I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is important we facilitate open debate. Members of this House and the public are entitled to raise concerns, undertake legitimate protest and hold this Government to account in every way they possibly can. That said, the Government has international obligations which we will fulfil. The response of the Irish people to the humanitarian crisis of the terrible war in Ukraine and those coming here seeking international protection has been second to none. We would expect not…

The initial contribution of the Deputy was not directed at the Government, as I heard it. They were directed at others in this House and perhaps people outside it. I was entitled to set out from the Government's perspective what we are doing to deal with what is a very challenging situation. We must be fair, open and honest about that. I will always vindicate and stand behind the rights of others to raise questions and to have legitimate debate but it was important to put that in context and in the context of what …

I acknowledge Deputy Berry’s consistent advocacy on behalf of those who work in our Defence Forces. We need to recruit more personnel to the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps. I am particularly familiar with the challenges in the Naval Service because it is located in my community, I know many of the people who work there very well and I am aware of the challenges that are there. The Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces provides a road map for us to address the issues that have been highlighted. We have m…

Through the decisions we made in the past couple of years, and I provided a summary of some of the improvements introduced, we have demonstrated a willingness to examine this issue. There will always be risks in terms of wider public pay policy and there is a complex set of allowances across the public service but we have demonstrated a preparedness to take some risks by making changes to allowances. I recognise the point made by the Deputy about the special place of members of our Defence Forces, who are not in a …

The issue here is the new core funding model. Our aim, in introducing the core funding model, is to make sure that the provision of service is viable for providers and that staff have good terms and conditions. We have seen a lot of progress in that regard with the new employment regulation order. I acknowledge the role of SIPTU in the Big Start campaign in that respect. We want to ensure that childcare is affordable for parents and that children get the best quality service that can possibly be provided. We have s…

As the Deputy stated, St. John Ambulance commissioned Dr. Shannon to conduct a review of historical allegations of abuse within the organisation. I understand the findings have been presented to the board of the organisation. It is the Government's expectation that St. John Ambulance will publish the report thereafter. It has been reported in the media that it is expected that the report will be published early next year, after a legal, insurance and data protection review has been carried out. Tusla is responsible…

We are not limiting the right of people to make submissions on planning applications. I am sure the Deputy will engage in the pre-legislative scrutiny process that will get under way when the bill is published. The Government has taken a multipronged approach to tackling the housing crisis. On the issue of speculators and hoarding and so on, as the Deputy has described it, a zoned land tax is being introduced. There is also a vacant property tax. Yesterday, the Cabinet approved the general scheme of a land value sh…

-----and stand behind the system that clearly needs improvement.

I appreciate the importance of this issue for fishers, communities and for marine life. I do not have a specific update on that issue. However, I will ask the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, to come back to the Deputy with a detailed reply.

As Deputy Higgins will know, there is a right to education. That right to education will be vindicated in the communities she represents as well. The Department of Education is very successfully implementing a school building programme. It has received a further allocation in the budget next year of €490 million. I am working closely with the Minister, Deputy Foley, and Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, to make sure new school building projects and extensions to existing schools can be progressed through the syste…

I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to come back to the Deputy with more detailed update. It is an issue of which they are very much aware. They are working with the Road Safety Authority, RSA, to try to clear backlogs that have developed over the last couple of years. For young people in particular, it can be a real frustration and life inhibitor if they are not able to access a test. We will follow up on that and come back to the Deputy.

It is absolutely the case that the public sector has an important role to play in reducing our carbon emissions and in the more efficient use of our energy, whether that is in terms of our building stock, the procurement practices we follow, the nature of the goods and services we buy but also with regard to the national development plan and prioritisation of climate-friendly projects all over Ireland. We have done that in a number of ways, for example, through prioritisation of active travel and of investment in p…

I welcome the ambitious plans for the delivery of thousands of homes in east Cork and note the progress Irish Water is making. The delivery of water and waste water infrastructure in Midleton has been a long-standing issue and has held back its development so that is real progress. In relation to the road infrastructure project, the N25, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and the Department of Transport set individual project priorities. My view is we should continue to advance projects because funding opportun…

I acknowledge the Deputy’s interest in this issue and in ensuring proper Traveller accommodation is in place around the country. I will follow up with the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien. I am not sure how quickly new caravans can be procured and made available if the funding is provided but we will see what we can do. We want people to be safe, warm and comfortable in this very cold weather.

The community safety innovation fund is an important new initiative which the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and a number of parliamentary colleagues were anxious to implement. It is about ensuring a link between where crimes are committed and proceeds are raised by CAB, for example, and the availability of those proceeds to improve investment in local communities. I do not have the details of the applications the Deputy referred to in Dublin Mid-West but I will ask the Minister to examine that and come back to the Depu…

I do not have the full details of this-----

-----but it seems to me the relevant bodies need to come together. These bodies are under the aegis of different Departments and should work together to try to find a way through this issue-----

-----while respecting they have different mandates. If the Deputy provides me with the details, we will try to get them talking to each other to see if a way can be found.

I will engage with the relevant bodies in relation to this issue. We made progress, as the Deputy knows, in relation to school secretaries, for example. A large group of people across the country are directly involved in providing public services on behalf of the State but are not directly employed by the State. That raises the kinds of issues the Deputy has brought up, such as not being able to benefit from Building Momentum and so on. There has been some progress in the healthcare area, in particular, through the…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft: Sustainable Energy Act 2002 (section 8(2)) (Conferral of Additional Functions — Energy Efficiency) Order 2022, a copy of which was laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 27th September, 2022.