I thank the Deputy.

I call on the Minister of State to conclude.

Is that agreed? Agreed.

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this important motion on the totally unacceptable lack of dentistry services in Ireland. The motion lays bare the damning statistics, which I will not repeat. They are stark. If there was only one recommendation I would ask the Government to put in place from this motion, it would be to commit to providing the required funding in budget 2025 to put the medical card scheme on a sustainable footing. The other recommendations are really important but, to me, this is a …

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion on housing. It is interesting to note that Sinn Féin is calling for "a radical reset of Government housing policy", which is the exact same call made by the Housing Commission in its report. This independent body, set up by Government to look at housing policy, also called for a "radical strategic reset of housing policy". Its report states that there is an underlying housing deficit in Ireland of 256,000 homes. That is a shocking figure. Blame must be laid at the …

Thank you, Deputy.

The Deputy’s time is up. I call Deputy Wynne.

Deputies Buckley, Kerrane and Funchion are sharing time.

The division is deferred until the weekly division time tomorrow evening.

When will the all-island strategic rail review be published? Specifically, I am asking about the planned timetable for the western rail corridor. I am asking this because what we have now is some kind of competition locally between the western rail corridor, on one side, and the Sligo greenway on the other. There should be no competition. We should know what the Government's plans are in this regard. Can the Minister please let us know?

I thank the Minister. I have a long list of questions and replies going back to September 2021. It is nearly three years ago since he told me that the review was scheduled to be completed within 12 months. In November and December 2021, and October 2022, he told us that the review would be published shortly. This is going on for more than three years. I know there was a short delay because of what was happening in Northern Ireland but that is no excuse. There is huge uncertainty about what is happening with the wes…

Three years?

So it is their fault, okay.

I am delighted to hear it. I have not heard any political party or any politician argue against it. The Minister is talking about bringing it as far as Claremorris but then says nothing more after that. I am trying to clarify, in this rail review and Government plans, whether that is as far as it will go. There is an argument locally about the Sligo greenway and whether that should go ahead. Iarnród Éireann said that if a greenway is built, and it is now at the end of stage 2, it will be built under licence and if …

Nobody in the west is arguing.

In light of the recent European Commission's regional competitiveness index report, where the northern and western region was ranked 218th out of 234 regions, will the Minister commit to improving the transport infrastructure ranking of the northern and western region? If so, how does he intend to do it?

The Minister says the Government is committed to improving transport infrastructure in the north west. One of the projects he mentions is the N4. That was promised when I was chairperson of the Council for the West back in 1996. If we go back to the NDP in 2000, we see all of these projects promised in it. If we go back to the NDP for 2007 to 2013, all of these projects were also promised. I am talking about the completion of the N17 from Charlestown to Sligo. The Minister mentioned the Donegal TEN-T project. It is…

I keep hearing that the Government will do everything in its power to advance these projects as fast as it can. That is what we hear all the time in the region. The Minister tells me about the big pot of money out there that is going to be spent. That is not my question. My question is, where is it being spent? Where is it being delivered? I agree with the Minister on the rural transport issue. I absolutely agree about Connecting Ireland but I am talking about the big infrastructure projects. What I want to hear is…

I have already sent the Tánaiste the details of this matter. I wish to make the strongest possible case to him for the OPW to purchase a piece of land that is for sale at Carns Hill in County Sligo on which is situated in the Carns Hill west passage tomb, which is one of the three biggest passage tombs in the country and the only one that is not a national monument in State care. At the end of 2021, I stated in this House that that piece of land was for sale and that Sligo County Council and I were asking the OPW t…

I am asking the Tánaiste to use his best influence in this regard.