Deputy O'Callaghan is correct insofar as I identified the provision of a schools-based multidisciplinary therapy service, particularly in special schools, as a core priority and red-line issue of mine. We are pursuing it. I have already had meetings with my officials and we will be convening a meeting with all relevant Ministers and agencies in respect of delivering on that. There were attempts at a pilot initiative on that front in the past year which did not yield the outcomes both the HSE and the Department anti…

We are not prepared to allow the current situation to continue. All focus will be on improving access to therapies, for children in particular, and turning around the entire approach from the earliest days of a child coming out of paediatric services. There is not a sufficient link between coming out of paediatric services and follow-on services. In some cases, however, the needs of children will not be immediately apparent. Some manifest later in a child's life, but there needs to be far greater synergy between th…

Ar dtús báire, tá mé buíoch den Teachta as ucht an cheist seo a ardú. B’fhéidir nach bhfuil a fhios ag cách ach tá leabhar foilsithe ag Mark Henry a bhaineann le stair na tíre ó 1922 go dtí 2020 agus an méid dul chun cinn atá le feiscint in áiteanna éagsúla. Is é ceann de na figiúirí a léiríonn sé ná go bhfuil i bhfad níos mó daoine sa lá atá inniu ann ag labhairt agus ag foghlaim na Gaeilge, agus le cumas na Gaeilge acu, ná mar a bhí sa tír seo in 1922. Tá an ceart ag an Teachta nuair a deir sé go bhfuil tionchar …

Is suimiúil go raibh an taithí sin ag an Teachta nuair a bhí sé ina mhéara. B’fhéidir go léiríonn sé go bhfuil orainn i bhfad níos mó a dhéanamh ó thaobh tacaíochta a thabhairt do na grúpaí áirithe ar fud na tíre agus i measc an phobail i gcoitinne. Tá mé sásta bualadh leis na hAirí Gaeltachta agus Oideachais agus leis an Rialtas i gcoitinne faoi conas is féidir níos mó tacaíochta a thabhairt do ghrúpaí den saghas sin a luaigh an Teachta chun an Ghaeilge a labhairt. B’fhéidir go gcaithfear áiseanna a chur ar fáil d…

In the opening of any major hospital facility - I have experience of both sanctioning and providing the funding for some major facilities from my time as Minister for Health and Children - there is always a subsequent debate and issue around the proper commissioning and staffing of a hospital, particularly in the context of movement from the older facilities to the newer facility. I understand that Children’s Health Ireland has been working on this for quite some time and that there has been a whole range of struct…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I will be attending a virtual meeting of European leaders later this afternoon convened by President Macron regarding the unfolding situation on the war in Ukraine. We will take that opportunity to reiterate our support for Ukraine. I will also be pushing strongly for the EU to accelerate the membership process and the application from Ukraine to become a member of the EU. Apart from the economic, social and wider aspects of membership of the EU, there would be a signific…

The Minister for Justice is dealing with that.

Is this one family or a particular family?

The tenant in situ scheme has been subject to a short review in terms of targeting and making sure we get the best value for money but also making sure that families most in need benefit from the scheme and we get the best outcomes all round in terms of the application of that scheme. There has been engagement within the Department on that issue and we expect that to be resolved shortly.

Do I have to take this or can it be the Minister?

The issue of exempted development was raised and we dealt with it at the Cabinet subcommittee at the beginning of the week to set in train measures to facilitate that. I welcome what appears to be a broad welcome from the Opposition as well in respect of that. Perhaps the Social Democrats are not in favour of it but Sinn Féin seems to be welcoming it anyway. We will have to move the issue quickly. As I have said here repeatedly, every avenue has to be looked at in terms of increasing housing supply. Regarding the D…

It is true to say that the Deputy has been a very consistent and strong advocate for Shannon Airport and the Shannon area. At the beginning of the week, we met with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. One of the first comments he made regarding Ireland's historic relationship with China involved the degree to which China took on board the example of the Shannon free development zone. Shannon was one of the first areas he highlighted regarding how it led the way with respect to industrial development and how the C…

We are well aware of the pressures on childcare services across the country and in Dublin. The last Government, in particular, introduced a number of initiatives on the childcare front, such that the investment in childcare is now approximately €1.37 billion. The data show that more children have places, more services are operating and more parents are benefiting from State subsidies. Between 2021 and 2023, the number of enrolments increased by 8%. That said, we have to do more. We must start by stabilising and cre…

I will, of course, visit Beaumont Hospital. I would be delighted to do so. Perhaps the Minister wants to take it from there.

Go raibh maith ag an Teachta as an gceist agus ní dóigh liom go mbeidh sé ag tarlú roimh an gCáisc. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is progressing the Bill and looking at amendments that must be included, as I have been clear about from the outset, in a new Bill. It will not happen in the spring session because most of the Bills we have put on the Order Paper are drafted and ready to go. It is a short session between now and Easter. I hope in the aftermath of that-----

We continue to invest in public service transport, and will continue to do so. In respect of the specific issue, approximately €660 million has been assigned for the public service obligation, PSO, and Transport for Ireland Local Link services. That is a significant increase on previous budgets. It also covers various fare initiatives, such as the young adult card and the 90-minute fare, until the end of 2025. The Airport Hopper bus services that the Deputy has identified-----

-----between Maynooth and Tallaght and Dublin Airport were withdrawn by the operator. If there is a withdrawal, it is a matter for the Minister, and the NTA in the first instance. Decisions will be made as to whether we can resume with the help of the PSO and whatever else, but an evaluation has to take place first.

On the issues in respect of Youghal, our view, and I have been very clear about this, is that we need to bring hotels back for tourism purposes. I do not believe that Ukrainians should be treated in an unfavourable manner. If they are part of the local schools and have been in a given location for quite some time, I do not approve of their being summarily turfed out and moved on to locations far away. I will discuss this with the new Minister for children in terms of the need to be conscious of the needs of childre…

One of the more significant measures taken by the outgoing Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Thomas Byrne, was to make it very clear that failure to have gender equality on the boards of sporting organisations, for example, would result in the withdrawal of funding and a reduction in funding. He made that very clear. We will continue to support women’s participation in sport, young girls in particular, through funding but also through a variety of other initiatives. Retention, as the Deputy ri…

A Cheann Comhairle-----