There was a reward apparently. The issue I want to raise is related to that, around the repeal of legislation. While much of the legislation here is outdated and traditional, one of the biggest pieces of legislation that dates from that period, from the 1830s, was the commercial rates legislation, on which local government funding was established in Ireland. It was established under the principles that were set out by George IV that led in turn to Griffith's Valuation and so on. We continue to use those outdated me…

Specifically on wellness, we have reached a life expectancy of 83 years in this country which is very welcome. However, the numbers of those aged between 65 and 84 years will increase by 65% over the next two decades and those aged 85 and over will double. That means we will have an older population and it is important they stay well and active. Will the Taoiseach indicate his support, as was indicated in the budget and the programme for Government, for tax relief for gym membership to encourage people to become fi…

I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and wish him well in his role. I have no doubt he will be an innovative Minister. The importance of this issue is highlighted by the fact virtually every Fianna Fáil backbencher is looking to avail of the very small amounts of speaking time accorded to back bench Deputies to partake in this debate. I welcome the Minister's clear statement that he supports the Garda and recognises the strong role of gardaí. That is more effective than those who choose to eulogise an ind…

I wish the Minister of State well in his role and welcome his commitment to investment in rail transport. I ask about the Dublin to Rosslare rail line specifically, in which there has been a lack of investment. If we are talking about providing a realistic alternative for rail users, there must be real investment in this railway line. In light of the Minister's previous comments about investment in rail, will the Minister of State outline what he plans to do with this much-forgotten service?

I love how the Minister of State described as a significant change the addition of one "late evening service", as he described it. The late evening service left 45 minutes ago so I cannot avail of it. I am not sure what time the Minister of State regards as late evening. He mentioned the six services available to people I represent in Rathdrum, Arklow and Gorey. Equidistant from Dublin is Carlow, represented ably by the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, from which there are 11 services daily. Commuters travelling from Dundalk…

With respect, the only thing being suggested is forcing commuters to change in Wicklow or Greystones. If they are on a train early in the morning and it is wet and cold, commuters from Gorey, Arklow or Rathdrum to the city are expected to change trains. It is not acceptable. The Minister of State needs to be talking about a significant investment. There is discussion as part of the all-island rail review of doubling the number of tracks between Dublin and Belfast to four. I welcome and support that. We ask for the …

I congratulate the Minister of State and wish him well in his new role. As colleagues have said, the real challenge relates to delivery and ensuring we have homes for all those who live here, which is the biggest challenge facing the Government. Following on from what my party colleague Deputy McAuliffe talked about, I will talk about delivery, especially in the context of the infrastructure that is needed to support that. This applies in particular to water infrastructure. We have had problems with Uisce Éireann, …

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, for taking this question on behalf of the Government. We had a useful debate on the future of healthcare yesterday. He will be aware of that. The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, spoke about the success in Ireland where we now have a life expectancy of 82.6 years. As she rightly pointed out, our aim is not just to live longer but also to live healthier lives. The Minister used Government statistics to point out that over the next 20 years, the numbers aged 65 to 84…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I welcome that we will see details when the annual tax strategy group process develops over the summer. I ask the Minister of State to input into this process given he has responsibility for older people. That was a little bit of a standard Department of Finance answer in that the officials are obviously concerned about potential loss of tax income, but this must be seen as a health promotion measure. I cited the World Health Organization figures on the cost not just …

Hear, hear.

I propose to share time with my colleague Deputy Devlin. I will take six minutes and he will take four. I welcome H.E. Larysa Gerasko. She has shown incredible friendship to many Members of these Houses and to the people of Ireland. I also welcome the visitors from Ukrainian communities all over Ireland who are in the Public Gallery. We need to acknowledge the contribution that so many Ukrainians are making to all of our communities. We must continue to build on that friendship.` In concluding his remarks to the jo…

I congratulate the Minister on her new role and I wish her the best. I join with colleagues in marking rare diseases day this week. My colleague, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, has done a lot of work in this area. The Minister was able to meet some of the groups and I hope she will co-operate with those who are advocating on the issue of rare diseases. This debate is on the future of healthcare and, as Deputy Dolan said, it is important that we use new technology, particularly artificial intelligence, to be able to imp…

I congratulate my good friend and colleague, Deputy Niamh Smyth, on her appointment and wish her well. Right throughout the programme for Government, the increased emphasis on artificial intelligence and digitalisation is very positive. However, it is essential that it does not just fall on the Minister of State's shoulders. It is critical that we have a whole-of-government approach to unlock the potential of new technology. As the Taoiseach has said, in many ways what we are experiencing with AI is the 21st centur…

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First, I congratulate the Minister of State in his new role. Given some of the debate earlier, Deputy Buttimer now will be familiar with roads all over the country. The Minister of State could probably replace Google Maps, particularly having listened to Deputy Collins knowing the various roads of south-west Cork. I am afraid I will continue somewhat in that vein. However, it is to illustrate some of the requirements around road safety at a national level. One of the challenges we all know about in our local commun…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit.  She is familiar with this issue.  As she knows, I have raised it in the Seanad regularly and I have been in regular correspondence with the Department and HSE.  She will know that access to GP care is a huge issue, particularly in north Wexford and south Wicklow.  North Wexford, in particular, is one of the fastest growing areas of the country.  During the general election campaign, which we talked about before, the question of access to health services, particularly to GPs, wa…

I thank the Minister of State.  As she knows, I am always very happy when she is here answering questions, because of her honesty.  I wish her well in her role.  I very much acknowledge the 179 primary care centres that have been opened to date.  We have seen excellent primary care centres, in Carnew, Arklow and Enniscorthy, but my question is why the people of Gorey and north Wexford, one of the fastest growing areas in the country, should continue to be without a new primary care centre.  In the inter-census peri…

Next week the Taoiseach and members of the Government are due to host the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, in Ireland. While it is important we maintain strong diplomatic, economic and cultural links with China, and reflecting on the Taoiseach's very balanced and measured speech to the Royal Irish Academy in May 2023, I hope he will raise questions of continuing human rights abuses in China, particularly in Xinjiang and Tibet. However, I also want to raise the case of Jimmy Lai, who has been detained for more tha…

These questions are about the programme for Government specifically. Right throughout that programme, there are very clear commitments to investing in Ireland's artificial intelligence strategy and in digitalisation. I welcome the fact that the Taoiseach attended the global AI summit hosted by President Macron recently. The Department of enterprise has been charged with commissioning research on the impact of AI, as a key technology, on the Irish economy and developing a campaign on AI adoption for SMEs. The fact t…

I agree with my party colleague Deputy Moynihan, particularly about that gap for companies that move from being supported by local enterprise offices to a point where they can be supported by Enterprise Ireland. He and I are very much in agreement on digitalisation and the AI strategy we talked about. A key part of this is investment in skills. Critical to that is ensuring that the requirements of funding our future, the funding programme for higher education, are met. That is referred to in the competitiveness cha…