Regarding real investment in dwellings, the Irish economy registered the fourth largest increase across the 27 EU countries between 2020 and 2024. The House may be interested to know that a recent Economic and Social Research Institute publication in 2024 comparing housing supply across Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales found that Ireland and Northern Ireland had the highest rate of housebuilding per capita and that Ireland and Scotland had the highest rate of publicly built housing. There is s…

Renters are not being ignored by this Government. That is just a false statement. Over the last number of years, we have brought in a series of protections, regulatory and otherwise, to protect tenants and give greater security. We have also continued to keep protecting renters as a high priority of Government. I cannot commit to emergency legislation on the blind. If the Deputy sends me the details of the particular case and estate, I will engage with the Minister for housing about it and see what action can be ta…

We keep bandying words about the place, but the expansion of health services in recent years has been exponential. We need to get a sense of perspective in how we describe things. I am not saying there is not challenges but the bottom line is €25 billion is being spent on our health services. The HSE has significant resources. I was involved in setting up the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council 20-odd years ago.

What I am saying is that an additional €8 million was provided in 2025 for new service development in terms of an additional 180 posts. The total staff numbers had risen to 2,407 by the end of 2024. That is an increase of 25% or 476 extra-----

-----since the start of 2020. Therefore, we have had close to 500 extra staff over the last number of years. That does not mean we do not need more; we probably do.

Let us not pretend-----

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. Although regulations were introduced in 2024 to allow for the legal use of e-scooters on Irish roads, I believe they need to be kept under constant review because there are clear dangers and vulnerabilities in regard to their use. Those regulations extended the rules of the road already in place for pedal cycles to include e-scooters, provide for technical standards and conditions for safe use and set a minimum age of 16 and a speed limit of 20 km/h. Al…

As the Deputy knows, the Minister, Deputy Browne, is committed to establishing a new towns and cities infrastructure and investment fund to replace the urban regeneration and development fund. Hopefully, we can make it a bit more flexible for some towns that may not have qualified for the URDF. The detailed arrangements for the implementation of these funding streams will be clarified further following completion of the national development plan review. That will enable a clear line of sight as to the level of addi…

I will pursue the matter. I do not know whether an application has gone in under the summer works scheme. Is it too big for that?

Yes. I will alert the Minister for education to the specifics and ask if she could respond to the school authorities and to the Deputy.

I thank Deputy Ó Cearúil. Obviously, Maynooth University crèche must have been of a very high standard given the manner in which the Deputy has come through ever since, right into Dáil Éireann.

I have just been informed that building blocks have now been suggested. In any event, I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Foley, and to the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, about Kildare and its needs. It is probably one of the fastest growing counties in the country and clearly it is no surprise to me that the demand is quite high there.

Again, I will talk to the Minister involved. Has the Deputy spoken to the HSE authorities locally or regionally about why the service was suddenly stopped? There is normally a background to these issues. Certainly, we will enquire with the HSE and with the Minister.

If the Deputy gets the background information, we will see what we can do.

Part of me would say these agencies, the Garda and so on need to get this sorted out. The Government cannot be intervening left, right and centre in every organisation it establishes that has statutory duties and functions. We need to create a culture in this regard. I fully appreciate the Deputy raising this issue and I will talk to both Ministers in respect of this issue. These organisations have been established by law and there is an obligation on the leadership of both organisations to ensure issues are ironed…

There are two things. First, many local authorities do a lot of good work in terms of voids. The Deputy has sat on a council. I think all of us have complained over the years where a house, which has been vacated due to tenants leaving for whatever reason, has remained unoccupied for an inordinate length of time. That system has to change. That house should be very quickly reallocated to other tenants on the housing list. In the housing crisis we are in, there is no excuse for not doing that. That is my view. Secon…

There is a lack of application.

There is a lack of resource application and a lack of desire, in that it is said it is too cumbersome and too difficult. It is there for a reason. The law is complex but you need to be tenacious and you need to persevere. Third, the Deputy will be glad to know that St. Kevin's Hospital in Cork has been taken over by the Land Development Agency, LDA-----

-----and a very good housing scheme is now being developed there.

Finally, the Deputy is right in one respect and that is why we asked the LDA to acquire some more of these properties from the HSE and others, that is, to get them used for housing.