Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise three issues. One relates to a bus link for Rathangan. I spoke two weeks ago about public transport in respect of the need to extend the short-hop zone and create a medium-hop zone. Most certainly, rural transport deserves to have its place too. There are a number of issues I want to raise, from a lack of connectivity to absolutely deplorable reliability. I have been working closely, or trying to work closely, with the National Transport Authority on a number of problem routes in my area, south Kildare. One is the 129 route from Kilcullen to Newbridge. The bus on this route is well known for not turning up at all. The 120 bus route is an ongoing saga. In many cases, people attempt to use the 120 to get to work but unfortunately it does not arrive.

Rathangan, my home village, has been trying to get a Local Link bus service to run every day, including Saturday and Sunday and in the evenings, as the transport links are almost non-existent. Rathangan's population has been growing and it has many new estates. It is unacceptable that the links are not much better than they are. There is only one Transport for Ireland bus, which runs twice daily from Monday to Friday, at 6.50 a.m. and 2.30 p.m. There is no connectivity whatsoever on Saturday and Sunday. We also need to connect Allenwood and Rathangan, particularly to service those who work at and want to visit Lullymore Heritage Park. I call for a more regular and reliable bus service for the people of Rathangan that will cater better for those living in villages and provide better onward connectivity for commuters.

I also want to raise an equestrian issue. We have a top-class equestrian sector in Kildare and, indeed, the rest of the country. In this regard, Ireland is renowned right around the world. Kildare is at the heart of the sector. Unfortunately, Brexit has had repercussions that have affected domestic breeders. At a recent meeting with Ms Cathy Grassick, chair of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, she told me there has been a decrease of 27.5% in the number of mares in the past two years. That represents a huge loss of income for Irish breeders due to Brexit. There are many knock-on effects. There is a loss of income to Irish stud farms and ancillary services such as veterinary, farrier and transport services. Therefore, thoroughbred breeders are experiencing significant hardship. The declining numbers have coincided with a strengthening of the UK-based stallion pool and an anti-competitive scheme for British born, bred and sired horses in the form of the great British bonus scheme.We need to have an extension of the IRE Incentive scheme. I am asking that the Brexit readjustment fund could be used for that. We could have a debate on it.

I want to propose an amendment to the Order of Business. I propose that No. 22 be taken before No. 1, which relates to the climate survey from BelongTo that I raised last week. It is and should be of huge concern to so many of us. I acknowledge the work of the Minister, Deputy Foley, in this area; the review that the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, is currently doing; and, of course, the announcement last week that there would be an upskilling for teachers in relationships and sexuality education, RSE. In 2019, the Oireachtas education committee did a very thorough report. It engaged with 54 different sets of stakeholders and produced an all-party group of strong recommendations that should be put in place to help support our young people to have healthy relationships and address inequality, human sexuality, gender identity and, of course, the influence of digital media.