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also opened the fuel support scheme for farmers, with a scheme for hauliers to follow in the coming weeks. The Department of Finance estimates that, taken together, this package has reduced the annual rate of inflation from April to July by 0.6 percentage points. These measures are targeted … Government's ability to respond to energy shocks and to invest in strategic energy infrastructure is made possible by sensible management of the public finances. As we take decisive action to support businesses and households in the short term, we also must maintain our ability to respond

development of villages, town and cities across the country; and — the delivery of 300,000 homes by 2030 will however require an estimated €20 billion in development finance each year, a significant portion of which will need to come from investment by the private sector to support home … supply of homes drop significantly. Its half-baked suggestions would only worsen the situation, not to mention its attempts to hoodwink the public when it says that it would boost housing figures despite the fact that some of its TDs, including its party leader, have objected to thousands

welcome the publication by the Government of The National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030. It has been suggested that this is a roadmap for inclusion of citizens who live with a disability. We have been down this road before and without a legal framework … stop. The State is legally required to carry out an assessment of need within six months of an application yet the HSE estimates that by the end of this year almost 25,000 children will have been waiting more than six months, with 15,000 already waiting more

forward-looking agreement that will make it easier for people to access care in their communities. It reflects our shared commitment to innovation, public health, and sustainable investment. It will further support community pharmacies in diversifying their health service offerings, business models and revenue streams. On phased dispensing … remain payable as per current arrangements under reason codes 2 and 3 and will not be subject to the approved list. The HSE estimates that this will free up over €20 million in funding within community pharmacy. This funding will be primarily redirected towards valued added services

oral and a written question. I am glad it got tabled because it is an important issue in relation to the expenditure of public money and the impact of that on the delivery of housing. A well-functioning housing market, we can all agree, is crucial to supporting … development of apartments because these developments are costly, capital intensive and higher risk. Investment in the private rental sector in Dublin is estimated to have fallen from €2 billion in 2019 to €166 million in 2024. The measures introduced in budget 2026, in tandem with more structural measures

neighbour or friend who is adapting to new responsibilities and challenges. In County Laois, we know the reality of this challenge. It is estimated that we have 800 people in Laois who are living with dementia. Given demographic changes and our ageing population, that number is very likely … single day, often behind closed doors and without recognition. I join everybody else here today in acknowledging Jordan and Cian Adams in the Public Gallery and commend them on their huge achievement. People like them bring attention to dementia. This is my first time since being elected

actually going to come to an end and presumably the current extreme level of volatility is not priced into the previous cost estimate. The likelihood is the price we end up paying for this terminal over the next decade will far exceed €1 billion. This underscores the irresponsibility … raised concerns about during pre-legislative scrutiny at the climate committee. Nobody is claiming our planning system is perfect - far from it - but public confidence depends on decisions being made through transparent and independent processes. When Government proposes to remove a project from the ordinary planning framework

some €580 million to complete 56 flood relief schemes which are protecting 13,580 properties nationwide, providing an economic benefit in damages avoided estimated to be in the region of €2 million. Most recently, in 2025 over €100 million was spent on delivering flood relief schemes. This … NFFWS. In line with a strong record on the provision of open data, Met Éireann plans to increase the information it makes publicly available as the flood monitoring leg of the NFFWS develops. Met Éireann communicates expected flooding with the public through existing systems and the inclusion

contrast is quite huge. Even within that overall framework, there was scope to help those with cost-of-living issues. It has been estimated that up to 300,000 households could fall into arrears without the reliefs continuing. As various groups have mentioned, the budget does not adequately … still doing nothing for people in housing estates where they should be able to put a cable under the footpath out onto the public road and charge it at a domestic rate. If people cannot charge their EVs at a domestic rate, any kind of continuation

greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the effects of climate change in the State. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, is a public body to which these requirements apply and with which they actively comply. Section 9 of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 further provides … have achieved record-breaking levels of renewable electricity generation, reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels. Most notably, emissions from electricity generation are estimated to decrease by between 53% and 60% by 2030. Significant investment has taken place in increasing the technical flexibility of Ireland’s power system

tenants are the ones who would benefit and landlords are the ones who would have to pay. An ESRI report earlier this year estimated it would cost between €7 billion and €8 billion to retrofit private rented properties to a B2 standard. This was portrayed as unaffordable … with the tenant in situ to someone who will. We think that should be the local authority, which can convert the property into public, social or affordable housing. This should go along with a mass programme of councils buying up HAP properties and retrofitting them. It would

companions. Together, these measures provide a firm foundation to advance the Government’s commitment to establishing a sustainable funding model for the public service obligation programme as set out in the programme for Government. I will turn to disability measures. As we committed in the national human rights … homes. Those retrofitting programmes ensure that we have permanent savings for families, and that we are using heat and electricity appropriately. We estimate that the average savings per household are in the region of €1,000. It is critically important that we are going to be able

Reliance on LNG will not bring us energy security. It will not bring us national security. The new LNG facility has an estimated cost of €900 million over ten years yet there is no clarity at all on how this could impact energy bills. At a time when … higher prices, higher risks and a long wait for supports that may or may not arrive. That is just not good enough. The public can see the connection between global conflict and the price they pay at the pump, at the supermarket checkout and on their energy bills

have a budget surplus. Some patients are waiting more than six months for public counselling. Most people do not bother waiting for public counselling. We all know most people scrimp and save and try to pay for it themselves, a bit like what happens with dental care … Minister of State has been challenged on this by many activists. Eating disorders are the most deadly mental health condition. The HSE estimates that 180,000 people are affected by eating disorders. A couple of years ago, 220 people were admitted to hospital for eating disorders. There

Éireann. For the period of the policy statement, this will involve the prioritisation of multifaceted programmes around leak detection and repair, network improvements, public awareness campaigns and funding to fix customer-side leaks. Every day, we lose approximately 37% of our treated water through leaks before it even … network. It will deliver secure and sustainable water supplies for more than 2.5 million people across the eastern and midlands region, with an estimated budget of between €4.6 billion and €6 billion. This will create a treated water supply spine across the country, providing infrastructure with the capacity

allocated almost €15 million in respect of the historical element. Last year, when the pre-legislative scrutiny was ongoing, some Department officials estimated that there might be up to 5,000 historical applications. On that reckoning, it seems the Department thinks the average award would … market volatility and privatisation. The Government claims economic uncertainty justifies these delays. However, a Red C poll shows that 56% of the public opposes these backtracks, with only 24% supporting the Government's stance. Voters who supported Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are particularly opposed, highlighting a disconnect

thank Deputies for raising this issue. I acknowledge the presence of those in the Public Gallery for the debate. I intend to divide my address into two parts. On behalf of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, I will speak to the broader issues of trade before … reduced tariff of 99,000 tonnes, phased in over a six-year period. An economic and sustainability impact assessment, commissioned by the Government, estimated that the resulting increase in beef imports into the EU could lead to a reduction in the value of Irish beef output of between

critical eye over it because the amount of spin in the document is incredible. The one thing we need to be with the public is honest when it comes to not only the risks of climate change but also the level of climate action. If the Government gives … role, it will be really important that she get independent advice in relation to the impact. Professor Daly states the CRU estimates there is potentially 5.8 GW to come on stream. She goes through all the risks. It is quite stark from both cost and demand perspectives

than not, representatives of Government parties in local authorities are not prepared to increase the property tax to provide additional resources to fund public services in an area or, in fact, want to reduce the local property tax. Too many times, this has led Labour Party councillors, working … local property tax, the second group does not need this protection and, in my view, can afford to contribute more. The Government estimates that 96% of property owners will stay in their existing bands as a result of the Bill and it will yield an extra

must go further. The clean air strategy committed to reaching the WHO's various targets. The Irish Heart Foundation estimates that there would be almost a thousand fewer premature deaths annually from air pollution if we could reach the WHO targets. That is definitely something worth pushing … almost two years after the general scheme was published. I understand that pre-legislative scrutiny was waived and that there was no open public consultation prior to the Bill being published. It seems that there was plenty of time to do those kind of things and to look

begin with. The 2026 target also lacks ambition at 26.7 million hours. We also know from ESRI estimates that over 7.6 million home support hours were privately purchased in 2022, accounting for 26% of all home support hours provided that year. Clearly, there is a huge level … services in home care, with just 36% of home care provided directly by the HSE in 2024. This move towards increasingly contracting out public services is often thought to result in efficiencies but the argument does not hold up. This is because most of those supposed efficiencies have

order to lower the level and uptake of smoking. Such a tax policy is promulgated by the World Health Organization for supporting public health, and in 2022 the Commission on Taxation and Welfare endorsed using tobacco taxation to fight tobacco consumption. I now turn to the contents … residential properties until the end of December 2028. Section 31 inserts a new section in the Taxes Consolidation Act to allow Revenue to estimate the income tax or corporate tax due for those that are registered for these taxes but that fail to make returns in line with

both our electricity grid and making our energy supplies more secure, sustainable and lower cost. That is why a commitment to accelerating critical public infrastructure is a priority for my party. We also believe that we must all understand that free democracies are under pressure throughout the world … during the next Government and we also want to see a permanent culture change and step-change in disability services. By various estimates, last year the total spending on disability was over €12 billion. Particularly when it comes to specialist supports being available when and where they

cause damage to our natural world. The Minister will be aware of the catastrophic Blackwater fish kill that occurred in early August. An estimated 42,000 fish died when they came into contact with some kind of noxious substance. That figure does not include juvenile fish and local … continuity of care for children with additional needs. It creates what is known as a perverse incentive for clinicians to leave the public service and taken on lucrative private clinical work, thereby further hollowing out HSE services and preventing them from developing

infrastructure deficit in our country is perhaps the biggest single economic challenge we have. As the Minister recounted earlier, the IMF has estimated that Ireland is looking at an infrastructure deficit, or physical infrastructure gap, of about 32% relative to the economies that we compare ourselves against … happening already?". They would certainly be entitled to wonder whether it really requires primary legislation for the Government to be able to tell public bodies - the public bodies that are our accountable to this House and accountable to the Minister and funded by the taxpayer - to prioritise