I thank the Senator for the opportunity to address this important issue on oral health promotion and prevention services. I am taking the matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The Minister acknowledges the importance of health promotion and disease prevention, and the need for our services to reflect this. The Dental Health Foundation, which the Senator spoke about, is an independent registered charity with a key aim: to support improvement in oral health in Ireland through …

I have listened to and taken on board the points the Senator raised, including on early intervention, keeping people healthier and, which was her core point, the need for some kind of core funding solution for the Dental Health Foundation. I assure her that improving access to oral health promotion and prevention services is a priority for the Minister for Health and her Department. I restate my recognition of the important work carried out by the foundation as part of its function as secretariat to the expert body…

I welcome the opportunity to respond to some of the issues raised in the debate on the Bill put forward by Sinn Féin regarding the taxation of home heating oil. As this House understands, Ireland, as a small, open, successful economy with a reliance on fossil fuels, is especially vulnerable to global energy price shocks. No government anywhere in the world can fully insulate its people from price shocks of the magnitude we have seen over the past seven months. However, as a Government, we have moved to support hous…

I thank the Deputy. I hear his real concern for his constituent's child and the difficult circumstances in which they find themselves. I have a response here, some of which deals with the issue he raised and some of which is a more general response on what the Government is doing. If he will bear with me, I will give him both. The Government is committed to the provision of additional special places for children with special educational needs. Budget 2026 has already provided funding for over 400 new special classe…

I thank Deputy Hearne. Again, I do hear what he is saying and I will bring his very strong concerns to the Minister of State. I will see that they are on his desk by tomorrow and we will see where we go from there. Deputy Hearne mentioned Finglas Parochial National School. To be fair, given that planning permission was granted on 26 March 2026, the fact that the Department and the project manager have been doing everything to complete all of the works, and that they will be delivered as quickly as possible, is reas…

The microgeneration support scheme, MSS, provides supports to both domestic and non-domestic applicants, in the form of grants for solar PV installations, up to a maximum of €1,800 in 2026 for household installations. The domestic MSS forms part of a wider residential retrofit programme that, in line with eligibility criteria, supports energy-efficiency upgrades and the installation of renewable energy technologies in existing housing stock. Since its pilot launch in 2018, the domestic solar PV scheme has gone from…

As I set out, the electricity and gas retail markets in Ireland operate within a European Union regulatory regime, wherein electricity and gas markets are commercial, liberalised and competitive. Responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets, including with regard to the clean export guarantee, is solely a matter for the CRU. In relation to the development of tariffs under the CEG arrangements, the CRU is of the view that the competitive approach, whereby suppliers set their own competitive e…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Harmon for raising this issue as it gives me the opportunity to update the House on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth on the current position regarding the planned school building project at Coláiste Daibhéid, Cork. As the Senator said, her question is a ceist sláinte agus sábháiblteachta. An extension project at the school has been approved to enter the Department's pipeline for school building projects under the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme to provid…

Furthermore, priority projects at earlier stages of the pipeline continue to be advanced - the Senator probably needs to hear that - with particular emphasis on special schools, schools operating entirely in interim accommodation, projects providing significant special education capacity, additional accommodation to meet demographic growth, and schools with the most pressing building condition issues.

As I said, a further tranche of projects to progress to tender is expected to be confirmed next year. I gave a list of the types of priority projects that will be looked at. They include special schools, schools operating entirely in interim accommodation, projects providing significant special education capacity, additional accommodation to meet demographic growth, and schools with the most pressing building condition issues - that seems to be what the Senator is describing. Regarding meetings with the Minister, I…

I thank Senator Costello for raising this matter. The Government is committed to preserving our existing roads network. This is demonstrated through the Department of Transport's provision of regular grant funding to eligible local authorities. By statute, local authorities are responsible for the maintenance and improvement of the regional and local roads present in their respective areas of responsibility. Any work undertaken on these roads is funded by the resources of the local authority concerned and, where el…

When the Senator speaks, I know she is reflecting the views of the people she represents and what she hears. The objective of the DMURS is to have well-designed streets accessible to all forms of road users. Furthermore, there is a growing appreciation that our streets are not just spaces designed to facilitate the movement of traffic, but spaces where people should want to live and to spend time. I hear what the Senator is saying about blind people. I will certainly convey the Senator's point to the Minister in th…

I thank the Senator for her question. Let us see what answer I can provide for her. On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank Senator Ryan for the opportunity to discuss BusConnects in Limerick. I will also use the opportunity to highlight sustainable mobility developments in Leitrim - I am sorry, I must have been thinking of my own constituency - in Limerick more generally. The Limerick-Shannon metropolitan area transport strategy was developed by the NTA to deliver an accessible, integrated transport netwo…

I thank the Senator. I am of course providing the answers given to me by the Department. As we know, the new Limerick bus network will provide more frequent public transport offerings to more people across Limerick. I hear what she is saying. She is talking about now. As with the previous Senator, I will bring her concerns to the Minister. I will let him know how strongly she feels about this and that she is looking for timelines insofar as they can be delivered. What we are looking at here is that aspects of the B…

I will not dispute that because I do not have the detail of what the Senator is speaking about.

I will certainly bring her concerns to the Minister. That is not just something I am saying. I will do that.

On behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy O’Brien, I thank the Deputies for the opportunity to address this issue in the House today. As a number of Deputies have alluded to, the programme for Government commits to commissioning an independent feasibility study, continuing MetroLink from the city to south-west Dublin. The Government is committed to undertaking an independent feasibility study for a metro to south-west Dublin. For those reading my script, that is in my final response. However, given that a num…

I will continue afterwards.

The Deputy does not have to tell me that.

As somebody who comes from the west - I did not write this script - I can assure the Deputy that I know what he is talking about when he says that the system was better 100 years ago than it is now. My purpose here today is not to labour that point, it is to answer his questions. Again, on behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Deputies for their comments and for their interest in this important issue. As I have already stated - I will reiterate it - the Government is committed to undertaking an independ…