I thank the Minister of State for being here this morning to take the question. I want to discuss the delays businesses and employees are experiencing when applying for work permits, particularly permits for haulage companies. I am under no illusion as to the gravity of the situation. I understand there has been an unprecedented volume of applications for these permits over recent years. Nonetheless, there are significant problems. There is a particular problem in my constituency of Cork North-Central and in my nei…

I thank the Minister of State. I know it is not his direct remit, and I appreciate him coming in and delivering the script, but there is very little information in relation to how many applications people are currently waiting for, and there is no information in relation to numbers waiting in excess of three, six and 12 months. I ask the Minister if State to bring that back in order that the information could be provided to us by way of supplementary information. It would paint a picture for us. I do not think it i…

I do not now how many phone calls I had with the Minister of State during the summer and in previous years about school transport, particularly in rural areas. To be fair, whether due to his good work or by coincidence, many of the problematic routes I referenced in recent years resolved themselves this year. Pending the implementation of the review commissioned by the then Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, my concern is that I will be revisited by the ghosts of yesteryear next summer. The one time of year that…

I acknowledge the massive investment made in recent years. Since the introduction of core funding in 2022, something in the region of €259 million has been allocated. In many constituencies, particularly in suburban areas like mine, we still face a severe lack of childcare places. One of the largest childcare providers in the country closed its doors to the scheme a couple of months ago in Carrigtwohill, east Cork, namely Mary Geary's Childcare. That facility has 450 children. When somebody like that turns their ba…

I think we both got stuck for time when we were trying to address the question. I specifically asked about the Mary Geary set-up in Carrigtwohill. I ask about it because it is the largest provider in Munster, if not the country. We are concerned because there are no alternatives for people who choose to go elsewhere. I asked the Taoiseach about it last week but have still not received a response. We are particularly concerned because there are about 300 families with 450 children affected and they are faced with th…

First, I wish to express my condolences to the family of Patrick Gerard Murphy in west Cork. We are actually laying him to rest tomorrow morning. He would have been good friends with many of us here from Cork in particular, especially myself and Deputy Seamus McGrath in that we would have soldiered together on the council with him. He will be sorely missed. As the Taoiseach knows, Patrick Gerard would have had an expertise in planning, particularly one-off housing and rural planning, but he would have believed in s…

I raise the issue of childcare with the Taoiseach as well. Mary Geary's Childcare is one of the largest providers in the country. It is actually based in Carrigtohill, which is in Deputy O'Connor's constituency, but many of the families who use it reside in my constituency. It has 450 children from 300 families. The parents of those children were recently faced with a fee hike of 34%. This is because the provider decided to remove itself from the public core funding model. It did this reluctantly because there is a…

I thank the Minister and I would appreciate a list in writing. The reason I asked the question was not to come in here to backslap and say we were all doing great. I taught for 15 years. I was deputy chair of Cork ETB for five of those, and the rate of capital expenditure has been phenomenal in the past number of years, particularly in Cork. That has to be recognised. We have seen projects in my constituency like the new special school in Carrignavar, which the Minister referenced. I think Scoil Mhuire gan Smál in …

I recognise that the Department is always proactive in my engagements with it. As an educator, though, I have concerns, and the Minister may have touched on something there. Cork ETB has a skill set that many voluntary schools would not have. While all schools are not under the patronage of Cork ETB, it has a specific set of skills. It might be worth considering in future that large-scale projects could use the local expertise in the various ETBs across the country. I remember teaching in a school a decade ago. The…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, for coming in to take this matter. It relates to dog-breeding establishments. I am looking for details on the number of pups bred in the country every year and the numbers exported. I listed in the text of the Topical Issue I submitted the various bits and pieces I am seeking. I have dealt with many animal rights groups and charities in recent years. Some of the stuff I have seen has been eye-opening. Some of the facts, statistics and images I have seen at first hand a…

I thank the Minister of State. I know it is not his Department but I appreciate the figures. I was already familiar with many of them. For example, one statistic was that in 2024, a figure of 8,768 pups were exported. The ISPCA and the DSPCA both estimate that around 40,000 or 50,000 pups were exported. I trust the charities on the ground. As public representatives, when we get a report of a horse, a dog or whatever in jeopardy, we know they are the people dealing with it every day. Basically, the State is gives th…

Well done to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. Thank you.

We all understand the importance of workforce planning, nowhere more so than in the area of children, education and health. I heard something concerning last week. It was that pay and numbers are yet to be agreed between the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and the HSE. TDs like myself come in here every week talking about delays for speech and language therapy and physiotherapy and about the delays inherent in the assessment of need system. If pay and numbers have not been agreed yet or the Departme…

I thank the Minister for being straight and upfront on the issue. I am glad that he has acknowledged that there is a dynamic between SOLAS and the ETBs and that this is probably an annual thing but there are still issues. If I went on the Internet tonight, I would see that there is allegedly an issue in Donegal. It is reported that there is a shortfall of €2.1 million. In Louth and Meath ETB, with which the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach is involved, a shortfall of up to €12 million has been identified. That is quite sign…

If I understand the Minister, some ETBs are deferring. The issue still needs to be dealt with. Are we just kicking the can down the road and, in essence, just leaving the issue for the Minister to solve in the next budgetary cycle? He has said he became aware of this a month ago. Given the numbers of apprentices at the various stages, this should have been identified an awful lot sooner. If the Minister was only made aware of this a month ago, I would ask how whoever was responsible, whether inside the Department o…

I am taking this question in the name of Deputy James O'Connor.

I thank the Minister. I am aware of the scheme he outlined and the number of farmers who have availed of it. It is a very good scheme. The designation of land, land use policy and so on is really a matter for the Minister for local government, but one of the reasons Deputy O'Connor raised this matter with the Minister for agriculture is its potential impact on farming, particularly the dairy sector in the part of the world the Deputy and I represent. We are seeing large solar farm proposals now in the absence of an…

The Minister is restrained in what he can say. He is the Minister for agriculture, not energy and communications. I take his point about solar that the Department is providing for rooftops. That scheme is very much welcome. However, we are seeing the landscape transforming in front of our eyes. I took my kids for a walk in Leamlara in east Cork a couple of months back and as far as the eye could see, there was panel after panel in what was probably the most productive land in the country. That is the concern we are…

Over the last number of weeks many ETBs across the country have expressed their concern about funding shortfalls and are saying that they are being squeezed. I have read articles about same related to Louth and Meath ETB and in my own county, Cork City and County ETB has experienced a similar shortfall in funding. I am guessing - the Minister can correct me if I am wrong - that this is related to the increased allowances for apprentices that were committed to last year. I ask the Minister to explain the squeeze and…

I welcome the Minister to the House to deal with what is, at times, a divisive debate in the country at the moment. I have been listening to the previous speakers and, above all else, the one thing I would ask and expect of people in the House is that we would have an informed debate without the usual scaremongering and hyperbole. Let us just get down to discussing what is contained in the motion. Since the Minister's appointment, he has always said that we need a fair and firm asylum process. That has been reflect…