Peter Roche

I want to shine a light on an anomaly that exists with regard to the eligibility for the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant. I refer to mature students, if you like, who continue to live at home with their parents for obvious reasons because they cannot acquire a property of their own. The parents' income is assessed as part of the eligibility, which is a little bit of a burden on the …

I welcome the opportunity to speak on water infrastructure, in particular, the role of private group water schemes, which remain essential in rural communities. Many of these schemes have benefited from grant assistance over the years, and that investment is clearly delivering results. Many are operating at an exceptionally high standard, with regular testing, ongoing monitoring and strong local m…

Last Saturday I and other public representatives attended a public rally in Dunmore town in east Galway. The campaign was orchestrated by Dunmore tidy towns and the Dunmore business people association because of dereliction on both sides of the street, where most properties are privately owned. They are dogged with tiles and slates falling off the roofs onto main street, where children and indeed …

Like previous speakers, I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025, which represents a significant and long-awaited step in reforming how home support services are regulated in this State. I want to quickly touch on my hope and expectation that this legislation becomes a real enabler of access to home supports across our country, particularly in…

135. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if his Department is aware that areas in rural Ireland, including Mountbellew in County Galway, continue to experience significant gaps in mobile phone coverage and effectively remain dead zones for cellular reception; if he will provide an update on measures being taken to address these coverage deficits; and if he w…

I want to bring to the Minister's attention the lack of mobile phone coverage in one of our busiest little towns in east Galway. I refer to Mountbellew, which hosts quite a lot of activity in terms of national schools, two secondary schools and a the new third level college, namely the Atlantic Technological University, ATU, campus. The one thing that is really dogging those who live and work in M…

I thank the Minister for that comprehensive response. People have made calls to the relevant service providers. Unfortunately, that has not changed matters as they stand. My concern is that Mountbellew is a thriving town. It needs the interconnectivity to which I refer. What is happening is not just an inconvenience. Obviously, safety is an issue. Older people all require access to mobile phone co…

Just by way of conclusion, Mountbellew has people, businesses, educational institutions and ambition but what it lacks is the urgent need for basic, reliable mobile phone coverage.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on Second Stage of this Bill. At its core this legislation is about clear principles in protecting public health, especially the health of our young people, while tackling a growing environmental problem in our community. On that basis, I fully support the intent of the Bill. In my constituency, it is impossible to ignore the extent of the issue. Almost every to…

121. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the engagement his Department has had with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration regarding current waiting times for first-time Irish residence permit registration appointments, which in many cases now exceed new employees’ actual job start dates due to exceptionally high demand for appointments and l…

My question relates to first-time Irish resident permits and registration appointments. There are considerable delays and there is considerable anxiety for those who wish to avail of an appointment to seek employment, particularly critical employment. Those positions of employment are often in the medical care sector. I am anxious to understand exactly how that process can be expedited to ensure i…

I appreciate the Minister of State’s response but I am in receipt of an email that I received for what is described as a critical skills employment permit. The position the individual applied for was a critical nurse manager in Portiuncula Hospital, Ballinasloe. The employment was to start in early January but the earliest date they got for any appointment was 10 March 2026. That worries me. A pos…

I have raised my concern. Maybe there is a need for better and more collaboration. One thing that is sure and certain is that, when we require skilled people to take up critical posts in critical positions, there is an urgent need to expedite that process. I certainly have plenty of email evidence to suggest that there are considerable delays. Whether it be the Department of justice or otherwise, …

178. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance whether his Department has assessed the cumulative impact of rising energy, childcare and housing costs on households that do not qualify for means-tested supports; whether targeted tax credit adjustments are under consideration in future budget preparations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [73232/25]

I want to focus again on education and school facilities. Right across east Galway, a number of schools are particularly challenged in terms of wanting to improve their situations. These include Dunmore National School, Trinity Primary School in Tuam, Carrabane national school, St. Ita’s National School in Loughrea, Coláiste an Eachréidh in Athenry, and Gort Community School, just to mention a few…

Yes.

Of course.

All Members hold constituency meetings with constituents and issues that affect them are presented to us. In the case of Galway East, one issue that has repeatedly come to the attention of my office is the re-evaluation of commercial rates. I refer to two small businesses, one a nail manicure outlet and another a hair salon, that had commercial rates heretofore of €600. That has risen to €1,448, w…

I would be the first to acknowledge Government supports for businesses such as those we have spoken about. I have suggested for quite some time that our local authority, Galway County Council, is chronically underfunded. As a consequence, our poor councillors have had to make that ultimate bad decision. The consequences of that have been felt because businesspeople do not want to condemn, criticis…

I pick up from where Deputy Dolan left off regarding the wind energy development planned for east Galway. I have mentioned here previously that we are being bombarded with plans for developments right around the constituency, including in Killimordaly, Shancloon, Cooloo, Barnaderg and lots more places. What really concerns me, apart from the negative impact they will have if they get the go-ahead,…

39. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the current regulatory framework governing maximum wind turbine height; whether concerns raised by residents in County Galway regarding the increasing scale of turbine proposals, particularly turbines exceeding traditional height thresholds, are being considered as part of the ongoing review of wind energy plannin…

The Government has made repeated commitments to improve transparency and tighten controls around how Departments manage their spending or budgeting. This is essential to maintaining public trust in our ability to deliver value for money when using taxpayers' funds. We understand that the updated regulations are to be introduced to guide how funding needs to be allocated or spent. Will the Minister…

I thank the Minister for the comprehensive response. It is fair to say that now more than ever, the public expects transparency and accountability in how public funds are spent. People want to know not just where their money is going, but how decisions are made and whether they deliver value for money. We are very fortunate to be in a position where we can invest in infrastructure, services and in…

The Minister's response has been reassuring. Like many others, I feel responsible in many ways if there is any guessing or dispute around how moneys are spent. I really welcome that. I am reassured by the Minister's responses.

I wish to raise an issue with regards to the lack of funding coming from Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, for rehabilitation works on our national routes, particularly in east Galway and works such as overlays, drainage and pavement improvements. Funding over the last couple of years has been drastically reduced. Any time representations are made to the local area engineer, the cry from TII …