I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
General Practitioner Services
I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important Commencement matter. I also welcome the Minister of State to the House. This is a very simple Commencement matter to ask the Minister to put in place the provisions for the retention of GP services to ensure that the citizens would have access to an appropriate level of GP care in clinics within the communities of Lucan and Adamstown. That is the critical ask. I am raising this on behalf of Councillor Liona O'Toole who has been a councillor there for many years. She is at the coalface in this community and knows the challenges. For those who may not know Lucan and Adamstown well, these are two of the largest strategic development zones within the country. There is rapid expansion of houses, which is great and all very positive.
If we are going to put in houses and build and establish communities, it is important that we have the necessary infrastructure including education, childcare, policing and health. Health is critical to all of this. I also acknowledge the importance of the new primary care centres across the country. The Minister of State will be very familiar with them and knows the benefits of them. That is the route we should be going. I am also conscious that the Minister and the Government are not responsible for the day-to-day care services or where a GP decides to locate a clinic. That is an issue for the services and that is the nature of the systems we have in Ireland. There are plans for reform of community care generally in terms of Sláintecare.
As I said, the two areas are part of a strategic development zone. It is a very fast-growing area. I am hearing from Councillor O'Toole that in Lucan and Adamstown, there are people who have been in the community for two or three years and are still travelling to their original family GPs in Meath, other parts of Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare. They have gone to the local GPs and public clinics and been told they are full or do not have the capacity to take on new patients. That is a big problem.
There is a conference in Dublin today about the retention of GPs. I would have loved to have been there. I think it is in the National Conference Centre. One of the challenges there is how we can retain GPs in our communities, be they urban or rural. There is choice and we cannot compel people, but in the public system, under the GMS contract, we should be able to frame our contracts in terms of commitment to communities and identifying deficits. That is for another day, it is not what my Commencement Matter is about. My Commencement Matter is to try to ascertain what commitments the Minister for Health is putting in place to ensure that the people of Lucan and Adamstown can have an adequate GP service. It is vital. Without it, they cannot have further referrals or exploration of issues. Some people are not availing of essential GP interventions or referrals to specialists because they cannot get that relationship. The Minister of State and I know the importance of having the opportunity to develop a close relationship about your health with your local GP. The issue is Adamstown and Lucan, and how we can address the deficits in the health services locally.
I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. His question goes to the heart of Sláintecare, the right care at the right time as close to home as possible. As the Senator is aware, GPs are self-employed practitioners, most of whom hold a GMS contract for the provision of services without charge to medical card and GP visit card holders. While the HSE provides significant practices grants to GPs under the GMS scheme, GPs themselves as private practitioners choose where they establish their practices. Where a GMS vacancy does arise, the HSE carries out recruitment campaigns to find a suitable replacement. When a campaign is ongoing, locum arrangements are put in place to provide care to the patients on the GMS panel concerned.
As of 1 September, there is one vacant GMS panel in the Lucan area. Happily, a recruitment campaign to find a GP has been completed and the vacancy has been offered to a successful candidate. That is indeed good news. There will then be 12 contracted GPs with GMS panels in the Lucan area, including the GP who was recently recruited.
It is acknowledged that there are workforce challenges facing general practice, as the Senator has said, and that these challenges limit access to GP services in certain areas and can impact on the timely provision of care. The Government is actively working to increase the number of GPs practising in the State and thereby to improve access to GP services all over the country. Measures have been undertaken by the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to increase the attractiveness of working as a GP in Ireland, successive increases have been made to the number of GP trainees, and a joint HSE ICGP programme is recruiting GPs from abroad to support rural and under-served areas. The Government has increased investment in general practice by €211.6 million per annum under the 2019 GP agreement, providing increased GP capitation rates, increased supports and new services. The recent GP agreement 2023 has further increased this level of investment, with further increases to capitation rates and €30 million specifically provided for new and increased practice supports.
As per the ICGP, 1,311 medical graduates applied for GP training in 2024. More applied for GP training this year than in any other previous year, which is welcome and reflects positively on the steps taken to increase interest in general practice as a career in Ireland. The number of doctors entering GP training has increased by 80% over the past five years. This year, 347 new entrants commenced GP training, a 21% increase on last year's intake, and the Government is committed to maintaining 350 places annually for the GP training programme.
Under the previously mentioned joint HSE-ICGP programme, the international medical graduate rural GP programme, 121 GPs from abroad were recruited in 2023. Resources have been provided to recruit up to 250 more GPs from outside Ireland this year, the placement of whom is targeted to rural and underserved areas.
A strategic review of general practice is under way. When completed, the review will report on the measures necessary to deliver a more sustainable general practice into the future. GP capacity and the possible methods to attract more GPs to underserved areas is a specific issue being examined under the review. It is important to note that the population has grown exponentially in the last five years and is ageing, which are factors with regard to the issues the Senator has raised.
I thank the Minister of State. I will make two points. First, Lucan is a vast area and one of the fastest growing in the entire country. We are now being told it will have an additional one GP and it is only said this post has been offered, not that it has been accepted, although we take it that the person is accepting it. That means there will be 12 GMS doctors for Lucan. Clearly, this will be an issue at the doors in the forthcoming general election. I do not represent Lucan but I know people who do. There is a problem all over the country but today's matter is about Lucan and Adamstown. Twelve GPs are clearly not enough to serve the GMS system in Lucan.
I welcome the strategic review, which is important, but it should come faster. The Government is completing 4.5 years of its cycle and we are now talking about a review. At the end of the day, people want and should have a good GMS public health system. I welcome the review and we will just have to wait for it. I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response to the Commencement matter.
The Government is working to ensure general practice is sustainable in all areas in the future. The Senator mentioned that we are 4.5 years into the term of the Government, which we are, but the number of doctors entering GP training has increased by 80% in the past five years, which has to be acknowledged. This year, 347 new entrants commenced GP training, a 21% increase on last year’s intake, so we have certainly turned a corner. As a result of this significant increase in GP training places, the Department of Health has estimated that between 1.5 and three new GPs will enter practice for every expected GP retirement in the coming years. One of the issues is that not all GPs want to take on a practice and instead want to work in a practice, and the review will look at that specific issue. I again thank the Senator for raising this important question.
Physical Education
I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond. I will offer further background on the question I have raised. I have been contacted by PE instructors who have run courses in primary schools for a number of years. I have been told by the schools that in recent times they are finding it difficult to access funding for such schemes. My understanding is these courses have been very popular with schools, students and parents alike. The courses teach very young children fundamental movements such as how to run, hop, jump, throw, catch, skip, strike and dodge, which are the basis of many physical activities and contribute to the development of agility, balance, co-ordination and speed. The feedback has been very positive. As the Minister of State will appreciate, we need to do all we can to ensure that our children remain active and healthy.
Courses such as these are an important cog in the wheel and must be encouraged. I look forward to the Minister of State’s response.
I sincerely thank Senator Crowe for raising this matter and for the opportunity to reply on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne. The Department of Education and its support services continue to support all schools and teachers to deliver the full breadth and balance of the curriculum. Physical education is a core part of the curriculum at primary level, which seeks to satisfy the physical needs of the child through a consistent and comprehensive experience of movement and play that challenges the child to realise his or her individual physical potential.
It is the position of the Department of Education that all qualified primary teachers are qualified to teach the full spectrum of the primary curriculum, including physical education. Primary teachers undertake elements of physical education as part of their teacher training. Oide, the Department-funded teacher education support service, offers extensive professional learning and resources to support the professional learning of primary teachers. In particular, Oide has provided a suite of supports to teachers to implement the fundamental movement skills programme, Move Well, Move Often, since its launch in 2017. This programme complements the teaching of the physical education curriculum at primary level and aims to provide a range of tools to support teachers in teaching skills such as running, throwing, catching and jumping to all children, as the Senator has laid out. In 2023-2024, Oide provided professional learning opportunities to teachers in the teaching of gymnastics and games. These professional learning opportunities focus on how physical education contributes to pupils' movement competency and overall well-being.
The new primary curriculum framework, PCF, published on 9 March 2023, guides the development of the specifications for each of the curriculum areas. The development of the well-being specification, which is to include physical education, is under way and will be completed for introduction into schools in the 2025-2026 school year. To support this, Oide is currently developing a professional learning framework which will be made available to all schools for the rollout of the new well-being specification.
The Department is committed to providing funding to all recognised schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are: the capitation grant to cater for day-to-day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general up-keep; and the ancillary grant; to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools have the flexibility to use capitation and ancillary funding as a common grant from which the board of management can allocate according to its own priorities. The current standard rate of capitation grant is €200 per pupil in primary schools.
In addition to these grants, €20 million in funding was issued in October 2023 to support all recognised schools in the free education scheme. This funding was the first tranche of an overall additional €60 million funding announced as part of budget 2024 measures, designed to assist schools with increased day-to-day running costs such as heating and electricity. A further €40 million in funding was delivered in early 2024.
As part of the capitation package in budget 2024, the Minister is pleased to have secured €21 million as a permanent increase in capitation funding to assist schools now and longer term with increased day to-day running costs. This supports a permanent restoration of funding for all primary and post-primary schools from September of this year. This brings the basic rate of capitation grant to the pre-2011 level of €200 per pupil in primary schools and €345 per student in post-primary schools. Enhanced rates are also paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and Traveller pupils. This represents an increase of circa 9.2% of current standard and the relevant enhanced capitation rates.
Working with the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, the Department was also pleased to secure additional funding for the delivery of physical activity initiatives in schools, including the expansion of the active school flag programme and the delivery of a new pilot programme, examining the integration of physical activity into teaching and learning.
I thank the Minister of State. Does Senator Crowe wish to ask a supplementary question?
Yes, I do. That is very welcome news. The feedback I received from instructors indicated that there was an issue and that that was not the case. I will investigate the matter further with the schools. I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response. I will leave it at that for now.
Does the Minister of State wish to add anything?
I thank the Senator. I reassure him and the House that all qualified primary school teachers are fully qualified to teach the full spectrum of the primary curriculum, including physical education. Primary teachers undertake elements of physical education as part of their teacher training. Teachers refresh their training on an ongoing basis and use Croke Park days to enhance that.
Schools Building Projects
I thank the Cathaoirleach’s office for selecting this Commencement matter. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, to the Chamber. I raise the matter of my former national school, Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn, to get an update on the status of the application to construct a new 16-classroom, plus an ancillary building, school on an enlarged site in the centre of Maigh Cuilinn.
Scoil Mhuire is the largest school in the parish of Moycullen. It is one of four schools. The building is not fit for purpose. It has numerous prefabs. They are modern prefabs and replacement prefabs but nonetheless they are prefabs and the school is badly in need of a new building. The board of management has done a lot of work and has secured additional land to the rear of the existing school building. This has meant a new school can be built without the need to decant the pupils or interrupt their teaching. This will be of benefit and will reduce the costs of the project. The school has also received permission from landowners to allow for access for construction works. This improves the safety aspect.
Tá mé ag iarraidh an scéal is déanaí maidir le mo sheanscoil, Scoil Mhuire, Maigh Cuilinn. Tá scoil nua ag teastáil. Tá pleananna ann agus tá cead pleanála faighte ag an mbord bainistíochta chun scoil nua le 16 seomra ranga a thógáil. Teastaíonn an scoil agus an fhoireann nua go géar. What is the status of the project? The purchase of a parcel of land by the board at its own expense, together with agreements put in place, means the new school can be built in a single phase rather than multiple phases as originally planned. This will reduce the cost to the Department of Education. The board of management has put in tremendous work over the years but it has been left in an information vacuum. It does not know what is happening. It has not received acknowledgements to the most recent communications to the Department. It wants to know when it will be allowed to progress towards tenders and the conclusion of this badly needed project.
In April the Minister, Deputy Foley, included Scoil Mhuire on the list of 90 schools in an €800 million package and this is certainly welcome. We are now at a stage where nothing has happened since the period of February, March and April. A total of €800 million was sanctioned in the large-scale capital programme and additional accommodation scheme for essential classroom accommodation. Where is this project at? It is very badly needed. We know funding was sanctioned previously and we need to know there is approval at stage 2b so that it can proceed to stage 3.
I thank Senator Kyne for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the Seanad on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley, the current position in relation to the major building project for Scoil Mhuire in Moycullen, County Galway, which counts Senator Kyne among its most illustrious past pupils.
The major building project for Scoil Mhuire in Moycullen is included in the Department of Education's construction programme, which is being delivered under the national development plan. This project will be delivered under the Department's ADAPT programme. ADAPT is an acronym for the accelerated delivery of architectural planning and tendering. The ADAPT programme uses a professional external project manager to co-ordinate and drive the design team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of architectural planning to tender and construction.
The brief for this project is the demolition of the original existing single storey building and the development of a new build 16-classroom primary school with two classrooms for pupils with special educational needs at the current school site in Moycullen. The project is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning. It is at stage 2b, detailed design, when the design team secures all statutory approvals and prepares the suite of tender documents. The stage 2b submission was received in the Department of Education earlier this year, as Senator Kyne has outlined, and it is currently under review. On review, comments will issue from the Department for the design team's attention. The design team will then be requested to confirm to the Department in writing that its tender documents are in order and comply with all current building and procurement regulatory guidelines, and with Department technical guidance documents, before the project is eligible to progress to tender stage. In order to expedite the project, the school authorities and their design team were authorised to carry out the prequalification of contractors process, in order to draw up a shortlist of suitably qualified contractors. This process was completed in tandem with the design team completing its stage 2b report.
I completely understand Senator Kyne's frustration and, more pertinently, the frustration of the school community.
I can cite at least three schools in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown that have also reached this sort of impasse, for want of a better word.
As has been outlined by the Minister, Deputy Foley, the Department will keep the school authorities and the design team informed of further developments in relation to the completion of stage 2(b) and the progression of the major building project. The Senator's advocacy this afternoon will go some way towards making sure that process is moved along as swiftly as possible. I look forward to the eventual construction of this school in due course.
I thank the Minister of State. To be or not to be, that is the question. Unfortunately, I do not think we have the answer in relation to where this is going. The Minister of State talked about the ADAPT programme, the A in which stands for "accelerated", but I am afraid this project is stuck in gear, similar to other projects around the country. I know that the costs of construction have increased and that construction inflation has led, in some school projects, to increases of one third or more. Perhaps that is what we are not being told but if that is the issue, it is a capital budgetary one that needs to be resolved. Schools like Scoil Mhuire need to progress towards tendering and construction as soon as possible. Schools cannot be on lists without making progress. I hope that the Minister will progress this matter as quickly as possible to allow the school authorities to go forward to the next stage in order that construction can begin as soon as possible.
It would be remiss of me not to mention that the Department has invested over €5 billion in schools throughout the country since 2020, involving the completion of over 950 school building projects. Construction is under way on approximately 350 other projects, including 37 new school buildings. These 350 projects currently in construction involve a total State investment of over €1.5 billion. The Department announced earlier this year that close to 90 projects, including 28 new school buildings, would be authorised to proceed from tender stage to construction over the course of this year and early into next year. A total of €800 million is to be invested through these projects.
I reiterate that I will take this matter up with the Minister, Deputy Foley. I will sit down and speak with her about every issue that the Senator has raised here this afternoon and will continue his very strong work in advocating for this new build for Scoil Mhuire, which is important not just to the people of Moycullen but further afield as well.
I thank the Minister of State and Senator Kyne. Hopefully the school will not be waiting too long for this project to advance. Our final matter is from Senator Dooley who raises another very important issue.
Rail Network
I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I know that this issue is also close to the Acting Chairperson's heart. I refer to the development or effective reopening of a train station at Crusheen in County Clare. It is on the line between Ennis and Galway and it was, in a bygone era, a very busy station. Efforts have been made by a group in the locality who were lone voices for a long time, particularly back in the noughties when everybody travelled by car and some even travelled by helicopter from those areas to various destinations, but Mr. Sean Keehan and Mr. Michael O'Doherty never gave up hope of reopening the station. They have continued their campaign, in addition to supporting the significant advancement of the western rail corridor. Indeed, they were to the fore in driving that at the start. We have seen a massive increase in passenger journeys since the opening of that line, from around 220,000 in 2013 to over 630,000 now between Limerick and Galway. There has been more than a threefold increase in activity, including passengers from Crusheen and its surrounding areas.
Clare County Council has got involved through Councillor Pat Hayes who is working with Mr. Keehan and Mr. O'Doherty. They carried out a socioeconomic study of the area. There are 6,000 people living within a couple of kilometres of the station. There was a 50% increase in the population of the area between 2002 and 2022. In the last couple of years alone about 150 houses have gone in there, more land has been zoned for housing and planning permission is being sought. We are going to see a very significant growth in population. Crusheen is a village between Gort and Ennis.
When you consider where people are now settling, outside of the bigger towns but in bigger villages where they have all the services, access to rail is what it is all about. The whole strategy of getting cars off the road as part of the decarbonisation of transport is a highly important facet of meeting our 2030 and 2050 goals. Here is a golden opportunity. It is a relatively small amount of money. The local authority has bought lands adjoining the old station house. There is 300 m of track frontage. At one time, road frontage was important but it is now track frontage. The authority has also bought land for additional car parking spaces. This is a gem waiting to be developed.
I nearly had this over the line back in 2011 and 2012, when we hit the financial crash. Iarnród Éireann had allocated moneys. The former chairman, the late John Lynch, was instrumental in assigning moneys at that time. However, we then hit the financial crash and all capital projects were eliminated. I have kept heart with it. Sean Keehan, Michael O'Doherty, Councillor Pat Hayes and many others have now come on board. We really need to see a push from the Department of Transport to have TII recognise the strategic importance of this village because of its access to the track. It must recognise the population that is already there but must also look to the future to see the growth potential and the growth that is actually taking place and say once and for all that it is going to open the station. It is not going to cost a hell of a lot of money because the local authority is on board. It is removing many of the hurdles that might have been there.
This can demonstrate that areas can grow around strategic transport links, getting cars off the road and allowing students to travel to college. We know of the pressures in Galway and Limerick as regards student accommodation. There are many families in and around Crusheen who are driving to another point to get on the train. There is no need for it. We can show best practice, promote public transport, work towards decarbonising our transport footprint and do something that makes common sense and that previous generations did. As the Minister of State will know, we did an awful thing in the past in ripping up rail track and closing rail lines for the modern convenience of the car. We are now trying to go back. Let us look at this. The infrastructure is sitting beside the track, the village is there and the people are there. Let this be a beacon of light for the people of Crusheen and the wider area. Let us get it done. I am pleased to have had the indulgence of the Acting Chairperson who, as I said at the outset, is equally as interested in this as I am.
I thank Senator Dooley. This is a very important issue. Momentum is growing in County Clare. Following a Fine Gael event in Athlone, I travelled by train to Galway city. I then travelled from Galway city on the 6.30 p.m. train to Ennis and there was no seat available on it. That is how successful this line is. A natural progression is to open more stations on the line. The one that is essentially shovel-ready is Crusheen. It is a timely Commencement matter and I look forward to the Minister of State's reply.
I sincerely thank Senator Dooley and Senator Conway, who used the Chair's prerogative to also advocate for this important project. As the Senator may be aware, the Minster for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding of public transport including rail. However, the operation, maintenance and renewal of the rail network and stations on the network, including the former station at Crusheen, is a matter for Iarnród Éireann in the first instance. TII does not have any responsibility for the heavy rail network.
As the Senator will be aware, the Department of Transport has undertaken the all-island strategic rail review in co-operation with the Northern Irish Department for Infrastructure. The review’s final report was published on the 31 July this year and will inform the development of rail on the island of Ireland in the coming decades to 2050, in line with net-zero targets in both jurisdictions. The final report sets out 32 strategic recommendations to enhance and expand the rail system in Ireland and Northern Ireland up to 2050. The reopening of the train station at Crusheen is not included in the review’s recommendations. The review considered options to connect as many towns with populations of 10,000 or more to the rail network as possible.
A threshold of towns with a population of 10,000 was chosen as this is the threshold used by Ireland's national planning framework as the definition of a large town. Given that Crusheen fell below this threshold by about 4,000, a new station for the area was not considered in detail as part of the review.
Outside of these recommendations, the delivery of any rail infrastructure, including the proposed train station at Crusheen, involves a multi-agency approach in the planning, design, funding and construction of a scheme. To protect the taxpayer, there are also guidelines on and requirements in place surrounding the release of funds for capital infrastructure projects which must be adhered to by all agencies wishing to draw down public funds. These are set out under the infrastructural guidelines drawn up by the Department of public expenditure.
Before Iarnród Éireann can receive public funding to proceed with any rail infrastructure scheme, the following conditions must be met. The proposal must align with transport and planning policy, a full demand assessment must be included as an input to the business case and the proposal must have a robust business case in line with the infrastructure guidelines as well as the transport specific sector appraisal guidelines, the transport appraisal framework.
While Clare County Council, as outlined by the Senator, have commissioned and recently completed an independent socioeconomic appraisal of the benefits of reopening Crusheen railway station, Iarnród Éireann's review of this work is ongoing. Iarnród Éireann will continue to keep the case for a railway station at Crusheen under review, in line with future demand trends, but at present there is no provision for a station within the current funding profile.
I will attempt to be encouraging because Senators Dooley and Conway eloquently summed up the need to move towards more rail infrastructure and to re-embrace rail, not just to meet demand but to also work towards net zero and get cars off the road. The case set out by Senator Dooley noted the population of Crusheen but also took into account the wider hinterland. That is important and I am more than happy to engage further with the Senator and to bring this to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, and Iarnród Éireann. I give every encouragement to the ongoing work on this project.
I thank the Minister for setting out the overall constraints from a policy perspective. We need to look at this again. I ask that consideration be given to the following. While the criteria refer to a population of 10,000, there are 6,000 people living in close proximity. There was a station in the area previously. If I was arguing for a brand-new station where no infrastructure ever existed, I would be more inclined to accept the response. Where a station is in place, the principle has been accepted and access is available, with lands purchased by the local authority, the proposal makes sense.
I suggest it will not be long before there is a population of 10,000. Allowing only for organic growth, it might take a long time to get to a population of 10,000 but if a railway station were opened, it would take the burden and pressure off Gort and Ennis and put Crusheen village in a much stronger position to take pressure off schools in other areas. The proposal makes sense. The criteria need to be slightly different and consider the existence of a station previously. The population criteria need to be changed also because that would be a way to generate more growth. We have seen this with water and sewerage. There are lots of places where the sewerage system was adequate and the question was asked as to why would we invest more when people will not come. When infrastructure is in put in place, people come and it takes the burden off other locations.
I have engaged with Iarnród Éireann and spoken to the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless. I will continue to do that. I do not know which of us will be around here after the next election but I assure the House that if I am here in any guise in form, I will do my damnedest to get back to where we were when the late John Lynch assigned moneys to open the station in Crusheen. In honour of his life and passing, in addition to all those great people in Crusheen who have done so much to keep this issue to the fore, I want to ensure we do our bit here too.
As I outlined, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, assures the Senator the potential reopening of Crusheen train station to enhance the service on the Ennis to Galway line was considered as part of the all-island strategic rail review. While the review did not recommend the reopening of the station, it made the following recommendations for County Clare: the provision of more direct services between Ireland's west and south coasts, for example, between Galway, Limerick and Cork; increasing line speeds to at least 120 km/h; and connecting Shannon Airport to the railway.
As outlined, there are currently no plans to reopen Crusheen railway station. Iarnród Éireann has advised, however, that it will keep this case for a railway station at Crusheen under review. To misquote the movie “Field of Dreams”, it may be a case of "If you build it, [they] will come", and perhaps Lynch station at Crusheen will one day be a legacy of the Senator’s.
I thank the Minister of State for his time. It is appreciated. We know how busy he is.