The Deputy is protesting too much now.

And Australia.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Scahill as ucht an rúin seo a chur roimh an Teach. It is a very important issue and I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien. The programme for Government is committed to the rolling out of contactless fare payments on all public transport and to keeping fares low and affordable. It is important to stress that contactless fare payments, or next generation ticketing, will be introduced initially as part of BusConnects Dublin before being delive…

If I may digress for a second, I encourage the Senator to go over in a minute to the NTA briefing because it is not the first time he has raised this matter. He has been a very strong proponent of this. The next generation ticketing was initially introduced as part of Dublin BusConnects and then going nationwide. I am not being defensive here but it is important to get it right. There needs to be careful planning, approvals and co-ordination with multiple different external organisations in terms of design and inst…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an Saincheist Tráthúil a chur os comhair an Tí maidir le cursaí oideachais i gContae Mhaigh Eo. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter of schools and the various stages they are at in the Department of education in County Mayo. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for education. She apologises for not being able to be here. The Deputy highlighted a number of schools. I have made a list of them that I will refer back to the Department for the Deputy. She is right. Schools…

As a former teacher and somebody who has been involved with schools both as a teacher, in terms of the construction of a new school in Ballincollig where I was teaching, and as a public representative, the Deputy is right. It is critical that clarity is provided and that we give certainty. As the Deputy said, that clear communication is very much required. The Department of Education and Youth and the Minister, Deputy Naughton, will continue to work with schools and patrons with regard to the schools building progr…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta McGrath as ucht an rúin a chur roimh an Teach. I have prepared remarks but in many ways they have been made redundant by what he outlined, because is right. Both of us agree. We have listened to the views of the Cork Development Forum, Cork Business Association and Cork Chamber of Commerce. We were both at the Future Cork event last Friday, where an Taoiseach spoke on the panel about the significant transport projects in Cork. The Government has committed to delivery of the Cork met…

I assure Deputy McGrath that I, as Minister of State at the Department of Transport, working with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, want to see the projects that we speak about delivered. Delivery is critical. These projects cannot be managed remotely. There has to be a beefed-up office in Cork delivering in the city. Accountability, engagement and empowerment, which the Deputy spoke about, are needed. It is important that we deliver because that is what we will be judged on. T…

We have seen an incredible loss of life this week and in the past number of years on our roads and our thoughts this morning are with the people who have died and were injured and the families. Everything we say is couched in that tragedy and loss of life, and I thank Deputy Whitmore for her very important question. The Government has, as the Deputy will be aware, prioritised phase 2 of Vision Zero. The Government's current road safety strategy has the target of halving deaths and serious injuries on our roads this…

I am conscious that today there are families bereaved and people injured. Everything we do, from a Department point of view, we will do to ensure that our roads are safer.

The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, who is responsible for road safety, sends his apologies that he cannot be here today. He has engaged, as have I and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on a variety of areas. The RSA has initiated a number of significant national public awareness campaigns on speed, drug driving, road safety for e-scooter users and motorcyclists, and road behaviour. I share the Deputy's concerns, but if I can make a generic point, we must look at this in the round and have an honest conversation abou…

Enforcement is very important. However, we cannot have a garda on every street corner and junction, as the Deputy will accept. We are using technology and speed vans and increasing the use of average speed zones. The Department has invested in the safe routes to school programme and we have seen an increase in the number of gardaí on the roads engaged in enforcement. Just yesterday morning, when I was driving in here at 7.45 a.m., I saw a Garda Síochána checkpoint on Mount Street, which is very welcome. I take the …

I thank Deputy Cooney for raising the matter with me this morning. It is a very important question. Like the Deputy, and Deputy Whitmore who asked a question earlier, we are very much concerned with the loss of life on our roads. Everything we do is about reducing fatalities and accidents on roads. As the Deputy is aware, 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…

I again thank Deputy Cooney again for raising this very important matter. As he knows, last week the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, announced a road funding programme to the tune of €780 million for regional and local roads across the State. While there is no dedicated programme for local authorities regarding the use and implementation of road studs, each local authority has a discretionary grant in its annual allocation. The total for this year is €86.2 million. Councils have that discretionary spend which can be used…

I concur with the overarching thrust of what Deputy Cooney said. Our current road safety strategy is very much about what he said - reducing speed and improving road conditions. I reiterate the point that local authorities have that discretionary spend and have the option to spend on what the Deputy has said. The points he makes about road studs and cat's eyes are very valid. Local authorities should utilise the carrying out of maintenance renewal works in terms of pavement improvement schemes and road studs where …

I welcome the Deputy's son to the Public Gallery. Is his name Liam?

Liam, you are very welcome to the Gallery. Perhaps he will follow in the footsteps of his dad, his uncle and his cousin. Hopefully some day he might be here. I thank the Deputy for his question. As the body responsible for public transport planning, the NTA, along with public transport operators, conducts regular surveys of public transport capacity. To assist with the prioritisation of the deployment of additional bus capacity in the greater Dublin area, the NTA has recently developed a new business intelligence t…

I thank the Deputy. He is right that the capturing of information is important. He spoke about the exponential growth in the Maynooth, Lexlip and Kilcock areas. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, spoke about the Fingal piece. The NTA is acutely aware of, and acknowledges, that the capacity issue is a challenge at times. The NTA continues to make efforts to incorporate and learn from the feedback we have spoken about this morning. It is important to recognise that, subject to planning, the recently announced BusConnects …

I am familiar with the situation relating to the M7. Deputy McGuinness is right that it has become heavily congested and is an absolute nightmare for motorists. We need a further conversation on what we can do there. I will happily meet the Deputy on Sunday in Nowlan Park to discuss the important issue he raised regarding Kilkenny city.

I could not get the Deputy's number, but I will happily meet with him to discuss it. Regarding Kilkenny railway station, that is under the remit of the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, but I will get back to the Deputy on it. I certainly will work with him on the roads issue because it is very important. Deputy Neville is right about the M4 bus corridor. It has been built and should be used. The Minister has asked his officials in the Department to expedite the relevant legislation and he hopes to have it done by …