I wish to ask the Minister for Transport to outline his plans for the redevelopment of Ceannt and Oranmore stations in Galway. In terms of the Ceannt Station redevelopment, which was announced during the term of the previous Government, will departmental and National Transport Authority funding be made available to Iarnród Éireann? What is the expected timeline for such redevelopment? On Oranmore Station, what is the timeline for the construction of a second track? I ask because Oranmore and its surrounds are curre…

The Minister of State has delivered welcome news. With the pandemic, there have been delays and it is my duty, as a public representative, to hold the Department to account. I welcome the good news and I would appreciate if the Minister of State would speak to the Minister for Transport about the timeline. As the Minister of State and the Government are well aware, there has been a major increase in the population of the Oranmore and Athenry area. I welcome the investment in Athenry but there is great concern about…

On 1 June, the first day of the meteorological summer, we need to be positive today. I welcome the announcement by the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers, in recent days in relation to crowds return to sporting events. As we are all aware, one of the main joys of summer time for hundreds of thousands of people is attending inter-county championship matches, which they have not been able to do for two years. By the end of June, in excess of 80% of the population will have been vaccinated at least once and 60% o…

This is my first opportunity to welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, back to the Chamber and thank him for his work on the Moorhead report. Councillors throughout the country who, although well entitled to what they got, are thankful for that. I will move on to the issue which is an urgent one throughout the country and especially in the heart of Galway city, where I am from. I know the Minister of State is familiar with the area. I cannot stress how much affordable housing is needed. I am from a working cl…

I raise the issue of backlogs for driving tests and driver theory tests. As I am sure is the case for most Members, this is an issue I am contacted about daily, particularly from people in Galway city. The Road Safety Authority has confirmed that more than 100,000 people are awaiting a driving test, which is staggering, and a further 100,000 are awaiting a theory test. Given the size of our population, with 200,000 people awaiting tests, there certainly needs to be action. In excess of 95% of those waiting are youn…

Not at all. I welcome this topic here this evening. It is an issue I raised myself last year and one I certainly want to see Government advance. It is also welcome that the Government is not opposing the Bill. For too long families have suffered in silence, being forced to use personal leave as they come to grips with a tragedy. Research suggests one in four women has suffered a miscarriage and the vast majority of these tend to happen in the early stages, before the 24-week mark which is currently the point from w…

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed briefing and for his constant support for all Senators in this House. The Brexit impact loan scheme is very welcome and much needed. Obviously, it is too early to see the full impact of both Brexit and the challenges that have arisen in recent months. However, the early trade figures from this year certainly provide some indication in that regard. My concern relates to the decline in exports of food and drink products, which is particularly worrying. A recent report by…

Over the next weeks Ireland will remove Covid-19 restrictions, steps which are very welcome. The reopening of libraries today is an especially significant reopening for so many people in communities throughout the State. The communities in Galway city, from Ballybane to Westside to the inner city, are looking forward to being able to attend a library in person, and to making full use of their services. There are 1.2 million library members in the State. Pre-Covid there were 17 million visits made to our libraries e…

I thank the Tánaiste for attending. I send sincere best wishes to the people of India in particular, who are going through a very difficult time at the moment, and beyond. Any support the Government can give, must be given. It is important to acknowledge the substantial, unprecedented supports which the Tánaiste has outlined and which the Government has put in place, while also recognising that, despite these supports, thousands of businesses across the country remain under significant pressure due to the crisis no…

This morning, I want to address the reopening of the hospitality sector. With many pubs having been closed for more than 400 days, it is important this reopening is done in a fair and equitable manner. In particular, traditional pubs, which do not serve food, should be given the same opportunity as the rest of the hospitality sector. I also believe it is important to have an all-Ireland approach. In recent days, I spoke to Councillor Raymond Aughey, who runs a hospitality business in Monaghan. It is clear that if a…

I wish to raise the issue of the hospitality sector and the challenges it faces after an incredibly difficult 12 months. Those challenges include the obvious issues caused by Covid-19 and endless lockdowns. They also include challenges which have not received the same attention, in particular the loss of skilled and experienced employees from the sector. This includes head chefs, senior chefs, managers and so on, who were happy to build their futures in our sector a little over 12 months ago but, out of necessity f…

I want to address the decisions facing Cabinet tomorrow as it decides on the next steps with regard to the current level of restrictions. Like all Senators I am sure, I have received many representations on this issue in recent weeks and months. I recognise there is a difficult balancing act in easing restrictions while ensuring we avoid a fourth wave. The current level of restrictions, however, is simply not sustainable at this stage, as people are reaching breaking point. We must have faith in the people to act r…

I wish to raise a similar issue those raised by Senators Norris and Keogan. All Members will be well aware of the abuse and harassment of elected public representatives, both on social media and offline. It is a problem that appears to have increased significantly in the last number of years both at local and national levels. I will give an example. The current mayor of Galway city, Councillor Mike Cubbard, has been the subject of a particularly disgusting campaign over the last 12 to 18 months. I know Mike very we…

Stop the clock.

I thank the Minister, Deputy Martin, for coming to the House. As she is well aware, the Covid-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on the lives of everyone in this country. From an economic standpoint, no sector has been hit harder than tourism. The sector has experienced a €6 billion decline in revenue and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs. As the Minister will be aware, it has essentially been shut down for the entire year. The tourism sector was worth €9.3 billion to the economy in 2019, with 10 million ov…

Is there something he would like to tell us?

I propose a suspension of the House until 3.45 p.m.

I welcome the Minister. The good news for the House is that he is a great friend of Galway and a regular visitor to our city. He is well familiar with the issues I want to raise in the 90 seconds that I have. To state the obvious, unlike Limerick and Cork the ring road is essential as is its funding. We have committed to it in the programme for Government and I welcome that. As alluded to earlier, the development and upgrade of Galway Harbour and the docks has huge potential. The outlying of the western rail corrid…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, to the House and thank him for his time this morning. I want to raise, and I certainly welcome, the introduction of the benefit payment to 65-year-olds who have worked all their lives. They simply should not have to sign on the live register or seek new work, especially as many have no option but to retire at the age of 65 due to their contracts. Private sector companies frequently have a mandatory retirement age of 65. As the House and the Minister of State well…

To be clear, my understanding is that the Department issued a statement in early February that everybody between 65 and 66 years of age would be eligible for the payment. Can the Minister of State confirm now that this is not the case and that they must have 13 weeks of paid PRSI contributions in the year they reach 63 or 64 to qualify for the benefit because if they are signing for the credits, they do not count? Can the Minister of State tell the House the number of people this will impact and is he able to give …