Very briefly, our Department has a key role in supporting the EPA and in funding its ambient air quality monitoring programme. I hear what the Deputy is saying about the north side of Cork not getting the requisite number compared to the south side, and I accept this is a critical issue. On the Deputy's behalf, I will look at what can be done to try to enhance monitoring. Given what we discussed earlier about enforcement, the local authorities are the key area where we have to up our game, so that local authorities…

First things first, since the very start of this crisis on 7 October and the response from the Israeli Government and military, the Irish Government has been absolutely clear and adamant and was first up in the European context in calling for a ceasefire and an end to hostilities. The wording of the motion could not be clearer that our absolute and overwhelming priority must be to advocate for an immediate stop to the death and destruction in Gaza and to take relevant actions to that end. We have been consistent on…

I regret that we could not get the wording to Deputy Bacik sooner but we had to get it through Government. In the absence of agreement by Government, it was very hard to share it. It is very important we do get agreement. Part of the reason the people want the Government to take a strong line on this is that historically, as a State, we have stood up for the UN Declaration of Human Rights, but that is not exclusive. It also applies to Hamas and to what happened on 7 October. We cannot ignore the death, loss of life…

The question Deputy Harkin put is a good one. How do we explain to the citizen faced with the ballot? It is the citizens' choice. What is the reason for voting "Yes"? In both cases, in my mind I argue that it is to support and value the family, every family. The broadening of the definition we will introduce in Article 39 is vital because a lot of families are excluded from the current provisions. I disagree with the Leas-Cheann Comhairle about retaining the existing words. I understand her arguments around economi…

I take that back. I believe it needs to be changed. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle outlined the history. In 2018 I remember the Dáil at the time said at the last minute that we would just delete the article. Several political parties advocated for that. We fundamentally disagreed and said that if we delete and do not replace, then we will not recognise the caring work that goes on in families across the country. That would not be acceptable. There is diversity in caring work. It is about how we raise our children and fa…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. While safety and security on public transport are a top priority, antisocial behaviour is a wider societal issue impacting many sectors of society, as the events of last week showed. In response to the Deputy's specific question, I will begin by clarifying that neither Dublin Bus nor Go-Ahead Ireland employs private security personnel. However, Irish Rail, Bus Éireann and Luas do employ such services and the cost was slightly more than €52 million since 2018. In …

My understanding of debates in recent weeks was that the suggestion being made was that there should be a separate policing force completely outside An Garda Síochána. My view, and that of the Department, is that An Garda Síochána is the appropriate body. Whether there is a specific unit in An Garda Síochána is a matter for its operations. There has been a significant development in the past year with the establishment of the Garda hub in the national train control centre in Heuston Station, which provides An Garda…

There may be greater flexibility when An Garda Síochána can call on a range of resources to assist in incidents, the likes of which happened last week. I am not convinced that a completely separate public transport police service would necessarily provide greater cover. We need the flexibility to put in a variety of Garda resources. While Garda numbers are key, the use of cameras, especially on buses, also provides a strong deterrent. We all know antisocial behaviour on buses happens and drivers have had real diffi…

I thank the Deputy for his question, as it raises several important points, including the issue of road safety. I think the Deputy will acknowledge that the focus of the Government needs to be on delivering the national development plan as announced in 2021 and in line with the prioritisation outlined in the approved NDP. In that regard, I have no doubt he will welcome the recent opening of the N22 Macroom to Ballyvourney scheme, which provides improved connectivity along the Cork-Kerry economic corridor. This huge…

I know the road like the back of my hand. I have been on it over the years, time in, time out. I absolutely understand the desire to see it upgraded and improved but we have to be upfront and honest with people. The prospects of getting funding for a completely new road are very slim and it is not in the existing NDP, unless that has changed. That does not mean we should not look at the safety issue, which is a real issue. I am aware it is a road that tends to see quite high speeds and it has quite a wide carriagew…

No death is acceptable-----

Every Deputy would agree with that contention. The Deputy says he is always disappointed when it comes to road projects. He should recall that we have just opened the Macroom bypass, which is not a small project-----

I am sure the Deputy is aware-----

I am sure the Deputy will be there during the second quarter of next year when we open the Listowel bypass.

I am sure he welcomed and celebrated last week when we announced that we would be building the Adare bypass ahead of when it was originally planned and possible, so it is not as if nothing is happening. I would love to address every single one of those concerns, particularly in respect of this road because it is very well known to me but I have to be honest and upfront. Even if there is a review of the NDP, what it will show is that we have €100 billion worth of projects in development, all of which are good projec…

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The NTA is leading the development and roll-out of strategic park-and-ride sites nationwide through the park-and-ride development office. The NTA established the park-and-ride development office in February 2020, which had been included as an action in the climate action plan 2019. The function of the park-and-ride development office is to enable the delivery of park-and-ride sites by the NTA in collabor…

I agree with the Deputy. We do need to clarify that and to start focusing on the sustainable transport solutions for Galway. I take the Deputy's point about the west side. One of the five sites being considered is on the Barna corridor on the R336 close to the Cappagh Road and western distributory road junction. Another two are further advanced and include the one at the Oranmore junction - junction 19 - and the one just north of Claregalway. They are quite large. The one at junction 19 has 550 spaces, the one nort…

I mentioned the planning issues not as an excuse for Government delay but to give the reality for the Deputy's constituents. While some of these sites are pretty much ready to go, the reality is that it will take a period to go through the planning system. I have a certain frustration as Minister for Transport about critical projects such as the cross-city bus service in Galway, which went into planning over a year ago. Our planning process needs to be quicker. I am supportive of what the Minister for Housing, Loca…

I spent my working life going from Cork to Kerry and around Killarney before coming into this House. I have a particular interest in and understanding of it. I thank the Deputy for his question, as it raises a number of important points, including the issue of road safety. Since 2020 this Government has invested approximately €237 million in the road network in Kerry to ensure the protection and renewal of the existing network across the county and to deliver major new projects, such as the Listowel bypass that I m…

I reiterate that public safety is the number one priority. When I was bringing people into and around Kerry, they were vulnerable road users. Road safety has to come first. I will go back to the earlier discussion, if I can. We have over €100 billion of projects and we have a €35 billion budget. I will put it to the Deputy this way: it is not that one project is always compared against another but that there are a number of different projects in the NDP for progression and there will have to be certain prioritisati…