I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Care Services
I thank the Minister of State for coming in.
I want to raise here again the case of Caitlin Hassan. Caitlin's mum, Louise Hassan, is here in the Visitors Gallery. Caitlin Hassan was sexually assaulted while in the care of Avista healthcare. Since the assault she has had no supports and is currently at home with Louise. Caitlin is deeply traumatised and cannot dress or get out of the bed. She is a young woman who has been completely failed by the State in exactly the same way as in the Grace case.
I ask the Senator to refrain from using names in the House.
I have the full consent of Louise and Caitlin Hassan, and this is a matter that has been covered on the public record in all the national newspapers and on RTÉ, the national broadcaster. All the parties have been named and all the detail has been published, and this is the reason we are here. Here is a family that has been completely failed by the State. To get the help and support they need, many victims of sexual assault have to renounce their anonymity.
On the publication of the report on the Grace case, the Minister, Taoiseach and Tánaiste repeatedly asserted such a case would never happen again in the State. It is happening to Caitlin Hassan right now on the Government’s watch. The multidisciplinary team and Avista published a comprehensive report on the supports Caitlin needs, and she is being denied those. Part of the reason she is being denied them is the legal action Caitlin's mum has been forced to take to vindicate her rights.
If I were knocked down by a drink driver and suffered broken limbs, a broken shoulder and a fractured skull, would the Minister of State deny me medical treatment because of the potential for the criminal prosecution of the driver of the car? He would completely disregard any such process and treat the injured party. Therefore, any legal steps the family in question have been forced to take in regard to the sexual assault and rape of Caitlin Hassan are completely irrelevant. To deny her the medical supports and therapies set out in the report is to add moral injury to physical injury.
When I was talking to Louise about this, she told me it was enough in anyone's lifetime as a mother for her daughter to tell her she has been raped in the care of others. That is enough to be going on with in one lifetime, but to have the resources of the State mobilised against her, to have the State have highly paid legal teams engage in lawfare and accuse her of lying and of a conspiracy theory, and for the State to withdraw all treatments is retaliation and failure. That is precisely what happened in the Grace case and precisely what is happening today. Therefore, I ask the Minister of State to communicate with the Minister responsible for disabilities, Deputy Foley, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. We are not instructed by solicitors; we instruct them, and the Minister is currently instructing solicitors, senior counsel and barristers to fight the family in question – a single mother and her child, who was sexually assaulted while in the care of a State-provided carer, Avista.
The Grace case, we were told, must never happen again. It is happening right now on the Government’s watch. Its members have all been informed. I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Grealish, to take the necessary action and provide the support and immediate care that Caitlin and her mum need.
I thank Senator Clonan for raising this issue. As he knows, I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Health. I also welcome Louise, Caitlin's mom, to the Visitors Gallery. The Senator has raised a very important issue. I will read the statement given to me by the Minister.
The Government considers matters of safeguarding to be of paramount importance and values and appreciates people coming forward to report safeguarding concerns to the appropriate professional bodies and authorities. Although Senator Clonan refers to a specific case which is known to the HSE, he will appreciate that it would not be appropriate to address here the specifics of an ongoing sensitive case concerning allegations with respect to an individual. The HSE, however, assures the Department that, in respect of the case referred to by Senator Clonan, it remains engaged with both the service user and their family and has offered ongoing additional supports, including one-to-one counselling with their counsellor of choice.
In referring to the Senator’s query and the recommendations of a multidisciplinary report, the HSE advises that a clinical multidisciplinary assessment report was recently completed in conjunction with the individual and their family to assess day services needs based on the individual’s needs and wishes. This is being considered by the relevant parties.
I take this opportunity to offer reassurances on the various structures and processes in place within the sector which aim to protect against abuse and provide for appropriate action. A requirement exists for HSE-funded service providers to take appropriate measures to prevent abuse from arising as well as to respond to and report all abuse concerns as per their service agreement, in compliance with the HSE policy on safeguarding vulnerable persons at risk of abuse.
Senator Clonan may be aware that the Department of Health is currently developing a new policy on adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector in consultation with the Department of children, disability and equality. The Department of Health is at an advanced stage in finalising this policy to further strengthen existing protections in this sector. It is expected that these sectoral policy proposals will be brought before the Government in the coming months and that the preparation of related underpinning legislation will commence thereafter.
The HSE’s trust in care policy is in place to ensure proper procedures for reporting suspicions or complaints of abuse against staff members while upholding the dignity and welfare of service user recipients. The HSE states that any trust in care investigation process involves the rights of all individuals involved and these rights must be fully protected to ensure a robust process and outcome in the interest of all parties. The Senator will be aware that fair procedures and the rights of parties involved in such a process must be maintained. That is the message that was given to me, Senator.
With no disrespect to the Minister of State, that response is wholly inadequate. Saying, "We do not comment on individual cases" or, "This is a matter for the relevant authorities" is a rhetorical device that is used by the HSE, the Department of Health and previous Ministers. These are the systemic failures identified quite clearly in the Grace case. When people like Louise and Caitlin renounce their anonymity and come forward, as many rape victims do, such as in the recent case of Nikita Hand, for example, we commend them for coming forward because they want the issue to be addressed. It is not good enough for the Minister or the HSE to say they cannot address it. They must address this individual case. Is the Minister of State not shocked, having heard everything we heard about the Grace case, that this is happening right now on our watch? Rather than spending taxpayers’ money, our money, on supporting Caitlin, they are mobilising those funds in order to fight and engage in inappropriate and adversarial processes against this family.
I am disappointed the Minister is not here. I appreciate the Minister of State coming in. He is a person of absolute integrity and I know he is shocked and upset by this. We can and must do better. This situation cannot be allowed to stand. It cannot be allowed to continue. It is the Grace case before our very eyes and, this time, we have the power to intervene. I ask the Minister to do so.
I realise the passion with which the Senator raises this issue, which is serious for the people involved. I will give the Senator one assurance, that what he has raised here today will be brought to the attention of the Minister. I will do it personally to ensure all proper procedures are put in place to ensure the issue the Senator raised will not happen again and this case is dealt within the proper procedures within the Department.
I cannot talk specifically about the case but the Government recognises the fundamental importance of safeguarding those who may be at risk of abuse, harm or neglect, both in health and social care services and, more broadly, across society. The present-day approach to the delivery of services for vulnerable people is guided by an array of safeguarding advances that have been introduced and built upon. The Senator can rest assured that I will bring this matter to the attention of the senior Minister.
Ambulance Service
I welcome the Minister of State.
I raise serious concerns about the current state of the National Ambulance Service, particularly its impact on rural communities like those in County Laois. Recently, I met local paramedics who were very honest about the chaos they face daily.
Let us be clear, a decade ago regional ambulance control worked far better with quicker response times with local knowledge that saved lives. Since the move to a single national dispatch centre, the situation has dramatically deteriorated. Paramedics are now regularly sent all over the country. A crew dispatched from Laois to Galway could be stuck in Galway overnight. This situation leaves Laois with no ambulance available for long periods.
This is not an abstract problem. It costs lives. I spoke the last day about the impact this had on my own family, but today I want to share another heartbreaking story with the Minister of State. It is the story of Lauren McEvoy and her late mother. On 9 March 2023, Lauren's mother suffered a brain aneurysm at home at The Heath, Portlaoise, County Laois. Despite multiple 999 calls, with an ICU nurse explaining the critical nature of the situation, the ambulance took more than two hours to arrive. It had been dispatched from Clara, County Offaly. Even though Portlaoise hospital is just six minutes away, the ambulances in Laois were dispatched from much farther away than they needed to be. When the ambulance arrived, a further 45 minutes were lost at the scene. It was 10.30 p.m. before Lauren's mother was finally admitted to Beaumont Hospital.
I caution the Senator about mentioning names.
Yes, that is fine. I have permission from the family to mention names.
It was 10.30 p.m. before Lauren's mother was finally admitted to Beaumont Hospital, which was more than eight hours after the first emergency call. Tragically, Lauren's mother passed away shortly afterwards. One year later, the family still awaits a full response to their complaint. It is just not acceptable. We know the National Ambulance Service is in crisis. We are all listening to paramedics in our communities, but in Laois it is costing lives.
Paramedics have also raised with me the worsening conditions they are facing. We know that, in Laois, overruns are now normal, meaning crews regularly miss their breaks and health and safety guidelines are ignored. Staff burnout has reached crisis level and there is an extremely high turnover of paramedic staff. It is clear the system is at breaking point, and front-line workers and communities are now paying the price.
I specifically highlight the situation in Laois. As I mentioned the last day, Laois has just one ambulance base compared with its neighbouring county of County Offaly, which has a smaller population but has two ambulance bases. Laois paramedics and residents suffer disproportionately as a result. I urgently call on the Minister to immediately implement some temporary plan for Laois to keep Laois-based ambulances within a defined radius of Laois until staffing and base resources can be properly addressed. The people of Laois cannot continue to face hours without any ambulance cover. Every minute lost is a risk to life. We owe it to Lauren's mother and countless others to fix this broken system before more lives are lost.
I thank Senator McCormack for raising this issue today, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I wish to update the House on the delivery of pre-hospital emergency care in County Laois and the vital pre-hospital emergency response role delivered by our National Ambulance Service, NAS.
The National Ambulance Service serves the Laois-Offaly region from four bases located in Portlaoise, Edenderry, Birr and Tullamore. All four bases are staffed by a highly skilled workforce of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners. In the past 18 months, front-line ambulance staffing in the NAS Dublin-Midlands health region has increased by almost 10%. The Laois-Offaly region is also served through the national emergency operations centre clinical hub, which advises callers on locally available alternative care pathways, as well as five active community first responder schemes. Further support is provided by the emergency aeromedical support service based in Athlone, as well as the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue service.
I am aware of the recent press coverage concerning ambulance coverage in County Laois, in particular anxiety expressed by local public representatives, including Senator McCormack, that ambulances normally based in Laois are being sent out of the county on other calls. It may be helpful, therefore, if I detail the system of national ambulance deployment operated by the National Ambulance Service. Ambulance resources across the country, including in County Laois, are deployed by the NAS dynamically in line with international best practice. This means the NAS prioritises resource allocation to the highest acuity calls that require an immediate emergency response. The national emergency operations centre has oversight and visibility of all pre-hospital emergency resources nationally. This allows the National Ambulance Service to dispatch resources in the most efficient and effective way, ensuring that the nearest available emergency resource to the scene of an emergency is always dispatched. The operation of dynamic deployment has served to address some of the historical safety issues that occurred under the old ambulance station-based static system, where the nearest ambulance did not always respond to an emergency call. It is the case, however, that, with significant increases in urgent and emergency call activity nationally, which between 2019 and 2024 has seen the total number of calls rise by nearly a quarter, some lower acuity patient calls have, at particularly busy periods, experienced a longer wait for an ambulance.
The Government continues to prioritise increased investment in our National Ambulance Service. This year’s allocation of €285 million for the NAS includes €8 million for new service developments to deliver up to 180 additional posts. This will help to support capacity building in our front-line emergency services, further expand the NAS suite of alternative care pathways and help to further develop NAS specialist services.
As I alluded to, patient demand for NAS services continues to rise, with nearly 430,000 urgent and emergency calls received last year, representing an increase of 8% from 2023. The further development and expansion of alternative pathways of care are, therefore, vital in transforming the delivery of urgent and emergency care, improving patient access to care and enhancing patient healthcare experiences and outcomes. With around 7% of all urgent and emergency calls now being triaged to the national emergency operations centre clinical hub for successful treatment through an alternative care pathway, the National Ambulance Service is committed to the continuous development of these pathways, which preserve front-line emergency ambulances for higher acuity responses.
I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the staff of the NAS and all our ambulance services for their commitment and dedication to patient care, both in County Laois and across the country. I will bring the point Senator McCormack raised to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, Department officials and the National Ambulance Service.
Does the Minister of State need to attend the vote in the Dáil?
Yes, but I will come back.
I propose that the House suspend for the duration of the vote in the Dáil. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 2.54 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 3.05 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 2.54 p.m. and resumed at 3.05 p.m.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I respect he is taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, but Laois and Offaly are not the one county or the one constituency and they are not the one region for the National Ambulance Service. We had regions ten years ago - I think there were 11 regions - and now we have one dispatch centre.
Having spoken to my local paramedics, I know that, looking at Laois and Offaly together, there are four bases, but I am talking about County Laois having only one base and the impact this has on the communities and paramedics. I note the big investment put into the National Ambulance Service but, according to paramedics on the ground, they are still working the same roster they have been for 20 years. The new staff members coming in are covering people who are out on long-term sick leave.
These paramedics are at breaking point, given the pressure they are under. I spoke to a crew member who, on Friday night, was dispatched from Portlaoise to Thurles and then to Clonmel. That is 110 km away from the base. We are in a very difficult situation in Laois. I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister for Health to give urgent consideration to the ambulance service in County Laois.
I again thank Senator McCormack for raising this important matter. In my opening reply I outlined the commitment of this Government, with significant additional funding for the National Ambulance Service in 2025.
I will bring the particular point the Senator has raised in respect of Laois to the attention of my colleague, Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, the Department and the National Ambulance Service. I will ask them - no doubt they will have looked in on this debate - to take on board what the Senator has said.
By way of general observation, as well as additional emergency ambulances, this extra investment in staffing will also benefit patients who do not need an emergency response or to be brought to a busy hospital emergency department. In recent years, as part of the ongoing reform programme, the National Ambulance Service has established a range of see-and-treat alternative care pathways. These include a pathway service whereby advanced paramedics and occupational therapists visit primarily older people in their homes or in community care.
Finally, I reiterate my thanks to the staff of our National Ambulance Service and emphasise the Government's commitment to investing in building further capacity in the service and overseeing continuous strategic reform.
I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the Walsh family and Colin McEniry, guests of Senator Ahearn, to the Chamber this afternoon. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their visit.
Water Services
I rise today to seek an update on the provision for funding for the replacement of older water infrastructure in rural Ireland. I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber once again. I also acknowledge the Uisce Éireann staff on the ground across the country who are doing an exceptional job in often difficult circumstances and with very limited resources. From my experience of alerting the local teams to leaks and outages across my home county of Roscommon, I have always found them extremely helpful and supportive. I would be doing them and the people of rural Roscommon and rural Ireland a disservice if I did not ask for an update and continue to do so.
First and foremost, I welcome the significant progress on Irish Water services in the past decade. Capital investment in water services has increased from €300 million in 2014 to €1.3 billion in 2024 but there is significant work that needs to be done. I note national leakage has reduced from 46% in 2018 to 37% at present and the target is 25% in leakage rates, saving 200 million litres of water by 2030.
After four months as a county councillor, I raised in the chamber of Roscommon County Council the need for the infrastructure in an area from Cloonfad to Garranlahan to be looked at. We called on Irish Water to specifically look at this particular area. It related to the infrastructural network of the organisation. A letter was sent on 12 December 2024, which was proposed by me and seconded by my former colleague, Councillor Paschal Fitzmaurice in Roscommon. Following that, at the beginning of this month, Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice from my constituency raised the issue of Cloonfad, a small village in County Roscommon. On 2 April, he was alerted to the 21st water outage for the village, where a pipe had burst once more. It has been a consistent issue at Lowberry Cross, with the people in that particular area consistently having to put up with water outages.
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. For Cloonfad and specifically for Lowberry Cross, we have consistently tried to put a Band-Aid solution in place where leaks in the pipes have occurred. The same issues happen consistently and repeatedly. I call on the Minister of State to do open heart surgery, so to speak, and replace the actual pipes in the area as opposed to continuing with the Band-Aid solution.
This is just one case. I am sure, with 30% leakage nationwide, that this is replicated in many other rural areas. I would like the Minister of State to address this now so that people living in this area have access to a fundamental requirement, namely, reliable water infrastructure. It is a basic requirement for domestic and business premises, no matter where they are located, but it is also a matter for public health, economic growth and regional equality.
I have numerous examples and headlines from local media over the past four years highlighting the outages that have taken place in Cloonfad and across that particular part of Roscommon. I look forward to the Minister of State's response and thank him for taking this Commencement matter. I know this is not his particular area.
I thank Senator Scahill for raising this issue today. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne, my colleague in the Department. I will give a general response and then address specifically the areas in Roscommon, Cloonfad and Lowberry Cross, that were raised.
I would suggest that Senator Scahill writes directly to the Minister on those particular villages and make specific reference to them. I have no doubt the Minister and the Department will revert to him.
In terms of how the Senator framed the question in terms of a plan for replacement of older water infrastructure in rural areas, at the outset I should advise that the Water Services Act 2007 sets out the arrangements in place for the delivery of water and wastewater services by Uisce Éireann. These services are a matter for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory responsibility for all aspects of water services planning, delivery and operation at national, regional and local levels. The progress of individual projects are matters for Uisce Éireann and approved through its own board and internal governance structures. The Minister has no functional relation to operational matters.
Uisce Éireann supports the Department of Rural and Community Development to deliver specific actions under the Our Rural Future policy. Its key action within Our Rural Future is to invest in infrastructure, including water and wastewater infrastructure, to support the development of rural towns and villages. The small towns and villages growth programme was established in direct response to requirements for rural support under the national planning framework and is one of a number of capital programmes under Uisce Éireann’s overall capital investment plan. This is a national programme to cater for growth in smaller towns and villages where Uisce Éireann has existing infrastructure in place. Local authorities support the programme by identifying communities in need of investment. To date, 39 projects have been confirmed to be delivered through the programme nationally and an additional 11 projects in towns and villages will also be delivered through alternative Uisce Éireann programmes.
The EPA maintains a priority action list, PAL, for areas where it deems wastewater treatment improvements are needed and a remedial action list, RAL, where it deems public water supplies are in need of corrective action. Under its programme to eliminate raw sewage discharges, up to 23 December 2023, Uisce Éireann built new wastewater infrastructure for 31 towns and villages where none existed before, ending the unacceptable discharge of raw sewage into the environment. Uisce Éireann is progressing plans to deal with both lists, reporting regularly to the EPA on progress. Uisce Éireann has ramped up capital delivery for water services and infrastructure, from €300 million in 2014 to roughly €1.3 billion in 2024. The Uisce Éireann strategic funding plan for 2025 to 2029 sets out Uisce Éireann's multiannual strategic investment of €16.9 billion to 2029, which represents an unprecedented level of funding in our water infrastructure. Our water and wastewater infrastructure, however, requires substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring the system up to the standard required of a modern service to provide for population growth and to build resilience in the face of climate change.
I thank the Minister of State. I will read out a communication I got from a hospitality business in Cloonfad on 18 April, Good Friday. The title of the communication was "Absolutely Fed Up". It said that the business was left with no option but to remain closed that afternoon due to yet another water outage in Cloonfad on one of the busiest weekends of the year, the Easter bank holiday Saturday. This, the business said, was beyond frustrating. It said it was angry and disappointed with Irish Water, that this was not the first time it had happened and it would not be the last. It asked how small businesses like it are supposed to survive under these conditions.
I will be in touch with the Minister. I tried to make contact with him last week. I have the support of my Oireachtas colleagues in the Roscommon-Galway constituency on this matter and I have had the support of the Minister of State in the past with regard to water issues, for which I thank him.
I thank Senator Scahill again for raising this important matter. As he stated, he will follow this up with the Minister, Deputy Browne, and his office. The Senator made specific reference to Cloonfad and Lowberry Cross. I will bring that matter to the attention of the Minister and his officials.
On a general note, I reiterate the Department's commitment to the promotion and development of rural communities in addition to the work of Uisce Éireann. More than €143 million of funding has been provided for the period 2021 to 2025 under the national development plan for non-Uisce Éireann investment in the rural water sector. The multi-annual rural water programme is a primary funding stream which provides capital funding to address the challenges faced by rural water sections in maintaining, renewing and developing their systems and networks.
The Department secured record levels of investment in water services by Uisce Éireann in the period 2021 to 2025. This was reflected in budget 2025 when it secured record funding of €2.2 billion, including €514 million of a €1 billion equity investment, for Uisce Éireann to meet the cost of delivering water services in 2025. The overall investment and the specific improvements in our public water and wastewater services support improved water supplies across Ireland, including rural Ireland, and a range of programmes delivering improved water quality in our rivers, lakes and marine areas. This makes a significant contribution to addressing Ireland's needs.
I welcome the group from Salon-de-Provence in France to Ireland and hope they enjoy their trip.
Bus Éireann
Ar dtús báire ba mhaith liom fáilte mhór a chur roimh an Aire Stáit go dtí an Teach an tráthnóna seo. I thank the Minister of State for taking time out of his busy schedule to be here. This is the first opportunity I have had to have a debate with him in the Seanad. I wish him every success in his role. I have no doubt he will bring his usual vigour and determination to that post and will be a great success in it.
I raise the retirement age of 70 years for Bus Éireann drivers. This needs to be re-examined because it discriminates against people who are capable of providing a valued service. Many people feel it is unfair that drivers are not able to continue to drive a bus after their 70th birthday. These people are perfectly fit and healthy, are medically assessed and are licensed to drive a bus, yet they cannot do so due to Bus Éireann's one-size-fits-all policy, which basically means that people aged 70 years and older are considered unfit to drive a bus.
Another issue is that bus drivers aged over 70 years frequently drive commercial and private buses for much longer in life and there is no issue. Typically, a school bus driver will drive for roughly one and a half hours in the morning and the same again in the evening for five days a week during the academic year. It is ludicrous that someone aged 70 is not allowed to drive children to school but can drive a private bus and take the same children 200 miles down the road and back home again with no issue whatsoever.
If the Bus Éireann assessment systems are good enough to determine whether someone can drive a bus at 69 years, surely those same criteria could be used to assess someone who is 70 years or older at a time when we need loads of drivers. No doubt come September this House and the Dáil will be back talking about the shortage of drivers for school buses. It is something that needs to be addressed immediately.
I understand that Bus Éireann has no current plans to address this particular situation but I note it recently reduced the minimum age for bus drivers, which was 23 to 24, to 21 yet it did not see fit to look at the mandatory retirement age of 70 years. In the UK, our nearest neighbour, there is no such age restriction. If you pass the medical and other tests, you are fit to drive, as far as they are concerned. I see no reason why we cannot adopt that same model here in this jurisdiction because clearly, as I said, there is a chronic need for bus drivers. Many who are retired from their life-long occupation now use this particular job as a part-time job as it is only an hour and a half in the morning and an hour and a half in the evening. It is not very taxing or stressful. Many of them enjoy it and they provide a valuable public service.
I look forward to the Minister of State’s response. I sincerely hope the thinking has changed and that we can use whatever influence we have in both Houses to ask Bus Éireann to seriously assess the situation. Someone told me the last time it was raised in this House there were issues of safety once a person is past 70 years of age. We are not talking about someone working 40 or 50 hours a week. We are talking about someone working at most three or four hours a day, five days a week, for the academic year.
I thank the Senator for his very kind words. I look forward to working with him over the next four and a half to five years, I hope.
I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education. As the Senator is aware, the school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, more than 172,500 children are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million km.
The retirement age for school bus drivers has been set by Bus Éireann at 70 years of age and this also applies to all Bus Éireann road passenger services. The policy and criteria also apply to drivers nominated by private operators who operate services as part of the school transport scheme, provided they hold the requisite license and satisfy an annual medical examination until the retirement age of 70 years.
The Road Safety Authority, under the remit of the Department of Transport, committed to reviewing the upper age limit for drivers as it relates to larger vehicles and school buses. This review is now complete. Under the new programme for Government, we have committed to "Carry out an independent assessment on the feasibility of removing the exclusion of drivers aged over 70 from the School Transport Scheme". The Minister will be engaging with the Minister for Transport and with Bus Éireann to advance this.
In my role as an ordinary TD in previous Dáileanna, I constantly raised this issue and I fully support the Senator on this. I will also support it as a Minister of State in the Government. I can see no reason why a person cannot drive a school bus if he or she only does one or two hours in the morning and another one or two hours. It would solve a huge crisis. We have cases where buses are parked because they cannot get drivers. There are parents screaming to get buses to bring kids to school. I know it is not under my Department but I fully support the Senator on this and I will raise it in any avenue I can. I have already spoken to the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Canney, on this and I will meet him about this. He works in the Department of Transport. The Senator makes huge sense in what he is raising. I hope we will be able to find a solution to this.
I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. I am heartened by it. I know he raised this himself in the previous term as a Dáil Member. I look forward to progress being made on the issue. As the Minister of State knows well, the heat will come on come September when we are all inundated with inquiries about school transport.
Does the Minister of State have any idea as to when we might see progress on this important issue? It is a win-win for the families, the school kids and those people over 70 years of age who are perfectly physically and mentally fit. They are well capable of driving, are fully licensed and want to contribute. As I said, it is not overly taxing. The hours are minimal. Does the Minister of State have any idea when we can, hopefully, expect some good news on this issue?
I do not. I spoke to the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, about this when I saw the notice of Commencement matters. I will raise it in every avenue I can. We will hopefully see light to it. I think people can drive an ordinary bus until the age of 90 in the private sector, but not for Bus Éireann. Talking to the Senator, he mentioned that there is a completely different system in place in the UK. Maybe we should look at that. I would like to see something happen. I will raise it with the Minister of State and come back to the Senator. We will try to give him a timeline if some decision, hopefully the right one, can be made on this. I will revert to the Minister of State on the issues the Senator has raised.
I thank the Minister of State.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 3.26 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 3.33 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 3.26 p.m. and resumed at 3.33 p.m.