The other side of the coin is that we have never had more people in work than we have now and we have never had a bigger public service. As I said a few moments ago, our public service has grown by over one quarter. In health, we have more than 20,000 more full-time equivalents working in the health service than we had before the pandemic. The sheer growth and our successful efforts to recruit so many people into the public service does not point to a significant recruitment problem. I do accept that for many who a…

I fully appreciate the importance of the points that the Deputy is making. The difficulties we have retaining staff can impact on the care we look to make available to citizens and particularly to our very youngest and oldest. However, I would still make the point that overall we have a public service that is a lot bigger than it was a few years ago. That points to the success we have in recruiting and that the public service is still seen as a really good employer, legitimately, by many who are looking to join and…

As the Deputy has asked me such a concise question I will endeavour to give her a concise answer. The work is being carried out by the ESRI which is in the final stages of its completion. I hope to have its paper evaluating our national development plan well in advance of budget 2024.

Yes, it will be published. I have not seen the report, and it is being done independently, but I am sure it will refer to the commitments that we have under climate legislation, but given that it covers the entire national development plan and has to cover all the spending in many different Government areas, it will not be solely focused on that.

I am certain that the massive civilisational challenge that we face with regard to climate will feature in what the ESRI has done but it was asked to do this work by the Government earlier in the year with a view to providing an input to decisions that we will make in the NDP within this year. The Deputy made a point about the lack of transformative projects. I would contend that the work now under way in renewable energy and particularly on offshore renewable energy does have the potential to be transformative for…

The following figures for 2023 are in the public domain and I have no doubt that they have prompted the Deputy's question. At the end of May, the cumulative net capital expenditure for the Department of Transport was €2.343 billion which was 19.1% behind the profile of €2.89 billion. The Department of Transport has a capital underspend versus where it was a year ago. It is not so far behind where it is on profile. I have had a lot of engagement with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, on this. His view is that with co…

As I explained in dealing with the more general questions earlier in this session, it is the responsibility of individual Ministers regarding particular capital projects for which they are responsible. It is also the case at the moment that the Department of Transport in the latest Exchequer returns that we published for May was pointing to a capital underspend. The Minister and his Department are confident that as they move through that year, either that underspend will be minimised or it will come in broadly in l…

There was an underspend last year. I can come back to the Deputy with the figure; I do not have it now. His question referred to particular projects rather than the overall budget. I can get that information for the Deputy and I will make sure he gets it tomorrow. As for projects being abandoned, there is no budgetary reason that I am aware of for projects of a certain level to which the Department is committed stopping. I am not aware of such a reason they cannot move forward. As I said, looking at where we are up…

As the Deputy may be aware, I have overall policy responsibility in respect of public service occupational pension schemes payable to retired public servants. For all new entrants to the public service on or after 6 April 1995 and before 1 January 2013, pension payment comprises three components: a public service occupational pension payable by the public service employer; social insurance benefits payable by the Department of Social Protection; and, where the full rate of the State pension contribution is not paya…

I am aware of some of the issues involved. My Department is engaging with the Department of Justice and other Departments on the matter. We are going to commence a consultative process with stakeholders to see if there is a way in which we can streamline the process involved in accessing the pension and dealing with some related issues. I cannot give the Deputy a commitment or guarantee this evening about whether or how this matter can be resolved, as there are some issues that are important from the point of view …

With respect, the issue Deputy Ó Murchú has raised is completely different from the question I am dealing with at the moment. Deputy Murnane O’Connor is asking me about prison officers whereas Deputy Ó Murchú is asking me about the Defence Forces. I am happy to revert to Deputy Ó Murchú on his issue at some point, but they are different matters.

The question submitted by Deputy Murnane O’Connor refers to an issue that has a particular relevance for a certain group of prison officers and how they are accessing their pensions. We are aware of the issue and we are examining it. If she gives me the specifics of the cases she described, I will feed them into the process. The Minister, Deputy Harris, has also raised the issue with me.

I will indeed. It has just occurred to me that, in the Deputy’s other question on the national development plan, he put to me a specific point about a cycleway or greenway and I did not revert to him. If he gives me details in the context of the discussions I am having with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, on transport funding, I will raise the matter with him. I meant to revert to the Deputy on it.

NSO 7 of the national development plan relates to enhancing amenities and heritage. It recognises that our cultural heritage is as an essential component, not only in our response to the profound climate challenge we are facing, but also in how we make our cities, towns and villages the kinds of environment we want communities to live and prosper in. There are ongoing investments in the maintenance and upgrading of the national parks and nature reserves throughout the country to enhance conservation, improve visito…

I take the Deputy's point. If I look at the projects that are under way in different parts of our country, for example, the greenways we have developed and some of the projects I mentioned, it appears to me that we have a sharp focus on how we can invest in either amenities or sporting facilities to create the kind of atmosphere described by the Deputy. If he has particular projects in mind or knows of examples of things we are not doing, he might share them with me in his response. My own sense of it generally is …

As I said, if the Deputy has particular projects that he believes are not being progressed because we do not have a broad strategy in place for them, I am sure he will let me know about them. When I engage with the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and their officials, I have a sense of their huge commitment to this area and to trying to make a difference. I will follow up on behalf of Deputy O'Sullivan with the Minister of State regarding sports capital funding. I have already…

This refers to our focus on the transition to a lower-carbon and climate-resilient society. The next decade is critical in order to address the climate crisis and this is a core part of the national development plan. In terms of the figures in the plan, through the period out to 2030 an additional €5 billion of the expected €9.5 billion in carbon tax receipts will be invested in energy efficiency. In terms of strategic investment priorities for the sector, this includes supporting the delivery of offshore renewable…

One thing that is for certain is that the Deputy and I will not be in bed by 11 p.m., given the questions we are dealing with here. The night rate is but a dream for us. The Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, has just informed me that there is good news in terms of the roll-out of smart meters as the figure is now up to 1.5 million meters. I understand there is every prospect that we will deliver on the target next year. To be frank, I was not familiar with the issue raised by the Deputy, which will obviously influen…

The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, has a green skills programme under way to help ensure we have the best chance of getting people available to deliver our retrofitting programme. I have an update in respect of where we are with our overall apprenticeship programme. As regards construction, we now have 8,286 total apprenticeship registrations and our total construction apprenticeship has grown to 19,550. The Deputy will be aware that the CAO options porta…

My Department has continued to work closely with the construction sector through the construction sector group, CSG, to improve productivity and delivery capacity. The CSG provides a useful forum for engagement with the sector on these issues. The Building Innovation report published by my Department has identified a range of actions to drive innovation in the sector. There are 43 actions in this report. These are being progressed by key industry players such as the Construction Industry Federation, the Royal Insti…