Cathal Byrne
Cultural and Educational Panel · Fine Gael · Ireland
“I join other Senators in urging the Government, including the Minister for local government, to produce the action plan on local democracy and make it a key priority to work on it over the summer so that the hard-working councillors up and down Ireland can have clarity about what exactly the changes will be as they face into another round…”
“I join colleagues in thanking so many of the staff here who make it possible for us to do our day-to-day work. That includes not only Martin Hughes and the team here in the Seanad, but also the ushers and all those who make the day-to-day life of Leinster House possible, including those who work in the restaurant, the canteen and behind t…”
“The Senator also raised the situation of the artist Emily Conway from County Mayo, who received an Arts Council bursary in recognition of her important contribution as an artist but which has created a scenario whereby her application for a blind pension has run into difficulty. I encourage him to put that down as a Commencement matter.”
“I feel there is also a responsibility on Dublin City Council to allow for that and to support local residents in the area. In fairness to Senator Andrews, he has spoken about this before in the House. I am happy to take it up with the Leader.”
“However, because the consultation with the consultant took place initially in Monaghan, the HSE refused that application. I encourage Senator Tully to perhaps raise this as a Commencement matter. There is an appeal mechanism through the HSE and the ombudsman. Perhaps that is an avenue for her constituent to pursue.”
“The Order of Business is No. 1, Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 - Committee Stage (resumed) and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m., with the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, to be brought to a conclusion at 3.45 p.m.”
The complete record
Every one of 555 lines we hold for Cathal Byrne, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 12.
“We heard the Senator speak for a considerable length of time but never acknowledge the fact that the €15 million, which was requested and successfully lobbied for by the Irish Postmasters' Union, has been provided by the Government for the post office network. It is important that when the Government invests money like that at the request of the local postmasters, it is acknowledged. It is disappointing that Sinn Féin could not bring themselves to do that today, having called for this funding to be made available in a previous debate we had in this Chamber. I recognise the fact that we have 933 separate branches of An Post.”
“My family is very much connected to the post office network. My grandfather - my mother's father - served as a postman virtually all his working life delivering post in north-west Cork. He speaks fondly of his time there. I remember the pride of place his certificate of recognition of long service held in my grandparents' home. I know he certainly left a very strong mark on his local community, serving as its local postman. I acknowledge the investment of €15 million per year committed to the post office network by the Government and how important and vital that contribution is. I acknowledge the work of Deputy Carrigy in highlighting this issue over the past number of years given his background as a local postmaster. I also want to call out the contribution from Sinn Féin.”
“I encourage the Leader to ensure that this Chamber would have an opportunity to debate these issues after the visit of the European Commissioner to Ireland.”
“It is important that a clear message goes out from that meeting last night. I have no doubt the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Martin Heydon, will stress on Friday, when he meets the European Commissioner for the environment, that Ireland's case is unique. We are the only country in the European Union which is in a position to grow grass all year around and to have our livestock out in the open. That allows us a unique opportunity to run a type of farming different from what can be done on the Continent and across the rest of the EU. As a direct result of farmers engaging to well and working so hard over the past couple of years to improve water quality, the derogation should remain in place. I support the efforts of the Minister for agriculture.”
“I join the Cathaoirleach in welcoming our guests to the Seanad. I hope they have a very enjoyable day and that Senator Scahill looks after them very well, as I have no doubt he will. After last night's meeting of over 2,000 farmers, I will speak about the risk the loss of the nitrates derogation presents to our farming community. We have around 7,000 farmers who avail of the derogation, which allows, on average, for 2.5 cows per hectare. The loss of the derogation would limit the number of cows on each individual farm to 1.6 per hectare. When we consider that at present the average dairy farm consists of 92 cows being milked, this would cause massive, irreparable damage to the agricultural sector and rural Ireland. Our guests today are from rural Ireland and they will appreciate the importance of this.”
“I also offer my condolences to our Seanad colleague on the very sad passing of her father. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. I welcome the peace that has come to the people of Gaza. I hope it will be a long-lasting peace. We in this country know how difficult it can be to sustain a peace and the work that is required by those on all sides, both internal and external, to ensure it lasts. We have all been horrified by the scenes we witnessed over the past number of years in Gaza as a result of the bombing and the devastation, the starvation and the famine to which it gave rise. What we have seen has been utterly disgusting. I really hope we are now closer than we have been in the past to a long-lasting two-state solution.”
“I saw 33 tax increases and an increase in inheritance tax of 3% which I simply could not believe. Hard-working families passing on what they have earned to the next generation are penalised by the Labour Party's proposal for a 3% increase in inheritance tax. The party also proposes to scrap the help-to-buy scheme, making it harder for first-time buyers to gather a deposit. The alternative budget of the Social Democrats proposes 24 new taxes, attacks foreign direct investment by removing tax credits and penalises access to jobs by increasing employer PRSI. I am happy to support this budget. This is the first of five. I do not support the proposals of the Opposition. It is important the House is made aware of them. There is plenty more work to be done but I commend this budget to the House.”
“In preparation for this debate, I had a look at the budget measures and proposals of the Opposition parties. I saw in the Sinn Féin proposal, running to 50 pages, no mention of supporting jobs. Instead, there are 23 new tax increases and an attack on the foreign direct investment sector by removing employer PRSI share-based remuneration. If Sinn Féin were serious about supporting so many jobs in the foreign direct investment sector, it would not propose these measures. It also wants a reduction in pension tax relief for workers, making it hard for them to save for the future, having already voted against the auto-enrolment scheme specifically designed to help workers without an occupational pension to get one. I looked at the Labour Party's pre-budget submission document, its alternative budget.”
“There is an increase in the total spend on disability services of 20%, funding them for an additional 90,000 people. I meet families affected by some of the inability to access services for their loved ones who have a disability. It is so important this investment is put in for next year for greater access to disability services. There is also additional funding in support of the post office network. There is €18 million to make the basic arts programme permanent. There is a new capital funding programme for the arts and culture and existing capital funding programmes under the sports capital grant scheme, including an additional €5 million for TG4. As this is the first of five budgets, there are measures I would like to see implemented. I look forward to continuing to raise them in this Chamber.”
“This budget provides the necessary funding to support the recruitment processes in place. There is a permanent €500 cut in college fees, reducing them to €2,500. Many families have asked me what are we doing about the student contribution fee. The Government has committed to a permanent cut, the first across the next four budgets, resulting in a permanent reduction for families accessing third level education. It is important that we support students and people who want to go to college. This is a permanent cut, not taking away from the temporary measures introduced during the cost-of-living crisis at the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Backing business and protecting jobs, the hospitality VAT rate will be reduced to 9% to protect 191,000 jobs in small businesses from 1 July, 2026.”
“In rural Ireland, an area which is so important in my area of Wexford, farm tax reliefs, including the stamp duty young trained farmer relief, capital gains tax, stamp duty farm consolidation relief and an extension to the accelerated capital allowance for slurry storage, ensure sufficient measures are taken to reflect that we have an ageing group of farmers. We must support the next generation in taking up vital roles for farming in rural Ireland. In justice, there will be an increase of €200 million in 2026 for a total spend of €6.2 billion, including €77 million to recruit 1,000 new gardaí and 200 new civilian staff to free up gardaí from behind desks to get out on the beat and on the front line. With an increasing population, we have to recruit more gardaí.”
“There will be an increase of 65 cent in the minimum wage to €14.15 per hour, the highest minimum wage ever and the 12th such increase under Fine Gael in government. I also think of housing, with new total capital funding for housing of €5.2 billion, in addition to the Land Development Agency and approved housing bodies, to deliver 25,000 new homes, public housing and a new starter home programme. If we want to get to grips with the housing issues we have, we must put in place a starter home programme that allows couples and individuals to buy their first home and get their foot on the property ladder. That is why it is so important to have schemes like the help-to buy-scheme which supports first-time buyers to get the taxes they paid over the previous four years back to count as a deposit towards their first home.”
“I will speak about a number of the key measures included in this budget. There is a €2 billion package of social protection measures to deliver help with the cost of living including a €10 increase in pensions, carer's allowance, disability, illness and other social protection payments. This includes the carer's allowance means test disregard being increased from €375 for a single person or €750 for a couple up to €1,000 and €2,000, respectively. This is an important measure that perhaps has not got the publicity it deserves. The Government is committed to abolishing the means test for the carer's allowance. This is an important step toward that over the next four budgets out of five in total.”
“I thank the Minister of State for joining us. On behalf of the Fine Gael Party, we support the proposed budget. I listened carefully yesterday to both Ministers, Deputies Donohoe and Chambers, when they outlined this budget and the proposals around it. When I consider the key priorities a budget should be measured against, I think of safeguarding the economy, supporting families, improving access to vital public services like education, health and disability services, prioritising those most in need and, most of all, delivering the key infrastructure necessary for the economy and the people of this country, including in the area of housing. This budget does exactly that. It is the first of five budgets under the new programme for Government and makes sure those key areas are prioritised.”
“I thank the Minister of State and the Department for the response. I very much look forward to seeing the increase in prison places that has been outlined. I will come back to this issue again because it is one of the utmost importance. The public must feel confident that those convicted of serious crimes who are sent to prison have a space available to them and that prisons are adequately staffed by prison officers. I again thank the Minister of State for her response.”
“I would like to get an update on the record as to where we stand on the issue of prison spaces, and what are the plans to ensure that no judge feels they cannot sentence people to prison because there are no spaces to house them.”
“I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor. I wish to raise the issue of prison spaces. One of the commitments in the programme for Government in the area of justice was to increase the number of spaces for prisoners. I am highlighting this because I am concerned by recent commentary by members of the Prison Officers Association, who said that because of the shortage of prison spaces, many of the recreation halls and other usable spaces in our prisons are currently being used to house prisoners. Their concerns have now reached a point where the justice system might find it difficult to allocate sentences for prisoners to be kept in prison because of the shortage of spaces. Many in this Chamber and the wider community share these concerns.”
“I encourage the Deputy Leader to ask the Minister responsible for this area to come before the House and make a statement on this matter. If we are to support our tillage sector, there should be a food labelling requirement that grain from Ireland must be used when marketing something as Irish whiskey.”
“I raise an issue about the tillage sector that came before the agricultural committee yesterday. I spoke in this Chamber recently about the impact that low grain prices are having in my home county of Wexford, where we have a very strong and vibrant tillage sector. Unfortunately, as things are at the moment, tillage farmers have told me that they do not see a future in the sector and that this is the worst year in a generation. One of the issues highlighted yesterday before the Oireachtas agricultural committee was that, at present, one can market Irish whiskey without a need for Irish grain in the whiskey. There could be a situation where Irish whiskey can be sold and successfully labelled as such while the only ingredient that comes from Ireland is water.”
“The current tax regime, under the conditional gift relief, allows a farmer to use savings and transfer the land purchased using a pot of saved money to the next generation provided that they then use it for the purchase of an agricultural asset or land. If that relief was to disappear, hard-earned money saved to buy a piece of land when an opportunity presents itself would be subject to the maximum rate of 33% inheritance tax. That is wrong. It would not apply to farming in a commercial company structure. As so many farmers are sole traders, it is important that we protect the conditional gift relief that currently exists in the budget next week. I implore the Minister of State to take my comments back to the Department and work with the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, on them.”
“As we encourage the next generation to take up farming in Ireland, it is important that we protect these reliefs. Many farmers across the country farm from a tax perspective as a sole trader rather than being incorporated into a company. One important relief is conditional gift relief. A farmer who has successfully farmed over a number of years may have saved a pot of money to purchase land, which, as everybody knows is scarce because nobody is making any new land. If a farm comes up for sale next door, that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and the farmer may want to purchase or bid on that land, having saved for 20 to 30 years to be able to do so. Some farmers are never in a position to be able to bid on an adjoining piece of land.”
“I refer to agricultural reliefs, in particular to the exemptions that exist for young trained farmers. They allow for the transfer from one generation to a farmer aged under 35 years who can claim a full exemption from stamp duty. At a time when the stamp duty rate is 7.5% on all non-residential land, it would be quite a significant burden were that tax exemption to expire. It is important that the tax relief is retained in next week's budget. I refer to consanguinity relief, which is the reduction of the 7.5% rate of stamp duty to 1% for transfers from one generation to the next where they are related. That is an important tax relief because if it is not possible for somebody aged under 35 to transfer and inherit land, they will still benefit, albeit at the 1% rate, and save 6.5% on the standard non-residential rate of stamp duty.”
“The Minister is most welcome to the Chamber. I would like to speak on the upcoming budget in the context of the importance of keeping some of the agricultural tax reliefs currently in place and what they mean for rural Ireland. I want to speak in particular in the context of the fact that one in three farmers is now aged over 65 and, of the 50,000 farmers across the country, only one in 20 is aged under 35. I am sharing time with Senator Eileen Lynch, with the agreement of the Cathaoirleach.”
“This should happen because of the historic story of the tragedy and the nature of the project for the communities in south Wexford, particularly that in Fethard-on-Sea.”
“Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of so many people involved with what is a very hard-working committee, it has become apparent that greater investment is needed. The project committee is locked out of grant applications because it drew down funding during the first and second stages. Given the increased costs involved in construction, particularly for timber, since Covid, the committee has discovered that the grants and the moneys raised through the initial fundraising that was done are not sufficient to see the project through to completion. This is an opportunity for a social enterprise project based in south Wexford. I encourage the Department to engage and work with me in respect of it. Let us see a boat that is 90% finished get all the way there.”
“Many of the descendants of the five survivors and the families of those who perished still live in Fethard-on-Sea. The local community has come together and embarked on a social enterprise restoration project to create a replica of the Helen Blake lifeboat. Over the past number of years, members of the community, using some grant funding provided by the Department, have worked together on this project. The idea is that it would serve as a tourism initiative whereby individuals could come to Fethard-on-Sea, launch on the replica boat from the same area from which the original launched in 1914 and sail out and see the beautiful scenery that is to be found off the Wexford coastline.”
“I want to speak briefly about a social enterprise project I recently visited in south Wexford. I refer to the Helen Blake lifeboat restoration project, which is a really wonderful example of what is possible in the area of social enterprise. This is a story which was born out of a tragedy. On the 20 February 1914, a Norwegian ship, the SS Mexico , ran aground on rocks off the coast of Wexford during a serious storm. A lifeboat was dispatched from Fethard-on-Sea to rescue those on board. Unfortunately, nine of the 14 very brave crew members of the lifeboat, the Helen Blake , who set out on that rescue mission drowned. The lifeboat, with the five surviving crew members on board, continued on its journey and rescued the crew of the ship. As stated, this happened back in 1914. However, the story still resonates across south Wexford.”
“Again, I encourage this House to raise it with the Minister for Education and Youth and the Minister for public expenditure so that those resources would be made available for education to ensure that children starting their school experience this year see it right through with top-quality education.”
“With the capitation grant currently set at €224, the INTO has called on the Minister to make available an increase in the amount of €75 to get to grips with the current energy costs schools are experiencing. While I acknowledge that we have had solar for schools rolled out to so many schools across the country, energy bills still have a big impact on capitation grant spending. In rural areas, the small schools pilot scheme has proven to be successful and it is now time to roll it out across the country. I very much support the calls of those teachers to proceed with that.”
“Over the last number of weeks I have met many principals, deputy principals and teachers across County Wexford in the context of the upcoming budget next week. Among the issues highlighted to me is the fact that at the moment Ireland has the highest pupil-teacher ratio across the EU, at 22.5 pupils per teacher. When it comes to next week's budget, I urge the Minister for education and the Minister for public expenditure to make available the resources necessary to ensure that we start to bring this pupil-teacher ratio back down and ensure that every child in the country gets the quality of education they deserve, so they are not in overcrowded classrooms. Second, they highlighted to me the fact that many schools have to fundraise because of the costs associated with lighting, insurance and heating.”
“While I could highlight many other cases, the key priority for me is to represent those families and to be a voice for them to the Minister of State and to highlight their concerns. There are proposals for another secondary school in Wexford town but that is several years away. This issue is going to continue for the next five or six years. We need action.”
“As a matter of simple fairness, in circumstances where students are unable to attend their local secondary schools because the Department has not been able to provide places, an accommodation should be made. We should change the school bus and transport route rules to allow for a bus to be laid on for those students to attend. I have been in contact with representatives of Bus Éireann who have told me that because the rules are written the way they are, those students will not be eligible for a bus. The students now find themselves needing their parents to take time off work and away from other commitments to allow them to attend the school. I implore the Minister of State. I ask the Department to look at the unique circumstances, make an accommodation and roll out a pilot scheme for that particular situation.”
“As a result, a certain number of pupils who in recent years have applied for secondary school places in their local town, Wexford town, have unfortunately been ineligible to get secondary school places. They have instead been accommodated 37 km down the road in New Ross. While the pupils are happy with the school, the teachers and everything else that is happening in New Ross, they have not been able to go to schools in their local town. Due to the way the rules are written at the moment and because they are not attending their local school, they are, unfortunately, ineligible for school bus places. No bus service has been provided for these students.”
“I thank the Minister of State for attending. I have a number of points to make. I have been in communication with the Minister of State about several bus routes in Wexford where we are looking for additional capacity on services. I acknowledge the 7,000 students who have benefited from a school bus ticket in Wexford. I will highlight, in particular, one instance where I would like a change in how we are currently operating the school bus model. It is a point that I raised in the Chamber earlier today and I have spoken to it previously. The point relates to Wexford town, the capital town of County Wexford, which has a population of 21,500. It has five secondary schools, which are above capacity at the moment. There is serious pressure and demand to accommodate secondary school students in Wexford town.”
“They are asking that the rules be changed, that flexibility be given and that they be provided with a school bus to accommodate them attending the school they are now attending.”
“I thank the Minister of State and welcome his commitment to engage with me on this issue. It is very important to point out that the reason these students are travelling from Wexford town to New Ross is they could not get access to a secondary school place in their home town of Wexford town. That is an anomaly in the current rules whereby the State has failed to provide them with a secondary school place at their closest secondary school and therefore is denying them a school bus ticket because they are not attending their local secondary school. Had these parents and students to do it again, they would have liked to have taken up a place in Wexford town but they now find themselves in a situation where they are attending New Ross.”
“Unfortunately, these students were locked out of the schools closest to them and find themselves now in a position where they cannot get a school bus ticket to attend the school they are now attending, Good Counsel College in New Ross. I would like to know, in the circumstances where the State has not been able to provide a secondary school place to these students in their local town, will the Department be willing to look at and re-examine the rules around these school bus tickets to ensure that there will be a school bus travelling from Wexford town to Good Counsel College, New Ross, to accommodate these students?”
“In the case of ten students whom I am giving a voice to today - I am aware of other cases as well - they applied for a secondary school place in Wexford town but unfortunately were not successful in the lottery system. This has meant that they have to travel now from Wexford town, 37 kilometres down the road to New Ross to attend Good Counsel College. This is a very good school and they have no issue doing that but they would have preferred to have a place in their local town, in Wexford town. The issue here is that the school rural transport guidelines at the moment only permit a school bus ticket for a student who is attending the closest school to them.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in to discuss and debate this issue. As he is aware, Wexford town is the capital town of County Wexford. It is home to a population of about 21,500 people and, like many towns, it is experiencing very rapid population growth, with an increase of approximately 9% over the last census. One of the issues with the rise in population in Wexford town is access to secondary school places. At present in Wexford town we have five secondary schools: Wexford CBS, Loreto Secondary School, Selskar College, St. Peter's College and Presentation Secondary School. The issue is that it is currently not possible to facilitate all applicants who apply for a secondary school place in Wexford town.”
“If we look across the country at what is happening at the moment, there are no farmers and no food. I urge the Minister for agriculture to support the IFA's call and deliver the €250 incentive for the tillage sector in the budget.”
“Last night, I met with representatives of Wexford IFA. I was particularly struck by their words about the tillage sector, which in my rural county of Wexford delivers so much income and employment. One of the issues they highlighted is the unsustainable prices that are currently being achieved in the tillage sector. They described how this is the worst year for tillage in a generation. I support their call for a €250 per hectare income delivery by the Minister for agriculture as part of the upcoming budget. The reality is that across the country almost 40% of our farmers are now over 65, with less than 7% being under 35. If young people do not see farming, including tillage farming, as a sustainable way of earning a living and bringing up a family, there simply will not be a tillage sector.”
“Finally, I want to highlight the Enniscorthy flood relief project. The Minister of State, Deputy Moran, visited the town to see this project. Enniscorthy was flooded in 1924, 1947, 1965, 2000, 2025 and most recently in 2021. This is an example of where the Department set aside €65 million in 2015 but because of delays and bureaucracy in the planning process, we have not been able to deliver the project. The money is there but the project has not been given planning consent.”
“I hope that as part of the new national development plan, the necessary funding will be awarded to make those a reality. On the question of mental health beds, I want to highlight that we have 178,000 people living in Wexford. During the summer, that number increased by up to a quarter. At the moment, if a person is in need of a mental health bed, they have to travel 60 km from Wexford to Waterford. Currently, there are no acute mental health beds in Wexford. There is no 24-hour service run by the State. The only ones are those operated by the voluntary sector, including Talk to Tom. As part of the national development plan, I would like to see the introduction of a small facility of perhaps ten to 20 beds in Wexford to deal with the mental health crisis we are currently facing.”
“These are some of the infrastructural blockages that I have seen as a member of the infrastructure committee, and that the Minister sees in his role in the Department that we must get to grips with as a Government and as a country. I want to raise a number of issues in Wexford relating to the national development plan. I acknowledge the fact that the Minister, together with the Minister, Deputy James Browne, and me, visited Wexford General Hospital on Friday. He met with Linda O'Leary, the hospital manager, representatives of the HSE and many of the very hard-working staff. Planning permission has been awarded for a 97-bed unit and construction is to commence at the beginning of next year. Other demands were made at the meeting for progress on beds, the emergency department and laboratories in Wexford General Hospital.”
“That section of the legislation must be reformed to prioritise the fact that, as a country, we need motorway infrastructure to be developed and we cannot be hamstrung by judicial reviews taken on the basis that alternatives are not being considered for active travel such as walking and cycling, when constructing a motorway. The planning and design phase of the project started in December 2021 and the latest update I received states it will not be in a position to seek planning permission from An Bord Pleanála until the end of 2026. There is no way a motorway project for a 30 km stretch of road, which has been subject to design and where the route has been selected, should be delayed for five years.”
“The impact of the decision has been seen in my constituency in Wexford, where I come from, which is awaiting the development of the motorway from Oylegate to Rosslare, which would allow the M11 to run the entire way from Belfast directly to Rosslare Europort. The impact of the court case and the fact that the judicial review was successful has added 18 months to the planning process for the building of the Oylegate to Rosslare motorway because Wexford County Council, in conjunction with TII, now has to consider the impact of building a motorway on the climate targets set for transport and what mitigation measures can be taken so that individuals would travel by public transport, cycling or walking as opposed to using the motorway.”
“When the ring road in Galway went through the planning process, it went through An Bord Pleanála and a judicial review was taken in 2022 on the basis of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act (Amendment) 2021, whereby the Friends of the Irish Environment successfully overturned the planning permission granted by An Bord Pleanála for the Galway ring road on the basis that Galway City Council and Galway County Council did not consider an alternative to building the motorway. I cannot understand that at all. A motorway exists to provide a route for motor vehicles to travel along. What is the alternative to the motorway? Why was that allowed to happen? That section of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act refers to no mitigation measures being taken to reduce emissions.”
“There must be a genuine legitimate reason and basis for a case to be taken. The Courts Service of Ireland told the infrastructure committee that virtually no cases are dismissed at the first stage, which is whether there is a legitimate public interest in taking the case. Such legislation must be prioritised by the Department, in conjunction with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.”
“We must get to grips with judicial reviews and the fact that anybody across the country can lodge a planning objection to any piece of infrastructure, anywhere in Ireland, and after it goes through the planning process they can take a judicial review. At no point in the entire process is the interests of the public good considered. It is one thing to have a legitimate objector to a piece of infrastructure with a genuine reason that directly impacts on the person, and the lives of their family, but we have spurious objectors across the country, who have no connection to an area and no direct impact as a result of the infrastructure project taking cases and judicial reviews. The Department must get to grips with that. The public interest must be at the forefront of a judicial review.”
“In the last line of his speech the Minister said: "We have the resources and the opportunity to make real progress and we must follow through." This Dáil term and Government must be about delivery in housing and disability services but also in infrastructure. We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with the resources we have to make sure that we are in a position to deliver. I very much welcome the fact that we have the new infrastructure delivery unit in the Minister's Department, which he chairs, the Cabinet subcommittee on infrastructure, which he also chairs, and also the accelerating infrastructure task force. I am a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Infrastructure. In recent months we examined some of the key blockages. I am aware the Department is doing that at the moment. I want to speak for a moment on that.”