I thank the Minister of State for his response. Can he tell me when he expects this study in Pilmore to be completed? Unfortunately, the tide and sea and flooding do not wait for studies to be completed. The erosion and risk of flooding to the houses there has increased recently. We have the study to go forward. What happens next? Do we need planning of some sort to do works? I am very concerned about this particular area and the houses that are at risk from flooding in that spot. The Minister also mentioned the Wo…

I thank the Minister for that. I will again emphasise the fact that sea erosion and so on does not wait for studies. We are great in this country for having a study, but I do not think a study is needed. If you walk the actual beach, you can see what is needed; it needs protection. It needs an embankment to be put in place. We spend much time appointing consultants at huge expense to carry out studies when we know what the answer is before they start. Anyway, these studies should not take that long to complete. Wha…

It has been over six months since Storm Babet devastated my town, Midleton, in east Cork and surrounding villages such as Castlemartyr, Mogeely, Killeagh and Rathcormac. The impact is still being felt by people whose homes were devastated. Their furniture was devastated and all they had is gone. They had to move out and some of them have not moved back yet. Businesses were devastated as well. The Government has been very helpful and generous but we need to know when the flood relief schemes will start. Last week, t…

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response and the personal interest he has shown in coming to the area shortly after the flood occurred and spending some time viewing the damage, etc. Moore's Bridge needs attention. I understand a section 50 application has been made for planning approval to replace it. Some funding may be needed to get that done. I would be grateful if the Minister of State could have a look at that and revert to me later. I mentioned Castlemartyr and Killeagh, which are also subject…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I remind him it has been six months since this happened and that it has happened twice before, although not to the same extent because Storm Babet was exceptionally awful. The work that needs to be done at Castlemartyr and especially Mogeely is not huge. I do not think money is an issue, but I am told the schemes were not in tranche 1. Will the Minister of State move them to tranche 1? There was also talk of diverting the Kiltha River in Castlemartyr, which would solv…

I thank the Minister of State for his remarks. There is an offshore wind conference in Dublin today and I attended it for quite a while. I am buzzing after being there for most of the day. The interest in the room was amazing. The people there are hugely impressive in their expertise and enthusiasm to drive onward. The potential for Ireland from offshore renewable energy is virtually limitless. People today were describing it as an industrial revolution. Artificial intelligence, AI, has been described as a fourth i…

I am here on behalf of Deputy Bruton, who sends his apologies. He wants to ask the Minister if he will outline the work carried out to date on the establishment of the childcare development agency and if he will set out the milestones remaining to its full establishment.

I thank the Minister for his response and I congratulate him on the work done to date. As noted by the Indecon operating model review in 2021, the sector is characterised by a complex landscape of stakeholders and functions which has led to fragmentation, duplication and inefficiencies. The proposal to establish a single agency is very welcome. Will the Minister be bringing legislation to the House and, if so, when? What will be the key functions of the agency? Has he given any consideration to establishing a broad…

Again, I congratulate the Minister on the work but it strikes me it is taking an awfully long time. It could be another two years, maybe longer, before we see this in place. I asked the Minister if he would establish an interim board in order that it would be up and running and ready to go, rather than establishing a board which would then have to spend more time getting to know the brief. Is there any way of advancing it or bringing it forward? Why does it take so long to actually get this up and running, seeing a…

This question relates to what the Minister just said and asks him to provide an update on the unmet need for childcare places, the uptake of the new capital scheme which he has published and his future plans for that sector. It has to do with housing estates being built around the country but no childcare places being provided in those estates. In some instances, parents are not able to go to work because they cannot find anybody to mind their child. Ideally, these childcare places would be very local and people wo…

I thank the Minister for his response and congratulate him on the work that is going on there. If I am correct, the current schemes only support expansions, not startups. If somebody wants to start from scratch and build a childcare facility, is there any support for that? Has the Minister asked the local childcare committees to conduct an assessment of local need? If not, will he do so and publish the results to find out what the need is in each area where the childcare committees operate? What is the Minister's e…

I thank the Minister for that. I emphasise the need for a fund for start-ups. Right now, as colleagues have said, there are problems around the country where there is no provision. Feeding into the county development plan is a great idea, but my worry is that the county development plan in County Cork was published just last year, so it will be another four years before we will see action there. May I ask the Minister about co-operation with schools on provision? The populations of some of our primary schools are d…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, for attending and the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this important Topical Issue. Cork Harbour has often been described as an energy hub. It has the Port of Cork, the National Maritime College of Ireland, a naval base, the ESB, Irving Oil, Deepwater Quay and so on. Last Thursday, members of the enterprise, trade and employment committee visited Cork Harbour as part of their work on examining offshore renewable energy, particularly offshore wind energy. We…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I have brought up four issues. The Port of Cork in Ringaskiddy is the only show in town after the Doyle Shipping Group withdrew from the offshore renewable energy project. Some €120 million is needed to build a quay space to support offshore renewable energy in Cork. The idea that land could also be used for space for cargo, freeing up valuable space for the construction of turbines, and the shared island fund could also be explored, with the possibility of some of th…

I wish the Minister of State well in his new role. Will he outline what progress has been made to date with respect to the Midleton flood relief scheme and make a statement on the matter? I understand the scheme has five stages. Serious work began on this scheme nine years ago in 2015. I also understand two avenues of planning are available. Will the Minister of State tell me what has been happening up to now?

I thank the Minister of State for his response and for his interest to date in visiting the town and surrounding area in his former role. He viewed first-hand the utter devastation that occurred. We were very lucky that no one drowned. If this flooding happened at night-time or the tide had been in, it would have very serious indeed. Will the Minister of State give some information on when he expects planning permission to be lodged? People would take some comfort if they knew that the second stage of the process w…

I thank the Minister of State for his response and am pleased to hear a decision regarding the planning option will be made in the coming weeks. This is an enormous scheme involving more than 80 landowners, costing more than €50 million and counting. The cost to the people, businesses and homes is much more, emotionally as well. When that happens, your home or business is destroyed and everything you have is gone. Some people could not get insurance. Some were underinsured, which I ask the Minister, Deputy Donohoe,…

Since 2016, a boil water notice has been impacting east Cork and affecting 9,500 people. We reckon this costs each household approximately €500 per year. In the past, I raised the possibility of making some contribution towards the cost for people who have to buy or boil water for more than ten months of the year. It is really expensive. Will the Government give consideration to making a payment to households to help them with this cost?

What plans does the Minister and her Department have for another second level school in east Cork? This is probably one of the fastest-growing areas in the country at the moment, with thousands of houses planned but many of the schools there are already at capacity, even though they have got fantastic extensions. I would be interested in the Minister's response.

I thank the Minister for her response. I visited the Carrigtwohill second level school recently where the Minister turned the sod a while back. It is absolutely magnificent and amazing. It did take 12 years to open from the time the initial decision was made to build it. Has the Minister seen the two-year progress report on the Cork county development plan that was published last Friday? She probably has not. It indicates that in Midleton there are plans to develop 2,647 housing units and 2,173 of them have got pla…