I thank the Minister of State for that interesting and useful information. Does he have an overall figure for the amount required to bring all our universities up to the modern, cutting-edge standard that will allow them to compete internationally? If he does not have that figure to hand, will he send it to me later? Is he aware that Mario Draghi's recent report on European competitiveness described the central role of universities in early-stage innovation, generating breakthrough research and producing new skills…

This question is about the disability access route to education, DARE. What supports and engagements has the Department had with this scheme? How much funding is being made available to the scheme, either directly or indirectly, by the State, made possible through the fund for students with disability? Will the Minister of State tell us a bit more about the scheme?

In 1820, Edward Bransfield, a Corkman of course, was first credited with sighting Antarctica and in light of that, and of rising sea levels, when will we accede to the Antarctic Treaty, which has been promised for quite a number of years?

Does the Minister agree with me that family resource centres provide an important set of services in areas and communities that need those services? What are his plans to further increase funding to family resource centres across the country as a result of the budget yesterday, in particular?

I recognise the Minister's commitment but, as he said himself, the family resource centres were looking for €8 million nationally, or €240,000 each, in core funding. Certainly, any help is a help. Will the Minister outline the process involved in deciding where the new family resource centres will be situated? Who will make that decision? Do communities apply in some shape or form? In Youghal, County Cork, in my constituency, they have been crying out for one for an awful long time.

How soon will this application be available so communities will be able to apply? Who will be entitled to make an application? Where will it come from? Will it be local authorities or local community groups? Who will be qualified to apply for inclusion in the new programme to expand the network? If a family resource centre is in trouble financially during the year and has to cut back on services, is there a mechanism whereby it can get extra funding from the Department or Tusla to keep going? Is there any mechanism…

I ask the Minister about the measures being taken by her Department to ensure the quicker processing of visa preclearance applications and associated appeals. The office is doing great work in most areas, but there are one or two areas where I think there is a bit of slippage. Has the Minister looked at this and can further improvements be made?

I thank the Minister for her response. Can the Minister tell me now or perhaps later how many visa applications of various types are currently in the queue? The Minister may not have this information now but perhaps she might have it later. I am also aware that the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious in Ireland has some concerns about how its procedure is working and has sought a meeting with officials in the Minister's Department. Will she facilitate a meeting with the organisation as soon as poss…

I thank the Minister for committing to meet the Association of Leaders of Missionaries and Religious in Ireland because it is concerned about some of the issues it is encountering. I am sure they can be resolved with the very efficient officials speedily and efficiently. Are there different processing times in the different embassies across the world regarding visa applications and has the Minister any information on any of these?

Would the Minister of State agree with me that a lot of Garda time is spent on bureaucracy, behind computers, filling out forms, writing reports and so on when they should be on the beat? There is serious frustration there because of that. Have any studies been carried out in respect of this and can anything be done to alleviate the issue?

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle’s office for selecting this and I thank the Minister of State for being here to take the debate. I am disappointed the Minister for Education cannot be here but I am sure she is very busy with other work. Of all Ministers to the House, the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, will appreciate what I will say. We have in Carrigtwohill one of the finest school campuses in the country. It just opened last year. It has a 1,000-pupil secondary school - community college - and two primary sc…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. He has seen my frustration. This is exactly the same response I got last July when I submitted a parliamentary question on the matter. There has been no change. In fact, the reply is an awful lot shorter. It is almost an insult. The final sentence reads: "These lands are designed to retain overflow flood waters during periods of heavy rainfall and therefore are unsuitable for development" as a playing pitch. Who says? Where is the expertise here? It is a green bloody …

What is the Government policy on dispatch-down, which is compensation paid on constraints and curtailment of renewable energy generation? Leading operators are to be compensated by individual homes and businesses, albeit indirectly, by higher bills. How much is estimated to be paid out this year and how much was paid out last year for this?

This is an opportunity for the Minister to give some information to Members of the House on the number of vacant properties that could be used for housing in this State, or an estimation to that effect. That includes commercial properties. Second, how is the Department working with the Department of Finance on the administration of the vacant property tax? Is there an overall view of what the figures are to date?

I thank the Minister of State for his response and recognise the work that is being carried out here. Does he have any figures with respect of how many actual properties are vacant in the State in the moment that could be used for housing from this database? Is that database publicly available? Will he comment on the top-up grant for derelict properties? We have numbers for the vacant property refurbishment grant, but how many of those also include the top-grant? How many applications are for the vacant property re…

Could the Minister of State let me know at some stage which local authorities are using the funding provided by the Oireachtas to fund vacant homes officers? Which of those are doing that exclusively so that, for example, the vacant homes job is not number ten on a list of other works they have got to do? Is that a condition attached to the funding we are providing to the local authorities? My sense is that these vacant homes officers are doing ten other jobs as well, and that should not be the case. The Minister o…

A boil water notice has been in place in my area for the past eight years affecting 9,000 customers. It appears to be costing approximately €500 per year. In the UK, families are now compensated when boil water notices are put in place. Will the Minister give consideration to doing this in this country, particularly for the 9,000 customers who are suffering under this notice for the past eight years?

It is a given that we must reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and increase the use of renewable and low-carbon energy sources, such as wind and solar, as I am sure the Minister of State will agree. The need for solar farms across Ireland is growing. I refer to the best practice planning guidance report on large-scale solar energy development in Ireland produced with the Irish Solar Energy Association by Fehily Timoney in November last. It is a very good document. If the Minister of State has not come across it, he…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Basically, he is saying there are no guidelines and no plans to develop any, yet this whole industry is developing at a very fast pace. The UK Government has said it will seek the large-scale deployment of ground-mounted solar on brownfield industrial and low- or medium-grade agricultural land, being quite clear that poor-quality land should be used in preference to high-quality agricultural land. What is the Minister of State's view on that? Another matter I want to …

It seems the Opposition has abandoned the Dáil, which is strange. When we were in opposition, we never gave up and always had someone here. That is another story. With respect to Powering Prosperity, does he agree that it depends on infrastructure and on having ports with planning permission that are able to expand? That needs money. For example, the Port of Cork needs to expand but cannot do so because it does not have the finance.