I am grateful to the Cathaoirleach for allowing this Commencement matter to be dealt with.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Garda Reserve
Respectfully, the Senator does not trouble me too often.
I am grateful to the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, for coming into the House to substitute for the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, to deal with this matter. I understand the Minister may be receiving medical attention after having a boot on his throat by the former Senator Ross, according to today's Irish Independent, which is an interesting development.
We wish him a speedy recovery.
What I am dealing with is a matter of the greatest seriousness. The Government, on foot of a statutory provision I put into the Garda Síochána Act 2005, committed itself to expanding the Garda Reserve to 2,000 men and women who would voluntarily assist An Garda Síochána in the discharge of its duties, be available as backup and support and be part of An Garda Síochána rooted in the community across rural and urban Ireland.
In 2013 the number of reservist gardaí was 1,164. In 2018 it had sunk to 542. I know that because I have been approached on the street by people I have never met before who have told me that they were reservists disgusted by the way they were treated by An Garda Síochána. I want to make that clear. They were disgusted by the way they were treated. They entered in a spirit of voluntarism and willingness to help An Garda Síochána, willing to do voluntary service in just the same way as reserve constables do in Britain. I led a delegation of Irish media to see the reserve police force, the special constables, in Chester. People such as nurses from ICUs in Chester also volunteered to be woman reserve constables in their spare time.
The experience of Irish reservists, however, has been uniformly awful. The reason the numbers have declined so spectacularly is that they were made to feel redundant, unwanted and, in many cases, actually shunned. They turned up to perform their duties and were left standing there, one arm as long as the other, with nothing to do. The general attitude which percolated down to them through An Garda Síochána was that their services were not required, their presence was an unpleasant consequence of a statutory change and that they had nothing to add to the efficiency or efficacy of An Garda Síochána. I am disgusted by that because I believe it represents a clear issue of culture which came not only from the bottom up - I remember the GRA's opposition to the creation of a reserve in principle - but also from middle ranking and more senior ranking gardaí who did not want the bother of having a reserve force and thought they already had enough problems.
We now have the suggestion there is to be a strategic review but we have not heard who will carry out the review, when it will complete its activities or the like. The result is that this group of men and women have now been reduced to a small remnant of what they were and are being left, effectively, to wither on the branch.
A point made in the other House by a Minister was that this was a matter for the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána. It most certainly is not. I ask the Minister of State to go back to the Department of Justice and Equality and tell it that it is a matter for the Minister for Justice and Equality, personally, whether the Garda Reserve is increased to 2,000 personnel, as he promised, or halved in number as has actually happened since 2013. It is his personal responsibility. Instead of him coming here and telling us about how he wants to do the Minister, Deputy Ross's bidding on how the Judiciary should be appointed, he should be doing his job. His job is to ensure An Garda Síochána operates effectively, that his targets for the recruitment of the Garda Reserve are met, that he insists on the Garda Commissioner and An Garda Síochána concluding any study they want to conduct immediately, that he restores the Garda Reserve to the strength he promised it would be and that he stops this appalling campaign to effectively drive out decent people from the reserve by a process of neglect and indifference.
As the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, and his Minister of State are in the Department of Justice and Equality today, I have the task, due to being on the rota, of responding.
Something must be damaged.
(Interruptions).
I remember the opposition and the issues that arose when a reserve was first mooted and introduced. From my experience of knowing people in the reserve, that some of them had similar appalling experiences to what was outlined by Senator McDowell. Equally, I could mention a number of people who are now gardaí having first been members of the Garda Reserve. It is not accurate to say the treatment meted out to members of the Garda Reserve was universally appalling, as mentioned by Senator McDowell, but there were cultural and other issues.
The introduction of the reserve was an excellent initiative and one which the Minister strongly supported at the time. The Minister wants to acknowledge the deep interest in the reserve that Senator McDowell has, following his role in its establishment. Acknowledging the Senator's experience in this matter, I remind the House that the Garda Reserve was established to enhance the links between An Garda Síochána and local communities through the deployment of locally recruited volunteers who operate in support of their full-time colleagues. The Garda Reserve continues to be a valuable operational resource for An Garda Síochána, with approximately 530 reserve members currently working alongside gardaí to protect and serve their local communities.
The Minister has asked that I take the opportunity to commend the Garda Reserve members for their commitment to serving their communities. It is clear, as in other aspects of the overall organisation of policing and the provision of State services to protect communities, that there is a need to examine the reserve to ensure it both operates to maximum effectiveness and fits coherently into the overall architecture of community policing in Ireland.
As the Senator will be aware, the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland which undertook a review of all aspects of policing in Ireland published its report on 18 September 2018. The commission recommended that recruitment to the reserve be paused, pending completion of a strategic review of the reserve, with a view to ensuring the best possible use was made of this valuable resource. On 18 December 2018, the Government endorsed the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland and agreed to accept all 157 recommendations contained in the report, including those related to the Garda Reserve.
On 18 December, the Minister published a four year high-level plan entitled, A Policing Service for the Future, which sets out the approach to the full implementation of the commission's recommendations. As set out in the implementation plan, the strategic review of the Garda Reserve is one of the key issues being taken forward, as a matter of priority, in 2019. It is prudent that the role of the reserve be considered at this time of policing reform.
I know that Senator McDowell shares the Minister's goal, which is to maximise the full potential of the reserve and ensure it is deployed in a meaningful way that best meets the needs of a modern police service and the communities which it serves. While it is disappointing that the number of reserve members has dropped in recent years, both the Government and the Garda Commissioner remain committed to increasing the strength of the reserve. In that regard, An Garda Síochána has indicated that a training class of approximately 100 reserves who successfully applied under previous recruitment drives will commence training in the first quarter of 2019.
A brief supplementary question, please.
I thank the Minister of State for his response but he knows that the problem runs much deeper than the text of his reply suggests. There is a cultural problem, as he admitted. There is a resistance to the Garda Reserve. If there is to be a review of the reserve, I want to know the following. Who will be on the review? Who will conduct the review? Within what timeframe will they bring back their review? When Mary Harney was a Minister and I was a former Deputy, she commissioned me to carry out a review of company law enforcement and compliance, which we did within three months. Around the same time, the then Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy, asked me to carry out a review of the Central Bank structure. We did it within three months. Either the Government is serious about carrying out a review or this is a kicking the can down the road exercise. I very much fear that it is the latter.
The Minister of State is not the line Minister but I am sure he will find out the information sought.
I will try to ascertain who will conduct the review. In hindsight, perhaps the review of the Central Bank which was carried out in three months was a bit rushed.
A minority report was preferred to our recommendation.
I understand.
We will not trespass on the Central Bank and banking issues. I thank the Minister of State and Senator McDowell.
Exploration Licences
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. I know that this is matter is not within his specific area but I will address it and, I hope, receive some response. On 4 October 2018, by statutory instrument, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment removed from local authorities the power to require an environmental impact assessment for prospecting, which means drilling for mineral deposits such as gold or zinc. On 24 October a circular was forwarded to local authorities advising them not to conduct their own EIAs. Through a statutory instrument the Department has put in place the exact same environmental impact assessment process in place for offshore drilling for fossil fuels.
The body that promotes Ireland as an international destination for mining companies is now the body that regulates mining. We know well how this will work out as the offshore fossil fuel industry has never once, in its entire history, conducted an environmental impact assessment in Irish waters before drilling. According to the annual survey of mining companies conducted by the Fraser Institute of Canada, the mining policies written by the Department have been ranked the number one most attractive to the industry out of 91 jurisdictions and that has been the case for five years in a row. Ireland's policy and regulatory system for mining is so lax that we are more attractive than Guatemala, Bolivia or South Africa, where local communities have risen up and protested against this type of prospecting.
After the nuclear industry, the global minerals industry is the most damaging industry on the planet. Whole mountains have been stripped for gold in Romania. In 2000 the multinational company Aurul leaked cyanide into the Some River in Romania, leaving rivers destroyed across the country. Thousands of people had to leave their homes and many others developed cancer from breathing the toxic dust that resulted from the mining processes which released chemicals such as arsenic for up to 100 miles, yet the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment has allowed over 25% of the Republic of Ireland to be opened up for prospecting without the following: a public consultation; a strategic environmental impact assessment; and proper debate in the Dáil or the Seanad. MOAG of Toronto operates in Carna which is in Connemara. The company has the right to drill without landowner consent across 50 km, even in special areas of conservation. Over the Christmas holidays townlands in Waterford, Cork and Galway were opened up for exploration, again without local authority or county councillor oversight.
What is the Minister of State's intention in that regard? As a prospecting licence for six years costs between a mere €1,250 and approximately €3,000, it is a pittance which grants these companies the right to drill over 35 km, accessing people's private lands. If anything commercial is found, not only does the State get a mere 25% of the royalties, but the taxpayer must also compensate the company for all costs incurred. Is it worth it?
I wish to make the Minister of State aware of what communities in the Sperrin Mountains in Northern Ireland face. The Canadian multinational, Dalradian, plans to create the largest gold mine in Europe in the Sperrins. To do this, it has drilled 500 exploration wells, none of which has planning permission. Local authorities have no power, as the Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland licenses exploratory drilling and prospecting. The largest cyanide processing plant in Europe is to be built to facilitate the mine. Owing to this lack of democratic oversight and accountability, conflict is starting to tear the community apart. We remember all too well what happened with Shell in north Mayo.
It is 100 years since the first Dáil and I find it shocking that we are giving away our rights to companies that have poor track records. I am just very concerned. There has been no public consultation and now local authorities have been stripped of any power they have. I ask for the Minister of State's response.
I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, is taking oral parliamentary questions in the Dáil at the same time as this; therefore, it is just one of those scheduling issues, but I will respond on behalf of his Department and relate to him the questions raised.
It is important to note that mineral exploration drilling projects do not ordinarily require planning permission as they are generally non-invasive, low-level activities. The competent authority for mineral exploration drilling consent is the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment. In accordance with the planning Acts, mineral exploration is an exempt activity and, in general, planning permission is currently only required where a screening for environmental impact assessment, EIA, determines that a full environmental impact assessment is required, in which circumstances the exemption from planning falls and the matter is then referred to the relevant local authority.
Until 2018, it had been considered that the environmental impact assessment process, under Directive 2011/92/EU, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU, did not apply to mineral exploration activities, including mineral exploration drilling. In June last year, however, the Department received legal advice to the effect that mineral exploration drilling should be considered to fall within the scope of "deep drilling", as referred to in the EIA directive. As a result, the exploration and mining division of the Department prioritised the transposition of the directive to ensure all mineral exploration "deep" drilling was subject to screening for EIA.
While work on the transposition was under way, a further problem was identified arising out of SI 543 of 2014. This statutory instrument provides that all "deep" drilling would require mandatory EIA, save in circumstances where the relevant local authority or An Bord Pleanála or the appropriate Minister within the meaning of the Foreshore Acts determined that the "deep" drilling concerned would not have a significant effect on the environment. This was enacted before the Department received the legal advice to the effect that mineral exploration drilling was covered by the concept of deep drilling in the EIA directive.
The result was that there was an unintended lacuna in the legislative framework in respect of the powers of the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and, for a time, a situation arose where the Minister, as competent authority, was unable to carry out his function in this area. This also meant that for a period mineral exploration drilling proposals could only be screened for EIA by the relevant planning authority or, in the case of the foreshore area, by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, even though mineral exploration drilling is generally not subject to planning permission. An immediate stay had to be put on the granting of consents by the Minister for all mineral exploration drilling in the country until such time as the legislative anomaly could be rectified. This took a number of months to resolve because of the legal complexity and, regrettably, a number of jobs were lost in the industry during that time.
The necessary amending legislation, SI 384 of 2018, which provided the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment with the legal basis for undertaking EIA screening, was eventually enacted on 2 October. It should be reiterated that this statutory instrument does not have effect for planning purposes as mineral exploration drilling is in general not subject to planning permission unless it is determined that a full EIA is required. I should also like to make clear that the signing of the statutory instrument did not take any authority from local authorities and that section 5 of the planning Acts remains in place, as was previously the case.
The Senator may ask a brief supplementary question. The difficulty she has is that the Minister of State is not the line Minister.
Absolutely.
I will take the questions, though.
I thank the Minister of State and appreciate the clarification on the matter. It must be made very clear that where an EIA takes place there must also be community involvement because the last thing we want is to have multinationals coming in and creating chaos in communities. I thank the Minister of State for the clarification.
I am sure the Senator will find other ways of raising the matter. It is important to her.
Medical Card Appeals
I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne. The reason I have tabled this matter is that I am encountering a lot of frustration in my office about medical cards. How many appeals have been upheld in the mid-west? Limerick, north Tipperary and Clare all come within the same catchment area. I have dealt with several people who have terminal illnesses and received four or five items of correspondence from the HSE questioning whether they are sick or still sick. It is terrible. I recently dealt with one medical card application for someone who was ill. It took seven months to be delivered. When people are at a vulnerable time in their lives and ill, it is not acceptable that it should take seven months for a medical card to be delivered. I do not say everyone should qualify for a medical card, but there are people at vulnerable times in their lives, perhaps with terminal illnesses, which is the case with most of the people to whom I refer. It is frustrating that they keep receiving back more forms and red letters asking questions that have been asked, which is the reason I tabled this matter. It is frustrating not only for the people dealing with this but especially for the person who is ill. I am dealing with someone who is going through treatment for the fourth time. They still have not received their medical card, which is totally unacceptable because they have been through an awful lot. They were given some very bad news during the week and the same day a letter arrived from the HSE still questioning how ill they were. I wanted to raise this issue with the Minister of State because she needs to be made aware that there is a lot of frustration and that people are not receiving an acceptable level of courtesy. Perhaps she might address the issue of delivery of the medical card also.
It is extraordinary that the Senator has to raise the matter, but I will allow the Minister of State respond.
I thank the Cathaoirleach and Senator Byrne. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Harris.
As the Senator will be aware, eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE in accordance with the provisions of the Health Act 1970, as amended. Applicants must complete and submit a medical card application form to the Health Service Executive national medical card unit for assessment.
Every effort is made by the HSE, within the framework of the legislation, to support applicants in applying for medical cards and, in particular, to take full account of the difficult circumstances in the cases of applicants who may be in excess of the income guidelines. The national medical card unit receives approximately 39,000 medical and GP visit card applications per month. A large percentage of these applications will be deemed unsuccessful for reasons such as insufficient information provided or failing to meet the qualifying criteria. Where a person is unhappy with a decision concerning entitlement to a medical card, he or she has the right of appeal to the HSE appeals officer. The HSE's national appeals office plays an important role in ensuring procedures, guidelines and legislation are correctly and fairly followed. The appeals officer will review the original decision and make an independent decision, taking into consideration relevant legislation and guidelines. In particular, the appeals officer considers if income and expenses have been appropriately assessed and if the applicant is in a category of people who are exempt from the financial means assessment.
Community healthcare organisation, CHO, 3 region covers Clare, Limerick and north Tipperary, with a population of almost 400,000 people. In 2018 only 25 medical card appeals from the CHO 3 region were submitted to the HSE’s national appeals office. In these cases the independent and impartial appeals officer reviewed the original decision made and ultimately deemed the 25 applications to be subsequently eligible for a medical card. This demonstrates the important role of an appeals mechanism, ensuring good governance, impartiality and due regard are given to the nature of decisions related to medical card eligibility.
The HSE also recognises the importance of having a compassionate and holistic process in the assessment of medical card applications. To this end, a number of measures have been implemented, including the development of a burden of illness questionnaire. This questionnaire is being rolled out in circumstances where the assessing doctor in the HSE's national medical card unit requires a more comprehensive assessment of an applicant's medical and social circumstances and any resulting undue financial hardship.
I hope this clarifies the matter for the Senator and reassures her that the medical card appeals process is operated in a fair, impartial and efficient manner and within its legislative framework. I have listened to what the Senator said and if there is any way that the Minister's office or I can help in dealing with some of the cases she has raised, particularly those involving people who are terminally ill or fighting an illness and dealing with the emotions and everything else that goes with having a severe illness, we will do so. If she provides details, I will certainly bring the cases to the attention of the relevant authority.
Anybody with a terminal or long-term illness should not have to fight for a medical card but the point is taken.
I agree but there are legislative protocols in place.
I know. There is no utopia.
What I take most from the Minister of State's reply is the reference to an holistic and compassionate approach. While some people can be very nice to deal with, I cannot believe somebody who is on a fourth round of treatment still has to fight for a medical card. Discretion is still being held impeded by red tape and more compassion and discretion need to be shown. Writing to people and asking if they are still ill on their fourth round of treatment is not the correct way to go about it. I understand it is not the Minister of State's fault but it is something that needs to be raised and highlighted. I would appreciate if the Minister of State would take that message back to the Minister.
I will.
If the Senator raised the matter on local radio, someone might listen.
Respite Care Services Availability
I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule to attend this morning. I will discuss the important issue of the suspension of much needed respite services at Annalee View Respite Centre in Cootehill, County Cavan. As I am sure the Minister of State can imagine, this is causing great hardship to the many families in counties Cavan and Monaghan who depend greatly on this service.
This issue demonstrates the clear lack of respite services to cater for families in need in counties Monaghan and Cavan. I thank the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, who attended a meeting with the families arranged by my colleague, Deputy Brendan Smith. I sincerely hope something positive comes out of that meeting. I also recognise and commend the families of the individuals affected by the suspension. They have organised into a lobbying group to try to address this issue. I understand the Annalee View facility is out of bounds for families and has been for a number of months. As a result, they have not been given any facility to allow respite care for themselves or the loved ones for whom they care. As I said, this issue shines a light on the chronic lack of respite care services. It also highlights the need for a separate respite care facility for children in order that we would have a designated centre for adults and another for children.
Family carers, adults and child dependants depend greatly on and look forward to the all too short break they get in respite care facilities. Unfortunately, they have not been able to get a break for some time. One family member told me that the family had been waiting for two and a half years to get into the system. Given the high care needs of some of the individuals in question, it is disappointing to learn that it takes so long for them to enter the system. I am sure the Minister of State will agree that is simply not good enough. I understand a number of buildings are lying idle on the St. Davnet's complex in Monaghan town. The option of using these buildings to provide a temporary or even a more long-term solution to the immediate problem should be explored.
The hardworking, decent people in the Cavan and Monaghan area who provide much love, care and attention on a 24-7 basis deserve much better. The least we can do is provide them with a basic respite care service whenever it is needed. I urge the Minister of State to ask the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, to treat this issue as a matter of urgency because the individuals in question need a break. I hope the Minister of State will find a solution to this problem as soon as possible.
I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath. I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this important issue and giving me an opportunity to outline the position on the provision of respite services in counties Cavan and Monaghan. The Government's ongoing priority is the safeguarding of vulnerable people in the care of the health service. We are committed to providing services and supports for people with disabilities which will empower them to live independent lives. Respite care services are an important part of the range of services supporting people with disabilities and their families.
The need for increased respite care services is acknowledged and the HSE continues to work with all service providers to explore various ways of responding to this need in line with the budget available. In 2018, there was a significant improvement in respite services. An additional €10 million was provided to fund 12 new respite care houses. That is one in each HSE community healthcare area, as well as an additional three houses in the greater Dublin area in response to the very high demand for respite care from this area. These additional houses are providing additional respite care for families who need it. Ten houses have opened to date, with the remaining two scheduled to open shortly. When fully operational, this will provide 19,000 extra overnights and 2,520 home-sharing nights annually. As part of its ongoing service provision, this year the HSE will provide more than 182,500 respite care nights and 32,662 day respite care sessions for families in need across the country.
I am informed by the HSE that respite care services within Cavan and Monaghan disability services are currently provided as follows: Steadfast House has the capacity to provide 1,008 adult respite care beds per year; Annalee View Respite Centre has the capacity to provide 910 adult respite care beds per year; and St. Christopher’s Disability Centre, on average, provides 730 adult respite care beds per year.
Annalee View Respite Centre, Cootehill, County Cavan can accommodate five service users at a time - three bedrooms upstairs and two downstairs. It provides alternative respite care weeks between child and adult service users with an intellectual and/or physical disability. The number of adult service users continually increases as service users transfer from child to adult services; therefore, this impacts on the level of respite care existing service users receive. In addition, a number of service users have associated mobility needs which means they can only access downstairs bedrooms. This, too, affects the level of respite care they receive.
Respite care services in Annalee were recently restricted owing to the needs of one person. However, the restriction is now lifted and the service has returned to normal capacity.
We are acutely aware that families need support to care for their loved ones. The Minister of State recently met a group of parents from the Cavan-Monaghan area to listen to their concerns and discuss respite care services. I want to assure the House that the Government is committed to providing a range of accessible respite care supports for people with a disability and their families. I will respond again when the Senator has concluded.
I thank the Minister of State for the response. As I said, I acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, met the families in a meeting organised by my colleague, Deputy Brendan Smith. There is clearly a need for respite care services and the families are determined that they will not go away until such time as they see an adequate service available to them. The Minister of State might inform the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, that they are determined to seek what is a very basic need for respite care services for the people they love and for whom they care. Other colleagues and I will ensure that happens, I hope sooner rather than later.
I again thank the Senator. I certainly will speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, about the concerns he has raised. I emphasise again the importance of respite care services. My family has used respite care services in the past for my parents. It is very important that we reach out to families because they are doing an extraordinary amount of work, much of which cannot be valued in monetary terms. It is important that we allow families have that respite care, even an overnight stay. The Minister of State understands that need and the difficulties being experienced. He continues to appeal for more funding, which in many ways will open up other services within communities. In terms of the issue the Senator raised, if somebody is waiting two and a half years for the opportunity to avail of respite care, that is far too long. I will relay that message to the Minister of State who may revert to the Senator on it.