Both the Minister and I are acutely aware of that. We have been anxious to ensure the distress many people felt is not replicated. That is why the review is taking place. There has been extensive engagement by our Department, and by the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, with the telecom companies. As part of that review alternative technologies are being examined and considered, because the Deputy is right. Any iteration of the scheme must take technological advances into account. Deputy Calleary and I are acutely aware.…

We must take learnings from every storm and apply them in the round to what we can do better. The Deputy is right that there was huge success. There is merit in her suggestion about community groups being involved because they are critical to connectivity. However, the Minister and I have been clear with the officials in our Department that there must be extensive engagement. Pobal staff are involved, as are the telecom operators and the technology consultants. It is also imperative that representatives of groups f…

I thank Deputy Smith for the question and for his leadership and advocacy. The Deputy is right. The projects, facilities and amenities in his area in particular are bringing huge, profound and important change. I thank the Deputy for being cochair of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. The PEACEPLUS programme, which runs until 2029, has a total value of €1.1 billion and funds projects across Northern Ireland and the Border counties of Ireland. PEACEPLUS is cofunded by the Irish Government, the European Commis…

I will make reference to the issue of the Cavan regional sports campus and give credit to Deputy Smith on that. This is about the reimagining of communities and investment in areas. It is a project that will bring, as the Deputy said, profound transformation to the area. It is a shared space. It represents a new type of modern Ireland and this facility, when it is developed, will be absolutely fantastic. What we are seeing here with PEACEPLUS is investment matched by human investment. It is all good for the people …

Steady, Tommy.

He is not capable of that.

Ar an gcéad dul síos, tá gach muinín agam agus ag an Rialtas as an Tánaiste. Is fear uasal, ceannaire láidir agus duine cothrom é. Go mór mór, is fear agus is duine é lán le trua. In every role that Simon Harris has played, he has demonstrated a number of attributes. He is personal, and he is committed to people and to working with people collectively. Everything he does is about making our society, our world and our communities a better place. Leadership is about responsibility. It is about facing up to mistakes. …

I thank Senator O'Reilly for raising this very important and sensitive matter. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy McEntee, who sends her apologies because she cannot be here. I assure the Senator that the Government is very conscious of the enormous trauma experienced by all survivors of abuse. She is right that these are vulnerable people. With regard to the group currently engaged in a protest outside Leinster House, the primary concern of the Minister and the Government has…

It is a very sensitive and difficult matter, as I outlined in my reply at the beginning. In June 2023, the Government approved a provision of a package of ongoing supports to survivors in the areas of health, education and advocacy, which built upon the already significant State response to the issue. It is considered that the package is a balanced and proportional approach which addresses a number of key issues raised by survivors. It is also broadly consistent with the approach taken in respect of other groups, i…

I thank the Senator for raising the matter of the N71. The Senator is right that it is very different from when it was first originated and built. The Senator has outlined very much the key issues of safety and congestion. The traffic volume has made many of those vibrant towns very congested. I concur completely with the Senator that the N71 from the Bandon Road roundabout back to Bantry is deserving of a response from the Government and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII. The Senator is right that the wait has…

I accept the Senator's disappointment. The N71 is a very important gateway to west Cork. I live at the beginning of it and have travelled it. There is huge merit in what the Senator is suggesting about a co-ordinated corridor. I will not read out the rest of the response to the Senator because it will probably aggravate him further and I do not want to do that. We all share, whether it is the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, or me, the need for continued road investment and allocation of funding for projects such as the N…

I thank the Senator for raising the matter and wish her luck in her lip sync at the weekend. The contribution she made is a powerful one because it is the lived experience of many parents. In many ways, the reply I give will be inadequate to the articulation she has given because she is right. There is a group of parents who are caring for their disabled adult child, and they are now reaching a point where they cannot do it anymore. It is a huge issue and one that we encounter. I speak as somebody who is involved w…

I again thank Senator Costello. She is right; it is about communication, but it is also about trust. It is about prioritising this very important issue she has raised because there is huge concern among that group of parents. It is a challenge. There is a significant waiting list for residential services. Demand is extremely high and exceeds what we are currently providing. The Government is working to address these challenges in order to provide people with disabilities with the services they require and their fam…

Sinn Féin is proposing 23 new taxes.

Sinn Féin proposed 23 new taxes.

I am sharing time with the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon. Is mian liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leo siúd a dhéanann ár bpobail a fheabhsú agus a chothú, agus a chuireann deiseanna ar fáil sna pobail sin. Tá €260 milliún sa bhuiséad forbartha comhphobail. Baineann forbairt comhphobail le duine nó gnó a chuireann athraithe i bhfeidhm ar son leas na ndaoine. I welcome the budget for the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Department of Transport. I particularly welcome the allocation for community …

As it is my first time here since the recess, I wish to pay tribute to Mr. Martin Groves and Ms Bridget Doody, who have left us. They are two fantastic public servants who have served this House and the Houses of the Oireachtas with distinction. I wish them every success in their next chapter. I thank them for their professionalism and dedication. I also wish the new Clerk of the Seanad every success. It is my pleasure to be here this afternoon to speak on the national social enterprise policy, Trading for Impact, …

I thank the Members for their very important contributions. I will work backwards from the final speaker. I look forward to visiting that project. If Senator Byrne wants to give me the details, I will happily engage with him on it. In the context of the debate, there is more that unites us than divides us. In terms of the Cavan model or the Cavan numbers, we have to engage further because we have not got that detail. A lot of funding was given to Cavan We will come back on that because it is important that we take …

Look at what SWIBN does as an example.

It is magnificent. I will happily visit with the Senator.