Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Is mór an onóir dom agus ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le muintir Chill Dara Thuaidh as mé a thoghadh. I thank the voters of Kildare North who expressed their faith in Sinn Féin to lead a Government of real change, returning me to the Dáil as their first female Sinn Féin Deputy. Politics is all-consuming and I want to thank my mam, brother, sisters and my children for their unwavering love and support. I also thank my republican family, the Ruth Hackett Cumann, and Sinn Féin activists across Kildare North for keeping the faith in the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, ratified by An Chéad Dáil. I hold this same faith and I promise to work hard for workers and families in Kildare North to deliver the change they voted for.

This is my maiden speech and it is all the more emotional to be delivering it at a time of national and international crisis. I take this opportunity to pay my respects to every one of the almost 2,000 Irish people who have lost their lives to Covid-19. Many of us have experienced the grief of losing a family member, and I remember my daddy today. I cannot imagine the distress those families endured, not being able to kiss their loved ones goodbye. Ar dheis Dé go raibh siad.

I had anticipated that my first address on transport would be about exploring the possibility of extending the light rail system to Kilcock and Sallins and the Luas line to Naas; about improvements to the Dublin Bus service for Leixlip, Celbridge and my home town of Maynooth and returning Dublin Bus to Kilcock; about improving the Bus Éireann service for Prosperous and Clane, as well as the bus scoile for Rathcoffey and the other places in the hinterland of Kildare; and, critically, about ensuring all public transport is accessible to citizens with disabilities. Those are the issues I would have addressed if these were ordinary times, but these are not ordinary times.

We have people going back to work next week, before we have built an effective testing and timely tracing and containment infrastructure for the virus. The most immediate concern for families in north Kildare right now regarding transport is how they are going to travel to work safely from next week. I read the Return to Work Safely protocol at the weekend and public transport barely got a mention. I welcome the Minister's statement that he has been engaging with public transport operators but when will he publish a comprehensive plan for transport during the Covid-19 outbreak? This protocol must include, among those issues already mentioned, plans to carry workers to their place of work without bringing a return of traffic chaos to the streets; managing social distancing at bus stops, train stations and on board; and whether face coverings will be mandatory.

I welcome the Minister's statement that public transport will be disinfected. How regularly will that be carried out? Will hand sanitiser be available at entry and egress points on public service vehicles? Those are vital concerns for workers and families in north Kildare and for workers delivering this essential service.

It is our duty, in accordance with the Democratic Programme of the First Dáil, to take all necessary measures to safeguard the health of our people. That is what we must do. The Minister must communicate a comprehensive transport protocol now. It is a critical part of the reopening plan. We cannot look back and say that this was another weak link in suppressing the virus.

See this speech in context