3. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [15162/25]
Sentiment score: 0.00
The tenant in situ purchase scheme was a means of saving people from homelessness. It is frightening that Louth County Council, which was provided €18.884 million last year for social housing acquisitions, has only been provided €12 million this year. That is a reduction of 36%. The previous Deputy spoke about the tighter constraints and conditions. In my engagement with Louth County Council, it said it will be able to apply this scheme to fewer people. People in the same circumstances as those who previously were saved from homelessness will not be saved now. There needs to be a rethink of a scheme that actually saved people from homelessness. I ask for a timeline for the publication of rural housing guidelines. We were told they were with the Attorney General over the summer. We all know the difficulties people have. They just want to know that they will, if they follow decent planning conditions, be able to build and live in the areas they are from. It is necessary. We have to look at planning as it concerns the modular and log cabin-type buildings discussed earlier. Like everyone else, I have been contacted by multiple people. We need to get on with that work. I understand it is a solution for a small number of people but it is necessary. We need to look beyond what is being spoken about at the moment.
Sentiment score: 0.08
15. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach to report on his attendance at the AI Action Summit. [15163/25]
Sentiment score: 0.00
The AI Action Summit issued the Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet. That sounds wonderful. It is how we deliver it and what our plan is in this State in that regard. We all know the dangers of artificial intelligence in the sense that it is the garnering of information and machine learning on a huge level, or on steroids for want of a better term. That can be used for good and ill. It is how we wed the absolute necessity that we are part of this in the context of innovation and the breakthroughs there may be in medicine and education and all around while, at the same time, having sufficient protective regulation. We have all seen the damage that has been done and we all know there are insufficient supports and protections in what social media companies can do at this point. That is only one part of the danger in this regard. Therefore, it is how we set out with a real plan on delivery as regards innovation and beyond, but also that we have that regulation to protect those who are vulnerable at this point in time because of big tech. Many times it will go where the money is and not necessarily where people's rights are.
Sentiment score: 0.18
25. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the work of the policing reform implementation programme office in his Department. [16859/25]
Sentiment score: 0.00
This is not the first time I have given out about the divisional structure. I have said many times that I am not sure the most sensible solution was combining Louth and Cavan-Monaghan into one area with a single superintendent. We all get the idea of streamlining, but the issue, as Deputy Carthy said, is that the number of gardaí to operate the system is insufficient. There is a major issue with community gardaí - we do not have enough of them - and with specialists units. We await the arrival of community safety partnerships. There is huge unease about the fact the joint policing committees, JPCs, are not meeting. An absolute requirement we have is that there be engagement. If someone googles Dundalk and north Louth, they will read about recent violent assaults. I hope the victim of one of these assaults is doing well. We have had contact with members of the child's family, but we need anyone with information to come forward. There were also the recent arson attacks in Doolargy in north County Louth. We need a fit-for-purpose structure and we need engagement on the part of elected representatives and other stakeholders in the context of ensuring that we have a fit-for-purpose operation, which is not currently the case. The local authority will speak about the fact that it is not sure how exactly the community safety partnerships are going to get up and running.
Sentiment score: 0.05