The Deputy make things up as she goes along. I was not in government in 2017 and neither was my party but that is not the point. There was good rationale for colocation. The Deputy knows that.
Sentiment score: 0.07
Everybody agrees with colocation.
Sentiment score: 0.20
The essentials of colocation are there. We did not starve the Rotunda of funding. How dare the Deputy say that? I just opened facilities. There has been investment in the Rotunda. This is an important development.
Sentiment score: 0.09
In our view, the expansion that is required is important for the protection of women and newborn babies. We would have preferred if planning was given. In our view, it was still justified, notwithstanding whatever happened in 2017 in terms of the colocation declaration. All of the medical world believes in colocation.
Sentiment score: 0.15
Not physically.
Sentiment score: 0.00
We are working flat out. We have allocated €15 million to support the post office network. We had allocated funding last year and the year before to maintain the post office network. I cannot get into every specific post office, obviously, but generally speaking we are very supportive of the postmasters. We understand the role that post offices play in communities the length and breadth of the country. An Post is fully conscious of Government's desire in this respect.
Sentiment score: 0.32
There is no question that people under pressure. We introduced targeted measures in the budget. I do not know whether the Deputy agrees with a targeted approach.
Sentiment score: -0.11
We did that in the budget and one of the manifestations of that is the fact that 50,000 people this Thursday will get the fuel allowance who otherwise would not have got it in previous years - those on the working family payment. They will get back pay of about €380 next week but they are getting notification this week on Thursday. We keep everything under review and it is important that we do that. We understand the potential pressures on people. Agreements have already been reached with the company in terms of hardship cases. People will not be disconnected in any shape or form. The exceptional needs payment is there as well for anyone in particular difficulty or in need.
Sentiment score: -0.03
I thank the Deputy for raising what is a really important issue for the community of Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire. I will certainly speak to Minister for education on this. I do not have a clear timeline yet on the issue. Obviously, there was a contractual conflict that resulted in us ending up where we are now. The suspension of works notice issued in May last year and the termination of the contract in July. I will seek clarity from the from the departmental officials and I will ask them to communicate to the Deputy on that.
Sentiment score: 0.11
Did the Deputy say it was starting in April?
Sentiment score: 0.00
I will engage with Irish Water on this. If it is April well and good. The Deputy is saying it could go back to May. We are now in March so we are not too far away from getting this work done.
Sentiment score: 0.24
There are two points there. First, an extra 20% has been allocated for services, some of which is for respite and residential. I have asked for this item to be put on the next agenda for Cabinet subcommittee in respect of accommodation. We need to create a proper sustainable structure linking the providers, the section 39 bodies, the HSE and the local authorities in terms of proper structures and options for families particularly those with adult disabled persons who require accommodation with varying degrees of supports. That is a priority of mine and I am going to focus on that.
Sentiment score: 0.21
It is opening in the next two weeks. There are no restrictions on where it can be applied or on who can apply, and there never has been, other than the population threshold. Some new developing areas have received it as well as areas where people wanted the rejuvenation of older parts of a city or a town. The Deputy has named so many towns that I would say he would nearly take the budget himself. Under the old URDF if funding was allocated, the local authorities needed to get the work done faster. The Minister is going to apply timelines and if it is not used, we will take it back and use it somewhere else. There was an inordinate length of time to get funding through with the last URDF. This is the new living cities and towns initiative. I have asked the Minister to try to be as flexible as possible on that population threshold but we will see where that ends up.
Sentiment score: 0.01
This issue was raised yesterday. The note I have here states that there will be continued expansion of the front-line workforce of the National Ambulance Service. Plans for 2026 include an additional 263 staff and €20 million in new funding. That will deliver 21 extra crewed ambulances operating at peak demand, four additional intermediate care vehicles and continued development of the clinical hub and alternative care pathways. The HSE has confirmed that full-time permanent contracts are available for all year 3 graduates completing training with the NAS in 2026. These roles include vacancies arising from retirements and promotions, as well as new posts linked to service development under the national service plan. The graduates have been asked to select their three preferred locations in a region from the available vacancies and every effort will be made to accommodate first preferences.
Sentiment score: 0.14
I will talk to the various Ministers. Every year, people look for an extension of deadlines that we already put in. There is a reason they are there, by the way. There are two sides to the story and we need to be conscious of the other side as well. For safety, it has to be done. I will talk to the Ministers to see what the actual position is and get the background to the situation.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue. I was at the weir some years ago and saw the damage done and so forth. It is a huge amenity in a beautiful area. What is the cost? I am not aware of the council having come to me about the issue.
Sentiment score: 0.13
The council is willing to pay €3 million.
Sentiment score: -0.10
We are getting close, so. I was going to call it was a drop in the ocean, if you will excuse the pun. I will ask the Minister to engage with the council to see what can be done here. It is important work that has to be done. It has been a long time since that storm damage. We will see what we can do.
Sentiment score: -0.03
Mar a dúirt mé cheana inniu, bhuail an tAire, an Teachta O'Brien, leis na comhlachtaí cheana. Mar aon leis sin, tá an CRU ag déanamh fiosraithe ar an margadh faoi láthair agus go háirithe na praghsanna wholesale go dtí retail. Tá sé sin faoi chaibidil ag an CRU ag an mbabhta seo. Mar aon leis sin, tá an tAire, an Teachta Peter Burke, ag déileáil leis an scéal chomh maith leis na húdaráis a bhaineann le comórtas - the competition authority - chun iad sin a shoiléiriú i dtaobh cad atá ar siúl ag na comhlachtaí éagsúla. Ní cóir d'aon chomhlacht buntáiste a bhaint as an ngéarchéim seo. Is léir go bhfuil roinnt acu á dhéanamh. Beimid sásta aon rud is féidir linn a dhéanamh a dhéanamh.
Sentiment score: -0.27
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am reminded that Deputy Timmins was the only Deputy in the House yesterday who said we need to be careful not to think that public expenditure has to increase all the time. We need value for money, too. The Deputy is looking for more money, but we did allocate approximately €1.13 million to Kerry under the LIS. That is the largest amount in a long time and is the highest in the country. All the Deputies in Kerry, the Deputy's colleagues on all fronts and his good self, have been on to us in respect of that. I am not going to go through the details in Kerry, but the overall allocation was €65 million. About €180 million has been allocated to the LIS since 2017. The need is always there - I get that - but our public expenditure is high and we are continuing to increase and expand. We will review the situation later in the year and see what more we can do.
Sentiment score: 0.26
I appreciate the issue. About 350 special classes have already been sanctioned, which is higher than the number sanctioned last year. That illustrates the need, and bringing the date forward has clarified the extent of the need for the school year beginning next September. I ask the Deputy to engage with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan. I will alert him to the fact the Deputy has raised this issue. He takes an on-the-ground approach to this. He and the Minister, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, are working flat out on this question.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I disagree with some of the points the Deputy has made. We have the highest population since the Famine. It went up by 52% since 1995. I am not going to go into all of the reasons and factors that underpin the homelessness situation, but they are quite varied and there are ones we did not have to deal with before. The Minister has a specific initiative in terms of families who are homeless. The most effective way is to build more social housing. We are building more social housing than at any time since the 1970s on a consistent basis.
Sentiment score: 0.02
I did not interrupt the Deputy. We are going to continue to do that. That should be acknowledged. On the latter point on the tenant in situ scheme, some councils were taking that funding to do deep retrofitting, which was never its purpose. It was meant to prevent people from falling into homelessness and we have done that in a lot of cases across the board.
Sentiment score: 0.03
A rent or eviction freeze would kill the market. That is what the Deputy wants to do. There will be no supply at all and it will make the situation even worse.
Sentiment score: -0.49
I will indeed, but the Deputy should declare a conflict of interest given his annual performances. I believe he was in the pantomime this year. People will say he is forever in the pantomime in Dáil Éireann and so on, but he is one of the great pantomime performers. Alan Corcoran on the local radio station in Wexford has spoken volumes about the Deputy's genuine acting ability in theatre, and he has been a great participant in amateur drama. Amateur drama is very often the pipeline for future talent to emerge. It is a wonderful part of the Irish story and tradition.
Sentiment score: 0.46
Yes, it is a compliment. Our tradition of storytelling is part of the Irish story and we do it particularly well as a nation and a people. There are towns around the country that excel in amateur drama, Wexford being one. I think of Rossmore in west Cork, for example, and many others where there are decades-long generational commitments to amateur drama.
Sentiment score: 0.41
I will be happy to raise that with the Minister.
Sentiment score: 0.57
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. There are too many deaths on our roads. We do not have the figures for how this year will look, but we have already had too many deaths in the first two or three months of the year. I will give consideration to the Deputy's suggestion. The Minister for Transport comes before various Cabinet subcommittees. We have quite a number of them. I take the Deputy's point on road safety and will revert to him. I will give consideration to it.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I cannot get into the details of every specific school project but I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue in respect of St. Mary's in Lucan. I do not know why the Department cannot accommodate the alternative proposal. What is important is that the project is completed. Sometimes deliberations can slow the process down. I understand the importance of the playing pitch. Physical education is as important as intellectual and academic education. We have to be healthy in mind and body and playing pitches facilitate that. I will speak to the Minister.
Sentiment score: 0.34
It seems I have got to the bottom of this in terms of the note. What has been said is not accurate. The HSE has confirmed that full-time permanent contracts are available for all year 3 graduates completing training with the National Ambulance Service, NAS. That is the case. To ensure a fair and transparent allocation of posts, graduates have been asked to apply through a confined internal competition. This is exactly how things operate in other parts of the health service, including for graduate nurses. Graduates have been asked to select their three preferred locations in a region from the available vacancies and every effort will be made to accommodate first preferences. However, where a vacancy is oversubscribed, the process being implemented will ensure a fair and equitable selection process has been established to allocate roles. It seems to me that this has been overstated. Everyone is going to get a job.
Sentiment score: 0.12