I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to the Chamber. Our first commencement matter is from Senator Boyhan.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Agriculture Schemes
I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important Commencement matter. I know the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is in Brussels to discuss fisheries policy and is held there. I am sorry he cannot be here. The Minister of State is not from the Department of agriculture but I thank him for coming to the House to take this matter on behalf of the Department.
The matter I raise relates to correspondence that many Members will have received, certainly members of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine, from Ms Elaine Farrell, who is the Oireachtas representative of the Irish Farmers Association. I thank Ms Farrell for her diligent work in communicating with the Oireachtas, its Members and the committee on all matters to do with agriculture that are relevant to the IFA. I thank the IFA for its continuous advocacy work on behalf of its members, which is powerful and important, as is every representative body in the area of agriculture. They are listened to and receive an audience here. People are committed to agriculture. It is a very important industry in Ireland.
The crux of the matter relates to the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, the Government's flagship environmental scheme, with which the Minister of State will be very familiar.
Its purpose is to compensate, encourage and financially support farmers with a wide range of environmental initiatives on their farms. I think it is a good initiative. It is one that the Minister of State's party very much agrees with and is behind. There was a lot of talk about the role farmers can play in supporting the environment. We know that farmers are the custodians of our land. We also know that it is important that we have a good land policy. We further know the importance of the quality of our water and soil and the environmental and sustainability challenges. I salute the Government for coming up with this new scheme, ACRES. It is clear that there must be a buy-in. It is an indication of the Government's support and commitment that some money is given in advance to farmers who carry out and fulfil the criteria of ACRES. The criteria for the scheme are strict. It is all measurable. That is important too.
The gist of the IFA's argument is that more than 46,000 people applied for ACRES. It is a Government flagship scheme. I do not think anyone disputes that but the problem is the expectation that a substantial number of farmers would receive their payments. I understand that the Department announced that 27,800, or 60% of the people who applied for the scheme, will not receive their payments until February 2024. That is the kernel of it. It is very unsatisfactory. Surely somebody knew there may potentially have been an issue. Farmers deserve to be paid. The representative body, the IFA, has now made a case. At the end of the day, farmers have incurred expenses, including for consultancy, and they have done practical things. They have spent money. If the Government wants to bring the farming community with it, as genuine stakeholders, it must fulfil its side of the bargain. The Government must commit to what was set out in the ground rules. It cannot change the ground rules in terms of business and dialogue.
What the IFA is asking is that the Minister would intervene. I ask the Minister of State to use his offices to talk to the Minister and to deliver some part of the ACRES payment prior to Christmas. That is the ask. Farmers want this payment. They are entitled to it. They signed up in good faith to engage in this system. I hope the Minister of State will be able to shed some light, so that when I leave here with the bit of paper he is going to read out, I can email it to the IFA and to farm organisations and tell them that the Minister is looking favourably in his response at the issue we have raised today with the Minister on behalf of the IFA.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as an gceist seo. I thank Senator Boyhan for raising this matter which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for agriculture, Deputy McConalogue.
Just this morning we announced a new environment scheme for breeding waders, €25 million from my Department via the National Parks and Wildlife Service and €5 million from the Department of agriculture. That is hugely important. As Senator Boyhan said, farmers and landowners want to participate in these schemes and that is why they have been hugely popular and there is such a big uptake on them. That is a great testament to the success of the schemes.
In line with the commitment in the programme for Government, a flagship environmental scheme, namely, ACRES, was launched last year. The scheme has funding of more than €1.5 billion over its five-year lifetime, to facilitate the participation of 50,000 farmers. As I indicated, there was exceptional demand for entry into the scheme, which demonstrates the interest of farmers to take actions to address climate, biodiversity, environmental and water quality issues.
The financial allocation in Ireland's Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, strategic plan, CSP, for ACRES facilitates the participation of 50,000 farmers, with intake phased over two tranches. While it had initially been planned to accept 30,000 under the first tranche, it was decided, in view of the level of interest, to accept all valid applications into the scheme which, in turn, means that some 4,000 will be taken into the second tranche.
The decision to accept all 46,000 applicants has put significant pressure on the ability to pay all participants in 2023. Officials have been working to expedite payments, but with the unprecedented numbers, it has not been possible to get all ACRES applicants paid by the year end. Payments will commence on 18 December with two thirds of all ACRES general participants in the final stages of being processed for payment in the initial payment run. Due to the additional complexity associated with the co-operation project, CP, stream, payments for participants in this stream are being progressed and will begin to issue in February 2024. Everything is being done to pay, as soon as possible, all ACRES applicants who clear prepayment checks.
As part of budget 2024, the Government has committed €200 million to ACRES, which is a substantial increase on the 2023 budget. This Government wants to reward farmers for environmental ambition and pay them in accordance with the environmental results achieved. This is more challenging in the co-operation project areas. That is why additional non-productive investments and landscape actions are available as mechanisms for farmers to improve their lands, increase their scores and hence increase their payments. It is a results-based payment scheme.
The structure of ACRES is at the forefront of agri-environmental schemes throughout Europe. The achievements we have made to date in scaling a results-based approach up to a national level, building on the success of the European innovation partnership, EIP, initiative, and which farmers have found to be extremely effective and rewarding, must be acknowledged. The qualitative aspects of the scheme and the focus on the right action in the right measure in the right place demonstrates the way in which agri-environment schemes have evolved over the years, with a more holistic approach being taken by looking at the landscape as a whole and designing an ambitious scheme and actions that can contribute to addressing a range of challenges. Many of these were based on the Burren Life programme which was hugely successful. A significant achievement of ACRES to date is that now 25% of all land under agricultural management is scored. This output will provide a valuable resource across Government, demonstrating the multiple objectives and co-benefits of the scheme. We as a Government acknowledge the intensive and focused effort from all concerned, first and most importantly, from farmers but also their advisers, co-operation project teams and the Department officials who are working together on this first year of this new scheme. We further acknowledge that farmers were expecting payment before the end of the year and we note that the collective decision and hard work to include all eligible applicants into tranche 1 of ACRES has put significant pressure on delivering all payments by year end. Every effort is being made to maximise the number of applicants who will be paid in the period before Christmas and every effort will also be made to ensure that payments to co-operation project participants are processed as quickly as possible in early 2024.
I thank the Minister of State. He can share the frustration. It is about trust. There is a very fragile relationship between the Department, the Government and agriculture. Agriculture has become very divided. Here we have a really positive scheme and yet trust is now broken. The IFA contacted us last Friday expressing concern. Where is the lead-in time for this? Why was this not flagged four or five weeks ago? Why were the measures not put in place? I accept it is not the responsibility of the Minister of State; it is not even his Department. However, he, more than anyone, is committed to seeing this work. We now have a really positive scheme and we are falling down at the fence when it comes to the delivery end. It is an honour. People went into and incurred expenses and we need to honour our commitments to farmers who signed up to this scheme. The bottom line is 46,000 people are involved. They are not all involved in the lack of payment but it is very disappointing. At the end of the day, people have to put food on their table. They have to pay their bills. They have to honour their debts. I believe the Government needs to honour its concern. I ask one thing. Will the Minister of State take this away from here to the Minister? Will the Minister update the joint committee on agriculture when we meet again this week? Will he provide an update on how this is evolving and how we are going to get a solution?
Absolutely Senator, I can bring that back to the Minister, Deputy McConalogue. As the Senator can appreciate, the Department took in all applicants, given that there was such an uptake and such demand for the scheme, which is fantastic. It is brilliant that it has happened but it has created significant additional pressure, not to mention in particular on the co-operation project side of it. Every effort is being made to try to address it. Again I will flag that our new breeding waders EIP scheme opened today people. People can go to the Department of agriculture website. It is a €25 million scheme. The open calls begin from today until 22 January 2024. Again, we would love farmers to be involved in a very positive scheme. These are brilliant schemes and farmers want to be involved in them. The last thing we want is for them to be deterred from doing that. We want to resolve this as soon as we can.
Third Level Staff
I thank the Minister of State for coming in this morning. I also wish to express my disappointment that neither the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, nor the Minister, Deputy Harris, were available to come in. The Irish Federation of University Teachers, IFUT, carried out an extensive survey of more than 550 academics, including lecturers and researchers, in third level institutions throughout the country. It found that almost one third were employed on fixed-term or hourly-paid casual contracts.
The precarious nature of employment across the sector is preventing many academic staff from being able to make long-term life decisions such as securing a mortgage or starting a family. They are also struggling to pay bills and rent. The issue is affecting the morale and well-being of the staff in a very real way. One would imagine that, having studied for years to be qualified at that level of academia, a job in the academic world would be a good career choice. One would think it would be fairly stable and well-paid work. Academic staff are the cornerstone of higher education. That goes without saying. The precarious nature of the work now is having serious consequences for the standards of education in our universities because students suffer too. Precarious employment means that students are increasingly taught by lecturers who are not paid outside of class time and therefore cannot provide the pastoral care and feedback that students need to improve their work and their confidence. It makes no sense that these workers would be undervalued or treated unfairly. The education of our future generations is at risk if this bad practice is not stamped out, yet that is not happening. The fact is that thousands of employees in our universities are on involuntary and inappropriate fixed-term, part-time, casual, if-and-when and zero-hour contracts.
Other issues the study highlighted are that 61% of casual, hourly paid employees do not get paid for time between terms and have to sign on every summer and that a further 31% work only on an if-and-when basis. Academics are working on average 11 hours per week over their normal hours with no additional compensation. One third of respondents felt their employer does not treat them with dignity and respect, and all those who felt their employer does treat them with dignity and respect still had significant concerns. Time prevents me from going through the rest of the survey, but I urge the Minister of State to have a look at it.
What was particularly disappointing was the initial response from the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, who suggested that caution should be exercised in extrapolating the survey's findings across the entire sector. To be clear, the findings in the survey are entirely consistent with the previous Cush report, which was accepted by the Minister for Education in 2016. They are entirely consistent with multiple reports from the HEA and TASC and NERI statements on precarious employment. The survey is consistent with the recent OECD report on academic career precarity for early career research. While the Minister has urged caution as regards the report, it adds to the substantial body of research and work already done on this topic, all of which calls for immediate Government action, but there has been no such action. The Minister has talked the talk as regards dealing with this issue; he has actually done nothing. I will give the Minister of State a prime example. The Oireachtas joint committee on further and higher education called on the Department to carry out a complete review as regards precarity across the sector. That call was made last year, and 18 months on nothing has been done. The Minister likes to talk about how he is tackling precarity in the third level sector; he has done nothing about it. He is failing the sector and failing these employees badly, and it is incredibly frustrating and damaging to the sector.
I look forward to the Minister of State's response.
I thank Senator Gavan for raising this issue. I take this question on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Harris, and regret that neither he nor the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, is available this morning. Like the Senator, the Minister is well aware that insecure employment can and does have a detrimental impact on individual well-being and people's ability to plan for the future, as highlighted in the recent report from IFUT. Beyond that, it is also important to acknowledge that precarity can impact higher education at a systemic level in terms of recruitment and retention of staff or the quality of the student experience. It is for these reasons that the Minister is in complete agreement with the Senator that academic precarity should be treated seriously and addressed appropriately.
It is, however, important to acknowledge that there are many different factors that can give rise to non-permanent staffing arrangements, and there are sound reasons a position may not be filled on a permanent basis. For example, occasional, hourly paid staff may be engaged as exam invigilators or for cover at short notice due to staff absence, while fixed-term contracts may be utilised for time-bound activities or those reliant on student uptake. It would simply not be appropriate to recruit such staff on a permanent basis.
Ireland's traditional universities have considerable autonomy in respect of human resource polices under the Universities Act 1997. Although the legal basis for technological universities and other institutions is somewhat different, they too still require operational freedom and flexibility if they are to deliver on their mission.
It is the responsibility of the Minister, Deputy Harris, and his Department to enhance, develop and reform Ireland’s tertiary education sector. The measures being taken in that respect will directly help to combat any undue reliance on precarious contracts.
Crucially, €100 million in additional funding has been secured under the Funding the Future framework. This is a significant step forward in funding higher education on a sustainable basis and will enable institutions to recruit the staff they need while helping to remove the temptation to rely on more casual arrangements for budgetary reasons.
In addition, considerable work has been undertaken to develop a revised staffing framework to replace the current employment control framework, ECF. Work is continuing on this new approach, which will better align with the realities the higher education sector now faces. Further, an uplift of some 1,500 core-funded posts under the current ECF was announced in the summer, which will allow higher education institutions to recruit more permanent staff.
Alongside these measures, the national review of state supports for PhD researchers has been completed. There has been an increase in the stipend available to researchers and a work programme reflecting the report’s recommendations is under development.
The concerns the Senator raised and that were referenced in the recent IFUT report are shared by all parties. There is no question that we need to offer pay and terms and conditions that can attract and retain quality staff and provide stable employment for individuals. It is not, therefore, the case to say that the Minister has done nothing; he has done quite an amount, in fact. I am happy that a significant programme of work is under way within the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to do just that.
I have to disagree with the Minister of State because this research shows very clearly that on the ground, things are not happening. On the ground, precarious employment across the third-level sector is at an all-time high. The Minister, Deputy Harris, is talking the talk but he is certainly not walking the walk in this regard.
One of the key aspects that is missing is collective bargaining with the employer body, namely, the Irish Universities Association, IUA. What the Minister needs to do is instigate that immediately. We need tripartite bargaining between the union, IFUT, the IUA and Department because when they talk to universities, the message they are getting back constantly is that it is the Department that is blocking progress in enabling universities to take on people on a permanent basis. This situation is not just unsatisfactory; it is entirely unacceptable. Four years into this Government, the level of precarity is worse than it is ever been. We need and must see the Government do better.
I will take the opportunity to highlight that the IUA has been very clear that universities are committed to providing stable and fulfilling careers for staff and strongly rejects any suggestion whatsoever that deliberate attempts were being made to circumvent employment legislation. As I have spoken about measures taken by the Department to address precarity through increased funding and staffing, reform of the ECF and supports for researchers, it should, therefore, be clear that this Government shares the concerns around precarious working and its implications at individual and institutional level. This is a multifaceted question and there is not one simple answer to the variety of issues and circumstances that have been referenced today. There is more work to do in defining exactly who and what we mean by precarious working and these conversations will need to be underpinned by accurate data that all parties can better understand and agree in the challenge we are trying to address. Again, I will take back the Senator's concerns to the Minister, Deputy Harris, and they are noted. However, significant work has been done by Government and by the Minister to try to these issues.
Public Parks
The Minister of State and I are here to talk about the Phoenix Park again.
I am seeking an update on the Phoenix Park transport and mobility study. It is more than two years ago since that strategy was launched and two and a half years since the public had their say. We cannot underestimate the importance of open space and the role that the Phoenix Park plays in the city in providing open space.
In the inner city, park use in terms of land use is only at 1.4%. Dublin North-West and Dublin North-Central have the highest percentage of land use for parks. That is because of the Phoenix Park. In Fingal, where I am from in Dublin West, we reach our targets in terms of open space per population and per person, but we do not have the connectivity people need to access those parks and that is a problem.
As we see more compact growth in the city, it is also very clear how important it is to have access and connectivity to open spaces now and in the future. Between 2006 and 2022, the population in Fingal grew by 38% and, therefore, our parks need quality cycle lanes, both in them and connecting to them, public transport that connects to them and parking for people who need to drive. The Phoenix Park should be a hub of connectivity but it is not. There have been changes but I am not sure if we have necessarily seen improvements. It is brilliant that the No. 99 bus service has been introduced and is a step in the right direction. The bus departs from Heuston Station every 30 minutes and travels to the visitors' centre but the service finishes at 6 p.m. when Dublin Zoo is a hive of activity because of Wild Lights, which happens in the evening. The bus service is a pilot scheme and I saw one person on the bus coming from town this morning on my way in. I want the No. 99 bus service to succeed and to do that, the route should be extended to Dublin 15. People in the city centre and the residents of Blanchardstown, Lucan and Finglas use the park the most. Public transport connectivity needs to be extended to these areas.
On cycle lanes, the Phoenix Park should apply best practice and have the highest quality cycle lanes, not bollards on the side of the road. There should be segregated cycle lanes and Dutch-style roundabouts like we are beginning to see in Fingal and Churchfield. Let us lead the way with that. I commend the Fingal County Council on its plan to provide cycle lanes into the park
On parking, there are people who need to drive to the park so they need to be able to park in the park. There are places to park in the park that are not publicised, which is an issue that can simply be remedied but that has not been done. There is a proposal to build a new car park just off the first roundabout on the left-hand side travelling from Castleknock. As guardians and protectors of the Phoenix Park and open spaces, should we not also consider instead of putting new tarmac down into the Phoenix Park but reinstate parking from Castleknock Gate to the first roundabout to facilitate the same number of cars? That option has not been considered and could be done if we had segregated cycle lanes.
I thank the Senator for her question regarding the Phoenix Park. She mentioned Fingal County Council and I was there yesterday launching its biodiversity plan. The county council has done fantastic work and great credit to them.
As the Senator will be aware as a regular visitor to the park, recent years have seen a significant increase in recreational visitors. The OPW faces a difficult challenge in balancing the need of all visitors and users of the park with differing requirements while also providing vehicular access to the various institutions within the Phoenix Park, including Dublin Zoo, An Garda Síochána, Áras an Uachtaráin and St. Mary’s Hospital, etc.
The Transport and Mobility Options Study Post-Consultation Report was published in July 2021, as the Senator knows. The report sets out a series of recommendations for how park visitors will access, experience and move within the Phoenix Park while protecting the public and park environment. It made a number of recommendations to reduce commuter traffic and speed, to increase the cycling and pedestrian opportunities and to improve limited public transport. It also took into account the diverse and complex functions that the park serves, including its historic landscape, biodiversity habitats, visitor attractions and recreational spaces, along with its significant institutions and places of work. There was an extensive public consultation process, which resulted in more than 2,200 submissions.
The OPW has been actively progressing the various elements of the Phoenix Park Transport and Mobility Options Study Post-Consultation Report, published in June 2021. Within the study, five common themes emerged as follows: walking and cycling, access, gates and roads, public transport, movement within the park and public consultation - I think hat is general ongoing consultation. The study proposed that the recommendations would be undertaken in three phases over the seven years following the publishing of the study.
I am happy to announce that the OPW has already embarked on and completed several of the projects arising from the transport and mobility study. In the two years since publishing the study, the OPW has completed the upgrade of 9 km of footpaths and cycle lanes in the Phoenix Park, allowing for greater mobility and access across the park. It is also working with partners in Dublin City Council and the NTA on the design and roll-out of 8 km of permanent one-directional cycle lanes along both sides of Chesterfield Avenue, linking Castleknock to the city. Again, further updates will be provided in due course.
Thanks to the significant collaboration between the NTA and the OPW, the new 99 bus route, which the Senator referred to, has been operating successfully within the Phoenix Park since 5 October this year, although I note the points the Senator has raised in that regard. This was a key project to be delivered as part of the study. This new route links Heuston Station with the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre. There are a number of stops along the route at key destinations such as Dublin Zoo and Áras an Uachtaráin. I hope that, if there is sufficient demand, further expansion can be explored. The Senator mentioned Blanchardstown, Lucan and Finglas in that regard. That might be worth considering.
Another key project identified in the study was the creation of a one-way system on the North Road between Cabra Gate and Garda Headquarters. Following a successful nine-month pilot study, this arrangement has now been made permanent and has allowed for a two-way cycle lane along this section of road. Likewise, the pilot cul-de-sac on the Upper Glen Road is also now operating on a permanent basis. The OPW has also introduced a 30 km per hour speed limit, which became operational in early 2022. There are signs and road markings advising motorists of the speed limit on entry to the park and at key locations throughout.
With regard to cycling infrastructure, I am pleased to say that the number of bicycle parking spaces in the Phoenix Park has doubled from 120 to over 240 in the last 12 months. The OPW will continue to add further cycling infrastructure in the coming months and years. It is dedicated to increasing the number of people who visit the park by active travel means. The location of the additional stands is based on consultation with the cycling community and ensuring sufficient provision in busy areas of the park.
The OPW has also begun the process of increasing the number of accessible parking spaces within the Phoenix Park. Just this week, it installed the first age-friendly car parking spaces in the newly reconstructed car park at Knockmaroon. It is the intention to have 5% of all car parking spaces within the park dedicated as accessible parking and a further 5% dedicated as age-friendly car spaces. I will come back to the other points raised in my closing remarks.
There are small things happening around the park but they are not adding up to the change people want to see. They want quality bicycle lanes and different ways to get to the park. On the 99 bus route, the Minister of State said "if there is sufficient demand, further expansion can be explored" in the future. There is demand. The bus just has to be placed in the right place and it will thrive. I am talking about common-sense changes. Dublin City Council did a survey about the use of parks and what prevented people using them. Some 41.8% of respondents identified a lack of toilets. I am glad the OPW has said it is considering my proposal of eco-toilets but we need to get on with it and implement them. We need to make the Phoenix Park a hub of connections so that people can actually use it and feel welcome in the park.
It sounds to me like the Senator is saying there needs to be ongoing collaborative engagement. There was a non-statutory consultation process and 9,000 submissions were received. I absolutely take on board the points the Senator is raising and they will be brought back to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan. Eco-toilets are a good idea. I have seen them in operation in other parks across the country and they are very good and effective. Ongoing engagement, particularly with elected Members, on the important points the Senator has raised today is critically important. If things need to be tweaked or changed or if things are not working, the OPW needs to take cognisance of those matters. It is the largest park in Europe and it is very important to the people of Dublin and beyond. We take on board the points the Senator is making and I will certainly bring them back to the Minister of State.
Ambulance Service
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I raise the question of the ambulance base at Gorey, County Wexford.
I am sure the Minister of State will join me in paying tribute to our hardworking ambulance crews across the country. The ambulance crew that is operating in Gorey is operating in a Portakabin that is completely substandard and unacceptable as a workplace. The National Ambulance Service Estates Strategic Plan 2016-2020, which was produced in consultation with the HSE, stated clearly that there was at Gorey a "new build required" and described the facilities there as "current base unsuitable, portacabin structure". In that strategic plan the National Ambulance Service, NAS, and the HSE committed to the completion of a new service by 2020. We are now in 2023 and a feasibility study was carried out in 2021 and in March 2022, which again reported that the existing station at the rear of Gorey District Hospital was completely unsuitable. The HSE capital plan for 2023 indicates the need for a new ambulance station in Gorey but there has been no progress to date. It is clearly identified within this HSE region as the worst ambulance station anywhere in the country.
Why is the HSE continuing to drag its feet on the provision of a new ambulance station in north Wexford? It is completely unfair to those who have to use the ambulances. More particularly, this is not acceptable as a workplace for members of the ambulance crew. I appreciate this is not the Minister of State's Department but I hope he will have some answers for me. I have tried to get the answers directly from the HSE but I have not been able to ascertain progress. That is why I had to bring a Commencement matter on the issue. I hope the Minister of State will be able to enlighten us.
I thank the Senator for raising this question on the planned new ambulance base for Gorey. Since 2016, the National Ambulance Service, including the south-east region, has undergone significant reform and modernisation, involving the prioritisation of investment in new service developments, including increased workforce, fleet and improved technology. NAS staffing resources nationally have increased from 1,694 as at December 2015 to 2,279 at the end of October this year. That is an increase of 585 whole-time equivalents and represented a growth in the NAS staff complement of over a third.
In Wexford, the NAS has increased its total whole-time equivalent staff complement by approximately 25% since January 2021. I have the breakdown of the figures for the Senator and I can pass them on. This includes the total number of paramedics serving in the region rising from 20 whole-time equivalents in January 2021 to 33 whole-time equivalents currently. This year the NAS had an unprecedented budget allocation of €214.94 million. This enabled continuing investment in increasing front-line emergency capacity and to expand the NAS suite alternative care pathways, including the NAS hear and treat service in the National Emergency Operations Centre, which advises lower acuity patients of appropriate alternatives to hospital transfer, where clinically appropriate.
The National Ambulance Service serves the Wexford area out of four ambulance bases located in Enniscorthy, Gorey, New Ross and Wexford. NAS implementation of the dynamic deployment model of emergency response allows for further support from bases outside of the county, particularly from the NAS bases located in neighbouring counties, Wicklow and Waterford. The Gorey ambulance base capital project is included in the capital plan for 2023. The project is currently at design feasibility, with the HSE looking to identify the preferred site. The Department of Health is working in conjunction with the HSE to develop the capital plan 2024. Once finalised, the capital plan will be submitted for the approval by the Minister for Health, prior to publication in line with established procedures.
The development of new or refurbished healthcare facilities anywhere in the country cannot be seen in isolation or separate from the delivery of related healthcare services. Projects are approved by the hospital group and then approved by the relevant HSE directorate, before being submitted to the HSE national capital and property steering committee, NCPSC. Once approved by the NCPSC, the project is eligible for prioritisation and inclusion in the capital plan, subject to the level of funding.
As the Senator may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa trade union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October.
As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the information provided in this response is the
most up to date we can provide at this time.
I appreciate that the Minister of State is answering on behalf of the Department of Health but tell us something we do not know. Essentially all we are told is that it is included in the capital plan even though it had been in the strategic plan for 2016 to 2020. There has been no progress. What the Minister of State is clearly saying is that the HSE has given no real commitment to the development of the ambulance base in Gorey. The Minister of State said it cannot be seen in isolation from the delivery of related healthcare services. Given that the development of the primary care service facility in Gorey has taken longer than the National Children's Hospital, it is not unfair for me to conclude that the estates division of the HSE has no interest in the development of capital services in the north Wexford area. This has been running on for nearly a decade. It is completely unacceptable and I ask the Minister of State to bring it back to the Minister and the HSE.
I will do that. I have given an outline of the fact that it has been included in the capital plan for 2023 and the pathway by which it can then progress through the national capital and property steering committee. The response is the response. I note the Senator's concerns and the fact that he is dissatisfied with the response and I will certainly take this back directly to the Minister on the Senator's behalf.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 11.46 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 12 noon.
Sitting suspended at 11.46 a.m. and resumed at 12 noon.