Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I am honoured to have been appointed Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for small businesses and retail and as Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for the circular economy.

The programme for Government lays out an ambitious roadmap for the coming years. I am deeply committed to ensuring its successful delivery, with a particular focus on the tremendous opportunities it will bring to my county, Mayo. As we move forward, the health and vibrancy of the Irish economy is central to our efforts. Small businesses lie at the heart of the economy's success. As more than 99% of businesses employ fewer than 50 people, SMEs account for more than 40% of employment in our economy. These businesses are the lifeblood of our towns, villages and rural communities. From local retailers to family run enterprises, the programme for Government aims to provide targeted support to businesses of all sizes to ensure they continue to thrive.

As Minister of State with responsibility for small businesses and retail, my primary focus will be to ensure small businesses, especially those in rural areas of counties such as Mayo, are supported in every way possible. Alongside my colleagues, the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, and the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, I will work diligently over the next five years to implement measures that enhance the competitiveness and productivity of Irish businesses with a particular focus on SMEs. One of the initiatives in this regard will be the strengthening of the supports provided by Enterprise Ireland, which will continue to assist Irish companies to scale globally. Furthermore, local enterprise offices which are crucial to the growth of small businesses, will receive additional resources to support local entrepreneurs and better assist small indigenous exporters. This will ensure businesses have the tools and expertise they need to expand and succeed. In addition, I will highlight the increased cost of business scheme and the power up grant, which both received 750,000 applications from SMEs in 2024. These initiatives have been vital in helping businesses to manage rising operational costs and invest in growth opportunities. I am deeply committed to seeing these supports expanded and made more accessible to businesses.

On regulation, my Department also recognises the importance of thinking small first. My officials have developed an SME test that requires policymakers to consider the impact major policy initiatives would have on SMEs. We will further roll out the use of the SME test across all measures that affect SMEs. We will also take the opportunity to look back and identify regulations that are now redundant in order to reduce unnecessary red tape.

Regional growth is a key focus of the programme for Government, that is ensuring that our towns, villages and rural areas thrive. This is especially important to me because County Mayo has much potential for the development of various sectors. To this end, the Government is committed to publishing and resourcing new regional enterprise plans which will be based on in-depth reviews and tailored to meet the specific needs of regions such as the north west. We will also reform the smart regions enterprise innovation scheme to ensure that the €145 million available will help to build local enterprise infrastructure, foster innovation and support early stage research. I am excited to see the potential these plans have to benefit, in particular, the areas of green energy, tourism and agri-business which are all vital sectors.

As the largest private sector employer, the retail sector also plays an essential role in the economy and I am especially focused on supporting it. Retail businesses, including small local shops and large stores, are critical to the vibrancy of our communities. The programme for Government places a strong emphasis on digitalisation and sustainability in the retail sector. I am committed to ensuring that retail businesses in County Mayo have the resources to transition to the digital economy to improve their competitiveness and reach new customers. Through continued engagement with the retail forum, we will work alongside retail stakeholders to address challenges and create a sustainable, forward-thinking retail environment.

The programme for Government also sets out a commitment to a circular economy and promoting sustainable practices that extend the lives of products, reduce waste and create new business opportunities. This vision will benefit businesses by providing a platform for innovation in such areas as repair, reuse and eco-design. Supporting the transition to a circular economy will not only help us to meet EU targets for waste reduction and recycling, it will also create new opportunities for businesses that embrace sustainable practices.

The programme for Government offers an exciting vision for Ireland's future and places a strong emphasis on the growth and success of small businesses and communities. For rural counties such as Mayo, this means more support for local businesses, better access to resources for innovation and development and a clear path towards sustainable and balanced regional growth. I am truly committed to working alongside my colleagues and everyone in this House to deliver these ambitions so that small businesses flourish and communities grow and prosper.

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I take this opportunity to thank the people of Kerry for electing me to the Thirty-fourth Dáil. I will endeavour to repay their trust in me by working hard and doing my best to deliver in the coming years.

There is sheer chaos in the accident and emergency department in University Hospital Kerry. Staff there are run off their feet. Our senior citizens are left waiting on chairs for 24, 36, 48 hours and longer. I am aware of cases where senior citizens have actually fallen off chairs while waiting. We should all be proud of our hospitals, in our case our county hospital, UHK. Honestly, we cannot say that at present. I wish the new Minister of Health the very best and every success, and I know she will do everything possible to change everything in our health service. It will not be easy. I would like to invite her to come to UHK and meet with senior management there.

With regard to resolving the issues in the accident and emergency department, it is my understanding that a 96-bed block is required on top of the current 39 that are in train. There is also a need for a new maternity unit in UHK due to clinical risks to both mother and baby. That is in regard to the current location of the existing unit there. It is just too far from the theatre.

I want to mention home care. It is hugely important. There are issues in places like Dingle, west Kerry, Castleisland, east Kerry, Cahersiveen, Kenmare, Ardfert, Ballybunion and throughout the Iveragh Peninsula. There is a need for more public health nurses. In our case in Kerry, we are down from 50 in 2023 to 41 in 2024. There is also an additional need for carers and home helps, and we need additional respite for our people. All these brought together will take pressure off the accident and emergency unit in UHK and will free up beds. Ultimately, the idea of keeping our elderly people at home longer is what they wish for and we should do everything possible to do that and achieve our goal.

With regard to other health-related issues in Kerry, I call for the minor injuries unit and primary care centre for Killarney. There is an urgent need for a primary care centre in Cahersiveen to serve the Iveragh Peninsula. It is a long journey for locals and visitors alike to University Hospital Kerry, and that should be taken into consideration.

I want to mention the Ring of Kerry road, which is close to my heart. It is a national secondary road and it is supposed to be Ireland's premier tourist route but 70% of it is substandard. I ask officials from Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the Department of Transport, the Road Safety Authority and the Minister to travel the Ring of Kerry by coach, and they will see what kind of a rollercoaster it is for themselves, with the humps, hollows, lags and the dangers it brings to all road users. I have said on many occasions in the past that the Ring is as important to Kerry as the M50 is to Dublin.

Killarney town is choked with traffic, and in that context I am calling for the Killarney to Farranfore bypass to be expedited and for a feasibility study to be carried out to see if we can alleviate the traffic jams there in the short term. The N86 road from Tralee to Camp to Dingle also needs urgent attention.

The south Kerry greenway is something for which I have campaigned for 14 or 15 years. It starts in my own parish and goes on to Cahersiveen down to Reenard Point. It is going to be a game changer and a lifeline for the entire region. I would like to see it expedited and extended to Killorglin and onwards on this side, and to connect up with the Skellig Ring on the far side.

I wish to see the redevelopment of the Pretty Polly site as a training college for the hospitality sector in Killarney and Kerry progressed ASAP. I call on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to expedite plans for the return of the town councils as well. We had three in our case: Killarney, Tralee and Listowel, and they did very good work and served their communities well.

The multipurpose redevelopment of Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney needs to be supported, and it would be great to see big concerts by artists such as U2 and big international games, with Real Madrid, Barcelona and so on playing there. It would be great for the local economy and the county as a whole.

Coastal erosion is something that is close to my heart, and flooding. I have witnessed it over the decades in my home parish and townland of Rossbeigh. There are huge issues in Cromane. There are families there who are living in fear at night when high tides are hit with storms. I have witnessed 3 ft of saltwater inside homes. There are also coastal erosion issues in Waterville. In Glosha, Cromane and Douglas, there is tidal flooding, and Listowel needs to be mentioned.

The LNG project is vital for north Kerry and Ireland and deserves all our support. I want to mention pair trawling. We need to tackle that and ban it ASAP. It is destroying our fishing industry and is having a huge impact on the rod fishermen. They are gathering up all the sprat, and it just has to be addressed.

With regard to local improvement schemes for private roads, I would like to see additional funding. We are only doing 23 or 24 of these schemes per annum, based on the current level of funding. It needs to be multiplied at least tenfold. Planning for our local people on their own lands is very important to me and our people in Kerry, and with that, I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me time.

Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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As this is my maiden speech in Dáil Éireann, I take the opportunity to thank the people of counties Carlow and Kilkenny for putting their faith and trust in me to represent them, their communities, families and businesses over the next five years. I will endeavour to do my very best to do so. In particular, I take this opportunity to thank my family, my wife Brenda and my four daughters, the communities that have rallied behind me, and indeed the Fianna Fáil family for helping me to get to this position. I will leave no stone unturned in my determination to put this country into as strong a place as possible.

At the centre of the programme for Government is the theme of making communities safe. Everyone has a right to be safe and to feel safe in their communities and homes. I absolutely welcome the funding to provide an additional 5,000 new Garda recruits and additional Garda staff over the next five years. This will benefit towns and villages right across the country, and in my constituency, including Piltown, Kilmacow, Slieverue, Ferrybank, Glenmore, Tullagher, Rosbercon, The Rower, Inistioge and Mullinavat. All of these villages will benefit from an additional Garda presence. That is to be absolutely welcomed, and I look forward to seeing it implemented. I also look forward to participating in the new rural safety strategy, and supporting An Garda Síochána to expand different successful approaches to tackling rural crime. Rural crime is an issue, and it is one this Government is going to meet head on, and I look forward to playing my part in that.

I welcome the significant increase in investment going into our road network. Local authorities around the country have been underfunded over the last number of years, particularly with regard to rural roads. I am delighted to see that this Government is putting significant funding in that. I particularly welcome the provision of multi-annual funding and clarity for roads budgets so that agencies can plan accordingly. In my own constituency, we have a couple of really big priority projects that are in the NDP, such as the N24 and N25 in south Kilkenny, which the Ceann Comhairle herself will be aware of, and the Kilkenny ring road northern extension. This is absolutely vital, crucial and critical to the development of Kilkenny as a city, and I am adamant that this project needs to be completed as a matter or urgency. I will be doing everything I can to get that over the line.

As Deputy Cahill mentioned, there is additional funding for local improvement schemes and community involvement schemes. These will make a massive difference to rural towns and villages that I represent right across Carlow and Kilkenny, and I look forward to seeing a significant increase in the number of these schemes that can be progressed in the months and years ahead.

The third element of my speech relates to supporting sporting and rural communities. Over the past five years, the Government has put record investment into sports groups across the country. I am thinking of towns and villages such as Callan, Thomastown, Graiguenamanagh, Tinnahinch, Skeaghvasteen, Castlecomer, Ballyragget, Lisdowney, Borris, Rathanna and Ballymurphy. All of these towns and villages can benefit from significant investment in our community hubs and sporting facilities. I look forward to working with all of those communities in the coming years to help deliver for them.

I welcome in particular the support in the programme for Government for local authorities in the acquisition of new lands for parks and playing pitches and help to build livable communities. This is a fantastic addition and I look forward to working with Carlow and Kilkenny County Councils to achieve same for those local authorities in the coming years.

Garda vetting was of huge inconvenience to many people involved in sporting groups. I am delighted to welcome the commitment of the Government to improve the Garda vetting process for people involved in sport.

In terms of the speed of flood relief, we have approval for six schemes in Kilkenny, in Freshford, Graiguenamanagh, Thomastown, Inistioge, Piltown and Ballyhale. While these schemes have been approved under the capital flood programme up to 2030, the speed of delivery needs to be improved. I will work hard to try to get these schemes over the line as quickly as possible.

The programme for Government is committed to delivering for all people in all regions across our shared island, including my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny, over the next five years. The goals that have been set are ambitious and managed by a tireless focus on delivery. We are committed to working together on the basis of this shared programme to provide a secure, caring and progressive society for all. I look forward to playing my part in the coming years.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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How much time do I have?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Six minutes.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Rather than repeat or echo-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Apologies, Deputy, you have five.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I was told I have seven, actually.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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We will leave it at six. We will compromise.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Lord giveth. Rather than repeat what Deputy Cleere said, I want to echo his comments, in particular about the ambition of the programme for Government and its emphasis, in stark contrast to what went on in opposition today, on delivery and the aims of objectives of the programme ahead of us.

We come to Government and Dáil at a time of great turbulence internationally. Globalisation, which most of us had never heard of 25 or 30 years ago, has become very much part of our vocabulary and way of life. It has benefited a small, open economy like Ireland significantly. Globalisation has made a village of the world economically and in terms of trade. Ireland has been in a position to be able to capitalise on that over the past 20 years. As I said, it has made a village of much of the world and connected all of us internationally. As we can see, it is now breaking down in a way that we would not have witnessed previously.

Nationalism is emerging again and terms like "protectionism", which we had not heard of for almost a hundred years, are beginning to take hold again in the third decade of this century. Consensus on vital issues of concern to all of us on the planet is beginning to break down. The global consensus on trade, economic and, most significantly, climate is very definitely breaking down. It does not matter how much of the programme for Government we successfully implement - it is the intention that we will implement it - the most important, significant, alarming and urgent challenge that faces all of us remains our climate. This Government and programme for Government remain very committed and strong on the whole issue of climate action.

The global consensus on territorial conflicts is being exacerbated by and replaced with tribal partisanship. Bullying seems to be replacing diplomacy. This bullying seeks to pigeonhole nation states and simplify complex international and intra-national disputes into binary choices. The language of conquest and imperialism is on the increase. Threats and blackmail on a global scale via the noisy foghorn of social media channels has replaced the offer necessarily tedious process of building agreement and consensus. The sands of geopolitics are shifting dramatically and Ireland must not find itself isolated in that environment.

The people made a very wise choice two months ago. They were faced with the option of choosing stability, a responsible Government, maturity and adult voices to lead them forward into the period of turbulence. That is what they voted for. They voted for centrist political options versus the alternative of chaos, incoherence and drama. That is the international stage into which we have been set.

Domestically, I again echo the comments on major bullets of the programme for Government in terms of special education and housing, which is the biggest challenge that faces us. I welcome the commitments on disability. DEIS plus is a particular piece of the programme for Government with which I have great affinity and have championed. We in Fianna Fáil are particularly good at the education piece. I could get down to the granular in terms of constituency, but there will be alternatives for that. Choice in education is a significant thing, not just in terms of patronage but whether people want their children to go to a co-educational or single sex school, something which is a particularly pronounced thing in my constituency.

The programme for Government addresses security, policing, justice and transport, including transport police. I concur with what Deputy Cleere said about the lands and parks piece for development being significant.

The most significant commitment in the programme for Government, and the reason people voted for this Government, is to maintain the prosperity, which can be fragile, that we have built and steered very responsibly over the past five to six years. We have a record for having built up this country economically. Without that economic prosperity, it would simply be impossible to deliver all of the objectives of the programme for Government.

If there is one agency that I want to signal a warning, to it is the National Transport Authority, NTA. It has been politically rudderless for the past four or five years. I hope and believe Government will start to impose some kind of shape on it in terms of communication with the public. In my long experience as a public representative, it is one of the poorest bodies in terms of communication with the public. It is definitely the poorest in terms of public consultation. There could not be a worse organisation for taking on board the suggestions of the public or public representatives. I am saying to it today that that has to change. It simply cannot go on, and it will not go on. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for a little bit of forbearance.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy's colleagues are not here. That is why I am giving him latitude.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Have I even more latitude?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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You can take another minute if you wish. Deputy Timmins can hang on.

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I will let Deputy Timmins in. I was coming in to land at that point.

Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am sure I will probably echo some of the sentiments expressed by Deputy Lahart. At the end of his contribution, he referred to something with which I will start, namely that the programme for Government is laudable and I commend it. However, it is based on the premise that we continue as a prosperous country and continue to collect taxes, primarily from foreign multinationals. For example, out of the approximately 2.6 million people working in this country, about 350,000 work for multinationals. More than 50% of all of the taxes collected in this country come from multinationals. Corporation tax comprises approximately 87%. VAT, PAYE and PRSI exceed 50% of all of the tax take. It is, therefore, critical that we protect those jobs and industries, otherwise the programme for Government will fall apart.

We should also separately develop a long-term plan for Ireland that looks at infrastructure development over several decades and not just for five years, particularly in areas of health and education. Other points I will make in relation to the programme for Government are on cost control. We need to implement new approaches to controlling costs in all aspects of public services expenditure, both capital and revenue.

Support for small businesses needs to be a critical element of this and we should implement, as far as possible, the proposal contained in the Supporting SMEs position paper, published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in May 2024 and the January 2024 paper entitled Reducing Red Tape. In particular, the area of access to lending by SMEs needs to be addressed. I know from first-hand experience this is a real challenge. On taxes, I welcome that we plan to index tax bands, thresholds and credits annually because if we do not do that, we effectively have stealth taxes every year. We also need to index the calculation of capital gains tax. As things stand, this is actually a stealth tax every year that people are probably not fully aware of.

The fair deal scheme has flaws in it and I would like to see those addressed. We need to review the operation where land assets transferred within five years have no time limit and are 100% lost after 14 years. Means testing of State benefits has not been updated. We need to review the calculation of means testing social welfare benefits. The current means test calculation, based on assets, has not been updated for many years and this is proving very penal. I have an example of a person, an elderly man, who is on a non-contributory old age pension. He owns approximately ten acres of land and his pension was cut from €280 down to €140 and he is struggling to live on it. This needs to be updated.

We need increased investment in national roads following the reductions in recent years that have not kept pace with inflation. Effectively, there have been real reductions in investment in national roads. In particular in my own county of Wicklow, we need the upgrade of the N81 - the only national road out of Dublin that has never been upgraded - and the N11, which has horrendous traffic jams which I hear about every single day. We need increased investment in rail and light rail, in particular extra tracks country wide, with DART extensions to Wicklow and a LUAS to Blessington - which I successfully inserted in the Wicklow development plan. Extra train carriages are a priority.

On agriculture, we need to devise a new strategy to eradicate TB. On housing supply, the national planning framework needs to be finalised and is preventing much-needed house building. It is based on outdated population targets. Recently, in Blessington, only 20 miles from where we are standing here, a planning application for 335 houses was refused because the national planning framework was not up to date. We need to allow headroom in our zoning - that headroom was removed by the planning regulator - because not all land that is zoned will actually ever be practically developed. There is a restriction on that which I am sure the Ceann Comhairle is aware of herself. On rural planning, the national planning framework needs to be updated because it has been used to prevent rural planning, especially where the phrase "areas under urban pressure" has been used.

The 25 recommendations of the Seanad review committee on local government, published earlier this year, need to be implemented. We have among the weakest local government in the whole of Europe. Digitalisation needs to be developed.

I will finish with tourism, it will only take 20 seconds. I have a new proposal here-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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You are fine, Deputy. You have all the time left on the clock.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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He can give it to Sinn Féin.

Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I have a totally new proposal here today. It is to develop an American Presidents' trail, linking all the ancestral homes of US Presidents. There have been a huge number of US Presidents, whose ancestors came from this island, North and South. It would also be a way of linking Northern Ireland with southern Ireland in a cohesive way through tourism.

As I say, many US Presidents have their ancestral homes here. This is an opportunity and it could be something along the lines of the Wild Atlantic Way that would develop tourism, clearly aimed primarily at American tourists but other tourists as well. It would be a huge attraction for US visitors, especially those with Irish links.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy. That concludes the business. We now move-----

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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It is Sinn Féin time.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I apologise. I thought it was two hours on the next debate so excuse me, Deputy.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Well I was only planning on speaking for an hour and a half, Ceann Comhairle.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Well let me tell you, Deputy Carthy, that I will listen intently to anything you have to say.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat, Ceann Comhairle. I find it laudable, despite the fact they did not use up all their allotted time, that Government representatives could find so much to say about a programme for Government that actually says so little. However, I want to specifically address issues of community safety, policing and justice. As Sinn Féin spokesperson on justice, home affairs and migration, it is my intention to hold this Government to account to ensure that people across this State have safe communities, a fair and efficient justice system they can have confidence in, and that the chaos in our migration system is ended so we can have a fair system that works for everyone.

We live with the legacy of serious Government failures and neglect in all of these areas. These are failures of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, does not get to wipe the slate clean and pretend that his party, that have been either in government or supporting Government for the last nine years, has no responsibility for the situation we now find ourselves in. A sense of safety for people in our communities, our cities, our towns and rural communities is crucial for people's quality of life. For many, this is what is actually missing. They do not feel safe walking through the streets in their own community. They do not feel safe, particularly at night, and they do not feel safe on public transport.

Garda numbers have declined at a time when the population of the State has increased. The closure of rural Garda stations has undermined the sense of security in many rural communities and has also made the gardaí feel more distant from those they serve. There is a particular problem, of course, in our capital city that is very evident. Under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the situation in Dublin has seriously deteriorated over recent years. Anyone who has walked down O'Connell Street or from O'Connell Street to Busáras or Connolly Station will quickly testify to this. People just do not feel safe walking around parts of this city, particularly after dark.

Just this past weekend, we have had a number of very serious incidents across Dublin city. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the fast response of the Garda Síochána in these instances, a reminder of why response times are so important. However, obvious questions have arisen. Are bail laws adequate and are they enforced? Why does it seem that so many serious crimes are committed by people who have been released on bail? The immigration Act gives powers to the Minister to deport those from other states who are involved in serious crime. Are these powers utilised, and if not, why not, considering such moves would be in the common good and would be welcomed, including by the vast majority of those who have made Ireland their home and contribute positively to our country and communities?

Public confidence in our system of justice is undermined by the inappropriate imposition of concurrent sentencing, by a lack of consistency in sentencing for serious crimes and by too many incidents of crime committed by those on bail. While the independence of the Judiciary must be respected, we cannot turn a blind eye to these issues and allow them to undermine public confidence in our judicial system. We need to ensure that crime is prevented and we need to ensure that where crimes are committed, justice is served.

There needs to be delivery from this Government in terms of Garda recruitment. I have heard the Minister encouraging people to join the Garda but the issue is not the number of applicants, it is the lack of intake and a Government failure to deliver trained gardaí to our streets. Our justice system must be supportive of the victims of crime. Delays within the justice system means that victims cannot get on with their lives. Families impacted by homicide and the victims of rape and sexual assault are retraumatised by these delays. I want to see delivery from the Government in terms of the time it takes for victims of crime to get justice. The long-standing promise of a domestic violence refuge in every county must be delivered, including those which are desperately needed and long-promised for in counties Monaghan and Cavan, for example.

Crime prevention is also about being tough on the causes of crime, as well as in tackling recidivism. Following the economic crash, cuts stripped out many communities of services, support for youth projects and facilities. How we build strong communities, how we design estate and town centres, what we do about dereliction and neglect, what facilities we put in place, what opportunities people have and how wealth is distributed in society all matters in the wider view of how we prevent young people being drawn into crime and how we make communities safe.

It is my intention to hold the Minister to account on all these matters.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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This programme for Government offers absolutely nothing new or different from what we have come to expect from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil in coalition. It is almost a carbon copy of the programme for Government that was presented to us five years ago, a copy-and-paste job majoring in previously unmet targets and unfulfilled commitments. The lack of vision, ambition or urgency is a charter for failure. It seems the only thing that the coalition parties have learned from their last term in government is to avoid that failure or to mitigate it by setting the bar as low as possible. The few commitments that are made in the document are so vague as to be meaningless. The word "review" gets a fair outing and is much used throughout it.

The promise of 24-7 cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford has gone unfulfilled over the last two Governments, despite the glaring need for such a service and the huge campaign that has galvanised opinion across the south east. As things stand, emergency cardiac care is not available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This level of service has been available in other regions as a given for many years. The attitude of the Government is clear. If you are going to have a heart attack in Waterford or the wider south east, you had better schedule it between the hours of 8 a.m to 8 p.m. This is simply not good enough. The Taoiseach stood outside UHW eight years ago during an election campaign and promised that his party in government would deliver 24-7 cardiac care in UHW. That promise, as yet unfulfilled, seems to have been quietly dropped as the new programme for Government contains no mention of cardiac care at UHW, let alone a commitment. Despite the fact that two Waterford TDs, as they took every opportunity to tell everybody, were centrally involved in negotiating this programme for Government, this is a failure in anyone's terms. Weak promises built upon policy that is already there is not good enough. The people of Waterford have waited too long for around-the-clock 24-7 cardiac care. It is not surprising that even though the county had two TDs involved in negotiating that programme, it still has not materialised.

The programme for Government also fails when it comes to transport. The N25 was allowed to quietly slip off the funding agenda on the last Government's watch. The N25 runs from Rosslare to Cork and forms the transport spine of County Waterford running from east to west. It seems to have totally fallen off the radar when it came to negotiating this programme for Government. Were the two Waterford negotiators simply not paying attention or did they believe that this national primary road is not in need of safety upgrades? The Irish Times named the N25 as the most dangerous national primary route in the State. In fact, two of the five most dangerous national roads in the State, the N25 and N24, pass through Waterford. Both were mentioned already in these statements. There are frequent crashes on numerous stretches of the road, in particular in the middle of the county and in west Waterford. The statistics speak for themselves. As a Government Deputy said earlier, it seems the NTA has been utterly rudderless politically and that this will remain the case if we are to take our lead from the programme for Government.

An rud eile a chaithfidh mé labhairt faoi ná tithíocht inacmhainne i nGaeltacht na Déise. Tá géarghá le tithíocht inacmhainne ar mhaithe le clainne óga ó Ghaeltacht na nDéise atá ag iarraidh maireachtaint ina gceantair féin, Gaelainn a labhairt agus a gcuid páistí a thógaint trí mheán na Gaelainne. Tá an ceart sin acu ach níl na tithe ann chun gur féidir leo é sin a dhéanamh. Níl faic sa chlár seo mar gheall ar thithíocht inacmhainne i gceantar Gaeltachta ar bith agus tá géarghá leis. Is teip ar theip ar theip atá sa chlár seo. Cuireann sé díomá ollmhór orm nach bhfuil sé seo léirithe sa chlár Rialtais agus nach bhfuil aon dul chun cinn le tarlú faoin Rialtas seo. Tá mé ag impí ar an Rialtas agus ar an Aire Gaeltachta nua dul i ngleic leis an ngéarchéim seo agus, cé nach bhfuil sé sa chlár Rialtais, cinnte a dhéanamh go bhfuil sé mar sprioc ann.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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Over the past three weeks, we have witnessed the devastation caused by Storm Éowyn, how the Government failed to build up resilience in advance and then how it failed to mount an effective response in the aftermath. As our climate worsens, so too will these storms and extreme weather events. I am sure everyone will agree that business as usual will not cut it. However, this programme for Government confirms what we already knew, namely, that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have run out of ideas. There is very little new in this programme for Government and certainly nothing new for the people of Kerry. The Government is determined to continue with more of the same and we all know what doing something again and again and expecting a different result means.

While it is packed with promises to explore, investigate or examine, the programme for Government lacks any vision and any of the political will that Ireland needs. At the same time, many of the convictions Independent TDs claim to have had while in Opposition seem to have fallen by the wayside. It it is going to lead to another five years of crisis in housing, health and the cost of living. Some people trusted the Government on housing in the run-up to the election but they have realised it was not quite being upfront. It knew what was coming down the line after the election with the results for its housing targets.

Ireland's electricity prices are going to remain the highest in Europe and as our over-dependence on imported energy becomes further entrenched, the bottlenecks in planning and the grid will hamper Ireland's green energy revolution, which is vital for the west and south west of the country. Our incredible 640 GW of potential for renewables is going to slip through our fingers. After 14 years in government, it is incredible that we still have no offshore wind or even planning permission granted for it off the west coast. We will continue to blow right past our climate targets and we are going to risk up to €8 billion in fines. The Government's punitive, inequitable approach to climate action clearly has not worked and is not going to work in the future. In addition, the regressive carbon taxes, combined with inaccessible schemes, will punish people without alternatives, locking out those who need the most support. Some of the Government-backing TDs used to agree with me on that, even tabling motions calling for carbon taxes to be scrapped. I wonder if this has now changed. The people of Kerry will be watching very closely to see if they stick to their word because poorer, mostly rural households all over the country and the county simply do not have an alternative to burning turf or using their gas boiler to heat their homes. Do not talk to me about affording an EV.

Public transport is either unreliable or entirely unavailable and to make matters worse Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents have failed to outline in detail how they plan to spend the carbon taxes they have talked about so much over the past four years. These are the same carbon taxes they plan to increase every year. Despite committing to ring-fence these funds, only 61% of carbon tax funds have been spent funding carbon action since 2020. The State-driven eco-austerity heaps enormous strain on ordinary workers, families and farmers. As a result, climate action becomes synonymous with rising costs, compounding fear, resentment and frustration. Sinn Féin, on the other hand, wants a just transition to tackle excessive consumption and wealth. Rather than punishing the poorest, coldest homes, our vision includes significant supply-side investment in accessible and affordable schemes, expanding public, community and domestic ownership of renewables and reform of our energy market, one in which the burden of transition is distributed more equitably, not to a corporate buyout. If people are being mandated to make significant changes, they deserve to feel like they are not being ripped off. We need to know the lights will not go out. When it comes to the Government's plan for transport, it is packed with commitments that are already there as part of the national development plan.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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The programme for Government is pretty thin gruel when you sit down and look at it. There are commitments to "examine", "consider", "evaluate" and "assess". Where the people of Ireland would have hoped for a significant radical shift in some areas of policy to resolve the challenges we face, particularly in housing and health, they were met with a programme for Government that resembled nothing so much as a question mark rather than definite statements.

One particular area over which there may be something of a question - I hope the Government can offer some reassurance on it - is regarding ending the means test for carer's allowance. This was a significant election issue. It was a proposal brought forward by Sinn Féin as well as other political parties before being adopted by the Government in the later weeks of the election campaign. Simon Harris, in particular, placed great emphasis on it. It is important to remember that carers do the crucial work they do, not out of any expectation or because they are looking for payment or anything else but out of love and a sense of responsibility. They deserve respect and recognition but also support. There is no other payment made by the Department of Social Protection or any other Department under which people are obligated to work for at least 35 hours a week but may not work more than 18.5 hours outside the home.

These are people who put in the hours providing care for their loved ones and get nothing at all or very little in return. In the programme for Government there is talk about the Government continuing to significantly increase the income disregards for carer's allowance in each budget with a view to phasing out the means test during the lifetime of this Government. In my view, that is a watering down in terms of language. It is crucial that the Government makes it very clear what the roadmap is for the ending of the means test for carer's allowance. That is not only the right thing to do but the wise thing to do to ensure the sustainability of our system of family care.

Another area that the programme for Government is not even so much quiet on but silent on is the regeneration of flat and apartment complexes outside Dublin city centre. In Cork city and other areas too, I am sure, there are huge issues in terms of the regeneration of flat and apartment complexes. In Togher, at Togher Road, Clashduv Road, Sycamore Place, Hazel Road, Cherry Tree Road and Maple Place, and in Desmond Square, Peter Street, Francis Street and several other locations across the city, these apartment complexes have gone well beyond their lifespans. The conditions in them are not good enough. In some instances, there is subsidence. There is a great deal of cold and damp. There have also been issues with rodent infestations in some blocks. There are issues with loose masonry. Iron bars surrounding balconies have rusted and are jagged and dangerous to children because of the condition they are in. There is a dire need for the regeneration of these complexes. Unlike the report of the Housing Commission, the programme for Government is completely silent on the issue of apartment complexes outside Dublin. There is nothing at all in this regard. I hope the Government will rectify it because these apartment complexes need a complete overhaul. The Housing Commission recognised that. We need to see urgent action in this regard.

Regarding housing generally, if the rates of increase in house prices, rents and homelessness continue during the lifetime of this Government in the same way as they did during the last Government, I dread to think what kind of housing crisis we will have. It continues to escalate. In my view, if the Government keeps on taking the same policies, adding fuel to the fire with house prices and throwing renters into the fire, the situation will only get worse.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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I note that the Government in its programme has committed to deliver more targeted and effective services for children with special education needs and to improve their supports, ach is a mhalairt atá fíor. Sensational Kids is a national charity and non-profit organisation that seeks to make therapy services accessible and affordable for children with additional needs. Founded in 2007 by a mother frustrated by this country's underresourced therapy services for children with additional needs, it seeks to offer affordable, accessible and high-quality therapy services. Bridging the gap that successive Governments failed to bridge, it was due to open a state-of-the-art facility in Kildare that has since been halted due to the withdrawal of funding by the Department of Justice with just one day's notice because of the closure of the immigrant investor programme. Since October last year, the facility has sat idle, yet Kildare has a waiting list of more than 2,000 children waiting to avail of therapies at this new facility, 90% of whom are on HSE waiting lists as well. How can the Government proclaim in the programme for Government that it will provide specialist services to those children and young people who need them when it will not even fund a centre that intends to do exactly that? How much longer will it make them wait? Ní féidir le daoine fanacht a thuilleadh.

It was always intended that full funding for the project should have been provided by the Department of Justice's immigrant investor programme. Now, due to the programme's closure, the charity is left seeking to fill a shortfall left to complete the project and needs urgent assurances that funding to complete it will be provided by the Government. Tá tacaíocht cheart ag teastáil go géar uathu. They need Government support now. This new national child development centre can be completed to support 300 children per week. give these children with additional needs access to vital supports and reduce waiting lists in Kildare. The Government must now follow through and release the funding for these essential services.

The programme for Government also stated the Government will fully commit to existing projects in the national development plan. How can we trust that this will finally be the year the Government implements services such as the Leap card and reduced fares for commuters? The Leap card for Kildare South was supposed to commence on 1 September 2024. Since then, it has been delayed several times, with the expected commencement date now April 2025. It is not good enough. Níl sé maith go leor. People simply cannot afford extortionate charges for a below standard service. A train ticket from Newbridge to Heuston Station costs up to €1,944 annually. This is in stark contrast to Sallins and Naas, where a yearly ticket costs €828, more than €1,000 cheaper. We are still in a cost-of-living crisis. Lowering fares would put money back in the pockets of commuters. Government inaction on this issue has been so prominent that groups such as Extend the Short Hop Zone have had to continue to fight and plead with the Government to get answers, only to be met with more excuses. How can we be expected to meet our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 if we are actively discouraging people from using vital transport services? I have contacted the Minister on an exact timeline as well as the reasons for the delay and I have yet to receive an answer. We need assurances that the people of Kildare South will not be left behind in this Government's lifetime and that the Government will keep its word on delivering reduced fares and educational services for our children.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Is í seo an chéad uair dom labhairt sa Dáil seo. Mar sin, gabhaim buíochas leis na vótálaithe i gCill Dara Thuaidh a vótáil ar son Shinn Féin. Unfortunately, I stand here frustrated with the same issues I raised when I was first elected in 2020. The programme for Government is not serious about addressing the urgent issues of housing, childcare and public transport, among a long list of other matters, and things have only got worse over the last five years. The number of homeless persons has risen. Shamefully, the number of homeless children has also risen. What is more, not only did the Government fail to reach its housing target again this year, but it deliberately misled the electorate on housing completions just prior to the election.

Over the weekend, Deputies may have heard of the waiting lists for a block of new builds in Leixlip in my constituency of Kildare North. People were sleeping overnight in their cars. More than a 100 people were sleeping out by 8 a.m., with only 25 houses available. The prices for those houses ranged from €460,000 to €535,000. Those exorbitant prices are a damning indictment of the Government's failed housing policy. Not shamed enough with homeless people sleeping in their cars, we now have people queueing to buy a home sleeping in their cars too. Families lucky enough have a home in north Kildare find that they are unable to access childcare. During the week, I spoke to people in Little Toppers, a crèche in Straffan, which currently has a waiting list in excess of 100 children, some since 2023. In that same village of Straffan, constituents have contacted me about a crèche building lying empty in a new estate while parents are crying out for a place for their child. This is so frustrating, particularly for women because they are invariably the ones expected to leave their jobs to care for their child in the absence of crèche places.

On the issue of public transport, I hear daily from constituents. The fair fares issue, which was brought up by my Kildare South colleague, Deputy Ní Raghallaigh, badly impacts Naas and Sallins as well. Buses on the W6 route serving Maynooth, Celbridge and Hazelhatch are not showing up. I am getting emails on this every day. The Government must urgently address the shambolic service delivered by private bus operator, Go Ahead. It should lose its contract, and do not get me started on the 115 bus route that allegedly serves Kilcock. We need Dublin Bus back in Kilcock.

The DART+ West project must be a huge priority for this Government. We must identify a suitable site in Kilcock so work can start on this vital infrastructure and it must be completed on time and on budget.

The purchase of Castletown House lands in Celbridge by the State and the OPW must also be completed and the estate reunited within the lifetime of this Government. The programme for Government states it will acquire key national heritage assets, prioritising State acquisition at both national and local level. This must be applied to Castletown House in Celbridge, which is close to the constituency of the Minister, if the OPW wants to redeem itself in the eyes of the people of north Kildare.

On defence, anyone who watched "Upfront with Katie Hannon" last night was reminded how successive Governments have treated members of our Defence Forces. Over the last few weeks, we have seen Micheál Martin strutting around Europe, rubbing elbows with NATO members and softening us up to play fast and loose with the triple lock and our neutrality. I remind the Government that our neutrality is above politics. The Irish people will not cede it for a political pat on the head. Despite the pressure from swathes of media and academia, our neutrality is something the Irish people are proud of. We are proud of our stance on being peacemakers not assistant warmakers. Tá súil agam, mar sin, go mbeidh an Rialtas dáiríre faoi na ceisteanna móra atá os ár gcomhair. Beart de réir briathair atá ag teastáil uainn, agus ní geallúintí bréaga.

I am glad it is the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, in the seat for this debate. I know it is the luck of the draw but the matter I raise - pensions - relates to her Department, the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. I would like her to take account of the contributions from me and my colleagues, Deputies Wall and Kenny, over the next 15 minutes.

We are having statements on the programme for Government. What I will be speaking to is what is not in the programme for Government, but what was promised to be in it. I refer to reform of the single public service pension scheme, in particular for fast accrual pensioners. Who are they? They are workers such as firefighters, guards, those in the Defence Forces and prison officers - our uniformed services who have to retire at 55 years of age and are being told by this Government and the previous one, that when they retire at 55 they will have to wait 11 years for their State pension to kick in, and in that time, they can get another job.

These workers receive a fast accrual pension. This is not a free pension; this is a pension that they have to pay extra for in the years they work. They get nothing for free. They pay into it. They have to retire early because of the very understandable difficulties with their job in terms of their health and fitness. These are jobs that are very difficult to do beyond the age of 55 due to the ensuing health impacts. These workers have been left behind. All those who have come in to these Departments since 2013 are on the new pension scheme whereby they get their occupational pension at 55, although they do not have their State pension until 66. What we and this campaign, which is being run by a number of trade union groups such as SIPTU, the Prison Officers’ Association, and the Defence Forces representative bodies, seek is that a supplementary pension would apply when they retire at 55. This is one of the last of the FEMPI measures to be unwound. It needs to be brought in. It is morally and ethically right. We have a recruitment and retention crisis in these services because the pension entitlements are so poor for these workers.

A lot of the jobs are ones that these workers have wanted since they were kids. These are historically desirable jobs. People go through tough recruitment processes and then they find out that their pensions are not worth the same as those of their colleagues and that they are going to have to get a new job. What would someone in their 20s or 30s do if they were told they would have to get a new job at 55? They would say they might as well get it now. Why would they wait until they are 55? What condition would they be in to get a new job? That is why people are leaving.

This can be and should have been resolved. Promises were made to these workers by parties of government - by Fianna Fáil – that this would be in the programme for Government. What they promised was not even the solution, which is a supplementary pension; what they were promised was that a commission would be set up with stakeholders and they would investigate it and look into it. It was a watery enough promise but at least it was something. In a programme for Government that is riven with reviews and commissions, that this is not even in it is an affront to these front-line workers. We are going to have a debate about Storm Éowyn this evening, and we had one last week. Where were these workers? They were not safe at home like I was – like we all were - they were out working in it, because they had to, as they are front-line workers. These workers are being hit on the double. They are not just being hit after the age of 55 when they are forced to retire, they are being hit now because they have to pay extra into AVCs to supplement their pension. I refer to young workers in their 20s, 30s and 40s. They are also paying extra on their mortgages to ensure that they can have their mortgage paid by 55. We all know what mortgage rates are now. If people are lucky to have one for 30 or 35 years, they have to pay them at a higher rate and they have to pay extra on top of that in order to have some kind of certainty. This might be a dense issue for people outside to understand but it is a very real issue. Anyone in these Chambers who said this did not come up on the doorsteps was not listening to firefighters, prison officers, members of the Defence Forces and the guards, because that is what is happening.

There is going to be an avalanche of parliamentary questions and debates coming the Minister of State’s way. This was not a pre-election campaign to get a bit of energy before the election for the unions and the workers, this is a real injustice. However, it is an injustice that is solvable. We have the money to do it and we need the political will to do it. It is unacceptable for the Government to continue its previous policy of saying that people can get a new job when they are 55. It is something that we in the Opposition will not stand for. The Government needs to move quickly on this.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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Hear, hear.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I agree with my colleague, Deputy Smith. We recently met with Dublin Fire Brigade. We listened to unbelievable stories from individual members who went above and beyond on a daily basis for the people of Dublin. A young firefighter called Aisling says she is trying to build in her mortgage because she knows she may have to retire at 55 due to the nature of the job. Even after 40 years’ service and paying into a pension, they would be left with €250 a week. That is simply unbelievable. It is not acceptable. Firefighters have called for a supplementary occupational pension, along with the Defence Forces, the Garda, the Dublin Fire Brigade and the Prison Service. It was promised by Fianna Fáil. It should have been in the programme of Government, which is what this debate is about today. We turn to those people when we need them. As my colleague said, when Storm Éowyn happened last week, it was those people who were on the front line while we shut the door. It was those people who were out there. Time after time they have come to our rescue, yet we have not rewarded them. It is not about reward; it is about fairness. It is all about fairness for these people. They chose this career. They want it. As my colleague said, they go through a stringent process in order to get this career yet they face this situation because the Government has not put this issue into the programme for Government. Some €500 a month is what we are talking about today. That is what is involved in the pension. It is unacceptable to get €250 after 40 years’ service at the age of 55. Like my colleague, I ask the Minister of State to look at this again and to bring it back to the Minister and ensure that this occupational pension comes in for all those people that we depend on so often.

The other issue I want to raise today is the unacceptable news we got last week about the sale of Bord na Móna Recycling. This flies in the face of so many issues that I have dealt with in recent years, but it also flies in the face of the recommendations of the Dublin taskforce and the previous Oireachtas joint committee on the environment. From talking to colleagues in SIPTU and workers in Bord na Móna, it is my understanding that this decision will come before the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to be signed off. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, and the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, not to allow this decision to go through. It flies in the face of what other countries in Europe are doing at the moment. Every other country is going back to having a public service rather than privatising their service. If the Minister of State is from the country, like I am, she will see illegal dumping right around the State on every road she travels – on every country road and even in urban settings we see rubbish being dumped on the side of the road. Once we go to the private sector for our refuse collection, we are only going to encourage profit and illegal tenders to go back out and start dumping on our roads again. The most recent estimate I saw suggested that local authorities spend in the region of €100 million in cleaning up illegal dumping in this country. I ask the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien to bring public refuse collection back into the programme for Government. We should not sell off the last public refuse collection company, as Bord na Móna is intent on doing.

The other day I listened to my colleagues from County Kildare talk about the Curragh. I totally support the inclusion of the great facility that we have. The plains of the Curragh is a magnificent facility but, unfortunately, we have heard in recent days that the Curragh fire station is to close. As a Member of the Seanad I previously raised the dereliction that is in the Curragh. If the Government is serious about the Curragh, it needs to include the retention of the Curragh fire service and also investment in the Curragh training camp. It is the jewel in the crown of the Defence Forces. Speaking of the Defence Forces, we need to ensure retention in the Defence Forces. This has been mentioned by colleagues previously. The Curragh is the heart of the Defence Forces and what we need to see is investment in the Curragh, not what we hear at the moment that a facility like the Curragh fire station is to close down. I have raised this with the Tánaiste and the previous Minister for Defence. He tells me that the accommodation that could be there for retention is not going to be viable, but what we need to do is to build houses for the Army and others on the Curragh so as to retain Army membership and encourage more to join the Army. That is what the Defence Forces need.

In the time remaining, I also want to mention an issue that comes up regularly for me, namely, the lack of sporting facilities. The reason I raise the issue today is that I have been contacted by a number of sports clubs, in particular ladies’ sports clubs who are sharing facilities with other sports clubs. They are totally dependent on those clubs as to when they can take to the field. That is simply not good enough at a time when we are encouraging more and more women to take up sport. We need separate facilities. What is needed, and what we have proposed before is municipal areas where the Government buys land and develops facilities for all sports clubs so that the people in sports clubs can enjoy the sport in their own time.

We have some wonderful clubs but they cannot share with the other clubs all the time. We are disallowing so many young people from taking up and playing sport, which obviously we need to do. I encourage the Government to ensure that we invest in sport.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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I share the sentiments expressed by colleagues, Deputies Smith and Wall. Today, however, I wish to raise the serious concerns many people across the country have with regard to reform of the senior cycle in secondary schools. In the programme for Government, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Regional Independent Group wrote that they intend to continue the same programme of senior cycle reform that more than 40,000 teachers have rejected. The most important part of reform of any curriculum is to benefit students. As a secondary school teacher, I know that from first-hand experience. The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, ASTI, conducted a survey on additional assessment components, AACs. The results of that survey were absolutely stark.

In the context of equity of access, if the Minister, Deputy McEntee, was here and was being honest, there would be no way she could possibly state that every school has the same access to resources to move to this model of examination from September next. I firmly believe that students in our most disadvantaged areas and schools will be left behind. It will come as no surprise to anyone that students in private schools will have these resources immediately when those schools get the opportunity to adapt to this rushed reform.

While we in the Labour Party accept that reform is needed, we also accept that it must be reform which benefits students and teachers. What does that say about this rushed reform? It quite clearly says that the Department of Education will leave the most disadvantaged students even more disadvantaged. It is outrageous to contemplate that. It will leave our education system, particularly in the context of its integrity and how it is seen across the world, in a very difficult position. Our education system is renowned for its diverse, fair, inclusive and academically driven nature. There is genuine fear among my colleagues and those who taught me when I was younger that the integrity of the leaving certificate exam will be damaged significantly.

With the measure of the component being a minimum of 40%, how could we possibly guarantee that 40% of the leaving certificate exam is not AI-generated, ChatGPT-generated or, in some instances, paid for by a student or families? This is not to say that students or families are definitely going to do it, but it is a possibility. In addition, authentication is not possible right now. The system is completely open to manipulation. If the Minister, Deputy McEntee, were here I would ask her to indicate whether she believes that from 2027 onwards the leaving certificate will have the same integrity and enjoy the same respect that it does at present. That question would be rhetorical in nature. We know the answer to it.

As a secondary school teacher, I have serious concerns for teachers. In the context of all of the guidelines and advice set out, it is next to impossible for any teacher to authenticate the work being handed over. It is open to manipulation and puts our teachers in a very difficult position. I refer to circumstances where accusations may be made when teachers are trying to authenticate work, possibly submitted by students they have been teaching for six years. We are protecting neither the student nor the teacher. I could talk about this for hours.

The final point I wish to make relates to training for teachers. Ninety-eight per cent of the respondents to the ASTI's survey indicated that they have not received training. Having spoken to a number of my colleagues and former teachers and having sat in two staff rooms, I am aware that a number of teachers considering early retirement and others - some the same age as me and others who are new to the system - who are considering moving abroad in order to uphold the integrity of subjects they teach and to teach in systems of integrity where they do not have to put their students in difficult circumstances by being obliged to provide 40% of their examinations in the manner to which I refer, which is nearly impossible.

The responses to the ASTI's survey indicate that job dissatisfaction has risen from 22% to 33% in three years. The Government's idea of reducing class sizes to a ratio of 19:1 is out of the window if this is going to be the case and if this is the way that teachers are going to be treated. As the Labour Party has called for, we need a national convention on education before this Government destroys our system further.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Tá muid ag dul ar ais go dtí an Rialtas leis an Teachta James O'Connor.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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As this is my first time speaking here since the general election, I take the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the good people of Cork East and to my canvassers, family, supporters, neighbours and friends on being re-elected to the House. I walked in here at the age 22, and I am back at the age of 27. I have to admit that it is a privilege to be here. It is always special to be in the Oireachtas, but to be here as a Member is an enormous privilege. I have great respect for the House, as an institution, for the civil servants who run it and for us as Members as well. I thank the Minister of State for being here and congratulate her on her appointment to her new Department.

As regard the topic we are discussing, that is, the programme for Government, as part of my re-election, I compiled a 28-page document for Government's attention on what I feel the priorities should be. I welcome that a number of measures within that have been adopted in the context of what is going to happen in the Departments of Public Expenditure, National Plan Delivery and Reform and Transport regarding multi-annual funding, which is something I have long called for, and in improving how we spend the public's money.

There are also some day-to-day issues on which Government needs to improve. We saw from fiascos like the bike shelter and much larger projects like the national children's hospital that there is a strong desire among the public, and there needs to be on the part of this Government, to ensure that public money is treated with more respect and is well spent.

It is important that we take stock that we are in a changing world and environment, particularly with the new Administration in the United States. The winds of change are certainly blowing in its relationship with the European Union, and Ireland is part of that. This is something the Government is going to have to deal with head on. That will involve difficult decisions, but we need to take stock and realise that in November, Ireland took in €22.8 billion in corporation tax receipts, which is a 46% increase on the figure for November 2023. We are much more vulnerable than ordinary members of the public might be aware at this moment in the context of what could happen to our economy and the Government's expenditure plan - be that the national development plan or day-to-day taxation in the context of how we plan the public finances - if we do not manage the relationship to which I refer in the right way. That has to be a fundamental part of the work the Government is going to do over its lifetime. As a TD, I am worried that corporation tax is our new stamp duty. We have come to rely on corporation tax receipts and the bonanza of public finances they have created for us. We need to protect them and work to ensure that we maintain a positive relationship in circumstances that are going to be different from those which obtained under the Biden Administration.

On domestic matters in my constituency, there are major priorities we need to work to try to address and achieve over the coming years. As a local Government TD for Cork East, I want to continue to prioritise investment in road transportation. The completion of the N25 bypass in Castlemartyr and Killeagh, which has just gone to design phase, is an important project for my constituency and the wider region. Investment in education facilitates needs to be an ongoing priority. We have seen huge issues with regard to school places in the areas of east and north Cork. While the position in this regard has been much improved in recent years, the growth in the number of houses in the area, which I welcome, means that we need to make sure public services track with what is happening in this regard.

Investment in the Cork metropolitan area transport strategy, CMATS, is one of the best initiatives the Government has come up with in recent years. Billions of euro are being spent on new railway lines, with eight new train stations and a second track running between Midleton and Cork. However, the possibility of expanding that to Youghal needs to be examined. That is something I want to explore with Irish Rail in the context of our review of CMATS.

I would like to see that completed, particularly in view of the benefits it would bring to the constituency of Cork East and the county of Cork in general.

In relation to what we could do better in the context of supporting small and medium-sized companies, that is one facet. We also need to support organic Irish start-ups in the work they do. We have seen the importance, particularly with the changes that are going to come about in the area of artificial intelligence, of why we need to keep pace. Some of the legacy companies have been around for so long now - three and four decades - in the areas of social media, tech and e-commerce. Ireland has attracted some of the largest companies to set up bases here. We need to harness the fact that those companies are here. Some of the most skilled graduates in the world are coming out of our universities and colleges. We also need to harness the fact that we speak the English language, which is very important for trading with North America. People underestimate the impact that has for US investors looking to Ireland. I want us to harness the talent we have in order to try to improve upon our ability to create more organic start-ups, like Stripe and other companies, that have gone on to have massive global success. I want us to replicate what the French Government has done very successfully with its unicorn strategy. Some 28 unicorn companies have been created in France since the policy proposal was brought forward in 2017. I would like Ireland to replicate that. We must use the fact that we have all of these companies here and do something on a more organic basis as well. I hope to work on this during the lifetime of the Government.

I will finish on housing. I am extremely concerned by discussion about missed targets in recent days. I know what would have happened if the Government had attained its target in the context of the figure of 40,000 completions. That said, we need a whole-of-government response in the area of housing. I suggest that action similar to that taken during the pandemic and the economic recovery that occurred post the recession that obtained between 2008 and 2012 should also be taken in the context of the whole-of-government response to which I refer. The Government needs to look at the bigger picture regarding housing. It needs to get everyone under the one roof. The Departments of the Taoiseach and Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform need to ensure that a whole-of-government response to this issue is adopted.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to examine the programme for Government that has been adopted by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the non-party Members of this House. Over the past five years we have seen an unprecedented level of geopolitical upheaval and challenges to the norms that were established after the Second World War. These challenges and their impact, combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, have tested our social and economic models. The previous Government provided strong, calm leadership which ensured that Ireland rode out the worst of these challenges and, in many cases, outperformed other countries.

As we have seen in recent weeks, challenges brought about by uncertainty and unexpected events have not passed. The new Government has its work cut out for it. The programme for Government will provide an ambitious framework for the next five years, but it will also facilitate the flexibility needed in uncertain times. At the core of the programme is massive investment in infrastructure, particularly housing, but also critical areas such as transport, schools and utilities. If one were to reflect on the achievements of the previous Government, one could see that strong progress was made on housing, education, health services and continued management of the economy. However, progress in areas such as public transport, energy security, roads and other infrastructure, left much to be desired. There must now be massive investment in public transport and roads. We need to see urgent progress on the roll-out of the light rail, investment in DART capacity, and the continued roll out of reliable, safe and affordable bus services here in the capital. In this regard, I was delighted to see the Fianna Fáil commitment to establish a dedicated transport police unit included in the programme for Government. As Dublin spokesperson for Fianna Fáil, I have, along with my colleagues here, been campaigning for this for many years.

We saw during Storm Éowyn that our energy infrastructure, in terms of its resilience, has not been maintained and kept up to date. This must change. There needs to be investment in energy infrastructure, with the grid being upgraded and progress made on offshore wind generation, particularly off the west coast. Energy security is also an issue that needs to be prioritised, with alternative supplies being made available to ensure redundant energy generating capacity in the event of a crisis.

Turning to my constituency of Dún Laoghaire, I would like to see further investment in important, large projects such as the extension of the Luas green line to Bray, the next phase of the national rehabilitation hospital and a new Garda station for Cherrywood. I would also like to see progress on smaller projects which make a big difference, such as the expansion of the disability respite services, further national funding for sports clubs and community organisations. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown has one of the highest levels of residential construction in the State and services must follow suit. I will be working closely with the new Ministers to deliver progress on education and childcare facilities, particularly the various school building projects being planned and those under way.

It is worth underlining that progress and investment are underpinned by our successful economic model, which has served us well and which, if not derailed, will continue to do so. Under the leadership of our Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, and with the support of Members across the House, I am confident that we can work with our partners in Europe and further afield to ride out prospective challenges and protect our shared future.

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Is é seo an chéad uair domsa labhairt sa Dáil agus mar sin ba mhaith liom buíochas ó chroí a ghabhadh le mo chlann, leo siúd a thug tacaíocht dom agus le muintir Bhaile Átha Cliath thuaidh a chaith vótaí ar mo shon le scór bliana anuas. After 20 years representing Dublin’s northside at local level, it is a huge honour for me to have been elected to Dáil Éireann. Fíche bliain ag fás, as they say. I thank my family, supporters and the good people of Dublin Bay North for putting an engineer in the Dáil to represent them.

The programme for Government outlines an ambitious plan for delivery and decisive action for the coming years but none more so than in the area of safe and secure communities, with a commitment to fund the recruitment of at least 5,000 gardaí and staff over the next five years. Once we recruit them, we need a place to put them. This is why the new divisional headquarters for the Dublin metropolitan north division at Northern Cross will be so important. I hope the Minister of State will agree that nothing makes communities feel better and safer than Garda Síochána boots on the ground. Communities in Belmayne, Balgriffin and Clongriffin have had to deal with ongoing issues of antisocial behaviour and serious assaults by groups of teenagers at local DART stations. These issues were raised with me and other public representatives at a very well attended Belmayne community forum meeting. They were also reported in national media.

This area on the northside comprises a young, positive and proactive community. It is a growing catchment area for our city. People there will greatly welcome the delivery of a new Garda station, which will provide relief from capacity problems and problems with the ageing building that houses Coolock Garda station. I attended a recent meeting of my local joint policing committee. I understand that this project has progressed significantly in recent months and that plans for the transfer of a site for the station from Dublin City Council to the OPW are close to being finalised. This new station represents one of the most significant Garda capital projects in the national development plan. I look forward to the review of that. Opening this station will be a vital step towards addressing the scourge of antisocial behaviour and will deliver a very clear message that this Government is committed to building stronger, safer communities. I ask that the Government work with the Department of Justice, the OPW and An Garda Síochána to land this particular project and to make this new station a reality for northsiders.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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I will address the part of the programme for Government that references zero tolerance of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. We all know the devastating effect on victims when their personal counselling notes are used in court as evidence in rape and sexual assault cases. This has been outlined repeatedly by the Rape Crisis Network and other advocacy services. Last summer, the then Minister for Justice indicated that she was hopeful that preparatory work relating to banning this practice would be completed by the end of 2024. Simon Harris spoke about outlawing it entirely. That commitment, given so firmly last summer, has been rowed back on in the programme for Government. What has changed for the survivors? What has changed for those who have to stand in a court of law and face those who have victimised them and subjected them to such vile attacks? The answer is absolutely nothing. The trauma for victims of counselling notes being disclosed and presented in trials remains the same, and it stops people in their tracks.

Victims' willingness to come forward, make criminal complaints and pursue justice through the courts is already low, and the probability of having their personal counselling records dissected and used against them is not a choice any person should ever be faced with making. The fear of having deeply personal and sensitive information dragged into a courtroom and scrutinised by the very system from which they seek justice has deterred many women from seeking that same justice and left others avoiding counselling altogether.

Survivors and their advocates had some hope the Government was prepared to make meaningful changes, that those survivors of sexual violence in our legal system would be treated fairly. Survivors navigate a justice system, speaking of how they were personally affected what somebody else inflicted on them, and those notes being introduced to a court creates further trauma. Survivors of sexual violence should never have to fear the system that is meant to protect them and to deliver justice for them. This row-back is simply not good enough, nor is the lack of clarity around the wording. That needs to be undone because this needs to be crystal clear. What does amending the legislation look like? What does the Government intend to do? More importantly, when does it intend to do it?

Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Pre-election claims to the effect that the Government would deliver 40,000 homes last year now hang like an albatross around the neck of its credibility. The housing crisis permeates virtually every corner of Irish society. Schools are unable to hire teachers, gardaí are unable to secure accommodation in the communities in which they serve and students have been abandoned, while renters and aspiring homeowners have been cast utterly adrift. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste speak of these claims as genuine belief and split hairs as to whether ignorance is an excuse for mistruth. Neither of these will serve as a relief to the people in counties such as Cavan and Monaghan who are struggling with a housing crisis not of their own making. The previous Government failed to set even an affordable housing target. I assure the Minister for housing that among the people living in Cavan and Monaghan, the need is greatly felt.

Yesterday, the Taoiseach revealed his bold plan to end rent pressure zones. Despite his attempts to row back on these comments, it is clear vulture funds understood. Their share prices soared to an eight-month high. The fact is the implementation by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael of rent pressure zones was lacklustre. Residential Tenancies Board data show that rents for new and existing renters are significantly higher than the 2% cap where the zones obtain. The response, rather than yet another sop to vultures and developers, should be even greater protections from rent hikes, including a three-year ban on rent increases. This programme for Government will not deliver that. We know that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are incapable of addressing the housing crisis. The Government must realise that the solution is not more of the same, such as crisis talks with developers leading to incentives for vulture funds, but rather the implementation of Sinn Féin's housing plan, bringing home ownership back into the reach of working people and delivering homes that are secure, adequate and affordable.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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Despite the Taoiseach repeatedly stating that climate change is the existential crisis of our time, anyone who reads the programme for Government would not get the sense there is urgency on the part of or a grasp by the Government of the scale of the problem we face and how difficult it is going to be to implement changes. The Government seems intent on continuing with business as usual, bringing forward the measures that were outlined by the previous Government and continuing on the same trajectory. It is clear, however, that this approach was not working. The evidence is there that the measures the Government had in place were not working and were not sufficient. It is not just me saying that but the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, the Climate Change Advisory Council and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI. All our independent agencies and organisations when it comes to climate issues are saying the plans the Government has in place are not sufficient to meet the 51% reduction the Government is legally required to meet under the climate Act. The current climate action plan will result in emissions reductions of only 29%, which is far off what we need.

One of the key red lines for the Social Democrats going into the election was that if we were to go into government, there would have to be a climate action plan that set out all the actions needed to meet the 51%. Unfortunately, even though the programme for Government states that the Government will set out those actions, the programme's other aspects do not give that indication at all. Indeed, the document is disingenuous because it refers to how there has been a 7% reduction in emissions, but that 7% reduction was not derived from Government policy. The majority of it came from the fact we had imported 12 times more electricity from the UK and, therefore, our emissions were not counted in our budgets but in those of the UK. It is just an accounting exercise. Using the figure of 7% in this document is disingenuous.

Nature recently showed us exactly what she thinks of how we have been operating and living. What happened was a clear wake-up call, not only regarding how we need to double down on actions to mitigate climate change but also about how important climate change adaptation is for us. When we talk about adaptation, we must recognise that the climate has changed and examine how we are going to adapt our systems to deal with that change, whether that relates to infrastructural means or to changing how we operate such as, when it comes to issues such as agriculture, changing how, when and what we farm and protecting farmers in order that their income can continue. It is really important that adaptation play a huge part over the next five years because we do not have a great deal of time to put those systems in place, as we clearly saw with Storm Éowyn and how ill-prepared we were to deal with that event.

When I look at the agricultural aspect of the programme for Government, it is again clear that the relationship between the agricultural sector and the Government is based on false promises and disingenuous information. There is a pretence always from the Government that it is fighting for farmers to help them overcome the challenges they face, whether regarding the nitrates issue or the reference in the programme for Government to recognising "the distinct characteristics of biogenic methane ... and [advocating] for the accounting of this Greenhouse gas to be re-classified at EU and international level.” When those in the farming industry see that, they may think there might be a chance this could happen, but we all know it will not. The EU and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, are not going to change policy or reclassify the gas.

What we need to do, rather than give false hope to farmers, whether through the nitrates derogation or in respect of this issue, is support them. We need to give them the facts and say how our landscape and weather will change, what we need them to do and how we will support them to do it. We need a farming sector that works for farmers, nature and climate and offers good incomes for the farming community, food security for us as a country, a sustainable business for farmers and a future for generations of farmers in order that if somebody inherits a farm, they will not see it as a burden or wonder how they are going to cope. We want to be able to give them a future for their children as well.

That is where we need, and should have seen, a vision from Government about how it will support and work with farmers so they can make the changes we will expect and need to see. All that takes a lot of work, planning from the Government and a lot of financial support. It will take a reliance on facts, and in the Government over the past five years, there was not much taking of evidence into its policies. It will also take a lot of courage. Unfortunately, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil do not have that courage to talk to farmers on an honest basis, work with them on that honest basis and help them prepare for the future.

I also wish to mention transport. It is not just about investing in transport. I speak specifically about Wicklow but I know this affects other areas. The roll-out of BusConnects has been difficult and challenging for people. There are ghost buses, cancellation after cancellation, express buses that now take half an hour longer to get to where they should than they did previously and buses taking an hour to go ten minutes. Two parents wrote to me whose 17-year-old children were last night dropped off on the N11 at 7.30 in the dark by a bus driver because he had not let them off at the previous stop and he went back to the station. I have followed that up directly with the NTA.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy. It is Deputy Gannon's time.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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It is not about investment; it is about making sure we have the right buses and the contracts are in place. We need to go back to a public system of public transport because then we can control exactly the kind of service is provided.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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When I consider the programme for Government we are now asked to speak about, the image that comes to mind is from the plinth in the early stages of the Dáil when a number of members of the Government, who are now established as members of the Government, stood there and said they would support this Government through the good times and the bad. That phrase has been reiterated in different contexts, in the media and in this Chamber for a variety of reasons. Humility demands of us that we also acknowledge that those bad days are very rarely ours. That is the job of the programme for Government, and those of us in opposition who believe in something different, to advance and recognise. One such bad day occurred in my constituency of Dublin Central in the community of Stoneybatter on Sunday when a vicious assault took place on three individuals. It is now before the courts so I will not go into too much detail about the event but rather acknowledge how incredible the gardaí were with their response and the community was in rallying. I hope the victims make a full recovery. I was surprised when I raised an issue relating to safety in the city today that the Minister for Justice referred to how unexpected it was for an attack to take place in Stoneybatter at 3 p.m. Those were his words; I chose not to mention the event.

In acknowledgement of the community I represent, while we cannot ever legislate for an event of such savagery in isolation, that community has for the past 18 months to two years been demanding of its public reps and holding public meetings. At every door we knocked on during the general and local election campaigns, the single issue that came up was safety. Stoneybatter is not unique in that, especially around the inner city communities, north and south. The response from those in charge on behalf of the State was to simply not hear. There are conditions in communities in Dublin that create a sense of unsafety. That has not been addressed. Simple actions have been called for such as an increased Garda presence and crisis intervention teams to address the mental health issues prevalent in our communities. There has been a demand on the city council to address the aesthetic aspects of a community that bring a sense of unsafety such as dereliction and illegal dumping that goes uncleaned. These are all simple things that one would expect but are simply not being addressed. On the programme for Government's claim that there will be 5,000 new gardaí recruited over five years, lots of us would love to see that but we have not seen any detail of how it would be achieved. Last year saw the first small annual increase in Garda numbers since 2020; they went up by just under 200. At that rate, it would take two decades to bring the force up to 18,000, the expected number to adequately police this country.

In his contributions on how he will increase that number, the new Minister seems to just be the cheerleader in chief. He spoke about the pride people have in being a garda. I agree absolutely; I have friends and family in the profession. The reason people are leaving is not because of an absence of pride in their work; it is because of an inability to pay to live in the cities they are asked to police, the absence of morale, when they expressed no confidence in those in charge to their leadership and it is simply neglected. To achieve full satisfaction among those whom we ask to police our streets, nurse in our hospitals and teach in schools, we need to address the underlying reasons those people on whom we rely so much are withdrawing their labour. They cannot afford to live in the cities or the cost of living when it comes to childcare provision. None of these issues seem to be addressed in the programme for Government. There are some great statements on what the Government would like to achieve but the only clear indicator of future performance is past performance. Every single time, successive Governments in which Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been the only two constants have failed when it comes to the provision of public services. That was a reason when we spoke about how the Social Democrats could enter government based on five dealbreakers, we made public service central. One of the more arrogant things that have been said from the Government side of the Chamber over recent weeks whenever we tried to question it, whether about the falsity of the housing figures presented willingly by the Government or the inability to promote what the public childcare in this programme for Government is, was, "Ye had your chance". That is not true. Long before any of us were around any table, a deal had been done. We stood clearly for an increase in transformational changes that would bring achievements for the people. What is actually in the programme for Government is the same old same old with a new glossy title.

Our cities, towns and the country as a whole demand of us to improve performances and expectations. The basic necessities of any country are found in its public services. I hope many of the things the Government claims it believes in such as the public models of childcare and public healthcare come to pass. I cannot even get into climate because I am just remembering a conversation I had with the now Taoiseach when he dismissed the idea we would not achieve our climate targets, basically saying, sure, they will not fine us anyway. We stood for a senior Minister with responsibility for disabilities not because we just believed in another new Minister but because too often in this Chamber each of us looks up and sees a person who is brought to the Chamber, in great difficulty themselves, or their family, to vindicate a basic right such as a wheelchair, in some instances, or the carer's allowance. They ask that they no longer be means-tested. It is cruel and unjust today, with the family being imposed upon. Another reason is access to an SNA. These are all the reasons we fought so hard to achieve those things and they were nonchalantly taken away, dismissed and we were told we had our chance when we know that was not the case. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste clearly had their favourites and it was the path of least resistance.

I would love to talk more in detail about the proposed Dublin task force. It has been much talked about but not in any way budgeted for. It is badly needed in our capital city, which deserves more than being a consistent form of press release whenever the Government looks for cheap headlines. It needs to be budgeted for and a genuine sense of responsibility in leadership given.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I call Deputy McGreehan. This is the last slot in the debate; we have just over 15 minutes. There are only two Deputies so they may have seven and a half minutes each unless there is a third speaker.

Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. Is mór an onóir dom labhairt anseo inniu mar Theachta Dála don Dáilchean Lú. Is é seo mo chéad chaint sa Teach seo agus ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le mo theaghlach, le mo chairde, le mo lucht tacaíochta agus leis na baill d’Fhianna Fáil i gContae Lú a d’oibrigh chomh dian ar mo shon. Táim, fíorbhuíoch díobh as a n-iarrachtaí

IT is a huge honour to be standing here as a TD for the constituency of Louth. It is my first proper opportunity to speak in the House. I thank my family, friends and supporters, Louth Fianna Fáil and all those who worked so hard.

I am very grateful for all their efforts. I do not know if I could ever articulate how immensely proud and honoured I am because this is a wee girl's dream. It is a rare beauty when, as an adult, you can speak to your seven-year-old self and proudly say, "We did it. Stay bold, stay ambitious, keep working and keep believing. Do not let them create a path for you, create one for yourself". I was an ambitious young girl and now I am desperately ambitious for my county and my country. Over the next five years, day in and day out, I will fight unapologetically for things that matter to my constituents.

In the programme for Government there are many plans that must come to reality and work for all of Louth. Louth is a unique county with unique challenges and opportunities. It is along the Border, with two larger towns in Dundalk and Drogheda, a thriving agricultural sector, a rich coastline and the finest people. We have many difficulties stifling us as a community. These include access to healthcare. There is large issue with the emergency department in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. It does not have the capacity to deal with our ballooning population. Louth County Hospital in Dundalk is underutilised. It needs to be adequately equipped to take the pressure off Drogheda.

We have children with additional needs who cannot get the therapies and supports they require. Some have no secondary school places even though they have been in school for almost eight years and no one thought to forward plan. Children with disabilities and their families exist in a State-sanctioned vacuum where they feel unheard, unhelped and truly exhausted. The focus the Government has put on disability must be actioned and delivered.

Louth is integral to the economic output of this country and the Government needs to make us a priority. We need to continue to grow our thriving economy and provide opportunities in all sectors, including agriculture, aquaculture, manufacturing and fintech. We must continue to focus on attracting new businesses, supporting existing enterprises, investing in innovation and technology to drive growth and create jobs, building houses for the diverse and growing population we have and looking after the engine of our local economies and our communities. We must reduce the cost of doing business for our small and medium enterprises. Our retail and service sectors are struggling. Many of the costs placed on our businesses are taxes and costs imposed by the State. If we are serious about our SME sector, we must be serious about reducing costs.

There is an endless to-do list that I will bring up in the House over the next few years. We have infrastructural deficits in our water services and electrical grid and issues with childcare places and school places. We need to overhaul, support and fund our youth sector. The Narrow Water bridge must be finished and the roads around it must be upgraded to take the extra capacity. Carlingford ferry needs to be supported and a sustainable funding mechanism must be found in an overall cross-Border tourism plan for the loop of the lough. We have so much to offer but we need the area to be supported to deliver it.

Public transport needs to be improved drastically with bus routes. Access for people to use bus transport needs to be enhanced the length and breadth of the county and not only on national routes. We need another train station in Louth. Dunleer is there but it is not used. The Ardee bypass must happen. Ardee is struggling. It is drowning under a constant traffic jam. There will be a DART extension to Drogheda. Why not look at bringing it to Dundalk and Dunleer?

We need more adult and child respite services. I want the Government to finally invest in Louth GAA stadium. Work will begin soon and I want the drawdown of the large-scale sport infrastructure funding to happen in the next few years. There must be investment in policing and safe communities. I am fed up with seeing empty Garda stations and gardaí struggling to protect and look after our communities.

There is an inextricable link between social and economic prosperity and they are by no means exclusive concepts. If we do not take care and enhance and protect our communities, we fail. If we do not take care of the most vulnerable, we fail, and the Government will fail. The new programme for Government aims to address a range of priorities crucial for the well-being and prosperity of the country. It is comprehensive and outlines key proposals and strategies for various sectors, including disability, mental health, education, health, crime, infrastructural deficits and the economy. We must deliver this. I wish the Ministers all the very best in their terms of office. This nation and the people of it rely on their success.

Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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This is my first time to address the Dáil and I am delighted to be here as an elected Member representing County Offaly. As we know, this does not happen without the hard work of a lot of people because nobody can do this on their own. I want to put on the record of the Dáil my sincere thanks to my family, friends, fellow party members, my two directors of election, Peter Waters and my brother Matt, and, of course, the faithful people of our proud county of Offaly for the trust they have put in me. I will do everything I can to make Offaly are a great place to work, rest and raise a family.

When I look at the programme for Government I see ambition. I see a pathway to the future for all of our country, young and old. I see a special emphasis on disabilities. While campaigning I highlighted that Offaly School of Special Education needed a physical therapist reinstated. I am delighted that as part of the programme for Government we will have these therapists reinstated throughout the country. We need this done sooner rather than later.

When campaigning, I also met local carers, most of them mothers. I was very moved by their stories of accessing services for their children. I am delighted to see the Government will take out means-testing for the carer's payment during its lifetime. We need to do more for these families. We need to remove the red tape they encounter on a daily basis as they try to access services. This is something that would make their lives much easier. They are only trying to access services to which they are entitled.

Significant investment in roads throughout the country is part of the programme. The N52 link road needs to be delivered and needs to be put back on the roads programme soon. Parents and children face a daily danger navigating the high road junction in Durrow on their way to school and creche, while other residents risk similar hazards going to mass each day. The Durrow High Cross Committee is eager to build an interpretive centre highlighting the area's rich monastic history, including St. Columcille, the Book of Durrow, the abbey and the history attached to the area but this will be stalled until the new link road has been constructed. We need this road for the growth of business in Tullamore. This involves more than 19,000 traffic movements per day, which is way over capacity and growing at 5% per year. If the link road was put back in the roads programme tomorrow morning, it would take until 2032 to build, and that would be if there were no issues. This is the second time the road has got to the stage of a route being chosen. For value for money for the Exchequer and for the safety of the people and its users, will need this road now and not later.

I am delighted that as part of the programme for Government we will endeavour to have more than 50% of new foreign direct investment businesses in Ireland locating outside of Dublin and Cork. I recognise the good work IDA Ireland does. It is the leader in what it does throughout the world. The IDA Ireland park in Tullamore is full and we need a new park to be purchased and made ready for new companies. We also need parks in Birr and Edenderry so we can have our young people stay in Offaly and have jobs for them so they can live, rest and raise a family in our beautiful county, while attracting others to live there also.

Farming is the backbone of our country. We need to look after our farmers. We need to make sure we work with Europe to get the extension to the nitrates derogation. We need to make sure the farming products coming into Europe from South America under the Mercosur deal are produced to the same standard and adhere to the same legislation as the high-quality produce of our farmers. We need to make farming more attractive to young farmers so they can make it a lifetime career. I am happy to say the programme for Government has a lot to protect farming in Ireland.

I am honoured to be here to represent County Offaly. I promise to do everything I can to make our county a great place to work, rest and raise a family.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Next is a Sinn Féin slot. Deputy Ó Murchú will have two and a half minutes as only three and a half minutes remain in the debate. I am sure he will manage.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I am sure I could do what an awful lot of other people have done and literally go through a list of every issue in the constituency but I would probably need an hour and a half. I noticed my constituency colleague got through a fair amount. I suppose I could be smart and state her party has been in government for a considerable period. We will see what delivery there will be from this Government because many promises have been put down in the programme for Government. We need to deal with the particular issue of the Covid inquiry. We know of those families who lost loved ones in Dealgan House.

I do not believe anyone is particularly happy with what has been in the public domain in regard to a Covid-19 inquiry and the lack of compellability. We need to see that lessons are learned, rather than just talking about learning lessons in dealing with the situation. I think of the families of the at least 22 people or who died in tragic circumstances.

However, I want to deal with the reply to a parliamentary question I tabled, which stated there are approximately 530 positions unfilled in children’s disability network teams, CDNTs. I would say I am shocked but I do not believe anyone dealing with families who cannot access services is shocked. We know that everything should be done from the point of view of recruitment, retention, workforce planning and training, but even if that is done, we will not be able to fill all those gaps straight away. We need to deal with the issue at hand, namely, putting the service where it is required. We have seen where the school inclusion model has operated. It should be a holistic system so that we are offering best practice to teachers, SNAs, staff and parents. It relates to the entire life of the child. Unless we get down to that issue and deliver it across the board, we will constantly just be dealing in our constituency offices with parents who are being failed by the State, particularly parents of children with autism and many other disabilities.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy has another 30 seconds of speaking time.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I was not sure and would not like to have gone over time. In fairness, there is no shortage of issues that could be brought up regarding the programme for Government. We all know about the issues the Government spoke about and the abject failure to deliver 40,000 houses and the many promises have been made. Unfortunately, we are dealing with those families and the people who cannot afford rent or houses even in supposedly affordable housing scheme. Sufficient work has not been done. I have not seen any promises from this Government that I can believe. We need to movement in this matter.