My late grandfather, who I never got to know, was from Arodstown in County Meath. The last time Meath won a Leinster final was in 1957, the year it won the all-Ireland football final against Cork. As a child, we were reared on the one that got away, among others. We genuinely wish Louth continued success. Clearly, as the Gospel says, it is now ambitious for higher things, so now it wants the stadium to go along with the football success. I know a lot of work has been done by the Louth county board to establish a co…

Earlier in this session, a number of Deputies expressed their deepest sympathies to the family of Garda Kevin Flatley, his wife, Una, and his daughters, Aoife and Erin, and to the entire membership of An Garda Síochána on his sad passing in the line of duty. We mourn his loss. There will be reflection on this and road safety in general. I could go through a whole range of measures that have been taken. The Road Traffic Act 2024 sought to bring about systemic change to dangerous driving behaviours through mandatory …

The Minister for Justice has no issue coming before the House to deal with these issues.

I will raise the matter with the Minister. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, are working flat out on this issue. I will bring the specifics of the cases the Deputy has raised to their attention. Wherever we can, we will resolve the issues locally. My understanding was a lot of issues outside of Dublin were getting resolved but there are a higher number in Dublin that still require resolution in terms of getting the classes into play. I will raise St. Christopher's and…

The Deputy knows I am a frequent visitor to Killarney but I do not have the same detailed grasp of the roads he has named. That is a National Transport Authority project, I would imagine.

I understand to some degree what the Deputy is saying. There should be a thorough evaluation of the value-for-money aspects of any of these projects and everybody should be clear on the objective. Sometimes it is to provide for cyclists, but sometimes the roads are so narrow to begin with that the outcome of works makes it difficult for everybody to use such a carriageway. I have seen it myself. Some roads are historically narrow.

I am trying to be helpful, Deputy, but-----

They should not be passing each other, anyway, I suppose, in one way.

I will come back to the Deputy and talk to him. It is probably an NTA project.

I thank the Deputy for raising that. He is saying there are two special classes in one physical classroom. I will get on to the Ministers in respect of this and get this issue resolved.

The Deputy said it was over a ten-year period.

When he said they were overturned or quashed, I would have to interrogate his language in terms of how he defines words like "quashed" and "overturned". The Minister is bringing in legislation to deal with all of this but there was a time ten years ago when a Deputy like Deputy Tóibín - maybe not Deputy Tóibín himself - would stand up in this House and make an appeal to the Minister of the day not to have somebody deported. There were front-page headlines in various newspapers, including regional newspapers across …

Opinions have changed and I understand why. I am just making the point we can put ten years together and try to-----

I understand what your narrative will be. I understand what the soundbite on social media will be. You are trying to create a story around certain parties doing X while you are doing Y. The bottom line is society was in a particular place ten years ago on this and is in a totally different position right now. Circumstances have changed-----

------wars have happened, conflicts have happened. We need a bit more honesty and sensitivity in what we are doing.

In terms of people who are not entitled to seek asylum here, the Minister has effected deportations. A lot do leave. The gardaí tell us they leave the jurisdiction and are not availing of any resources.

I do not have the specifics of the case. As I explained in an earlier reply, huge resources are going into additional needs. We have thousands of SNAs - I think it is 23,400. I do not know whether it is an SNA the child requires or some additional-----

I do not know the engagement the school has had with the National Council for Special Education. A lot of resources are being made available to try to ensure a child can not only go to school but can be there for the full time, like any other child. I do not have the specifics of the case but if the Deputy sends them to the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and me, we can see the precise issue and follow it up.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 14, inclusive, together. The National Economic and Social Council, NESC, advises me on strategic policy issues relating to sustainable economic, social and environmental development in Ireland. NESC is currently working in four main areas. With regard to Ireland’s future power system and economic resilience, this work investigates the impact of renewable energy targets in four areas: economic and enterprise opportunities; reliability of supply; energy costs; and export potentia…

Quite a number of questions were asked about the NESC report. I certainly will revert back to NESC on Deputy Brendan Smith's consistent seeking of a particular study on the challenges facing the central Border area. A number of reports have been done by NESC on North-South development but Deputy Smith wants something a bit more specific on the central Border area and the challenges in respect of the area. I have made the point myself that foreign direct investment in and around the Border area, or on a North-South …