Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join colleagues in welcoming the agreement reached in Northern Ireland last night. It is the culmination of ten weeks of very hard work. I pay tribute to everybody involved, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Charles Flanagan. The agreement builds on the Stormont House Agreement and is, hopefully, a significant step in normalising politics in Northern Ireland and society generally. The agreement is a credible roadmap for the implementation of many aspects of the Stormont House Agreement, tackling the continuing impact of paramilitarism, reconciling of all peoples on the island and bringing about of greater economic prosperity. We all welcome the fact that a joint agency task force will be established to identify priorities for combating cross-Border organised crime and to oversee operational co-ordination. This will be given additional resources. This is an issue that has been raised by many Members in the House. It is causing serious damage to economic life north and south of the Border and it is an issue that must be tackled. Hopefully, the agreement will bring about greater prosperity and reconciliation on the island and the normalisation of politics even further.

I very much welcome yesterday's announcement on the schools capital building programme. Nationally, 310 schools will benefit. Every county will see investment in new schools and refurbishment. In County Galway alone, 30 projects will be funded between 2016 and 2021. I am particularly pleased that in my town of Ballinasloe, the Scoil an Chroí Naofa will proceed in 2016 while the project relating to St. Theresa's special school will commence construction in 2019. It is only right and proper that our children are educated in the best possible facilities and that we see the end of prefabricated buildings once and for all. The programme will create much needed employment in the construction sector. I welcome the fact that unemployment has fallen below 9%. Hopefully, these construction projects will drive that figure down further over the coming years.