I thank Senator Costello for her contribution on this very important matter. I will bring the specific points she has raised to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and her officials. I will ask them to follow up with the Senator. She might email the Minister and her office directly on that particular point, but I certainly will follow it up. The officials will also have been watching this debate. It is a very important point. Early diagnosis is very important in the case of cancer. Since the fir…

I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this matter. I am responding to this Commencement matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. General practitioners are a vital part of our health service, providing care to patients throughout their lives as well as providing patients with access to the wider health service. GPs are private practitioners. The HSE contracts GPs to provide medical services and most GPs - currently over 2,550 - hold a General Medical Services, GMS…

Once again I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising this important issue. As mentioned, GPs are self-employed practitioners and cannot be directed to open a practice in a particular area. Several measures have been taken in recent years, however, to increase GP capacity and improve access to services. The increased investment in general practice under both the 2019 and 2023 GP agreements means improved fees and supports to attract more doctors into general practice. The positive impact of this is being seen in the in…

I thank Deputy Neville for raising this issue and offering me the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy Foley. Ryevale House in County Kildare is an International Protection Accommodation Service, IPAS, accommodation centre, contracted to the Department since 2023. It provides shelter to approximately 90 women who are applying for international protection. The basis for applying for international protection, also known as asylum or refugee…

I thank the Senator for her question and for the opportunity to discuss this important matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. As outlined in the programme for Government, the Government is committed to taking decisive action to radically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and to achieve a 51% reduction in emissions from 2018 to 2030 and to achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050. The programme for Government also commits to achieving 80% of Ireland’s electricity generation from …

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I am taking this matter, as I said, on behalf of the Minister for children, disability and equality, Deputy Foley. The points the Deputy raised will be brought to the attention of the Minister. I reiterate the Department understands there is ongoing engagement between the provider, the local authority and An Bord Pleanála in the courts in relation to planning matters at this property. As the Deputy noted, matters related to planning are between the local authorit…

I thank Senator Cosgrove for her contribution on this matter. I note the concern she has raised in her contributions, which will be brought to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. The State-led strategic gas emergency reserve, operating on a non-commercial basis and for use only in the event of an emergency, would provide resilience to the gas system, and mitigate against major consequences for our society and our economy that would arise from limited gas supply or disruption in Ireland. The Depar…

I thank Senator Keogan for the question and for the opportunity to discuss the rationale for the valuation of constituency offices. I will take this Commencement matter on behalf of my colleague the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne. Tailte Éireann is an independent government agency under the aegis of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Tailte Éireann provides a property registration system, a property valuation service, and national mapping and surveyin…

Once again, I thank Senator Keogan for her contribution on this matter. I note the concerns she has raised. More particularly, I refer to the point she raised concerning vouched and unvouched expenses. I have no doubt she will take it up with my party colleague the Minister of State with responsibility for local government, Deputy Cummins. I will also bring it to his attention. To reiterate, Tailte Éireann is independent in the exercise of its valuation functions under the Valuation Act 2001, as amended, and neithe…

I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I am responding on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Deputy Harris, who, unfortunately, cannot be present. He has asked me to pass on his apologies to the House. On his behalf, I welcome the opportunity to respond on this matter and thank Senator O’Loughlin for her question. There is a long-standing policy of the Department and the Defence Forces to allow third-party access to Defence Forces facilities and properties to support local communities …

I again thank the Senator for her contribution on this important matter, which she is very much committed to. I appreciate that this pool is first and foremost a training facility for Defence Forces personnel but it is the firm intention of the Tánaiste that nearby schools be facilitated with access in due course. The Tánaiste has requested a concentrated body of work from the officials in his Department to bring forward proposals to find a pathway to facilitate the pool being made available to nearby schools and t…

I thank Deputy Cummins for raising this important issue and for offering me the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley. I can see the Deputy's commitment to the area. She has lived it and breathed it so I can see how important it is to her on both a political and personal level. The Minister is committed to supporting the delivery and development of youth work services and opportunities for young people throughout the country. This year, almost €85 million in funding has been allocated for y…

I again thank Deputy Cummins for raising this important matter today. I note the points she made and her acknowledgement of the survey and the benefits it will bring. I note her point on a committee for young people. That matter will be brought to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Foley. While providing adequate funding of youth work and youth services is essential, it is also paramount that youth workers themselves are supported with access to development pathways. Provision of high quality, inclusive youth wo…

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising the need to discuss the water supply issues in Duleek and Stalleen. I am taking this Topical Issue debate on behalf of the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne, who is my colleague in the Department. I appreciate Deputy O'Rourke's concerns for the services and businesses affected. He has outlined it very well. The Deputy will appreciate that the operation of the public water supply, together with operational issues locally, are matters for Uisce Éireann, which has statutory …

I once again thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge the patience and co-operation of residents and businesses in Duleek, Staleen and surrounding areas who have been affected by these outages. Uisce Éireann would like to assure customers that when an unplanned outage occurs, local water services crews are immediately dispatched to do repair work as soon as possible. It is always about ensuring that the water supply is returned to all customers as quickly as possible. As I have said, Uisce Éireann is …

The Senator will appreciate that much of this answer was based on the question, so I will quickly go through it. I thank him for the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne, to update the House on the Planning and Development Act 2024 and progress on the An Bord Pleanála Plean-IT project. While the Planning and Development Act was signed in October 2024 and is available electronically on the Irish Statute Book, it is not yet available as Gaeilge and in printed form. The publication of the Act is not a…

I note the comments Senator Boyhan made, which I will bring back to the respective Ministers. Plean-IT is a fully functioning system that integrates case management, GIS mapping and public procurement. It has been in operation for some eight years to date. The project was subject to project governance and management, public procurement and necessary approvals through all phases of development. Progress on the project was publicly reported on an annual basis in the An Bord Pleanála annual reports. The project was co…

In terms of my role as the Minister of State with special responsibility for older people, and the specific aspect in terms of women in the context of the issue raised by the Deputy, I am going to work with the Minister on the matter. More specifically, I am going to work on the issue raised by the Deputy regarding women moving into their older years. It is something I am very strong on and I will work with the Minister on the specific matter raised by the Deputy.

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this important issue and for giving me, on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne, the opportunity to update Members on the issue of vacancy and dereliction in Clonmel town. Addressing vacancy and making efficient use of existing housing stock is a key priority for Government. To address this, a number of structures have been established, including a dedicated vacant homes unit in my Department, a full-time vacant homes officer in each local authority and the publication of a vacan…

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this important issue and I note his genuine concern regarding Clonmel town. As he stated, a new Garda barracks will be located in Kickham Barracks. The Deputy referred to the site and the people who served there. It is a formerly inaccessible military site which will be turned into a new civic, cultural and educational quarter as part of Clonmel 2030. The regeneration will have 1,000 people on site and will introduce a third level education campus into the town centre. This will o…