Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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It seems that there is no end to RTÉ's sense of entitlement in its attitude to the spending of public money or to the lack of oversight in that regard by the Government. This morning, I read that since 2021, the State broadcaster has splashed out - get this - €230,000 on limousine rides for celebrities, dignitaries and presenters. These are not to be confused with common or garden taxis. It spends hundreds of thousands of additional money on those. What is going on? How is it in any way appropriate for this type of money to be blown on luxury limousines, including Mercedes V class, BMW 7 series, etc. We see that kind of expenditure at a time when everyone is struggling and after RTÉ was bailed out. The promise of that bailout was that there would be prudent, appropriate, moderate investment-----

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

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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-----of taxpayers' money.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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In the first instance, the Government has sanctioned legislation to ensure RTÉ comes under the aegis of the Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General. That will give the Oireachtas a specific mechanism to hold RTÉ to account regarding the types of expenditure the Deputy has just described. It is for RTÉ to account for that. The Government does not run RTÉ. We allocate funding, principally for balanced public service broadcasting, because it is the national State broadcaster, but the Government does not in any shape or form defend any excessive or unnecessary expenditure of the type the Deputy outlined.

Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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On "Prime Time" last night, Sharon Clarken spoke with extraordinary dignity about the life-long impact of thalidomide on survivors and their families. More than 64 years since the drug thalidomide was withdrawn, survivors are still waiting for justice from the State. Many are now in their 60s and 70s and are living with complex medical needs. Parents, in particular mothers who took thalidomide, have died waiting for closure. I think of survivors like the late Jacqui Browne, who died just last year. Still, there has been no formal State apology.

The Taoiseach is aware of the issues and has expressed strong words of sympathy for survivors, but that is not enough. There is no legal barrier preventing a formal State apology, a proper compensation and support scheme reflecting care needs of survivors and a clear timeline in order that no one else dies waiting for justice. After last night's "Prime Time" programme, how much longer must thalidomide survivors wait for justice?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Tánaiste and I have met the Irish Thalidomide Association four times over the past eight months. All of the meetings were cordial and positive. We are anxious to get things moving. We have provided comprehensively and substantively in respect of issues relating to health needs for the entirety of the lives of people impacted by thalidomide and in terms of independent living and any supports that are required in that respect. There have been ongoing issues in terms of how we deal with the Contergan situation. There are other aspects that have been positively progressed. We are anxious, on the Government side, to progress this as speedily as possible. I can assure the Deputy of that.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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Yet another damning report from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, today that shows the Government is utterly failing to reduce emissions by the amount it committed to. For something that Taoiseach claims is an existential crisis, it is incredible how poorly his Government is at dealing with it. The EPA report makes clear that, at absolute best, the Government is on track to make 50% of the emissions reductions to which it has committed. That could cost us hugely. It is estimated that it could cost us up to €28 billion in European fines. I know the Taoiseach firmly does not believe that Europe is going to fine us that amount of money. In the absence of any information from Europe or any evidence to support his claim, however, that is a really high-risk strategy he is taking. In actual fact, he is playing chicken with the EU and that could cost us dearly environmentally, socially and other in other ways.

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

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I outlined earlier in my comments to Deputy Bacik that the Government and Irish society have made significant progress. The target of 51% is very challenging, but we have made a hell of a lot of progress in onshore wind, which has been quite dramatic. In April, the third month in a row, onshore wind represented 50% of electricity generation here. Solar is really moving at pace now and, from all we can see, will continue to do so. It went from zero to replace coal as the third highest source of indigenous generation in less than a decade. I could go on. I mentioned the 1 million extra homes. It is important that we are all honest. Every day in the House - I am not referring to Deputy Whitmore because she is committed and consistent-----

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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It is the EPA saying this, not me.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Let us understand and acknowledge the challenges. Wind farms are objected to and are a source of huge issues across the length and breadth of the country. Solar farms are now becoming a significant issue that people are not happy with.

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

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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People are against gas generation stations as well-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I ask all Members to respect each other's time. Time is up Taoiseach.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and the bottom line is we cannot switch on lights if we do not have more and more renewables. The consensus is not out there in relation to that in society more generally.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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Should hundreds of people lose their peace and quiet in order for a cup of coffee to be flown over them and delivered to a particular person? This week has seen major setbacks for commercial fast-food drone delivery in Dublin West and Cork. In Dublin West, Fingal County Council refused retention of operation for Manna at its base in Coolmine. Many submissions were made by residents. This was the second base from which Manna had no permission to operate. In the Taoiseach's city, where a hub was established without permission, the council has sent an enforcement letter to the same company. A unanimous motion has been passed by Councillor Brian McCarthy of Solidarity Party-People Before Profit in Cork, calling for a review of the impact of drones on the environment. The Irish Aviation Authority has dropped some of the restrictions it had on drones. Is it not time to outlaw the delivery of fast food by commercial drones in residential areas? The nuisance that they cause and the impact they have is way beyond the necessity for them.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is a challenge and a problem here in terms of the regulatory frameworks governing what is a new phenomenon of drones providing services like delivering coffee or whatever else to people in residential areas. I do not understand why people cannot just go to a café, socialise and so on or why people think a drone is necessary to deliver a cup of coffee or whatever. It is something I do not comprehend, and I do not think needs to happen.

There is a big issue here. Residents are concerned about residential amenity in terms of noise and about potential privacy concerns. On the other hand, drone technology has probably been one of the fastest growing technologies, which we cannot ignore either. Companies are developing the technology for all sorts of applications. We want to see that develop, but we do need to protect our neighbourhoods. The planning authorities-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Thank you, Taoiseach. Time is up and we have to stick to it.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and the Irish Aviation Authority need to come together on this. I have asked Ministers to work on it.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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We need to respect the time.

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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Under the previous Minister for Health, third-party insourcing was introduced and used by the HSE to reduce waiting lists and carry out additional procedures in public hospitals outside normal hours. Now, providers are being told the system will come to an end in June, despite no alternative plans being published. At the same time, the numbers on waiting lists have surged to 155,000 since December 2024. More than 126,000 people are now waiting for treatments and diagnosis. What is difficult for patients in my constituency to understand is that over the past 27 months, insourcing delivered more than 500,000 episodes of care for around €90 million while outsourcing has cost €500 million for 157,000 episodes of care. As a former Minister of Health, does the Taoiseach accept that the Government is moving away from the more cost-effective tools available to it in the context of reducing waiting lists? Will he intervene with the Minister?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are fundamental issues with the insourcing model as it evolved. We are talking about people working in tertiary public hospitals who are being paid already. There are issues of which we have to be very conscious in terms of making sure that we are not paying twice for the same procedures or services. There have to be clear lines of demarcation. We are always open to engaging with perspectives people may have on this, but certainly there was a significant hue and cry about this when the scale of it was revealed. It has caused concerns. Then the HSE investigated some aspects of it and some of what it came up with was not ideal at all or optimal in terms of how we should deploy public resources.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I am sure the Taoiseach will join with me in wishing the tens of thousands who are going to sitting State exams next week well. As we come towards the end of the school year, we must express our gratitude to school communities for all the work they do. School caretakers and secretaries are an essential part of those school communities. In September of last year, that they were forced to take to the picket lines. None of them wanted to be there. I would be grateful if the Taoiseach could provide an update regarding progress on resolving the dispute with school caretakers and secretaries and to convey our thanks to them for the work they do within our schools.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I was almost wishing the leaving certificate upon us given the very tough, wet winter we had. I said that surely when the leaving certificate comes around we would get good weather. Lo and behold, we have scorching weather, which is unfortunate for the students involved. It seems to be the case every year that there is a burst of sunshine at this time. I hope it will create a good backdrop to what is a very significant exam for the students. We wish them well. The good news is that there are many routes to help them get to their desired qualifications and careers.

On the school caretakers and secretaries, that matter is being dealt with by the labour relations machinery at the moment. I have been discussing it with the Minister, Deputy Chambers. I pay tribute to school secretaries and caretakers. They are an indispensable cog in the wheel of how schools operate. I accept what the Deputy is saying. The objective is to have this resolved before the commencement of the next school year. Hopefully, it will be resolved long before then.

Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The issue I want raise is the need for sporting infrastructure. Last week, I met with GAA members who were working on the No One Shouted Stop Until Now report, which focuses on Ireland's demographic shift in the past few decades and the response to it. Key findings in the report included that just 50 clubs out of the 2,200 clubs in the island of Ireland account for 25% of all zero to five-year-olds. That is startling. Just six counties are home to more than half of all zero to five-year-olds on the island of Ireland; my county of Kildare is one. The majority of GAA clubs remain rural, with 78% in areas where populations are shrinking. Like me, the Taoiseach is a keen follower of the GAA, but this also impacts hugely on other sports such as rugby and football, which face similar statistical and demographic shifts.

My ask today is that we work through planning and infrastructure to secure zoning, development levies and funding for multisport facilities such as Kerdiffstown in north Kildare, in order to address demographic shifts and allow for more sporting facilities.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I would be a very enthusiastic supporter of what the Deputy has articulated in respect of more facilities. Local authorities have a key role in the zoning of land and the designation of lands. We were fortunate in Cork city over the years that successive city councils and city CEOs saw the value of land for playing pitches.

I have always contrasted that with the Dublin experience, which I find, frankly, poor in terms of the length of lease it gives clubs and the capacity of clubs to develop their facilities, and State agencies likewise. I will not go too far but the bottom line is we were fortunate in the sense that, outside of Dublin, many clubs had 100-year leases or own the land. I would be in favour of making sure that more councils look after clubs of all codes and community facilities.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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I have raised a number of times over the years the capacity issues faced by University Hospital Limerick. The huge number of people on trolleys remains unacceptably high. One of the impacts of that is the number of outpatients waiting excessive amounts of time for appointments: 3,244 people have been on outpatient waiting lists for more than 12 months, with 981 of those waiting over 18 months for an appointment.

Something that could be done to reduce these numbers is the opening of the new surgical hub at the site of the old Scoil Carmel. That was scheduled to open this month but has now been delayed until the end of the year. Not only is it being delayed, but it will now receive only 50% of the funding it requires to operate properly, making it difficult to complete the 20,000 annual procedures that had been planned for. I welcome the new surgical hub regardless of whether it is delayed, but why is the funding being cut when the Government is fully aware of the crisis in emergency care at University Hospital Limerick?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Overall, funding is increasing in health and continues to increase dramatically and exponentially, certainly for the past five years.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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The Government has cut it.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Limerick surgical hub is expected to be operational in quarter 4 of this year. Medical assessment units are extending services. Opening hours have been extended from 8 a.m. until midnight in Ennis and Nenagh hospitals. Overall, significant progress is being made in the HSE Mid West region on both waiting lists and waiting times. Compared to December 2021, the April 2026 total waiting list in HSE Mid West has reduced by 12%. The average length of time that patients on lists have been waiting has also reduced from 15 months to 6.3 months in the same period. There are challenges but increased capacity will help. As we discussed earlier, the contract has been signed for the next 90-bed block.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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Yes, but the Government is opening a new hub that-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I call Deputy Cathal Crowe.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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There was a recent landmark An Coimisiún Pleanála ruling relating to the Ballycar wind farm in County Clare. The argument centred on whether building the wind farm proximate to a radar installation would make the radar unsafe. It was argued that the flicker - the turning of the turbine blades - would distort the radar and make aviation unsafe. Key to that case were the Irish Aviation Authority, AirNav Ireland and Shannon Airport. They all weighed in objecting to this and it was ultimately proven that it would be unsafe. That was the decision of An Coimisiún Pleanála. There is now a health and safety onus and a moral obligation to ensure that land proximate to wind turbines is dezoned from wind energy to safeguard key national radar infrastructure.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am not aware of the specifics of that case. It seems a fairly unusual one in terms of the interaction of a potential wind farm with radar. Normally, the aviation authority has a role in housing, for example, close to an airport, which I would be familiar with. It is difficult to understand how things got to the stage they got to. An Coimisiún Pleanála has made its decision but I am not sure it would have as wide an impact across the country as it has had in the specific circumstance the Deputy raised.

Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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This morning, the EPA stated that Ireland was going to dramatically fail to meet its 2030 legally binding climate targets. This failure by the Government will have major financial consequences for Ireland, with fines running into billions of euro to be imposed by the European Union. Listening to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, on the radio and listening to the Taoiseach in response to Deputy Bacik, you would swear this morning's announcement was actually good news - the Government patting itself on the back because it is only going to fail the first carbon budget by a small amount; delighted with itself that the link between emissions and growth is broken, even though plenty of European countries did that ages ago; listing past growth in renewable energy, even though that was led by Green Party policies; and entirely ignoring the fact that its climate action plan is five months behind schedule. I have a serious question: does this morning's announcement that we are so far off target cause the Taoiseach any concern whatsoever?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy should not be condemning himself so much. It is only 16 months that this Government has been in place. The idea that we are not getting to 50% because of the past 16 months is nonsense. The Deputy must know that. Policies take a lot of time to bed in and deliver. The last Government did a lot, including Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens. The Green Party does not have a monopoly on climate. What is the Deputy saying? Is it that what happened when he was in government was not sufficient? He cannot blame the last 16 months for where we are. We have made progress. The targets are significantly challenging. The Deputy knows that - he always knew it. His former leader always knew it as well, so let us have a bit of realism here. The Deputy cannot just say that because his party lost the election, suddenly everything has gone south in terms of environmental and climate policy. It has not. One of the challenges is you need to work with people, not browbeat them, lecture them and hector them into climate change. That is one of the challenges. It is a concerning issue but we have made progress. Our population has grown dramatically. The Deputy should acknowledge that, too.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The assessment of need system has not been working. That system has not served children with additional needs or their families. I sincerely hope that the new autism assessment system works. Much faster access to assessment is essential, and follow-up therapies if needed. Time and again I have highlighted in this Chamber, through parliamentary questions and written representations, the unacceptable delays in children with additional needs in Cavan and Monaghan accessing therapies. Parents waiting for therapies for their children are justifiably angry and frustrated at the lack of timely supports and interventions. Enable Ireland provides the children's disability network team in County Cavan. Historically, there have been staff shortages there, impacting severely on children who need supports. Parents on limited incomes are paying for private provision, another source of pressure on them. Staff shortages in therapists across Cavan and Monaghan need to be prioritised by the HSE for urgent attention. Those families cannot continue to wait and wait.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I know he has been advocating strongly on behalf of children and families in Cavan-Monaghan. Those counties have been facing some of the longest waits in the country for children's therapies. The root cause of that has been a chronic staffing deficit. At the Deputy's instigation, the Minister, Deputy Foley, visited the region recently and acknowledged directly that the system was not serving children and families as it should. However, there is a national recruitment campaign. Since 2020, about 40 therapists have been recruited in Cavan and Monaghan, bringing the total to 117. The national children's disability network team, CDNT, recruitment campaign attracted over 500 applications. Appointments are actively being progressed and staffing has increased by 28% nationally. That is about 448 additional whole-time equivalents. Waiting lists are coming down. The Minister is also changing the modus operandi in terms of how things will be done.

Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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It is three months since the Social Democrats' GP plan was unanimously passed by the Dáil, yet we are still waiting on the Government to progress any real reform of GP services. The strategic review of general practice was to conclude within nine months but it has now taken over three years. The minimal changes introduced in recent years fall far short. Take for example the social deprivation practice grant, which was reformed earlier this year. Under the new grant, none of the Dublin inner city practices in the Deep End Ireland group, which represents GPs working in the most disadvantaged communities, received the social deprivation grant. That includes Summerhill Family Practice. How can ending their grant funding be justified? Clearly, the new system is not working, yet the Minister for Health does not plan on doing anything about it until the end of the year, when there will be a look-back exercise. Why is the Minister waiting to look back when she knows there is a problem right now? Will the Taoiseach urgently ensure that all practices in socially deprived areas receive the grant that was designed to support them? Will he tell us exactly when the never-ending strategic review of general practice will be finished?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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First of all, there has been very significant investment in GP services, significant increases in recruitment and additional placements and positions in our third level colleges.

Parallel with that, there has also been the expansion of pharmacy in its role in primary care, which should not be dismissed either. I would argue that a lot of investment under the various negotiations have occurred in respect of primary care and particularly in terms of GP care.

Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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The social deprivation issue, Taoiseach.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am going to come back to the Deputy on that. I will talk to the Minister in respect of that specific issue but the idea that there has not been investment or significant resources allocated to GPs needs to be questioned.

Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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The strategic review of GP-----

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Please, Deputy.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is happening.

Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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It has been happening for years.

Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I want to raise the issue of the residential zoned land tax and how it applies to county councils. Councils were originally led to believe that they would not have to pay this tax. In Wicklow in the past year, the council paid €1 million in residential zoned land tax, which impacts on reducing services in County Wicklow. This does not work correctly because it penalises forward-looking councils like Wicklow that purchased land and had lands zoned. They are now being penalised for doing that. I ask that this be reviewed. Councils were originally told that it would not apply to them. I ask that the residential zoned land tax be abolished for county councils because it is encouraging them not to purchase land and not to hit their housing targets. It contradicts everything we are trying to do to improve housing.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to have a look at that issue and to give some background information to the Deputy in respect of it.

Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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Family resource centres are a lifeline for many families and individuals and right now they are helping people to bear the brunt of the multiple crises we are facing such as fuel, housing, cost of living, childcare and mental health. They are at the coalface. They provide vital supports, and they also contribute to the public good through social cohesion. They ensure that childhood continues, needs are met and communities remain connected, resilient and thriving.

Dundrum, Hillview and Balally family resource centres, FRCs, do the most incredible work in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown, but it is so disheartening to hear of the pressure they are put under in delivering what they do. We have to increase core funding because, at the moment, core funding for FRCs is at €180,000 per annum and that is intended to support three staff and overheads. It is not enough and will not prove sustainable for many centres. Some 70% of FRCs have reported that running costs have increased by at least 10% over the past two years. Will the Taoiseach commit to an appropriate increase in FRC core funding so that the wonderful FRCs around our country, like Hillview, Balally and Rosemount, can continue to deliver?

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have been a lifetime advocate for family resource centres and, in government, Fianna Fáil has always been very supportive of them. That is why we approved in the last budget ten new family resource centres. The Minister also levelled up certain family resource centres because there were different levels of core funding to different centres. I will talk to the Minister to see what we can do in the forthcoming Estimate in the context of the core grant to such resource centres because I do believe that they provide a very strong, multidisciplinary and holistic facility and service to communities and families.

Micheál Carrigy (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I want to raise the issue of the lack of services for rail commuters from Longford travelling to Dublin. In the evening time in particular, there are only three trains - 4.50 p.m., 5.50 p.m. and 6.57 p.m. - that service Longford and beyond. There is no rail service from Longford to Sligo after 7 p.m. We have a growing number of commuters travelling to Dublin. We want to take cars off the road, but that means we need to put services place. However, when I contact Irish Rail, it acknowledges that it is purchasing 285 new carriages for the greater Dublin area. We need to look at investment across the entire network. If we are going to look for more people to use public transport, we need to put those services in place. On that route in particular, there is no service beyond Mullingar for the rest of the north west of Ireland after 7 p.m.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will engage with Iarnród Éireann on this. A lot of expansion is happening and there are a lot of costs attached to it, investment required and so on like that. On the specifics of what the Deputy has raised, I will communicate to Iarnród Éireann his concerns in terms of the lack of frequency of such services.

Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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I know that the Taoiseach is familiar with those who suffer from Friedreich's ataxia, as it has been raised with him in recent weeks. It is now nearly 700 days and the HSE has still not made a decision on the reimbursement for the drug Skyclarys. Other EU citizens are receiving this transformational drug thanks to support from their governments. Why are the HSE and Irish Government not supporting Irish citizens who urgently need it?

At the start of the year, a group of young adults came to the Dáil to tell Members about their ordeal and what they were going through. Emily Felix was one of those people. At the time, she only needed one person to help her. Now, she needs two. I spoke to Emily's mother last night. She and her family feel helpless. The Minister will not meet with them and they are receiving only generic replies. I ask the Taoiseach to intervene and request that the Minister meet with these families and those who are suffering. I cannot stress enough how time sensitive this is.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I fully accept the urgency and seriousness of this for those who require Skyclarys. The engagement between the HSE and the company has perhaps at times been problematic. When I saw "problematic", delays have taken place, but meetings did happen. I will talk to the Minister again to see if we can get an outcome to this as quickly as we possibly can for all concerned.

Natasha Newsome Drennan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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They cannot wait any longer. They need it. It is criminal.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I want to raise with the Taoiseach the urgent need for approval for Newtown School in Waterford to proceed with tender and construction for a new school building. The school has served Waterford for over two centuries. It entered the free education scheme in 2014 when it agreed to expand to accommodate 600 students funded by the Department. The old building, Wyse house, on the site is in urgent need of emergency works and a new development is needed to accommodate the growing student numbers.

To be fair, the school contacted all TDs asking us to raise this issue. It asks that the Government prioritises the development project, which includes moving this to tender and construction, but it also asks for emergency funding to deal with the state of the building at the moment where it needs to be improved. I know it is something that the Taoiseach can raise with the Minister for education.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I think I was at the site some time back, albeit not when the school was operational. It was a private school for many years and came over to the public system in 2012. It is an historic listed building. It is my understanding that modular provision has been made. I am getting a lot of prompts from behind me from the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who is very familiar with the issue as well. It is an historic building and in fairness to the community there, it provides a significant contribution to education. The modular buildings will hopefully deal with the interim requirements, but I take the Deputy's overall point in terms of a new school building.

Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Does the Taoiseach agree that the racing of the horse-drawn vehicles called sulkies on public roads is completely unacceptable? It is incredible to think that, under existing road traffic legislation, in particular section 74 of the Roads Act 1993, it is allowed for under certain circumstances. I am engaging with the Department of Transport in my role as Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport on the heads of the road traffic Bill, which are due to be presented to the Government before the summer recess. There is an opportunity to address that and to amend section 74 of the 1993 Act. I have also written to the Ministers for justice, agriculture and Transport for the establishment of a working group that would also look at issues around minimum age, licensing and the regulatory framework. There is no minimum age for driving a horse-drawn vehicle, so I would appreciate the Taoiseach's support in terms of amending section 74 of the Act and the establishment of the working group.

Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Broadly speaking, I favour what the Deputy says in terms of a proper regulatory framework. In many instances, established practices and existing laws have not been comprehensive enough to deal with all of the issues relating to road safety, including the general safety of people, and there are also the issues of equine welfare and animal welfare concerns. The welfare of equines is protected by legislation. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to build on existing inspectorate supports across the country, ensuring a consistent approach to dealing with horse welfare. I understand that correspondence has been exchanged this week between the Ministers for agriculture, Transport and justice with a view to arranging an initial scoping meeting at official level. That is the first positive step in this, and we will bring the three Ministers and their Departments together to get moving on this.