I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Tá ceathair nóiméad le chéile ag Seanadóiri Ní Chuilinn agus Harmon.

Gabhaimid buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as a bheith anseo don díospóireacht seo. It is rare that you will see Senators from both sides of the House take a take a joint Commencement matter, but an rud is annamh is iontach. Senator Harmon and I believe that inclusion in sport is not party political, and we tabled this matter together as a reflection of real inclusion.

We have reached a point where women's sport is no longer what could be described as a minority sport. Increased and sustained ring-fenced funding from the Department is to be acknowledged. The amount of €4 million provided in 2025 was double what was made available in 2022, so the trajectory is positive. It is important that we do not lose sight of the intended supports, and I encourage all national governing bodies to produce spend against reports in order that Sport Ireland can ensure that the ring-fenced funding to which I refer is being spent as intended.

I recently met representatives of Vision Sports Ireland, VSI. One of the greatest barriers they face in the context of sport and physical activity is the vetting procedure and how long it takes. Unlike other sports where children, for example, need a coach to child ratio of 1:15, a vision-impaired athlete will often require one-to-one coaching. VSI cannot accept walk-ins or casual volunteers, even if they are vetted by another sporting organisation, and this is hampering their delivery of sports. As a result, a streamlined and centralised vetting service may be of benefit.

I should point out that Ireland won six medals at the Paris Paralympic Summer Games in 2024. All six were won by vision-impaired Paralympians. It is important that funding follows this success and that sport is presented as a realistic opportunity for children with vision impairment. We are approaching Mayfest, which is VSI's annual come and try event where people who are blind or vision impaired have the opportunity to try sports like football, golf or tennis, so I encourage people to engage with that event. It will be held on 16 May in Dublin.

The next round of sport capital funding is approaching fast. I ask the Minister of State to consider whether projects that favour the inclusion of sport for all groups can be prioritised. Many sports clubs have special group sessions for autistic children, for example, but because of the duty of care around children who may be a flight risk, clubs need to have a safe, fenced off space to let the children hone their skills and have some fun. It would be encouraging to see community sports facilities fund applications being given priority, particularly as the aim behind that fund is to cater for those groups.

The word "visibility" may be misplaced here, but it is so important that those in print and broadcast media ensure that para-athletes are celebrated and acknowledged as much as our Olympians. There is an argument to be made - it was made by the relevant committee in its report - that the Paralympics. which are held every four years, should not be the only time we see disability sport on television or social media. Young people need to know what is possible. As a result, we need to see our Paralympic stars celebrated.

That argument could also be made for many marginalised groups. Seeing is believing. If we do not actively promote sport in our LGBTQ+ community, our Travelling community and other communities, we will lose sight of them. My colleague Senator Harmon will focus on that now.

I welcome the Aire Stáit. I firmly believe that sport does and can unite us all. It is so important that we promote inclusion in sport at all levels and for all types of sports, be it for women, disabled people, members of the Traveller community, those of different ethnicities and members of the LGBTQ+ community, of which I am one.

It was great to join Na Laochra Aeracha in Cork in my late 30s recently and to go back to playing GAA after 20 years. It is an important club. Unfortunately, many clubs face barriers in terms of funding, regulations and the boundaries that the GAA might set for where people need to be living. We need to look at these issues and have a consistent across the board.

I am also a member of Frontrunners in Cork, which is an international group for LGBT runners. There is also one in Dublin. These groups provide such an important space, not just for sport, health and well-being but also in terms of mental health, being able to make friends and build a community outside of other spaces, and certainly outside places that involve alcohol. It is really important that we encourage inclusion across the board. It could be absolutely transformative for our country and could really foster confidence in people who may have given up sport at a younger age and were able to come back to it again. Age should not be a barrier when we talk about inclusion in sport.

I really welcome this debate. It is good to have a debate in which the Government and the Opposition are in agreement, because I really feel this is something that should unite everybody.

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí Harmon agus Ní Chuilinn. I thank them for coming together on a cross-party and cross-floor basis today as well. I do not think it is any accident that happened on the topic of sport because, as Senator Harmon said, sport is something that brings people together from all walks of life and, indeed, from all sides of politics as well. I also want to thank both Senators for taking the opportunity today to highlight the previous Oireachtas joint committee's report on inclusion in sport. It is important that we look back on the progress on that report, particularly as we commence preparations now towards the next ten-year national sports strategy, which will commence from 2028 onwards and which we will complete over the course of the end of this year and next year.

Looking at some of the recommendations from that report, I am pleased to report that there has been good progress on a number of those, particularly in relation to embedding sport legacy benefits in the approach of major sports events, accessibility requirements in sports capital funding programmes and building a network of inclusion-focused personnel. The national sports policy sets out a vision for sport in Ireland running up to 2027. The policy is grounded in its sport for all ethos that emphasises inclusion within sport and increasing participation among under-represented cohorts. Substantial progress has been made since the policy's inception and Irish sport is undoubtedly a more diverse and inclusive place as a result. This policy contains an ambitious plan to eradicate the gender participation gap over the lifetime of the policy and significant strides have been made in this regard.

The 2024 Oireachtas joint committee report highlights the importance of evidence-based policymaking and research in this area. This certainly underpins the approach taken by Sport Ireland across a range of headings. The Irish sports monitor report for 2024 found that active sport participation levels among women is at 47% now, which is an increase of one percentage point since 2023 and, really importantly, that the gap between men and women is now down to a historically low level of 3%. It is not only on the field of play where there is evidence of real progress in relation to the visibility of women in sport. The overall percentage of women on the boards of national governing bodies of sport is currently 47%, representing an increase of 18% since 2020. In the case of local sports partnerships, 52% of board members are women.

Alongside active participation and representation in leadership, visibility is a key pillar of Sport Ireland's women in sport policy. Despite the substantial progress made in recent years, there remains significant work to do with regard to the visibility of women's sport in the media, which is something Senator Ní Chuilinn touched on in her contribution today. The 2024 report correctly highlighted the need to remove visibility barriers to inclusion in sport. In this context, I welcome Sport Ireland’s recent publication of the first ever study of gender balance in sports media coverage. The research demonstrated that women remain significantly under-represented in Irish sports media. The Future of Media Commission has called for the development of a diversity and inclusion strategy for sports reporting and broadcasting. In response, Coimisiún na Meán is currently in the process of developing a sports strategy in consultation with Sport Ireland.

Since the publication of the committee's report, Sport Ireland launched a statement on commitment and action to disability inclusion in sport in November 2024. Increased funding was provided to sport in budget 2025, which enabled Sport Ireland to establish a dedicated disability in sport funding stream and, really importantly, appoint a disability in sport lead. Despite recent progress, there remains an enduring participation gap between persons with either a long-term illness or a disability and those without such challenges. Both my Department and Sport Ireland are committed to reducing this participation gap. In 2025, we saw €2 million awarded to the national governing bodies and local sports partnerships as part of the dormant accounts funding via the equality, diversity and inclusion fund. The aim of this fund is to support our national governing bodies and sports partnerships in delivering projects that address barriers to participation for individuals from diverse communities regardless of their socio-economic background, gender, disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity. This is a critical initiative that directly responds to a key theme of the 2024 report, and I know it will be welcomed by colleagues.

I thank the Minister of State for that update. This is the beginning of a debate we could have at a broader level across the House. There seem to be a lot of Senators who would like to contribute to a debate on inclusion in sport. That would be welcome. We might approach the Cathaoirleach about that.

The Minister of State mentioned the next national sports strategy, which will run from 2028 onwards. It will be really important to have some of those points he highlighted included in the next policy.

We should examine other issues that have come up recently in relation to safeguarding, particularly when we are looking at disability in sport.

I thank the Aire Stáit for that detailed response. It is really great to hear the statistics in relation to the gap closing between women's and men's participation. We absolutely need to continue that and to see more visibility and diversity in terms of reporting on sport in the media. We look forward to working with the Minister of State and the Department on this matter.

I agree with Senator Ní Chuilinn in that we should have a full debate in the Seanad on the issue of sport and the recommendations contained in the report. We look forward to calling for such a debate. Hopefully, Senators across the House will participate in it.

I thank the Senators for their contributions. I look forward to future debates on this matter. The more discussion and contributions we have around what we are doing and what we need to do more on, the better it will be in terms of what the Government and the State do to support both the sector and inclusion across it.

There are a couple of other points I would draw attention to which there has been progress on. Sport Ireland has been awarded €11 million from the European Social Fund to implement a social innovation and inclusion programme. Through that, it has established its Sport4Empowerment programme, which has resulted in a phased recruitment of social innovation and sport officers, mapped through 29 local sports partnerships. Across those 29 partnerships, 24 officers have been appointed up to now. Their responsibility is to implement a range of targeted programmes which aim to enhance the well-being, education and economic prospects of participants. The programme particularly targets marginalised cohorts, including ethnic minorities and people with disabilities, and strives to promote inclusivity and equal opportunities for all in sport.

In 2024, Sport Ireland published guidance regarding transgender and non-binary inclusion in sport and physical activity, fulfilling a key commitment of the committee's report. In October of last year, Sport Ireland published its Spotlight on Participation in Sport report, which showed that sports participation by members of the LGBTQ+ community has increased by 9% since 2021. In line with this diversity and inclusion policy, Sport Ireland conducts its Lets Get Visible campaign on an annual basis to coincide with Pride month. The campaign seeks to highlight the sporting achievements of LGBTQ+ people and acknowledge the importance of their visibility and representation in sport.

I look forward to working with both Senators and everyone across the House in relation to the next national sports policy and on how, in the context of the capital funding we will be doing through the community sports facilities fund this year, we can help clubs to continue the really good work they are doing in terms of including people and giving everyone the opportunity to participate in their chosen sports in their local communities.

At the outset, I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter. I welcome the Minister. His presence here, as the senior Minister, to deal with this issue is an indication of his commitment to the whole area of dealing with domestic violence. I am very heartened by that, irrespective of how we get on debating the matter.

I want to highlight an urgent gap in essential services for women and children in County Cavan. Despite national commitments to expand refuge capacity and strengthen support for those fleeing domestic violence, Cavan remains without a purpose-built refuge facility. Across the country, we have made significant progress in improving responses to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, yet the absence of a dedicated refuge in Cavan stands in stark contrast to the local community's need. Women in crisis should not have to travel long distances across county boundaries or face uncertainty at the very moment they are seeking safe shelter.

At present, a woman in Cavan who needs emergency protection has to leave the county to find it. That is the simple truth. For many women, that journey is not easy. It means leaving behind their community and whatever support network they have. It adds pressure at a time when they already face enormous fear and uncertainty.

We must also recognise that providing this refuge is not just about responding to emergencies; it is also about sending a clear message about the kind of country we want to be. Cavan is a place that values community, fairness and looking out for one another. A refuge reflects those values in a very real way. It shows that when someone is in danger, we do not turn away or expect them to manage on their own. We step up, we put the supports in place and we make sure help is available close to home where it is needed most.

We are developing safe homes, which are welcome and will help, but this is not enough on its own. A county of Cavan’s size and with its strong communities should not be without a refuge. It is a basic service that people expect to be available locally, just as it is in other parts of the country. Local organisations are doing incredible work. They are supporting families, often in very difficult circumstances, but they cannot continue to bear the full weight of this issue without the proper infrastructure being in place. They need a facility that provides the space and capacity to respond quickly when someone is in danger.

This is about providing a safe, secure place for women and children when they have nowhere else to go. It is about giving them certainty in a moment when their world has been turned upside down. It is about ensuring that Cavan is not left behind as national services expand. People in Cavan deserve the same access to protection as anyone else in the country and with the right focus and decisions, we can finally deliver the refuge the county has needed for far too long. I look forward to the response from the Minister as this is a real human issue. This is not some fanciful notion; it is very important on the ground.

I thank Senator O’Reilly for raising this very important Commencement matter. A huge part of my portfolio is ensuring there is a full response to the scourge of domestic violence. As Senator O’Reilly will know, one of the avenues down which I must go as a response is ensuring that we do have refuge spaces and safe accommodation for women, and predominantly it is women, fleeing domestic violence in order that they can be accommodated in the short term.

The policy in respect of this area is worked through the statutory agency that has been set up and is under the control of my Department, namely, Cuan. It is engaging with various stakeholders, including approved housing bodies, AHBs, the Department of housing, the Housing Agency and local authorities to facilitate local action and support service development and the delivery of refuges and safe accommodation throughout the country.

As Senator O’Reilly indicated, there is no refuge or safe accommodation in County Cavan at present. When I started in this job 15 months ago, one of the things I wanted to look at and that stood out to me was that there was no refuge in Cavan-Monaghan. This area is presented as a constituency but, as Senator O’Reilly will know, it is a very broad geographical area. As he will know as well, there has been progress in the Cavan-Monaghan region in respect of a proposal for a refuge site in Monaghan. The capital assistance scheme, CAS, stage 1 application for a refuge site in Monaghan was approved by the Department of housing last October. Work is ongoing towards submitting a stage 2 application in Monaghan, which will include further detail and costings on the full extent of the works required. The CAS process takes, on average, 75 weeks, with construction taking between 15 to 18 months. Safe Ireland is the lead approved housing body on this development in Monaghan.

Notwithstanding the fact that we are moving down the pathway of having a refuge in Monaghan, it has become increasingly apparent to me that we need one in Cavan as well. I am advised that Cuan, which is under my control, is currently considering future options for potential refuge provision in Cavan in parallel with the progression of the refuge site identified in Monaghan.

Following engagement by Cuan with service providers and other stakeholders, including Cavan County Council, it has become apparent that there is an urgent need for a refuge not just in Monaghan but in Cavan as well. It is an important step that I make that statement in terms of achieving what Senator O’Reilly and other representatives from Cavan-Monaghan, including Deputies Brendan Smith and Niamh Smyth, have sought in respect of it as well.

I have written to my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne, requesting that a refuge for Cavan be prioritised in the next phase of refuge development. This will ensure that we are not delaying the provision of refuge services for victims of domestic violence. Adding Cavan to the priority list of developments will allow for site selection and the planning process to commence.

It is a positive answer that I have been able to give to Senator O’Reilly. A decision has been made that we do need a refuge centre in Cavan as well as in Monaghan. Now that I have written to the Minister, Deputy Browne, that process has commenced. I obviously cannot guarantee that we will have a refuge in Cavan within a very short time but the process has commenced. It is a bit behind what is happening in Monaghan but it is unquestionably the case that the direction of travel for the Government and me is to ensure that we have refuges in both Monaghan and Cavan.

I again thank the Minister for being here and for his overall proactive approach. I am delighted with this response in that he has clearly, publicly and on the record of the House - and he does not do that lightly - committed to delivering this project to Cavan, and that he has put processes in place to so do, including being in touch with the Minister, Deputy Browne, on the issue. I am extremely happy that this will be the case. There is no need to repeat the argument only to say that it is so important for those victims and is so important that this facility be in their county within their communities and with whatever support they can access otherwise. I am very happy with the Minister's response and grateful that it is going to come on stream.

Mar fhocal scoir, I urge the Minister to make sure that this happens as quickly as possible. Knowing his form, I think I do not need to worry on this.

I thank the Senator. He is right. It is important that representatives, such as himself, keep the pressure on politicians and Ministers, such as myself, to ensure that these commitments are followed through with. The fact that the decision has been made and I have written to the Minister, Deputy Browne, indicates the pathway has clearly been commenced.

I should also point out that as well as the development of the new refuge in Monaghan to serve the Cavan-Monaghan region, both Cavan and Monaghan county councils have committed to the allocation of three units from their social housing stock, which will deliver additional safe homes across the region. Cuan is now working with Safe Ireland to finalise operational and staffing costs. All six units will become operational this year. Those safe homes are very important as well. They are places where women fleeing domestic violence can go.

Safe Ireland Cavan-Monaghan is the primary domestic violence service provider in both Cavan and Monaghan. It is the lead domestic violence service provider progressing the development of the new refuge facility for the region as part of the zero-tolerance strategy. I am advised that Safe Ireland is working with the stakeholder group to create a solid infrastructure and a coherent connected response across both counties.

I will keep working on it and no doubt the Senator will raise it again. We will keep a close eye on its progress.

The House has a different Minister, namely, the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor. I thank the Minister.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, to the House this afternoon. The licensing fees for selling tobacco and nicotine products in Ireland are increasing dramatically to an annual system under the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023.

Up until this point, tobacco retailers faced a one-time fee of €50 per annum, and there were no licensing requirements for selling vapes. The new fees that apply per premises for tobacco products only have now increased to €1,000 per annum, and for nicotine-inhaling products like vapes it is €800 per annum, giving a combined fee of €1,800 if any retailer was to sell both, which is a sizable amount of money. Obviously these higher fees are aimed, I would imagine, at reducing the number of outlets selling tobacco and vapes, and particularly to reduce youth access to them. Retailers selling products before 2 February this year have six months to apply for a new licence. The HSE can suspend or revoke licences and the enforcement authority can publicly name the businesses convicted of such offences.

We all know the history of the tobacco industry and the lethality of smoking but there is an issue of fairness here with regard to the impact that this new measure will have on small family-run businesses. This new measure will affect all shops selling these products, including individual outlets with larger chains, and the licence will require annual renewal. The thing is that small local shops are expected to pay the same cost as larger retailers, which I feel is unfair. In the current economic climate, small shops are already struggling and many cannot afford this additional €1,800 annual cost. I would imagine that many small corner shops that I am aware of, and I am sure the Minister of State is too, would not make €1,000 profit in selling cigarettes in five years, never mind one year. Many people will simply go to large retailers if they cannot purchase cigarettes from their small local shops.

This change signifies a more robust approach to the regulation of tobacco and nicotine-inhaling products, which is a good thing, and it emphasises the Government's commitment to public health and consumer safety. It is also important, however, to consider the broader implications, particularly for many small retailers. The Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association, CSNA, which represents retailers of all sizes, from independent shops to multi-franchise owners, has expressed its concern at the new combined €1,800 annual licensing fee that will come as a shock to many tobacco retailers in the convenience, forecourt and newsagent sectors. These are the small sectors I am referring to.

For myself, living in a Border county, we all know that our neighbours in Northern Ireland do not charge a licensing fee and we feel this will result in leakage of potential business from small retailers along the Border area into Northern Ireland, not just for the product that we are talking about here today but, indeed, will result in other products being sold as well and a loss of business there too.

The Minister of State will be aware there is a lot of pressure on small businesses at the moment, so it is important to ensure that the new licensing system does not put an unfair burden on small shops. The overwhelming majority of retailers in Ireland have a responsible attitude in selling gated products like vapes and take it very seriously. I would welcome the Minister of State's comments on the matter.

I thank Senator Gallagher for raising this really important issue today. The Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act introduced a licensing system for the retail and sale of tobacco products and nicotine-inhaling products such as vapes. This was enacted in 2023, so there was a three-year lead-in period to this measure. The Bill was passed three years ago.

The Act has a number of measures that aim to protect the health of our children and denormalise smoking. This is what the Act is for. The licensing system for tobacco products and nicotine-inhaling products came into effect on 2 February this year. Retailers that were already selling tobacco products or nicotine-inhaling products were given six months from that date to be become licensed. Any businesses that were registered to sell tobacco were also contacted by the HSE. Prior to the introduction of the licensing system a once-off registration and payment fee of €50 was the only thing that was required to sell tobacco products, with no payment or registration required for those who wished to sell vapes. An annual licence is now required for both. The fee is €1,000 for tobacco products and €800 to sell nicotine-inhaling products.

The licensing system will help the important work of the national environmental health service in enforcing our laws on tobacco and vapes, such as the ban on selling to under-18s. I keep saying it is illegal to sell to under-18s and we have to start enforcing that now. That is part of this as well. Because sellers must renew the licence annually, this means that our environmental health officers will have up-to-date information on where these products are being sold. This will contribute to efficiency in identifying anyone that is non-compliant.

The 2023 Act, including the licensing system, is a public health measure. The nature of the licence and the fees that accompany it are designed to make clear the harmful nature of the products being sold. This is what it is about. It is about health and well-being. Here is the information. Smoking still kills 4,500 of our people every year. This is not the only damage that it does in our country. As highlighted in the recent paper from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, smoking causes more harm here than alcohol, drugs and accidents combined. That harm includes almost 1,000 hospitalisations per week, as well as ten new cancers diagnosed every day that are caused by tobacco.

When our children smoke, there are additional risks to them. Smoking during childhood and adolescence causes both reduced lung function and impaired lung growth. In relation to vapes, it is generally agreed that although they are likely to be less harmful than tobacco, they are not harmless. An evidence review from the Health Research Board in 2020 found that for adolescents, the use of vapes is associated with an increased likelihood of smoking. In addition, the World Health Organization has recommended since 2014 that sales of e-cigarettes to minors should be banned as there is evidence to suggest that exposure to nicotine can have long-term consequences for brain development. The licensing system and the fees are designed to reflect the health harms caused by these addictive products but I thank the Senator for raising the issue today. In my remit, this is a health-led approach to this issue. I understand businesses too and we are mindful of the challenges there but when we see the evidence that is here, it is very important for us to have a health-led approach on this. I thank the Senator for raising this important issue.

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive response. I fully agree with her about the ills of smoking and we can add vapes to that. We are all trying to do what we can to limit, where possible, the use of these products. That said, I still feel strongly that small outlets, small convenience stores and small off-licences in many of our rural towns and villages are disproportionately affected by this legislation, which came in three years ago. Although I believe it went through both Houses, the fee amount was not mentioned at that point in time. We are where we are but I feel a more tapered approach that depends on sales would be a fairer way of doing it. Many small shops and petrol stations around the country would not make €1,000 selling cigarettes in ten years, never mind in one year. I think the fee is excessive in that regard. A more tapered approach based on turnover might have been a fairer way of doing it. Notwithstanding all the Minister of State has said about the ills of smoking, which I fully agree with, I feel that the small retailers are disproportionately affected by this legislation.

I thank the Senator for his contribution. There is a long and proud tradition in our country, across all political parties, of introducing strong tobacco control measures. That started with a workplace smoking ban in 2004 introduced by Micheál Martin, and has continued with successive Governments building on that achievement to further drive down our smoking rates. As the Senator will know, Stephen Donnelly was Minister at the time this legislation was brought in, in 2023.

We are investing in our efforts to tackle the harms caused by tobacco. We have now approved 30 extra environmental health officers to be recruited in the coming months. This will help with enforcement of the laws around selling cigarettes and vapes to under-18s, as well as our new laws on the packaging and flavours when this measure comes into effect.

I am working on my second Bill now.

In addition, funding for the HSE quit programme has increased from €13 million in 2021 to €21 million in 2024. This includes more than doubling the number of stop smoking clinics and the roll-out of free nicotine replacement therapy in 2022. This led to a record number accessing the quit service and higher rates of successful quit attempts. More shops selling cigarettes and vapes would mean an increase in the risk of young people starting to smoke and of people who have tried to quit relapsing.

Smoking kills one in every two smokers and contains the addictive drug nicotine. Sadly, many of those who currently smoke started to do so as children. Smoking causes an enormous range of preventable illnesses and disabilities in addition to its death toll. Our licence system and its fees are designed to reflect the enormous harm. I thank the Senator for highlighting this issue today and I thank the Cathaoirleach for letting me finish.

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his work. The Department of agriculture is probably the heaviest Department, given recent activities going on and the role the Minister is playing in it.

I acknowledge the benefits the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, has delivered for farmers, supporting investment, improving efficiency and helping the sector move towards greater sustainably. Farmers value the schemes but many have contacted me with serious concerns about how the current tranches are operating. I want to outline those briefly.

Farmers are facing electricity and gas increases of 4% to 9%. Many had hoped TAMS-supported solar PV would help offset those costs. Instead, they are encountering a rank and selection system excluding large numbers of genuine applicants. Only around 10% of solar PV applications are being approved, which farmers find impossible to reconcile with rising energy costs and national climate ambitions. A major issue is the decision to exclude domestic farm dwellings sharing the same meter point reference number, MPRN. This rules out many drystock, sheep and tillage farms, which typically operate from a single meter for both home and yard. Farmers feels this is penalising them.

They also point out only 2.6% of agricultural land is being sought for solar farms yet there is huge potential in farm buildings and homes. At the same time, rural grid infrastructure is outdated and often lacks capacity. In places like Dingle, west Kerry, farmers report only 38 kVA coming into the town before being dispersed. They argue on-farm solar would generate power exactly where it is needed, easing pressure on the grid rather than adding to it.

Many farmers have already paid the €1,000 for NC7 approval, which is a non-refundable cost. If their TAMS application fails, they simply lose that money. They see this as unfair and a real deterrent to renewable investment.

One farmer told me he could milk 40 cows from the solar array on his parlour roof, producing 12 kW at 4.30 on a summer evening last year without any battery back-up. He was producing a greener product yet the emissions reduction is counted in the energy sector rather than on his farm. Farmers feel this does not reflect their contribution.

Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly recently highlighted the need for a more coherent and farmer-friendly approach to on-farm renewables, warning that overly complex or inconsistent processes risk undermining Ireland's ability to meet its energy and climate commitments. His comments reflect exactly what farmers are telling us. They want to invest and contribute but the system is not workable. Farmers are asking the Minister to consider reinstating TAMS solar without rank and selection, particularly at a time of high energy insecurity. Solar PV can reduce reliance on fuel and heating oil, strengthen rural gird resilience and allow families and farms to generate clean energy.

As many farmers have put it, they want the power to be in the hands of people and communities. I ask the Minister to address these concerns and consider adjustments that would allow the TAMS to better support farmers who want to invest, contribute to climate action and secure the future of their farms.

I thank Senator Kennelly for raising the matter and the opportunity to provide an update on progress with the implementation of TAMS 3. Overall, TAMS 3 has proven extremely popular, with an unprecedented level of applications received, at three times the average number received per tranche compared with TAMS 2.

The submission of applications commenced in 2023 under the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, strategic plan from 2023 to 2027. The need to put new administrative and IT structures in place while simultaneously opening and rolling out the new scheme for participants meant that it took longer than hoped to commence the issuing of approvals and payments. Despite these initial delays, the scheme has been operating efficiently and at pace for some time, with delays now effectively eliminated. The issuing of approvals, allowing farmers to proceed with their investments, and the processing of payment claims are generally within the timelines set out in the farmers’ charter. A total of 63,754 applications have been received across the first 11 tranches of the scheme. Payments to the value of almost €156 million have issued to over 17,000 participants. They are issuing at a rate of approximately €2 million per week.

When it comes to investing in sustainability, I will briefly focus on two specific investments within TAMS. As the Senator is aware, the practice of low-emission slurry spreading, LESS, is an important, environmentally sustainable technology that will facilitate Ireland meeting its environmental commitments through reductions in ammonia and other reactive nitrogen emissions from soil. Support for both LESS and nutrient storage investments are part of a cross-departmental collaborative approach to ensure the continued use of the nitrates derogation and the protection of water quality in Ireland. In this regard, since 2015, over €163 million has been paid to farmers to support significant investments on Irish farms in manure storage and low-emission slurry spreading technology.

The supports available under TAMS for the installation of solar panels are in keeping with the commitment to assist farmers to address climate and sustainability targets. To date, over 3,400 farmers have received approval to proceed with works, while 1,629 farmers have installed panels and received grant aid for their completed investment.

The Senator understandably raised a point about ranking and selection. Despite the significant budget available for TAMS over the period 2023 to 2027, due to the scale of approval numbers issued to date - a total of 45,987 approvals, or three times the equivalent under TAMS 2 - it was necessary to introduce ranking and selection for tranche 9, which closed for applications in September 2025, and again for tranche 10, which closed for applications in December 2025. This was also the case with TAMS 2, when it became necessary to apply ranking and selection midway through the programme. It is not unusual. My Department will continue to review the overall funding position on an ongoing basis. Ultimately, I need to be able fund the last tranche in 2027 in the same way I am funding tranches now. The budget must be managed. The ranking marking criteria are available on my Department’s website.

I will now focus on particular sub-schemes within TAMS 3, specifically in tranche 10. A reduction of 90% has been applied to expenditure on the solar capital investment scheme. Senator Kennelly has clearly articulated frustrations in this regard. That 90% reduction is acknowledging the fact that the expenditure of almost €32.5 million under the solar scheme accounts for approximately 20% of the total TAMS 3 expenditure to date. In view of the critical importance of nutrient storage investments, which are available across four of the schemes, namely, the animal welfare nutrient storage scheme, the organic capital investment scheme, the young farmer capital investment scheme and the women farmer capital investment scheme, a lower reduction of 60% has been applied. The importance of farm safety and our unacceptably high levels of farm fatalities across all sectors are acknowledged and, therefore, I decided to approve all eligible applications under the farm safety capital investment scheme and keep it at 100%.

TAMS continues to be a hugely successful scheme. Supports this year will amount to some €90 million, with a similar allocation for next year. We are continuing to provide support to farmers to upgrade and invest in their holdings. Obviously, we are seeing a significant increase in the number of applications. That is why there is a need to manage that budget out until the end of 2027.

There is a vote in the other Chamber and the Minister might have to leave. Will he be able to finish this Commencement matter?

I am okay for now.

I thank the Minister.

That was a very detailed response on the success of TAMS. My objective for the farming communities that are finding it hard is to streamline the process and make it more user friendly for farmers living on their own who are not up to speed with all the data the Minister has outlined.

I welcome the success of the scheme. The Minister mentioned funding for the tranches in 2027. The closing window for that TAMS is 2027-----

That is for the CAP.

That is the closing window for the CAP. I do not have much to take back to the farmers who are looking for streamlining. Could the farming community have a door to open in relation to fast-tracking their applications and could we make sure that the forms are easier to fill out in order to get the necessary funding? These are small farmers milking 30, 40 or 50 cows. We do not want to see them disappear. Due to high energy costs at the moment, we need to do a lot more in that regard and give them all the help we can give.

I get that point. TAMS covers the period of the CAP, so our CAP funding and CAP schemes all run until the end of 2027. This opened in 2023. We are negotiating a new CAP. I do not know whether that will be ready or in place by 2027. Decisions on whether there will be a TAMS beyond that will depend on how much funding I have and how I am able to target it.

I threw a lot of figures at the Senator in my initial response. However, it is important to reflect here that, in simple terms, there is a massive increase in the number of farmers applying across all elements of TAMS 3 compared with TAMS 2. Yes, there are more disappointed farmers because more have applied. I have a very significant budget to expend - it was €90 million last year and is similar again this year - but I have to meet all of my policy objectives throughout this term, such as generational renewal an nutrient storage at a rate of 60% rate because we know how important the nitrates derogation is to farmers in County Kerry as well as throughout the country. Farm safety is a key element of the investments that farmers are making in livestock facilities because we want to keep those farmers safe as well.

We continue to review this. I would love to be able to do even more. TAMS is the type of investment that has a long-lasting benefit. That is why I want to continue to be able to do provide it. However, at a time when I have to manage that budget out to the end of 2027, I have to introduce ranking selection to make sure policy priorities are reflected as well.

I thank the Minister. I welcome Billy, Michael, Roisín and Anne Marie, who are up from the Brothers of Charity in Ferrybank in Kilkenny. They are very welcome. I hope that Natasha Newsome Drennan is looking after you well. If you have any trouble with her, just let us know. I hope you enjoy your day.

I thank the Aire Stáit for coming to the House today. This is a very important issue. It is not a new issue. Unfortunately, it is long-standing. It is a new proposed solution to this problem because what we are doing now clearly is not working. There are still thousands of survivors leaving women's refuges with their children and they have nowhere to go. There are women and children throughout the country today who have done exactly what they are supposed to do. They have left abusive homes, sought safety in refuges and are trying to rebuild their lives. However, they are now facing a really uncertain future because there is simply nowhere for them to go. Quite often, the perpetrator is in the family home. That is the last place we want them to return to.

They are falling between several stools. They may not be formally classified as homeless. They may not have priority on housing lists. In some cases, if they move to another jurisdiction to seek safety, they risk losing their place on those lists altogether, so they leave a place of safety and step into uncertainty. At the same time across towns and villages in every county, we have buildings lying vacant, upper floors unused, properties sitting idle and public buildings not reaching their full potential. A proposal today was made in Leinster House, led by Sarah Slazenger of Powerscourt Estate and supported by stakeholders from refuges in Bray, Drogheda and Dundalk as well as grassroots organisations such as the Soroptimists, the Women's Sheds and the Irish Countrywomen's Association, ICA, and 14 European and global ambassadors.

They offered a practical way to bring these two realities together. Their proposal calls on local authorities to take a proactive role in identifying suitable vacant and underutilised buildings, particularly in town centres, and bringing them back into use as supported, move-on, post-refuge accommodation. It is a creative use of the vacant and derelict funding and grants that are already there, just not for commercial use. This includes not just private properties but also publicly owned buildings, including those under the remit of the HSE. Collaboration is needed between the Departments of housing, justice and possibly health as well. We know there are opportunities out there. We heard this morning of a HSE property in Enniskerry which could be considered as part of a pilot scheme. That is what we need to see. We need to get the ball rolling on whether this is possible because the model itself is really straightforward.

Local authorities would work with property owners to secure long-term leases. Buildings would be refurbished to meet appropriate housing and safety standards and, crucially, accommodation would be linked with support services to ensure that women and children are supported as they rebuild their lives and become a valuable part of the community, taking a huge burden off the State. This approach has clear advantages. It is faster than new-builds, it is cost-effective and it supports town centre regeneration, which everybody is calling for at the moment. It also provides accommodation in locations where essential services are already in place. Most importantly, it addresses the gap that exists after refuge care. We are hearing that thousands of women do not have supported after-refuge care. They do not have accommodation, which means that other women and victims of domestic abuse are unable to enter those refuges. It is creating a logjam.

We heard directly this morning from those working on the ground or at the coal face, in the refuges. We heard from Soroptomists and Women's Sheds, as I mentioned, who are working with these women, as well as from international representatives. They told us that this gap is one of the most urgent issues that everyone is facing at the moment. After the refuges the women are ready to move on but there is nowhere for them to go. This proposal is not abstract. It is practical, scalable and rooted in what is already available. What is needed now is co-ordination and collaboration between the local authorities, the Departments of housing, justice and health and agencies such as the HSE. Where buildings are sitting idle, we have a responsibility to ensure they are used to serve the greater good. I ask that this model be actively examined and progressed, with pilot projects identified and delivered because we cannot continue to accept a situation where women and children leave safety only to face further uncertainty. We have the buildings and we have the need. What we need to do now is bring all of the elements together and make sure that we are providing after care and accommodation for those in dire need.

I thank the Senator and assure her that supporting individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including victims and survivors of domestic abuse, and utilising existing vacant and derelict buildings are absolute priorities for this Government. I thank Senator Comyn for raising this matter this afternoon.

The response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a cross-departmental and multi-agency issue, with overall policy co-ordinated by the Department of justice. Responsibility for the development and provision of services to support victims and survivors rests with the Minister for justice, working in conjunction with Cuan, the relevant statutory agency under the remit of that Department. However, the Government's new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, is an integrated housing and homelessness plan which aims to deliver 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030, including 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable homes. The Government is focused on making sure that everyone has access to good quality, secure homes that suit their needs. To achieve this, the largest ever housing budget in the history of the State has been secured in 2026, with in excess of €9 billion in capital funding through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency and the Housing Finance Agency to support the delivery of social, starter and cost-rental homes and to bring existing vacant and derelict properties into use as homes.

Under the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, a national homelessness prevention framework is being developed within which homelessness can be prevented in a structured and planned way, with tailored prevention measures for each potential at-risk cohort, including victims and survivors of domestic violence.

In addition, the Minister, Deputy Browne, is working with the Department of the Taoiseach and a range of key stakeholders to develop a child and family homelessness action plan. The plan will place particular emphasis on prevention measures, enhanced supports for children experiencing homelessness and measures to accelerate exits and reduce the time spent by children and their families in homeless emergency accommodation. The plan will also put in place additional supports for parents and expectant mothers who are experiencing homelessness in order to support entire families. It is anticipated that the plan will be published by end of June.

Bringing existing vacant buildings back into use as homes is a priority for the Government and a key element of the new housing plan. Significant progress has been made in tackling vacancy. A key measure introduced is the vacant property refurbishment grant. It is providing substantial support to bring these properties into use as homes, with over 5,500 grants paid to date and 12,00 approvals across all our local authorities. Recognising the need to bring as many vacant properties as possible into use as homes, particularly in our towns and cities, as the Senator rightly identified, the new vacant above the shop grant has been introduced to bring these vacant upper floors into residential use.

In addition, we have the compulsory purchase order, CPO, activation programme. Under that, local authorities are required to take a proactive and systematic approach to tackling vacancy. I am on record in this House and the Lower House as saying that some local authorities are doing excellent work in this space and using their CPO powers while others simply are not. To me, as Minister of State, that is unacceptable and is something I am communicating to the local authorities when I visit them as I travel around the country.

We also have funding, through the urban regeneration development fund and through the social housing investment programme, the aim of which is to create social housing by all means, including above the shop. In some local authority areas, buy and renew and repair and use have been put to very good use. It is about a joined-up approach, thinking outside the box and putting them all together. I thank the Senator for raising this important matter.

I thank the Minister of State for his very detailed response. I do welcome all the work that is being done by the Government parties on dealing with women and children, particularly those who are homeless. However, I reiterate that many of these survivors are not listed as homeless. As a result, they are not being assisted by homelessness projects. Also, they are not necessarily entering homeless accommodation because they are not designated as being homeless, so they are falling between a couple of stools. It is in that context that we need to ring-fence, for want of a better word, what is required. There are great measures to look after women and children. There are also great measures to help deal with vacancy and dereliction and encourage people to take up the grants and use the town centre projects. At the same time, however, nothing is being said to the effect that they must be used to help survivors of domestic violence. That is what we really need to do. We need to start the conversation in that regard and get the ball rolling in the context of making sure that a certain number of these properties, be they over-the-shop units, vacant HSE properties or, perhaps, designated social housing units, be ring-fenced for the use of domestic violence survivors.

I thank the Senator again for raising this very important matter. She referred to a pilot scheme. I am sure that is something on which she will engage with the Minister. Obviously, the responsibility lies with the Department of justice, but I accept that a joined-up, cross-departmental and multi-agency approach to this issue has to be to the fore. As public representatives, we have all dealt with very difficult cases of domestic abuse. My office in Waterford has dealt with some very harrowing cases.

There are some really good examples where refuges help those women in particular who end up needing to avail of their services to navigate the process of availing of local authority supports. Some local authorities have integrated action teams in place where the HSE sits alongside agencies and the local authority. This model works well in my own constituency in Waterford, because we have to have that joined-up thinking. There are some excellent schemes in place and local authorities have the ability to deliver under all of them. We need to see more delivery of social, affordable and cost-rental homes. We also need to ensure that joined-up thinking occurs across all of the agencies and statutory bodies. This particular area needs added focus. There is no question about that.

I welcome the Minister of State. In recent years, we have seen a huge increase in after-school facilities. Many of these services are provided either on the school campus or in conjunction with a nearby crèche or preschool. It enables the children to go there after school, do their homework, engage in activities and maybe get a meal or whatever. It is good for all involved. It allows the parents to continue working until 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. However, a problem has emerged where children with additional needs face significant barriers in accessing after-school care. This has been brought to my attention by a parent of five-year-old twins, who are both autistic and are about to start school in September. When she sought admission for them into an after-school facility close to the school they would be attending, she was met with reluctance. She and I had a meeting with the manager of the facility and the board of management. Their reluctance to accept the children was well founded, in that their concern was for the safety of all the children who would be using the facility and for the staff. The children will be attending primary school but they will be part of an autistic class. The ratio is six children to one special education teacher, with two special needs assistants, SNAs, in the room. Then they will be going to an after-school facility where the ratio is 1:12. There are no additional supports, with twice as many children and only one staff member, with no training in this area.

I inquired with other after-school providers to see whether this was the case and whether there were any other supports available for after-school providers to include children with additional needs. I was told that there were no other supports available. Everyone I spoke to was very willing to get training for themselves and their staff so that they could include the children. However, they felt that they would need a reduced ratio or additional support staff.

I was then in contact with an after-school provider in Monaghan who provided a specialised after-school. I should say that it is a mainstream service but it includes children with additional needs. This provider identified this need because she said there were parents who could not work because they had nowhere for their children to go once the school day finished. She worked closely with the HSE and the children's disability network team, CDNT, in Monaghan. It is a planned service that integrates the children into the mainstream setting. It is not segregated; it is inclusive. It is providing the supports children need. It is building the capacity of the children in that service. It is working with the CDNT and providing some of the services that the CDNT provides. It is benefiting all of the children. Perhaps a model like this could be looked at for other areas of the country. Maybe it could be done on a pilot basis to see if it would work.

As I said, it needs to be planned to ensure that there is systematic integration and it is not just putting children with additional needs, some of which are quite complex, into a mainstream setting and seeing how it works. It needs to be planned. It needs to be, as I said, systematic integration and the supports put in there to ensure that all are safe and that all works well.

Another point made to me is that most after-school services provide services for primary school-aged children up to the age of 13, but children with additional needs may require services over that age, maybe up to 18 years, especially if they are in a special school setting and require this service. It is even to incorporate that into it.

I thank Senator Tully for raising this important issue and offering me the opportunity to respond. I, too, welcome the increase in overall after-school facilities. Many of our communities have benefited from them. I commend the work of the childcare provider in Monaghan that the Senator mentioned. I was not aware of them and it sounds like they are definitely doing a lot of innovative and proactive work in this space. It would be a great opportunity for other childcare providers and regions to learn from.

The access and inclusion model, AIM, is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities or additional needs can fully participate in the early childhood care and education, ECCE, preschool programme, thereby reaping the benefits of quality early learning and care and realising the opportunity to reach their full potential. AIM provides a suite of universal and targeted supports across seven levels. Measures include: staff training; specialised equipment, appliances or capital grants towards minor building alterations; therapeutic supports; and the facilitation of a lower ratio of children to staff in preschool rooms, as the Senator mentioned, or funding for an extra staff member as a shared resource, where a child with additional needs is present. A core feature and strength of AIM is that it does not require a diagnosis. Instead, resources are allocated based on a child's individual needs. Over the past ten years, more than 41,300 children in over 5,000 settings nationally have received AIM targeted supports and many more children have benefited from universal measures enhancing inclusion in their service.

AIM is presently being extended on a phased basis as funding becomes available. As a first step in this extension, all AIM targeted supports are now, since the beginning of September 2024, available to ECCE children beyond the time that they spend in the ECCE programme, both in term and out of term. Children can now access these supports for up to six hours per day both inside and outside of the ECCE term. The programme for Government commits to "examine and expand the Access and Inclusion Model and make it available to younger children". Officials in the Department are currently considering the policy implications and appropriate mechanisms to extend AIM to children aged under three. Consideration will be given at a later date to an extension of AIM for children attending school-age childcare. I know that is the cohort the Senator is particularly interested in today. Such an extension would also require a redesign of AIM to ensure that it meets the different needs of children in the older age cohort.

Equal Start is another key policy model which focuses on inclusion. Equal Start is a funding model and set of associated universal and targeted measures to support access and meaningful participation, including in school-age childcare, for children and their families who experience disadvantage. Since September 2024, 806 priority settings serving 38,000 children have been receiving funding to support reduced adult-child ratios, and greater engagement with families, as well as other child and family support services. Of these, over 450 settings provide school-age childcare services.

As the Senator said in her contribution, a full extension of this to school-going children would need to be planned and would need systematic integration. That is something that we would be looking at on a longer-term basis.

The AIM programme is excellent for the preschool children. Something like that would need to be extended into the after-school provision as well. In the case of the manager I met, there is a crèche and preschool facility on-site and she is familiar with AIM. She said that is the sort of support you need for the after-school service. She wants to include the twins to whom I referred, for example. I am sure there are many other children who would love to be included in after-school provision. It would be beneficial for them, and, indeed, for other children as well.

However, the childcare providers feel it is a safety risk, especially if one of the children is a flight risk, for example, so there needs to be a number of staff who can keep an eye at all times on all the children in their care. There are 12 of them so it is very hard to watch them. If this could be rolled out soon, it would be welcome. The after-school childcare providers would welcome this. They want to be inclusive and at the moment they feel they cannot be.

I thank the Senator. The programme for Government committed to an expansion of AIM and to its extension to younger children. The current phase of expansion focuses on the development of a model for children under three years to meet the specific needs of that particular age cohort. It is intended that, over time, all children with additional needs who are registered in early learning and childcare services will have access to support under AIM, with consideration to be given at a later date to extending AIM to school-age children. That would benefit the twins the Senator is working to support. A tailored, evidence based model for this age group would also be required. It is critical that these policy responses are strongly evidence-based and reflective of the needs of the children. That will require the tailoring of AIM and the differentiation of approaches to each of the two separate age cohorts.

An action plan is under way in the Department to address many key improvements. Three notable steps already achieved may be of interest to the Senator. The first is the publication of introductory guidelines for the inclusion of autistic children in early learning, school-age childcare and childminding settings. That is happening in collaboration with AsIAm. The second is the recent launch of the updated leadership for inclusion in the early years, LINC, co-ordinator programme with a focus on the needs of autistic children and the development of supplementary continuous professional development materials. The third is the roll-out of Equal Start, which as I referenced earlier, is a key policy model which focuses on inclusion. Equal Start is a funding model and set of associated universal and targeted measures to support access and meaningful participation, including for school-age childcare, of children and their families who experience disadvantage.