I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving us this time. Cattle do not go from 200 kg to 400 kg overnight. There is some reason for this. The cattle were pining away and then after a certain length of time they started thriving because a place was closed, to put it simply. You do not have to be a scientist or a vet to know that; it is weights on scales that will tell, and it is obvious when a beast is pining. I appeal to the Minister; for that man, his mental health, his family and what he has gone through. I looked at…

In fairness UCD was not able to search for some stuff. The Minister should have a look at that and read it. It is there in black and white.

Look at the terms and conditions for what each one looked at.

Cadmium is the problem. If it cannot be investigated then there is a problem.

I was just looking at a few things earlier. The Department Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform had to take down a tweet stating that 2,500 beds had been delivered in the health service because it was not correct. The headlines of the press release by the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine state that the budget provides €700 million for agri-environmental schemes. I will deal with agriculture. It is stated that there will be €100 million in supports for beef and sheep farmers…

On other initiatives, have a look for rural Ireland. We need more transport but with joined-up thinking on how we operate it. Where is the budget for that or for the likes of road infrastructure from Galway to Donegal or the M20? We need balanced regional development in order to create opportunities for people. I welcome the childcare measures but, once again, I have found out from other Deputies that it is a case of another push down the road, wait for a while and, sure, mammy and daddy will be all right for anoth…

The Tánaiste speaks about Ireland having full employment, and about a surplus and a budget, but I ask that he spares a thought for a father with whom we have been dealing over the last nine or ten months. Unfortunately, some children with autism, including his child, are non-verbal. His two other siblings are also living in the house. The child is under the adult age at 17 but is getting stronger. He takes food out of the fridge and pegs it on the floor. Some 20 T-shirts a week must be bought when a tantrum is thro…

The Tánaiste is correct in saying that some people are able to live with a small bit of help, and that has tended to be what has happened over the last number of years, but what appears to have happened in this case is that the youngster has severe autism and is getting stronger, wrecking the house and breaking up cars. The father is looking after this child on his own and he cannot cater for him. Let us consider what has happened in the overall context of this. We have fewer spaces for youngsters under adult age a…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — while preventing further decline in the current state of biodiversity is an essential element in ensuring the resilience of our planet and our food production systems, we recognise that certain steps must be taken to improve the state of biodiversity across the Europe Union (EU); — the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 already sets out a commitment to legally protect a minimum of 30 per cent of its land, including inland waters and 30 per cent of the sea in the EU, of which …

I had understood it was to be the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan.

At least the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, is well familiar with the area. I am grateful for the opportunity to bring this motion on the nature restoration law to the Dáil. At the outset I want to make it clear that those of us who signed this motion are not against nature. Every one of us lives in nature; we promote nature; we were brought up with nature. We come from the land and from knee-high we were always told to make sure we look after birds, bees and whatever, and we have done that. I do not want the …

I thank all the different speakers who have spoken, regardless of whether it was giving us stick or supporting us. I thank those who came to the House to speak in this debate. A few points need to be addressed. Let us be honest with the people out there. A regulation has no flexibility. I heard references to various areas of biodiversity loss. I have looked into the hedgerow part of it. When someone says something nowadays, we must bear in mind that the test that was done was based on 10 sq. km in Monaghan and it w…

The new agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, was welcomed by many farmers. There was to be a system of a scorecard and an app that the Department had put together, especially for those in the commonage areas, for marking the different types of flowers and so on. This app has not worked properly and it was 23 days late in transferring the different portions of land across. The planners around the country are under ferocious pressure and they are asking the Government if it will extend the deadline from the …

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. It is a pity the Minister for Health is not present. I think an inquiry needs to be held into this. The child is 17 years of age. He had an accident. NoWDOC is in chaos in Carrick-on-Shannon. This child went to Sligo hospital but it does not have the facilities to deal with his situation. We are supposed to have so-called centres of excellence that include Galway hospital. The Minister of State's buddy, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, does not want to see a new road bui…

A total of €22 billion is being spent on health in this country. It is ironic that the Minister of State says that a sixth of the population is in that area, which covers one third of the country. It is a big area and we should try to bring the services as close as we can. These people were prepared to travel. There is no question of that.

These people were prepared to travel 115 km each way. Yet, we did not have a service in the whole of the west of Ireland. We did not have it in Letterkenny, Sligo, Castlebar, Roscommon or Galway, which was to be the centre of excellence. It is a damning indictment of our country - and I come from the agricultural sector - that if that night I had an animal that lost part of its foot or was sick in any way, I would have had a vet at my house in 15 minutes. Yet, when it comes to a human being, we are not able to stit…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this report. I agree with Deputy Murnane O’Connor about septic tanks. If one did not register, one had to pay a fiver to do so at a later date. If late registration costs €20 now, that is fine. However, we should look at water quality. I ask the Minister of State to do so because it is stupid for a county council to do the 5% they are doing each year, where they ask if a person has this or that done and if the fiver has been paid. If neither has been done, then it is good luck …

I thank the office of the Ceann Comhairle for facilitating Deputy Harkin, who was unavailable. The Deputy is seeking from the Minister for Transport an update on the provision of funding for the progression of the N17 Collooney to Claremorris upgrade for the years 2024 to 2028, inclusive.

Deputy Harkin, along with other Deputies in the area, has been to the forefront of this. I was in County Sligo for the launch with great fanfare of Project Ireland 2040, as were other Deputies. The upgrade of the N17 road was part of it. Small amounts of money are all that are needed for the coming years. The N17 is a major road. We are talking about having a greenway from Sligo to Galway. Deputy Kenny spoke about the western rail corridor. There is no train. People must realise that to get from Donegal or Sligo fo…

I welcome the provision of funding. I ask the Minister of State to prioritise this project later in the year. For all of its sins, during the time of the boom, a lot of great work was done in road infrastructure around the country. A few roads in that region, including in Letterkenny and the N17 to Galway, need development. The statistics show roads in the region are not getting the same privileges as roads in parts of the country, such as the N4, N5 and M20. We are not against other roads being built. In light of …