John Connolly
Galway West · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“The decision of the Government to purchase the Hammerson site on O'Connell Street - the site of the old Carlton Cinema - clearly shows the intent and determination of the Government to progress and complete the MetroLink project.”
“I mention one such community organisation in my constituency, Connemara Care, which provides home care and support for the elderly, people with disabilities, and people with dementia.”
“I had been aware that the deceased man had been diagnosed with dementia some years earlier. When I expressed my condolences to my friend, his response really struck me. He said that this was the second time they had lost their father.”
“If we can look at training more people in this area and promoting this as a profession, it might help. A concern has been brought to my attention but I do not want to imply wrongdoing on anyone's behalf. A family asked me to get clarity. They were provided with home care hours to be provided by a private company.”
“Families want to support that wish for their own loved ones and I know that across the House, Government and Opposition want to support this. Our health service should be structured to support that. However, in the correspondence that we have received, concerns have emerged regarding the availability of HSE home support services.”
“Cuirfidh mé tús le m'óráid leis an méid ar chríochnaigh an Teachta Aird leis. Molaim an tAire Stáit go bhfuil sé anseo le linn na díospóireachta ar fad. Tá sé anseo ag fanacht. Ní dheachaigh sé amach as an Seomra.”
The complete record
Every one of 425 lines we hold for John Connolly, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 9.
“It is, therefore, deeply disappointing that it has made this decision. The strategy for Galway should be multifaceted and consider the all-island rail review recommendations to double the railtrack to Athenry and develop the western rail corridor. There are bus priority infrastructure measures in the original strategy that have never been developed. We should have some update on the current position. There is uncertainty about our park and ride strategy. One bugbear of mine has been that the park and ride strategy was developed by the park and ride office in Dublin, not in Galway. I ask the Tánaiste to ask the NTA to reignite the development strategy.”
“The NTA advised me of its decision to defer the development of a new transport strategy for Galway. The original strategy was developed in 2016. This puts us at odds with other cities such as Cork, Limerick and Waterford, all of which had their strategies reviewed in the process of the development of a new strategy. The NTA also informed us it has delayed or deferred the introduction of the new bus network in Galway. All of this seems to be pending the outcome of the assessment of An Bord Pleanála of the N6 project, for which we have no timeline and do not know when a decision will be made. In 2022, the NTA tendered for a company to undertake a review of the Galway transport strategy. My understanding was that its remit was to develop a strategy that would cater for either outcome, that is, with or without the new N6 project.”
“I echo my colleague's sentiments. I look forward to the publication of the new strategy. I compliment the Minister of State and the Department on the work done on the strategy to this point. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, and I last week visited the college of further education in Galway city. We saw the range of skills taught in that institution. Following that, it is very welcome that the college has been given approval to progress to the next stage of the design for its new campus. A high level of tuition is ongoing there and the facilities are of a high standard. It is wonderful to think this would be enhanced for the students attending the institution. The Minister and I met them last week and they come from a wide geographical area.”
“My question, Question No. 17, is remarkably similar to Deputy Currie's. I was somewhat surprised that they were not grouped together. The Minister has already answered my question, which was to ask the number of additional places in the area of life sciences provided for next year. I am delighted with the Minister's response and that the number of places in a number of these areas has increased in the school of life sciences at my own local institution, the National University of Ireland, Galway. Like Deputy Currie, I encourage the Minister to look at the many ways in which we can ensure we are producing more occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, psychologists and physiotherapists, particularly given what we have heard about the need in this area throughout the week.”
“It funded such programmes as childcare facilities, back-to-work employment schemes and also infrastructure such as libraries and sports facilities. I would like the Government to look at reinvesting in the RAPID programme.”
“The Taoiseach mentioned the Cabinet committee's role in the area of local area disadvantage. Earlier this afternoon the Taoiseach spoke about the positive health statistics in the country. It is important to recognise that they are not universal. There are minority groups and some disadvantaged communities where those health figures are not as good. Yesterday we also saw that there is a greater impact on disadvantaged communities in regard to the challenge of school attendance. The programme for Government commits us to launching an urban communities initiative to revitalise disadvantaged city areas. I believe there has been a deficiency in this area since the end of the revitalising areas by planning, investment and development, RAPID, programme which used to fund programmes and infrastructure in disadvantaged urban areas.”
“Given that Galway City Council is the regional lead in the west region for homelessness and emergency accommodation provision, the Minister might consider providing additional staff to cover that area.”
“I thank the Minister. It is important to note that emergency accommodation and homelessness services are organised on a regional basis. In the west region there are four local authorities, namely Galway City Council, Galway County Council, Mayo County Council and Roscommon County Council involved but Galway City Council is the lead authority. I am concerned that additional resources, both human and financial, have not been provided to Galway City Council to carry out that role. I am aware that staff within the housing section of the council feel that they require additional staff in the areas of emergency accommodation and homeless services, as well as an increase in sustainable tenancy officers. I ask the Minister to examine that.”
“The figures in every other region are in single digits but there are 28 families in the west region. That is very concerning. It is not simply the lack of shelter but the long-term impact for those children of homelessness. We are well used to hearing the well-worn phrase that it takes a village to rear a child but these children are not part of a community. They are in emergency accommodation which is short term and it may not be somewhere that they will be for a long time. It is crucial that we challenge this. I have another query about the organisation of homeless services.”
“I thank the Minister for the response. I also thank him for noting that we need to develop solutions to make sure that we can reduce this bill as we go forward. It is a very necessary but, unfortunately, very high bill. The figure of €385 million is quite startling but it is very necessary. Of all the problems we have in housing, and many of them have been discussed this morning, the one that causes me most concern is the level of homelessness, particularly the number of homeless children in our society. Outside of Dublin, the west region has the highest number of homeless children. In the west region there are 28 families that have been in emergency accommodation for two years. There is no other region outside of Dublin that is comparable.”
“I ask the Minister to outline the level of funding he has provided to housing authorities for the provision of emergency accommodation in 2024 and 2025. I understand that it may not be possible to present all of the data here in tabular form but I would appreciate it if I could get that information.”
“I was approached recently by somebody who had availed of a driving licence in the US, moved to France, had that US driving licence recognised in France, was given a French driving licence, came to Ireland and despite having an EU licence in France, cannot get an Irish driving licence to replicate the US one. I would like the Minister of State to examine this.”
“While both centres have approximately the same number of applicants, the time one must wait in Clybaun is twice what it is in Carnmore. Could we get some clarity on that? Do all test centres have the same staffing levels? The Minister of State will be aware that the facility in Clybaun is a temporary one but it is important that we maintain a driving test centre on the west side of Galway city. We hope the Minister of State will help to remediate the traffic concerns of Galway. Having a test centre on each side of the city is important.”
“At the outset of his contribution, the Minister of State mentioned that the time people were waiting for the invite varied from location to location. I think he mentioned 42 weeks as being one of the longest. I know where that is. That is in the west of Galway city. I would support any effort to increase the number of testers in that location. I have a query about the personnel who work in each testing centre. Something I find puzzling has to do with how there are two test centres in the environs of Galway city, one in Carnmore in the east and the other in Clybaun in the west. There are nearly 1,300 applications in Carnmore, with an estimated time to invite of 21 weeks, and just over 1,100 in Clybaun, with an estimated time to invite of 42 weeks.”
“I welcome the Minister of State's initial comments where he outlined the measures he had taken to try to repair this system which is clearly broken. While I recognise that this is something he has inherited, the measures he outlined at the outset of the debate will go some way towards remediating the issues presented here. As has been well outlined by others, it is deeply frustrating for people who want to move on. They may have a professional opportunity. I am familiar with the case of someone who wants to emigrate and wants to get a driver licence beforehand, but unfortunately may not be able to do so by the time that person is due to leave. I share the concerns of others. I will talk locally for a minute.”
“I wish to ask about the basic income for artists pilot scheme. It is almost three years to the day since the application process closed for applicants who wanted to participate in the scheme. Over 9,000 applied. Some 2,000 were successful in the pilot scheme, which had a three-year lifespan and comes to an end this August. There have been a number of interim reviews of the scheme and reviews by bodies external to the Department, which have noted the positive impact it has had for the artist and the creative industry. My understanding was there would be a review by the Department as the end of the scheme approached and that that would guide the future of similar schemes. Are we anywhere near that review being completed? There is some uncertainty for those artists who are currently in the scheme.”
“We need to fund our primary and secondary schools adequately so that children are well in school and enjoy coming to school and there is good co-operation between the school and the home when it comes to developing positive attitudes to education from the youngest age. That is one of the fundamental barriers to participation in third level. A slight concern has to do with the title of this debate, which refers to higher education as an economic enabler. I am concerned that, at times, we reduce education to just being a tool for our economy. It should be much more than that. Education should be about enabling and creating many other values in our society, such as empathy and community, with creativity being particularly important. Galway is a place that marks itself for that.”
“There is a challenge in this regard and many speakers have done well in outlining the barriers to education. The Minister is committed to breaking down many of those barriers. He mentioned fees and targeted measures to broaden the pathway to participation in further education. I have a slight concern in that I do not see the barriers presenting themselves only at the end of second level. If children develop an indifferent attitude to school attendance at primary or secondary level, it is very unlikely that at the end of their time in secondary school, they will have a dawning realisation that there is an opportunity for them in the third level sector. We always need to be conscious of that.”
“We have seen the evolution of the institution from regional technical college to institute of technology to technological university, now with sister colleges in Castlebar, Sligo and Letterkenny. It is a fundamental part of Galway city and, in those terms, it certainly could be described as an economic enabler. Many of the people who come to Galway to study at the third level institutions go on to live in the city afterwards. The foundations of many of the major employment centres in Galway can be traced back to the city's universities and the qualifications people gained there. When I saw the title of the debate, I wondered whether the focus would be on third level education as an economic enabler for individuals or for wider society.”
“I take the opportunity to stress again a point I have made previously to the Minister, which is that there is a greater demand for primary school teachers in the system at the moment. The Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO, maintains there might be a shortfall in the region of 2,000. We are going to see continued expansion in the area of special education and special classes. The University of Galway is well placed to offer the opportunity for graduates to undertake a postgraduate qualification in primary school teaching. I ask the Minister to give that some consideration. There has been a substantial increase in recent years in the number of students attending ATU.”
“All of this highlights the Government's commitment to using research as a fundamental bedrock for future economic development. I am from a city that fortunately has an abundance of third level institutions. They include the University of Galway, previously known as NUI Galway and, before that, UCG, Atlantic Technological University, ATU, and a growing number of institutions advertising and promoting the opportunity for students to take part in post-leaving certificate courses. The Minister is to visit Galway this week. One of the functions he will perform there is laying the foundation sod for the new library at the University of Galway, which is a very welcome development. There are other ongoing opportunities at the university, including the really exciting new graduate programme in medicine.”
“Like previous speakers, I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate. I echo the sentiment expressed so well by the speaker before me in complimenting the Minister on seizing the opportunity that has been afforded to the country to attract new talent and new research opportunities in the third level sector through the global talent initiative. In early monastic times, Ireland was known as the island of saints and scholars. I am not sure we can still own the saints tag but this welcome initiative certainly will help us to regain the scholars tag. I also welcome the Minister's undertaking, which he mentioned earlier in the debate, on a new initiative to replicate the original programme for research in third level institutions. That will be very welcome.”
“Recently, a company in my constituency decided not to proceed with a significant renewable energy project. The report details a number of actions to be taken now, next and later. How do we intend to carry out the actions proposed?”
“I share the sentiment of my colleagues on the left regarding the work of NESC and the extensive research it undertakes. One concern I have is that following much of research it undertakes, it goes on to suggest action points or new departures the Government should make. Is there a particular formula for putting these into action? I speak particularly about recent research on Ireland's future power system and economic resilience, which noted that the transition from fossil fuels in the energy sector is heading into fog where visibility and certainty are low. Key actors are not on the same page from a strategic standpoint and, worryingly, the reliability of our power supply may worsen over periods of the transition. There is no clear visibility of the power system's reliability beyond 2032.”
“I thank the Minister for his response and his openness to looking at the subsidy that is available. Perhaps there will be an opportunity in the next budget to increase the subsidy. I look forward to the information campaign around the scheme. I am sure the Minister will share that with all his colleagues in the House. We will be available. I agree with him that the opportunity for employers to employ people with a disability increases diversity in the workplace, which is beneficial for companies and employees alike. I compliment the Minister on the work in this area. It is to be hoped it will lead to an increased number of companies taking up the scheme and people with disabilities entering the workplace.”
“I note there has been no increase in the level of subsidy available to companies since January 2022. I ask for that to be looked at in light of budgets 2025 and 2026.”
“The review is very welcome, because those figures are quite low. I thought there might have been greater uptake of the scheme by companies. There is great capacity in the scheme to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities and enhance the workplace by increasing diversity and making it more accessible. I welcome the review and the fact it has suggested changes that, hopefully, will increase awareness of the scheme and bring in new companies that might be inclined to enter the scheme and hire people with disabilities. I will also mention the employability projects throughout the country. There is a very active one in Galway, which works with a lot of different companies making sure they are aware that they can avail of the scheme and helping people with disabilities to find employment. I welcome the review.”
“This question is similar to Question No. 80. I am surprised they were not grouped because they are very similar. I want to ask the Minister about the number of employers who are employing people with the support of the wage subsidy scheme. There are three strands to the scheme. I asked about strand 1 and strand 2 and I am not sure why I left out strand 3 but if the Minister has that information, it would be welcome as well.”
“However, the metropolitan area transport strategy should state, as was outlined in the study carried out before Christmas, that there is potential for light rail in Galway. I think that is covered there. I was disappointed that the NTA sought to eliminate reference to the Galway metropolitan area transport strategy, but, in fairness to the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and the Minister, it has been left in. It is time for the NTA to complete its work, particularly in the context of the only area of the city in respect of which there has been no review of the transport strategy. Galway needs such a review now. Will the Minister of State make sure it happens? I echo the sentiments expressed in respect of the Galway city ring road.”
“However, despite the fact that Galway City Council's submission noted the great potential for transport-orientated development along the rail track between Galway and Athenry, there is no mention of it in the key enablers for Galway. That is very disappointing. I hope this will be rectified in the national development plan. Will the Minister of State see to it that an ambition to implement the outcome of the strategic rail review in relation to Galway and to double the rail track to Athenry and develop the track between it and Tuam is included in the national development plan? I welcome the fact that the Minister ignored the NTA's submission in which it sought to exclude the reference to the Galway metropolitan area transport strategy. Deputy Catherine Connolly stated that there was no mention of light rail for Galway.”
“Subsequent to the publication of the framework, there might be a need to legislate in this regard. There is certainly need for the Department to take the lead or to issue a circular on it. If I look at some of the key enablers for Galway in the revised framework, they are remarkably similar to those contained in the original framework. This might suggest that we have seen little progress on some of them. Those mentioned by previous speakers very much relate to transport. Deputy O'Gorman noted that a particular rail project in Limerick is not mentioned in the framework. However, the key enablers for Galway are the only ones devoid of any reference to rail. There is reference to rail in terms of Waterford, Cork and Limerick.”
“The regional social and economic strategy also notes that it will now be necessary for the Government to develop some mechanism that will link Galway City Council, Galway County Council, the regional assembly and the Departments of housing and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. We need that. We need the Department to take a stand in that regard. We might need to legislate for that because there is uncertainty as to where responsibility for the development in the MASP area lies. The ambition we had regarding the framework put in place in 2018 has not been realised. The other great issue, of course, is that there no form of financial backing. There is no funding for the MASP area, and that is causing concern as well. I ask the Minister to look at that.”
“Galway City Council, when it made a submission in respect of Galway County Council's development plan, noted that there is an overly generous residential zoning in the county MASP area that will greatly undermine the vision for success for the overall city and county MASP area, which, despite the ambitious targets, needs to be driven by compact development, regeneration and strengthening of the existing urban area. Galway County Council, in its submission to the planning framework, has sought greater clarity in respect of Galway County Council's role within the Galway MASP area.”
“That is concerning, particularly when one considers that in the previous two decades Galway grew at a somewhat greater level than other cities, particularly the regional cities. I wonder why this is happening. One of the challenges in Galway is the MASP framework. Galway has a particular challenge that the area covered by the MASP is divided between two local authorities, namely the city council and the county council. That is not the case in Waterford or in Cork. In Limerick, it exists to a different degree somewhat whereby the MASP area probably runs into some parts of County Clare. The MASP is causing a problem in Galway, and this not gone unnoticed by the local authorities.”
“Similarly, the Irish Planning Institute stated that the framework had a laudable emphasis on limiting the dominance of Dublin and the midland region on other regions but, unfortunately, since 2018, we have seen a business as usual approach that has allowed for the Exchequer to prioritise projects in Dublin and the east as opposed to the rest of the country. That is the great challenge for us. It is to be hoped that subsequent to the publication of the framework, we will see the Exchequer imbalance also being addressed. To be somewhat more parochial, the document states that Galway city has grown at a level somewhat below the national average since 2016 whereas the other regional cities have grown at a level slightly above it.”
“A certain number of submissions to the revised framework noted that this has not happened since the publication of the 2018 framework. The Planning Regulator, a State authority, noted that this document goes some way towards bringing the country to the point where we will have that type of regional balance, but it will be a matter for Government to hold to that objective from a number of frameworks. You would imagine that one of the frameworks could be from the Exchequer and the development of projects included in the national development plan.”
“I welcome the publication of the revised framework. It has been somewhat signposted as part of our response to the housing crisis. I hope it will have that impact as it goes on in the alignment between national, regional and local planning policy. The revised framework reaffirms the commitment of the 2018 framework to balanced regional development, where 50% of the population's employment growth will be shared between the Dublin and eastern region and the rest of the country, essentially, through the north, western and southern regional assemblies. The great challenge for this Government and for subsequent Governments with this plan is whether we can realise that desire for regional balanced development with our Exchequer commitments.”
“NEPS does seem to be stretched, although I say this while recognising, and in the knowledge, that NEPS has been embellished with further psychologists in the past year or two. Given the increased demand for assessments and the increased need, NEPS needs be further resourced and the number of psychologists within the service increased. I will give the Minister of State an example from my community. A NEPS psychologist was on maternity leave but unfortunately could not be replaced during that time.”
“I believe schools would have a preference that NEPS would be the assessment authority or provide the assessment person and that parents and families would have the same preference. They would get great consolation from knowing that an assessment has been undertaken by a State service as opposed to a private psychologist. Given the volume of assessments taking place and the volume and the needs of children, I recognise it is not possible for that to be the case but we need to look at the cost of the private sector psychological assessment for the family of the child. There is a shortage of such psychologists. We are all familiar with hearing about the various scales of costs but certainly it is not cheap. It is costing families a lot of money to have that psychological assessment.”
“I want to confine my comments to the one service mentioned in the motion and in the countermotion, which is the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS. I recognise that there will be further evolution of NEPS with the counselling in primary schools pilot scheme over the next two years. That is to be welcomed. Traditionally, NEPS would have been solely responsible for the assessment of a pupil. Perhaps I am going back some time but in my own teaching career that is what we would have associated NEPS with. That has changed a lot and unfortunately NEPS no longer has the wherewithal, in terms of personnel, to make sure it is carrying out all assessments that are needed of children in primary schools.”
“I recognise the Minister of State's full commitment on this. I have engaged with him on this issue. I have heard him talk about it at parliamentary party meetings and he has shown great commitment and enthusiasm in this role. There has to be some recognition that in the space and time he has been allowed 400 special classes will be introduced from September. I am not sure if that is a record but it is certainly significant. I understand fully and I agree - and the Taoiseach says it frequently - that it is no consolation to anybody or any family that has no place for their child from September, but I know the Minister of State will continue to work in that area and, hopefully, we will continue to roll out further places in special schools and further special classes for those children who need them.”
“I agree with Deputy Connolly that the content is limited to what is relevant to the specific issue. One line in the reply says that, "Approval will then be sought to proceed to issue tender documents." This is concerning because, as Deputy Connolly said, we all had an understanding that not only had this approval been granted previously but also the tender documents were prepared and ready to go. I hope this term can be changed from approval to a date for when it will happen. Another issue that arises concerns the Air Corps base in Custume Barracks in Athlone. I read yesterday in a newspaper that this is to change, which gives me some concern for the west because we will require a facility like that to service the west.”
“Our understanding was that the tender documents were progressing alongside that, but there seems to be some delay. It is symptomatic of how long it takes and how arduous it is to progress a capital project.”
“I concur with what my colleague said. I welcome the opportunity to raise this issue. I am more recent to the story but I agree fully with Deputy Connolly's relaying of the history of the project and the previous efforts of public representatives to raise and progress it. There are two ambulances in Clifden, which would be the nearest town to where it is proposed to locate this base. Last week, a player suffered an injury at a rugby match and waited 70 minutes for an ambulance to arrive having suffered a dislocated knee. One can only imagine the pain this person went through during that time. Could it be confirmed that the fire safety certificate and disability access certificate have been applied for and approved? This might give us some insight.”
“Some schools might have more modern science labs, and more modern schools might also have more science labs than older schools, which would be of assistance to the pupils of those schools in completing the additional assessment components. I very much welcome that but I have some concern about the implementation of new labs.”
“I echo the point of my colleagues across the floor. Some 82% of teachers surveyed feel they require some guidance on AI in regard to the new leaving certificate and authenticating the work that will be produced as part of the additional assessment component. I am glad to hear the Minister tell us tonight that thousands of students have selected their subjects, because some parents have advised me their child is concerned about picking some of the tranche 1 subjects because of a lack of clarity on or awareness of the assessment process. The publication of the sample examination papers will help. I also welcome the money for science labs because another concern that has been expressed to me by an informed source is about the difference in the resources available to schools.”
“Concerns remain that 40% of the overall grade will be for additional assessment components. Teachers are still worried about how the work will be authenticated as being sincere and genuine.”
“Aontaím leis an Aire go bhfuil chuile dhuine den tuairim go bhfuil gá le hathchóiriú ar chóras na hardteistiméireachta. I agree there is universal acceptance among all parties and partners in education of the need to reform the leaving certificate and introduce a new senior cycle, in particular one that, as the Minister says, would assess skills development and develop critical thinking rather than just content knowledge. We all welcome that, but there is no doubt there is still some concern among teachers in particular, but not solely among them, as there is also concern among parents and pupils about the accelerated implementation. I very much welcome the information from the Minister tonight that the sample examination papers are to be published tomorrow, because that will help to ease some of the concern.”
“Cuirim ceist ar an Aire faoin obair atá ar siúl sa Roinn faoi láthair chun múinteoirí, scoileanna agus daltaí a shásamh go bhfuil an t-ullmhúchán ceart déanta acu don ardteist nua i mí Mheán Fómhair seo chugainn. I ask the Minister about the efforts under way in the Department to make sure schools, teachers and pupils are adequately prepared for the introduction of the first tranche of the new leaving certificate or senior cycle syllabus for this September.”
“A more alarming statistic was that at the end of 2024, 28 families in the west region had to rely on emergency accommodation for over two years. Outside Dublin there is no other area where that is comparable and that is deeply discomforting and concerning for someone who is a public representative for that area. Families and children in Galway are suffering disproportionately. Other regions with larger populations do not have the same number of children reliant on emergency accommodation.”