Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Here we go again. With less than three weeks to go before the Taoiseach hands the keys of his office back to the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, the Fine Gael Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, has opened the door to the return of big pay for top bankers. This move will pave the way for bumper pay increases for the top brass at bailed-out banks. We are talking about senior banking executives who already earn €500,000. It seems former Fine Gael Ministers who slipped out of government and into the roles of banking lobbyists have done their job very well.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Nobody should be surprised because this is straight out of the Fine Gael playbook - delivering for those in high places while ordinary people struggle to make ends meet.

This would be a bad call at any time, but there is something twisted about allowing big pay hikes for wealthy bankers while workers and families endure an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. It is a real kick in the teeth for ordinary people.

There was a segment on RTÉ radio this morning, which was absolutely heart-breaking. It contained interviews with people who now rely on food banks to ensure that they and their children get a decent meal. One woman spoke about how she will have to go into debt on household bills in order to ensure that her kids have a nice Christmas. Is that not an awful dilemma for any parent? However, that is the reality of what people are facing as Fine Gael prepares to resume leadership of the Government by looking after the top brass in the banks.

We have all been here before. We have seen where gratuitous pay of bankers and the self-serving behaviour of big banks led us before. It led us to financial disaster, economic crash and social catastrophe. For the banks, it meant an enormous rescue package funded out of public moneys to the tune of €45 billion. For workers and families, it meant austerity. For the most vulnerable, it meant the most vicious of cuts. Fine Gael took away the respite care and bereavement grants and cut child benefit.

After all the damage was done, did the banks learn their lesson? Did they hell. No, they did not. We only need to look at the tracker mortgage scandal, with thousands overcharged for their mortgages. Hundreds of people lost their homes and lives were destroyed as a result. Even when the banks were caught red-handed, they continued to do harm. This year alone, AIB and Bank of Ireland were fined over €197 million for regulatory breaches and actions that led to families losing their homes. The tracker mortgage scandal is not distant history; it happened in recent years. To this day, not one banker has been held accountable for this scandal.

Buille uafásach is ea cinneadh an Aire, an Teachta Donohoe, chun pá mór a cheadú do bhaincéirí, d’oibrithe agus do theaghlaigh atá ag streachailt chun teacht i dtír. Níor cheart leis dul ar aghaidh. The Minister for Finance's decision is essentially to reward top bankers despite all the damage that was done. He is clearly completely out of touch with what ordinary people are going through. Fine Gael is clearly out of touch with all of that. My question is simple. Why is the Taoiseach going along with this? How can he defend it? How can he tell those struggling to heat their homes or put food on the table that a banker’s salary of €500,000 is not enough?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In the first instance, the outcome of the retail banking review is an important piece of work. It contains 34 recommendations. We have gone from 13 retail banks down to three. The banking landscape has changed dramatically. The report is worth reading, and the Deputy should read it in its entirety. There are very interesting recommendations, including recommending that Government would put into legislation that citizens would have access to cash. In other words, that there would be a legislative obligation on banks to ensure access to cash for citizens. Some extremely interesting surveys were done into how people want access to cash even though they are using more digital mechanisms. This, of course, relates to the retail banking network and the availability of ATMs. It is a very important outcome of this review, along with consumer protection and the competition issue, the future of banking and changing technology in banks. The non-bank sector is an issue we have to address. These are all recommendations that have emanated from here.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Freagair an cheist.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Opposition has decided to deal with only one item. The review recommends the introduction of variable pay of up to €20,000 and for the provision of standard non-pay benefits for all employees in the three banks. There are 20,000 people working in the three retail banks. Why is the Opposition, including Sinn Féin, against ordinary workers in the banking sector from getting a pay rise? That is what the Deputy is saying and that is what she said this morning. If anybody is trying to kick the teeth of anybody else, she is kicking the teeth of the ordinary bank workers of this country.

John O’Connell, the general secretary of the union for workers in the banks, is saying very clearly that the lifting of the restrictions on variable pay and benefits will benefit ordinary bank staff. That is what he is saying and that is clear. Restrictions are causing difficulties with staff recruitment and retention especially in the new critical areas of IT and cybersecurity. Remember that the HSE is now estimating that the cybersecurity attack on its operations last year will potentially cost up to €100 million in the areas of compliance and legal functions.

They are competing with big banks in the international and financial services sector for many of these staff. It is interesting that nearly one third of workers who are leaving banks indicate that reward is a key reason for quitting. Between 40% and 45% of workers in the sector who have left have received variable pay as part of their package with their new employer. All of this is in the review. That is a key issue that the Deputy has simply ignored because she thinks that it plays well for her electorally just to talk about the top brass, the big banker-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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The Taoiseach has abandoned the pensioners.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and to keep the debate at that level, but not to look more seriously at the issues that the review brings out.

There are 34 recommendations in this review. It has changed dramatically. Parallel with that, last week, the Government published the credit union Bill. The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, has done excellent work in this regard. This review states that the credit union has significant potential now in terms of mortgages, small and medium sized businesses, SMEs, and other issues. That is the raison d’être.

In terms of the Bank of Ireland and the restriction on the higher level of remuneration, that bank is now completely independent of the Government and it has paid back everything that it was given by the Government. It is independent of the Government. We are not giving anyone any pay at all.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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€500,000 is not enough.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I am sure that the Taoiseach’s new-found concern for the ordinary bank workers is very welcome. The banks are of course profitable and they should pay their staff correctly.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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But you will not-----

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Dodging the answer.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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The review states: "In practice, the €500,000 pay cap applies to the few within the banks that hold the most senior management positions, such as the CEO and other senior executives". The Taoiseach is proposing to remove that cap so do not create an alibi or hide behind ordinary bank clerks----

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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-----in a bid to defend the indefensible. I have put it to the Taoiseach on this specific matter that the removal of this pay cap, as though €500,000 is not enough for a senior banker, Fine Gael, true to form, wants to bust through that and go back to the bad old days when bankers could earn obscene amounts of money in their salary and obscene bonuses. The culture has not changed one iota within the Irish banking system. I have asked the Taoiseach on that issue how he stands behind that. How does he defend that? This is the Fine Gael Minister for Finance’s last throw of the dice in favour of the very wealthy and the overpaid, while ordinary people struggle.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I found the Deputy’s last comment in the last segment of her question very intriguing. She is basically saying that, unlike other sectors, unlike the financial services sector, that ordinary workers in the banks are not or should not be entitled to variable pay.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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That is not what she is saying.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is clearly what she is saying, because she said that they just be paid the basic salary and that is it.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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No she did not.

Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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That is not what she said at all.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Can the Taoiseach answer my question?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is what the Deputy said, and it is a very important point because of the core recommendation from the banking review that the Government has accepted.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I have asked the Taoiseach about the €500,000.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is saying that the ordinary bank worker is not entitled-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----to the variable pay or indeed is not entitled to standard benefits-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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What banker requires €500,000?

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Please, let the Taoiseach speak.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----in terms of the variable of €20,000.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Can the Taoiseach clarify what banker requires €500,000?

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Let the Taoiseach speak.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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He is clearly not answering my question.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In terms of the cap for the CEO, that relates to one bank under this recommendation, which is the Bank of Ireland.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Instead he was closing the bank branches.

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Read the report.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Read the report.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Read it, because that is exactly as it is. That bank is not owned by the State and it has no share in that bank.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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€500,000 is not enough.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The bottom line is that it has to compete with other, bigger banks that operate in financial services in this country and which employ thousands of people-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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The Taoiseach's friends.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and with technology companies that can offer far higher rates of pay. There is a fundamental issue there as well.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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And according to the Taoiseach, the banks were never bailed out in the first place. Is that not right? Give them the bonuses and the pay. They were never bailed out in the first place.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Sinn Féin went for direct action in its time.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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As Deputy Micheál Martin prepares to leave the office of Taoiseach, it is an appropriate time to reflect on his tenure in office. He has repeatedly said he considers housing the most important social issue in the country but his record tells a different story. It is not a record of problem solving; it is a record of problems multiplying.

The crisis has now morphed into a disaster. The facts speak for themselves. House prices, rents and the rate of homelessness have never been higher. On Friday, we learned that there are now a record 11,397 people, including 3,480 children, living in emergency accommodation. The housing emergency is not always just about bricks and mortar. The price of the disaster is being paid by these thousands of children, many of whom are not meeting milestones, who are losing their childhoods as they grow up in emergency accommodation. Homelessness has almost become normalised. The price is also being paid by the relationships breaking down because of the stress of housing insecurity, by the couples postponing having a family and by the disconnected communities resulting from people being unable to put down roots.

When is this going to end or, at the very least, when are we going to see some tangible improvements? The thousands of people who took to the streets for the Raise the Roof rally on Saturday do not see any evidence that the Taoiseach's Government is treating this crisis as an emergency. I met teachers at the protest who can no longer afford to live in Dublin or other cities and who have no option but to leave the profession or leave the country. It is the same story for workers in other sectors. Our very significant skills shortage is partly a result of this. Who can afford to spend an astronomical €28,000 per annum in rent to live in Dublin or in excess of €20,000 to live in other parts of the country? Pretty soon, the only people who will be able to afford rent in this country will be bankers, who are to see their gold-plated €20,000 bonuses restored with the decision made by Government today.

The Taoiseach is delivering for the bankers but what about the workers in sectors that did not have any hand, act or part in collapsing the housing sector? All they hear from the Taoiseach is broken promises. He says housing is his top priority and yet 11 local authorities failed to deliver a single new-build home in the first half of 2022. Not a single such home was constructed in six months in vast swathes of the country during the biggest housing crisis in a generation. This 11 includes three local authorities in Dublin, where the crisis is at its most acute. Meanwhile, nearly €500 million of the Government's housing budget for the first nine months of this year was not spent. It should be no surprise then that the Government will miss its modest target to build 4,100 affordable and cost rental homes this year. Talk is cheap and the Taoiseach's commitments on housing now lie in tatters. Does he accept that his tenure has been a failure when it comes to housing?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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No, I do not. Some very fundamental decisions have been taken that have changed the momentum in respect of housing for the next decade. We are already on track to exceed this year's target of 24,600 under Housing for All. We need to consider that we had two significant lockdowns during the Covid pandemic, which dominated the first year and a half to two years of this Government. Despite the inflationary cycle, the war in Ukraine and the exponential increase in the cost of building materials as we came out of the pandemic, we have continued with new schemes and new approaches and with record legislation in the field of housing. Seventeen Acts in this area have been enacted since this Government came into office. This includes major legislation such as the Land Development Agency Act 2021, which is going to be there for the long term. We have already seen the work of this agency in Shanganagh. Some in the Opposition voted against that but, as of last week, there are now 600 units under way because of the Land Development Agency and the Act establishing it.

The Affordable Housing Act established the affordable housing purchase scheme. The sixth Residential Tenancies Act enhances tenant protections, including the introduction of a 2% rent cap, extended rent pressure zones, RPZs, until the end of 2024, restricted deposits in the context of what landlords can do with deposits, extended notice to quit periods, the winter eviction ban, and a whole range of legislative elements. The help to buy scheme is now a maximum payment of €30,000. This scheme has helped thousands of ordinary people to buy their first home. This year we have had a record 16,000 first-time buyers in the past 12 months. That is the highest number since 2007, which represents 33% of all home purchases, up from 25% in 2015. With social housing, again we are looking at a record this year in the number of social houses that will be brought in through build, lease and acquisition.

About 18,500 social houses have been provided since this Government came into office. This is very significant ramping up of activity on the social housing front. We can also add in 5,000 units in voids that we brought back in. We are producing additional housing. The issue for us is that we need to produce more and we need to produce housing more rapidly. This means more rapid build. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is focusing on that aspect of it now, particularly on public lands, so we can get more rapid-build social housing into play. We are also increasing the supports for homeownership. On top of the help to buy scheme we have the first home scheme, which is at about 700 approvals already. Project Tosaigh, from the Land Development Agency, is also targeting some 5,000 units with existing planning permissions on the private side, which it is hoping to bring into operation to create affordable housing for people. There is a lot of activity there. It is about supply and is about trying to get delivery faster.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The Taoiseach said nothing about the 11,397 people who are in homeless and emergency accommodation, including almost 3,500 children who will spend this Christmas in homeless accommodation. It has almost become permanent. It has become normalised. We get these figures on a Friday towards the end of each month and each time they are going up. We have seen a reduction in commencements in the past three months, with no local authority new builds in the first six months of this year in 11 local authorities. It does not suggest an emergency. The facts are we have the highest rents and the cost of buying a house has never been higher. We have lots of targets, but people cannot live in targets and they cannot rent targets. They need to see that, in this crisis, the Government is delivering as if it were an emergency and where we are actually seeing the results on the ground. People are losing hope. We could certainly see this on Saturday when talking to people at the demonstration.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Again, the Deputies opposite keep talking about the word "emergency", but why did they oppose the Land Development Agency Act? Why did they oppose the Affordable Housing Act? Is it really an emergency when Deputies indulge in the luxury of opposing legislation that provides additional supply on public land? That is the problem. I feel that people-----

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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The Taoiseach knows that is not-----

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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That is the truth.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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People articulate a lot of rhetoric in the House about "emergency" and "urgency" and so on.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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It would be nice if the Taoiseach answered the question.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I suggest this rhetoric sometimes is not matched. The homeless issue is a very serious issue.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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It is a disaster.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We need more supply to deal with that. That is why we have ramped up social housing supply very significantly - to deal with the issue of homelessness and the waiting lists for people who are trying to get social housing. This is why we have ramped it up, and it is up significantly. Consider the numbers of workers who are working in construction. There are 40,000 more people working in construction this year than last year, which is 20,000 more than in 2019. This also shows that we are doing everything we possibly can to ramp up capacity within the construction sector in order that we can build more homes. Ultimately, it is about supply. We also have the winter eviction ban to try to reduce homelessness during the winter period.

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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It is higher rents but lower standards.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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I raise the issue of the local authority water service workers again. I have raised it a number of times. I raise it today because there are only three weeks until the Dáil recess and the changing of the guard from the point of view of the Taoiseach and five weeks until the commencement date of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, framework plan that affects up to 3,500 workers.

To date, Unite the Union water service workers have rejected the plan by 82%, and 96% of water service workers in the Connect trade union have balloted to take industrial action if the date and wording for a referendum to enshrine the public ownership and management of water and sanitation services in the Constitution are not initiated. They want to keep the full terms and conditions they have with the local authorities. They want honoured their rostered overtime and allowances, which impact their future pensions. They want that red-circled. They want public service status protected. The water service workers in SIPTU and Fórsa have not been balloted, and I hope the Taoiseach will agree that this is a democratic deficit for those workers. They were promised that a referendum would be passed before any transfer of workers to Irish Water and that such a transfer would take place in 2026. In the WRC framework agreement, there is no mention of a referendum and the date has been brought forward by three years to 1 January 2023.

The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, stated in a letter to me that he will bring forward definitive proposals on a referendum on water ownership for consideration early in the new year. That is not good enough. It is too vague and it still kicks the can down the road. We have had too many delays. In November 2018, the then Minister, Eoghan Murphy, announced he was to seek approval for such a referendum. That was two years after the Bill I introduced in 2016, and we are still waiting six years on for that proposal to go to the Cabinet. The Bill was unopposed and the framework plan has been brought forward by three years, from 2026 to 2023. The Bill I proposed on behalf of the huge Right2Water campaign is sitting on Committee Stage. The Taoiseach will be aware of that Bill.

The Taoiseach's party claims to support a referendum, so it should prove it and ensure water and sanitation do not remain in public ownership in name only, with the majority of services outsourced to private companies on long-term contracts. I have seen many Ministers clamour to bring legislation to the Cabinet before the D-day of 17 December. Will the Taoiseach instruct his Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to bring a wording and the date for a referendum to his Cabinet before 17 December?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. Transfers to Irish Water of water services workers under the framework for future delivery of water services, which was identified, as the Deputy will know, at the Workplace Relations Commission on 24 June of this year, are voluntary. Every worker will have the option of staying with his or her local authority, and transfers will happen over a four-year period, from 2023 to 2026, inclusive. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage hosted parallel engagement with the unions on a number of policy matters of relevance to staff in the context of the water transformation programme, including a referendum on water ownership.

A paper entitled Irish Water Transformation: The Wider Policy Context was shared with the unions in July of this year to reflect the engagement outcomes. That paper set out the planned approach to bring forward a referendum proposal on water ownership for consideration by the Government in conjunction with the anticipated recommendation of a proposed referendum on housing from the Housing Commission. In that way it is intended that definitive proposals, including timelines for referendums on water and housing, in line with the commitments given in the programme for Government, will be considered by the Government in the near future. I hope we will have recommendations by the end of the year in order that the Minister will be in the position to act on this early in the new year.

In that context the process that has been entered into is a positive one, and the policy paper reflected all of that in respect of Irish Water separating from the Ervia group during 2023.

The Water Services (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill is due to conclude in the Oireachtas on Thursday. Seanad Report and Final Stages will provide for the separation. Irish Water will then integrate the day-to-day operations in the delivery of water services into its own organisational structures in place of the current service level agreements. In many ways, that will make for a better delivery of water services.

The referendum has been committed to. The Housing Commission is working on those issues. During the debates in the House and so on, we acknowledged that the constitutional referendum emerged as a key concern. The Government intends to act on that with legislation. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has signalled his willingness to support that referendum on the ownership of water and to hold it in conjunction with a referendum on housing once the recommendation from the Housing Commission comes forward, hopefully towards the end of the year.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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We have been waiting for a referendum and a wording to come forward for six years. It has been six months since the policy document was published and we still await wording and a date. It is an absolute disgrace. I have received correspondence from water service workers. They say they want a referendum now. The wording must be that the ownership of water and water service are to remain public. Terms and conditions of local authority water workers do not include allowances and regular and rostered overtime. Allowances and regular rostered overtime and on-call allowance must be red-circled in the water framework document. Those allowances are pensionable. They can stay in the local authority but they may not be in the same position. They might be in parks or maintenance and they are not carrying their rostered overtime and the pensionable allowances. They want that red-circled and put in the framework plan and they want a referendum now.

One of the workers told me to tell the Minister to make no mistake: if he tries to force the framework plan on the workers, he will be met with massive nationwide industrial action. We need a referendum on the public ownership now. That is their message to the Government.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is committed to this and there is a recommendation to come from the Housing Commission.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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We have been waiting for years.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is no doubt but that water will remain in public ownership in this country. I know of no political party in this Dáil or this Oireachtas which wants to privatise water.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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Fine Gael.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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No they do not. I have not seen anyone say that. No one has articulated that in a long, long time.

We need to stop the scaremongering but that said, we are committed to a referendum. But let us stop the scaremongering. The public wants a smooth, efficient delivery of water services. We need to expand wastewater treatment plants. That is the focus on the Government. It is to get more capital allocated and not only that but to get delivery to get more housing estates connected to water more quickly and to get the extra housing that is being built every year connected more regularly. Those are the bread and butter issues that the people are concerned about in respect of water.

This is all taking place within the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change)
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The workers were not allowed vote for it.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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A workplace framework agreement was agreed with the unions through the WRC and so on. There has been a lot of consultation and a lot of engagement on this. Moreover, as I said originally, it is voluntary.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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This is going to be my last Leaders' Questions with the Taoiseach as his term draws to a close.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is devastated.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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In the past two years, I have raised over 50 questions of serious national west Cork concerns. Looking back, I must say many of these issues got worse rather than better under his leadership. I noticed some of the same frustration we experience in west Cork at the launch of Councillor Shane P. O'Reilly's campaign for the Rural Independent Group in the next general election in Cavan-Monaghan. A packed room vented its anger at the Government and gave us and Councillor O'Reilly a clear mandate. I will go back two and a half years. The first for the chop under the Taoiseach's guidance was the fishing industry. It is almost destroyed with his acceptance of a shocking Brexit deal, plus sea fisheries penalty points that he signed into law, as well as an inability to fight for any extra quota, not even bluefin tuna, when the rest of Europe has that quota.

I have raised the farming crisis. The Government is asleep at the wheel. It has seen the destruction of farm incomes as it ploughs ahead with this ludicrous Green Party policy of cutting the national herd, as well as applying carbon tax on farm fuel, thus crippling the farming sector. I raised our energy independence and the over-reliance on the UK for our fuel.

I spoke to the Taoiseach about the possibility of exploring for our own fuel off Barryroe and a floating liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal of Cork Harbour, only to be met with deaf ears. I also spoke to the Taoiseach about people who were waiting for five years in Cork for operations such as cataract operations. Two and a half years later, people of Cork city and county must still wait for five years.

I raised the closure of Bank of Ireland banks in Bantry and Dunmanway and post offices such as that in Goleen in west Cork but nothing has happened. They closed. Castletownbere, Dunmanway and Kinsale banks almost went cashless under the Taoiseach's watch until the Rural Independent Group stepped in and put a stop to it.

Bantry General Hospital is always a great concern of my constituents. The new accident and emergency unit was closed to the public for close to a month and not a sod has been turned on the ever-promised endoscopy unit or stroke unit in the Taoiseach’s term. His only visit to the hospital was overshadowed by the announcement days later that seven beds were to be closed in the mental health unit.

I have also raised the issues of funding for Keelbeg Pier, Union Hall; a stand-alone statue in Dublin to remember General Michael Collins; the closure of CoAction houses in Castletownbere; a helicopter service for Dursey Island, as people have no fresh food there; water shortages in Clonakilty; and the crisis in the ambulance service for patients and staff. I have raised all these during the Taoiseach’s term but my calls have fallen on deaf ears.

On 2 June 2021, I raised the All-Island Research Observatory, AIRO, report, compiled by Cork County Council. This independent report showed that Cork county was 52 years behind other counties in respect of funding under the local improvement scheme, LIS, and CLÁR, in addition to funding for roads and rural regeneration. The report found that Cork county was the county fourth from the bottom in getting LEADER funding in spite of its being the largest in the country. To address this independent report, I pleaded with the Taoiseach in June 2021 to meet the then Fianna Fáil mayor, Councillor Gillian Coughlan, to address this astonishing shortfall affecting the county. To my astonishment, neither the Taoiseach, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, nor the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, ever met the council to discuss and address this critical independent report on Cork county, which, if acted upon, could help bring the funding level of Cork county up to that of the rest of Ireland. Why has the Taoiseach not met Cork County Council to address this report during his term?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising those issues. The country has enjoyed full employment for the past two years, having come out of Covid. West Cork has not been immune from this. Agricultural incomes have gone up over recent years, despite what the Deputy said. They went up significantly last year.

I was in Ringaskiddy at the weekend, on Saturday. The Mayor of the County of Cork was present also. He would have witnessed the transformation in the community centre in the town, reflecting the strong spirit of the community and the strong LEADER grant of about €300,000 that was responsible for the transformation of the centre. It is carbon neutral and highly energy efficient, and it has a wonderful room. This is really an illustration of the transformation that has happened not only across west Cork but across the rest of rural Ireland regarding the allocation of substantial funding and working opportunities created within community centres. The Ringaskiddy centre is just one example of where a significant sum was made available. A sum of €379 million has been allocated since 2020 by the Department of Rural and Community Development to projects under the rural regeneration and development fund. The Deputy did not mention that once in his commentary. It was almost as if he did not see any of it.

The outdoor recreation and infrastructure scheme should also be acknowledged, along with the public-realm work that is ongoing in many areas across west Cork, CLÁR, the town and village renewal scheme and the local improvement scheme, but the Deputy simply ignored them all. It is as if they never happened, even though the Deputy was agitating a lot for the funding and ringing up Departments, county councils and everybody to get a slice of the action. That is no harm, and I do not have any issue with the Deputy doing that, but he will endeavour, as usual, to claim credit for it over Government Deputy Christopher O’Sullivan or somebody else like that.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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If we got it, I would, but we did not.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy should talk to the Mayor of the County of Cork. He is opening a lot of developments. The urban relief road in Carrigaline has been transformative in addressing the congestion there. It gives very quick access to Minane and places further along. We will seek further improvements to the LEADER and CLÁR programmes, but the Deputy must surely acknowledge the additional funding that was earmarked for projects right across west Cork.

The Croí Cónaithe towns fund will be useful for any vacant property refurbishment that is required. Towns to the west could benefit from substantial grants under the fund.

People could establish homes and live in them. They could benefit from significant grants from the Croí Cónaithe towns fund, which can go from €30,000 to €50,000.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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There are conditions.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As for fisheries, as the Deputy knows, Brexit was the key factor there. We have brought in funding from the Brexit adjustment fund, which will help in that regard.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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I thank the Taoiseach for his reply and trek around Ringaskiddy and Carrigaline in his own constituency, where all of the projects he has spoken about are happening. Nothing much has happened in west Cork during the Taoiseach's run. I asked him about the AIRO report and why he did not meet with the council. He refused to answer and continues to refuse to meet the council. His inability to address the independent report that shows quite clearly that Cork county is an astonishing 52 years behind at all State funding levels has left Cork County Council with no choice but to raise rates for hard-pressed businesses by 3.5% yesterday.

The Taoiseach had almost two years to deal with the report but chose, for whatever reason, to turn a blind eye to it; the same blind eye he turned towards roads in west Cork. As a leader from Cork, I had some hope that the Taoiseach would have seen the desperate need for a bypass in Innishannon and the finishing of the southern bypass in Bandon, as well as progressing plans for the northern relief road in Bandon, coupled with the Bantry relief road, but nothing has happened other than pothole repair on these vital roads. On the N71 from Bandon to Clonakilty and Clonakilty to Skibbereen, people can spend 20 to 30 minutes behind a lorry or a tractor, as the plea for funding for simple passing bays fell on deaf ears. After two and a half years as leader of our country, what will the Taoiseach's legacy be for the people of west Cork? I can see little or none.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There has been a 50% increase in LEADER funding for west Cork and Cork county in general. The Deputy knows about the Bandon flood relief scheme, which has received huge public funding, and €5 million has gone into the Bandon public realm project. The Clonakilty and Skibbereen flood relief schemes have been funded. Significant public money is going into west Cork and the Deputy knows that. That will continue. I travel in west Cork a lot, in particular during the summer when there are a lot of championship matches there because the county board always sends us there for a variety of reasons. I can get from A to B relatively quickly. I was in Clonakilty during the summer when major investment in a treasury company in Clonakilty Park was announced. There has been a dramatic increase in employment and significant investment, which is a huge vote of confidence.

Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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Global Shares.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, Global Shares. When Mr. Dimon arrived, he could not get over the productivity of the workers in Clonakilty. An international financial services company based in west Cork is doing outstanding work. The Deputy should be careful. I do not mind him raising issues but he should not paint a picture of one long tale of misery. One thing west Cork is not is miserable.