As the Leader knows, Lá Fhéile Bríde is almost upon us. I hope everybody has a good bank holiday weekend. It is important to remember the legacy of Brigid. She was somebody who showed great compassion and she supported unmarried mothers and supported farmers. She is the patron saint of the honeybee and of agriculture. There are celebrations right around the country but particularly in Louth and most certainly in Kildare. I encourage those who have the opportunity to go and remember this remarkable woman, who is the only female patron saint of our country.

This morning I went to a networking meeting for County Kildare Chamber of Commerce. It was great to see the new chief executive, Peter Mahon, along with the new president, Ruth Murphy, with a really dynamic group of different types of business. There was incredible vibrancy, ambition and enthusiasm among all the members in the room. There is a concern, however, about indigenous local businesses. In Kildare we have excellent services, boutiques, bookshops, gift shops, etc., and I know it is the same for all our towns right around the country. However, while people use their choice to buy online and not support local, it is really difficult for those businesses to survive, let alone thrive. While the Government certainly has a role, and I would like to see a debate with the Minister, Deputy Burke, about how we can support bricks-and-mortar businesses, which bring such life into the centres of our towns, it is also important to encourage everybody to shop local and to support our local businesses because they are the ones that employ our relations, our neighbours, our communities. They are the ones that support the draws and all the different types of charity events we have. I would like to see the Minister come in for a debate about that.

This morning we saw the national development plan reissued in terms of the priorities for schools. I spoke here last week about the replacement school that is so badly needed for Curragh Community College and I am glad to reconfirm that that is a priority on the list released this morning along with a replacement school for St. Anne's Special School in the Curragh, the PBS in Newbridge and the Cross and Passion school in Kilcullen, all providing incredible educational experiences. It is really important that these projects get to start as soon as possible. Also, when I had the Commencement matter with the Minister, Deputy Naughton, we spoke about the emergency works for Curragh Community College. I confirm that once that application is in, the Minister has said she will treat it with priority. It is not actually in yet. We are awaiting that from Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board, KWETB.