Carlow town is a vibrant and expanding university town. To sustain and build upon that status, it is essential the student experience in Carlow be supported by the provision of adequate student accommodation, a key commitment outlined in the programme for Government. The proposed upgrade of Mortarstown wastewater treatment plant is the key to unlocking the provision of student accommodation in Carlow as the upgrade would deliver capacity for a further 22,000 units. This plant upgrade would not only ensure more stud…

I sat in my office in Carlow town last night until almost 9.30 p.m. with two primary school principals who tell me they lie awake at night wondering how they are going to pay the constantly increasing costs of running their schools. They, along with the multiple emails and calls I have received from across Carlow and Kilkenny from teachers and parents alike, have four simple asks: to increase the capitation fee for primary school principals; to reduce the teacher-pupil ratio; to roll out the small-school projects t…

I will add to what Deputy Keogh and many others have said about school transport in rural areas. The same thing seems to happen every year. I commend the Minister of State on the work he has done. The additional 8,000 bus seats that have been delivered this year are very welcome. Many of the difficulties I have dealt with across Carlow and Kilkenny relate to the allocation of concessionary tickets. There is a requirement to have a bit more transparency as to how the allocation of these tickets is decided upon. Many…

In the interests of equity, will the Tánaiste seek an increase in the starting pay of cadets to bring it line with the starting pay of a three-star private, as both are similarly trained and qualified?

I thank the Tánaiste. I acknowledge his work to date on improving pay and conditions, some of which he has outlined such as quite rightly increasing pay for three-star privates and reforming the apprenticeship pathway so that technical staff beginning their careers in the Defence Forces correspond with three-star privates after six months. The Tánaiste has also overseen the introduction of the instructor's allowance and established a service commitment scheme for our air traffic controllers in the Air Corps. These …

I thank the Tánaiste, and I am happy to hear that it is with the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. I implore him to follow that matter up with the Department, as neither the conciliation and arbitration scheme nor national pay talks are going to address this low pay, given the no cost increasing caveat in the national pay deals, as he mentioned. Therefore, some political will is required here to address the matter. Local bargaining is not going to be enough.…

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the funding that has been spent in this important area. In the most recent round of funding, small commercial start-ups and SMEs dominated the list of companies that had been awarded funding with only two, The Rediscovery Centre and We Make Good, accurately described as community enterprises. While these commercial start-up contributions to the industrial transition to circularity are welcome, and indeed, go a long way to making the changes in mindset that the Minister of St…

That is music to my ears. I am glad to hear that. I wish to follow up on the Minister of State's point. There has been a large degree of support from the local authorities in Carlow and Kilkenny and they have been proactive with circular economy initiatives. For example, Carlow County Council recently completed a survey of businesses in the county to assess attitudes towards the circular economy and to inform future policy with regards to circularity in the county. Kilkenny County Council adopted a waste action pla…

The programme for Government has many commendable commitments to support apprentices which, as a former apprentice myself, I welcome. Today, I wish to discuss the disparity in off-the-job training allowances that are currently being paid to metal fabrication apprentices. If two metal fabrication apprentices are doing the exact same training but one is working for a company that is registered as an engineering company, in phase 6 - the off-the-job phase - his or her training allowance is up to €235 per week less tha…

I speak today about the cost of third level education in Ireland. The programme for Government states the Government will reform SUSI to better meet the needs of students and their families. This is something I welcome and I urge the Government to take action on it from this year onwards. My question today relates to the discontinuation of the reduction in the student contribution fee. Since the Minister, Deputy Lawless, made the announcement at the weekend, my phone has been hopping with parents and students throu…

To echo what all the speakers have stated today, the ongoing genocide in the Middle East is abhorrent. Innocent civilians are being starved to death. Parents have no baby formula for their infants. This is happening in our world today. While I acknowledge the Government's work so far, we need to keep the pressure on. I hear from concerned people every day across counties Carlow and Kilkenny who are, quite rightly, horrified by what is happening in Gaza. They are urging us, as a country and a Government, to do more,…

I wish to highlight something that is happening across County Carlow, namely, the proliferation of solar farms. To be clear, neither I nor anyone I know in Carlow is against renewable energy regeneration, nor are we against our neighbours and friends who make a living from having wind or solar farms on their lands. In the area surrounding Rathoe village, though, there will potentially soon be in excess of 1,000 acres of solar farms. We are not saying that solar or wind farms should not exist. We are just saying tha…

Carlow-Kilkenny has much to offer in terms of amenities, education and jobs but we have a difficulty with providing houses for the people who would love to live there. Some of the difficulty relates to the provision of water and wastewater treatment plants and road infrastructure. Developer-led infrastructure provision and investing in services is the only way we will move forward. It is imperative that we make provision in this regard. In County Kilkenny, not a single housing development can currently be built in …

As it does every year, the UN today, 29 May, marks the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. This day serves to honour their dedication, bravery and sacrifice, and I pay particular tribute to the Irishmen and Irishwomen who have served, and continue to serve, our country with distinction and honour at home and internationally. As the Tánaiste knows, Irish peacekeeping began in 1958 and Ireland currently has the longest unbroken peacekeeping record of any country in the world. This year's theme for the I…

I would like to shine a light on the dire need for an increased roads budget in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny. The programme for Government states that the Government will invest in all road projects in the current national development plan, NDP, and consider additional important road projects as part of the NDP review. We all know we are in the midst of a housing crisis. Across Carlow town and county, we have builders and developers lining up to help us in that regard. There are landowners who would happily s…

Like every Member, I am horrified at what is currently unfolding, and has been for months, before our eyes in Gaza. On Sunday, there was a little hope with the Israeli statement, which stated it would allow some aid to cross the border into Gaza. However, with this morning's news from the UN that no aid has reached any civilian in Gaza yet, I just could not sleep last night thinking of the little children, like my own little children, who are in danger of dying from hunger in 2025, in a world where there is an abun…

Disability is something that touches most of our lives. We all know someone who is living with a disability or caring for someone with a disability, be that a seen or unseen disability. This lived experience should be what directs policy. It is people living with disabilities, or those who care for them, who know best what we need to change and how we can improve. I call on the Government to expand and invest in services. It is imperative we invest in disabilities at the same time as reforming how disability servic…

My question is also about Private Seán Rooney. As the Tánaiste knows, I have a special interest in the Middle East and in peacekeeping as a former UN peacekeeper. I travelled that road from Tibnin to Beirut Airport as Private Seán Rooney did. Can the Tánaiste provide us with an update on his recent trip to Lebanon? He outlined it to Deputy Ó Murchú, but if he has something else to add, I would be very grateful to hear it.

I urge the Government to support calls for pension parity in our schools. The current lack of parity is adversely affecting our school secretaries and caretakers. All parents and caregivers know the vital role our school secretaries play in schools. In the school I worked in as a SNA, our secretary is known by pupils and staff alike as Super Sue because she, like all school secretaries I know, including Nuala and Mary as well as Bernie in Kildavin are at the centre of the smooth running of a school. Likewise, caret…

I stand to say what I wrote in a letter earlier this week to the Ministers, Deputies Browne and Chambers, and to express my incredulity at the dire situation coming to light in respect of the Uisce Éireann infrastructure deficits in Carlow town. I implore the Department of housing and the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, and his Department to hold Uisce Éireann to account as it is dragging its feet on the development and expansion of water and wastewater infrastructure across our country. We, as el…