Over €1.2m secured for 15 Meath schools under Safe Routes to School Programme
Senator Linda Nelson Murray welcomed the announcement, saying: 'This would mean that children would be able to get to school in a safe way, whether that is by bicycle, bus or walking. This scheme is a no brainer and I want to see it back open.'
She added: 'I would like to see the Safe Route to School Programme reintroduced as there are a lot of schools in Meath that did not get a chance to apply for the scheme.'
'Children are our future, they are our precious cargo so we need to get them to school safely.'
Education Minister and Meath East TD Helen McEntee also welcomed the news in a social media post.
She said: 'The scheme funds small and large-scale projects such as providing 'front of school' treatments to enhance access to the school grounds, accelerating delivery of walking, cycling, and wheeling infrastructure on key access routes to schools, and expanding the amount of cycle and scooter parking available at schools.'
'It is important that we support primary and post-primary students in accessing safer and healthier options for getting to school,' the minister added.
The Safe Routes to School Programme is a collaborative effort coordinated by the SRTS Team at An Taisce, in partnership with the National Transport Authority (NTA) and local authorities. It is an initiative of the Department of Transport, supported by the Department of Education, and forms part of the National Development Plan 2021–2030.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
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Irish Independent
18 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Lack of action on proposal to close key Wicklow artery is slammed – ‘Too little, too late'
These are just some of the words used by elected representatives in Bray following a presentation from the Stop the closure of the Herbert Road campaign group at the municipal district meeting on Tuesday evening. Since Easter numerous protests have taken place in the area, as residents look to call a halt to plans to close what is viewed as a vital access route to the town – the Herbert Road junction – to make way for the N11/M11 Bus Priority Interim Scheme. The campaign group has grown from just 10 key members when it was formed in April to over 2,300 followers and counting on its Facebook page. In recent weeks over 10,000 leaflets have been distributed to local estates. Despite the calls for the scheme to be paused for a review, Wicklow County Council has indicated it will progress with its plan, which is being developed in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), the National Transport Authority (NTA) and the Department of Transport. The council has said previously it is 'committed to ensuring that the closure of each direct access point is considered carefully' and the implementation of any major road improvement features 'will improve journey times for the residents of east Wicklow'. Local resident Clare Finnegan started the campaign from a picnic table over three months ago. Speaking during the meeting she said they won't stop until a proper solution is found. 'The invitation to speak in the chamber here this evening is too little, too late, but we will remain humble, we will grow strong as our councillors continue to do nothing. The core idea of government is that the government is held accountable to the people who elected them. We call on you to do more for our community which needs your support at this critical time.' 'The town of Bray needs a traffic management plan. 773 buses will be delayed over the course of any given day if the closure goes ahead. This junction is a vital artery for Bray - linking communities, supporting businesses, and ensuring access to schools, homes, and the seafront.' 'Despite their critical role in this process, TII has shown little willingness to explore viable alternatives, instead treating this move as non-negotiable, even though the scheme does not depend on the removal of this junction.' 'When we attended the monthly meeting of Wicklow County Council in April, we found the comments from the Chief Executive Emer O' Gorman to be dismissive, with inconclusive information from engineers. We were told bus corridors are the way forward.' she added. Having received a pledge from Ms O'Gorman during that meeting to contact the Taoiseach and Transport Minister about the issue, Ms Finegan also grasped the opportunity in June to present Ms O'Gorman with a letter during the sod turning of the Fassaroe Park and Ride facility asking for an update, delivering a second letter seeking a meeting with representatives from the NTA. Meanwhile churchwarden of Saint Brigid's Church Gordon Lennox warned elected members in the chamber that compulsory purchase orders for the bus corridor will make access impossible for hearses, wedding cars, and anyone with mobility needs. 'The church lies at the bottom of Herbert Road, and it has been serving families since the 1860s. The building is a protected structure. If the county council move ahead with this plan, they may be in breach of its own county development plan. There is also a consecrated burial ground in the church grounds, with many family members of residents buried there.' 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Irish Examiner
21 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Elaine Loughlin: College fees could be the snag that will unravel an already fractious Coalition
The student fees budget row may be just the beginning of an unravelling of an ineffective Coalition. To unravel would suggest that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been working constructively together up until recent days, when the rift over third-level fees emerged. Not the case. With just a week and a half left until the Dáil rises for the summer, members accept that both parties — despite being in government together for the previous five years — have yet to fully settle in and bed down. This has been noted not just at senior level, but right the way down the ranks. Relationships between ministers and their junior counterparts are still very much in the 'building' phase. The departure of several long-serving political advisers at election time means the cogs that keep both sides informed in the background are not yet fully turning. 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The Independents in government have taken up a largely 'silent partner' role this time around, and without the mudguard of the Green Party, an easy target in the last administration, the two Civil War parties no longer have a mutual enemy and are now eyeing each other with increasing distrust. Fine Gael members feel aggrieved, with one senator this week raising what has been perceived as Fianna Fáil's unfair treatment of Helen McEntee when she held the justice portfolio. On the other side of the fence, senior Fianna Fáil sources have pointed out that Fine Gael has been strongly 'marking' a number of Fianna Fáil-held portfolios, such as justice. One minister vented frustration around the level of lobbying and querying from Fine Gael advisers to department officials, suggesting that Simon Harris should be picking up the phone to the line minister instead of using sneaky backchannels. As the third-level row refused to settle down, Fianna Fáil members claim Harris has been overly fixated on his former department. 'He is not the minister anymore' 'He is not the minister any more,' one senior Fianna Fáil source said after the Tánaiste first briefed a private meeting of his party 10 days ago on the student fees issue. Referencing the fact that he brought down fees during his time as higher education minister, Harris outlined a number of budget priorities to the Fine Gael parliamentary party, including measures to reduce the cost of third-level education that would include student fees. Privately, it sparked almost immediate fury within the ranks of Fianna Fáil, with one senior member suggesting to the Irish Examiner that the Tánaiste was 'setting a trap' for the current higher education minister as previous cuts to student fees came out of a cost-of-living pot which will not be possible as part of this autumn's budget. 'It's him [James Lawless] that's the problem' The Budget 2026 spat fully erupted when James Lawless took to the airwaves last weekend, stating that student fees, which were reduced by €1,000 over the past three years, will return to €3,000 as the budget will not contain a cost-of-living package. 'The shite that he has landed us in over this,' one Fine Gael minister said of last Sunday's RTÉ radio interview and a further appearance on Drivetime the following day. 'He rang into a radio station. I've never heard anything like it. It's him that's the problem, it was a non-issue before he went on radio.' In a voice note sent to Fine Gael politicians, Harris also took a direct swipe at Lawless, claiming that the programme for government clearly commits to reducing fees 'on a permanent basis'. Fianna Fáil countered by stressing that a clause at the end of that sentence only promises to bring down fees in 'a financially sustainable manner'. Opposition make hay with Coalition tensions Members of the opposition have made hay on the Coalition tensions, pressing every minister who entered the Dáil chamber this week for a definite answer on fees, none of whom were able to provide absolute clarity. As the debate rumbled on, the Taoiseach was again questioned on the matter in Japan yesterday. Without referring to anyone by name, Mr Martin said: Certainly, I think people perhaps could have paused and reflected, maybe before hitting out, but that's politics. Opening up another budget fissure, Martin then moved to dismiss proposals for a two-tier system of welfare that would see those on unemployment benefits receive a lower increase than other social welfare recipients. It came just days after the Tánaiste said there is 'merit' in unemployment benefit not rising at the same rate as other social welfare payments, such as pensions. Having differences of opinion in any coalition is not necessarily a negative, nor does it signal an immediate election, as long as both sides can constructively work to find consensus. But this Coalition now finds itself in a particular space. It can allow the drift to continue with tit-for-tat counter-briefings and bitching which will eventually render it nonfunctional. Or both sides can consciously decide to end the sniping and make this Government work.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Fury in Fianna Fáil at Fine Gael handling of college fee fiasco
Fianna Fáil politicians took part in the "most heated parliamentary party meeting in a long time" as they fumed over how Fine Gael has handled the third-level fee row. One politician at Wednesday night's meeting referenced former Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar's infamous 2020 comments when he told a Cabinet meeting on Covid, "if we keep doing business like this, we won't be doing business for long". He made the comment at the height of the pandemic amid frustration over how Taoiseach Micheál Martin was running things. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been at loggerheads all week following Minister Lawless' admission on RTÉ's This Week, suggesting that as there would be no cost-of-living package in Budget 2026, the €1,000 off third-level fees will not be repeated this year. He added that fees would revert to €3,000 in September. This has led to backlash from Fine Gael politicians, who have called for clarity in both the Dáil and the Seanad. Maeve O'Connell, Fine Gael TD for Rathdown, went on RTÉ's Liveline on Monday and called for clarity over the fees, stating that there was a commitment in the programme for government to reduce and abolish third-level fees. The Irish Mirror understands that the majority of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting on Wednesday was dominated by discussions about third-level fees and Fine Gael. It was expected that it would focus on the National Development Plan. There was a particular focus on the contributions from Fine Gael Senators in the Seanad, with one TD suggesting that the comments had been "coordinated". One politician reminded the party of Mr Varadkar's comments hitting out at Fianna Fáil and saying that "if this is the way we're doing business we won't be doing business very long". One TD said: "It was the most heated parliamentary party meeting in a while". They also noted that as Taoiseach Micheál Martin was in Japan, politicians felt more free to speak. Another TD said: "When your friends and foes are both acting like this…" Fianna Fáil politicians were also annoyed about the voice note Mr Harris sent to the Fine Gael parliamentary party earlier this week, stating that Fine Gael had signed up to a programme for government that promised to cut student fees. One TD speaking to the Irish Mirror today accused Mr Harris of "stirring the pot constantly". On Wednesday evening, at the same time, the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party was taking place, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael politicians were meeting in a "joint party room" to discuss the nitrates directive with Fine Gael Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon. Sources at the meeting told the Irish Mirror that Mr Heydon was talking about how he needed the support of the two parties on the matter and how everyone needed to act as a "team". Multiple people said that in response to requests for support, one Fianna Fáil senator referenced Fine Gael's actions towards James Lawless this week, noting that he was also a member of the "team". One politician described it as a "mic drop moment", suggesting that the nitrates argument could cause a further rift between the two parties shortly. It comes as the Labour Party confirmed that a protest will take place outside Leinster House next Tuesday from 6pm to protest over the "fee increase". The story dominated Leaders' Questions for a third day this week, with Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy using just 49 seconds of his four-minute slot to ask Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe whether student fees will be €2,000 or €3,000 in September. Minister Donohoe would not give a direct answer to the question but stated the Government is "clear on what that objective is". He added: "We are clear that temporary measures in place when inflation was high need to be looked at as well as how we can put in place other measures that can make a difference to something we know is an acute difficulty for many and those who are already receiving needed supports."
