Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I am aware the Minister, Deputy Naughton, cannot be here tonight and has indicated the same. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, will pass on my sentiments. I know he will have a prepared statement from the Minister. I will provide context for the Minister of State and to put it on the record. St. Mary's Boys' National School is a popular primary school in the old Lucan area with over 500 students. It was initially a small, traditional-type school and then in the 1970s they built a three-storey building. I attended that school, as did my son, so I am hugely familiar with it. It is down in a valley. It is antiquated in some ways, though they have had a couple of modular buildings added onto it. It is the envy of many other schools because of the playing pitch it has. This is a huge amenity. During Covid, anyone within 2 km was down on that pitch. Kids were running around, keeping their distance. One of the local GAA clubs uses the ball wall and the pitches regularly. Cumann na mBunscol matches are on. There are many amenities on the site when it is not raining. The school community has been hugely welcoming in terms of trying to get the two modular buildings for children with autism spectrum disorder, ASD. The issue is the discussions with the Department have not gone the way the school anticipated. It is on a very sensitive site because it is beside the special amenity area for the Liffey Valley. It is a flood risk of close to one in 1,000 years but it is a walled school which has its own natural safety features. The design of any type of building could keep flood risks at bay. The school's preferred option was at the back of the school in the tarmac part of the yard so it could keep the ball wall and the pitch. The Department came back and suggested an alternative site. It wants to eat into the grass pitch. The school suggested the two modular units be located close to an existing prefab in need of refurbishment. At a meeting with the school, the Department said the application to refurbish this other building is totally separate; however, there is a synergy involved because it is putting all the children in one area and providing access to the amenities in one location. There are many benefits to that. Crucially, it does not go onto the pitch. That is the nub of the issue. We have had discussions. There was an online meeting with the Department on 6 February. It did not go the way the school had hoped. It had done a consultant's report last summer and put in proposals. At the meeting, the Department basically said the other application is not a priority and the only priority is the two modular buildings that have been sanctioned. The Department gave the board until last Friday to confirm whether it consents and stated that if the school disagrees with the proposal, it will have to talk to the patron and consider taking legal action. That is a very negative way to deal with a school that is only trying to look after the health, safety and well-being of all its more than 500 pupils. Surely, we need a solution that works for everyone, to keep at it until we find something and not to get rid of that pitch.

I would like to thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Naughton. It gives the Department of Education and Youth the opportunity to discuss St. Mary’s Boys' National School, Lucan. I can see the Deputy has a deep personal interest, apart from being a TD for the area. I will give him the answer I have been provided with. If there are particular matters he wishes me to take back, I will deal with those on the conclusion. The Deputy will be aware St. Mary’s Boys' National School, Lucan, is under the patronage of the archdiocese of Dublin. The school is in the Lucan school planning area. It had an enrolment in September 2025 of 495 pupils and a staffing of 21 mainstream teachers and three special class teachers. In June 2022, the school was given approval under the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme for a traditional build project to deliver four mainstream classrooms, three special education tuition rooms, two special education classrooms and one universal access WC, along with the repurposing of existing accommodation to create one special education classroom. This project was devolved to the school authorities for delivery and it is currently at stage 1 - preliminary design. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure essential mainstream classroom and special education needs, SEN, accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation. In March 2025, the school was sanctioned additional special education classes by the National Council for Special Education. The Department’s planning and building unit engaged with the school authorities with a view to encouraging the school to apply for the ASA scheme. On foot of this application the school was assessed to determine the best accommodation options available for special class provision and it was proposed that the Department’s modular framework would be utilised due to the demand for classes in the area. The modular framework involves the use of project management supports, which are designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects. The Department-appointed project manager visited the school and engaged with the school authorities in relation to the location of the proposed modular accommodation. The school authorities were anxious to preserve as much of the green area available at the school, which the Deputy mentioned, as possible and the Department endeavoured to facilitate this. The site in question is challenging for many reasons due to its close proximity to the Liffey Valley proposed natural heritage area. It is within a designated riparian corridor and a flood risk zone. Officials from the Department met with the school authorities on the issues on a number of occasions to try to progress the project. There are fire safety considerations which also have to be addressed when considering the location of the modular accommodation due to the requirement for a turning circle for emergency services and proximity to a fire hydrant. More recently, the school asked for another modular unit to be provided, along with the project currently under consideration, for the replacement of a prefab on site. The school authorities were advised that consideration of this would not be possible at this time. The Department of Education and Youth recently published the €7.55 billion NDP sectoral investment plan for the education and youth sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. The plan involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the urgent need. At a recent meeting with the school authorities, departmental officials outlined that there was only one viable option available for the progression of modular accommodation at the school when considering the funding available to the Department and the site in question. The school authorities were reminded of the high need for special class places in the area and, to try to provide the necessary classes, it was agreed that a deadline of February 13 was required, as the Deputy referenced. The Deputy will appreciate that the Department has been working with the school authorities for just under a year to try to progress the project. There is a degree of urgency due to the need in the area. Furthermore, the modular project being proposed would still leave the school with a large amount of green space available for use.

As I said, I know the area very well. The consultants for the school pointed out that the entire site is within the riparian corridor. What the Department of education is proposing and what the school proposed are both within that. That, therefore, cannot be used as a viable excuse for not looking at an alternate site. The school is worried that the three ASD classes will be disjointed if two are at the front of the school and one is at the rear. Basically, in the context of value for money, money is being thrown down the drain for works that will be required down the line, possibly at greater cost, if this is not looked at now. There are two separate things to look at in this regard. First, it is common sense to have the three buildings conjoined and the works carried out in a cost-effective way. Notwithstanding that, it is equally important that green space should not be built on. The response that there will still be green space does not take away from the fact that the pitch will be gone for those junior kids. There is not enough green space left for a junior-size GAA, rugby or soccer match if that is eaten into. A lot of schools in the Lucan area do not even have a pitch, but taking this space away to make it like every other school is not the way to treat a school community. That is a huge resource and, with a little bit of joined-up thinking, we could still get the modular buildings in. I ask the Minister of State to reconsider this from a cost-effectiveness point of view and build these three units together holistically. Separately, the Department should go back to the drawing board and have further discussions because some of the arguments being used do not wash when they are added up. Ultimately, we are looking out for the best interests of the children, both those going into the ASD classes and the 500-plus students who use the existing amenity.

I thank Deputy Gogarty for the opportunity to outline the position in relation St. Mary's Boys National School, Lucan. As I stated, I am talking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. I assure the Deputy that the Department of education has worked closely with the school authorities in relation to the school application for additional school accommodation, and it will continue to do so. The Department is cognisant of the concerns of the school in respect of its green space. Officials have tried to preserve as much of the area as possible while working within a challenging site in terms of available options. The Deputy will appreciate that the Department is required to utilise the funding available to it to ensure that every child has access to a school place. Indeed, there is a large demand for special class provision in the Lucan school planning area. The Department encourages the school authorities to engage with it directly about its concerns. I will take the matters the Deputy raised back to the Minister, Deputy Naughton. I have no doubt the Deputy will follow up in his own way, maybe via email, and correspond with the Minister in respect of the precise proposals he is putting forward.

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue. It is ironic that he holds the role as Minister of State with responsibility for older people when my Topical Issue relates to people on the other end of the life cycle. There is a desperate need for critical care expansion at the Rotunda Hospital. All of us have childhood memories that will stay with us for life. Mine come from about 31 years ago. My two younger brothers, Alan and Paul, were born quite prematurely, each weighing about 1 lb or 1.5 lb, and spent months of their life in the critical care unit at the Rotunda Hospital. They grew up big and strong and they were looked after incredibly well. I have memories of the hospital and the critical care unit at that time as an older, antiquated building. In recent years, I have been going back to meet the masters of the hospital and management team as they started to develop their ideas around expansion, particularly in the last six or seven months when it became clear there were going to be objections to the expansion. What strikes me is that in my memory the hospital and critical care unit from 31 years ago looked almost exactly the same then as it appears today. While the machines have been modernised, as will happen with machines, the space in which critical care is afforded has not. Some 9,000 children are brought to life in the Rotunda Hospital every year. Not only does it care for the most vulnerable babies in this city, but babies in critical care from all over the country are sent to the Rotunda Hospital. The clinicians, midwives, master of the hospital and management teams are exceptional. They have a real sense of place and purpose. Every time I walk into that hospital, I am just blown away by the care they give. On Friday, like everyone across the Chamber - I am not the exception – I was furious that the desperately needed expansion at the Rotunda Hospital was declined by An Coimisiún Pleanála. I also heard Ministers, and the Taoiseach, convey their frustrations in that regard. It was declined after approval had been given by Dublin City Council and despite the fact that an coimisiún’s own inspectorate report stated that this progression is desperately needed. It was declined on the basis of architectural preservation, given that the Rotunda Hospital is in the centre of what is Georgian Dublin. The Rotunda Hospital was there first, however. It features in a 1795 picture just behind us on the wall of the Chamber where it is described as the lying-in hospital. I find it unfathomable that anyone could walk into the critical care unit of the Rotunda Hospital, understand the need and then turn around and object to its development into a modern hospital appropriate both to the needs of babies and women’s healthcare in this city. The State and Government have some responsibility in this regard. That needs to be accepted and rectified. In the end, the decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála states very clearly, despite the Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, claiming otherwise earlier, the reason this was turned down. It stated: Government Policy is to co-locate the Rotunda in the medium to longer term with Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown, by which time the adverse impact caused by the development as proposed to the character and setting of Protected Structures and the Georgian Conservation Area, could not be undone. The only protected structures that should be prioritised are the babies in those incubators. The co-location plan with Connolly Hospital is never going to happen. There is already a co-location happening between the Rotunda Hospital and the Mater hospital. There are blue pathways that are needed. What are we doing to do? I am happy to work collaboratively in this regard, as is everyone in the Chamber. I understand the Minister of State will read a response. We will see what we can do from there.

I thank Deputy Gannon for the opportunity to address the need for a new critical care wing at the Rotunda Hospital. I am taking this matter on behalf of Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The Government is committed to driving improvements and continued investment in the Rotunda Hospital. Providing the highest possible standard of care at the Rotunda campus is a priority for the Minister for Health. This includes ongoing capital developments at the site to manage the current and future needs of women and babies. The Rotunda Hospital is one of the busiest maternity hospitals in Europe. More than 8,600 babies were delivered there in 2025, and more than 1,300 babies were cared for in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, NICU. The Rotunda Hospital provides 25% of the neonatal care capacity in the State. This includes the most critically ill babies, many of whom must be transferred from other hospitals to receive the specialist care they need. The planned critical care wing at Parnell Square west is critical to provide essential upgrades to the existing Rotunda campus to meet high-priority clinical needs. The new wing would provide additional NICU capacity, single-room beds and a new theatre. This development would increase capacity at the hospital to provide safe and appropriate care for an increasing number of presentations, including the most critically ill babies. It would address the space shortages that restrict our capacity to deliver critical services to very sick babies and wrap-around supports to their mothers and fathers. In this context, the decision of An Coimisiún Pleanála to overturn the position of Dublin City Council and refuse planning permission for this urgent, critically needed expansion is deeply disappointing, particularly when we have had positive decisions accepting the public benefit of the development all the way through the process. Our priority now is to ensure the delivery of appropriate neonatal expansion at the Rotunda Hospital as quickly as possible. The Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, will meet with the master of the Rotunda, Professor Sean Daly, in the next two weeks once he has had an opportunity to consider all options available to him, as he is the applicant for planning. The Minister will also continue to work with the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Deputy Chambers, to ensure that health infrastructure is fully recognised as critical infrastructure within the forthcoming reforms arising from the Accelerating Infrastructure - Report and Action Plan. We are committed to providing support for the hospital in meeting the current and future needs of women and babies at the current Rotunda site. The hospital budget has increased to €109 million in 2025. This is an increase of 47%, or €35 million, since 2020. The HSE purchased an additional building, Hampson House, to extend capacity, which officially opened in January 2025. Over 100,000 outpatient and ambulatory patients are expected to attend annually. A range of service improvements are also being driven by the hospital and through the national maternity strategy. The Minister for Health visited the Rotunda in June 2025 to launch a new neonatal intensive care unit, NICU, resource for parents, and again in January this year to welcome a new foetal surgery service. Following Government investment, the Rotunda has also been working closely with hospitals across Dublin to establish a new community post-natal hub service for women and infants following birth, which is being launched next week. We will continue to support the Rotunda with these initiatives as it strives to meet the needs of the women, infants and families it serves.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I listened carefully to it and read the words. I heard the Taoiseach today and listened to the Minister for Health on the radio this morning. Everybody shares the frustration. I understand the Minister is going to meet the master of the Rotunda, Professor Sean Daly, in two weeks. I met him yesterday. It is vital that when the Minister for Health goes to meet the master of the Rotunda, she brings options to the table. What we need here is not just collective lamentation about how frustrated we are and how wrong this decision is. We need to know how we can now speed up the process. The Taoiseach today talked about emergency critical infrastructure legislation. That is brilliant; it is fantastic. He asked for support from around the House. The Government will have full support if we can have some innovations in legislation to provide for critical healthcare capacity and move this along fast. I do not doubt for a second that the human care being provided in the Rotunda Hospital is second to none. What is lacking is infrastructural assets. What we need now is a collective agreement that if emergency legislation is needed, we will do it fast. We are talking about one of the busiest maternity hospitals in Europe. We are talking about a maternity hospital that provides care to an incredibly vulnerable cohort in its immediate vicinity and a vulnerable cohort nationwide of babies who require critical care. If the Minister of State were to take a message back to the Minister from me, I would ask her to act with urgency, to be innovative in her approach and, when she meets with the master of the Rotunda in two weeks' time, to bring options to the table because the staff, clinicians and midwives in the Rotunda Hospital have done everything to this point. The preservation of architecture is never more important than the preservation of life.

Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. As I said, I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. The Government is clear that we need increased capacity at the Rotunda to ensure it can meet the needs of women, infants and families in the short term. My priority, and that of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is to work with the master, Professor Sean Daly, in making sure we take the correct steps to deliver appropriate neonatal care for the Rotunda as quickly as possible. The Minister has spoken of her disappointment at the decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála, which references the longer term plans to relocate the hospital. To be frank, the time needed to co-locate the Rotunda with another acute adult hospital would by far exceed the delivery time of this new critical care unit, which is needed now. The successful relocation of the Rotunda will require a strategic reassessment of prevailing conditions and factors that impact the project at the time of the planned relocation. This would also need to be viewed in the wider context of all hospitals in the region, including Connolly Hospital. The Rotunda is currently working closing with the Mater hospital, a model 4 hospital that the Deputy referenced. It has a protected blue light corridor to provide adult acute services when needed. The priority now is to support the Rotunda to continue to provide essential maternity and neonatal services. Given the importance of infrastructure to Ireland's social and economic success, under an ambitious plan under the revised national development plan, all stakeholders need to engage willingly in open dialogue around planning concerns. The health needs of women and infants presenting to our service are increasingly complex and the National Maternity Strategy 2016-2026 is in its final year. It has been driving national reforms across our services to better meet these needs. We have committed in the programme for Government to developing a successor to the national maternity strategy. It will consider a broad evidence base and will involve policy considerations that may have evolved since the first strategy was initiated ten years ago. I will bring back the specific points raised by the Deputy to the Minister.

The issue I raise is hydrotreated vegetable oil, HVO, which is an alternative to diesel. It is an extraordinary product that comes from the treatment of plant matter with hydrogen. I am not going to pretend for a moment that I understand how it works, but I know that the product that results from it is interchangeable with diesel in cars, for example, and results in a 90% reduction in carbon emissions when it is used. We have this fuel and 20% of the global output, which is over 30 million tonnes, originates within the European Union. It is sustainable from the point of view of carbon emissions, the sourcing of the fuel and energy security within the European Union. It is a fuel that is key to making our targets under the obligation to reduce our carbon emissions by 50% by 2030. It is committed to in the programme for Government, which specifically commits to increasing the use of HVO and carbon-reducing fuels. It also commits to better tracking to ensure HVO comes from sustainable sources, reviewing tax policy to encourage HVO use and engaging with the EU to allow incentives for low-emission fuels. All of that is great, but at the moment HVO is subject essentially to the same tax regime as its much more carbon-heavy cousin, the traditional diesel that is put into cars. HVO does not result in a drop in performance or damage to the engine. It is endorsed by major car manufacturers. It is used by large companies, including the Dublin Airport Authority and Sisk contractors. It is already in use. It is available on forecourts in centres such as Maxol in Inver. This is the real question: why are we charging the same rate of tax on HVO as we are on diesel when there are myriad benefits to using HVO instead of diesel and when we are reducing our carbon emissions by 90%? We are not losing anything and are using a sustainable fuel that can be sourced right here in the European Union. The fuel is subject to 23% VAT, which I do not really have a problem with. It is also subject to the biofuels levy, which, at 0.1 of a cent per litre, is not a big deal. However, it is also subject to the mineral oil tax. HVO biofuel substituted for auto diesel is subject to the same non-carbon component of excise. That makes no sense at all. We have committed in the programme for Government to going down the road of finding alternative fuels that are going to reduce our emissions. Let us be honest, transport is one of the major sources of emissions in this country. I should say that HVO is taxed less through VAT when it is used as home heating oil, but as a vehicle fuel it is taxed at the same rate as diesel. Why are we not saying that this is a way we can address one of the major sources of carbon emissions in Ireland, that is, transport? This fuel can be used in buses and cars. Whatever uses diesel can also use HVO. Everybody in this House knows how important it is that we meet those 2030 targets. It is important not just because of the financial aspect of the potential fines, which will increase as the availability of carbon emissions trading reduces, but also because the value of making those targets to secure this country and this world against the effects of climate change is enormous. If we are serious about that, why are we saying to people who are using diesel cars or diesel fuel that it does not matter if they use HVO or diesel, when we know that, in fact, it does matter? Why are we telling them they will pay the same amount of tax and the same levies, and that it will cost them the same to use diesel, which is a massive pollutant, as HVO, which has 90% less carbon emissions? Can we not get our act together enough to implement the promises we made in the programme for Government to make it easier for people to chose the sustainable fuel that HVO is?

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O’Brien. I will give the Deputy the response I have, but I will bring the particular point he raised back to the Minister. I suggest that the Deputy follow up himself and write to the Minister on the point in question. Renewable fuel is a vital transitionary measure in transport decarbonisation, falling under the improve dimension of the avoid-shift-improve framework adopted under the Climate Action Plan 2024. As the shift to electrification and further increases in public transport and active travel are fully realised, sustainable renewable transport fuels provide immediate climate change mitigation utilising the existing vehicle fleet. The supply of renewable transport fuels such as HVO in the transport sector in Ireland is driven by the climate action plan biofuel blending targets for 10% ethanol in petrol and 20% biodiesel equivalent in diesel by 2030, as well as European targets for the total renewable energy share in transport consumption of 24% by 2030. These targets are implemented through the renewable transport fuel obligation, RTFO, which places a statutory obligation on suppliers of road transport fuels to ensure that a proportion of the fuels they place on the market in Ireland is produced from renewable sources. The National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, is responsible for administration of the RTFO. The Renewable Transport Fuel Policy 2025-2027 sets out a pathway to incentivise supply of renewable fuel in transport through annual increases in the RTFO rate to 2030, as well as ensuring that EU sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions reduction criteria are adhered to. The policy is supported by analysis and modelling by NORA and is revised every two years through extensive engagement with the agency and the industry, including fuel suppliers and biofuel producers. The RTFO is the most impactful way to achieve the policy goal of transport decarbonisation in the near term. In 2024, corresponding to an obligation rate of 21% by energy, the RTFO delivered a physical blend of approximately 10% biofuel in diesel supplied to road transport, of which approximately 7% was FAME biodiesel and 3% was HVO. It is expected that further increases in the RTFO rate projected to 2030 under the policy will see a physical blend in the region of 13% HVO in diesel supplied in the State. The 2026 RTFO rate is 32% by energy. This level of biofuel blending within diesel is well within the diesel specification EN590 for EU vehicle compatibility and air quality requirements. It is expected that achieving the CAP biofuel blending goal in 2030 will deliver emissions abatement of 1.08 MtCO2eq. In 2024, biofuel blending delivered an overall saving of approximately 7.1% in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from the road transport sector. Of course, it is essential that biofuels imported into Ireland meet the strict sustainability criteria set out in the EU renewable energy directive for the purpose of environmental protection and emissions reduction. NORA is responsible for ensuring compliance by fuel suppliers with these sustainability criteria, which is assured through an EU sustainability certification framework involving certification of economic operations globally by certification bodies against standards established under EU-approved voluntary schemes. NORA provides ongoing assurance on the sustainability of the current supply of biofuel to Ireland under the RTFO. Noting the projected future cross-sectoral demand for HVO, under the current renewable transport fuel policy, the Department of Transport has commissioned a study on the hierarchy of use of HVO across transport and other sectors. The study will inform the continued rationale for State intervention through blending targets and incentives to promote the most efficient use of HVO across transport modes and non-transport sectors relative to the alternative renewable energy options in each sector. The study is expected to be completed in quarter 2 of this year. I humbly suggest to the Deputy that this particular vehicle is currently being looked at by the Department. It is obviously an area that could include consideration of his proposal.

Topical Issue Debates are a really important way that we can raise issues and get direct answers. I entirely respect that the Minister of State is taking a number of matters that do not come under his Department’s remit. However, it is a source of some frustration that the line Minister from the Department is not here because that would be much more useful. I could just have tabled a written question on the matter. It would have been more helpful if a Minister from the Department to which this issue relates had been here. I appreciate what the Minister of State said. I recognise the veracity of everything in his response and the progress being made. As stated, however, HVO is a perfectly adequate substitute for traditional diesel. It emits 90% less carbon without compromising the energy it provides as fuel for diesel engines. The transport sector is one of the larger emitters of carbon in our economy. In the climate action plan, we have committed to reducing our carbon emissions by 50% by 2030. This is a key way in which we could do that. I do not know whether the decision not to reduce the tax on HVO is based on the loss the Exchequer might suffer as a result. That is fine, but whatever loss the Exchequer suffers would pale in comparison with the fines we will face after 2030 if we do not meet our target of reducing emissions by 50%. Let us get serious about implementing real tax changes, and just not for the sake of it. We must say to consumers that doing this would be to their benefit, not just in terms of the environmental impact or reducing the emissions from their cars but also because they will feel the impact in their pockets. We must also informed that, as well as saving 90% on emissions, it would be cheaper to put HVO into their cars. Let us make this a real choice for consumers who drive diesel cars. Let us make it easy for them to chose a more sustainable and less carbon-emitting fuel.

I again thank Deputy Ward for raising this matter, which, as stated, I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. The transport sector has a significant role to play in Ireland's transition to a low-carbon society and economy as part of the wider European goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. Reducing our historical reliance on imported fossil fuels in transport and switching to alternative fuel technologies will be essential in the context of decarbonising the sector. As outlined, the Department of Transport's Renewable Transport Fuel Policy 2025-2027 is one of the most effective and immediate policy levers available to the Government in this regard. That policy ensures an incremental transition to lower carbon-emitting fuels in transport, largely by using existing vehicle technology. HVO is one of several renewable transport fuels contributing to transport decarbonisation in Ireland. Indigenous biofuels and biogas also play a key role in Ireland's decarbonisation. Implementation of the renewable transport fuel policy considers the need to support and develop Irish production of biofuels and biogas. Developing Ireland's domestic biofuel supply potential will have benefits for diversity in securing security of supply. It will also have economic and environmental benefits. It should be noted, particularly in relation to the use of renewable fuels in private cars, that biofuels are also blended with petrol. Increasing the blend of bioethanol in petrol is one of several transport sector measure towards achieving the 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, as set out in the climate action plan. A move to E10 petrol in 2023 is seeing the desired result, with a 9% volume blending of ethanol in petrol in 2024, up from 4.9% volume blending in 2022, as recorded by NORA. Ireland's policy on renewable fuels continues to provide future supply of sustainable advanced biofuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin. I will take Deputy Ward's specific point back to the Minister. The Deputy's argument was very effective, but I would have thought a direct communication with the Minister and his office on the matter would assist very much in terms of it being considered in a comprehensive way by the Department of Transport.

I completely agree with Deputy Ward as regards his frustration. The last time I raised this issue, a different Minister was present. However, I believe the Minister of State has responsibility it, which is a happy coincidence. The issue in question is section 39 workers. About 50 Northside Home Care Services workers engaged in industrial action during January. They are going to be outside Leinster House at 10 a.m. tomorrow. They have been involved in industrial action because they were reclassified as section 39 workers as a result of a WRC agreement between ICTU, employers and the relevant Departments. This agreement gave other section 39 workers who are healthcare workers and who do the same work as the Northside Home Care Services employees a pay rise. However, the Northside Home Care Services workers did not get a pay rise as a result of a difference that I will explain. The difference is that because their employer is a private company and had to tender for the work as opposed to another company getting a grant, they are treated differently in employment law. We have always had a principle of equal pay for equal work. The healthcare workers who work for the HSE do exactly the same work as those who work for Northside Home Care Services. What has happened to these workers is completely unjust. They have been left out on a limb and forced to leave the vulnerable people they look after in order to take industrial action. It is really unfortunate. I ask the Minister of State to intervene and possibly meet the workers tomorrow morning when they are outside the gates of the House.

I thank Deputy Brabazon for raising this matter. I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. At the outset, I would like to recognise the vital contribution that healthcare assistants make to our health system. These staff play an essential role in delivering supports to people with disabilities and to older persons in our communities right across the country. It is important to note that the community and voluntary organisations providing many of the home support services in our communities are independently operated entities. Accordingly, the employment terms and conditions of their staff, provided they comply with general employment law, remain a matter strictly between the employer and employee. As the Deputy will be aware, an agreement on pay and conditions was reached at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, on 10 March 2025 between ICTU and the relevant Departments. This agreement provided funding to health and social care and the homeless sector employers to deliver a 9.25% pay increase, in line with the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026. This agreement applies to organisations funded under section 39 of the Health Act 2004, section 56 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, section 10 of the Housing Act 1988 and section 40 of the Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Act 2023. These organisations operate in the community and voluntary sector and are not public bodies. Only bodies falling within these funding categories were included in the scope of the agreement. I am aware, however, that many healthcare assistants work in home care services delivered and funded through a competitive tendering process. This is a different mechanism of funding to section 39 service and, as such, they are not covered by the WRC agreement. Services commissioned through tender processes are governed by separate contractual arrangements with providers and any matters relating to these can be addressed through existing procurement frameworks. These organisations are not public bodies and the terms and conditions of employment of these staff, once in line with employment legislation, are strictly between the employer and employee. The HSE authorisation scheme for the provision of home support services is the formal tendering mechanism the HSE uses to approve and contract providers that are eligible to deliver State-funded home support. Only providers admitted to this scheme can receive HSE funding for hours allocated to clients. For clarity, the Minister for Health does not have an operational role in individual staffing matters. These responsibilities rest with employers, which are legally established separate entities. The Minister’s functions concern national policy, legislation, budgetary allocations and oversight of the health system as a whole. The matter the Deputy raised concerned a general point. Some funding for the service comes under section 39, as the Deputy is probably aware, and other funding comes via the HSE authorisation scheme. The HSE engaged with Northside Home Care Services on the issue at the time. Ultimately, however, the relationship is between the employer and employee under the HSE authorisation scheme.

Unfortunately, I do not think the reply will give much solace to the workers who will stand outside in the cold in the morning. The reality is that because of the way the cards have fallen and the agreement before the WRC, through sleight of hand we now have a State-sponsored discrimination between one set of workers who do exactly the same work as another. Even though they are employed by somebody else or are employed in a different way, both are funded by the taxpayer. That is the bottom line. Northside Home Care Services is a charitable organisation that gets all of its funding from the State. There is no reason on this earth why one healthcare worker helping the elderly in Dublin 5 should be paid or treated differently to another.

I again thank Deputy Brabazon for raising this matter. As I stated, I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I want to acknowledge the great work healthcare assistants do. I also acknowledge the work of the great staff in Northside Home Care Services and the huge contribution they make. As I stated, there are different mechanisms by which organisations are funded by the State. The WRC agreement was reached with ICTU unions at the time. They are grant aided under section 39, section 56, section 10 and section 40 arrangements. Services commissioned through competitive tender process such as the HSE authorisation scheme operate under separate contractual agreements with individuals and providers. Any matters relating to these can be addressed through existing procurement frameworks. As I said, these organisations are not public bodies. While they may receive funding from the State to deliver certain services, the terms and conditions of the employment of their staff, once in line with employment law, are strictly between the employer and employee. There was engagement between the HSE and the service. It is up to Northside Home Care Services to interact with staff as the employer. I understand funding came through the authorisation scheme and section 39. There is obviously detail involved. I want to acknowledge the great work done by staff.

Before we continue, I would like to recognise Brendan and Maura Neal, and Maura's children, from Springfield, Massachusetts. They are here with Deputy James O'Connor. They are the son, daughter and grandchildren of Representative Richard Neal, who is known to many in the House.

In January this year, Ireland South MEP Kathleen Funchion and I met the midwest rape crisis centre in Limerick city. We all know the vital work these centres play in supporting those who have been subjected to gender, domestic and sexual violence. Their focus is on the survivor and what is best for them. Their supports range from therapy and counselling to support for court appearances. In some cases, the volunteers are simply a sounding board and confidant with whom survivors can share their stories. Meeting the executive director was a useful reminder for me of the important role these centres play. One of the concerns raised with me was that the rape crisis centre midwest has 80 people on its waiting list for counselling support. I hope in a follow-up with the Minister for Health she can liaise with it to help it reduce its waiting list. It must be difficult for those who have suffered such terrible attacks to have that trauma compounded by an absence of counselling support. What is of utmost concern to me is the absence of sexual assault trauma units in the midwest region. More concerning again is the response I received from the HSE to a parliamentary question last week when I queried this. It advised me that there are currently no plans to establish a sexual assault trauma unit, SATU, in Limerick. I appreciate that there is availability of forensic medical examination in University Hospital Limerick. However, this service is only available in the evening time when somebody presents at the hospital. There is no forensic medical examination available prior to 7 p.m. When a rape or sexual assault occurs in order to protect the integrity of the forensic evidence, the person against whom the crime was committed is advised not to change their clothes, shower, brush their teeth or go to the bathroom. To have suffered such an attack and have to remain as they are for hours afterwards, unable to shower or even brush their teeth seems to me to be a further layer of trauma that could be avoided if a sexual assault trauma unit was available nearby. If such a heinous crime occurs in Limerick during the morning hours, the assaulted person has limited options. They can wait until the evening to visit the forensic medical examination service or seek transfer to the nearest sexual assault trauma unit in Galway. What happens if a person cannot drive or is still processing the attack and not ready to share their experience with loved ones or a friend? Should they get the bus to Galway or sit in the clothes they were wearing until 7 p.m.? Unfortunately, for a lot of reasons sexual crime is under reported to An Garda Síochána. Due to the trauma of the attack people sometimes delay reporting such an incident to An Garda Síochána. The lack of a sexual assault trauma unit removes the opportunity for forensically collected evidence to be stored for up to a year, giving the survivor the ability to proceed with making a criminal complaint later, while simultaneously having access to medical assessment and medications. However, if you only to present to a forensic medical examiner you do not receive support services. You only get the use of a kit for evidence-gathering purposes. This is a fundamental difference in how survivors of sexual assaults are treated. A sexual assault trauma unit is patient-centred and fundamentally focused on the well-being of the patient. It is a more care-based service that provides necessary medication, health assessments and a forensic examination. People can access care without involving An Garda Síochána as sometimes they may not yet be ready to do. If you have access to a sexual assault trauma unit, you have a dedicated phoneline to call and it is open 24 hours, 365 days a year. If you are raped or sexually assaulted in Limerick, you can dial 999. Appreciating Limerick's central location within the mid-west region, and that it is a university city with three major campuses and just under 13,000 third-level students, it strikes me as appalling that no sexual assault trauma unit is stationed there for use by the wider mid-west. There are currently six sexual assault trauma units in the State. They are in Cork, Donegal, Galway, Mullingar, Waterford and Dublin. There is an urgent need for more and one should be located in Limerick.

I thank Deputy Quinlivan for raising this important topic and for the opportunity to speak on an issue of profound importance: timely, compassionate and specialist care for survivors of sexual assault. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. Responding to sexual violence is a responsibility which is shared across Government and Ireland’s sexual assault treatment units, SATUs, play an integral role in this. Across Ireland, there are six dedicated SATUs, located in Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Mullingar and Waterford, which the Deputy has referenced. In 2025, these units provided care for 1,077 people. The year 2025 saw a reversal in the slight downward trend in overall attendances of previous years, with the largest increase in attendance in Dublin, at 12%. SATUs aim to provide 24-7 access to forensic examinations, medical treatments and trauma-informed support within three hours. SATUs operate within a nationally agreed model of care, underpinned by defined multi-agency guidelines and referral pathways. They provide responsive, patient-centred care for people of all genders and gender identities aged 14 years and over who have experienced rape or sexual assault. Services are delivered in close partnership with key agencies, including Rape Crisis Ireland, An Garda Síochána and Tusla. SATUs offer a range of services, including options for people to access care without the need to engage with An Garda Síochána and for people to store evidence for up to one year, giving them time to consider their reporting intentions in more detail. The SATUs are geographically distributed to enable any patient nationally to access the service within a three-hour window, optimising both the health and criminal justice responses to sexual crimes. The Government has always been very clear that, regardless of the circumstances in which sexual violence has occurred, a victim of these crimes can and should report their experience to An Garda Síochána. Accessing a SATU within a three-hour timeframe is a HSE national key performance indicator for the service, with a target of 90%. This has been consistently achieved since 2018. The 24-7-365 nature of the SATU service necessitates ongoing monitoring of accessibility and a sustained focus on both infrastructure and workforce. In addition to accessing the Cork and Galway SATU services within the three-hour timeframe, those in the mid-west can avail of immediate forensic and medical support in Limerick which operates independently of the national SATU network and SATU governance structures. This service provides a local out-of-hours forensic medical examination service for individuals aged 14 years and over but does not currently provide health checks or options for storage of evidence. All patients must be accompanied by a member of An Garda Síochána, which initiates access to the service. Victims of sexual assault also have the option of calling the excellent frontline services provided by organisations such as Rape Crisis Ireland, which offers non-judgmental support, a listening ear and information. The work these organisations do in this difficult space must be commended. SATUs are a key element of the support available in the health sector to victims of rape and sexual assault and, while the demand for this service is unpredictable, it is monitored closely by the HSE. At a national level, the HSE is currently preparing an overview of the SATU infrastructure. This work is expected to inform the strategic healthcare investment framework alignment process and inform future steps. Did the Deputy say there were eight people on a waiting list for counselling?

There are 80.

It is maybe a matter that the Deputy could bring up with the Minister and we can follow up on it. The HSE is currently preparing a review of the SATU infrastructure. We can feed into that in terms of considering the matter the Deputy has put forward for Limerick.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He knows the situation in UHL well. Those who arrive for the forensic medical examination that he mentioned are accompanied by a member of An Garda Síochána. Before they are even treated, people will know they are with the gardaí in the hospital. There is no privacy whatsoever and that has to change. The stark reality is that the service people in Limerick, Clare and Tipperary receive is less than that available to people living near other large cities. We need to ensure that all those who perpetrate such disgusting, violent and debased crimes face the full force of the law. Giving people the option to make a report at a later date can be a crucial part of this objective. A new €16 million surgical hub is being developed at the former Scoil Carmel site on O'Connell Avenue in Limerick. A sexual assault trauma unit could and should be established there. It would offer more privacy and, as the Minister of State knows, is literally around the corner from Rape Crisis Ireland's mid-west premises. After such trauma, people are not always yet ready to engage with the criminal justice system. Having access to a sexual assault trauma unit may allow more survivors to take the brave step of reporting their attacker to the Garda and allow those survivors the space to prepare for the often-arduous criminal justice journey. We need to support those navigating the criminal justice system after having been sexually assaulted. Forcing somebody who has survived a sexual assault to wait for an available room after the assault is no way that a survivor of domestic violence or any other sexual assault should be treated. It is time to put this right. Before we conclude, I want to note two things. If anyone watching tonight has been a victim of sexual violence, I urge them to speak to somebody about their experience. Organisations such as Rape Crisis Ireland have your best interests at heart. When they are ready to report the crime, they should think of An Garda Síochána or other authorities. When I spoke to survivors, I heard about the incredible support and compassion that was shown to them by trained members of An Garda Síochána. They are professionals, often in the divisional protective service unit, and will work closely to support victims. I commend those gardaí for their work. It must be emotionally challenging for them, and I hope they receive all of the necessary supports as they deal with difficult and horrible situations.

Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic. I join him in referencing the work done by Rape Crisis Ireland and specially trained gardaí. Will the Deputy come back to us on the 80 people waiting for counselling? As I stated earlier, I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. The Government remains committed to providing sexual assault treatment units across Ireland to offer safe and confidential services for people who experienced rape or sexual assault. There are six dedicated SATUs located in Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Mullingar and Waterford. SATUs operate within a nationally agreed model of care, underpinned by defined multi-agency guidelines and referral pathways. They provide responsive, patient-centred care for people of all genders and gender identities aged 14 years and over who have experienced rape or sexual assault. Services are delivered in close partnership with key agencies, including Rape Crisis Ireland, An Garda Síochána and Tusla. SATUs aim to provide 24-7 access to forensic examinations, medical treatments and trauma-informed support within three hours. Accessing a SATU within a three-hour timeframe is a HSE national key performance indicator for the service, with a target of 90%. This has been consistently achieved since 2018. The 24-7-365 nature of the SATU service necessitates ongoing monitoring of accessibility and a sustained focus on both infrastructure and workforce. In addition to accessing the Cork and Galway SATU services within the three-hour timeframe, those in the mid-west can avail of immediate forensic and medical support in Limerick, which operates independently of the national SATU network and SATU governance structures. At a national level, the HSE is currently preparing an overview of the SATU infrastructure. I will look to see that Deputy's proposal for an SATU in Limerick is fed into that review. This work is expected to inform the strategic healthcare investment framework alignment process and inform future steps. I expect the Deputy will follow this up with the HSE about this particular review in terms of including Limerick. The Government is committed to the provision of SATUs to ensure timely, compassionate specialist care for survivors of rape and sexual assault.