Mairéad Farrell

I ask that Deputies stay within the time limit.

I remind Deputies that only one person is to stand in the Chamber at a time.

These are questions, not a debate. Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta.

Go raibh maith agat, a Aire. Tá d'am caite.

Can we just have one person talking at a time, one person standing at a time and keep to our time? That would be fantastic. Tá dhá cheist le tógail le chéile in ainm an Teachta Emer Currie.

79. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to provide some details on the work his accelerating infrastructure task force will be undertaking; what we can expect by way of the reports it will produce; and the assurances in place that the recommendations it makes will be acted upon. [27880/25]

After those remarks, I must state that it is important the record has been corrected. I would hope that all Members carry our history with them when they make contributions and understand that there are families who can be impacted. It is important for us all to realise the importance of our words. My question relates to the accelerating infrastructure task force. What can we expect by way of the…

The reason I asked this question is because in recent years various different task forces and expert groups have been set up. We have the construction sector group, for example. I was quite puzzled as to why this new group had to be set up as opposed to its members just being added to the construction sector group. As we know, that expert group was set up to help tackle the housing crisis. I read …

I hope this works, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. I am worried that the task force will become a place where things are said and reports are written, but that nothing will come from this. Of course, it is important to listen to expert recommendations and bring them together. Some incredibly good reports have been published. In that context, we could fill the House with excelle…

81. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform his plans to reform the OPW following the latest report from an organisation (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27881/25]

This relates to the latest Deloitte report into the OPW. Will the Minister of State outline how he plans to reform the organisation and what his future steps will be in that regard? There was huge outcry when people saw the bike shelter and the cost of it at €336,000. You would get an ambulance for that price on Inisheer, which does not have an ambulance.

There are a number of reasons it is important to raise this. We have been talking about reports that were not acted upon, and I hope it will not be the same in this case. Although Deloitte's report is the latest one, it is not the first report on the OPW. We had damning report in 2014. That was an external London-based firm. Following that, there was a "Prime Time" special, PAC hearings and other …

My question is on what actual reform we will see taking place in the OPW. I am sure the Minister of State is against these overspends and I take it he was not in office at the time but it has continued over a number of years and there have been reports over a number of years. What reform will take place in the OPW? Does the Minister of State have confidence it can properly manage its property? Is …

153. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to outline the progress that has been made on the National Development Plan review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27885/25]

We are all waiting to see how the national development plan will proceed. Obviously, all of our areas require a lot of investment in infrastructure. The infrastructural deficit we have, especially across the west, is something I have raised with the Minister quite a number of times. We also need to look at procurement and how it can be used to benefit areas, particularly those more rural and isola…

Will the Minister provide an update on how his Department is coming at this review? Is it that the Department was ready for such a review or did pressure come about as a result of the announcement that there would be a review? Does he think that all the information required will be available when it is needed? It is also welcome that the Minister is saying there will be public consultation. That i…

Tá a fhios agam gur rud é seo atá fíorthábhachtach don Aire Stáit. Fáiltím go bhfuil na hóráidí seo ar siúl inniu. I recognise that this is an issue that is of particular interest to the Minister of State. I thank him for facilitating these statements, which are very welcome. I also recognise that there has been a significant increase in funding for the OPW's flood defence programme in recent yea…

Chas mise le Sophie Ní Choimín ar an Luan agus chas mé arís léi inné agus í anseo sa Dáil. Tá Sophie ar stailc ocrais ón Aoine agus í ag fanacht go mbeadh an Bille um chríocha faoi fhorghabháil ina reachtaíocht. Tá sí ag fanacht air sin agus tá sí ar stailc ocrais mar go gcreideann sí go láidir gur féidir linn agus leis an Rialtas i bhfad níos mó a dhéanamh chun stop a chur leis an gcinedhíothú at…

Let us remember the time during Covid when people went out to clap for our front-line healthcare workers. We were told we now recognised these workers and that things had changed. That seems like a lifetime ago. These are workers who enable people with high care needs to live with dignity at home. They are a vital support to our hospitals and nursing homes, yet carers, both paid and unpaid, are un…

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, can you clarify how much time I have?

Go raibh maith agat. A Thánaiste, 14,000 babies could die in the next 48 hours if food is not allowed into Gaza, according to the UN. The Tánaiste will have seen those figures. We have all seen them just as we have all seen the pictures and the video footage of harrowingly gaunt faces, bodies down to skin and bones, and bodies consuming their own muscle tissue and organs as they try desperately to…

By the sounds of things, we all now know what the Minister of State does in his spare time. It sounds very interesting. Comhghairdeachas on the new role. I live in Galway city. Where I live, on the east side of Galway city, we are really lucky with different nature places we can go to. One of my favourite places is Ballyloughane Beach. I love going down there for a walk. Another place is Merlin W…

Bogaimid ar aghaidh go dtí an chéad cheist eile. Questions Nos. 111 and 114 are grouped and in ainmneacha na Teachtaí Kenny agus Aird. We will begin with an Teachta Kenny.

Will the Taoiseach advise if there has been a change of approach with regard to medical cards? Over the last while, a significant number of people have come to me, especially older women who have had medical cards for a long time and whose cards are now suddenly being taken away from them. Has there been a change of approach? Figures released to me show an increase in the number of people who are …

It is both.