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thank the Deputy very much for raising the summer programme. I will set out the details of the scheme in the first instance and then I will respond to the specific points raised. The summer programme is hugely valued across the Government and by families and school communities … emphasis on different things in each of the schools. Since 2021, the Department of Education and Youth's inspectorate has evaluated the summer programme and the findings consistently highlight the positive impact on many children and young people who have taken part. Parents, staff and children themselves report

groups or camp providers to absorb these costs themselves. The reality is that many children are spending the summer watching their friends attending sports camps, arts camps and activity programmes, while they are being left behind simply because their parents cannot afford the fees. This exclusion … serious consideration to this proposal and work towards a practical solution with family support groups and the summer camp organisers delivering these valuable summer programmes

summer programme, previously known as July provision, remains in absolute chaos. We have parents and children still wondering whether they are going to get a service this summer. We have an email address and a phone number but we do not have answers. We would like a debate

following redeployment and the loss of seniority. SNAs receive no additional payment for State examinations, no extra personal vacation, EPV, days for the summer programme and no allowances for working in special schools, DEIS schools or Gaelscoileanna. At the same time, they remain excluded from important decision-making

school bus drivers. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire - To discuss the failure to provide necessary supports for children with additional needs in the summer programme. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the development of Bunclody Community College, County Wexford. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - To discuss the reimbursement of a drug

within their schools and communities. We will reflect on those points. As well as that, we want to make sure that the summer programme is a hugely important and embedded piece in special education and disadvantaged education now and into the future. We must be open

multiplied by two, three and ten for parents of children with special educational needs. The Topical Issue I submitted is about the summer provision programme. While the summer provision scheme obviously cannot be precisely the same as school, it is meant to offer a certain amount of continuity … year it was open in May. A lot of parents who are looking to avail of summer provision do not have the opportunity. They are being offered a home-based programme, but that is only for ten hours per week for four weeks compared to either

providing enormous funding for the summer education programme and so on. There have to be limits to Government expenditure. Local authorities have been supporting summer camps on a local basis. I think that, in Cork city, it has been going on for 40-odd years that we have … allocated funding to local summer camps organised by community associations and so on. There are limits to what the State can do in all of these scenarios. We have prioritised education, and special education in particular. Under that programme, there are also supports for particular communities in which

Cork under construction. This summer we have 35 schools which were approved to undergo works as part of the climate action summer works programme. In addition, since 2020, 306 special classes have been sanctioned in Cork, and the Minister of State beside me is very aware of this

next tranche of approvals is due this coming October for summer 2027. Drawing on experience from the Department's pathfinder programme, the new summer works scheme includes several climate action measures. Schools applying for the scheme select their preferred project category. There are ten categories of projects supported

part of national development plan, NDP, roll-out. There are also a further 12 projects being progressed under the modular programme and the climate action summer works scheme. It is important to note that only projects already at tender stage, or close to being tender-ready, were considered

this year for projects in those areas. Over the course of the summer recess, we hope to be in a position to announce this year's mobility grants, but it is a really important programme. CLÁR used to be a transformative programme. It is transformative in a different

international telecommunications connectivity. In terms of our airports, a range of investments are planned and under way. Dublin Airport has announced a major programme of improvements, which include enhanced operational capacity to manage more than 120,000 passengers per day. The Shannon Airport Group continues to implement … infrastructure such as new research and development engineering and manufacturing units. Waterford Airport is undergoing a transformative investment to be completed by the summer of 2027. In relation to ports, the Port of Cork's Ringaskiddy development, container terminal, CCT, 2 project, is under way, which will

over the summer as part of the Presidency. We will all be busy in our constituencies as well. I hope those in this House get some break, however. It is important to get a chance to recharge. While there are several hundred commitments in the programme for Government

numbers of schools in County Cork at stage 2A. The Department has a strong track record of delivering the school building programme, with over €6.9 billion invested in the last six years. This has delivered approximately 1,400 completed school building projects and over 4,000 smaller improvement … school projects in County Cork under construction. In late 2025, 35 schools were approved to undergo works as part of the climate action summer works scheme. In addition, since 2020, a total of 375 special classes have been sanctioned in Cork, of which 69 were sanctioned for September

need to have full cognisance of the overall cost of the TB programme. Farmers may think that putting €157 million into a TB programme does not impinge on my ability to spend in other areas of the Department where the Ministers of State, Deputies Dooley, Collins and Grealish … came to last year's budget negotiations with a new plan and a very bold approach that I had spent the summer negotiating. In those negotiations, a clear and explicit determination was given to me, which was that this money was to be used to drive down

Dáil Éireann on 10 June. It is very much my intention that the legislation will complete the parliamentary approval process by the summer recess. I thank Deputies for working with me to ensure that we achieve that outcome. I am very conscious of the strength of not just … week. We will debate the Bill further next week and the following week. The Bill fulfils our commitment as set out in the programme for Government. Most importantly, it will contribute positively to our compliance with our international legal obligations. This was identified in the ICJ's advisory

life. We will make decisions as a Government on the overall package, but there will be a personal income tax package. The summer economic statement next week will set out the parameters in terms of how much the tax package and spending package will be. That will give … below where other countries are, so I am sympathetic to that argument. On the issue of childcare, we have to fulfil the programme for Government commitment of getting to €200 per month per child over the next four years

will we stretch our finances to autumn, get everything that we need to ready and then still maybe take a holiday, organise summer camps, etc. The motion is, as stated, very timely. I thank everyone involved for their work on it. It has been very interesting to listen … digital divide. The digital divide has been seen from Covid time, in particular. My own project in Ballymun, the anseo school completion programme, provided laptops and broadband. I know people still do not believe me that we provided broadband to families but we did because they

allocation of €27 million for capital projects in Ireland's publicly owned harbours through the 2026 fishery harbour and coastal infrastructure development programme. Dunmore East has been allocated nearly €2 million for projects including cliff protection works, which have recently been granted planning permission, and preparation … centre, a coastguard unit and a Shannon-class Royal National Lifeboat Institution, RNLI, lifeboat station. Waterford Harbour Sailing Club runs a busy spring-summer schedule, using an open-access slipway. In summer, Dunmore East acts as a Port of Waterford cruise ship tender port, with an average

Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, for making sure these statements happened prior to the summer recess. When I think of dementia I think of my mother, Eilish. It was mentioned that about 30 cases are diagnosed per day. My mother … People with Alzheimer's and their families throughout the country deserve to be supported by the State. Statutory home care is in the programme for Government. It is something we have been working on for a number of years. I look forward to progressing that over the term

number of Government colleagues will be here to participate. I was eager that we should have this discussion kicked-off before the summer recess. I am pleased that we have managed, as an Oireachtas, to facilitate that. I am obviously committed, as I know everybody in this House … progress, while remaining steadfast in fully implementing the Good Friday Agreement and its potential. To date, the Government has advanced the largest ever programme of all-island investment to build a more connected island through the shared island initiative, backed by a €2 billion fund. In April

levels of sport, particularly targeting cohorts in society where there are lower than average participation levels. The Department operates two capital funding programmes for sport: the community sport facilities fund, CSFF, and the large scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. The first allocations under the LSSIF opened … million allocated to 347 sporting projects in Cork. We will now be opening a new round over the course of the summer. I share the Deputy's desire to ensure this site is put to sporting use very promptly. The information my Department has is that Riverstown

Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is satisfied with the level of provision under the Summer Programme and the way in which it operates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54195/26

Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason managers of the summer programme are prevented by the ESINET system being paid as manager until the entire programme concludes at the end of August. [54516/26

Education and Youth for an update on an application made through the online portal on behalf of a pupil for the July Provision Summer Programme (details supplied), especially as arrangements have already been made for the programme and a tutor for the pupil; if the application will

Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth to urgently examine an application for the Summer Programme formerly July Provision for a child (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53516/26

Callaghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth to examine the unacceptable delays in issuing sanction letters for the Home Based Summer Provision Programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53660/26

Climate, Energy and the Environment if the transposition of Article 12 of the Energy Efficiency Directive 2023/1791 will occur within the Summer Legislative Programme 2026, as it is not named within the programme, and if a specific timeline of its transposition can be provided. [51607/26

Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth the amount spent on emergency works, summer works, additional accommodation scheme, and any other capital works programme on schools (details supplied) in the past six years, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement