I wish to raise the issue of housing and delays in the planning process but more importantly, the number of one-off houses or estates that are tied up with An Bord Pleanála. I know the Government is very much aware of this, but what types of measures are being put in immediately to provide the resources to make sure decisions are made? I know people who have one-off houses who have been waiting for a decision from An Bord Pleanála for up to ten and 12 months and they are being deferred all the time. These people wa…

I welcome the opportunity to speak here this evening on this historic occasion. First, I offer my sincere congratulations personally to Leo Varadkar on his elevation to Taoiseach once again and compliment Micheál Martin on the work he did over the past two and a half years. Listening to all the debate today, I will say at the outset we have a great country and we have great people but we have some real issues we need to resolve. I was taken by the remarks on the appointment of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to the D…

The local improvement scheme is important in rural Ireland. It is popular. There is considerable demand for the scheme. I acknowledge the fact that the Department has over the years since it was reintroduced funded this scheme as best it could. There is considerable demand for it. In Galway alone, we have probably 150 applications in a waiting list and we have stopped taking applications. I wonder how can we increase funding for the scheme.

I truly acknowledge the importance of the scheme and the support of the Department and Deputy Humphreys, as Minister, and the previous Minister, Deputy Ring, in reintroducing the scheme. The Minister hit on the point I wanted to raise. We have active travel. Many of these schemes are used for active travel. They are used for cycling. At the back of my own house, there is a 2 km road which serves bogs and connects two roads and it is used for walking and cycling. In Sylane, we have access to Clas an Aifrinn. It was …

I thank the Minister. I will lend my support to the Minister's campaign with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I believe that in rural Ireland - earlier the Minister mentioned a region that is lagging in all of this type of thing - a scheme such as this is popular. There is demand for it. It is efficient. The local authorities are doing a great job in getting the works done. In the Department, it was always the case that if there was money lying around, it was not left lying around; it was put into the LIS scheme. C…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this sometimes emotive subject. Hundreds of thousands of families have been put into a situation where they bought a house or an apartment in good faith, took out a mortgage on it and are still paying that mortgage for a home that is now defective. There is widespread anger about what has happened to innocent people who were trying to pay their way in life to ensure they had a home for their family. They were not relying on the State to provide it for them. They were not asking…

I want to add my voice to the concerns that have been raised. As the Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment in the last Government, I am truly shocked at what is going on and the evidence I have seen is disturbing. All of our inland fishing is for the benefit of people on the ground and for local angling clubs. What I am beginning to see is that something is going on that is not right. From the evidence I have seen it needs to be investigated as a matter of urgency by …

I want to add my voice to what has been said. We are coming from three different constituencies to bring this to the Minister of State. There is a lot of feeling that there is something wrong and amiss and that it has not been investigated properly or externally. The review that was done on the board was not what was needed. There are actions that have been taken and allegations have been made that have not been refuted, including on the vehicles that were not insured etc. If we continue to brush this over we will …

I am delighted both Ministers are here to listen to what is being said this evening. We have a crisis throughout the country in the delivery of services. We have waiting lists and all kinds of things going on. All Members hear about it in their constituency offices. What do we do about it? I want to focus on my region and the Saolta group, which serves more than 800,000 people. In Galway, which is supposed to be the centre of excellence for cancer care, we are not able to deliver what we need to deliver. First of a…

The application process for the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, closed yesterday evening and there was probably a frenzy of activity within the Department to handle all the applications that came in. My question relates to the farmers who have not applied or had time to apply or have missed the deadline through no fault of their own. The Minister intends to reopen the application process towards the end of next year. Can he do that earlier in the spring so that farmers can have some payment next year …

I also thank the Minister for extending the scheme for two weeks and I know a number of Deputies, including myself, approached him about this and he did take action. I welcome the fact he will review this. Farmers rely on income supports and on these types of grants to make sure they have a cash flow. If farmers who were in GLAS cannot get into this scheme, there will be a gap in their income next year and many are wondering, as the Minister knows well, what will happen to them. I understand they have a severe work…

No doubt from listening to farmers himself, the Minister does grasp that the important issue is that there is something done for people in a gap year so they are not just left in a vacuum. I also welcome his statement that he will examine any anomalies that arose in the process and in the criteria. If there is an issue, maybe farmers could access their application again over a short period so their planners could address the issue because it could affect the amount they receive. I have heard that from a number of p…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this most important legislation. Listening to the debate, I think there is a fairly clear message that not enough time is being provided to consider this important Bill. A 45-minute session on Committee Stage next week is not good enough. On the topic at hand, we are talking about the extraction of water and how we manage and regulate that. We are discussing how we ensure we do not end up with a crisis every so often if there is a drought or a flood. I am sure Leas-Cheann Comha…

I raise the issue of the residential zoned land tax and its implications for family farms around the country. Farmers are private landowners. They are not builders. They own the land to farm it and try to make a living from it. They do not hoard it as an investment. The fact that farmers are completely unaware that some of their land is being zoned for residential purposes leaves them in a very precarious predicament. In Killarney, of more than 200 acres of land zoned for residential use, only around ten acres are …

I feel frustration when somebody raises an issue about a tax such as this which is trying to free up land to have houses built on it. However, I believe this is an imposition on farmers and it should be wiped off the agenda. What Minister is devising this policy? Will that Minister meet farmers’ representatives in order that they can get a clearer understanding of what is going on? I know of land zoned in towns and villages in my constituency and throughout Galway that will never be used, for one reason or another …

I welcome the opportunity to contribute again on this particular problem that has developed over a good few years. There are people in the Gallery who are on the front line and affected by the problems and the defects that have arisen. It will cost the State an awful lot of money to put this right but that is what it has to do. We have to make sure that everybody is taken care of and that the people who have defective houses and apartments are put right. I get emails, as I am sure does everyone else, from people wh…

I raise an important issue that is close to my own heart which is the development of what we call the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, building in the Galway campus of the Atlantic Technological University, ATU. As we know, STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and maths. This project has been talked about for a long number of years and as a former lecturer and former student of the college in Galway, I know how close it is to the hearts all of the lecturers, staff and students. Wi…

I thank the Minister and acknowledge the fact that he was down in Galway. These investments are vitally important and that is a lot of money in a good week for the region in terms of educational facilities. Referring to the STEM building, when I was lecturing there seven years ago, and for a number of years before that, we were talking about what the Minister called bundle 2 and those five projects within that. The bundle is running around the place for many years now. It is important to state that many of the lect…

I thank the Minister for all of that and there is a huge amount of investment to come yet. Crowley Park is a significant acquisition for the facility. It is only right that was done. In fact, we should have bought the hotel across the way when it was available through NAMA and secured that site as well. At the time it did not happen for various reasons, none more so than the fact that GMIT at the time could not raise its own funds and Government did not have funds. Hopefully, ATU, which has university status, will …

I am sharing time with Deputy Shanahan. I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. This is my first opportunity since being elected to the Dáil to speak about drugs and the plight of those who have an addiction to drugs. There is more than one part to this issue but first, and most important, are the victims, young and old, who have succumbed to the use of drugs and been caught up in addiction. Their situation is terrible. For families in which a son, daughter, brother or sister has developed an add…