Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 9 Feb 2023

Vol. 291 No. 10

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

National Educational Psychological Service

Senator Tim Lombard

I welcome the Minister of State. I raise the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, and whether we have enough psychologists to service the educational platforms we have. NEPS is an important service. It gives support to teachers and parents on issues regarding education. From the figures I have received, we have just over 200 psychologists working in the service. This breaks down to one psychologist per 5,000 students. That is a significant workload for any psychologist. A psychologist might be dealing with between 12 and 20 schools, depending on the size of the school. The ratio of 1:5,000 is significant. There are issues with getting children assessed, getting them looked at and the communication between the principal, the teacher and the NEPS due to the workload of the service itself. Two colleges, namely, UCD and UL, involved in bringing forward our psychologists to the workplace itself. They need to be looked at as a body to ensure the number of graduates going through the system is increased to have more psychologists available to NEPS, because a ratio of 1:5,000 does not make sense.

When we look at happens in the day-to-day running of a school, it is important to understand principals are put in a position where not only do they need to decide access to education on the basis of where the child is in the line, but also the financial implications. I have been contacted by principals who look at this and say maybe the mother and father could pay for a private assessment and maybe they will leave them to do that and bring forward the other child for assessment by NEPS. That inequality is a huge issue for us. I have it myself; I know it well. I have seen scenarios where parents have the ability to pay €650 for the assessment, they get it and they get their child on the right platform moving forward, whether the child has a numeracy or literacy issue or whatever their need is. However, if a family does not have the ability to pay and must wait on the public list, they might wait until first year for the child to get the opportunity to be assessed. That child could be dyslexic or could have issues with numbers and because of that, he or she is put at a disadvantage all the way through. Therefore, equal access to all services is the huge issue.

I will talk about what we need to do. UL and UCD must bring forward more graduates. The model of access to NEPS at the moment must change in order that it is more of a training model that gives the teacher the opportunity to diagnose a dyslexic child. At the moment, someone has to be a psychologist to do that and it is a barrier for children to move forward. It must be ensured, therefore, that they get the proper education. The 1:50,000 ratio needs to be changed. It is frightening to think one NEPS psychologist could had a workload like that, which in some areas could encompass anything from 12 to 22 schools, from what I have been told. That is just unworkable and, therefore, a lot of work is required. There is a pathway to do this but a lot of work is required to ensure we have an appropriate service for our children, who need that service on the ground.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill)

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I am here on behalf of the Department of Education today, but it is an area in which I have a very deep personal interest. I thank the Senator for setting it out so clearly. The Department of Education wanted me to highlight that the role of NEPS has evolved and changed over the years, and the service provides a broad range of supports to schools. As the Senator pointed out, the opportunity for equality of access to those services is among the most important challenges we face. He is right to highlight that point.

NEPS, in common with many other psychological services, has adopted a consultative model of service. The focus is on empowering teachers to intervene effectively with pupils. All schools have access to a service from NEPS, which includes psychological support in the event of a critical incident; a school staff support and development service to build school capability to provide a comprehensive continuum of support in schools; ongoing access to advice and support for schools from a psychologist; and casework services for individual children where there is a need for intensive consultation and assessment. That service is provided but children have to be able to access it, as the Senator has correctly observed.

NEPS has played an important role in developing policy and supporting schools as they welcome students from Ukraine. This includes publishing guidance on supporting all children who may be experiencing distress or trauma in relation to events, and delivering well-being webinars for teachers and school staff. NEPS psychologists are also actively engaging with school principals to provide advice on supporting students from Ukraine.

In 2021 the NEPS casework service extended to over 8,500 students. Additionally, under the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments, SCPA, process, private psychologists funded by the Department provided assessments to schools for over 900 students. However, as the Senator correctly pointed out, early access to a psychologist, a correct diagnosis and the relevant supports can make the difference for a child. A year or two years is a very long period in a child's life and a very short period for an adult. It is of huge developmental significance at that time.

NEPS also attempts to support an estimated 25,000 teachers annually through its support and development service. NEPS is structured with eight regional divisions trying to support schools. There are 225 whole-time equivalent educational psychologists across the eight NEPS regions, which has grown from a base of 173 in 2014. The Minister for Education recently announced an additional 54 educational psychologists to provide services to special schools and special classes as part of budget 2023 and as part of a focus on providing extra supports to special schools. A recruitment competition is ongoing with the Public Appointments Service, with interviews commencing this month. It is expected that vacancies will be filled from that recruitment campaign.

A working group in the Department has been examining the matter of how NEPS can continue to recruit adequate numbers of suitably qualified staff. The Senator is right to highlight the university programmes, expediting graduates from that and their availability for NEPS to continue to respond to the educational psychological needs of children in recognised primary and post-primary schools across the country. The group has agreed on a number of actions that must be taken to address supply issues in the medium to long term. These include the development of a workforce plan for educational psychologists within the Department of Education. Work has begun with other Departments to advance that. The Minister for Education would like me to remind the Senator that she remains committed to supporting the well-being, academic, social and emotional development of all learners, and that NEPS is leading the Department's work in those areas.

Senator Tim Lombard

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response to my Commencement matter. This is about trying to find a pathway. The universities are important in that regard and we need to increase the number of university graduates. A large cohort of private psychologists are doing a very important job. I know of cases of school principals contacting the local Society of St. Vincent de Paul to have private assessments paid for. That has worked well.

The number of psychologists in the service is the big issue. The recruitment campaign is very much welcomed but it comes back to making sure sufficient graduates come out of the universities. We need to make sure we have a line of graduates coming out. We need to reduce the 5,000:1 pupil to psychologist ratio. That is an amazing figure considering the workload required of these people who work so hard, and the vulnerable children in society who need support. A little bit of support in the early years goes such a long way afterwards.

Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. He is correct that early intervention across any stream, whether it is learning or psychological support, can genuinely make a difference, not just to how well children develop in those areas but to their well-being, the management of their anxiety and their mental health at every stage throughout that process and also their inclusion within the school. Too many children have found themselves excluded for want of better and earlier interventions in different ways. NEPS will continue to support the well-being and academic, social and emotional development of all learners. The Minister is deeply committed to ensuring that comprehensive psychological service is available in schools. The recent announcement to continue to recruit is important. I hope the next time we discuss this matter in the Seanad the positions will have been filled from the current recruitment process.

Apprenticeship Programmes

Senator Sharon Keogan

I thank the Minister of State for attending. I know that a woman of her political experience knows the importance of government at the local level and that healthy and high-functioning local authorities that are well-funded, well-staffed and constantly innovating can make huge changes in local areas and the people and families who live in them. My passion for local government is certainly no secret. That is why I have been pushing for apprentices to play a greater role in our local authorities since taking my seat in this House.

In September 2020, we met in this Chamber to discuss key priorities for the Minister's Department. I raised the matter of the under-utilisation of local authorities as a community employment resource. Apprenticeships are an excellent way of learning, earning and getting into permanent paid employment. There is much scope for local authorities to engage with the public through these apprenticeships directly. So many of our industries and education partners are heavily involved in the successful provision of apprenticeships, yet there is no national programme promoting apprenticeship opportunities within local government.

Local government is an ideal workplace in which we can provide a programme for structuring education and training. Where better for young apprentices to learn about politics, law, society and much more? Dozens of our local authorities have engaged and are engaging in the training of apprentices. That is great to see and they are to be commended for it, but should we not have a national approach to this - some sort of local government apprenticeship scheme - so that various aspects of the apprenticeship will be standardised and regulated to ensure that all prospective apprentices in each local authority know where they stand? There is no shortage of people who are interested in such apprenticeships and no shortage of ways in which local government could use them. We could run apprenticeships in the planning department and train architects, electricians, plasterers and bricklayers. What about all the vehicles owned by the councils? We could have in-house mechanics training up apprentices to maintain our own local fleets. We could have carpenters and stonemasons employed by the councils to fix and maintain public amenities and even add to them. I am sure there are many more areas where young men and women could receive wonderful training in a life skill of their choice, all in their own local authority.

How much money would it save us in the long run to have all these people trained up and possibly then employed directly by the councils? Think of all the money we would save on contracts with our own in-house tradespeople putting their time and skills back into their local communities and the councils supporting local workers. We have 31 local authorities. If we could get 20 apprentices into each of them across the different departments, we would have more than 600 young people in employment and every local authority would be invigorated by the injection of young talent.

I know the programme for Government commits to reaching 10,000 newly-registered apprentices each year by 2025. In December 2020, there were 313 apprentices employed across 48 Departments, agencies and State bodies, only 55 of whom were employed by local authorities. I ask the Minister of State to provide an update on how those numbers are progressing and what the Government is doing to create apprenticeship roles in local authorities.

Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

I thank the Senator for her questions on this important issue for local authorities and the apprenticeship programme. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, who cannot be here.

As the Senator is aware, a key commitment in the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025 is to grow the number of apprenticeship registrations across the public service, including local authorities, as the Senator highlighted, to 750 annually by 2025. This represents in excess of a sevenfold increase on the 2020 registrations number and will support the long-term goal of 7% of the apprentice population being employed by public service employers.

The diversity of the public service in terms of service delivery provides a wide basis for involvement, as the Senator correctly pointed out, with a range of apprenticeship programmes already in place and new programmes in development. Apprenticeships are national programmes that provide an opportunity to target and widen the recruitment pool for both generalist and specialist roles within the public service. A great deal of work has already been done to advance that ambition. Following a series of information sessions with civil and public service HR managers, a working group representing Departments, agencies and local authorities was established in January 2022 to develop a framework to support the adoption of apprenticeship programmes as a mode of recruitment, upskilling and reskilling across the public service. The group's work was based on surveying more than 100 organisations on their skills needs.

There has been extensive bilateral engagement with the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, to assist with surveying local authorities on their skills needs. The results of the survey showed an appetite and opportunity within the civil and public service to meet the target of 750 public service apprenticeship registrations per annum by 2025. While existing experience of apprenticeships was limited, the survey demonstrates a particular willingness and demand across the majority of respondents for programmes in the areas of accounting, software, cybersecurity and recruitment. The Senator highlighted the range of trades, which are also important and have been a key focus of the apprenticeship programme nationally.

Feedback from individuals involved in the pilot ICT apprenticeship scheme for Departments and Government offices emphasised the need to have relevant supports and procedures in place for apprentices at the commencement of their programme. Last month, in partnership with representatives of the Civil Service management board and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science hosted the first face-to-face workshop meeting, which included significant attendance from across the civil and public service. Officials in the Department are now moving forward in capturing the outputs of this workshop in a formalised framework that will provide civil and public service bodies with a roadmap for engaging with existing apprenticeship programmes and forming a consortium for the establishment of new apprenticeship programmes for the purposes of meeting organisations' skills needs. The planned framework document will be completed by the end of quarter 1 of this year. There has also been engagement with the HSE and the Department of Health on the commitment in the action plan to explore a healthcare assistant apprenticeship programme within the HSE and the options for how it might be piloted.

We are very much aware of the recruitment challenge across a range of different skills, both in the public service and more broadly. The apprenticeship programme offers a new way of training, retraining and upskilling at different stages of a person's career and providing new pathways to work in a whole range of different fields. It is a very strong programme and the Senator is right to highlight the opportunity within local authorities.

Senator Sharon Keogan

I thank the Minister of State for her attendance and her reply. This is a very important opportunity for local government and for the Minister, Deputy Harris, and his Department. I admire the work he and the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, have been doing in their brand-new Department. There is always scope for improvement, however, including in respect of some of the issues I highlighted. I welcome the proposal for 750 public service apprenticeship registrations per annum by 2025. However, we are a long way from that, with only 55 in place at this time. I will come back to this issue every year to see how it is progressing and what opportunities are available for young apprentices within local authorities.

Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill

It is very important that the Senator should do so. These matters must be supervised and overseen and it is important to provide an update. The requirement to give an update always focuses the minds of civil servants in ensuring targets are reached. Not every target can be reached but a failure to do so must be explained and there must be a clear pathway to meeting it.

The response from the Department is focused very much on the professional side, including cybersecurity, accounting and so on. Those gaps are there but the Senator is correct to highlight the importance of trades and having apprenticeship programmes in that field. I joined the Minister recently in visiting some of the apprenticeships programmes in place in my constituency, which are training young people and retraining people at different stages of their career. The opportunities are always there to work and the apprenticeship programme offers a pathway at any stage of life. I thank the Senator for raising this matter.

An Cathaoirleach

The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, has not yet arrived to take the next matter. I propose that we suspend briefly in the meantime. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 9.56 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 9.59 a.m.

Sitting suspended at 9.56 a.m. and resumed at 9.59 a.m.

Disaster Response

An Cathaoirleach

I welcome the Minister of State.

Senator Alice-Mary Higgins

I am sure the Minister of State will join me and many others in expressing our deepest condolences to all those who have been affected by the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria. As of last night, the death toll had reached almost 16,000.

The World Health Organization estimates that the death toll could go higher than 20,000 in the coming days, with hypothermia adding to the initial damage from the earthquake and devastating health conditions on the ground, as well as the conditions for people who are still trapped. Even though we are moving past the crucial 72 hours in which rescue is most likely, we are still seeing heroic scenes of almost impossible rescues past that time. For that reason I ask the Minister of State to address the search and rescue element of the response, as well as the much greater and wider humanitarian response that will be needed in the weeks and months ahead.

The utter devastation experienced by people in Türkiye and Syria is further compounded by the dire conditions, in particular for refugees and displaced people in the area along the border between Türkiye and Syria and in the north-west of Syria. While I welcome that Ireland has made a commitment to humanitarian assistance, a sum of €2 million is inadequate for a disaster of this historic scale. There are other ways we can help also.

I have spoken with former colleagues from my time in Trócaire, who are now working on the ground with local NGOs on a cross-border basis in Türkiye and Syria providing support to those affected. The local NGOs working in that cross-border way have highlighted that one of the issues is that they cannot bring goods across the border to Syria and are forced to buy goods there where supplies are limited and expensive due to the prolonged conflict. It is crucial that humanitarian aid should be able to be distributed in a cross-border way in this cross-border disaster. Meanwhile, international news organisations also report that aid has been slow to reach those who need it due to the sanctions in Syria. It is important that the sanctions do not get in the way of this crucial humanitarian response. I urge the Minister of State to engage with his Turkish counterparts and his colleagues at EU and UN level to ensure vital aid is able to reach the communities in north-west Syria who are so badly affected.

This disaster compounds existing tragedies. A total of 6.7 million people in Syria are internally displaced and are near the Syria-Türkiye border. There has also been a cholera outbreak since September 2022 in north-west Syria. I urge the Minister of State to engage with the Minister for Health on the possibility of sending medical equipment, given that along with this disaster there are existing problems, which are now compounded by the threat of hypothermia and other weather threats to public health.

This disaster has happened in a place where the social fabric has been damaged by war and issues such as poverty and poor housing were already affecting communities. NGOs on the ground are calling for medical supplies, plastic sheeting, fuel, transport, ambulances, tents, machines to remove the debris and materials to construct reception centres. As well as those who are internally displaced within Syria, both Syria and Türkiye also host refugees from other parts of the world. For example, it is estimated that 57,000 Palestinians are affected by this disaster. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, has called separately for relief to target those who are often the most vulnerable among the vulnerable in a place that is already experiencing a long-term humanitarian crisis. I hope the Minister of State will let me know what Ireland will do and also what engagement we have had with the international community on the response.

Minister of State at the Department of the Foreign Affairs (Deputy Sean Fleming)

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. It is the topic that is first and foremost on most people's minds throughout the world at the moment following the disaster of the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria in recent days. It was an unexpected shock and it caused a significant number of deaths to date. Unfortunately, the death toll is rising on a daily basis. In the first week or so following the earthquake, the emphasis is on recovering people buried under the rubble and all agencies are working to that effect.

I join the Senator in offering our condolences and those of the Irish people to those in Türkiye and Syria who have been affected. I extend the condolences to the approximately 2,000 people from Syria who are currently living in Ireland and to the similar number of Turkish people here, many of whose families have been affected and who have suffered bereavement. It is important that we recognise that people here have been affected.

The Senator will be familiar with our agencies working on the ground. To date, thankfully, we have not heard of any casualties among Irish aid workers on the ground who have been in those countries. I am aware that some of the buildings they live in have been destroyed. I am conscious that some aid workers are sleeping in cars with their families with temperatures of -6°C at night and trying to do work to help the rescue mission on a daily basis as well. Our aid workers on the ground were working with people locally, who were friends of theirs, who have already suffered in the tragedy. It is very difficult for our people in the area.

As the Senator will be aware, the Tánaiste and I announced an immediate response on Monday to provide €2 million in humanitarian assistance to the people of Türkiye and Syria. The funds will be allocated to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, IFRC, and the United Nations Syria Cross-Border Humanitarian Fund, which are both best placed to respond immediately. The sum of €1 million will be provided to the IFRC in Türkiye, which works with the Turkish Red Crescent to provide shelter, blankets and hot and cold meals for those injured and evacuated. In Syria, €1 million will support people in north-west Syria where 90% of the 4.6 million people in the region already need humanitarian assistance after 11 years of war and internal displacement. Many of the Syrian people who have been displaced are in Türkiye and have been affected on a second occasion.

Faced with disasters such as the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, we understand that collective action is needed and we are working with other EU member states and the UN to ensure our joint support is co-ordinated and effective. Ireland also provides pre-positioned funds to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, CERF, which reacts rapidly and at scale when disasters happen. Yesterday, CERF announced a package of $25 million for this disaster. Ireland's contribution to the CERF for 2023 is €12.5 million.

Ireland is ready to respond to the disaster through its rapid response initiative. This includes emergency stocks pre-positioned in UN distribution hubs around the world, and a roster of humanitarian experts that can deploy at short notice to support the UN humanitarian response. These include experts in shelter, water, energy, child protection, engineering, and cash assistance. The latter is most important so that people can buy food, blankets and get accommodation in the immediate future.

Senator Alice-Mary Higgins

The Minister of State mentioned the incredible bravery of the humanitarian workers who are in the area. We also witnessed scenes such as the seven-year old girl protecting her brother's head for 17 hours. Humanitarian workers are working at great danger to themselves and, therefore, it behoves us to think about those who would have us turn our back on those in need, our fellow humanity. Each person is precious and is part of our common hope and responsibility. I am concerned that after the immediate response, we may see a pulling away. We saw the amount of European resources, for example, that have gone into building a wall between Türkiye and Syria. The border crossing issue is significant in the context of humanitarian resources being able to cross. Could the Minister of State address that issue and ensure there will be sustained and increased support? He mentioned the standing support for the UNCERF, and I mentioned the UNRWA. They will need additional funds given the scale of this disaster. Could he also comment on the diplomatic engagement to ensure that a border blockage does not arise for humanitarian aid accessing northern Syria in particular?

Deputy Sean Fleming

As the Senator rightly pointed out, there are additional difficulties in northern Syria because of the war there, which has been going on for years. It is hard to know who is in control of the region. There is a government in place but it is not strong in the region.

Senator Alice-Mary Higgins

However, there are NGOs on the ground.

Deputy Sean Fleming

That is specifically why we are working through the United Nations Syria Cross-border Humanitarian Fund.

They are the only people who are accepted in the region by all sides. They are seen as neutral and independent with a humanitarian remit. Anyone else trying to get in there would be counterproductive. This is the group through which we are working.

The €2 million we announced at the weekend is an initial allocation and we want to see what the demand is. We know it is substantial but we want to hear from the agencies on the ground. For example, we have positioned equipment, blankets and other materials, including medical supplies, in Italy and Dubai. At very short notice, as soon as the agencies on the ground tell us precisely what they need, they can be flown over in a matter of hours. We are awaiting full information on this.

I spoke with the chief executive of Concern, who is out there, yesterday. He said that it has some cash resources available because people need to be able to buy food, blankets and medical materials. This is what they need there now. I thank An Post and the agencies that came together to allow people to make donations through their local post offices. These will be used to provide cash directly. Perversely, cash is very important out there in order to buy food and humanitarian aid so that people can survive the next week or two. The time for reconstruction is some way off. People are still dealing with the buildings that have collapsed, and they will be trying to recover as many survivors as possible in the coming days. This is a situation we will be speaking about for days and weeks to come.

Local Authority Funding

Senator Seán Kyne

The Minister of State is welcome. I thank the Office of the Cathaoirleach for choosing this matter.

We debated this topic when sittings were taking place in the convention centre. In that context, I may be making the same speech several years later on funding issues relating to Galway County Council. Most of us are former members of local authorities. We know the range of services that they provide. These services, which relate to road maintenance, hedge cutting, community wardens, housing maintenance, planning enforcement, active travel applications, graveyards, community funding, economic development units, fire and emergency services, piers and harbours, broadband officers and the area for which the Minister of State has responsibility, namely, heritage, are very important. I listed many of the services that local authorities provide, but that list is not all-inclusive.

Galway has had a funding shortfall not for a few years but for a few decades. My colleagues from Galway and I had a meeting with officials from the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government in 2016 . The officials admitted that there was a funding shortfall in Galway compared with other counties that dated back to the late 1990s. They stated that the solution was the review of the local property tax, LPT. They said it was very difficult to do something in isolation for one local authority if it was not going to be done for all.

Since then, we have had numerous allocations to local authorities based on Covid and higher energy costs. I welcome all of these. Last year, Galway received €1.7 million of the €61 million made available to cover increased energy costs. It also received an additional €8.16 million for pay and pensions, including in respect of the new public sector pay deal. It received €2.755 million in recognition of its lower funding base. In previous years, it received one-off payments of €600,000 and €1 million when Deputy John Paul Phelan was Minister of State. These were welcome, but they were only an attempt to plug a massive hole in the finances of Galway County Council.

Without significant uplift under the review of the LPT, Galway will continue to suffer in the context of its ability to deliver the projects for which there is State funding, including those relating to active travel and the public realm. These are measures of which all local authorities, including Galway, want to be able to deliver more. There is funding under the rural regeneration and development fund. There is also active travel funding. Galway County Council does tremendous work with the resources it has but it needs more engineers, architects and planners to be able to deliver. Planning staff are under enormous pressure. The number of files they have to deal with compared with colleagues in Mayo and other places is large. It is unfair on them and on the services they are trying to provide for people in Galway.

While the provision of €1 million here or €3 million there is welcome, we need massive investment in Galway to bring it up to a level comparable with other counties. All of the figures have been provided to the Department. These are figures on per capita spend in Galway versus in other local authority areas on housing and the provision of other services. We need a major uplift on the baseline funding rate for Galway County Council.

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Malcolm Noonan)

I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to outline today the position on the LPT baseline review, which is an important piece of work that will be progressed in the Department this year. The LPT was introduced to provide a stable and sustainable funding base for the local authority sector, providing greater levels of connection between local revenue and associated expenditure decisions. LPT allocations to local authorities for 2023 amount to €609.9 million. This figure includes the Exchequer contribution to equalisation funding of €118 million. Galway County Council's allocation for 2023 is €14.5 million.

The revaluation of the LPT was undertaken by the Revenue Commissioners in November 2021. This revaluation has led to changes to the individual yield in each local authority area. However, the overall yield has only marginally increased. Only eight local authorities have seen an increase in yield, while the remaining authorities have seen a reduction in LPT yield.

In line with the commitment in the programme for government, the LPT allocation mechanism for 2023 has been changed to allow for 100% of the estimated yield to be retained locally within the local authority area where it is collected. This is being done on the basis that those counties with an LPT yield lower than their baseline, which includes Galway County Council, will continue to be supported via annual equalisation funding. This will ensure that all authorities continue to receive, at a minimum, an amount equivalent to their baseline. All equalisation funding will now be met by the Exchequer, which requires an increase in such funding from €34.3 million in 2022 to €118 million in 2023. This is a significant level of support for the local government sector from Government in recognition of the additional work burden on local authorities, as Senator Kyne quite rightly outlined.

As previously indicated by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, a review of the baseline funding of local authorities is under way. The Minister is committed to completing this review in time for 2024 LPT allocations. Officials from the Department are establishing a working group that will include key stakeholders from the local government sector. It is acknowledged that the circumstances of local authorities vary considerably from one another in terms of geographic area, population, population density, service needs, and, indeed, the ability to raise their own income locally. Therefore, it is intended that the members of this group will represent differing perspectives across the sector. It is acknowledged that factors such as population have shifted considerably in recent years and that a review of the funding baselines is now required. Updated census data will be used, and previous reviews and studies of local authority baseline funding will be assessed and considered. The process will include consultation with representatives of our locally elected council members and other relevant stakeholders.

Across all schemes and funding sources, the Department provided €82.9 million in 2020, €85.9 million in 2021 and €83.3 million in 2022 to Galway County Council. Included in this is the unprecedented level of support provided by central government to local authorities during the Covid-19 pandemic. This included additional one-off allocations to Galway County Council to assist with funding pressures amounting to €1 million in 2020 and €600,000 in 2021. There is also a similar allocation for 2023, provisionally in the amount of €2.75 million.

The Department acknowledges the current financial environment in which all local authorities, including Galway County Council, are operating and the pressures facing them in respect of general inflation and higher costs. In 2023, the Government will make the significant contribution of €481 million to support local authorities. A large portion of this figure, €287.2 million, will go towards assisting local authorities with the cumulative effect of pay costs arising from the national pay agreements and the unwinding of the financial emergency measures in the public interest legislation.

Galway County Council will receive €8.1 million in this regard. Furthermore, additional support of €60 million has been secured to assist with rising energy costs in 2023, which includes an allocation of €1.7 million for Galway County Council. These allocations will help ensure that all local authorities, including Galway County Council, have the necessary resources to perform their functions in 2023.

I will make a supplementary response.

Senator Seán Kyne

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I acknowledge the supports that have been provided but they are not enough. They are way short of the mark. The funding allocated from budget 2022 and to Galway County Council works out at €802 per capita, which is the second lowest per capita figure. Kildare County Council is the lowest and Meath County Council is just above that. Per capita funding for Limerick City and County Council stands at €4,886 and for Dublin City Council it is €2,038. Galway is way off the mark in terms of what the people of the county deserve.

Galway is the second largest county in the country. As with all counties, the population is growing. I welcome the review of the baseline funding but we have heard since 2016 that there will be a review that will help Galway. We need that assistance now. At every meeting we have with the executive, the same overriding issue arises, namely, the funding inequality and shortfall for Galway County Council.

Deputy Malcolm Noonan

I will give a quick list of all the additional work that local authorities are doing, including in areas such as active travel, town centre first, the expansion of services around arts and culture, social inclusion, integration and local community development committees, LCDCs. These are all extra services provided by local authorities and a welcome increase in their range of functions, which I am sure all elected members would welcome.

The Department and Government have provided extra planning staff to deal with the planning the Senator mentioned earlier. We are providing biodiversity officers. Next week, we will announce additional conservation officers and vacancy officers as part of the town centre first policy. Additional resources are being plugged into all of our local authorities and are critically important. That is recognition of the important work done by councils.

I hope the baseline review will produce proposals that will help the long-term financial viability of Galway County Council and all local authorities. In the longer term we need to look at broadening the income base of councils and there are many innovative ways of doing so. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and I are very much committed to the local government sector. Galway continues to do extremely well, not just through the funding provided but also the resources provided to the community.

Defence Forces

Senator Fiona O'Loughlin

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter and the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for making himself available to take it.

I add my voice to the welcome given to the school group in the Visitors Gallery. It is lovely to see them in the place where democracy is at work and policy decisions are made. In the future, we may seem some of them sitting in this House and in the Dáil.

As a proud Kildare woman, I have always been a strong advocate for members of the Defence Forces. I live just a few miles from the iconic Curragh Camp barracks. As we know, the Curragh Camp is the main training centre for the Army and more than 2,000 personnel are based there. There are many military families in County Kildare, as there are in County Laois, the county the Minister of State hails from. Many retired personnel have made their home in County Kildare. I am acutely aware of the many difficulties and challenges facing people who serve in the Defence Forces. I have always used my position both here and in the Lower House to advocate strongly for the defence community. The call to serve one's country is something that cannot be matched. I regularly meet active and retired members of the Defence Forces as well as their representative bodies and I am always amazed by their sense of duty, their national pride and their commitment to this State and its people.

Óglaigh na hÉireann is a remarkable organisation that has deep roots in the fabric of this nation. We all know stories of its members' dedication. Many of us know and love members of Óglaigh na hÉireann, both past and present. In addition, for those of us who hail from south Kildare, our role and involvement in the defence community are something we hold very dear to our hearts. Many members of the Defence Forces serve our nation with distinction and are also very involved in the community.

People choose to enter the Defence Forces to serve this State and further the cause of the Irish people. They pledge their support for our nation and beyond. They put themselves in harm's way and do so in very difficult working conditions and at a huge personal cost and sacrifice to themselves, none more so than those who take part in UN peacekeeping operations around the world. Ireland has an unbroken record of service with UN peacekeeping missions since our first deployment in 1958. Currently, we are the sixth largest EU troop contributor to the UN. Our largest deployment with the UN peacekeeping mission is in Lebanon but we also have troops deployed in the Golan Heights, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Our Defence Forces personnel do not just serve abroad but excel abroad. We rank way above our standing on the international stage due to the professionalism and dedication of our personnel.

Some months ago, I raised an issue faced by many service people when they return from active duty and seek a visa to enter the United States. This issue was raised with the US authorities by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Irish diplomats have been attempting to find a way to prevent the problem arising. This is a real issue. The status means that soldiers who have served in a number of countries have not been able to access the United States using normal ESTA - electronic system for travel authorization - regulations. I have been dealing with a number of these cases. I know of one member of the Defence Forces who eventually got a visa last week, weeks after his family got services and after a lot of heartache. When the family returns from their holiday the soldier will serve abroad for another six months, so the holiday is a precious time. We must find a way to support these people. They have served us abroad and put themselves in harm's. They should not be in any way disenfranchised as a result.

Deputy Sean Fleming

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this important matter concerning the Defence Forces. As she is from Newbridge in County Kildare, she knows more about the Defence Forces and has more contact with its members and their families than any other Member of the Oireachtas given her proximity to the Curragh. Her knowledge of the Defence Forces is vastly superior than that of most other Members.

The Government and people of Ireland are rightly proud of our peacekeepers. We have a long and distinguished history of peacekeeping in the United Nations. As the Senator pointed out, since 1958 not a day has passed that Irish peacekeepers were not on duty somewhere across the globe. That is the longest unbroken record of any nation in the world. For well over 60 years, Irish troops have been serving on peacekeeping missions in some country around the world every single day. No other country in the world can say that. We have tremendous expertise and we have gained great respect across the globe because of that service over the last 60 years.

At present, some 500 members of our Defence Forces and An Garda Síochána are serving overseas in four UN peacekeeping missions. Our troops currently in the field are playing their part in Ireland's proud and distinguished record of overseas service.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has been made aware in recent months of the challenges that some active and former members of the Defence Forces have experienced when applying for a United States visa waiver, also known as an ESTA, due to travel they have undertaken as part of their peacekeeping duties to Syria or other countries designated as countries of concern by the US Department of Homeland Security. People who travel to the United States can apply for an ESTA online and the process is very straightforward. However, where people have been in a country that is a matter of concern to the US authorities, including those who work in peacekeeping missions in some countries, it can raise a flag in the ESTA process.

The Senator has acknowledged that US immigration rules and operations are matters solely for the relevant US authorities. The Department of Foreign Affairs is not in a position to intervene in decisions taken in relation to ESTA applications. However, officials from my Department have proactively engaged with the United States Embassy in Dublin on the implications of these rules for members of the Defence Forces who wish to visit the United States. As the ESTA process is managed entirely by the US Department of Homeland Security, the embassy here has no role in processing or approving these applications. However, the embassy has helpfully informed us that when applying for an ESTA, it is possible to seek an exemption when travelling to a listed country of concern, like Syria, for the purposes of military service on behalf of the Irish Government. We understand it is not possible to apply for an exemption once a refusal of an ESTA has been made. It is important to deal with that as part of the original application, and people may not have been aware of that. However, it is also important to note that these exemptions are granted at the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security and are not guaranteed.

Following on from these consultations, my Department prepared an information note for current and former Defence Forces personnel. This information note was shared with the Department of Defence last November, which in turn circulated it to members of the Defence Forces. The note sets out in more detail the options available to members of the Defence Forces who wish to travel to the United States. The Department of Defence will be able to share a copy of this note with any members of the Defence Forces, including any retired personnel, who wish to get more clarity on this matter.

Acting Chairperson (Deputy Sharon Keogan)

Before Senator O'Loughlin responds I want to welcome to the House our visitors from Blessington Educate Together National School. I hope they have a lovely time visiting the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Senator Fiona O'Loughlin

I am sure that Blessington, being so close to Kildare, has many Army families within its ranks.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I accept that US immigration rules and operations are solely matters for the relevant US authorities. It can therefore be difficult to resolve issues from our end. I am pleased with the clarification he has given. I am glad it is possible to seek an exemption. It is also important that he has clarified that an exemption cannot be sought after a refusal has been given. There is some clarity in that. The Minister of State has mentioned that there is an information note. I would appreciate if I could get a copy of that note. It would be important. As I have said, from time to time individuals come to me regarding this issue. I would like to be able to give the best up-to-date advice. I know that the Minister of State will continue to work with the Minister for Foreign Affairs in trying to resolve this issue for those who work for us at home and abroad.

Deputy Sean Fleming

I thank the Senator. I have listened carefully to her remarks. We place enormous value on the peacekeeping work undertaken by members of the Defence Forces. However, it is important to reiterate that ESTA authorisations are ultimately given at the discretion of the US Department of Homeland Security. While it is possible to seek an exemption to these travel restrictions on the basis of military service, there is no guarantee that it will be granted. However, that option is there and I hope it is working smoothly now. It is also worth noting that anyone who is denied an ESTA is still entitled to apply for a regular tourist visa through the United States Embassy. If, therefore, there is an ESTA refusal, one can apply in the normal course for a regular tourist visa. This can also be helpful. Once obtained, tourist visas are generally valid for ten years, allowing for a stay of up to 180 days in the US upon each entry. By contrast, ESTAs are valid only for a period of two years, allowing for a stay of no more than 90 days. Members of the Defence Forces who have concerns and anticipate that they may wish to travel to the United States may wish to consider applying pre-emptively for a visa to minimise uncertainties and avoid any disruption to their travel plans. Finally, I am happy to make the information note referred to earlier available to the Senator. Many people in Kildare will be keenly interested in this issue.

Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 10.35 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 11.02 a.m.

Sitting suspended at 10.35 a.m. and resumed at 11.02 a.m.