Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 20 Apr 2010

Vol. 706 No. 3

Adjournment Debate.

Substance Abuse.

Deputy Joe Costello

I am pleased to see the Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in the House. The situation with regard to head shops has been deteriorating for a period of time. At least eight head shops have been attacked, largely through arson, with some fire-bombed. Many of them were severely damaged. In my constituency two were attacked with one totally demolished. The absence of any meaningful action from the Government allows sinister elements to have full reign and operate what is effectively criminal behaviour. Such absence also means that head shops can proliferate and spread throughout the country. It is a lucrative trade as we have seen. While that continues we will have more head shops throughout the country. There are approximately 14 or 15 in my constituency and I understand there are approximately 100 throughout the country.

At present, in Dublin Central many parents are in fear for their children. Many of those accessing head shops are very young teenagers because there is no regulation or licensing or no restrictions on minors entering those shops and buying any of the products on sale. Many of those products are labelled in one way but intended in another. These products mimic the most dangerous of drugs which are illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act, particularly cocaine and heroin. They are sold as bath salts or plant food but in fact many of them are intended to be injected or ingested. The danger that many parents in the north inner city fear with regard to their teenage sons and daughters is another drug epidemic to rival the heroin and cocaine epidemics of the 1980s and 1990s, because they are the drugs being mimicked in the head shops which young people consume orally and inject. At a recent meeting of the north inner city drugs task force the Garda indicated anecdotally that it had experienced a sharp rise in burglaries and larceny.

Last Friday, the Minister stated he would introduce legislation to provide the Garda with new powers to deal with head shops. Will he outline those proposals? To date, the interdepartmental committee, on which the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform sits, has not produced any tangible proposals or measures other than a statement of intent that some time towards the end of June certain named products will be banned and that this will come from the Department of Health and Children through the Irish Medicines Board. As was indicated by many people commenting on the area, these are synthetic drugs and once the Minister announces, months in advance, what he intends to do those supplying the drugs will be able to mix the ingredients to produce similar drugs that will not be properly defined under the new designations under the Misuse of Drugs Acts. They will then proceed merrily on their way.

Last month, the Labour Party proposed the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2010 which would prevent the proliferation of new head shops and would require existing head shops to obtain planning permission, which would be very difficult for them to do. One simple Bill already on the Order Paper of the Dáil could solve the problem almost overnight if the Government was prepared to accept it and process it through the Dáil. It could be done very quickly, in the space of a couple of days.

Will the Minister outline his proposals on the new powers he intends to give to the Garda? How are they expected to operate? Will he take the Bill that is before the House and process and implement it and deal with the matter as quickly as possible?

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Deputy Dermot Ahern)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. If it were easy it would have been solved much earlier than this. The Government is taking action to deal with the problem of head shops. In addition to the public health concerns I, as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, am acutely aware of the need for a criminal justice response.

It is my intention to bring forward urgent legislation that would make it a criminal offence generally to supply unregulated psychotropic substances for use by humans. I have taken this move following intensive discussions with both the Attorney General and the Garda Commissioner. My goal is to bring the full force of the criminal justice system to bear down on head shops. In my view, they are gateways to illicit drug dependence and must be shut down.

This effort is part of a multi-pronged approach to deal with the issue. Already, the Minister for Health and Children has introduced regulations under the Misuse of Drugs Act to place controls on the specific substances currently available for sale in head shops. That will deal with the immediate problem. However, suppliers continuously develop new drugs and there is always a time-lag before such new drugs are subject to proper controls. My legislative proposals are intended to be available to deal with new drugs as they emerge.

As part of the multi-pronged approach, relevant Government agencies, including environmental health officers, are reviewing existing legislative provisions to establish if head shops are liable for prosecution under a range of legislation. The primary vehicle for regulating psychotropic substances is the Misuse of Drugs Act. As I stated, the Minister for Health and Children will take action under that Act to place controls on a range of substances currently on sale in head shops. This will make the unauthorised possession and sale of these substances illegal and subject to criminal sanctions. The orders will effectively mean that the mainstream of substances being sold in these shops at the moment will be banned.

The draft regulations have been notified to the European Commission as required by European law in order to allow these orders to come into effect as soon as possible. It is not possible to take prosecutions until that period has elapsed. Head shops are a problem in many jurisdictions where the authorities experience difficulties in finding comprehensive solutions. A major problem associated with the control of head shops is that the legislators are often left to play catch up — as soon as one dangerous substance is banned in a country, another product is produced to take its place. These products are often produced for an international market and incredible chemical expertise arid ingenuity is at play in constantly devising new products. For that reason, I am exploring how best to provide a criminal justice legislative response. While the full details of the legislation have yet to be finalised, the focus will be on seeking to ensure that the sale or supply of substances which may not be specifically proscribed under the Misuse of Drugs Act, but which have psychotropic effects, will be a criminal offence. I am also examining how appropriate powers could be given to the Garda and to the courts to intervene quickly to prevent these outlets from selling these products by way of appropriate prohibition orders. There are complicated drafting issues to be resolved but my officials have already been in contact with both the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Health and Children on the matter. I expect to be in a position to bring forward proposals to the Government in the very near future.

In the meantime a number of measures are already in train. The activities of head shops are being closely monitored on an ongoing basis by the Garda Síochána and Revenue's customs service, with a view to ensuring that no substances that are currently illegal are being sold. The HSE, in association with partner agencies under the drugs strategy, is finalising a national drugs awareness campaign that will focus on the dangers of psychotropic substances available through head shops. The national advisory committee on drugs has been asked to carry out some targeted research in this area. The House can be assured that I as Minister, together with my ministerial colleagues, are pursuing all viable approaches to ending the problems posed by head shops.

Flood Relief.

Deputy Ulick Burke

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this very important item tonight. I am delighted that the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, is present because he represents much of the area that has been flooded in County Galway in the past.

Just because we no longer see headlines about flooding in County Galway it does not mean it has gone away. Flooding still exists in many parts of County Galway some three or four months later. I welcome the list of small schemes proposed in County Galway in conjunction with Galway County Council and the OPW. I pay tribute to the OPW personnel who have adopted a very sensible attitude and consultative role in progressing many of these schemes. The schemes are now sensibly recognised as flood relief and not drainage. Many of the small schemes announced are related to the Dunkellin catchment area. The proposal means that the obstacles that caused much of the problem in the catchment area in the past can readily be removed, which would eliminate many, if not all, the problems that have caused such devastation to the family homes and farm lands in the areas concerned in County Galway. Rock removal and bridge reconstruction will allow relief of many of the problems.

South County Galway has a different problem. The 1997 Peach report recommended that the Tarmon area alone was the one most suitable to be addressed. I am asking the Minister to revisit the issue and investigate the possibility of having minor works carried out there to alleviate some of the problem. This was the single area in which work was recommended to proceed then on the basis of the cost-benefit analysis. Unfortunately the funding provided on that occasion was returned to the Exchequer and no works were carried out. I want a simple answer on this one. All that is required in this area is to relieve the surplus water and not drainage. The area in south County Galway should be re-examined to ascertain what can be done at low cost. Local experience has shown that a simple channel or piped length of watercourse would eliminate the constant threat under which these people live from the periodic surplus waters during flood time.

What will the Department do to provide for many farmers whose land was flooded in the November floods and still remains flooded? These farmers have found that their lands are totally useless and have not yet had the spring growth. Many farmers had reseeded the lands destroyed by the earlier floods about five weeks ago and had it all washed away by the most recent downpours. This means that they will lose this year's fodder harvest. I ask the Minister to examine the serious situation faced by many of these farmers who have lost out for a second time and will have serious problems later in the year.

It is now suggested that part of the cause of the constant flooding in this area of south County Galway is the Coillte drainage system in the Slieve Aughty mountains which allows the rain to come down to the lowlands in torrents like never before through its vertical drainage system. The Government should investigate in consultation with Coillte alternative contour patterns of drainage rather than the vertical system which now exists causing the problems. At present these forests are being felled and cleared, which allows an ideal opportunity for the OPW to investigate without additional cost.

The remit of the HSE to administer humanitarian funds was to make dwellings safe and habitable. How much has been paid out to these householders to do that? Most of the houses flooded in County Galway, in Ballinasloe, in Meelick, Eyrecourt and along the Shannon banks can be made habitable but not safe as they will be flooded again unless the works are carried out. Will the Government consider the relocation of some of these families in County Galway and the flood protections in Ballinasloe as well as the management of the water levels in the Shannon basin so that they will not suffer the inevitable floods if work is not carried out? It would be much better if humanitarian funds were combined with insurance compensation, which would go a long way to provide a safe dwelling in an upland area.

The people want to eliminate the serious problems for the future. Given the number of agencies with an interest in the environment in the area, will the OPW under the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, take the lead role to convince these groups that people's livelihoods are more important than the flora and fauna? When will the legislation giving this power to the Minister of State be before the Dáil?

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív)

There seem to be crossed wires between the Deputy and ourselves in that the subject matter of the Adjournment debate was "the humanitarian support provided to date three months after the major flooding of 2009". That was thought to refer to the humanitarian funds being administered by my Department. I do not have any details on OPW works, because it was not considered to be what the Deputy was going to raise this evening. However, I will bring the matter to the attention of the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, and ask him to come back to the Deputy directly. I apologise, but the way the matter was worded, it was thought to be similar to a motion raised on the Adjournment in the Seanad in the past few weeks by one of the Deputy's colleagues——

Deputy Ulick Burke

It is a cop out.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

——which was about humanitarian aid. The wording was ambiguous.

Deputy Ulick Burke

I hope the Minister will clarify with the answer.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

All I can talk about is the humanitarian aid. If the Deputy is interested I can read that.

The bulk of the overall cost of repairing the damage caused to individuals' homes by last November's flooding is being met through insurance policies held by the people affected. The insurance industry is currently in the course of discharging its financial obligations to its policyholders. However, in recognition of the devastation suffered by people in many areas of the country as a result of these floods, the Government set up a humanitarian assistance scheme. The scheme has two objectives. First, it provided financial and other assistance, without an income test, in the immediate aftermath of the flooding. Second, it provides income-tested financial support for the replacement of essential household items and home repairs in cases not covered by insurance.

The HSE's community welfare service has been providing support to households since this flooding occurred. Up to 9 April 2010, it had made 2,809 payments to 1,259 individuals to the value of €1,100,616 throughout the country.

Deputy Ulick Burke

Out of €10 million.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

The €10 million is there, if there is a legitimate case for it.

The largest payment to an individual was in excess of €20,000. Most of these payments have been in respect of immediate needs, such as clothing, food, bedding and emergency accommodation. The community welfare service will continue to make these payments as long as they are needed. Such emergency payments under the humanitarian assistance scheme are made without delay and without regard to the household income, as the primary objective of that type of payment is to address the person's immediate needs.

Payments have also been made in respect of essential household items such as carpets, flooring, furniture and white goods. Payments in respect of longer-term needs, such as meeting the cost of repairing homes and making them habitable again, take somewhat longer as homeowners must first establish the cost of repair, which explains the small amount of money paid out to date. Homeowners and builders are not in a position to do this in the immediate aftermath of a flood for practical reasons and, consequently, relatively few large-scale claims have been made at this stage. However, with the passage of time, individuals are now in a better position to assess the extent of the damage to their homes and, consequently, it is expected that more large-scale claims will be received over the coming weeks. As homeowners establish the cost of repair by securing builders' estimates, the extent of the loss is verified, usually by a loss assessor in cases where significant amounts are claimed, and details of the amounts that can be provided under the humanitarian assistance scheme are then sent to the homeowners in question.

While the timescale for determining applications for humanitarian assistance claims is dependant, among other things, on the availability of the required information, there is no backlog of undecided claims. According to the information available from the HSE, there are fewer than 50 applications currently being assessed and only four claims refused, none of which was because of household income.

The level of payment available under the aid scheme to any qualified individual depends on the severity of the damage to that person's home and the extent of the loss experienced, as well as household income and general family circumstances. The scheme provides hardship alleviation as opposed to full compensation. As on previous occasions, commercial or business losses are not covered by the scheme, nor are losses which are covered by household insurance. Applications under the scheme are being income tested to ensure that available assistance is prioritised for those who are most vulnerable. The basic objective of the income test is to determine the household's capacity to meet the costs of restoring the home to a habitable condition, with an underlying principle that individuals and families with average levels of income will qualify for assistance.

Deputy Ulick Burke

Habitable and safe.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

A house that is not safe is not habitable. The Deputy would agree with that.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Kathleen Lynch)

The Minister is out of time.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

In conclusion, from meeting people who have been flooded, including many in my own constituency, I believe the income limits imposed are very generous and have not caused any major difficulty.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Kathleen Lynch)

Thank you. I assume what the Minister did not read of his script will be put on the record.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

I assume so.

Schools Building Projects.

Deputy James Bannon

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for affording me time to discuss this very important matter, namely, the urgent need for the Minister for Education and Science to provide the essential funding for Melview national school, Melview, County Longford, which has been sought since the mid-1980s. Despite an unacceptable deterioration in the built environment, this school has not received permission to proceed with essential works which are necessary as a health and safety measure and to accommodate pupil numbers.

As I noted, this school has been seeking sanction for improvements since the mid-1980s. Despite permission for similar works being granted to other schools in the area, Melview has failed to receive a similar go ahead. This issue of the inadequacy of the built environment at Melview is one of space and, most importantly, of health and safety. The non-provision of necessary additional classroom space is leading to an ongoing health hazard.

Three of the existing classrooms do not conform to the recommended size and this results in pupils being accommodated in an unhygienic atmosphere. Two of these rooms were never intended or suitable for classrooms but shortage of space means that they have been pressed into service. The general purpose room has been divided into two even smaller classrooms. Costly prefab accommodation and three resource rooms are leaking and unhygienic, with sub-standard toilet and washing facilities for the children. The board of management has received a letter outlining the unsuitability and health risks associated with this prefab. Since January of this year, burst pipes mean the prefab can no longer be used as a classroom. In addition, in what is a major outrage, a class of 26 eight and nine year olds is being accommodated in a staffroom cum kitchen which measures 9 m by 4 m.

As if this were not bad enough, the resource teacher also has to share this limited space. Pupils in this room have to use adult toilet facilities which do not meet the required standards for children of this age. How can the Minister expect children to be safe in these cramped, unhygienic and inadequate-for-purpose conditions? In fact, there are only three toilets in the school for 60 pupils.

As I told the previous Minister on a number of occasions, if children who are forced to receive an education in totally inadequate accommodation due to lack of Government funding should have an accident, the buck stops with the Minister, who is responsible for the safety of children under the care of her Department.

Given that the general purpose room is being utilised as two classrooms, the pupils of Melview have no proper play time or exercise during the major part of the school year. The PE curriculum is curtailed and extra-curricular activities such as a Christmas play and other drama productions are non-existent. Car and bus parking to the front of the school is little more than a standard hard shoulder and is extremely dangerous for pupils being dropped off at or collected from the school. Will it take and accident or even a fatality at this school for the Minister to provide the improvements needed to make Melview a safe and student-friendly environment for the pupils?

The very hard working principal and staff have contacted me on several occasions with regard to the conditions. Parents of children at this school need the reassurance of knowing that funding will be made available and that their children will be safe. I plead with the Minister to provide funding for the safety of the children at this school. It is critical she responds to this Adjournment matter in the interests of public safety. If an accident happens at this school, I will hold the Government and the Minister accountable.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Mary Coughlan. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it gives me an opportunity of outlining to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and, in particular, the Department's position regarding the upgrading of facilities in Melview national school, County Longford.

Modernising facilities in our existing building stock, as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth, is a significant challenge. The Government has shown a consistent determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure that the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. The 2010 capital allocation for the primary and post primary sectors is €579 million and this sum will facilitate the delivery of the school building programme through a range of projects and schemes.

On 16 February, the then Minister announced the 2010 large scale school building programme. Some 52 school projects — 37 primary and 15 post primary — are to advance to tender and construction later this year and in 2011. Some 51 school building projects — 44 primary and seven post primary — are expected to appoint design teams this year. Approval was given for seven new primary schools to open in September in rapidly developing areas. Arising from earlier school building programme announcements, 30 large-scale projects, 23 primary and seven post-primary, are under construction at present. A further 27 large-scale projects, 19 primary and eight post-primary, are due to commence construction during the first half of the year, with a further 14 projects, 10 primary and four post-primary, due to go on site as soon as possible. Payments will issue on fees for other projects already in architectural planning.

Depending on the rate of progress of the various projects in the programme, adjustments may be made throughout 2010. These adjustments may arise in the context of the ongoing monitoring of the programme undertaken by the Department in the normal course of events.

As the Deputy may be aware, the Tánaiste yesterday announced the successful applicants for the 2010 summer works scheme. A total of €122 million will see major improvements works carried out in 1,490 primary and post-primary schools across the country. The summer works scheme covers projects in school buildings such as gas, electrical and mechanical works, roof replacements and repairs, window replacement, toilet upgrades, structural improvements and access works. This record level of investment through the summer works scheme has the potential to generate work for more than 4,400 construction workers across the country during the summer period. The projects approved under the summer works scheme had been assessed as being priority projects by the individual schools themselves and the capacity of schools to take responsibility for delivering small and medium-scale projects is a key component of the summer works scheme.

Major capital 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. There are four band ratings overall, of which band one is the highest and band four the lowest. Band one projects, for example, include the provision of buildings where none currently exists but there is a high demand for pupil places, while a band four project makes provision of desirable, but not necessarily urgent or essential facilities, such as a library or new sports hall.

In July 2008, the Department introduced a new devolved scheme which allows those schools to avail of the option of using approved funding for the provision of additional accommodation to either purchase prefabs or to construct permanent classrooms for the same amount. The Department has also introduced a new scheme aimed at replacing rented prefabs with permanent modular buildings. This project will be targeted at schools that have older rented prefabs and need long-term additional accommodation.

In 2008 Melview national school received grant aid in excess of €127,000 to fund electrical and sewerage improvements works at the school. The school also received a grant of €12,500 under the 2005 summer works scheme for roof repairs. The management authority of this school applied for additional accommodation in January 2010 under the Department's additional accommodation scheme. The school had an enrolment of 216 pupils at September 2009 and a staffing of principal, eight assistant teachers, two learning support teachers and two resource teachers for Travellers.

Following an assessment of the application, the school was informed in March 2010 that a grant of €200,000 has been sanctioned for the provision of an extension consisting of two mainstream classrooms. The school also sought approval for funding toward the provision of additional resources rooms and the Department will be in contact with the school authority shortly regarding this request.

I thank the Deputy again for giving me the opportunity to outline the current position for Melview national school, County Longford.

School Staffing.

Deputy Deirdre Clune

I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue. I was recently asked to meet the chairpersons and principals of the two national schools in Togher, which are sited on the one campus on the south western side of the city, in an area that was designated as disadvantaged and has many social problems, which manifest themselves in the school population.

Recent changes to RAPID areas have left the schools just outside such an area, and they have lost RAPID status and DEIS status, a double blow. The girls' school, which has an enrolment of 280 children, has lost four teaching posts. It has ten class teachers, losing two concessionary posts it has had since 1986, a home-school liaison post and a language teacher post. A special duties post has been also lost. This has had an enormous effect on pupils and teachers. Will the Minister outline the thinking behind the reduction in these posts for this school?

The area has a lot of social housing and rental accommodation, which attracts a high proportion of non-nationals. This is reflected in the populations of both schools, where almost 30% of students are from a non-English speaking background. The girls' school, however, has only two language support teachers for almost 90 children. Integrating those children who do not speak English into the school population is an impossible task that causes stress for teachers, who are in some cases dealing with class sizes of between 23 and 35. Without the necessary language supports those classes will suffer.

There is no home-school liaison teacher to provide assistance, which has a knock-on effect on parents, who do not get the help and support they need at home. The teachers, principal, chairpersons and board of management are concerned about the impact this will have on the community. We all know the value to a community of a school that is well integrated into that community.

The impact of these cuts on the schools, with four teaching posts being lost in a school that now has ten teachers, is significant. It has a traumatic effect on the school. There will not be a review of DEIS until 2012 and with a growing population and the demographic change, some support must be introduced. The school and the children in it are suffering.

Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue today and I am pleased to be able to outline the general position regarding staffing at primary level. The staffing schedule impacts on individual schools in different ways depending on whether enrolment is rising or declining. In terms of the position at individual school level, the key factor for determining the level of resources provided by the Department is the pupil enrolment.

While the staffing schedule at primary level allocates on the basis of an average number of pupils, each individual school decides on how to arrange its classes. Combined classes are a feature of the majority of primary schools in the country and this arrangement has no adverse implications for the quality of the education children receive. From an educational perspective it is important to note that numerous influential reports have highlighted the fact that teacher quality is the single most important factor — far and above anything else — in improving educational outcomes for children.

The Deputy will be aware that the renewed programme for Government commits the Government to no further increase in the pupil teacher ratio in primary and second level schools for the lifetime of this Government. It also states that 500 teaching posts will be provided between primary and second levels over the next three years.

A hundred of these posts have been allocated to each sector, primary and post-primary, in the current school year. At primary level the posts have been allocated to schools that had increased enrolments in the current school year and which, as a result of last year's pupil-teacher ratio change, lost out on a teaching post in this year by either one, two or three pupils. For the coming school year the additional posts have also enabled some improvement to be made to the staffing schedule at primary level, which is available on the Department's website. These improvements are targeted at medium to larger schools which are typically under the greatest pressure in regard to class sizes.

The level of teaching resources allocated to individual schools for special needs and language support will be determined following completion of the allocation processes for these posts during the spring and summer periods. It is only when all the various allocation processes, including the appeals mechanisms, are fully completed that the final staffing position for individual schools will be fully determined.

It is important for all schools to ensure that whatever teaching resources the Government can afford in these unprecedented economic times are used to maximum effect to achieve the best possible outcomes for children. Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

Deputy Deirdre Clune

The Minister did not mention the particular schools. There was no reference to them.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 21 April 2010.