Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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9. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the programme for Government. [24004/24]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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10. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the programme for Government. [25302/24]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Taoiseach for an update on the programme for Government. [25608/24]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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12. To ask the Taoiseach for an update on the programme for Government. [25610/24]

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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13. To ask the Taoiseach for an update on the programme for Government. [26071/24]

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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14. To ask the Taoiseach for an update on the programme for Government. [26074/24]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 14, inclusive, together.

Individual commitments in the programme for Government are advanced through the co-ordinating mechanisms of the Cabinet committee structure. There are ten Cabinet committees established by the Government to reflect the full range of policy areas set out in the programme for Government. Cabinet committees meet regularly to accomplish their work.

The strategy statements of all Departments reflect the national priorities outlined in the programme for Government. The Department of the Taoiseach is continuing to help advance the programme for Government commitments in the following significant policy areas: implementation of the Housing for All strategy, including additional initiatives as necessary, to advance housing-related commitments; continued engagement at EU and international level on the situation in the Middle East, including by calling for full observance of international law by all parties; increased funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees and working to build consensus at an EU level to take a more proactive approach in assisting a negotiated two-state solution and lasting peace process as, on 28 May, Ireland formally recognised the State of Palestine, a decision which the Government took, in co-ordination with Spain and Norway, to support the two-state solution and which fulfils our commitment under the programme for Government; engagement with EU leaders to advance high-level objectives in the programme for Government, economic and competitiveness issues in particular, energy security, external relations including with the UK, as well as continuing our strong, collective EU response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine; pursuing our international commitments, including strengthening our relationship with the United States and implementing the UN sustainable development goals; advancing the Government’s commitments on the shared island initiative; ensuring implementation of the New Decade, New Approach commitment, working with the relevant Departments, North and South, in advancing these goals; strengthening the British-Irish bilateral relationship including with London, and the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland; implementation of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and the Government’s climate action plan; advancements in Sláintecare, improving access, outcomes and affordability for patients by increasing the capacity and effectiveness of the workforce, infrastructure and provision of patient care; supporting the development of the next national disability strategy that will be a blueprint for the further realisation of the UNCRPD; oversight of implementation of the third domestic, sexual and gender-based violence strategy, which is something we have discussed, rightly, a lot today in this House; oversight of the implementation of A Policing Service for our Future, which is the Government’s plan to implement the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland; development of the well-being framework for Ireland and driving its whole-of-government integration in policymaking and budgetary systems; publication of Harnessing Digital, the digital Ireland framework in February 2022; and the establishment of a child poverty and well-being programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach. These are a number of the vehicles we have in place to ensure implementation of the programme for Government and to monitor that implementation across the Government.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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On 21 May, the Cabinet approved plans that will result in the loss of direct DART services that serve Howth, Sutton and Bayside. Under the plans approved by Cabinet, these direct services will be lost and they will be replaced by a shuttle service between Howth and Howth Junction DART station. This is happening at a time we should be encouraging more people to use public transport rather than taking decisions that will have the opposite effect. Will the Taoiseach tell Irish Rail it needs to maintain these direct services that service Howth, Sutton and Bayside?

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I got a phone call earlier that I would have much preferred not to have got relating to the technological giant, PayPal. There will be up to 85 redundancies happening in the next while. I received the usual commitments of enhanced packages.

In or around 900 people work at the Dublin site and 700 staff now remote work but would have formerly been on the Dundalk site. They are saying that these losses would be almost half and half. We would like to see some kind of engagement from the Government to ensure that it would be at the lower end of the figures and that workers would be looked after. The State should engage with people and facilitate further employment for them. There were some 200 redundancies in February. The company says it is still committed to Ireland. There needs to be engagement from the Government so that we can assure those other workers who are very worried - my heart goes out those who may lose their jobs - that there is a commitment by this tech giant company to Ireland.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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One of the commitments in the programme for Government is to invest in sporting infrastructure. I was delighted to see the successful European Championship athletes visit the Taoiseach recently. It was important that he spent time with them. Ireland had an incredible European Championships. Ciara Mageean won a gold medal, as did the mixed 4 x 400 m relay athletes, and Rhasidat Adeleke won a superb silver medal. I congratulate Rhasidat on an incredible achievement. If she is listening, I want to assure her that 99.9% of the people of Ireland are proud of her. We are absolutely delighted with her performance and I say to her to ignore the bigotry and racism. The women's 4 x 400 m athletes also won a silver medal. This placed us on the medals table ahead of the likes of Germany and Ukraine, which are athletic superpowers. We did all this despite the fact that we are not investing in our athletics infrastructure. My point is that we need to invest in athletics infrastructure. For example, in Cork, 8,600 athletes do not have an athletics track to train on. This is despite the fact that the likes of Phil Healy, the "Ballineen Bullet", who was part of that 4 x 400 m women's silver medal winning team, is a member of Bandon Athletics Club, as is Nicola Tuthill who finished ninth in the hammer throwing event. Bandon Athletics Club is in the process of building an athletics track. This could be a game changer for athletics in Cork. I ask the Taoiseach to support this facility and investment in it. The club has submitted a sports capital grant application. It needs to be successful in this regard, but it also needs other sources of funding to complete this vitally important project.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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I ask the Taoiseach about the issue of childcare in Ballincollig in Cork or, more precisely, the lack thereof. Cork City Council recently turned down planning permission for a crèche. Does the Taoiseach know how many disappointed parents had their names on the list for a place? The answer is 400. One of those 400 parents was on unpaid leave at the time. She will now have to quit her job to look after her child. Another disappointed couple will have to carry on driving 27 km each way every day for childcare outside Ballincollig. It is the only facility they can get. In the next decade, Cork will be the fastest growing city in the State and Ballincollig will be one of the city's fastest growing areas. What does the Government intend to do now to resolve the childcare crisis in Ballincollig and other population centres like it?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The programme for Government was written when we were coming out of the Covid pandemic. Much of it dealt with economic recovery and the impact of Covid on particular groups of workers. One group that I campaigned and advocated for very strongly was taxi drivers. They last two years of work at the time. Following pleas from the taxi drivers, the Government conceded that those with cars reaching the ten-year replacement deadline during the pandemic would get an extension. Some of those who were reaching that deadline got an extension. I have raised this issue before. An anomaly has emerged for other people who were on the road with slightly newer cars but still lost two years of work. That means two years during which they could not finance the loans they had. They lost the same amount of income and were equally impacted. They are now facing having to take their cars off the road in January, even though they last two years of income. This is very urgent for them. I put a question to the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, about this and he basically said he was not planning to do anything about it. That is wrong. Anybody who was on the road at the time lost two years of income. Their cars did not operate for two years, so it is legitimate that they would get an additional two years. In fact, there will be an anomaly where cars that are much older will still be on the road in 2027 because of the extension their owners got, whereas cars that are newer will be forced off the road. This is a very big financial issue for the taxi drivers involved. We are appealing that everybody who was on the road at the time get the two-year extension.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I had a look again through the programme for Government. I was struck by the number of commitments to improve animal welfare standards. There is even a reference to prioritising equine welfare based on a robust traceability system, which would certainly raise eyebrows after last weeks RTÉ's "Prime Time Investigates" programme. I will focus on Dublin Zoo, an issue I raised previously. There is evidence to suggest that the zoo continues to fall below appropriate animal welfare standards. There have been protected disclosures and allegations made in the Dáil and Seanad and there has been an investigation by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS. I understand that last week a zebra in the zoo was shot dead with a gun. It was euthanised with a gun, as opposed to with an injection which is the appropriate and normal approach in zoos around the world. This was not done by a vet and vets are the only people licensed to do it. It is not the case that the zebra was running around endangering people. There is a serious question about this event and there are other serious questions about the zoo. A question that has never been looked relates to the involvement of Management Support Services, MSS, at Dublin Zoo. This company is also involved in the notorious Ashton Dog Pound where all sorts of abuse of dogs and so on took place. A new, independent investigation is needed into what is happening in Dublin Zoo.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am not aware of that situation but is a very serious matter to raise. Let me ask for a report from the relevant Department. Dublin Zoo is independently run but receives funding from the State. I take animal welfare extraordinarily seriously. I was utterly horrified by the revelations in the "Prime Time Investigates" programme last week. I want to receive a full and comprehensive report on the actions that will now be taken on this matter at an Irish and an EU level.

Deputy Boyd Barrett and I do not often agree on issues but the issue he raised about taxi drivers seems logical to me. It was raised with me by taxi drivers in certain parts of Dublin when I was out on the canvass recently. The Deputy raised it with me previously and I asked that it be looked into. I ask whoever monitors these matters for me in officialdom to please follow up on this. I will certainly follow up on it on my return to my office. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, about it directly to see if anything can be done and come back to the Deputy on it.

I thank Deputy Barry for raising the issue of childcare in Ballincollig in Cork. The number of names on the list indicates the real challenge that clearly exists regarding capacity and childcare services. The Government is already providing capital grants for the refurbishment and expansion of childcare facilities. I can send the Deputy a note on this. Capital funding is now available through the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. I hope it will be utilised in west Cork and by the county childcare committee and others who might be in a position to help. I will send a detailed note on what is available and I am happy to engage further with the Deputy on it.

The happiest day I have had an office is the day I met some of the Irish team who had returned from European Athletics Championships. Their energy and positivity are such a tonic. They have done the whole country proud and I know they are not finished yet. Many of them are planning for the Olympics. I join the Deputy in wishing Rhasidat and the other athletes the very best. Phil Healy was part of the group that came to see me. The Government wants to do a lot more to invest in sporting infrastructure. We are beginning to make real progress in a number of sports on the global stage. Beyond that, sport from a community physical and mental health point of view is vital. We will have the largest sports capital programme ever under the Minister for State, Deputy Thomas Byrne. Details of that will probably be announced around September. I think there will be some €250 million in that. All three parties in government are eager to do more on investing in sports infrastructure.

I will raise with the Minister the specific issue the Deputy raised related to an athletics track.

In response to Deputy Ó Murchú, I am not briefed on the PayPal potential redundancy issue and therefore do not want to say anything that cuts across a process or causes any anxiety. Of course, we think of anyone who is made redundant and, as the Deputy says, our hearts go out to them. Any time there are redundancies, the full infrastructure of the State must kick in, including the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Social Protection. I will speak to both Departments. I will also ask the Minister for enterprise, Deputy Burke, to come back to the Deputy specifically regarding PayPal and any interactions or engagement the State is having with it on its Irish operation.

In response to Deputy O'Callaghan, one of the benefits of being out on the campaign over the past while was that this issue was raised with me on a number of occasions when I was in Howth. I clearly understand the depth of feeling there is in the Deputy's constituency related to this issue. The Government signed off on what I believe is a good project, the expansion of the DART network. I am very conscious, though, that the consequence of that in terms of disruption to people in Howth, Sutton and Bayside is something people very strongly about. I intend to engage with Irish Rail on this and I will be happy to come back to the Deputy on it.