I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter to be taken and I welcome the Minister of State. The Minister of State knows full well the scourge that is bovine tuberculosis, TB, and the impact it has on farmers and farm families in terms of the emotional stress, financial stress, worry and the heartache that it can bring.

I acknowledge the work the Minister of State, the Minister, Deputy Heydon, and their Department have done in relation to the bovine TB action plan published during the summer. It has some 30 actions and five high-level headings, namely, to support herds free of bovine TB to remain free; to reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bovine TB; to detect and eliminate bovine TB infection as early as possible in herds with a bovine TB breakdown and avoid a future breakdown; to help farmers improve all areas of on-farm biosecurity; and to reduce the impact of known high-risk animals in spreading bovine TB. These are all very important.

I also acknowledge the work of the Minister and the Minister of State in securing additional funding in the budget to ensure there is adequate compensation for farmers. This is necessary for two reasons. The first is the higher rate of TB in cattle herds and the second is the higher value of animals. The increase in the value of cattle in the last couple of years has been very welcome for farmers, but it has also put additional pressure on the budget. That increase in funding was absolutely necessary.

The Minister of State knows that if farmers lose one animal or 5% or 10% of their animals, it is difficult. If they lose a full herd, and there is full depopulation of the herd, that is a huge stress on the family and a huge financial burden. If that herd is a pedigree one, whether it has 20, 30, 40 or 50 animals, that is an additional hit. I understand the reason the Department has a cap on compensation for an individual animal. If a farmers loses a pedigree cow or bull, that is a hit. If a farmer loses the full herd, however, that is a substantial hit because of the cap on compensation for an individual animal. I am asking that consideration be given to having supports for pedigree herds. If there is a full depopulation of a pedigree herd, I am asking that there would be additional compensation for the farmer. I have engaged with certain individuals who have told me that a farmer who loses a herd of 35 or 40 animals could take a hit of over €55,000. That is a huge hit for any farmer. I ask that the Minister of State and the Minister engage with their Department to see if something could be looked at in cases where there is a full depopulation of a pedigree herd.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an tuairisc a d'fhoilsigh Roinn an Aire Stáit i rith an tsamhraidh maidir le eitinn bólachta, TB. Tá a fhios agam go mbíonn brú ollmhór ar fheirmeoirí nuair a bhíonn orthu tástáil eitinne a dhéanamh. Tá a fhios agam freisin gur cailliúint mhór í nuair a chaithfidh siad fáil réidh lena gcuid beithígh de bharr an ghalair. Cuirim fáilte roimh an maoiniú breise a bhfuarthas i mbuiséad 2026. Teastaíonn sé seo go géar toisc go bhfuil na huimhreacha TB ag méadú. Tá uasteorainn íocaíochta i bhfeidhm d'fheirmeoirí a bhfuil eitinn ag a gcuid beithígh. Tá sé seo ceart go leor i bhformhór na gcásanna ach, nuair atá an tréad ar fad i gceist, go háirithe nuair is beithígh pedigree iad, tá tionchar níos mó aige seo ó thaobh airgid de. An bhfuil aon phróiseas eile ar fáil do na feirmeoirí seo?

The financial hardship is acute on many farmers. I know there are hardship schemes and obviously compensation. The cap that applies to a full depopulation of a pedigree herd needs to be looked at.

I apologise for the Minister, Deputy Heydon, and I am glad to be here on his behalf. I thank Senator Kyne for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline the current situation with the bovine TB eradication programme. The Senator's timing in this debate is important given what has been happening in my county in recent weeks, on top of every other thing we had to do with TB. We seem to have an awful serious problem at the moment, which the Senator is rightfully recognising in the House.

Bovine TB is an ongoing challenge for Irish farmers, and I know it takes a toll both emotionally and financially on farming families. In recognition of a need to tackle the increased disease levels in recent years, on 9 September this years the Minister, Deputy Heydon, launched the Bovine TB Action Plan: Addressing Bovine TB in Ireland. There are five measures and 30 actions underpinned by scientific research and veterinary expertise. These are: to support herds free of bovine TB to remain free; to reduce the impact of wildlife on the spread of bovine TB; to detect and eliminate bovine TB infection as early as possible in herds with a bovine TB breakdown and avoid a future breakdown; to help farmers improve all areas of on-farm biosecurity; and to reduce the impact of known high-risk animals in spreading bovine TB.

The aim of the action plan is to reset the bovine TB programme in the context of putting in place measures necessary to tackle the current disease situation. These measures are targeting both transmission between wildlife and cattle and transmission between cattle.

Budget 2026 provided an increased budget for the TB programme, with €157 million allocated for 2026. This will allow the TB programme to focus on driving down disease through the implementation of the measures laid out in the bovine TB action plan. Our Department provides various financial supports designed to help farmers with the direct and indirect losses from TB outbreaks on their farms. The primary support scheme is the on-farm market valuation scheme, which compensates farmers for the market value of animals that are removed due to TB, as if they had not been identified as reactors.

When a herd goes down with TB, the herd owner selects a valuer from an independent panel of livestock experts who visits the holding to value the animals on farm using up-to-date market values. Each week our Department issues summary market prices which are compiled of sales data collected nationally from marts by Department officials and accurately reflect current values for each category of animal, ensuring that affected farmers receive appropriate value for their animals. I know this is the issue the Senator has a big problem with. Once a valuation has been agreed by both parties, the animals are removed for slaughter. On receipt of factory dockets detailing the salvage value, our Department issues payment for the remainder of the valuation, bringing the amount up to the market value assigned by the independent valuer, subject to certain ceiling limits.

In the period up to 30 November 2025, of the 36,646 animals valued under the on-farm market valuation scheme, just under 95% of animals were valued below the scheme ceilings. Additional support options are available through the income supplement scheme, depopulation grant scheme and hardship grant scheme to help farmers with indirect costs incurred during a TB breakdown.

As part of the work of the TB forum, a dedicated financial working group was established to review the financial modelling of various elements of the bovine TB eradication programme. As a result of the agreement reached in this group in 2023, there were rate enhancements to improve the supplement scheme, the hardship grant and the depopulation grant as well as enhanced ceilings for select animals such as certain pedigree animals being removed as part of the on-farm market valuation scheme. In addition, the financial working group also expanded the eligibility criteria under the income supplement scheme and hardship grant schemes. Due to the increased cost of the bovine TB programme in recent years, the focus at present is on reducing the levels of disease, which will reduce the impact of bovine TB on Irish family farms and reduce the cost of the programme, which rose to over €100 million in 2024, a figure which will be exceeded in 2025.

I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive response. As I said, I would not be here today if it were a case of one cow or one bull. However, the cap impacts the value that is allowed to be paid to pedigree farm owners. For a farmer in their 50s who wants to get back into pedigree farming again after the depopulation grant, there is a huge disincentive because of the payment. I am asking the Minister of State to go back to the Minister, Deputy Heydon, and discuss this at management board meetings with the Department officials to see if it is possible where there is a pedigree herd. I am sure the Minister of State has them in Kerry. A person might have a pedigree herd of 20 or 30 or 40 animals and they are suffering from a full depopulation and the impact that has, with the emotional impact, the stress, the worry, the hardship and the financial hit.

I fully acknowledge the frustration farmers experience with this disease.

By addressing the bovine TB disease levels in Ireland through the implementation of the actions in the recently launched TB action plan, we will be able to tackle this disease in a meaningful manner and better protect farm families in Ireland from this disease. Bovine TB is a challenging disease to control and eradicate. The Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, and I, and everyone in the Department, are acutely aware of the financial and emotional trauma associated with a TB breakdown. It causes significant hardship for farmers and farming families. The Minister is fully committed to the ultimate objective of the TB programme, which is eradication. However, our immediate focus has to be on reducing the current high levels of this disease, which are very much out of control.

The aim of this action plan is to reset the bovine TB programme by putting in place the necessary measures to tackle the current disease situation. These measures target both transmission between wildlife and cattle and between cattle. It is vital these measures are taken to reduce disease levels and to protect the livelihoods of farmers and rural communities. The combined efforts of all stakeholders in implementing these actions will make a significant contribution to reducing the levels of TB we have unfortunately seen in recent years. The cost of the bovine TB programme has increased significantly in recent years. The most effective way to reduce the cost of the bovine TB programme is through reducing disease levels. I thank the Senator again for raising an exceptionally topical matter that is terribly important.

I thank the Minister of State for his time and for coming to the House. We appreciate it.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and thank her time and for coming to the House.

I thank an tAire Stáit for coming in to talk about this. This is a decision I find deeply troubling, not just as a Senator but also as a pharmacy technician. I worked for more than ten years in pharmacy preparing these blister packs. I know exactly all the standard operating procedures that go on behind the scenes in preparing a blister pack. I also understand exactly the people who get the blister packs and rely on them. What I cannot get my head around is that the guidelines changed in 2017. I was working in pharmacy in 2017. I printed out the letter we got from the HSE in 2017. There was a list of four criteria that a patient needed to meet to get a medicine blister-packed. It is already nearly impossible for someone to qualify for a blister pack. The criteria are, first, at the request of a patient's physician; second, due to the inherent nature of a medicinal product, that is, product stability and shelf life; third, where a patient is commencing new drug therapy with a view to establishing patient tolerance and acceptability before continuing on a full treatment regimen; and, fourth, in exceptional circumstances, where the patient is incapable of safely and effectively managing the medication regimen.

These four criteria have to be met to get pre-approval from the HSE before a patient can get their medication blister-packed. This small group of people are already in a very vulnerable position. We know they have been identified as needing to have the medication blister-packed as they would otherwise not manage their medication. This is where the service is being taken away. I genuinely cannot understand how the Government believes it is acceptable to introduce a charge for this service. I was thinking last night about all the different people I packed for. I was looking at the list of medications now covered and asking myself what a blind person will do now or what will a person with dementia or an intellectual disability do.

I also have a 14-year-old daughter who takes medication and we need to have it blister-packed because of the GP stamp. This will now not be covered. She is 14 and I am a working mother. I am not there all the time. It is my only way of knowing if she took her medication safely. We can see here there are green pills. I am not going to go into what they are but one is a 20 mg tablet and one is a 10 mg tablet. I know from studying for two years to be a pharmacy technician the tiny difference in size between the two.

These are complex medications and it is not fair to introduce this. Whether it is €20, €30 or €50 of a charge people cannot afford it at the minute. I have been inundated with calls from pharmacists and technicians I used to work with. I have also had a number of calls from diabetes nurses from the diabetes clinics because none of the diabetes medications are covered. What are they going to do now for compliance? People are not going to be able to afford the medications so they are just going to have to go without.

What has baffled me even more is the list of medications that are on it. Where someone is on an antidepressant, an SSRI, for their mental health, that may be covered, but if they are on a heart or cholesterol medication, that is not covered. People are going to have some medication packed and some not. If you talk to any health professional, we know the danger that comes with that and the hoarding of medication in presses. Blister packs have changed so much of that. Any ambulance or emergency worker will tell you that when they go into a house, they will pick up the pack and they can see straight away the name, the date of birth and the medication. More importantly, they can also see if the person has taken the medication that day. It is one of these decisions that is going to cause avoidable admissions to our hospitals, and for families and carers this is a nightmare.

I will have to pay to get my daughter's medication blister-packed, but what does someone who cannot afford it do?

I thank the Senator for raising this matter and for giving me the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to clarify the position on the phased dispensing and monitored dosage system, which is also known as blister packs.

I wish to clarify that phased dispensing and monitored dosage systems and blister packing are not the same thing. While the State has supported phased dispensing under the community pharmacy contract since 1996, it has never supported monitored dosage systems. The State supports phased dispensing for patient safety reasons and will continue to do so. Community pharmacies receive additional fees for this service. The supply of medication in instalments can support patients using certain high-risk medications who are at risk of accidents if these medications were to be supplied on a monthly basis, as is the norm under the community drug schemes.

The community pharmacy agreement does not remove phased dispensing. These medicines will continue to be supported by phased dispensing and fees will continue to be paid. On the other hand, monitored dosing systems, which are sometimes referred to as blister packs, are systems that allow the individual doses to be organised according to the prescribed dose schedule. As noted earlier, the State has never agreed to fund monitored dosing systems and there has never been a fee associated with them under the pharmacy contract. However, a practice has built up in some pharmacies where the use of monitored dosing systems is being charged as if for phased dispensing. The State has never agreed to this inappropriate claiming. Significant expenditure was being incurred by the State that was never intended and for a purpose outside of the contracted arrangements, with limited evidence of effectiveness. The introduction of improved controls around phased dispensing is being done in a way which puts patient safety first and allows the State to repurpose funding to be used to implement new patient-centred services. It remains open to pharmacies to charge patients or not for the use of monitored dosing systems as a private service, as many currently do.

Phased dispensing supports have only ever been in place for medical card holders. Claims for blister packing are not reimbursable by the State and this has not changed. The rules for phased dispensing have been set down in several HSE pharmacy circulars, and any claims put through for blister packing under the phased dispensing arrangements have been inappropriate claims. Charges for blister packing currently vary between pharmacies and this is a matter for them as private businesses. Some pharmacies do not charge for this service. Community pharmacies use different methods to assist their patients, including counselling, reminder charts, the Know Check Ask system with the HSE and tools like pictures or large-print labels and alarms.

These are used in particular for older people, people with disabilities and people with multiple conditions to ensure that they manage their medicines safely.

In the context of the negotiation of the community pharmacy agreement 2025, the first such contractual negotiation with the sector in 30 years, the State used the opportunity to negotiate and agree improved controls to further reduce inappropriate claiming for monitored dosage systems as phased dispensing. However, the Minister for Health last week agreed to pause the changes in the phased dispensing control mechanisms until the end of quarter 1 of 2026. The Minister has been working on this for the past few months.

The phased dispensing fees are being changed, whether a pharmacy chooses to put them in a blister pack for the patient's convenience or compliance and whether the State ever agreed to pay for it or not. It paid for phased dispensing and pharmacies' blister pack medication. Some charge and others do not. The changes to the phased dispensing fees are where the pharmacies will lose out. They will no longer be able to pack medication for that because the list of medications now covered under phased dispensing is the issue. Phased dispensing is the only fees the pharmacy gets. That is where the problem will come in. I do not understand how this list was chosen. There is a certain group of medications here. This definitely did not come from any pharmacists or healthcare professionals because there are more complex medications like those for diabetes or those for someone who may be blind. How did was the decision reached that these are the only drugs covered for phased dispensing now? They are normally what end up in a blister pack. They need to get them phased and it needs to be on a weekly basis. The pharmacy discusses with the patient whether it is putting them into a blister pack and whether it is charging or not. The fees are the issue. There will no longer be reimbursement of the fees.

We do need to clarify this. As the Minister said, it will be quarter 1 of 2026. She has said the community pharmacy agreement 2025 does not remove the phased dispensing. We will check what is on that list. The rule changes around phased dispensing were introduced to deal with a situation where significant expenditure was being incurred by the State. It was not intended for purposes outside the contracted arrangements, with limited evidence of effectiveness.

In her statement of 12 December, the Minister noted the community pharmacy sector is under particular pressure at that moment, with an earlier than expected start to the flu season, as we are all aware of now, delivering vaccinations and preparing to establish the new common conditions service, which is really good and I am sure the Senator agrees with that.

The Minister has agreed that the IPU needed to engage further with its membership to clarify the situation and that the community pharmacists need to do further work with their patients, especially their most vulnerable patients, to clarify the supports available to them and determine the best way of safely complying with their medicine-dosage regime.

It is important we clarify the information. I assure the Senator the Minister will come back to her on this.

I thank the Minister of State and the Senator. I appreciate the Minister of State taking time from her busy schedule. It is always great to see her here in the Seanad.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, to the House.

I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien. It is good timing. We have another set of residents of Chapelizod and other parts of Dublin protesting outside Leinster House today. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, agreed with Deputy Cummins last Thursday in the Dáil that they should not have to, but I will tell the Minister of State why they are here again today. Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of it and get some movement on this No. 80 bus.

I raise the significant challenges the Chapelizod, Islandbridge and south Palmerstown communities have faced with the new No. 80 bus, which came into operation in October. It is now the only route serving Chapelizod village, having replaced the No. 26 in October. It crosses the Liffey at Bridge Street, travels south along South Great George's Street to Rathmines and terminates at Palmerston Park in Dartry. The new route significantly limits connection to the city centre and is a downgrade on the connectivity offered by the No. 26.

The No. 26 service went straight into town. It went straight into the city centre, down along the quays and stopped at Merrion Square. It provided the community in Chapelizod with a dedicated direct link to town, a connection to Heuston Station, both Luas lines and a short walk to the DART as well. It did have some reliability issues, but it serviced the community's needs, providing access to and from the city with only - and this is crucial - a 2% cancellation rate.

To reach the city centre, Chapelizod residents now have to transfer buses at Arran Quay where the C spine and other buses travelling along the quays are already full at peak commuting times, or try to squeeze onto the Luas at Smithfield which, as the Minister of State can imagine, is also full by the time it gets in there, or they can get off on South Great George's Street and walk into the city centre.

To make matters worse, not only does the No. 80 not bring them directly to the city centre, it also has one of the highest cancellation rates of all buses in the city, at 9.3% since its introduction in October. While some may think this is because it is a new route and that it will surely improve with time, it has not. Since the start of December, 10.5% of buses on the No. 80 service have been cancelled, while 11.4% of buses on the route were cancelled last week. This includes the unacceptable case of last Thursday, which saw six cancellations from town back to Chapelizod between 4.20 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. and seven back-to-back cancellations the other way, from Liffey Valley.

From the beginning of this year until the No. 26 service ceased operating on October 17, it was cancelled 799 times. The No. 26 was cancelled that many times between January and October. Since its introduction, the No. 80 service has been cancelled 831 times. That is 14 times per day. The No. 80 has been cancelled on more occasions in two months than the No. 26 was in ten months. This is according to the National Transport Authority's, NTA's, open-source data.

Acknowledging that the No. 80 service got off to a rocky start, as the NTA described it, it organised a meeting with public representatives to discuss a proposal to merge the No. 80 route with the No. 130 service that serves Clontarf and Talbot Street. This meeting appeared out of thin air, with no consultation with public representatives or, more importantly, the community. This proposed solution would not provide Chapelizod residents with the direct, dedicated link to the city centre that they need. It will instead add further strain and demand to an already broken route. While it would enhance connectivity to the city centre, it would in fact also extend the overall route of the existing No. 80 service from 17 km to 24 km, which is just going to add more delays and more cancellations.

One welcome development is that the NTA has made a commitment to expedite construction of the bus stops on the bypass, but, again, we need to make sure it will engage with public representatives for the area and the community to make sure we know what the design of this infrastructure will be and when it will be delivered.

I also had communication this morning with a group of residents in Chapelizod who are worried about their kids getting to school in Lucan. We need to look at getting that bus service back to Lucan instead of Liffey Valley. I call on the NTA to abandon this ill-thought proposal of merging the No. 80 route with No. 130 service, which will cause lots of harm, with communities not being able to get buses to and from town. I also call on it to reinstate the No. 26 route with a terminus at Lucan rather than at Liffey Valley. That is something I called for at that meeting with public representatives last month.

BusConnects should enhance our lives and not make things more difficult but, unfortunately, that is what is happening. I look forward to the response of the Minister of State and I hope she will go back to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, with these concerns.

I thank the Senator for raising this topic. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, with her and the Members of the House.

From the outset, I would like to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. However, neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public transport services nationally rests with the NTA. It delivers the services and has responsibility for day-to-day operational matters.

That said, I reassure the Senator that the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options, and public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. To support this objective, in budget 2026 the Department of Transport secured €940 million of funding for public service obligation, PSO, and TFI Local Link services, which was a significant 43% uplift from the €658.4 million secured in 2025.

However, I understand the Senator wishes to discuss the reliability and connectivity of the 80 bus route and the proposed changes from the NTA to that route. BusConnects, as I am no doubt the Senator is aware, is a transformative programme of investment in the bus system, providing better bus services across our cities. It is the largest investment in the history of the State and is managed by the NTA. The aim of the network is to improve the existing Transport for Ireland system through enhanced services, with high-frequency spines and new local orbital and radial routes.

As the Senator is aware, on 28 November, following customer feedback and engagement with public representatives, the NTA announced a two-stage plan to revise route 80. From early 2026, route 80 will operate from Liffey Valley to Chapelizod on a revised alignment along the quays, crossing the Liffey at O'Connell Bridge rather than Bridge Street and running through College Green and Great South George's Street. This temporary measure will improve access to the city centre ahead of the planned pedestrianisation of College Green.

In quarter 2 of 2026, route 80 will link with route 130, continuing along the north quays and O'Connell Bridge to Eden Quay and northwards through the city centre to Clontarf. This alignment will maintain a ten-minute peak frequency and provide new connectivity to the Luas green line at O'Connell Street and the DART at Connolly Station, offering passengers more options for onward travel. The NTA acknowledges that, for a variety of reasons, including city centre congestion, route 80 does not meet expectations following its introduction. I heard what the Senator said.

When rolling out phases of the BusConnects network, the NTA commenced monitoring of new services, identifying issues and implementing fixes, where appropriate. That is what the Senator has raised today. In planning the redesign of the network, the NTA considered Dublin City Council's plans to transform College Green and Dame Street into a pedestrian friendly plaza which will restrict east-west bus movements through College Green. That is why route 80 was originally routed through Bridge Street. However, customer feedback indicated that continuing along the quays to O'Connell Street would provide greater benefits, including improved bus priority measures and enhanced connectivity through O'Connell Street and onward transport services. The NTA has reviewed this feedback and agrees that change makes sense.

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response.

I know this is not the Minister of State's portfolio and I appreciate her taking the Commencement matter, but I am really disappointed. I printed something this morning because I was afraid that what just happened might happen. The Minister of State has read, word for word, what was said by a Minister in the Dáil last week in response to questions from Deputy Jen Cummins on the 80 bus route. This means that the feedback, fixes and implementation the NTA says it wants to identify and hear about from public representatives are not relevant. If that is not stonewalling, I do not what is.

The Minister of State's reply is, word for word, the same as the response in the Dáil, right down to the turn of phrase such as "that being said" in the second paragraph. It is disappointing that the NTA has not reflected on what was raised in the Dáil last week. There is a reason I am raising this again today and it is that it has not gone away. I will go to a group of people outside Leinster House after this debate who are unhappy and the NTA has decided not to listen. The Minister of State mentioned a meeting, which I attended, and said it was about stakeholder engagement and engagement with public representatives. There was no engagement. We got 24 hours' notice of a virtual meeting and made suggestions which were not accepted.

I am not sure whether there is a communications dropout between the NTA and Minister of State. Again, this is not going to go away. It is probably a good idea for the Minister of State to bring as much as she can back to the Minister. I know he is not responsible for this on a day-to-day basis, but there will have to be a meeting between the NTA and Minister to get the bottom of this.

I thank the Senator. Obviously, I speak on behalf of the Minister. I would not like the idea to go out that there is stonewalling because I do not think that is the case.

If the Minister spoke about this last week in the Dáil, for me to echo his sentiments today is not unreasonable.

It is unreasonable.

I fully recognise that transport connectivity and reliability are hugely important. That is the case regardless of where one lives. One of the issues the Senator raised was cancellations. As with all previous phases of BusConnects, the NTA is carefully monitoring capacity, punctuality and reliability. Bus cancellations occur for a variety of reasons. It can be due to traffic congestion or a shortage of drivers or mechanics may prevent services from operating. I have looked at the notes and analysis that have been provided to me and they show that we are moving towards a target of 18% for place-of-employment reachability. There is a lot more here, which I wish I could give to the Senator. I certainly heard what she said. I will speak to the Minister, and the Senator and I can speak afterwards about the specific questions she wants answered. I hope I have provided some of the answers but if there is anything else, I am more than willing to listen and pass on the Senator's message.

I thank the Minister of State.

You are welcome.

I thank Senator Ní Chuillin and the Minister of State, who will stay for the next Commencement matter.

I thank the Minister of State for being here. Obviously, I am disappointed the Minister for education is not here but I was informed yesterday that the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, would be taking this Commencement matter instead.

There are two parts to this story. Curragh Community College was originally built for 140 students in the middle of the Curragh camp for the families who were living there. The schools in Kildare town and Newbridge reached capacity and it was agreed in 2018 that the Curragh community school would expand to take in the numbers from Newbridge and Kildare town and that a new school would be built. It was then decided this new school would be built on the grounds of Magee Barracks at the edge of Kildare town. This was agreed and the contracts were signed for the sale of the site in 2022. Planning permission was unfortunately protracted because, even though Kildare County Council did its business quickly, the proposal went to An Bord Pleanála, which caused a delay of two years. Thankfully, the board ruled in favour of the original decision to granting permission for the school.

This is where we are now. We still have no school. We still do not have a sod turned on the Magee Barracks site. Meanwhile, there are increased pressures on the schools in Kildare town and Newbridge. The Curragh community school, originally built for 140 students, now has 300 students. That is taking its own toll. Coincidentally, yesterday, I received correspondence from the teachers of the existing Curragh Community College formally requesting urgent intervention regarding the very serious deficits in health, safety, welfare and infrastructure across the school campus. We should bear in mind that the board of management and staff agreed, in the interests of providing education to young people in the area, to take on extra students. The school has more than doubled the number of students it had. The conditions are absolutely horrific. There are no PE facilities or canteen, so students have to sit in their classroom to eat. There is severe overcrowding in the staffroom, which only has three tables for 40 people, and in the classrooms. There are no practical rooms for science, home economics, woodwork, etc.

Students have to walk on dangerous public roads to reach the squash club, where they are able to avail of some physical activity.

There is a huge impact on teaching, learning and legal compliance. This is having a big impact on the educational capacity of the young people. There are structural hazards as well as unsanitary and inadequate toilets. There are overcrowded hallways and a lack of designated social spaces. The list goes on. This is having a big impact on the school ethos and teacher and student well-being. We are waiting for the update on the new school. In the interim, we require urgent health and safety audits, immediate emergency works and clear timelines, including transport.

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this matter because it provides me with the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth to outline to the Seanad the current position in relation to the major building project for Curragh Community College in Magee Barracks, Kildare.

This project is included in the Department of Education and Youth’s construction programme which will be delivered under the national development plan as part of the Project Ireland 2040 framework. The brief for this project is to provide a new, permanent school building for the school. This project will be delivered in two phases. Phase 1 will deliver accommodation for 425 students, while phase 2 will deliver the remaining accommodation to provide for the long-term projected enrolment of 1,000 students at the former Magee Barracks site in Kildare.

Stage 1 for Curragh Community College was approved, as the Senator knows, in June 2023 and stage 2A was approved in January 2024. The project then moved to stage 2B of architectural planning and detailed design, where all statutory approvals were secured and a suite of tender documents were prepared. The design team lodged its initial application for planning permission for the preferred design option with the local authority in October 2023. The design team subsequently received a substantial request for further information from the local authority in respect of the planning application. Following its response to the local authority, the design team received the local authority’s initial decision to grant planning permission with conditions on 9 October 2024. The initial grant of planning decision was appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála in October 2024 and the design team received An Coimisiún Pleanála’s decision to grant planning in early February 2025. The Senator can, therefore, see the timeline of what has been happening. All other statutory approvals, such as the disability access and fire safety certificates, were also secured.

The project is currently at architectural planning stage 3, tender action and award. The tender returns have recently been received and a review of them is currently ongoing by the design team to formulate a tender report for the Department’s review and comments. On completion of the tender report review by the Department, the letter of intent is expected to issue to the successful tenderer.

The school is currently located in accommodation in the ownership of the Department of Defence. Pending completion of the new school building project, the Department will continue to work with the patron holder to ensure that the accommodation is appropriate to the school’s needs. I heard what the Senator said about health and safety issues.

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 allocation, the Department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school places.

In relation to project roll-out for large-scale projects and additional school accommodation scheme projects, 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 period 2026 to 2030.

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, for her response. I am aware of the two-phase process that was committed to. If phase 1 had started at this point, I do not think we would be here discussing it because there would be an opportunity for the existing students in Curragh Community College to transfer over. Mention was made of working with the patron bodies to ensure the accommodation is appropriate for school needs. The existing accommodation is most certainly not suitable. I want this to be taken as a priority. I would like to see the Minister, Deputy Naughton, visit the school to see at first hand what it is about.

I make the point that the principal, staff and management at Curragh Community College are second to none. They are incredible. They give their all to the students they serve. They and the students deserve to have school accommodation that is fit for purpose, and they do not have it at this point.

I hear what the Senator is saying, that the existing accommodation is not suitable. Things are happening and things are in train, but perhaps the capacity and speed at which they are progressing is an issue for the Senator. I will certainly bring her comments to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Naughton. The Senator said the principal and staff are second to none. I fully understand that because I visit many schools myself. That kind of capacity or empathy can never be questioned. However, it is important to emphasise that, since 2020, the Department has invested over €6 billion in our schools through the national development plan, involving the completion of more than 1,300 school building projects. I hear what the Senator has said. Every one of us is interested in our own constituency and what is happening there. I hear the specific comments she makes on the need to ensure this project is moved forward as quickly as possible. I promise to bring that to the attention of the Minister.

I thank the Minister of State for giving her time to be with us for two of the Commencement matters. We appreciate her attending today.