I understand the Deputy’s frustration. He is right to be frustrated because it is important that we have connectivity. I am informed that the enhancement of route 132 is planned under Connecting Ireland. Operational decisions regarding service delivery are the responsibility of the NTA in collaboration with transport operators, subject to funding and resource availability. I will happily sit down with the Deputy and talk to him again about this because it is important that we enhance connectivity, do not discommode…

There is no excuse for people missing buses or buses leaving before the scheduled time. It goes back to Deputy Currie’s point about real-time information. The important point is that we have an increase in demand. There is a real commitment by the Government to ensure that the services we operate, particularly in the areas the Deputy mentioned, meet the need. Again, as I said to the Deputy, I will engage with the Deputy, the NTA and Local Link to ensure that we see services and accessibility as part of what he spok…

I thank Deputy O'Connell for taking this question. I thank her for the question. Like her, I am eager to see best practice being implemented across our public transport sector, including passenger technology. As we heard from Deputy O’Connell and from Deputy Currie earlier, it is a very important matter. Public transport apps are not simply about having a technological solution for the sake of it. Rather, they are about having information available to people so that they can make the best use of our public transpor…

The Deputy makes a very good point in the context of that one platform. The NTA has responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure, including the development of the related technological systems. As I said earlier, the NTA has awarded a contract to implement and support a national automatic vehicle location system for all public service obligation buses to Trapeze, which is a specialist transport systems company. It is envisaged the work being done will enable the NTA to consolid…

The point that Deputy O'Connell has made in terms of the users' perspective is one we must listen to and recognise. The Members tonight have expressed frustration in terms of ghost buses, lack of real-time information, no buses turning up at all and being late or leaving early. It is an issue we need to have further engagement on by the NTA, with Trapeze and the Department, in the context of how we can make it easy for the travelling public to have an application that functions and that enhances rather than acting …

I thank Deputy Burke for his question and his ongoing advocacy on behalf of the people of Mallow. He has been very proactive on the matter. As the Deputy will know, approximately €502 million of Exchequer capital funds has been provided for national roads through TII to local authorities this year. Included in this is an allocation of €700,000 for the Mallow relief road, which is progressing towards the completion of a preliminary business case and planning application. This scheme consists of a northern bypass of …

I share Deputy Burke's view that we expedite this as fast as we can. He is right; it is an important infrastructure piece. I have not got the answer regarding the Gas Networks Ireland interface. I will certainly ask the NTA to communicate with the Deputy because he is right. The relief road project will provide an enormous benefit to the town of Mallow. The Deputy has, with Councillor Liam Madden, been very strong in his advocacy. Businesses in the area have been equally as vociferous in pressing for the bypass to …

The Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, like Deputy Burke and I, will be familiar with and recognise the importance of the N20 project. It is critical and it is lacking. It is the deficit in the infrastructure connecting the western corridor. People rightly complain from many perspectives but, from an economic perspective, it is absolutely imperative that we advance the motorway and that Cork-Limerick road. Equally, I concur with the Deputy in the context of the importance of infrastructure being improved in the Mallow area. …

I will certainly do that.

Longest.

I thank Senator Ryan for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O’Brien. I clarify at the start that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in public transport but neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public transport passenger services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority. The NTA works …

I will take up the remarks made by the Senator. I think she will agree with me that the Government has invested €940 million in the PSO and Local Link services for next year and that demonstrates the commitment of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I, along with the Department of Transport, to a sustainable, equitable and accessible public transport network for all, irrespective of where people are from. The Government and the Department of Transport are fully committed to inves…

With the Acting Chairperson's permission, as there is a vote in the Dáil, I will give the Senator an abbreviated answer. She makes a good point. There is merit in what she is proposing about an extension. She will get a copy of the prepared reply as well. Since 2019, over €1.5 billion has been provided to homeowners for 228,350 home energy upgrades. As the Senator knows, the retrofit programme is a community-led home retrofit project funded by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on whose behalf I am taking this matter. I…

What a small-minded-----

Ar an gcéad dul síos, tá céad míle fáilte roimh Kara Owen agus déanaim comhghairdeas le Paul Johnston. I thank Sinn Féin for putting the motion before us. It is my pleasure to deliver the closing remarks on behalf of an Rialtas. I echo the comments of my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, at the outset of the debate, namely, that all of us in government share as a founding principle the commitment to the unification of this island. We all need to work together. Tá gach ball den Rialtas ar aon intinn…

I join Deputy Gogarty in condemning the actions tonight of those who engaged in thuggery. We are, and should be, as Deputy Gogarty rightly said, thinking about the young girl who was attacked. We send our best wishes to her. We also think of the member of An Garda Síochána who was attacked tonight in the line of duty. All of us who are balanced and fair people recognise there is no place in society for what happened tonight. I am conscious Deputy Gogarty has raised legitimate questions about the concerns of residen…

The Deputy is right to raise the issue of residents in the area. There is fear, property has been damaged and public transport stopped. People have been discommoded and unable to get to and from work and home tonight. It is important that we send a strong message not just to those who have rioted but to the people who are affected and living in fear. I have a huge amount of sympathy with the Deputy in regard to this Topical Issue. As a former director of education and teacher, what he is saying about community faci…

I thank Deputy Daly for raising this very important matter. As somebody who was involved with the Cope Foundation in Cork, now Horizons, I recognise the huge work being done in special education and for those with disabilities in Kerry. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth. The Government is committed to the provision of additional special places for children with additional needs. The Deputy is right that there is huge frustration and stress being felt by parents, and that shou…

I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I acknowledge the concerns he has articulated on behalf of the children and parents concerned. I want to make it clear that the Government, the Department, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, working with the NCSE, have committed to ensuring all children can access an education suitable to their needs. AIM is about ensuring accession and inclusion and it is disturbing to hear the Deputy's remarks regarding the testimony …

I thank the Deputy for her question and her ongoing advocacy, particularly post Storm Éowyn. The Department is responsible for the seniors alert scheme, which encourages community support for older people through the provision of personal monitored alarms to enable them to live securely in their homes with confidence, independence and peace of mind. Funding is available under the scheme for the purchase by a registered community based-organisation of a personal alarm or pendant. While the provision of the monitored…