To be absolutely fair, the response to me has been a misrepresentation of what I said. I would not like it to go back that someone has said there is no school for the area. That is not what I said. What has been said is that matters have been kept under review. That is what the Department has said. That is always the case. Usually in these cases, it is not a question of whether a school is needed; rather, it is a question of when a school is needed. The idea that someone has said the school is off the agenda is not…

-----with the Department in recent years.

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I am pleased to have the opportunity to provide, on behalf of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, an update on the Higher Education Authority Act 2022 which was only signed by the President on 10 October 2022. The majority of the sections of the Act were commenced on 10 November via SI 554 of 2022. The Higher Education Authority Act 2022 provides for the designation of institutions of higher education where the purpose and int…

I thank the Senator for raising this issue and for his contribution. I assure him that departmental officials are working, as I said, and the work has already started to develop the regulations and the process in regard to the designation by order provisions in the Higher Education Authority Act 2022. Once the designation by order regulations and the process are both approved, the designation by order sections of the Higher Education Authority Act will be commenced. The regulations are being written. Once they are …

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, who is in the Dáil taking parliamentary questions on health. The Minister thanks the Senator for raising this issue and providing the opportunity to update the House on the position relating to St. Patrick’s Hospital in Cashel. In early 2016, a capital programme for older persons residential centres was developed in response to the introduction of HIQA’s national residential care standards for older people and the requirement that all fa…

I will certainly communicate that to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. I reiterate that the Department of Health, the HSE, the Minister for Health and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, are all committed to the development of a new CNU for Cashel. Provision has been made in this year's capital programme to progress a 60-bed CNU for Cashel. A site in Cashel town is currently being reviewed by the HSE for suitability for the new CNU. Services are still being provided at St. Patrick's Hospital in Cashel. An ass…

A robust general practice and GP out-of-hours service is essential to the delivery of our primary care health service. GP out-of-hours co-operatives are largely private organisations. However, since MIDOC out-of-hours ceased operations on 31 December last, the urgent out-of-hours GP service in the area, which was previously run by MIDOC, has been run by the HSE. The service provides out-of-hours GP care for counties Laois, Offaly, Longford and Westmeath. MIDOC GP CLG, a private company, previously co-ordinated the …

I will take all of that back to the Minister, who is in the Dáil at present. I apologise for that. He is answering questions. A key sentence from what I have already said is that "the HSE has ensured and will continue to ensure the provision of out-of-hours services until such time as an alternative provider is in place". That is very important. It is reassurance for the Senator's constituents in Longford. Despite the decision of the private company MIDOC to cease trading, there has been no disruption to the urgent…

The Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, would like to thank Senator Gallagher for facilitating this chance to update the House on this important matter. The Minister is in the Dáil this morning answering health questions, so that is why he is not here. Enhanced community response is critical to improving cardiac arrest survival rates, and this is wholly recognised in the national out-of-hospital cardiac arrest strategy, OHCA, from 2019, which is called Putting Survival at the Heart of the Community, from 2019. Th…

I thank Senator Gallagher. The Government is committed to ensuring Ireland continues to improve out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates through supporting the strategy and all the work towards achieving a target of greater than 10% survival, as the Senator just said. To do this, there is a commitment to work with the National Ambulance Service in pursuing and endorsing opportunities to involve An Garda Síochána and the fire services. The strategy governance implementation group will continue its work to stren…

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Teachta os rud é gur ardaigh sé an t-ábhar seo sa Teach. Ar dtús ba mhaith liom cur síos a dhéanamh ar an scéim iompar scoile atá againn sa tír seo. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 with special educational needs, will be transported to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country on a daily basis, including in Kildare…

I will bring those specific issues back to the Department. It has received correspondence in relation to school transport in the north Kildare area from families who have not received tickets for the current school year and who are not eligible for transport under the terms of the school transport scheme. If families have applied to attend their nearest school in regards to ethos and language and have been advised by the school authorities that it is full, the Department will consider if students can be deemed elig…

-----and to come back to us if that does not succeed. The idea is that children who need to get to school and who have been refused admission to other schools because of the growing population need transport.

As the Deputy noted, the Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in respect of the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with TII, under the Roads Acts and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TII in conjunction with the local authorities. TII ultimately delivers the national roads programme in line with Project Ireland 2040, the nat…

I am absolutely certain no deal that was done resulted in a loss for Tipperary town. In fairness to the Regional Group at the time, it came up with solutions that married with solutions that Government backbenchers were putting forward as well in respect of housing, rather than just giving out and objecting all the time.

All of the good solutions on housing that the Deputy mentioned there were all voted against by the Opposition. I refer to the measures that we are now trying to get in place, such as the tenant in situ scheme.

In line with the NDP and Government policy, the Minister has allocated national roads funding for 2023 in a manner which seeks to achieve the following key outcomes - the protection and renewal of the existing national road network; progressing major projects in or near construction; progressing major projects which are pre-construction but well advanced in the development pipeline; and prioritising any remaining funds for major projects which are to provide local bypasses and compact growth in Ireland's towns and …

On the canoeing issue, we will get Sport Ireland to engage with the Irish Dragon Boat Association. It can do that. I compliment Deputy Murnane O'Connor and Carlow County Council on the work they are doing on the Barrow, boating there and the plans they have. On the sports capital grant, which is of considerable interest across the House, the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has to give us sanction to open it and we are having very good engagement with the Department an…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 12) (Reservation of Vocational Training Places) Order 2022, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 26th October, 2022.

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis na Teachtaí as an méid a chuir siad leis an díospóireacht seo. Ba mhaith liom a chur ina luí ar na Teachtaí go bhfuil an Rialtas ag infheistiú leibhéil maoinithe nach bhfacthas riamh roimhe seo san oideachas agus i bhfoirgnimh scoile, agus go bhfuil clár oibre an-uaillmhianach ar bun a dhéileálfaidh le go leor de na saincheisteanna a ardaíodh sa rún. Ardaíodh ceisteanna tábhachtacha inniu. Mar Rialtas, aithnímid go hiomlán an tábhacht a bhaineann le córas oideachais uilechuim…