Commencement Matters

Swimming Pool Programme Status

Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Helen McEntee, to the House. As evidenced from the wording of this commencement matter, the town of Balbriggan has no swimming pool. According to the latest census data, Balbriggan town and its environs has a population of approximately 26,000 and is growing rapidly. I am sure the next census will show a huge increase in that population. Also, it is a very young population.

In 2006, An Bord Pleanála approved a plan for the public swimming pool to be built on a site located at Balbriggan Rugby Club. In 2014, this was put out to tender but there has been no progress since. I hope the Minister of State will be able to provide me with an update on the results of the tender process in 2014. For a population of this size not to have access to a swimming pool in the town is not good enough. Swimming lessons are seen as a core part of the primary and second school curriculum. Children living in Balbriggan cannot easily access swimming lessons, which is a real shame. Many schools have to travel long distances to access a swimming pool and swimming lessons, which has a knock-on effect on parents in terms of the cost of providing buses and so on. It is also taking time out of the school day which teachers could be using to teach other core parts of the curriculum.

I have spoken with many local parents who have children with learning difficulties, ADHD and autism, who would benefit greatly from aqua-therapies, but the benefit they would receive would be outweighed by the travel involved in getting to swimming pools located a far distance from Balbriggan and so there is no point doing it. In my opinion, it is an absolute disgrace that the children of Balbriggan with special needs cannot access these very beneficial therapies. Older people can also benefit from aqua therapy and aqua aerobics but these therapies need to be provided within their community.

I ask that the Minister of State outline what plans are in place and, if any are in place, if they can be fast-tracked.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Helen McEntee)

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I agree that there are significant benefits for young and old people alike using a swimming pool. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, is unable to be here today due to prior commitments and he has asked me to respond on his behalf. While I may not be able to answer all of the Senator's queries, I will certainly try to do so.

As the Senator is aware, the local authority swimming pool programme, as administered by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, provides grant aid towards the capital cost of new public swimming pools or the refurbishment of existing public swimming pools. The programme provides for maximum grant aid of €3.8 million per project. There are four principal stages which must be undertaken by a local authority in developing a swimming pool project. These are preliminary report, including the feasibility study; contract documents; tender stage; and construction stage.

The Department's technical adviser evaluates each stage and local authorities may not proceed to the next stage of a project until prior approval issues from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

I will now give the Senator an outline of what has happened in the past in the provision of a swimming pool in the Fingal area. A proposal for a new pool in Skerries, County Dublin was originally included in the 2000 round of the programme and the Department approved the preliminary report in January 2001. However, as no contract documents or tender report were ever received for a pool in Skerries, the grant was not approved for that particular project. The Skerries project was planned as a public private partnership, PPP, between a private developer and Fingal County Council. In March 2009 the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport received a letter from Fingal County Council stating the proposal had been terminated owing to difficulties with the residential element of the proposed scheme. It also stated the new priority for Fingal County Council was locating a pool in Balbriggan in preference to the original location in Skerries.

In April 2009 Fingal County Council forwarded a preliminary report on the new pool proposal in Balbriggan. The proposal was for Balbriggan Rugby Football Club, in conjunction with a private swimming pool operator, to build a swimming pool on the club's grounds at Balrothery. The pool would be managed by the swimming pool operator who would also put finance in place for the development of the project. The estimated cost of the project was €8 million which would be financed by €750,000 from Fingal County Council and €2.5 million under the local authority swimming pool programme, LASPP, with the balance to be provided by the swimming pool operator.

The Office of Public Works approved the preliminary report on the pool in Balbriggan in May 2009, subject to a minor modification and the local authority and the Department being satisfied that the tender process would be transparent and fair. The council was also asked to consider issues of procurement and State aid to a private operator and to ensure all relevant EU directives would be adhered to in the public procurement process. It is understood that, owing to difficulties in adhering to these requirements, there was no further progress on the project on the Balbriggan site. Accordingly, in January 2016, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport wrote to Fingal County Council raising concerns about the delay and asking the council to consider withdrawing the project from the LASPP. The letter stated that if Fingal County Council agreed to the withdrawal of the Balbriggan swimming pool project from the LASPP, it might be possible for the council or Balbriggan Rugby Football Club to receive a sports capital grant allocation instead. Fingal County Council agreed to the voluntary withdrawal of the Balbriggan project from the programme and the Department formally notified the council of its removal in April 2016. Fingal County Council subsequently applied for a special sports capital grant allocation for Balbriggan Rugby Football Club. This must meet all of the usual terms and conditions of the sports capital programme and is capped at €500,000. I understand the application is being considered by the Department.

The Senator should note that of the four local authorities contacted in 2016, three agreed to the voluntary withdrawal of pool projects from the programme. The projects remaining in the current programme are those in Dunmanway, Castlebar, Buncrana, Edenderry and Lucan, each of which is at various stages. The priority for 2017 is progressing the aforementioned projects through the next stages, as appropriate.

On the future funding of swimming pools, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport is undertaking a review of national sports policy which includes a specific focus on how the Government should fund sports facilities, including swimming pools, in the years ahead. Furthermore, as part of the Department's submission as part of the mid-term capital plan review, additional funding has been sought for large-scale sports infrastructure, including swimming pools. If this funding is received, it will allow consideration to be given to new projects. It will be open to all local authorities, including Fingal County Council, to submit an application under the terms that will apply.

I again thank the Senator for raising this issue and reiterate the Government's commitment to improving the stock of all sports facilities across the country. I also apologise again on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan.

Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, in the context of the aforementioned review of the national sports policy, to prioritise large population centres such as Balbriggan. The population is increasing in both Balbriggan and surrounding areas. Population growth should be written into any new policy. I look forward to making a submission on behalf of Fingal as part of the national review.

Deputy Helen McEntee

In that context, the Senator should note that the consultation process was launched last year by the Minister, Deputy Shane Ross, and the Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, and that the Department has already received 53 submissions from a variety of stakeholders, including non-governmental bodies, local sports partnerships, LSPs, Departments, private individuals and the corporate sector. I assume that Members or other representatives from the local area have also made submissions. While the submissions received deal with a wide range of topics, the issues of increasing participation levels, the strategic allocation of facilities, cross-sectoral co-operation and funding for sports are a particular focus across the board.

The submissions touched on many of the issues raised by the Senator. The policy framework will set out the approach the Government will use in the future. It will look at the economy, education, health, tourism and other areas touched on by the Senator. Perhaps I might get the Minister to update her on where we are with the review and provide her with all possible information.

Rural Development Policy

An Cathaoirleach

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney.

Senator James Reilly

I, too, welcome the Minister. I come from a rural part of Fingal which has a large rural catchment area which includes the villages of Ballyboughal, Naul, Oldtown, Garristown, Rolestown, Corduff, Lusk and Walshestown, as well as other rural areas near the towns of Skerries, Rush, Swords and Balbriggan. A recent European Court of Justice ruling appears to affect the right to planning permission in those areas and other counties. I understand the court has ruled that under the principle of free movement of people within the European Union, it is no longer valid or acceptable to restrict planning permission in rural areas to locals and to insist that those to whom planning permission to construct houses will be granted should live in these houses for seven to ten years. All of these restrictions seem to have been struck down by the court's ruling. The seven-year residential rule was introduced to ensure local people with genuine housing needs could receive planning permission in rural areas with which they had extended family ties.

As I have not seen a copy of the ruling of the European Court of Justice that has been mentioned in the media, I am relying on recent reports in The Sunday Business Post that have referred to concerns in this respect. When I looked at the Fingal development plan map yesterday, I counted 26 areas that had been designated as rural clusters. Only locals can apply for planning permission in areas with such a designation. The 26 designated areas of various sizes, from five to possibly 25 houses, must all be in doubt because of the ruling of the European Court of Justice. Who can obtain planning permission in these areas? We need clarity on the issue as soon as possible. Under the Fingal rural housing policy, planning permission for close family members is restricted to two family members in the case of farm families and to one family member in the case of local dwellers who are not farmers. The ruling of the European Court of Justice has happened and is in place. My understanding is the Government and the local authorities must recognise the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and take the ruling into account.

What is the current position on the various categories under which the granting of planning permission is possible? Farm families and families living in rural areas might not be able to raise the finance required to construct family homes in their localities if there is a doubt about the legality of their ability to obtain planning permission, or about the legality of planning permission they have already received. We need clarity and a direction on these issues in order that we will have a fair, reasonable and practical rural housing policy in place that will protect the countryside, while allowing farm families and families living in rural areas to obtain planning permission. This is very important from the point of view of maintaining rural communities and the extended family. It gives people the capacity to remain in their homes, while being supported by the following generation and supporting them in raising their kids.

I look forward to the Minister's reply. I hope he will be able to assure my constituents that there will be clarity and fairness under rural housing policies as they affect many counties, including Fingal.

Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Deputy Simon Coveney)

I thank the Senator for raising this matter and welcome the opportunity to provide an update on the review of the 2005 planning guidelines for sustainable rural housing which is being undertaken. As the Senator suggests, the review arises from a judgment of the European Court of Justice in 2013 in a case taken by the European Commission against Belgium, now referred to as the Flemish decree case. As Senators will be aware, the 2005 rural housing guidelines require planning authorities to frame the planning policies in their development plans in a balanced and measured way to ensure the housing needs of rural communities will be met, while avoiding excessive urban-generated housing and haphazard development, particularly in areas near cities and towns that are under pressure from urban-generated development.

The guidelines further aim to ensure that sites being developed for rural housing are suitable with regard to vehicular access and wastewater disposal, and also from landscape and design perspectives. In this regard, the guidelines suggest a number of criteria to be taken into account in local authority development plans for the purpose of assessing whether planning applications for rural housing are intended to meet a rural generated housing need. These "local needs" criteria in the guidelines primarily relate to requiring planning applicants to have a family or an occupational tie to the rural area in question.

The European Commission originally issued an infringement notice against Ireland in respect of the rural housing guidelines in 2007 which was subsequently deferred pending the outcome of the European Court of Justice, ECJ, "Flemish Decree" case against Belgium. The decree linked the transfer of property in certain Flemish communes to the condition that there should exist a sufficient connection between the prospective property buyer and the relevant commune, which had the practical effect of precluding non-locals from purchasing property in the Flemish communes in question. The court ruled that the Flemish decree constituted an unjustified restriction on fundamental freedoms under the EU treaty, in particular that it breached Article 43 of the treaty on the free movement of citizens. Following engagement between the European Commission and my Department on the 2005 rural housing guidelines since the court ruling, planning authorities are being consulted about making changes to the 2005 guidelines to ensure that rural housing policies and objectives contained in county development plans comply with Article 43 of the treaty on the freedom of movement of citizens. As part of this consultation, a working group comprising representatives of my Department and planning authorities has been established to review and, where necessary, recommend changes to the 2005 guidelines. The group is due to hold its first meeting next week.

On conclusion of the group's review and consultations with the planning authorities, my Department will engage with the European Commission on proposed changes to the guidelines, with a view to issuing revised guidelines to planning authorities in due course, and which will likely be issued in the form of a circular letter to planning authorities. When finalised, the revised guidelines will be issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and planning authorities, and where appropriate, An Bord Pleanála, will be required to have regard to the revised guidelines in the performance of their statutory functions under the planning Act. Pending the completion of the working group's deliberations, which it is intended will be concluded in the latter half of the year, the existing 2005 guidelines remain in place.

Senator James Reilly

I thank the Minister for his reply and for his genuine and committed approach to the housing situation we find ourselves in. I certainly do not wish to promote a free for all. We do not want ribbon development all over Fingal or the rest of the country with the demand for services to follow, and we do not want to see scenic areas ruined. There is, however, a big problem which has created a lot of anxiety among people in my area who have approached me because they are struggling to get permissions. We all know how difficult it is to get finance and if there is a question over the validity of the ongoing permission, the banks will not be too keen to lend. I welcome the Minister's response and beseech him to ensure that the council authorities engage with the councillors. This issue has exercised them, particularly the councillors in Fingal, Councillor O'Leary and others.

Deputy Simon Coveney

I thank the Senator for raising this serious issue. It comes on the back of an ECJ judgment, connected with Article 43 of the treaties which allow free movement across the European Union, EU, and the freedom to live in the EU. We are considering that judgment. We have a working group to study the requirements and restrictions that are in place at the moment for good reason, to try to ensure that we allow people to live in rural areas who have a connection with those areas, through work, family or the period of time they have lived there or some other necessity where a case can be made. We have all been involved in those cases, particularly those of us who know rural Ireland well.

We need to have a set of guidelines that protect rural Ireland by ensuring appropriate development, while at the same time ensuring the kind of thinking we have had in the past can be facilitated in the context of a court ruling based on a case in Belgium. That is a big priority for me in the context of how we see rural Ireland develop in the future, how we try to encourage communities to develop as collectives within towns and villages in rural Ireland while at the same time recognise that there will always be a demand and a need for some one-off housing. That is part of the national planning framework, which will be concluded at around the same time as these guidelines are finalised. I will keep the House and the Senators up to date on the work of that working group so that people know where they stand in the context of county development plans.

Prescriptions Charges

Senator Maria Byrne

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, to the House and thank him for coming in. I know of his special interest in people with disabilities. I will go backwards to come forwards and refer to the over 70s prescription charges which came into effect on 1 April. It has been a great success story. I met recently with the families of young adults with disabilities, and I will give a particular example of a family I was speaking to. Their young son is blind and has severe disabilities connected with his blindness. He has to live in a specialised care home because of the severity of his difficulties. He gets the blind pension of €188 a week. He pays approximately €90 in rent, and once his other commitments are deducted, he finds it hard to meet the €25 a month limit for his prescription charges. A number of families raised the fact that the over 70s reduction of 50 cent has made a huge difference to people over 70. Could it be looked at for people with severe disabilities? That slight reduction would help to alleviate the difficulties around the payout they have to make every month. The young man who I am referring to is restricted in many of the things he can do, but he likes to go to the gym. He has to pay his gym membership out of that €188 a week he receives. By the time all the payments are made he is dependent on his family for other payments and commitments. It is time that we started looking at small things which would help to make a difference to the lives of people, especially those with difficulties and disabilities.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Finian McGrath)

I thank Senator Maria Byrne for raising this very important issue. As the Senator said, I am well aware of the costs to many families, particularly families with children and young adults with disabilities. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris.

This Government is committed in A Programme for Partnership Government to reducing the costs of medicines for all our citizens. This has already been addressed through a range of measures, including significant price reductions and the greater use of reference pricing and generic substitution. The prescription charge for medical card holders was introduced in 2010. The purpose of the charge was to address rising costs in the medical card scheme. I do not need to remind Senators of the extraordinary financial pressures we faced at that particular time, including the need to control health costs.

The current charge of €2.50 per item with a monthly cap of €25 per family applies to all medical card patients, unless they are exempted. Specific patient groups may be exempted, where not to charge that group is just and equitable, having regard to defined criteria. To date, there are exemptions for children in State care, methadone patients, asylum seekers in direct provision and refugees in emergency reception and accommodation centres.

With regard to varying the charge for specific groups, until this year the same charge applied to all non-exempted medical card patients. However, in March the Government reduced the charge for medical card holders aged 70 and over to €2 per item, with a monthly cap of €20 per card holder and dependants. Over 70s medical card holders use on average more than three and a half times more prescription items than other medical card holders. As their medical needs and their financial burden are greater than most medical card holders, directing the resources available in 2017 in this way is also just, equitable and in line with Government policy to reduce the cost of medicines to patients within, of course, the resources available.

Some 330,000 medical card holders, including many people with disabilities, benefit from this measure. A total of €10 million has been provided for this measure in 2017 and the full year cost is expected to be €12 million. The reduction in the charge for over 70s required primary legislation. Any variation in the charge for another group would also require legislation and would have to consider, among other things, the medical needs of and the financial burden on the specific group of people and the need to control health spending. In other words, the needs of any particular group with medical cards would have to be considered against those of other medical card holders, as well as overall health resources. This Government will continue to address its commitment to reduce the cost of medicines. As part of this commitment, the Minister will consider any future changes to the prescription charge in the context of the implementation of that commitment, the health and financial implications for any, for all or for particular patients and the best use of available health funding.

Senator Maria Byrne

I thank the Minister of State for his response. While I understand exactly what he is saying - I believe he is saying that it will be considered down the line - one group that needs to be looked at is young adults who have to live in care and are on the minimum amount of money they can receive. There are many outgoings and a burden is placed on the family. I implore the Minister of State to look at these vulnerable young adults who have a disability and are on a very limited income and ask him to ensure that the prescription charges for them are reduced in the next round.

Deputy Finian McGrath

When the Senator talks about the young adult in specialised care who is also blind, of course I understand the considerable pressure that he is under to live on €188 per week and within the €25 limit per month. I will personally push this issue with the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris. As I said in the response, it will be considered. I believe it is an urgent and genuine issue. We have to look seriously at the cost of medicines, particularly for vulnerable people in society. That is something I will raise with the Minister. If the Senator wants to send me specific details of that case, I will see what I can do on that as well.

Sitting suspended at 3.05 p.m. and resumed at 3.30 p.m.

Seanad Éireann debate - Tuesday, 9 May 2017