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infrastructure projects. The Planning and Development Act 2024 is a major reform that will speed up housing delivery. Local authorities are updating their development plans to ensure that sufficient and suitable land is zoned. Progress is being made in this regard but has to continue. We have also … reduced the VAT rate on apartments from 13.5% to 9% to improve the viability of apartment building, and we introduced a corporation tax exemption for cost-rental income to support delivery and increase viability of cost rental units. We are continuing to make real and tangible progress with

providing another opportunity for landowners to avail of an exemption in 2027 if they seek to have their land rezoned to reflect the genuine economic activity being carried out and that exemption will be considered by local authorities. Local Authority Borrowing Local authorities are the key stakeholders … preliminary tax purposes. Knowledge Development Box Recognising the importance of creating intellectual property in Ireland, I am also extending the knowledge development box, KDB, regime by a further five years. There have been significant changes in the international tax environment since the knowledge development box was first introduced

additional review and approval processes to ensure that recruitment activity is aligned with service priorities and available funding. Those roles should be exempt from recruitment restrictions. Rather than simply announcing additional posts, I want the Government to tell us what adequate staffing actually looks like. I want … International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, IBCLC, qualification. However, the IBCLC is an internationally recognised specialist lactation qualification. Why should someone who has developed that specialist expertise necessarily have to be a nurse or a midwife before the HSE can employ them as a lactation consultant

awful lot of fundraising to keep themselves going, and I am glad the Minister has clarified that they will be exempted from this. I also welcome the fact the RAIU is going to be put on a statutory footing. That is very important. We are very lucky … going to have more extreme heat. The RAIU, and for Iarnród Éireann as the operator, should make sure they have a proper national plan in case speed restrictions are required. When we are speaking about safety on the railways, it is important to talk about the continual need