Adjournment Debate.

Job Losses.

Deputy Leo Varadkar

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this important issue, the imminent closure of the SR Technics facility in north County Dublin and the knock-on effects the loss of 1,100 jobs will have on north and west Dublin and the adjoining areas.

I am appalled at the treatment SR Technics has meted out to its employees both in its refusal to honour its commitments in the pension fund and in the paltry redundancy offer it has made. It is clear SR Technics has an agenda relating to Dublin Airport which involves closing down a potentially viable operation, if necessary changes were made, and shifting its business to the Middle East and Far East. My party leader, Deputy Enda Kenny, and a number of our spokespersons have visited the facility. I have been impressed by the positive role of the workers and unions in SR Technics. It has been interesting to see how that union in the public sector refuses to accept even modest reforms and cuts while the same union in the private sector has been so proactive in trying to save jobs and an industry by putting forward a cost saving plan, offering to take pay cuts and redundancies and offering to change work practices. It behoves the Government and the Minister to do everything they can to sustain this industry and save as many of the jobs as possible.

I understand a number of companies have expressed an interest in taking over SR Technics but we have yet to hear any detail about it from the Government. I hope to hear such detail tonight, in particular about what measures the Government will put in place to support a new buyer or management buy-out if that is possible. Obviously, the Government should not put itself in a position where it is obliged to bail out every industry in the State, iconic or otherwise, but where supports can be offered, they should be offered. Furthermore, where supports would be offered to a foreign direct investor, there is no reason that similar supports could not be offered to a management buy-out team or a similar investor who might be in a position to save this industry and these jobs.

This is not the type of industry that will bounce back after a recession. If we lose this aviation maintenance industry in north County Dublin, it will not return when the economy recovers in a few years. I wish to impress on the Government the urgency of the situation and the importance that it does everything it can to save this industry and as many jobs in SR Technics as possible.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Billy Kelleher)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Government very much regrets the announcement by SR Technics of its intention to close its operation at Dublin Airport. The Tánaiste recently met with a delegation representing the trade union interests in the Dublin operation, who outlined their concerns about the proposed closure. Similar concerns have been relayed to the Tánaiste in the many approaches from and meetings with public representatives and other interested groups about this sad issue for the workers.

The Government is anxious that as many jobs as possible are secured at Dublin Airport. We would like the SR Technics group to do what it can to facilitate this, such as helping to promote the capabilities and skills available at the Dublin facility, agreeing to an orderly wind-down of the facility to give IDA Ireland an opportunity to promote the location to interested parties and maintaining assets and equipment at the site for at least six months. There are a number of expressions of interest from different parties in possibly all or part of the business and time is needed to assess these proposals. The Government is anxious that the facility and the workers will maintain their IAA approval status while the alternative proposals are being progressed. The Tánaiste has conveyed these points, and the widespread concern in Ireland that every effort be made to maintain the maximum number of jobs at the facility at Dublin Airport, to SR Technics at group level, as a follow-on to her meeting with the company in February.

A number of meetings have taken place between the State, its agencies and the company in the past year. The company explained that it had been exploring all options for its Dublin operations, including sale to another party, but had not found it possible to proceed with any of these. The company outlined the deterioration that had taken place in its global business since mid-2008, with contracts moving to eastern Europe, Jordan, Turkey and Malta. It confirmed that it was putting in place a five year restructuring plan and that it had already reduced its worldwide workforce by 500 in the last year. The company stated that the recent loss of major contracts, its current business and economic forecasts, as well as its high cost base and over-capacity at Dublin airport, had made it impossible to continue a sustainable business in Dublin.

SR Technics provides line maintenance for the Aer Lingus fleet at its Dublin base. This is a long-term contract awarded by Aer Lingus in 2008 following a competitive procurement process. The company had indicated that it hoped to assign this and other smaller operations to another operator, offering the potential of saving up to 200 jobs. IDA Ireland has had an ongoing relationship with the company over many years and approved a significant training grant package for the company in 2006 to assist it in maximising efficiencies and improving competitiveness. The IDA also had discussions with the company about its business plan and further opportunities to assist the company with additional financial incentives such as research and development and information support with the emphasis on innovation and process development.

In the light of the announced closure of the Dublin plant, FÁS has been to the forefront in providing intervention and support to employees facing redundancy. It is currently in contact with SR Technics management to discuss the services available from FÁS and the potential needs of the employees. Each response will be tailored on a case-by-case basis. The FÁS services to business unit will also be involved in these consultations. It is important to establish how best FÁS can assist the workers. Following this initial contact, a judgment will be made on the level of FÁS intervention required.

It is important to reiterate that there are a number of expressions of interest from different parties in acquiring all or part of the business, and both IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland are actively exploring options with interested parties. Actual involvement by IDA Ireland or Enterprise Ireland in providing financial or other supports will be dependent on a company or companies submitting proposals for consideration and seeking approval for State support in the normal way.

As regards the level of redundancy payments, anything above the statutory requirements is a matter for the parties concerned, although I obviously wish to see the workers benefiting to the maximum extent. The full services of the Labour Relations Commission are available to the parties. This issue has been raised on a number of occasions by Deputies in the House. Every Member of the House fully understands the concerns of the workers not only about the job losses but also about the redundancy payments. We hope the company will try to maximise any redundancy payments.

Hospital Services.

Deputy Ciarán Lynch

In February I asked the Minister for Health and Children if she could confirm that children from the Health Service Executive south area must travel to Dublin or Limerick for orthopaedic surgery, the reason this was necessary and if she would make a statement on the matter. Cutting through the usual fillers that accompany HSE responses to parliamentary questions, the reply showed that 210 children, including infants born with birth defects, had to travel to Dublin last year and the year before for orthopaedic surgery as no relevant physician was available in Cork or Kerry.

Why is it that infants and young children in the south of the country in need of specialised orthopaedic surgery continue to have to travel to the capital for treatment since the sudden retirement of the only suitable surgeon in the region in 2007? The surgeon, who retired in April 2007 on health grounds, was the only surgeon in the region with the skills to operate on babies and children with congenital dislocation of the hip or with clubfoot. At that time, HSE south entered into what was described as a "temporary" arrangement with Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, whereby four of its orthopaedic paediatric surgeons would travel to Cork to treat children who would otherwise have been seen by the retired surgeon. That temporary arrangement involving regular visits to Cork by the four surgeons has been in place since 2007 to cover the absence of that surgeon. Those consultants hold just four clinics a month on an outpatient basis. The consultants are treating in excess of 100 children each per month, from newborn up to the age of 15.

In an article in tonight's Evening Echo by Edel O’Connell, Mr. David Moore, an orthopaedic surgeon at Crumlin hospital, is quoted as saying there was a serious dearth of paediatric orthopaedic consultants in the country. He stated:

I travel to Cork and provide two clinics every second month. Last week I saw 77 kids in Cork. There is a huge workload in the southern region and it badly needs its own centre. The HSE need[s] to provide assurances that if people train in paediatric orthopaedics jobs will be created for them. No matter what happens it will be at least two years before we would even have people trained to take up paediatric posts. The posts that are being advertised for Cork are not paediatric orthopaedic consultants.

It appears that the positions the HSE has indicated it will fill are not appropriately trained ones. It is completely unacceptable that young children have to travel to Dublin for surgery which could be provided in Cork given that theatres, step-down beds, nurses and anaesthetists are all in place. All that is missing is a surgeon and one has not been in place for two years. It is unacceptable that the service in Cork which collapsed in 2007 is still not up and running. The issue does not relate to a cutback or a service that we were promised. The service was working two years ago but the HSE failed to project manage it adequately. We now have a deficit of provision in the southern region because of mismanagement rather than financial constraints.

The current situation where children have to travel to Dublin for orthopaedic surgery cannot be allowed to continue. Does the Minister of State, Deputy Hoctor, envisage it continuing? I call on the HSE to put in place the necessary measures to rectify the situation. According to the HSE's response to my parliamentary question, posts are currently being considered. It indicated: "Every effort will be made to ensure that one of the appointments made will have a special interest in paediatric orthopaedic surgery." The fact of the matter is that there is no paediatric surgeon in this country trained in paediatrics. If this post is advertised tomorrow morning, it will take two years to train someone.

Will the Minister indicate when the posts will be filled and when training will commence for the orthopaedic surgeons that are appointed? Is it acceptable to her that 210 children are travelling from Cork to Dublin because a service is not in place? Moreover, the service did not run out of money nor was it cut for budgetary reasons; it was simply mismanaged. As a result, 210 children per year are still travelling from Cork to Dublin for necessary surgery.

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

I will reply to this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney.

Orthopaedic services for the Cork area are provided from the Cork University Hospital group. The division of trauma and orthopaedics is made up of the orthopaedic department at Cork University Hospital and St. Mary's Orthopaedic Hospital. Cork University Hospital provides the only orthopaedic trauma service in Cork city and referrals are generally from the emergency departments of the city and county hospitals, as well as specialist referrals from other locations.

A number of vacancies currently exist for permanent consultant orthopaedic surgeons within the Cork University Hospital group. That is a consequence of retirements and resignations of former permanent post holders. To date, the HSE has recruited three locum consultants to assist with the delivery of the trauma service in Cork University Hospital and two temporary consultant orthopaedic surgeons to assist with the current backlog in the elective service in St. Mary's Orthopaedic Hospital.

The Public Appointments Service held interviews for the posts of permanent consultant orthopaedic surgeon on 19 December 2008 and I understand that two applicants have been offered posts through this process and one of the successful candidates took up his post this month. The HSE has placed a further advertisement for permanent posts and Cork University Hospital expects to fill a minimum of two further posts from this process.

There is no consultant paediatric orthopaedic surgeon in the division of trauma and orthopaedics on the staff of Cork University Hospital or St. Mary's Orthopaedic Hospital at present. That is as a consequence of the retirement of the consultant orthopaedic surgeon with a special interest in paediatric orthopaedic surgery. The HSE is anxious to make such an appointment as soon as possible. In the meantime, arrangements have been made whereby the current service at St. Mary's Orthopaedic Hospital is provided by visiting paediatric consultant surgeons from Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, who provide a total of four clinics per month. Approximately 15% to 20% of children seen at this clinic are referred on for surgery, which is undertaken in Crumlin. In 2008, a total of 210 patients were referred to Crumlin for surgery from those clinics.

As part of the process to recruit a number of permanent consultant orthopaedic posts for Cork University Hospital and St. Mary's Orthopaedic Hospital, the southern hospitals group of the HSE is seeking to ensure that one of the appointments made will have a special interest in paediatric orthopaedic surgery. In the event of such an appointment being made, the need for the arrangements which I have described, involving consultants from Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, will be reviewed.

Suicide Prevention.

Deputy Dan Neville

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me an opportunity to raise the important issue of the level of suicide during recessionary periods.

A report appeared last week in the press about a reduction of 12.5% in the allocation by the National Office for Suicide Prevention to the voluntary organisations involved in suicide prevention and suicide bereavement. We understand there was also a cut in funding to the National Office for Suicide Prevention that will affect its work on the implementation of the recommendations of Reach Out, the recommendations of the expert group on suicide prevention and suicide issues and other reports, including A Vision for Change and the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Suicide Prevention.

Research into suicide since the 1890s shows there is an increase in suicide rates and mental illness during times of economic recession. The Minister for Health and Children should recognise and accept this and ensure that adequate resources are available to respond to the needs that exist. We suggest that an additional €10 million should be allocated to the National Office for Suicide Prevention. It received €4.5 million in 2008 and given the cuts that are being made, it will receive less than that this year.

There is a precedent for this approach. In November 2008, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs allocated approximately €11 million in additional funding to provide for a range of marriage, child and bereavement counselling services and supports to help families to cope through the difficult times they face as a result of the recession. I have a list of the 29 organisations that received substantial support from that allocation. We urge the Minister for Health and Children to respond in a similar fashion to the challenges arising for mental health and suicide prevention services.

Economic strain and personal financial crises have been well documented as precipitating events in individual deaths by suicide. Stressful life events, financial and otherwise, have a significant impact on those vulnerable to suicide where typical coping mechanisms are compromised by the effects of mental disorder, substance abuse, acute psychiatric symptoms and the other risk factors associated with suicide. We have already seen several suicides that can be attributed to the difficulties and pressures arising from economic changes. Increasing unemployment leads to an increase in the suicide rate. Unemployment has a profound effect on a person, especially the young and those in middle age.

Irish society awards status and prestige according to a person's position and contribution to work. Correspondingly, unemployment is associated with loss of face and prestige, a lack of self-esteem and confusion and concern about the future for individuals and their families. The unemployed are six times more likely to suffer from a psychiatric disorder than those in employment. Studies show that those who die of suicide are significantly more likely to have experienced unemployment, job instability or occupational problems. The Kelleher-Daly study in Cork, conducted during the economic recession of the 1980s, showed that of the male deaths by suicide analysed in that study, two-thirds involved men who were out of work at the time of their deaths.

The high rate and threat of home foreclosure is of particular concern. For most Irish people, our homes are our primary investment and the focus of our identity. When combined with loss of employment, home loss or the threat of it, has been found to be one of the most common economic strains associated with suicides. I urge the Minister to respond immediately to the psychological, emotional and psychiatric difficulties affecting people as a result of the changed economic times.

Perhaps the Minister of State will clarify the situation. I raised this matter earlier with the Minister for Health and Children and she denied there were any cuts to the national suicide prevention office. She stated there was in excess of €2 million extra funding for suicide issues in 2009. We need clarification in that regard because there is confusion about what is available to the office. The message we have got is that there is a cut of 12.5%, but the message from the Minister is there is an increase of €2 million.

Deputy Máire Hoctor

I am taking this Adjournment on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for equality, disability and mental health, Deputy John Moloney. I thank Deputy Neville for raising this matter.

The Government acknowledges that suicide is a serious issue for this country and we must, as an entire community, continue to strive to prevent the further tragic loss of lives. No doubt the economic crisis is putting greater stress on many people and families. However, these financial difficulties do not in any way dilute the Government's commitment in the area of mental health. We know that tackling suicide is not just about increased levels of funding. Reducing suicide rates requires a collective, concerted effort from all groups in society. It also involves creating a culture and society where people in distress are not afraid to seek help. Thankfully, we are making progress in this area.

The simple fact is that mental health affects us all. The World Health Organisation estimates that about one in four people will experience some mental health problems in his or her lifetime. Many factors can affect our mental health and there is a wide variation in how people deal with stress. In his role as Minister of State, Deputy Moloney, meets many individuals and representatives of various groups every day and acknowledges that some have expressed concerns and fears about the impact the recession is having on their lives.

The Government has a clear role in addressing those fears. Deputies will be aware of the greatly increased funding base for mental health services that has been built up over recent years. Overall spending on mental health services in 2007 and 2008 amounted to an estimated €1 billion annually. It is also important to bear in mind that some 90% of mental health problems are dealt with in primary care, but expenditure on these primary care services is not captured in the figure mentioned.

We are certainly operating in straitened times, but nonetheless in 2009 the Government allocated additional funding of €2.8 million for the recruitment of 35 therapy posts for the child and adolescent mental health service, including clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and social workers for new and existing multi-disciplinary teams. An additional €l million was also allocated on a once-off basis for suicide prevention initiatives. This brings the total funding for suicide prevention to €8 million this year. Some of this money will be invested in youth-based suicide prevention and awareness campaigns.

The budget for the National Office for Suicide Prevention, NOSP, is set by the Health Service Executive, specifically, within the population health area. The HSE advised the office that its core funding, or annual budget, is to be reduced by 12.5%, even as it receives additional once-off funding of €1 million. Accordingly, the office's budget for 2009 amounts to €3.3 million, as core funding, plus the once-off amount of €1 million, a total of €4.3 million this year. Last year's national office budget was €4.5 million.

It is the responsibility of the national office to allocate its funding effectively within the office itself and to organisations it funds. I emphasise that the national office has met with all of the organisations involved to ensure that existing levels of service will be maintained. This is critical. All organisations have agreed to introduce the required reductions and have agreed that cuts in expenditure will be restricted to non-pay and non-service related costs, for example, training and travel etc. It is worth recalling that, in 2008, the national office made no reduction in funding to any of the voluntary bodies it supports, even though other parts of the HSE reduced funding to voluntary bodies. A further €0.75 million was provided to the HSE for mental health projects supporting service users and carers.

Many of our young people have grown up in an era of unprecedented prosperity and the wide availability of work and opportunities. As our economy adjusts to the impact of the global economic crisis, it is important to acknowledge the strains many younger people and young adults may be experiencing for the first time in coping with a very difficult economic environment.

In 2008, the HSE prioritised the development of child and adolescent mental health services. By the end of March 2009, the total inpatient bed complement for child and adolescent mental health services will have increased from 12 beds in 2006 to 30 beds, an increase of 18 beds. There are currently 50 child and adolescent teams and a further eight will be in place by the end of the first quarter of this year. Construction of two 20-bed units for children and adolescents in Cork and Galway has commenced.

Financial investment in mental health is important, but it is also vital that we utilise the existing resources within mental health. The development of mental health services as outlined in "A Vision for Change", the report of the expert group on mental health policy, requires substantial change in the organisation and delivery of mental health services. To implement this, current resources require to be reallocated and remodelled to fund the new structure.

However, it is more important, in the context of today's debate, to establish what we can all do to ensure that the potential impact of the economic downturn is minimised. Mental health promotion is a key ally in a quest to minimise the consequences of a recession. Promoting well-being and addressing the needs of those at risk of mental health difficulties requires a multifaceted approach. The Minister of State sees it as a key task of the health services not just to treat mental illness but more important, using the principles of health promotion to try to improve the mental health of the population at large. What is needed is a concerted effort, managed in a pragmatic and rational manner.

Mental health promotion works on three levels, strengthening individuals, strengthening communities and reducing structural barriers to mental health through initiatives to reduce discrimination and inequalities. One of the Government's main priorities is to eliminate social exclusion and discrimination of the mentally ill and create a culture and environment where people in distress feel they can seek help from family, friends and when appropriate, health professionals.

To conclude, I assure the Deputy of the Government's commitment to the development of a high quality mental health service. The Deputy will acknowledge my time ran out before I could conclude the Minister of State's response.

Schools Building Projects.

Deputy Pat Breen

I wish to share my time with Deputy Joe Carey.

Acting Chairman

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Deputy Pat Breen

I thank the Chair for facilitating me in raising this important issue. I am a regular visitor to Ennis CBS and visited it again last Friday morning with my colleague, Deputy Carey. I commend Brother de Róiste on the work he, his staff and the board of management do in trying to operate under difficult circumstances. The school was built in 1930 and is totally unsuitable for the diversity of students, 570 in all, now attending it. The children must climb old stairs with deep steps and 28.5% of the children must go to prefabs or converted small rooms for resource and support learning. Some 26.1% of the children are taught in prefabs.

Ten years ago, a feasibility study was carried out for the school by the Department on Ennis CBS, Ennis national school and Scoil Chríost Rí in Cloughleigh, which recommended that three new schools should be built in the town of Ennis. Ennis national school was given the green light recently to proceed to architectural stage and I welcome that. Unfortunately, the other two schools have been left out in the cold. I have highlighted the need for a new school building at Ennis CBS national school with the Minister for Education and Science on several occasions, including with the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Mary Hanafin. Unfortunately, I have received the same reply to parliamentary questions, namely, that the Department does not have any timescale for progression of the project.

That is not good enough. I am sick and tired of these old excuses. The teachers, board of management and the parents are frustrated. They have been very patient. Ten years is a long time to put up with the conditions in the school. Last week the Bishop of Killaloe, Bishop Willie Walsh, described the conditions at the school and the other two schools in Ennis as "unacceptable". He is right. While schools like Ennis CBS sit and wait, the Department continues to waste taxpayers' money on renting prefabricated buildings for schools all over County Clare, including Ennis CBS.

It costs €885,590 annually to rent prefabs, an average of €11,210 per prefab. This is disgraceful. Instead of spending money on temporary accommodation the Minister should invest in permanent classrooms which will save taxpayers' money in the long run. Ennis CBS has a site ready to go. Kick-starting the school building programme would be a major boost for the construction sector in County Clare, which is very badly needed. I urge the Minister to give the green light to Ennis CBS national school. He would be doing a favour for the people of Clare, particularly the school children who have to be taught in such poor conditions.

Deputy Joe Carey

Ennis CBS primary school is the standard bearer primary school in Ennis and has provided education for generations of families in County Clare. The school educates 569 pupils and that figure is set to grow to more than 590 students next September. Last Friday Deputy Breen and I visited Ennis CBS and met the principal and representatives of the board of management and parents' council. In an Ireland of 2009 it is indefensible that the Minister for Education and Science has turned a blind eye to the fact that over 40% of the pupils of this school are being educated in a building that dates back to the 1930s. Are we saying the 21st century student should be educated in early 20th century conditions? It is a further scandal that another 30% of the population is being educated in temporary prefabs.

The principal, board of management and parents' association have been very patient. They have worked with Department of Education and Science officials on this project since initial talks dating back a decade to 1998. Understandably that patience has turned to frustration and anger. There is frustration at the delay in progressing the project to the tender and construction phase and anger at the Department's complete failure to treat this school as a priority, given the number of students attending it.

It has been 20 years since the school, built to cater for 400 students, received a major upgrade. It is worth pointing out what that means for staff and students. The staff room has to double up as a part-time resource teaching room. Parts of corridors have been converted into classrooms. Cloakrooms have been converted into extra toilets and resource teaching space. We are discussing an opportunity for the next generation of children. We are discussing children having to cross the playground in all kinds of weather to access toilets. If this were in a developing country we would be discussing it as a human rights issue. That must stop. I invite the Minister to Ennis CBS to see first hand the problems there. It is appalling. This school must go ahead in the very near future.

Deputy Billy Kelleher

I am replying to this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I acknowledge the intra-party support for this project, which is very worthy. I thank the two Deputies for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House the strategy for capital investment in education projects and the current position on Ennis CBS in particular.

The allocation of funding for school buildings in 2009 is €653 million. This represents a significant investment in the schools building and modernisation programme. This level of funding, at a time of great pressure on public finances, is a sign of the Government's commitment to investing in school infrastructure and will permit the continuation of progress in the overall improvement of school accommodation. Under the recovery plan announced recently by the Taoiseach, an additional €75 million was allocated to the schools building programme for 2009.

Ennis CBS, County Clare has applied to the Department of Education and Science for large scale capital funding for an extension project. In common with all such applications, an assessment of the application was carried out in the Department's planning and building unit. The assessment process determines the extent and type of need presenting based on the demographics of an area, proposed housing developments, condition of existing buildings and site capacity, etc., leading ultimately to an appropriate accommodation solution. As part of this process, a project is assigned a band rating under published prioritisation criteria for large-scale building projects. These criteria were devised following consultation with the education partners.

Projects are selected for inclusion in the school building and modernisation programme on the basis of priority of need. This is reflected in the band rating assigned to a project. A proposed building project moves through the system commensurate with the band rating assigned to it and as they are ready to proceed. There are four band ratings in all, of which band 1 is the highest and band 4 the lowest. Band 1 projects, for example, include the provision of buildings where none currently exist but there is a high demand for school places, while a band 4 project makes provision for desirable but not necessarily urgent or essential facilities. Each band rating has a number of sub-categories which more specifically describes the type of works needed and the urgency attaching to them.

Ennis CBS is a fully vertical co-educational primary school with an enrolment of 528 pupils. The staffing level is a principal, 21 mainstream assistants, three learning support-resource teachers, one special class teacher, one resource teacher for Travellers, four temporary language support teachers and one permanent resource teacher. Consistent with the approach which I have already outlined, following an assessment of the school's application for capital funding, the proposed building project has been assigned a band 2.1 rating under the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. The long-term staffing figure, on which accommodation needs will be based, has been determined. It has been agreed that accommodation should be provided to cater for a long-term projected staffing of a principal, 24 mainstream assistants and appropriate ancillary accommodation. The next step for the project is the appointment of a design team.

The Deputies will understand that it is not possible to progress all projects at the same time. However, the Minister for Education and Science would like to give the assurance that he is committed to providing suitable high quality accommodation for Ennis CBS at the earliest possible date. With competing demands on the capital budget of the Department, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the further progression of this project.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Tuesday, 10 Mar 2009