Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

Local authorities are facing a serious set of circumstances. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to explain to the House how the maintenance of roads, drains, ditches and undergrowth will be funded in the months to come. We are now in November - one can imagine what the roads will be like in April or May, following a winter of rain, frost and snow. Councillors are struggling with local authority budgets. The Minister, Deputy Gormley, and his colleague, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, are abdicating their responsibility to maintain our roads. This is a matter of extreme importance. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should come before the House to explain his position as a matter of extreme urgency.

I agree with Senator Healy Eames on the issue of student welfare. I hope she does not think I have trivialised the issue, as that is not the case. I asked the Leader yesterday when the Student Support Bill will come to the House. Many students and their families are living from hand to mouth on a daily basis because they have not received their grant payments and are therefore unable to pay their weekly rents. Some students are opting out of college for that reason. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the matter with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government as a matter of urgency.