Jack Chambers

You need to work with farmers, with the agricultural community-----

-----in supporting their transition rather than weaponising the derogation.

I thank the Deputy and again welcome him back. I welcome the fact he has raised issues relating to cancer services and the national cancer strategy. It is important just to take a step back and look at the progress we have made over many years since the national cancer strategy was introduced. Over 65% of patients live for five years after a cancer diagnosis, compared with 43% in the 1990s. A lot …

I share with the Deputy the focus on ensuring that our health infrastructure, including radiation oncology machines or building better bed capacity across our health system, is achieved in the next five years. That is the work we are doing with the sectoral investment plan with the HSE to ensure we replace the equipment that is required and build additional capacity. We are now funding a public h…

I thank Deputy Devlin for raising this very important issue. It is one he has been consistently raising and campaigning for on behalf of all of his constituents. Of course, the HSE and Department of Health should, in any instance, focus on deprivation and demographics when it comes to the positioning of capital investment in terms of its overall allocation. As I mentioned previously, over the nex…

The HSE should continuously engage with local TDs representatives around healthcare needs and the feedback they are receiving from constituents and also on the critical point the Deputy made on demographics and deprivation playing a really important role. The Deputy mentioned the huge amount of construction in other parts of his constituency where we will see an inevitable rise in demand over time…

I thank the Deputy and acknowledge all of the workers who are here. I regret what has happened in the past number of days. I know how concerning and difficult it is for everyone involved. To answer the Deputy's question, receivership is a long-standing legal mechanism around the independence of functions when a company enters into that process. I was asked about this yesterday by Deputy Murphy. T…

To answer the Deputy's question, I welcome the outcomes from the European Commission proposals. Europe continues to be a leader on climate action in a world that is, unfortunately, backsliding in many instances. The new targets will be challenging for many member states, including Ireland, but we are taking action in the context of the national development plan that we reviewed. Consider the focus…

-----is critical to ensuring we meet our climate goals from a transport perspective.

The report sets out over 2,000 scenarios and it is not a projection. The Deputy needs to be factual about what it is and what it is not. It has been made on a no-policy change basis and this is reflected in that. We will take further decisions in terms of delivery of infrastructure and housing right across our economy. That will be the new housing plan and the infrastructure reforms it will underp…

No. It is why we need-----

It is why we need to remove some of the regulations that exist in parts of delivery of infrastructure and also in housing. The Deputy's solution on housing is just more State investment-----

-----and he ignores the market continuously. We need to have a viable housing market that allows small builders and developers to deliver housing right across our economy.

That is what we are trying to do, with measures the Deputy opposes continuously.

I was setting out the honest position relating to receivership, which has a legal standing, and the Deputy needs to be honest about it as well.

There is a long-standing legal mechanism when it comes to receivership and when a person is appointed. As I said to our two colleagues, the Departments of both enterprise and Social Protection are engaged in this. One is part of the notification and the other is engaging in the context of the real issues and challenges that I know the workers are facing. I will reflect on what the Deputy and other…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I regret that households and businesses have been seriously and repeatedly impacted by this. I will certainly relay that to Irish Water. I received just a brief update on this before I entered the Chamber. I know there is work ongoing to ensure it is part of the mains replacement project. I will ask for a more detailed response to issue to the Deputy. I a…

I acknowledge that Deputy Dolan would like to see projects delivered quicker over the next number of years for the schools that he has raised in Galway East. What we have tried to do in the national development plan is to significantly prioritise investment in education and in particular special education for communities where we know there is serious pressure on school places from a special educa…

-----and I know she is working to manage that within the context of her overall allocation.

I share Deputy Murphy's objective of ensuring we accelerate the delivery of the warmer homes scheme, which has made a real difference for many families affected by energy poverty across our country. In recent years, the SEAI has received a significant increase in demand for the warmer homes scheme. The increased supports for the scheme have resulted in a significant increase in applications, with …

I acknowledge the significant difficulty for many of the Deputy's constituents when there is such disruption over a weekend, exacerbated by other events. There should be better co-ordination. There is capital investment in particular events. In terms of public transport no-shows and issues with levels of services, the National Transport Authority, NTA, has brought in a regime of fines for bus oper…

I acknowledge the Deputy's concern in terms of the announcement by Merck. On, Wednesday, 22 October, IDA Ireland was notified of Merck's decision to wind down operations by the end of 2028. Staff were made aware on the same day. It is important to say this decision does not affect the life science employees. Our foremost concern is for any of the potentially impacted employees during this time. To…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I know the Taoiseach had a meeting with some of the survivors in the past number of days. A process was put in place around the appointment of a mediator, which was wanted by all sides. The update I received on this yesterday was that a specific issue had arisen for the mediator who was due to be appointed but a recommended, very experienced alt…

I thank the Deputy. I discussed it there with the Minister, Deputy Heydon, as well. I acknowledge the significant pressure it puts on families, particularly in the commuter belt in south Kildare and elsewhere, who are reliant on coming to Dublin early in the morning. I will ask TII and the Minister for Transport to better resource the response, if that is an issue, so that when a particular accide…

I thank the Deputy. He is correct that some of the delivery of projects has been too slow. That is why projects like Carrignavar and others need to be accelerated over the coming years. We have prioritised putting €12 billion into water and wastewater infrastructure over the next five years. The Minister, Deputy Browne, is finalising the capital investment plan and the sectoral plan for water and …