Well, the fact it has actually happened is very welcome. I hear the points the Deputy makes. The Government will continue to make efforts to boost NDP delivery and to strive towards regional development.

I thank Deputy Ellis for his question. I am glad to have the opportunity to update the House on this matter. A central objective of the programme for Government is to deliver increased levels of integrated healthcare, with service delivery reoriented towards general practice, primary care and community-based services to enable a home first approach. Integral to this is the development of primary care centres and integrated care hubs across the country in our local communities. Significant progress has been made in …

It is very welcome, indeed. I note the Deputy's comments. The Minister also very much welcomes the development of the integrated care hub in Omni Shopping Centre and the co-location of the consultant-led services, provided for the enhanced community care specialist teams for people with chronic disease and older persons, and the primary care services provided by Larkhill primary care team. The services are anticipated to provide facilities for the Santry, Beaumont and Whitehall areas, which the Deputy asked about. …

I thank the Deputy. When I saw this Topical Issue selected, I was reminded of my colleague, Deputy Paul McAuliffe, who raised this issue under Questions on Promised Legislation last week, and I answered. To put in context that exchange, I absolutely recognise the legitimacy of the concerns around the No. 11 bus, and I have spoken with Deputy McAuliffe on it since then as well. It is a very serious matter if a bus that serves a particular population and community, with particular habits and practice formed around it…

I thank the Deputy. I fully recognise the points he is making and understand them. It is absolutely key, and I am someone who, throughout my career, has been committed to optimising the use of public transport and maximising the take-up of it. It is actually quite a simple formula to make that happen but it is a formula we have to deliver. It has to be affordable and at a reasonable price. We have done that with the PSO, the fare cuts and the young adult or student discounts etc. It has to be efficient. It has to b…

I thank Deputy Tóibín for bringing this Bill forward and for his passionate contribution to the debate. I have listened with interest to his setting out of his stall and I have taken careful note of what he has said. We can all agree that farmers should receive a fair and equitable price for their produce. The programme for Government recognises the economic and social role of agriculture as our most important indigenous industry in promoting balanced regional development. The Government is committed to protecting …

Are there no other speakers? It is that time of the evening and that time of the cycle. Only a few of us brave souls are left.

I thank Deputy Browne. I thank Deputy Tóibín for introducing the Bill and provoking the debate. He has attempted to address a significant issue. I have given reasons, which I will recap, as to why the Government is not in a position to support the Bill but, notwithstanding that, I commend the Deputy on his initiative in bringing it forward. I listened with interest to Deputy Browne. Ash dieback is a valid point to raise. It is not part of this Bill but it is a valid point that has to be addressed. I thank him for r…

I thank the Deputy for his question and for the opportunity to update the House on this matter. As he will be aware, my Department has undertaken a detailed appraisal of the development proposal put forward by Waterford Airport. That appraisal has included the assessment of significant documentation and responses to queries raised by Department officials and addressed by the airport, some as recently as this summer. The substantive application was received last December but items remained outstanding until just bef…

It is a little unrealistic to categorise this as some sort of once in a lifetime opportunity for the State and to suggest that the funding is not required until the end. Effectively the State has been asked to take a loan from private interests to be paid back pro rata when it is completed. Whether the money comes at the start, middle or end, the fact is the State is being asked to contribute significant funding to buy a pig in poke based on a business case that, to be frank, could be a lot stronger. If it can be s…

The Deputy commented on metro spend. He will not have forgotten the global financial crisis. A lot of money was spent on various projects leading up to 2011. The State was in a different position then. I was someone who was cheering on that big dig at the time. I would have loved to see a metro and an interconnector build around the city and a circle line and all the things that were supposed to happen -----

The Deputy raised the metro. The Deputy decided to raise the metro.

The Deputy can talk down his time if he wishes. I will talk in the time available to me.

I am addressing my remarks to you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I will continue. There is also nothing stopping the airport from serving propeller planes tomorrow. There is no impediment whatsoever. What the airport is seeking is state support to start a new business model that would involve a longer runway with larger planes with no commitment I have seen that any airline is ready to take up. I have not seen any projected demand that stacks up. I do not want to go into too much detail about what is in the business pla…

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, I cannot take a heckler.

As the Deputy should be aware, as should all of the House, increasing capacity at Dublin Airport is in line with the national aviation policy and it is something that I and the Government want to see happen, notwithstanding the planning framework within which we all must operate. We recognise the strategic importance of Dublin Airport to meeting national social and economic policy goals. That aviation policy includes an objective to develop Dublin Airport as a secondary hub airport. To reiterate, the constraints on…

I could not agree more with the Deputy and I am actively engaged in trying to find a solution. I find it somewhat extraordinary that 17 years had elapsed since the 2007 cap had been imposed until last year when the DAA lodged its planning application to lift the cap. One might have thought that an issue of such gravity would have been addressed earlier. We are where we are, however. There are multiple agencies in the mix. It sometimes appears that it is something of an alphabet soup with the IEA, DAA, FCC, ABP, ANC…

I thank the Deputy and I believe we are ad idem on this. I reiterate the Government wants to see the cap lifted. It is national aviation policy to grow the connectivity at Dublin Airport and indeed at the regional airports and across the island because we are an island nation. Unfortunately, it is not a straightforward matter. It is one that whatever approach we ultimately take will require some time and some application by all involved. I have been working towards that in the consultation I have been undertaking o…

Starting with Deputy Smyth on the east-west corridor, I thank her for hosting that day, and indeed the officials in Cavan County Council. I will come back to the east-west project and I am not aware that it is included in the national development plan but I am aware that the presentation which the officials gave that day certainly took note of that and it is in progression with the Department. The Deputy may be interested in two other projects in her area. These are the Virginia bypass, which has delivered a prelim…

That is what parliamentary questions are for.