I thank the Senator for the opportunity to present to her on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor. Apologies for her absence today. The Healthy Ireland framework and action plan form our national road maps to support good physical, mental and sexual health well-being, including children's health priorities such as preventing obesity, increasing physical activity levels and minimising underage tobacco and alcohol use. The national sex health strategy contains information on educational measures t…

That is no problem at all. I am sure the breakdown is worth chasing. The Senator's points are well made. As I said in my contribution, it is something that needs to be examined because cybersupport for parents to tackle these issues is important.

I join Senator Byrne in acknowledging my friend and former colleague, Damien English, who was a source of great wisdom and advice to me in all my years in public life. It is lovely to see him here today with his guests. I thank Senator Byrne for raising this important issue and affording me the opportunity to respond. We know there are many reasons people seek residential supports. For some it is by way of services to allow them to remain in their homes with family, while for others, it is a residential service. Th…

I will, of course, take the case to the Minister. In the Senator's contribution, she highlighted the important point that a humane approach should be taken in the devising, development and implementation of services. It is so important we take account of how an individual service in a smaller community can have an impact. This is something the Senator has campaigned and worked on very passionately in her role as Senator. I will be more than happy to bring the matter to the Minister on the Senator's behalf, as I am …

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the position relating to financial funding for schools. The Department is committed to offering all available and appropriate supports to the schools that have contacted the Department or have been referred to the FSSU. The Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants, as the Deputy mentioned. The two main grants are the capitation grant to …

I fully hear what the Deputy is saying. He is making an important point on that funding issue. I am more than happy to take that back to the Minister. The Deputy mentioned our constituency, which has a similar situation with regard to school funding. It is important. Obviously, the FSSU plays an important role. It is an issue I will highlight to the Minister and I have no doubt the Deputy will continue to do so as well.

I am well aware of the incredible work the Deputy does with local communities on this issue and how she has championed it. On behalf of the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter today. The Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities and community safety as a whole-of-government responsibility. Community safety is about much more than policing. It is about how we look after and support each other and the most vulnerable in our society. It is about the provision …

I agree with the Deputy that it is really important to get them up and running quickly, to get community buy-in and to get that feeling that we are moving forward in this area. I think we are. The implementation of the Act will have a tremendous effect. The resourcing of it is there and I have no doubt, from my own community where I have dealt with a host of issues in this area, that there is a real desire in community groups to see this work succeed. I know the Department is determined, through the resourcing bein…

I would not be quite as nice to Meath people at a Leinster final or on an All-Ireland Sunday, as the Deputy was there. I thank her for raising this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport. Improving public transport services and infrastructure is central to improving citizens' quality of life and achieving our decarbonisation goals. Achieving these goals has been set out in the programme for Government. The NTA has statutory responsibility for transport planning in the greater Dublin area, …

I will of course convey the Deputy's views to the Minister. In summary, transport connectivity is obviously highly important for people who live and work, as we know, throughout Ireland. It is key to our villages, towns and to Dublin and our other cities to encourage urban centres and have strong local economies. I believe, as does the Minister, in expanding the public transport network and increasing services throughout the country, including in the west Fingal area. The ways we have set out to do that are include…

I thank the Deputy for asking the question. I stress that enabling students with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is an absolute priority for the Government. It is the Government's priority to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement and that necessary supports are provided to our schools to allow children with special educational needs to flourish and prosper. To ensure schools can open new special classes as quickly as possible, the National Council for Special Ed…

I thank the Deputy again for raising the question. I will of course convey back to the Minister the additional points he raised here. I thank him for giving me the opportunity to reassure the House that the Department of Education and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that all children have access to education suitable to their needs. The Department of Education continues to engage intensely with the NCSE on forward planning for new special classes for the 2025-26 school year and future years. More than 28,000 chi…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and providing the opportunity to update the House on this important matter. Modern methods of construction are a key measure to support the delivery of housing under Housing for All and the programme for Government and have the potential to boost productivity, increase efficiency and improve sustainability in the construction sector. Modern methods of construction is the term used to describe a range of compliant manufacturing and innovative construction including modular s…

The Government approved new housing targets up to 2030. Some 303,000 homes are expected to be delivered from 2025 to 2030. This equates to an average of approximately 50,500 homes, building up to 60,000 homes in 2030. To meet these very ambitious targets, it is necessary to use many different ways of delivery. Modern methods of construction are a key pillar in this housing delivery programme. This year, the accelerated social housing delivery programme and the Government initiatives described will continue to suppo…

I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this important issue and offering me the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister. Improving access to quality and affordable early learning and care and school-age childcare is a key priority for the Government. Early learning and childcare capacity is increasing. An annual sector profile demonstrates an 8% increase in enrolments between the 2021-22 and 2022-23 years. Within the Dublin city local authority area, enrolments grew by 2,235. Core funding application data shows…

Early learning and childcare is an area that has seen rapid and significant developments and has had a substantial increase in investment in recent years. In particular, we have made good progress in affordability for parents, pay for staff and the inclusion of children with disabilities. However, we need to go further in the coming years. We need to support parents and educators and make provision right across the early learning and childcare sector, with a focus always on ensuring there is a positive experience f…

No, it is not.

I am grateful for the opportunity to address the House on the issue of community safety policing and crime. I thank all the Deputies for their contributions today. They brought their own perspectives and insights on how we can make our country a safer place for our citizens to live. We all share a common vision that everyone has the right to live in safe and secure communities. The programme for Government for the next five years has extensive and ambitious commitments to enhance the safety and security of our comm…

I am sorry to say this in many ways but the Sinn Féin ethos we now see, which is so clear, is the ethos of "protect the party at all costs", even if that means child protection is put into a distant second place. That is a totally unacceptable ethos for any party. Sinn Féin has sent out its representatives including its party leader in recent days to peddle what amount, I believe, to falsehoods and to give the most inaccurate and misleading account of what actually happened in a number of areas. So many have been m…

The Deputy is in no position to say that.