Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As with previous years, I have no objection at all to the proposition on the table. I have three questions, and while the same questions are asked each year, it is worthwhile to give a little time to them. When the waiver was first introduced, there was concern in some local authorities around issues of public liability insurance and so on. In the Minister’s officials’ engagement with the local authorities, has that issue been addressed or resolved? Has it dissipated or does it still feature in those conversations? Is there anything the Minister can share with us on that?

Second, one of the big issues in terms of street clutter is storage and stuff not being stored inside the premises but on the street, which is quite dangerous. Have guidelines or advice been given to the local authorities in terms of in-property storage rather than on-street storage?

We previously had representations and concerns from some of the disability advocacy groups. Again, has there been any engagement with them? None of this is an argument against but it is just to make sure their voices are part of the conversation. Obviously, we want this to be done but we want it to be done in a way that is safe and does not create further obstacles for people who are visually impaired or with disabilities in terms of their access to the streets.