We were all relieved at the ceasefire and the reaching of a tentative peace deal last week. The scenes of people held hostage returning to their families in Israel and Palestine in the past number of days were deeply touching. However, we still have profound human suffering, a humanitarian crisis and a fragile situation. Ultimately, peace can only be sustained through a peaceful political solution. One of the contributors to the violence of the past number of years was that Israel continually acted in clear contravention of international law. Caithfear cloí leis an dlí idirnáisiúnta. The Government's stated support for an occupied territories Bill is based on the ICJ ruling on the occupied territories, which made no distinction between goods and services. Previously in reply to Deputy Cairns, the Taoiseach raised policy issues with the Bill, as he is entitled to, but the Tánaiste has consistently insisted there are no policy differences between the Government and the Opposition, merely legal differences. Yesterday in the Dáil the Taoiseach said the feedback he was getting was that it was "not just implementable". Aside from the fact this was unlikely to be correct, given similar bans on services have been adopted against other jurisdictions, namely Russia-----

The Taoiseach to respond.

-----the Taoiseach's comments suggest he has had sight of the Attorney General's report.

Deputy, your time is up.

I will finish on this. It seems plain to me-----

You were finished already. You had a minute. Your time is up. The Taoiseach to respond.

-----the Taoiseach is sitting on the Attorney General's report on the occupied territories Bill until after polling day on 24 October.

No, I do not have that report. I am not sitting on any report. What I have articulated is common sense;, that is all. No decision has been taken by the Government. Goods are immediately traceable through customs documentation, as I said, certificates of origin and physical supply chains.

That is policy, not legal.

Anybody who knows anything about trade could not disagree with what I have said. I understand fully the need to keep the pressure on and we want this peace to succeed.

That is not a legal difference.

The Israeli Government must allow-----

Deputy, allow him to speak.

-----unhindered aid in, distributed by the UN. Hamas should stop what it is doing, in terms of its violence in Gaza and its intimidation of others. Hamas should stop as well and that needs to be said in this House, unequivocally.

Thank you, Taoiseach. I call Deputy Bacik.

Fundamentally, with the European Union we are going to do everything we can to get aid, health and medical supplies into Gaza.

Yesterday the Taoiseach was asked about the Baggot Street Hospital, which is an iconic State-owned building in our city centre that has scandalously been left to fall into dereliction. Councillor Dermot Lacey and I have been raising the need for it to be given new life and given over to housing for years. I have heard of a private joke in one Department regarding robust campaigning by Labour representatives on it. I have been told for years the Government would examine the use of Baggot Street Hospital. What has happened now? The HSE has placed it on the open market, with no offer being made to the Land Development Agency or the Department of housing. We understand they never even took the initiative to assess the viability of the building for housing. The Taoiseach shrugged off the issue yesterday, but it is very serious. I have been seeking a statement on this from the LDA, Department of housing, HSE and Department of Health and nothing has been forthcoming. Government TDs in the area are concerned about this. What is happening with Baggot Street Hospital? Why is it not being repurposed for housing?

Again, I can ask the Minister to talk in more detail with the Deputy, but there is no sense, by the way, that it is the holy grail in terms of housing options. There could be significant issues with converting it to housing units or apartments. There may be lot of issues with building; I am surmising. It is a 200-year-old building and the Deputy knows all that. The HSE clearly did not find a use for it, notwithstanding the fact it provides a wide range of services to the community. I will ask the Minister for housing to give the Deputy any background on that she requires.

We do not have Deputy Whitmore. Deputy Quaide, please.

Yet another young person has been suspended in Carrigaline Community Special School in the past week. There has been an alarming pattern of suspensions there since 2022. Parents have also spoken of a pattern of de facto suspensions where they are repeatedly called to pick up their child early from school for behaviours that are intrinsic to their disabilities. The Taoiseach is very familiar with the school in his constituency. Beyond the need for more therapies in the school, there is a clear school culture driving this spate of de facto suspensions, as well as the huge turnover of staff. The Taoiseach has said this is not the way to deal with behaviours related to autism and intellectual disability. These cultural issues in the school are having a huge impact on children and their parents, some of whom I met two weeks ago, along with my colleague Deputy Rice. When is the Department of education going to address the cultural issues in Carrigaline Community Special School that are clearly at odds with the rights of the children? All the resources in the world are not going to remedy the situation until that is addressed.

I am on the record for a long time as saying expulsions from special education facilities are not a good thing and are not something I agree with, but I do not know the specifics of each case. It is problematic that we are discussing this in the Chamber too, because there are processes - and there have to be - between the education and training board, the Department, management in the school and parents to try to resolve these issues. I will talk to the Minister for education again. We have been in touch with the ETB as well in respect of the issue.

Thank you, Taoiseach. I do not have Deputy Paul Murphy. I call Deputy O'Gorman.

Where is everybody?

I do not know, Taoiseach.

Yesterday the EPA published the Water Quality in Ireland Report 2019-2024, which shows only half of water bodies are in satisfactory ecological health. I have raised a specific instance of poor water quality with the Taoiseach in the past, namely, Lady's Island Lake in County Wexford. At the time he said he would personally intervene to see if we can get an action plan put together to start the process of reversing this. Senator Noonan and I met the Save Lady's Island Lake campaign group a couple of weeks ago and witnessed the impact of pollution on this lake. I understand an oversight group has been set up, but how do we move from oversight to real action that will improve water quality? The Save Lady's Island Lake campaign group are seeking monthly water quality testing on the lake to see if measures are working and they are seeking confirmed additional funding to help stakeholders, primarily farmers, meet the cost of measures to reduce the volume of nitrates entering the lake. Will the Taoiseach give us an update on the measures being taken to reduce pollution here?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, as he has previously. Lady's Island Lake is a priority area for action under the Water Action Plan 2024. All scientific, compliance, advisory and regulatory measures will be applied. There is close collaboration between Wexford County Council, the local authority waters programme, agricultural sustainability support and advisory and the farming for water European innovation partnership programme. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, has met key stakeholders and an oversight group for Lady's Island Lake has been established with the council chairing and Teagasc also involved. The council has been asked to urgently prepare a specific action plan following the Water Action Plan 2024 framework and the Department of heritage will continue to support from a funding perspective national agricultural inspection programme inspectors to monitor farm compliance with good agricultural practice regulations, free advice and support for farmers and cofunding for supplementary measures under the farming for water European innovation partnership programme. Any additional funding will be considered once Wexford County Council makes and submits a business case.

I have raised the issue of public health nurses in my constituency on a number of occasions and I thank the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health for their engagement on same. However, in my area funding has been made available for six public health nursing positions and these are still in a recruitment process that has lasted months. How does the HSE currently measure the time it takes to fill and recruit for a position? Are those tracked as key performance indicators, KPIs, and are those KPIs reported to an external body such as HIQA or the Minister? How are they monitored and what is the overall target timeline? Across our health service where the Government makes funding available for these positions, I sense there is an issue with recruitment for those positions. Target timelines are a way to get to the bottom of that and ensure efficiency and effectiveness in filling those positions.

I thank the Deputy for raising this. I have raised it with the board of the HSE and with the chief people officer of the HSE who I will meet shortly to better track where the difficulties are. It is not always a difficulty of the HSE. Sometimes it is simply difficult to get candidates and certainly on the public health nurse side we have had to increase the incentives in a number of different ways to try to recruit more people but it is something, in a general sense, I am watching carefully and I appreciate the Deputy raising it.

Increasingly, I have had constituents get on to me about multiple bus lane violations and pedestrian traffic light violations where kids are crossing and cars continue to go through the lights. There are fewer members of the Garda Síochána per head of population since 2008, although the numbers have been increasing. We have a Garda National Roads Policing Bureau, formerly the traffic corps. However, at this stage we need a dedicated traffic and parking enforcement agency, separate to An Garda Síochána, which would free up resources for the guards to get out and tackle antisocial behaviour and deal with criminals. We must also have the visible nabbing of people for these offences.

South Dublin County Council's traffic section has video but it cannot share it because of GDPR. We need to tackle this issue or someone is going to get killed.

The issue does need to be tackled. I appreciate the Deputy raising this. We have to be careful too because we are also advocating for transport police. There is a danger that if we have multiple agencies, we would dilute the overall integration of An Garda Síochána. There has to be a balance in how we approach this. There has to be a dedicated traffic unit - there is one in An Garda Síochána - and there has to be strong co-ordination and co-operation with other agencies on safety.

The Taoiseach gave a commitment to phase out the means test for carer's allowance over the lifetime of the Government. It allocated €10 million for a half year in the budget - and €20 million for a full year. The Department of Social Protection tells us that it is going to cost €600 million to phase it out. At the Government's current rate, that would take 30 years. My question is a simple one. How long does the Taoiseach plan on being in government? How long is this term going to last? How long will carers have to wait to see a roadmap from the Government as to when the means test will be abolished? The Taoiseach talked a lot about it in the run-up to the last election, but now it seems to have been put even further back. I was quite shocked to see that last year the Government put €11.8 million towards the income disregard but this year it has gone down to €10 million for the half year. It is going to take 30 years at the current rate.

No.

At the current rate it is going to take 30 years.

The Deputy is scaremongering.

Can the Taoiseach give carers an assurance and the roadmap because at the current rate it will take 30 years?

I answered a question on this yesterday in response to the Deputy's party leader, I think.

I just asked for the timeline.

There has been a 60% increase in the carer's allowance weekly income disregard.

I know that.

The income disregard for a single person is now up to €1,000. It will be five years. We will do it in the lifetime of this Government. That is our commitment. What we have done this year is in line with that timetable. I have discussed this with the Minister for Social Protection.

The total is €600 million and the Government is allocating €20 million a year. That will take 30 years. The maths are very simple.

That comes from a different approach in terms of all those who could be entitled to it at the end of the process.

Cuirim fáilte roimh na daltaí agus múinteoirí ó Choláiste Naomh Cormac i mo Dháilcheantar Uíbh Fhailí.

There is a concerning trend of anecdotal examples of cloud infrastructure firms choosing overseas locations instead of Ireland for new investments at a time when the sector is frustratingly awaiting the publication of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, policy paper on large energy user grid connections. I fully acknowledge the Government's efforts to expedite infrastructural development but stakeholders across Offaly, the midlands, and nationally need clarity on this urgently to plan new investments. Could the Taoiseach confirm when the CRU will finalise and publish this policy? Will the Government ensure it is expedited to give certainty to employers and communities relying on these decisions at the earliest opportunity?

The CRU recently concluded its public consultation on the connection policy for large energy users, which is the issue raised by the Deputy. It considered the impact of future data centre connections on both national carbon emissions and the capacity of our energy and grid infrastructure. It continues to work towards a decision on a new electricity connection policy for data centres. The aim of the proposed decision is to provide a pathway for large energy users' connections to the electricity system, which addresses risks to security of supply and network constraints while minimising, where possible, potential negative impacts on national renewable energy targets and carbon emissions.

The chair of the CRU, Jim Gannon, indicated in September before the Oireachtas joint committee on Climate, Environment and Energy that the CRU received a significant number of responses to the consultation. He had originally indicated an intention to take the final decision in quarter 3 or quarter 4 of this year. However, given the significant number of responses and the balance of priorities it faces, the CRU now says the anticipated publication date is subject to fully addressing the complexities. We will talk to them again.

Areas with population growth and housing demand must be prioritised under the new national development plan and budget 2026. Dundalk and Blackrock are ready to grow but are being held back by the outdated wastewater infrastructure. Uisce Éireann has plans to expand the Dundalk treatment plant and transfer load from Blackrock. The groundwork has been done and what is missing is delivery. Every delay risks stalling houses, jobs and investments in north Louth. It also puts the environment at risk as overloaded systems mean overflows, coastal pollution and pressure on rivers and beaches. Will the Government ensure that towns like Dundalk and Blackrock where there is real growth and environmental pressures are fast-tracked under the NDP and not left waiting behind areas where there is less urgency?

The Deputy has been relentless in articulating for the needs of Dundalk and Blackrock in particular, given the exponential population growth there and therefore the pressure on services and the need for a wastewater treatment plan. I will engage with Irish Water, which has received unprecedented levels of funding arising from the NDP and the budget for the delivery of infrastructure of this kind. I acknowledge that this area needs it. I will talk to Irish Water about it.

The Minister for Health is present. On Monday, she opened a 96-bed unit in Limerick, which is very welcome, as it has been long awaited. Unfortunately, it will only be able to play a small part in dealing with the crisis we have in University Hospital Limerick, UHL. The ESRI estimates that we need 600 beds in the region. The UHL group itself tells me that 400 beds are required in the region just to stand still, not taking into account the demographics or any growth in population.

The recently released HIQA report had three recommendations. I ask the Government to accept all three of them. The first is extra capacity at UHL. The second is to build an additional site very close to UHL, which would be managed by it. The third one is a model 3 hospital for the mid-west region. We definitely need an answer on the third recommendation. Will the Taoiseach commit to doing that? The mid-west region has been let down since the reconfiguration in 2008-09 when the emergency departments in Ennis, Nenagh and St. John's hospitals were closed. Unfortunately, people in the region have suffered since then.

I thank the Deputy. I call on the Minister to respond.

To date, 19,248 people have waited on trolleys.

As I said when I was in the hospital in Limerick, all three options are being considered. Naturally, our priority is the acute in-bed capacity, which is what HIQA identified as the priority. We are trying to progress that. A total of 96 beds were opened this week. While that will not take 96 people out of the emergency department, because some people will stay for three, four or five days, I see it having an impact on trolley numbers already in the past seven days. There is a reduction but it will not eradicate the overall number on trolleys. What will do so is the next 96 beds and the beds to come after that. Thankfully, we got planning permission last week for the next 96-bed block, which is really important. We will have essentially doubled the number of beds in the region between 2020 and 2028. We are considering all three options, as I said very publicly on Monday in Limerick in front of everyone, including the media.

When will the Minister make the decision?

As I said in Limerick-----

I am sorry but that is the end of the question. I call Deputy Healy.

I want to raise again the fact that the people of south Tipperary have had no ophthalmology service - no eye service - for more than 12 months. Some 2,300 individuals are on the waiting list, including hundreds of children who have never been seen. Hundreds more are adults with glaucoma, who have either never been seen or are awaiting follow-up treatment and, in some cases, may be facing blindness. The HSE has advertised the permanent post on a temporary basis, making it difficult, if not impossible, to fill it, and so it has turned out. It has again advertised the permanent post on a temporary basis. Why has this happened? We cannot get an answer. Perhaps the Taoiseach can get one for us. The fear in south Tipperary is that the HSE plans to downgrade or transfer the service. When we will have a consultant-staffed service operating again in south Tipperary?

Deputy Michael Murphy has raised this with me a number of times. He has been a strong advocate for this. As Deputy Healy said, the position has been advertised. Unfortunately, it was not possible to fill it on the first occasion. I very much hope that it will be filled on the second occasion. We are committed to Tipperary and I would like to compliment-----

Why was it advertised on a temporary basis?

-----the excellent general manager there, Maria Barry, who is doing extraordinary work not just in terms of the trolleys but also in terms of waiting times. In regard to the scale of investment in terms of construction, I was there recently to see the excellent work being done by the general manager and HSE Estates.

A Cheann Comhairle, we are talking about the health service.

Deputy Healy, please take your seat.

It is very strong. As the Deputy is aware, a new inpatient ward block is happening. There is an emergency department upgrade.

It is an absolutely excellent hospital. I worked there for 21 years.

Resume your seat, Deputy Healy.

I would not like the Deputy to create any impression locally or anywhere else but that there is anything but the best of commitment to that hospital and my highest compliments go to the manager.

I made sure it was not transferred.

I call Deputy Aidan Farrelly.

A Cheann Comhairle, that is not an acceptable answer.

I am sorry you do not like it, but I cannot command an answer, Deputy.

Maybe the Taoiseach would get an answer for us.

Deputy Healy can take that up with the Minister. I call Deputy Farrelly.

I thank the Deputy. As I said clearly, responsibility for delivering this hospital is with the contractor. The State - the Deputy and me, and the people we represent - is paying the contractor to complete the contract on time. It would be very helpful for everybody to be aware that we together are paying a contractor that is not delivering its commitments on time for this State and for all the people in this State. It is essential that it does. I am holding the contractor seriously to account for the dates that it sets and it moves. Our hospital development board is trying to hold that contractor to account. The Government is clearly doing that by articulating it in this way. It would be fantastic if other Deputies could make it very clear that the contractor has a responsibility to the State, in terms of this project and every other project in which it is engaged, and to its international reputation as well.

I welcome the reduction in VAT from 13.5% to 9% in the building industry. I understand there is a technical issue, however. If a housing agency owns the land and engages a contractor to build apartments, the builder will have to collect 13.5% rather than 9%. This will have an adverse effect on a number of projects in the Taoiseach's constituency, with which he and I are familiar. The landowner engages with the contractor on a building contract. My understanding is that VAT is proposed on sales, not on construction. A detailed letter was sent to the Department of Finance last night by Property Industry Ireland, setting out where it needs appropriate amendments to deal with this issue. The owner of the land does not get the VAT reduction and will have to charge 13.5% on the building. I ask that this be clarified.

The Minister of Finance has been clear in respect of that. I understand that the finance Bill will be coming before the House next Tuesday. It has cleared Government. I am sure Deputies will engage with the Minister in respect of that and with the Government more broadly.

I can give the Taoiseach a copy of the letter.

Thank you.

Given that billions of euro have been passed through this House in terms of supplementary Estimates and the budget, why are the most marginalised and in need in our society still experiencing difficulties with housing adaptation grants, which have been almost stopped in places like Kilkenny? Will the Taoiseach ensure there will be an ongoing fund to take them to the end of the year and thereafter to deal with the number of applications that are there? Why has the €1.6 million that was committed to SOS Kilkenny not been paid to it?

There is a substantial increase in the budget for 2026 in respect of housing adaptation grants. I do not have the specifics in respect of Kilkenny, but I will ask the Minister for housing to examine that matter and, if there is a halt, see if he can get that moving again, particularly for those who need adaptations to their homes for clear reasons in order that there would be an acceleration. I will check that out. Additional money was allocated in the budget for next year. Hopefully, we can get it moving again.

Will the Taoiseach also check the €1.6 million for SOS Kilkenny?

I will have to check that.

Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur mar gheall ar aonad oinceolaíochta san ospidéal i dTrá Lí. The continued failure to provide and deliver a stand-alone oncology and haematology unit at University Hospital Kerry is totally unacceptable. Patients and families in County Kerry deserve the highest standards of care. The minimum they should get is oncology services that are at least the equivalent of those in other counties, with chemotherapy, immunotherapy and compacting. I was informed in response to a parliamentary question that €10 million was committed in 2022 to be ready in 2026. However, it appears the project is in limbo until a response is received from HSE Estates. A stand-alone unit is essential. Is the Government going to deliver fairness and equality for cancer patients in Kerry?

As the Deputy is aware, this year's capital plan includes an upgrade and extension to the oncology day ward at University Hospital Kerry, with a vertical extension over the existing palliative care ward. The scope includes 14 day treatment cubicles, two treatment isolation rooms and seven outpatient consultation rooms. That is really important. In addition to that, we are shifting the way in which financing is determined this year to try to achieve better regional equity of access and better equity across the regions in terms of treatment times. We are specifically making a shift in how money is allocated and the way in which the letter of determination works.

What about the stand-alone unit?

I appreciate that the Deputy is raising that, but this is really important in terms of achieving equity of access across the board. It will matter for the people in Kerry.

I have raised the proposed mussel farm in Kinsale with the Taoiseach before. This proposal, which will cover a vast area of sea, will have huge negative consequences for tourism, watersports and fishermen in the area. The guidelines must be changed. When I raised the Kinsale issue and formally called for change, my request was refused by the Minister, Michael Creed, at the time. The guidelines must be changed. This Kinsale mussel farm application is going on since 2024. There have been 21 years of ducking and diving. This week we learned that the decision to refuse or give a licence is being kicked down the road. I have a booklet that contains the names of 7,000 people who have signed objections to this farm. Surely 7,000 voices against the mussel farm being thrown at them in Kinsale will have to be heard. The will of the people will have to be heard by the Department. It has to stop this carry-on of putting off the decision for another 12 months. It should make the right decision and stop the mussel farm in Kinsale.

I appreciate the importance of this issue and the impact it is having on the population and the community in Kinsale. The fact that it was put off may suggest a fairly significant examination of this in all its aspects. I will keep in touch with the Deputy on it and with the authorities and the Department as well.

In budget 2025 funding was allocated for five additional family resource centres, FRCs. I was one of those involved in putting a management team together to put forward a proposal and an application from Longford. We advocated here a number of weeks ago for funding for additional FRCs in budget 2026. This was granted and there is funding in place for ten additional FRCs throughout the country. We need an FRC in Longford. We hit the top in every one of the matrices, from truancy rates to referrals to Tusla. A team from all the agencies in the county put together an assessment of needs project to highlight that need. It is imperative that Longford is on that list. Longford needs its FRC.

As the Deputy knows, there was a comprehensive national application process in August 2025. The Minister, Deputy Foley, announced that five new FRCs will open in Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Louth and Monaghan. The national application and assessment process was led by Tusla and independently chaired by a representative of the University of Limerick. Longford FRC steering group was an applicant in the most recent application process. Those applicants remain under active consideration for further expansion of the FRC programme.

The good news is that budget 2026 honours the programme for Government commitment to increase funding and expand the capacity and network of family resource centres. The funding secured for a further ten resource centres will bring the overall network to 136. They have not been announced yet, so I take on board the Deputy's representations.