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planning framework. It is called the infrastructure delivery proposals that the Minister, Deputy Chambers, will bring to Cabinet shortly. It is called the budget that was just delivered and the Finance Bill that is working its way through this House. I accept that standing still and hoping that … first-time buyers, I should also say that while we have a long way to go and we are living through a housing emergency, we have this year thankfully seen the highest number of first-time buyers since 2007. I agree with those, including Deputy Tóibín

scale-up' delivery further in the short-term and secure a sustainable level of supply that will help us meet fully unmet and emerging demand; — the Government's revised housing targets, informed by expert, peer-reviewed research by the Economic and Social Research Institute, and targeting a minimum … Termination; — support a targeted second-hand social housing acquisitions programme, which responds to the needs of the most vulnerable by increasing the 2025 budget for the second-hand social housing acquisitions programme, from the €60 million available under Housing for All, to €325 million; — support local authorities

does not come in until 2027. I am not sure how the Minister's maths work out, but from last year's budget to when the tax comes in will be at least two years. Think of all the derelict site levies that will not be collected, plus … currently thousands of homeless children living in hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation. How heartbreaking must it be for parents to be in emergency accommodation and, at the same time, have to look at derelict buildings that could be turned into homes? The Minister said he wants

living crisis is now mainstream, and families with two incomes are finding it hard to cope, with very little left over for emergencies; — in the past five years grocery bills increased by 40 per cent, and that adds up to approximately €3,000 extra a year … billion but is projected to cost €15.8 billion, and Ireland is the world leader when it comes to squandering public money, bad budgeting and bad planning; — Government spending overruns have averaged €5 billion each year since 2023, and the International Federation of Accountants has strongly criticised the State

over 1,000 kilometres of active travel infrastructure has been constructed since 2021, with networks of walking and cycling infrastructure beginning to emerge in our towns and cities, allowing commuters to choose active transport modes to travel to work and school; and affirms Government efforts to: — deliver public … significant increase in spending on public awareness, communication and education campaigns by the Road Safety Authority in recent years, with a ring-fenced budget of €18 million set aside for these activities this year. Turning to public transport, within its first year, the Government published a review

housing delivery further in the short term and secure a sustainable level of future supply that will help us to meet unmet and emerging demand. At the same time, we fully acknowledge that housing remains an enormous challenge. The number of new homes coming on stream each year … Regarding calls for the Government to build capacity of the construction sector, I argue a concerted effort is already under way. For example, budget 2025 has seen the single largest investment of core apprenticeship funding since the formation of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation

1950s on a pretty big scale, when the country was virtually a third-world country, we can certainly do it now with enormous budget surpluses and record economic growth. If we look at the Central Bank figures on wealth, I think household wealth in this country … families who come in to me - I am sure they must come in to the Minister - saying it is their second year in emergency accommodation and they have been told they are 200th on the housing list. There is no chance of them getting a council house

lines. I know we are not necessarily dealing with that issue today, but provisions for better vegetation management, undergrounding key lines and improving emergency-response capacity will be welcome and are necessary. In principle, we also support the aim of giving ESB Networks the financial capacity to invest … investment programme. Which will be prioritised? On what basis? Who decides? How will we in the Dáil be informed if projects go over budget or fall behind schedule? We have seen in other instances, like the new national children’s hospital, that we only learn of budget overruns

tobacco corporation and the state's tobacco monopoly administration. It does not stop at vapes, however. The tobacco industry is also behind the emerging market for nicotine pouches, which are being cynically marketed at young people. Last August, the Irish Cancer Society highlighted that big tobacco … Following the passage of the legislation, the HSE's national environmental health service role will increase. Will the service's enforcement capacity and budget for authorised officers be expanded to ensure the ban can be enforced on a national basis? It is really important that

replaced with an annual performance delivery plan. An issue I have encountered in this Chamber since I came up here is that, every budget time, we vote for X millions of euro to go to the HSE to provide health services for children, the elderly, people who have … South Doc in the off periods, many people would be left unattended. We just do not have enough GPs. At weekends, accident and emergency departments fill up because there are no doctor services available. People are referred to the accident and emergency department where they have to wait

Berlin, Venice or Sundance Toronto, is a huge honour, and only the world’s best productions are chosen. Screen Ireland continues to support emerging Irish talent through screenings, networking events and talent promotion initiatives at major festivals throughout the year. Screen Ireland began funding TV drama … film festivals in Cork, Galway, Dingle and beyond, Screen Ireland has committed to regional development by ring-fencing its funding in its annual budgets in recent years to provide targeted support. This year alone, its nationwide additional production fund has supported seven different productions to film in counties

into increasing danger of poverty, cost-of-living measures have to be considered in the coming months in the run-up to the budget. The economic emphasis of the country also has to be addressed. I refer to the surplus we have seen over the last number … must ensure we do not use them as a mask to once again pursue austerity measures. It is sinister to see that potentially emerging in recent days in the context of employment rights and other issues. This seems to be an attempt not to waste a good crisis

these will not be a part of this year's budgetary package. In the current context, they have to be part of the budget because people who are already living close to poverty or in poverty are now facing increasing prices, which we must take into account … Government Efficiency, DOGE, and the many other ways at a domestic level that Trump is causing havoc, as well as the legal challenges emerging as a result. We saw a huge mobilisation at the weekend and we can expect that to continue. I will remark on Deputy Malcolm

many years, it was dominated by the other professions. I also pay tribute to the nurses I encountered in the Mater emergency department last night, when I was there with a friend, for the incredible professionalism and work rate that they bring every day to their jobs … extra €300 million is required for the health service. That is going to impact outcomes and services. We raised these issues at the budget last year, and we were told we did not need to worry because the health service was properly resourced. We knew then

will do. I will look at the Galway situation because those figures are quite high. The objective is to get people out of emergency accommodation as quickly as we can. There were about 8,500 more social houses built last year and, on top of that, a couple … wish him well. Deputy Ó Murchú raised the issue of child poverty, as did others, including Deputy McGreehan. I would hope that the budget becomes the focal point for dealing with child poverty and children with special needs in terms of income-related decisions. That will mean

worst forms, is built on practices of cruelty that border on outright criminality. Yet, it is our animal welfare charities, operating on shoestring budgets, that are left to pick up the pieces. They are the ones dealing with the endless stream of neglected, sick and traumatised dogs. Countless … that will continue to suffer if we do not act upon this now. Before I close, I want to highlight one more emerging concern. I spoke recently with the DSPCA about the worrying rise in kitten farming and the growing demand for fashionable breeds fuelled by viral trends

scale up delivery further in the short term and secure a sustainable level of supply that will help us meet unmet and emerging demand over the coming years. The current plan is supported by a record €6 billion in capital investment in 2025, supporting initiatives already in place … years. We will continue to invest at unprecedented levels to ensure that we build a sustainable housing system where, ultimately, supply meets demand. Budget 2025 provides for continued record investment in housing with Exchequer funding of €4.85 billion. This is supplemented by funding to the LDA. The Government

been ongoing since 2011, I would say, and successive governments since then ignored all the signals that would tell them a problem was emerging in housing. Local councils even ignored it. They massaged the figures to make things look better and pretended there was no problem when … there to work with the Ministers and civil servants to get this job done. There was reference to adaptation grants. Around budget time, I asked the Government to make sure the shortfalls in the grant in every local authority were addressed. I asked that local authorities be given

long periods of time. They have to be continually topped off because of the burn off of LNG, even when there is no emergency. This creates a continual demand for the LNG gas in the energy system, sending the exact opposite message to what we should be sending … across the country. We have to remember that by the time the terminal is open, climate targets will be higher, our carbon budget will be far more constrained and our reliance on fossil fuels should be declining, not growing. However, through this Bill and the facility that will

have all benefited. Not alone has Ireland witnessed unprecedented wins, from the Oscars to the Sundance Festival, but a golden age has emerged, in particular for film-making in our native tongue. This golden age has been a long time in the making. Last year marked 90 years … based composers or use any Irish-based contribution continues to remain static at 30% and none of these productions are in the high budget bracket. This falls short of what the guild has said is an acceptable level given that the tax credit is, in fact, tax foregone

Ukraine for 2026 and 2027 was agreed. It will be based on EU borrowing on the capital markets backed by the EU budget headroom. Ireland welcomes this decision, which ensures Ukraine has the finance it needs over the coming two years. We know that the longer this goes … Middle East. The Government is deeply concerned about developments in Iran. I am utterly appalled to read, as we have all seen, the emerging reports of the killing of large numbers of civilians. We do not have an actual number of how many people have been killed. Families

wake-up call. The reality is that our grid is not resilient enough and our infrastructure is not ready. Indeed, our emergency services were stretched to their limits in their response. I welcome the Bill because I believe it can play a part in getting us onto … would publish them shortly and still have not done so. That information should have been available in the context of last month's budget. When the Minister of State is making policy decisions, he needs to know how many people are in arrears and how many the numbers

they step up and the result is increased access for patients and the alleviation of pressure in other areas of our health services. Budget 2025 provided for free hormone replacement therapy, HRT, medicines and related products for women for the treatment of menopause and also a separate allocation … service with each pharmacy being required to participate. This service will commence in the second half of 2026. I will speak about the emergency medicine administration preparedness allowance. To recognise that community pharmacists are authorised to administer emergency medicines, that this service is provided

special access to the big companies, the Department of Finance and the Department of Taoiseach at the time. It was essentially writing the budgets. If I remember correctly, in 2013 Michael Noonan met 60 of these investment funds where they planned a massive sell-off of this enormous … rest of it. However, at the end of the day what it all comes down to is more than 17,000 families in emergency accommodation and thousands of people paying rents they cannot possibly afford. They are paying between 50% and 70% of their income on unaffordable rents