I thank the Minister and welcome his commitment to vacant housing and the voids. The figure of more than €300 million since 2014 is very significant. I very much welcome the Minister's statements on a commitment to a prompt turnaround of properties, ensuring only essential work is carried out so those houses can be relet quickly and that any other work that is non-essential can be done through a planned maintenance programme. That is critically important. The Minister knows full well nothing frustrates people more …

As the Minister said, there is a significant difference between some of the local authorities. He referred to counties Laois and Kerry, for example, between which there is a significant disparity. That is something we certainly have to delve into because how some local authorities can do it much faster than others needs to be examined to see how best practice can be applied across the local authority sector. The longer a house is vacant, the more disrepair it falls into and the more problematic it becomes. It is un…

I appreciate the Minister's commitment to this issue. The programme for Government sets out an ambitious target in relation to the recruitment of gardaí. I know the Minister is committed to increasing the visibility of gardaí on our streets. One can see in Dublin that there has been an improvement in that respect but we need to see it across the country. The Minister visited Cork recently, which I welcomed. He took on board what he was told in Cork regarding the number of gardaí. It is important that we get a fair …

It is to be welcomed that there were more than 6,000 expressions of interest in joining An Garda Síochána, as are the moves by the Minister to speed up the recruitment process in the interview process and so on. It needs to be curtailed as much as possible to fast-track the delivery of extra gardaí on our streets. I also welcome that three more classes will enter Templemore this year. A lot of good work is being done. It is important that visibility on the streets is increased and that we fulfil our commitment in t…

I thank the Minister of State for facilitating this debate. I have heard him debating the topic in the Dáil previously and I appreciate he gets the severity of the problem. It is difficult to understand how we are still in this position. Over two years ago, in my previous role as councillor, I had a motion on delays in driving tests. At the time I got a response from the RSA which indicated recruitment was taking place and it was working hard to address the issue. Unfortunately, it has got worse rather than better.…

I thank the Taoiseach for his report on NESC. He made reference to its important report on compact growth. As we know, development within urban boundaries is a far more sustainable form of development, with access to key infrastructure, services and utilities. It lends itself more to public transport use and active travel use. It is a far more environmental and sustainable form of development. Making better use of our existing buildings has to be a key part of our housing strategy. The croí cónaithe vacant homes sc…

I thank the Tánaiste for his presence today. Much of what I was intending to ask has already been discussed with regard to the number of vessels at the disposal of the Naval Service, the number in actual deployment and the number we are capable of resourcing and staffing to commission them into deployment. I am very fortunate to live within a couple of miles of the Naval Service HQ in Haulbowline and to represent the area nearby, and we are very proud of the great work that the Naval Service has done and is doing. …

I welcome the Tánaiste's response. As I outlined earlier in terms of the importance of defence and protecting our territorial waters, the role of the Naval Service has expanded quite a lot in recent years in terms of maritime surveillance, protecting our marine assets, deterring criminal activity and smuggling and so on. It is welcome that we have a number of vessels at our disposal. I heard earlier that the direction of travel regarding recruitment and so on seems very positive, even though we are a bit short in t…

I thank the Minister of State for being here to answer this question. I wish to raise the issue of an additional accommodation scheme application from Ballinora National School in County Cork. I previously submitted parliamentary questions on this issue and the responses indicated that a decision was awaited. I understand that a positive decision has been issued to the school that funding will be made available. The question now relates to the timing of this. We are now in the month of May and need to have this rea…

I thank the Minister of State for his response, which I welcome, particularly the section towards the end where confirmation is provided about engagement with the school in the past few days and the positive funding decision for the provision of temporary accommodation. I particularly welcome the commitment to engagement over the coming weeks with the school. It is important that active engagement takes place to ensure that this can be put in place for the coming school term starting at the end of August. That is w…

Will the Minister of State outline the number of applicants for the power up grant who were disqualified because they did not indicate an eligible category of business, the number of applicants that appealed the disqualification decision in total, the number that appealed on the basis of mistakenly indicating the incorrect business category, whether the matter is still being reviewed and whether there will be an appeals mechanism?

I welcome the Minister's announcement this morning on the appeals mechanism that is being worked through. As outlined by the other Deputies, this will give hope to some businesses that for some reason were categorised incorrectly in their applications for the power up grant. To make a brief wider point, the alignment with the ICOB grant has presented difficulties for many businesses. This is going back to the 2023 rate payment. There are many businesses that entered into business since that time, so they have not r…

I refer to the safety of pedestrians on our roads. Between 2019 and 2023, 164 pedestrians were tragically killed on our roads and more than 1,400 sustained serious injuries. The provision of safe pedestrian crossings in our urban areas is critical to reduce this number. Unfortunately, the local authority in my constituency really is strapped for funding to provide new pedestrian crossings or retrofit older crossings to make them safer by installing raised platforms as a traffic-calming measure. I ask the Tánaiste t…

I thank the Taoiseach. I have a sore throat, so please excuse me being brief. Regarding the first home scheme, the programme for Government sets out the intention to extend that scheme to second-hand homes. It is a critical provision. I would like it to happen as soon as possible. The first home scheme has been incredibly successful for newly constructed homes. It has helped many individuals and couples bridge the gap between what they could raise through mortgages and so on and what the properties actually cost. I…

I want to raise the issue of driving tests and the unacceptable delays in securing an appointment. This issue has been raised numerous times but, unfortunately, it does not seem to be improving. If anything, it is worsening. Someone applying for a driving test in the Wilton test centre in Cork this morning will be given an estimated date for the end of November 2025. This is a wait of more than seven months. I have heard stories from constituents who have been waiting more than eight months in reality. If people ar…

I too welcome this debate and the opportunity to speak. The stakes are very high, as mentioned earlier. We now have some more clarity on President Trump’s announcements. He is upending decades of international trade norms and relationships in a matter of weeks. That is extremely serious. For Ireland it presents a real threat. We are a small open trading economy with a very strong foreign direct investment sector so we know the consequences can be very grave. We now see the back and forth between China and the US. U…

I welcome the establishment of the subcommittee on infrastructure. I want to raise the issue of the accessibility of our towns and villages for people with disabilities. I acknowledge a lot of funding has been spent under the active travel heading to improve accessibility but many challenges remain and we need to continually improve this funding. Recently, unfortunately, I heard the story of a wheelchair user who became dismounted and ended up on the footpath because of the poor condition of the footpath. This was …

I ask the Minister to outline the percentage of households that opted to defer payment of the local property tax in the years 2023, 2034 and 2025 and if he will consider a further reduction in the penalty on the amount that has been deferred.

I thank the Minister for that information. I accept 0.6% is a low figure. That suggests the cost to the State would not be significant if there were to be a further reduction in the interest penalty. I acknowledge there was a change in 2021 from 4% to 3%. One of the flaws with the LPT is it is not based on a household's income; it is based purely on evaluation of the property. We know there will be properties in certain locations with high value but very often those households have a low income. It may be a househo…

I appreciate that the Minister will keep this under review. I acknowledge the change in income thresholds, which is welcome. I will speak on the tariffs for a moment. As a Deputy representing Cork South-Central, we have a large concentration of US companies. I live only a couple of miles from Ringaskiddy, a large industrial base. I welcome the Minister's comment earlier that our first and foremost priority is negotiation and finding ways forward but it is critical we have a strong strategy for our multinational and…