John Lahart
Dublin South-West · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“I remember sitting in the back seat of my parents' car as we crossed the Border for the first time, a British soldier talking to my father, seeing his gun and having an awful gut feeling about the idea that a British soldier would be stopping my father's car. I was from Dublin.”
“In the current debate, when we talk about security, defence and how Ireland is going to approach this, I always say Ireland is having a conversation about this for the first time. Nobody needs to pressurise us about this; we will make our decisions about it ourselves in a mature way.”
“However, it would also give a real indication of the challenges that lie ahead of us in order to make that feeling of home for everybody who lives on the island a real possibility. That means there is a huge amount of work to be done.”
“There are real tax implications if they live in the Republic and work in the North, or if they live in the North and work in the Republic. We have not actually established some kind of common area or system that enables people to do that and it is actually hindering economic development and progress. IBEC has said that.”
“It lends itself to a very natural system of federal government where there is a capital in each province determining - not ruling, but representing everybody in those provinces - and maybe a central government made up of representatives of those four provinces.”
“I welcome the opportunity to contribute briefly on this debate. I was listening to some of it. I echo some of the comments made by Deputy Gogarty about the provocative nature of some of the matters that he raised and the wide range of issues we would need to consider. We do not talk about the North in this House enough.”
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“A statement was made regarding Garda strip-searching. That was denied by gardaí, and just because someone can come back in and keep repeating it does not make it so. I am a person with a record of calling things out here, just as the Leas Cheann-Comhairle did - I took my lead from him - but just repeating any accusation does not make it so, and it went unchallenged.”
“This is a transport issue. Under the last Government, and it was generally welcomed at the time, the Minister for Transport introduced very relaxed laws around e-bikes, e-scooters and electric bikes. Now there are electric bikes and scooters that travel at the speed of mopeds and motor bikes that are completely powered-up and do not require any pedalling activity to get them moving. At the same time there are regular electric bikes and regular e-scooters that are probably fit for cycle tracks and active travel schemes we have developed. Does the Minister agree that it is time that we look at reining in and tightening up some of the rules, particularly around the delivery bikes that are packed with a twin battery pack that can travel 40 km/h or 45 km/h in cycle tracks?”
“The partnership between the Government, businesses, educational institutions and the public worked to build economic prosperity in the past. Every sector of society, from agriculture to trade unions to businesses to enterprise, were involved. Enterprise gets very little mention here from the Opposition benches. Workers are the engine but enterprise and ideas are what provide jobs for workers to allow them to provide sustenance for their families. We need to continue to engender that to ensure that, in 100 or ten years' time when we look back and reflect on International Workers' Day, we are in as positive position as we are now after a century of hard work.”
“In an article in the Business Post, Government research that the article quoted suggested that more than 800,000 jobs could be at risk over a long period. AI is an issue that should not be taken for granted. The social risks are rising unemployment, income inequality and community instability. We need to urgently act on that, and some of the things we need to do have been mentioned. The policy priorities that are required, which the Minister mentioned, include reskilling and upskilling the workforce have been done in Ireland before. We are incredibly agile and flexible in this regard. We moved from having a broadly agrarian workforce to one of the most technologically and digitally competent ones in the world. This did not happen by accident. We need to strengthen social safety nets and ensure the adoption of ethical and inclusive AI.”
“However, it also provides opportunities. Some of the challenges have been outlined. It is already transforming business operations, leading to job losses in multiple sectors. We are aware of this. The impact of AI is no longer theoretical; it is now happening, including here in Ireland. There have been global job and Irish losses, including in Workday which cut 1,750 jobs globally in order to invest in AI and machine learning. As yet, the real impact on Ireland is not clear but the risk is real, due to the presence in Dublin of some major companies. Regarding our specific vulnerability, in June 2024 a report on RTÉ talked about the possibility of almost one third of Irish jobs being negatively affected by AI. Our labour market is more exposed to AI than the advanced economy average at 63% versus 60%.”
“We are increasingly environmentally conscious and we are also one of the best helpers of others in need globally. We are a happier people. How did we achieve this? In his book, In Fact: An Optimist's Guide to Ireland at 100, Mark Henry, looking back at 100 years of democracy in Ireland, notes that Ireland's development has exceeded that of most other nations. Of course, chance played its part but there are other factors. Henry lists four factors that supercharged our success. These are: the investment in educating our people; the strength of our community bonds; the stability of our Government and State institutions; and our opening up to the world, which proved to be the formula needed to enable the country to flourish. I also share the concerns raised by my colleagues regarding the challenge posed by artificial intelligence, AI.”
“All of these were introduced by the Government. When I think back over the past century, I think of my late mother and father who came from rural, farming backgrounds. My mother was the first of her generation and her family to win a scholarship for education, which she clearly valued. I was the first male in my family to enjoy a third level education. Most of my nieces and nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews all enjoy that choice. Contrary to what people in the Opposition might think, statistically and evidentially, we live longer, we live healthier, we eat better, we live easier, we learn more, we earn more and we are more open to the world as a country. We have cultivated culture and sports. Our society has been strengthened. Over the past century, the lives of women and children have improved, despite challenges.”
“These regulations provide the statutory protection of the Organisation of Working Time Act to ensure that it is now applied to the Defence Forces. Ireland will, as mentioned, develop an action plan to promote collective bargaining, which, under the EU directive on adequate minimum wages, must be submitted to the European Commission by November of this year. Statutory sick leave was introduced in January 2023. In April 2023, the Government enacted the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act. The European Union's transparent and predictable working conditions regulations came into effect in December 2022. The Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Act was introduced in 2022. This obliges employers to distribute tips fairly and to prominently display their tip distribution policies.”
“The social partnership era that I reflected on was when we had the development of institutions like the National Economic and Social Council, NESC. This has played a crucial role in advising the Government on strategic policy issues, including those related to labour and social partnership. There have been a number of achievements since 2020 as well. I do not want to go into all of them but I will list some. The minimum wage has increased year on year since that time. We want to see more increases but we also want to protect businesses. Between 2020 and 2025, the minimum wage increased from €10.10 to €13.50, which is an increase of more than one third. The European Communities (Organisation of Working Time) (Defence Forces) Regulations 2025 were signed into law a few months ago.”
“Key legislation, such as the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977, the Employment Equality Act 1998 and the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 all expanded rights around dismissal, equality and working hours. In recent years, issues such as zero-hour contracts, the gig economy and the push for a living wage have helped debates on workers' rights. As of 2024, Ireland continues to align its labour laws with EU directives, particularly in areas such as remote work, gender pay gap reporting and platform work protections. Today is a day to reflect on where we need to go and the challenges that remain for us. It is also a day to reflect on what we have achieved over a century of freedom, with the right and the ability to make our own laws and to rule our own lives.”
“This brought a wave of new labour standards, including protections against discrimination and improved health and safety laws. Towards the end of the 20th century and up to today, the pace of change has been phenomenal. The 1980s and 1990s have not been mentioned here at all today. These decades saw the development of social partnerships, under my party's leadership. These comprised a number of agreements that shared the wealth and prosperity that were being achieved at the time. They also guaranteed stability and a strike-free environment that allowed the country to prosper and grow. The seeds of economic development and prosperity the like of which had never been seen before in the country were sown at that time. Social partnership was a key part of this.”
“I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this debate. It provides a chance to look back on where we have come from in the past century in terms of workers' rights. It was only 130 years ago that trade unions were first recognised, and how far we have come in the rights that have been achieved since then. It is just 112 years since the infamous Dublin Lockout, led by Jim Larkin and James Connolly. This was a turning point for the rights of workers. In the 1940s and 1950s, we saw the establishment of more structured industrial relations frameworks and employment protections. In 1969, the Industrial Relations Act helped to formalise dispute resolution for the first time. In the 1970s, there was a major development when Ireland joined the European Economic Community, EEC.”
“Five or six Garda stations cover my constituency where two could do it if they were rationalised properly. That does not help. We need a Garda station out in Citywest. I support housing first; that is our absolute priority. My God, if the Government is successful, it will be remembered forever. If not, the Government will also be remembered forever. With housing must come amenities, though, and I often fear that the concept of amenities can be lost, so please keep it front and centre.”
“If it means that the decision or the oversight of this goes up to a major decision-maker, that has to happen. I have so many examples of this. Where it is done well, it is exceptional. In the city, for example, from Busáras all the way out to Fairview, there are cycle tracks and dedicated, end-to-end bus corridors. It is really impressive. It cost a sackload of money, but it is as good as a tramline. There is no excuse when it is done badly and impedes public transport. Deputy Moynihan's and my constituencies are contiguous, and we therefore share some things in common, such as Garda stations. They should be discussed with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. I do not believe the Garda stations in Dublin have been rationalised in about 50 years. They are like the old parishes.”
“That is a function of the Government. I have had ideas about that in recent years. It is like pushing a boulder up a hill, but we keep pushing, as it was with the co-location of preschools with primary schools. It took me about eight years, and we finally got that concept over the line. We need to incentivise people to use all the cycle infrastructure that has been put in. A number of active travel schemes in Dublin impede the movement of public transport. It is something I have spoken to the NTA about. I am positive with its response, even though it took a while. I will be positive where I need to be positive. Public transport is impeded because the active travel part of a local authority is not talking to the public transport part. That has to stop.”
“I know loads of people - they do not have to be older people - who would move to different-sized accommodation if it were local, which would allow them to stay in their parish, their locality and with their friends, thus freeing up a three-bed or four-bed house for younger families. We have to get serious about that. Of course, the win for the State there is that one does not have to put in the utilities. The utilities, services, roads, schools, shops and everything else are there. It is about trying to maximise the use of the space that is available. Much of the national planning framework is all about that proper land use. One thing we have to do is - I know the Minister of State would be in favour of it, as would I - incentivise the use of the high number of cycle tracks that have been built, because they are not being used.”
“I would move the Department out to a purpose built, A-rated, modern and dynamic building where civil servants can work properly in devising plans in an environment that promotes this. That building should be open to the public. The Minister of State should really consider that. It would begin the transformation of Dublin's northside. The Minister of State is familiar with metro south, so I will not take up too much time on that. The Minister of State's colleague has spoken about downsizing and it got a kind of a mixed press on Monday night on the television. I am very much in favour of it, whatever term is used.”
“Consider the party that built this city, including Terminal 2, the red and green Luas lines, the various stadia around the city, the Dublin Port Tunnel. We see there has been very little done in the last decade in relation to landmarks and legacy buildings and infrastructure in Dublin. I think that needs to be front and centre. I ask the Minister of State to look at his own Department, for example. The north side of Dublin is particularly lacking in love. I have felt for a long time that the Custom House should not be a Government Department. The Department of housing should not be in an old building like that. The entire Custom House should be open to the public. It should be a performance centre. We do not have a major music performance centre in this country.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his presence today. I am keen to make a contribution on the national planning framework, which is essentially the creation of an environment for accelerated housing development in Ireland, and other issues it concerns itself with. In no particular order I will just throw in a couple of ideas or issues close to my heart. I do not represent a Dublin city constituency: I represent a suburb constituency of Dublin South-West. I said recently that Dublin has suffered from neglect over the last number of years and a lack of love, generally speaking. It needs to be front and centre. For some people in this House prioritising Dublin - generally speaking - never seems to be met with a serious response but often with a jaundiced response. It is the capital city.”
“Regarding the Cabinet sub-committee on housing, I know the issue of the gazumping of young people will mean a lot to the Taoiseach. I saw a house for sale recently in my constituency for €495,000. That is really expensive but by the time it was sold, it had gone up and up. In Scotland, when a house is put up for sale, quite a bit of consideration is given by the vendor and the person selling it on the vendor's behalf. When you name the price on the market in the local estate agents, if it is £495,000 and you are offered that figure, the house must be withdrawn. You have attained the market price you looked for. Will the housing sub-committee examine a process like that? That would save soul destruction and heartbreak for younger people in particular who think they have the means to afford a house but are then outbid.”
“That is a lot of sewage coming in and going out of the plant. Uisce Éireann has much to do. This may sound parochial but in my experience, it has never replaced the local authorities. In my 26 years in elected public life, the local authority was always efficient and responsive when it came to queries. My experience of Uisce Éireann is that it needs to up its game. To any Uisce Éireann executives who might be watching, that is not just about upping its game when dealing with politicians. I am a public representative, elected to represent real people and I bring real queries to its door. It is very hard to interface with the organisation and getting responses from it is a tedious process.”
“I did not think the city council or any other local authority was in charge of anything except surface water these days and I thought Uisce Éireann was responsible for everything else. There is a myriad of organisations involved - for that one leak, we had South Dublin County Council, Uisce Éireann and, finally, Dublin City Council involved. Riddle me that one, if you can. That said, there are some very positive developments too. A number of years ago I visited Ringsend just before the second phase of the water treatment plant was built. It is a pretty impressive piece of infrastructure. I remember being told when the first water treatment plant opened, and it has stuck in my mind ever since, that the plant treats the equivalent of the flow of the River Dodder over a 24-hour period.”
“It was coming from different areas and it thought the leak might be on the private side and require a first fix but it did not. Then South Dublin County Council got involved and was the most efficient, actually. I received three or four letters from Uisce Éireann for neighbours of mine, sent to my address. I hope it is listening. Its processing of this issue was particularly poor. It was not because I was a resident but I did write to Uisce Éireann as a TD first, on behalf of other residents. I do not think I actually got a formal response, although neighbours did. The way it responds to queries is problematic. In the end, the crack was in a Dublin City Council pipe that was bringing raw mains water to the treatment plant in Ballyboden.”
“Certainly the Fianna Fáil Party took account of the public mood at that time and in 2016 an Oireachtas committee was set up specifically to deal with the issue of water charges. We abolished water charges but I favour charging for excessive use. It is the responsible thing to do. I do not think it is a back door to water charges and I would not tolerate or countenance it being such. People who abuse water must be dealt with. Various points were made about charges and costs. I will relate an experience I had recently. We tend to think there is a single water utility. There was a leak outside my own home which began on 6 January. I reported it to Uisce Éireann, as did my neighbours, but the water flowed from 6 January until a week ago. Uisce Éireann came out to have a look at it.”
“Local authorities used to do that, not on a statutory but on a voluntary basis if there was a group of six houses connected and the last one was getting Dyno-Rod or a similar company out to unblock it at a cost of hundreds of euro. It is a small thing and I urge the Minister of State to keep it in mind for an omnibus piece of legislation if such comes along. I contested the by-election in 2014. It will probably go down in Sinn Féin folklore as the one that got away. The party went into that by-election as odds-on favourite to win. It went into the election with Deputy Mary Lou McDonald, former Deputy Gerry Adams and Deputy Pearse Doherty all saying that they supported water charges and would pay their water charges. Then Deputy Paul Murphy won an overwhelming victory.”
“In the last Dáil, former Minister Eamon Ryan brought forward what could be described as omnibus legislation in the form of a transport (miscellaneous provisions) Bill. These come up once every five or six years when a Department gets to renew and refurbish a whole load of legislation under its aegis. What Deputy Brabazon mentioned and what I am talking about in relation to that connection issue only needs a line or two in legislation basically saying that if there is a blockage in a chain of residential houses, everybody connected to that chain must be informed, either by the local authority or Irish Water, that there is a blockage and that everyone on the chain is responsible for it. Everyone is responsible for remedying it, not just the final house on the pipe. We need to do that.”
“I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I would like to reinforce what my colleague Deputy Brabazon said. A number of backbench TDs were actually chatting about this recently. In the old days, there were six houses connected to a sewerage pipe and in the modern context, there might be up to ten. As the Deputy said, very often it is at the last house on that connection where a blockage occurs. In the old days South Dublin County Council, for example, which is my own local authority, would come out and facilitate the resident, unblock the pipe, bring the tanker out and everybody was happy. It might do that on a few occasions. When Irish Water took over responsibility for the service, it ceased doing that and in most cases would say the fault was on the private or residential side.”
“They also fear the current system undermines the integrity and fairness of the CAO process. What can the Minister say to reassure them as they head into probably the most challenging academic period of their lives?”
“The weather outside is absolutely stunning, which can mean only one thing: leaving certificate students are knee-deep in preparation for mock exams and the leaving certificate season. I send my best wishes to them. This morning, I wish to ask about leaving certificate grade inflation, a subject on which I know the Minister has received a lot of correspondence. Apparently, 25% of those competing for CAO places in the autumn of this year will have completed their leaving certificate in previous years. The concerns of the leaving certificate students in my constituency are that the 2025 students are competing at a systemic disadvantage. They fear they may risk losing CAO places, not because of their academic ability but because of inconsistent grading standards, as they see it.”
“Children clearly cannot be in a position to learn unless they experience love, care, safety, routine, predictability and structure. Could the subcommittee look at the establishment of these nurture rooms in the DEIS Plus context?”
“I add my voice to the well wishes to Deputy Boyd Barrett. Regarding the well-being side of the child poverty and well-being committee within the Department, our commitment as a Government to establish DEIS Plus is an important milestone. The Taoiseach will appreciate that in constituencies like my own, there are a breadth and intensity of challenges that simply do not exist in other communities. These include intergenerational poverty, which was just mentioned, and intergenerational trauma. That is one of the characteristics of the asks of those schools involved in caring for these children. They talk about nurture rooms and trauma-informed practices. Over the past five to ten years, one of the biggest learnings that has been made by school staff is the idea of nurture schools or trauma-informed practices in schools. The idea is simple.”
“These are not the ways to build confidence and these are not the ways to build an accountable Chamber or a more collaborative parliament.”
“-----and this point was made in the Dáil reform committee, it does not reflect our evolving democracy. The truth of these episodes is Ireland elects a disproportional number of independents by international comparison. In other parliaments, there are cross-benchers; those who waive the designation of opposition or government and choose to be designated as other. There are Deputies who wish to be in this new grouping who voted against the Government on more occasions than they have supported the Government. This started five years ago with, "Not my Taoiseach". It continued again in January with we will obstruct the democratic decision of this House and the election of a Taoiseach. It has continued with we will make this place unworkable.”
“Even the most reasonable Member of the Opposition has not apologised or expressed regret for the behaviour on either of those two occasions.”
“It is already easy to forget that one of her first duties was to chair the election of a Taoiseach. The people who took a wrecking ball to process in this House sit on the opposite benches. Getting down to the business of last week, it is difficult, as anybody here can testify to the fact, for the public to appreciate the visceral and toxic atmosphere pervading the Chamber last week and to wonder why violent protest might take place on our streets. Members opposite have made much today, as have commentators who were not in the Chamber on the day, either in these seats or in the press gallery, that calls for votes and proposals for amendments were clearly audible on playback. Nothing was audible in this Chamber last Wednesday, just as nothing was audible on the day we gathered to vote to elect a Taoiseach.”
“The EU recommitting to the simplification piece, to use the Minister of State’s language, and reducing the cost of business, including up to 35% for SMEs, would have been music to the ears of businesses. Will the Minister of State expand on that? Will he update us on preparations for the Presidency, what it means for the country in practical terms, when it begins and ends and its rubrics? Finally, migration is a topic that exercises a lot of minds. The European Council reiterated its commitment to “the prevention and countering of irregular migration, including through new ways in line with EU and international law; efforts to facilitate, increase and accelerate returns, using all relevant EU policies”, etc. Can the Minister of State give any insight into any of those new ways?”
“One of the things the Commission decided was that one might be in a position to take decisive steps on this in 2026. I would like to ask the Minister of State about something that comes to us. I wonder whether the European Union has any comment to make on scam messaging, which particularly targets vulnerable people and older people. Is there an EU-wide approach to that? I would be interested to know whether anything was discussed on that as well. I would be interested to hear any additional comments the Minister of State might have to make in relation to Ireland’s Presidency in 2026. Finally, I welcome the points in relation to the prevention and countering of irregular migration, as has been mentioned, and the steps that will be taken to reinforce and prevent that.”
“I liked the pieces in the reports that we got in terms of the discussions around the making available of European investment and savings possibilities, including enhanced possibilities for EU-wide savings and pension products so that I am not totally dependent on a pension product that is available only in Ireland. It is something I always thought the European Union was about and should be about. If I could purchase a pension product in any country across EU borders - or non-borders, obviously - I might be able to take advantage of saving schemes not only in Ireland but across the European Union. This is important. It is something I would be interested in. I am probably too old to avail of it, but anybody in their 20s and 30s would have a vested interest in it.”
“I welcome particularly the fact that the Commission and co-legislators, including the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, are called on to work towards achieving the target of reducing the cost of all administrative burdens on business by at least 25%, and by at least 35% for SMEs. The Minister of State might expand on that, if he can, in his closing remarks. I welcome the call on the Commission to rapidly follow up with further simplification initiatives, including on industrial decarbonisation, etc., and identify ways to further simplify and consolidate existing legislation that would benefit people doing business in the member states. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State could elaborate on that.”
“It is my view that increased spending on security also helps Ireland to protect itself from the abuses of migration systems and asylum seeking systems so that people who do seek asylum and refuge here are entitled to do so. The more enhanced information and intelligence we have in that regard the better. A topic which I know is top of the Minister of State's agenda, as Minister of State for European Affairs, is the simplification and reduction of administrative burdens on business. This was addressed at the recent meeting at which the Commission had some things to say in that regard.”
“In regard to the expansion of the European Union, particularly in relation to Turkey, where is that at? What concerns has the Minister of State at the moment? No doubt Ireland would have concerns in relation to the imprisonment of a potential presidential candidate. There is a kind of quasi-democratic situation in Turkey. As I said, for me security and defence is about enhancing our ability to defend ourselves against cyberattacks. Failure to develop a preparedness for this exposes potentially everything we do. I want to emphasise that because there is an argument that is too easy to make that if we spend money on defence then we are not spending money on poverty. However, failure to, as I said, defend ourselves and any of our programmes that have digital platforms would have consequences for every user of those programmes.”
“Therefore, when I talk about security and defence and spending more money on it, I am talking about developing the skills, artificial intelligence skills and the other range of skills that are necessary to protect Ireland, our economic base, our waters and to protect us from the modern world of cyberattack. Much of our debate does not reflect the reality of a changing world. Any of us who have Finnish or Swedish counterparts, friends or family connections will absolutely inform us that they are rightly on a footing and terrified but prepared, particularly in relation to the Nordic countries. We are a million miles from that, surrounded by water. However, we are part of the European Union. If the values are threatened by Hungary or Russia there will be consequences for all of us.”
“It does not mean building up military capacity and that that necessarily has to be at the expense of other programmes for Government. If you develop an expertise in helping to withstand and fend off cyberattacks, then that kind of expertise can be spread across to enhance and benefit every Department of Government. We have seen that if we cannot defend against a cyberattack then, to refer to what a previous speaker was saying, every social protection programme or every HSE programme that depends on some kind of digital platform is jeopardised and threatened as a consequence of that.”
“An issue we were talking about recently is that enhancing defence capability in years gone by would probably have connoted the notion of increased and enhanced weaponry and more people carrying guns whereas, for me and for most informed Irish people, it means creating the abilities, capacities and intelligence to defend ourselves against for example cyberattackers. I was on the Oireachtas health committee when the cyberattack on the HSE happened, as was Deputy Crowe. It had more impact and used up more time and resources of the HSE than Covid did at the time. We were told that. It still has ongoing consequences. I welcome the fact that the Taoiseach has expressed the desire to establish a security and defence committee in the Houses of the Oireachtas in order that we can begin a reasoned conversation about security and defence.”
“On that last point actually, nobody has worked harder in this House than my colleague, the Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, in developing relationships with congresspeople at state level and leveraging the Irish connection with literally hundreds of congresspeople. That is a significant network and a significant opportunity for lobbying for our interests. I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his statement and update to the Dáil. In the context of our neutrality I agree that he re-emphasises the fact that Ireland can enhance our defence capabilities while maintaining military neutrality.”
“The cessation of the service has had a disproportionate impact on workers at the airport from my constituency, some of whom relied exclusively on it. Will the Tánaiste ask the Minister for Transport to intervene directly with the NTA to explore a replacement service? Will he seek confirmation on whether any existing bus operators are considering operating a service to fill the gap? Will he push for short-term measures, such as extending existing Dublin Bus services, or other operational services, to provide and fill the gap from Tallaght and Templeogue to the airport?”
“I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for facilitating me. My question concerns the withdrawal and cessation of the Airport Hopper public transport bus service from Tallaght to Dublin Airport, which ceased without warning very recently. My key concerns are that there was a lack of public communication of the fact that the service was going to cease and that passengers were not informed that it was ceasing, which left them stranded on the day. From correspondence I have had, the NTA appears to have been unaware of this, which indicates some kind of gap in regulatory oversight. What happened has left a commuting gap in Dublin South-West. There is now no direct public transport link to the airport from Tallaght, Templeogue or Rathfarnham. Alternatives require multiple transfers, which are quite costly.”
“The school needs a structured approach from the Department and the financial support services unit within the Department. The school needs its hand held and real money in a structured way, not a stop-gap way, to allow it to plan and deliver what all the teachers, special needs assistants, and the entire school community, including parents, grandparents, teachers and management alike, want, which is a top-class education, which is what they get, and to ensure that it is not undermined in any shape or form. Threats about the future of the school because of its financial viability do nobody any justice and do not help anybody trying to provide education for our children.”
“It has had to cut a number of those back, whether it be the panto at Christmas or tours, because they cannot afford to pay for buses. They have had to curtail many of these things. The area is ageing and has no new builds. New builds are due on stream, which will bolster the numbers, but in an old building, whether there are 50 or 500 pupils, the costs of running it are actually the same. I will finish on this and look forward to the Minister of State's response. I welcome the speedy intervention by the Minister and the Department this morning. I welcome their commitment to addressing the immediate needs, in other words, to advance the capitation grant that was due in June this year by the end of this week. That is fantastic news.”
“I thank the Minister of State for the response. My understanding from the school is that the FSSU has got involved a second time. Part of its advice to the school was that it reach out to the community. I want to let the FSSU know, as a TD from the area, that it really needs to grasp the breadth and intensity of the challenges that face the school in this area. It is not possible for this school to reach out to the community for assistance. The ancillary grant in 2023 and 2024 amounted to €8,268, but the school's actual spend was €28,000. They have squeezed the pips out of the resources that they have available to them. In an area of deep deprivation, as the Minister of State understands, the school provides the only opportunity many of the pupils in the school have to experience extracurricular activities.”