Joint Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen díospóireacht -
Thursday, 13 Jul 2023

Decisions on Public Petitions Received

An Cathaoirleach

There are five petitions for consideration today. The first for consideration is Petition No. P00021/22 regarding Kiltimagh water scheme from Mr. Tom Carney:

We are a village of about twenty families in Kiltimagh, County Mayo. The age ranges between twelve months and 88 years old. We have never had a drinking water supply in our village. We started back in 2012 working with Mayo County Council.

It goes on:

Fast forward finally getting funding for a water supply to all homes in 2019. Since them we have hit road blocks with Mayo Council and Irish water. All funding is in place and all family’s had contributed €1500 to €3000 each household. We provided all maps worked with approved contractors all to no avail. Irish water and Mayo council don’t get along and we will never get a water supply. We have [petitioned] every political figure in [M]ayo. To no avail again. Mayo Council and Irish water don’t get along. I have at least sixty emails and letters to council and Irish water. I have three very young children and buying bottled water has my family struggle day in day out. All the same for the village.

The current status of this petition is that a response was received from Irish Water on 7 June. The secretariat recommended that the response be forwarded to the petitioner at the private meeting of the committee of 22 June 2022. On 5 July 2023, the petitioner contacted the secretariat in respect of the Cleragh-Ballinamona water scheme and the continuing issue of 24 families facing no water supply. The committee recommends writing to Irish Water and requesting an update on the status of the works on the Kiltimagh water treatment works, which were scheduled for completion in mid-2023, and on the status of the networks extension work required at the Cleragh community water connection within 14 days. The committee also recommends writing to Mayo County Council requesting an update on the progress of extending the public network to supply the Cleragh community. Do members have any views?

Deputy Pat Buckley

It is 2023. That this place in Kiltimagh does not have a water supply is crazy. On top of that, there is the issue of water charges and how that went, yet these people were willing to pay between €1,500 and €3,000. It is simply not good enough. County council workers are on one-day stoppages at the moment and boil water notices are in place in many counties today. I have been a Deputy for seven years and have been raising it throughout that time. Funnily enough, I raised the issue of Whitegate water system last week as a Topical Issue matter. The boil water notice has been lifted, but it was affecting 10,000 people. I would support inviting in those who are accountable and responsible in Cork County Council and Irish Water. I certainly agree with the recommendations of that petition.

An Cathaoirleach

I agree. In 2023, that any families would be in houses without water is crazy. It just goes to show that, as we have always said, Irish Water is one of the biggest quangos that was ever set up, and it has done absolutely nothing to improve our water system, as far as I am concerned. We hear daily in our offices that there are constant boil water notices and water supplies are being turned out. We cannot get in touch with the agency most of the time. I agree that we will take the recommendations and see what comes back. Irish Water is on our work programme to come in at some stage in the near future. There are other situations as well, such as in Kilross. If we are bringing in Irish Water, we will look at all these petitions and try to get answers from it whenever that happens. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Petition No. P00060/22, regarding saving Clifden District Hospital, is from Ms Anne McDonagh. The petitioner stated:

Clifden District Hospital is having its services and resources systematically stripped by the HSE. This has been occurring for multiple years and has seen the gradual dismantling of the hospital over time. This slow and intentional removal of its services has undermined the hospital’s ability to serve the community of Clifden and the surrounding areas. This long-standing agenda has culminated in the shocking news that the HSE intends to immediately end all respite care for the elderly in Clifden Hospital – a vital service which has provided care for those in need for many years and offered crucial support to families and carers.

The secretariat received a response from the HSE on 23 June in reply to the petitioner’s correspondence of 27 March. The committee recommends that the correspondence from the Health Service Executive be forwarded to the petitioner for comment within 14 days.

Deputy Pat Buckley

I again agree with the recommendations on this. There seems to be a domino pattern here. I would be interested in what comes back on that response.

An Cathaoirleach

A pattern is forming throughout the country. We spent two and a half hours of the first part of this meeting on the issues at Owenacurra, St. Brigid's in Carrick-on-Suir and Loughrea, and here is another one that is more or less exactly the same. All the reports we are getting about these closures are almost cut-and-paste. The only difference is the front cover of the reports. Is the recommendation agreed? Agreed.

Petition No. P00011/23, concerning undocumented migrants housed without consultation, is from Ms Catherine Sheehan. She stated:

Renovation work commenced on unused building on Gerald Griffin Street, Cork in early March 2023. Two front facing windows were replaced. A week later outside of building power washed. A week after power washing took place contractors Better Built Homes commenced work inside the building. Notice was erected to the outside of the building third week of March, after work had commenced and no local consultation was sought. The notice indicates "refugees and homeless". As contact made with all concerned (even the building contractors who are rude and dismissive) all communication has been snubbed.

The petitions case manager corresponded with Cork City Council and Mr. Graham Doyle, Secretary General of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, on 27 April 2023 and received a reply on 2 May 2023 advising the case manager to contact the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The case manager wrote to the Secretary General of that Department and received a reply on 22 June 2023. The secretariat also received a reply from Cork City Council on 7 July 2023 confirming the use of the building to provide appropriate temporary accommodation for Ukrainians in a central and well-serviced location, as required by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. The facility is due to open in July 2023. Mr. Geaney noted in his letters that local elected officials have been informed of the building's use and the council has advised that once the building is available for use and in advance of occupation, a walkthrough of the building will be arranged.

The committee recommends that the correspondence from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth be forwarded to the petitioner along with the correspondence from Cork City Council.

Deputy Pat Buckley

I agree. There is a lot of work in that, given the response runs to more than eight pages. The responses from the Secretary General and the assistant chief executive of Cork City Council seem to be good enough. We will wait and see what the response of the petitioner is. I agree with the recommendation.

An Cathaoirleach

That is agreed.

Petition No. P00012/23, regarding justice and safety, is from Mr. C.J. Gaffney. The petitioner stated:

We are calling on the Government to compensate us out of the European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) which was offered at our meeting in Brussels and confirmed by the documents and radio interview contained in the links below by Irish MEP´s and senior EU officials, considering the unique and unprecedented circumstances of the case. We must have rights in this day and age. We are also asking for an official and impartial investigation in all aspects of the case on how such a dangerous vessel was certified as passing all stability criteria and continuously issued with valid sailing certification. This vessel was also accepted onto the Irish Register and issued with an Irish Fishing License, and as such, what was the role of the Irish Marine Survey Office in the handling this case.

The committee recommends that the correspondence from the petitioner be forwarded to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, that the correspondence from the Department of Transport be forwarded to the petitioner and that the committee refer the petition to the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries to review this issue at a European level.

Deputy Pat Buckley

This is substantial. As I said at a previous meeting, we are not miracle workers. We will go with the recommendations and see what we can do about this. It is a difficult process and it has to follow procedure, so I will agree with the recommendations.

An Cathaoirleach

Much work has gone into this and we do not know what the outcome will be. We hope that if there are loopholes, they will be closed such that no one else will be caught in these circumstances. Is that agreed? Agreed.

P00018/23, "Guarantee the European legal standards for all Irish citizens in all European states", is in the name of Mr. Carles Pujol. The petition is that the Irish State actively consider the following issues as a result of the current arrest - on Tuesday, 28 March - of an MEP in Spain despite having immunity as a Member of the European Parliament. This raised real concerns that the rule of law is not respected and that court processes and policing are used for political purposes, contrary to human rights and EU rule of law. For information, the petitions case manager corresponded with Mr. Joe Hackett, Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, on 8 June 2023 and received a reply on 29 June 2023. The committee recommends that the correspondence from the Department of Foreign Affairs be forwarded to the petitioner and that the petition be deemed closed based on the Department's response "that we respect the constitutional and territorial integrity of Spain, and that any related arrangements are matters to be determined by their own citizens, through their own institutions, in keeping with the rule of law". Do members have any views on this or is it agreed?

Deputy Pat Buckley

It is agreed.

An Cathaoirleach

That concludes our consideration of public petitions this afternoon. I invite members of the public to submit petitions via our online portal, which is available at petitions.oireachtas.ie. A petition may be addressed to the Houses of the Oireachtas on a matter of general public concern or interest or an issue of public policy.

Is there are any other business? Would members like to make any final comments?

Deputy Pat Buckley

I thank the whole committee and all the staff. I say this all the time, but the amount of work, toing and froing, paperwork, questions and attempts to squeeze out answers makes our job an awful lot easier, as does reading the condensed material. I just always want to put that on the record. The staff have been absolutely exemplary.

An Cathaoirleach

I wish to be associated with those remarks. As Chair of the committee, I think I speak for the rest of the committee as regards the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. To Karen, Barbara, Alex and the rest of the team, thank you for making our job easy and have a good holiday. We will see you in September, unless there is an emergency in the meantime. I thank Karen and all the staff here and wish them all the best for the summer.

The joint committee adjourned at 4.33 p.m. sine die.