Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 6 Mar 2025

Vol. 304 No. 9

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

Legislative Process

Senator Victor Boyhan

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. He has vast experience in this area as a Minister of State in the Department. My Commencement matter sets out the need for the Minister to make a statement on the timeline for the full publication of the Planning and Development Act 2024 and progress on the Am Bord Pleanála IT project. When I submitted this, the Government had not at that point issued its press release setting out its timeline of the implementation. Within an hour or two of it being submitted, I received a memo, via a journalist and not internally, to the effect that the press release would be issued later in the afternoon. Anyway, I saw that draft and therefore had to somewhat change my message.

The systems are clearly well oiled in the Customs House, and they set out their schedule, which is interesting, and it is important to acknowledge that. The Planning and Development Act 2024 was the culmination of a comprehensive legal review of the Planning and Development Act 2000, led by the then Attorney General, and subsequently the Attorney General's office. It was initiated by the Government in July 2021. I acknowledge the role played by the Minister of State and his predecessors in that and, in essence, the key message was improving clarity, consistency and confidence within the planning system. They were the three underlying messages that Minister after Minister came into this House to set out. We have to take that as fact, and we have to progress. Regardless of how Members voted and the outcome of the amendments, we now have this very important legislation. I am asking that we now proceed to roll-out. It is important to acknowledge that the Planning and Development Act 2024 introduced key reforms, like the introduction of statutory timelines for all consenting processes given the confidence we talked about. What I really want to concentrate on today is the significant reorganisation of An Bord Pleanála.

The Act is not fully published yet because it has not been fully translated into Irish. I understand from officials in the Department that it requires a substantial body of work. That is not a matter for the Department but for the Oireachtas, and we have to bear with the Oireachtas and the enormous burden of this significant Bill, one of the biggest in the history of the State, that has to be fully translated into the Irish language in compliance with the Official Languages Act 2003. That process is in play and is being dealt with, so I am not asking the Minister of State to deal with that today.

There is a substantial amount of learning and that is why the Government clearly set out its timeline for introduction of the various phases. That is clear and I am glad for the clarity we had on that this week. I ask therefore that the Minister of State address two issues. First, it is important to use the Office of the Planning Regulator, which does an excellent job in this area, and the city and county council representative associations such as the Association of Irish Local Government and Local Authorities Members Association to set about training modules to introduce people, commensurate with the sections as they have been introduced. Our city and county councillors are on the ground. The Minister of State knows this area exceptionally well. It is important that we set about training and facilitating understanding both for the executives in the council and in particular the county councillors. For many years there has been an omission by Government to introduce the IT planning - pleanála.ie. I will suggest something, and I do not want to be too provocative. Millions of euro have been spent by An Bord Pleanála and its agents in developing an IT system. We are familiar with the Arts Council saga and the investigation by Government into areas around that. I am deeply concerned about the public money that has been spent on a system that is not up and functioning. I therefore put the alarm bells out to the Minister of State today that I will be making further comment on it in the next week or so. We need to address the issue of what is the IT system that is appropriate for the Planning and Development Act. Let us get on with the issue of the IT systems.

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Kieran O'Donnell)

The Senator will appreciate that much of this answer was based on the question, so I will quickly go through it.

I thank him for the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne, to update the House on the Planning and Development Act 2024 and progress on the An Bord Pleanála Plean IT project. While the Planning and Development Act was signed in October 2024 and is available electronically on the Irish Statute Book, it is not yet available as Gaeilge and in printed form. The publication of the Act is not a matter for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, as the Senator stated. However, it is my understanding that the Act will not be available in print until such time as it is translated. Rannóg an Aistriúcháin provides translation services for the Houses of the Oireachtas and provides official translations of the Acts of the Oireachtas. The commencement of the Act is a key priority for Government and it is being commenced on a phased basis to facilitate the transition from the arrangements under the current Act to those under the next Act. I am pleased to inform the House, as the Senator alluded to, that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage published an implementation plan for the Act earlier this week.

Ahead of the Act's commencement date, there will be a range of initiatives to support training and engagement to help the planning sector prepare for the phased transition. The Senator referenced the training. I expect that will happen in the normal way. I will bring the Senator's comments in that regard to the respective Ministers as well.

With regard to the An Bord Pleanála Plean-IT project, An Bord Pleanála commenced an ICT strategy in 2013. The purpose of the strategy was to address the board’s reliance on legacy systems. The Plean-IT programme was initiated in 2014 to implement this strategy. An external consulting firm was appointed following a public procurement process to carry out a feasibility study to assist in making a business case for the project. The business case was for three elements: a new case management system, CMS; geographical information systems, GIS; and a new website and portal. These three elements combined were referred to as the Plean-IT project, with the CMS retaining the name Plean-IT. The business case was approved by the Department of public expenditure, which stipulated a phased project implementation. Following a separate public procurement process, an external consultancy firm was appointed to project manage Plean-IT. It assisted with the identification of the specific requirements for the tender specification for the new system. To ensure proper governance, a steering committee was established. Approval of key milestones was required to be given by the steering committee and the board of An Bord Pleanála. The project was projected to take five years from 2014 to 2019. A further public procurement process led to an external ICT company being appointed to develop the selected CMS. Development commenced in 2016 and the CMS went live in October 2017. The GIS element of the project went live during 2017 and was integrated with the new CMS.

At the conclusion of the initial five-year period, a suite of enhancements and system improvements were introduced. This was phase II of the project. Additional external expertise was publicly procured in 2019 to progress phase II. The board approved the renovation of the CMS using an internal team led by a new project manager and business analyst.

The system has now been operational for eight years. Throughout the implementation period, the board reported regularly on progress. The Plean-IT project, both phase I and phase II, was fully completed in 2021. In April 2021, a new website was launched that facilitated online submissions and-or observations, including associated fees for cases before the board. As is standard with all major ICT projects, a lessons learned review of Plean-IT was carried out in 2022 by an external consultant following a public procurement process.

The Department sanctioned a director of transformation and digital services post following the Minister's action plan and the OPR report of 2022 to head up the next development phase of the board’s ICT strategy. An Bord Pleanála's transformation and digital services unit is currently working with the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, OGCIO, developing online applications to receive normal planning appeals. An Bord Pleanála is committed to optimising the use of digital channels for service delivery. The board is working towards the provision of a nationally available, user-friendly and easily accessible service that meets customers' expectations. This will be realised by maximising the use of enhanced ICT systems and processes to support business operations. Plean-IT is an example of the board’s commitment to delivery in this area.

Senator Victor Boyhan

I thank the Minister of State very much. There is a lot of information in that, if I was ever convinced, or needed to be convinced, that the Department needed to exercise its governance and have a governance unit as regards An Bord Pleanála. I respectfully ask the Minister of State to take a message to the Department, including the senior manager, that it should initiate a full and comprehensive governance review of all matters relating to IT in An Bord Pleanála since 2014. I am deeply concerned and have substantial knowledge about some of the shortcomings. I am more than happy to assist the Department with any issues I can. If the Minister of State takes a trawl through the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, he will see back to Simon Coveney's time as Minister that commitments were consistently given. They have not been met. There is an inconsistency across the 31 local authorities. I can go to Cahersiveen to express a concern about a planning matter, but I have to come to Marlborough Street in Dublin to look at some of the coloured pictures with regard to planning. There are major shortcomings. There are concerns about the governance and the spending of public money. There is a lack of transparency and a lack of accountability around this issue. I ask the Minister of State to convey this to the Minister as a matter of importance. It is my view that a number of parliamentary questions should be submitted the week after next to Dáil Éireann to flesh out this matter in more detail.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell

I note the comments Senator Boyhan made, which I will bring back to the respective Ministers. Plean-IT is a fully functioning system that integrates case management, GIS mapping and public procurement. It has been in operation for some eight years to date. The project was subject to project governance and management, public procurement and necessary approvals through all phases of development. Progress on the project was publicly reported on an annual basis in the An Bord Pleanála annual reports. The project was completed four years ago in 2021.

An Bord Pleanála continues to be committed to optimising and improving the use of digital channels for service delivery in this ever-changing and fast-growing space. The board is now working towards the provision of an even more user-friendly and easily accessible service that meets customers expectations. I will take the Senator's comments back to the respective Ministers.

Senator Victor Boyhan

I thank the Minister of State.

Flood Relief Schemes

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber this morning.

Senator Manus Boyle

The Minister of State is very welcome. I am glad to see him in the post.

The problem I wish to raise today concerns Bridge Street, Killybegs, which was flooded in 2017. Bridge Street was also flooded on 23 and 24 November 2024. People awoke to the sound of the local fire brigade and locals knocking on the doors to get residents out. Residents could not believe their eyes. It was something one would see in a film, and that is putting it mildly. The Minister of State saw the footage on Sky and everywhere else. This was the second time it happened, and we can never let it happen again. I was on site the morning of 24 November and saw first-hand the decimation it caused. The local people got stuck in as soon as possible once the alarm was raised, and I cannot thank them enough.

Residents now cannot sleep at night when there is a weather warning. They are too afraid to go to sleep. It is March now and the sandbags are still outside the doors, believe it or not. I can show the Minister of State photographs. Some businesses have closed. The launderette was there for decades, but it closed. It served the town and the whole area from Malin Beg as far as Donegal town. It was heartbreaking for that family to have had to close. The price of what they would get would not even buy one machine. That is the reality of it all. As far as I am aware, only one person has received any funding. The rest are still waiting and that is five months later. We are here to help people, and I know the Minister of State is a man who gets stuck in and does help people. I am asking him to help the people of Bridge Street in Killybegs. It is five months on, and nobody came back to the residents to say there was a plan in place and outline what they were going to do. They now live in fear whenever there is a weather warning. I ask the Minister of State for an update on how we can get these people back to normal. Life has not been normal on Bridge Street in Killybegs since 24 November. I ask the Minister of State for a helping hand to try to get it sorted out once and for all so that this will never happen again.

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran)

I thank the Senator very much. It is great to be in the House again. I welcome everyone. No more than myself, it is great to be back. We all work to help people up and down the country.

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I assure him that I am aware of the damage caused by flooding in Killybegs on the night of 23 November and into the morning of 24 November last. I understand that, at their peak, the flood waters rose to approximately 1.2 m and flooded 16 houses and nine business. Following on from this serious event, the OPW met Donegal County Council to review the potential flood relief measures. Donegal County Council and the OPW have worked together to prepare a list of potential flood relief measures and have agreed a pilot scheme to roll out, which will be 100% funded by the OPW. The pilot is being delivered by Donegal County Council, which is tasked with scoping and managing contracts for specialist consultants and contractors who will complete the flood relief works.

The pilot will categorise the magnitude of the flooding in 2024 against historic flooding in 2017 and in 2012. Proposed measures will be modelled to assess their benefits and crucially to ensure there is no increased flood risk elsewhere. In the end all proposed works will aid in understanding the delivery of the main flood relief scheme for Killybegs, which is on the flood risk management plan for the county. Advanced works implemented through the pilot scheme will not provide the same standard of protection as the main scheme, but will help to reduce the impact, particularly during lower magnitude floods.

The first phase of these works is now under way. Donegal County Council has been given approval to undertake channel clearance and drainage works and to undertake an assessment of the drainage network together with supply and installation of non-return valves on the council’s owned roads drainage system. Donegal County Council has also been approved to engage consultants to undertake a hydrological review of the CFRAM data, updating it to include the November 2024 event as well as the 2017 event, if possible, such that 2024 and 2017 return periods are estimated and design flows updated accordingly as necessary. This potentially could include a review of the existing topographic sections with a recommendation on what new survey data may be required. The council is to review and prioritise a long list of potential measures that could be achieved on a short- and medium-term basis, informed in part by the consenting requirements for each measure.

Senator Manus Boyle

The Minister of State was in Bridge Street when this happened and is well aware of it. I just wish that somebody from Donegal County Council or the Department would liaise with the group on that same bridge to Killybegs. We had none of that information until the Minister of State came in here this morning. The people living there only want information, to see that something is going to be done, and to know when it will start and when it will finish. I thank the Minister of State for coming in this morning and giving us this information. Hopefully, we can get going on it and get this sorted once and for all. It can never happen again. As the Minister of State said, it was 1.2 m. People's livelihoods and everything they had in their houses are gone. A humanitarian fund is really needed. This is five months on. I know the Minister of State is a man who gets things done. I ask him to try to get this sorted out as quickly as he can because people need to have a standard of living in their houses. They are waiting for money to come and it needs to be sorted.

Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran

I fully understand. Nobody knows more about flooding than I do. I have seen it not just in Athlone but all over the country. I have been engaged with my officials. In regard to a humanitarian fund, I will see where that is at and try to get it to those people. I can assure the Senator that my officials are working closely with me and the council. I have been invited to that particular area again. I am a person who, when I go to an area, I want to have something to say. I do not want to go and be long-winded. I want to make sure the people who woke up that morning have the fire brigades and the necessary people around them. I want to ease the worry and fear they have. I want to assure them that, as Minister of State, I will be behind them and help them as best I can. However, as I said, I will work with the local authority. Changes are coming and I hope in the not-too-distant future we will have something good to say.

Flood Relief Schemes

Senator Mike Kennelly

I thank the Minister of State and congratulate him and his predecessor, the Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell, who was in that seat before him. I thank him for the work he has done with the OPW in the communities that I represent and that have been devastated by recent storms.

This morning I ask the Minister of State to make a statement on the minor flood relief scheme for the Listowel and Killocrim areas. Over the past few years, Listowel has been a lightning rod for flood events. Following on from serious flood events in the Clieveragh area of Listowel, as the Minister of State will be aware, the OPW is currently finishing a minor flood relief scheme of up to €1.3 million to ensure previous damage to homes, lives and businesses is not repeated. I thank the Minister of State and the Government for these works.

However, with our ever-increasing erratic weather patterns, flooding and wind damage are becoming all too common. The Killocrim and Listowel areas were hit by Storm Bert on 23 November, which caused severe flooding. The River Feale overflowed reaching record heights surpassing 4.2 m, the highest levels since records began in 1946. This unprecedented flood submerged large areas of Listowel, again destroying more than 70 homes and businesses and causing significant damage to the famous the Listowel Racecourse. I stated before that the emergency response went from saving homes to saving lives. This was weeks out from Christmas, families were left homeless and a full clean up began. Costs were applied for through humanitarian aid.

One of the biggest concerns post the flooding was the fact that this perfect storm, which it has been identified as, hit without warning. A warning should have informed residents down the river that the levels were the highest ever seen. The emergency response teams and the public need to be made aware, through an early warning system via community text messaging, of any such future events so that personal protective equipment, PPE, can be deployed in time. This will play a crucial role in ensuring that homes are protected. In regard to the PPE, it takes 15 minutes to deploy one of these at either a front or back door or a main gate. For a person living alone to put these in situ and prevent a home from being destroyed, it takes an hour to deploy four of them, so that warning has to come before the event for this to happen.

People are living in real fear that this can happen at any time. Indeed, three weeks after Storm Bert, the threat and anxiety levels were again high as there was a snow and yellow rainfall alert. Thankfully, Kerry County Council, on that morning, delivered to the Killocrim community, which was led by the locals and Michael Brosnan, a total of 1,000 sandbags to the areas highlighted by the locals. Local knowledge was the key here as to the areas of greatest concern of breaking their banks again.

From that event, Kerry County Council commissioned a report on the flooding in conjunction with the Department, the OPW and with local community knowledge. To date the promised works have not commenced. I ask the Minister of State, on behalf of the people who cannot sleep at night, and I am not making this up, to take away and relieve the anxiety that their homes could be destroyed again in the blink of an eye. I look forward to the Minister of State's statement.

Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I assure him that I am very aware of the recent flood event that occurred in Listowel-Killocrim in November 2024 and the devastation that was caused to many properties. I understand that the level recorded in the River Feale was the highest ever recorded and as a result a significant number of properties were affected in both the Listowel and Killocrim areas in the west of Listowel. After the event, the officials from the OPW met with the residents and Kerry County Council to review what had happened and to come up with a plan to address what measures could be put in place in advance of the larger scheme proposed for Listowel, as part of the flood risk management plan for this area. As a first step, it was agreed that Kerry County Council would engage consultants to do a factual report on the event. This report is due to be available in the coming weeks. It will then be open to Kerry County Council to apply to the OPW for funding for temporary measures, pending the commencement of the Listowel scheme for these communities, should such measures be identified. My officials will engage with Kerry County Council and its consultants on this report. Once this report is made available, the OPW will continue to engage with Kerry County Council and its consultants to assist in determining what measures may be possible to implement and the next steps to deliver these measures.

Funding for some of these measures can be considered through the OPW’s minor flood mitigation and coastal protection works scheme. This minor works scheme was introduced by the OPW on an administrative, non-statutory basis in 2009. The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding to local authorities to undertake minor flood mitigation works or studies to address localised fluvial flooding and coastal protection problems within their administrative areas.

The scheme generally applies where a solution can be readily identified and achieved in a short timeframe. The works to be funded are carried out under local authority powers.

Senator Mike Kennelly

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The matter I tabled was to the effect that works commence and that the Minister of State make a statement. What the Minister of State said was encouraging but he did not indicate when the works will commence, which is what I need to take back to my community today. If the Minister of State can expedite the works and, hopefully, allay the fears that these people are living with every day, I would appreciate that.

Listowel has been identified for the full flood relief scheme along with the Cathaoirleach's area, Kenmare, and Tralee. If the Minister of State can expedite works in these areas for the full relief scheme, that would be good. Funding will be probably an issue, but the damage caused by another event similar to Storm Bert would cost nearly as much a full flood relief scheme for the Listowel area. I invite the Minister of State to visit Listowel, Kenmare and Tralee to see the damage that has been caused by the storms.

Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran

I thank the Senator. I will take him up on that offer.

I assure the Senator that funding is not the issue. There are certain criteria that have to be met. Working with the local authorities, it is fine to go in and do something but that may cause problems further down the track. I am fully aware of the issues that exist down there. My team met with Kerry County Council, and they are working on this. While it is not at the pace that the Senator or I would like, we have to take the necessary measures in order to ensure that whatever we do in the future will protect the people.

I assure the Senator that when I visit the area, I will examine the issue to which he refers at first hand and will come back to him on it. I know that the Senator is deeply upset and annoyed on behalf of the people in the area, particularly as they face this problem on a daily basis. If water flows down from the mountain or if the river rises, the problem that arises is who is there to help. I will be there to help the Senator, but also the people he represents.

Public Parks

Senator Chris Andrews

I congratulate the Minister of State on his new role. It is an important role, as we have seen, for communities across the country. It is also important the Minister of State is successful in it. I wish him the best of luck.

The Iveagh Gardens is a green lung for this city. They are more than just a park; they are a piece of our living history. They are one of the few surviving examples of gardens of this type. I suppose every tree tells a story, and to destroy these trees is to destroy the memory of the city.

The Iveagh Gardens are also an ecological haven in the heart of the city. I do not know if the Minister of State has visited the Iveagh Gardens. He could take a walk at lunchtime and he will see it is absolutely beautiful. At a time when climate change and urban sprawl are serious concerns, green spaces such as the Iveagh Gardens are more important than ever. Sacrificing the trees and green spaces in parks of this nature in order to build structures of concrete and glass would be a big mistake.

Many forget that the inner city is not only for shopping and dining. There are thousands of families living in the city. These families deserve better. We must protect the Iveagh Gardens for families who live in this city.

Twenty-one years ago, a charity called the Irish Children's Museum Limited, ICML, somehow got the OPW to sign a contract for it to build a science museum on the site of the National Concert Hall. The ICML is unaccountable. There is no transparency around it or around the public land given to it as a private entity. By any stretch of the imagination, this is extraordinary. An unaccountable and well-connected private entity, this charity, has been given public land. The ICML must come before the relevant Oireachtas committees, when they are set up, and answer some very important and serious questions.

When this project was originally set up, the estimated cost involved was €15 million. God knows what the cost would be now. The Iveagh Gardens should not pay a price just because some well-connected charity wants a vanity project, and that is what this is. I would be interested to know how and why a private charity can be accommodated within the building that houses the National Concert Hall. It has serviced offices there, with phones and heating provided. I would be interested in knowing who pays for all of that. Maybe the Minister of State will be able to get to the bottom of what is a fairly extraordinary situation.

There is already a children's science museum in Sandyford, which is approximately 10 km from here. The previous Minister launched it. The ICML wants to put another science museum in the city centre and destroy the Iveagh Gardens in the process. The plans relating to the National Concert Hall site will damage the Iveagh Gardens and cause the destruction of mature trees and boundary walls.

Almost 48,000 people have signed a petition relating to this matter. We need to save the Iveagh Gardens, which are a priceless asset for Dublin and for the communities and families of the inner city. They are ecologically, historically and culturally important for the communities in question. They belong to all of us and it is our duty to protect them for future generations.

Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The lveagh Gardens were placed in the care of the OPW in 1991. The OPW's remit includes the restoration and conservation of the gardens, while allowing greater public access. The OPW continues to restore and maintain the gardens. It will continue to do so into the future.

The Dublin City Council development plan reinforces the safeguarding of the lveagh Gardens through the zoning of the gardens as open space amenity. The lveagh Gardens are also listed on the register of protected structures. The OPW is committed to its role as custodian of the lveagh Gardens.

The proposed development of the national children's science centre received a full grant of planning permission from Dublin City Council in March 2024 following a third-party appeal to An Bord Pleanála.

The planning submission made by the OPW, along with the response to the third-party appeal issued to An Bord Pleanála, addressed all the issues raised regarding any possible impacts to the Iveagh Gardens. This is supported by An Bord Pleanála within the report of the inspectors. The concerns expressed in the petition from the Save the lveagh Gardens group were addressed as part of the OPW planning application. An Bord Pleanála accepted the OPW's submission in its decision.

The development of the national children's science centre will not lead to the destruction or any loss of the lveagh Gardens. It will, in fact, increase the overall area of the lveagh Gardens.

The proposed national children's science centre will be mainly located in the North Butler wing of the Earlsfort Terrace complex. Its development will form part of an overall restoration and refurbishment programme for this 110-year-old State-owned building. The important works will safeguard the historic site for another 100 years. This overall site restoration programme represents 58% of the total estimated cost of the national children's science centre project.

The outcome of the 2021 arbitration proceedings involving the OPW and the ICML found in favour of the latter. While there is a legally binding contract, the OPW is conscious of the concerns raised to the effect that this project should be subject to robust value-for-money analysis before Exchequer funding can be committed to it. Notwithstanding that, the OPW has a legal obligation to build the science centre in accordance with the contract. The provision of the funds to meet the costs of the development and separately the future operating model of the national children's science centre will need to be established and a Government decision will be required.

Deputy Chris Andrews

I thank the Minister of State. None of the issues I raised was addressed. The Save the Iveagh Gardens campaign is not happy with any proposals to destroy the area.

The long boundary wall will be destroyed.

I invite the Minister of State to visit the gardens at lunchtime. They ware magnificent. The OPW does a very good job within the boundary walls, but to allow the destruction of the Iveagh Gardens is wrong. This proposal will lead to them being destroyed. The response of the Minister of State is not accurate. The Save the Iveagh Gardens campaign is very concerned about any proposals. There is already a children's science museum 10 km from here. This is not needed. Families need the gardens. We do not need a vanity project for a private charity.

Perhaps the Minister of State could investigate why the ICML charity has offices in the National Concert Hall building. Is it paying anything at all for those offices? This is an important question that needs to be answered. The Iveagh Gardens are a jewel in Dublin's crown and they have to be protected. Very little of the Minister of State's answer was accurate.

Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran

I could not agree with the Senator more. The Iveagh Gardens are a jewel in the crown and a site visited by great numbers of people. As I said in my response, the planning application was dealt with by An Bord Pleanála. It stated quite clearly that the development will do little or no damage to the site. I hear the Senator's point, and it is well made. It is something I will take further. I will come back to him on some of the questions he has asked he put to me. I will visit the site. There is no point saying I will not. This has gone on for a long number of years. Ultimately, a huge amount of money is needed to do what is required. It will be a Government decision and will not fall under my remit. I fully respect what the Senator said to me and I appreciate his remarks.

Schools Building Projects

Senator Pauline Tully

I welcome the Deputy Michael Moynihan and congratulate him on his appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for special education. I know from our time on the disability matters committee that he has an excellent understanding of the requirements in this area.

The matter I am raising relates to an extension Milltown National School in Belturbet, County Cavan. Sanction was first given for the building of a mainstream classroom and two special education teacher, SET, rooms in July 2021. The following March, an additional build was sanctioned for two general classrooms, toilets, two special education rooms and a special educational needs, SEN, base room. A budget of €1.9 million was allocated. This was superseded in July 2023 and the current build was granted.

A design team was put in place and the Department received the stage 1 report from the school, which is the early design report, on 7 August 2024. It was acknowledged a couple of weeks later that the report had been received and had been forward to the professional and technical team for review. The school was given a timeframe of three to six months to hear back. It was hoped that the design team could progress to the next stage of the build.

The principal received correspondence only yesterday, having heard nothing since August and despite having sought updates and so on. The email in question states that the Department received the stage 1 report in quarter 4 of 2024, which is not true because he has the emails acknowledging receipt of the report when it was submitted in August. I seek clarification on when the report was received.

Much more importantly, when will the review be completed and the school given permission to continue with the build? The enrolment figure for the school is 174. In 2006, there were 56 students, but numbers have increased to over 170 in the past couple of years. In less than 20 years, the school's enrolment has increased by more than 300%. There is no more space for classrooms. The school has four modular buildings that take up yard space which should be used as a playground. The school hall is being used as a classroom. As a result, the school cannot have general assemblies or indoor PE if the weather is bad which, as we know, is a regular occurrence. Circulation space for students with autism is limited.

Enrolment is projected to increase because the school has carried out surveys of local parents and crèches. The school has projected enrolment that it will not be able to accommodate additional enrolment from September 2026. The school is under pressure in terms of space and wants to know that the extension will proceed in the minimum amount of time possible.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Deputy Michael Moynihan)

I thank the Senator for the opportunity to discuss this matter and, more importantly, I congratulate her on her election to Seanad Éireann. I thank her for the work she did as vice chair of the disability matters committee in the Thirty-third Dáil. The dedication and commitment to her job was second to none. We had a hugely important role and the committee worked well across the political divide.

On allowing the project in Milltown National School in Belturbet, County Cavan, to proceed to stage 2, I thank the Deputy for raising the matter because it gives me an opportunity to update Seanad Éireann on the current position regarding the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme for the school. My Department has approved a brief for the project, which includes the provision of two mainstream classrooms, two SET rooms and one SEN base. As the Senator will be aware, the project referred to was approved to enter the Department's pipeline for school building projects and responsibility for delivery has been devolved to the school authority locally. A design team has been appointed to design the accommodation being provided and to bring the project through the tender and construction phases.

Projects progress from stage to stage in accordance with the project brief and the Department’s design guidelines. Under the ASA scheme the Department has detailed procedures in place for the appraisal, design, tender and construction of all school building projects. Design team procedures define the points in the project lifecycle at which approval must be sought from the Department, which aligns with the infrastructure guidelines to ensure there is proper accountability. These processes include stage approval reviews which challenges all elements of design and specification. They are an essential element of good cost control and supports market interest in our school buildings

As the Senator said, Milltown National School is currently at stage 1 and the school submitted a stage 1 report to the Department in August 2024. This report is currently under review from a technical and cost perspective, as outlined in the public infrastructure guidelines.

As the Senator may know, a significant amount of money has been invested by the Department over the past while in school building projects and this will continue. I will take the important issues the Senator raised regarding Milltown National School back to the Department. I will ensure there is a response in a timely fashion to the documentation that was submitted in August 2024, and I will report back to the Senator in a timely fashion. It is important that we keep these projects moving because, as the Senator has outlined, there has been significant growth in the school population, from 56 pupils to 174. It is important that the project is progressed. We will report back to the Senator as a matter of urgency.

Senator Pauline Tully

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the fact that his reply acknowledges that the stage 1 report was received in August. He has given a commitment to follow up on this project to get to the next date as soon as possible. It is an important project.

It is an inclusive school. The staff are extraordinarily committed and there are two special classes in the school. We know it has sometimes been difficult to get schools to agree to have a special class. The school has been to the forefront in including students with additional needs. I have spoken to many parents whose students attend the school and have nothing but praise for the principal and staff and their inclusive practices. It is important that the Department ensures the project progresses as soon as possible. More than three and a half years have passed since the project to provide additional accommodation was mooted.

That is a long time in the lifetime of a school and it puts a lot of pressure on the staff and students in the school when they are working in those conditions.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

Yes, three and a half years is a long time, but I might just answer the Senator’s question on inclusivity. I know about the great work that is being done in Milltown National School and the inclusivity there, which she mentioned, and the way the school has embraced all the challenges and changes within the education system. That has to be acknowledged, both from a school leadership point of view and thanks to all those who are working within the school. I acknowledge that and wish them well on it. I will see whether we can move to the next stage to get a report as a matter of urgency on the documentation that was submitted in August 2024.

Again, I wish the Senator the best of luck in the Upper House and thank her for the courtesy and co-operation with which we worked together so well in the previous Dáil at the disability committee.

Acting Chairperson (Senator Imelda Goldsboro)

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber.

Active Travel

Acting Chairperson (Senator Imelda Goldsboro)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer.

Senator Cathal Byrne

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter. I sincerely wish him the best of luck in his new role and look forward to working with him for the benefit of the people of County Wexford.

I put forward this matter on the basis of my experiences as an elected councillor in Wexford relating to the allocation of funding for our rural villages, specifically for footpaths. When I was first elected in 2019, it was possible to liaise directly with the district engineer and in the case of rural villages, it was possible to get funding through Wexford County Council to supply a footpath. When the previous Government took office, the then Minister, Eamon Ryan, introduced the active travel scheme, which brought about a significant shift in how we delivered footpaths. Most footpaths were subsequently delivered directly through that scheme and the case was put forward that my fellow elected officials and I would liaise with the district engineer, who would then attempt to secure funding through the active travel programme.

That system worked very well in 2021 and 2022 but in 2023, I noticed a significant shift in that the active travel allocations for Wexford, which I imagine is replicated in other areas of the country, started to be focused on the large urban areas at the expense of some of our rural villages. I saw examples in my area where much sought-after footpaths in small rural villages simply were not getting the allocation of funding that was previously possible because of the criteria that were introduced in 2022. Will the Minister of State look at this area? Ring-fenced money should be allocated for rural villages, specifically to target, for example, housing estates in a village that may have expanded beyond the location of the speed limit side. There may now be a housing estate that was constructed over recent years but there may be no linkage from that estate back to the village where the local school is. That needs to change.

Wexford is very grateful to have received €3.57 million in the most recent round of active travel funding but, unfortunately for us, while we are grateful to receive the allocation in our large towns, it did not materialise in some of those small rural villages, which had hoped for and anticipated funding. I ask the Minister of State to take this back to the Department and the officials. Perhaps we can work together to ensure there is a ring-fenced allocation of funding for smaller villages.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport (Deputy Jerry Buttimer)

I congratulate the Senator on his election to Seanad Éireann and wish him well. I thank him for raising this important matter relating to active travel funding for small rural towns and villages. He is correct; the issue of ring-fencing money for rural villages is an important one and I will bring this back to the Department. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport.

The Government is committed to the funding of active travel and to achieving a modal shift in transport and increasing the number of active travel journeys over the coming years. This is evidenced in the commitments under various policy documents including the programme for Government, the climate action plan and the Department of Transport's national sustainable mobility plan, as well as in the significant increase in funding for walking and cycling measures over recent years.

The Government is committed to the provision of improved and expanded walking and cycling infrastructure in both urban centres and towns and villages throughout Ireland. The programme for Government has committed approximately €360 million per annum for the period 2021 to 2025 for walking and cycling infrastructure, the majority of which will be allocated to local authorities through the National Transport Authority, NTA’s, active travel infrastructure programme. A total of €290 million has been allocated to the active travel programme alone in 2025, with a further €67 million allocated to greenways this year. It is important we move quickly to reduce our carbon emissions and in doing so, we must promote a modal shift away from private car use. This will not be achieved without the provision of alternative transport modes such as active travel.

In respect of active travel funding, the NTA works with local authorities to identify projects that would benefit from investment through its active travel programme. These projects are usually based in cities, towns, both large and small, and rural villages. There are many examples of projects throughout the country that have received funding outside the larger urban areas. The Senator is nonetheless correct that there should be a liaison with the local authority, the district engineer and the NTA in regard to the matter he has raised.

A large number of projects are in the pipeline for delivery around the country in the coming years and as such, we are moving into a space of project prioritisation whereby funding will be allocated to the areas of greatest impact. While this may sometimes favour urban areas, the NTA will continue to work with local authorities to identify viable projects in both urban and rural areas that should receive funding. I assure the Senator there is no rule in place whereby funding must only be spent in our cities and larger towns. Providing viable active travel infrastructure in both rural and urban areas is vital for encouraging a modal shift away from private car use where possible, which, I am sure the Senator will agree, is a key priority as we try to meet our carbon emission reduction targets.

The Department's active travel funding also allows for dedicated active travel staff within the local authorities, including the 19 local authorities outside the greater Dublin area and the regional cities that did not receive active travel funding before 2021. Approximately 240 staff in place throughout the country are tasked with delivering the significant number of active travel projects in which the Department is currently investing. I am delighted we overachieved on our targeted spend for the past two years, with approximately €340 million invested through the NTA in walking and cycling projects in 2023 alone and an additional €321 million invested in 2024.

The safe routes to school programme is funded by the Department of Transport through the National Transport Authority. It was launched in 2021 with the aim of supporting walking, scooting and cycling to primary and post-primary schools and creating safer walking and cycling routes within communities through the provision of infrastructural interventions.

On the Senator's specific question regarding the selection of projects that receive funding under the NTA’s active travel programme, this is solely a matter for the local authorities and the NTA and, as he will be aware, neither the Minister or the Department has a role in this process. Nevertheless, I will take on board the Senator's points regarding direct input. He is correct and, as a former councillor for Enniscorthy, he is well aware of the needs of his area and similar areas. I thank him for raising the matter.

Notwithstanding what I have outlined, Department of Transport officials liaise with their counterparts in the NTA regularly in respect of overall funding of the active travel programme. I will ask my officials to bear in mind the Senator's suggestions regarding a designated active travel fund for small rural towns and villages during these discussions.

Senator Cathal Byrne

I thank the Minister of State. I very much welcome the engagement and his commitment to this idea of having a targeted, ring-fenced, designated fund for smaller rural villages to allow them to get access to funding from the active travel scheme for footpaths. We saw during Covid and more recently the great benefits that footpaths in these areas can have. They are truly transformative. The Minister of State is correct that it is my experience that, unfortunately for these smaller villages, they simply have not been able to get access to the levels of funding that should be there. It is important that there be a specifically designated fund to allow that to happen.

Deputy Jerry Buttimer

The Department of Transport has responsibility for overall funding and policy decisions in regard to active travel. Funding is administered through the NTA, which, in partnership with the local authorities, has responsibility for the selection and development of specific projects in each local authority area. I hope that consideration will be taken of the experience of people like the Senator, who is an active resident, citizen and public representative in respect of the benefits we can see from the investment in that footpath programme. The modal shift away from private car use toward sustainable transport modes such public transport, walking and cycling is a key aim of Government. As of the end of last year, €1 billion had been spent on walking and cycling infrastructure since 2020. This investment is hugely beneficial to society, our health and our environment and, in particular, will contribute to a reduction in carbon emissions as part of the Government’s climate action plan. It will also support projects, as the Government will, in both urban and rural Ireland as the Government seeks to change the nature of transport in Ireland. The footpath renewal programme, footpaths, greenways and active travel are very important. The Senator is right. When we go beyond the speed limit in many villages and small towns, there is a gap and a deficit. In my constituency on Waterfall Road from Heatherfield to Bishopstown, there is a huge gap, and similarly in the Senator’s Enniscorthy electoral area.

I again thank him for raising the matter and providing me with an opportunity to address the matter in the House. I hope we will work together to ensure that we can do a dedicated footpath renewal programme within our small, local regional areas - in particular, as the Senator said, in the non-larger urban areas. I thank him for that.

Acting Chairperson (Senator Imelda Goldsboro)

I thank the Minister of State for coming in.

Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 10.31 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 11.01 a.m.

Sitting suspended at 10.31 a.m. and resumed at 11.01 a.m.