Shane Moynihan
Dublin Mid-West · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“Hopefully, we will not need to extend the planning. That is the intention of all. Similarly for Lucan Community College, we need to get the planning right now for phases two and three.”
“Similarly, for Lucan Community College, that is being delivered under phase one through a modular framework and there is now an intention to secure planning for the remaining phase, so that does not delay the delivery of phases two and three of Lucan. I also wish to draw attention to Devine Mercy junior and senior national schools.”
“Thomas's and Scoil Aíne junior and senior national schools in Lucan, they are immediately adjacent to Adamstown, which is one of the rapidly growing areas in the country right now. They are in the same building they were in when the school was opened. That needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. For St.”
“I thank the Minister for her very comprehensive answer. I see first hand the progress that is being made with school buildings across the constituency but there are also buildings that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. The Minister mentioned Scoil Chrónáin.”
“The schools I intend to address are St. Thomas Junior National School and Scoil Aíne Naofa in Lucan and Divine Mercy junior and senior national schools and St. Kevin's Community College. What is the current status of the Lucan Community College project and Scoil Chrónáin? I ask the Minister to make a statement on the matter.”
“Whatever course of action the Government takes, and I have views on either a total ban or a registration and licensing system, it is clear to me that gardaí will need training in the enforcement and tactical interventions that they will need to undertake to enforce whatever ban or system being put in place, as in taking someone from a sco…”
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“Thomas's and Scoil Aíne junior and senior national schools in Lucan, they are immediately adjacent to Adamstown, which is one of the rapidly growing areas in the country right now. They are in the same building they were in when the school was opened. That needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. For St. Kevin's Community School in Clondalkin, the buildings are very much the same as they were when I was there. It was considered an old building then. The prefabs and the building are not in the condition they should be in. That needs to be prioritised for that next list. I am pleased to hear there is a pipeline but I am keen to see we make sure the right schools get on it in terms of their prioritisation.”
“Hopefully, we will not need to extend the planning. That is the intention of all. Similarly for Lucan Community College, we need to get the planning right now for phases two and three. I wish to speak about the pipeline because it is important that the message we get out to parents is that there is a pipeline and that we are not taking a stop-start approach to prioritising schools. I wish to emphasise how important it is that the likes of Devine Mercy Junior National School, which is a very proud school in Balgaddy, gets approved for the building it has been waiting for quite a long time. The standard response I have got back for the past two years is that there will be a meeting of stakeholders in the near future and nothing past that. I am very keen to see progress on that. Similarly for St.”
“Similarly, for Lucan Community College, that is being delivered under phase one through a modular framework and there is now an intention to secure planning for the remaining phase, so that does not delay the delivery of phases two and three of Lucan. I also wish to draw attention to Devine Mercy junior and senior national schools. I went Devine Mercy Junior National School. It still the same building that was built in the 1980s. It is not fit for purpose and it is one that should be prioritised. Similarly, with St. Thomas's and Scoil Aíne in Lucan. There are cramped conditions for a rapidly growing part of Lucan. They need to be urgently prioritised. In my supplementary question, I will speak about the pipeline the Minister mentioned.”
“I thank the Minister for her very comprehensive answer. I see first hand the progress that is being made with school buildings across the constituency but there are also buildings that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. The Minister mentioned Scoil Chrónáin. In answers she has given me in parliamentary questions, she is aware there is a delay on the tender with that particular school. I would very much welcome any urgency we can apply to make sure we break ground by quarter 4 of this year because that is contingent on the planning permission not having to be extended and for the delivery of the school building for Scoil Chrónáin that is so important.”
“The schools I intend to address are St. Thomas Junior National School and Scoil Aíne Naofa in Lucan and Divine Mercy junior and senior national schools and St. Kevin's Community College. What is the current status of the Lucan Community College project and Scoil Chrónáin? I ask the Minister to make a statement on the matter.”
“Whatever course of action the Government takes, and I have views on either a total ban or a registration and licensing system, it is clear to me that gardaí will need training in the enforcement and tactical interventions that they will need to undertake to enforce whatever ban or system being put in place, as in taking someone from a scooter or pursuing that scooter. The Garda Commissioner also asked us to support any sort of legislative requirements required to back An Garda Síochána when it needs to make those tactical interventions. If we are to make reports like the Dublin city task force's successful, encouraging Dublin to be a safer place, dealing with e-scooters being used unsafely and illegally has to be at the heart of that. I ask the Taoiseach to support any legislative requirements to back gardaí in doing their job.”
“I thank the Taoiseach for his update, especially with regard to the Dublin city task force. This week, the Garda Commissioner has been in front of two Oireachtas committees, speaking about the issue of e-scooters, and has given his thoughts about the enforcement side of things. I was pleased to hear this morning that the Garda Commissioner is also of the view that e-scooters are propagating drug supply lines in my constituency and are devastating communities across the country.”
“In fairness, Nexus has made it very clear that where primary school places have become available at other sites across both constituencies, they have assisted with that transition. In this instance, they have been providing a safety net for these children to ensure they have care. I fully appreciate the remit of the regulations but it seems from the Minister of State's response that there could be a path forward. I ask that there be urgent engagement on the matter.”
“I thank the Minister of State for that comprehensive response. The providers in question have indicated that they are exploring the possibility of securing education provider status. I understand they have started those discussions. I fully acknowledge the parameters of the regulations, as set out in the response from the Department of children. Like Deputy Lahart, what I am asking for is certainty. Paths forward have been identified. What is needed now is urgent engagement between Tusla, the Departments of children and education and the provider to ensure we do not have a situation where children who are particularly vulnerable, given the nature of their needs, have to be moved from an environment in which they are comfortable and where they know the people caring for them.”
“However, a precedent seems to have been set in recent years whereby this service was allowed to continue to register children over six years of age. Will consideration be given to a ministerial exemption and-or constructive engagement with the provider to get things to where they need to be? We also need to look at the range of powers and options available to Tusla under the early years and childcare legislation and regulations as to what can be done to ensure compliance with those regulations. More fundamentally, we may need to look at revising the regulations, especially in the context of an issue often raised in this House, namely the lack of sufficient special education spaces, particularly for children with ASD.”
“The issue is that the service provider has, in fact, supported children aged over six for the past number of years, with the knowledge of the local special educational needs organiser, SENO, in situations where there are not sufficient school places for those children. We are not talking about a scenario affecting only one or two children. Across the sites it operates, if Nexus is not allowed to proceed with registering these children for September, we could be looking at up to 60 children without appropriate support. This is a matter of distress to those children and their parents. I understand that Tusla is acting in good faith with regard to the regulations in place for early years providers.”
“I am taking this Topical Issue with my colleague, Deputy Lahart, on behalf of the children and parents affected by Nexus preschool, which is a service provider based in Knocklyon, but which has centres and provision in communities across Dublin Mid-West and Dublin South-West. Nexus preschool provides specialist educational programmes for children with autism spectrum disorder, many of whom have been unable to secure appropriate school placements. In recent times, the service has been informed by Tusla that, as a registered early years service, it is not in a position to enrol children aged six years or older.”
“Is é an rud is sonraí faoi Ghaeilge365 ná go mbogann sé amach an cur chuige a bhíonn ag go leor áisíneachtaí Stáit agus comhlachtaí poiblí go dtiteann sé faoin oifigeach Gaeilge polasaí na Gaeilge agus deiseanna cainte Gaeilge a chruthú. Ina áit sin, cuirtear rudaí mar chleachtaí snámha agus ióga trí mheán na Gaeilge ar fáil le go mbíonn daoine in ann plé le seirbhísí an údaráis áitiúil trí mheán na Gaeilge. Is é sin an rud a sheasann amach.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht an fhreagra sin. Ag eascairt as an méid atá ráite aige, tá mé an-sásta cloisteáil go mbeidh deachleachtais á bhfoghlaim maidir lena bhfuil bainte amach ag Gaeilge365. Cuirim fáilte roimh an tomhas atá á dhéanamh ar dheiseanna cainte chomh maith. An bhfuil sé de thuairim ag an Aire go leathnófar é seo amach go dtí na húdaráis áitiúla ar bhonn moillithe, is é sin, go dtosófar le cúpla údarás i gCúige Laighean, cúpla ceann eile i gCúige Mumhan agus, de réir a chéile, cúpla ceann eile i gCúige Connachta? Cén sórt cur chuige a bheidh an tAire ag cur chun cinn leis an gclár Gaeilge365 a leathnú amach chuig na húdaráis áitiúla eile sa tír?”
“Ar a bharr sin, nuair a chuireann muid maoiniú ar fáil dá leithéid de chlár, beidh muid in ann féachaint ar líon na ndeiseanna cainte atá cruthaithe de bharr an mhaoinithe sin. Cén sórt scála ama a bhfuil muid ag labhairt faoi chun é seo a leathnú amach go dtí na húdaráis áitiúla eile timpeall na tíre?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht an fhreagra chuimsithigh sin. Faoi mar a dúirt sé, is é ceann de na rudaí a dhéanann idirdhealú idir Gaeilge365 agus tograí agus tionscadail eile Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta de chuid an Státchórais ná an tomhas atá air maidir le haischur. Cruthaíonn sé deiseanna cainte do dhaoine dul i ngleic leis an Státchóras agus le seirbhísí poiblí. Is cur chuige nuálaíochta é sin. Ba chór dúinn an cur chuige sin a leathnú amach, ní hamháin i measc na n-údarás áitiúla ach i measc na n-áisíneachtaí Stáit agus na gcomhlachtaí pobail araon. Ní mór dúinn impí orthu féachaint ar líon na ndeiseanna cainte Gaeilge a chruthaíonn siad do Ghaeilgeoirí agus daoine atá báúil don Ghaeilge.”
“Fiafraím den Aire Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobal agus Gaeltachta faoin tacaíocht atá á cur ar fáil ag a Roinn maidir leis an gclár Gaeilge365, faoi mar atá leagtha amach sa chlár Rialtais. Is clár é seo atá ar bun sna húdaráis áitiúla i mBaile Átha Cliath, agus tá sé i gceist é a leathnú amach ar fud na tíre. An ndéanfaidh an tAire ráiteas ar an ábhar seo?”
“From a human point of view, families who have gone through the stress of having to travel abroad to get a procedure are expecting reimbursement. Six months down the line, they have not been reimbursed and are hit with extra interest or bank charges. This was not envisaged by the European legislation. I fully accept the point on flexibility and the parameters but given that this is a process issue related to the administering of this scheme, will the HSE look at compensating for or taking account of that in the reimbursement process?”
“In that vein, is there any consideration that can be given internally for the HSE to look at what it might to do remediate and compensate the people who, through no fault of their own, are left to pay large amounts of interest they did not envisage when they took out the loans? That was not an expectation of the scheme when it was set up. It certainly was not the expectation of the patients when they applied for the scheme but, with all due respect to all involved, the HSE is the one at fault for the delay. There should be some indication or signal from it about how it might compensate or at least take account of the fact that the interest accrued or credit facilities people took have given rise to additional bank charges on the fees.”
“I thank the Minister for her response, in particular on the process change. If possible, will the Minister tell us if there are particular processes the HSE has identified which it thinks could be changed to speed this up? I am always reluctant to say we need to throw more staff at a problem, especially when it is administrative, because, as the Minister said, more often than not a system change is needed or there are unnecessary barriers in processing which cause delays. I fully accept the Minister's point that the directive is European legislation but the European legislation did not envisage it would take six months to reimburse an application.”
“As I am sure the Minister will agree, we do not want to cause more hardship to or place onerous pressure on people who may have been through a procedure or have had a loved one go through a procedure. Will the Minister share her thoughts on the staffing, her confidence that the HSE will reach the target and the refund of interest on credit facilities?”
“I fully appreciate and am grateful to the Minister for driving the HSE to get back to a 30-day target by the end of 2026. How confident is the Minister that it will do that? Is it allocating additional staff? What exactly does additional resource look like? Will the HSE report to the Minister with an interim progress report before the end of the year to see how this is tracking? Has the HSE made any substantial progress in addressing that target in the meantime? It is a good directive and scheme. From a political point of view, we are very supportive of this but it is also about making sure patients relying on it get the reimbursement they are due.”
“Could the Minister say a bit more about whether any consideration can be given to a situation where a family, not of substantial means, has had to take a loan to pay for the overall cost of the treatment and because they have not been able to repay that loan, or because the reimbursement has been delayed, this has led to interest being accrued on the credit facility they took? Is the HSE considering providing alleviation for families who find themselves in those circumstances through, as the Minister said, no fault of their own? It is unacceptable they should have to wait that duration of time to receive the reimbursement due to them and they then have to pay an additional interest or credit charge on top of that. There is a question of fairness.”
“I thank the Minister for that very comprehensive answer. I welcome her support and proactiveness in getting the HSE to commit to that timeline. I have a few follow-up questions. This is around confidence-building. It is a very useful directive and gives us additional capacity in getting people the treatment they need. From my understanding of how the scheme operates, it centres on a small number of providers and hospitals because of the specific procedures that are there. As the Minister said, waiting six months for reimbursement is onerous, especially if it is an older relative or someone who has been waiting for a long time.”
“These questions are to ask the Minister for Health what steps her Department is taking to address the delays in processing reimbursement applications submitted under the cross-border directive. Will reimbursement under the cross-border directive include interest costs incurred on bank loans or credit facilities used by patients to fund upfront medical treatment abroad, particularly in those circumstances where the reimbursement delays significantly exceed indicative processing timelines?”
“The third piece in this puzzle is gardaí feeling they have the support to make tactical interventions to prevent e-scooters from continuing, and to be able to intervene and confiscate an e-scooter that is being used illegally and unsafely. A very clear signal needs to be sent to them that they are able to do that. I thank the Taoiseach for his support on this so far. Will he support that call for additional support for An Garda Síochána and roll out the registration and insurance requirements that are central to dealing with the scourge of e-scooters on our streets at the moment?”
“For the last few months, in this House and at the transport committee, I have been raising the need for increased regulation and enforcement in the area of e-scooters. I welcome the statement this week by the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, that he will look at registration and insurance requirements. These are things that need to happen. We heard from the Road Safety Authority, RSA, in the Oireachtas joint committee this morning that it believes the structures exist to roll that out efficiently. Safety is also something that I have raised on the floor of the House with regard to high visibility and helmet use by those operating e-scooters, and educating parents that minors should not be operating them.”
“In an environment where there are more special educational needs and teachers are under pressure as a result, and where there is more expected of our teachers, that reduction of the pupil-teacher ratio is extremely important.”
“Scoil Chrónáin is a Gaelscoil providing a first-class education and, as I mentioned, Gaelscoileanna get flexibility in terms of their pupil-teacher ratio. There is probably a case for that in the case of Gaelscoileanna in non-Gaeltacht areas, though I am also very conscious that there are other schools in my constituency that have also lost teachers as a result of falling enrolment numbers. That is why it is even more important that we as a Government, and I as a Government backbencher, continue to support the calls to bring down the pupil-teacher ratio to 19:1, to ensure we reduce our class sizes to the levels they need to be, and continue to support our teachers.”
“If a minor extension on planning permission is needed, so be it, but the priority for these parents is the permanent school building. They have been waiting an awfully long time for it. The students are learning in prefabs. The site and money is there. Tá an toil ann. Parents want to see to see delivery on this building. I urge the Minister of State to bring this back to the Minister for education to make it very clear to her that the school deserves and needs a very clear update on when progress will happen in respect of construction. While it is important to place contingency, let us not make contingency the plan. It is important that we try to focus the mind and get to the plan we need to get to. With regard to the staffing issues, the Minister of State set out the figures quite clearly.”
“I acknowledge this is not the Minister of State’s brief and I appreciate her taking the time to go through this. I welcome the indication from the Department that it is aware of the need to extend planning permission. Without being flippant, the central point still holds here in that these parents and the school community were promised the school would go to construction during this two-year period. If we are talking about extending planning permission, there is a gap there in terms of the school building needing to be provided. It would be great to get an update from the Department about when it thinks it will have completed the due diligence on the next preferred tenderer and whether it thinks it will be able to move to construction imminently.”
“The programme for Government that we support commits clearly to reducing the pupil-teacher ratio to 19:1 and to providing additional support for schools that have particularly large classes. My asks are threefold. First, I seek an update on where the new permanent building for Scoil Chrónáin that was promised in the NDP sectoral plan is. Second, what progress can we make to reducing the overall pupil-teacher ratio? Third, will consideration be given for scoileanna in non-Gaeltacht areas to have additional provision for a higher pupil-teacher ratio, where practical? Scoil Chrónáin has 50 proud years of education behind it. I hope it will embrace the next 50 years with the vibrancy, culture and the grá don Ghaeilge it has demonstrated in its five decades in Rathcoole.”
“This will result in the creation of three multi-grade classes of approximately 34 students between fifth and sixth classes. This loss of a teacher, along with education being provided in a building that should have been replaced and about which there was great hope it would have been replaced, will inevitably place additional pressures on teachers and students. I raise this case in particular because Gaelscolaíocht is very important and close to my heart. We know that scoileanna in the Gaeltacht receive additional teacher provision because of their status as scoileanna Gaeltachta. That privilege is not extended or afforded to scoileanna in non-Gaeltacht areas, despite the fact that they are Gaelscoileanna.”
“I am conscious that the Department is aware of all of this information. The school is at a crossroads in that it does not know where its permanent school building is at. There is a lack of clarity and certainty in that regard. Given that the school is 50 years in existence, has such a proud tradition of schooling and provides a first-class education to the students in its building, it is difficult to justify to that school community that it is still relying on prefab accommodation, especially when it expected a new building to be delivered. It is not the only school in Dublin Mid-West that faces this situation, but it is the one I am speaking about today. The school also faces an additional challenge in that its enrolment means it lost its 16th teacher for this coming school year. The average class size is approximately 25-26 students.”
“There was great celebration agus ceiliúradh in the past few months when Scoil Chrónáin was identified as one of the priority school building projects under the national development plan’s educational sectoral plan. The project was to deliver a 16-classroom school, including two special education classrooms on the permanent Rathcoole site. The school is already relying on prefab accommodation, so the need for progress on this project was particularly urgent and acute. The project ended a tender process in February 2025 and submissions were received in May, but the preferred tenderer has withdrawn after due diligence. The challenge that is now being faced is that the school expected to see ground being broken at this stage. Its planning permission expires in November of this year.”
“Is mór agam é labhairt anseo oíche anocht ar chás Scoil Chrónáin. Is Gaelscoil í i Rathcoole i mo Dháilcheantar. Tá sí 50 bliain ar an bhfód agus tá sí ag tabhairt aghaidh ar a céad 50 bliain eile. This evening, I am speaking on behalf of the school community of Scoil Chrónáin in Rathcoole who have asked their Oireachtas representatives to bring the school’s case to the floor of the Dáil on a number of points. Scoil Chrónáin is at the heart of Rathcoole village. It has a proud tradition of providing Gaelscolaíocht to communities in Rathcoole, Saggart and farther afield. I attended Coláiste Chilliain where there were many alumni from Scoil Chrónáin. It has a proud and noble tradition of education and a vibrant and active school community. Part of the school’s story is its wait for a new school building.”
“That may not necessarily be a heavy rail system like DART+ South West, though I am hopeful we will be able to move quickly on that. It is important that we put the bus services in place. I hope the Minister will support me and other colleagues in lobbying the NTA to move quite quickly in delivering amendments to the BusConnects plan that enhance additionality and respond to the new population settlements forming in Dublin and around the country.”
“That is right. We are on the same page regarding the need to put these public transport systems in place as the houses are being built so that the private car is not the default option for a lot of these people moving into these homes. That is why I am keen to continue to lobby the NTA. I am pleased that it has opened a consultation on new bus routes for Clonburris and Adamstown. Those developments were not built at the design of the original BusConnects phase. That is somewhere we need to address. There are many other developments like that not only in Dublin, but around the country, where bus stops need to be put in and routes at the same time, as opposed to waiting for the demand to manifest itself. We know the demand will be there. We know people will move into those homes. From day one, let us give them an option of public transport.”
“It would be remiss of me with this opportunity not to advocate for the DART+ South West programme to be accelerated as much as it can. I am very pleased to see DART+ Coastal North and DART+ West will be moved along quite promptly. DART+ South West is particularly important, given the amount of housing now being delivered in Clonburris and Adamstown, in particular.”
“I thank the Minister. It is right to say that huge progress is being seen on delivery of transport infrastructure across the country. The Liffey Valley to city centre bus corridor that he mentioned is the route I cycle to Leinster House most days. I see the active progress there. I am hopeful that it will be delivered on time, if not ahead of schedule. Like the Minister, I am a TD for a Dublin constituency where population density is increasing at a rapid pace, and rightly so and it is important that we provide housing for our people but it also important that we provide the transport system to underpin that. Progress on MetroLink is very welcome. The DART+ programme is very close to my heart. I have engaged with the Minister and the Minister for Transport in particular on this.”
“I accept the role of the State with regard to global subsea connectivity. I have a two-part question on aviation and port capacity. Are all the NSO No. 6 projects the Minister expects to be completed by 2030 on track? Second, what sort of thinking is there in terms of future-proofing for Dublin Airport and Dublin Port? Is the Minister confident there is sufficient headroom for both to grow if we continue to see the amount of connectivity and the volume of trade and passengers coming into the country that we are seeing at the moment?”
“What plans are being laid out under NSO No. 6 with regard to improving overall connectivity from the subsea infrastructure point of view? Are those plans being future-proofed with an eye to 2050, 2070 and 2090 to ensure we maintain our status as a global technology and data hub?”
“I thank the Minister for his very comprehensive response. I am glad to see progress is being made on a number of fronts, including aviation, port policy and digital connectivity. The first part of this question asks how confident we are that these projects are now future-proofed in terms of the next 30- or 40-year cycle. The Minister has spoken at length about some of the bottlenecks that exist in the economy arising out of the massive growth we have seen in our population over time. With the continued success of the economy and the continued identification of Ireland as an international hub, connectivity becomes all the more important. I am particularly keen to hear the Minister's thoughts on how we can improve digital connectivity. Ireland is a global data and technology hub. Subsea connectivity is extremely important to us as well.”
“This Bill is a key enabler of strengthening community life by increasing investment in our post office network. We need to encourage An Post, as a result of it, to continue to innovate and bring forward new approaches to how it delivers its services. Some instances of disruption to postal delivery continue in my constituency. I will raise that directly with An Post. The impact of such disruption shows the importance people place on a functioning postal service, not just for the delivery of parcels and letters but also for connection, engagement and the human interface that so many in this country value. As a country, and certainly as a member of Fianna Fáil, we pride ourselves on being people who value community. The post office is a manifestation of that. It is one of the reasons I support the Bill.”
“The additional investment enabled by this Bill sends an important signal to the post office network that the State believes there is a massively socially desirable aspect to the provision of postal services. I bring to the attention of the House the ability of the State to combat the ongoing pandemic of loneliness in our communities in cities, towns and rural areas throughout the country. The post office is a key front in battling that pandemic and in providing cohorts of people who feel excluded from society and who may not have a human connection with stability at a time when we hear of services being made digital first or digital only. The post office can be an outlet to provide that connection for people. Public services should strengthen community life.”
“The reaction here in Ireland to that announcement underlined the importance of investing in our postal network. People do not just think of our postal service in terms of the delivery of letters. They think of the post office as a stable and familiar linchpin or anchor in their communities. It is a social pillar in the community. For many people who experience loneliness in their lives, going to the post office is one of the few occasions in the week when they will meet someone and enjoy a meaningful conversation and human connection. The importance of the stability and familiarity of dealing with the same teller, postmaster or postmistress cannot be overstated.”
“When there was widespread disruption to postal deliveries in my constituency in recent months, it caused real disruption for older people, not just in terms of birthday cards and gifts but also missed hospital appointments. While a hospital might call people to appointments by email, many older people wait for a letter to provide them with the information they need. This calls into question the often-held assumption that loneliness is not prevalent and connection is not at a premium in built-up areas. That is not always the case. Older people and people from all backgrounds who have come to my clinic or spoken to me at the doors have recounted how important an active and vibrant post office is to them. Denmark recently announced the phasing-out of traditional postal services.”
“Where postmasters, postmistresses and counter staff know individual customers by name, the service they provide is a vital lifeline for communities, not just in rural areas but also in cities and in large suburbs such as in my constituency of Dublin Mid-West. That comes even more into focus when we think of the challenges facing our communities in terms of digital exclusion. There are people who may not have well-developed digital skills or be able to access online platforms to do their everyday business and life administration, as many of us of another generation might be able to do. In providing a breadth of services, post offices offer a real outlet and lifeline to those people, not only to do their business without compromising their pride by having to ask for help but also from the knowledge that the service is available to them.”
“I thank him also for his engagement with my colleagues from Dublin and me and with postmasters and representatives of postal service providers across the country. That engagement has been important. It underlines the importance we in our party place on the post office network and the central role it plays in Irish life, both in cities and in rural areas. In all the post offices in my constituency, including Clondalkin post office and all the offices in Lucan, there is a buzz around the place on days like pension day. That encapsulates the importance of the post office network as a social outlet for many communities, and especially for older people, for whom loneliness is a real issue.”
“Is mór agam an deis labhairt ar an mBille seo a bhaineann le seirbhís atá thar a bheith tábhachtach do dhaoine i mo Dháilcheantar agus timpeall na tíre, is é sin an tseirbhís poist. Cuirim fáilte ar leith roimh an infheistíocht sa bhreis atá anois á cur ar fáil ag an Rialtas tríd an mBille seo le tacú le gréasán na n-oifigí poist timpeall na tíre agus a chinntiú go gcuireann siad seirbhís ar fáil do na daoine atá ag brath orthu. Ag an am céanna, áfach, táthar ag moladh do An Post dul i ngleic leis an nuálaíocht, cur chuige nua a spreagadh maidir leis na seirbhísí a chuireann sé ar fáil do phobal na tíre agus é ag claochlú i gcónaí. I thank the Minister of State for bringing the Bill to the House.”