Micheál Martin

I do not think it is fair. I will just make the point----

That is not the reason.

That is not the reason.

I take it that it is a post-primary school.

I will talk to the Minister in respect of this. In addition to the physically established special classes, a new inclusive class is being advanced by the Department. It is open to schools. If they have children and young students with special needs, the same principle of one teacher and two SNAs will apply. In advance of a class being established physically, a new innovation has come into being. I…

The Deputy knows that the European sanctions against Russia are European, not individual member states'. The same applies to Israel. We have not been able to get unanimity at European Union level in respect of Israel. The Deputy knows that yet he just presents a false picture. By the way, Russia did kidnap thousands and thousands of children.

The Deputy has never brought a Bill in about that.

Or about anything. I agree what has happened is unacceptable. Everybody does. We are seeking to try to get the Israeli-EU trade association agreement suspended. More states are becoming supportive of the Spanish and Irish position. The Deputy knows damn well we advanced it two---

The Deputy keeps interrupting. We advanced it two and a half years ago. He knows we did, yet he just keeps on making false assertions about the Government's approach to this. I do not think that is fair either.

I appreciate the point the Deputy is making and I have a lot of empathy with what he is saying. They were last revised about three years ago, maybe a bit longer, and I think the threshold for qualification for social housing went up about €5,000. I know the Minister for housing is reviewing this. I have spoken to the Minister about this. There are quite a number of working people who are on income…

I thank the Deputy for raising this. He has a particular focus on this issue. I will speak to the Minister for justice. Generally speaking, we support what the Deputy said. The numbers are increasing of those coming through Templemore recruitment centre and college, which is good. There was an initial focus on Dublin and cities but that will change. There is now an increasing allocation to rural a…

Work is under way between the Department of energy and climate and the Department of housing in terms of a planning statement, which has replaced the format for guidelines. Remember this same Department had to work on the planning on exempted developments, which was quite a significant piece of work, on the rural housing guidelines, which are imminent, and on short-term lets. There is a lot of wor…

I agree in terms of the appalling nature of this act. Worse is the fact that Israel is not allowing appropriate and sufficient aid into Gaza. Notwithstanding the Board of Peace and the first phase of the agreement being implemented early on, and aid was getting in-----

That has choked up again and has been restricted. This is a grievous thing to be doing. It is an appalling thing for the Israeli Government to be doing because people are still starving and do not have proper shelter in Gaza. There are quite a number of international citizens, including Irish citizens, on board the flotilla raising awareness about the injustices of what is happening in Gaza and in…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 15, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland oversees implementation of relevant programme for Government commitments and ongoing developments in relation to Northern Ireland, Irish-British relations, and the shared island initiative. It considers issues relevant to the Government’s position as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement…

I thank all Deputies for the issues they raised. Bhí an Teachta Moynihan ag caint faoi Chonradh Aoine an Chéasta agus go háirithe an cinneadh a rinneamar maidir leis an oileán comhroinnte. He spoke about the shared island initiative and the decision in respect of it. He asked if loneliness could come under that umbrella. It certainly could. We have had discussions with the Minister of Health in th…

That was on Deputy Ahern's point.

Deputy Tóibín raised the Springhill massacre. I have not seen the full outcome of the inquest but timely and proper apologies should be given in respect of the Springhill massacre and other events of a similar kind. On the legacy Bill, I have made my point to the Deputy that huge progress has been made compared with where we were in terms of the previous legacy Bill. I have confidence that if it g…

Here is an opportunity to try to get it over the line.

Ultimately there has to be political accountability in respect of all these matters.

I propose Parliamentary Questions Nos. 16 to 34, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on climate action, environment and energy oversees implementation of the programme for Government commitments in relation to the environment, climate action, energy and emergency planning. It considers the wide range of issues that require action in Ireland’s transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient a…

I thank everybody for raising a range of issues. Deputy Malcolm Byrne was first off in raising Storm Chandra. He made the very good point that there are about eight storm events a year now and that speaks to the need for greater adaptation in our broader policies across the board. We need to adapt and invest in adaptation so that we are ready for these storms. Each storm is different. Storm Éowyn …

No, because there are other factors. The war in Ukraine was a huge factor. The problem with fossil fuels is that it they are coming from areas where there is conflict. We had a huge problem with Russia invading Ukraine. There was a huge energy crisis because Europe decided, correctly, to eliminate its dependency on Russian oil and gas. There is a war in the Middle East now, with a 20% reduction in…

We have our fair share of them - I will acknowledge that - but they are important catalysts for investment too. The point is, though, that they will use up a lot of energy so we really need the offshore wind to happen. That has faced challenges because of what has happened in the United States and the undermining of the companies in the US in the wind space. We have quite a number of offshore wind…

There is a review under way and work is being done by EirGrid, the Department and the ESB to work that out and understand the challenges. It is being actively pursued. As I said earlier, up to €13 billion will now be invested in the grid itself. We have given the equity to EirGrid for grid upgrades. We met with EirGrid and ESB Networks yesterday at a Cabinet subcommittee meeting, with a view to th…