Brendan Smith

7. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister. [49735/26]

I welcome the Taoiseach's engagement over recent months with his counterparts in relation to Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. I am glad that he discussed with the Spanish Prime Minister the multi-annual financial framework. Within that multi-annual financial framework, the proposal by the European Commission in respect of CAP is totally inadequate. We have to have a properly funded CAP.…

Food security is very important.

I renew my appeal in relation to the urgent need to increase the income eligibility limits for social housing in counties Cavan and Monaghan. The social housing income baseline is €30,000 in both counties. This is totally inadequate in view of the costs today for people buying or building a home. Daily I am dealing with constituents who are working hard in relatively low-paid jobs and they are abo…

95. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the additional measures that will be implemented to intensify collaboration and delivery of further and higher education on a cross-border and all-Ireland basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50256/26]

The Minister will have heard me many times in this House, at committees and at meetings of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party advocating for closer collaboration on the delivery of education on an all-Ireland basis. There is fantastic potential, especially in the further and higher education sector. I warmly welcome the Minister’s initiative, along with Dundalk Institute of Technology, DkIT, and …

I thank the Minister for his reply. I must say that members of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, across all jurisdictions, were very strong in their praise of the Minister’s contribution at our plenary meeting in Surrey, where he spoke about the opportunities for all-Ireland developments and also east-west developments. At a recent meeting of the further and higher education committee, we…

As the Minister is aware, we are very anxious to progress the Cavan college of the future. I sincerely hope there will be further developments on that over the summer months. We are anxious to have that major new extension to the existing college constructed on Cathedral Road, right in the centre of Cavan town, where there is a demand for new accommodation. The Minister saw first-hand the work tha…

I raise again the urgent need for improved services for children with additional needs in Cavan and Monaghan. Specifically, I wish to refer today to the need to provide after-school services, including summer camps and Saturday clubs, in County Cavan for children with additional needs. Enable Ireland is the children’s disability network team, CDNT, in County Cavan. Due to staff shortages, it has …

Enable Ireland is the CDNT.

26. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the recent UK-Ireland summit. [36905/26]

I welcome the establishment of annual UK-Ireland summits. These have the potential to strengthen further bilateral relationships and intensify collaboration in areas such as trade, business, technology, investment, energy and environment. Alongside these annual summits, the Government must also ensure that the potential of the institutions established under the Good Friday Agreement across our jur…

8. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the timeline to enact the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44544/26]

It is now a year and five months since Storm Éowyn wreaked havoc on this country and caused so much damage. We were promised at that time that the Government would take effective measures to implement the learnings from this storm. I welcome the Minister's major commitment to upgrade energy infrastructure and to very substantial funding. There is also a need to implement new legislative measures, …

I thank the Minister for his reply. It should not be rocket science to bring forward these new legislative measures. The initial legislation in this area in this State is the Electricity (Supply) Act 1927, which was amended in 1999 to address the relationship between forestry and transmission lines. For years, I have raised in this House the difficulties facing communities, especially those in my …

I thank the Minister for his reply. I cannot emphasise enough the priority that needs to be attached to this. We know the horrendous hardship and suffering that were inflicted on so many individuals, families and communities. Unfortunately, that also happened prior to Storm Éowyn. We are going to have more severe weather events, according to all predictions. Whatever needs to be done, the relevant…

It is the lack of maintenance that has allowed trees and forestry to cause so much damage. What has happened previously cannot be allowed continue. I implore the Minister again to emphasise to the stakeholders, namely, other Departments and the statutory agencies, that this legislation has to be prioritised. I take this opportunity to pay tribute, as I did in 2025, to members of the emergency ser…

The Rathcorick day centre is the location for County Cavan’s day activation unit. This unit provides adult day services for persons with complex needs. Unfortunately, this centre is totally outdated and needs to be replaced as quickly as possible. The adults attending a day activation unit deserve to have modern state-of-the-art facilities. It is not acceptable that these services are provided in …

94. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will ensure that approval issues at an early date in respect of a building project for a school (details supplied) taking into account the accommodation needs of this school which have been outlined clearly to the Department and that the school is seeking basic accommodation and replacement of a much outdated prefab which w…

My question refers to Curravagh National School at Glangevlin in County Cavan. It is a small school and it has a 25-year-old prefab that needs to be replaced. It is 25 sq. m but the Department has offered a 19 sq. m replacement permanent building. On the advice of the Department the school partitioned that prefab some years ago so that it would have some accommodation for shared special education …

The assessment of need system has not been working. That system has not served children with additional needs or their families. I sincerely hope that the new autism assessment system works. Much faster access to assessment is essential, and follow-up therapies if needed. Time and again I have highlighted in this Chamber, through parliamentary questions and written representations, the unacceptabl…

25. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the work of the shared island unit in his Department. [14895/26]

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. The progressive shared island initiative is bringing to fruition many cross-Border and all-Ireland projects that many of us thought would never be realised. The National Economic and Social Council, the ESRI and some universities have been enabled to carry out very substantial comprehensive studies through shared island funding. Through the office of An Taoisea…

2. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will meet next. [7905/26]

The publication last September of the joint framework between the British and Irish Governments relating to legacy issues arising from the Troubles was a welcome development. The legislation enacted by the previous British Government whereby murderers, be they from state forces or paramilitary organisations, could give themselves immunity was reprehensible. Will An Taoiseach update us on the progr…