I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. To the very best of my knowledge, the plan is to publish that plan this week. Let me confirm that. It would be timely, subject to the agreement of the House, to have a debate on climate, the EPA report and the new national plan the Minister will publish and submit to Europe to fulfil our requirements. The EPA will acknowledge that it has not yet been in a position to model actions that are about to start. For example, yesterday we agreed a new national biomethane plan. The…

We have every plan and intention and as you said it is a legally binding target. That is why a debate in this House would be timely on that. While I accept we have a gap to close, any fair analysis of the EPA report would show that we are now on track to reduce emissions by almost 30%. Prior to this Government, we were increasing our emissions by 10% a year. To the credit of sectors of the economy, society and the public sector, we are now in a position whereby we are on track to very significantly reduce emissions…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of Newpark School of Music. I am pleased that there will be time in the Dáil for a topical issue debate on it tomorrow. The Deputy has been constructive in flagging it with me today and I will certainly ask, in advance of that debate, relevant line Ministers and agencies to see what role the State may have in this, in order to be able to give the Deputy a comprehensive answer then.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I will get him a specific answer from the Minister for Transport on this but the Government is very eager to take steps to increase the number of taxis and hackneys available nationally, particularly in rural areas. For a variety of reasons, these steps have not yielded the numbers so further actions are planned and some are under way. I will write to the Deputy in that regard but the Minister for Transport has recently written to the advisory committee on taxis …

I thank the Deputy. This is a great initiative. It is great for the island of Ireland, for the north west in particular, for medical education and for opportunities for young people. The Minister for further and higher education is in Ulster University, on the Magee campus in Derry, today. We are willing to expand this. Obviously, there have to be two partners and a willingness to do it, although I am not suggesting there is not. From a funding point of view, we see this as a win-win in terms of education, medicine…

I am sure what the Deputy definitely does not tell Seán is that if Sinn Féin was in government it would get rid of the help-to-buy scheme for first-time buyers-----

-----and the first home scheme as well. I am sure he did not mention that to Seán. It is very hard to comment on the floor of the Dáil without knowing people's specific financial situations but this Government is seeing, every week, 500 people buying their first home. Every working day we are seeing 350 new homes being built. That is the progress we are making. That is what I would say to Seán. We are increasing supply and increasing supports. There are a range of supports now in place. If the Deputy wants to send …

-----I would be very happy to come back to him with more comprehensive reply for his situation.

I thank the Deputy for making that important point for his constituents in north Cork in terms of access to GP services. I will certainly discuss the matter with the Minister for Health and the HSE. We are now seeing a very significant increase in the number of training places for GPs. We are also now looking at other pathways that we can put in place in universities but I do recognise that in certain parts of the country, there may be particular challenges. There is an option available now in terms of having salar…

I thank the Deputy for his constructive suggestions with which I agree. I am very clear, and I said it on the day that I launched the Dublin city centre task force, that this is going to come back with a list of practical actions and a list of responsible owners for those actions. Then there will be a requirement for government, both national and local, to fund those initiatives. This is something that I am personally championing and running from my own Department and, therefore, it is something that I intend to de…

I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue with passion. It is an important issue, as is planning reform. Everyone on this side of the House, like everyone on that side of the House, wants people to be able to live in this country and wants young people to know that their future is in this country. That is why we are working so hard on housing and why we are seeing 350 new homes go to construction every working day and 500 people per week buy their first home. I take on board the specific point on planning a…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue as he has sincerely on a number of occasions. The best way to proceed on this from a policy point of view is via the Oireachtas joint committee that will consider the outcome of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use. That was an honest and genuine effort to get civil society together to debate what is a difficult and important issue. There are real health concerns around the use of cannabis and there is also a need to ensure we support people with addiction. A variety of issu…

Road safety is a priority for me and the Government. Since becoming Taoiseach seven weeks ago, I have chaired two meetings on road safety, we have allocated an additional €3 million to public awareness campaigns and we are working with local authorities to see what more we can do on road safety. We all have to amplify the message around killer behaviours, especially as we approach this bank holiday. The point the Deputy made on structure, governance and the role of the RSA is important. The Minister of State, Deput…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I am pleased the Cavan-Monaghan drugs unit was able to recommence. I share his view and that of everyone in government that we want to see Garda numbers increase. We are seeing progress on that. The college is back open and busy. The fair distribution of new Garda recruits is important. I will share the Deputy's views with the Minister for Justice. I am aware of the particular issue the Deputy raised for counties near the Border and the importance of strong coll…

Truthfully, I am not across the detail of it. It has not been brought to my attention, but I will speak directly to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, about the issue. Any such matter would have to comply fully with competition law and other laws of the land such as employment law and an impact assessment should be considered. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy directly.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 10, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on health last met on 12 February 2024 and is scheduled to next meet on 1 July. In addition to the meetings of the full Cabinet and of Cabinet committees, I meet Ministers on an individual basis to focus on different issues. I meet regularly with the Minister for Health to discuss progress and challenges in the area of health, including the Sláintecare reform programme. Sláintecare is about four main things: making healthcare more …

I am listening.

I thank the Deputies for raising a range of issues. Obviously, Questions Nos. 1 to 10, inclusive, were about when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet, so Members will have to excuse me if I must come back to them on some of the specifics because quite a few of the questions strayed very significantly, I would imagine, from the Standing Orders, although they are valid and important questions in and of themselves. Deputy Boyd Barrett's question, which he has raised on a number of occasions, is a serious po…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 16, inclusive, together. On 7 May 2024, the Government agreed to appoint a task force to take a holistic view of the measures required to rejuvenate Dublin city centre, north and south. The goal is to make Dublin city centre a more thriving, attractive and safe cityscape, and a desirable location to live, work, do business and visit. The task force is taking an evidence-informed approach in its work and will provide recommendations to improve the city centre's public realm, sa…

I thank Deputy O'Callaghan for his comments on the task force and for welcoming it and welcoming the appointment of David McRedmond. I, too, thank Mr. McRedmond for the work he is doing. It is interesting that the Deputy mentioned the impact of Covid. He is correct that in looking to establish this task force, it was looking at examples of capital cities and the impact Covid has had on them. It is very real and it is an issue that many capital cities are trying to grapple with. I mentioned that to the chair when I …