Micheál Martin

It is a community matter.

I do not have the specifics of this. Is it Portmarnock community centre?

That could be a sports matter. I will talk to both Ministers and we will see what we can do.

First of all, what Spain proposes or does is Spain's business. Many people hold up Spain as representing different stances internationally and so on. I am not familiar with the comments. Is the Deputy saying that the Prime Minister made them?

The defence minister said there should be a European army. Well, the specific characteristics of Irish foreign policy are well known across the European Union and are cited in all documents pertaining to defence, as are those of Malta, Austria and Cyprus. Our military neutrality was decided by Government policy back in the Second World War, essentially, and has evolved since then. We are not joini…

I thank the Deputy very much. He has made a very compelling case in his citing of constitutional decisions in respect of survivors' entitlements to pensions and so forth. I will raise the matter with the Minister for Finance in the context of the forthcoming budget in October to see if he will examine it because the threshold looks rather low.

I accept fully that there are cost-of-living pressures on families and individuals arising significantly now from the war in Iran, which has-----

-----resulted in a 20% contraction in oil supplies and a dramatic escalation in oil prices. That is very worrying in terms of its potential impact on the world economy for the rest of the year. Hopefully, that war can end as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we have announced, as the Deputy knows, a €750 million package-----

-----trying to alleviate the pressures on families. I will have to get a look at the bill the Deputy referred to because I did not quite catch the name-----

-----of the company he was talking about, but-----

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The Minister, Norma Foley, was, to be fair to her, effective in the Estimates process in getting additional funding to establish ten new family resource centres across the country, a significant milestone in terms of what had been happening prior to that. I will talk to the Minister about core funding requirements. Again, we are anxious to give additiona…

First of all, I think the Minister is actively engaging with the mid-west university hospital and has continued to engage. I will alert the Minister to what the Deputy has said. He is speaking of HIQA's review. As he knows, the Minister did respond to that review, I think.

The next thing is that I will raise with the Minister the outcome of that report. In fact, the Minister discussed the emergency care situation in Limerick this morning with the Cabinet. Also, in recent weeks, there has been a 10% increase in activity levels at the emergency department in Limerick, so there is no doubt that the hospital remains under significant pressure, notwithstanding the fact t…

I will engage with the Minister. The HSE and the hospital should be engaging with the family in the first instance. There are proper mechanisms for accountability in respect of situations like this. However, I will talk to the Minister.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 21, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on the economy, trade and competitiveness last met on 2 March and is scheduled to meet on 25 May. Membership of the committee comprises the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, and the Ministers for public expenditure, foreign affairs, climate, enterprise, culture and further and higher education and…

I agree entirely with Deputy McCormack about the potential for the midlands for renewable energy. There have been some very good developments and announcements there over the last year, with various Ministers attending. I attended one recently with the Deputy. The Bord na Móna land resource has very significant potential for both energy renewables and industry to go along with that. We will do eve…

We have provided various mechanisms for access-----

-----to credit as well.

Very often, the take-up is not huge in terms of the various loan schemes going back to Covid-19 right through. They had not been taken up to the same extent, but the Deputy attacked it. The VAT reduction was a very simple, straightforward way to try to help the hospitality industry, likewise on the construction side to try to reduce costs but the Opposition attacked it. They cannot have it both wa…

And the other person did-----

It should not have been but-----

-----that is a specific case. They should get it back and the one-stop shop should be approached-----

-----to engage with the company involved. In response to Deputy McGuinness's question regarding that fire in Waterford, the Ministers of State, Deputies Butler and Cummins, have been there and met with the key people. The Minister, Deputy Browne, visited yesterday. The Minister, Deputy Burke, visited today and also received Cabinet approval today for a humanitarian scheme for those impacted. We a…

I am looking forward to opening the Fórsa conference as well, and we might allow them to hear my speech first. Perhaps it would be the best thing to do. In response to Deputy Hearne, we built about 36,000 houses last year. We need to do much more, and we need to go higher again. We are going to do everything we can to provide social and affordable houses to both buy and rent.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 to 40, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs was established by the Government in 2025. It meets quarterly in advance of regular European Council meetings, and as required. Its role is to oversee implementation of programme for Government commitments in relation to the European Union, including preparation for Ireland’s Pres…