I thank the Minister of State for his response. I was reading into this and speaking to woman about it. I know that support is being provided for dedicated leadership training programmes for women, including governance related, technical training, coaching, refereeing and team management. Sport Ireland is supposed to monitor NGB progress against targets and report annually on whether additional measures, such as gender quotas, are warranted. On the targets, I know the Minister of State will follow up on this. It is…

Absolutely.

No. Absolutely not.

Vacant properties are important, given that we need houses. In 2018 and 2022, planning exemptions allowed some developers to take on vacant buildings. I am speaking about Carlow. This matter is important in terms of beneficial housing schemes. When making compulsory purchase orders, CPOs, on properties and trying to develop them, local authorities are getting caught up in red tape. A high-profile unit in the historic heart of Carlow town centre has come under the Part 8 process and the exemption does not apply. Ref…

Brilliant.

I thank the Minister of State. I will provide those details to him. I will be looking for the figures from the Minister of State for Carlow and of course for Kilkenny, in addition to those on rural homes, as previous speakers have requested. We are here today because it is such an important and welcome scheme. We have a housing crisis and all the Deputies are in a position where they are trying to get as many houses or buildings up and running as they can. I am looking for that information.

The Minister will have to come back to me with an answer on this issue, which concerns disability. I know of a disability service in Carlow that was promised funding in November and it still has not received it this week. As the money to pay staff is going to run out shortly, funding is imperative and we need to find out where that funding is. I also ask the Minister to check where is the €100 million that was announced in budget 2023 to support community-based service providers in the provision of health services …

In the middle of a housing crisis, I am seeing refusals of planning permission for once-off housing developments because the services are not there. I am talking specifically about water. There is a direct knock-on impact because Carlow’s water treatment plants need to be upgraded, whether in Tinryland, Ardattin, Ballinabranagh and Bagenalstown. These plants are working at 100% capacity, and although funding has been promised again and again, we still have not got it. What is the update from Irish Water? I also hav…

It is important that we support and develop organ donation and transplantation in Ireland, and this soft, opt-out system of consent is how we will do that. Nevertheless, we must communicate that message effectively. The Bill will bring in a system whereby a willingness for organ donation will be assumed unless, while alive, the person registered his or her wish not to become an organ donor after death. It will also introduce frameworks for living donation, including for non-directed, altruistic donation. Sadly, tra…

This week, a 90-year-old woman was left waiting four hours in severe pain for an X-ray in the emergency department of St. Luke's General Hospital, Kilkenny. The X-ray unit in Carlow does not operate fully. This 90-year-old woman could not stick the pain, so she had to leave the emergency department and go home. Her doctor cannot treat her because he does not know the extent of the issue. When her own doctor in Carlow requested an X-ray in Carlow - we have an excellent X-ray facility in Carlow but it only opens part…

I will. I thank the Tánaiste.

I too want to wish the Minister of State well in her new job. It is great to see her, I wish her well and I know she will do her best. I am delighted to be speaking to the Minister of State during her first Topical Issue and I know that she will sort it for me. The most common benefit-in-kind tax is on a company car. Changes to tax came in this month and I have huge concerns about the increase in benefit-in-kind tax. It is being touted as a green initiative, but I have my doubts. This week I spoke with one of my co…

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive report. I welcome this, and I am very climate aware, as we all are. We all want climate action, which is so important and is part of our duty going forward. However, the biggest issue in this particular case that I am dealing with is the closest car that he can get that will do the mileage. We live in rural Ireland, so when we talk about mileage we are talking about a lot of mileage. An EV that would sustain the mileage he needs would cost up to €80,000. As he sai…

I call the Rural Independent Group, which has six and a half minutes between the speakers.

I call Deputy Danny Healy-Rae. He has one and a half minutes.

The Deputy’s time is up.

The Deputy’s time is up. I call Deputy Nolan.

At this time of year, many people are purchasing gift cards for Christmas. I have always been a big supporter of shop local, stay local, support local. We have a local voucher scheme in County Carlow. I am very concerned that the EU is proposing that any voucher like this under €150 will have to be regulated for identification. This proposal will discourage people from buying them and small shop owners will have much more paperwork. We will be cutting off a vital lifeline in our local economy. The European Parliame…

First, I welcome Bobby's family, including his wife Helena, his sons Bob and Mark, his daughter Triona, his seven grandchildren and his siblings. Bobby was fortunate to have served as a Deputy for Carlow-Kilkenny, replacing his brother Liam, from 2007 to 2011, and then from 2015 to 2020. I know that Bobby was deeply committed to the people of Carlow-Kilkenny as a public representative. He was always very supportive of me. He was a great friend to my father, and they had many a drink together. Bobby was a proud Mull…

My question to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, seeks to ascertain what measures are being taken to address the current challenges in the nursing home sector. I ask her to make a statement on the matter.