If we are really going to deliver the From Poverty to Potential plan, we need to get serious about a multi-agency approach and early intervention must be more than a term we use. That means we will need to see the resources in play. We will be dealing later in this House with the issue of early education and childcare. The likes of Lios na nÓg, Muirhevnamore, will talk about the additional resources they need to stay afloat, particularly because they are dealing with a huge amount of kids presenting with additional…

I will bring up a number of issues and look for ministerial and departmental engagement. First, I want to talk about the Muirhevnamor Community Youth Project after-school service. I asked for the information so I will provide it as it was provided to me. We are a community based Afterschool Service in a large urban housing estate in a disadvantaged area [of Dundalk]. The Afterschool Service is based in what was originally a local authority house within the estate. The Afterschool operates its service from 1.15pm – …

-----and we could get into them. The services are capping numbers, they say, and the ratios will not work. This is probably a service that an awful lot of other crèches may not be offering. I could probably continue for another hour-----

-----but I do not think the Ceann Comhairle would allow me. I will engage with the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, later.

Would the Tánaiste give a report on his engagements with the British Government and the parties in the North on the resumption of the Executive? We are obviously in a period of drift which we all would have feared. All of us would acknowledge the fact the DUP should just find a way to get along with the rest of us from the point of view of delivering government which people need. Obviously, the Conservative Party has decided to add the leverage levels up with absolutely dreadful budgetary moves, which is not to be …

I accept what the Tánaiste has said. We all know a mandate was given for Ms Michelle O'Neill MLA to be First Minister and one party is holding this up at this time. That party was obviously given succour and support over many years by a particular British Government that was playing its own game in relation to the outworkings of Brexit. We all thought, with the Windsor Framework, we had moved into a better place. I think we have. The DUP has its own decisions to make, but there has to be a sufficient amount of pres…

I agree that there is a limited timeline. We are in a period of drift which we would hope would not happen. I assume it has to be absolutely clear to the British Government, and even beyond to unionism, that there can be no return to continued direct rule as happened during the 1990s which I believe some of the DUP Westminster team may hope or long for. That is not the way things are. First and foremost, we need to see the Executive up and running and we need pressure maintained. We cannot allow this to continue. I…

This is not the first time this week that I have spoken to the Minister of State about Carlinn Hall. We have a feasibility study by the SEAI into a shallow geothermal heat source solution for the communal district heating system. During the summer I received a reply to a parliamentary question that stated the report was drafted and there were recommendations for short-, medium- and long-term actions. I would like an update on where this is. We really need to provide these people with a solution.

In fairness I was asking for a timeline and I have got one for publication. We are speaking about early October. In a previous parliamentary question I asked whether we needed to do work to ensure there was an SEAI grant system for management companies and companies such as Frontline Energy and others involved in this communal heating system. This is from the point of view of delivering when we finally do have a feasible product that could offer a real, decent, sustainable heating source rather than gas, which caus…

This is all very positive. I will be holding the Minister of State to his word on this. It is absolutely vital that when this is published we look at the best means. I accept there will have to be a large amount of consultation between the landlords, residents and all of the specific stakeholders involved in Carlinn Hall and any other applicable communal heating systems. We really need to make sure there is facilitation to provide them with grant schemes that are easily applicable and can provide the support that w…

I wish to raise the issue of autism supports. The report of the Joint Committee on Autism made 109 recommendations. We all know the difficulties that parents face in terms of autism units and disability school transport. I am even hearing from crèches that they do not have the resources they need to provide support for a considerable number of the children with autism who are attending their facilities. We know about the game of ping-pong between primary care and children’s disability network teams, not to even men…

In schools.

We all welcome the establishment of an agency dealing with DSGBV. We all get the logic behind giving one agency, operating under the Department of Justice, the scope to deal with the huge scourge of domestic violence. We were not exactly shocked by recent, disastrous statistics on violence against women, in particular, but the data on the huge increase in domestic violence during the Covid period were striking. We all have an understanding of how people, even more than usual, were trapped in what should be their pl…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon, for taking this Topical Issue. Obviously, I would much prefer if the Minister for Justice was taking it but she has cover as I have seen her interviewed in Brussels. I spoke to her previously about the new operating model where the Louth Garda division will be combined with the Cavan-Monaghan division in December. It will be one of the few three-county models that will be in operation. This throws up significant issues. Ardee, Dundalk and Drogheda joint policing committ…

I will use the example of Donegal and Sligo-Leitrim. They said it was done on a geographic basis. I accept that Louth is the smallest county but it has two huge towns. If we are going to talk about crime statistics, unfortunately, Louth can hold its own with the best. That is something we would prefer was not the case but that is the reality when you are dealing with big urban centres. We know the particular issues we have dealt with. There is one piece I really cannot get my head around. I understand the idea of s…

We are back again having almost the same conversation. I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for putting the motion forward. I have looked through daft.ie as I usually do. It does not make for any better reading. There is a good sprinkling on that website of, I think, 11 properties in Dundalk and 12 in its surrounds. That is one more than when I looked last week. There is also a good sprinkling of €2,500 a month houses in there. I am not entirely sure how this entire system has not fallen apart altogether. The ho…

It does not often happen that I back up a significant amount of what has been said. On what Deputy Paul Murphy said about what is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh, we all know the issues that have happened across the board as regards genocide. This is not the first time this has happened to Armenians. We know their long history. It is vital that the Government steps up on the right side of the arguments no matter what other geopolitical considerations are in place. I will also point out we have particular worries rega…

I wish to draw the Taoiseach’s attention to the issue of the nitrates derogation. I attended an IFA meeting just outside Dunleer approximately a month ago. Members of the Taoiseach's party were there. The meeting was to deal with the nitrates derogation and Aine O'Connell from the IFA dairy policy executive spoke. In fairness, sometimes one can get a better quality of narrative or communication at these meetings than happens out in the wider world. There was an attempt to say water quality was very important but wa…

I agree with the remarks of Deputy O'Sullivan. All Deputies have spoken about school transport and the difficulties in that regard. We are all aware of anomalies that show up. Last, year it affected Annagassan in my constituency. There is still an issue relating to the Bush Post Primary School, where people are technically a fraction too close to the school and do not have a right to school transport even though it is their nearest school. Obviously, none of this makes sense as we try to make the necessary moves on…

We all understand this to be a technical Bill involving a transfer of all functions for the State's gas infrastructure from the current company, Ervia, to the new publicly owned company, Gas Networks Ireland. Deputy O'Rourke has laid out some of the issues that arise when we talk about the gas market or energy markets across the board. When people talk about that in this day and age, most of them are just talking about the fact of the cost that comes to them. We have stated explicitly - I think there is a considera…