Emer Currie

I know the Minister of State wants to hear about issues our constituents are facing so he can fix them and I appreciate that. I also appreciate that there has been an increase in the number of students accessing the service and most families have a positive experience but too many do not and for those households, it is causing havoc. A total of 11 students are travelling 10 km from Tyrrelstown, Ho…

7. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality for an update on the review of the 2001 planning guidelines for childcare facilities. [50179/25]

I ask the Minister for an update on the review of the 2001 planning guidelines for childcare facilities whereby for 75 new homes, there should be the provision of 20 childcare places. The link between supply of new homes and childcare places has not been working effectively. I welcome how the Minister has addressed this as an issue of concern and I seek an update on her progress.

We have a rudimentary system from 2001, which provides that for every 75 homes the developer must provide 20 childcare places, but it is not working for a variety of reasons. The provision of childcare infrastructure cannot be based on such a basic formula alone. Like schools, we need a proper forward planning system based on demographics, assessment of need, new residential developments and that …

Is it envisaged that the review will form part of the action plan? I am looking forward to that action plan because to address any of the issues in childcare, whether that be affordability or availability, we have to address all the issues in childcare, such as infrastructure, staff and retention and funding models. Does the Minister agree? Some of our small providers are struggling with core fund…

Ireland is a leader in remote working, and that is not by accident. Approximately 15% of people in Ireland work remotely on a full-time basis. That compares with an average of just 10% across Europe. Access to any form of hybrid or remote work stands at 37%, which is also higher than the European average. I want to speak specifically about the benefits of fully remote and locationless work, distin…

The Minister of State has confirmed what I had set out, that Ireland is a leader in remote work. We cannot take that for granted, however, particularly when we see announcements about companies rowing back on hybrid arrangements. There are great benefits to diversifying the tax base while revitalising local economies and communities. There are 100,000 remote jobs advertised on job sites across Eu…

According to data from the Department of children, there has been a 25% reduction in the number of State-supported crèches taking babies under one year of age since 2022. Baby rooms in crèches outside of core funding are not subject to fee caps, meaning parents are likely paying over and above for services they are desperate to secure. These are damning figures and should be a wake-up call to thos…

I welcome the establishment of this commission of investigation into historical child sexual abuse in all schools. The scoping inquiry received 2,395 allegations involving 884 alleged abusers across 308 schools nationwide. That is 2,395 allegations; 2,395 cases of children abused by monsters, and 2,395 cases of our nation's children being failed by our schools, 308 schools, and by our State. Survi…

Community childcare not-for-profit operations led by the community for the community stand out in a sector dominated by private provision as an alternative, often part of a wider network of early intervention and family support services. Availability varies wildly across the country, from over 60% of services in Monaghan and Leitrim to just 6% of less in my own county of Fingal. It is 13% in Wickl…

11. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to provide an update on his Department's engagement with the Department of Transport regarding the proposed transport security force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36531/25]

I appreciate the recent steps to improve transport security, including the increased budget of over €11 million for a security presence through the Department of Transport, Operation Saul and the new public transport hubs. However, we have to keep moving on the commitment to establish a transport security force. In 2024 alone, over 4,200 complaints were received reporting incidents of drug use, vi…

I want to raise the issue of Garda numbers in Dublin West. Some 120 new recruits were attested overall in June and 74 were allocated to Dublin. According to local gardaí in my area, only four came to the Garda's K district. Of 150 new recruits in March, 98 were sent to the city centre and four to the K district. The K district consists of Blanchardstown, Cabra and Finglas and is one of the busiest…

13. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on the roll-out of local community safety partnerships in Dublin West; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36530/25]

I thank the Minister for bringing the regulations into effect for the local community safety partnerships so they can get up and running. This new approach will involve residents, social workers, youth workers, businesses, education representatives as well as An Garda Síochána and State agencies. The initiative is important to us in Fine Gael and I commend the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on developi…

The Minister was very keen.

Community partnerships have the potential to truly impact community safety because intervention and prevention are not only the remit of the Garda. We have to bring local stakeholders to the table to tackle local problems with local solutions. I am wondering how the Minister will ensure residents know about this initiative. Will there be a local campaign or a local awareness drive? I believe €5.5…

I thank the Minister for the update. I will circle back to the matter of Garda numbers because community safety also depends on that. There should not be inconsistency across the districts in the Dublin metropolitan region. The K district might be losing out to the city centre at the moment but, historically, there have been inconsistencies with other Dublin districts as well. There is potentially…

I held a public meeting about the EPSEN Act in 2023 as part of the review. Like anything involving parents with children who have additional needs, it was an eye-opening experience. I thank all the parents who have reached out to me over the years. The most important question we need to ask is whether children are given equal access to education by the system which supports their development. We h…

Since the Minister took office, he has placed a significant focus on increased Garda visibility in Dublin city centre, part of which he represents as a constituency TD. His prioritisation of the city centre seems to be working, and I say "well done" on that, but there is the rest of the country and what about the rest of Dublin? It is not the first time I have raised this issue. Communities outsid…

93. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport if he will publish the national policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems before the summer recess; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34142/25]

My question is whether the Minister will publish the national policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems, UAS, that is, drones, before the summer recess. As part of that, will he implement U-space regulations that have been applicable in EU states since 2023? U-space provides for the creation of a new, dedicated airspace for drones. It is essentially a traffic management system that could play…

I thank the Minister. It is good to see a bit of a move away from the gobbledegook that has dominated the answers I have had so far on drones. The indecipherable regulation-speak reflects the paralysis and powerlessness large sections of my community feel when they are in their homes and gardens listening to the drones above them. Dublin West is being used as a test ground for commercial drones ma…

I am aware that there are polarised views and I am also aware of the benefits. My concern is also timing. A corporate entity operating in a space without sufficient regulation will not have the duty of care to communities that is required, and we are seeing that already. A commercial operator in our area is claiming it has received 77 complaints about 170,000 flights, but I would have had that num…

101. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Transport to provide a breakdown of the investment made in enhancing existing bus services in Dublin West from 2020 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34143/25]