4. Deputy Mark Wall asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if her attention has been drawn to the fact that no childcare facility has been built within the new national children’s hospital, and if she has raised this with the Minister for Health. [47221/26]

Sentiment score: -0.10

I wish Deputy Ennis the very best in his new role and look forward to working with him on childcare.

Sentiment score: 0.80

That is a very comprehensive reply. I have a couple of questions arising from it. The Minister sent my question to the Minister for Health. Has the Minister for Health come back to the Minister on this? Does the Minister, Deputy Foley, agree with us all that it beggars belief that, when we are spending so much money on the children's hospital, we are not spending any money within that hospital on childcare facilities, given what Deputies Ennis and Kerrane have said about the lack of childcare facilities right throughout the country and the fact that the Minister comes in here every month and tells us that she is doing her best? I have no doubt that she is, but we are spending up to €2 billion on the children's hospital when, as the Minister stated, we are looking at somewhere in the vicinity to have childcare facilities. Given the need for childcare facilities in such a facility and the fact that we want to ensure that consultants and all those employed in the hospital can actually get to work and increase the number of women in particular who can go back to work, does the Minister agree with us that this is a missed opportunity at the very least and somebody needs to come back to us as quickly as possible?

Sentiment score: 0.21

I will take up the Minister's second point, or maybe the other point that she made, about planning guidelines. Is she telling the House that she will now be consulted on all planning applications and that this is a first for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality? Has the Department never been consulted on projects such as this because if that is the case, it is worrying? It is an opportunity for us all to get involved in the planning process but, more importantly, her Department will now be involved in planning applications as we move forward, given the lack of childcare that we have all mentioned. Will the Minister confirm that her Department was not previously involved in planning applications as one of the bodies that would be asked to comment on them and that that has changed? Obviously, that will be positive going forward. Is her Department now getting involved in such planning applications?

Sentiment score: 0.08