James O'Connor
Cork East · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“We have proposed a number of routes that will address issues in respect of communities and villages that are yet to be connected to local towns.”
“I raise the issue of improving Local Link services in the east Cork constituency. I highlight specifically the need for better public transport. Thousands of people across the constituency are concerned about this problem.”
“I acknowledge the response. I am coming to this with a solution-focused approach. I have seen in Athlone in particular how successful a local town-based bus service can be in providing state-of-the-art public transport connectivity for people living in the housing estates and satellite urban areas near the town.”
“I am also looking at finally having an in-town service for the Midleton-Ballinacurra area, which would give people the option of leaving the car at home. The distances are just that bit too long to walk, if people are doing the shopping and other things as they go about their daily business.”
“Given the fact that stamp duty went from 4% to 9% in the period between 2005 and 2007, and collapsed by over 80% when the crash happened in Ireland, we look now at multinationals paying corporation tax accounting for over 30% of Exchequer revenue.”
“I acknowledge how successful Local Link has been in the areas it does service. We hear great reports about people delighted they are able to jump on a bus, go into their local town, do their shopping, spend money in their local community, support local businesses and get back home all within a respectable timeframe.”
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“I am also looking at finally having an in-town service for the Midleton-Ballinacurra area, which would give people the option of leaving the car at home. The distances are just that bit too long to walk, if people are doing the shopping and other things as they go about their daily business. This is one way of providing a service that would meet people's personal requirements. We need measures in the short term that deal with the traffic congestion we have been having lately around Midleton and on the N25 corridor until that road infrastructure is upgraded, which will happen in the medium-term future. Will the Minister of State give me an idea of whether the Department will commit to looking at this, following on from my raising it with him and the Department?”
“I acknowledge the response. I am coming to this with a solution-focused approach. I have seen in Athlone in particular how successful a local town-based bus service can be in providing state-of-the-art public transport connectivity for people living in the housing estates and satellite urban areas near the town. Midleton is one of the fastest growing towns in Ireland. A new town adjoining Midleton, Water Rock, is currently under construction and is expected to have a population of more than 4,000 in the near future, so we need to see some level of commitment. The information I submitted outlines three different options that would involve a northern and southern orbital route around Midleton and Youghal, which would allow these villages the option of having a proper Local Link service to those local areas.”
“I acknowledge how successful Local Link has been in the areas it does service. We hear great reports about people delighted they are able to jump on a bus, go into their local town, do their shopping, spend money in their local community, support local businesses and get back home all within a respectable timeframe. Where the investment has been put in, it has worked. It would be so welcome for it to be acknowledged by Government that we need to see the villages I referenced provided with a proper and fit-for-purpose bus service. There are a number of options available. Funding needs to be put in place. I am eager to hear what the Minister of State has to say.”
“We have proposed a number of routes that will address issues in respect of communities and villages that are yet to be connected to local towns. One issue of concern is that Ballymacoda, Shanagarry, Dungourney, Lisgoold and even Midleton train station, an important end line point for the metropolitan rail service in Cork, have no bus services through Local Link. We want to propose for consideration, through the agencies involved and Government, that funding be put in place to address this critical shortfall. We proposed a number of routes to the NTA and submitted the signatures in respect of this and to Cork County Council's sustainable travel unit. It must be taken into account that we have had huge population growth in the area and there are large villages that do not have bus services in place through Local Link.”
“I raise the issue of improving Local Link services in the east Cork constituency. I highlight specifically the need for better public transport. Thousands of people across the constituency are concerned about this problem. I also acknowledge that over 1,200 signatures were collected by our office through Councillor Patrick Mulcahy specifically about ensuring there are more fit-for-purpose Local Link services. East Cork is an area that suffers from significant traffic congestion. We need substantial upgrades to the N25 road infrastructure. We also seek better community bus services, whether delivered through Bus Éireann, PSO or Expressway services, but Local Link also needs the attention of the Government. I am glad the Minster of State, Deputy Collins, as a rural Deputy is here to answer for the Department.”
“Given the fact that stamp duty went from 4% to 9% in the period between 2005 and 2007, and collapsed by over 80% when the crash happened in Ireland, we look now at multinationals paying corporation tax accounting for over 30% of Exchequer revenue. Does Government see a danger in this given that 90% of that corporation tax, paying 30% of Government's income in a year, is being paid by just 10% of companies of scale in this country? To me, this is an alarming risk over a three to four-year period. Is Government spending based on that assumption? Have we a contingency plan or is one being worked on in the event that something should happen if there is international disruption to the profits of multinational companies?”
“I raise the issue of the new community nursing unit in Youghal, a 60-bed unit comprising two 25-bed blocks and, in addition, a ten-bedroom dementia care unit. This is very much needed in Youghal as part of the renewal of our infrastructure, particularly the replacement of the Cois Abhainn building and also Youghal Community Hospital. I would like to ask about the business case. The Tánaiste and the Minister for Health are here representing the Government. Can they find out whether this is being completed? We were told it would go to tender for the award of a construction contract in the first half of 2026. As we are at the turn of the month, I would appreciate an update on the position for the coming months. I thank the Minister for her exceptional work and support regarding the local projects that have been advanced in recent months.”
“Informally, some governments are already talking about a future, amazing to say it, without the income from PAYE workers. That is the level of change. If we look at the pioneering companies in respect of this, such as Anthropic and others, they have discussed the possibility that from 40% to 60% of the current workforce in the United States of America could be finding themselves in some way redundant over the next ten to 15 years. We need to take this seriously and look at the key risks to the economy in Ireland.”
“I appreciate the Tánaiste's response. Undoubtedly, the agencies he mentioned, including the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, have done great work. As Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, I commend them on the huge body of work they have done over many decades. Beyond politics and beyond what happens in this House, they are working diligently on behalf of the State across the world and that has to be commended. We have to come to terms with the fact that AI will change the world. It will change how people work. It will reduce the number of people in our workforce and we know that. We see it happening. We saw it with Meta recently and other companies that are starting to downsize their workforce.”
“We need to ensure that indigenous businesses, our SMEs and our entrepreneurs are supported, that our economy gives them the best possible chance of success and that we are able to derisk Ireland from what the IMF has stated is a particular concern. We know that multinational companies are moving five times faster than the SME sector when it comes to the application of artificial intelligence. We have a bloated number of employees in Ireland working in multinationals. The risk is clear and obvious. It is a serious risk to the State.”
“I thank the Tánaiste and appreciate his response. Yesterday, we saw some very important information come from the International Monetary Fund that effectively warned Ireland about a level of exposure our economy has when it comes to bloated expenditure and wastage of public money and the risks in our economy, such as the advances in artificial intelligence. They are things the Government cannot afford to ignore. I fear that we are not quite at 2008 levels yet, but we are back in 2005, 2006 and 2007, when the Celtic tiger reached its peak and it all came to a miserable end. I wanted to say that on the record of this House and I hope I am proved wrong in four or five years' time.”
“Will the Government consider any new measures in the forthcoming budget to support the growth of the indigenous sectors in Ireland and to encourage more retail investment? I do not need to tell the Tánaiste the importance of small and medium-sized companies in this country. When we see the enormous exposure Ireland has regarding our corporation tax receipts, although it is a huge benefit to the economy, there is also a risk if we ignore Irish businesses and do not do enough to support them, foster them and help more businesses to grow, expand and be founded in our country. Does the Tánaiste have anything to say?”
“This is very much-needed for recreational facilities and future population growth. We know from current figures that the need is acute for this facility.”
“I ask the Minister about the needs of the east Cork area. East Cork is one of the fastest growing regions in the country. It is expected to deliver 40% of Cork County Council's future housing target growth. We have a population of 50,000 people. There is a new town being constructed in Water-rock, while €1.4 billion is being invested in the new Cork metropolitan area rail corridor. The problem we have, unfortunately, is with capacity for recreational facilities in the east Cork area. We are competing with developers for access to lands for critical community infrastructure. We are lacking a community pool and an athletics facility outside of the Midleton-Carrigtwohill corridor. Will the Government support myself and groups looking for support from it in respect of acquiring land for future needs?”
“Cork County Council is expecting 40% of the county's population growth to happen on the Carrigtwohill to Midleton corridor in the next decade. We heard that recently at the briefing by the chief executive of the county council. I welcome this response. All I would ask is that we would get insight into this as a matter of urgency. The schools are adamant that they would like to try to get an AstroTurf or all-weather facility onsite. There is obviously the need to ensure the Department of sport is happy to provide the grant aid required for these types of projects. We know complications arise when it comes to the conditions of ownership. The Department should not create any difficulty there if they come to a satisfactory arrangement with Cork ETB to allow this to proceed. Again, I want to express my gratitude.”
“I thank the Minister for the response. I want to highlight the Department has agreed the area of circa 1.9 acres to the north of the campus in the Department's ownership can be used as a recreation area by the school on a licence basis. Following on from those comments, I would like to get an insight into how long that is going to take. I welcome it; I really do. I wish we did not have to wait so long to get a reply in respect of that query. I am glad to hear it is progressing. I appreciate that processes sometimes take significant time but the ultimate goal here is to provide the 1,500 pupils in the school complex with the green area they need. This also recognises the fact that Carrigtwohill remains one of the fastest growing areas in the country.”
“I really want to be in a position to provide assistance. The question I want to put to the Department through the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, who is representing the Minister for education today, is: can we finally get an answer? Will the Department devolve this land to Cork ETB to enable it to provide what is needed for the community and the school? I am really proud of the work they are doing in Carrigtwohill. In a relatively small number of years they have established a fantastic school. The students, pupils teachers and staff of the school all deserve this. It is required. We need to provide the facilities children need in order to go outside, get fresh air and exercise. We must try to provide them with the very best opportunity they can have in life to grow and develop.”
“Carrigtwohill is quite low lying and surface flooding is an issue there. With Storm Babet and so on, we have had serious flooding in the east Cork area in recent years. We need to see a workable solution being put forward. Through my parliamentary question to the Minister and the Department of education back in November, we identified a site of 1.09 acres sitting idle to the north of the site that is owned by the Department of education. There is an opportunity to solve the problem for these schools, the community in Carrigtwohill and the students from all over east Cork who attend the schools in the area and to put a solution in place. To their credit, the schools have been working very hard to get AstroTurf facilities. We have been able to assist in many cases in the constituency when it has come to getting grant aid.”
“After a very difficult two-year battle, we finally secured funding to advance the project, which was a long-running, difficult challenge. There is excellent school management and a fantastic principal in situ. I am very lucky to have a good working relationship and to be able to assist as the local TD for the area. However, there is a problem. With that number of students in place, they do not have a proper playing area. I have asked about this for some time in parliamentary questions going back to November, trying to identify possible solutions so that the schools would have a suitable facility or play area for the students. To be fair, some analysis has been done. There are two sites adjacent to the school. Unfortunately one of them is an attenuation area to prevent flooding.”
“I wish to raise the issue of the Carrigtwohill Community College and the school campus in Carrigtwohill. To give the Dáil a bit of insight in respect of this, this was the largest single school project ever undertaken by the State. It involved the construction of three schools on the one campus, a large secondary school in addition to two primary schools that went in together. There are approximately 1,500 students there at this moment in the town of Carrigtwohill, which was at one point the fastest growing urban area in the country. It also has plans potentially to host up to 2,000 pupils on the school campus itself. We fought very hard in the last Dáil term, alongside the then Minister for education, Deputy Norma Foley.”
“Will the Tánaiste speak to the Minister for Health to see if we can get this moved on as quickly as possible? I have done my utmost on behalf of the people in east Cork and Youghal to see that this issue gets the attention that it needs and deserves.”
“I will raise an issue of the utmost importance in Youghal, County Cork. Under the HSE capital plan, we were promised that there would be an exploratory look into Youghal in respect of a new ambulance training college by the National Ambulance Service. We need this in our community for the economic investment, the jobs coming from the State and because of how much work was put into this under the previous Government. I am asking the Tánaiste for his support in respect of that. What we also need in Youghal is a better and faster ambulance service and a full-time base that is funded and staffed, which is under that same capital plan. There have been some deeply sensitive cases in Youghal recently where people have been waiting too long for ambulances with tragic consequences.”
“We have a strong economy at full employment. We need to grab the bull by the horns and plan ahead because if you fail to plan ahead, it is much like politics, in that you could end up like the Labour Party - out of government for over a decade and irrelevant.”
“The Tánaiste's comments are welcome and the fact that we are having this debate is a healthy thing. Input from all sides of the House would be welcome, and that is why I am proud to bring this forward. We need to discuss dealing with our future demand. We know we are looking at a 45% increase in energy need in Ireland up to 2034. That cannot be delivered by renewables alone. We will be heavily depending on carbon energy to do that. We need to face the fact that Ireland could be fined €3.5 billion to €8 billion of public money annually by the European Commission if we fail to meet our decarbonisation targets. This is the great conundrum. We have a population that has grown by 1 million since 2006 and is expected to grow another 1 million in the same period of time in the future. We will have a 45% increase in energy demand.”
“It is safer in the era of AI and with what it can do for engineering it is now easier than ever to do this successfully. Is it time we looked at this as an option, as other countries have done successfully? People here will always pick the worst examples of where nuclear has gone wrong. I understand that is for reasons of safety and because of debates we have had in times gone by, but can we not acknowledge 30, 40 or 50 years later that things have changed, it is safer and, as a consequence of our inaction and the mistake of putting that prohibition in place, we have put ourselves in a vulnerable position when it comes to energy security and energy sovereignty. We have the opportunity to become, as other countries have, a cheaper place for people to get energy and to bring down bills in this country once and for all.”
“Sometimes I wonder whether Róisín Shortall had a point but I will say this. We have the possibility to follow what other countries in the 27 EU countries have done already by implementing nuclear power. We can look at Finland. The grand committee of the Finish Parliament was in Leinster House two weeks ago. Finland has the same population as Ireland and 40% of its energy comes from nuclear power. As a consequence, its citizens, small businesses and the economy of Finland have the cheapest energy in the European Union. We have had lots of discussion about renewables. Looking at the potential of nuclear energy and understanding the strategic aims and objectives of decarbonising our economy, common sense will tell us from what other countries have done successfully, that nuclear energy is the way to go. The technology is changing.”
“I raise the possibility of having nuclear energy in Ireland. As people across both sides of the House will be aware, I am bringing forward legislation to remove the prohibition on generation of power by nuclear fission. I would like to get an idea from the Tánaiste, the leader of our coalition partners in government, of his views on whether this is possible. As we are in the House and it is being discussed by Members on both sides, Ireland now has the most expensive energy market in the European Union. We need to ask ourselves how we got here. Other parties on this side of the House have been in government over the course of the past 15 years. I just heard the leader of the Labour Party describe my proposal as a hare-brained notion.”
“Something we do not think about often enough in this House is the direction the world is going in. It is sadly becoming a more dangerous place. Having a means of communication other than relying completely on our mobile phones is something we need to think about an awful lot more into the future. That is why it is important to have home delivery services through a State-run postal service in this country and ensuring that we have an active and operational well-supported post office network nationwide. I wanted to come in to make that particular point.”
“I support the work that is done by post offices. In my constituency of Cork East, as in other Deputies' areas, I recognise the social values that they add to communities, whether its people utilising the services in post offices or the fact it is a very important community outlet. I acknowledge that operating a post office is an expensive undertaking but it provides a community with enormous social value. In particular, it is important for elderly people who enjoy using An Post's services. Unfortunately, we have a new dynamic in the world we are living in around national security. Some European countries have phased out having a national postal service. Having an operational full service could become quite important as the world sadly enters into a time of conflict.”
“We heard the news, late in the day, that €19 million in funding has been made available. The communication errors that occurred and the stress this has caused for SNAs, school communities and those directly impacted, who are, of course, the children and their families, are unfortunate. We need to improve how we do these announcements and how these initiatives are taken. We also need to improve decision-making when it comes to who actually takes the decisions. Are Ministers informed by departmental officials and the relevant State agency in respect of what is actually happening in their Departments? This has to be put to bed once and for all. It is happening not alone in the Minister of State's Department but in many others. It is causing huge hurt and political problems for the Government.”
“Deputies from around the House have been speaking about the importance of what SNAs provide in education settings for our most vulnerable students. As Deputy Connolly noted, it is very regrettable that we have ended up in this situation, where there is such anger and hurt. As a TD representing the people of Cork East who is conscious of the very good work SNAs do in our schools, I saw at first hand in my time in secondary and primary school SNAs being rolled out. I was born in 1997 so I got to see this. They make an enormous impact. A Minister of State is present in the Chamber and I know he is fully aware of how important the work SNAs do in a school is. I appreciate the chance to engage and speak with the Minister of State over the past couple of days about the concerns my constituents have.”
“My ask of the Minister of State is for him and the Department to help us through this process to see if CMATS is an opportunity to consider the future viability of the project.”
“A capital project of this scale and nature needs to be on capital plans in order for it to happen. That is probably the one thing that has been exceptionally disingenuously pumped out by people involved, who want to make this feel as though it can be done with the click of a finger and overnight, when that is just not how things happen. I remind people that back in 2021, when I had a run-in with the former Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, I threatened to resign and pull my support from that Government. It took that level of action to get some degree of an acceptable response from both the Department of public expenditure at the time, under the then Minister, Michael McGrath, and from the Taoiseach and the then Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan. Being honest, there are huge political barriers and challenges.”
“I appreciate the feedback. It is clear there is that opportunity next year with CMATS. I want to be crystal clear and honest with people on this. Making this happen prior to the construction of an upgraded N25 between Midleton and Youghal is going to be a difficult challenge. Politically, everybody whom I have dealt with here in Dáil Éireann wants the return of the rail. That is the prevailing view of the TDs in the constituency. However, the public want a sense of a timeline for this happening. The Minister of State mentioned CMATS and the all-island rail review. Neither of those contain the return of the Midleton to Youghal rail line on the strategic plan. Those are hurdles and barriers. For the public, which has huge interest in this topic, it is important there is reference to that.”
“On behalf of the constituents of my area, whom I am proud to represent, I want to bring the case forward to the Government and the Minister of State in the Department in respect of this matter. Can the Minister of State give us a realistic feel for how feasible this is? Can he give us some degree of insight into the plans that are in place or what may be happening? We all know about the review of the CMAT strategy. If the Minister of State could give us some information on that, it would be very helpful.”
“We will have investment in the full electrification of metropolitan rail in Cork on the Mallow, Midleton and Cobh lines, the construction of eight new train stations on the existing line and ongoing dual tracking being done in preparation for full electrification of the line. However, the line between Midleton and Youghal is single track and I have been told the investment required for it is probably somewhere north of €350 million for the full retrofit of the existing line. Realistically, there is an expectation that it will not be possible to have dual-track electrified rail to Youghal and for the greenway to survive. It is not for me to adjudicate on that as I am not an expert in this field but a decision has to be taken on that issue.”
“I want to make clear to the House that people in the area are adamant they want to see the train back, in terms of what it would do for their quality of life and that of their families, commuters going to work and children going to school in these areas. We have to see a pathway. From my perspective, as somebody who has had the experience of being on the transport committee and engaging with the previous Minister for Transport on a very intensive basis, we look at strategies such as the Cork metropolitan area transport strategy, the national planning framework, the strategic plans the NTA has for the area, Project Ireland 2040, the national development plan and the all-Ireland rail review, and, unfortunately, the return of the Midleton to Youghal rail corridor is not listed. Sometimes investment can lead to a complication.”
“However, I want to be very clear that as a TD for the constituency I fully support the return of the railway to Youghal. I support what it would do for the local area and I support the objective of dealing with the issue of traffic congestion. It is worth putting on the record that making this happen faces a number of significant hurdles. One of the most important to reference is that a strategic decision was taken in January 2019 by Cork County Council, through a motion brought forward prior to the 2019 local elections, seeking to put in place a greenway between Midleton and Youghal. This came in at a cost of more than €22 million of local authority funding and matched funding from the Department of Transport under the previous Government. A lot of people feel this was a missed opportunity with respect to the return of rail.”
“I want to raise the issue of the return of the Midleton to Youghal railway. As a TD for the constituency of Cork East, I want to report to the House and to the Minister that the overwhelming view of constituents in my area is their desire to see further expansion of the east Cork rail corridor beyond Midleton, restoring it once again to the town of Youghal and opening the stations in the villages of Mogeely and Killeagh. The east Cork area is one of the fastest-growing regions of the country in terms of new housing stock and visible population growth. Unfortunately, this is causing issues with traffic congestion. It is no news to the House that I have been a very passionate advocate for upgrading the N25 corridor between Midleton and Youghal, particularly with regard to bypassing Castlemartyr and going down to the village of Killeagh.”
“I apologise to Deputy Ardagh because I missed her second contribution. That concludes her Topical Issue question. I thank her. Before we proceed, I thank the Minister very much for his constituency visit with me last week. It went down very well. I very much appreciate him taking the time to come to meet the Youghal Socio-Economic Development Group.”
“The matters raised by Deputies Aengus Ó Snodaigh, James O'Connor, William Aird, Catherine Ardagh and Matt Carthy have been selected for discussion.”
“Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - To discuss the capacity of childcare provision in Cork North-Central. Deputy James O'Connor - To discuss the return of the Midleton-Youghal rail corridor. Deputy Matt Carthy - To discuss delivery of a permanent special school in County Monaghan. Deputy William Aird - To discuss the future of Droimnín private nursing home, Stradbally, County Laois. Deputies David Cullinane and Conor D. McGuinness - To discuss the need for neurodiversity early intervention classes in primary schools in Waterford. Deputies Naoise Ó Cearúil, Aidan Farrelly and Réada Cronin - To discuss emergency works and capital works in respect of St. Patrick's Primary School in Celbridge, County Kildare.”
“Deputy Joanna Byrne - To discuss funding for the breakfast club for St. Paul's SNS, Drogheda, County Louth. Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher - To discuss an application for port listing of Killybegs. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the review of the Garda vetting process and planned measures for simplification. Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss a full-time Garda Station to serve Rush, Lusk and surrounding areas. Deputy Alan Kelly - To discuss the need for increased resources for An Garda Síochána in the mid-west. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss regulatory and safety requirements for BESS installations and large-scale solar developments. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh - To discuss a State commemoration to mark 150 years since the escape onboard the Catalpa of six IRB POWs from a British penal colony in Western Australia on 17 April 1876.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the national planning framework and the sustainable rural housing guidelines Deputy Shane Moynihan - Plé a dhéanamh ar stádas DEIS do Ghaelscoil Lir. Deputy Peter Roche - To discuss review of SNA deployment toolkit and eligibility thresholds in schools across Galway East and Ireland. Deputy Catherine Ardagh - To discuss funding for the Ballyfermot Youth Service and the adventure centre and skatepark project, Deputy Robert O'Donoghue - To discuss community childcare facilities in Fingal West. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí - To discuss the importance of eating disorder services during eating disorder awareness week.”
“We want to make sure this happens. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, to do everything he can to help and support us to achieve that. I know that what happened in Wexford was very regrettable, but what happened in east Cork a couple of short years ago was considerably worse. I do not want the people there to be forgotten about.”
“I know it is horrible to say it but if it occurs again while people are working in their places of employment or away from their homes, at least they would have some chance to get back to where they live to get their valuables and do something. The Minister of State knows what happened in Midleton in 2023 during Storm Babet. I was told that in one case, hot meals were floating around on trays in a community healthcare space on that occasion. That is how quick it happened. People were in the hairdressers getting their hair done to find floodwater coming in under their feet. We need to see a better solution that includes having a proper emergency system in place. My time is coming to an end. As a TD, I am doing everything I can with the good faith of my Opposition and Government colleagues in the constituency.”
“Ireland is home to the European headquarters of many of the largest multinational companies in the social media and tech space. The world HQ of Meta, or Facebook as people would know it, is in Ballsbridge, with over 5,000 people working there. I am amazed that we still do not have a national emergency system where people get a text. I have been abroad in countries where text alerts have come in due to severe weather. An automatic notification is sent to people's phones to tell them to be alert. Pushing that burden onto local authorities is not fair. That is something the Government should look at. I genuinely feel it could easily be sorted in a couple of months. It has been done in other countries with great ease. We have all of the assets here to make that happen. Giving people time to prepare is important.”
“I am sad to say to the Minister of State, in the politest way possible, that the tranche 2 schemes that are stuck in the Department for which he has responsibility are a little bit of a joke. I am fed up with trying to explain to people, particularly in Castlemartyr, why this continues to be the case when it comes to advancing the tranche 2 works that need to be done on the River Kiltha, and further up in Mogeely as well. We are trying to map solutions for people in those areas. I am conscious that anything that is done in Castlemartyr can have a knock-on impact on the village of Ladysbridge, which is further down. We need to see a better system where the OPW gets the funding. If it is the case that the Minister of State needs help, he should tell us and we can work together to try to make that happen.”
“It is important to ensure we keep that collegiality in terms of what we are all seeking, which is solution-focused. The advancement of the main Midleton flood relief scheme is no easy undertaking because we are talking about tidal flooding, surface flooding and fluvial river flooding. There is a merging of three individual issues that are causing Midleton to become very prone to flooding at a time when we are adapting to the changing climate. I described the flooding that happened in 2023 as biblical. I really hope, in all sincerity, that this never occurs again as long as I live, but we cannot plan on that basis. We have to plan on the basis of what has happened to make sure we do what we can to protect the residents in that area. We must do everything we physically can.”
“My understanding, now that over 700 applications have been assessed, is that the installation of that property protection scheme is ongoing and is happening. There are a few things I want to report back. If there is future ministerial engagement from the Taoiseach or a Minister, the TDs in the constituency need to get sufficient notice that it is happening. This is necessary to make sure that people affected by flooding get an opportunity for dialogue and engagement. That has been a point of particular frustration to me. I have not been given sufficient notice or opportunities to feed in on programmes when Ministers have come to visit. In fact, this was the case when the Taoiseach visited. I relayed that to him subsequently. It caused frustration in the community.”