I thank Deputy for the work he is doing and for highlighting this. I welcome the people with us today and their heroic actions. I thank the Deputy for highlighting that too. I take seriously the point the Deputy made about lifeguards. I live on the coast as well, in Wicklow. In all weather, but particularly in this weather, people tend to flock to the beaches and flock to our seas. There is a legitimate issue around lifeguard numbers and the likes. I will certainly talk with Government colleagues in relation to that and I am happy to engage with the Deputy on it. Dublin Bay is a beautiful place. I was at Raheny United last week. I met some young people in a coffee shop who said they were all friends with Deputy Barry Heneghan. I said "I know him." It was good to be out in the constituency with my colleague, Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí. Dublin Bay is one of our greatest natural amenities. I welcome the ongoing work by the Dublin Bay task force, chaired by Dublin City Council, aimed at improving the bathing water quality further. The Department of housing, along with Uisce Éireann and the local authorities, are now funding UCD's Acclimatize 2 project to carry out a study identifying and targeting pollution pressures as well. The Dublin Bay bathing water task force - that is quite a mouthful - will work closely with the research team in UCD as well. I recognise the point the Deputy made that people are swimming outside the summer season. The bathing water quality amendment regulations were published to allow local authorities to define the bathing season in their own area, which was meant to be an important step forward as well. I take the point on the issue of public transport. People will flock to an area like Howth. I know the Minister for Transport is working with the National Transport Authority, with Iarnród Éireann and with the Deputy to increase DART capacity and reliability. We want people to have confidence that they can choose public transport and not have to queue for a significant length of time. I join the Deputy in remembering the young girl who tragically lost her life at Burrow Beach. Any such loss is absolutely heartbreaking. Everybody in this House extends their thoughts to that family and community. There is more we can be doing in terms of amenities and the point the Deputy made around that. We talked about water quality but also the visitor experience and things like public toilets and changing facilities, so that people have a more enjoyable, healthier day but also that the local community, when so many visitors come in, feel the area can cope in terms of the right amenities being in place. A lot of the issues here involve different agencies and levels and involve a bit of joined-up thinking. This is the approach we are trying to take. Perhaps what the Deputy might like to do is to outline to us from this conversation the various issues in Dublin Bay. I will undertake to liaise with the relevant Ministers and agencies on the Deputy's behalf to try to co-ordinate some of this response and come back to the Deputy and engage further.
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I do not want the Deputy getting the wrong idea that I went to Raheny and did not invite him. It was a Fine Gael members' coffee morning. I was not sure whether the Deputy was ready for that invitation.
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To balance my comments - what was the name of the-----
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I met Conor in a good coffee outfit outside Raheny United.
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They were very pleased to see the 9% VAT rate coming in next week. They spoke fondly of the Deputy too. The issues the Deputy raised are serious and I take them seriously. We are seeing bathing water quality continuing to be high overall nationally. Around 98% of our sites are meeting or exceeding the minimum standard. That is good. They are EPA figures. It does not take away from the Deputy's point in relation to Dublin Bay. The work of the Dublin Bay task force matters to all of us. I look forward to the outcome of that UCD research project, which is trying to identify the main causes of pollution here and what we can be doing more proactively regarding that. I have huge respect for the work of the Coast Guard, as well as for the resourcing of it, including its facilities. I will certainly speak to the relevant Ministers on those three issues and ask that they come back to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.19