Simon Harris

You guys can take this up in Dún Laoghaire. I think it is a point worth considering.

Sorry. Hang on a second.

She is the democratically elected TD for Dún Laoghaire.

The Minister is well able to handle herself, and I am sure she will pursue this. There is a direct correlation between supply and demand and affordability. The Deputy is right. We all want to see more affordable homes. We know that one of the things that drives up prices is if there is more demand for homes than supply, and, therefore, we have to increase supply. I think we agree on that point. I…

I thank Deputy Tóibín for raising the issue and asking the questions. First, I just want to be conscious in my own comments that there are still weather warnings in place in our country. The weather event that many communities are experiencing is still ongoing, with particular warnings for Dublin, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow and Waterford. There is more rain forecast over the coming days an…

I am not sure how the Deputy segued Ukraine in there but he did.

I agree with that but I am not sure how helping people from Ukraine links to a flood situation.

That is the point the Deputy made and our response to Ukraine is another point. I am not sure the conflation of the two is particularly helpful on this occasion.

I am going to answer Deputy Tóibín's question. I am very proud of the record we have in delivering many flood relief schemes across the country. I can think of Clonmel, west Cork, Mayo, and I can think of many. I am equally frustrated, as is Deputy Tóibín, but nowhere near as frustrated as the people of the communities affected, that it is taking far too long to deliver far too many. That is why i…

That person has very good judgment, and I agree with them about my brother. I thank the Deputy for this raising this important issue. As he said, I also know well many of these organisations in the counties we represent, Wicklow and Wexford. I join the Deputy and everybody in this House in thanking them for the work they do. I remember visiting Saint Aidan's Services, Cheshire Home, Enable Ireland…

That is fair. The Government wants to have constructive conversations about how we meet the shared challenges. All of this is about the service user, the person with the disability and making sure that, regardless of whether you attend a section 38 or section 39 service or a fully funded HSE service, it should not make a difference to you as a service user. Therefore, we have to work out sometimes…

The Deputy has missed an important point, which is that this Government is advancing Sláintecare. It is advancing the creation of a universal healthcare system, and the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is leading on the full implementation of the public-only consultant contract. I hear much commentary about vested interests who have pushed back against making sure that public facilities are used…

Is Deputy Carthy now the champion of the private health insurance sector? I am confused here. We are delivering in the public sector. Everything we are doing is about making sure that, regardless of means, you can access healthcare in a time-efficient manner. That is the policy direction of the Government.

That is what we are doing. That is why, whether you are with the VHI or anyone else, we are decoupling private health insurance from access to public hospitals and particularly to consultants on public-only contracts.

First, I absolutely recognise the Deputy's characterisation of this as an ongoing nightmare for the people of Enniscorthy, a town that has flooded many times. Government announcements have been made and Government funding of €51 million has been put in place and people want to see the flood relief scheme delivered. I know we have that as a shared objective. I listened to the Minister's comments w…

A yellow rain warning is very different in the context of flooding when river levels are so high. We need to see how we can all work together, including local authorities, Met Éireann, the OPW and the Government, at a time when we are seeing more frequent adverse weather events. The Minister of State, Deputy Boxer Moran, is visiting Enniscorthy in the Deputy's constituency today to engage directly…

I appreciate the genuine interest the Deputy has in this issue. There is a challenge in this regard. I can point to the fact that we are spending €3 billion on special education, and quite rightly so. We are seeing more classes open. A good idea, or the germ of a good idea, was trying to open the process earlier to be able to forward-plan and get classes in place. I also accept the reality of the …

He could not conclude until he got the most important line in at the end-----

-----which was, quite rightly from his perspective, a view in relation to Laois having a need for this. I thank the Deputy for his acknowledgement that this is a positive policy direction. I am eager that the State invests directly in trying to acquire public space to provide capacity. We rightly have debates in this House about reducing childcare fees. We have a clear view on where we want to get…

Ah now.

I thank Deputy O'Sullivan for raising this issue. I can completely understand how it must be a cause of frustration when on the one hand that school is seeing lots of new school buildings being announced, which is a good thing, while also having its own battle to try to get what sounds to me to be a serious repair issue resolved in the interests of the welfare of its students and staff. On foot of…

I certainly will because, as the Deputy said, I have an interest in this project. I remember being in Clonmel with Deputy Murphy on many occasions. The work of Tipperary County Council, Tipperary ETB and all of the really good interagency work being done on the Kickham Barracks site is really impressive. It is a really good example of people pulling together to see how they can improve, modernise …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue on behalf of her constituents. My understanding, although I need to look into it some more, is that this, as the Deputy rightly says, was a pilot, an effort to try out new things. Encouraging people to try out new things is always important but so too is learning lessons and answering the questions and views of communities. On foot of the Deputy raising th…

I thank Deputy McCormack, who makes a really valid point. I join with him in welcoming the fact that more homes were built in this country in 2025 than in 2024. It was not marginally more, but 20% more and the highest amount of homes completed since 2011, effectively since the crash. We now need to build on that. We have a lot more to do, absolutely, but we need to build on that. The Deputy's poin…

As always, I want to thank Deputy Currie for the very constructive suggestions she makes constantly with regard to childcare and how we support parents, particularly with the early years. We have done a lot in relation to parental entitlements in recent years, including extending the parent's benefit to nine weeks. That is available for both parents now although the figure is still significantly l…