Reducing the fare is a huge help in making public transport more attractive. Establishing a pattern of using public transport from a young age is so significant. It really adds to the benefit. I acknowledge the 50% reduction. It is very significant, much ahead of the 20% reduction. It is important that it be available to students as soon as possible. Many of them are finishing up college at the minute. It is important that the ticket be available to them when they return, or at least before the summer. What steps a…

Is mór an ní é go mbeidh laghdú 20% ar na ticéidí bus, go háirithe ar cheantair cosúil le Baile Bhuirne, Baile Mhic Íre, Gleann Fleisce agus a leithéid, áiteanna nach bhfuil an bus eile ar fáil dóibh agus nach bhfuil ach an express bus ann. Molaim é sin agus is maith an ní é. Bheadh sé tábhachtach é sin a thabhairt ar aghaidh chun cinn go tapa, go háirithe nuair a bheidh na daltaí ag filleadh ar an gcoláiste i dtreo dheireadh an tsamhraidh. Can the Minister outline who will be involved in that consultation group, h…

The programme for Government is very clear in its aims for equality and it also sets out strong ambitions on increasing participation in sport, including the prioritising of increasing female participation. Women’s rugby has experienced a turbulent time recently. Last week, Ballincollig Rugby Football Club outlined its shock and disappointment that the steps to grant the club All-Ireland League, AIL, senior club status was stopped at the Munster AGM. The club has outlined very understandable frustration and disappo…

I need to raise with the Taoiseach the length of time it takes to pay enhanced illness benefit, the payment that people switch onto if they are out of work when they have Covid. There are increased levels of Covid and of people being out of work, so there will be increased demand for the payment, one would expect. While some applications will be straightforward, for many others there is considerable delay. For example, if somebody already has a social welfare payment in the household, it creates a situation where t…

Having a CCTV system operating in so many communities is giving great peace of mind to people and providing great comfort, where it is working well, such as in Macroom. It is not available in every community, however. It is not in Ballincollig or Millstreet, for example. Questions have arisen concerning data protection in respect of CCTV systems as well. I wish to try to get a handle on how these data protection questions are going to be addressed to allow CCTV systems to become available to other communities wishi…

There is a great deal of goodwill among the public as is evidenced by the 20,000 offers of accommodation and also the significant donations and cash amounts that were shipped out in recent weeks. Community groups really want to be able to provide support, whether people are in congregated settings or spread right across the country. It is not going to be so easy to gather together those different ideas. What kind of platform is available to community groups that want to engage, whether they are offering welcome pac…

I welcome the Minister's update and the engagement with the community forums. There are two almost distinct timeframes at play here. There is the immediate need as people are arriving and there is the question of how they can be supported in the longer term. In terms of the immediate or short-term response, I have offers, for instance, from a company's sports and social club that wants to make welcome kits available to children arriving here. There is a school that wants to make its gym's shower facilities and so o…

Tá costais boilscithe ag cur an-bhrú ar dhaoine ar fud na tíre, idir dhíosal, pheitreal agus go leor eile ar nós córas iompair, feirmeoireachta, tógála, agus go háirithe daoine a bhíonn ag taisteal isteach agus amach ag obair go laethúil nó ag iarraidh an teach a théamh. Bhí an brú sin ann i bhfad roimh an gcogadh uafásach san Úcráin. Cinnte, cabhróidh an chéim atá á tógáil ag an Rialtas anois faoiseamh a thabhairt do dhaoine le cuid de sin, ach is fadhb í ar fud na hEorpa. Chonaiceamar an tslí ina raibh an Eoraip …

The well-being framework is about measuring how Ireland is doing in things that really matter to our society. It measures our well-being, education attainment, community involvement and so much more. It is so different from measuring GNP or GNI* or any other economic indicators. The pandemic really highlighted core needs that many people had not recognised up to then, including connections with people and family, taking part in community events, and so on. It really highlighted pressure in areas such as mental heal…

The works on the N22 Macroom bypass seem to be moving very quickly, which is very positive. Locals are raising questions about various aspects of the road and in particular the two tie-in points with the existing road at An Sliabh Riabhach on the west and at the Lee bridge at the eastern side. On the western side locals feel they might end up having to travel up to 2 km to loop around to get on the road to Cork. There is also concern that the eastern edge, where people get on and off the existing road, would be kep…

Clearly great headway is being made on the road and the Minister has outlined some of the very large structures that have been put in place. It would be very welcome if there was an opportunity to open the piece around the town ahead of the rest as much of the work has already been done with bridges in place and so on. I would encourage the Minister to raise that with TII and the various authorities to see if it is possible to open the piece around the town first. I wish to focus on the tie-ins, at the western end …

I agree with the Minister's positive outlook on Macroom and I welcome that. The progress on the bypass section is very positive. The section just east of it remains a concern, especially for people getting on and off the existing road, for example, turning in at the Danone plant or at Dunisky, Ballytrasna, Killcondy, Stage Cross, Cloughduv or Castlemore cross. Both junctions will remain there, totally independent of the bypass because they are east of the town. Can measures be put in place to make it safe for peopl…

Tréaslaím leis an gCeann Comhairle as an obair go léir atá á déanamh aige chun ár dteanga a bhrú ar aghaidh sa Dáil agus sa Choiste Gnó. Beidh mé féin ag déanamh gach rud is féidir liom chun cabhrú leis anseo chomh maith. Ón am seo anuraidh, tá céim mhór shuntasach bainte amach ó thaobh an Achta nua a bheith tugtha chun cinn. Cuirfidh sé sin le líon na nGaeilgeoirí sa státchóras. Bhí go leor cainte mar gheall air le fada an lá. Gan dabht, chaitheamar tréimhse mhaith ag caint mar gheall air an bhliain seo caite ach,…

Tá an cheist seo dírithe ar bhord nua Údarás na Gaeltachta. Conas a bheidh na baill roghnaithe? Cén plean atá ann don athbhreithniú air sin? Cén leagan amach a bheidh air? An bhféadfadh an tAire Stáit soiléiriú a thabhairt air sin?

Tá sé fíorthábachtach go mbeidh deis ag an bpobal a thuairimí a chur in iúl mar gheall ar an mbord agus ar an leagan amach a bheidh ann. Gan dabht, sa tslí atá ann faoi láthair, níl an rogha ag an bpobal a ionadaithe féin a roghnú. Tá laige ansin agus tá laghdú ar an nasc idir an pobal agus na hionadaithe atá ann thar a gceann. Mar sin, tá sé tábhachtach go mbeidh an deis sin ag an bpobal. An bhféadfadh an tAire Stáit soiléiriú a thabhairt ar an tréimhse a bheidh ag an mbord nua? An mbeidh gach ionadaí ar an mbord …

Mar a luaigh mé, beidh an bord reatha as feidhm in 2023. Tá an t-am sin ag druidim linn go tapa. Tá an próiseas comhairliúcháin tosaithe anois. An bhfuil tuairim ag an Aire Stáit ar cén fhad a thógfaidh an próiseas comhairliúcháin? An mbeidh an córas nua i bhfeidhm in am i gcomhair an chéad bhord eile a chur isteach in 2023? An bhfuil plean faoi leith chuige sin? Luafaidh mé arís an tslí ina bhfuil an nasc idir pobal na Gaeltachta agus an bord laghdaithe nuair nach bhfuil deis ag an bpobal a ionadaithe féin a roghn…

I raise the issue of the walk-in facility that was provided by National Driver Licence Service, NDLS, for people getting their driving licence. Before the pandemic, a walk-in service was operating in parallel with the appointments system for many years. Understandably, there was a change during the pandemic. However, despite the reopening of much of society, I understand the walk-in option is not available for people who want to get a driving licence. Anyone getting a driving licence must book an appointment online…

My question relates to the range of schemes that will be available for people who want to advance a lot of different regional developments across the country, and the euro value of those schemes to them. There are many options, but people need to be able to access those and know where they can access them.

I thank the Minister. I want to acknowledge the wide variety of schemes available, which is good because it allows specific needs to be targeted. However, there are many options available to different groups, which means that they end up making a range of different applications, often carrying a lot of overheads and effort in order to access that funding. I deal with a large number of people in my constituency office. The LEADER group IRD does similar. A range of others also do this work, including the council. The…

I thank the Minister. There are a range of different streams. While many of them will be dealt with through local authorities, there is still a need for groups to go to the likes of IRD or access other local groups such SECAD and so on in order to access some funds. A very good example is the scheme being operated by Cork County Council, where one application covers amenity, community and recreation grants. That reduces the burden on community groups and ensures they are focused on a particular need. I am trying to…