Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 15 Dec 2004

Vol. 595 No. 3

Adjournment Debate.

Industrial Disputes.

Mr. Naughten

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this matter. Last night, the on-call ambulance service in Boyle, Ballinasloe and Roscommon was withdrawn by crews due to the failure of the Department of Health and Children to approve a full, on-duty, 24-hour ambulance service. While it was to have been extended with the withdrawal of the service to Carraroe, Clifden and Belmullet later in the week, staff have ceased their industrial action pending negotiation. The issue has not been addressed by the withdrawal of the industrial action and it remains critical to resolve it.

Personnel in the ambulance service are rostered for 20-hour days and some work for up to 90 hours per week. Ambulance services in the Western Health Board region are short of approximately 40 staff. The demands of ambulance staff are fair and reasonable. They seek the establishment of 24-hour, on-duty, trained, full-time crews in place of the current on-call service and the basing of two manned ambulances in Roscommon town. The Western Health Board has sought in writing approval from the Department of Health and Children for these provisions on a number of occasions, but has received no response. An additional 43 staff are required at an approximate cost of €2.2 million per annum.

Boyle has an on-call service at night. It is on the N4, which is extremely busy, and services the N61 which is the main route from the north west to Rosslare Port. The town services north and west Roscommon and has a large elderly population. The ambulance base in Roscommon town serves the N5 and the N63, which are very busy national routes, with one 24-hour service and one on-call service at night. The base covers north-east Galway, west Roscommon, mid and south Roscommon while providing extra cover for the ambulances bases in Ballinasloe and Boyle when they are on call. The base in Ballinasloe serves the N6, east and south Galway, south Roscommon and the critical Portiuncula Hospital, but is only an on-call service at night.

It is not unusual for people in County Roscommon or east Galway to have to wait up to three hours for an ambulance as a result of the on-call system. Scientific evidence demonstrates that a patient who gets to hospital within one hour of an incident, severe road accident injury or heart attack has a 30% greater chance of survival than someone who must wait three hours for an ambulance. It is critical for the Department of Health and Children to tackle the issue and sanction forthwith the funding for services in Roscommon and Galway. The Department has already sanctioned similar schemes in the south east and midlands. All we are asking for is equality of treatment in the Western Health Board area. We should be provided with the same level of service as the south east and midlands where the on-call service has been replaced with 24-hour, manned ambulance bases. These services are especially required given the Tánaiste's intention to downgrade and centralise emergency services. The Government is not prepared to make the necessary investment in the ambulance services which are so critical to ensure people get to hospital swiftly to receive the emergency treatment they require.

I call for approval to extend services to be granted to the Western Health Board. I do not want to see a scenario develop like that in County Wexford where the Department approved a slimmed-down service and reduced the number of ambulance bases to cut costs. As a basic minimum we want the Boyle, Roscommon and Ballinasloe bases manned on a 24-hour basis by trained professional staff and not on an on-call basis, which is currently the case, with further threatened industrial action.

I call on the Minister also to ensure that the ambulance service in County Roscommon is expanded. There is a black area with regard to west Roscommon and Castlerea, which does not have a proper ambulance service. Those areas are being serviced from either Boyle or the town of Roscommon. The Western Health Board has found the area requires that an ambulance be based there. I ask the Minister to sanction approval for the 24-hour bases in Boyle, Roscommon and Ballinasloe and to sanction the construction and development of a base in the Castlerea-Ballaghaderreen area.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture and Food (Mr. B. Smith)

As Deputy Naughten is aware, the Western Health Board has responsibility for the provision of ambulance services in its area. The Western Health Board has advised that the industrial action referred to by the Deputy has been suspended. The dispute commenced on 13 December and involved the withdrawal by emergency medical technicians from the provision of on-call cover between the hours of 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. The Western Health Board had contracted private ambulance services to ensure that on-call cover is maintained during the dispute.

Sustaining Progress recognises that a stable industrial relations climate has important benefits for the public, such as the provision of uninterrupted services, improved productivity and staff morale and increased public confidence. It notes that the providers of essential services and their staff have special responsibility to ensure they have well-developed communication channels and seek to resolve problems before they escalate into industrial disputes. If a problem cannot be resolved, it is agreed by the parties to take up all available dispute resolution mechanisms. Sustaining Progress precludes strikes or any form of industrial action by trade unions, employees or employers in respect of any matter covered by the agreement.

Since Sustaining Progress was concluded, the industrial relations environment in the health service has been transformed. The new system has proved very successful in ensuring that employee grievances are resolved without recourse to industrial action and the disruption it brings to the public.

The Western Health Board emergency and patient transport ambulance service provides a service to a population of more than 353,000 people. The emergency ambulance service is provided from ten stations located throughout the board's catchment area. The past four to five years have seen a significant expansion of the service, ten additional crews have been put in place, the number of 24-hour bases has increased from three to five while the overall hours of operation across all bases have increased significantly. The board has also improved facilities at ambulance stations in Ballina, Boyle, Clifden and Roscommon.

I assure the House that the Government is fully committed to the development of our emergency ambulance service. Much has been achieved in the development of the service and I recognise that much remains to be done. It is essential to maintain the progress which has been made and to continue the process of service development so that effective pre-hospital emergency care is accessible to those who need it most, when and where it is required.

Milk Production.

Mr. Kirk

I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. I raise it because it is an important and pressing issue in the agriculture industry.

It is estimated that the average price of liquid milk to the farmer is about €1.69, which is equivalent to the 1989 price. There is a threat to implement a 10 cent cut in the price of milk, which will bring the price back to 1985 levels. It is estimated that farm cost inflation over that period was in the region of 30% to 40%. The arithmetic is fairly obvious.

It is estimated that 16% of the liquid milk market in Ireland is supplied by imports, with a rumoured 100,000 gallons coming in in tankers from Scotland on a daily basis. With the free movement of milk quota between the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, it is estimated that 10% of the UK quota has come to Northern Ireland over the past ten years, with a consequent significant increase in the levels of milk production in the six Northern counties.

The position in the Republic is clearly unsustainable. There will be a mass exodus of producers of liquid milk in the immediate period. It is farcical that the two litres of water on the supermarket shelf is more expensive than the two litres of milk beside it. That is a sad commentary on the economics of liquid milk production in Ireland today.

The need to examine the serious market distortion is obvious. It is fine to say we should have free movement of goods but in this instance it is clearly distorting the marketplace and putting dairy farmers, who work long hours seven days a week, out of business because their enterprises will be unsustainable in a loss-making situation. I exhort the Minister to immediately examine the serious difficulties that exist with a view to bringing forward alleviating measures.

Mr. B. Smith

I thank Deputy Kirk for raising this important issue. I have heard him outline his concern about this issue in other fora.

The price paid to farmers for milk is a commercial matter between milk producers and the dairies or processors who purchase the milk. The prices paid by these processors are a function of a range of factors, including the efficiency of these organisations, their product portfolio and the market in which their products are sold. We are operating in a competitive market for milk and milk products and that is a reality throughout the sector at producer, processor and market level. The Prospectus study, commissioned by the former Minister for Agriculture and Food in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland and the dairy industry, clearly spelt out the need for competitive structures throughout the dairy sector in general to withstand competition.

The regulation of the supply of milk for liquid consumption is the responsibility of the National Milk Agency. The agency maintains a register of all processors of milk for liquid consumption, all drinking milk producers and the contracts made between them. By law, only milk produced under a contract registered with the agency can be used for the preparation of drinking milk. The role of the agency is to ensure year-round continuity of supply, particularly during the trough production period of the winter months.

The role of the Minister for Agriculture and Food is to ensure that an EU policy framework is in place, and EU market management measures are implemented in a manner which allows the dairy sector to continue to develop and support farmers' incomes. In this context, I am pleased to report that the year just ended has been very good from the point of view of the Irish dairy sector in general. Milk producer prices in Ireland during 2004 were similar to those last year. As part of the Common Agricultural Policy mid-term review, butter and skimmed milk powder intervention prices were reduced by 7% and 5% respectively on 1 July 2004 and producers have recently been paid a dairy premium amounting to approximately 1.2 cent per litre as partial compensation for the reduction in the intervention price levels. The international market for dairy products has been positive throughout 2004 with increased demand and reduced supply from some of our main competitors. This has allowed the producer price in Ireland for 2004 to remain unchanged from last year, notwithstanding the introduction of the dairy premium as part compensation for the reduced EU support prices.

The liquid milk sector has always been an important part of the overall dairy industry in Ireland, accounting for approximately 10% of total output. The fact that it requires all year round supply of fresh product makes particular demands on the sector but, like all other elements of the food industry, it too is subject to competitive pressures. I am aware there is some disagreement between producers and processors in price for milk and that can only be resolved between the parties involved. It is not for the Minister or the Department to become involved in such an area.

I nevertheless urge that those involved work together to safeguard the long-term future of this valuable part of the dairy industry. Milk production, whether for liquid consumption or manufacturing, remains at the centre of our competitive agriculture industry. I will ensure that the detail and the issues raised here by Deputy Kirk will be brought to the immediate attention of senior officials in the Department and all other interested parties.

Garda Transport.

Mr. Kehoe

I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for giving me the opportunity of raising this important matter in the Dáil. I am disappointed that a Minister of State from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is not here to listen to me and to address this very important issue. I think no less of Deputy Brendan Smith. Nevertheless, I would have appreciated the presence of a Minister of State from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

The Garda car from Courtown Garda station, a substation of Gorey Garda station, was involved in an accident on 17 November 2004, following an attempted robbery of a petrol station. The Garda car crashed outside the boundary of County Wexford.

Courtown Harbour Garda station is one of the busiest in the south east. The Christmas period will see large numbers of holidaymakers in the Courtown area. Gorey is an ever growing town whose population is increasing day by day. The people of Courtown are worried by the lack of visibility of a Garda car in their area, something that has become usual. A number of burglaries and robberies have occurred in Courtown in recent times. A visible Garda car can prevent many of these crimes.

I cannot understand why we must seek a replacement Garda car for such a large area. For many years, the Government has stressed its commitment to law and order but the true attitude of the Government is illustrated by the fact that the people of Courtown must wait for a Garda car. The Government pays lip service to this important issue. The supply of a Garda car to a Garda station is a simple matter.

The Courtown Garda car was crashed on 17 November and has not yet been replaced. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in a reply to my parliamentary question, stated that investigations must be made, an MT15 form completed and the matter investigated by the Garda fleet management section. That is all rubbish. Once a Garda car is out of commission it should be replaced in a matter of days.

I call on the Government to make sure a replacement car is provided before Christmas, one of the busiest times of the year in Courtown. The Garda must have the necessary resources to deal with drunk driving, burglaries and petty crime. The visibility of a Garda car in an area such as Courtown is vitally important. I ask the Minister of State to assure me that this matter will be resolved before the end of the year.

Mr. B. Smith

I thank Deputy Kehoe for raising this matter in the House and I respond on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, who is unavoidably absent.

The Deputy raised a specific question, requesting that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform outline the reason for the delay in replacing the car attached to Gorey Garda station. The Deputy's request is based on the urgency and importance of having this car in place before 23 December in time for the Christmas period.

In the first instance, I understand that the Minister provided the Deputy with a considerable amount of information in a reply to a parliamentary question on this matter only yesterday. The Minister has been informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, that Gorey Garda district has an allocation of nine cars of which three are allocated to Gorey Garda station itself, three to Arklow Garda station, one to Bunclody Garda station, one to Carnew Garda station and one to Courtown Harbour Garda station. The vehicle in question, a Toyota Avensis 1.6, attached to Courtown Harbour Garda station, was involved in a collision on 17 November 2004.

The procedure that follows in the event of a Garda vehicle being involved in an accident is that the Garda driver forwards a completed MT15 form to fleet management section in Garda headquarters. The MT15 is a preliminary report of the accident, which notifies Garda fleet management section of the occurrence of the accident and the circumstances surrounding that accident. The public service vehicle inspector then assesses the damage to determine the viability of repairing or replacing the vehicle. The Minister has been informed that the complete investigation file into the collision has not yet been submitted to the fleet management section but preliminary reports indicate that the vehicle is a write-off. The normal procedures that apply when a vehicle is deemed to be a write-off is that a new vehicle will be issued as soon as possible, subject to availability. If a new vehicle is not available immediately, a temporary replacement may be issued, pending the availability of new vehicles.

The Minister has been informed that one of the cars currently allocated to the Gorey district has been re-allocated to the Courtown Harbour Garda station on a temporary basis and that a replacement car will be issued to the Gorey district as soon as a suitable replacement for the car involved in the collision becomes available.

While the Minister is responsible for providing the money for investment in the Garda fleet, it is a matter for Garda management to decide upon the allocation of the vehicles. The need to allocate additional vehicles or re-allocate vehicles is constantly assessed by the Garda authorities on an ongoing basis. Factors such as population, crime and area are taken into consideration in the process of assessing vehicle allocation or the need for extra transport.

There has been significant investment in the Garda fleet in recent years which has resulted in an increase in the size of the fleet from 1,898 vehicles at the end of 1997 to 2,076 vehicles at present, an increase of 9.4%. To date, more than €10.2 million has been spent on the purchase and delivery of Garda vehicles. The corresponding figures for 2002 and 2003 are €9.6 million and €9.1 million respectively. Further vehicles are on order and the Minister expects that the final end of year figure for the purchase of vehicles for the Garda fleet will be in the region of €14 million. This is a very significant investment in new vehicles which will maximise the safety of members of the Garda Síochána and members of the public in the variety of uses of Garda vehicles. Furthermore the delivery of these vehicles will minimise maintenance costs and improve the re-sale value of Garda vehicles.

The issue of safety of Garda vehicles is a subject that is always uppermost in the Garda authorities' deliberations on the purchase of vehicles for the Garda fleet. Considerable research has been conducted by the Garda Síochána into the use of various types of vehicles in police forces worldwide and the Minister is aware that there is little difference in general vehicle policy throughout police forces no matter what part of the world they operate in.

Garda management is fully aware of the safety issues surrounding vehicles for members of the force. The Garda fleet management will always endeavour to purchase the safest and most reliable vehicles having regard to national and EU public procurement guidelines and procedures. There have been substantial improvements to vehicles, both in their design and construction, in recent years and in the level of equipment fitted to vehicles to bring them to operational standards. The conspicuity of Garda vehicles has been greatly improved both in quality and design.

Already the Garda has purchased some of the safest vehicles available, including Renaults, Toyotas, SAABs, with five star ENCAP ratings. While the Ford Mondeo, which is a popular car in the Garda fleet, is not five star rated, it has achieved some of the highest marks ever achieved.

In accordance with national public procurement guidelines the Government Supplies Agency has responsibility for the central management of procurement for vehicles. The technical specifications for the supply of vehicles for the Garda fleet are agreed with Garda fleet management. In particular all vehicles purchased for the Garda fleet must comply with all current legislation and the purchase specifications will reflect this fact. The European New Car Assessment Program scores are carefully monitored for any tender competition to purchase vehicles. Vehicles are specified with safety features such as ABS braking, driver and passenger airbags, power steering, central locking, electric windows and anti-shatter film to all glass, which minimises the injury risk to occupants from shattered glass in the event of a collision. These items are specified for all vehicles and can contribute greatly to increased safety and all vehicles purchased in the future will be required to have a minimum of four stars in the ENCAP system.

The steps being taken to ensure the provision of improvements in Garda vehicles are twofold. The Garda Síochána continuously reviews the vehicle specifications to ensure they reflect the needs of the Garda force both in terms of safety and the duties to which they will be assigned. Second, the Garda Commissioner has established a working group, which includes representatives of the GRA and AGSI, to report on the issue of the safety of Garda vehicles.

The Minister assures the Deputy that a replacement car will be issued to the Garda Gorey district as soon as a suitable replacement becomes available.

Visa Applications.

Mr. Costello

This is an area of considerable importance, not least because the Minister made a statement in recent days regarding his intentions concerning applications by the non-national parents of Irish born children. Large numbers are involved following the recent passage of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill and the referendum prior to that. What does the Minister mean when he says he will deal with the non-national parents of Irish-born children in a "decent, pragmatic and commonsense fashion"? He stated all applicants must re-apply but they have applied once and may have appealed. Following the L & O decision in 2003, they had to make a different application. Many of them, therefore, have been processed since January 2003 with various numbers granted asylum or refused asylum and deported.

Will those who have been deported be given the opportunity to re-apply given that their Irish-born children had to leave with them? Will those whose applications for asylum have been refused since January 2003 but who have not yet been deported be given the opportunity to re-apply? That is not clear from the Minister's comments. He stated decisions will be made on the basis of the proof of identity, period of residence in Ireland and the relationship of applicants to their Irish citizen child. Does this cover all non-national parents of Irish-born children who have made asylum applications prior to the enactment of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill on 1 January 2005 or does it merely refer to the children born prior to the Supreme Court decision in the L & O case in January 2003? A figure of 17,000 applicants has been bandied around. Does that relate to both parents and children or the individual applicants or the entire family?

Clarification is needed on many issues. However, the number of non-nationals applying for asylum is rapidly diminishing. In the first ten months of 2004, 3,443 new applications were received compared with 6,758 in the equivalent period in 2003, which is a substantial decrease. The Irish Refugee Council stated approximately 4,000 cases are in the pipeline whereas others have suggested 10,000 cases have not been fully processed. We do not know, therefore, how many cases are involved and whether they will all be tossed into the pool again to be processed.

The system is costly and slow. The cost to the Exchequer was €179 million and this almost doubled to €353 million in 2003. The reason for the increases is the significant backlog of cases and not an increase in cases. The system has not been streamlined even though the numbers are declining rapidly. Something needs to be done. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could elaborate on the Minister's proposals regarding the non-national parents of Irish-born children.

Mr. B. Smith

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I will outline to the House the proposals for revised arrangements for processing applications for permission to remain in the State from the non-national parents of Irish-born children. The Government yesterday approved proposals for these arrangements.

The legislation, namely, the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004, which is the necessary precursor to these proposals, is with the President and has yet to be enacted. Subject to that, the Minister hopes to be in a position to commence the legislation in January 2005. The new processing arrangements will be introduced after the enactment and commencement of the legislation.

I cannot give an exhaustive description of the proposed new arrangements. Details are being finalised in the Minister's Department and full details of the new scheme will be given in January 2005. Application forms will be made widely available at that time and applicants will be required to complete their application forms and submit them by 31 March 2005. This will give them more than two months in which to state or re-state their claim with up-to-date and relevant information. No applicant will be able to say that the matter was considered on the basis of information which was out of date.

The intention at this time is to give people advance notice of the details that will be required of them and to give them the maximum time to acquire the necessary documentation such as passports and birth certificates which will be required by them in making their applications. The identity of the applicant must be established in each application. This will require each applicant to supply a passport from his or her country of origin. If a potential applicant does not have one, he or she should take the necessary steps to acquire one as soon as possible.

Applicants will be required to show their relationship to the Irish born child. The birth certificate of the child must be supplied. There may be cases where, for example, the father's name is not included on the birth certificate. It will be a matter for the father to establish his paternity and to provide proof of this to the Department. It will also be necessary to show that parents are living with and taking care of the Irish citizen child.

The new arrangements are intended to deal with those parents who have been living in the State with their Irish citizen child. An applicant must establish that he or she has been ordinarily resident in the State since the birth of the child and will have to give satisfactory evidence of this. Applications will not be accepted from persons who are abroad or who have not been ordinarily resident in the State. Before granting permission to remain to a person, the Minister wants to be sure that an applicant has not been involved in criminal activity and is of good character. If the person has used other identities while in the State, the Minister wants to know the details.

The onus will be on the applicant to provide all details required and to provide the necessary supporting evidence in the new process. Before permission to remain is granted to a person, applicants will be required to make a statutory declaration to the effect that the details supplied are true, that they will attempt to become economically viable in the State and that they will take appropriate steps to that end, such as participation in training or language courses. If permission to remain is granted to a person, he or she will be allowed to enter employment or to engage in business or a profession. The Minister wants to ensure people who benefit from these new arrangements make a genuine effort to become economically viable and do not become dependent on the State. In the proposed statutory declaration, the applicant will also be asked to acknowledge that permission to remain, if granted, will not give rise to an expectation that any other person, whether related or not, will be allowed to enter the State. There will be no entitlement for a person granted permission to remain under this scheme to be joined by family members from abroad.

In granting permission to remain to people who satisfy the conditions, the Minister intends to grant permission for an initial period of two years. After that time, if the person can show he or she has been law-abiding and has become economically viable, the permission will be extended for a further three years. After five years in the State the person will be entitled to apply to be naturalised as an Irish citizen.

The Minister said in this House in recent weeks that he would deal with applications from persons seeking permission to remain on the basis of their parentage of an Irish-born child in a decent, pragmatic and commonsense way. This is what he proposes to do. Some people have called for an amnesty but he is not prepared to do that. There will be no blanket granting of permission to remain and each case will be considered individually. The parents of an Irish-born child who have been continually resident in Ireland looking after the child, who are of good character and have not been involved in criminal activity and who are willing to make the necessary statutory declaration can expect to be granted permission to remain.

All reasonable people will see that the proposed arrangements represent a generous approach to the resolution of the issue. They also contain necessary safeguards to ensure permission is not granted where it is not appropriate. I ask Deputies to advise interested parties to await the details of the scheme and the application forms, which will be published in January, and to take the necessary steps to obtain proof of identity and other necessary documentation in the meantime.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.40 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 16 December 2004.