Search the record

from criminal activity, the presence of community gardaí delivers huge results. I have seen it across my home county of Wexford where community gardaí working assiduously on the ground are making a real difference in their communities. Investment in community gardaí is a no-brainer when it comes … criminal activity. I wish to highlight the example of Ferndale, an area in my hometown of Wexford. Even though I have referred to community gardaí, I believe this is a cross-agency matter. I agree with my colleague Deputy Kelly in that regard. A number of years

leaves no child behind. That means investing properly in schools, teachers and, most importantly, in the future of children. The first step in delivering real change in our education system is proper and adequate funding. For years, schools have been forced to fundraise for the most basic things … school days because of the lack of supports at school. It is no fault of the teachers or the school communities. A further 177 children are getting home tuition while awaiting an appropriate placement. I urge the Minister to heed the concerns raised by the INTO, among others

build thousands of bike sheds - we will leave that to you guys. We are talking about building homes that people can afford, investing in our health service so that people get care when they need it, investing in our schools, making life affordable, building communities, lifting children … much of that in the past. Young people must be able to build their futures here in Ireland. This is where they belong. This is their country. This is their home. Their talent, creativity and skills will take us forward. We simply cannot lose them. We stand here

funds, via the HSE, specialist, community-based disability services, which are designed for the 60,000 people with a significant intellectual disability, autism or a complex physical disability. These services include multidisciplinary therapies for children or adults, adult day services, personal assistants, home support, respite and residential services … appreciate that much more is needed. We must invest more in services, personal assistants, home support hours and other supports to assist people to continue living independently in their own homes. Our capital spending must increase and, crucially, we must provide more therapists and access to services

time making sure we invest more in what is working well because there is a huge amount that is working well. Part of delivering this objective will be the introduction of the new DEIS plus scheme. This scheme will provide additional resources to schools with the very highest … plus scheme, I have established a design advisory group. On that group, we have quite a number of different people, including principals, home school community liaison teams, school completion programme co-ordinators - people who work with students day in, day out and understand and know the need that

willing to build a few more houses if we are willing to give them A, B or C. It is not that. It is not binary. There is a housing emergency and everybody has a responsibility to do everything they can to build homes so our young people … partnership a Government willing to work to put in place that key infrastructure to make sure we do not just build homes but also build sustainable communities

funding for it and rectified the issue. However, as he has seen himself, the problem is that eight families had to leave their homes, which were council houses. Some of those families were interviewed for the Irish Times in recent days. I spoke to some of them afterwards … protect communities from floods and to build flood defences. There are wider issues around insurance, however. That would give people comfort. We need to look at the gaps that are lengthening the time it takes to deliver these flood defences. We need to make sure that the media

delivering homes. On that, I quote the Government's own policy, Housing for All, which I looked up earlier today. Section 5.2 relates to the aim to support sustainable communities. What does this mean? The policy sets it out as: The creation of sustainable communities has been … homes. In a very significant paragraph the RIAI further stated: The RIAI agrees that action is urgently needed to accelerate housing delivery; however, there are other ways of addressing this. In Dublin, land prices are one of the single biggest contributors to the high cost of building homes

work. MIE needs a long-term home within the Higher Education Authority. I encourage the Minister and the Minister of State to consider that over time we could work together to develop a long-term strategy for where that home for MIE would be so it will … School where we were this morning. It is a fantastic Gaelscoil delivering great education to students as Gaeilge. It has been seeking and waiting for year upon year - some 25 years plus now - for the buildings it really needs and deserves. I know it is a priority because

shift is not a surprise. It is a foreseeable challenge, yet for over a decade Fine Gael has failed to prepare. Instead of building a resilient health service, it has allowed hospitals to crumble under the pressure. Last January, a record 13,972 people were left on trolleys … invest in community health, sporting supports, housing and clean environments to tackle the root causes of poor health. We would expand screening programmes and empower pharmacies to deliver pharmacy-first care, thereby reducing the strain on GPs and hospitals. We will bring care closer to home. Too many

many people are still struggling to find a home they can afford, and too many young families are unsure if they will ever be able to buy. The strong commitments in the programme for Government must be delivered with urgency because housing is not just a policy challenge … West, which provide essential connectivity for communities. For example, we badly need a Luas for Lucan, and we must end the scourge of ghost buses right across Dublin Mid-West. We also need to ensure that rapidly growing communities, in Dublin Mid-West especially, have access to adequate

build as many homes as possible and have as much supply of housing as we can. It is also very important that we work with our local authorities in improving housing delivery. I particularly welcome the commitment in the plan to deliver 12,000 new social homes every … need to be developed as soon as possible by local authorities for a mixture of homes. Sites should deliver homes for those on the social housing list and those looking for starter homes, as well as our older people and those with disabilities who need different housing options

them here also and we need them here. More than that, they belong here, in the hospitals and communities they grew up in, caring for the people they know, building something lasting in the country that shaped them. It is worrying that Ireland has the highest proportion … place in the world for an Irish nurse to build their career. We should be investing in pay that properly reflects the responsibility nurses carry every day. A staff nurse starts on €37,288. We need to keep building on that year on year until the gap between

estates to really drive mental health capital projects. I am really serious about delivering new infrastructure and spending our full allocation over the next five years. We have enacted the Mental Health Act 2026 delivering the most significant modernisation of our mental health legislation in a generation … crisis. However, hospital should not always be the first or only option. We are building new pathways and a network of community-based alternative supports for people in distress. In the community, budget 2027 will provide two new crisis resolution teams - one in Wexford and the other

National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, and thereby nationalised and brought into public ownership, it could have been developed by the State to deliver social and affordable housing. Instead, Governments led by Fine Gael and subsequently Fianna Fáil decided to hand it to property investors. The consequence of this … reset in order that even higher rents can be charged. By the way, the developer does not want to build the town centre that is needed by the community because it cannot make as much profit out of doing so. That is where this stuff leads. The Government

Even the Minister's own energy package is clear that the best way to support energy security and meet climate commitments is to build a renewable-led energy system, not a fossil-led system, and prioritise reductions in gas demand. More gas is not the same as more … delivered? Absolutely nothing - zero. Instead of harnessing that massive natural resource, the Government is rolling out the red carpet for commercial LNG, disapplying the planning Acts, carving out exemptions from normal conditions and, as we have seen in County Clare, failing to properly engage with local communities. That

speed and scale up delivery of homes, roads, public transport, wastewater plants and energy infrastructure. Actions include legislative reforms to balance individual rights and public good, simplify regulation and consenting systems, cut administrative burden and red tape and build public acceptance and a delivery culture. The reforms align … infrastructure delivery is too slow. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform this. The Government, private sector and communities must align behind delivery. The plan is underscored by the largest capital investment in the history of the State, with over €275 billion planned over

related intimidation, supporting families, building community resilience and creating safer neighbourhoods; — strengthen accountability across Government, requiring the Ministers responsible for Justice, Health, Housing, Children and Community Development to deliver a coordinated response, with annual reporting to the Oireachtas on Garda enforcement, victim protection, community investment and progress … drug debt intimidation for years. What they will tell us is what our communities have been telling us: the situation is getting worse, with increased fear, despair and violence, families forced to leave their homes in the dead of night, people who pay alleged drug debts for family

building technologies to provide a dedicated stream of additional social housing to end homelessness for the over 55s in a single year and dramatically reduce adult and child homelessness year on year. Crucially, we need to see a doubling of investment in delivery of social and affordable homes … public homes to be delivered each year comprising social, affordable rentable and affordable purchase. Those homes need to meet need. They need to be based on an objective assessment of what is required. That means more one-bed homes and more larger homes. It means more homes

Department builds directly on that purpose, investing in people, powering enterprise and preparing Ireland for the challenges of tomorrow. I have listened intently to what my stakeholders have said and I am responding. In this budget, I am delivering for students, for families, for communities and for economic … part of their courses. Moving on from higher education to look at the apprenticeship system and the skills we need, every home we build, wind turbine we construct and hospital or data centre we open depend on skills and skilled people. That is why I have secured

credit of €1,000 for three years and an increase in funding to our local authorities to support them in building more homes for our citizens. The Opposition has suggested that there have been no cost-of-living benefits for the public. This is untrue and disingenuous … aside in a contingency reserve that will be held centrally. Since my election to this House, I have been visiting schools across my community and meeting principals, teachers and parents to see how the State can best support our education system. Time and again, personnel in schools told

Ireland. During the week, almost 400 events, involving 200,000 participants, will be hosted in schools, libraries, theatres, town halls, community centres, markets, homes and other venues nationwide. Somewhere, maybe in many places, in those 400 events are our future clinicians, climate scientists, engineers, farmers and entrepreneurs. These … ordinated nationally and is delivered and hosted regionally. We were one of the first countries to see the importance of promoting science nationally in this way and have created opportunities for education and public engagement with science and research. This builds on the success of the recently hosted

supported to return home. This would reduce the backlog, cut costs and give the public confidence that the system is being managed properly. An immigration system without clear rules is not fair to those seeking refuge, to those already living here and to the communities coping with stretched … well. We can uphold our international obligations, protect our communities and maintain public trust. The Irish people want order, compassion and competence. They want a system that works, and that is what we must deliver. The system must work not only for those already living here but also

years on trying to build sustainable, long-term communities and long-term apartment living. These apartments are not going to be long-term homes for people. It will make apartment living much more transient. It will push people further out of our urban core. The unintended consequences … also concerned about the provision of community or cultural space, particularly in respect of the 5% provision that was brought in as part of Dublin City Council's 2022 to 2028 development plan. This was a hard-won provision to deliver more space for artists and community groups

common good and would be welcomed, including by the vast majority of those who have made Ireland their home and contribute positively to our country and communities? Public confidence in our system of justice is undermined by the inappropriate imposition of concurrent sentencing, by a lack of consistency … delivered, including those which are desperately needed in and long-promised for counties Monaghan and Cavan, for example. Crime prevention is also about being tough on the causes of crime, as well as in tackling recidivism. Following the economic crash, cuts stripped out many communities of services, support