The people of Newport have waited decades for a wastewater treatment plant that is fit for purpose. This is absolutely critical infrastructure. For them to hear now that it may be 2031 before they get this critical infrastructure is absolutely not acceptable for families, businesses or community groups in the area. This is a beautiful town that has waited too long. I am asking the Taoiseach to intervene so that it does not have to wait until 2031 for something as basic as a wastewater treatment plant.

Could the Taoiseach tell them to hurry up?

I welcome the opportunity to mark Pride Month. It is a time to celebrate diversity and inclusion and also to reflect on the journey that has brought us here and the work that remains to be done. Ireland has made significant progress in recent years in advancing the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ people, including, as my colleague Deputy Devine noted, through the work of ICTU. We welcome Deputy Ó Snodaigh's legislation and hope it will be passed by the House in the next couple of weeks. From the historic marriage equa…

Artificial intelligence is transforming our economy, workplaces and daily lives at an extraordinary pace. It offers enormous opportunities to improve public services, drive innovation and enhance productivity but it also presents serious risks that cannot be ignored. We all can recognise the benefits AI can bring to individuals, business and the public sector, be it through task automation, improved data analysis or increased efficiency and competitiveness across many sectors. However, AI is not an inherently posit…

I acknowledge the hard work done by my colleague Deputy Cullinane in this area. He has presented all the proposals and solutions to fix what is happening in dental services. Dental care is a critical part of the health and well-being of any human being but it is not treated as such by the Government, which has failed to address the critical shortage in this area of healthcare provision. Between 2019 and 2025, the number of dentists in Mayo providing care under the dental treatment services scheme fell from just 31 …

I was really pleased to see this on the agenda. It is very important that we have this discussion in the Chamber today because it really matters. On orphan drugs and clinical trials, it is important to have that negotiation power for the leverage we need, and it is really important that we address this on an all-island basis and have an all-island system. We have been looking at this within the Good Friday Agreement as well in terms of an all-island national healthcare system. It is clearly coming through that were…

For counties such as Mayo, tourism is a critical economic driver. The Wild Atlantic Way has helped to showcase the extraordinary beauty of our coastline, our islands, our heritage and our communities. Yet, despite the success of these attraction, there remains significant untapped potential that requires sustained investment and support from Government. I am glad to hear the Minister talk about the oversight group and that the local authorities are part of it because it is often the case that the necessary joined-u…

There is a fundamental flaw at the heart of this Bill. That is the exclusion of services. It is no more complicated than that. I certainly wish to pay tribute to Senator Black who showed leadership when successive Governments refused to act. Senator Black's occupied territories Bill set out a clear and principled position. Before the 2024 general election, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael promised the Irish people that the occupied territories Bill would be enacted. Instead, what we have before us is a watered-down versio…

I have raised the unsustainable situation at Roxboro National School in Ballinrobe with the Minister's office numerous times since last November. I have visited the school, spoken with the management there and seen the urgent need for additional resources. That is why I was extremely disappointed to hear that the school had been excluded from the DEIS programme. I ask the Minister to explain to the school community why Roxboro National School has been excluded from DEIS and DEIS plus despite the obvious resource pr…

I will outline to the Minister how Roxboro National School more than meets the criteria for DEIS status. It is a two-teacher rural primary school serving one of the most diverse and disadvantaged school populations in the country. The school currently has 35 pupils; 17 are from the Irish Traveller community and 18 are either in the International Protection Accommodation Service, IPAS, system, refugees, homeless or living in emergency accommodation. Three children have moderate learning difficulties and 31 to 35 req…

There is transition and integration funding that can be used for other purposes when we have extreme cases like this. The management feared that the inclusion on the scheme to which the Minister refers would lead to Roxboro's exclusion from DEIS. which has now come to pass despite every other school in its HSCL cluster having DEIS or DEIS plus status. The school management and I are really struggling to understand how a school like Roxboro, with such a significant and concentrated need, has been left out of the DEI…

It is actually quite shocking that there are not already emergency plans in place that can respond more quickly and more effectively during periods of severe economic disruption. Businesses and workers need certainty. They need to know that when extraordinary circumstances arise, there is a clear and co-ordinated plan to support employment and cash flow. We need practical measures that can help businesses weather crises, including targeted energy supports and measures to ease excessive operating costs, such as spir…

I will set my script down and instead talk to the Minister about my biggest concern at the moment, namely, youth unemployment. It is at approximately 12% and could grow further. Graduates and their parents and families have invested in education to the point where they are coming out with four or maybe six years of education, but they do not have employment opportunities in their own country. Obviously, whatever strategies we have are not working when we take that as a measure of what is happening today. It is a hu…

This week, Knock airport will celebrate its 40th anniversary. It is a huge milestone for Mayo and the wider western region. I congratulate Joe Gilmore and all the staff and board of Knock airport. At a time when many thought it was impossible, Monsignor James Horan showed extraordinary vision and determination to make Knock airport a reality. He took the "Build it and they will come" approach and history has proven him right. Thousands of jobs, tourism opportunities and vital international connectivity have come to…

I just could not bring myself to do it.

I only had 30 seconds.

I thank Deputy Stanley for this very important motion. Our neutrality is not an accident of history. It is a conscious expression of our independence, sovereignty and belief that small nations can be a force for peace in the world. Our non-participation in foreign conflicts or military alliances has earned Ireland respect across the globe, but this reputation has been steadily undermined by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, which seem hell-bent on dismantling the triple lock and sending Irish men and women overseas to fig…

Mikey Henry Benson, who has scoliosis, as the Taoiseach will know, recently turned 18. I visited his home on Saturday, where he is in the loving care of his mum, Penny, his dad, Michael, and his sisters. He is a bright and happy young man despite the torture he has been through. Mikey Henry has been utterly failed by Children's Health Ireland, CHI, while his spinal curvature has regressed to 130°, crushing his vital organs. His parents will never give up. They continue to fight for his life. With the help of the Ma…

I will do that.

The Taoiseach knows there are over 600,000 Irish citizens or people who hold Irish passports in the North. Obviously, there has been a significant surge in Irish passport applications from citizens living in the North since Brexit. Over 120,000 applications were received in 2024 and almost 85,000 last year. Given this sustained demand, does the Taoiseach agree that Irish citizens in the North deserve a dedicated passport office? When is this going to happen? If the State can run a passport office in London, as it s…