I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, for attending.
Adjournment Matters
Departmental Staff Redeployment
I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter, which arose as a result of media reportage that there is to be relocation of State jobs from the facility in Tubbercurry in County Sligo, which comprises civil servants from the Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government and Social Protection. Following media comments local councillor Jerry Lundy raised the issue on local and national media because he had been given to understand from those working in the facility that it is effectively going to be shut down and that all of the jobs in Tubbercurry will be transferred.
The background is that as Minister with responsibility for rural development in 2006, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív decentralised sections of the Department comprising 101 jobs to what was referred to as a temporary facility in Tubbercurry pending the building of a permanent facility at Charlestown, County Mayo. Naturally enough as time went on Tubbercurry became very comfortable with the notion it had so many State jobs, particularly as the area has a history of industrial production. The late James Gallagher, who was a Deputy for Sligo-Leitrim, created 450 jobs as a result of his entrepreneurial skills, with Basta locks being the best known product, but sadly this shut down. As Tubbercurry has a background of fruitful, positive and productive employment, one can understand the reaction when the news started to circulate in the area.
The Department of Social Protection has a number of jobs there, and the suggestion is these will be relocated to either Sligo or Carrick-on-Shannon, where Department of Social Protection offices operate. When I made inquiries the Department was unable to clarify exactly what the position is. Councillor Lundy and I are operating on rumour and hearsay. I have confirmed the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is being relocated. What will happen to the Department of Social Protection work force? It is important the staff are reassured, and it is for this reason I seek clarity on the situation, which I hope the Minister of State will be able to provide.
I thank the Senator for bringing this matter to my attention. I was not aware of it earlier. The Department of Social Protection has ten staff based in Government buildings on Teeling Street. Is the figure of 101 the total figure?
It was the original figure in 2006.
There are only ten departmental staff working there. The Department office in Teeling Street is not a public office, as the Senator is probably aware. It administrates the Gateway scheme, the rural social scheme, Tús and the community services programme. With 20% occupancy, the Department of Social Protection is the minor tenant in the building on Teeling Street and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is the major tenant. The Department of Social Protection has recently been advised of Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government plans to permanently relocate its staff from Tubbercurry in the short term.
The Department of Social Protection is examining potential alternative locations to which the work being undertaken by staff in Tubbercurry can be relocated. Locations in counties Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim are being explored but no decision has been made. The option will be available to staff based in Tubbercurry to move to the location to which the work is relocated, if they so wish. Every effort will be made to ensure that the staff located in Tubbercurry are accommodated with suitable alternative work locations. There will be no impact for customers as a result of the decision.
Inevitably the news was not going to be very good. Has any consideration been given to retaining the ten jobs in another location in Tubbercurry? They will be lost to the town. I understand it is possible, not only with regard to the Department of Social Protection but also the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, that there may be requests for transfers to other Departments in the region which would suit people. The town of Tubbercurry is losing valuable State jobs which will be exceptionally difficult to replace. The Minister of State spoke about options being available, but the impression I have from the response is the decision has been taken in principle to move the ten staff out of Tubbercurry and it is a question of where they will go. Perhaps the Minister of State will confirm this, but it seems to be the view. All I can do at this stage is plead on behalf of the people of Tubbercurry that perhaps the Department might consider retaining the ten jobs there in a smaller location, which I am sure would not be beyond the capacity of the Department to identify. I hope the reasons they must move out of Tubbercurry are not because of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, which is the anchor tenant in the modern and purpose-built building which will now be left completely vacant. Is there any hope for retaining the jobs in Tubbercurry?
I thank Senator Mooney for raising this issue. As I outlined in my initial response we are quite the minor tenant in the building. I will do my best to take on board the Senator's questions on whether there is a possibility and how far the decision-making process has gone. My concern is that the service provided by the staff will be maintained and that the current staff are treated in a proper manner. I have heard very clearly what the has said and will certainly explore in any way I can the alternatives he has pointed out to me.
Heritage Projects
I understand Senator Fidelma Healy Eames is sharing time.
Senator Susan O'Keeffe will probably take one minute of the time. She thought my matter was being taken after Senator Thomas Byrne's, as a result of which she has just left the House. Perhaps someone could give her a call.
She was here and saw that this was the third matter, but as the Minister of State who will take Senator Thomas Byrne's matter is not here, we are proceeding with this one.
That is not a problem. The Minister of State is very welcome.
We are facing into a wonderfully big year in celebrating the life of W. B. Yeats, as next year will be the 150th anniversary of his birth. My motion asks the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to ensure Fáilte Ireland would consider providing a licence for the Yeats Thoor Ballylee society, of which I am chair, to enable fund-raising to begin in order that Thoor Ballylee, the ancestral home of W. B. Yeats, can be opened in time for the anniversary of Yeats's 150th birthday in June 2015.
A year ago we set up this local committee and I was asked to chair it. It aims to celebrate the life of W. B. Yeats, specifically as it concerns Thoor Ballylee which is situated in south Galway, near Gort, Lady Gregory's Coole Park and the Kiltartan museum. That entire area is dedicated to the life of W. B. Yeats and the trials and tribulations of the man in south Galway. We set up this committee to reopen Thoor Ballylee because it was closed in 2009 after the flooding. It is now within the remit of Fáilte Ireland, which cannot afford to reopen or run it. However, it is on our committee and it is very committed to handing it over to a group such as Galway County Council in conjunction with ourselves, a community group. The newly named Yeats Thoor Ballylee society is made up of myself, Ronnie O'Gorman, who is the secretary, a number of local businessmen and real community activists, Fáilte Ireland, Galway County Council, and Galway Rural Development Company Limited. At our last meeting we had Senator Susan O'Keeffe visit, the national chair of Yeats's 150th birthday committee, and she knows what we are trying to achieve.
According to Fáilte Ireland, we need about €400,000 to reopen the monument. We have had it assessed by people in the know who would be tendering for this. They do not believe we need anything like that sum. I have just toured it and it is in great shape. It needs cleaning and maintenance. However, we do not dispute that money is needed, not just to open it, but to run it. We have umpteen offers of money from America, the UK and Ireland, but we cannot accept them unless we have a licence to run it. We are asking the Minister of State for a licence for one year to enable us to fund-raise in order that we can get past the 150th anniversary, have Thoor Ballylee open, not just for Ireland but for the world, and join Sligo in the overall picture for Yeats. We are quite convinced that we will hand back Thoor Ballylee to Fáilte Ireland, Galway County Council or whoever and that we will work with them in a community-based, linked initiative to ensure this is run. We have an army of people ready to do this. We are totally committed and I am delighted the Minister of State is here to listen to this discussion.
I thank Senator Fidelma Healy Eames. The Minster of State will be aware of the 150th anniversary celebrations and will know that we gave a commitment to the Taoiseach, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport that this would be a nationwide endeavour. People visiting from other places in the world do not care about the border between Galway and Sligo. They just want to go and see the places associated with Yeats. I support this request for Thoor Ballylee to be given into the care of the community for the year in order that we can open it in 2015 and allow people to come and enjoy the place as a beautiful place in its own right and as part of the Yeats story. In so doing, as well as raising the funding, the profile of the site will be raised and the tower will be restored for the nation and the world.
I thank both Senators. I am pleased to attend the Seanad to discuss the future of Thoor Ballylee and to hear from Senator Fidelam Healy Eames the progress that has been made locally to open Yeats's former home. As Senators will be aware from previous debates on this topic, Thoor Ballylee is the former holiday home of W. B. Yeats. He purchased the property in 1916 and it is only a few miles from Coole Park, the home of his life-long patron and friend, Lady Gregory. The tower house was given by Yeats's son, Michael Yeats, to Ireland west regional tourism authority, and it transferred to Fáilte Ireland in 2006 when the regional tourism authority was merged with Fáilte Ireland.
On taking over the regional tourism authority, Fáilte Ireland also took on the operation of the network of tourist information offices throughout the country. The management and staffing of these offices, their opening hours and their locations are a matter for Fáilte Ireland and its management. Given the pressures on the public finances and in response to changes in the needs of tourists, Fáilte Ireland, like many other State agencies, continues to reshape its services. It is also prioritising the locations where tourist information offices are provided. As part of this, Fáilte Ireland has been working in partnership with local communities. To date, approximately 40% of tourist information offices have been taken over by local authorities, chambers of commerce and community groups. Fáilte Ireland does not operate tourism attractions, and where it has inherited attractions, it has sought to dispose of its interest at an appropriate stage.
In respect of Thoor Ballylee, Senators will be aware that this area of Galway was badly affected by flooding in 2009. The tower house was badly damaged by this flooding and has been closed ever since. In 2012, Fáilte Ireland spent €200,000 in weatherproofing the building and protecting its fabric, and further works will be required if the building is to open again. However, this future investment would not represent value for money for Fáilte Ireland. This is because the number of visitors who sought tourist information when the house was open was too small to justify spending scarce resources on reopening the building as a tourist information office. In that light, Fáilte Ireland has been exploring other options for its future operations and seeking the involvement of interested parties to operate the tower house. I contacted Fáilte Ireland yesterday regarding the Yeats Thoor Ballylee society, and I understand the agency has written today to say that it is agreeable to granting the society a licence subject to clarification of a number of issues. I encourage the society to work with Fáilte Ireland and I wish it the best of luck. I hope we have a very successful outcome.
I am very grateful to the Minister of State. This is good news. It is the first day of the new term of Seanad Éireann, the House in which W. B. Yeats served from 1922 to 1928 and in which his son served subsequently. This is a great way to honour his memory. I have been feeling quite unwell all day but suddenly I am feeling great. I appreciate this because it is the way things should proceed. I thank Senator Susan O'Keeffe for supporting this request also. Together we can move this forward.
In addition, we commit on behalf of Yeats 2015 that it is to be a national and international celebration. We would love to see the numbers for Thoor Ballylee increase as the current numbers are too small for Fáilte Ireland to do the work itself. We hope that in two, three, or five years time this will change, as we make it part of the Yeats story. We are all delighted with that news and I thank Senator Fidelma Healy Eames for her support.
I am pleased because this is important work, coming at an important time in the history of our country. My family has taken its part in the foundation of this state, my grand-uncle having died fighting for the Free State side in 1921, and so I am pleased that this happened today. I wish Senator Suan O'Keeffe well. I know that she has a difficult job to do and hope that she will receive the support she deserves.
Defence Forces Retirement Scheme
The next matter has been raised by Senator Thomas Byrne. I welcome the Government Chief Whip, Minister of State at the Department of Defence, Deputy Paul Kehoe.
Go raibh maith agat as ucht an deis a thabhairt dom an t-ábhar tábhachtach seo a léiriú sa Seanad anocht. I am grateful for the opportunity to raise the issue of the 1994 Defence Forces contract, which is like a train coming down the tracks at many members of the Defence Forces.
Approximately 124 members of the Defence Forces were recruited in 1994 and will be summarily dismissed in April next year because of a contract from 1994 which sets a maximum service limit of 21 years for private and corporal personnel. I believe the upper service limit should be greatly increased, for which the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, has also advocated, subject to the necessary medical and fitness tests. The future employment prospects of many of the people concerned who have done the State great service would be quite poor. There would also be a significant additional cost to the State next year in terms of the modest gratuities and pensions that would have to be paid out, as well as the probable costs of hiring new members of the Defence Forces.
I have met members of the families of the Defence Forces members affected by this contract and they are very distressed. They do not see any rational reason for this and would be grateful if the Government should consider opening up this issue and changing it because it is an unfair and indeed disastrous situation for them to be in. It does not do them or the State any good. I appeal to the Minister of State to say this will be changed by next April, or that there are significant moves afoot to enable it to change at this time.
I thank the Senator for raising this issue. The Minister for Defence, Deputy Simon Coveney, sends his apologies for his absence and would like to advise the Senator that he will be taking questions on the issue tomorrow morning in the Dáil.
I will commence by outlining the background to the present upper service limits applicable to personnel who enlisted in the Permanent Defence Forces, PDF, post-1 January 1994. Due to the robust nature of many military operations and their attendant physical training regimes, personnel are exposed to a unique range of challenging environments. In these circumstances, it is vital that the age and health profile of personnel be such as to ensure that operational capability and effectiveness are not compromised. In 1990, the Gleeson Commission commented on the unsatisfactory age and fitness profile of the PDF. Thereafter, an in-depth study of the Defence Forces by Price Waterhouse Consultants in 1994, commissioned by the Efficiency Audit Group, EAG, expressed severe criticism of the age profile of the Defence Forces.
The EAG's report was accepted by the then Government in 1995. It reflected the serious concerns which the military authorities had held for a number of years in relation to the age profile of the Defence Forces. The present terms of enlistment for general service recruits arose from the criticism in the EAG Report. One of the key areas identified for urgent action by the EAG was the development of a manpower policy with an emphasis on lowering the age profile of PDF personnel. In an effort to alleviate the situation, the Government had already decided in 1993 to enlist personnel on a five year contract basis, following consultation with PDFORRA.
In 1997 an agreement was reached with PDFORRA on a new manpower policy for the Defence Forces. This policy, applying to personnel enlisted after 1 January 1994, provided that service for private soldiers would initially be for five years with the option of being extended to a maximum of 12 years, subject to meeting standards of mental and physical fitness and conduct. Longer periods of service were envisaged for non-commissioned officers.
In 2004, PDFORRA submitted a claim under the conciliation and arbitration scheme for a further review of the terms of service applying to personnel enlisting in the PDF after 1 January 1994. A set of criteria was agreed with PDFORRA to provide longer careers for those who enlisted post-1 January 1994 while continuing to address the Government's objective of having an appropriate age profile to meet the challenges of a modern Defence Force. The criteria require that any person re-engaging after 12 years service must be able to continue to operate at their current level both at home and overseas on an ongoing basis. Re-engagement is subject to the individual soldier meeting specified criteria in regard to physical fitness, medical category, successful completion of military courses of instruction, service overseas and conduct ratings. The maximum service period for these personnel is as follows: enlisted personnel, up to and including the rank of corporal (and equivalent Naval Service rank), may not serve beyond 21 years service; enlisted personnel, in the rank of sergeant (and equivalent Naval Service rank), may be permitted to continue in service up to the age of fifty years; and enlisted personnel in all higher ranks may serve to the age of 56 years.
As military life places unique physical and psychological demands on individuals it is necessary that members of the PDF be physically and mentally prepared to meet the challenges of all military operations and be in a position to undertake their duties on deployment overseas. In these circumstances it is vital that the age and health profile of personnel be such as to ensure operational capability and effectiveness are not compromised. As such, in order to maintain the age profile of the Defence Forces to carry out the operational tasks required by Government, it is necessary to have a constant input of recruits into the Defence Forces. The maximum age for personnel who have enlisted in the PDF post-1 January 1994 provides the mechanism through which a satisfactory age profile can be achieved.
With the approach of 2015 the first effects of the agreement, whereby privates and corporals may not serve beyond 21 years, will be felt by PDF members in those ranks. A claim has been received from PDFORRA for a further review in regard to this matter. In accordance with normal industrial relations procedures, the claim by PDFORRA is being dealt with under the conciliation and arbitration scheme for members of the PDF. I understand discussions have been taking place with PDFORRA under a special sub-committee of conciliation council. As discussions are confidential to the parties involved in accordance with the terms of the scheme, I do not in any way want to prejudice them or impact on their outcome. However, in dealing with this issue the manpower and operational needs of the Defence Forces must be the primary consideration. The need for continuing recruitment to the Defence Forces of young, fit men and women, in order that the Defence Forces can discharge all the roles assigned to them by Government, both at home and overseas, is an issue of which I need to be cognisant. It was for this reason that this policy was introduced in the first place.
I understand the concerns this matter raises for enlisted personnel due to be discharged, and their families. I am sure all matters raised during the discussions taking place with PDFORRA are being comprehensively examined as part of the discussions at conciliation council. I would not like to pre-empt or second-guess the outcome of current discussions at conciliation council and it would be totally inappropriate for me to comment publicly on the matter at this time.
Does the Minister have any idea as to when the conciliation process will conclude?
The process is under way and I expect that it will take approximately eight weeks to complete. We may not have a final decision at this stage, but I hope that in eight weeks time we will have some decision, as I know that this is a matter of concern both for the officers concerned and their families, as we are rapidly approaching early 2015, when they are due to be discharged. I hope the Department, the military authorities and PDFORRA can work together in the conciliation process.
I thank the Minister of State for attending and I Senator Thomas Byrne for raising the matter.
The Seanad adjourned at 8.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 18 September 2014.