I thank Deputy Murphy for raising the issue. As the Deputy said, the Tánaiste travelled to the region only last week and had a number of meetings, including with humanitarian workers at Rafah. The Government has been very strong, as have all parties in this House, with regard to the importance of aid being able to flow. I know that the humanitarian aid ships - the freedom flotilla - destined for Gaza were halted when the flag was removed from two vessels over the weekend. The flotilla remains docked at Türkiye with…

I am sure Deputy McGuinness will be flattered by the Deputy's belief in his excellent abilities. He is an excellent public representative but we obviously have systems in place with regard to school buses. We have brought forward a very significant reform. I accept it is a very real issue, including in my own constituency. I will ask the Minister for Education to look into the specific issue with regard to students in Kilmore and to come back to the Deputy in writing on the issue.

I thank the Deputy for welcoming the scheme. It is a scheme where, thankfully in the last couple of days, we have seen a very significant uptick in the number of people applying. The take-up rate was quite low and has increased a lot but as the Deputy said, there is still funding in that scheme. I will talk to the Minister about the specific issue the Deputy has raised and see if it can be addressed. I am not across the detail of it but I will speak to the Minister. As the purpose here is to try to get cash into th…

I thank Deputy Harkin for raising the issue. I do take on board the importance of community engagement, and I meet communities as I travel around the country. I think there should always be engagement with communities. I understand that the Abbey Manor Hotel shut down in 2009. It was derelict for over 13 years before being purchased by new owners in 2022. That is certainly what I am being told. I understand that there was an offer of this accommodation late last year to the Department of integration and as the Depu…

I thank Deputy O'Connor for raising the issue. I am conscious the Minister of State with responsibility for integration, Deputy Joe O'Brien, is here as well. The Government is eager to support communities and to assist with integration and services. Communities across Ireland have done much to assist and it is important that we try to respond to the needs of those communities and to engage with them. If the Deputy wants to send some ideas on how he thinks the Government can do more in that space, we certainly would…

I thank Deputy Bruton for his contribution and for the work he is doing on positive ageing from the position of our own political party. I am aware of a number of really good initiatives like the Age Friendly Ireland programme, and the real impact that is having. I am conscious of the Minister of State with responsibility for older people, Deputy Butler, who does an absolutely excellent job in this space. I am conscious of the commission on care as well. As Taoiseach, I am certainly very eager to help the Minister …

I agree with the Deputy on this. We got an opportunity to engage on this in my previous role so we do need to rectify this. I am going from memory now but my understanding is that primary legislation is required. In my last role, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and I brought a joint memorandum to Government with regard to progressing this through housing legislation. My understanding is that it is his intention to get that passed by the summer. Alongside that, there was a planning aspect, where my former Depa…

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this matter. I will have to ask the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, who has responsibility for work permits to come back to me and to the Deputy on this. More broadly, this is a Government that wants to provide certainty to small and medium businesses on costs and to look to see how we can support small and medium businesses with the increased costs they have been encountering. It is our intention to try to bring forward some measures to assist with that in the next few week…

I thank Deputy Kerrane for raising the issue and I will ask the Minister to do that. As the Deputy rightly says, the entire purpose of Local Link is to provide public transport options in areas where there is a real need for the State, the community, to intervene. If there is a part of the Deputy’s constituency where commercial operators have withdrawn and she and I see a gap, I will bring it to the Minister’s attention and ask him to revert to the Deputy directly.

Sometimes I think if pass the parcel was an Olympic sport, bureaucracy in this country would win a gold medal. I can see there are a number of agencies involved with one saying it is a job of the other. I will use my offices to try to bring clarity to the situation on behalf of Deputy Griffin and Tommy Griffin for the residents of Bog Road and see if we can get an up-to-date timeline in understanding of when they will see the improvement.

My comments then are even more so my comments now. What we are seeing in terms of civilian casualties, children, women and civilian infrastructure, is unbearable and there needs to be an immediate cessation. We have taken a number of practical measures. We have given significant support to humanitarian aid including to UNWRA at a time when other countries pulled back. We have been only one of two countries seeking a review of the association agreement on its human rights clauses at EU level. I raised that at my fir…

I will indeed. I thank Deputy Shanahan for raising this. On taking office, I had a very good meeting with a number of Irish-language groups and groups representing Gaeltacht areas. There is a real need to do a lot more in this space. The Deputy’s two constructive suggestions are ones I am happy to take away and come back to him on.

I thank Deputy Collins for raising the important issue of Cork roads funding and the condition of the roads. It is an issue I hear from my own colleagues in the county of Cork. I will look at the comparison he gave of Kildare and Cork and will ask the Minister for Transport to get back to the Deputy.

The Deputy will upset the Ceann Comhairle.

I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn for raising the issue of the inadequate facilities at Scoil Mhuire. From what he has said, it sounds as if the school community has been very proactive in trying to come up with a solution and a way forward. I will ask my colleague the Minister, Deputy Foley, to engage with the Deputy and the school community as I know she will be happy to do.

I thank Deputy Ó Murchú for raising this issue. I will certainly talk to the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Considerable progress was made on the issue. In my constituency work I have seen improvements in processing times with the online system. If there is a niggle in the system now, it is right that the Deputy has highlighted it. I will raise it with the Tánaiste.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. The former Taoiseach visited Boston and Washington DC for a programme of engagements to mark St. Patrick’s Day. In Boston, he met with Governor Maura Healey with whom he discussed bilateral economic opportunities, particularly in the life sciences field as well as educational and research links, and tourism. He visited the JFK Presidential Library and Museum where he met Jack Schlossberg, President Kennedy’s grandson, and the US special envoy to Northern…

There is a lot of that going on.

I thank colleagues, including Deputy Haughey. In my previous capacity as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, I visited Washington and Boston in February when I took the opportunity to see at first-hand the strength and vitality of our relationship, including our very strong and expanding education, research and innovation partnerships. I had a number of engagements in Capitol Hill and with the Biden Administration. Since becoming Taoiseach, I have had engagement with the spe…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 22, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on housing met on Monday, 15 April. The next meeting will take place this month, in May. The committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of Housing for All and for programme for Government commitments regarding housing and related matters, including planning reform. Our latest update on progress achieved under Housing for All during quarter 1 was published on Wednesday, 24 April. Housing for All is showi…