I offer my condolences to the Minister of State on his sad loss. It is a testament to him that he is back here so soon after such a difficult loss. My sympathies are with him. I raise an issue relating to the tenant in situ scheme, which is a very good scheme that helps people in the challenging circumstance of facing eviction. Currently, when people are in receipt of HAP or RAS, local authorities are enabled to purchase the property when the eviction notice is given to the tenant. Unfortunately, any rent supplemen…

I thank the Minister of State for outlining the detailed feedback. The person affected in this example is in receipt of the rent supplement payment. She meets the criteria for HAP and RAS but she is not in receipt of them now. Will she be negatively impacted by, say, the minimum of two years that is required for her to avail of the tenant in situ scheme, or does the Minister of State think the cost-rental ability he outlined will give enough flexibility, considering that this is a difficult situation where the tena…

I attended the official opening of Western Care's new facility in Ballina on Monday. It is brilliant to see a building in the town that was vacant for so long brought back into use for a wide range of care service users and staff. It is so welcome and I congratulate everyone involved in it. The rural social scheme supported the renovation of the building. The support of the redevelopment of the asset for use by Western Care is a great example of the use of this scheme. The scheme needs further support for its work.…

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, to the Chamber. Vacancy and dereliction have been a scourge in every town and village in the country. While I welcome this Bill in many of its parts, we need action on the measures that are in place at the moment. From my perspective there are a number of different issues. One is local authorities sitting on land banks without initiative, imagination or creativity about reactivating it. Good work is being done in different areas but there are also brownfield sites th…

I compliment the Cathaoirleach on his work in this area. In the previous Seanad, we had an opportunity to contribute to the work on the task force, for which I thank him. I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his continued efforts on local government. I wish him well and look forward to supporting his efforts in the term ahead. I was in the privileged position to work on behalf of my community in the very difficult job of councillor in Mayo County Council. There are many highs and lows to being a counci…

I wish to raise an issue that is popping up in towns and villages all across the country, that is, vaping shops. I raised it previously with the Minister for Justice when he was in the Seanad. We need to amend the existing legislation - the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023 - to have more stringent and stronger repellents and barriers for the sale of vaping products, in particular the targeting of young people. In one example in my home county of Mayo, we have a shop that sell…

The Minister of State is welcome to the House. As Fine Gael spokesperson in the Seanad for transport and a member of the Joint Committee on Transport, I welcome the opportunity to debate this pressing issue that is affecting individuals throughout the country. With 83,486 people waiting for tests, it is simply not good enough and needs to be addressed urgently. In places like Navan, Tallaght and Galway, waiting times are in excess of 40 weeks and this needs to be addressed as soon as possible. In County Mayo, where…

I join in the Cathaoirleach's welcome to James Cafferkey. He is a TUI student in St. Muredach's College and has been a great help to me. Yesterday evening, James attended a launch of the new strategy for the No Name Clubs, which is a youth organisation aimed at youth empowerment across Ireland. It has launched its new strategy that runs until 2029 and it has a great focus on working on building on the work of the No Name Clubs, to improve it, to empower young people and to improve the connectivity and inclusion of …

The Minister of State is very welcome back to the Seanad. The housing crisis we face is not news to him or to any of us here in the Chamber. I compliment him on the work and efforts he has commenced since taking over his brief. His knowledge is impeccable. He has experience of being his party spokesperson for housing in the previous Seanad and he also worked on the issue while in local government. I wish him the best. I look forward to supporting his efforts in his role in this Ministry. The housing crisis is very …

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am heartened by it in terms of the consideration and the flexibility that could be given to local authorities. In a partnership process, any semi-State or any body that tries to develop critical infrastructure that is in the common good and the public good must be supported. I encourage Uisce Éireann and other such bodies to work with local authorities to make sure they avail of these partnership processes because it can help remove the Bord Pleanála difficulties and h…

I share in the sympathies expressed on the death of Garda Kevin Flatley, which was a tragedy to befall the force and, most particularly, his family. I offer my sympathies, those of my Fine Gael colleagues and, I am sure, those of the House on the passing of former councillor Senator, TD and Minister, Paddy O'Toole, who passed away over the weekend. Paddy O'Toole was a native of Erris and went to Ballina to teach in Knockanillo National School, where his commitment to education and local development laid the foundat…

I welcome the provisions in the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024. I would like to raise a point with the Minister of State. I refer to access to cash. I have had a number of conversations with constituents as this has come to light over the past number of weeks. We have discussed this in great detail. It is important to recognise the lack of access at different stages to digital and contactless payments when power outages or a lack of access to Internet connectivity occurs, and when di…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As the Fine Gael spokesperson on transport in the Seanad and a member of the newly formed Oireachtas committee on transport, I bring to the Minister of State’s attention a key and important piece of infrastructure for the north west, namely, the western rail corridor. The line between Athenry and Claremorris, which is currently closed, is in public ownership. I compliment the work of advocacy groups like West on Track, as well as political and civic leaders across the n…

I thank the Minister of State for the update. I also thank the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, for his work on this issue. The all-island strategic rail review identified the reopening of the western rail corridor from Claremorris to Athenry as a short-term measure. Having invested so much in planning, consultation and reviews, we now need to move to delivery. We need to do whatever it takes to ensure the project is included in the upcoming review of the national development plan and move swiftly to reopen the li…

I raise the important issue of ambulance response times in County Mayo, particularly the Erris region of Belmullet. I have three call logs of incidents from the past number of months. In some instances, the ambulance response times to patients has been two hours. Two hours, two hours and 96 minutes are just three examples from the past number of months. I compliment the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, for her work improving the effectiveness of her office and improving the health outcomes and condit…

In recent days there have been reports about the appointment of a housing tsar to help support the housing crisis we face. I have serious concerns about this concept considering the fact that we have more than 900 tsars in county councils across every local authority. They are our county councillors. Devolved functions to zone housing on the ground is what we need to unlock housing supply, and working with potential developers, the utilities and service providers. That is where the war will be won in terms of unloc…

I raise an issue very important to my constituency. With the closure of deadlines for the school bus scheme for this year, a particular area and blackspot in my constituency is just outside of Crossmolina - the area of Coolturk, Eskeragh and Dooleague. There are 20 students without access to the school they attend, Crossmolina National School. The students have family links and connections to this school. Unfortunately, over the past number of years, they have not been eligible for the bus to school scheme. I have …

I wish to be associated with the remarks on the retirement of Martin Groves. He was a great help to me in my early days, although I am still in my early days in the Seanad, and I put on record my thanks to Martin for his assistance. I would also like to associated with the remarks on the Holy Father, the late Pope Francis, and his contribution to community, society and faith right across the world and the indelible mark he made on inclusion and broadening the church's work for those in the most disadvantaged areas.…

A matter of concern to many of my constituents in County Mayo is the state of disrepair of the piers and waterways on the Mayo coastline. On Kilcummin pier, there are proposed clearance works. Small fishing boats are unable to dock at the pier because of the storm debris and rocks that need to be cleared. The slipway is in a treacherous state and it is the same for other slipways in the north Mayo area, including those in Ballycastle, Killala, Ballina and Lacken pier. It is really important for fishing industries i…

The Minister is very welcome to the House. I welcome the opportunity to discuss with him the housing crisis that is plaguing every constituency in the country. I will give an anecdotal example from my home town of Ballina, County Mayo. I have spent the past six years as a local councillor in Mayo County Council, working with colleagues across the county to improve housing supply. At every opportunity, we have tried to zone land, empower developers and build homes in our towns, villages and constituencies. At county…