Search the record

that all disabled people should be able to live the lives of their choosing without barriers. We are determined to deliver a transformative programme of work across the full range of issues that affect people in their daily lives, such as education, employment, income supports and active participation … doing all of these things and more based on a strong mandate, a relationship of trust and respect and an ambitious programme for Government. It is worth pointing out that we went to the country less than a year ago. The Government is about nine months

Health, Simon Harris took on one of the toughest jobs in politics, progressing the likes of free GP care, expanding the HPV vaccination programme and securing access to life-changing cystic fibrosis drugs. His decision to approve a second cardiac cath laboratory at University Hospital Waterford, UHW, will … university to Waterford in the south east after many years of campaigning. The follow-on awarding of veterinary, medicine and pharmacy degree programmes show his commitment to the development of education across our regions. As Taoiseach, Simon continued to show empathy, sensitivity and humanity. The Minister, Deputy Burke

with the Minister in relation to that. I ask that our younger farmers be to the forefront of any negotiations and conversations. The programme for Government specifically has a measure which states we will "Invest significantly in the tillage sector over five years to maintain and grow … sectors one bit, I stress that the tillage sector needs to be protected and looked after. There is a specific measure in the programme for Government which states we will "Examine facilities for processing of Irish crops and explore openings for oilseed and milling wheat processing." That

that this is a reduction of 25%. This has created deep concerns in communities that depend on task force funding. These are essential projects and they deserve clarification. Will the Minister of State confirm whether the budget for drug and alcohol task forces has been cut? The lack … hoping the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane, can find the time to meet up. I have been out visiting the community-based drug projects while also inviting groups into Leinster House for roundtable discussions to discuss how we can tackle drug-related intimidation and ensure better outcomes

promises because we did not deliver on preschool places. That was never going to be delivered in the first budget. In fact, the programme for Government commits to reducing childcare costs progressively. I welcome the increased funding for the childcare sector, which will help increase much-needed places … hours to meet the demand for a visible and responsive policing force. I welcome the €7.3 million in additional funding for youth diversion projects, which will provide opportunities for young people and will steer them in the right direction. I welcome the budget and its awareness

include those in receipt of the working family payment. Targeting our resources at those most in need makes sense. In addition, our retrofitting programme has been quite impactful, reducing many households' energy bills. More than €500 million has been allocated for residential and community energy schemes. Some … maintain sustainable public finances, it makes sense to target resources at those who would be most impacted through retrofitting and warmer homes programmes. The Minister is working with the companies to make sure that no one is cut off and that hardship funds are in place to help

propose to take Questions Nos. 13 to 24, inclusive, together. The programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland's Future, recognises the importance of Cabinet committees to the policy development and oversight work of Government. The Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs was established by the Government … February 2025. Its role is to oversee implementation of programme for Government commitments in relation to the European Union, including preparation of Ireland's Presidency in the second half of 2026, and international issues. The Cabinet committee last met on Monday, 16 June when it considered items

there is huge uncertainty. It is similar to the uncertainty in the AHBs. The Minister said there were no issues around delays in projects. There clearly are some delays in some aspects of projects but the fundamental point he made is that he will not agree to every

from which it delivered 146 homes. In County Clare, approved housing bodies are making a real difference. We have seen this in projects like the Moínear co-operative housing development delivered in partnership with Clare County Council and Co-operative Housing Ireland. It is a great example … communities I referred to earlier, can secure a home in their own area. It provides stable and affordable funding that powers our housing programme. By increasing its lending capacity, we are investing in a future where everyone has access to secure a high quality home

That is what they are being paid for at that level. I also want to see small businesses being supported to deliver housing projects. They cannot get money from the banks. They are trying desperately to play a positive role in the provision of various types of social … delivery should also be supported. We need to expand directly to the councils and directly to those small businesses. A number of projects in Kilkenny are being held up by water infrastructure and Uisce Éireann. Uisce Éireann is almost reluctant to deal in a proactive way with those

cost of disability in a comprehensive, but also permanent and sustainable, way. Our determination to address this issue is reflected in the programme for Government commitment to introduce a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment, with a view to incrementally increasing it. Delivering on this commitment … payment since 2021. Budget 2026 is the first of this Government's five budgets. We are at the start of a five-year programme for Government. Not everything can be done in year one, but the Government has put in place a significant investment in disability services

little to affect the challenges facing people with disabilities daily such as high levels of unemployment and poverty. There are at least eight programme for Government commitments to address the cost of disability, including introducing a cost-of-disability payment and extending free travel to children who receive … have increased the income disregard for those on the disability allowance to €250. It could have increased funding for the EmployAbility and WorkAbility programmes to support people with disabilities in the workplace. It could have provided for 1,000 extra places on the wage subsidy scheme, restoring

there will be an increase in funding for safety this year to €3 million. I have been visiting schools. An agri-aware safety programme is running in our schools. It is excellent. This great work was started by our senior Minister, Deputy Heydon. He took it upon himself … focus on safety for young people, in particular. In the programme for Government, Securing Ireland's Future, the Government has set out its commitment to continuing to prioritise improvements in farm safety, health and well-being through strengthened supports. It places a specific focus on farmers' mental health

escalation in expenditure for the TB programme over the last number of years has been nothing short of phenomenal. There was €37 million in 2019, €43 million in 2020, €52 million in 2021, €57 million in 2022, €74 million in 2023 and €100 million in 2024. I attended … trends continue, we are on course for €160 million or €170 million in 2026. The expenditure by the State on the TB programme is massive but the herd incidence rate is also massive. I acknowledge the additional €85 million that will go towards the initiative

thank the Deputy. The programme for Government contains a commitment to publish a national migration and integration strategy detailing how the Government will meet the demands and opportunities facing Ireland’s society. My Department is currently working on that with other Departments with the aim of having … eligible for immigration permission here they must be completing a course listed on what is known as the interim list of eligible programmes, ILEP, which is issued by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. The ILEP is being replaced by TrustEd which will

needs to be upgraded, refurbished or replaced. I will take that on board. When it comes to the national development plan and capital projects relating to courthouses and Garda stations, there are many Deputies who are as eloquent and committed as Deputy Aird in making requests. They … that the projects in their areas need to prioritised. I cannot prioritise them all, but I hear what the Deputy is saying

highlights in his role as Vice Chair of the Oireachtas committee on infrastructure, is the need to remove blockages and barriers that delay projects. What I can say, and what Deputy Neville and the people of Kildare know, is that we now have a record level of capital … unit. It is the job of that Department not only to count the money but also to drive forward the delivery of the projects that are funded. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, will be back to Cabinet in the coming month with proposals from the expert group

Garda Síochána will bring more focused interagency care as envisaged under Sharing the Vision. A key priority of the project is to lead with a compassionate mental health response to vulnerable people rather than a policing response, and the emerging results from this pilot are very encouraging … Connecting for Life have included development of the model of care to manage self-harm presentations to emergency departments through the national clinical programme for self-harm and suicide-related ideation, enhanced bereavement and crisis support services including culturally appropriate services for Travellers, and media monitoring activities

centralised residential service for adults with severe and enduring mental health difficulties on a hospital site in Glanmire, County Cork at a projected capital cost of €64 million. If this goes ahead the residents will be starkly dislocated from anything resembling community living, living on the grounds … should be reversed. The ICP is also deeply concerned about the absence of close clinical supervision requirements, no minimum duration for training programmes, a reduction in required clinical practice hours from 500 to 200 and a failure to distinguish psychotherapy from more brief psychological interventions. These proposals

mental health strategy and growing peer-support roles because recovery is often peer-led and community-anchored. We are strengthening the national clinical programmes, dual diagnosis, perinatal mental health, early intervention in psychosis, adult eating disorders and services for older people, so the specialist help is there when … area, for example, the men’s sheds in Dún Laoghaire, Blackrock and Loughlinstown are quiet powerhouses: a bench, a kettle, a shared project and suddenly the conversation is made easier. You do not have to call it therapy for it to be therapeutic. Government can help by signposting

Government taking another stride towards the removal of the means test in the lifetime of this Government, as was a commitment in the programme for Government, as well as the €20 increase in domiciliary care allowance per week. In relation to the future, I welcome the introduction … their retirement. I also look forward to working with my fellow Oireachtas colleagues towards achieving all of the commitments made in the programme for Government over the lifetime of this Government

This budget represents the first of five budgets and is step one in the implementation of the programme for Government. It is not possible to deliver everything in year one. Financial changes, as anyone with a grasp the finance knows, happen over a period of time. This … what I said at the beginning. This budget represents the first of five budgets and is step one in the implementation of the programme for Government. It is not possible to deliver everything in year

conservation limit was under pressure, there was also an exercise in trying to understand the patterns of return. That was a separate project which is no longer relevant from IFI's perspective. Knowing his interest in this area, I will ask IFI officials to meet the Deputy … events meetings had to be postponed. I am happy to have ongoing dialogue with them. The Deputy fed into the provision in the programme for Government about the protection and preservation of the salmon stocks in the Corrib region. I look forward to ongoing dialogue with

Minister also said at the housing committee that there is a finite amount of funding - which of course there is - to approve these projects. However, that has to mean that there are projects going forward that are coming to the Department's desk and it is having

programme for Government had a clear commitment to progressively increase the renters' tax credit. Obviously, that promise was broken in yesterday's budget and as a consequence the vast majority if not all of the renters' tax credit will be swallowed up by rental increases based … most recent data from Daft. Likewise, an increasing number of people who apply for cost rental projects are refused access because they do not meet the affordability test. They earn too much to be eligible for social housing but enough to be eligible for the unaffordable cost rental

including EN 14019 or related harmonised standards, are relied upon in the assessment or acceptance of custodial cell window assemblies within Garda station projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36632/26

Digitalisation whether any internal review, engineering assessment, protected disclosure process or external examination is ongoing concerning custodial window assemblies installed in Garda station projects delivered by the Office of Public Works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36635/26

carried out any review of the long-term maintenance, replacement or remedial liability exposure associated with custodial window systems installed in Garda station projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36639/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether any Garda station projects currently under construction or active delivery contain custodial window assemblies subject to ongoing technical review, dispute, assessment or protected disclosure processes; and if he will make

further update on the progress being made in relation to the proposed relocation of the Turoe Stone; the current status of the project; the expected timeline for the commencement and completion of the works; when a substantive response will issue from the Office of Public Works, given that

whether any updated guidance has issued to the Office of Public Works to ensure adherence to procurement controls in future urgent capital projects. [37389/26

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the steps taken in 2023, 2024 and 2025 to source international engineering, project-management or flood-relief delivery expertise for tranche two flood relief schemes; the date of each step of this process, the organisation or market approached

asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if there is a list of approved mentors for the new Startup Ireland National Accelerator Programme; how a person can be added to a list of approved mentors; if there is an application process to become an approved mentor

Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth for update on a project (details supplied; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36614/26

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she is aware of a programme (details supplied), and its supported transitions model, which is currently operating in ten schools across Ireland, supporting special school leavers in moving into mainstream further education, training and employment pathways

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of eligible referrals to the iScoil programme that were refused in each academic year since 2022/2023; the principal reasons for refusal; whether alternative educational provision was offered in each case; and if she will make

highest amount of funding approved or issued by her Department for the provision of a modular classroom in 2026; the details of the project or school to which this funding related; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37140/26

Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he recognises the role of the proposed AgoraEU programme in supporting culture and independent media; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37754/26

been carried out of the potential impact on Irish civil society organisations, cultural organisations, equality bodies and media organisations if the AgoraEU programme is not substantially strengthened within the next EU budget cycle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37757/26

sports capital grant to go towards expert consultants to manage procurement, planning and other related activities in order to help deliver the awarded project, similar to the Department of Education and Youth summer works and emergency works schemes; and if he will make a statement on the matter

Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update and timeline for each stage of the regeneration projects in Dublin South-Central, in tabular form. [37121/26

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the breakdown of the €373 million allocated under the 2026 Second-Hand Social Housing Acquisitions Programme; how this compares in percentage terms with the €290 million drawn down in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37629/26

long-term homeless accommodation will be allocated among local authorities; the criteria that will apply; the number of exits from homelessness that are projected under this funding stream in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37630/26

tower; the current status of design drawings or feasibility studies for these works; the anticipated timelines for delivery of these projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37637/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Social Protection whether any guidance, staff training programme, operational protocol or technical system has been introduced since 2022 to assist departmental staff in identifying forged, AI-generated or digitally manipulated documentation submitted in support of social welfare claims

reducing fertiliser input costs for the Irish farming sector, including any plans for research into alternative nutrient sources or on-farm nutrient efficiency programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36830/26

qualifying for the 20-year afforestation premium under the revised farmer definition introduced in the mid-term review of the 2023-2027 Forestry Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36926/26

payment details for the €55 million reconstitution scheme for storm damage by storm Darragh and storm Éowyn under the 2023-2027 Forestry Programme; the average grant per hectare paid to farmer applicants to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36929/26

asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the consultation process that will be followed for the development of the next Forestry Programme post-2027; the steps being taken to ensure that the views of the farming sector are given priority over corporate or investment interests

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the total number of non-coursing greyhounds placed in foster care centres/care homes under a programme (details supplied) from 1 January to 31 March for each of the years 2022 to 2025 and to date in-2026, in tabular form