Jack Chambers

Based on what you say, a Cheann Comhairle, I am not going to respond to the specific query Deputy Coppinger raises relating to the article in The Ditch. It is a matter for the individual to respond. I do not have the factual position on that case and I do not think it would be appropriate to make any assertions or allegations connected to it. We must respect the ruling of the House. The named indi…

Of course the Minister for housing will be taking responsibility for the wider delivery of social and affordable homes across the economy. If there is an engagement or a meeting, it is important to have a structure in the Department of housing to ensure there is follow through, to ensure there are no delays and to ensure the respective utilities are actually following through on the plans the Gove…

-----which need to be managed very carefully and actively. Having a structure in government to do that and to force that will help to yield greater housing supply which people should welcome. It would be much better for the Deputy to provide constructive input into actually supporting that office with the Minister for housing. It would make a big difference.

The matters the Deputy has raised are very serious and need to be properly and thoroughly followed through by the HSE. There are references there to conflicts of interest and value-for-money concerns, which are extremely concerning. Under initiatives to reduce waiting lists, the HSE can outsource to private hospitals under the surgical services framework and the private provider framework. The HS…

One of the main areas of focus for the new Minister for Health has been the need to address work time during the evenings and over weekends. The Minister has been proactive in managing that over the past number of weeks, in particular, to ensure we have a greater presence of senior consultants and others across the hospital system in order to try to accelerate discharge and provide senior oversigh…

I thank the Deputy. I start by expressing my condolences to the family of Luke Hyde. It is deeply concerning that the first instinct of some of those present when he tragically lost his life was not to help but to take out their phones and stream the incident. It is a failure of basic human decency to take the view that social media clout is more important than the dignity and privacy of someone i…

The Data Protection Commission, DPC, plays a critical role as one of the largest EU data protection authorities and the Government acknowledges its strong track record in carrying out its duties. As the lead supervising authority across many cross-border cases, Ireland is generally the first point of response for new and emerging data protection issues across the EU. By law, it is entirely indepen…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The programme for Government includes a commitment to facilitate faster data releases from the national claims information database, NCID, to further enhance transparency and accountability. This report helps to deliver that commitment. In 2018, the average earned premium was €702. It is now 18% lower, at €575. That speaks to some of the reforms…

In fairness, Deputy Doherty has been proactive in this area over recent years.

We will work across the House to strengthen insurance reform and bring forward a new programme of reform over the term of this Government.

We will work across the Oireachtas on the measures that can be taken.

Like the Deputy, I strongly condemn the continuing Israeli military operation, which has brought fresh suffering to the people of Gaza. The images we are seeing are truly horrific. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is catastrophic; it is hell on earth. It has been over 50 days since food, medicines and other essential supplies have been allowed to enter Gaza. Israel’s continuing humanitarian bloc…

I acknowledge the ongoing issue of high energy prices across our economy, and that is why the outgoing Government, including through budget 2025, sought to support families through the electricity credit scheme. In the context of budget 2025, we will be specifically targeting any type of support that could be made available to individuals or families through the social protection system. We have b…

I thank Deputy Gogarty. My understanding is that work on that is continuing, but I will ask the Minister for Justice to respond to the Deputy directly on the timeframe of the group. There are existing systems and processes in place that are very much upholding best practice around child protection, and those concerned are considering whether repeat vetting is required or whether vetting is not req…

I acknowledge the road safety considerations the Deputy raised. The Minister, Deputy O’Brien, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, should examine the balance here and the appropriateness in the context of some of the speeds reached. It is an important part of the e-mobility strategy that there is an acceleration of e-bikes – not in terms of their speed but in the provision of e-bikes a…

I acknowledge the waiting time for driver testing is too long. The RSA has a service level agreement of a ten-week target which is not being met. It is increasing testing capacity and trying to improve the overall delivery by increasing the permanent sanction of testers to 200. That should help support a reduction in the wait time. I will ask the Minister for Transport to respond directly on the d…

I spoke on this earlier in response to Deputy Lowry. I offer my condolences to the family of Luke Hyde. What happened in the aftermath of this was shocking. That there were people who were more interested in recording the incident than helping is absolutely shocking. I mentioned earlier that the view of the Department of Justice is that this may be captured by an existing provision. I will ask the…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I will ask the Minister for Justice to respond to him directly on the particular policy plans in respect of the issue he has raised.

There is very strong reference in the programme for Government to making progress across the disability area. In each budget, we want to make incremental progress over a five-year period. That will involve the consideration of social protection payments and indeed means-tested payments like the disability allowance, as well as other areas on which we were very clear in the election regarding the m…

I thank the Deputy. I know from being in Youghal with him on many occasions the importance of different State infrastructure and the services and activities it provides in the context of the local community and the other resources that are attached to the courthouse he has referenced. I will ask the Minister for Justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, to respond directly to the Deputy on his concerns and…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. It is great to see the continued co-operation in Carlow-Kilkenny. I welcome everyone from Limerick as well.

As mentioned by the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach, the imposition of tariffs poses a significant risk to our country, society, workers, businesses and economy as a whole. All the Deputies here in the House understand the genuine concern, anxiety and distress all this places on families and people across the communities we represent. This will impact on growth and jobs and on broader infla…

As Minister for public expenditure, infrastructure, public service reform and digitisation, I am responsible for setting the overall capital allocations across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at departmental level. The responsibility for the management and delivery of individual investment projects or sectoral policy strategies within the allocations initially rests with the ind…

I reject the Deputy's assertions in respect of that matter. What she outlined relates to CSO and Central Bank data that was already in the public domain and that as debated in the Dáil on the day it was published by her colleague Deputy Doherty and the then Minister for housing, Deputy O'Brien. There were lots of projections across the public domain, and the Government obviously said it was disapp…

The Minister for housing responded to that on the day the CSO figures were published. There were lots of-----