The 2021 Act introduced a change in the law to allow for the sale and consumption of alcohol in relevant outdoor seating areas where the use of those areas has been permitted by local authorities on public land or private land next to a licensed premise. This was emergency legislation that was brought in during Covid. Five years later, we are still dealing with six-month extensions of that legislation. I am a member of the justice committee and am aware that there is legislation pending in this area. Hopefully, that legislation will get through the Houses of the Oireachtas sometime this year because it is important that we get the regularisation of outdoor seating areas on a permanent footing. It is important that we do that instead of coming in here and doing this every six months as we have done for the past number of years. It is apt that we are talking about this today. I went for a walk on my lunch break. It is gorgeous out. The weather is beautiful. I walked down streets that previously would not have had outdoor seating areas and saw people sitting out and enjoying a coffee or an alcoholic drink, having a bit of food and socialising. That brings the city to life. It brings a new vibrancy to our city. It is the same in villages and towns across the country. It is important that we support this. We also need to look at the broader supports that are given to our villages, towns and city centres to make them safer and more welcoming spaces and at how we invest in public amenities and help small local businesses to get started and to thrive. Unfortunately, the policies of successive Governments have hollowed out our villages, rural towns and city centres. Organisations like Clondalkin Tidy Towns need to be better supported. The latter is a voluntary group of community activists. It was established in 2012 and it seeks to restore pride to Clondalkin village. It does sterling work for the community and is unselfish in its aim to make Clondalkin a better place for us all to enjoy. It gets good support from South Dublin County Council, but the latter is often hamstrung by budgetary and bureaucratic issues. One recent example was when the Tidy Towns group tried to get some storage space in the village area. This was met with resistance from South Dublin County Council. To me, providing a storage space to a vital organisation that volunteers in our village to make it a better place is a no-brainer. Even today, Clondalkin Tidy Towns had to resort to a Facebook post calling on South Dublin County Council to power-wash the streets of our village. This would not happen if the local authority was given an adequate budget by central government. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers in the Clondalkin Tidy Towns group for the unselfish work they do for us all to enjoy and benefit from. The Government would be much better off trying to revitalise our villages. It must ensure that there are proper public services, including access to GP services, good public transport and enough gardaí. It must ensure that our towns have proper amenities for our young people. Unfortunately, what we have seen in villages in Dublin Mid-West such as Clondalkin and Lucan and others is the proliferation of unregulated vape shops. These brightly lit shops entice young people with their colours, lights and advertising. The packaging is aimed at children, and it is not uncommon for children in school uniforms to be seen going into these shops and coming out with vapes. I am aware that the Government is bringing forward legislation to tackle this scourge in our communities. However, it is too late for a generation of young people who are already hooked on nicotine. The Government has set aside one hour today to extend the provisions of the 2021 Act to make our cities more vibrant and user friendly. If it had dealt with this previously, we could now be dealing with issues that are directly impacting our cities at the moment. I want to talk about the horse-drawn carriages in Dublin city centre that are to be found just around the corner from where we are sitting. Dublin has a rich cultural history of proper urban horsemanship. Horse carriage rides are synonymous with the south inner city. It is very sad to see this being eroded as a result of a lack of regulation. We have a situation where have responsible carriage operators who are fully licensed by Dublin City Council are working alongside rogue operators who do not have proper certification. Whenever there is no regulation, there is a disregard for animal welfare and the welfare and cleanliness of our city. Steps need to be taken to ensure that this industry is regulated and that our city is properly looked after. While the purpose of this motion is to deal with street furniture to make our city a better city for all, Dublin City Council has put in place planters along St. Stephen's Green to impede the horse-drawn carriages from parking there safely. I have asked the council to remove them. Perhaps the Minister for justice can do the same, because this is an area that is in his constituency. We need to respect the culture and history of responsible horse-drawn carriage operators who look after their animals and who are also endorsed by animal welfare groups like My Lovely Horse. Discarded nitrous oxide canisters are another blight on our towns and villages. The Government has delayed my legislation to tackle this issue by nine months. In that time, we have seen more reports on the health impacts on young people of nitrous oxide misuse. Earlier today I received information from Fingal County Council to the effect that it disposed of 4,900 canisters in 2024 and a further 4,000 in 2025. The council also reports that it costs €11 to dispose of a single canister. Walk around any area and discarded nitrous oxide canisters can be seen lying in our parks and on the sides of our roads. Every one of them costs the local authority €11 to dispose of, which is bonkers. In the past two years, Fingal County Council has spent nearly €100,000 disposing of these canisters. I previously mentioned how Dublin City Council is on course for a 490% increase in the number of canisters collected. The Government has also committed €3 million this year for waste management for all the nitrous oxide seized by customs. The Government knows that this is an issue. It is allocating millions of euro to dispose of canisters but it is doing nothing to regulate the use of nitrous oxide. My legislation, which the Government has delayed, would not only lead to cost savings, it could also save lives. I have written to the Minister for an update on the proposed national working group that is to be established to tackle the issue of nitrous oxide. I want to know why it has taken six years to get this matter on the agenda. The Government needs to get serious about this. The Government often accuses those of us on this side of the House of not bringing forward any solutions. I brought this forward as a solution. I gave it to the Government gift wrapped and it kicked it down the road for nine months.

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We all do.

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