With the permission of the Chair, I would like to share time with Senator John Kelly who has a profound and long-standing interest in this issue.
Adjournment Matters
Wind Energy Guidelines
The sharing of time is not allowed on Adjournment matters.
No disrespect to the Chair, but I have shared time on the Adjournment on numerous occasions.
I am advised it is not allowed, but I will use my discretion.
If the Senator has shared time previously, I must check on that. If it has been allowed, far be it from me to stop him now. I will check the regulations.
I fully respect the official and the Chair in this matter, but I assure them that I have been facilitated a number of times.
I believe the Senator. Thousands might not but I do.
I appreciate the Chair's lenience. I do not want to delay the Minister.
The Senators will have two minutes each. The Senator has wasted half a minute.
This is a divisive issue throughout rural communities. We repeatedly hear from the Government benches and Ministers that a robust planning regime is in place but I am sure the Minister will agree that people have been given reason in the past two decades to doubt the planning process. We are all familiar with the Priory Hall fiasco. There are other such examples throughout the country.
I do not represent vexatious people or those who protest at the drop of a hat but rural families with young children are genuinely concerned about living within 500 m of monstrous wind turbines in clusters of between 30 and 50. I commend the Minister and his Department for initiating a process of revising the guidelines and planning regulations pertaining to wind farms. It was necessary, as the current regulations are not fit for purpose. Nowhere in Europe are there turbines as large as 187 m. They reach as high as the spire at the top of Liberty Hall. We are asking families to live within 500 m of them. This is untenable. The new planning guidelines should include the recommendations made by Senator Kelly's Wind Turbines Bill, under which wind turbines must be located at a sufficient set-back distance from family homes. The issue is causing considerable distress and division among rural communities.
I welcome the Minister. We need to bring people with us on this issue. To do so, we need consensus. Proper set-back distances will achieve that and remove the need to debate the viability of wind energy. According to the Department, the set-back distances outlined in my Bill meant that Ireland would not achieve its targets.
At our think-in on Monday, we received a presentation from offshore wind farm developers. Offshore wind farms are twice as expensive to build as onshore wind farms but are eight times more productive. The mathematics suggest that this is the direction we should be taking. This situation is like someone deciding to get married and to build a one-bedroom house, only to add more bedrooms when he or she has children.
We are not seeing democracy in action when the Government can simply decide that it does not support a Bill that has passed all Stages in the Seanad, effectively burying it. This issue will become more prominent nationally. The only way to solve it and to get people off the Government's back is to keep wind farms so far from homes that they do not affect people.
I thank Senators Whelan and Kelly for raising this important issue. I am taking this matter on behalf of the delegated Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan.
My Department's wind energy development guidelines were published in June 2006 and provide advice for planning authorities on catering for wind energy through the development plan and development management processes. The guidelines are also intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country in the identification of suitable locations for wind energy development and the treatment of planning applications for such developments.
My Department, in conjunction with the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and other stakeholders, is undertaking a targeted review of the 2006 guidelines, focusing on noise, proximity and shadow flicker. A press notice was issued in January inviting submissions on this targeted review. More than 550 submissions were received from individual members of the public and various stakeholders in response to the notice. In anyone's language, this is a strong response to the first stage of a process that will provide further and more extensive opportunities for the public to shape the review.
Earlier this year the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, commissioned the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, to invite proposals from suitably qualified organisations for the completion of a study to examine the significance of noise related to onshore wind farms. The objective of the study is to obtain evidence upon which to evaluate the appropriateness of the existing guidelines in respect of noise impacts and, if considered necessary, suggest changes. It will take account of the following key contextual issues: the evolution of wind turbine technologies since the current guidelines were published; experience to date in their application; research relating to wind turbine noise issues, including an examination of international practice, since the guidelines were adopted; and Ireland's binding targets in terms of renewable energy uptake and penetration.
The SEAI awarded the contract for carrying out the study to Marshall Day Acoustics in July 2013. Marshall Day Acoustics has significant international experience in this field and has previously participated in reviews of the wind farm noise guidelines for the Australian and New Zealand Governments. This study will form a key input into the review of the statutory guidelines. It is expected to be completed shortly to allow preparation and publication of revised statutory guidelines in draft form.
The indicative timetable for the publication of the draft guidelines is the fourth quarter of this year. The draft guidelines will, like all other new or revised guidelines, go out for extensive public consultation for a period of six weeks to two months to allow for publication of the final guidelines in 2014. Once the consultation period is closed, the submissions received on the draft guidelines will be considered and taken into account in the final form of the guidelines.
I am conscious of the concern in some communities regarding the development of wind energy while recognising the importance of renewable, clean energy for the future of the environment and the economy. I assure the Senators that the final wind energy development guidelines, when published, will take cognisance of all views.
I thank the Minister for his frank and thorough response. Recent concerns have been voiced by the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association, ITBA, about the development of wind farms of the magnitude proposed in the midlands, amounting to some 2,500 turbines across a swathe of counties Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Kildare and Roscommon. One wind farm has been proposed for an area that is not even in the designated area. This is inappropriate and undermines people's confidence in the planning process. The area is Kildangan in south County Kildare, home to one of the country's-----
Was it approved for planning?
No, it is in process.
It is not undermining the planning process if it has not already been adjudicated upon.
I respect that. However, it is inappropriate for wind farm developers to seek permission in areas that are not zoned for wind energy projects.
Public health issues should be strongly embedded in the new guidelines. While it is important that we take into account issues such as the environment, biodiversity, livestock and bloodstock, surely the health of families must be foremost in our considerations. I look forward to the publication of the draft guidelines, at which point we will examine them further and receive the input of all stakeholders.
Medical Card Eligibility
I welcome the Minister of State. I have raised this issue several times. It relates to the removal of medical cards and the need to implement medical cards for children with disabilities, including moderate intellectual disabilities. In recent months I have been inundated by representations from people whose medical cards have been removed.
That is despite the fact that there have been severe cutbacks in the services they are trying to access. Their respite care grant has been cut, while waiting times for such services have become longer. I appreciate that there are more medical cards now than a few years ago, but some of these people have been told that they earn €58 or €62 too much to qualify for medical cards. One must consider, however, how much it costs for parents of the children involved, in addition to those aged over 18, to access services they cannot obtain in the public domain. They are spending far in excess of those who are in receipt of medical cards.
More discretion should be exercised when it comes to granting medical cards for those with disabilities. For example, I know of one family whose child requires special orthopaedic shoes. Such shoes would cost over €900 a pair. A child might need three pairs of shoes annually, yet the parents may be told that they earn too much to get a medical card. The cost of private physiotherapy and occupational therapy far outweighs what it would cost to grant a family a medical card on financial grounds. The Minister of State should examine the situation. I hope the forthcoming budget will provide better access to health care services. The Minister of State should consider those who greatly require medical cards for their children with disabilities. They do not abuse the system by visiting the doctor every day, yet they need the security a medical card can offer to access the medical care and attention they require.
I thank the Senator for raising this issue to which I have given much time, attention and thought.
Medical cards are provided to persons who are, under the provisions of the Health Act 1970 and in the opinion of the HSE, unable without undue hardship to arrange GP services for themselves and their dependants. The assessment for a medical card is determined primarily by reference to the means, including the income and reasonable expenditure, of the applicant and his or her partner and dependants. Under the legislation, determination of eligibility for a medical card is the responsibility of the HSE. The Health Act 1970 is the legislative basis upon which people are granted medical cards.
The HSE has produced national assessment guidelines to provide a clear framework to assist in the making of reasonable, consistent and equitable decisions when assessing an applicant for the General Medical Services scheme. These guidelines are publicly available and can be downloaded from the HSE's medical card website.
While there is no automatic entitlement to a medical card for persons with specific illnesses or with a disability, the HSE has discretion to award a medical card to avoid undue hardship, even where the person exceeds the income guidelines. The HSE has established a panel of community medical officers to assist in the processing of applications for medical cards on a discretionary basis where a person exceeds the income guidelines but where there are difficult personal circumstances, such as an illness or physical disability. The community medical officer reviews and interprets medical information provided by the applicant for the Primary Care Reimbursement Service, PCRS, on a confidential basis. He or she liaises with general practitioners, hospital consultants and other health professionals, as appropriate, to determine the health needs of the applicant and his or her family and dependants. The community medical officer then applies discretion, within the guidelines, to determine whether the applicant is suffering from medical hardship. This thorough process of assessment ensures medical cards are issued to medical applicants whose income is above the guidelines but where illness or disability would cause undue hardship to them in providing GP services for themselves and their dependants.
The HSE also has a system in place in relation to the provision of emergency medical cards for patients who are terminally ill or who are seriously ill and in urgent need of medical care that they cannot afford. Emergency medical cards are issued within 24 hours of receipt of the required patient details and the letter of confirmation of the condition from a doctor or a medical consultant. This can be initiated through the local health office by the office manager who has access to a dedicated fax and e-mail contact within the PCRS.
With the exception of terminally ill patients, the HSE issues all emergency cards on the basis that the patient is eligible for a medical card on the basis of means or undue hardship, and that the applicant will follow up with a full application within a number of weeks of receiving the emergency card. As a result, emergency medical cards are issued to a named individual, with a limited eligibility period of six months.
The arrangement is slightly different for persons with a terminal illness. Once the terminal illness is verified, patients are given an emergency medical card for six months. Given the nature and urgency of the issue, the HSE has appropriate escalation routes to ensure the person gets the card as quickly as possible.
The HSE ensures the system responds to the variety of circumstances and complexities faced by individuals. Where it is drawn to my attention or that of the Department or the HSE that there are problems, for whatever reason, with operating the system I have just described, I will attend to such problems and address them.
The Senator said it would be appropriate or desirable to have more discretion in granting medical cards. However, the Health Act 1970 distributes medical cards on the basis of means. That is what the law states and we must operate within the legal parameters. Earlier this year I examined the question of universal access to GP care, which is a broader project in the programme for Government, including the roll-out of free GP care. The original proposal in the programme for Government was to start with people on the long-term illness scheme and then move on to high-tech drugs and others. There were huge difficulties and legal complications associated with awarding a medical card on the basis of an illness or condition. It was extremely difficult because of the diagnosis of particular illnesses. The basis for a diagnosis of a particular condition, illness or disability is never straightforward. It was always going to be extremely difficult to draw up new legislation that would set out a scheme for awarding medical cards on the basis of an illness or condition. That is because our system, under the 1970 Act, is based on means and hardship rather than on illness, condition and disability. I am making that point to emphasise how difficult it would be to go down that route.
I earnestly hope we will have universal access, without fees, to GPs and primary care for every citizen, irrespective of means or state of health. It is a commitment in the programme for Government and we will do it, but we obviously have to do it in stages. We want to have a preventive primary care system in order that everybody will get access to it. Nothing is free because it has to be funded, but we will have universal access to GP care. That is what I want to see happening.
I thank the Minister of State for his answer and take on board everything he has said. In recent years, however, there has been a clampdown on medical cards for people with disabilities. I am talking about people who are wheelchair bound and have a distinct, severe disability, be it mental or physical.
For example, in the past week I have been contacted by three people, an 18 year old, a 15 year old and a 20 year old, all of whom, despite being medical card holders all their lives, have been denied medical cards. Every year their medical card entitlement is reviewed, they fight their cases and their medical cards are returned. This is an unnecessary and burdensome process on people who already have an awful lot on their plates. I ask that the Minister of State take another look at situations where it has been proved time and again that a medical card has been reinstated so as to ensure people with an obvious and severe medical or mental disability do not have to endure ongoing battles every year to have their medical cards reinstated.
I will bring the cases mentioned to the Minister of State's attention.
Departmental Staff Redeployment
Cuirim céad fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit agus tá súil agam go raibh briseadh deas aige don samhradh.
I raise an issue that has been exercising the minds of people in Connemara in the past few weeks, namely, the transfer of community welfare officers to the Department of Social Protection and their proposed new roles and responsibilities. While people understand the need for change and are not concerned with the proposed change in roles and responsibilities, they are concerned about service provision in their area.
As the Minister of State will be aware, Connemara is a huge geographical area. Services previously provided by community welfare officers in areas such as Carraroe, Tully, Carna, Cill Chiaráin and so on are now to be provided from central areas in Galway and Clifden, with people having to travel to these centres to avail of services. In this regard, a number of issues arise. First, many of the people who need to avail of these services are financially challenged. Even if they did have the wherewithal to travel, the public transport system is appalling and there are few connecting services. For example, there is no public transport from the Carna or Cill Chiaráin to Clifden, which is a journey of approximately 50 km. This means a person who needs to access services in Clifden will either have to own a car, be dependent on another person for a lift or have to pay for a taxi and so on. This is outside the means of a number of the people who need to avail of these services. The situation is similar in other areas of Connemara. What is the future of these services?
The other issue I wish to raise is a linguistic one. I commend the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, for the opening of a MABS office in Carraroe. The argument for the opening of that office was that the people of the Gaeltacht deserved a service as Gaeilge, which is now being provided. It is a fantastic service, which we welcome. The corollary now is that because of the relocation of services to Clifden and Galway, service provision as Gaeilge to people in the Gaeltacht, which is their right under the Constitution, will not be easily accessible. It is a huge issue. People are worried that the Irish language service provision currently available, which has been traditionally provided by CWOs, will be lost. They are concerned about the removal of services from rural areas and the impact of this on the Aran Islands and Connemara in general.
The Minister has received correspondence on this issue from a number of community groups. There are conflicting reports on it. The Minister indicated to one community group from Ballinahown that she would have the situation investigated. The following day, the Department stated in the media that the decision had already been taken. There appears to be a great deal of confusion around provision of these services. I hope the Minister of State will be in a position to clarify the situation.
I thank the Senator for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton.
The staffing needs for all areas within the Department of Social Protection are continuously reviewed to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources with a view to providing an efficient service for those who rely on the schemes operated by that Department. This includes meeting commitments under the Pathways to Work programme to provide opportunities, support and assistance to the approximately 420,000 people on the live register by intensifying the Department's level of engagement with people who are unemployed and, in particular, those who are, or become, long-term unemployed.
In the coming months up to 20 staff drawn primarily from the Department's community welfare services, social welfare inspectors and community services will take up new roles as activation case officers in County Galway. These changes, which are largely predicated on the rationalisation of the community welfare service clinics, will increase activation case officer numbers in the county from 13 to 33 staff. It was in this context that a decision was made to relocate community welfare services from Connemara to Galway city and Clifden. Staff based in An Spidéal and An Ceathrú Rua will relocate to Galway city while services based in Cill Chiaráin will relocate to Clifden. The relocation will take effect from 30 September 2013. The Minister is very conscious of the need to provide efficient and effective customer-facing services at a local level for customers of the Department. Customers in these areas will be encouraged to contact the service by phone, e-mail or post in the first instance and, in most cases, their queries will be answered without them having to attend a public clinic in Galway city or Clifden.
As part of the relocation of community welfare services to Galway city and Clifden, the frequency of available public clinics is being increased to five days per week in the case of Galway and to three days per week in the case of Clifden. The number of staff available to these clinics will be increased, giving customers improved access to services there. If a customer is unable to travel to Galway city or Clifden, for example due to illness, an officer will arrange a visit to the customer's home if necessary. The community welfare service on the Aran Islands is currently provided by an officer from the Department who is based in Galway city and who travels to the islands as required. It is likely that this will continue to be the case in the future. Customers on the Aran Islands can also contact the community welfare service in Galway by phone, e-mail or post if required.
The Department of Social Protection is conscious of its obligations under the Official Languages Act and is committed to providing a service through Irish for customers. There are a number of staff in the offices covering the Connemara Gaeltacht who provide a service through Irish and this will continue to be the case. The relocation of services coincides with greater integration between the community welfare service and other locally-based staff of the Department. This process will be further enhanced by the roll-out of a full Intreo service to Clifden later this year and to Galway city next year.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. While I appreciate he is taking this matter on behalf of his colleague, it is unacceptable to the community in Connemara that these services are being removed from the area. Many customers will be unable to travel to Galway city or Clifden, not due to illness but for financial reasons. It is essential they are able to avail of services in their areas.
I ask that the Minister of State relay to the Minister, Deputy Burton, that this decision needs to be reviewed. It is not workable on the ground or practicable. While it might result in savings for the Department it will place a huge burden on the people living in the areas concerned.
The Seanad adjourned at 8.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 19 September 2013.