I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. The Government is acutely aware of the pressure that the rising interest rate environment may have on borrowers. In light of this, the Minister convened a meeting with lenders active in the mortgage market on 31 August. The Central Bank of Ireland, the Insolvency Service of Ireland, the Citizens Information Board and the Money Advice and Budgeting Service, MABS, also attended. Following this meeting, on 6 September, the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland…

I again thank the Deputy for raising the issue. In the first instance, I would encourage any person who is experiencing a repayment difficulty, or who has any other genuine concern in respect of their mortgage, to contact their mortgage creditor to discuss the matter. Of course, it is also essential that, in turn, these Central Bank-regulated entities, irrespective of whether they are a bank, a retail credit or a credit servicing firm, constructively engage with their borrowers to address any legitimate concern rai…

I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for the opportunity to address the issue of the expansion of dental care for patients and increased fees for dental contractors. The dental treatment service scheme, DTSS, provides dental care free of charge to medical card holders aged 16 and over. Services available annually and on demand include an examination covering preventative advice, two fillings, emergency extractions and a scale a…

I have listened to the Deputy and colleagues in the Chamber and have taken onboard the points made. I assure the Deputy that addressing access to dental care, including for adult medical card holders, is a top priority for the Minister and the Government. The Minister made substantial additional investment in oral healthcare services both in 2022 and 2023. Fundamental reforms are also being progressed through the implementation of the national oral health policy, for which funding has been provided this year. The p…

I thank the Deputy. I can appreciate her frustration. I am not in a position, based on what I have before me, to give her any specific answer or comfort in regard to the issue she has raised with particular reference to Galway and the issues people there are enduring. More generally, I have been given an update to give her, of which she is aware, regarding the supports which the Government has made available. The Government today extended the Government’s emergency business flooding schemes to cover small businesse…

I will convey the Deputy's frustration to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and to the Minister and Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works. I will convey to them what the Deputy has said about the length of time this has taken and I will ask them to give her a full response.

I hope the reply will be of use to the Deputy. The Department has placed an unrelenting focus on the area of apprenticeships. One of the first actions the Minister, Deputy Harris, and I took was to publish a dedicated action plan for apprenticeships to drive this important reform. The impact has been clear. The growth in apprenticeships in recent years has been significant. Since 2021, more than 22,000 people have started their journey as apprentices. Craft apprenticeship registrations for 2022 and 2021 were in tot…

We will send the numbers to the Deputy afterwards. At the end of September 2023, 8,757 apprentices were waiting to access off-the-job training, of which 5,345 were waiting longer than six months. At phase 2, there were 7,096 apprentices, of which 5,194 were waiting longer than six months. At phases 4 and 6, there were 1,161 apprentices, of which 51 were waiting longer than six months. I do not accept we have taken the eye off the ball. SOLAS and the NAO are leading on developing a series of options, which will sign…

I recognise and acknowledge the concerns raised by the Deputies. Suffice it to say the eye was not taken off the ball on this. It has been a continual focus within our Department. At the same time, we have to protect the quality of training provided and we had to build capacity to deal with the backlog. The backlog has dropped since 2021 from in excess of 11,000 to approximately 7,500. The will and resources are there to eliminate that backlog by the end of next year. It is a high priority for us. We, of course, re…

I am glad to inform the Deputy that procedures have been put in place by SOLAS allowing for apprentices resident in the Republic to be employed outside the State, including in the North. The Department has been advised by SOLAS that the conditions are that the relevant employer is approved and registered to train apprentices and complies with specific taxation and company registration requirements, along with the appointment of a company representative to have overall responsibility for training the apprentices. I …

As I said, we will endeavour to send the Deputy the information or criteria post-haste after this session.

I thank all the Senators who contributed. The Minister and I readily acknowledge that students face many obstacles in choosing and completing third level education. The current cost-of-living and housing difficulties are acutely felt by third level students. However, the steps implemented by this Government seek to erode those obstacles and provide more opportunities and supports to those who wish to start, or indeed reignite their lifelong learning as mature students. We are working closely with the higher educati…

I think they missed their slot but we will allow it anyway.

The Acting Chair is a very fair air traffic controller. They missed their landing slot but we will allow them to land.

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. We appreciate the opportunity to set out the important progress being made by the Government in terms of providing affordable housing solutions to those on modest incomes who are above the income thresholds for social housing. We are all aware of the scale of the housing task we face and of the profound impact that the consequences of housing supply challenges and affordability have on the daily lives of so many individuals and families. We understand the imperative…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan. I will clarify that the Minister for Transport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport but neither the Minister nor his officials are involved in the day-to-day operation of public transport services. The statutory responsibility for securing the provision of public passenger transport services rests nationally with the National Transport Authority, N…

I would like to acknowledge that Deputy Ó Ríordáin has raised this Topical Issue relating to lift access in Clongriffin. On behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, the matter raised is one in which the Minister has no direct function. However, planning plays an important role in enabling the alignment of housing delivery with infrastructure provision through the policy measures of the development plan and also by way of planning conditions attached to a grant of pe…

I will absolutely convey Deputy Ó Ríordáin’s concerns and those of his constituents in the community that he represents to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and indeed to the Minister for Transport. I think the Deputy is quite right and justified and he has presented a very reasonable case as to why this problem has to be rectified. I have read some of the local media reportage of it. It is far from satisfactory. I do think there are many ways in which this can be resolved. The Deputy has rai…

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. Before I address the specific issues raised, I would like to provide an outline of the extent of the school transport scheme. The scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022-23 school year, more than 149,000 children, including more than 18,000 children with special educational needs, SEN, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. In addition, school trans…

I concur wholeheartedly with what you have said, a Cheann Comhairle, in this regard. The criticism Deputy Whitmore has raised about there being no mention of Wicklow is valid. Equally, I am grappling with what the Deputy articulated in my constituency in Limerick. What is being experienced in County Wicklow is the same in Limerick. We are trying to work through that. The Deputy did not mention it but the reply prepared for me mentions the issue of the shortage of drivers. It has been raised by everybody around this…