I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. The last time we discussed Northern Ireland here, I referred to the his attendance and participation at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly plenary meeting in Wicklow. One of the issues that I raised, which I said was a message from British members, was that they wanted more senior members of the British Government to participate in the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference and the British-Irish Council. The Taoiseach mentioned in some of his weekend interviews that he…

I very much welcome the strong message that the shared island initiative will continue to identify more investment opportunities on a cross-Border and all-Ireland basis, and quite rightly. The Ulster Canal project would not have proceeded without funding from the shared island initiative. We have so much potential in the whole area of waterways development, allied to the Shannon-Erne Waterway. About two years ago, the then Tánaiste launched a number of feasibility studies that are currently under way by local autho…

Very useful work has been carried out under the minor flood mitigation works scheme, which deals particularly with localised flooding. It is small-scale funding provided at national level and has made a difference to householders and local communities. However, the criteria are restrictive and I hope the Minister would be in a position to have the criteria and conditions pertaining to the scheme loosened or improved. It could make a huge difference to many householders, particularly in rural communities where there…

I thank the Minister of State for his answer and I sincerely hope the review can be completed shortly. Obviously, when the Department is disbursing public money, there has to be a cost-benefit ratio but one thing that concerns me is that in assessing the merit of flood relief schemes, not enough consideration is given to sparsely populated areas and to roads and arterial routes that may have relatively low levels of traffic. We may have a local road but that is the motorway for the local community. I know criteria …

I thank the Minister of State. I ask that council officials would engage with officials from the OPW to see if it is worthwhile submitting an application for the projects they had in mind. The restrictive nature of the scheme is preventing applications from being submitted. I am sure every one of us can identify projects that we think would be suitable. In considering how to deal with flood relief, officials at local and national level should always talk to local communities. The best informed people in regard to d…

It is very welcome that there has been a substantial increase in Local Link services throughout rural Ireland in recent years. The Minister has placed a particular emphasis on public transport, and I welcome that. There are areas where it is not feasible to have a bus service. There are people - many elderly people and so on - who do not have immediate family support and do not have their own transport. They have to get a hackney or a taxi to go about their weekly business or whatever. If a system was brought in to…

I thank the Minister for his reply. It is clear the pilot programme that was rolled out was not very attractive. It has obviously been a complete failure. The Minister mentioned the transport regulator. Over the years, successive Governments have given far too many powers away to entities and statutory agencies. We need to make decisions at the political level. Most of the Minister's constituents can access light rail, the DART or the Luas, and other public transport options. A hell of a lot of my constituents, dec…

I am glad the Minister agrees that we need to address the issue of there not being a public transport service for those people living in remote areas who do not have a family member or even a neighbour next or near them. They need assistance. That must be driven politically. It will not be driven by any statutory agency or Government Department. I appeal to the Minister to make use of his political power and to give instructions to the relevant agencies to come up with a realistic hackney option rather than the lud…

I thank the Taoiseach for his response. The Cathaoirleach, other Members of the Dáil and Seanad and I met a delegation from the Ukrainian Parliament yesterday. One of the things the delegation emphasised to us was something of which we are all well aware, namely, the difficulty those people face with a reduction in energy grid capacity. It is under enormous pressure. The country needs generators and transformers. In his deliberations with other Heads of Government at formal and informal meetings, I would like the T…

I welcome the Taoiseach's engagement with President Biden and the US Administration. An issue that has concerned me for a considerable number of years is the plight of the undocumented Irish in the US. They face particular difficulties. I am aware that both the Tánaiste and the former Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, raised this issue during their meetings in Washington in March. I hope the current Taoiseach will be able to keep this very much on the agenda. We need to secure legal pathways to visas and citizenship for …

Thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. As the Tánaiste knows, we had commemorations in both Dublin and Monaghan on 17 May last to mark the 50th anniversary of the deadliest day of all during the Troubles, when 34 innocent people were killed and 300 injured. On a number of occasions in this House we have requested the British Government to co-operate with a full investigation by giving access to all papers to an independent, eminent, international legal person to ensure those investigations can be advanced. There is cl…

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply and recognise that he has been raising these issues for some time. As well as the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and other atrocities, I appreciate that he raised with the former British Prime Minister the bombing of Belturbet in December 1972. I assume that the Tánaiste will meet at an early date the new secretary of state and the new Foreign Secretary after the British general election on 4 July. I ask the Tánaiste to ensure that this particular issue and the whole legacy issue ar…

I reiterate that people who lost family members and people who were injured say to me that they are getting older and the truth has not been established. It is more than 50 years ago now that these atrocities were carried out. We have to get the truth established. There is a moral, international, legal obligation on the British Government to co-operate with investigations. I would also like the Tánaiste to insist to the British Government and the Northern Ireland authorities that there must be full co-operation wit…

There is an urgent need to reduce delays for driving tests in the Cavan test centre. As of today, there is a 15-week delay in getting a test date there, according to the average estimated time on the RSA website. An invitation to attend a test is currently being offered for the week commencing 14 October. I understand that it is generally four weeks later before the test is undertaken, as tests are generally scheduled one month in advance. An applicant who applies in Cavan today will wait until the end of November …

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. He will recall that at our British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly meeting in his county, a call was made, particularly by British parliamentarians, for better engagement by their own Government with the Irish Government, be it at the British-Irish Council or the British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference. We hope that, in future, the British Prime Minister and senior ministers will be regular attendees and participants at those crucial bilateral meetings where, over the years, suc…

I have raised previously the urgent need to have the in-person day services restored at the Irish Wheelchair Association, IWA, centre in Cavan town. I appreciate the work to date of the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, on this important issue. The cessation of services occurred because of staffing shortages. I know from speaking to service users, their families and staff in the IWA that the lack of in-person services is a very serious loss to those people who depend on such vital support week in, week out. To th…

As the Taoiseach knows, Louth-Cavan-Monaghan Garda Division has a long land Border with the neighbouring jurisdiction and this creates additional and unique policing demands on the gardaí in our area. For a number of years, I have continually expressed my concerns that, with resignations and retirements, we are not getting nearly enough of the new Garda recruits into our division. The inadequate allocation of Garda personnel must be addressed. I welcome the recent re-establishment of the Cavan-Monaghan Garda drugs …

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. Unfortunately, the security situation worldwide has deteriorated drastically since 2022 and, of course, our country is not immune from those difficulties and those challenges. We never pay enough tribute to the work of the emergency services in this country, including how they protected us and our State during a very troubled era. I am thinking of An Garda Síochána, the Permanent Defence Force, the fire services, all the health services, including emergency health services, the …

I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and wish him well in his new role. I very much welcome the emphasis that has been placed on the development of further education since the Government took office in June 2020. I spoke to the Minister's predecessor on many occasions about the opportunities that exist to develop the further education sector on an all-Ireland, cross-Border basis. I am particularly glad that there is a substantial capital programme. One of the projects of particular interest to me is the p…

I thank the Minister for his reply. He would be very welcome to visit Cavan Institute, which has been a very successful institute since its establishment. I was very much involved with Cavan Institute as I was the chair of the first board of management of the college. I was involved in having the initial buildings and accommodation provided. It was actually the first dedicated PLC college in the country. It has been extremely important for Cavan and the neighbouring counties. It has developed collaborations with co…