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Seanad Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 19 Jun 2018

Vol. 258 No. 11

Commencement Matters

Home Care Packages

The Minister of State, Deputy John Paul Phelan, is very welcome.

A Leas-Chathaoirligh, thank you for selecting this important matter. The Minister of State is welcome. I know he will not be surprised when I say I would be happier if the line Minister, either the Minister for Health or the Minister of State with responsibility for this issue, was here but I have no doubt he will relay to them the seriousness of this situation. Basically, I am asking that the Minister for Health immediately require the HSE and the CHO area 2 to address and make right the delays that have been experienced by people who have been approved home care packages, but to date have not received them.

A far as I can ascertain, this is going on since May. Quite a number of families and constituents have been in contact with me who are in a terrible situation. What has happened is that people have been approved as needing home care and needing the support to live in their homes. They have been sent a letter saying they have been approved, but that they are on a waiting list. That is not much good to somebody who is in a hospital, taking up a bed and who is fit to be discharged. That is the case in Ballina, Swinford and Belmullet district hospitals, which to a greater or lesser extent operate as step-down facilities for Mayo University Hospital, which is an acute hospital. That is adding to delays in patients being discharged from Mayo University Hospital and is at great expense to the State.

We gave a commitment to people, and it is an aspiration of our Government, that those who want to stay at home should be supported in their bid to do so. That is not happening here and it is unacceptable. How long will these patients have to wait with a letter in their hand? How long will they have to be taking up hospital beds or are we directing them into nursing homes? That would appear to be the only other option, that they go into a nursing home. Hard-pressed families are trying to cope with a situation where it has been clearly identified that help is needed.

We are half way through the year. How can the budget be spent? How can they be told there are no resources when we are only half way though the year? If nothing else, I would like a clear answer to the following question. How has the budget for CHO area 2 been spent? It is being divided between Mayo, Roscommon and Galway. What is the priority? What home care packages are being provided and when will more resources be given? How is the HSE managing the situation?

I raise this matter as a last resort. I have been raising cases since the beginning of May on behalf of individuals who are stuck and are in terrible situations. It is not on as far as I am concerned.

This is not the first time this has happened. It happened about a year or 18 months ago. What was revealed at that time was that the money was being spent on University Hospital Galway, UHG. Nobody needs to be a genius to know that UHG is in the news every other day for its trolley count. Priority is being given to shifting patients off trolleys and moving them on from beds within UHG to the detriment of Mayo patients. Mayo has one of the most aged populations in the country. Our aged and older people need care. This is not on and I would like to get some answers today about what the HSE is not providing. I would like somebody in the HSE to be held to account for what is going on.

I am a public representative. Public representatives should be entitled to information in a timely manner so at least constituents can know some answers are being given within a system. I have no confidence in the way things are being conducted at the moment in the area I live in.

I thank Senator Mulherin for raising the matter. The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, was unavailable hence my presence here. It is a serious issue.

The overarching policy of the Government is to support older people to live in dignity and independence in their homes and communities for as long as possible. Home care is an increasingly important part of the supports for enabling older people to remain at home and for facilitating their discharge from acute hospitals. The HSE has operational responsibility for planning, managing and delivering home and other community-based services for older people. Services are provided on the basis of assessed healthcare need. This year the HSE has moved to a single home support service combining home help and home care packages into a single service, the home support services for older people.

Home support services were a particular focus of budget 2018. An additional €18.25 million was allocated. The resources available in 2018 bring the total budget for the direct provision of services to €418 million. The HSE's national service plan provides for a target of €17.094 million home support hours to 50,500 people. A further initiative saw 324 people being provided with home support services following this winter's adverse weather conditions.

The demand for home supports continues to grow in parallel with the increasing number of older people. Many more of our older people with complex care needs are now being maintained at home, leading to increased demand for additional levels of service and for services outside of core hours Monday to Friday.

Arrangements for home care have developed over the years with a significant local focus and there is considerable variation in access to services in different parts of the country. It is also accepted there is considerable demand for home support services over and above existing service levels.

Since 2016, home support in CHO area 2 has been allocated based on prioritised needs of assessed applicants. Since the introduction of the prioritisation system, Mayo has had an increased budget with a corresponding reduction in other parts of the CHO area, particularly in Galway. In March 2018, the last month for which figures are available, Mayo had an over-expenditure of 4.2% on its budget.

The overall budget for CHO area 2 in 2018 is €43.2 million, an increase on both 2016 and 2017. The budget is broken down as follows: Galway, which has 52% of clients has a 56% share of the budget; Mayo has 30% of clients and 29% of the budget; and Roscommon has 18% of clients and 15% of the budget.

As I have said, the demand for home support continues to exceed supply. Those with the highest priority have home support implemented, while those on a lower priority are put on a waiting list. Ongoing measures to maximise the available budget, together with financial support for winter access measures have resulted in additional funding availability. Consequently, a process began in late-April to allocate home support to those on the waiting list.

Those responsible in CHO area 2 are conscious of the significant number of applicants on the home support waiting list. The waiting list includes both those waiting on new services and those awaiting additional hours, with approximately one third awaiting additional hours and two thirds awaiting a new service. When care was offered to those on the waiting list, approximately one third declined the offer. CHO area 2 has, therefore, commenced a process to validate the waiting list. It is envisaged that this process, together with the release of hours from the available budget, will see a noticeable reduction in waiting lists, including in County Mayo, over the coming months.

I ask that the HSE in CHO area 2 is made to answer public representatives who contact them in a timely manner. I do not think six to eight weeks is satisfactory, especially when there is still no answer for people. It is wrong. How will this be addressed? If we have people in a district hospital step-down facility or in an acute facility in Mayo general hospital, how much more is it costing the State? How will this be addressed? I do not think what the Minister of State has said addressed it. Is the idea that when somebody dies people on the waiting list will take over that person's hours? In the case of Mayo an awful lot of the clients and people who have been approved are older people. I understand people other than older people require home care packages.

People in recovery from conditions, illnesses or accidents may also need this help. We are pushing these older people into nursing homes at extra expense. I know we have our hospitals, but then we have people on trolleys. Something needs to be done and I think much more digging needs to be done. The HSE would want to pull up its socks and start dealing with public representatives.

I will certainly ask the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, about it. The Senator is right. Members of the public who come to any politician deserve to know what the situation is when they are on a list like that. Across CHO areas there is a wide variation in responsiveness. It is not acceptable that people would wait for eight weeks. I will bring that in the strongest terms to the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly.

The issue with the list in CHO area 2 seems to be that circumstances have changed substantially, maybe because the list has been in existence for such a period of time. The initial work on the validation process would indicate that the list will be shortened as a result. In addition, the HSE maintains the release of hours from the available budget will see a noticeable reduction in the coming months in County Mayo.

I will certainly bring back the Senator's issue about timely answers.

Homeless Persons Data

As of April there were 924 homeless people aged between 18 and 24 according to figures from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. We know that youth homelessness can be subject to substantial underestimation as young people are more likely to stay with family and relatives in situations of hidden homelessness.

The quantitative research on the causes of youth homelessness is quite robust. However, smaller-scale qualitative research which could reveal the scale of LGBT homelessness is quite limited. Numerous countries around the world are showing worrying trends that LGBT youth are, and historically have been, disproportionately more vulnerable to homelessness. There is a growing consensus across the homelessness-research literature that LGBTQI young people are over-represented in homeless youth populations.

Studies in the US indicate that about 40% of young people who access homeless services identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or intersex. A recent study in the UK found that a quarter of young homeless people are LGBT. If these figures are in any way replicated in this State, our responses should meet the needs of LGBTQI homeless. An Albert Kennedy Trust report found that 69% of young LGBT people reported that parental rejection was a reason for their homelessness. Our current responses are not set up to deal with these kinds of issues or give the kind of support and intervention that the Albert Kennedy Trust and the Purple Door in Britain offer.

The State needs data on LGBT homelessness; only then can targeted responses follow. The lack of data collection also means that young LGBT people are relatively invisible to most housing and homeless services and staff. This can leave them vulnerable to prejudice or abuse in emergency accommodation settings and has therefore led to a higher number of LGBT youth sleeping rough in other jurisdictions.

Focus Ireland has taken the lead in this issue. I commend its work and that of BeLonG To which are undertaking research into the issue. However, we will not be able to track homeless LGBT figures unless we collect the data on Pathway Accommodation and Support System, PASS, intake forms. Inevitably that comes to the Department's responsibility. Has the Government considered data collection on LGBTQI homelessness through PASS? What are the plans to address the issues?

I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. It used to be called an Adjournment Debate in my day.

Addressing homelessness is an absolute priority for the Government. Rebuilding Ireland, the Government's Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, contains a wide range of measures which are being delivered. Ultimately, to fully address homelessness requires continued increases in the supply of new houses, particularly social housing. In this regard, the Government is determined to increase the stock of social housing by 50,000 homes by 2021, with over €6 billion ring-fenced to achieve this. More than 19,000 households had their social housing needs met in 2016. This increased significantly last year, when almost 26,000 such supports were delivered. The 2018 target is to deliver a similar level of tenancies via social housing supports. The level of funding available to local authorities has also increased to ensure they are in a position to provide effective supports and assistance to those who find themselves in need of emergency accommodation. In 2018, a budget of €116 million was provided by the Government for homelessness services. This was an increase of 18% on the 2017 allocation.

Despite the high levels of homelessness, results are being achieved. While the numbers remain very high, 2,080 families exited hotels last year and more than 4,700 individuals exited homeless emergency accommodation generally. We are also seeing progress in reducing the numbers of individuals rough-sleeping, with the latest count in April showing a large reduction since the previous count in November 2017. Over 200 permanent new beds were put in place before the end of 2017, with a further 40 beds introduced following Storm Emma earlier this year. The Pathway Accommodation & Support System, PASS, is a case management system which allows front-line staff in local authorities to register service users and provide them with the supports they require while accessing services. It also acts as the source of all statistical information that is used when reporting on homelessness, such as the Department's monthly homelessness report. This report delivers information on the number of persons accessing emergency accommodation in a given survey week, broken down by location, gender, age and accommodation type.

Data protection legislation provides robust protections to individuals, and the core principle of data minimisation ensures that an organisation can collect no information on a person beyond that which is required to carry out its explicit function. It would be inappropriate for a user of emergency accommodation to be asked to provide information concerning his or her sexual orientation. Accordingly, the Department does not collate data in this regard, but I am satisfied that the range of services in place to respond to homelessness can address the needs of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation.

Furthermore, in response to Senator Warfield's points, I do not have information to contradict or to affirm his statement that around the world LGBTQI people are more prone to homelessness, although I think most of us, if we thought about the matter, would see that there is a logic to the argument he makes. They possibly are more prone to homelessness. Those data are not available in Ireland, and I really do not think it would be appropriate for local authorities to know who the gay people and the straight people are on their housing lists.

The Senator spoke about Focus Ireland. In possible answer to his question, while people have a right to their own privacy, I am sure there must be a method to ascertain a breakdown, in consultation with some of the agencies that deal with homeless people, and on the basis of anonymity, of the number of LGBTQI people on homelessness lists. While the official Government response, which I would defend to the hilt, is that local authorities should have no right to know someone's sexual orientation, I believe there is a method by which the Department might be able to fund some of the agencies that deal with homeless people to ascertain a breakdown of that figure while maintaining people's right to privacy.

It is all very disappointing. It would certainly be an appropriate measure if the figures are correct. It is done elsewhere. It would be an optional preference that people would make to disclose their sexuality. It would allow the State to target responses at specific areas. I have met Irish people in London who talk about coming out and telling their family and it having been the end of the road. They go to London, and that is that. We are talking about an apology to the LGBT community being made tonight. These are the kinds of actions that will change the lived experiences of people in Ireland.

The evidence is so overwhelming and the issue is so alarming that it should be an initiative taken on by the Government. It is appropriate that we ask people this type of information on intake forms. What we need to know is what comes back from the Focus Ireland report and its work with BeLonG To. I have to say the response is quite disappointing. I acknowledge there is some interest from the Minister of State and the Department in continuing this conversation after the report. Is that fair to say?

I understand the Senator's position, and perhaps this is the difference between our points of view. I really do not think any Government agency should know whether somebody is gay or straight or not, but I think we can address the issue. It would serve no purpose as an optional question on the form. It would not be an indication as to the amount of LGBTQI people who are homeless. Is there a way of using the agencies' expertise in dealing with homeless people and ascertaining on a confidential basis the proportion of homeless people in any given local authority area who are LGBTQI? I am one of those who believes the State already has far too much information on people, and the State has no purpose in having information such as this. However, can the agencies that work with these people bring this information by declaring real figures in an anonymous fashion and not through an optional preference on a questionnaire? People could deal with the agencies face to face and then we would see whether there is an issue. I suspect the issue does exist in other countries, and there is no reason to think there would not be some sort of effect in Ireland. We could then deal with it in Ireland, but I just do not trust the Government as much as the Senator does.

I voluntarily go to a gay men's health service and have-----

I am sorry Senator but I am not allowed to allow a second supplementary question, unfortunately, but maybe the Senator and the Minister of State can have a chat about it as they leave the Chamber.

That information belongs to the State. The Minister of State is essentially arguing that NGOs or the agencies should have the information, but the State should not.

There is a way of cracking the nut.

I ask the Senator and the Minister of State to have a chat about it, because at this stage I must thank them both. I am not allowed to allow a second supplementary question but they can have a chat outside.

School Accommodation Provision

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I want to draw his attention to a little school in rural Carlow. Fr. Cullen Memorial school in Tinryland is a digital school of distinction, a fair trade school, a green school, and a school which excels in sports, academia and extracurricular activities. It had an enrolment of 161 students for the past year but the numbers are growing. Fr. Cullen Memorial school has an autistic spectrum disorder unit catering for 12 students. When the school contacted the Department about its desire to have a proper autism spectrum disorder unit it was given sanction for two classrooms, which were listed on the Department's website for intake last year. When the school wrote to the Department asking for help in building sufficient accommodation for this sanction it was asked about renting the local hall or inquiring about a vacant shop across the road. None of these ideas was suitable because a sizeable amount of work was necessary to bring them up to scratch. Meanwhile, the school was offered someone else's Portakabin. Now it has 12 lovely children, four SNAs and two teachers working in a hand-me-down Portakabin.

The area is too small and the children are stressed out and deserve so much better from the Department of Education and Skills. Following on from an inspection earlier this year, the report states that the school's policies and provision for pupils with additional learning needs should be comprehensively reviewed to ensure more effective programme planning and implementation. The Department has been made aware of the need for more effective implementation yet the school believes it has been left to its own devices. In 2018, a portacabin is not sufficient accommodation. There are no changing facilities and this is a major challenge for a child on the autism spectrum who is non-verbal and has toileting issues. There is no withdrawal space, which is key in the correct education of children in this spectrum. The unsuitable accommodation is putting a massive strain on staff and an unnecessary strain on already struggling families. There is no reason these children should be taught in unsuitable accommodation.

We have to start showing that we mean it when we say all children are equal. It is distressing for young parents and families when their children do not get the support they need. If we aim to look after all children then we need to show it. This is a terrific school with a terrific principal who is doing her very best despite the fact she does not have an office. It is unacceptable that in 2018 this principal does not have an office. This school deserves better. It needs additional accommodation and it should have the opportunity to pitch for it. Enrolment at the school is predicted to increase in September. While the school has the necessary staff to meet this demand it does not have sufficient classrooms to accommodate it. In addition, parking at the school is so tight it is unreal.

Where on the schools building programme list is this project? It is important that the school is granted funding for the provision of these two additional classrooms. The school is creaking at the seams and it needs a little help. We need to know when this urgent accommodation will be provided. It is unacceptable that in 2018 children are still being taught in portacabins. It is not good for them, teachers, families or the school environment. These children are our future. I plead with the Minister to urgently address this issue.

By way of background, over the last number of years we have been running hard to accommodate the additional 100,000 pupils at primary and secondary levels, which is a staggering number of additional school places that we have had to provide. This task has dominated our capital budgets and this has meant that some of the refurbishment and upgrades we would like to be able to do have not been possible. On a positive note, the national development plan provides for €8.8 billion investment in school infrastructure. We plan to start a prefab replacement programme in 2019. Beyond this, we intend to have a deep refurbishment of all schools over ten years old, including energy retrofit. There is a very strong pipeline of investment for the future. We are nearing the end of real pressure on our budgets to in the future being able to do more.

As mentioned by the Senator, in 2017 the school was approved by the NCSE for an ASD unit, for which the school sought commencement in September 2017. In the intervening period, the school was granted temporary accommodation to enable the ASD unit to get off the ground and provide the service needed. Earlier this year, the school submitted an application for capital funding for not only the two ASD classrooms but additional mainstream classrooms which it considers will be required into the future on the basis of the schools projected enrolment. The school has gone beyond the original application in respect of the ASD unit, which the Senator referenced when she said it wanted the opportunity to pitch for additional accommodation to develop the school.

Those two issues will be looked at slightly differently within the Department. The ASD unit is clearly necessary accommodation. We always want to move to try to upgrade those facilities. Officials are working closely with the principal and they will be looking at this specific application. A response to the school is imminent and I have been given an assurance that it will be before the end of this school year. While facilities are there and are providing accommodation, we are assessing the application made by the school and we will get back to it as soon as possible.

I thank the Minister. It is good news that the school is a priority. It is an excellent school but it is unsuitable that 12 young students are in a portacabin. It is crucial that an ASD unit is up and running as soon as possible. I know it is a priority and that the Minister will be back to us. I will not leave that door alone until he gives word to the school.

It is not a decision that I make. The inspectorate will look at the accommodation currently available and the merit of the application against the ability to deliver the progress that needs to be delivered. The decision will be made on that fair and equal basis. Senator Murnane O'Connor has to bear in mind that capital funds are still under pressure. We have continued growth at both primary and secondary levels this year, with roughly 10,000 extra students to be accommodated at each level. That is the reality of the present climate. Most countries in Europe would give their right arms to have such strong growth in pupil numbers. It is a sign of a young growing population.

Rail Network Safety

I thank the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Shane Ross, for coming to the Chamber to discuss this important issue of safety on our trains and in our train stations. I live in north County Dublin. We have six train stations at Balbriggan, Skerries, Rush and Lusk, Donabate, Malahide and Portmarnock.

I raise this issue because there was a report on RTÉ radio at the weekend. It outlined that there has been a 43% increase since 2016 in anti-social behaviour, assaults, intimidation, theft and aggressive behaviour on our trains and in our train stations. This has a devastating effect not only on the commuters using the trains daily but on the staff operating the trains and the train stations.

Representatives from the National Bus and Rail Union, NBRU, claim this 43% increase is just the tip of the iceberg and that incidents of assault, intimidation and anti-social behaviour are so frequent that people do not even report them. They only report very serious incidents. It is very worrying when the union representing the workers is saying that. Many workers have reported being kicked, punched, spat upon, having things thrown at them and being subjected to verbal abuse and intimidation. It is not on for workers to be subjected to that kind of treatment when they are trying to work and provide a public service.

That report I heard at the weekend reflects what I hear on the ground in my constituency. People regularly contact me about issues in train stations. Many of these issues relate to unmanned train stations or those only manned part time. It was interesting to hear on the radio report that there is no particular time of day when assaults and intimidation take place. It happens from early morning until late at night. It is not acceptable, therefore, to have part-time or unmanned stations. This report and recent incidents in Clongriffin and Malahide highlight the shocking state of affairs on our trains.

We need to discuss the unmanned stations but we should also start a conversation and give serious consideration to a dedicated transport police service like they have in the UK. It is the point we are at. We have many people using our trains on a daily basis, including thousands from my constituency and right across Dublin and the country. These people depend on such services and they should be provided with a safe mode of transport. The workers need protection in the workplace. Dedicated transport police should have the same powers of arrest and detention as gardaí, and that would protect staff who must intervene to stop anti-social behaviour and violence. Currently, such personnel do not have powers to arrest or move people on as does the Garda. This would help and I want to hear the Minister's views in that respect.

I know a security firm has been hired by Irish Rail but it does not seem to act as a deterrent as we have seen such a large spike in this violent and anti-social behaviour. This just adds an extra cost to Irish Rail, which is not having the required effect. I would appreciate the Minister's views on that.

I thank the Senator for bringing this matter to my attention and I take it extremely seriously. The Senator and everybody else would have read the reports over the weekend and on the surface they seem very alarming. The safety and security of passengers and staff, including arrangements to deal with anti-social behaviour on trains, is a matter, first and foremost, for Iarnród Éireann with support, as appropriate, from An Garda Síochána. I have asked my Department to engage with Iarnród Éireann and the Rail Safety Advisory Council, which includes representatives from operators and trades union, to examine the evidence and explore the adequacy of current policing arrangements. Pending the outcome of this engagement, I will engage with the Minister for Justice and Equality, if necessary. Any such dedicated transport police that may be considered necessary would require primary legislation and additional resources. The dedicated airport police operating in Dublin Airport, for example, are authorised persons under the airport and aviation Acts 1936 to 2014. Under those Acts, authorised officers who are employees of the airport have a number of powers, including the power of arrest in certain circumstances.

There were 45.5 million passenger journeys in 2017 on Iarnród Éireann, the vast majority of which occurred without incident. According to Iarnród Éireann, the number of recorded anti-social incidents rose in the past number of years. In 2016 there were 492 incidents recorded, of which 12 were assaults on staff. In 2017, 705 incidents were recorded, of which 15 were assaults on staff. To date this year, 305 incidents have been recorded, of which five were assaults on staff. Iarnród Éireann has been actively encouraging employees to report all safety-critical matters, including threatening and violent behaviour, which may partially account for the increase.

Security patrols by Iarnród Éireann have increased by 21.8% since 2016 and the company has advised that it has enhanced general security cover and provided for enhanced security patrols for major events. Anti-social behaviour is a matter for An Garda Síochána, which works in close co-operation with Iarnród Éireann on this matter. The company liaises, at a minimum, on a quarterly basis with An Garda Síochána in major districts to address trends and issues on an area basis. This allows for proactive planning for events and known recurring issues, such as summer beach days at Howth, Sutton and Portmarnock.

The response I was given is not what the Minister read so I would appreciate a copy of the response from the Minister. I am happy to hear that an assessment is being undertaken and on the basis of that report there may be the suggestion of a dedicated transport police. I would like to know the timeline. The staff and gardaí do their best in these areas but they are under-resourced. By the time gardaí come along to arrest somebody for assault or graffiti in a train station, for example, the individuals could have attacked staff members. The staff do not have the same powers of arrest and detention so this must be considered urgently. I ask the Minister to put a very short timeline in place. It should be as short as possible as staff and commuters need this.

If we are going to have faith in our rail services, on which thousands of people in north County Dublin rely, then we need this looked at urgently.

I recognise the urgency but I am not going to put an absolute timeline on it because that is particularly difficult, especially if it was decided, and it has not been, that primary legislation would be necessary. The Senator can be reassured that the urgency is something we have already recognised. As I told her, I have asked my Department to engage with Iarnród Éireann and the Railway Safety Advisory Council to examine the evidence. Pending the outcome of this engagement, I will engage with the Minister for Justice and Equality, if necessary, and we will take any action which we think is necessary in the meantime.

Additional summer staffing is in place to enhance staff coverage. In addition, Iarnród Éireann has advised that it has outlined proposals to trade unions to enhance staffing onboard trains, with the deployment of full-time customer service officers across intercity services. This will mean that where currently trains can be driver-only there is a customer service presence - a deterrent to anti-social behaviour - onboard. Iarnród Éireann has advised that it is keen to secure trade union agreement to progress this and commence recruitment. The Senator can be absolutely assured that Iarnród Éireann, the Department of Justice and Equality and my Department will be extremely vigilant on this particular issue.

I thank the Minister and the Senator.

Sitting suspended at 3.20 p.m. and resumed at 3.30 p.m.
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