Joe Neville

Often when we talk about an area like north Kildare with a population that has grown so significantly, we can talk about physical infrastructure, Uisce Éireann or the need for housing. Ultimately, however, we also need the social infrastructure, in whatever guise that comes in, be it locations for elderly people or, in this case, GP services. Social infrastructure makes a community what it is and …

169. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of properties which have been brought back into use under the vacant property refurbishment grant in north Kildare since 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17855/26]

I wish to raise the topic of URDF or its successor, the new cities and towns initiative. I welcome the Taoiseach's announcement yesterday that the housing Minister had raised this at Cabinet and that a new round of funding will be provided for populated areas which are in desperate need of it. In my constituency of Kildare North, towns like Leixlip, Celbridge, Maynooth and Naas are all areas which…

Today we are all talking on the issue of post offices and post offices being retained. I want to emphasise the need for post offices to be retained in our town and village centres. All too often we talk about retaining the service but the key for me is that we retain them in the town centres. In my home village of Leixlip, we lost our post office from the town centre when it was put into a shoppin…

Chuala mé an focal “faitíos” ón Teachta Farrell. D’úsáid sí an focal sin. Sin an focal a bhfuilim ag smaoineamh faoi anois agus mé ag caint as Gaeilge. My Irish would not be as good as many people’s Irish. I did not get the opportunity to go to the Gaelscoil in Leixlip growing up, but I did go to the Gaeltacht. I actually got to learn quite a bit of Irish afterwards. I try to use it when I can. I…

96. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Transport the number of transport surveys carried out over the public transport networks to ensure that there is adequate capacity on routes and efficiency in delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15650/26]

I welcome to the Gallery my son, Liam, who is taking a mid-morning break from school. He is welcome. I wish to ask how many transport surveys have been carried out over the public transport networks to ensure there is adequate capacity on routes and efficiency in delivery; and to ask the Minister of State to make a statement on the matter, especially pertaining to north Kildare.

Yes.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit for the response. The reason I raise the issue is that in the fast-growing area of north Kildare, which has had a huge population increase, we have significant challenges when it comes to transport and public transport. As we all know, the roads, including the M4 and the N7, are full coming into Dublin in the morning. We want to give the opportunity to as many p…

While we are discussing north Kildare specifically, there are a couple of projects that have been set in train. The M4 bus corridor, for example, has been built. I was recently in touch with the Minister's Department looking to ensure that we get the legislation passed so we get that bus corridor open. That would be one way to take traffic off the motorway. DART+ South West has been delayed. We r…

I am raising the very serious issue of St. Patrick's Primary School in Celbridge, which opened in 2008. It is housed in a prefabricated building that was only supposed to be in place for five years. Unfortunately, 18 years later, the school is still in that building. In June 2025, a report was submitted after the work had been done at the end of March. It states: I am of the opinion that the exis…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I just want touch on a couple of the matters. The two modular units have been set down and the children are using them. However, the units are very small and way too cramped for proper classes. Also, there are no toilets in the modular units, which are located away from the school building. That poses its own difficulties. I was at the school yester…

144. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the measures his Department is taking to acknowledge the increased energy cost pressures on businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14815/26]

11. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the way in which his Department plans to implement a risk scorecard to enable the acceleration of key infrastructure delivery in the next few decades; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11083/26]

I thank the Minister very much for his response. I know he is very passionate about this issue, which the Joint Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery has seen. As Vice Chair of that committee, I am very focused on it. As a councillor, I saw a lot of houses being built in north Kildare, for example. I am sure the same applies in the rest of the country. In Celbridge, we…

I really sympathise with the Minister's final point. Potentially mistakes will be made and we must ensure that people will be backed through the various projects. I am a member of the public accounts committee and we look retrospectively at decisions. We need to ensure that people are backed. The main thing is that they are supported and that proper guidelines are in place so they are not afraid t…

Today I want to highlight the issue of school spaces, or the lack thereof, and the desperate need for joined-up thinking between Departments to ensure early indicators are there, so we know where we will have issues. More conversations are needed between the Department of Education and Youth and the Department of Social Protection, potentially, around the number of ECCE applicants we are seeing in…

175. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department will reconsider the current 38% exit tax on unrealised gains for ETFs, which is discouraging prudent saving; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10056/26]

I am Vice Chair of the infrastructure committee. I know the Minister will be coming to the committee later on and we may be able to discuss some of these topics in detail. I welcome the national development plan of €102 billion, which is a huge amount of money to spend. Ultimately, we are only playing catch-up on the money that probably should have been spent in previous years. The percentage tha…

I will follow up on many of the themes raised by many of my colleagues on this side of the House. I welcome the level of investment to go into Uisce Éireann over the next few years. From meeting the Uisce Éireann team at the infrastructure committee, I know the company is very positive about having the funds in place, not only to do the work it wants to do to repair water lines but also to help as…

What specific measures are the Minister's Department and Enterprise Ireland undertaking to ensure that SMEs in Ireland stay up to date with advancements in AI and digital technologies as they grow at a rapid rate? Local enterprise offices, LEOs, have been very good at giving grants to small companies but what I am talking about are mid-range SMEs that would like to get involved with Enterprise Ire…

I want to speak about AI because it is obviously so important, it will become so important and, as Deputy Geoghegan has outlined, it will cut across different boundaries and different areas. Other speakers will probably choose to speak on other areas on which we all well know the impacts. We can see even on social media that it has become a topic of conversation not alone in Ireland but across the…

119. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the steps his Department will take to widen the number of people who have access to the SEAI grants for home improvement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73234/25]

I join others in wishing Christmas cheer to everyone here and while we are on the topic of Christmas, I want to raise the issue of e-scooters and e-bikes. There is a lot of talk about them being bought as Christmas presents for people but there is a great need for the regulation of these vehicles on our roads. In the past few months we have seen stories of scooters come and go. We have read about …

NAMA has been one of those interesting bodies in my lifetime. It came in during a significant economic crash and was seen almost a set-up of last resort. I wondered about the impact it would have. As we look back now we can see it has had a positive legacy. It has turned out positively for the Government, notwithstanding what has happened over the past few years and that is worth reflecting on. Ho…