I will raise a broad range of issues affecting rural Ireland. I will start with one close to my heart, that of rural planning. This is an important component of dealing with the housing challenge. I have worked through four county development plans in Wicklow and made many changes to help with rural planning. There are currently many aspects of it that make it difficult and we must make changes. First, social and economic need must trump views and prospects in planning decisions. Second, we need to allow people to …

------it is important that non-agricultural contractors are recognised-----

-----in the Government's response to the fuel challenge.

As part of the programme for Government, we set out to implement the terms of the school transport review to reduce distance criteria and expand eligibility. I want to raise the importance of recognising feeder schools as part of this criteria.

In west Wicklow, St. Brigid's National School in Manor Kilbride is a feeder school to Blessington Community College. Some families attending Manor Kilbride school are told they cannot receive bus tickets to Blessington. This is because five other secondary schools in County Dublin are closer but they cannot get into those schools as it is not a feeder school to those schools. This is a crazy anomaly. It is important that this criterion be reviewed. Many families have been left relying on the concessionary ticket sy…

School bus services in County Wicklow are critical, especially in west Wicklow where public transport is limited. Some schools are on narrow roads with limited parking and no footpaths. School bus travel is essential and will make school drop-off and collection time safer, reduce traffic congestion and will be more environmentally friendly. It also allows parents to continue working, as many have given up employment or reduced working hours due to the logistical challenge of getting children to and from school wher…

Last night, in Baltinglass in rural west Wicklow, I met a group of 12 people. These were small businesspeople ranging from contractors to farmers. What they all had in common was the massive impact of the fuel crisis on their livelihoods. These were very reasonable people whose livelihoods are under threat. The package announced ten days ago will not solve their problem. It does not cover all contractors, such as those working on building sites, and there is little confidence the rebates proposed will happen quickl…

I will raise the issue of flood damage to roads in County Wicklow caused by Storm Chandra. The recent floods caused severe damage to many rural roads. The council has costed the repairs needed at several million euro. Wicklow County Council has submitted a detailed report to the Department seeking emergency funding assistance to facilitate the timely delivery of the required remedial works and to ensure continued safety and serviceability of the county's road network. I have seen the extent of the damage. It is tru…

I wish to raise the issue of spending control, cost control and improved outputs in various Departments. This issue does not get enough of a hearing in this Chamber. We should not assume spending increases should automatically match economic growth. Often when we spend more, we feed inefficiencies. All increased spending must be matched by improved outputs and all existing spending should be justified. This will automatically lead to better public services. In terms of overall spending growth, I want to draw a clea…

It feeds inefficiencies.

The carer's benefit scheme allows people who are working to take time off to care for family members, often children. It is not means tested and it is based on PRSI contributions. It has a requirement that people must work a minimum of 16 hours per week in the period prior to their claim. This is patently unfair to teachers who work, say, 11 hours per week and are deemed not to qualify.

I thank the Minister for that. I am aware of all that information but I am focusing on something different. I refer to the qualification based on the number of hours carers work. Sixteen hours is the number. I will explain this briefly. There are two particular circumstances in relation to teachers and even if one were applied in the qualification process, then a teacher on fewer than 16 hours would qualify. At the moment, for a teacher who works 11.2 hours a week, this represents over half the number of hours of a…

I will expand a bit more in relation to teachers. Teachers do much more than 22 class-contact hours. They are required to do many more hours outside the 22 hours and this was outlined in the Croke Park agreement. It includes yard supervision duties and class supervision. There are many other requirements, including planning and setting exams, contact with parents on many issues and continuous professional development. The actual hours worked by someone doing 11.2 hours is actually more than the 16-hour requirement …

I have a constituent who worked in a healthcare setting during Covid, meeting patients face to face and taking care of them while others stayed at home. This was until she got Covid in January 2021 following an outbreak in her workplace. She ended up in hospital with clots on her lung and pneumonia. This lady is now 52 and she has not been able to work since 2021. There are many days when she cannot even leave the house. It is important that long Covid for healthcare staff who worked in our healthcare system during…

Employment opportunities are vital for the well-being of our population. This Government and the previous ones since 2011 have had remarkable success in giving our people employment opportunities. However, we have one of the lowest participation rates in the western world for people with disabilities at 32%. What actions are being taken to increase this number?

I thank the Minister of State. I commend him on those actions. However, what is missing here are some of the numbers as this hides the scale of the problem. These figures can never be totally accurate as people tend not to disclose due to stigma or fear of discrimination or may answer differently depending on who is asking the questions. Based on labour survey data, there were 181,700 people with disabilities in employment in 2024. With a 32% employment rate for persons with disabilities in Ireland, this potentiall…

I compliment the Minister of State on the very successful disability conference that was held in Galway a couple of weeks ago. What is the Government doing to upskill people across the board in recruitment and employment services? These are the people who find the people with disabilities and put them into jobs. There are potentially over 100,000 people available to work who could be living more fulfilling lives and contributing to the tax base but who are now unemployed, with many receiving social welfare payments…

Any state that is serious about protecting its citizens must have a fit for purpose defence force. This is even more relevant today when threats are more real and much more varied. We are a neutral country and we are geographically located in a relatively safe location but we must not become complacent. What steps are being taken to improve the defence of our country in view of the changing geopolitical landscape?

Threats are not just physical. They come in a variety of modes. I want to mention an aspect that I believe is very important, and this is the area of non-military threats. Examples include cyber threats. These also represent a threat to our economic interests. As the Minister knows, we are hugely dependent on reliable computer systems which underpin our economy. The whole area of disinformation is also a real security threat. We need to recruit staff with expertise in these areas. I am also particularly conscious o…

Is this country prepared for the threats posed by Russia to our national security? These are real threats to this country and must be taken seriously. There was an increase in Russian shadow fleet activity recently in Irish controlled waters. Our geography no longer protects us as it once did. We are very dependent on other countries to support us regarding maritime and air defences. We need to take steps to move away from these dependencies. This will actually help our independence and support our neutrality, whic…