Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. O'Brien and the other speakers. Their presentations were excellent. Their focus is on Carlow but most of us here would agree that all the things they talked about are also an issue in other towns. No matter where we are from, the same issues come up for children and young people, particularly there not being enough activities and cycle lanes and people not feeling safe to cycle and walk.

Mr. O'Brien mentioned that it is really important for the students to have a space in which they are heard. All the members of this committee have said from the start that we want to interact directly with children. We had a group of young people in who spoke to us about their experiences of the Covid crisis. Now we are hearing from our guests from Carlow. We hope to continue this type of engagement because it is very important to me and to all the committee members.

The first member to have the floor is Deputy Murnane O'Connor, who, as the witnesses probably know, represents Carlow in the Dáil. We will then go to Deputy Costello, who is a Green Party Deputy who represents a Dublin constituency. We will also hear from Senator McGreehan, who is joining us online, and Deputy Cairns will represent Cork. I expect we will all have the same opinion on the issues raised. I call Deputy Murnane O'Connor.