That is okay if he feels justified in doing so. In particular, his comment about the Minister interfering in the planning process regarding the LNG project is simply not true and is a very dangerous charge to make.

Anyone is entitled to make a submission to a planning application. An Bord Pleanála is an independent planning authority. It made a decision on the appeal independently and has published the reasons for it. As Minister with responsibility for planning, I cannot say any more on that. Options are open to all parties, should they wish to pursue it further. However, stating that a Minister interfered with the planning process is not correct. The Minister made a submission.

The Minister and anyone in this House is entitled to make a submission to a planning application.

I am not trying to be argumentative but to defend the Minister, Deputy Ryan, in that regard, he is entitled to do so. Investment in roads, including regional roads is crucial. The facts bear this out. At the start of this year, for regional and local roads, the allocation was €626 million. That compares to €597 million in 2022. We need to make sure that road infrastructure across the country is kept up as regards quality of the roads. The new investment through our national development plan includes many roads such…

I cannot.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I was going to say that for clarity's sake. Any Deputy in this House, except me, can do so. There is no compulsion either - the Deputy referred to others-----

In any case the decision has been made and if the Deputy feels things have not been done correctly, there are other avenues he can go down. I have stated the facts about rural investment and investment in the regions. There has never been greater investment than since this Government came into office. If you look at local property tax, we have allocated an additional €75 million to our local authorities. With a commitment we gave in the programme for Government, we ensured that 100% of the local property tax raised…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important point. I have met childcare providers in my own area and the Minister has expressed his disappointment with the action the federation has chosen to pursue which is, as the Deputy has said, the closure of early years childcare facilities between 26 and 28 September. The number of providers currently recorded as being closed is 56. As I have said, the Minister believes the closure of services is unwarranted at this time. Core funding has been in operation for just over a …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht na ceiste tábhachtaí seo. Bhí mé ag caint le tuismitheoirí agus daltaí ón Sord an tseachtain seo caite. Ní bhíonn siad ábalta bus a thógáil go dtí an Gaelcholáiste i mBaile Brigín and that is a big problem for those students. I have engaged directly with the Minister and the Department of Education in that regard. It is an example of an issue that arises around the country. Overall, investment in school transport has increased substantially. There are more places now than th…

Hear, hear.

First, I absolutely condemn what happened to Mairead. This is the first I have heard of this specific case and incident. If the Deputy has information and has that video, as he has stated, he should share it with An Garda Síochána. That is assault. It is a very serious thing. There are many committed people working in our NGOs right across this country and working in emergency accommodation, both privately run and State run. The Deputy knows that. This is not the experience of the majority of people but it is a ver…

First, I thank the Deputy and acknowledge that this is a cause of great concern and anxiety for many patients, parents and families attending these services. As the Deputy will know, a comprehensive patient safety review and assurance process overseen by the HSE and the chief clinical officer, Dr. Colm Henry, is now under way into elements of the paediatric orthopaedic surgery service at Temple Street. I understand the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, will be here next Tuesday for a specific debate on this issue.

It is crucially important that we get to the truth of this matter, that lessons are learned and that all the facts get out there. That is why the importance of the review is paramount. It is important to say that we do not have all of the facts at this point in time. That is why, in fairness, the Minister and the HSE have decided to get an external view. I cannot answer the specific question the Deputy put to me regarding timing but it is potentially something he could raise during the debate next Tuesday.

As the Deputy knows, just last week I visited Clonmel for the third time in 12 months.

It was fantastic, and I was delighted to bump into the Deputy when he was doing a bit of work as well that day.

Seriously, on Uisce Éireann, and specifically about the water issue in Clonmel, I will raise it directly with them, particularly around water outages. It reports directly to the Department as well. There has never been more investment in water and wastewater services than now, with €6 billion of investment right across the country. There is a multi-annual capital plan in place and taking hold and it is improving things. Specifically on Clonmel, I will revert to the Deputy myself on that.

I thank Deputy Lahart for his question. On the purchase for the tenant in situ scheme, it is going extremely well. I am glad to hear the progress that is being made in south Dublin. We will exceed the baseline target of 1,500 that we have set this year. We have between 800 and 900 already concluded, and about another 1,500 going through the conveyancing process, which is way above and beyond what we thought. It is a great way of securing tenancies and additional public homes for people. The north inner city initiat…

If it is 14 homes, and we have a single-stage approval process that more local authorities are using now, the process is not that onerous. I have not seen that proposal yet. I would be happy to. There are some other estates that we have seen across the country. There is one in Galway we were looking at recently that is partially built or nearly complete, and which we will take in as a turnkey project. As I said earlier on in discussions, as a Government we delivered more new social homes last year than we have done…

I am aware of and have been kept up to date by officials on this dispute and the action proposed to be taken by Fórsa members in local authorities. These are local authority staff whom we all value and there is no question about that. There is a mechanism to deal with disputes and issues such as this with the LGMA and the union representatives. We are on the cusp of national pay talks. In fact, we are in the middle of them. I would have thought that would be the forum in which to deal with the issue. I call on both…

I thank the Deputy. It is certainly a curious arrangement that has raised a number of eyebrows, including my own. I will raise the matter directly with the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform because his is the Department with responsibility for contracts and conditions of employment. Following the Deputy's intervention, I will speak directly to the Minister and ask him to respond.