We can look at taxation.

The Taoiseach asked me a question.

The Minister pointed on some of the issues that I want to raise. The first is what has been identified as a substantial delay in the planning system. This was reported on and accounted in the Oireachtas committee at the back end of last year. There were examples there, which he touched on, in terms of entering into the planning system in 2024, an expectation that people would have a decision in 2025 and instead they get a massive request for further information. I would make two related points on that. The first is…

That is something that we need to keep a continued emphasis on to ensure that these applications are processed in a timely manner and that all of the necessary scrutiny is conducted from all aspects. One of the key enabling infrastructures around offshore wind is our ports infrastructure. In terms of the development of our ports infrastructure, will we be ready to take advantage of the opportunity that presents itself in terms of offshore wind, whether in terms of ports for the maintenance of these facilities or fo…

I ask the Minister of State to provide an update on TV licence sales for each of the years 2024, 2025 and to date 2026. I ask him to make a statement on the matter.

It is clear, based on the figures the Minister of State has outlined, that the TV licence funding model is completely broken. People are voting with their feet. The Minister of State has outlined a number of contributing factors. The single biggest contributing factor is scandal after scandal in RTÉ. In 2019, over 1 million TV licences were sold. The Minister of State is saying that in the first half of this year, fewer than 300,000 have been sold and in all of last year, only 768,000 were sold. This is a very sign…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I absolutely agree and that is why it is important to raise these issues. At the heart of this is the question of the funding model for good-quality public service broadcasting. I will give another example on this. I welcome the Ashbourne Women's Shed who are visiting today. There were a number of posts for local democracy journalism funded across the State but in Meath and Mayo those posts have been withdrawn. They are not being funded. It was an initiative on behalf of this Go…

I raise the issue of givinostat. I know it has been raised repeatedly but there was a packed audiovisual room briefing. There was welcome news on it yesterday. This is givinostat for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. It was recommended for reimbursement by the HSE drugs group and it is with the senior leadership team now. There are two specific asks I wish to raise with the Minister. First, this process must happen speedily. These children still do not have access to this drug, and they need access to it. Every day coun…

We will go to a Sinn Féin slot. The first speaker is an Teachta Ó Laoghaire.

There is no legal or moral excuse for what this Government has done to the occupied territories Bill. For eight long years, it stalled and delayed. Now, it has cynically gutted the legislation by excluding services. Almost 70% of our trade with the occupied territories is in services. If we exclude services, this Bill will fall far short of its potential and what is necessary, appropriate and right. The Government claims legal impediments. That is a hallow argument. It is no argument at all. The International Court…

The Taoiseach has acknowledged the fact that we need service sites to deliver housing. In many parts of the country, our water network is absolutely creaking. This weekend, for practically the whole weekend, Duleek and Stamullen in County Meath were without water due to unscheduled outages and failed repairs. These outages are all too regular. There is a plan for investment in the network. I am asking the Taoiseach to ensure that is prioritised and rolled out as quickly as is possible and in the meantime, that Uisc…

Children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy in Ireland are still denied access to givinostat, a transformative drug. I understand that the HSE drugs group is to meet tomorrow, 10 June, to consider givinostat for reimbursement. This is after more than a year since it was licensed at European level. A number of serious criteria need to be met in relation to it, principal among these is that the eligibility criteria would be aligned with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, NICE, approach ensuring access for …

This is a question of Ireland's obligations under international law, our commitment to human rights and our responsibility to act consistently when serious allegations of violations of international law are before us. The Irish football community, campaigners, trade unionists, community organisations and ordinary people rightly say that proceeding with this game risks normalising a situation that demands accountability. They point to the historic role that sporting boycotts played in challenging apartheid in South …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. It is reassuring to hear that the Department tracks the numbers and the placements. It would be more reassuring if it would make those public and provide them to Opposition politicians when they ask questions on them. I will ask again in relation to the figures. The last time we were here the Minister of State indicated there were 7,860 notifications to the NCSE before 1 October, that about 75% of those children were already in school and that he was dealing with around 2,000 ne…

There are a couple of things there. We do not have the figure for the number of children who do not have an offer. We do not have the figure for the number of children who were notified to the NCSE after 1 October. I presume the Minister of State does have those figures but is not making them publicly available. That raises very significant concerns. Based on my estimation, we are talking about hundreds of children without an offer and thousands of children in inappropriate school placements - nearly 4,000 based on…

I wish to ask the Minister to provide an update on the ongoing negotiations with school caretakers and secretaries.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. The reason I raised this issue is because we are coming towards the end of the school year. This will be our last opportunity at priority questions before the school year ends. At the start of the school year, school secretaries and caretakers reluctantly went on strike outside schools in pursuit of pension parity. We could all see - I hope Government could see it, and it surely knows it - the level of public support, particularly within school communities, that there is for school se…

In this, I want to make the case for the Minister to play whatever helpful role she can with the parties involved to try to move things on and bring them to a successful resolution. We are aware of some of the issues at stake here: access, for example, to a public service pension scheme versus auto-enrolment versus a third, bespoke model. I will make a strong case, and I hope the Minister hears it and can pass it on to her ministerial colleagues. There is a real concern that there will not be any recognition of yea…

Givinostat is a potentially life-altering drug for children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The European Commission granted conditional marketing authorisation for givinostat almost a year ago, on 6 June 2025. There has been a frustrating delay, some of it on the company's behalf. I understand that the HSE's drugs group will review givinostat at its June meeting and make a recommendation to the senior leadership team to approve the medicine or not. There is a campaign, Time is Muscle. Every day counts for these c…

Before we move to the next speaker I welcome the children from Skerries Educate Together to the Visitors Gallery, along with their teachers, John and Mary. This is of special interest to Deputy Grace Boland as her two children - twins, Kaya and Millie - are with them. Tá fáilte mhór rompu uilig.