I do not accept the Deputy's charge. Young people in Ireland are better educated than ever before. More are completing third-level education than ever was the case in the past, from such a diversity of backgrounds. Young people are more likely to gain employment than ever was the case before. Young people, in particular those of us who are LGBT or women, have rights and freedoms that would have been unimaginable in previous generations. They are the improvements and they are significant. I fully accept that housing…

I think any state has the right to defend itself against terrorism. This State had to defend itself against terrorism for a prolonged period but it has to be done within the rules of international humanitarian law. We have been very clear about that from day one.

It is open to any pharmacist to pay the €1,000 bonus to their employees. Lots of private companies and business owners have done so. The Government helps by allowing them to do so tax free. That is a change we made in the last budget. I know it was not Deputy Fitzpatrick's reference but, quite frankly, I do not think the reference by the pharmacist about GPs was fair. GPs did not close their doors during the pandemic; they kept them open. They saw patients but, where possible, they did consultations by phone or by …

That is one particular budget line. There is also funding through the Road Safety Authority and there is funding through local authorities as well. We will be doing a review of the national development plan allocations in the next couple of weeks. I would anticipate that will involve an uplift for road projects. I can guarantee the Deputy that it is not the case that road projects are not going ahead. In the next couple of weeks we will open the new bypass of Macroom and Ballyvourney.

We will open the new Athy distributor road, turn the sod on Tulsk to Scramoge-----

-----and open the Moycullen bypass. It is never going to be possible to fund every road project in any given year. That never was the case.

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this important issue. I recognise Senator Currie's work on it. The area straddles both our constituencies. On a number of occasions in the past, the Government has allocated funding to restore the Silver Bridge and for some reason or another, it was not drawn down, so I hope it actually happens this time. That in itself would be very significant progress. I would love to see the bridge reopened to pedestrians so they could cross the river and avail of the amenities on both s…

The Government is calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. We believe such a ceasefire must be respected by all sides: Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Israeli Defense Forces. We are calling for the creation of humanitarian corridors so that we can get water, supplies, fuel and medicines into Gaza and get refugees and foreign passport holders out. I called for that at a meeting of the European Council yesterday. We are also engaging at UN level and the Tánaiste has had a series of phone calls with other countries, includi…

I am a big supporter of the tourism industry, as I know Deputy Griffin is, and I believe this Government is too. I remember that, 12 years ago when we were in the middle of a very deep economic crisis, it was the tourism industry, the farmers and the multinationals that lifted us out of that. I will never forget that. They deserve our support for that reason alone, as well as for many other reasons. I will come back to the Deputy with more details but I know there is funding for Tourism Ireland to promote Ireland a…

I am very much aware of this issue in the constituency the Deputy and I share. On the face of it, such legislation sounds like a good idea but we will have to look into it because we are part of the European Single Market and there are EU rules that supersede any national rules. We also have a trade deal with Japan and would have to make sure the legislation was compliant with that. It is certainly something we will give consideration to.

Garda recruitment is ramping up and we are confident that we will recruit 700 or 800 new gardaí this year. In the next few months, the total number of gardaí will again exceed 14,000 so total numbers will be rising again and will do so again next year. How gardaí are assigned to different parts of the country, as the Deputy knows, is a decision for the Garda Commissioner rather than for the Government. However, I meet the Garda Commissioner every six months or so and I will make sure that the Deputy's request is pa…

We are only a small country and we certainly are not a major military or economic power but we do have a voice and we are at the table when it comes to the European Union and the UN. We are certainly using that voice in the international bodies of which we are members. When the moment is opportune, these are the conversations we are going to want to have with our American allies and our British friends. We all accept that, after 75 years of war and terrorism, there is no military solution to the Arab-Israeli confli…

The reason for the year's deferral is to allow us to give landowners another year to seek the dezoning of their land or to properly update various different maps to show which land really is serviced because there are some disputes as to whether land is serviced or not. We need a little bit more time here. The idea behind the tax is a very good one. When land is zoned and serviced, the taxpayers, through their investment and decisions, add huge value to that land. That land should not be hoarded in the middle of a …

I am very much aware of the issue because part of the Dublin West constituency is in the flight path and I have an ongoing relationship with parts of Fingal that used to be in my constituency which are also very much in the flight path. I am aware of the issue. I have not seen that particular proposal but if he wants to send it on to me, I can check it out.

I will ask the Minister for Education, Deputy Norma Foley, to come back to the Deputy with a reply.

While I understand that some nursing homes are closing, there are new ones opening all the time. An additional €45 million has been allocated for nursing homes in the budget for next year, including €10 million set aside to aid private and voluntary nursing homes that are struggling with Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA compliance. We are very conscious of the financial challenges faced by the nursing home sector, especially the smaller and voluntary nursing homes that might not have access to the eco…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 13, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on health last met on 25 September and is currently scheduled to next meet on 23 October. The Cabinet committee on health oversees programme for Government commitments relating to health and receives detailed reports on identified policy areas. It considers the progress of health reforms, including Sláintecare, and the reform of disability services. The Cabinet committee also maintains an overview of public health. In addition to a…

In response to Deputy Durkan's question, it is always a struggle for health to come in on budget, no matter what increase is given in any year and whether it is big or small. That is especially so in the acute hospitals. It is much less the case in community care or the primary care reimbursement service, PCRS, which generally come in close to budget. There are areas that are simply not under the control of the HSE or Department of Health and cannot be predicted, such as pension costs - we never know for sure how m…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 to 23, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on the economy and investment was re-established in January 2023 and last met on 25 May. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for 16 November. The committee has a function similar to that of the committee on economic recovery and investment, which met six times in the course of 2022 and is chaired by the Tánaiste. Membership of the committee comprises the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Environment, Climate and…

Deputy Dillon's question was on Uisce Éireann and he particularly raised the slow timeline for the Newport sewerage scheme. That is something I will make personal inquiries about. I have met Uisce Éireann about its work programme and it has been clear with me that it is not possible for it to progress all projects at any one time. Even with additional finance there are limitations around skills and supply chains. There has to be a pipeline and the pipeline is not as fast as any of us would wish it to be. On rural w…