I thank the Minister of State for his reply. As I said in my first contribution, the time has come to move beyond outdated catchment policies and towards a demand-led approach that reflects how families live and learn today. According to the Minister of State, Bus Éireann has advised that there is a service that pupils of this area can avail of, with pick-up points of approximately 9.2 km or 7.2 km away. That is unacceptable in this day and age. There is a need for a demand-led approach on this route. I urge the De…

I wish to advocate on behalf of those seeking the implementation of a dedicated Bus Éireann secondary school transport route to Tralee from north Kerry, specifically servicing the communities of Lixnaw and Abbeydorney. In these communities, 19 families and 29 students face significant challenges due to the absence of a structured reliable transport service. At present, parents are forced to pay out of their own pockets for private transport arrangements. This is placing an unnecessary financial strain on households…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today on a really serious topic. I am not going rehash everything that has been said. However, the situation in Kerry is particularly concerning. According to the latest figures, the waiting time for a driving test in Tralee averages approximately 26 or 27 weeks, while in Killarney, applicants face a delay of up to 15 weeks. These prolonged waiting times are unacceptable and place undue stress on individuals who need their licences to work or provide essential s…

I rise this morning regarding serious health concerns for the people of Listowel in north Kerry and the people of west Limerick. I am calling for the full restoration of the SouthDoc services at Listowel primary care centre. As stated, I am calling on the HSE and SouthDoc to immediately restore full out-of-hours GP services at the Listowel primary care centre to their previous operational levels. The recent reductions or alterations of these services have had a serious impact on the healthcare access for the people…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. This Commencement matter relates to flooding. If there is time, I hope to speak later on how flooding events in the past ten years have completely destroyed many areas in Listowel. Today I bring to the Minister of State's urgent attention a deeply distressing case involving the Gabrielyan family in Listowel, County Kerry, and the limitations of the OPW flood relocation scheme, VHR. The Minister of State will know well the voluntary homeowners relocation scheme,…

I wholeheartedly thank the Minister of State. The family has applied for the offer to be revised and increased. Can it take it that it is with the Department and we can look positively on an increase for the family to secure a home? I welcome all the work that has been done. It has been revised twice and the family has gone back again to look for further funding to eventually get out of this nightmare that they have been living in for more than ten years. On the Listowel works, I wholeheartedly thank the OPW for ev…

I welcome the Minister of State and I thank Senator Keogan for bringing forward what I believe is a very important Bill. It is timely. As a parent and as a coach all my life who has dealt with children and adults, I have seen first hand what these stimulant drinks can do. They can drive kids, young adults and even adults nearly to a certain point of breakdown. It is timely and necessary to restrict the sale of stimulant drinks, commonly known as energy drinks, to children under the age of 16 in Ireland. As far as I…

I raise a humanitarian issue for a family in Listowel. Over the last ten years, they have been flooded in their home three times. They applied for the relocation scheme through the OPW but it is not working in their favour. The family are Artur and Liene Gabrielyan and their two sons. I will outline the details of their family journey so far with the OPW relocation scheme. They applied for the scheme in 2020 and were approved in 2021 when they were offered X, Y and Z. The offer was increased after the family were f…

I wish to share time with Senator Byrne.

I move: That Seanad Éireann: acknowledges: - the establishment of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; - our long established universities across the country; - the establishment and commencement of technological universities; - the multiple locations across regional Ireland that now have university campuses; - the establishment and work of our Education and Training Boards nationwide; - the importance of our high quality higher education system to producing graduates to…

I thank the Minister. This has been a wonderful debate on the future of every student. It is a relief that we can take back what was said to their families. These are difficult financial times for many families who are sending their kids to further, higher or third level education. Students and families in my area are coming to me about gaining access to the programme. This is the biggest problem. If the families can afford to access the programme, they will break any barrier to make sure their children get to thir…

I would like to speak on an issue that may sound dramatic but is an issue of life and death at the moment, that is, the urgent need to introduce mandatory cardiac screening for all competitive sports players between the ages of 12 and 18. Too often we only act after tragedy strikes. However, now we have a chance to act before it does. Heart conditions are among the leading causes of sudden death among young athletes. Many of these conditions remain undiagnosed due to their silent nature. There are no symptoms or wa…

I thank the Minister of State for the response. Really, it is where we are and where we want to be, to be honest. Even in the last paragraph of his written reply, it refers to response times. I want to get away from the response times and to early intervention, where people are mapped from ages 12 to 18. They need to be mandatorily screened, with a certificate if they are going into competitive sports or whatever. They need to be mandatorily tested. It is not the response on the last page of the Minister of State's…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I speak in opposition to the amendment proposed by Senators Cosgrove and Harmon, not out of convenience but because of my deep concern for the energy security and future of our nation. I stand in firm opposition to the proposed insertion that states “, subject to a clear prohibition on the development of a Liquid Natural Gas terminal,”. This is not because I ignore climate change and the challenges we face, but because I refuse to ignore the energy realities that are al…

I thank the Minister and welcome him to the Seanad. I wish to raise serious issues regarding the roll-out of CCTV surveillance in all our towns and villages across the country. It can offer several key benefits for public safety and well-being. CCTV systems act as a visible deterrent to individuals or groups considering illegal activities. In showing them they are being monitored, CCTV discourages such behaviour and prevents crime, including antisocial behaviour, theft, vandalism, assault, illegal dumping, drug tra…

I thank the Minister for his response. There lies his problem, namely, with the local authorities, the general data protection regulation, GDPR, and data control. It is for An Garda Síochána to take responsibility for data control. That is how this can be presented to the public in the context of what can be used in statute law. I welcome it. Since 2023, we have seen disturbances on the streets of Dublin. In the context of these incidents, CCTV footage led to many people being brought to trial and some being given …

I am raising a very serious issue today that has blighted Knock in west Limerick and the lives of vulnerable people. Door-to-door scammers acting as bogus traders are scamming vulnerable people out of extortionate amounts of money. They are acting as tradesmen doing jobs like power hosing, painting or a tar job. One guy in the Knock area was caught for up to €4,000. Another job was up to €1,100. An elderly lady was charged €600 for a ten-minute job. They are posing as handymen but they are parasites in our area. Th…

I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. He and I have debated this before as a Commencement matter, and I will give him a brief of that again. Storm Bert struck Listowel in November 2024. We should not let the blue skies today fool us when we are discussing flooding issues. Even before Storm Bert, we had three flooding issues in Listowel in July 2022 that destroyed the town, which led to the flood relief schemes that have since commenced and been finished. During Storm Bert in 2024, the River Feale, whic…

Last Thursday morning, on 2 April, it was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of a former Kerry Gaelic footballer and iconic Gaelic football manager, the great Mick O'Dwyer. Micko was king of the Kingdom and sprinkled some of his gold dust, wisdom and love of Gaelic football on other counties and places beyond with great success, leading his teams with unmatched passion and inspiring countless Gaelic football supporters and teammates alike. As a top-class footballer, the Waterville and south Kerry sta…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate her on her appointment to what is one of the most serious portfolios in government. I am substituting for Senator Bradley, who is a leading advocate for people with disabilities. I wish her all the best. Last week, I attended an information evening entitled Breaking Barriers, which was hosted by Ballybunion Community and Family Centre in north Kerry and chaired by Ms Laura Bennett. I would also like to acknowledge the work of Jacqui Harteveld at the List…