The Minister should have a go and see what he thinks.

I thank the Tánaiste for his most recent response. I put it to him that a lot of people do not go ahead with the psychometric test. They do not even attempt it or go any further with the application process. As the Tánaiste has said himself, up to half of those who attempt it fail, which is very worrying. Will the Tánaiste make any comment with respect to the recommissioning of officers and their re-enlistment in the PDF, which is another area of recruitment? Does he have any figures with respect to how that is goi…

Will the Minister outline the measures taken by his Department to facilitate offshore wind energy development, in particular, floating wind? As part of his response, will he give us an outline of what is happening with regard to ports? That was asked earlier but I do not think the Minister got a chance to respond. The Minister's pronouncements here and elsewhere have a major impact on the confidence of investors who are looking to invest in Ireland. That is a very important point to make.

Can the designated marine area maps, DMAPs, for phase 3 be run in parallel with those for phase 2 and, if not, why? Will the Minister confirm whether any human resources have been dedicated to progressing phase 3 at this time? Those are two clear questions. Is there a specific workstream for phase 3 within the offshore wind task force? What about wet storage, which is the storing of unfinished turbines before assembly, or a finished turbine, before they are moved to the wind farm site? Will the Minister outline pla…

I thank the Minister for his response, which will be noted by many investors who are really looking to Ireland and want confidence on this matter. With that in mind, does the Minister accept the need for greater engagement between the Government and industry? How will the offshore wind task force facilitate input from industry, specifically on floating offshore wind? The Minister might come back to me on plans for wet storage. It is very important that be clarified because a lot of work is to be done in that regard…

I bring to the attention of the Minister of State reports that An Post intends to close a number of sorting offices in east Cork, which will mean people will have to travel long distances in their cars to collect post. It is a retrograde step. I know it is an An Post decision but maybe the Minister of State can bring that view to the management of An Post.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this Topical Issue and the Minister of State for being present. The integrated care programmes for older people, ICPOP, hub is probably one of the most exciting and positive developments I have seen in health in quite a while. It looks after people with chronic diseases through an ambulance centre. People can go there, be looked after, travel and so on. On 10 February 2022, which is more than a year ago, we had a presentation from HSE south on this very exciting an…

I thank the Minister of State for her response. This is a positive development but we need more of it. The fact this was announced in February 2022 and staff were recruited later that year without a hub being available is a concern. I also understand we have not had consultants. It is supposed to be consultant-led, according to the Minister of State’s response, but I do not think any consultants have been appointed in that time. This is hugely important. Quite a number of people are referred to in the response I go…

I thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter to be taken today and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for being here. It is ironic that he is here because he now has responsibility for international aid and small islands and developing states. I am sure he is aware of the threat to small islands and developing states, like the Marshall Islands and elsewhere, from the rise in sea levels. Those states are very concerned that they may be completely wiped out because of rising sea lev…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I will point out that I was told almost two years ago that the scoping report on the management of coastal change was almost finalised and would be submitted to Government shortly. It still has not been submitted to Government, which is a little bit alarming but we will wait and see. Perhaps the Minister of State will tell us when it will actually be submitted and what will happen as a result. There is another curious issue in the Minister of State's response. He said…

I am sharing time with Deputy Ring. As colleagues have pointed out, there are a lot of community schemes, including the RRDF, the town and village renewable scheme, CLÁR, the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme and so on. The difference these schemes make in communities is amazing. Communities are the heart and centre of rural Ireland. There is no doubt about that. In our villages, towns and cities, people often come together voluntarily to undertake a project for which they must raise funds. It is fantastic w…

Last May the Marine Institute published a report called Irish Ocean Climate and Ecosystem Status Report in which it pointed out we are vulnerable to rising sea levels. In fact, 40% of our population lives within 5 km of a coast. It seems inevitable that the sea will rise. Has the State any long-term plans to deal with this issue?

I understand there is a lot of funding at the moment in the National Training Fund, at up to €1 billion. Will the Minister outline what plans he has for this fund with respect to the question I submitted?

Will the Minister outline the current size of the fund? Is he aware of the proposal of IBEC and Science Foundation Ireland to use the fund to provide adequate funding to develop research, talent and skills and the need for further investment and to encourage increased creativity and innovation?

On 11 April last, Cork County Council wrote to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage looking for extra resources to appoint people to work on vacancy and dereliction. I believe they seek about 18 extra people. Given that Cork County Council has the equivalent population size of Cavan, Roscommon, Sligo, Monaghan and Leitrim, will the Minister tell the House when his Department will finalise examining the resources needed to enable local authorities to carry out this important work?

I thank the Ceann Comhairle and his office for selecting this matter this evening, and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for being here to respond to it. There is a major problem affecting the water supply for almost 10,000 people in east Cork. It is impacting areas south-east of Midleton such as Ballinacurra, Cloyne, Aghada, Ballycotton, Churchtown, Trabolgan and all rural areas in between. This problem has been there, on and off, since January 2016. Boil water notices have been put in place in those a…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Perhaps he will clarify in his final remarks the statement he made that the water charges plan sets out a comprehensive mechanism when water quality is compromised or unfit for human consumption, such as when boil water and drinking water restrictions apply. My understanding is that any compensation or changes only apply to business customers, not to households. The whole thrust of the debate this evening was to encourage the Minister and Government to consider making…

The poet laureate of the Canadian Parliament recently visited the Oireachtas at the invitation of the Centre for Canadian Studies at UCD. She came to the House and I interacted with her outside the House as well. I was struck by the value and importance of poetry, and the fact that they have a poet laureate in Canada. I thought perhaps we should consider having one here as well, so I wrote to the Ceann Comhairle about it. I am interested to know what the Department and the Minister is doing to support poetry in Ire…

I thank the Minister for her response. I join with her in recognising the work of Poetry Ireland. I congratulate Ms Anne Tannam, who was recently appointed as poet in residence there. I also recognise Professor Paul Muldoon, who is the chair of Poetry Ireland at the moment. I thank the Minister again for her positive reaction to the suggestion. It is amazing that when we make suggestions, we often get ridiculed and criticised. I feel we should be able to put forward suggestions in this Chamber. Sometimes our friend…

I look forward to receiving information from the Minister on the supports that are being made available. I note that this week, The Irish Times had a supplement entitled Fighting Words in which there were some very interesting poems written by young people. I would be interested to know what the Minister is doing to encourage and support young people in the development of poetry. Some of the stuff is really good. I will quote a few lines from one of them. A young lady called Ciara Nic Eoghain, who is aged 13, wrote…