Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 29 Sep 2016

Vol. 922 No. 3

Topical Issue Debate

Schools Building Projects Status

Deputy Ruth Coppinger

The issue of St. Mochta's school will be the subject of what I anticipate will be an extremely large public meeting in Clonsilla tonight. This is now one of the biggest issues in Dublin 15, which, as the Minister knows, is a vast and growing area. I know the Minister is meeting members of the school management and I hope the news is good in anticipation of that meeting. This was a ten-year project. It was promised to the community. The school management agreed to double its school population on the basis that it would get a new school building and several years later, it has been let down.

I raised this in a Topical Issue debate on 12 November 2015. I would like the Minister and other Deputies who were involved to address what was covered in the final paragraph of the reply on that day, which stated:

While it was not possible to include the projects [St. Mochta's and St. Patrick's schools] referred to by the Deputy in the current five-year building programme, I wish to advise the Deputy that the projects will be available for consideration for the new six-year plan...

However, five days later two Ministers at the time, the then Tánaiste, Deputy Burton, and the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, announced on 17 November that St. Mochta's was to be totally rebuilt with the project to proceed to construction in 2016. How, in five days, did it go from not being on the list to being on the list? However, the school board and the local population subsequently heard the school was not on the list at all. Was it ever really on the list for 2016? That is what people at tonight's public meeting will want to know.

Deputy Joan Burton

Members of the board of management at St. Mochta's school contacted me at the end of August to express their understandable shock and disappointment after the Department of Education and Skills wrote to it to advise that the rebuild of the school was being postponed until next year at the earliest. St. Mochta's is an excellent school with brilliant and dedicated teachers and a very supportive school community of parents and pupils who come from up to 52 different countries as well as the old community from the old village of Clonsilla.

The school has many prefabs on a four-acre site. There is an extension from the year 2000 which the Department declared to be unfit for purpose in 2012. The late Brian Lenihan was involved in the negotiations whereby the school community agreed to more than double the size of the school to take account of the extra demand for school places in this part of Dublin 15. They were promised, before the crash, that the buildings would be attended to and the project, which is still awaited ten years later, would get under way.

As a public representative, I fought hard - as did other public representatives in the area - to support the school community to ensure the rebuild would commence in 2016. I make no apologies for lobbying continually and constantly, as did other Deputies and public representatives in the area. I cannot understand how the Minister could see any justification for the delay to these building works.

It was agreed in 2015 that the school would proceed. What has now happened is totally unacceptable. When the Labour Party was in government before the general election, major progress was made with the nationwide school building and the replacement of prefabs, notwithstanding the severe economic crisis.

Is the Minister seeking an extra capital allocation to ensure that this and other school projects are built as soon as possible? What is the reason for the delay?

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton)

I thank the Deputies for raising the matter. I assure them that the building project for St. Mochta's national school was included in the six-year programme announced on 17 November 2015 to progress. It is one of the 67 projects that were announced in 2016 to be part of the 2016 programme. Of course the commencement of a programme does not mean that it will actually be constructed until it is released to tender. That is the process that we have to complete.

As I think the Deputies have outlined, the design team was appointed a considerable time ago - back in 2010 - and the board of management was authorised to commence architectural planning. At that stage, it was not included in the programme announced in 2012 but it was subsequently added in 2015. It is now at an advanced stage of architectural planning, so it is proceeding to complete the planning stage. All statutory approvals have been obtained, tender documents have been prepared and the Department has approved the stage 2B submission.

As Deputy Coppinger recognised, I have met the principal, the chairman of the board and the patron.

There are issues that need to be finalised on some of the fee elements of the project, including a further submission by the design team on its request for a fee uplift that would have to be approved in accordance with the requirements set out for every project. My Department is working with the team to advance that matter.

On the release of the project to tender, we have a lot of commitments in hand. The previous Minister released projects to tender in April, but I have not been in a position as of yet to release new projects to tender. However, I recognise the importance of this school and I am working with my officials on the timing of existing projects in the programme and their possible release to tender. I am seeking to obtain additional resources to accelerate these projects. I continue to work to try to deliver the St. Mochta's national school project at the earliest possible time. The matter will receive considerable attention from me in the coming months.

I can assure Deputy Joan Burton that there is no diminution of my commitment and that of the Department to the completion of building projects. We will have a considerably larger budget for the coming year than was provided this time last year, which is a recognition that there are pressing needs across the system, on which we are attempting to deliver. There is no doubt that the community feels very let down by the lengthy delay in delivering the project. Some of the reasons for the delay were beyond anyone's control. Nonetheless, I fully understand the frustration of parents whose children are in prefabs, many of which have been in place for a lengthy period. There is understandable frustration among the school staff and parents, but I assure the Deputies that I am working to accelerate the project.

Deputy Ruth Coppinger

This is not just about children in prefabs. It is also about the substandard conditions in which children and staff are learning and working. The accommodation is dark, damp and mouldy and completely unsuitable. These are the worst conditions in which I have ever seen children being taught. It is absolutely intolerable. We are told there has been a recovery in the economy. Why can more money not be allocated for the construction of the buildings promised, particularly given that building workers also need jobs? The suspicion in the community is that because of the pressure exerted in electioneering the St. Mochta's national school project and, possibly, other similar projects were included in the list which was widely publicised. There is outright cynicism in that regard, but that is how people feel and it is hard not to feel that way when a new Government enters office and a project suddenly disappears from the list.

On the architectural regulations, the school is very concerned that the new guidelines will be applied retrospectively to projects which have already been approved. That should not be the case. It is important that insurmountable barriers not be put in the way of the project. When is it likely to commence? That is what people want to know and I am still not clear on the matter, despite the Minister's reply.

Deputy Joan Burton

I welcome the Minister's commitment to ensure commencement of this school project as soon as possible. It is possible to have the tendering process finalised before the end of the year. I understand the new guidelines will apply from 8 January. Will the Minister give a commitment that both he and his Department will work with the school, which has over a period of ten years sought to bring the project to fruition, to ensure the tender process will get over the line before the new complicated guidelines become applicable which it is feared could set the project back for a significant period? Will the Minister, through his departmental officials, assist the school board which has been trying might and main for years, including meeting many of us late at night at meetings to advise us on the progress of the project, to achieve this end? They deserve that assistance. There is no point in the Minister engaging in tech-talk with me or others when that is the responsibility of his officials. Has he met the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to seek additional money for the capital programme in order that this project can proceed?

Deputy Richard Bruton

I assure Deputy Ruth Coppinger that, whatever the suspicions of the community are, that is not the position. We have sought to accelerate the project as quickly as possible. The release to tender occurs when projects reach a certain point. This project had not yet reached that stage when the previous Minister released projects to tender last April. I will be working very hard to bring it to the point where it can be released. As I said, there are obligations on the design team that have to be met before that point is reached.

Both Deputies have referred to the new tendering process. Deputy Joan Burton is correct that the latest date by which tenders must be submitted such that the new tendering process will not apply is 8 January 2017. I reassure Deputy Ruth Coppinger that it is not a case of me introducing retrospection. It is something that has been well known by everyone in the business for a long time. It is a new process that will apply from 8 January 2017.

I have met the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to discuss the provision of additional money for building projects. I regard this project as a priority for all the reasons outlined by the Deputies; the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, and Deputy Lisa Chambers. I will be working to achieve a satisfactory outcome for the parents and children involved.

Cross-Border Projects

Deputy Declan Breathnach

The Minister will no doubt be aware of the importance of INTERREG IVA and PEACE funding to the Border region, in the current round of which in excess of €550 million is available, with a potential sum of €1.6 billion being available into the future. The matter being raised in this Topical Issue debate is probably the first major hurdle we have to cross in the context of Brexit. It is important that we get this right and secure the money being provided by the European Union, the Northern Exchequer and in the South for the continued development of projects and programmes post-Brexit. Up to July this year, 17 projects with a total value of €120 million had been approved for funding, but letters of offer have not yet issued. At a meeting earlier this week of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement the Northern Ireland Minister for Finance, Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, indicated that he had signed off on the matter but that there was a log-jam elsewhere. In a response I received on 16 September to a parliamentary question the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, indicated that he was dealing with the issue. However, it has come to my knowledge that the delay centres on two major issues from a Southern perspective: the insertion in the letters of an offer of a break clause for two years to coincide with the possible timing of Brexit and an assurance from all partners that EU rules and regulations will be followed for the duration of the projects, irrespective of when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union. This is to avoid any potential claw-back of funding. Local authorities, communities and those involved in the 17 projects are waiting for this money. If we do not get it right, there is no doubt in my mind that the additional moneys due to come down the track will not be forthcoming. This presents a huge challenge.

Deputy Brendan Smith

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter for discussion.

Deputy Declan Breathnach and I attended the meeting earlier this week of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, during which alarm bells rang for all of us in respect of the full roll-out of the INTERREG IVA and PEACE IV programmes. As the Minister will be aware, the PEACE and INTERREG programmes were put in place in the mid-1990s following on the success achieved in advancing the peace process.

The funding provided by successive Irish and British Governments and the EU Commission has been particularly important in building communities and bridges between communities. We are very well aware that many business enterprise and social enterprise projects have been funded through the INTERREG and PEACE programmes. As my colleague, Deputy Breathnach, said, a huge amount of preparatory work has already been undertaken by voluntary organisations and local statutory organisations in putting together applications and projects that would meet the criteria to draw down under the new PEACE and INTERREG programmes.

We want a clear assurance from the Government that there is a commitment to the full roll-out of the PEACE IV and INTERREG programmes that were agreed some time ago between the Irish and British Governments and the European Commission. The uncertainty setting in now is creating extreme problems for groups working on bringing applications to finality and groups that have already completed the application process and are awaiting the funding approval to enable them to proceed with projects that are necessary for local communities, which will help to provide employment in many disadvantaged areas and will provide facilities that have not been provided by the statutory authorities in Northern Ireland or Southern Ireland. We need the Minister to give a clear assurance the Government is absolutely committed to the full roll-out of these programmes as agreed a considerable time ago.

Deputy Richard Bruton

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Pascal Donohoe, who is before a committee.

The Irish Government remains firmly committed to the full and successful implementation of the PEACE and INTERREG programmes. I am aware of the Deputies' interest in the issue and the Minister and I share their commitment to this important area of North-South co-operation. Just yesterday, the Minister’s officials met representatives of the east Border region and gave them a full briefing on the work that we have been doing to protect the PEACE and INTERREG programmes from the consequences of Brexit.

The Government is proud of its role in securing EU funding for a fourth PEACE programme. Along with its sister INTERREG programme, it will see investment of more than €500 million in the region over the period from 2014 to 2020. The programmes have made an enormous contribution to cross-Border co-operation and remain important drivers of regional development in a cross-Border context. More than this, support for the programmes is a key element of the European Union's continuing commitment to the process of peace building and reconciliation over the last quarter of a century. This is a key point that should not be lost sight of.

Earlier this month at the British-Irish Association in Oxford, the Taoiseach put the role of the EU in supporting the peace process, including through the Special EU Programmes Body and EU funding, at the top of his list of issues that need to be addressed to protect the Good Friday Agreement. The UK’s decision to leave the EU will obviously have implications for two programmes that are 85% funded by the European Union, just as it will have implications for all programmes supported by the EU budget. This has created huge uncertainty for everyone involved in the programmes, and the solutions will be neither simple nor easy. The risks to the programmes were identified by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform as a result of the contingency planning undertaken prior to the referendum, so that starting on day one, 24 June 2016, officials began working with the Northern Ireland Executive, the Special EU Programmes Body and the European Commission to establish the basis on which the programmes can continue to be implemented. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, has discussed the matter with the Minister, Mr. Ó Muilleoir, at the North-South Ministerial Council. They have been in correspondence and I understand they plan to speak in the coming days.

The Minister is aware of assurances given by the Treasury on a whole range of EU-funded projects as a response to widespread concern in the UK about the consequences of Brexit. In the case of Structural Funds projects, however, these assurances only relate to projects approved in the normal course prior to the Chancellor's autumn statement in this coming November. As I am sure the Deputies will agree, we would be concerned at any suggestion that it would not be possible to continue to approve projects beyond then. We appreciate there is an anxiety to see letters of offer issue to applicants as soon as possible, but the UK's decision to leave the EU has, as we predicted, raised all sorts of uncertainty. It would be foolhardy to proceed before everyone concerned, including programme beneficiaries, funding Departments and the Commission itself, all understand the nature of the financial commitments they are being asked to enter into for projects that may extend beyond the UK exit from the EU.

The personal commitment of the Minister, Mr. Ó Muilleoir, to the programmes is well known, but we will nevertheless be looking for assurances from him that approval for projects will be able to continue beyond the Chancellor’s autumn statement. It is important that his officials work with ours to address the complex problems thrown up by the referendum result, so that project beneficiaries can be made robust offers of funding that will survive the consequences of Brexit.

While there are complex financial, technical and legal issues that need to be worked through, let there be no doubt about this Government’s commitment to the successful implementation of the programmes. The programmes are a long-term project and we are in this for the long haul.

Deputy Declan Breathnach

I welcome the Minister's response, but I put it to him that the planning process for any project takes a considerable lead-in time and considerable delivery time. The reality is the Irish Government needs to get a commitment from the EU for the continuation of projects, at least on the southern side. After the Chancellor's budget on 18 November, if the British Government is serious about the peace process and the importance of co-operation North and South, it is incumbent on the Government to ensure the money is ring-fenced. If we do not plan the projects it is no good stating that it will be for two years as has been suggested by the Department; it is not a case of live horse and you will get grass. If we want to get projects off the ground we must have a commitment right through. This is what is needed if people firmly believe in the peace process and believe that it is about getting on as a community on these islands, North and South. Everybody should sign up to it regardless of Brexit.

Deputy Brendan Smith

I thank the Minister for his reply. As the Minister is aware, uncertainty will kill off the best interests of the people involved in these programmes. They work on a voluntary basis to better their local communities. In many instances, they create local employment to provide better services and better facilities for, in the main, disadvantaged communities on both sides of the Border. It is essential that the Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Noonan, make direct contact with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Mr. Hammond, MP, regarding this issue. The Taoiseach needs to continue to pursue it with the British Government and the President of the European Commission. This is relatively small money in the scheme of things when one considers the expenditure incurred by the European Commission, but it is hugely important for areas that need investment which have been so adversely affected by trouble over the years. We have made progress on this island and much progress is still needed in these disadvantaged communities. We need to try to ensure social infrastructure is not lost through these programmes not being rolled out fully. There is a need for the Government to give an absolute message and commitment that there will be no dilution or delay in having these projects proceed. We must seek this assurance from the European Commission and the British Government. If uncertainty prevails the entire programmes will fall.

Deputy Richard Bruton

The Deputies recognise that between us, North and South contribute 15%, and 85% comes from the EU. There is absolutely no question about the Irish Government's commitment to this project. The issue continues to be that we need to have clarity about the EU's commitment and the UK's commitment. Both of these must be in place for us to give the type of assurances the Deputies require. This is what we are striving to achieve. The guarantee offered by the Chancellor is limited in its time, and it does not deal explicitly with what happens after the UK has left the European Union. This needs to be clarified to know exactly where these projects stand in respect of this contribution. We also need to know exactly what the EU commitment is in respect of cases where a member state has left and programmes are outstanding. We are absolutely committed to it, but the Deputies can see why it is imperative the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform achieves, through discussions North and South and with the UK and EU, the line of sight we need to give assurances to communities that these projects, which are so important, can be fulfilled. This is what he is working to achieve.

Traveller Accommodation

Deputy Bríd Smith

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle agus leis na Teachtaí a rinne na hathruithe chun an t-ábhar seo a phlé níos luaithe.

I have been watching the broadcast of the Committee of Public Accounts meeting on NAMA. It is unfortunate that the Minister for Housing, Planning, Environment and Local Government is not present. While I was thinking of what to say to him, the figure of €190 million that may have been miscalculated in selling off the NAMA portfolio in the North kept ringing through my brain. Today's edition of The Irish Times reported that since January, the 23 families who were evicted by armed gardaí on trucks from Woodlands Park halting site outside Dundalk have not been rehoused in full. Seven families currently live on the side of the road without access to toilet or water facilities or electricity and three of the families have children under the age of ten. I spoke to another family who parked their caravan beside their mother's place somewhere in County Cavan and they do a 100 km round trip every day to get the kids to school because the one constant in their lives is the school in Dundalk. They are hopeful that they will be rehoused and looked after in the town.

Last March, when funding was meant to have been released to the local authority, the families were promised that Woodlands Park would be refurbished and they would be rehoused by October. Kitty Holland of The Irish Times went on to the site yesterday where some men were looking at maps and papers. When she asked what was happening, they said the job should start next week and would be completed in 12 weeks, which brings us right up to the new year and the harshest part of the winter. The seven families living on the side of the road are indicative of what happens in respect of Traveller accommodation in this country. I chaired the local Traveller accommodation consultative committee, LTACC, on Dublin City Council for six years and I never experienced as much obfuscation, hesitation and deliberate twisting of figures, facts and promises in my role as a councillor until my final year on the council when the staffing changed and different officers were put in charge. This is the experience of Travellers in every local authority area and the figures bear it out. In 2008, €40 million was allocated to Traveller accommodation. This was reduced to €4 million by 2013 while last year, €4.3 million was allocated. The National Task Force on Traveller Accommodation in 1995 highlighted the need for 3,100 new Traveller units. Less than 10% of that number has been delivered two decades later. There is a now a need for 3,741 units. In my experience as a local authority representative, it was like pulling teeth to get money to refurbish houses that were badly needed for families and to get basic facilities such as bays, toilet facilities and water services installed in Labre Park, Ballyfermot.

I wanted to make a plea to the Minister, Deputy Coveney, on behalf of Rebecca Quinn from Dundalk to whom I have just spoken. She met him and other political party representatives in May and she was promised that the sun, moon and stars would be delivered. Since then, she has written to the Tánaiste, the Taoiseach, the Ministers for Health and Children and Youth Affairs and several times to Deputy Coveney and she has rung his office but she has been ignored by everybody.

An Ceann Comhairle

I thank the Deputy.

Deputy Bríd Smith

The only answer she gets from the Minister is, "My officials will meet you". She does not want to meet the officials because nothing moves. I will back her up 1,000% on that because nothing moves until somebody is shown up or has to pay for this. The seven families have to be accommodated. Work has to start immediately and with urgency on the Woodlands Park site and the money required has to be allocated.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy's time is up.

Deputy Bríd Smith

Somebody needs to stand over Louth County Council with a big stick and ensure it does not hide behind some other obfuscation and misuse of facts.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Deputy's time has elapsed.

Deputy Declan Breathnach

On a point of order, the Deputy is not correct. As a former member of Louth County Council, I know every effort is being made to accommodate those families. There are huge difficulties there.

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government (Deputy Damien English)

I am grateful for the opportunity to address the House on the important matter of Traveller accommodation. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for the opportunity to correct the record. The senior Minister could not be present and he sends his apologies. I work with him in the Department and I am here on his behalf. He is directly involved in this issue. The Minister is not in the business of promising "the sun, moon and stars". That is not what he does and it is unfair to say that. Most people will at least respect the fact that he is genuine in what he tries to do. We are trying to tackle a housing crisis and it is a genuine attempt. He does not promise "the sun, moon and stars". If the Deputy wants to be helpful, she should leave that rhetoric out of the debate.

Deputy Bríd Smith

It is a relative term. It could mean a home.

Deputy Damien English

It is not relative; it is a silly way of approaching any issue.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Minister of State should not engage with the Deputy and just answer the question.

Deputy Damien English

I should clarify that Louth County Council is the authority with statutory responsibility for the assessment of accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and implementation of Traveller accommodation programmes, TAPs, in the Louth area. Following the removal of families from Woodlands Park halting site in January, the county council commenced a review of its Traveller accommodation programme 2014-2018 to facilitate all households and families who wished to make applications to be considered for housing or amend their accommodation type choice. The LTACC is currently meeting with regard to this review. It is important, as we discuss this, that we do not undermine the key role of the committee in this process.

A media report published today suggests that seven families are on the roadside with no water supply. Louth County Council is aware of four caravans that have been placed at Naughton's Close, approximately 1 km from the Woodlands Park site. The council is not satisfied that these caravans are occupied. I understand the council is currently investigating the situation to bring some clarity to the matter. The media report also suggests that the seven families are among a number of families removed from Woodlands Park halting site in January this year. While the families' representative claimed that there were 23 families on site at the time of the initial removal, only 15 families presented to Louth County Council seeking alternative accommodation.

Since the removals, the council has met with every family who presented to them seeking accommodation. In line with housing regulations, where the council considered that a family's housing needs were being met in other accommodation, they were not provided with emergency hotel or bed and breakfast accommodation. However, of the 15 families who presented to the council following the removals from the Woodlands Park site in January, 14 have since been accommodated through various social housing supports including housing assistance payment, social and voluntary housing, and emergency bed and breakfast accommodation. One family is no longer receiving support as they have refused two offers of accommodation from the council.

Immediately following the removals from Woodlands Park, and in advance of the review of its Traveller accommodation plan, the council formed the view that there would be likely demand for a halting site in the area and, accordingly, sought financial support from my Department to refurbish the Woodlands Park site. This was granted and the council has advised my Department that work on the site commenced last Monday morning, as scheduled. Accordingly funding will be provided by my Department in line with the approved budget for these works. Offers of accommodation on the site will be made by the council over the coming weeks with likely occupation before year end.

I have every confidence that Louth County Council will continue to work with the Traveller families, the LTACC and all concerned to ensure that the accommodation needs of Travellers in the area are met.

Deputy Bríd Smith

I am sorry if I rudely interrupted the Minister of State. The expression "sun, moon and stars" is relative and, in this case, it could mean the supply of water or electricity or a simple home. Obviously, I do not say there is a demand for, or a request for, lavish expense on Travellers similar to that which is often lavishly expended on other sectors of society but, like everybody else, Travellers deserve to have their human rights fulfilled. Despite the obfuscation in the Minister of State's reply on the part of Louth County Council regarding the number of families and whether they are living on the roadside, families are being deprived of a decent place to live and plans were presented to the families following their eviction.

As chairperson of the Dublin City Council LTACC, I attended a special meeting with departmental officials and we were told that when the fire service took part in the audit of all the halting sites around the country, no evictions would ensue without alternative accommodation being provided. However, this is not what happened in Dundalk and, all this time later, families are still waiting for the site to be refurbished.

I resent the way the Minister of State said, as if it were in brackets, "as scheduled". That is not what the original schedule said. It said that it would be ready by October, not that it would begin in October. Now we have to put these families on the side of the road through the winter without the building being completed as was promised. I repeat the request from Rebecca Quinn. She wants to meet the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney. I understand the difficulty as I am also a busy woman and find it difficult to arrange an appointment to meet somebody, although I am not nearly as important as he is. I am probably more important than he is in some ways. He has a duty to meet that woman. Since the last meeting they have been let down left, right and centre. She represents Dundalk Travellers and has repeatedly requested a meeting with the Minister, so I ask him to spare the time to meet her rather than fob her off to representatives of his Department.

Deputy Damien English

I again thank the Deputies for their comments and observations and assure them that I am committed to ensuring that Traveller accommodation needs will be met in a safe and sustainable way. I reiterate that safety on halting sites is paramount and I hope that Travellers will feel reassured by the steps that are being taken by my Department in the context of the review of fire safety programmes in Traveller accommodation. Members will be aware that my Department published the report only last week.

While recognising broader issues related to Traveller accommodation, the review process focused on life safety and on the fire safety measures which are perceived to be the most effective in protecting life safety among the Travellers. Recognising that what has been done is a first stage in a process which needs to be mainstreamed into ongoing work programmes, the report makes a number of recommendations to clarify recommended approaches and to embed the issue of fire safety in Traveller accommodation into future work programmes. One of the key recommendations to emerge from the report is that in order to mainstream fire safety as an ongoing item, it should be included as a standing item at all local Traveller accommodation consultative committee, LTACC, meetings. At the same time, it is recommended that oversight of the LTACC's role in relation to fire safety in Traveller accommodation be added to the brief of the national Traveller accommodation consultative committee, NTACC. The NTACC will seek regular updates that LTACCs are meeting this requirement.

I assure the House that my Department will continue to support and work with local authorities and national Travellers' representative groups to ensure the continued provision of safe and secure accommodation for Travellers, in accordance with their choice, and through the comprehensive local and national collaborative structures which are in place. Work has begun on site and money has been allocated. We expect people to be housed there before the end of the year.

Urban Renewal Schemes

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for affording me the opportunity to raise this very important issue for both our constituencies. This story goes back almost ten years. The cranes that have been stalled in suspended animation in Naas are an unnecessary symbol that we must hope will go away soon. Approaching the town from all angles, locals and visitors alike are confronted with the sight of a town centre that has stalled in its development. It has had a negative effect on the town because it gives a negative appearance to the town and it would appear that nobody cares. I know that not to be true but for one reason or another, negotiations have been taking place now for ten years, or have not been taking place as the case may be, with a view to bringing together all the various strands that have been outstanding for all that time in respect of wayleaves, CPOs. There has been an issue in respect of arbitration, which started a year ago to resolve one of the outstanding issues. Mysteriously, and in an extraordinary fashion, it disappeared and is to be resumed next spring. It would have been much more efficient and effective and would have given a much greater impression of animated activity and of there being a degree of concentration on the job, if the process had been concluded.

The local authority is awaiting developments as the arbitration will not start again until next spring but in the meantime, matters remain the same. There are numerous offers and options available to further the development in the event of the problems being resolved, so I ask the Minister to use his influence within his Department to influence local officials, although they do not actually need to be influenced, and to influence officials in adjoining Ministries to the greatest possible extent to move the process forward again and to remove the obstacle to the development of the town which has had an unnecessary psychological effect on the town's development. It is one of the country's best provincial towns and there is no reason that image cannot continue but the longer the cranes remain static on the horizon, the longer their image will prevail.

I ask that every effort be made between now and the end of this session to regenerate the activity that should be taking place now, thereby eliminating the issues that have strangled the centre of the town for so long.

Deputy Damien English

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and giving me the opportunity to outline the position from my point of view and that of the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, regarding town centre development in Naas. I had the opportunity to view the site with Deputy Durkan and county council officials on Tuesday during my visit to Naas County Council. I can see exactly what the problem is and if I was not convinced before of the urgency with which this needs to be addressed, I am now. As Minister of State with responsibility for urban renewal and urban regeneration, this is not something I want to continue and it has to be dealt with. It is a fine site in a very busy, functioning and competitive town with a lot to offer.

As indicated in earlier replies on this matter, the management of stalled development in Naas is a matter for Kildare County Council in the first instance. I am informed by Kildare County Council that the securing of a satisfactory conclusion to the development of the Naas town centre site has been a particular focus of its efforts over the past number of years. In this context the council, on foot of arbitration procedures, has successfully completed an agreement with one of two site owners relating to the provision of roads infrastructure to service the town centre site. The arbitration case relating to the second site owner remains to be heard by the property arbitrator. I understand that the hearing in this case is not scheduled to take place until April 2017, due to the property arbitrator's caseload. Everyone involved, however, is trying to deal with this as urgently as possible and Kildare County Council and my Department are certainly treating it with urgency.

In parallel with these arbitration cases, Kildare County Council has also been involved in ongoing discussions with the owner of the town centre site and his agents with a view to advancing the development of the site as early as possible. The council continues to encourage both the financial institutions that have a controlling interest in the site and the owner of the site to either apply for planning permission for development on the site or to offer the site for sale on the open market. I am informed that this is the key action required at this time to secure progress in regard to this project.

The Minister's role in relation to planning and development generally is mainly to provide and update the legislative and policy guidance framework, including in relation to national urban policy. He has no mandate in relation to individual town centre developments which, as I have outlined, are a matter for the relevant local authority. Numerous initiatives have been undertaken by Government to stimulate urban renewal and address urban blight and decay, which has been one of the main negative legacies of our recent economic difficulties. Even before that, urban decay had started in many rural areas. The initiatives have been set out for the Deputy in the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 373 of 17 May 2016. We are trying to drive this on and we had a very productive meeting of our steering committee to develop a new policy and to find ways to regenerate our towns, villages and inner cities, in the greater Dublin region and beyond. With the movement of people in the past 30 years towns have really been under pressure and while this site is slightly different, there is the same necessity to deal with it.

The combination of these many measures and initiatives, building on those of the previous Government, is evidence of the commitment of this Government to address town renewal issues generally. We will continue to progress such initiatives as appropriate, with a view to revitalising towns like Naas and assisting in their economic recovery in a planned and sustainable manner. We are trying to develop new policies and in our action plan, Rebuilding Ireland, there is a commitment to produce new initiatives before the end of the year and to publish them next year. We are also looking to strengthen the laws around derelict and inactive sites so we will hopefully have more powers to enable local authorities to deal with situations where there is neglect. Hopefully, those new initiatives will not be needed in the case of Naas and it will be dealt with before that.

The management of the stalled town centre development in Naas is mainly a matter for Kildare County Council. The council is in contact with our Department and we will continue that engagement to see where we can help. It might not be appropriate for the Minister, Deputy Coveney, at this time, in view of the arbitration process, but he said he will contact the Deputy to discuss it and what can be done.

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

The Ceann Comhairle and I readily recognise that tardiness in situations such as this does not help or impress. The Minister is concerned about such matters as well. Samuel Beckett famously wrote in this regard in "Waiting for Godot". The local authority has been waiting for quite a long time and the Ceann Comhairle and I know what that means in our respective constituencies. The Minister of State observed the famous cranes at very close quarters just two days ago. It was appropriate that he should have the opportunity to see what is happening there. The visual impact is one thing but the problem has continued for so long, hence the reference to "Waiting for Godot", that many people wonder if it will ever be resolved. The longer it continues, the worse the problem becomes in terms of the debilitating effect it has on the town, physically and psychologically. Between now and the end of this session, every effort should be made by all of the authorities involved to bring matters to a conclusion, once and for all. Instead of waiting for Godot into the future, we can say Godot is here.

An Ceann Comhairle

Follow that, Minister.

Deputy Damien English

I will just bow out at this stage. I agree with Deputy Durkan that this matter must be dealt with. If there is anything the Department can do, it will be done where appropriate. In some of these matters, it might not be appropriate. However, I and the Minister, Deputy Coveney, have heard the message loud and clear from Deputy Durkan and others that it must be dealt with very soon. That is only fit and proper, so we will do all we can on the issue from our end.