Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the ambassador and wish him well during his time here. I have had the good fortune and luck to avail of wonderful hospitality in his country over many years and I look forward to doing so again. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I would also like to be associated with the condolences the House has offered to the Jackman family and to the Fine Gael Party on the passing away of Mary Jackman. I had several meetings with her about 19 years ago. She struck me as a warm, kind and compassionate lady. Those meetings were in connection with Limerick getting ready for the 2003 Special Olympics World Games and the Senator was also involved in that regard. Ms Jackman came to all the meetings we had and she was keen to ensure that Limerick was a part of the vibrant experience and that the athletes, their coaches and their families would have a positive time in the city. I have many happy memories of a special lady.

I support the Order of Business as outlined. Turning to the issues I wish to raise today, I spoke many times about the need for dedicated day care for those suffering from Alzheimer's disease in County Kildare. I am pleased that we have sourced a place. The Alzheimer Society of Ireland has been organising day care of this kind in County Kildare, but there have been five temporary locations. For the last three years, however, there has been no provision in this regard, apart from what could be offered in homes and online. We have now sourced a custom-built area and this development is going to be positive for the people of County Kildare. I thank the Alzheimer Society of Ireland, especially the Kildare branch of the society, chaired by Marie Conlan, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and the HSE. It strikes me, however, that we need to map areas in the country where there are no dedicated Alzheimer's disease services. These services are greatly important to the people living with dementia and to their families.

Regarding the strategic housing development project that has started, and indeed that is now nearly completed, in Newbridge, this involved a decision where the county development plan was ignored. I always thought it was the wrong thing to do. In this case, however, it is a large housing estate and in the associated planning stages, Kildare County Council stipulated that there should be a pedestrian link between the Liffey linear park in respect of connectivity and school safety. These aspects are important. It would now appear that this condition has been revoked and, instead, that walkers and children going to school will be forced to go back out onto a busy road and to use two pedestrian crossings there. Something like this is completely wrong. We must ensure at the highest level that we place a focus on these types of linear walkways in nature. We all used them during the earlier stages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Equally, emphasis must be placed on their role as safe routes to schools. This is a situation where a provision specified in the planning permission, that was relevant, and to which people did not object because they thought it was the right thing to do, all of a sudden seems to have been renegotiated. There is something wrong with this.