I welcome the Minister's comments on the Athenry to Claremorris project and the Limerick to Shannon project, for which I have been advocating for some years. I am delighted it is on the agenda. I strongly believe these should be among the highest priorities of the Government to deliver. They are not complex or difficult projects and they are not expensive projects. They should be pursued with urgency. I have a concern we might begin to speak about business cases and feasibility studies. A decision needs to be made …

I will speak in support of amendment No. 31 in section 17. I acknowledge the efforts of my colleague, Deputy Matthews, to improve the Bill with respect to how we view transport infrastructure. I thank the Minister for agreeing to the change. It shows the co-operation that exists in the Government when it comes to transport infrastructure and planning around it. I hope all Deputies agree that it is not before time that we acknowledge pedestrian and cycling infrastructure as real transport infrastructure. We can real…

I very much welcome the Minister's statement and the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. With respect to the rights and wrongs of this and previous Governments' challenging of the case, I was not a Member of the Oireachtas in those days, so I defer to the experts on tax law and international tax law. I believe some of those experts are in this House, especially sitting across the floor from us. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, said in his remarks that this is a real opportunity to invest in our future…

Previous Governments.

Most people in this House know that a very historic election is taking place in Limerick on 7 June. I must declare I am a candidate in that election, but I assure you, a Cheann Comhairle, that it is not the reason I am raising this particular issue. I refer to the election for a directly elected mayor, the first in Ireland's history, which will happen in Limerick. The Taoiseach and I both know this is not simply about electing a ceremonial mayor. It is about electing an executive mayor. Effectively, it is like elec…

I thank the Minister and the Minister of State for the work they are doing in the Department and the support they have given to clubs throughout the country in the past number of years. I expect that will continue. This is about more than sport and competition because every one of these clubs are so knitted into the fabric of our communities. They are so important in the co-benefits they bring to our communities. As others have done, I will reference some of the clubs in my community that are looking for funding, w…

I agree with the previous speaker on the large-scale sport infrastructure fund. There is a question on that fund coming up and I would like to contribute on that as well, if I may. I reiterate the importance of the sports capital programme for our communities. If we were not investing as we are and have been over a number of years, that counterfactual scenario would not be very positive. I commend the Ministers on the supports they have given to clubs right across the country. I can see it in my city of Limerick an…

I move: That Dáil Éireann, in accordance with a Resolution of the Dáil of 22nd February, 2022, and the Order of the Dáil of 20th June, 2023, shall take note of the Report of the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action entitled "Report on the examination of recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly report on biodiversity loss", copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 14th December, 2023. Before I give a summary of the report, I place on record my thanks to the 99 citizens who met over what I think…

I relayed this personal story to the Minister of State in the past. My family, like thousands of families, has been impacted by tragedy on our roads in the years and decades gone by. I never knew my grandfather on my mother's side. He was killed when cycling on Mulgrave Street in Limerick before I was born. I wish I had known him. He was by all accounts a good and impressive man. Thousands of families have suffered this kind of bereavement and continue to do so and we need to put a stop to it. I commend the Ministe…

Enforcement is critically important. I agree with Deputy Tóibín. It has to be addressed. I welcome Commissioner Harris' recent initiative to increase enforcement on our roads. Others in this House talked about the Road Safety Authority and whether it is fit for purpose. I am inclined to think that as it is currently constituted, it is not. Its remit can certainly be looked at. How it is funded can be looked at. I welcome the Minister of State's comments recently with regard to doing so. There is certainly a sense t…

I congratulate the Taoiseach on his elevation to his office and wish him well in his time in that office. I also congratulate my county compatriot, Deputy O'Donovan, on his elevation to Minister. My question also relates to flooding in County Clare. I see Deputy Crowe has left the Chamber. It is about the flooding of the railway line between Galway and Limerick just south of Ennis at Ballycar. As Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan sat on this for two and a half years. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell…

I welcome this fund and the legislation being introduced in the House today that will underpin it. When it was announced in the budget in October, it was widely acclaimed in Ireland and internationally. When this Government's term is complete, there will be a few things that we will see, in time, as the great legacies of this Government. One of them, in my very subjective but sincere view, is the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act. That is going to change, and is changing, the direction this …

Ag an am seo gach bliain, cuirim romham cúpla rud a rá faoi Sheachtain na Gaeilge. Sna blianta roimhe seo, labhair mé go díreach ar ábhair a bhain leis an nGaeilge í féin, ach anuraidh bheartaigh mé cur síos a dhéanamh ar mo chuid oibre trí Ghaeilge. Is innealtóir mé a ceapadh mar chomhairleoir tar éis toghcháin don rialtas áitiúil i gcathair Luimnigh. Ansin in 2020, chuir muintir mo chontae féin muinín ionam tríd an mbosca ballóide, agus dá bhrí sin tá sé de phribhléid agam labhairt inniu sa Teach seo mar Theachta…

I will go to a subject the Minister knows very well and has been positively engaged in, which is the huge retrofitting plan we have. He and his Department are playing an important role in upskilling our workforce such that we have the capacity to retrofit up to 500,000 homes to B2 standard by 2030. As he knows, Limerick is at the forefront of this with the centre of excellence at Roxboro, in addition to the courses Tús is offering in that institution. It is now nearly two years since the Roxboro centre of excellenc…

This is a very historic occasion. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, on his stewardship of the legislation in his tenure in this Department and also commend his predecessors, the Ministers of State, Deputy Peter Burke and, before him, Deputy John Paul Phelan, who I think was the real instigator of this legislation. This truly is a historic day in that Limerick alone decided we would have a directly elected mayor, and we are the first in Ireland to do it. It is not the first time that Limerick has be…

I ask the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform for his views on the recent ESRI report submitted to his Department entitled The National Development Plan in 2023: Priorities and Capacity. Will the Minister outline the steps his Department is taking to address the limitation of data to evaluate investment in infrastructure projects, in particular with a view to achieving balanced regional development on this island as indicated in the report?

I thank the Minister for his answer. I suppose he will agree with me that quality of data is critically important. When we are spending millions and billions of public money, whatever way we spend it, that will have an impact on this country for decades, if not centuries, to come. Acknowledging those impacts, and that we are shaping the nation when we make these decisions, it is imperative that the data we have is of high quality and reliable. Even small inconsistencies or inaccuracies can lead to us taking the wro…

I agree with the thrust of the national planning framework and the national development plan and what we are trying to do. The ESRI report hints that we are not really on track and are not achieving the balance that is so critically important. If we want a greater and bigger economy, and a bigger country in terms of the wealth that will underpin the society we are trying to serve, balanced regional development is critical. At the risk of being parochial, my vision is not necessarily for a bigger Limerick or mid wes…

This very much relates to my earlier question. I ask the Minister for his views on the concern raised in the recent ESRI report that was submitted to the Department, The National Development Plan in 2023: Priorities and Capacity, which states that the eastern and midland region is experiencing a share of population growth beyond that envisaged in the context of the 2040 target. Perhaps the Minister might outline what steps his Department is taking to address this and if he might make a statement on the matter.

I thank the Minister. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has a very important role to play here with respect to the strategic development of the country. What we are trying to do with the NPF is rebalance our island. That is the stated objective. To that end, we have to take the opportunity presented. The way to do this is by investing in the right kind of infrastructure. We have to be cautious and guard against embracing the predict-and-provide approach whereby we see a problem emerging and we react by adding another l…