Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 14 May 2025

Vol. 305 No. 13

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

Dublin-Monaghan Bombings

Senator Robbie Gallagher

Last year, President Michael D. Higgins visited Monaghan town to lay a wreath to commemorate the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings 50 years previously. It was a poignant moment for the relatives and friends of the 33 people who lost their lives in Monaghan and Dublin on that fatal day - the greatest loss of life on a single day during the entire Troubles.

A year on, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families again this week. It is said that to be forgotten is to die twice. That is a very relevant comment for the families of the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. The families have continued for yet another year to await the truth of what actually happened on that fateful day on 17 May 1974. I pay tribute to all those who have worked so hard down through the years to try to lift the lid on this mystery. I acknowledge the enormous work done by Justice for the Forgotten, and Margaret Urwin in particular, as well as everyone else and, indeed, all the Members of both Houses who tabled many motions on this issue to try to move it forward.

Each year we gather here to discuss this year. Last year, there was a promise of progress with an investigation by Iain Livingstone into the Troubles, including Operation Denton, an investigation into the Glenanne gang which has been blamed for approximately 120 sectarian murders in the 1970s and 1980s and is suspected of carrying out the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, as well as potentially others, such as the bombing in Belturbet in December 1972 where two young teenagers lost their lives and the bombing in Castleblayney in 1976 where one man lost his life.

As the decades pass, the death of loved ones related to the victims of 1974 is becoming more and more prominent, making the quest for truth and justice even more pressing as they suffer the insult of truth delayed and truth denied as their own life journeys reach their natural end.

I would be grateful if the Minister of State could update me about the reports and when the victims of the Monaghan and Dublin bombings can expect the reports to be published.

Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Deputy Marian Harkin)

I thank Senator Gallagher.

First, I want to express my condolences and those of the Government to all of the families whose loved ones were killed and to all those who were injured and maimed on that awful day of 17 May 1974. I am old enough to remember it well. It is utterly incomprehensible and heartbreaking that on a day almost 51 years ago so many innocent people going about their daily lives, perhaps going to work, shopping, meeting friends, walking in the city, taking the train or whatever, were callously and brutally attacked. Their lives were changed forever. The survivors and the families of the victims remain firm in their quest for justice and for information about what happened to their loved ones. I commend them on the courage and dignity with which they have pursued justice and accountability in the years since the attacks.

The Government is fully committed to seeking the truth behind these events. We have worked consistently to implement the all-party motions adopted by the other House which call on the British Government to allow access to all relevant documents relating to the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, and we continue to regularly raise this case with the British Government. Most recently, on 24 April, at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Hillsborough Castle, the Minister raised the bombings with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, referencing the findings of the Barron and MacEntee inquiries, citing it as an ongoing issue of concern. The Government will continue to raise these bombings and the all-party motions with the British Government.

Last year Senator Gallagher also tabled a Commencement Matter on the bombings, with a focus on the reports due to be published on these atrocities and I will give an update. The Operation Denton report, which is an independent analytical review being carried out by Kenova into the Glenanne gang, is still awaited.

The Dublin and Monaghan bombings are included as part of this report. A further report is to be published by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. The ombudsman investigation, entitled Operation Newham, is examining collusion with the Glenanne gang. In recent weeks the ombudsman, Marie Anderson, confirmed that the investigation has led to a decision by the public prosecution service to prosecute a former member of the RUC for offences, including murder, so she is not in a position to publish as it would be potentially prejudicial to the future criminal proceedings.

The Government is fully committed to assisting the families and finding the truth of what happened. In addition to the Barron and MacEntee enquiries, An Garda Síochána has been assisting the UK authorities in their investigations I just referenced. I will add to that in my final response.

Senator Robbie Gallagher

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response to date. I know she has great feeling for the victims of the Monaghan and Dublin bombings and their ongoing journey in trying to find the truth of what happened on that fateful day. I know some of these people personally and all they strive for is the truth. Unfortunately, the British Government has been a constant roadblock in people's quest to do so. The Irish State has handed over documents to facilitate the work of this inquiry. I am disappointed we have not got to a point where a report has been published yet and I do not know whether the Minister of State is in a position to give any indication of the timeframe involved with that.

Briefly, I thank everybody who has worked so hard to try to bring a conclusion to this. Indeed, I mention Barry Lenihan from RTÉ who has done intensive work in interviewing the victims' families and the survivors of that fateful day and the work he did to allow them a platform to express how they were feeling. That was a useful piece of work and I compliment Barry Lenihan on it. I look forward to the Minister of State having any additional information she might be able to pass on to us.

Deputy Marian Harkin

I mentioned the Barron and MacEntee inquiries. It is important to note that when a legal issue arose that would have prevented the provision of Garda material to Operation Denton, the then Minister for Justice took extraordinary steps to put in place a bespoke mechanism to allow relevant information from An Garda Síochána to be shared with Operation Denton. Of course, the investigation into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings remains an open case in this jurisdiction. Any new evidence that comes to light, from whatever source, will be fully pursued by An Garda Síochána.

I thank Senator Gallagher for his ongoing commitment to seeking out the truth in regard to the atrocity we now refer to as the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, which took place 51 years ago next Saturday on 17 May 1974.

Agriculture Industry

Senator Nessa Cosgrove

I thank the Minister for taking this Commencement matter this week as it is a matter of urgency. As the Minister knows, farmers are required to sign and submit their basic income support scheme forms by tomorrow, Thursday, 15 May, to be entitled to receive their annual payments from the Department of agriculture. Part of this submission is a declaration that the farmer is compliant with GAEC practices on the farm. Just over a week ago, I met with representatives from the IFA in Sligo, Leitrim and Roscommon.

These farmers, all thinkers who take their environmental and legal responsibilities seriously, wanted to draw my attention to the BISS submission date in a last-ditch hope that the Minister might listen to my plea on their behalf.

Most Senators from rural constituencies such as Sligo-Leitrim, which includes parts of south Donegal, will know at this stage that GAEC stands for good agricultural and environmental conditions. GAEC regulations set out minimum environmental standards which must be adhered to. There are nine GAEC standards in total. GAEC 2 is the last to be imposed and relates to the protection of peatlands and wetlands. As only approximately 20% of our landmass is thought to be carbon-rich or mineral soil, GAEC 2 will not affect large swathes of the country, such as eastern counties, where the land is rich and well drained. There is a fear, though, that it will have a disproportionately significant impact on my part of the country. A lot of the things that farmers are being asked to do are things they are totally comfortable with - no problem at all. For instance, ploughing of grasslands to a depth greater than 30 cm is prohibited, but I am told there is no problem with that. Grasslands can be reseeded only once every four years. Again, I understand that is considered standard practice. GAEC 2 allows for the maintenance of existing drains but tightens up on the prohibition of digging new drains without planning permission on peat-rich soil. That is all very well as well, but the farmers I spoke to from the IFA are struggling with two basic issues.

The first of these issues is the definition of what constitutes peaty, carbon-rich and organic soils. This is what I would like the Minister to provide if he can: clarification in plain English as to what constitutes peaty soil. Are we able to agree on a single terminology for these soils? Are they peaty, are they carbon-rich or are they organic? I have heard all three of those terms used interchangeably and, as we all know, the use of multiple phraseologies often leads to confusion and misunderstanding. The current definition on the Department's website is:

A peat soil is defined as organic soil materials which have sedentarily accumulated and have at least 30% ... organic matter over a depth of ... 45 cm on undrained land and 30 cm deep on drained land.

The Minister knows all this; there is no need for me to go into it. However, a couple of questions occur to me. "Dry mass" is the mass of a biological sample once the water has been removed. An ordinary farmer is surely unable to ascertain this himself or herself, and this must be a job for a laboratory that can test a soil sample. Assuming this is correct, have soil samples on all land parcels throughout the State been taken?

The second issue that farmers are concerned about is what portions of a farmer's land are classed as being peaty or carbon-rich. As of 6.15 p.m. yesterday, the Department website advises, "The Department is in the process of writing to farmers subject to the standard." In the process? The deadline for submission of BISS forms is tomorrow. When will the Department complete its process of writing to farmers? If farmers find themselves in the process of deciding whether GAEC 2 applies to their land when the deadline expires, and when they decide it does not, will they get paid?

This leads me on to portions of land. If a farmer believes or learns subsequently that a proportion of their land is mineral or non-peaty soil, can they split their land into portions? This is a bone of contention that has come up a lot. The Department's website indicates that this will be possible "in certain circumstances", but what are those circumstances? Should a farmer disagree with a decision that all or part of their land is classed as peaty, what will the process be for lodging an appeal? They must have clarity. These farmers I have spoken to are not trying to upset the apple cart. They just want clarity. There is nothing more certain to undermine a relationship than uncertainty. Will the Minister grant our farmers the respect they deserve and pause the implementation and enforcement of GAEC 2 for one more year?

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Martin Heydon)

I thank Senator Cosgrove for raising a really important issue and giving me the opportunity to put on the record of the House a reassurance to farmers in her area and all over the country who are concerned about GAEC 2. The Senator has outlined those concerns, and I know from my colleagues here in Donegal and Kerry as well that those concerns are shared by farmers. Much of this is down to the fact that there has been stuff talked about that has nothing to do with GAEC 2, which is a baseline conditionality for this. One's base is what was known as the single farm payment. This is only linked to that. It is a baseline requirement for that. This is something we as a country signed up to in 2023. We got a derogation in 2023 and 2024. We sought a derogation for this year. It is not in my gift to give an extra year; this is a decision of Europe. We asked for it and we were told "No". We are dead in breach. If we do not implement a measurement, we will be in breach and will be subject to fines that would definitely be in the region of €100 million-plus and would come out of my budget to support farmers.

I cannot let that happen. We engaged with the Commission and looked to have a set of standards that, because it is baseline, should not impact hugely on farmers' day-to-day activities. That is what we worked towards and what we got agreed. The reason the letters are going out at such short notice is that when I came into this job on 23 January, this was not signed. We had not made a submission. It was the first thing I was asked to do. I engaged with farm organisations and had a lot of consultation rather than just signing it, because I wanted to get my head around the issue and understand the extent of it. I reassure the House that there was really detailed engagement to make sure there was no alternative, and to reassure myself that the measures that are in the proposal will not change farmers' day-to-day activity and that there is a minimal entry element. At that point, I sent a submission to the Commission to say this is what we wanted to put in place. We had been having detailed engagement with key stakeholders like the farming organisations over the course of the past couple of years, during that time. The Commission only approved our proposal on 30 April. I could not write to farmers before then. There is enough confusion. There would be more if I went writing to farmers saying they might be in GAEC or they might not be. We know where the area is. I will talk about the map and the point the Senator raised in a minute. Ultimately, when we got approval and the Commission said it accepted our proposal, that triggered our letters to go out.

How do we come up with the areas? There are a number of existing peat maps that have mapped the whole country. Teagasc has the Hammond map from 2009, which is the one we have used. It is the best one to use in this space. We had to have a controllable area so we can prove to the Commission that we have an area that we can control and examine to make sure the conditionality is met. That conditionality does not change a farmer's day-to-day activity. He can continue to plough, reseed and maintain existing drains and even lay new drainage in a GAEC 2 parcel, subject to existing planning legislation. While it has been in place for 20 years, is that planning legislation in effect? Have people applied for planning previously when they were doing this drainage work? Possibly not, and that is where some of the concern is. I have received loads of queries from farmers wondering if this will stop them from getting planning permission for a house or a shed or something. It is completely separate. It only relates to applying for the single farm payment. The local planning authority does not know what parcel is GAEC 2 and what is not. It is only between the farmer and the Department. We have sent out the maps now. Anyone who is a GAEC 2 farmer has received a map indicating what land parcel on their holding comes in under that. To come up with a control area, we proposed and the Commission accepted that it would be any land parcel with 50% or more peat - it does bring in some mineral soils. We could not have less than 50% peat in the land parcel. If we went for every land parcel that had any peat in it, that would have brought in another 800,000 ha of mineral soils. We think we have got the sweet spot here where we have the right balance between doing what we need to do to meet the baseline conditionality and allowing farmers to continue to have day-to-day activities pretty much unhindered and making sure there will not be a load of farmers fined at the end of this process, which I am very confident there will not be.

Acting Chairperson (Senator Malcolm Noonan)

I welcome our visitors in the Gallery. I hope they enjoy their visit to the Dáil and Seanad today.

Senator Nessa Cosgrove

I thank the Minister for his reply. I knew there was a lot of progress on it since 30 April. I am delighted. However, there is still uncertainty among the farmers I represent. If the deadline for submissions is tomorrow, can something be addressed tonight? I know the Minister has only recently taken over his brief. Is there some way there will be a guarantee so people do not feel they are going into something and they cannot reverse? The concern was about the appeals process. There is no guarantee or clarity around that, if people want to make an appeal. Could there be more clarity?

Deputy Martin Heydon

Apologies. I did not answer two of the Senator's earlier questions. One was on appeals and the other was on splitting the parcel. Farmers can split the parcel if there is a natural boundary like a wall or hedge in an existing land parcel. They can just do that on the application. There will be an appeals mechanism. Most farmers will not need to appeal this. It will not change their day-to-day activity. I can understand why there is confusion. I can understand how scarred and concerned people are around nature restoration and land designation. This is not that.

GAEC 2 is not that. It is a baseline conditionality of just the single farm payment when you apply. My Department consulted the relevant stakeholders and NGOs on the proposed standards. Once approval of the standard was received from the Commission, we wrote to farmers straight away. My Department provided direct information to the farm advisory services. Most farmers are putting in this application in consultation with their advisers. The advisers have been briefed. We had meetings with public and private advisory services to ensure requirements are fully understood. My officials attended a number of public meetings where concerns were raised. My Department officials continue to attend local meetings and we will continue to answer farmers' questions.

As I outlined, the standard will have minimal impact on day-to-day operations of farms beyond what is already legally required anyway. There is no opportunity to further delay the introduction of GAEC 2. To do so would put us in breach with no defensible case to the Commission and would leave us open to significant fines which would come out of the pot of money I have to support farmers. I cannot let that happen because I would then have less money to support our farmers day to day. I reassure farmers about GAEC 2. Farmers down the line will not face loads of fines because day-to day activity will not change.

Road Safety

Senator Manus Boyle

I welcome the Minister of State. I have submitted a Commencement matter about Dunkineely National School. I am not sure if the Minister of State knows Dunkineely. It is built on the N56. I would also like to mention Keeloges and Killaghtee national schools, which also have a problem with the N56. The priority today is Dunkineely. It is built on a hill. If you come from Donegal town or Mountcharles, you climb the hill heading for Killybegs and, going the other way, you descend. This issue was raised in 2023 when a car went through a red light at the school and there was a near miss. There were other near misses in January and May 2024. We were told the Department was doing a report. Where is the report? It is two years on and nothing has happened. Will raised tables be in place for September for the children going to school? What is really holding it up? That is what the public ask me. Is it Donegal County Council or TII? People want to know. Thank God nobody was injured at the school on those three occasions. Do we have to wait until something really bad happens and then things will be implemented? I must thank the local gardaí, who keep a high profile there in the morning and evening. People now know coming into the town that the gardaí could be there. That is slowing things down. This is a school. Uncles, aunts, parents, grannies and grandads take the children to school in the morning. Their hearts are in their mouths trying to cross the road. There are big, heavy, loaded HGVs coming from Killybegs and traffic from Donegal town. What is there at the minute is definitely not working. We have to get something as soon as possible. I really hope the Minister of State has the answers with her today.

Deputy Marian Harkin

I thank Senator Boyle for the question. I am familiar with the area he spoke about. I had the privilege of representing Donegal for three terms in the European Parliament so I well know where Dunkineely is. The Minister for Transport is the person who has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding relating to the national roads programme.

Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts and in line with the national development plan, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.

A priority in the NDP is to maintain the quality and safety of the existing national road network. In the context of the national roads programme capital budget, which is provided by the Department to TII, significant funding has been provided towards the safeguarding of the national road network. In 2025, approximately €15.6 million in capital Exchequer funding was allocated for the protection and renewal of the existing national road network in Donegal. It is important to say that this includes allocations for minor road improvements on the N56.

TII's road safety section discussed the progression of potential safety improvements on the N56 at Dunkineely National School with Donegal County Council at a meeting held in March this year. Donegal County Council is finalising an assessment of potential options at this location. Following this, a report will be prepared setting out the safety measures Donegal County Council proposes to implement, the estimated scheme costs and the expected safety benefits. TII anticipates submission of the finalised report to TII for consideration by the end of June, about six weeks from now. Once approved, any works at this location will be considered for funding in 2026 subject to funding availability.

Apart from that, the Minister of State with responsibility for international and road transport, logistics, rail and ports, Deputy Seán Canney, has responsibility for the safe routes to school programme. I am advised invitations to make expressions of interest for that programme were sent to all primary and secondary schools in the country. A total of 932 schools applied for this programme, which is about a quarter of all schools in the country. A total of 170 schools were selected in round 1 in 2021. Round 2 consisted of 108 schools and round 3 of 141 schools in November last year. The nature of the safe routes to school programme is that all schools which initially applied will eventually enter the programme on a rolling basis. It is my understanding that Dunkineely National School did not apply for this programme.

It should be noted that if a school is not currently in this programme, it does not mean it will not receive any new or improved active travel infrastructure. While there are no plans for an additional call for schools to join the programme, funding for active travel infrastructure for schools is not confined to the safe routes to schools programme. In some cases, schools outside that programme are included in wider active travel projects if they are in the vicinity of these works. I will finish my comments after the Senator's reply.

Senator Manus Boyle

I thank the Minister of State for coming in to answer the question. It is disappointing to hear that no money will be made available until 2026. This has been going on since 2023. I ask that the Department pay a visit to the school, along with me, to see the problem. I am here to try to help the people of my area. I hear about this weekly from parents and grandparents. They ask why this is happening in Donegal and they are not being looked after. This happened in 2023. It is totally unacceptable. I do not mean to get at the Minister of State. No funding is to be made available until 2026, but this is a priority. We are here to help people. To say that nothing is available until 2026 is disappointing. I ask the Department to come to the school and stand with me for a couple of hours to see the amount of traffic going past the school and what needs to be done.

Deputy Marian Harkin

I thank the Senator. To be honest, I share his frustration. As he said at the beginning, we are talking about children, parents, grandparents, teachers and all in the vicinity who use the school. I am conscious of the importance of ensuring road safety, particularly in the vicinity of schools, but there is an ongoing process. As I am not a Minister responsible for this, I cannot say whether this can be speeded up or what could be done. If the Senator wants to contact me afterwards, I would certainly be willing to contact the Minister to see how we can expedite this in order that children attending that school and their families can feel every effort is being made to ensure the road at the school is safe for use.

Acting Chairperson (Senator Malcolm Noonan)

I welcome to the Visitors Gallery pupils and teachers of Ballycanew National School in Gorey, County Wexford. I hope they enjoy their visit to the Dáil and Seanad here today. They live in a beautiful part of the country and I hope they enjoy the sunshine down there over the weekend.

Flood Relief Schemes

Senator Mike Kennelly

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. This Commencement matter relates to flooding. If there is time, I hope to speak later on how flooding events in the past ten years have completely destroyed many areas in Listowel.

Today I bring to the Minister of State's urgent attention a deeply distressing case involving the Gabrielyan family in Listowel, County Kerry, and the limitations of the OPW flood relocation scheme, VHR. The Minister of State will know well the voluntary homeowners relocation scheme, VHR, which came into effect in 2017. This family - Liene and Artur and their two sons - have endured unimaginable hardship. Their home in Gortacrossane has been flooded three times, most recently in 2023, and they were evacuated again in November 2024. The entire contents of the house were destroyed and the property - their home - is now uninhabitable with black mould, damp and structural decay.

The family was approved for the OPW relocation scheme in November 2021, and after the most recent flood, their offer was increased. While this may appear notable, it has proven entirely inadequate in the current housing market. Over the past three years, the Gabrielyans have made numerous bids on houses, only to be repeatedly outbid. The terms of the scheme have severely restricted their ability to compete. They cannot use any of the funds offered by the OPW as a deposit, which must instead come from their own resources, a demand that is simply not feasible for the family, especially while they continue to service a mortgage on their uninhabitable house. Further, under the relocation scheme no funds are released until their home is demolished. The bank mortgage clause, however, requires the sale be finalised within three months of demolition, an almost impossible task given today's housing market.

In effect, this places the family in an impossible situation. To secure another home, they must first render themselves homeless. In one heartbreaking example from December 2023, the Gabrielyans put down a deposit for a house and arranged to live there as caretakers while the deal was finalised. When the sellers learned there would be a delay in funds due to the nature of the OPW procedures, the vendors pulled out of the sale.

This family has lived in fear for more than a decade. Their young sons have been traumatised, sleeping with torches by their beds and racing up ladders to the attic, once warnings are sounded, to save their personal items from flood water. Their mental health is deteriorating, their parents are at breaking point and they have done everything right. They have paid their mortgage, engaged with the Minister of State's Department and the OPW and they have sought legal guidance, yet they remain trapped in a cycle of loss and hopelessness.

This is not just a policy issue; it is a moral crisis. We have a duty of care to these children. The State has an obligation to not only provide safe housing but to ensure its own schemes are designed to support, not block, families in crisis. I therefore call for the urgent review of the terms of the OPW relocation scheme in this case. I wish to allow for a portion of the relocation funds to be used as a deposit, as is standard in private sales.

I want to ensure bridging support or temporary accommodation is provided during the gap between demolition and new purchase. This makes sense. Most important, there is a need to review and increase the offer to reflect the reality of the current housing market in Kerry, where even modest homes are now attracting bids in excess of €350,000. Let us not allow bureaucracy to prolong the suffering of this family. They have waited long enough and it is time we acted with compassion and with common sense. As I have said from the get-go, Listowel has been a lightning rod over the past ten years. This family were the first to be really affected by flooding events that have changed and destroyed areas. The Minister of State has seen this himself. This family have been through hell more times than Satan. I look forward to the Minister of State's answer. It is to be hoped we can come to a conclusion on this.

Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform (Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran)

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. The voluntary homeowners relocation scheme was introduced by the Government in 2017 to address the very serious flooding of those homes that flooded in the winter of 2015-16, including those homes flooded by turloughs. This is a national scheme of humanitarian assistance, targeting aid at the worst-affected properties, for which there are no alternative feasible measures.

To be eligible for assistance under this once-off scheme, a homeowner must meet a number of conditions, including that floodwater entered and damaged the building during, or as a result of, flooding during relevant dates such as to render it uninhabitable and that there is no viable engineering solution that could protect the building from future flooding. At all times, participation in the scheme by homeowners is voluntary. The property occupied by the homeowners referred to by the Senator was identified by the local authority as having flooded during the relevant flood event of 2015-16. The property has a history of flooding as a result of fluvial flooding during extreme rain events which causes the stream adjacent to the property to burst its banks and an engineering solution is not viable.

In line with the provisions of the scheme, an offer of financial assistance was made to the homeowners in 2022 which provided for three options: the purchase of a new or replacement home, the construction of a new home on a site they own, or the purchase of a site and construction of a new home on that site. The offer of assistance accepted by the homeowners was based on the maximum allowance for the purchase or construction of a replacement dwelling house that can be offered, by reference to the local authority acquisition cost guidelines and unit cost ceilings issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage as of quarter 2 of 2021. It also included an additional amount in respect of legal, demolition and other costs, in line with the provisions of the scheme.

In light of rising construction costs and house prices since the original agreement with the homeowners in March 2022, the Office of Public Works, OPW, made a number of revised offers of financial assistance in 2023 and in 2024. These revised offers of financial assistance reflected updated local authority acquisition cost guidelines and unit cost ceilings issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage which were applicable at the time of the revised offers. This has ensured that the best offer could be made at those points in time, within the provisions of the scheme.

Similar revised offers were made to other applicants under the scheme, who have managed to successfully complete their home relocation. Unfortunately, this has not been the case for the homeowners in question. The homeowners have recently communicated with the OPW to inform it that they have been unable to secure a replacement home since the last offer of assistance was accepted by them on 18 June 2024 and have requested additional financial assistance to purchase a replacement property. The OPW will assess this request having regard to the most recent updated local authority acquisition cost guidelines and determine whether an increased offer can be made.

Senator Mike Kennelly

I wholeheartedly thank the Minister of State. The family has applied for the offer to be revised and increased. Can it take it that it is with the Department and we can look positively on an increase for the family to secure a home? I welcome all the work that has been done. It has been revised twice and the family has gone back again to look for further funding to eventually get out of this nightmare that they have been living in for more than ten years.

On the Listowel works, I wholeheartedly thank the OPW for everything it has done to alleviate any future heartache for people in the area. This is my third time speaking about flooding events in the Listowel area. I thank the Department. The Clievragh works in Listowel were a contributing factor in the downstream flooding that affected the family. The works are nearly finished. A report on the minor flood relief scheme works in Listowel has been commissioned by Kerry County Council and the OPW. We were expecting the Minister of State to visit Listowel to allay all the fears of further flooding in the area. I will not finish until everyone is happy with the work the Minister of State and I, as a public representative in the Seanad, do for them.

Is it feasible that the family will get an increase? What is the position on the works in Listowel?

Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran

It is very difficult to speak about individual cases but I can speak about them one to one. There is a scheme in place, as I have laid out. To date, 31 homes have received a formal offer of financial assistance for relocation. Of these, 24 homeowners have now completed the process, which has enabled them to relocate and purchase or build a replacement home under the scheme. Three of the homeowners who received offers are not proceeding under the scheme and the remaining homeowners are in varying stages of progressing through the scheme for relocation. I assure the Senator that, at all times, the OPW is available to discuss any aspect of the scheme with the homeowners and to assist them with relocation under the scheme.

My office is open to working with all families. I was the one who introduced the scheme in 2017. There is a ceiling, however. We work with the Department of housing and there are criteria set out, but we are available to assist where we can. I encourage the Senator to go back to the homeowners with a view to their engaging with the Department. Where we can help, we will not be found wanting. The works fall under the scheme and we have to go along with the guidelines in front of us.

The Senator raised a question about Listowel. I have a report and am examining it. I will get back to the Senator on this. As I said to him, I will be visiting Kerry. A date has not been signalled but I assure the Senator that it will be in the very near future. I will work with him, but he can understand where I am coming from in that it is very hard to speak about individual cases when there are so many.

Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 11.17 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 11.33 a.m.

Sitting suspended at 11.17 a.m. and resumed at 11.33 a.m.