We are significantly increasing funding for defence and supporting the Air Corps, the Naval Service and Defence Forces more broadly. Indeed, funding for defence has increased by 30% since 2020 to a record level. It will increase again in the review of the national development plan shortly. We are back in an era of major investment. Deputy Doherty is right, however. It is no surprise to anyone that there are pinch points in parts of our Defence Forces, particularly in the context of particular skills and challenges in the retention of air traffic controllers. We are working with the Defence Forces, the Department of Defence and the Government more broadly to see what more can be done in this regard. Contingency planning will also be put in place. This issue pertains to Baldonnel. We live in a country which has other airports and air bases. We are working to make sure those contingency plans will ensure the continuation of services.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I thank Deputy Ahern. This whole issue of energy security and supply is an important one. We all know where we need to get to in the context of renewable and offshore energy. We know that we need to turbocharge - pardon the pun - getting there in every way we possibly can. It is about a balanced approach, however. We do not want our country to be closed to investment and investment opportunities. I know Deputy Ahern does not wish that either. We are also seeing data centres themselves changing the way they go about their operations. The way forward on this will be for the Government to work on the large energy users connection policy. I would ideally like to see that published in the autumn. It will show what the policy approach should be from here out to the medium term.
Sentiment score: 0.23
I thank Deputy Gibney for her work on this matter on the committee. To add to the point she made, the IT project at RTÉ, which I believe was discussed at the media committee, came to light after the Minister wrote to agencies asking them whether they had anything they wished to tell about the wastage of public money. Deputy Gibney’s point in general about being transparent and up-front would certainly be extremely helpful, particularly when RTÉ has gone through such a difficult period of time. As Deputy Gibney said, it is the ordinary, decent staff out there who are working hard and want to see this organisation go to where it needs to be. The taxpayer, the Government and the people of Ireland have rightly decided to support public service broadcasting. We have provided a way forward. In return for that, we need to see real delivery and a reform plan. A key part of that must include transparency and interacting in a very open way with Oireachtas committees.
Sentiment score: 0.15
I was waiting for the twist in the story. I thank the Deputy for highlighting that issue. To be blunt, there is a challenge in that lots of people around our country want to do the right thing in their own lives with regard to climate. They are finding the schemes we are providing are either not adequately resourced or are too rigid in terms of their application of rules. I am hopeful the Government can address this through budgetary processes and the NDP review. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, about Galway and the fact that there are people ready to go but there is not an adequate degree of funding. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He is right that there are far too many Irish teachers abroad. We would much rather, as would a lot of them, that they were back here teaching. I know this is a huge priority for the Minister, Deputy McEntee. The Deputy will be aware that the Minister made a number of announcements on policy decisions in this regard over the Easter period. They include making it easier for people to get permanent contracts, but also making it easier for teachers to return. If the Deputy wants to send that letter to me, the Minister, or both of us, I will ask her to take on board the points he is making.
Sentiment score: 0.21
It certainly does not sound like it, based on what the Deputy has said. I know he has done a huge amount of work on the issue of access to medication, particularly for those with rare diseases. I met the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association approximately two weeks ago. As the Deputy can imagine, we discussed trade and tariffs, but we also discussed that a new framework agreement is due to be negotiated between it and the State. I made a suggestion at that meeting, one which I think they agree with and which I will speak to the Minister for Health about. The discussion and negotiation are always about the quantum, or how much money we are going to spend on new drugs in the next number of years. However, I think the most important and urgent thing to do in that framework is to spend time to get the system and structure right because we ultimately end up buying the drug but it takes too long and there are patients with SMA, many of whom I met back in the day. That is an example. I will ask the Minister for Health to come back to the Deputy on that specifically, but the new framework agreement is a chance, once and for all, to make a broken system work much better.
Sentiment score: 0.28
I thank the Deputy and Councillor Marie Murphy for their work on this. I was looking into this and there are approximately 17 new special classes sanctioned for County Tipperary for the coming academic year. I think there are nine at primary level and eight at post-primary level. This is in addition to 138 special classes currently in operation in County Tipperary and three special schools in the county which have approximately 409 students enrolled. One of the five new special schools for the coming school year is going to open in Nenagh. I take the point about Ballyporeen and how upsetting this has been. My understanding is that the school received sanction based on potential local demand for special class places and based on the information the school had available accommodation to host a special class. I am sure there are people locally who will contradict this, but I am saying what I am being told. I am being told this was not the case and the school did not have available accommodation and the class could only be supported in an external location property that needed to be rented. The NCSE re-evaluated the situation and was satisfied that the needs of the children locally could be met in another way. I know this is not to the satisfaction of the school or the local community, and in light of the Deputy raising this matter, I will ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, to engage with him on the matter directly.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I thank the Deputy. She is right that we have consistently said that no one should be disadvantaged based on when they entered the scheme. She is bringing forward a suggestion that sounds as if it makes common sense and is constructive, and I thank her for that. In the absence of all the information, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Browne, to look at her proposal and engage with her directly.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I have loads of statistics here and do you know what I am going to do? I will not read them out. The statistics tell me we are doing well in terms of response times and the likes but I also live in County Wicklow, know County Wexford well and know and hear the challenges people raise in relation to this. I am told in relation to the question on capacity that the National Ambulance Service continuously reviews capacity requirements and then feeds that back in terms of investment plans. I will ask that the head of the National Ambulance Service and the Minister for Health engage with the Deputy directly on this. Putting infrastructure in place is important, in terms of where the ambulances are deployed from. We will see a new ambulance base in Gorey. It is expected to progress to detailed design this year. We also have a new ambulance base in New Ross, which involved the purchase of a former fire station. That is investment in two crucial pieces of infrastructure for the ambulance service in County Wexford.
Sentiment score: 0.15
I thank the Deputy. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae thinks that is a great idea so I had better pass that on too. There is a lot of common sense in what the Deputy said. Garda vetting is an extremely important issue. The Deputy says that, I say that and we all know that. We have to support the Garda in making sure we know everything we need to know about people, particularly those who work with children and vulnerable and older people, from a safety point of view. That is not the same as saying we cannot reform the system and use technology to apply a common-sense methodology. I am sure a lot of gardaí would support that. In light of the Deputy raising this matter in the Dáil, I will ask our colleague, the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, to consider the proposals and revert to him directly.
Sentiment score: 0.31
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and bringing to my attention the petition and advocacy of the family of the late Adam. We thank them for that too. I take very seriously the points raised. There will be a new mental health Bill coming through the House relatively shortly and that will provide an opportunity for us to tease through these issues and make sure the mental health structures and laws in place are modern and adequate. They are very much in need of an overhaul. I will ask the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health, Deputy Butler, to come back to the Deputy on the suggestions he made on the commission report, the NHS and funding levels.
Sentiment score: 0.17
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue with me again in the Dáil. As he rightly said, I met a number of local residents, including Ms O'Dwyer and Ms Crowe, and they were very decent people. It is not fair to say I did not come back to them. I listened to them, engaged with them and passed on their views to the relevant Ministers. The description of Ukrainian people being put on buses and not knowing where they are going is not my experience of how these issues are handled. We need to look at the number of Ukrainians in Ireland, State contracts, value for money and the fact people have been here quite a while. People want to get on with their lives and a lot of work is done to try to do that correctly. On the decisions the Department of Justice and Government take around the location of IPAS centres, it is well known it is Government policy to get to a number of State-led, State-owned facilities, including the one in Citywest that we have, and to move away over time from having to use smaller facilities in communities, particularly ones that were used for the likes of hotels in the past. I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and-or the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, to come back to the Deputy directly with an update on Dundrum, conscious of what the Deputy is saying is happening in the community tonight.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I agree with a lot of what the Deputy said in the sense that no parent should have to protest in relation to that. I would just say - the Deputy may or may not agree - that there is not a lack of political will. Everybody in this House wants to get this issue right. I believe the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has engaged with a number of families involved and is willing, as is the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, to do that again. It would be good to see that happen. People obviously have a right to protest and rightly feel strongly about this but engagement directly with the Minister and Department is important and I would like to see that happening. I know the Minister would too. It is our absolute priority to ensure every child in the State has access to a school place. The Department of Education and Youth is continually planning for this and investing in existing and new schools and is also now bringing forward the time at which projections for the following year are made. That needs to happen much earlier. The Minister is working on that. We have seen 400 new special places provided for in budget 2025. My understanding is 399 of the 400 have been sanctioned already. I can get the Deputy a breakdown, which might be useful for the families he is working with as well.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I thank the Deputy. There is a particular poignancy when she raises this issue because I am conscious that she served with distinction as part of our peacekeeping mission. I thank her for her service. I join with her on what is the International Day of UN Peacekeepers in celebrating the vital role that our peacekeepers play across the world. It is now more crucial than ever before, at a time when the global security environment has never been more volatile or uncertain. I particularly think today about the Irish peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon as part of the UNIFIL mission. They are not just promoters of peace but also work every day to support communities, instil hope and make a positive difference to people's lives. I was delighted and honoured to visit them in recent weeks. On international peacekeeping day, I am happy to do as the Deputy asked and confirm that I secured Cabinet approval this week to renew our mandate at UNIFIL for another 12 months. On the killing of Private Sean Rooney, we absolutely will continue to raise the issue at every opportunity. His family needs justice. There needs to be accountability. That must happen and the Lebanese authorities must bring it about.
Sentiment score: 0.40
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. He is absolutely correct. He knows better than I do that there is increasing demand for school places in the Newcastle-Rathcoole school planning area due to new residential development. So far, the response of the Department and Government has included the establishment of Coláiste Pobal Fóla in Citywest in August 2020 and the expansion of Holy Family Community School in Rathcoole. I understand that new large-scale post-primary school projects are going to site this year for both of those schools, which will accommodate over 2,000 pupils. The Deputy's challenge to the Government relates to future protections and demand. I understand that the Department regularly meets representatives of South Dublin County Council on the issue and will keep the need for a school in Newcastle under review. The Minister for Education and Youth will keep in close contact with the Deputy on the matter.
Sentiment score: 0.08
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. My thoughts, like his, are in the first instance with the employees impacted. This decision was flagged by the company in March but yesterday it was confirmed to staff that the decision to close its Irish site will proceed. I understand this is part of the company reviewing its global structure. It has been implementing cost-cutting measures over the past year, which have included the closure and downsizing of other facilities this year and last. I am told that the closure of operations at Castletroy will happen over the next number of months. I assure the Deputy that the Government and our agencies will be on hand to support workers. In terms of immediate supports, the new pay-related benefit will be available to workers. It is instances such as this that highlight the need for the benefit. I understand that the staff involved cover a wide range of specialist areas. They include data scientists and analysts, AI engineers, software engineers and product managers. These are highly skilled people with highly skilled roles. I know the Minister, Deputy Burke, will be working hard with our enterprise agencies to identify new job opportunities for those staff members. The mid-west has, as the Deputy knows, a significant ecosystem in this area. The focus now will be on trying to identify new opportunities for the region and the workers. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Burke, and the IDA to keep in close contact with the Deputy. Specifically on the issue the Deputy raised in respect of Revenue, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Burke, to come back to him.
Sentiment score: 0.26
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is absolutely true that everybody deserves to be safe in his or her home and community. I join the Deputy in praising the community workers and local gardaí for the excellent work they do in the area. I will talk directly to the Minister for Justice about the King's Island area and the need for more support and resourcing for the Garda. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.54