Emer Higgins

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Minister for Transport has asked me to take it on his behalf. The Minister has responsibility for overall policy and Exchequer funding in respect of the national roads programme. Once funding arrangements have been put in place with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, under the Road Acts and in line with the national development plan, NDP, the ope…

The Deputy will be pleased to hear Laois did figure in funding this year. An allocation of €1.147 million has been provided to Laois County Council for national roads so far this year. That comprises €701,300 for capital protection and renewal and €445,949 for current protection and renewal. Approximately €502 million of Exchequer capital funding has been provided to TII for national roads so far…

I thank Deputy Lawlor for raising this important matter. My very first job after I graduated was working for Fáilte Ireland so I have been following these statistics with great interest. I am taking this matter on behalf of the relevant Minister. The latest CSO figures for overseas visitor numbers were published last Friday, as Deputy Lawlor said. These figures were specifically for February 2025…

I thank the Deputy for that kind invitation. I attended the Fleadh Cheoil in Wexford last year and it was fantastic. As the Ceann Comhairle will be aware, it was fantastic to see the town buzzing and to see so much activity and spin-off trading. I thank Deputy Lawlor for raising this important issue. Since the Covid pandemic, tourism has shown its resilience time and again and it has played a sig…

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for equality, disability and youth, Norma Foley, who cannot be with us this morning. Ireland currently provides accommodation to approximately 33,000 people applying for international protection and has also welcomed more than 114,000 people from Ukraine since 2022. Our accommodation systems have had to exp…

With respect, I disagree. I do not believe that this is an attack on Tipperary or that the situation is in no man’s land. We have two Ministers engaging in this important priority area for Government. The relevant Minister for accommodation is the Minister, Norma Foley, who is the Minister for equality, disability, integration and youth, and I will pass the Deputy’s feedback on to her. Since the …

I move: (1) THAT the rate of value-added tax chargeable on the supply of electricity provided for by section 46(1)(caa) of, and paragraph 17(2) of Schedule 3 to, the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 (No. 31 of 2010) and the supply of gas provided for by section 46(1)(caa) of, and paragraph 17(3) of Schedule 3 to, that Act, being 9 per cent until 30 April 2025, be extended until 31 October 2…

Is this the amendment?

No.

I rise to my feet today, not in support of a particular individual, but in support of the sanctity of an office that upholds the most important thing any sovereign nation has: its democracy. We in this Chamber elected in a fair and free vote Deputy Verona Murphy as Ceann Comhairle of the Thirty-fourth Dáil and as the first ever female Ceann Comhairle in the history of the State.

Last week, we in this Chamber took a vote and if that vote were to be taken again, the outcome would be the same. Respecting outcomes of votes is the very basis for a functioning democracy. The Ceann Comhairle has only sat in that Chair for 23 Dáil sitting days and in that time, we have had two days of chaos, obstruction, ugliness and disrespect, and the exact opposite of a fair wind. That cannot…

Dramatics do not help our country and do not help our people. Opposition politics cannot just be about headlines. They also have to be about the country and the nation's interest. It has never been more important to buckle down and get working on behalf of the people of Ireland to protect our stability, our jobs in the face of potential tariffs, the taxes that support our most vulnerable - our old…

I fully support the mandate of our newly and duly elected Ceann Comhairle to get a 24th Dáil day sitting in that Chair and to continue to carry on her democratic duties to ensure the functioning of this Dáil Chamber, as is the democratic duty of all of us.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to be bringing the Statute Law Revision Bill 2024 to the House today. The Bill was introduced in the Seanad on 23 October 2024 and it passed Report and Final Stages in that House on 5 March this year. The Statute Law Revision Bill 2024 is the latest in a series of measures that have been enacted to modernise and improve public access…

Revoke.

Before I begin my closing remarks, I would like to thank the Members who participated in this debate. It has been a really informed and thoughtful discussion. Deputy Cathal Crowe mentioned that I was taking copious notes. I will paraphrase some comments. Deputy Farrell said that this body of work has afforded us all a trip down memory lane, and it really has. Deputy Ó Murchú said this was an impor…

I thank the Deputy and I congratulate him for his successful re-election to Dáil Éireann. As he alluded, I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the relevant Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins. I am happy to pass on the Deputy's feedback in terms of what he has just said about Uisce Éireann and his ask of that company. The supply of public water and the provisi…

The Deputy is right that we need to invest in our water supply. That is crucial and the examples he gave of water shortages and outages really reinforce that. Our water and wastewater systems require substantial and sustained investment over a number of investment cycles to bring them up to the quality and resilience standards required of a modern service, to provide for population growth and to b…

It will support improved water supplies across Ireland, including in Tipperary and rural Ireland, and it will support a range of programmes delivering improved water services in our rivers, lakes and marine areas. It will make a significant contribution to addressing Ireland's needs. Uisce Éireann, as we both acknowledged, has a dedicated team to deal with representations and I will provide the De…

At the outset I congratulate Deputy Gould on his successful re-election to Dáil Éireann. I thank him for raising this really important issue. As the Deputy has alluded to, I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the relevant Minister, who cannot be here today but has provided me with quite a lot of briefing material on this. That is because it is a hugely important issue. The issue of safe dri…

I thank the Deputy. To be clear, the message from both the EPA and the HSE is not to drink discoloured water, and to report it to the EPA. I take on board the Deputy's feedback that the EPA and the HSE are not doing enough in that regard, and not doing enough to interact with the public in that regard too. I will absolutely pass that on to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and ask him to act on that. …