I would love nothing more than to see the northside of Cork get a larger, fairer share, but it comes down to the council.

I agree with the Deputy. We need greater investment in Cork – southside as well as northside – in terms of improved footpaths and an improved environment to make it safe for our children to walk or cycle to their local football clubs, boxing clubs or whatever it may be. Historically, there has been an underinvestment, although that has not been the case under this Government. Something like €140 million over the past four years is not an insignificant amount. Last year, we spent €35 million in Cork city. Nothing li…

I hear from officials that Cork tends to be a bit slower and more expensive. We need to spend the money wisely, widely and well.

The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Work on these roads is funded from councils’ own resources and supplemented by State road grants. The Department emphasises to local authorities each year the importance of setting aside a contingency fund to manage events such as severe flooding. Following Storm Babet, the prompt restoration of the road network was essential from…

I went to Midleton the day after the storm. The floods were just receding. It was remarkable to see the work of the local authorities and various other State agencies managing the crippling impact on the town and surrounding areas, including Glanmire. We committed then, and I recommit here today, that whatever was needed to restore the roads and provide connectivity, safety and so on would be provided. Typically, though, it takes time to assess the damage and scale up the response. The initial response was a €350,0…

We will work closely with the council to ensure that we solve the problems.

It is a long way from Dundalk to Midleton. We are committed to providing the funding. We do not have a substantiated funding request as yet but as soon as we do, we will be able to fund Cork County Council. We do not fund in advance of the cost estimates and claims coming in but we will provide the funding that is necessary. It takes time but there are precedents here. The Deputy mentioned Donegal and there was a similar example in Wexford two years ago, with very significant losses of bridges and damage to local a…

The Road Safety Authority, RSA, and my Department have no plans to change the rules in relation to driver licensing for tractors. The current licence category, W, will continue to be the licence category that covers work vehicles and land tractors. Agricultural vehicles are any power-driven vehicles running on wheels or tracks, having at least two axles, the principal function of which lies in their tractive power, which are specially designed to pull, push, carry or operate certain tools, machines or trailers used…

I agree with the Deputy's latter comments on safety. To return to what we were discussing earlier, safety should be our first consideration in all of these issues. To clarify, part of the problem here was that the RSA made an adjustment to the text regarding W licences on its website last year which garnered attention in recent days. It was an attempt to clarify an interpretation around this licence category but it may have caused unintentional confusion. The RSA has removed the amended wording from its website. Th…

We will not know the final details of the directive until a new European Parliament is elected. My understanding from talking to officials in the Department is that we do not expect it within this mandate of the Commission; it will be the next one. It would be slightly premature for us to try to second guess what a new Parliament and a new trilogue process will deliver in the directive. In the interim, it is very important that we are clear that the existing arrangements stay the same. The current licence requireme…

Like Deputy Hourigan, I take the safety and security of transport workers and passengers very seriously. It is an unfortunate truth that public transport is not immune to instances of antisocial behaviour and those who work within our public transport network are among those most directly impacted. To address this, the NTA, An Garda Síochána and the operators work closely to promote order and safety on public transport services and to this end, each of the operators has introduced a number of measures in recent yea…

Like the Deputy, I visited Summerhill bus station recently and I agree on the progress being made in the provision of services. Similarly, I got the message that a shortage of mechanics, as well as drivers, is a real issue. We do have to resolve that, and we can and will. To go into the detail of some of the figures, so people have an understanding of this antisocial behaviour, I referred to 2,791 incidents. Dublin Bus transported 145 million passengers last year and there was something like 621 incidents of antiso…

I agree. To give background, the NTA did establish a working group on antisocial behaviour, which meets monthly. It works with the operators and looks at the trends among public transport operators to share best practice. I mentioned those various operators. My Department and key public transport stakeholders also presented to the Department of Justice's antisocial behaviour forum that took place in June last year. I agree with the Deputy. The SIPTU campaign was launched, I think, on 20 February. Its involvement an…

The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads is the statutory responsibility of each local authority in accordance with the provisions of section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. Works on those roads are funded from councils' own resources, which are supplemented by State grants for regional and local roads. As outlined in the 2024 regional and local roads programme, which I released on 13 February this year, the Government is strongly committed to protecting the existing regional and local road network. Th…

I agree with Deputy Smith on both contentions. I mentioned in an earlier response that climate change is hitting home now. We see the rain levels and the intensity of rainfall. It is not just the amount of rain but the bursts and we see the impact on the road network where we have flooding events and so on. That is an issue. Similarly, there has been an issue with very high cost inflation, particularly in the road maintenance and repair area. That is why we gave additional funding last year. I believe that what we …

Going into some details, additional projects have been progressed in Cavan and Monaghan this year. Eight schemes have been provided for under the climate change adaptation and resilience works programme. There have been 21 bridges dealt with under the bridge rehabilitation programme. There are 16 schemes under the safety improvement works programme. We provided an allocation in February. We will have to wait and see. Changing things in March would not be a good ordering of our affairs. If there are any incidents, i…

I thank Deputy Ward. I am aware that capacity pinch points are being experienced on certain bus routes across the public transport network, including on the C spine route from Lucan. I fully acknowledge that these issues can be incredibly frustrating for public transport users, in particular if they are left waiting at bus stops for prolonged periods due to full buses operating on the route. I assure the Deputy that this Government is firmly committed to improving public transport across the country, including thro…

As I said, we are looking at plans for it this year in response to what has been a phenomenal increase in demand. That is good news. It would be very frustrating if buses passed by people because they were full. We will respond to that. As the Deputy is aware, there are two elements to BusConnects. The first is the introduction of new routes and spines and the second is new corridors. We are now at the start of that phase. There are four projects, which include BusConnects corridors that have come out of the planni…

Funding is one of the constraints. Another is the fact that we need to expand the number of drivers and mechanics, as I said earlier. We have to make the public transport alternative work and that is why the Government is prioritising spending on public transport. It is not just about spending; it is also about political decisions. I was very glad that the city council is now proceeding with taking some 60% of the through traffic out of the city centre this summer. The Deputy is correct that on his bus corridor the…

I am glad, on behalf of the Green Party, to share our fond memories and send regards to all Charlie's family. I was thinking that a day like today is when Charlie Bird would be at his best. He was the most dogged, intrepid reporter. If he did not have the story first, he would want to ask the right question next. He was an incredible, determined and brilliant journalist and he will be remembered fondly by the Irish people for the work he did, but also for his honesty. I remember watching a programme following him i…