Gillian Toole
Meath East · Independent · Ireland
“It made a significant contribution to discussions around the introduction of mandatory digital devices in post-primary education. It highlighted parental concerns regarding the cost and compulsory purchase. The roll-out was halted in 2020 with the Covid-19 pandemic and remote learning and having one's own device become an essential.”
“I am thankful for the opportunity to discuss this important matter. I acknowledge the massive improvements that have been made. The national broadband plan is almost complete. Massive inroads have been made in my home county of Meath, including in the roll-out and the access it provides.”
“I apologise if I am repeating what other Members have gone through. The information is there. The plan and suggestions are effectively worked out for us. What we need now is to expand on the policy.”
“Like it or not, it may mean pulling back from the commercial one-to-one contract between the family and the provider and centralising it. That will encompass centralised State procurement, standardised device specifications and collective purchasing arrangements, having guidelines, and having additional targeted financial supports for sch…”
“I raise intergenerational music sessions, and we spoke about young people and their involvement earlier. These are also pivotal. It could be listening only, listening and singing, singing along or watching a choir. These will all help improve the multiple memory systems from episodic, semantic to implicit memory.”
“The reduction is significant - around 30% for developing cognitive impairment, 23% for all-cause dementia and 34% for Alzheimer's disease. Arts are linked to demonstrable neurological changes in the brain, lower deposits of amyloid beta, and lower numbers of lesions in the white matter of the brain.”
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“The starting point is the child-centred piece. I refer to four Ps - prioritising the person over procedure and the person not to be a pawn. To this end, I must flag the most serious issue of safeguarding and independent advocacy. It is something that is quite relevant and inextricably linked to the work of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters and the Joint Committee on Children and Equality. In phase one and phase three in 2027 and 2029, respectively, the reform must include the recognition of harm against non-verbal or disabled children as a serious safeguarding crime. There must be disability-informed safeguarding protocols and training across all agencies involved in carrying out the continuum of care during and after the family court process. I wish to make a couple of suggestions.”
“I thank Deputy Gogarty for the opportunity to address this most serious issue. I thank the Minister for the pending reforms of the family court system. It is overdue and most welcome. I commend Anna Kavanagh and Dr. Finbar Markey who have done tremendous work, both supporting and documenting the plight of parents trying to navigate a complex and oftentimes inhumane system. I am sorry I missed the other contributions this morning. I am bilocating with the Joint Committee on Disability Matters. Following on from Deputy Gibney in relation to the fiscal resourcing, what is critical to all of this is a resource of empathy. That will boil down to the recruitment and possibly the relocation of personnel with empathetic skills par excellence in this most complex area. It is not enough to add trauma on top of trauma.”
“Expanding the remit of the LEO to include non-exporting enterprises, including care and retail businesses, would be most welcome. Finally, I thank the Minister for his very comprehensive opening statement agus go n'eirí an tádh leis.”
“In particular, I would suggest extending Dublin Bus to zone 1 areas and enabling Bus Éireann and Local Link to expand their services. Access to education is also important, particularly further education. The single phase development of Dunboyne College of Further Education will actually increase inbound commuting. Another key action is the land use review and the RSES, strengthening coordinated housing, employment and infrastructure such as adequate water supplies for Dunshaughlin and Skreen. The revitalisation and regeneration of towns such as Dunshaughlin to better serve the vast rural hinterland of south east Meath is also key. Similar to Austria, France and Japan, pairing workforce and housing support with transport and SME zone planning is important.”
“Meath is a rural county under very strong urban influence to that end and juggling those parameters, I commend the great work of the LEO, Meath Partnership, the council and the community and voluntary groups. We are very grateful for RSS, LEADER and RRDF funding to date and would welcome much more in future, if possible. At this important time of Our Rural Future II policy formation, I note the recent OECD rural policy review of Ireland, particularly pages 16 to 51 containing the analyses and key actions. I hope that a lot of those, along with the extensive public consultation, will be incorporated. One of the key actions relevant to County Meath is enhanced provision of modern, safe and accessible public transport.”
“However, if you add a margin at various stages which, to the best of my knowledge, do not have a safeguard or control, you could end up with the retail price at the end having that factored in. For something as essential as energy, that is something that really needs to be looked into. Again, I would draw attention to the EnergyCloud report for the 13 months where there is €550 million of spare renewable energy that would be most welcome to those 330,000-odd households which are in energy arrears. That should be investigated. There should also be an investigation into where that differential may arise.”
“I thank the Minister of State. I always say here that every day is a school day. The €11 million PSO levy being returned is most welcome. I do not wish to be cheeky but I would welcome a response from the Minister of State on whether the transfer of leases has or does not have an impact on price? I appreciate that the Minister of State is deputising. I highlighted the average price versus the real price and the gap in the middle. I know the patterns in my area. In one instance, a farm was bought by a business person on the open market, and there was no problem there. The planning application was successful. Post-planning the parcel of land was sold on with a margin. I am not naïve in that my background is small business and margin is critically important.”
“It has flagged the availability of tillage land with me over the past two to three years. That is land its members would have leased for native local grain growing and food production. That land availability is diminishing because that land is being sold and leased for solar energy production. In those areas I have highlighted, there has been a pattern of leases being sold on after planning or after the renewable energy auctions. If you are trying to compile a risk benefit or take a cost benefit analysis approach, in a time of severe grid fragility and price volatility, what impact, if any, the transfer of leases from solar development may have on the price of renewable energy for domestic consumers if we take that gap between the average energy price and the real energy price?”
“Currently, planners have no reason to refuse a valid planning application but the residents are very concerned about a number of things, including the food producing integrity of these soils; the impact on visual amenity and heritage of these commercial developments and most recently; and, most importantly, their personal community and business concerns about the price of energy given that it is now majority renewable energy. We know from EnergyCloud that there is a surplus of renewable energy. Its report for 13 months to 31 January shows there is an availability of approximately 1,500 GW, which equates to €559 million of monetary value that could be redistributed. The Minister of State might ask where I am going with all of this but hopefully it will make sense. I will factor in the Irish Grain Growers group.”
“It is probably on a par with Cork. It is certainly is well up there. Areas such as Batterstown, Culmullen, Duleek, Kilbride, Ratoath, Kells and Kentstown either have solar developments planning approved or pending with gas peaking plants and battery storage facilities at planning phase or some point along the line. I have some concerns which have been reiterated to me by residents. The first is the absence of the second land use review. Then there is the solar development guidelines.”
“I will give a little context in advance. It is in the same vein as Deputy Daly’s Topical Issue in relation to the cost of living. The current electricity pricing is between 28 cent and 37 cent per kilowatt hour, including VAT, and the night time rate is 14 cent. If we take an average annual consumption of 4,200 kilowatt hour, that works out at about an average of €1,700 per annum, equating to €142 per month. However, I think every Member of this House and every consumer outside this complex is well aware that in many cases, the prices are approximately 50% higher and at least €200 per month and upwards. The majority of our renewable energy is now wind derived but solar renewable energy is fast on the catch-up. In the past five years, my home county of Meath has nearly become the solar renewable energy capital.”
“These are things that some CHOs already do around the country, particularly in the Limerick area and in CDNTs 5 and 7. Where it is known that children are on waiting lists for assessment, they could be allowed to access such facilities. I did it as a councillor with the municipal district allocation, and provided small amounts of funding for equine therapy and art therapy.”
“It is a number of weeks since we signed off on the report on inclusive education, which has been passed to the Departments of education and health and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality. Within that, there are 33 very strong recommendations that encompass most of what has been discussed this evening. Pivotal to that is co-creation and the co-ordinated long-term needs-based planning for children with additional needs as well as the establishment of the unit for future planning and multi-annual funding. Some tangible examples can be implemented perhaps with a more prudent use of funding, even for school meals and mindfulness, sensory and nurture rooms within schools. That could even be done in collaboration with the HSE through the use of alternative respite funding for integrative therapies.”
“The highest priority within the programme for Government is the whole area of special education, and the work that has been done to date by special needs assistants, special education teachers, the whole school community and indeed the parents and guardians supporting children throughout. It is fair to say that listening did need to improve and that is happening. It is of the utmost priority to find a way for SNA alternative circular to be integrated into the NCSE review of the role of the special needs assistant. The sanctioning today of additional budget for additional special education classes is most welcome as well. I wish to highlight the work of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters.”
“I do not particularly like the word "change" for change’s sake but it is about working to improve situations. That is why I came in here. That is why I am collaborating and signed up to the programme for Government. Regardless of who the Government is or was at the time in December 2024, that is the commitment that I made. We have a lot of problems but I have solutions.”
“I welcome the update that the Minister, Deputy Chambers, will be in contact with me. Another point that is related is the different Cabinet committees across those key areas I mentioned. I ask for an update in due course. It is interdepartmental and intergovernmental communication. Are there changes taking place from the perspective of team training? Knowledge, skills and attitude are one part of running a business. I consider running the country is effectively the most important business to be run. Taking people on that journey is also critical. I appreciate I am asking this now and had not given advanced notice. I would appreciate an update of the type of team training that is taking place. It is about working towards improvements.”
“What intergovernmental State or semi-State communication and collaboration has taken place? What plans have been or are being prepared for County Meath, which is in the programme for Government, to "ensure accurate estimates of the demand for essential services", including but not limited to school places, public transport, water supply and social infrastructure? What is the current status of the unit for future planning?”
“There is a scarcity or a complete lack of social infrastructure, such as parks in Ashbourne and Ratoath. Currently, there is anxiety, fear and frustration among parents and school teams in Duleek, Dunboyne and Dunshauglin. All are awaiting childcare places, school places, classrooms and appropriate resources not diluted in special education, but provided in line with will and preference. All of these issues have been compounded by numerous escalating costs of living. I try to be solution focused. I cannot see why these issues - similar to Deputy Gogarty, they are not just in my constituency, but in any rapidly growing area - are not anticipated and planned for. I have questions for the Tánaiste that are in adherence with the programme for Government.”
“Cosúil le Contae Chill Mhantáin, tá a lán fadhbanna á réiteach againn i gContae na Mí. Prior planning prevents poor performance. You cannot manage what you cannot measure. We are snowed under with data sets. Yet in Meath East, parents are alternating between commuting to work and campaigning alongside public representatives for childcare and school places. Students switch from study to work to keeping social connections trying to navigate disconnected, under resourced modes of transport. Examples include the 103 bus service. It is full leaving Ratoath before it gets to Ashbourne. The 109A has a reduced service to and from DCU. The M3 Dunboyne to Navan rail line is without a timeline or ring-fenced funding. Water supplies in Dunshaughlin and Dunboyne are at their limits in advance of much-needed home building.”
“However, the situation we are in at the moment is an uncontrollable variable beyond this country. It has to be managed on a day-by-day basis to ensure the outcome for everybody.”
“I welcome the pause on carbon tax but at this point, a full review of carbon tax and the proportionality of it and the apportionment of it is required. There are opportunities for us. There was an excellent conversation on EnergyCloud and the targeting of the surplus energy to those in fuel poverty, and I think that is a matter we must examine as a matter of urgency. Accountability and efficiency are required to achieve balanced budgets, going forward. We all have needs and demands. The people who have put us into the House have charged us with those. Whether in respect of education, special education or healthcare, we must remember that budgets are limits and not targets. While we want to give more to people, it has to be done in a balanced manner and with a view to the evolving needs.”
“As others have said, the crisis and the knock-on cost of living, which has arisen because of variables completely outside of our control in this country, have brought us to this point. They have also brought us to the point where we have to collaborate and co-operate, and engage in serious problem solving across the Chamber to try to alleviate the stress, anxiety and financial pressure that everybody is under at this point. There has been criticism of tax breaks. I point out that excise duty on petrol is down by 36%. On diesel, it is down by 47.7%. On green diesel, it is down by 30.8%. Our overheads in northern Europe are not the equivalent of those in southern Europe. Wages, etc., differ by 30% to 50% so we are not comparing like with like.”
“We must encourage trust and engagement from those who might have been a little reticent heretofore that people are brought along in a spirit of collaboration and in the best interests and to achieve that will and preference for those who are vulnerable and concerned.”
“Similarly to an Teachta Ó Murchú, I commend the Minister of State and her team for the work that has been done to date. I laud the fact that the review process will be brought forward. That is important. I will not be pedantic and repeat what has already been said. There has been that offer of collaboration from Professor O'Flynn in University of Galway. I have passed on the details of the relevant person in the Department. We would have received some correspondence from Justice for Wards. The review process will be timely and highly beneficial to all parties. It will also be an opportunity to measure the progress as well, given the extension that has been enabled for due process to continue.”
“It is about removing the anxiety, it is the friendly face, it is the encouragement, it is maybe pointing out a line, it is assisting with the holding of the pencil or it is whatever is appropriate to the child at that point. That is the role and the delivery of the support. I have an issue with the title SNA. They are all needs assistants. I am grateful to them but we must establish facts and have clear communication going forward.”
“The lessons that are to be learnt from this, and they are important lessons, are: accuracy of communication - establish the facts and make sure the facts are communicated accurately; ensure there is co-operation and collaboration by all parties - in this instance by the school community - before announcements are made; ensure the voices of all parties are heard; ensure the suggestions put forward are built into policy; again review policy on a continuous cycle; and then provide clear communication to the stakeholders. I cannot improve on what Deputy Roche said about the voice of the child. I am concerned when I look at the current iteration of the toolkit, which focuses on primary medical needs. They are important, vital, very bespoke and specialised in many cases. However, it is about the softer skills.”
“He afforded me one on Monday last. At that meeting, I learnt quite a few important points that are important to share. There has been a lot of misinformation in this space. One point I learnt was that the toolkit, which is the root of the problem, is up for review. There has been extensive consultation. There was commitment by all parties, such as unions, school representative bodies, etc., to support the toolkit at the time. The important thing is it is being reviewed.”
“Like all Members who have spoken before me, I too wish to express my gratitude to SNAs and, indeed, the whole school community team members, including the special education teachers. As a granddaughter, daughter and niece of primary teachers, I understand very well the complexities of what is involved in the State and the school community trying to meet our objectives under Articles 42 and 42A of Bunreacht na hÉireann, that is, to create an environment to enable learning by all children in the State at their level. I thank the staff and the chief executive of the NCSE offices, who similar to the parents and to the school communities, have endured quite a lot of anxiety, phone calls, communications and requests for information. To try to get to the nub of everything, I sought a meeting with the chief executive.”
“Combined, they have approximately over 100 years, at least, of general practice service to the community of south-east Meath. In light of that, and the shortage that will be in their practices and in the towns of Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin and Ratoath, those other areas I referred to - well-being, health promotion and the community pharmacy agreement - are where we will pick up the slack, although that is probably an inappropriate word to use. That is where front-line care, accessibility, and an open door 54 hours a week, on average, for nine hours a day six days a week, augmented by North East Doctor on Call, is the gateway to primary care. In conjunction with general practice investment going forward, that is where universality will be achieved and delivered.”
“I worked through previously when the different age cohorts received free access, and witnessed first hand the absolute pressure that was put on GP practices and their front-line staff in trying to juggle. Coming from a commuter area such as County Meath, particularly where four GPs are retiring this year in an area with an approximate population of 28,000, I can see that pressure mounting as it is. It highlights the importance of encouraging wellness, and more investment and participation, in tandem with investment in the general practice area and in the community pharmacy agreement space. I pay tribute to those four GPs: Dr. Ursula Keane of Meadowbank in Ratoath; Dr. Paddy Tierney in Dunshaughlin; Dr. Marina Bruton; and Dr. Tom Feighery.”
“As a proud member of a primary care team for 36 years, I greatly value the relationship among the primary care community of GPs, practice nurses, administration teams, OT, gerontology teams, etc. I am wary though of an increase in access at this point in time. The investment recently is most welcome. The additional places for GP training are absolutely most welcome, but if we refer back to Sláintecare and the tenets of that, there is more than just the GP piece. We have already seen a commencement and advancement in the community pharmacy agreement. Health promotion is another area, encouraging wellness and well-being, and a co-creation where we move from "I am sick. You fix me" to "I am not feeling well. Give me the tools to empower me to heal myself". A lot more work can be done in that space. That has to be explored.”
“I emphasise that there is a plan for the area but, again, it involves that overall piece of what was there historically, what was part of the heritage of the area and how is that interwoven with new developments. The Laytown-Bettystown district has seen massive housing development over the probably the past 27 to 30 years. It is about how it goes forward when there will be a sense of, pardon the phrase, "Build, baby, build". That will be what we need to do but we need to learn the lessons of the past, take on board the wisdom of our older residents and their memory bank and factor that into the actions we take. I thank the Minister of State for the work he has been doing. I hope he will not need his dinghy or canoe when he comes to County Meath in the near future.”
“It could be beneficial to Tidy Towns groups and ease the burden on them so they do not have to go to and fro with watering cans but we have water stations and an adequate supply of water butts. These are simple, low-cost interventions that involve working with nature. I wish to raise the issue of coastal erosion, although I know it is not specifically flood-related. County Meath has a very precious and short 13 km coastline. There is one particular area at Laytown where a substantial portion of the pitch and putt facility has fallen away on to the foreshore. The pitch and putt club there has been in existence for over 50 years. The volunteers have worked at a Trojan rate over the past couple of weekends to clear up the damage.”
“As public representatives, we need to work with different WhatsApp groups and community groups to encourage as many residents as possible about the alerter maps. There have been calls for additional funding for road repairs and all of us would welcome that constituency by constituency. As part of our circular economy efforts, we are using different percentages of recycled asphalt for road repairs. This needs to be looked at. Prior to flooding in Meath, I noticed that the longevity of those products may not be quite what we would like it to be - then add flood waters to it. There are opportunities in the area of rainwater harvesting, particularly in urban areas where run off can be redirected to supply water to tree plantations and shrubs.”
“It is so important that we adhere to those flood area maps. Other considerations include section 50 concerning the design of bridges and culverts, the placement and capacity of storm water attenuation tanks, the co-location of wastewater outflow and those attenuation tanks. We have had a couple of episodes in Ratoath, County Meath where the two collided and the outcome was not favourable. Thankfully, a public health emergency was averted. Rather than labour those points, I will raise them as flags. Regarding possible actions we could take, colleagues have spoken about storm notification systems, delays to that and money that was previously allocated but I remind people of the local authority and the MapAlerter apps that are very effective.”
“Another issue of high importance, which was referenced most recently by my colleague, is the huge wisdom and knowledge bank of our older people, our older residents, who know the way things were in the past, such as the course of the river, where the sluice was, where the mill of old was and how that impacted the topography of the area we now look to develop, particularly at a time of crisis in housing. This also highlights an important area, namely, that we measure twice and cut once and that when we are dealing with planning and housing, the importance of having the land use review published as soon as possible. It is also very important that we stick to the CFRAM maps. That was not the case in the past and we are now dealing with legacy issues where there has been flooding of developments in the past 20 to 25 years.”
“I also thank the ESB crew members and the fire and rescue services, who were extremely busy pumping out and then dealing with ad hoc repairs that were required where different parts of the electrical infrastructure short-circuited, etc. Listening to all of the contributions today, I am getting a fantastic lesson in geography from all parts of the country as represented by colleagues. Two things stand out in my mind. The first is that we really cannot cheat nature. We have to work with nature. We have to farm with nature, and we have to plan with nature and the climate.”
“I welcome this opportunity to address the subject of flooding. I want to express my absolute gratitude to the Minister of State. He was everywhere in all parts of the country. We look forward to imminently welcoming him to County Meath. I express my sincere gratitude to the engineers and outdoor crew of Meath County Council, particularly in the municipal districts of Ashbourne, Laytown, Bettystown, Kells and Ratoath. I also express my gratitude to the farming community. I do not know of one farmer in our area who was not involved in pulling cars, vans and God knows what types of vehicles out of ditches or through floods at a time when the weather was playing havoc with the farming calendar.”
“There are genuine and legitimate concerns on the part of residents who want the infrastructure to the put in place first. We need housing delivery, but the concerns of existing residents in areas that are under pressure in the context of water infrastructure need to be listened to. On farming, the nitrates derogation, etc., I draw the Minister of State's attention to a Facebook page called Fighting Dirty. It is based in County Louth and provides evidence-based information on wastewater outlets.”
“That would be very timely and welcome. The wastewater piece for infrastructure delivery is in train. Perhaps something in connection with the development companies and the delivery of water in the first instance is going to be looked at. Another matter I wish to flag is the emerging area of energy hubs and the colocation of battery storage, solar farms, gas peaking plants, etc. Given that this may be coming down the line, there will be a need to estimate water requirements in advance. There are quite a number of data centres in County Meath. I am of the view that rainwater harvesting should be looked at, particularly as conditions of planning, either current or retrospective, would be a high priority. This is linked to the issue of judicial reviews. There have been many submissions to the Department in relation to the Aarhus Convention.”
“I am thankful for the opportunity this evening. I commend the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Browne, in particular for the initiative to work with developers on wastewater and to accelerate the delivery of housing. That is something that we would have raised in Meath in various meetings with Uisce Éireann over the years. I also commend the water caretakers in Meath County Council, who have done sterling work, often bridging the gap in terms of communication with residents. I wish to flag a couple of points in relation to communication. We have some serious water issues in Dunboyne and Trim in County Meath at the moment. I refer in particular to one housing estate in Dunshaughlin called the Willows. Communication on the part of Uisce Éireann is absolutely key. I remind consumers to sign up for the text alert scheme.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Thaoisigh. I thank the Taoiseach for the comprehensive reminder of the evaluation committee and the members thereof. I have the height of respect and admiration for Professor Anne Scott, who is quite near me, and has vast years of experience across a broad range of medical disciplines. My question is quite simple. If there is not an inquiry, will the Government expand the scope or terms of reference? This is in relation to the protected disclosure, in particular. As I raised previously, it was first logged in July 2025. The milestones for dealing with it have been exceeded. It was passed to An Garda Síochána and Fiosrú and is integral to the remit of the evaluation committee, but it seems to have fallen into limbo.”
“Shingles was something that only ever occurred after multiple courses of antibiotics, generally after Christmas when pressure was off people. Sepsis, eye problems – I could go on. There have been studies done. Professor Angus Dalgleish in the UK, a leading oncologist, has dug deep. There are Japanese studies. I previously asked a parliamentary question about whether our State bodies are looking at these studies and possibly changing practices accordingly. I previously raised with the Taoiseach the issue of a protected disclosure, No. 17 of 2025 if memory serves me correctly, which relates to these matters. Because the terms of reference of the Covid evaluation committee are quite limited in scope, and the document is only three or four pages, these matters are not being brought up. We need an inquiry.”
“I am going to bring the Taoiseach some information that has been given to me in my role as a pharmacist, as a family member, as a friend and from constituents. What I am observing anecdotally includes stage 4 breast cancers in young women; an increase in prostate cancer in men, where previously it would have been in those aged 70 and over; stage 4 glioblastomas; and pancreatic cancers. These are in people who would not be considered to have underlying health risks. We have cardiovascular problems; sudden death in young men and women; strokes and aneurysms; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; neurological illnesses; and more diagnosis of Parkinson’s, MS, motor neurone disease, Bell’s palsy, Guillain-Barré syndrome, immunological illness and so on.”
“My question is quite straightforward. It relates to the establishment of an independent, non-statutory Covid evaluation committee. Why was that route taken, rather than a statutory inquiry similar to other jurisdictions like the UK, Australia and America? Everybody in the House would agree that the greatest wealth we have is health. In this week of the World Economic Forum at Davos and the concerns over Mercosur, we must not forget the people. We are human beings, not human doings. Up to 100 years ago, anecdotal evidence was the norm, the gold standard. There were numerous systems of medicine from Ayurvedic medicine to homoeopathy. Modern medicine, where we have empirical evidence, clinical trials, data gathering and so on, has only evolved in the last 100 years.”
“There is a so-called environmental corridor, which is a term that was created by the DAA, but it was never approved. There are multiple issues here but we have solutions that were offered almost a year ago. I appreciate the Minister's input.”
“Go raibh maith agat arís for the reply. This is a matter of absolute importance. There is no denying the economic benefit and employment opportunities for an island nation in connecting people, goods and places. The good neighbour policy and the mission statement of the DAA board is being completely ignored when there is a viable solution. The capacity for flight path resolution is probably not within AirNav, but Bratislava is well capable and is amply employed by other jurisdictions in constructing flight paths. Again, it probably should not even have to go to Bratislava, if the conditions of the 2007 planning permission are met. I can even show the Minister graphically here, and he probably has the information already, what is happening versus what was planned.”
“Simple adherence to the planning permission and the current legislation would solve this problem for 30,000 of the Minister's and my constituents.”
“I acknowledge the opportunities to meet the Minister. The findings of this European report are stark, estimating 16 premature deaths per 100,000. The information in that report of April 2025 is vitally important. As a matter of correction, in April 2024, ANCA sought noise data information from DAA. It was declined, citing judicial review proceedings, which is wholly inaccurate. That information is vitally important relative to the April report and the more recent report. As the Minister and I both know, there actually is a solution which was put forward by the north runway technical group, namely adherence to the 2007 An Bord Pleanála planning permission for flights departing off the north runway to fly five nautical miles straight out. The reality is that the flights departing from the north runway are turning after 400 m.”
“My question relates to the health costs report on aircraft noise from Dublin Airport, which was submitted in April 2025, and estimated costs per annum of €800 million. They are significant health costs. How and why is that being ignored in light of the European Environment Agency report in the European Heart Journal of 9 January this year?”