I thank the Senator for his question, which I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I will begin by providing a brief outline of the issues. The local authorities are the bodies responsible, under statute, for the maintenance and improvement of local and regional roads. There has been huge investment in local and regional roads over the last while. In 2026, €718 million was made available, which facilitated an increase of €26 million for road protection and renewal throughout Ireland. While there ha…

I thank the Senator. In the programme for Government, there was a clear commitment and an understanding on the amount of funding that would have to be put in place, particularly for local and regional roads across the country. That funding would have to increase to meet the demands and challenges being met right across many of our communities. The Senator quite rightly raised the issue in relation to County Wexford. I certainly will. I travel many of the local and regional roads on a daily basis and understand the …

I am not sure setting the date for the all-Ireland is something I can do. I thank Senator Murphy O'Mahony for the question and the issues she has raised. One thing we always looked forward to was when the Saturday or Sunday was 1 September; we actually thought we were gaining. I remember one particular September when 1 September was a Thursday, and I had banked that they would not bring us back until the following Monday. I remember my mother coming from first mass and saying that she had great news: the school is …

There have been a lot of changes to the school year. There was a standardisation of the holidays at Easter and Christmas and for the breaks in November and February. It is one important piece that we have to look at in the round. The schools do not just operate as an educational institution. Children going to school is a vital fabric of our national story. That all blends into the hospitality industry as well when kids are off and so forth. It is important. The point the Senator was making at the early part of her …

I thank Senator Ní Chuilinn for raising this issue. I am taking this matter because youth work falls under the Department of education. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. The Department is dedicated to enhancing the delivery of youth work services and opportunities for young people across the country. UBU Your Place Your Space is the largest youth service scheme funded by the Department. It targets young people between the ages of ten and 24 who are identified as marginalised, vul…

There is great work going on but the challenge the Senator presented where people are committing crime just to get on a system is not right and proper. That is not what we are building the youth services or indeed SOLAS or the UBU for. We will reflect very carefully on the evidence the Senator has just shared with me. The officials in the Department have gone out and reached all the ETBs involved in youth services over the last while to get a sense of where things are at. Obviously, some of the most challenging are…

I welcome the students. I look forward to their analysis of how we understand government. It might be important for every citizen. I thank the Deputies who spoke on the Railway Safety Bill. They gave informative insights not just into railway safety but into other issues. I offer my sincere sympathies to the family of Eoin Doyle on their tragic loss. Many Deputies across the House have raised genuine concerns in relation to railway safety and, indeed, the entire railway network. That just goes to show the importanc…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Transport pursuant to Standing Orders 103(2)(b) and 188(1).

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I will go through the format first and then come to the points he raised. The matter of infrastructure investment to support road safety as well as the quality of life for people who rely on the N70 is an important one. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding but TII, the national roads authority, and the local authorities are intertwined in relation to these projects. Deputy Cahill mentioned a number of issues along…

I thank the Deputies very much for raising the issue. It is always great to see TDs raising issues on a cross-constituency basis. It shows the importance of the issue being raised, so I thank them for raising it. The primary staffing schedule is a long-standing feature of the primary allocation system, which ensures fairness and transparency in the allocation of mainstream class teachers across primary schools, regardless of location. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at an ind…

I thank the Deputies for the questions. I would nearly bet that the school has probably committed to and sent in the enrolment for 30 September at this stage because schools are very efficient bodies and I am sure this school, St. Patrick's, is no different. We will reflect on that figure when it is sent in. I take the point. We have to have a staffing schedule. If we look at the average of our schools, it is even fewer than 20 when we take every teacher into account. I take the point the Deputies made about 33 pup…

I thank both Deputies for their collaboration and for raising this important issue and offering me the opportunity to respond. The Department is aware of the decision to close the service as the university prepares to repurpose the current facility. It is acknowledged that this is a deeply stressful time for the parents, children, the staff affected and the local community. South Dublin Childcare Committee is collaborating with the private provider to review alternative premises and to secure a new location for the…

The Deputies have spoken about having proper childcare facilities on campus. Ideally, that is the way to go. The announcement of a number of crèches and of childcare funding earlier this week shows the correct process to do that. However, that is little comfort for the Deputies' constituents in the challenges they will face in a couple of months' time. I reiterate that it is for the providers to go back. The Department and I will ensure the concerns the Deputies have raised are taken up and that everybody, includin…

I thank the Deputies for raising the issue of support for Moatview Early Education Centre. The Department supports the ongoing development of existing and new services in the sector through its range of funding schemes and support infrastructure, including city and county childcare committees. In particular, core funding offers supply side funding to services. Core funding is a grant to providers designed to support quality, sustainability and enhanced public management with associated conditions in relation to fee…

This is very important. As with all childcare facilities across the country, it is vital that this is maintained. Moatview has been in operation since 1992, which is 34 years. It is probably putting the second or third generation through its hands at this stage. This is important. I will undertake to ensure that from the Department side and Pobal’s side, there will be serious engagement with the board of directors and the managers. I have no doubt that after operating for 34 years, the managers must be at the top o…

I thank Deputy Hearne and all the Deputies who spoke so genuinely and eloquently about housing and the challenges that are facing us. I reaffirm the Government's commitment to tackling the housing crisis. We know that these challenges are having a real impact on people's lives and we remain focused on increasing delivery. Enshrining a right to housing in the Constitution is not necessary to solve this crisis. To hold a referendum on this now would simply create a distraction from the real work of scaling up the sup…

I thank the Deputy for the Topical Issue. The Government is committed to the provision of specialised education for children with special educational needs. In the early part of budget 2026, we have already provided funding for over 400 new special classes and at least 400 new special school places for the 2026-27 school year. It was intended that this would create almost 3,000 new special education placements for September 2026. This would be in addition to placements created due to the natural movement of student…

I take the Deputy's point and I can get the figures for her. In the provision of specialised education, we want to ensure that in special classes that are associated with mainstream schools, inclusivity is one of the major key pieces in it. In the ramping up of the provision and the capacity across the country, I have been at many schools and seen the work that has happened over the past while. We have made a very serious commitment and in terms of any new build that is going on, both at primary and post-primary le…

I thank the Deputy for the question. We have discussed this issue and he has raised it a number of times with me. I have met a number of stakeholders to discuss how our schools support children with dyslexia, including experts in the field, teachers, parents and advocacy groups, such as the likes of Dyslexia Ireland and the Crack the Code group, which I met with Deputy Moynihan before the summer. As he knows, the majority of students with literacy difficulties currently receive additional teaching supports from a s…

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to reassure the House that the Department of Education and Youth and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that all children can access an education suitable to their needs. The Department continues to engage intensely with the NCSE in relation to forward planning for new special provision to ensure every child has a place in an educational setting best fitted to their educational need. No policy position can be static and needs to evolve alongside the student populatio…