I thank the Minister for that reply. To what degree does he, as he obviously does, continue to monitor the cause or causes of inflation, whether imported or generated nationally? To what extent can measures be taken at this stage to identify those tendencies? I ask this particularly since it seems to be fashionable nowadays to say it is inflation and everybody knows it is inflation. We do know this, but the sources of inflation are not necessarily so readily identified. To what extent can the Minister monitor this …

In the context of previous experiences this country has had when criticised internationally on the basis of the system we were using to measure the economic forces and trends at work here, which were sometimes quite dismissive, with references to leprechaun economics and so on and so forth, is the Minister absolutely certain we can robustly withstand any criticism that might come from such quarters in future? I ask this question given that in the past several years we have tended to receive criticism concerning our…

Go raibh maith agat.

On the same lines, I ask the Minister the extent to which his Department remains vigilant in relation to the actual causes of the inflation affecting a large range of consumer goods. In themselves they do not seem greatly worrying but put together they constitute a fairly sizable impact insofar as the purchaser, the consumer, is concerned and they gradually eat away into the confidence of the consumer. I ask whether, at this stage, measures continue to be taken to drill down into the actual reasons put forward in c…

In regard to fuel prices and possible reductions in the international markets, how is it determined that those reductions or increases can be transferred to the consumer, to benefit the consumer? From past experience we know that when increases are on the horizon, they are passed on quickly to the consumer and have a dramatic effect. While almost all consumer goods now are transported in one way or another, fuel costs obviously have a serious impact. To what extent can the Minister determine the validity of the inc…

Some years ago, Maynooth, County Kildare was scheduled to have a brand new swimming pool and various contributions were raised between the local authority, the local community and St. Patrick's College, Maynooth. Recently, I heard voices in the long grass to the extent that the proposal was not as warm as it had been in the past. The town has a population of 20,000 with approximately 20,000 students as well, and it is growing rapidly. I have been told that a swimming pool there would be in competition with Lucan, b…

I thank the Taoiseach.

This question seeks to ascertain the extent to which measures to meet climate challenges are successful, and if there is available to the public some scientific evidence to indicate that their efforts are being rewarded and that, if continued, their efforts will be of benefit.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am also thinking that in order to succeed in any such situation there needs to be evidence available to support the concept. We have, for example, for want of a better word, flashpoints around the country where severe flooding takes place and has taken place again and again. We call it a hundred year flood or whatever it is. The fact is that there is a means to stop it. We have the means to stop it. A drainage system, if operated, will curtail the kind of flash floods …

I thank the Minister of State for that reply. Again, I am a bit puzzled that we have the incidents repeating and we have the technology to alleviate the problem. While we can say in the long term that we can reduce emissions, which is beneficial to the environment, at the same time we have a situation where parts of the island are being rewetted. I would think most people would agree that over the past 12 months, and over the past six months especially, this island has been rewetted sufficiently to worry some peopl…

I can assure the Minister of State I have done so.

I know there have been similar questions to this on broadband. It is on the ongoing drive to provide a full-scale level of high-speed broadband throughout the country. We have had tremendous success and there are areas where there have been huge improvements. Then there are other cliff-edge areas between those areas which have received no adequate service at all yet. When will we join them all up?

We should recognise and acknowledge the fact the provision of broadband is a massive leap forward in communications in this country. It is hugely important to business and industry, education, hospitals, schools and science in general. It has been speeded up dramatically by the availability of a reliable and adequate high-speed broadband. However, there are chasms in the system still that people do not really understand. They will say the broadband is at the top of the road and has gone by there and the people in t…

I agree entirely. There may be other blackspots that have not appeared just yet, but the lack of appeals on their part should not inhibit us in any way from making the changes the Minister of State referred to in identifying blackspots that need urgent attention and to do it now, insofar as it can be done and thus eliminate many of the delays.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this particular matter again. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to reply.

In north Kildare we have a particular problem. We have a rapidly growing population. This population growth continues year after year but particularly in the last couple of years. We at local level, Oireachtas Members and members of local authorities et al., have put forward proposals ourselves to ensure catchment areas were regularly defined and that they were logical in terms of travel distances from the point of view of the parents. The problem is that most or all of the parents are at work so they have a diffic…

I thank the Minister of State for a comprehensive reply. In it, he identified all of the pinch points that are already visible and causing problems. The Minister of State is correct. There has been huge investment. However, even new schools that have been built recently are now overflowing and there is difficulty for pupils in catchment areas in gaining access to those schools. In some cases, decisions have been made by the planning section to move a child to a different school, thereby creating a further catchment…

I thank the Minister of State.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important issue. I congratulate the Minister of State on her new position and responsibility. It is a very serious and senior position with a lot of responsibility and issues that need very urgent attention and results in a short space of time. Right across County Kildare, north and south but particularly in north Kildare, there is huge pressure for school places both in regular schools and for children with special needs. This has been going on for quite a long time.…

Is Deputy Harkin sharing her time?