Nuair a bhreathnaímid ar ról an údaráis go dtí seo agus poist á gcruthú aige, is dócha go bhfuil sé deacair poist a chruthú nuair nach bhfuil éinne ann chun obair sna poist sin. Go dtí seo, bhí mise ag ceapadh an t-am ar fad go raibh na cumhachtaí sin ag na comhairlí áitiúla ó thaobh cead pleanála de agus ó thaobh pleanáil timpeall an chontae, go háirithe sna contaetha sin a bhfuil Gaeltacht iontu. Is léir, áfach, nach raibh na comhairlí contae go dtí seo ag déanamh idirdhealú idir an Ghaeltacht agus áiteanna eile …

It will be a year to the day this Saturday since the general election. One of the crucial areas that came up time and time again on the doors in Kildare North was the lack of social infrastructure keeping pace with the new houses being built. I am sure the Tánaiste has experienced this as well in his own constituency, the neighbouring constituency of Wicklow. What I would like to raise today is school admissions, particularly for secondary schools. In Maynooth, Celbridge, Leixlip, Clane, Kilcock, Naas, Prosperous a…

One frustration of school principals as well is that when the Department comes out looking for more spaces, it looks at communal spaces or an office and tries to say they could be classrooms. We have to protect those communal spaces for students as well. Whenever I speak in this Chamber, I always try to come with solutions rather than just raising issues all the time. I have some solutions that I would like the Tánaiste to take back to the Minister. As I mentioned, one is the capacity planning linked to demographic…

We have seen that the N4 and N7 are like car parks at the moment. I believe part of that is due to service unreliability of some of the routes, particularly the C4 and W6 routes, after huge investment in BusConnects. On the C4 route, we see persistent cancellations, ghost buses and severe overcrowding. With the W6, we see the removal of the post-4 p.m. service, which is impacting students and commuters. There are then repeated delays and cancellations. I have two proposed solutions. One is timetable staggering. At …

Following the European Council meeting, there were significant issues discussed, between Ukraine, defence, the Middle East, competitiveness, climate and digital transitions, but particularly housing. Often, when we speak about housing, not only in this House but across the country, we think that it is an isolated problem in Ireland. What we are seeing is that this is a problem facing all of Europe. It is the first time that housing has featured in European Council conclusions. The Commission has been tasked with a …

I acknowledge the Minister's ongoing efforts relating to this emotive issue, particularly in relation to CHI. I thank her for her help with some constituents in Kildare North and her work with the families. It is important that is acknowledged. However, it is incumbent upon me to speak of the hundreds of children still waiting for spinal operations that are time-sensitive. In October, CHI reported 223 children on a spinal surgery list. Around 140 of them are actively waiting. That means they are ready for surgery b…

I would like to raise today the difficulty in securing timely appointments with the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS. From a response to a parliamentary question I raised last month, I can confirm that nationally, over 4,000 children are waiting for their first CAMHS appointment and 605 of those have been waiting more than a year. I will give one example from my constituency. A young person who was first referred in 2021 and later discharged, was then referred again in 2025. This was declined and …

The climate action plan sets out ambitious offshore targets of 5 GW by 2030 and up to 20 GW by 2040. However, none of the offshore projects are yet operational as the Minister has mentioned and the first grid connections are not expected until 2028. Will the Minister outline how the Government intends to accelerate delivery, specifically the current offshore pipeline aligned with the climate action plan 2025 targets? What progress has been made on grid integration and planning reform to ensure those targets are act…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. We all share the same ambition but I fear there is now a growing gap sometimes between the aspiration and delivery. It is not just in relation to energy. We have been discussing this ad nauseam in terms of different areas of society. Seven phase 1 projects have maritime area consents, as the Minister mentioned, totalling around 4.2 GW, yet none are near construction. The delays in both grid readiness and planning are stalling progress. I appreciate the Minister's involvement in trying…

I thank the Minister. We need to look at introducing statutory timelines for consenting decisions and publish a delivery roadmap linking planning, grid and construction milestones. Without the joined up approach, we risk not only missing our 2030 targets but also the legally binding carbon budgets too, which is important to mention. It is not just about missing or meeting our climate targets. Offshore wind is Ireland's single biggest opportunity to secure our own clean energy, cut bills for families, as the Ministe…

This time last year we were in the middle of the campaign to be elected to this House. The primary issue in Kildare was the lack of critical infrastructure, including social infrastructure, especially in the north of the county. During the housing crisis throughout the country, Kildare has taken a lot of the housing, particularly as a result of the pressures on Dublin. I welcome a lot of that housing. I am living in a house that was built in recent years. I welcome more housing in my constituency. We saw a 12.8% in…

I appreciate the response. One of the key things the Minister of State said was that this is to boost the delivery of new homes. The investments in Kildare North are primarily to accommodate new homes being built. My point is that investment is not being made in the social infrastructure that is required for the existing population, notwithstanding the future population. DART+ and improvements to water infrastructure are welcome but let us be real here. This is about allowing more homes to be built in Kildare. As I…

It is imperative that all of us condemn all violence and intimidation of international protection applicants at IPAS centres, which many applicants call home. Across Europe, every country is facing the same challenge, namely how to manage immigration fairly and firmly. Ireland is no different from its European counterparts. They have tightened their systems, sped up decisions and focused support on those who genuinely need protection. Ireland is now mirroring many of those same measures. We have started to cut proc…

Rural communities in Kildare North are experiencing increasingly frequent power outages. These are often outside of severe weather events. I am cognisant of the colder weather and darker days that are coming upon us. Areas such as Newtown, Dunfierth, Donadea and Johnstownbridge are being consistently impacted, which is impacting households, families, farms, small businesses, etc. Will the Taoiseach liaise with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to outline what specific grid resilience upgr…

I spent my summer months drafting my first Bill to establish a national AI office. I was delighted to see on 8 September the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, announcing that this office will be established. Indeed, in the budget last week funding was allocated for this very office. Can the Cabinet committee consider naming this office an oifig náisiúnta um intleacht shaorga, or ONIS for short? It is a good name, one we can all remember. It also fits with in with Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla as well. It is a name peopl…

Like most of us, I welcome the peace deal between Palestine and Israel. I remain hopeful that we will see positive outcomes from the negotiations. I commend the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, our MEPs and, indeed, our diplomatic corps who have worked tirelessly to share our mission and how we believe what was occurring in Palestine was genocide. I am shocked that I am the first person today to raise this. No leaders of the Opposition raised this during Leaders' Questions. Indeed, today, during Taoiseach's questions, I am…

Brilliant.

This year's budget is about targeted investment to support those who need it most, while also ensuring that we plan wisely for the future. It is about looking after people today while securing the economic foundation for the generations ahead. I welcome the strong focus on social protection, particularly the increase in weekly core welfare rates, which will benefit 1.5 million people. The expansion of the child support payment and changes to the working family payment threshold are targeted and sensible. These meas…

I appreciate the opportunity to raise this issue, but I do so with anger and frustration on behalf of Evan Gardiner and his family, who are constituents of mine in Kildare North who have been utterly failed by Children's Health Ireland and by the system. In September 2022, Evan was assessed by Mr. Pat O'Toole, who recommended urgent surgeries on his knees, his ankles and, potentially, his hip. The advice was unambiguous: without intervention Evan faced the risk of lifelong mobility issues, including possible wheelc…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. This surgery was scheduled previously, and it was cancelled. Surgery is a traumatic and worrying period for any person no matter what age. For any of us with children, it is even more worrying and scary. Then for the child, it is extremely traumatic, and how a parent deals with that is extremely difficult. For surgery to be scheduled, cancelled, rescheduled and cancelled is far more difficult on a family than the actual surgery itself in a lot of instances because of the fear th…