This question is to ask about section 317 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. It is quite an obscure section of the Act and I am curious to know how many revisions have been carried out under this section in each respective year, the number of these revisions that resulted in a changed decision, the number of revisions currently being considered under the section, the longest waiting time, because I have come across one that seems to have been quite long, and if the Minister will make a statement on this …

I thank the Minister very much. I remember when this section was discussed at the time the Bill was introduced in 2005 but the provision is obscure. I am astounded that 616 cases are currently being processed under this section. That seems to be quite a lot. What I am really interested in is the time it is taking to process those appeals. What is the longest period any case has been sitting there? I have come across a few that have been there for some time. It would be interesting to know how long they are there an…

I thank the Minister very much. I am not familiar with clients being overtly informed about section 317. Does the Minister agree that if an appeal is decided in the negative that the clients should be then informed in the same letter that they can appeal under section 317 if further information becomes available? Perhaps that is happening, but I have not actually seen it. The Minister might come back to me and let me know if it is part of the policy that clients are informed that they can appeal on that basis. I do…

I am taking this question on behalf of Deputy Bruton, who sends his apologies. First, I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, on achieving what seems to be a lot more funding this year for this very important programme. I also want to comment on the staff from the office, who were extraordinarily helpful. The feedback is very good from people who have made applications. The question is about what changes might be made to the criteria for the next round. Is the Minister looking at any possible cha…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I congratulate him on the work he is doing in this area and the changes he is making. I will raise two issues with him. In some difficult cases, part of the blockage is that there is no hall or land available to communities. Clubs do not have the money or wherewithal to purchase land or buildings to do their thing, whatever it is. Has any consideration been given to providing funding for this? It has been said before that local authorities are very often in the same s…

I thank the Minister of State for the work he is doing. I support him in possibly obtaining funding from other sources to purchase land and properties. That is crucial. As my colleague said, to get on the first rung of the ladder is a big step. In my part of the country, there is a huge athletics community. Those involved are trying to build an athletics track but cannot get the land to do so. It is really frustrating. What monitoring and evaluating happens after funding has been allocated to ensure it delivers the…

I support my colleague and the Minister on the great work going on. The Minister came to Midleton a little while ago and told us of the local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF. That is now complete and thousands of houses will be built on that particular site in Water-rock, which is fantastic. It is really good. There are two small issues I will bring to the Minister's attention to get his reaction to them. The first concerns the road infrastructure in east Cork, which is not up to standard. The problem…

I wish to give the Minister of State an opportunity to outline the number of vacant and derelict properties that are recorded in each local authority, from 2019 to 2023, in tabular form. I am interested in whether the number of vacant and derelict properties is being recorded. Is there feedback coming to the Department on that? I also want to find out what we are doing with that information.

I thank the Minister of State for his response and acknowledge the good work in this area. I agree with him that there is great potential to provide homes for people in buildings that already exist, which is the easiest approach. Is there a register of vacant and derelict properties in each local authority? If so, are they publicly available? Does the Department have access to the registers? Are vacant homes officers now active in each local authority area? If so, are they working exclusively on vacant homes? With …

The Minister of State commented that local authorities have access to a register of vacant and derelict properties. Is it being made available to his Department? In other words, is the Department being copied with the information regularly? I understand there is an ongoing process. If the Department is being copied, will the Minister of State make the information available to Deputies? How many vacant properties have been identified? My guess is that very many more could be identified and put on registers. I am tol…

I thank the office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue, as well as the Minister for being here this morning to debate this with me. When I was elected here for the first time 27 years ago, when I was a lot younger with a lot more hair, the big campaign in east Cork was about opening the railway line to Midleton and I got involved in that campaign. I raised the issue a lot here and I debated it with the then Ministers, Mary O'Rourke and Noel Dempsey, and others. Nearly 15 years ago, on 30 July 2009, it f…

I thank the Minister for his response and for the work that he is doing in his Department and that TII and Cork County Council are doing as well. I note the point that it is still part of the National Development Plan 2018-2027 and it is also part of Project Ireland 2040. I also want to point out that a lot of work has been done on this 5 km route. As the Minister said, the preferred option has been identified and publicised. However, the real issue here is the safety of that particular roadway. The only way to mak…

I have raised this issue a number of times previously. Up to 10,000 people in east Cork have been subject to boil water notices on and off for almost eight years now, through no fault of their own. This could cost some families up to €500 per annum. Will the Government consider providing some compensation for families towards the cost of this given it is the fault of the State in not providing adequate drinking water as it should? I am told it will be at least another 22 months before the problem may be resolved. I…

This is a related question on school transport to give the Minister an opportunity to outline the current regulations with respect to students availing of school transport to a school which is their second-nearest school.

I commend the Minister on the work she is doing in this area because there is huge potential here. To clarify, is she saying students can actually avail of transport to the second-nearest school at second level? That is one question. Has the Minister looked at a similar situation applying to primary school students? That is my second question. I think I have time left to put a third question. I understand that where a student applies to a school and is told there is no place or is not offered a place but, rather, p…

I asked about the convoluted appeals system.

I thank the Minister for the response. The last point is really interesting because I have come across, as I am sure colleagues have as well, parents who are not aware of this appeals system to the board of management. Neither are they aware of the situation that if a student is put on a waiting list, it is a de facto refusal. As the student is not offered a place, it is a refusal from the school and the student is then entitled to appeal to the board of management and to make a section 29 appeal. If the student ge…

I strongly support Deputy Bruton in what he is saying. This has been called the fourth industrial revolution. I was at the committee meeting to which the Deputy refers. The amount of funding the companies are putting in here is staggering. Billions upon billions of euro and dollars are being spent by the large multinational companies in this area. It is going to change everything and it is happening as we speak. Does the Minister agree that at very least we should have a Cabinet subcommittee, if not a dedicated Oir…

I want to give the Minister an opportunity to let us know what good work is taking place in his Department and at third level in order to expand and further develop further education courses for people with disabilities and for others who are seeking to avail of second-chance education and training.

I thank the Minister for his support and acknowledge the good work in his Department at this level and the progress made. I have supplementary questions on this issue. Will the Minister look at the provision of changing places and toilets in third level institutions? These are toilets used by wheelchair users; they are bigger spaces. It makes a massive difference for people who are wheelchair users if they have these facilities. Perhaps the Minister will take that on board. I know that regulations were signed last …