Okay.

I thank the Deputy for the question. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I have developed a range of funding schemes and interventions which advance the development of communities across the country. While many of the Department's schemes are focused on rural areas, others traverse both rural and urban communities. These include the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, the community services programme, the community centre investment fund, the community recognition fund and the local enhanceme…

I appreciate that Dundrum, in some cases, is not eligible for funding under some of the criteria for schemes. The Minister and I have had conversations with many Deputies in the House, especially those from west Dublin, parts of Cork South-Central and parts of the Deputy’s own constituency. We are very much committed to community development and regeneration. The Deputy will have heard the Minister, Deputy Calleary, speaking a moment ago on the regeneration of urban village centres in reply to another question. It …

In a previous reply, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, mentioned the new building and community investment funding. It is important to make the point that it is a cross-governmental approach working with the local authority. In terms of civic and community culture and civic hubs, the Minister and I want all local communities to develop. We are ambitious that people can live and flourish in some cases where they are from and are able to regenerate that area. We have allocated significant funding to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdo…

Tá na Teachtaí an-ghnóthach.

I thank the Senators for raising this important matter. I am not going to reveal the budgetary process because we have not yet got to that point. The point made by Senator Cosgrove in the context of spending on military alliances and defence has happened across Europe. It is something to which we cannot close our eyes, in particular on the eastern flank. As the Taoiseach said in the Dáil yesterday, we are a peripheral nation that is a bit removed from what is happening with Russia. Having said that, I will also say…

I thank both Members for raising the matter. All of us in the House share an ambition regarding SICAP and LEADER. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I are committed to ensuring that we have a well-funded CAP that does not just support farm resilience and environmental ambition but also strongly invests in rural Ireland. I am acutely aware of the challenges that remain and are faced across many parts of our country. Senator Cosgrove mentioned the north west. In the programme for Government, we have a firm commitment…

I thank Senator Nelson Murray for raising the matter this morning. At the beginning it is important to thank the staff in the Passport Office both in Dublin and Cork for their courtesy, professionalism and patience. I also thank the staff in the Minister, Deputy McEntee's, office. As the Senator rightly said, the most frustrating part of the summer season is the demand for passports as many of our fellow citizens prepare to travel. It can happen that people suddenly discover the passport is out of date or not in or…

As the Senator rightly said, passports are an important issue for not just Members of the Oireachtas but for citizens as well. As we are in the summer holiday period, it is important to reiterate the message about applying for the passport in time. As I said, as part of the passport reform programme, an opt-in passport reminder will be introduced next year. This will allow all citizens renewing or applying for a passport to opt in to receive electronic passport expiry reminders. I encourage anybody listening or wat…

I thank Deputy Quinlivan for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I commend the Deputy on raising the matter because it gives us the opportunity to provide an update on BusConnects in Limerick. I will take this opportunity to highlight some sustainable mobility developments in Limerick more generally. I will bring the comments the Deputy made regarding the gaps and deficits, as he sees them, in the service back to the Minister and the Department. The Limerick-Shannon metro…

The Deputy is correct. Bus services need to be safe, reliable and accessible. I will take the points he made about the areas he mentioned back to the Minister. The Deputy referred to active travel. There needs to be collaboration between the NTA and the city and county council with regard to the issue to which he referred, particularly in the context of safety. If we are doing active travel, it makes no sense for it not to be safe for road users, pedestrians and, in particular, bus users. I take the Deputy’s point …

I am pleased to introduce the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026 for the consideration of the House on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. As Senators know, the main purpose of the Bill is to address the passenger cap planning condition at Dublin Airport. The importance of addressing the passenger cap and its effects on Dublin Airport is recognised in the programme for Government, which includes a clear commitment to work with stakeholders to achieve the objective of lifting the…

Not true.

Sorry; I was taking notes.

I have taken five pages of notes.

Shannon Airport would not qualify for that.

They would fly into Cork then.

I thank Members for a great debate. This is why I love coming back to the Seanad. I miss this debate in the other House.

I would never come back as Cathaoirleach again.

I will come back to what I was going to say in a second. The speech I have been given has been made redundant, but that is okay. The world of aviation has changed. We have to look at it through the prism of various things. I will not name any individual but the number one issue is what the airline wants. The second is what the population mass of the catchment area of an airport is, and the third is what the passenger loads are going to be. We are an island nation which, whether we like it or not, is very much behol…