What kind of an understanding exists between the Department, NBI and the commercial operators to guarantee that the commercial operators will service the areas they say they will service? Is there a timescale available from the commercial operators for when they will do this? The Minister mentioned a number of areas in my constituency like Cobh and he said he might come back to me on that. A lot of that is marked blue but we have no idea when the work will be carried out there.

I agree with the Minister on the importance of this green hydrogen initiative. In my area, a number of companies are very interested in this and linking with offshore, as the Minister has said, EI-H2 being one of them. I encourage the Minister to develop and publish a green hydrogen strategy because that is what the sector is calling for, as Deputy O'Rourke has said. Will the Minister comment on the safety aspects of green hydrogen? We know it is a very volatile gas. Have studies been done on its safety? Can the pi…

This question focuses on the number of staff currently working in the National Cyber Security Centre and their qualifications, experiences and roles.

It seems that number is quite small, given the threat that is out there and its scale and complexity. I brought up the issue of mobile phone platform security in a question earlier on. Will the Minister tell me whether the NCSC has a responsibility for security of the mobile phone network with respect to hacking and, if not, who does?

I am getting back to it again. I am sorry for focusing on this but it is very important. Is there somebody in the Minister's Department at assistant secretary or principal officer level who has responsibility for and a focus on the security of our national telephone platforms, many of which are based outside the State? Is there somebody whose focus is solely on this or who has a responsibility in this area; a go-to person who is co-ordinating it? The Minister agreed with me earlier that this is a very important and…

Due to the massive economic growth in my area, there has been considerable job creation, which has led to a big demand for housing. Unfortunately, much of the planned housing in my area, particularly in Water-Rock where 3,500 houses are being planned, is at risk because of the road infrastructure. The N25 upgrade has been stalled. I am told that the decision is being reviewed. I hope that the upgrade will happen. The Tánaiste might tell me whether it will proceed. Some €1.3 million has been spent on the plans so fa…

I brought this up last week on Question Time and I was very pleased with the response the Minister gave at the time. The reason I brought it up was that a number of people in growing communities had contacted me because, now that we have come out of the pandemic, many youngsters in some of these communities have nowhere to go in the evening time. I acknowledge that a very significant amount of work has been done, but the issue is that there are primary schools in these communities that are closed every evening at 3…

We are all agreed on the principle that we should sweat the asset, for want of a better way of putting it, and that schools should be used outside of school hours as much as possible for all the activities communities need. I am particularly concerned about areas where there are no community facilities at all. Many such communities are growing. Even where there are community facilities, the adage, build it and they will come, applies. I am involved in a community centre in my town of Midleton. We built a small cent…

This question has to do with the fact that many communities have been locked up for a number of years now with Covid-19 and are beginning to come back out into the open again. We all know how important it is for mental and physical health that communities are active and can get together to do things. Very often, they do not have places for this. What supports are the Minister of State and the Department putting in place to enable this to happen?

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I congratulate him and his Department on the work they are doing and the money that is being made available. Much of the money that is being put forward is dependent on facilities being made available such as playing fields, playgrounds, sports facilities, halls and so forth. In many instances, where communities have expanded greatly in the past number of years, there are no such facilities except the local school. I draw the Minister of State's attention to guideline…

I thank the Minister of State for his response/ I acknowledge that there are many schools which open their doors and make their facilities available. There are also quite a number of them that do not and will not. It is wrong that we have hundreds of millions of euros being made available by the taxpayer for these facilities and yet the boards of management and the management of the schools refuse to even engage with local community groups who are crying out for activities and are worried about their children hangi…

The assisted decision-making (capacity) (amendment) Bill 2021 will make a significant difference for many people and institutions, including State institutions. When will that legislation be enacted and operational?

Some of the question has been dealt with in respect of accommodation costs and student contribution charges. Does the Minister wish to expand on that answer? Will he address the question of the availability of accommodation, which has an impact on cost?

I thank the Minister for his response and acknowledge the work done by him and the Minister of State in the area, especially with regard to travel distance. Is there any role for hybrid work or study to assist students in the area? Has the Minister looked at this at all?

I thank the Minister for the response, which I welcome. I acknowledge the work done by the Minister of State with regard to the local training initiatives. This is also part of further education. What further plans does the Minister have to support students financially, and those people who provide the courses in these local training initiatives that are part of further education? This also applies to persons for whom the formal education has not worked.

I welcome that apprenticeships are now part of the CAO process. With respect to young people who drop out of apprenticeship programmes, which is quite a large number in some areas, does the Minister of State intend to commission any research or study into why this going on?

I was not expecting to be called so soon. Things are moving very fast. This question is about the importance of mathematics. A number of years ago coding was hugely important. I put it to the Minister that mathematics is now vital. What is happening at third level to look at different ways of teaching mathematics and of using mathematics for innovation, science and research? Is the Minister aware of a concept I have been talking to him about for some time, PolyUp mathematics?

I thank the Minister for that comprehensive reply. Does he agree that, for many students, mathematics is extremely challenging and difficult and that we need to look at different ways of teaching mathematics from the earliest age? What research is ongoing in his Department or at third level on different ways of teaching mathematics using the modern technologies of apps, tablets, mobile phones and so forth? Will the Minister come back to me with a view on the PolyUp methodology, which is being pioneered in Stanford …

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this matter and the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, for being here to respond to this issue regarding the N25 between Midleton and Carrigtwohill. This particular stretch of road is one of the busiest in the country. There are 30,000 vehicle movements per day on it. It is also extremely dangerous and the local authority is worried about the danger posed by this road. There are medians on it, grade junctions and residences going straight onto the road. It is …

I thank the Minister of State for his response. TII has written to me to tell me, "Due to limited funding available ... and the many competing demands for that funding, we are unable to provide a grant allocation to enable the project to advance in the current year", and further details on the grant allocation process can be found in the road allocation grants, which I have looked at. This came out of the blue at the end of the year, that funding was not available. The local authority expected the funding to be mad…