The Deputy does not want to build anything, does he?
Sentiment score: -0.06
You do not want to build anything.
Sentiment score: -0.06
I welcome the Irish Wheelchair Association and the Tipperary Volunteer Centre. We will maybe meet them all again in two weeks at the all-Ireland hurling final. I cannot say, "Up Tipp" or "Up Cork". I am going to try to be neutral but I think people know where my heart is. On the issue of assessments of need, we set up a special Cabinet subcommittee on disability, which met yesterday. There has been progress on the increase in numbers on CDNTs and significant progress on the school-based therapy service for special schools. The Minister for public expenditure has allocated funding for the next school year beginning in September. On assessments of need, and I said this, there will be a change in the legislation to prioritise access for children with special needs to services. It will be a priority that they get access to services straightaway. That legislation has to take place to resolve this, as well as utilising whatever capacity is in the system. I know that Cara Darmody has met with the HSE and with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I share the frustration with this process. I will say two things in passing. First, notwithstanding the fact we await the signing off of the process, not on our side but by the group and the legal representation, a judge has been appointed. We sought nominees for the judge and accepted the nominations that were put forward. Meanwhile, anything relating to health is now 100% available for survivors, as is anything to do with house refurbishment or whatever is required for them. We are very anxious to get sign-off on the process and on judges. We have a HSE liaison co-ordinator who has done very effective work and is working with quite a number of survivors on their needs and so on. I express my sympathies to the family of Jacqui Browne, who was an indefatigable strong advocate for all those who suffered as a result of the thalidomide scandal.
Sentiment score: 0.02
Sorry?
Sentiment score: -0.08
The Deputy called it a transition plan but she is masking her real view that farmers should get out of farming. That is what she is saying. We have a different approach.
Sentiment score: 0.00
No, I have not.
Sentiment score: -0.30
MARA is part of the solution. In 2022 the Government introduced the nitrates action programme. The Deputy knows there is an action plan there. She also knows it is the most robust nitrates action programme to date in terms of water quality. Last August the Department of agriculture and marine published Water and Agriculture - A Collaborative Approach. Progress has been made with a 10% reduction in nitrate concentration in our rivers in most regions. EPA reports have confirmed the trend of a reducing number of rivers with elevated nitrate levels. However, further reductions in nitrate concentration are needed, particularly in the south east.
Sentiment score: 0.15
We are not failing farmers; we are endeavouring to get a sustainable landing zone for all concerned.
Sentiment score: 0.40
I answered some of this earlier in response to a different question. Just to get a sense of perspective, progress is being made even within the existing system. There is no doubt there is a significant increase in people waiting. However, over 4,000 assessments were completed in 2024, a 30% increase on 2023. Some 1,400 assessments were completed in the first three months of this year, a 65% increase compared with the same period last year. A total of 2,479 assessments were commissioned from private providers at a cost of nearly €7 million, targeting the longest waiting families through the HSE's waiting list initiative. We will do everything we can to accelerate procedures, but we need to change the legislation so that we prioritise access for children to therapies. At the moment, the way things are legislated for, it is the assessment of need first and then there is a long delay while they are awaiting access to services. The CDNTs are getting more people recruited and that is also a positive.
Sentiment score: 0.13
Everything has to be evidence-based. The Deputy's assertions-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
The biggest major research into sexual abuse in this country was done nearly two decades ago and was quite revealing. It was not revealing in terms of race or anything like that. It was revealing in terms of the prevalence of abuse across the country. One can argue that was earlier, but it still continues. One can look at all of the inquiries we have had. We had one into institutional abuse in industrial schools and we have just announced today a commission of inquiry into sexual abuse in all primary and second level schools. By definition, given the historical timeframe for that inquiry, it is not a race focused thing.
Sentiment score: -0.32
Get my point. We need to-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
We do need-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
I do not have to prove you wrong. I just told you-----
Sentiment score: -0.24
I mentioned what happened in industrial schools and in schools, in terms of other institutional settings-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
-----long before there was any modern sort of increase in terms of different nationalities coming into the country.
Sentiment score: 0.25
Again, as I said earlier, we are providing funding in the interim both to the HSE but also to private providers. Last year private providers cost about €6.8 million and we have allocated a further €10 million this year to deliver close to 3,000 more assessments and to boost capacity, with new assessment teams and so forth. Perhaps the Deputy could work with the HSE to identify private capacity within the Cavan area. Perhaps that is something we could work on, in terms of providing some resource there in addition to the HSE resource. I know, for example, that there is a zero waiting list for CAMHS in Cavan so it may be possible to do something on a localised basis.
Sentiment score: 0.08
I will engage with the Minister in respect of this. It is my understanding that there is no cutback programme in place. We have been expanding services generally in the further education field but I will certainly bring this to the Minister's attention, with a view to reverting to the Deputy on it.
Sentiment score: 0.28
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I do not know whether the person concerned has secured a personal insolvency practitioner because that is the mechanism to deal with this in terms of engaging with whoever has the loan now. Generally, the courts have been sympathetic to people in their primary family residence, in terms of not evicting. A process of engagement is required to see if a resolution can be worked out that is affordable for the person, particularly given the circumstances-----
Sentiment score: 0.49
Given that the person has cancer, and I do not know the full background of the case-----
Sentiment score: -0.66
Over the last decade loans have been sold but that has not resulted in wholesale evictions, which was asserted at the time. If people engage, generally speaking-----
Sentiment score: 0.17
I do not know the background to this case but if people engage, cases can get resolved.
Sentiment score: 0.63
My understanding is that the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, is finalising work on a draft policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems. He expects to publish it in the summer and will seek to identify and address any public, regulatory or legislative gaps. There is a comprehensive EU legislative framework in place to regulate safe drone operations that is directly applicable in Ireland. These regulations cover both recreational and commercial use, including commercial drone delivery services. The aim of the EU drone regulations is to achieve the same level of safety for drone operations as in manned aviation. The Irish Aviation Authority, which is the civil aviation regulator, oversees the implementation of the EU drone regulations and standards. In addition to complying with the EU drone regulations, drone operators must also comply with national laws, including environmental, planning and privacy laws. While there is a comprehensive regulatory framework in place, I am not so sure everybody knows that and perhaps that is something a Dáil committee could interrogate a bit more. There are areas where the rapid pace of expansion of drone operations has resulted in gaps and uncertainty - hence the development of a policy framework.
Sentiment score: 0.07
Is Ballincollig on the south side or the north side? That kind of argument was used 30 years ago but the bottom line is that light rail will be good for every part of the city. On the Cork city task force, there has been huge investment in Cork over the last four to five years. I have indicated that we will be setting up a Cork city task force but we have to get the terms of reference and the focus right. I agree with the Deputy that the focus should be on the city centre but also the immediate suburbs around the city centre, including the old north central and the old south central, Douglas Street, Blackpool and all of those areas. However, it should not be too broad. As the Deputy will know, there is very significant investment in the docklands, which has been fantastic. The northern distributor road will be looked at in the context of the roads programme. It should happen because of the incredible role Apple has played in providing employment in the area. Up to 6,000 people are working there and the transport infrastructure should match that. I will come back to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.18
The scheme has been very effective. The targets were refined this year by the Ministers for housing and public expenditure with a view to making sure resources are targeted at those who are in immediate danger of homelessness. We do not want local authorities only doing acquisitions as part of their social housing programmes. We want local authorities building new social houses and to do more of that. That, said the Minister is looking at particular cases. He is constantly engaging with local authorities on what could be done. Some €329 million has been allocated to the tenant in situ scheme nationally but we are getting reports that, in some areas, some cases are falling through the net so the Minister is reviewing that.
Sentiment score: 0.06
I will talk to the Minister. The abolition of town councils was a big mistake. I said that at the time, although I was in opposition. I think it was introduced by Brendan Howlin but he subsequently said it was a mistake. I am a great believer in restoring councils or creating new councils in line with the programme for Government. I will have a look at who is on the task force because there are always people who just want to maintain the status quo. Local representation is positive for local democracy and for local areas. I want to see that advance and that is the Government position. I particularly refer to new and growing areas. Many towns around the country had great visionary urban district councils in the past. They did not have a whole lot of money but they had good vision for their areas, which then dovetailed with national plans, resulting in very good cultural, social and developmental progress in towns the length and breadth of the country.
Sentiment score: 0.24
In my honest opinion, Dublin City Council could be performing better with regard to housebuilding and could have performed better over the last-----
Sentiment score: 0.84
I am just saying it. There are too many coming into the House asking for more and more. To be very frank about it, I have watched O'Devaney Gardens and Oscar Traynor Road over the years and it should not take a decade to get agreement on what we do to build houses on a massive site.
Sentiment score: 0.16
There are grants available for derelict buildings and derelict houses.
Sentiment score: 0.23
They are worth up to €70,000.
Sentiment score: 0.23
The grants are available. Is there any proactivity there? I am serious. There is no questioning of anything. Members just come into the House. That is what happens in politics these days.
Sentiment score: -0.04
We want a solutions-based approach.
Sentiment score: 0.08
Any initiative on housing just gets criticised and opposed.
Sentiment score: -0.42
Alcohol is a contributory factor to cancer. The more fundamental issue is to reduce the levels of consumption of alcohol in the country. The significant story is that, from 2000 to now, there has been a very substantial and significant reduction in the consumption of alcohol-----
Sentiment score: -0.03
-----which is a very positive development that the Deputy should acknowledge. The previous Government also introduced minimum pricing for alcohol to target young people in particular in endeavouring to reduce the consumption of alcohol. We have some of the highest prices for alcohol in Europe, which has impacted-----
Sentiment score: 0.20
The regulations have been signed. The Government considers all of these matters. An issue has been raised in the context of the trade and tariffs issue.
Sentiment score: 0.01
I just gave an answer. The Deputy does not like it. On dementia services, I will talk to the HSE and the Minister in respect of what is happening at the Royal Hospital Donnybrook. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, did exceptional work on dementia during the term of the previous Government and improved resources significantly. More generally, we will focus on dementia provision in the budget. I do not have the details here today but it is something we have consistently improved upon in the past number of years and, notwithstanding a more challenging scenario, we are anxious to do what we can for dementia.
Sentiment score: 0.22