First, I want to be associated with the statements which were made in expressing condolences with the family of Michael O'Regan. I have been in this House for nearly 26 years and he has been a feature of political commentary all of that time and longer. He was a great storyteller, someone with a great sense of humour, someone who loved an argument but who also listened to other people's perspectives. He will be missed by many people close to him and his family. I want to be associated with the condolences and comme…

I thank the Deputy for raising those issues. This is a very positive story. The Government announced a significant funding package of €600 million as part of the A5 north-west transport corridor, which is going to be of major benefit to Northern Ireland but which will also connect Donegal with Dublin and the east coast. That is a project we have been committed to, as the Deputy knows, for many years. It was important that the Government was very clear on the extent of our financial commitment as it is today. I hope…

-----and beginning work on Casement Park, which I hope will be upgraded shortly. This is a good example of how the Irish and British Governments can work together with the Executive in Northern Ireland and the Ministers there to make things happen in a way that, perhaps, was not possible a few months ago when we did not have an Executive. Let us try to reinforce the positivity that marked the events of recent weeks. The Government is certainly leading in this regard in light of the significant package announced ear…

The sooner that happens, the better.

Of course I am aware of the tragic death of a 16-year-old in Limerick accident and emergency on 29 January. I express my sincere condolences to the family at what is a very tragic time. The HSE has carried out a preliminary assessment in accordance with its policy and procedure. The outcome of full HSE assessment is awaited. I cannot really comment further, as I think the Deputy will understand, until that work is completed. On the more general point, we accept that there is work to do in terms of supporting UHL in…

We have not accepted that we will fail to meet targets for 2025. There is an enormous effort across government, in virtually every Department, to-----

Yes, the independent experts have said that targets will be difficult to meet, but we are not in 2025 yet. It is up to the Government to accelerate delivery as regards climate action, which is exactly what we are setting about doing. We have broken it up sector by sector. A lot of those targets are difficult to meet, but the Government has been transparent about how we will go about this. It is not easy, but this Government is more ambitious for climate action than any Government we have seen in the past, and we wi…

The waiving of development charges and the cost of getting water connections for developers has been very successful. It has certainly accelerated developments that otherwise might not have been viable financially. Obviously, the Government needs to consider the question the Deputy is asking, but it has not made a decision on that yet. That approach has worked in terms of delivering more homes. I am not in position to say whether it is likely to be extended. That will be a matter for Government in the next couple o…

I am not sure why that meeting tomorrow has been postponed. I will try to get that information for the Deputy. My understanding is the Minister is engaging with banks, in particular, to try to ensure homeowners are getting fair treatment. I will get the Minister to come back with a more specific answer for the Deputy because I do not want to give him a bland answer.

I thank the Deputy for raising that issue. As he knows, I am pretty familiar with that part of Cork. There has been enormous damage since the floods happened a number of months ago. We tried to put the largest ever funding package in place to support businesses that have been hit by effectively redesigning a new scheme for extreme flood damage. However, there is, of course, significant infrastructural damage as well that Cork County Council has to repair and for which it ultimately has to pick up the bill. The way …

There are a number of questions there but they are all very relevant. I am glad to hear the Deputy recognising that we are making progress in the context of agriculture and energy. On construction, we discussed that in Cabinet today, that is, the use of modern methods of construction in the building of social housing, so that the Government can lead by example in this. There is a lot more structure and delivery now in terms of social housing being built using modern methods of construction, more timber, more timber…

I will have to check that for the Deputy. I was in Cabinet today and do not recall any discussion on that issue. I will make sure I check because if it is being raised by the Deputy it is obviously an issue about which people are concerned. I will try to come back and clarify that issue as quick as we can. I will check with the Department of Health.

Will the Deputy put some of those questions in writing to me? My understanding is that student accommodation is covered by the limitations to increases within rent pressure zones. If that is not being abided by, we will have to look into it. I am not familiar with the individual case in Galway referred to by the Deputy but even if a premises has been renovated, that does not mean it is a new rental premises; it just means it has been renovated. If the Deputy sends on the individual details I will take a look at it …

I know the Deputy appreciates this area, as do others in this House, and he knows the waters of the south-west coast of Ireland pretty well, some of which need to be protected. The Government is committed to this. I have been told that drafting is under way. It is being prioritised and is scheduled to be published this session. It is a complex area though and is not as straightforward as it might sound but the Government is committed to that 30% figure, which is a very significant body of water. When you think abou…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I am not sure how much time he will give me for all of them. Maybe it will be five minutes, which is excellent. First, with regard to Deputy Colm Burke's question, I know he had a good meeting with the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, on these matters. The Minister's Department met the Department of Health, UCC and Trinity on increasing the number of undergraduate courses available. Further information is being provided to the two Departments by TCD and UCC on the proposal to increase pla…

I would say to Deputy Nash that I think it is a helpful suggestion and I hope it can be the basis for moving the issues forward. On antisocial behaviour and policing, I hear what Deputy Gannon is saying with regard to the pressures on Garda resources. The Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and the Garda Commissioner have focused significantly on increasing Garda resources, presence and visibility in the inner city and I hope that is having a positive impact-----

-----even if there are cases where more gardaí on the street is what is needed and there is a focus on doing that by recruiting more gardaí and making sure they are more visible and are given the equipment they need to do the job they need to do. With regard to the Children's Rights Alliance annual report and scorecard, we agreed earlier that we would, I hope, provide time to debate that report and scorecard next week - the good, the bad and the challenging in that report. I am glad to say there are more areas of i…

I hear what the Deputy is saying and I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, to respond briefly to her specific question.

I thank the Deputy for raising the question but, as I think she probably knows, I cannot commit to funding for an individual project. I will certainly pass the question on to the Department of Health and the HSE which can respond to the Deputy directly.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am very aware of the pressures that some small and medium-sized businesses are under, in particular in food hospitality and in certain types of retail. That is why we insisted at budget time that we would set aside more than €250 million to support 143,000 businesses across the country. That is 95% of all rate-paying businesses. They will get a cash injection or grant in the coming weeks to recognise the fact that we hear the pressure that they are under and while we do …