I thank the Minister for State. Unfortunately, I have heard a lot of that before - not from the Minister of State but from Uisce Éireann - during my time as a councillor and since I was elected as a TD. I raised this matter on Questions on Policy or Legislation with the Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris, on 30 April. That was three days after the pipe burst on 27 April. The kids at Confey Community College were here and, like many of their counterparts in the other schools in Leixlip, they were sent home. Last week, on…

I am delighted to discuss tourism which is of national importance and significance. One thing we have in common across the country is the need for tourism. One very positive step we had with this Government is that we put tourism under the economic brief. With the Minister, Deputy Burke, in attendance, we have someone with an especially keen watch on tourism because it does show how tourism can impact. It is obviously great when people come to visit the country because, ultimately, what they do is spend money in ou…

It is Brendan Griffin.

He is a former Minister of State.

I have met the former Minister of State many times but to have an Olympic gold medallist looking down on us is indeed an honour for us all. I congratulate Mr. Wiffen on all his work, what he has done for the country and how he raised the country's spirits during his time. His talent has inspired many people in this country. I thank him for being present and for taking the time to come to watch us in the Chamber. To move to more pressing matters and the matter we came here today to discuss, I believe that Ireland ha…

Last week, when the Committee of Public Accounts met with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, I raised the issue of dynamic pricing online and how it impacts the consumer. I highlighted how people go online with the intention of buying at one price but when dynamic pricing kicks in, consumers are quickly in the impulse buying position at a significantly higher price than that originally viewed. Over the weekend, we learned of the liquidation of the country's second biggest selling platform, Ti…

I wish to speak today against the backdrop of the budget last year and the economic situation Ireland finds itself in. There is no doubt we find ourselves in a strange economic place. We are in a place where we have budget surpluses. We are not in an era of budget deficits, which was something we all grew up with in this State. It was a situation that came against us with the crash. This is also a situation that is widespread across Europe and in many areas across the world. We are in a situation where we have bill…

The issue I want raise is the need for sporting infrastructure. Last week, I met with GAA members who were working on the No One Shouted Stop Until Now report, which focuses on Ireland's demographic shift in the past few decades and the response to it. Key findings in the report included that just 50 clubs out of the 2,200 clubs in the island of Ireland account for 25% of all zero to five-year-olds. That is startling. Just six counties are home to more than half of all zero to five-year-olds on the island of Irelan…

First off, I just-----

Yes.

Perfect. I welcome Ms Clodagh Hanna, chair of the politics society in Trinity. It is good to have someone who is beginning the journey from a schools perspective. Over the past 25 or 30 years, or indeed since I have been observing, we have been very good at sending children to university and then into the workforce. Ireland’s having a highly educated workforce has worked very well for it internationally, but that is beginning to change. We know of the impact of AI and that we need to consistently renew critical ski…

I raise the lack of childcare in north Kildare, where there is a growing population. Will the Minister provide an update on State-led childcare, which is desperately needed to address the shortages in towns like Kilcock, Maynooth and Naas? I get multiple emails each week from people who are struggling to get childcare in their areas and want to get back into the workforce. Many of them are mothers who are sacrificing their own careers. Often, both parents are struggling in this situation. I welcome that the State i…

I welcome the students and teachers from Confey College. I was on the board for ten years. Today I raise a fundamental local issue in Leixlip, Celbridge and Maynooth where we had another water outage this week. We have had a number of water outages affecting over 10,000 houses and 25,000 people. Indeed, the students in the Gallery, along with those in other schools, were not able to go to school on Monday because of the outages. This year we had outages on 24 February, 3 April and 27 April combined with six or seve…

I was due to speak on the need for an additional class between the three schools on Green Lane in Leixlip. Those three schools are Scoil Bhríde, Scoil Mhuire and Scoil Eoin Phóil. I attended Scoil Eoin Phóil. There is a requirement for an extra class, but I am delighted to say that this morning we finally received the good news that it has been delivered. Obviously, I had put in for this speaking slot and I still wish to speak to the matter. I am thankful to the parents who raised this issue with me, as well as to …

It is not often that I table a Topical Issue and get the win on the same day. This is a matter I have been raising for a number of months. As already stated, this is a very positive situation. What has happened speaks to the work of Department in this case. The Minister of State stated that a specific issue can be targeted. I was conscious of the potential for the Department to look organically at this from a high level as opposed to looking at parish boundaries, different clubs and roads and what areas gravitate t…

I ask the Minister if her Department has considered introducing initiatives such as refundable tax credits on costs of new GP practices or extensions to GP practices to try to address the current GP shortage and incentivise more GPs to extend their practices; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

I thank the Minister for her very positive reply. This has an impact especially in my constituency of Kildare North, where we see a huge need for more GPs, but I have also been very aware that it is not just commuter belt areas where we have this issue. There are also areas where there are rural sustainability challenges and indeed urban deprivation strategies. Analysis shows that it is in those three areas that we have the biggest issues. For the rural areas we have put in place a rural practice grant. For the dep…

There is a lot of information in the Minister's reply and I will take on a couple of the points. I have seen the benefit of the new primary healthcare centre in Celbridge, and we have one in Kilcock. It is about maximising the outputs we can get there. I am very conscious as well that in areas like Maynooth - and this is something we have mirrored all across the country - we might have seen a GP practice in the middle of a housing estate. That would have been very common years ago. Now the new GPs may be unwilling.…

I note the Minister is here. As the House knows, there is an urgent need to address the issue of GP access across Ireland. Last night, I spoke on the Critical Infrastructure Bill. We need to view GP care as critical infrastructure in its way and incentivise its creation and extension. I see this in my area of Kildare North, which is one of the hardest places in Ireland in which to get a GP, where people move into the county from other areas and are stuck using the GP from those areas before they can access new ones…

Shocking.