Réada Cronin

Is the Minister for Transport aware of the findings of a research paper from the school of physics in Trinity College Dublin entitled Why Rural Ireland holds the key to transport decarbonisation? Has he engaged with himself, as the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, on this matter?

That is great that the Minister has engaged with this and that he will be meeting Professor Caulfield because the need to decarbonise and move to green energy has never been clearly, especially with the illegal wars in Iran, Ukraine, Lebanon and everywhere. The Minister can tell Michéal Martin that we do know about it. People in rural communities depend on their cars and are feeling this the most.…

I am grateful for that because this is critical. When Russia invaded Ukraine, it should have been a wake-up call for us. We should have accelerated investment in renewables and energy security straight away. We have to accept that geopolitical instability is going to be part of the world - certainly for the next few years - and plan for that. Short-term supports certainly are a help but they do no…

I appreciate that.

The dire condition of another school in my constituency in of Kildare North, this time in Celbridge, is causing distress to students and teachers. Scoil na Mainistreach has had an ongoing issue with a roof over the past few years, and it is only getting worse. The school has had contractors out and they said it should not attempt another patch job after numerous patch jobs given the poor construct…

I know but-----

Come on, lads. Get-----

Every year, year in, year out, we are at this, where parents scramble for places for their children with special educational needs, and every year it becomes clearer and clearer that this State is abjectly failing in its duty to these children. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have repeatedly failed children with additional educational needs, their families and the professionals who support them. The Gov…

17. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the reason for the disapplication of section 15 of Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 to a relevant public body as part of the Critical Infrastructure Bill 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27646/26]

I support the intentions and objectives of the Bill. Clean air was one of the first issues I brought up under Questions on Policy or Legislation so it is extremely important. As my colleague An Teachta Daly said, air does not know any borders. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, as a strong united-Irelander, knows that too. It is absolutely pivotal to our health and our well-being. It …

Forty per cent of it was not.

Keep up, like.

I will give the Minister of State the truth. The truth is that people are at breaking point and this Government is standing idly by, completely failing them. After a disastrous, stingy budget, families have been hit with soaring fuel prices. Filling the car or heating the home is simply unaffordable. This is not just pressure any more. We are at a crisis point now. When people took to the streets…

We have a chronic lack of infrastructure in our country. The basics, such as housing, transport, school places, hospitals, grid capacity and an effective high-quality water supply, are all completely lacking in the second richest country in all of Europe. Where does the money go? It is the people's money, the tax that people pay for their work, the solidarity contributions they make to their fello…

It took four weeks into this global crisis created by a warmonger in Israel and his boor in the US for this Government to take some action. The reduction in excise duty was a welcome step but it did not go far enough. People will still be paying more for petrol and diesel than they did before the start of this war. On top of that, the carbon tax increase is going to offset every measure the Govern…

I raise the issue of St. Patrick’s School in Celbridge. It is closed today because of safety concerns. I raised this a couple of weeks ago and over the past few years. I mentioned it is held together with duct tape. We managed to speak to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, last night, and she said members of the Department are going out to inspect the school today. I asked would she issue us with the …

Molaim mo chomrádaí, an Teachta Ó Snodaigh, as an mBille seo a thabhairt os comhair na Dála. Is Bille tábhachtach é seo maidir le cearta teanga, scríofa go hiomlán i nGaeilge. This is an important Bill, recognising the importance of Irish in everyday life. Countless people are forced to alter their name or home address because so many systems in this country do not respect the language of the coun…

Ba mhaith liom mo chomrádaithe, na Teachtaí Daly, O’Rourke agus O’Hara, a mholadh as ucht an Bhille seo a thabhairt os comhair na Dála. We have two Bills which are both very important and will explicitly tackle Ireland's energy rip-off and price-gouging once and for all. They are the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2026 and the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Standing Charges) Bill 202…

Tá áthas orm labhairt sna ráitis maidir le Seachtain na Gaeilge inniu. Tá fáinne airgid agam anois. Gach bhliain, tugann an Rialtas a shuntas don Ghaeilge i rith Seachtain na Gaeilge. Deir sé go bhfuil an Ghaeilge tábhachtach mar chuid dár bhféiniúlacht, dár stair agus dár gcultúr. Tá níos mó daoine ag cur suime sa Ghaeilge agus ag éisteacht le Gaeilge sa cheol, i scannáin agus ar an raidió, ach n…

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí Ní Raghallaigh agus O’Rourke as an rún seo a chur chun cinn. Cuirim fáilte roimh na SNAs agus gabhaim buíochas leo as an obair atá ar siúl acu. The past two weeks have been a truly worrying time for many parents, SNAs and teachers across the State. The uncertainty of the SNA allocations for September has shown that the Government does not value the work that SNAs…

It is getting harder and harder to own a home every year this Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael coalition is in power. Government is continuously missing housing targets. The prices of houses are soaring. Rents have also reached new highs nationally and are only set to get worse from 1 March, following the Government's disastrous legislation last week. Sinn Féin has continuously and repeatedly offered a solut…

I understand that the Minister of State is taking this matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Naughton. I appreciate him being here. I am disappointed that the Minister is not here. This matter relates to waiting lists for post-primary school places in north Kildare. This has been a persistent and growing issue in my constituency of Kildare North, which is one of the fastest growing constituenc…

While I appreciate that the Minister is not here, I hope the Minister of State will come back to me on this because it is really frustrating. As a member of the infrastructure committee, it feels as if we criticise every week how upside down the system is. We have so many infrastructural deficits up and down the country. Next week, the committee will have officials from the Central Statistics Offi…

Mo bhuíochas leis na Teachtaí Devine agus Carthy as ucht an Bhille seo a thabhairt os comhair na Dála. Cuirim fáilte roimh na daoine atá sa Ghailearaí. There is an urgent need to update Coco's Law. Coco's Law was and still is an important piece of legislation that rightly prosecutes those who share intimate images online or otherwise. Technology moves very quickly. The recent explosion of deep fak…

This truly is one of the most bizarre Bills I have seen come before the House. In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, at a time when families are pinned to their collar by the highest electricity and energy bills and the highest rents in Europe, the Government thinks it a good time to bring forward a Bill that seeks to increase rents even further. Is the Minister aware we are not in a competiti…