Members might not be aware but today is a very sad but exciting for all of us in the Oireachtas. A great colleague and friend of ours, Aisling Hart, the private secretary to the Cathaoirleach’s office, is retiring. On my own behalf as a former Cathaoirleach and a Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas for 18 years, I thank Aisling most sincerely for the warmth of her personality, sincerity, care, kindness and professionalism, but above all, for being herself. She is one of the most genuine, nice and honest people I…

I thank Deputy Wall for the question and congratulate him on his election. I look forward to working with him again as we did in Seanad Éireann. He has always been a champion of transport and the Kildare-Dublin axis, and I look forward to working with him in that regard. Our Rural Future, Ireland's national rural development policy, was launched in 2021 following an extensive period of consultation that ensured the policy prioritised responses to the needs identified by stakeholders and the public. Prominent among …

I will come back to the Deputy on the Indecon report. I do not have that information to hand. He is right about the M7 and the N40 in Cork. There is a need for all stakeholders to engage properly to see how we can make that a better thoroughfare for motorists and all road users. As the Deputy said, supporting rural Ireland is a priority for Government. Over the last number of years, we have seen 30 projects in the rural development fund for 2024, with €164 million. There was €20 million for 82 town and village rene…

I will respond to Deputy Wall first. As he know, Connecting Ireland's rural mobility plan has been a huge success, with 145 new or enhanced services since it began. A total of 240 towns and villages have been connected with, for example, 61 connections to healthcare facilities, 41 higher education facilities and 71 rail services. A total of 600,000 people have access to new and enhanced bus services. In Deputy Wall's county, Kildare, with his constituency being Kildare South, we have seen increased Local Link servi…

I thank Deputy Ward for his question. As members are aware, the LIS is an important support for rural communities in improving non-public rural roads and laneways not usually maintained by local authorities. Since its establishment in 2017, almost €170 million has been provided by the Government to local authorities under the scheme. In April of last year, some €40 million in funding was announced for LIS across all local authorities to cover 2024 and 2025. Department officials have recently opened the 2025 LIS and…

I agree with the Deputy that it is important we ensure people have accessibility and it is about giving them comfort. Donegal has been very good at spending the money allocated to it and has been very successful, with 224 roads completed. It is about ensuring there is flexibility in certain areas where there are pressure points. I will engage with the Deputy and the Minister, Deputy Calleary, in terms of Donegal County Council looking at the points where there are issues that need to be addressed as a matter of urg…

As the Deputy is aware, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I are very committed to this scheme. It is a very important one and at the heart of what we do about rural Ireland. It is about connectivity and it goes back to the question raised by Deputy Wall. It goes back to Deputy Ward's point about people who live way off the road and are trying to-----

-----end social isolation and enhance connectivity. There are different factors when it comes to roads, such as geography, the condition of roads and the amount of road area to be covered. I will communicate the Deputy's point to Donegal County Council. It is a vast and beautiful county. To be fair, the road network has been improved. There may be some areas that need to be enhanced. We have seen a year-on-year increase in the allocation of funding to Donegal. The Department will engage further. It is a matter for …

I congratulate Deputy Clendennen on his election. The local enhancement programme is targeted towards enhancing facilities in disadvantaged communities identified in local economic and community plans. The programme seeks to provide small grants to a wide and diverse range of local community groups, to assist with the purchase of equipment and improvements or repairs to their facilities. Deputy Clendennen, as a former chair of the LCDC in his county, and being centrally leading in the administration of the LEP in O…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an mhéid a dúirt sé mar gheall ar an Roinn. My Department provides guidance to the local community development committees on the eligibility criteria. The guidelines require projects to be in keeping with the ethos of the programme. The Government is very much aware of the challenges facing community and voluntary groups and we are very much committed to supporting them. Both the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I will work with community development committees to ensure that …

Pobal has, as the Deputy knows, independently assessed the community centre investment fund. Information will be given back to the community centres in question and I will talk to the Deputy further after that. As regards Deputy Clendennen's point, the idea of the portal is a good idea. He is right that people move on and there is a lacuna then and a burden of administration placed on the voluntary effort. I will talk to Deputy Clendennen with the Minister, Deputy Calleary, about the suggestion of the online portal…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. Is onóir dom a bheith i bhur láthair do na ráitis anocht. I thank the Acting Chairperson for allowing me the opportunity to address the issue of road safety matters. As Members know full well, travel is an essential component of social and economic life. It needs to be available, accessible, sustainable and, above all, safe. The Government is committed to reducing road deaths and creating safer roads for everyone in Ireland. I am sad to report that as of this morni…

I thank the 17 Members who contributed to this important discussion on road safety. I thank them for contributing in a non-partisan, non-adversarial manner. We are all committed to road safety and bringing about improvements because, as we all realise, road safety affects everybody. The statistics are about people. Tonight, as we gather here in this Chamber, it is disturbing and shocking that families across our State are grieving over the unnecessary loss of the lives of loved ones and people we know in our commun…

I thank Senator Kennelly for raising the matter with me. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I know the road in question is of particular importance to the Senator. Road safety is a priority for us as a Government. The Minister for Transport is responsible for the overall policy and Exchequer funding for the national roads programme. TII delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and the national development plan, NDP. The Senator men…

I thank the Senator. I know this road and roundabout is of particular importance to him. The name Tim Kennelly, for us in Cork, is a huge reason why we should be supporting this. I take the Senator's concerns and share his view on the lack of progress. I commit to working with the Senator, the Department and Kerry County Council in a manner that will achieve the key outcomes he desires. The Government is committed in the programme for Government to enhancing connectivity in both urban and rural areas through invest…

I will take this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minster of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, who apologises that he cannot be here. I thank the Senator for being a champion and advocate of housing policy and for being one of the key drivers in revitalisation of many vacant properties. To be fair to the Senator, she has been ahead of the curve in many ways. I commend her on that, during our time together in this House and now in different roles. Addressing the vacancy and dereliction issue and bringing existing proper…

I thank the Senator. I will commit to taking her views back to the Department. The Senator is right about the whole concept of liveable homes. I thank her again for her contribution. I reassure the Senator that the Government is committed to addressing the issue of vacancy. The vacant property refurbishment grant has been successful. An above-shop top-up grant is being developed and other changes are being considered to improve the effectiveness of the scheme. We will continue to support bringing as many existing p…

I congratulate the Senator on his election to Seanad Éireann and wish him well. I thank him for raising this important matter relating to active travel funding for small rural towns and villages. He is correct; the issue of ring-fencing money for rural villages is an important one and I will bring this back to the Department. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. The Government is committed to the funding of active travel and to achieving a modal shift in transport and increasing the numb…

The Department of Transport has responsibility for overall funding and policy decisions in regard to active travel. Funding is administered through the NTA, which, in partnership with the local authorities, has responsibility for the selection and development of specific projects in each local authority area. I hope that consideration will be taken of the experience of people like the Senator, who is an active resident, citizen and public representative in respect of the benefits we can see from the investment in t…

Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach as ucht an post nua a fháil. Tá brón ar an Aire, an Teachta Calleary, nach bhfuil sé anseo. Tá sé in easnamh. Mar Aire Stáit sa Roinn Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail, fáiltím roimh an deis labhairt leis an Seanad le linn Sheachtain na Gaeilge faoi chúrsaí Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta. Is pribhléid é dúinne sa tír seo go bhfuil ár dteanga dhúchais againn. Is iad ár dteanga, ár dtraidisiúin agus ár gcultúr atá ag croílár an phobail anseo in Éirinn pé áit ar fud an oileá…