John Paul O'Shea

This question relates to an issue that goes to the very heart of compassion, dignity and fairness in our society, namely the support we provide for family carers. Across Cork North-West and, indeed, every parish in Ireland there are countless people who quietly dedicate their lives to caring for a loved one, whether that is a child with additional needs, an elderly parent or a partner who requires…

I welcome the Minister's response and thank him for outlining the plans to phase out the means test for carer’s allowance over the lifetime of the Government. Furthermore, I acknowledge the implementation of increased disregards for the carer’s allowance in recent months. This has assisted many carers to get an increased allowance or, indeed, to qualify for one for the very first time. The phasing…

I thank the Minister for his commitment today on this very important issue. Budget 2026 will be the start of the process of ending the means test for carers. I very much welcome that. I hope we can work towards that goal over the lifetime of this Government. The Minister mentioned how there would be an extreme cost to the taxpayer with increased costs to the health system if carers did not exist.…

We have made considerable strides in improving the public transport network in rural county Cork through the Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan. We have seen successful roll-out of bus services from Mallow to Fermoy, Charleville to Mallow, Mallow to Mitchelstown, Killarney to Macroom and the latest one, the 243 bus service from Newmarket to Cork. Today I am inquiring about the roll out of the …

15. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will consider opening a passport printing office in Cork to assist with printing passports in a timely manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38241/25]

Will the Tánaiste consider opening a passport printing office in Cork to assist with printing passports in a timely manner? I ask him to make a statement on the matter.

As the Tánaiste said, there are two publicly accessible passport offices, one on the South Mall in Cork and one on Mount Street in Dublin, in addition to a passport printing facility in Balbriggan. Of these three buildings, only two print the passports, with one printing facility in Dublin city centre and two printing presses in Balbriggan. There is no such facility in Cork. Given that the number …

I thank the Tánaiste. I compliment the passport staff. The many passport service staff I have dealt with in my role as a TD for the Cork North-West constituency have been very helpful at all times. It is great to see that a new passport office in opening in Cork in the autumn and that there will be additional staff in that office. I know this matter has been brought up locally in my county, Cork, …

Before we move onto the next speaker, I welcome Michael Coyne and family to the Gallery. They are here at the behest of Deputy Heneghan. I hope they enjoy their afternoon in the Gallery.

The Independent and Parties Technical Group had nine minutes remaining. I propose that we use those minutes now because Deputy Connolly is here. Is that agreed? Agreed.

I stand here today to respectfully request that additional funding be allocated to the local improvement scheme, LIS, in 2025 to address the long waiting list for the scheme in every county across Ireland, particularly in my home county of Cork. There are currently thousands of applications on hand within local authorities, many dating back five years or more. I urge the Department of Rural and Co…

The Select Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has completed its consideration of the following Revised Estimates for Public Services for the service of the year ending on 31 December 2025: Vote 20 - Garda Síochána; Vote 21 - Prisons; Vote 22 - Courts Service; Vote 24 - Justice; and Vote 44 - Data Protection Commission.

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Sinéad Gibney - To discuss the closure of a montessori in Stepaside and general lack of childcare availability in Dublin Rathdown. Deputy Erin McGreehan - To discuss the use of Louth County Hospital in Dundalk as a surgical hub for …

The next Topical Issue is shared by Deputies Quinlivan and Sheehan.

I am looking for an update on the progress of the N20-M20 Cork-Limerick motorway project. I emphasise the critical importance of its swift delivery to the people of Munster and the broader Irish economy. The case for immediate action on the N20-M20 project could not be clearer. The existing route is a relic of a bygone era, and is wholly inadequate for the demands of a modern economy. Every day th…

14. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Transport further to Parliamentary Question No. 312 of 1 April 2025, to provide an update on the number of driving test assessors currently assigned to Cork; the number if the projected doubling of testers at the end of April was achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22670/25]

I ask the Minister for Transport, further to Parliamentary Question No. 312 of 1 April 2025, to provide an update on the number of driving test assessors currently assigned to Cork; the number if the projected doubling of testers at the end of April was achieved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. It is a serious issue nationally but particularly acute in Cork.

I thank the Minister of State for his engagement on this matter and his public statement last week asking for the RSA to come back to him with further information on reducing these waiting lists. This is a particularly acute issue in Cork. We have more than 4,000 people waiting for a driving test in Mallow, 11,500 people waiting for a Wilton driving test, and more than 2,000 in Ballincollig and a …

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, for his continued engagement. The Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, who is also from Cork, is well aware of the situation in the county. I agree with the Minister of State that we have many no-shows and this unfortunate. It is important that the RSA comes back and offers young people the opportunity of late cancellation appointments. I know people wh…

I ask the Taoiseach about the N72, the main artery road from Waterford to Killarney. There is a section of that road in Meenskeha near Cullen in my constituency of Cork North-West in respect of which funding is sought from the Department of Transport and TII. We have received an allocation this year for phase one of €2.5 million. That has been completed in recent days and the money has been drawn …

I ask the Taoiseach for an update on the M20 Cork to Limerick project. Limerick City and County Council published a transport solution for the project in March 2022 and subsequently published updates in February and November 2023 and June 2024. The dual carriageway will comprise over 100 km of safe shared active travel pathways connecting communities from Blarney to Patrickswell, encompassing tow…

6. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to provide an update on sports capital grant appeals for Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9867/25]

As this is my first opportunity to speak in the Dáil, I wish to say a huge thanks to the people of Cork North-West for putting their faith in me and voting me in to this House for the next five years. I look forward to representing them as best I can. I also wish to take this opportunity to thank my family, friends, neighbours, relations and all the Fine Gael family who supported me throughout the…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is great there will be further investment in the wider sport area in the lifetime of this Government, especially in 2025-2026. On the sports capital allocations, it is good that appeals from County Cork have been dealt with and a number have been successful. The ones that were unsuccessful will be able to bid again in 2026, as the Minister of Stat…

It is good to see that a date has been set for spring 2026 for an announcement of the next round of funding. A lot of clubs that were not successful this time around will be waiting in anticipation. They will have the opportunity to prepare now in terms of planning permission and getting themselves in train to prepare for the application process itself. It is a tough application process, there is …