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programme for Government contains a solid and welcome commitment to active travel in the form of cycling and walking. How does this square with the disappointing 2025 active travel funding allocation for the city of Dublin, which the NTA has cut, from an initial allocation of €48 million … meet emission targets. I ask the Tánaiste to engage with the NTA with a view to restoring that funding so that the programme can continue to deliver for Dubliners

need, when it comes to advocating for these communities, it is generally a long struggle, sometimes over several years, to get a particular project onto the road safety programme. Those in many communities are left perplexed that they are enduring chronic safety hazards and noise pollution outside their

ride service. I acknowledge that the delivery of this extension to Kilcock is dependent on the service and delivery of the DART+ West project in general, but some sort of pre-planning can be done in tandem with the existing process that is under way. We are told … noted that there has been a significant increase in public transport services in Kildare. However, we are told that the DART+ project will require additional funding to that provided for in the current national development plan. Has this been estimated yet? I understand that a mid-term review

could at least be appointed. This would have been made up of the interested users and would have included Kildare County Council. The programme for Government says that the Government will operate a conservation plan for the Curragh and will seek to identify the agency best suited … historic plains. I have no doubt but that my constituency colleague, the Minister, Deputy Heydon, who was one of the negotiators of the programme for Government, was instrumental in ensuring that provision was included in the plan. It is great to have it there. The plan for Government

will not tolerate any further delays. I will seek to regularly come into the House to raise this issue. I appreciate the programme that has been made with regard to additional recruitment of GPs and the training programme. This is very welcome. I get the point about

thank the Minister of State. The point he makes in regard to the current status of the project is important because it would appear that yesterday Dublin City Council was also unaware that there was no activity on site. While there appear to be some attempts to bring … very important to the community and the people who want to live there. Value for money, State spending and how we deliver projects are also important, as is the competency of Dublin City Council to deliver. The Department needs to do everything it can to support Dublin City

Council is confident that any of the compliance issues previously identified can be resolved appropriately and without any undue delay to the overall project timeframe. It is worth noting as well that Dublin City Council has already advertised 16 of the affordable purchase homes. The council remains confident … meeting of public representatives, to which the Deputy referred, took place on site on 10 February. I assure the Deputy that this project is a high priority for the Government. We want to see these quality homes being delivered in order that families and individuals can be moved

Housing Plan for Ireland, the failed housing plan of the last Government, a target of 33,450 new homes were projected for 2024 but only 30,030 homes were built, a decrease of 6.7 per cent on 2023, while the construction of new apartments fell by almost … policies necessary to achieve that; and — unless there is radical change to the existing housing plan and the commitments in the Programme for Government, nowhere near 41,000 new homes will be delivered in 2025, or higher figures in the years to follow; notes that: — the Housing Commission

friends, all of whom he said are worried about their housing future in this country. It is an emergency because a joint project for assisted housing in my home town to be built on council land has not seen a sod turned in ten years, despite funding announcements … contract or lease. Why does it take two years for two Government agencies to agree on a lease? I could name other projects in other towns and I am sure my colleagues will do so. It is a housing emergency because there are no rental properties available

Minister, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, to be fair, is acting promptly on it. He briefed Cabinet in on to this IT project. There are issues in terms of the governance of that project and the eventual outcome. There has been huge expenditure on a product that

programme for Government refers to work-life balance, quality of life, quality employment and it even contains the phrase "a secure future for all living things", which is quite a noble ambition. I want to shout out for a group of workers very close at hand … very few hours. There are five permanent workers but the majority of them are living in poverty. Given the role they play in projecting out the democracy of this country and the importance of that, they should have decent jobs and proper retainers and should not have

Thankfully there is a commitment in the programme for Government to review the drug reimbursement scheme process. This is something that the Taoiseach has spoken about and been supportive of in the past. I reiterate that urgency is required here. I hope that the review that has been … committed to in the programme for Government will commence this calendar year and not in the latter stages of this Government's term. I impress that on the Taoiseach and ask him to raise it with the new Minister for Health

part of this is investment in skills. Critical to that is ensuring that the requirements of funding our future, the funding programme for higher education, are met. That is referred to in the competitiveness challenge. I am also interested in how we can provide support to our innovators … exporting. In these turbulent times, we need to defend the importance of free trade internationally. This is something that is built into the programme for Government and that underpins the competitiveness challenge report. There is a significant section in that report about Ireland's support for the capital

change this. On the cost of refurbishing long-term voids, the assumption is that it is spread over ten years. For other capital projects, it is usually spread over 30 years. If the Taoiseach wants to do something positive, that could be changed. There is no evidence base … being restricted to ten years. It is holding up many of those projects. I recently met members of a campaign group, Access for All Ireland. An issue they raised with me is how the housing crisis is affecting disabled people. As the Taoiseach knows, according to the Ombudsman

would not have won a seat here. Tá an-áthas orm. As an experienced psychiatric nurse, I have grave concerns that this unimaginative programme for Government does not even acknowledge, let alone begin to alleviate, the serious problems in our health service. I have seen first hand … recent HSE recruitment embargo and chronic underfunding by successive Governments have resulted in catastrophic understaffing and this new and so-called improved programme for Government does nothing to resolve that. Understaffing is extremely dangerous. We lose experienced healthcare workers because we do not respect their hard-earned expertise

There is only one mention of public health nurses in the whole programme of Government. Many parents have contacted me in recent weeks to say their children are not getting the vital developmental checks they need from public health nurses. When a baby is born, developmental checks … onus is on the Government to fix the broken system that has allowed this to happen. I have seen nothing in this programme for Government that gives me any confidence that this will be resolved going forward. I urge the Government to go away and really look

Department concerned under the last Government. The initial investigation found that the Arts Council was not prepared for the scale of the IT project development and did not put in the right resources to deliver it. Where was the oversight by the Department? Where was the oversight … soon as media scrutiny subsides and moves on to the next issue. This is an important issue and I do not see the programme for Government tackling it properly. I will raise immigration and address the following issue with the Minister for Justice. It is an important issue

people's development of skills and talents through exchanges and other mechanisms across borders and beyond the EU, for example, through the Erasmus+ programme. In fairness, the UK also operates youth visa programmes with several non-EU countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The proposed negotiations

justification for these new roles despite the honeyed words in the Minister's script. It is not as if the business-as-usual programme for Government requires a series of newly minted junior Ministers to deliver its extremely modest and conservative set of ambitions over the five years … programme. This is a self-serving move designed to keep sweet as many Government-supporting TDs as possible. Since the general election, we have seen the unwelcome return of the arrogance and hubris the country came to associate with Fianna Fáil in the past. That is writ large

despite the fact they did not use up all their allotted time, that Government representatives could find so much to say about a programme for Government that actually says so little. However, I want to specifically address issues of community safety, policing and justice. As Sinn Féin spokesperson … causes of crime, as well as in tackling recidivism. Following the economic crash, cuts stripped out many communities of services, support for youth projects and facilities. How we build strong communities, how we design estate and town centres, what we do about dereliction and neglect, what facilities

raise the serious concerns many people across the country have with regard to reform of the senior cycle in secondary schools. In the programme for Government, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Regional Independent Group wrote that they intend to continue the same programme of senior cycle reform

will address the part of the programme for Government that references zero tolerance of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. We all know the devastating effect on victims when their personal counselling notes are used in court as evidence in rape and sexual assault cases. This has been … Simon Harris spoke about outlawing it entirely. That commitment, given so firmly last summer, has been rowed back on in the programme for Government. What has changed for the survivors? What has changed for those who have to stand in a court of law and face those

Over the next five years, day in and day out, I will fight unapologetically for things that matter to my constituents. In the programme for Government there are many plans that must come to reality and work for all of Louth. Louth is a unique county with unique … communities, we fail. If we do not take care of the most vulnerable, we fail, and the Government will fail. The new programme for Government aims to address a range of priorities crucial for the well-being and prosperity of the country. It is comprehensive and outlines

cables and in particular on the replacement of ageing overhead lines and poles. ESB Networks will also massively scale up its timber cutting programme. Deputy Fitzmaurice and many others mentioned the need for timber corridors. All of that will be taken on board. Uisce Éireann is also protecting … future extreme weather events. In the Department of Social Protection, we continue to support individuals and families through the humanitarian assistance scheme. The programme for Government includes a commitment to develop an extreme weather event assistance scheme for community organisations, farmers and businesses. I say in reply

Bill's provisions to bring it into line with the Constitution and to reduce the risk of EU infringement procedures. Our programme for Government sets out a commitment to progressing legislation prohibiting goods from the occupied Palestinian territory and these considerations will remain central to our work … uphold the equal right to self-determination, peace, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike. We will work in line with the programme for Government commitment on legislation in relation to the occupied territories. We will work constructively with the Opposition. I look forward to sitting down

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the LEADER programme allocation to each local action group in each year since 1994 to date, in tabular form. [24221/26

Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht for a detailed update on the work of the North East Inner City Programme Implementation Board; the progress to date on each of the five workstreams; the appointment of the next independent chair; and the number of meetings chaired

Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if Delvin, County Westmeath will be included in the recently announced list of CLÁR 2026 funding projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26458/26

Development and the Gaeltacht when his Department intend to send confirmation of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund from 2025 for the Delvin project in County Westmeath (details supplied). [26464/26

Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide funding for a project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26998/26

library; the engagements he has had with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage regarding the new Cork city library project to ensure that it is designed and developed in line with his Department’s National Public Library Strategy 2023-2027 - The Library is the Place

Shea asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht for an update on current rural regeneration and development fund projects in Cork county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22797/26

Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will expand the My Open Library Programme; if he will support the development of libraries as inclusive third spaces; if he will provide funding to enhance sensory-friendly facilities in public libraries

Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will provide an update on a library project (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17472/26

which his Department is ensuring that smaller communities in Louth, such as Carlingford, Dunleer and Collon are not left behind in strategies and programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22539/26

Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht when he plans to launch the next round of town and village renewal scheme funding; if projects that were unsuccessful in previous rounds will be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22996/26

Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if there are plans to increase the overall allocation of funding for CLÁR programmes, in line with the expansion of the areas eligible for CLÁR funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23087/26

OECD’s Rural Policy Review of Ireland 2026; whether this new classification system will reform the existing categories currently used across national rural programmes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22975/26

Wall asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the amount of funding that has been allocated to the CLÁR programme for its current round of funding. [23039/26

Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht his views on the position of the LEADER programme in the context of the future of the Common Agricultural Policy post-2027; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22905/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether her Department calculates the blended effective administrative and programme support cost rate across Ireland’s total official development assistance expenditure; and if not, whether she will commit to publishing an annual aggregate delivery cost ratio

Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Transport the total allocations of funding under the active travel scheme to projects in the Wicklow- Wexford constituency (as distinct from those counties) over the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23393/26

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the progress to date in advancing the proposal to establish a successor programme to the Peace Plus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23503/26

Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on a project (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23124/26

Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Education and Youth her Departments involvement with the promotion of the Erasmus + Programme in schools and youth organisations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23285/26

Minister for Education and Youth the extent to which financial literacy is currently delivered within the post-primary curriculum; the subjects and programmes through which it is provided; and whether her Department has assessed the proportion of students who receive structured financial literacy education; and if she will

more structured or universal approach to financial literacy education at post-primary level, including the potential for a standalone module, subject or mandatory programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23340/26

Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth the progress to date in advancing a project (details supplied); when this proposal will advance to the next stage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23461/26

Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth the progress to date in advancing a project (details supplied); when this proposal will advance to the next stage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23462/26

Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth the progress to date in advancing a project (details supplied); when this proposal will advance to the next stage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23463/26