Saincheisteanna Tráthúla (Atógáil) - Topical Issue Debate (Resumed) – Dáil Éireann (34th Dáil) – Thursday, 15 May 2025

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla (Atógáil) - Topical Issue Debate (Resumed)

Coast Guard Service

Deputy Malcolm Byrne

This is a long-running saga impacting on the Coast Guard station in Courtown. The Coast Guard at this station serves the coast of north Wexford and south Wicklow. More than 20 individuals regularly and bravely serve our communities in that area. The current old rocket cart station is one of the oldest in the country. It is a limestone building with a very rich history - it was unsuccessfully raided for arms during the War of Independence - but is currently no longer suitable for use because it was meant for single use.

With male and female crews, it is not suitable and the conditions are not good enough. The local Coast Guard has been able to acquire a five-year lease on a private house in the local area and it is now two years into the lease period. This saga has seen approximately seven Ministers visit the station over the years. During my five years in the Seanad, I raised the matter on five separate occasions with various Ministers to try to get an update on the position.

Let me take the Minister of State, Deputy Robert Troy, through the history of what I was told in my time in the Seanad. In February 2022, then Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton came into the Seanad and told me six possible sites had been identified by the OPW and that it was part of the OPW’s building priority programme. Such a priority was it, and nothing having happened by November 2022, the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, who is obviously quite familiar with south Wicklow-north Wexford, came into the Chamber and assured me that the Courtown Coast Guard building was one of the key priorities for the OPW and that “OPW officials are giving this project every priority possible at this time”. It gave it an awful lot of priority and nothing had happened by the summer of 2023, so the then Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Jack Chambers, came down to Courtown Harbour. Courtown is certainly a wonderful place to spend your summer but not to have a meeting about something the OPW had made no movement on. The Minister of State came down and helped to resolve potential issues between Wexford County Council and the OPW. The OPW then made it clear that there were no outstanding issues with the county council. We thought we would see progress then but nothing happened. In October 2023, when I raised the issue again in the Seanad, a Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Anne Rabbitte, told me Courtown was “one of the key priorities of the OPW in its building programme”. It was such a key priority that I had to raise the matter once again a year later by way of another Commencement matter. This time it was with Minister of State, Deputy Kieran O’Donnell. He reiterated that the matter was a key priority but informed me that the OPW had then completed an appraisal of all the possible sites and that progress had been made. The only progress I have seen on the position reflected in previous answers is that while there were six sites in the past, this number decreased to five. There was a possible site identified but then, for commercial reasons, it could not be proceeded with.

The Minister of State who is present, Deputy Troy, will forgive me and the Coast Guard for questioning what the OPW believes to be a key priority if something that was meant to have been sorted out a decade ago still has not seen any progress. I appreciate that he is answering answer on behalf of the Minister of State responsible for the OPW but I hope he is not going to give me a cut-and-paste answer, as a number of his predecessors have had to do.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Minister of State has a lot to live up to.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

Good luck with that.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Robert Troy)

At least the Deputy acknowledged that I am only deputising for another Minister of State. He sends his apologies as he cannot be here.

It is obvious, given the level of interaction and number of representations the Deputy has made on this project over the past five years, why he is frustrated. I will give him the response I have been given. He will appreciate that I am not au fait with the issue. I will give the answer and he can come back to me afterwards if he has supplementary questions or questions he would like me to bring back to the relevant Minister of State.

The Irish Coast Guard, a division of the Department of Transport, has 44 units, based in 58 Coast Guard stations. The Coast Guard building programme, which includes the provision of new or upgraded facilities at a number of locations across the country, is managed by the OPW on behalf of the Department of Transport. These projects are funded by the Department. Programme priorities are decided by the Coast Guard and the programmes are overseen by a programme oversight group consisting of representatives from the Department, the Coast Guard service and the OPW. The OPW provides advice and assistance on the design of such projects, site feasibility studies, acquisition of sites, planning and detailed design, and contractor procurement and manages the delivery in line with the requirements of the Department of Transport and Coast Guard Service.

The Deputy will be well aware, given his advocacy and interest in this matter, that a preferred site for the Coast Guard facility in Courtown was selected following consultation between the OPW and the Department in March 2024. Following negotiations with the landowner, draft heads of terms and the purchase price have been agreed in respect of the preferred site. Given that the Department funds the Coast Guard programme, the OPW has sought authorisation to proceed with the purchase of the site, and this is awaited. Once this is received, the OPW can complete the remaining due diligence and the acquisition of the preferred site. As this is commercially sensitive, the OPW is not in a position to provide further information on the preferred site at this time.

Once a suitable site is required, the OPW will assign a project team to commence the planning and detailed design stages of the project. The tender process will then follow and the OPW will manage the delivery of the new Coast Guard facility in Courtown while continuing to work closely with colleagues in the Department of Transport to deliver on the overall Coast Guard programme.

Unfortunately, at this time it is not possible to provide a commencement date for the start of the construction of the new Coast Guard facility in Courtown. The OPW has been informed that, as an interim measure, the Department has secured accommodation for the Coast Guard unit in the local parochial house, which I believe is what the Deputy referred to in his contribution. The Department has confirmed that this arrangement will remain in place until the new facility is completed.

I am not quite sure whether the information on the agreement of the heads of terms is in addition to what the Deputy heard when he raised this in the Seanad. I will not take credit for relaying the message today but there does seem to have been some movement. That, no doubt, is largely due to his relentless pursuit of this issue.

Deputy Malcolm Byrne

I thank the Minister of State. As he can imagine, my frustration is minimal by comparison with that of the Coast Guard and those who support and work with it in Courtown. It serves from Cahore right up to Arklow and beyond. The latest development does represent progress. Although the Minister of State cannot give me a complete timetable, he said the project will be completed by the time the lease for the parochial hall in Courtown will have expired. We are two years into a five-year lease, so I anticipate that since the Coast Guard cannot rely on divine assistance and will have to return to relying on the assistance of the OPW, it can be assured, within three years, that this process will continue.

There seems to be significant progress, although we had circumstances before whereby the OPW entered into discussions with the landowner but took so long that the landowner moved on with the sale. I appreciate that the matter is commercially sensitive but I would like assurances that we will move as quickly as possible. It is critical for this vital service for our coastal communities that we ensure that we get a state-of-the-art facility for the people of north Wexford and south Wicklow. More important than communicating more details to me, the OPW should communicate directly with the Coast Guard and the team in Courtown so they will be aware of the future plans.

Deputy Robert Troy

I reiterate that draft heads of terms, including on the purchase price, have been agreed in respect of the new site. Therefore, there has been progress. The matter is now with the Department of Transport. I have no doubt that the Deputy will exert pressure on the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, to the same extent that he has exerted it on the OPW. It now needs to sanction the necessary funding and give authorisation to proceed with the purchase of the site. That is currently awaited. My advice to the Deputy is that he should channel his efforts in this regard to move things on.

At a time when we have all read about, and been aghast by, some of the projects that the OPW has sanctioned, and the funding it has spent on some projects, it is important that it carries out due diligence to ensure value for money on what is a very important project for Courtown and the wider area. No one will thank the organisation if something is deemed considerably excessive.

Deputy Malcolm Byrne

The OPW would have got it a lot cheaper ten years ago, when it started.

Deputy Robert Troy

That is the problem we have faced with many projects that have been delayed and stalled. The price is only going one way, not down. The OPW needs to carry out due diligence. It is important that it do so for us to get value for money regarding what I acknowledge is very important infrastructure for Courtown. I will relay to the relevant Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran, the sentiments the Deputy has expressed today, and no doubt the Deputy will raise the issue directly with Minister for Transport to ensure the authorisation is forthcoming.

Local Authorities

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I will illustrate the point I wish to make to the Minister of State by using an example from my constituency. I will talk to him about a lady who I will call her Janet because I do not want to say her name. In 2010, Janet joined the Dublin City Council housing list. She was eligible for social housing at that stage. I will not get all political about the reason we have a housing crisis. The Minister of State will well know that and, I assume, will take some responsibility for it. In 2015, Janet was viciously assaulted. When I say viciously, I mean that the woman nearly died. She will bear the scars of that for the rest of her life. Her former partner was rightly sent to prison for a long time and she left the area where they had been living. That area is in Dublin city. She went as far away as she could, which was up to north County Dublin, and she settled there with her children. She is safe and secure in north County Dublin. Her children are in school there and she works there. All her support structures are in north County Dublin and she has absolutely no wish to go back to Dublin city. She does, however, need secure, permanent housing, which she cannot get in the private rented market, and she is renting privately at the moment.

Due to the amount of time that has passed, Janet now finds herself about to be offered a house because she is at the very top of the list. She has waited 14 to 15 years. However, can the Minister of State imagine that a woman with children who wants a secure house will be offered one and will have to turn it down because she would have to move back? Her abuser is now out of prison and living in that area. I have submitted letters from An Garda Síochána which will prove that this woman cannot safely go back to where she was originally on the housing list. She feels safe where she is at the moment, and that is incredibly important. I am sure the Minister of State will appreciate that. I understand exactly how the queuing system goes, and God knows I know people have to wait. Janet knows that too; however, she has waited 15 years. There is a need for somebody in a position of authority to look at this case for what it is. It is a unique case. I have not come across many, if any, cases like it and I have been nine years in this job. I operate a lot of clinics and see many people. It is a very unusual situation. This woman is at the end of her rope because she is about to be offered a house but she will have no choice but to refuse it because, on the advice of An Garda Síochána, she cannot move back to where she lived previously.

One of her choices is precarious renting. If she changes to the Fingal County Council housing list, she will lose those 15 years she had, which is really unfair, and in my constituency, in Fingal County Council, although they may deny it, you wait 14 years. That would give her a total of 29 years. All she is doing is trying to keep her kids safe, trying to keep herself safe and trying to work in, live in and contribute to the community where she feels safe. She does not want to skip any queue but she does want - and I think she deserves - some form of recognition for the length of time she has been on the housing list. The person who assaulted her is still a threat to her. The Garda has told her not to go back to where she was. If she refuses a second offer of a house, she will be suspended from the housing list for a year. If she transfers to the Fingal County Council list, she will lose the 15 years spent on the Dublin City Council list. I understand how the lists work and the Minister of State understands how the lists work. I understand that there has to be fairness. I suppose I am looking for special treatment because this is a very special case. I do not often come to the floor of the Dáil to argue for individual cases; it is usually more general issues. However, I have been everywhere with this and I am just asking somebody in the Department of housing to please examine this case and work with me to try to get some resolution for a person who has done nothing wrong at all yet who will find herself in an impossible situation.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I can tell that she has a very personal interest in this, and that speaks to the person she is. I thank her for tabling the matter. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for housing.

The response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a cross-departmental and multi-agency issue, with overall policy co-ordinated by the Department of Justice. Responsibility for the development and provision of services to support victims rests with my colleague the Minister for Justice, working in conjunction with Cuan, the statutory domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency under the remit of the Department of Justice.

As regards the waiting list for social housing, it is not possible for a household previously on one social housing waiting list to carry the time spent on that list when applying to another local authority. However, local authorities may provide for exceptional or emergency cases to qualified households, allowing immediate housing outside of normal waiting list priorities, including cases of domestic violence. They may also reserve a certain proportion of dwellings for, among other things, allocation to particular categories of households, particular forms of tenure, and households transferring from other forms of social housing support.

Decisions on the allocation of social housing support are a matter solely for the local authority concerned. I know the Deputy knows that. In fairness, she has made that very clear and she is just looking for a little understanding in highlighting the case here. I have to outline the rules and she knows them. I think we both agree that a methodology needs to be found here to assist in an exceptional case like this. Each application must be considered on its own merits and the individual circumstances taken into account. Local authorities will prioritise allocations to those households they consider to be most in need, which can include victims of domestic violence.

In June 2022, the Department of Justice published Zero Tolerance: Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual & Gender-Based Violence 2022-2026, which is a cross-departmental and multi-agency plan with overall policy co-ordinated by the Department of Justice. As an action in this strategy, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage committed to a review of the 2017 policy and procedural guidance for housing authorities in relation to assisting victims of domestic violence with emergency and long-term accommodation needs in order to ensure continuing effectiveness and consistency in responses to assist victims of domestic violence. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is engaging with Cuan, the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency, on this review and proposed recommendations arising from the review.

I will forward the Deputy's comments to the Minister. It might be worth her while feeding into that strategy as well as a direct response. However, it is clear from the response I have given that there is flexibility in the local authority. Nobody has the capacity to direct from central government a local authority to do anything other than what the guidelines say, but there is flexibility there. I will talk to the Minister and if any kind of enhanced case can be made to assist the Deputy, it is something we can talk about at a later time.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He referred to zero tolerance, but it does not look like zero tolerance because this man can live wherever he bloody well likes and Janet is stuck. I wish the Minister of State could meet this woman because all she has done is work hard. Through no fault of her own, she finds herself in a situation where she could be waiting 30 years to get permanent housing. She does not earn enough to buy a house, but that should not mean that she does not have somewhere secure to live. The Minister of State says two things in the reply. He says, "As regards the waiting list for social housing, it is not possible for a household previously on one social housing ... list to carry the time spent ...". He can see that this is clearly what I am asking. I am asking that some accommodation be made. The local authority does not feel like it has the latitude. I know that exceptions can be made. I understand how awful it is for people on housing lists and I never come in here to plead a personal case for someone. I am doing it simply because it really does not feel to me like the local authority believes it has the scope to look at this separately and to offer a little latitude. I know the people who work hard in Fingal County Council. They are good people and they want to do right by this but they clearly do not feel like they have the wherewithal to do it. I will absolutely feed into the strategy, but perhaps if there were a signal from the Custom House, that might encourage them.

I reiterate that I deal with cases all the time.

The Minister of State does; we all do. We tell people that is the way it is and they have to wait. If the Minister of State could meet this person, she has done nothing wrong and it feels like she is being punished. He can live where he damn well pleases. She is the victim yet she is the one who feels like she is being punished.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I will send on the details to him. I hope somebody can take a look at this.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

I have known the Deputy for a long time. I am aware of the sincerity she brings to the issue. This is not the usual banter that goes on in here. I will meet the woman in question with the Deputy at a time to be decided next week, if we can. I will talk to the officials in the Department to see if a signal can be sent that these are exceptional circumstances. The reply provided to me indicates that there is flexibility and that local authorities can seek to prioritise allocations to households they consider to be most in need, which can include the victims of domestic violence. That is on the record, if that provides some comfort to officials. I have dealt with similar cases. Officials are afraid to break the seal because it may set a precedent that makes it more difficult for them to do their job.

The Deputy presented plenty of evidence to support her case. This was not a minor skirmish; somebody ended up in jail as a result of the violence that was perpetrated. There is clearly a belief on the part of the Garda that there is still a threat. It may be about producing some evidence of exceptional circumstances that will work for the local authority involved. I also have to be clear that the local authority has ultimate responsibility and is not at the behest of central government or the Department in discharging its fundamental duties. We must be careful that we do not grey out those lines. Let use see if we can progress the matter as best we can.

Arts Policy

Deputy Marie Sherlock

This matter relates to the basic income for those involved in the arts. This is a ground-breaking scheme that threw a lifeline to 2,000 artists in 2022. I wish to get assurances from the Minister of State as to what will happen in August when the three-year lifetime of the scheme expires. Many artists are anxious about what is likely to happen. A review is under way, which is absolutely acceptable and understandable. We must make sure that there is good use of public money. However, there is not much clarity as to the process involved here, when details will be published and when those currently in receipt of the basic income will be told what their future is going to look like. Will they be able to reapply? If so, when will the relevant process open? Those are the questions many of them are asking.

The basic income can be construed as a handout, but it is not. It effectively gives artists, particularly early career artists but also those who have been around a number of years, the opportunity to devote time to their art. Successive reviews of the scheme have demonstrated that those in receipt of the scheme can spend more hours on their art, do not have to hold down other jobs and that there is a return to the arts from the scheme. Of what is spent, about 40% of the basic income goes back into the arts. Ultimately, this is about work. The arts are often seen as fluffy. It is about work and the dignity of those who have a particular talent or creative form and want to give their lives to that. People who have approached me wonder if they will be able to pay their rent after August, continue with the successes they have had over the past three years and be able to plan their artistic career to the end of 2025 and beyond. Failure to renew the scheme would be devastating for many in the sector.

There is a huge appetite for the scheme to be extended. There were 8,200 applications for the scheme in 2022. Less than quarter were successful. The cost of the scheme is a drop in the ocean compared with the amount of money spent in other areas. For €35 million, the State gets quite a good return from supporting artists and ensuring that they can get on with their craft and, ultimately, that we live up to the notion that we are supportive of the arts. The reality has traditionally been the opposite; people needed to have very difficult years before achieving success.

This is not only about income; it also relates to the artistic space. The Minister of State will have heard me speak about that on many occasions in the Seanad. Today, it is about the basic income scheme and ensuring it continues. I would like to hear the detail of the process and what will happen post August.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

I know the Deputy has a long-term interest in this area. She has been extremely supportive of the scheme. The basic income for the arts pilot research scheme was the number one recommendation by the arts and culture recovery task force during the Covid-19 pandemic. The task force unanimously agreed that a basic income for artists was the best way to help the to sector recover after the pandemic and prevent a loss of talent to other sectors.

Two impact papers have already been published by the Department, with another due in the coming months. The latest data relating to the basic income for the arts is available on gov.ie. It is a priority for the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, to ensure that the research is completed in order to assess and maximise the impact of the basic income for the arts in line with the programme for Government commitment.

While the research pilot is due to end in August, the basic income for the arts is fully funded to the end of the year. The Department is currently reviewing the data available to date and, as part of this review of the research, will shortly consider proposals regarding the next steps. The data from basic income for the arts pilot research scheme will feed into the Government's consideration of those next steps. The research will form the evidence base upon which the Government can base future policy proposals in this area. The Minister will shortly publish a qualitative research paper based on interviews on the basic income for the arts which provides the lived experience of some of those in receipt of the basic income for the arts. The Department is also undertaking a cost-benefit analysis to obtain a more complete assessment of the impacts of the scheme.

As the Deputy will be aware, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to assess the basic income for artists pilot research scheme to maximise its impact. While the research phase of the pilot scheme is ongoing, it is clear from evidence collected to date that the payment is having a positive impact on participants. The research data collected so far shows that the basic income for the arts payment is having a consistent positive impact across all indicators, positively affecting practice development, sectoral retention, well-being and deprivation. Artists in receipt of the support are typically able to devote more time to their art, experience a boost to their well-being through greater life satisfaction and reduced anxiety and are protected from the precariousness of incomes in the sector to a greater degree than those not receiving the support.

The scheme is underpinned by a gold standard research methodology know as a randomised control trial. This consists of two groups of randomly selected people. One is receiving the basic income payment, the treatment group, while the other, the control group, is not. Analysis of the results involves a comparison of averages between the two groups. As the groups have similar characteristics at baseline and are large, any difference arising during the trial can be assumed to have been caused by the policy. For example, the data shows that those in receipt of the payment completed, on average, almost four new pieces of work more in the past six months than their counterparts in the control group and are 14% more likely to have completed new work.

Some 2,000 artists have benefited from the payment of €325 a week since August 2022. There were more than 8,200 eligible applicants for the scheme. The 2,000 recipients were chosen through an anonymised random selection process. In addition, almost 1,000 artists agreed to participate in a control group. These participants are providing the same data as those in receipt of the basic income for the arts but do not receive the weekly payment.

The participation of those in the control group has been critical in assessing the impact of the basic income for the arts and gathering the data for the research outlined.

As of now, no decision has been taken on the future of the scheme while the data is still being collated and analysed. However, I assure Deputy Sherlock that the issue is foremost in the Minister's mind. As he stated in the Dáil last week, he fully appreciates the importance of the basic income support for artists and is acutely aware that the pilot is due to conclude in August. It is the Minister's intention to make an announcement on the next steps in the coming weeks. The Minister knows there is a broad base of support for the scheme and for the arts research project in the House.

Deputy Marie Sherlock

I thank the Minister of State for that comprehensive response. Notwithstanding all of the detail provided, the question still remains as to whether artists can have any assurance that the payments they receive will end in August or in December, given that the scheme is fully funded to the end of the year.

When the review is complete and a decision is made, it will take time to revise some of the criteria relating to the scheme. In particular, I am extremely mindful of artists with a disability. Those who are in receipt of a disability allowance or blind pension were, unfortunately, excluded to a greater or lesser extent from the basic income because of the means test and the assessment of income. Time is very tight here. August is only three months away. These are individuals who, if they happen to sell a piece of work or receive some grant funding, live from bank transfer to bank transfer. The only regular funding most of them have is this allowance. Out of respect to them, I would like to hear some assurance from the Department as to when the last payments will issue under the current scheme.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

The Minister has advised me that he will meet shortly with the National Campaign For the Arts, NCFA, to hear its views on the scheme in detail. Department officials met the NCFA on 25 April last. It is important to note that the pilot is a research programme and that no decision has been taken as to the continuation of the basic income for the arts. The research evaluating the impact of the pilot scheme is ongoing. A Government decision will be required on a successor scheme. The pilot and the future of the basic income for the arts scheme will be decided when the final results of the research become available. This will provide the Government with the evidence upon which to base future decisions about the basic income for the arts. It is clear from the data, even at this stage, without all of the analysis being done, that it has had a positive impact. Ultimately, however, it will be a matter for the Government to decide what is going to happen.

Deputy Sherlock raised a specific issue. I will revert to the Department on that. I have been provided with information to the effect that the pilot is funded until the end of the year for those in the group that is already part of it. In any wider scheme, we will have to look at the wider impact. If there is a scheme to go beyond the pilot project, it will have to include everyone. Of course, there are budgetary issues that will arise and these will inform the Government's decision. I expect that this would be part of the next budgetary process and the round of Estimates in preparation for budget 2026.

I will bring the Deputy Sherlock's concerns to the attention of the Minister, although he is well aware of them because the Deputy has raised this issue on many occasions. I thank her for continuing to raise it. I have had a chance to meet with various artists who have really seen the value in such a scheme. They believe it supports them in their work. It is not a handout but is very much a support for the arts. Even in times of lesser finances we were able to support the arts sector generally. It is a really important part of our culture and heritage and will obviously remain important into the future.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Thursday, 15 May 2025