I thank the Minister of State for taking this question. I am asking him provide details of the funding provided by the Department to improve the rail network and train connectivity in County Offaly in 2023, 2024 and to date in 2025. I do so because I am constantly being contacted by constituents who are very anxious to see improvements to our rail and connectivity in Offaly, particularly in Clara, which I will refer to later.

I welcome the Minister of State's response and the fact that €265 million has been allocated in funding this year alone. I accept there have been huge improvements in services. My question relates to the need for capital funding for a second platform at Clara train station. I brought this issue up only last week with the Minister during a debate. It would make social and economic sense in achieving balanced regional development in rural counties like Offaly, my county. I would hope there could be some commitment to…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is certainly positive that there is a review and analysis of our infrastructure, our rail infrastructure in particular. However, I hope there would be a commitment given to the people of Offaly, especially the people of Clara who want to see further development in the town, on capital funding for a second platform. I hope also that the pace of delivery for projects like this, which are there for the taking and would contribute enormously to the expansion of existin…

As we approach the end of the school year in many primary schools, I acknowledge the hard work of many school principals and teachers but I also highlight an issue, the overloading of principals, particularly teaching principals. I met with many school principals in my own county of Offaly and they have told me that their workload is excessive, that it is continues to be extremely bureaucratic and that it is leading to burnout. Many principals cannot focus on teaching and learning because they are pulled in so many…

I welcome the improvements the Minister of State has just listed, but in order to tackle the current bureaucratic nightmare, there are decisive solutions that could be taken. For example, there is a pilot of the small schools scheme. I completely welcome that. That is certainly one solution. If that were to be rolled out nationally where schools form clusters and support one another with admin, and if the threshold, which stipulates that the scheme is for schools of four teachers or fewer, were increased, I think i…

I also wish the Minister the very best in his new role. I look forward to working with him. I am happy to speak to this motion. I commend the Independent and Parties Technical Group on tabling it. I particularly reference the all-island strategic rail review and the manner in which it outlines economic and social benefits. This is incredibly important. In respect of my constituency of Offaly, I will raise ongoing issues regarding Clara train station. As my constituent, Barry Flynn, has noted through his extensive r…

I welcome this debate and many of the provisions of this Bill. I am aware that my local authority, Offaly County Council, generated approximately €4.9 million in local property tax revenues in 2024, but also that our baseline was €11.2 million. This means we received about €6.2 million in that 2025 distribution of equalisation funding. While that is welcome within the confines of the local property tax system, the heart of the matter remains the fundamental unfairness of LPT as a tax in and of itself. People work, …

Tá áthas orm an deis a fháil inniu chun labhairt ar an mBille seo. Baineann an Bille seo leis an éigeandáil tithíochta atá ar siúl faoi láthair. I welcome this Bill. In particular, I welcome the call to fully restore and increase funding for vital homeless prevention schemes, especially the tenant in situ scheme and housing first. This issue has arisen at my constituency clinics. People are coming to me after experiencing the desperate disappointment of being told that the council or their landlord could not or wou…

Tá ceithre nóiméad agam.

Nach bhfuil níos mó ama ná sin agam?

Caretakers in our schools are committed, dedicated and very hard working people. Along with school secretaries, they are the engine of any school. My question relates to the delivery of a package for caretakers. I acknowledge that there is a commitment to deliver a package for caretakers similar to the one delivered for school secretaries in the near future but at this point, caretakers need clarity. They need definitive clarity. When will the package be delivered for caretakers?

Over-regulated, underdelivered and a catastrophic social disaster that is resulting in the untold misery of thousands of people who are trapped in a bleak housing nightmare. We are witnessing an epidemic of incompetence when it comes to housing. We are witnessing the third Government in a row that has shown no real, dynamic leadership on this issue. We have the third Government in a row that will not speak in an honest way about the impact that massive levels of unsustainable inward migration are having in terms of…

I welcome the motion and the opportunity to once again place a spotlight on the extraordinary levels of vacant housing. The motion is pragmatic and I will support it. When I think of housing vacancy rates, I think of a man dying of thirst while a giant pool of water remains within his reach. There is a stupidity and recklessness to this issue that is mind-boggling. In the middle of a great housing crisis, we are sitting on thousands of empty homes. It is ludicrous beyond words. I have raised the unacceptably high l…

I welcome the debate we are having on this very important matter. Clearly, there is a need to rectify the deficits in law with respect to insolvencies and the protections offered to employees. Indeed, that need is becoming increasingly urgent. We know from reporting on this matter by Credit Connect in January that business insolvencies in Ireland hit the highest level in six years, based on research conducted by PwC. That report also specifically highlighted the fact that insolvencies increased by 16%, although the…

A mother's unwavering love for her son, a family's courageous determination to overcome the obstacles, denials, bureaucratic indifference and outright hostility to own up to the wrong perpetrated on Shane has brought us to this day. The last email I received from Shane's mother, Lucia, was in July after I co-signed a Private Members' motion calling for action and justice for Shane. Lucia has always been a model of the fiercely protective love that Irish mothers are known for. She is a model to us all of the value o…

I begin my brief remarks by commending the parents and the disability advocates who are highlighting this issue. I also commend and applaud all of those therapists who are demoralised, forced to work in a system that is not fit for purpose and against a level of demand that is unprecedented. There seems to be very little point in standing up here yet again and repeating that the assessment of need system is broken. We all know that. We all know there are thousands of children and families whose entire lives are put…

-----delivery if we are to have any chance of-----

-----honouring the rights of children to timely assessments of need.

I am finishing a sentence.

Calm down, Chair. I am finishing a sentence.