I will outline briefly the need for this playground project, which got the go-ahead under the Minister of State's predecessor, Dr. Martin Mansergh. East Meath is devoid of community facilities, although they are starting to come on stream. The Battle of the Boyne site, which is a major tourism attraction, provides the perfect opportunity to construct a playground for the benefit of east Meath, including Duleek, Donore, Slane, Tullyallen in County Louth, which is just across the river, and the wider catchment area, including Drogheda and Navan. In that way, local inhabitants could enjoy the benefits of a public playground. It would be a win-win situation for the OPW and the Government as it would attract people to the Battle of the Boyne site from the locality who may not otherwise be attracted there. Similar schemes are in operation at Argillan Park in Balbriggan and at Newbridge House in Donabate. I hope the Government will proceed with the project based on those models, having received planning permission. I look forward to seeing progress being made with it as I know people are awaiting its completion.
Adjournment Matters
Battle of the Boyne Site
I am grateful for the opportunity to address this matter which has been brought to the attention of the House by Senator Byrne. Oldbridge Estate comprises 500 acres of land, with an 18th century manor house, stable and farm buildings. The property was the core site of the historic Battle of the Boyne between King James II and King William III in 1690. The site is dear to the traditions of the Unionist community in Northern Ireland and played a pivotal role in the recent peace process. The Office of Public Works has developed the site as a heritage and tourism presentation. Senator Thomas Byrne has taken a great interest in this and lives quite close to the site. Following in-depth historical and archaeological research, a programme of works was implemented. The manor house was restored and adapted as the main visitor focus with several exhibitions and services. These included models, graphics, artefacts, multimedia projections, an audio-visual show, displays of replica artillery, maps and literature. The house also has a reference library and adjacent tea rooms. It is staffed by OPW guides and is open all year round. A car and bus park has been provided, together with toilets and signage. Extensive signposted walks are laid out throughout the grounds. Further improvements are planned, including the completion of the large walled gardens restoration project.
A variety of events and animations are held in the main tourist season, including living history displays of cavalry and musketry, theatrical presentations, athletic competitions and community events. The site has been an outstanding success on many levels and attracts large numbers of visitors. More than 40,000 visitors annually are received in the formal presentations in the house. However, experience over the past few years has shown a strong pattern of use of the grounds and walkways by local and regional leisure, sports and recreational visitors from the Meath and Louth hinterland. Families, in particular, come in large numbers to avail of the open parkland and services such as the tearooms and gardens. In this context it was suggested that a children's playground would enhance the overall attraction of the park and provide much needed facilities for regular users from the local and regional community. It is widely recognised that playing activity enhances the overall educational well-being of children and stimulates appreciation of their environment.
The OPW agreed in principle with these objectives, developed a design scheme for a playground and obtained planning permission from Meath County Council on 26 September 2011. Final design details are being completed and it is intended to invite tenders for the project shortly. In these times of major economic challenge, it is difficult for the OPW to prioritise the allocation of scarce financial resources for such projects and the matter will be reviewed again when tenders have been received. Given the benefits of such a facility to the local community and the remit of local authorities in this context, Meath County Council has also been asked to make a contribution to the cost of the provision of the playground and its subsequent maintenance. It is felt that such an approach would further the objectives of both organisations and result in the successful provision of an additional popular facility in the county. The net issue is that I want to see it happen. We have planning permission and we are seeking a contribution from Meath County Council. On Sunday, I will make my third visit to Oldbridge, which is a fantastic facility. I agree that we need to build a playground because it will enhance the excellent facilities. We are getting the tenders back and I hope we can give it the green light in order that the playground will be in place in 2012, the sooner the better.
That is mixed news. I am slightly concerned that the decision will be reviewed when the tenders come in but I am heartened by the commitment shown by the Minister of State. A contribution by Meath County Council is reasonable. The council has had major difficulty in securing sites for the provision of playgrounds, particularly in the village of Donore, the nearest village to the site. It was not able to agree on a site for a playground so this will be the perfect place for a playground for the village of Donore. I understand the council has some funds for it. I initiated a discussion with the county council a year and a half ago and I put the suggestion to it on behalf of the former Minister of State, Martin Mansergh. Formal contact took place after that and I urge the Minister of State to maintain contact with the county manager. It will be win-win with the community and the OPW benefiting. This will attract families to come to the place. I have three young children and I bring them to it. They will look forward to a lovely playground. I do not know whether the Minister of State has looked into funding from the east Border region or Drogheda Borough Council or Louth County Council. This would be of great benefit to the town of Drogheda. I will press the Minister of State on this and wish him well in his deliberations. There will be a net revenue benefit to the OPW if this is built.
I want to get this done and I am confident we will have it done. I think it will be done by the summer.
Garda Investigations
I am glad to raise this issue, which came to light last week following the publication of the Garda Inspectorate report on the investigation of sexual offences against children. There was criticism of the handling of these cases by the Garda Síochána. The report was produced in 2010 and published last week by the Minister for Justice and Equality. I hope for assurances that certain changes have been made to ensure such events do not recur.
The lack of coherence became apparent after the Garda Síochána was unable to supply the Garda Inspectorate with annual figures for sexual offences against children. A number of issues have been highlighted. In one third of cases, details of the investigation had been entered into the Garda PULSE database but had not been classified as criminal offences. Guidelines for inputting crimes were not being followed and three cases involving nine injured parties had been entered as a single offence. One fifth of cases of a sample entered into PULSE were done one month after the complaint had been made. There is fear among gardaí that they will be subject to civil action if they input the complaint before an investigation and the Garda Inspectorate recommended that these fears be allayed. It is most important that cases of sexual abuse of children should be acted upon immediately.
The inspectors referred to turf wars between HSE and the Garda Síochána and the reluctance of the HSE to call in the Garda Síochána to investigate allegations until after children had undergone therapy. This undermined subsequent prosecutions because the accused could question the integrity of evidence that emerged in therapy. The lack of meaningful co-operation between HSE and the Garda Síochána was disappointing, particularly in light of the excellent relations between the Garda Síochána and other agencies. The Minister of State is well aware of this issue and I raise it because I am concerned about it. It is very important that it is raised in this House and that fears are allayed with regard to the steps taken to ensure such discrepancies, leading to several cases of sexual abuse against children not being investigated, are addressed.
It is estimated that one in five children in Europe is a victim of some form of sexual violence within the family circle, whether child pornography, prostitution, corruption, solicitation via the Internet or sexual assault by their peers. Only 10% of cases come to the notice of the child protection services and of the 254 cases analysed in the report Responding to Sexual Abuse, only eight resulted in convictions. These figures underline the importance of immediate movement and co-ordination between the Garda Síochána and the HSE. In subsequent media reports, the Rape Crisis Network Ireland welcomed the report and suggested it would protect children from further risk and that they could be identified and protected. I would like the Minister of State to respond on the situation following the publication of the report.
I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who is unable to be in the House.
The Senator highlighted the importance of the Garda Inspectorate. When the Garda Síochána Bill was taken in his House — I was here from 2002 to 2007 — one of the points made on the sections concerning the independence of the inspectorate was the necessity to report, on a regular basis, on issues of public concern. The inspectorate is not only independent but also carries with it the weight of international expertise, which was badly needed in terms of the formation of policy in this area. It is important that the report is in the public domain, but more importantly that the Department of Justice and Equality and the Garda are following its recommendations.
The Minister is grateful to the Garda Inspectorate for its analysis and recommendations, which are focused on improving the investigation of child sexual abuse and better protecting children. While the inspectorate identified deficiencies at the time of its inspection in 2010, it also acknowledges the Garda Síochána is addressing the issue of child sexual abuse as a top priority and that progress has been made in recent years.
On behalf of the Minister, I can assure the House and the Senator, in particular, that the development of an effective response to the serious issues detailed in the report is well under way and reflected in the measures set out in the comprehensive response document which the Minister published along with the inspectorate report last week. The Minister acknowledges the inspectorate report is balanced and comprehensive in terms of the situation under review at the time.
That said, it is important to note that while the inspection was under way, An Garda Síochána issued a comprehensive policy on the investigation of sexual crime, crimes against children and child welfare arising from its review of Garda work practices and methodologies for the investigation of such cases. This had the effect that many of the inspectorate's recommendations had already been incorporated into Garda practice as it had changed in the intervening period.
The inspectorate report identified a number of deficiencies. In particular, it identified a problem with under-recording of this type of offence. However, the report also points out that when this issue was brought to the attention of the Garda authorities during the inspection, swift action was taken to comprehensively deal with the issue of under-recording. The Garda Commissioner has recently reiterated that a new system has now been put in place to ensure proper recording of such cases.
The Minister also notes that the inspectorate report placed a considerable emphasis on effective interagency working in the area of child protection. In this regard, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, has published revised Children First guidelines, the implementation of which is being overseen by an interdepartmental group, including representatives of relevant Departments, the HSE and An Garda Síochána.
In addition, the Garda Commissioner has established a strategic committee within An Garda Síochána, chaired by the assistant commissioner in charge of national support services, to liaise with the HSE's national director of children and family services. Furthermore, a sexual crime management unit has been established within An Garda Síochána and a countrywide network of interview suites has been put in place for use when interviewing children under 14 years of age against whom a sexual and-or violent offence is alleged to have been committed. The interview process is a joint Garda-HSE exercise. Gardaí and social workers have undergone joint training, organised by the Garda authorities, in the specialised interviewing skills necessary for interviewing such victims.
Work is already under way on a number of key legislative measures within the Department of Justice and Equality to support child protection. For example, work is proceeding on key legislative measures such as the criminal justice (withholding information on crimes against children and vulnerable adults) Bill and the national vetting bureau Bill. Furthermore, the Government has given approval to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to put the Children First guidance on a statutory basis.
The Minister and the Government want to acknowledge the good progress that is being made in strengthening co-operation between An Garda Síochána and the HSE as the principal bodies for child protection matters in Ireland. The Government is determined, as a priority, that an effective collaborative response to child sexual abuse is in place, as part of an overall transformation and strengthening of the State's child welfare and protection systems.
I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive statement. For clarification, have the interviewing process and liaison between the HSE and the national director of child and family services happened since the report was published or are they in addition to what is in place since the investigation by the inspectorate?
I do not know. I will find it out for the Senator. I understand some services were being put in place because the Garda, in collaboration with the HSE, had accepted the necessity for the services before the recommendations were published. I cannot tell the Senator definitively if all services were put in place in advance. I will make sure the Minister drafts a note and sends it to her.
Aerfort na Gaillimhe
I would like to share time with Senator Healy Eames.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I thank the Minister and appreciate him coming to the House for this Adjournment matter. It is an urgent matter and I am sure he is well aware of the situation in Galway Airport.
Táim ag ardú na ceiste i gcomhthéacs todhchaí aerfort na Gaillimhe, ceist a d'ardaigh mé cheana leis an Aire anseo sa Seanad agus ag cruinnithe eile mar is cosúl go bhfuil an t-aerfort i mbaol. Baineann an cheist seo freisin le cearta na n-oibrithe agus an infheistíocht Stáit atá déanta.
I am raising the issue in the context of the ongoing situation in Galway Airport. The Bank of Ireland has taken over €1 million out of its account. I appreciate the Minister does not have direct responsibility for that and that the airport is an independent company. The story of Galway Airport goes back quite a while. We have had discussions here on transport issues and I raised the future of Galway Airport with the Minister in the context of the OPEX grant having to be curtailed. The subsequent exit of the managing director was not a good omen. There was a board meeting today and we are not sure exactly what happened, but the airport is in jeopardy. I am eagerly awaiting clarification.
In regard to the funding given by the Government to the airport, certain moneys were made available for redundancy payments to staff. Can the Minister clarify whether that is true? If it is, is that part of the money that the Bank of Ireland has taken from the account and where does that leave the workers who, it would appear, are in danger of losing their jobs? They are engaged in a sit-in in the airport to make sure their rights are upheld. It is an important issue.
I ask the Minister to indicate his thoughts on the future of the airport. Those in Galway see it as an essential part of its infrastructure if we are to try and keep industry going and attract industry and tourists into the area. Therefore, whatever the future of the airport is, whether it goes into liquidation or is sold on, we need to know what the Government's plan is for the site in Carnmore. Can the Minister indicate where the Government stands? Has there been any engagement between the Government, the Department or officials and the airport management and workers to try to determine what can be salvaged from this very difficult situation?
I welcome the Minister. I want to confine my remarks to the workers, their sit-in and their fears about not getting statutory redundancy. I also want to refer to the actions of Bank of Ireland. I have one or two questions.
I understand it was largely State money that was lodged in the Bank of Ireland account and that the money, in an unprecedented manner, was raided by Bank of Ireland without any notice to the directors. I am a former director of Galway Airport and always recall the prudence and exactitude with which business was done there to adhere to corporate governance. I understand the Revenue Commissioners have been paid and are up to date.
I would like the Minister to comment on the behaviour of Bank of Ireland in this case and what action he thinks we should take as a Government given our reputation abroad is very important. We are trying to attract investors. We were ranked in the top ten of places to do business in the last week but this would not instil confidence in anyone thinking of investing here. This is one of our pillar banks in which we have a stake.
I can confirm that local businesses are very concerned about this issue. One gentleman spoke to me about having an up to date loan and working capital in another account. He has 43 staff and he says if the bank moved like this on him, he would have to make those staff redundant.
Can the Minister of State confirm the workers will get their statutory redundancy? In what ranking are they as preferential creditors? I understand the Revenue Commissioners have been paid and are up to date. Therefore, are the workers next in line or are they guaranteed their money?
I announced in June 2011 that I had secured Government approval for additional funding to be made available to all six regional airports in 2011, including Galway Airport, reversing the cut in funding made by the last Government. However, at that time the Government also decided that it would not be able to provide operational or capital funding for Galway Airport or Sligo Airport from 2012 onwards, given the need to consolidate the number of airports on the west coast. In making that announcement, I encouraged Galway Airport and Sligo Airport, as privately owned entities, to use the opportunity provided by the additional funding in 2011 to engage with various parties, including business interests, investors and local authorities, to secure their ongoing viability in some form. Both airport companies have pursued this.
In December 2011, a total €5,392,334 was allocated to the six regional airports to cover a portion of their operating costs incurred in 2011. This included a subvention of €2,309,191 to Galway Airport. This funding was allocated under the regional airports operational expenditure subvention — OPEX — scheme to the airports at Donegal, Sligo, Ireland West Airport Knock, Galway, Kerry and Waterford. The operational funding scheme covers regional airports for a given range of costs arising from core airport services, but only when these costs cannot be fully recovered from their own income.
In addition, €222,943 was paid to Galway Airport in 2011 under the regional airports capital expenditure — CAPEX — grant scheme. This brings to €15.5 million the total amount of funding paid to Galway Airport in the past ten years under the OPEX and CAPEX schemes. The capital funding provided focuses mainly on safety and security projects, which aim to ensure that each airport can comply with the latest national and international aviation safety and security standards.
While Ireland West Airport Knock, Kerry Airport, Waterford South East Regional Airport and Donegal Airport will be eligible for funding up to the end of 2014, ongoing support during this period will depend on the availability of funds. These airports are expected to work towards achieving operational viability over this period. The decision to continue to provide funding to these four airports was based on the need to ensure the most effective use of scarce Exchequer resources to support the regional airports network serving the public both in terms of business and tourism. The aim is to ensure that Ireland has a sufficient network of regional airports, while taking into account significant improvement in road networks, shorter and more reliable journeys by road and rail and the collapse in passengers flying domestically. I fully recognise the difficulties being experienced by Galway Airport. However, as a privately owned entity, it is a matter for the owners and management to work out how best they can secure their future.
In total, over €15 million in subsidies has been paid to this airport in the past ten years. Despite this, the airport has run up multimillion euro debts on top of that and even though subsidies continued throughout 2011, all scheduled flights ended several months before the subsidies were ended. Although it is no reflection on the hard work done by the board and staff at Galway Airport, the decisions made by the Government on the viability of the airport have been proven to be correct and there are no plans to extend support to airports not currently supported.
Bank of Ireland is a private company; the Government only has a 15% shareholding in the bank. I understand €1 million was taken from the bank account unilaterally by Bank of Ireland. I also understand, however, that Galway Airport had an agreement with Bank of Ireland that allowed it to do that. It is unfortunate that is the case, given the loans are still being serviced.
The payments under the CAPEX and OPEX schemes are not for redundancy. CAPEX is for capital development and OPEX is to cover operating losses a company makes. Redundancy in private companies is not paid for by the State and the State does not provide redundancy payments in bodies it does not own. When it comes to redundancy, it must be paid by the company, or if the company becomes insolvent, by the Department of Social Protection under the scheme. Workers can be assured their statutory redundancy will be paid, although it may take some time for the payment to be processed either by the receivers or the Department of Social Protection, depending on how things spin out. Workers owed money or redundancy are first in line as preferential creditors, followed by the Revenue Commissioners and then other secured creditors.
How much of the money that has been taken by the bank is part of the CAPEX or OPEX grant that was paid by the State to the company? Does the State have any claim on that money?
Will the Minister outline the preferential creditor status again?
If the company is wound up, the first call goes to workers who are owed pay or redundancy, then the Revenue Commissioners and then other secured creditors.
The State has no claim on the money paid. It was paid to Galway Airport under the OPEX scheme to cover its operating losses, which were significant for the year. That is why the money was paid. Unfortunately, on top of that the airport had multimillion euro debts and the money appears not to be sufficient to cover those debts.