Inniu, táthar ag dréim go n-ardóidh an Banc Ceannais Eorpach rátaí úis don seachtú huair ó bhí mí Iúil ann. Tiocfaidh sé seo mar bhuille eile do na mílte teaghlaigh. Is é anois an t-am chun faoiseamh úis mhorgáiste a thabhairt isteach chun tacú leis na teaghlaigh seo. Today the European Central Bank is widely expected to increase interest rates again. This would be the seventh time it has done so since July. This will come as a hammer blow to hundreds of thousands of families. It will immediately affect those 250,000 families and households with a mortgage on a tracker rate and it will hit the pockets of tens of thousands of households whose mortgages have been sold to vulture funds. Many of these households are being charged interest rates as high as 8%. They are now set to receive the seventh letter through the post informing them of a further rate hike and a further increase in their monthly mortgage repayments. This all comes at a time of great financial pressure for these families who are already being squeezed and whose finances are being stretched by a cost-of-living crisis, with the rise in food prices, transport costs and energy bills all bearing down heavily on them.

Last week, we heard from the Central Bank that one in five households are seeing their mortgage repayments increase by €400 per month. This is €5,000 per year. A borrower who recently reached out to me told me that her mortgage repayments had increased by €523 per month. This is an increase of more than €6,000 per year. Another person reached out to me to voice her desperation. Her loan was sold a number of years ago to a vulture fund. She has seen her interest rate increase time and time again. She said "I'm so stressed by this. My mental health is suffering. I have young children and I'm trapped in this cycle."

Last week, Sinn Féin brought a motion before this House calling for the introduction of targeted and temporary mortgage interest relief to support struggling families with rising mortgage costs. The proposal we put forward was a scheme that would absorb 30% of the rise in mortgage costs with a maximum benefit for households of up to €1,500. It was a sensible proposal that would make a real difference to countless families out there and take the sharp edge off the sudden and significant spike in interest rates these workers and families are facing.

It was a mistake for the Government to reject this proposal. The Government has claimed that it cannot act until the budget in October. Can I remind the Tánaiste that in the past number of weeks, his Government has announced tax changes on petrol, diesel and solar panels and tax changes for the hospitality and tourism sector and has removed levies for developers? All of this is outside the normal budget cycle at a cost of hundreds of millions of euro. Therefore, the argument that nothing can be done to support these families in the here and now with rising mortgage costs before October is simply a nonsense. As mortgage costs soar for hundreds of thousands of struggling households, the State can and should step in to support them and give them that type of relief. Now is not the time for excuses. Now is the time for action. Now is the time to be on the side of mortgage holders and to give them relief. As we see the cost to mortgage holders to keep a roof over their heads increase, people paying 8% - a figure that will increase after today's decision - and people being charged thousands of euro more than this time last year, will the Government finally introduce temporary and targeted mortgage interest relief, as Sinn Féin has proposed, to provide much-needed support for them? If it does not do so, what will it say to those families? What is it going to do? What type of relief will it offer, or will it just wash its hands and abandon them?

Under section 46 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, approves any superannuation schemes submitted by An Post. The operation of the schemes is a matter between the management of An Post, staff representatives and the trustees of the schemes. I have asked An Post to correspond directly with the Deputy on this matter.

The reductions in excise on petrol and diesel will continue until 1 June and about 1.3 million pensioners and so on are also benefiting in terms of additional social welfare payments. Our cost-of-living programme through the first half of this year has been designed by us in a comprehensive way. I think it is a better approach than just picking out things sector-by-sector every month, which is the knee-jerk response of the Opposition.

Hundreds of thousands of families will hear in the next hour or so that their mortgages are going up. They have just listened to the Tánaiste and have heard nothing on direct supports from him. His backbenchers will brief the media that the Government is considering this and so on but the leader of the party is still not saying that the Government is willing to intervene and provide direct supports for mortgage holders. That is a crazy situation.

People are already paying 8% interest rates. It will go up after today and is likely to go up further but we have a Government that is washing its hands and abandoning these mortgage holders. The Tánaiste’s party championed the idea of mortgage interest relief at a time when mortgage interest rates were a fraction of what they are now. Families are paying €5,000 and €6,000 more. Listen to the testimony. These people are locked in a cycle affecting their mental health. The Central Bank is telling us that more families are going to drop into arrears. What is the Government offering? Free childcare and free schoolbooks. We are asking for direct intervention for mortgage holders. We are asking for a response that is time limited and targeted. We have put our proposals on the table as far back as last year; the Government is coming up with nothing. People are pleading for action. Is the Government considering any direct support for mortgage holders as a result of this cost-of-living crisis, which has seen interest rates increase seven times in the last seven or eight months?

By the time of the budget last autumn, the European Central Bank had already increased interest rates twice. Despite that, Sinn Féin chose not to provide at all for mortgage holders in its budget submission. There was zero. Not a mention. That was Sinn Féin’s response to it. What I said earlier represents a very comprehensive and strategic approach by the Government to reduce costs generally for households, including those with mortgages. Essentially, we reduced tax in the budget. We have reduced the cost of public services in health, in terms of admission charges to hospitals and inpatient charges, and in education, not only with the free book scheme, which the Deputy seems to dismiss. It is a very significant intervention for many families with mortgages that they will not face the cost of books next September.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 55 together.

The Conservation of Coarse Fish Bye-Law No. 806 of 2006 referred to by the Deputy relates to measures concerning the catching and retaining of all coarse species including perch. The Bye-Law is in force for the last 17 years on a National basis.

As recently advised by my officials at a meeting of the Angling Consultative Council of Ireland, a review of Bye-Laws in force for 10 years or more and their application will be commenced shortly. It is intended that Bye-Law 806 of 2006 will be reviewed early in that process.

Question No. 55 answered with Question No. 54.

So there is no direct support for mortgage holders.

That is not something to be sniffed at or dismissed like the Deputy did earlier.

Time is up.

Government Ministers are briefing the media.

Local authorities are currently not in a position to use CCTV to monitor illegal dumping.

In order to address data protection concerns, Sections 22 & 33 of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 require that the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) prepare and submit to me, in my role as Minister, for approval, draft codes of practice for the purpose of setting standards for the operation of CCTV and other mobile recording devices, in order to deter environmental pollution and facilitate the prevention, detection, and prosecution of littering (Section 33) and illegal dumping (Section 22) offences. The preparation of Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) is also required as part of this process, which the LGMA are currently progressing.

The draft Codes of Practice will be submitted to me by the LGMA for approval as soon as practicable. Once approved, local authorities will then be able to put in place both litter and waste enforcement measures involving the GDPR-compliant use of technologies such as CCTV.

Deputy.

Nonsense. The Government is abandoning the mortgage holders.

Please. I call Deputy Cairns.

What started as a cost-of-living crisis has now become a cost-of-greed crisis. Entire industries are taking advantage of this crisis by inflating their prices to unsustainable levels. Corporate profits were up 30% at the end of last year while domestic companies saw profits surge by 17%. The ECB has now warned that profiteering by companies is the main driver of inflation. This is greedflation, plain and simple, and people are suffering as a result. While companies make bumper profits, ordinary consumers are unable to afford basics like food and heat. Already this year, calls to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul have increased by 20%. With no end in sight to record price increases, an increasing number of workers and families are on the brink. We know energy companies are engaged in obscene profiteering. Wholesale energy prices fell 41% in the last three months of 2022 and have continued to fall this year. Despite this, prices for residential customers have yet to fall.

The Government claims it wants to see energy companies reduce prices but the Minister seems incapable of doing more than wagging his finger at the companies. We are now told his long-promised windfall tax will not be operable until the autumn. Food inflation has been surging for two years and is now running at nearly 17%. Annual grocery bills have increased by more than €1,200 in the past 12 months. How are people on fixed incomes like pensioners and disabled people expected to cope with these enormous price increases? Many are being forced to either cut down or cut out meals. Our most vulnerable citizens are going without.

It is also increasingly difficult for struggling parents on low and middle incomes to ensure there is food on the table for their children. The biggest price increases have not been to luxury products. They have been to basics like butter, bread and pasta. Now, the supermarkets have decided en masse to decrease the prices of milk and butter. This so-called supermarket war looks more like a phoney battle of convenience. They want to give the illusion of action while continuing to clean up.

A big problem is there is no transparency about prices. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission repeatedly tells us it has no role in even monitoring price levels. The Government is now planning to introduce a food regulator that will be similarly toothless. Farmers will continue to be at the mercy of processors and retailers, as will consumers. The Government should be able to do more than merely describe a problem. It has the power to act.

What is the Government going to do to counteract spiralling greedflation and out-of-control costs? Will it give the proposed new food regulator the powers it needs to investigate what is really happening in supply chains?

The military authorities have advised that Defence Force Regulation (DFR) A9 sets out the qualifying criteria required to be awarded Defence Forces Medals. The award of Service Medals for both Officers and Non Commissioned Officers and Privates is as follows:

1. DFR A9 Paragraph 4a provides that the qualifying service for the award of the Service Medal to an officer shall be satisfactory and continuous service in the Permanent Force for a period of 5,475 days or the aggregate of satisfactory and continuous service in the Permanent Force and the Reserve of Officers (First Line) for a period of 5,475 days (15yrs).

2. DFR A9 Paragraph 5a provides that the qualifying service for the award of the Service Medal to a non-commissioned officer or Private shall be satisfactory and continuous service in the Permanent Force for a period of 3,650 days, or the aggregate of satisfactory and continuous service in the Permanent Force and the Reserve of Men (First Line) for a period of 3,650 days (10 yrs).

I say all that because it gets dismissed in the House. It is mistakenly believed that all of this did not happen or there was no intervention by the Government. There is. The windfall is there. Fundamentally, quite a range of factors are responsible for the inflationary cycle. Food prices went up by approximately 13% in March. We acknowledge that, but-----

I thank the Tánaiste.

-----that is compared to approximately an average cost of 19% across Europe. In the areas of education, health and transport-----

We are way over time.

-----it is a different story because of Government intervention.

I recognise the different factors that have an impact on it, but I was highlighting the fact that wholesale energy prices fell by 41%-----

Yes.

-----but they have yet to fall for residential customers. We are only seeing a windfall tax in the autumn and now there are similar issues with the cost of food. The European Central Bank, ECB, is clear that corporate profits are now the main driver of that inflation and not the other factors. The pain that is being inflicted by the ECB to control inflation interest rate hikes is not being felt by corporations, it is being felt by ordinary workers and families whose mortgages are going up.

We are due another interest rate hike today. That will be the seventh interest rate hike in less than a year. All the pain of the crisis is being visited on ordinary workers and families. On one side, supermarkets and energy companies are among those who are price gouging with wild abandon. On the other hand, the ECB is tightening the screw even further with incessant increases in interest rates. None of what the Tánaiste said addresses that. It is just giving out different payments to try to make it less painful for people, but it is not addressing the cause of the problem. The pressure on people is too much to bear. Those payments are not addressing it anymore. A tiny decrease in the price of butter and milk is not the answer to this.

The Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill will be on Report and Final Stages in the Dáil next week and-----

-----I am asking the Tánaiste please to revisit this. Now is the chance to address the issues in relation to food prices. There can be some management of this going forward, because it is not the primary producers, such as farmers, who benefit, and it is not the consumers.

The whole purpose of that legislation is to help the primary producer. That was its origin. That is why Fianna Fáil argued for this when we were in opposition. In government, the three parties agreed-----

We need a food regulator with teeth, not an ombudsman.

Irish driver licensing operates within a framework of EU law, which sets out the driver licensing legislation with which all Member States must comply. The format of driving licences, categories of vehicles and the standards to be met in driving tests to qualify for a licence are set at EU level. Therefore, all EU-issued licences are mutually recognised in Member States.

Ireland may make bilateral licence exchange agreements with non-EU jurisdictions. Such agreements can be made only when the authorities in both jurisdiction have studied and compared the licensing regimes and each side is satisfied that they are compatible.

Following Brexit, an exchange agreement was made between Ireland and the UK and a UK licence can be exchanged for an Irish licence. However, as per that agreement, a UK licence issued in exchange for a licence from a third country that Ireland does not have an exchange agreement with cannot be exchanged for an Irish licence.

This also applies to the mutual recognition of EU licences. When a third country licence is exchanged for a Member State licence, such a licence is not recognised here for exchange if Ireland does not have an exchange agreement with the third country.

Ireland does not have a driving licence exchange agreement with Zimbabwe and the licensing regime has not been examined to ensure that it reaches the required standards. Accordingly, a UK licence issued in exchange for a Zimbabwean licence cannot be exchanged for an Irish licence.

Ireland does have a driving licence exchange agreement with South Africa.

I have.

-----but in any event-----

I propose to take Questions Nos. 80 and 104 together.

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport.  The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area, including BusConnects Dublin.

Noting the NTA's responsibility in the matter, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NTA for a direct reply.  Please contact my private office if you do not receive a reply within 10 days.

I did not interrupt the Deputy. I just want to make the point that the legislation on food pricing is the first of its kind. It will bring about far greater transparency and it is designed to help the primary producer. The ECB is increasing interest rates in order to bring down inflation more generally. They were at historically low levels. Every economist will acknowledge that. The Government has to intervene to reduce the pain, as the Deputy has said. That is the right thing to do in the exceptional circumstances we have experienced, namely, the war in Ukraine and coming out of the first pandemic in 100 years. These have had huge implications for supply chains more generally. We have to get inflation down.

I thank the Tánaiste.

We have to make sure - there are agencies in place - that we deal with the behaviour of companies etc.

I call Deputy Pringle on behalf of the Independent Group.

We all remember the shocking images from November 2020 of a bog slide at Meenbog in Donegal. The sight of trees slipping down the hill while they were still standing was truly shocking. Now, two and a half years later, there is no word of the investigation into the cause of the slide, as if we did not know what it was. Meenbog is the site of a significant wind farm development, a development that appears to be progressing, regardless of the investigation. People knew that the site was not suitable even for trees, never mind for a wind farm development. As usual, the planning process is skewed against local people and their often genuine concerns.

I ask about this because it is relevant to current wind farm applications in the Gweebarra area of west Donegal. The Tánaiste will probably reply that it is up to Donegal County Council or an Bord Pleanála to decide and not for him or the Government. Yet, I, and many people in Donegal and around the country, believe that the Government has to take a view on this issue.

We have also seen the Government dragging its heels on publishing the wind energy guidelines. A draft was published in 2019 and there has not been a word about it since. A process started in 2013, which is now ten years ago. This is about protecting concerned local people, so there is no urgency on it. The place where the wind farm developments are taking place in the Gweebarra is covered in blanket bog which, apart from anything else, scientists believe that it is the best possible carbon sink. The risk of further bog slides cannot be underestimated and, like in Meenbog, the Gweebarra Estuary is a significant salmon river and the risks of ecological damage are immense.

We have seen many bog slides over the last few years around the country. While not all are associated with wind farm developments, they show that the risk is real. Given that we still do not know the outcome of the damage to the River Finn and its tributaries, does the Tánaiste believe that An Bord Pleanála should adjudicate on any applications that may come from similar landscape areas in the county or indeed the country? Will he or the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications take an interest and protect the sensitive environment of the Gweebarra by ensuring they have an interest in the applications in the area and not leave it to the inadequately prepared An Bord Pleanála at the very least at the present time?

It is very unusual to raise individual planning applications.

It is not individual. There is a whole raft of planning applications. It is not about those. It is about the blanket bog.

First, I cannot speak about the specifics of any particular planning application. Obviously, however, when an event such as what happened in Gweebarra happens, it does merit an examination. The Deputy is saying that the investigation is on the way but it has not concluded.

The operation of the National Car Testing Service (NCTS) is the statutory responsibility of the Road Safety Authority (RSA). I have referred the Deputy's query to the Authority for direct reply. I would ask the Deputy to contact my office if a response has not been received within ten days.

I am aware of the challenges that the RSA and the NCTS are currently facing to meet high demand for tests and the delays which vehicle owners are encountering. My officials continue to meet weekly with the Authority, to monitor ongoing progress in reducing test delays and to ensure all possible actions are being taken to bring the waitlist to an acceptable level in 2023, as well as supporting all appropriate requests from the RSA for assistance. I have also met with the RSA Chief Executive and Chair to discuss this and other matters.

There has been considerable progress in addressing the long-term staffing issues which have caused this backlog and in increasing capacity at test centres, including the temporary transfer of testers from the NCTS contractor’s Spanish operation last year, increased staff overtime and extensive recruitment of new vehicle inspectors. There are currently 589 testers in place, with 18 more testers commencing training this week and a further 17 expected in the coming weeks. New testers are being assigned to the test centres with the most significant delays.

Just over 48,000 tests were completed last week, comprising 32,316 full tests and 15,832 re-tests. An average of 31,000 full tests were conducted each week last month, a significant increase on figures for December 2022, when tests averaged 25,000 per week. The average waiting period nationally is now just over 26 days and the RSA is confident that a return to the service level agreement waiting period of 12 days will be achieved by July 2023.

In the interim, I am advised that customers seeking test appointments may contact the NCTS directly, by calling 01-4135992 or by availing of the priority waiting list function via the NCT website, www.ncts.ie. In the majority of cases, these vehicle owners are provided with an appointment within 30 days.

Yet, it is still on the way, is it not?

A referred reply was forwarded to the Deput y under Standing Order 51

I know, but I am not doing the investigation. I cannot interfere, and nor should the Government interfere in any investigation of that kind. The investigation into that bog slide should be without fear or favour, because it is important. I acknowledge that.

Wind energy and renewables, both onshore and offshore, are key to the country's future. There will be a stronger emphasis on offshore over the next decade. However, a significant degree of onshore wind will still come on stream. There are quite a number of planning applications with An Bord Pleanála.

I do not accept the Deputy's basic premise. I am not quite clear about whether this is what the Deputy was saying, but he seemed to be strongly implying that the Government should intervene in this planning application or that the Government should intervene in planning applications now and then on particular issues. If that were to happen, where would it leave our planning system? First, from a legal framework, that position cannot be taken. At the moment, the Government cannot intervene in a planning decision or a planning application. We cannot adjudicate on it over the heads of the county council or An Bord Pleanála. That is what the Deputy is suggesting to me. The Government cannot do that and I think the Deputy knows that too. It may play well to a particular audience to say, "I called on the Government to interfere here and to stop the planning". I have heard that before on different issues. Those who advocate for that know damn well that the Government cannot interfere with the planning application or with the specifics of a planning case.

I will ask the Minister to check the timeframe in respect of the conclusions of the investigation. One would presume that the conclusion of the investigation would inform any future planning policy in the area. The county council has to take cognisance of any issues in the area. It should do so in respect of any zoning of the area for renewables or any future proposals. That is normally what would happen in a given area if something untoward happened, such as a slide, a collapse etc. They would check if the topography of the terrain or the geology was suitable for a particular development. However, that is fundamentally a matter for the local authority and the established State agencies to arbitrate on.

A referred reply was forwarded to the Deput y under Standing Order 51

Again, I said I would check with the relevant Ministers about where the investigation is. However, very often, the opposite of that story can also happen.

The Deputy would be the very first to stand up here if the Government had got involved in the investigation, and the Government of the day would then be accused of cover-up and of influencing the investigation to get the right result that has now facilitated further planning permissions. That is exactly what would happen. If the Government started speaking to the various independent investigators to tell them to hurry up and sort it out quickly because we needed to get a clear landscape in terms of what was to happen, people would start accusing the Government of interfering in an impartial investigation that should be without fear or favour. It should just find out what happened here.

I take the Deputy's point. He made a fair point about the timeliness of the investigation. I accept that point but we are at the mercy - the entire House always is - of any kind of investigation that is external and conducted by an agency or a group of agencies into matters such as this. Once the investigation starts, I do not believe the Government can get involved or interfere in it, but I will come back to the Deputy on the timelines in respect of it.

The rural regeneration and development fund is a “commitment of €1 billion by government to be invested in rural Ireland over the period 2019 to 2027”. Those are the Government's words. The fund was set up to develop infrastructure that may be needed to support town centre housing and commercial development. With what? There is no investment in basic infrastructure for any of this development to happen. This eliminates any hope of increasing the population in our towns and villages - no equality there. Urban areas always get a larger share of Government funding, which leads to huge discrepancies in basic infrastructure in health, transport and broadband between urban and rural - again, no equality there. I, as an elected Deputy, want similar access to resources and opportunities for the constituents of rural Ireland - again, no equality there. Is this just plain discrimination by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party and a city-based Cabinet?

From where I am standing, we in rural Ireland are not on a level playing field. The Government is anti-rural, anti-small town and village, anti-farmer-----

Ah, Richard, come off it.

The Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021 is due to return to the Seanad for the Report and Final Stage on 24 May 2023. Given that there are Seanad amendments, a report back to the Dáil after passing the Seanad will be required. It is anticipated that the Bill will be signed into law in June. Work on commencement orders has already begun. This Bill contains a number of provisions relevant to the work of the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

Completion of the Road Traffic and Roads Bill is the focus at the present time. My Department, in conjunction with the RSA, is giving consideration to the Road Safety Authority (Amendment) Bill and proposals will be brought forward in this regard later in the year.

First, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Ní aontaím leis. Ní dóigh liom go bhfuil an ceart ag an Teachta nó go bhfuil fírinne an scéil ráite aige. Tá an-chuid infheistíochta ag dul isteach in áiteanna tuaithe na tíre seo. Tá an-chuid infheistíochta á dhéanamh i ngach aon áit sa Stáit.

I do not agree with the Deputy's central premise. The preliminary census results for 2022 show population growth in all counties, in rural and urban Ireland. It is the first time ever that this has happened. The number of people in employment has increased across all parts of the country. We as a Government are investing more money than ever before to support rural projects in rural communities, and I think the Deputy knows this as well. The rural regeneration and development fund, which is quite unprecedented in its scale, the town and village renewal scheme, CLÁR, the communities centre investment fund, LEADER, the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme and the sports capital programme have all reached deep into rural Ireland and will suffice to underpin Limerick's supremacy for many years to come, or maybe not supremacy but strength.

We also have full employment now, with remote and blended working. As the Deputy knows, for years people in local communities found it very difficult to get work and many had to commute, but there is now blended working and hubs and so on are being developed. More people are living in rural Ireland than ever before and more people are working in rural Ireland than ever before. These are the facts, and more money is being invested in rural Ireland than ever before. Approximately €600 million has been invested since 2020 by the Department of Rural and Community Development in projects in rural communities under the rural development investment programme and, in 2023, €390 million has been provided for the Department. The Deputy mentioned the €1 billion himself.

The majority of jobs are now created outside Dublin. Approximately 430,000 jobs have been created since the Government took office, with 70% of them created outside Dublin. On towns and villages, one of the most imaginative schemes has been Croí Cónaithe and that is being expanded again by the Government through the grants of €50,000 and €70,000. This will deal with dereliction in towns and villages across Ireland and help couples create homes with substantial State support, and that will support the wider rural infrastructure as well. Last November, more than €115 million was announced for 23 landmark rural regeneration projects nationwide, the largest ever allocation under the fund. I could go on. In regard to housing as well, a substantial number of houses have been built in rural Ireland in the past year.

As Minister for Transport, I have responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport; however, I am not involved in the day-to-day operations of public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally.

In addition, I would like to advise that the NTA also has responsibility for the collection and publication of statistics relating to public transport.

Therefore, in light of the NTA's responsibility in this matter, I have forwarded the Deputy's question in relation to the top ten highest yield of Dublin Bus routes in 2022 and to-date in 2023, to the Authority for direct reply.  Please advise my private office if you do not receive a response within ten working days.

I will stay on Limerick but, in fairness, the Deputy started his question nationally and, after my initial reply, he jumped back to his constituency-----

Kilbeheny. Oola.

Ní choinníonn an Roinn na staitisticí atá iarrtha ag an Teachta. Tá fáil ar shonraí Daonáireamh ar bhonn Limistéir Pleanála Teanga Gaeltachta chomh maith le sonraí ábhartha eile maidir leis an bpróiseas pleanála teanga ar an amharcóir mapa a rinne an Roinn a fhorbairt i gcomhar leis an bPríomh-Oifig Staidrimh:

dahg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=7090794ee2ca4b53bb785b84c2bd9ad8

Tá tuilleadh eolais ar fáil ar ndóigh ón bPríomh-Oifig féin maidir le gnóthaí Gaeilge trí chéile.

Go down and drink the water there now.

On sewage treatment, the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Expenditure have both allocated unprecedented money to Irish Water for sewage treatment plants-----

It did not know the sewerage system was there.

Ní choinníonn an Roinn na staitisticí atá iarrtha ag an Teachta. Tá fáil ar shonraí Daonáireamh ar bhonn Limistéir Pleanála Teanga Gaeltachta chomh maith le sonraí ábhartha eile maidir leis an bpróiseas pleanála teanga ar an amharcóir mapa a rinne an Roinn a fhorbairt i gcomhar leis an bPríomh-Oifig Staidrimh:

dahg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=7090794ee2ca4b53bb785b84c2bd9ad8

Tá tuilleadh eolais ar fáil ar ndóigh ón bPríomh-Oifig Staidrimh féin maidir le gnóthaí Gaeilge trí chéile.

It did not.

Deputy, will you let the Tánaiste answer?

There is a significant investment programme in sewage treatment plants and we need to do more. It is an issue of capacity now. The money has been allocated.

The reason we are doing it-----

Part 9 of the Broadcasting Act, 2009 makes provision for the administration of the TV licence fee system. Total licence fee receipts are comprised of a contribution from the Department of Social Protection in respect of free licences issued under the Household Benefits Scheme, and receipts from direct sales by An Post, who act as my issuing agent for licence fee collection. An Post makes every effort to reduce evasion and issues a number of reminders to evaders. Prosecution through the courts is a last resort.

In 2022, An Post applied to the courts for 14,915 summonses for failure to pay for a TV Licence and the number of cases heard in court in 2022 was 9,610.

The reason we are doing it is it tied into the housing programme as well.

Forty years.

I am dealing with this Government now because this Government is responsible for what is there and to make sure we can improve upon water quality, in particular. That is a key priority of Government.

Forty years of raw sewage.

There are many factors that go into the pollution of our waterways, etc.-----

Forty years of raw sewage.

-----but the Deputy should be in no doubt that work is under way on a range of the projects that he has listed.

Forty years.

Public ownership is a core principle governing the development of water services and the Government has given its full commitment to holding a referendum on water ownership. It is important to note that the establishment of Uisce Éireann in public ownership is already firmly secured under the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2022.

I have previously committed to bringing forward a referendum proposal on public ownership of water for consideration by Government in conjunction with the anticipated recommendation of a proposed referendum on housing, once the Housing Commission has reported to me on that matter. In this way, it is intended that definitive proposals, including timelines, for referenda on water and housing will be considered by Government in due course.

The Deputy would be the first there when some of these schemes are opened.

I will.

The School Meals Programme provides funding towards the provision of food services to some 1,600 schools and organisations benefitting 260,000 children.  The objective of the programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided to them.  The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement.

Budget 2023 provided €94.4 million for the programme.  The Government recently approved an additional €14.5m to allow access to the Hot School Meals scheme for all remaining DEIS schools from September 2023.

On 30th March, I published an independent evaluation of the School Meals Programme which sets out the positive impact the Programme is having in terms of children’s education and wellbeing.  This evaluation is evidence-based and sets out a series of recommendations for expanding the School Meals Programme into the future.  There is an overwhelming consensus among all participants in the evaluation that the school Meals Programme is effective and indicates strong support for extending the School Meals Programme.

The report also recommends an interim increase in funding rates for all meal options in the School Meals Programme.  In response, I have secured government approval for the following rate increases for the various meal options provided on the School Meals Programme effective from 1st January 2023:

• Breakfast - increase from €0.60 to €0.75 (15c increase).

• Cold Lunch - increase from €1.40 to €1.70 (30c increase).

• Dinner - increase from €1.90 to €2.50 (60c increase).

• Hot School Meal - increase from €2.90 to €3.20 (30c increase).

Funding under the School Meals Programme can be provided for breakfast, snack, cold lunch, dinner, hot school meals and afterschool clubs and is based on a maximum rate per child per day, depending on the type of meal being provided.  These meals must meet the nutritional standards for the school meals programme.  The Nutritional Standards for School Meals were developed by a working group led by the Health and Wellbeing Programme in the Department of Health, in consultation with Safefood and the Healthy Eating and Active Living Programme in the Health Service Executive.

All schools must satisfy the nutritional standards, must submit a sample menu with their application and must provide detailed records at the end of each school year.  Expenditure on unhealthy food items is deducted from the funding allocation.

I am committed to continuing to expand the School Meals Programme and building further on the significant extension of the programme that has taken place in recent years.  In this regard, I intend to roll out the Hot School Meals to all remaining DEIS primary and Special schools from September 2023, benefiting more than 60,000 children.  I will also bring forward proposals in the coming weeks on commencing the roll out of the Hot School Meals to non-DEIS primary schools from 2024.

I trust this clarifies the matter.

Meath will not be in the Munster final.