I did not hear that interview. The Deputy is correct to say that the severity and frequency of these storms is going to continue. Climate change is here now. We are investing in adaptation and mitigation efforts. We are contributing financially to that. We really need a debate on flood relief schemes in the context of getting them through the system. There is enormous consultation involved. Environmental considerations have to be taken into consideration. There is an absence of balance between the-----

The Deputy raised the issue of storms. I want to make the point that we must protect life, property, businesses and the livelihoods of people. I would argue that, as a society, we have overdone it in terms of all the various consultations and so on that must take place to the detriment of getting flood relief schemes through local authorities and the planning process in a timely manner. The one in Enniscorthy was refused on the basis of the presence of the pearl mussel or whatever. That should not happen. The new l…

I have made my views known to him on previous occasions. It is reprehensible behaviour. What is happening with the prosecution of the Mayor of Budapest for organising and participating in the Pride parade is unacceptable. I have made that consistently clear, both as foreign Minister and as Taoiseach, to Prime Minister Orbán, as have others. There are fundamental issues here, as an EU member state, in terms of upholding basic values. As part of his campaign to seek re-election, Prime Minister Orbán is attacking the …

We have to be careful about this, because there has to be some regulatory framework governing substitute products.

It is not simple. We have had experiences in the past where situations have been exploited or whatever. I will refer the matter to the Minister for Health and him to respond to the Deputy about the issue. I appreciate him raising it because obviously, it is an issue of concern to quite a number of people out there.

I appreciate the very strong position that has been consistently articulated by Deputy Crowe in respect of this issue. It is fair to say that those gardaí have been acquitted by the courts. That is an issue on which we have to reflect. I will discuss the matter with the Minister for justice and the implications of that. It seems that a review of what transpired needs to happen because it impacted Garda morale more broadly and had a significant negative impact on the careers of the five gardaí and, as the Deputy sta…

I take on board what the Deputy is saying and I appreciate that he has been consistently and articulately advocating on this issue for a long time.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I will have to talk to the relevant Ministers in respect of the autism innovation fund, which was recommended by the committee. I may have further discussions with the Deputy to see how best we can proceed with this and in what specific area. It has application across education, health, work and generally. Maybe it should be combined with some research and some broader analysis of the spectrum, if you like, and how best we can do better in respect of people who are on the a…

Actually, the Government brought in the tenant in situ scheme and provided substantial funding. In some areas - I am not saying in Waterford - the scheme broadened and was used by local authorities for investments that should never have occurred. We had cases where some local authorities were spending €50,000 to €60,000 on the refurbishment of houses. The whole purpose of the tenant in situ scheme was to stop people going into homelessness immediately, so the house was purchased. Suddenly, the fund was getting used…

We did not gut it because the same funding was applied, and that additional funding was applied. Some local authorities were approaching it differently - there is no question that they were - with different applications that were unnecessary in my view. It tends to happen when funding and so on gets allocated like that. There has been engagement with the local authorities and the Minister, and we have a scheme in place. It is more focused and targeted now than it was.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am familiar with the Fitzgerald camp barracks. I will talk to the IDA and respond to the Deputy. Personally, I think that if the IDA has purchased the site, it is potentially a site that could attract foreign direct investment, FDI, into the Fermoy and north Cork area, which is important, if that is possible. I remember people in Carlow asking me many years ago if the IDA site could be used for something else, for domestic purposes. I asked them to hold on and, thankfully…

I appreciate that the Deputy has been consistently advocating for law on this issue. We passed the 2023 Act largely as a result of the Deputy's advocacy and that of Deputy McAuliffe, and, I have to say, others in the House. It seems that for about 85% of that legislation, the regulations were then formulated to commence and then there was one aspect, the banning. There is a pursuit policy. As the Deputy knows, pursuit policies have to be balanced with avoiding any further danger and loss of life. On public parks an…

It is going to be a very difficult year, a difficult number of years, actually. I have met with the fishing representative bodies along with the Minister, Deputy Heydon, and Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, who have responsibility for the marine. Largely because of the research that came in terms of the stocks, which everybody generally accepts - that has always been a consistent position - there has been a 70% reduction in pelagic, which is shocking. It really will be devastating. As the Deputy said, our challeng…

Beidh mé ag labhairt leis an Aire leanaí, an Teachta Norma Foley, faoin cheist seo. Tá deacrachtaí ann agus níl Mick Finnegan sásta leis an méid atá tar éis tarlú go dtí seo. Mar sin, beidh mé ag labhairt leis an Aire agus, b’fhéidir, déanfar teagmháil idir an Roinn agus na daoine a luaigh an Teachta Heneghan.

We have allocated funding to councils. They might say otherwise but there has never been more funding allocated to councils than in the past number of years. We will continue to work with them in regard to prevention. Yes, there is an issue in terms of co-ordination and around local forecasting as opposed to the national forecast. There are issues there. To be fair, a lot of councils have improved an awful lot in terms of providing sandbags and various measures. A lot of interim prevention measures are happening no…

First, very significant measures have been taken in terms of recruitment and retention in our uniformed services, with the result that we have huge volumes of applications to An Garda and other services. We have made progress in the Defence Forces in the past two to three years and we need more progress there. We have made progress on that front because of measures we have taken to enhance the conditions for people in the uniformed services. I will talk to the relevant Ministers. Pensions are always difficult and c…

That is a substantial sum of money, particularly when the State, through another Department, is allocating funding to new community centres - I am not sure whether that happened in Rylane - and then it is being taken out on the other side. On the other hand, Uisce Éireann needs some sustainability in terms of funding. We need a balance and, in particular, we need to take on board the overall public good and that the provision of community-based facilities provides for the public and communities at large.

Without question, Wicklow and Wexford were severely hit by Storm Chandra yesterday. The schemes have been opened in terms of the emergency response payment and the business and community flooding support scheme, both of which are clearly required. Other locations across the country are affected as well but, certainly, the impact of rivers in Wexford and Wicklow bursting their banks has been severe. I was in Gorey recently with the Deputy. We met with councillors from Wicklow and Wexford and, yes, the issue came up …

I thank the Deputy for raising it. That seems like something that should be rectified. I will talk to the Minister and the HSE in respect of this, and to the National Ambulance Service. I appreciate she has been raising it on a consistent basis.

Again, I have to examine that. Obviously the NTA is the regulatory body. It is an independent transport regulator. Something like the Deputy proposes, or the taxi drivers propose, would need to be examined in the context of that legislation and whether the NTA is in a position to actually do what is being suggested.