With the greatest of respect-----

What I would say to Pearse is: would you go away and design a bike shed for us and give us the costs? We will take it away and see what we do.

For God's sake, cop yourself on.

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very serious issue that demands a very profound and comprehensive response. I again express my deepest sympathies to Gillian Sherratt and Stephen Morrison on the very sad passing of their son Harvey. We have to do much better when it comes to healthcare services for our children. I understand the anger and frustrations felt by parents and the children and young people who are either awaiting surgery or are engaged with clinicians and hospitals in respect of their individual …

We need more capacity, both in human resources and physical capacity in terms of ring-fenced surgery and so forth, to enable us to make even further inroads into the waiting lists.

At that stage there would have been newer members on the board. This is important. It is very easy. This is a challenge. The Government has a responsibility to maintain existing services. In the interim, you just cannot announce new initiatives off the top of your head. I signalled very early on the move that has transpired in respect of CHI coming in under the remit of the HSE. In fact, originally - I might have been in opposition at the time - my view was that it should have come under the HSE from day one. To be…

That may potentially create challenges as well.

I thank Deputy Cairns for raising a very important issue. We value the work of carers. Michael Woods brought in the carer's allowance quite a number of years ago. He was a Fianna Fáil Minister for social protection and at the time it was a novel concept. It was quite innovative. It started at a very low level, but incrementally things have improved significantly. We committed in the programme for Government to eliminate the means test. There is a tendency in the House to deny any progress at all about anything, and…

The Deputy is correct when she says we have choices. Everyone in the House has choices. The estimated cost is around €600 million. We also want to increase domiciliary care allowance and other categories of social protection, which the Minister will bring to the Government in the first instance and then the measures will be announced on budget day. It will all come under an overall amount that will be allocated to the Department of Social Protection. If we increase one category, by definition other categories may n…

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue for a very significant industry in the country. He spoke eloquently about the west Cork experience. As he will know, the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, has been hounding me on this issue, as has the Minister, Deputy Foley, from the Kerry perspective. All the counties where hospitality is particularly strong in the summer period have been strong advocates for an initiative along the lines of the one the Deputy is proposing. The budget will be an in…

I understand the issue the Deputy is raising. The costs increased significantly for the sector. I acknowledge that. The data we are getting in is not showing any significant decline in employment, but there could be churn. Some people could be in difficulty while other new businesses are established and opened. We want long-term sustainability for the industry and the hospitality sector. You could have a crowded restaurant but the margins might not be great when it comes to the owner’s bottom line. A lot of hard wo…

He agreed yesterday.

First, I join the Ceann Comhairle in welcoming the active retirement group from Midleton, and Ability West. I have a strong fondness for Midleton women.

I know. In any event, in terms of the bike shed the Deputy referenced earlier, the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, is saying the approximate cost for the actual bike shed was €32,000. There is a lot more going on there. In terms of the IPAS, that report was circulated today and we need to examine it. We have transferred responsibility for migration and IPAS centres from the Department of children to the Department of justice. There was huge pressure over the past number of years in respect of the migration system.…

House prices are very high, and too high for many young people. That said, since 2020, notwithstanding Covid, about 148,000 new houses have been delivered in this country. The percentage of first-time buyers has been steadily increasing from about 25% of all purchases in 2015 to just under 40% in July 2025, and the latest data indicate further increases. First-time buyers continue to make the largest contribution to the mortgage market, accounting for 63% of approvals. Notwithstanding high prices - and they are too…

That review is going before the emergency development forum, which is imminent. I met with many of the groups after Storm Éowyn. Irish Water, in particular, undertook to immediately procure additional generators for the number of facilities where there had not been generators prior to or during Storm Éowyn. That was one practical step that we could take. We have also undertaken to resource various community-based groups and centres, so there would be one focal point in every area in the event of a storm like this h…

It is but I will get the most up-to-date information for the Deputy and will communicate it to her directly. From 1 October, trawling activity and fishing vessels over 18 m in length over all waters inside the 6 nautical mile zone will be prohibited.

That is the policy.

If you prohibit, you prohibit from 1 October. My briefing note states a limited total allowable catch of 2,000 tonnes of sprat will be permitted for vessels over 18 m long overall within the 6 nautical miles and inside baselines from October 2025 to 30 December 2026 only. The Deputy will know the story of the extensive public consultation that happened prior to this decision being made and the 5,000 submissions received. Some 94% of those submissions wanted a new ban on trawling activity. I have been pursuing it my…

It is very disturbing. Irish Water should have the highest standards. Something like this should not be occurring. In recent months, Uisce Éireann had been assessing the feasible options for addressing the primary issue relating to the nine terraced houses and associated septic tank and percolation area in Shannonvale Park. The option is to establish a pumping station and transfer flow across the river towards the Clonakilty wastewater network. That is being progressed. This will involve the requirement to purchase…