Dáil debates
Wednesday, 3 December 2025
Ceisteanna - Questions
Regulatory Reform
6:55 am
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
Deputy O'Rourke raised regulation online. We have now established the regulatory framework governing online. There is ongoing review in respect of it. Children must be protected. That has to be the optimal.
Deputy Coppinger raised healthcare assistants and family reunification. We have significant reunification in Ireland under our migration system, in particular when people leave direct provision who have residency. The Minister will bring forward legislation in respect of this and these are issues we can discuss in greater detail at that stage.
On Deputy Murphy's point, I will talk to the Ministers responsible. There has to be proper regulation of management companies. There are fundamental rights involved in terms of those complexes. I will pursue that with the Minister and see where we are in terms of amendment to primary legislation.
Deputy Quaide raised the issue of counselling and psychotherapy. On qualification frameworks and regulators generally, we want more therapists, but they have to be highly qualified. Public health is number one and the protection of the consumer. In some instances, they can be quite protectionist as well. The judgment called for regulators and I would like CORU to get the judgment right in terms of not having the bar so high that there are only highly qualified, and others are not. That is not just in terms of therapy and counselling; that is in terms of teaching and a range of other issues.
Deputy Conway-Walsh raised the regulation of quarries. I will talk to the Minister involved in that. We can overregulate too but I take the Deputy's point about the quality of aggregate and quality of the product. There are existing systems to deal with that. The SEAI is there. There are various regulatory bodies to deal with the quality of materials, but I will talk to the Minister in respect of that. New bodies were set up after the defective blocks scheme.
Deputy Boyd Barrett raised taxi regulation. I will talk to the Minister about the issues that the Deputy raised. There is a balance between consumers, those availing of taxis and the regulation of same. We had regulation a long time ago; it did not work. There was always an imbalance between supply and demand. I will look at this and will talk to the Minister for Transport in respect of it. He is fully aware of it.
No comments