The Government is not opposing the motion. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the important issue of carer supports provided by the Department of Social Protection, in particular, the carer's allowance payment. I thank the Deputies for bringing forward the motion. On a personal level, I know that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has always sought to make sure the interests of carers are front and centre of budget decisions. This approach has been evidenced again in the most recent budget with an extensive package …

It is a pity Deputy Murphy had to take a cheap shot at jobseekers. She made some good points but that was unnecessary. That is why I was not looking at her.

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. Applicants for international protection who are awaiting a decision on their application are offered accommodation by the International Protection Accommodation Services of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. Those who accept such accommodation are provided with material reception conditions, including food and health services, together with other facilities and services designed to ensure their needs are met while seeking the protecti…

I cannot think of too many policy areas that are more important than trying to tackle child poverty, both for the here and now and into the future as well. In terms of the Minister for children's role in that regard and the White Paper, he has secured the budget. We have had engagement with the Department of Social Protection on what the rates of payment would be like for each child but we need the Department of Social Protection to implement this, to roll out the payment. Frankly, I do not have a good explanation …

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter in the House. I convey the apologies of my colleague, the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who regrets she cannot be here for this matter due to another commitment. As the Deputy will be aware, by law, the Garda Commissioner is responsible for the distribution of Garda members and resources between the various Garda stations and divisions. I can assure the Deputy that the Garda Commissioner and his management team keep the distribution of Garda members and resources u…

I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address this issue on behalf of the Minister for Transport. Improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to improving citizens' quality of life and addressing our climate action challenges. This Government is committed to a fundamental change in the nature of transport in Ireland. The Minister for Transport considers it useful to clarify the planned proposals related to the DART+ coastal south project, the current position of those proposals and relate…

I thank the Deputy again on behalf of the Minister for raising this important matter. When I take a Topical Issue, I look at the question and try to understand what is behind the issue.

I thank Senator Byrne. I am not going to rehash what I have said already. I will emphasise one point, however, which may give some hope in this connection. For people living south of Wicklow, the provision of a diesel shuttle service between Rosslare and Wicklow could create potential for a more frequent train service along the southern sectors of the south-east line.

The question was fairly broad in that related to Tipperary and Clare, which is a big area. I will take back the specific issues the Deputy mentioned around Nenagh, Roscrea and Newport and long-term sick leave. The issue around leaving stations vacant comes up in my area as well. Sometimes, the senior garda in the area says they are between a rock and a hard place. People want to see gardaí on the beat but they also want someone in the station. There is a balance needed. On local community safety partnerships, I am …

I thank Senator Garvey for raising this Commencement matter. The Government is very conscious of the importance of the tourism sector, not only in Clare but throughout the country. For this reason, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Government have been proud to support the sector in recent years. Ensuring we have the right tourism product is essential if we are to achieve the ambitious targets for further sustainable tourism growth. The Government is committed to ensure that all areas benefit. As regar…

I thank Senator Garvey again for raising the matter in the House today. I trust that my earlier response sets out how it is planned to ensure that all regions of County Clare can continue to benefit from tourism in the years ahead. The new tourism policy framework being finalised by the Minister will be critical in ensuring we have a thriving tourism sector in the period up to 2030. While we want tourism to grow, we want it to do so in a sustainable manner that benefits all areas and communities. From the Governmen…

It is a pleasure to bring the Bill to the Seanad today. The BiIl is the latest in a series of measures that have been enacted to modernise and improve public accessibility of the Statute Book and secondary legislation. It is vital that laws and regulations in Ireland are both fit for purpose, and regularly reviewed and updated. The statute law revision programme is Ireland’s national programme to identify and remove obsolete and spent primary and secondary legislation from the Statute Book. The aim and purpose of t…

I thank Senators for their contributions. I can confirm that the Geological Survey Act is not impacted by this. The Bill we have been considering today proposes the revocation of all statutory and prerogative instruments made before 1 January 1861, except for six instruments, which will be retained. More than 40,000 secondary instruments were reviewed by the Law Reform Commission to ascertain if they were obsolete or were to be repealed or retained. This Bill is the seventh Statute Law Revision Bill in a programme …

Our public libraries are at the heart of our communities. They are multipurpose social, cultural and educational spaces for the whole community to enjoy. There are 330 public libraries nationwide, providing an excellent service throughout the country. In July last year, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, launched the public library strategy, The Library is the Place, which sets out a vision for our public libraries and includes 66 strategic actions to develop and expand our public library services. The strategy includ…

I agree with the Deputy's outlining of the broader value of libraries, particularly in areas that have been neglected over time. Parts of Mahon in Cork certainly fit that bill. I am familiar with it. I am advised that Cork City Council did not submit an application through the libraries capital programme 2023-27 for funding for the Blackrock-Mahon project as discussions regarding a potential site had not been concluded before the submission date of June 2023. As discussions on a site for the proposed library have n…

My Department previously advised Cork City Council to consider submitting an application for funding for the Blackrock-Mahon library to the urban regeneration and development fund, which is administered by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Our Department will certainly progress the stage 1 application as swiftly as we can. I encourage Cork City Council to engage in that quickly. At the moment, there is not an allocation for that project, but things can change. It is a four- or five-year wind…

Rural proofing is an approach to help ensure that the development of major policy initiatives are viewed through a rural lens to take full consideration of rural perspectives and issues. Rural proofing is not a policy or a model. Rather, it is a process to be undertaken that leads to better policies. Last year, my Department published a body of research on rural proofing which is available online. Following this, and in order to help develop guidance material for use by policymakers and practitioners, a number of r…

The Government's objective is to have balanced regional development across the country, and the national planning framework sets out the Government's objective for this with 50% of population growth targeted outside our major cities. The NPR is currently under review by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Our Rural Future, the Government's rural development plan, supports the vision for balanced regional development, including in the northern and western region. On the planning Bill, one thing…

I would underline the national broadband roll-out and the Local Link expansion. On the broader issue of rural proofing, while I think this document is going to help when it is published, one of the strongest things we have in Government to help us rural-proof things is that we have a Department of Rural and Community Development. What that means, obviously, is there is a senior Minister at the table when issues come up. More importantly, in the background, what a lot of us do not see is that every Government memo i…

I thank the Deputy for the question. I have good news this morning. I am pleased to advise that the transfer of land on which the Inishbofin airstrip is situated has been completed as of today. The Deputy will recall that these lands were acquired by Galway County Council by way of compulsory purchase order, which was originally initiated over 20 years ago. The Chief State Solicitor's office has been acting on behalf of the Department and has advised that the transfer of lands to my Department is due to be conclude…