I acknowledge what the Deputy has said. I also acknowledge that what the Minister has done has been significant, although it is not exactly what everyone wants. However, he is committed to working with everybody, including Government partners, stakeholders and Tusla to continue to improve the supports for foster carers.

I will set out the position here. To be clear, I do not have the latest update from a meeting that took place at 5 p.m. I have been in the Chamber since then myself. The OPW is responsible for Castletown House. In 2008, it reassembled 227 acres of the original estate. The OPW attempted to purchase the lands from Janus Securities on several occasions, including in 2022 but it was outbid. In May 2023, the OPW engaged in negotiations for a licence agreement with the new landowners but could not agree on terms. Access …

I thank Deputy Durkan for his long-time commitment to Castletown House and estate. Everybody recognises the efforts of the OPW and the State in the care and preservation of Castletown House. I will say that the OPW wants to continue to welcome visitors to Castletown House. However, the impact of the protest is that the refuse cannot be collected, staff are working without heating, the essential systems in the house cannot be maintained and serviced, and essential works to the outdoor areas of the estate cannot be d…

Tá mé ag roinnt mo chuid ama le mo bheirt comhghleacaí, an Teachta Costello agus duine eile. D'éist mé leis an ráiteas a thug an Teachta Gannon agus bhí an ceart aige. Dúirt sé gur cheart go mbeadh Éire ina teach solais don síocháin, agus tá an ceart aige faoi sin. Deputy Gannon is absolutely correct to say that Ireland should be a lighthouse for peace. I would strongly argue that is exactly what the Government has done in the past week but also over many decades in regard to Israel and Palestine. We have our own e…

The 2024 allocation for sport and recreation amounts to €181.837 million. Increased funding is being provided to sporting bodies to ensure their recovery post pandemic and to enable them to face the challenges of today. An extra €2 million is being provided for the national governing bodies for sport. The funding targeted at increasing female participation is being doubled. This means that the women in sport programme fund goes from €2 million to €4 million. The increased funding will target areas such as participa…

Gabhaim buíochas as an bhfáilte. Tá mé anseo in ionad an Aire, an Teachta Ní Fhoghlú. Tá sí ag binse an Rialtais faoi láthair. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as an t-ábhar seo a ardú inniu. A priority for this Government is to ensure all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to schools to cater for the needs of children with special education needs. It is important to remember that the vast majority of children with special education needs are supported to at…

The Department continues to look for strategic locations for special schools provision. That is happening in County Monaghan as well. We are also working with parents, as is the Senator, schools, patron bodies and stakeholders in Monaghan to provide sufficient specialist places for children with special educational needs. As I said, there is a strategic review under way and four special classes will be provided in all new post-primary schools. There will also be other large-scale projects. The Department will not b…

The Minister, Deputy Foley, is not able to attend but I am in the Department with her. I thank Senator Lombard for raising this issue, which I accept is an issue around the country. Before I address the specific issues raised, I wish to provide an outline on the extent of the transport scheme, notwithstanding what the Senator said. The school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. More than 149,000 children, including 18,000 with special needs, were transport…

On the issue of the minimum number of pupils required for service, I will get the Department to contact the Senator directly with the exact answer. As I understand it, there was always a minimum number. I think it is seven but that applies to all services, as I understand it. I will get that confirmed in writing. That minimum has always been in place for school bus services. Even without temporary alleviation schemes, if there are only four kids in an area, that is definitely in the rules. Let me get the Department…

The Minister and I are determined to see continued investment in sports facilities to ensure we achieve our ambitious targets for sports participation. In this regard, the sports capital and equipment programme, SCEP, is the primary vehicle for Government support for the development of sports and recreation facilities and the purchase of non-personal sports equipment throughout the country. More than 13,000 projects have benefited from sports capital funding since 1998, bringing the total allocations in that time t…

I assume the site is owned by Dublin City Council.

If Dublin City Council owns it, it can definitely apply for funding. I am more than happy to meet with it and the groups there. The fact that it serves disadvantaged areas effectively means it will be top of the list and a higher priority than other projects. We would be very keen to do that. I am certainly happy to meet the stakeholders. However, the people who put in the applications are the owners and the owner is Dublin City Council. If the long lease holders are there, they can apply themselves as well. The re…

We have met the FAI and are encouraging it to support clubs looking for sports capital funding. I also met the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, IABA. I really want this association to help clubs to apply for funding for boxing. I know there are quite a number of them in the Deputy's constituency. Some national heroes come from his constituency. I want to put on record that I am really encouraging boxing clubs to apply. The IABA wants to help them as well and we are available to help clubs.

They were Covid-19 supports.

The funding has been approved.

I pay tribute to the Labour Party for tabling this motion. I pay particular tribute to Deputy Ó Ríordáin for his obvious passion in this debate and his genuine interest in soccer. He gave a fantastic speech this morning with which people on this side of the House would not disagree. I pay tribute to everybody who took part in the debate and the visitors in the Public Gallery. The value of football certainly is not lost on me. My father played with Drogheda United in the League of Ireland and was subsequently player…

We also have the large-scale sports infrastructure fund. I will be publishing a review of that fund soon and I hope to announce a new call under it at some point this year. We have written to all applicants regarding potentially offering a small amount of extra funding because we recognise that some projects have been delayed for various reasons. To be honest, there was a project I was trying to activate in Glanmire in County Cork but the FAI announced that it was not able to do it. We have asked it for urgent prop…

We both played against them.

Sport brings us together. We should have a few more debates on sport.

I thank the Seanadóir for raising this issue. The requirement for additional school places is kept under ongoing review in the context of available information on population, enrolments and residential development activity. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, using data from a range of sources, including child benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where …