On behalf of Deputy Malcolm Byrne, I ask the Minister to give us an update on the workings of the wage subsidy scheme and any other initiatives that are available to employers and those who have intellectual disabilities and need employment. I believe there is scope to improve the wage subsidy scheme, to include others and to encourage employers to participate more fully.
Sentiment score: 0.62
Does the Minister believe enough is being done to inform employers of the scheme, its benefits and how it assists both employers and those who have an intellectual disability? Does more need to be done to promote the scheme? I come across a lot of people who have intellectual disabilities or acquired disabilities who would like to return to the workforce to do some work and whose health would benefit from being involved in the workforce and working a meaningful number of hours per week. If more was done to promote and expand the scheme, perhaps working with family resource centres and organisations like Talking Heads in Carlow, more employers would take up the scheme. There are plenty of people in the disability sector who would be willing to engage.
Sentiment score: 0.61
I encourage the Department to have an open day where employers can come and meet those who have a disability or those with an acquired disability to see how they can match those who want work with their companies. There are many organisations that are now funded to prepare young people in particular but anybody who is disabled or intellectually disabled to encourage them back into the workforce and to give them the tools necessary to contribute to that work. The employers do not see enough of that interaction and enough of what is available to them from this whole disability sector. I refer to the Talking Heads organisation in Carlow and Kilkenny and to those with acquired brain injuries and disabilities. Much more needs to be done to give them the opportunity to come back into the workforce. They have something to contribute.
Sentiment score: 0.30
The Deputy's time is up. The Minister to respond.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Deputy Ó Broin, allow the Minister to respond.
Sentiment score: 0.23
I am in the Chair. You should not make those remarks, Deputy Ó Broin, unless they are-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
No, hold on a second. You should allow the Minister to answer the question you have put in time.
Sentiment score: -0.03
Deputy Ó Broin, allow the Minister to use his time to answer or leave the Chamber.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I am going to move on to the next question because there is no point.
Sentiment score: -0.30
112. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Transport if the discontinued route 4 bus service from Waterford to Dublin-Dublin Airport and the stops along the route will be reinstated following the withdrawal of a service (details supplied). [46260/26]
Sentiment score: -0.04
I want to raise the fact that Expressway has pulled out of providing services on route 4. We are faced with a public service obligation route being provided from Waterford to Carlow. I attended a public meeting on the matter in Mullinavat and have attended two further meetings since. I want to reflect the anger of the people who attended those meetings regarding the lack of a response from the National Transport Authority, NTA, and the lack of proper explanation from the very beginning of this debacle.
Sentiment score: -0.17
That is a statement of fact, I suppose, in respect of the response given but, in reality, it does not address the real issue of the connection between Waterford and other towns along the route to Dublin and Dublin Airport. There are students who use that route to go to college. There are those who visit the hospitals in Dublin and elsewhere, or those who go to the airport. There are those who are, maybe, socialising and use the bus service. It has been withdrawn. Bus Éireann has shown a total disregard for its customers by the manner in which it withdrew it and by the lack of information it has given. The National Transport Authority has missed the point in relation to the connection through all of those towns from Waterford to Dublin and Dublin Airport. I ask that this route be examined again, that a proper service be provided and that the customers be informed.
Sentiment score: -0.06
We are missing the point here. The customers are central to all of this and their needs must be met in a modern world. The Minister of State talked earlier on about the need to use public transport. We talk about our carbon footprint and so on. This flies in the face of all of that. They are not being given the service in rural Ireland. There is a real problem here in regard to communication and providing the solution to this issue. The only solution is to speak to the customers and put on a service that will provide the same kind of service as Expressway, to do it more efficiently and to ensure that the connectivity to rural Ireland is maintained and enhanced. It is not good enough. I want to repeat that the communication from the NTA was not what I find acceptable and the customers and the public are not being informed. They are not being listened to. Please engage with them.
Sentiment score: 0.04
115. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Transport if he will provide an update on progress regarding approval of the completion of the final two stages of the Kilkenny ring road and the maintenance and upgrade of the existing sections of the same road. [46261/26]
Sentiment score: 0.24
On the completion of the next phase of the Kilkenny ring road, I am seeking to establish what stage the process is at, when it is likely to be approved and when the funding will be made available. I made a recommendation to the Minister, because funding is coming directly from the Department's budget, that the €50 million or so needed to cover the project should be set aside in lump sums each year in order that when the planning process is completed, the necessary funding will be in place.
Sentiment score: 0.21
Just to be clear, there are two issues I am trying to address here. One is the completion of the next phase of the northern part of the ring road around Kilkenny. I ask the Department to liaise with Kilkenny County Council to proactively move that process and consideration forward so that we can get to the point of approval quickly. The completion of that section has been delayed for some time. I see no reason why we cannot look at the final phase of the project in order to ensure that there will be no time lost in completing the full northern extension of that ring road. The second point relates to the fact that TFI looked at the existing ring road and instructed the council to implement safety measures, which it has failed to do. I am asking if TFI will examine the matter again and come up with a more efficient plan.
Sentiment score: 0.07
TFI has failed.
Sentiment score: -0.51
There are a lot of cooks in the kitchen in the context of all of this. Sometimes, too many of them can spoil the dish. I ask that there be some communication between all of those involved, namely Kilkenny County Council, the transport infrastructure people and those responsible for funding in order that the mess they have made of the Black Quarry roundabout might be addressed and to prevent traffic from backing up right along the ring road. There is still a problem with safety that should be addressed. I accept what the Minister of State said about the northern part of that ring road. I will work with Kilkenny County Council to ensure that we move quickly through the process. I again ask for the support of the Department as we do that.
Sentiment score: 0.17
While we are waiting, I welcome a group from Scoil Íosagáin, Coolgreany, who are guests of Deputy Ó Súilleabháin, to the Public Gallery. I hope they enjoy this morning's proceedings.
Sentiment score: 0.59