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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 22 Mar 2011

Vol. 728 No. 3

Adjournment Debate

Schools Amalgamation

As an elected representative for south Tipperary and west Waterford and a strong advocate for the protection of rural Ireland, I have major concerns with regard to any proposal dressed up as a value for money review that will further close small rural schools. Small primary schools are at the centre of life in rural communities and it would be detrimental if these schools were to be downgraded or diminished in any way. To ensure rural communities are kept alive we must ensure families have access to primary education in their communities.

Small schools represent excellent value for money and should be encouraged and supported. They offer excellent learning conditions in which young children receive more attention. Pupils spend several years with the same teacher and it is a good deal easier to monitor progress and identify any problems that may arise, including learning difficulties. Children receive a much broader social education since they are given responsibility to look after younger children through mentoring schemes and they get involved in community projects such as Tidy Towns, art projects and many environmental schemes which lead to an enhancement of the community. The teachers encourage links with their community and promote social and extra-curricular activities within the community, such as involvement in the GAA, other sports and disciplines and competitions such as Scór and many varied, new and developing projects. Also, the students and their families have a strong sense of place and belonging, which is important in this day and age.

Distance and travel costs arise also. The closure of small primary schools will lead to increased travel costs. In the past, free transport was provided to students of amalgamated schools. However, we are all aware of inconsistencies. Schools were amalgamated, including many small schools in my parish and neighbouring parishes in the 1960s and 1970s. This had a detrimental effect on these communities. Transport was organised. We now know that the fuel costs of such transport is prohibitive for parents. They may have to drive to the larger schools themselves.

The wider community is enhanced by the presence of a small school both in terms of the employment provided and the sense of community that they instill. The school is regarded as the lifeblood of the community and is often the only meeting place or place of activity in these small rural communities. The closure of such schools would result in the lifeblood being removed from small rural communities. At a time of high unemployment and emigration on our shores, protecting the life and spirit of rural Ireland must have a high priority.

Many schools in my area are concerned about this issue and they are engaging with the review. However, this review is dressed up and those involved believe it will spell the death-knell for their schools. They remain concerned. Many schools, including Burncourt, Ballydrehid and Cullen national schools, are affected. Skeheenarinky school celebrated 150 years of teaching in 2008. Past, present and future generations gathered together for a wonderful weekend of celebrations. It is impossible to put a monetary value on the contribution that this small school has made to students, the education of the community and society at large over the past 152 years. However, small schools such as Skeheenarinky national school represent excellent value for money and should be encouraged and supported.

I appeal to the Minister to ensure this review is fair and understanding, that it will be in-depth and that all the submissions made by the schools, parents councils, boards of management and individuals families and parents will be taken note of and listened to. We have lost too much in rural Ireland. We have lost much of the intrinsic lifeblood of our rural communities. This has been seen in the past. I trust the officials and mandarins of Marlborough Street in the Department of Education and Skills are aware of this. Many problems arose when schools closed in the past. Under the Croke Park agreement teachers can be moved around with their agreement. We are rightly worried.

We hope the review will be fair and decent and that it will not be dressed up in other clothes or disguised in order to get rid of what is good and often wonderful. These schools have been at the heart of communities and have provided much valuable education to families in isolated rural areas for generations. I appeal to the Minister, Ministers of State and others across the House to listen and to cry "Halt!" before it is too late.

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter since it affords me the opportunity to outline to the House the current position regarding the value for money review of small primary schools. Ireland has a high proportion of primary schools relative to our population and also has a high proportion of small primary schools. This review was commissioned by the former Fianna Fáil and Green Party Government to establish the value for money being achieved from State funding of small primary schools. This value for money, VFM, review is part of the review processes undertaken by Departments on an annual basis on selected areas of expenditure.

The focus of the current review is especially on the smallest category of school, that is, schools with less than 50 pupils. The terms of reference for the review are published on my Department's website. Among other things, the review seeks to examine the scope for alternative policy or organisational approaches to improve efficiency and effectiveness of provision in terms of school size, to identify potential implications of such alternative arrangements and to make recommendations as appropriate. I expect the review will be completed by the end of this year.

The value for money review commenced in October 2010 under the direction of the then Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Ms Mary Coughlan. The views of stakeholders are important in the process of the review. Public consultations have been taking place to obtain the views of small schools, parents and communities. In addition, direct invitations were issued to interest groups such as the school patron bodies, management bodies, teacher unions, Irish language groups and other groups which operate in the area of social inclusion. A large response has been received to the consultations. I understand that Deputy McGrath has participated in the consultation process as well.

In considering any future policy or organisational changes relating to small schools, I am aware that the majority of the small schools are located in rural areas. There will be a wider dimension to be considered in addition to simply the cost of maintaining small schools. Local communities are proud of their schools and will make strong arguments to retain them. Among the many issues that will need to be taken into account are the impact of the schools on dispersed rural communities, the question of parental choice, the availability of diversity of school provision and also the cost of school transport.

Educational quality for the pupils must be one of the main criteria in any consideration of primary school size and organisation, taking into account the needs of local communities and wider social and cultural factors. Decisions on school provision and reorganisation must be widely perceived to be cost-effective, equitable and reasonable. These decisions need to be based on a rigorous evaluation of requirements and needs, not only at a local level but also at regional and national levels. I do not have a predetermined view on the outcome of the review. I plan to consider the review's outcomes when they are finalised. My consideration will take place in the context of the resources available to the Department and the other factors I have outlined. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter.

Social Welfare Benefits

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important issue for the Adjournment debate. I also thank the Minister for attending to give her reply. Since it was not the case with the former Government, I welcome this development.

The rural social scheme, RSS, was announced by the former Government in 2003 and launched in 2004. Its aim is to provide income support for farmers and fishermen in receipt of specified social welfare payments. The scheme provides certain services of great benefit to rural communities. It allows low income farmers who are unable to earn an adequate living from their holdings to earn supplementary incomes. In return, local communities benefit from the skills and talents of participants while those participants experience opportunities to develop new skills and perform valuable work in their communities. Some of the projects include coaching children in local national schools, village and countryside enhancement projects, care of the elderly and preschool and child care groups. People work for 19.5 hours per week, which fit in around the work on their farms. Much of the work done on this scheme is the work of many agencies, such as the HSE and local authorities. The RSS has been a success. My constituency, County Mayo, has the country's largest participation rate with 547 participants, some 21% of the national total. It is important for the economic and social well-being of the community.

I raise this matter because, on the instruction of the outgoing Minister for Social Protection dated 25 February, which was election day, all participants on the scheme received letters asking for detailed information about the income and expenditure figures for themselves and their spouses as well as P21 notices of assessment from Revenue for the most recent tax year. They were also asked for the details of their or their partners' savings in banks, post offices and credit unions. All of this information was to be returned by yesterday. They were told that, if they did not return the information on time, they would not be able to renew their RSS contracts. At the bottom of the document was a warning to the effect that, if false information was given, people would be liable to a fine or prison term.

I need not tell the House that these letters caused fear and anger in equal measure among those who received them. Last week, I attended a public meeting of 170 participants in Ballindine where there was outrage at the short notice and the cynical approach taken. Many of the scheme's participants were asked to apply at its launch. They were promised they would be able to remain in the scheme until they were 65 years of age provided they continued farming. There was no mention of means testing. It must also be remembered that, during the Celtic tiger years, some people were begged to apply to the scheme even though there were other opportunities available to them, albeit ones that have long since gone.

I will suggest a few adjustments to take into account the cynical way in which the circulars were sent out and the demand to have them filled in a short period. The deadline for returning information should be extended. A derogation should be given to existing participants. The form also seeks information on the RSS worker's spouse or partner. If the worker is not claiming for a spouse, this information should not be necessary.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, as I understand the importance of the issue for the scheme's participants. The RSS provides income support for farmers and fishermen and fisherwomen who are in receipt of certain social protection payments. In return, those participating on the scheme are engaged in supporting the provision of a broad range of services of benefit to rural communities.

The RSS is delivered through 35 local development companies across the country and by Údaras na Gaeltachta in Gaeltacht areas, commonly referred to as RSS implementing bodies. Given what the Deputy has outlined, he will be aware of the quality and diversity of services that are supported by the 2,600 participants and 130 supervisors employed with the support of the scheme. Participants are contracted annually to work 19.5 hours per week, with these hours worked in a manner that meets the personal and farming requirements of the participants. Continued participation on the scheme is limited to those who continue to be entitled to the underlying social protection payments. While it is not intended that each participant will remain on the scheme indefinitely, there is no definite time limit for participation once the underlying eligibility for social protection payments exists. Eligibility for the scheme is limited to those previously in receipt of farm or fish assist or, if actively farming or fishing or where proof of farming activity is available, one of a range of other social protection payments, such as jobseeker's allowance, one-parent family payment, certain pensions or jobseeker's benefit, if previously engaged in the community employment or rural social schemes within the previous 12 months. Spousal swaps are allowed in the case of an eligible person not wishing to participate.

Given the nature of the underlying qualifying criteria, participants are required to confirm that they continue to be eligible. Therefore, in advance of the annual review of contracts for the scheme, the Department of Social Protection requested that each participant make a declaration of means. As set out by the former Minister for Social Protection, this inquiry was issued at the end of February with a request that the declaration be returned to the Department by the close of business on Monday, 21 March. As of today, the Department estimates that of the order of 2,000 declarations, three quarters of the total number of returns expected, have been received.

I will address any concern that participants might have in respect of this activity. Those whose means confer entitlement under the various social welfare payments that provide access to the RSS will have these entitlements confirmed by this exercise. Where a person's means indicate no further entitlement, he or she will have the right to have any decision of the Department in respect of his or her continued engagement on the scheme independently reviewed. Those participants who have not returned a declaration will receive a reminder within the coming days to complete the process as soon as possible. In the event that a declaration is not returned, the Department will not be in a position to authorise the RSS implementing bodies to offer a renewal of a contract. My Department is available to offer assistance to any participant who needs advice with completing the declaration. Assistance is also available from the Department's local office network in addition to the support offered by each of the implementing bodies.

The requirement to prove continued eligibility is consistent with the outline of the scheme and with general practice across all social protection payment schemes. In the event that any participant should be found ineligible to continue on the scheme, this will open the opportunity for positions to be filled by other eligible candidates.

I value the work done and contribution made by the scheme's participants. The RSS is popular with qualifying applicants. People, particularly those who have not completed the form for one reason or another, would be advised to do so. They will find that the Department of Social Protection is anxious to help them.

Departmental Offices

On Tuesday, 15 March, it came to my attention that, under the local office reorganisation plan, the departmental offices at Ballybay, Birr, Monaghan town, Mullingar and Portlaoise were to close from 20 May 2011. Regional offices are to be established within the next two months in Cavan town, Naas and Tullamore. In the meantime, the personnel division along with the local office line managers will make arrangements to visit the local office. This decision needs to be reviewed. I have studied the issue and I have examined when the decision was made. I believe it was made in July 2009 by the previous Minister but I would like this to be confirmed. However, it needs to be reviewed for a number of reasons. The terms of reference for the original reconfiguration need to be examined and a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed move needs to be conducted. It is my understanding the office will be closed to the public but the staff will remain in the office and, therefore, there is no saving in closing the public office.

The facility benefits the State in that the veterinarians based in Ballybay provide a disease control service along the Border and for every farmer in County Monaghan. People may not realise that the distance between north and south Monaghan and Cavan town is approximately 50 miles. A cost-benefit analysis is needed because the veterinarians operating out of Ballybay have to drive to Cavan in the morning, clock in, return to Ballybay to carry out the tests and then drive back to Cavan in the evening. They will incur substantial travel expenses. The Ballybay office is unique because the export mart is located beside it. Monaghan exports more live cattle and poultry than any other county in the Republic.

Cost is a major issue. What cost a brucellosis free State for the farming community? The DVO in Ballybay is seven miles from the Border and Keady in County Armagh where there is a brucellosis problem. I am not sure people in the Republic know this but the veterinarians in the Ballybay DVO are fully aware that many farmers along the border between counties Monaghan and Armagh own farms on both sides of the Border and some farms straddle the Border. They can keep a close eye on cattle movements along the Border and that is why we have our disease free status.

I do not see any rationale for moving the frontier back towards Cavan town, which is many miles removed from the Border. Monaghan has the longest border with Northern Ireland of any county in the Republic. There is an opportunity to review this decision. It should be reviewed and I want to get to the bottom of why the decision was made in the first place. That is why the terms of reference for the original reconfiguration need to be examined. Offices will be located in Cavan town, Naas and Tullamore and I do not understand the rationale behind these locations, especially in a regional context.

I refer to the all-Ireland disease free status. Ballybay is centrally placed, as it is surrounded by counties Fermanagh, Tyrone and Armagh. If we want to achieve this status, the town would provide a centrally placed office from which veterinarians could operate. If we could get rid of the partitionist mindset in the long term and start to consider this issue in an all-Ireland context, Ballybay would be a centrally placed office in which to have the veterinarians situated. The reason they have not been moved is that there is no physical space for them in the Cavan office. There would have to be substantial capital investment to house them there. Can we afford as a nation to spend this money when an office is available in Ballybay? The files stored in Ballybay were taken to Sligo last October. It makes no sense to store files in Sligo for an office that is supposed to be located in Cavan when they were perfectly well contained in the Ballybay office.

I would like the decision to be reviewed and the terms of reference of the reconfiguration to be examined again. The decision should not be implemented. I understand the previous Minister made the decision and I would like clarification in this regard as well.

I am replying to the debate on behalf of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I hope the reply clarifies the process that has been undertaken. As part of an ongoing process of reviews of key areas of departmental activities, the structure of the Department's network of local offices was reviewed in 2008-09. Following extensive internal analysis of the various options, a substantial programme of rationalisation was agreed by the Minister in July 2009 and these proposals were endorsed by the Government on 15 July 2009.

This restructuring of the Department's geographic and regional spread was geared towards enhancing service delivery to farmers and to the agrifood sector generally. This was achieved through widening the scope and availability of services at all offices and by combining under one single geographic location the services that were previously delivered in various locations in respect of district veterinary operations, forestry operations and agricultural environment and structures support services. The benefits of this concentration of resources and professional expertise at all regional offices has provided customers with access to services at any of the regional offices within the network and not just the office where the customer is resident, as was the case in the past.

Under the Government approved plan, instead of having a presence in every county, or more than one in many counties, a new regional structure of 16 offices will replace a total of 58 separate office locations throughout the country. This plan is in its final phase and is due to be completed within the next two months. Under the plan, 13 of the 16 regional offices have been established at Castlebar, Clonakilty, Cork city, Drumshanbo, Enniscorthy, Galway, Navan, Limerick, Raphoe, Roscommon town, Tipperary town, Tralee and Waterford city. By the end of May, following the establishment of regional offices at Cavan, Naas and Tullamore, it is expected that the full 16 regional office network will be complete and 38 offices will have closed to the public. The DVO element of the Department's Ballybay office will transfer to Cavan as set out in the 2009 plan, although this office will continue in operation engaged in other activities on behalf of this Department and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

The reorganisation of the various activities of the Department over recent years has been a key driver in reducing its overall cost base. Since 2005, the Department has reduced its staff by almost 1,500. Changes have led to the redeployment of approximately 400 staff to other Departments, including the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform for the operation of the PULSE system in Castlebar, and to local offices of the Department of Social Protection and, to a lesser extent, other Departments. In addition, a further 600 staff were redeployed internally to new and expanding work areas, including the single payment scheme and the implementation of new environmental, food safety and animal health controls required by the EU.

These savings were identified as a result of the effects of changes in the Department's work practices, improved business processes, the greater use of computerisation and the wind up of livestock offices. They reflect many of the changes in policy direction arising from CAP reform, the continued implementation of the Department's decentralisation plan, the findings of the organisational review programme and the objectives set out in the Government's Transforming Public Services programme.

The internal reviews carried out into the Department's operations have highlighted changes in the workload of the local office network arising from a significant decreases in the incidence of animal diseases; CAP reform, which gave rise to significant changes in the nature of farm-related schemes and services and the consequential manner in which these are delivered; significant investment in information technology, especially in the areas of animal health and welfare, customer management, animal movement identification and the management of field inspections; reduced footfall in offices nationwide driven by greater levels of in-house efficiency and improved online services to customers; and advances in broader infrastructural areas such as transport and communications.

Bearing these changes in mind, the aim of the local office reorganisation is to rationalise the overall number of locations across the country to facilitate the more efficient management of schemes, services and disease levels and to enhance services to clients of the Department. In addition, there are significant savings in the resources deployed to these activities.

The financial savings from the reorganisation of the local offices are very significant and for 2011 the reduction in running costs amount to some €20 million and the reduction of more than 250 staff. For 2012, the reduction in running costs is expected to be some €30 million with an overall reduction from the programme of over 400 staff.

I take this opportunity of expressing my appreciation to the staff in local offices for their contribution to the work of the Department and to their continued commitment to providing a quality service to all its stakeholders. I would also like to assure this House and the Department's key clients of our continued commitment to providing an exemplary support service across all areas of departmental activities, which I strongly believe will be best delivered through continued reform and innovation. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter.

Hospitals Building Programme

The good news in the programme for Government is that the national paediatric hospital will be built during its term. However, the saga of the national paediatric hospital continues. The Minister for Health and Children has indicated that he intends to review the decision to locate the hospital on the campus site of the Mater hospital. The original project started as a relatively modest proposal to upgrade the Children's University Hospital in Temple Street in 1984, almost 27 years ago. I know all about it because at the time I was chairman of Save Temple Street Children's Hospital.

A site was obtained on the campus of the Mater hospital for a new children's hospital to replace Temple Street hospital. Plans were drawn up and approved by the Department on two previous occasions and each of them was shelved. On New Year's eve 2006, the then Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, pulled the plug on the most recent set of proposals just before the tenders were due to be opened for the Temple Street redevelopment on the Mater hospital site.

A special task force was established which proposed a world class national paediatric hospital as the way forward. This hospital would be located on an adult hospital campus and would require a co-location with a maternity hospital for maximum benefit for the children. The Mater hospital campus, in association with the Rotunda Hospital, was chosen by an expert committee as the most suitable location for the new hospital. It is difficult to see any other hospital campus fulfilling the required criteria in a more medically effective manner.

The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board was established in May 2007 and the integrated design team was appointed in October 2009. The planning process is going ahead under the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010, which applies to major health infrastructure proposals. From the early days of the Temple Street redevelopment €400 million had been set aside, or approximately three quarters of the cost of the project, to deal with that particular development and I understand that money is still available.

It is crucial that the review of the decision to locate the national paediatric hospital on the Mater hospital site is dealt with urgently. The children and the parents of the children in the existing children's hospitals deserve the service of an integrated world class child care facility, and that can only be provided now with the early construction of the national paediatric children's hospital. I urge the Minister of State that whatever review takes place does so at a very early stage and that this project is not put on the long finger. It has been long-fingered for over a quarter of a century and we cannot allow that continue in the interests of the children of this country.

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy James Reilly. On his behalf I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment.

Enhancing quality care for Ireland's children and young people is a priority for the Government. It is the primary driver for developing the new children's hospital. It is widely accepted within the paediatric health care community that the sickest children requiring access to highly specialist professionals, equipment and facilities can only be accommodated in one children's hospital in Ireland. The amalgamation of Dublin's three children's hospitals into one organisation, with a single clear governance framework, will give the required cohesion and breadth of medical sub-specialties to provide such care for Ireland's sickest children. The Government's priority is to provide the best standard of complex hospital care for children in Ireland. To further that priority the Government, as set out under our programme for Government, is committed to the construction of the new children's hospital.

In late 2005, McKinsey and Company were engaged to advise on the future strategic organisation of tertiary paediatric services in Ireland. The resulting report, Children's Health First, recommended that the population and projected demands in this country could support only one world class tertiary paediatric hospital. It further recommended that such a hospital should be located in Dublin and should ideally be located alongside a leading adult academic hospital. The McKinsey report also recommended that the new children's hospital should accommodate the secondary care needs of children in the greater Dublin area, and that it should be a central component of an integrated national paediatric service, incorporating outreach capabilities and an adequate geographic spread of emergency type facilities in Dublin.

The new hospital will benefit from improved clinical effectiveness through inter-professional working that optimises clinical resources and leads to better outcomes for children. The hospital will accommodate a mix of inpatient and day care beds which will meet the health care demands of children and young people. The configuration of these beds reflects current international best practice with more critical care and day care beds within the overall bed complement. The hospital, along with the Ambulatory and Urgent Care Centre at Tallaght, will also provide outpatient, day care and emergency services to children and young people, particularly in Dublin and surrounding areas. Since his appointment, the Minister has been having discussions with his officials and with the National Paediatric Hospital Board to brief himself on the work done on this project to date. The Minister wants to be clear about how we can best provide the hospital in the most cost effective manner while ensuring a high quality service for our children and young people.

The Minister is currently considering the evidence that has been presented to him and will make a decision, based on that evidence, as to how to proceed. In particular, the Minister wants to be satisfied that the hospital will provide the best possible clinical outcomes for children and young people; that it will be built in a location that best meets the needs of children and young people; and that the cost of building the hospital is both realistic and affordable to the Exchequer.

The Deputy can rest assured that the Minister will avoid any unnecessary delay to the development of this very important project.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 23 March 2011.
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