Go luath.

B’fhéidir nuair atá rudaí mar seo curtha le chéile nach dtuigeann na Teachtaí cé chomh lárnach is atá an Ghaeilge i ngach gné den saol; san oideachas ach go háirithe. Is cothaitheoir eacnamaíoch í chomh maith. Is léir nach dtuigeann an maorlathas an tábhacht sin, ós rud é gur fágadh an t-ardoideachas as an bpolasaí oideachais lán-Ghaeilge, mar shampla. Tá neamhaird chomh dona sin á déanamh uirthi sa chóras gur freagraíodh ceist pharlaiminte de mo chuid le déanaí leis an bhfreagra “Ní choinníonn an Institiúid Oideac…

I will come to this on a different path. This Minister and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, have acted as if some of this information about the Arts Council and RTÉ is new. We know that Deputy Donohoe's former Department of public expenditure was aware of the issues relating to the Arts Council as far back as 2013, and Deputy O'Donovan's Department - even though he was not the head of it - was provided with a large volume of correspondence over the lifespan of the project in the Arts Council. It is so larg…

I am glad the Minister raised the issue of Professor Niamh Brennan. This is not a criticism but she carried out a report and review in the culture of governance in RTÉ and she totally missed that this €4 million write-off had been discussed repeatedly by the RTÉ board in 2023, and that there were issues in that project in 2019. Can the Minister in any way assure us in the reviews she is doing that she will not miss other flaws or gaps in the reports from either RTÉ or the Arts Council? This is to ensure that when a…

I did not mean to question her at all. I was just saying that she failed to see the hole in the accounts concerning that €4 million for IT.

The question relates to the second research report on the basic income for the arts pilot scheme. When will it be completed and when will a decision be made on the continuation or otherwise of the scheme?

It would be welcome that there is some type of confirmation of where next for the basic income for artists. It is to end in August, which is strange because it is a month earlier than the full three years, given it did not start until October 2022. The real question is the timeline. These reports are needed before an assessment can be fully made as to whether to continue this or extend it. While these reports are due at some stage between now and, I presume, budget day, can we be assured there will not be a cliff e…

There is concern out there and the Minister will probably get that when he meets the National Campaign for the Arts. Both his own party's manifesto and that of Fianna Fáil promised to continue it, yet the programme for Government looks to assess it. That assessment is to be done between now and budget day, which is a very tight timeframe. If it falls, potentially at the end of August, that means there will be no basic income for artists until the budget gives effect to a new one or to something else. The concern is…

Go gairid ar an gceist seo, ní díreach na treoirlínte pleanála a bhí geallta dúinn agus do Thithe an Oireachtais ó 2021 ar aghaidh. Tá ceist mhór ann maidir le tithe samhraidh agus Airbnb. I gcomhthéacs na rialacha nua atá ann do Airbnb, ní rialacha nua iad mar ní bhaineann siad leo. Tá sé sin ar cheann de na bunfhadhbanna. Fiú na tithe atá sa Ghaeltacht, níl siad ar fáil do phobal na Gaeltachta. Caithfear déileáil leis sin. Ní gá go ndéanfaidh na treoirlínte pleanála Gaeltachta déileáil leis sin in aon chor. Tá ce…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case:Deputy Gary Gannon - To discuss the lack of suitable after-school facilities in Dublin 1. Deputy Thomas Gould - To discuss the closure of the tenant in situ scheme in Cork city. Deputy Eoghan Kenny - To discuss proposals to restructure District Court services in district No. 21. Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss the need for primary care services in Fingal W…

Bogfaidh muid ar aghaidh go dtí ceist Uimh. 4 atá in ainm an Teachta Rory Hearne. Sula nglaoim ar an Teachta, cuirim fáilte roimh Erin, Caolán agus Aisling. Tá fáilte rompu. Is iad sin páistí an Teachta Hearne. Tá sé ag caint ar a son agus ar son an phobail ar fad.

Níl tagairt ar bith sa chreat seo do riachtanas phobal labhartha agus tíreolaíoch na Gaeltachta a chosaint agus deis a thabhairt don chéad ghlúin Ghaeltachta eile cónaí ann, in ainneoin aighneachtaí cuimsitheacha curtha isteach ag Conradh na Gaeilge. Níl aon rud faoin nasc idir an soláthar tithíochta agus pleanáil teanga sa Ghaeltacht, agus níl tagairt ar bith don fhadhb a chothaítear nuair atá breis is 1,000 teach ar fáil ar Airbnb i gceantar Gaeltachta i gcomparáid le níos lú ná deich dteach ar fáil ar cíos fadté…

I would not put words in your mouth.

It is in Cork.

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Children’s Health Act 2018 and therefore to amend the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (Establishment) Order 2007 (S.I. No. 246 of 2007) so as to direct that the National Children’s Hospital be named Ospidéal Náisiúnta Kathleen Lynn do Leanaí . Today 109 years ago, the 1916 Rising was coming to an end. Among those incarcerated was the only female commandant of the republican forces, the chief medical officer of the Irish Ci…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Will the Minister of State update the House on the progress with Ireland’s responsibilities under the EU’s waste framework directive with regard to textiles, textile recycling and textile waste?

For the record, I am the chairperson of the drug rehabilitation charity, Liberty Recycling. It collates, sorts, recycles and reuses textiles, so there is an interest there. I was put on that body by the Ballyfermot drugs task force many years ago. One of the issues that has come up is that there is a lack of capacity in Ireland to deal with textile waste and we need to accelerate that, as the Minister of State acknowledged. There is the European Union waste framework directive and also extended producer liability, …

The problem is not always collection and the EU directive refers to collection, separation and reuse. In Ireland, the vast majority of bring banks are not for separation. Liberty Recycling is the only one that separates but, even with that, the capacity is not there to deal with all of the textile waste in Ireland. We do not even have a figure for that, although we know that 1.4 million metric tonnes are exported from the EU, mainly to Africa, and it ends up being dumped in Africa. That is the scale of the problem …

The question of Uisce Éireann is quite complex and it faces many challenges. The rushed approach to setting it up in the first place is one of the reasons that a myriad of different organisations is involved, as Deputy Lahart said. To this day, there are still Dublin City Council workers being contracted to do Uisce Éireann work. If there is a problem in a Dublin City Council area, one can ring Uisce Éireann. Sometimes it is quicker to ring Dublin City Council, or vice versa , depending on the problem. Deputy Braba…