Martin Daly
Roscommon-Galway · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“The relationship between Ireland and Spain is hugely important with €15 billion in total in trade, including €10 billion in goods and services from Ireland to Spain, a country that is in the European Union and has shared our values, culture and history. It was a hugely important meeting and is a hugely important relationship.”
“I accept that answer and I thank the Minister very much for that update. It is important because people sometimes equate healthcare with hospital beds, but that is not reality. In isolation, beds cannot provide for the healthcare needs of the public.”
“I thank the Minister very much. We had the excellent Professor Rose Anne Kenny, co-ordinator of The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, TILDA, in recently with the health committee. She pointed out the demographic challenge we are facing in health.”
“I ask the Minister for an update on the plan to increase the capacity of inpatient beds by 4,000 or 4,500 across the country and if she will make a statement on the matter. We know we currently have 12,000 public beds and 2,500 private beds, which is about 2.9 beds per thousand of the population.”
“We will probably start with proper screening programmes at the age of 50, with the whole population moving into better-resourced primary care, step-down beds and rehabilitation beds. I also support Deputy Seán Kyne’s call for the Minister to press for the 300 additional beds in UHG.”
“I wish to ask if the Government has or is developing a policy for the development of industrial hemp production in Ireland. Industrial hemp is a remarkable plant.”
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“We know many of the causes surrounding these diseases are preventable with the right focus. From my own perspective as a GP, I have witnessed that quiet hesitation before a man decides to open up. It is a salutary reminder of how difficult it can be for some men to report and share. Time, discomfiture discussing personal matters, stoicism, a fear of inadequacy and work concerns are barriers. Some 97% of GPs have spoken to a man with suicidal thoughts in the past year, with only 14% feeling very confident supporting that man. This is not because of lack of care or confidence but because of time pressures and the need for easily accessible care pathways, recognising that suicide remains the single biggest killer of young men in this country, most especially in the Traveller community.”
“I am pleased to contribute to the statements on men's health. As a GP, I have seen the reality of men's health in practice. We have come a long way in recent years since the publication of the national men's health policy in 2009 but Movember's "The Real Face of Men's Health" report shows that many challenges remain. I do not want to rehash some of the figures already put out here but we know about the premature deaths in the male population, with men dying earlier than women. A stark statistic is that men in deprived areas are 150% more likely to die before 75 than men in the least deprived areas. There is also the whole issue of Travellers' health and issues of gay health where these communities are particularly susceptible to ill health and premature death.”
“I urge the Government to look at fast-tracking Ballinasloe's Scoil an Chroí Naofa National School given the circumstances it finds itself in.”
“I raise the issue of Scoil an Chroí Naofa National School in Ballinasloe, which serves one of the most deprived populations in the country. Some 300 children go to the school. The older school is from 1937 and the newer school is from 1973. When I had an occasion to visit in January, it was colder inside the school than it was outside. The difficulty we have now is that the school cannot take in any new students. People with means who can travel to other schools outside of the town are leaving. We are getting a concentration of deprivation in the centre of Ballinasloe. We need to progress the building of this school. It had planning issues for nearly 22 years. They have been resolved. The project is at stage 2b planning in the Department of education.”
“The people in Ballinasloe deserve the implementation of the recommendations from the Walker report and also the implementation of the recommendations of the Coulter Smith report. What is really important and what we are forgetting here is that even with the movement of maybe 200 high-risk cases to University Hospital Galway, given that the diabetic ladies and ladies who developed diabetes during pregnancy are being maintained in Ballinasloe we need a safe high-quality service in the maternity unit in Ballinasloe. I implore for this to happen because this is not just about management. There are issues around interprofessional and intra-professional relationships within the department which need to be managed very closely because people have a professional responsibility to collaborate to produce a high-quality service.”
“There are pockets of severe deprivation around Ballinasloe and the east Galway and south Roscommon area. We will have these ladies not presenting for antenatal care and presenting late at the delivery unit at Portiuncula because that is the closest place to them. They need accessible high-quality and safe care. We need the recommendations from the Walker report to be implemented. It is clear to me that all the issues around training, communication and governance were promised but they were incompletely or inconsistently applied. We are in denial here. People have told me that the recommendations from the Walker report were implemented when they patently were not implemented.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her answer. I will deal quickly with the transfer. On the transfer of high-risk cases, there was already a pre-existing system for women who had underlying medical conditions to be transferred either to Galway or to Dublin. The initial suggestion was that all women with diabetes, gestational diabetes or pre-existing diabetes would be transferred. That is not happening now because there is no capacity in UHG. We are either implementing this policy on the basis of safety or we are applying it on the basis of capacity. The Minister of State raised the issue about women having to travel to Galway. The women who will be most affected by this are the women with the least resources, the women who cannot travel, the women with the least education.”
“I want to know why it was discarded, particularly as the idea was good. There was no full commitment to it. The associate clinical director was to come from Galway on three days one week and two days another week for six hours on alternate weeks. That never happened because the work was not backfilled in Galway so they could not commit to it. That was not the implementation of the Walker report.”
“There was one on managed sick leave and one on managed leave over that period. Issues around infrastructure, having a gynaecological theatre on the labour ward, training such as cardiotocography, CTG, which is basic training, and ongoing training for staff. All of these issues were identified in the Walker report and again identified in 2025 by the Coulter-Smith report. We have to recognise that there are 12 cases under review by Coulter-Smith and that he has reported in seven of those reviews. I will await the outcome of the other five reviews. Is the clinical leadership that was supposed to implement the Walker report the same one that is going to lead us out of this? There was a policy under Walker of one hospital on two sites. That was discarded in July 2024. No good reason was given as to why that joint governance was discarded.”
“Bernard Gloster, who said that it was patently clear, given the points I raised with him about the deficiencies in the management of the maternity unit at Portiuncula hospital, that the Walker report had not been implemented. There has been some rowing back from that position, and I am now being told that the Walker report was implemented but was not sustained. I am really confused, as are the people in Ballinasloe, east Galway and Roscommon and in the wider region Portiuncula maternity unit serves. All of the same issues arise again, such as staffing and consultant staffing. We were promised following the Walker report that there would be seven obstetricians but at no given time in the intervening period were there even four obstetricians. There were three full-time obstetricians sharing on-call care.”
“Walker was all about clear governance, modern infrastructure, robust communications and continuous training, yet seven years later many of those recommendations remain unfulfilled. I spoke to people at the highest level in the HSE and I have also looked to see what HIQA report the Minister referred to. There was a HIQA review in 2019 but it was part of a normal, natural audit of all maternity units in that year. To my knowledge, there has not been a specific HIQA review of the implementation of the Walker report of 2018. The non-implementation of the Walker report was also confirmed to me at the health committee three weeks ago by the CEO of the HSE, Mr.”
“I want to discuss a matter of profound importance for women and families across the west, namely the ongoing failure to fully implement the recommendations of the 2018 Walker report into maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital. I acknowledge the families who have suffered devastating outcomes. Their experiences must be acknowledged. I also recognise that the midwives, doctors, nurses and other health staff who work in the unit under extraordinary pressure in an organisationally dysfunctional system. This discussion is not about blame, it is about governance, accountability and leadership. On the floor of the Dáil two weeks ago, the Minister for Health informed me that the Walker report was implemented and that HIQA had reviewed it in 2019.”
“It was quoted to me that HIQA performed a review of the Walker report. It did not do that. It did a general one-day review in April 2019 and identified all those issues.”
“Can the resources that are required to implement the 2018 Walker report - all the same problems identified by Professor Coulter Smith in 2025 in the first seven of 12 cases - be provided? There is confusion down there. We were told that 300 cases would be moved into UHG. I was at a meeting of GPs with the clinical director and the associate clinical director a couple of weeks ago. The clinical director told GPs that there was no evidence to move many of the categories they were talking about moving. Women with gestational diabetes are not being moved despite the fact that the HSE identifies that it is not safe for them to have their children there. Will the resources that are required to have a fully functioning maternity unit in Portiuncula Hospital be provided as per the Walker report?”
“I want to raise the issue of the maternity unit at Portiuncula University Hospital. During his time as Minister for Health, the Tánaiste would have been very aware of the Walker report in 2018. There is a problem in the maternity unit in Portiuncula Hospital. I had an exchange with the Minister for Health a couple of weeks ago. The narrative being sold by HSE West North West is that this unit has failed in spite of the implementation of the Walker report in 2018. The chief executive of the HSE, Bernard Gloster, said at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Health a number of weeks ago said that it was patent to him that the Walker report was never implemented. So now we have a different narrative, which is that the Walker report was never fully implemented and this unit has failed.”
“With technology and the use of high-grade computers, they can carry out their research in collaboration with institutions in Ireland.”
“I thank the Minister. When speaking to the group of people involved in this project in Galway, one of the points they made was that there are many institutions in the United States which, in the current climate, are looking for bases in the European Union. Ireland has this opportunity. We talk about the threat of tariffs and the difficulties in getting new industry here. We will hold our existing industry, but the concern is that down the road research and development will move away from us. There is an opportunity to reverse this flow and get this expertise from world-class universities in the United States to base their research hubs in Ireland. They have assured me they can base their hub anywhere. I mentioned Ballinasloe, which is in my constituency, but they would be happy to base anywhere.”
“I appreciate the Minister's engagement on this matter. He might make a statement as well on the new supercomputer collaboration with the University of Galway.”
“I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach. I was unsure. I thank the Minister. In this model with the University of Illinois Chicago, extending into other areas of medicine is talked about. Urology is the template they have used in ATU. It provides expertise based on research and innovation. It has developed a venture studio model, which draws on the experience of world-class entrepreneurs and scientists that mentor researchers to bring their work to start-up. That is the important link. We have a lot of research going on but it is about bringing that research into the real world and mentoring the people who have done the research so they can bring it to business. That is what we are aiming for. I am assured it has a long track record in this area and because of its reputation, it has the ability to attract major investors.”
“I ask the Minister to state, given the value placed on clusters of third level institutions and innovation hubs, whether there are clear pathways and supports in place for establishing and expanding such hubs, especially in the west. I raise that in the context of a very successful urological-surgical innovation hub based at Atlantic Technological University, ATU, in Galway, in collaboration with the University of Illinois Chicago.”
“Our task is twofold: to build services that respond to illness with compassion and skill and to build a culture that sustains well-being before illness takes hold. This means investing not only in clinicians and infrastructure but also in communities, education and the digital environment in which our young people now live their lives. Mental health is not merely the absence of disease but the presence of connection, meaning and hope. If we lose those, then no amount of medication or innovation will be enough. Let Ireland be the country that combines compassion with foresight, embraces technology, but never at the expense of our humanity, and ensures progress always serves the people and not the other way around. Go raibh míle maith agat.”
“The forthcoming EU AI Act provides an important opportunity, but national implementation will be key, particularly when it comes to protecting children and young people. Platforms that profit from emotional manipulation must be held to account. Child safety cannot be an afterthought or a marketing slogan. It must be a legal and ethical obligation. As we approach World Mental Health Day and as we welcome historic levels of investment - €1.6 billion for mental health in 2026 - and hundreds of new staff, new crisis supports, new digital pathways and new facilities, like the 50-bed unit at Roscommon, let us also recognise that no system of care, however well funded, can flourish in a society that is becoming emotionally disconnected.”
“The idea promoted by some in the tech world that chatbots might one day replace therapists or solve loneliness is a dangerous proposition. Artificial intelligence does not understand context or conscience and it cannot detect despair or respond with genuine empathy. It can only mirror what it is fed, sometimes amplifying it in deeply damaging ways. Ireland faces some of the highest levels of loneliness in Europe. One in three individuals shows patterns of social media addiction. Combine this with the rise of anxiety and depression and the surge in prescription medications and it is clear we are living through a profound mental health challenge. It is one that cannot be solved by algorithms or quick fixes. This is why Ireland must play a leading role in ensuring AI is safe by design, transparent in purpose and accountable in impact.”
“Earlier this year, Meta quietly integrated its AI assistant into WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, reaching roughly 3 million Irish users, including an estimated 300,000 children without parental consent, warning or opt out. CyberSafeKids reports that a quarter of eight-year-olds to 12-year-olds and more than a third of 12-year-olds to 15-year-olds are now actively using AI chatbots, not just to gather information but to chat, seek comfort and pass the time. These systems are not designed to nurture well-being. They are built to capture attention, mimic emotional intimacy, create dependency and keep young users engaged for profit. We are already seeing troubling reports from abroad of AI bots engaging vulnerable users in harmful and sexualised conversations, even encouraging self-destructive behaviour.”
“The scale of their use, though, tells us something important, namely, that far too many people are reaching a point where medication feels like the only lifeline available. This is not a criticism of medical care or of the patients who need these treatments. It is a reflection of the world we live in, which is faster, noisier, lonelier and more digitally demanding than ever before. We are witnessing an epidemic not just of illness but of disconnection from community and purpose. That disconnection is being accelerated by forces we have yet to fully control. Artificial intelligence is now present in nearly every aspect of young people's lives. From homework help to late night conversations, AI chatbots have become constant companions, yet regulation has not kept pace.”
“The use of antidepressants and antianxiety medication has grown exponentially in this time. Between 2012 and 2022, the use of antidepressant medications more than doubled among children and young people. Among those aged 75 and older, prescriptions have increased by over 50% in a decade, with this group now accounting for nearly a quarter of all antidepressant use. Across Europe, the pattern is the same. Consumption of these medications has more than doubled since 2000, reflecting a wider and deeper tide of psychological distress. Let me be absolutely clear that these medicines work. They help people and save lives. They are essential in helping people to recover from depression and anxiety and they allow countless individuals to function, work, parent and rediscover hope in their lives.”
“As a practising GP, I see daily the profound human consequences of our modern pressures on mental well-being. The levels of anxiety, low mood and burnout presenting in general practice have risen dramatically over the last two decades, and I believe we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. What once might have been considered occasional stress and sadness is now, for many, a persistent sense of being overwhelmed. Capacity in general practice is also a major issue, with a growth in population, the need to deal with additional cultural complexity and more complex chronic medical illness care being provided in the community. That can impact urgent access where there is a mental health crisis. This is why those other pathways that have been provided are so important.”
“This investment will not only provide a better environment for patient care, it will also help make Roscommon University Hospital a more attractive place for staff to work. We face genuine challenges in recruiting and retaining consultant psychiatrists and high-quality specialist staff in rural areas. Too often, smaller hospitals lose out to larger urban centres, not because the work is less meaningful but because the infrastructure and supports cannot compete with those in the larger centres. That must change if we are to be serious about an equitable mental health service nationwide. We must make our regional hospitals places of professional excellence, with strong multidisciplinary teams, modern facilities and clear opportunities for clinical and career advancement.”
“Also, there is the men’s online counselling initiative, for which the Minister of State allocated €2 million. It began in September and will allow men, in particular, who are slow to seek psychological help, to access counselling in their own homes without having to attend a centre. Closer to home, there is very good news for Roscommon and the wider west. HSE West and North West has plans for a new 50-bed replacement psychiatric unit at Roscommon University Hospital. It is to be a modern, purpose-built facility that will replace the existing unit. This is a major and long-awaited development for patients, families and staff throughout the region. A multistorey car park is part of the development and this will finally ease the parking pressure at the hospital and make access safer and more convenient for everyone.”
“The plan to add 300 new whole-time equivalent staff next year, representing 9% growth in the mental health workforce by 2026, is another major step forward. New crisis-resolution teams, Solace cafés, SCAN nurses to support GPs, targeted suicide-prevention initiatives for Travellers, expanded CAMHS capacity, new Jigsaw services and the implementation of a digital mental health strategy are the building blocks of a stronger, more compassionate and more modern mental health service. I welcome in particular two initiatives in which the Minister of State has been involved. The first is accessibility to specialist nursing in emergency departments, where people in distress must face long waiting times before seeing a hard-pressed junior doctor or where they lack access to a consultant. That is a major initiative.”
“Tomorrow marks World Mental Health Day, a moment to pause and reflect on our nation’s mental well-being. I welcome the Government’s sustained commitment to improving mental health services right across the country. Next year, the total allocation for mental health will reach €1.6 billion, representing an increase of more than 50% since 2020. This is a remarkable achievement and a reflection of consistent, deliberate investment in the well-being of our people. It means more psychologists, counsellors, nurses and psychiatrists and more accessible care for those who need it most. I commend my colleague, the Minister of State responsible for mental health, for her determination to ensure this funding translates into genuine, measurable change on the ground in crisis care, early intervention and community-based supports.”
“I was at a meeting with GPs last night with the clinical team. All I am seeing is confusion and shambles. One of the clinical directors said there was no evidence base for moving older women and women who were high-risk from Portiuncula hospital. They decided not to move people with diabetes at the last moment. They also decided that GPs would not risk stratify. They do not know what is going on. There is no clinical leadership and I want the Minister to make a statement on that.”
“We are not in a good space because the maternity unit in Portiuncula hospital is in trouble. For example, it was recommended by the Walker report that there be seven consultant obstetricians. It never happened. There were five at the most: three full-time, one on managed leave and one on managed sick leave. There was never a full complement. Someone second-guessed the Walker report, so it was never implemented. Regarding infrastructure, the recommendation of a theatre in the labour ward did not happen. Who walked back the idea of one hospital, two sites, and why? I want to know why. Does the Minister have confidence in the clinical director regionally and the associate clinical director who was recently appointed? Are they the people who brought us to this juncture? Does the Minister have confidence that they will deliver us from it?”
“We have a unit that was essentially set up to function at risk. On the idea of one hospital, two sites, I do not agree that it was not working. Who made the decision that it was not working? Many issues seem to have arisen from the time it stopped.”
“I acknowledge the mothers and babies who have experienced, at birth, sometimes catastrophic events. It is a small number of women but that makes it no less. I worked with the Minister on Portiuncula maternity unit on the premise that the Walker report had been delivered, but it manifestly has not been delivered. I do not believe the HIQA report. Last week, at the health committee, the CEO of the HSE, Mr. Bernard Gloster, said that the Walker report had not been fully implemented. That is the reality because all of the same issues that arose in 2018 have arisen in 2025. Professor Sam Coulter-Smith identified that in his report and he has couched it in language that is not obvious, but it is clear what he is saying and it is nuanced. All the same issues with governance, training and human resources exist.”
“I acknowledge the Minister's bona fides in the matter of the maternity unit in Portiuncula hospital. She has acted at all times on advice in what she felt is the best interest of the safety of mothers and babies in the region. However, I want to ask her why the Walker report of 2018 was not implemented and if she will make a statement on the matter.”
“The new proposed peace deal is remarkable for the lack of Palestinian consultation. It has been presented as a threat, with obvious equivocation about Palestinian statehood on the part of Netanyahu. It is an anaemic strand of hope for a ceasefire, for the release of all hostages, for humanitarian aid and for the rebuilding of Gaza.”
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has not defended Israel; he has diminished it. In tandem with the egregious assault on Gaza, he and his extreme right-wing cabinet members have undermined a two-state solution by enabling and actively encouraging illegal settlements on the West Bank. He will not be remembered as a guardian of security but as the architect of perpetual conflict; the man who extinguished the prospect of coexistence and condemned generations to bloodshed.”
“While we must not appear to be self-congratulatory in the face of this horror, Ireland was among the first to recognise Palestine as a state, joined South Africa in the International Court of Justice, and has advocated consistently for a stronger international response through the EU and the UN. Today, many others, from Spain and Slovenia to partners across Europe, are following that lead but leadership is not a gesture; it is a responsibility. Futile gestures without consequences are meaningless. The EU must act by carrying out a full review of the EU-Israel trade agreement, seeking real accountability for breaches of international law and insisting unyieldingly that humanitarian aid reaches those who need it. Yet the greatest obstacle remains Israel's own leadership.”
“The destruction of Gaza, brick by brick, together with the relentless spread of illegal settlements in the West Bank, is obliterating the very possibility of a Palestinian state. Let us be clear: this is ethnic cleansing in all but name. This is not simply my view; we have heard from Ehud Olmert and his view. He referred to concentration camps and war crimes. In August 2025, some 600 of the highest ranking ex-military and security officials, including former Mossad chief, Tamir Pardo, ex-Shin Bet chief, Ami Ayalon, and former Israeli deputy chief of the military, Matan Vilnai, wrote to Donald Trump to ask him to intervene and end the war. There is reported resistance, even within the Israeli army, to the continued prosecution of this abomination. Ireland has not stood silent.”
“Collective punishment with bombings, shootings and the destruction of vital health and civilian infrastructure, resulting in famine and death, is unlawful and immoral. Since 7 October, more than 66,000 people have been killed and over 168,000 wounded in Gaza. That does not include many people who are dying in Gaza, mainly children, due to preventable illness and starvation. Many thousands are unaccounted for, entombed beneath the rubble. These are not just statistics; they are families expunged, generations extinguished and people pushed to the existential margins. What we are witnessing is not proportionate, it is not humane and it is not compatible with international law.”
“I will start with a quote: What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians. It's the result of government policy - knowingly, evilly, maliciously, irresponsibly dictated. Yes, Israel is committing war crimes. They are the words of Ehud Olmert, ex-Prime Minister of Israel. The devastation in Gaza defies human comprehension. Whole neighbourhoods have been flattened, hospitals have been reduced to rubble, healthcare workers and journalists have been targeted, and famine has broken out. This is not the tragic byproduct of war; it is a planned, strategic assault on civilian life and infrastructure in Gaza. Hamas is a terrorist organisation and its attacks on Israel on 7 October were obscene but no crime, however appalling, can justify what has followed.”
“We should also recognise that policy alone is not enough. Prevention requires education in schools, in families and among health professionals. Young people need clear, credible information, not marketing masquerading as lifestyle advice. The decline in smoking rates during the past 30 years shows progress is possible but unless our new legislation anticipates and pre-empts the next wave of nicotine products - whether pouches, heated tobacco or other substitutes - we risk replacing one epidemic of addiction with another.”
“As a clinician, I find this deeply troubling. Nicotine is not benign. In adolescence, it disrupts brain development, impairs concentration, fuels anxiety and entrenches addiction. The New England Journal of Medicine has already described cases of airway scarring linked to chronic vaping. International evidence confirms that young people who vape are several times more likely to progress to cigarette smoking. The Government has acted, and rightly so. The ban on sales to under-18s, the curbs on advertising and the upcoming tax on e-liquids are all necessary steps. However, the reality is that the pace of change in the marketplace is outstripping the pace of regulation. A ban on disposable vapes, tighter controls on flavours and packaging and far stronger action on online promotion must follow.”
“As both a legislator and a doctor, I cannot overstate my concern at the rise of vaping among young people in Ireland. What began as a tool to help adults to quit smoking has been transformed into a product designed to recruit a new generation of nicotine users. The industry has succeeded in making vapes appear harmless, fashionable and accessible and the result is a surge in adolescent uptake. The evidence is unambiguous. Almost four in ten Irish 16-year-olds have tried vaping and 15% of them use vapes. Disposable devices in particular, have exploded in popularity. A UK survey shows their use among 11- to 17-year-olds increasing ninefold in just two years. We now know the majority of Irish teenagers who vape have never smoked. Vaping is not a bridge out of tobacco; it is a gateway into nicotine dependency.”
“I welcome the announcement of additional services in the community. We need to point out that there are gaps in the current system. Children are discharged from paediatric, neurology and neurodisability services in hospital at 16 years of age. Adult disability services, including day services, accept clients from 18 years and over and therefore there is a gap there. There is also a clear lack of care co-ordination for children with acquired neurological conditions. There is a critical need for case management and key worker support for children with complex neurological and neurodevelopmental conditions. It is like everything in the community. We need more co-ordination and deeper capacity and we need services for children who have acquired brain injury most especially.”
“As the Minister of State will know, in Ireland, 450 children suffer a moderate or traumatic brain injury each year yet the CNDTs do not have the capacity to provide neurorehabilitation. Moreover, the children's disability network teams cannot cater for children with complex neurological disability in areas such as spasticity management, orthotics, gait analysis, feeding issues, assistive technology, seating, neurorehabilitation vision and hearing assessment. The national model of care for pediatric healthcare recommends the development of neurorehabilitation services in the community for children with neurological conditions. Will the Minister of State provide an update on that?”
“I wish to draw the Minister's attention to the lack of a policy framework and service infrastructure for rehabilitation supports for children with a neurological condition. She will be aware that the national neurorehabilitation strategy only applies to people over 18 years of age and there is no equivalent of community neurorehabilitation teams for children. That means there is extremely limited access to therapeutic supports.”
“Parents are willing to pay the modest fees of €50 for a primary pupil and €75 for a post-primary pupil with a family cap of €125 but what they really need is certainty that transport will be available. I believe there is a real opportunity to get this right. If we follow through on the recommendations of the review and invest in the necessary capacity, we can deliver a scheme that is fair, reliable and sustainable and that meets the needs of families into the future.”
“These include reducing the distance criteria and removing the strict requirement to attend the nearest school in situations where existing bus routes already serve the area or where there is sufficient parental demand. These are sensible and pragmatic proposals but they must be implemented carefully and effectively. Capacity remains the central challenge. We need enough buses, enough drivers and proper planning to ensure every eligible child who applies on time is guaranteed a seat. Part of the solution must involve making bus driving a much more attractive career with secure hours, fair pay and a pipeline of trained drivers so we can meet growing demand.”