I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Burke. The first Commencement matter is in the name of Senator Martin Conway.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Healthcare Policy
I welcome the Minister of State. For some time now inside and outside this House, I have campaigned for better support services for and better screening of haemochromatosis. We have had discussions here in previous Commencement matters on the need for a national plan or strategy to deal with haemochromatosis. I have facilitated briefings within the House for staff and Members from the Irish Haemochromatosis Association. For those people who do not understand what haemochromatosis is, it is when your body takes in too much iron from the food you eat and in order to alleviate that iron it has to be removed from your bloodstream. Periodically, people who have haemochromatosis have a pint a blood removed from their system in order to reduce their iron to a more acceptable level so it is not a threat to their health.
In various parts of the country, the supports are mixed and varied. In some regions of Ireland, the supports are very good. In other regions of Ireland, they are not so good. I have long campaigned for free care for people who suffer from haemochromatosis. People who need blood taken for that reason should be able to have it done in a convenient way that does not cost them anything and in a way that is easily accessible. That is the one way haemochromatosis is treated. A former Leader of the House and Senator, Maurice Manning, has campaigned for many years on this issue because he has haemochromatosis. I acknowledge the work he does in this area.
We need screening and a national screening plan. We also need better access to care. We need an awareness campaign so that people are aware of what haemochromatosis is, how it can be diagnosed and what things people need to watch out for. It can be hereditary; in those instances people will be more aware than they would be otherwise but people can pick it up for a whole myriad of different reasons and that is why the Government needs to start taking it more seriously. We need to have a national strategy and I hope today the Minister of State might have an update in that regard. I want to acknowledge the improvements that have happened in the last two or three years in this area but clearly, a lot more needs to be done. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's update to the House on what is happening to support the people in this country and the citizens of Ireland who have haemochromatosis.
I thank Senator Conway for raising this issue. The last time I was in this House and I raised this issue, the Minister who replied was someone who had haemochromatosis. I thank Senator Conway for the opportunity to speak on it in the Seanad on behalf of my colleague the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly.
Haemochromatosis is a hereditary condition, common in Ireland, in which excessive amounts of iron are absorbed from the diet. Over time, excess iron accumulates mainly in the liver but also in the pancreas, heart, anterior pituitary and joints, causing damage. The resulting symptoms are often non-specific fatigue and joint pains, and the commonest complications are liver disease and diabetes. If left untreated, haemochromatosis can be fatal. According to the HSE’s 2015 model of care review, one in 83 Irish people were found to carry two copies of the HFE gene which predisposes them to develop iron overload.
Early diagnosis and subsequent management of hereditary haemochromatosis is essential to prevent organ damage and normalise life expectancy.
Hereditary haemochromatosis can be treated very effectively by a process called venesection or therapeutic phlebotomy, which involves the patient having their blood taken. This can happen in several settings, including acute hospitals, GP surgeries or at an Irish Blood Transfusion Service facility. The Department of Health and the HSE agree that such services should be provided at the lowest level of complexity that is clinically and operationally feasible. Community-based treatment allows the flexibility necessary for patients who require lifelong care. It also eases additional costs and allows these patients to access treatment at suitable times. The HSE has previously undertaken two model of care reviews on hereditary haemochromatosis and therapeutic phlebotomy for patients with the condition. The diagnosis, treatment and management of patients is guided by these reviews, as well as by the Irish College of General Practitioners guidance document, Hereditary Haemochromatosis - Diagnosis and Management from a GP Perspective.
Measures introduced in recent years have positively impacted treatment for hereditary haemochromatosis patients. Since early 2020, GPs provide venesection for GMS patients with haemochromatosis, meaning that eligible patients can be managed locally and no longer have to attend hospitals for therapeutic phlebotomy. In the past year, there have been two increases in the weekly basic rates of income to assess GP visit card eligibility. These increases facilitate access for those patients who qualify under this expansion.
The Irish Blood Transfusion Service accepts hereditary haemochromatosis patients who are eligible to donate blood at their fixed and mobile donation clinics nationwide. Patients can attend free of charge, up to four times a year. Eligible patients continue to have their hereditary haemochromatosis managed by their physician, including the monitoring of ferritin levels.
The Minister is aware that, for many patients, treatment is still provided in hospital as an outpatient or day case, as the Senator outlined. The Health (Amendment) Act 2023 removed the acute public inpatient charge of €80 per day, benefiting hereditary haemochromatosis patients who attend hospital for their treatment.
The current model of care recommends that genetic testing should only be performed in those with a raised transferrin saturation or if there is a family history of the disease. Any decision to introduce screening for hereditary hemochromatosis will be made on the advice of the National Screening Advisory Committee. The committee's annual call for proposals in 2022 received a submission on genetic and hereditary haemochromatosis. The committee’s work programme, which is published on its website, states that consideration of the hereditary haemochromatosis screening has been deferred pending significant new evidence emerging.
I will deal with any comments the Senator wishes to make. It is important to acknowledge that a lot of progress has been made on this issue over the past three to four years.
I accept that much progress has been made, in no small part due to the people who have campaigned and stuck at it over the years. I also accept that the outpatient charges have been dealt with. We need to move to a situation where no haemochromatosis patient should have to be treated in hospital. Outpatient services are under enough pressure. This should be dealt with through the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, which would be the most acceptable model, unless there are very specific reasons not to do that.
The hereditary screening programme has been deferred due to new evidence. I would like to know what that new evidence is, why this has been deferred and how long it is going to be deferred. It is extremely important that hereditary haemochromatosis is screened for and that people who are at risk as a result of their family tree are screened as a matter of form, in a convenient way that does not cost them anything and encourages them to be screened. I cannot understand what the new evidence is. There may be new evidence that I am not aware of but I would be interested to know why the new evidence is going to delay the decision on a screening programme.
In fairness, following the changes that have occurred in the past three or four years, many people who were going to hospital are now going to their GP, which is a major improvement. In addition, because of the extension of the GP card criteria, many more people are able to attend their GP without having to pay a charge.
The Minister for Health is committed to the delivery of treatments to patients with hereditary haemochromatosis in a fair and equitable manner. The Minister understands there may be some disappointment with the current position regarding screening for hereditary haemochromatosis. However, it is important to emphasise that any recommendations the committee makes are based on international processes and best practice, along with scientific evidence. Ireland has always evaluated the case for commencing a national screening programme against internationally accepted criteria. The policy measures introduced in recent years, such as the expansion of the GMS contract and the abolition of inpatient charges, are enabling more patients to receive their treatment free of charge and with greater flexibility.
These measures are in line with the Government's overall vision for healthcare in Ireland as set out in the programme for government. More precisely, they aim to facilitate universal healthcare through a public health service that enables people to access high-quality, affordable care when they need it.
Primary Care Centres
I commend Senator Conway on raising the issue of haemochromatosis. I have haemochromatosis and I am very aware of the importance of the screening strategy, given so many people are impacted by that disease.
The issue I want to raise concerns the long-running and ongoing saga of the construction of the primary care centre in Gorey, which I have raised on a number of occasions in the House. The primary care centre was first conceived in 2010 or 2011 and planning permission for a particular proposed primary care centre was agreed in August 2018, even though there were specific problems with the site. By May 2021, nothing had happened and Gorey did not see its primary centre, so I raised it as a Commencement matter in the House, having had extensive correspondence with the Department. I was told at the time that everything was proceeding apace, that a developer had appointed a contractor and that construction would be commencing within 12 months. In May 2022, following a back-and-forth of correspondence and with no construction happening, I again raised it as a Commencement matter in the House with the Minister of State's predecessor, Deputy Feighan. Essentially, we got a copy-and-paste answer of what we were told 12 months previously, which was that construction would proceed within 12 months, even though we knew there were ongoing problems with car parking at the particular location indicated. In November 2022, with no further progress, I raised it again as a Commencement matter. I was assured by the HSE in correspondence at the time that this was being treated as a priority.
In early November 2023, I arranged for a meeting between HSE officials, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and me around this issue and to express the frustration of the people in the north Wexford area that the primary care centre project had not moved. The Minister was quite surprised at how long the process was taking but we were reassured at that meeting and the word used was that “imminent” action would be taken. I did not hear anything from the HSE for six weeks so I do not know if six weeks is categorised as “imminent” in the HSE. Nonetheless, in mid-December 2023, I had to raise the issue again in the House and I was told there were still problems around car parking issues at the site, even though people in the locality had indicated this was going to be a problem right back when the planning happened.
In May of this year, the HSE finally relented, accepted what people in the locality had been saying, namely, that the current site is not suitable, and indicated it would again advertise for expressions of interest for a new site.
I was told that would happen in quarter 3 or quarter 4 of this year at the latest. As the Minister of State will be aware, quarter 3 has ended. We are into quarter 4, and I still cannot get answers from the HSE as to why this has not happened. My frustration is now giving way to anger because I am not convinced that HSE estates is convinced about the importance of this facility for the interest of patients in the area. Others in the area, particularly Councillor Donal Kenny, have also been regularly raising this issue. The centre is to include a primary care centre but also facilities for a new child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, unit and children's disability network team, CDNT, unit. There seems to be no priority given to this within HSE estates. Why should I have confidence in HSE estates to be able to deliver this facility?
Before I give my reply on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, I wish to indicate that I fully understand the importance of primary care centres. Where they have been established, they have made a major contribution to local areas in the context of providing comprehensive healthcare. I thank Senator Byrne for raising this matter and for the opportunity to update the House in respect of it.
A central objective of the programme for Government is to deliver increased levels of integrated healthcare with service delivery reoriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services to enable a home-first approach. Integral to this is the development of primary care centres across the country in local communities such as Gorey.
Primary care centres form an important part of our healthcare infrastructure, providing a single point of access to primary and community care services for individuals. They also serve as a resource more broadly for the community, creating a focal point for local health initiatives or providing community groups with a place to meet. It is for this reason that the development of primary care centres is an important part of Sláintecare. Significant progress has been made in the delivery of these primary care centres, with 175 now opened to date and a further nine under construction. These primary care centres offer a tangible example of the investment this Government is making in community-based health infrastructure.
The HSE currently operates two centres from which primary care services are delivered in Gorey, namely the Avenue Primary Care Centre and Conal House Primary Care Centre. However, a new primary care centre is planned for Gorey to be delivered by way of the operational lease model. As the Senator will be aware, the HSE had previously advertised and identified a preferred provider for this new centre in Gorey. Unfortunately, an issue regarding the economic viability of the project emerged and the HSE intends to readvertise for new proposals to develop Gorey primary care centre. The Department is aware that the development of the primary care centre in Gorey has been stalled for a considerable amount of time and that this has been frustrating for people in the local area. The HSE has advised the Minister that meetings were held recently with relevant stakeholders and that it has commenced a comprehensive review of the current and forecast service needs for Gorey. The resulting needs assessment will be used as the basis for the readvertisement of this primary care centre, which will take place before the end of this year.
The Minister wishes to assure the Senator that the Government remains committed to both the continued development of primary care centres throughout the country and specifically to the provision of the primary care centre in Gorey.
In light of past experience, I am concerned that the Minister and the Department are being fobbed off again by HSE estates. The Minister of State will notice that the HSE said it will be advertising before the end of this year. That is obviously different from what I was told to the effect that it would be quarter 3 or quarter 4 at the latest. Our problem is that the HSE acknowledges that it has been stalled, but the reason it has been stalled is because the HSE failed to take action on these issues.
The Minister of State and I know how important primary care centres are. However, knowing all the problems that are there, why is it that HSE estates continually fails the people of Gorey and north Wexford? Consider what would happen if someone was building a house and the person who was developing it had been messing around for 13 or 14 years without a shovel going into the ground - in fact, a contractor has not yet been appointed. Would they continue to trust that particular agency? I really have to question whether we can trust HSE estates to deliver on this project.
On behalf of the Minister, I thank Senator Byrne for raising this issue. I acknowledge his commitment. He has been working on this project for quite some time. I commend his involvement in the development of the primary care centre and his continued advocacy on behalf of the people of Gorey.
As I stated in my opening remarks, the HSE has confirmed to the Minister that the Gorey primary care centre will be readvertised in quarter 4 of 2024. It is intended that the publication of the new advertisement will reinvigorate this development and ensure that progress is made in delivering a new primary care centre for the people of Gorey.
The Minister wishes to acknowledge the frustration of both Senator Byrne and the people of Gorey at the delays in the progression of this primary care centre. The Minister is aware that there can in some cases be delays with the development of primary care centres due to a variety of circumstances. However, the Minister wishes to assure the Senator that he and the officials in the Department are actively engaging with the HSE to progress the completion of the new primary care centre, as well as the further development of centres throughout the country.
I am very much aware of the difficulties in the HSE. In my area, a developer got planning for a primary care centre and someone objected. The case went to An Bord Pleanála, which granted planning, and then the objector took the matter to the High Court. At that stage, the developer walked away. Those complications arise as well. In my constituency, for instance, we are targeting the building of three new primary care centres. One very good one has opened in the past 12 months in Ballincollig, which is a really comprehensive service. We have three GP practices in there. We have moved three consultants from the HSE from Cork University Hospital who are providing eye care. A huge level of service is now provided. I understand the importance of this for Gorey.
Nitrates Usage
I tabled this matter, in which I mentioned the Ministers with responsibility for housing and agriculture, to seek an update on where we are with the nitrates derogation. It is disappointing that we do not have a Minister here to deal with this issue, particularly one from the Department of agriculture.
A bombshell hit the agricultural sector 12 months ago, and the dairy sector in particular, when we lost our derogation. The majority of Ireland, seven eighths of it, became part of a 220 kg per hectare zone and only one part was left as a 250 kg per hectare zone. The knock-on effect was absolute chaos within the system, with the potential of in-calf cows being slaughtered in order that the nitrates derogation could be reached. How we handled that is my deepest concern. We had a situation where a Zoom call was literally how we understood that we had lost our derogation. There was chaos. As a result of what happened, we have lost 1 billion litres of milk through this over the past two years. Confidence is draining from the industry. I am deeply concerned. I need to know the progress regarding the new derogation. The clock is ticking. We need to get information.
I feel like I am the only man who stands up for dairy farmers. It is not sexy to stand up for dairy farmers at times, but I always will. We have over 1,200 dairy farmers in my part of the world. We have five major co-ops, four of which are located in Bandon, Drinagh, Lisavaird and Barryroe. The fifth is operated by Dairygold. They are all really important drivers in our community. If we take in 1,200 dairy farmers, the co-ops and all these people, it is a major driver in rural Ireland. The fact that we could be in a situation where the derogation could be under threat is something I am really concerned about.
I am asking the Minister of State to outline where we are with this plan. What is the position with the negotiations? Can the Minister of State provide a timeline? Have the Department officials made an the approach to the European Commission? I understand that an approach has to be made in the next few weeks. I want to know what they are having, what they are saying and where they are going. Two weeks ago, Commission representatives came to Ireland and, for some bizarre reason, we decided that we would not take them to the one catchment farm that is in a 250 kg per hectare zone, which is Timoleague. We should have taken them down there to show how we could have had a highly stocked bovine area and really good quality of water. For some reason, we did not do that. It was a missed opportunity. That is very unfortunate. We now need to make sure that this derogation is retained.
We cannot go back to the absolute chaos we had last year. Last year, the Zoom call, the lack of information and the chaos in the system affected the confidence of the farming community. We have seen that in the substantial reduction in milk volumes, which is affecting the 59 milk plants throughout Ireland. This is not only having an effect on the family farm. The majority of farms in west Cork have fewer than 100 cows, which shows where they are as regards scale of production. We are not a big operation. We have the family farm model. The Department needs to take a whole-of-government approach. There are two Departments covering this issue. On the water side, there is the Department of housing and, on the agriculture side, there is the Department of agriculture. There needs to be a whole-of-government approach to make sure the derogation is kept. We have done a very great deal in the last two or three years to improve water quality. The farming community has put in place 33 or 34 different measures to mitigate water quality issues. That needs to be taken on board. We have to build confidence in this sector and we will not do so if we have this drip-drip approach where we do not know what is going to happen next year. We need an update. We need to know where this is. We need a plan. The plan needs to take a whole-of-government approach and it needs to be driven forward by the Taoiseach's office. I would be deeply concerned if the Departments of housing and agriculture were left in charge again. They dropped the ball last time. They did a bloody Zoom call, which was not good enough. This time, the approach must be led from the very top of Government. If that is not the case, I fear where our family farms and this industry will go.
I am here on behalf of the Minister for housing. I thank Senator Lombard for raising the issue of the work being carried out by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to secure the renewal of Ireland's nitrates derogation from 1 January 2026. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is responsible for the nitrates directive and the nitrates action programme, NAP. The purpose of the NAP is to prevent pollution of surface waters and groundwater from agricultural sources and to protect and improve water quality. In developing these measures, officials from the Department work closely with officials in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The fifth NAP runs from 2022 to 2025 and, under this programme, Ireland was granted a derogation that enables certain farmers, upon application to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, to exceed the 170 kg of nitrogen per hectare per year organic manure limit up to a maximum of 250 kg of nitrogen per hectare.
With the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, officials from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are now preparing the sixth NAP, which must be in place by 1 January 2026. Ireland will again seek a derogation from the European Commission. Commission officials have been very clear that a derogation under the sixth NAP can only be considered if Ireland can demonstrate water quality improvements and stabilisation in water quality where objectives are being met. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage officials are working closely with Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine officials to implement additional measures under the fifth NAP to ensure water quality improvements. There will be a public consultation on these measures in November with a view to having the measures in place from 1 January 2025.
Last month, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage published Water Action Plan 2024, which includes the requirement for an agricultural water quality sectoral action plan and the Farming for Water European Innovation Programme. This programme is funded by both Departments and has a budget of €60 million over five years to implement measures where water quality is at risk from agriculture. It builds on the work undertaken by the local authority waters programme and the agricultural sustainability support advisory programme. Furthermore, officials from both Departments have been engaging with European Commission officials in advance of seeking the next derogation. In September, European Commission officials visited Ireland for three days and were accompanied by officials from both Departments on their visits to derogation farms and meetings with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine agriculture water quality working group.
The officials came here for three days but they did not go to the right area. They should have gone to Timoleague, where we have a derogation of 250 kg per hectare. The rest of Ireland is at 220 kg per hectare. It was decided not to take them to the one location where the 250 kg per hectare is being reached. That is absolutely crazy stuff. I am not being pedantic but, in the Minister of State's statement, he said that a public consultation is taking place in November but that measures were to come into effect on 1 January. The farming community will have very little time to change practices if there is going to be a public consultation and then measures are going to be brought forward. We are deeply concerned about timelines. Last time we had this issue, it could potentially have been the case that 20,000 cows would have had to be slaughtered because the Department's timelines were not appropriate. We are concerned that this is not being prioritised. This came from the Department of housing. The Department of agriculture needs to be here. They work in conjunction. Last time around, we dropped the ball and family farms got a kicking because of what happened. We cannot let that happen again. We really have to learn from the mistakes that were made previously. I am deeply concerned about where this is at the moment. Significant works have been done on farms. Water quality is going in the right direction. We need to ensure a whole-of-government approach. The Department of housing is working in conjunction with the Department of agriculture. This needs to be led by the Taoiseach's office. That is where the force needs to go. Otherwise, I fear that we will have another Zoom call and that will be the end of it.
I take on board what the Senator is saying about the timeline. It is a very tight timeline from November to 1 January. However, the programme I referred to earlier is a €60 million programme over five years to implement measures where water quality is at risk from agriculture. A fund is being provided to assist with this. Ireland must demonstrate water quality improvements and stabilisation to secure the next derogation. I believe the Senator accepts that. It will be a very great challenge to do that. It is important that we do everything we can to achieve these water quality improvements. To achieve them, both Departments are working together to ensure additional measures will be implemented from 1 January 2025 and to ensure that the agricultural measures committed to under Water Action Plan 2024 are fully implemented. This includes the Farming for Water European Innovation Programme. Officials from both Departments will be working together closely in developing the sixth NAP that will support the application for a further nitrates derogation. This will involve continued engagement with Commission officials and engagement with agri-industry and the farming sector. One of the reasons we need to bring in new criteria on 1 January 2025 is that we need a full 12 months of a lead-in to make sure that our application for a derogation commencing on 1 January 2026 is successful. It is a 12-month lead-in. It is important that we have everything sorted well in advance to make sure there is no glitch in the system in dealing with this.
Water Quality
I thank the Minister of State for coming to deal with this matter. The sewerage system in Dublin, particularly in south Dublin, is Victorian. When I say "south Dublin", I refer to an area of Dublin around Dún Laoghaire, Blackrock and further south that experienced extraordinary development during the Victorian era. The sewerage system built at that time still services that area. They can just about cope with what is there at the moment but any increase in the system causes problems. At the moment, all of the sewerage from that area in south Dublin drains through two points. One is the pumping station at the back of the west pier in Dún Laoghaire. A pipe under the seabed moves that material to Poolbeg for treatment at the sewerage treatment plant there before it is discharged, having been cleaned, into the sea. The difficulty is that the Victorian system means that included in the sewerage system is run-off from roads and so on. When there is a heavy rainfall event, the sewers very quickly become overburdened.
There is at the west pier what is called an attenuation tank, which is a huge area under the ground that, in the event of an overflow, takes the excess water that runs off from roads and allows it to be treated at a later date. When there is a heavy rainfall event, even that tank cannot cope with the amount of water coming off roads and streets all over south Dublin. When it fills and the water has nowhere to go, it flows into the sea. That means raw sewage is occasionally discharged directly into Dublin Bay at places like Seapoint. What happens at Seapoint? People go swimming. We have a major problem now. Although the water quality in Dublin Bay is generally excellent, we have a number of swimming spots from Blackrock to Seapoint and south of Dún Laoghaire to places like the old Dún Laoighaire baths, Sandycove, the Forty Foot, Coliemore Harbour in Dalkey, Vico baths and Killiney Bay. All of that water is connected so when there is a discharge of raw sewage into the bay, it affects the water quality along that whole stretch.
In order to deal with that, in 2008 the Bathing Water Quality Regulations were introduced and they placed a duty on local authorities to regularly test the water. Those regulations also defined the bathing season as being from 1 June to 15 September. We know that is not the only time of year when people go swimming or the only time of year when local authorities should be testing the water quality. I and others have long campaigned for a change to that and this year the Minister for housing put in place the Bathing Water Quality (Amendment) Regulations, SI 322/2024. They changed the definition of the bathing season to the period identified by the local authority as when a large number of people are swimming, essentially. Local authorities now have the power to extend the bathing season beyond that arbitrary period of 1 June to 15 September and test the water all year round. That testing takes place once per week during the summer bathing season.
The problem is none of the local authorities has changed the bathing season. I do not know what they are waiting for. We know people swim all year round. One of the most famous swimming events in south Dublin is the Christmas Day dip at the Forty Foot. Everybody knows about that. If we know people are swimming all year round, and doing so in great numbers every morning at places like the Forty Foot, why are local authorities not changing the bathing season to recognise the realities of the situation?
I call on the Minister of State to tell the Department it should press upon local authorities to take a realistic approach and re-evaluate when bathing occurs so water testing can take place all year round in a real way and people are informed before they go swimming in the sea.
I thank the Senator. As a keen sea swimmer, I fully endorse this Commencement matter.
I am dealing with this on behalf of the Minister for housing. I thank Senator Ward for raising this important issue with regard to the requirement on local authorities to define the bathing season for the designated bathing sites in their jurisdiction. The Bathing Water Quality (Amendment) Regulations, which were published on 28 June 2024, were brought into law to facilitate the local authorities in defining the bathing season within their jurisdiction on an annual basis.
In accordance with the regulations, the local authorities are required to identify all bathing waters and define the length of the bathing season before the start of that season and not later than 24 March each year. The local authorities are required to do this for the first time since the publication of the regulations no later than 24 March 2025. I am informed that the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, is developing guidance for local authorities to help them define the bathing season in line with the requirements of the regulations.
I take this opportunity to mention that water quality sampling is carried out by local authorities around Dublin Bay all year round and the results are published on local authority websites. They are also published on the EPA’s beaches.ie website. Additionally, local authorities post the results of water quality monitoring on the noticeboards at each beach.
That is the reply I received. I am not familiar with all the regulations. I was asked to deputise for the Minister for housing. The response is about the new regulations which have come into place. Local authorities must have set out clearly by 24 March 2025 the timing of the season.
I thank the Minister of State. I acknowledge he is deputising for another Minister but that is a real pro forma answer. Talking about identifying bathing spots and when people use them by 24 March 2025 is a little bit of a nonsense. If Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council wants help identifying the places people are swimming, I will tell the council now. As to when people are swimming, the answer is "Every day". I go to the Forty Foot regularly. Every day there are people there at all hours. During daylight, there is no time when there are not people swimming there. That is one example and the same is true of Vico baths and Dún Laoghaire. The answer is "All year round". Yes, they test all year round and publish the results but the frequency of testing goes down to less than half during the winter period and the time required to get the results back means people go swimming without knowing a test conducted two days beforehand has shown significant levels of bacteria in the water.
This is a problem and it is not okay to shrug it off onto local authorities. The Departments needs to tell them to get the finger out and make those decisions now. There is no real doubt about where and when people swim in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.
It is an important issue and I will convey that to the Department. The response I received sets out that water quality sampling is carried out by local authorities around Dublin Bay all year round. The Senator obviously disagrees with that. I will convey his concerns to the Department about ensuring proper monitoring 52 weeks of the year. That is important but it is important as well that the new regulations have come into place. It is now up to the local authorities to publish guidance on the matter and they must do that by 24 March 2025.
I thank Senator Ward and I thank the Minister of State for his time this morning and for taking all four Commencement matters. It is appreciated.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 10.17 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 10.30 a.m.
Sitting suspended at 10.17 a.m. and resumed at 10.30 a.m.