The reply is very weak. The reality is that they have been working on this for ten years. Prior to approving the Bun an Choill section, the original plan was to do the whole road. There were a lot of discussions, and ongoing discussions. I was over in the Department myself in the intervening years regarding method statements. It is not yesterday or today that this issue arose. The second issue that should be understood is that - and this is the irony of it - if the road were built to the modern standards, with sett…

"As soon as possible" means it is on the méar fhada, agus ní fios cén uair a gheofar freagra. Táimid ag iarraidh cinnidh, nó dáta faoina mbeidh cinneadh againn.

Beidh sé deacair. Mar is eol don Leas-Cheann Comhairle, tá an obair seo ag teastáil go práinneach ar an mbóthar seo agus caithfidh mé cás láidir a dhéanamh. The N59, as a coastal national secondary route, was included in Transport 21. The idea was that those parts of the country that were far away from national primary routes would have decent national secondary routes to service them. There are 113 km of N59 in Galway – 80 km from Galway to Clifden and 33 km from Clifden to Leenane. Priority was given to the secti…

"As soon as possible" means it is on the méar fhada, agus ní fios cén uair a gheofar freagra. Táimid ag iarraidh cinnidh, nó dáta faoina mbeidh cinneadh againn.

Will the Minister give an update on discussions he has had with his counterparts in Northern Ireland on North-South justice issues and the progress made in this period? Are we coming to an understanding on some of the outstanding issues?

As the Minister knows, I have been concerned for some time about the delay in the administration of justice in Northern Ireland. People are waiting up to nine years for trial. They are our citizens. I think the Minister would agree that is not justice and that justice delayed is justice denied. As well as that, there are people spending inordinate time on remand and, when they are out on bail, they have very strict bail conditions. Has that issue been raised with the northern authorities by the Minister’s officials…

The Independent Reporting Commission, IRC, is an independent commission set up by the Irish and British Governments. In its most recent report, it spoke about possible elements of a group transition process. How are the discussions going on progressing the recommendations in that report on ending violence completely in Northern Ireland? Will the Minister give an update on that? It is an important issue. We all want to end violence but it is not a one-way street. It is a complex problem. We need to look at very good…

According to a recent report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Ireland is the fourth highest consumer of cocaine globally. This brings a risk of violence, as drug gangs compete for growing markets. According to the report, 2.4% of Irish people reported using cocaine in the past year. Only the Netherlands, Australia and Spain reported higher levels of cocaine use. In parallel, there is also a huge increase in the use of crack cocaine. It is fair to say drug use is now prevalent across all classes of…

Is it intended to review the ages at which members of the Defence Forces have to retire, taking into account the specialist skills required by many during their careers? Given the types of positions these people might hold, the work could be capably done by people over 50 years of age.

It is well recognised that there is a shortage of personnel. Personnel used to be allowed stay in the Defence Forces until they were 60 years of age and that changed in 1994. I do not suggest that all of the personnel be allowed to remain because I understand that depends on their role in the Defence Forces. If we take, for example, paramedics, they have to retire, depending on their rank, at 50 years of age. The following day, however, they could go to the HSE or to the National Ambulance Service to get a job and …

The Minister might give the House some more clarification on timelines. I accept that a process has to be gone through and that there are always knock-on effects and so on in the public service. On the other hand, it is an issue that needs to be tackled. Are we talking about an interim arrangement this year and in the long term within a full year, or what kind of timelines are we talking about? Things seem to get lost in the system and get gummed up. This is always going to happen and we hear this word “soon”, whic…

Nearly ten years ago planning permission was granted for the upgrade of the N59 between Maam Cross and Oughterard. An Bord Pleanála put a condition on the permission that the method statement would have to be approved by the Department with responsibility for heritage. In 2021, method statements were agreed for the first section of the road covering approximately 6 km and that was successfully completed. Since then, a series of method statements have been submitted for the other two thirds of the road. In particula…

Since I became involved in politics and especially since I went to live in rural Ireland, having grown up in a city where water, street lights, pavements, sewerage and all these services were taken for granted, it always surprised me that fundamental, basic services are seen as too expensive and unaffordable for rural people. There are four services that should be in every house in the country. The first of them is electricity. Thankfully, we have achieved that. We achieved it at a time when this country was relati…

I did not get a copy of the Minister of State's speech but he said that the water services policy from 2018 to 2025 is based on the delivery and development of water services in line with the needs and expectations of citizens and users, in compliance with legal obligations, in a fair and cost-effective manner and in keeping with the principles of social, economic and environmental sustainability. I have been reading this again and again and trying to decipher it into simple, understandable terms. Does it or does i…

It is possible. Check your facts.

With that upbeat assessment of where we are going, as the Minister will be aware, I totally concur with him. My question is, in regard to the money that has been available for greenways from Athenry to Collooney, will there be a instruction given that the work cannot be done at the risk of destroying existing infrastructure that could be used for rail in the future? We need clarification on this issue. We all support greenways, but we do not support greenways that destroy one thing to give you another.

Following the process, do I take it that nothing will be done ahead of the rail review being published and decisions being made on it? When the options are put forward by TII, am I correct that it is obligated to provide five options on each route and then go to public consultation and outline the merits and demerits in respect of cost, the environment, etc., of the five options? Could the Minister clarify the process because the process is key here? If the options are made available, and there are five, no doubt p…

Many people now accept with the new figures we received that it is likely that Athenry to Claremorris will proceed. Will the section from Claremorris to Collooney be considered in view of the fact that it would provide a connection, within a ten-minute bus ride, to Knock airport from Charlestown? Furthermore, if that section was completed - it is there so it only has to be reopened - it would deliver the longest freight line on the island, the whole way from Sligo. The Minister rightly keeps mentioning Ballina but …

It is all there.

The Minister is badly advised. The whole railway line is maintained. We cleaned that in the noughties so it is all there.