I welcome to the Gallery our friend, former colleague and former Minister of State, Deputy Frankie Feighan. He is joined by Lord Evans of Rainow of the House of Lords, whom I had the pleasure of meeting last night at the British ambassador's residence. I thank him for being with us as part of the Anglo-Irish friendship group. I also welcome Craig Blaney, Frank Shivers, Glyn Roberts and Mark Gilmore, who have been pioneers in this new initiative with Deputy Feighan. It is a wonderful initiative. Some of us were in Stormont and also joined members of the group in Leinster House in the spring. I hope, despite the impending election, that we will continue to work to develop relations on our island and with our friends and colleagues in the House of Lords and House of Commons. I welcome all our guests to Leinster House and thank them for being here.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Health Services
I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, for coming to the House to take this all-important matter. My question is whether there is an update from the Department of Health on the provision of HRT for women. Menopause is something that affects many women in different ways. It can be very debilitating at times. I am aware the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and the Department were looking at whether the provision of HRT is feasible. People on the medical card receive it for free but women who do not have a medical card can pay anything from €30 to €70. I thank young Councillor Ben Ward in Carlow who raised this with me. It is an issue that came up on the doorsteps. It is good to see a young male councillor not shying away from something to do with women's health. The Minister and the Department have gone a long way towards addressing issues but this issue is very important and I wonder whether there is any update on it. Women should not be penalised for health issues that are out of their control.
I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless. I thank him for the great start he has made in his new brief at the Department of Transport. He has been at Cork Airport and has been a very good supporter. I thank him for being here.
I thank the Cathaoirleach and Members. I thank Senator Byrne for her question. It is a privilege to be here in the Seanad addressing colleagues. It is my first time to do so as a Minister of State but I have been here as Cathaoirleach of the justice committee. I know the great form the Seanad has and it is a privilege to address it today.
Senator Byrne's question is extremely important and I am taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. I thank her for raising the issue of State-funded HRT provision for menopause treatment. The Government and the Minister are firmly committed to improving women's health throughout the course of life. Having listened to the Minister at my party's recent think-in event, I witnessed at first-hand how committed he is to women's health. To be fair to him, he has introduced a number of initiatives in this area and he is to be commended on doing so.
Since the establishment of the women's health task force in 2019, it has engaged with women throughout Ireland. It has listened to what women want from the health service and the Government has taken a number of positive steps to improve women's experience of healthcare and health outcomes. The second women's health action plan for 2024 to 2025 was published on 18 April. This plan represents the next phase in women's health. It focuses on improving health outcomes for women and girls in Ireland by introducing new developments and embedding initiatives introduced in the previous women's health action plan.
Most recently the Minister stated his intention to provide State-funded hormone replacement therapy to all women who require it in treating their menopause symptoms. Officials at the Department of Health are engaging with key stakeholders and exploring the options available with regard to implementing this ministerial priority. Improving menopause care has been a priority since the publication of the first women's health action plan and significant progress has been made to improve supports for women experiencing menopause symptoms at primary and specialist care levels.
The Government removed VAT from HRT products in budget 2023 to assist with the cost of prescriptions. Six specialist menopause clinics have opened for women who have complex experiences of menopause. Under the new action plan, there are plans to extend the opening hours of these clinics to provide more opportunities for women to avail of the care they provide. A quick reference guide for menopause launched to support general practitioners and practice nurses in diagnostics and treatment at primary care level.
The national menopause awareness campaign was launched in October 2022. This was a direct response to demand from Irish women for greater knowledge and understanding of menopause, as well as better access to accurate information and support. This campaign was relaunched in March 2023 and, it is fair to say, it has had a significant impact in the media, general awareness and public understanding.
It was received positively by both women and men who agreed that this is a topic we should be speaking about openly in society. That campaign was accompanied by a dedicated web page to provide trusted information on the menopause as well. It is worth acknowledging that menopause is not uniformly experienced and can present differently for different women in terms of severity, duration and symptoms experienced. Therefore, in respect of HRT, not all women experiencing menopause may be clinically eligible or suitable for HRT, which is a prescription-based treatment. Women may also choose not to take HRT but to address their symptoms through alternative therapies or lifestyle changes. There are often many cures for different ailments and people make individual choices as to which ones to opt for. It is important that women and healthcare providers continue to be educated on the use of HRT and other options and that together they explore all of the options available to find the most suitable one. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is confident that the awareness raising among the public and the supports for clinicians introduced in recent years have gone a long way towards improving health outcomes for women experiencing menopause symptoms.
I thank Senator Byrne again for raising this issue and I look forward to hearing her response.
I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, for his comprehensive and promising response. I am sorry for misnaming him earlier. I was not thinking straight.
That is okay. There are two James so it is an easy one to get wrong.
I am aware of the commitment of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and the Government to women's health. I want to acknowledge how far we have come but were we to take that little step further, that would be very welcome. While HRT is not for everyone, it is important that people have a choice. People do not have to take it but they should have the choice. Some people are paying between €30 and €70 for a prescription, which is a lot of money. In that context, I am glad this is something that is being considered.
Again, I thank Senator Byrne for raising this very important issue. I understand exactly the point she is making and will relay it to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. As Senator Byrne has acknowledged, the Minister, his Department and the Government share her passion for and commitment to providing all women in Ireland with a healthcare system that is appropriate to their needs and that is agile and responsive to these issues.
Women's health was identified in the programme for Government as a key priority and in fairness to the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, he has advanced that significantly. More than €140 million has been put into the area of women's health since 2020. In March 2022, the women's health action plan was launched, setting out actions to improve women's health outcomes and experiences. One such action is the provision and improvement of menopause supports. The second women's health action plan from 2024 to 2025, builds on that work and has a focus on new and innovative developments, including some of the alternative remedies that I mentioned a moment ago. The plan also places a spotlight on women at mid-life and older living well and living longer and continuing to build on the progress made in menopause care is an important part of that focus.
The Department of Health and the Minister are working with key stakeholders to scope the options available for the provision of State-funded HRT for menopause treatment and details will be made available on this in the near future. I cannot say when exactly the near future is but I believe it is imminent. That really gets to the heart of the Senator's question and I hope it is of assistance.
The next commencement matter is from Senator Clonan.
Health Service Executive
Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I thank him for coming along and deputising for the Minister for Health. Cathaoirleach, why is the Minister for Health not here?
The Commencement matter is one for the Department of Health but I cannot answer as to why the Minister for Health cannot be here.
I want it noted for the record that the Minister for Health never appears here for any of the Commencement matters that I submit, no matter how grave. Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence but three times or more is a strategy. This is a matter of such gravity and I infer from his absence today an attitude towards the issues that I am raising continuously in this House, which shows a contempt, not for me but for this House and Commencement matters in general as well as for the most vulnerable people in Irish society on whose part I am advocating. I apologise to the Minister of State for that intervention and ask him not to infer anything personal from it.
I am asking the Minister of State to comment, although I do not know how meaningfully he can, given his portfolio is transport. That said, he is a barrister and might be able to assist me with the case of Ms Caitlin Ada Joanne Hassan. I give her full name because she is a human being. She is a young woman with an intellectual disability whose mum, Louise, placed her in the care of a section 38 service provider, Avista. While in their care, she was physically and sexually assaulted. As a parent and a carer myself, I know that to hand one's child - notwithstanding that he or she is an adult - over to the care of another person or institution and to have that child physically and sexually assaulted is unspeakable. I do not have the words to adequately describe the moral injury inflicted on that whole family. When Louise made the complaint to An Garda Síochána and to the service provider, Avista, the latter commissioned a report, a so-called trust in care, TIC, report, which has not been provided to the family. It has been circulated to other parties but not to the family. It has not been provided to the mum or to the survivor, the person who was targeted in this way.
I wrote to the HSE on behalf of the family and the reply I got is emblematic of the attitude of disability service managers and the HSE in general towards the most vulnerable citizens in Ireland. In the second paragraph the HSE says: "...Avista advise that engagement with Louise [Caitlin Hassan's mother] has been challenging over a period of time..." What a word to use. This is a mother whose daughter has been sexually assaulted. The word "challenging" implies that there is some fault or wrongdoing on the part of the mother because she is asking questions and that has been my experience and the experience of all of the people who correspond with me in relation to the HSE. It is not a rights-based approach, it is a grace and favour or charity-based approach. In the third paragraph we have this gobbledygook: " CHO DNCC [whatever that means] were informed by Avista the TIC was reviewed by a legal professional...". What legal professional? Was it a solicitor, a barrister, or a senior counsel? Why is that legal professional not named? I do not see why the legal professional is not named. The letter further states that a new, or "DE novo" trust in care report is to be published but the author, the disability services manager, says that there is nothing in the TIC policy to provide that a copy should be provided to the complainant. However, there is also nothing in the policy that says it should be withheld or be prohibited from being released to the family. I am at a loss to understand why the Minister, who is not here, the HSE, all of the king's horses and all of the king's men and women, are all prepared to use the resources of the State, taxpayers' money, to come up with these reports which are then withheld from a family. As far as I am aware, and the Minister of State may be able to advise me on this because he is a barrister, clients instruct legal professionals and not the other way around. It should be clear and obvious to everybody that there is a categorical, ethical imperative that this report and the information contained therein be released to the mum and family of this young lady. Have we not learned anything in this country from the abuse of people in institutions? Have we learned nothing? Why is the HSE withholding information and gaslighting a mother? I am sorry that it is the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, who has to respond to me on this morning. I await his reply but I assume he agrees with me that it is moral legalism at its worst to deny a family access to truth, knowledge, information and power. This information should be released to the family.
I thank Senator Clonan for raising this really important issue. I am answering on behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, Deputy Rabbitte. I note the Senator's remarks. I am here to answer on the Minister of State's behalf and will do my best to address the issues that he has raised.
At the outset, I want to acknowledge Senator Clonan's ongoing advocacy for the disability sector. He is a very fine advocate and I respect his commitment to the sector. The Government takes these matters, and any allegations of abuse, extremely seriously and considers the safeguarding of adults at risk against abuse to be of paramount importance. Senator Clonan has referred to a specific case and that case is known to the HSE. However, it would not be appropriate for me to address here the specifics of a sensitive case concerning one individual.
I am sorry, but on a point of order.
I am sorry, Senator Clonan, please-----
Therefore, not only is it appropriate for the HSE to comment on an individual case but it is obliged to.
-----the Minister of State without interruption.
This is a rhetorical device that is used to protect it and indemnify it from responsibility and I reject it.
Senator Clonan, the Minister of State has the right to speak without interruption.
It is a point of order.
Thank you.
That rhetorical device should not be accepted in this House.
No. I am sorry, Senator Clonan, but you got your opportunity to put the question. The Minister of State has the right to reply. He can only give the Senator the response he was given, so please do not interrupt him. The Senator knows the rules of the House. I call the Minister of State.
I thank the Acting Chairperson. I am advised that it is a complex and sensitive matter involving an ongoing trust in care process. The HSE's trust in care policy is about upholding the dignity and welfare of patients, clients and service users, and the procedure for managing allegations of abuse against staff members. In referring to the provision of a HSE trust in care report to the family, any trust in care investigative process involves the rights of all the individuals involved and those rights must be fully protected to ensure there is a robust process and outcome in the interests of all parties. It suggests that seeking to access a potentially sensitive report may breach the requirements of fair procedure and the rights of parties involved with such a process.
The Senator asked my opinion as a barrister. I am giving my opinion as a Minister of State today but I will make a general comment that sometimes the process may take longer because due process must be followed and there are certain procedures that must be adhered to. There are certain fundamental rights for all involved in any procedural inquiry. This is necessary to get to the right outcome at the end. Sometimes it can be frustrating for all involved and I have seen it in other cases. I am not commenting on this particular case, but sometimes the process may appear to be convoluted and elongated but there are usually good reasons for this to protect the integrity of the ultimate outcome. It is, therefore, generally done for good reason.
The HSE has sought and been provided with assurances by the service provider in this case regarding the safety of all service users in the relevant location and adherence by the service provider to the safeguarding of vulnerable persons at risk of abuse national policies and procedures 2014. The HSE will continue to seek updates from the service provider on the prompt conclusion of that unit investigation in line with fair procedures and natural justice, while ensuring that allegations are fully investigated and funded services are provided in a manner that is safe and to the necessary standards.
The outcome of that process will be determined by the investigation in line with the trust in care policy. The HSE also notes that the service provider has confirmed support for the service user and family and the relevant staff members have also been offered additional supports. It should be noted that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is actively engaging with the Department of Health, which is the lead on policy proposals for adult safeguarding from a disability perspective in that sector. It is expected that the Department of Health's sectoral policy framework will come before the Government in due course. It will be informed by, and the Senator may be interested in this point, as am I, the recent Law Reform Commission's report a Regulatory Framework for Adult Safeguarding. This will inform the new policy going forward and I think it is worth a look. I will certainly be having a look at it after the debate. This is where the matter stands at the moment.
I thank the Minister of State for that information. On a personal level, I thank him for deviating from the brief he was given to try to address some of my questions. I do appreciate it. Again, I apologise for the comments I made about what I called the rhetorical device. I know it was not something the Minister of State wrote himself. I reiterate that it is personal to the Minister of State and I do appreciate the frankness of his reply.
This case is emblematic of the moral injury experienced by people, our disabled citizens and community of carers. Even the last paragraph of this letter from the disabilities services manager refers to the fact that notwithstanding the allegations, the parent has indicated that they want their child to continue to avail of this service. Why should the child, Caitlin Hassan, be further punished by having to move to another location because of the abuse that was visited upon her? Surely those involved and the perpetrator should be asked to move and not her.
I thank the Minister of State. I also thank the Acting Chairperson for her perseverance and patience with me. I do appreciate it.
I thank Senator Clonan.
Departmental Policies
I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I think it is his first time here since he was elevated and he is very welcome. We look forward to working with him. If I had realised that he was coming into the Chamber today I would have put in a different Commencement matter regarding fair fares for commuters living 50 km outside Dublin, particularly those in Newbridge and Kildare.
There's always tomorrow.
I engaged with him quite a bit over the summer on the NTA's delay in implementing the fair fares and the new agreed structure that is now Government policy. I am quite hopeful that the Minister of State will soon have positive news for us and the commuters who have been dependent on this fare change. I look forward to that happening.
Turning to the meat in the sandwich on the Curragh Plains issue, I appreciate that the Minister of State is extremely familiar with it being an adopted son of County Kildare and living not so far away from the area himself. I am sure he will agree with me that we must do everything in our power to protect and preserve the precious asset that is the Curragh. Over the summer, and the Minister of State will have heard me speak about this issue several times, I have been fighting hard behind the scenes to tackle the perennial issue of illegal encampments on the Curragh Plains. This year, however, has been by far the worst in living memory. There have been several different encampments. At one stage, there were six encampments, with dozens of caravans. One group, from another country, brought its own set of Portaloos, as well as generators. Major damage was caused to the Curragh and to sports facilities, namely, the Cill Dara golf club. Many issues were also caused for local people, whose animals were hurt and damaged walking on the plains. Unfortunately, local residents were intimidated and very scared.
I have been liaising with the Garda, Kildare County Council and the Department of Defence to keep this issue high on the agenda. We must see progress in tackling it. I have also been in regular contact with the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Deputy Micheál Martin, and his senior team, formally and informally, to ensure this issue remains high on his agenda. In correspondence received recently, the Tánaiste confirmed that he wants to ensure we move to a modern and sustainable regulatory model in managing this historically important landscape. I am glad this acceptance has been given. I have been working on trying to get such a model at national level since 2016.
I understand that the Tánaiste expects to receive a final draft of the Curragh consultancy project for review in the coming weeks. I understand as well that this report contains several strong recommendations to deal with this issue in the longer term. The Tánaiste has agreed to a meeting following his receipt of that report. I am confident that the Tánaiste understands the concerns and will play his part in ensuring we will find a solution to this issue and continue to keep pressure on to see the Curragh Plains protected.
As a public representative, however, I believe it is important to raise these very real issues on the floor of the Seanad on behalf of all those who have contacted me in recent weeks and months. Yesterday, we saw the announcement that the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher will be designated world-famous geological sites. This is the second entry because the Giants Causeway was added in 2022. I certainly feel the Curragh would merit being awarded such an honour. The ongoing issues with illegal dumping and encampments on the Curragh completely take away from the beauty of those who wish to use it daily and deter people from using this amenity. Millions of euro have been spent over the last several years in tackling the shocking waste that has been there.
I thank the Senator.
I could say much more about this issue but I am very willing to listen to what the Minister of State has to say. I hope he has some positive news for us.
I thank Senator O'Loughlin for her Commencement matter. On the first topic she raised, on the fair fares issue, I acknowledge on record the Senator's ongoing advocacy on behalf of the commuters of Kildare South, County Kildare and the wider area. I am very engaged on this issue in working with the Senator and other colleagues. I will not say that I am hoping to have news on this very soon but I am certainly open to scheduling a meeting with the relevant stakeholders, including with the Senator, as soon as next week if that can be done.
Great.
I assure the Senator this process is moving forward.
I am certainly moving might and main to tackle that issue because I am very aware of it as well.
On the Commencement matter, I tender to the House the apologies of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence. He is at the United Nations in New York, as colleagues will be aware. The Security Council meets this morning and the Tánaiste is engaged in that business. It is important business abroad, but he did ask me to give his apologies to Senator O'Loughlin and to the House.
The Senator is very familiar with the Curragh. As she knows, it is State land vested in the Minister for Defence, the main occupiers of which are the Defence Forces in the Curragh Camp and the Curragh Racecourse which leases that land from the Department of Defence in turn. Being from the locality, the Senator is very familiar with the lands and is also aware most of them are open and unfenced and are easily accessible. The Curragh itself extends to almost 5,000 acres. It is 4,870 acres and is one of the largest open and accessible areas in the country. The challenge is not to cede that level of accessibility because there are huge positives to having that open tract of land available to the public. Simultaneously and, as the Senator outlined, it leads to issues such as illegal camping and illegal dumping. The challenge is how to balance that open public access to such a wonderful resource while tackling illegal encroachments, which are completely undesirable. Unfortunately, we have seen those encampments illegally established over the summer months. The Department of Defence does not accept that those inhabitants have any right to reside on the Curragh plains. The developments on the Curragh are a source of great anxiety to the various users of the plains. The Department of Defence is working to ensure we move to a modern and sustainable regulatory model in managing this historically important landscape. To this end, officials have engaged extensively on this issue, including a number of meetings with An Garda Síochána, and have received considerable communication from the public. I am sure they have also heard from the Senator given she has been intensively engaged on the matter with stakeholders also.
For the last several years, the Department of Defence has been working in co-operation with Kildare County Council on the Curragh consultancy project, which seeks to develop a suitable future management method to allow the various stakeholders exercise their rights while at the same time allowing public access and encouraging adherence to environmental restrictions. It is that balance between an open public space and those who will unfortunately betray that trust by encroaching upon it in such a way. The consultation process identified a review of the Curragh by-laws and the Curragh of Kildare Act would be timely, with a view to identifying possible amendments that could potentially provide more effective solutions to the issues of illegal encampments, dumping, parking and other illegal activity on the plains. Together with Kildare County Council, the Department has been working to finalise the report arising from this project. It is expected the Tánaiste will receive a final draft of this report for review in the coming weeks. I understand it contains a number of recommendations to deal with these issues in the long term. I also understand that once the report is finalised Department officials will be happy to brief the Senator and other public representatives on the findings of same. The Department is also engaging with the Chief State Solicitor to identify legal avenues that can be pursued to address these encampments in the shorter term.
I thank the Senator again for this question and assure her it is the intention of the Tánaiste to ensure the Curragh plains, as an important element of our shared heritage, are protected from illegal activity in the future. I hope that between the recommendations being worked on by that task force and in the report, along with the more short-term immediate actions being identified through legal advice, this issue is tackled to the satisfaction of the Senator and the Kildare public.
I thank the Minister of State for agreeing we would meet possibly as early as next week about the fair fares, which I appreciate.
I thank him for his response on behalf of the Tánaiste. I am heartened by the response in that the Department officials are engaging with the Chief State Solicitor to identify legal avenues that can be pursued to address the illegal encampments in the short term. This is so badly needed. I appreciate also that he said a review of the Curragh by-laws and the Curragh of Kildare Act is timely. I agree. As the Minister of State knows, I introduced a Bill to amend that Act. I have asked the Leader of the Seanad if I could have that timetabled quite soon and hope the Tánaiste would take that on board in terms of what is happening. I appreciate it is his intention to ensure the Curragh plains be protected from activity in future and I welcome that.
I thank the Senator. It strikes me that may be an opportunity. I am aware of the Bill she introduced and there may be an opportunity to incorporate into that the amendments needed to progress this matter. Perhaps she will take that up with the Tánaiste's office to discuss scheduling. As we know, the Tánaiste is the custodian and guardian of the Curragh lands pursuant to the Curragh of Kildare Act 1961. He is fully committed to a modern and sustainable regulatory model to manage that historically important domain.
I reiterate in closing that the immediate focus is on finalising the Curragh consultancy report for clarity on long-term solutions while simultaneously working on those legal avenues with the Office of the Chief State Solicitor for short-term remedies, because it is not acceptable to allow this to continue.
School Accommodation
The Minister of State is more than welcome. It is great to see him here to discuss this issue. Laragh National School is a thriving school in west Cork. It was founded in 1967 and I would say at that time there were two teachers and 29 students. It has mushroomed into a really thriving school with seven teachers and more than 193 pupils. The principal’s name is John Lordan. The issue is the emergency works application that has been made. The application is for the pedestrian entrance, which also incorporates the emergency vehicle entrance to the lower part of the school. Significant works have been done to the surroundings of this school in the last 12 months. We have had engagements with Cork County Council to come on site. It did major works on footpaths, ramps and lining. It did a fantastic job of the outside area of the school. The council did that on the back of a really good report brought forward by the board of management. The board has been really proactive here. It brought consultants on board and got a safety audit. It has really worked with all the entities it possibly could to ensure the outside of the school has been made safe. However, the board is very disappointed because the first application it made for funding for safety works outside the school was rejected as it was a Cork County Council issue. That is what the board was told. It worked with the council then to ensure those works could be done and even paid a 10% contribution to the local authority to have them done. The only thing missing now is the vehicle access and pedestrian access at the lower side of that site, which is in the ownership of the school or the Department, depending on where you want to go. An emergency works application has now been made to make that safe. At the moment all the students are coming out one entrance, which is chaotic at times. It is well managed by the school, which has broken up school times and worked to ensure it is safe, but we must ensure this lower entrance is reopened and that the safety issue regarding vehicle access can be sorted. However, the application has been rejected.
The responses I have got for this have been somewhat chaotic. I will give an example. Last Friday I got an indication from the Department it had been refused. On Monday, 23 September I got a communiqué from the Minister saying it was still under review. Now I am under the impression it has been refused again, so I am not exactly sure where we are going with this application. What I do know is the Department has effectively washed its hands of this issue. We cannot have a school paying 10% of the works on the road to the local authority and then say it needs to do all the works inside the property. This is really important because these are safety works. It is the final piece of the jigsaw. This is a very proactive school with a very proactive principal and a board of management that has done such diligent work. They are frustrated. The problem we have is that this is a desktop study. The application is made online and nobody comes to meet the principal and chair of the board of management. I have met the principal and the chairperson on site to talk about these issues. At the very least the Department needs to negotiate and have conversations with the people who are trying to ensure this place is safe. I appeal for us to get movement here. We need to get answers to where this application is. Then we can get a pathway to delivering this final piece of the jigsaw and have safe access for the kids going to Laragh National School.
I thank the Senator for the Commencement matter. I pay tribute to his ongoing advocacy for his area. I have often heard him speak about his home county and home area and he is committed to working with all stakeholders there on this issue, as well as many others.
I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. Laragh National School is the school we are focusing on. I credit the work of the board of management and the others the Senator mentioned who have really made efforts here.
I do not think I have good news for the Senator but I might have some clarity which may assist in moving the matter onwards. The Senator asked for an update on the application. There is no live application at the moment. I will explain how that came to be. The scheme that has been referred to is the emergency works scheme, the purpose of which is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. An emergency is deemed to be a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, that is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and, in the case of a school, if not corrected, would prevent the school or part thereof from opening. Delivery of this scheme is managed on a devolved basis by the relevant school authority. The scheme is very particular and a school must require emergency works that fit certain narrow criteria, as I have outlined. As part of the application for that scheme and as part of the digital strategy, the application for emergency works are made online through a portal called Esinet. The Senator mentioned a desktop review. This is an online procedure that seems to be more efficient and faster in responding than other traditional procedures.
There are no live emergency works applications from the school at present. I will explain. An application was made and the most recent application from the school sought emergency works scheme funding for the completion of works to access routes that had been affected by road safety works conducted by the relevant local authority. I presume it is Cork County Council in this instance. The purpose of the scheme is to provide funding for emergency situations, but one of the criteria is that an emergency must be something that is sudden and unforeseen. It is the view of the Department that the works conducted by the local authority were not unforeseen and actually were planned. The works were the opposite in that they were very foreseeable. The works should have afforded consideration of the access routes as part of the project brief. If there are negative consequences, albeit unintended, arising for the school, they should be addressed to the local authority first and foremost as the agency that performed the works in the area that has led to this issue. It really goes back to the local authority rather than the Department to see whether it can remedy it or at least engage on it.
It is seen that the emergency works scheme providing additional funding to remedy this situation would not be an appropriate or correct use of that scheme in this instance. Due to that set of circumstances, the application was refused and that is why it is no longer live. An appeal was made on that. The school appealed the decision but the additional information provided still supports the view that the works were conducted by the local authority to address road safety concerns, which is welcome indeed, but it actually created or contributed to the current issues and, therefore, the issue that arises is the creation of the local authority. It is something that would have been foreseeable. One might say that perhaps better planning or foresight might have mitigated that in the first instance through the local authority, but it is not an issue that is suitable for the emergency works scheme or for the Department of Education to come to the rescue on. That being the case, the decision was upheld. It may not be good news for the Senator but it is news and it is clarity, I hope.
I have the deepest respect for the Minister of State and I know him a long time, but that answer just beggars belief. We are dealing with a scenario where the local authority has come on board to make sure the outside of the school is made safe by putting in footpaths, lines and a new road, and now the Department will not come halfway to meet the actual people. It is the second time Department of Education has washed its hands of the safety issues here. The local authority came on board and there was even a contribution given by the community to make sure it came on board. Now, because of that, we have minor works that need to be done which are a safety issue. The pedestrian access on the lower side of the school has been closed. We have no vehicle access for, God forbid, an emergency there.
The Department does not believe that is part of its remit. I do not understand why the Department will not engage in a face-to-face location outside the school gate. It needs to be seen to be believed. The Department does not see it because it is looking at an application made through a portal. Will the Minister of State, for whom I have the deepest respect, ask the Minister's Department to physically meet the board of management and the principal? It will then understand the issue. A blind man could see the issue when it is actually seen on the ground.
I hear what the Senator has said. I will relay that back to the Minister and to the office. The information I have been given is that the local authority performed works which, as a consequence, created or contributed to this issue. It therefore falls back to the local authority to address that. I hear, however, what the Senator is saying. Is it a safe routes to school scheme?
Perhaps the Senator might consider engagement with my own Department of Transport on the safe routes to school programme. There might be another way to progress the matter there. The Senator should continue to engage, which I am sure he will, with Cork County Council and with the Department of Education. If he would like to talk to me separately about the Department of Transport scheme, perhaps there might be an opening there.
I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, for coming to the House today. I congratulate him again on his appointment because I know it is his first time here in the House in that role.