We heard earlier that 30% of childcare managers are struggling to find new staff. Would she consider adding childcare to the critical skills list, which would make it easier for that sector to attract skilled and qualified personnel, especially, of course, from countries outside the European Economic Area such as New Zealand, Brazil and Australia? Skilled people from these countries, obviously with the appropriate qualifications, would then qualify. The Minister mentioned staff turnover of 24.5% with a third of tho…

The blackout yesterday in Spain and Portugal was a jarring but very real reminder of the vulnerability of our energy systems. In five seconds, the Iberian power network lost 15 GW. That is about 60% of normal consumer demand there. By way of comparison, the peak that has been recorded in Ireland is 6 GW, so two and a half times the full consumption of Ireland went off that grid in five seconds. It is incredible that that happened. Rail and metro services stopped, traffic systems stopped, lights were not working and…

I appreciate the Minister of State's comments. I welcome the news that temporary emergency generation capacity has got to four power stations, two in Dublin and two down the country. I also welcome the IEA’s study of our electricity security with regard to energy transition. The one point I want to repeat concerns the European experience. We were very happy to welcome, and it was great to see, crews coming in from France, Germany, Austria and the UK during Storm Éowyn as a response to that incident and the clean-up…

I will talk about two vital Irish Water projects for the Dublin region. The first is the Shannon to Dublin water supply project. In the greater Dublin region, just one source, namely, the River Liffey, supplies 85% of our water. The dependence on the River Liffey and the two big treatment plants in Ballymore Eustace and Leixlip means the greater Dublin region is exposed to risks such as prolonged drought, contamination or both. Population growth, the demand for housing and the impact of climate change mean we will …

Where is Dún Laoghaire? Nobody knows.

It is incredible that no one in the entire US Washington Administration is challenging these tariffs. It is incredible that the Republican Party, the party which produced Ronald Reagan who, for all his faults, understood the benefits and value of free trade, is moving away from this and clearly wrapping itself in the cloak of protectionism. It is incredible that has happened. It is frankly incredible that the US Administration thinks it can rebuild its industrial base purely based on protectionism. I do not know wh…

I want to raise youth facilities. Deputy Currie mentioned all the important facilities we need to make available, including youth cafés, youth clubs, skate parks, music clubs and astro pitches. These are the best ways to divert younger people, get them engaged and keep them involved in the community. In our area, there was a fabulous plan 20 years ago to build many community facilities into the north fringe but then the crash came along and all the building activity stopped. It has recently started up again but the…

I thank the Minister of State for taking this Topical Issue matter this morning. This is about a badly-needed special school in our area so that those with additional needs can get the education they deserve. It is also about the needs of Belmayne Educate Together Secondary School. The school has very a committed principal and staff who are trying to achieve the very best for their students. Our time is short and I do not want to pit one school against another. That is not what this is about. This is about finding …

I thank the Minister of State. It is indicated further on in the written response circulated to Members that there has been engagement with the school. There was a meeting with the school authorities on 25 March. I welcome that and the fact that additional engagement is planned. The concern which Deputy Brabazon set out relates to the long term, and that those students will be there in the long term. Will the Minister of State give a commitment regarding a timeframe for when the additional site will be identified l…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle, and commend her for keeping the car between the ditches yesterday, which was a difficult workday for her. Cuirim fáilte roimh Bille um Údarás na Gaeltachta (Leasú), 2024 agus na hathruithe atá i gceist ó thaobh bord an údaráis a thoghadh. Tá athruithe beaga sa Bhille ó thaobh an t-údarás a bheith in ann talamh a dhíol le AHBs nó le húdaráis tithíochta, chun dídean a chur ar fáil i gceantar Gaeltachta. Tá aidhm ar leith i gclár an Rialtais go n-oibreodh an Rialtas le hÚdarás na Gaeltacht…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht an díospóireacht seo a bheith againn anseo anocht. Cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille seo. Tá sé go maith go mbeidh cuid den bhord sin tofa arís, mar a bhí blianta ó shín. Caithfidh muid a bheith cúramach ó thaobh na n-uimhreacha ar an mbord, gan iad a bheith rómhór mar tá sé tábhachtach go mbeidh an bord in ann oibriú go maith le chéile agus straitéis an údaráis a chur chun cinn sna blianta atá romhainn. Mar a dúirt mé níos luaithe, tá athruithe beaga sa Bhille ó thaobh tithíochta …

I again wish to raise the issue of the accommodation recognition payment, ARP. In the midst of the awful ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, it is vital that we try to give some certainty to our Ukrainian guests here in Ireland who are still here having fled their homeland and to those households around this country who generously took in those people in an act of humanity and social solidarity. Families need to be able to plan for their future, even in the short term. Can the Taoiseach outline when he exp…

I thank the Minister of State for attending this debate. I will raise a couple of matters. I welcome the Government's commitment to the Dublin city task force and the implementation of its report. It is very important for the city centre and restoring confidence in the city. I will call out two items in the report. The first is "Big Move 5 - Deliver more targeted and better located services for vulnerable populations in [the] city ...". That is not easy to do. For example, there is a huge concentration of emergency…

Tá sé iontach an Ghaeilge a chloisteáil á labhairt i dTeach Laighean an tseachtain seo. Ach an oiread leis an Teachta a labhair romham, tacaím leis an dátheangachas. Tá sé iontach an dream atá ar bheagán focal nó a gceapann nach bhfuil cumas cuimsitheach acu a chloisteáil ag déanamh iarracht an Ghaeilge a labhairt. Cuirim an-fháilte roimhe sin. Bíonn fáilte roimhe sin i gcónaí. Níor cheart go mbeadh éinne neirbhíseach ná go mbeadh drogall ar éinne triail a bhaint as an nGaeilge agus í a labhairt. Tá fáilte roimhe s…

I thank the Ministers for being in the Chamber and for taking this debate. This is a good report and I encourage or ask the Government to give it good consideration. Section 3 deals with recommendations on sustainable housing supply. I want to speak about recommendations 18 and 19, which are about money and finance, the State supplying finance, getting involved and providing essential finance, which is a key component for construction. The State is already involved in that sector because the Housing Finance Agency …

Comhghairdeas leis an Naoise eile on his maiden address sa Dáil. Much of the debate today has been around the military side, but like others, I will mention the EU humanitarian response to this war. The invasion began on 24 February 2022 and the European Union activated the temporary protection directive, TPD, in March 2022. That was pretty quick. Some 6.8 million people had to seek refuge from this conflict, mostly in the European Union and its immediate neighbours. This was the first ever use of the TPD. It enabl…

I thank the Minister for being here this evening for this debate. Dublin Bay North is the area that I represent and it has a very mature population, so this topic is directly relevant to us on the northside in that constituency. During the election campaign, we campaigned on this issue in terms of positive ageing and it got good traction with those mature communities. People in Ireland are proactive. Our older citizens are very proactive and they really want to be positive and take an active role in making their ow…

There has been a lot of hype and hot air over AI in general in recent years. Often, this has to do with consultants, sectors and groups trying to hype it up for commercial reasons. Many hope to make lots of money rolling out AI, implementing it and dealing with queries. If, like me, you buy into AI – it is a fact of life we are going to have to deal and work with – you will realise that, in reality, it just involves the analysis of a whole lot of data, requiring a lot more computing power. That is where computing p…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter for discussion. I remember these development checks being carried out in respect of my children not so long ago. They are vital for good early childhood development. The checks include, as Deputy Gogarty mentioned, visits to the clinic and public health nurses coming to people's homes. They make sure that children are healthy and developing normally. If the checks reveal issues, it is really the first time for making early interventions and bringing in other ser…

I thank the Minister of State for her response. I agree with Deputy Gogarty that something needs to be done around Dublin. The numbers are pretty stark. The health service capacity review of 2018 envisaged a big increase in the service by 2021. Baseline capacity was meant to be 2,000 public health nurses nationally by 2026. We are at just over 1,500, which is almost 500 short in terms of where the service is meant to be by now. I acknowledge there are challenges in recruitment and in keeping public health nurses, b…