I welcome the students from St. Patrick's National School in Drumard, County Longford. I hope they enjoy their day here. I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, to the House.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Wastewater Treatment
I welcome the Minister of State and the students in the Visitors Gallery to the House. I hope they enjoy their moment watching us debate issues that are really important for our areas and for this country. I welcome the Minister of State and his appointment to the role. He is a model for many in this Chamber in how he does politics and his success is an ambition for all of us.
In one of my first contributions in this House, I spoke on an issue close to my heart, which is the issue of the wastewater treatment plant in Dunmanway. Dunmanway is my hometown, it is where I went to school and it is where many of my friends and family live close by. The town is at a real crossroads regarding development, however. To be truthful, it has gone backwards. You currently cannot build a house in Dunmanway due to issues with the wastewater treatment plant. This is significant for me and the people of Dunmanway because the town cannot grow or prosper. It is a well-known figure locally that 50,000 people live within 30 minutes of Dunmanway. That is a really big figure. Dunmanway is known as the heart of west Cork but it never had a town council and it has been widely known for many years that, while other towns in west Cork have prospered, Dunmanway has stood still. The people of Dunmanway now feel forgotten once again because they cannot build and businesses cannot expand, which is a real issue. The people are impressing upon us as local representatives to raise this in the Houses of our national Parliament.
I commend a local action group that has been working on this issue in recent years. It is made up of people in the community, in business and even developers within the town. The group has engaged with Cork County Council, with us as public representatives and with Uisce Éireann on the matter, and I have supported the action group in recent years in meeting with Uisce Éireann.
To give some background, the plant was constructed in 2013. It is not a plant that is 20 or 30 years old but is just over ten years old. It no longer conforms to EU guidelines and directions with regard to water quality, however, and we need an upgrade. It was not on the radar of Uisce Éireann for many years but, thankfully, it is now through the engagement of the local action group and us as public representatives. What we are being told is that it will take five to seven years for the delivery of this upgrade to the plant. We are at stage 1 of the delivery of this, but it will take five to seven years, and that is simply too long for the people of Dunmanway. No houses were built in the town last year and, in 2023, we saw one house built. The census figures for Dunmanway show the town has been growing in recent years but it is at a stalemate.
In quite another serious issue for the town, and it is an issue right across west Cork, we need respite for children and adults with disabilities. There has been a site earmarked in the town of Dunmanway, something which was publicised recently in local newspapers, but again, this centre cannot be developed because of issues with the wastewater treatment plant.
It is well known we have a housing crisis in this country. We are at a figure of approximately 30,000 houses constructed annually and we need to grow that significantly. I am fully sure, from listening to the action group here and meeting recently with the construction industry and developers in Cork, that infrastructure is our key issue we need to solve in this country. I know that is an issue the Minister of State will be taking seriously in his new Department.
We need to increase funding to Uisce Éireann but we also need to ensure its delivery process is made more efficient. If it is a case of giving more funding, and we are all talking about the funding arising from the Apple tax case, we must ensure the process of delivery is made more efficient. We all know what the solution is for Dunmanway but we do not want it to take five to seven years to see that solution. The town needs this. I look forward to hearing what the Minister of State has to say on this issue and I thank him for being in the Chamber today to discuss the issue with me.
I thank Senator O'Donovan and congratulate him on his appointment to the House. It gives me a good opportunity to update the House on the wastewater treatment plant in Dunmanway.
At the outset, I must advise the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2020 set out the arrangements that are in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services by Uisce Éireann and for the scrutiny and oversight of provisions that apply in respect of these arrangements.
Water and wastewater services are matters for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The scope, prioritisation and progression of individual projects are matters for Uisce Éireann and approved through its board and internal governance. I, as the Minister of State, do not have a function in operational matters. That said, I met representatives of Uisce Éireann last week and will continue to engage with them, going forward, in order to prioritise infrastructure such as this.
I have made inquires on the Senator's behalf and have been informed that Uisce Éireann is aware of the difficulties with wastewater in Dunmanway. Uisce Éireann publishes an annual water and wastewater treatment capacity register and Dunmanway currently has a status of red, which means there is no spare capacity available. Uisce Éireann has been assessing the capital needs for Dunmanway wastewater treatment plant and any impact that discharges may have. The plant needs to be upgraded and Uisce Éireann has confirmed that a strategic assessment, stage 1 of the infrastructure guidelines, commenced in 2024 to identify the best long-term solution. That assessment will be completed by the end of this year. Thereafter, planning and consents will be required before the project can go to tender. However, Uisce Éireann is working on an interim solution and has held a number of workshops on the issue. Further workshops and site visits are planned for the coming weeks. Uisce Éireann is investigating what it can do within the existing system to improve the operation of the treatment plant. This will be an interim solution that may make the plant compliant and may give some additional capacity. The investigation will determine if this is possible. Uisce Éireann will have completed this investigation by the end of the second quarter of this year. It is also working with a contractor to see how to maximise the output of the plant and I am advised that will take until the third quarter of this year because a series of tests on the plant must be carried out.
I recognise the difficulty of the situation in Dunmanway. The Senator has spoken to me about it and I understand that at a national level, we need to consider all options to ensure there are sufficient wastewater treatment facilities available to support growth in locations such as Dunmanway. There is a need to crystallise to planning authorities, public representatives, developers and the public the acceptable type of wastewater treatment solutions and the development of consents in locations where existing public wastewater facilities are not available. I can confirm that work is under way with key stakeholders, including Uisce Éireann, on the development of guidelines for appropriate infrastructure, which may be provided by the private sector. Any such infrastructure would have to be fully compliant with environmental requirements and developed in accordance with appropriate specification for handover to Uisce Éireann for ongoing operation and maintenance. I look forward to responding to the Senator's follow-up.
I thank the Minister of State for his response. The thrust of my point referred to the national level in terms of how we can improve the efficiency of the delivery of these capital projects and, more locally and parochially, in respect of Dunmanway. At a high level, I welcome the Minister of State's words and engagement with Uisce Éireann. We need to speed up the process because we cannot allow situations such as that in Dunmanway. I could speak about Rosscarbery, Shannonvale and Ballydehob, where there are issues. In Castletownbere, there are drinking water issues and development is also prohibited. We need to see change in the delivery process.
In respect of Dunmanway, the Minister of State shared the information that a short-term interim solution is being considered. He said news of that would be delivered in the second quarter of this year. That is at odds with what representatives of Uisce Éireann have said locally in recent months. I ask the Minister of State to follow up on that. In recent years, we have considered short-term and interim solutions. The solid and straight news is that interim solutions for the plant cannot be put in place. We are relying on this five- to seven-year process. That is an issue which the Minister of State may take up with the Department and Uisce Éireann. We need clear and straight news for the people of Dunmanway. I thank the Minister of State.
I reiterate that there are investigations to determine what will be possible in respect of an interim solution to bring the plant into compliance and potentially to allow for the expansion of capacity. Those investigations will be completed by the end of quarter 2. To reiterate, we want to continue to invest in Uisce Éireann to facilitate the maintenance of the network and to ensure there is facility for growth in areas such as Dunmanway.
All those plans are to be submitted by Uisce Éireann to the Department and will be examined in the context of the national development plan and funding requirements.
To reiterate, I want to see faster progress on the delivery of these, but we also have to look at clear guidance in smaller areas where Uisce Éireann may not be able to develop, which may involve the private sector. Likewise, we have to develop clear, robust guidelines that will enable Uisce Éireann to take that infrastructure in charge.
Health Strategies
I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber and thank her for coming in. I have a letter in my hand from the national cancer control programme, NCCP, detailing how the HSE is failing to meet its radiation treatment target of 90%. This target aims to have those who are deemed fit for radiation treatment to begin the treatment within 15 days. The 10% buffer is there to allow for exceptions where a patient is too ill for treatment, does not show up or dies in the interim. The NCCP has told us that in 2024, the national rate of compliance with the target was a mere 72.8%. It has given us a snapshot of the data for each month from September 2023 to August 2024 in Beaumont Hospital, Galway hospital and Cork University Hospital. The 90% target was never met in any of those months in Beaumont Hospital. It was met once in Galway hospital and only twice in Cork University Hospital. The target is being missed by a scandalous margin and, as a result, patient care is being compromised.
Nearly every family in Ireland has gone through the experience of a loved one being diagnosed with cancer. Having to wait for treatment brings additional and unnecessary stress to patients and their family members. Timely access to cancer treatment is critical in achieving the best possible patient outcomes. The earlier treatment begins, the greater the chance of success, significantly improving survival rates and quality of life. Any delay in initiating therapy can allow the disease to progress, reducing the effectiveness of interventions.
International research has demonstrated severe consequences of treatment delays. Studies indicate that even a four-week delay in starting cancer treatment can increase the risk of death by approximately 10%. Four weeks might not sound like much on paper, but for a person battling cancer it is an eternity. It is four weeks of stress, uncertainty and potentially the disease advancing while they wait. Delays due to resource shortages, administrative inefficiencies or a lack of capacity can have life-threatening consequences.
Ensuring adequate staff and facilities and streamlined processes is essential in giving every patient the best possible chance of survival. We need to ensure that when a person is diagnosed with cancer and is deemed fit for treatment, there is absolutely no delay on the part of the health service. When a person has cancer, it is often a race against time. Even the language of the response issued to us from the NCCP is concerning in that it talks about working days. We in Aontú believe that cancer treatment should be available on weekends and public holidays. Cancer does not stop spreading on a Friday evening and resume on a Monday morning. Therefore, treatment should not either.
Staffing is, of course, an issue here, with a 30% shortage of radiotherapists in the country. The national radiation therapist review report was completed in 2024. The recommendations of this review include opportunities to improve staff recruitment and retention, including the implementation of new roles such as advanced practice and aid roles and a review of the grading structure for the radiation therapist profession.
I call on the Minister of State to provide proper and decent pay and conditions for nurses and doctors, who are currently voting with their feet and leaving the country, to ensure the highest standard of care for these vulnerable people.
I thank Senator O'Reilly for raising this matter. Successful national cancer strategies have delivered continuing improvement in outcomes in Irish cancer patients. The benefit of our strategic approach cancer control is shown by the improvement in the number of patients living after having received a cancer diagnosis: more than 200,000 people now compared with 150,000 when the strategy was brought to Government in 2017.
Significant funding has been provided to cancer services over a number of years. In budget 2025, €23 million was secured for the national cancer strategy, including funding for the expansion of cancer screening and community cancer support centres. This will mean that in excess of €105 million will have been invested in the strategy since 2017, which will have enabled the recruitment of more than 670 staff to our national cancer services.
Capital funding of more than €140 million has been used to provide state-of-the-art radiation oncology facilities in Galway and Cork, to update chemotherapy wards and lab facilities, and to invest in the new national cervical screening laboratory. The HSE national cancer control programme, NCCP, has set a target of 90% of patients commencing radiotherapy treatment within 15 working days of being deemed ready to treat by a radiation oncologist. In 2024, the national compliance with this target was 73%. In January 2025, the most recently available data indicated that the national compliance rate has risen to 81%. The NCCP advises that a range of factors can impact the HSE's ability to reach the target, including, in particular, challenges in the radiotherapy workforce.
Staff shortages were actively addressed in March of this year. The shortfall was between 14% and 22% compared with a shortfall of 30% at the same time last year. A national radiation therapist review report was completed in 2024 and made 16 recommendations. These recommendations are intended to support and enhance the radiation therapy profession. Funding was allocated in 2025 to support actions arising from the review. This includes funding for additional staff and six advance practice posts for radiation therapy. Additional training places are being made available and professional registration requirements have been reviewed to bring Ireland into line with international comparators.
The HSE recognises the importance of timely access to treatment. Where deemed clinically necessary, patients have been referred to private service providers. Investment of around €10 million per year is spent on outsourcing radiotherapy appointments to ensure timely treatment. Additional measures to improve waiting times and patient outcomes also include the clinical implementation of stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy, SABR, and stereotactic radiosurgery, SRS. These treatments have the benefit of being delivered in fewer sessions compared with conventional radiotherapy.
The Government remains fully committed to continued implementation of the national cancer strategy and improving radiation therapy capacity to ensure timely treatments for patients. This will build on the progress already made in improving survivorship and the quality of life for cancer patients.
As there is a vote in the Dáil, I ask the Acting Leader to move to suspend the House for the duration of the vote. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 2.54 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 3.09 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 2.54 p.m. and resumed at 3.09 p.m.
I welcome the good news which the Minister of State has come with here today in that the deficit in staffing has reduced from 30% to between 14% and 22%. I do not really know what that means but it is good that it is improving and that has to be welcomed. The faster treatments are not always suitable for patients because they are more concentrated. As they take a shorter time, they are more concentrated, which means that there are more side-effects. Not all patients are suited to taking these faster treatments. I want to remind the Minister of State that this is a very important issue for many people. It is good to keep on top of it, keep an eye on it and ensure that we are making improvements where we can. I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House today.
I thank the Senator for her contribution on this matter. I acknowledge the efforts made by the NCCP and the HSE to improve compliance with radiation therapy targets of having at least 90% of patients beginning their treatment within 15 working days of being deemed fit for treatment.
The most up-to-date figures, from January 2025, show compliance of 81% compared with last year's compliance of 73%. I know that we need to do more, I totally understand the concerns there and it is something we are working on. As I mentioned earlier, staffing shortfall can be a significant factor in hospitals meeting the treatment target. While staffing continues to improve, more progress is needed and funding has been given this year to the implementation of recommendations of the national radiation therapist review report. Downtime and the servicing of radiotherapy equipment can also result in challenges to treatment times and that seems to be another issue. The HSE makes every effort to address this, including through the use of outsourcing where required. This enables more timely access while improvements regarding staffing and other issues are being made.
The additional €23 million made available in budget 2025 for the national cancer strategy will support a further expansion in cancer services. This funding means that over €105 million has been invested in the strategy since 2017. I again thank the Senator for raising this issue. I understand that there is not a family in Ireland that has not been affected in some way by cancer. It is a priority for us as a Government.
Ambulance Service
Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom fáilte mhór a chur roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach seo um thráthnóna. This is the first opportunity I have had since the Minister of State's elevation to high office and I would like to take this opportunity to wish her every success. I have no doubt that she will take her hard work ethic to her Department and that she will make a great success of it.
I come here today for the second time inside a week to talk about the lack of ambulance cover in counties Monaghan and Cavan. There seems to be an issue with the rostering of ambulance personnel in both counties, but in particular in County Monaghan. It is an issue that is causing great concern for the people there, as I am sure the Minister of State can appreciate and understand.
I understand that currently there are three or four vacancies, or thereabouts, in the Monaghan stations, which are located in Monaghan town and Castleblayney. Heretofore, those vacant shifts were covered by local personnel who kindly volunteered to make themselves available to do overtime in order that the people of Monaghan and Cavan would have a service. For some unknown reason, management at the National Ambulance Service has now decided that it will desist from that option, It is now employing ambulance personnel from as far away as Swords in County Dublin and Dundalk. That might be fine but I understand that if ambulance personnel from Swords or Dundalk, whichever the case may be, are called out to an incident in their own area, that will get first priority and Monaghan could be left with no cover whatsoever, which is quite scary.
Last week there were 17 12-hour shifts for which no cover was provided locally. This week, I understand, there are 19 shifts which have no cover provided locally. It is a very worrying situation. I understand that the three or four vacancies in question have been vacant for a number of years and that the National Ambulance Service is saying it is finding it difficult to recruit personnel nationally. I have talked to people from different counties and it does not seem to be an issue there.
What efforts has the National Ambulance Service made to reach out to the communities in Monaghan and Cavan to put forward the many rewards there would be for serving in the National Ambulance Service? I would hope the Minister of State might have some answers on this issue this afternoon. As she can imagine, the thought of not having ambulance cover there is very scary. The community - I speak on behalf of many of them this afternoon - wants answers and to have confidence that County Monaghan in particular, and indeed Cavan, will have cover during those periods. I look forward to the response from the Minister of State.
I worked with the Senator in this Chamber for many years. I welcome the opportunity to address the House on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, regarding his request for information on National Ambulance Service, NAS, response times and staffing for Cavan and Monaghan.
The NAS serves Cavan and Monaghan from four ambulance bases, in Cavan, Virginia, Monaghan and Castleblayney, covering the entire area. All four bases are staffed by a highly skilled workforce of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners including paramedics, advanced paramedics and emergency medical technicians. The NAS operates a fleet of modern emergency ambulances, intermediate care vehicles and rapid response vehicles from these bases. In addition, Cavan and Monaghan are covered by the NAS national emergency operation centre clinical hub, 12 active community first responders groups comprising six in Cavan and six in Monaghan, the aeromedical support provided by the NAS emergency aeromedical support services in Athlone, and the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue service in Sligo.
On NAS emergency response times, I am informed that patient demand for the services continues to rise both nationally as well as in the north Leinster area, which covers Cavan and Monaghan. In 2024, 430,000 urgent and emergency calls were received from the public, representing an 8% increase nationally on the previous year. In the north Leinster area, call volumes increased by 14,662 calls during the same period. Despite the significant increase in demand, ambulance response performance improved both nationally and in the north Leinster region when compared to performance for 2023.
The HSE national service plan sets out key performance indicators, KPIs, for cardiac life-threatening calls, designated as "purple", or other potential life-threatening calls, designated as "red", to be responded to by an ambulance in less than 19 minutes. In 2024, the HSE KPIs reported 73.2% against a target of 75% for purple calls, and 46.2% against a target of 45% for red calls, in north Leinster, which covers Cavan and Monaghan. Performance for purple and red calls was 77.7% and 47.7%, respectively, an improvement when compared to 2023.
The Senator also raised the matter of NAS staffing and staff deployment in the Cavan and Monaghan area. NAS staffing numbers in the region have grown recently, with an increase of 11%, or 28 staff, in the past 12 months alone. In line with international best practice, NAS resources nationally, including in the Cavan and Monaghan region, are deployed dynamically and are actively changing. This means that the NAS prioritises resource allocation to the highest acuity of calls that require an immediate emergency response in direct response to patient needs. The NAS’s operation of dynamic deployment does mean that Cavan and Monaghan may, from time to time, be supported by NAS bases and staff from neighbouring counties to ensure adequate coverage and rostering for both emergency ambulance and rapid response vehicles.
As well as front-line urgent and emergency care, the NAS is developing and expanding a range of appropriate alternative care pathways to improve patient flow and reduce pressure on emergency departments. I welcome the deployment of the NAS community paramedic to the Cavan ambulance base, where they will operate outside of their normal emergency response role to provide care in the community for lower acuity patients. I have also been informed that the NAS plans to increase the number of community and specialist paramedics in Cavan and Monaghan over the year, broadening the range of services offered in the area.
I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the staff of the National Ambulance Service for their commitment and dedication to patient care, in both the Cavan and Monaghan areas and across the country.
I thank the Minister of State. I too acknowledge the commitment, hard work and dedication of the National Ambulance Service throughout the country. In many cases, those personnel are left in a very difficult situation. I want to ensure that the people of Monaghan and Cavan have an adequate ambulance service, but there are concerns about that. I sincerely hope the response given on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, goes some way to assuage the concerns and fears that people genuinely hold. I assure the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, that if the situation does not approve, I will be back looking for more answers. I thank the Minister of State for her response and time.
I know the Senator’s commitment and hard work and that he is very passionate about this. I concentrated in the first part of my opening statement on ambulance response performance and resourcing in the Cavan and Monaghan areas. I will now focus briefly on funding of services nationally. This Government has consistently committed to investing in the NAS in recent years. The total allocation for the NAS this year alone will be €285 million, representing a significant increase on the previous year. The allocation this year includes €8 million for new service deployments, converting to €16 million in 2026, delivering up to 180 additional posts. These posts will support capacity building in our front-line emergency services, the continued expansion of alternative care pathways and help further development of specialist services, such as aeromedical services and critical care retrieval services. Through continued investment in recent years, the NAS has made considerable progress in implementing an ambitious programme of reform, transforming from what was a traditional emergency response service into a quick emergency medical response.
I apologise that I will not get to say everything I want, but I assure the Senator of the continued commitment of the Minister, Deputy MacNeill, her Department and ourselves and that we are working seriously on what we can do and in terms of the investment going into this. I ask the Senator to come back to me if this has not been answered adequately for him.
Further and Higher Education
I welcome the Minister, Deputy Lawless.
I thank the Minister for coming in today. I wish to highlight a long-standing and unjust issue affecting Youthreach staff, specifically the ongoing failure to pay these dedicated educators for the correction and grading of locally devised assessments. This issue of these staff members not being paid to the same standard as those in other FET centres was brought to my attention by a very passionate teacher at a recent visit to Youthreach. This has been raised multiple times over multiple years. Circular 27/2011 sets outs clear rates for LDA correction across QQI levels 4, 5 and 6. These are the very same modules being delivered in Youthreach centres every day by teachers who invest considerable amounts of time, energy and care in supporting some of our most vulnerable and at-risk young people. Despite the circular and the fact VTOS and all other further education and training staff are reimbursed for this work, Youthreach staff continue to be excluded. There is no policy or directive that explicitly states Youthreach staff should not be paid. The Teachers' Union of Ireland has been unequivocal that there is no impediment to Youthreach staff being paid for the work in line with their FET colleagues, but nothing has yet come to fruition. This is more than an administrative oversight; it is a fundamental issue of equality and respect.
We speak often enough in these Houses about the importance of a second education and giving young people a fair shot no matter their background. We cannot say that with integrity when the very staff who are at the front line of this second education are treated as second class themselves. To put it plainly, a second chance education should not mean second-class resources, and certainly not second-class treatment for the educators delivering it. I am sure the Minister is very familiar with Youthreach. The teachers are not just instructors, but are also mentors, social supports, emotional anchors and advocates for young people who have faced a lot of adversity. These young people have faced trauma, poverty, exclusion and disconnection from mainstream education. These teachers' work goes beyond solely the classroom, but at the very least their classroom work should be properly compensated. It is unacceptable that these teachers, who are delivering accredited QQI components, just like their colleagues, are asked to mark assessments in their own time and without pay. In many centres staff go above and beyond, often covering a wide range of responsibilities in small teams and with very limited resources. Their continued denial of payment for LDA corrections is not only a moral failing but a serious blow to the sustainability and morale of Youthreach services.
Will the Minister and his Department acknowledge the disparity formally and clarify and confirm that Youthreach teachers are entitled to the LDA payments in line with Circular 27/2011? Will he instruct SOLAS and ETBs to immediately apply this payment structure to Youthreach staff? We cannot continue to rely on the goodwill and professionalism of Youthreach teachers while denying them parity with their peers. The young people in Youthreach deserve the very best and their teachers who support them deserve to be recognised, supported and paid for the full extent of the work they do.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Ryan and thank her for raising this issue with me today. I will set out the context around the query before answering as Members may not be familiar with the issue that arises and the surrounding circumstances, so it might be helpful to the debate.
A locally devised assessment, LDA, refers to an assessment created by a further education and training, FET, provider to evaluate learners’ skills and competencies in a specific course or module. These assessments align with the learning outcomes set by Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, or potentially other awarding bodies and are designed locally to suit the needs of learners and courses.
Many FET courses focus on skills-based learning, so LDAs often involve practical tasks, projects, or portfolios rather than just written exams. LDA fees are paid to assessors in respect of their work in devising and assessing QQI modules on full-time programmes at levels 5 and 6 of the national framework of qualifications. Rates are dependent on the type of assessments, for example, whether they are written, practical, or portfolio-based assessments or other forms. The rates payable are set out in a circular from 2011 and, since then, some modifications have been made. In 2017, the circular was brought in line with the new common awards and it was agreed between the then Department of Education and Skills and SOLAS that a revised set of locally devised assessment rates would be developed with fees paid for a fixed list of modules. The updated rates remain principally payable for full-time QQI modules at levels 5 and 6. For historical reasons, there are also 31 level 4 modules for which rates are paid where they form part of the QQI major award at level 5. Guidance on LDA rates would not exclude any teacher from receiving a payment if they are involved in assessing such modules.
To deal specifically with the Senator's query, it would be helpful if in her reply she identified in which centre she met the individual as it would help me get to the bottom of the issue afterwards. Youthreach is an important programme, as she acknowledged, designed to support young people who have left school early. According to the 2015 operator guidelines for Youthreach centres, the primary focus of Youthreach is on the delivery of QQI modules at levels 3 and 4. Therefore, as LDA rates relate mainly to levels 5 and 6, the guidelines do not cover LDA fees in this part of the sector. I am aware that some Youthreach centres have started to deliver level 5 courses, but this was not generally envisaged for Youthreach. It was expected and anticipated that learners who wished to progress further would move on to levels 5 and 6 courses in other parts of the FET system, for example, via post-leaving certificate, PLC, courses.
I am aware that questions have arisen about the payment of LDA rates to Youthreach staff involved in the delivery of level 5 courses. The LDA rates do not exclude any teacher from receiving a payment if they are involved in assessing a relevant module. My officials are in contact with SOLAS and the relevant ETBs and are working on communications that will address such questions. The principal issue is that Youthreach is mainly focused on levels 3 and 4 of the national framework so it would be unusual for Youthreach teachers to be eligible for the LDA fees. This is a reflection of the structure of the overall FET system. In essence, there may be something of a mismatch in the situation arising in the Senator's question in that, historically, it has arisen in some FETs whereas the goal and intention of the programme is to deliver levels 3 and 4 courses, with learners usually moving on to different facilities for level 5 and beyond. I am committed to the critical role that Youthreach plays and I want to support it. Most of all, I would like to better understand the Senator’s question so that I might give a more comprehensive answer in due course. If she would just elaborate on who, what, when and where, then we can dig into it.
It was a teacher in Macroom Youthreach. I thank the Minister for clarifying that. The biggest issue with Youthreach centres across Cork and maybe more generally is that there is not a clear guideline so the information is fed down clearly and they can understand what course they can be paid for. As the Minister said, some Youthreach centres are starting to put on level 5 courses and I do not think that issue is widely known across Youthreach. Some more clarification on that would be fantastic and I would be delighted to work with the Minister to relay that information to the Youthreach centres across my area.
I thank the Senator. That is helpful. I was not aware there was an issue in Macroom. We will look into that in a little more detail. There are variances across the sector, as I said, and certain historical practices have developed over and above what was perhaps the design or intention of those facilities. Perhaps that needs to be looked at as well, as to whether it is appropriate or right that certain courses be developed in certain centres at different levels. I will certainly take that away. I know Macroom, and perhaps the Senator will write to me and pass on more details. I will certainly look into it. I reiterate my commitment to Youthreach and the good work it does, and that the tutors do at every level across the board.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 3.30 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 3.34 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 3.30 p.m. and resumed at 3.34 p.m.