I thank the Senator for raising the issue. I am sure the Minister for Health will be agreeable to meeting with the Senator and to discuss the matter further. As TDs and Senators, parents always come to us regarding the oral hygiene of students, particularly those going to the national schools and secondary schools and those who use medical cards. It is important we can try to progress and move that forward. I am sure that the Minister will be open to discussing this matter further with the Senator.

Go raibh maith agat, Deputy Geoghegan, for the question. I am a great supporter of the farmer markets and organic food markets. In 2023 the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine awarded €1.1 million to 12 projects to promote and develop the organic sector over 2023 and 2024. One of the successful applications was to hold an organic food fair in Merrion Square, and this was a well-attended event that took place on 31 August and 1 September 2024. In 2024, the Department held a call to promote and develop sho…

I thank the Deputy for his comments. It is great that a Dublin TD is talking about farmers' markets, which is very important. I spoke about this in my first speech to this Dáil when a number of the TDs from Dublin were talking about the farming community. Farmers put an awful lot into the economy in Ireland and I am great a supporter of farmers' markets. We have very successful ones in Galway and Galway City Council tries to support an organic farmers produce sales in the Black Box Theatre, which has been very succ…

I agree with the Deputy on that and I will look at it, along with my colleagues here. The second call closed on 7 March and relates to a €3 million fund to develop and promote our organic sector to cover the period of 2025 to 2027. The applicants were asked to submit their applications for that. It is in process at the moment and the announcements will hopefully be made by the end of April. I hope more organic markets like this will be in our towns and villages around the country but it would be great to see more o…

I thank Deputy Byrne for submitting this question. The Department operates a number of schemes in the horticulture sector. They may be availed of by wine producers in the context of the grape-growing aspect of their production. The two schemes are the scheme for investment aid for innovation and diversification in horticulture, which supports feasibility and desk studies, and the scheme of investment aid for innovation and diversification in horticulture, which provides funding for capital investment. These schemes…

It is important to note that my officials participated in the European Commission high-level wine group last year. This group was established to develop policy recommendations to address issues in the European wine sector. While primarily aimed at reducing burdens currently impacting larger wine-producing countries, the final recommendations document produced by the group also recognised the importance of new and emerging wine producing countries, including Ireland. This may present an opportunity for further expan…

One of the first meetings I had when I was appointed was with Bord Bia. I was very impressed with the organisation. It has 14 offices around the world. We export to 114 countries and many of those exports are drinks that are produced in Ireland. If we can promote the wine industry here, I am sure Bord Bia will be delighted to do so. I will be happy to work with Deputy Byrne to ensure that happens.

I am delighted to vote confidence in the Ceann Comhairle. Verona Murphy is a formidable lady and the first woman ever elected to the office. Despite encountering difficulty in carrying out the duties of the office, she has always been impartial, fair and independent in her actions. Verona was first elected to represent Wexford in 2020. Since then, she has proven to be a strong voice for her constituents and for the Irish people. Verona was always a hard worker and a trailblazer for women. Having established her own…

Hear, hear. They should be ashamed of themselves.

You should withdraw it.

Deputy Bacik should withdraw that comment. They got elected here the same as her.

Hear, hear.

Get a majority and vote it down.

You still do not have enough for Government.

I thank everyone for their contributions and for their messages of goodwill to the Minister, Deputy Heydon, and me. My good friend, Deputy Fitzmaurice, said they were giving us a short stay of execution. I hope I get a bit of a longer one because I am only new in this Department, while the Minister has been there for the past five years. Listening to the debate, I note what Deputy Fitzmaurice said about going out to the land and walking through the cattle. I grew up on a farm and my job every weekend was to milk th…

I know. It was my first speech as a Minister of State.

Under the Constitution, the total number of Members of this House has to be at least one per 30,000 of the population. The Economic and Social Research Institute is forecasting that by the year 2040, Ireland's population will have grown by more than 900,000 based on current numbers. The CSO predicts a highest growth scenario over the next 30 years of double that number, which would put Ireland's population at more than 7 million in 2057. That would mean that the number of TDs would have to increase from the current…

Over the past number of years, the Government has put several referendums to the people, mostly recently and notably the 39th and 40th amendments that were defeated earlier this year. The latest referendums were badly thought out and impossible to clearly explain. The resounding "No" vote made it clear that the people are not prepared to alter the Constitution without good reason. A proposal to cap the number of TDs, bringing Ireland's Parliament into line with other EU countries, is a question that the people shou…

My colleagues and I in the Regional Group have consistently supported the reduced rate of VAT for businesses in the food and hospitality sector because of the huge importance of this sector to the fabric of our communities. Tourism is a vital contributor to the economy of Ireland, particularly the west and Galway, but also to the survival of some communities in areas where there is little or no other employment and which in the past have been ravaged by emigration. We need to support the local café in the small vil…

I thank my colleagues and Cáit Nic Amhlaoibh for bringing this motion before the House. I also thank the Minister of State for being here this morning. It is a very important motion and I hope the Government will support it. As my colleague Deputy Canney said, I hope this will be included in the forthcoming budget. I am sure there is not a single person in this House who does not have great regard for the thousands of people acting as carers the length and breadth of Ireland and for the invaluable work they do. How…