While many of us have had many differences about multiple American administrations over many years, we recall fondly Bill Clinton's necessary involvement in the peace process in Ireland and much more beyond. We are well removed from that now. We now have Donald Trump and his very simple formula. He took his country's trade deficit with each country and divided it by two. David McWilliams put it well when he said this would probably be a fail in ordinary level economics but it is no laughing matter. It is followed u…

We all wish Deputy Boyd Barrett the best of luck. It is apt to do this during Questions to the Taoiseach because if ever there was a Deputy who made very great use of Questions to the Taoiseach, it was Deputy Boyd Barrett. When we talk about child poverty, we are all aware of the added costs of dealing with children with additional needs. The issue of special school places and the fact that we had parents in here who were at their wits' end have been raised multiple times today. I raised the case of Senan Maguire, …

Many of us have brought up the infrastructural deficits we are talking about here, namely housing, Uisce Éireann, the electricity grid and communications. The recent Storm Éowyn showed serious pressures and the need to deal with this. Housing is just a crisis that has, in no way, improved for those who are impacted. We also know we are under severe pressure in respect of Donald Trump and tariffs. While we need to have cool heads, we do not exactly know how this will go. I want to give some details of a constituent …

This is one of those Bills on which there will be a large degree of agreement. It is work that needs to be dealt with. I do not think anyone agrees with the fact that people have been forced into retirement. Deputy O'Reilly stated that on some level this is about restoring the State pension to the age of 65. She was not the only one, but she stated that has always been her view, as it has been the view of my colleagues, Deputies Guirke, Conway-Walsh and many others. That is where the Irish people stand. We all reme…

-----those with disabilities and additional needs to stay in further education. An interdepartmental review is needed to inform this. I spoke to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science who said that he would follow up with a meeting-----

-----with personal assistants and that needs to be delivered on.

It has already been straightforwardly put to the Minister by my colleagues that if he has no intention whatsoever of introducing water charges, then it would make sense for him just to agree with us. We should agree the Bill and then create a scenario where there is absolutely no doubt with regard to introducing water charges and it becomes an impossibility to do so. We all know it was of serious benefit to the Irish people that what was in the water services plan and the whole idea of excessive use were put into t…

I raise the issue of Scoil Bhríde, Sheelagh. It relates to an application it made at the end of 2023 for additional school accommodation, which was submitted to the planning and building unit. This was put in mothballs. It was sanctioned for two ASD classes and is afraid it will not be able to deliver on the second class. There seems to be a communication issue with the Department as a whole. It is also worried about the provision of classroom space for the current enrolment of pupils. There is a need for direct co…

There is absolute logic for school-based therapies. That is where the need is. It is about providing the service and assessment where the need is. I am aware the Minister has had engagement with the parents of Senan Maguire. That child is out of school at the moment. We need to ensure there is a solution for primary school-----

------and also a solution for secondary school. I will also bring up the issue of Tallanstown National School, which is facing the fact-----

Very briefly, the school could be dealing with one class that might have 37 children, including one with Down's syndrome, next year because it will lose-----

First and foremost, on the tariffs, we all understand there is no win here. Deputy Moynihan spoke about the discrepancy between North and South now and obviously there will be ongoing issues in relation to partition. However, be it 10% or 20%, neither is beneficial. There has been a lot of conversation on future engagement. First and foremost, it has to be about negotiation. I expect a significant amount of our conversation with the European Commission and other stakeholders throughout Europe will be about supporti…

I seek an update on the recent meeting of the construction sector group, whether there is a work plan for this group for 2025 and if the Minister will make a statement on the matter. This takes in all the construction stakeholders. We could have an over-and-back discussion concerning the 40,000 houses last year, but the fact is there was a failure to deliver that number. We are where we are, so how do we get beyond this point? We have all talked about new methods of construction, but much of this has been just talk…

Can more detail be provided on those discussions? We have all heard about the issues that exist in this area. The Minister mentioned the need to ensure we have an adequate workforce pipeline. We know there are constraints now. Additionally, how much conversation was there concerning new methods of construction? We have recently seen 3D concrete printing and several such houses have been built in Muirhevnamore, Dundalk. While that is not a solution to the housing problem on its own, it is part of a solution along wi…

It would be very useful to have a greater level of detail regarding the issues they put out there with the planning system and infrastructural obstacles and the workforce piece, and then if there is a timeline and even projections. While I accept that some of this will involve public works and we will also have works that happen in the private sector, it is what we are looking at even percentage-wise as regards using some of these new methods of construction. Many of us come into this Chamber and end up talking abo…

I wish to ask the Minister of State about the Department's engagements on the delivery of necessary flood protection schemes in the State. This is a follow-up to the two parliamentary questions I asked him previously to which I received written answers. It is that whole idea of everything from the minor flood mitigations, the works that are being done regarding coastal protections and the interdepartmental group. The national coastal change management strategy report referred to the need to build up a body of work.…

I would appreciate that. The interdepartmental group has responsibility for delivering on policy and we saying we cannot have enough protections and mitigations. We know we are dealing with rising sea levels. When we talk about the likes of Dundalk, we are talking about a significant amount of redeemed land. Therefore, we were under pressure from the beginning. There are many houses under sea level and I have already heard much conversation regarding those who cannot get flood insurance or house insurance. Many of …

It is necessary to make these interventions. All these schemes are very important because we have seen the huge issue with flooding in the last while. We are talking about better preparations for extreme weather conditions. It is absolutely vital we see delivery of these particular projects. I did not expect the Minister of State to come back with specifics. The Dundalk-Blackrock south relief scheme is really needed. Planning applications need to be submitted by quarter 2 of 2027. In fairness, I got a written respo…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for being present to respond to this issue. This is World Autism Awareness Day. I want to specifically discuss autistic children who require supports provided by mental health services, including CAMHS. The Minister of State was in the Chamber when I raised with the Taoiseach the case of Senan Maguire, a 13-year-old autistic boy from Grange on the Cooley Peninsula. David, Tina and the wider family have all gone through huge stress due to the lack of support. We must try…

I understand. This is in the public domain. It was put there by the family itself.