I thank Deputy Boyd Barrett. As I mentioned, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is fully aware of this case and has provided all appropriate consular assistance to the citizen and their family since September 2025 and will continue to do so. The Department, through its consulate general in Munich, has been in regular contact with the citizen since their detention began, and a series of consular visits has been possible to verify that the conditions of their detention are in line with those of other detaine…

Our embassies and consulates overseas play a vital role in providing support to Irish citizens who have been arrested or detained, and this is a core part of our consular assistance mandate. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is precluded from intervening in the judicial and legal processes of another country in the provision of consular assistance. I will bring Deputy Boyd Barrett's views back to the Department.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Rattoo Round Tower, national monument No. 55, is a national monument in the ownership of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and is maintained by the Office of Public Works. In recent years, as the Deputy outlined, an ongoing programme of repairs has been undertaken, which included the regrouting and repointing of stonework and the installation of a platform to facilitate safe height access for future maintenance. The substantial works on Ratt…

I reiterate that the OPW remains committed to the conservation and protection of Rattoo Round Tower. Repair works will ensure the long-term preservation of the monument and provide the foundation for a careful reassessment of the extent to which internal public access may be possible. The OPW looks forward to the completion of this project and welcoming the Deputy and the local community to view the interior of Rattoo Round Tower in the not-too-distant future. The Deputy is absolutely right that this is an area of …

Reform of procurement is specifically called out under action 25 of Accelerating Infrastructure: Report and Action Plan. There are also a number of actions focused on improving the visibility of the pipeline and providing greater certainty around the timing of the delivery stage of critical infrastructure. Government policy with regard to public works procurement continues to require comprehensive definition of the brief and detailed description of the scope as this represents the most efficient means of delivery. …

There are ongoing reforms, as the Deputy knows, on the capital works management framework. It is an integrated set of contractual provisions, guidance material and technical procedure. It covers all aspects of the delivery process of a public works project, from inception to final project delivery or review. The structure of this strategic framework is closely aligned with and complements the infrastructure guidelines developed by the Department of public expenditure and reform. A key theme of the review of the cap…

Building information modelling, BIM, provides a structure for information generated in respect of a construction project. There is now a high-level implementation plan for phased adoption of the BIM on public works projects. In three years' time, all public works projects will have BIM requirements incorporated. As of 1 January last, milestone 6 of the Irish BIM mandate for CWMF has been reached. These requirements now include the contractor and supply chain on applicable projects up to €10 million. The Government …

I thank Senator Kyne for raising this important issue and giving me the opportunity to respond. In regard to family resource centres, I started my political career about 26 years ago through our family life centres. It was part of the outreach services of the family resource centres. The service they provide in every town, village and major city around the country is exceptional. Many times people came to my office with issues. We have certain skills but for the skills that I do not have it was reassuring to ring t…

Once again, I thank the Senator for raising this very important issue. It is reassuring that the past two budgets have allowed for 50 new family resource centres to be established. We always want more and I think we need to do more. All those invested in seeing supports put in place for communities most in need should see these recent developments in the family resource centre programme as very good news. The funding and expansion of services that assist people living in areas of disadvantage remain a priority for …

I thank the Senator for raising this serious and indeed topical issue in the current climate. We are effectively in the middle of world war three and energy supplies and many other issues are coming to the forefront which we must deal with as a Government, not just in Ireland but across Europe and across the world. In March 2025, the Government approved the development of a State-led strategic gas emergency reserve, SGER, in the form of a floating storage and regassification unit, FSRU. The delivery of a gas reserv…

I thank Senator Kennelly for raising this very important issue. The Government position on the need for a State-operated strategic gas reserve in the form of floating storage and a regassification unit that will store liquified natural gas has been very clear. The strategic gas emergency reserve is a priority project of a strategic nature, required to mitigate the major consequences for our society and our economy that would arise if Ireland was to experience an interruption to our gas supplies via the subsea inter…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Naughton. The Deputy’s raised issues relating to a vicious feud and rival gangs, as well as issues around addiction, poverty and trauma. The latter have caused serious problems in Corduff and many other areas. I am familiar with Dublin 15. Addressing educational disadvantage and ensuring that every child and young person can reach their full potential is a key priority for the Minister for Education and Youth, …

I thank Senator Tully for raising this very important issue. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of my colleague the Minister for Health. I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address the House on this matter. As she has outlined, it is simply not good enough that somebody has to wait two months, going back and forward and back. Somebody should be able to make a decision there, so I thank her for highlighting this. I will bring it back to the Minister immediately. I will outline in general terms the…

The DEIS plus scheme has a clear specific purpose, which is to target a relatively small number of schools with the very highest concentrations of children and young people who are experiencing persistent and intergenerational disadvantage. As the Deputy knows, it uses an evidence-based identification model. Applying this model fairly means that not every school serving a disadvantaged community can be included at this time. We have all been in this situation over the years. I would have questioned why some schools…

Again, I thank Senator Tully for raising this and the attention she has given to this important matter. As noted previously, given the particular nature of the matter at hand, it is necessary for the HSE to investigate this in further detail. If the Senator wants, I will raise it with the Minister, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. I will also raise it with her myself this evening when I meet her. If the Senator wants to send that information on to me as well, we will make sure that this gets dealt with as quickly as poss…

It is a great honour to speak here as somebody who is enthusiastic about Gaelic games and soccer and played those games all my life. We have come an awful long way.

I thank Deputy Gogarty very much. We also played in Old Trafford for Ireland against England. I grew up in Boyle and I was treasurer of that club. Many years ago we played on pitches with wooden goalposts, dry lime, long grass, bushes you togged out in, nets made of rope and cow dung. Things have come on an awful long way. I remember coming up here in 1987 with the then Fianna Fáil Deputy, Seán Doherty, to meet Frank Fahey who was the new Minister for sport. I remember we got £20,000. It was worth nearly £200,000. …

I want to address the issue raised by Senator Fitzpatrick regarding the current practice of lottery betting as a betting activity. It is great to be back in the Seanad again. I thank the Senator for the articulate, informative and measured way that she put across this argument. I have a kind of an interest in this because in 1985 I worked in Australia and I saw how the lotto worked there and how it provided lots of funding for sport and health and when the lottery opened up here in Ireland, as a newsagent I applied…

The authority has received submissions on this issue from Premier Lotteries Ireland, the Irish Postmasters Union and others. It is carrying out research on regulatory approaches in other EU and EEA jurisdictions as part of its engagement with the authority on this matter. Premier Lotteries Ireland has made the case that prohibiting betting on the lottery will enhance the revenue for good causes. In its engagement with the GRAI, which is an independent regulator operating within its own statutory framework, this Dep…

No.