"What will the Government do to deliver affordable homes for north Tipperary?"

"The Department of the Taoiseach's annual report for 2024 was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in October of last year. I hope everybody has read it. The report sets out the work of the Department in 2024 to achieve the strategic priorities identified in its statement of strategy and to support the implementation of the programme for Government, including:

"Delivering the executive functions of the Taoiseach and the Government; supporting the Taoiseach in carrying out his duties as Head of Government, including in relation to the Oireachtas, constitutional issues, protocol and civic policy, the European Council, the North-South Ministerial Council and the British-Irish Council; working with the Office of the President and with the Oireachtas; engaging with the formulation and implementation of Government policy, mainly through the system of Cabinet committees, senior officials groups and the parliamentary liaison unit; supporting the offices of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Government Chief Whip and the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs; providing the Government secretariat; providing the Government Information Service; providing briefing and advice for the Taoiseach and the Government on the full range of domestic policy issues and on European Union and international affairs; and co-ordination roles in various cross-government initiatives, including Housing for All, climate action, child poverty and well-being, migration, the national digital strategy, the national risk assessment, the well-being framework, policing reform and community safety, the National Security Analysis Centre and the Dublin north east inner city initiative.

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"In terms of metrics illustrating its outputs during 2024, the Department supported 46 meetings of Government, which dealt with 1,130 memorandums to Government; supported 52 meetings of Cabinet committees, generally chaired by me, as well as meetings of associated senior officials groups; supported attendance by the Taoiseach at eight meetings of the European Council and attendance by the Minister of State with responsibility for European Union affairs at nine meetings of the General Affairs Council; and supported five visits by my good self to Northern Ireland.

"Through the work of the shared island unit within the Department of An Taoiseach, the Government committed to building consensus around a shared future. For example, six shared island dialogue events were held in 2024, while the Government announced the largest ever single package of island-wide investment commitments, of more than €800 million, including €600 million towards the A5 road upgrade for the north west, as well as funding for the iconic Narrow Water Bridge at Carlingford Lough.

"We laid the groundwork for a major overhaul of children's services, through the Cabinet committee on children and education and disability, and began the development of the new national disability strategy. My Department also supported an extensive round of engagements at EU and international levels that focused on issues of significance for Ireland, including climate and energy. I have since then established an offshore wind energy clearing house group, which brings together key players from the public and private sectors to tackle issues that are causing delays to the delivery of offshore energy infrastructure.

"We have delivered a number of important State ceremonial events, including the Stardust commemoration, the 1916 Easter Rising commemoration and the national day of commemoration. We have transferred 583 files to the National Archives; facilitated and managed 150 media events; issued 243 press releases; responded to numerous media queries and updated gov.ie on an ongoing basis; prepared responses to 801 parliamentary questions; drafted 199 speeches; dealt with more than 140,000 items of correspondence; and processed 275 freedom of information requests."