I did not have enough time to come back on that.

I thank the Deputy for raising a very important issue. I agree with the thrust of what he is saying. We have to grasp the nettle here. By the way, under the 2024 regulations, it is an offence for children under 16 to use e-scooters on public roads. That is an important road safety measure, enforcement of which, of course, is a matter for An Garda Síochána. The wearing of helmets is a no-brainer, given the damage to the head that can happen if you do not have a helmet, and also given the issue of registration and hi…

I thank the Deputy for raising this. I will discuss it with the Minister, Deputy James Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, in respect of whether we can improve the cash flow dimension to this.

Stage payments would mean that people have to claim back afterwards, and so on. I will come back to the Deputy on that.

The point that the Deputy has raised raises the issue more generally of how one responds to issues that emerged in respect of Grok, for example, and its use and application or manipulation. What is important is the laws we have in place and our enforcement regime. Child pornography is banned in Irish law under the 1998 Act. It is an important point to make. That is across-the-board, whether it is AI-created or in other forms. That is important. We need to focus on the laws we have in place to prevent the type of ac…

We also have laws pertaining to adults. The Attorney General has already given me preliminary advice in relation to this. The issue is that what is a problem on one platform today can be a problem on another platform tomorrow, and on another platform the day after. We will look at it.

We will look at that.

First, I want to pay tribute to An Garda Síochána for the work it did over the Christmas period. It carried out a dedicated road traffic enforcement operation throughout that period, with 10,000 checkpoints, as the Deputy said, statutory and mandatory intoxicant testing and regular high-visibility policing checkpoints. It made 765 arrests, seized nearly 3,000 vehicles for different offences under the Road Traffic Act and detected nearly 26,000 speeding offences. At the moment, as the Deputy said, there are some 638…

That is an issue I will check up on further. I will talk to the Minister for Finance and Revenue in respect of this. The taxation law and framework, as the Deputy knows, covers all income earners and, obviously, you are taxed if your income goes above a certain threshold. There has not been specific tax treatment, to my knowledge, in respect of this area. I will follow up and try to examine what exactly is afoot in respect of this.

But we are providing huge-----

If the Deputy will let me finish the point. We are providing huge facilities across the country. There is a problem in Dublin city. The relationship between clubs and Dublin City Council and the other councils, for example, is much different to the relationship between clubs and sporting organisations and other local authorities down the country. There is a huge gap. I have seen it when I have been out canvassing in Dublin. There are too many restrictions on the utilisation of playing facilities and a lack of acces…

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I am very fond of Clonmel. It is a very vibrant town. Senator Goldsboro has been on to me about the same issue as well. I will talk to the Minister involved. It is James Browne in this case or it might be Dara Calleary. I think it is the urban renewal fund that the Deputy is looking at here. I will certainly pursue that in terms of the public realm application.

I mentioned earlier the growth in population in this country over the past two decades. It has been a quite dramatic exponential growth in population. I accept the comments by the inspector of prisons. It is a real issue. It has been growing over the past decade, consequential on the increased population and increased crime. We are now undertaking the fastest-ever expansion of prison capacity in Ireland. That has to happen and it is happening. The money has been allocated. However, I acknowledge that even with that…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. TII and NTA are examining all these issues on an ongoing basis. Investment in public transport is happening apace. That will be key to reducing pressure on our roads. However, there is no easy solution in the short term. Park and ride does work. We will work and support the agencies and councils in respect of such facilities.

There is a responsibility on the services concerned and on the agencies concerned to do this properly and effectively. The Government cannot run every agency. I will alert the Minister to the issues the Deputy raised here but there is an obligation on the services to do this and enforce and fulfil the law so that the penalties are applied and the consequences which flow from such penalties are given effect to.

I thank the Deputy for raising this. It is a very pressing issue for Cork educate together. I will engage with the Minister for Education and the Department to get urgently required clarity for the school and the school community and I will get back to the Deputy.

Déanfaidh mé teagmháil leis an Aire chun soiléiriú a fháil maidir leis na tograí sin sa Ghaelscoil agus sa Ghaelcholáiste. Más féidir liom freagra a fháil, cuirfidh mé in iúl é.

The figures I gave yesterday and the comments were from the Department of Finance presentation to me. I have asked that the business case be published. There was an FOI in relation to that. There was a suggested contribution from officials of €150 million, if there was a wish to go further. The Minister agreed on the €141 million. I will seek to reconcile the various notes the Deputy has with the notes I have, which I articulated yesterday in the Dáil. We are talking about the 75 poorest countries globally that are…

I attended a meeting of the European Council on 18 December in Brussels. Substantial items for discussion included Ukraine; the EU’s next multi-annual financial framework, MFF; the situation in the Middle East; EU enlargement; and Europe’s competitiveness in a changing global context. Other items on the agenda were European security and defence; migration; the fight against antisemitism, racism and xenophobia; the Pact for the Mediterranean; disinformation; and a proposal for a regional strategy for the Atlantic. I…

Having no clock is a gift to all Members of the House. Could I say at the outset, ar dtús báire, ní aontaím in aon chor leis an méid atá ráite ag an Teachta. Níl aon amhras, sa bhuiséad a bhí againn le déanaí, go raibh muid ag súil go háirithe leis na daoine is boichte sa tír. Is iad príomhaidhmeanna an Rialtais ná níos mó tithe a chruthú, fostaíocht a choinneáil agus an méid fostaíochta sa tír seo a ardú. Tá sé sin á dhéanamh againn agus tá sé sin soiléir ó na figiúirí is déanaí atá tar éis teacht ar an bhfód. Is …