I thank the Minister of State very much. Like her, I encourage everybody to get involved in Culture Night. Many of the activities in Culture Night will be led by people who are involved in local community theatre groups and musical societies right around the country. There has been an enormous and very welcome commitment to significant increased funding for the Arts Council, and the introduction of a basic income scheme for artists, as well as a number of measures the Minister of State mentioned, but none of them a…

I too look forward to the publication of the national development plan in the coming weeks and to the significant investment we will see in infrastructure. The challenge, of course, relates to delivery. Our problem with certain State agencies is what I can only describe as a "Bulmers" approach to delivery - nothing added but time. Some of our delivery has been particularly poor. I would like assurance, particularly in respect of water infrastructure. I will talk about my own constituency of Wicklow-Wexford, which t…

Like others, I thank the Ministers of State for being here for this very important debate and discussion. The Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, will forgive me if I single out the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who has been a champion of the LGBT community, particularly now on trans healthcare. I am very proud to count her as a friend. On this issue in particular, she has spoken out and taken on some of the voices in these Houses who preach prejudice, and about whom colleagues have spoken. It is very important…

It is the same every week.

I agree with my colleague, Deputy Moynihan, about the horrible events that continue to unfold in Sudan. I raise the EU-China summit which will take place next year. While it is important and increasingly the case that we must have free and fair trade around the world, and I know China and the European Union are committed to try to address some of the trading problems globally, I raise again the issue of continuing human rights abuses in China by the Chinese Communist Party. In particular, I raise the case of Tibet …

What about Tibet?

I asked about Tibet.

I welcome the Taoiseach's very warm welcome for the new Prime Minister of Canada. I am sure he will also join with me in welcoming the new Canadian ambassador to Ireland Dennis King and his wife Jana, who have just joined us. The Taoiseach's personal commitment to Canada over a long period is very welcome and I look forward to the Government implementing CETA. I understand the memo has been brought to Government but the Taoiseach might outline if it will be fully ratified by the end of this year. It needs to be rem…

Nor Moscow nor Tehran

I welcome the Minister of State's strong commitment to the European Union. In this time of global turbulence, it is more important than ever that we talk about why the European Union is in place. It is the world's greatest peace and prosperity project. It is not perfect and there are lots of reasons we can criticise the European Union, but if we think about what the EU has achieved, not just for Ireland but also for this Continent and the world, it is more important than ever that we start talking about European va…

I thank the Minister for taking this critical issue. As he knows, we all live in a digital world. It is one where computing in general has made our lives better and easier and we are far more interconnected. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other technologies have the potential to deliver ever more effective and efficient public services. However, as cyberspace becomes more critical to all of our lives, the risks and threats are also increasing exponentially. Our society depends on a free, open and se…

Like the Minister, I welcome the fact that the NCSC is now within the remit of the Department of justice. I welcome the fact that he is giving priority to the cybersecurity Bill, but he might provide an outline as to when he envisages it coming before the House. While I welcome the fact that the NCSC regularly carries out assessments of cyber risk, I wonder if an assessment has been carried out as to exactly how vulnerable some of our critical infrastructure happens to be. For instance, how easy might it be for a m…

I have listened in envy to some of my colleagues talk about the wonderful rail services they have and how much more they need, because in this rail review the Rosslare line was an afterthought. Hardly any consideration was given to improving the services south of Wicklow town. While I welcome that we are talking about extending the DART services to Greystones in Wicklow, it is intended in this review to force passengers south of that line - those who get on in Rathdrum, Arklow, Gorey or stations further south - to …

In the past decade, according to figures provided by the Minister's Department, the number of civil servants has increased from about 36,000 to 53,000, which is an almost 50% increase. In figures provided to me by the HSE with regard to whole-time equivalents, the numbers employed by the HSE have increased from 107,274 to 148,268, a 38.2% increase. We have seen today a report from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council that overspending by Departments this year is set to top €2 billion. While I totally agree that, with …

I thank the Minister of State for being here. He is very much aware of the "RTÉ Investigates" programme and the work that was done by Aoife Hegarty and her team. It was an example of quality public service broadcasting. I know the Minister of State, like me and so many others, was appalled by what he saw on his screen. I know he wants to take action on foot of that. The Taoiseach said that when HIQA carries out particular actions, it should be in a position to press the button that will require the closure of certa…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth. Listening to him respond to the last matter, I understand his passion for primary schools, which we all share. Primary schools are at the hub of all our communities and we often marvel at the work done by principals in primary schools who not only are they leading in the education of the children in the schools, but they are responsible, essentially, for being project managers within the school as well. Schools get paid…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I totally get that there are differences between schools. Even within the primary school sector, I made the point that an old school that is very difficult to heat is totally different to a new modern build school. However, a lot of the costs will be the same. There is obviously a question about the overall quantum and there is certainly a case for additional funding for second-level schools. It is about the scale of the difference, and I get the Minister of State's p…

Up to 25% of Ireland's coastline is facing the serious problem of coastal erosion and the proportion in counties Wicklow and Wexford is higher. The Taoiseach will be aware that I represent an area that stretches from Brittas Bay to Morriscastle. We have some of the finest beaches in the country, but many of them, most notably Courtown and Kilmichael, are in serious danger. We need to look at addressing this from a climate point of view and at beach replenishment. There is the threat to adjoining lands and infrastru…

I thank the Minister for bringing forward this legislation. The bigger debate we need to have is precisely that around the funding of local authorities. It is interesting that our debate is focusing on the question of the local property tax. The Minister will be aware that the overall budget for local authorities in the country is in the order of €6.7 billion annually. We are here debating the 6.5% of budgetary income that comes from local property taxes. We are very unusual in a European and international context.…

I thank the Minister of State for staying to this late hour to take this question about Coláiste Bhríde in Carnew, Wicklow. This is a progressive secondary school of almost 1,000 pupils which serves a predominantly rural area in south Wicklow as well as parts of north Wexford and south Carlow. The local community rightly takes great pride in this school. The whole school evaluation reports regularly speak of the positive relationships between teachers and students and that it is an inclusive and caring community. I…