Will the Minister consider an amendment to legislation to allow local authorities to use CCTV footage as evidence to prosecute people for illegal dumping?

This is the fourth time in the past two years that I have raised the issue of illegal dumping in the House. It continues to be a major scourge on the landscape and it is particularly a problem in rural areas. Penalties for those caught in the act of illegal dumping are not strict enough. We still have the ridiculous situation whereby a person caught on CCTV in the act of illegal dumping cannot be brought to court. It was recently reported that illegal dumping is costing local authorities up to €90 million per annum…

On two separate occasions I have asked that a task force, comprising An Garda Síochána, departmental officials and local authorities, be put in place to deal with this issue. Such a task force would need to be given powers, including to use CCTV footage and to seize all vehicles and equipment involved in illegal dumping, with severe penalties imposed for those caught in the act in respect of the release of their vehicles. Once again, I am asking for a commitment that a task force to tackle this problem will be esta…

Last July, the Government passed a long-awaited affordable housing Bill. I have heard numerous promises and predictions of how many affordable houses will be provided in the years to come as a result. While the Bill passed through the Oireachtas seven months ago, today we still wait for regulations to be issued by the Department that will finally set the wheels in motion. Thousands of young couples, families and individuals on modest incomes cannot get a mortgage through commercial banks. They are waiting anxiously…

I would like to ask the Minister if funding is available and if a scheme will be announced for the construction of new community centres. What funding will be available and what will be the criteria for such a scheme?

Newcastle is a community of more than 6,000 people on the west side of Galway city. Under the chairmanship of Mr. Seamus Davey, a committee got together and raised more than €200,000. It acquired a site and secured planning permission. The project, which is for a much-needed centre for the area, is shovel ready. It has the unanimous support of the local city councillors. I have a letter from the chief executive of Galway City Council confirming his support for the project. The correspondence confirms that while the…

I thank the Minister for her positive response. The next time she or her Minister of State visit Galway, they will be invited to visit the site of the proposed community centre and meet the committee that has produced the ambitious plans. As the Minister stated, community centres are often the backbone of communities, but unfortunately there are areas in which no community facility exists. Newcastle in Galway city is one of these areas. Approximately 60% of the residents of the area are retired and have absolutely …

When I last raised the issue of the N6 Galway city ring road with the Minister on Leaders' Questions on 25 May 2021 I highlighted the plight of the 54 families and individuals who were to lose their homes to make way for the road. I sought a commitment from the Minister that once a decision was made by An Bord Pleanála to go ahead with the project that top priority would be given to putting in place a scheme, without delay and regardless of subsequent legal or judicial challenge, to enter into negotiation with any …

I have to say I am very disappointed in the response of the Minister. It is not for me to be disappointed but for the 54 householders caught up in this. This legal challenge could go on for years. The last time it went on for more than seven and a half years. Eight householders were caught in the previous project. This has been going on for more than 22 years. Is the Minister telling me these 54 householders have to sit and wait until a judicial review has taken place before they can sell a house? Many of these peo…

We change the law in here.

I wish to thank my colleagues for bringing this motion forward and I thank our administrator, Ms Cáit Nic Amhlaoibh, for the excellent research she did on it. There is an urgent need for improvements to the benefits available to people with disabilities who are holders of primary medical certificates under the disabled persons and disabled passengers scheme. Primary medical certificates are issued to people who have a severe and permanent disability which generally restricts their movements. Most need a wheelchair …

In 2016 I raised the question of our bail laws in this House when I told the Taoiseach's predecessor how more than 250,000 offences had been committed in Ireland in the previous ten years by people who were out on bail at the time. The only element that has changed since is the numbers have gone up. In the decade from 2011 to 2020, offenders out on bail were found responsible by a court for a staggering total of 261,427 crimes. They include 84 homicides and almost 9,000 threats to murder or seriously assault, with …

I mentioned the inadequacy of the bail laws earlier and the impact they have on people in this country. There is another related matter to which I would like the Taoiseach to turn his attention. Not only are people getting bail and going out to reoffend but they are costing the taxpayer millions of euro at the same time. In the past five and a half years, criminal legal aid has cost the taxpayer almost €350 million, averaging more than €60 million per year and the figure is rising. There is no limit to the number o…

Plans for the N6 Galway city ring road were lodged with An Bord Pleanála on 18 October 2018, 20 years after the initial application for the official application for the Galway outer-city bypass was lodged and five years after the original project was abandoned. Three years after the initial lodging of this project application there still has been no decision on whether this piece of infrastructure can go ahead. Five times, An Bord Pleanála has deferred making a final decision, the latest being last Friday. It says …

He will be looking for more time.

I welcome this plan, which will offer more people a chance of getting a home in which to live. The sooner it gets off the ground and starts delivering, the better. I would like more attention to be given to the yawning gap, which is getting wider, between groups of people trying to do just that. On the one side are those who can hope to get a house, either by buying one privately, if they can afford to, or securing a social house from their local authority or from an AHB. On the other side, an increasing number of …

I am grateful for the opportunity to support this Bill which seeks to address an issue that potentially affects a large proportion of our population, especially those of a particular age. When people retire, particularly from large organisations in which there are many hundreds of employees, they can effectively become ghosts overnight. As long as they are still working, they have a voice, their grievances can be heard and they have avenues to challenge decisions that affect them, but once they retire they lose tha…

There are grants for nearly all sporting organisations through the sports capital programme and the large scale sports infrastructure fund, which I welcome. However, one sector seems to fall outside any State support scheme, which is community centres. Many towns and villages across the country have community centres that were built with the support of the State over the years. However, there is no financial support available now for new projects. I will give the Taoiseach an example of such a project. Newcastle is…

I thank the Taoiseach for his response. As we all know, however, community centres play a very important role in communities. They can incorporate day-care centres and offer places where young people and others can meet. I am sure that this does not just apply to Galway and that it is prevalent elsewhere. In the particular area to which I refer, however, there is nothing for the more than 6,000 people who live there. The only facility there was a hotel and that was knocked down in order to make way for new student …

Aer Lingus was registered as our national airline on 15 April 1936 and has been Ireland's flagship since then. Aer Lingus has carried millions of passengers into and out of Ireland, mainly from the US and Europe, via Dublin, Cork and Shannon. One could say that it is the main driver and the lifeline for the tourism industry here. It is crucially important that Ireland, as an island nation, has a strong national airline to serve our transatlantic routes in particular. Aer Lingus employed 4,500 people prior to the pa…