I thank Deputy Dempsey very much for raising what is a very important point. If we look at our climate change objectives, I can see the logic of what she is advocating for. It might be difficult in terms of implementation. Navan does not yet have the rail line, although the Government is committed to it and work is under way. I will talk to the Minister involved and raise the point Deputy Dempsey has raised. I understand the motivation because Meath is a very significant county where a lot of people are commuting o…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. There are a range of grants out there now for vacant houses and for dereliction. They are quite substantial, and there are a lot of applicants. I know they may be more on the individual level. There is the town centre renewal programme. I think there is a town centre renewal officer in Kilcock. I know that the Minister will, obviously in the context of the forthcoming Estimates and budgetary considerations, look to see what more we can do, but there are existing schemes tha…

The Government is essentially five months - close to six months - in office. This will require capital allocation and provision. We are working off the budget of last year in terms of the Estimates that were provided to every Department, so there are limits to what the Government can do in 2025 if one takes on board that substantial additional capital moneys were allocated to housing - up to €700 million - and substantial additional moneys were allocated to education in respect of new school projects. I will talk t…

First, more generally, the Minister for rural affairs will be meeting the Gaelic Athletic Association in respect of the new rural future design programme. The GAA is having a huge impact the length and breadth of the country on many fronts. On the housing front, it is not fair to say that there is no focus on housing in rural Ireland. There is. The derelict grants and the vacant grants have been particularly used in rural Ireland to great effect. I have seen places myself. It was because I was walking through rural…

All of those apply to rural Ireland. The first homes scheme applies to rural Ireland.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. He is raising very legitimate concerns and I will ask the Minister for Transport to review this. I will also ask him to consult the Minister for justice in respect of any road traffic regulations and laws. I saw a situation yesterday evening. I could not believe my eyes. There were two guys on a scooter and a guy on a bike was hanging on to them to get propulsion on a main road, Baggot Street. I was saying to myself, "What is this about?" One could see the obvious safety co…

First of all, I think about €3 billion is now being spent on medicines. I can clarify that. There is an ongoing issue, and there will be, because of the rapidity of discovery and new drugs coming onto the market. Ireland has a very significant pharmaceutical presence. I have engaged with most of the CEOs of the pharmaceutical companies in respect of tariffs, trade and so on and domestically, the European Public Health Alliance, EPHA, has made representations in respect of this, as have patients, particularly as reg…

We should work to improve our timelines.

I thank Deputy Smith for raising this issue. I know this is an issue close to his heart. The Department is committed to offering all available and appropriate supports to all schools. Last year, the then Department of Education provided per capita grants to all recognised primary and post-primary schools. There are two grants: the capitation grant and the ancillary grant. Schools have flexibility to manage these grants as a combined fund. The current capitation rate for primary schools is €200 per pupil and the anc…

This is an important point. In addition, the capitation grant payment in June 2025, which will be a balancing payment for the period of January to December, will include the new increased rates effective from September 2025.

The Deputy can send that note to the Minister for housing and copy it to me, and I will talk to the Minister for housing in respect of it. The Deputy should try to take it up directly with him. I will alert him to the fact the Deputy has raised it.

I reject completely the Deputy's assertions. She is guilty of severely exaggerated commentary on the reform of the RPZs announced last week. The bottom line is that as a result of those reforms, renters will have stronger protections than ever before. All renters will be covered by RPZs. It will be interesting that the first item on the agenda of our RPZ reforms will be something that Sinn Féin will have no choice but to support. Despite all the bluster and hype, Sinn Féin TDs will go into the voting lobbies to sup…

It begs the question, though, as to how Deputy McDonald could, to date, oppose up to 1,700 housing units in her own area, in Clonliffe College, and likewise in Cabra. If the Deputy is saying it is an emergency across the country, how come it is not an emergency in her constituency or in the areas where her party objects?

She simply cannot have it both ways. This duplicitous approach to housing has to end. What we need from Deputy McDonald are concrete solutions on how we increase supply so that we can get a situation where we can build 50,000 units a year.

The Deputy's party's policies-----

I am not talking about Deputy McDonald personally; I am talking about the Sinn Féin Party.

The Sinn Féin Party's policy objective over time is to reduce the size of the private rental sector.

If Deputy McDonald looks at her policies in recent years, they have been designed to suppress supply in the private rental market. We have built more social houses in the past four years than have been built since 1975.

Some 36,500 new social houses were built.

In 2023, 12,000 social houses were delivered and 10,500 were delivered last year.