Pádraig O'Sullivan

15. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the efforts he and his Department have made to encourage new technologies in the construction sector; the role he believes modular housing can play in the current crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35401/25]

Will the Minister outline the efforts he and his Department have made to encourage new technologies in the construction sector, and the role he believes modular housing can play?

The Minister referenced the fact that the Department has made a good deal of progress on MMC. Will he quantify that for me if he has the figures available? How many units have been built since 2023 or whatever date he referenced? I understand a target of 1,500 was mentioned, but will he quantify the number of units that have been delivered via this method? A much-maligned project took place in Ma…

I am someone who is about to embark on a journey with my family to build our first home. If there was a genuine modular offering for us as a family, we would look at it but, unfortunately, it is just not there for us as one-off house builders. I am lucky to be in that position. Still, there are significant barriers there. I was at a lunch today with the Estonian ambassador and she spoke to me abo…

130. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the total budget and allocations for elite sport athletes; his plans to enhance that amount in the lead up to the next Olympic Games; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34959/25]

I ask the Minister about funding for elite athletes in Ireland ahead of the next Olympic cycle.

It must be recognised initially that, as the Minister of State outlined, since the previous Olympic cycle funding has dramatically improved, which is very welcome, but he will be aware that there are probably more challenges facing our elite athletes than ever before. I speak specifically about aspects of social media and the pressures that brings. Many athletes are having to try to find alternati…

I do not think I need to recite them all but I will give a few examples. Paul O'Donovan, who we all know from the rowing world, is practising as a surgeon. Sophie Becker was working in a full-time job in a pharma company until recently. Phil Healy was working as a software engineer. They are all doing this while competing at the top level in their sport. The dedication those people demonstrate is …

The Tánaiste referenced the number of staff that the State has put in, as one example. Despite the number of staff increasing from four to 30-odd at this stage, the length of time it takes to assess a drug is actually lengthening, not shortening, despite the additional staff. That is one point of clarity. The Tánaiste also referenced the heel prick test. The decision to add those two extra condit…

16. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [33563/25]

The Mazars report stated that the HSE has not been implementing the legal timelines for the reimbursement of medicines. I can refer to at least four studies commissioned in the past year that show legal timelines are not being adhered to. In February last year, the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association published a paper showing that 86% of all reimbursements did not adhere to the 180-day tim…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Catherine Ardagh - To discuss the need for all special schools to accept children at different levels on the autism spectrum. Deputy Duncan Smith - To discuss a lack of primary school places in Portmarnock. Deputy Paul Murphy - To …

I am sorry. We have to move on.

We have to move on, sorry.

On 8 June, Sunday Independent journalist Mark Tighe wrote an article with the headline, "FAI ‘too slow’ to act over allegations of former national team manager’s behaviour towards female footballers". The article alleged a number of things. The first was that the FAI agreed a financial settlement with its former director of public relations to keep details of his complaints from becoming public. T…

12. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach for an update on the Cork city task force. [29738/25]

Back in February, Deputy McGrath and I raised the issue of the city task force with the Taoiseach, who confirmed that proposals were being developed and, once finalised, would be submitted to the Government for consideration. As yet, no formal announcement has been made regarding the establishment of a task force in Cork city. We are well into the term of this Government at this stage. I listened …

I appreciate the Minister coming in this evening to take this Topical Issue matter. He will be aware that earlier during the Order of Business, I raised this issue with the Taoiseach, but such is my concern about this matter that I believe it needs further deliberation. On 8 June, the Sunday Independent's Mark Tighe wrote an article entitled "FAI 'too slow' to act over allegations of former natio…

I start by thanking the Minister of State for coming in to address this matter himself. It was remiss of me not to preface my comments by saying that if anybody has been affected by these issues, they should follow the formal complaints procedure that the FAI has encouraged people to come forward with, details of which the Minister of State has outlined. I do not raise this matter lightly. Many of…

Yesterday there were protests outside the gates of Leinster House to raise awareness about Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Thankfully, the Minister of Health is here today. To be fair to the new Minister, since she assumed her role she has been very supportive in the area of rare diseases and I thank her for that. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a very degenerative disease that affects boys predominan…

13. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on Disability will next meet. [27571/25]

This week, patients with spinal muscular atrophy, SMA, came to the audiovisual room to highlight their case for equal access to treatments and drugs. As Minister for Health in 2017, the Tánaiste once described the reimbursement system we have as being in serious jeopardy. He may actually have inferred that it was broken. Every paper published since then continues to show HSE non-adherence to timel…

I will pick up where Deputy John Connolly left off and talk about a number of schemes in Cork. It frustrates the life out of people that they are waiting ten, 12 or 15 years for these schemes, from concept through to design and being built. I accept that it is not straightforward. As Deputy Connolly noted, there are concerns about special areas of conservation and inland fisheries and a myriad of …

This has been an issue for many of us across the House over the past couple of months. It has been flagged repeatedly by Government TDs as well as Opposition TDs. I would like to specifically talk about Cork city and county. Some 33 families in Cork city and around the same number in Cork county are currently in limbo. They are unsure what is happening with their applications for the tenant in sit…

I thank the Minister of State. I might pick up on the last point. It is interesting to hear that only 20% of the fund has been drawn down. I know that in the case of both Cork City Council and Cork County Council they have drawn down the full allocation for 2025, or committed to it. If only 20% of the funding has been drawn down, could the reallocation of the funding from other local authorities n…