I would appreciate that. As I said, the naíonraí do brilliant work, like most of our childcare providers. Given they have extra requirements, however, including ensuring their staff are qualified and competent in teaching Irish and instructing in Irish, might an extra increment be applied to their capitation or can anything else be done in this regard? This is something we must examine to ensure we can manage to nurture and foster this positive outlook among people seeking to acquire Irish at a young age. I questio…

Tá brón orm arís a Aire Stáit gur chuir mé an cheist seo isteach i mBéarla. What funding is available to voluntary groups to partake in Irish language activities?

Fáiltím roimh an €8 milliún sin arís. I will follow up in relation to some of the items the Minister of State listed. I am aware that organisations in Cork, such as Gael-Taca Corcaigh, receive funding through the Irish language support scheme. It is great to see that this will continue into the future. I welcome all the other items that the Minister of State listed, from summer camps right down to funding local businesses which conduct their business through the medium of Irish or at least offer that facility. If I…

Chun críochnú, I would welcome any engagement that the Minister of State could afford me and a group in Glanmire which we are hoping to get off the ground. There was an organisation in Dublin that did something similar in Clondalkin in terms of applying for capital funding in a breac-Ghaeltacht or a non-Gaeltacht area. It is good to see that this fund would be available to them. I would invite the Minister of State, on the next occasion when he is in Cork, to meet with that group. At that stage, we might have somet…

It was quoted in today's Irish Independent that at his parliamentary party meeting last night, the Tánaiste said that legislation would be required for the new 10% levy on building blocks and concrete and that further consideration would be afforded to this proposal at a later stage. Unlike some, I believe some type of levy may be required to address mica redress and apartment defects, but I believe now is not the time. Will the Tánaiste clarify what is meant by a further consideration and if this may include a tem…

Despite what we have been listening to across the way over the past number of hours, I am here to commend the work of all Ministers from the three parties on much of the work and investment that has been put in during recent months. With regard to my area of education, the allocation of €50 million for free books for primary schools is encouraging. I have no doubt that in time, once this system is embedded, it will be rolled out at secondary level in a future budget. That is much to be welcomed. I have taught in cl…

I understand Deputy O’Donoghue wants to come back in.

This question was submitted prior to the EU meeting referred to by Deputy Stanton. What engagement has the Minister had with the Minister for Finance regarding a windfall tax on energy companies?

I should have said from the outset that we all know the backdrop to the discussion we are having. Some people might paint the windfall tax as a panacea for all our woes, which it certainly will not be. Many commentators have more or less said that in the past few weeks. An article I read said that the best benefit of a windfall tax might be in the name of social cohesion. I am not so sure if that is why we should be making these types of decisions. Many people will argue that the introduction of a windfall tax woul…

It was encouraging to hear other members of Cabinet and Government stating that in the event of the introduction of windfall tax, we would be looking at it over the totality of the year so that it would be retrospective. That is welcome. I have another point in relation to something the Minister said at the end of August in an RTÉ "News At One" interview regarding such a measure being considered. He said that it would be done during the budget talks, which he has reiterated today. Has the Minister had meetings with…

I would be very slow to comment on any content in the Remy Farrell report or any of the allegations that have arisen. Due process will take effect and we need to be cognisant of that in this debate. Nonetheless, it is fair to register on the record our concerns regarding some of those allegations. The public must have trust in our planning system. People must trust in the impartiality and integrity of the system if it is to function sustainably. We need to ask ourselves a fundamental question, which is whether that…

This week, early childhood care and education, ECCE, scheme providers were again protesting outside Leinster House. They have committed to protesting again in the future if needs be. They have consistently highlighted the plight of smaller providers with regard to the funding received by all childcare providers. They do not dispute the overall Government package provided for this sector but are asking for a recalibration of that funding. Larger providers seem to be benefiting far more than ECCE scheme-only provider…

I thank the Minister of State for taking the graveyard shift. I appreciate him being here. Week after week we come into the House to raise matters. On tonight's schedule of Topical Issues, as on many occasions, we are talking about services, be it issues related to Irish Water, as Deputy Michael Moynihan has just alluded to, or in my case, the last three of my Topical Issues have in one way or another been related to the HSE. Here I am again raising the issue of respite care in Cork, specifically for students of th…

I thank the Minister of State. It was probably unfair of me to throw in the CDNT issue on top, but I thought to myself that if I did not ask then I would not get so I said I would try. It is great that the HSE is aware of the issues relating to access for children. The Minister of State indicated this is a new school established by the NCSE and the Department of Education but that was the case a year ago and saying so now is kind of stating the obvious. I would love to know what the HSE is doing now. He went on to …

I am asking this question on behalf of Deputy Brendan Smith. This question is on the available provision of additional childcare places, the upgrading of existing accommodation in 2021 and the level of funding for each development in 2022.

That is encouraging to hear. As Deputy Bríd Smith said earlier as well, the Minister must be commended for the work he is doing, especially on childcare services. There are still issues and choke points, particularly in urban areas, as well as capacity issues. I am the father of three children. I am facing my first bill for childcare in September. Childcare is still quite expensive and difficult to get in some places, particularly in urban areas. Our population is growing and more and more people are going back to …

I commend the Minister on the work being done and raise one other issue, about which I have spoken to him privately relating to the ECCE programme. I am aware that those service providers were protesting outside Leinster House recently. ECCE-only providers seem to be under more pressure than those who provide a more diverse childcare service. From what we have heard on the ground, they are looking for an increase in capitation. I am aware that fees have been frozen, which can be passed on to parents, but I am conce…

The majority of people in this Chamber understand that we need to change the way we work and live to meet our climate change obligations. I say the majority because not all of us do. The majority of us do. I understand the Minister is meeting the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the next couple of weeks to determine the percentage of emissions reductions targets. The scale is between 22% and 30% but has to be negotiated. Would it make more sense, before we decide on a specific target, to reach the …

I thank the Minister of State for coming in this evening. I also thank the Ministers of State, Deputies Rabbitte and Butler, for previously taking questions on behalf of the Minister for Health. Some day I might get lucky and he might be able to get here in person to debate these issues. Our health services are stretched. That is evident in the significant waiting lists in various areas within health. The pandemic has also taken its toll on the workforce and there are significant backlogs on foot of the pandemic. W…

I thank the Minister of State for the response. I have two questions on the response and then I will conclude with a few other remarks. The Minister of State said the HSE has identified a minimum recruitment target of 5,500 whole-time equivalents alongside a more challenging stretch target. What is a stretch target? What does that mean? Is the Minister of State telling me that the 5,500 are to keep things running as they are now, which is chaotic at times? We are all familiar with emergency departments over the las…