The Taoiseach rightly referred in his response to the massive scale of our food exports. Those food export markets have been hard-earned. There has been massive investment by the State over the decades, and by farmers, in building up a top-class, world-standard food industry. We have animal husbandry and food production to the highest standard. That is why we have been successful in so many markets throughout the world. As Deputy Moynihan said, there is a very urgent issue to be resolved, that is, the ongoing dispu…

Food Harvest 2020.

The Minister and the Minister of State will be very familiar with the findings of the report of the GAA's national demographic committee. As we all know, the GAA, along with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and the Camogie Association, comprise over 2,300 clubs and they have 760,000 members. We are not just talking about sporting organisations. We all know that these clubs are a key and integral part of every community. In so many instances, they shape local community life. It is essential that the Government…

I welcome the Minister's response. I fully appreciate the understanding that the Minister and the Minister of State have of the concerns outlined by the GAA. In my own county of Cavan, we have had a welcome increase in population, but there is a population imbalance and demographic imbalance. The east of County Cavan is in the commuter belt of Dublin. The clubs there face pressures because of increasing numbers of participation, which is great. The belt from Castlerahan, Ballyjamesduff, Virginia, Mullagh to Bailieb…

I thank the Minister. As the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach knows, thankfully, in practically every parish in Cavan-Monaghan, we have excellent community facilities. I know that many communities in Dublin and the highly populated areas would love to have those facilities. As the Minister knows well, we have the social infrastructure in rural communities. We have community centres, schools, GAA and other sporting organisations. What we need is population. Perhaps the Minister and the Minister of State could try to continue…

As the Taoiseach is aware, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to protect and renew the regional, local and non-national road network. There has been a welcome increase since 2020 in funding to local authorities on an annual basis. We need a more significant increase. As the Taoiseach is well aware, very heavy rainfall is causing awful damage to our local and regional roads. Counties like Cavan and Monaghan have particular problems because of our typography and our drumlin soils. We do not have fr…

I very much welcome the substantial provision the Minister secured in the national development plan for capital developments in the further education sector. Thankfully, there has been a welcome emphasis in recent years on the development of the further education sector. Will the Minister outline some of the projects that will be progressed and will benefit from the funding available to his Department in 2026 for capital developments?

I thank the Minister for his response. With regard to Deputy Ward's concluding remarks, I very much welcome the fact that the Minister was the first Minister who was able to announce an all-Ireland university. He has worked very assiduously, along with Dundalk Institute of Technology and Queen's University, to have Dundalk Institute of Technology as a college of Queen's University. It is the first all-Ireland university we will have. This is practical and I very much welcome it. I very much welcomed, as did the boa…

I thank the Minister for his response and I know of his personal commitment to the project. As I assured him previously at the Oireachtas committee and at other meetings, when the project gets to tender stage it will be advanced as quickly as possible by Cavan and Monaghan ETB. We have an opportunity to work in conjunction with Monaghan Institute and South West College in Enniskillen. It is being practical, for which the Minister and I have advocated for many years. Thankfully, we are in a position today, with the …

I raise again the urgent need to improve services in Cavan and Monaghan for persons with disabilities. The present totally inadequate day activation unit at Rathcorrick, Cavan town, needs to be replaced with a modern facility that caters properly for the needs of service users. A new day activation unit must have the capacity to provide for increased numbers of attendees. The young adults in need of the service have waited for far too long for an appropriate modern unit. I am anxious to have the proposal for substa…

I join with others in extending every good wish for Christmas and the new year to all staff and Members of the Oireachtas. In the context of the proposed Mercosur deal, I again raise the detailed report from the IFA and the Irish Farmers' Journal on their recent fact-finding mission to Brazil. That report again outlined very clearly how much inferior food production is in Brazil and elsewhere in South America in comparison to the standards in this country and throughout the European Union. We should continually hig…

As the title of the Minister's Department demonstrates, it has a very broad remit. Of course, education, research and innovation are the key elements in the bedrock of any economy. Importantly, I welcome the fact that the Minister is supporting further and higher education throughout the regions. When the late President Patrick Hillery, as a member of the Fianna Fáil Government in the 1960s, laid out the vision and strategy for the development of the regional technical colleges, it was always on the basis of bringi…

I was very glad that the Minister was able to accept my invitation to attend Cavan Institute and see it first hand, meeting the students, staff and board of management. There is a vibrancy to Cavan Institute and also Cavan Youthreach. Oftentimes, Youthreach does not get the attention it deserves. In Cavan and Monaghan, I see it as a pathway to further education and on to higher education as well. I was delighted that day in Cavan that the Minister was able to state very clearly that he was very anxious to advance t…

I was delighted at the Oireachtas Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science a number of weeks ago when the Minister was able to tell us about the progress made in developing the strategic partnership between Dundalk Institute of Technology and Queen's University. The Minister was able to say the words, "We will have an all-Ireland university". Those of us, particularly from the Border region, who have advocated for this development were thrilled. Practical things are being done. We…

My constituent Mr. Maurice Brady, who is highly regarded for his knowledge of the agrifood sector and who was recently elected regional vice president of the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, has brought to my attention the detailed report from a recent fact-finding mission to Brazil by the IFA and Irish Farmers Journal , which has to be a further cause for real concern for the European Union in relation to the Mercosur trade deal. The Government must ensure that the best interests of the Irish agrifood sector are fu…

I have had numerous opportunities in this House to welcome in general terms the legacy framework that was agreed between the British and Irish Governments and published in early September. There is an urgent need to enact legislation to give effect to the provisions outlined in the framework. Did the Taoiseach detect an urgency or a very strong commitment from the UK Prime Minister on the need to get this issue dealt with? Many families have waited for justice for decades and decades. We have to move on and get pro…

I thank the Minister for his reply. It goes without saying that in the negotiations on the multi-annual financial framework, we must ensure that there is robust and ring-fenced CAP funding. As we all know, this is essential for farm incomes. It is essential for investment in rural Ireland and it is also essential for food security. Far too often, we do not talk about protecting food production in western Europe. As the Minister referenced earlier, the Common Agricultural Policy was devised to ensure the citizens of…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. As he is aware, there was a general welcome for the legacy framework that was published jointly by the Irish and British Governments in early September. Could he let us know what progress is being made in bringing forward the necessary legislation to enact that framework and to ensure that all of these issues are dealt with through putting the victims first and at the centre of the framework and the modus operandi of dealing with these legacy issues? Another thing I have consist…

As the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach knows, the sports capital programme has been extremely beneficial across our two counties of Cavan and Monaghan. Voluntary groups and sporting organisations have worked hard to provide new and upgraded facilities. No matter what parish I go to, it is great to see the top-quality facilities available. Unfortunately, the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and I do not have county councils with large cash reserves. We do not have a strong rates base but our two councils, to their credit, are develo…

I welcome the Minister of State's announcement on the next round. It is a joy to visit any of our sporting clubs on a Saturday morning and see the huge numbers of people participating. Clubs who have relatively good facilities and even county boards with good facilities are always talking to us about the pressure on their grounds and their need for additional facilities. It is welcome to see more and more participation in sport by young girls. I attended three county camogie finals in Cavan a few weeks ago and saw …