Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Fitzgerald for raising this matter as it gives me the opportunity to outline to the House the proposal my Department is developing along with the Department of Education and Science, County Dublin Vocational Education Committee and South Dublin County Council. I was made aware several years ago that my Department made money available through the dormant accounts fund. I was approached recently by the Department of Education and Science and it explained the money was running out. We were aware of this. The Department of Education and Science indicated it did not have the resources to keep the facilities open at night. I assure the Senator this development was of immediate concern to me and I decided to make appropriate arrangements to keep these places open. It would be a scandal if these fine facilities were not available to the public for the longest number of hours possible. I share the concerns of people regarding these facilities.

The matter raised affects four combined community and school operated sports halls in Killinarden and Firhouse in south Dublin and schools in Palmerstown and Collinstown in west Dublin. These four facilities were built or upgraded as part of a programme to develop combined community and school sports halls in drugs task force areas in Dublin and Cork. The objective was that each facility would serve a dual purpose. They would put state-of-the-art sporting and recreational facilities at the disposal of the school-going population of the areas of south and west Dublin and the facilities would be accessible to the wider community to utilise.

Senators may wish to note that the Department of Education and Science provided funding in excess of €34 million to cover the capital cost of constructing nine halls attached to post-primary schools. Eight of these halls are located in Dublin, including the halls referred to earlier. Four are located within the boundary of Dublin city at Pearse College, Crumlin, the College of Further Education, Inchicore, Senior College, Ballyfermot, and St. Michael's secondary school in Finglas. The facility at St. Vincent's convent secondary school is based in Cork city.

The Government approved operational funding in respect of six halls in 2007 to make the facilities available for community usage. These funds were provided from the dormant accounts fund. The allocated dormant accounts funding will finish at the end of 2008. The Senator will be aware that dormant accounts funding has a limited life and cannot continue forever because funding is finite. With the downturn in the economy, more people will remember where their money is hidden. As the Department of Education and Science does not normally fund community facilities, the matter was raised with me to examine the opportunities that might exist under the programmes operated by my Department. In developing a suitable approach, I am keen to ensure we provide a more sustainable and long-term means of funding the community services in these centres.

Having considered the matter with my officials, my Department has in recent days reached agreement with County Dublin Vocational Education Committee and South Dublin County Council on the broad principles of an arrangement to secure the community use of these facilities in the long term. While the details of the proposals are yet to be finalised, I am satisfied that the facilities will remain available to the community without any interruption of services and that their longer-term use will be secured. I am hopeful the necessary support will be forthcoming from the schools and the people of the areas served.

Our proposals have yet to be finalised but having looked at the instruments available, my Department has decided to offer funding under the community services programme, formerly the social economy programme run by FÁS which was transferred to my Department in 2006. There are 370 projects in contract nationwide to provide a very broad range of services. The programme offers a contribution towards the employment cost of an agreed number of workers for contract periods of up to three years. The contracts are renewable and are not subject to any time limit. Funding is also normally provided for the employment of managers. The project is then in a position to offer its services, charge a reasonable fee and develop a sustainable business plan that will reduce its dependence on State support over the longer term. However, I recognise that some State support will always be needed. Having said that, we encourage people to charge reasonable fees for the use of facilities and so forth.

The Senator asked about payment for employees. My Department gives a certain amount for full-time employee equivalents, although organisations can employ people on a full-time or part-time basis, depending on their needs. We pay the minimum wage so if there are four full-time equivalents in employment and a manager, my Department gives four times the minimum wage. The organisation can top up that funding if it so chooses. It is important to stress that given the nature of the funding scheme, the staff employed, except for the manager, must come from the target groups, namely, unemployed people, lone parents, people with disabilities and so forth. In that context, not everything that is in place will fit in under the new arrangements but this is a sustainable model for the future.

I want to ensure these excellent facilities are open and at the disposal of the communities at a reasonable cost. We must also secure their longer-term sustainability. I ask the Senator to support these efforts and thank her for affording me the opportunity to outline what is being planned and, with goodwill, we can make this work. I hope this will give us a permanent solution which will allow the continued use of such facilities while providing gainful employment for people who might otherwise be unemployed.