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future knowledge creation, economic growth and societal resilience. It is why I created, for example, the INSPIRE research infrastructure programme, with a €750 million commitment over the term of the Government to roll out research, equipment and facilities right across every higher education authority in Ireland. In terms … about wider society and the wider economy. I have adopted an Horizon Europe action plan for the remaining two years of the current programme. From an Irish perspective, one thing we are seeking to do is ensure that SMEs take full opportunity of the participations available to them

broadly, one of the most significant enhancements planned for Kilkenny is the development of Kildalton Agricultural College. It will accommodate the new veterinary programme roll-out, which will have 40 student vets attending in the south east for the first time. This will complement the 40 students that … will attend the Atlantic Technological University, ATU, in the north west. That is a really exciting programme that specifically includes anatomy and pathology training facilities at Kildalton for the practical side of the training. That will go live this September with 40 new students signed up for that

institute would be able to appoint a design team in the coming months, and that we are able to progress with that project, which is much needed. I could see that myself when visiting the site and speaking to learners and educators while traversing the school that … already there. They are doing great work, which will be enhanced by the provision of a capital project for the further training centre, which I hope to be able to support strongly in the coming months. That is a very important project on which I will continue

This project is not just delayed. Does the Tánaiste not know what is going on here? A sum of €50 million has been written down in the accounts. Irish Rail has formally recommended ending the contract. It has been saying that since last year. It has no confidence … that the project can be delivered. This is not just a project that will be delivered in a couple of months' time. The problem is that along with the €50 million that has been written down in terms of the accounts, €100,000 is being paid

year. These are huge increases of 6%, 7%, 8% or 9% each time. At the same time, public money is being wasted. State projects have cost overruns. That needs to be curtailed. I will always argue for projects but we have to get value for taxpayers' money … have IT systems that do not work. Construction projects that finish at double their budgets. There are layers upon layers of management and bureaucracy in public bodies that should be rationalised and streamlined. All of this and much more needs to be history. The Department of education

three and ten for parents of children with special educational needs. The Topical Issue I submitted is about the summer provision programme. While the summer provision scheme obviously cannot be precisely the same as school, it is meant to offer a certain amount of continuity for children, staff … parent and a teacher about a school where two children who had visual impairment were not going to be allowed access the programme because of a lack of SNA support. Trying to get that addressed was something the school had been chasing over the course

accept that. The Department is very committed to this. It has carried out a survey and the reports are very clear that this project must go ahead. There were delays over 15 years. The frustration in relation to a project like this is sometimes about it taking … much time. The point is, though, that we need to have sight of the exact legal situation because to progress the project to the tender documents and planning stages, we would have to be 100% certain. I would appreciate if I could get the document the Deputy read

places, but once again this is stuck in limbo. There are ten schools in my constituency on the list for large-scale building projects and another 21 on the list for additional accommodation. Not one large-scale building project has been delivered in Cork North-Central since … There have been 11 smaller scale accommodation projects. We have seen other schools that cannot even get onto the list. These include Scoil Barra, Clogheen Kerry Pike National School, Scoil Eoin and the Convent Primary School in Mallow. Despite the huge efforts made by their principals, these

schools in my area, Cork North-Central, which I was elected to come in here and speak for. There are four capital projects in Cork North-Central, none of which is large scale. Where are the large-scale projects that the Minister of State outlined for my community … area? There are two new schools in Cork South-Central. What we are looking for on the northside are four small-scale projects, four extensions, but where is the commitment from the Department to move them on from stage 2A or stage 2B? Scoil Padre Pio has waited

propose to take Questions Nos. 21 to 32, inclusive, together. I undertook a four-day programme of engagements in the United States, visiting Philadelphia and Washington DC to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. My programme began in Philadelphia, where I met Irish community and business representatives, as well … which carries out excellent work on behalf of the Irish community in Philadelphia and is supported by the Irish Government's immigrant support programme. In Washington DC, I attended the embassy's St. Patrick's Day reception, which was attended by a large number of people from political

nearly all Government legislation and policy I have seen over the years makes a preamble reference to the national planning framework and to Project Ireland 2040, and references things at the very outset such as balanced regional development. I do not see that anywhere in this legislation. Although … this can be addressed. I acknowledge the Minister's inputs with regard to Shannon Airport. The Minister has included in the regional airports programme something that we have been advocating for a long time in the mid-west region. Shannon Airport had a very good year last year

consent for the production of infrastructure. When I went to Belgium, I asked what the parameters and priorities were to plan for infrastructural projects for their electricity. Second on that list was the idea of community consent. Community consent is nowhere in the aspects of the development … Ireland. That lack of community consent and the lack of ability to achieve that community consent at the start slows down projects. The Minister of State will know that there is a Government plan to build a North-South interconnector for electricity. I was in short trousers when

Once again, the completion of the building project for Sancta Maria College in Ballyroan is a very important matter. It is currently at stage 2B, architectural planning and detailed design. The brief is a completion contract for refurbishment works and a sports hall, following termination of the original … completed a stage 2B submission, which is currently with the Department for review. As part of planning ahead for the next tranche of projects to progress to tender, a Department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027. This includes engagement with key stakeholders

overestimated. They allow for the creation of connection, solidarity and a sense of belonging. Today I was delighted to announce that 52 projects are to receive funding under the 2026 community services funding call. Through the fund, a total of €1.8 million will be made available to support … organisations to deliver projects at national, regional and local levels. This support will help ensure that LGBTIQ+ individuals across Ireland can access these vital services and continue to flourish within their own communities. Successful projects include assisting LGBTIQ+ people living in rural communities to access safe spaces, providing

July provision summer programme exists for the most vulnerable children in this country. This year the government has made a complete shambles of it. First, the Government opened and closed the application window before many schools and families even knew it was open. Second, the Government significantly … many schools do not know whether or not they can open on Monday morning. For example, Claremorris National School last year ran the programme with 15 staff members. This year, this allocation has been cut to just five. The fact that this allocation only arrived last week, days

lived experience, civil society, clinicians across multiple disciplines and service leaders from the disability, primary care and mental health sectors. The service improvement programme board for the autistic community is a national HSE governance body that provides oversight, leadership and accountability for autism assessment and intervention services, including … autism protocol. When the service improvement programme board for the autistic community was established, a national expression of interest ensured representation from individuals with lived experience, including young people, adults and family members. The board included senior operational and clinical decision-makers, academic support and representatives with lived

teachers and one unused classroom. Without an additional teaching post, it is simply not possible to split classes further or to manage the projected enrolment in a way that is safe, sustainable or educationally sound. The combination of sustained enrolment growth, a significantly oversized junior infant cohort … also important to note St. Patrick's National School will meet the threshold for an additional teacher in September 2027. Based on current projections the enrolment will exceed 192 pupils on 30 September 2026 with a projected enrolment of 203 children. In other words, this

million in 2025 to Galway County Council across a number of schemes and funding sources. The amount of funding provided under housing programmes and voluntary call schemes such as the URDF is largely determined by individual local authority ambition and activity. In 2025, a sizeable portion of funding … Galway County Council from this Department, almost €93 million, was in respect of a range of capital and current housing programmes. It is crucial to note that the Department does not provide specific funding allocations to local authorities for housing delivery, but rather recoups the relevant local authorities

Sustained investment in the public service obligation, PSO, programme has driven record public transport use, with passenger numbers up 23% and continuing to grow this year, alongside an expanded network serving over 240 towns and villages. As demand rises and congestion issues remain, Ireland’s public transport system … reached a pivotal point, with an increasing need for reliable services. A fundamental reset in funding was required to place the PSO programme on a sustainable, long-term footing in line with the programme for Government commitment. Accordingly, the 2026 PSO allocation was structured to eliminate the need

This is a very exciting time for public transport. This five-year period is a delivery period of major projects that people have heard and spoken about, including the expansion of the DART and, as I mentioned, DART+ West, DART+ South-West, DART+ Coastal North, Cork light rail … phase 1 of Cork commuter rail, which is concluding, and the commencement of MetroLink. These are transformational projects that are badly needed. A lot of them will deal with an infrastructural deficit that we have carried for a long number of years. Thankfully, when we provide public transport

zoning, but the Luas will bring more jobs to our area. I want to acknowledge TII. Its representatives have been passionate about this project. They have come out and met with residents. We have not always been able to get agreement, but they literally fought for this project … place from a Government perspective. I know it has been. I also want to acknowledge all the community people who fought for this project. I include my colleague and former Deputy Noel Rock, who also fought for this, in that regard. We did not often give each other

answer to both of those is investment in public transport. Yet, what the Government is doing is delaying investment in necessary public transport projects. I will quote from the Climate Change Advisory Council review: ... under the current National Development Plan ... DART+ South West construction will not commence until … post 2030 and construction of Luas Finglas ... will not commence until 2029. The delays in construction for these shovel-ready projects are unnecessary. The Council believes that allocation of funding to advance both projects should be expedited and strongly recommends that the Government commit funding to these projects

thank Deputy Kenny for raising this issue, which is quite a serious one. The summer programme is fully funded by the Department of Education and Youth and schools are supposed to run the programme within the budget provided by the Department. I am not unfairly having … course small costs above and beyond might arise and a decision may be made to do something outside the programme. I get that somewhat. The level of cost the Deputy is highlighting is completely at odds with the purpose of the programme, which is taxpayer funded as part

years. Work is ongoing at Hazelhatch to alleviate the problem, which is a positive. At the same time, however, two huge construction projects are under way in Celbridge. I will speak specifically to the second of these. As Fine Gael's spokesperson on infrastructure and delivery … water levels and outages at the reservoir, an explanation as to why residents frequently receive inadequate advance notice, clarification on whether current and projected housing development has outpaced existing water infrastructure capacity and, most of all, details of any short-, medium- or long-term infrastructure works or investment

Road, along Minister's Road and Barrack Lane to the junction at Treen Hill and then Kelly Park. This is a targeted programme of works to strengthen the local water network at Kelly Park and Dun Emer in Lusk to replace old and fragile water mains. These works … service connections from the public water main in the road to customers' property boundaries and connecting it to the customers' water supply. The project began back in March and work is expected to be completed this summer. Uisce Éireann tells us that very effort has been made

asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status of the proposed school extension for a school in Drogheda (details supplied); if the project has been included for consideration under the National Development Plan (NPD), as indicated in correspondence issued by her Department in October 2025; the current … stage of the project within the Department’s capital appraisal process; and the expected timeline for full sanction and progression to the next phase of development. [16324/26

asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the oversight mechanisms that exist to ensure that public funding for major cultural and heritage projects is spent efficiently and transparently; and if he will provide details of any projects where governance or accountability issues have been identified

housing reforms, including a social housing passport to allow households move from one local authority waiting list to another which were in the Programme for Government for the 33rd Dáil and has not been included for the Programme for Government for the 34th Dáil; and if he will

Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality whether her Department has developed projections for average childcare costs per month over the coming years based on current policy work and planned reforms; if these projections are available, by year and type of service that

Minister for Children, Disability and Equality if she has considered the views of ‘An Independent Review of the Early Childhood Care and Education Programme in Ireland’ in relation to the impact of the rigid age eligibility for the ECCE programme; if her attention has been drawn

Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider a pilot project to develop a model for community-driven provision within the Hot School Meals Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15362/26

Minister for Transport the date on which the public consultation on the route options and emerging preferred route for the Navan rail project will take place; if he will provide an update on the project development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14756/26

Daly asked the Minister for Transport for an update on the new dedicated statutory body that has been approved for the Metrolink project; the reasons the project could not be located with the NTA or TII; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15488/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide by grant scheme under Ireland’s Official Development Assistance programme, the benchmarks, ceilings, or reference ranges applied to headquarters administration, programme quality costs, consultancy, or other indirect costs in each of the years

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether any funded programme in each of the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 was assessed by her Department, at appraisal stage or during financial review, as having an administrative, overhead, consultancy, or programme support cost ratio

Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance when the ISIF intends to review its regional city-specific investment programme launched in 2022; if the investment programme will be extended to include Drogheda, Dundalk and other large urban centres; and if he will make a statement

Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the average duration of each stage of the Public Spending Code appraisal and approval process for major capital projects exceeding €100 million for the years 2022 to 2025 inclusive; and to indicate which stage accounted for the longest cumulative delay across projects during

Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth when an urgent project (details supplied) will proceed to the next stage; the timeline for this project to go to construction;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15666/26

Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Youth the combined costs of all projects that are currently at Stage 2a or 2b approval by her Department of education for school building projects across the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15832/26

Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total number of apprentices employed by the Health Service Executive in 2025 and projected for 2026 in (a) social work, (b) social care work, and (c) dietetics; and if she will provide a breakdown by programme and year

submitted to her Department; whether she will publish the evaluation report in full; the total Sláintecare Integration Innovation Fund allocation provided to the project over its three-year pilot period; the current annualised cost of the service; and the policy decision taken, if any, regarding the continuation, mainstreaming … national rollout of community-based chronic pain programmes arising from that pilot. [16030/26

what the development will consist of; when plans for a new unit were first presented to the HSE; the current status of the project and the projected timeline for delivery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16124/26

Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Transport the updated timeline for the completion of the M20 project; the current status of the project; and when it entered this status. [15226/26

Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Transport regarding the new dedicated statutory body that has been approved for the Metrolink project, the reasons the project could not be located with the NTA or TII; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15313/26

Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the flood relief projects currently under construction and funded by OPW; when each of those projects will be completed, in tabular form. [15335/26

Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the way in which local authorities will assist in delivering START programme projects in Kildare north, particularly in the Clane-Maynooth area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14770/26

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment in view of the EPA's 2025 projection that Ireland is likely to miss its 2030 emission reduction targets, the specific, accelerated measures his Department is implementing in 2026 to bridge the gap between projected

Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Taoiseach to provide a list of all State agencies within his Department that allocate programme and project funding to section 39, section 56 and section 10 organisations. [14399/26

Marie Sherlock asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a list of all State agencies within her Department that allocate programme and project funding to section 39, section 56 and section 10 organisations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14391/26

Sherlock asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to provide a list of all State agencies within his Department that allocate programme and project funding to section 39, section 56 and section 10 organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14385/26