Results 1-20 of 1,035,962 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:John Carty OR speaker:Mairead Farrell OR speaker:Aodhán Ó Ríordáin OR speaker:Paul Kehoe)
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (19 Sep 2024)
Thomas Byrne: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of the Ardmore-Dungarvan route. For the sake of the written record, I will leave out the first number of paragraphs of the script, as they describe the school bus scheme in some detail and may not be of major relevance. I will discuss the school transport 2030 report, which was published this year and is the largest review of the school transport...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (19 Sep 2024)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I know it is under assessment, as I have kicked up blue bloody murder to have it assessed. It is only a matter of time. One would want to see it to believe it. It is a main stretch of the N25, a single carriageway with a hard shoulder on either side. The cars do not have any place to pull up. There is a small privately owned car park. Many of the cars are pulling up on the hard...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (19 Sep 2024)
Thomas Byrne: There has been an increase in the number of tickets issued this year, with more than 140,000 issued. The numbers travelling on our bus services have increased significantly over the past number of years, at 38% over a five-year period. As the Deputy and I have both highlighted, Bus Éireann is currently assessing the route and will continue to ensure the safety, and must ensure the...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (19 Sep 2024)
Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 7.37 p.m. go dtí 2 p.m., Dé Máirt, an 24 Meán Fómhair 2024. The Dáil adjourned at at 7.37 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 24 September 2024.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Thomas Byrne: I want to thank the Deputies for raising this serious matter on the upcoming regulation on what are called the XL bully-type dogs, which I think are recognised in some countries as a breed, and in others may not be. That will come into effect on 1 October. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, announced a ban on the XL bully dogs in the interest of public safety and human safety following...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Neasa Hourigan: I will reiterate that we are 12 days away and none of us has seen those regulations. That is why there is an urgency about a delay. I have some more questions. The Minister of State mentioned issues such as exemption certificates. We do not know yet why, unlike the UK, no third-party public liability insurance is required for exemptions. We do not know what the conditions of exemptions...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Chris Andrews: Bans do not work. This ban is populist, and it is being done with a view to the election that is coming up. Why is the Minister of State not making sure that the existing laws are being implemented and enforced? This Government has been in place for five years and there has been no dent in the illegal puppy farms. I find it ironic that Ireland will have a wolfhound on its passports, given...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Thomas Byrne: The Government recognises that some people may not agree with the decision, and I also note that the Deputies are coming at this from different perspectives. Both of them have raised reasonable issues and I have no doubt about that. To reply to Deputy Andrews, the reality is that these dogs have only been bred in the last number of decades. They are not as ancient as the Irish...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Chris Andrews: It is an animal welfare issue. They are still animals.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Thomas Byrne: I am not sure we-----
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Chris Andrews: They are still animals.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Thomas Byrne: I am not sure we should compare an XL bully to the ancient Irish wolfhound, which has been a breed of dog in this country for centuries.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Chris Andrews: There is a hierarchy of animals, is there?
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Seán Canney: Deputy.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Thomas Byrne: There are public safety issues here, and we need to be aligned with our nearest neighbours. We have little choice but to address this with regulation. On the reasonable point that Deputy Hourigan raised, the Department of Rural and Community Development is in discussions with the Department of agriculture in relation to the proposed transfer of the local authority veterinary service to...
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Chris Andrews: It is populist. It is a populist decision.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Thomas Byrne: -----and have led to deaths in a number of instances.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Control of Dogs (19 Sep 2024)
Chris Andrews: It is a populist decision.
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (19 Sep 2024)
School Transport
- Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: School Transport (19 Sep 2024)
Marc Ó Cathasaigh: I will slightly recast the Topical Issue that I submitted, which was not to deal with school bus transport in west Waterford. It was specifically on a school transport issue arising between Ardmore and Dungarvan. If the Minister of State does not know that part of the world well, I remind him that Ardmore is the seat of St. Declan, who converted the Déise tribe to Christianity, which...