I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor.

I also welcome the Minister of State and thank her for coming to the House to address my request for an update on the drugs strategy. As the Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for the national drugs strategy, she has a significant role in respect of this matter. I commend her on the work she is doing and thank her for her engagement with the Joint Committee on Drugs Use, which has been very welcome and constructive. I look forward to working with her on the new drugs strategy.

The Minister of State and I have discussed this matter previously. I am from Dublin and she is from Carlow, but this matter relates to the entire country. When local drugs task forces were first established in 1997, it was the very first time that a formal structure had been put in place for engagement between the statutory and the voluntary and community sectors. It gave communities a voice for the first time and a mechanism by means of which to respond to the drugs epidemic and to the challenges relating to it that existed in their areas.

The world has changed significantly since 1997. When those local and regional task forces were established, the drugs culture in Ireland and how drugs presented was primarily an issue for Dublin. I am sorry to say that, but it is a fact. Issues with drugs were predominantly to do with heroin use and were concentrated largely though not exclusively in marginalised, disadvantaged communities. Over 20 years later, the world has changed, Dublin has changed and the country as a whole has changed. We must accept that the challenge relating to drugs has changed as well. It is no longer dominated by heroin but by polydrug use. The fastest rising use of any drug is that relating to cocaine. It is no longer isolated to disadvantaged or marginalised communities. It is no longer concentrated in urban areas of Dublin. It is a national issue. It is an issue that is affecting all communities across the country.

Accepting that there is a crisis with polydrug use, that it is a crisis affecting communities all over the country - rural and urban - and that insufficient work has been done to scale up in order to deal with the problem, I want the Minister of State to provide an update on the drugs strategy, how it is going to scale to address the nationwide problem, how it is going to address polydrug use and how it is going to ensure that community voices, which are now very diverse in nature, are heard. I also want to hear how the strategy will be used to increase resources and provide funding for prevention.

Our overall approach has rightly been to respond to the drug user, the addiction and the drug abuse, and to try to assist detoxification and active and continued recovery. There has been incredible work done, not just by the local drugs task forces but also by everybody who works in this sector. However, the funding provided has been inconsistent and piecemeal. It has not allowed for scaling to address the problem of polydrug use on a nationwide basis. It also has not allowed for a scaling-up of the infrastructure and supports that are needed, especially around prevention. I refer here to youth work and youth diversion. We want a health-led approach but to achieve that we have to have people make healthy choices and healthy decisions for themselves. We have to support our young people, their families and our communities to do that. I hope that the drugs strategy is going to assist in this regard. I also hope that the Minister of State can provide an update on it. I look forward to her response.

Senator Fitzpatrick has been so helpful and has worked extremely hard on the drugs committee. As she will know, the national drugs strategy is the centrepiece of the Government’s commitment to a health-led approach to drug use. It has been almost ten years since our last strategy was drafted, which is a long time. The drug situation has changed dramatically, as we all know and as the Senator said. This is about everywhere now, from rural Ireland to our cities. Drugs have reached every part of the country, and I am very mindful of that. We have new patterns of drug use, with increased use of cocaine - which the Senator spoke about - and newer synthetic substances. Drug use affects all communities across the country, regardless of whether they are rural, urban, wealthy or deprived. It is everywhere. This brings its own challenges. It is important that we rise to the challenge in this regard and ensure that everyone who needs services can access them, wherever they are in the country. This is something I am very particular about. Wherever you live, you should be able to access services.

As the Senator knows, I established an expert steering group to oversee the drafting of the new strategy. This was supported by a reference group. On the reference group, there are people from front-line services, families and people with lived experience. It was important to me to have this. The representation of these groups was particularly important because we need to see families involved. I am very mindful that in the draft of the new drugs strategy, one of the things mentioned is how we encourage awareness, how we try to prevent drug use and how we work and communicate with families and support them.

That was the really important thing for me.

The strategy was also informed by the evaluation of the consultations with, as the Senator knows, stakeholders, trends in drug and harmful alcohol use and the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use, of which, of course, Senators are all very much aware. That played a huge part in this as well.

As the Senator knows, I recently received a draft of the new strategy, and I know the Senator's committee has received it too. It sets out five strategic pillars which will be delivered through 30 actions over a two-year period. The draft strategy envisages a key role for the six HSE health regions to co-ordinate the planning, funding and delivery of HSE and community drug services. That is the first thing we did. We have the five pillars and we will work off them with the 30 actions. This is in order to address inequality in access to services between areas and to integrate services with primary care. It is important that service planning in the future is driven by equality of access. There should be no geographic or social barriers to accessing services. I am very mindful of that too. It is also important that peer-led and community-based services that reflect the lived experience of the local communities receive the support they need. To support this aim, the Department of Health has commissioned an audit of drug services. This is the start to it. The audit is examining the relationship between the demand for services and area-based deprivation, taking into account rural-urban and gender factors. I expect to receive the final report on this study shortly. The study, this audit of the drug services, is really important. It was the first thing I had requested with the Department.

The remit of the HSE health regions will be supported by engagement with stakeholders, including our drug task forces and community-based services. I have decided that a process will be put in place whereby the Department of Health, the HSE health regions, drug task forces and all stakeholders will review existing structures with a view to strengthening stakeholder input into planning. It is a matter of all of us working together. It is important we enhance the integration of our community-based services within our primary care and involve people with lived and living experience. I expect this process to be finished by June 2026.

I fully intend to ensure the continued role of drug task forces in the implementation of the national drugs strategy and, in particular, in the co-ordination of the planning, funding and delivery of drug services.

Like the Senator said, the task forces play a huge role, and I can only compliment them. We have 24 task forces around the country, and the work they have done, as she said, from the beginning and in the communities has helped many families and helped people living with drugs or people in the service, so it is important we commend them and thank them for their work.

I join the Minister of State in complimenting the local drugs task forces. I served on the original Tolka area task force, now known as the Finglas-Cabra task force. Through that we did incredible work, and the task forces have done incredible work. Not only are they helping individuals and their families and then the wider community to deal with their addiction and achieve recovery, but they have also established really powerful and constructive relationships between the statutory authorities, the Garda, the local authorities, the schools and others in the community. They are incredibly powerful. I really welcome the Minister of State's commitment that the local drugs task forces will have a significant role in the new drugs strategy. Also, the principle of equality of access to services is imperative. We have an unequal distribution and an unequal access system at the moment. We have places where there are long waiting lists. There are places where there are absolutely no services. It is unacceptable. I welcome the Minister of State's acknowledgement and her recognition of the nature and the needs of our drugs crisis now, that it is nationwide, that it is urban and rural, that it involves polydrug use and that it is not just in marginalised communities. We also need to ensure that very significant effort is put into prevention. There needs to be ring-fenced funding for prevention. There needs to be multi-annual funding for the drugs task forces and for all our drugs work.

I commend the Minister on her work.

Again, I thank the Senator. As I have said, I have shared the draft national drugs strategy with the joint committee. I will also take the report into account before finalising the strategy because it is important. This is about everybody working together. The draft strategy has also been published on the Department of Health website. As I mentioned earlier, I have now decided to carry out a public consultation because that is important. That public consultation will start soon. I will inform everyone about that. I ask that anyone who wants to have a say - maybe he or she feels there is something we could change or has an idea as to how we change it - should have his or her say. The strategy will go to public consultation for six weeks. It should start in February. I will have the dates shortly.

The one thing I have learned is that there is not a family in Ireland that has not been affected by drugs, whether it is a family member, a neighbour, a cousin or someone else. We are now in a society where things have to change and we have to be there. We have to move and do what we can to get services as quickly as we can to those who need them. I think the new drugs strategy will play a huge role in that. Then, working with the Department and the HSE, again, as the Senator said, it is a matter of working around the whole country on where the services are needed and to make sure that those who need them get them. I thank the Senator for this Commencement matter.

I thank the Minister of State for being here. I wanted to have this discussion today because, like many others, I am genuinely concerned about the growing use of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas. Tallaght Tidy Towns volunteers, in particular Nico Crowley, collected 305 nitrous oxide canisters in January alone from just five locations. Just think about that for a moment - in one part of a community, in one month. The reality is that that figure is almost certainly only a fraction of what is actually being used. Everywhere you look - parks, footpaths, green areas, estates - you can see these canisters discarded. They have become a part of our street litter.

Behind that litter, however, is something far more worrying, namely, the health impact on our young people. What I find particularly frightening is what has now been revealed in a new Irish study. A study published in the American Journal of Neuroradiology shows that young people in Ireland are increasingly being diagnosed with spinal cord damage caused by the recreational use of nitrous oxide. The research was led by Professor Seamus Looby, consultant neuroradiologist at Beaumont Hospital and honorary associate professor at the RCSI. The findings show a very clear and disturbing trend. Between 2012 and 2020, not a single case of spinal cord damage related to nitrous oxide was recorded at Beaumont Hospital. Between 2021 and 2024, however, 14 cases were diagnosed, with the median age of those patients being 20 years. It is a dramatic change in a short period.

This clinical evidence confirms what youth workers and community organisations have been warning for years, that is, that this misuse is rising rapidly among children and young adults. Nitrous oxide is cheap, easy to buy online for a legitimate commercial use and widely perceived as harmless fun, but the medical evidence tells a different story. It interferes with the body's ability to process vitamin B12. This can lead to a serious condition called subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord. The symptoms include numbness in the hands and feet, difficulty walking, poor balance and problems with co-ordination. Professor Looby has warned that many teenagers who would not consider using other drugs are inhaling from these canisters because they believe them to be safe, but what doctors are seeing is spinal cord damage and in many cases permanent damage. Although most of the patients in the study improved with treatment, none of them made a full recovery and every single person was left with some level of lasting neurological injury. It is an extraordinarily frightening outcome for a drug that young people kind of perceive as being harmless. We need to be honest about the wider risks and side effects. Inhaling directly from the canister without a balloon is particularly dangerous. The gas is cold and can cause frostbite to the mouth and nose and damage to the throat and lungs. Other people are at greater risk if they have heart conditions. There are also risks about the settings in which people are taking this. People can fall, collapse or have accidents. There are a whole lot of issues around this practice.

It is not only a health issue, however; it is an environmental and community issue too. The sheer scale of these discarded canisters in our communities and neighbourhoods sends a very clear signal that this problem is growing and we cannot ignore it. Education around it is vital. We need to be clear, honest and consistent with our information for our young people in particular, as well as parents, schools and youth services about the real risks.

We need far better reporting and monitoring of the health incidences relating to nitrous oxide in order that communities can understand the true scale of harm.

I am not here to blame young people or judge them. I just really want them to be protected in this. The evidence now is showing clearly that it is not harmless and the cost to young lives on long-term health is already being felt in hospitals and communities.

I thank Senator Costello for highlighting and raising these serious concerns. As the Senator has said, things are changing and trends are changing the whole time. I see it within the drugs strategy section of the Department. First of all, it was really important that the Senator highlighted this. I will give an update on the response to the use of nitrous oxide and the ongoing development of our national drug strategy including its focus on prevention and education for young people of the use of drugs. That is part of the drugs strategy. We are looking at the prevention and awareness. Education will have to play a huge role and that is part of what we are doing within my own remit.

Nitrous oxide is a psychoactive substance, and it is already addressed under two pieces of legislation. Section 3 of the Criminal Justice (Psychoactive Substances Act) 2010 states that a person who sells a psychoactive substance, knowing or being reckless as to whether that substance is being acquired or supplied for human consumption, shall be guilty of an offence. So, people cannot be selling it. This is the thing. This is part of the awareness we have to look at. We have to make sure that it is not being sold to children and younger people who it is really affecting. Section 74 of the Child Care Act 1991 states:

It shall be an offence for a person to sell, offer or make available a substance to a person under the age of eighteen years, or to a person acting on behalf of that person if he knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the substance is, or its fumes are, likely to be inhaled by that person under the age of eighteen years for the purpose of causing intoxication.

That is what it is. You cannot sell it to, and it is illegal to sell to, those under the age of 18. It comes under the two Acts I have read out. Responsibility for these do rest with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration and with the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. That is where this remit lies under health and well-being.

I am aware there is significant concern about the rising use of the substance and the illegal importation of canisters at our ports. This issue was brought up on many occasions recently. It was discussed in the Dáil quite recently. The Minister for justice has indicated that this will be looked at in closer detail in the coming months by his Department. I look forward to engaging with the Minister for justice on this. I can assure the Senator that the Minister is very much aware of this in our ports as well. That absolutely has to be addressed.

In the meantime, the HSE and various community groups are monitoring the situation and are responding to the rise in its use. We are doing this as well. Through public awareness campaigns, harm reduction advice and engagement with at-risk groups, we are now working to minimise the very real health risks, including nerve damage. We are very much aware of the nerve damage. As a key part of this approach the HSE has a harm reduction fact sheet, detailing risks, effects, and advice, for drug and alcohol task forces, student unions, and at festivals. We are trying to target through health and well-being the areas that we feel we need to. This is available in local health services, through drug task forces and online. Parents are also supported with information through various sources, including the drugs.ie website, dedicated fact sheets, and a series of webinars. There are a lot of webinars going on. Maybe we need to make sure that people are aware that these are happening and we need to maybe get more communication out on this. The HSE’s website, drugs.ie , and its social media channels provide content that is informative, helpful and shareable. It gives them advice. The HSE social media team responds directly to people’s questions about substances - if they have a question they get them answered - through direct messages on all channels. They are answered through the HSE. I would encourage anyone who may be using nitrous oxide or anyone who has a loved one who may be using this substance to engage with the HSE or its drug and alcohol helpline to get confidential support and advice. This is about the awareness and information about what can happen and what the long-term effects are. Within my own remit under health and well-being that is what we are doing. I thank the Senator for raising this. It is very important.

I thank the Minister of State for the response. I do not really like to use the word often but I think we are in an "emergency" situation with this. Not to be dismissive of anything that the Minister of State has said, a fact sheet is not going to cut it with a 16-year-old or a 17-year-old. We need to reach young people. Given that something so easily available can cause spinal cord damage, we need immediate action on this. We do not want a tragedy. I do not want to wake up and read on the front page of a paper that there has been a huge tragedy. This is everywhere. In a small area of Tallaght the amount that is being consumed, and the size of those canisters, is frightening. We definitely need something that will reach the younger people. I genuinely do not think it is fact sheets. Something more proactive has to be done to reach young people and educate them and drive the message home.

In response to the Senator, I reiterate this is a start. It is a very serious issue. An allocation of €1.5 million has been made by the Department of Health for a three-year drug and alcohol prevention and education programme. First of all we must get the awareness and the education out there, get it to the families and get it to the people who are using it to show the dangers of that. This aims to strengthen the prevention and highlight the relative harm, especially for younger people. I have published the draft of the new drug strategy, which contains a renewed focus on the protection of people, children, families and communities on the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol. We know that the challenge of regulating the nitrous oxides cuts across multiple Departments and the existing law. It is a public health issue for my Department and the HSE. It is a public order issue for the Department of justice and for the Garda Síochána. I want to commend Revenue on its tackling of the illegal importation of nitrous oxide at our ports. It is also an environmental issue concerning hazardous waste disposals for the Department of the environment. It is now a trade and enterprise issue for the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. We have all our different Departments now and we all need to work together. As we work together we will get stronger because this actually falls within all our remits.

I want to thank the Senator for highlighting this really serious issue in her own area and I am sure it is in other areas too. I assure the Senator that we are working with other Departments too. I will meet the Minister for justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, shortly to do with this as well. I know all of us within the different Departments will meet on it. I thank both Senators for bringing up drug issues. It is really important. We need to make sure that we get the services and the information out. How we can deliver this is going to be vital.

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, to Seanad Éireann this morning. The issue I wish to raise is in relation to the Decision Support Service, DSS, and the registration system for enduring power of attorney, EPA. It is quite a technical matter. It stems from a meeting I had with a constituent during a clinic late last year in my office in Ballina. The Minister of State will know that an EPA is a legal arrangement that can be set up by a person to allow someone they know and trust to look after their property and financial affairs or their personal welfare decisions or both if they lose the capacity to make those decisions in the future. They just register the EPA with the DSS.

The challenge with the system as it currently is, in the example of the constituent I had in my office, sadly, his wife was diagnosed with dementia. He had to engage with enduring power of attorney to have power of attorney over the decisions of his wife, whom he has been caring for. This man is very accomplished and competent and has members of his family working in the law - capable people. To say the process of registering for power of attorney was difficult is an understatement. It was incredibly arduous and difficult, with technical jargon. One of the main challenges is that people who require the power of attorney are generally elderly. They grew up without any real use of computers in their generation. They did not have the use of technology we all enjoy and avail of today. They are expected to have impeccable digital literacy as well understanding complex legal jargon, which causes huge stress. It is a very difficult and challenging part of their lives when their spouse is losing capacity to make decisions for themselves. There are plenty of issues with the system as it stands.

There are suggestions I would like to bring to the floor today. One is to make it more user-friendly from a digital point of view. We should engage with Age Friendly Ireland and other agencies that can help inform decision-making. The second is some type of opt-out process so that everyone, on marriage, has power of attorney over their spouse but either one can opt out at any time. It is potentially a better way of circumventing this system as it is currently because there are huge difficulties with it. Some of the recommended changes to the current system include opening the portal for the client's legal representative to make submissions on their behalf if requested and to ensure a medical capacity assessment is completed prior to the execution and not after that fact. Third is to ensure the legal terminology in the process is user-friendly and appropriate to the population using the portal, not just legal eagles, and ensuring response to all submissions is appropriate to the age and disability cohorts. In the example I am aware of, the man was between five and six months waiting for a response and then the response asked for more information. It was totally unacceptable. These are very time-limited scenarios when you are at a stage of life when your spouse is in declining health - you would expect priority and a strong response. The final point is to ensure the computer programme is adequate to the system requirements. It is a technical ask but only until you encounter it - I was not aware of it until this gentleman came to my office but it is something I want to lend my support to. He has got through the whole process and he shared with me so that others do not have to go through the difficult process he experienced. Like I said, he is very competent from a legal and literacy background but still found it incredibly difficult. I welcome the Minister of State's contribution.

I thank Senator Duffy for raising this important issue. Enduring power of attorney is a vital advance planning tool that enables adults to plan ahead for a time when they may have diminished decision-making capacity, creating a record of a person’s wishes so that they are known and respected. Ensuring that the enduring power of attorney application process is accessible for all individuals is of the utmost importance in encouraging and enabling people to put enduring power of attorney in place.

The Decision Support Service has responsibility for the processing and registration of enduring power of attorney under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015. It has taken a number of steps to improve the enduring power of attorney application process and provide guidance to help people as they make their application. Both the Department and the Decision Support Service have engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to understand experiences of the Act and to identify and address any difficulties that may be arising. In the main, experiences have been extremely positive but action has been taken to address barriers to accessing services and supports where they have arisen.

Taking on board feedback, in July 2024 a new accessibility policy was implemented by the Decision Support Service. This includes a dedicated enduring power of attorney help desk service to ensure that individuals who require additional assistance in completing an online enduring power of attorney application are supported in doing so. This enhanced help desk service was introduced to ensure that the application process is as efficient and user-friendly as possible and ensures that anyone in need of assistance at any stage of the application process is supported as necessary, including scenarios in which enduring power of attorney is required urgently. In addition to the help desk, instructional videos and other helpful guidance material on the Decision Support Service website have also been developed.

In 2026, the Decision Support Service will launch a dedicated enduring power of attorney one-stop-shop website to help adults plan ahead and make their own enduring power of attorney with confidence, clarity and support. The new website will bring together existing resources onto one accessible and easy-to-use platform which has been designed specifically to bring people on a step-by-step journey through the process of creating enduring power of attorney under the Decision Support Service’s purpose-built digital system. However, the accessibility policy does not preclude the use of manual applications for all applicants. Those who are unable to utilise the online application portal whether due to accessibility or digital literacy reasons are facilitated in making an enduring power of attorney application manually, which ensures that no adult is excluded.

As of the end of December 2025, 5,075 enduring powers of attorney were fully registered by the Decision Support Service, with just under 90% of these registrations having taken place since the introduction of the accessibility policy. Encouraging adults to engage in advance planning is central to the work of the Decision Support Service. Enduring powers of attorney have proven to be the most popular type of decision support arrangement to put in place. This is encouraging as it indicates growing awareness of the importance of advance planning and the benefits it can bring when diminished decision-making capacity becomes a reality. The Decision Support Service intends to continue promoting and highlighting the importance of advance planning throughout 2026, having developed useful, easy-to-read and informative material to support all adults to plan ahead. A recent survey carried out by the Decision Support Service indicated that over 75% of adults would make an enduring power of attorney if they had more information and over 30% intend to make enduring power of attorney within three years. The material developed by the Decision Support Service along with its plans to further promote and spread awareness of the services it provides will assist in harnessing those intentions and will provide a clear pathway for people to have their wishes documented and fulfilled should it become necessary. The primary concern of the 2015 Act is to deliver appropriate, safe, rights-based supports and that those wishing to avail of those supports are facilitated in doing so and the steps taken to implement the legislation reflect that.

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply. The main point of me raising this issue is that it becomes as stress-free and easy to use as possible. I welcome the proposed measures in relation to additional supports later this year with the launch of the website and the one-stop-shop support. I would like to see as much public consultation and engagement as possible. The gentleman who put it on my radar has a lot to offer with his contribution and experience. He wants to share that experience so that no one has to suffer the arduous and emotive experience he did at a difficult time of his life, with additional stress, frustration and difficulty in the laborious process that is or at least was in place for him.

He wants to make sure that does not happen for other people in the future. I hope that some of these measures can address that.

I would welcome public consultation on this matter or an opportunity for stakeholder engagement in order to allow those who have had difficult experiences to share them and to ensure that the interventions and proposals being put forward address the issues this man outlined. I would also welcome the further promotion of EPAs generally for individuals and couples whose health is not in decline but who will be prepared if, God forbid, that happens at some point down the line. That would be a very good measure for families in the context of their making plans for the future.

I again thank the Senator for raising this matter. I dealt with a similar case in my office where an individual had to come in and go through the process with us. I know it is important. I will bring this matter to the attention of the Minister. There will be a public consultation period. I am sure people will put in their submissions, particularly those who have an issue with this. I thank the Senator for raising this important matter, which is a priority.

Every adult should consider putting in place an EPA. Only 8% of Irish adults have done that so far. Work is ongoing with the officials in the Department and the Decision Support Service to highlight the importance of advancing planning to ensure that those who face diminished decision-making capacity are able to retain as much autonomy over their lives as possible and have their wishes documented and respected. I will bring the issues the Senator raised back to the Department.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit.

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for choosing this matter. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of education, Deputy Moynihan, and thank him for coming here this morning.

I would like to acknowledge the national development plan investment package for education of some €1.6 billion, which is part of a €7.6 billion capital plan up to 2030. I also acknowledge the investment in four schools in Galway West and the ten across County Galway. The four in Galway West are St. Joseph’s Special School, Scoil Mhuire in Maigh Cuilinn, Clifden Community College and Coláiste Cholmcille in Indreabhán.

Understandably, there is always disappointment among schools that are not included on these lists. I have been through this many times in the past when lists have been produced. One such school project is St. Joseph's Patrician College, Galway, which is better known as the Bish. The Bish is an excellent school. It is held in high regard, and Bish boys past and present are rightly proud of their school. The school worked for many years on the relocation plans relating to a new 1,000-student campus in Dangan, which received planning permission in 2024. Currently, the Bish educates 750 boys on a site that is constrained and that was designed for 450 pupils. There are no outdoor sports facilities. The school is in the heart of the city. It is difficult to provide specialist teaching spaces, student support and special education needs facilities, which, as the Minister of State knows, are now standard and expected. For the 2026-27 academic year, the school was oversubscribed by 250 places. That is testament to the high regard in which the school is held.

In light of demographic changes, there is obviously a growing demand for secondary school places nationwide. In Galway city, there definitely is such a demand. Under a land exchange agreement with the University of Galway, the school secured the Dangan site in exchange for the lands at Nun’s Island, which would be strategic in the heart of the city. This is a key enabling element of the university's regeneration plans for major city centre development. Tá chuile duine sa Bish fíor-mhíshásta nach bhfuil an scoil ar an liosta a d’fhoilsigh an Roinn an tseachtain seo chaite. Tá cead pleanála faighte aici agus tá suíomh aici freisin. Tá éileamh do ranganna breise sa chóras dara leibhéal i nGaillimh. Tá buntáiste mór don chathair agus Ollscoil na Gaillimhe leis na pleananna atá aontaithe chun an Bish a aistriú ó Nun’s Island go dtí Dangan agus an talamh in Nun’s Island a thabhairt don ollscoil.

I acknowledge the advocacy the school has engaged in over the years in terms of the planning process and in garnering the support of local representatives. I have been contacted by the chairperson of the board of management, Mr. Kieran Kavanagh, the principal, Ms Sarah Gleeson, and the parents' council co-chair, Ms Stephanie Rea, who are obviously disappointed that the school is not on the list. This disappointment is shared by many parents and pupils and, indeed, those who hope to attend the Bish over the coming years.

I know that new schools are expensive. I get that there is not an endless supply of funding. Is the list that has been produced the final say for the next two years? Will there be additions? Will further capital be released from the Minister of State's Department? Will his Department be working with the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Deputy Harris, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Deputy Chambers, to secure additional capital funds for projects such as this? I am sure the Minister of State could list off a number of schools in his area and others across the country. I look forward to his response.

I thank Senator Kyne for raising the matter. It gives me an opportunity to brief Seanad Éireann on the current position in relation to St. Joseph’s Patrician College, or the Bish, in Galway. The Senator is well aware that this was approved as a major devolved construction project to provide a long-term projected enrolment of 1,000 pupils and a four-classroom special educational needs base. It has been devolved for delivery to the Le Chéile Schools Trust. The senior Minister, Deputy Naughton, is very supportive of this project.

The project is currently at stage 2b of the architectural design process. This stage allows for detailed design and planning, obtaining necessary statutory permissions and preparing for the tender documents. I know the Senator has been working very closely with the school and, as he alluded to, other representatives as well. The planning has been granted, and the Le Chéile Schools Trust has advised that the Stage 2b report is expected to be submitted by the end of quarter 1 of this year. Once received, it will undergo a detailed technical and cost review in line with the public spending code. Managing timing, scope and cost is crucial to staying within budgetary limits for the overall programme. The Senator will be aware, as he alluded to in his comments, that the Department published its €7.55 billion national development plan sectoral investment plan for education for the period 2026 to 2030. The plan involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. Everybody understands at this stage that we will be advancing special education as a major issue within this.

To cut to the chase, a huge amount of work has been done on this project on the ground with Department officials and Ministers over a number of years to bring it to fruition. The major development construction project is there. It is important that the school authorities submit the stage 2b architectural design report. As I alluded to, that will be in quarter 1. They should make sure that there is no delay in this regard. I know the Senator will be working with the school community to ensure that as well. We will be working to go through the various processes in the Department when it comes through. The Department is well aware of the challenges and the need to make sure we are getting value for money. This project has been under discussion for quite some time. We announced the first tranche of schools in the Department last week. There will be ongoing engagement right across Government in this regard. In relation to the Bish, or St. Joseph's, it is important that there is no delay. When details are received within the Department, the matter will be looked at, particularly in light of the pressures that exist within the community in Galway.

I have answered a number of questions in Seanad Éireann over the past while in terms of the growing demand for school places in Galway.

We are acutely aware of it. It is important that there is no delay. I assure the Senator that it will be given serious consideration when the relevant documentation is submitted to the Department.

I thank the Minister of State for the response. I am heartened by the fact that the Government will engage on projects such as this one. There are always projects which, for whatever reason, either fall off a list or are delayed. Money may be freed up as a result. There is capacity within the system, and I will certainly be working with the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Deputy Harris, to ensure that additional capital funding is released. I urge the Tánaiste to engage with the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, in order to ensure that capital funding is released for projects once they get to the appropriate stage. I appreciate that there is some work to be done yet in terms of the Bish, but it has secured planning permission. It now has to get the stage 2b approval by the Department of education. I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, will work with the Minister, Deputy Naughton, who represents the Galway West constituency. I will be engaging with her, with the Tánaiste and with the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, to make sure that this and other projects move forward speedily towards construction.

I welcome Senator Kyne's engagement. It is hugely important that we continue, right across Government and the Oireachtas, to articulate the issues that are important to our communities, including those relating to the Bish. The Senator is right in saying that there is still some work to be done by the school community. That work needs to be done as a matter of urgency. The documentation to be submitted as part of the stage 2b process is very detailed but there are many great firms working with schools on them. It is important that this is done as a matter of urgency. The Senator's engagement on this will certainly help matters. The Department will work with him and the community, but it is most important that the 2b report is submitted. The Department will liaise back and forth with the school authorities, patron and management.

The Government has announced the first tranche of schools, which means that there is clear guidance as to what projects will be going ahead in the near future. It is our intention to review that continuously. It is important for school communities that are anxious to proceed with their projects to submit any outstanding documentation to the Department as soon as possible. The Department will work with school communities, but it must operate within financial constraints.

The Senator's engagement with the Tánaiste and the Ministers for public expenditure and for education will be helpful. We understand the need that exists out there and will be working to meet it. We had to give certainty as to what projects are going ahead in a timely fashion. We will work with schools on the other projects to make sure that their paperwork is in order. We fully understand the need for this project within the community in Galway.