I welcome the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, to the House and express my thanks and delight that there is a senior Cabinet Minister again here today for our Commencement matters. It is always good to have senior Ministers taking Commencement matters and I thank the Minister for being here today.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Traffic Management
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire chuig an Seanad ar maidin.
As part of the programme for Government that the Greens successfully negotiated, the ratio of Government investment in transport was flipped from 2:1 in favour of roads to 2:1 in favour of public transport and active travel. As part of this, in October 2022, the Minister announced 35 groundbreaking pathfinder projects around the country that encompass significant road space reallocation favouring walking and cycling in our cities and towns and large-scale investment in public transport. In my county of Kildare, the Naas mobility network integration project was successfully included in the list of pathfinder programmes approved. The proposal for Naas aims to reduce traffic congestion in the town centre and includes improvements to bus stop infrastructure, cycle and scooter hire, a 6.2 m wide main carriageway, accessible parking spaces, pedestrian crossings, outdoor seating, tree planting, and public realm improvements. The main street will be positively reshaped and it will transform Naas for the better. From track record evidence, as well as reducing carbon emissions, local town centre economic activity and local tourism will be boosted.
The Minister is on record that time is of the essence and that projects should be completed over the next three years. Kildare County Council ought to be commended. It put in the hard yards and the heavy lifting in doing a super job in securing this €20 million investment for County Kildare, yet in April of this year, former Green Party councillor in Naas, Colm Kenny, in reply to a question submitted to the council, was informed that discussions were still ongoing to secure funding. As recently as yesterday, at the Naas municipal district monthly meeting, in response to a question submitted by local Green Party Councillor Bob Quinn, the council reply stated that the sustainable transport section did not have a funding allocation for the project but it was said to be working closely with the Department of Transport to develop a mechanism to secure funding to progress this important initiative. It is coming up to ten months and it looks like it is still in the embryonic stage of developing a mechanism. Considering the Minister made it clear that time is of the essence and that the roll-out of these projects has a time shelf life, if the time-sensitive conditions are not met, the grant moneys could be jeopardised. Naturally, an increasing number of people are concerned that the council still feels justified in insisting on this ultra-careful, extremely cautious, show-me-the-money-first approach. In general terms, is this the order of the day that the Minister is experiencing from other local authorities that are approved for funding? Has he, or will he again, give assurance in respect of the funding for this highly meritorious project?
I thank the Senator for raising what is a very important issue for the county of Kildare and the people in the town of Naas, but it also allows me to outline some of the work we are doing on these pathfinder projects and why they have been introduced. As the Senator said, 35 projects have been agreed with a wide application. We went to every county council and asked them to come forward with proposals. We selected what we thought were the best projects from them and those that could be shown would be delivered by the end of 2025. Pathfinder is designed to show we can deliver quickly because our transport emissions continue to rise. The gridlock that a booming economy brings continues to be one of the biggest effects on people's quality of life, and we need to switch to a more sustainable active travel public transport alternative. The whole variety of pathfinder projects was designed, therefore, to give council throughout the country the opportunity to show how we could do this in order that we could then replicate this in other towns. If we can get this really attractive project in Naas stopping all the through traffic going through the centre of town, there are ready alternatives where we can divert such traffic, introduce really good pedestrian areas, connect up the other active travel and public transport initiatives we are doing in the town, and then at the core, really develop the centre of the town as a really attractive public place to visit, shop and socialise in, as well as to get around using sustainable modes. This is an important project.
Two projects had similar characteristics and involved real town revitalisation traffic management exercises in Clonmel and Naas. It was agreed internally on both that in the absence of funding from any other budget, we would agree to make sure funding would be available from the climate action fund to provide for these projects such were their importance. I met with the county manager and the director of services last year because I had heard they had concerns about whether this was a real prospect and I reassured them it absolutely was. However, the most urgent issue is speed because there is an issue if we cannot deliver this project by the end of the 2025 and if the council is not on track to deliver this project by the end of that year. I made it clear right through the pathfinder project that if councils were not keen and were not developing projects in a timely manner, we would transfer the money to other projects. We have a substitute list of other projects that other councils are very keen to progress in this way. I am concerned, and I hope my concerns are not borne out to be true, that Kildare County Council seems to be hesitant, as the Senator said in his introduction.
They need to have the Part 8 process concluded to introduce these traffic management measures by, at the latest, very early next year. To do that, there are key timelines and markers. I will be keeping a close eye on it. As I said to Kildare County Council and to every other council, if they are not able to deliver in the timeframe, we will reallocate the funding elsewhere and another town will be able to get the benefit of showing what is possible in moving to this more sustainable future. I hope that does not prove to be the case. I hope the local authority makes it clear that it is looking to get the approval. It would obviously be up to the councillors. All these decisions are bottom-up decisions. It will be up to Kildare County Council to decide whether it wants to proceed with the project. If they do not, we will reallocate the funding quickly. If they do, I will be happier than anyone else and will look forward to the day when we are there in a revitalised, completely reformed and improved Naas town centre through this traffic management measure. I hope we can deliver that before 2025, as committed to.
Before I call the Senator, there is standard practice that we would have a script for Commencement matters and there does not appear to be any here.
I have it here.
That is okay. We will get them on the way out. I thank the Minister.
I thank the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, for his clear unambiguous statement. That clarification, I hope, will be a catalyst for positive action and translating words into action. This is real.
The Minister is a frequent visitor to Naas. I hope to see him there again soon. The Minister will be aware at first hand of the benefits of this project. I regret to say that there is no sign of Part 8. The public have not been informed of that yet. It has not been advertised. I am hoping today that it has been made crystal clear, on the record of Seanad Éireann, both that this is still a good project and that while it is late, it is not too late. I will work with the Minister, with the local councillors, with the Green Party councillors and with the local authority in anything I can do to ensure this money is not jeopardised. We need the €20 million for Naas and for this county. It will reverberate around the full county.
Let us get moving on this. It is time for action.
I absolutely agree with the Senator. It is time for action.
The exact cost will obviously have to be set out. That was an indicative amount. It could be less. It depends on how the project is staged. Works, as I said, have to be completed by the end of 2025 to qualify.
The funding is available. That political commitment in the use of the climate fund is absolutely clear and certain. The only question is whether Kildare County Council can work in a timely manner to deliver it for the people of that town. I hope and expect that it will.
I am slightly concerned at what the Senator seems to indicate, that there is not that public-----
It is nearly ten months in.
We will have to act very fast here. As I said, we have regular meetings of our sustainable mobility task force reviewing each and every project and if one does fall out of a credible timeline, we will reallocate the funding. I hope that does not happen.
Departmental Schemes
I thank the Acting Chairperson and welcome the Minister to the Chamber.
I have raised this issue with the Minister previously. I am aware that it has been one of the Minister's key policy areas in terms the deep retrofit scheme and ensuring that we can make our homes more energy efficient, not only to address the climate challenge - we need to retrofit homes to meet our emissions targets - but also to address increasing fuel poverty and the challenges of heating homes.
We have set, as the Minister has said, a very ambitious target to retrofit half a million homes by 2030 to a standard of B2 or higher. It is a very ambitious plan. Currently, we have hit maybe 3% or 4% of that and we have a considerable way to go in the next seven years to meet those targets.
There appear to be some challenges, in particular, with the one-stop shops and the deep retrofit programmes, and it is important that these are addressed. What I am hearing back from industry, as the Minister will be aware, is that there is a shortage of qualified tradespeople to carry out the work. The grants available, while considerable, are only a fraction of the cost being quoted to potential customers. I had one individual approach me who wanted to install photovoltaic, PV, solar panels in his home and a heat pump. In terms of retrofitting, these are standard enough things we would like to see in most older homes. He was quoted €137,000 for those works. He was being given a grant of €21,000 and the balance was €116,000. There are very few households that can afford that level of outlay for a retrofit. We need people to install the heat pumps. We need people to install solar panels. It is out of reach, I would suggest, for many households.
It appears, and certainly some of the commentary would suggest, that there may be a lack of competition among the one-stop shops, there are not enough of them doing the work, and whatever grant is available seems to be swallowed up by the prices being quoted for individual items on the bill of works. I have seen one quotation for the installation of a heat pump just shy of €20,000 and the grant is €7,000 or €8,000. I would suggest one could probably get a heat pump installed for far less than that. That seems to be certainly on the higher end of the scale and one has to ask the question, are some of the one-stop shops inflating the prices that they are quoting to people in the knowledge that there is a grant available and they are swallowing up the grant that is available? That needs to be tackled head-on with the one-stop shop because it is the only place one can go to get a deep retrofit.
That brings me to my second issue, that is, the one-off grants. Many people will choose, because they will have no choice, to do it piece by piece and avail of the individual grants. With the one-stop shop and with the deep retrofit, one only pays the balance. The grant is applied at the start and one does not have to pay the full amount. One pays the balance, even though it seems to be astronomical amounts. With the individual grants, however, one has to pay the full amount upfront and one claims back afterward. That seems to be an inequity that those with less money unable to do the full retrofit have to find all of the money upfront and then claim the grant back afterwards. I ask the Minister to address that issue, to even it out across both options whereby one would only pay the balance for the cost of works however we can achieve that.
There are some works that are not covered under the individual grants that are covered under the deep retrofit, and that is also a deep inequality. For example, one cannot get one's home energy assessment done under the individual grants. It is costing anything from €500 to €800 just to get one's home assessed and check out its energy rating efficiency. We want all homes to have that assessment done but it is quite a lot of money and there is no grant available for somebody to do that under the individual grants. One cannot get floor insulation, windows and doors, or ventilation under the individualised grants but they are covered under the one-stop shop - the deep retrofit. The one-stop shop really is for people with significant amounts of money or access to money. There are certain grants that people who have less money - those most at risk of fuel poverty, and the ones who want to try to do their best and do it piece by piece because that it is better than it not happening at all - cannot access because they are doing it bit by bit. I ask the Minister to look at that and at least level up the two options - the one-stop shop and the individual grants - to ensure that grants that are available under one pathway under the one-stop shop are also available on an individualised basis. That would at least bring some equity to the way the grants are being applied and would hopefully assist us in increasing the numbers of homes being retrofitted to the standard that we need them to be.
I thank Senator Chambers for addressing a really important issue.
Because of our climate targets, we have to retrofit all those homes below the B2 rating. That amounts to approximately 1.5 million homes. We estimate we will do it, according to the plan, decade by decade. In this first decade, it will involve half a million homes and the installation of 400,000 heat pumps.
Heat pumps are the energy heating system of the future. They are more efficient. They are cleaner. They are more economic. They can allow us to use our abundant renewable resources. It makes a lot of sense.
One-stop shops are a key component. We introduced, in February 2022, the whole new retrofitting scheme. There is a variety of different grants and initiatives building on what we were already doing. One-stop shops were one key element in that. It was to pull it together to help householders in what can often be very complex engineering and financing. It was to have an agency that would help deliver that and in the aggregation of that work, help to bring down the cost so that every job is not just a one-off bespoke job and one has agencies which have contractors which can build up scale and experience.
That one-stop scheme is only starting but it is working.
Some 900 homes are already upgraded. We are starting to see scale coming. About 16 different one-stop shops are registered and more are coming, so there is competition. If a person is unhappy with the price quoted - from what I have heard recently from others, that one seems very expensive - the best advice would be to get a second quote to see is that consistent.
On a number of points raised, we have to be careful about moving towards one-off grants for such things as doors and windows. We want an integrated approach; that is right. For affordability, some people may go for the one-off grants because they cannot afford the wider package. We will introduce a new loan scheme towards the end of this year that will help to close the gap. Those people who cannot afford the capital or cash to be able to avail of the grants will have a mechanism to do so. We will continue to review and assess the schemes as we go.
The main point I want to make is that this scheme is working. Last year, we had 50,000 applications to the scheme. That was 150% up on the previous year. We upgraded 27,200 homes which is a 79% increase on the previous year. Of those, 8,481 were upgraded to a BER of B2 or better. That is the real, deep retrofit, which is where we want to go. That doubled from the previous year. We had 4,438 homes upgraded under the energy poverty schemes which is up 85% on previous year. We use the carbon tax to fund people, particularly those on lower incomes who could not afford to do some of the retrofitting. That is a key component of this. We have to have a just transition. We have to make sure that those at most risk of fuel poverty are the ones who can benefit most. The benefit of the carbon tax system we have is we know each year that the allocation for that purpose will keep going up. We had a record capital budget of €356 million for this year. That is going to be spent and it will increase further next year.
On the statistics, for context, we set a target for 37,000 home energy upgrades this year. Already in the first half of the year, we have done 21,700. We are ahead of target and the figure is growing. The applications last year show a record 150% increase. They have grown a further 40% this year. The scheme is working. It is ahead of target, ahead of schedule and making a real difference to people's everyday lives. There has been a 200% increase in deep retrofits so far this year compared with the previous year. The system is working. We will continue to review and revise it. The climate emissions figures will come out tomorrow. I do not expect to see huge progress in some of the other areas but in domestic energy use we are starting to see real reductions. The system is starting to work.
I am aware of some of the statistics the Minister has quoted. We were coming from quite a low base so when we see a 150% increase or a doubling in numbers from 4,000 to 8,000, it is positive and going in the right direction. However, genuinely from my experience of applying through the one-stop shops, I know that shopping around brings back the same quotes. There are issues. Making an application is required in order to get a quote. I ask the Minister to have his Department check how many of those applications resulted in people actually commencing works. I guarantee that the quotes coming back are astronomical. They are unaffordable. The word on the ground, talking to tradespeople, is that people now dismiss the retrofit scheme saying that people are creaming it, they are charging huge money and it is not the way to go. It is better applying for individualised grants and doing it yourself because you are not going to save anything. That is the feedback given to us by builders on the ground. If that is not the case, then that attitude needs to be addressed because the message filtering out throughout the country is that going through the one-stop shops is not value for money.
I appreciate there will be a loan scheme, but with a loan comes interest and a cost of borrowing. That cost of borrowing is being put on somebody who does not have the money in the first place. This will deter people from choosing to do the retrofit, particularly those in their 50s or 60s and those in retirement. They will just say "That is not for me." I genuinely believe there are issues with the scheme. People want to do the right thing but the figures being quoted, not just by one one-stop shop but across the board, are too high. If I have one message to the Minister, it is to check how many applications resulted in work being commenced.
I do not disagree with what the Senator has said. We will continue to revise and review, as I said. I have two points to make. The reason we are seeing the numbers of completed works grow dramatically is that the cost of fuel remains very high by historical comparisons. The advantage of investing in the home is that it brings down fuel bills and improves the value of the house. Houses with a low BER sell for a higher value. In the interim, while living in the house, the experience is incredibly different. It is much more comfortable and there are huge health benefits and so on.
I forgot to mention one other area. There are so many different areas we are working on but one of them is social housing. That is really important. As I said, the first key target is to spend the majority of the money the State has on those on lowest incomes. One further development I expect to see is that if we go into an estate, where there may be a mix of social housing and private housing, we start to do both at the same time. The one-stop shops were always going to take time to scale up but where the savings must, will and should come is when work can be aggregated and ten houses can be done rather than one. We expect to see prices coming down there. If, in the interim, as the Senator says, the price is very high, the householder has the option of doing it on an item-by-item basis. We are not restricting that. However, the one-stop shop is designed to get aggregation to bring the cost down. I will continue to review, exactly as Senator Chambers said, the number of applications converting into construction. Mechanisms that show flexibility and help the one-stop shops and householders to aggregate are the key next step.
Tax Code
I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, to the House again. The next Commencement matter is in the name of Senator Seán Kyne and relates to the Government's commitment to index-link tax credits and bands.
It is important to recognise that without index linking, eventually everybody would end up at a higher rate of tax as wages grow. A tax cut is a misnomer to a degree. It is about indexing tax rates to wage growth. That is important. It is important to acknowledge that people in this country are working very hard. In particular, they have had great difficulties for the past couple of years with the cost of living, including the cost of energy, the impact of the war in Ukraine and high rates of inflation, which we have not experienced for some time. Thankfully, the rates are dropping. They were down to 4.8% in June and, hopefully, they will continue to reduce as projected. It is important that the tax code and tax credits keep pace and reward people for the work they are doing. The majority of people are working hard and have no issue supporting those in need through social welfare and the pensioners who built this country. They should be rewarded but the workers also need help. They need assistance. They need the continuation of tax cuts and index linking of tax credits. I hope the budget will continue to reward workers for their work and, to use a cliché, for getting up early in the morning and putting in the hard graft to provide the taxes that support all and sundry.
Senator Seán Kyne:: I thank the Cathaoirleach’s office for choosing this Commencement matter this morning. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, to the Chamber. I do not have to tell the Minister of State of the statistics showing that 2.61 million people are now at work, more than 100,000 jobs were created in the past 12 months and the unemployment rate stands at 3.8%, which is the lowest ever. The State’s employment agencies such as IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Údarás na hÉireann support companies and businesses that employ some 528,000 people. Throughout the country the SME sector, small and local businesses, provide work and opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people. With full employment, there are record levels of revenue from income tax and corporation tax, record levels of inward investment and a growing economy despite the international challenges. None of this happens by accident. It happened because the right policies are being implemented and we must never take any of this success for granted.
In the context of a growing economy and increased revenues, it is possible and reasonable to cut taxes while also being able to increase spending in a targeted and responsible way. The programme for Government commits to index-linking tax credits and tax bands so as to prevent an increase in the real burden of income tax. One of the policies of my party, which I wholeheartedly support, is rewarding work and enterprise. The best way of helping people to manage the cost of living is to cut their tax bill. Fine Gael and the Government have pursued this policy in cutting tax and USC over the past decade. However, people on very modest incomes still pay a high rate of tax far too soon. The argument against cutting tax is that it will fuel inflation. However, inflation has halved in the past year and is expected to halve again in 2024. If we do not cut taxes, inflation by its very nature will actually increase the burden of taxes on workers. That goes against the commitment in the programme for Government.
The summer economic statement forecasts an overall budget package of €6.4 billion. Of this, €5.2 billion will be additional spending and €1.1 billion will be for tax measures. Will it be possible to achieve the programme for Government commitment and fully index-link tax credits and bands within these allocations? That is an important point in regard to the commitments in the programme for Government on tax cuts and changing tax credits. We have seen in the past year the entry point increased to €40,000 for the higher rate of income tax. We want to see that progressed over the next number of years to €50,000 before people would pay the higher rate of tax.
I thank the Senator for raising this very important matter. He quoted from the programme for Government, Our Shared Future, with regard to the specific commitments in this area. It states:
From Budget 2022 onwards, in the event that incomes are again rising as the economy recovers, credits and bands will be index linked to earnings. This will be done to prevent an increase in the real burden of income tax, to prevent more low income workers being taken into the tax net because of no changes to the tax system and to ensure there is no increase in the number of people having to pay higher income tax and USC rates.
The Senator quite rightly pointed that out. Significant progress has been made in achieving this commitment over the past few budgets. Budget 2022 included an income tax package with a cost of more than €500 million. The single standard rate cut-off income tax band was increased by €1,500 from €35,300 to €36,800, a 4.3% increase, with commensurate increases for persons who are married or in civil partnerships. In addition, the primary tax credits - personal, employee and earned income tax credits - were also increased by €50 from €1,650 to €1,700, which is just over a 3% increase.
Budget 2023 also included a substantial personal income tax package amounting to €1.13 billion. Again, the single standard rate income tax band was increased, on this occasion by €3,200 from €36,800 to €40,000, an 8.7% increase, with commensurate increases for persons who are married or in civil partnerships. In addition, the primary tax credits - personal, employee and earned income tax credits - were also increased by €75 from €1,700 to €1,775, which is just over 4.4% of an increase. These tax changes effectively indexed the income tax standard rate bands and main personal tax credits within the fiscal resources available. Furthermore, in budget 2023, the home carer tax credit was also increased by €100 from €1,600 to €1,700 a 6.3% increase.
On USC, in both budget 2022 and budget 2023, the ceiling for the 2% rate of USC was increased in line with increases in the national minimum wage, which is €11.50 per hour in 2023, to ensure that a full-time adult worker on the national minimum wage would remain outside the top rates of USC. The temporary USC concession for full medical card holders earning less than €60,000 was also extended in both budgets such that it remains in place until end December 2023.
Last week, it was announced in the summer economic statement that a tax package of €1.1 billion is being provided for in budget 2024, with measures that shield workers from higher taxation arising due to inflation being prioritised. With this in mind, the Minister for Finance will be developing a package, including policies relating to taxation, over the coming months.
Before I call Senator Kyne, I note that the standard practice is that we would have a script from the Minister of State. I do not know if there are scripts available or if we can make them available.
I thought they were here; my apologies.
It is not the Minister of State's fault. I just wanted to flag that. Maybe we could get copies circulated. This happened for the previous matter as well.
I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive response on what we have done in the past and in budget 2023. It is important that the programme for Government commitment to a tax package that will benefit workers in this country and the summer economic statement are followed through on. It is essential to put money back in people's pockets to help them deal with the rising prices of goods and services. Tax cuts give people choice as to how to spend their own money in a time of tight personal finances and they ensure that people's real tax bills do not increase due to inflation. The Taoiseach has stated that we will use the corporation tax receipts for additional capital investment, debt reduction and a future fund. That is important but it is also important that workers see the benefit of their work and of the improved finances in the country. They have had a long number of years of difficulties, particularly for the past few years due to inflationary pressures, so they need relief.
The Senator made very valid points about how the budget should be framed. It is critical for workers who are doing additional hours or overtime that they do not lose money in their net pay because of increasing taxation rates and going into a different bracket in terms of the standard rate cut-off points. The Government has to, and will, prioritise in budget 2024 people who are working and middle-income earners to ensure they are getting tax back and are protected from that bracket creep through the increase in inflation. That is very important because they are the engine room of the economy. We are all very aware in these Houses that we need a strong economy and we need workers in that engine room to run our public services, protect the most vulnerable and provide for all of those key mechanisms in society. The economy is central to doing that. The Government has been very strong on that. As the Senator quite rightly pointed out regarding the corporation tax surplus, it is not about being risky. We are protecting it for future generations so we can deploy it in a countercyclical manner to ensure that at times when public investment is weak and private investment is under pressure, we have that money to put into future generations.
Health Services
The Minister of State is very welcome. I will be brief and to the point. This matter relates to the upgrade of the facilities at St. Joseph's campus in Longford. We have a fantastic radiology facility there that recently got some aesthetic works done but the X-ray machine is badly in need of an upgrade. A lot of services have been taken away from Longford and moved elsewhere, which means people living in my home county and my local area, in particular north Longford, have to travel upwards of an hour to access them. We want to maintain the services we have there on the campus.
Significant investment was announced by the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, a couple of years ago. Work is starting very shortly on the provision of an upgraded 43-bed care facility on the campus. Following a long campaign, we now have an additional hospice bed and that is going to be part of that plan to bring it up to two in conjunction with the local voluntary committee of Longford Hospice Homecare, which does a fantastic job in our area. We want to make sure we maintain the facilities we have. We want guarantees and commitments that the funding will be put in place to make sure we get that upgraded facility so the people in our county are able to avail of those services.
I also ask that the HSE look at the possibility of locating a minor injury clinic on that campus. A new clinic was opened up on the grounds of St. Francis hospital in Mullingar, in conjunction with Mullingar hospital, to alleviate people going to the emergency department there. It has proved very successful and I would like to see the same implemented on the ground in Longford to look after the people who live in my home county.
We have had proposals on the table for a long number of years to move our mental health and disability services from being in a completely outdated and unacceptable building at present to which parents have to bring children to get supports and services to being co-located with the primary care centre, which is located in Ballyminion on the outskirts of the town. A building is available there that would be able to facilitate that. All we have heard is talk over the past number of years. I want commitments that the building beside the primary care centre will be upgraded, that our mental health and disability services will be moved to a state-of-the-art and fit-for-purpose facility to look after citizens in Longford, that the radiology department in St. Joseph's will be upgraded and that we will start the process of putting a minor injury clinic on the campus in St. Joseph's for the citizens of Longford.
I thank Senator Carrigy for the opportunity to provide an update on St. Joseph’s hospital, Longford and compliment him for his advocacy with the regard to the hospital.
The Government has delivered unprecedented levels of investment in our health services in recent years. There should be no doubt that investment in health has been a substantial priority for this Government. In just three years, the net core allocation for our health services increased from €17.9 billion to €22.8 billion - almost €5 billion more or a 27% increase in core funding between 2020 and 2023. That investment is clear tangible evidence of the commitment this Government has made to healthcare and healthcare reform. Enabled by this significant investment, the Government has been driving important reform initiatives working to deliver on the objectives of Sláintecare and building the capacity of our health service to address the changing needs of our growing and ageing population.
The capital plan for 2023 was published earlier this year. The plan includes the recommended funding allocation under each category, including €65 million in the equipment replacement programme. The equipment replacement programme is completed on a risk-based approach.
I can confirm that funding has been allocated under the equipment replacement programme 2023 to replace the general X-ray machine located in the radiology department at St. Joseph’s in Longford. Included in the project is the replacement of the X-ray machine and associated required infrastructure works. The HSE has confirmed the estimated timeline for completion is late quarter 4 of 2023.
Ballyminion primary care centre, PCC, has been operational since quarter 2 of 2013. Currently, primary and community healthcare services provided at this PCC, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, dietetics, podiatry, social work, public health nursing services and counselling and health promotion services. Community healthcare organisation, CHO, midlands Louth Meath advises that proposals are underway to extend Ballyminion PCC. This extension would allow for the co-location of mental health and disability services in the one building.
The GP direct access to diagnostics referral pathway is also accepting referrals from general practitioners to provide radiology diagnostic scans to patients in CHO midlands Louth Meath, which facilitates access to these diagnostic scans for patients in the community setting and prevents unnecessary referrals to hospitals for these tests. Over 10,000 radiology diagnostic scans have been provided across the CHO to date in 2023 through the initiative and of these 156 were X-rays with the majority of the remaining being just over 8,000 MRI scans.
In addition, I am happy to confirm that the project to construct 43 replacement beds in a new-build facility at St. Joseph's Care Centre, Longford under the HIQA compliance programme has gone out to tender. While it is not possible at this point to provide a timeline for the construction of this facility, it is anticipated that construction will commence on this project by quarter 4 of 2023.
I thank the Minister of State for that comprehensive reply to all my queries. I am delighted to know that funding is in place and is ring-fenced and that a new X-ray machine will be delivered for Longford by the end of 2023. I would like to see ongoing work expedited regarding Ballyminion. It has been ongoing for a number of years. The Minister of State might bring the message that this needs to be expedited and put in place immediately back to the Minister for Health. The building in Longford is completely outdated, particularly for disability services, and is not fit to bring young children to, particularly those with additional needs.
I am delighted that work on the new care centre building will start in quarter 4 of 2023. We will be delighted to see work on the ground. It is something we have been looking forward to for a number of years. I ask the Minister of State to bring back to the Minister for Health a message about the strong need for a minor injury unit for Longford based on the St. Joseph's campus to secure that campus. It is a fantastic facility with fantastic staff who worked all through Covid providing services to adults and the youth of Longford and we want to see that maintained.
I again acknowledge the work of Senator Carrigy in this area going back to his work with the former Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, in securing that location for this project. I will raise the issue of the minor injury clinic with the Minister for Health and the timelines for delivering the project, which are very important for the people of Longford.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 11.16 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 11.30 a.m.
Sitting suspended at 11.16 a.m. and resumed at 11.30 a.m.