Jerry Buttimer

I assure the Deputy that the Minister, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I are very committed to this greenway project. The Deputy is right, and he paints a wonderful picture. I look forward to visiting with him again because he has painted a wonderful, broad brush of what it can do. It will drive economic change and regeneration. The point the Deputy has made is the vision will become a r…

I thank the Deputy for raising this project on behalf of Deputy McCarthy, which I know is of great importance to him. The Minister for Transport has overall responsibility for the allocation of Exchequer funding for national roads. As part of the annual allocation process for national roads, TII prepares the booklet for funding for each project for the year. We announced this year's allocation las…

Deputy O'Shea, speaking on behalf of Deputy McCarthy, is right that the N25 is an important road. It is the road to Rosslare Europort and funnels traffic into Cork city. As I said, the interventions for junction safety on the N25 are a matter for Cork County Council in this case. It will identify the points the Deputy has outlined and the need for enhanced safety measures to be taken. Funding has …

Government with the NTA and the council have allocated funding. This is a very important route. Living in and being from Cork, I recognise the volume of traffic has increased, and the number of accidents has increased. It is a priority for us in government. That is why we have allocated money after having had a pause. I will take the areas the Deputy mentioned back to Cork County Council because t…

It will not be from day one.

The increases will take a while, he said.

The increases will take a while, he said.

The Deputy is dead right. I thank him for his ongoing support and advocacy concerning the importance of the N20-M20 as a county councillor, as leader of the council and as a new Teachta Dála. He illustrated very clearly here the strategic importance of the road. He is 100% correct. I speak as a Cork person when I say that people have waited far too long. It is the piece that we are missing in our …

The Deputy is right that it is time to move from aspiration to delivery. That is why the Tánaiste was very clear about the need for the development of expeditious projects to be progressed, with the whole issue around infrastructure development and the need for a specific department of infrastructure. The Deputy and I really listened to the Cork Development Forum and the chamber of commerce and ot…

I thank the Deputy for her very important question. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, and I are aware of the challenges that many large community groups that operate community centres face in relation to the operation and staffing costs. In our consultation processes for the new strategy for the community and voluntary sector, it has emerged as an issue of concern. As the Deputy knows, the community …

The points the Deputy made are fair comments. Both the Minister and I are very much aware from our own involvement and engagement. We have travelled the country and met with the community and voluntary sector. As a former director of my own community association, I know they are very resilient in sourcing funding from a variety streams. In the budget announced last November, there is a 6% increase…

I look forward to going to Balbriggan. The Deputy was to come back to me with the invitation to arrange it.

I would love to do that because it is very important to support that organisation. The Deputy raised that already. The reality is that we have seen - for example, in the community services programme - an increase of €4 million to €59.4 million this year. We have seen a 6% increase in the budget. We will reflect on the articulation by the community and voluntary sector in terms of the preparation …

Gabhaim buíochas leis Teachta Ó Murchú. As the Deputy knows, the process of the development of a new strategy to support community and voluntary sector as a successor to Sustainable, Inclusive and Empowered Communities is well under way. It is being informed by an extensive public and stakeholder consultation process. This process has included an in-person consultation event, which took place in T…

The new strategy will take into account the new challenges facing the community and voluntary sector. It is evolving and changing and we are not oblivious to that. Richard Bruton, in the social enterprise space, will certainly drive and hold us to account. The previous strategy delivered significant progress in terms of a variety of metrics. Our future direction, policy and decision-making will be…

The important point where we have shared commonality is that the Government is committed to supporting the implementation of a new strategy. The community and voluntary sector is an important pillar and we look forward to working continually to ensure that relationship is not just strengthened but that it is a partnership between the Government and the sector. I could list the Deputy a whole raft …

Yes. We will continue to do that but we must also recognise that we have seen a 6% increase in the budget. We have seen an increase in terms of the community service programme, which reflects that we are in an evolving and changing world and as needs change challenges must be met. This is not something we are oblivious to. We have an open-door policy. There is engagement. We are not living in an i…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the Government is committed to the delivery of major public transport projects, as evidenced by last year's review of the National Development Plan (NDP) allocation of €24.3 billion to transport projects from 2026 to 2030; — the NDP Sectoral Plan for Transport 2026-2030 involves a fund…

Deputy Bacik should come down to the Dunkettle roundabout. Deputy Eoghan Kenny will tell her about the investment in Dunkettle.

I do not think he claimed that, to be fair.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter. He has been consistent in raising matters relating to public transport in the House. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Transport. The DART+ programme comprises five different rail projects in and around the greater Dublin area, extending the existing DART network to Maynooth, M3 Parkway, Hazelhatch and Celbridge and Dr…

I went to college in Maynooth, and Deputy Joe Neville has been on to me, as has Deputy Farrelly in the past, to be fair. Again, on behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank Deputy Farrelly for raising this matter. This is a very important issue and I am familiar with the Kilcock issue, which Deputy Farrelly has spoken about. I do not have a definitive answer on the public consultation but I wi…

I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising issues of local transport in County Wicklow. As Minister of State at the Department of Transport with special responsibility for rural transport, I clearly reaffirm Government's commitment to strong and ongoing enhancement of our Local Link services right across rural Ireland, particularly in County Wicklow. Under the Programme for Government: Securing Ireland'…

I know Deputy Whitmore and Deputy Timmins have raised this before. We are engaging with the NTA. We are awaiting the service plan. As the Deputy will know, we do not announce routes in part. It is part of the whole national service plan. The Department has made a commitment. The NTA has advised us that the procurement process for Transport for Ireland route 199, Glendalough to Bray, is complete. W…

The real facts are that the plan is imminent. To put this in context, the budget was in December. The Department gave the NTA its allocation. To be fair to it, it is working through the process. This is the first week of January. The Deputy used the word "trust". Look at the Government's commitment in terms of its investment in rural transport. Some €84 million has been invested and there has been…