Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Let us take my own town of Celbridge. It has a population of 22,000 and has needed a second bridge for the last 20 years. I welcome the support I have received on this matter from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, and his officials. The first phase of this process has commenced and this will eventually lead to a project going to tender to deliver a second bridge for Celbridge. This is hugely important for the development of the town. We need the funding to allow this to happen faster, however. Clane, Maynooth and Naas all need ring roads, which would open up proper infrastructure and allow for future developments in a holistic way. Again, however, the investment required here needs to be accelerated. It looks like we are now depending on LIHAF to make the infrastructural improvements in those areas and many others around the country. We need to move faster on this. We need to look at what are the issues and how they can be overcome with a view to having projects delivered.

As Deputy Dooley mentioned earlier, broadband is another serious issue that is not being addressed.

Broadband is now as important as electricity or a phone in one's home because people want to work from or are studying at home. When children are at school and in college broadband is a necessity. It is no longer a luxury. We, therefore, need to accelerate the national broadband plan. The information I have received in tabling parliamentary questions on areas in which the service needs to be upgraded is that the national broadband plan has still not been put out to tender. That is a massive issue. There are areas which are crying out for a service and which are being held back without it. That is also very important.

There are missed opportunities in the areas of health and social welfare. While I welcome the increased investment in the National Treatment Purchase Fund, it is still not having an impact on waiting lists for the likes of adults who need spinal surgery, the waiting list for which stands at 38 months for a routine operation, and children who need orthopaedic treatment, the waiting list for which stands at two years for operations determined to be urgent. The mental health service which was alluded to presents a major problem. It needs to be resourced and funded properly.

I welcome the increase of €5 in pensions and all other social welfare payments. When the Social Welfare Bill is brought before the House, I will speak in detail to the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, about the Tús scheme and the bereavement grant. I called for the telephone allowance to be reinstated and I am delighted that measures have been taken in that regard. The allowance is very important to people who are living on their own and in isolation. They need the allowance not only to contact the outside world but also to be able to use panic alarms and panic buttons to ensure their security.

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