Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The idea of moving the Rotunda Hospital out to Connolly in Blanchardstown never made sense but, of course, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil would not listen. They used this makey-uppy plan to starve the Rotunda, the largest maternity hospital in the country, of resources, investment and development. Now that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have finally dropped this crazy policy I, and I am sure all the women of Dublin and beyond, expect to see action and investment for the critical care unit, for the sexual assault unit and for the full and extensive modernisation of the hospital. Eleven years have been wasted. For 11 years, Governments used this colocation plan as an excuse for inaction. The Government needs to get its act together now because women and babies simply cannot wait.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy make things up as she goes along. I was not in government in 2017 and neither was my party but that is not the point. There was good rationale for colocation. The Deputy knows that.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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There was never a rationale for it.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Please, Deputy. It does not work like that.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Everybody agrees with colocation.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is colocation with the Mater.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, it does not work like that.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The essentials of colocation are there. We did not starve the Rotunda of funding. How dare the Deputy say that? I just opened facilities. There has been investment in the Rotunda. This is an important development.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Minimal investment.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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In our view, the expansion that is required is important for the protection of women and newborn babies. We would have preferred if planning was given. In our view, it was still justified, notwithstanding whatever happened in 2017 in terms of the colocation declaration. All of the medical world believes in colocation.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is colocated with the Mater.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Not physically.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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This afternoon, the Dáil will debate post office closures. Across the country, we see the hollowing-out of our post office network. Government representatives may lament each closure today but the Government has the power to halt and reverse the closure of in-person services.

Take Rathmines, a community in my constituency with a similar population to Drogheda. Having already lost the citizens information centre, now our beloved, iconic 1930s Rathmines post office faces closure, relocation and sale on the private market. This is selling the family silver. The Ministers, Deputies O’Donovan and Chambers, have the power to stop this sale today. We could see our post offices transformed into community hubs for public services like passport and driving licence renewal, keeping people from isolation and bolstering communities.

We are fighting to retain Rathmines post office. We are engaging with An Post, the council, the Rathmines Initiative and others but will those in government ensure that we see the retention of post offices and react to stop their closure?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are working flat out. We have allocated €15 million to support the post office network. We had allocated funding last year and the year before to maintain the post office network. I cannot get into every specific post office, obviously, but generally speaking we are very supportive of the postmasters. We understand the role that post offices play in communities the length and breadth of the country. An Post is fully conscious of Government's desire in this respect.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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The war in the Middle East is spiralling out of control and the impacts are already being felt. Prices for home heating oil have already shot up by 40% which means people having to find an extra €250 or €300 for a 500-litre fill. Who has that kind of money? Gas prices are also skyrocketing within the UK, with the UK recording a 100% increase in wholesale prices in just two days. That is the biggest ever 48-hour increase since records began. We are particularly exposed to these extortionate price rises in this country because we already have one of the highest prices of electricity and energy in the EU. Electricity and gas prices are still 60% to 80% higher than they were before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Government has done nothing to investigate this gouging. When will the Government do more than just talk about the extortionate cost of energy in this country? We have 320,000 people in arrears on their electricity bills and as the war continues things will get much worse.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is no question that people under pressure. We introduced targeted measures in the budget. I do not know whether the Deputy agrees with a targeted approach.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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We want targeted.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We did that in the budget and one of the manifestations of that is the fact that 50,000 people this Thursday will get the fuel allowance who otherwise would not have got it in previous years - those on the working family payment. They will get back pay of about €380 next week but they are getting notification this week on Thursday. We keep everything under review and it is important that we do that. We understand the potential pressures on people. Agreements have already been reached with the company in terms of hardship cases. People will not be disconnected in any shape or form. The exceptional needs payment is there as well for anyone in particular difficulty or in need.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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I am raising the school building needs of Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire in Dublin's north inner city. As the Taoiseach knows, the school had been temporarily located on a site in Parnell Street for 23 years and it is long overdue its move to a new building on Dominick Street. Right now, it is occupying the former DIT building on Cathal Brugha Street. Construction on the new building finally started in 2023 but then building came to a halt in May 2025 due to a contractor issue. It is not fair that the school community has been left in the dark over the status of this new building. The parents, students and staff of this school have been incredibly resilient and they deserve better. When will work resume on the new building? Will the school be able to remain in the temporary premises on Cathal Brugha Street in the meantime? Can this information be provided directly to the school community? That third point is really important.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising what is a really important issue for the community of Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire. I will certainly speak to Minister for education on this. I do not have a clear timeline yet on the issue. Obviously, there was a contractual conflict that resulted in us ending up where we are now. The suspension of works notice issued in May last year and the termination of the contract in July. I will seek clarity from the from the departmental officials and I will ask them to communicate to the Deputy on that.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I have raised Adrigole's public water crisis over 15 times in the last few months. There have been 22 mains water bursts since last July, with three alone last week, leaving local people and businesses without water, including the local crèche. Some were without water for ten days and the crèche had to close. Uisce Éireann is involved in a juggling game with the people of Adrigole, telling me a few weeks ago that works would commence in mid-April but telling other representatives last weekend it will be the end of May. However, an email from Uisce Éireann to me yesterday stated that Adrigole is on schedule for construction to commence in mid-April. The game is constantly juggling around. The local community in Adrigole want the Government's help. They know that as part of the full water replacement works, temporary pipes are to be put in place most likely on a ditch, as happens in other communities - there is no problem there - while the main replacement works continue. The people in Adrigole are pleading for the temporary water pipe to be put in place immediately. They should not need to wait until the job commences in three or four months' time. Uisce Éireann should put the temporary pipe in place immediately and then let it get the other approvals it needs in a couple of months. The temporary pipe needs to be put in now so that people have a water supply and then do the main works in a few months.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Did the Deputy say it was starting in April?

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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No. It promised me. Now it is saying May but it could be June.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy has to correspond differently.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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So, they have no water as it stands.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will engage with Irish Water on this. If it is April well and good. The Deputy is saying it could go back to May. We are now in March so we are not too far away from getting this work done.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yesterday on Taoiseach's Questions, I raised the significant problem of residential care provision for families in Cork. The Taoiseach knows the difficulties facing families and he has met a number of them. I know his office is inundated with requests for help. Unfortunately, particularly in Cork, it seems we are running from crisis to crisis. It seems that respite or residential care is only available for people in those crisis situations. I know the Taoiseach knows this is not a way to run a disability service. I have asked a number of parliamentary questions over the past few weeks and it seems that funding for different disability service providers is very erratic and ad hoc. Sometimes it just rolls over for historical or legacy reasons. I ask the Taoiseach to discuss it with the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, and to commit to a review of how we found our disability service providers particularly in Cork.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are two points there. First, an extra 20% has been allocated for services, some of which is for respite and residential. I have asked for this item to be put on the next agenda for Cabinet subcommittee in respect of accommodation. We need to create a proper sustainable structure linking the providers, the section 39 bodies, the HSE and the local authorities in terms of proper structures and options for families particularly those with adult disabled persons who require accommodation with varying degrees of supports. That is a priority of mine and I am going to focus on that.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to raise the topic of URDF or its successor, the new cities and towns initiative. I welcome the Taoiseach's announcement yesterday that the housing Minister had raised this at Cabinet and that a new round of funding will be provided for populated areas which are in desperate need of it. In my constituency of Kildare North, towns like Leixlip, Celbridge, Maynooth and Naas are all areas which have seen huge population growth in the past 15 years and new housing continues to be built in these areas. This is being done without much State investment in communities or facilities. URDF funding typically had been given to rejuvenate older large towns and I hope this funding is now being directly used for our rapidly growing towns. I acknowledge that this is not just a north Kildare issue but one that our colleagues in Ashbourne, Athy, Oranmore, Bray and Blanchardstown also know about. When will it be introduced? Can we ensure that this initiative will not just be about future housing development areas but also about areas which have had significant development over past five to seven years so that we can ensure that we backfill those areas too?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is opening in the next two weeks. There are no restrictions on where it can be applied or on who can apply, and there never has been, other than the population threshold. Some new developing areas have received it as well as areas where people wanted the rejuvenation of older parts of a city or a town. The Deputy has named so many towns that I would say he would nearly take the budget himself. Under the old URDF if funding was allocated, the local authorities needed to get the work done faster. The Minister is going to apply timelines and if it is not used, we will take it back and use it somewhere else. There was an inordinate length of time to get funding through with the last URDF. This is the new living cities and towns initiative. I have asked the Minister to try to be as flexible as possible on that population threshold but we will see where that ends up.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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Yesterday, I stood outside with paramedics who are protesting over the latest decision by the National Ambulance Service management. Every graduating class since the introduction of the paramedic studies course has seen an automatic move for paramedics from a purpose contract to a permanent contract but that no longer appears to be the case.

It is incredible, given the number of paramedics we need, that the management would now be putting roadblocks in the way of paramedics. It looks like management is saying we have too many paramedics, when in fact we all know we need many more. I am becoming increasingly concerned by some of the decisions being made by the management of the National Ambulance Service, NAS. It is privileging courses. It stopped advanced paramedic training and then reintroduced it. There are serious concerns.

I want to ask the Taoiseach specifically about the 80 fully qualified paramedics and the return to the move to a permanent contract. We need every one of them.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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This issue was raised yesterday. The note I have here states that there will be continued expansion of the front-line workforce of the National Ambulance Service. Plans for 2026 include an additional 263 staff and €20 million in new funding. That will deliver 21 extra crewed ambulances operating at peak demand, four additional intermediate care vehicles and continued development of the clinical hub and alternative care pathways. The HSE has confirmed that full-time permanent contracts are available for all year 3 graduates completing training with the NAS in 2026. These roles include vacancies arising from retirements and promotions, as well as new posts linked to service development under the national service plan.

The graduates have been asked to select their three preferred locations in a region from the available vacancies and every effort will be made to accommodate first preferences.

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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I raise the issue of hedge cutting. I call on the Government to intervene urgently to ensure that the hedge cutting period is extended as soon as possible. I have received a number of calls from agri contractors and farming families who are very concerned. Because of the unprecedented rainfall, things are behind and that is the way it is. In the interests of safety, we should definitely prioritise this. The Association of Farm & Forestry Contractors in Ireland has proposed an extension to 17 March, which I feel is reasonable. It represents 1,200 contractors throughout this country. I am asking for the extension of the hedge cutting period to 17 March.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will talk to the various Ministers. Every year, people look for an extension of deadlines that we already put in. There is a reason they are there, by the way. There are two sides to the story and we need to be conscious of the other side as well. For safety, it has to be done. I will talk to the Ministers to see what the actual position is and get the background to the situation.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I raise the matter of the Fermoy Weir in my constituency of Cork East. As the Taoiseach is no doubt aware, the Fermoy Weir sustained flood damage almost a decade ago, with the increased flow through the breach eroding a section of the structure. The weir is a protected structure and a very important part of Fermoy town. Planning permission for remedial works and the installation of a fish bypass was approved in February 2024. Cork County Council is sourcing funding to commence these works. Given the importance of the weir to both the town of Fermoy and the wider Blackwater region, will the Taoiseach use his good offices to ensure that funding is secured to allow work to proceed? The project has planning approval and consent to begin works but has no designated funding.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue. I was at the weir some years ago and saw the damage done and so forth. It is a huge amenity in a beautiful area. What is the cost? I am not aware of the council having come to me about the issue.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The cost is €6 million and the council is willing to pay €3 million.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy can write to the Taoiseach.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The council is willing to pay €3 million.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are getting close, so. I was going to call it was a drop in the ocean, if you will excuse the pun. I will ask the Minister to engage with the council to see what can be done here. It is important work that has to be done. It has been a long time since that storm damage. We will see what we can do.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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Families in south Kildare are already feeling the effects of the illegal war of the US and Israel against Iran in their pockets. Táimid ag feiceáil cheana féin na héifeachtaí boilscithe de bharr chogadh mídhleathach na Stát Aontaithe agus Iosrael in aghaidh na hIaráine. Tá teaghlaigh i gCill Dara ag aireachtáil an bhrú seo ina bpócaí. Cuireadh ar an eolas mé aréir gur mhéadaigh comhlacht amháin atá lonnaithe i gCill Dara Theas a bpraghas ar líonadh ola faoi €200 thar oíche. Níl aon cheist faoi ach gur praghasfheannadh atá anseo. This is price-gouging, pure and simple. Tá teaghlaigh ag streachailt is muid i lár ghéarchéim chostas maireachtála. Is é ardú mar seo an difríocht idir an teach a théamh nó gan é a théamh. An féidir leis an Taoiseach a insint dom cad a dhéanfaidh a Rialtas chun srian a chur ar na comhlachtaí atá ag déanamh brabúis agus gnáth-theaghlaigh thíos leis? An ndéanfaidh sé athchinneadh ar ardú i gcánacha carbónacha a d’fhágfadh go mbeidh sé níos daora fós do dhaoine a thithe a théamh an bhliain amach romhainn?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Mar a dúirt mé cheana inniu, bhuail an tAire, an Teachta O'Brien, leis na comhlachtaí cheana. Mar aon leis sin, tá an CRU ag déanamh fiosraithe ar an margadh faoi láthair agus go háirithe na praghsanna wholesale go dtí retail. Tá sé sin faoi chaibidil ag an CRU ag an mbabhta seo. Mar aon leis sin, tá an tAire, an Teachta Peter Burke, ag déileáil leis an scéal chomh maith leis na húdaráis a bhaineann le comórtas - the competition authority - chun iad sin a shoiléiriú i dtaobh cad atá ar siúl ag na comhlachtaí éagsúla. Ní cóir d'aon chomhlacht buntáiste a bhaint as an ngéarchéim seo. Is léir go bhfuil roinnt acu á dhéanamh. Beimid sásta aon rud is féidir linn a dhéanamh a dhéanamh.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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We received the local improvement scheme, LIS, allocation of €1.13 million last week. While we welcome the funding, we need a lot more. This funding will just about do for between somewhere between 20 and 25 roads. There are still over 550 roads on the list. We started out with 700 back in 2018.

The local authority has signalled that it could deal with 100 or 120 applications each year if it receives the funding. However, these are not private roads. There is a perception out there that maybe they are, but they are not. They are public roads with as many as 20 users on many of them. Those people are entitled to good roads as much as the people in Dublin 4 are. How are we going to deal with this enormous problem?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thank you, Deputy. Time is up.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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Will the Government give more funding or what?

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Taoiseach to respond.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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These people are entitled to a good road like everyone else.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am reminded that Deputy Timmins was the only Deputy in the House yesterday who said we need to be careful not to think that public expenditure has to increase all the time. We need value for money, too. The Deputy is looking for more money, but we did allocate approximately €1.13 million to Kerry under the LIS. That is the largest amount in a long time and is the highest in the country. All the Deputies in Kerry, the Deputy's colleagues on all fronts and his good self, have been on to us in respect of that.

I am not going to go through the details in Kerry, but the overall allocation was €65 million. About €180 million has been allocated to the LIS since 2017. The need is always there - I get that - but our public expenditure is high and we are continuing to increase and expand. We will review the situation later in the year and see what more we can do.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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This is important. It will take 20 to 24 years to complete.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I raise the urgent need for special classes in Kildare South. Not a day goes by that my office is not inundated with calls from worried parents. One parent called yesterday about twins who need a special class. Thankfully, after 50 phones calls, one of the twins, my constituent's daughter, got a place 10 miles from where they live. However, the other twin, a boy, cannot get a class.

I want to talk about Scoil Bhríde in Suncroft and its principal, Ms Sinéad Harte. She has a room available to go ahead with a special class. In dealing with the Minister and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, I have been told it is a rural location. It is ideally located 5 miles from both Kildare town and Newbridge. I ask the Taoiseach to work with Scoil Bhríde in Suncroft to create a second class, which it was previously promised but which did not go ahead. It is badly needed in Kildare South.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the issue. About 350 special classes have already been sanctioned, which is higher than the number sanctioned last year. That illustrates the need, and bringing the date forward has clarified the extent of the need for the school year beginning next September.

I ask the Deputy to engage with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan. I will alert him to the fact the Deputy has raised this issue. He takes an on-the-ground approach to this. He and the Minister, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, are working flat out on this question.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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Last Friday, figures showed that we have reached the highest level of homelessness in this State's history. We also have the highest number of evictions in this country since the Famine. There are 2,500 children who have been in emergency accommodation for longer than one year. The Taoiseach knows that has a devastating impact on children. Many are in my constituency, Dublin North-West. One mother, Shauna, has been in touch with me. She has four children aged 13, seven, three and one. She is an emergency accommodation and is absolutely desperate. The Taoiseach's new rental measures do not protect existing renters from evictions. Will he put in place an emergency ban on no-fault evictions into homelessness? Will he increase the funding to the tenant in situ scheme to include funding for refurbishment so that councils can actually implement the tenant in situ scheme and prevent homelessness?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I disagree with some of the points the Deputy has made. We have the highest population since the Famine. It went up by 52% since 1995. I am not going to go into all of the reasons and factors that underpin the homelessness situation, but they are quite varied and there are ones we did not have to deal with before. The Minister has a specific initiative in terms of families who are homeless. The most effective way is to build more social housing. We are building more social housing than at any time since the 1970s on a consistent basis.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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I cannot believe the Taoiseach is justifying-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I did not interrupt the Deputy. We are going to continue to do that. That should be acknowledged.

On the latter point on the tenant in situ scheme, some councils were taking that funding to do deep retrofitting, which was never its purpose. It was meant to prevent people from falling into homelessness and we have done that in a lot of cases across the board.

Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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Why punish the-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Interruptions mean other Deputies are deprived.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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A rent or eviction freeze would kill the market. That is what the Deputy wants to do. There will be no supply at all and it will make the situation even worse.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy Malcolm Byrne is on his feet.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The current and previous Governments rightly committed to investment in the arts, including significant increases in funding to the Arts Council and expanding the basic income for the arts scheme. Indeed, the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, is to proceed with the arts capital programme later this year. I want to raise the question of funding for amateur theatre and musical movements around the country. After the GAA, there are more people involved in amateur theatre and musicals than in any other voluntary activity. In my constituency, the Kilmuckridge Drama Festival recently took place and the South Leinster Drama Festival and the South Wicklow Drama Festival will also open soon. During Covid, we provided funding to those organisations. Can we commit to some sort of regular funding? Will the Taoiseach raise this with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, who I know is aware of the issue? We need to fund those organisations that support amateur theatre and musicals right around the country.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will indeed, but the Deputy should declare a conflict of interest given his annual performances. I believe he was in the pantomime this year. People will say he is forever in the pantomime in Dáil Éireann and so on, but he is one of the great pantomime performers. Alan Corcoran on the local radio station in Wexford has spoken volumes about the Deputy's genuine acting ability in theatre, and he has been a great participant in amateur drama. Amateur drama is very often the pipeline for future talent to emerge. It is a wonderful part of the Irish story and tradition.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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That is a compliment.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, it is a compliment. Our tradition of storytelling is part of the Irish story and we do it particularly well as a nation and a people. There are towns around the country that excel in amateur drama, Wexford being one. I think of Rossmore in west Cork, for example, and many others where there are decades-long generational commitments to amateur drama.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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A glowing reference.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will be happy to raise that with the Minister.

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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In my role as Chair of the Committee on Transport, I again want to highlight the road safety crisis on Irish roads. Already this year, 28 precious lives have been lost and 190 lives were lost last year. Of course, behind every one of those statistics are a family and community devastated. I believe this to be a profound failure of our road safety strategy. I do not think the issues can be addressed by a single Department. Matters like enforcement, court processes, emergency responses and legislative reform intersect with many different Departments. Committees are in existence, but such is the crisis that I ask the Taoiseach to give consideration to the establishment of a full Cabinet subcommittee on road safety, given that the issues intersect multiple Departments.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. There are too many deaths on our roads. We do not have the figures for how this year will look, but we have already had too many deaths in the first two or three months of the year. I will give consideration to the Deputy's suggestion. The Minister for Transport comes before various Cabinet subcommittees. We have quite a number of them. I take the Deputy's point on road safety and will revert to him. I will give consideration to it.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I have been contacted by dozens of parents of children attending St. Mary's Boys National School in Lucan. The school has been approved for a project to deliver four mainstream classrooms, five special education rooms and the repurposing of an existing space. Overall, this is welcome. However, parents have raised concerns with me that this will take a section of the school's playing pitch. As the Taoiseach knows, green space is vitally important to our young people. The school has submitted an alternative application that would see an existing prefab being replaced and all special classes integrated into a single modular building. This would be more streamlined and cost-effective, but crucially, it would save the school's pitch. The Department has informed me that it would not be able take this into consideration at this time. Sometimes bureaucracy gets in the way of a common-sense and even cost-effective approach. Will the Taoiseach speak to the Department and ask it to consider this alternative, common-sense approach?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I cannot get into the details of every specific school project but I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue in respect of St. Mary's in Lucan. I do not know why the Department cannot accommodate the alternative proposal. What is important is that the project is completed. Sometimes deliberations can slow the process down. I understand the importance of the playing pitch. Physical education is as important as intellectual and academic education. We have to be healthy in mind and body and playing pitches facilitate that. I will speak to the Minister.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Paramedics employed by the National Ambulance Service work above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis. Going out to work, they never know what difficulty or tragedy they may face. They undergo intensive training to qualify. This involves college, on-the-job training and a degree-level academic qualification. Successful qualification came with a commitment by the HSE of a permanent contract of employment. That commitment was reiterated to the current 76 trainees in an email which stated that a permanent contract will start from 29 December 2025 when results are received. Despite what is in the Taoiseach's briefing note, the HSE has now reneged on that commitment and paramedics have been told they must interview for their posts. This is a serious breach of trust by the HSE. I ask the Taoiseach to intervene to ensure these 76 trainees get permanent contracts of employment.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It seems I have got to the bottom of this in terms of the note. What has been said is not accurate. The HSE has confirmed that full-time permanent contracts are available for all year 3 graduates completing training with the National Ambulance Service, NAS. That is the case. To ensure a fair and transparent allocation of posts, graduates have been asked to apply through a confined internal competition. This is exactly how things operate in other parts of the health service, including for graduate nurses. Graduates have been asked to select their three preferred locations in a region from the available vacancies and every effort will be made to accommodate first preferences. However, where a vacancy is oversubscribed, the process being implemented will ensure a fair and equitable selection process has been established to allocate roles.

It seems to me that this has been overstated. Everyone is going to get a job.