Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. He has a wide-ranging portfolio. The area of greatest interest to me will always be road safety. As the Minister indicated, his Department covers road transport and safety.

With that in mind, last week we had a debate on Committee Stage of the Heritage Bill. The first amendment that was discussed concerned road safety and the management of our hedgerows. A number of amendments seeking to provide clarity and ensure public safety with regard to road safety were put forward by a number of Senators. They are relatively simple and effective amendments that would clarify matters. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, was in the House and indicated she has difficulty in addressing these amendments as they fall under the remit of the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, as he indicated.

Would the Minister agree that the road safety aspects of the Heritage Bill are best handled by his Department under improvements to section 70 of the Roads Act? I ask the Minister to liaise with his colleague, Deputy Humphreys, on this matter. That would be very helpful. The next debate is on Thursday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Committee Stage has been adjourned. It would be good if we could get clarification on road safety, section 70 and the hedgerow system.

The Minister referred to road safety and speed limits around housing estates. He has been in contact with the Jake's Legacy campaign and Jake's mother. I welcome this development. The Minister indicated the Bill he wishes to bring forward will create a new special speed limit of 20 km/h which local authorities will be able to apply in built-up areas. This will apply to areas where there are housing estates, communities and families. I welcome the development and hope the Bill is brought before the House as soon as possible.

I refer to tourism. Another Senator referred to Donegal and the north west. I am here to represent my area, the south east. In a way, I am jealous because the Wild Atlantic Way has been branded and funded, and is delivering for the economy of Ireland, in particular the west coast. The south east is part of Ireland's Ancient East, which so far has just been a brand. We have not yet seen financial returns. There is a correlation between employment and successful tourism. There was an increase of €150 million in the budget for the National Tourism Development Authority. I ask the Minister to examine the south east specifically because we have a problem with job recovery. A portion of the money could go to funding tourism in Waterford, developing the Viking triangle area and funding initiatives in the south east.