John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Last week on the Order of Business I raised local concerns about Rescue 117 and its base at Waterford airport. I said that I did not share the down-beat concerns while understanding the pressing need for clarity.I welcome that clarity and today's Cabinet decision that the four existing bases of Waterford, Sligo, Shannon and Dublin will be specified in the new tender document. I have been raising this matter with the Tánaiste for several months, as I am sure the Leader has been doing with regard to the Dublin base. It is a matter of the utmost importance. Everyone in this Chamber is in awe at the dedication and bravery displayed by the crews of all our search and rescue services on a daily basis.

I also raise the issue of the N24, to which Senator Ahearn also referred. It is the primary connection between the mid-west and the south east, which is of particular importance in the context of Brexit and the onward connections through Rosslare Port. The decision was made just before Christmas to pause funding for this year for the Cahir to Waterford section of that road. That decision needs to be reversed and I ask for a debate with the Minister for Transport on it. Six or seven roads have not been allocated funding for 2022. Some €1.5 million would allow that project to continue through the planning and route selection stages. This has to happen because in order for us as a State to be ready to spend the envelope of more than €5 billion on roads post 2024, we have to have the projects ready to go. It would be prudent of the Government to allocate that small sum of €1.5 million and to change the decision.