I congratulate the Minister of State and wish him well in his new role. As colleagues have said, the real challenge relates to delivery and ensuring we have homes for all those who live here, which is the biggest challenge facing the Government. Following on from what my party colleague Deputy McAuliffe talked about, I will talk about delivery, especially in the context of the infrastructure that is needed to support that. This applies in particular to water infrastructure. We have had problems with Uisce Éireann, …

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, for taking this question on behalf of the Government. We had a useful debate on the future of healthcare yesterday. He will be aware of that. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, spoke about the success in Ireland where we now have a life expectancy of 82.6 years. As she rightly pointed out, our aim is not just to live longer but also to live healthier lives. The Minister used Government statistics to point out that over the next 20 years, the numbers aged 65 to 84…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I welcome that we will see details when the annual tax strategy group process develops over the summer. I ask the Minister of State to input into this process given he has responsibility for older people. That was a little bit of a standard Department of Finance answer in that the officials are obviously concerned about potential loss of tax income, but this must be seen as a health promotion measure. I cited the World Health Organization figures on the cost not just …

Hear, hear.

I propose to share time with my colleague Deputy Devlin. I will take six minutes and he will take four. I welcome H.E. Larysa Gerasko. She has shown incredible friendship to many Members of these Houses and to the people of Ireland. I also welcome the visitors from Ukrainian communities all over Ireland who are in the Public Gallery. We need to acknowledge the contribution that so many Ukrainians are making to all of our communities. We must continue to build on that friendship.` In concluding his remarks to the jo…

I congratulate the Minister on her new role and I wish her the best. I join with colleagues in marking rare diseases day this week. My colleague, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, has done a lot of work in this area. The Minister was able to meet some of the groups and I hope she will co-operate with those who are advocating on the issue of rare diseases. This debate is on the future of healthcare and, as Deputy Dolan said, it is important that we use new technology, particularly artificial intelligence, to be able to imp…

I congratulate my good friend and colleague, Deputy Niamh Smyth, on her appointment and wish her well. Right throughout the programme for Government, the increased emphasis on artificial intelligence and digitalisation is very positive. However, it is essential that it does not just fall on the Minister of State's shoulders. It is critical that we have a whole-of-government approach to unlock the potential of new technology. As the Taoiseach has said, in many ways what we are experiencing with AI is the 21st centur…

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First, I congratulate the Minister of State in his new role. Given some of the debate earlier, Deputy Buttimer now will be familiar with roads all over the country. The Minister of State could probably replace Google Maps, particularly having listened to Deputy Collins knowing the various roads of south-west Cork. I am afraid I will continue somewhat in that vein. However, it is to illustrate some of the requirements around road safety at a national level. One of the challenges we all know about in our local commun…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit.  She is familiar with this issue.  As she knows, I have raised it in the Seanad regularly and I have been in regular correspondence with the Department and HSE.  She will know that access to GP care is a huge issue, particularly in north Wexford and south Wicklow.  North Wexford, in particular, is one of the fastest growing areas of the country.  During the general election campaign, which we talked about before, the question of access to health services, particularly to GPs, wa…

I thank the Minister of State.  As she knows, I am always very happy when she is here answering questions, because of her honesty.  I wish her well in her role.  I very much acknowledge the 179 primary care centres that have been opened to date.  We have seen excellent primary care centres, in Carnew, Arklow and Enniscorthy, but my question is why the people of Gorey and north Wexford, one of the fastest growing areas in the country, should continue to be without a new primary care centre.  In the inter-census peri…

Next week the Taoiseach and members of the Government are due to host the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, in Ireland. While it is important we maintain strong diplomatic, economic and cultural links with China, and reflecting on the Taoiseach's very balanced and measured speech to the Royal Irish Academy in May 2023, I hope he will raise questions of continuing human rights abuses in China, particularly in Xinjiang and Tibet. However, I also want to raise the case of Jimmy Lai, who has been detained for more tha…

These questions are about the programme for Government specifically. Right throughout that programme, there are very clear commitments to investing in Ireland's artificial intelligence strategy and in digitalisation. I welcome the fact that the Taoiseach attended the global AI summit hosted by President Macron recently. The Department of enterprise has been charged with commissioning research on the impact of AI, as a key technology, on the Irish economy and developing a campaign on AI adoption for SMEs. The fact t…

I agree with my party colleague Deputy Moynihan, particularly about that gap for companies that move from being supported by local enterprise offices to a point where they can be supported by Enterprise Ireland. He and I are very much in agreement on digitalisation and the AI strategy we talked about. A key part of this is investment in skills. Critical to that is ensuring that the requirements of funding our future, the funding programme for higher education, are met. That is referred to in the competitiveness cha…

It is my privilege for the first time as a Deputy for the new Wicklow-Wexford constituency to speak here. I look forward to representing it. The constituency includes south Wicklow and north Wexford and I know the Tánaiste has a strong affinity with both areas. I look forward to working with him and the Government to deliver for our constituents and for the country generally. I raise the question around legislation concerning nicotine-inhaling devices or vapes. As the Tánaiste knows, the last Government banned the …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. I am delighted to see the Minister of State appointed. This programme for Government is an ambitious document. If it is significantly implemented, it will positively transform the lives of people right across the country. The challenge for all of us is in delivery, and the message to the State agencies has to be that they must help in achieving the results we desire in terms of the ambitious targets we have set out. This programme addresses domestic issues, includi…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I have regularly raised questions in this House about the school transport scheme. While it was certainly welcome the Minister, Norma Foley, carried out the first review of the scheme, which was published in February of this year, the first review since the scheme was established in 1967, we still need to see some of the detail. I have raised this previously. We have seen over recent years an expansion in the number of school bus places available. There has been a significant incr…

I thank the Minister of State and appreciate that he is simply taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Department of Education, but I refer him to the answer I received regarding this issue six months ago. Except for two or three lines, this response is a cut-and-paste of that answer from the Department. Basically, in terms of the pilot, the only thing the Department has announced is that the north County Wexford scheme is now included. The other two pilot schemes are not really new bus services. They are …

We are fortunate that we live in a peaceful, safe and successful democracy. When we reflect on the many conflicts going on around the world - the horrors we are seeing in the Middle East, the tragedy that is Sudan and the fact that very shortly it will have been 1,000 days since Putin invaded Ukraine - it should be of serious concern that Russia and North Korea have entered into a mutual defence agreement and North Korean troops are taking part in the continuing invasion of Ukraine. It is critical, and I agree with…

How would such a group agree?