-----given the underwhelming Sinn Féin budget and the very interesting Social Democrats budget in terms of financial sustainability. I was not dismissive last week at all. I just made the very fair point that there is a Derelict Sites Act. Local authorities have a duty and obligation to implement it, and they should be proactive in doing so. There is a vacant house tax which we introduced. I agree 100% with the Deputy that vacancy has to be dealt with. There is absolutely no necessity for it. There are about 5,000-…

First, I wish the students from the High School, Rathgar the very best in respect of their tour of Dáil Éireann. We thank them for their presence here and hope that some of them will emerge in the not too distant future as Members of this House. In terms of the briefing-----

It has been one of my lifelong difficulties, a Cheann Comhairle.

When I used to attend secondary school, I was always five minutes late and my twin brother was always five minutes early, to which at the end of my sixth year in school the Deputy Principal, totally flummoxed by this, said: "Is that why you only had one spoon to eat the egg?" That has been the story of my life. I apologise when I get here a minute too late.

On the serious question of long Covid, and I know the Minister for Health is here, we are committed in a programmatic way to deal with the implications of long Covid in all its manifestations, through the primary care sector, diagnostics and also in terms of ongoing care. We are also doing research, which I think is critical, because we are still learning.

I agree 100% with the Deputy. Maybe he could pass the case on to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I will certainly alert him to the fact that he has raised the issue. We need to be flexible and sensible in our implementation of regulations and in administering loans of this kind. The spirit must be one of facilitation as opposed to creating hurdles. If someone is working for the HSE, he or she is in a very secure and sustainable position with good prospects for the years to come. That in my …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge that he has been a very persistent and strong advocate for this bypass and this facility. There will be further work on the capital ceilings of the NDP in the aftermath of the budget and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform will work with line Departments. I will examine the specific issue. My understanding is that it was progressing but I will examine the specific issue of the appointment of a design consultant.

There has been ongoing engagement with the family on this question. Maybe I could talk to the Deputy to get more clarity on the specific asks. There was a UN initial inquiry and my understanding is that that then goes to a board of inquiry.

I will come back to the Deputy on that. The Garda is also involved in a coroner's court. I met with the Lebanese foreign minister at the UN recently to again underpin the importance of justice here with regard to those who killed Private Seán Rooney.

I appreciate what the Deputy said and I would share with him our deepest sympathies to the family of the woman who was killed in this hit-and-run accident. Our hearts go out to them on such a loss of life in circumstances where it could have been avoided and prevented. I will ask the Ministers for Justice and Transport to liaise with the local authority and the Garda locally as to the issue around the implementation of a major traffic accident plan. My understanding is that local authorities have clearly establishe…

Deputy Lawless has raised this same issue. I am aware of it because Deputy Lawless spoke to me about this. A very unsatisfactory situation has emerged here. I learned about it post the acquisition of the land. It is a pity the State did not get control of it from day one. It is very important that all options be examined now. The fundamental objective has to be to restore the access of the general public to these lands. We live in a society and in a community and there is a public interest involved here that, irres…

Yes, I appeal to the company to work with the trade unions and to have a full and meaningful consultation, which is provided for within the legal frameworks so that employees will have full clarity and also that every effort will be made to minimise job losses.

The Government is very much committed to helping and supporting the workers within the frameworks that are available. We will continue to do that and see what we can do, working with the owners, to get the mines operational again. The international context was not conducive at the time of the decision taken to have it at a care and maintenance level. The Government will remain engaged on the issue.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue, as Deputy Durkan did earlier. I know Deputy Lawless has been advocating on it for some time, because of the significance of the estate and the access the public enjoyed for a considerable length of time. As I said earlier, it is important that all involved, including those who own the land, have due regard for the importance of public access, for societal cohesion and for the well-being of the community. My experience is the State generally takes a fair approach to these is…

I might take that question because there is a broader issue relating to population growth and its impact on public services, and the Deputy raised a very interesting point. He mentioned an increase in the population of 1.5 million over 20 years. I have been making this point repeatedly and I think we need a deeper dive and analysis of the relationship between population growth and the impact on public services more generally, including the health service. Some of the increased costs in health are due to health infl…

-----and the paediatric unit as well.

I would be sympathetic. I have had a long-standing commitment to research. PhD students are the lifeblood of our research capacity, particularly in science, engineering and technology more generally but across the board, where I do not want to differentiate. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science announced an independent national review of State supports for PhD researchers, as the Deputy pointed out, with Dr. Andrea Johnson and Mr. David Cagney as co-chairs. They submitted …

To respond to Deputy Shanahan, there are complexities to these figures. Bear in mind that the Government's strategy is to develop regional cities and to develop critical mass in Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway to create a better balance to economic development. The situation in Waterford has improved significantly over the past number of years in terms of foreign direct investment, FDI, and investment in education and health services. There has been progression and there have been improvements. That will conti…

The Reserve Defence Force, RDF, comprises the First Line Reserve, the Army Reserve and the Naval Service Reserve. The establishment of RDF is 4,069. This comprises 3,869 for the Army Reserve and 200 for the Naval Service Reserve. The strength of the RDF as of 31 August 2023 stood at 1,319 members in the Army Reserve; 81 members in the Naval Service Reserve; and 280 members of the First Line Reserve. In 2022, a recruitment drive was advertised across a number of media channels. Recruitment liaison officers across th…

I agree with the absolute necessity of a strong Reserve force. There were 90 recruited in 2022. I am nine months in office and I made it clear earlier in the year that I was not happy with the rate of progress. When we consider that 1,000 had applied in the earlier recruitment process, the process of medical testing and so on was far too slow. I asked and instructed that this would change. Where we get such a significant interest, I have said to the military authorities there is a necessity to convert that into a h…