We would appreciate that opportunity from the committee's perspective. I will pass that onto the committee. To come back to the matter of the United States, the US is a long-term ally of Europe and Ireland. Irrespective of what Administration is in place in the United States and the coming and goings of individual Administrations, that relationship is important for Ireland and Europe in the long term. When it comes to formulation, engagement and leadership in the coming period, I ask that Ireland try to take a lead…

I want to raise the issue of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, with the Minister. Because it is used in medical, industrial and commercial applications, nitrous oxide is cheap and accessible, but it is also extremely harmful. I am sure the Minister has seen the discarded containers, small silver bullets and big industrial containers. You see them in parks, car parks and playgrounds across the city. It is a big disposal issue and a nightmare for Dublin City Council and other local authorities. I went to a waste-to-ene…

Darndale Park playground was vandalised in May and closed, needing repair, by Dublin City Council. Eco toilets were installed recently in St. Anne's Park and a week, later, on 26 October, they were set on fire. Kilmore playground was lobbied and campaigned for by the local community for years. The city council went through a big process to put the facility in, and rightly so. Last Sunday, there was an arson attack on the playground. I went there the day after the attack. The Minister of State can see how it looks n…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I call for anybody who has any information on any of these incidents, particularly in my area of Dublin Bay North, to report them to Coolock Garda station. We must get to the bottom of this. By way of more background on Darndale Park, I received an email from a teacher in Our Lady Immaculate school in Darndale. She states: "The playground located behind the school has been closed on over 600 children between the two schools and the Jigsaw crèche. [They] have missed ou…

My question is about the changes arising from the roll-out of BusConnects across Dublin and the accessibility issues that are coming into focus. We need to ensure that our public transport system is fully accessible to all who rely on it. I ask the Minister of State to outline the plans to ensure that public transport systems like BusConnects and the improvements being made to the Dublin Bus network are fully accessible to all.

I fully support BusConnects. As the Minister of State mentioned, there is major investment going into that programme, which has been under way for a number of years. Nonetheless, it is important that it is accessible. The Clongriffin corridor of BusConnects is heading for CPO in my own area, and it will plug into the great work done by Dublin City Council on the C2CC. However, we have had accessibility issues raised with us by constituents in regard to phase 7 of that roll-out. The 123 bus service in my and Deputy …

I welcome the ambition to add to the capacity of Dublin Bus’s network and to make it more efficient. They are the fundamental principles of BusConnects. The benefits to the city and the wider Dublin area, all the way from the suburbs into the city centre and beyond, are enormous. However, there is still some way to go. To go back to the 73 service, buses are bunching, with two or three buses in a row and then no bus coming for 30 to 40 minutes. Again, senior citizens are left standing. The bus stop on Eden Quay doe…

In the week when the two-week COP30 summit started without, regrettably, the involvement of the USA, it is vital that we remain steadfast and committed and that we redouble our efforts to hit our climate targets. The Joint Committee on Climate, the Environment and Energy has been looking at this topic. In that context, I want to raise the issue of decarbonising home heating. Perhaps the most challenging barrier that we see is the need to install 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes by 2030. This is a huge challenge…

As the Tánaiste says, the enemy of the good is the best. There is a risk that we will go down that road. The barriers are not insurmountable but they require a bit of thought and some practical, sensible solutions to build on what has been done already. When it comes to climate work, what often happens is that affordability for the punter seems to play second fiddle to the work that is being done. I am not denigrating the work that is being done, but we have to keep an awareness of affordability for the punters out…

It is not really fair to have to follow Deputy Boyd Barrett, but I will kick the ball that is in front of me, which is Science Week. This week, we celebrate Science Week, a national event that for 30 years has brought communities, schools and researchers together to explore and celebrate the power and potential of science in shaping our society. The theme for this year, "Then. Today. Tomorrow.”, invites us to look back at how science has transformed Ireland, to recognise the role it plays in our day-to-day lives an…

Ba mhaith liom ceist Ghaelcholáiste Reachrann a ardú. This is a fabulous school community of students, parents and teachers who have been waiting a quarter of a century now for a new school building which they really badly need. That community was buoyed up by a visit from the Minister for education, Deputy McEntee. It was a very positive and productive visit earlier this year and built up a good rapport with the school. When can we get this school project out to tender, so that the school community finally gets th…

My question today is about how we can strengthen our national resilience against future storms in the wake of Storm Éowyn and how new technologies can be used to better protect our communities. I want to ask the Minister of State when she expects the mission critical communications system to be fully operational and will she make a statement on the matter.

I thank the Minister of State. It is good to hear that it has been trialled and it is getting up and running. This system will build greater resilience in our emergency communications. As the Minister of State said, it is kind of a system of systems so it gives us a last resort in terms of response. I referred to Storm Éowyn. We all know that storms are getting worse. All the weather records show that. Storm Éowyn is out on its own in terms of the impact on the west of Ireland and I suppose we are all so cognisant …

It is positive that we can have an influence on that while we hold the Presidency of the Council. It is good to hear about Westport. Storm Éowyn was a west of Ireland problem in the main and testing the system off the west coast in Westport was a positive development. It would be great to keep the plan moving. We will no doubt hear more about it in due course in the context of the EU Presidency underpinning further work. I thank the Minister of State.

I welcome the Bill. The Minister of State will be familiar with the impact of Storm Éowyn and how it hit the west of Ireland in particular. Any investment in ESB Networks that helps to build resilience for the future is to be welcomed. I am fully supportive of it. Over the coming years, the ESB's investment plan will see the delivery of more than 500 capital projects - a huge number - including 181 km of new overhead lines, underground cabling, upgraded substations, new substations and 50,000 new poles. It is reall…

Thankfully, the issue of men's health has received a lot more attention in recent years, as the statistics are pretty stark. According to the Movember report, 42% of all male deaths in 2022 were premature, with the male death rate higher across all five leading causes of death. These are members of our families dying prematurely and leaving behind an irreplaceable hole in their communities. The impact of Covid should not be underestimated. The pandemic was a perfect storm for many who suffered from or were suscepti…

My question is about a growing but unseen issue in our communities, which is online fraud. I will give one example from a constituent this morning. The lady went on booking.com looking to book a holiday apartment. She responded to an ad and entered her contact details. She got a phone call back from somebody with an Irish accent who directed her to another site. She put in her details and got scammed out of €4,300. She has absolutely no recourse and booking.com is not interested because she went off its platform so…

I echo Deputy O'Callaghan's comments. The five Dublin Bay North Deputies are here together. The Minister of State has worked with us before on Belmayne Educate Together. This underlines the importance of the issue for the community. There is a very committed community of students, parents and teachers who have been waiting for 25 years for that building. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, visited earlier this year and witnessed first-hand the commitment of the teachers, students and parents to education in the difficult…

It is a bit frustrating. We are all fully committed to this project and are waiting for officials to make what should be a no-brainer of a decision, given where the project is, what the community is at and where we need to go. I urge the Minister of State to keep pressure on departmental officials and get the decision made quickly so we can get through this gate and the community can move on and start planning for a fine new building that is so badly needed.

I represent many working-class communities on the northside, so I do not accept the Deputy’s analysis at all.