Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all Members who raised issues this morning. Senator Casey started today and spoke about the Transport Infrastructure Ireland report and the impact that a lack of progress on major road projects across the country is having. I believe the Senator said the report stated that this lack of progress could lead to an additional 77 deaths and more than 300 serious injuries. It has been well acknowledged publicly that there are now significant delays in progressing roads projects at the Department of Transport. I am assured that this is being dealt with at Government level and that, where the three parties in the coalition Government have agreed to projects in the programme for Government, these projects will be progressed. It is unfortunate that there has been a delay with the N11 upgrade. The inconvenience and disruption this is causing for people who are trying to commute, get to work and go about their daily lives is unacceptable. There are many roads projects similarly affected. I think of the challenges regarding the N17 in Mayo and Galway that were highlighted by the two chief executives where the Minister was not forthcoming with sufficient funds to progress the project. It is an ongoing challenge but it is being taken very seriously and being dealt with at the highest levels in government. The Senator is right to point out that the interim scheme does not take into account the stated objective and plan for Rosslare Europort, which is growing at a very good rate. One of the few benefits of Brexit was the positive impact on that port but that has not been taken into consideration in the interim scheme.

I will request the debate Senator Casey sought on home ownership and the many Government schemes now available to assist people in getting on the property ladder and buying their first home. There is a lot of Government support in that regard so it would be good to have a debate on it. We will arrange that at the earliest opportunity.

Senator Keogan acknowledged that today is the International Day of the Girl and that female genital mutilation is still an ongoing problem and challenge in the country. Despite legislation being in place, we are not seeing prosecutions coming through. I understand that the Irish Family Planning Association has a dedicated team working on the issue. It sees two women a week arriving into the country with those challenges. The issue is still prevalent among people residing here as well. It is important that we deal with that.

On the Senator's comments on the barricades yesterday, a few weeks ago, Members of both Houses and staff were afraid coming to work. That was a really unsavoury episode as thuggery persisted outside the Houses and people were blocked from entering and exiting. However, yesterday's arrangements may have gone beyond what we would have expected. The intention behind those arrangements was to get people in and out of work safely. It was anticipated that there would be significant demonstrations yesterday and nobody wanted to see a repeat of what we saw previously. Had those actions not been taken yesterday and had something bad happened, questions would have been asked as to why action had not been taken. It is a difficult balance to strike but I agree that we are a small country, that we do our politics in a very open way and that politicians are very accessible. It will be a challenge for us to strike the right balance in ensuring the safety of Members and staff while maintaining an openness to our politics and ensuring that people have access. It was very quiet around the Houses yesterday, both at the Merrion Street gate and the Kildare Street gate. You would normally expect to meet people and engage a bit more.