Emer Higgins

I thank the Dáil and acknowledge the interest and support of Members for this technical but important Bill. It was really heartening to have the engagement and to hear so many of the TV shows and films that I watch being mentioned here today. It shows the fantastic talent that we have in Ireland and why it is so important that we continue to support the industry. I am going to take a moment to re…

Yes, ten Topical Issues.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegard Naughton. As he said, the brief for this major school building project is to provide an eight-classroom school with an additional four classroom special educational needs, SEN, base included. The project has been devolved to Louth County Council for delivery. The proje…

I thank the Deputy. I hear and appreciate his frustration. The number of car parking spaces currently provided for is in line with the approved planning requirements. In order to change the plans, there would need to be a new planning application. I appreciate he does not want to do that after the new school is built, given that it would involve additional disruption. The advice would be to engage…

I will pass on the Deputy's feedback to the Minister to see if planning was granted whether it would be possible for the Department to fund those works. Right now, there is no planning grounds for it. That seems to be the problem and that is where I will advise the Deputy to take this next.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth. This gives me the opportunity to outline to the Dáil the current position regarding the proposed amalgamation of Ringaskiddy Lower National School and Shanbally National School in County Cork. This project is planned to be delivered as part of phase 2 of the Department’s Adapt 4 program…

I thank Deputy McGrath for his response, for his advocacy on behalf of the schools and for taking the time to go and visit both schools and provide feedback on the floor of the Dáil on what he has seen. This is a little bit more complex than some proposals because we are talking about the amalgamation of two schools. We are also talking about a site that is privately owned and that must come into …

I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising this really important issue. At the outset, I want to assure her that the Government is absolutely committed to the provision of additional special places for children with special educational needs. Budget 2026 secured funding for 3,000 new specialist places and the NCSE is currently examining where these places are best located for the coming academic year. D…

I appreciate that. There is inconsistency around this from a nationwide perspective and it is quite important that every child, no matter where he or she lives, gets the same treatment.

I, too, agree with the need for a new process. Every year for countless years, we have had parents at the last minute not knowing where their children are going to school. This is about reducing, as much as possible, that stress, strain and uncertainty. We now have the information as of 1 October. The NCSE is working hard to collate, process and map that out to figure out the schools that may have…

I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this important issue. We have just had a discussion on the same issue with Deputy Whitmore. I reiterate that the Government is fully committed to the provision of additional special places for children with special educational needs. In this academic year, we have surplus special education provision. It was provided based on the numbers notified through the pare…

I agree with the Deputy. I do not think that an assessment of need should be a barrier to receive extra support. It is not in terms of preschool, or from an access and inclusion model perspective, or from an SNA perspective. I certainly want to get to a point where it is not a requirement for a special class or a special school either. That makes sense and I agree with the Deputy on that. This is …

I thank Deputy Ward for raising this really important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien. From the outset, it would be remiss of me not to clarify that while the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, neither the Minister nor his officials is involved in the day-to-day operation of pub…

I know the frustrations the Deputy and many of his constituents are feeling. It is not satisfactory to be left waiting at a bus stop as a full bus passes by. I am pleased that the Deputy worked so successfully to ensure there have been additional commuter services on the E1 route. As the Deputy suggested, if the E2 ran on time it might meet demand but some of the issues arise from the fact that th…

I thank Deputy O'Meara for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. While the Minister has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport, neither the Minister nor his officials is involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory obligation for securing the provision of public passenger t…

The Deputy makes a very good argument for this, and I fully appreciate where he is coming from. Something that might help to strengthen the Deputy's case is the fact that the young adult card scheme was broadened in 2022 to include eligible services operated by commercial bus operators on an opt-in basis. Individual commercial operators chose to participate, and the NTA then compensated them for t…

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan. I thank Deputy Geoghegan for raising this important matter and providing the opportunity to give clarity. I hope the Deputy gets that clarity from the comments that the Minister has asked me to make on his behalf. I am aware that this matter has been discussed by the Committee of Public Accounts and that the Department has res…

I thank the Deputy and fully agree it is a very complex area. We need to make sure we are getting this right. There is a long-standing process around age verification of unaccompanied minors seeking international protection in place. That process will continue to be the practice until the new International Protection Bill is enacted and all of the relevant measures behind it come into force. On b…

The Deputy will be glad to know I will not say "dry summer" or "flooding".

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is obviously a really important issue for the people he represents and it must be very frustrating for them. The Deputy will appreciate the supply of public water and the provision of water services in general are, as the Deputy alluded to, matters for Uisce Éireann in the first instance. Uisce Éireann has statutory responsibility for all aspects of wa…

I cannot because the process is only at the initial stages. A case for the mains rehabilitation works in the Adrigole area is currently under consideration by Uisce Éireann. It has not made a determination on that. Only when it makes a determination on that will it be possible to move forward with a timeframe. The frequency of bursts is taken into consideration when it prioritises water main rehab…

Where?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I welcome the Deputy's remarks at the start of his contribution that he is not against renewable energy measures. As he will be aware, the Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland’s Future has reaffirmed Ireland's targets of 80% of electricity demand to be met …

I take this opportunity to reaffirm to the Deputy that the Government and, in particular, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are absolutely committed to working towards the publication of a national planning statement on solar energy development. That is in line with our programme for Government commitments. We are currently undertaking a scoping exercise in that regard. It i…

I acknowledge the work of Deputy Whitmore in bringing forward this Private Members' Bill on the subject of just transition and her and her party's commitment to this topic. I also commend Sinéad Mercier and the unions, which I know worked with Deputy Whitmore on this. I thank Deputy Gibney for her intervention. This time three weeks ago, I was the Minister of State with responsibility for digitali…