When will the Government publish its response to the Dublin city task force report? Last October, the Tánaiste said that the interdepartmental working group would report back before the end of the year and would provide timelines for the plan's recommendations. What is that timeline? Is the Government committed to all ten of the big ideas, as the previous Government was? Recommendation No. 6 called for a move towards a single waste management provider in the city centre via the tender process. The Tánaiste wrote about the desperate need for a change in how we address waste in this city. Last week, it was announced that the only State-run waste management company in the country is about to be sold off by Bord na Móna. We need to know the Government's plans for waste management in this country because it is not clear from the programme for Government. There is a bigger need with regard to the task force for housing-----

I thank the Deputy. I call on the Tánaiste.

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I do not wish her to think that my inability to reply today is in any way disrespectful. I just want to get her an accurate answer. There have been a number of meetings of the interdepartmental group, which is based in the Department of the Taoiseach. I think, from memory, it met as recently as last week. We eagerly await the implementation plan coming to Cabinet. I will get the Deputy a definitive timeline. I am extraordinarily committed to all the major recommendations of that report.

As a Dublin TD, the Deputy will be aware that we have seen a significant increase in Dublin City Council's investment in cleanliness across our capital city. We need to build on that. I will write directly to the Deputy on the issue.

It is truly mind-boggling that the Arts Council could spend nearly €7 million on an IT system and have nothing to show for it. What is worse is that the previous two Governments allowed the council to get away with it. At the outset in 2018, the full cost of the project was not included in the business case. This was a major breach of the public spending code. As the project spiralled out of control, with the budget ballooning from €2.87 million to nearly €7 million, the Department was kept fully informed but no one shouted, "Stop". A review of this fiasco has found that the Arts Council board did not have sufficient expertise to manage the project. Any gaps in expertise are the fault of the Minister who appoints people to the board. As recently as 29 October 2024, a month before the election, former Green Party Minister, Catherine Martin, was making appointments to the board. Why did she not mention anything about this then? Was it because all of her efforts were focused on burying this scandal until after the election?

The new Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, has ordered an external review of governance and culture at the Arts Council, which is a nice way to kick it to touch for a while. What about governance and culture in the Government and the Department? When will we see an external review of them and an end to the appalling litany of wasted public money over which the Government has presided?

I thank the Deputy. This is my first time interacting with him so I offer my congratulations on his election. If the Minister had done anything other than what he did yesterday, it would have been irresponsible. Establishing an external review is exactly how to achieve what the Deputy wishes to achieve in terms of clarity in the roles of the Department and the Arts Council, and the timelines and interactions between the two. I am conscious that former Minister, Catherine Martin is no longer a Member of this House. I knew her to be an honourable and diligent colleague.