I will make two points. First, in the context of the final detail of the scheme, we will have an opportunity to thrash all of that out in the debate on the Finance Bill post the budget, including how the new accounts will interact with other investment opportunities. I will be happy to consider all of the issues the Deputy raises then. On deemed disposal, I am on record in this House - I am certainly on the record in lots of places - as stating we need to move beyond deemed disposal. It was of a different time. It …

I thank Deputy McGreehan for raising this really important and timely issue. The Government is very conscious, as the Deputy is, of the pressure on farmers and fishers and is determined to provide supports. Today, the Ministers, Deputies Heydon and Chambers, will meet. The Taoiseach, the Deputy and I were all at the ploughing last week. We heard very clearly three issues, namely fuel, fodder and fertiliser. I call them the three Fs. There will be support for farmers with fodder and fertiliser. I am pleased to infor…

We will work with the Deputy on this. I acknowledge his sincerity and his work on this, as I have said before. This is a serious issue. I would characterise the Government's position slightly differently in the sense that there was some work that was ongoing in relevant Departments. However, the Deputy's legislation will now obviously go to pre-legislative scrutiny. That is an opportunity to put all of this information and evidence together to look at the Bill in the round. Certainly, we have very much an open mind…

I thank Deputy Carrigy for raising this issue. I must say that Longford is really making big progress in the tourism sector. So many people are now heading to Longford and there are a number of tourism facilities there as well. I thank the Deputy for his work and passion around Corlea and the bog and trackway centre. It is a remarkable piece of our heritage. I share the view that there is real potential to make it a visitor attraction for Longford but also for the wider midlands. I know the Deputy knows through his…

I thank the Deputy very much for the invitation but I will be working here on the budget in relation to fuel and energy, so I do not need to attend a protest meeting. What I need to do is make sure that people in this country do not feel the need the protest because they feel that we are making policy decisions that will help them. By the way, I have also spoken to a number of the people who were involved in the fuel protests. I met many of them at the ploughing. I met many people at the ploughing and at the Longfo…

I see the Deputy linked two issues. I see them as somewhat separate. The idea that anyone is living in a home owned by the State that has mould and damp and that children and the likes are there is not an acceptable situation. I fully agree with that. If the Deputy wants to provide me with the information, which I know he will, I am happy to pursue that with the Minister for housing and with the local authority too. Local authorities have a duty of care to their tenants too and just like governments at a national l…

I thank Deputy Guirke for raising this issue. I am sorry to hear what Bradley and his family are enduring. I am not going to comment into the record of the Dáil on an individual case on which I do not have all of the information but the Deputy is entirely right to highlight the issue in relation to the orthodontic system and care in his constituency. On foot of him raising it, I will send a transcript of what he said, plus a broader query, to the Minister for Health and to the HSE and ask that they come back to the…

I thank Deputy Dolan for raising the issue. He is right on the broader issue. When you look at the cost of energy, it has risen across the board, of that there is no doubt. However, when you look at the cost to fill a home heating oil tank, it has risen in quite an alarming manner. Roughly speaking, it was €950 to fill the tank last winter. It is anywhere between €1,500, €1,600, €1,700 and rising to fill the tank this winter. This is an extraordinary rise for families. We are working through this as a Government to…

I thank Deputy Donnelly for highlighting this issue in relation to the Dunsink Observatory and the views of the community there as well. My understanding is that the public consultation process has concluded. The local authority is duty bound to consider all of that feedback. From what the Deputy says, it sounds like it has received quite a lot. It will then be for the local authority to come forward with the next steps. The Government stands ready to assist in any kind of modality or with suggestions the local aut…

I thank Deputy Kenny for raising this issue. I am familiar with the greenway issue from my engagement with the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, and various TDs, including the Deputy, in relation to Sligo. This should not be an either-or situation. Any decision in relation to the greenway needs to preserve the railway. My understanding, from local discussions, is that the greenway will be done in such a way as to preserve the railway line. We have, as the Deputy said, already started on the western rail corridor w…

I happened to see some of the news coverage of the committee discussion in relation to this yesterday. I say this very respectfully, but sometimes there is a misrepresentation of the role of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It is not an executive function; it is a role to act as an honest broker in terms of bringing forward the various views raised by the 27 member states at meetings, often of officials through Coreper structures and the likes, as well. It is not a position of the Irish Presiden…

I thank Deputy Ennis for raising the issue of child poverty and for raising it in a very real way in relation to his community and his constituency, including Sheriff Street and the area he represents in Dáil Éireann. What I am not going to do is get into a back-and-forth on statistics and reports, etc. The point is that child poverty is still too high. I agree with that. It is true that the ESRI data probably has not yet seen the benefit of some Government measures that we took, most particularly in the previous b…

First, I will not jump over the constructive contributions the Deputy has been making on private wires legislation and the likes. I thank him for that and for his expertise and interest in that, which is valuable to Government. We look forward to working with him on that. The Deputy will understand that frustrating thing I am going to say about not being able to get into every specific of the budget, other than to say that we did increase capitation last year. That was important and was welcomed. We are listening a…

I move: (1) THAT for the purposes of the tax charged by virtue of section 95 of the Finance Act 1999 (No. 2 of 1999), that Act be amended, with effect as on and from 29 August 2026, by the substitution of the following for Schedule 2 to that Act (as amended by section 2(3) of the Finance Act 2026 (No. 24 of 2026)): "SCHEDULE 2 RATES OF MINERAL OIL TAX ",". (2) IT is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that this Resolution shall have statutory effect under the provisions of the Provisional Co…

It is nine weeks.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta McDonald. I thank her for the question. First, I join with her in welcoming Cara Darmody back to Dáil Éireann. It is good to see her again. While she continues her campaign in relation to improvements around assessments of need and disability services in general, it is also worth noting that she has already changed Ireland for the better with the creation of the fund that has made a real difference in terms of more children getting assessments. My colleague, the Minister of State, D…

I do not know who said that-----

-----but I am just relaying in good faith the information.

The 27 May 2026 is when the information came in versus 2024, but I accept the seriousness of this matter. Again, this is also just the truth: there are mixed views on the science in relation to this. A number of European countries have said "No". Some have said "Yes". We would not have a situation where the HSE drugs group was deciding to set up a rare diseases expert panel to look at this, to bring together the national experts and the patient advocates, to hear their voices and views, if they did not want to give…

It is always good to see the Deputy on a Thursday. I take the fact that she is here as a sign of her seriousness on this issue. I mean that genuinely. I thank her for that. I also take the seriousness of the issue. There is no disagreeing. We can use different words to describe this situation but there is no disagreement that it is a very worrying and stressful time for these families. That is a statement of fact. It is also a statement of fact that the process - and the Deputy knows it very well - is clear in law …