Results 1-20 of 985,124 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' speaker:Michael Finneran
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)
Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy. We are all on the same page. There is a claim and a dispute. The two parties to the dispute need to resolve the matter. There are established State mechanisms to resolve disputes and, to their credit, they have worked and kept industrial peace for many years. A very successful pay agreement, namely, Building Momentum, is coming to a conclusion. As I stated, talks...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)
Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 8.02 p.m. go dtí 2 p.m., Dé Máirt, an 26 Meán Fómhair 2023. The Dáil adjourned at at 8.02 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 26 September 2023.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)
Local Authorities
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)
Seán Ó Fearghaíl: The fourth item I have selected comes from Deputy Andrews. He wishes to discuss the impact of the ongoing industrial action at Dublin City Council. Is this about them not taking telephone calls?
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)
Chris Andrews: That is it exactly.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)
Seán Ó Fearghaíl: There are a lot more than Dublin City Council involved.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)
Chris Andrews: I was just going to say that. It is a nationwide issue. I am sure the Minister of State is aware that Fórsa members in local authorities across the State are in the middle of industrial action. As a public representative, I have seen first hand over the years the brilliant work the estate managers and area officers do for and across communities in my constituency. I know the pressure...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)
Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I will take this matter on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien. To begin, I would like to clarify that under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each chief executive of a local authority is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Local Authorities (21 Sep 2023)
Chris Andrews: I agree that this affects all of us in the House. It is an important issue because, like Deputy Collins said, vulnerable people contact us. The reality is that management seems to be sitting on its hands and is content to allow this dispute to escalate. Staff levels are depleted - estate managers who work on the front line are not being replaced for months. That is the case in my...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (21 Sep 2023)
Niall Collins: I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. Before I address the specific issues raised, I would like to provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme. The scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022-23 school year, more than 149,000 children, including more than 18,000 children with special...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (21 Sep 2023)
Jennifer Whitmore: With all due respect to the Minister of State, my question was related to bus cancellations in Wicklow and he did not mention Wicklow once in this reply. Could he please tell me what I will tell parents in Wicklow who do not have a seat on a school bus for their children tomorrow and next week? While he can play with words and say that they the routes were not cancelled but were handed...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (21 Sep 2023)
Seán Ó Fearghaíl: Before I ask the Minister of State to come back in, I have in the past while seen that Ministers come in with scripts prepared for them by somebody else or by a different Department. We are very grateful to the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, for being here to take this matter, but it is completely unacceptable for any Department to provide a Minister, who is good enough to be here to...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (21 Sep 2023)
Jennifer Whitmore: Could I say something?
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (21 Sep 2023)
Seán Ó Fearghaíl: No, we cannot have a debate on it.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (21 Sep 2023)
Jennifer Whitmore: I was just saying I will make myself available for a Topical Issue next week so the Minister can come in and address it. I know parents are really worried about it, and I will make sure I can get in for that, if it is possible.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (21 Sep 2023)
Niall Collins: I concur wholeheartedly with what you have said, a Cheann Comhairle, in this regard. The criticism you have raised about there being no mention of Wicklow is valid. Equally, I am grappling with what the Deputy articulated in my constituency in Limerick. What is being experienced in County Wicklow is the same in Limerick. We are trying to work through that. The Deputy did not mention it...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Public Transport (21 Sep 2023)
Niall Collins: I would like to acknowledge that Deputy Ó Ríordáin has raised this Topical Issue relating to lift access in Clongriffin. On behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, the matter raised is one in which the Minister has no direct function. However, planning plays an important role in enabling the alignment of housing...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Public Transport (21 Sep 2023)
Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I appreciate that there are limits to what the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, can do in this regard, but he does have the soft power to discuss this issue with Irish Rail. The Minister of State can appreciate that residents are completely exasperated and have no trust in any private provider that is providing what is essentially public access. We have a situation where a private...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Public Transport (21 Sep 2023)
Niall Collins: I will absolutely convey Deputy Ó Ríordáin’s concerns and those of his constituents in the community that he represents to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and indeed to the Minister for Transport. I think the Deputy is quite right and justified and he has presented a very reasonable case as to why this problem has to be rectified. I have read...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (21 Sep 2023)
School Transport