Programme for Government
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-04
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

Yes. That is a school I helped enormously when it was starting. The only challenge is that it produced an awful lot of high-quality Kerry footballers afterwards who won All-Irelands against us, which was pointed out to me with glee by some of the Deputy's colleagues. I have visited St. Brendan's College. A lot of people raise school issues. We are spending a lot more money on schools. A lot more schools need extensions or full buildings. St. Brendan's College is a fantastic school but it is in an old building. I fully appreciate the needs. I will be engaging with the Minister for education to see what we can do in terms of the school programme because quite a number of Deputies across the board have raised school issues today.
Deputy Séamus McGrath raised the issue of a one-stop shop for bringing people back into the country and trying to clear up a lot of issues from driving licences to a whole range of other issues. I will progress that with the relevant Ministers. I commend him on his precise scrutiny of the programme for Government and every single aspect of it to keep us on our toes. I will follow up on that one.
On Deputy Brendan Smith's contribution, there is a big issue with regional and non-national roads. The flooding of recent times has done a lot of damage in specific locations, but the rainfall generally has had an effect. I spoke yesterday to the Minister responsible - the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien - on the impact of the floods on the roads, the need to review how we allocate funding to non-national roads and the need to get a serious allocation there. The inclement, wetter weather of recent years is playing havoc with non-national roads across the country.
Deputy Malcolm Byrne raised the housing activation fund. Some €1 billion has been allocated. I hope some of that could be allocated to the northern inner relief road in Gorey - I will follow that up - and to the second bridge for Arklow. As the Deputy knows, when we were in Aughrim yesterday we discussed with a number of people, including the county manager and some of the engineers, how Arklow is now primed for housing development. We have put in a massive wastewater treatment plant there. It is a very modern one. If we need to lift any limits that are on Arklow in terms of house construction and so forth, we will continue to follow up on that in the context of the housing activation fund.
Deputy Ó Murchú raised a number of classroom issues in County Louth. I think he said that a school hall is being used.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-04/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:35+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-04