I very much welcome the presence of the National Training Fund. It is important. In the aftermath of the Cassells review in 2016, the identification of the need for an extra billion euro per annum in funding for higher education by 2030 is laudable and something we should strive for. I will be honest with the Minister of State. I am a little bit disappointed by the Bill. It is clearly short. I expected there to be a greater exploration of the manner in which we can expand the remit of the national training fund, wh…

I wish to raise the S2S, which is a coastal promenade and cycleway around Dublin Bay, from Sutton to Sandycove, which is where the name comes from. I am particularly concerned about the bit between Merrion Gates and Dún Laoghaire Harbour. I was first elected to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in 2009, but before I was ever elected I was in favour of this plan. It existed long before I ever got involved. I credit people like Michael Collins in Blackrock who have kept this idea alive. It has been singularly the…

In the Minister of State's response, he said the "Sutton to Sandycove cycleway, also commonly referred to as the east cost trail". It is not. They are different things. This is the frustrating thing I am dealing with in regard to management at local level, this notion that they are the same thing. They are not. The east coast trail, as the Minister of State has just described, comes inside the DART lane at Merrion Gates. When cyclist come over the Merrion Gates and onto Merrion Road, they are battling with buses, c…

It is said that these things should always be done like sandwiches, so I have both criticism to make and praise to give. First, I acknowledge what Deputy Jim O'Callaghan has done as Minister for justice. I have long campaigned for the restoration of criminal legal aid rates. It has been a myopic approach by the Department and my Government not to restore them. Criminal barristers and solicitors appear to have been the last sector not to have rates restored after the FEMPI cuts that reduced payment for providing cri…

I raise an issue relating to ancillary grants for schools. This affects many schools in my area. Last week, I met the principal and treasurer of St. Mary's Boys National School in Booterstown. It is by any measure a fantastic local parish school. It provides a service for the community and does so in a way that contributes much to provide for special educational needs and children from the IPAS centre in Blackrock. It does a good job and does it well. It gets an ancillary grant, as the Minister of State will be awa…

I thank the Minister of State, to a point. An awful lot in that response is not relevant to this particular school. What made my blood boil, to be perfectly honest, was when the Minister of State said, "Schools should be in no way disadvantaged by this [meaning the changes in respect of the secretaries' payment] as the grant is reduced only by the amount they previously paid to their secretaries." He spoke about a review in respect of this particular school in which the Department decided that the amount paid to th…

I wish to ask the Minister about the merits of increasing support for independent producers in relation to Irish language productions for television, particularly for online media and streaming services, where there is a real opportunity for us to grow the product that is available through the Irish language.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Mar is eol dó, aontaím go hiomlán leis an ráiteas atá ann sa chlár Rialtais, go háirithe maidir le rudaí trí mheán na Gaeilge. Tá sé sin thar a bheith tábhachtach. We know as well that through the Official Languages Act, there is now an obligation on State agencies to produce at least 20% of their advertising through the Irish language. That is something we hear on the radio and see on the television every day. It has created a tangible improvement for those who wish to live their liv…

I appreciate what the Minister is saying and agree entirely with him. He mentioned "An Cailín Ciúin". It is a fantastic proof positive of the strength of Irish-language productions and the benefit that comes with it. Mar dhuine a d’fhoghlaim a chuid Gaeilge sa Rinn, bhí an-áthas orm an blas sin a fheiceáil agus a chloisteáil sa scannán sin. Mar a dúirt mé, tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach do dhaoine go mbeidh siad in ann é sin a fheiceáil agus a chloisteáil. I appreciate what the Minister said about the increased fu…

Tá mé chun an cheist seo a chur ar son an Teachta Keira Keogh as Maigh Eo.

I particularly welcome what the Minister said about liaising with other Departments. The cross-departmental nature of this funding is hugely important. It is not just the Minister's Department but also the Department of Health, the Department of Transport and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality that need to come together to make sure this funding is effective in how it relates to people with disabilities. I want to specifically address the accessibility retrofit programme for public transport. We op…

I appreciate the work that is being done. It is hugely positive and benefits us all, albeit many of us indirectly. One of the issues with grants, particularly where they are means-tested, is that when they work and the person who is a recipient of that grant makes more money or has more resources available to him or her, they then fall outside the criteria if it is means-tested. This applies across the board in relation to grants for people with disabilities. The reality is that even if they have more money or reso…

Tá roinnt ama caite agam i nGaza agus bhí seans agam a bheith ann in 2000. I visited Gaza for the first time in 2000. At that time, believe it or not, it was possible to get a bus down through Israel to the border at Rafah and cross into Egypt. That happened for a brief period. I was also there in 2005 after the disengagement from the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip. These are, therefore, people and places I actually know. What is happening there defies description and certainly defies justification. It is no…

Last week's "RTÉ Investigates" programme on data sharing and the sharing of personal geolocation data by individuals through the downloading of apps was shocking and disquieting. People the length and breadth of this country are downloading apps and making consents, which are not real or informed, to allow third parties not only to gather hugely personal and invasive information about them but then to sell it to third parties without the knowledge of the person who has downloaded the app. Does the Minister agree th…

I was listening to this debate. I was watching it on the television in my office and had to come to the Chamber to make sure I was listening to the correct debate because some of the comments I have heard today seem to be entirely at variance with what is actually being proposed in this policy and this scheme. I have heard it described as "anti-worker" when in actual fact this is exactly the kind of measure we need to put in place, particularly for low-paid workers, who were the ones who, according to some Deputies…

I put on record my support for the smoking ban. Ireland showed its mettle in terms of being ahead of the pack and dealing with smoking in a really serious way about 20 years ago. I have friends who gave up smoking the day the smoking ban came in and they have stayed off cigarettes ever since. It has undoubtedly saved lives and I pay tribute to the Ministers for Health who have contributed to attacking smoking over a long number of years. I remember working in pubs as a teenager and going home reeking of smoke. It i…

My question relates to a childcare provider in Dublin who has indicated it is withdrawing from the market. Has the Minister plans to do anything to prevent such things as this happening and thereby increasing the costs hugely for parents using those facilities?

I accept what the Minister said. This scheme is optional for companies and I understand why that is the case. I also understand that we campaigned on this issue last year and we promised the parents we would deliver serious cuts to the cost of childcare, reducing it to €200 per month. There are 11 centres throughout Dublin. As the Minister mentioned, the owners of this facility have changed the facilities in three, one of which is in my constituency in Shankill but there are two others in my constituency in Dún Lao…

I accept everything the Minister said. The owners of this facility say that the core funding model traps services in outdated, frozen fee structures while the cost of delivering quality childcare has continued to rise. I want this scheme to work. I want to make sure that the Minister's engagement with this company works and that we bring them back into the fold. However, the reality is there are parents in my area who are genuinely concerned that they are facing fees in the region of €1,400 per month, per child. It…

I thank the Minister.