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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 24 Apr 2007

Vol. 636 No. 1

Adjournment Debate.

Sports Funding.

We will begin with Deputy Wall as there is a Minister with responsibility for the issue present in the House.

That is more of it.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this very important issue. The last days of April herald two things, the commencement of the GAA football and hurling championships and the end of the administration of this Government. One might ask what the two have in common. Anybody vaguely interested in sport will know that as we commence one and end another, this Administration has not concluded its agreement with the Gaelic Players Association.

Over a long period of time, the Government has promised to deliver but this has not happened. It made a promise to the point that a figure of €5 million was mentioned over a period of time not only by the Minister concerned, Deputy O'Donoghue, but by the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern. Both stated that when an agreement was reached by the GAA central council and the GPA, the Government would not be found wanting. The mechanism was agreed over a series of meetings and negotiations, and it was to operate through the infrastructural capital grants programme. Importantly, this would protect the amateur status of the players involved. After very difficult negotiations by the GAA bodies, the final agreement was reached, but the Government has now been found wanting and has, to date, not honoured its commitments or indicated a "Yes" or "No" to the proposals.

Why has this happened after making a promise to the Gaelic Players Association, members of which week in and week out provide so many men, women and especially children with wonderful entertainment in the four provinces of the island? In the last days of this Administration, will the Minister not honour the agreement reached? Why would he not do this for a group that forgoes so much to have the honour of wearing the county jersey and which plays such a major part as wonderful ambassadors and role models for the hundreds of thousands of children who so faithfully follow their county and its players through thick and thin, week in and week out?

In examining the Government's failure so far to honour its commitments, one must question the motives behind such a decision, if it is to be final. Is it an issue of equality or finance? Has the Government decided it does not represent value for money? If the issue is one of equality, it must be addressed, and the GPA would doubtlessly agree. The Government should not hide behind the issue but instead should state the facts that must be addressed to progess this matter to a successful conclusion. One would have thought that such matters would have been considered when the Minister and the Taoiseach discussed this matter and decided to agree on it so many months ago. Alternatively, did they take a gamble that the GAA and GPA would not agree, the result being that they are now between a rock and a hard place?

The second consideration — value for money — does not bear thinking about. When one is involved at this level of sporting commitment, one can immediately see what players forgo. This includes overtime opportunities, family and social occasions, educational opportunities and holidays, especially where a player has young children. There are also extra personal costs incurred. There are personal losses in each case. In many instances there are even greater problems, such as when a young family has a large mortgage, for example.

There is no doubting the commitment of all concerned in the presentation of our national games at this level and their inestimable value to our society as a whole. As I have already stated, the players are role models for our children and communities. The value to the Exchequer each week is also very large. Although I have never seen a valuation, such activities would play a major part in the annual returns for the Government of the day. I have no doubt the €5 million in question would be a very small fraction of the overall returns compared to the income that such games generate for the Exchequer.

I therefore ask that in its final days this Administration should honour the commitments of the Taoiseach and the Minister to the GAA and the GPA. The Minister should meet representatives from both associations and finally underpin the agreement which the Government indicated it would honour when the associations agreed a procedure to permit such a payment. This would overcome the problems and meet the deserved demands of the GPA, and of so many who give so much in the cause of entertainment.

I thank Deputy Wall for raising this matter on the Adjournment and for the opportunity to address the issues involved on behalf of the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue. I would like to outline the background to this issue, which has generated significant debate in the media in recent weeks.

The Minister has had a number of meetings with both the GAA and the Gaelic Players Association at which player welfare issues for intercounty players were discussed. At these meetings and in subsequent letters to both the GAA and the GPA, the Minister has set out the position of the Government on this issue. The Minister has stated that he does not intend to provide direct funding to meet the costs either of direct grants to GAA players or of player welfare policies. This responsibility rests with the GAA in the same manner as similar player welfare issues in other sports must be dealt with by the responsible national governing body of sport. In this context it is the exclusive prerogative of the association to decide how it manages and funds such issues, and the Minister does not intend to influence the GAA as to the nature or cost of any new player welfare supports it may introduce.

The Minister has previously indicated, however, that in the event of agreement being reached between the GAA and the GPA on additional player welfare supports, he would be prepared to provide additional funding to the GAA on an annual basis, either through the existing sports capital programme administered by his Department in respect of prioritised infrastructural projects, or through additional funding by the Irish Sports Council in respect of games development, or a combination of both.

Any moneys provided under these programmes would have the effect of freeing up existing moneys within the association to meet the additional costs of agreed player welfare issues. Although the Minister indicated that an amount of €5 million could be set aside, he has also stated that it would be premature to lock into any particular funding mechanism or formally commit to any specific amount of such funding until such time as detailed costed proposals were submitted to him by the GAA under the headings of infrastructure and games development and considered by his Department. As any financial support to be provided by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism would be considered in the context of the additional costs to the GAA of new player welfare supports, the Minister has outlined to the association that he would have to be satisfied as to the extent and nature of such supports, taking into account the ultimate responsibility of the GAA for funding such supports, and in the context of the Government's national sport policy.

The GAA, supported by the GPA, submitted a proposal to the Minister recently regarding Government funding for a senior intercounty player welfare initiative. The proposal has now been examined and a meeting with the GAA and the GPA will be held shortly to discuss the matter.

Social Welfare Benefits.

I raise the matter of the €1,000 early childcare supplement payment announced in the 2005 budget, which commenced for children under six in April 2006. l again seek clarity on the status of this payment as it pertains to all children and ask the Minister to confirm that the current interpretation is treating all children equally in this Republic.

All children under six whose parents are resident in the Republic were to gain from it. However, I have a cohort of people who are cross-Border workers and they feel that their children are not receiving the payment either directly or indirectly. I know that the Six County family benefit system is different from that of the Republic of Ireland and I accept the need for equal treatment of all families, but that is the core of my query tonight. For many years the system favoured the cross-Border worker but with the advent of the early childcare supplement this group is being told that it is not entitled to this supplement, despite the fact that there has been a rebalancing of the levels of basic child benefit payment in the North.

I know the technical answer, as under EU regulations the country in which a parent works is responsible for paying family benefits. If the parents are employed in two different member states, the state in which the children reside is responsible for paying benefits. The other state pays a supplement if the rate of family benefits is higher than the rate of payment in the state in which the children reside.

In the Republic of Ireland, if a person is on a low income he or she can receive family income support, FIS, to bring income level up. This is on top of the €1,000 for the child. If a person works in the Six Counties in a low-paid job and lives in the Republic of Ireland, that person can receive, since April 2003, a child tax credit which brings income up. It is taken to be part of a child's income or benefit and so the child does not necessarily get the €1,000 euro "supplement" unless the other member state determines that a percentage is due. The family benefit supplement payment is the difference between the amount of family benefits in the Republic of Ireland — consisting of child benefit, family income supplement and I assume the early childcare supplement — and Northern Ireland, which has child benefit and child tax credit. I read from this that the child should end up with the same level of financial support but given that it is seen to come a different way, through child tax credits rather than actual cash or cheque, it is not as transparent for those involved.

That is the core of my query. Does this constitute a payment to a child, just as the early child care supplement was supposed to be? Is it possible for cross-Border workers to choose to have their entitlements paid from the country in which they live, thereby giving them the choice and transparency that some of them feel they do not have? Is such a system only available when the two parents are working in different jurisdictions? Perhaps the Department of Social and Family Affairs needs to clear up some of the confusion that exists about whether cross-Border workers can choose where to draw their child benefits. One cannot get the early child care supplement without getting a child benefit payment from the Department of Social and Family Affairs. I have read an e-mail that states that parents can choose where to get their payments. However, people in these circumstances have told me they have been informed they do not have that choice.

This may be a simple case of problems caused by the complexity of the language used by the Departments on either side of the Border. I hope we will start to tear down such barriers on 8 May next, when Northern Ireland will once more be administered locally. As a representative of a Border constituency, I was involved in resolving the taxation issue for the vast majority of cross-Border workers. I trust that the Minister of State can confirm that all our children are being treated equally. The early child care supplement needs to become a reality for them, rather than being lost in bureaucracy.

I welcomed the announcement last June that extra jobs were to be created in Letterkenny to administer the operation of the child care supplement scheme. It was indicated that up to 22 new posts were to be created. We trust that such decentralisation, which has been a huge success, will be followed in the near future by the decentralisation of the Department of Social and Family Affairs to Buncrana. I have spoken this evening merely to get clarity on an issue that is regularly raised with me.

I ask the Chair to show me some latitude in acknowledging the matter that is about to be raised on the Adjournment by Deputy Howlin. I would like to extend very sincere condolences to the Dunne and O'Brien families on the sad losses. I sympathise with PJ and Marian O'Brien, who come from the Burt area of County Donegal, on the loss of their daughter, Ciara, and their grandchildren, Shania and Leanne. The recent tragic events have comprised a very big tragedy for County Donegal, as they have for County Wexford. I thank the Chair for showing me some latitude in commenting on the matter.

I thank Deputy Keaveney for raising these issues on the Adjournment. I welcome the opportunity to respond as part of this debate. Of course, all children are treated equally when payments of this type are made. The Government decided in the 2006 budget to introduce a major new payment to parents of young children — the early child care supplement — under the remit of the Office of the Minister for Children. The scheme is being administered by the Department of Social and Family Affairs on an agency basis. The supplement consists of an additional payment of €1,000 in a full calendar year that is made to parents in respect of all eligible children under six years of age. Direct and non-taxable payments of €250 per quarter year are made in respect of each eligible child. They are intended to assist parents with the high cost of caring for children, especially in their early years. The parents or guardians of children up to six years of age are eligible for this universal scheme.

Eligibility for the child care supplement scheme is identical to that for the child benefit scheme, which was previously known as the children's allowance scheme. Parents who receive child benefit payments in respect of children under the age of six also receive the early child care supplement. If no child benefit payment is being claimed for a child in this State, no supplement will be paid in respect of that child.

I am pleased to deal with Deputy Keaveney's concerns about the entitlements of parents who work outside the State. When the early child care supplement scheme was introduced in budget 2006, my colleague, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, said that it was to be "a direct payment of €1,000 per year available equally to all parents regardless of their labour force status, for each child up to his or her sixth birthday". While this comment affirms that the employment status of parents is not a condition under this scheme, it does not suggest that all children under the age of six are entitled to the payment regardless of their residence or nationality.

I will describe how applications made by parents who live in the State but work in another EU state are treated. Deputy Keaveney will be familiar with the cases of people living in County Donegal who are employed in Northern Ireland. The practical application of the scheme is the responsibility of the Department of Social and Family Affairs, rather than my office. The Department, which makes the payment on my behalf on an agency basis, has direct responsibility for other family benefits which are co-ordinated by EU legislation. I will give a simple overview of how this is handled. European Union regulations, notably Regulation 1408/71, co-ordinate the payment of social and family benefits in the cases of migrant and frontier workers to ensure that nobody loses as a result of moving around the EU. Under those arrangements, a frontier worker will receive the maximum family benefits which are appropriate regardless of whether he or she is subject to the legislation of the country of employment or the country of residence. The worker is paid family benefits by his or her country of employment in the first instance. If the payment is lower than the payment he or she is due under the legislation of his or her country of residence, the latter country pays a further payment to bring the total payment up to the entitlement guaranteed under domestic legislation.

I will outline how the system works in practice. A parent in County Donegal who works in Derry is paid the relevant UK family benefits. He or she can contact the Department of Social and Family Affairs in this jurisdiction to make a claim to this State's family benefits such as child benefit and family income supplement. If the total family benefits received by a family from the UK authorities do not meet its combined family benefit entitlement under Irish law, a further payment is issued to it from the Department of Social and Family Affairs to ensure it receives its full entitlement under Irish legislation. That entitlement was increased substantially by the introduction of the early child care supplement for the parents of children under the age of six. The net result is that parents in this position will always be paid an amount that is equal to the higher level of family benefits. They are in an advantageous position when compared to those who live beside them and work in the Republic.

I am happy that the introduction of the early child care supplement has increased the family benefits which are guaranteed under our legislation to all Irish resident parents of children under six years. It is operated in a way that allows cross-Border workers to receive their full family benefit entitlements, both under Irish legislation and in accordance with the relevant EU rules.

Family Support Services.

I propose to share time with Deputy Kehoe.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I thank the Chair for allowing me to speak in the House tonight about a profoundly tragic recent event in County Wexford. As Members are aware, those of us in the county have come through a profoundly sad few days. People in all parts of the county and throughout the country have been affected by this unspeakable tragedy. Deputy Keaveney mentioned the concern and pain of people in County Donegal, for example. People are stunned that such a terrible event has visited the quiet and peaceful village of Monageer. I knew the late Hughie Dunne, the father of the deceased Adrian Dunne, just as I know Adrian Dunne's dear mother, Mary. The Dunne family are decent and respectable people who are coping with life. The untimely and tragic deaths of Adrian, Ciara, Shania and Leanne Dunne have numbed the whole community. The extended Dunne family and the Monageer community must be supported during this time of great sorrow.

We must hear now from the State. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to outline to the House and the people of this country the nature and scope of the independent investigation, announced by him this afternoon, into this awful tragedy. I recommend to him the model I established as Minister for Health, when I appointed Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness to lead a team to examine the aftermath of the Kilkenny incest case. The report that was speedily and efficiently produced in that instance had a profound impact. I hope something of that nature is being contemplated in this case.

The people of Wexford are asking profound and deep questions, most notably about what has been learned since the awful death of Sharon Grace and her beautiful children, Mikayla and Abby, two years ago. The heartfelt cry of the people of Wexford is not that blame needs to be apportioned, but that answers should be sought. As a community and as a society, we aim to seek, as far as possible, to put in place whatever measures are required to prevent a tragedy of this nature and scale from devastating another family.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Howlin, for sharing his time. I appreciate it very much. I sympathise with the Dunne and O'Brien families on the deaths of Adrian and Ciara Dunne and their children. This is an emotional time for the people of Monageer, Enniscorthy and County Wexford as a whole. The impact of this emotional issue is being felt as far away as County Donegal. This is not an appropriate time for speaking about blame, or reflecting on whether this event should or could have been avoided.

I welcome the announcement made today by the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, that he intends to initiate an independent investigation into this matter. I hope he ensures that this issue is deeply examined, especially as there was a similar tragedy in Wexford town in 2005. My personal belief is that we have not learned any real lessons from the deaths of Sharon Grace and her two children, Mikayla and Abby. I plead with the Minister of State to ensure there is no recurrence of such tragedies in County Wexford or anywhere else in Ireland. A 24 hour, seven day service should be put in place so that it can offer assistance whenever somebody seeks it. Important lessons can be learned from this tragedy. I am not being political because I would say the same thing if I were on the opposite side of the House. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that the independent investigation results in a structure that prevents such a tragedy from recurring anywhere in Ireland.

I thank Deputy Howlin for sharing his time and again offer my sympathies to the Dunne and O'Brien families. I knew Adrian and his family quite well in my political life over the past five years. It is a sad night when we lose two lovely children and two adults.

I thank Deputies Howlin and Kehoe for raising these issues and welcome the opportunity to respond. I was deeply saddened to hear of the loss of a young family in tragic circumstances in County Wexford last weekend. I extend my profound sympathies to the extended families and friends of the deceased, who are now left to come to terms with this very tragic turn of events.

I have sought a report on this case from the Health Service Executive. The Government has today agreed that, as soon as the relevant facts of this matter are outlined, an independent inquiry will be established to examine all the circumstances. The terms of reference of the inquiry will be determined in light of the facts of the case and we will disclose on an interim basis such reports as we receive. My officials are in constant contact with the HSE in this regard and a meeting between officials from my office and the HSE took place earlier this evening. The Garda Commissioner has also appointed a senior officer from outside the area to investigate the circumstances surrounding the tragedy. I am sure the Deputies will understand that it would be inappropriate for me to comment any further on this matter until the relevant facts have been established.

The HSE's primary aim is to provide child welfare and protection services within the family context, with the option of taking children into care considered as a last resort. Each individual circumstance is examined with the aim of providing the support and care deemed necessary at any given time. The provision of appropriate interventions in respect of families where concerns of risk have been expressed is a complex issue. The Garda and the HSE must balance their responses to such concerns, taking into account all the information available to them at that time, with the rights and privacy of families.

The House will recall that in previous cases which were the subject of debate in this Chamber, it has been implied that the HSE has been too zealous in taking children into care. This reminds us of the difficult and complex decisions required. The Child Care Act 1991, which Deputy Howlin implemented as Minister for Health, sets out the statutory framework for the provision of family support and child protection services. As well as supervision, interim and full care orders, which are the responsibility of the HSE, the Act provides for urgent intervention on emergency care orders by the Garda under section 12 and the Health Service Executive under section 13.

Deputy Howlin referred to the adequacy of HSE social service provision at weekends. The eastern region of the HSE operates an out-of-hours service every day of the year as part of its crisis intervention services. In the absence of a formal national out-of-hours service, other HSE areas have responded flexibly to provide this service. In 2006, a national working group was established by the HSE to review existing out-of-hours service provision and develop a national model for an out-of-hours social work service for child welfare and protection. This model is intended to meet the needs of the public and service providers who have contact with children and young people. The development and operation of an out-of-hours service is underpinned by the responsibility placed on the HSE by the 1991 Act to promote the welfare of children who are not receiving adequate care and protection. In particular, the service will aim to respond to emergencies covered under section 12 of the Act which occur outside normal working hours. I understand from the HSE that the national group has met on a number of occasions and will be putting forward proposals regarding the establishment of an out-of-hours service in the near future.

I assure the Deputy that the tragic circumstances surrounding the deaths of this family will be examined thoroughly from the perspectives of the HSE and the Garda.

Water Quality.

County Clare and its capital town, Ennis, have been subjected to constant neglect by this Government. On a visit to Ennis in September 2005, the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, sought to assure the people of Ennis of the Government's absolute commitment to improving the quality of water supply to the town. He stated that €13 million had been ringfenced to improve the quantity and quality of the water supply to Ennis, allowing existing and future water needs of the town and its environs to be met in a sustainable way. This was probably one of the most misleading and insulting statements that any Minister ever made while visiting the county.

The truth is that in April 1999, Ennis Town Council commissioned an independent consultant report on the waste water treatment system in Ennis. This report, which was completed and forwarded to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in 2002, recommended an upgrading project be undertaken at an estimated cost of €50 million. However, the report was shelved in the Minister's office until September 2006, when with an election approaching it was decided to dust it down and examine it. At that stage, the cost estimate was so out of date that the Minister told Ennis Town Council a new report with up to date costings would have to be produced.

The disdain with which this Government treats County Clare has hit new lows. A boil notice for water use in Ennis has been in place since 2005. The people of Ennis have bought bottled water since 2004, causing substantial increases in household bills. In November 2005, I called on the Clare county manager and the Ennis town clerk to issue rent and rates relief to the people of Ennis. Since I was first elected to Clare County Council, I have consistently looked for proper analysis and planning of infrastructure so that proper resourced development would take place.

This week I was informed by Ennis Town Council that because the water and sewerage systems in Ennis are already operating at maximum capacity, future planning applications for developments could be refused. The stark consequences of this action for employment and property prices are the result of the lack of investment in the county by this Government. When Galway was hit by water contamination, the Minister, Deputy Roche, and the Kerry joker, the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, took to the airwaves to promise immediate funding for upgrading works and tourism promotion drives. However, County Clare continues to be neglected.

I recently visited a mother of young children who had a wheelie bin full to the brim with empty water bottles. Our all-promising Government has done nothing to ease her increased weekly costs. The one word that describes what County Clare gets from this Government is "nothing". We will not accept that anymore. The Government paid a big price in County Clare in the last election but it will pay more this time because of its neglect of the county.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this debate. On Wednesday, 19 October 2005, I raised the issue of contaminated water with the Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who assured me that his Department would provide financial help on interim remedial measures. They have provided this help but the Minister of State also stated that he did not wish to see the people of Ennis living under the threat of "boil water" notices. He expected design stage of the new treatment plant to be completed by March 2006, construction and commissioning to take about 15 months and the plant to be operational by October 2007. The Government has got it wrong again. We have been told by Ennis Town Council officials that tenders for the new filtration plant have not yet been approved and that it will be the end of 2008 before a system is installed.

The people of Clare must live with a partial "boil water" notice covering children and the immuno-deficient. Ennis is the fastest growing town in Ireland, with a population of 20,000, estimated to increase to 40,000 by 2020. The people of Ennis have lost confidence in the Government, while their confidence in their water supply stands at an all-time low.

It is totally unacceptable in this day and age that people with limited means, particularly the parents of young children, those on social welfare benefits, and the elderly should pay for overpriced water in supermarkets or experience the cost and inconvenience of boiling tap-water. The council says the "boil water" notice applies to a small number of people and that it is constantly monitoring the situation with the HSE.

However, that is not the point, and it is not good enough. For a vulnerable group of people to have to fork out money for drinking water is grossly unfair, and for that reason Deputy Breen and I have tabled this motion. I am sorry the Minister is not here, and I know the Minister of State is taking the debate on his behalf. The Minister should provide adequate funding to Ennis Town Council so that bottled water might be subsidised for those vulnerable people.

I do not want to question the people of Galway, but it is quite obvious that the rapid response to the Galway crisis far outweighs Government action under its commitments to County Clare. I say the same thing regarding the Ennis main drainage preliminary report, which has lain idle in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government since 2002. Now the figures in it are out of date, and more consultants must be appointed at increased cost to the taxpayer. Above all else, we have a town with a damaged reputation for quality drinking water and a sewerage system so outdated it is ready to explode and create another serious crisis for the county town.

The Minister should be ashamed for not being here tonight, but having watched the "Prime Time" programme on the problem of water contamination throughout Ireland, I can see how he might hang his head.

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue, and I am glad to have the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, who was referred to by Deputy Pat Breen.

The Minister is aware that several "boil water" notices have been issued in Ennis in recent years. He accepts that having to boil water, necessary though it may be to protect public health, causes inconvenience, distress and anxiety.

The Ennis town water supply treatment scheme, which will provide a new water treatment plant for the town and supply the people of Ennis with a consistently high quality drinking water supply well into the foreseeable future, has been approved for construction in the Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2005-2007, at a cost of over €6.6 million.

The Department has been working closely with Clare County Council to progress that scheme. The Minister is glad to say that the council's tender report and recommendation for the scheme were received earlier this month and are being examined urgently by the Department. As soon as they have been approved, the council will be able to place the contract for the construction of the new plant.

The Department has also been providing special assistance to Clare County Council under the local government fund towards the operational cost of a temporary treatment plant until the new permanent infrastructure becomes operational. As a result of the installation of the temporary plant last year, the "boil water" notice was lifted for the generality of Ennis consumers with immediate effect on 15 December last. However, as a precautionary measure, the HSE has instructed that the notice should continue to apply for the present to persons who are immuno-compromised, infants and pre-school children.

It is a matter for Clare County Council, as the sanitary authority, to determine, in light of the likely duration of the limited precautionary "boil water" regime, whether further exceptional arrangements regarding water supply are appropriate for those cases. However, the council is hopeful of being able to lift the existing precautionary notice in the near future.

A separate Ennis town water supply augmentation scheme, which will provide Ennis with a supplementary water supply from Castlelake, has also been approved for construction under the Department's water services investment programme. The Department has already approved the county council's proposals to lay some of the pipes for that scheme, at an estimated cost of some €5.5 million, in conjunction with the Ennis bypass.

The Ennis Clarecastle sewerage scheme, which is sometimes referred to as the Ennis main drainage scheme, has also been approved for construction under the Department's Water Services Investment Programme 2005-2007. That scheme has an estimated cost of over €57 million, and funding is available for draw-down under the programme as it is advanced.

The Minister approved the council's preliminary report and the preparation of contract documents for the scheme last September, and I understand the council has advertised for consultants to prepare the contract documents.

I stress the Minister is anxious to see these Ennis schemes reach construction and that the Department will facilitate that in every possible way.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.55 p.m. until10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 25 April 2007.
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