I pay tribute to the family of Sean Browne for their advocacy and for pursuing this case to seek justice and full transparency and truth surrounding it. In my engagements with the British Government, both as foreign Minister and now as Taoiseach, I have already sought an inquiry. The Court of Appeal has ruled and I think that the British Government has to respond to that ruling. I hope that we could get to a conclusion between the British and Irish Governments on the legacy question more generally so that we would have a permanent structure in place to investigate atrocities committed on all sides. This would be a full and transparent investigation. In parallel but separately, there would be information retrieval for the benefit of families of victims and loved ones who have lost their lives. This level of grief and trauma is generational. A younger generation are coming forward representing families and communities who have not got closure in any shape or form.
Sentiment score: 0.17
First of all, I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. Yesterday, in response to a similar question, I condemned unreservedly the Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. There has to be an independent, prompt and thorough investigation into the killings of 15 emergency responders. As far as I am concerned, they were murdered. The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, tweeted about the matter this morning. I think his words sum it up: More than a month has passed without a drop of aid into Gaza. As aid has dried up, the floodgates of horror have reopened. It's time to end the dehumanisation, protect civilians, release the hostages, ensure life-saving aid and renew the ceasefire. In remarks to journalists he also said, "Gaza is a killing field and civilians are in an endless death loop." What is going on here is horrific. It seems that the Israeli government is hell-bent on collective punishment of the people living in Gaza - it has been doing this for a while - but also on making life a living hell for anyone who lives there.
Sentiment score: -0.33
That is the ESRI, figure, as Deputy Hearne well knows. All Members will be aware that a figure of 50,000 homes a year was identified as being required over the next five years. Very few of the Opposition Members identified how to get there. The tenant in situ scheme does not build houses.
Sentiment score: 0.07
Yes, but it does not build houses. Let us not conflate the two. It is important to prevent homelessness but that scheme does not build houses. The focus has to be on how we get houses built faster and as quickly as we possibly can. I note that Deputy Hearne is quoting Sherry FitzGerald. When the Government used similar private sector bodies last year to identify projections, his party subsequently ridiculed the reliance on private sector agencies for doing that. The Deputy cannot have it both ways.
Sentiment score: 0.05
I am absolutely focused, however. As far as I am concerned, it is a crisis. Young people need to be able to afford to buy houses and be able to rent houses at affordable prices. That is the Government's agenda and we have already allocated an additional €800 million in the first two months of this Government over and above what the provision was for housing.
Sentiment score: -0.05
First of all, I listened to that interview from Kate this morning on "Morning Ireland". It was absolutely horrific what Kate had to go through. The behaviour of those involved was beyond any comprehension that such violence and violation of a young woman could happen in modern society. We have to deal with that on a whole-of-society level, through programmes in education, through the social, personal and health education programme and so forth, and also in terms of the journey of a victim through our courts. The O'Malley report was a watershed. There have been improvements but, as I listened this morning, it was still very clear that the experience of Kate was intimidatory and was very challenging and difficult. Although a conviction was secured and people were sentenced, from that perspective it is a reflection of some of the progress that has been made.
Sentiment score: -0.14
I want to pay tribute to the previous Minister, Deputy McEntee, who did a lot of work in this area over the past number of years. The current Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, is absolutely focused on this and will be hosting a national forum on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence at the end of March.
Sentiment score: -0.12
I will ask the Minister and I will engage with the Deputy on that.
Sentiment score: 0.34
It is on the way.
Sentiment score: 0.00
It is on the way.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I know Newport. I have visited Newport. It is a beautiful town. When a treatment plant is on the way there should of course be full engagement with the business committee or the people living in the town, through the various structures, to identify the progress that has been made and the timelines. This is what Deputy Lawless's question is about. I will check with Irish Water. Deputy Lawless is saying the project is on the way but there is an absence of any clear timeline or explanation for the public. I will work on it and I will speak to Irish Water. If I am not mistaken, and I do not want to be facetious, there is a good black pudding in Newport.
Sentiment score: 0.27
It is in a lovely corner of the town. There is a lovely café there with the little manufacturing unit for the black pudding there also. Am I right?
Sentiment score: 0.39
That is a fair point. For some time I have been hearing Deputies in the House articulating the problem with the delays in getting driving tests, which are crucial for people seeking a job. For the want of getting a test they can be stymied and undermined in this respect. I will speak to the Minister about what we can do in the interim. I appreciate Deputy McGrath raising the issue because it is a real issue for many people out there at present.
Sentiment score: 0.11
I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this issue. There was what was perceived to be a big breakthrough two or three years ago when the then Government allocated substantial funding to enable the first-ever agreement between unions and employers in respect of childcare and a JLC was established. I take Deputy Brennan's overall point. Compared with primary education we are still not anywhere close in terms of comparable pay grades or career pathways in early education. This is not something that can happen overnight but we need to have a fundamental look at it. People are studying and it is a very important area. The child is key in this and any experience for a child in any setting must be developmental and not only involve childminding. We have a distance to go on this. Although real progress was made in the past three years on the pay side, the gaps are still there. There is also the issue of places and freezing fees.
Sentiment score: 0.16
I accept fully what Deputy McGreehan is saying. The existing sustainable rural housing guidelines date back to 2005. The national planning framework fully supports the sustainable development of rural areas. The updated rural housing guidelines are being prepared by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We are looking at the guidelines to change them and make them more amenable to getting more planning permissions through for people. I do want to say that approximately 6,000 one-off houses on average get planning permission every year. We all know of cases involving people on their own land. One-off houses comprise 20% of housing completions in Ireland in the past five years. These are interesting figures despite all of the commentary. Given the housing crisis we are in, the guidelines have to be reviewed with a view to enabling. Elements such as cost are a factor.
Sentiment score: 0.08
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue, particularly on national slow down day. I do not have an up-to-date position on where the working group is at. I will talk to the Minister about the Deputy having raised this issue and will ask him to come back to her directly on both issues, namely, the technology and the working group. We are losing too many lives on the road. We changed the dial significantly in the past, particularly in the early 2000s when significant legislation was introduced, against a lot of opposition in the House and so on. It was the then Minister, Noel Dempsey, who led the way with the late Gay Byrne, who was the chair of the Road Safety Authority. They just went ahead and did it against a lot of political opposition and all of that, but it led to a significant reduction in road deaths, as did the investment in motorways, better roads and so on.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. Flood relief schemes are taking far too long. There is a structural issue in terms of permits and various planning procedures. All across the country the delivery of flood relief schemes is snarled up. There are planning objections, and while people can object, it is taking far too long, with judicial reviews. It is serious because climate change is now. Its impact is being felt through severe storms and flooding. Life itself is in danger and loss of life happens in the context of terrible storms, or indeed potentially of terrible floods. The pace at which flood relief schemes are going is in my view out of kilter with the rapidity of climate impacts leading to more storms and floods. That is something on which I will be working with the OPW, local authorities and the Government more generally.
Sentiment score: 0.05
First, on Ghaelcholáiste Reachrann I will come back to the Deputy. He is looking for the current status and that there will be ongoing communication with the school, which should be happening, and with the parents community in particular. In the case of KRC, the Government has been favourably disposed to any applications for coeducational schools. I will certainly ask the Department and the Minister for Education to look at that specific request as articulated by the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.09
The Minister for Health is here but the Deputy asked me about the public inquiry. I did not jump to the conclusion. It has been a view of mine for quite some time. Of the last two inquiries published, the inquiry on Project Eagle found nothing in the end. Do not get me wrong, that in itself can be a finding, but it cost millions of euro and took years. We need to be honest with advocacy groups and with everybody who talks to us and say that this could take between five and ten years. I genuinely think there has to be a better way to do it. In many ways we are discussing what happened with the spinal operations and the use of non-alloyed springs. We kind of know the essentials now.
Sentiment score: 0.13
We know the essentials in that something unbelievable and incomprehensible happened and it should not have happened. Yes, there are issues around that. We then need to deal and engage on the governance issue. Let us work through. There have to be better ways than the formula of public inquiries, which are not giving people closure or satisfaction.
Sentiment score: 0.31
I will come back to the Deputy on that.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It seems all roads lead to Killarney at the moment. There are a lot of requests in. I will follow that up with the county council. There are a lot of requests in from different local authorities in respect of roads. The costs of them are increasing in terms of when they go to tender and so on. There was a major investment yesterday of €450 million. I will look at the issue and see where we are at. The objective is to try to progress through the different stages as best we can.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I do not disagree with the Deputy. We have a problem in the Cork area. I have a well-informed Minister and Minister of State here who confirm that. Notwithstanding the fact that 24 million hours were allocated for home care packages this year, which is an increase of 7 million hours compared with four years ago, that does not help the Deputy's experience and that of people in his constituency. There seems to be an issue in the Cork and Kerry area that we have to address.
Sentiment score: 0.08
The Minister will engage with all concerned. Curriculum reform, generally speaking, has worked well in Ireland through the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA. There have been many innovative and good and positive developments. I will talk to the Minister in respect of the issues that have been raised. I have no doubt the Minister will engage with the social partners on this matter.
Sentiment score: 0.33
Just to say to the Deputy, I am not aware of the specifics of what he has said.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I am not going to comment on individual cases, but if there is anything untoward - and the Deputy clearly believes there is - there are authorities to which all of that can be reported and properly investigated.
Sentiment score: 0.55
This is an issue with which the Department has been dealing with in recent years with regard to how one exits the unique circumstances that pertained in Covid-19. It has not been easy and it is not easy. There is no easy way to phase out the predictive grades system. I will communicate to the Minister that the Deputy has raised this issue. I have no doubt that the Minister is engaging with all concerned at the moment. To be fair to the Department of Education, the State Examinations Commission and the expert people involved in the grading, it is a complex and evolved process. I hope they will do everything they possibly can to be fair to the students of this year.
Sentiment score: 0.03