I absolutely agree with the Deputy that we need an all-of-government approach. The Minister of State, Deputy Burke, has made that very clear since he came to the Department. If a request is made by the Port of Cork to IDA Ireland, I would ask it to engage with the latter directly. Anything we can do to support the development of offshore wind energy, not just in Cork - I am conscious that Deputy Stanton is here with Deputies O'Connor and Pádraig O'Sullivan - but also across the island, we will do. State lands shoul…

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment Report on Offshore Renewable Energy is comprehensive and forward-thinking. I thank the Chair, the members and the secretariat for their work on it. We had a very good and comprehensive debate on it some weeks ago in the Chamber. I will briefly respond to the recommendations set out in the report. On recommendation 1, the publication of the draft south coast designated maritime area plan, SC-DMAP, by the Department of the Environment, Climate and Com…

Regarding the first part of the question, we are engaging with Foras on that at the moment. On the issue of the ports, the Department of Transport, as the Deputy is probably aware, is currently awaiting the results of the 2003 connecting Europe facility funding call. We expect to have those results by July of this year. The Department of Transport, along with the Irish Maritime Development Office, assisted ports that made applications under that funding call. We are aware that multiple ports have submitted applicat…

I thank Senator Ward for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the team in the Department of Health, who are dealing with Question Time in the Dáil at the moment. I agree with the Senator that newborn infants are some of the most vulnerable patients within our health system. For any parent, having a child who is unwell and requires medical care is devastating, particularly at that time. Ensuring good continuity of care for newborns is vital to having the best medical outcomes. The Government has been i…

I would point out that funding was put in place for 2023 to start establishing the teams. So the Minister and the Department of Health have put the funding in place. It is now a matter for the HSE and CHI. They have the funding. There should not be anything stopping them from putting those teams in place. I agree that this should be done now. The teams should be in place before the move. The funding is there. I think HSE and CHI should be driving it on.

I would like to thank Senator Conway for raising this matter. The Government remains fully committed to improving services in Ennis and the mid-west region. The Minister for Health has engaged extensively with the University of Limerick Hospitals Group and the HSE. He has announced a series of measures to increase capacity and improve services across the region, including over the last 48 hours and including in Ennis Hospital. The smaller hospital framework, which was published in 2013, provided a stronger role for…

I echo the Senator's comments and tributes to the staff and management at Ennis Hospital. As Senators can see from my opening remarks, we have made significant capital and personnel investment in Ennis Hospital over the past number of years. I have no doubt that the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, will continue with his commitment to the hospital.

I thank Senator Hoey for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman. This House has previously been informed that St. John's Ambulance Ireland is an independent organisation. It does not receive funding from Tusla or the Government. As a result, there was no external process by which a review into the organisation could be instigated. St. John's Ambulance Ireland did, however, receive funding relief under Revenu…

I do not have that information to hand. Rather than giving the Senator misinformation or wrong information, I will ask the Minister to revert to her directly with a response to those questions.

I thank the Senator for his amendment. I genuinely appreciate its rationale. However, as the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, said to the Senator's colleague, Deputy O'Reilly, during the Bill's passage through the Dáil, we do not accept this amendment. It appears to require the employer or responsible person to initiate consultations with a European Works Council, where established, on proposed collective redundancies. This is in addition to the consultation with employee representatives. Under law, EWCs have a …

I cannot accept this amendment. With regard to the proposed new section 621A, section 608 of the Companies Act 2014 already provides that where it can be established that the effect of a transfer of assets has been to defraud creditors of the company or its members, a court can order the return of those assets that have been improperly transferred. This would apply in some of the circumstances to which the Senator alluded. In this provision, the term "creditor" includes employees of the company concerned. Consequen…

I thank Senators Sherlock and Gavan. I acknowledge the very important role of trade unions. The Government has really put trade unions at the heart of government and has been very involved in social partnership. We have initiated a series of changes to strengthen worker protections and rights since we entered office. These are being rolled out. The plan of action on collective redundancies following insolvency, launched in June 2021, lays out our plans to enhance protections, most importantly to ensure transparency…

I thank the Senators for their engagement this morning, which was quick for quality. In particular, I would like to thank all the officials in our own Department. They have worked very hard on this Bill, along with members Company Law Review Group and our social partners in ICTU, who fed into this. We already have robust legislative protections and safeguards in place for workers under employment law, but also for workers as creditors under the Companies Act. This enhances that. While I know it took time, it was im…

Níl siad ar a dturas teanga.

Thar ceann an Tánaiste, gabhaim buíochas le gach Teachta a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht seo. Gabhaim buíochas as the constructive contributions, comments and inputs. The Tánaiste was very clear in his opening statement that this is the first of two substantial defence Bills. To address the point made by Deputy Howlin and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, the second Bill will provide for the reform of the triple lock as well as addressing the high-level military command structures of the Defence Forces to reflect the recom…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence pursuant to Standing Orders 95 and 181.

Go raibh maith agat. Gabhaim buíochas arís le gach Teachta as scéal Scoil Eoin a ardú inniu. On behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, I will outline how the Department and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, continue to support children with special educational needs around the country and I will deal especially with the issues raised. It is a priority to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to our schools to cater to …

Yes.

I can assure all the Deputies that the Minister has recently secured significant extra capital funding for the Department. She fought very hard to secure it. The board of management's report will be assessed. Extensive demolition proposals were examined in the original review. The new engineer's conditional report will be assessed. The Minister has committed to Deputy O'Sullivan that she will have the meeting and discuss this issue. I think this issue does need to be explored. To Deputy Barry, I say that statistics…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ceist Scoil Chiaráin a ardú inniu. As the Deputy said, a major building project to provide new accommodation for the students of Scoil Chiaráin is included in the Department of Education’s construction programme being delivered under the National Development Plan, NDP, as part of Project Ireland 2040. The major building project for Scoil Chiaráin is being delivered under the Department of Education's accelerated delivery of architectural planning and tendering, ADAPT, programme. …