Figures do not lie.

I want to ask the Tánaiste a very specific question about the draft Air Pollution Act (amendment) Bill. It has been widely reported, certainly by the local media where I live, that this legislation could potentially grant local authorities the power to search people's homes and seize or destroy unapproved materials. What I am talking about is turf, which people use to heat their homes. My question is very specific. Does this proposed legislation give powers to a local authority or indeed any authority to go into pe…

That is not what I asked. I asked about homeowners.

I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for drafting this motion, which I fully support. The motion proposes maintaining the 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector. This is in the wider context of the huge increases in the past 12 to 18 months in the cost of doing business but specifically this morning, we are looking at the 9% VAT rate. In that context, let us look at our VAT rate on hospitality in comparison with our EU colleagues, that is, the people we compete with when it comes to tourism business and leisure business. Inc…

I raise once again the issue of the reinstatement of the 9% VAT rate on the food part of the hospitality sector. I know a decision has been taken in the budget but the finance Bill can still be amended. I am asking the Government to consider this. My own experience in Sligo-Leitrim shows very clearly that small, indigenous Irish-owned cafés and restaurants, many with a local or unique food offering, are the ones most likely to close because of the increased cost of doing business. I am asking if the Government will…

When I made my initial comments on the previous five budgets, I always made the point that it is not just how much money we spend that matters. How we spend it is crucial. The question always is whether it delivers value for money. I am not just saying that here tonight. Sometimes we get the impression that whoever is Minister is putting their hand in their own pocket and handing out money. In fact, the job of any Government or Minister is to manage the people’s money and to deliver good outcomes for money spent. I…

Will the Minister act on the urgent need to upgrade and extend the building from which the Gurteen family practice in County Sligo operates? I visited the practice two weeks ago. It is run by Dr. Helen Fitzsimons and was named rural practice of the year for 2024. I saw first hand the urgent need to upgrade the building. Sadly, I wish to extend my most sincere sympathy to Dr. Fitzsimons and her children on the sudden death last week of their beloved husband and father, Tom Bradley. May he rest in peace.

I am pleased to hear that the process will be completed in the coming weeks and a priority application for capital funding will be put forward. When I visited the practice two weeks ago, I could see for myself the urgent need to upgrade the building. The reception area is tiny and cramped. There are three receptionists. There are wires trailing over sinks. It doubles as a kitchenette and a storage area. There are holes in the floor. The building is unsafe. That practice sees between 4,000 and 5,000 patients; it is …

I thank the Minister. The people in Tubbercurry and Ballymote will be very pleased with that. What is at issue here is the Gurteen health centre. They told me the HSE maintenance manager has been as helpful as he can. He has done everything he can but the problem is a severe one and it is just papering over the cracks. I know the Minister is really interested in women's health. Dr. Fitzsimons runs a women's health clinic two days a month in Manorhamilton and many patients come to her clinic for women's health issue…

We have had some time to digest the budget and assess its impacts. Yesterday when I spoke, I was happy to recognise some of the positive changes in the budget that will benefit different groups of people. I also said that this is an election budget. It screams it from the rooftops. As the Taoiseach said, he would not apologise for any of the benefits, double payments or early payments contained in this budget. Of course, who would? That puts money in people's pockets and that matters. However, we have had time sinc…

There was a lot of money available to the Government so there are positive aspects to this budget and measures I agree with, including the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund. I actually voted for them in the previous budget and am glad to see they are being continued and that the Government is investing more in Irish Water and in the Land Development Agency. There are a few decent proposals on agriculture, including the provision whereby non-farmers who buy land will need to hold on…

Once again, I am asking for an update on the application for protected geographical indication, PGI, status for boxty. I put down this same question several times every single year throughout the lifetime of this Dáil. The original application was submitted to the Minister's Department ten years ago. We keep getting the same responses, which are a long explanation of what PGI status is and how you apply for it, but we still have not got an outcome. I am hoping for good news today.

I thank the Minister. I am pleased to hear that, but to be honest with him, I am looking at various responses he has provided to me over the years. I will go back 12 months. The final sentence in his response to my question on this was: My Department's scrutiny is almost complete. Once my Department is satisfied that the application is ready [it] can move to the next stage which is the national opposition procedure. Almost a year later, the Minister is telling me that this is where we are now. I do not doubt his bo…

I thank the Minister for that. As I said, I have raised this issue many times. I have a sense, and I hope I am not wrong, that we are almost at the final hurdle. It has just taken so long but sometimes you get to a point where you can only look forward and you cannot keep looking back wondering why it has not happened before now. There is a huge level of frustration among the producers. They have attended so many meetings. They have complied with everything they have been asked to do. I hear it in what the Minister…

Less than that if the legal matter is sorted.

I thank the Regional Group for tabling this motion on eliminating the means test for family carers. It echoes part of the motion I tabled on supporting family carers. While there are many ways in which family carers need to be supported, eliminating the means test for the carer's allowance is one of my two top priorities alongside the provision of adequate respite care for family carers. That is also essential to support them in their 24-7 work. We often use the phrase "24-7" without thinking about what it means. I…

Yesterday, I listened to the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, speaking about this issue. He informed us that the cost would be between €600 million and €2 billion. That is off the charts; it is nothing like that.

The Minister should be better informed.

Ballynacarrow is a village on the N17 in County Sligo that immediately needs traffic-calming measures, yet nothing is happening. In 2024, Sligo County Council allocated €264,000 to safety improvement works for the entire county. That is a great deal less than the cost of the bicycle shed out the front of this building. While there is no traffic calming in Ballynacarrow, Sligo County Council is now proposing a pedestrian crossing on an adjoining road. There was widespread local consultation on this issue. Despite un…

I had two separate questions.