Vol. 1053 No. 4
75. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to explain the different pension arrangements that are in place for members of An Garda Síochána who joined the force pre-and post-1995; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19825/24]
Will the Minister explain the different pension arrangements in place for members of An Garda Síochána who joined the force pre- and post-1995? In particular, I want a timeline as to when there will be a change in the system whereby gardaí who retire on full pension after 30 years are forced to claim jobseeker's benefit for nine months and then jobseeker's allowance until they receive their full pension.
The majority of public servants recruited before 6 April 1995 pay class B or class D PRSI. This cohort of staff has no entitlement to social insurance benefits such as jobseeker’s benefit, the State pension contributory, SPC, or illness benefit. Their occupational pension and lump sum forms the entirety of their pension benefit from the public service.
For all new entrants to the public service on or after 6 April 1995, the date of the introduction of full social insurance for public servants who now pay class A PRSI, and before 1 January 2013, which was the introduction of the single public service pension scheme, including members of An Garda Síochána, their pension payment comprises of three components, namely a public service occupational pension; a social insurance benefit; and, where the full rate of SPC is not payable, a supplementary pension may be payable up to value of the full State pension, subject to eligibility, by the public service employer.
Where a public service employee does not qualify for the SPC or qualifies for a social insurance benefit at less than the value of the State pension, they may be entitled to a supplementary pension, subject to certain eligibility criteria.
These conditions refer to a retired public servant not being in paid employment; a retired public servant, due to no fault of their own, failing to qualify for social insurance benefits; and a retired public servant must have reached minimum pension age or retired on grounds of ill health.
The second condition is important to ensure no duplication of payments from public funds. To verify this condition currently, prior to payment of the occupational supplementary pension, a retired public service employee must engage with the Department of Social Protection and obtain proof that they have exhausted any relevant benefits for which they may be eligible under the social insurance system.
The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, for example, has raised this issue with me. I am aware there are some issues concerning the procedures for qualifying for the payment of an occupational supplementary pension. I am liaising with the Department of Justice and the Department of Social Protection to see if we can come up with a solution to this matter.
I thank the Minister for that response but, of course, this is the issue at hand. The Minister is liaising with the Department of Justice and the Department of Social Protection to find a solution to this anomaly. Gardaí who joined the force post-1995 seem, at first glance, to receive the same level of pension entitlement. If we look at what they have to do to receive the pension, however, then we can see where the problem lies. To qualify for the supplementary part of their pensions, these gardaí must exhaust all entitlements under social welfare. This means they must draw down jobseeker's benefit for nine months by signing on in a post office. Many consider that they are being discriminated against because they are not jobseekers, but rather retired members of An Garda Síochána. They have full service yet they are forced to sign a declaration to say they are available for work. Many of them complain about how they are being treated by the Department of Social Protection. This situation is an anomaly. It involves three different Departments and the matter goes over and back between them. This has been going on for a long time. Can the Minister give me any timeframe in respect of when he hopes to deal with this matter in a fair and reasonable way?
I met the Minister for Justice about this matter yesterday. I would hope that by the summer we might have the outlines of how we would deal with this issue. The Minister for Justice has emphasised the importance of this issue to me and I am aware of the consequences it has for members of An Garda Síochána who have retired and the fact that these numbers are now growing.
I am really pleased to hear that because this requirement applies to gardaí who joined post-1995 and next year all these members will have served 30 years. This issue, therefore, must be dealt with. I say this because many gardaí have told me that when they have tried to explain to the Department of Social Protection that they are not jobseekers and are, in fact, retired members of An Garda Síochána, they have been told that unless they make themselves available for training or work, they will have no entitlement. I am pleased to hear, therefore, that the Minister is hoping to have an outcome by the summer because we absolutely need it. As I said, this matter has dragged on for far too long. We simply want a reasonable way to deal with this situation so those who have served their full time can receive their pensions in a fair manner.
I can simply say I take the Deputy's point. I am aware of the issue. Several Deputies have raised it with me, as has the Minister for Justice in recent months. We are looking at a way of trying to find a solution to this issue and I take on board the point made by the Deputy.
76. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to provide an update on planned reforms to strengthen standards in public office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19844/24]
Go raibh maith agat. This question was previously raised by Deputy Shortall. The Minister's Department completed a review of the ethics legislation and a report on this was submitted to the Government by his predecessor in the Department, the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, in December 2022. The Government approved the publication of the review report and agreed to the preparation of a general scheme for legislative reform. This was informed by the review's outcome. When will the general scheme of this proposed legislation be progressed? I heard the answer the Minister gave to the similar question from Deputy Shortall previously. Does he have anything to add to it?
I emphasise that work on the heads of the Bill is significantly advanced. I want to be in a position to bring proposals to the Government very shortly.
As the Minister stated, the review makes some very important recommendations. There seemed to be an eagerness on the part of the Government to progress the proposed legislation at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, even when there were a number of scandals and resignations and these were reported in the media. Since then, though, it seems it has been quietly shelved. It should be an offence for Oireachtas Members to fail to disclose their required interests. Currently, Members are merely required to correct the record, with no potential sanction for failing in their duties. This is not a sufficient deterrent in respect of the issue of revealing political conflicts of interest.
We should also look at widening the definition of "registerable interest" to include liabilities above a certain threshold, certainly excluding mortgages on family homes. This is one of the key recommendations of the Mahon tribunal. The issue of guaranteed loans that were not repaid was identified as a key element of concern. Most important, SIPO needs true independence and the power to initiate its own investigations without the current requirements that apply in many instances for a complaint to first be referred to it before an investigations officer can be appointed.
I aim to deal with both those matters. I aim to deal with the issue of liabilities and how they are registered and I also aim to bring forward proposals regarding strengthening the powers of SIPO to allow it to initiate its own investigations.
I hope this will allow SIPO to be more proactive in certain instances and enable it to act where it feels suspected breaches of the ethics framework have taken place. For instance, if it were felt that something had not been declared, then the agency would be able to investigate and sanction members if necessary. My colleague, Deputy Mairéad Farrell, brought forward legislation to achieve this aim and the Government should act, as it has indicated it would, to implement the legislation before the next election.
I am very much aware of the Bill brought forward by Deputies Mairéad Farrell and Buckley last year. It contained several different provisions relating to this matter. The legislation proposed had seven sections in total and many dealt with powers regarding the Standards in Public Office Commission. As I said, I will be bringing forward an approach that will deal with some of the issues the Sinn Féin Bill referred to, while also addressing a number of other matters. I am aiming to be in a position to be able to bring these proposals to the Government soon because I do appreciate the importance of this issue.
77. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if he will list the occasions over the past 18 months on which Government Departments have requested additional funds from his Department; the purposes of these requests; which requests were granted; and which were refused. [18661/24]
We know that over Christmas the Minister and the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, had a ferocious argument over the health budget. We also know there are significant tensions currently between the Minister's Department and other Departments. Some of these tensions concern overspends by those other Departments. Can the Minister give us information about where these difficulties arise, where the overspends are happening and which Departments are engaging the Minister?
Vote allocations are decided as part of the Estimates process each year. Following publication of the summer economic statement, the Secretary General of my Department writes to all other Departments requesting proposals for the upcoming budget, including where they consider additional funding to be required. These requests are then assessed as part of preparations for the budget.
Managing expenditure within the allocations included in the Revised Estimates Volume, REV, for public services is voted on by the Dáil and is a key responsibility of every Department and Minister. My Department is in regular contact with all Departments regarding actual and projected spending, with key data on voted expenditure published every month.
Where a Department has additional expenditure demands over and above the amounts set out in the REV, and where any savings identified are not sufficient to cover the cost of such additional demands within a Vote, a Supplementary Estimate may be required to provide the additional funds.
Over the course of 2023, additional resources of €5.5 billion, in net terms, were agreed by Government and approved by the Dáil by way of Supplementary Estimates.
Two Departments seem to be under significant pressure at the moment, namely, the Departments of Justice and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. They are under strain with the current issue of the migrant numbers coming into the country. There was an important story in yesterday's edition of the Irish Daily Mail in regard to two asylum seekers who were successful in court in arguing that they should not be returned to Britain on the grounds that Britain would send them to Rwanda. One of these asylum seekers had a conviction for sexual offences in Britain six years ago. The International Protection Office was informed of it but the applicant was never told to register as a sex offender here. Why a criminal would have to register for a crime himself is unknown. The Garda should be involved in that in my view. However, he was never placed on the sex offenders register because the Department of Justice, although being aware of it, never informed him. Is this due to incompetence within the Department of Justice? Does the Department of Justice have a sufficient budget to ensure it makes such serious decisions and informs the public of these serious issues?
The Department of Justice is very well funded but of course always makes the case for more funding to respond back to the many pressures and challenges it has to contend with. The Department of Justice and An Garda Síochána take extremely seriously and I believe, manage in a very responsible way, the issues of how we keep our communities safe and in particular any threats that may be posed by those who have committed crimes of a sexual nature in the past. It is important to say that at the moment we face many different challenges in terms of the scale of people who are seeking asylum within our country and the responsibility that we have to manage those applications impartially, fairly and also speedily. It is because of this that additional funding has been made available to the Department of Justice to assist in the processing of applications and to do so in a way that is fair to those who deserve and are legally entitled to asylum and refuge in our country and then to deal speedily with those who are not.
The judge in this case, Ms Justice Siobhán Phelan, stated that the information in regard to the applicant's conviction has been in the Minister for Justice agent's possession since October 2021, without telling the applicant of his obligation to register as a sex offender. The judge went on to say that she was troubled by the fact that this has not come to light. She said this was in the public interest.
Here we have a judge who is saying that the Department of Justice is not doing its job in keeping people safe and that an individual who is a sex offender was not told the relevant information. This is incredibly serious. I understand that my question relates to funding. However, this is just one of the issues that highlights the problems being experienced by Departments. The issue is whether this is an issue of incompetence or is it a question of funding. It is important that we get down to that because the Minister and I have a responsibility to make sure Departments work in the public interest. We have to be able to identify, when that work breaks down, whether it is due to incompetence, the lack of accountability or the lack of funding.
Here we have an individual who was found guilty of a shocking crime. The Department had the information for two years yet did not inform An Garda Síochána. The two arms of the Department of Justice therefore did not work with each other. A judge made very serious comments in regard to the Minister for Justice's work in this regard.
The Department of Justice absolutely treats all such issues with the seriousness they deserve, supports An Garda Síochána in its work in keeping those in our country safe and dealing with those who may have committed crimes in the past, particularly as I said, those of a sexual nature. The Department of Justice understandably will continue to make the case for additional funding. However, if the Deputy looks at the funding it has received in recent years, there have been very significant increases in its budget. In turn, we made the funding available to those parts of the Department of Justice and its agencies that have to deal with the impact of so many people coming to our country seeking refuge.
I will continue to treat the funding needs that the Department raises with me in the budgetary process with the seriousness that they deserve.
80. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the extent to which expenditure trends are overstepping their targets; whether particular areas have come to notice in this regard; if inflation or other issues are contributory factors; if he plans specific measures to ensure that budget remains in target; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19767/24]
This question seeks to ascertain, given recent announcements, the Departments which are responsible for spending more money than was anticipated in the year to date. Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?
Government expenditure policy is framed around the medium-term economic strategy which has two objectives, to ensure the long-term sustainability of core expenditure growth and to ensure that the investment in expenditure delivers improvement in public services and infrastructure. As outlined in the stability programme update published last week, the Government is providing investment of €97 billion across the public service to protect living standards, improve public services and safeguard our future through enhanced capital investment. Managing the delivery of such public services and public capital investment within allocations is the responsibility of each Minister and his or her Department. My officials monitor overall expenditure in line with agreed Government objectives and engage with the Government and with Departments on their variances and assess any building pressures.
A number of processes and procedures are in place. We monitor the drawdown of funds against published profiles; we look at key data and information on voted expenditure, which is published every month; we look at quarterly reporting to the Government on the main spending of Departments, and there is regular engagement between all Departments and my officials. Total gross expenditure to the end of quarter 1 was €22.8 billion, which was 14.9% up versus a year ago. This was €275 million or 1.3% above profile. The current expenditure overrun was moderated by an underspend in capital expenditure of €273 million.
The most influential factor in the current expenditure variance versus profile was with regard to health expenditure, where expenditure was running at 7% above planned levels, as was laid out in the monthly publications. I continue to work with all Departments in regard to spending. We have made progress in recent months in bringing spending into line with where profile spending is expected to be. The Deputy will see some of that progress continue in the Exchequer returns that will be published in the coming days.
Can I further ask whether, given that the Minister's colleague, the Minister for Finance, issued a similar statement bringing to the public attention the tendency to overspend in certain areas, is it within the capacity of management to curtail this in sufficient amounts and numbers between now and remainder of the year? The tendency in an election year, and we have two elections coming up shortly, is that various commentators call for more expenditure. When more expenditure, or over-expenditure, takes place, they claim incompetence. They claim that too much money is being wasted, as they say, but it is not always wasted. There is a dilemma. Is the Minister satisfied that sufficient measures are in hand to discourage the tendency in any individual Department to take off without control?
Yes, I am, but it continues to be a challenge, one I and my predecessors have faced over many years because in some cases, Government spending can be ahead of profile. Despite the best efforts of all involved, that has required Supplementary Estimates.
All that being said, however, we have to look at where overall Government expenditure has been in the last number of years. It has grown at a moderate pace, if we look at total Government expenditures in the context of what has happened with inflation within our economy and also in the context of the growth of tax revenues during that period. As I said, over the last number of weeks in particular, I and my officials have been engaging with the issues of where spending stands in comparison to where profile spending should be.
Important progress on this has been made. However, we will continue to have more work we need to do in the coming months simply to make sure that when we prepare budget 2025, we are able to continue to be safe with the public finances of the country, while making progress on issues the country will want us to make progress on across next year.
I will ask the Minister about the degree to which inflation has been a contributory factor in the year to date and is likely to continue in the future. What are the sources of that inflation if it is impacting?
The inflation would be on two different levels. It would relate to supply where, undoubtedly, from a capital point of view, we have seen cost pressure and pressure with tendering and supply chains, which is driven by all the economic developments of which Deputy Durkan will be very aware.
For want of a better phrase, I would not at all use inflation with regard to demand. I do not think that would be an appropriate phrase to use. There has been a heightened need for certain public services, however, both during and after the pandemic, and that has undoubtedly contributed to the pressures that some front-line public services have had to confront.
As I said, overall, if we look at core expenditure and non-core expenditure in the round and look at where we have been in the last number of years, public expenditure has been safely and responsibly managed. It is the reason we are now in surplus and why we are able to increase capital investment at a time in which we need to do so. I will continue to have that approach across the remainder of this year and into next year.
I thank the Minister.
81. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform further to the visit of the Office of Public Works, OPW, Minister to Pilmore, Youghal and the Womanagh River, Ballymacoda, County Cork in November 2022, the actions taken by his Department since to address issues in both areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19866/24]
In November 2022, the then Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy O'Donovan, visited Pilmore, Youghal and the Womanagh river on my invitation. Many other officials from the council and OPW attended on the same day and saw the risks to property, houses, land, roads and so on due to possible flooding. I would like to know what has happened in the meantime.
I thank Deputy Stanton very much. I am aware of his continuing campaigning interest in this particular issue.
Under the OPW's minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme, the OPW provides 90% funding for localised flooding and coastal protection measures undertaken by a local authority. To date, five projects have been approved for a total of €245,892 for Youghal, for both coastal and flooding issues at Pilmore and Gortroe, including for repair of sluice gates and deepening of drains, of which four projects are now complete.
In 2021, under the minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme, the OPW approved €34,392 to Cork County Council for the repair and replacement of a tidal sluice gate and associated works at Pilmore, Youghal. The drainage and sluice at Pilmore were not functioning adequately and, therefore, properties and agricultural land were at risk from flooding during very high tides. These works were successfully completed in September 2023.
The OPW also approved a minor works scheme application for Pilmore Cottages in June 2023 for funding of €121,500 to complete a coastal erosion risk management study. The study area includes the shoreline adjacent to PiImore Cottages and extends from Youghal to Ring on County Cork's coastline. Cork County Council has since appointed consultants to conduct this study, who have prepared an inception report that is currently under review by OPW.
The Womanagh river does not form part of an arterial drainage scheme under the Arterial Drainage Acts of 1945 and 1995. Therefore, the OPW has no responsibility for the maintenance of the river. Stretches of the Womanagh river that form the Womanagh drainage district are the responsibility of Cork County Council to maintain. From 2007 to 2012, the OPW assisted on a pilot basis with embankment repair works for a length of the embankment downstream of Crompaun Bridge, on the west side of the river, at an estimated cost of approximately €275,000. The OPW does not maintain these embankments as they are Land Commission embankments.
With regard to Ballymacoda Village, the OPW contacted Cork County Council and understands the council has no further works planned on the Womanagh river at the present time.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. Can he tell me when he expects this study in Pilmore to be completed? Unfortunately, the tide and sea and flooding do not wait for studies to be completed. The erosion and risk of flooding to the houses there has increased recently. We have the study to go forward. What happens next? Do we need planning of some sort to do works? I am very concerned about this particular area and the houses that are at risk from flooding in that spot.
The Minister also mentioned the Womanagh river and the Land Commission. Who has responsibility for the banks of rivers? It was the Land Commission, which is no longer in existence. If that river breaks its banks, it could flood an awful lot of property and land and even Ballymacoda Village itself could be under pressure. When we tie that in with sea level rise, which we are all told by the eminent scientists is going to happen, the Minister will understand why I am concerned about this particular very low-lying area. I am not sure whether the Government has any long-term plan to deal with sea level rise as an issue nationally.
To give the Deputy an update on the Pilmore Cottages erosion issues, following the visit to the site in 2022 by the then Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy O'Donovan, Cork County Council applied for funding under the minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme to carry out a coastal erosion and risk management study.
The core study area covers approximately 9.5 km of coastline from Youghal to Greenlands Strand or Ring Strand. This includes the specific area of concern and access to Pilmore Cottages. The study also forms part of the OPW's ongoing national pilot coastal monitoring survey programme. The OPW's survey data will be used within the study. The application was approved by the OPW with Cork County Council engaging with the study. I will follow up to get a precise date for when that study will be complete.
The Deputy's second question was in respect of the Land Commission embankments. I will have to check that point. It does not fall under the remit of the OPW. I will go back to Cork County Council and get the Deputy a definitive answer on that.
I thank the Minister for that. I will again emphasise the fact that sea erosion and so on does not wait for studies. We are great in this country for having a study, but I do not think a study is needed. If you walk the actual beach, you can see what is needed; it needs protection. It needs an embankment to be put in place. We spend much time appointing consultants at huge expense to carry out studies when we know what the answer is before they start. Anyway, these studies should not take that long to complete. What do we tell the householders if their houses are flooded from the sea? The Minister of State might also reflect on the longer term issue of sea level rise, which also has an impact on both cases I mentioned this morning.
I welcome and look forward to receiving communication from his office with respect to what happens to the former Land Commission banks. The Land Commission was a State agency. It had responsibility for river embankments. It is now no longer in existence. There is no money left to do the repair work that it did. I am told it is up to the landowners to do it. I do not think that is fair. I ask the Minister of State and Government to look at this again. Maybe the State should have a role in this.
Deputy Stanton's point is well made. There is a specific study on the way on Pilmore. The question is about how we can get that completed as quickly as possible, while ensuring the study itself is robust and stands up. That is number one.
Work is ongoing. The OPW is carrying out a pilot coastal monitoring survey programme. Between the Department of housing and our Department, we are looking at the overall issue of coastal erosion. I will revert to the Deputy definitively on the Land Commission aspect.
82. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform for an overview of the progress made to date under national strategic outcome 10 of the National Development Plan 2021-2030; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19791/24]
What progress has there been to date under national strategic outcome 10 of the national development plan? I am especially interested in hearing an answer in the context of disability matters.
The Deputy is aware of the value of the overall national development plan and the number of years over which the money will be spent, so I will not go into those facts and figures now. Rather, I will cut to the question he asked about national strategic outcome, NSO, 10.
NSO 10 refers to access to quality childcare, education and health services and aims to ensure that the co-ordination and provision of childcare places, primary and post-primary schools places and health infrastructure with the spatial development of cities and regions is consistent with the objectives of the national planning framework.
In terms of childcare, during 2023, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth spent €215 million in its various capital programmes to support a range of key services in respect of children and young people and international migrants. The Department of Education spent almost €1.2 billion on primary and post-primary infrastructure and continued to deliver school building projects under various programmes and schemes, such as the large-scale capital programme and the additional school accommodation scheme. The Department of Health invested more than €1.1 billion to improve health facilities and provide new primary care centres, community nursing units and hospital ward blocks.
In 2024, more than €13 billion is available to Departments to spend on vital infrastructure in areas such as childcare, education and health, as well as transport, housing, water infrastructure and cultural amenities. NSO 10 will continue to be a key Government priority as we aim to support the ongoing delivery of our national strategic outcomes in a way that is consistent with the national planning framework.
I thank the Minister. There are a number of issues with the strategic outcome, particularly relating to childcare. Huge sums have been rolled out in respect of the development of the capacities within childcare facilities, whether preschool, afterschool or full childcare. To make sure moneys are spent and capacity is developed, it is important that in every review of the outcomes and of the progress being made, the stumbling blocks and the bureaucracy that has developed must be monitored.
On schools and education, there is huge pressure on the education system to develop in line with an expanding population. As Chair of the disability committee, I see the challenges relating to disability coming in regularly. One of those challenges relates to kids going from primary to post-primary and development of special schools. There are plans within Departments and the Government regarding the development of special schools, and those decisions should be taken early. My understanding is decisions will be taken shortly, but it takes some time between a decision having been made to earmark a community for a special school and its delivery and, therefore, if decisions are being made, they should be made in the short term.
The Deputy pointed out the important role special schools play with regard to the movement of pupils from primary to post-primary. I can absolutely assure him that in my engagement with the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and formerly with her predecessor, Deputy Madigan, the importance of special schools is fully recognised by the Department of Education. In any discussion I have had with them on capital funding, special schools have been given the status they deserve. They will always make the case for more money for any kind of school building and will always say they can spend more and will always look for more from me, but in the settlement we have reached on capital funding, that Department has always raised special schools and I have done my best to find the funding to move forward on them because I know how important they are. I have seen them in action myself.
On that point, when I meet families, as I am sure the Minister has done, whose child has completed primary education and has nowhere to go for post-primary education, the challenge has to be addressed in large part within the mainstream schools but also within special schools. The National Council for Special Education has been doing great work in looking at where in the country the special schools have to be in place but I would ask the Minister, in collaboration with the Minister for Education and the Minister of State, who I appreciate have been fully briefed, to push insofar as possible to ensure the reports on where the schools should be developed will be submitted and that the schools will be developed in the shortest space of time. The difficulty we have with delivering a lot of the projects in the national development plan relates to going through the statutory processes for planning and so on, and people get very frustrated with that. I appeal to the Minister to keep the negotiations going, as he outlined he will do, and to keep funding available for the education of kids with additional needs because there is a chronic unmet need within the community.
I have visited such a school myself and am absolutely aware of their importance. So many girls and boys who have additional needs need to be supported and educated in a very different school environment. I have seen the impact a couple of these schools have made and the difference they can make to the life journeys of students and their families. I again assure the Deputy that in all the engagement I have had with the Department of Education over many years, the issue of capital funding for special schools receives the focus it deserves. As he knows, we made additional funding available to that Department last year, for example, and as part of that funding, special schools were recognised within that settlement for additional capital support. I take the Deputy's point regarding their importance.
Very briefly-----
On the funding that was allocated on the capital programme last year, does much of that, if any, remain unspent?
I am not aware of any of it being unspent. The urgency of this is appreciated and I can assure the Deputy that whenever I meet the Minister and her Department to discuss capital funding, they give the focus to special schools that he is seeking.
85. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the extent to which progress on the national development plan remains within expectations; whether any measures are needed to ensure the meeting of targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19768/24]
I am seeking an up-to-date position on the strategic development requirements in education, roads, transport, agriculture and drainage, whether arterial or otherwise, and the degree to which it will be possible to meet the targets within the time identified.
As the Deputy knows, we have a national development plan of €165 billion over the coming years, which was published early in the lifetime of this Government. We have added to that with the allocation of a further €2.25 billion between 2024 and 2026, which follows the conclusion of more than 30 meetings between me and ministerial colleagues. In 2024, we now have €13 billion available; in 2025, €14.35 billion; and in 2026, €15.46 billion, one of the highest levels of capital investment as a share of national income in the European Union.
To deal with the thrust of Deputy Durkan's question, in terms of the challenge that we have had in recent years and the amount of capital funding now being spent, we put those days behind us towards the end of last year. Certainly, as I look into 2024, I am very confident that all Departments are very close to using all of their capital allocations. I can see that is the case so far in the first quarter of the year, where capital spending is up very significantly in a number of Departments compared to a year ago. What we have tried to do is bring to life what that capital spending can look like, not only through the reality of schools and hospital extensions being built but also, for example, through the publication of annual reports. Yesterday a new tracker was republished that allows us to see a visual representation of the country on a website. If you put in your eircode, you are able to see what projects are being delivered near you by the State to make progress on all of the things on which we need to make progress. If Deputy Durkan has a moment, he should have a look at it. I think he will find it a very clear way of sharing information with interested citizens.
I thank the Minister and welcome his reply. I am thinking also of the most urgent requirements that have been urgent for a number of years such as, for instance, the Derry road which was mentioned in respect of another tragic accident overnight. There are several other projects like that, which we have talked about and where we put forward the various reasons they are an urgent necessity. While I am reassured by the Minister's affirmation on this area, what are the likely impediments to speedy progress and to what extent has the Department identified them with a view to resolution?
In terms of speedy progress, I have identified two matters. The first one is our efforts to ensure that we have enough companies tendering for public service contracts so that we have an adequate level of competition within the tendering process to allow key projects to go ahead. The second relates to the continued challenges we have with cost-price inflation. We are not seeing the surges in the delivery of projects that we saw in recent years. The cost of projects is now far higher than it was before inflation surged, which creates challenges in the delivery of projects. I expect the further €2.25 billion that we have allocated will go a long way towards dealing with that. I have identified those two factors as the key challenges we continue to face.
I again thank the Minister and note his warning in that regard. I wonder if it is possible to take any steps to avert, in so far as possible, the possibility of interventions or obstacles that might lead to delays of any nature.
I thank the Acting Chair for letting me contribute on this very important question. In County Mayo we see lots of delays in projects that were promised, especially schools and hospitals. We have the likes of Davitt College and Ballinrobe school, on which I hope there will be announcements soon. In addition, there are outstanding projects like the Educate Together school in Castlebar and Holy Trinity school in Westport. What is happening is that the schools have to refuse places to children. We have had an increase in population in these areas and we just do not have the capacity, so the educational opportunities are constrained. I would like an assurance from the Minister's that projects are not being delayed because of inflation and that hospital projects at Mayo University Hospital, Belmullet Community Hospital and Ballina hospital are not delayed either. Are they being run through the Department? I am also concerned about road projects such as the R312 project in Mayo. I know there is a lot there, but people were under the impression that these projects were going to be delivered and now it appears that they are delayed.
There can be a number of factors behind a delay in a project. I highlighted to Deputy Durkan what in my experience are the two key reasons. I will make the general observation that there is always a demand for more projects to go ahead than there is funding available at any given time. All Ministers want to be in a position to spend more and to allow many more projects to go ahead that they and their communities want to see happen. Even with the huge increases in capital expenditure that we have, and that we have planned, at times there will always be more projects for which there is a good case for them to go ahead than there is money available for them. I make that general observation because I must be honest with the House and acknowledge that it is a key issue that Ministers continue to raise with me. That is why what I have tried to do is increase capital expenditure year by year so that we are able to get more done.
The two issues to which I referred in response to Deputy Durkan, namely, tendering and the impact of inflation, continue to be challenges. I hope at least the latter will be alleviated by the allocation of a further €2.25 billion for this year and the coming two years.
I thank the Minister for his response. It is very important that the projects that are promised and announced are delivered because there is an expectation in that regard.
89. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to provide detail on the non-core spending allocation of approximately €4.5 billion for each year from 2025 to 2027 outlined in the stability programme update; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19840/24]
Will the Minister provide detail on the non-core spending allocation of approximately €4.5 billion for each year from 2025 to 2027 that is outlined in the stability programme update? Will he make particular reference to the use of the contingency reserve?
I thank the Deputy for this important question. In budget 2024, a sum of €4.5 billion was allocated for non-core issues. These are costs that are driven by external developments or additional EU-funded projects that had to be reflected in our expenditure ceiling. The allocation covered pressures such as our humanitarian response to the arrivals fleeing war in Ukraine, legacy Covid issues and matters relating to, for example, the national recovery and resilience plan.
I have already explained to Deputy Nash some of the factors in relation to this matter and I will not take up the Deputy's time by repeating them. In regard to the question she put to me on whether we have made a decision on the departmental allocation of €4.5 billion, the answer is that we have not. I do not believe we will make that decision until we reach the Estimates process. We may give some indication of how we will manage it in the summer economic statement but at this point no such decisions have been made regarding the allocation of that €4.5 billion for next year.
I appreciate that response. I am trying to get greater detail and confirmation of whether the contingency reserve is now within core rather than non-core expenditure. Is the contingency reserve intended to be a long-term feature in our budgets?
The stability programme update did not make reference to non-core expenditure. In one recent stability programme update we did make reference to non-core expenditure and in another we did not. The Government has not made a decision yet on whether there will be a concept of non-core spending used in budget 2025. I acknowledge the benefits of non-core expenditure, which I emphasised earlier, but non-core expenditure referred to issues that we genuinely believed to be temporary. We have to seriously consider whether some of the challenges we are confronting will genuinely be temporary. I have not yet engaged with the Cabinet on that. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, and I have to work that out.
In relation to the number of years for which we have made provision for contingency reserve, we have done it for 2025, 2026 and 2027.
Certainly, for 2025, as we move closer to the budget, we will have form a view as to whether it is adequate for next year. The figure came from an expectation regarding how much was spent this year on issues that we would now see as being non-core.
I look forward to seeing greater detail in the Estimates so that we can do further scrutiny of where things are at and what the plans are for the future.
91. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to list all interim flood prevention measures currently being proposed across the east Cork area; the status of the progression and proposed timescales for the completion of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19865/24]
100. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform if funding would be made available for interim flood relief works in Midleton, including the development of an early warning system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19879/24]
It has been over six months since Storm Babet devastated my town, Midleton, in east Cork and surrounding villages such as Castlemartyr, Mogeely, Killeagh and Rathcormac. The impact is still being felt by people whose homes were devastated. Their furniture was devastated and all they had is gone. They had to move out and some of them have not moved back yet. Businesses were devastated as well. The Government has been very helpful and generous but we need to know when the flood relief schemes will start. Last week, the Minister of State told me it could be quite a while before the main one in Midleton will start. There has been a lot of talk about interim measures. What is the status of these interim measures? When will they start, where will they take place and how soon can people expect to see shovels in the ground?
I propose to take Questions Nos. 91 and 100 together.
I thank Deputy Stanton who raised this issue during oral questions last week. I visited Midleton with the Deputy during Storm Babet and I am fully aware of how important it is, both to the Deputy and the people of the wider area.
By way of background, the 2018 flood risk management plans provided the evidence for a proactive approach to designing and constructing 150 additional flood relief schemes for the most at-risk communities, funded by €1.3 billion from the national development plan. Since then, the OPW has trebled the number of schemes at design and construction to some 100, including Midleton.
Pending the completion of this flood relief scheme, local authorities can introduce flood mitigation measures funded under the OPW’s minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme. This provides 90% of the cost of localised flood mitigation measures up to a value of €750,000. Following Storm Babet, Cork County Council progressed a number of interim flood defence measures for Midleton, including channel clearance works, and is assessing further channel works and replacement of non-return valves this summer. The council is also continuing engagement with landowners in relation to removal of some bridges. Cork County Council is finalising a plan for targeted individual property protection to at-risk properties in Midleton. These measures are being funded through the OPW.
As regards interim measures, I am actively working on this issue with officials in my Department and in Cork County Council. I intend to visit Midleton soon. In terms of the interim measures that are being put in place, these will be in place until the scheme is complete, as we discussed last week. The roll-out of interim defence measures in Midleton is under way in a phased manner in compliance with the regulatory frameworks.
The following have been completed or are ongoing. The Midleton interim and advanced work report by Arup is under review by the steering group before being shared with the wider community. On the installation of additional gauges at Lidl bridge and People's Park, one of these has been subsequently removed and a replacement is on order. Remedial works to the Ballyedmond gauge to mitigate risk of further outages has been identified and a contractor appointed. A derogation licence application for removal of gravel downstream of Moore's Bridge is in progress. Work is ongoing in parallel on the procurement of a works contractor for this work at the earliest opportunity. A request for quotations for vegetation clearance in the town centre has been issued with a view to clearance in June. Engagement with riparian landowners regarding river channel maintenance is ongoing.
The following interim works are planned for the summer of 2024, pending various statutory approvals: in-channel vegetation, channel clearance and removal of deposit material in the channel near the Lidl bridge and replacement of non-return values at Dwyer Road and Ballinacurra; assessment of viability of debris screens; continuation of engagement with Met Éireann's forecasting system; and continuation of efforts to reach landowner agreement for the removal of bridges.
Individual property protection, IPP, is being considered as part of the overall suite of measures for Midleton in tandem with the interim and advance works. Cork County Council is in the processing of agreeing the scope and scale of the IPP schemes for Midleton in conjunction with the ongoing assessment of possible advance work and intends to roll out IPP on a targeted and phased basis across Midleton. To advance this, Cork County Council has submitted a draft application for a minor works scheme for funding for IPP. This application is currently under review by my Department and the OPW. We will discuss it with Cork County Council very shortly.
In addition to the interim work, the initial assessment and advance work has been carried out. There will be delivery of certain elements of the main scheme in advance of delivery of the whole scheme. There may be construction in advance in certain locations. Assessment of advance works is required to fully understand the impact of such works. The construction of an isolated section of defences to protect one area can potentially increase risk in other locations, as Deputy Stanton will be aware. We have to look at statutory planning consent processes and environmental assessments and we have to be conscious of landowners as well.
These matters will be discussed at the next meeting with the steering group. I am actively working on this matter with my officials and Cork County Council.
I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response and the personal interest he has shown in coming to the area shortly after the flood occurred and spending some time viewing the damage, etc.
Moore's Bridge needs attention. I understand a section 50 application has been made for planning approval to replace it. Some funding may be needed to get that done. I would be grateful if the Minister of State could have a look at that and revert to me later.
I mentioned Castlemartyr and Killeagh, which are also subject to a lot of flooding. There are plans on the OPW's desk to do some works in that area. Is the OPW prepared to fund those works and take them on? It would make a massive difference and give peace of mind to the people in Mogeely and Castlemartyr if works could be done that would prevent flooding in that area again? That is what we need to do.
Some people are telling me that when it rains in east Cork, they do not sleep at night because they are afraid this will happen again. I understand money is not the object but we really need to move this forward as quickly as possible.
I join my constituency colleague in raising this issue. Midleton town was absolutely devastated by Storm Babet. Both the Minister and Minister of State will be aware from visiting the town of the impact the storm had. We need to see every single function available at Cabinet, departmental and local authority level utilised to drive forward the proposed project. We need to see the utilisation of measures such as the Arterial Drainage Act and everything that is available to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, the Ministers around him at the Cabinet table and his Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. If this is not done, we will risk a repeat of what happened in Midleton where many hundreds of homes and businesses were utterly devastated. My desire and, I am sure, that of my constituency colleagues is to see the flood relief scheme delivered as a matter of urgency.
Two particular areas of my constituency, Castlemartyr and Mogeely, need immediate focus at State level to see what can be done to help local residents to deliver schemes in those areas.
I thank both Deputy Stanton and Deputy O'Connor. I appreciate they are both valued representatives for the Midleton area.
Having visited Midleton in my capacity as Minister of State with responsibility for local government at the time, I am aware of what occurred on the ground. I did not have direct involvement but I wanted to see what happened.
There is a body of work under way. I am actively working with my officials in the OPW and with Cork County Council. I want to look at this in great depth and then make a visit to Midleton, but I want to do that having bedded down a body of work for it, which is already under way.
Deputy O'Connor was not here earlier when I referred to an issue so I will do so again. The Deputy asked about an early warning system. Cork County Council, with its consultants and Met Éireann, has assessed the feasibility of a flood forecasting system for Midleton. Unfortunately, due to the short time period between rain falling in the area and flooding occurring in the town, a flood forecasting system based on rainfall and real-time river gauge observations will not provide a sufficient lead time to allow for an effective response. The national flood forecasting service operated by Met Éireann provides data on flood risk for major catchments and is developing its service to improve flood forecasting for Midleton and other areas throughout the country. That is within the Department of housing. I am aware there is work being done there.
The Deputy made reference to both Castlemartyr and Mogeely. In July 2018, Cork County Council submitted an application under the OPW minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme for clearing work upstream and downstream of Castlemartyr. This application did not meet the criteria for the scheme. Following the recent devastating flooding caused by Storm Babet, the council confirmed it would review its original application and has resubmitted an updated application to the OPW for Castlemartyr. The application consists of proposed works which include increasing the height of the wall upstream of Castlemartyr bridge and cleaning, widening and deepening the river to improve flood conveyance. The OPW has reviewed the application and requested further information from Cork County Council on the submission. As for Mogeely, when I visit Midleton I want to visit those other areas as well. The OPW has been advised Cork County Council is currently preparing an application to the scheme for interim flood relief and mitigation works at Gleann Fia and other locations in Mogeely. I understand the county council is considering all possible solutions to mitigate flooding in that area.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. I remind him it has been six months since this happened and that it has happened twice before, although not to the same extent because Storm Babet was exceptionally awful. The work that needs to be done at Castlemartyr and especially Mogeely is not huge. I do not think money is an issue, but I am told the schemes were not in tranche 1. Will the Minister of State move them to tranche 1?
There was also talk of diverting the Kiltha River in Castlemartyr, which would solve the problem for good. What is the position in that regard and who is responsible for that? The frustration is that it takes so long to get anything done. I appreciate the scheme in Midleton is enormous and extraordinarily complicated and that it has gone back to be reviewed as a result of Storm Babet to ensure the works done will be impactful. People are concerned and businesses are worried. I have raised this issue in some shape or form virtually every week since October, as have my colleagues. There are three of us from the constituency in the Chamber and we have all been working hard on it, as has Deputy Tóibín. I ask the Minister of State to put some energy into this to really drive it on and ensure the council and the OPW work together to get work done on the ground. We have enough reports.
Estates like Gleann Fia, which Deputy Stanton mentioned, were absolutely decimated by the flooding events that took place. In areas where there is no plan, and Mogeely, unfortunately, is one that the county council is assessing, we need to see something happen at an OPW level. Further down the same river channel Mogeely has ground flooding issues as well as the river being there. I agree with Deputy Stanton that we need to look at how to address the flooding issues on the River Kiltha. Homes in that area have been flooded on a number of occasions and although Storm Babet was an extreme weather event, the likes of which have not seen in recorded history in east Cork, I have concerns about those homes being flooded once again. I would like to see the Minister of State working with Cork County Council to specifically address the issues in the areas and estates in Mogeely that were so badly damaged and flooded. The Government needs to determine whether, working with the adjoining landowners, it can propose interim solutions for the area. I am sure that could be done if they were evaluated.
I had a chance to visit Midleton recently and I spoke to many of the people living in the area. It is important for people outside Cork to remember how life-threatening this event was. It was not just damaging to homes, properties and businesses. Lives were in the balance. I know of an elderly man who now works as a human water gauge, as it were. When the rainfall is heavy he stays up, sometimes all night, to watch the level of the river to see whether it is going to damage people's lives. I offer special thanks to Mona Stromsoe and the Midleton and East Cork Flood Protection Group. There is a protest happening on 18 May as part of an effort to raise awareness of this issue. The really frustrating thing is there is still no planning application in place. The communities were told in 2015 that there would be a physical response to this in the form of flood defences, yet nine years later no planning application has been made. I was talking to Deputy Stanton earlier and I believe the planning application could be close. I hope that is the case. Maybe the Minister of State could shed some light on that as well.
I reiterate what my two Cork East colleagues were saying about the flooding. I thank the Minister of State. I met him in Midleton and I put in a number of parliamentary questions which, in fairness, the responses were fairly detailed. I echo what previous speakers said. The three problems here are fear, frustration and the pace. It seems there are solutions but it is about the pace at which they are coming. It is a miracle nobody was killed in the flooding because it happened so fast. I flag to the Minister of State a CFRAM study done in 2013 which identified many of the risks. It predicted 1.4 m of water in a one-in-100-year event near the house of the lady Deputy Tóibín mentioned, where her father used to live. We should also get ready to look at ten 100-year events in one day. I also thank Cork County Council. There are restraints everywhere, but we do not play party politics when it comes to local issues. I am willing to work with Deputies O'Connor, Stanton and Tóibín to try to push everybody forward and assist the OPW, Cork County Council and the Department.
Glanmire flooded at the same time as Midleton flooded. The works have started in Glanmire, but the tragedy is that those works were sanctioned a number of years earlier and if the Government and the Minister of State's predecessor had not delayed, Glanmire would not have flooded that day.
Areas such as Blackpool in Cork flood constantly. Will the Minister of State provide funding to enable local authorities to put in eco-drains and flood protection measures? At the top of Knocknaheeny, an area I represent, there is a dip in the road at the Apple site which floods every time there is heavy rain, blocking access for everyone. Will the Minister of State give money to local authorities to fix those? Will he also provide a grant to people who live in flood-affected areas so they can put in flood barriers? That would be a simple solution for some people.
I note the great interest in this topic from TDs both locally and nationally. We are talking really about east Cork, Glanmire and other areas. I have been to Midleton. What we want to do here is protect people's homes and businesses. Wherever flooding takes place it is devastating. We are putting in place a comprehensive scheme in Midleton. It has taken a bit longer than we would have liked but we have had Storm Babet, so it must be legally robust. The OPW is working towards planning with Cork County Council. There are statutory processes that we have to go through. Regarding interim measures in Midleton, local authorities can apply to the minor works scheme for funding for interim or permanent measures at any location.
This must be done in a structured way. Flooding is a technical issue. It is up to the local authorities to assess the needs of local people and apply for grants from my Department, which will assess them and look to fund them. My objective at the moment is to get a thorough, detailed assessment done. We have engaged already with the OPW, so then it will be the county council. From there, we will visit the area to meet the people on the ground. I met many of them already, both the public and the-----
Is there a date for the planning application?
That is currently being worked through. The intention would be to get it in within the timeframe that is legally possible.
