I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. This is without question the most serious issue to face the Irish economy in a long time. It is clear that the scale of these tariffs will be significant in European terms. Ireland does not believe in tariffs. The European Union does not believe in tariffs and does not want tariffs. The European Union has not started this; Ireland has not started this. Ours is a small open economy and, in my view, the economic model we have followed over 50 or 60 years has brought about significant progress and modernity for and led to investment in Ireland and has facilitated the growth of indigenous Irish companies that have interacted with the multinationals in a very effective way. The bottom line, however, is that, ultimately, to get this into a sustainable landing zone for the future, negotiations are key. The Deputy outlined that part of the approach in designing any countermeasures from the European Union will be the negotiating table. Can we get this to a negotiating table where we could arrive at a reasonable, settled pattern? It will not be the status quo ante. As I said yesterday, the old order is changing. That is regrettable. We are in an era of increased protectionism. That is not good for Ireland or for open economies. We have obviously engaged with the European Union in respect of, first of all, having a cool and calm response and not an immediate response. It is also important that in the design of countermeasures, Europe be strategic and that such measures do not bring more harm on ourselves, on Europeans, as opposed to anybody else. In other words, where we have clear surpluses, it makes sense that we do not invite a doubling of tariffs or further tariffs. That said, this is a very serious imposition on Europe. There will be some response. There are 27 member states. There are different balances across the EU. The car industry will potentially be very severely hit. Some countries will suffer greatly on that score. Our focus is on agrifood - which is a big concern for Ireland - beverages, spirits, food and dairy products and pharma. Working within the European Union, we have to make sure that other sectors are not damaged by any potential countermeasures. The Government's strategy is to optimise the protection of Irish jobs. That is the fundamental objective. One of the most fundamental reasons people to continue to invest in Ireland is our membership of the European Union and the Single Market. American companies are global companies. If they are cut off from European markets, they will diminish. They will tell you they cannot survive without a global footprint. Our membership of that European market allows for the free mobility of European citizens. When companies come to Ireland, they can avail of skill sets from across the European Union. The composition of the workforces in Apple, Google or any of the pharmaceutical companies will bear witness to that. We have moved beyond tax as the key incentive in bringing jobs to Ireland. It is now much more than that. Our investment in research and development over the last three decades has been very significant. There was a step change in that area that brought many jobs to Ireland. These jobs would not have come to Ireland if we had not made those investments in research and development in the late 1990s. Is é an rud is tábhachtaí ná go gcaithfimid a bheith socair agus gach aon iarracht a dhéanamh chun jabanna a chaomhnú. Le cúnamh Dé, beidh cainteanna ar siúl idir na Stáit Aontaithe agus an Eoraip. Is é sin an tslí chun é seo a réiteach i gceart.

Sentiment score: 0.07

A meeting of party leaders will be convened. It would make more sense to wait until we see the announcement on the imposition of tariffs from the US side and the initial response from the EU. We have no issue with a Dáil debate. Next Tuesday would be a more optimal time because we will not have the full information as to what could potentially happen this afternoon or tomorrow. If people want a Dáil debate tomorrow evening, we can facilitate that but I believe we need as much information as we can get. There are no specific tax deals with companies. The Deputy is mistaken there. There are no tax deals. We have a general corporation tax rate, which we have had consistently. We have research and development tax credits that are general and uniformly applied. It is important that we make that point and assert it because-----

Sentiment score: 0.02

-----Ireland's detractors seek to undermine us in making those assertions.

Sentiment score: -0.30

We have always objected to and fought against that idea and notion. We have increased investment in infrastructure exponentially. We have invested in research and development and will continue to do so. The results have been there to see over the last five years. A lot of foreign direct investment has come into Ireland over recent years for a broad range of reasons.

Sentiment score: -0.01

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for making reference to Dr. McMonagle, whose bravery and courage we should salute. I did not get an opportunity to see the footage yesterday evening but I will in due course. Every child in this country has the right to a school place. That is a fundamental constitutional right and it is the function of Government to vindicate it. That is my intention. I have already convened meetings with eight Government Ministers in respect of the disability issue. There will be full co-ordination across the whole of Government with regard to disability. More specifically, on special education, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, are working flat-out with the National Council for Special Education and the Department of Education to ensure a school place for every child this September. Progress is being made. There has been exponential growth in investment in special education overall but that is not enough for parents who today face uncertainty regarding a school place for next September. Some 372 extra special classes have now been sanctioned for this year. This is in addition to the number of classes we already have, which is in the thousands, as the Deputy will know. The ultimate objective is to have a central application system in place for the school year beginning September 2026. The aim is to have it in place by then. We also aim to start accepting applications for that school year in November of this year. The closing date for applications this year was February, nine weeks ahead of last year's. The aim is to give the NCSE and Department of Education sufficient time to identify the number needing placements, to encourage schools to set up special classes and to establish special schools where we have to. As the Deputy will know, we have increased the number of special schools significantly over the last four years. An additional five are to be established this year. We are working flat-out to do everything we possibly can to ensure that every child will have a place next September. Significant issues have manifested in Dublin and Cork. We believe there is a pathway in place such that every child in the Cork area will have a place. I acknowledge that there are still some outstanding issues in the Dublin region that need to be closed off. That is what we are working and focusing on. We will do whatever it takes to make sure the capacity is in place to provide for that. An additional 1,200 places are available this year, bringing the total number to more than 3,900 for 3,275 students. In other words, 3,275 are seeking places but there is provision for approximately 3,900. That is the cover. We want children to have places in their local schools or in schools within a reasonable distance from where they live.

Sentiment score: 0.22

That is our commitment. That is what the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, are working towards to make sure that happens and also for future years. The growth in numbers identifying with additional needs is growing exponentially. If one looks at the most recent census compared with previous censuses, one can see that there has been a significant increase. There are now 3,336 special classes. There will be a further 372 on top of that. We have 124 special schools, 11 of which have opened since 2020. Five more will open this year. There are now 23,400 special needs assistants and 20,800 special education teachers in our schools. That is no consolation to those currently facing issues but it provides an illustration of the enormous part of education provision that is focused and targeted at additional needs education or special needs education, as it may have been termed differently in recent times. That will grow, and we will provide resources to enable it to happen. The focus has to be on a better planning system in terms of a common application, which is part of the programme for Government and to which we are committed.

Sentiment score: 0.39

On Monday afternoon, the Minister received from Ms Nunan, the negotiator who was appointed, her report on negotiations with religious organisations associated with the mother and baby institutions payment scheme. The Minister will have to review that report and come back to Government in relation to it. The Government has not gone cap in hand to anyone. The Government took its own decisions in respect of a redress scheme for those in mother and baby homes. It is quite a substantial scheme, which will total up to €800 million or more. I accept not everyone felt that was enough, but it was a first substantive response by the State in respect of mother and baby homes. There have been other responses in respect of industrial schools and Magdalen laundries which have been extensive. Each of these involved different dimensions. On mother and baby institutions, we will assess the report and see where we go next. We cannot simply go in and raid premises. I am sure the Deputy appreciates there have to be processes regarding the legality of whatever the Government does. Suffice to say that the Government did not wait around for religious orders. In the context of the industrial schools, I recall that the Government at that time was attacked for having a redress scheme and not having a substantive contribution from the religious orders in advance of doing that. The Deputy is correct to say religious orders will utilise lawyers and legal mechanisms to frustrate what the Government is attempting to do. The Government of the day, like the current Administration, focused on the survivors and victims of these institutions. If we had been waiting around for a legal process to try to garner from orders the necessary resources in order to have a redress scheme, we would never have had one. That is the position, unfortunately. Either way, the Government will be criticised and condemned. On balance, however, in trying to respond to survivors and victims, it is better that the State develops independently its redress schemes and endeavours to seeks returns from the religious orders. We will see what we can do and what options are open to us. I have not read or seen the report. I just read a report about it in the media this morning. There are options we can follow in getting contributions from the religious orders.

Sentiment score: 0.09

As I stated, our view is that the orders have a collective and moral responsibility to respond to Ireland's legacy in relation to the mother and baby institutions. As I also stated, we just received the report on Monday. We will assess that report and then consider what options we can take - within the law, obviously - in terms of persuading religious orders in respect of the mother and baby institutions. As I said earlier, it is a matter on which we will have to take advice in terms of the precise and specific issues that pertain to mother and baby homes, which will be different to those that applied to the industrial schools, for example, where the State was directly involved in terms of inspectorial reports and inspections of those schools. It was the State that put many young people into industrial schools, unlike mother and baby homes. The State was not directly involved in the latter. Nonetheless, we will see what is the most effective way to get a contribution from the religious orders and what options are available.

Sentiment score: 0.15

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a key infrastructural issue in terms of facilitating the construction of thousands of houses but also in terms of the broader economy. The existing Uisce Éireann strategic funding plan, which was from 2025 to 2029, was approved last November. That committed over €10 billion in capital investment by Uisce Éireann in that period. There will be further additional investment in the context of the national development plan. We already announced an additional €1 billion allocation in the last budget in respect of receipts from the sale of shares in AIB. We are under no illusion that it will need substantially more capital investment. The water supply project was approved in principle by Government in June of last year. That is a generational project, as the Deputy referenced, in terms of dealing with the deficit and lack of capacity for growth in the eastern and midlands region by supplying water from a hydro power reservoir on the Shannon river. We need people to go with that. We need political representatives to go with that because any delay in that could have very serious consequences for the eastern and midland region. The spend on that is extraordinarily high. Regarding the greater Dublin drainage project that the Deputy spoke about, the current planning application is, it is my understanding, under review. Again, the Deputy mentioned judicial reviews. The new planning Act is meant to streamline that. We have to now implement that and commence it. That was the subject of a lot of debate and opposition in the last Dáil. A lot of people said we were rushing it but it took four years to get from conception to conclusion in the Legislature and to get that Act passed. On the one hand, we are saying our system is too slow - and it is, in my view - in terms of both planning and the utilisation of judicial reviews, JRs. Collectively as a society, we have to weigh up what is important for all of us. Water supply is part of that. What we are saying to Irish Water is that there will be further investment but, parallel to compliance obligations, there has to be increased capacity for housing. We also, I believe, have to look at the option of working with the private sector in terms of water supply and wastewater. We have to just open up and broaden perspectives in terms of how we are going to meet the enormous challenges we are facing, on the housing front in particular, in terms of new connections and new supply capacity. That is something the Government is examining at the moment.

Sentiment score: 0.10

The Deputy has made a number of fair points there. In the context of the national development plan, we will look at some of those issues in terms of, first of all, the need for additional capital funding for water because that is key, in my view, for housing and economic development, particularly in the context of the trade war that is potentially on our doorstep. We need to be very nimble in ensuring that we can respond to the needs of industry, both our own industries and those that may wish to invest in Ireland. Historically, we have always been very strong on utilities, including water availability and connections to the grid. Those two areas of investment in the grid and investment in water are going to be critical in terms of the economic development of the country into the future. I will take on board the suggestions the Deputy has made and we will engage with Uisce Éireann in respect of them.

Sentiment score: 0.22