That concludes Leaders' Questions. Please adhere to the one minute allowed for Questions on Policy or Legislation.

I will endeavour to do so. I want to raise an important issue that affects hundreds of former Waterford Crystal workers, some of whom join us in the Gallery. It is a group that has campaigned on this matter for years. The workers said Waterford Crystal Limited failed to properly inform them of their pension options when they were taking redundancy. This left them without an occupational pension and reliant on the State pension. I met a group of workers in Waterford recently. They are very angry and they believe, with good reason, that they have never gotten a fair hearing. The workers say the company misinformed them by offering them only one pension option, that is, the return of their pension contributions. By accepting this, workers claim they were unknowingly signing away their pension rights. The workers say they have never received any paperwork whatsoever outlining all of their options. Surely if proof exists of options being afforded to them, it should be produced but it has not been. I ask the Taoiseach to intervene in this very serious ongoing saga. I ask him to meet these workers, hear their case fully, have that case fully and independently examined and give these workers what they deserve, namely a fair hearing.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is one that has been brought to my attention in this House in recent weeks by her colleagues and colleagues on the Government benches. I am happy for my office to make arrangements in the coming weeks to have that meeting. I am also happy to ask the Minister for Social Protection to perhaps join me at that meeting as well. I have a note on the issue, but I am not sure the note captures some of the concerns, quite frankly, that have been expressed by workers. I want to hear from them directly and I am happy to work with you on this matter.

I join in welcoming the Waterford Crystal workers to the Gallery and the Taoiseach's commitment to meet them.

This week saw more grim news on climate, with the latest projections from the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, showing starkly that we are not going to meet our emissions reductions targets, have no chance of achieving a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030, even though this is our legally binding target, and that in a best-case scenario greenhouse gases will only be reduced by 29% by 2030. Friends of the Earth called this alarming and disappointing, yet today there are reports that a memo was presented to Cabinet by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, setting out a list of additional measures that he says could close the gap and that were not modelled by the EPA, measures that will, apparently, be contained in a revised national energy and climate plan to be published this week. The list of measures sounds somewhat like magical thinking to me, but I would like to know whether the plan will be published this week and whether we will have time to debate it in the Dáil. I understand it is to be submitted to the EU Commission next month. How does the Government propose to take the urgent action that is necessary to ensure we meet our essential and legally binding emissions reductions targets to avoid what we know is a climate catastrophe?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. To the very best of my knowledge, the plan is to publish that plan this week. Let me confirm that. It would be timely, subject to the agreement of the House, to have a debate on climate, the EPA report and the new national plan the Minister will publish and submit to Europe to fulfil our requirements. The EPA will acknowledge that it has not yet been in a position to model actions that are about to start. For example, yesterday we agreed a new national biomethane plan. There are changes proposed around Dublin city relating to traffic. The impact of such changes is obviously not yet represented in the 29% figure. There are also plans to bring forward a new national adaptation plan. I will talk to the Minister for the environment and seek clarity on when the report will be published. The Government will be happy to have a debate on this.

On the same issue, the EPA stated that even if every measure in the Government's climate action plan was implemented, the reduction in emissions would only be 29% by 2030. As the Taoiseach knows, the legally binding target is 51%. We are no closer to meeting our targets than we were 12 months ago. His colleague Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications was on the defensive yesterday. He was annoyed that members of the Opposition were reading from the EPA report and quoting it accurately. We all know that the consequences of this failure will be catastrophic, particularly for rural and coastal communities. It will also expose us to multibillion euro fines from the EU, billions of euro which could be used to take climate action to retrofit homes across the country, restore biodiversity and improve water quality. Instead, the Government is going to throw that opportunity away. The biomethane plan is welcome but it will not bring us up to 51%. Has the Government any plan or intention to reach our legally binding targets?

We have every plan and intention and as you said it is a legally binding target. That is why a debate in this House would be timely on that. While I accept we have a gap to close, any fair analysis of the EPA report would show that we are now on track to reduce emissions by almost 30%. Prior to this Government, we were increasing our emissions by 10% a year. To the credit of sectors of the economy, society and the public sector, we are now in a position whereby we are on track to very significantly reduce emissions. We have a climate tipping point. This is not something that will happen in the future. We need to get to 51%. It is our legal requirement to get 51% and we will work across this House on that. We can come back to some of these issues during the debate as I do not have time now, but we are taking, and proposing to take, a number of actions that will bring that figure beyond 29% or 30%. We are very eager to engage with the Opposition on how we get to 51%.

Last week, 40 workers in the Newpark School of Music received the shock announcement that the school, which has 600 students and has been located on Newpark school grounds for 40 years, was to shut down with a week's notice. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving us an opportunity for a Topical Issue debate on this tomorrow, but I want to flag this issue now because these workers' jobs are gone. This cuts across Departments. At a workers' right level this is Debenhams Mark II. It would seem to me to be a flagrant breach of liquidation rules, so it needs intervention at that departmental level. It also requires the involvement of the Departments of Education and Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. It is a non fee-paying school and a not-for-profit charity on the grounds of Newpark. It does outreach and provides music teaching. It is self-financing and it is now gone. I want to flag this issue. Some of those affected by this will probably be here for the debate tomorrow.

I want urgent intervention on this because it just makes no sense that this should happen. I am asking for urgent intervention.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of Newpark School of Music. I am pleased that there will be time in the Dáil for a topical issue debate on it tomorrow. The Deputy has been constructive in flagging it with me today and I will certainly ask, in advance of that debate, relevant line Ministers and agencies to see what role the State may have in this, in order to be able to give the Deputy a comprehensive answer then.

The fall in the number of taxis is having a detrimental impact on towns and villages across rural Ireland. In County Tipperary, according to the most recent figures, there has been a drop to just 220 taxis, despite a population growth of more than 4,000. This has an obvious negative impact on hospitality and retail services. Pubs and restaurants are struggling as people are forced to stay at home. Securing transport is also a major issue for people who need to get to medical and personal appointments or, in some cases, simply to get to their nearest town. Without a local taxi service, many people are left isolated at home or stranded if they leave home. This growing issue was brought to the Government's attention at the start of this year. There was an agreement to explore the existing prohibitive regulations that deter people from entering the taxi industry, particularly the onerous local knowledge test, which up to 75% of applicants failed. Considering that GPS can direct drivers to given locations, should that regulation be removed? What is the current position on that review?

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I will get him a specific answer from the Minister for Transport on this but the Government is very eager to take steps to increase the number of taxis and hackneys available nationally, particularly in rural areas. For a variety of reasons, these steps have not yielded the numbers so further actions are planned and some are under way. I will write to the Deputy in that regard but the Minister for Transport has recently written to the advisory committee on taxis and hackneys to request its consideration of how taxi availability can be assessed and to make recommendations on relevant data. A driver recruitment campaign ran on national radio and digital platforms and applicants for new vehicle licences can apply for funding under a variety of schemes. I will get a specific update for the Deputy on the regulation.

As the Taoiseach can imagine, many young constituents in County Donegal go on to study in the North given its close proximity to home and given the housing shortage in Dublin at the moment. At the beginning of this year, it was announced that funding would be made available for 25 additional medical students qualifying to study medicine in Queen's University from September 2024 and that, as part of that arrangement, students will pay the €3,000 fee charged in the Republic, with the State covering the rest of the tuition costs. This is great news for students in Donegal and across the country looking to study medicine, many of whom will want to come back to the Republic to practise once they graduate. Will the Taoiseach ensure that this project is extended to the rest of the universities in the North, such as Ulster University, to allow more students to study medicine, given the severe lack of GPs and the needs that we have here in the South?

I thank the Deputy. This is a great initiative. It is great for the island of Ireland, for the north west in particular, for medical education and for opportunities for young people. The Minister for further and higher education is in Ulster University, on the Magee campus in Derry, today. We are willing to expand this. Obviously, there have to be two partners and a willingness to do it, although I am not suggesting there is not. From a funding point of view, we see this as a win-win in terms of education, medicine and opportunities for young people.

A young man, Seán, came into my office last week. He works full time, is separated and has two children. He has a good job but is living with his parents because he cannot afford to buy a house. He has saved every penny he can and has substantial savings. He applied and was accepted for an affordable housing scheme run by Cork County Council but even with all of his savings, a gift from his parents, a good job, and a mortgage offer from a bank, he is still €20,000 short. He does not qualify for social housing. He cannot buy a house. This Government promised that he could buy a house but its scheme is failing. This is a man with two children who has a good job and good savings but the Government's affordable housing policy is in tatters. The affordable housing that the Government is providing is not affordable. What do I tell Seán? What will the Taoiseach tell him? Where does he and his two children go? He is in his thirties. Must he live with his parents for the rest of his life?

I am sure what the Deputy definitely does not tell Seán is that if Sinn Féin was in government it would get rid of the help-to-buy scheme for first-time buyers-----

It would be affordable. Our scheme would be affordable. That is the difference.

-----and the first home scheme as well. I am sure he did not mention that to Seán. It is very hard to comment on the floor of the Dáil without knowing people's specific financial situations but this Government is seeing, every week, 500 people buying their first home. Every working day we are seeing 350 new homes being built. That is the progress we are making. That is what I would say to Seán. We are increasing supply and increasing supports. There are a range of supports now in place. If the Deputy wants to send me Seán's particulars-----

I will.

-----I would be very happy to come back to him with more comprehensive reply for his situation.

I wish to raise an issue that is very important to people across the north Cork area including in Fermoy and Mitchelstown. Unfortunately, I am meeting a huge number of people who are retired or who have complicated healthcare needs and who want access to GP services across the north Cork area. In north Cork, we have two primary care centres but they are under serious pressure because of a lack of GP services. My siblings all work in the healthcare setting, in pharmacy, and others are studying medicine. Indeed, I am the only one that is not in healthcare. They tell me, as do others working in the sector, that they are under fierce pressure to get additional GPs across the north Cork region. I ask the Taoiseach to have a conversation at Cabinet with the Minister for Health to see if we can get additional resources to address the issue of access to GP and primary care services in the north Cork area for people who are so desperately in need.

I thank the Deputy for making that important point for his constituents in north Cork in terms of access to GP services. I will certainly discuss the matter with the Minister for Health and the HSE. We are now seeing a very significant increase in the number of training places for GPs. We are also now looking at other pathways that we can put in place in universities but I do recognise that in certain parts of the country, there may be particular challenges. There is an option available now in terms of having salaried GPs in those areas. Without knowing the particulars, but that is definitely one option that is available to the Minister for Health and the HSE. I will talk to the Minister and will revert to Deputy O'Connor on the issue.

I welcome the establishment of the task force to rejuvenate Dublin city centre to make it thriving, attractive and safe. David McRedmond will come up with innovative ideas and will integrate across agencies, including, local authorities, the NTA and the HSE. The key to success will be the provision of a budget to fund cross-sector and cross-silo initiatives. I would be keen that, in preparation for the budget, significant moneys would be made available for this particular initiative as well as for the community safety plans that will be a feature of every community in the country.

I thank the Deputy for his constructive suggestions with which I agree. I am very clear, and I said it on the day that I launched the Dublin city centre task force, that this is going to come back with a list of practical actions and a list of responsible owners for those actions. Then there will be a requirement for government, both national and local, to fund those initiatives. This is something that I am personally championing and running from my own Department and, therefore, it is something that I intend to deliver funding to deliver in budget 2025.

I want to welcome more than 45 women from all over County Kerry, especially east Kerry areas like Barraduff, Headfort, Glenflesk and Rathmore. These women have created homes and reared fine sons and daughters. However, many of their sons and daughters are forced to leave Kerry for places like Australia, Dubai and Canada. These are 28- to 32-year-olds who cannot afford to purchase a house. The other sad thing is that they will not even be considered for planning permission on a site next door to them owned by their family, or even if they could purchase a site from a neighbour because of the designation, enforced by the Government's planning regulator, of the areas as being under significant urban influence. The sons and daughters of farmers can get permission and that is fine but lots of other people are being excluded.

Your time is up.

Large tracts of land far beyond Killarney, Killorglin and Kenmare are being excluded from these people who will build a house themselves.

Thank you, Deputy.

They will create employment and spend money. All they want is planning permission but this designation is hurting the whole lot. I will just mention one father-----

No. Please.

-----of five, the Kellehers, who are musicians but none of them can get planning permission.

You are out of time, Deputy.

They are a wonderfully gifted family but they are going to have to leave our shores if we cannot house them.

Deputy, please. You are out of time.

This is very serious.

I know it is very serious, but keeping the time here is very serious. Resume your seat.

I am raising a genuine concern.

I know you are.

These people will build the houses-----

Will you let the Taoiseach answer?

----- if they get planning permission.

Deputy, you are out of order.

I am sorry.

I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue with passion. It is an important issue, as is planning reform. Everyone on this side of the House, like everyone on that side of the House, wants people to be able to live in this country and wants young people to know that their future is in this country. That is why we are working so hard on housing and why we are seeing 350 new homes go to construction every working day and 500 people per week buy their first home. I take on board the specific point on planning and have two suggestions for the Deputy. The draft national planning framework will be published in June, which will provide an opportunity for people to make an input into such issues and the planning Bill, which will overhaul planning law, will be in this House again in the month of June.

In the past number of days, there have been reports in the media about people having adverse reactions to cannabis. This is quite concerning but where there is no regulation, someone will fill the gap and that is the black market. It is in everyone's interest in respect of harm reduction and regulation that there would be a different model for cannabis. In the absence of regulation, people will have adverse effects from cannabis use because of the potency and because they do not know what they are consuming. Does the Taoiseach agree that we have to change course on the laws around cannabis and that a regulatory system would be better than what we have at the moment, where there is no regulation?

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue as he has sincerely on a number of occasions. The best way to proceed on this from a policy point of view is via the Oireachtas joint committee that will consider the outcome of the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use. That was an honest and genuine effort to get civil society together to debate what is a difficult and important issue. There are real health concerns around the use of cannabis and there is also a need to ensure we support people with addiction. A variety of issues need to be addressed and the new committee is best placed to bring forward its view on the citizens' assembly.

The Taoiseach said that road safety would be a priority of his tenure. We have had significant loss of life on the roads this year - 79 people to date with a bank holiday weekend looming. Beneath that headline are many accidents, collisions and injuries, many of which are life-changing. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, has commissioned a report on the Road Safety Authority to make recommendations on the future structure and operation of the authority, including potential legislative changes to ensure it delivers on its mandate. When can we expect that report to be finalised and see the light of day?

Road safety is a priority for me and the Government. Since becoming Taoiseach seven weeks ago, I have chaired two meetings on road safety, we have allocated an additional €3 million to public awareness campaigns and we are working with local authorities to see what more we can do on road safety. We all have to amplify the message around killer behaviours, especially as we approach this bank holiday.

The point the Deputy made on structure, governance and the role of the RSA is important. The Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, is fully committed to this. I need to check that I am right about the timeframe, but I know the work is well under way. We will see the output this year. I will ask the Minister of State to come back to the Deputy with a specific time.

As the Taoiseach knows, Louth-Cavan-Monaghan Garda Division has a long land Border with the neighbouring jurisdiction and this creates additional and unique policing demands on the gardaí in our area. For a number of years, I have continually expressed my concerns that, with resignations and retirements, we are not getting nearly enough of the new Garda recruits into our division. The inadequate allocation of Garda personnel must be addressed. I welcome the recent re-establishment of the Cavan-Monaghan Garda drugs unit. Again, that unit's demanding role needs to be supplemented by more gardaí. The scourge of drugs is causing desperate problems for individual families and communities in every parish. Our Garda division needs an adequate allocation of Garda personnel to ensure day-to-day policing needs in our communities are met, while also taking into account the absolute need to have appropriate mobile patrols and other policing measures to deal effectively with criminality that occurs on a cross-Border basis and ensure the laws of our State are not flouted and abused.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I am pleased the Cavan-Monaghan drugs unit was able to recommence. I share his view and that of everyone in government that we want to see Garda numbers increase. We are seeing progress on that. The college is back open and busy.

The fair distribution of new Garda recruits is important. I will share the Deputy's views with the Minister for Justice. I am aware of the particular issue the Deputy raised for counties near the Border and the importance of strong collaboration between the PSNI and An Garda Síochána, particularly to prevent any abuse of the common travel area in respect of immigration. We have seen some good progress on that only in recent days.

Over the years we have had the refusal of the Galway bypass, the refusal of planning permission for the road from Maam Cross to Clifden, massive delays relating to the road from Maam Cross to Oughterard, the refusal of Páirc na Mara, which was a development by Údarás na Gaeltachta, and recently a court case about Ros an Mhíl. It is beginning to become evident that it is becoming nearly impossible to get any basic infrastructural or economic projects through in Connemara.

I have no doubt that when Europe brought in environmental rules, it never meant to strangle any region economically or socially. Will the Government, therefore, consider setting up a review as to why so many public infrastructural projects in Connemara seem to fail on environmental grounds and how it can be tweaked to get a better balance? I ask that the review be done and if the issue that comes up is in Europe, it be dealt with in Europe and if it is an issue we can deal with, it be dealt with here. We cannot go on forever living in a region that is bereft of adequate infrastructure and economic development.

The Taoiseach: The Deputy will understand why I do not want to comment on any specific case, but I will take the broader point he made, which is fair, about constantly keeping under review the impact of regulations and directives. We are part of the decision-making around the European table. We will ask the question the Deputy fairly asked: is it a matter that we need to speak about at a European level regarding a need for reform or is it how we are implementing it at a national level? I have seen a number of examples. I am concerned about the situation in Lough Funshinagh, where there are unintended consequences, if I can put it politely. Let me take the Deputy's suggestion away and I will come back to him directly on it.

I raise the issue of Bord na Móna's plans to sell off its waste management business, as was reported recently. This risks further concentration of waste management services, which is potentially bad for workers and customers. It is further privatisation when the opposite should be happening. Is the Taoiseach aware of the plan and has he or the Government assessed it in terms of competition, terms and conditions of employment, workers' rights and State provision of services?

Truthfully, I am not across the detail of it. It has not been brought to my attention, but I will speak directly to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, about the issue. Any such matter would have to comply fully with competition law and other laws of the land such as employment law and an impact assessment should be considered. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy directly.