Ciarán Ahern

Last week was a dark week for road safety in this country. A judge made derogatory comments about cyclists. A Government TD was convicted of speeding, going 190 km/h to a constituency event.

What does this say about this Government's attitude and our country's attitude to road safety? I am calling urgently for a debate on road safety in this House.

96. Deputy Ciarán Ahern asked the Minister for Transport if he is aware of a survey commissioned by the RAC in the UK into the safety of LED headlights in modern vehicles, which found that four in five drivers were concerned about dazzling headlights; if he, his Department or the Road Safety Authority has considered the independent research study published by TRL in October 2025 titled ‘Glare from…

I am glad to hear the Minister's comments on DART+ South West. We will keep pressure on him there. This question relates to road safety. The brightness and intensity of the new style LED car headlights is a cause of concern for a lot of people. Is the Minister aware of a survey commissioned by the RAC in the UK into the safety of LED headlights in modern vehicles? It found four in five drivers we…

Many constituents, friends and family of mine who perhaps were travelling a little bit more on country roads over the Christmas period have come to me saying this is not a comfort issue and that it is a serious road safety issue. Depending on the direction or the angle of these lights coming at the driver, which is often from new higher cars and higher positions, they can temporarily blind the dri…

It would be interesting to get the statistics on collisions and fatalities in order to understand what the contributing factors are. I appreciate this is a European competency but I want to ensure we are feeding into the European agenda and, to the extent we have any data, providing it in support of any changes needed. Acknowledging the European competency, there are some things from an enforceme…

I wish the Minister a happy new year. What a glamorous topic we have to kick off the new year here. We have lost our audience in the Gallery already. We might forgive our friends on the Sinn Féin benches for veering off topic slightly. This is a very technical Bill but we are talking about safety and this legislation deserves careful consideration and examination by all of us in the House. The ch…

In the spirit of this being the last sitting day before Christmas, I want to say happy Christmas and thank you to the Ceann Comhairle and my colleagues in opposition and in government. It is a privilege to have served my first year as a TD for Dublin South-West and to work with Deputies on all sides of the House in trying to bring about a better Ireland. I know everyone here is doing it in good fa…

The Luas green line remains out of action today. It has been about 24 hours since it went down and we do not know when it will be back. This is causing significant disruption and frustration for commuters across Dublin. Businesses across the city are also concerned, particularly as we are in the lead up to the busy Christmas shopping period. The fact that one Luas line going down can cause such ha…

As the Taoiseach will be aware, there was great relief back in May after the positive outcome of the ballot on a pension increase for members of the CIÉ superannuation scheme 1951 after 18 years without an increase. I pay tribute to the members of the scheme, the CIÉ Salaried Pensioners' Association and the trade union group for their tireless advocacy on the matter. To be fair, the Government has…

I thank the Minister for providing us with time to discuss what is without question one of the most pressing issues we face in an increasingly digitalised world. We all live our lives online. It is where we work, shop, find our entertainment and, increasingly, where we socialise and young people find their communities. Many young people almost have a parallel online life to their life in the real …

Earlier this week, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, waved the white flag on the M50. It basically said it is full and there is nothing it can do to address congestion. Commuters are stuck in their cars and wasting their time. The situation is costing our economy, climate and public health. Instead of focusing on the causes of this gridlock, which is a lack of public transport in this country…

I formally second the motion. We all would have hoped that ten years on from the Gender Recognition Act, we would be a lot further along in ensuring that trans people can get the care they need and deserve but progress has stalled when it comes to truly vindicating trans people's right to be themselves. In a country that has proudly made such strides forward in so many ways, it is utterly shameful…

I was struck by Kathy Sheridan's piece in The Irish Times last week because it summed up my feelings perfectly. She spoke about the absence of kindness in debates around trans people. I hate to use the word "debate" when speaking about the rights of people. This is a group of people - less than 1% of our population - that amounts to an absolutely tiny cohort of marginalised and often vulnerable p…

For the past number of years under Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Governments we have seen what feels like a permanent cost-of-living crisis. People are being squeezed from every angle, be it grocery price inflation, the cost of renting or buying a home or childcare costs, something the Government has been conspicuously silent on since the promise of it costing €200 a month. We know student fees are go…

Okay.

Understood. I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. However, this needs to be called out and I have asked the Minister before to start looking seriously at ways we can reintroduce some level of regulation of energy prices beyond network tariffs. I am not suggesting that is easy but there are carve-outs in EU competition law that allow for price regulation in order to protect customers. We should be e…

I thank Sinn Féin and Deputies Cullinane and McGuinness for their work on this motion. I pay tribute to the search and rescue crews in our Coast Guard around the country. They do genuinely heroic work and we all owe them a debt of gratitude. It is extremely disappointing that this motion is even necessary and that the Government has put down an amendment to wash its hands of the issue, because it …

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to enable the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities to direct that offers for connection to the electricity transmission and distribution systems be made subject to terms and conditions requiring that specified measures be taken for the purpose of avoiding, preventing, reducing, offsetting or abating greenhouse gas emissions o…

I thank the Minister of State.

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I welcome the fact that we are discussing haulage costs and the SME sector more broadly today. It is an issue that goes to the heart of our economic well-being and our regional development - more pertinently, our balanced regional development - as well as the survival of thousands of SMEs across our country. The cost of moving goods on Irish roads is one of the greatest threats to the competitiven…

I thank the Minister of State for staying with us to this relatively late hour tonight. I want to raise some issues that have arisen on certain bus routes that serve my constituency. Some routes are new and others have been in place for a while. I am a big supporter of the BusConnects project. The aim of improving connectivity across our city is very important. I have been on the record for years …

The Minister of State was just getting to the good stuff there; I see it in front of me in the statement. Obviously, we welcome the increased investment in public transport. It is long overdue and it is great to see it. The Minister of State mentioned - and he can come back to me on this in his supplementary response - that the S6 will move to a high-frequency timetable. I would be interested to …

My thanks to Sinn Féin for tabling this motion on the cost of motoring, which is a serious cost for people. At the outset, I want to lay my cards on the table. As transport spokesperson for the Labour Party, I will always advocate for public transport and active travel ahead of private cars. I am of the view that we should do everything we can to encourage people to use greener, more sustainable m…