Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 29 Nov 2023

Vol. 1046 No. 5

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Health Services Staff

Deputy Gino Kenny

I wish to raise an issue I have raised numerous times over the past two years and one I think my colleagues in Dublin Mid-West have also raised. It is the lack of public health nurses in Dublin Mid-West, which is the area I am from. This is particularly acute in Newcastle, Lucan and Clondalkin. As the Minister of State can imagine, public health nurses are vitally important for developmental checks on infants. It is vitally important that parents have the reassurance of those checks. However, for several years, that has not been evident with regard to mothers, infants and babies getting those checks. From when a child is born to when that child is four years old, there should generally be four checks, but that is not happening.

The last response I got from the HSE was that there is a recruitment situation. The last response to a parliamentary question I got was probably about two or three months ago and it stated that, thus far, it has not been successful. The recruitment ban on HSE front-line staff has obviously compounded this issue.

We have an unacceptable situation where mothers and parents do not have access to this vital service. As most people know, these services are extremely important to assessment of a child’s development. If you do not have them, things will be missed, and intervention is absolutely key.

I hope the Minister of State has better news than other Ministers had in previous engagements on this. Parents have been on to us. They are telling us that because of the area they are in, they do not have access to this particular service. If somebody lives in a different area of Dublin or a different part of Ireland, they have access to that, so why are they being denied that important access? I understand there are recruitment pressures. However, that does not justify people being denied these services for their children. I hope the Minister of State has good news for the parents who have been asking these important questions about a vital service.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I thank the Deputy for making up time for me.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Mary Butler)

I thank Deputy Kenny for his important question. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. I thank the Deputy for raising the issue.

As we are all aware, the public health nursing service plays an incredibly valuable role in the provision of an extensive range of front-line community services encompassing health promotion, disease prevention, screening and the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based, preventative care services tailored to the needs of the individual. In addition, the public health nurse works in collaboration with other members of the primary care team, such as GPs, practice nurses, the wider health and social care network teams and the acute, secondary and tertiary adult and children services, and with the national Child and Family Agency, Tusla.

I do not think we can underestimate the importance of a public health nurse, as the Deputy said, for new babies' infant developmental checks and for older people. If an older person needs support, it is the public health nurse who will do an assessment and make a referral for the vital home care supports. This valuable role was highlighted during the pandemic when many public health nurse staff were redeployed to support Covid-19 related clinical activities. At that time, a prioritisation framework was put in place to ensure available staff were enabled to identify and support patients with the greatest need in the community.

However, since the post-pandemic resumption of core duties, in some parts of the country, the public health nursing service is challenged by staff shortages. Where these vacancies exist, it is having an impact on the capacity to deliver routine public health services. Unfortunately, at present, the public health nursing service in Dublin Mid-West - the Deputy mentioned Newcastle, Lucan and, I think, Clondalkin - is one area significantly impacted. This represents a significant challenge for the service. The Department of Health fully acknowledges the frustration of the people of Dublin Mid-West, where these staff shortages and delays in accessing routine services are no doubt causing anxiety and stress.

The Department asked the HSE for an update on what measures are being taken to address the issue of public health nurse shortages in Dublin Mid-West. As the Deputy is aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October. Because of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the Department has not received the required update for the Deputy.

The Department of Health fully acknowledges that much more needs to be done to ensure the vital services public health nurses provide are available throughout all parts of the country. However, recruitment to these vacant nursing posts continues to challenge the nursing services despite ongoing recruitment campaigns and attendances at recruitment fairs, both nationally and internationally.

Last year, the HSE established a community nursing oversight group tasked with the development of proposals and recommendations to address the challenges of recruitment and retention within community nursing. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, has advised that the Department of Health will continue to support and work with the HSE to address challenges faced by community nursing in general and public health nursing shortages in Dublin Mid-West, in particular.

I am sorry there is not more detail in the answer but that is all that was available to us.

Deputy Gino Kenny

That is extremely disappointing, to say the least. It does not really say anything at all. I do not know what to say to that. All I can say is that the recruitment freeze is obviously compounding the issue. The Minister of State might be able to answer the following question. Is the recruitment freeze having an impact on the recruitment of public health nurses, especially in the CHO 7 area? I hope she can answer that. My understanding is that 40% of all posts in the Dublin Mid-West region are vacant. That is a huge issue. Is the issue around the public health nursing sponsorship programme? Has anybody been recruited via that programme?

One of the issues that is having a detrimental effect on recruiting nursing staff in this area is the cost of living, particularly around Dublin where nurses cannot even get a place to rent. Is the Government thinking about special premiums or incentives for jobs providing a vital service such as public health nurses to attract graduates? We have an amazing cohort of graduates from this country who are well educated and enthusiastic about their job. They are finding a huge impediment getting a place to live in the areas we are talking about. This is having a knock-on effect not only in Dublin Mid-West but across the board. If the Minister of State can answer those questions, I can bring this back to some of the parents and explain the latest situation in what they are looking for regarding their children.

Deputy Mary Butler

Notwithstanding the fact that, over the past three years, there are more than 20,000 new whole-time equivalents working in the HSE, there are recruitment challenges across several sectors. It is posing a particular challenge for the public health nurse service. There is a considerable nursing vacancy rate across west Dublin. When the recruitment freeze was announced, any posts that had already been offered and any posts for which the offer had been made and Garda vetting was under way will still go ahead, just to let the Deputy know that. In response to the staff shortages, the public health nurse service is triaging all referrals to ensure a safe service is provided to those with the greatest clinical need in the community.

It is disappointing and frustrating that these staff shortages persist. The Department of Health has been previously assured by the HSE that every effort is being made to address the recruitment challenges in the short term, including ongoing recruitment campaigns. It is expected the HSE community nursing national oversight group will propose recommendations later this year that aim to address some of the longer term issues regarding the recruitment and retention of public health nurses and community registered general nurses. As I said, the public health nurses are the most important cog in the community, whether it is a new baby, an older person or a child with additional needs. It is a service that is very effective and relevant. I will discuss this with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, later and will ask him again to engage on it with the HSE. It is not the first the Deputy has raised this, I have heard him raise it before. It is very important that people can access the service regardless of where they live.

Childcare Services

Deputy James O'Connor

I was not given any notice this morning that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, was not going to be in attendance. It is the normal procedure that I would be. That is disappointing. I want to put that on the record of the House. I have always been informed if the Minister or a Minister of State from the Department cannot attend. I am sure the Minister of State present will bring what is said here back to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman.

I wish to raise a very serious problem that has come from flooding that occurred in my constituency and that of Deputy Stanton, who is with me in the Chamber this morning. Approximately 100 children in our constituency in the area of Midleton have lost their childcare provider through no fault of the provider but through devastating flooding that occurred for the first time, in scale and nature, where that premises is located. Tír Cluain estate, where this childcare provider is located, is just next to the Owenacurra River and was devastated. Unfortunately, due to the flooding that occurred, the damage is going to take a very significant amount of time to repair. This is a very unusual situation. If it was a primary school, the State would intervene immediately because primary and secondary schools are under the care of the Department of Education. Because we are dealing with a privately run crèche, which is very common across our childcare system, there is this bit of an issue around how they can get direct support from the State. They can apply for the business support scheme, which has been greatly improved since Storm Babet. However, the issues around Tusla and making sure a new temporary location is found are very difficult challenges for anyone to deal with when a natural disaster happens like the flood that occurred.

My asks are very simple. I ask the Department of children to actually talk directly to the crèche operators, the community involved and the Minister, because they need that support. I have to be complimentary of my other colleagues who are at the Cabinet table. I am thinking of the Ministers, Deputies Humphreys, Coveney and McGrath, the Tánaiste and Taoiseach, and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, who made time in their schedules to come and see for themselves the scale of the damage within days of it occurring. What I would ask is that this is shown similar care and urgency by the Department of children on entirely legitimate grounds. I am thinking of those families, as is Deputy Stanton, who have been so badly affected. Now they are having to find alternative forms of childcare, which is very difficult and incredibly expensive. There are those who cannot do so and who have had to give up working hours or find alternative arrangements with family members. It is a huge burden for any family to be dealing with, with children who are at such a young age.

I also reference the fact that we have Tusla involved. There have to be very serious procedures and licensing involved with any crèche operating. On an emergency, temporary basis, we need to find a safe location. The State should help in this situation. It is entirely on the grounds of how rare an occurrence it is given the scale, with in excess of 100 children in this facility. Unfortunately, parents in the Midleton area who are affected are at a loss because of this. It is through no fault of the operators or owners of the building. It is because of the flooding that occurred, which had not happened in this nature or at this scale at the location before.

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Deputy Ossian Smyth)

The Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, and the whole of the Government are conscious of the disruption caused to a number of early learning and childcare services owing to the recent floods in Cork. The local childcare committee has been engaging with impacted services. With regard to financial supports for these services, they have been made aware that any service forced to close due to the flooding may apply for the continuation of funding from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth under force majeure as per the rules governing the early learning and childcare funding schemes. These services have also been alerted to two emergency business flooding schemes which were announced by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. These schemes are for small businesses, sports clubs, and community and voluntary organisations unable to secure flood insurance and affected by recent flooding. There are other supports available from the DCEDIY where a service is experiencing financial difficulty or has concerns about its viability. These supports can be accessed through the local childcare committee.

With regard to premises, the safety and protection of children remains the first priority in the early learning and care sector. This is achieved through the registration and inspection of early years services by Tusla, the independent statutory regulator of the sector. Registration of early years services can be granted only where Tusla is satisfied the premises, operation and location of the service pose no unmanaged risk to children. Tusla has been working closely with the local childcare committee in areas impacted by recent floods and has engaged with impacted services in these areas to help them to reopen their service in a safe and suitable premises and location.

In addition to these measures, the local childcare committee continues to proactively engage with early learning and childcare services to identify unused capacity and explore the potential for services to increase capacity to meet the early learning and childcare needs of families in the area. There is also wider work under way at a national level to address issues of undersupply, including through a new capital grant, the details of which will be announced by the Minister in the coming week.

Deputy James O'Connor

I thank the Minister of State for the response from the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman's Department. One paragraph of the answer explains why we are here. The nature and scale of the damage involved is very significant, without going into too much detail. A facility of this size working with more than 100 children, including very young children and toddlers, is going to need highly expensive works to be done to bring it back up to standard. I am conscious that cannot be done with just €100,000.

There are other businesses affected by this, but it comes back to the conundrum that if this were a primary school, there would be an immediate action plan from the Department of Education to deal with it the next day because it would come under its auspices, but when it comes to childcare, because it is a private facility, the Department washes its hands. That is not sufficient. It is not good enough.

We saw an incredible reaction from our other Cabinet colleagues, who were on the site within days. I know the Minister is aware of this. I understand the parents have been in direct communication and contact with him. We need to be realistic. It is an horrendously difficult situation for a business to retain staff for such a long period and not to be able to open until the works are completed.

My asks are very simple. Will the Minister talk directly to the people and families involved? Will he engage with the owners and operators of the facility because they need the support of the State in this situation? When it comes to finding a new site, we must get it fast-tracked through the system as a temporary base so these families and their children can have a safe space for learning and childcare provision. That is something that must be addressed with the immediacy the situation requires. The reason Deputy Stanton and I are here this morning is because we have received a significant number of calls on this important issue and we want it to be dealt with in the same fashion and the same care that other Cabinet Ministers showed in their respective Departments.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

It is the local childcare committee that should be liaising directly with these childcare facilities. I will mention it directly to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. He was in Cork at the time the flooding happened, or immediately afterwards, and he has taken an interest in it. There is a fund for continuity of service. I ask the Deputies to ensure any affected childcare services have applied for a continuation of service funding under the force majeure rules and that they apply for the emergency business flooding schemes, which are open to voluntary organisations and non-profits and should be available to childcare providers as well.

I understand that childcare is vital to parents as it is something they need to go to work every day. This is the livelihood of the providers of these services. They are concerned they have stringent rules to meet in the normal course of events but they are now in an emergency situation. I do not think they will be treated any differently from a primary school or secondary school. What they are providing is a vital service. A range of grants are available to them. They can liaise with the local childcare committee. I will ask the Department to do as the Deputy has suggested and directly contact the childcare providers and the parents involved. I will also say it directly to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, with whom I deal very regularly on a personal basis.

Schools Building Projects

Deputy Brian Stanley

I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue. I understand the Minister for Education is out of the country and I hope the Minister of State, who is present on behalf of the Government, will take back the message I am giving here this morning regarding the important matter of Coláiste Dhún Másc in Portlaoise, which was opened in 2017 to cater for the growing population of the town and the general area. The school has had to limit enrolment. The Minister of State is probably aware that Portlaoise is the fastest growing town in the country outside of Dublin.

I raise the matter in the context of a chronic shortage of second-level places. It is not just in Portlaoise but in County Laois in general that there is a significant issue with capacity. The school got approval for a 1,000-pupil new building four years ago. It has 570 very enthusiastic pupils at the moment and excellent staff but the school is very limited. It operates on three different campuses: the old vocational school in Railway Street, the old CBS in Tower Hill and the old primary school in Church Avenue. The Minister of State can imagine they are doing their best with that. It is not that pupils attend one of those units in the morning for the entire day; they have to move regularly. In fact, a pedestrian crossing had to be put in for them, as well as special traffic-calming measures, to allow them to be able to move freely between the different schools. It is logistically difficult but it works with the co-operation of the parents, the school board, staff and pupils. The Minister of State can see the difficulty. The school has 570 pupils. I know from the local education and training board and from the school authorities that it could take hundreds of more pupils – hundreds of parents are willing to send their children there – but they cannot get into the school.

I will give the Minister of State a flavour of what is happening. Enrolment opened in some of the second-level schools in October. The Minister of State is probably aware of this from his constituency. Parents come to us in August and say they have just applied but they cannot get their child into a school in the area. Of two parents who applied to another second-level school in the area on the first day enrolment opened in early October, one is now in 92nd place and the other is in 94th place on the waiting list. They have little chance of getting in. They will send their children to any secondary school, not just in Portlaoise but in the general area, but the problem is they cannot get in. We have a problem with capacity. The census figures and all of the indicators such as planning permission, the baptism rate, birth rates and demographics for Portlaoise are moving in the direction of an increased population.

Coláiste Dhún Másc has two streams, Gaeilge agus Béarla. That has worked out very well. It started off very small in the beginning but it has literally mushroomed, and both sides of the school are thriving. We must get to a situation where they are on the one campus. The good news is that a site has been secured in Summerhill. It is more good news that funding has been approved. If it had not, I would be here arguing with the Minister of State about that. Stage 2A has been submitted to the Department. Stage 2B has also gone to the Department. That is what we need as it would give the green light to go to planning permission, which is what is needed at the moment.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

I thank Deputy Stanley for raising this important issue. It gives me an opportunity to outline to the House the current position on the large-scale, major devolved project under delivery at Coláiste Dhún Másc, Portlaoise. I am providing this response on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, who, as the Deputy says, is out of the country.

Coláiste Dhún Másc is a co-educational, mainstream, second-level school under the patronage of Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board. It currently has an enrolment of 555 students and is accommodated in three buildings around Railway Street, Portlaoise to cater for the expansion in its enrolments in recent years.

To meet the ongoing and projected upward trend in post-primary school enrolments in the town, Coláiste Dhún Másc, Portlaoise received approval under the large-scale capital programme for the provision of a 1,000-pupil post-primary school with a four classroom SEN base. The project has been devolved for delivery to Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board. The brief also includes a PE hall, 37 general classrooms, special education teaching rooms, numerous specialist rooms to support the delivery of a wide curricular choice, including science, art and crafts, music, textiles, design and communication graphics, technical graphics, home economics, construction, engineering and technology, in addition to a library and the required offices and ancillary spaces and all the things associated with a school of this size.

Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board appointed a design team in 2021. The project is currently at stage 2A of the architectural design process - developed design. The stage 2A report has been received by the Department of Education and has been reviewed by the Department's professional and technical staff. The required stage 2A meeting with departmental officials, the appointed design team and representatives from Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board is scheduled to take place tomorrow. Following this meeting and approval of the stage 2A report, if appropriate, the project will then progress on to stage 2B. At this stage, the design team will obtain the planning approvals, prepare a set of fully detailed tender documents and an accurate pre-tender cost plan to reflect the full implications of the statutory approvals. The Department will then be in a position to review the project from a technical and cost perspective. This analysis is in accordance with the due diligence required under the public spending code to ensure the proposed project is fully assessed from a value for money perspective before the State proceeds to tender and construction.

As the devolved delivery body, Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board will continue to engage directly with the school community to keep it informed of progress. As the project is currently at an early stage, it is not possible to project an exact date for completion.

To cater for the school's immediate enrolment requirements, the Department is providing six mainstream classrooms under the modular accommodation framework, and the installation of these units will be practically completed in the coming months.

The use of the Department's modular accommodation framework assists in ensuring lead-in periods for procurement of modular accommodation are minimised to the greatest extent possible. To date, this has worked very well in the education sector and has seen delivery of large scale, high-quality modular accommodation to meet the needs of children, especially those with special educational needs.

The school authority has overall responsibility for delivery of the project and the project is currently at construction on site. I assure the Deputy the Department has a strong track record of delivery and the main focus is on ensuring every child has a school place. Since 2020, we have invested in the region of €3.5 billion in our schools throughout the country. This has involved the completion of over 690 school building projects with construction currently under way on approximately 300 other projects. School building projects at construction involve an overall State investment of over €1.2 billion. We also have 200 modular accommodation projects that are well advanced. This is a record level of investment in our schools and highlights the Government's very strong track record of delivery in providing additional capacity and modern facilities for our school communities.

Deputy Brian Stanley

I thank the Minister of State for that reply. I am aware the meeting is happening tomorrow with the ETB and Department officials. Laois-Offaly Education and Training Board has a great record of delivering capital builds. Since the old VECs were amalgamated into a single body, it has really expanded and is providing huge education and training opportunities in both Laois and Offaly. I am confident of its part in this and welcome that the meeting is happening, which I was aware of before today. I am asking that we move this on. I have outlined how Portlaoise is oversubscribed. The spillover of this affects Mountrath and Mountmellick. All second level schools in that middle part of Laois are full and that is a good thing. We need this capacity put in. As I said, we have the fastest growing town outside Dublin. The ETB is anxious to do it. The school authorities are too and obviously the school staff are because they are trying to deal with the situation daily. It can be challenging, but I have to give them ten out of ten. They are able to manage to do it and successfully educate 570 and that is good.

I am asking the Minister of State to take the message back to the Minister that we can move to stage 2b. That is where we want to get to. That would allow the board to apply for planning permission to Laois County Council. That meeting is happening. The Minister of State is taking this on behalf of the Government and the Minister. What I want him to take back is that it is really important that she ensures tomorrow there are no false starts. This must go through so that we are into stage 2b and go straight to planning. I am confident the county council will move this quickly. It always prioritises schools and critical infrastructure. I am confident the ETB will do so and I am asking the Minister and the Department to do the same thing.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

I thank the Deputy. He has made his case very clearly and very well. As he said, I am a Deputy as well and I face requests from parents for school places for their child coming up to the next school year. As the Deputy knows from the census results, every county has a growing population, so there are demands all around the country for new schools and 300 school projects are happening at the moment. It is important and I can see this is a critical project in a very fast-growing town. The school is moving from 555 enrolled students to 1,000 with an amazing array of facilities in the new school. It must be difficult for a school to be split between three campuses and I understand that. It is a real sign of progress that a meeting is happening tomorrow between the ETB and the Department to decide whether to move ahead from stage 2a to 2b. As the Deputy said, it is at stage 2b that the planning application can be made and further progress can be made on this application. I met the Minister, Deputy Foley, last week because I launched the project to put free solar panels on every school in Ireland and I will say it to her when I see her again. I will let her know what the Deputy said about the project in Portlaoise and how critical it is for the parents and students in the town that project goes ahead as soon as possible.

Youth Work Projects

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

I am a big advocate of the youth diversion programme because it makes a huge difference. I am familiar with a number of projects, including the TACT project and I have seen the difference it can make. It offers the right interventions at a crucial juncture.

Carrigaline is a town that has grown very rapidly. As recently as the sixties, there were fewer than a thousand people in what was then a village. I checked the census and the population is now 18,239, but what really stood out is that the population aged under 19 years is 5,739. That is 28.4% of the population, which is enormous. There is a huge number of young people in that location. I am sure the soccer clubs like Carrigaline United as well as the GAA and rugby clubs will be rubbing their hands as it is a very positive story for them. In general, it is a very positive story. Carrigaline is a town that has grown very rapidly. Many of the public services and supports were a bit slow in coming in, but they are coming in bit by bit. There have been new schools in recent times and some public transport infrastructure has improved.

It is crucially important that we get youth services right in a town with such a large population. When almost a third of the town is aged under 19 it is going to be absolutely crucial. That comes by a number of different means. The UBU-type projects need to be well resourced and need to have youth workers to go with them. In any town with a population that large, especially of young people, it is going to be important to have a good and active youth diversion project. The project has had some excellent people involved in it, like Michael Collins and Conor Austin. They have been doing great work there. I attended a meeting there about a year and a half ago with our then justice spokesperson, Deputy Kenny, and the team told me about the work they are doing, which is absolutely fantastic, and the work they hope to do. However, they are a bit constrained. The project is currently operating out of a room upstairs in the community centre. The centre is a great facility, but ultimately if we are looking for a project like that to serve such a large population and expand the services it offers to be able to reach more young people, it needs a premises of its own. That is my ask, which is quite reasonable.

It is about taking the opportunity now. Much of the 6,000 or so are at the younger end of the scale. I am sure I could get the breakdown. We need to be investing now to ensure we keep the young people who are potentially at risk on the straight and narrow as best as possible and we ensure they have opportunities to direct them away from crime and antisocial behaviour and direct them in a more positive way. Now is the time to make that investment. It is crucial to support. It would be a far-sighted investment and now is the crucial time to make it. I hope the Minister and the Department will see the opportunity in this and act to give this youth diversion project, the Heron Project, the support it requires.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this matter. I am responding on behalf of the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Browne. Youth diversion projects, or YDPs, are community-based multi-agency youth crime prevention initiatives. They primarily seek to divert young people who have been, or are at risk of becoming, involved in antisocial or criminal behaviour. Youth diversion is not about young people avoiding punishment or consequences. It is about recognising that many young people who stray from the proper path simply need support and direction to get their lives back on track. The work of the YDPs benefits everyone in our communities as they work to promote pro-social activities and outcomes for young people at risk of a life of criminality. Youth diversion projects not only divert young people away from crime, but also work to foster young people’s talents, interests and personal development. These projects provide an invaluable support to complement the work of An Garda Síochána in addressing youth crime and protecting local communities.

To support youth justice services, and to ensure delivery of key objectives in the Youth Justice Strategy 2021 - 2027, a further €2.9 million in funding has been allocated under budget 2024. This increases the total budget allocation for the YDPs and other youth justice services to an unprecedented €33 million.

Funding for the YDPs is provided by the Department of Justice and it is co-funded through the European Union's European Social Fund Plus.

The Minister understands that there are 13 YDPs operating in County Cork. The Department of Justice is in discussions with Foróige, which operates the YDPs in Cork city, on the need for expansion of the youth diversion services in the Cork city division. An assessment of need by Foróige will take place in 2024 to identify possible gaps in the service in the Cork city division. Following this assessment, it is anticipated that funding for additional staff posts may be sought and that support for provision of a more suitable premises in Carrigaline, for the YDP and other services, may also be sought. However, no request has been submitted to the Department of Justice yet. I trust the Deputy can appreciate that the consideration of a capital grant to build or source a permanent location for a YDP can only be considered in the context of an application for same being provided to the Department.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Some of that work is ongoing and I hope it will be forthcoming in the coming period. Some of the objective is to ensure that when that request comes, it receives a favourable and sympathetic response.

The context is important. In some respects Carrigaline would be seen as an area which is relatively prosperous and that would be middle class. That is true to a large extent, albeit, as with any large town, there are pockets of disadvantage as well. No matter what the demographic make-up is, when you have that many young people in an area there is always the possibility for some of them to stray from the paths they should be on and to end up in crime and antisocial behaviour. To have such a large young population in a town is a challenge. It is an enormous benefit and it lends huge vibrancy to a town but it needs to be met with the right resources as well, which is the objective here.

I want to talk about the general policing situation in Carrigaline. Unfortunately, there have been some serious incidents in recent years, including more than one murder and some serious assaults. There is fear and frustration that, despite how quickly Carrigaline has grown, there is generally only one squad car out at night. The numbers in the Garda station reflect a time when it was a much smaller town. I ask the Minister of State to bring back to the Minister the need to ensure there is more than one squad car in the evenings to ensure a Garda presence. That is the best way to prevent crime.

I appreciate the Minister of State's response and I hope he will take my points back to the Minister. We must ensure that when the application comes in, as I expect it will in the coming period, it receives a sympathetic response. This would be a farsighted and wise investment that would make a huge difference to the young people in question and to the town as a whole.

Deputy Ossian Smyth

I agree with everything the Deputy has said. I want to underline the Government's strong commitment to youth justice services. That is shown by the fact that the budget for youth justice services has increased by 10% for next year, with an extra €3 million in the budget for same. This funding will be deployed with the assistance of the best available research and expert evidence to help keep young people away from crime. The intention is to further expand and develop the youth justice services to try to find who will benefit from them the most. As the Deputy may be aware, a new YDP in west Cork was recently announced, to become operational in 2024. Some €500 million was allocated to Foróige to set up this service. The Minister and the Minister of State are both aware of the increasing youth population of Carrigaline.

The Deputy said clearly that 28% of the population are under 19 and that there are 5,700 young people there. There is clearly a large demand in Carrigaline. The Department is looking forward to seeing an application for funding and it hopes that a suitable premises is accompanied by it. The Department will then consider that application.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 9.54 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 9.59 a.m.

Sitting suspended at 9.54 a.m. and resumed at 9.59 a.m.