Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 25 Sep 2024

I thank the Minister of State for attending. The matter relates to school transport in the Bandon area. There is one specific route that I want to delve into. I appreciate that the Minister of State may not have the exact details on it. I ask that he reflect what I say and that the message is delivered back to the school transport section of the Department in particular, to try to get this issue solved.

This is in respect of Laragh National School, a primary school on the outskirts of Bandon. It is a mixed school - a fantastic school with a great reputation. There is an issue in that 22 children in and around the Bandon area who are attending Laragh National School have been left without bus tickets. This is frustrating. It happens every year, especially in respect of Laragh. We almost always get it solved eventually but we need to get it solved as quickly as possible. It is very frustrating. Many of the children who are impacted had tickets last year. They have been in the school a number of years and they do not have tickets this year. Their parents are essentially following other school buses to the school. They are driving behind the school bus. It is ridiculous in this day and age. Common sense must prevail.

In fairness, the Minister, Deputy Foley, communicated with Bus Éireann and asked it to put on a larger bus to cater for these students. Frustratingly, the local officers on the ground in Bandon have decided that a larger bus is not suitable for the route. What we are seeing is madness. We can take them in the larger bus, but we are saying that the route does not suit a larger bus. My question is very simple. Why can Bus Éireann not source a smaller bus? There are 22 children, so a 24-seater would work. There are contractors there in the area who will provide this bus. It is there. Bus Éireann is saying it will not sanction it, yet it would sanction a larger bus if the route was suitable. It makes no sense. My message is really clear for Bus Éireann and the school transport section. We need to solve this issue.

This is a matter of safety. The only way these children can go to school is to walk - there are no footpaths to connect the school to Bandon - or be driven. This is unsustainable and gives rise to health and safety issues because there are around 18 to 20 extra cars dropping off and picking up outside Laragh National School, where there are already issues with safety outside the school gate. I am pleading that this be looked at immediately and that we sanction a smaller bus for the route in order that these children can be brought to school safely.

I like to thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley. Before I address the specific issue raised, I will provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme.

The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2023 - 2024 school year over 163,000 children were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. This figure includes over 136,000 pupils travelling on primary and post primary services, 20,200 pupils with special educational needs, and 7,400 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine. The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was over €382 million. Over 141,000 mainstream tickets have issued for the 2024-25 school year, which is already 4% more than the total tickets issued for the 2023-24 school year.

The school transport scheme is an important service for families and children. The purpose of the Department's school transport scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remotely from their nearest school. Under the current scheme, children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 km from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post-primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 km from and are attending their nearest post-primary school or education centre as determined by the Department and Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

Temporary alleviation measures at post-primary school, which have been in place since 2019, are being continued for the 2024-25 school year. Under these measures, transport is provided where there is a route in operation and where capacity exists, for concessionary post-primary pupils who are eligible for transport to their nearest school and are attending their second nearest school and who applied and paid on time.

The school transport 2030 report, which was published earlier this year, marks the largest review of the school transport scheme since it was established in 1967. The Government is committed to working to achieve the report’s recommendation of expanding access to the scheme so that an additional 100,000 pupils can be carried by 2030. The recommended changes to the future operation of the schemes include expansion of the current eligibility criteria, addressing current operational challenges and moving towards better integration with public transport to ensure the best value for money from the Exchequer.

In relation to the topic raised by Deputy O'Sullivan, which is one, I am sure, many Deputies feel when representing their rural constituencies, Bus Éireann has confirmed that in the current school year there are 31 school transport services operating to the four post-primary schools in Bandon. There are 1,274 pupils scheduled to travel across these services currently. On the primary side, there are three school transport services to Bandonbridge National School that carry 60 pupils. There are also various primary school service to primary schools in the surrounding areas which include Ballinadee National School, Barryroe National School, Crossmahon National School, Kilbrittain National School, Laragh National School and Newcestown National School.

The Department has established an exceptional no service interim grant to assist with the cost of private transport arrangements families may have to put in place until their mainstream service begins. Bus Éireann has contacted all families who have been affected, providing regular updates and advising that the Department will be in contact directly with all affected families regarding this payment.

The Minister of State should have heard of Newcestown, the school he referred to. They are a great hurling club, and a dual club even. Getting back to Laragh, I appreciate the Minister of State would not have the full detail but the Minister, Deputy Foley, does. I know she is aware of it and is working to solve it. The very simple message I want to send to the Department, Bus Éireann and to the school transport section is to please sanction a smaller bus to cater for these 22 children in order they can get to Laragh National School safely.

Speaking of getting to Laragh National School safely, I mentioned the pick-up and drop-off. I do not expect the Minister of State to be across this in any detail but I ask that this message be relayed. There were issues with safely picking up and dropping off kids outside of Laragh National School. In fairness, the school board and school principal are proactive. They worked with Cork County Council and they embarked on a community involvement scheme. They spent €100,000 upgrading the area outside the school with a brand new layout to make things safer. Some €90,000 was provided from Cork County Council and €10,000 was provided from the school itself, from the parents and the board. There is one final missing piece of the jigsaw that they need to solve in respect of the entrance gate going into the school. They have applied for emergency works from the Department of Education but they have been turned down. It would be money very well spent. I ask that be reviewed and that the Department look favourably on their application for emergency works so that we can get these kids safely to and from school on weekdays.

I again thank Deputy O'Sullivan for this important matter and providing us with the opportunity to respond with the script that has been provided by the Minister, Deputy Foley, and her Department.

While it is extremely regrettable that a number of contractors had issues delivering a service at short notice, Bus Éireann is prioritising the establishment of a new service for the small number of families affected. As the Deputy said, it is of paramount importance that they act swiftly and urgently to deliver service. I find it difficult the fact that they refuse to deliver service on the basis that a larger vehicle cannot use the type of transport roads in the Deputy's area. I do not think that is an excuse for the parents who urgently require this. I am sure dealing with their day-to-day work commitments, caring for their families and then having to go to and from school to drop off and collect their children is a complete challenge for them.

Regarding the exceptional grant payment, that will assist some of the parents in respect of the cost of private transport arrangements. It is being put in place. It is a measure that families do not need to make an application for. The payment will be issued with tickets. Those who have been issued with tickets are eligible in that regard.

I will take back the case the Deputy raised in respect of the safety measures for drop-off and pick-up. It is important that the Department reviews the applications that have been submitted by school management and the parents’ association. I will relay that back to the Minister, Deputy Foley.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle’s office for selecting this and I thank the Minister of State for being here to take the debate. I am disappointed the Minister for Education cannot be here but I am sure she is very busy with other work.

Of all Ministers to the House, the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, will appreciate what I will say. We have in Carrigtwohill one of the finest school campuses in the country. It just opened last year. It has a 1,000-pupil secondary school - community college - and two primary schools with 24 rooms each, all on the one campus. They are state-of-the-art, extremely modern and newly-built. It is amazing. If the Minister of State is there someday, he should have a look. It is fabulous to see. I think it is the biggest project the Department of Education has ever undertaken on its own. It has everything. This campus has everything except a playing field.

The perplexing thing is that just behind the schools over the fence is a full field owned by the Department of Education, completely level, recently grassed and completely fenced in. It could be used as a field now but it is not.

I have raised this on a few occasions here. Initially as part of the county development plan, in the initial planning application, it was down as a playing field for the schools. However, it cannot be used by them. I have raised it but I have not gotten a satisfactory response. I have been told that the lands to the south of the site have been designated as a flood retention area as required under the campus flood mitigation design. These lands are designed to retain overflow floodwaters during periods of heavy rainfall and therefore are unsuitable for development. Nobody wants to build anything on this land. It is unsuitable for it as it is a flood retention area. However, at the moment and for the past number of months, it is perfect dry and level - not a dip. It is a playing field, in essence.

I hope the Minister of State has some good news related to my request of the Department of Education. I ask that the Department hand this over to the ETB, which I understand has written to the Department requesting - I do not know if it got a response – that this be made available to the three schools and 2,000 students who can go out there and play football, hurling, soccer and whatever else you play on grass. I know there are hard court areas, basketball areas and so on, and that is fine. I am sure the Minister of State will agree with me that it is hard to beat playing on grass and a grass field for kids to run on and play whatever they are playing.

I truly implore the Minister of State to personally look at this. They are talking about a flood retention area. All over the country we have playing fields that flood and become waterlogged during wet weather but when it is dry, people can play on them. This is no different. I do not think it will ever really flood. I am interested in the Minister of State’s response. I hope he has not a cut-and-paste response, like I have in my hand now, and he will go back to the Department of Education after this and say that this needs to be done.

I also want to say to those in the Department of Education, and I hope they are listening this morning, that the work it has done on this school is magnificent. The way it has been done is a fantastic example of best practice. People are absolutely thrilled with it. Carrigtwohill is one of the fastest growing towns in the country.

The children were using the GAA lands close by, but they are closed for the moment for rejuvenation. They are doing some work on them, so the children cannot use them either. They have nowhere to play now except hard court areas, which truly does not compare at all with a field that is just over the fence. They are looking out at it. How frustrating that must be for the staff, for PE and so on, especially when we look at all the work that has been done with respect to the curriculum and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment and so on, and the emphasis on physical education and how many hours of physical education students need – 135 hours of PE of all junior cycle students, for instance, as a minimum.

I am interested in what the Minister of State has to say and I hope he has good news.

I thank Deputy Stanton for raising this important matter. I know how passionate he is about the delivery of sporting facilities in conjunction with the schools building programme. I thank the Deputy for allowing me to provide information on the provision of sports facilities at the Carrigtwohill school campus in east Cork.

The Carrigtwohill school campus project, as the Deputy said, is the largest single school building project ever undertaken by the Department and will serve a school community of more than 2,400 pupils. The project was completed in quarter 4 2023 under the Department’s design and build programme and delivered a new 1,000-pupil post-primary school for Carrigtwohill Community College and two 24-classroom primary schools for Carrigtwohill Community National School and Scoil Mhuire Naofa and accommodation, including 14 classrooms across the three projects for children with special education needs. The project also delivered three GP areas, a PE hall in the post-primary school and 13 ball courts in total.

The Department supports and encourages the use of school buildings and school sports facilities outside of school hours for community and recreational purposes, where feasible. I know Deputy Stanton campaigned strongly for opening up school facilities for out-of-use hours.

The land to the south of the site has been designated, as the Deputy said, as a flood retention area as required under the campus flood mitigation design. These lands are designed to retain overflow floodwaters during periods of heavy rainfall and therefore are unsuitable for development as playing pitches.

I feel the Deputy has a strong argument in respect of this issue. Twenty-four hours previous, we had the announcement of one of the largest sports infrastructure programmes. This Government is investing more than €250 million in community sports facilities. Here we have a situation where we have an excessive amount of hard court facility areas - it was referenced that there are 13 ball courts in total - without any provision for grass.

There is certainly a major disconnect between those who play on hard courts and those who play on grass. It is not like for like; it is completely different.

Young people will be at a significant disadvantage if common sense does not prevail in relation to what the local community requires. There can be the provision of a flood retention area, but why not repurpose this into a playing field at the same time? I support the Deputy in the context of what he is requesting, namely that the Department review this. I will take that back to the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the officials, because I am conscious that within our Department the zoning of recreational land is a real challenge now, certainly with respect to competing priorities. Given this is in such close proximity to this enormously large school campus, it would benefit so many and future-proof the school, not just as a centre for education but also as a centre to allow students to enjoy physical activity and play sports at their leisure.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He has seen my frustration. This is exactly the same response I got last July when I submitted a parliamentary question on the matter. There has been no change. In fact, the reply is an awful lot shorter. It is almost an insult. The final sentence reads: "These lands are designed to retain overflow flood waters during periods of heavy rainfall and therefore are unsuitable for development" as a playing pitch. Who says? Where is the expertise here? It is a green bloody field that is level and is grassed. That is perfect. There is no water on it for months of the year. Most other playing pitches around the country flood and retain water, and people do not play on them when they are wet like that. It does not make any sense at all.

I am delighted the Minister of State is going to back and ask for this to be redone. He mentioned all the playing areas on are on the school's campus that are tarmacadamed and concreted. That is fine, but those surfaces do not soak in any rain either, so one would wonder about that in one sense. The children are looking out at this field. It is just over the fence. It is perfect. It is level, flat and dry for most of the year. If it floods and there is water on it common sense says people should not go on it and people will not go on it. I would like to see the engineering advice which states that it is unsuitable for development as a playing field. Maybe the Minister of State can get it for me or I might make a freedom of information request to the Department on the matter because I feel so passionate about it.

This is a waste of public resources. What is the Department going to do with it? Will we let the field sit there forever, with weeds growing on it, and cut the grass four or five times a year and just keep it as something nice to look at? It does not make any sense. I welcome the Minister of State's understanding and support. I hope the Minister for Education and her officials are listening. They should go down and look at this rather than giving me a cut-and-paste load of rubbish here. That is not intended as a slight on the Minister of State. It does not make any sense and the people in the area are totally frustrated about how this field has been left sitting there and cannot be used. This is badly needed, so let us get on with it.

I again thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I will refrain from reading the scripted closing statement. I agree with some of the points the Deputy made. He has a very strong argument in respect of the issue at hand. I will go back to the Minister and her officials on it. We need proper usage of State land when it comes to the provision of services. As already stated, we are delivering record investment in community sports facilities. We must maximise what we have at our disposal. As the Deputy said, 13 ball courts is excessive compared with what he is advocating, that is, a soccer pitch, a GAA pitch and a rugby pitch that can be used for multiple purposes by the community. It could provide so much enjoyment to these young people, but will also facilitate the teachers, the coaches and the volunteers in the community to have access to an amenity many communities do not have access to because there is such a shortage of land available.

Given the population growth within the Carrigtwohill area, this would serve the school and the community. The Department needs to refocus its efforts in trying to maximise this for dual use. We are not taking away from the flood mitigation policy that it is trying to implement, but we need to look at the broader picture here.

He probably will turn up. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, for attending. We are here again to raise issues relating to flooding in Midleton in east Cork. I acknowledge the work that has been done on the rivers and so on and so forth in the Moore's Bridge area. The engagements we have had with some of the Departments and Cork County Council have been exemplary, but I have to note they can only work within limits. We have had a number of meetings. Deputies Stanton, O'Connor and I have met many groups in different areas. The Minister of State is well aware of Gleann Fia in Mogeely. It is a separate section.

We have had late-night meetings on this matter. We appreciate that there are grants available for flood barriers for houses - to go on doors, etc. - but we have learned there is price gouging there already. There are 750 properties, so there is a great deal of money involved. I welcome the grants because we need interim, immediate prevention measures now, because let us be realists-----

Yes. Lets be realists about how the long term flood mitigation plan is long term, but I wanted to flag that with the Minister of State because many people are worried they will not have enough money to even pay for those prevention measures. Gleann Fia is slightly different because of the timber-frame structures there. There were suggestions to the effect that the adjacent land be used, and the farmer who owns it had agreed. There was talk about getting an engineer out to try to assess the position. It was also suggested that the land agreed with the farmer would be a holding pot that would divert water away from Gleann Fia. The people there are absolutely terrified. I know for a fact that it is lashing rain down there again this morning. Like other Deputies in the east Cork area, every time I hear of possible localised flooding it raises alarm bells.

I also raise with the Minister of State the possibility of a text alert system. There is one in, I think, Greenland. If there is an earthquake, a volcano erupts or something else happens, every citizen and tourist gets a text. It is just another preventative measure. In Tír Cluain, we had a tragedy a good few years ago. It is about the progress in putting the fence back up there. There was a steel wire fence being put up there. Work in that regard seems to be slow. It is more about reassurance for people because many families are on "lastchance.com". The ones in Gleann Fia are because they got an engineer's report from Germany to say that another flood will make those houses uninhabitable. They are looking for very quick-fix preventative measures. In fairness, the residents have come up with the solution already. It is a temporary one. As I said, it is an agreement with a farmer. I am wondering whether there is any way we can get around the red tape relating to it. We are coming into winter again. With the temporary measure, there is giving out that if the water is held on the land beside the estate and let into the culvert it will have an effect downstream in Castlemartyr and so on, but that water can be let off at any time. It is just an immediate measure to deflect the water away from there.

As I said, the text alert system is a big aspect. We are aware that there have been issues. The OPW has been very constructive. Inland Fisheries Ireland has been very troublesome. We often talk here about common sense, but sometimes bodies seem to not pull together so much as repel each other like two magnets. I spoke to the Minister of State down there. I thank him for the works that have been done already, but it is about the fear as we are coming into winter. Could the issues I have raised be addressed as soon as possible?

I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. My colleague Deputy Stanton is here as well. It is a major collective interest for the Deputies in the east Cork area.

I know Deputy O'Connor is involved in the debate as well.

To recap, I visited Midleton after Storm Babet. I am fully aware of the impact that this event and other flooding events in the town and elsewhere in east Cork has had on families, businesses and communities. After my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, I visited Midleton and east Cork on 24 May. I did a tour of the area with Deputy Stanton and I met Deputy Buckley on my tour as well. I am delighted that I met you at Moore's bridge. I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet with elected representatives, local communities and officials from Cork County Council to discuss the flooding problems in the area and the plans to deliver the proposed flood defences and interim works. I met Deputy O'Connor on my visit as well.

I, along with my OPW officials, met with Cork County Council’s chief executive and senior officials on 29 July and 10 September. I discussed a range of issues relating to the delivery of flood relief schemes and interim measures across east Cork, including individual property protection, IPP, for homeowners. I am meeting the council again in the coming days. In fact, I met them earlier this week and I intend to follow up again next week. Decisions will be taken on these items shortly. I am planning on meeting with local communities again shortly to give them an update on progress with these schemes and interim measures.

I have a script and I will go through the key items. A text alert system is something we would like to see Cork County Council taking up. It is something we will work on. There are works under way in Tír Cluain, as the Deputy is aware, but I understand the nervousness of people. In Mogeely - I want to pronounce this correctly - I visited-----

Gleann Fia. Specific works are being carried out there at the moment in terms of hydrological tests. We want Cork County Council to be in a position to submit a minor works application to us shortly for funding for mitigation works in Mogeely. I hope this will happen.

I will keep going as I want to deal with the interim measures that are ongoing, as I said. There is a substantial amount of work done.

In terms of the main planning consent route for the Midleton flood relief scheme, a lot of consideration is being given to the planning route that delivers this scheme in the most efficient manner, having regard to the risks associated with each of the planning routes. The decision on the planning route will better inform the programme for when planning consent for the scheme may be submitted. I hope to have a decision on that shortly.

Work is ongoing to determine what can be done in terms of advanced works. As the Deputy said, the interim works at Moore's bridge are needed. Work is taking place in Tír Cluain. There has been channel cleaning and vegetation removal at various locations along the Owenacurra and Dungourney rivers, including between the Lidl bridge and the old Cork Road bridge.

Since Storm Babet, the OPW has promoted the adoption of IPP as part of the emergency response for Midleton. When I met the chief executive recently, I discussed the council's planned scheme to roll out IPP to homeowners and businesses that were impacted. The council now has significant work advanced on the delivery of IPP and I expect to approve funding for the scheme for Midleton and east Cork. We are trying to design a scheme that covers all the areas and furthermore, does not include financial demands on the applicants. That scheme is currently being finalised. I hope we will have that fully structured with Cork County Council very shortly and we can fund it.

That is no bother. I thank the Minister of State for his response and there is a lot of work in it. He has mentioned that he is meeting with Cork County Council again, and I welcome that. Reference has been made to the Owenacurra and Dungourney rivers, the Lidl bridge and the old Cork Road bridge. Deputy O'Connor and Deputy Stanton will be aware that years ago we used to dredge the slob, as we used to call it, in Ballinacurra. That used to be dredged at the mouth of where the Dungourney and Owenacurra rivers meet before they enter the sea. That is a massive opportunity for the collection and dispersion of water instead of it going down the road. I thank the Minister of State for his response on this and I will follow it up. As I said, we are working together on this and not playing politics so I thank him.

I want to add to the comments that have been made by Deputy Buckley in relation to the ongoing works. I want to acknowledge the assistance of the Minister of State and his Department. It has been very helpful to all three Dáil colleagues who are here with us in the Chamber: myself, Deputy Stanton and Deputy Buckley. In the limited time I have, I want to raise the need to progress the other areas that were put forward during Storm Babet as having a high risk of flooding. In particular, we need to see schemes progressing in Castlemartyr and Mogeely. I am also conscious of Ladysbridge, Cloyne and Rathcormack. We need to see further work being done to prevent flooding in those locations in the future, particularly in the case of Rathcormack and Castlemartyr. We know there are schemes in tranche 2 of the Department's catchment flood risk assessment and management programme, CFRAM, protocol and I want to see if there is anything we can do, as Oireachtas Members for the constituency of Cork East, to speed that up.

I appreciate the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's indulgence. I ask Deputy Buckley to send me an email on the last particular point he made so I can follow up to see if there are possibilities there. Deputy O'Connor can go through the script but on the particular issues, I approved €155,000 on 17 September to deliver flood mitigation works in Castlemartyr and Killeagh. This was made available from the OPW's minor flood mitigation works and coastal protection scheme that provides local authorities with 90% of the funding. In Castlemartyr, €81,844 was allocated for works including lowering the embankment at specific locations, cleaning the Kiltha River, removing overhanging trees and dredging the river from the factory bridge to the N25 bridge. The €73,125 funding for Killeagh provides for tree cutting, the removal of overhanging trees and branches and the removal of vegetation downstream of the N25.

In relation to his point on Rathcormack, I understand that Cork County Council is actively engaging with the local community to progress a number of flood mitigation works including surface water road drainage, embankment words, road improvement works and the cleaning of the old village river channel. The council is also expecting to submit to the OPW, in the coming weeks, an application for funding for mitigation measures in Mogeely.

To go back to the point the Deputy raised in terms of tranche 2 versus tranche 1, it is a point Deputy O'Connor has been very consistent on. Obviously, in my role as Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, in the context of Midleton and the surrounding areas, I want to get the main scheme rolled out. I want to get the IPP scheme up and running. I want to get the advanced works built in. There has been significant progress in recent times by Cork County Council on the interim measures and I think that is acknowledged. In terms of progressing the scheme, I want the IPP to cover all the areas. The issue on tranche 2 is coming out of the CFRAM studies, as the Deputy is well aware, so there is a technical basis for the decision. A former Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW is in the Chamber, Deputy Canney, who will be very familiar with it.

For me, it is a twofold issue. How do we address the immediate needs of places like Castlemartyr, Mogeely, Rathcormack, Ladysbridge and Midleton? The other issue in terms of tranche 2 is a further issue that I will look at. We have done a considerable amount of work in Midleton and I want to thank Cork County Council and particularly, I want to thank the Deputies. I thank Deputy O'Connor, Deputy Stanton, Deputy Buckley and all the public representatives on the ground for their assistance in progressing the measures that are here. I know from being down there how difficult it has been for the people throughout all the areas and I hope the interim works are bringing some bit of security. We hope to roll out the IPP scheme shortly, and the main scheme as well.