Dáil debates
Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
5:40 am
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I remind Deputies that they each have one minute and the Taoiseach has one minute to respond to each.
Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I am very heartened to see that at least one Member got actual answers to his question. I am sure the fact the question was put by a member of a Government party is not lost on anybody.
I have been in contact with Paul Guy, whose father, Audeon Guy, was referenced by the Taoiseach. As he knows, the family have gone public on the shocking abuse their father endured in Beneavin Manor nursing home.
He is a lovely man. The sight of him left neglected, man-handled, disrespected and forced into a chair was shocking to watch. The family are utterly devastated. Paul has said that nobody should have to go through what his father endured, and he is quite correct. It is 20 years on from Leas Cross and the best the Taoiseach can tell the Dáil is that adult safeguarding legislation will come to the Government shortly. Twenty years on, there is no mandatory reporting and no legal right for social care teams to enter care homes to investigate complaints. Enough of the crocodile tears. We need action and a response and for it to be timetabled and delivered quickly.
5:50 am
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The testimony of Paul Guy has been very impactful. As I said earlier to Deputy Bacik, who raised this question on Leaders' Questions, it is very traumatic for families generally with loved ones in nursing homes but particularly for the Guy family. Legislation is already in place to deal with what happened in these nursing homes. We do not need new adult safeguarding legislation to deal with what happened to Audeon Guy. It should not have happened. It was abuse.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It was abuse. We have a regulatory authority and legislation there. A lot of work has been done in the past year on adult safeguarding, the policy is near completion and there will be legislation. What happened should not have happened and there are already laws there to deal with it. Implication and oversight are required.
Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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The Government's rent pressure zone changes have caused fear among renters and uncertainty for investors and the Taoiseach's response to questions earlier provided no clarity. We got poetry - at least, one of the Government Deputies did - but we got no direct response. The Taoiseach said the changes to rent pressure zones will increase supply. Has any modelling been done to show how that will happen? Why did the Government pick March 2026 for the changes to take effect? If they are going to increase supply, why did the Government not do them sooner? The reality is that as experts tell us, they are more likely to lead to a slowdown in supply as landlords hoard properties pending the introduction of the changes in March 2026. Why was March 2026 chosen? Has the Government done any modelling?
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Quite a significant number of economists, along with the Housing Agency, are saying that measures taken by this House in 2021 restricted supply, so a lot of people are saying there is a clear need for reform of the rent pressure zones. The vast majority of commentators have said that. The key objective is to protect existing tenants and create certainty so that if someone invests in the future, at a minimum, there is a cap at the rate of inflation as determined by the consumer price index. If we did not have that, we would expect people to invest in the market with the expectation of making a loss. Without question, the whole objective is to create additional supply.
Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour)
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But is there evidence?
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is a lot of evidence already. The Deputy can read the Housing Finance Agency's report and other reports. The Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, has said this as well.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Bacik wants to keep the existing system going forever. The legislation ends at the end of the year so, therefore, we have to give a period for the introduction of new legislation.
Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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What is going on in the Department of public expenditure? More aptly, should we be calling it the Department of public mis-expenditure at this stage? That is what we all want to know, because the Department is in charge of tens of billions of euro and now we learn that its own HR agency cannot do its sums right. Senior civil servants and Ministers, current and former, were overpaid huge sums of money. We are told that one retired civil servant owes €280,000 because their pension was undertaxed. How can the Department have allowed this to happen? What does it say about the control and oversight systems in place? A total of 13,000 people are now being assessed. Will it end there or is this scandal expected to grow? Was the assessment that was brought before Cabinet yesterday conclusive? How much money are we talking about and how can the Taoiseach have confidence in the controls in the Department?
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is a very serious issue. The National Shared Services Office, NSSO, is responsible for payroll for civil servants and officeholders. The Minister has commissioned an external audit to go into the NSSO to examine in a much more comprehensive, forensic and detailed way the issues that have arisen. There needs to be further validation of what has emerged, particularly in terms of the 13,000 civil servants, and to see if there are other issues that need to be dealt with. That external audit needs to happen and we need to see the results of that.
Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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The question of the exclusion of services from the Government's occupied territories Bill lite has been a central issue of debate in this House and in public since it was announced in the programme for Government. In response to questions from me and others, the Taoiseach regularly cited legal advice that he had received for the exclusion of services. In a recent response to questions in the House, the Tánaiste confirmed that he is only now seeking the advice of the Attorney General on the question of excluding services. The Government asks the Opposition to set aside Senator Frances Black's Bill, a Bill that is so close to completion, and get behind its own draft, which would take months to pass. How can we take the Government's commitment to this legislation seriously when it was only after pressure in the Dáil that the Tánaiste agreed to seek the Attorney General's advice on the issue of services, which is the central legal and political issue about this legislation?
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is not the central issue about this legislation.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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It is not a back and forth, Deputy.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy O'Gorman asked a question so he should have the good manners to listen to the answer. It is not central.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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If it is included or extra, the Deputy should not make it central because, fundamentally, the impact of the Bill will be symbolic. About €600,000 worth of goods alone in the past six years-----
Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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That is why services should be in it.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy is not going to listen. I am saying that the figure for goods over the past six years was €600,000. The Minister is examining that aspect of it in terms of services. The Deputy knows as well that the legal ground here is extremely narrow anyway. I read the entirety of the Attorney General's opinion about this and it did not change fundamentally from the opinions of previous Attorneys General about trade competency being the exclusive competency of the EU. It was the arrival of the ICJ's advisory opinion that was key to revisiting this. Senator Black has been very co-operative. She and her advisers realised that the Bill as drafted by her would not have passed muster. Deputy O'Gorman must know that himself if he is honest.
Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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Can the Taoiseach explain to the Members of this House how members of An Garda Síochána were deployed to recruit at IPAS centres, centres housing individuals many of whom have entered the State without passports or documentation and without verification of background checks? Some of these individuals may not be the vulnerable cases as the Government often portrays, yet gardaí were sent in and invited them to consider a career in Irish policing. The Tánaiste said this practice was not appropriate. Can the Taoiseach tell us who signed off on this and whose idea it was to draw a cohort that cannot be fully identified into the Irish policing force? Will he give a commitment to this House that this policy is reverted and stopped?
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not know. I do not deal with the operational practices of An Garda Síochána. I do not intervene in those. I was very surprised to see this. This is not Government policy but I will revert to the Deputy and ask for communication to be sent to him. I will talk to the Minister for justice about this.
Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to raise the issue of Garda numbers in Cork city. I know it is a concern shared by the Taoiseach. There are 668 gardaí serving in Cork city. This is 9% down on the position three years ago. Despite the fact that many public representatives have raised the issue, including in the Dáil, the situation has got worse. After the recent attestation from Templemore, we received three gardaí. This follows on from an attestation in March when we also received three gardaí. On this occasion, Dublin received 70. Dublin's population is not 20 times that of Cork, so there is a disconnect there, a disproportionate allocation and an inequality in that. I ask the Taoiseach to take this matter up. I know he shares my concerns about this and we have both spoken to the Minister for justice about it but, unfortunately, the Garda Commissioner does not appear to be listening, so we have to do more to get a fair allocation.
6:00 am
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The sufficiency of the number of gardaí across the country, in Cork city and county in particular, is an ongoing issue. As of 31 April, there are 1,281 gardaí working in Cork city and Cork county. Of these, 664 are assigned to Cork city and 616 to Cork county. Since 2015, more than 300 probationer gardaí have been assigned to stations in County Cork, including seven from attestation in March and five from last week's attestation. That is what I am told, although some people have said three. We need increased numbers in Cork and indeed across the country. It is very clear that the Garda's prioritisation and the Commissioner's prioritisation has been the Dublin area. In fact, many Dublin Deputies have commented on the increased presence of gardaí on the streets of Dublin. We need to see that all over the country.
Micheál Carrigy (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I want to highlight the excellent physio service we have at St. Joseph's care centre in Longford. Following a recent HIQA report, however, there were queries about the location of it with regard to the older persons who were in the care centre and who have had to move location on site. There are now fears among staff and the 4,000 people who attend that service in the care centre that the service could be moved to Athlone or Mullingar. That would not be acceptable. I have met with the Minister of State, Kieran O'Donnell, and HSE officials in older persons' services with regard to this. They have put forward proposals to maintain that service on that site. I want a commitment to the people of Longford, the service users and the staff that this will happen. We have lost a number of services over the years in our county and we will not accept losing this service where there are alternatives. I want common sense to prevail and older persons services, primary care and HIQA to come to a common-sense agreement to keep that service on site.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate the Deputy raising this very serious issue for the community. As he says, the services were delivered in clinics located in the corridor that was part of the designated centre, I believe, and the residents' environment. This necessitated restrictive, controlled access to the community nursing unit and resulted in restricted movement for the residents. As part of the compliance plan for St. Joseph's, a commitment was given to HIQA supporting free access for residents to their home, which is the designated centre. To achieve this, alternative access to therapy services was required, apparently. Older persons' services worked with primary care services to provide short-term alternative accommodation to allow for time to source a longer term solution. Therapy services were relocated to another part of St. Joseph's campus in Longford within the same building where they are accessed by a new entrance. The HSE confirmed on 10 June that physiotherapy services are fully operational from St. Joseph's care centre, and the HSE confirmed that a feasibility study has been carried out. I think a decision will be made on 20 June. I will relay the Deputy's concerns to the Minister.
Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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Murhur National School in Moyvane, in north Kerry, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week. I wish the principal, Finola Fogarty, and all the school community, staff and past pupils all the best. I am sure the Taoiseach would agree that children with additional needs in rural areas are just as entitled to a full education as those in urban areas. In Murhur there are five children in the local community who require and would benefit from an ASD unit there. They cannot access an appropriate class in Moyvane village. Some children are forced to commute outside of the county to access that, and this causes extra stress and upset to the child and to the family. There is a solution. They have an empty building, they have an empty classroom and I ask the Taoiseach to intervene to ensure that such a facility is made available to Murhur National School.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this. I appreciate that the school is open to and wants to develop a special class. That is good because some schools are less proactive in respect of this, so I appreciate the efforts by the board. The school will be kept under consideration, I understand, for a special class for 2026-27. I will talk to the Minister of State, Michael Moynihan, who is with me here. According to the NCSE, the vast majority of children known to the NCSE seeking a special class in Kerry already have a placement. If there are local issues the Deputy is highlighting here, maybe the NCSE is not aware of certain cases. I ask him to speak to the Minister of State, Michael Moynihan, after this session and maybe we can progress that.
Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The programme for Government commits to a policy framework for drones to guide high-level strategic planning and development, supporting innovation and addressing other concerns. While that is necessary, it omits a fundamental issue: the impact of commercial drone operations on local communities. Some say there are no regulations at all, which is not true, but it is air and ground risk-based, with model specifications for safety, privacy and noise. We are severely lacking in common-sense rules and regulation for when a commercial entity, including fast food operators, is making 300 deliveries a day over a 3 km radius, relentlessly over a local community, and there will be more. On 21 May I asked the Oireachtas transport committee to meet with stakeholders before the summer recess. That will happen. I am asking that the framework is also published before the summer recess to look at drone traffic management with limits on flight paths and noise, known in the EU already as U-space, and to launch a public awareness campaign about people's rights in this area.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I think we will need a regulatory framework governing drones. We have to have a common-sense approach to the use of drones. Did the Deputy refer to 300 food deliveries?
Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Yes, and more coming - up to a million in a year.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We have to examine all of that because that potentially clearly leads to significant congestion, security issues, safety issues, noise issues, amenity issues and the need for physical activity. There might be certain cases where people need such a service or it could be effective if you are infirm or elderly. I can understand that. The Deputy has raised a lot of issues. We need a policy framework governing this and ultimately there will have to be a regulatory framework. It cannot be the Wild West.
Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am looking for the Taoiseach's support for a new school building at Ard Scoil Chiaráin Naofa in Clara, County Offaly. The existing school building is simply not fit for purpose. It is outdated, overcrowded and lacking in proper facilities. The school community, including teachers, parents and local residents, have been calling for a new building for years. There is a proposed site at Drayton Villa. This site was purchased by Offaly County Council years ago and is to be purchased by the Department of education, but nothing has happened. We need clarity on this. Has this project moved beyond the design stage? When can the people of Clara expect real progress on this urgently needed development? I sent in written PQs and the replies I got were only waffle. We need proper movement on this, and I am looking for the Taoiseach's support on it.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Again, I will work with the Minister to raise the issue the Deputy has raised. Obviously, there is a very extensive school building programme. There was a need for additional capital to be allocated to education. The Minister for public expenditure has agreed with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and that capital has been allocated now. Hopefully that might result in further completions this year, but the school building programme is at a record level in terms of the number of buildings, extensions and so forth. I will do everything I can to support the needs of Ard Scoil Chiaráin Naofa in terms of its building project.
Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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EnergyCloud is a not-for-profit social enterprise. It works with partners including EirGrid, ESB, Wind Energy Ireland, local authorities and housing associations. Its aim is to reduce energy poverty. In the last seven years, €2.1 billion in surplus renewable energy was unused and wasted. Some €3 million worth of wind energy was wasted on 28 May this year. EnergyCloud has a simple ask:
If the Government were to announce a policy recommending that going forward all devices, heat pumps, batteries, [and] immersion controllers ... should be connected and support Demand Flexibility this would open the possibility of using the waste in a targeted fashion and future proof all new and upgraded homes.
It does not need legislation; it just needs a direction and a policy from the Department. Will the Taoiseach ask the Department to issue that?
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. EnergyCloud is a significant community-based organisation providing a significant service to the community, to the public at large and to the national effort. If he can send that to me, I will forward it to the Minister for climate.
Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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It would cost just an extra €2.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We will look through the detail and get the Deputy a comprehensive response.
Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I will stay with the theme of housing and, in particular, the emergency task force that was set up in Galway in 2019. At the end of last year, during the last meeting for which I have minutes, the new chair said the delivery to date is "not a happy picture". This was referring to the failure to deliver housing in Galway city and county.
Lots of issues and obstacles were raised. One is the lack of wastewater infrastructure in the county and on the east side of the city. I have used every opportunity to raise this issue on the floor of the Dáil. Five years after the task force was set up, it has told us that housing delivery is going the wrong way, and it is finally beginning to look at the obstacles. One is the failure to resource Irish Water and to ensure Galway is top of its list of targets as a city that has been picked as one of the five destined to grow. No housing development can take place in the Gaeltacht or in east Galway because there is no wastewater treatment.
6:10 am
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I was in Galway recently. I met the county and city managers. I have agreed to meet both of them for a more detailed discussion around development issues-----
Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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What about the local TDs?
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I just want to get on with it.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am talking to TDs. I will meet you as well. I do not want to have 25 people arriving in again and we all chatting and everyone saying the same thing.
Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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There are not 25 TDs in Galway.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have met TDs and I will meet TDs. I have just said that I met the county and city managers because there are a lot of objections in Galway to housing developments. On the water question, Irish Water will be resourced and has been resourced. Increased resources will be allocated to Irish Water under the national development plan. I am fully aware of the issues around wastewater treatment in Galway. We will work to address that.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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How could the Department of Justice confirm in writing to a member of the media that the issue in relation to Evan Fitzgerald's tragic case was referred to Fiosrú on 10 May and the Minister could not comment because of that, yet at the justice committee yesterday the Commissioner said he referred it on 18 to 19 May? How could the Department of Justice and the Minister say it was referred more than a week before it was referred? How could they say it was referred a week before the Commissioner actually referred it? How, on 4 March, in the original court case which is now over for this gentleman, a Cheann Comhairle-----
Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I am referring to this poor, tragic, vulnerable individual who passed away. How is it that reports from The Irish Times and other media-----
Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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-----stated that when Judge Zaidan-----
Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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-----asked what the providence of the guns was, the Garda said, "investigations are ongoing" into who sold the guns?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, within the scope of the House.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Investigations are ongoing and we now know the guns were actually given to him by An Garda Síochána. How could An Garda Síochána say in court-----
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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You are taking complete advantage, which is of no value because we are now talking over one another.
Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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-----it did not know where the guns came from if we now know they came from An Garda Síochána itself?
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy. Allow the Taoiseach to answer within the timeframe. That is completely unacceptable, Deputy.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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The events in Carlow were very traumatic for everyone involved-----
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----including the wider community and the family of Evan Fitzgerald, a young man whose life is now no more. It was a very sad and traumatic event. I will check with the Minister for Justice for clarity around dates. The Minister or the Department of Justice may have been told this was going to Fiosrú. If that is the case, one does not comment on it. That is normal.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I would not comment on anything if it was heading for an investigation. That is why one leaves things go to investigation. I am not aware of the background to this at all.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will ask the Minister to respond to some of these issues.
Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Baltinglass, a small town in west Wicklow, contains nine hillforts in its vicinity. It is described by experts as the hillfort capital of Ireland. Research work and archaeological digs have been conducted by Dr. Alan Hawkes and Dr. James O'Driscoll under the auspices of Professor William O'Brien, all from University College Cork. This has further revealed many other ancient sites. The lead researchers have described the area as the archaeological capital of Ireland. I bring this to the attention of the House and ask for the Taoiseach's support to develop this huge part of our history and heritage and bring it to a wider audience.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. When I met him in the corridor last evening, he highlighted the unique and important presence of prehistoric monuments known as the Baltinglass hillforts, up to 13 hillforts in south-west Wicklow and neighbouring parts of Kildare, the largest collection of such impressive prehistoric monuments in Ireland or Britain. I am delighted that the Deputy informed me that it involved archaeologists from UCC, where I studied archaeology for one year, as I told him. I have had a fondness for it ever since. The National Monuments Service is supporting work in this regard. It has supported research on the hillfort landscape through the Royal Irish Academy grant schemes. It funded the recent publication of the seminal A Hillfort Through Time: Excavations at Rathgall, Co. Wicklow, which was launched by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, in the RIA earlier this year. The Baltinglass hillforts are in private ownership so there is no public access. The National Monuments Service welcomes discussion and any substantive proposals it may receive on improving access to these monuments that may emerge in liaison with those land owners who are long-standing custodians of these important monuments. If local consensus can be developed, we will see what can emerge from that.
Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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On 10 September 2024, the Cabinet in the previous Government agreed to a Bill that would provide for further regulation of nicotine inhaling products, particularly with regard to a ban on disposable vapes and restrictions on advertising, colours, flavours and imagery used on nicotine inhaling products. It is also in the programme for Government. This is a public health emergency. It has been an active campaign by Wexford Comhairle na nÓg since 2023. In 2022, two students from FCJ Secondary School in Bunclody, Leanne Mahon and Aimée Farrell, came to Leinster House to present on this issue. The Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland recently did a survey of young people which found that 76% of those taking up vaping had never smoked a cigarette before they used vapes. This is a public health emergency. I really need to know when this legislation will be brought before the House. In addition, given that so many universities and schools have become tobacco-free campuses, perhaps the Taoiseach and the Ceann Comhairle might agree to make Leinster House a tobacco-free campus.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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As I looked out a window yesterday, I spotted an errant Minister, who had assured me he had given up cigarettes, smoking. He was caught red-handed as I looked out the window.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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It is the pressure of the job.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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It was a funny moment. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has informed me that a lot of progress has been made on that legislation. There is a European dimension but we are anxious to progress it as quickly as possible. There are laws of the land. If I am honest, people in every institution are entitled to be governed by the laws of the land. It is a matter for the commission to look at the campus itself. We banned indoor smoking to keep the workplace safe. If Deputies and Senators smoke, I urge them to give it up, but at the same time an overly restrictive approach is not-----
Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Is there a timeline for the Bill?
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not have an exact timeline for the Bill.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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The Deputy and the Taoiseach can engage further.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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This week, the local community in Celbridge gathered again outside the gates of Castletown House to protest the brazen attempts by the OPW to open Lime Avenue without local consultation. The community has been clear and consistent in its demands - the domain has to be reunited, and safe and secure access must be granted to vulnerable pedestrians on Lime Avenue. To their disgust, protocols were broken this week and a vehicle went flying down Lime Avenue yesterday with no escort. I believe they are trying it again today. A car park in the Kildare Innovation Campus, KIC, is a solution. On what date will the application for planning permission be submitted? The CEO of KIC approved it on 22 May. Essential vehicles must also be allowed to use that car park because it was agricultural land and it already took heavy agricultural vehicles. They are too dangerous for Lime Avenue. When will the planning for this be submitted?
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am not aware of who is submitting the planning permission.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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The Taoiseach is well aware.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the issue. I cannot give an exact timeline as to when a planning application will be submitted.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputy, it is not a back and forth.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister is pretending that the KIC is causing the delay but it is not-----
6:20 am
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will raise this. There is no point in roaring at me about it.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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A Department of Government is doing everything it possibly can to give access to people. The big issue initially was that there was no access. I will relay that the Deputy has raised this with the Minister of State. He is very well aware of it, as is the Minister, Deputy Lawless. All the Deputies have been engaged in this matter, but it is a bit much to expect us to have the operational timelines of every planning application that is being made.
Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I thank the Taoiseach. We are out of time as a consequence of those who went over time. I am going to go to Deputies Heneghan and Jen Cummins. I ask them to be brief, please.
Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I have a question for the Taoiseach that is especially personal to me as my sister and her wife are expecting their child. Real fear and frustration is being felt by the LGBTQ+ parents who are still not legally recognised as their children's parents. As it stands, the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Act 2024 risks leaving families behind, especially those born through surrogacy or donor conception outside Ireland. Will the Taoiseach commit to commissioning an independent equality audit of legislation, will he meet the LGBTQ+ Parenting Alliance and will he ask the Department of Health to publish a clear timeline for commencement of both existing Acts? This is not a health issue, but one of equality, dignity and legal certainty for families.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. My understanding is that the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has met the parents' alliance. I certainly have no issue meeting them either, subject obviously to scheduling in terms of the diary. I will speak to the Minister for equality and disability, Deputy Foley, on the question of an equality audit. It is an important issue. A lot of work has been done, but I understand fully the need to bring it to a conclusion.
Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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My question is about flood risk and insurance. A number of people have contacted me because they are not able to get insurance in the first place, or when they want to switch to a different insurance provider they cannot because of the risk of flooding. With the rising possibility of floods in the future, what can the Government do to ensure homeowners and potential buyers are able to secure insurance? The reality is that if it is not covered by insurance, the State is going to have to pay out if there is a flood, as happened in my family's home in Germany.
Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I dealt with this question yesterday. Our view is fundamentally that the insurance industry has to step up to the plate in many instances. In particular, where the State has completed flood relief schemes and where the infrastructure is in place, I have heard there are still difficulties in getting flood insurance, notwithstanding the investment that has gone in. In that case there is a case for the insurance company to just insure people, because many of those flood schemes have proven to be very effective. I am thinking of Fermoy, Clonmel and areas like that. That is one aspect of it. The other aspect is the State providing some support when floods happen, but it is nowhere near what a comprehensive insurance scheme could provide.