I will give a short answer to the Deputy's question, but will hopefully cover all of the key points to facilitate an exchange of views on it. I have covered this matter in questions from other Deputies this morning, I will give a broad answer as to the steps we are taking with regard to the availability of data and information. I highlight three, which I believe can make a difference. The first is the publication of the regional reports. That has been underway for each year since 2018. Second, we have a digital map…

If any economist thinks their science is an exact science they are probably worth upsetting. The amount of uncertainty and change that has happened in the economy in the past number of years means predictions and forecasts about what will happen have to be humble and acknowledge the degree of uncertainty and volatility in the global economy and the effect it can have in Ireland. We do our best, through the publication of the regional reports mentioned earlier, to provide relevant information on the status of indivi…

The Minister of State would absolutely agree. His ambition for the mid west is unbounded, as I am sure is the Deputy's.

More and more. I agree with Deputy Leddin's point. I speak as a representative from the heart of Dublin. I am clear that development of the region the Deputy has just made the case for is absolutely consistent with, and a really important part of, our national economic development. It is not about looking to pit or divide different parts of our country against each other. It is about recognising that the city of Dublin is itself already facing into supply constraints. It is facing the challenge of many different pi…

I will again give some brief background on the planning environment relating to this. This scheme was submitted for confirmation by the OPW in August 2018 under the Arterial Drainage Act 1945. In early 2021, the scheme received ministerial confirmation under section 7 of the regulations. It was then subject to judicial review, during which a stay was also granted on works being carried out pending the resolution of these proceedings. In early 2022 and acting on legal advice, my Department conceded the matter on a s…

Absolutely. I fully appreciate the sensitivity of these concerns to communities, which are looking to get protection and to see the risk of flooding mitigated. The scheme has already been subject to judicial review and demonstrates clearly the sensitivity and legal care that needs to be taken in these matters. I find myself in the position of speaking while my Department has a regulatory and approval role that is scrutinised and of which I need to be mindful. At this point, I will simply recognise for the Deputy th…

Of course.

Point taken. For the purposes of complete precision, I recognise the Deputy’s full recognition of, respect for and understanding of the independent processes. What he is justifiably doing as an Oireachtas Member representing this community is making the case for urgency and for the scheme to be moved forward through the independent processes as quickly as possible. I speak on behalf of the approval body, which is why I am being so careful about what I say. All of the processes in respect of this matter and the rele…

I asked the ESRI to give me an assessment of the implementation of the national development plan and the kinds of issue that I believed should be considered in its future. The ESRI is an abundantly authoritative organisation that is well capable of choosing what issues it wants to consider in replying to the mandate I gave it and the piece of work I asked it to do. It is not fully fair to say that the ESRI ignored inflation in this context, as I do not believe that is the case. The ESRI stated that, in an economy t…

I thank the Deputy. The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council made that observation regarding its view on the deficit of capital funding in the time ahead. This is the same organisation that is making the case for the implementation of the 5% spending rule. On the one hand, it is arguing, understandably and I agree with it, that we need to move back to the 5% spending rule. On the other hand, it is saying that we need to increase the value of capital expenditure. That is fine; that is its job. What I and the Government hav…

In fairness, the Minister, Deputy Foley, is making the case very strongly for funding that will allow projects such as that relating to the school in Ballinrobe to which the Deputy referred to go ahead. She is also making the case for people to focus on the issues the Deputy mentioned. Understandably, I am not aware of the specifics of the school in question. Overall, the Minister, Deputy Foley, and I are working very closely together on a regular basis to see whether we can provide further funding to allow project…

As the Deputy is probably aware, the ESRI report notes higher than expected population growth and planning permissions in the eastern and midland region between 2016 and 2020. However, it puts forward a caveat in this regard by acknowledging that the NDP is still in its early stage of development relative to the 2040 targets. However, this is an area of concern for myself and my colleagues as we work to achieve balanced regional development across the State in line with the NDP. We need to consider this issue furth…

I completely agree. The Deputy is dead right. That is why a strength of what we have tried to do so far is to integrate our capital plans and expenditure into the national framework and try to run both together. On the Deputy's point about the need for more forward planning and the need to be more predictable, this is the reason why we have set out capital expenditure ceilings for the entire Government for a number of years in advance. As the Deputy is aware, these are done for a period of an additional four years …

The Government is currently involved in making decisions with regard to the allocation of additional capital funding. What we have coming up is a large selection of significant public transport projects. They are all about the long term and will take many years to build. They will all be complex and demanding but will be worth it in the end. With regard to the opening point the Deputy made about the need to make long-term decisions, particularly with regard to transport that can enable the sustainable development o…

The Minister of State is not lacking political capital, I can tell him.

I am conscious of time and will cut straight to the matter. On 17 January of this year, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications wrote to my Department confirming the consent of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to a pension increase of 4%. On 30 January, officials in my Department agreed to this and I wrote back to the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, which subsequently informed the ESB. Payment of the increase to all pensioners, including t…

The ESB most certainly does have its act together. In fairness to it and other bodies, the pay agreement was only made a couple of weeks ago, with the knock-on impact that it has for all of the other issues in this regard. As I said, the Department wrote to my own Department in the middle of the year and we responded very quickly. This payment will be backdated. I am confident that the ESB will look to expedite it as quickly as possible.

I am privileged and humbled to join colleagues in offering my condolences to Finola, to the Bruton family and especially to our dear friend and colleague, Richard, on the passing of his brother, John. If I may, I will address a word to our colleague, Deputy Richard Bruton. I hope this afternoon that the affection, respect and deep understanding of your brother that has been expressed by many Members of this House, and in particular the affection expressed by Members of this House who worked with him closely but may…

I am here in the Seanad to present the Appropriation Bill 2023. It is a key component of the overall budgetary process. Although it is technical, it is fundamentally important and has to be concluded by both Houses of the Oireachtas before the end of this year. The Bill has two crucial objectives. The first is to authorise in law the spending, which has taken place throughout the year. The Bill provides this lawful basis in line with the Estimates that have been voted on by the Dáil. These amounts are appropriated …

I thank Senator Davitt for recognising the importance of the Bill and supporting its swift passage. His support is much appreciated. Regarding the points made by Senator Kyne, I recognise that the Senator has been raising concerns and issues related to the operation of Inland Fisheries Ireland for some time. I have heard him contribute strongly on this topic at a number of parliamentary party meetings. I will have to consider the particular issue he has raised regarding capital expenditure. As the Senator said, the…