I thank the Minister of State for coming in today. I will not go over what my colleagues have mentioned but I would like to acknowledge the family resource centres in Roscommon, Foróige, Youth Work Ireland and the 101 youth diversion schemes going on around the country. I ask that we continue to support them and look to expand the range of their offering. Senator Flynn mentioned Ballyfermot and Donegal and how the influx of people turning to crime and criminal activity has increased there, but it knows no borders, …

I rise today to seek an update on the provision for funding for the replacement of older water infrastructure in rural Ireland. I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber once again. I also acknowledge the Uisce Éireann staff on the ground across the country who are doing an exceptional job in often difficult circumstances and with very limited resources. From my experience of alerting the local teams to leaks and outages across my home county of Roscommon, I have always found them extremely helpful and support…

I thank the Minister of State. I will read out a communication I got from a hospitality business in Cloonfad on 18 April, Good Friday. The title of the communication was "Absolutely Fed Up". It said that the business was left with no option but to remain closed that afternoon due to yet another water outage in Cloonfad on one of the busiest weekends of the year, the Easter bank holiday Saturday. This, the business said, was beyond frustrating. It said it was angry and disappointed with Irish Water, that this was no…

I, too, wish to be associated with the remembrance of Pope Francis. I had the pleasure of attending mass in the cathedral in Ballaghaderreen last Saturday delivered by Bishop Kevin Doran and Vicar General Fr. John McManus in recognising and celebrating the Pope’s life. I also wish to be associated with the good wishes towards Martin Groves on his retirement. I take this opportunity to raise an issue that came up in the local media in Roscommon during the Easter break, that is, a pilot scheme delivering Safe Pass co…

I will not go back over a lot of what my colleagues have said. One of the big things I encountered on Roscommon County Council before Storm Éowyn was the guidelines required for clear corridors in forestry for power and telephone masts and the proximity to roads and the enforcement and monitoring of those guidelines. That is one thing I wish to raise with the Minister of State. A few of my colleagues mentioned the issue of roadside trees. Local authorities need to be resourced to treat roadside trees or to remove t…

Keep going.

I welcome the Minister of State. I thank him for the wonderful day we recently spent in Roscommon, turning on the temporary pumping system in Lough Funshinagh to help manage the flood risk pending the completion of the permanent scheme. On that day he praised the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and my colleagues, former Ministers of State responsible for the OPW, Deputy Kieran O'Donnell and Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, for identifying the interim solution, along with the team in Roscommon County Council, led by the senior exe…

I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber today to answer questions on behalf of the Government. First and foremost, I congratulate him on his appointment. I also congratulate him on Galway’s win over New York at the weekend. Thankfully, he is here today and not in two weeks’ time, when Roscommon and Galway will be playing in the semi-final, or he might not be as accommodating to me. I also acknowledge the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, with this Commencement matter, as well as for meeting with me recently…

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response. I appreciate this is not his Department. I welcome the fact the HSE has sanctioned the filling of the 34.7 positions and I look forward to those being filled. The year 2027 is still two years away. I will therefore work with the Minister and see whether anything can be fast-tracked with regard to delivering the services in our rural counties. I thank the Minister of State for coming today.

On the front page of my local newspaper, the Roscommon Herald , this morning, the owner of a retail business spoke about the deep impact a burglary has had on his life and his business. No one deserves to feel unsafe in their own workplace. I am hearing about retail crime and shoplifting and about businesses not chasing people they catch stealing in their shops because of the cost of doing so and the poor likelihood of a conviction. We are failing businesses if that is the way we are leaving things and we do not pr…

The Tánaiste is very welcome. I welcome his comments on the supply chain. Supply chain disruption will have a big impact on Ireland, and I would like to work with the Tánaiste on that. I also welcome the Tánaiste's comments on small business, and the knock-on effect of the tariffs on small business and the multinationals. Last night, I did a little research on some of the multinationals based in rural Ireland. One of the key issues many of them cite as a reason for locating here is quality of life. We should not lo…

In light of the impending announcement later today which poses uncertainty for businesses throughout Ireland, I wish to highlight the student enterprise programme run by local enterprise offices. The national competition has been taking place, with the national final due to take place in May. On the way to Dublin yesterday, I had the pleasure of dropping in to the Athlone Springs Hotel, where the Roscommon final, run by the Roscommon local enterprise office, was taking place. You would be enthused and encouraged to…

I reiterate the goodwill to Jeremy. Like Senator O'Donovan, I did not have an opportunity to enjoy his hospitality during his term but I hope I will have a good working relationship with George. I want to raise the issue of dentistry services for medical card holders. It is something I raised at recent regional health forum meetings. I would like an idea of the availability of dentists providing a service for medical card holders. I was told that for my home county of Roscommon, four dentists are participating in t…

The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, is very welcome here. I welcome Sinn Féin's motion today as it is a matter that lies at the very heart of society: our commitment to ensuring every child receives the education they deserve. I formally second the Government's amendment to the motion. Education is not a privilege but a fundamental right enshrined in our Constitution. Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, every child must have access to education on an equal basis withi…

The Minister of State is very welcome once again. He is quickly becoming one of the most regular attendees in this House. I thank him once again for gracing us with his presence. On the programme for Government and recent announcements, I welcome the allocation of €713 million for regional and local roads. Coming from a rural part of the country, I know that investment in improving that infrastructure will have a massive impact on the safety of the people who reside in rural areas. I also welcome the Government's c…

The Minister is very welcome this afternoon. I wish him well in his term and look forward to working with him and helping him to deliver for the west, specifically Roscommon. For generations, agriculture has been the backbone of life in the west. Our rolling green fields, rugged landscape and close-knit farming communities define our region's identity; however, economic pressures, environmental regulations and an increasingly competitive global market pose serious challenges to farmers. Without targeted support, sm…

Like my colleagues, I acknowledge all of the community groups nationwide that put on such wonderful parades over the weekend to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and also the public representatives who travelled internationally representing us and promoting our country and our culture. I also wish to raise the issue of the passenger number cap at Dublin Airport and how we are limiting the potential of our country at present by inhibiting people visiting it. Dublin Airport is an outlier among other European countries at p…

I want to discuss something that I imagine affects everyone in the Chamber, namely, school bus routes. It was brought to my attention again this morning. I am looking for Bus Éireann to review bus routes and change them to accommodate the increasing populations of areas like Ballymoe and the townlands surrounding it. At the moment, two buses travel the same route for large parts of their journeys. The village of Ballymoe and its townlands are no longer being serviced. Bus Éireann has agreed to this and has come up …

I welcome the Minister of State. It is timely to have this discussion with St. Patrick's Day coming up. I will reiterate what my colleagues have said. It is often said that the Irish are a global people, with our diaspora reaching every corner of the world. This vast network of individuals, bound together by shared heritage, represent one of Ireland's greatest strengths. Supporting and seeking support from the Irish diaspora is not just about maintaining these connections; it is about fostering a sense of community…

It is not rugby. There is the Roscommon Association in London and a Roscommon association in New York. It is great to see that the emigrant support programme is there to support those organisations.