Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes. This is an important thing to do, so I appreciate that.

I support the Order of Business as outlined by the Leader. Two weeks ago, we had the announcement of an investment of €713 million in our regional and local roads, which is a record amount of money and is certainly very welcome. It includes some bridge rehabilitation works and some surveying around pavements. We need to look at bridges on their own because many of the areas we represent have a lot of old bridges. Between Waterways Ireland, Irish Rail, the OPW and the State, a very comprehensive survey needs to be done on the safety of these bridges. Along with that, there should be a dedicated grant for footpaths because, as we know, our roads are dangerous and many people we represent live just outside our towns and villages. We need more money invested in footpaths, so I would appreciate a debate in this House on trying to attract funding, particularly for bridges and footpaths.

The ACRES payment is a very important payment to support family farms' incomes and biodiversity. I understand that 12,000 farmers have still not been paid the ACRES payment for 2024. Out of this cohort, 2,764 have still not been paid the 2023 payment. This is wrong. We need a streamlined implementation of the ACRES payment, so I ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine come to the Seanad for a debate on this.

The last item I wish to raise involves animal welfare and animal cruelty. I appreciate that Senator Andrews is setting up a cross-party group, which is very welcome. I have had interaction with My Lovely Horse Rescue in the past and have spoken in the past about sulky racing. I see from its social media that My Lovely Horse Rescue has been talking in the past few days about two horses it rescued named Celine and Bastian. It also showed scenes in Dublin recently of horse cruelty. It is beyond time to have a dedicated Garda animal crime unit because when we see the evidence across the country of animals not being treated correctly, it is beyond time that something needs to be done. Again, I would like a debate in this House on that.