However, there are gaps and if Dublin 15 is one of these then absolutely we need to close them.

It is very important that we protect every child in the way we manage this.

The Deputy's question follows the preceding one coincidentally but very much on the same issue. I do not have the details of the school but I presume Saplings is a special autism school that was established approximately 12 years ago. I have knowledge of them and they do hugely beneficial work. As I have just been saying, we need specialist schools in some instances. It is not always a mainstream unit that is required. If the Deputy provides me with the details I will certainly commit to forwarding them to the Mini…

I do not have an understanding of the specifics of the case. If the Deputy provides me with the details I will happily forward them to the Minister. To broaden it out, in one sense, to the cyberattack crisis we are facing, we will have to get the balancing act right because we need a range of new e-health solutions to deliver Sláintecare and to deliver new services and improve existing services. We cannot shy away from the use of technology in the provision of a range of health services, including mental health ser…

I absolutely agree. I look forward to reading that report. I agree we must be more ambitious for a variety of reasons. First, we are close to the limit in terms of what we can manage under the existing system - landfill, incineration or other mechanisms. We must dramatically reduce the amount of waste and increase the amount of recycling. When Mr. John Kerry spoke at the Dublin Climate Dialogues yesterday, he reiterated a point we are hearing increasingly, which is that we are not doing enough on climate globally. …

During the Covid crisis, there have been difficulties in the childcare sector. No doubt there are specific problems in various centres in getting and retaining staff, etc., but the characteristic that seems to have stood out in the past year is how our childcare sector, even in times of real difficulty when transmission rates were high, was still there providing a service. That was critically important to the families involved, to the parents but also to the State in that it allowed us to maintain some sort of serv…

I expect the online theory tests to open within the coming weeks, if not days. It is imminent, and will be followed shortly afterwards by the reintroduction of theory tests in person. They are critical. Younger people have suffered particularly during this coronavirus crisis. We need many younger people to be engaged on farms across the country this summer and they might be able to do so if they have their learner's licence. Also, many younger people are looking to get back to work and part of that for many of them…

It is critical that we protect and provide what is needed for our horticultural industry. Part of the future for Irish agriculture is more diversity and a significantly enhanced and expanded horticultural industry. In that regard, they need growing medium compost. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, has set up a working group to look at future alternatives to that. The reality is the future will not be in the mass industrial extraction of peat from our bogs. Those bogs need to be protected as a stor…

On the extension of the outdoor dining supports to the health sector, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, what is possible. I congratulate the Drogheda Educate Together school and am glad to hear the construction of the school building has been agreed. I have heard the concerns expressed about the timelines and will share that information with the Minister, Deputy Foley. I met the Aer Lingus CEO yesterday, as well as representatives from Shannon Airport. Can I give some reassurance to people in the Sh…

I am here to take a later Topical Issue matter. I do not have a response for Deputy Whitmore. Does the Acting Chairman want to take my Topical Issue matter, after which I hope the other Minister will be here?

I do not have the information.

As has been articulated by the Deputies, Aer Lingus unfortunately announced several cost-cutting measures on Tuesday, 18 May. These included the temporary closure of its base in Cork Airport from September to November this year and the permanent closure of the cabin crew base in Shannon Airport. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and I met the CEO of Aer Lingus yesterday. Among other things, we discussed yesterday's announcement, which is deeply regrettable. I acknowledge the difficult and unprecedented challe…

We absolutely think of the people of Cork, Limerick and Shannon. I have spoken to representatives of Aer Lingus and Cork and Shannon airports. The answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes". The decision to shut Cork Airport to upgrade the runway to ensure the long-term success of the airport was a strategic decision made by the airport authority. When I spoke to representatives of Aer Lingus yesterday, I asked them specifically whether the possibility of the airport remaining closed had any influence on the decision…

My Department hosts the National Cyber Security Centre, NCSC, which was established by Government decision. It is the central cybersecurity incident response unit for the State, with a broad remit across the cybersecurity of government ICT and critical national infrastructure. The NCSC acts as a central contact point in the event of a government or nationwide cybersecurity incident affecting the State. It also provides expert advice and analysis on cybersecurity issues and is involved in co-ordinating and supportin…

There is a clear recognition in Government and in this House of the importance of cybersecurity in all our lives. It is our lives that are affected when a breach like this occurs. The changes to reflect that have been significant in recent years. The last time I was Minister with responsibility for communications, ten years ago, there was one person effectively working part time on the same basis. There are now 29 people.

The staff provision is 29. The funding is closer to €7 million, not €5 million, including non-pay items. That amount tripled in this year's budget, reflecting the priority this Government gives it. We have a top quality team. I cannot say enough about the skills and public service they provide. However, they are not alone. The key resource in the State, which it is the role of the NCSC to support, are the teams in every Department. There are hundreds of individuals in every Department whose responsibility is cybers…

We have to be careful not to speculate. We can only know the full details and full diagnosis of what happened after the extensive research the NCSC, the Department of Health and the international contractors do. It is likely the hackers were not just in the HSE on that particular day, but had spent a period of time in the system. These attacks are prepared in detail and at length in advance and often require a significant period where people gain access and then enhance their position within the network. The exact …

To back up what the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, said earlier, we very much look forward to the Department and other officials being able to answer a lot of those questions in the course of time, when this immediate emergency response to the incident has passed. I am confident that the capacity review mentioned by the Minister of State will give us a very clear indication of the next steps. My understanding of the draft outline is that it is not looking at radical change. It seeks to further extend our r…

It is critical and highly capable, but I would still argue that the key capability for the front-line defence is in the Departments. The NCSC has a key role in advising, helping and providing analysis, but I stand by the argument as I believe it is fundamentally true that the first line of defence is the various Departments and their resources. That is where we have to concentrate. In particular in the current instance, that is where most of the work is now taking place. It is the people who run our systems there w…

To clarify, the budget did triple in the last budget and that was the non-pay element. However, over the last five years, there has been a consistent increase in both capacity and resources. As I said earlier, in my experience of dealing with the NCSC, and I and the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, had a very extensive briefing three weeks ago, its operations and capabilities are very significant. However, it is not alone. I mentioned other Departments' resources but also, critically, within the Garda national cybe…