I thank the Deputy. What I have in the reply is more of a rationale for the change and for the earlier date in terms of trying to have everything in place so places can be allocated in a timely manner and be in position. In terms of reopening the portal, according to the response I have it sounds unlikely. To be fair, the Deputy's suggestion about immediate communication with the parents and guidance for the SENOs does not seem like a big ask, and it is something I will certainly go back to Minister of State, Deput…

If the Deputy is seeking a meeting with the Minister of State, I will certainly mention that to him. We have seen this before with other changes in systems or structures; when something that is intended to make something more efficient and help with forward planning, people are left behind in the initial phases. That should not be the case. It needs to be addressed if that is the case. Put simply, I will mention it to the Minister of State and make sure he knows the Deputy is seeking a meeting. At the very least, p…

I thank Deputy Ellis for raising this issue. The extension of the Luas line to Finglas is something everyone can get behind. It is great to hear it has support right across the board. In fairness, the decision was made in October 2025, when the sanction was given for the project. It is a bit early to say that we are delaying anything. I genuinely feel that there is an urgency about delivering this. Improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to improving citizens' quality of life and achieving…

In the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, we have a Minister who has highlighted the project as being one he considers as meriting acceleration. My reply states that it is one of the projects highlighted by the Minister for Transport for possible acceleration as part of the review of the NDP which was completed recently. It has clearly been identified as something that can be brought forward, possibly ahead of the usual timelines for the delivery of projects such as this. As I said, something like a Luas extension is far le…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, desperately wanted to be here to take it because he feels so strongly about it. Unfortunately, at the last minute, he had to step away and I stepped into his place. I wanted to relay that message. My heart goes out to the communities the Deputy mentioned. I have sat in this Chamber and in council chambers many times listening to people crying out for amenities such as public toilets and playgrounds. The amount of community effort that …

The local community safety partnerships build on and replace the existing joint policing committees, bringing together gardaí, local representatives, community organisations and representatives of local authorities and other State bodies to draft a community safety plan tailored to community needs. No one knows better what is needed by a community than those who live in it. The Minister signed the regulations to establish the safety partnerships and they came into operation on Monday, 30 June. This paves the way fo…

I have known Deputy Byrne for a while and what a proponent he is of public transport and improving it, reducing congestion and emissions. It has always been something he has believed in. It is hard to dispute what he presented. Even if half of those 6,500 could be gotten into train carriages, the difference it would make on the M11 would be significant. I will outline some of the infrastructure and plans for expansion of rail services. In Wexford, the N11 or N25 Oilgate to Rosslare Harbour project, which has receiv…

I fully understand the Deputy's frustration in terms of the answer. I also appreciate the frustration of the people he represents in Wicklow-Wexford who have to make this journey in the context of the time of the morning they have to get up in order to make it to work on time. The reply did not give them the comfort that the Deputy would like to give them. The Deputy referred to Carlow having a service 11 times per day. I do not know the engineering restrictions or the restrictions that apply in respect of the trac…

I agree with quite a lot of what the Deputy had to say. He said that retrofitting the private rental sector would be good for everyone. I agree with him on that. He spoke about 100% renewables being the target. I agree with that target. That is what we should be aiming for and striving towards. The conditions described by the constituent who wrote to him are not good enough and should not be supported. In terms of the provision of HAP, with regard to anyone in that situation, the landlord should not be supported in…

I look to address some of the comments made. In relation to the housing plan, there is a commitment within the housing plan in terms of energy efficiency. The Opposition can paint it up and describe it whichever way it wants in terms of it being watered down, but it is there. It is an absolute goal of ours because we agree that people should not be living in cold damp conditions, in private or in public housing. Housing inspections have increased significantly. There has been a massive ramping up. We have budgeted …

I thank Senator Byrne for raising this important issue. It is an important scheme. This is something that was introduced as a key measure to prevent homelessness. It has been a success and it needs to continue so as to ensure the State still has capacity to purchase houses where a tenant is at risk of eviction or homelessness. It is key. In my response, I will outline the fact that the key focus of this Department is to ensure that as much of our resources as possible goes towards the actual purchase of houses rath…

I will do so. I know the Minister works closely with the different local authorities and county CEOs and meets them regularly. I am sure that challenge will be brought to his attention. As is constantly stated, the key objective is housing delivery. The homeless figures are unacceptable. We need to tackle homelessness and the way to do so is through supply. Some key measures have been introduced already, including incentives for apartment building and this week's announcement regarding developer-led infrastructure …

I thank the Seanad for arranging statements on national parks. It means a lot that the group here cares enough to have a conversation and a discussion on our national parks and recognises their importance. Acting Chairperson, you being from a county with one of the most stunning national parks in the country, it is great that you are in the Chair. I thank the Senators present for the opportunity to address them on this very important issue. This expanding, diverse and vibrant network is one of our nation's greatest…

A lot of them are in the west anyway.

I will need more time to answer as well. Could I get one extra minute at the end? Could the Acting Chair do that for me?

I am blown away and heartened by the number of contributions, the level of contributions and the passion in the contributions. It is great to see this level of interest across the House. I would love to see that level of passion replicated in the Dáil as well. I will try to get to as many of the points raised by the Senators, starting with Senator Flaherty in the Chair. He acknowledged the efforts of the then Minister of State, Senator Noonan, which came across well. I might not have hammed it up enough in my openi…

There are a few antiques around here.

I thank the Senator for the way she articulated the case for Drogheda to become a city. Clearly it is her home town - or city - and she is very proud of it. This came across incredibly well. She is proud of the progress that it has made but she has also identified some challenges which she sees city status as a key way of overcoming. I will outline the Department’s position and rationale, as well as some opportunities for future discussions. Project Ireland 2040 is the overarching planning and investment framework …

The Senator is right that the establishment of a local authority is primary legislation. However, the recognition of somewhere as a city is different. That has been done through charters and by different methods over the centuries. To back up the Senator's point, the CSO will define a city as having a population over 50,000. Drogheda ticks that box. Kilkenny only has a population of 27,000. My view is that there is definitely merit in the recognition of a city. I think the separate local authority creates far more …

I thank the Chair. It is an absolute pleasure to be here to introduce this legislation, the Housing Finance Agency (Amendment) Bill 2025. All Stages of this Bill were passed last week in the Dáil. Its purpose is to amend section 10 of the Housing Finance Agency Acts 1981 to 2024. The amendment, through section 1, will increase the statutory borrowing limit, SBL, of the Housing Finance Agency, HFA, from €12 billion to €13.5 billion. Section 2 sets out the Short Title, collective citation and construction. The missio…