I thank the Minister of State for taking this issue. I am conscious that we are almost at the end of September so school is back about a month. There is a situation in St. Bricin's College, Belturbet, County Cavan that has not yet been resolved. I am seeking clarification and what the intention is going forward.

I was contacted by the principal to say there are 32 students enrolled in St. Bricin's school in Belturbet who live in Cavan town or its environs. There are secondary schools in Cavan town but they are all full, or they are full for the years these students need to go into because they are not all first year students. They all have letters stating that they had attempted to enrol, that there is no place for them and they cannot be accepted into the schools. The school was led to believe that if there were ten students or more in this situation that the Department of Education and Youth would sanction a school bus from Cavan town to St. Bricin's College to bring these students. They were informed of that last April. They actually registered for school transport and they paid or put in their medical card details but they have now been left in limbo in that they do not know whether this bus is going to be sanctioned. At the moment, if they can afford it, they are paying for a private bus, which costs €50 week per student. Some students are not attending school because they cannot afford to pay for the bus to get there. One family has three students going to that school so they are paying €150. There is no reduction for siblings or for more than one student in the school. This fee is charged whether the school is open or not, so if there is a day the school is closed for some reason or if there is a bank holiday in the week they still have to pay the €50. I contacted Bus Éireann staff who said they are aware of the situation and that they have notified the Department as they cannot put a route on without sanction from the Department.

I am looking for clarity on what will happen with this. The school was told the bus would be provided if there were ten or more pupils. This has not happened. I understand that normally they would be considered concessionary pupils but because there is no space for them in their nearest schools in their locality, there is a way of putting on a bus for these students to get them to school and not have to pay excessive amounts.

I thank the Senator for raising the matter. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. The Senator may be aware that under the terms of the scheme children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 km from attending the nearest school, and at post-primary level not less than 4.8 km from attending the nearest post-primary school or education centre, as determined by the Department and Bus Éireann, and having regard to the ethos and the language.

Bus Éireann has advised that pupils residing in Cavan town are not eligible for school transport to St. Bricin's post-primary school, which is part of the Belturbet post-primary centre as they are nearer to Cavan town post-primary school centre.

Children who are not eligible for school transport but complete an application and pay, or enter their medical card details on time, may be considered for any spare seats available after eligible children have been accommodated. These spare seats are called concessionary seats and are subject to a number of conditions, including that there is an existing service in place with spare capacity.

Bus Éireann has advised me that 11 children applied for the Cavan town transport to St. Bricin's College. All these pupils are concessionary because they are not attending their nearest post-primary school. It further advised that there is no school transport service from Cavan town to the college in Belturbet that children from this area can avail of. A minimum number of ten eligible children residing in the district locally, as determined by Bus Éireann, are required before consideration may be given to the establishment or retention of the school transport system, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits. Routes may be altered or extended depending on the number and location of eligible children who would be availing of school transport for the following school year.

The Senator mentioned in her opening remarks that there was some indication that a school service would be running from Cavan town to Belturbet. Under the rules and terms and conditions of the scheme, transport would not normally be going from one town to another. If the Senator has details, I might follow up. That seems to be in conflict with the terms and conditions of the scheme. I will follow up on the issue if the Senator has some information in that regard.

I thank the Minister of State. I understand that would normally be the case, but in this circumstance, their nearest school is full. Even Bus Éireann has said that if the Department of education is satisfied that the nearest school is full, parents must then provide directly to the Department of Education and Youth evidence of an application for enrolment that was made within the deadline, a letter from the school authorities confirming that the school was full and, if necessary, a copy of any appeal. Bus Éireann is saying it will look at the issues where children's nearest schools are full and they must go to the next nearest school. I know the parents of the student in question did apply to the nearest school and were refused. They enrolled in St. Bricin's because they needed a school for their child. St. Bricin's had a place and was willing to take the student. The principal informed me that in April the school was told a service could be provided if there was a sufficient numbers of students. That came from Bus Éireann, to clarify. I can get further details from the principal and send them to the Minister of State.

I have had some experience of the scheme in recent weeks, in particular, and the nuances of it. Bus Éireann is basing its determination on the fact that the schools in Cavan town are full. That is probably the reason. I will look at any information the Senator has. I understand the terms and conditions of the scheme clearly at the moment. If you have ten or more eligible pupils, you can commence a service and consider concessionary tickets on that service. You need eligible pupils in the first instance to allow the scheme to take place. I would like to know from whom came the information about setting up the service in April because I would follow up on that. As I see it at the moment, these children seem to be outside the scheme. If any other information is available, I would be only too glad to see if we can resolve the issue.

On Tuesday, I raised an issue on the Order of Business and, on the advice of the Leader, submitted a Commencement matter. The issue relates to Carrabane National School just outside Loughrea, County Galway. I was strong in mentioning that this is a 20-year debacle that is not the doing of the Minister of State or the Minister, Deputy McEntee. It is something they have inherited, but it urgently needs to be addressed.

A few years ago, Carrabane National School got approval for construction but the builder pulled out and the planning permission lapsed. The school had to go back to the drawing board as regards all the preliminary designs. It got as far as 2B and submitted again. As it already did a tendering process, it is entitled to appoint the next available tender but needs approval from the Minister straight away.

I know there is a school capital programme in the pipeline. I would appreciate it if Carrabane National School was included and I urge its inclusion. I visited the principal on Monday. The man is under severe stress. Not only is the school completely not fit for purpose, there are multiple classrooms in prefabs because the floor has fallen through. The roof of one of the classrooms fell in during the summer. Thank God no kids were in the classroom at the time.

Schools are also facing other issues, including the cost of heating these prefabs when the capitation grant is only €224 per student at primary school level. That is out of sync with our second level schools. The school is under severe pressure. I would appreciate it if we could help it at this stage by intervening and ensuring it is on the school capital programme when it is introduced.

I thank the Senator for raising the issue in respect of Carrabane National School, County Galway. I know he raised it on the Order of Business on Tuesday. I thank him for his warm welcome to Galway recently and for the engagement we had with schools across east Galway. It was a lovely day and we certainly got a flavour of the issues across the county,

Since 2020, the Department of Education and Youth has invested over €224 million, supporting the completion of 86 school building projects, with a further 31 currently in construction in Galway. Across the country, the Department of Education and Youth has invested over €6 billion in schools throughout the country under the national development plan, involving the completion of over 1,400 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for the Department of Education and Youth to €1.6 billion.

In July, the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026 to 2030 under the national development plan. As part of this NDP allocation a strong emphasis will be placed on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs.

In respect of the project roll-out for large-scale projects and additional school accommodation schemes, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project roll-out over the course of the 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.

Carrabane National School is a co-educational primary school constructed in the 1940s. The school is under the patronage of the Bishop of Clonfert, with a current enrolment of some 208 pupils. The project for Carrabane National School is part of the Department's traditional construction programme and the project brief provides for the construction of a replacement eight-classroom primary school and accommodation, including two classrooms for children with special educational needs. Planning permission for the project expired in 2024 and an extension of planning permission was required. This extension was granted by the local authority in late August 2025. The project is currently at architectural planning stage 3 - tender action and award.

A tender report was received by the Department of Education and Youth and is currently under review by departmental officials. Due diligence is an integral part of the Department of Education and Youth's process and when this review is complete and subject to no further issues arising, the Department will be in further contact with the school authority and the design team. Until such time as a contractor has been appointed, a timeline for completion cannot be provided. However, I assure the Senator that we will work on it. The application is under review at the moment and I will ask Department officials to look at it as soon as possible.

I appreciate that a definite timeline cannot be given. There is a review under way and I hope it moves quickly. As the Minister of State mentioned, two special classes were included in the build. Twenty years ago, Carrabane National School was the first national school outside the city boundary in County Galway to introduce a special class. The school was proactive. Extended members of my own family have benefited enormously from the education they got in special classes in Carrabane National School. It is a shining example of what can be done when people want to bring inclusive education into the education setting.

I urge that we reward them for what they have done over the years. They have survived conditions that students probably should not be learning in and teachers struggle to teach in. I was given a tour of the school by the principal on Monday. They are struggling down there. Whatever can be done, I would really appreciate it.

I congratulate Carrabane National School on being one of the first outside of the city to open a special class. Going back over the years, all school communities that put up their hand, so to speak, and took on special classes have really fostered very inclusive education on their campus. I congratulate Carrabane on what they are doing and their continued good work on it. The commitment I would give the Senator, and I know it is an issue very close to his heart as he has spoken to me about it and raised it here earlier this week and today, is that I will follow up on it to ensure there is no delay. We have to go through due process in evaluating the tender documentation in the Department. Nobody will thank us for it if we do not do that right, but we will do it in a meaningful way and we will report back to the Senator. I thank him again for his interest and we will continue to work on it.

I am here again today to raise the issue of the boil water notice that has been placed on households and businesses in Macroom. Sadly, it is not an isolated incident. Since 2022, this is the eighth or ninth boil water notice that the people in Macroom have endured. Every couple of weeks the story repeats itself. The boil water notice goes in and families and businesses are massively disrupted. People are left with added expenses, worry and uncertainty about something as basic as clean, safe water. The cost of water is not cheap yet people are paying for it daily and weekly because they fear the tap water they have. Parents are boiling kettles to make bottles for their children. Elderly residents and those with health conditions are anxious about their safety. Cafés, restaurants, schools and community facilities face added costs. This is more than an inconvenience and it undermines trust in public services where it hits people's pockets. The people in Macroom are asking a very reasonable question. Why should they accept this as the continuous normal and why should they just take it lying down?

I know in the response today that the Minister of State will probably rightly point out the investment programmes that Uisce Éireann has delivered nationally and progress in modernising our system, but that means very little to the people in Macroom, to be honest. It does not make it easy on families fearing their own tap water. It does not ease the burden for the businesses that are already under pressure. It certainly does not excuse the fact that a growing town has been left in a cycle of boil water notices for years. What specific remedial works are under way right now and when will they be completed in Macroom? Most importantly, when will the residents and businesses be guaranteed safe, reliable water supply permanently and not just until the next crisis?

Macroom town is a growing town with new housing developments, new businesses and a wider rural hinterland depending on this supply. The infrastructure is not keeping up with the pace. Clean, safe drinking water is not a luxury, it is a right for people. The people in Macroom deserve better than repeated notices, extra costs and empty reassurances. They deserve a concrete plan with clear timelines and a guarantee that this pattern will not continue into 2026 and beyond.

I thank Senator Ryan for raising this important issue on the boil water notice for the Macroom public water supply in County Cork which has been in place since 12 September. I recognise the inconvenience placed on those who have a boil water notice on their water supply. As the Senator rightly pointed out, the inconvenience for householders and businesses is very significant. I have experienced it in my own constituency in Waterford as well. Uisce Éireann has informed me that this boil water notice was issued as a precautionary measure to protect the health of approximately 4,697 customers due to operational issues at Macroom water treatment plant which resulted in elevated turbidity levels in the treated water. This notice was issued by Uisce Éireann after consultation with the HSE. I take this opportunity to reinforce the advice that all consumers affected by this notice must boil their water before drinking. Uisce Éireann has also indicated that the operational issues at the plant have now been resolved and turbidity levels have returned to normal. Uisce Éireann is working with the HSE to lift the boil water notice as quickly and as safely as possible. Lifting of a boil water notice will only occur when the issue is resolved and the HSE confirms that there is no further risk to the public.

The Senator rightly asked what is going to be done about this. I would be surprised if the Senator was not aware that, in April of this year, a €6.5 million upgrade of the Macroom water treatment plant commenced. It is a very significant investment that will address the risks to water quality and the frequent boil water notices which the Senator pointed out the people of Macroom have experienced over the past number of years. In recognition of this, significant investment is being put in by Government and Uisce Éireann. The works are expected to be completed in the summer of next year. This will have a significant impact in terms of improving water quality and reducing the number of outages that have been in the system.

Uisce Éireann is being allocated €514 million in 2025 of the €1 billion capital investment announced by the Minister for Finance in budget 2025. The budget allocation in total will increase next year and in the funding of the strategic plan of €16.9 billion through to 2029, which was approved in November of last year. Very significant Government funding is going into Uisce Éireann to address many of the legacy issues that have been in place. I recognise that Macroom has a growing population. I had the pleasure of visiting there two or three weeks ago as Minister of State with responsibility for planning and local government to see significant housing development at an infill site there. Obviously, adequate water and wastewater supply is critical to ensuring that expansion can continue in Macroom. I am extremely pleased to say there is a significant €6.5 million investment under way right at this moment which will be completed in the summer of next year, which will have a very positive and significant impact for the people of the area.

I thank the Minister of State. I was aware of that. The majority of people in Macroom are aware of the upgrades that Uisce Éireann will be doing. The issue is in the interim, between now and 2026. What seems to be happening is, any time there is really bad weather or flooding, all of a sudden there is a boil water notice. Are we saying to the people of Macroom that they are supposed to continue with this pattern of boil water notices until these upgrades are done? It is going to put people under pressure and out of pocket. Uisce Éireann has offered nothing else that can be done for people, just telling them to boil their water and continue as they are or else go out of pocket and pay for water, because until 2026 nothing really is going to be done for them and they are going to keep going through the cycle.

I thank the Senator. If she has a suggestion on what needs to be done between now and summer of next year, I am all ears. She is more than welcome to feed that back to me. That investment is under way and will have a positive impact. We acknowledge the effect it has in the area in terms of those boil water notices. They are put there as a safety precaution by the HSE. Obviously Uisce Éireann has to adhere to them and can only lift boil water notices when approved to do so by the HSE. I am pleased to say there is a significant investment which will have a positive impact in terms of the ability to expand development in Macroom over the coming years, which is what we want to see in terms of increased housing capacity. If the Senator has any suggestions, I am more than happy to take them back to Uisce Éireann.

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. It is my first time speaking here since his appointment. I warmly congratulate him. His expertise in his area was well recognised in the previous Oireachtas. I have no doubt he is going to make a significant impact in the coming months and I wish him the best of luck.

I stand with Senator Dee Ryan on the issue that has dominated politics and healthcare in my region of Clare and the entire mid-west area for the last number of years. In spite of the tens of millions of euro invested in UHL, capacity being increased and the budgets made available, we still have an average of about 100 people a night waiting on trolleys in UHL. Before the last local elections the Minister made an announcement that HIQA was going to be asked to do a capacity review on the ED provisions in the mid-west region. That review is ongoing. It is a year and a half since the announcement, which was in May 2024. It is now almost October of 2025 and we do not know what HIQA has recommended about additional capacity for emergency department provision in the mid-west. It is not good enough that it takes HIQA a year and a half to carry out a review when most of us know what the answer is, namely, that we need an additional emergency department in the mid-west region. What I want to know is very simple. When are the Minister and HIQA going to publish the findings of the review into accident and emergency care in the mid-west? It is needed. We are heading into a winter where it is going to be very serious and we need a pathway and a framework for moving forward.

I echo Senator Conway's call for the publication of that review. We in the mid-west are very eager for it to come out, to see what the recommendations are and for the Minister to take action on it. Actioning it is key. We would like to hear what provisions she is making for further capital investment in healthcare in the mid-west region in the coming budget.

In my Commencement matter I also asked if the Minister could update the House on what provisions she is making for this winter. We have seen significant long-term capital investment in the mid-west, as my colleague rightly points out, since 2020. There is the 96-bed block in UHL, which I believe will be opening next month, and a second 96-bed block under way. There is also a surgical hub at the site of the old Scoil Carmel up in Punch's Cross. There is also the completed first phase of a community nursing unit in St. Camillus Community Hospital with a second phase under way. We are, therefore, seeing significant capital investment but that is not going to get us past this winter. My question to the Minister is what immediate actions can she take to bolster the healthcare provision in accident and emergency in UHL this winter. I will tell the story of a gentleman I am aware of. This 79-year-old gentlemen had a first fall in April, spent 24 hours on a trolley in accident and emergency, contracted pneumonia and was twice in the high-dependency unit over a period of weeks. He has been back twice and on a midweek night in September of this year that gentleman spent 24 hours on a chair. It is shocking. It is shocking what the people of the mid-west are going through, so what can the Minister do for us this winter?

I thank Senators Conway and Ryan for their question, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health. I also thank Senator Conway for his kind words, which are much appreciated.

On the topic at hand, the final report of the review of urgent and emergency care in the mid-west region is due to be submitted to the Minister for Health by HIQA very shortly and published soon thereafter. I will take a moment to explain the sequence of events since May 2024 when the Minister requested a review of urgent and emergency care within the mid-west region with the primary objective of ensuring safe, quality acute care. As part of this review, HIQA was requested to consider the case for a second emergency department in the context of the population changes in recent years and ongoing pressures at the ED at University Hospital Limerick.

The terms of reference, which were published in August 2024, stated, "... a final report will be provided to the Minister in Summer 2025 ..." and a more specific timeframe of the end of May was agreed. HIQA submitted an interim briefing on 28 February, which was published on the Department of Health website in March. It provided a progress update on the various streams of the ongoing work programme. HIQA next wrote to the Minister for Health in May 2025 to update on the timeline for completion of its report. Overall, the HIQA work on the review of urgent and emergency healthcare services in the HSE mid-west region has progressed very well and the work streams undertaken by HIQA to inform the advice to the Minister had been completed. A critical dependency for completion of the final report from HIQA is the input from the national and regional demand and capacity projections being undertaken by the ESRI for the Department of Health. The first of these three ESRI reports, on projections of national demand and bed capacity requirements for public acute hospitals, was published on 28 May. The second report, on future capacity requirements for GP services, was published on 18 June. The third report, on future capacity requirements for older persons' care, was published on 30 June. The ESRI is due to publish a further regional analysis very shortly. It is these analyses and projections that are obviously feeding into the report which is being compiled for the Minister and will feed into the question of whether a second ED in the mid-west region is warranted. It should be with the Minister very shortly and she has committed to publishing it thereafter.

I know full well the pressures within the mid-west region and University Hospital Limerick, but it is important to say there has been significant funding and investment in the region and the hospital in recent years. From 2019 to 2024 there was an increase from €265 million to €507 million. There has been an increase in the staff ratio by 50%, with 57 more whole-time equivalent doctors, including consultants, 576 more nurses and midwives, as well as 155 more health and social care professionals. Senator Ryan mentioned the 96-bed block, which is due to open imminently, and the second 96-bed block, for which some enabling works are already under way. They will have a positive impact, but it is true that patient flow within University Hospital Limerick is very important when it comes to managing ED admissions and ensuring people are not on trolleys. I will make a couple of further comments in my closing remarks.

I thank the Minister of State. He is just delivering the message and we appreciate that, but it has taken a year and a half and we still have not had this HIQA report published. Were it to recommend an additional ED in the mid-west, between site purchase, planning, design, QS work, construction and fit-out it would be 2035 before we see another emergency department. That is not good enough for the people of Clare, Limerick and Tipperary who find themselves in a difficult situation on a trolley in an ED for days, like the 79-year-old my colleague spoke about. We need to get real. We need to get urgent. We need to put a bomb under this whole process because it is simply too long. It is not good enough and people are suffering.

I thank the Minster of State for coming to see us this morning and delivering that message. I agree with him on acknowledging the significant investment that has been made in recent years. I also acknowledge the huge work being done by the newly appointed regional executive of HSE Mid West, Sandra Broderick, Bernard Gloster, head of the HSE, and indeed the Minister, who has focused on weekend discharging. I wish the CEO of the hospital, Ian Carter, the very best in the work he is doing, which we are hearing is bearing fruit. However, unfortunately we are fighting fire when in the mid-west when it comes to healthcare. We have only one accident and emergency department to deal with all the issues that occur in the entire region, including the ones that can be foreseen or projected in terms of age groups and the ones that are unforeseen, like accidents. We are under immense pressure so we need additional focus from the Minister to get us through this winter.

I thank both Senators for raising this important matter. I can assure them on the investment flow that has gone into University Hospital Limerick. There is a significant focus. I know the importance of the review informing future investment. I come from Waterford in the south-east region where a hospital serving a population catchment of over 600,000 has had zero trolleys for the last three years because of very clinical bed management and patient flow through that acute hospital. The former CEO of University Hospital Waterford, Grace Rothwell, has been appointed as the national director for acute hospitals and will assist the new executive in University Hospital Limerick to ensure patient flow and bed management in order that we get the benefit from the additional 140 beds that have been provided to University Hospital Limerick over the last number of years. There is further significant investment to go into the region to ensure that we no longer have patients on trolleys because that is unacceptable. However, there does have to be better management of the flow, notwithstanding the excellent work that is done by staff on the ground day in, day out. I will take the comments back to the Minister.

I thank the Minister of State.

I thank the Minister of State.

The Minister of State is very welcome this morning. I thank him for coming in to answer this Commencement matter. The situation regarding the courtroom facilities in Castlerea Prison is something I have wanted to raise for some time. Castlerea is a medium-security prison, purpose built to serve as a committal prison for Connacht and counties like Cavan, Donegal and Longford. It has a capacity of 340. It is a modern facility equipped to deal with the realities of the prison population in the 21st century. However, part of the investment was the provision of a courtroom and associated infrastructure including videolink technology, holding cells and the necessary security systems. These were put in place precisely to reduce the burden of escorting prisoners long distances, increase safety and make the justice system more efficient. Yet, despite this investment, these facilities are laying largely idle. Instead, what continues to happen is that prison officers in Castlerea are escorting prisoners to courts all over the country, including Letterkenny, a round trip of eight hours in some cases. That is not an efficient use of resources, it is not safe and it is not fair on staff who are pulled away from their core duties inside the prison. It is certainly not fair on prisoners who must endure long, disruptive journeys for court appearances that in many cases could and should be dealt with on site via secure videolink.

This raises very basic questions. Why have a courtroom in Castlerea if it is not going to be used? Why spend taxpayers' money on state-of-the-art facilities only to let them gather dust while continuing to incur the cost, the security risk and the human strain of long-distance prisoner travel? There are specific questions that the Department and the Courts Service must try to answer. Why are the modern facilities in Castlerea not being used? Are they legal? Are there administrative issues? Are they infrastructural or resource-based in nature? What steps has the Department taken to make Castlerea Prison courtroom operational? Has any assessment been carried out to compare the cost of these long journeys in financial terms, security terms and staff strain against the cost of activating the courtroom in Castlerea Prison? What is the timeline? When can we expect these facilities to be used on a regular basis, as was originally intended when public money was spent on them?

This is not just a theoretical issue. It is a live, practical problem that affects prison staff, prisoners and our court system and, ultimately, it affects the taxpayer. We are spending twice, once to build the facility that we are not using and, again, to cover the enormous cost of doing these things the old way. At a time when we are talking about efficiencies in justice, modernising our Prison Service, reducing the risk and respecting human rights, it is simply indefensible to have a courtroom in Castlerea Prison lying idle while convoys travel up and down the country every week. I ask the Minister of State to give clarity and tell us what is happening, what is being done to fix it and when we can expect the situation to change.

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. The Minister sends his apologies. Unfortunately, he is in Brussels at a European Affairs Ministers' meeting so he cannot be here. He asked me to take this matter on his behalf.

In relation to court sittings at Harristown courtroom, which is what it is known as at Castlerea Prison, the Courts Service has advised that there has been no change to the scheduled sittings taking place in that location. The court is scheduled to sit on the fourth Friday of each month, which it continues to do. During 2024, the court sat on 46 occasions and to date in 2025, the court has sat on 34 occasions.

Where the District Court sitting at Harristown is dealing with remands from other districts, pursuant to section 5 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1997, it should be noted that it has no jurisdiction to finalise the charges or hear the trial, and the matter must be remanded back to the originating court for trial or sentence. Physical attendance for remands, rather than appearance by videolink, is a matter for the Judiciary and is subject to section 23 of the Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2020.

The Courts Service has made inquiries in relation to remands in Letterkenny District Court and has confirmed that videolink is the default position for any remand unless the judge directs otherwise. The Minister is prioritising efforts to ensure that the courts are adequately resourced to administer justice efficiently and effectively just as the Senator articulated in his contribution.

This past year marks the full calendar year of supporting a significantly enlarged Judiciary and court operations in the wake of the 2023 publication of the Report of the Judicial Planning Working Group and the appointment of 24 additional judges. Following an impact assessment of the first phase of judicial appointments following the publication of the Report of the Judicial Planning Working Group, Government approval was secured on 22 October 2024 to increase judicial numbers by a further 20 judges to meet the growing demands on the justice system and to further reduce long waiting times across the courts. The Minister intends to request the Judicial Appointments Commission to initiate the selection processes for these judges later this year. Taken together, these two sets of appointments represent an increase of approximately 25% in the number of judges in Ireland. This year, the Courts Service was allocated a budget of over €199.8 million, with additional funding to allocate to provide for the recruitment of additional staff to support the expanding Judiciary and bolster modernising measures.

I thank the Minister of State very much. It is interesting to hear there has been no change to that, but I welcome the additional court staff. I am looking at a newspaper cutting from 2020 with the headline "Harristown courthouse makes history as video-link installed for hearings". It was celebrated at the time. Obviously, we were dealing with a situation where we were trying to stop the spread of Covid-19 at the time. However, for some of these travels, I would hope that the videolink system could be used more to reduce the number of sittings that are required for people travelling and, with the additional judges, I hope that can be looked at. If the Minister was here, I was going to acknowledge response he gave on Monday, 8 September, to Deputy O'Flynn regarding the national development plan and what the Government was planning to continue to invest in the prison services, which included additional investment for additional spaces in Castlerea Prison.

I would have thus expected the facilities in Castlerea to have been used more given the increased capacity. I thank the Minister of State very much for his response.

Where the District Court sitting at Harristown is dealing with remands from other districts, it should be noted that it has no jurisdiction to finalise the charges or hear the trial and the matter must be remanded back. That is obviously the reason some prisoners are remanded back to their original location.

Physical attendance for remands is a matter for the Judiciary. As the Senator rightly says, it was introduced in 2020 as a measure to help with Covid. It should be used, but it is a matter for the Judiciary itself. The Courts Service has made inquiries in relation to remands in Letterkenny District Court and has confirmed that videolink is the default position for any remand unless the judge directs otherwise. There are always certain circumstances where they want to have the person physically present, but the Senator has articulated the point well about greater efficiencies. It would appear from the note I am reading that the Courts Service is on the same page as him, except in exceptional circumstances.

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Seanad this morning and attending the Commencement debate. I want to raise the lack of regulation of battery energy storage system sites, otherwise known as BESS. In July, the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy discussed BESS. Much of the discussion related to speeding up the roll-out. There was no meaningful focus on fire safety, environmental risk or proper regulation. That omission is worrying because communities across Ireland will be living beside these facilities with very real hazards and no real regulatory framework to protect people or the environment.

In Cavan, permission has been granted for two major BESS facilities at Shankill Lower and Pottle, despite multiple objections. At Shankill, there is no water access on the site and no decommissioning bond included in the planning permission. That means if something goes wrong or when the facility reaches its 35-year lifespan, it is the local people, farmers and families, and the local authority who will be left with a massive clean-up bill. International experts have repeatedly sounded the alarm. Professor Paul Christensen, who advises the UK's National Fire Chiefs Council, has said planners here simply do not understand the hazards of lithium ion batteries. Fires at BESS sites abroad have taken days to extinguish. It took 24 hours for a fire to be put out in Essex. In Liverpool, it took 59 hours to put out a major fire. Earlier this year in California, 1,500 people had to be evacuated after a major fire. California is now forcing developers to contribute to a fire mitigation fund. That kind of fire mitigation fund only scratches the surface. It does not deal with the risk to people, livestock or the pollution and leakage that can poison soil and water. We need to pause the roll-out of BESS sites until we have a proper evaluation process in place and there is real, statutory regulation of BESS sites. We need mandatory decommissioning bonds, fire safety standards and clear departmental responsibility.

Who is dealing with the oversight of these sites? In Cavan, it seems the site is totally unsuitable and yet it initially got planning permission, although that is now being appealed. The Department of the environment has said it is the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU. When contacted, that office said it is the Office of Emergency Planning. When that office was contacted, it said it is the Health and Safety Authority. When it was contacted, it told us that the local authority is responsible. From experience, I know that the local authority is wholly unaware of any procedures, policies or regulations.

I thank Senator O'Reilly very much. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, sends his apologies. He is at the UN this week so he cannot take this Commencement matter.

Electricity storage systems are part of the renewable energy future. Together with wind, solar and grid infrastructure, they are a key element of Ireland's transition to a low-carbon electricity system by delivering ancillary services and facilitating a more efficient use of our existing grid. Grid-scale electricity storage systems, including battery electricity storage systems, which the Senator rightly says is referred to as BESS, play a vital role in this transition by ensuring the proper functioning of the grid in providing system services, assisting in grid build-out, and providing targeted demand flexibility to the grid, reducing dispatch down and maximising the incorporation of renewable generated electricity through bulk electricity time shifting.

As of July 2025, there are 22 separate electricity storage systems connected to the grid network providing just over 1 GW capacity. One pumped hydro-storage facility, Turlough Hill in County Wicklow, accounts for 292 MW of this capacity with the remaining 756 MW provided by 21 stationary battery energy storage systems located throughout the country.

To support the incorporation of electricity storage systems on to the grid network, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment published the Electricity Storage Policy Framework for Ireland in July 2024, as required under the climate action plan. Chapter 4 of that policy framework provides an overview of the existing safety and regulatory framework in place for grid-scale electricity storage systems, including battery electricity storage systems in the European and Irish contexts.

It is important to note that in Ireland, there is no single authority under which the entire safety and regulation of grid-scale electricity storage lies. Instead, a number of different organisations handle various aspects of electricity storage system safety and regulation. The CRU is responsible for the licensing, charging and market incentives for electricity storage undertakings, the regulation of electricity storage in the electricity market and electricity storage grid connections.

In Ireland, all battery classification and standardisation conform to EU legislation. All batteries used in Ireland are manufactured, sold and operated in line with relevant EU regulations and standards, including safety certification and the putting into service of batteries used in grid-scale electricity storage systems. The 2023 EU directive concerning batteries and waste batteries sets out the homogenisation of electricity storage batteries as well as safety testing and certification requirements relevant to grid-scale electricity storage systems. This includes lithium-ion battery electricity storage systems. S-BESS - battery electricity storage systems are subject to the same environmental controls as any other industrial or technical activity. The planning, construction and operation of these installations is subject to EU and Irish environmental rules.

From a planning perspective, electricity storage systems are subject to the requirement to obtain planning permission under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and associated regulations. Applications for planning permission for electricity storage systems are made to the relevant local planning authority, or An Bord Pleanála on appeal.

In making a decision on a planning application in respect of an electricity storage system, a planning authority must consider the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, having regard to the provisions of the county development plan, including any zoning or visual impact objectives, any submissions or observations received from the public and statutory consultees, any relevant ministerial or Government policies, including any planning guidelines issued by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and any environmental assessments undertaken.

Compliance with requirements relating to the planning, construction and operation of electricity storage installations is overseen and enforced primarily by the EPA and the relevant local authority in its capacity as planning authority and fire authority. Planning policy, including in relation to fire safety, and related guidelines are a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

I welcome the acknowledgement by the Minister of State of the importance of battery storage to our energy system. I am aware of its potential as an alternative source of energy, but what is missing from his reply is any real assurance that safety, regulation and accountability are being prioritised alongside the roll-out.

I am aware of Ireland's electricity storage policy framework and the procurement of 1 GW of new capacity. Where is the framework for fire safety? Where is the requirement for decommissioning bonds? Where is the clarity for local authorities that are granting permission in the absence of proper national standards and guidelines?

We now have 21 stationary BESS sites connected to the grid. These are not small pilot projects. They are major industrial installations yet regulation governing them is light touch at best. Even on a flight, you cannot bring a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on an aeroplane because it is likely to explode. Dublin Bus is banning escooters on buses because of the likelihood of explosion or fire. These are not small sites. They are massive. One battery storage site is the size of a 40 ft container and 20 of them will be left lying in a field after their lifespan. There are no decommissioning rules so there is a risk of leakage of lithium batteries into our water supply. The response here today is not good enough. Ireland needs a comprehensive regulatory framework. We need safety standards, environmental protections, decommissioning guarantees and proper oversight. There needs to be a moratorium on the grant of planning until all of this is sorted out.

I thank the Senator for acknowledging the important of battery electricity storage systems. They are vital assets to the overall operation and reliability of our electricity network during Ireland's renewable energy transition. It is not correct to say that there are no guidelines in place. The electricity storage policy framework for Ireland was published in July 2024 in line with the climate action plan. Chapter 4 of that policy framework provides an overview of the existing safety and regulatory framework in place for grid-connected electricity storage systems, including lithium ion battery electricity storage systems that deliver electric energy to the grid. The chapter also provides for the roles and remits of the various regulatory authorities and organisations in relation to standards, planning, construction, licensing, and safety of the grid scale electricity storage system in Ireland. The Senator may not have had an opportunity to read that but I am happy to ask the office of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to forward that document to her. Specifically, chapter 4 may address some of the questions she has raised here today.

We welcome the additional briefing material that has been supplied by the Department regarding this. Is é sin deireadh an chláir. The House stands suspended until 11 o'clock.