Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

August was a busy time for the west. There were more than 600 submissions to the Galway to Athlone cycleway project office in Ballinasloe, which shows the desire and need for the cycleway from Dublin to Galway to happen as soon as possible. I thank the more than 200 people who called to my office in Ballinasloe to make a submission on why Ballinasloe would be the perfect next destination on the greenway route. It would transform our town, particularly through working together with all other towns by consensus. Along with having the newest streets in our town we also have the shiniest shops. I congratulate the more than 90 businesses who took the time in this particularly challenging period to make an application to have their streetscapes enhanced. This is a pilot measure conducted by Galway County Council in Athenry and Ballinasloe. Will the Leader ask the Minister with responsibility for housing to see how we can ensure the maximum number of businesses are supported under this initiative. It is fantastic to see there is a desire to do this but support is needed for it to happen.

Ireland is up for the first public citizenship award in Natura 2000 and I ask all of my colleagues to take two minutes today to log on to the Natura 2000 awards website and support Ireland's living bog project. We have 12 raised bogs in Ireland, including one in Mountbellew and two in Roscommon. We are chasing the Italians and the Bulgarians for the award. If colleagues vote for the living bog project and share it, Ireland could win a Natura 2000 conservation award for the first time. We have 2,996 votes against 6,000 for the Italians and 10,000 for the Bulgarian so let us get voting. Our unique boglands inspired our Nobel laureate, Seamus Heaney, so I am sure they will inspire all of us to take two minutes to vote.

As spokesperson for innovation, I call for the support of everyone in the House to maintain the budget for Horizon Europe and European Research Council, ERC, funding. It is important with the challenges we have now to invest in the best. Innovation is the way to answer this and to build a better future. We need to ensure that ERC funding is maintained.