Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Apr 2024

Vol. 1053 No. 2

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Hospital Waiting Lists

Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan

This matter relates to children with scoliosis, specifically in the context of the length of time they have to wait for surgery. I want to raise the issue of Anna Russell, who is 13 years old and is from Glengarriff in west Cork. She is truly a great kid. If the Minister of State ever has the pleasure of meeting her, he will see her charm. She is absolutely charming and I am sure the Minister of State will be taken aback by her incredible personality. She is in first year in secondary school in Bantry.

Anna has scoliosis. She was diagnosed with it three years ago. The curvature of her spine has now reached 60°. This is obviously causing discomfort and has a massive impact on her day-to-day life. Her surgeon said she needed surgery by the summer of 2023. We are now into the summer of 2024. It is estimated that the curvature will increase by between 15% to 20% for every six months of her life. As we can gather, surgery is urgently needed.

Anna is just one of many children who are going through this process. She had her pre-operative MRI in November. She has had a pre-operative assessment. To give the Minister of State a flavour of what these kids are going through, on two occasions as she was heading to Crumlin from Glengarriff for pre-operative healthcare, she was sent home halfway through the journey. In other words, the operation could not go ahead. The distance from Glengarriff to Dublin is in the region of four and a half to five hours. One can imagine the heartbreak when a young girl who is full of life, great personality and character is halfway to an assessment and is then sent back.

Something needs to happen as a matter of urgency. Anna has no idea when her surgery will take place. She does not know whether it will be in one month or one year. In the meantime, she and her family are in complete limbo. Anna is uncertain, worried and uncomfortable. She has to undergo a bus journey from Glengarriff to Bantry on a daily basis. One can imagine the discomfort she is going through and how tired she is having to deal with this. Her mum is concerned. She is a terrific mother who wants the very best for her young child. I know the Minister of State cannot solve the issue of waiting lists for scoliosis with the stroke of a pen, but I beg him to bring Anna's case to the Department of Health and Minister for Health and ensure that her case is heard and her surgery happens as soon as possible.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Colm Burke)

The Deputy has given a very good and detailed explanation of the challenges Anna and her family face. I fully understand the situation because I have also come across constituents facing similar challenges.

I am here on behalf of the Minister for Health. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter of children on waiting lists for scoliosis surgery. The Minister acknowledges that waiting lists for scoliosis services are unacceptably long. He is acutely conscious of the burden this places on patients and their families. For this reason, the Minister for Health committed €19 million to scoliosis and spina bifida services to tackle these lists by creating additional capacity. The goal is clear; it is to reduce the waiting time for anyone for whom surgery is clinically appropriate to no more than four months.

To date, over 200 additional healthcare professionals have been recruited across Temple Street, Crumlin and Cappagh hospitals, including nurses, consultant doctors, anaesthesiologists and radiographers. This investment also funded a fifth theatre in Temple Street, an additional MRI in Crumlin and additional beds. The impact of this investment can already be seen. There was a significant increase in the number of paediatric spinal procedures carried out in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, 509 spinal procedures were carried out, and in 2023, 464 spinal procedures were carried out. This represents increases of 34% and 22%, respectively, compared to 2019.

Despite undertaking record numbers of procedures, corresponding reductions in the waiting list have been offset by significant increases in demand. As Deputy O'Sullivan said, the patient to whom he referred was identified over three years ago. The demand for referrals increased substantially. There was a 30% increase in additions to the spinal fusion surgery list in 2022 compared with 2018, and a 42% increase in 2023 compared with 2018.

At the end of December 2023, there were 231 children on the waiting for spinal procedures, excluding suspensions, which is a 5% reduction compared to the end of 2022. In 2023, there was a 13% reduction in the number of patients waiting longer than four months for surgery. Over 140 spinal procedures have been done so far this year. While waiting lists remain far too long, it is fair to acknowledge that there is an increase in the number of patients being treated, and there is progress towards the goal of having no child waiting more than four months for surgery, where clinically appropriate.

At the Minister's request, a dedicated paediatric spinal surgery management unit has been established in Children’s Health Ireland, which is focusing on delivering further improvements to the waiting lists.

The Minister recently allocated a further €1.34 million to enhance spinal services in CHI following a request from the clinical lead of the management unit. This includes additional clinical staff, additional Saturday outpatient clinics to reduce outpatient waiting lists, and additional capacity for MRI scans under general anaesthetic.

A dedicated stakeholder paediatric spinal task force has been convened with an independent chair. This task force will include all stakeholders, including patient representatives and clinicians. The Minister met some advocacy groups to discuss the terms of reference for the task force. The Minister for Health has appointed Mark Connaughton, SC, as chair, and Mr. Connaughton has since invited all advocacy groups to meet him.

Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan

I acknowledge the increased expenditure of €19 million, the 200 additional healthcare professionals and the reductions in waiting lists of 5% and 13%, but there is a statistic that is concerning, namely that although there were 509 procedures in 2022, there were fewer in 2023. Therefore, something has gone awry. I appreciate that the Minister is not here and that the Minister of State has inherited a bit of a mess, but that mess needs to be sorted because people like Anna Russell are suffering. I am sure the surgeon, for whom I cannot speak today and who operates out of Crumlin, would state the whole thing is a bit of a mess.

Despite the investment, which is of course welcome, and the recruitment of additional staff, children like Anna Russell, an incredibly charming young girl, are going through unnecessary pain. Their conditions are getting worse and their curvature is increasing. The more it increases, the more pain poor Anna will go through.

I acknowledge that much work has been done but the Department needs to acknowledge that it is still not good enough and that young people should not be waiting as long as they are, not just for surgery but even to get a date for surgery. Anna and her mum, Marion, have no idea whether the surgery will happen in a month, a year or two years. They should at least have a date.

Deputy Colm Burke

The Deputy has made a very strong case in respect of his constituent. It is important that I take on board what he has said and that we continue to try to improve the services. The Minister for Health is assuring children and their families that the Government will continue to invest significant funding to help clinicians to reduce the time for which children must wait for important hospital appointments and procedures. Significant additional investment has been committed to tackle the waiting lists for spinal services by creating additional capacity.

A dedicated paediatric spinal surgery management unit has been established and it is driving improvements to the waiting lists. A dedicated stakeholder paediatric spinal task force has been convened to collaboratively address concerns raised by families and advocacy groups. We are making progress on the waiting lists for spinal surgery despite the significant increase in demand and referrals by comparison with previous years.

At the end of 2023, there had been a 13% reduction. I fully accept that we should be doing better. The reduction pertains to the number waiting over four months for spinal procedures by comparison with the number at the end of 2022.

The Minister has asked the HSE and CHI to explore all options to increase capacity for this vital service so as to reduce the waiting times and ensure improved access for patients. The Minister is committed to ensuring every child is seen within four months, as clinically appropriate. An entire team is needed to carry out the surgery in question. It is very challenging and it is important to have the best expertise in doing the work. Unfortunately, if a component is missing at any stage, a procedure cannot go ahead. The hospitals are working very hard to reduce the waiting list further.

Renewable Energy Generation

Deputy David Stanton

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for attending and the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important Topical Issue. Cork Harbour has often been described as an energy hub. It has the Port of Cork, the National Maritime College of Ireland, a naval base, the ESB, Irving Oil, Deepwater Quay and so on. Last Thursday, members of the enterprise, trade and employment committee visited Cork Harbour as part of their work on examining offshore renewable energy, particularly offshore wind energy. We had a full brief from staff of the Port of Cork and its content alarmed me very much. As the Minister of State is probably aware and as the Department of Transport is certainly aware, two locations in Cork Harbour were earmarked as staging points for the construction of turbines to be moved offshore. One was the Port of Cork, at Ringaskiddy, and the other was Cork Dockyard in Cobh.

There are two types of offshore wind generation possible, one involving fixed-bottom turbines and the other involving floating turbines. I understand that floating turbines involve a longer-term project because other works have to be done on the technical side; however, many people had their hopes pinned on the fixed offshore system. It is now the case that Doyle Shipping Group, at the dockyard in Cobh, has decided for its own very good and understandable reasons not to get involved in this venture. This is a huge blow to the Cork area and the offshore wind project nationally. I understand the company is not willing to take the chance because it is a private company and because of the uncertainty of the market, the lack of financial aid to enable it to develop the facility to the required standard, and the bureaucracy that has emerged. The Port of Cork, on the other side of the harbour, is a semi-State company but it must operate on a commercial basis, meaning that it, like any other company, must borrow funds or generate funds from its own reserves to develop a facility to enable it to act as a base for offshore renewable energy provision. It needs to put in place two additional quay spaces, the cost of which is estimated to be €120 million. It is not possible for it to generate this itself, so I am here this evening to ask the Minister of State to let me know whether there is state aid available. I understand locations in other jurisdictions have availed of block exemptions in circumstances like these. Borrowing the money from the European Investment Bank could take over two years.

The Port of Cork has planning permission to develop the quayside. I understand other locations along the coast, both west and east, are quite a few years behind Cork in this regard. However, the planning permission is due to run out in October 2025, meaning work must be started by the last quarter of this year to ensure the company complies with current legislation. Getting an extension of planning permission can be very challenging. In the meantime, our competitors across Europe are forging ahead with offshore renewable energy projects and facilities. The Oireachtas enterprise committee members were in Belfast a while ago and saw it was very advanced in its preparations for the new assembly and construction of the components required to create the turbines needed.

A final piece of the jigsaw is the possibility of using adjacent IDA Ireland land. This would help. IDA Ireland is the largest landholder in Ringaskiddy and it has quite an amount of land that is not being used for anything else. It is adjacent to the Port of Cork facility in Ringaskiddy and if some of it could be used to displace cargo while turbines are being assembled and put in place, it would be a great help and benefit the whole project.

A final possibility is availing of the shared island fund, of which the Minister of State might be aware. Some €120 million is required, and without it the whole offshore renewable energy project in Cork will be gone. Confidence will be lost, nothing will happen and the considerable positive possibilities we were all talking about here and elsewhere will not be realised. I ask the Minister of State to use his good offices with the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and his Department to determine whether it would be possible to draw down some funding to allow the Port of Cork to proceed with its plans, which are the only game in town at the moment. If the work does not start by the last quarter of this year, the planning permission will run out and it will not be allowed to start. The other facility is off the table, so this is the only game in town. If it does not happen, we will have nothing.

Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs (Deputy Sean Fleming)

I thank the Deputy for raising this question today. I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Transport.

It should be recognised that with its vast coastline and strong winds, Ireland has the opportunity to harness clean and renewable energy from offshore wind. This will not only reduce our emissions from electricity but also allow us to electrify and reduce our emissions in the transport sector across all modes while also reducing emissions in other sectors. Ireland has set an ambitious target of achieving 5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2030, with a further 2 GW to be developed, this being earmarked for the production of green hydrogen and other non-grid uses.

As set out in the programme for Government and the Climate Action Plan 2023, the Government has a target to deliver 37 GW of offshore wind by 2050. This represents a massive development opportunity which will maximise the economic benefits at both regional and national level, with job creation and new small and medium enterprises in areas such as engineering, fabrication, transport and logistics, and other technologies.

As Deputy Stanton aware, it is recognised that there is a pressing need for Ireland to have the port capacity in place to support the development of offshore wind projects, which are vital to Ireland achieving climate change ambitions and the targets mentioned previously. A number of commercial State ports are currently progressing their plans for the provision of the required facilities to accommodate offshore renewable energy projects. This includes the Port of Cork, which has recently progressed plans to develop port infrastructure to meet the specific requirements of the offshore renewable energy sector at its Ringaskiddy facility. Once operational, the proposed development could be in a position to provide port infrastructure for marshalling and assembly for the phase 1 wind farm projects which were successful in last year's offshore renewable electricity support scheme, ORESS.

The Department of Transport engages regularly with the Port of Cork in meetings and by correspondence with respect to the port's proposed development at Ringaskiddy, both directly and also as part of the Department's regular corporate governance engagement. The Department's offshore renewable energy ports facilitation division, which was established a year ago, has visited the Port of Cork offices on a number of occasions, including twice in recent months.

In addition, officials from the Department of Transport continue to engage with all industry stakeholders with a view to maximising all financing opportunities available to Irish commercial State ports. This includes potential financing partners such as the European Union through the connecting Europe facility fund, Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and the European Investment Bank, EIB. I can confirm that the Port of Cork has applied for funding under the 2023 call for the EU's connecting Europe facility for its proposed development at Ringaskiddy. If successful, the Port of Cork can obtain up to 30% of its costs for the works. Officials in the Department of Transport assisted the port with the submission. The results of the call will be announced in June 2024. I am also pleased to announce that the Department of Transport has signed an advisory assignment with the European Investment Bank. The output of this work will be crucial in identifying how Irish ports will contribute to meeting our 2030 offshore wind targets. The Department of Transport will continue engagement with the Port of Cork with a view to supporting its proposed development at Ringaskiddy, where appropriate.

Deputy David Stanton

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I have brought up four issues. The Port of Cork in Ringaskiddy is the only show in town after the Doyle Shipping Group withdrew from the offshore renewable energy project. Some €120 million is needed to build a quay space to support offshore renewable energy in Cork. The idea that land could also be used for space for cargo, freeing up valuable space for the construction of turbines, and the shared island fund could also be explored, with the possibility of some of that funding being used to assist the port to develop these badly needed facilities.

The Minister of State talked about all energy stakeholders. I have spoken to many of them and they are very concerned. They are concerned that this project might not go ahead. The Minister of State spoke about the €40 million, which is 30% of the infrastructure costs, which will go some of the way if it comes through. I understand it could be years before a decision is made by the EIB. I want to emphasise that planning permission is due to run out in October 2025 and the work has to start in the last quarter of this year. Will the Minister of State assure me that every effort will be made to get the funding in place to enable the port to carry out the necessary infrastructure works? Will he talk to the IDA to ask it to make land available which has been lying idle for five or ten years, so that these turbines can be constructed, and all the dreams that have been mentioned here by various Ministers in recent years can come to pass? Otherwise, this will not happen. We will lose confidence, which is important in this business.

The Minister of State has an opportunity in the few minutes left to him to give us some confidence or maybe to ask the Minister for Transport to make an announcement in the morning with respect to the confidence that is needed to enable this vitally important industry to proceed. We have been talking about offshore renewable energy for a long time. We have been talking about the potential, the sustainability, the stability and the confidence for Ireland. If this fails in Cork, it will be a deathblow for the whole country. Our competitors are moving ahead and are ahead of us as we speak.

Deputy Sean Fleming

I thank Deputy Stanton for his further contribution, highlighting the significance, importance and timeliness of this project proceeding. In advance of a comprehensive review of the national ports policy in 2013, which had just commenced, the Department of Transport, in conjunction with the Irish Maritime Development Office, carried out an assessment of the options for Irish commercial State ports to facilitate the offshore energy sector and assist in Ireland achieving its emissions reductions targets. The key recommendation arising from the assessment was that a small number of large-scale port facilities on the island of Ireland will be required for assembly and deployment activity to meet Ireland's renewable targets. In addition, a greater number of ports will be needed for post-construction operation and maintenance of facilities.

As stated, the national ports policy is currently under review. An issues paper was published in October 2023 and a public consultation was held to review the views of stakeholders. The issues paper posed questions over 12 themes, including a section on ways to support the development of port infrastructure to facilitate offshore renewable energy. The second phase of development of a revised policy will see the publication of a national draft ports policy, which is planned to be open for public consultation in the third quarter of this year. On foot of this work, in December, the Department published a policy statement on the facilitation of offshore renewable energy by commercial ports.

As time is tight, I want to confirm to the Deputy that the Port of Cork company is the only port in Ireland that has planning permission in place to proceed with offshore infrastructure works. The port received planning permission in 2015 for a phased development at Ringaskiddy port, which is valid for ten years. The Port of Cork has confirmed to the Department that planning permission will expire in October 2025. The Port of Cork company has communicated to the Department that it plans to begin construction work at the Ringaskiddy east plant, on the permitted development, in the third quarter of 2024, to be completed by October 2025. The Port of Cork will also require a maritime area consent form. The dredging will need to be completed to facilitate the facility to become operational.

Departmental Schemes

Deputy Ged Nash

I love my home town of Drogheda. Our small city is really in my DNA and defines me. We have had and still have our problems. Every place does. We always overcome them. We often do so in spite of and not because of Government support. Increasingly, we have had to rely on ourselves to address the problems this Government patently ignores. To give an example, to tackle the social and economic problems that formed the backdrop to a vicious criminal feud, it was me as an Opposition Senator and my colleague, Councillor Pio Smith, who went to the then Department of Justice and Equality to make the case for the Drogheda implementation board model to be adopted. The local business community felt ignored by both central and local government. I helped to set up the Love Drogheda BID scheme, which is helping to breathe new life into our town. It is what responsible public representatives do.

Our town, as the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, will know, is the largest in Ireland. It straddles two local authority areas. We are a city in all but name, yet last week, a Fianna Fáil Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, again rejected out of hand my long-standing call for city status for Drogheda. A Labour Party Bill approved by the Dáil seven years ago, which would see councils like Drogheda borough council restored, continues to be blocked. When Deputy Simon Coveney relegated Drogheda to the third division status of tiny towns like Listowel under the discredited national planning framework, we had to mount a campaign to upgrade our status to development centre, but few real economic and foreign direct investment job benefits have actually accrued from that. That was tokenism at its worst, to save face for Fine Gael. Fine Gael also bottled, in the guise of the then Minister, Deputy Coveney, the boundary review I commissioned in 2015. Logic said it should have seen the urban area of Drogheda in County Meath included in Drogheda proper.

In recent weeks, as the Minister of State and every Member of this House will know, the D Hotel, Drogheda's only large-scale downtown hotel, has been taken out of commission for tourism use, unravelling the work of public representatives like my colleague, Councillor Michelle Hall, Louth County Council, and indeed Fáilte Ireland, which worked hard to promote Drogheda as what is known as a destination town.

These are not nakedly political jibes or charges I make here in the House this evening: these are the objective facts. It is no wonder that the term "official neglect" is one the people of my proud small city are now using when they speak of this Government. The people of Drogheda feel like they are being trolled or gaslighted by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. I do not say that lightly.

I have given the Minister of State the evidence, and here is more. The most visible form of neglect is official vandalism. We have more than 40 derelict properties lying idle, crumbling in parts of our historic town centre. Every year on Committee Stage of the Finance Bill I propose that the Bill would be amended to include Drogheda in the living city renovation initiative. Every year, my amendment is rejected, first by a Fine Gael Minister and now by a Fianna Fáil Minister. Last week, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, again refused to entertain my proposal in a reply to a parliamentary question.

This targeted tax break has helped countless owner-occupiers and developers across the country to bring many vacant and derelict properties back into use. I will give an example. In Kilkenny, 19 properties have been brought back into use. That is half the number of derelict properties contained in Drogheda's town centre. I wish good luck and more power to Kilkenny, but as the Minister of State knows, Drogheda is twice the size of Kilkenny and it is just as historic and architecturally important. I appeal to the Minister of State, and to his senior colleague, the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, to look again at Drogheda and to help us in the same way as the likes of Limerick, Waterford and Kilkenny have been helped and allow us have access to the living city scheme to help tackle our dereliction and vacancy crisis.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Neale Richmond)

I thank Deputy Nash for raising this issue with me this evening. I love Drogheda too. My mother went to school there. She was in the Drogheda Grammar School for many a year, although it was many years ago. It is a small city that I visit regularly. I appreciate Deputy Nash's passion, which is shared by my colleague, Deputy Fergus O'Dowd, whom I know Deputy Nash has worked very well with for many years. He will soon be leaving this House and I know he will be missed by many.

As Deputy Nash is aware, the living city initiative is a modest and targeted tax measure, which is aimed at areas with significant architectural heritage in urgent need of regeneration. It provides income or corporation tax relief for qualifying expenditure incurred in the refurbishment and conversion of qualifying residential and commercial buildings located within special regeneration areas, which the Deputy cited, are in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford.

Its aim is to encourage people back to the centre of Irish cities to live in historic buildings. The Finance Act 2022 provided that the living city initiative would be extended for a further five-year period to 31 December 2027. The owner-occupier element of the relief was also enhanced in the Finance Act 2022 for new entrants from 1 January 2023.

The special regeneration areas are designated by the Minister for Finance on independent advice. Maps of the special regeneration areas of each city are available to view online. Specific criteria were set down in respect of the areas that should be included within the remit of the living city initiative, which were required to be taken into account by the relevant city councils when putting forward the proposed special regeneration areas for each city.

In particular, the special regeneration areas should be inner-city areas that are largely comprised of dwellings built before 1915, where there is above average unemployment and which demonstrate clear evidence of neglect, dereliction and under-use. Areas that are generally regarded as affluent, have high occupancy rates and which do not require regeneration should not be included. The scheme is targeted at those areas that are most in need of attention.

However, and as the Deputy may be aware, the vacant property refurbishment grant is provided to support the refurbishment of vacant properties in towns and villages across the country. The grant was introduced in 2022 and benefits those who wish to turn a formerly vacant house or building into their principal private residence. A grant up to a maximum of €70,000 is available for the refurbishment of vacant properties for occupation as a principal private residence, and for properties that will be made available for rent.

The living city initiative was reviewed as part of the tax strategy group process in 2022. The review noted that the scheme is a very specific tax incentive, established in compliance with the Department of Finance's tax expenditure guidelines, with the aim of encouraging businesses and homeowners back to the centre of Irish cities.

The review also noted that property-related tax measures facilitated the property boom prior to the financial crisis but were ultimately deemed ineffective as the projects were spread nationwide instead of being targeted on the localities where the need was greatest. In contrast, the living city initiative is a modest, targeted, scheme which is aimed at refurbishment of the existing building stock in very specific areas that are in urgent need of regeneration.

A large-scale expansion of the living city initiative to towns nationwide would amount to a section 23-type relief. Such a move would fundamentally transform the scheme into one where the cost implications are so substantial it would need an ex ante cost benefit analysis. The proposal would have the potential to greatly increase the Exchequer cost.

While, like any other tax measure, it is kept under review and I will undertake to feed into the review all the comments Deputy Nash has made this evening, unfortunately, there are no plans at present to extend the scheme to further areas.

Deputy Ged Nash

That is essentially what the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, said to me last week. It seems to me that the only thing standing in the way of including Drogheda in the living city scheme is politics. We meet the criteria for the scheme, which the Minister of State set out. We manifest levels of vacancy and dereliction and higher than average levels of unemployment and deprivation. All of the buildings that need help in places like Narrow West Street, Laurence Street, and where the Minister of State's mother was educated on Duke Street, were built prior to 1915. We need a political decision to be made. We know that the total outlay on the scheme is very small. I have read the tax strategy group's papers and the recommendations it made on the future of the scheme. This is not about reinstituting the old urban regeneration scheme and the wastefulness it involved; this is a very targeted scheme in historic areas that require regeneration. It is not like the old wasteful scheme. Looking at the figures earlier today, it is inexpensive as well. For example, in 2018 only €500,000 was shelled out to support the scheme. The independent consultants, Indecon, said in a report a number of years ago that it is very effective in terms of conservation as well. Developers who own sites in the areas I have referenced, with whom we deal all of the time, say the introduction of this scheme could make the difference between them doing something with a derelict property, or not. This is the answer. This could be truly transformational for the centre of Drogheda.

Nobody has explained to me why Kilkenny was included in the scheme. It is a town which is actually not an administrative city from a legal point of view, but Drogheda has been excluded. It always looked like a stroke to me and that will remain the case until somebody explains otherwise. We have a very important public realm scheme, the Westgate Vision, which was pioneered by my colleague, Councillor Pio Smith, and the officials of Louth County Council. It is before An Bord Pleanála at the moment. When that is approved, hopefully in June, it will require significant millions in funding through the URDF from the Government to make it happen.

The Minister of State has a chance here to change the narrative with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in terms of Drogheda and work to introduce this scheme which can truly be transformational and address the dereliction and vacancy we have, unfortunately, experienced in Drogheda town centre.

Deputy Neale Richmond

I again thank Deputy Nash for his contribution here this evening. I repeat that the special regeneration areas are designated by the Minister for Finance on independent advice. We respond to the advice and we look at the maps of the regeneration areas, as they are sought and provided.

I said quite clearly to Deputy Nash that like any tax expenditure, the living city initiative is kept under review. As I am sure he will appreciate, decisions regarding tax incentives and reliefs, whether in respect of the introduction of new measures or the amendment or expansion of existing measures are normally made in the context of the budget and the finance Bill.

As members of the finance committee, Deputy Nash and I sat through three finance Bills, when he was his party spokesperson. This is the process we need to look to in regard to the living city initiative. I know he raised it with both me and the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath. The points he made are very salient and I do not argue with them. I fundamentally believe that the small city of Drogheda does require that level of respect. An awful lot of work has gone into Drogheda and the wider area, in particular in regard to criminal gang feuds and the effort made by successive Ministers, including when Deputy Nash was in that position himself. I accept that more can be done. We all accept that more could be done for our home towns and areas. That is why we come in here every day to advocate for them. With regard to this particular initiative, while I take Deputy Nash's points on board, realistically at this point it is within the finance Bill that any review could be done. As it stands, there is no plan to change the scheme in terms of the existing places that are included.

Schools Building Projects

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue for debate. It is a very important matter, not just the delivery of the new school building for this community but also the contingency in the meantime. That is something I hope the Minister of State can discuss.

I commend the whole school community at Dunshaughlin Community National School, including the principal, Ms Slevin, the parents' association, the teaching staff and, of course, the student population. There are a number of factors I would like the Minister of State to address. If he does not have a response, I ask him to escalate the matter and to come back to us with responses from the senior Minister. What is the delay with this project? There has been a delay. The parents, students and school community received notification in January 2023 that this project would go to tender in quarter 3 or quarter 4 of 2023. We are now in quarter 2 of 2024 and we have been told the project will happen later this year. What is the delay? This project was included in one of the bundles, lot 7, but it seems it has been delayed inordinately. Why has that delay occurred? What is the indicative timeline now? The Minister of State will appreciate there have been parliamentary questions asked across the political spectrum as well as letters to the Minister and questions from local councillors. There has been an indication that the project will go to tender later this year and may be on site in 2025. Will the Minister of State give a commitment that that is the timeline? Can we rein that in a bit and move ahead earlier?

There are considerations in respect of this project. There is considerable demand for primary school places in the Dunshaughlin area. The planning permission relating to this project has taken time. Why has there been a delay? What is the indicative timeline? In respect of contingency, what is to happen in the meantime? There will be enormous demand for school places. This is a multidenominational school, the only one in the vicinity, and there is significant demand for places. There are real space constraints on the existing site. The school is on the grounds of Dunshaughlin GAA and there is no space to move out within the footprint. I understand the Department is taking the lead. With the existing rental contract, will additional capacity be brought onto the site? How is that going to be facilitated for the academic year 2024-2025? I would like to hear from the Minister of State on those three substantive points.

Deputy Sean Fleming

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it gives me the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister for Education, to provide an update to the House on the current position in respect of the campus project in Dunshaughlin for Dunshaughlin Community National School and Coláiste Ríoga. The Deputy will be aware that every Deputy in the House is inundated with various school projects.

Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested in the region of €4.5 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of more than 800 school building projects. Construction is under way at approximately 300 other projects, which include 31 new school buildings. Projects at construction involve a total State investment of €1.2 billion.

The Minister for Education recently announced that close to 90 school building projects currently at tender stage will be authorised to proceed to construction over the course of 2024 and early 2025. In total, approximately €800 million will be invested in these projects under the Department's large-scale capital programme and additional accommodation scheme for essential classroom accommodation. This level of construction roll-out recognises the priority that Government puts on investment in education, including responding to the increased requirement for special education provision.

The Dunshaughlin school campus building project currently has planning permission and will, along with a number of other projects with planning permission, be brought to the level of employer-led design, with a design team assigned to do so under the supervision of the Department's project manager. The process of appointing the design team from the Department's frameworks of consultants was completed in September 2023 and the project is now progressing through design development stages.

Projects are subject to relevant due diligence by the Department of Education at each stage in the process within the context of overall programme and budgetary parameters. In late March, following a review of the national development plan allocations, the Government approved medium-term capital allocations for the Department of Education for the period to 2026. The Department's planning and building unit is now reviewing its programme plans in the context of those recently confirmed allocations.

Dunshaughlin Community National School is located in interim accommodation on the Dunshaughlin GAA site. The Department is working on providing additional interim accommodation to meet the demand for September 2024 and expects to lodge an application for an extension to the planning permission for that location shortly. The Department will continue to keep the schools updated through their patron body.

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

On behalf of the parent's association, I want to read a number of questions into the record. The Minister has received these questions and I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could also raise them with her. What is the duration of the rental contract between the GAA and the Department? Are there plans in place for accommodation during the academic year 2024-2025? Will the Minister provide a specific date for when lot 7 will progress to the next stage? Will the Minister explain the reasons behind the delay in the construction process? Has the Department initiated the process of renewing planning permission? If the construction of the building is not completed within the previously communicated timeline, are there contingency plans for accommodation during the academic year 2025-2026, the year after the next academic year? Is there a method to expedite the construction of the permanent building? The lot of projects that most recently went to tender did so in April 2023. What is the delay in lot 7 going to tender? Have any projects from lot 7 proceeded to tender?

I wanted to put those questions on the record and the Minister of State will have access to them. He touched on some of the answers in his response. My concern, following on from our initial exchange, is the piece around the "90 school building projects [that are] currently at tender stage [and] will be authorised to proceed to construction over the course of 2024 and early 2025". I understand this project is coming towards the end of stage 2B. I hope that process is to conclude soon. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could come back with an indicative timeline for when it will move to tender stage. The big issue that needs a push from Government Deputies in County Meath and from all of us, and the school community will not be found wanting, is getting it to tender and construction stage. Early 2025 looks like it is already blocked off. We need this project to proceed at the latest in early 2025.

Deputy Sean Fleming

I again thank the Deputy. I assure him the Dunshaughlin school campus project is a significant priority for the Department of Education, which will continue to liaise with the school and its patron body on interim accommodation requirements and will provide any updates about the progress of the school building project we have been discussing.

The Deputy has read a list of serious questions and I will personally bring them to the Minister tomorrow. Perhaps a written parliamentary question would get some of those answers in writing in a matter of days.

Deputy Darren O'Rourke

Parliamentary questions are already in.

Deputy Sean Fleming

I am pleased to hear that. The school building project for Dunshaughlin Community National School involves the construction of eight new classrooms, as the Deputy is aware, and accommodation, including two classrooms for children with special educational needs and ancillary accommodation. The location, as the Deputy is aware, is on the Dublin Road and the campus site will also incorporate the new post-primary school building for Coláiste Ríoga. The planning permission for the school referred to by the Deputy was granted on 4 November 2020. In the event that an extension to the current planning permission is required, the Department will prepare the necessary documentation. The school will require one additional classroom to meet the requirements for September 2024 and the Department has accommodation available that could be relocated onto the site during the summer months, subject to the granting of planning permission. The Department will do that if it is considered necessary in this case.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 10 p.m. go dtí 9.10 a.m., Dé Céadaoin, an 1 Bealtaine 2024.

The Dáil adjourned at 10 p.m. until 9.10 a.m. on Wednesday, 1 May 2024.