John Lahart

Could we institute a learner driver programme to try to address those really-----

-----appalling figures?

I will wrap the two questions together if that is okay with the Chair and the Minister.

Has the Tánaiste had any recent discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart and will he comment on that? Will he update us on whether any further sanctions will be imposed on Russia?

I appreciate the combined answer there. I have a couple of comments. The Tánaiste will be aware of this and the briefings he gets will be far more sophisticated and informative than what I would be privy to, which is reading some of the international newspapers today, but it looks like Russia is mounting a further offensive into Ukraine. There is a lot of commentary in the press about what the US …

The previous Government invested a huge amount in active travel and cycle projects that are beginning to connect up. As many people did, I cycled in this morning. It is now possible to cycle a good way into the city from the south side on off-road cycle tracks. I raised this when I was in opposition. In of all places, Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, the ciclovía is a weekly event where streets ar…

Could the Taoiseach see the Government encouraging this in Dublin, Cork and Limerick-----

We could at least start it on a pilot basis and move it to a once-a-month basis where people could enjoy their time-----

-----from around 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., not the entire day.

6. Deputy John Lahart asked the Taoiseach to report on his recent engagement with the US President. [26754/25]

Words are completely inadequate, but I want to share some thoughts in spite of that. I warmly welcome the steps taken by my colleague the Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan, to try to bring some - I will not say closure - sense and reason to the awful events that happened in Carrickmacross a decade and a half ago. I am very happy the Leas-Cheann Comhairle is in the Chair to oversee the proceed…

17. Deputy John Lahart asked the Taoiseach to report on his recent discussions with President Zelenskyy. [22406/25]

2. Deputy John Lahart asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the National Economic and Social Council, a statutory agency operating under the aegis of his Department. [16778/25]

I thank the Taoiseach for taking the question. I have enjoyed reading NESC reports on and off for the last 30 years. I noticed that one of the most recent ones, which was also referenced by the Taoiseach, was in regard to energy poverty. Successive Governments have introduced schemes like the warmer homes scheme, which is very valuable, and we also have the fuel allowance. These cost the State sig…

I, too, congratulate the Minister and the Minister of State on their appointments. Like others, this is the first opportunity I have had to do so. The Minister can take as read that I support the thrust of what the previous speakers, Deputies Martin Daly and Barry Ward, the good Deputy beside me, have said. I will take a slightly alternative route, however. The Dáil had gone into recess in July 2…

This is a transport issue. Under the last Government, and it was generally welcomed at the time, the Minister for Transport introduced very relaxed laws around e-bikes, e-scooters and electric bikes. Now there are electric bikes and scooters that travel at the speed of mopeds and motor bikes that are completely powered-up and do not require any pedalling activity to get them moving. At the same ti…

A statement was made regarding Garda strip-searching. That was denied by gardaí, and just because someone can come back in and keep repeating it does not make it so. I am a person with a record of calling things out here, just as the Leas Cheann-Comhairle did - I took my lead from him - but just repeating any accusation does not make it so, and it went unchallenged.

The Taoiseach called out the horrors yesterday at the Global Ireland Summit in front of as large an international representative audience as you could get, from around the world and the European Union. I wish he could do it every day but that seems to be what is being asked for on the Opposition benches. My colleague Deputy O'Meara put it very well with regard to the inability of the European Unio…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this debate. It provides a chance to look back on where we have come from in the past century in terms of workers' rights. It was only 130 years ago that trade unions were first recognised, and how far we have come in the rights that have been achieved since then. It is just 112 years since the infamous Dublin Lockout, led by Jim Larkin and James Connolly…

I thank the Minister of State for his presence today. I am keen to make a contribution on the national planning framework, which is essentially the creation of an environment for accelerated housing development in Ireland, and other issues it concerns itself with. In no particular order I will just throw in a couple of ideas or issues close to my heart. I do not represent a Dublin city constituen…

6. Deputy John Lahart asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [13977/25]

Regarding the Cabinet sub-committee on housing, I know the issue of the gazumping of young people will mean a lot to the Taoiseach. I saw a house for sale recently in my constituency for €495,000. That is really expensive but by the time it was sold, it had gone up and up. In Scotland, when a house is put up for sale, quite a bit of consideration is given by the vendor and the person selling it on…

24. Deputy John Lahart asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the work of the policing reform implementation programme office in his Department. [16777/25]

The weather outside is absolutely stunning, which can mean only one thing: leaving certificate students are knee-deep in preparation for mock exams and the leaving certificate season. I send my best wishes to them. This morning, I wish to ask about leaving certificate grade inflation, a subject on which I know the Minister has received a lot of correspondence. Apparently, 25% of those competing fo…

That is from previous years.