Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)

I agree with what Deputy Timmins has said. I will fire a shot across the bows of the Opposition because no one has bothered to turn up tonight. When people are watching this on TV at home Opposition Deputies are the first people to point the finger when the benches are a bit light on this side of the House. Their absence is either an endorsement of the budget or they could not be bothered to turn up

I welcome the increase in the capitation grant. This will see an additional €50 per pupil allocated to primary and special schools and an extra €20 per pupil for post-primary schools. Many of my colleagues will have received numerous emails from constituents in recent weeks on this issue. As a former teacher, like Deputy John Connolly beside me, and having spent 15 years in the classroom, I understand the immense pressure on parents and schools. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, is committed to improving the support for our special education services and that commitment is evident through the increase of 1,717 in the number of SNAs and the 860 additional SEN teachers in special education settings. It is vital that we continue to have the staff and resources necessary to expand special education provision.

Housing received a major uplift in the budget. The expansion of the living city initiative will help to address vacancy and dereliction and hopefully bring more houses into the market. The scheme is being extended and expanded, increasing its scope for residential properties from those built before 1915 to those built before 1975. Amending this scheme to support the use of over-the-shop premises for residential purposes is also a good idea.

Far too many people are homeless, living in emergency accommodation or in precarious and uncertain living conditions. We all know this is not good enough. We must continue to accelerate the delivery of homes through key initiatives such as the first home scheme, vacancy grants, affordable purchase options, cost rental housing and the help to buy scheme.

Turning to infrastructure, I want to address the ongoing issues with water quality in Cork city, which have been well documented, particularly the problems with discoloured water and excess manganese. While the additional funding is welcome, we must acknowledge that the full replacement of ageing cast-iron pipes is going to take time. Long-term planning and delivery must remain a priority. Nevertheless, an additional €1.4 billion for Uisce Éireann is extremely welcome and needs to be directed at areas servicing new housing developments in particular.

In his speech yesterday, the Minister referenced several road projects. I want to ensure the northern distributor road, the Mallow relief road and the Cork to Limerick motorway are included in the projects that receive funding and make tangible progress. We need more definitive timelines for their delivery and I will continue to press for clarity and action on them. It is crucial to restate that the funding to deliver these projects is in place under the national development plan, despite what Members of the Opposition say.

Last year, I spoke in the Chamber about the importance of making our communities safe and my disappointment at the allocation of new Garda recruits. Of the 1,000 recruited, only four were assigned to Cork and only one to my constituency. This year's budget includes a commitment of €110 million to recruit 1,000 trainee gardaí in 2026. I sincerely hope that Cork receives its fair share this time. Our communities deserve adequate policing resources. I also want to highlight the ongoing issue of prison capacity. I was pleased to welcome the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, on a recent visit to Cork. I appreciate his commitment to expanding prison capacity there.

Moving on to health, last week I vocalised my frustration at the lack of progress on the Cork elective hospital. As I have said, I raised the issue last week and I will continue to do so. The facility is critical to reduce overcrowding and to address long waiting times. We need urgent movement on it. There are a number of primary care centres in the NDP in the pipeline for Cork North Central, including, as examples, Glanmire, Mayfield and Blarney.

I have long advocated for increased funding and approved access to medicines for persons living with rare diseases. Ireland has allocated €8 million for rare disease funding in 2026, increasing from €6.5 million in 2025 and €1.5 million in 2024. There is incremental progress, which I welcome. This funding will help facilitate the implementation of the national rare disease strategy, which makes 11 key recommendations designed to enhance diagnosis, treatment and support for people living with rare diseases.

I have very little speaking time remaining so I will mention several other issues that involve small amounts of funding but which I welcome nonetheless. I am a spokesperson on sport and while in recent months I have had my issues, which have been well documented, with the FAI as an organisation, I welcome the €3 million for sporting academies to be administered by Sport Ireland. It is fundamental to recognise the grassroots of Irish football and the good work they do, whatever difficulties I might have with the parent body.

I also welcome the €1.6 million allocated to the GAA. I acknowledge the incremental increase to sporting organisations in the budget, and the further enhancement of the large scale sport infrastructure fund, LSSIF. I am already looking forward to seeing a more enhanced LSSIF in next year's budget. As I have said in the past, some of the best things I have been involved in as a public representative in recent years have been in the area of sports capital funding. It is probably the most important and best delivered funding we give directly to communities. It is great to see this further enhancement.

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