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 second year of the free ECCE scheme. When that 17% is broken down by birth month, 3,257 were born in January, while just 171…

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 their employer". Have my Labour Party colleagues found a country that gives people such a right? The only one I have found…

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 there was zero budget for 2023 in enhancing existing services. That led to serious reliability issues across the 37, 38,…

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 points but these figures are not providing reassurance. The Department admitted that over 1,500 penalty point offences c…

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 the Minister for Finance on 9th December, 2025, will be answered on 18th December, 2025, in an additional session to be orde…

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 incidents. In one year, DMR south central gained 60 gardaí, yet our division, DMR west, lost 15. DMR west also includes Citywes…

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 places for every 75 homes. It is rudimentary and littered with loopholes. One-bedroom apartments are not included in the c…

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 facilities so that units are suitable and usable as childcare facilities in size, design, regulatory compliance and location.…

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 had previous commitments here about route 70. That investment cannot come soon enough, and we actually need more now. I w…

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 improvements could be made. Apparently, there are six technical staff working collaboratively with a similar number of …

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 in places with thriving and safe main streets, quality public facilities and amenities and a genuine sense of community…

I appreciate that. The Minister of State has made the town and village renewal scheme sound even more attractive with how she described it. However, we are not eligible for it. She also referenced the urban regeneration and development fund. Again, we are too small for those projects. We are, as a suburban area, falling between those gaps. I acknowledge what she said about the THRIVE scheme and the vacant property refurbishment grant. However, it is the description of the town and village renewal scheme that ticks …

It is not my area.

The M50 toll is going up again. Since 2018, eFlow's annual revenue has increased by about 37%. Total revenue up to August was roughly €1.3 billion. It is a staggering sum. It highlights a system that is extracting more and more from motorists year after year. A single fixed toll point at the West-Link Bridge means drivers pay the same charge whether they travel 2 km or 20 km or whether they drive at 8 a.m. or midnight. This flat rate model is economically regressive, much like a flat tax, placing a disproportionate…

What is the progress to date under national strategic outcomes 10 and 4 of the NDP? I think I get some additional time for my supplementaries.

I thank the Minister for his update. I agree with him that a lot of delivery has taken place. I want to speak specifically about childcare, early learning and school-age care. I believe €795 million has been ring-fenced until 2030 for capital funding for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. Over the last two years, €45 million was allocated to expand childcare capacity, which is positive. I think we all recognise that is not enough. In this year's budget, €36 million was set aside for 2026 to develo…

I accept that the Minister and the Department are working on the action plan for childcare. I am trying to ensure that the big thinking that is required to deliver childcare at the scale that we need is reflected in the NDP and will be ready to be activated to deliver the spaces that we desperately need. We need systemic change and a new model of childcare. I am looking for reassurance that there will be funding behind it to deliver those plans based on the ambitions that we have and that parents and families need …