Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Taoiseach. I wish to express my appreciation for his leadership in his various roles since 2017 when he took over the role of Taoiseach. He has prioritised child poverty. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Autism launched a report in June. One of its major concerns was the lack of services and therapies for children, in order to give every child an opportunity to reach his or her potential. As the Taoiseach said, child poverty will be a major focus of the budget. We will prioritise funding for parents and families that have to access privately the therapies the State is not able to provide. That will provide some solace for families that have to go privately and find things difficult.

I also wish to highlight another area of concern. The Cabinet recently passed funding for the N5, which is much warranted for safety concerns and access to the north west. However, the section of road between Mullingar and Longford is the access point to the north west and it presents serious safety concerns. When discussions are taking place with regard to finance for budget 2024, I ask that funding be put in place to allow that project to continue, due to safety concerns and for access to the north west.