Senator Mary Seery-Kearney

The office of Taoiseach has been occupied by many great men. Today, the baton is passing from one of these great men to another.

Fine Gael Senator for Dublin Rathdown, Neale Richmond, has welcomed the announcement that Stepaside Garda Station is to reopen but has warned that proper resources need to be made available to ensure the station serves the local community.

Fine Gael TD for Carlow, Pat Deering, has welcomed the announcement that Leighlinbridge Garda Station will reopen under a second round of re-opening of Station announcements.

This afternoon Leo Varadkar, Leader of Fine Gael, addressed the first meeting of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party since his election as Leader.

The pilot-scheme initiative that I am announcing today is one of ten tasks of The Creative Ireland programme for this year.

"I had a series of meetings today with Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin, and Independent Ministers and TDs.

Strong jobs growth, falling unemployment and an expanding workforce are clear indicators that there is strong momentum in the Irish economy, according to Fine Gael Cork Senator, Colm Burke.

Fine Gael Dublin Rathdown Senator, Neale Richmond, has encouraged local groups to apply for newly available environmental funding to help improve their local areas.