On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Deputies for raising these important issues. On 1 April, the Road Traffic Control of Certain Vehicles Regulations 2026, known as Grace's law in memory of Grace Lynch, were signed into law. These regulations implement an explicit ban on scrambler use in any public place and strengthen existing provisions and powers of enforcement by An Garda Síochána. Since July 2023, off-road scramblers have been illegal for use on public roads and it has also been illegal to drive them dangerously anywhere, even on private land. An Garda Síochána has full powers to seize a scrambler being driven dangerously in any location, even where gardaí have the reasonable belief that the vehicle will be driven dangerously, and they can enter the curtilage of a dwelling to retrieve a scrambler after the fact. It has also been an offence to sell or otherwise supply a mechanically propelled vehicle, MPV, such as a scrambler, to a minor since 2004. Regarding the question from Deputy Sherlock, the Government introduced a comprehensive suite of regulations in 2024, a list of which is available, to govern the safe use of e-scooters in public places. Key restrictions relate to an age limit of 16 years, speed restrictions of 20 km/h, the prohibition on use on a footpath and the prohibition on carrying passengers or having a seat. E-scooters which do not conform to the e-scooter regulations are illegal for use on Irish roads. The enforcement of all road traffic legislation is a matter for An Garda Síochána. Regarding injuries caused by, or as a result of, the use of e-scooters and e-bikes, the Department of Transport does not retain specific data on these issues. Our colleagues in the Department of Health would be more suitable for a response on this issue.

Sentiment score: -0.09

The Department of Transport is examining the issue of mandating the use of protective equipment for e-scooters and e-bikes along with other road safety-focused measures. Proposals in this regard are under consideration by the Ministers. The Department is also considering the matter of registration for e-scooters. Any system of mandatary registration requires significant development work to act effectively and efficiently. A registration system for e-scooters would need to address issues including how to verify the identity of individuals who use them, safe and visible placement of registration plates and sufficient resourcing for the registration body. In addition there are no harmonised technical specifications for e-scooters equivalent to EU-type approval for other vehicle types in place across the European Union. These issues would need to be carefully addressed and assessed.

Sentiment score: 0.26

I thank Deputy O’Connor for raising the proposed routes for east Cork. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport but neither he nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. I am sure the Deputy knows that. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority. The NTA works with the public transport operators which deliver the services and have responsibility for day-to-day operational matters. That said, I reassure the Deputy the Government is strongly committed to providing all citizens, including people in east Cork, with reliable and realistic sustainable mobility options. Public transport plays a key role in the delivery of this goal. To support this objective, in budget 2026, the Department of Transport secured €940 million in funding for public service obligation and TFI Local Link services. That was an increase from €658 million in 2025. This funding will go towards funding and subsidising existing public transport services while maintaining targeted fares including initiatives such as the free travel for all children up to the age of nine and the young adult card for those aged 19-25 as part of the NTA's national fares strategy. The Department continues to engage with the NTA to ensure existing levels of service, resilience and driver shortages are considered to ensure that planning and strategic decisions are informed by operational and resource considerations. Some €31 million of this funding has been secured for continued investment in our rural transport service provision in 2026, a 38% increase on last year's funding. This funding ensures continued delivery of vital transport services across rural Ireland, building on the significant increase in funding in recent years. In County Cork in particular, funding increased by 47% between 2024 and 2025, boosting passenger numbers by 95%. The hugely successful Connecting Ireland rural mobility plan is a major public transport initiative developed by the NTA to increase connectivity outside our major cities and towns. Some 185 new and enhanced services have been implemented since 2022, linking more than 240 towns and villages to the public transport network. These services now provide new transport connections to 41 higher education facilities and 61 healthcare facilities and offer 71 connections to rail services, allowing passengers to connect to the wider TFI network. Approximately 600,000 people now have access to these new or enhanced bus services. Increased services have led to exponential growth in passenger numbers, with more than 8 million passenger journeys recorded across Connecting Ireland services in 2025. The expansion of rural bus services has brought life back into our villages, towns and urban centres, offering an accessible and sustainable alternative to travel by private car. The NTA has stated that a number of new routes and route enhancements under the Connecting Ireland initiative are yet to be implemented in County Cork. The timetable for implementation of all new and enhanced services is subject to funding, operational readiness and capacity. The public transport sector is currently experiencing a significant workforce shortage, particularly among drivers and mechanics. Therefore, the focus for 2026 is on ensuring services already in place can operate reliably and sustainably. The NTA is managing the 2026 allocation by prioritising delivery of existing programmes. Decisions on future new or enhanced services are a matter for the NTA, which must consider the existing levels of service and funding availability and reach agreement on priorities with the national co-ordination unit. I assure the Deputy that the Government recognises that transport connectivity is hugely important for people who live and work in rural Ireland.

Sentiment score: 0.33

Rather than rehashing what I was given as a closing statement, I will convey to the Minister for Transport and his officials the points raised by Deputy O'Connor in relation to his constituents in east Cork and about the new routes which are available. He is well aware of the commitment of the Government and the commitments in the programme for Government to continue to roll out public transport services and to provide as much co-ordination and linkages as possible. That being said, there is a backdrop of challenge in getting bus drivers and mechanics in particular, as I pointed out, and that is dampening the progress we are trying to drive. I will convey the message on the Deputy's behalf and on behalf of his constituents.

Sentiment score: 0.28

I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising the issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Heydon. I will convey to him her disappointment at the lack of engagement that she pointed out. Reform of legislation governing dog welfare is a key priority for the Government. In order to bring a coherent approach to dog control, policy and legislative responsibility under both the Control of Dogs Act 1986 and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 transferred to our Department last year. In both cases, local authorities retain responsibility for operational and enforcement matters. In relation to dog breeding establishments, I am pleased to confirm that the dog breeding establishments (amendment) Bill 2026 is being actively progressed. The Bill has 17 heads and addresses three core areas: welfare and breeding standards, sales and record keeping, and administration and enforcement. On welfare and breeding standards, the Bill will place enhanced duties on operators covering the socialisation and habituation of dogs so that female breeding dogs and pups receive the exercise and social interaction that are so important to their well-being. It will introduce a four-litter lifetime limit, extendable to six litters only with veterinary certification, and a cap of one litter per year, giving female breeding dogs rest and recovery between litters. The Bill will also introduce new minimum and maximum breeding age limits, prohibit the mating of female breeding dogs that have had two caesarean sections and impose a ban on inbreeding, addressing a practice associated with severe health problems for dogs and pups. A mandatory minimum staffing ratio of one full-time equivalent staff member per 20 female breeding dogs will also be placed on a statutory footing, ensuring animals receive proper daily care and attention, with a two-year transition period to allow operators to adjust in a timely and responsible manner. On sales, the Bill will ban third-party sales from dog breeding establishments. It will be unlawful for operators to sell dogs under eight weeks of age or to sell them from any premises other than where they were born and reared. Prior to any sale, prospective buyers must be shown the pup’s biological mother on site. Dog breeding establishments must notify local authorities of all sales of pups from their premises. On administration and enforcement, authorised persons will be granted new powers to seize and detain dogs where it is reasonably suspected that an offence has been committed. Penalties for the most serious offences will be significantly increased to a fine of up to €250,000, five years' imprisonment or both. This will bring the sanctions under the 2010 Act in line with those available under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013. At present, the Minister has not included a hard legislative cap on the total number of female breeding dogs at a dog breeding establishment in the general scheme of the Bill. Legal advice indicates that there are difficulties with such an approach. There are also practical issues that would have to be explored further. The Minister is considering the matter. The Bill addresses concerns about excessive numbers through other means. The mandatory staffing ratio of 1:20 creates an indirect but real constraint on establishment size. The strengthened and improved notice regime will explicitly empower authorised persons to require a reduction in the number of dogs on premises where welfare concerns arise. Local authorities also retain the ability to set conditions on the number of breeding females as part of the registration process. This avenue remains open to them, particularly in respect of new applications. The Minister hopes to bring forward this legislation as soon as possible. He looks forward to working with Deputies and Senators across the Houses on this important issue.

Sentiment score: 0.09

I again thank the Deputy for raising these issues. Animal welfare is something we all take very seriously and that we are all very committed to. It is opportune that this legislation is being updated. A lot of the points Deputy Whitmore has made are very valid. I respect her in that regard. I will ask the officials to send the Deputy an update on the two consultations she has referred to.

Sentiment score: 0.22

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I welcome the opportunity to address how we can further increase public participation and interest in the European Union. Our current six-month term of Presidency of the Council of the European Union is a unique opportunity to engage with people across Ireland and the European Union. It is our priority to ensure that the Presidency is experienced by all citizens and communities across Ireland. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, earlier this year set out her intention to maximise 2026 for a genuine reflection and sustained conversation on Ireland's enduring place in the European Union. The Government wants to foster a national conversation on Europe to consider Ireland's membership of the Union and what it means to people today. We believe that EU membership is about being aware of the advantages of membership and making sure these are understood by the public. We want to encourage the Irish public to participate in that national conversation. Alongside the formal Presidency programme, a nationwide outreach and engagement initiative is connecting people across Ireland with the work of the European Union and Ireland's European role. This includes local events, educational initiatives, cultural exchange and community partnerships. The programme is designed to make the Presidency visible, accessible and relevant to people of all ages and backgrounds. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, also recently announced the successful grantees for the communicating Europe initiative 2026. This provides funding to voluntary organisations, educational bodies and civil society groups. The focus of projects this year is on Ireland's 2026 Presidency as well as the related county pairings programme. This pairs counties with an EU member state, encouraging communities across the country to engage directly with their European partners throughout the Presidency term. We also want to strongly focus on young people and efforts to engage with them are at the heart of the Presidency outreach programme. Some of the efforts include a range of resources and activities that have been developed to help children and young people better understand the European Union, Ireland's Presidency priorities and the importance of European co-operation in everyday life. As part of this work, a children's book on Ireland’s EU Presidency priorities is being produced and will encourage young readers to engage with the work of the Presidency and Ireland’s priorities in an accessible way. It will be online, with copies distributed to sixth class students across the country in September of 2026. Additional resources aimed at secondary school students and young people aged 15 to 18 are also being developed to support active citizenship and participation during the Presidency period. Another important way the Government aims to increase public participation and interest in the work of the European Union is through its EU jobs strategy. The strategy, A Career for EU, aims to improve Irish participation and success rates in EU recruitment processes for institutions such as the European Commission, the European Parliament and over 50 EU agencies. It responds to projected shortfalls of Irish staff arising from high levels of recruitment among senior and long-serving Irish officials combined with insufficient recruitment at entry and mid-management grades. The strategy has three focus areas promoting EU careers in Ireland, particularly within the education system and professions, providing training and support for Irish candidates and advocating for reform of the EU recruitment processes. Outreach and awareness raising have expanded significantly, with third level careers events alone estimated to have reached approximately 30,000 students in 2025. Hundreds of Irish candidates received targeted training supports across multiple EU recruitment competitions including EU-specific practice materials and interview preparations. Ireland also continues to work with like-minded member states on structural reforms including supporting the European Parliament's defence of nationally based competitions before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Sentiment score: 0.44

The strategy I referred to, A Career for EU, is delivering results. Ireland has 43 permanent officials at key entry grades in the European Commission as of December 2025. That is up from 30 in 2022. A total of 1,733 Irish people applied to the AD5 competition, which is the first large-scale graduate recruitment competition since 2019, placing Ireland tenth out of the 27 member states on a per capita basis. In January of 2026, Dr. Lorraine Nolan took up office as the executive director of the European Union Drugs Agency. That makes her the third Irish national currently leading an EU agency. There is a lot going on in that space but the points the Deputy raised are very relevant and pertinent. It is certainly something we are going to seek to keep prioritising.

Sentiment score: 0.04

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and providing me with an opportunity to update the House. I am replying on behalf of the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne. Tenancy sustainment, or tenant in situ, is not a stand-alone programme or scheme. It is a priority category under the Department of housing's social housing second-hand acquisitions programme which helps prevent social housing supported households in the private rental sector from becoming homeless. Such acquisitions are an option for local authorities to support households in the most precarious housing situations. They are, and will continue to be, available to local authorities for use as a last resort when all other options have been exhausted. However, they will never be the sole, or even the primary, option. The default first options should almost always be securing the sustainment of the tenancy with the landlord, securing alternative accommodation through the tenancy sustainment and placefinder services, or allocating a local authority or approved housing body tenancy via a new build home or re-let. Where acquisitions are deemed necessary, local authorities may pursue individual priority acquisitions without recourse to the Department once they satisfy the broad parameters and criteria of the second-hand acquisitions programme. A total of €373 million is available for drawdown by local authorities and approved housing bodies under this year's programme. With more than 17,000 persons in emergency homeless accommodation, including more than 5,000 children, the primary focus of this year’s programme is to help households exit emergency homeless accommodation into permanent housing. To this end, the largest share of funding available for drawdown, €150 million, is ring-fenced for acquisitions supporting households out of homelessness. Thereafter, €50 million is available to approved housing bodies for urgent acquisitions for older persons, persons with disabilities, care leavers, etc. The remaining €173 million comprises €157 million for local authority priority acquisitions, including tenant in situ purchases, and a contingency of €16 million for local authorities that have drawn down most of their allocation but can complete further acquisitions and draw down the funding from the Department before the end of the year. Fingal County Council has been allocated an initial €30.7 million, with €6 million and €7 million earmarked for approved housing body and local authority priority acquisitions, respectively. Consistent with the eligibility criteria introduced last year, refurbishment or adaptation costs are no longer an eligible cost for tenant in situ acquisitions. Generally, extensive refurbishments should not be required on these properties. They already benefit from significant Exchequer-funded rent supports through the housing assistance payment or rental accommodation scheme and, critically, must comply fully with the housing standards for rental houses regulations. If refurbishment is required, local authorities need only undertake works necessary to comply with the regulations, effectively ensuring homes are immediately safe, secure and warm. In such cases, local authorities can draw on the significant rental funding available to them through their respective annual budgetary processes. Notably in Fingal County Council, successive budgets have facilitated an increased level of funding to housing maintenance, with an approximate 50% increase since 2020 alone. The 2026 budget includes an additional increase in housing maintenance allocation.

Sentiment score: 0.34

I will absolutely bring the comments the Deputy has made on behalf of her constituents to the attention of the Minister. I will also convey to him her comments on how Fingal County Council has exhausted the process. I will make him aware of that.

Sentiment score: -0.12