-----at the right time. ADDING TO OUR INFRASTRUCTURE I wish, therefore, to briefly address the funding arising from the recent decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union. These funds are estimated to have a current value of €14.1 billion. This is, as the Minister, Deputy Chambers, acknowledged, a very significant amount of money.

We also need to recognise that this amount is one-off and equal to the sum we are already planning to invest in the national development plan next year alone. It is vital, therefore, that we make the best use of these funds and get the best outcome for the long term. The Government has agreed the principle that these funds will be invested to expand our infrastructure for the future development of the country. We have identified water, electricity, transport and housing as the four strategic investment pillars. Inv…

Today, I am providing an additional €1.7 billion for 2025 for more homes and schools, for improvements in our hospitals and to tackle climate change. This will include an investment of €400 million in the national broadband plan. Next year, total capital investment will be close to €15 billion, the highest annual spend ever in our country. As we focus on infrastructure and the growing needs of our population, the most fundamental of these is having a home in which to live. HOUSING In budget 2025, I am providing ove…

We are working to maintain a safe and secure Ireland and to support where we can overseas. DEFENCE Crucial to this goal is the work of the Defence Forces, for which I am announcing an allocation of €1.35 billion for 2025. This is a 22% increase in the capital investment to a record allocation of €215 million to enable the advancement of major defence equipment and infrastructural upgrades, such as military radar and subsea surveillance projects. In recognition of the significant transformation and reform under way …

It is happening.

I thank Deputy McDonald for raising this issue. Week after week in the Dáil, she and other Deputies, including Government Deputies, raise the ongoing concerns relating to the need to meet the healthcare needs of sick young girls and boys and the improvement we have to make to how healthcare is provided to our youngest. That is why the national children's hospital is so important and why its completion, including the provision of surgery facilities, additional care facilities and bedrooms, is fundamental to how we c…

It does not matter what answer I give to the House. It does not matter how I look to answer Deputy McDonald today. Her response is always going to be the same - to find any answer insufficient and to find any evidence of progress or an attempt to deal with the issue not good enough. I outlined in my answer to her that we do not accept as sufficient or satisfactory where this project stands and that we, too, want to see the hospital open as soon as possible. I have acknowledged at other points, and I do so again tod…

In the Deputy's question to me, she made reference to all the other projects that are under way across our country, whether it be homes or the delivery of public transport. In many cases, the delivery of capital projects by this Government happens in the way the public wants and happens on time. Despite the surge in inflation we have seen in recent years, many of these projects do happen in line with the expectations we have for their cost. I have already acknowledged all the difficulties as regards the delivery of…

-----from the delivery of the children's hospital. Deputy Bacik asks what steps the Government is taking to ensure this hospital is delivered. As she rightly says, the most important thing now is how we learn from what has happened, how we get the hospital open and how we get it providing care to sick young children. What steps are we taking in this regard? Two main steps are being taken. First, as regards the cost of the hospital, the board of the national children's hospital, acting on behalf of the Government, c…

The board is a representative of the State here. The board is taking action on behalf of the Government. The Deputy knows well that that is the case. She is making a claim regarding the Government not being involved in this despite the fact that the board of the hospital is acting on behalf of the Government. As regards the charges the Deputy made regarding the performance of our health services at the moment, what she neglected to say in the charges she made against the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and the Governmen…

I thank Deputy Murphy for raising what is such a deeply important issue for all of us, for the Middle East and for the world. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Government have been at the forefront in responding to and representing the views of the Irish people on the conflict in the Middle East and what this means for the people of Gaza and Lebanon. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste, who are continuing this approach and this work in New York at the UN at present, have at every stage of this awful conflict made the case…

Even in matters of such importance, the Deputy cannot park his normal tactics of allegation and division. The Government has made clear again and again its condemnation of what is happening. It is this Government, with the support of the Oireachtas, that brought forward our recognition of the State of Palestine. It is the same Government that took action to protect UNGA to ensure the distribution of food to those who need it the most. Our Taoiseach and our Tánaiste have been at the front line within the EU in conde…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. We all know that those who provide care to loved ones within the community make an invaluable contribution in supporting those who need help. By doing that, they complement the work of the State and alleviate pressure on our hospitals and nursing homes. Without the work of our carers, the pressures they face would be even bigger. In fairness to my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, this is an issue she really understands. I will come on to the issue …

I meet the same people as Deputy Fitzpatrick does. They do such great work keeping family members out of nursing homes and hospitals, keeping them at home and giving them love and support. I also see the cost and impact it has on them as they provide that support. It is because of that we have made the changes I outlined to the Deputy, which he has been gracious enough to recognise in his supplementary question. In terms of the means-testing element of what the Deputy is making the case for, the Department of Socia…

The Deputy should withdraw that. That is appalling.

Appalling.

Appalling.

I will deal with the different issues that were raised. Deputies raised the ongoing and terrible conflict in the Middle East and the risk of that escalating further. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste are at the United Nations. I am sure that, upon their return, they will be able to deal with the issues or questions that Members of the House want to raise with them. I emphasise again that position regarding the suggestion that the Government has some way been complicit with the passage of munitions through our airspace. I …

You cannot do both.

I have no doubt at all that upon their return from their efforts on behalf of the people who are subject to such violence, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste will be in a position to give an update to the House. Through our words and actions, we have shown our view on this issue. We have and will continue to take whatever actions we can or make the statements that are needed to try to create the conditions and play our role in this terrible war and conflict coming to an end, with those who are innocent losing their liv…