Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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So much for backbenchers wanting so much time on Leaders' Questions. The Government did all this for Lowry and now its backbenchers do not even turn up for the thing it forced through. It is so embarrassing.

This week saw a historic vote in the Assembly in support of extending presidential voting rights to Irish citizens in the North. It is a powerful message from the Assembly, one that transcends political differences and affirms the principles of equality enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement. It has been 12 years since the constitutional convention in Dublin voted overwhelmingly to extend the vote and nine years since Fine Gael committed in a programme for Government to holding a referendum. We have had three Governments since then but nothing has happened. The Government has a constitutional duty to uphold the citizenship rights of everybody born on the island of Ireland. This is about equality, recognition and democratic participation. We should not be facing into a presidential election where citizens in the North are again excluded. This must be the last time it ever happens. The time for excuses is over. Will the Tánaiste's Government stop the delaying, set a date, act on this long overdue promise and allow for voting rights in presidential elections for citizens in the North as the Assembly democratically voted on earlier this week?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Doherty very much. I note with interest the debate that took place in the Northern Ireland Assembly this week and the outcome of it. I will engage with my Government colleagues, including the Taoiseach, in relation to this matter. I am supportive of the principle. I think there is logic in it in terms of a Government timeline and the likes. I will need to discuss that with Government colleagues and revert to the Deputy.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Tánaiste.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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The Green Party is only out of Government a wet week and we are already seeing-----

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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He is behind you.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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-----an increase in public transport fares. The new Leap card zonal fare is harshly and dramatically impacting commuters travelling through zones 2, 3 and 4 especially. This impacts the Tánaiste's own constituency. I got a response from the NTA that said it is going to begin a scoping exercise of the impact of the new fare structure. I have schoolchildren in my constituency going from Donabate to Balbriggan who have to pay an extra €25 weekly due to these fares. The scoping exercise should be cancelled, the fares should go back to normal and an examination should be done before there is a change. This situation is having a major impact on families. We are trying to encourage people to use public transport and not to go backwards. In a previous response, the Tánaiste said he would arrange meetings with the NTA and a response from it on matters relating to this fare structure. It has not happened. I really need some progress on this matter.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy can imagine, this is an issue I am very alert to and aware of in a very practical sense. My hometown is one that has seen an adverse impact from this change. Admittedly, many other areas have seen fares decrease. I do not think it is good that we are seeing one town nearly being pitted against another as a result of this fare structure. We have taken several measures to reduce public transport fares that I am proud of. We did that together in the last Government. I would like to meet the NTA regarding this issue. Perhaps those of us from constituencies impacted could seek to meet the organisation together to seek a timeline on when it intends to carry out the consultation.

While I am on my feet I join the Leas-Cheann Comhairle in welcoming the students and their teachers to the Dáil. I welcome Ms Lavin and Ms Keyes and their students, Éabha, Josie, Cillian and Jacek. I am sure they could all teach us many things about debating. I first learned how to debate back in secondary school too. I was told to do all the things I never do now, like locking your knees, looking up, speaking calmly, beginning with a quote and all that. I hope they have had very good success and I thank them for being here today.

Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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I also congratulate the students on winning the debating championship.

I welcome the emerging preferred route for the Cork Luas, but major questions remain. We do not know how much the Government intends to invest in this crucial project. We do not know if a second north-south route is planned. Crucially, we do not know when the Cork Luas will open. This project cannot be left like the Dublin metro, which has been delayed now by 25 years. There is a history of announcements of key infrastructure projects in Cork that are never delivered. These include the events centre, the new city library and the motorway to Limerick, and I could go on. Time and again, there are big announcements of infrastructure projects that are never delivered for our city. Cork urgently needs better public transport and we need it now.

I have three questions for the Tánaiste. Does the Government intend to build a second line connecting the northside of the city to the southern suburbs and the airport? How much has been allocated for this key project? Crucially, when will we see passengers on a Luas in Cork?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Rice very much. I agree with him in general that we must come up with systems to drive forward infrastructure projects in a more timely manner. This is why we have set up the new infrastructure division of the Department of public expenditure and reform. I think we all hear this issue raised in our constituencies. To the people of Cork regarding the decisions we are taking, I would say that the Crawford Gallery is an example of a project that had been knocking around for quite a while. We took a big decision in that regard recently that I think is important. I will get specific answers for the Deputy concerning the three questions he asked regarding the north-south line, the allocations and the timeline. The next point in time is the national development plan, which is due to be published in or around July, and that will allocate capital for the next number of years. I will ask the Minister for Transport to respond to the Deputy specifically on those questions.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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Proposals were reportedly brought to Cabinet this week to criminalise people who wear face coverings on protests. Anyone wearing any type of face covering, be it a disabled person wearing a medical face mask or a religious person wearing a face covering, can be ordered to remove it by the Garda.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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No.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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Okay. I am interested to hear the answer. What was reported is that if people refuse to remove a face covering they could then be arrested. It certainly seemed like an attack on the right of people to protest, particularly disabled people, who subjected the last Government to one of its biggest defeats in terms of a row-back on the Green Paper on disability reform. Many of them - people who are immunocompromised - have to wear face masks to allow them to be out in crowds. They need to wear face masks and should not have their right to protest restricted. This comes along with proposals for body cameras and facial recognition technology. Again, it is reported that this is in preparation for the EU Presidency when the Government expects protest from the "extreme left".

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I know we do not agree on much, but I thought one of the things we could agree on was our concern around the activities of some who are loosely termed the "far right" who turn up and intimidate and wear balaclavas and face masks. They stood outside your house and my house shouting and roaring and causing significant concern to people in terms of their safety. This is a sensible initiative in respect of a garda being able to direct a person to remove clothing that is being worn to make themselves unidentifiable. It is certainly not about anything to do with the immunocompromised, whom of course we much support. I will ask the Minister to provide the Deputy with clarity regarding the intent of this legislation in writing.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I start by thanking Deputy Micheál Carrigy for bringing students from Scoil Samhthann in Ballinalee in County Longford to the Public Gallery here today. Many of them are there behind me, including my own cousin, who has very strong connections with west Cork. Aisling Hennessy is here with her fellow students and teachers. They are most welcome.

The private nursing home sector provides an invaluable service to the State with the provision of long-term, short-stay and convalescent beds to the older people in our society. We have a situation at the Aperee nursing home, formerly the Deerpark nursing home, in Bantry where a local private nursing home has gone into receivership. It cannot operate to its full potential as it seems HIQA has a difficulty with it being in receivership, even though negotiations with potential buyers are at an advanced stage. HIQA will not allow the admission of new clients. The nursing home has 18 empty beds and there are seven clients in Bantry General Hospital who wish to avail of these beds. Doing so would make seven acute beds available to Bantry General Hospital. Nine clients originally from the Bantry area are in other nursing homes in counties Cork and Kerry and want to move back to the Bantry area to be close to their families. Can the Tánaiste ensure this situation is rectified speedily so the nursing home can operate to its full potential and beds are made available in the acute hospital that can be utilised for those currently waiting on trolleys? This is not an internal nursing home compliance issue. Simply put, it is a paperwork issue that needs to be resolved immediately.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Collins. I watched in admiration how he managed to bring a Longford school back to a Cork connection. It was nicely done and I join him in welcoming the students Deputy Carrigy has brought to the Dáil today. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their day.

I thank Deputy Collins for his question and for raising this important issue. He and I know that HIQA is the statutory independent regulator. We all appreciate that and the role it has to play in ensuring nursing homes are safe and effective.

It is important that they always work closely with nursing home providers and that any restrictive conditions attached to a nursing home are resolved between HIQA and the providers. I join the Deputy in urging a speedy resolution to ensure our older and most vulnerable citizens can have access to services located close to their loved ones in the Bantry area. I will ask the Minister for Health to come back to the Deputy directly.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I raise the issue of horse control. Legislation in Ireland largely falls under the Control of Horses Act 1996. I was sent a photo by an American tourist over the weekend who visited our county. They saw a horse tethered to a metal pole outside a supermarket. This happens all around the country and it is inexcusable. The law is robust, but the enforcement is not. Nobody in this country can claim to have a cultural or traditional entitlement to own horses. If you want to own a horse, buy land, rent land or pay for a livery, but do not tie them up outside a supermarket tethered to a pole or leave them to die in a ditch with a ribcage that is hollowed out. It is happening far too often. It paints a poor picture of our country, but more so it is a poor picture for animal welfare. I asked that it be dealt with. There is no cultural tradition. If we go back two or three generations, we will see that the families of every Member of this House, even the most urban Member, come from land where there were horses and carts at one point, but we moved on. No one has a god-given right to own an animal. Certainly, if they cannot control the animal or look after it, the animal should be taken from them. The State has to get far tougher on this.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Crowe for highlighting this issue. I take the issue of animal welfare seriously. Far too often in our country, we hear of the mistreatment of horses. We often see images on social media and elsewhere that can be extremely distressing. I think the Deputy's point is right. I have been asking about this for a while. The legislation on this is pretty robust, but perhaps there are issues relating to enforcement and how we can get better at enforcing it. In light of the Deputy raising this issue, I will ask the Minister for agriculture to consider the points he has made and come back to him directly.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I start by welcoming Josie, Jacek, Cillian and Eabha along with their teachers, Ms Lavin and Ms Keyes, and congratulating them on their outstanding achievement as European debating champions.

Reports this week from the national claims information database have highlighted further increases in motor insurance premiums. This is no doubt an added financial strain on motorists at a time when there are so many demands with the cost of living. Significant progress has been made on insurance reform, but premiums remain stubbornly high. In the best interests of reducing costs and premiums for much-pressed consumers, I have two asks of the Government. First, it needs to determine more ways in which the Injuries Resolution Board can be tasked as the fastest and fairest way to process claims. Second, it must reject the proposed recommendations of increasing personal injury guidelines by up to 17% and extending the current review period of three years, thereby giving certainty to the market and the sector.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of the cost of insurance and the impact that can have on consumers, businesses and so many parts of our lives, our economy and our society. I know that the Government is working its way through that issue at the moment relating to the PIAB guidelines. The Deputy has made a sensible suggestion to look at the length of time for the reviews, which I think is probably too frequent. I know that the Government, led in this area by the Minister for Justice, will give consideration to whether there is a need to amend legislation as well. We are also re-establishing the Cabinet committee on insurance reform, which I will share with all relevant Ministers. We will certainly take forward the Deputy's suggestions through that forum as well.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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On 18 February last, the Cabinet approved funding for 3,000 social and affordable homes. Decisions on these applications from councils and approved housing bodies had been greatly delayed. At the time, we were told by the Department that within a matter of weeks, following due diligence, formal notification of the approvals would be passed on to the councils and AHBs. Some 11 weeks on, many of these schemes have still not been formally approved. I spoke with one builder-developer in Dublin. He has a turnkey project for one of the large AHBs of more than 50 units. He has had to close down the site because they are still awaiting CALF approval for the AHB. That application was submitted last July. I have spoken with builders in County Donegal and elsewhere who have completed projects, with homes built and empty that cannot be occupied because the funding has yet to be approved. Will the Tánaiste tell us when all of the approvals for the 3,000 units that received financial sanction at Cabinet in February will be finalised and communicated to the AHBs and councils? Will he also ask the Minister to communicate to me directly how many other schemes and units are awaiting approval beyond that 3,000?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for bringing that issue to my attention. I will certainly speak with the Minister for housing and ask that he reply to the Deputy directly. As the Deputy has rightly said, the Government took a funding decision with regard to this. We are living through a housing emergency. We need to see these projects move, so I will ask the Minister to come back to him.

Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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The Government must suspend the planned increase in the financial requirements for stamp 2 visa students from €3,000 to €6,700. This 120% hike was introduced without consultation, without data supporting it, and with no clear link to inflation, which was between 2% and 5%. Stamp 2 visa students can legally work in Ireland and earn up to €18,000 per year. Schools across the country are reporting that students are financially sound. The system is currently working as it is, but this sudden change is already causing damage to the industry. One school has already announced redundancies and it may have to close next week as a result of this. It is not a distant problem. It is happening now. The wider impact extends to hospitality and home care sectors that rely on these workers. I ask the Tánaiste to pause this decision, properly review the data and engage with the sector. These people are coming to Ireland to study and to work. They are providing in our economy. People are employed in these schools. They are spending their money here, while also studying. The consequences of rushing are far too great.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I undertake to speak with the Minister for Justice and the Minister for further and higher education about this. From my memory, I know changes were made in the regulation and oversight of that sector. I also agree that students who come here are making an important contribution with the part-time work they carry out. I know many businesses in rural and urban Ireland are reliant on those workers. I will raise the issue the Deputy has brought to our attention directly with the Ministers, Deputies O'Callaghan and Lawless, and ask them to reply to him.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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When the current Tánaiste was Taoiseach, he visited Castleknock village to hear directly from our local businesses about the cost of doing business. Since then, some of our vacant units have been sold or leased, and we look forward to them all opening. However, last Friday another business closed, which had been operating for more than 20 years. As a community we want our village stores, salons, cafés and restaurants to succeed and thrive. The Tánaiste is delivering on the commitments he made that day by reducing VAT for hospitality and hairdressing, and cutting the cumulative cost of business and regulations through the establishment of a cost-of-business advisory forum. I am asking him today to give those local business owners a prominent voice in that process, to include a three-week consultation period and to invite them to have their say. If he listens directly to local small businesses, they will tell him where the real cost pressures are, especially the many publicly imposed charges and levies that they face. Not all independent, enterprising local businesses are represented by industry bodies, but they are just as important for jobs and for vibrancy.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Currie makes an important point. How do we make sure we are hearing all of the voices we need to hear when making policy decisions? How do we be as inclusive as possible? I remember well that visit to Castleknock and being in a relatively new coffee shop with the Deputy for a lovely cup of coffee. What was it called?

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Melo.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I remember being in Melo and meeting the young woman running it, and indeed her mother. As is often the case in family businesses, everyone was pitching in. I remember them talking honestly to us about the costs of small business. We have made a number of decisions recently as a Government, not all of which are popular, to try to recognise that when we come up with a good idea in here, it is not us who have to pay for it. It is often the small business, and we have to get that balance right. We are going to set up a cost-of-business advisory forum. This will look at all business taxes and costs and ensure that businesses are properly consulted before new legislation or policies that impact small businesses are introduced. On foot of what the Deputy has raised, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Burke, and the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, to give consideration, as I know they are, to the membership of that, and to make sure we get that balance right.

Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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We learned this week that the Government has again misled the public. The funding announced for Irish Water to support increased housing supply was not actually additional funding, but just a different way of funding the current programme. We have heard that directly from the chairman of Irish Water. I am sure the Tánaiste will deny that, but he cannot deny the reality on the ground.

There are many towns and villages across County Galway, such as Corofin, Ardrahan, Monivea, Abbeyknockmoy and many more, where we cannot have new housing delivery because we do not have adequate wastewater infrastructure. We have constraints on capacity in towns like Tuam. Craughwell is getting an upgrade, but it will be years before that is built.

The Government's failure to invest is stalling the delivery of new housing. When is the Government going to take this seriously and deliver improved infrastructure to enable delivery of new housing? What is it going to take? Is it going to take all of our young people leaving the country, or another 5,000 children becoming homeless? It is time to wake up and invest in housing infrastructure.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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First, let me reject entirely the assertion with regard to the Uisce Éireann funding model. The full trawl of documents, which I have no doubt committees and others will look at, will show that the €1 billion was additional funding. Indeed, those of us who were in government at the time very much remember that. Of course, it is true to say that and also to say the next thing, which is the broader point the Deputy is getting at, that it is not going to be enough. There are towns and villages right across Ireland, rural and urban, that desperately need the water infrastructure and wastewater infrastructure as well. We have been very clear as a Government that we intend to allocate a lot more to Uisce Éireann. We have been very clear that the Apple fund, for want of a better phrase, does provide a once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest. We will make decisions as a Government shortly in terms of how to move forward on that investment.

We are also bringing Irish Water to the table in the new housing activation office, which we are going to get right, because water infrastructure is a key enabler of housing to keep young people in constituencies like the Deputy's and in our country too.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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This week, both the Tánaiste and Taoiseach have spoken powerfully against Israel's plans for the Gaza Strip, but their powerful words are not matched by their actions. The Government said it will write again to the European Commission regarding the EU-Israel Association Agreement. Is there anything to be said for another letter? In a few weeks, it is going to give us a timeline regarding when it will draft its watered-down occupied territories Bill. The Government's approach does not speak to the urgency of the situation we are seeing day by day, hour by hour in Gaza.

Israel has placed the entire world on notice that it intends to ethnically cleanse the Gaza Strip. Strong words simply are not good enough any longer. Ireland can take clear action here at home that will resonate internationally. The Government must pass the occupied territories Bill covering both goods and services.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O'Gorman. I acknowledge that he put a real emphasis on this in the previous Government. It is not simply about strong words, although I do think words matter, and I do think speaking out and speaking up matters. Quite frankly, there are a lot of countries not speaking out and speaking up the way Ireland is. Find me another European country that has referred to the actions of Israel in terms of war crimes. We going to continue - and it is not a case of letter writing - to put pressure to build a coalition because the European Union has to live up to its obligations too. We are not just going to do that, however. We are going to pass a Bill with regard to the occupied Palestinian territories. It is going to have to be legally robust. I had a good dialogue with Senator Black in that regard. There are different legal opinions, let us be truthful, around goods and services and what can and cannot be done, and we are happy to thrash that out. That is what this Parliament is meant to do. It is not a policy difference from my perspective around covering services. It truthfully is not. I get the point about covering services. However, the legal advice available to me is that services are legally a different issue from goods. Let us thrash that detail out, however. I am happy to work through that with the Deputy.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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The Courts Service recently announced that with effect from 1 November, the court sittings will be transferred from Carrick-on-Suir and Cashel to Clonmel. The decision came completely out of the blue and without any local consultation whatsoever. There appears to be a policy of stripping towns and local communities of locally based services. Youghal is also to lose its court service and, of course, Carrick-on-Suir has already lost its district hospital, which is a serious blow to the town and the local community.

The Courts Service has failed in its duty to properly maintain the courthouses in Carrick-on-Suir and Cashel, and it appears it is now using this failure to transfer the services from these towns. I ask that the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice intervene with the Courts Service and stop these transfers, and make sure that the Courts Service properly maintains the courthouses in these towns.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Healy very much for raising the matter. When a court sitting changes in a town, it is not just the convenience for people in terms of accessing the court; it is the general footfall that can come into a town associated with a court sitting. I see that in my county of Wicklow as well. I will ask the Minister for Justice to get an update and to discuss this matter with the Courts Service with regard to Carrick-on-Suir and Cashel and why the sittings are moving to Clonmel and to revert to the Deputy with an update.

Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to comment first on a comment by Deputy Doherty regarding my colleague, Deputy Ardagh, and her non-attendance in the Chamber. Deputy Ardagh is not here; we do not know why she is not here. I do not think anybody should be commenting on that. I have tabled a question for the Tánaiste on defence in the afternoon and I cannot be here because I am attending my uncle's funeral. I do not, therefore, think any of us should be judge and jury on that.

I acknowledge the Government's continued efforts to meet housing targets and strengthen our national infrastructure. One key issue we are facing, especially in the midlands, is the need to upgrade our electricity grid to support new housing and developments. We know that transformers and other critical components are not necessarily in short supply right now, but they are being ordered and manufactured globally. If peace were to emerge in places like Ukraine and Palestine, as we hope, global demand for these infrastructural goods will increase sharply. Will the Government act now and secure orders to invest in future-proofing our grid? Can the Tánaiste provide an upgrade on any promised legislation and policy to accelerate these upgrades in line with our housing ambitions?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy McCormack. I offer my sincere sympathy to him and his family on their loss.

The Deputy is so right to highlight the importance of the electricity grid, both from an energy security and from a housing point of view. We quite rightly talk in this House about the emergency that is housing - there is no doubt about that - but the key enabler to moving forward on that emergency is water, wastewater and energy supply. That is why the Government is very minded to invest significantly more funding through Uisce Éireann and into the grid through EirGrid and others. We will be looking at this in the context of the Apple escrow account and that once-off opportunity to make that investment. We will consider this in due course in the months ahead. We are determined to get that right and make sure there is bang for buck in terms of that investment leading to extra houses. I will keep the Deputy updated as that progresses.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy McCormack, just for clarification, no one is acting as judge and jury, certainly from the Chair anyway. I would like him to know that. I am obliged to call the Deputies from the list I have. It is just to note that.

I call Deputy Colm Burke.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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Blackpool suffered flooding damage in 2010, 2012 and 2013. It was agreed that a flood relief programme would be put in place. Environmental impact studies were carried out and presented by the Office of Public Works, OPW, to the Department of public expenditure. There was a judicial review in 2021, but the environmental impact study was left on someone's desk for 12 months in the Department of public expenditure, and by the time it came to act on it, it was out of date, so it was back to the drawing board.

A new report has been given to the OPW. My understanding is that the OPW has now sent it on to the Department of public expenditure. I do not want it to be sitting on someone's desk again for 12 months. In this area now people cannot sell property. They can only sell to cash purchasers because no bank will lend to anyone who wants to buy property in this area because they cannot get flood relief insurance. I ask that this project be given priority and that it is not delayed further. It is 12 years on from the decision being taken, and no action has been taken.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Burke for raising this issue and for vocalising very strongly the absolute frustration of his constituents in and around Blackpool. I know this has been going on for an extraordinarily long period of time. The Deputy is of course correct that on 17 April the OPW submitted the final supplementary information and those updated environmental surveys he referenced to the Minister for public expenditure, infrastructure, public service reform and digitalisation as part of the statutory confirmation that needs to take place to progress the scheme to construction.

I spoke with the Minister responsible for the Office of Public Works this morning in this regard. I was going to say he is as eager as Deputy Burke, although I am not sure anyone could be as eager as Deputy Burke, to move this forward and do so quickly. He is almost as eager as Deputy Burke. I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, to keep in very close contact with the Deputy. It is a statement of fact that all the necessary paperwork is now with the Department of public expenditure and we need to move this forward.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I want to raise with the Tánaiste the issue of section 5. It probably had its uses, but when abused, as it is being at the moment, it is a very serious tool.

Anybody can make a section 5 application, even if he or she does not own the building, to check if it is exempt from planning for an IPAS centre. The owner of the building in a lot of cases does not even know that somebody has made a section 5 application, as happened in Trim last week. This is creating a lot of unnecessary problems for communities right across the country and needs to be urgently addressed. A 'For Sale' sign on a building is enough for some of these unscrupulous people to make a section 5 application, where they know they can make a lot of money overnight. They are looking for these section 5 applications on buildings that would never be exempt from planning like industrial units with no windows. According to the programme for Government, the only hotel in a town will not be taken for an IPAS centre. Will the Tánaiste give a commitment today that this will not happen? It is hurting tourism and businesses in small towns right across the country.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Guirke. I will ask the Minister for housing and the Minister of State with responsibility for planning to give consideration to the point he makes about the role of section 5 and the appropriate use of it in the context of what he has outlined. I would like to make two points on IPAS and migration accommodation. First, there has been too much discussion only on accommodation. We also have to discuss a rules-based system and making sure that if people have a right to be here, they are integrated, get on with their lives, get a job and make a good contribution to our country. If they do not have a right to be here, we must ensure they are asked to leave and to do so much more quickly. If they do not leave, we must ensure that they do leave. Second, we want to see hotels used for what they are meant to be used for, which is tourism. In the emergency situation, of course, that was not always possible but we have a very clear commitment to try to stay away from the use of the only hotel in a town. There can be cases where a hotel has been shut for many years but I am talking about active hotels. Certainly, that is the policy objective of the Government.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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When it comes to IPAS developments, the Government is treating people like mushrooms by keeping them in the dark and feeding them dung. That is what is happening right across this country. It has allowed a vacuum of information to develop whereby it is another day, another rumour. I refer to the Belmont Hotel, St. Mary's Secondary School in Ballina and, most recently, Belmullet. I got a call the other day from a construction worker who was due to price a proposed IPAS centre in the town. This is how people are finding out - by accident. That is what is happening. When will the Government remove the planning circumvention which was designed to ensure that the people have no say in relation to what is happening in their community? What is happening to the Belmont Hotel in Knock? Is it an IPAS centre or a hotel? I have raised this previously. I submitted a parliamentary question about St. Mary's school in Ballina and the reply was astonishing. The Department said that it is not being considered at the moment but may be again. When will the people find out? The works are continuing.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I ask you to conclude, Deputy Lawless.

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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Is it the case that the works are continuing for another application to be submitted? What are the Government's plans for an IPAS centre in Belmullet? It is totally wrong. The Government's policy at the moment is that people will find out when the scaffolding is erected or when people move in. This is unacceptable. It is no way to treat the people of this country.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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That is, of course, not our policy. I thank the Deputy for raising issues in relation to Belmullet, the Belmont Hotel in Knock and St. Mary's school in Ballina. I will ask the Minister for Justice and the Minister of State for migration to come back to the Deputy on that. Broadly, on the issue of communications around migration, we need to do more. We recently discussed this very issue at a Cabinet committee meeting on justice and migration. We have good people doing their best to communicate and to keep communities up to date, but we probably do not have enough of them. We need to support those people who are doing very good work in trying to go out and engage with communities. We also need to listen to what communities are saying. Often communities just want to know what the impact will be on schools and health services. We need to be better able to respond more quickly to the resources that a community often needs. If a community sees a significant increase in the population, be that through IPAS or anything else, these are often legitimate questions that people are raising and we need to do better at providing more speedy answers. That is our work-----

Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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What of the circumvention?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Sorry, that is a fair question. In relation to the issue of planning, I am truthfully not sure in relation to that but I will get an answer to the Deputy directly.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Crime is an incredibly serious issue that many of us are dealing with at the minute. Yesterday in my own constituency, 20 pipe bombs were found in a ditch behind a property in Ardee. This happened after great work by An Garda Síochána in relation to a significant drugs find. It shows the reality on the ground, particularly when combined with an incident last Friday in Ardee in the early hours of the morning between 4 a.m. and 4.40 a.m. Gardaí are looking for information because a garda on routine patrol was injured in a hit-and-run incident. That case has moved on and our thoughts are with that garda. It shows the reality that gardaí are dealing with at the minute. I would also like to bring up the issue in relation to assaults and arson in north Louth.

My question relates to the community safety partnerships. A lot of us like the idea of gardaí, councillors and all of the necessary stakeholders being involved but there are issues relating to the membership and how the partnerships are going to operate. If action needs to be taken, it should be taken quickly in relation to how they are going to operate. That needs to happen as soon as possible. The problem is that the joint policing committees, as imperfect as they were, are not sitting in County Louth right now. We can all have ad hoc relationships with gardaí and others, but at the end of the day these are necessary forums. We need to have an interim solution with the JPCs and then make sure we have a finalised, operating, fit-for-purpose system in the form of community safety partnerships.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Ó Murchú. While I am not aware of the specific details, I join the Deputy in sending my best wishes to that member of An Garda Síochána. As the Deputy says, all of these incidents are harsh and real reminders of the dangers that gardaí face when they put themselves in harm's way to keep the rest of us safe. I am very grateful to all members of An Garda Síochána for their service.

I am a big fan of the community safety partnerships for the reasons the Deputy has outlined. They bring everybody together and recognise that while gardaí have a role to play, so too do the councils, the HSE and lots of other parts of society. They involve pulling everyone together to draw up a plan to make communities safer and to have that buy-in is important. I will ask the Minister for Justice to reflect on the particular comments Deputy Ó Murchú made today in relation to Louth, the membership and that interim gap and to respond to him directly.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Before we suspend, can I mention something on behalf of a number of Members? The Tánaiste might mention to his Government colleagues that when further information is promised during Questions on Promised Legislation or parliamentary questions, or indeed from agencies, they should respond in a reasonable time or give Members a timeframe. Members have asked me to mention that and the quality of the answers to some parliamentary questions.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Absolutely.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Perhaps you would not mind passing that on.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I would be delighted to do so.