The Order of Business is No. 1, Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021 – Second Stage, to be taken at 1.30 p.m. and to adjourn at 3 p.m., if not previously concluded, with the time allocated to the Minister's opening speech not to exceed ten minutes, group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and all other Senators not to exceed five minutes, with the Minister to be given no less than ten minutes to reply to the debate; and No. 2, Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Bill 2022 – Committee Stage (resumed),…

I thank the Senators for their contributions. We started and finished with Senators Chambers and Lombard, respectively, regarding school transport issues. Both request a debate with the Minister, Deputy Foley, on this. We welcome the €13 million additional funding in the budget for school transport. I agree that there are many children and parents not knowing where they stand. Senator Chambers talked about getting rid of the whole issue of concessionary tickets and eligibility and ensuring that there is a bus place…

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. I support it and its aims. We have had several debates on passport issues in the last year. The concerns and negativity evident in the first two debates are not as apparent today because things have improved in this regard. This is not to say there have not been difficulties this year, but there has been a sea change in delivery and turnaround times in recent months. This must be acknowledged. Equally, however, it is a very stressful ordeal and we could all give testimony …

I welcome the announcement in the budget of an initial €30 million for school transport. As the Cathaoirleach knows it has been discussed on many occasions in this Chamber, at the Oireachtas joint committee, within parliamentary party rooms and on media in recent weeks and months. As we know, there are annual issues but it has been exacerbated by the welcome decision to remove the charge on bus tickets, which has increased the demand, as would be anticipated, and has led to difficulties for students accessing schoo…

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I was watching the debate in my office. I acknowledge his commitment to the Defence Forces, the engagement on the part of Government in appointing a commission to review the Defence Forces and their future, and the action plan agreed at Cabinet with the associated increased funding that has been announced. It will see a transformation of our defence capabilities in the coming years. There was talk of LOA3. One would have to get to LOA2 anyway before one gets to LOA3, so it mak…

I also welcome the ambassador to the House on behalf of my grouping. I offer my best wishes on Germany's national day. I have raised issues relating to Inland Fisheries Ireland, IFI, on numerous occasions and I understand that the report by Conleth Bradley SC into the board was received by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications on 22 July. It has been sent to the chair of the board of IFI and was received on 26 September. I look forward to the publication of that report. I suspect it will find th…

I thank the Cathaoirleach’s office for choosing this Commencement matter. My colleague, Councillor Eileen Mannion, and I arranged a community meeting in Clifden on Sunday. It was attended by hundreds of people – there was standing room only with people out the door - concerned about the future of Clifden District Hospital, which is used for respite convalescence and has been used for palliative and end-of-life care as well. There is concern because individuals in the community were told by the HSE to take their lov…

The Minister of State's reply is similar to what we have received in communication over a long time. There are no plans to cease services but it is happening. Services are being reduced and it is not possible to get palliative care. There is no physiotherapy and therefore there are no referrals. Of course the referrals from GUH have dropped because physiotherapy is not available for those who need convalescence and step-down care. This is the crux of the problem. There is a problem with recruitment that needs to be…

I will refer to the budget later. I wish to pick up on some comments made by Senators Ward and Boyhan about GPs and my comments relate to the recruitment of health staff. I have previously sought within these Houses for a discussion on a number of things within the health sector, including capital builds. It is important that we have a discussion on the recruitment and retention of staff within the health services. GPs will face challenges. Westdoc is a GP service in my part of the world that is under pressure. It …

Every measure in today's budget, as announced by both Ministers, was welcome and necessary. More importantly, we were able to do it because we had the resources to do it. Tax revenues have stood up compared with last year because of every person in this country who is working, paying tax, purchasing and living. We have seen the resilience of our labour market after the Covid supports we put in place, the purpose of which was to protect jobs and the link between employees and employers. That has meant we are able to…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach and I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I commend the Government on its work on budget 2023. As I said earlier on the finance part of it, everything that was done in the budget was done because it was necessary but also because we were able to do it. The resources were there because of a strong economy and because the supports were put in place last year and the year before to protect jobs and provide the linkage between employers and employees with the pandemic u…

The Senator should name some more.

I thank the Minister for attending in person in the Chamber. I compliment Senator Dolan and her colleagues for tabling the motion. It is fair to say that school transport issues have always been a staple of political life in August and September. It has been at a much higher scale this year. This is a consequence of the positive changes made to reduce costs for families, which are to be welcomed. I commend the Minister and the Government on the decision. In areas such as Moycullen, which is outside Galway city, stu…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to the House and thank the Cathaoirleach's office for selecting this Commencement matter this afternoon. I submitted it following representations from a group of independent teachers who operate under the name "fair post-primary redeployment for teachers". The group currently has 300 members nationwide, all of whom feel there is no way out of the situation they face. I am sure it is a source of great celebration when teachers become permanent or are awarded a contract…

I thank the Minister of State for the response. She said more than 800 teachers have been redeployed. The figures for 2019 are 126 applications, of which eight were redeployed, while in 2018, 178 applied and 21 were redeployed. Those are relatively small numbers of successful redeployments. If teachers are willing to transfer, both have permanent contracts and teach the same subjects and no one is being coerced or forced, I do not understand why that cannot be done. If someone is living in Galway and wants to move …

I, too, would like to speak about next week’s budget. There are many worthy asks that will affect every family and household in the country. I have spoken about those in the past and I hope to do so again during the week. I will raise a couple of specific cases. This morning, the Neurological Alliance of Ireland, NAI, held a briefing across the road. We have spoken in this House before, I think it was on a Private Members’ Bill, about the worthy asks the alliance has, including the appointment of 20 additional nurs…

I stand to support the campaign by NewsBrands Ireland with regard to its campaign about tax on journalism and the call to cut VAT to 0%. This is something that should be taken up in advance of the budget. Local newspapers from across the country were present today, and I welcome the editor of the The Connacht Tribune , Mr. Dave O'Connell, including The Connaught Telegraph , Galway City Tribune , Mayo News , Tuam Herald and The Western People which, to name a few local newspapers, carry out very important and impart…

I would like to thank the Cathaoirleach’s office for selecting this Commencement matter. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, to the Chamber. On 5 August, Oranmore Orthodontics issued a text message to say that the practice was closing. I will not get into the ins and outs of why, but that was a serious development for parents in the area. The practice informed parents that it is no longer practising. Hundreds of children were left high and dry in respect of their dental care. A small number were able t…

I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate he has been provided with the script. It is very brief and provides no answers. It contains statements I do not believe are factually correct. The Minister has been given assurances that the Dental Council and the Orthodontic Society of Ireland are using their influence to encourage dental practitioners to support the patients. Dentists have informed parents the Dental Council advised them not to take on patients from Oranmore Orthodontics. This directly contradicts what …

I also wish to be associated with the condolences expressed on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and to congratulate King Charles III. I express my condolences to the British ambassador, all those British people resident in Ireland and indeed many Irish people resident in the UK. There was a welcome announcement in the last budget of €50 million in funding for wastewater treatment schemes across the country. I understand that counties are to submit lists by tomorrow with two wastewater projects per county. I certai…