Rose Conway-Walsh

I wish the Minister well in her new role. It has probably never been so important. I listened intently to the Minister's answers on the incident involving five drones endeavouring to intercept the plane of President Zelenskyy recently. Was a C70 form was completed to ensure there was a Garda-Defence Forces co-ordinated response? Were all protocols followed in the context of that incident?

I certainly welcome the increase in the radar capability. It is very important. I appreciate that the Minister cannot give every detail and has to be cautious in what she says but people want to know. They want reassurance that we are resilient enough and that our reliance is holding up and being improved all the time. One of the questions that has been asked of me a lot is on what protocol is in …

I reiterate that we need to have some transparency. That is why I asked that the remit of the defence and national security committee be revisited. Transparency and accountability are very important. I welcome the investment the Minister announced last week, which is badly needed to address the neglect there has been of our Defence Forces, but there must be oversight of how it is spent and account…

9. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach for a report on the national security strategy. [67794/25]

The very serious incident of five drones endeavouring to intercept the plane carrying President Zelenskyy last week brought our unpreparedness on defence and national security into sharp focus. Was the C70 form completed to ensure that a Garda defence co-ordinated response was put in place? Were all protocols followed? Why did the navy ship not have drone-disabling equipment? Why were airlines not…

Sorry, the Taoiseach has not-----

I just want to put it on the record the Taoiseach has not answered.

Do we have the capacity?

26. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [69659/25]

I know the Taoiseach will agree that the people in Mayo deserve to have proper road infrastructure. I want to specifically talk to him about the R312, which is the main road connecting Erris to the county town of Castlebar. I want it to be designated a regional strategic road because that is the only way it will get the funding it needs. It is a dangerous road. People have put up with it for years…

It is the R312. I thank the Taoiseach.

I wish to speak to amendments Nos. 5, 6 and 7. Unfortunately, this is a bit like playing handball against a haystack because I do not believe the Minister is going to change his mind on any of these amendments. Through the vote we have had on the amendment on blocks, he has made Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs from all of the impacted counties, including Mayo, do something they know is absolutely wr…

While we are talking about the process, why does it take over nine months for the test results to come back? There is no explanation whatsoever. People are told, month after month, that this is to do with the process of the whole thing. Why does it take so long for the results to come back from the test?

I need clarity before I leave here tonight. I want to be able to tell the people of Lios na Circe and Westport what this means for them. Not only are these semi-detached, detached or terraced houses, but the topography of where they are built means they are sitting on a number of slopes. These houses were built by an approved housing body with the local authority and local authority mortgages. The…

We are talking about a scheme that will cost billions, that is, in excess of €2 billion and maybe €5 billion. To have this arbitrary date to exclude some homeowners is deeply unfair and unequal. I have a situation on one estate where some homeowners on the estate are getting one rate and some owners are getting the other rate. That is grossly unfair. I ask the Minister, as others have said, to rev…

I, too, want to commend the achievements of Cara Darmody due to her dedicated campaigning for increased access to assessment of need. It is absolutely shameful that she is outside the gates pleading with the Government to do what it knows it needs to do, on one of the worst nights of the year. Not one child in Mayo has had their assessment of need completed within the legal timeframe so far this …

8. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if his Department is considering any review or potential increase of the VAT registration threshold for the self-employed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64580/25]

I ask this question in the context of how sole traders and self-employed people are struggling right now. I ask in particular what consideration the Tánaiste has given to raising the VAT threshold, especially in the area of services from €42,500 to try to alleviate the administrative burden on these sole traders and self-employed people.

I am asking the Minister to undertake greater exploration of this. One of the reasons for this concerns the impact of inflation. We live in an environment that is constantly changing and it is important to examine these things. I am familiar with the different rates in the EU; some are higher and some are lower. In Britain, for instance, it is the same for goods and services at a straight £90,000 …

I am very supportive of the R and D tax credit. A previous question was asked about our competitiveness. Innovation at all levels of business is very important. I am glad the Minister said it would take €100 million to bring it to €80,000 for services. The Minister may already have this information. If he does, I might ask him another question to try to get information on the position if we were t…

In parallel to this, it is very important to look at derelict sites that are owned by local authorities. The Tánaiste says this is a big job of work for them, and it absolutely is, but it is critical that we cannot be taxing someone on one side of the street when the local authority has a huge derelict site on the other side of the street and is doing nothing about it. I do not necessarily blame t…

11. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach to report on his recent meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. [67792/25]

There can be no watering-down of the commitments made in the British and Irish Governments' joined legacy framework. There are parts of that framework I question but it is very important. I welcome the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee report on this legacy legislation. The primary legislation underpinning the political framework is moving through Westminster. The bottom line is that the legislat…

23. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach his Department’s plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [67793/25]

I will talk about the regulation of quarries. The Taoiseach knows the price we have paid in this country and the price that families affected by the defective concrete blocks scandal have paid due to a lack of regulation. Many of the homeowners I have spoken to in Mayo are not satisfied with the current regulations of quarries and in particular, that geologists are not examining the aggregate wit…