Ideally, we stick to not making extraordinarily charged comments about people that are not backed by any evidence. The Deputy can debate me any time in relation to this matter. He should not interrupt me again. He should not do that again. I am not taking this bully-boy attitude. I am speaking; it is my go.
Sentiment score: 0.13
The programme points out very serious issues. This Government, through the leadership of the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, is absolutely committed. None of us wants to see a scenario-----
Sentiment score: 0.06
Those families deserve answers.
Sentiment score: 0.00
The mental health service will continue both the investment it needs and be the subject of the reform that Deputy Mary Butler is working tirelessly on. She has my full support for that work.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I thank Deputy Bacik for raising this issue. It deserves a more considered response from me because it is a very important issue. We need to get it right. On foot of Deputy Bacik raising this matter, I will discuss it with the Minister, Deputy Foley. I will also discuss with her the Government's response to Patricia Carey's analysis in relation to the current scheme and the processes relating to it. I will revert to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.11
I thank Deputy Cummins for raising this issue. I am so sorry for Maud's family and Maud, and indeed the Deputy who described her relationship, which is obviously one of closeness, with the family. I am pleased to hear the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, will meet the family in relation to the ten points. I would be happy to talk to the Deputy in relation to it as well. I will certainly talk to the Minister of State in advance of the meeting. Let us hope that meeting can bring real progress. I am sure I speak for everybody in this House in saying that to see a family who are so generously willing to give, in the hope that no other family ever experiences the most horrific pain, tragedy and loss that they have experienced, is something we are all very grateful for.
Sentiment score: 0.23
I thank Deputy Ward for raising this issue. I will speak with the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Boxer Moran, today in relation to the situation. From memory, I know the Minister of State was in Donegal in recent days. I will get a brief from him, my Oireachtas colleagues and, indeed, the Deputy in relation to that visit. We had a Cabinet committee meeting on flooding yesterday morning. The main message from that was for all of us to empower the OPW to provide as much assistance as possible to local authorities for what we are calling "interim measures", measures in the here and now that can make a real difference. I will certainly make sure Raphoe is part of that conversation. Either the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, or I will be back to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I thank Deputy O'Donoghue for raising the issue. I do not want to give a knee-jerk response, other than to say that I will certainly give consideration to what the Deputy said. I will also talk to the Minister, Deputy Browne, in relation to this. There is a broader issue, if I can raise it, in relation to the Deputy's question around Uisce Éireann and its accountability to elected representatives. The Deputy's colleague and leader, Deputy Collins, raised this last week. I have discussed it with the Minister. I am not sure why Uisce Éireann, and this is not a criticism of the Ceann Comhairle or the Oireachtas, does not have a responsibility to answer parliamentary questions. That is not to my satisfaction. The company needs to be much better at communicating with Oireachtas Members because we are all going back to our constituencies trying to provide information. We are looking at engaging with Uisce Éireann in relation to how we improve at that level. I will be back to the Deputy on the specific issue he raised.
Sentiment score: 0.14
I am pleased Deputy Brabazon raised this matter. It is an issue that is coming up quite a lot. The Department and the NCSE tried to do something good here, which was to get ahead of things earlier this year through better planning and the like. As is often the case, however, other things happen and, through no fault of their own, not all parents were in a position to apply. Something that was about trying to facilitate earlier sanctioning of classes has obviously posed a challenge. The NCSE has advised the Department of an increasing number of children and young people who have come to its attention since that timeline. The Department has now worked with the NCSE on proposals to address the needs of those children. The Department confirms that the NCSE is now in a position to issue letters of eligibility to children and young people who have made contact with it after 1 October and who meet the criteria for a special class or special school placement. The NCSE is commencing this process this week.
Sentiment score: 0.17
I thank Deputy Ó Muirí for raising this matter. He is entirely right. Every lever and every stage of the process needs to be expedited in relation to homes, housing and getting the housing market moving. Tailte Éireann tells us that it is working to address the registration backlog through both increased resources but also improved processes. It also makes the fair point that many applications are not in order when they are first submitted. That figure was about 38% last year. There is clearly either a communications issue or a process issue there in relation to making sure the lodging parties' applications are in order. That would certainly speed up times. We also need to look at how digital services and the uptake of e-registration services can speed things up here. Where paperless application types are available to legal practitioners and financial institutions, that helps reduce processing times for all service users. I understand Tailte Éireann is currently running a tender process for an e-registration system, which would move the entire registration system to a paperless system.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I thank the Deputy for counting how many days I have been in the Dáil. I am grateful to the people of Wicklow for returning me to this House each and every time I have asked them. I never take that for granted. I work very hard for them and for this country. I think the Deputy has been here since 2016 and I am sure he tries his best for his community too. In relation to University Hospital Limerick, I acknowledge that the Minister for Health has been working on a cross-party basis on this issue. In fairness, I acknowledge that the Deputy has been a part of that too, as has Deputy O'Donoghue and many Deputies across the House. For the first time, we have near political consensus on what needs to happen. I do not want to speak for the Minister, and I do not have the note in front of me, but she brought proposals to Cabinet before Christmas in relation to not saying it is a choice between this, this or this, but saying we need to move forward in relation to all options. However, it is a question of doing it in a certain sequence that makes most sense for the Deputy's constituents in terms of increasing bed capacity. I will ask the Minister to continue to engage with the Deputy and all mid-west Oireachtas representatives in relation to this.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I thank Deputy Daly for raising this issue. I genuinely appreciate his expert knowledge, as well as his knowledge as a TD, of health services in the west and north west. One piece of work we have undertaken as a Government is we have created regional health organisations so that we can see the full spectrum of health, population, budget and staffing. This should allow us to be much more analytical in making sure that we are putting resources where they meet the needs and demands of an area and the demographic profile. On foot of the Deputy raising this matter, I will ask both the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the Minister of State with responsibility for older people, Deputy O'Donnell, to look at the figures he has put on the record of the House and come back to him directly.
Sentiment score: 0.34
I thank Deputy Callaghan for her question. As is often the case, she has highlighted an issue which we need to give some consideration to. I am very conscious that in her part of the country, in my part of the country in the south east and in much of the east of the country, we saw significant rainfall over an extended period, with flooding, including of farmland, particularly in the east and south. Thankfully, with most cattle housed this time of year, the impact was somewhat limited compared to what it could have been if it had been a different time of year. We have not been experiencing a shortage of fodder either. We have seen some challenges in relation to slurry tanks at capacity and limited opportunities to spread organic manure. A number of schemes have been put in place but I need to speak with the Minister for agriculture to try to get some specific direction in relation to the sheep farmer the Deputy referenced. I undertake to engage with Government colleagues to see if there is anything we can do to assist and to come back to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I thank Deputy Daly for raising the matter of SNA provision in his own county and, indeed, Donegal. I will certainly speak to the Minister for education and the Minister of State with responsibility for special education on that point and the point he made about the interpretation or definition of significant need and how it is being applied in various schools. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.36
I will. I am conscious that the Deputy's part of the country, as well as all the benefits he has outlined, has also produced a fair few Olympians and people who have represented our country with distinction as a result of the experience and training they have had in the water and on the sea on our south and south-west coast. From my time in the Department of further and higher education, I know the benefit of outdoor education. We have to look at education in the round. It comes in many different forms. It is not just a classroom or university lecture hall. Outdoor education centres are also important and, obviously, there is a benefit economically and to the tourism product of west Cork, as the Deputy said. I will speak with the Minister, Deputy Lawless, in the first instance and ask that he engage with the ETB and come back to the Deputy.
Sentiment score: 0.26
I note and appreciate the Deputy's work on this and his engagement with the Taoiseach. Indeed, I read his comments on the issue. We are all absolutely appalled, sickened and disgusted at the depraved - and that word does not fully capture it - conduct we are seeing in some of the Epstein files. Like the Deputy, all of us are seeing that many files are being put out with different bits of information at different times. Of course, all law authorities, enforcement agencies and police forces are going to have to play any role that is appropriate or important in relation to answers, truth and justice. My understanding is that there has not been specific information in relation to the Garda and the like. However, on foot of Deputy Smith raising the matter in the Dáil, I will discuss it further with the Taoiseach and the Minister for justice. I appeal to any person in this country who may have any information at all in relation to this to please go to the Garda and make that information available. It is safe enough to say this much. You clearly had here vulnerable young women in a powerful network of despicable powerful men who abused that and carried out depraved acts.
Sentiment score: 0.31
I thank Deputy Hearne for raising this. I genuinely thank Dublin Simon Community for the work it does on behalf of our country and homeless people and its advocacy. I note and take seriously the report; I do not dismiss it. I was also looking at some figures which show that 272 new HAP tenancies were created in those 16 areas in December, but I do not take from the seriousness of the issue the report highlights. The Government's commitment is to review HAP limits and levels, to have that completed in the first half of this year and then to act on it.
Sentiment score: 0.20
I thank Deputy McGreehan for raising the point. In my own constituency, I see something similar. Yes, I think it is a statement of fact to say the demographic situation in relation to primary schools might be changing but it is not equal across all parts of the country because there are some parts of the country where the population is continuing to grow very quickly and a lot of that is on the east coast. The point raised by the Deputy in relation to County Louth is valid. We have to start to look at data on a much more granular basis in terms of counties but even parts of counties as well. The Deputy will know the Minister has announced tranche one of the capital programme. What I would say to the Deputy's constituents and to those schools she has referenced is that it is not the final word, it is tranche one. We do intend to fund many more education projects and I am happy to liaise with the Deputy directly on that matter.
Sentiment score: 0.19
I thank Deputy Neville for raising this issue. He makes this point quite often and he is right about County Kildare and the population and the need for public services, including education, to keep up with it. The Department tells me that it basically divides up the country into what it calls school planning area levels. It looks at both enrolment and child benefit data. It updates it annually and it is geocoded to the 19,000 small areas across the country. From that, it analyses at a granular level the population of school-going children and the schools they attend. It is not currently using ECCE data. I think there is something interesting about that, considering the number of kids now involved in ECCE is so high. I will certainly engage with the Minister on that. I will also ask her to come back to the Deputy directly in relation to Leixlip and Naas. The Department tells me it has consulted with St. Corban's National School in Naas and has sanctioned the opening of an additional junior infant class for September in an available classroom to meet a specific demand there. We have also seen the completion of a new 32-classroom co-educational primary school in Naas and the establishment of a new primary school in Leixlip. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, will continue to engage with the Deputy on the issues.
Sentiment score: 0.16
I do recognise this and I thank the Deputy for raising it. I know Deputy O'Rourke's part of the country is one that has been badly impacted. We had a meeting of the Cabinet committee on climate yesterday that was dedicated to the issue of the recent floods and the impact. The Department of Transport provided an update on that. It is fair to say the damage will run to tens of millions of euro. The message to the local authorities and the Department of Transport was to get on with it in terms of repairs. They have enough headroom within their capital allocations to make that work. We can obviously address other issues at a future Estimates time. The most important thing is that they get on with actually repairing these roads because quite a lot of damage has been done. I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to specifically link with Deputy O'Rourke in relation to the roads in Meath.
Sentiment score: -0.02
I thank Deputy Nolan for raising the issue of sulky races and making the point in relation to the current laws that exist regarding that. It is important they are enforced. I know the Minister for agriculture is working on animal welfare proposals too. The Deputy is quite right in relation to sulky races in terms of the animal welfare abuses, the abuses of horses, the lack of care for them, and the devastating impact this can have from an animal welfare point of view, as the Deputy has outlined. I pay tribute to organisations such as My Lovely Horse Rescue and others on the work they do. In light of the Deputy raising this I will ask the Minister with responsibility for road safety and the Minister for agriculture to come back to the Deputy. I will also ask the Minister for justice to raise with the Garda issues around enforcement.
Sentiment score: 0.17