The first point I should make is that, under the NAMA Act, NAMA has to make its decisions independently and on a commercial basis. It has to get the best commercial return. NAMA has played an important role in facilitating housing delivery and supply across Ireland, so I will make inquiries on this specific issue, but it does not fall to me to give NAMA a direction regarding a particular site where its commercial assessment would lead it to a different conclusion. We want to see social, affordable and cost-rental h…

The report and discussion we had at Cabinet on Tuesday were positive. There is a need for additional places in the areas identified in the Higher Education Authority, HEA, report. It is now for the HEA, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the other line Departments that the Deputy referenced, primarily the Departments of Health and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, to develop a similar exercise in respect of the need for additional places in the …

I absolutely understand the anxiety and enormous stress that the families concerned are having to endure at the moment while facing this uncertainty. Our focus as a Government is to try to protect and save the jobs. Deputy Tóibín has acknowledged the engagement of the Ministers, Deputies Coveney and Humphreys. The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and I are there to assist in any way we possibly can to ensure these jobs are saved because ultimately, that is what the workers and their families want to see achieved. We will …

I will take Deputy Guirke's question and the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Butler, will take Deputy O'Dowd's question. Regarding the 75 workers who operate the 999 call service, I am sorry to hear that these issues have arisen. We have well-established processes in Ireland for dealing with disputes and issues around pay, terms and conditions and so on, primarily through the Workplace Relations Commission. I am sure that the workers or their representatives will consider following up and rais…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Finance Act 2022 (Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme) (Specified Period) (No. 2) Order 2023, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 19th May, 2023.

I thank Deputy Doherty for raising this issue. He is right to say that this is not just about improving infrastructure or opening up the economic potential of the all-island economy in the north west. It is also about road safety and saving lives. That is a stark statistic the Deputy put on the record, that since the upgrade was first announced in 2007, 47 people have died. That most recent tragedy was absolutely awful and our deepest sympathies go to the family and community concerned. I reiterate the support of t…

The next step here is to have an agreed and approved project. This is a project that is still in the statutory planning process. We hope it will come through that in the not-too-distant future. What the Taoiseach and I have signalled is a willingness for us to have a conversation with our partners in Northern Ireland and with the British Government to see what more might need to be done on behalf of this Government and this State to bring about the delivery of this project. We recognise how important it is economic…

I thank the Deputy. As she knows, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is going to launch this report later today with Threshold and Alone. That reflects the seriousness with which the Government treats this issue. The Minister will, of course, consider the findings of the report, which is a research report. It provides us with more information. That helps inform policymaking and allows us as a Government to plan and prepare for the future, but it is a reminder of a number of fundamental truths. We have an ageing populati…

I thank the Deputy. I want to give assurance that, especially when it comes to older people served with an eviction notice, we will move heaven and earth to help them and find a solution. Whether it be through our local authorities or approved housing bodies or the interventions we are supporting at a national level, we will help people and we will find solutions. We will not allow older people to be in that situation. That does not remove the stress felt when an eviction notice is served on them, which I recognise…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and there are a number of different strands to this. Where a case is taken, we need to ensure that case and claim are dealt with as efficiently as possible. None of us want to see instances where, especially in the case of catastrophic injuries, it takes many years and eventually on the steps of a court a settlement is agreed. We are seeing an increasing role for mediation in the settlement of these cases. The State Claims Agency has a difficult job to do in managing clinic…

There will be individual cases that go all the way to court or to the steps of the court. That is unavoidable. There are two parties involved and there are lawyers providing legal advice to their clients and some people will want to have their day in court, but they are a small minority. The vast majority of claimants want to reach a settlement as early as possible in the process, and that is the most cost-effective way from the State's point of view because, looking at the figures in 2020, legal costs for clinical…

I thank Deputy Pringle very much for raising this issue. Just yesterday, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, met with members of the Mica Action Group. The regulations are being finalised. The Minister expects that they will be in place in the coming weeks and that the new scheme will finally be in place and up and running. Of course, anyone in the current scheme will get the uplift of the benefits of the new scheme. Before I respond on the issue of the banks and insuran…

I am happy to meet with the homeowners to see what assistance I can provide. I recognise that practical issues will arise for them with regard to their mortgages. In many instances, people will be out of their homes for prolonged periods. While the State is assisting in other ways, people may well need support and assistance from their financial institutions. I always have to say that commercial decisions are a matter for the banks, but I believe that everybody has to work together to support the homeowners in what…

What we are going to do is build more homes. We are going to place an emphasis on age-friendly accommodation because we recognise the clear demographic trends and that there is going to be a requirement for the State to deliver public housing for older people at scale over the coming years. In the interim, the housing assistance payment and other supports will continue to be available. We will work through the individual cases that arise where eviction notices are served on older people. We recognise the enormous a…

The Government has been very consistent in being a voice for restraint in this conflict. We are not at all, in any way, satisfied with what we are witnessing. It is appalling. The bombing of civilian areas in Gaza is simply not acceptable and must come to an end. We have joined the international calls for a ceasefire. Mediation efforts are under way. We urge all parties to become involved and come to the table to find a resolution. The specific issue of ISIF falls under my Department's remit. I will examine that sp…

I thank the Deputy. That sounds a shocking situation-----

-----that should never have happened. I will speak with the Minister on it and we will follow up. If the council has made an offer to buy the property, that should be facilitated and that is what should happen. We will follow up on this specific case.

I thank the Deputy. I do not have the operational detail available to me to give him a substantive answer to his question. I acknowledge the concern and anxiety that is evident when patients have to wait that length of time for results. The Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, will get back to the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy. I am not sure about the blaze of glory-----

-----but I am sure the former Taoiseach's visit was genuine and motivated by a desire to try to move the project on and make progress. My colleague, Deputy Cahill, has also raised this matter and was there on the day with the Deputy. We will need to get an update from the local authority, the NTA-----