James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As this is my first time speaking here since the general election, I take the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the good people of Cork East and to my canvassers, family, supporters, neighbours and friends on being re-elected to the House. I walked in here at the age 22, and I am back at the age of 27. I have to admit that it is a privilege to be here. It is always special to be in the Oireachtas, but to be here as a Member is an enormous privilege. I have great respect for the House, as an institution, for the civil servants who run it and for us as Members as well. I thank the Minister of State for being here and congratulate her on her appointment to her new Department.

As regard the topic we are discussing, that is, the programme for Government, as part of my re-election, I compiled a 28-page document for Government's attention on what I feel the priorities should be. I welcome that a number of measures within that have been adopted in the context of what is going to happen in the Departments of Public Expenditure, National Plan Delivery and Reform and Transport regarding multi-annual funding, which is something I have long called for, and in improving how we spend the public's money.

There are also some day-to-day issues on which Government needs to improve. We saw from fiascos like the bike shelter and much larger projects like the national children's hospital that there is a strong desire among the public, and there needs to be on the part of this Government, to ensure that public money is treated with more respect and is well spent.

It is important that we take stock that we are in a changing world and environment, particularly with the new Administration in the United States. The winds of change are certainly blowing in its relationship with the European Union, and Ireland is part of that. This is something the Government is going to have to deal with head on. That will involve difficult decisions, but we need to take stock and realise that in November, Ireland took in €22.8 billion in corporation tax receipts, which is a 46% increase on the figure for November 2023. We are much more vulnerable than ordinary members of the public might be aware at this moment in the context of what could happen to our economy and the Government's expenditure plan - be that the national development plan or day-to-day taxation in the context of how we plan the public finances - if we do not manage the relationship to which I refer in the right way. That has to be a fundamental part of the work the Government is going to do over its lifetime. As a TD, I am worried that corporation tax is our new stamp duty. We have come to rely on corporation tax receipts and the bonanza of public finances they have created for us. We need to protect them and work to ensure that we maintain a positive relationship in circumstances that are going to be different from those which obtained under the Biden Administration.

On domestic matters in my constituency, there are major priorities we need to work to try to address and achieve over the coming years. As a local Government TD for Cork East, I want to continue to prioritise investment in road transportation. The completion of the N25 bypass in Castlemartyr and Killeagh, which has just gone to design phase, is an important project for my constituency and the wider region. Investment in education facilitates needs to be an ongoing priority. We have seen huge issues with regard to school places in the areas of east and north Cork. While the position in this regard has been much improved in recent years, the growth in the number of houses in the area, which I welcome, means that we need to make sure public services track with what is happening in this regard.

Investment in the Cork metropolitan area transport strategy, CMATS, is one of the best initiatives the Government has come up with in recent years. Billions of euro are being spent on new railway lines, with eight new train stations and a second track running between Midleton and Cork. However, the possibility of expanding that to Youghal needs to be examined. That is something I want to explore with Irish Rail in the context of our review of CMATS.

I would like to see that completed, particularly in view of the benefits it would bring to the constituency of Cork East and the county of Cork in general.

In relation to what we could do better in the context of supporting small and medium-sized companies, that is one facet. We also need to support organic Irish start-ups in the work they do. We have seen the importance, particularly with the changes that are going to come about in the area of artificial intelligence, of why we need to keep pace. Some of the legacy companies have been around for so long now - three and four decades - in the areas of social media, tech and e-commerce. Ireland has attracted some of the largest companies to set up bases here. We need to harness the fact that those companies are here. Some of the most skilled graduates in the world are coming out of our universities and colleges. We also need to harness the fact that we speak the English language, which is very important for trading with North America. People underestimate the impact that has for US investors looking to Ireland. I want us to harness the talent we have in order to try to improve upon our ability to create more organic start-ups, like Stripe and other companies, that have gone on to have massive global success. I want us to replicate what the French Government has done very successfully with its unicorn strategy. Some 28 unicorn companies have been created in France since the policy proposal was brought forward in 2017. I would like Ireland to replicate that. We must use the fact that we have all of these companies here and do something on a more organic basis as well. I hope to work on this during the lifetime of the Government.

I will finish on housing. I am extremely concerned by discussion about missed targets in recent days. I know what would have happened if the Government had attained its target in the context of the figure of 40,000 completions. That said, we need a whole-of-government response in the area of housing. I suggest that action similar to that taken during the pandemic and the economic recovery that occurred post the recession that obtained between 2008 and 2012 should also be taken in the context of the whole-of-government response to which I refer. The Government needs to look at the bigger picture regarding housing. It needs to get everyone under the one roof. The Departments of the Taoiseach and Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform need to ensure that a whole-of-government response to this issue is adopted.

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