The bottom line is-----

-----the Deputy's approach all along on this------

The Deputy mentioned that Spain was at 50% renewables for electricity generation. Last February, 50% of our electricity generation was renewable. I believe the Deputy is misleading the House in her political characterisation of the Government in respect of renewables. We have been driving renewables for quite some time over successive Governments. In terms of offshore wind, I established a clearing house in my Department that meets with the industry, Departments and regulators to remove systemic potential barriers …

It is a big political untruth to suggest that since the Greens left, we somehow reduced our commitment to renewables.

It is a deliberate misrepresentation for political purposes, and that is all, but it is false and it is untrue. Since this Government was formed we have established a clearing house, which my good colleague, the former Minister Eamon Ryan, refused to do, although industry wanted to engage. The one difference we have made here is to facilitate the engagement of industry to stop the them-and-us approach and work systemically on the barriers to successfully deploying offshore wind farms. We are making progress. There …

-----what is a critical issue for the country-----

-----namely, the development of offshore wind.

First of all, the Government has provided targeted support. The evidence is there in terms of the free school books at primary and secondary levels. That is a significant measure we have brought in, which this year again will assist many families with what was a major cost for those with children attending primary and secondary school. We have expanded the free hot school meals programme. We have expanded childcare and we need to do more on the childcare front. We have the €280 new baby grant, for example. Hospital…

We invested an additional 20%, up to €500 million extra, in disability services. That is systemic, sustainable and something that will happen year on year. We increased the domiciliary care allowance for a second year in a row by an additional €20. We will do more in the forthcoming budget. If you look at the changes we have made to the fuel allowance scheme, a two adult household will benefit by about €2,300 per annum as a result of that. A lone parent family will benefit by up to €1,800. These are significant mea…

When the Deputy asked that question last month, I stressed the importance of renewable energy. In Armenia, I made it very clear that our immediate focus is on offshore wind. I pointed out the very significant progress we have made in respect of onshore wind and, indeed, solar. Solar is moving at pace in Ireland and I trust the Deputy is supportive of that. Deputy James O'Connor is introducing legislation which the Government will examine, along with the question of a legislative response in respect of nuclear, but …

-----or was somehow portrayed as rowing back when, in fact, it was the very strong advice in the Department in respect of our vulnerability to anything happening to those gas interconnectors. We are not connected yet to France so we are not yet importing nuclear. That has been delayed a bit, through no fault of the Government or anything like that. I take the Deputy's point that once that connection happens, we will, to all intents and purposes, be importing energy generated through France's nuclear capacity. If we…

Not quite as long as Barryroe, although I do travel the length and breath of the Barryroe parish. The oil issue has been around for a long time. Successive companies - this is the only point I will make in respect of it - did not feel the capacity was there or were not in a position to bring it to the surface and so on. It did not appear at any stage to be economical through its a long history. I am not an expert on that. We are very clearly focused on the renewable agenda and have made huge progress in this countr…

I thank the Deputy for his commentary. I am consistent. We should examine the issue of the potential of nuclear power given the changing technologies and how technology has advanced. However, our first priority in the here and now is renewables, including wind, solar and anaerobic digestion. We have made a lot of progress on those fronts, in particular solar latterly. Industry, in particular, has adopted solar, be it rooftop or in farms adjacent to major factories. There has been a very successful outcome. On the a…

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and the Government are very strong in terms of increasing the number of gardaí. We have committed very substantial resources and we want to maintain those resources to continue to increase the number of gardaí going into Templemore for training. The cohorts of over 200 trainees are now entering Templemore regularly. In the first intake of this year, 215 recruits entered Templemore and 209 trainees entered the college on…

We are providing very substantial resources to An Garda Síochána. There has been substantial change in terms of the recruitment processes. We have increased recruitment age and training allowance, shortened recruitment timeframes, reform of the physical competency test and the introduction of the assessment-centred approach to elements of recruitment. We had two recruitment campaigns in 2025, and likewise again in 2026. The numbers are increasing, but they need to increase more. We need to be very consistent in the…

The Government is absolutely committed to supporting regeneration projects submitted by Dublin City Council, including deep retrofit remedial works at older flat complexes. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is actively supporting viable regeneration proposals from Dublin City Council and will continue to do so. We are also continuing to invest heavily in regeneration across the capital city, particularly social housing flat complexes and estates, in a timely manner. I will raise the issue wit…

As the Deputy will know, there are a range of responses to this. Apart from the fact that about 6,000 assessment reports were completed in 2025, which was a 45% increase on the previous year, nonetheless, current waiting lists are too high. The model and framework governing this is also wrong. We need a legislative change, which we are going to do, and we need operational change, workforce reforms, increased capacity and recruitment of the therapists, and the development of the school-based multidisciplinary teams,…

First, I made a general statement that we are investing a huge amount of money on regeneration.

On the specifics of Oliver Bond House, the Deputy said just today something happened with communication between the Department and the residents or the city council. I will engage with the Minister for housing on the matter.

Again, I will engage with the Minister for housing on that. I presume the Deputy has been engaging with the Minister, so he must have a fair idea as to what his and the Department's perspective is. I do not see any issue with sharing data or material evidence with the homeowner.