Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate – Dáil Éireann (34th Dáil) – Wednesday, 28 Jan 2026

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Home Help Service

Deputy John Paul O'Shea

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue matter in relation to a very important issue in County Cork concerning the provision of home help home support services. Home support is often known as home help and is one of the most essential person-centred supports provided by our health and social care system.

It is a service that allows older people and those with additional needs to continue to live safely, comfortably and independently in their own homes and communities. For many families across Cork and throughout the country, home support is not just a convenience; it is a lifeline. Every single day, home support workers carry out dignified and compassionate work that enables people to remain connected to their neighbours, communities and the place they call home. This sense of place, familiarity and independence has a proven and profound impact on a person’s physical and mental well-being. It gives reassurance to families, reduces isolation and promotes independence, values that must remain at the heart of our health service. We also cannot ignore the critical role that home support plays in easing the pressure on our hospitals. When adequate support is available in the home, unnecessary hospital admissions can be prevented and hospital discharges can happen more smoothly. For older people in particular, remaining at home with proper assistance is often far safer and far healthier than spending extended periods in acute settings.

Home support services are a vital part of the wider solution to overcrowding, delayed discharges and pressure on our emergency departments. However, to fully realise the benefits of home supports, the service must be properly resourced, properly staffed and delivered in a timely and consistent manner. Too many people are waiting far too long for essential hours to begin and too many families in Cork are left in distress trying to bridge that gap. This is not acceptable. A service that is so fundamentally important cannot be allowed to operate under strain, uncertainty and chronic short staffing issues.

I want to mention a couple of examples while I have the time in relation to what I have experienced over the past number of months in terms of the acute waiting list for home support in Cork. As of 11 November, the HSE responded to a parliamentary question by saying over 890 clients were wait-listed for home support in Cork city and county. Of those, 543 are waiting for a first-time service and 347 are waiting for additional hours to be allocated. This is not just an issue in Cork but one right across the country. I put in another parliamentary question in relation to the lists for the entire country. We have over 5,000 people who have been allocated home support home help who are waiting for that care to be provided.

I say this with real respect but the HSE is not responding to requests from politicians, including me. I know that the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach has been involved in meetings with the HSE as well. It is just not happening. Despite the fact that we raised this issue in October, we are back here again at the end of January and there is still no alleviation of the pressure on the home support that is available in Cork. In fact, I believe it has got worse. This is the reality of what we are facing. I am asking the Minister of State to intervene personally with the HSE in relation to this matter. I am asking that a proper plan be put in place to recruit home support workers, be it in the public health service or in the private service, to ensure this service is continued in future for the people of County Cork.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Kieran O'Donnell)

I thank Deputy John Paul O’Shea for raising this important matter. The Government is committed to supporting older people in Ireland and improving their access to healthcare services in the community. Budget 2026 saw an increase of approximately €215 million to maintain and enhance services for older people, resulting in a total allocation of over €3 billion for the first time. This includes a further substantial increase for home support services to bring the 2026 budget allocation to over €900 million, more than doubling the investment since 2018. The target for the delivery of home support hours has increased accordingly, from 24 million hours in 2025 to 26.7 million hours for 2026. That is an increase of 1.7 million hours.

In the Cork area, provisional figures from the HSE indicate that over 2.2 million hours of home support were delivered up to the end of November 2025. This represents an increase of 6.5% compared to the number of hours delivered in the same period in 2024. There were 6,022 people receiving a home support service at the end of November 2025, compared to 5,796 at the end of November 2024, which is a 3.9% increase. The waiting list for home support services in this area at the end of December 2025 stood at 915 people. Of these, 547 people were waiting for new packages, while 368 people were waiting for additional hours.

The HSE has stated that it is acutely aware that there are capacity issues across both direct and indirect provision of home support throughout the region. The HSE is committed to attracting additional staff and increasing its capacity to deliver support to as many clients as possible. The HSE is running ongoing recruitment campaigns as well as supporting the professional development of staff working in the area. HSE south west has advised that recruitment efforts in the Cork region are ongoing with a recruitment campaign currently live to recruit healthcare assistant staff in Cork and Kerry. Additionally, HSE south west has advised that dedicated recruitment co-ordinators for healthcare assistant, home support, run campaigns throughout the year. In the six months from August 2025 to January 2026, 29 healthcare assistants, home support, have been hired in the Cork region.

More broadly, addressing the home support waiting list is a priority for the Government. Improving these lists requires more support and more workers at a time where there are international challenges with recruiting healthcare workers. The strategic workforce advisory group on home carers and nursing home healthcare assistants was set up in 2022 to address the challenges relating to front-line carer roles in the home support and long-term residential care sector. Work continues to deliver on the recommendations of this group, including a survey on the experience of healthcare assistants, which is due to be launched shortly. This will inform development of future target interventions to increase recruitment retention in the sector.

I will take this matter up with the HSE, at national and local level. I have already held meetings with representatives of the HSE. I will meet with the HSE personnel involved in home support in Cork to see if we can reduce waiting lists and waiting times. For those who are waiting for them, home support packages are hugely important. The home support providers Bill has just passed the Second Stage. The purpose of this legislation is to improve the regulation of the sector. More importantly, it is the first step in ensuring that home care will be provided in the context of a statutory home care scheme.

On the particular issue that the Deputy has raised in respect of Cork, I will follow up directly with my officials and the HSE in Cork. I will also follow up with the HSE nationally.

Deputy John Paul O'Shea

I thank the Minister of State very much for his keen interest in this matter. I would appreciate if he could follow up with the HSE in Cork in respect of it.

Investment in the home support is an investment in dignity, well-being and independence for thousands of people. It is also an investment in a more efficient health system that supports people earlier, prevents avoidable illness and ensures better use of our limited hospital capacity. Home support workers must be valued, supported and recognised for the essential front-line role they play. They deserve for fair pay, sustainable working conditions and the resources necessary to carry out their jobs effectively.

There was a campaign to recruit home help support workers in Cork in July. As of 11 November, when the responses had been assessed, the HSE in Cork had identified 64 potential candidates but not one new home support worker was in place. That is not acceptable when there is such a long waiting list. Over 1,000 people in Cork and Kerry are waiting for home supports. Some 64 candidates were identified in the period between July and November but they have not been appointed.

The principle here is simple. It is not a funding issue; it is a resource issue. People should be supported to live at home for as long as possible. The State must ensure that the supports required are available to them when needed, not months later. Home support is one of the most empowering, cost-effective and socially valuable services that we provide in this country. Strengthening it must be a priority for the Government. It must also be a priority for the HSE and all of us going forward.

I welcome the Minister of State's intervention. I encourage him to make contact with the HSE in Cork and to improve the situation. As public representatives, we cannot continue to have a situation whereby home help requests come in and action in respect of them is still not taken six months later. I would appreciate the Minister of State's support on this matter.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell

The home support services is a core service for older people. It is a highly valuable service used by them, their families and the HSE. Delivery of a high-quality consistent home support service is essential to help people to live well in their homes and communities for as long as possible. Recruitment to this sector is an ongoing challenge for both the HSE and private providers. Within the HSE, work is ongoing at the regional and national level to build capacity to support workforce development and improve access to home care services in the community. Within the Department of Health, work to deliver on the recommendations of the strategic workforce advisory group to support the recruitment and retention of workers in essential front-line care roles is continuing.

Since the strategic workforce advisory group was established, record levels of care have been delivered in the community. Within the Department, work is ongoing to explore options to increase the effectiveness of home support and to address waiting list issues experienced by clients around the country. Among the changes will be to explore the use of assistive technology in home support initiatives in order to directly address rural home support provision. Research is ongoing in the Department to improve the current provision of home support in communities and enable our home support service to take advantage of new technology and the support available in the sector to support clients in the service.

Going back to the specific request in relation to Cork, I will meet with the HSE in Cork to discuss recruitment, waiting lists, waiting times and the plans that are in place to recruit people and, more particularly, to bring down the waiting times.

Home support is a priority for the Government. We have made record levels of investment of more than €900 million. As already stated, the home support providers Bill will increase and improve the quality of care available in the sector. Furthermore, there is a commitment in the programme for Government regarding the design of a statutory home care scheme. In the context of the practicalities, we have provided an addition of 1.7 million hours. That was a priority in the budget.

On the Deputy's specific request, I will meet representatives of the HSE in Cork to discuss the delivery of home support hours and will update him accordingly.

Hospital Services

Deputy Robert O'Donoghue

I want to raise a pressing issue that is affecting my constituency of Dublin Fingal West, particularly Balbriggan but also Rush, Lusk, Skerries and more rural areas. There is ongoing pressure on Drogheda and Beaumont hospitals that could be alleviated to some degree by the establishment of a minor injuries clinic hub in Balbriggan.

There are now approximately 30,000 people living in Balbriggan . In total, there are between 60,000 to 70,000 people living in that part of the constituency. This is a large and growing community that relies almost entirely on the emergency departments in Beaumont and Drogheda for the treatment of minor injuries. As we know, these hospitals are under tremendous strain. Constituents regularly report waiting eight, ten or 12 hours for treatment of injuries, such as sprains, small breaks and minor infections, that do not require full hospital interventions. This is not fair on patients or hospital staff. We all accept that hospital emergency departments must prioritise serious cases. However, the reality is that a significant proportion of attendances at Beaumont and Drogheda hospitals could be treated in properly staffed community-based minor injury hubs. It has already been agreed that there is a need to establish a minor injury hub plan for Balbriggan as well in the context of the wider hospital avoidance strategy. The proposal is about prevention, efficiency and patient dignity.

What is particularly frustrating for people locally is that we are repeatedly told that Balbriggan primary care centre is full, when, in fact, only a portion of the building is being leased by the HSE. It is therefore not at capacity. The entire building is not fully leased and, therefore, is not being fully utilised. There is space there that could be used for GP services. There is existing healthcare space in Balbriggan that could be used to deliver a minor injuries hub. The provision of such a hub could immediately reduce pressure on the emergency departments in Beaumont and Drogheda if the HSE engaged constructively on leasing and service planning.

A minor injuries hub in Balbriggan would divert thousands of non-life-threatening cases away from Beaumont and Drogheda, free up emergency department capacity for critically ill patients, reduce waiting times and ambulance offloading delays and provide faster care closer to home for my constituents in Dublin Fingal West. This would align with Sláintecare and the HSE's hospital avoidance objectives. Other parts of the country already have minor injury units that operate for extended hours and that treat large volumes of patients safely and efficiently. Dublin Fingal West is one of the most rapidly expanding constituencies in the country and should not be an exception.

I call on the Minister of State and the HSE to engage urgently with local representatives on available capacity within the Balbriggan primary care centre, progress a staffing and operations plan for a minor injuries hub and recognise that this project is a practical and cost-effective measure to relieve pressure on Beaumont and Drogheda hospitals.

This is not about future planning. It is about addressing the needs of a population that already exists and of hospitals that are already under pressure. The demand is clear: hospitals need relief. It is time to move from acknowledgement to action.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.

The Government remains fully committed to the implementation of healthcare reform under the Sláintecare framework, ensuring that patients receive the right care in the right place at the right time. Central to our hospital avoidance strategy is the development of injury units, which provide safe and efficient care for injuries that are unlikely to require hospital admission, such as broken bones, sprains and burns. These units are designed to provide the same level of care for specific conditions as an emergency department but more locally and with significantly shorter waiting times. By providing the same level of care for specific conditions as an emergency department but with significantly shorter waiting times, injury units play a vital role in reducing congestion in our acute hospitals. Last year, there were 222,697 attendances at injury units, representing a 5% increase compared to 2024. Crucially, the median patient experience time, PET, in an injury unit remains exceptionally low, at just 1.3 hours, ensuring that patients with non-life-threatening injuries can access the care they need much more quickly than in a traditional emergency department setting.

In relation to Balbriggan, the Balbriggan primary care centre already delivers a broad range of integrated services to meet the health needs of the local population. These include primary care therapy services, community specialist teams for older people, a chronic disease hub, mental health services and disability services. The centre also hosts two GP practices and a pharmacy. The Minister is committed to building capacity in primary care by recruiting additional staff and promoting advanced practice roles in the community.

The HSE undertook a national injury unit review in 2023 to examine service levels and geographical coverage. This review has informed the 2026 national service plan, which includes provision for new units in Tallaght, Athlone, Carlow and Ballina. Regarding the Deputy's request for a minor injury hub, I must advise that while the HSE undertook a national injury unit review in 2023 to examine geographical coverage, there are currently no plans to open an injury unit in Balbriggan. The 2026 national service plan focuses on new units in Tallaght, Athlone, Carlow and Ballina. However, the HSE continues to review expansion plans and future-proof the system by working towards standardising opening hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, across existing sites to improve accessibility. Residents in Balbriggan currently have access to the following options for non-life-threatening injuries: the Mater Smithfield rapid injury clinic in Dublin 7; the Dundalk injury unit at St. Joseph's Hospital; and Connolly hospital emergency department, which features a dedicated nurse-led minor injury unit.

The Department and the HSE will continue to monitor population growth and geospatial implications to ensure that our urgent care footprint evolves to meet the needs of growing communities like Balbriggan.

Deputy Robert O'Donoghue

While I welcome the Minister of State's comments on the need to move appropriate services out of acute hospitals into smaller community-based hubs, and the policy direction is absolutely correct, Balbriggan is the type of location where this should be applied in practice. A community-based hub at Balbriggan would work extremely well under the pull-out model, especially for services that do not need to be delivered in acute hospital settings. This is particularly important for older people who are often the most disadvantaged by longer waiting times, overcrowded hospitals and extended waiting periods. In addition, a community hub at Balbriggan could accommodate preventative and routine services, such as vaccination clinics, baby and child health services and other primary and community care services that are currently fragmented and over-centralised. This approach would reduce footfall in our hospitals, improve uptake of preventative care and better serve Dublin Fingal West.

Importantly, the infrastructure already exists in Balbriggan. As I outlined, the primary care centre there is not completely leased by the HSE meaning there is real potential to expand services without the delays and costs of a new build. I urge the Minister of State to ensure Balbriggan, while not in the plan for 2026, is actively considered under the pull-out scheme and that the HSE engages locally to deliver a community hub that reflects Government policy and local population need. This is exactly the type of initiative that makes Sláintecare real on the ground. We need to make a plan for Balbriggan to keep people, not just in Balbriggan but in Rush, Lusk and Skerries at the rural end, in the constituency and not travelling. I accept there are the three locations the Minister of State outlined, but we should keep it within the community rather than send people into Dublin or up to Louth.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell

Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As I said, I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.

The Government remains committed to the implementation of healthcare reforms that ensure patients receive safe and convenient care in the right place at the right time. Last year, we saw 222,697 attendances at injury units across the country, which was a 5% increase. This demonstrates the growing public confidence in this model. By maintaining an exceptionally low median patient experience time of just 1.3 hours, these units provide an efficient and faster pathway for those with non-life-threatening injuries.

While there are currently no plans for a stand-alone injury unit at Balbriggan, we are future-proofing the national network by standardising opening hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week, and opening new units in Tallaght, Athlone, Carlow and Ballina. In the interim, Balbriggan primary care centre continues to play a vital role in delivering a vast array of integrated services from chronic disease management and older people's specialist teams to mental health and disability services. I assure the Deputy that I am committed to building further capacity in primary care by recruiting additional staff and promoting advanced practice roles to meet the needs of a growing population. The Department and the HSE will continue to monitor population growth and geospatial requirements to ensure our service evolves to meet the needs of the people of Balbriggan.

Disability Services

Deputy Louis O'Hara

I raise the proposed development of an equine therapy centre at the Toghermore House site located in Tuam. Toghermore House is owned by the HSE. It previously hosted a number of mental health support services until these services were relocated to a separate facility in Tuam in 2023. Since the relocation of these services, there have been proposals to develop the site, along with its over 40 acres of land, into an equine therapy centre. However, to date, no concrete plans have been progressed. Equine therapy offers significant physical, emotional and cognitive benefits to children and adults with disabilities. There are many examples of similar therapy centres. The Liskennett farm, which is based on the Cork-Limerick border, demonstrates the benefits these centres bring to both service users and the local community.

The Toghermore site has the potential to not only provide these benefits to the local community but also to become a regional centre for this form of therapy in the west of Ireland. I am of the understanding that as of last year the HSE was reviewing the future use of the Toghermore site. I recently met with Ability West to discuss disability services across County Galway and the proposed Toghermore project was raised with me. Given the massive potential of this project and the likely delays in securing funding if it were to be a HSE capital project, there is a view locally that other options should be considered in progressing this project. One such option could be the potential gifting of the land to a section 39 organisation to allow it to progress this project. That organisation could also engage with local sports clubs to explore whether sporting facilities could also be co-located at the site. To do this, the HSE would need to engage with any such organisation and, to date, this meaningful engagement has not happened. Will the Minister of State provide an update on this issue and on the review into the future of the Toghermore site?

Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration (Deputy Colm Brophy)

l thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am responding on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, who is fully committed to providing the necessary supports for people with disabilities throughout the country, including those in Galway.

I advise the Deputy that the Toghermore House site at Tuam, which is owned and operated by the HSE, is under review. In 2024, a HSE feasibility study was conducted. Following on from this work, a more in-depth health planning study was devised to provide greater detail and allow a more informed decision to be made.

The HSE has additionally advised the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, that it aims to have a specialist appointed in February 2026 to commence the study, which will encompass the entire campus, including the buildings. Development of infrastructural proposals cannot be progressed until this review has concluded.

The HSE is also engaging with Galway County Council. A meeting was held between Ann Cosgrove, integrated healthcare area manager and Liam Hanrahan, CEO of Galway County Council, on 4 June 2025. A follow-up meeting was held recently between the HSE and county council and another meeting is planned between the parties before the end of January 2026. At present, the HSE continues to utilise facilities on the grounds of Toghermore House for a number of services, including the national counselling services, mental health services, quality and risk, paediatric outpatients, HR and administration support. In addition, a building at the Toghermore campus has been temporarily licensed by HSE to the Office of Public Works for the use of the office of the director of authorised intervention, Tuam. This is a time-bound agency under the auspices of the Department which is overseeing the excavation, recovery, analysis, identification, if possible, and dignified reburial of remains located at the former mother and baby institution in Tuam. The OPW is currently undertaking refurbishment works to fit out the building on the HSE Toghermore campus to meet these requirements. The works are also addressing essential structural issues, for example, works on the roof and upgrades to mechanical and electrical installations.

I advise the Deputy that the Department will continue to monitor the progress of the HSE in reviewing the Toghermore site. Any further progress on the utility of the site is subject to the outcome of the study to be completed by the HSE, which includes considerations of an equine therapy centre.

Deputy Louis O'Hara

I thank the Minister of State for the update. I understand that the review is ongoing. I urge him to ensure that this is progressed as quickly as possible and that there is engagement with the local organisations like Ability West around the potential for equine therapy there. It would be a game-changer for Tuam and north Galway as a whole. There is a chronic lack of sporting facilities in the area and the potential development of an equine therapy centre would also be an opportunity to support the development of sporting facilities. Many local clubs and schools do not have these facilities. There is a wider need for a communal sports area that the whole community could use. Gifting the site to a section 39 organisation would ensure the potential for greater flexibility to co-locate other facilities at the site if it was owned and operate by such an organisation. Toghermore could be an example of best practice of how we can create an inclusive campus that supports the needs of children and adults with disabilities in Tuam and the surrounding area. I urge the Minister of State to engage with the HSE, Ability West, and other organisations in the local area, and ensure that this project is progressed quickly.

Deputy Colm Brophy

I thank the Deputy again for raising this. I know it is an important issue for the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, and indeed for the whole Government. I know she is keen to ensure that all opportunities for the Toghermore campus are explored and that full service delivery capacity can be realised, to the benefit of local and surrounding communities. I reiterate the commitment of this Government to delivering real and tangible solutions to enhance services and better support the needs of adults and children with additional needs in Ireland, as outlined by the commitments set out in our programme for Government.

Further and Higher Education

Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere

I raise the issue of the new Kilkenny college of the future. In October 2024, the Department announced the purchase of a stand-alone 15 acre site that would become the new home of the college of the future in Kilkenny. Government funding worth tens of millions of euro will be required to drive the development of the site at Joinersfolly, south of Kilkenny city. This site will create a new state-of-the-art education and training campus for Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board and, more importantly, consolidate the delivery of skills provision for the county. It is really positive news that we have our own site but we need this project to move on to the next stage as a matter of urgency.

The purchase of the 15-acre site was hugely important for the region. I and my colleagues are incredibly excited to see it become a campus that will delivery so much for the learners, staff, and the community of Kilkenny and Carlow ETB. In 2022, the Government announced that Kilkenny had been chosen as one of the locations to develop a further education and training college of the future. It is not ideal at the moment that further education and training provision in Kilkenny has been scattered around 15 different locations in the city. Now provision will be brought together in one modern, high-specification facility, where learners will have the opportunity to progress in the best possible facilities. This is what we mean when we speak about driving parity of esteem across the tertiary sector. It should not matter where people live, what they are studying, or whether they are in FET or university. Everybody should have the opportunity to reach their potential and they should have that opportunity as close to their home as possible.

As I said earlier, the project will consolidate existing provision, incorporate new training programmes and specialisms, and develop support services at one location with convenient transport access and services. There is huge excitement in Kilkenny and Carlow ETB. I extend warm congratulations and thanks to the executive team, originally led by Eileen Curtis, and now being brilliantly driven by Dr. Lindsay Malone, and to the current and previous board members for their commitment and support for the project. It will bring enormous benefits for students in the years ahead. As a former chairman of Kilkenny and Carlow ETB for over seven years, it was a priority for us to get a further education and training campus for Kilkenny. When I was chairman of Kilkenny and Carlow ETB, we launched Carlow Institute of Further Education and Training, which has been a tremendous success, with more than 1,000 students.

For Kilkenny city and county to be at the stage it is at now marks an important step forward in the delivery of the college campus but we are ready to go. We just need a nod from the Government to appoint consultants to get this project started. This will be transformational for Kilkenny, the south east, and all the staff and students who currently use and potentially will use Kilkenny and Carlow ETB in the future. There is a trade expo tomorrow night in Carlow, run and organised by Kilkenny and Carlow ETB. There will be thousands of students from across the constituency who will get the opportunity to meet potential employers on the trade side. The fact that they can now learn their trade in Carlow and Kilkenny is significant. We have a brilliant facility in Carlow which is state of the art. It is top class. We need the same in Kilkenny and we need it now.

Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Deputy Marian Harkin)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The proposal before us, as he said, is not just another bricks-and-mortar project. It is a strategic investment to deliver an integrated further education and training college for Kilkenny which addresses historical infrastructure deficits and drives the reform we have committed to across the FET sector. As the Deputy told us, a suitable site has been acquired at Joinersfolly, to the south of Kilkenny city. This purchase, coupled with the investment in enabling infrastructure, will consolidate dispersed provision into a single modern campus and deliver a consistent learner experience across a wide range of programmes. As the Deputy said, it is not ideal that provision has been scattered around 15 different locations. It should not matter where people live. This proposal aims to and will change that. Kilkenny and Carlow ETB proposes to deliver a flagship facility designed for approximately 1,000 full-time learners and 3,800 part-time learners. The campus will bring together training services, post leaving certificate courses, back to education initiatives, Youthreach, the adult learning service, adult guidance, and youth and community education under one roof and with room to adapt as needs evolve.

Following a robust evaluation, the Kilkenny project has been approved to proceed to the pre-tender project design, planning and procurement strategy stage. SOLAS has already commenced preparatory work on standardised tender documentation towards the appointment of design teams.

The departmental officials recently met with all 12 of the chief executives who have projects under this programme. At this meeting, the ETBs were informed that they need to prioritise the appointment of design teams for these projects in 2026. This initiative is one of 12 projects in the FET college major capital programme. Since September, eight have progressed to the same pre-tender stage, alongside Kilkenny, and these include Cork, Cavan, Bray, Newcastle West, Clonmel, Galway city and Dublin. Our intent is that all 12 projects will be fully designed and ready to tender within the current national development plan timeline to 2030, with strategic delivery occurring along the same timeline.

The FET major capital programme tackles legacy deficits and supports consolidation in high-quality facilities. It integrates FET pathways, develops specialist centres, strengthens unified tertiary planning and forges links with regional industries so learners train for real jobs in their local economy. All of this is anchored in the FET strategy's three pillars of building skills, fostering inclusion and facilitating pathways. The pre-tender stage interrogates the preferred option, refines assumptions, advances design to inform the detailed business case, and sets the procurement strategy and project execution plan. It is about certainty on scope, budget, risks and delivery sequencing.

Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere

I particularly welcome the last words of the Minister of State on delivery because that is what we want. I really welcome the fact we are getting so close to the appointment of a design team this year for this project. It is not only the staff of Kilkenny and Carlow ETB that will benefit from this. There are 5,000 full-time and part-time students in Kilkenny who can benefit from the service. We are ready to go in Kilkenny. If we need to be put forward as a pilot scheme or an exemplar for other ETBs to follow that is absolutely no problem. Kilkenny and Carlow ETB has experience in managing high-volume capital developments, incorporating almost €90 million in what it has done over the past number of years. There is real-life experience. This has to be done urgently. Everybody in Carlow and Kilkenny ETB is excited for all of the current and future FET learners in the locality. With one in ten adults in Ireland now learning through FET or apprenticeships, the ongoing development of high-quality college environments is absolutely key, especially in locations such as Kilkenny and the south east. We will play a critical role in meeting the increasing demand for upskilling in our communities.

The capital infrastructure announcement for the Kilkenny college of the future is a milestone moment for FET in the south east. It will drive access to education, lifelong learning and workforce transformation in the region. As I have said, we need action and, more importantly, we need to see delivery. I implore the Minister of State to pull out Kilkenny and Carlow ETB as a stand-alone project. We are ready to go. We just need a little bit more impetus and drive from the Department to get this project over the line. It is all about delivery and I welcome the feedback and comments of the Minister of State. I also welcome her support and that of the Minister, Deputy Lawless, for this particular project. It is a key infrastructure project for the south east and thousands of children and learners will benefit year after year.

Deputy Marian Harkin

I am grateful to Deputy Cleere for providing me with the opportunity to set out the position for this project in Kilkenny. The Department and I are prepared to continue to work collaboratively with Kilkenny and Carlow ETB via SOLAS to advance this ambition. Capital investment is a key priority for the Department, and I recognise fully the importance of developing, enhancing and supporting the FET sector to allow it to provide high-quality campuses for teaching, learning and research. Let me be clear that the Department, working through SOLAS and in close collaboration with KCETB, will continue to drive this project at pace while maintaining high governance standards. We will deliver a campus that will stand the test of time and deliver for learners, employers and the wider community in Kilkenny.

It is important to understand what is happening now. The project has been approved to proceed to pre-tender project design, planning and procurement stage with a number of other FETs. When at this stage, the preferred option is subject to more detailed scrutiny, assumptions have to be tested and refined, risks are better understood, and the design is sufficiently advanced to arrive at the detailed business case. This project is at the preliminary business case, which is an in-depth assessment of the project that looks at demand analysis and options analysis and reviews phasing potential and risk assessment.

I assure Deputy Cleere it is the intent of the Department to move as quickly as possible with all of the FET colleges. I have been to Carlow already and I will visit Kilkenny in the near future, within the next few months and this is a promise, to hear what is happening there. I am very pleased that the project is at this stage and that there is real hope it will be delivered in the near future.

Educational Disadvantage

Deputy Barry Heneghan

Ó toghadh chun an Tí seo mé, bím i gcónaí ag caint faoi oideachas, go háirithe oideachas i mBaile Átha Cliath thuaidh. Mar is eol don Aire Stáit, bím i gcónaí ag labhairt faoi Stapolin Educate Together National School, ETNS, Gaelcholáiste Reachrainn agus Killester Raheny Clontarf, KRC, ETNS. Troidim ar son na scoileanna sin. I am always fighting for education and today I want to raise another school, which is St. Joseph's primary school. This is a small senior boys school which has been failed by how our DEIS and disadvantage supports are being applied. The school has 115 pupils. It has one of the most disadvantaged catchment areas in Dublin's north inner city but it is still classified as DEIS 2 rather than DEIS 1. I have sent representations to the Department because it needs significant supports but it is not getting them.

I have been speaking to the principal, who is working tirelessly. He has told me that more than 20% of the pupils are in IPAS or emergency accommodation. These include children in international protection, children from Ukraine, children in emergency accommodation and children living in homelessness. Approximately 25% of the pupils live in the north inner city, an area which is designated as having concentrated disadvantage. The Minister of State is aware of this and we have had discussions on it. Despite this, the school is excluded from North East Inner City Initiative, NEIC, supports and City Connects supports.

What makes the situation even worse is that on the same grounds as the school is on there is a secondary school which receives City Connects supports and which has benefited from NEIC funding. Children from the same families, living in the same homes and often facing the same difficulties walk into one building that receives supports and another building that does not. This is the reality. St. Joseph's is also a continuation school for three DEIS 1 primary schools. These are St. Mary's primary school, which is beside it, St. Vincent's infant boys school in the Ballybough and Summerhill area, and St. Laurence O'Toole's school on Sheriff Street. These are all DEIS 1 schools.

In practice what is happening is that boys attend one of these schools until first class. A boy could be going to one of these schools with his twin sister. At the age of eight he is transferred to St. Joseph's, which is an all-boys school, and he loses the DEIS 1 supports that his sister is still getting.

He is losing the DEIS 1 supports. His younger brothers in the junior school are getting the DEIS 1 supports but the boys who transfer to the more senior school are not. The principal, whom I spoke to today, estimates that fewer than ten pupils of the 160 come from non-DEIS backgrounds. From speaking to Tiarnán Crowe, the principal, and Richie Walsh, the ex-principal and father of Mikey Walsh, I found their passion for education is exemplary. This issue needs to be investigated urgently. The school's intake is huge and it has already been recognised as experiencing high levels of educational disadvantage. Even yesterday, we were speaking about mental health, and we are always speaking about trying to bring up young men. In this case, support for young men from a disadvantaged area is being removed at a critical time in their development. If we are serious about prevention, this is exactly the stage at which we should be strengthening their support. St. Joseph's, the senior school from second class upward, also has an historical junior autism class, but then there is no junior mainstream class in the school for those children to integrate with. This is acknowledged by the Department in emails to me and it is acknowledged by the NCSE as being contrary to the best model it has, yet the school is still being told there is no immediate solution. As a result, the children remain in an unsuitable structure and a small school. The staff in St. Joseph's are exemplary and I urge that this be examined by the Department. I thank the Minister of State for his engagement so far.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth (Deputy Michael Moynihan)

It is like being in a meeting in Cork North-West. I am delighted to see how professional an operation it is. I am delighted to be serving with the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach as well. Deputy Heneghan raised the issue in relation to disadvantage in the north-east inner city. I thank the Deputy for his engagement on education matters in the role that I hold at the moment. I urge all Deputies and all public representatives to continue engaging on education because it is hugely important for the future of our country. Education has served Ireland very well over the last decades and beyond and we need to ensure that we are really up to speed with it.

The DEIS programme supports 1,200 primary and post-primary schools, reaching approximately 260,000 students with an annual investment of €180 million. The DEIS programme is targeted at schools with the highest level of concentrated disadvantage, with the DEIS urban band 1 schools representing those with the highest concentration of students with the greatest level of need and therefore receiving the most intensive supports. Schools with DEIS urban band 2 supports also face significant need and receive a broad range of supports, including the reduced pupil-teacher ratio, additional school grants, access to the home-school community liaison scheme and the school completion programme, literacy and numeracy initiatives and targeted attendance and retention measures.

It is possible for two neighbouring schools to have different profiles in terms of the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and the relative weighting of disadvantage apportioned in each. The designation of neighbouring schools to different DEIS status does not mean that there is no educational disadvantage present in one school. It means that the concentrated level of educational disadvantage of the two schools is different. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, is committed to narrowing the performance gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and introducing an innovative solution to address disadvantage. To this end, the new DEIS strategy to 2035 will be published in the coming months. This will focus on improving the opportunities and achievement levels of children at risk of education disadvantage, developing more innovative approaches to tackling education disadvantage and working towards a more flexible system of support to ensure that a school can receive the right supports at the right time. Any future changes to the overall allocation of resources to schools under the DEIS programme will be considered within the context of the new DEIS strategy. In respect of the education provisions, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, works with schools to ensure pupils in special classes receive an appropriate education, with teachers, SNAs and inclusion supports.

In relation to support provided in the north-east inner city project, it should be noted that in order to be classified as a north-east inner city primary school, the primary school must be a DEIS urban band 1 school located within the north-east inner city boundaries. St. Joseph's Primary School in Fairview is not located within the boundaries and does not have the DEIS urban band 1 status. Ten primary schools located within the north-east inner city with DEIS band 1 status, in addition to having the high percentage of pupils enrolled within the north-east inner city, are classified as such schools. It is important to recognise the challenges outlined by the Deputy and to compliment the team working there. I have no doubt that they are doing extraordinary work, particularly in relation to the challenges the Deputy outlined. We will be publishing the new DEIS strategy in the coming months but issues like that will have to be fed into that process as well.

Deputy Barry Heneghan

I really appreciate the work and I also appreciate the work with Stapolin and everything else in the area, with the Killester, Raheny, Clontarf, KRC, secondary school campaign and Gaelcholáiste Reachrann. In the Minister of State's words, the designation of neighbouring schools as having different DEIS status does not mean that there is no educational disadvantage present in one school. It means that the concentrated levels of educational disadvantage of the two schools are different. From speaking to the Minister and visiting the school, I can see that is not the case. It is the same pupils going through the school and then going to the secondary school. It is in that period between age eight and when they get to secondary school that they are being removed from these supports that we put in place for children in disadvantaged areas. I urge the Minister of State to get the Department to examine this school. I do not know how it slipped through the cracks.

I acknowledge the work the Minister of State has done and the work of the constituency TD, Deputy Gary Gannon of the Social Democrats, who represents the children attending this school. The children remain in an unsuitable structure. As I have said, the staff in St. Joseph's are excellent but they are going beyond. They are stretched and they are missing that funding. I am asking for an urgent review of St. Joseph's current DEIS status. It makes no sense that the status has been removed for that period for young men, especially with the struggles of life at this time. I also ask for immediate inclusion in the NEIC and City Connect supports as the sisters of children in this school, who are attending a school beside it, in the same catchment and the same area, are getting these supports. It makes no sense that the Department is saying this. I ask for a concrete timeline and solution for appropriate placement in the junior autism class. I appreciate the work the Minister of State has done and his visits to schools in north Dublin. I have seen first-hand the work he has done but I ask him to visit this school to see the current situation. I think it slipped through the cracks of the Department and I urge that it be examined. I am asking the Department not only for a review, but for a clear timeline for the DEIS reclassification. Young men should not have supports removed at such a critical time in their development.

Deputy Michael Moynihan

I thank the Deputy for the question and the energy he has put into it. The DEIS programme has been hugely successful right across the country, both in urban and rural Ireland, to ensure that we are tackling disadvantage at its core. Retaining students within the education system is a huge priority for the Government. It is huge for Government policy and for my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, and me as well. We are acutely aware of the challenges that exist. The DEIS programme has shown up the challenges. On a number of occasions, we have seen that schools which are practically on the same campuses and have pupils from the same socio-economic backgrounds are classified in different strands. The system to designate DEIS schools is completely automated. This has been looked at very carefully but, as we go into the new DEIS programme, I and the current and former Ministers, Deputies Naughton, McEntee and Foley, as well as Department officials, are acutely aware of this anomaly that is showing up within the system. One thing we need to do is to make sure that we are tackling disadvantage at its core and that we are not leaving anybody behind. Education is one of the great levellers and one of the great enablers. We want to ensure we get it right in the inner city and right across the country. The Deputy could no be more direct in the picture he paints of this issue. It is something the Department is giving serious consideration to in the context of the DEIS strategy, which we are committed to publishing in the coming months. We will certainly take on board what the Deputy has said in relation to it.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht - Wednesday, 28 Jan 2026