I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth. Is é an chéad cainteoir anois ná an Seanadóir Robbie Gallagher. Tá ceithre nóiméad aige.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Health Services Staff
Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit chuig an Teach ar maidin. It is easy for us to forget the dark days, the uncertainty and the fear that surrounded the Covid-19 pandemic. For most of us, life has moved on, but unfortunately not for everyone. The exact number of people with long Covid is unknown. HSE exact numbers vary, ranging between 1.8% and 8.3% of the population. As the Minister of State is probably aware, symptoms include fatigue, extreme tiredness, shortness of breath and joint pain, to name a few. We all recall how we applauded our health professionals, and rightly so, for their dedication during the Covid-19 period, and how they went far above the call of duty. The Taoiseach at the time, Deputy Leo Varadkar, said that "not all superheroes wear capes" and that many of them work in our hospitals, which is true. That being said, it is particularly heartbreaking to hear of one very dedicated nurse who, having contracted long Covid in the course of her work, now finds herself medically retired and left out of the HSE scheme for nurses. This is apparently because she developed Covid-19 on the wrong date. Nurse Finola O'Brien has been failed by the system, through no fault of her own, as she continues to suffer from long Covid.
Ms O'Brien was a passionate and dedicated diabetes nurse specialist working across two sites, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda and Dundalk County Hospital, when she contracted Covid-19 on the front line on 18 February 2022. She did everything right. She was careful, had her vaccinations and boosters, and complied with all guidelines and procedures. In spite of her precautions, she contracted Covid-19 and due to circumstances that evolved, only received the mandatory ten days of leave following a change in Government policy in 2022. Ms O'Brien received full critical illness pay from June 2022 to December 2022, followed by half pay until 20 June 2023. This was then progressed to what the HSE call nil pay. Finally, on 7 July 2023, she was medically retired, and this was not her decision. As far as we are aware, Ms O'Brien is the only nurse who has been medically retired, secondary to complications following contracting Covid-19 in the line of duty.
In March 2022, the Government changed the criteria around payment for nurses within the HSE, called special leave with pay, SLWP. This is the last remaining Government support nationally for employees, following the pandemic. Currently, there are approximately 100 nurses receiving the SLWP payment. To be eligible for full salary, it was necessary to have contracted Covid-19 prior to 7 February 2022. Sadly, Ms O'Brien missed that deadline by a mere 11 days. There were no exception criteria and there was no consideration that it might be possible that there were individuals who should have been medically assessed to ascertain if the situation warranted inclusion in this payment scheme. Ms O'Brien has been hospitalised five times and must visit her GP often. She is currently waiting to commence pulmonary rehab and may have to wait up to 90 weeks to get that.
Ms O'Brien has no voice on numerous occasions. She has a throat that is on fire, a complex medical regime, difficulty walking and a harsh cough that can last for hours. The impact of long Covid on her life and mental health is devastating. According to Medmark, her life expectancy has been significantly reduced as a result of contracting Covid-19. Ms O'Brien has spent thousands of euro on medical expenses, and she has lost out financially on her monthly income and on her pension contributions. Applause is not what Ms O'Brien needs. She needs a practical and honest solution to the problem that she finds herself in. She gave her all to her patients. She deserves much better than the place she currently finds herself in. I have met with Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, regarding this particular case, and I would plead with the HSE to do the right thing here. Ms O'Brien was one of those nurses that we sent in to the unknown when the rest of us locked our doors and hid under our beds because of the fear of Covid-19. They went out to look after the sick in our hospitals, and it is only right that the State should now look after them.
I thank Senator Gallagher and the Seanad for giving me the opportunity to address this issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. For eligible public health sector employees suffering from long Covid, a temporary 12-month special scheme of paid leave was introduced in July 2022. This was on the foot of the withdrawal of access to the then Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's special leave with pay for those with long Covid. At the request of the Minister for Health, the special scheme has now been extended several times by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. Last week, the Minister of Health secured a further 12-month extension of this special scheme.
The eligibility criteria remain as per the original sanction and the approximately 120 individuals already on the scheme will now continue to be supported until 30 June 2025. The eligibility criteria that were set when the scheme was first introduced were designed to ensure that those working in a Covid-exposed environment in the period before PPE and vaccinations were readily available, and before community transmission had become more prevalent, were supported separate to the public service sick leave scheme. It was not possible, nor would it have been appropriate, to provide access to the special scheme to all employees of the public health service who contracted Covid as the contraction of Covid is a public health issue and not an occupational issue and it is not possible to separate with absolute certainty those who contracted Covid in the workplace from those who contracted Covid generally in the community.
Depending on the date they initially contracted Covid-19, it is important to highlight that the approximately 120 employees on the special scheme have at this point already been supported on full pay for up to four years. In the first instance they were supported by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on special leave with pay, and then followed by the health sector-specific special scheme with a further 12 month extension, which is now available since last week.
The Senator has asked that consideration be given to opening up access to the special scheme to all medical personnel. Noting that community transmission had become more prevalent than workplace transmission by June of 2020, and as such, on the balance of probability an extended cohort are significantly less likely to have contracted it in the workplace, it would be inappropriate for the State to provide continued and costly supports to such a cohort. It is important to note that many categories of workers from other sectors were also deemed essential and they presented for work in the workplace throughout the height of the pandemic period. No scheme was introduced for those essential workers and health has been the only sector to provide such extensive supports. As has always been the case, individuals whoare not eligible for the special scheme and who are unwell may use the full provisions of the public service sick leave scheme and these are full pay sick leave for three months followed by half pay sick leave for three months and, after that, temporary rehabilitative remuneration at a rate of 37.5% of pay which is possible for up to 547 days in a rolling four year period. The critical illness protocol will also provide further supports if granted.
The Minister for Health and the Government recognise the role of our public healthcare workers throughout the height of the pandemic. They went beyond the call of duty with many working in front-line, clinically exposed environments, treating Covid-19 positive patients. Many of that cohort contracted Covid-19 and some still suffer from long Covid. The health sector specific special scheme was introduced to provide support for that cohort of employees.
I thank the Minister of State for the response that he has given here on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. We owe a massive debt of gratitude to our healthcare workers and I have outlined the reasons why. Here we have one particular healthcare worker who feels she has been badly wronged. I met this lady and it really is heartbreaking to see the condition in which Covid has left her. When I did meet with the Minister for Health in relation to this particular case, he did indicate that his office would facilitate a meeting of the relevant personnel in his office with Fionnuala O'Brien so she can outline her case face to face. I have no doubt that if an official from the Department gets an opportunity to have a face to face with Fionnuala O'Brien, they will know that her case is 150% genuine. I would welcome if that meeting could be facilitated as a matter of urgency.
I thank the Senator. The Minister for Health has secured supports for eligible employees suffering from long Covid by way of the health sector-specific special scheme, which follows on from the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform's special leave with pay and that is for up to four years to date. I would also remind the Senator that this scheme has just been extended for a further 12 month period at the Minister's request. The public service sick leave scheme provides extensive and very generous supports for all workers who are unable to work due to illness and all of the various provisions of this scheme are available to provide support for many additional years to any employees who are not eligible for the special scheme. This is the case for all civil and public service employees.
Regarding the case of Fionnuala O'Brien that the Senator raised, the Minister for Health is aware of a specific case regarding a public health sector employee who did not qualify for the special scheme. I understand the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, met with Senator Gallagher to discuss the case and I understand that the individual in question contracted Covid a number of months after the qualifying date which was 84 days, the period commonly recognised as long Covid, prior to 7 February 2022. It is important to note that the full provisions of the public service sick leave scheme will have provided paid supports for a number of years beyond that available to essential workers from the private sector who were required to attend the workplace during high levels of community transmission of Covid. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to follow up with him. I understand the Senator had that meeting and that he would now like to have a follow-up meeting with the person in question. Every case should be treated with due care and compassion and I will ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, when I meet him on Wednesday to talk to the Senator directly to see if we can arrange that.
Data Centres
I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan. As has often been said before, data is the oil of the 21st century. For oil to be of any use, it has to be extracted, refined, stored and distributed and we need to do this with data as well. Like oil, we certainly need to regulate its use and have to be very aware of its environmental concerns but we do need a strategy around data storage in Ireland. The Minister of State will be aware that there are currently 82 data centres in Ireland and they store almost everything that we have on social media but right up to records of hospitals, schools, financial institutions, Government Departments and in fact, I am quite certain a lot of the data relevant to the operation of these Houses is stored in data centres.
It is fair to say that a modern society and modern economy cannot function without data centres and indeed, as we go forward, particularly if we develop systems based on artificial intelligence or other new technologies, we are going to need some form of data storage and we are going to need data centres. This is often misunderstood as to their purpose and there are a lot of false narratives around their operation. Yes, they do consume energy and there is no doubt about that. Yes, they are responsible for emissions so we do need to address that. I notice in The Irish Times this morning Google has stated its greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 48% in the last five years even though Google has a strategy to try to reduce the emissions.
I will bring to attention the story in the Business Post on Sunday by Donal MacNamee and Ellie Donnelly where Leo Clancy, the chief executive of Enterprise Ireland, raised concern about the narrative around data centres, the lack of a forward-thinking plan on their use and also the fact that there has been a note from officials to the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, in the Department of enterprise expressing concern about a lack of policy in this area. It is now critical that the Government sets out very clearly our policy around this basic infrastructure for a modern society and a modern economy around data centres, when and where they can be constructed and about the requirements for energy consumption and emissions. In the same way as when we look at the need for renewable energies and how we need to have a strategy in that area, we need to understand this critical piece of infrastructure given the fuel that data is for modern societies and modern economies and we need a very clear and understandable Government policy in this area. It needs to allow for an increased number of data centres or larger data centres while at the same time managing our very serious concerns about energy consumption and emissions. The lack of a clear policy in this space at the moment is very concerning.
I thank Senator Byrne for raising this topic. Ireland has attracted the best data centre and tech companies in the world. It is a really important relationship, and the Government continues to work with the sector towards a secure and decarbonised energy future which will enable the twin transitions of digitisation and decarbonisation of our economy and our society. However, data centres, like all energy users, have to exist within the boundaries of our climate targets. Additionally, the electricity system is under pressure at present and particularly so in Dublin.
Ireland is not alone in facing this challenge. Data centre energy demand is a global challenge for companies and governments but there are fantastic opportunities on the horizon. The July 2022 Government statement on the role of data centres in Ireland’s enterprise strategy outlines the principles for sustainable data centre development and provides clear guidance to decision makers in the planning process. The statement encourages the data centre sector to implement decarbonised energy solutions and increase efficiency. This statement expresses the Government's preference for data centres that can demonstrate additionality of their renewable energy use in Ireland and which are ultimately decarbonised by design, providing net zero data services. It should be noted that no other European country has facilitated data centre growth to 18% of total electricity consumption, as Ireland has. As a result of this unprecedented growth, there is currently limited scope for adding new connections over the short term. Current contracted and further connections are now dependent on successful grid development. Ensuring timely delivery of extensive grid enhancements is going to be critical to delivering the current contracted data centre demand, which is expected to reach about 30% of total electricity consumption by 2032. It would also support overall energy demand increases for growing in a prosperous economy, ensuring the delivery of priority infrastructure projects for the State, such as Metrolink, DART West, DART plus, Dublin Port, housing development and the electrification of transport and heat.
New commissions will also be dependent on the outcome of the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities' review of connection policy for large energy users. The aim of this review is to provide a new pathway for large energy users to connect to the electricity and gas systems and minimise the impact on national carbon emissions, while also taking account of the capacity of our energy and grid infrastructure. A decision paper is expected in the summer of 2024.
Recognising the opportunity to strengthen collaboration between relevant stakeholders through the energy security in Ireland to 2030 strategy, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment have committed to working with the IDA and industry to identify and support new approaches to integrating large-scale demand sustainably into Ireland's energy systems that align with our climate ambitions to reduce fossil fuel demand and our energy security requirements. Ireland has set an ambitious target of up to 80% of electricity consumption to come from renewable sources by 2030. Until then, the scope for new connections is limited, however it is expected that Ireland in the future will have sufficient decarbonised energy to facilitate the economic growth ambitions of both indigenous and multinational businesses. There are current and real constraints while we are managing the transition pathway. Additional resources have been allocated in the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications to prioritise and manage this pathway.
Tá nóiméad amháin ag an Seanadóir Malcolm Byrne.
I thank the Minister of State and I welcome that, but he will appreciate the concern for both multinational and indigenous companies is that if we do not have the necessary infrastructure in place, it will place serious constraints on growth. I obviously welcome the commitment the Minister of State has made that the review of the connection policy for large energy users by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities will be published in summer 2024. Summer can obviously be interpreted in a very broad way; is the Minister of State indicating that by 31 August we will definitely see the publication of this paper? Will there be clarity and certainty around how we can proceed with data centres in the future, which are critical to our society and our economy?
Data centres are obviously critical to our economy, they bring in huge amounts of money and giant amounts of employment. Ireland is storing about one thrid of European data, it is clearly an engine of our economy. We had a policy on data centres in 2018 that came from the Department of trade and did not refer to security of supply, the risk of blackouts in our electricity system or climate change. We updated that in 2022 with the new Government statement. The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities is now carrying out a review. That commission is independent and reports to the Oireachtas environment committee. If I am being asked when exactly it is going to publish its review, I am being told it will be in the summer but the environment committee is the right forum to ask, as the commission is not actually answerable to the Minister or the Department.
Data centres have to find a way to contribute to the security of supply. That is possible. If they all have a backup power supply and we run out of electricity in the country, we can turn off the data centre supplies first and allow them to run on backup. They can contribute to security of supply. If we make data centres provide additional renewable energy every time they are built, which was not going to otherwise be provided - a new wind or a new solar farm - they will be contributing to our climate targets as well. We need to find a way that we can make the data centres work for the economy, but also work for our climate targets and our security of electricity supply. We can do that. I talk to these tech companies all the time and of course they have influence on the Government because they contribute so much in tax.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire agus le Seanadóir Byrne. Our next Commencement matter is in the name of Senator Pauline O'Reilly. The Minister of State, Deputy Smyth is staying with us agus tá ceithre nóiméad aige.
Citizens' Assembly
I welcome the Minister of State. This is the second Commencement matter I have tabled on the Citizens' Assembly on Education, but I have brought the issue up many times with the Minister for Education. As I understand it from the Department of Education, it has referred the matter to the Department of an Taoiseach which is why I have addressed this Commencement matter to that Department. We know from previous citizens' assemblies such as the Citizens' Assembly on Climate Action, in particular, and on abortion, that we have had significant change in this country because citizens have been given all of the information and have sat down and looked at it, engaged in dialogue with each other and come up with recommendations themselves. When it comes to education, I am sure we can all agree that it is one of the most important functions of the State. It is enshrined in our Constitution and has a massive budget.
A quarter of that budget is for special needs education. We need to now go back and ask people if it is delivering for them, in order for us to be able to invest whichever way decide we are going to to invest, but it has to be based on something. I am getting frustrated and I am sure the Minister can hear that. This was a key commitment in the programme for Government, the last citizens' assembly on drugs is over and all of the Departments have been aware for over four years that they are working to a target of doing a citizens' assembly on education. I want to know what the date is and I want to know how it is progressing and if all of the Departments have done their work to underpin this going forward. I would love to also hear what the plans are to include young people and children in the citizens' assembly. It was done to an extent in the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity - there was a parallel process - but there is a way in which we can have everyone, no matter what age they are, sitting around the table together to discuss these important matters. Certainly from having spoken to people from within the Department of Education, they would like to see the same thing happen.
On behalf of the Taoiseach, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak to the Seanad today and I want to thank Senator O'Reilly for raising this matter. The citizens' assembly is an exercise in deliberative democracy and places the citizen at the heart of important legal and policy issues facing Irish society. Citizens' assemblies operating independently of Government and reporting directly to the Houses of the Oireachtas, were first established in Ireland in 2013 when the Convention on the Constitution was set up. Since then, the assemblies have become an important part of our democratic process with previous forums deliberating on a variety of matters feeding directly into the formulation of proposals for Constitutional reform. The terms of reference for the assemblies are set by the Oireachtas. The assemblies bring together 99 randomly chosen members of the public to discuss and consider important legal and policy issues and, ultimately, to make recommendations to the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is the members of the citizens' assemblies who decide on all matters relating to its operation, including its rules and procedures, the schedule of meetings and, subject to the resolution passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas, the prioritisation of the work programme.
Assemblies operate in an open and transparent manner, with public proceedings live streamed on the assembly’s website. Each assembly also engages with the wider public, academia, civil society and stakeholders, by inviting submissions on the topic under consideration. The programme for Government, Our Shared Future, committed to establishing four citizens assemblies on the topics of biodiversity loss; the type of directly elected mayor and local government structures best suited for Dublin; drug use; and the future of education. Three of those four citizens' assemblies have now concluded their work and submitted their reports to the Oireachtas, as required under their terms of reference. The Dublin Citizens' Assembly concluded its meetings in October of 2022 and submitted its report to the Oireachtas in December 2022.
The Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage published its response to the report in December 2023. The Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss concluded its meetings in January 2023 and submitted its report to the Oireachtas in March 2023. The Joint Committee on the Environment and Climate Action published its response to the report in December. The Minister and officials in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are now leading on the preparation of a whole-of-government response to the recommendations of both the Dublin Citizens' Assembly and the Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss, and responses will be published in due course, once they have been finalised.
The Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use concluded its meetings in October of last year and submitted its report to the Oireachtas in December. The report was published on 25 January. The Dáil and Seanad referred the report to the relevant joint committee, which has commenced its consideration of the report.
The question of establishing a citizens’ assembly on the future of education will need to be subject to a Government decision and resolutions of the Dáil and Seanad in due course. Such a citizens' assembly would cover the full spectrum of the education lifecycle, from early childhood, through primary, secondary, further and higher education to lifelong learning. Consequently, the drafting of terms of reference would seek input from several Ministers. These would include the Ministers for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
On the terms of reference, I suppose the question is whether input from the Ministers has been sought. I understand the Minister for Education has had an input. Given that the Taoiseach is a former Minister for further and higher education, I hope he and the Minister for Children have also had an input. Of course, we need to pass a resolution of both Houses, but we need a Government decision in the first instance in order to facilitate that. As a Senator and as a Green Party spokesperson on education, I am trying to use this opportunity to exert pressure. We are in the final year of this Government. The time to get the Government decision and get the resolutions passed is here. We are coming into summer recess. I am concerned, as are all of those who have advocated for the establishment of a citizens’ assembly, that we are running out of time. I would like the Minister of State to go back to the Taoiseach and get him to hurry this along.
The Senator is right. This is the last year of the Government. Three of the four citizens’ assemblies were established and have done their work. This is the final one. Looking at the experience as to how the previous citizens’ assemblies were set up, what happens is that a proposal from the relevant Department is submitted to the Department of the Taoiseach. The latter then co-ordinates the establishment of the assembly. In this case, it is a little more complex because there appear to be three different Departments involved. In the case of the drugs citizens’ assembly, the Minister of State with responsibility for public health prepared the proposal and sent it in to the Department of the Taoiseach. I will speak to the Taoiseach and the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, about this matter. The question is which Department is the lead Department and which of the three Ministers should prepare the proposal for submission to the Department of the Taoiseach in order that we do not have a shared responsibility that leads to not getting the action that is needed.
I can hear the frustration and anxiety. I know the Senator has raised this matter on a number of occasions. Clearly, she has a concern that the Government will run its course without getting around to doing the fourth of citizens' assembly. I would say because we have now run fully through the course of three citizens’ assemblies, the process is now properly understood within the Government. I will ask the relevant Ministers which should be the lead Department. Maybe the Department of the Taoiseach needs to suggest which of the three should lead. Maybe it needs to be a Government decision as to which of those Ministers takes the lead in the context of setting up the assembly. It is incredibly important.
The Senator said she wants to make sure that young people will have an input. Most young people under 18 years of age are in full-time education, and, of course, they need to have a role in the citizens’ assembly. Their experience and their views will be key. I absolutely accept that. I will follow up with the relevant Ministers. If the Senator comes back to my office on the matter, I will tell her how I get on.
Rural Schemes
This matter from Senator O’Reilly is very interesting. It relates to the need for the Minister for Rural and Community Development to amend the eligibility requirements for the local improvement scheme, in particular the need to remove the requirement to have a house on at least 1 ha of land when there is only one other landowner with a herd number. We are all aware of these cases. Senator O’Reilly may now make his case.
I thank the Acting Chair for the recognition of the relevance of this matter to real people and families. I also thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting it to be taken. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth. It is always great to have him in the Seanad. His answers are always lucid and frank. I recognise the fact that he is here representing my constituency colleague the Minister, Deputy Humphreys.
It is important to put this matter in context. The Minister allocated €40 million, a record allocation, to the local improvement scheme which is really about little byroads, laneways and little roads where real people live - taxpayers, service users, pensioners or whomever– and who want access to the main road. It is about assisting them. The Minister gave €40 million in April, I think. All that combines to €170 million invested in the schemes since 2017. I welcome all of that. However, we must always keep perfecting things. The situation now is that one active farmer, a farmer with a herd number, must live on a laneway, there must be another landowner and, of course, there has to be a residence but the difficulty is that the residence requires one hectare of land around the residence.
Most residences, whether rural or urban, where they are not active farmers, have a half acre around the residence. It is normal. Particularly around the time of a housing crisis it is probably arguable that is enough. I am suggesting that if there is a resident on a laneway with that half acre and their house and there is also an active farmer on that laneway, there is an arguable case, and this is my view, that they should be accepted to the scheme. That is not to say that people who have other accesses who can get out to the main road otherwise, and some of those apply for the scheme, are not naturally entitled to it or where the lane is not effectively in use are not entitled to it. I am talking about a case where there is an active farmer, a householder, with the standard amount of land. When buying a site and building a house, a person could not have anticipated a situation where they would need 1 ha. There is a strong case there that you could have a farmer and a person with 1 ha qualifying for the scheme when they make their local contribution, etc. Obviously, there will be many scenarios where there are two landowners. What I am talking about here will be a small enough number of people.
In many, virtually most, cases, there will be the farmer with the family dwelling on the farm and there will be another landholding. Or there might be a couple of dwellings. Invariably, there are multiple dwellings, multiple farms and there might be a landholder without a farm. My distinguished colleague the Acting Chair, Senator Murphy, will be very familiar with this in County Roscommon, which is no different from County Cavan or the rest of rural Ireland in the context of how this applies. Elected colleagues from around the country have mentioned this matter to me. It is not specifically an issue relating to either Cavan or Roscommon. It is a nationwide issue. This is about improving the lives of people who are left out and they do feel disenfranchised. They feel outside the loop a bit. They live in these rural areas, often in difficult enough circumstances. When people went canvassing recently for the local elections, they discovered this. They can have horrible roads in and the service providers, the nurses, doctors and so on, do not want to come in. There are issues with milk delivery systems. We should make the scheme as accessible as possible, within the law and within reason. Where there is one householder - a valid householder on a proper site - and an active farmer on the land, it should qualify.
Obviously, in the vast majority of cases, there will be multiples of both.
The Senator has made his case very well.
The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has sent her apologies that she could not be here today. I am here on her behalf to respond to the Commencement matter.
The local improvement scheme is a programme for improvement works on small private or non-public roads in rural areas that are not normally maintained by local authorities. The scheme is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and is administered through the local authorities. The focus of the scheme is to support the continued improvement of non-public rural roads and laneways that are not normally maintained by local authorities but which represent a vital piece of infrastructure for rural residents.
Both the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and I understand just how important this scheme is for people in rural areas and farm families in particular. There is no other source of funding for these roads, which provide vital access to agricultural lands and rural homes. Importantly, as well as providing access to rural homes and farmlands, the scheme is also used to fund non-public roads, leading to important community amenities such as graveyards, beaches, piers, mountain access points and other tourist and heritage sites. This service is another important improvement to access and connectivity for rural areas at a local level.
As part of Our Rural Future, the Government has committed to ensuring that the local improvement scheme is funded into the future. The scheme was reintroduced by the Department of Rural and Community Development in 2017, and this followed a number of years with no dedicated funding. Between 2017 and 2023, almost €130 million was allocated to local authorities under the local improvement scheme. However, it remains the case that there is a strong demand for the scheme on the ground and, with this in mind, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, allocated a further €40 million to the scheme in April of this year. This allocation is in respect of works to be carried out over 2024 and 2025 and will allow local authorities to plan for the more efficient and effective delivery of road improvements at a local level.
A further important change was also made to the scheme this year. Again, this was aimed at ensuring the scheme maximises impact across the country. Up to 2023, the scheme required two herd numbers on the parcel serviced by a lane for repair. This requirement has now been changed such that only one herd number is required this year. This change was introduced following feedback from a number of local representatives, and it has been well received.
For a number of years, the Department has recommended that land parcels served by roads for repair be a minimum of 1 ha in size. This recommendation has been in place with a view to supporting the delivery of the best value for money with the funding available under the scheme. In keeping with the overall operation of the scheme, however, this has always been a recommendation and the final decision in relation to the selection of roads for repair remains with the local authority. While this element of the operation of the scheme remains a recommendation this year, I am aware that there have been a number of queries recently in this regard.
Officials in the Department of Rural and Community Development engage with the local authorities on an ongoing basis as to the delivery of the scheme. Given the queries arising in relation to eligible roads in this instance, I am aware that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has requested her officials to engage directly with local authorities on this matter and to review how this recommendation is currently being implemented. I can confirm that the funding of local improvement schemes remains a matter of priority for the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and her colleagues and that the Department will continue to work with local authorities to ensure the scheme continues to deliver real and tangible benefits for rural communities across Ireland.
I thank the Minister of State for the response he has delivered on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys. I welcome the fact that there is dialogue. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, tends to take a very commonsense approach to things. I am happy that her officials are engaged in dialogue with local authorities to keep the scheme under review. All I ask of the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, is to ensure my proposition today becomes part of that dialogue. I ask for it to be stress-tested and looked at by officials. I take the point that it is unfortunately just not possible to provide a laneway to one farmer’s place alone. Taking that as a given, I refer to a situation in which there is another house or a number of houses. In theory, as it stands, you could have three or four houses on a 0.5 acre site, as well as a farmer, but they would not qualify because they would not reach the qualifying criteria of having 1 ha. It does need to be reviewed. I hope the Minister of State can assure me that he can convey to the Minister what I am attempting to get across and, more importantly, that it is included in the process that is ongoing within the Department.
I thank the Senator for acknowledging that there is ongoing dialogue with the local authorities. The scheme has been changed. It did require two herd numbers but that has now been moved to one. I take from what the Senator is saying to me that he believes the scheme should be changed from a requirement to have the land parcel size of 1 ha so that a number of land parcels can be aggregated together. If the Senator makes a proposal in that regard, writes it down and sends it, I will make sure that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, gets it and that she can consider that in her discussions with the local authority. The Senator can see from the reply I have read that this rule about having 1 ha is a recommendation to local authorities and the local authorities have the final decision-making power. There is therefore discretion for local authorities to consider how they spend the money that is allocated to them. There is a recommendation, and they should follow recommendations, but they do have the final decision-making power. The Senator might also engage with local authorities directly to remind them that is the official answer. It is a recommendation, but they have the final decision-making power. I thank the Senator for raising this issue, which I understand better now that he has explained it to me this morning. I will bring his recommendation back to the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, if he can send a proposal to me.
I thank the Minister of State.
I thank the Minister of State for taking all four Commencement matters this morning. I thank Senators Gallagher, Malcolm Byrne, Pauline O’Reilly and Joe O’Reilly-----
Two Senator O’Reillys.
-----for contributing to the debate this morning. I also thank all the staff in the House, who are so helpful.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 10.17 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 10.33 a.m.
Sitting suspended at 10.17 a.m. and resumed at 10.33 a.m.