We welcome our first contributor, Deputy Durkan, to address his Topical Issue matter. This is an important topic for the Deputy.
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Family Law Cases
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to bring this matter up again. I am aware there is a lot of support for the content of the question, both inside this House and outside. It has recently come to pass that the issue also takes up discussion in other parliaments too, including yesterday and the day before in the House of Commons, as well as at the United Nations Human Rights Council, whereby custody, violence against women, and violence against children is the subject matter for discussion.
It is a peculiar thing because as other Members and I well know, I thought we had put in place sufficient protections to ensure that women, children and all human beings have an entitlement to protection in whatever court they may be in, without the prerequisite of complying with this pseudo-condition that is supposed to affect a certain number of people. The UN special rapporteur report addresses the link between custody cases, violence against women, and violence against children. There is a focus on the abuse of the term "parental alienation" and similar pseudo-concepts. The fact that this particular pseudo concept was never accredited by peers at the time it was first floated is a question in itself. The fact that it continues on this basis is not a question in itself because it would appear that a certain group of people now have an interest, for whatever reason I do not know - it has not been explained to me - in ensuring its perpetuation to the continued harassment and disgraceful punishment of women and children. These children are left crying and whimpering for their mother because, allegedly, they have been found guilty, prior to the court, to this condition of turning the other spouse against their children.
I would have thought, to bring it to a logical conclusion, that it was similar to people falling out of a relationship and where there are natural things that happened. Maybe they are not as friendly with each other as they were before and people who were in a friendly and loving relationship previously may not be in the same friendly and loving relationship afterwards. A lot depends on what they said to each other, what the level of aggression was, and whether there was physical or mental violence. No human being, men or women, should be put through that kind of torture, and especially authorised torture in the court, which is supposed to protect them.
I strongly hold the view that any person - man, woman or child - in the legal system, the judicial system, the courtroom and whatever forum in family law is entitled to a fair course, due process and natural justice. It is a good line to abide by in all cases, in any kind of circumstances. This is particularly so because it affects custody and the degree to which the custody is bargained around by the various sides in the course of the legal proceedings. I have spoken about the issue many times in the past, and I have spoken to several Ministers about it. The problem now is that it has an urgency, because the longer this continues, the longer women will not be able to see their children. There are people that I know who have not been allowed to see their children. There are women who have not been able to see or talk to their children in a year. It is crazy stuff that in this day and age, we should be subject to that kind of thing. I have come to the conclusion that there is something there that we cannot determine. It is almost as if there were some secret organisation that had a predetermination of an attitude towards women, because they hate women - that is for sure.
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue again. I would say I have heard him raise it almost a dozen times at this stage. He is very passionate about it. It is important to discuss the recently published report of the UN special rapporteur relating to the pseudo-condition of parental alienation in family law, wherein it was found that mothers and children are being denied their human constitutional rights. It is soon to be discussed at the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council of the UN. I convey the apologies of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, who cannot be here for this matter due to another commitment. On behalf of the Minister I thank Deputy Durkan for raising this important matter today, and for giving me the opportunity to provide clarity on some issues.
As the Deputy will be aware, management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the Judiciary and the Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998, and given the separation of powers in the Constitution. Therefore, the Minister is unable to comment on any individual case or category of cases. In fairness to the Deputy, he did not raise any individual cases. However, it may interest the Deputy to know that last year, the Department of Justice committed to undertake a public consultation on the issue of parental alienation as part of the Justice Plan 2022. The consultation presented an opportunity for individuals and organisations to offer their views and experiences of parental alienation, its impact and how it could be responded to in the future. It was a completely open process and concluded on 24 June 2022. All views, opinions and experiences submitted as part of that consultation have been welcome. The responses received are currently under review. The Department of Justice also arranged for independent research on parental alienation to be carried out. The Minister is pleased to say that a final report has been received by the Department, and is currently being reviewed. Department officials are currently working to finalise a report, which the Minister expects to bring to the Government for its information shortly. Once this has occurred, it is intended to publish both the research report and the policy paper on the Department's website.
The report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, its Causes and Consequences, Reem Alsalem, which considers the abuse of the term "parental alienation", and the deliberations of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the report in the coming months, will be fully considered as work in this area is advanced. As acknowledged on the Department's website for the public consultation, there is no clear agreed definition of "parental alienation" in Ireland, and there are no reliable statistics on its prevalence. The concept and its understanding in international literature, its perception by the stakeholders who engaged with the public consultation, and the consideration by the courts in Ireland is fully explored in the research report.
I very much appreciate the Minister of State coming into the House. I know she has taken an interest in that particular subject as well, and rightly so. I thank her for the tone of the reply. My only comment is in support in thanking the Minister of State and the Minister for Justice for bringing the matter this far. The next important item is to bring it the rest of the way in the shortest time possible, because women who are mothers, and their children, are suffering in the meantime. This is not one case, a dozen cases or two dozen cases; it is many. It has caught the attention of the United Nations, and rightly so, and something will have to be done about it. The problem, as I said originally, is that it would appear to me that there is some source that I cannot identify, and the purposes of which I cannot identify, whereby a ring of steel is surrounding the mystery of what happens, and why the woman automatically should expect to lose in court. Everybody is entitled to go to court at any time. Women are going to court and expecting to lose because of their gender or because they have children, because of the advice somebody has given to the court. A Supreme Court judge recently commented on it in a critical way, and more of that will follow. I thank the Minister of State for informing the House to the effect that she did today, and I thank the Minister for Justice for moving forward, knowing that there is a strong opposition to doing what should be done.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, published the first family justice strategy in November 2022, which sets out a vision for a family justice system of the future. This will be a system that focuses on the needs and rights of children, a system that assists their parents in making decisions that affect all of the family, and a system that makes it easier for vulnerable parents and families to get support and make informed decisions. The strategy is foundational in nature, recognising the many issues that currently exist within the system, but outlining the steps needed to move towards a family justice system that is streamlined and user-friendly, and which supports and protects children and their families. The family justice strategy is an ambitious and wide-reaching strategy which aims to achieve reform through the implementation of over 50 actions across nine goals. It prioritises the need and voice of the child, containing a number of actions which stress the importance of children and their needs in a reformed family justice system, so that their voices are heard and their views considered in a most meaningful way.
It seems Deputy Durkan's persistence is beginning to pay off.
Well done, Deputy.
I understand we have agreement to take the third item next. The one I have selected is from Deputy Lawless.
Special Educational Needs
I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for allowing me to go ahead. I am doing clinics in north Country Kildare later, so I need to progress matters. I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Topical Issue. I know it is a topic of great interest to her, and she has given great attention to it in her Ministry, along with her colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. The Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, contacted me today to say that she is also working on it. In any event, the issue is the provision of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, education in my constituency of Kildare North. I have been contacted about it, and it is a growing trend. We know that school places are an issue in every constituency, not least a growing constituency like Kildare North, which is a commuter belt constituency, but what is happening is that children with additional or special needs who need an ASD place are being denied or refused a place in their first year of application. They go back around again and hope and pray that they will be accommodated the next year. In some cases, that is not possible the following September, and now we have children of six years of age and over who are not yet in school. They are being held back on the hope that something will come good, and it has not happened. There is always a difficulty in getting school places, but the situation around getting school places for children with special needs is even more chronic because there are only so many places to go around, and there is an increasing number of children who need to use them.
I have been directly approached on this issue by many parents. I will give a sample of some of the points that have been put to me. The national school in Sallins, unfortunately, has no ASD places at the moment. There are none at all, even if we were to try to make some available. The principal and staff are doing their very best, but they just do not have the places there, or the unit - full stop. The national school in Prosperous has three ASD classrooms, all of which are full. That is for a population of 2,500. Naas, the county town and the largest town in the constituency and the county, has a population of 22,000. I think that will be 30,000 when the census figures come out. In any event, it is the county town. I am told that there are three ASD classrooms in the national school in Naas. There may be one or two more than that, but it is certainly not anywhere near what is needed. We all know that early intervention is vital. We all know the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome. Parents are at their wits' end. They are doing their very best to provide for their children.
It has been put to me, and I think it is very reasonable, that the children's right to education is protected under the Constitution.
As one parent put to me, however, over the past two years, they have had to fight relentlessly for a child's basic constitutional rights to education, health, equality and integration. They really are up against it. One parent told me they are now driving a 100 km round trip every day because their child was accepted into an ASD place in Lacken, which is in County Wicklow. They are crossing a county boundary and travelling some distance. It is not one of these schools that is two miles over the border. It is a 100 km round trip each day to bring this child to an ASD unit in Lacken because the principal of that school was very generous and flexible and was able to accommodate the child. That is just one example. That child really should be attending a unit in Naas or Sallins, which are far closer to his home. Parents are, as always, being superheroes and doing everything they possibly can, including making 100 km round trips and prevailing upon people like me, the Minister of State and all of us in these Houses to make something happen. Without the basic provision, however, 2 plus 2 cannot equal 4. It is chronic. Children are being delayed and denied and they are ageing without the care. I do not want to come back to the parents of other four- five- or six-year-olds and explain to them again this September why they do not have a place. I am hoping the Minister of State has some good news for me.
On behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion, I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and giving me the opportunity to outline how the Department of Education and National Council for Special Education, NCSE, continue to provide special educational placements for children who need them.
A priority for this Government is to ensure all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to our schools to cater for the needs of children with special educational needs. It is important to remember the vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers.
To support children with more complex needs, special classes in mainstream schools and special schools are provided. This year, the Department will spend in excess of €2.6 billion, or over 27% of the Department’s budget, on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs. For 2023, the Department has further increased the number of teaching and special needs assistant, SNA, posts in our schools. There will be an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 special needs assistants in our schools by the end of this calendar year.
For the first time ever, we will have more than 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and more than 20,000 special needs assistants. Together, we will have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs, which I know everybody will welcome. The children will undoubtedly benefit, as is right and proper, from the additional focus these resources will bring to their education.
The National Council for Special Education has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. Over the past three years, the Department and NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient mainstream, special class and special school places. These initiatives are bearing fruit, with more than 600 new special classes sanctioned at primary level, almost 300 new special classes sanctioned at post-primary level and five new special schools established over the past three years.
Just recently, on 12 April, the Minister, Deputy Foley, and Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, announced the establishment of two new special schools as part of a comprehensive update on enhanced education provision for students with special educational needs. These two new special schools will be established in Carrigtwohill in east Cork and Dublin 7 for the 2023-24 school year. Along with the two new special schools, 328 new special classes have been sanctioned by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, for opening in the coming school year 2023-2024, with more to be confirmed in the coming weeks, 217 of which will be at primary level and 111 at post-primary level. Capacity will also be expanded in 11 other special schools around the country.
I will turn now to County Kildare because I am conscious there are many Kildare Deputies in the House at the moment, as well as the Ceann Comhairle. There are 105 special classes in County Kildare. Of these, 79 special classes are at primary level and 26 are at post-primary level. Of the 328 new special classes announced for the 2023-24 school year, seven are in County Kildare, with five at primary level and two at post-primary level. The Deputy referenced the issue of additional special classes in north Kildare specifically. I want to assure him that both the Department and the NCSE will continue to monitor and review the need for further new special classes over the coming months and years.
Of the 105 special classes in County Kildare, 60 are in the north Kildare areas of Celbridge, Clane, Enfield, Leixlip, Maynooth, Naas, Prosperous and Sallins, 41 of which are at primary level and 19 of which are at post-primary level. Of the seven new special classes announced for Kildare, one new special class is in Maynooth in north Kildare while the other six are in south Kildare. The NCSE will continue to review the need for any additional special classes in north Kildare for the coming school year.
I thank the Minister of State for her reply and for those figures. I acknowledge her and the Government's commitment to this area. I worry about the figures, however. The Minister mentioned in her reply the special classes that are already in existence, namely, Clane, Enfield, Leixlip, Maynooth, Naas, Prosperous and Sallins. Certainly, Clane, Naas, Prosperous and Sallins are areas that have been brought to my attention as being insufficient. They may be there, but they are not there in sufficient capacity and accommodation because the parents of children who are being turned away come to my clinics and correspond with me on this.
I welcome the seven new classes. I do not think I am being parochial about this because I have been elected to represent north Kildare, but only one of the seven is going to north Kildare. By the mathematics, at the previous boundary review there were four and four. Therefore, they are of unequal measure in terms of north Kildare and south Kildare. One is getting six and one is getting one. There seems to be an imbalance there. I would, therefore, ask for extra classes.
The Minister of State mentioned that the Department is continuing to monitor and review the need for further special needs classes. I can assist with that. I can provide the information I have been given by parents. I can say today, as I have already said, that Naas, Clane, Sallins and Prosperous, at the very least, need additional spaces for ASD units. The need has been brought to my attention at primary level, but I know from my own experience when I was chair of the board at Naas Community College that additional places are needed at post-primary level as well. I would really stress upon the Department the need to look at that ahead of the next school year. This is not something that can be rolled along with a watching tracker kept on it over the next couple of years. This is an urgent situation where children of six years of age and their parents are looking at this coming September like a clock ticking down and wondering where they are going to go. I am aware of many such cases.
I would really stress upon the Minister of State to bring the message back to the Department to say that while I welcome the progress that has been made, unfortunately, it is not enough. I am dealing with real-life situations whereby children have no place to go this September in north Kildare in many ASD-type situations. I really ask the Department to take on board and engage with me on the issue ahead of this September.
The Department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring all children can access an education suitable to their needs. The Department continues to engage with the NCSE intensely with regard to the forward planning for new special classes for the next school year.
As demand for new special classes at post-primary level is expected to increase significantly over the next few years due to increasing demographics and increasing prevalence rates, the Department and the NCSE are engaging with post-primary stakeholders regarding the provision of special classes. In October of last year, the Department wrote to all post-primary schools to advise them of the need to begin planning to provide additional special classes. That is all post-primary schools. Nobody is going to say we are not going to have a special educational needs class. That ship has sailed at this stage. Every child is entitled to an education in his or her school.
Essentially, all post-primary schools can expect to open special classes over the next three to five years. This will ensure children can access a special class in their local post-primary school rather than having to travel a significant distance to another school. At local level, the NCSE is continuing to engage with schools regarding the establishment of additional special classes and there will be another announcement in the next few weeks. It is hoped that will be more favourable to the Deputy with regard to north Kildare. I will bring the Deputy's concerns back to the Minister.
I compliment the Deputies and public representatives in south Kildare on the success they are achieving in terms of their special needs children. I want to make one point in absolute support of what Deputy Lawless said. It is a phenomenon in County Kildare that young children are being sent by special educational needs officers, SENOs, all over the county well outside their catchment areas. It is patently ridiculous that a child with a special educational need cannot go with his or her brothers and sisters to his or her local school but instead has to travel substantial distances. The Minister of State's response is, therefore, welcome but we need to see that happen sooner rather than later.
In fairness, the fact that all schools will have to provide this class is really welcome by everyone.
Boards of management have to step up to the mark on this as well.
Absolutely.
Anyway, well done to Deputy Lawless for raising that matter.
Hospital Facilities
I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. As the Minister of State knows, St. Stephen's Hospital in Glanmire, County Cork, is the location for one of three new elective hospitals in the country, with the others in Galway and Dublin. We finally got word approximately six months ago that Glanmire was the preferred site in Cork. That process took far too long. At the time, the then Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, stated that he wanted to take this by the scruff of the neck and get on with the job. To be fair to him, he has repeatedly stressed and emphasised that delivery is a vital part of what we are trying to do. We need this facility. That is well recognised. It will have the capacity for almost 180,000 procedures per year, once built and operational. Most importantly, these elective hospitals are designed to take the pressure off our overburdened emergency departments. We have been talking about this elective hospital in Cork for six years. People want to see action. They want to see design teams appointed and on the ground. They want to see plans drawn up and work commencing as quickly as possible.
I understand that at a recent meeting of the Joint Committee on Health, the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, confirmed that a design team had, in fact, been appointed and is working on a detailed design. He concluded that he expects we could be in a position to move to tender by the final quarter of this year, with planning secured, detailed design done and signed off. Those were the words attributed to the Minister. That is obviously welcome but at the same committee meeting, the Minister acknowledged that the process heretofore had taken too long, mainly on account of having to adhere strictly to the public spending code. He said he hopes the process could be sped up, where possible. He concluded that his Department and the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform would work together to find additional opportunities to speed up the process. Will the Minister of State advise as to what additional opportunities the Minister was referencing and outline how he proposes to expedite the process?
I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As he knows, the cross-party Sláintecare report in 2017 articulated a new vision for healthcare in Ireland, including the provision of elective-only hospitals providing protected capacity for elective care. This policy has since been informed by a number of subsequent policy documents and Government decisions, including the national elective ambulatory care strategy agreed by the Government in December 2021.
This national strategy aims to change the way in which day cases, scheduled procedures, surgeries, scans and outpatient services can be better arranged to ensure greater capacity in the future and help to reduce waiting times at a national level. The development of additional capacity will be provided through dedicated, stand-alone elective hospitals in Cork, Galway and Dublin. The elective care scope of services will be developed in two phases, commencing with day cases, diagnostics and outpatients, and then inpatient treatment. On this basis, the elective hospitals will be designed to provide sufficient capacity to facilitate further phases, including some elective inpatient capacity, thereby providing a sustainable and strategic response to cater for the highly dynamic landscape of healthcare policy and practice.
In December 2022, the Government approved the next stage of the enhanced provision of the elective care programme and progression of the development of new elective hospitals in Cork and Galway. The preferred site recommended to be brought forward in Cork is at St. Stephen’s Hospital in Glanmire, as the Deputy said.
It is important to note that we need to follow due process with regard to developing these plans to ensure value for money from this significant strategic development. We are, therefore, following the processes as set out in the public spending code. The planning phase now requires the HSE to develop detailed project briefs, a procurement strategy and pre-tender business cases for the new elective hospitals. Once ready, these will be submitted to the Department of Health for consideration at decision gate 2 of the public spending code prior to approval to proceed to tender. As the Deputy will appreciate, there is considerable service design and planning associated with the development of these documents but it is expected that this will be done in quarter 3 of this year.
The planning that the HSE is undertaking will give a better indication of the construction timelines for these significant projects and updates will be available in due course. However, the Government is, at present, looking to the elective hospitals to receive their first patients in 2027 and to be fully operational in 2028.
I am conscious of the strong public support for these new facilities and the desire expressed by many, including the Deputy, for them to be developed as quickly as possible. I assure the Deputy that the Minister and the Ministers of State in the Department of Health share this desire and the Department will continue to engage with the HSE to ensure the timely delivery of the new elective hospital in Cork.
I met with the Minister yesterday. He has just come back from a meeting about the elective hospitals. He is very anxious for progress to be made as quickly as possible. The Deputy has asked specific questions. The reference to quarter 3 of this year and a timeline of 2027 are the only details I have at the moment, I am afraid.
I thank the Minister of State for her response. Perhaps we can talk later about the meeting the Minister had. Perhaps the Minister of State can tell me the exact details of it.
This has been a long time coming. It is going to be a major project in my constituency. I had selfishly hoped that the announcement of this hospital would trigger the start of development of the north ring road, for which we have been waiting 25 years, but alas that did not happen. We all know the planning issues for roads and all the different assessments that need to happen.
I welcome the fact that the project is moving along and people have been appointed to undertake their design brief and so on. In the future, via questions on promised legislation or by way of a Topical Issue, I will be persistently raising this issue. People get dismayed when they see delays to certain projects. While I realise these are large-scale projects that are not straightforward, we need to keep on top of them to ensure they happen because for too long we have been waiting for these projects to move to the point to which they have now moved. The benefits of the St. Stephen's Hospital site have been well documented. It is a greenfield site of over 100 acres that will allow for future development and expansion if it is required. Other sites that were mooted locally did not have those advantages. I am encouraged that progress is being made. It is important to reiterate to the Minister that we want to keep on top of the project and ensure it is top of the agenda. I am encouraged that will be the case if the Minister is getting regular briefs and engaging in regular meetings.
As I said earlier, the HSE is now working through the planning phase for the new elective hospital in Cork. The Department of Health will consider the plans at decision gate 2 in the autumn before giving approval to proceed to tender. As the Deputy will appreciate, there are many complex factors involved in an infrastructure project of this size. The HSE's detailed planning will give a better understanding of the timeline for the work. I assure the Deputy we are working to get the hospitals built and up and running as soon as possible. As I said earlier, we are expecting the elective hospitals to receive their first patients in 2027. This is a priority for the Minister. He happened to mention to me that he had a meeting during the week on this issue. He is anxious to get progress quickly. We know the early stages of procurement, planning and design can take a long time but we are trying to expedite those as much as possible.
Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 5.39 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 5.41 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 5.39 p.m. and resumed at 5.41 p.m.