I acknowledge there is a commitment in the programme for Government and the Tánaiste's commitment to international development aid. The difficulty, as he has outlined, is the global aid landscape has completely changed. The US has made massive cuts to USAID. Over $60 billion has been slashed. UK development aid is down by £6 billion. That has a huge knock-on impact on the likes of the Irish NGOs. Goal, Concern and Trócaire, which is based in my home town of Maynooth, have lost vital funding and have had to freeze r…

There is a little bit of light in a dark place from the commitment by the State and the Tánaiste's Department to increase the funding, especially to Sudan. That is an important message people need to hear. I acknowledge as well the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, made the comment in Sierra Leone earlier in the year that Ireland has a responsibility to show real leadership in how development spending directly impacts people living in poverty. It goes throughout Government and throughout the Tánaiste's Department…

Cén dul chun cinn atá déanta maidir le haitheantas a bhronnadh ar bhailte a chur isteach ar stádas mar líonra Gaeltachta? Cathain gur féidir leis na ceantair sin a bheith ag súil go mbronnfar an stádas sin orthu?

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Mar atá ráite aige cheana féin, tá trí cinn de na líonraí seo in Éireann faoi láthair: Inis, Baile Locha Riach agus Cluain Dolcáin. Ó thuaidh, tá Carn Tóchair agus iarthar Bhéal Feirste chomh maith. Ó thaobh Cill Dara go háirithe, tá Cill Dara le Gaeilge ann. Is eagraíocht é seo atá ag déanamh iarracht líonra Gaeilge a bhunadh i gCill Dara. Tá an oiread sin Gaeilge á labhairt i gCill Dara. Breathnaím ar Mhaigh Nuad, mo bhaile féin, mar shampla. Tá dhá Ghaelscoil i Maigh Nuad agus tá G…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Buíochas leis as an aitheantas sin chomh maith. Tá sé seo an-tábhachtach do na pobail Ghaeilge seo, go háirithe lasmuigh den Ghaeltacht. Ní airgead amháin atá ann. Tuigim go bhfuil airgead i gceist sa chás seo ó thaobh líonra Gaeilge a bhunú ach is rud fíorthábhachtach é an t-aitheantas mar líonra Gaeilge do phobal na Gaeilge lasmuigh den Ghaeltacht. Tá sé tábhachtach go háirithe i gCill Dara ach timpeall na tíre chomh maith in áiteanna cosúil le Maigh Eo agus Baile Átha Cliath. Tá sé…

This morning I published my first Bill to establish the national AI office, oifig náisiúnta na aintleachta saorga. As part of the EU's AI Act, every member state is required to produce a regulator in the state. The idea behind this particular office is that it would act both as a regulator and an enabler for SMEs and for State entities. I have spoken with the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, about this. I submitted the Bill to the public Bills Office today. I ask that it is given a fair hearing. We are required und…

I commend Deputy Byrne on the work he has been doing as Minister of State with responsibility for foreign affairs and, in particular, European affairs. There are two areas that I would like to cover following the European Council meeting: Ukraine and the Middle East. It is critical that Ukraine remains at the forefront of our minds and that we continue to call out the illegal aggression of Russia as it continues to bombard the country. I urge the Government to push as much as possible to ensure that Ukraine can acq…

I commend the establishment of the infrastructure committee. It is rightly targeting key areas of society: water infrastructure, energy infrastructure and housing. However, I ask that policy on social infrastructure be considered as part of this. I am referring to schools, Garda stations, crèches, playgrounds, etc. When we are considering the development of towns and villages and increases to the amount of infrastructure, particularly from a housing perspective, social infrastructure should be considered also. The …

The situation in the Middle East, specifically in Gaza and across the occupied Palestinian territories, is beyond tragic; it is catastrophic. Ireland must speak with moral clarity and courage. As I have said before, and as many people in this House have said, what is happening is clearly genocide. Ireland has long supported the two-state solution and advocated for peace but peace without justice is not peace at all. What we are witnessing today is the collapse of humanitarian protections. Gaza has become a place wh…

I want to acknowledge the extensive work being done by the Minister of State with responsibility for special education. I have seen first hand his commitment to his brief. He has visited Kildare with me. He has visited the Presentation Girls' School in Maynooth, Maynooth Community College, An Garraí Beag in Donadea and St. Patrick's Primary School in Celbridge. The schools' staff, the parents and I appreciated the Minister of State visiting a few weeks ago. I also want to acknowledge the extensive work undertaken b…

The basic income for the arts pilot scheme has already shown a transformative impact. Artists report producing more work, enjoying better well-being and feeling more financially secure. It has been extended for six months to allow for a full evaluation. I ask the Minister to outline his plans for a successor scheme and to confirm that budget 2026 will include ring-fenced funding for its continuation.

I thank the Minister for the reply and for the work he continues to do on the basic income for the arts pilot. The scheme has made a real difference to the lives of close to 2,000 artists. We know that the evidence the Minister has mentioned points to positive outcomes across practice development, sectoral resilience and community engagement. Given the Department is preparing the full report and a cost-benefit analysis, will these findings be published in full? I appreciate the Minister will bring them to Cabinet, …

Other countries such as Finland and Germany have introduced similar schemes as part of long-term cultural and economic planning. Has the Department engaged with these international examples or does it plan to do so? Something I am very conscious of, and I know the Minister is also, is ensuring there is no cliff edge for participants when the pilot ends. Many of these artists will have structured their lives and livelihoods around the scheme. We have to allow them a level of certainty and make sure they understand w…

It is said a society should be judged on how it treats those who are most vulnerable. In this case, it is older people in our society. What we saw in the "RTÉ Investigates" programme was not care. It did not look like the dignity of older people had been looked after. We owe a debt of gratitude to "RTÉ Investigates" for shining a light on what happened in some settings and on the fear it is happening in others. What we saw was elder abuse. There is a natural fear in society it is happening in other locations. It is…

We have seen the extension of contactless fare payments in cities such as London, Edinburgh, Barcelona and Milan, as well as in the Netherlands. I am looking for the expected timeline for the roll-out of contactless fare payments on all public transport.

The Minister has announced extremely positive news here this evening that is extremely welcome. It would be great to see a breakdown of the timelines. What do we need to do in order to get to the first phase in the summer of 2027? Is there a need for procurement of IT systems? Are particular systems for buses, etc., required? It would be great to see the routes included in phase 1 as well. Would it be possible to expedite those later phases? We have to wait until the summer of 2028 for phase 2. Phase 3 relates to I…

As I said, this is extremely positive news. It is great to see such a development. Indra Sistemas, which is carrying out the work, has done similar work previously in an international context. Are there any binding milestones built into the contract? The reason I ask is because there are four phases, which is excellent, and we can see clear steps to achieve the overarching aim, but the priority should be to ensure that everything is delivered on time and within budget. Could we get an understanding of the contractu…

The programme for Government commits to reforming the disability allowance and addressing anomalies in the current means test. That commitment is vital and timely. One of my constituents - a wheelchair user with spina bifida and hydrocephalus - saw her weekly payments drop from €211 to just €36 per week when her partner changed jobs for marginally better pay to help support her. Not only that, but she has now been asked to repay €52,000 in back-dated disability allowance, dating back to when she first started recei…

The EPA recently identified 115 risks to Ireland from climate change. These range from disruption to Ireland’s energy system, as we saw recently with Storm Éowyn, to damage to Ireland’s built environment from extreme wind and weather events. Will the Taoiseach clarify if the Cabinet committee on climate action will address this report and provide updates on it? Furthermore, we have heard talk of data centres, etc. The private wires Bill needs to be prioritised and be brought before the House as soon as possible.

The Taoiseach will recall that in 2021 the HSE experienced a cyberattack. The estimated cost to the HSE was in the region €102 million. The upgrade costs on its security amounted to an estimated €657 million. With the rise of artificial intelligence, we are now seeing far more sophisticated cyberattacks. I have asked the Deputy Malcolm Byrne, the chair of the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence, whether the committee could look at cyberattacks, particularly from an AI perspective. Is the ministerial council …