision for trees and forests, while delivering public good for the benefit of all people across the country. I wish to assure the Deputy that there is a robust and comprehensive assessment and public consultation process in place to ensure that all relevant information is taken into account before permission to plant a forest is granted.

I fully agree with Deputy Dillon on the need to encourage farmers to enter this process. Believe it or not, the part of south Dublin in which I live was the location of one of the first afforestation programmes undertaken by the Irish Free State. For the last century, what was done in the area has benefited the community massively in terms of tourism, farming, wood production and the sheer beauty of the land. However, forests have to be planted, developed and maintained in consultation with local communities; it does not matter whether they are being planted in Ticknock or Craggagh.

I will absolutely take the concerns of Deputy Dillon to the Minister of State, Senator Hackett. No doubt he can speak to her directly in due course. She will be more than amenable to meeting him or a deputation from Craggagh to discuss this further, where appropriate.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 11.24 p.m. go dtí 9.10 a.m., Dé Céadaoin, an 31 Eanáir 2024.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.24 p.m. until 9.10 a.m. on Wednesday, 31 January 2024.