On behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, who will deliver the closing remarks, and the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, I thank Deputy O'Gorman of the Independent and Parties Technical Group for the opportunity to speak in the Dáil on the public transport experience and our plans to deliver on the programme for Government commitments. I am confident we can all agree it is essential that the Government continues to invest in the public transport network and that we be supportive of the Government'…

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the national driver test service. I will share time with the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer. By way of background, the Road Safety Authority, RSA, has statutory responsibility for the national driver test service under the Road Safety Authority Act 2006. The service has a target average wait time of ten weeks between when someone applies to sit a test and the test taking place. As Deputies are aware, however, the current wait times are far in excess of the ten w…

That is in the past.

There were a lot of questions and I will try to get through as many as I can. As of December 2022, there were 4,200 ATMs in the State. Breaking that number down, there were 397 in the Border region, 440 in the west, 417 in the mid-west, 349 in the south east, 630 in the south west, 1,159 in the Dublin area, 560 in the mid-east and 237 in the midlands. Per 100,000 of population, there were 94 ATMs in the Border region, 90 in the west, 82 in the mid-west, 76 in the south east, 85 in the south west, 79 in the Dublin r…

Senator Boyhan's request is probably covered under my generalised point that other groups may be considered for consultation as appropriate. I would strongly advocate that Irish Rural Link be included.

I thank Senator O’Reilly. On the question on why a 15% drop in cash demand has been used, the legislation contains provision for the access to cash criteria to be reviewed in tandem with the updating of census figures and if cash demand drops by more than 15% in a calendar year by comparison with the preceding calendar year, or on the request of the Minister. The Central Bank of Ireland may also undertake a review on its own initiative at any time. Data published by the Central Bank show that cash withdrawals in Ir…

I thank both the Senators who are present today and who attended the debates on the previous Stages of the Bill in this House and I thank those who attended the debates on the Bill in Dáil Éireann for their contributions and constructive engagement on the legislation. The objectives of the Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024 are to ensure sufficient and effective access to cash in the State, provide a framework to manage future changes in cash infrastructure in a fair, equitable and trans…

As Minister of State with responsibility for international and road transport, logistics, rail and ports, I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate on the new Coast Guard aviation service. The Irish Coast Guard search and rescue, SAR, aviation services are provided under a contract that is currently transitioning to Bristow Ireland Limited, BIL. The previous contractor, CHCI, had operated the service since 2012. On 30 May 2023, the Government approved the decision to award a contract for provision of …

Following an engagement process with both contractors, the dates of transfer for the remaining three bases have been revised, as follows: Weston, 1 July 2025; Sligo, 15 December 2025; and Waterford, 31 January 2026. I reiterate that the Department of Transport is prioritising the safe and effective transition of this aviation contract without interruption of service and is ensuring that the two contracted operators, CHCI and BIL, are providing sufficient capacity, expertise and resources to maintain safe search and…

I doubt it.

I thank Deputy Kelly for raising this issue. I am from the most beautiful place in Galway. It is a very rural area called Belclare. The Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, Deputy Connolly, is laughing at me. It is beautiful but there is scarcely a taxi or hackney there either. I appreciate the issue raised by Deputy Kelly and I thank him for raising it. I will read some of the reply and then I will speak to Deputy Kelly about it. Neither the Minister for Transport nor his Department are involved in the day-to-day operation of…

The Deputy and I are on the one page. Complication in a system can create a lot of paperwork and problems, and it can create little by way of results. We need to have a serious look at how we are doing the business here. We must ensure we are not displacing existing taxi services, as the Deputy said. They must also make a living. It is a case of going back to first principles and seeing where the demand is, seeing where exactly we can make it work, and rotate it around having a number of drivers available for a car…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important question. The core principle of progressing disability services, PDS, is to achieve fairer and more equitable access to services for all children with disabilities based on their needs. This includes access to school-based therapy supports for children attending special schools in the country, including in Cork. The Minister fully acknowledges the frustrations faced by families of children in special schools and the urgent need for therapy provision within special schoo…

I thank the Deputy and welcome his comments. I agree with him that we need a roadmap to see where we are going. It cannot be spaced out over time because children with disabilities need supports now. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, are working closely together to ensure this is rolled out as quickly as possible. Despite all of these challenges, work is ongoing to develop services that can meet the needs of families and children with complex needs, including those attending …

I thank both Deputies for raising this matter. I understand their frustration. This has been going on a while. I assure the Deputies that this Government is committed to working with all stakeholders to see the Waterford Airport project to lengthen and widen the runway progress. In line with this and on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, I welcome the opportunity to update the House on the topic this evening. As the Deputies will be aware, Waterford Airport is owned by Waterford Regional …

I thank the Deputies. I feel and hear their frustration. The programme for Government commits to working with all stakeholders to quickly progress the Waterford Airport project to lengthen and widen the runway, building on the previous Government. The Government recognises the huge value of the aviation sector in supporting international connectivity, economic development, and tourism via our airports. The Deputies will be aware that the infrastructure guidelines set out the value-for-money guidelines for the evalu…

No.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. It is important to say that broader investment in harbour maintenance and refurbishment is typically funded directly by the responsible local authorities and port companies and through the fishery harbour and coastal infrastructure development programme managed by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. As outlined in the programme for Government, the Government is fully committed to the protection and preservation of our maritime cultural heritage, …

I thank the Deputy for raising his important points and for his suggestions. Part IV of the Planning and Development Act 2000 sets out arrangements for the protection of our architectural heritage. While the planning authority is responsible for adding buildings and features to the record of protected structures, primary responsibility for preventing endangerment of protected structures then rests with the owner overseen by the planning authority. As I set out previously, there is a wide range of supports available…

The Deputy is no doubt aware of the considerable amount of research, both domestically and internationally, on what drives increased passenger numbers on public transport. I am happy to report there has been strong growth in passenger numbers in recent years, with numbers trending at plus 9% in 2024 versus 2023. In October 2024, public transport surpassed 1 million PSO passengers a day for the first time ever, with an average of 1 million passenger journeys recorded daily. This growth continues in 2025, with a rece…