Micheál Martin

-----and his associates, for a long time.

Will you condemn Hamas?

I disagree fundamentally with the Deputy's assertions. Our population has increased dramatically, in contrast to the time when the Constitution was formulated. The range of issues we are dealing with now is far in excess of what would have the case in previous times. We have far greater challenges in respect of climate, biodiversity, the energy agenda and the marine ecosystem across the board, fro…

First, in terms of reading classes within mainstream schools, is the Deputy talking about-----

I introduced the first language classes within mainstream education a long time ago - they have had a great impact - with a view, by the way, to integrating a child back into the mainstream after perhaps a year of very focused work in a language class where a child was experiencing language difficulties. In more recent times, education thinking has moved towards integration, integration, integrati…

This is a very serious issue and the Minister, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, to be fair, is acting promptly on it. He briefed Cabinet in on to this IT project. There are issues in terms of the governance of that project and the eventual outcome. There has been huge expenditure on a product that has not emerged. There is not a new system in place. There are very serious issues. The Comptroller and Aud…

I am not familiar with the background to this but I presume this has been considered for quite some time. It cannot have come as a bolt of out the blue. I will talk to the Minister for Education and alert her that the Deputy has raised this issue in the House today. I am not clear on the rationale as to why it is moving from Donegal town to Letterkenny because education centres are very important …

It would be a very boring Cabinet. I do not mean that in any disrespect to diplomats. We are fortunate in Ireland that we have superb diplomats. We have tremendous diplomats who represent us very well, professionally, all over the world, including in the Middle East, United States, Africa and Asia.

We are all elected so you get what you have. We are all elected by the people. We all have different talents, different nuances and different approaches - that is the beauty of political life itself.

Comments get made and comments get retracted. By the way, I am not sure the then Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, snubbed anybody. I do not know whether he was a Minister or the Taoiseach when the Deputy says he snubbed people.

I thank the Deputy very much for her comprehensive presentation of the issues. I will come back to her with the timeline for the review and I will speak to the Minister on that issue. We intend to pursue it vigorously and in a timely manner.

One thing I do not control is the Business Committee. I can you tell you that.

Do you really want me to control it?

No.

There is no precedent. I do not think it is appropriate for internal party issues to be Government issues. It is not a Government issue-----

If I could just clarify-----

The Member of the other House, not this House, that the Deputies refer to-----

Will the Deputy let me finish? He is heckling non-stop. The issue relates to a Member of the other House. It is a matter for the party concerned in terms of its internal disciplinary procedure. He is not an officer of the Government. He is not in office. He is not a member of Government. Under the Constitution, Government is accountable to the House so-----

-----this is all very straightforward by the way but I understand what the Deputy is doing and why she is doing it.

I thank the Deputy for again very strongly and correctly highlighting an issue that is of huge concern to homeowners in the areas he has mentioned and which he represents. There is a big issue here, particularly where flood relief schemes have been introduced and where remedial measures have happened because of Government intervention and investment. Over the past number of years, we have been inv…

I would argue that the scheme the previous Government introduced was extremely comprehensive. It was far better than the scheme Sinn Féin endorsed in 2019. A lot was done by the previous Government to try to dramatically and significantly improve the scheme. Implementation is the key and delivering on the grounds.

It is a fair scheme. We can review aspects of it. The State has committed up €1 billion, maybe €2 billion eventually, to that scheme. That is what is involved. It is a huge commitment by the State, and rightly so because homeowners suffered grievously and in a shocking way in terms of the defective blocks reality and experience so many people have gone through particularly in Donegal, Mayo, Clare …

I thank the Deputy. He has been a long-standing advocate for the case of Jimmy Lai. I appreciate his sincere commitment to the issue and to that of human rights more generally. I have met with the foreign minister, Wang Yi, on two previous occasions and we discussed a wide spectrum of issues, including human rights issues. He, and indeed the Chinese Government, would respond fairly strongly in the…

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue for Tipperary town and more generally. I think he is correct in his recollections that the then Minister, Eamon Ryan, indicated that he was positively disposed to the bypass and that he preferred bypasses as opposed to lengthy motorways, but progress has not been made so far to the degree people would want. We will certainly be consider…

Ar dtús báire, níl an scéim curtha ar ceal ach tá cainteanna ar siúl idir an Aire tithíochta, an Teachta Browne, agus an tAire caiteachais, an Teachta Chambers. Tá súil agam go mbeidh toradh ag teacht go luath anois.