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national rent control in 2026. The Government is also committed to providing more affordable rental properties through the delivery of cost rental projects and all funded cost rental projects most achieve cost covering rents that are at least 25% below comparable local market levels. Nearly 4,000 cost

State with responsibility for planning to place a pause on any type of planning application, be that for housing, wind energy, infrastructural projects or any other type of development. The 2006 wind energy development guidelines will remain in force pending the finalisation of revised guidance, which is currently … where development is acceptable, including wind energy development. I can assure the Deputy that I am acutely conscious of the commitment in the Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland's Future to prioritise the publication of the wind energy development guidance, having regard to international best practice

Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the local government sector are in place. In addition, senior staff from my Department with expertise in planning and project and programme management are assigned to the office. Further administrative support is in place and staff from the wider Department are continuing to support

that is going on right across the county. I had the pleasure of taking the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, to social housing projects in Macroom and Coachford recently and I see the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, visited many projects right across Cork county

indeed there are many projects right across Cork North-West that are at an advanced stage of development. Fingers crossed that with the Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Cummins and O'Sullivan, we will see many more projects opened in the coming years

electricity bills. Equally, the revenue from carbon tax helps those in fuel poverty, helps us to have the biggest retrofitting programme for housing ever, which benefits workers and middle-income families. That is a very important retrofitting programme. It could not be financed otherwise on any sustainable basis

average of, I believe, 1.1% but those who have the least gain the most. Our commitment to the Irish people in the programme for Government and the preceding election campaign was to provide stability, deliver progress, secure Ireland’s future and never take our economic well-being … maintaining a broad tax base with the postponement of income tax changes in the case of economic headwinds. That is what the programme for Government says in black and white. Our strategy on the public finances has served this country well to get us to this juncture

childcare. Based on what was announced yesterday, the situation is going to go from bad to worse. There are commitments in the programme for Government to review core funding. Millions and millions and of euro are going into core funding. We saw an article last week … Journal showing some providers that had pulled out of it. Their profits are in the millions of euro. That commitment in the programme for Government to review core funding should be done. The Minister said that year 1 was being evaluated. That is way out of date

fact that they have so many more additional costs. After this budget, workers with children are much worse off. On the "Prime Time" programme last night people will have seen Erica who is €71 worse off. She is a teacher and her husband … archaic institution, until there is a full independent public inquiry into the treatment of animals, particularly things like the elephant breeding programme and also into its whole work culture. Public accountability is absolutely vital in this regard

smoking and substance misuse. RSV infant immunisation has reached 88% uptake on the maternity sites, but it is only 40% in the community programme. We will try to bring this back in once the flu vaccine is stood up. We will incorporate this into the primary care vaccination … programme in 2026. CervicalCheck screening has the third highest uptake in Europe, combined with the HPV vaccination, which is at 73%, which is one of the highest in Europe, though we want it to be 90%. Combined with that, we are on a path to eliminating cervical cancer

people in distress. These will be located in Donegal, Kerry and the midlands. We will also expand the suicide crisis assessment nurse, SCAN, programme. There will be 12 posts, which will be geographically located. A new crisis response pathway for children and young people will be developed, including … touch on some more supports that will be put in place, there will be a new dual-diagnosis team for the national clinical programmes. There will be funding to reopen the Keltoi treatment centre in Dublin for dual diagnosis. There will be new consultants for perinatal mental health

cost to be brought down to the price quoted to them on the doorsteps during the election campaign last year and in the programme for Government. They wanted children brought out of poverty. Not one single child should live in poverty. In our wealthy country, the height … developers before ordinary people. I will speak to two specific matters, namely supports for small businesses and the basic income for the arts programme. What is being done in respect of both represents the worst traits of this budget and this Government - poor execution and wasted opportunities spun

pledge of money for implementation. The Social Democrats have consistently called on the Government to lay out a five-year plan of programme funding for Sláintecare. I will make that call again. We want to see detailed costing on the implementation of Sláintecare. I agree with my colleague … that budget despite an increase of 30% in TB in the last year. The budget is lacking in detail on these key programmes. We want to see increased funding and more detail on a programmatic level across the health service

past five years. The overall number of apprentices is up to 30,000, and we are on track to meet our programme for Government commitments to have 12,500 annual registrations by 2030. If education builds the person, then research builds the nation. I am announcing a major … education, disability provision, new places in therapy, disability, social care, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary, alongside expanded nursing and medicine courses and cross-Border programmes with Northern Ireland to support the healthcare needs we have. I will be supporting students by means of mental health bursaries

need our support the most, and their families. Second, continuing to invest in and expand on the important work done through the DEIS programme, focusing on children most at risk of educational disadvantage. Third, providing additional funding to schools. Like everybody, I have heard what schools have said … have small scale refurbishment, maintenance work, annual minor works, IT grants solar panelling, and climate action works, as well as a major building programme happening across the country

standard capitation rates paid to all schools is a welcome change for children and staff. The delivery of hundreds of school building projects will enhance educational experiences for our children and young people across the country. Increases to the working family income threshold, the expansion of the back … that while we also support infrastructure. This budget supports the delivery of thousands of new build social homes and supports second-hand acquisition programmes as well as delivering for key investments. Housing and infrastructure are key goals in this budget. It strengthens our economic resilience through investment

another broken promise. This budget fails to prioritise income adequacy for the most vulnerable groups. It fails to live up to the programme for Government commitment to a progressive social protection system that is sustainable and fair. It is another budget and another year with no increase … effect on child poverty, lifting almost 40,000 children out of poverty. The weekly cost of disability payment is another broken promise. The programme for Government commits to this payment and persons with disabilities have significantly higher poverty and deprivation rates than the national average. Research shows that

also the case that the national development plan has provided our Department with a substantial funding envelope to fund our capital programmes out to 2030. This will ensure that we can deliver on a number of key and strategically important enterprise development initiatives, including supporting the scaling … Irish companies and helping them grow and innovate through targeted measures, such as Enterprise Ireland’s seed and venture programme. The funding will also support our priority actions highlighted in the action plan for competitiveness, such as the establishment of start-up Ireland, expanding the suite of Ireland

When it comes to the environment, there is no ring-fenced funding for a national nature restoration plan. While these are long-term projects, the work needs to begin on them in year one. Today’s budget demonstrates that there is no seriousness on behalf of this Government … costing. Think of the items the Government told us were a priority for it in the general election and the programme for Government that it has not delivered. For example, there is no second tier of child benefit. In our budget submission, we costed this measure

painfully slow. Families are still waiting. Young people are still locked out and dereliction continues to scar our towns. We need direct build programmes, not just schemes and subsidies. There are over 16,000 people homeless and more than 5,000 of these are children. This budget does … clear message that we have been forgotten. While €357 million is provided for broadcast, €65.4 million for TG4, €84.9 million for major arts projects, €10.7 million in extra funding for Sport Ireland, and €3 million to establish League of Ireland academies. They got zero. That is an astonishing

activate more housing nor have I ever seen a Government that was not allowed to do more than the programme for Government. We may stray beyond the programme for Government from time to time, so be warned. Meath County Council has surpassed its housing targets with the support

propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 5 together. I thank both Deputies. The programme for Government commits to assessing the basic income for the arts, BIA, pilot research scheme to maximise its impact. I announced an extension of six months, to February 2026, to allow for further … been in contact with arts organisations, researchers, academics, organisations representing the area and university students. The pilot is underpinned by a comprehensive research programme. I recently published a report examining the first 24 months of the scheme, which found that BIA recipients, compared to those not in receipt

audit of the League of Ireland academy system. We urge the Government to commit significant funding to same, as promised in the programme for Government. Separately, has the Minister had any communication with the FAI or the LMETB in relation to the youth training programme being

very comprehensive report on the work of the committee from its chair earlier this year. I was greatly impressed at the detailed work programme being undertaken by the committee into this sensitive policy area and its progress across the various programme strands. I also recently met with

million has been provided. A key objective of the scheme is to encourage inclusivity and accessibility, which is achieved through support for programmes with access services like subtitling, audio description and Irish sign language. With regard to sport, there are a range of funding supports for persons with … disabilities. While some funding is direct, most of the funding is part of a wider programme of expenditure and is subject to annual budgetary adjustments. To complement this strategy, I recently published an overview of supports provided by my Department to persons with disabilities and this is available

Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she recognises the role of the proposed AgoraEU programme in supporting democracy, equality, civil society organisations and fundamental rights initiatives across the European Union, including support for organisations working with marginalised communities such as LGBTQ+ people

whether she, or appropriate senior management staff from her Department, will meet with a person regarding issues experienced using the redress medical card programme (details supplied).; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37617/26

Minister for Health the number of officials or clinical advisers currently involved in assessing treatment abroad scheme applications and whether any formal training programme or accreditation process applies to those making eligibility determinations. [36565/26

Minister for Health whether the treatment abroad scheme is subject to any formal fraud-risk assessment, expenditure-risk scoring, or internal audit programme specific to high-cost referrals. [36573/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any assessment has been carried out regarding the projected impact of obesity-related disease on future acute hospital capacity demand and workforce requirements to 2035. [36645/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of additional National Ambulance Service intermediate care staff and vehicles projected to be required nationally to eliminate reliance on private ambulance providers. [36783/26

been requested to enter into cost negotiations with the HSE; the timeline for when a proposal on a publicly funded shingles vaccination programme may be submitted to her Department for consideration given that the estimated cost of full rollout for over-65-year-olds stands at €218 million

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the projected total cost of the National Laboratory Information System (MedLIS) rollout to completion in 2029; the expenditure incurred to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36995/26

management, utilisation monitoring and value-for-money assessment in primary care laboratory services pending full implementation of the Regional Laboratory Networks and MedLIS programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36999/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Therapeutic Interventions Service Improvement Programme Board has been given a formal mandate to examine counselling data governance, regional comparability, unmet demand, patient outcomes and workforce capacity; and, if so, to provide its terms of reference. [37051/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department or HSE has assessed the long-term projected financial exposure associated with gender-related referrals abroad under the Treatment Abroad Scheme. [37079/26

Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health to confirm that the National Clinical Programme for Gender Healthcare has trans healthcare falling under sexual health, as recently stated at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health (details supplied). [37179/26

Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Health if the National Clinical Programme for Gender Healthcare is on track to be fully delivered in July 2026, as recently mentioned at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health (details supplied). [37181/26

will confirm whether Action 11 of the HSE Position Paper (details supplied) led by HSE Health & Wellbeing; National Women and Infants Health Programme; ONMSD, which was due to be completed within eighteen months of publication, has now been completed; and if she will make a statement

living with the condition and who are currently being treated through the HSE system; if the HSE will consider developing a specific clinical programme in respect of the condition; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37752/26

Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the status of the Programme for Government commitment and National Rare Disease Strategy recommendation to consider early access schemes for rare diseases; the status of these considerations; the work carried out to date; the timeline she is working towards

resource centre settings; if he will provide the ESOL allocation to Donegal ETB in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026; the projected allocation for 2027; the number of ESOL learners, class hours, tutors and venues supported in Donegal in each of those years; the number of tutors

Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to outline the proposed changes to the legal aid scheme; how these proposals are consistent with the programme for Government commitment to restore legal fees; to clarify the extent to which relevant stakeholders were consulted prior to the publication of these proposals

Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration if his Department has an estimated projected savings for the State under the new TARA system for IPAS applicant sorting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35771/26

prison at Thornton Hall, including the timeline for delivery, in light of ongoing prison overcrowding and the long-standing delays associated with the project. [35707/26

whole number and as a percentage of the total; the plans to increase Garda numbers in the county in line with the programme for Government commitment to recruit at least 5,000 gardaí over the coming five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter

Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration for an update on the programme for Government commitment to consider allowing Garda trainees to undergo part of their training course in regionally based universities or technological universities; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the measures being taken to expand youth diversion and early intervention programmes aimed at preventing criminal activity among young people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35443/26

Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for an update on the bovine TB eradication programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35737/26

measures currently in place to prevent genetic dilution from imported honey bees; the supports available for conservation breeding and native bee monitoring programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35736/26