Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Question:42. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development for an update on her Department’s plans to address dereliction and vacancy in rural towns and villages. [10548/24]
Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
Housing Schemes
I ask the Minister for an update on the Department's plans to address dereliction and vacancy in rural towns. As someone who regularly travels to Dublin away matches, I often pass through small towns where I see a great deal of dereliction, with many unoccupied buildings throughout rural Ireland. It can be shocking to see the extent of some of the dereliction, particularly during a housing crisis. I would like an update on the measures being taken to encourage the revitalisation of rural Ireland to support activities and projects focusing on town centre regeneration.
The town centre first policy is a major cross-government policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. It supports the our rural future policy for a thriving rural Ireland.
Last week, I attended the national town centre first day with my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O’Donnell, where I announced the second round of towns that will be provided funding to complete a town centre first plan. This funding is part of a new suite of supports I recently announced, providing €4.5 million to support broader efforts to regenerate town centres through a bottom-up approach. On the day, I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet town regeneration officers, whose roles are funded by my Department, and members of town centre first teams from across the country to discuss with them the efforts they are making at local level to support the development of their towns.
Central to town centre first is the range of support funding in place, including my Department’s rural regeneration and development fund and the town and village renewal scheme. Both schemes have already delivered landmark projects which tackle issues of vacancy and dereliction across rural Ireland. Both schemes have also recently completed calls for new applications, and I expect to make further funding announcements on foot of these applications in the coming months. I am aware that the challenges of vacancy and dereliction feature prominently in the applications received under these schemes, so I look forward to announcing support for more high-quality projects shortly.
In the last two years, I have also rolled out the new building acquisition measure to support local authorities to purchase vacant and derelict buildings for future development for community purposes. More than €10 million has been provided to date to support local authorities to purchase 53 vacant and derelict buildings. This initiative will see vacant properties such as bank buildings, courthouses, and Garda stations redeveloped as community facilities across rural Ireland.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
My Department remains absolutely committed to addressing the issues of vacancy and dereliction in our rural towns and to the success of the town centre first policy in delivering on the goal of revitalising our rural towns and villages making them better places to live, work, visit and invest in.
It is important that we look at the issue of vacancy and dereliction. The bottom-up approach is critically important to all of this. The issue has to be community-led and sustainable into the future. Simply dressing up buildings will not be sufficient. It is about bringing life back into rural towns and communities and improving the lives of people. It is also about dealing with the housing crisis. We need to look at the villages and towns that have derelict homes. That should occur in the middle of a housing crisis. We should use compulsory purchase orders much more. We will have to look at that for the future. If a developer or someone else with a building or row of houses is waiting for the price of the development to build up, compulsory purchase needs to be actioned much more quickly.
A lot of work is being done across government to bring vacant and derelict buildings back into use. I am very much in favour of the bottom-up approach. That is why we have the town centre first officers. They will engage with the different stakeholders in the towns to get a unified approach, decide what their priorities are and get the applications in. In my Department, the focus is on utilising those buildings that are not really suitable for housing and can be converted for community use. I introduced the buildings acquisitions measure. We gave funding to local authorities to purchase the buildings which they identified with local groups that could be converted for community use. We all know that lots of things can be done with these old buildings, whether it be for Men's Sheds or local community groups that want facilities and meeting rooms. They can also be used as enterprise centres and remote working hubs.
I reiterate that the concept of bottom-up is not new, but the idea has been lost over a number of years. I welcome that there is a focus on this idea, but the fact that there are substantial numbers of derelict buildings still in existence in the middle of the housing crisis is entirely puzzling, or maybe it is not puzzling given that insufficient action has been taken over the past five or six years to bring these buildings back into use.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, under the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, provides the vacant home refurbishment grant of up to €70,000. There is huge demand for this scheme. I have already seen houses that have been lying idle for years being renovated.
It is great to see that because many of them already have services there. There is the vacant property tax, which is still there. The Department of housing also has vacant home officers in the local authorities and is leading other schemes, such as the repair and lease scheme and the buy and reuse scheme. Some local authorities have used those schemes to really good effect. The local authority in Waterford in particular has really shown what can be achieved through those schemes. The Department of housing is doing much work in larger towns and cities through the urban regeneration fund and is looking at how we can combat vacancy and dereliction.
I am the same as the Deputy. Sometimes I go through towns and wonder why on earth somebody is not living in those buildings. There are many opportunities for people to get support. I often ask why on Earth a building is not being lived in, but it is probably something to do with probate that is taken out on properties. That is often the reason.
Water Safety
Paul Murphy
Question:43. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development with regard to her responsibility for Water Safety Ireland what measures she intends to take to reduce the number of drownings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10747/24]
In 2021, 102 people were drowned in this country, giving Ireland one of the highest rates of drowning in western Europe. It is almost double the rate in Denmark, it is double that of Germany, double that of Italy and double that of the Netherlands. It is significantly higher than Portugal and the UK and is double that of the North of Ireland. What will the Minister do to ensure we reduce our drowning rates?
I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett for raising this matter. Water Safety Ireland, WSI, is the statutory, voluntary body and registered charity established to promote water safety and reduce drownings in Ireland. Water Safety Ireland’s remit includes public awareness and education. It strives to reduce drownings by changing attitudes and behaviours so that our aquatic environments can be enjoyed by all with confidence and safety.
The drowning rate in Ireland has been steadily declining over recent years. In 2012, the annual figure was 144 and in 2022 the number that was reported was 84. Our five-year average is currently 91 drownings per year. Each drowning, as we all know, is a tragedy for all those involved. That is why we must continue to work at keeping the level of drownings as low as possible every year.
The national drowning prevention strategy 2018-2027 sets out how Water Safety Ireland aims to reduce the number of drownings in Ireland by targeting at-risk groups. It focuses on five pillars, namely, education, awareness, training, intervention and action. In the strategy, there is a strong focus on ensuring that every child in Ireland has the opportunity to learn basic water safety skills in both primary and secondary schools. A number of initiatives have been introduced in recent years. The hold hands programme has been rolled out in early learning centres. The primary school programme, primary aquatics water safety, PAWS, is now a component of the Department of Education’s primary school curriculum. This year, Water Safety Ireland added a module to the junior cycle physical education curriculum, which is called GET WISE: Water Safety Insights and Education, which complements an existing water safety programme for secondary schools.
Internationally, in 2022, Ireland and Bangladesh introduced a UN resolution on global drowning prevention. A new UN day for drowning prevention is now recognised on 25 July. In 2023, I launched Water Safety Ireland’s strategic development plan 2023-2027. This will work in conjunction with the national drowning prevention strategy to continue to address the number of drownings.
I am afraid the Minister did not answer the question, which is about how we will deal with the situation that Ireland has a significantly worse rate of drownings than many of our western European counterparts including, significantly, a drowning rate that is double that of the North of Ireland, which is on this island. It is significantly higher than the UK.
I will give the Minister a few clues. They have lifeguards in the North of Ireland from April to October, but we have them for June, July and August. This is a simple thing. It would cost money to local authorities, but they should spend it to save lives, by having lifeguards available with the equipment. Here, our lifeguards are given a whistle. Everywhere else, they are given all-terrain vehicles, defibrillators and radios and they are employed on proper terms and conditions.
Ireland does not have the worst drowning rates in Europe. In fact, countries such as Lithuania and Latvia have considerably more, but any drowning is just awful. I live in Monaghan where there are a lot of lakes. There are a lot of lakes in Cavan; there are 365 of them, actually. I am very well aware of the dangers of our water systems, both those at sea and on lakes in inland counties.
Northern Ireland does not have full-time coverage from Easter to September. The service builds in a phased approach starting with a small number of beaches being patrolled from the Easter school holidays, increasing through the season until the peak school summer holidays. All Blue Flag beaches require lifeguards for all weekends in June here in Ireland, full-time in July and August and again for weekends for the first two weeks in September. Some countries have busier beaches, and they extend that weekend coverage in June to full time.
I did not say we had the worst in Europe, I said we have among the worst in western Europe. Countries that do have busier beaches have a much better record on drownings than we do. Italy is better than us. Portugal is better than us. The North, as I said, is better than us. The UK is better than us. Belgium is better than us, and significantly so. This is because their lifeguards have proper equipment and they are employed for a much larger part of the year.
The lifeguard who explained all this to me said that part of the problem is that Water Safety Ireland, which the Minister mentioned, is responsible for giving advice and promoting water safety, but the lifeguards are employed by the local authorities, which do not want their budgets to be impacted. Therefore, the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing and there is a conflict of interest between the local authorities’ budgetary considerations and water safety. That needs to be addressed so we can improve the situation where more people in this country are travelling than in many of our neighbouring countries.
We all want to reduce the number of drownings. Sadly, I know it all too well, it will not just be a matter of one drowning. A family member may go out and it could unfortunately end up being two people in the same family who drown. That has happened on many occasions.
I am happy to work with Water Safety Ireland. As the Deputy knows, I will meet the chairperson shortly and I will raise the points he raised. There are two pieces here. The local authorities have responsibility for the lifeguards and Water Safety Ireland has the responsibility for training, creating awareness and encouraging people to participate. My own children went to Water Safety Ireland, which ran courses to train children in inland counties about lakes. I have to say they got wonderful training. It does provide a great service. We will continue to support that but I will raise the issues and I take on board the concerns the Deputy has raised with me.
Community Development Projects
Paul Donnelly
Question:44. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development how she is supporting communities across the country to develop local strategies in communities that have significant pressures, and if she will provide funding for new community development workers. [10819/24]
I ask how the Minister is supporting communities across the country to develop local strategies in communities that have significant pressures, and if she will provide funding for new community development workers.
I thank the Deputy for the question. The new iteration of the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, 2024-2028 has a renewed focus on building capacity in community representative structures, establishing new community groups and social enterprises, and empowering communities to lead out on identifying their own needs, through a new dedicated core area of work called community animation.
Delivered in both rural and urban areas, the supports are provided by community development workers based on needs that are identified at a local level. I have secured increases of €8.3 million for the programme over the last three years, with annual funding for 2024 now totalling €47.4 million. My Department also works closely with local community development committees, LCDCs, which are a key element of the local authorities’ strengthened role in local and community development. LCDCs are responsible for preparing the community elements of the six-year local economic and community plans, LECPs. Community consultation is a key aspect of the community elements of the LECPs, in both the development and implementation to ensure that the specific needs of communities are addressed.
My Department also provides supports to communities to develop their own responses to tackle the challenges they face under a number of funding streams, such as the public participation networks and measures such as the empowering communities programme and the community development programme.
The arrival of Ukrainians and international protection applicants has had a significant impact on demand for services in communities across Ireland, and SICAP workers have been to the forefront of local responses in this context. To assist in the community response, an additional €10 million in SICAP funding was announced in 2023 and again in 2024 to ensure SICAP programme implementers are resourced to continue their work to support new arrivals alongside core SICAP target groups. I am keenly aware of the ever-changing situation and the substantial pressures being placed on community resources and existing engagement workers as a result of these arrivals. My officials continue to engage extensively with SICAP programme implementers to respond to emerging needs.
All of those measures are welcome and the funding that is coming through is absolutely welcome. However, the Minister of State acknowledges that significant pressures in relation to international protection and also Ukrainians is causing enormous pressure, particularly in working class communities. I will give an example. Many years ago in my community, when I moved out and started getting involved in community work in Dublin 15, we had six community development workers in six of the local community centres. That was the work on the ground in the community centres, with people working away. I do not see that any more. I am not taking away in any shape or form from the brilliant work that is being done in terms of community development. I will give an example of something that really struck me recently. A substantial amount of funding has been put forward. I am not saying there is a disconnect but I am going to say this. Public Wi-Fi in community centres has been funded at a cost of €120,000 and installation of digital information boards at €42,000. This funding is from the community recognition fund that covers, for example, the installation of a lift in a community centre and installation of digital information boards. The list goes on; these are all brilliant and worthy projects but I am struggling to see the connection between working class communities and the funding from that community recognition fund.
Since the Deputy specifically raised the community recognition fund, I will try to address the particular point he made. This was a €50 million announcement from last year. Each local authority was given an allocation based specifically on the number of new arrivals they had. After that a process ensued in each local authority area whereby the local authority was obliged to engage with communities on the ground. Maybe we can question the quality, breadth and depth of that in some cases, but the logic was that the communities themselves would identify resources they needed in their own communities. This is the wider community, as well, I am not just talking about new arrivals. Following on from that, allocations would have been dealt out to the different groups to improve their facilities. The Deputy mentioned some of them. The the whole object was that community recognition fund would benefit the wider community as well.
As I said, I absolutely acknowledge this. Some of the projects, for example the playground in Fortlawn, are really good. I know that one personally, it is a really good project, the Fortlawn Flower Power group has been instrumental fighting for this for a number of years. It is a really good example of the community recognition fund. I just have a worry and a concern about some of the funding that has been allocated, as to what the connection to some of the communities would be, whether some of the communities would actually even know that the community recognition fund paid for something and that it was part of the supports that were being provided by the Department in terms of the pressures that have been put on communities. We may have to look at that again and see what is the connection between the community of the ground, the people who see it, experience it and who are feeling all those pressures, and some of the allocations to some of the projects or funds. Some of them looked to me like Fingal County Council projects, to be honest.
We have to trust in the local authorities' decision-making processes as well to some extent, but at the same time we look at how they were done and we can learn from this round for future plans. I would point to a couple of things that we have been doing and that are particularly dedicated and pointed at particularly disadvantaged communities, namely the empowering communities programme that I launched. We have 15 very specific areas that we chose based on the level of deprivation, probably the most deprived 15 areas of the country. We have put additional community workers in there, about two in each case. The results of that programme have been astonishing. It just shows that when you put community workers in, they can make a real difference. We should be able to build that a little bit this year. Going forward I think it is part of the answer to the issue the Deputy raised.
Island Communities
Catherine Connolly
Question:45. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development further to Parliamentary Question No. 97 of 30 January 2024, the status of the monitoring committee for the implementation of the new policy for the islands; the dates of all meetings to date; the date of the next meeting; her plans to publish the minutes of the meetings of the committee; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10398/24]
Baineann mo cheist le polasaí na n-oileán agus an coiste faoi leith atá ann chun monatóireacht a dhéanamh ar na céimeanna atá sa pholasaí sin agus iad a chur chun cinn. I know the Minister has followed up on this in respect of the policy she published for the islands after a long time, and I thank her for that. The first task force was set up in 1996 and it took up to last year to get the policy, so then you set up a monitoring committee. Where are we at with that in terms of meetings and actions?
As the Deputy will be aware, I launched Our Living Islands - the National Island Policy 2023-2033 in June of last year. Our Living Islands is a substantial document, a ten-year policy backed up by rolling three-year action plans. It has time-bound commitments so that Departments and agencies across Government can be held to account for its implementation. Following the publication of the policy, I established a monitoring committee, chaired by my Department, to engage with key Departments, agencies and local authorities regarding progress on implementation of the action plan. The committee includes six representatives of the island communities, nominated by Comhdháil Oileáin na hÉireann, along with a representative of Comhar na nOileán, the local development company for the islands. The committee also includes representatives of Departments and State bodies which have key roles in the delivery of the policy and action plan.
The inaugural meeting of the monitoring committee took place on 7 December 2023, and the next meeting will be held in Galway tomorrow, Wednesday, 6 March. Updates will be provided at tomorrow's meeting on progress on the action plan, particularly on those actions with a timeline of Quarter 3 or Quarter 4 2023. The terms of reference and membership of the monitoring committee have been published on the Our Living Islands website on gov.ie. They reflect the Government's commitment to ensuring that island communities are key participants in the process. Minutes of the monitoring committee meetings will also be published on the Our Living Islands web page once they have been agreed.
I welcome the fact that the minutes will be published. That is a good exercise in openness and accountability. We have waited so long for the policy for the islands, since 1996, and there have been many false starts. The implementation of that policy is the key. Are two meetings a year enough? I understand from the terms of reference that the monitoring committee will meet twice a year. Maybe if I am wrong the Minister will correct me. How close are we to getting those actions that are identified for Quarter 2 and 3? Will they be carried out?
The monitoring committee will meet at least twice in the full year, typically in spring and autumn. The committee may appoint subcommittees from time to time to discuss particular items as necessary. Members will be invited to submit items for inclusion on the agenda, which will be circulated in advance, and minutes will be kept at each meeting and circulated to members in advance of the next meeting. The relevant stakeholders may be invited to attend meetings of the committee or subcommittees to provide information relating to the implementation of specific actions. Indeed you are right, Deputy, it took 26 years to get to this. It is something that you raised with me on many occasions and in fairness I think it was positively received by the islands committee when I launched the policy last year. Both my Departments have shown commitment to the islands, the Department of Social Protection with the island allowance that had not been increased in years, and the ring-fenced money under the local improvement scheme and specific funding for islands under the CLÁR scheme. There has been work done but we need to keep their toes to the fire.
It is definitely positive but I will come back to the utter failure to progress the health centre on Inishbofin and the simple transfer of land that is no longer simple and is taking years. We know the population of the islands has decreased in comparison to the Scottish islands, where there has been an increase in population. The Scots have a strong policy for the islands based in legislation. We do not have such legislation. We have made a start with a policy but not the implementation of the policy. I and my colleagues from Galway, Deputies Ó Cuív and Mairéad Farrell, have pushed and pushed in relation to Céibh an Córa, An Caladh Mór - which has been going on since 2008; I will come back to that - and Inis Oírr pier, on which some progress has been made. Not much progress has been made since 2008 on An Caladh Mór on Inis Meáin. We have got past two stages. Again, we really need to see the reporting mechanism back to the Minister. From day one, she said she would keep a hands-on approach to this.
I try to meet the islands communities at the Comhdháil na nOileán AGM if I can. I was not able to do so last year but I hope to do so this year. I like to see action, just as Deputy Connolly does.
Some good things have happened on the islands. Last week, I announced the largest ever expansion of Ireland's national walks scheme with 62 new trails, across 17 counties. This includes five trails on two offshore islands, namely, Inis Meáin and Oileán Chléire. Separately, high-speed broadband has been delivered to broadband connection points, the digital hubs and schools on the islands, under the national broadband plan. Moreover, the nationwide road safety education service delivered four presentations to schools on islands in 2023. The Croí Cónaithe grant with the top-up from my Department has allowed a good few applications to be made for people to build houses on the islands. I will come back to the Deputy with the number. These will make a difference. As I said, I want to see progress on the islands, in the same way as Deputy Connolly does.