I agree with the Minister's proposal to repeal the ban. That is only sensible and sane. This has caused unquantifiable distress to families who have been in touch with me. I will give one example of one family. They were on a social housing list and got approval. They were very excited, but only a couple of months earlier they had generously taken in their neighbour's dog when their neighbour had passed and they suddenly realised they did not know what were they going to do with this dog. The family were very distr…

I thank the Minister for that reassurance. My view is that the existing wear and tear and antisocial elements of contracts would cover any of the situations that could arise with regard to pets and, therefore, I think that is unnecessary. I have been in touch with a number of different AHBs and there is a variety of policies out there already, which is interesting in itself. Some do not have any restrictions on pets, which is very good to know. Others have restrictions on dogs but not on cats. Others have restricti…

I am delighted to be able to speak today on a cause that is very close to my heart. My family and I have always had dogs. My current girl, Jenko, is a rescue, and I applaud all of those who work and volunteer in dog shelters and rescues for their commitment, passion and deep care. Most of those who provide day care, kennels and breed dogs have their dogs' welfare as their number one priority. Dogs are not only part of our families but they work with and alongside us, too. For example, I have worked with and support…

I look forward to the outcomes of the process I have outlined and to working positively with the Minister to deliver positively for dogs, their families and our wider communities.

We are debating something important here - the National Training Fund - but it is effectively a tax on employers. They have been quite happy to contribute to that fund over the years because ultimately they get the benefit of it from the upskilling of their current and potential future workers. While I have concerns with the proposed amendments, the spirit of what they are proposing is a concern I share as well. When the allocations for the NTF are being calculated and issued, how will the Minister ensure that they…

Has the Department examined international best practice in public transport app design? Are lessons from other jurisdictions are being considered in the digital strategy for TFI?

The Minister of State highlighted some of the issues. Deputy Currie also highlighted the issue of ghost buses and the unreliability of the app. Deputy Timmins also highlighted this issue as well. It is also very frustrating that there is not one single accessible platform. There are effectively five different apps that people might find themselves having to interact with to plan their journey. There is the journey planner, a taxi driver database and the Leap top-up. It is really extraordinarily complicated, particu…

I am delighted to hear the comments are being taken on board. At the moment, we expect we might have to hop off a bus and onto a Luas or a DART, but we have to hop between applications as well to do it. This is not something that makes it easy for people to use our public transportation network. I appreciate the Minister of State's comments about the regional providers as well and that he is looking to include them more in terms of an overall bus network so we are not hopping between different apps. From the users'…

My constituency of Dublin-Rathdown has seen significant change during the past five years through the development of active travel greenways and other similar schemes. Over €80 million has been spent, with €29 million allocated in 2025 alone, to support the various commitments in the national sustainable mobility policy to get people out of cars to walk and cycle instead, as well as the climate action plan which aims to reduce transport emissions overall. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, of which I was a memb…

I appreciate that the Minister of State and I seem to be singing off the same hymn sheet. I attended one of the original proposal meetings on what are now called "active travel schemes" back in 2020. The overseeing consultants assured us then that traffic would just disappear if we implemented these schemes. The only real, empirical report I am aware of is on Kilmacud after new cycle lanes, road closures and various other infrastructure were implemented. It showed traffic did not disappear but was just displaced, w…

If we cannot say, do not know or do not know yet, then do we know if we are pouring good money after bad?

Although I trained as a lawyer, science has always been part of my life. My mother was a dentist and my father was an engineer. They encouraged us to watch every television show on science. They subscribed to the New Scientist magazine and the National Geographic to encourage a love of science in us. My sister got the bug and she went on to get her PhD in chemistry. She and her husband have worked very successfully in biotech and pharma both here and abroad over the past number of years. When we travelled, we also …

I take this opportunity to raise the issue of the cost of further and higher education. Is the Department planning to publish a roadmap to address the cost of education at higher and further level? As a fellow graduate of UCC, no doubt the Taoiseach will remember the days in the Kampus Kitchen or the main restaurant when he would have counted his change before buying a warming bowl of soup or cup of Barry's tea. Students today are similarly capable of making the most of every euro, but spending a couple of years in…

I thank the Taoiseach. I am delighted to hear that he was a fellow tea-drinker as well. As a Corkman, I have to assume that is good old Barry's Tea too. I welcome that. I also support our investment in research but I do not see that it is a trade-off. We need to invest in our students, but the cost of education can encourage students to work more hours and damage their education. There is another opportunity that I would like to ask about relating to the whole area of student accommodation. We have extended the 9% …

I welcome the opportunity to debate Second Stage of the National Training Fund (Amendment) Bill. In progressing this Bill through the Oireachtas, it is vitally important that we ensure the National Training Fund's original principles are maintained. Established in 2000, the National Training Fund has spent more than two decades, as we know, funding training for those in employment and those seeking employment. Identifying and addressing the skills shortage in Ireland's workforce is vital to ensuring we continue to …

I am delighted to stand here today and say I have great confidence in the Tánaiste, Simon Harris. Before I was elected, which was only last year, I was a lecturer in TU Dublin and I saw at first hand the work he did to transform that sector when he was the first Minister for higher education. I saw him raise the status of apprenticeships. I saw the pride of those students increase when they could walk around campus and feel more equal to all the other students. In particular, I saw the work he did to enable student…

Will the Minister of State outline the measures his Department is evaluating to promote the conversion of older buildings for housing delivery?

I welcome all those supports. In my constituency, we have some of these issues in the context of neighbourhood centres, which are neither shops nor accommodation. That is frustrating. I would like to follow up on the derelict sites levy, which is to become a tax. When do we anticipate that it will be activated to try to encourage more of these properties to be brought back into use?

I wish to take the opportunity to ask the Taoiseach to talk to the Minister for Transport and ask him to urgently introduce the policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems. This regards the guidelines for the commercial operation of drones. In my constituency of Dublin Rathdown, there is a plan to open a drone delivery hub right in the heart of Dundrum village, next to Holy Cross Church. The decision has to be made on that by the closing date of 5 August, hence the urgent need for these guidelines. I hope that t…

I thank both Minister and Minister of State for being with us here tonight. Does the Minister have plans to create a centralised third level information hub for students?