There is an existing asset.

I also wish to send my solidarity to the school community in the north inner city of Dublin. The events of last Thursday, where three children and the teacher were so viciously attacked, have gone to the heart of so many people around the country. We all want to send our solidarity and our best wishes to everyone in that community who suffered so much as a consequence of these events. I wish a speedy recovery to those who were the victims of the attack and to the wider school community that has suffered such trauma…

I understand that a great deal of investment is going into schools in different areas. This school, however, has not benefited from much of this investment. As the Minister said, this school property is split into two campuses along the Dublin Road. It is on a very inappropriate site for a modern school building that has more than 500 pupils, and this figure is growing. The answer everyone sees from all aspects of this problem, when they look at the situation, is to build a new school on a greenfield site somewhere…

I thank the Minister. It is welcome this has happened. Deputy Clarke and I met with the school board and management a few months ago in regard to this issue. There is a real sense of having been ten years waiting for something to happen and so little progress having been made. If there is going to be a meeting with the patrons, that will be very welcome. I think the local authority has a role to play here as well and would be very open to assisting in any way it can. Sites and land are available on the edge of the …

Does the Minister have a date for that?

I thank the Minister.

I think all of us have complained for many years about the planning situation the length and breadth of the country and the many difficulties in which people find themselves, whether they are in a rural area looking for planning for a one-off house or trying to build something to contribute to their community, to create employment or whatever else. They find that they have to jump through all kinds of hoops. Then, when it comes to infrastructure in our towns, we find we have huge problems there as well. In many pla…

When I was in this Chamber last Thursday, I saw on my phone that a violent incident was occurring in Dublin city centre. Within a half an hour, it was clear that a stabbing had occurred and that young children had been injured. At that stage I thought to myself, if it turns out to be a person from abroad who has carried out this attack, the far right will go on the rampage. If I could see that, how did senior Garda management not foresee it? The reality is that a relatively small number of gardaí were put in danger…

Hear, hear.

It is appropriate we have these discussions about the budget and Social Welfare Bill. We of course recognise that some improvements are being made and additional payments being made to people. That is all welcome and needs to happen as quickly as possible. I also welcome the pay-related payments, which are hugely progressive. We needed to see that happen a long time ago. As has been said, it puts us out of step with most other countries in Europe where that is the reality. There is quite a small number of people on…

I am delighted to be here to make a statement on Science Week and on the importance of scientific and technological advances in our economy and society. My mother was born in 1932. She had osteoporosis as a child and spent several years in Cappagh Hospital from when she was seven until she was 11. The medicines that were available then were very poor compared to those for a child in a similar situation nowadays - it is day and night of a difference. That has occurred because of the research and development that we …

I wish to raise with the Taoiseach an issue in my constituency with regard to Scoil Mhuire primary school in Carrick-on-Shannon. The board of management has been ten years looking to get a new school built. The school is split into two campuses. More than 500 children, many of them from various countries, attend the school. The Department of Education compiled a technical report in August 2021 which indicated that many of the classrooms were less than half the size they are required to be. There are also issues wit…

The Electoral Commission, in the new way it has been set up, is a huge advancement and improvement and we all recognise that. One issue in which we all have a great interest relates to the electoral register, who is on it and how that system has worked. It has always struck me down the years that when someone turns 18 years of age, the Department of Social Protection is able to write to the parents to tell them he or she is being taken off the children's allowance, but it is not able to put the young person on the …

We will be supporting this legislation with the issue of collective bargaining at its core. In many instances, companies have just wound up overnight with large numbers of people let go. We think of Debenhams, TalkTalk, Clerys and numerous others over the decades where similar things have happened. These people are left with very little hope and nowhere to turn. The only chance they have is through the trade unions of which they may be members. In many cases they will not be because many of these companies have a v…

We are glad to be hear today to speak about the Energy Charter Treaty. The concept of close negotiations and close co-operation between different countries on the movement of energy and development of energy resources has huge merit and a place in the modern world. However, this treaty should have been called the fossil fuel energy charter treaty because it is primarily or solely about fossil fuels. That brings me to the point Deputy Bruton made that the treaty was positive in its time. I somehow wonder whether tha…

I support Deputy O'Rourke on this issue. I was over with the NTA this morning in Buswells Hotel and it was an issue we discussed. The difficulty in recruiting mechanics and retaining them in all aspects is clearly something that is causing a huge problem across the entire State. It is not just for buses, it is across everything. The car testing services are having the same problems. It is happening everywhere. There needs to be a recognition that we need to get people to come from wherever we can find them to be ab…

I appreciate that work is being done and that the Minister of State is saying the consultation is complete and that progress will be made in due course. We have to recognise that for many people who are waiting to get a bus which does not come because it cannot be serviced, waiting on a report or for something to happen in the future is not any good to them. We need action on this sort of thing immediately. One of the frustrations many experience in both the private and indeed the public sector is that, when they g…

I also commend Deputy Duffy on bringing forward this legislation. It goes back to the 1970s or before, when many of the houses that were built across the State were not up to standard. We see them all the time. All of us would have people coming into our constituency offices talking about mould growing in their houses and dampness coming up through the floor. Some of them have to buy a dehumidifier and plug it in in the bedroom and there might be 3 l of water in it that evening. That is common because when these fl…

That is what we need to see happen.

I want to raise the issue of road safety. Again, we have seen a terrible weekend where a number of people have died on our roads. The numbers are increasing all of the time. In 2022, 155 people lost their lives on the road but so far this year, in the first ten months, we have exceeded that figure by ten and hundreds more have been seriously injured. We are talking about tragedies in communities all over the country. The Minister is talking about increasing penalty points and looking at issues related to speeding b…