To be honest, I would be more optimistic than the Deputy. I recently visited the Farm Zero C project, with which Deputy Michael Collins will be very familiar, in Shinagh, Bandon, where the four west Cork co-ops have come together to develop, on a commercial basis, a farm that is environmentally sustainable. They took us through all of the different aspects of what they are doing - testing different feedstuffs, changing and reducing the nature of the fertiliser, experimenting with multispecies forms of swards and di…

Housing output increased by about 45% last year. The data on commencements, completions, planning permissions and so on is more encouraging now than it was around six months ago. There is a lot of activity in the sector. The suspension of the development contributions, for example, and the water connection fees is making a real difference. It is making projects that might have been marginally unviable potentially viable. The feedback has been quite positive on that. There are many different ingredients here from th…

I join with Deputy Bacik in wishing everyone a happy Pride. The decisions we made at the Cabinet this week will be welcomed by many across the country. I assure the Deputy that the report will be published and the necessary legislation will be brought forward as a priority by the Minister. I do not anticipate any delay. I think it will be broadly supported in this House. It is a very welcome development and the Minister will be in touch on the details.

Tusla has implemented its child-exploitation procedure in 2021 in partnership with An Garda Síochána which provides Tusla staff and carers with information on how to recognise indicators of child sexual exploitation, how to make appropriate referrals and how to respond to cases where children may be at risk of sexual exploitation. Tusla also developed a training e-learning module to support its staff to implement this procedure which almost 1,100 Tusla staff have completed. It has established an anti-trafficking wo…

Did the Deputy refer to baldies and greyheads there? Do I take it he will not be canvassing for support from any bald person or any grey person in Cork North-Central at the next election? I do not know why he felt the need to throw in-----

I do not know why he felt the need to throw in a disparaging remark like that. I am sure the people that description might relate to will remember exactly what you said.

It was petty and unnecessary. On the substantive issue, I do not know what the Deputy has against debate. This is an opportunity for civil society to have a debate on a really important issue not only for Ireland but every country in the world -----

----- on defence, foreign policy and security.

It is not rigged or stacked. We have been very clear.

There is no intention of changing Ireland's position on military neutrality. I think the Deputy knows that well. He might reflect on his comments.

I acknowledge that this is an issue Deputy Shanahan has raised in the House on a number of occasions. I will ask the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, to consider what Deputy Shanahan has said in the context of the Estimates process and the way in which we allocate funding to the different Votes, that is, the different Government Departments. In many instances the funding is then provided onwards to the public bodies, but I think what Deputy Shanahan is …

I recognise the importance of this project. The Deputy has consistently advocated for it, as have Deputy Cahill and others. I have visited Tipperary town, as Deputy McGrath said, and have heard and seen at first hand the congestion and the urgent need for a bypass, which I think would be very positive and would free up the town for future growth and development and commercial and retail activity. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy with a detailed update as to the status of the project, the next step…

The Deputy's note of congratulations to the Cork footballers is duly noted. I hope he will be supporting us this weekend as well. We might get another crack off Kerry in a few weeks' time, I hope. The N22, the existing project, is a fantastic project, and we all look forward to seeing the remaining phases of it opened in the months ahead. It does highlight the inadequacy of the remainder of the N22 once you leave Ballincollig and Ovens, heading to Macroom. I know that is an important project, so I will ask the Mini…

I acknowledge that Deputy Ó Cuív has consistently raised this issue. The Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016 proposes to amend the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000. On completion, it would give legal effect to the proposed reconfiguration of the raised bog natural heritage area network arising from the 2014 review of the network as well as providing for reviews of blanket bog habitats, among other matters. I am pleased to say that Cabinet approved, on 30 May 2023, the restoration of the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill to the Dái…

I will follow up on it personally, but I expect so, yes.

As I was coming in yesterday evening, I met the group outside and had a chat with them. I subsequently met the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and discussed the issue with him. He will revert to the group concerned. As Deputy Ó Broin will know, this is a major new scheme with a potential cost of between €1.5 billion and €2.5 billion. It will be one of the most comprehensive remediation schemes in the world, in keeping with the Government's commitment in respect of defective concrete blocks and pyrite. The scheme …

Deputy Bruton is right to highlight the role that rightsizing or using empty bedrooms around the country can play in meeting current housing needs. There is a balance to be struck. We have to be careful not to introduce any measures whereby people feel they are being forced to sell a home that perhaps they have been in for half a century. That said, there is merit in examining whether it is possible to have a co-ordinated national approach. In terms of social housing stock, where a family has grown up, the kids hav…

I would be happy to work with the Deputy on that if he could provide me with the details. It seems strange that the funding has ended at this point in the year. We have to do whatever it takes to ensure that the people in Beara with intellectual disabilities can continue to access the CoAction programme. If the Deputy can provide the details to my office, I will personally follow up on the matter with him.

There is an issue, one accentuated by the fact that the HSE has recruited approximately 20,000 people in the past three years. While that recruitment is welcome, it has a consequence, especially given the tightness in the labour market and the shortage of people with the necessary skills and experience. We are examining the sections 38, 39, 56 and 10 issue. In the case of hospices, the Government has decided that they are to become section 38 bodies. They are currently section 39 ones. Other section 39 bodies have …

While I do not have a specific update on the primary care centre for Tullow or the minor injuries unit, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to revert to Deputy Murnane O'Connor. We want to see the primary care centre developed quickly because we know the role played by such centres all over the country in reducing pressure on the acute hospital system. My understanding is that that is a project to which we are committed. The sooner we can get it done, the better. As we know, costs tend to only go one …