Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Before the ambassador of Luxembourg leaves, I acknowledge her presence in the Chamber. It is wonderful to have her here. I know the national day of Luxembourg is next Sunday and it is great to have the ambassador here in the Chamber this morning.

I will follow on the theme raised by another Senator regarding presentations made yesterday in the audiovisual room by principals on the issues they face. Primary school principals are a really important part of our society. As a father of schoolgoing kids, I know there is a huge difference in the 1980s school model compared with where we are today. Today's model is really inclusive and friendly. Kids get up in the morning and want to go to school. They are not worried about getting a belt from their teacher anymore. They are worried about who they are going to meet and how are they going to evolve and interact with the school itself.

There is an issue on core funding that needs to be looked at. The issue is about trying to make sure this inclusive model, of which we are all supportive, gets enough funding to make sure the school can work. Assessments are very important, as is data collection. It was great to see teachers from all over Ireland at the briefing. It was great to see Mr. McCarthy, a teacher from Kilmeen in west Cork. His school is another that leads by example in west Cork. It is important that we look at the budget regarding core funding, particularly access to assessments.

Another issue I wish to raise is that of where we are going with our housing policy. There is significant news out there on how our housing policy has really moved forward in the past few months. In the past five months in particular we have seen a huge increase in commencement notices. The data I received is quite amazing. In Cork city and county there were 3,589 commencements in 2023, but in the first five months of this year we are up to 5,246. That is an increase of more than 1,600 commencements in the first five months of this year compared with the entire of last year. This shows we are on a really good trajectory to reach our 50,000 target that has been talked about and was dismissed by some commentators. We all know housing is a really important issue. It is an issue for grandparents and for society. Everyone wants to get on the housing ladder. We need to make sure we have the ability to make sure everyone in society is housed.This is a really positive story. It shows the progression of the housing policy, how it is delivering and how the figures have absolutely exploded, in particular in the last five months.