We are listening, we are acting. It is an important and serious issue. We have made a lot of progress in relation to improvement to our cancer services over a sustained period. Under the current national cancer strategy, we have already allocated €105 million to support our cancer services and an additional €120 million in direct investment in radiation oncology centres in Cork and Galway to address the radiotherapy equipment needs. Funding has been allocated in this year's capital plan to progress a linear accelerator replacement programme under way at St. Luke's radiation oncology network in Dublin as well and I expect progress on that very shortly. My understanding is that the Department of Health and the HSE are developing a strategic infrastructure programme to plan for replacement and expansion at public radiation oncology services.
Sentiment score: 0.03
I rarely disagree with the Deputy, and I do not mean to be argumentative, but that woman in Wexford received penalty points because she was speeding not because there was a lack of signage. Speed kills. I encourage people to put up correct signage, but we are living through a road safety crisis. Static cameras are an effort to try to assist people. Nobody likes to get penalty points. If you obey the rules of the road, you will not get penalty points.
Sentiment score: -0.21
Before answering, I would like to welcome the young people in the Gallery from the Youth Advocate Programme, Foróige and Springboard Family Support Project, all of whom appeared in front of the Joint Committee on Children and Equality. Deputy Keogh, the Chair of the committee, asked me to say that. They were before the committee in respect of the topic of online safety, which, I assure them, is something we always discuss here across the political divide. Listening to young people's voices is an important of that. Go raibh míle maith agaibh for your contribution. In the context of this crisis, we cannot afford say we are the Government and this is our idea, you are the Opposition and they are your ideas and because they say it, it is a bad idea and because we say it, it is a good idea. Some of the ideas the Deputy's party has put forward around solar panels merit serious consideration. It has been a constructive contribution to the debate; I say that sincerely. We believe we are doing a lot more to try to help people make the transition. The figures show some progress, and there has been a 186% increase in people accessing grants. However, solar is an area we can go further on. If the proposals of the Social Democrats are constructive in relation to that, they will get proper consideration by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Government as a whole. I know that, and I know that the Minister has engaged constructively in respect of this matter. On energy credits, I have to keep making the point - because I really believe it - that an energy crisis in the winter is very different to an energy crisis in the summer. We are not ruling out further interventions that may be required. At this stage, however, we are not quite sure where the energy situation or the war will be. We continue to keep the matter under review.
Sentiment score: 0.18
The short answer is that I will speak to my colleague the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, in relation to this. Thankfully, we live in a country that has had full employment for 16 consecutive quarters, but we are not in any way complacent in saying that. We are seeing a churn, for want of a better phrase, in the jobs market. There is no room for complacency. That is why IDA Ireland, which had its most successful year ever last year, and Enterprise Ireland are receiving a lot of Government support.
Sentiment score: 0.22
On the Deputy's point about the need to have a plan for replacement jobs in Laois and the use of IDA Ireland land is a fair on, as is that which he makes around people's quality of life and traffic congestion. We believe passionately in balanced regional development. On foot of the Deputy raising this matter today, I will ask the Minister to speak to IDA Ireland and to come back to him directly.
Sentiment score: 0.29
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue again and for acknowledging Deputy's Aird's interest and work in this area as well. I am very sorry to hear of those extraordinarily painful, difficult and sad situations regarding children. I will seek an urgent update from the Minister on the specific drug and the condition to which it relates and on the Deputy's broader point regarding early access. I am taken by the point the Deputy made in respect of the process, particularly as, quite frankly we are now in a vastly different situation, from a funding point of view, in relation to new drugs than we were when I was Minister for Health. The drugs budget now is €4 billion a year-----
Sentiment score: 0.12
I take that point too. I think €1 in every €8 in the health budget is now spent on drugs. The Deputy's particular point about rare diseases and the need for Ireland to significantly up its game in terms of an early access programme is serious and sincere. I will ask the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to come back to him directly. Considering that this matter comes up too often in the House, perhaps we could facilitate time for a proper detailed debate on it in order to hear everyone's ideas.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue with the housing assistance payment. As he rightly says, the law is clear about people not being able to refuse a tenant on the basis of HAP. He is also right to highlight the fact that there are sometimes people trying to skirt the law in this regard. I will bring those comments to the attention of the Minister for housing. The second issue he raised about rent limits is important and I am pleased to tell him the Department has now undertaken a review of all the existing HAP rent limits to ensure there is sufficient support under the HAP scheme to assist eligible households to access accommodation in the private rental sector. It is intended that the review process will conclude before the end of quarter 2, so this summer. We will have an opportunity to consider what to do about reviewing rent limits at that point.
Sentiment score: 0.30
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue about the financial contribution scheme and Dublin City Council's view that it requires funding for it. Truthfully, I am not sure of the next steps but on foot of the Deputy raising it, I will speak with the Minister, Deputy Browne, and ask him to come back to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.24
I thank the Deputy for raising an issue that I know has been harrowing for his community and constituency this week. On a human level, there is the trauma and loss of childhood innocence for an 11 year old and the other child the Deputy rightly referenced. For that child to come across and fire a gun, it is but for the grace of God that nobody was seriously injured. That is not to take away from the trauma and the real shock and fear it has caused in the community. I will ensure this is discussed across Government, and I know it will be. Our colleague, the Minister for justice, is keeping in close contact with An Garda Síochána. I know there is an active investigation. I take the broader point about Garda numbers and resources. I can point to some positivity in the Deputy's area in the past while but I will speak to the Minister and ask that he liaise with the Commissioner. We must then support the Ballymun implementation group to do its work. We have invested a lot in setting up that structure and bringing partners together around the table. Perhaps now might be a timely opportunity for the Government to take stock with that group about what it believes should be the next steps. I am happy to discuss that.
Sentiment score: 0.15
I join with Deputy Neville in welcoming the students from Confey College. Before I get to the seriousness of the water burst, if you got a day off school for that and a day in the Dáil, it is not a bad week, and there is a bank holiday on Monday. They are welcome and it is great to have them in Leinster House. The point my colleague and friend, Deputy Neville, makes is a serious one. I know it is one he has been campaigning on and highlighting for quite a while. We have rightly resourced Uisce Éireann to a significant degree. It is now important that it engages with communities to come up with solutions. I know it is committed to solving and replacing the necessary section of the mains water network that the Deputy has highlighted and there is now a funded capital project in place to address that issue. I am told the project is at design stage and that it is a somewhat of a complex design process owing to the challenges in reinforcing an existing pipe or routing a replacement given the congested nature of the route. It obviously needs to do this while trying to maintain capacity to meet present and future demand. A number of solutions are being investigated but in the interim, immediate steps have been taken to respond to bursts in the area and to try to manage supply interruptions. On foot of the Deputy raising this today, I will ask that Uisce Éireann come back to him directly.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of St. Aidan's and St. Senan's. I thank them for all they do to meet the needs of the young people of the community and people with additional needs in Enniscorthy. I also acknowledge that for them to be able to do that in the way they want, and the way people expect them to do it, we need to work with them to support them. On foot of the Deputy raising this, I will ask that the Minister, Deputy Naughton, speak to the NCSE and that it or the Minister make direct contact with him to follow up.
Sentiment score: 0.30
I thank the Deputy. I make the broad point that this country, including Irish farmers, benefits hugely from free trade. Most of what we produce in this country in the agrifood sector is sold abroad. We are a better and more prosperous nation, and farmers are better and more prosperous, as a result of free trade. However, we had specific concerns about Mercosur because level playing fields, common application of standards and environmental issues matter too. That is why we did not vote in favour of the Mercosur deal and agreement. I know the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade was in Poland this week meeting her counterpart. I will seek an update from her as to whether they discussed the issue of Mercosur and whether there are any plans for us to take further action.
Sentiment score: 0.31
On foot of the Deputy raising this matter in relation to Loreto College Swords, I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and ask that she engage with the Deputy directly to see if a solution can be found. On education capital more broadly, I would say that the list is not the final word from Government. There will be further allocations made in the time ahead in relation to building more school projects. That is really important. The Deputy's point is that in the here and now, 16 young women cannot access transition year. Let us see if a solution can be found. I presume that if people work together it can be found, but I will ask the Department to engage and the Minister to come back to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.24
I thank Deputy Hearne for raising this issue in relation to Ballymun and the absolute horror his community experienced this week when that young child found and discharged a gun. As the Deputy quite rightly said, it is a miracle nobody was seriously harmed or even worse. I take his point that this is not an isolated incident and that there are broader issues in respect of community safety in Ballymun. Similar to my response to Deputy McAuliffe, I assure the Deputy that I will speak with the Minister for justice on this. The Ballymun Implementation Board, from what I can see, is doing very good work, so there is a need for us to further support it. I am very open to facilitating conversations in that regard. It is not for me to tell anyone their business, but perhaps, in the first instance, the Deputies in the constituency could come together and meet the Ballymun Implementation Board and then meet the relevant Ministers to discuss how we can take this forward.
Sentiment score: 0.17
I thank Deputy Brabazon for raising this significant issue of annoyance, concern and inconvenience for his constituents on the James Larkin Road and in the surrounding areas. As he says, all of us and our communities expect some degree of disruption when works have to be carried out. However, we also expect that these works will be completed in a timely manner and that there will be an awareness and an understanding on the part of those charged with carrying them out on behalf of the taxpayer that they would be done expeditiously. On foot of the Deputy raising the matter, I will speak to the relevant Minister and ask that he make contact directly with Uisce Éireann and encourages it to come back to the Deputy directly to see if this can be speeded up.
Sentiment score: -0.05
Deputy Clendennen is absolutely right. I love the local improvement scheme. It works really well. It makes a real difference to rural communities. As he said, people in rural communities who are always looking to get on and help themselves but sometimes are looking for just a little support as well. It is also clear that people like the LIS, and that is why there has been such a demand. We have seen that across the Deputy's county in places like Birr in the context of the carrying out of works on non-public roads that are not normally maintained by local authorities at all. Since 2020, Offaly County Council has been allocated more than €4.5 million in LIS funding. I have discussed this issue with the Minister, Deputy Calleary, who has responsibility for this. He has confirmed that during the course of the year, spending trends across the Department will be monitored and that it will look to reallocate any savings which may arise to schemes such as the local improvement scheme. I am hoping that there may progress on that throughout the course of the year whereby if we see that there is an underspend in one area, we can reallocate the money to an area like County Offaly where there is acute demand. I will keep in touch with the Deputy on this.
Sentiment score: 0.33
I am conscious that Fingal East has one of the youngest populations in the country and is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. We are seeing more houses being built and more people moving in, and they require school places. Sometimes the Department of education can be right on the macro and wrong on the micro. It needs to take a look again at specific parts of the country, including the Deputy's, where there is acute need. We made a significant additional allocation of €668 million to the Department of education about a week or two ago. That was a recognition there is going to be a need for capacity in the school system from this September, most particularly in relation to special educational needs and the provision of additional classes. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to come back to the Deputy on the specific areas of her constituency to which she referred.
Sentiment score: 0.04
The answer is that I am hoping we can do more on measures in the budget to help people adapt, and I am hoping we can do more in each budget that comes thereafter. The budget is 6 October. I know the Deputy does not need to be told this, but the point I was trying to make is that we should not reduce the conversation in here to just about a cash support right now if there are actually other things we can do that would have greater benefit for people's households. We have made a lot of changes already this year. We are seeing the numbers significantly up and we are seeing huge demand even this week in people accessing and seeking to access these schemes. I am just making the point that not just in Ireland, but also in Europe, we are going to need to continue to explore what more we can do to get away from fossil fuels beyond the conversation about how we subsidise the paying for fossil fuels.
Sentiment score: 0.32
Hear, hear.
Sentiment score: 0.00