Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Can I make a point of order? My party leader has written to the Ceann Comhairle and the leaders of the Government parties. We tried to introduce an urgent motion to condemn the attack on the flotilla. As the Minister knows, there are 20 Irish citizens on board the flotilla trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. They are in international waters. It includes one of our colleagues, Senator Chris Andrews, whose boat has been fired upon on four occasions by Israeli drones. This is so urgent that the Italian and Spanish navies have deployed part of their fleets to support and defend Irish citizens.

We in this House have been refused and blocked from bringing a motion of condemnation before the House today. This cannot be business as usual. I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to allow for the urgency of this issue. I cannot see any issue that could be more urgent. By the time we reconvene next week, God knows what could have happened to those boats. I know there is support. I heard the comments yesterday from the Minister, and they were welcome, but there should be a motion here today. We should be allowed to deal with this issue and pass a resolution. I am asking that this be facilitated today.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The only thing I can do is bring it to the attention of the Ceann Comhairle immediately after the session. I know the Deputy said he has written. It is now a matter for the Ceann Comhairle. That is about as much as can be done.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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I appreciate that. What I would welcome in the Government’s response is an indication that it would be happy for such a resolution to come before us. We will work on the wording of the resolution with the Government. This should not go unpassed. We should not go into recess this evening when there are citizens in international waters being attacked by Israel through drones, including one of our own colleagues, Senator Chris Andrews. I ask the Government to say it is supportive of that. As I said, I welcomed the words yesterday from the Minister.

That was a point of order. I now move to the issue that I wish to raise today. Tá an Rialtas seo tar éis cead a gcinn a thabhairt dóibh siúd atá ag breith buntáiste ar dhaoine arís is arís eile. Níl a dhath déanta ag an Rialtas chun smacht a chur orthu ná chun stop a chur lena gcuid praghsanna atá ag ardú agus ag ardú arís eile. Má tá muid leis an fhírinne a insint, ní raibh na creidmheasanna fuinnimh riamh mar réiteach ná deireadh na bhfadhbanna. Bhíodar in ainm tuilleadh ama a thabhairt don Rialtas chun smacht a fháil ar an ghéarchéim seo, ach níl a dhath déanta. Arís is arís eile, tá moltaí curtha chun tosaigh againn ach déanann an Rialtas neamhaird orthu.

It is open season for price gouging and profiteering. Insurance companies, banks, large supermarkets and energy companies are making obscene profits on the backs of ordinary workers, all with the approval of the Government. Insurance companies are making two or three times more profits here than elsewhere. Bailed-out banks are making billions and paying no tax. We have the highest electricity prices in Europe yet, still, energy companies come forward and are hitting households with double-digit hikes in their bills in the coming weeks.

Last week, the Minister's party leader stood where the Minister is today and said: “I want people at home to know that we hear them on the cost of energy and know about the cost of living.” He said that the Government would take action. The very next day, SSE Airtricity became the latest to announce massive hikes in its electricity prices - over 10% - on the foot of four other companies doing the same. These companies know they have nothing to fear from Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil because they have let them rip people off again and again. They have done absolutely nothing to rein in the companies and nothing to stop them hiking their prices up and up.

Let me be clear. Energy credits were never the full answer. They were supposed to buy the Government time. They were supposed to allow it time to get a handle on the crisis but the Government did not do anything. Arís is arís eile, we gave the Government solutions, including powers for the energy regulator to hold energy companies to account, oversight of hedging practices to protect against price gouging, regulation of standing charges, making the PSO levy and network charges fair, and stopping electricity companies profiteering from expensive gas. These could all have cut bills and taken the pressure off ordinary working people but, instead, the Government chose to do nothing.

Instead of ending the rip-off and getting prices under control, the Government is actually making things worse. Landlords are allowed to increase rents, there are carbon tax increases after carbon tax increases, and student fees and local property taxes are going up as a result of Government decisions. This has all been pushed on people at the same time that they are getting hit by double-digit increases in their energy bills. People feel like they are drowning in the cost of living crisis.

We have heard Minister after Minister this week and last tell us what they have done about this measure and that measure, and I am sure the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, will get to his feet and list off all of them again. I am not taking anything away from those measures. I am telling the Minister about the effect. There are more people today, as we speak, behind on their bills than ever before. That is the definition of things getting worse. Does the Minister accept there are more people today who cannot pay their electricity and gas bills than ever before? Will he do the right thing and put energy credits back on the table for this year's budget? Will he use that time to make the reforms that Sinn Féin has repeatedly called on him to make to ensure we end this rip-off on electricity prices and get costs under control?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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In the spirit of Deputy Doherty having raised an important issue on a point of order, I will respond to what he has said and will then take time to respond to his additional question.

I agree with him that what is happening with regard to the flotilla is a very serious matter. The Taoiseach and Tánaiste are currently in New York, concluding their work at the United Nations annual assembly. They have raised that matter within the European Union and with other Heads of Government. I have been informed that the Tánaiste has raised this specific matter with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President Kallas, given the urgency of what is now taking place. We are well aware of the safety risk that is posed to all in the flotilla. I understand there are a number of Oireachtas Members involved in this as well. They deserve the protection of international law and they deserve safety.

I have not seen the wording of the motion, or maybe Deputy Doherty is still developing it at the moment. Therefore, I am not in a position to be able to give a commitment to him now. However, I am in a position to assure the Deputy that when he makes the point that this is a serious issue, we agree, and the Government is treating it as such. All deserve the respect of international law. There are citizens from many countries, including some public representatives, who are trying to play their part in offering direct support to the people of Gaza. That deserves to be recognised in the protection that they get. I am sure Deputy Doherty will engage with the Ceann Comhairle on the motion and I know the Government will too.

In relation to the substantive issue that Deputy Doherty raised on the cost of living, let me open by acknowledging the challenge that it is for many, and I absolutely accept that. For households and businesses, we have seen changes happen over the last number of years with the cost of living. We are seeing indications that the rate of price increases has considerably slowed down. However, that is not across our entire economy and we see some parts of the economy where the rate of price increase continues to be considerable. I also know that the point that the rate of price increase is slowing down can be of cold comfort to those who have seen prices go up by so much over the last number of years.

I know Deputy Doherty has already dismissed what I am about to do as reading out a list, but it is important to emphasise the degree of support that is already available. These measures were brought forward in anticipation of the cost of living continuing to be a challenge across this year. It is these kinds of measures that the Government will aim to build upon when the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and I present budget 2026 on Tuesday week.

If we look at the measures that are being implemented across this year alone, we see the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, a measure that has given needed support to 221,000 children. Very recently, we saw the free schoolbook initiative being rolled out to every child in primary and secondary school. We see all the efforts that are made every year to reduce school transport fees. We see the progress that has been made in recent years with the availability of free GP care, which is now available for all children up to and including the age of eight.

We have seen the work that has happened with the reduction in the electricity PSO levy. We have seen the significant expansion of the fuel allowance and carer's allowance. In June this year, 138,000 carers benefited, deservedly, from the carer's support grant. This is in addition to other measures that have been built on year by year like free public transport for children and the work that has happened in relation to childcare costs. The public sector pay deal which was implemented again on 1 August mirrors the wage growth that we are seeing across our economy and is playing a role in assisting with the cost of living at a time when prices are going up.

On the particular issue that Deputy Doherty raised in relation to the cost of energy, the Government is very much aware of that. Much, though not all of it, is driven by where we are located and by the mix of energy that is used within our economy and country. We are aware of the impact this is having on our society and our competitiveness. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is completing work in this area looking at the structural changes that we may be able to introduce over time that can play a role.

In the answer that I have offered to the House today I have outlined the measures that are currently being implemented and rolled out that aim to make a difference for those for whom the cost of living is such a challenge. This is what is happening. What myself and my colleagues in government are working on now is determining the further measures we can bring forward that will be affordable and sustainable and will make a difference. A previous Sinn Féin policy in relation to this was the introduction of an energy price cap. Deputy Doherty might use this as an opportunity to explain whether that is still Sinn Féin policy.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister will be well aware that in our alternative budget last year we argued that energy credits of €450 should be brought forward. The Government brought forward energy credits of €250. The Minister listed off various measures. As I said earlier, I am not taking away from those measures but what I am telling him is that things have got worse. The reality is that regardless of whether he believes he has protected people, there are more households than ever before - over 300,000 - that cannot pay their electricity bills. Regardless of what the Government did last year, things have got worse. The crisis has deepened and two things are about to happen. First, nearly 1 million households are going to see electricity prices go up, on average, by 10% in the next two weeks. Second, the Government and the Minister for Finance are going to withdraw the energy credits that those households were dependent on for the last three years. What I am saying to the Minister is that he should deal with the reality. The fact is that people are drowning under a cost-of-living crisis. Things have got worse in the last year - that is just a fact - and they are about to get even worse again because of two measures. One is the electricity companies ripping people off and gouging them again and the other is the Minister's decision to cancel electricity credits in this year's budget.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I gave Deputy Doherty the opportunity to confirm or at least explain to the House whether Sinn Féin is still making the case for an energy price cap, which it did in the last Dáil. I notice that he did not answer that question.

Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael)
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It did not work out so well for them over in Britain.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Indeed. In relation to the matters that Deputy Doherty has just raised, we are well aware of the challenge that the cost of living is posing for so many. I would make the point that for every budget I have brought into this House, he has always criticised me for not spending enough. He has always criticised us for running budget surpluses. If we had taken his approach in recent years, we would not have had the ability to intervene and help as we did in the last two years, let alone the ability to help again. The Government, for example, will be able to make a decision in relation to the VAT on gas and electricity which will play a role in maintaining the support that is available. That is a decision that will be considered in the context of the budget. We know that it is demanding for so many at the moment and what we want to do is bring forward measures that are targeted and that we are confident we can sustain in the time ahead.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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In less than a fortnight the budget will be announced. There is growing concern among commentators and experts that we are in a situation where spending is out of control and frankly, they are right. There is a certain faint whiff of 2008 around the place. The budgetary oversight committee has heard warnings from the ESRI, IFAC, the Central Bank and me that we cannot keep spending and cutting taxes and expect good outcomes. We have a Government that has no net spending rule. We had a medium-term framework published two weeks ago that had no spending ceilings, a threadbare national development plan published in the summer, and an opaque summer economic statement. We have no transparent way of accounting for existing levels of service. We have budgets that are, quite frankly, works of fiction, as Ministers trot into the Dáil at the end of every year looking for billions more to account for overruns. What is more, the budget process this year is cloaked in secrecy. When we ask questions in the Dáil and, as we did last night, at the budgetary oversight committee, about it we get no substantive answers whatsoever on clear spending plans. It is, frankly, unprecedented. A very serious credibility gap has emerged.

The summer economic statement is predicated on a €2 billion increase in capital spending next year, from €17.1 billion to €19.1 billion. As the Minister knows, the capital ceiling at present is about €15.8 billion, as per the August Exchequer returns. That leaves a further €1.3 billion in capital spending that must be spent before the end of the year. A Revised Estimate for the Department of Housing was tabled last night and included around €600 million in extra spending but we have absolutely no detail whatsoever on where that money is going. No updated departmental Vote group ceilings have been published and that is not good enough.

This morning the ESRI warned about overheating. Corporation tax is this Government's new stamp duty and is being used to fund more spending, with no tax increases on wealth or assets to pay for it. These windfall taxes are to this Government what stamp duty was to Charlie McCreevy and Brian Cowen. Rather than broaden the tax base to make it ready for the future, it looks like the Government will keep hollowing it out. The door is wide open for a massive VAT cut for hospitality but yesterday's National Competitiveness and Productivity Council report showed that there has been a net expansion in the number of firms in the sector, as well as in employment and earnings, in recent years. We have had no evidence from the Government on the need for a VAT cut. The case, in truth, is thin. There is little evidence supporting the case but instead of widening the tax base, this Government is proceeding to do the opposite: to hollow it out despite all of the warnings.

Why is this year's budget process cloaked in secrecy? Why do we not have real budget transparency? Will the Minister publish the existing levels of service figures for 2026 and clarify what exactly is available for new current spending next year? What actual evidence does this Government have to support the case for a VAT cut for the hospitality sector? Will the Minister ensure that budget 2026 broadens the tax base rather than hollows it out?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Nash for raising this matter. When I was preparing for Leaders' Questions here today, part of me thought it was unlikely that I would get a question about the Government spending too much money. I am really glad that the Deputy has raised this because it gives me an opportunity to respond on what are very important issues.

First, on the sustainability of our public finances and where we are, there is nobody more aware than me - although I suspect that Deputy Nash is nearly as alive to it as me - of what the risks of the past were and of the dangers of them playing out again. It is a matter of which I am aware every single day in the context of the individual decisions that I make and their accumulation.

In response to the charges made regarding the level of risk that is present in our public spending plans at the moment, first I would emphasise the point regarding the scale of the budget surplus we are now running. Second, I would point out that by the end of this year, €16 billion will be set aside in the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund. That figure will rise to €22 billion by next year. That is the aim of the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and I with regard to deposits in those funds. Third, Deputy Nash should note that when I began my work as Minister for public expenditure, debt as a share of national income was in excess of 120%. Today, it is just slightly above 60%. It has halved. That is the work that I have done. I have devoted much of my life over the last decade to the case for running budget surpluses with, I have to say, not a whole lot of support in this House for doing so. I have done that in anticipation of those risks.

I rarely take out my mobile phone in the Dáil. I always try to leave it aside out of respect for the proceedings we have here.

However, I went onto the Labour Party website as the Deputy was making his points. Today on the website, Labour is calling for more spending with regard to equal early years programmes, public transport, housing and public sector pay. That is what the Labour Party is calling for at the moment. I accept the legitimacy of many of the cases the Deputy makes, but those who advocate care in relation to general public spending are always very eager to make the case for specific public spending proposals, sometimes of great value. While I do not believe he makes that mistake, Deputy Nash is surrounded by many who do.

The Government will bring forward a budget that will post another large surplus. Shortly after that, we will outline the plans we have to look at what we will do in the years ahead to moderate, in particular, current public spending and to get it to a more sustainable level of increases. I have no doubt that when we do that, it will be vigorously opposed by many.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his response, which was interesting from a number of perspectives. The Labour Party always makes the case for additional public spending, whether that is to meet the needs of demographic changes or existing levels of service. We do that transparently, especially when we are looking at the new investments we need to make our economy work and our society fairer. We are always honest that we simply cannot pay for the new services we require without looking at where we can raise revenue to pay for those services. That is the problem this Government and that which preceded it have had. The Government seems allergic to dusting down the Commission on Taxation and Welfare's report and identifying ways in which we can raise revenue in a sustainable way to support the childcare services we need, eradicate child poverty and build the homes we need in a sustainable fashion. In this budget, accepting that everybody in this House, regardless of their political persuasion, accepts that there is a need to increase public spending and target it properly, will the Minister accept that there is a need to broaden the tax base and that it is unwarranted and unjustifiable to hollow out the tax base by granting a VAT cut to the hospitality sector that is untargeted and that will disproportionately benefit those with very healthy bottom lines, such as McDonald's and other companies like it?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Nash knows I have the height of respect for him and the points he raises. He is correct in saying that the Labour Party is a rare exception on the Opposition benches in being willing to support, at times, sensible policies to broaden the tax base. He asked me my views on broadening the tax base. I will talk about what we have already done and what we are yet to do. There are: the changes with regard to PRSI to ensure that our pension plans will be better funded in the future; the changes we have made to carbon taxation, which, in fairness to the Labour Party, it has supported, to find better ways of funding the spending we need to make with regard to climate change; and the changes we have made in revaluing and extending the tax base with regard to local property tax, which, again, in fairness to it, the Labour Party has supported.

On the Deputy's point on narrowing the tax base, I am keenly aware of that, which is why the tax package we bring forward for budget 2026 cannot and should not exceed €1.5 billion. That €1.5 billion is approximate to the income that will be generated through our tax code by our economy growing. It is my strong view that those is the parameter within which tax changes should be made.

I really welcome the opportunity for a debate on these matters, including the broad economic policy of our country, but the budget surpluses we are running, where they are going at the moment, is a very strong response from this Government to ensure resilience and safety in our public finances.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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The nightmare for the people in Gaza continues to worsen. For two years, they have been facing an Israeli genocide. More than 65,000 people have been killed, more than 20,000 children among them. Some 92% of homes have been destroyed or damaged. All the hospitals have been destroyed or damaged. Two hundred and fifty journalists have been murdered. Since March, famine has been deliberately created by Israel. Every single day, tens of people are gunned down while queuing for food. Gaza city is being invaded and people are being slaughtered. Al-Shifa Hospital, the last functioning hospital there, is now surrounded, with tanks 500 m away, all as part of a plan, consciously carried out, of ethnic cleansing.

All this horror could only be happening with the arms and money supplied by and the political support of the most powerful countries in the world. The US, Germany, Britain and many others are providing the weapons. Thousands of tonnes of these munitions have illegally gone through Irish airspace without the Irish Government doing a thing about it. In the face of this genocide, in the face of such complicity on the part of western governments, over 500 ordinary people have taken it upon themselves to try to sail to Gaza in order to break the siege and open a people's humanitarian corridor to provide aid and food to starving people.

What has been the reaction of the Israeli Government to this humanitarian initiative? It has been to label it a jihadist initiative, to refer to it as the Hamas flotilla and to call the participants terrorists. I spent two weeks in Tunis helping to prepare the flotilla. I assure the House that these are decent people from around the world who are looking to do whatever they can to try to stop the slaughter. The rhetoric being used was clearly designed to justify attacking the flotilla. On Tuesday night, 11 boats were attacked by drones, with explosive and incendiary devices and chemical substances inflicting physical damage. Yesterday, the flotilla received credible intelligence from multiple European governments that Israel is likely to escalate violent attacks on it within the next 48 hours, potentially using weapons that could sink boats and injure or kill participants.

The Tánaiste signed a joint statement on 16 September calling "on everyone to refrain from any unlawful or violent act against the Flotilla" and saying, "any violation of international law and human rights of the participants in the Flotilla, including attacks against the vessels in international waters or illegal detention, will lead to accountability". A violent act has now taken place. As a result of the pressure exerted by the Italian workers who went on strike on Monday in support of Palestine, two naval ships have now been sent by the Italian Government to the flotilla.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Could you conclude, Deputy?

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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The Spanish state has also sent a vessel to help protect it. There are 22 Irish citizens on board, including Senator Chris Andrews, with Deputy Barry Heneghan due to join him. Their lives are in danger. What is the Government going to do protect them? What accountability will there be?

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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You should conclude, Deputy Murphy, please.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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Will the Government at the very least send a representative to join the legal observer boat to be a witness?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising, as Deputy Doherty did, a really important issue regarding the protection of citizens on international seas and the rule of law with regard to them. The Government, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste are keenly aware of this. What are we doing with regard to it? We are taking diplomatic action. We are raising this matter with other governments within the European Union and at the international gatherings happening in New York. I reiterate that the protection of international law must be afforded to those who are at sea at the moment and those who are on the flotilla. Regardless of the conditions they are in, they deserve the protection offered by international law. That is absolutely crucial. I do not have the first-hand experience Deputy Murphy has of the flotilla and seeing it prepare, but I have no doubt at all that those who are involved in it are motivated by a desire to send a signal regarding their human response to what is happening in Gaza and to play whatever role they can in offering practical support to the people confronting such terrible conditions.

As to what we have done, it is at a number of different levels. First, the Tánaiste, as I said earlier, has raised this issue with Vice President Kaja Kallas, who is the high representative of the European Union with regard to foreign policy, to make the case for the European Union having a collective response to this.

He also raised it at the meeting in the past number of days regarding the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in the context of the effort countries are still making for a two-state solution in the Middle East. The Department of foreign affairs, at a practical level, is doing all it can to provide consular assistance to our citizens who find themselves in such a difficult situation.

I am informed that our officials are in direct contact with a designated person in the Global Movement to Gaza delegation, which I understand is the organising group behind this flotilla. We will continue to maintain that contact and to raise this issue at the highest level we can, both diplomatically and politically.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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I welcome the words of concern and support and the consular assistance being provided. Respectfully, I asked what are you going to do, not what are you going to say. This is a microcosm of the Government's position on Palestine in general whereby it is able to correctly say that what is happening is a genocide but the action does not necessarily follow. It is welcome that the matter is going to be raised at diplomatic levels and so on, but what are you going to do? There are Irish citizens who, as the Minister agrees, are doing their best to try to address and stop a humanitarian catastrophe and to bring baby formula and baby food to people in Gaza. They are in danger as a consequence. The Italian Government is sending two naval ships and the Spanish Government is sending one. I am not asking our Government to send a naval ship. Will it agree to send an observer who will not attempt to enter Gaza? The legal observer boat will stop before Gazan waters. Will the Government send an observer who will be present on a legal observer boat and who will be a witnesses and direct line of contact with it?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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For a country with our long-standing tradition in the context of respect for human rights and our neutrality, diplomacy is the way conduct our affairs. It is also the way we seek to influence the world and protect the rights of our citizens. Words are not powerless. Words are not an absence of action. Words are do not represent a lack of effort. Words and diplomacy are the way we seek to make our case with the respect we have for international law and with our long-established values. Words are our means of action and our tool of influence. I reject and refute the case the Deputy makes that communication and contact are not the same as action or something that can yield a result. Through the diplomatic action we have taken, we have tried to play a role in influencing and building up a coalition of countries that have recently taken larger action with regard to the State of Palestine.

In relation to the proposal the Deputy put to me, I will raise it with the Department of foreign affairs to see if there is a role for an observer. Taking his concern at face value, which, of course, I do in light of the importance of this issue, I cannot immediately commit that an official can do this, but I certainly commit to following up on it. We are at one in wanting to ensure that any citizen involved in such a peaceful act gets the protection of international law.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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The Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland's pre-budget 2026 submission is a call for fairness, common sense and strategic investment in Ireland's commercial bus and coach sector. This industry is essential. It delivers over 95% of school transport services, supports 11,500 jobs and contributes €620 million annually to the economy. It carries 75 million passengers per year, including tourists, students and rural and urban commuters, yet is undermined by outdated policies and unequal treatment.

Let us start with the unfair exclusion of commercial operators from public fare reduction schemes. This has created a two-tier public transport system. Passengers who rely on private operators, many in rural and urban areas, are denied the cost-of-living supports offered to others. It is essential that commercial bus operators are treated similarly from a competitiveness perspective. This is not the situation at present as a result of the unequal and unfair application of the 20% fare reduction scheme to customers of NTA-licensed public transport services. If this is not addressed, it will further undermine the sustainability of commercial bus operators which are already under significant pressure.

I will share some key facts. Some 80% of private operators are based outside of Dublin, serving communities with limited transport options. Some 80% of Ireland's bus fleet is privately owned and half is less than five years old, thereby meeting EU emissions standards. The sector invests €80 million annually in new vehicles. One bus can replace 30 cars, thereby easing congestion and cutting emissions. Buses have the lowest carbon footprint per passenger of any motorised transport.

Another issue is the ban on drivers over the age of 70 operating school bus routes by imposed by successive Ministers. This is despite a national shortage of drivers. These individuals can legally drive children to matches or swimming lessons, just not to and from school in the morning or afternoon. This policy is not only illogical, it is discriminatory. It sidelines experienced and medically fit drivers who want to contribute and are badly needed. The Government must act now to lift this restriction and allow qualified drivers over 70 to return to school transport services.

I wish to make the Minister aware of a particular case - there are similar cases in communities throughout Ireland - namely that of the 20 to 30 children in Ballinadee, County Cork, who are eligible for school transport. The operator has no driver under the age of 70. He has a driver who is over 70 years of age and who is fully medically fit. However, that individual is not allowed drive a school bus. These children are being left on the side of the road with no way of getting to school. Budget 2026 must reflect these priorities. This is about fairness, common sense and ensuring that Ireland's transport system works for everyone.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy Collins for raising this important matter. Before I respond to the important and specific questions he raised in respect of the school transport scheme, it is important to put the matter in the context. In that regard, this is the scheme that, in 2024, the taxpayer funded at a cost of €512 million. In 2019, the cost was €219 million. The cost of this scheme has doubled in a short number of years, which, in terms of the rate of public expenditure growth, is way ahead of spending on many other policy initiatives across our State at the moment.

The Deputy made reference to children who were not able to access the scheme, which I will discuss in a moment. I acknowledge the number of children who are accessing the scheme. Last year, 178,000 children and families accessed the scheme. That was a 3% increase on previous years. I am not making the case that there are not issues. The Deputy raised two of them. However, I want to acknowledge that this is a big programme that offers support to over 170,000 families and children, which is why it is always a policy area of such interest to the House.

On the matters the Deputy raised, on whether drivers over 70 should be allowed to drive school buses, my understanding is that this relates to a retirement age put in place by Bus Éireann. The policy perspective is to have the retirement ages aligned between Bus Éireann and those involved in providing that service. The Road Safety Authority is preparing a report for the Department of Transport with regard to the appropriateness of that age limit for the service.

I hear many different demands in respect of the expansion of the scheme.

Some of the challenges in doing that are directly related to the fact the overall cost of the scheme has doubled in a few short years. I am certainly aware, as are the Ministers for education and public expenditure, of the need to ensure that as we make the scheme more broadly available, which I have no doubt will happen, it happens in a way that is economically sustainable such that we are able to fund the expansion of the service in the years ahead. I imagine that is playing in a role in relation to bringing more operators into the scheme.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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The expansion of the fare scheme to include commercial operators, specifically the inclusion of commercial operators in the free public transport initiative for the under-nines, is a must as we go forward. We cannot have a two-tier system, which will lead, if it continues, to private bus operators going out of business.

The Minister mentioned the school transport service catering for 178,000 people. However, hundreds cannot get a transport services for different reasons. Sometimes, it is almost impossible to get any communication from Bus Éireann. At one time, we, as public representatives, could get a response from it. Now, we cannot get a response from the Minister or Bus Éireann. I urge that someone in the Department at least get us answers for parents who have children stranded on the side of the road.

The over-70s issue has been kicked from pillar to post. We hear it is Bus Éireann's issue and then that the Minister will not make a decision. Someone has to stand up here and make a decision, and make it quickly. This has been going on for the nine years I am in the Dáil. People over 70 years of age having a medical certificate proving their health surely should make them eligible to drive a bus and pick up many of the children who have been left on the side of the road since the beginning of this school term.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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When we speak of children who are left on the side of the road, acknowledging there are issues we need to address, I emphasise to the Dáil that nearly 180,000 families and their children get support and the service they need through this scheme. This is at an overall cost to the taxpayer of more than €0.5 billion in recognition of the issues raised by Deputy Collins today and raised often by Deputies on this side of the House.

Regarding his particular point on age, I assure him that assessment is being carried out by the appropriate body, which is the Road Safety Authority. It is entirely correct that the issue be assessed from a safety perspective, which the authority is doing. One way or another, the matter will come to a conclusion. I will make sure the Ministers for Transport and education are aware this issue has been raised. It has been going on for some time. The Road Safety Authority is the right body to make a final conclusion and we will be informed by its recommendation on the matter.