Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

: Go raibh maith agat a Cheann Comhairle. I beg leave to announce for the information of the Dáil that I have informed the President that the Dáil has nominated me to be Taoiseach and that he has appointed me accordingly.

This Government will need to be both energetic and laser-focused on delivery on housing, health and helping families, farmers, small businesses and on equality of opportunity for all and on empowering people with disabilities, on security and on exerting our influence in the world.

With that in mind,

Tairigim:

Go gcomhaontóidh Dáil Éireann leis an Taoiseach d'ainmniú na dTeachtaí seo a leanas chun a gceaptha ag an Uachtarán mar chomhaltaí den Rialtas:

I move:

That Dáil Éireann approve the nomination by the Taoiseach of the following Deputies for appointment by the President to be members of the Government:

As Tánaiste and to the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Defence, Micheál Martin.

To the Department of Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport, Eamon Ryan.

To the Department of Finance, Michael McGrath.

To the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, Paschal Donohoe.

To the Department of Education, Norma Foley.

To the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin.

To the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien.

To the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys.

To the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue.

To the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman.

To the Department of Health, Stephen Donnelly

To the Department of Justice, Helen McEntee.

To the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke.

To the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O'Donovan.

I propose to nominate Rossa Fanning S.C. for appointment by the President to be the Attorney General.

I propose to nominate Deputy Hildegard Naughten as Minister of State in the Department of the Taoiseach and as Government Chief Whip. I also intend to appoint her as Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion at the Department of Education. We have provided the biggest budget ever for this area. It is a priority area for me and one on which I want Deputy Naughten to work on with the Minister, Deputy Foley.

I also propose to nominate the following to continue as Ministers of State in attendance at Government meetings: Deputy Jack Chambers as Minister of State with responsibility for international road transport and logistics at the Department of Transport as well as Minister of State for postal policy at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications; Senator Pippa Hackett as Minister of State for land use and biodiversity at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I also propose to nominate Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill as Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs, with special responsibility for EU affairs, and as Minister of State at the Department of Defence.

Our relationship with the European Union and our role within the EU is more important than ever at this time of geopolitical uncertainty. I look forward to working with Deputy Carroll MacNeill on these issues.

Tomorrow, I will propose further Deputies to serve as Ministers of State and Cabinet will consider their appointments tomorrow. With these appointments, I believe we have a team with the right mix of experience and new talent to build the new social contract I talked about earlier. This is one which renews our promise as a republic to create equality of opportunity, to support those who need the State the most, to protect our hard-earned economic success and to use its benefits to deliver tangible outcomes to society.

First and foremost, this Government is going to continue to elevate our level of ambition and urgency on housing. We want to make sure that young people see their future in Ireland. We are going build more homes and we are going to continue to drive home ownership. We are going to examine policies that are working, like the waiver of development levies and working with colleagues to ensure such policies can remain in place.

Ceann Comhairle, over the past eight years there has been unprecedented investment in our health service. The budget has actually doubled. Outcomes for many conditions have improved, leading to people living longer and healthier lives. As Minister for Health, I had the privilege to bring the Sláintecare implementation plan to Government. People are beginning to feel the benefits of Sláintecare with free GP care for more people, the abolition of inpatient hospital charges, the extension of the free contraception scheme and the introduction of the new consultant contract, which the Minister, Deputy Donnelly has led on.

This Government will increase capacity and will improve access in our health service. This means opening more beds and theatres and recruiting more GPs, hospital consultants, nurses and therapists. I am sure everybody in this House can agree that mental health is one of the greatest challenges facing us as a society. I will work with colleagues to introduce the mental health legislation and to continue to reform our mental health services.

Of course, an ability to do all of this is dependent on a thriving economy. In Deputies Donohoe and McGrath, I believe we have the experienced team to continue improving infrastructure and services for our people and to guard and mind our economy in these challenging international geopolitical times. Implementation of the national development plan will be an essential driver of our ongoing economic success. I look forward to working with both Ministers on the summer economic statement so that we can continue to convert our economic success to real and tangible benefits for our people.

This Government understands that it has been a horrendously difficult year for farmers owing to the weather. We will help them get through this. The MInister, Deputy McConalogue, will build on the fodder transport measures already announced today, with practical supports.

I also know that small businesses are hurting, with an awful lot coming at them at once. I want the Minster, Deputy Burke, to bring his passion and drive to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I want him to develop a number of practical measures which will ease the burden on small businesses in the near future. I have asked him to work with our local enterprise offices to ensure they are maximising their capacity, to provide grants, mentoring and training to small businesses in each county because small businesses are the backbone of the Irish economy.

We all know in this House that families continue to struggle with the cost of living. The Government has taken a number of measures to assist in relation to this. The Government will continue to help with the cost and the availability of childcare. We intend to fast track legislation to include child minders in the national childcare scheme.

I want the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys to extend hot school meals to more schools. I want her to make thousands more carers eligible to receive the carer's allowance. I want her to report back before the budget on means tested payments for family carers. I have also asked her to prioritise the auto enrolment legislation, along with her work on options to address the impact of minimum wage increases on employers' PRSI contributions.

I believe we can and must continue to break down any barriers that exist to access to education. In my previous role I worked tirelessly over the past number of years to cut the cost of accessing third level education. Nothing should stop a person from reaching their full potential in this republic.

I am tasking the Minister, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, with continuing to drive forward that work. In particular, I want him to focus on developing new pathways into further and higher education for people. I have asked the Minister to prioritise labour force planning and the strategic development of the skills we need both to deliver housing in the here and now and for our future economic success. I want him to continue to increase the number and the variety of apprenticeships. I am charging him with working with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, in delivering on my commitment to establish new veterinary schools in rural Ireland.

A Cheann Comhairle, as you have heard me say, I intend to prioritise law and order and to work to make our streets safe and to end the scourge of antisocial behaviour in our communities. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and I have had many great conversations on this in recent days and weeks. Under her leadership, garda recruitment is strongly recovering after the pandemic, with 746 trainees entering Templemore. She has worked to negotiate the highest ever budget for the gardaí, more than 20% higher than when this Government entered office for the first time in 2020. We have doubled the maximum sentence for assault causing harm to ten years. We have increased the sentence for conspiracy to murder from ten years to life. We have increased the sentence for assaulting a garda or an emergency worker from seven to 12 years.

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