There is a serious issue with the need for a special school in Monaghan. My understanding is that the Department and National Council for Special Education, NCSE, are currently working to finalise special school capacity for September 2025 and Monaghan will be addressed as part of that process. I will engage with that group directly.

I do not need to do it through Deputy Carthy. I can do it myself, thanks. It is a democracy.

I do not need Deputy Carthy's assistance.

I do not accept the presentation on Housing for All because we have seen housing supply very significantly increase. There were fewer than 7,000 homes built in 2011 when my party and Deputy Bacik's went into government after the financial crash. That figure will be closer to 40,000 this year. I agree that there is a need for new targets. I also agree that there is a need to significantly increase the scale of ambition for the second half of this decade. That will be discussed at the next meeting of the Cabinet comm…

The Deputy is entirely right to make the point that domestic, sexual and gender-based violence absolutely does not respect any borders. She makes a very fair and interesting point about the need to see if we can collaborate on the island of Ireland on this. I know from memory that the Northern Ireland Executive very recently launched its own strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and perhaps in that context, I could speak with the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland about se…

We are nowhere near strike action. I understand that a ballot was begun by the INMO today and that FÓRSA will begin a ballot later this week. Any objective, fair analysis would acknowledge that growth in numbers of staff in our health service has never been as high, with recruitment in 2023 being the highest since the foundation of the Health Service Executive. As of August 2024, there were 27,900 more working in our health service than there were when the Government came to office. I understand there was an initia…

I thank the Deputy for his own service and expertise in this area and I absolutely and fully agree with him. Peacekeepers and peacekeeping have a very particular level of protection in international law and in terms of international norms regarding conflict. When I spoke to President Herzog of Israel yesterday, I made it clear to him in the strongest possible terms that what Israel had done in recent days amounted to a breach of international law. We will continue to make that point and will make it at the European…

I will certainly look into the ambulance situation and ask the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, to revert to the Deputy on it. Obviously, in relation to his constituent, Lorraine, who has multiple sclerosis and her transport situation, I do not have the information to hand but I will pass that directly on to the Minister for Health and ask that the HSE would reach out to the Deputy and his constituent Lorraine.

I thank the Deputy for raising this extraordinarily important issue. He is entirely right on the importance of people being and feeling safe as they access transport, including taxis. I recently met with the Ministers for Transport and Justice and their officials specifically on the issue of safety on public transport, including taxis. My understanding from memory is that the Minister for Justice has a review under way on a number of these matters. I will seek an urgent update for Deputy Devlin.

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for raising this really important matter. As he rightly said, it is expressly prohibited for civil aircraft to carry munitions of war in Irish sovereign territory without being granted an exemption to do so by the Minister for Transport. Of course, no such exemptions have been granted but there have been many reports of this now happening. It is a very serious issue. The Minister for Transport has his officials engaging with the air operators concerned. The Minister has also agreed to have…

I thank Deputy O'Dea for raising this important matter. It is probably fair to say that there are a number of national projects based in Dublin that obviously provide benefit to people from Limerick and people from the regions. I would have to look into it but I imagine that has had some impact on the figures but I take the point that he makes. We need to continue to actively prioritise and promote balanced regional development and using our capital budget is one way to do that. I would say to the Deputy is there w…

Deputy Griffin makes an excellent point. I know it is an issue of concern for small businesses particularly in the hospitality and retail sector across Ireland. I know we have a lot of hospitality in County Kerry. From my visits there with the Deputy, I know how important this issue is. He is right to highlight the broader issue of the cost base. I highlight this when I meet people in the hospitality sector. When I walk into restaurants and cafés, they seem very busy. To a layperson like me it looks like a business…

I thank Deputy Costello for raising the issues for Our Lady of Good Hope and for Bunscoil Synge Street. I know he raises on a very regular basis the issue of schools' capacity and facilities in his constituency of Dublin South Central. At Cabinet today we just agreed a very significant Supplementary Estimate for the Department of Education recognising its capital needs. I will ask the Minister to respond to the Deputy directly on the project he mentioned.

I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn for raising this important matter. He is right to highlight the very important work done by our school transport escorts. I will seek an urgent update for him from the Minister for Education on this and revert to him directly.

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I extend to Deputy Healy Rae my sympathies on the passing of his friend Tim John Healy, and also to Noreen and the family. I am sorry for their loss. On the issue of pathology services in Kerry, I understand the sensitivities with time. At a time of tragedy or sadness, people just want their loved one back. I will certainly seek an update on the pathology service. I will ask the Minister to revert to the Deputy directly on some of the suggestions he made of working with ot…

Our colleague, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, tells me that his Department is undertaking a recruitment campaign with regard to management teams at the moment. I accept very much the points the Deputy makes around the hazard they can be to road users, and the dangers. I will also ask the matter be raised with the RSA. In response to Deputy Murphy, students will absolutely continue, no doubt, to protest and highlight issues of concern to them but I would say to them that we have cut their fees, increased their gr…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together. Individual commitments in the programme for Government are advanced through the co-ordinating mechanisms of the Cabinet committee structure. The ten Cabinet committees established by this Government reflect the full range of policy areas that are set out in the programme for Government. Cabinet committees meet regularly to accomplish and advance their work. The strategy statements of all Government Departments reflect the national priorities outlined in …

In response to Deputy Tóibín's point, I travel around this country regularly and visit towns and villages of all sizes. I take part of the point he makes regarding the need to rejuvenate and regenerate many of our main streets in mid-size towns. I point to a number of projects across the country in terms of rural and urban regeneration and the funds that have been used. I think of Clonmel as one example where the old barracks have been put into public use and the vitality that will bring to Tipperary. The specific …

I do not want that to have to be the situation, quite honestly. I really do not. On the issue of LNG, the Planning and Development Act 2023 restated the factual position. The Government has not taken any policy decisions in that regard. Our policy position under climate legislation, and with respect to where we want to get to, is that we want to produce clean, renewable energy and to move from being a net importer of energy that is bad for the climate to being a net exporter of clean, green energy. That is where we…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 9, inclusive, together. The child poverty and well-being programme office was established in the Department of the Taoiseach in spring 2023. Its purpose is to prioritise action across government in areas that will have the greatest impact for children and families experiencing poverty. From Poverty to Potential: A Programme Plan for Child Poverty and Well-being 2023-2025 was published in August last year and is the initial programme plan for the child poverty and well-being pro…