I thank Senator Carrigy for raising this important issue. St. Christopher's Services is a disability services provider founded in 1964 by parents and friends of disabled people in Longford. It is an independent legal entity governed by a board of directors. The organisation is funded by the HSE's Midlands Louth Meath community healthcare organisation, CHO, under section 39 of the Health Act, with minor funding from other sources. St. Christopher's Services currently provides day, residential and respite services in…

Once again I thank the Senator for his contributions on this matter. The points he has made will be conveyed to both Ministers and the HSE. The Government has demonstrated its continuing commitment to people with disabilities with a record €2.9 billion being provided in 2024. This includes significant additional funding to help increase service capacity to deliver more for people with disabilities across the country. However, it is recognised that several organisations are in a weakened financial state. The financi…

I thank Senator Sherlock for raising this important issue and for offering the opportunity to respond. Home visiting programmes provide support and guidance to expecting parents and parents of babies and young children. Home visiting is a prevention and early intervention strategy used to support parents to promote infant and child health, foster educational development and school readiness, and help prevent child abuse and neglect. Different models of home visiting exist. Home visiting programmes for parents of ba…

Home visiting programmes are recognised as having positive outcomes for families who receive them. The intention of the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman's Department with the additional funding from the children's fund is that an increased number of children and families will benefit from such a service. As mentioned earlier, Traveller and lone parent families will initially be targeted. Based on the evidence gathered, a co-ordinated and prioritised national approach can then be implemented with a view to expanding access…

I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of our colleague, the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, who is in the midlands this morning. The Department would like to thank the Senator for raising this matter, which provides me with an opportunity to outline the position on Castlebar Educate Together National School. I would like to first state to the Senator that officials in the Department of Education are in regular contact with Educate Together regarding the current accommodation requirements for the scho…

I once again thank the Senator for giving me an opportunity to outline the position to the House on Castlebar Educate Together National School. As I have outlined, the Department is engaging with Educate Together on the accommodation that is required in the short, medium and long term. I can assure the Senator that the Department is working to provide a long-term accommodation solution for the school in question. Our officials remain available to work with the school authorities in that regard.

The deposit return scheme, DRS, was introduced to incentivise more people to recycle plastic bottles and cans to help deliver on our ambitious EU targets for the recycling of these products. Under the single-use plastics directive, we are obliged to recycle 90% of our plastic bottles by 2029 with an interim target of 77% by the end of next year. The deposit return scheme will increase the quantity of bottles and cans being collected for recycling and will result in less going to landfill or incineration or becoming…

I have no problem speaking to Leigh Gath. As the Senator will know, she is a constituent of mine. I have spoken to her regularly previously. She did not contact me about this matter. I would be delighted to speak to her afterwards. Re-turn continues to engage widely with all stakeholders and has committed to reviewing accessibility practices considering the needs of customers. There will be a review and this will include work with the National Disability Authority, which is supporting Re-turn in the establishment o…

I thank the Senator for raising this issue for discussion. The Government is acutely aware that increased energy prices have posed significant challenges to households and firms. The drivers of inflation are global in nature and, accordingly, it is not possible for any one government to fully absorb the costs. Therefore, Government policy is focused on temporary and targeted measures aimed at the most vulnerable. The policy response has also been designed to avoid generating second-round effects that could lead to …

The Government recognises that the decision by the UK Government not to restore its excise rates means that the differential for petrol, in particular, will increase between Northern Ireland and this jurisdiction. The Senator will be aware that Ireland and Northern Ireland operate significantly different tax regimes. For example, the VAT rate in the UK is 20% and the UK does not have a carbon tax. Furthermore, Ireland operates a diesel rebate scheme for essential road users and there is a VAT reclaim on diesel for …

I thank Senator O'Reilly for raising this very important issue. Encouraging mothers to breast-feed is a priority, both for the Department of Health and for the HSE. National health policy, including the Healthy Ireland framework, the Healthy Ireland strategic action plan, the national maternity strategy, the obesity policy and action plan, and the national cancer strategy, emphasises the importance of supporting mothers who breast-feed, as well as taking action to increase breast-feeding rates in Ireland. The HSE's…

I thank Senator O'Reilly for raising the very important issue of restricting digital marketing of infant formula. Research indicates that breast-feeding gives a child the optimum start in life and that increasing our breast-feeding rates will contribute to improvements in child and maternal health and can contribute to a reduction in childhood obesity and chronic diseases. The Senator's question has highlighted the need for a regulatory framework to restrict the marketing of breast-milk substitutes, and this work w…

Have a look in the mirror.

I thank Deputy Ó Cuív for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Ryan. At the outset, I would like to clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding regarding public transport but neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day management, operation or planning of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services nationally rests with the…

That is not a problem. I will convey the Deputy's request for the details on the smaller buses and the additional stops to the Minister. I will absolutely convey the Deputy's disappointment with regard to Ros Muc. I will also make the Minister for Transport aware of the Deputy's desire that he develop a policy on the distances between bus stops. Other than that, I do not have anything else to offer by way of supplementary or closing information because the Deputy probably would not be impressed if I read out what I…

I can tell the Deputy that the topic of bus stops is emotive. My own father lobbied me for a bus stop near our house for many years - approximately 15 years - and one arrived there last year but I had nothing to do with it landing there. I will convey all of that.

I would like to thank the Deputy for his ongoing interest in Castletown House and estate. In recent months, the Deputy has made continuous representations through parliamentary questions, Topical Issues and Oireachtas committees with regard to Castletown House and estate. He and the other elected representatives of Kildare North are members of the Castletown House and estate stakeholders’ working group. This working group was initiated by the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donovan, in October 2023 to progress the reun…

I will pick up from where I concluded. The following stage of this proposal envisages that OPW staff and essential contractors access the site via Lime Avenue at predetermined times of the day. The OPW has made written commitments that the volume of traffic would be approximately 20 vehicles per day for OPW staff and essential contractors. People with a disability would also be facilitated with access as required. Arrivals and departures will not occur all at once but will be spread across the windows of access and…

I thank the Deputy for raising this Topical Issue on planning enforcement proceedings in respect of the unauthorised development of log cabins. I would point out that, under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, the Minister with responsibility for planning is specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in respect of any particular case with which a planning authority or the board is or may be concerned. This includes matters relating to enforcement under Part VIII of the …

Of course, and I fully understand the points the Deputy is making. I come across this issue in my own constituency regularly. The Deputy pointed out an instance in my constituency of which he was aware. I will make the Minister aware of the points that the Deputy has raised. The Minister cannot halt an enforcement. Under the law of the land, he cannot step in and write a statutory instrument or create a regulation to halt an enforcement. He just does not have that authority or power as Minister under the planning A…