In the first instance, the Government has sanctioned legislation to ensure RTÉ comes under the aegis of the Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General. That will give the Oireachtas a specific mechanism to hold RTÉ to account regarding the types of expenditure the Deputy has just described. It is for RTÉ to account for that. The Government does not run RTÉ. We allocate funding, principally for balanced public service broadcasting, because it is the national State broadcaster, but the Government does not in any shape or form defend any excessive or unnecessary expenditure of the type the Deputy outlined.
Sentiment score: 0.08
The Tánaiste and I have met the Irish Thalidomide Association four times over the past eight months. All of the meetings were cordial and positive. We are anxious to get things moving. We have provided comprehensively and substantively in respect of issues relating to health needs for the entirety of the lives of people impacted by thalidomide and in terms of independent living and any supports that are required in that respect. There have been ongoing issues in terms of how we deal with the Contergan situation. There are other aspects that have been positively progressed. We are anxious, on the Government side, to progress this as speedily as possible. I can assure the Deputy of that.
Sentiment score: 0.28
I outlined earlier in my comments to Deputy Bacik that the Government and Irish society have made significant progress. The target of 51% is very challenging, but we have made a hell of a lot of progress in onshore wind, which has been quite dramatic. In April, the third month in a row, onshore wind represented 50% of electricity generation here. Solar is really moving at pace now and, from all we can see, will continue to do so. It went from zero to replace coal as the third highest source of indigenous generation in less than a decade. I could go on. I mentioned the 1 million extra homes. It is important that we are all honest. Every day in the House - I am not referring to Deputy Whitmore because she is committed and consistent-----
Sentiment score: 0.11
Let us understand and acknowledge the challenges. Wind farms are objected to and are a source of huge issues across the length and breadth of the country. Solar farms are now becoming a significant issue that people are not happy with.
Sentiment score: 0.03
People are against gas generation stations as well-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
-----and the bottom line is we cannot switch on lights if we do not have more and more renewables. The consensus is not out there in relation to that in society more generally.
Sentiment score: 0.00
There is a challenge and a problem here in terms of the regulatory frameworks governing what is a new phenomenon of drones providing services like delivering coffee or whatever else to people in residential areas. I do not understand why people cannot just go to a café, socialise and so on or why people think a drone is necessary to deliver a cup of coffee or whatever. It is something I do not comprehend, and I do not think needs to happen. There is a big issue here. Residents are concerned about residential amenity in terms of noise and about potential privacy concerns. On the other hand, drone technology has probably been one of the fastest growing technologies, which we cannot ignore either. Companies are developing the technology for all sorts of applications. We want to see that develop, but we do need to protect our neighbourhoods. The planning authorities-----
Sentiment score: 0.14
-----and the Irish Aviation Authority need to come together on this. I have asked Ministers to work on it.
Sentiment score: 0.04
There are fundamental issues with the insourcing model as it evolved. We are talking about people working in tertiary public hospitals who are being paid already. There are issues of which we have to be very conscious in terms of making sure that we are not paying twice for the same procedures or services. There have to be clear lines of demarcation. We are always open to engaging with perspectives people may have on this, but certainly there was a significant hue and cry about this when the scale of it was revealed. It has caused concerns. Then the HSE investigated some aspects of it and some of what it came up with was not ideal at all or optimal in terms of how we should deploy public resources.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I was almost wishing the leaving certificate upon us given the very tough, wet winter we had. I said that surely when the leaving certificate comes around we would get good weather. Lo and behold, we have scorching weather, which is unfortunate for the students involved. It seems to be the case every year that there is a burst of sunshine at this time. I hope it will create a good backdrop to what is a very significant exam for the students. We wish them well. The good news is that there are many routes to help them get to their desired qualifications and careers. On the school caretakers and secretaries, that matter is being dealt with by the labour relations machinery at the moment. I have been discussing it with the Minister, Deputy Chambers. I pay tribute to school secretaries and caretakers. They are an indispensable cog in the wheel of how schools operate. I accept what the Deputy is saying. The objective is to have this resolved before the commencement of the next school year. Hopefully, it will be resolved long before then.
Sentiment score: 0.28
I would be a very enthusiastic supporter of what the Deputy has articulated in respect of more facilities. Local authorities have a key role in the zoning of land and the designation of lands. We were fortunate in Cork city over the years that successive city councils and city CEOs saw the value of land for playing pitches. I have always contrasted that with the Dublin experience, which I find, frankly, poor in terms of the length of lease it gives clubs and the capacity of clubs to develop their facilities, and State agencies likewise. I will not go too far but the bottom line is we were fortunate in the sense that, outside of Dublin, many clubs had 100-year leases or own the land. I would be in favour of making sure that more councils look after clubs of all codes and community facilities.
Sentiment score: 0.40
Overall, funding is increasing in health and continues to increase dramatically and exponentially, certainly for the past five years.
Sentiment score: 0.57
The Limerick surgical hub is expected to be operational in quarter 4 of this year. Medical assessment units are extending services. Opening hours have been extended from 8 a.m. until midnight in Ennis and Nenagh hospitals. Overall, significant progress is being made in the HSE Mid West region on both waiting lists and waiting times. Compared to December 2021, the April 2026 total waiting list in HSE Mid West has reduced by 12%. The average length of time that patients on lists have been waiting has also reduced from 15 months to 6.3 months in the same period. There are challenges but increased capacity will help. As we discussed earlier, the contract has been signed for the next 90-bed block.
Sentiment score: 0.11
I am not aware of the specifics of that case. It seems a fairly unusual one in terms of the interaction of a potential wind farm with radar. Normally, the aviation authority has a role in housing, for example, close to an airport, which I would be familiar with. It is difficult to understand how things got to the stage they got to. An Coimisiún Pleanála has made its decision but I am not sure it would have as wide an impact across the country as it has had in the specific circumstance the Deputy raised.
Sentiment score: -0.13
The Deputy should not be condemning himself so much. It is only 16 months that this Government has been in place. The idea that we are not getting to 50% because of the past 16 months is nonsense. The Deputy must know that. Policies take a lot of time to bed in and deliver. The last Government did a lot, including Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens. The Green Party does not have a monopoly on climate. What is the Deputy saying? Is it that what happened when he was in government was not sufficient? He cannot blame the last 16 months for where we are. We have made progress. The targets are significantly challenging. The Deputy knows that - he always knew it. His former leader always knew it as well, so let us have a bit of realism here. The Deputy cannot just say that because his party lost the election, suddenly everything has gone south in terms of environmental and climate policy. It has not. One of the challenges is you need to work with people, not browbeat them, lecture them and hector them into climate change. That is one of the challenges. It is a concerning issue but we have made progress. Our population has grown dramatically. The Deputy should acknowledge that, too.
Sentiment score: 0.10
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I know he has been advocating strongly on behalf of children and families in Cavan-Monaghan. Those counties have been facing some of the longest waits in the country for children's therapies. The root cause of that has been a chronic staffing deficit. At the Deputy's instigation, the Minister, Deputy Foley, visited the region recently and acknowledged directly that the system was not serving children and families as it should. However, there is a national recruitment campaign. Since 2020, about 40 therapists have been recruited in Cavan and Monaghan, bringing the total to 117. The national children's disability network team, CDNT, recruitment campaign attracted over 500 applications. Appointments are actively being progressed and staffing has increased by 28% nationally. That is about 448 additional whole-time equivalents. Waiting lists are coming down. The Minister is also changing the modus operandi in terms of how things will be done.
Sentiment score: 0.11
First of all, there has been very significant investment in GP services, significant increases in recruitment and additional placements and positions in our third level colleges. Parallel with that, there has also been the expansion of pharmacy in its role in primary care, which should not be dismissed either. I would argue that a lot of investment under the various negotiations have occurred in respect of primary care and particularly in terms of GP care.
Sentiment score: 0.59
I am going to come back to the Deputy on that. I will talk to the Minister in respect of that specific issue but the idea that there has not been investment or significant resources allocated to GPs needs to be questioned.
Sentiment score: 0.20
It is happening.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I will ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to have a look at that issue and to give some background information to the Deputy in respect of it.
Sentiment score: 0.48
I have been a lifetime advocate for family resource centres and, in government, Fianna Fáil has always been very supportive of them. That is why we approved in the last budget ten new family resource centres. The Minister also levelled up certain family resource centres because there were different levels of core funding to different centres. I will talk to the Minister to see what we can do in the forthcoming Estimate in the context of the core grant to such resource centres because I do believe that they provide a very strong, multidisciplinary and holistic facility and service to communities and families.
Sentiment score: 0.45
I will engage with Iarnród Éireann on this. A lot of expansion is happening and there are a lot of costs attached to it, investment required and so on like that. On the specifics of what the Deputy has raised, I will communicate to Iarnród Éireann his concerns in terms of the lack of frequency of such services.
Sentiment score: 0.15
I fully accept the urgency and seriousness of this for those who require Skyclarys. The engagement between the HSE and the company has perhaps at times been problematic. When I saw "problematic", delays have taken place, but meetings did happen. I will talk to the Minister again to see if we can get an outcome to this as quickly as we possibly can for all concerned.
Sentiment score: 0.11
I think I was at the site some time back, albeit not when the school was operational. It was a private school for many years and came over to the public system in 2012. It is an historic listed building. It is my understanding that modular provision has been made. I am getting a lot of prompts from behind me from the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who is very familiar with the issue as well. It is an historic building and in fairness to the community there, it provides a significant contribution to education. The modular buildings will hopefully deal with the interim requirements, but I take the Deputy's overall point in terms of a new school building.
Sentiment score: 0.10
Broadly speaking, I favour what the Deputy says in terms of a proper regulatory framework. In many instances, established practices and existing laws have not been comprehensive enough to deal with all of the issues relating to road safety, including the general safety of people, and there are also the issues of equine welfare and animal welfare concerns. The welfare of equines is protected by legislation. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to build on existing inspectorate supports across the country, ensuring a consistent approach to dealing with horse welfare. I understand that correspondence has been exchanged this week between the Ministers for agriculture, Transport and justice with a view to arranging an initial scoping meeting at official level. That is the first positive step in this, and we will bring the three Ministers and their Departments together to get moving on this.
Sentiment score: 0.55