There are three Clare Senators here and I do not want to be unfair to the others. Certainly, that is the sort of project we should look at. I am more concerned about Senator Garvey's mother and how we get her across the gap in the platform.

It would take a lot to stop a Garvey making a jump.

Accessibility is everything. I was on the Dublin Transportation Office advisory committee for a number of years and the then director, Mr. John Henry, was a superb engineer. He and others always said if we design for accessibility, we improve the service for everyone. A disability can be a parent with a buggy and two children trying to figure out how to keep them from falling into a hole or whatever. To go back to where I started with Senator Dooley, it is right down to the personal. This is one of the reasons we n…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the Members of the House for facilitating the passage of this Bill. I thank the officials for their work in bringing the Bill through the House. For the House, the timing is unfortunate in terms of the European legislative date timeline and I appreciate the support of the House and of the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, in bringing it through the earlier Stages yesterday. We look forward to bringing it to the Seanad for conclusion tomorrow in time for the Preside…

It is indeed a critical and serious issue not only for Cork and Limerick but the whole region and country. We need international connectivity and our aviation sector so I thank the Deputies for raising the issue. Ryanair's decision to close its bases at Cork and Shannon airports for the winter is very disappointing. Unfortunately, the closure of these bases is part of a wider decision by Ryanair to cut capacity on its flights right across Europe. We should note today that Ryanair is also closing its Toulouse base f…

I ask for the latitude of the Ceann Comhairle because there are a significant-----

Deputies O'Rourke, McNamara, Carey and others asked about testing. It is an important part of the solution. It is what we need to do and I hope we get agreement in Cabinet next week. Agreement was reached on Tuesday in the European General Affairs Council on the European approach. As we discussed at the committee last week, it left it to national governments to decide what approach they would take. I will seek support from the Government for the introduction of a testing regime which will allow passengers coming in…

We have to be careful in terms of the nature of the supports. We do not want to introduce supports that would contravene European law or support various companies in the industry. They are the sort of mechanisms we are considering. That will need to be done in conjunction with a testing regime. I will be honest. The testing issue is critical because in the absence of that the passenger numbers would stay very low and any supports would be marginal as a result. We will seek to introduce a more holistic package next …

Apologies.

I thank the Deputy for this Topical Issue matter. The national broadband plan, NBP, contract was signed with National Broadband Ireland, NBI, in November last to roll out a high speed and future-proofed broadband network within the intervention area which covers 1.1 million people living and working in over 540,000 premises, including almost 100,000 businesses and farms, along with 695 schools. The NBP will ensure that citizens throughout the country have access to high-speed broadband and nobody is left without th…

I am only warming up.

If I may explain please, a Cheann Comhairle, my great grandfather walked-----

-----down from Knocknagree to meet my great grandmother in Newmarket and would have known Kiskeam well as he would have passed through it.

I am absolutely committed, as is the Government, to try to accelerate this programme to ensure it does deliver right across the country. If I can take Kiskeam as an example, my understanding is that one of the proposals there is that the post office may become the local connection point, where one could have a working hub for remote working in a social community-centred sort of way. As it happens, I met the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, coming in here this evening and one of the items in her budget that I was…

I am very pleased and proud to follow the Taoiseach and Tánaiste in setting out my thoughts on the budget. It is a collective effort and an example of parties in government working well together. There are differences and difficulties but we have knuckled down at this time because our job is to protect the Irish people and that overcomes any immediate political differences. This wish to protect the people is something that should and does unite us in government and I think it also unites this House. In this crisis,…

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address this issue. The short answer to the question is "Yes" in that every option regarding level crossings on the new DART+ line to Maynooth should be given due consideration. I will start by taking the opportunity to update the House generally on the progress of the DART+ programme. The programme for Government commits to a fundamental change to the nature of transport in the State. If we are serious about delivering the type of change we need, we will need big, transfor…

It is true, as the Deputy says, that in looking at any project, the preference is to be able to sit down with the engineer, to have the maps laid out and to be able to engage, which is the way public consultation is increasingly being done in this city and elsewhere. It is important to allow close contact and detailed debate. Unfortunately, that is not possible in the current environment. To be honest, I would be very wary about a lengthy delay with this project. It is vital that this service is developed. We do no…

I think that is a very good idea. I hope Irish Rail might consider it as part of its consultation process, which has to be done in very exceptional times.

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to address this issue. As most Members are aware, rail services on this line ceased in 2010 under an agreement made between the National Transport Authority and Iarnród Éireann. A number of improvements were made to bus services at the time to ensure continued public transport connectivity. Undoubtedly, some people are fearful that the decision to maintain the Barrow Bridge in the open position means a point of no return as to whether services might ever return again on this c…

I had a meeting with Iarnród Éireann last week and raised the specific issue of the future of Rosslare Port because it is owned by CIÉ and Irish Rail. I was raising it in the context of a wider review that Iarnród Éireann is commissioning on the future of rail freight in this country. I believe there is an opportunity for the expansion of rail freight. At present, only 2% of freight is carried by rail. That is a small fraction of what the average is across Europe. While some argue that the distances here are not lo…