Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 10 Nov 2016

Vol. 928 No. 2

Topical Issue Debate

Regional Development Initiatives

Deputy Peter Burke

I thank the Minister for taking this matter. On 30 June the local representatives in Mullingar received details from the legal adviser of Imperial Tobacco that the factory intended to close and relocate its manufacturing to the Netherlands. The decision meant the loss of 87 jobs, which were good strong jobs in Mullingar whose loss had a generational impact throughout the town. I demand that the Government take strong action to ensure the site vacated by Imperial Tobacco is utilised to the best of its ability and ensure we get a replacement industry on the site. It is important that Enterprise Ireland or the IDA acquire the building. We often see roll-outs of advance factory units but this is a ready-made unit of 10,000 sq. m on a very large site in the area.

It is important we take action immediately. I spoke to representatives from the unions and dealt with a number of employees post the closure of the plant and during the 30-day consultation process and I understand what they are going through. We need to ensure a clear plan is in place. The IDA is very busy with its programme for foreign direct investment and areas in the midlands such as Mullingar get overlooked. I demand that we change this in government. We need to deliver for areas in our regional action plan for jobs and to ensure we get tangible action.

Can the Minister say how negotiations with the management of Imperial Tobacco are going? How advanced are talks with Enterprise Ireland and the IDA and what progress has been made? It is easy to say something is included in a strategy but we need to see tangible progress. I have put down parliamentary questions on the issue and would appreciate an update from the Minister on how things stand at the moment.

We have a huge IDA park in Mullingar and Patterson Pumps is in situ. I have been dealing with a number of firms which are considering locating in the park. Some may not be from the normal foreign direct investment background but are indigenous home-grown firms considering relocating due to expansion issues. The IDA needs to make its property section available to deal with these people as there is a sense in some areas that such action is delayed. There are delays in getting back to people and prices are going up while decisions are not getting over the line on time. We need to have an emphasis on issues within the property management section of the IDA and to ensure that things are being dealt with appropriately and on time.

The Imperial Tobacco group was in operation in Mullingar from 1967 and there was a generational aspect to the factory: fathers and other relatives of employees had also worked there. We need to work hard to get a replacement industry for them. It is incumbent on us to get a good regional spread and we have to learn the lessons of the recent general election which were that Dublin was expanding rapidly but going west it was harder. The further west one goes, one can see that towns have paid a huge price so we need a renewed emphasis on that.

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. First, I should point out that the factory concerned is not under the ownership of Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland. The owner of the facility is not a client of either agency. Both agencies are aware of the factory's availability. They have engaged with the relevant parties about marketing the facility as suitable for potential investors. The property has also been included on the IDA's database of available office and manufacturing properties in County Westmeath.

While Enterprise Ireland does not purchase property for its clients, it is working with enterprise development partners regarding the building's future. Both agencies are available to assist potential clients who may require premises for investment in the area to view the property.

In addition to assisting with the facility concerned, IDA Ireland is marketing Mullingar and the midlands for new investment. The IDA works to encourage its client companies in the area to grow and embed their businesses. In terms of enterprise development in the midlands, and in Mullingar in particular, Enterprise Ireland supports entrepreneurs who are setting up start-up companies in manufacturing and internationally traded services. Enterprise Ireland is also focused on the creation of new jobs by working with established client companies in the midlands. Additionally, Westmeath local enterprise office is available to assist people with a business idea and who want to consider self-employment as a career option.

There is clearly potential for job creation in County Westmeath. Earlier this year, I visited Mullingar where I met the local Chamber of Commerce and visited the IDA business park. This allowed me to see, at first hand, what the county has to offer to investors. The work by Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the Westmeath local enterprise office is part of a wider Government push to create jobs across the regions.

The action plan for jobs for the midland region was launched in June 2015. Its core objective is the creation of an extra 14,000 jobs across counties Longford, Westmeath, Offaly and Laois by 2020. The midlands plan includes a series of actions aimed at attracting at least 25 additional multinational investment projects to the region by 2019, building a second advance facility for County Westmeath in 2017, appointing an IDA regional manager for the region, and actions to ensure that key IDA personnel overseas have enhanced knowledge and marketing plans for the midlands.

I believe that if we deliver on the midlands action plan process we will create the job opportunities to meet local and regional needs.

Deputy Peter Burke

I am aware that ownership of the site is not in the control of Enterprise Ireland or the IDA but we are talking about delivering an advance factory unit to Westmeath in 2017 and this unit is 10,000 sq. m in size and stands on a site of 8.5 ha. It is a large, ready-made site which can deliver a manufacturing facility into Mullingar. A total of 16 client companies from the IDA employ 2,300 people within the Mullingar area but we need to ensure that we attract further investment into the county and I would be grateful if the Minister would drive this idea. I have met a number of client companies in the Mullingar area which are looking to relocate and expand. We need to ensure the property management section of the IDA is delivering with such people as well as working hard with them. We also need strongly to encourage home-grown, indigenous businesses that are expanding.

Can the Minister investigate whether Mullingar can be designated a centre of excellence for robotics? This is a huge area and I am aware of one company the representatives of which met the Minister at the ploughing championships and which has a huge portfolio of international customers. If we have a hub like I have suggested, we could drive such enterprise forward. Will the Minister put this into the regional action plan for jobs? It would drive Mullingar and the midlands forward as it is a unique area which can attract investment. This particular company has the skill set for this niche area whereby we can bring manufacturing to a new level. Manufacturing has changed over the past number of years and has become much more advanced.

Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor

The IDA does not own the facility but it is selling it by promoting it, as is Enterprise Ireland, and I will make sure it is on the top of their list. We have an action plan for regional development in the area and we are pushing it as much as possible. I will take on board the Deputy's suggestion about Mullingar being a centre of excellence.

I visited Mullingar and I was very impressed by what is going on there in terms of the development of skills through the education and training boards, ETBs, and Athlone Institute of Technology. I am hopeful that we can secure a replacement industry at the location. I will do my best to ensure that happens. Senator Gabrielle McFadden has also spoken to me about this particular site, so it is high on my list of targets.

Schools Building Projects

Deputy Sean Fleming

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important issue of the timeline in respect of two new schools projects in Portlaoise, St. Francis special school and a new second level school. It is well known and well documented that there has been a major increase in the population in County Laois, and in Portlaoise in particular, over the past ten to 20 years. According to the last two censuses, outside of the major cities, Portlaoise was the fastest growing stand-alone town in Ireland. There has been substantial investment for schools in the town in recent years, many of which have commenced or are under construction.

I am seeking a timeline from the Minister, Deputy Bruton, in regard to the replacement building for St. Francis special school which is currently located on the Timahoe Road. This school has 90 mild to moderate educationally challenged students. It is a special school. The children who attend it are special and so, too, are the teachers but they have been in the current building a long time. As part of schools development in Portlaoise, one of the existing primary schools, St. Paul's national school, is being relocated. The patron, through the parish and the bishop, have made the St. Paul's site available for the new St. Francis special school. I hope that this site will be vacated as soon as possible.

I am asking the Minister to do everything in his power to ensure the process in respect of construction of the new St. Francis special school is progressed quickly because the St. Paul's school site will be vacated next year. Earlier today I spoke to Fr. Paddy Byrne of the board of management and he told me that the project is at initial design stage. The chairman and board of management, along with the teachers, staff, parents and pupils are looking forward to the provision of this new school as quickly as possible.

The current school building is old and includes many prefabs. New prefabs were purchased recently and I understand an application for emergency funding to allow certain works to be completed, such that the school is in a reasonable condition until such time as it is vacated, is awaiting approval. The reason I am asking about this school in particular is that most of the other school projects have either be given the go ahead or are progressing. St. Francis special school caters for children with mild to moderate educationally challenged students, who cannot be left behind. For this reason, I ask that the Minister apply pressure to ensure the timeline is adhered to.

In regard to the second level school, the Minister recently announced that the new patronage of that school will be the Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board in conjunction with a gaelscoil. I attended a meeting several months ago at which applications were being put together locally in relation to that patronage. I am pleased that this is going ahead because ultimately it was the only application submitted from the town and there is general support from everybody for it. The current CBS and Scoil Chriost Rí convent school are overflowing. I am told both schools having waiting lists of 40 students for next year.

We already have a new college in Portlaoise which is run by the ETB. It is important now that the patrons have been announced and a site has been identified at the old Centrepoint shopping centre on the Mountrath Road, which is close to Portlaoise college, that work on the new school commences as soon as possible. They are the two school projects that are in the system for Portlaoise. I urge the Minister to keep the pressure on to ensure they are progressed. I would also like to make the case for a new school for Kolbe special school which caters for students with profound physical and other challenges. There may be an opportunity for joined-up thinking in terms of the co-location of the Kolbe and St. Francis special schools on the site that will be vacated by St. Paul's national school. There is an excellent opportunity to accommodate both schools on that site.

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton)

I thank Deputy Sean Fleming for raising this issue, which illustrates that Portlaoise is at the acute end of a problem being experienced across the country generally. This year, provision is being made for 20,000 additional school places, which is indicative of the pressure of growing populations. I acknowledge that Laois and Portlaoise in particular have been at the sharp end of those pressures.

The Deputy will be aware that a major building project to provide a new post-primary school in Portlaoise is included in my six-year construction programme 2016-2021 and is listed to proceed to tender and construction stages in 2019-2021. The Deputy is also aware that I announced the patronage of the new post-primary schools to open in 2017 and 2018 on 3 November last. In the case of Portlaoise, the patron will be Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board with An Foras Pátrúnachta as trustee partner. The new post-primary school will cater for 1,000 pupils when fully established, which is intended to meet current and future demand at post-primary level in future years.

Deputy Fleming is aware that my Department is working with officials from Laois County Council under the memorandum of understanding in relation to the acquisition process for a suitable permanent site for the school. A number of suitable sites have been identified and technically assessed and engagement with the landowner with respect to one of these options has commenced. However, as I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, there are sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally and I am not, therefore, in a position to provide further information at this time.

In regard to St. Francis special school, Portlaoise, a major project is included on my six-year construction programme 2016-2021 with the proposed project to be progressed with a view to proceeding to tender and construction stages in 2018. Following a consultation process with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, it was decided that the project is to deliver a new 12 classroom school to facilitate pupils with mild and moderate general learning disability and ASD. Officials from my Department met representatives of the school’s board of management, together with the patron’s representative in September. With the full support of the patron, it is proposed that the project will deliver a new school building on the site currently occupied by St. Paul’s national school on Borris Road, Portlaoise. The permanent building on this site, which is currently occupied by St. PauI's national school will be demolished as part of the project. The schedule of accommodation for the proposed new school issued to the school authorities and has been favourably received. It is expected that the project will shortly commence the early stages of architectural planning.

Deputy Fleming is aware that St. Paul's national school is one of three primary schools that are being amalgamated. A building project to provide two new 24 classroom schools to accommodate the newly amalgamated schools is expected to be completed towards the end of this year or early next year. The two 24 classroom schools being built are located on a shared campus on parish lands at Aghnaharna. St. Paul's national school will remain at its current premises until such time as the new school is completed and ready for occupation. The Deputy will recognise that the Department is working hard to ensure that these various projects fall in sequence so that we can deliver for the children in Portlaoise. I can assure the Deputy of the commitment of the Department to keep this project moving swiftly. I hope this meets the Deputy's concerns.

Deputy Sean Fleming

I want to acknowledge the work that has been carried out by the Department in recent years. When I first became a Deputy a number of years ago school accommodation in Portlaoise was very poor. I am satisfied that at the end of this building programme Portlaoise will have the finest suite of new primary and second level schools, which will be the best in the country. The three second level schools currently in the town were built in recent years. As the Minister said, two new parish schools are being built. Over the past couple of years a new gaelscoil, an Educate Together school and a Church of Ireland school were built. This is because of the increase in population in the area and not because Laois is looking for more. There has been huge growth in the population of Laois as a result of the overflow of people from Dublin and the surrounding areas. We must have good schools to meet the needs of all of the people who come from the county or come to live in it.

It is important we keep the pressure on in regard to the projects mentioned.

The Minister referred to St. Paul's and we hope it will be vacated next year and that we can move on to the demolition phase and the planning for the St. Francis special school. Due to the special needs of those students, people feel they should not be left behind. I ask the Minister to pay special attention to that.

The two new 24-classroom schools in Aughnaharna that the Minister is building as part of the parish school programme are being built as we speak. I have a genuine fear, however, that they will not be big enough and that we will be back looking for an extension. All I can hope is that the architects who have planned the two new schools to amalgamate three existing national schools at a single site have made provision such that extensions may be added quickly when the time comes. Not too many towns are getting an increase in second level schools for 1,000 people. The same is happening at primary level. I encourage the Minister to ensure that the new secondary school goes ahead as soon as possible. I make a last appeal to the Minister not to forget the Kolbe special school. They are all people with profound physical and other difficulties and they need to be looked after. They could be accommodated on the vacant site of St. Paul's, which is a matter I will come back to with the Minister on another day.

Deputy Richard Bruton

I acknowledge the Deputy's congratulations to the Department. Some of the new schools are extraordinary quality environments for learning and it is great to be in a position to fund them. I presume the architectural design of the schools is well advanced and it may be too late to pass on the Deputy's suggestion that they should be open to new expansion. Nevertheless, I will alert the building unit to the Deputy's concern. I assure him that we are very committed to maintaining the momentum behind this. We secured some additional funding in this and last years' budgets which recognises the pressures there are in areas like Portlaoise. We are determined to meet those.

Public Transport Fares

Deputy Catherine Murphy

The recently announced increases in suburban rail fares are due to come into effect on 1 December. The scale of some of the increases is sizable and disproportionately affects one train line. The original destination zones along the line from Maynooth to Dublin city centre showed a clear pattern of having been pushed out by one zone into a more expensive price structure. Leixlip was in zone 3 but is now in zone 4 if one travels to the city. Even short hop journeys have had their original destination zones changed. Leixlip Confey to Maynooth is now considered to be a zone 3 trip meaning that local journeys are now stuck with disproportionately high fares, which puts people off using the service. Leap card users on the route will now pay an extra 37 cent per trip. There are 11,000 students attending college in Maynooth and 45% of them originate in Dublin west or north Kildare. It is not just people commuting to work and students who are affected. There is a good mix of people who will be impacted.

The aim appears to be to rebalance the original destination zones and if that was fair, it would be one thing. However, the result is that a significant number of people face substantial increases of between 16% and 18% from the original destination zones. Leixlip is 20 km from the city centre and there are two stations there whereas Bray is 34 km from the city centre. It is more expensive to go from the place that is 20 km from the city centre than from the place that is 34 km away. Even so, the town that is 34 km away has a better and more frequent service. There is certainly a reblance in terms of Sallins and Kilcock, which will have their fares reduced and will now come into the suburban service where they should have been in the first place. It is interesting to note that it is a shorter distance from Sallins to the city centre than from Bray, but the service terminates not in the city centre but at Heuston. Passengers must then get on the Luas for yet another journey. It is not even a comparable service in terms of quality.

One must ask if it is a fair increase given that distances do not seem to make a difference. It depends just on the location and the particular line involved. It now costs most people €36 per week or €145 per month just to get to work. It is a sizeable increase. Passenger journeys on trains have been increasing since 2014 and we all welcome that. There has been growth of 5% between 2015 and 2016 and it looks like the trend will continue. The commuter belt areas are those which show the greatest level of improvement. It is important that this continues because there is a significant congestion issue. One only has to listen to "AA Roadwatch" in the morning to know that the N4 and N7 feature every day. They are the roads which correlate to the two train lines to which I have referred. Congestion issues are increasing rapidly and there are obvious environmental impacts. Climate change comes into play in terms of meeting those targets. If we are going to make it more expensive and unattractive to use rail services, growth will not continue. I do not see the sense in it.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Shane Ross)

I thank Deputy Murphy for bringing this to my attention. I was aware of the changes in fares. I do not know why she picks on poor Bray, which happens to be my own nearest station, for this particular one.

Deputy Catherine Murphy

I thought the Minister would understand that.

Deputy Shane Ross

I understand and will certainly look at the need for consistency all around. The reason this has happened is that various stations have been moved from one zone to another and it is not purely, simply and clinically all a matter of distance. I will pass the message to NTA and see what sort of reply I get.

Last week, the National Transport Authority, NTA, published its fares determinations for the year ahead. These determinations are published annually by the NTA in line with its statutory powers under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008. It is important to note that this process and the powers afforded to the NTA are statutory ones and, much as I might like to have it, I do not have any function as Minister with regard to the level of fares. The statutory role of the NTA allows it independently to examine the level, scope and nature of fares across our public transport system. Since it assumed its regulatory powers in this area, the NTA has sought to simplify what was an extremely complicated and cumbersome system. The system differed from operator to operator and suffered from a myriad of different and sometimes overlapping fare types and offers. It was a system which also gave rise to numerous inconsistencies and anomalies. It may be that Deputy Murphy has pointed out some which still exist. I reassure Members that these fare determinations are not developed on a whim, but are rather a consequence of a strategy by the NTA to simplify and regularise how we charge for public transport services.

Fares are set with the aim of maintaining customer support and passenger numbers while ensuring financial stability for the operators. In recent years, a key thrust of the policy has been to encourage people to switch to Leap cards rather than cash fares. Members will agree that the development of the Leap card has been a great success and I am sure they all welcome the significant discounts it provides on fares across all modes of public transport. This year's fare determination sees no increases for around 75% of all passengers using our bus and rail services, which is a benefit to the majority. As part of the long-term strategy I spoke about a minute ago, the NTA has been seeking since 2012 to overhaul rail fares across the greater Dublin area network and to introduce a more logical and fair distance-based model. This has involved examining approximately 1,200 origin and destination station pairs across the entire network. The examination concluded that fares between some station pairs were set particularly low for various historic, commercial and operational reasons and were not in line with the fares other passengers were paying for journeys of similar distance.

This year the final 261 station pairs were examined, with the vast majority seeing a decrease in their fares for next year as a result. The overhaul has also included the inclusion of Sallins and Kilcock stations within the short hop zone, which will result in significant savings for the many people who use the stations. I have no doubt that Deputy Murphy welcomes those changes and the savings they will deliver to constituents in Kildare North.

However, inevitably a small number, 36 to be exact, or around 3% of the total number of possible fares, will see a fare increase. This is as a result of the previously unfair level of fares when compared with other station fares across the whole network. In terms of Leixlip, this means that the trip to Pearse Station in Dublin has been moved from zone 3 to zone 4. A single adult Leap fair will now cost €2.93, as opposed to €2.46. I am aware that some local media have reported increases to Maynooth-city centre fares. However, that is incorrect and there is no change in the cost of a single fare between Maynooth and the city centre.

Deputy Catherine Murphy

There are three ways to fund public transport and I accept that there is a statutory function for the NTA. One way is to increase fares. The other element is to reduce costs and the third is subvention. A decision has been made in the absence of adequate subvention, but it is a short-term strategy. Getting people onto public transport will save money in the long term by virtue of the kind of obligations for which we will have to shell out hard cash in terms of our climate obligations.

I welcome the changes to the Sallins and Kilcock fares. It was a disgrace that they were not included in the suburban area, given that they are suburban stations. I have made the argument for a long time that they were located outside of the suburban service when in fact they were suburban services. I do not want to pick on Bray, but one can choose a location and make a direct comparison. I would not increase fares. We need a reliable service, which is the first thing people want. We also have to have an affordable service. A direct comparison based on distance shows that the comparison is not fair, and it is a valid point to make.

The change that will come into effect regarding Kilcock cannot happen until mid-2017 because of technology in stations. The situation will, unfortunately, continue for another six months or so. The Maynooth train line was upgraded and capacity was doubled through funding from EU Structural Funds. The upgrade was sought, as part of the Luas package, because of the degree of congestion at the time, which made Dublin an unattractive place. We now have a good line, but we are making it unattractive for people to use it. It is a retrograde step.

Deputy Shane Ross

I would like to take up a couple of the Deputy's points. She is correct in that subvention, costs or an increase in revenue are the only solutions to the problem. I am sure the Deputy realises, as much as anybody else in the House, that the condition of Iarnród Éireann is worse than critical. We have an annual crisis. As a result, I have commissioned the rail review which will be released next week. It will address the three problems in the broader sense.

The Deputy will be aware that the subvention will increase for Íarnród Éireann next year. Increasing revenue by raising fares is not something of which I am in favour but, as the Deputy acknowledged, it is not something over which I have any great power. The net effect of this will not increase costs. Rather, it is an effort to be more equitable and measure fares as consistently as possible in terms of distance. That is done by categorising places into different zones.

The Deputy made a comparison with Bray, which is a particularly strong case. She knows I have a vested interest in the station - it is not in my constituency but it is on my doorstep. I will ask the NTA to examine that case and revert to the Deputy because it may be indicative of distances not being completely consistent throughout the country. One of the areas in her constituency is obviously suffering as a result. An adult journey from Heuston Station to Sallins in Naas which currently costs €8.70 will be reduced to €4.60 or €3.56.

Deputy Catherine Murphy

It was disgracefully high.

Deputy Shane Ross

It was very high but it has been reduced by half, which is a dramatic reduction. I am sure the Deputy is grateful for the saving of at least €4.10, or almost 50%. I am glad I was able to respond to her.

Drug and Alcohol Task Forces

Deputy Seán Crowe

I have tabled this Topical Issue matter because I want to discuss with the Minister of State the challenges faced by drugs task forces across the State as they prepare their multiannual strategic action plans. The official model we are using is outdated. It is based on opiate and heroin addiction policies and procedures model of 20 years ago and does not take into account or have sufficient understanding of today's challenges and the polydrug nature of today's drug users.

We would all accept that the drug problem has never been as bad as it is now. It is true to say that no town or village in Ireland does not have a drug problem. We do not seem to have any rural strategy on drugs.

I attended a drug task force meeting during the week, during which we were told that 679 people died from drug-related deaths in the State in 2015. The frustration expressed at the meeting was that if this happened in another area, such as road deaths, there would be uproar. We are not good at finding out how many people have died. In some cases, people die from toxicity or suicide rather than drug use.

The problem is much more overt nowadays. Many of those involved, such as runners, dealers, mules and those involved in intimidation are getting younger by the day. It is not surprising to see a ten year old child involved. There are no safe zones around schools, which are open territory, as is the Luas, bus routes, shopping centres, O'Connell Street and so on. In my constituency, An Garda Síochána Tallaght drugs unit comprised 31 people five years ago, but last year it was decreased to an all-time low of 16 members. The population is increasing, but the same level of services are in place and there is a large area to cover. The Tallaght drugs task force, of which I am a member, has seen its core funding slashed by successive Governments.

An added difficulty is that Departments, which are supposed to be part of the pillars of the drug strategy, including the Departments of Health, Education and Skills and Social Protection, do not attend meetings. In some cases, there is difficulty in getting representatives from the Garda or local authorities to attend. Different task forces have different problems.

Family support is supposed to be one of the pillars of the strategy, yet Tusla is not involved in discussions. The HSE attends many meetings, but again it depends on the task force. The issue involves more than one agency.

One of the gaps in the strategy is that those who should be involved in it are not sitting around the table. Drugs task forces now include alcohol in their remit, but no extra resources are provided for this extra work. There is a difficulty with addiction services. There is a gap in the service in terms of councillors. For example, there is one councillor in Tallaght. Needle exchange programmes are in place, but some community-based programmes have been told that insurance costs have increased from €1,500 to between €7,000 and €11,000. That is totally unacceptable.

There is a policy of ignoring the problem. The problem exists, but we tend to ignore the difficulties. I ask the Minister of State to respond to some of the issues I have raised.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Catherine Byrne)

I thank Deputy Crowe for raising the issue of the challenges faced by drug and alcohol task forces throughout the country. As the Deputy is aware, problem drug use continues to be one of the most significant challenges facing our country and it has become more complex than ever, with a wider range of drugs being abused. In line with the national drugs strategy, the Government is committed to continuing support for initiatives to tackle the drug problem.

I assure Deputy Crowe that every effort has been made to protect the budgets of drug and alcohol task forces in recent years. The overall allocation to drug and alcohol task forces for community based drugs initiatives this year is in excess of €27 million. This is the same overall level of funding allocated in 2015. It is a matter for task forces to ensure that the budget is effectively deployed to address current priorities and locally identified needs.

Following the 2011-12 review of drug task forces, increased responsibilities were given to task forces with regard to addressing the alcohol problem. In light of this expanded role, over €900,000 in additional funding has been made available to drug and alcohol task forces from the dormant accounts fund for substance misuse initiatives. These initiatives aim to promote healthier lifestyle choices throughout society with regard to alcohol by influencing and raising awareness of alcohol harm among the general population and specific risk groups. In addition, through the alcohol forum, training has been provided to a number of task forces in developing local alcohol action plans.

A key strength of the national drugs strategy is that it brings together the community, voluntary and statutory sectors to provide a collective response to the drugs problem. The task force model is a longstanding example of partnership in co-ordinating action at local level on substance misuse.

I am aware that there are many examples of excellent work being undertaken by many task forces across the country in addressing local drug problems. However, there is an onus on all task forces to play their part fully for the model to remain effective. In this regard, it is important that all statutory, community and voluntary stakeholders actively participate in the process.

I firmly believe that task forces should be clear on what is expected of them and that they should be given support to strengthen their capacity to meet the challenges ahead. With this in mind, the Department of Health has commissioned a performance measurement framework for task forces. This framework will provide a means of assessing the drugs situation in local communities so that task force resources can be more effectively targeted at underlying need. I am optimistic that this new framework will help task forces to strengthen their contribution to the new drugs strategy, which will come into force in 2017.

Deputy Seán Crowe

We all accept that the problem is getting worse. It is to be seen throughout the country. The first issue is that there is no real strategy outside of task force areas. I mentioned that key players are not sitting around the table. That needs to be addressed at Government level. Those stakeholders should be encouraged or forced to attend the meeting.

There is positive work happening in communities, but I detect that people are tired and exhausted from the challenges they face. One of the new challenges that has emerged in recent years is that of drug intimidation, which is widespread. Children, adults and grandparents experience it. This needs to be addressed and supports need to be given to communities that find themselves in that situation.

There used to be additional funding provided to the task forces to address emerging needs but that funding is no longer available. We are, therefore, not adapting to the changing nature of the drug problem. Dual analysis is a further issue. Is it a mental difficulty or is it an addiction? There is a shortage of skilled people to define the condition.

The overt nature of the problem is the most frightening aspect to this. On Hallowe'en night, a local drug dealer in my area organised a fireworks display that would have cost €40,000. They are buying up shops and businesses. That is the nature of the problem.

The situation has changed. We do not see the Criminal Assets Bureau getting involved or attending drug task force meetings, so we do not get any sense of there being joined-up thinking on the proper approach to the problem.

Acting Chairman (Deputy John Lahart)

Thank you, Deputy.

Deputy Seán Crowe

I will take just two more seconds. Four minutes is not enough to discuss this issue. We need a proper debate. This affects every Deputy and every person in the country.

Deputy Catherine Byrne

I agree with Deputy Crowe on a number of points. I am concerned about what is happening on the ground in terms of intimidation and the targeting of young people. They are being sucked into it and being made runners. Deputy Crowe is correct when he says they are as young as ten or 12 years of age. I have seen it myself. There are real issues on the ground that have to be addressed. I have plans to meet the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality and members of An Garda Síochána on this issue, although it is not part of my remit, because it links in with drugs.

Deputy Crowe raised a number of funding issues. He is correct that there has been a reduction in funding. However, since 2014, 2015 and 2016, the funding in Deputy Crowe's area, in particular, in Tallaght has remained the same. There was a public consultation on a national drugs strategy with meetings held throughout the country, including in Cork, Limerick, Carrick-on-Shannon, Dublin and Galway. There was a huge reaction and the response from the community sector, residents and all other stakeholders will form part of the national drugs strategy. I hope - indeed I tell the Deputy - it will be ready in January 2017.

I will be asking for multi-annual funding for the national drugs strategy. There are complications associated with drug addiction, methadone and so on. We have to take this issue seriously because it affects communities in every little town and village - even my own area - throughout the country. We have to put the proper structures in place to deal with it. I am willing to meet Deputies and Senators at any time to discuss any issue they may have and matters that it may be possible to incorporate in the national drugs strategy.