I will start by acknowledging and thanking the Deputy for the amount of work he has done and his dedication on this particular topic. I agree the issues merit the attention and the Minister, Deputy Heydon, is fully committed to building on the work already being undertaken to tackle the issue. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has lead responsibility within Government for animal welfare and takes its role seriously. It is committed to the policy that animal welfare standards are vigorously applied …

Along with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, I will start by addressing the terrible arson attack that took place in Drogheda over the weekend. Our thoughts are with the families impacted by this. It was an attack on an IPAS centre but it was actually an attack on their home. It is truly awful to see something like that happen to someone's home. My thoughts are also with the victim of the alleged sexual assault in Saggart recently. I also want to commend An Garda Síochána members who so bravely defended the peace i…

The Deputy should listen to what the Tánaiste said afterwards, which is never quoted.

It was a very interesting debate and I acknowledge the range of views expressed across the House. When I was making notes for my closing remarks, I wrote that I would like to thank all of the Deputies who contributed to this important discussion. I said at the start that I hoped we would have a discussion that was balanced, fair and done in the right way. Most of the contributions were. We need to call a spade a spade. Some of the contributions veered towards an area which I find very worrying. They were contributi…

I express my full support for the Tánaiste, who is the leader of my party, Fine Gael. He entered politics to do nothing but good, to deliver and to help those he sees around him. He is motivated for all the right reasons to be involved in politics. Unfortunately, far too many politicians on the Opposition benches today entered politics to posture, shout out and exploit situations. They have been exposed completely for what they really are: a group of people who will profess great care for and understanding of an is…

-----is putting our country first, representing us proudly and delivering for the people of this country.

My Department is taking action across all aspects of international protection accommodation to ensure we improve value for money, strengthen governance and compliance, and renegotiate contracts with providers. This forms part of the overall reform of the international protection system that is already working to speed up the processing of applications and move away from commercial provision to more State-owned accommodation. This reform will help to drive down costs. The Minister and I are absolutely committed to d…

To outline the position again, we have accepted the recommendations in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s report. We absolutely recognise them. We have put in place contract reviews designed to deliver genuine savings. We recognise that due to the surge that took place from 2022 to 2024, we were not in a position to have the relevant structures in place, but we now are and we are delivering genuine savings. The most important point related to this has two aspects: first, we must ensure that, going forward, we ha…

As I have said to the Deputy, all contracts we are now putting in place have checks and balances in respect of tax clearance certificates.

We are totally transparent in publishing details of all payments made, and we do that regularly. We believe the contracts we are now putting in place are absolutely clear and deliver on some of the things the Deputy is asking about. I understand that, in the case the Deputy mentioned, the water provision issue has been completely addressed and what he described is not happening at this point. However, it is important that contractors provide their service in the correct and proper way to the State. Through the cont…

I thank the Deputy. The programme for Government contains a commitment to publish a national migration and integration strategy detailing how the Government will meet the demands and opportunities facing Ireland’s society. My Department is currently working on that with other Departments with the aim of having it published in 2026. Looking at the international student sector will obviously form part of that work. For many years, Ireland has welcomed international students who travel here to pursue courses of study …

I thank the Deputy for his acknowledgement of the fact that international students make a contribution. They contribute in so many ways to our country. The Government is looking at student visas in the context of our national migration and immigration strategy. For the purpose of clarity with regard to the issue of total registrations, there can be multiple registrations during a year, so the number of total registrations is not entirely indicative of the number of students but it is a reasonable guide. When lookin…

It is important to examine the regulation in this area. There is quite a bit of regulation in this area. There is an allowance of 20 hours that a student can work during term time and that increases to 40 hours. It is very important that is monitored and correctly enforced. We have changed the requirements for students in terms of the income they would have to have to sustain themselves when they come into the country, so they are able to pursue their courses when they come. It is important that we have monitoring …

I thank the Deputy. My Department is taking action across all aspects of international protection accommodation to provide value for money, strengthen governance and compliance, and renegotiate contracts with providers. This forms part of the overall reform of the international protection system that is already working to speed up processing of applications and move from commercial provision to State provision. These reforms will help to drive down costs and curtail the growth seen over recent years in the accommod…

The Department has accepted the recommendations of the Comptroller and Auditor General's report and has put in place a set of updated processes and standards which will appraise offers and manage and oversee contracts. Extensive new checks and balances have been put in place to ensure high standards of oversight on invoicing. Queries and irregularities have been identified through a checklist process. These have been reviewed and recoupments made to the Department. Treatment of VAT is a matter between the relevant …

The Department is always vigilant about taxpayers' money and it is important to note we have achieved €52 million in savings in terms of contracts this year. There is a new rate card in place delivering real savings. One of the most important things we are doing is moving to State-owned, which will bring a real saving in terms of taxpayers' money. When the migration pact comes in, we will be moving to a shorter timeframe in terms of processing people, which will also save money. We are determined to reduce the over…

I thank the Senator. I know Glenveagh and have been there many times. It is a lovely place. It is one of Donegal's great treasures, as the Senator knows well. He has been a strong supporter on this issue. I am here representing the Minister. The National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has primary responsibility for nature conservation, wildlife protection and the preservation of our national parks. I assure the Senator, on behalf of the Minister, th…

I will, of course, bring the Senator's concerns to the responsible Minister and ensure he hears those concerns. I will also add my knowledge of Glenveagh and how wonderful it is. It is important from the perspective of tourism in Donegal that we seek to maximise accessibility to places such as Glenveagh. I recognise the Senator's concerns and will bring them to the attention of the relevant Minister. I will ensure he is fully aware of what is happening.

I thank Senator Scahill for raising this matter. I apologise that the Minister is not here. I appreciate the Senator's comments on the importance of Ministers addressing these issues when Senators raise them. I am aware Senator Scahill has been very active in raising this matter. The Minister has asked me to make the following statement. At the beginning of this year Storm Éowyn caused unprecedented electricity outages and exposed critical vulnerabilities in our grid system arising from unmanaged vegetation and the…

I very much appreciate the Senator's sentiments he expressed regarding the importance of timing. I will take every opportunity to convey that and the other comments made by him today to the Minister. I have no doubt he will also continue to engage directly with the Minister on this very important issue. I appreciate that it is vitally important to his constituents that they have this type of information and an update on timing. The Government is committed to learning the lessons of Storm Éowyn. As I said, the legis…