I am a Minister of State now.

I thank the Minister. It is critical to the development of offshore wind energy and to ensuring that we can reach our 2030 climate action plan targets. Without them, we are unable to proceed further with developing the east and south-east coast projects needed to decarbonise Ireland's energy supply. The reason I want to speak to the Minister about this is that on Monday I was in Carlow where I was delighted to attend the launch by the South East Technological University, SETU, of the first strategic plan. The estab…

People are living longer, which is welcome, so we need to look at the mandatory retirement age. This is just one example of many. I am dealing with a person on a community employment, CE, scheme in Carlow. She is an excellent supervisor whose employment will end in September because she will have reached the age of 66 and must leave. She has been in the employment for 15 years and has vast experience in this position. The good news is that new legislation is coming into law in 2024, but in the meantime, can people …

Can a person choose?

We have committed to reducing class sizes in schools on the basis of having one teacher for every 23 students, which I think is historic. I welcome this ratio. Yet, there is a school in rural Carlow that has two new students and this pushes it over the ratio limit. The Department has said it is not entitled to keep and retain their teacher from last year. It is my understanding that the primary staffing appeals board goes on 2022 figures. The school is telling me that even though the Department knows it has the num…

I thank the Minister. I agree with the previous speaker, as did the Minister. The results of the CSO survey are shocking but I think we all know that there are more under-reported numbers and that the numbers we have had up to now definitely did not reflect the true extent of the problem. This report really highlights the importance of having a whole-of-government, zero tolerance approach to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence as set out in the ambitious third national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender…

On the same question, as previous speakers said, school transport is of the utmost importance. I have had several calls from older Carlow people who have told me they are not allowed to drive a school bus because they have turned 70. Bus Éireann operates the school bus transport scheme. There were massive issues which will be repeated this year if we do not have enough drivers. The Department told me the age limit has been examined and that there are no plans to extend it. I feel this is unfair. I know many drivers…

I ask the Minister of State to provide an update on the south-east regional enterprise plan.

I thank the Minister of State for that answer. In March of last year, the south-east regional enterprise plan, covering counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford, was launched. It is one of nine new enterprise plans throughout the country that will be funded, I understand, by up to €180 million. This funding is to drive the implementation of plans that will develop and implement collaborative and innovation enterprise projects in the regions and support sustainable jobs. I have written to IDA Ireland request…

It is vital that we build a balanced regional recovery, one that is focused on future enterprise development and sustainable job creation for a long time. We have to be practical here. In the south east, there are Waterford, Kilkenny and Carlow. Ours is the smallest county. While we are now a university county and town - it is great to have that and it is such an achievement and delivery from the Government - I always feel that because we are the smallest county in the region, Carlow is forgotten. Great work is bei…

That is right.

I am delighted to be getting back in again. I would like to ask the Minister about action taken by IDA Ireland to bring new businesses to Carlow and if he can make a statement on the matter.

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome this and we have spoken previously about it. I welcome regional development but since Carlow is the smallest county in the south east, I always feel we have a lot more to do. I find it is a challenge for us. I thank the Minister of State for his commitment to meeting IDA Ireland with me and perhaps meeting Carlow County Council. Carlow has so much to offer. We are close to Dublin. Our road infrastructure is excellent. I could mention MSD and Unum. Glenveagh is opening a new …

I thank the Minister of State. I drive by the building every day. I can only say it is excellent. The quality of the workmanship is beautiful. I am raising the issue because I want to make sure we fill the building, get clients for it and are in a position in Carlow whereby I can say to people in the coming months that the building is there with clients in it. It is an excellent building but unless we have people in it, as the Minister of State knows, it will defeat the purpose. I welcome the work that has been don…

Like previous speakers, I deal with housing queries on a daily basis. Lately, there seems to be a huge issue with communication between the Department and local authorities. On issues like this, we must ensure that we are all on the same wavelength. I recently encountered a lady who had to go into emergency accommodation because the ban on evictions was lifted. Her child is autistic and has to be picked up from a homeless shelter and brought to school on a bus. There is not enough leniency for me to be able to figh…

I welcome Oli, who came from the United States to do some work experience with me, and her parents to the Public Gallery. I welcome her back to Ireland. It is great to have them here. It is brilliant that so many young adults in Ireland have a degree. The statistics show we are significantly above the OECD average. Many Irish people, however, are falling behind because they do not have the right skills to thrive in their current employment and are unprepared for the changes in the world of work. We have seen massiv…

Every day I come here, I leave Carlow town and I pass slip roads to the motorway. These are chock-a-block with vans and cars that are left for the day while their owners carpool to go to work. I recently heard that the other day they had been fined for parking there. This was not done by Carlow local authority but our neighbouring one. We have no park-and-ride facilities in Carlow. These workers who get up early are being environmentally friendly in their decision to carpool. The more people who are encouraged to c…

I thank the Minister of State. Ireland’s 50th anniversary in the EU is a major milestone in its history. It is an honour for me to mark a successful 50 years of membership of the EU by celebrating Europe Day 2033. I was delighted to participate in the celebrations in Carlow this morning. We had a really big event. I thank Carlow County Development Partnership, including Ms Annette Fox, for working with all the various agencies and communities that were present. There was food, song and dance. It was an absolute pri…

We have all learned from the past, which is why the Bill seeks to regulate and license construction, quarrying and related activities through a single designated body. As we ramp up our efforts to tackle the housing crisis, we need to ensure that health and safety and correct regulations are strengthened. Houses that were let down by faulty building supplies should be able to be remedied regardless of where they are located. I would like this suggestion to be considered. I know of cases in my area that are outside …

My question is about the extra €200 that was to be paid to long-term social welfare recipients, including those on carer's allowance, disability allowance, the working family payment and pensions. I welcomed this, but in my office last Friday I received many phone calls from people who thought they were going to get the additional payment to deal with the cost of living but who did not receive it. I understood that everyone who got the Christmas bonus was to get this payment but many who got the Christmas bonus did…