Emer Currie

Last week's outcry shows just how highly SNAs are regarded not just by families who rely on them directly but by all families. It would be a mistake to move on too quickly without exploring reform or we risk ending up back here again. Equitable access to education is a value we hold dear. That is why there is such strong public support for building an inclusive education system. Where barriers exi…

I strongly welcome the Tánaiste's commitment to developing a national savings and investment strategy. It is the right direction, and there is obviously clear support for it. Irish households are strong savers, but too much of that money is sitting in low-yield accounts quietly losing value to inflation. If we are serious about building a culture of long-term investing, we must remove the barriers…

We are here today to debate a Bill with the right to remote work in its Title but a title alone does not make it a right. It is being sold as a right to flexible and remote work and I do not believe it is. In all other countries I am aware of, remote work arrangements depend on employer-employee agreements or specific conditions in law or regulation. Employers must consider the request, though the…

The Taoiseach appreciates challenging and informed questions from this side of the House. I appreciate the recent rise in Garda numbers - 168 new gardaí last week were attested last week - and the work of the current and former Ministers for justice on this issue. Blanchardstown got six new gardaí last week, our largest allocation in this Dáil term, but we need more. In the K district, which is my…

I commend the authors and investigators of Kenova. The report has been a long time coming. Many families have waited on this. Much was banking on it. This report once again shows the depth of the brutality and callousness to which innocent people and communities were subjected during the Troubles. The scars, some of which are obvious and some of which are not, will be carried for generations. Thes…

I do not think we have a legislation problem in road safety. I believe we primarily have an implementation and enforcement problem. Our Vision Zero strategy is heading in the wrong direction. Road deaths in Ireland rose by 22% from 2019 to 2025, while the EU average fell by 12%. That is not progress. Behaviour on our roads is worsening, while the system meant to protect people has failed to keep p…

New parents are in a catch-22 situation. The flat rate, per-week payment for maternity, paternity and parent's benefits makes extended leave unaffordable for many families, although it has improved. The reality is that they have no option but to go back to work to cover the costs of rent or mortgages or the cost of living. They then need childcare. Baby rooms in childcare services should be the so…

This Bill amends the Child Care Act 1991, which is wide-ranging legislation that seeks to promote the welfare of children who may not receive adequate care and protection. Over the years the Act supported the establishment of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, and an amendment to Article 42A of the Constitution to recognise the rights of the child. As per the programme for Government, the Act is …

I thank Deputy O'Gorman for publishing this Bill and for the work that has gone into it. I have consistently argued for a balanced approach on this matter. I want to see innovation and the deployment of drone technology but I also want to see effective regulation and enforcement of that regulation. There are politicians in the area who just want an end to the drones. That is fine but I am not in t…

The programme for Government committed to evaluating options to amend the ECCE eligibility criteria and it is clear why. It relies on a blunt cut-off date for children starting the ECCE scheme whereby they must be two years and eight months by 1 September. The inequity this causes is obvious from replies I have received to parliamentary questions. A total of 17% of children do not take up the seco…

I will not spend two and a half minutes talking about the benefits of remote and flexible working because I spent five years talking about those benefits, as my colleague Deputy Wall knows. Instead, in the two and a half minutes I have, I will focus on the first line of the motion, which states that "employees in Ireland have no right to flexible and remote work, only a right to request it from th…

I also saw that article and will take the opportunity to say we need the investment in the new services, like the N8 bus link from Dublin 15. However, we definitely need investment in existing services as well due to a growing population, growing demand and growth in housing. The Minister and I spoke about the fact that investment in existing services in Dublin West had reduced to €97 in 2022 and …

The national vehicle and driver file is the State’s database for driving licences, disqualifications and penalty points. It is relied on by An Garda Síochána and insurance companies yet in 2024 almost 8,000 penalty points were unmatched. That is mainly through the Courts Service. Following questions I raised last year, the Department reviewed the matching process for disqualifications and penalty …

I move: It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that— – the Parliamentary Questions pursuant to Standing Order 47(1) that were due to be answered by the Minister for Finance on 23rd October, 2025, will be answered on 9th December, 2025, in accordance with the ordinary routine of business; – the Parliamentary Questions pursuant to Standing Order 47(1) due to be answered by t…

Dublin West is being policed on a shoestring. Despite being one of the busiest districts in the country, we are struggling with dangerously low Garda numbers. Blanchardstown, Finglas, Cabra and the K district have just one garda per 529 people and recorded 8,200 crimes last year, while Ronanstown and Lucan, which are in the Q district, have one garda for every 394 people and recorded 4,200 inciden…

9. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to provide an update on his Department's efforts to fulfil the programme for Government commitment to review the 2001 Childcare Facilities Guidelines for Planning Authorities to ensure childcare spaces are provided and put into use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65825/25]

I seek an update on the Department's efforts to fulfil the commitment in the programme for Government to review the Childcare Facilities Guidelines for Planning Authorities, which date from 2001, to ensure childcare spaces are provided and put into use.

I thank the Minister. A commitment was made in the programme for Government to increase childcare supply by building or acquiring State-led facilities. There are 43,000 children on waiting lists for early learning, childcare and school-aged care places. In our planning system, the only provision to safeguard land for childcare facilities is a basic formula from 2001 which allocates 20 childcare pl…

To assist the Minister with that meeting, I would say it is time our planning authorities were required to scale up their competency in childcare. At present, assessment of childcare needs occupies a low level of priority when it comes to assessing planning applications in large-scale residential developments. That needs to change. There should be mandatory technical guidelines for childcare facil…

79. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the upgrade of real-time tracking of Dublin Bus services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63502/25]

I ask the Minister of State for an update on the upgrade of real-time tracking of Dublin Bus services through a new national automatic vehicle location system, which was due to start testing this year, roll-out next year and be completed in early 2027 to improve customer communications, particularly around ghost buses.

The TFI app has a star rating of 1.4 in the app store, and that is pretty damning. The Minister of State might remember that the last time we were here, we exposed that in one year, 2022, only €97 was spent enhancing Dublin Bus services in Dublin West. Since then, I have had a commitment that €700,000 will be spent in 2025 on addressing capacity and punctuality issues on routes 39A, 37 and 38. I h…

If the Minister of State is engaging with the NTA, I would like specific answers about the pilot and how it is going to work. There are currently two issues: the forthcoming automatic vehicle location system and real-time information on the app. I was assured that the team was reviewing the end-to-end process of cancelling services on the current real-time passenger information system to see where…

There is a rating of 1.4 on the app.

During last year's election campaign, one of the most frequently raised issues on the doors of Dublin West was the vibrancy of our suburban villages. The villages of Clonsilla, Ongar, Castleknock, Blanchardstown, Mulhuddart and Tyrrelstown are more than just residential areas or urban sprawl; they are distinct communities with their own character, identity and history. My constituents want to live…