Today 125,000 carers across the State will receive the support grant of €1,850. This was announced by the Minister today. Contained in the press release was an announcement that the Government will put place measures to provide paid pension contributions for long-term carers who have been caring for more than 20 years. These are people who are saving the State money and who are providing quality care. When they retire, they have an entitlement to retire and have financial security like any other workers in the Stat…

It is interesting when we have Bills where there is large amount of consensus, it often gives us the time in this House to talk about the other issues we would like to address to solve the core issue we are dealing with. I do not think we should underestimate the importance of the Bill. Deputy Catherine Murphy is right that there is always the potential for legislation to be a cheap way of looking like we are trying to solve a problem, but I do not believe that is the case in this situation. The reason I do not bel…

I welcome the opportunity to raise again the issue of Gealscoil Uí Earcáin, Fionnghlas. I have had the pleasure in this House of speaking about the fantastic work done by the principal, parents and teachers of the school and also the great environment created principally by the children. Unfortunately, the school is very old. I attended it when it was under the patronage of the De La Salle.

It was. Having visited it recently, I was genuinely shocked to find that many of its fixtures and fittings were in place when I was a pupil. The school's condition is unlike that of my secondary school, which has been completely transformed. The windows are held together with plywood and there are large gaps in them. There is woodworm in old parquet floors, which are coming apart, and the hall is in really poor condition. The surface of the yard is incredibly uneven. The building has no accessibility elements at al…

I welcome the Minister of State's outline of the process. In replies that constituency colleagues and I have been receiving since last year, it was promised that we would be at this stage many months ago. It is frustrating that an "accelerated" process has been anything but accelerated. I have very few focal Gaeilge, but the Minister of State would want to be telling the officials in the Department of Education "go tapaidh". Last May, the Minister informed the House that the tender for the design phase would take 1…

Surprise, surprise,

I am aware that the Government is committed to increasing the capacity of existing special schools and providing new ones. In that vein, I ask the Tánaiste to do what he can to ensure the Department of Education will press ahead with the accelerated delivery of architectural planning and tendering, ADAPT, application for Scoil Chiaráin, which is at stage 2B at present. In asking the question, I am thinking of Dean Malone and his mother, Helen, who have been in contact with me and are waiting desperately for a place…

Shocking.

I have been surprised by the running order of speakers, particularly as some people ahead of me on the list did not contribute. Regarding the issue of biodiversity, certainly from my experience, it is a process of education. Some of the best ambassadors I have seen for the issue of biodiversity are the local Tidy Towns groups around the country. These also demonstrate how, when we invest in educating the public on the issue of biodiversity, it not only becomes an issue they can get behind but also one they can sign…

That is what she did last year.

I acknowledge the question was tabled by Deputy Crowe and appreciate him being present. Will the Minister update the House on whether she has considered expanding the child benefit payment for those in full-time education up to the age of 22? That situation existed in the past and we would like to see the scheme expanded.

I thank the Minister for the answer. It is a fairly detailed response and it is costed. As for the response the Government has made in terms of the cost-of-living crisis, despite the criticisms across the House we did take measures that were both targeted and more general. The genesis of this question comes from many queries to our offices from people who would not have been receipt of any other payment. They greatly appreciated the child benefit payments, the double payment that was made before Christmas, as well …

The way the Government has responded has been creative. It has looked for measures that can be rolled out quite quickly. In many cases, that can mean that it is perhaps not as targeted. I accept the Minister's point that there is a strong case for people who are over 18 and are in second-level schooling. However, I know that will require a strong case to be made to the Minister for Finance as part of the budget process. Work also could be done with the Minister, Deputy Harris, to reduce the overall cost of people w…

I read an interesting report, published last December, on linking jobseeker's allowance to a person's most recent income. I would appreciate it if the Minister would make a statement on the matter.

Many people who pay PRSI contributions feel that while they contribute to the overall support of the State and people in need, they themselves may get very little in return. It was always pay related social insurance. The idea of this model is that we reflect the actual reality of the shock that happens when somebody loses their job and his or her income drops very significantly. The Minister is right that the pandemic rate of €350 highlighted, in many ways, the inadequacies of how the current social welfare jobsee…

One of the big challenges in delivering the targets in Housing for All is the cost of construction and the effect that has on the unit price. Will the Minister of State comment on the measures being taken by the Department to reduce construction costs?

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome some of the issues he detailed. I am aware of the report that was commissioned by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage which found that construction costs in Dublin were significantly higher - between 15% and 30% higher - than other European cities. When the report was examined, labour costs and also additional specifications were key factors in that difference. I note that those cities that had specifications similar to the Irish standard came in at abou…

I thank the Minister of State for discussing the report. There is much to learn from it. In Dublin city in particular, a clear planning decision has been made that apartments will be the predominant mode. Planners are dictating that. It is for good environmental reasons but the reality is that, as we all know, apartments are significantly more expensive to build and we have to consider how we will provide a city that has affordable housing. The Government has already acknowledged that by providing up to €100,000 or…

On the subject of pilots, I want to congratulate the Minister on the meeting of the Cherry Orchard task force that took place this week. It is not my area but it is very welcome. There is some frustration in the Ballymun area, where there has been very extensive engagement with officials in the Department of An Taoiseach. Funding has been put in place but there is no point having funding if it is not spent wisely. We need access to the senior officials group, which Cherry Orchard, Darndale and the north inner city …

I echo the point the Taoiseach made with respect to the progress we have made. It is worth noting that since the Government came into office, we have built more homes for more people, increased eligibility, built more public homes than ever before and we have a higher total output than has been the case for many years. However, I will flag two matters that the Cabinet sub-committee should examine. The first relates to the approved housing body, AHB, sector, which is producing in volume. We must be careful of the bo…