Micheál Martin

First, the north-east inner-city task force has been very effective and impactful. We salute the extraordinary performances of Troy Parrott, Kellie Harrington and many others. A person on the radio the other day listed all the internationals in one street alone, as well as the local football clubs and so forth. In fairness to the sports capital grant, it has funded a lot of facilities. When I was …

I have asked successive Ministers for sport about this. Some issues in the boxing area relate to the administrative capacity to get the applications in and get them done. There is no want of political will to support boxing and boxing clubs. There is a bit of work in that regard. I just spoke to the Minister for sport last evening about the next capital grant. For those people who get to the Irish…

We have had a lot of action, actually. I would question some of the premises on which we base all of this talk. First, I accept that there is a big overcrowding issue.

I accept that fully, Deputy. I take that on board, but we have a lot of youth diversion and school completion programmes. We have the highest school completion rate in Europe, so we need to do a bit more analysis-----

I am just talking about society in general. The Deputy spoke generally about overcrowding and how it is a failure of the criminal justice system, but I am not sure it is. We need a broader analysis of the forces that are giving rise to some people ending up in prison who, perhaps, should not have ended up in prison. I refer to the whole addiction issue, the issue around drugs, drug trafficking and…

I fully accept the appalling situation in Rathmolyon, County Meath. It is a very distressing situation facing a number of individuals and families who entered into contracts in good faith for the purchase of their houses and homes in the Ringfort development. I understand the frustration and the anger. I will talk to a number of Ministers. Again, this is the behaviour of companies and individuals.…

It is unacceptable and a terrible imposition on the families concerned.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 16, inclusive, together. The Cabinet Committee on water quality oversees implementation of the programme for Government commitments in relation to the range of issues affecting Ireland’s water system. The committee last met on 30 October and the date of its next meeting has not yet been scheduled. The committee is informed by the work of the Environmental Pro…

Sorry, the which?

I thank all of the Deputies. A comprehensive number spoke in respect of the responsibilities of Irish Water, particularly in terms of wastewater treatment plants and flood relief schemes. Deputy 'Chap' Cleere raised the issue of a series of flood relief schemes in his constituency. I do not know why the planning process should take two years and that is something we need to analyse further but me…

Is it a group scheme?

The Deputy wants flexibility in the multi-annual funding. I will talk to the Minister to see whether there is anything that can be done there or not.

There is a combination of issues in terms of the reconstitution of the group of volunteers. Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue that Ringsend does not have capacity. We have been engaging and have appointed-----

I know and we have allocated billions of euro now so hopefully we can get it done. Deputy Quaide raised the issue of Balyhooly and the basic quality of water. I have spoken to Irish Water representatives about the Cork situation more generally in terms of water quality issues and they are working on that. Deputy McGreehan again raised the issue of habitats and Dundalk Bay. Again, I asked Irish W…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 31, inclusive, together. Our programme for Government sets out an ambitious agenda for building our shared island. Yesterday, the Government made a major funding commitment of over €50 million through our shared island fund to ten new programmes. We are investing for the future to improve people’s lives and strengthen connections across the island of Irelan…

I thank all of the Deputies for raising important issues. Deputy McGreehan in the first instance correctly identified that we are delivering results in respect of the shared island unit. It is practical and impactful. It is not about rhetoric. We have had rhetoric for 60 or 70 years and longer. It is about getting things done and delivering, and that is what we are doing. I take the point the Depu…

These questions are on the shared island unit so I will keep it there. Deputy Devlin raised Dundalk IT and Queen's University and I have explained this. With regard to Dublin and Belfast and the night-time economies, we are very anxious to really develop the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor. The councils are good. I get the point on the night-time economies. I will look at it in terms of what we …

It has done economic studies as well as studies on primary care and health. Very good studies are being done by the ESRI and there will be more. More data will be coming next month. Research is also being done by the National Economic and Social Council. To respond to Deputy Quaide, we are doing work in the area he mentioned but there is potential for more work if we can get a viable project. He …

Yes, but we do not want to undermine and kill what is a good initiative.

Deputy Boyd Barrett raised what is a separate issue really. I would disagree with Deputy-----

I cannot account for the British-----

I will come back to Deputy Boyd Barrett another day on that.

I attended a meeting of the European Council on 23 October in Brussels. The substantial items on the agenda included support for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, European security and defence, competitiveness and the green and digital transitions. Leaders also had a first strategic discussion on housing and the Euro Summit. Migration was also discussed, as well as Moldova following its r…

The issue was dealt with at Cabinet.

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the nomination by the Taoiseach of the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton for appointment by the President to be a member of the Government. Ba mhian liom a fhógairt do Dháil Éireann go bhfuair mé fógra ón Aire Airgeadais, an Teachta Paschal Donohoe, go bhfuil sé ag éirí as a phost mar Aire Airgeadais agus mar bhall Rialtais. Chuir mé é sin in iúl do…