He is too tall.

On the same issue, this is the third time I have raised a question in this Dáil regarding school bus drivers. I have raised it with the Taoiseach on two occasions and with the Tánaiste on one. The situation is continually getting worse, with some school runs not able to operate due to the inability to recruit drivers. In my county of Galway, more than 40 children attending St. Paul's school in Oughterard have been without a service since 17 October last year. The private bus companies contracted by Bus Éireann to o…

We need a solution.

In October 1999, plans were first drawn up for a ring road around Galway. Here we are, more than 24 years later, with more than €40 million spent and we still do not even have planning, never mind a ring road. Traffic has more than doubled in those 24 years, and there is increasing anger in Galway about the traffic situation and the lack of progress on finding a solution. More than 100,000 traffic journeys are made on the city's road network every day, on roads that are just not able to cope with the traffic volume…

I welcome that.

I welcome the announcement made this morning regarding the additional funding for Connacht Rugby to develop the sports ground and of the €420,000 for the Renville sports project. Some 54 homeowners are caught up in all this. They are technically prisoners in their homes. They have been waiting for years for a decision to be made on whether this project will go ahead. This is wrong. It is unfair to these people, many of whom are elderly. They are stressed about this. The people of Galway are asking how it is that so…

I thank Deputy Shanahan for putting this Bill together, as well as Cáit in our office for the help she gave him. I also thank the Government for accepting this Bill. If passed into law, I hope one of its effects would be to contribute towards ensuring a fairer share-out of Exchequer funding for the various regions of Ireland. Hopefully, it will help to show exactly where our money is going and whether this is to the advantage of everybody in the country, and not just to those in the more affluent parts. Let us take…

Storm Debi hit Ireland on Sunday night and Monday morning, 12 and 13 November, with the storm doing extensive damage to a number of businesses in Galway and, in particular, in Clarinbridge. Shops and businesses were destroyed when a 4 ft high storm surge swept in in ten minutes and out in 15, destroying everything in its path. While these businesses have welcomed the emergency fund relief scheme of up to €100,000, unfortunately, it will not cover the costs of refurbishing some of these shops and businesses followin…

It would cover a lot of them, to be fair.

First, on my own behalf and that of my Regional Group colleagues, could I offer our condolences to Deputy Verona Murphy, whose father, Patrick, passed away suddenly this morning? May his gentle soul rest in peace. Four out of five burglars released from prison in Ireland go on to re-offend within a short period - more than half of them within a year of their release. It is the same with people jailed for public order offences. Four out of five of them are back before the courts within three years of them being rele…

I thank the Taoiseach. Under the new Bill, somebody applying for free legal aid may be asked to contribute towards the cost of his or her defence if the Legal Aid Board decides he or she can afford it but too many of the repeat offenders I am talking about will be well capable of hiding their ill-gotten gains. I would like to see the Bill requiring those persistent criminals with a certain number of convictions behind them to repay the costs of their defence over time, be it from wages or future social welfare paym…

I ask that the Government consider introducing a new large-scale sports infrastructure fund and I ask the Minister to make a statement on the matter.

I welcome the Minister of State's response. As the Minister of State said, in 2020 the large-scale sports infrastructure fund awarded over €86 million to 33 projects across Ireland. This was a very welcome innovation by the Government at the time and ensured that many clubs and sporting organisations were able to develop ambitious plans to improve sporting facilities and increase access for all ages, groups and ability levels. Many sports clubs and organisations around the country are looking to build large-scale f…

I welcome the support of Deputy Feighan. In Galway alone, there were three projects as the Minister of State mentioned. The proposed €20 million project for Connacht Rugby has actually started and a new surface has been put on the pitch. The project in Renville and Oranmore is being prepared to go out to tender. They have raised over €1 million locally to get that project over the line. I compliment the people in Oranmore. More than 10,000 people live in the area. The project covers 35 acres comprising four pitches…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges that: — it is 100 years since the foundation of An Garda Síochána; — the mission of An Garda Síochána is "Keeping People Safe"; — An Garda Síochána play a crucial role in our communities, ensuring safety, maintaining law and order, upholding the principles of justice and fostering community well-being; — through the promotion of crime prevention and visible policing the Gardaí foster a sense of security, especially among the most vulnerable in our communities; — our communiti…

A large cohort of Irish people are struggling with the rising cost of living and, unfortunately, receive little Government support or media attention. These people are Ireland's middle class. They are cash poor and time poor. They are the people who go out to work every day and do not earn enough to be well-off but earn too much to qualify for many State supports. Many of these are young families who are struggling with the soaring cost of living, the cost of groceries, rising energy prices and even the rising cost…

I understand that cost-of-living measures were introduced in last year's budget. Those were very much appreciated. However, many of them were once-off measures. The forgotten middle class are the people who are paying for everything and availing of practically nothing. It was reported in the Irish Independent last Saturday that 1.1 million of Ireland's full-time workers pay the higher rate of tax. Many of these people are not well-paid. Many are just marginally over the threshold of the 40% tax rate. It is time to …

Last Monday, I, along with my colleague, Deputy Canney, met Age Action, the National Women's Council of Ireland, the Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, Active Retirement Ireland and SIPTU regarding their pension promise campaign. These organisations have united to seek a commitment from the Government that the State pension will increase to 34% of the average industrial wage, or €318 per week. The State pension is currently set at a rate of 28% of the average industrial wage and many older people are struggling with…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges that: — the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future includes a commitment to introduce a statutory scheme to support people to live in their own homes by providing them with access to high-quality regulated home care, but this is not happening; — the Health Service Executive (HSE) Home Support Service (formerly called the Home Help Service or Home Care Package Scheme) aims to support older people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible, and to support informa…

What do the workers get?