Cathal Byrne
Cultural and Educational Panel · Fine Gael · Ireland
“I join other Senators in urging the Government, including the Minister for local government, to produce the action plan on local democracy and make it a key priority to work on it over the summer so that the hard-working councillors up and down Ireland can have clarity about what exactly the changes will be as they face into another round…”
“I join colleagues in thanking so many of the staff here who make it possible for us to do our day-to-day work. That includes not only Martin Hughes and the team here in the Seanad, but also the ushers and all those who make the day-to-day life of Leinster House possible, including those who work in the restaurant, the canteen and behind t…”
“The Senator also raised the situation of the artist Emily Conway from County Mayo, who received an Arts Council bursary in recognition of her important contribution as an artist but which has created a scenario whereby her application for a blind pension has run into difficulty. I encourage him to put that down as a Commencement matter.”
“I feel there is also a responsibility on Dublin City Council to allow for that and to support local residents in the area. In fairness to Senator Andrews, he has spoken about this before in the House. I am happy to take it up with the Leader.”
“However, because the consultation with the consultant took place initially in Monaghan, the HSE refused that application. I encourage Senator Tully to perhaps raise this as a Commencement matter. There is an appeal mechanism through the HSE and the ombudsman. Perhaps that is an avenue for her constituent to pursue.”
“The Order of Business is No. 1, Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 - Committee Stage (resumed) and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m., with the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, to be brought to a conclusion at 3.45 p.m.”
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Every one of 555 lines we hold for Cathal Byrne, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 12.
“The WWETB is allowing the school to facilitate its special needs classes in that building in a gesture of kindness but it is just not suitable. The school was put forward for extension building works over the past number of years. The process started back in 2020 with the appointment of the design team. It moved to stage 1 in 2021. It moved to stage 2a in 2023. Planning permission was applied for in July 2024. It was granted in May 2025 after a few back and forths regarding further information requests, an archaeological survey and different things that had to be complied with. The school will shortly lodge the application to move to the tender phase. I hope that the school's application to move to the tender phase will be treated as a priority by the Government and the Minister to reflect the reality on the ground.”
“It is a school that was designed back in the 1980s. It consists of prefabricated buildings and was designed for a maximum capacity of approximately 500 students. With 630 students attending at the moment, there simply is not enough space. The population in that area and the large catchment area that it serves is continuing to grow. More students are looking to be enrolled there than is possible to facilitate. The school is now starting to turn away students as it is at maximum capacity. One of the main issues is that the school took on four additional special needs classes. They are housed in an ancillary building that is owned by the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board, WWETB, and that building is simply not fit for purpose. The roof is in bits, and it is an ancient building.”
“I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, for coming in to take this very important Commencement matter. This relates to Ramsgrange Community School, a school in south Wexford. It is a very large provider of secondary-level education to people from as far south as the Hook Peninsula and as far north as Murntown on the outskirts of Wexford town. The school has a massive catchment area and currently has approximately 630 students enrolled and attending. I recently visited the school at the request of acting principal, Tracey Edwards, simply because of the overcapacity and the shortage of spaces there. To be honest, I was shocked by what I saw. So many of the common areas that were originally designed for students to play in, have access to, to socialise in and have their breaks in have been repurposed as teaching areas.”
“As the population grows and as boundary commissions continue to look at this in the context of the current model of three-, four- and five-seat constituencies, we are going to have more connectedness that will involve breaches of county borders as a result of counties being placed together in constituencies. For the first time since 1961, my county was split, with part of it being place in a constituency with Wicklow. In 1961, a small part of Wexford that was linked with Carlow. What I have outlined dilutes democracy because it breaches county borders. This is an issue for counties like Louth, for example. The Oireachtas has to look at this matter and really get to grips with it. The Electoral Commission is carrying out a review involving six-seater constituencies.”
“A point will eventually arrive when such a large body will become unwieldy. It is very important that we seek to put a cap in place in the future. What that cap would be, I am not sure. I am very much reminded of the fact that while the public may want fewer TDs nationally, they want more TDs locally. Every town wants a TD and everybody wants to be represented and have access and so on. In the short term, the fundamental building block of a community is the county border and the county identity. It is the jersey you pull on in the GAA. It is the support and the identity that links a place.”
“I am grateful to Senator Conor Murphy. I agree with the point he makes about the need for any long-term future electoral planning to incorporate the ultimate consideration of what will hopefully be a successful reunification referendum. I just want to make contribute on two points. I thank Senator McDowell for bringing forward the motion. My understanding is that it is not being opposed by the Government. It is very important that we remind ourselves of the role of the Dáil, which is to represent the people who have elected the TDs who sit in that House. The role of the Dáil is also to elect a Government and to hold it accountable. Any future change involving a never-ending increase in the number of seats in the Dáil as a result of population increases, which is projected into the future, will make matters more difficult for TDs.”
“It is quite dangerous and not safe. I encourage the Minister for Transport to reopen the safe routes to school programme. When it was originally opened, it made much-needed funding available to school communities to assist with traffic and address speeding outside school gates. Unfortunately, the programme has been closed to new entrants for about four years. It is time to take another look at this so that villages like Raheen, including Raheen National School, will have an opportunity to have much-needed traffic calming, working in collaboration with Wexford County Council. While some work was done in the area recently, more funding and greater access to the funding for primary and secondary schools is a matter on which the Minister for Transport should come to the House to provide more detail and an update.”
“I join the Leas-Chathaoirleach in welcoming the guests from Raheen National School to the Chamber. It is a coincidence that I am speaking when they are present. I wish them the very best on their visit to Dublin. I hope they really enjoy their tour around Leinster House and get to see what we do here as representatives of the people through passing laws and trying to make decisions that benefit the lives of all those back home who sent us here. In that vein, I would like to raise some of the issues that Raheen, a small rural village right in the heart of County Wexford, faces daily owing to speeding. I recently met some representatives in the village, who have highlighted to me that some of the cars that make their way through the village, particularly when students are coming and going to school, are simply travelling too fast.”
“The programme for Government contains a commitment to provide catch-up funding for roads to local authorities which have well below the national average standard of roads. Unfortunately, Wexford has some of the worst roads in the country and really needs this extra funding. The crews are in place. They are doing their absolute best with the resources that were allocated to them previously. Wexford needs this extra funding to restore its roads to a good standard. The impact on agriculture, on people trying to get to work and on tourism cannot be understated. I encourage the Minister for Transport to make this funding available.”
“I want to raise the issue of the urgent need for emergency funding following the recent storm that affected roads in County Wexford. Wexford County Council has submitted an emergency application for just over €20 million, which is based on the scale of the devastation that was caused by the recent storm. I support the county council's application for emergency funding. I recall that in December 2021, when there was similar storm damage, the Government at that time came forward with a €5 million package to help address some of the storm damage, particularly damage to roads and bridges and the impact that the water had on both of those. This time, the damage was far more severe and, hence, the application is far larger.”
“Recent measures have eased the fuel allowance means test, bringing more people into the eligibility net. It is important that this much-needed measure, at this time of global uncertainty in oil markets, should be extended. I encourage the Leader to take that point back to the Government; I will certainly be doing that within my own party.”
“As a Government, we have to ensure people in situations like this are protected and to introduce measures to ensure they are not put at risk of fuel poverty by the war in Iran and the difficulties in getting oil out through the Strait of Hormuz. I listened carefully last night to the debate in the Lower House, where the Tánaiste said the Government is considering a range of proposals that would be targeted at those most in need. The current fuel allowance, which is to expire shortly, should be extended. It is targeted at the most vulnerable in society and is an important payment enabling people to purchase fuel throughout the winter. I strongly suggest it should be extended, perhaps for seven to eight weeks, and then looked at thereafter.”
“I raise the enormous impact the war taking place in Iran is having on the day-to-day lives of people across the country. I will speak to the impact it is having in Wexford. I was contacted by a constituent who had agreed to purchase a lorry load of home heating oil for her house about three weeks ago and had paid upfront for it. The date it would arrive was agreed with the delivery company. Two days before it was due to arrive, she was asked to pay an extra €800 to ensure the delivery was made. Unfortunately, this story is becoming far too common. The small print in the contract apparently says customers pay the price on the day the oil is to be delivered, not the price on the day they purchase the oil.”
“There are many other crimes that are substantial and serious that I also feel are worthy of minimum mandatory sentencing, but this is a unique category offence that is different from ordinary theft. It is different from burglary and aggravated burglary. It should in and of itself should be its own category of offence.”
“When the ultimate goal of this Government and this Oireachtas is to ensure the delivery of much needed houses - 300,000 homes by 2030 - we have to ensure that for every tradesperson who has a van and gets on the road and gets up early in the morning to assist in achieving that target, there are no days lost because they do not have the tools to get there. When we heard earlier the key point that one in three victims of this crime has to go to a lender or bank to replace them, that clearly sums up in my mind that the current system we have simply is not putting on enough pressure to put it into a thief's mind that it is just not worth breaking the lock, clearing out the back of the van and taking everything that is in there. I implore the Minister and his officials in the Department to really take a detailed look at this.”
“There is an option for a judge to impose a ten-year penalty for ordinary theft, but tool theft is unique. It is different. It is something that is worthy of being a stand-alone offence. That is what this legislation seeks to do. There might be issues that have to be teased out as this legislation progresses through the House, but certainly my clear impression from my colleagues would be that they are willing to engage and work with the Minister to refine them. The clear message from this House to the court and the Judiciary is that it is a different category of offence in and of itself. The point made by Senator Kennelly is that if someone targets a tradesperson, he or she has to be able to receive a sentence proportionate to the damage he or she has done to that person.”
“I understand that Article 34 of the Constitution references that the courts are the ultimate administrators of justice and not the Oireachtas, but the Oireachtas has a role in legislation and it has a key role in putting forward a message from the people, which is that the public will not stand for tool theft, and the current system we have is inadequate. We must send a clear message to the courts and the Judiciary that stronger minimum sentences are required in this area. When we consider the Ellis Supreme Court case that effectively changed the law when referencing the Constitution about minimum mandatory sentences, one of the key points is that there has to be a rational relationship between the fixed penalty and the victims and the crime itself. We must consider the impact that tool theft has as distinct from ordinary theft.”
“I've been able to get a few cheap and cheerful bits ... [but] The rest, I'll ... have to slowly replace over time. The impact here is on hard-working tradespeople, the men and women who are the backbone of the construction industry. The reason this legislation is being put forward is because we have a deep feeling that the current legislation that is there around theft is not adequately and proportionally reflecting the damage and impact it is having on the victims of this crime. There are many arguments against minimum sentencing and there are many issues.”
“I begin by putting on the record the importance of this legislation that has been introduced by my colleagues in the Fine Gael Party and particularly by Senator P.J. Murphy, who has been a victim of this crime of tool theft in the past and who, having worked in the industry, has dealt and engaged with so many victims of this crime over the past 20 years in his work as a joiner. I want to read for a moment the words of somebody from Duncormick in my own area of south Wexford who described the impact that tool theft has had on them. This was reported in the Wexford People . He said: These lads knew what they were looking for. They cleared the van out and then broke the lock on the shed and took ... [everything that] was in there. He went on to say: It's an ... nightmare ... [to be honest with you].”
“Working with the local councillor, Councillor Frank Staples, I have previously raised this case with both Wexford County Council and the OPW. There really is a direct need now for action in this area before it is too late and that business employing 12 people and their two homes are washed away by the sea. I implore the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW to take another look at this project, make much needed funding available and work with Wexford County Council to ensure this issue in Ballyhealy can be addressed once and for all.”
“Today, I rise to speak about the plight of families living in Ballyhealy in south Wexford, an area that has been devastated by coastal erosion. The Wexford coasts are currently eroding at a rate of about 1 m to 3 m a year but unfortunately, in Ballyhealy at the moment, it is eroding at about 5 m to 6 m a year. You can imagine the devastation and fear that is causing for families living in that area. About 200 m upstream, there is Seaview, an area that has been protected to the tune of €657,000 by the OPW, where 14 families live. Those works are expected to stop the coastal erosion there. Unfortunately, in Ballyhealy at the moment, there is no opportunity yet for the Fortune family and their potato business there to get protection.”
“In 2017, then Taoiseach Enda Kenny, together with others, secured a commitment from the EU that if Ireland were to be reunified, the North of Ireland would be automatically subsumed into the EU. The estimated cost at the moment is in the region of approximately €20 billion per annum. As a republican and someone who wants to see a referendum on the unification of Ireland, but also a referendum that passes, there is an important role for the EU in this. My question is for all the MEPs. In the next round of budgets, will they keep on the agenda the issue of monetary support for the costs of the ultimate reunification of this country?”
“It should never be the case that a garda is not sure what the information is telling them. If you are off the road, you are off the road and that is where the law has to be. I urge the Minister of State to take those points back. I support this motion from my colleagues this evening.”
“There is work to be done by the Department, An Garda Síochána, the Courts Service and the Road Safety Authority to ensure there is no confusion about who is disqualified, that the licences of such drivers are not valid and that drivers who are the subject of a court conviction must surrender their licence on the day. We can no longer allow the current situation whereby people might not bring their licence to court and, having been disqualified, can carry that licence around in their pocket the following day. It just does not make any sense. The Road Safety Authority must have the modern technology it needs to ensure that the driver number of people who have been disqualified shows up for gardaí when they are out doing checkpoints on the side of the road. They should have instant access to the data about who actually is disqualified.”
“A person caught driving after being taken off the roads must face a penalty of more than six months in prison. There cannot be a ceiling of six months' jail time, which, in practice, will result in a shorter sentence. This provision has not been reviewed since 1961. It must be reviewed now. We must take the opportunity to change that law and increase that penalty. There were not as many drivers on the roads in 1961 as there are now. Too many people have made the decision to get into their car after being strictly disqualified from driving. One in five disqualified drivers does not surrender his or her licence.”
“Only three weeks ago, there was a serious collision at Larkin's Cross that came very close to resulting in yet another fatality on that stretch of road. I encourage the Department to look seriously at taking action for the communities in those three key areas. The motion includes a proposal to impose mandatory minimum sentencing and jail time on people who take it upon themselves, having been disqualified from driving either through accumulating penalty points or after a judge has taken them off the roads, to get back in a vehicle and drive. Section 38 of the Road Traffic Act 1961 made it a crime to drive when disqualified and introduced a penalty of a fine, which is now €5,000, and a sentence of a maximum of six months. We need to look at that again.”
“I urge the Minister of State to take the specific proposals in the motions and the key points expressed in the debate back to the Government with a view to implementing revisions in the area of road safety. A specific issue of concern to me relates to the most dangerous junctions in my county of Wexford. One of them is the Clohamon crossing on the N80 coming from Bunclody to Enniscorthy. Another is Kyle Cross on the N11 between Enniscorthy and Wexford town. On the N25 from Wexford to New Ross, we have Larkin's Cross. Those three junctions account for a vast proportion of the road traffic accidents in County Wexford. They have repeatedly been the subject of surveys, proposals and consultations. Now we need to see action to make them far safer than they are today.”
“I welcome the Minister of State. I acknowledge the presence in the Gallery of guests Barry Murphy and Ian Moran from Wexford. I welcome this debate on the important topic of road safety. I fully support the motion put forward by my colleagues. Last year, six people lost their lives on Wexford roads, with a nationwide total of 185. Every single one of those losses is a severe tragedy for the families, communities and all the people whose lives will never be the same after experiencing that loss. We in this Chamber can provide leadership in the whole area of road traffic and road safety. It is important that the measures we have presented this evening are brought to bear by the Government.”
“There should be no impediment to local authorities naming and shaming individuals convicted of illegal dumping. This issue should be taken substantially more seriously. This is an issue for every Member in this Chamber because they get the same phonecalls that I get. The cost to the taxpayer is continuing to rise year on year and we have to get to grips with it.”
“The penalty should be exacerbated for polluting these significant waterways that we have. There is not a week that goes without my constituency office being contacted by a constituent from somewhere in Wexford to say that there are black bags of rubbish floating in such a river and would someone from the council go out and collect it. We have to get to grips with this issue and tough on this issue. The fines introduced in 1997 are not sufficient. When this legislation moves forward through the Seanad, I encourage the Minister of State to take the opportunity to increase those fines. In particular, he should look at increasing the penalties and introducing a name and shame policy. There should be no issues with it. If you are convicted of murder or a serious assault, your name is reported in the papers.”
“Those prosecutions are to be welcomed but the data do not show the names of the people. If you are found guilty of dumping in rural Ireland, your name should be published. The public across Ireland should be able to see exactly who these people are. In fact, the current fines, with a maximum on-the-spot fine of €150 and by court conviction €3,000, are not substantial enough. They are not sufficient to deter someone from taking it on themselves to load up a van, fill it with their neighbour's rubbish, drive out to a rural back lane, tip it out and abandon it there. Those fines need to be increased. The category of the offence for illegal dumping should be increased as well as the fines. There should be an extra penalty for dumping in a special area of conservation, such as a river or a beach.”
“In fact, in January 2026, which was a short two weeks ago, 147 phone calls were made to Wexford County Council to report illegal dumping. There are examples of people who, when disposing of their Christmas trees, decided to throw all the Christmas gifts out on the side of the road somewhere in rural County Wexford. I am aware that this legislation will amend the Litter Pollution Act to allow judges to convict people rather than having defendants seek to empanel juries or have trials by jury. This is a welcome step but I encourage the Minister of State to go further. County councils should be mandated to publish the names of individuals convicted of dumping. Last year, Wexford County Council went to the courts and managed to secure a number of litter fines. In fact, there were 11 litter convictions in the past six months.”
“The Minister of State is most welcome to Seanad Éireann this evening. I will be supporting this legislation. I want to focus specifically on the part of it that deals with amending the litter Act. Unfortunately, as in many Senators' counties, County Wexford has a serious issue with illegal dumping. It is a scourge. The county is absolutely blessed with a beautiful coastline, immaculate mountain ranges and scenic beauty throughout. Unfortunately, though, people take it upon themselves to dump illegally. Figures just released by Wexford County Council for 2025 show 2,441 incidents were reported to it. This means an enormous cost to the taxpayer in that the council has to send out crews to remove the illegally dumped material and take it to be recycled or disposed of. Unfortunately, the numbers are continuing to rise.”
“I believe that the reforms that have been brought forward, and will soon see, will increase that figure yet again. At the moment about 600 first-time buyers every week up and down the country are purchasing their first home. Many of them do so using the supports available through the help-to-buy scheme, which gives people back the taxes that they have paid over the past four years. This is a scheme that the Opposition proposes to withdraw. They would remove the safety blanket and existing security that supports people to purchase their first homes. I cannot understand how anybody would say no to a scheme that supports people to get a deposit together. I will conclude by saying that it is important that we have robust debates on this legislation but, in this instance, the balance has been struck and the legislation should go forward.”
“There are constitutional concerns about private property rights, ownership and obligations if that balance did not exist. In fairness to the Ministers, they have produced balanced legislation. For a few moments, I will address some of the contributions made by the Opposition, who want to completely eliminate the private rental sector by withdrawing all supports. They have produced a model whereby schemes that help people to purchase their first house, like the help-to-buy and first home schemes, will be phased out and eliminated in the alternative budget put forward for housing by Sinn Féin. We must be serious about this issue because at the moment, across the country about 100 houses are being built every single day. Is that enough? No, but clear and tangible progress is being made.”
“First, it recognises the fact that we need private landlords. Second, tenants require security of tenure. Tenants need to know that once they actually get a house for themselves that it can be their home for a continuous period and there is an end to the day-to-day cycle where tenants wonder whether they will be issued with a notice of quit this week, next week or in a few months' time. We must acknowledge that this legislation contains a provision for a six-year continuous security of tenure for tenants who have availed of private rental accommodation. That was not the case previously. An important reform is how this legislation strikes a balance by allowing the resetting of market rents and caps the increase in average rents year-to-year at 2%.”
“First and foremost in this legislation is the need to find that balance between the competing rights of tenants and landlords. We must have a functioning private rental market to ensure that people who want to avail of accommodation are in a position to do so. I understand that the Department is conducting a review into the current HAP rates. It is very important that the review is fast-tracked, made available and published so that people who find themselves on the housing lists but who are not yet able to access a social house have the ability to go into the private rental market with adequate resources backed by the State. It is also very important that the HAP rates reflect the real-world lived experiences of people who are looking for private rented accommodation. I believe balanced legislation has been achieved.”
“I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this very important debate. First and foremost, we have to recognise the important contribution the private rental sector makes in providing accommodation right across the country, whether to people who have moved out of their house for the first time or people who are moving for study or work purposes. One of the most common experiences people have when they start out at third level college is moving out of their parents' home and into a rented house. It is important that any legislative framework we introduce in this Chamber recognises that landlords have an important role to play in providing accommodation up and down the country. It is also important that any measure that comes in does not reduce the supply of private rented houses.”
“I met with the head of the roads section on Friday and he said it is going to take a bit longer to fully get to grips with the situation because there has been so much damage to roads right across County Wexford. I implore the Minister for Transport to take seriously that request from Wexford County Council when it comes and to provide the funding. It is going to take the crews and repair workers an enormous amount of time to get the roads back to where they were, and to be honest about it, they were not in a great place to begin with. We must have a stimulus package when that request comes in to ensure we can put the roads back to the condition the people of County Wexford rightly deserve them to be in.”
“There is a need for a once-off emergency roads budget for County Wexford. We have suffered enormous devastation from flooding, and I have previously raised the Enniscorthy flood relief scheme in this Chamber. I want to reflect for a moment on the impact of the floods on our roads network right across County Wexford. On Christmas Day 2021, when I was a county councillor, five bridges in my parish vanished as a result of flooding. There was devastation across the roads network. The then Minister for Transport provided a once-off stimulus measure of €4 million to reflect the impact and the damage the extreme weather event had had on the roads network, including funding for bridge repairs. Wexford County Council is carrying out an assessment of the scale and likely cost of the damage done by the recent flooding to the roads network.”
“Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan is the Minister of State with responsible for heritage but I am also aware that he comes from an area that has experienced flooding and that he understands the need and the importance of reprioritising between protected species and human beings. I will conclude by applaud the work of Slaney Search and Rescue, a voluntary organisation that carried out rescues yet again in Enniscorthy. Currently, it does not have a designated premises. It is locked out of Government grant schemes owing to the nature of the work it does. We have to have change in this area so that the resources that the organisation needs can be provided in a timely manner.”
“We have to see progress on legislative change to rebalance the legislative priorities in this country between protecting protected species, such as the freshwater pearl mussel living under the old bridge in Enniscorthy, and the businesses and the residents right across the country. Let us not forget that it was not only Bunclody, Enniscorthy and Wexford town that saw and experienced serious flood risk. It was also further south. The Minister of State visited Our Lady's Island in the summertime. They saw an absolutely catastrophic flooding event once again. Bridgetown, in south Wexford, only a few miles away, saw devastation due to flooding. We have to examine our legislative priorities.”
“I appreciate that the Taoiseach was down with us and I appreciate that we have had the Minister of State, Deputy Boxer Moran. There is a series of interim measures. I met with the CEO of Wexford County Council last Friday and he proposed several measures that the OPW has, to its credit, committed to fund, including the installation of non-return valves and barriers put up on slipways, providing adequate protection through permanent sandbags and aquadams. These are important measures, but the reality is that these measures came to late for the people in Enniscorthy.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in for this important discussion. My home county of Wexford was devastated by flooding in the past two weeks and I have to highlight a number of issues. I spoke about the Enniscorthy flood relief project previously, but we saw the impact of heavy rainfall in counties Carlow and Wicklow making its way down the River Slaney, first, with the devastation that was caused on the Ryland Road in Bunclody upstream and then making its way down to a major flooding event in my home town, Enniscorthy, where we, yet again, witnessed absolute devastation for residents on the Island Road, Shannon Quay in Templeshannon and Abbey Quay. Down further, Wexford town was on high alert. The reality is that we have not seen action on the Enniscorthy flood relief scheme. We have been flooded 16 times since 2000.”
“While we are discussing apprenticeships, which would be a real driver for housebuilding and for so many people and careers in Wexford, we have to get to grips with the reality of this, which is that it has dragged on for too many years. I ask that the Minister work hand in hand with the SETU, the WWETB and Wexford County Council, to ensure that this project gets the priority it needs and is actually delivered, and that we are not having to wait as the different steps drag.”
“I particularly highlight the very important need for a designated campus at the SETU in Wexford. There is a 48.5 acre site secured at Ballynagee in Wexford town. I visited it about seven weeks ago with the Minister, Deputy Lawless. What we really need to see, and this is so important for future growth in the region and county, is the master plan being delivered and prioritised and the process being sped up a bit. This is a project that has been discussed for too many years. We need to see planning permission being applied for, tenders going out and construction on that site. The uniqueness about this project is that the 48.5 acres will not only host the SETU designated campus, but it will also be home to a designated campus for the WWETB.”
“I acknowledge our guests in the Gallery, in particular the 2025 Rose of Tralee. She is most welcome here this evening. Her story serves as an inspiration for so many people across the country who are currently considering going down the apprenticeship route. Being from Wexford, I highlight the important work the South East Technological University, SETU, does there and in the south-east. Indecon recently completed a report, which showed that 37% of the people who take up college courses through the SETU continue to work and remain in the area immediately, rather than what we have at the moment, which is a persistent brain drain of people leaving County Wexford and moving to Dublin, Waterford, or perhaps further afield. They go to third level and do not come back. This persistent issue has affected County Wexford over many generations.”
“That is a bridge where water is flowing over it as well as under it. It was built too low in 1992, when it was put in. My concern is that even if the bridge is demolished and a much-needed new bridge is built, the reality remains that without dredging, glass barriers and significant attenuation areas further upstream, the town is still going to flood. My concern is that as long as the freshwater pearl mussel remains living under the old bridge, we are going to be caught in this cycle of applications, deadlines, rejections and repeated flooding for Enniscorthy. I will work with the Minister of State and the Government to ensure that whatever legislative change is needed regarding the freshwater pearl mussel, we will get there. I thank the Minister of State for coming in today”
“I thank the Minister of State for his response. I welcome the fact the €51 million allocated is still in place, but I have to stress the urgency of this. The residents and businesses in Enniscorthy are beyond frustrated at the lack of progress to date. I appreciate that there are significant regulatory concerns about the freshwater pearl mussel, but we need to rebalance the prioritisation here. The residents and the businesses in a town that has been flooded 16 times since 2000 have to be put as a priority ahead of the freshwater pearl mussel. Perhaps that is going to require legislative change. I will work with the Minister of State and anybody who can ensure that we get this flood scheme up and running for Enniscorthy. I want to make a point about the phases. Phase 1 talks about the demolition of the Seamus Rafter Bridge in Enniscorthy.”
“All of their worst fears were realised with a record-breaking flood. Can we please have an update and see where this project is at? What can we do to solve these problems in Enniscorthy?”