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particularly in the context of services on new roads, and there has been an increase in passenger numbers. In Limerick, however, the BusConnects project has been marked by shortcomings in planning, funding and delivery. It is nearly a decade since the announcement of BusConnects and the projected completion … date of 2027, but the timelines across the area to which I refer have been pushed out to 2030. The project has been plagued by delays and postponements. In Limerick, frankly, it has not been delivered. The costs relating to the project have spiralled, with an estimated increase

actions within the strategy is targeting harder to reach groups, including those subject to grooming and coercive control by criminals. An interesting programme the Deputy may be aware of is the Greentown programme, which aims to disrupt the grooming of children into network-related criminal activity by adults … provides children with meaningful and practical routes out of these networks. It is made up of four strands, namely, an intensive family programme to help with parenting and general family functioning; providing young people with pro-social opportunities; supporting communities to withstand gang and network influences; and targeting

Part of the success has been around the exchanges that have happened over many years. There had been a threat to the Fulbright programme. I am glad to say it is back on schedule. Recently, as the Taoiseach knows, the de Chastelain programme allowed for exchanges with Canada … hope we can continue to build long-term relationships with the likes of the Fulbright and de Chastelain programmes. Would the Taoiseach consider extending some of the programmes to second level schools in the same way as schools in Ireland can exchange with European schools under the Erasmus

litany of reasons. The reason I came in here tonight was to speak specifically about the State-led early learning and childcare capital programme, which the Minister announced a number of months ago. When I initially heard that announcement to €135 million over the lifetime of this Government … enthused. I brought a number of projects to the Department. Many of them are still being scrutinised. None of them has received a final response regarding if they are going delivered this year, next year or in three years’ time. I was initially enthused by that announcement

propose to take Questions Nos. 83, 106 and 169 together. I thank Deputy Neville for raising an important question on housing projects currently under construction in Kildare North and those expected to commence before the end of 2026. My Department publishes data on residential commencement notices in each … designed to ensure that essential enabling infrastructure is in place to unlock housing land. Under call 1 of the fund, I approved 82 projects last week. These projects have the potential to unlock land to deliver 86,000 new homes, with capacity for a further 113,000 homes

Deputy for raising this issue. I know it is one he has been working on for some time. The Carrigtwohill school campus project is the largest single school building project ever undertaken by the Department of education, and it will serve a school community of about … tells me that it has had a positive and productive engagement with the three schools and the patrons through all stages of the project, and it will continue to support the schools on the new school campus. The project was completed towards the end of 2023, with

education institutions in developing research and innovation strategies of their own. A key action of the strategy is to review existing PhD funding programmes and develop an enhanced suite of programmes, with the ambition to make Ireland the leading location in Europe for PhD training, in partnership with … wider system. The agency is currently undertaking consultation on a proposed strategic institutional funding model, as an evolution of the Government of Ireland programme, which is intended to: reduce the administrative burden for students; provide more security and stability of funding across a course of research or study

funding has increased by €42 million. I am told here that no eligible child is being precluded from taking part in the summer programme this year, that all sanction letters to schools that applied to run a programme have issued, and that officials in the Department of education … engaging with schools on an individual basis in relation to the running of their summer programme and staffing allocations. Particularly for complex special educational needs, again, there is provision for SNAs and for teachers. In 2025, there were about 11,500 special needs assistants participating in the programme

system that works and this is particularly important when it comes to orphan drugs. We are still waiting for real progress on the programme for Government's commitment and the rare diseases strategy recommendations on an early access scheme for new medications for rare diseases. Ireland … European Presidency to have greater co-operation across Europe on this. I would also like to briefly speak about the newborn screening programme, which was recently extended to include severe combined immunodeficiency, SCID and spinal muscular atrophy, SMA. This expansion of the programme was approved by the previous

Deputy will be aware that we have set up a Cabinet subcommittee specifically on water quality to oversee the implementation of the programme for Government commitments. A number of key Ministers are on it. In terms of investment in water quality, there is an overall national development plan … water quality restoration, about €306 million has been allocated to that. A substantial amount of the money for Uisce Éireann is for capital projects, which means upgrading water treatment plants, removing supplies from the EPA remedial action list, eliminating contamination risks, new wastewater treatment plants, upgrading sewerage infrastructure

Social Democrats membership as well as the parents, school staff and children who contacted me about their experience of the hot school meal programme. Without their input, I would not have had the impetus to move this forward. I thank the members and the secretariat of the education … about hot school meals and published a report. We also had the opportunity to go to Finland to experience the hot school meals programme there. I particularly thank the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers, OPLA, which drafted this legislation. The office is such a help, particularly

thank the Deputy for his question and his advocacy for this worthy project and his work on it. Significant progress has been made in advancing Ireland’s America250 programme, which is the State’s national commemorative initiative marking the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence … being delivered across this year and 2027, and the programme is being supported by €200,000 in funding from my Department to ensure a fitting and meaningful series of commemorative events. The American Presidents trail is a key initiative within the programme. The Department is working closely with

assure the Deputy that no project that has been given approval for funding is sitting on funding. We are spending all the money we have, managing the LSSIF funding stream to the nth degree and making sure it is getting invested. Likewise, we want to make sure every … project is moving forward. We will have one more round of the LSSIF over the term of the Government. I want that to be as early in the term as it can be but it will certainly be in the second half of it. It will be contingent

educational needs of children. The Government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the programme for Government makes several commitments to deliver on this objective. The summer programme is a vital and targeted intervention that is specifically designed … complex special educational needs or those at risk of educational disadvantage. While it is delivered during the summer months, it is an educational programme and should not be viewed as a replacement for recreational summer camps. Since 2021, the Department of Education and Youth's inspectorate has evaluated

There are few other instances in the country that highlight how challenging and difficult we have made it to complete crucial infrastructure projects than the Galway city ring road. As the Taoiseach will be aware, the project was first mooted and planned for in 1999. There have been … time. There have been alternative compulsory purchase orders and a number of legal cases. The latest and third grant of planning for the project was on 9 April this year but, unfortunately, that faces judicial review, posing further delay to this crucial project and potential derailment

American Presidents trail early last year in this House. I strongly believe this proposal could be a huge positive for a North-South project. It could also be a massive attraction for US visitors, especially those with Irish links and could be comparable to the Wild Atlantic … strongly believe my proposal could be hugely positive for a North-South project and would fit with the whole reason for the shared island fund. It would boost the economy of the island and deliver benefits that we cannot predict. I am pleased that the project has been

propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 33, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on disability has been established to oversee the implementation of programme for Government commitments in the area of disability, with specific focus on children's disability services, as well as disability more generally under … Government' s new national human rights strategy for disabled people for 2025 to 2030. Under the programme for Government, we are committed to delivering a step change in disability services and to advancing the rights and improving the lives of people with disabilities. To deliver on this

really ambitious for our country. She spoke of spending more on militarisation when discussing the EU's security action for Europe programme. She said that we should have taken out an EU loan at the taxpayers' expense to increase our military spending. The Oireachtas finance committee thoroughly scrutinised … security action for Europe programme and identified that it potentially conflicts with our neutrality and is incompatible with the EU's commitment to peace. The committee stated that it completely opposed the use of the EU general budget as a guarantee for these loans. However, the Minister

also changed, in that there is now only one option, where all the pupils take either the school-based or home-based programme. That locks medically vulnerable children out of the system. If the school decides on a school-based programme, you cannot have a home-based programme … proves their medical vulnerability. As the portal only allows you to do one or the other, they cannot avail of the school-based programme. They need a home-based programme. I ask the Tánaiste, in examining this issue, to also examine that issue and make sure that medically

perhaps not that new, about the effectiveness of reading recovery. As I am sure the Minister of State is aware, it is a programme used for children early on to help them learn how to read. The mixed research is basically saying it is not as effective … immediately but the meta-analysis has come back saying that over a long time reading recovery is not as effective as structured literacy programmes are. On that basis I asked how much money has been spent on reading recovery over the last five years. We are talking about

within their area of responsibility. All work undertaken is funded from their own resources and supplemented by the regional and local roads grant programme operated by the Department of Transport. It is also the role of local authorities to prioritise the investment in and work on their regional … local roads. The funding provided via the regional and local roads grant programme is intended to supplement realistic contributions from each local authority. It is also advised that each local authority sets aside a contingency from its allocation from the Department of Transport and its own resources

economy and rural communities, including addressing rural isolation. The policy is underpinned by funding through my Department's rural investment and community development programmes, as well as an array of funding streams across government. As Deputy McGuinness set out, rural pubs play an important social role in rural … With this in mind, the Department has a range of funding streams to help address the issue. These supports include the local enhancement programme, the community services programme, the social inclusion community activation programme and the seniors alert programme. There is no doubt that our significant investment

State and the Department for the significant level of grant funding that has been delivered to Cork North-West in recent years for projects and community initiatives. I know that both the Minister and the Minister of State have been to Cork North-West in recent months, celebrating … those projects, so I thank them. Across our towns and villages, we have seen the real benefits of investment through schemes such as the town and village renewal scheme, the CLÁR scheme, the outdoor recreation supports and the RRDF. These investments are helping communities to improve facilities, support

that it is now. That was a good example of Departments coming together. We have invested €440 million in 160 RRDF projects since 2020. We have invested €140 million in over 1,000 town and village renewal projects since 2020 and €110 million in over 1,200 projects … under the outdoor recreation investment scheme since 2020. We have invested €65 million in 1,500 projects through CLÁR since 2020. Through the community centres investment fund, CCIF, we have invested €112 million across new builds, including one in Rylane in the Deputy's constituency, since its launch

quite obvious that more is probably needed. The Minister is very pleased with the range of recent developments across the family resource centre programme. Core funding increases and expansion over 2025 and 2026 have been very welcome for the programme, its members and the communities served … centres. The Minister fully supports the family resource centre programme. She has first-hand experience of the positive impacts that family resource centres have had around her own county and nationally. The centres are a great endorsement of what can be achieved locally and the associated goodwill that

Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if tenders have been returned for the new school building project (details supplied); if the project will commence construction in Q3 of 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38860/26

element of the junior certificate cycle or leaving certificate curriculum requires students to have access to a personal laptop outside of school; if project work associated with the revised senior cycle programmes can be fully completed using existing school information technology facilities; and if she will clarify

Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth the progress made to date regarding additional accommodation project under the school capital programme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39520/26

Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Youth her assessment of the impact of the revised senior cycle programme, particularly the increased emphasis on continuous project-based assessment across multiple subjects; the way she intends to address concerns that this has created an expectation that students

Education and Youth the additional resources, funding, or supports that have been provided to post-primary schools to meet the increased digital and project work demands arising from the revised senior cycle programme; and if such supports are intended to remove the need for families to purchase personal

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he has the power or discretion to fund a capital project allocation to a local authority backed project without match funding from that local authority. [40262/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the Department operates a formal forecasting model linking projected inward migration trends to projected emergency accommodation demand; and if he will provide details of this model. [38867/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether projected inward migration figures are incorporated into social housing demand projections at national or local authority level. [38868/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether any local authority receives migration-linked housing demand projections from his Department; and if so, to provide details of the local authorities involved and the nature of the projections provided. [38870/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether the ESRI population projections underpinning the revised National Planning Framework include modelling of projected homelessness demand arising from population growth and migration patterns. [38872/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has estimated the proportion of projected household formation to 2040 attributable to net migration under the baseline National Planning Framework population projections. [39078/26

Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether planning permission can be extended where the construction company needs a short period of extension to complete projects, where the project is underway but planning permission may be due to expire before completion; and if he will make a statement

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the HSE maintains regional service demand projections for addiction services; and if so, whether projected staffing requirements have been identified for the period 2026-2030. [39694/26

Community Development and the Gaeltacht further to Parliamentary Question No. 518 of 26 March 2026, if he will outline when the new programme will launch to succeed the RAPID programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38009/26

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the projects funded in County Louth by his Department in 2025; the corresponding funding allocation given to each project in County Louth in 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make

Community Development and the Gaeltacht if consideration is being given to introducing a cost-escalation or inflation support mechanism for approved community projects under schemes such as the Community Centre Investment Fund and CLÁR where projects face significant increases in construction and material costs between approval and delivery

Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide an update on the development of a new RAPID (Revitalising Areas through Planning, Investment and Development) programme, which was allocated €5 million in capital funding in budget 2026; when it is likely that the programme will be launched

Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to provide an update on the Local Enhancement Programme (LEP) 2026; when it is likely that allocations under the programme will be announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38282/26

asked the Minister for Health the number of patients currently accessing schedule 1 and schedule 2 product treatment under the Medical Cannabis Access Programme; the number of schedule 1 applications approved since commencement; if her Department has undertaken any assessment of the extent to which patients are being … medicinal products; if her Department has undertaken any assessment of patients seeking access to medicinal cannabis products privately outside the Medical Cannabis Access Programme due to limitations in the current scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38548/26

Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will provide a schedule of IT projects that the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has directed be paused, put on hold, and stood down in the past five years … date to include project name description, budget and amount expended. [37976/26

Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Health the current waiting lists for the schools dental programme in south Tipperary; if the dental programmes are running up to date; the number of dental clinic days allocated in south Tipperary; and if she will make a statement

Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health to provide further details on the strategic infrastructure programme; to plan for replacement and expansion at public radiation oncology services (details supplied), including timelines on the development of this programme; the details of the stakeholders that will be involved

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will provide a list of all capital projects, including those delivered under LEADER, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, CLÁR, the town and village renewal scheme, the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme … Údarás na Gaeltachta programmes which have been completed on time and within budget in Kerry in each of the past five years, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38186/26

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he will provide a list of all capital projects, including those delivered under LEADER the rural regeneration and Development Fund, CLÁR, the town and village renewal scheme, the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme … Údarás na Gaeltachta programmes which have not been completed on time and within budget in Kerry in each of the past five years, in tabular form; to provide a breakdown of the overruns in both timing and in spending, in tabular form; and if he will make

Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Transport the current estimated total cost and revised delivery timeline for the Train Management System project; the amount expended to date; the projected completion dates for commissioning phases CP1 to CP8; and if he will make a statement on the matter