I thank Deputy Doherty. The position of the Government remains the same and as outlined in the programme for Government in terms of our concerns regarding the Mercosur deal. A lot of significant work is being undertaken, in particular by the Minister for agriculture and other Government colleagues, to engage with other like-minded countries or those which have similar concerns about the Mercosur deal to ascertain whether the blocking minority remains in place. The Government still has concerns about the Mercosur deal, despite some of the protocols that have been announced. We continue to engage with those like-minded countries and will continue to engage directly with farming organisations. The Government's position has not changed.
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I outlined that the Government-----
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-----remains opposed to-----
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I am not going to be heckled in the House.
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I talk directly to farmers every day of the week.
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I talk to-----
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I thank Deputy Ahern for his question. Obviously, in terms of debating these things, that is a matter for the Business Committee but I have no issue with debates taking place. There is a lot of legislation to get through between now and the Christmas break but I am sure there will be an opportunity to debate and discuss the transport plan. I would make a number of points on it. First, we are investing a very significant amount in the capital budget of the Department of Transport. Second, I do not think it is either-or in terms of road infrastructure or public transport. We need to do both and in all of our constituencies our constituents are keeping us under pressure to do both. Third, the NDP is not the final word on the matter. There will be an annual TII capital plan published for projects below €200 million. I am expecting the first of those to be published in January 2026. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to correspond with the Deputy on it.
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I thank Deputy Rice for raising this important issue. I want to treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves in terms of getting the latest update from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. I will make sure that the Department makes contact with Deputy Rice today in relation to that issue. I will not say anything regarding an ongoing case in the European Union but I know that the consular service in support of our embassy is always very active in relation to these issues. I will link directly with our embassy and make contact with Deputy Rice later today in relation to this case in terms of seeing what supports are being provided and the latest view on the matter.
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I will absolutely ensure that Deputy O'Gorman is also briefed in relation to this situation. I am being intentionally cautious in what I say until I speak directly to the Department of foreign affairs on this because of the active nature of the case that the Deputy has raised today. I appreciate the seriousness of it and appreciate the importance of timely intervention. I will seek the latest from the Department as soon as I leave here and will come back to Deputies Rice and O'Gorman on it shortly.
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I thank Deputy Collins for raising what is clearly a very sensitive matter but he does so with the affected family's consent. I want to reply with the same sensitivity. I am conscious that this is a public forum but my heart goes out to that man and his family in what is an extraordinarily difficult and challenging time. I am also concerned by some of what the Deputy has said there. I will immediately ask the Minister for Health to look into that matter, engage with the Deputy and get back to him directly to see what can be done to assist.
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I thank Deputy O'Meara who represents the people of Tipperary North with distinction and hard work. I thank him for raising this important issue today, which he has also raised with the Taoiseach. This is an issue about which people right across the country feel very strongly. Indeed, I have had a number of meetings with a number of community organisations that are simply asking for the publication of guidelines to bring clarity to this and, as the Deputy rightly says, to update the guidelines. There was a debate in this House last night and the Government position is very clear that those guidelines will be published in 2026. That is the commitment the Taoiseach gave to Deputy O'Meara last night and I am happy to -----
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The Deputy just has to sit over there and ask us to do things; we actually have to do them. We will publish these-----
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Deputy O'Meara makes a fair point. There are 48 of them. When he stands up to try to ask a question, the Deputies try to shout him down. They should give him a second. He is asking a question on behalf of the people of Tipperary North.
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He has a right to hear from me on behalf of the Government. I thank Deputy O'Meara for raising the issue. We are actually going to deliver the guidelines and not just shout about it.
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I thank Deputy Clendennen for his question. This is an issue, as he rightly says, that has been discussed for quite a number of years. A consultative panel was established, as he says, in 2016. I understand that the Department of Justice is holding meetings with individual firearms organisations on request and engages with various firearms stakeholders in other ways, while An Garda Síochána also meets with stakeholder organisations. The firearms consultative panel was a non-statutory forum comprising various firearms interest groups. It last met in 2019. There was a breakdown in relations between some of the major firearms interest groups represented on the panel and the Department viewed that it was not possible for meetings to take place with all groups represented. One of the issues raised during the course of the engagements was the need for more regular and structured engagement between policymakers and firearms users. I understand the Department organised a series of engagements earlier this year. In February, three national forums were held with registered firearms dealers in Wicklow, Limerick and Carrick-on-Shannon, while a further two were held with firearms owners in Mullingar on 19 June. A new forum has been established by the Department involving more than 20 representatives of the shooting community and shooting stakeholder organisations. I will ask the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, engaging with the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, to specifically consider the proposals the Deputy has made and whether any further action can be taken in that regard.
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I agree with Deputy O’Rourke on the point that we all want to see a successful resolution to this. School secretaries and caretakers play an important role in our communities. They are engaging, as is the State, in good faith to try to make progress. I welcome the fact that it has now been referred to the Labour Court. The Labour Court has a strong track record of resolving such disputes. Of course, the State side will engage in good faith to try to find a resolution.
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I thank Deputy Cahill for raising this important matter for Killarney. One can see the compelling case for a need for this in such a vibrant and busy town. CCTV can play an important role in assisting the Garda and acting as a deterrent to crime. I am going from my memory but I thought the policing Act in this House brought in new kinds of structures to try to help to ensure clarity around how CCTV could be rolled out in areas where An Garda Síochána is seeking it. On foot of the Deputy raising it today, I will ask the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, to directly engage with the Deputy, the local authority and the chamber to see whether we can make progress on this.
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My heart goes out to the family of Aoife. We think of them particularly as they approach the tenth anniversary. It sounds like the most horrifically sad and tragic situation. From what I recall, Scouting Ireland may receive money from the Department of children. If that is not the right Department, I will bring this matter to the relevant Minister’s attention and ask him or her to consider the Deputy’s point and liaise with him directly on the issue.
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I remember the long and frequent exchanges in this House around the need for that special school in Monaghan. I am pleased to hear that it is now open but I take the point that there is a need for a permanent building. In the education capital allocation that was recently given to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, there is a significant additional allocation for special schools. I will ask the Minister and the Minister of State to come back to the Deputy regarding that permanent build to see what the timeline is in that regard.
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I do.
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I hope it does not make the Deputy uneasy, but I find myself agreeing with him on this issue. Along with a number of Government colleagues, I must acknowledge, I have been trying to pursue this. There is significant institutional resistance - let us call it that - to what I see as a common-sense proposal.
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I am trying to work my way through it. Someone who is 71 years of age could drive kids to a football match but that same person could not drive the same kids to their school. If it is safe to drive them to the football match, it must be safe to drive them to the school. It has to be logical. Bus Éireann has a very specific view on this. I think they are entirely wrong. On foot of the Deputy’s question – he has riled me up - I will now raise this issue again.
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I will do my best.
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In my new role, I practice prudence every day but I take the broader point regarding the importance of this project. I have heard it from a number of colleagues as well as from Deputy Farrelly. In the context of capital budgets, often capital budgets are announced but not every project moves at the same time. There can often be an opportunity to make amendments or additionalities because not every plan necessarily proceeds in one go. That is obviously not how our processes work. I will join with the Deputy in engaging with the Minister in relation to this and keeping an eye on this project. I know it is one that has a lot of support but I also know there is a very particular congestion issue. Indeed, we have seen comments on the limits on solving any of that congestion issue in relation to roads in recent days. I will come back to the Deputy on it.
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The Deputy is right to highlight this issue. In every report, in particular in the housing report, the need for more apprentices is very apparent. I would just make the point that we are making good progress in the number of new apprentices and in the number of programmes in which apprenticeships are available. We need to make it continually attractive for people to be an apprentice. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy James Lawless, is looking at ways we can do that. Going from memory from my time in that Department, we do have a cost of education paper that comes out each year. I understand that apprenticeships are considered as part of that. Let me ask the Minister, Deputy Lawless, to look specifically at the issues and I will come back to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.24
We do, and we need to see a bit of respect from State agencies for the people's elected representatives. This is a point I make frequently. I have made it this week in relation to one State agency. If an elected representative is trying to engage in a project, they are doing so because it matters to the people they are elected to represent. It is very important that mechanisms are put in place in this regard. Unelected officials will often find that if they engage with elected officials, they can actually roll out a project like BusConnects, as the Deputy suggested, in a much smoother fashion. I will raise that broader issue with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, who I know would be supportive of that idea of plugging in local representatives at that earlier time. I am pleased to hear the progress Deputy McAuliffe has made with the new timetables and the additional drivers. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy.
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I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this issue on behalf of farmers in Wicklow and Wexford. I know the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Martin Heydon, is working very hard in relation to this issue. In fact, he is working very hard on a number of issues, be it the nitrates derogation, Mercosur, and getting a properly adequately resourced CAP with less bureaucracy that works for farmers in the new multi-annual financial framework. I support him in all of that work too. Deputy Brennan is right to highlight this issue. The EU does have very stringent standards, which we know as the sanitary and phytosanitary standards, SPS. They are there to protect everyone - to protect human health, animal health and plant health. The standards are among the highest in the world and they are non-negotiable. They have to apply equally to food produced in EU member states and they have to apply also to food that comes in from other countries. Ireland continues to engage through the Minister, Deputy Heydon, and others in relation to all of these issues, and also in ascertaining if the blocking minority in relation to Mercosur is still in place. The Minister, with the full support of the Government, is very actively involved in all of these issues. I thank the Deputy for raising it.
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Deputy Tóibín raises a very important and very serious issue. We have seen a very large increase of about 500% - that is the figure in my mind - in unaccompanied minors presenting. I am sitting beside the Minister of State with responsibility for migration, Deputy Brophy. It is a reality that an increasing number of people are now travelling by themselves and they present to the international protection office as minors without any family members. Age verification is an important part of the international protection application process. The Government had a meeting with Tusla on this just this week. The age identification process and the possibility that people presenting as minors may not be minors presents significant child protection issues. The Deputy is correct that it is an area of concern. These concerns are being addressed with the new statutory scheme now being set out in the international protection Bill, which will be introduced into these Houses very soon. The new legislation will set out in far greater detail how age is to be assessed, which I think is the core of the Deputy's point, by a multidisciplinary team. It will also provide for regulations governing the standards, qualifications of personnel and so on for the purpose of that process. We have different views on the EU asylum and migration pact but, as required by that pact, the Bill would also make provisions for the appointment of representatives to assist and safeguard the interests of unaccompanied minors.
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