Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cathaoirleach and cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I am raising the case of the Courtown Coast Guard station. The station serves both north County Wexford and south County Wicklow. It is one of the old rocket stations. The Minister of State is the third Minister or Minister of State to deal with a Commencement matter on this issue since I entered the House. Five Ministers and Ministers of State have visited the Courtown Coast Guard station and a range of commitments have been made to the …

Most of that reply told us things we already knew but I do welcome the fact that there is an acknowledgement by the OPW that the current site is unsustainable. A number of potential sites were put forward by the Coast Guard but are no longer available. This is because the OPW has taken so long. Sites do not just sit around waiting for the OPW to make its decision. One identified site has been on the market for some time. In terms of legal due diligence, this speaks to the meeting that was arranged with the Minister…

I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding Irishman, by virtue of how he was recognised by the State, and that is Chuck Feeney. As people know, he grew up with an Irish-American family background during the time of the Depression and set up a global duty free business. He then discovered that by giving while living he could have a transformative effect on so many aspects of global affairs. He obviously transformed the lives of so many and played an instrumental role in the peace process here. In particular, I wa…

Hear, hear.

I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Chamber. I was rather alarmed when I heard Senator Keogan criticising the increase in the overseas aid budget. The Government should be proud of our record of investing in overseas aid and supporting the most vulnerable on this planet. While I note that Senator Keogan’s friends were not protesting today outside Leinster House, the kind of dog whistle we see from her on a regular basis should continue to give us cause for concern. This is a positive budget. I will dr…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This budget is quite comprehensive and it addresses not just the short-term challenges but indeed the long-term challenges and opportunities for Ireland. I will start by addressing specifically some of the areas within the Minister of State's own brief and where he has an interest. I welcome that under the circular economy an additional €3 million is provided for the roll-out of the circular economy strategy. The legislation the Government enacted last year under the Circular Econ…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The Minister of State will be aware that there are around 6,000 children in care in Ireland, and about 90% of those are in foster care. Foster carers are individuals who have a passion for what they do and they care for some of the most vulnerable children and young people in society. I know the Minister of State will have met many of them as well. They are incredible people for what they do. They do amazing work. They provide security and shelter while at the same time ensuring t…

I thank the Minister of State for that answer. There is, within her answer, an acknowledgment of the problem. We should be particularly alarmed by that trend that we are talking about, and the fact that even though we are heavily reliant on foster care, the number of parents who are willing to continue to foster care continues to fall. That is a trend that is deeply worrying. I welcome the fact there is recognition that the two key problems are the lack of financial supports. I would certainly hope, and I know that…

I wish to ask if people remember where they were on this morning exactly ten years ago.

You may, for slightly sad reasons, remember, because yesterday ten years ago was the day of the referendum which proposed to abolish this House and this was the morning of the count. Most of us here, I imagine, were either at a count centre or tuned into the radio listening to some of the early tallies. Part of the commitment that was given ten years ago, when the people took the decision to retain the Upper House, was that there would be significant reform. I pay tribute to the Cathaoirleach and his predecessor, t…

We are now approaching 600 days since Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. I hope that this Chamber will invite the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs to the Chamber to talk about the strong and correct support Ireland continues to give to Ukraine. A number of us had the privilege last week of meeting the speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, who was very clear that the people of Ukraine are very thankful for this country's continued support. Ireland's strong support, as exhibited at European level this week…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House for this very important discussion about access to further and higher education and issues relating to student support and accommodation. We know the issues of funding for students and higher education funding have continued to be kicked down the road by successive Governments. This Government took a very clear decision to cost what it would need to ensure that higher education institutions are adequately funded. The figure arrived at was an additional €307 mill…

Like others, I congratulate the nation of Germany on its national day. I want to raise the story by Ferghal Blaney in the Irish Daily Mirror concerning the HSE's property portfolio. It does not surprise me that so many HSE buildings are underutilised. One of the buildings I have been referring to in this Chamber is the former HSE clinic in Camolin, County Wexford. This building was closed nine years ago, in 2014, much to the annoyance of the local community, and no action was taken by the HSE. It let the building s…

Before I raise the one matter I wish to raise, I wish to state that I agree with the views expressed by Senator Mullen concerning higher education funding. The issue I wish to raise was reported by Naomi O'Leary in The Irish Times yesterday on questions around artificial intelligence, AI, and deepfakes but also misinformation and disinformation on social media channels. The article found that on X, formerly Twitter, the level of misinformation or disinformation is by far the greatest of all the major social media p…

This is a particularly important issue. I have chatted with the Minister of State privately on this. One of the challenges is that those of us who have gone out in Dublin over the years have never felt that unsafe until the past few years. Quite frankly, in parts of the city we are seeing gangs of feral youths that intimidate people. At times when seeing some of the behaviour, it is understandable why people are frightened and why they do not feel safe in our capital city. This is expressed by people who live here …

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. The national children's hospital is something we all want to see happen and we know its importance, but there continues to be growing concern about the cost and ensuring it is completed. James Reilly, who was the Minister for Health when this deal was originally drawn up and signed, indicated that it would cost €650 million. Planning was secured at the St. James's site in 2016, and the initial budget, as set out then, was €983 million. By December 2018. the then Minister, Deputy S…

I thank the Minister of State. I and everyone else appreciate there is construction inflation but we are still talking about a hospital that is costing what, on the face of it, is looking like at least twice what was originally budgeted and we still do not have the final figure. Can the Minister of State assure us that the target for the national children's hospital to be open by the end of 2024 will still be met? Second, can she assure us that when the Government publishes the details of whoever has been awarded t…

I am sure the Leader will join with me in congratulating Rosslare Europort on being named European ferry port of the year at the European Ferry Shipping Summit last week. She will know from the time we spent on the Brexit committee that one of the very few good things that came out of Brexit was the rapid expansion of Rosslare. This fantastic facility, led by Mr. Glenn Carr and the team, deserve our congratulations. This stresses once again, however, the point about the access infrastructure into the port, and the …

I will maybe stretch it in saying many farmers live along the Rosslare Europort route-----

-----who will stand to benefit from the new succession planning advice grant.