I thank the Deputies. I think Deputy Gould will appreciate this as well. I visited his area last year. The residents of Fairhill also have a need in this regard. We can be supporters; we cannot be first movers in this situation. This is primarily a competency for the local authority, which, if it moves forward and has a plan, we are happy to support through the various funds we have available. I would also mention the community activities fund, under which Cork City Council was allocated €307,000 last year. That wa…

I am always glad to take the opportunity to talk about SICAP. That programme is our country's primary social inclusion intervention. It aims to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion and equality. It is delivered locally by the local development companies referenced by the Deputy, who work with the most disadvantaged and hardest to reach in our communities. My Department is in constant contact with the 49 local development companies, LDCs, and their representative body, the Irish Local Development Network. I a…

The Deputy made an important point about the role of SICAP, in that it does one-to-one work with people while also supporting community groups. She mentioned a figure of 15,000. That will be an important role for SICAP. It is important that we support Ukrainian groups that are organising themselves. SICAP would be well placed to do that, but it is also a good use of resources to support others in developing their own groups and carving out their own paths. Community response forums will be useful in making the most…

I would encourage community response forums to reach out to every available community and voluntary group. On the other side, I would encourage community and voluntary groups to contact the forums. It is important that everyone who can do something is in the room, there is co-ordination and we are making the most of resources. At particular pinch points where there is exceptional pressure, we have added resources to the community services programme: Lisdoonvarna; the volunteer centres in south Dublin to help in Cit…

Our Rural Future is the Government's national rural development policy. It sets out an ambitious blueprint for the development of, and investment in, rural Ireland over a five-year period. It is a whole-of-government policy, and the more than 150 measures set out within it are being delivered by the Departments with responsibility for the relevant policy areas, including the Department of Transport. Our Rural Future was developed following extensive consultation with rural stakeholders and communities, and issues o…

I do not have the detail of the stages of investment and what will happen on the ground over the next few years. The Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan is a major national public transport initiative funded by the Department of Transport and managed by the National Transport Authority, NTA. The aim of the plan is to increase public transport connectivity, particularly for people living outside major towns and cities. The Department of Transport has allocated €5.6 million from budget 2022 to the NTA to commence …

Again, that is really a question for the NTA and I am happy to take that question and seek detail on the transport connections to it as well.

The situation in Yemen is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, driven by seven years of conflict, economic collapse and the breakdown of public institutions and services which has left millions of people in need of humanitarian assistance. Ireland fully supports the efforts of the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, to bring about a political resolution to the conflict in Yemen. Ireland also welcomes the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative to host talks on Yemen and strongly encourages all parties …

The conflict in Yemen, which is a civil war, has continued for too long, with devastating consequences for the people of Yemen. Ireland supports the call for an immediate ceasefire across Yemen and the negotiation of a sustainable peace agreement under the auspices of the UN. All parties must work towards an immediate de-escalataion. Ireland has consistently called on the parties concerned to take all possible measures to prevent any loss of civilian life and to respect international humanitarian law. There have be…

I thank Senator Buttimer for his Commencement matter. On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, I welcome the opportunity to discuss this topic with Members of the House. It is well acknowledged that Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the aviation industry, not just in Ireland but globally. In 2020, the number of passengers handled in our main airports fell by a staggering 78% on 2019 levels. In 2021, passenger figures across the State were down 76% on 2019. In the interest of public health, certai…

The latest EUROCONTROL figures show that aviation traffic across the pan-European network is averaging at just over 70% of the equivalent period in 2019. Ireland's traffic levels are reported as slightly higher than this average. Air traffic remains lower than EUROCONTROL's previously estimated recovery forecast, largely due to the emergence of the Omicron variant last year. This would serve to highlight the fragility of the recovery. We remain mindful of the possibility that a variant of concern might again frustr…

I thank the Senator for raising this issue, which I will answer on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I was pleased to see continued improvements in the quality of our bathing waters, especially those that meet or exceed the minimum water quality requirements, in the Bathing Water Quality in Ireland 2020 report published by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. The EPA reports that 96% of bathing waters met or exceeded the minimum required standard, up from 95% in 2019. I look fo…

As I already mentioned, officials are currently examining the most suitable options to provide for safe bathing water during the winter months and to improve dissemination of information on bathing water quality. We look forward to the recommendations of the expert group in the coming months. The Government is committed to substantial and sustained investment in our water infrastructure which will build on improvements in recent years to deliver enhanced environmental conditions in our rivers, estuaries, lakes and …

I am replying on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, who would like to thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. The operation of all roadworthiness testing in the State, including the National Car Testing Service, is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority, RSA. It is important to highlight that quarter 1 is always the busiest time of the year for the NCT service. This is because the date of the first registration of a vehicle determines the subsequent roadworthiness test …

On behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, I again thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The backlog for the NCTS has undoubtedly been frustrating as the Covid-19 restrictions have eased and many people are now returning to their offices and workplaces. The Department of Transport is very aware of the challenges faced by the NCTS and the RSA as they work to manage the extremely high demand for test appointments for the National Car Testing Service. There are clear signs of progress since this issue was…

The rural social scheme, RSS, is an income support scheme for farmers and fishers who are in receipt of specified social welfare payments and are underemployed in their primary occupation.  The scheme offers participants the opportunity to gain valuable work experience, while providing services to local communities. To qualify for the RSS, a person must be actively farming or fishing, and satisfy the means test assessment required to qualify for the farm assist payment. In 2017, the total number of places on the RS…

There are 2,969 people on the RSS at present and 1,493 of them will not be impacted by the six-year rule. There are also 381 vacancies. It is not impacting capacity and there is spare capacity there, but I take the Deputy's point about the six-year rule, it has been raised with me. It is very much on our radar in terms of looking at it as part of the review. There were also changes brought in with the budget which will broaden the eligibility for income disregard for argi-environmental schemes. They do not come int…

On Tús, the numbers are in excess of pre-pandemic levels. The spaces are full and we have more to go because of the July stimulus package, but they have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. Referrals to Tús and CE are quite healthy. CE has not recovered in the same way that Tús has. There is a bit of work to do there yet. On the rural social scheme, I would take the opportunity to promote it as well. I was in Offaly a couple of weeks ago where the implementing body is making efforts to reach out to eligible people in the …

I thank the Senator for raising the very important matter of funding for agricultural shows. Agricultural shows are a great celebration of all that is good about rural Ireland. They provide a welcome boost for local economies and attract visitors to support our rural communities. Aside from the contribution they make to the rural economy, agricultural shows also provide a great outlet for local communities, both urban and rural, with local clubs and schools getting involved. Agricultural shows provide entertainment…

I thank the Senator for the invitation. I will be speaking directly with the Minister tonight on the Senator's question in terms of the review and the issues raised today, as well as the value the shows bring, particularly their community value and their value in maintaining a key piece of our national identity. Numerous events are undertaken every summer. They include the judging of cattle, horses, sheep, horticulture, dogs, arts and crafts, cookery, and numerous children's competitions. It is recognised that the …