Ms AnnMarie Farrelly:

I share the Cathaoirleach's concern about certain sites. Both sites she mentioned are in the Dublin city area, but there are sites in Fingal I am not proud of.

Local authorities have to be able to be on sites regularly to understand the problems that are arising. There needs to be good collaboration in making sure waste collection and other services are working well for the sites. As we stated in our paper, the caretaker role is also part of the solution. That is where there is somebody on site helping that estate management piece. The broader services, whether these are education, health or the range of services people need to lead healthy lives, also need to be available to people on sites. There needs to be an agreed protocol for how sites are managed and the responsibilities of tenants versus those of the local authority.

Separately, the overcrowding issue is also problematic. Where there is overcrowding, it is quite difficult to be successful with estate management. The priority for us in Fingal is to keep on the sites. We find that challenging at times. We have had health and safety issues in respect of staff. I pay credit to the staff we have who are very committed, as the Chair said, to vulnerable children and adults being protected. We are available and problems can be reported to us and fixed where they can. More work is to be done; that is as much as I can say.

Ms Carr will come in on education.