Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 6 Feb 2007

Vol. 630 No. 5

Adjournment Debate.

Mental Health Services.

Mr. Neville

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important issue and welcome my fellow Limerick man, the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley, to the House. The Irish Psychiatric Association has published an evaluation of the first 12 months of the national mental health policy, A Vision for Change. Entitled A Vision in Hindsight, its report examines developments since A Vision for Change was launched a year ago to great fanfare as the bible for the development and modernisation of psychiatric services.

The Irish Psychiatric Association has been scathing about the work completed over the past 12 months. Its public relations officer, Siobhán Barry, stated that experience at the coalface has been so disappointing that the enthusiasm felt by service providers 12 months ago has dissipated and been replaced by a feeling of betrayal. After one year, structures should have been established and there is disappointment and dismay at developments. Dr. Éamonn Moloney stated that one third of community-based psychiatric teams, the establishment of which is a key proposal in the new policy, have fewer than 50% of staff. He noted that at the current rate of appointments — 24 posts were filled last year — it will take 25 years to implement the recommendations on staff requirements set out in A Vision for Change. Siobhán Barry described the approach to capital development as "shameful, shabby and shoddy". The national mental health directive, she added, which is cost neutral, has not been implemented.

The Government is not serious about implementing A Vision for Change. A Vision in Hindsight states:

There has been little evidence that the task of implementing A Vision for Change has been seriously tackled by the HSE to date. The HSE Implementation and Expert Advisory Groups took almost 6 months to be established and they have each met only 3 times since. No formal geo-mapping exercise has yet been conducted by the HSE and this would, in our view, be a fundamental task.

Insufficient funding has been allocated to implementing the recommendations of A Vision for Change. A Vision in Hindsight notes that although €26 million was committed nationally to the development of new mental health services in 2006, at the time of commencement of A Vision for Change, the level of funding received by individual services has been small, with none of the services receiving more than €500,000. This funding has been insufficient to create the new multidisciplinary teams the report recommended, and for which it was allocated.

Last week, the Minister of State was unable to provide information I sought in a parliamentary question concerning the percentage of health expenditure allocated for psychiatric services. He indicated the figures were being calculated and would be forwarded to me later this month. The Irish Psychiatric Association has calculated the figure. Its report states:

An unprecedented increase of €1.1bn in the health spend was announced in the 2007 budget — bringing the total to €14 billion. Of that, €800m is allocated to mental health as revenue funding and €25m to new service developments. A Vision for Change advised that implementing their recommendations would require the mental health percentage of the health budget to increase from its previous 6.9% to 8.24% — the meagre increased funding for mental health in 2007 brings that percentage down to below 6%, indicating clearly that we are moving in the opposite direction!

Almost one third of the €25 million development funding the Minister of State committed to mental health services in 2007 has been earmarked for child and adolescent mental health services. More than one fifth of this funding has been committed to contingencies brought about by the commencements, as required by the Government, of the Mental Health Act 2001 and the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006. This leaves little funding to be shared out among disparate areas of need. Only €1.8 million of the money for new services has been allocated to generic adult mental health services in 2007. It is clear from those sums that a continuation of the expanded community services that began in 2006, at the time of the launch of A Vision for Change, has not been incorporated within this year's budgeted programme.

One year after the document's publication, the Irish Psychiatric Association says that at the most senior level little thought appears to have been given to organisational development, financial or otherwise, to enable its implementation. If the funding issue is being debated at all, it is being done in the abstract. The Irish Psychiatric Association states:

The vision is vanishing and with it the opportunity and goodwill to make it possible. Those affected by mental ill health are close to yet another political betrayal. The public service users and carers in our organisation are angered, disappointed and cannot accept this lack of progress. We, together with service users and providers, now demand urgent political and administrative action or, failing that, seek electoral accountability.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Mr. T. O’Malley)

I thank Deputy Neville for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I am intrigued by his statement that this is an independent report.

Mr. Neville

It is not a political report.

Mr. T. O’Malley

Not at all. Consultants are never political.

Mr. Neville

This is an independent evaluation.

Mr. T. O’Malley

I understand what the Deputy is saying.

Mr. Neville

It is not my report. I have said much of this in the past in a political context.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Minister of State without interruption.

Mr. Neville

This is not political, it is independent.

Mr. T. O’Malley

I suggest to the Deputy that other people have views, as well as the consultants.

The past year has been one of great change within mental health in Ireland with the launch of A Vision for Change, the report of the expert group on mental health policy in January 2006, the full implementation of the Mental Health Act 2001 from 1 November 2006, growing service capacity and additional investment. I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to the full implementation of A Vision for Change and has accepted the report as the basis for the future development of our mental health services.

Implementation of the individual recommendations of A Vision for Change is a matter primarily for the Health Service Executive. In July 2006, the HSE established an implementation group to ensure that mental health services develop in a synchronised and consistent manner across the country and to guide and resource service managers and clinicians in making the recommendations in A Vision for Change a reality.

Some of the work carried out to date includes informing all relevant stakeholders, including staff, voluntary agencies, service user representatives and media of the recommendations in the report; developing additional capacity in child and adolescent services to reduce the dependency on adult services for this client group; commencing the establishment of 18 additional multi-disciplinary adult psychiatric teams; preparing for eight additional child and adolescent multi-disciplinary psychiatry teams; developing a population based resource allocation model; processing the full economic value of psychiatric hospital buildings and lands for reinvestment in the mental health services; training for 5,300 staff employed in the service; establishing the interim national service users executive, which I launched last week together with a mental health resource pack for use in primary care; and establishing the project team to develop the new Central Mental Hospital.

In March 2006, I appointed an independent monitoring group to monitor progress on the implementation of the recommendations of A Vision for Change. The group will monitor and assess progress on the implementation of all the recommendations, including those which fall under the responsibility of the Health Service Executive, Departments and other relevant agencies. The group is to submit its first annual report in mid-2007.

The chairpersons of the implementation group and the monitoring group will meet in the near future. Following that meeting, the Health Service Executive will publish a progress report and will outline the proposed implementation programme over the ten-year life of A Vision for Change. Both these groups will play an important role in ensuring that the recommendations are implemented in a co-ordinated and timely manner.

The Government has almost trebled expenditure on mental health from €326 million in 1997 to €835 million in 2006. We have already allocated a total of €51 million additional funding for 2006 and 2007 to implement A Vision for Change. This is one third of the total funding estimated by the expert group to implement fully the mental health strategy over seven years.

A Vision for Change outlines a comprehensive model for mental health service provision for Ireland. It describes a framework for building and fostering positive mental health across the entire community and for providing accessible, community-based, specialist services for people with mental illness. This Government is committed to the further development of our mental health services throughout the country and to ensuring they will continue to be improved and enhanced in the coming years.

Female Genital Mutilation.

Ms F. O’Malley

I am grateful to have an opportunity to discuss this important issue today, the date chosen to focus attention on the eradication of female genital mutilation. I feel it is incumbent upon me to raise this issue. The United Nations Family Planning Association and UNICEF estimate that every day approximately 6,000 girls are subjected to this cruel fate. The practice is continuing and it says much about the role of women. It is incumbent on Deputies to raise this matter. I note that over 20 Members of the House are women.

Female genital mutilation is a violation of the basic rights of women and girls. It is a dangerous and irreversible procedure that negatively impacts on the general health, child-bearing capability and educational opportunities of girls and women. There is anecdotal evidence that this practice is being carried out in Ireland. Health workers and voluntary sector groups have been approached by women querying how they can get the procedure done to their daughters in Ireland. This reflects the fact that we have not made it clear that such a practice is illegal. We should take every opportunity to make it perfectly clear to people that it is against the law and not something we would countenance. When we get the opportunity to highlight the matter on a day like today — the international day for the eradication of female genital mutilation — we should do so.

We know of parents who are seeking refuge in Ireland to ensure that their daughters are not circumcised. Intolerable societal and family pressures result in women fleeing the country with their children, leaving behind other family members, including husbands and older children, to ensure their own daughters are not cut.

Agencies such as the UNFPA and UNICEF estimate that at least 130 million women have been forced to undergo female genital mutilation. Another 2 million are at risk each year from this degrading and dangerous practice. We have a responsibility to ensure the elimination of this practice wherever it occurs. In many ways we are working towards that goal. I applaud the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Conor Lenihan, whose initiative allowed Irish Aid to become involved in preventing and responding to gender-based violence, particularly in conflict situations. Our leadership in highlighting the issue has earned the country great kudos.

Our support of UNFPA is also vital in this respect. UNFPA supports women's groups and parliamentarians in promoting laws to protect women and girls against female genital mutilation. The agency recognises that legal action alone is often not enough to deal with such traditions. Therefore, it takes a culturally sensitive approach, working with local power structures to mobilise communities and undertake broad advocacy campaigns to offer alternative rituals.

We need to have the courage to recognise that these practices are beginning to permeate our society. In September 2006 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged the State to continue its efforts to implement targeted programmes which sensitise all segments of the population as to its extremely harmful effects. We are not doing enough. Rather than merely continue as we have done, we should make stronger efforts to prevent the practice taking root in Ireland.

I welcome the opportunity afforded to me to highlight the issue. I look forward to the response of the Minister of State.

Mr. T. O’Malley

I thank Deputy Fiona O'Malley for the opportunity to speak on this important matter. I apologise on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, who cannot be present.

Female genital mutilation is a barbaric act which constitutes an assault causing serious harm to the girls and women on whom it is performed. It is a deeply-rooted traditional practice which continues in countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The age at which it is performed varies from area to area. It may be performed on infants, female children and adolescents or, occasionally, on mature women. It is not only extremely painful but results in serious mutilation and may cause infection and death. It exposes young girls and women to high health risks and seriously affects the quality of the rest of their lives.

The Minister for Health and Children has obtained legal advice from the Attorney General that female genital mutilation is an offence under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. The advice states, inter alia, that it is likely that performing an act of female genital mutilation would comprise an intentional act which causes serious harm and would thus be an offence under section 4 of that Act. If the act of female genital mutilation was not found to have resulted in “serious” harm, it would still be open to the Garda to prosecute for the similar, though less serious, offence of assaulting a person causing harm, provided for by section 3 of the 1997 Act.

The Department of Health and Children wrote to the then health boards in 2001, and again in 2004, drawing their attention to the issue of female genital mutilation and requesting that personnel working with immigrant populations take opportunities to educate them about the dangers and unacceptability of the practice. The Department also wrote to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in 2004 with regard to the issue. It asked that staff under the aegis of that Department whose work brings them into contact with persons from regions where female genital mutilation is practised should be made aware of the issue and should educate and inform such communities about the illegality and unacceptability of female genital mutilation. The Department will be writing to the Health Service Executive on the matter again shortly to ensure female genital mutilation continues to be the subject of appropriate awareness and attention within the health services.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Female genital mutilation is a barbaric practice and the Government will of course take any further steps which may be necessary to promote awareness of its illegality and unacceptability in our society.

Avian Flu.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

I thank the Minister, Deputy Coughlan, for attending. I also thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this very important matter. I do so both as a spokesperson on health and children and as a Deputy representing Cavan-Monaghan, a constituency where the poultry industry is one of the cornerstones of the local economy. Hundreds of people are employed in the industry, which has thriving businesses in a region which has not benefited from industrial development to the extent experienced in the east and south. For that reason, any damage to this vital sector would be catastrophic for the region.

The confirmation of the outbreak of the H5N1 virus among poultry on the Bernard Matthews plant in Suffolk, England is a cause of very grave concern. This is the strain that when contracted by human beings can prove fatal. The first confirmation of such an outbreak in Britain brings the danger right to our doorstep and it requires the most vigorous response from the Government. I believe more stringent precautionary measures are needed in the face of this threat.

The decision of the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Coughlan, to ban imports of birds from Britain for shows and gatherings is not enough. Four states — Hong Kong, Japan, Russia and South Korea — have already banned all poultry imports from Britain. While I note the European Commission has today criticised this move, it nonetheless underlines the seriousness with which this threat is viewed. In that context, the Minister should not limit her reaction to the extent that she has already announced.

Our priority must be to safeguard human health and the poultry industry on the island of Ireland. For that reason, the import of all poultry and poultry products from Britain to any part of Ireland, north or south of the Border, should be stopped until the all-clear is given. This will be objected to on the grounds that it is excessive and would damage trade. However, such a short-term — I emphasise it would be short-term — disruption to trade would be negligible if it helped to ensure this virus did not spread to Ireland, devastating the poultry industry and posing a real threat to human health.

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in Britain has been unable to confirm whether eggs may have been imported to the infected Bernard Matthews plant in Britain from its plant in Hungary, where there was another outbreak of H5N1 last month. One of the possible ways in which birds at the Bernard Matthews plant were infected was if one of the eggs in the hatchery was already infected from its mother, perhaps because hatching eggs were imported. The British Health Secretary, Ms Patricia Hewitt MP, has said that while the risk to human health is remote, the British Government is preparing "very, very seriously and thoroughly for the possibility of a pandemic flu". Should we prepare any less? The United Nations co-ordinator for human influenza and avian flu, David Nabarro, has highlighted the high number of cases of the disease throughout the world at present. He stated that everybody needs to be anxious about the situation.

All of this emphasises the need for more stringent measures here. I respectfully urge the Minister to immediately review and revisit her approach and to return with a revised programme of more strict precautions in order to protect human health and the very important poultry industry.

Minister for Agriculture and Food (Mary Coughlan)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for allowing me the opportunity to give the response of my Department to the confirmed outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu on a turkey farm in Suffolk. As the House will be aware, this case was confirmed on Saturday morning last, by which time the management committee of my Department's National Disease Control Centre, NDCC, had met. One of the key lessons learned, following confirmation of a case of avian flu in a swan last April in Scotland, was the need to assess the level of risk posed before taking any action and then to respond accordingly and, most importantly, appropriately.

On Saturday last my officials concluded that the very fact of a case in England increased the risk to Ireland but also concluded this was precisely the type of event our contingency arrangements would have anticipated and were designed to cater for. On that basis, I was satisfied as to the adequacy of the measures in place and concluded that no immediate further measures were necessary other than to place our veterinary and laboratory staff on a higher state of readiness and to ensure the Department's helpline was sufficiently staffed.

The situation was kept under constant review over the weekend and I was in constant contact with my officials, who were themselves in contact with colleagues in the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, DEFRA, in London, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, DARD, in Belfast and the European Commission in Brussels. I did not consider that additional measures were merited over the weekend.

On Monday morning, DEFRA introduced a ban on shows and bird gatherings in Britain. After the situation had been reviewed by the NDCC management committee and officials had consulted with colleagues in DARD in Belfast, I took the decision to ban the importation of birds from Britain for shows and gatherings in Ireland. The Northern Ireland authorities introduced an identical ban and, in maintaining the all-island approach to this issue, neither ban extended to the movement of birds on the island of Ireland and shows and bird gatherings continue to be permitted on both sides of the Border.

This measure is a natural extension to what DEFRA has done and is entirely proportional to the increased risk posed by the case in Suffolk. At no time was a ban on the importation of poultry or poultry products contemplated. Such a measure would have been entirely disproportionate and, under Community law, illegal. Contrary to the Deputy's suggestion, the British Government is not imposing any such ban.

It is important to understand what happens when a case of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu is confirmed. A 3 km protection zone and a 10 km zone are put in place and where considered necessary a further restricted zone can be applied. In this case, the UK authorities did so, comprising an area of some 2,000 sq. km. Trade of poultry and poultry products from these areas is restricted. The idea of a further restricted zone is to act as a buffer between the affected areas and the rest of the country and to facilitate trade from the rest of the country.

Trade in poultry and poultry products is governed by EU Single Market rules. Specific measures on avian flu were transposed into Irish law last year, providing for regional restrictions where an outbreak occurs. I am entirely satisfied that the measures put in place in England will fulfil their purpose and I am satisfied also that the rest of Britain should be allowed to trade freely. In the unfortunate event that we were to be affected by avian flu, such a regional approach would be of great value to the Irish poultry industry with which the Deputy is more than familiar.

I share the view expressed by Commissioner Kyprianou that restrictions to trade should affect regions or areas and not whole countries as an entity. My officials have been maintaining close daily contact with colleagues in London and Belfast since the outbreak was confirmed and, this morning, officials attended a meeting in Brussels at which UK officials made a presentation on the outbreak. Tomorrow the issue will be further considered at a meeting of chief veterinary officers in Brussels.

Earlier today, I spoke to the Secretary of State, David Miliband MP, and wished him well in his stated aim of stamping out the disease, protecting public health, protecting animal health and welfare and regaining the UK's disease-free status. I also reiterated the value of the close contacts between our respective Departments and emphasised the need to maintain constant and immediate contact between us.

Based on the information available to me and my Department, I share the assessment of the European Commission spokesman yesterday that the UK measures are in place and are working well. Given the manner in which DEFRA appears to have responded to the outbreak and the manner which, to date, it appears to have been contained, I am of the view that additional protective measures are not warranted at this time. The situation will continue to be kept under constant review and should circumstances change such that additional measures would be appropriate, I will not hesitate to introduce such measures.

Earlier this afternoon, the avian influenza expert group, which I established under the chairmanship of Professor Michael Monaghan last year, met to review events since the weekend and, in particular, to assess the response of my Department. It was the group's conclusion that the steps we have taken are entirely appropriate.

I am particularly anxious to maintain an all-island approach to this issue. It has worked very well over the past 18 months or so and the manner in which the two Departments, North and South of the Border, announced similar measures virtually simultaneously yesterday is clear evidence of the close working relationship between the Departments. The commitment of DARD to working together with my Department to minimise the risk to the island of Ireland is recognition of the value of an all-island approach.

Deputy Ó Caoláin referred to the threat to human health. There is little or no human health aspect associated with this outbreak and it has little or no human implications for this country. There are no recorded cases of workers in the poultry industry contracting avian flu and, as the Deputy well knows, there are no dangers associated with consuming properly cooked poultry meat, a point emphasised time and again by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, Safefood, the European Food Safety Authority, the Food Standards Authority in the UK, etc.

I wish to comment briefly on suggestions in the media and from Members of the House that there is an inevitability about Ireland being affected by avian flu. Let me be clear, there is no such inevitability. Of course, there is a possibility and as the most likely source of introduction is through migrating wild birds, the Department and I are limited in what we can do to prevent such a possibility. Our focus, therefore, is on ensuring that all the necessary means are in place to ensure the early detection of any case or outbreak, the efficient control and management of such a case and the speedy eradication of the disease and the restoration of the country's disease-free status.

Water and Sewerage Schemes.

Mr. Ó Fearghaíl

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important issue for Kildare on the Adjournment of the House and I thank the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, for being here at this late hour to address the issue.

Kildare town, with a population of approximately 9,000 people, is serviced by an antiquated waste water treatment plant which discharges into the Tully River. The treatment plant is overloaded, with just about 9,000 person equivalents and, in any event, the Tully River is incapable of absorbing any further discharge.

The need for a new sewage treatment works was highlighted in the mid-1990s and the objective was firmly written into the 2002-08 development plan for Kildare town. Despite this, it was not until late 2005 that Kildare County Council completed its environmental impact statement on the waste water treatment plant. This was duly approved by An Bord Pleanála on 10 March 2006. Considerable documentation and correspondence passed back and forth between the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Kildare County Council between May and November 2006, when the Department rejected the council's procurement strategy for the waste water treatment plant.

I understand that following discussions between the council and Department officials, Kildare County Council will now consider delivering the treatment plant by way of a public private partnership arrangement or the design, build and operate option which it had previously ignored.

The protracted delay which has surrounded the delivery of this vital infrastructure for Kildare town has had serious consequences for the local community and the local economy. All construction work, other than that being undertaken by the local authority itself, is at a standstill and businesses have already moved out of the area as the council has operated a policy of refusing practically all planning applications until recently, when development proposals were permitted with the proviso that no construction take place until contract documents are signed for the new treatment works.

Kildare town was long regarded as one of the worst bottlenecks on the N7, until its bypass was completed at the end of 2003. It was generally expected that in returning the town to its people, a new development dynamic would be released which would see the town grow and prosper. This has been the experience in many other towns throughout the country, but has not yet come to pass in Kildare, because of the sewage treatment plant logjam.

I am extremely disappointed with the lack of priority which the council has given to this vital project over the past five years and with the lack of progress on a number of other important waste water projects in County Kildare. It has recently emerged that the major mid-Kildare waste water facility at Osberstown is near capacity and that it may be 2008 before a contract is in place for its extension. This situation is already beginning to impact negatively on developments in Naas and Newbridge.

When one looks at the lack of progress by the council on a variety of such projects across the county, one wonders whether the council, contrary to the provisions of its development plans, seeks to suppress the growth in the county's population by allowing these infrastructure deficits to prevail.

In terms of the current proposal for Kildare town, what is envisaged by Kildare County Council is a modular plant discharging via a lengthy pipeline to the River Barrow. The initial package would have a capacity for 14,000 person equivalents, which I suggest is wholly inadequate. As the lack of sewerage capacity has rendered the 2002 area plan for Kildare town totally redundant, we can expect an explosion of development on long-zoned lands as soon as treatment facilities are in place. It would be completely irresponsible to disregard this fact.

I urge the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to issue the speediest possible approval for the Kildare waste water treatment facility, which should have a minimum capacity for 25,000 person equivalents. I further request the Minister to review the delivery by Kildare County Council of water and sewerage schemes in the county.

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche)

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to clarify the position on this important issue. I admire the forthright and candid submission he has made to the House.

I appreciate fully the Deputy's concerns about the negative impact on Kildare town of the lethargic approach adopted on this matter to date. The Kildare town sewerage scheme is one of a total of 19 water services projects being progressed in County Kildare at present, with the support of unprecedented Exchequer funding from my Department under the national development plan. The investment in new water services infrastructure all around the country has made a key contribution to economic growth that has benefited every part of Ireland. I am therefore as impatient as Deputy Ó Fearghaíl with any unnecessary bureaucracy, red tape or delay in introducing proposals of local environmental importance.

The range of new water and sewerage schemes planned or in progress in Kildare provides strong evidence of the Government's determination to safeguard the environment while making provision for new housing and jobs, and all the other requirements of a successful and growing economy. The Department's current water services investment programme covering 2005 to 2007 commits over €220 million to water and sewerage schemes in County Kildare. All those should be in place as soon as possible. Many towns and villages around the county can look forward to a new or upgraded water supply and sewerage facilities. Those projects should be approached with ambition locally.

The €20 million Kildare scheme involves a major expansion and overhaul of the waste water treatment plant, with capacity almost to treble from the current population equivalent of 9,700 to above 28,000. The scheme also provides for the rehabilitation of the existing collection system and the construction of new sewers to the west and south west of the town. It is, therefore, very important to the residential, commercial and industrial life of Kildare and its growth and development. The new infrastructure will also, of course, improve water quality in the Tully stream, the Finnery river and, in turn, the River Barrow.

All the multi-million euro projects being funded by the taxpayer must undergo detailed planning and assessment to ensure that they meet their objectives and are designed and constructed in as economical a manner as possible. However, I am glad to report that the Department's examination of Kildare County Council's preliminary report on the Kildare scheme is now very close to being finalised. I once again accept the Deputy's points regarding issues that have delayed the scheme; he is quite right in his analysis.

I also fully agree that this project is vitally important to the development of Kildare town as a whole. In particular, I am anxious to ensure that it be advanced as expeditiously as possible to facilitate redevelopment of the former Magee barracks under the affordable housing initiative. The Magee project offers an exciting opportunity, not just to deliver affordable housing but to secure a major regeneration covering a large area close to the heart of the town. The Department will work closely with the council towards that end.

The Department is fully committed to starting the scheme as quickly as possible. I expect and will accept nothing less in terms of local ambition. I assure Deputy Ó Fearghaíl that we will complete the assessment of Kildare County Council's report very shortly, with a view to putting the scheme out to tender as soon as possible. I have taken very careful note of the Deputy's points and will bring them to the attention of the relevant departmental personnel. I will request that the various serious observations made be fully examined. I reiterate the extraordinary work he has put into achieving this scheme and the contacts he has made with me and locally to see that it is delivered for the people of Kildare town as expeditiously as possible. I assure him that no effort will be spared on my part or that of the Department to get the scheme up and running as early as possible.

The Dáil adjourned at 10.45 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 7 February 2007.