Adjournment Debate.

Hospital Services.

Deputy Chris Andrews

A Cheann Comhairle, I thank you for the opportunity to speak on an issue of great importance both for the implementation of the national health strategy and for the provision of health care services in the constituency of Dublin South-East. First, I would like to focus on the facilities provided in St. Luke's Hospital in Rathgar. As residents and patients alike know, plans have been under way since July 2005 to transfer the oncology services of St. Luke's Hospital to a centre of excellence in St. James's Hospital. This decision was taken by the Minister based on the report, The Development of Radiation Oncology Services in Ireland.

The decision was designed to ensure that radiation oncology is integrated with all other aspects of cancer care including surgery and medical oncology. What this means in plain language is that cancer patients will receive all the treatment they need under the one roof, experts will be available in the one location, and all available technology and services will be on site. It is known as multidisciplinary care and it makes sense. It is in line with international best practice and it has been proven that patients have a 20% higher chance of survival if they are treated in specialist centres. Patient survival is the objective of health care strategy and I therefore welcome the initiative.

Members of the board of St. Luke's Hospital have also fully committed to supporting this decision. They recognise that it is in line with international best practice and is designed to ensure optimal outcomes for patients. They are fully behind it. They have also ensured that the expertise and ethos of St. Luke's will be at the heart of the new arrangement in St. James's Hospital.

However, two major points need further consideration in this debate. First, there is a chronic shortage of step-down facilities in Dublin South-East and second, the site of St. Luke's is a unique place for respite and palliative care. It provides a calm and tranquil setting in which to recuperate and undergo serious health treatment. This should not be ignored. Anybody who has been there will know there is a special quality about St. Luke's.

Deputy Seymour Crawford

Exactly.

Deputy Chris Andrews

While we can sit in offices and work in laboratories and come up with the best ways to implement policy and assign treatment centres, we must also acknowledge the human aspect and the more subtle qualities of such a place. We must respect that there is a tradition of palliative care on this site and that enormous work has been done through the years by people who wish to continue providing care on this site. There has been investment in new radiotherapy treatment units or linear accelerators which will increase the treatment capacity of the hospital by up to 25%. It may seem odd that new services are being provided in a centre whose cancer services are to be transferred. However, the reason for this is to ensure the quality of service to cancer patients during the years that it will take to complete the transfer. I welcome the investment of almost €13 million in coming years, which shows a commitment to cancer care and shows foresight.

I understand no decisions have been made regarding the future of the St. Luke's site. However, this is simply not good enough. Residents, patients and doctors cannot hang in the balance without knowing their fate. They deserve assurance that this site with its long tradition of providing health care will remain in the hands of the HSE and will become a step-down facility that will continue to serve the community. If people like Kay Bradbury and the many community groups had not fought the case for the Meath Hospital, it would not be the successful health facility it is today.

The Minister recently said that St Luke's Hospital would be used in the best interests of the health services. The Minister must make a clear statement that this hospital will not be sold to private developers. I urge the Minister not to engage in any coyness and end the uncertainty by confirming that the St. Luke's site will provide step down facilities which are chronically needed. I do not want to be fobbed off with an ambiguous answer.

Deputy Fergus O’Dowd

Hear, hear.

Deputy Chris Andrews

I support the transfer of cancer services. There is a chronic shortage of step down facilities in south Dublin. We need to plan for the future. We need to end uncertainty over St. Luke's and not leave it go on for years.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy Máire Hoctor)

I am speaking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Harney, who is unavailable. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which provides an opportunity to reaffirm the Government's commitment to services for older people. The development of such services is a high priority. This is reflected in the funding committed to services for older people in the 2006 and 2007 budgets. In 2006, the Government funded the largest ever expansion in services for older people with a full year cost of €150 million. In budget 2007, a full year package of €255 million has been allocated for services for older people. This gives a total of more than €400 million added to services for older people over two years. Government policy on older people is to support people to live in dignity and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible and, where this is not possible, to support access to quality long-term residential care. This policy approach is renewed and developed in the latest partnership agreement, Towards 2016.

While the main emphasis will continue to be on providing supports that help older people to remain in their own home for as long as possible, additional long-stay residential places will be required in the coming years to meet the needs of an ageing population. Last year, the HSE, in conjunction with Prospectus, undertook a needs assessment of bed capacity requirements in the areas of long-stay, dementia specific and respite care beds. This report was submitted to the Department of Health and Children in September 2006. While the report indicates a small national surplus of long-stay beds, it also notes that this surplus masks the uneven distribution of beds between and within regions. In particular, HSE Dublin north east and HSE south have an immediate requirement for additional beds.

As part of the overall investment package for the development of services for older people, the Department and the HSE have prioritised the delivery of additional public continuing care beds through the development of community nursing units in large urban centres in both Dublin and Cork together with the expansion and the development of additional facilities across all regions. The Department is in discussions with the HSE regarding the delivery of this additional capacity. I understand the HSE has plans to provide additional step down-long stay facilities in the south Dublin area. Locations are being identified in the context of the 2008 capital plan.

The transfer of services from St. Luke's Hospital to new facilities at St. James's Hospital is not due to take place for a number of years. In the meantime, two additional linear accelerators will be commissioned at St. Luke's in early 2008 and two replacement linear accelerators will be commissioned later in 2008. These will provide much needed interim capacity pending the roll-out of the national plan for radiation oncology. No decisions have been taken on the future use of the site and facilities at St. Luke's. However, the Minister intends to ensure these resources are utilised in the best interest of the health services.

Pig Industry.

Deputy Michael Creed

I wish to share time with Deputy Seymour Crawford.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for the opportunity to raise this matter. There was rightly a great deal of concern over the past week about the loss of 2,000 jobs at Amgen in Cork. However, this debate relates to a national industry employing 7,000 people, which is worth approximately €450 million to the economy. It is not an option for these producers to relocate to Asia, eastern Europe or elsewhere. These jobs are rooted in our economy and the people involved are crying out for help in a time of crisis. There is a view that the pig market is cyclical and the latest trend is but another cycle. However, the Cathaoirleach will appreciate, as he comes from a rural constituency, that only 500 pig producers remain in the State and many are refusing to service breeding stock because they envisage no future for the industry. Slaughter weights are reducing in abattoirs to 95 kg. These trends indicate a serious crisis in this industry and if action is not taken by the Minister shortly, it will not be around for much longer.

I raised this issue by way of parliamentary question on today's Order Paper and I am appalled and alarmed by the Minister's response. She stated: "I am aware of the issues... I appreciate the argument for pig meat prices but I do not get involved... The issue of labelling is one for the Department of Health and Children... Bord Bia will undertake a promotional campaign to increase consumption." This is a case of Pontius Pilate washing their hands of the issue. If her Department had been more proactive in making Herculex grain available, for example, she could have addressed the issue of access to cheaper feeds earlier. If the national pig herd reduces much further, the industry will face issues relating to survival and economies of scales and other problems.

I would like to make a number of practical proposals. I acknowledge this is not an issue solely for Government because retailers also have a role to play, as they did in the UK regarding the liquid milk market. Tesco realised there was a problem procuring liquid milk to fill its shelves and the company made deals with producers. They asked them to stay in the industry, paid a premium for the milk and, as a consequence, the issue of scarcity of liquid milk was resolved. Fine Gael believes the increasing cost base cannot be carried only by producers and it must be shared by retailers who must pay a reasonable price to primary producers, otherwise the industry will not survive. I refer to the REPS 4 documentation and its references to pig manure as opposed to chemical fertilisers. Surely at a time when we are trying to be more environmentally friendly, we should facilitate the use of pig manure as opposed to obliging farmers to source nitrogen through chemical fertilisers. The Department needs to adopt a proactive approach on this documentation.

The Department could take on these practical proposals. This is a multifaceted problem and needs multiple approaches to resolve it, but a Minister who sits on her hands and says she is aware of the problem and the Department of Health and Children must address the labelling issue is not providing a sufficient response to an industry facing a crisis and job losses.

Deputy Seymour Crawford

I thank my colleague for sharing time to debate this vital issue for pig and poultry farmers in Cavan-Monaghan who are among the largest producers in the country. They are a dying breed and they are under severe pressure. They came under major pressure because of the nitrates directive and they were promised issues that arose would be addressed. However, that did not happen and the smaller producers were forced out of business. Those remaining in the industry are crying out for help to make sure clarification is provided on the right of producers to import feeds from wherever they can be obtained and to ensure they are not tied down by regulations that put them at a disadvantage to their competitors. Pig meat and poultry meat is being imported without labels and is being sold as Irish produce. There is no excuse for that. I have raised this issue on many occasions, as has the Cathaoirleach, and it is time action was taken. This is a job for the Government and not an individual Minister so that the livelihoods of producers and workers in this indigenous industry are preserved.

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Deputy Mary Wallace)

We fully appreciate this is a difficult time for pig producers. The sector has enjoyed a period of relative stability in recent years and Irish producers have shown themselves to be exceptionally efficient with the result that a reasonable income has been achievable from pig farming. There is, however, no doubt that the sector currently faces a major challenge with the risk that some producers may be faced with exiting the industry.

In the past, pig producers have proven to be resilient in riding out the cyclical nature of the pig market whereby extreme fluctuations in price and output volumes were the norm, as recognised by Deputy Creed. In addition to such fluctuations, producers have had to cope with the costs associated with environmental protection and animal welfare, while other factors include the ever-increasing labour and overhead charges. We appreciate the conditions surrounding the availability and pricing of feed materials have changed dramatically over the past six months. The pig industry traditionally required considerable imported consignments of high protein soya as well as wheat, but it is examining importing whole maize because of the price differential with wheat.

Efforts to secure alternative supplies of wheat to compensate for the shortfall caused by poor weather conditions in the major wheat growing regions of the world are hampered by the increased demand from the bio-fuel industry, while the lack of synchronisation in the GM authorisation processes adopted by the United States and the EU is affecting efforts to use whole maize as a substitute for wheat. This asynchronisation has caused United States exporters and EU importers to act with caution in view of the consequences of detecting traces of EU unauthorised GM events in imported consignments. In addition to these factors, the cost of soya has been forced up because of consequential increased demand.

In recognition of these pressures that are coming on animal feed prices, EU member states have agreed to suspend the obligation to set 10% of arable land aside. The European Commission is also examining ways of synchronising the GM authorisation processes between the EU and the United States. Recent statements by the European Food Safety Authority that it is in negotiations with the United States authorities to address this issue are to be welcomed.

The Minister has met pig producers' representatives recently to discuss their difficulties and one of the issues of concern to them is the lack of country of origin labelling on pigmeat and the sale of imported meat under Irish brand names. Draft legislation is with the Department of Health and Children which will require the origin of pig, poultry and sheepmeat to be shown on labels. Public consultation on this proposal is taking place on the website of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland after which it will be necessary to seek the approval of the European Commission. It is highly desirable that there be European-wide legislation on origin labelling of meat and the Minister has conveyed her views on this to the European Commission and my EU ministerial colleagues on numerous occasions.

We have no role in setting the prices that retailers pay or charge for food. There would of necessity be a correlation between the retail prices of the different meats and there would be little scope for significant increases in pork prices in isolation from other meats. Demand for pork both here and in the EU as a whole is in line with normal seasonal patterns. The Minister has asked Bord Bia to intensify its autumn pork and bacon campaign to ensure demand remains firm here in the coming months.

The pig industry is an important element of Irish agriculture and the Government has demonstrated its support for the sector in many ways over the years, including via financial assistance towards farm waste management and welfare-friendly sow housing, overseas promotion drives, negotiation of new market outlets and the development of the pigmeat quality assurance scheme.

The recent trend in prices paid to pig producers is upwards, with an increase of 7% in the recent months. This contrasts with a slippage in the average EU price. It is a matter of great importance that the Irish pig industry remains viable and prosperous into the future and that, at a minimum, current output levels are sustained. This is vital from the point of view of the employment that is depending on indigenous pig production and processing as well as the sector's contribution to net export earnings. Within the EU pigmeat and feed management frameworks, the Minister will continue to bear in mind the needs of the industry and its efforts to overcome current difficulties.

Road Traffic Offences.

Deputy Fergus O’Dowd

In this calendar year alone, 160,000 fixed fines are due for processing in the District Court because they have not been paid. In other words, 160,000 people are refusing to pay mandatory fines for speeding and other driving offences. Unless we change our driving habits, the death toll on our roads will continue to rise. The Government can take absolutely no satisfaction from today's report of a European survey showing that Ireland is 20th out of 29 countries in terms of tackling the issue of deaths on the roads. Luxembourg has achieved a reduction of 47% in its rate of road deaths since 2001, while the figure for France is 42%. Ireland, however, has achieved a reduction of only 10%. Any reduction is welcome but this is not good enough.

The Government is failing utterly to meet its target in this regard and is falling behind its European neighbours. Indicative of this is the weakness at the heart of Government legislation which means that 50% to 60% of people upon whom a fixed penalty is imposed do not pay up within either 28 or 56 days. This means the Garda had no choice but to issue 160,000 District Court summonses to fine defaulters throughout the State this year, clogging the court system in the process. The Courts Service has brought this issue to the fore and has put forward a solution that will require the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to take legislative action. He will have to take tough decisions to reduce the incidence of death on our roads.

Next year there may be close to 250,000 defaulters because the Minister is increasing the capacity of the system to issue fixed penalty fines. The operation of speed cameras will be privatised and there will be more of them. More people will be caught and penalised and many of them will fail to pay the fine. Approximately one quarter of the business of the District Court is taken up with processing these fines. It will require modern technology and a Minister with initiative to deal with this issue. We on this side of the House will be pleased to debate the issues with him and will fully support him in taking the necessary actions.

The Courts Service has suggested that instead of the mandatory default court system, fines should be collected by a debt agency, which should also be notified when motorists' car tax comes up for renewal. Another important issue highlighted by the Courts Service is the situation where of those people who go to court and are found guilty, a significant but unknown number do not bring their driving licence to court. Even though they receive a fine, therefore, their licence is not endorsed and they do not receive penalty points. The entire system is faulty and determined and effective action is required to remedy it.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Deputy Máire Hoctor)

The Minister conveys his thanks to Deputy O'Dowd for raising this important matter. He is very much aware of the additional strain this is placing on the courts system. The current position in regard to the collection of fines has been under examination by senior officials of his Department for some time. The focus of these efforts has been to increase payment compliance on first issue of a fixed charge summons and thus reduce the number of these offences that subsequently require listing before the courts due to non-payment.

In April of last year, 31 new offences were categorised as fixed charge penalties. Additionally, legislation was introduced to increase incrementally the number of penalty points on conviction and increase the amount of the fine if not paid after 28 days. This has had an effect in reducing the number of these cases which would otherwise have found their way before the courts.

In addition to these legislative changes, a pilot study was commissioned by departmental officials to examine the feasibility of, as the Deputy suggests, handing over the collection of such fixed charge penalties to an external credit management agency. As part of this pilot project, more than 5,000 cases going back over several years were selected, with a value in the region of €2 million. These were passed over to an external credit management agency to effect payment.

The process involved a letter cycle consisting of three letters escalating in tone and severity over a seven week period from the date the account was received for collection. These were sent to each of the 5,000 defaulters. In between letters, the agency attempted to obtain contact telephone numbers for the debtors; this was done between letters one and three of the collection cycle. Where these contact details were obtained, the defaulters were contacted and reminded of their obligations. Any additional defaulter information gleaned by the agency as a result of the above activities was recorded in an on-line database. The preliminary results of this pilot study were quite encouraging, with over 22% of cases being cleared up.

The Minister would also like to inform the Deputy that officials are currently finalising their assessment of the pilot study with a view to establishing its introduction on a wider footing. This assessment has not yet been fully completed but legal issues as well as procurement matters have emerged as areas requiring careful consideration. Despite this, the Minister is of the opinion that there are very good grounds for introducing this system on a wider footing.

Notwithstanding the issues raised by the Deputy, the Minister remains firmly of the view that the fixed-penalty system continues to have great merit in the tackling of the issues being faced by the courts and will increasingly have an impact in reducing the number of such cases appearing before the courts in future.

Fire Services.

Deputy Brian O’Shea

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Killeen, to the House to respond to this issue.

On 6 March I raised on the Adjournment the urgent need for a fully-equipped modern fire station in Tallow, County Waterford. The Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who replied to the issue, stated he was fully aware of the needs in Waterford and he hoped to respond positively to the request in respect of Tallow as soon as resources allowed. He indicated he was conscious of the need for a new station in Tallow and that the matter would be very much borne in mind under the new programme.

I was delighted to read in the Dungarvan Observer of 16 June that pre-construction funding of €600,000 had been allocated by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for a new fire station in Tallow. In answer to a Dáil question put down on 26 June to the new Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government regarding Lismore fire station, I was informed that the provision of a station in the wider west Waterford area would be considered under future programmes regarding the existing facilities, level of activity, proximity of other fire stations, fire authorities’ priorities and competing demands for available funds.

The Minister, Deputy Gormley, further stated that his Department had written to the fire authority requesting an appraisal of fire cover in the wider west Waterford area given the proximity of Lismore, Tallow and Cappoquin fire stations. There was also to be an outline of priorities for replacements in the county.

Having received this reply I contacted Waterford County Council and asked for clarification. I was informed that the letter was received by Waterford County Council on 1 June 2007, dated 30 May 2007, from the private secretary to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. It reads "I have been asked by Mr. Dick Roche, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to refer to your letter regarding the proposal from Waterford County Council for a new fire station in Tallow".

I will skip a middle paragraph which relates to previous investments in County Waterford and move on to the final paragraph. It reads:

A formal proposal for the new station at Tallow has been submitted to my Department, along with proposals from competing demands for capital investment in fire services. Under the programme the Tallow fire station project has been allocated pre-construction funds of €600,000.

I sought clarification from the Minister's office in late July as to what the €600,000 towards the Tallow fire station was for. I put down a parliamentary question on 26 September and I provided a copy of the letter from the private secretary to the Minister to the Waterford county secretary with my question. The question was as follows: "To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the funding provided in his Department's capital works programme 2007 towards the Tallow fire station project".

The reply avoided the question, stating the Department had recently requested Waterford County Council to prioritise projects it wished to progress under the fire services capital programme. It further stated that the provision of Exchequer funding for a replacement fire station in Tallow will be considered under future capital programmes, having regard to County Waterford's priorities, the existing facilities at the station, the proximity of other stations and the competing demands from other fire authorities.

I have one question for the Minister of State. What is the status of the letter dated 30 May to Waterford County Council in regard to the pre-construction funds of €600,000 allocated to the Tallow fire station project?

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

Before I address the substance of the issue raised by Deputy O' Shea, and given that we have been debating the tragic events in Bray, I am sure the House will join me again in paying tribute to the dedication and selflessness shown by the two members of the fire service who so tragically died while dealing with the fire in Bray, County Wicklow, almost two weeks ago. My sincere sympathy goes to the families and colleagues of the deceased, Mark O' Shaughnessy and Brian Murray, at this sad time. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse.

I also wish to express my appreciation for the very significant contribution which the fire services in this country, both retained and full time, have made and continue to make each day, in safeguarding our communities.

The fire service capital programme is an annual programme and the 2007 programme has been fully allocated. Although no funding was provided in 2007 for Tallow fire station, Waterford County Council may prioritise Tallow fire station in future years, if considered appropriate, in seeking funding from the Department.

The first step in developing a project such as Tallow fire station under the programme is for the relevant local authority to prioritise it and apply to the Department for approval in principle. Projects are appraised on a case-by-case basis. To ensure effective project management after a given project is approved in principle, detailed cost plans and design plans, as well as draft contract documents, must be approved in advance of the project being put out to tender in line with public procurement provisions. These steps are intended to ensure value for money is achieved and the best possible use of resources is obtained under the programme. Typically, under the capital programme, sums are recouped by local authorities after construction has commenced.

Approval in principle was granted in 2001 for a new fire station in Tallow. Although it has not been possible to provide funding for this station as part of the 2007 fire services capital programme announced earlier this year, funding has been provided for various other priority projects which have been advanced in County Waterford since 2001. These include replacement stations and extensions or upgrading works at stations in Ardmore, Cappoquin, Dungarvan, Dunmore East and Tramore.

The Department has recently requested Waterford County Council to prioritise projects that the council wishes to progress under the fire services capital programme. The provision of Exchequer funding for a replacement fire station in Tallow will be considered under future capital programmes having regard to Waterford County Council's priorities, the existing facilities at the station, the proximity of other stations, and the competing demands from other fire authorities for available funding. I hope I have been able to clarify the matter for the Deputy.

I was not aware of the question regarding the letter which Deputy Brian O'Shea has referred to mentioning the amount of €600,000. I will seek to establish an answer to the question asked by the Deputy.

Deputy Brian O’Shea

The Minister of State might get back to me about it.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.40 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 11 October 2007.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Wednesday, 10 Oct 2007