Mullingar to Longford road
Senator Carrigy supported the N5 project but stressed that the Mullingar-to-Longford section of the N4 is unsafe and also needs funding. He then linked this to the value of starting legislation in the Seanad and called for progress on the public health Bill.
I echo the comments of Senator Murphy. I was delighted for everyone to see that funding has been put in place for the N5 project. To get to the N5, however, people must go down the N4 and they are going through a section of road from Mullingar to Longford that is not fit for purpose.
Comment on this
There are 500 access points on that section. It is as much a safety concern as the N5 because it has as high a number of fatalities.
Funding for that project should continue to be in place to get it to planning permission stage and get it constructed. There were comments in the media yesterday saying the N5 is essential for the north and the north west. The section from Mullingar to Roosky is just as important for the north and the north west and for us in the midlands, so it is not acceptable for the project to be held up.
Following on from something Senator Black mentioned, I met a significant number of early childhood care and education, ECCE, proprietors yesterday. The Government is putting funding in place but from what I heard at a presentation yesterday evening in the audiovisual room, the funding is not filtering down to where it needs to be in the case of a lot of the smaller providers. Senator Chambers mentioned a meeting yesterday with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman. The Minister needs to come before the House and explain to us where the funding is going. Significant funding of €400 million is being put into childcare. Why, therefore, are people on the streets outside Leinster House and why are further small providers prepared to close? It is not acceptable and it needs to be addressed.
In regard to legislation-----
Comment on this
For the Senator's information, in this slot, it is one item per Member, so he is straying into territory.
Comment on this
I will finish on this point. In regard to legislation, I agree with the comments with regard to starting legislation in this House. The Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022 began in this House more than 12 months ago and we had 27 hours of debate. When it got to the Dáil, there was just one hour of debate because it had been so thoroughly dealt with here. This House is a good place for legislation to start. The public health Bill does not seem to be a priority for the current session but it needs to be enacted, especially as kids of ten or 11 years of age are vaping.