Keira Keogh

Seasonal businesses, like many in my county of Mayo, are particularly vulnerable to economic fluctuations. Will the Department consider targeted supports to these businesses that are often the backbone of the economy in rural areas but also the social environment? Given there are three out of five Oireachtas Members from Mayo in the Chamber, I wish everybody a happy Mayo Day, four days early.

I thank the Minister for State. I also thank the Minister, Deputy Burke, for visiting Westport earlier in the year and meeting with our businesses. However, I have to say and I am sure the Minister of State is aware, the last few weeks have been hugely difficult. I have met with business people who maybe do not call to the office or do not usually talk to me on the street about their problems. I a…

It is very obvious we have been doing a lot to support and I think of the 9% VAT rate in the hospitality industry, which has been really welcome. What struck me about these businesses is that they do not seem to be reaching out for the local enterprise office supports. They do not seem to be aware of that cost of business advisory forum or the small business unit. What are we doing wrong that thes…

12. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has considered the particular challenges associated with the current school transport criteria in rural areas such as County Mayo, including the local nuances associated with feeder schools and geographical distances; the measures her Department is taking to address these challenges; and if she will make a statemen…

Go raibh maith agat to my Vice Chair who is allowing me to swap to let me make it in time for a committee. Has the Minister considered the particularly nuanced challenges around current school transport, especially local traditions in relation to feeder schools versus kilometres, especially in rural counties like Mayo?

I welcome the huge investment in school transport and the huge increase. It is almost a year to the day I spoke about Sancta Maria Secondary School in Louisburgh that has two buses going every single day from Westport at a cost of approximately €850 to the parents. Traditionally, kids from Westport have either gone to Westport or Louisburgh schools. I even know of kids from Newport who will eithe…

I can see why in places like Dublin, Galway or bigger areas, the catchment area could be confusing and there are a lot of schools. However, when we look at really rural places, it seems it would be much easier to engage with the schools themselves. The primary schools can tell the Department where all the students are going. If the primary schools in Newport are saying their students are either go…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, for being here today. Like many of the first-time TDs, I have been elected for 16 months. In that time, I have made 1,400 representations on behalf of people all across Mayo. I have met people at weekly clinics in Westport, Achill, Belmullet and Bangor Erris, and more are planned. We have helped people to get the fuel allowance. I welcome the extension…

Will the Taoiseach advise me of any supports for ferry operators in light of the increased operating costs due to the fuel crisis? I am thinking of the ferry operators operating ferries to Clare Island, Inishturk and our other islands. As we know, ferries are vital to get islanders to their healthcare appointments, education and other things. I welcome the packages for farmers, hauliers, contracto…

Go raibh maith agat, Deputy.

In accordance with Standing Order 85(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time on Wednesday, 15 April 2026.

Deputy Whitmore outlined many examples. Last week, when International Women's Day was on, we could see so many jokes around why we needed an International Women's Day and if there was an international men's day. Deputy Whitmore has just pointed out exactly why we still need this day, when so many of us are still putting on our live locations when we are getting into a taxi or walking home. Intern…

For years the local post office has been far more than a place at which to post a letter or collect a pension. In towns and villages up and down the country, the post office is essential to communities. It is a trusted service, a provider of employment and for many who are isolated, an important point of human contact. However, we are continuing to watch local post offices come under pressure, re…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I want to acknowledge the work undertaken by the Department and the Courts Service to brief members of the disability matters committee on this legislation. We were provided with two detailed briefings to help us understand both the operational process involved in discharging wards of court and the urgency of the legislative amendment before us, with…

We are ahead of time and those were very positive exchanges. I hope we will continue in this manner.

Deputy, you have had your time.

Deputy, you have had your time.

I want to discuss the additional accommodation scheme, especially as it relates to schools in County Mayo. So far, 16 schools at various stages of this scheme have reached out to me. They all stress the need for timely and adequate additional accommodation. Mayo has a wide network of schools that has a vast mix. Some are rural, some are urban. We have some island schools, some Gaeltacht schools an…

The Minister of State should absolutely send my list to the Department, but he can be guaranteed that it already has my list. I thank him for the details he outlined. In his reply, he said that details of all live and completed projects are available on the website, but my big issue is that a school might be at stage 2a for 18 months. One school said it had no contact since April last year, anoth…

Circular 0030/2014 states that an SNA facilitates attendance, minimises disruption to class and attends to primary care needs like feeding, toileting, medicine and mobility. On page 8, it says the role of an SNA is not to provide additional tuition. Show me an SNA in any special, autism or mainstream class around the country who is not providing additional tuition, especially if you go into a spec…

Can I confirm that Deputy Lahart and I are sharing ten minutes?

I start by extending my sympathies to the family of Grace Lynch and also to the family of the deceased from today's bus accident and those recovering in hospital, as well as the 183 families from last year, nine of them in Mayo. It is important to remember those people because that is why we are here. Even though in my county there were 19 deaths in 2024, which reduced to nine last year, every sin…

I ask the Minister of State to cast his mind back six years to 2020 and imagine a constituent of my predecessor, former Deputy, Michael Ring, walking into his office at the age of 18. The constituent needed a primary medical certificate to access the disabled driver's and disabled passenger's scheme, DDS. They were refused. They appealed and lost the appeal. This was not because they can walk unai…

I thank the Minister of State and I respect his decision to move away from the prepared script. My concern is that in 2020, nobody saw Covid coming down the line and this led to the working group being paused. We have had different reports over the years from different Departments. We now know the Department of Transport is putting the scheme out for public consultation. I am pleased to hear that …

103. Deputy Keira Keogh asked the Minister for Transport if his Department will consider introducing additional Local Link routes and frequencies to better connect rural communities in Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2666/26]