Manus Boyle (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State. I have submitted a Commencement matter about Dunkineely National School. I am not sure if the Minister of State knows Dunkineely. It is built on the N56. I would also like to mention Keeloges and Killaghtee national schools, which also have a problem with the N56. The priority today is Dunkineely. It is built on a hill. If you come from Donegal town or Mountcharles, you climb the hill heading for Killybegs and, going the other way, you descend. This issue was raised in 2023 when a car went through a red light at the school and there was a near miss. There were other near misses in January and May 2024. We were told the Department was doing a report. Where is the report? It is two years on and nothing has happened. Will raised tables be in place for September for the children going to school? What is really holding it up? That is what the public ask me. Is it Donegal County Council or TII? People want to know. Thank God nobody was injured at the school on those three occasions. Do we have to wait until something really bad happens and then things will be implemented? I must thank the local gardaí, who keep a high profile there in the morning and evening. People now know coming into the town that the gardaí could be there. That is slowing things down. This is a school. Uncles, aunts, parents, grannies and grandads take the children to school in the morning. Their hearts are in their mouths trying to cross the road. There are big, heavy, loaded HGVs coming from Killybegs and traffic from Donegal town. What is there at the minute is definitely not working. We have to get something as soon as possible. I really hope the Minister of State has the answers with her today.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank Senator Boyle for the question. I am familiar with the area he spoke about. I had the privilege of representing Donegal for three terms in the European Parliament so I well know where Dunkineely is. The Minister for Transport is the person who has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding relating to the national roads programme.Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland under the Roads Acts and in line with the national development plan, the planning, design, improvement and upgrading of individual national roads is a matter for TII, in conjunction with the local authorities concerned.

A priority in the NDP is to maintain the quality and safety of the existing national road network. In the context of the national roads programme capital budget, which is provided by the Department to TII, significant funding has been provided towards the safeguarding of the national road network. In 2025, approximately €15.6 million in capital Exchequer funding was allocated for the protection and renewal of the existing national road network in Donegal. It is important to say that this includes allocations for minor road improvements on the N56.

TII's road safety section discussed the progression of potential safety improvements on the N56 at Dunkineely National School with Donegal County Council at a meeting held in March this year. Donegal County Council is finalising an assessment of potential options at this location. Following this, a report will be prepared setting out the safety measures Donegal County Council proposes to implement, the estimated scheme costs and the expected safety benefits. TII anticipates submission of the finalised report to TII for consideration by the end of June, about six weeks from now. Once approved, any works at this location will be considered for funding in 2026 subject to funding availability.

Apart from that, the Minister of State with responsibility for international and road transport, logistics, rail and ports, Deputy Seán Canney, has responsibility for the safe routes to school programme. I am advised invitations to make expressions of interest for that programme were sent to all primary and secondary schools in the country. A total of 932 schools applied for this programme, which is about a quarter of all schools in the country. A total of 170 schools were selected in round 1 in 2021. Round 2 consisted of 108 schools and round 3 of 141 schools in November last year. The nature of the safe routes to school programme is that all schools which initially applied will eventually enter the programme on a rolling basis. It is my understanding that Dunkineely National School did not apply for this programme.

It should be noted that if a school is not currently in this programme, it does not mean it will not receive any new or improved active travel infrastructure. While there are no plans for an additional call for schools to join the programme, funding for active travel infrastructure for schools is not confined to the safe routes to schools programme. In some cases, schools outside that programme are included in wider active travel projects if they are in the vicinity of these works. I will finish my comments after the Senator's reply.

Manus Boyle (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming in to answer the question. It is disappointing to hear that no money will be made available until 2026. This has been going on since 2023. I ask that the Department pay a visit to the school, along with me, to see the problem. I am here to try to help the people of my area. I hear about this weekly from parents and grandparents. They ask why this is happening in Donegal and they are not being looked after. This happened in 2023. It is totally unacceptable. I do not mean to get at the Minister of State. No funding is to be made available until 2026, but this is a priority. We are here to help people. To say that nothing is available until 2026 is disappointing. I ask the Department to come to the school and stand with me for a couple of hours to see the amount of traffic going past the school and what needs to be done.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Senator. To be honest, I share his frustration. As he said at the beginning, we are talking about children, parents, grandparents, teachers and all in the vicinity who use the school. I am conscious of the importance of ensuring road safety, particularly in the vicinity of schools, but there is an ongoing process. As I am not a Minister responsible for this, I cannot say whether this can be speeded up or what could be done. If the Senator wants to contact me afterwards, I would certainly be willing to contact the Minister to see how we can expedite this in order that children attending that school and their families can feel every effort is being made to ensure the road at the school is safe for use.

Malcolm Noonan (Green Party)
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I welcome to the Visitors Gallery pupils and teachers of Ballycanew National School in Gorey, County Wexford. I hope they enjoy their visit to the Dáil and Seanad here today. They live in a beautiful part of the country and I hope they enjoy the sunshine down there over the weekend.