Is that agreed? Agreed.

I want to raise the decision by the Department not to award funding to the Ballyfermot Youth Service under this year's community safety innovation fund. It is a service that for the past two years has been supported by the innovation fund to employ three highly effective staff members, namely, two workers based in the adventure centre and skate park and a dedicated psychotherapist providing essential mental health support to our vulnerable young people. Unfortunately, Ballyfermot is an area with a high prevalence o…

I thank the Minister for agreeing to come out to the skate park. We know early intervention is far more effective and less costly than dealing with problems once they escalate. The Minister stated correctly the fund is to be put back into communities where there is drug-related crime and high-level antisocial behaviour. This is one such community. The service has benefited massively from the innovation fund and is grateful for that. It has worked well but needs to continue. It is really unfair. They are given resou…

I thank the Minister. I suppose the fund is a victim of its own success when it is creating these fantastic services that people want to see continue. I welcome the engagement the Minister will have with his Department in relation to this issue and that he will come out to visit the skate park. I want to mention as well that the facility has a programme for young people and children with disabilities. It has a cycling programme on every summer, which I think is highly commendable.

This question relates to the Camac flood alleviation programme. The Camac, as we know, is one of Dublin’s main rivers. It rises in Saggart in the south west, flows eastwards towards Clondalkin, Bluebell, Inchicore and Kilmainham and joins the Liffey at Heuston Station. The River Camac flood alleviation scheme is a critically important piece of infrastructure that will help up to 413 homes along the river. Residents quite clearly remain concerned about flood risk, particularly in view of the increased rainfall we ha…

I thank the Minister of State. We were told at the Committee of Public Accounts that there were issues with the initial hydraulic modelling. It has gone back to the same consultants to remedy the situation, which raises its own questions. Residents understand that the modelling has to be correct and robust and no one is looking for a shortcut. We are also not looking for a patchwork quilt in relation to this. The Minister of State is telling us to go back to Dublin City Council for any remedial works. That is not g…

With all due respect, I think I have raised this at every possible forum. I have raised it in Dublin City Council, with the Minister of State's predecessor, at the Committee of Public Accounts and in the Dáil. We are all on the same page here. What we are not seeing is any urgency from the OPW to steer this scheme and programme. It is one of the flood alleviation programmes that is just left on the sidelines. I ask the Minister of State today to commit to me that he will take a personal interest in the Camac flood …

I thank the Minister of State.

I want to begin by paying tribute to Grace Lynch. Grace was a strikingly beautiful young woman with her whole life ahead of her who was taken far too soon. My heart goes out to her family, particularly her mother, who is determined to ensure action follows this awful tragedy. Nothing we in this House can say can lessen the loss, but we owe it to Grace and to communities across our city and country to ensure that this tragedy leads to meaningful and effective action. The antisocial and dangerous use of scrambler and…

I welcome the Taoiseach's response and his clarity in relation to these bikes not being allowed on public roads. Even after this awful tragedy occurred, we still had reports to our office of scramblers out on roads in parts of Dublin South-Central. People are really keen to see action on this. Will the Taoiseach provide a timeframe as to when subsequent regulations will be enacted? Are a possible amnesty and a refund scheme things the Government might consider? If there were an amnesty, would the Government conside…

The Dublin city task force produced a comprehensive report with clear recommendations to improve safety, footfall and confidence in Dublin city. However, many residents, retailers and workers across Dublin South-Central, including the Liberties, the Coombe, Inchicore and the wider south-west inner city area, are still not seeing the tangible impacts on the ground. Antisocial behaviour in particular and persistent petty theft continue to place real pressures on small shops, supermarkets and small retailers. Cruciall…

What initiatives and plans are in place to support people with disabilities to access and sustain employment? I wish to highlight what works in practice and what is at risk if we do not protect those pathways. This is a social protection issue. In my constituency, Scoil Eoin, a school for children with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities, has a post-leaving certificate employment rate of 95%. This compares to the national average employment rate of young adults with intellectual disabilities of 30%. What is …

While I understand this is an education issue, when dealing with employment for people with disabilities we have to take a whole-of-government approach. I thank the Minister for his detailed and constructive reply and acknowledge the significant work led by his Department. The range of supports he outlined and the work and access, wage subsidy and WorkAbility schemes demonstrate his continued commitment to supporting people with disabilities in employment. I welcome in particular the measures he announced in budget…

I commend the Minister on his leadership on this. I also commend the Oireachtas work and learning programme, OWL, developed in partnership with WALK, an organisation based in Walkinstown in my constituency, which does outstanding work supporting people with intellectual disabilities to access meaningful employment. The programme shows how supported employment works in practice when organisations lead by example. As the Minister said, we already see many large employers, including in the retail sector, and small and…

There is a bit of leeway.

Before we move to the National Training Fund (Amendment) Bill 2025, I understand the Government deputy Whip intends to make a proposal.

The Select Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy has completed its consideration of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 and has made amendments thereto.

Tá Roghchoiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus Phobal Labhartha na Gaeilge tar éis a bhreithniú a chríochnú ar na Meastacháin Forlíontacha seo a leanas i gcomhair seirbhísí poiblí le haghaidh seirbhís na bliana dár gcríoch an 31 Nollaig 2025: Vóta 42 - an Roinn Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail, agus Gaeltachta.

November is lung cancer awareness month. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in Ireland yet unlike for breast, bowel and cervical cancers, there is no national screening programme in place. The Marie Keating Foundation recently launched the Breathless Collection campaign to highlight key symptoms of lung cancer, including shortness of breath, chest tightness, shoulder pain and a persistent cough. It is a simple message: symptoms cannot be ignored. We also now have the benefit of evidence from t…

It is good to hear that the Minister is well-disposed to putting more research into it and trying to assess whether it is an appropriate screening programme. We know from international evidence, including from the UK, the US and across the EU, that low-dose screening reduces mortality, particularly among high-risk groups such as long-term smokers and those with an extended smoking history. Having said that, I also know that many people who are not traditionally in this high-risk group are presenting with lung cance…