I wish to explain to the House and the Senators that I was in the Dáil Chamber and I was to be relieved at 11 a.m. to come in here to take this matter, but there was some kind of a mix-up. I was not relieved until 11.30 a.m. and I came straight here then. I thank Senator Rabbitte for giving me the opportunity to update the House on Coillte’s plans for Portumna Forest Park. Coillte, which is the custodian of our public forest estate, currently manages 440,000 ha of land, which represents 7% of the total area of the …

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue, which I know she is very familiar with. I will bring all of the points raised by the Senator to the attention of Coillte.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that the Government: — remains deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and Gulf; — recognises and understands the pressures that have arisen due to rising fuel costs as a result of the conflict in the Middle East for all families and businesses, in particular for sectors most reliant on fossil fuels; — highlights that successive Budgets have provided targeted support to help households with c…

The Irish horticulture sector provides locally grown, quality food and plants and plays a crucial role in supporting the economy. The farm gate value of the sector in 2025 was €652 million, with an estimated 18,000 jobs at both primary and value-added levels. The National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027 sets out a clear vision to grow a more profitable value-added sector, driven by innovation and sustainability, and provides a roadmap for the sector to achieve this potential. It outlines eight key strategic act…

The Deputy mentioned the significant challenge in relation to labour for growers, specifically relating to seasonal workers. A seasonal employment permit pilot scheme took place in 2025 for those sectors in horticulture with a seasonal need for more employees. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment carried out an evaluation of the pilot, which was published on 9 June. The recommendations in the report are to initiate a phase 2 pilot to fully test the scheme. It is recommended this pilot again be in th…

The strategy to grow the horticulture sector is set out in our National Strategy for Horticulture 2023-2027. That sets out a clear vision to grow a more profitable, value-added sector, driven by innovation and sustainability, and to provide a roadmap for the sector to achieve this potential. The strategy outlines eight key strategic actions to drive change and growth across all subsectors. The strategy has had its mid-term review and was published in the final quarter of last year. Good progress has been made on th…

I thank all of the Members of the House for their contributions to the debate and I look forward to their support for the Bill as it is considered further on Committee Stage. All of the points raised by the various speakers will, of course, be considered in due course. It is wonderful to have the potential to deliver a scheme that promises to widen the scope of what community pharmacies can deliver, add convenience for many patients and deliver cost savings. We also hope the scheme, along with the common conditions…

On behalf of the Minister for Transport, I thank the Deputies for raising these important issues. On 1 April, the Road Traffic Control of Certain Vehicles Regulations 2026, known as Grace's law in memory of Grace Lynch, were signed into law. These regulations implement an explicit ban on scrambler use in any public place and strengthen existing provisions and powers of enforcement by An Garda Síochána. Since July 2023, off-road scramblers have been illegal for use on public roads and it has also been illegal to dri…

The Department of Transport is examining the issue of mandating the use of protective equipment for e-scooters and e-bikes along with other road safety-focused measures. Proposals in this regard are under consideration by the Ministers. The Department is also considering the matter of registration for e-scooters. Any system of mandatary registration requires significant development work to act effectively and efficiently. A registration system for e-scooters would need to address issues including how to verify the …

I thank Deputy O’Connor for raising the proposed routes for east Cork. The Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport but neither he nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. I am sure the Deputy knows that. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the National Transport Authority. The NTA works with the public transport operators wh…

Rather than rehashing what I was given as a closing statement, I will convey to the Minister for Transport and his officials the points raised by Deputy O'Connor in relation to his constituents in east Cork and about the new routes which are available. He is well aware of the commitment of the Government and the commitments in the programme for Government to continue to roll out public transport services and to provide as much co-ordination and linkages as possible. That being said, there is a backdrop of challenge…

I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising the issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Heydon. I will convey to him her disappointment at the lack of engagement that she pointed out. Reform of legislation governing dog welfare is a key priority for the Government. In order to bring a coherent approach to dog control, policy and legislative responsibility under both the Control of Dogs Act 1986 and the Dog Breeding Establishments Act 2010 transferred to our Department last year. In both cases, local auth…

I again thank the Deputy for raising these issues. Animal welfare is something we all take very seriously and that we are all very committed to. It is opportune that this legislation is being updated. A lot of the points Deputy Whitmore has made are very valid. I respect her in that regard. I will ask the officials to send the Deputy an update on the two consultations she has referred to.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I welcome the opportunity to address how we can further increase public participation and interest in the European Union. Our current six-month term of Presidency of the Council of the European Union is a unique opportunity to engage with people across Ireland and the European Union. It is our priority to ensure that the Presidency is experienced by all citizens and communities across Ireland. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, earlier this year set out her intention to maximis…

The strategy I referred to, A Career for EU, is delivering results. Ireland has 43 permanent officials at key entry grades in the European Commission as of December 2025. That is up from 30 in 2022. A total of 1,733 Irish people applied to the AD5 competition, which is the first large-scale graduate recruitment competition since 2019, placing Ireland tenth out of the 27 member states on a per capita basis. In January of 2026, Dr. Lorraine Nolan took up office as the executive director of the European Union Drugs Ag…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter and providing me with an opportunity to update the House. I am replying on behalf of the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne. Tenancy sustainment, or tenant in situ , is not a stand-alone programme or scheme. It is a priority category under the Department of housing's social housing second-hand acquisitions programme which helps prevent social housing supported households in the private rental sector from becoming homeless. Such acquisitions are an option f…

I will absolutely bring the comments the Deputy has made on behalf of her constituents to the attention of the Minister. I will also convey to him her comments on how Fingal County Council has exhausted the process. I will make him aware of that.

I convey the apologies of the Minister, Deputy Heydon, who is unable to attend. I am taking the debate on behalf of the Government. I wish to clearly state at the outset that the area of animal welfare is of the utmost importance to me, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Government as a whole. Our Department devotes considerable resources to protecting the well-being of animals and dealing with breaches of animal welfare legislation. The Government remains fully committed to promoting good p…

I am not.

That is a nonsense comparison.