I thank the Minister for her detailed reply. There are glitches that happen from time to time, usually in situations where an earner comes into or leaves the household intermittently. That may then cause a situation like one I had to deal with over Christmas where a household earns no money at all and has no way of getting money. The supplementary welfare system is supposed to be there to deal with such a situation but it not always possible, depending on the time and place and when public holidays fall. Such situa…

Some of the text go lost in translation with regard to Question No. 68.

The word "prices" should have read "crisis", but it could also refer to prices. Two questions as set out are connected in that regard. I ask that we look at the alternatives. Much along the lines of my colleague, we recognise that we are making progress, but we are not making progress quick enough.

Yes, it is working. As I said, however, it is not working quickly enough. We happen to have in my constituency a situation whereby a variety and cohort of people cannot access the market at all, no matter what happens, except over long waiting periods. For example, we have many people whose homes were repossessed by the banks back in the early days of the financial crash. They are not able to access a loan because of two things, one of which is their age. Obviously, they have moved on in the meantime and are no lon…

I thank the Minister of State. I agree that people who have been knocked off the housing list can appeal but the appeal does not always work. In fact, it seldom works. The problem is that such people are put to the bottom of the housing list and have no chance of being housed within the next five, six or seven years. That is deplorable, as far as they are concerned. I ask that the Minister look again at Kildare as an example. Rents in the county are as high as €3,000 for month for new housing rentals. That does not…

Last week when I raised with the Taoiseach the question of the continued use of the in camera rule in the context of family law in this country, he quite correctly answered that the rule was there to protect children. Unfortunately, that has changed because of the introduction of parental alienation. In fact, it now leaves it open for children and their parents to be abused due to the secrecy provided by the rule. Notwithstanding the Minister's proposal in this regard, which is due shortly, in the evolving situatio…

I thank the Taoiseach.

I move: That Dáil Éireann: (1) notes the agreed Report of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach under Standing Order 133 on the following proposal: Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE on Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation (BEFIT), COM(2023)532; which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 31st January, 2024 in accordance with Standing Order 133(3)( b ); (2) having regard to the aforementioned Report, and in exercise of its functions under section 7(3) of the European Unio…

I live in a constituency that has a rapidly expanding population way ahead of what was anticipated even in the recent past. There are a number of schools about which parents are concerned. I am going to one of those meetings tonight in Prosperous. Parents are concerned about the schedule for the provision of a new post-primary school, the provision of school transport associated with the catchment area and the provision of primary and post-primary schools in accordance with the expanding population to meet its need…

I thank the Minister for the information he has given to the House. One thing seems certain: time is of the essence. The grave danger to my mind would be the extent to which the local authorities have sufficient staff to meet the extra workload accruing from the welcome measures and the need to touch base with the various local authorities at present to see how they are progressing and if needed to make further provision to enable them to bring the dates forward rather than to fall short of the deadline. What are t…

We all agree with the measures that were introduced in the budget and the measures that are proposed in this grant scheme. However, I do not hear any response to the urgency of the situation. I am a bit concerned about that. It could be a wait-and-see approach. If we wait and see what the potential damage is, it may well be too late. That is what I would ask each of the Ministers to consider as a matter of urgency because there will be things happening in all of our constituencies at this particular time of year wh…

In the context of family law and its application, I again raise the matter of the ongoing pursuit of parents and children by means of the continued and indiscriminate use of the alien concept of parental alienation, no pun intended, and the lack of any investigation or indication that matters are about to be investigated or in any way ventilated in that light. The in camera rule was originally intended to protect children and families. This cannot happen now, however, because Tusla is barred from any investigations…

Once again, I am forced to bring to the attention of the House the ongoing issue of Castletown House in Celbridge, which is in State ownership, along with 235 acres. There is a stately home and a collection of various artforms not only relating to Celbridge but the country in general. It is an invaluable collection which needs to be housed securely. The building itself has to be maintained in an order which keeps the collection safe for future generations. In the last couple of years, there has been a huge increase…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. This is about the 12th time I have raised this issue since September. My frustration and that of local people stems from the lack of progress since then. I am not blaming the Minister of State for that as this is not his area of responsibility, but something has to give. The situation cannot continue whereby local public representatives, including me, strive to resolve matters in the shortest possible time, but there is no progress to report. As long as the sit…

I extend my sympathy and that of my family to Finola and her family, to Richard and his family and to the Bruton family across north Kildare, of whom there are very many. Long may it be so. I see John Farrelly sitting up in the Gallery. We go back a long way, to when we were both councillors and first had direct dealings with John Bruton. I was a councillor in Kildare, my area of north Kildare being part of the Meath constituency at the time, and John was a councillor in Meath, in the same constituency. It was a ti…

A number of brave delegates who were elevated in the party at the time decided to visit him in his office and ask him if he would be interested in changing his ways or considering his position. He inquired as to where they were coming from and on what basis they were asking. They replied that it was as members of the Front Bench. He told them they did not represent the Front Bench anymore because he had sacked them the previous day. That was John Bruton. When we recalled it to him later, he laughed and enjoyed it a…

I have a very quick supplementary question. Can the Minister do everything possible to expedite the extension of the DART to north Kildare and the various areas he mentioned already with a view to ensuring, in the face of a rapidly expanding population, that we come to grips with the cluttering of traffic on the roads and, in fact, road safety?

This is with regard to transport costs and the extent to which the Minister continues to monitor those costs with a view to measuring their impact on the economy.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I thank the Minister for the reply. It clearly indicates the importance of ensuring that adequate investment is made in the infrastructure required to ensure the maximum beneficial impact on the country's economy.

Once again, I raise the question of the use of a particular alleged condition in family law cases. This situation continues without interruption or indication of an interruption other than what the Minister has already said which, I hope, will put an end to the practice. To ensure there is absolute certainty about that, either the in camera rule has to be abolished or there has to be a serious deviation from the present practice.