Paul McAuliffe

He is asking in advance.

I wish to raise with the Tánaiste the issue of BusConnects. This morning the National Transport Authority, NTA, and Dublin Bus met with elected representatives in my area and they accepted that the roll out of the F spine has been incredibly poor. They have committed to putting in a new timetable, which would reflect congestion, and to having additional drivers in place compared to the number at t…

Hear, hear.

Why are you giving out about it? You are giving out about your own suggestion.

An Post is one of our core public services, one that has many fantastic people working within it. Over the past two weeks, I have had the opportunity to engage with two groups of people who have concerns about our post service. The first group relates to post delivery. The Grove Park and Glasnevin areas of my constituency have had significant disruption to their post services as a result of issues…

19. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on disability will next meet. [46881/25]

13. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence if as part of the implementation of the working time directive in the Defence Forces, he will provide a timeline for the delivery of the welfare measures under strand 2; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60386/25]

I welcome the debate on this issue as I have on many other occasions and acknowledge Deputy Sherlock for bringing the motion forward. I also acknowledge how appreciative I am of participating in the debate. I remind my Opposition colleagues that they fought tooth and nail to exclude Government backbenchers from participating in Private Members' Bills being brought forward by the Opposition but on …

That is the policy we tried in 1977. I urge us to continue to work on this issue because there is a lot of cross-party work on it. I acknowledge former Deputy, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, who worked on it as well.

That is not true.

Withdraw that.

Withdraw that.

I welcome the Bill before the House. While it includes technical measures to increase the actual borrowing limit for the ESB and to provide for additional share capital to be issued, in essence it is about making an additional investment in our electricity supply. This is incredibly important in an Ireland that is growing and will have additional demands in the future. Even in today's market, ther…

It is with huge regret that I raise the issue of the organisation of bus routes in my area here in the Dáil Chamber with the Minister of State. It is something that, between the NTA and the operators of those buses, should not come to the floor of the Dáil. We know BusConnects has been controversial in many places where it has rolled out. It has proven so in the latest phase, phase 7, in the areas…

I thank the Minister of State. I am reassured that the NTA has said it will monitor frequency because anybody who has seen any of the bus stops or any of the buses being used will see that an increase in frequency is required. I am certain it is going to have to respond because of the level of demand. The difficulty is how long will it take the NTA to take that action. I know BusConnects is contr…

Hear, hear.

We have done more than you.

I will focus on two areas in the budget. One is the carer's allowance, particularly the means test. I was spokesperson on social protection previously and I have done some work with the carers' association. In the previous general election, the issue of the carer's allowance was discussed at some length. Two areas of concern were raised, one of which was the principle that if somebody is caring fo…

I apologise. I ask the Government to look at the issue. We did not have an opportunity to do it in this budget and we need to move on it.

8. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if there are targeted measures in place to reduce the prevalence of illegal fireworks both nationally and locally, and particularly in Dublin North-West; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54149/25]

Will the Minister of State make a statement to the House on targeted measures that may be put in place to reduce the prevalence of illegal fireworks, locally and nationally?

I thank the Minister of State. He is correct that we are heading into the autumn season and Hallowe'en festivities. Increasingly every year, that season opens earlier. I heard reports in late August of this year of fireworks being used in my area. The Minister of State outlined the impact that fireworks had on animals, family pets, livestock and so on. They have an impact on other children as wel…

I would welcome that correspondence. I point out the considerable work of Dublin Fire Brigade in trying to dissuade people. I also acknowledge the work of the local authorities, particularly Dublin City Council, in respect of pro-social activity. I encourage anybody in the city to come to either the Finglas Fright Night or the Ballymun Otherworld festival. They are fantastic family-fun events that…

During last year’s general election campaign, I met many carers who were not eligible for the carer’s allowance because their partners either got overtime or a promotion. Many people felt it demeaning that their role in caring and the job they were doing were dependent on their partners’ incomes. I welcome the increase in the income disregard. If I am correct, this means a couple can earn up to €…

Tomorrow, Friday, 10 October, is World Mental Health Day. It was first celebrated in 1992 as an initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health. In many ways, the conversation on mental health has completely transformed since 1992 when I was a teenager. I look with great admiration to the many people who are able to talk about their mental health now. I distinguish between mental health and m…