Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 17, inclusive, together. The priorities set out in the Department's Statement of Strategy 2021-2023, reflect the role of the Department to assist me as Taoiseach and the Government to ensure a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland’s interests abroad, to implement the Government’s programme, and to build a better future for Ireland and all its citizens. In accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Management Act 1997 the Department of the Taoiseach is currently developing its new statement of strategy for the three-year period from 2023 to 2025. This will reflect the important role of the Department in advancing national whole-of-Government priorities over the coming period.

On housing, we will continue to drive progress on the Housing for All plan. The Government has recently agreed on extra measures to make it cheaper to build and refurbish homes, speed up home building and drive down building costs. These measures will build on the momentum we are already seeing with work starting on a record number of 7,349 homes in the first three months of the year and 10,000 in the first four months.

On the cost of living, the Government is helping households and businesses through recent targeted welfare, childcare and education measures, on top of substantial provisions in budget 2023, including the temporary energy business support scheme, TBESS. Poverty restricts a child’s opportunity. Our vision is to make Ireland the best country in Europe to be a child. The new child poverty and wellbeing programme office has been established in the Department of the Taoiseach. It will enhance co-ordination across the Government, provide strategic leadership and bring enhanced accountability to the child poverty reduction agenda.

The humanitarian response to the war in Ukraine is being led at senior levels across the Government, at a national and local level. To manage increasing pressures on accommodation and services, a cross-departmental senior officials group in the Department of the Taoiseach is co-ordinating actions agreed by the Government. Sourcing suitable accommodation on an ongoing basis, at scale and at speed is extremely challenging. Since the start of this war, more than 83,000 people arriving from Ukraine have availed of temporary protection in Ireland.

The programme for Government sets out a strong framework for climate action and places it at the heart of the work of all Departments. The Department exercises a leadership role to ensure climate action is an important area across all Government Departments. Last week, the Cabinet approved the 2023 public sector climate action mandate, which will see the public sector playing a leadership role as a catalyst and advocate for ambitious climate action across the building, transport, waste and energy sectors.

We recently marked Europe Day, which had an extra significance for Ireland this year, marking fifty years as a member of the European Union. Our membership has played an important part in our country’s development since 1973 and has proven a dependable partner to our nation in the past and recent turbulent times. The Windsor Framework, which was recently agreed between the EU and the UK, can play an essential role in protecting the Good Friday Agreement and in providing economic opportunities to Northern Ireland. My focus now is on getting the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement up and running, across all three strands. The shared island unit has been engaging with all communities through a comprehensive dialogue series on how we could better share this island. It has also been commissioning research to deepen the understanding of the whole island, in economic, social, cultural and political terms.

Over the past two years, we have allocated nearly €200 million from the fund to projects and investments that respond to the common interests and concerns of people right across the island, including climate action and biodiversity conservation, regional development, innovation and deepening our societal connections. Both the shared island unit and social dialogue unit were established as provided for in the programme for Government.

Ten Cabinet committees that reflect the range of cross-Government priorities that the Government will continue to advance in its lifetime have been established. The Department’s new strategy will be finalised and published over the coming weeks.

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