This month the Land Development Agency announced its latest cost-rental homes. These include one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments in Citywest here in Dublin. The rents range from almost €1,400 a month for a one-bedroom apartment to €1,800 a month for a three-bedroom one.

Under the rules of the cost-rental scheme, prospective tenants would need a gross income of €75,000 to access the one-bed and as high as €100,000 to access the three-bed. This means the thousands of people who earn too much to be eligible for social housing but less than €75,000 or €100,000 per year are effectively locked out of affordable cost rental. Cost rental must be affordable. That was always the policy of the Minister's party. Does he accept the rents being charged for these LDA apartments are not affordable, particularly for those who need them most? What will the Government do to bring down the cost of these rents?

One of the things the Government did was introduce the cost-rental equity loan scheme, recognising the high interest rate environment has changed the figures for cost rental regarding new building developments. We introduced that as a deliberate mechanism to support AHBs, in particular, to help reduce the cost. Cost rental is a fundamental and radical shift the Green Party in opposition committed to six or seven years ago and is now delivering in government. The key figure is the percentage reduction below the market rates. The other key characteristic of the cost-rental system is it is in the market. It is public and social housing but it is in the market. The critical thing is it brings overall market rents down by being in that market.

Are these rents affordable?

It is really difficult with the high interest rates. The Deputy could promise and not be able to deliver this magic money tree alternative.

Are they affordable, yes or no?

I welcome to the Public Gallery representatives from Helping Irish Hosts, the Irish Red Cross, Ukraine Civic Society Forum and Ukrainian Action in Ireland. I thank Helping Irish Hosts and the Irish Red Cross for providing a positive and uplifting briefing this morning which I had the honour of chairing. I thank colleagues from across the House who came along to the audiovisual room. We heard there are over 21,000 Ukrainians staying with Irish hosts, that 25% of displaced Ukrainians are in host accommodation and pledged properties across the country and that there has been a positive experience for those who have provided host accommodation and guests who have stayed there.

The Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, may respond on this. We were asked to ensure there are sufficient supports for the hosts and guests and, in particular, we were asked what is the long-term plan beyond the expiration of the temporary protection directive in March 2025. Can we widen the accommodation recognition payment to other programme refugees?

I have asked to meet Helping Irish Hosts to engage with and hear from its representatives directly. I welcome the huge support it has provided. A substantial proportion of Ukrainians living in Ireland are living in homes around the country and it has been a valuable support to the Government. I would be supportive of looking at the model used there in other areas, perhaps the Irish refugee protection programme or even people in international protection with status. There are options there. It has worked well. That would involve changing the legislation.

Ireland will be guided by and work in lockstep with the rest of Europe in terms of what happens on the expiration of the temporary protection directive. We need to know the European-wide approach before making decisions, but it will be a key consideration.

A review of our abortion law was concluded by Marie O’Shea nine months ago. Her report could not have been clearer. Among the recommendations she made was that the mandatory three-day waiting period be removed, the threatened criminalisation of doctors ended and far more clarity given on providing abortion in cases of foetal abnormalities. Instead of acting on the report, the Government kicked it over to the health committee. That committee sent a report back to Government before Christmas recommending it proceed with all the recommendations, but nothing has happened. Why? Women waited long enough for abortion services in this country. There is no reason we should wait any longer for much-needed improvements to the law. Women do not want condescending barriers to healthcare baked into the legislation or to have to travel abroad for healthcare, particularly in traumatic times, and no one wants their doctor to work under the threat of criminal sanction. The Government should not want any of that either. When will it amend the law?

I disagree with the assessment the Government kicked it off to the Oireachtas committee. The committee, in response to the citizens’ assembly report on repealing the eighth and in this instance, was the right place to assess, analyse and come to Government with recommendations of the report, which, as the Deputy said, it did in December, only last month. The Government will respond quickly and follow through as appropriate. The Oireachtas committee was the right place to place that. The Government will respond and follow up on the recommendations.

Three hundred and sixty-four jobs are due to be cut at VMware in Ballincollig, Cork city, in the near future, possibly as early as next month. I expect this to have a big impact on what, for want of a better phrase, I will call the tech ecosystem in Cork. It will have considerable knock-on effects. The Minister for enterprise, Deputy Coveney, and IDA Ireland need to make replacement investment and replacement jobs a top priority. Will the Minister tell the House what steps have been taken and what, if anything, has been achieved on this front? It is a key question for Ballincollig and for hundreds of workers with mortgages and families.

I am not aware of the steps but understand from the Deputy's question that the loss of the jobs has not occurred yet. I will follow up with the Minister, Deputy Coveney. In any instance of a large lay-off, redundancy or other arrangement, for example Tara Mines or a range of recent examples back through the years, this and any government works on a partnership basis and acts locally to try to get IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and other agencies involved to provide employment. I do not have the details of the case but will pursue it with the Minister.

We will be watching very closely.

Last week the Taoiseach indicated he is keen to invest in Waterford Airport. Of course, we have been here before. Few will forget the €25 million of Government money approved by the last Fine Gael-Green Party coalition in 2007 for the runway extension in the airport. This promise turned to dust in the last days of the Celtic tiger. There is once again strong optimism in the south-east region that the runway might commence this summer. It appears it needs only approval from the Minister’s Department to make it happen and begin in the coming weeks.

Many of us recall a proud Cork Taoiseach cutting the cake at the opening of the Cork runway extension project in the early days of this Government, a model example of a project swiftly approved and completed. The Minister is examining the business case with all due haste, it appears. I ask him to provide a timeline. More importantly, does he share the Taoiseach's keenness for investment in this project?

I do not have a timeline and do not have a business case but we will review that when it comes in. We have seen significant increases in demand in Irish airports and have a dense network of airports providing international services compared to other countries. We have seen significant increases in Cork, Dublin, Shannon – all the airports, in effect. That makes a business case difficult in terms of where the further market is or how that would work, but I do not have a timeline and do not have a business case.

On a point of order, it is my understanding the Minister does have a business case. I would like him to clarify that.

No, not to my understanding.

I welcome our colleagues from BIPA, as a member of BIPA.

It's a long way to Tipperary. I spoke to the Minister the other evening and he told me he was progressing the bypass for Tipperary town and would love to come. I ask him on the floor of the Dáil to tar suas go dtí Tiobraid Árainn, come to Tipperary and meet the different groups there to get a better understanding of how the town is choked and business and ordinary living are difficult with trucks going through the town constantly. I appeal to him to come down and meet with the public representatives, the social groups and the task force that is doing so much work. We had two setbacks last week. The town needs a bypass to thrive and to be able to live again.

I say to the Deputy what I said to him the other day. I look forward to going down to Tipperary town, a town I know well and one that needs a bypass. This is a complicated and controversial issue. Many Deputies have concerns about what roads we need to advance quickest. I have said publicly and in this House on many occasions our bypasses are the critical next investment we need to make. The likes of Tipperary town have 30% vacancy on the main street. Beautiful 19th-century market towns should be the centre of town centre first and of new urban regeneration.

It is not just Tipperary town, and we could go around the country to Virginia, County Cavan, where I was last month, Carrick-on-Shannon or Stranorlar and Ballybofey in Donegal.

What about Tralee?

What about south Tipperary?

I have been to every single council. What they were saying, and I agree, is that we need to protect our market towns and invest in them by taking out the through traffic. I will commit to making sure that happens in Tipperary as fast as anywhere else.

Like many parts of the country, there were severe power outages in Leitrim following Storm Isha. While most parts of the country had power restored in a day or two, some parts of Leitrim, particularly around Ballinamore, Cloone, Fenagh and much of south Leitrim, did not see power restored for six to seven days because of the complete neglect of maintenance and adherence to proper planning in our forests. We have planting beside power lines and under power lines, with sally trees toppling over and taking down the wires. There is complete chaos. ESB crews came from Scotland to assist at huge cost. I hear that some got lost in the forest trying to find power lines, and when they located them, the set-aside was overrun with briars and it was almost impossible to access. Forestry companies are planting and walking away without due care and diligence, and the situation will only get worse. We need to ensure tree removal up to 30 m from power lines and all associated works, and when that is done, we need to hold the companies to account financially.

I agree with the Deputy that the forestry companies have a real responsibility and a legal obligation, subject to the conditions of licensing, to protect the area alongside power lines so they are not at risk from trees falling. If there is any specific instance that the Deputy might be able to report, that would be very useful. It should not be tolerated and it needs to change.

I would make a wider point. There is a real issue in south Leitrim, north Leitrim and Roscommon. The nature of the forestry system we were developing was too intense in some areas, where communities rightly felt crowded out. We were sometimes planting non-diverse, single-crop, clear-fell species when we needed to go towards a more nature-based system of continuous cover. We need to clear for power lines but we also need to switch the forestry model.

In order to reach the ambitious climate action targets, it is going to be a case of every shoulder to the wheel. Many householders have raised with me that they want to play their role but they are finding it difficult. It is more than just insulation and they want to be able to change the heating system in their homes despite the cost of it. There is a real opportunity staring us in the face with regard to HVO fuel replacing fossil fuels. Unfortunately, there is a policy choice whereby HVO fuel is being steered more towards transport rather than domestic householders. This needs to be revisited so that, at a minimal cost, householders across the country would be able to access HVO fuel for domestic heating and be able to play their part. Can this be reviewed so HVO fuel is used in domestic households?

I agree with everything the Deputy says except the central contention that we should switch HVO into heating as well as transport. I say that having looked at and analysed it at length, along with other international colleagues. There is only a limited supply of HVO available in the world and we have to be careful of the land use implications if we rely on it further. That HVO is going to be needed in transport because we do not have alternatives. In areas like aviation, we are going to have to switch to biofuels and kerosene coming from HVO. There is no other easy alternative. With heating, we have other alternatives. I would hate to give false promises to the very good Irish companies and others who might want to use it in the heating system. I do not believe it is sustainable. If we started down that road, we would have to reverse back out, which would be more damaging and more expensive for both the companies and the citizens.

Earlier, in defending our public service media, the Minister cited the fact that we live in a world full of misinformation, fallacies and conspiracy theories. In Europe right now, we have been experiencing a deeply disturbing, 45-fold increase in measles cases in the last couple of years, and we had 42,000 people infected in 2023 compared to 941 in 2022. A lot of that rise can be attributed to a dam-burst of misinformation about the MMR vaccine. The UK is undergoing what it is describing as a national incident and it has lost its measles-free status. Here in Ireland, there are concerns that we could also lose ours. Our vaccination rates stand at some 87% when they need to be at 95%. The UK is about to embark on a major public information campaign and we in Ireland urgently need to do the same.

I agree with the Deputy. To broaden it out, given it is a very fearful world and a lot of things are changing very fast in our world, there are understandable fears among our people. However, it tends to be supported by what I might call a nihilistic populist creed that tends to have certain key characteristics, particularly online. It does not believe in climate change, it is very anti-people coming to the country and it does not believe in vaccines, which is the strangest and weirdest of all because the science is indisputable and clear. The health benefits to people from trust in the vaccination systems, which are being regulated and checked properly, are fundamental to a modern health system. I agree with the Deputy that we need to counter that with an information campaign that addresses upfront these lies and conspiracies, particularly with regard to vaccines. I could not agree with the Deputy more.

Many mental health stakeholders were left disappointed that the reform of the Mental Health Act was not included in the spring legislative programme for publication. This means the Bill will not be published until the middle of the year, if even then. In reality, it will not pass in the lifetime of the Government. Pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill finished 15 months ago and reform of the Mental Health Act was on the programme for Government four years ago. The Government has missed a generational opportunity to put in place robust, person-centric mental health legislation that would protect the rights of people with mental health difficulties in the decades ahead. What is the reason for this delay? What is being done to ensure this legislation is published before the Government dissolves?

The Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, and the Department of Health are engaging with priority in regard to the publication of the mental health Bill in the next term. It is on the priority drafting list at the moment. It is a very complex area. The Deputy can have my assurances, as Chief Whip, that we will be doing everything to get it drafted in this session and then published in the following Dáil session.

I want to raise an issue in regard to child, adolescent and adult counselling in Donegal, which was the subject of much debate in the last month or so. I acknowledge the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, and I met with her on this issue. I wish her well in that regard. Next Thursday, Tusla is meeting with the HSE and, hopefully, we can make progress on that.

An issue was raised by Councillor Johnny McGuinness from north Inishowen. He met with his council colleagues yesterday evening and met with families who have family members in a supervised residential unit in Carndonagh. Families and residents first heard through the media about the proposal to move these residents out of the unit, which is completely unacceptable. Some residents have been living there for over 20 years; it is their home and it is the place they call home. Can we make every effort to find a solution to keep these residents in their home community? On a not unrelated topic, since Covid, there has been a serious need for day services to be reopened in Carndonagh.

It is very distressing to hear of people in our community who are by nature vulnerable being in such a difficult situation and such an uncertain place. I do not have the details but if the Deputy can forward the information to me, we will definitely pass that on to the Minister for Health to see if the residents in this case can be reassured.

A firm commitment was given that the elected board of Údarás na Gaeltachta would be reinstated and that the elections would be held on the same day as the local elections. This is dependent on the Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill being passed. I note that the list of legislation states that pre-legislative scrutiny was completed in July 2023. Can the Minister confirm that this is not going to happen? Can he further confirm if it is going to happen within the term of this Dáil, and if he gives me that confirmation, can he tell me how long this Dáil is going to last?

I can confirm that the Government's intention, and I have to be careful now, is that we would see Údarás elections on the same day as the local and European elections. The Chief Whip will have to organise the Dáil arrangements but our intention is to have that election this year. My personal view is that if we have any future elections, we should put them off for another year yet.

The headline in my local newspaper today reads "Water Outage Outrage", reflecting huge frustration in County Meath related to all-too-regular unscheduled and prolonged water outages. Areas worst affected include Ratoath in particular and Ashbourne and surrounding areas. There have been at least 20 water outages in the past 12 months in Ratoath, for example, with tens of thousands of people, households and businesses, including many people with additional needs, affected. The response from Uisce Éireann has been nothing short of disgraceful in action and communication. The treatment of registered vulnerable customers is abysmal and the treatment of local households and businesses is the same. The frustration is such that communities are on the brink of public protest. I ask that the Minister intervene directly to ensure that promised works are expedited and that in the meantime, a dedicated contingency plan is put in place. It is urgently needed.

If the Deputy can send me the details I would be happy to pass them on to the relevant Minister. Can I ask one question? What is the reason? Is there an underlying reason? Is it the upgrade of the plant or a new plant?

Infrastructure is creaking, Minister.

But is the reason for the outages in this instance that it needs new investment or that new investment is taking place?

They need new investment on the trunk main between Staleen and Ratoath.

If the Deputy could provide those details I will certainly raise the case with the relevant Minister.

There has been much frustration, speculation and concern about the future of respite beds at Birr Community Nursing Unit in County Offaly. Respite beds have been moved from the unit to other units. There is a great deal of uncertainty over whether the move is permanent or temporary. I would like some clarity on that. We need urgent assurances from the HSE that this is just a temporary move. We also need assurances that the numbers of respite beds at Birr Community Nursing Unit will be increased because there is a huge demand for respite beds in the Birr area.

I do not have details on either the legislative or the specific circumstances of that facility. If the Deputy forwards them on, we can see if an answer can be found to the question.

I have been contacted by elderly constituents, including people with disabilities, who need to have their homes adapted to their needs. Would the Government consider increasing the thresholds to adaptation grants for older people and people with disabilities? At present, the grant only extends to a maximum of €30,000 for houses that have been built for more than 12 months and only €14,500 for those that have been built for less time than that. Building materials and the cost of labour have risen an average of 33% and are increasing on a yearly basis due to inflation. The same adaption grant has not been amended since 2014. I ask the Minister to consider raising the grants and income thresholds to reflect the true costs of the market today.

A review is taking place in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and not only is there a review of thresholds but also a review of what specifics can be included in the way of hoists and so on.

When will it be finished?

It is very close to completion.

The condition of courthouses in Kerry was recently criticised by the local judge. It has long been my view that the existing building in Tralee should be refurbished in accordance with the town centre first plan of this Government, the lack of a plan to do anything with the existing building and the need for extra help for Tralee town centre, which, like a lot of places, suffers with a lot of vacant units. All along, the Courts Service has been saying that the court had to move because it was shoehorned into the current site. However, recently the Protestant Hall has come up for sale and now preparations are being made by An Post to move the distribution centre at the end of this year. Common sense is screaming at the Courts Service to refurbish the existing building with an imaginative approach. Will the Government discuss this with the Courts Service and An Post to make an extra site available? It is ten years, by the way, since the Kerry Group donated the Denny site with all the potential it would have for social housing, options for the community to gather and new jobs in the town centre. That is on hold since the Courts Service has not moved.

A good town centre first strategy requires us to look at buildings that can be repurposed. It does seem that the courthouse in Tralee would be a very good example and there would be no difficulty from the Government side to look at how we can make best use of the building.

I raise the issue of households where an adult family member, as a result of illness or old age, must use incontinence wear. This results in the bin being packed to capacity when collected every two weeks. It means the family is inevitably charged extra as the bin is deemed to have excessive weight. There is frequently insufficient space in the bin for other waste. People are constantly worrying if they do not have their account topped up that their bin will not be collected and they will have nowhere to dispose of waste for two weeks. It encourages illegal dumping and possibly burning of these products. There may be questions on how this type of waste should be safely disposed of. I am not sure that landfill is entirely suitable.

There were plans to introduce a support payment for families in this situation back in 2018 when Deputy Naughten was Minister for the environment. It did not happen then. As Minister with responsibility for this, what plans are in place to address this? It is affecting quite a number of families.

I am not aware of plans but if, as the Deputy says, the original proposal was from the Department of the environment, for which I have responsibility, I will go to my own Department to see if there is any mechanism or waiver system which we might be able to consider for such circumstances. They are very specific but the point the Deputy makes is a valid one.

Today, I raise again school places in my constituency. We are facing a school places crisis in Dublin Mid-West. As I said in the Dáil last week, we have school buildings waiting for the go-ahead for new builds and extensions and there are students who do not know where they will go to post-primary in September. This morning I received a reply from the Department of Education on the various stages of planning and delivery for these school buildings in my constituency but as usual, it contained no specific information. That is what I am looking for. I have a specific question. That question relates overall to both national and post-primary schools but today I am asking about post-primary schools in my constituency that are awaiting new school buildings extensions. They are Holy Family Community School, Rathcoole, Griffeen Community College, Lucan, Lucan Community College and the Gaelscoil, Coláiste Chillian, which is a joint campus in Clondalkin that will include Gaelscoil Chluain Dolcáin and Gaelscoil na Camóige.

I understand the Deputy is asking a direct question to the Minister for Education on that which she will be best placed to answer. On the broader point on investment in new school places, particularly in the move toward secondary, I recall that in the closing months of last year the Minister for public expenditure and reform, Deputy Donohoe, was at Cabinet agreeing on a significant additional capital payment to the Minister for Education for exactly the point the Deputy raised, namely, to scale up the school building programme. It did get special priority in the Government capital expenditure last year, which signalled real intent in the Government to try to address that school building list.

The Deputy might want to table a Topical Issue on that and I will deal with it.

Five or six years ago, An Post closed its office on Liberty Square, Thurles, and relocated to a shopping centre in the town. That building has now been idle for years. The Government has invested hugely in Liberty Square through the urban regeneration fund. It is completely unacceptable that a semi-State body like An Post would leave a building like this in a pivotal part of the centre of town idle. I urge the relevant Minister to put pressure on An Post to get a commercial outlet in this premises as soon as possible as it is really dampening the commercial prospects of the centre of town. After the huge amount of money we have spent on the square, it is really downgrading it to have this main building in the town lying idle.

As the relevant Minister, I will happily take the example the Deputy has raised and ask An Post why this is the case. We do not want State buildings lying vacant. I absolutely accept the Deputy’s point. I will raise it directly with the company myself.

Last week, Jim Meade, the CEO of Iarnród Éireann, told the transport committee that Crusheen:

is not currently in the funded plan we have from the Department. It is part of the all-island review. If the decision is taken to add a station there, it could be one of the quick wins of the review. Before the financial crash, a station design was drawn up for it ... It can be done, but it is a Government decision as to whether it will be funded.

Given the Minister's Department's ambitious transport emissions targets and given the fact Crusheen has the youngest demographic of any settlement in Clare, so patterns of a lifetime could be influenced, will the Department fund a railway station at Crusheen, which is just north of Ennis and is on the Limerick-Galway line?

I have to be upfront and honest with the Deputy. There are so many different stations I would love to introduce but we do have a limited budget. I have a budget of €35 billion and I have €100 billion worth of projects ready to go. The first additional station in that region will be in Moyross in the next two years. I believe a station in Ballysimon could have major strategic benefit and be of development potential for the city of Limerick, similarly the opening of the Shannon-Foynes line. I am absolutely supportive of the development of the western rail corridor, which I believe will be of fundamental help to that whole western arc, and that is not funded within the existing national development plan, NDP. In truth, in terms of what we can build in the next five-year period, those projects I just mentioned will get priority. I would be very much in favour of a station in Crusheen but it has to sit within a planned programme. This is not to mention Cork metropolitan rail, cross-city and Galway; I could go on.

That will take years. This is a quick win.

That is true but the reopening of Moyross and Ballysimon stations and of the Shannon-Foynes line, as well as the western rail corridor, are not funded in the existing NDP and do need to be funded. They will come first.