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highest quality connectivity. Indeed, in some areas it is higher than some of our urban centres. The 400 remote working hubs are dispersed right across the country and some of those include the gteics being rolled out by Údarás, which give high-quality space for people to come … places such as Longford, Buncrana, and Letterkenny. In my own home town of Ballina, we have the RSA and the Department of housing, giving people the chance to stay at home, work at home, build their families and more importantly, build communities

Deputy is right that it is time to move from aspiration to delivery. That is why the Tánaiste was very clear about the need for the development of expeditious projects to be progressed, with the whole issue around infrastructure development and the need for a specific department … perspective but also from the perspective of other regional towns as we have articulated and outlined. It is important to outline to the House that approximately €502 million of Exchequer capital funding was provided last year to TII in line with the NDP and Government policy

asking the Government to stop breaking the law. This is amazing in so many respects. The Opposition is coming to the House to ask the Government of Ireland to stop breaking the law in respect of the most vulnerable children in our society. The motion calls on Government … lifetimes. There are children, teenagers now - in fact, there are now adults - who could and should be in much better situations had their rights been vindicated and upheld and the Government obeyed its own laws. I have seen children who managed to access services in a timely manner

area of health, which I know is expensive, let us get it right in terms of primary care. Access to primary care is a priority. A pressing issue is the need for changes to the income threshold for medical cards. That stands at a scandalous … care centre. New health centres are also required at Mountrath and Rathdowney. I acknowledge a sizeable budget was allocated in the area of housing, but what is being achieved with this is in question. Over €2 billion of this will be spent on rent subsidies to private landlords

school, there is a school bus crisis. It is incredible that there is a crisis every single year. Every TD in this House has been chasing their tail and chasing around the country to find solutions in individual cases. Let me outline the issue that really frustrates … them the public transport they are crying out for. There is a major contradiction in the Government's plans in relation to this. Right now, pools of families in certain areas all want to get to particular schools. They have the critical mass for buses but the Government

unimportant, impartial or hypothetical policy changes but lived realities. It is the child waiting years for therapies, the family crushed by housing costs, the worker who cannot access mental health support and the older person who cannot get a homecare package. These are not issues that … advantage, to the tune of €200 million. This is not accidental or incidental; it is ideological. It is the hallmark of a right-wing style of Government that believes prosperity trickles down, a Government that believes supporting those at the top somehow lifts those at the bottom

illicit manufacture of 3D-printed weapons, or is there a more substantive gap that has not yet been outlined to the House? Those questions are not arguments against the directive. They are arguments for proper scrutiny and they are questions that should have been debated at committee level … this in the Chamber specifically about firearms offences is that we very rarely discuss one of the major issues occurring across Irish society right now, which is the pernicious nature of gang violence and all the tentacles that surround it. The Minister of State represents Dublin South-Central

from when they are born through childhood and into adulthood, they face battles. We have moved countless motions in this House on children with disabilities who must wait for assessments of need, who must wait for access to a therapist, who cannot get a special school place … simply ask that exceptional needs payments and emergency payments be provided to deal with the reality of the cost-of-living crisis right now, today, tomorrow, next week and next month. The Minister, reflecting the usual position of the Government, is saying it will kick the can down

have been reduced by €1,400. This is devastating for so many people who are barely scraping by. Successive Governments have ignored the rights of disabled people but their treatment by this Government feels particularly cruel. That is why so many people are protesting outside the Dáil today … people are living in poverty. Every day, people are struggling not just with the soaring costs we all face in energy, food and housing, but with the enormous additional cost of having a disability. This is why a weekly cost-of-disability payment is precisely the kind

cannot say I was aware of that as Taoiseach back then but there was a lot happening. The Deputy has just asked me right now. Having looked at the report yesterday, obviously the Garda must have put this individual forward for the Scott medal of bravery in respect … Army person. That said, I too would question. I do not want to talk about an individual who is not in the House, but there are factors that the Deputy has articulated in respect of the Morris tribunal, which we are all very familiar with. That tribunal

cannot cope with increasing demand, this will affect housing supply. That has happened in many towns and villages across Ireland holding up housing developments. We need investment in water services through general taxation or Apple's €14 billion, which the Government did not want to take. While communities … tired of unreliable water services and the threat of being charged for the privilege of receiving water that should be a basic human right. Many people go home after a long day's work to find they cannot shower or even make

workers, communities, gardaí, ambulance workers, HSE personnel and many others were involved in trying get the response under way immediately. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is the lead Department for the response to severe weather events. This means that it is responsible … ensure that people affected were aware of and had access to these supports. CWOs provided a full in-person, phone and email service right across that time, including over the first two weekends. The service was delivered not just by staff in the areas most directly affected

them, according to various surveys, will not lead to long-term lets, so they are not a significant solution to the housing crisis. They should be left to operate. The RRDF is a great fund and I have seen it work well, but I have also seen … operation. I will focus on the reliability of public transport. We need more of it, but we first need to get the reliability right. For example, the 132 bus from west Wicklow to Dublin is not reliable. People will not use an unreliable service. There is an extraordinarily

Deputy is right. It is always a milestone moment in relation to the consideration of any new medicine for Irish patients when the NCPE produces its report and that has obviously happened. The next step is for the HSE to invite the company to initiate commercial negotiations. Following … Government, in terms of the free HRT scheme. I think we all are. It is very important that Deputies come to this House and highlight where they believe there is room for improvement or gaps where people cannot qualify. That is separate to the drugs piece, which

committees and are active in myriad stakeholder engagements, including with the NARGC. The Minister of State welcomes the opportunity to confirm to the House the Government’s continuing commitment to nature, the countryside, and the broader biodiversity agenda. Members will be aware that, in the context of budget … Biodiversity Loss, the young people’s assembly on biodiversity loss, a series of annual biodiversity conferences and the annual Heritage Ireland 2030 conference. Right now, we are in the middle of community conversations in relation to the nature restoration law. There is a veritable cascade of committees working

State care, ended up in a situation where she could be sexually assaulted in this way. It is utterly horrific. People are right to be angry about this situation but some people's anger is being abused by those who want to cause violence, those who want … repeated failures of the State. On this motion, the simplest and very easy part, which, in theory, I think every party in this House agrees with but some parties are not going to do anything about because it does not suit them politically, is that Irish citizens living

justified. On Monday, I joined organisations, including the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Oxfam and Christian Aid, at the gates of Leinster House with Senator Frances Black. We are calling for the urgent implementation of the occupied territories Bill in full because new research reveals the extent … stand by while Netanyahu’s brutal project is being facilitated by Irish-based infrastructure. We cannot put an FDI-shaped price on human rights. I welcome the new approach by the European Commission this week and the proposed suspension of the Israel–EU agreement but we cannot leave

earlier debate. It is going to be a long evening and we are both here for the duration, which is right and proper given it is such an important topic. I want to put on record again my commitment to easing the financial burden on students and families … measures. I believe that those who need more help should get more help. That is a fundamental principle, and if anyone in the House disagrees with me on that, they should please explain why. We know that temporary measures were introduced in the last three budgets and that

biogas and biomethane can bring significant benefits to the communities and local environment in which they are located, they are, as the Deputy rightly said, significant infrastructure that will impact on the environment, biospheres and local communities. The Government recognises the urgent need for the introduction of planning … Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment and in close collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Teagasc and the SEAI

move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am very pleased to introduce the International Protection Bill 2026 to the House. Migration has been a distinctive feature of Ireland’s history. Few countries in Europe have been as affected by emigration over the past … Ireland. The vast majority of people coming to Ireland are here to work or study. This Government also fundamentally believes in the right to claim asylum. We will always uphold our obligation on this important principle of international law for the sake of those who need our protection

There is a Dublin-specific issue we have to address. Fadó fadó when cable television came into people's houses - we did not have that luxury in the country, I do not know whether An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach did and Deputy Ó Snodaigh probably did - they had to break … rural Ireland but in urban Ireland over the past number of years with access to proper telecommunications and connectivity. This is only right. We will continue to work on outages and the problems that are there

treat the chronic delay in diagnoses like the national emergency it is. Many of us will recall that on that day in this House, the then Minister of State, Anne Rabbitte, made a powerful speech acknowledging responsibility for failure and the profound impact on children and families. Anne … enough. The Government did not oppose our Labour Party motion two years ago on this very topic. It made all the right noises then, but the problem has grown worse since then. The responses to Deputy Kelly's parliamentary questions show that in the first quarter of this

about international protection, we need to wrap it up in the subject matter of migration. That is getting lost, not just in these Houses but in the country, and it is deeply concerning. Everybody in here has family members who have gone all over the world, mine included … understand, in the number of people being passed after appeal. The Minister said the majority of applicants are refused and he is right. The figure is approximately 58.4%. Some 40% are accepted. If I was Minister, the one thing I would do immediately is do a public awareness

agree. To update the House, the HSE is supporting and encouraging services to get international accreditation with the British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy. That is a first. That is new and better. I have directed that €2 million go into health research, including for endometriosis. That … recurring basis so that we will have a pipeline of expertise into HSE public endometriosis services. On medical awareness, the Deputy is so right. We wrote to all GPs about this I thank the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, whose annual conference on 6 March focused on endometriosis

delighted to confirm that the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, and I have secured a significant increase for both the water quality section within the Department and also the heritage section, including nature and biodiversity. Starting with water quality, a key goal of this Government … This is something that will not just improve the ecological status of our water but it will also improve drinking and bathing water right across Ireland. This is a key measure. I also want to speak to the increase in our heritage budget. In this budget we have