Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 23 Feb 2023

Vol. 1034 No. 2

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Bord na Móna

Deputy Barry Cowen

In the short time available, I wish to summarise where Bord na Móna has come from, where it is at and where it is going, and specifically thereafter to make a request of the Government as a result of ongoing changes.

Bord na Móna's remit and role as set down by the Government back in the 1940s was to create sustainable jobs and deliver local affordable sources of energy. It was gifted lands by many landowners who could not before that derive a livelihood or make a contribution to their communities' well-being. Bord na Móna delivered well on that remit. It built communities with their power plants on various bogs, engineering works, shops, briquette factories, horticultural products, waste management industries and the leasing of bogs and plots to many members of various communities, and ensured those regions' success. That newfound atmosphere of pride and wealth generation ensured that following generations had greater education choices and were enriched by culture and sport as their communities, villages and towns grew over the past 80 years.

The transition necessitated by climate change and decarbonisation sees a massive ongoing transition of 125,000 acres. I do not doubt the merits of the rewetting programme or the commercial acumen of investment in renewable power generation projects by Bord na Móna. Whether it is inland, offshore involving joint ventures or solar-based projects, all based on good planning practice, it can, is and will reap a reward for the State both commercially and in its efforts to address the unfortunate glaring energy deficiencies we have today.

I note the commitment of Bord na Móna to Edenderry Power to ensure that its role is continued by virtue of a €90 million investment. I welcome the 650 MW gas plant at Derrygreenagh. I am closely monitoring progress on the proposed energy park encompassing 3,000 ha of land in counties Offaly, Westmeath and Meath, where zero-carbon energy generation assets will locate with industrial-scale, high-demand energy users, such as data centres and storage facilities. I am aware of the impending cessation of operations at the briquette factory in Derrinlough, which is the last original core activity. I am conscious of the ongoing talks between management and unions to ensure relocation and training options are agreed. That makes now the opportune time for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to provide new grant aid for new windows and doors, together with boiler alterations, to accommodate hydrotreated vegetable oil and biogas fuels, ensuring a 50% reduction in emissions and a contribution by those households that otherwise would not have this.

As already stated, in the 1940s, landowners made lands available for the greater good of communities in the region. There is now a brilliant opportunity for Bord na Móna and the State to reciprocate and return that favour to communities. Community energy projects should not be confined to a 5 MW cap. The EU directive to be transposed into Irish law relating to community projects clearly states that such projects can compete on a level playing pitch with commercial projects. I am aware, for example, of a community development association in Ferbane which, in conjunction with the local council, expert ecologists and relevant engineering experts, has identified an area of land in the ownership of Bord na Móna which has access to relevant infrastructure which could generate, based on it partnering with the commercial sector, a return of €400,000 per annum to the respective community. This can and must be pursued and replicated at other locations.

I call on the Minister and Government to put in place a task force that can specifically recommend changes to the relevant legislation or the semi-State remit or terms of reference that may exist within the likes of Bord na Móna in order to ensure that such potential can be realised and bring communities together and make sure that they can participate in a demand-led drive towards energy provision that is lacking at present. We cannot wait, despite the good intentions and goodwill, and notwithstanding the work that has been done by Bord na Móna in that regard. There are lands that should be made available to the wider community and the commercial sector to allow them to be in a position to come out of this decarbonisation process far better than when they went into it.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (Deputy Ossian Smyth)

I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on these matters on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan. The Minister apologises for not being available to attend in person. I should point out that Bord na Móna is a commercial State company. Operational matters such as land use are the responsibility of the board and management team and not matters in which the Minister has any direct role or function.

Bord na Móna's repositioning as a climate solutions company has been progressing for many years and through its brown to green strategy, Bord na Móna is involved in renewable power generation, recycling, resource recovery and peatland rehabilitation. Peatlands play an important role in carbon storage. Rehabilitated peatlands in particular have the potential to contribute significantly to reducing emissions within the land use, land use change and forestry, LULUCF, sector. Peatlands cover approximately 21% of Ireland's landscape and contain approximately two thirds of Ireland's carbon stock. The peatland rehabilitation measures set out in the Climate Action Plan 2023 provide for the rehabilitation of 33,000 ha of Bord na Móna peatlands by 2025 and will contribute significantly to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions for the land use sector.

The commitment by the company to formally cease harvesting peat has allowed Bord na Móna to focus on challenges concerning energy supply, biodiversity and the circular economy. As we are all aware, the electricity sector faces an immense challenge to meet its requirements under the sectoral emissions ceilings. Electricity will play an important role in the decarbonisation of other sectors through electrification, including transport, heating, and industry. The Climate Action Plan 2023 sets out a number of actions to accelerate the development of offshore wind, onshore wind, and solar through a competitive framework to reach 80% of electricity demand from renewable electricity by 2030. This targets 6 GW of onshore wind and up to 5 GW of solar by 2025.

Bord na Móna is constructing two of Ireland's largest wind farms. These will generate sufficient electricity to power 120,000 homes. The investment involved is €250 million. These projects form part of the company's ten-year plan to invest in excess of €1.6 billion in renewable energy infrastructure and generating assets to position the company as the country's leading renewable energy business.

Across its 80,000 ha land bank, Bord na Móna operates more than 30 different sites and public amenities, including Lough Boora Discovery Park and Mountlucas Wind Farm. At its peak, Boora supplied over 1 million tonnes of peat every year, helping power Ireland's industries and homes. Lough Boora is now a sanctuary for wildlife and an amenity for the community. This former cutaway bog has been transformed into a haven for biodiversity and includes 50 km of walking and cycling trails, a 40 ha sculpture park, a modern visitor centre and an array of lakes for fishing and recreation. The 1,100 ha wind farm at Mountlucas is home to a growing abundance of plant and animal species. The wind farm includes an interactive learning hub for school and private guided tours, and 10 km of walking and cycling trails which are open to the public year-round. Overall, support for Bord na Móna's strategy includes the use of its land as a unique asset in working towards Government's policies and objectives.

Deputy Barry Cowen

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I agree with him and cannot dispute much of what he said. I acknowledge and appreciate much of Bord na Móna's work in respect of its decarbonisation programme, its commitment to renewable projects and the major investment it has made in partnerships in the context of onshore and offshore projects and solar programmes. I commend it on that. I know that a great programme of rehabilitation and rewetting is ongoing and that funding has been made available by Government and the EU in this regard. Having initiated it when I was in opposition in the previous Dáil, I am also aware of the ring-fencing of carbon tax funding to assist with transition, which the Department has played a role in recently. The European Commission, on foot of an application from the Government to include peat regions in the coal regions, is providing €170 million by means of a transition programme. We now know the regional authority will begin to administer that money in the coming months. I am aware of tourism projects such as that at Lough Boora, which involved the local community working together with the board to ensure it became the success that we know it is. It involves many aspects of biodiversity too.

There is a vast excess of land beyond that mentioned which the board might not necessarily be able to keep pace with, considering the demands, expectation and ambition contained within the State's acknowledgement of the fact that it has to ramp up energy provision in order to deal with our current problems. In the 1940s, when Bord na Móna was given its original remit, many people gave up their lands because they had no prospect of deriving a livelihood from them or of making a contribution to their respective communities otherwise. Many lands were the subject of compulsory purchase by the State. There is now a bank of excess land. Communities are prepared to work with the commercial sector to bring forward projects that can deliver an income to those communities to allow them to address the many deficiencies and inefficiencies that exist. This would also allow them to administer much that is contained in county development plans that otherwise would not be administered. An annual income could be derived from all of this. We are talking about the commercial semi-State sector here. The Minister of State will say that the State lacks the authority to interfere with that sector. Despite this, I am of the view that the Government must look at modernising Bord na Móna's remit.

The Government should establish a task force to create or amend legislation, or amend the terms of reference, in order for such lands to be offered to the commercial and community sectors so that they can participate and derive an income over and above what they have at present and ensure communities prosper and come out of decarbonisation better than they went into it.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

As Deputy Cowen knows, the midlands have historically been very important in Ireland's energy production. Bord na Móna was a large part of that, as was the ESB, and many people derived a living, an income and, later, a pension from Bord na Móna and the ESB. I know that is significant. The great efforts the Deputy went to secure just transition funding at the EU and national levels and in the programme for Government to ensure areas in the midlands are compensated and helped to change also have to be acknowledged. Change is possible and is happening. Bord na Móna is still very much in the energy sector. In my constituency, I see Réalt na Mara off the coast of Dún Laoghaire, which Bord na Móna is trying to develop for offshore wind. I have visited Mountlucas and seen the huge wind farm the company has developed there and the public amenities below it.

We have been through a range of different measures related to the land, whether it is rehabilitation through bog rewetting, rewilding or the provision of public amenities and new energy facilities. The Deputy would like to see a task force that strategically addresses what will happen with Bord na Móna's land in the future. He has drawn attention to the fact that, in the past, there was a process by which Bord na Móna acquired land from the public and that this process is now perhaps going into reverse. He stated the public good should benefit from Bord na Móna's legacy of land. If he wishes to make a proposal in that regard and wants to meet me, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, or our officials, I will be happy to facilitate that. Any proposal from Deputy Cowen or the community would be very welcome and I appreciate his interest in the matter. However, I think he will acknowledge that a lot of work has been done at national level to facilitate a just transition from Bord na Móna's history to a bright future for the midlands and for Ireland.

Medicinal Products

Deputy Colm Burke

The Mazars report was commissioned in 2018 and completed and furnished to the Department of Health in January 2020. Three years later, it has not been published. The report arose as a result of the 2018 examination by the health committee, of which I was a member, of the roll-out of orphan drugs and the delaying process that is in place. The health committee's report set out 15 recommendations. The Acting Chair, Deputy Durkan, and I are the only two members of the committee that produced the report in 2018 who are still on the committee. It is disappointing that the Mazars report has still not been published.

We have a problem in Ireland in that it takes, on average, 789 days from the time a drug for a rare disease is approved at European level to the time it is approved here. The average across Europe is 587 days. In Germany, it is 79 days and in Denmark, which is similar in size to Ireland, it is 274 days. We need to publish the Mazars report and make it available. We need to change the whole system to fast-track the roll-out of drugs for children or adults with rare diseases. The process has dragged on for too long. We need to look at other countries. In Scotland, the process for making available the drugs that people require, especially people with rare diseases, works very well. In some cases, there may be only ten, 15 or 20 people in the entire country who require a drug but it is an important part of the care and treatment they require. We seem to be stalling the whole process because although the drug will have been approved at European level, we go through a whole process all over again and the drug is not made available as a result. The 2018 report of the health committee made 15 recommendations, including the following:

The Committee recommends that the Department of Health engage with stakeholders, and in particular with patients during the drafting process of its review. The views of patients are vital to ensuring that the process benefits those in need of orphan drugs ... The Committee recommends that the evaluation process for orphan drugs be fit for purpose.

The process is not fit for purpose and it is time it was reviewed and fast-tracked. Why do we have a scenario where a drug is approved at European level and more than 700 days later, that same drug may not be available in this country? This is hugely frustrating, especially for parents of young children who are waiting for long periods without a decision being made. I know there is a bargaining process in relation to price. It is sad that drugs bring produced in this country by manufacturers based here are not available for the people who require them. It is time we published the report and set about reforming the current system.

Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (Deputy Joe O'Brien)

I thank Deputy Colm Burke. I am taking this issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly.

The State spends substantial sums on medicines yearly with the goal of keeping people in Ireland healthy. This expense has grown to more €2.5 billion per year. Considering the financial consequences of funding medicines, it is important we have the best possible system to decide which medicines to fund. The Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013 legislates for the system we use now. For a medicine to be added to the reimbursement list, it must undergo the pricing and reimbursement process. This is a rigorous process that aims to ensure the HSE procures medicines that are safe, effective and the best value for money. Dedicated funding of almost €100 million has seen more than 112 new additions to the reimbursement lists in the past two years, including 34 medicines for people with rare diseases. Budget 2023 has again provided €18 million in funding and the Minister is hopeful the process will make even more medicines available to patients in need. In 2019, the consulting firm Mazars was commissioned to review this process by the then Minister for Health. This report was delivered to the Department in early 2020. Consideration of the report was delayed as resources were diverted to focus on the State's response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Department has now reviewed the report and the Minister plans to publish it imminently.

Deputy Colm Burke

I thank the Minister of State. I am concerned about the definition of "imminently", the last word he used. Are we talking about today or next week? Rare Disease Day is next Tuesday and I wonder whether the report can be published beforehand. It is not just about publishing the report but also about implementing the changes required. Ireland ranks 26th out of 34 countries in Europe on the time taken to roll out new drugs, in particular, new drugs for people with rare diseases. The pharmaceutical industry is a huge employer in this country.

It is five years since this issue came before the health committee. I was involved in drafting the final report and I put a lot of time and effort into working with others to produce that report. I never thought I would have to wait five years to see the report's recommendations being implemented. The review has been done and the Minister of State has said it will be published. The next issue is to have a timeline for implementing the changes required. It is no longer acceptable to wait for 789 days. It is time for change and time to put in place a structure.

I have raised this previously. In Scotland there is a good system. It makes sure the drug is made available in a timely manner. This is about saving lives. It is a money issue in the sense that we have to get value for money but it is also about saving lives. That is the important thing that we need to keep in mind in dealing with this. I ask the Minister of State to ensure the report will be made available and to talk to his colleagues about the implementation and full delivery of the recommendations of that report.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I do not have an exact publication date but the Minister will publish the Mazars report imminently. The Government is committed to providing access to as many medicines as possible in as timely a fashion as possible from the resources available to it. The Minister and his Department have given careful consideration to the recommendations of the report and will work on the recommendations for the benefit of Irish patients.

Health Services

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I am raising the urgent need to locate a Gallium PET CT scanning machine in Cork. Gallium scans are essential for the detection of tumours for certain types of cancers. I have been contacted by many patients with neuroendocrine cancer. Neuroendocrine tumours are rare tumours of the neuroendocrine system, which is the system in the body that produces hormones. Gallium scans are essential for the detection of tumours for this type of cancer. There are no Gallium scans available in the south of the country or in the Munster region. It is my understanding that Gallium scans are only available in the greater Dublin area, with St. Vincent's University Hospital being the main centre for accessing these scans. Patients in the Munster region are waiting up to 18 months to get their first Gallium scan. Will the Minister of State provide an update on the number of people currently waiting for a Gallium scan? Will he outline whether funding has been allocated for the provision of a scanning machine in Cork or elsewhere in the Munster region? Will he comment on whether an application for funding has even been made?

I want to read two excerpts from correspondence from patients who have contacted me. It is important to read them into the record. The first patient wrote:

In the past I have had to travel from Cork to Sweden to get this scan. I thought that the availability of Gallium scans in St. Vincent's University Hospital would mean there would no longer be a reason for me to make this long journey to Sweden. Unfortunately I have had to wait 18 months to get my first Gallium scan in Dublin.

The second patient wrote:

I had a neuro-endocrine tumour removed from my ilium about six years ago in Cork. Since then I have very regular monitoring. I consider myself very lucky to have been in Australia on a visitor visa for the past couple of years and have been able to have a Gallium scan as needed. In fact I was in Sydney, visiting family, a year ago. A year after surgery I was able to have a Gallium scan before I went back to Ireland. When I return home to Ireland I am very worried about the fact that there is only one scanner and it is in Dublin. If my oncologist feels I need one I expect to have to wait months and then travel to Dublin. There is excellent care available in Cork under my own oncologist. Surely the next step is to provide a scanner in Cork.

I have read those two extracts, both of which relate to cases in which people are travelling abroad, because there are very long waiting lists for the facility in Dublin. If the Minister of State has any update on whether an application for funding for the same has been made for Cork, I would appreciate it.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising the matter of the provision of Gallium scans in Cork. Gallium scans are a type of nuclear medicine and are used to find cancer, inflammation and infection in the body. Cancer services in Ireland are provided in line with the National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026, which is overseen by the Department of Health and the HSE. Effective prevention, early diagnosis, access to quality treatment, survivorship, patient involvement and safe, high-quality patient-centred care are key aims of the strategy. One of the key ways of driving improvements and developing new services for patients is the development of referral pathways for cancer patients to support services. In the context of the diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumours, Gallium scans have been made available and provided in the greater Dublin area. St. Vincent's University Hospital is the main centre for accessing these scans as it is the designated national centre for the management of this tumour type.

The use of Gallium prostate-specific membrane antigen scans in a certain prostate cancer patient cohort is also supported. This is outlined in the national clinical guidelines on the diagnosis and staging of patients with prostate cancer. These guidelines were published in 2022 with a set of appropriate pathways for appropriate use of Gallium scans. The national cancer control programme is carrying out further work with the wider HSE on the implementation of the recommendations in the guidelines, on the provision of such tests to the identified cohorts of patients, and on clarification of the funding stream for this radiological investigation.

The model of care for hospital cancer treatment is centred on eight designated cancer centres, including Cork University Hospital, each of which serves a defined population and geographic area. The centralisation of specialist services into designated cancer centres aims to optimise patient outcomes through case volume, multidisciplinary working and infrastructural supports. For certain services, centralisation at national level is appropriate given the intensive resources that are required to set them up and to maintain expertise. For scans to be carried out effectively and within the standards required, the centralised provision of Gallium scans is needed. Due to the nature of the resources required for Gallium scans and their unique properties, the current provision of such scans ensures the most efficient use of these resources.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind the Chamber that there has been significant investment in cancer services in recent years. This Government provided new development funding of €20 million to cancer services in 2021, along with a further €20 million in 2022. This brought the total allocation for cancer services in the 2022 national service plan to €139.2 million. I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to discuss the ongoing work on improving cancer services. I look forward to his contribution.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan

I thank the Minister of State. I know he is not the Minister for Health and is not in that Department. I have had correspondence and parliamentary questions going back and forward. I have a reply here from 24 June 2022 which is similar to what the Minister of State has read out this evening It mentions assessments, reviews and the like with veiled, shrouded language. I am asking straightforward questions. I appreciate that the Minister of State is not the Minister for Health, but could he get responses for me afterwards? Has an application been lodged for a Gallium scanner in Cork? It is a simple question. It is a yes-no question. If he gets that detail for me, I would appreciate it.

I listened to the Minister of State's response. It is true that we have made massive progress in the area of cancer treatment in this country over recent years. Cancer outcomes are a good deal better than they were historically. We still have a great deal of work to do in the area of breast cancer. That is one area where we are lagging behind.

I will return to the question of Gallium scans in Cork. The two extracts that I read set out two real-life experiences. The Minister of State mentioned that early intervention, effective diagnosis and appropriate treatment are important. However, I suggest that anybody waiting 12 or 18 months for one of these scans is not getting early intervention and is probably not getting a diagnosis early enough to help to combat that disease. I have asked three simple questions. If the Minister of State does not have the answers today, I would appreciate a follow-up response. Has there been an application for a scanner in Cork? If so, when will it be made available to the people?

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I thank the Deputy. I have no additional information in my closing statement but I take his point in regard to the delays. That is certainly something I can feed back, as well as the specific question in regard to an application for one of the scanners. I will follow up on that.

Asylum Seekers

Deputy Claire Kerrane

I am glad to have the opportunity to raise this issue again. I am asking the Minister quite directly to put additional resources into rural communities that are taking in and seeing increased numbers of arrivals of refugees and international protection families. I have raised this issue with the Minister here and I have raised it with the Taoiseach. I have raised it with the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, and at committee, but nothing is happening. That is why I am raising it here again.

The case in point that I have continually raised is Ballaghaderreen, which unfortunately is the most economically poor town in all of County Roscommon.

It suffered immensely throughout the 2008 crash. Lots of businesses were lost and the town has never recovered. If the town was booming we probably would not have these issues and would not seek additional resources, but unfortunately that is not the case.

That said, it is important to say that Ballaghaderreen is a good town. It is full of families that have been there for generations and very good people. However, good people can only take so much. The issue is that from 2017 onwards refugees and families seeking international protection have arrived to the town and we have not seen a single additional support. That is not fair, acceptable or right. It is not fair to the existing community or those arriving there.

Promises were made when Syrian refugees arrived in Ballaghaderreen in 2017. A healthcare professional was promised on site to acknowledge the healthcare needs that were there and the fact the two GPs in town were under pressure. One can only imagine the level of pressure they are under now. They both run waiting lists. That promise was broken and no additional healthcare service was put in place in the town.

I cannot for the life of me understand why we would allow frustration to grow in a town like Ballaghaderreen. It is needless and can be totally avoided if the Government, Department by Department, would co-operate. I do not believe any co-operation is taking place. I would love to know what role the Department of Health and HSE are taking in this regard because towns like Ballaghaderreen are being put under immense pressure and are getting no support.

I spoke to the family resource centre today, which has nothing. Schools outside of the town are being asked to use their resources when additional children arrive due to the fact that the school in the town is full. What is the Department of Education doing? We need cross-departmental action and every Department needs to play its role to ensure that when people come in they, along with the existing community, are supported.

The Government is failing the people of Ballaghaderreen and all rural towns. I mention rural towns in particular because they lost out when the recession hit in 2008. They have lost many services and supports down through the years and more than likely, have not recovered in recent years.

I wrote to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, in December and made five requests, namely, healthcare, additional funding for the family resource centre, additional supports for schools outside of the town, for the community welfare officer to be brought into the health centre where she used to be based to make sure that face-to-face support was available when it came to income support and that there would be supports for clubs and organisations in the town. I accept that is being addressed by way of the community recognition fund, which is welcome, but we need practical supports in the town now. People cannot and will not wait much longer for this.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

At the outset, I appreciate that the Deputy has been in contact with me about this. She asked a similar question earlier today. I will endeavour to find additional information rather than giving her the same answer she received today.

Ireland has faced enormous challenges in the past year with the arrival of so many people seeking refuge here. The State and the people of Ireland have responded remarkably and with characteristic Irish resolve in the face of this unprecedented crisis. The State has successfully provided accommodation and supports to over 79,000 additional people in the space of one year. This equates to the population of the city of Galway.

My Department, with the support of my colleagues in the Government, is moving to create new responsive structures and put in place new funding channels to recognise the impact of new arrivals on communities around the country. The Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, and I, along with other key Ministers and Departments, are engaged with the Department of the Taoiseach to develop and implement new structures that will assist with the provision of information to communities, such as new centres, for example, and to better foster and strengthen positive links between communities and new arrivals.

Since early 2022, in the region of 20,000 new children have enrolled in our schools. Health, social welfare and employment supports have been put in place to assist those seeking refuge. This has been done through intensive efforts across all Departments, co-ordinated from the centre through a Cabinet committee.

In terms of health supports, the HSE, in consultation with the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO, developed a framework to provide options to deliver additional arrangements to support the delivery of sessional clinics for the beneficiaries of temporary protection, BOTPs, and international protection applicants, IPAs, living in congregated settings. These clinics take the form of temporary sessional clinics delivered by participating GPs in addition to their practice obligations, supported by HSE section 39 health and social care professionals.

I am aware that community healthcare west is putting arrangements in place with a local GP to provide services to Ballaghaderreen. Other community healthcare organisations are exploring opportunities to establish sessional clinics in their area.

In terms of educational supports, all children arriving to Ireland are entitled to enrol in school and receive an education and it is the intention of the State to provide enrolment in education within 12 weeks after arrival. Children do not require a personal public service, PPS, number to be enrolled in education. Tusla education support service educational welfare office staff seconded to the international protection accommodation services, IPAS, resident welfare team work with parents, local schools and centre staff to ensure school places are secured for all children of school-going age who are notified through IPAS.

In regard to the Irish refugee protection programme, programme refugees are initially accommodated in reception orientation centres where various State agencies provide supports including health screening, education for children and adults and childcare. Particular emphasis is placed on the acquisition of English language skills, for children and adults alike, to facilitate integration into the community. Programme refugee families are then moved to communities, with assistance from local authority integration projects, supported by funding under the EU asylum, migration and integration fund.

Local authorities, in accommodating programme refugees, provide a number of measures which seek to ensure families settle into their communities and have access to all the necessary services and supports to successfully integrate into Irish society. This includes being supported by dedicated resettlement support workers and intercultural workers. Interagency working groups are also established, which bring together local and national services and stakeholders to oversee preparation and integration for programme refugees.

Earlier this month, I launched the communities integration fund, CIF, for 2023 where €500,000 will be made available to local community-based projects nationwide to support the integration of migrants. Within the CIF, grants of up to €5,000 will be allocated to successful organisations to support integration activities.

A new funding call under the national integration fund is planned for 2023. The Deputy also knows about the community recognition fund, which I will say no more about for now.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I acknowledge the enormous challenge Ireland faces in respect of the ongoing war in Ukraine, its impact and the role we have to play to support those people. If it was the other way around, we would be in need and seek the same support.

At the same time, there is no excuse for leaving communities in the way they have been left. I welcome what the Minister of State has said about healthcare. It is the first I have been told of that and I have raised the issue for weeks. It is now six years since a promise was made that a health professional would be placed in the emergency reception area, a former hotel in Ballaghaderreen. Nothing has happened since.

I will keep a close eye on this measure to ensure it is delivered because it is badly needed. There are just two GP clinics in the town, both of which are overrun. It is not fair to put that level of pressure on them when the HSE and Department of Health have a role to play. To date, from what I can see in Ballaghaderreen they have played little or no role. It is important that what has been said here is delivered.

It is also important that we look outside the box. I spoke to RHS Home Care, an organisation I have mentioned to the Minister of State. It is the kind of organisation that thinks outside the box and goes above and beyond in the work it does. It goes beyond home care. I understand from speaking to it today it is about to undertake work to create a needs analysis for the town.

That type of work is exactly what needs to be supported by the Department, namely, community initiatives from community organisations that will make a difference. They need to be supported by the Department because they are on the ground and understand the needs of our communities. I commend them on the work they do.

I welcome what has been said about healthcare. It is probably the biggest issue facing the town and has been for some time. I will keep a close eye on that to make sure it is delivered. I welcome the work that is under way.

Deputy Joe O'Brien

I look forward to reading the needs analysis when it has been completed. It could be of great use to us. I have travelled around the country a lot in the past 12 months to look at the various community responses to what has been going on. Healthcare comes up pretty much everywhere in terms of a pressing need.

There have been additional resources provided to the local development company in terms of funding for community workers on the Ukraine side of things under SICAP. Some €106,000 this year has been given to Roscommon LEADER partnership specifically to work on the Ukrainian side of things as well. It is also my understanding that last year the local bus service was augmented to some degree as well and it is important to acknowledge that. The community response fora have a role to play in gathering that intelligence and facts on the ground and feeding it up the line. I have tried to bring that back centrally when I visited community response fora around the country. I have done that on a number of occasions in relation to health. Transport connections also tend to be an issue. It is worth noting that under the community recognition fund it is possible to purchase community vehicles as well.

I will give the Deputy some reassurance on the broader side of things. In terms of the need for additional services in areas that have seen large numbers of people who are seeking protection over the last 12 months, I have just come from a Cabinet sub-committee where that issue was discussed very actively regarding education, health and other areas. It is therefore high in our consciousness at the highest level in Government. I wish to give that level of reassurance.