Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Further to Senator Warfield’s contribution, I acknowledge the concerns that have been raised. Our priority is children’s health and well-being and it is about inclusion for all. The Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has recently done a report on bullying, including cyberbullying, which affects one in three children. That is shocking and we have to do our utmost to reduce it. I know a consultative approach is being taken and I acknowledge that the Department of Education will do a final round of consultations on a number of the reviews throughout 2022.

I welcome the funding for Ireland West Airport Knock. Just yesterday, we heard incredible remarks from a Deputy in the Dáil on the Galway city ring road. This was a week after the deadline for the connecting Ireland rural mobility plan. I campaigned in Galway and Roscommon to highlight that we do not have bus connections to our towns and cities and that some of the public services in the area are atrocious. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is putting in place a plan to support connections which we desperately need. To where will these buses travel and on what roads will they travel? I am curious about that. Is there a cloud function available for buses? I do not think so.

People in Galway are at their wits' end. I travelled to and worked in National University of Ireland Galway. I commuted for up to six or seven months before I made the decision that trying to commute from Ballinasloe to Galway was pretty much impossible. I would arrive late and I never knew at what time I would arrive. It took 25 minutes to get from Ballinasloe to Galway hospital, which was perfect, but the time it took to travel about 3 km across the city changed from day to day depending on the time of arrival, if I got up early enough, got out of the house at 6.30 a.m. or hit the city at 7.30 a.m. A ring road is crucial infrastructure, which we do not have. Look at the other cities in the world that have this infrastructure. How on earth will we get investment in the west of Galway city and the likes of Moycullen, Clifden and Spiddal?