Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 5 Jul 2007

Vol. 637 No. 7

Adjournment Debate.

Schools Building Projects.

Deputy Joe McHugh

I am delighted to have the opportunity to raise this important matter concerning Scoil Mhuire in Buncrana, County Donegal, on the Inishowen peninsula. Scoil Mhuire is one of four secondary schools in the Inishowen peninsula. That may sound like a lot of schools for one part of a county or constituency but the Inishowen peninsula is bigger than County Louth. That is an indication of the geography we are dealing with and given the projected increases in population, there will be a need for the retention of these four secondary schools in their current form.

Based on 2003 figures, 860 people — 60 staff and 800 students — have to work in an environment which can only cater for 600 people. That is not appropriate from an education or a health and safety point of view. The board of management and the principal have been lobbying for a long time to try to get an extension to this school. A total of 25% of the students spend their time in 13 prefabricated buildings. That is not appropriate from an education viewpoint but it is also not a satisfactory environment in terms of the ambitious new programmes the school is challenging itself with, be it in the area of technology or different types of learning. An indication of the problem we are dealing with is the fact that some of the prefabs date back to the 1960s.

The application for funding was submitted eight years ago and the school authority would like to know the stage of the project. What is the Department of Education and Science's track in terms of the band rating it has been assigned? The most recent figure given was 2.5, which the Minister of State will probably give me now. I want to highlight the fact that this is an excellent school with an ambitious principal and board of management. They want to continue with the type of learning they are engaged in, especially given that it is a disadvantaged area where they have very high retention records. They want to be positive in terms of working with the Department. They do not want to take a negative view. They are willing to work closely with the Minister and the Minister of State present.

I will continue to raise this issue during my time in this House. I look forward to a favourable response from the Minister of State. Unlike the Seanad, I realise I cannot ask a supplementary question in this House. I see the Ceann Comhairle's head nodding in agreement with me. There was great flexibility in the Seanad when it came to supplementary questions. We do not have that facility here and I suppose I will get a prepared reply. Irrespective of the type of process used in this House, I want the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, to feed this back to the Minister, Deputy Hanafin.

I look forward to working with the Minister of State on this issue, to expedite it and to put in place a proper education environment for students who do not have one. Even from a health and safety point of view, they have been compromised in the past, albeit in a small manner. We certainly cannot compromise students or staff in terms of health and safety. This should be expedited and treated as a matter of urgency and I look forward to a firm commitment from the Minister of State today on the matter.

As I began hastily, I forgot to congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, on his new position and I wish him all the best in it.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science (Deputy Seán Haughey)

At the outset, a Cheann Comhairle, I congratulate you on your election as Cheann Comhairle. I also congratulate Deputy McHugh on his election to the Dáil.

I thank Deputy McHugh for raising the matter as it affords me the opportunity to outline to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and also to outline the position regarding the development of education provision in Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana, County Donegal.

Modernising facilities in our 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task given the legacy of decades of underinvestment in this area as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth. Nonetheless, the Government has shown a focused determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure that appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum.

As evidence of this commitment, more than €540 million is to be spent on primary and post-primary school building and modernisation projects in the coming year throughout the country. Since 1997, a total of €3 billion has been invested in school buildings and this has delivered more than 7,800 school building projects. This further investment in excess of €540 million will build on these achievements and will focus in particular on the provision of school accommodation in areas where the population is growing at a rapid rate. As further evidence of our commitment, national development plan funding of €4.5 billion will be invested in schools over the coming years.

I am sure the Deputy will agree that this record level of investment is a positive testament to the high priority the Government attaches to ensuring that school accommodation is of the highest standard possible. In addition, to reduce red tape and allow projects to move faster, responsibility for smaller projects has been devolved to school level. Standard designs have also been developed for eight and 16 classroom schools to facilitate speedier delivery of projects and save on design fees. The design and build method is also used to expedite delivery where the use of standard designs is not possible. Taken together with the unprecedented level of funding available, these initiatives ensure that building projects are delivered in the fastest timeframe possible.

Scoil Mhuire Secondary School, Buncrana, is a co-educational post-primary school, with a current enrolment of 622 pupils. Enrolment trends in recent years at Scoil Mhuire have necessitated a review by my Department of demographic trends and housing developments in the area to ensure that any capital funding provided will deliver accommodation appropriate to the school's need into the future.

The Department is currently preparing the long-term projected enrolment on which the school's accommodation needs will be based and will shortly notify the school of same. The building project will be considered in the context of the multi-annual school building and modernisation programme.

I thank the Deputy again for raising this matter which allows me to outline the progress being made under the school building and modernisation programme and the position on Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio.

Deputy David Stanton

I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for allowing me raise this matter relating to Kilcredan national school. I am sure the Minister of State has a note on it.

Next September the school will have an average class size of more than 30 students and I am sure everyone agrees that this is not sustainable. Some of the classes will have 36, 37 or possibly 38 students. It is not right to have a junior infants class with such numbers and it flies in the face of every educational philosophy and good practice out there.

On 30 September 2006 the enrolment was 227. Some 205 is the number required for eight mainstream class teachers. The projected enrolment for next September is 247. The number required to qualify for a ninth mainstream teacher is 232 on 30 September 2006.

This practice of looking at the numbers of the previous September is antiquated and daft, especially when there is such a large increase in the course of the year. The school was five pupils short, yet during the year it accepted nine extra children, five of whom were from outside the country. In September the school will have 36 in junior infants, 24 in senior infants and 27 in both fourth class and fifth class. Other Ministers in the House who were primary teachers will see that this is not right.

This was an amalgamated school, which had it not amalgamated, would have been three separate schools. The schools agreed and co-operated with the Department and came together as one, and they have lost out as a result.

The students and the teachers are suffering. I know that the appeals board has turned them down and that the Minister will tell me that. That is daft as well. We need to look at the future of our pupils. If they fall behind at an early age, as teachers here will be aware, it is difficult for them to catch up. Having 37 or 40 junior infants in a class is not sustainable. It is daft. The Government has been saying the average class size should be 24 and here is a practical example of where the average class size is over 30. That cannot continue.

I do not know what the Minister of State can do about it. I hope he can do something, that he will not merely wring his hands and state that we must adhere to the decision of the appeals board which is independent. I do not accept that. We must change the rules so that in cases like this there can be more flexibility built into the system and extra teachers appointed when they are needed for the sake of the pupils. The situation is akin to sardines in tins.

I look forward with some, although not much, hope to the Minister of State's reply. I ask him to give me a commitment to look at this again or at least to look at the entire system again because it is just not working in its current guise.

An Ceann Comhairle

Now we will see if the Minister can open the tin.

Deputy Seán Haughey

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment today. I am glad to have the opportunity to outline the position regarding this school.

The mainstream staffing of a primary school is determined by reference to the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous school year. The actual number of mainstream posts sanctioned is determined by reference to a staffing schedule which is issued to all primary schools each year.

Data submitted to the Department by the board of management of the school referred to by the Deputy indicates that the enrolment in the school on 30 September 2005 was 229 pupils. In accordance with the staffing schedule, Circular 0023/2006, which is available on the Department's website at www.education.ie, the mainstream staffing in the school for the 2006-07 school year is a principal and eight mainstream class teachers.

The enrolment in the school on 30 September 2006 was 227 pupils. In accordance with the staffing schedule, Circular 0020/2007, which is available on the Department's website and a hard copy of which has issued to all primary schools, the mainstream staffing in the school for the 2007-08 school year will be a principal and eight mainstream class teachers.

Within the terms of the staffing arrangements for primary schools there is provision for additional posts, referred to as developing school posts, to be assigned to schools on the basis of projected enrolments for the next school year. Under these arrangements, a developing school post may be sanctioned provisionally where the projected enrolment at 30 September of the school year in question equals or exceeds a specified figure. If the specified figure is not achieved on 30 September, sanction for the post is withdrawn.

It is open to the board of management to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent appeal board established to adjudicate on appeals on mainstream staffing allocations in primary schools. Details of the criteria and application dates for appeal are contained in the staffing schedule. They are also available in circular 0024/2007, which is available on the Department's website. Hard copies of this circular were issued to primary schools.

The school referred to lodged an appeal with the primary staffing appeal board. This appeal was heard at the appeal board meeting on 22 May 2007 and was refused. The board of management of the school was notified in writing of the decision of the appeal board on 24 May 2007. The appeal board operates independently of the Minister and the Department and its decision is final. The Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for the Minister to intervene in the operation of the independent appeal board.

Water and Sewerage Schemes.

Deputy Mary O’Rourke

I am pleased to see the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, but I am disappointed that the Minister, Deputy Gormley, is not here to hear this important debate. Perhaps he has other engagements — I was often in that impasse and understand why one must cut one's cloth according to what one has.

I hope the Minister of State can ad lib as well as stating what he was told by the Department. A sinister development has taken place. It has become a fait accompli that the water to supply the east coast, or the greater Dublin area as it is called in friendly fashion, will come from the Shannon catchment area and Lough Ree. Before we sleepwalk into a disaster brought upon ourselves, let us examine the facts. There was no consultation on this frightening proposal. The EU framework directive of 2000 stated that a guiding tenet was full consultation with interested parties. Other options for supplying water have been dismissed blithely in cavalier fashion, leading to the conclusion that the only option is to abstract water from the Shannon and Lough Ree. The Minister of State’s county, County Clare, will be affected, as will counties Tipperary, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath, but the main abstraction will be from the Shannon area around Athlone and Lough Ree. Grave disquiet is building about the way the proposal flouts the framework directive in an obvious fashion.

Dublin has everything, including the Luas and other facilities. Now it is proposing to take our water and leave us in an arid situation, like a desert. Flippant remarks have been made to the effect that people from the region are always talking about flooding. We do not wish the source of tourism and our natural heritage to be taken away. The low-lying meadows in the callows around Athlone are in a special area of conservation. Nevertheless, if the Ceann Comhairle will excuse the pun, this status will be ditched in favour of the rape of our water. The constant leakage of Dublin water will not be corrected and, in a cavalier fashion, our water will be taken.

Other proposals have been ditched. The aquifer, which could supply a viable amount of water for daily consumption in the Dublin region, is about to have a huge landfill dump built upon it. It will be the largest in Europe, built on top of the source of the aquifer. When people wake up and suggest examining the aquifer, it will be too late.

The desalination proposal, carried out successfully in Spain and Portugal, is not considered because of high energy costs. That is a load of bilge that I totally debunk. This is a serious matter. Dublin City Council should get its hands off our water, which we need for our purposes, including recreational, ecological and environmental reasons. We have already fought the battle about the special area of conservation. We have come to make our peace with those who require special areas of conservation. Europe regards them as very important.

How far has this process gone? There was no consultation with elected representatives, sporting and tourism interests or the local population. It is a case of uisce faoi thalamh, if another pun can be permitted. Perhaps county managers have come together to decide this is the way forward and that water is only for ordinary people and not very important. I hope the Minister of State can confirm that all options are being considered. Otherwise, I will continue this crusade for a long time.

Deputy Trevor Sargent

I agree with Deputy O'Rourke.

Deputy Mary O’Rourke

I hope Deputy Sargent will do something for me.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Minister of State has five minutes to divine a solution.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Deputy Tony Killeen)

This important matter is of interest to many people in the Shannon region and beyond. The Minister, who regrets he is not available this evening, explained to the House yesterday in response to a written question that the Department had provided the funding to Dublin City Council for a study to assess the long-term water use and supply needs of the greater Dublin area and to identify potential options for meeting those needs. The Shannon proposal was one of the options that emanated from the study. It is no more than a study option and there is no related infrastructural proposal before the Department for consideration or approval.

This Department is responsible for planning, prioritising and financing all of the major water services projects undertaken nationally. Every effort has been made over the past few years to ensure that water and sewerage facilities have been available to service and support the huge growth and expansion that has taken place across all economic and social sectors. Schemes approved by this Department are incorporated into the water services investment programme, a published document that is always available in the Oireachtas Library. The approved schemes are drawn from regular assessments of needs undertaken by local authorities, at this Department's request, as an input to the overall strategy for providing infrastructure needed to meet environmental protection objectives, development requirements and national and EU public health and water quality standards. It was in that context that the particular study I have referred to was funded. However, there is no scheme in the programme to provide infrastructure to take water from the Shannon to Dublin.

Nevertheless, new long-term supplies of water are required in the greater Dublin area. There is limited potential to abstract additional water from existing sources in the area and it is necessary to consider new long-term options. That was the background to the study which estimated that an extra 300 million litres of water per day will be required from a new major source by 2031. The study concluded that only two options could technically meet this requirement, the Shannon or a desalination plant.

Deputy Mary O’Rourke

What about the aquifer?

An Ceann Comhairle

The Minister of State should be allowed to speak without interruption.

Deputy Mary O’Rourke

All right.

Deputy Tony Killeen

I am only able to speak one sentence at a time. I will come to that. Dublin City Council is now carrying out a detailed appraisal of the Shannon and desalination options to determine which, if either, would represent the optimum solution to the region's long-term water needs. The appraisal is just that, an appraisal, and no decision has been taken, at either local or departmental level, as to what might be the best answer.

Any decision to proceed with the Shannon approach would first be subject to statutory procedures, including strategic environmental assessment. The statutory process provides an opportunity for all interested parties to make an input. I am well aware people on the Shannon have expressed concerns that there may be adverse consequences due to lowered water levels in the river. Others have said ground water resources could be exploited instead. All these issues remain to be fully teased out as part of the statutory process associated with the decision making on a preferred approach.

It will be clear from the foregoing that it will be some time before any proposal is likely to come before the Department for approval or funding. I assure Deputies that I, and the Department, are just as keen as the people around Lough Ree to preserve and protect the lake. It is crucial to the livelihoods of many individuals and businesses and has high amenity value for people engaged in a range of pursuits. I assure the House that before the Department would commit to funding any scheme on the Shannon, we would need to be absolutely convinced that all those factors had been taken into account and that it was the correct solution from every point of view.

Deputy Mary O’Rourke

Am I allowed to speak again?

An Ceann Comhairle

I am afraid not. The next matter has been tabled by Deputy White. I understand this is the Deputy's maiden speech so I take the opportunity to wish her a long, distinguished and happy career in Leinster House.

Deputy Mary O’Rourke

That is lovely.

Alternative Energy Projects.

Deputy Mary Alexandra White

I wish to speak on this Adjournment debate to discuss a matter of national importance, namely, the urgent need to conduct a feasibility study into making my county town, Carlow, the first green energy town in Ireland, in order to advance the implementation of the targets set out in the national bioenergy action plan.

This is especially important in light of the need for an indigenous fuel supply, concerns with peak oil, the consequences of climate change, and the need to meet our Kyoto targets. The national bioenergy plan has an ambitious target of 33% for renewable electricity by 2020. It sets a bio-fuel target of 5.75% for road transport fuel for 2010, and a target of 5% renewable share in the heating sector by 2010.

My home county town of Carlow is ideally placed to establish itself as the leader in renewable energy among towns across Ireland. I call upon the Government to initiate a feasibility study to explore the possibility of developing local value chains for renewable energy systems on how to heat large buildings in Carlow by biomass and by using microgrids connecting buildings that are close to each other, and in using district heating systems. Using these methods, Carlow could become a renewable energy town linking in to local energy resources to develop biomass and other projects. In so doing, Carlow, in tandem with public private partnerships, could attract many new businesses and become the giant of the renewable energy sector in Ireland.

By leading the field in this vital sector of renewable energy, it could create sustainable employment and numerous new renewable energy enterprises. This format could allow Carlow to work towards being totally self-sufficient in renewable energy, renewable heat and liquid bio-fuels generated from local sources. This is particularly important in the light of the recent closure of the Carlow sugar factory and could give enormous competitive advantage to farmers in Carlow and the wider area of the south east to grow energy crops for bio-fuel and biomass.

The county has a skilled workforce and with forward planning, in tandem with the extensive research facilities at Oak Park where Teagasc has its headquarters, this could develop many new business enterprises allowing the town to offer incoming businesses a most attractive package of reduced energy costs.

This innovative idea is not something I have dreamed up myself. It has been pioneered in Austria in the town of Gussing. This town was located in one of the poorest regions of Austria but it has now become one of the wealthiest. Carlow has a tremendous opportunity to replicate this success. In 1988 the municipality of Gussing set a goal to replace its €1.3 million spend on imports of oil, electricity and other fuels with renewable energy supplies from locally available resources. This is something I want Carlow to be able to do. In 1990 a decision was made to fully phase out fossil fuel. Today, Gussing is an autonomous renewable energy city for electricity and heating needs. The needs of Carlow could be met by growing our energy crops and by having a good vision for renewable energy in the south east. Carlow, with its excellent road network, good rail infrastructure and its vibrant and dynamic workforce simply needs a kick-start from the Government in the area of renewable energy technology.

Carlow has recently experienced job losses in Lapple Ireland Limited, Irish Sugar and other businesses. Our proud county town is eager to commit to renewable energy technologies and with our extensive land bank, expert agricultural sector and supportive local authority with its own dynamic bioenergy programme, in tandem with Teagasc, I put forward this concept that Carlow, the second smallest county in Ireland could become a giant of the renewable energy sector. I call upon the Government to initiate this feasibility study to promote the concept of Carlow as a green energy town, in the national interest.

In my five-year term in the Dáil, I will press this agenda hard and wholeheartedly in the hope the Government can come up with a resolution to my idea.

Deputy Tony Killeen

I welcome Deputy White to the House and compliment her on her contribution.

The development of Ireland's bioenergy sector is part of a comprehensive strategy to increase deployment of renewable energy across the three energy sectors — transport, heat and electricity. These sectors are almost equal in the amount of energy they use and their CO2 emissions.

Bioenergy policy is relevant across several areas of Government responsibility and has potential benefits across a variety of diverse areas. It addresses several cross-cutting policy objectives, including diversity and security of fuel supply, climate change, development of the rural economy, and enhancing competitiveness through the provision of cleaner, cheaper energy.

The development of our bioenergy resources thus requires an integrated "whole of Government" approach to policy development. In recognition of the complexities of the bioenergy challenge, a ministerial task force on bioenergy was established in 2006. Seven Departments were represented on the ministerial task force, reflecting the priority afforded to this area by Government.

The action plan sets out ambitious targets for the deployment of bioenergy in the heat, transport and electricity sectors. The targets are established to 2020, to provide a level of market certainty for prospective developers. A range of deployment strategies across several Departments was identified in the action plan, many of which are already being implemented.

The public sector, in particular, has been singled out to act as an exemplar for bioenergy deployment. The OPW has committed to using bioenergy in all new buildings, and to retrofitting 20 of its large buildings with bioenergy heating systems within the next 12 months. Schools too are to be targeted, with eight schools receiving funding to install bioenergy heating systems this summer, with a view to providing models that can be replicated in other schools.

Renewable energy will also be given increased emphasis in the leasing of buildings for the public sector, and energy efficiency programmes are to be introduced. In the transport area, the Government aims to use bio-fuel blends of 5% in its existing CIE and local authority fleets and to move towards 30% bio-fuel blends in new fleets, where possible.

In the past two years a range of renewable energy support programmes, including the greener homes domestic grants, reheat grants and CHP deployment programmes, valued at more than €400 million, has been introduced. The programmes are designed to be accessible to all energy users around the country, from householders, to community and voluntary groups, the commercial and industrial sector and renewable electricity producers. Funding of up to 40% is available under the reheat programme for organisations wishing to examine the feasibility of utilising the technologies funded under the programme. Grants have been made available to applicants in County Carlow under the greener homes and the reheat schemes. In addition, funding has also been provided to a developer in County Carlow under the house of tomorrow programme towards the development of 56 low energy design housing units. These programmes are backed up by strong investment in energy research and development, as well as the €10 million Power of One energy efficiency campaign.

In reaching out across all sectors of society, the renewable energy policy and this biomass action plan, which I stress is a national plan, empowers everyone to play their part in a cleaner and more competitive environment. The adoption of a "whole of Government" approach to this challenge will ensure its ability to maximise the national benefit of these policies.

The renewable electricity, heat and transport programmes offer a range of new opportunities for farmers and foresters. The action plan recognises the need to develop the entire supply chain, from producer to energy end-user and a range of schemes have been introduced by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to incentivise energy crop production. The forestry machinery grants, bio-energy establishment scheme and top-up payment to the energy crop premium are proving popular and are designed to mitigate perceived risks and encourage investment in energy-related farm and forest businesses.

The action plan sets the scene for the establishment of new rural enterprises using raw materials that previously may not have had any value. Forest residues and thinnings, as well as dedicated energy crops and farm wastes, all provide new opportunities, while wastes such as used cooking oil and meat and bone meal that incurred disposal costs can now be converted into bio-fuels for transport or used to generate electricity.

The bio-fuels sector has seen a sharp rise in activity and interest in recent years and the Government has established ambitious targets in line with EU thinking. It aims to create a level of long-term certainty for potential investors through the establishment of targets for 2010 and 2020 and the announcement of the intention to move to a bio-fuels obligation. The Government intends to launch a public consultation process on Ireland's bio-fuels obligation later this year, which will give stakeholders an opportunity to have an input to the roll-out of this important policy initiative.

The action plan is a valuable first step in recognising the complexities of the bio-energy supply chain and providing cross-departmental support for development of bio-energy in Ireland. Together with the publication of the White Paper, Delivering a Sustainable Energy Future for Ireland, and the revised national climate change strategy, the Government has set an ambitious agenda for change.

The input of producers, processors and consumers will be a valuable part of the process to deliver the necessary changes and the Government will continue to engage with the various sectors and the diverse range of stakeholders on the roll-out of schemes and initiatives to incentivise production and demand. The Government will be glad to consider any proposals put forward by groups or individuals that would contribute to its aim. Deputy White's proposal will be considered and examined in that context.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.20 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 26 September 2007.