That is half of the amount the Deputy mentioned.

It is not Deputy Doherty's question.

I watched the broadcast.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to conclude the debate on this Stage. I appreciate the comments made by the Deputies this evening. I listened closely to the debate with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, yesterday. I will start by trying to respond to some of the comments and questions that were raised by Government and Opposition Deputies. I welcome Deputy O’Reilly’s strong support for the Bill and I look forward to engaging further with her and other members of the committee on Committee Stage. I also welcome D…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment pursuant to Standing Orders 95 and 181.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this matter in the House. It is always a pleasure to come back. As the Senator will be aware, the increased cost of business scheme is worth €250 million. Not a single cent will be required from local authorities, or indeed the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, to administer it. The fund has been generated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and will be allocated to 31 local authorities. We have decided to use the rates scheme as the mos…

We have looked at the data and the vast majority of the 13% of businesses are large multinationals making large profits. The scheme is targeted at small and medium enterprises, most of which have greater exposure for a number of reasons. These include the fact that they are commercial ratepayers and there has been a rate revaluation in the past couple of years in pretty much every local authority, increased energy costs and increased interest rates on properties they have purchased or are leasing from landlords. To…

I appreciate the Senator raising this topic. It is an issue in an area that the Senator has been such a passionate advocate for, not just in this House, but previously on Dublin City Council as well. That deserves recognition. Dublin City Council has advised the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that it is currently preparing a stage 1 capital appraisal application for the refurbishment and regeneration of Dominick Street West. This application will be for the redevelopment of the three existing …

I share the Senator's disappointment to some extent. I will undertake to ask my colleague in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to write to Dublin City Council. Realistically, it is appropriate for him to write than me. I will act as a conduit because I share the Senator's ambition for this part of the city. The capital is my home too and I know how dedicated she has been to the project for a long time. We all know that a large number of these flat complexes will, effectively, be rebuilt. The …

I thank the Senator for submitting this Commencement matter and giving me the opportunity to update the House on the progress of the new building for Summercove National School in the beautiful town of Kinsale. One does not need to rely on Central Statistics Office, CSO, figures; one can see the sheer activity around Kinsale. We know the population has gone up but the future population will grow exponentially. Anyone who has spent time travelling to that part of the country will have seen the rate of development in…

The Department and project manager will keep school authorities and all relevant bodies informed of further development regarding the completion of stage one and the progression of the major building project. Until the project is at a point at which all statutory approvals have been granted, however, it is not possible to provide an update on the expected on-site date. I will undertake to liaise with the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State at the Department of Education, Deputy Madigan, …

I greatly appreciate the opportunity to reply to Senator's matter. It is always good to see the Senator, regardless of the seriousness of the nature of the debate. This should be reflected. As the Senator alluded to, the Minister for Health has been concerned for some time about the congestion experienced in the emergency department at UHL, leading to long patient experience times and patients waiting on trolleys for admission. There were just under 80,000 attendances at the emergency department in Limerick in 2022…

As I mentioned, significant resources have been invested in UHL in recent years. I want to outline some of what has been invested in and is onstream. We saw an increase in the workforce in UHL of 36%, or 966 whole-time staff, at the end of 2019. Recently the Minister opened new theatre wards in clinical areas in Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. This includes the development of an ambulatory trauma service to facilitate the transfer of trauma patients from UHL for surgery and recovery, improving flow and reducing congest…

I am grateful to the Deputy for raising this important matter and for his consistent advocacy on behalf of businesses throughout Ireland, but particularly in his home town and his home county of Longford. I empathise with many of the points he has made on behalf of the local business person in Longford. There are a few points to address. The first relates specifically to the increased cost of business, ICOB, scheme. It was a major plank of our Department's budget offering a fortnight ago. The scheme is going to be …

I thank the Deputy for the tone of the debate and indeed for the constructive proposal. It is constructive, but it will require quite a bit of reflection from the Government in relation to the abolition of PRSI for lower-paid workers. It would come at a cost, today as well as in the future, and we have to bear that in mind. I will bring it to the attention of both the Minister for Social Protection and the Minister for Finance for reflection. The Deputy mentioned his mother growing up as a shopkeeper. The Ceann Com…

I am very grateful to Deputy Durkan for raising this matter and bringing it to my attention and the attention of the line Ministers responsible. As the Deputy will know, the Government is acutely aware of the pressure that the rising interest rate environment may have on borrowers. In light of this, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, convened a meeting with lenders that are active in the mortgage market on 31 August last. Representatives of the Central Bank of Ireland, the Insolvency Service of Irela…

I share Deputy Durkan's frustration about the removal of the ATM from this campus. We both brought it up at a finance committee meeting over MS Teams when that was how we did committee meetings. Thankfully, those days are gone.

Regarding the matter raised by the Deputy, first and foremost the Government would encourage any person who has experienced a repayment difficulty or has any other genuine concern about their mortgage to contact their mortgage creditor to discuss the matter in the first instance. Of course, it is also essential that the Central Bank-regulated entities, irrespective of whether they are banks, retail credit firms or credit servicing firms, constructively engage with their borrowers to address any legitimate concerns …

Yes.

I will pass on the Deputy's frustrations to the relevant Ministers in the relevant Department. Having been that soldier for long enough, I know how it feels. I will do my best to give the reply justice. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I agree with him that this is an excellent report. It arrived on my desk because it relates directly to my role in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and impacts on many commercial activities and the health and well-being of many employees throughout the co…