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work properly in older, poorly insulated buildings. Until genuine alternatives exist and are accessible, LPG and natural gas will remain essential and policy must reflect that reality instead of pretending it away. I want to talk about respect for local communities. Too often, decisions are made in Dublin … want to genuinely secure Ireland’s energy future, we must stop closing doors and start planning for the needs of every community, urban and rural, and not just the few within the M50. I want to talk about safety, including in my own constituency. We saw what happened

with some projections even suggesting it could boost GDP by tens of millions over the next decade. To seize this opportunity, we must build upon the refreshed AI - Here for Good: National Artificial Intelligence Strategy. The strategy emphasises our commitment to a humancentric, ethical approach to AI development … deliver transparency and accountability in public service AI deployments. AI is not some far-off concept. It is the present reality and is transforming our world. From the innovation tech hubs in Dublin to the enterprising communities right across rural Ireland, AI offers us the tools to enhance

plan is and what it intends to do. Fourteen breakages in any community would not be acceptable anywhere else, but it seems to be acceptable because it is Adrigole. It is a rural community in west Cork. They are the same people as anywhere else and they deserve … failing to address these issues in all these communities and to have a proper wastewater treatment structure in order that we can go back and say to the people that something is going to happen and that they can build more houses, not a token response

bring people from right across the political divide with him. He was hugely intelligent and well spoken in politics but also in community. I am so sorry I cannot be with the people of Castletownbere and Eyeries tonight and tomorrow for the funeral of their greatest … been clear. We would abolish means testing for carers. We would pay carers properly and give them the training they deserve. We would build the residential and respite facilities that families have been begging for and expand training for occupational and speech and language therapists so that children

This action plan comprises 12 primary transformative actions and 77 support actions. Delivering the action plan is a collaborative effort involving my Department and the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, together with An Garda Síochána, the Road Safety Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the National Transport Authority … strategy. The increased deployment of safety cameras in the coming years is a key action to be delivered under the phase 2 action plan. This priority action is being delivered collaboratively by road safety partners and aligns with commitments in the programme for Government. The national safety camera

Insurance Reform surveyed 775 organisations and found that 74% had premium increases in the past two years. Only 14% had reduced premiums. Community organisations, sports clubs, voluntary groups and small businesses are seeing new exclusions and higher premiums. In other words, they are paying more for less cover … denying insurance cover or are heavily loading premiums. This applies not only to properties that have a previous history of flooding but to homes and businesses that have never flooded and are far away from previous flood events. If you have an address in Clonmel, the insurance companies

range of international multilateral forums, including in the UN framework. Here in Ireland, the Taoiseach will host a meeting of the European Political Community, the largest event of its kind ever held in this State, bringing together Heads of State and Government, from 47 European countries to Dublin … none of it, quite frankly, exists. Competitiveness is what ensures that the European economy thrives, and that its citizens prosper. It is what delivers good jobs, good wages, and a good of life, and it is a genuine priority for Ireland's EU Presidency. The context is clear

have seen at first hand how further education has changed lives in the communities in which I have lived and worked for a number of years. Yesterday, the Minister delivered his keynote speech at the Irish Universities Association's Future of Ireland seminar. He presented a vision that … will speak about those students I lectured on the bachelor of education course. They worked very long hours on the course, travelled home, worked at the weekend and tried to complete the volume of work they needed to do. Anybody here who has worked in third level education

make the lives of those around us better to improve our communities. The politics that I see coming out of this particular motion, let us be clear, is about dividing this Chamber. It is about dividing communities. What is even worse is that this type of politics … Tánaiste. We have seen real leadership and delivery, not only at home but abroad. He recognised the State of Palestine within a month of taking office as Taoiseach, showing absolute leadership at home but abroad as well. He apologised to the Stardust families after 42 long, difficult

probably had the lowest visitor figures in the country. We grasped that negative and we worked with the local authority and stakeholders to build the tourism product in our county. Last Christmas, we launched a new tourism network to drive the future of tourism in Longford. Our statement … undiscovered. We have been working very closely with Visit Westmeath where we were picked for one of the seven sites for the Home of Hallowe'en, which was a fantastic first year. We are looking forward to this continuing to be a successful festival. Longford is an unspoilt

that were promised were not delivered. Staff that were promised were not delivered. Pharmacy agreements that were promised were not delivered. The Government made these big announcements and then left people high and dry. That is what was done with the statutory home care scheme. What is really … speaking about home care we have to accept that because of decades of a lack of investment in public home care, the vast majority of providers are now private. We have also seen this with nursing homes. At one point a majority of nursing homes were public

house. My parents purchased their home in the 1970s so there is no snobbery in what I am about to say about delivery for the cohort of people who are trying to get on the property ladder and purchase an affordable home. Cork City Council and Cork County … homes. The number of couples, young couples in particular, I meet and who cannot get access to the affordable property is concerning. It comes back to the ratios and targets set in the Department. We should be putting greater emphasis on local authorities to deliver affordable homes

done in a holistic and balanced way. The policy framework contains actions to assist the planning community and local authorities to manage the integration of UAS technology into communities and how to take local concerns on board, and they must be taken on board. One such action … vehicles, such as cars, vans and trucks, but, and I do say "but", there are genuine concerns from communities that have been impacted who never believed their homes would be overflown by this type of aircraft. There is, in my view, a noise nuisance. We do want

this Bill sets out a path for beginning to get that work under way. A Green Paper, a constitutional convention and proper cross-community consultation, North and South, are all steps we in the Labour Party have repeatedly called for over recent years, as it has become increasingly … conversation about how best we build a real republic across the island, not just built on the values of equality and pluralism but acting on those values and seeing them through in a way that delivers ordinary people. The Ireland of 2026 is no longer

period from the date of an offence for the RTB to institute a prosecution and updating the references to the increases in the building energy rating required to qualify for an exemption from the rent increase restriction to reflect the new BER scale that came into force … which the notice is served on the tenant. The purpose of this is to facilitate compliance as the postal service may not deliver such notices to both the RTB and the tenant on the same day. There will also be clarity that a party appealing a decision

really believe that strong companies make a strong country, surely a second tier of child benefit targeted at families living in poverty would deliver an economic and social return that far outweighs the tax breaks we have seen from the Government. The difference is that those dividends would … failed logic being baked into a system again. The prison service allocation for the next year is €579 million. The Government is literally building its way deeper into imprisonment in a country where seven out of ten people who go to prison will reoffend within three years. Meanwhile

people who staff our hospitals and care homes, those working on our building sites and buses, in our restaurants and hotels and across the local services we all depend on, and in entrepreneurs running businesses and employing people in our communities. I am truly grateful for the contributions … treated as a procedural step. It is what makes or breaks a community’s trust in our system. Alongside clear decisions, we need real community investment and practical support on the ground. Take my own community, for example. In my own constituency of Dublin Mid-West, particularly

further action, because if the international community continues to issue statements without consequences, the credibility of international law for all of us is weakened. The House will recall that on 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice, ICJ, delivered its advisory opinion on the legal consequences … majority of UN member states. This distinction, again, is important. At the same time, Ireland will continue to take action domestically. Here at home, work is continuing on the commitment in the programme for Government to progress legislation prohibiting the importation of goods from occupied Palestinian territories following

delivering housing, were due to deliver social housing in several areas but the Minister has now informed Dublin City Council that he is pulling the funding for them. It is absolutely shocking that the Minister is pulling funding from social housing projects that were ready to be delivered … housing programmes. It beggars belief that in the middle of a housing emergency, the Government would pull funding from projects about to deliver and build social and public housing. Some of the councillors at the meeting last night asked whether there is an anti-public housing agenda within

have for our trans community and friends. Deputy Byrne is right. We cannot and should never pull the ladder up. We must fight, advocate and stand with our family members, colleagues and friends because if we do not, we will fail them. Building on the Gender Recognition … LINQ in Cork. A Kerry woman living and working in Cork, she did huge work building an inclusive and empowering society for women and all of us in the community. I thank her and wish her well in her retirement. As we head towards Pride at the weekend

wind turbines. You could not make this up. If you were to create a comedy show to lampoon the Government's incapability to deliver energy, you would not have the creativity to contrast those two elements in the manner that they are there. There is such a problem … engaging in the system to become wind energy companies are actually disengaging now as a result. We in Aontú believe we need to build renewable energy in this country. We want to see a far bigger element of the electricity production come from renewables. We want

distress caused by and the continued risk of flooding. I have seen impact of flooding on people and on their homes, businesses and farms at first hand. I fully recognise the hardship experienced by all those who have been affected by flooding. The OPW is the lead agency … think we can deliver on schemes. We have given local authorities up and down the country 50 engineers to drive forward and improve the delivery of schemes. This is not a silver bullet, but it gives local authorities the support they need to deliver on those important schemes

communities, offering opportunity and hope, inspiring all of us and empowering people. Many people hearing the term "social enterprise" might ask what it is about. It is relatively new in our country but we have a long and proud history and tradition of non-State intervention in community … impactful social enterprise sector in Ireland that enriches the social, environmental and economic well-being of our communities. This policy has five objectives. The first objective is to build awareness of social enterprise to generate wider public and institutional understanding of social enterprise and its potential, including through

apartment scheme standards, turnkey developments will not be excluded. Turnkey is the mechanism through which the overwhelming majority of social and affordable homes are currently delivered. We are now going to have a two-tier sector in public housing with some people living in better quality, better designed … course is had Hines stuck to the original city development plan, it would have had the permission and would be on-site building good quality apartments today. I was on site recently, at my request, to view Hines's new planning application. The developer made the point that

Government's approach is underpinned by the need to balance short-term supports with longer-term objectives, including: — maintaining fiscal discipline and building fiscal buffers; — supporting continued employment growth and economic stability; — strategic capital investment and infrastructure delivery; — advancing Ireland's climate commitments and energy transition; and — strengthening … diesel, and green diesel all remaining too expensive at the pumps; — the Government has refused to cut Excise Duty on home heating oil, despite over 700,000 homes relying on this fuel source for heating; — struggling households cannot wait until next years' Budget for Government intervention