I thank my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donnell, for securing an additional €1.3 million for Longford County Council in 2024 to cover the loss in rates following the closure of Lough Ree power station. It means that we will not have to cut services. In future, though, I ask that the Department agree multi-annual funding for Longford County Council so that we do not have to look for money at the last minute every year. Multi-annual funding was proposed by the just transition commission a number of year…

I concur with the sentiments of both Senators Garvey and Murphy in congratulating the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, with regard to putting this in place. As has been said, people said this would not happen; it is now happening. It is important to acknowledge the significant funding the Government has put aside over the last 12 to 15 months, from the energy credits for everybody, to the targeted measures - particularly in the Department of Social Protection - on extra fuel allowance…

This matter is in regard to an extension to Ardscoil Phádraig in Longford, where I have been on the board of management since I was elected in 2009. The school principal is Rosemary Johnston and the deputy principal is Bríd Nevin. The school is under the auspices of Longford Westmeath Education and Training Board and is a co-educational post-primary school located in north Longford. The enrolment figure was 116 in 2003 but this had risen to 253 in 2017-18 and has grown steadily over the years since to the current s…

I thank the Minister of State. We must give gratitude for the significant investment by the Government in schools building projects throughout the country. As she stated, the project is currently with the design team, which has submitted a stage 1 report. I ask that the report be expedited and dealt with straightaway in the context of continuing in the process. Is there a shortage of qualified staff to assess these projects? Is that why it is taking so long for them to move through the system? I ask that the projec…

I concur with what Senator Kyne's comments on school transport. There is an issue with school transport in my area and the same probably applies in every part of the country. In my own area there are children who have no school transport, yet we have people who are fully licensed and medically fit to drive buses. They can drive long distances to Cork, Dublin and Galway but they are not allowed to drive a school bus to their local secondary school. Such a scenario does not make sense to me. We need to discuss the ma…

I welcome the Minister. I concur with all the comments that have been made. I congratulate my colleagues in Young Fine Gael who took on this campaign two years ago and have brought it to a stage where the Bill will be passed in the Seanad. If there was ever a prime example of what young people can do and how they can make changes in our country, this is it. It is an achievement to be able to take on an issue like that and drive it with the help of our Deputy Leader, Senator Doherty, whom I also congratulate for tak…

First, I support the proposal from Senator McGahon for a discussion on the event he has organised for 1 p.m. I thank Government for supporting the pay increases for the section 39, section 56 and section 10 workers. There has been a significant campaign over a long number of years, particularly for those working in disability services who were struggling to get employees. They were losing employees out of that sector to the HSE, where they earned significantly more money. I compliment the Minister of State, Deputy …

My support as a tourism representative-----

I am reiterating my support for the tourism industry in respect of the knock-on downstream effects that restaurants, pubs, etc., have faced as a result of the lack of footfall due to accommodation being used to support Ukrainian refugees. There is a serious knock-on effect on footfall in tourist areas, particularly outside Dublin. We need to make sure that in any measures we put in place, all those are covered with supports larger than what is being put in place with regard to rates, which is only for those who pay…

As the Minister of State is aware, I have chaired the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Autism since early 2022. After meeting with a large number of parents' groups, one issue came to the fore early on, namely, the lack of summer provision in special schools. These children have the highest needs. We issued a report in October 2022 and engaged with the Department of Education and the Minister of State with responsibility for special education on what we regarded as a major issue of concern. In fairness, the Department…

I put on record my thanks to both the Minister and the Minister of State in the Department of Education. The Government has put everything in place and made the changes that were needed. Unfortunately, schools are not coming on board. I do not see why, when one school can do it and employ staff, that another can not. Another issue that arose and on which I had a meeting last week with SIPTU and staff members in the early childhood care and education, ECCE, programme, was where some of the information about the avai…

I concur with Senator Cummins's comments regarding the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. This is also an opportunity to start considering future capital projects to have those in train across the country. I raise the issue of the new Garda divisions and the concerns I have in this regard relating to my area. Until recently, County Longford was joined with County Roscommon as a division. Now, as the Leader is aware, it is now a division including counties Longford, Roscommon and Mayo. It probably takes about t…

I welcome the Taoiseach. I wish to express my appreciation for his leadership in his various roles since 2017 when he took over the role of Taoiseach. He has prioritised child poverty. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Autism launched a report in June. One of its major concerns was the lack of services and therapies for children, in order to give every child an opportunity to reach his or her potential. As the Taoiseach said, child poverty will be a major focus of the budget. We will prioritise funding for parents …

I echo the comments of Senator Murphy. I was delighted for everyone to see that funding has been put in place for the N5 project. To get to the N5, however, people must go down the N4 and they are going through a section of road from Mullingar to Longford that is not fit for purpose.

There are 500 access points on that section. It is as much a safety concern as the N5 because it has as high a number of fatalities. Funding for that project should continue to be in place to get it to planning permission stage and get it constructed. There were comments in the media yesterday saying the N5 is essential for the north and the north west. The section from Mullingar to Roosky is just as important for the north and the north west and for us in the midlands, so it is not acceptable for the project to be…

I will finish on this point. In regard to legislation, I agree with the comments with regard to starting legislation in this House. The Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022 began in this House more than 12 months ago and we had 27 hours of debate. When it got to the Dáil, there was just one hour of debate because it had been so thoroughly dealt with here. This House is a good place for legislation to start. The public health Bill does not seem to be a priority for the current session but it needs to be enac…

I thank the Acting Chair. I will try to keep to three minutes. I welcome the Minister of State. This is an important discussion. At a time like this, we think of all the families who have been bereaved in the past 12 months and before that. To make some points on road safety, I will start by homing in on the safe routes to school programme. It is a fantastic initiative. Unfortunately, there is a limited pot for works and a significant number of other schools would like to be included. It is important that more scho…

The Minister of State is very welcome. I am holding in my hands the final report of the Joint Committee on Autism, which was launched last June. There are 109 recommendations in the report. The committee met over 15 months, holding 23 public sessions and 32 private sessions. The Minister of State was one of the witnesses at our committee and we met families throughout the country. One highlighted area is the lack of services and therapies for children in particular. One of the recommendations in the report is that …

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for the phenomenal work she has done. Much work has been done to make changes, but these changes are not going to happen for possibly a number of years. In the meantime, we still have kids waiting over 12 months for assessment. Parents are getting private assessments themselves to get the early intervention that is needed. It states here the NTPF does not have the statutory remit, but we are in the Oireachtas that makes those changes and we can make that change if we …

I concur with the comments made by others. I thank Martin Groves, Bridget Doody and all the staff across the House for their courtesy and help over the last term. It is an honour to walk in the front door of the House every day. It is something that I feel privileged to do. I wish my colleagues of all parties well. I know it is not going to be a quiet summer. There is lots of work to be done. I concur with the comments made by Senator Lombard in relation to school transport. If the issue is not addressed, we are go…