Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Cuirfeadh na figiúirí ar fhoilsigh an rialálaí inné maidir le riaráistí fuinnimh imní an domhain ar dhuine ar bith. Tá rabhadh mór dearg ag splancáil do theaghlaigh atá ag streachailt cheana féin leis an mhéid atá in ann dóibh don gheimhreadh. Tá sé seo go léir ag tarlú toisc nach bhfuil faic déanta ag an Rialtas le dul i ngleic leis an sáinn nó chun smacht a chur ar phraghasanna. Tar éis dó gan rud ar bith a dhéanamh fad is a bhí na billí ag dul in airde i gcónaí, bhain sé an creidmheas fuinnimh a thacaigh le daoine teacht slán tríd an gheimhreadh seo caite.

The energy arrears figures published yesterday by the regulator are nothing short of alarming - a flashing red light for what households are already enduring and what lies ahead this winter. They tell us that over 300,000 households are behind on their electricity bills and gas bills tell the same bleak story. A total of 180,000 households are now in arrears with their gas. This means that over one in four households in this State cannot pay their gas bills. This does not even include all the households that are just managing to keep up. These are not just numbers. They are cold living rooms where families sit wrapped in coats because they cannot risk switching on the heat. They are older people rationing warmth terrified of opening their next bill. They are parents hiding final notices hoping their next pay packet will stretch far enough to keep the lights on.

All of this is happening because the Government has done nothing to tackle the rip off and get prices under control. What has been its response to rising bills? It pulled the energy credits that helped people survive last winter. Instead of relief, households are hit once again with Energia, SSE Airtricity, Pinergy, Bord Gáis Energy and Flogas all imposing fresh price hikes pushing 1 million homes into an even more impossible situation than the one they are currently in. What makes this even more galling is that energy companies are refusing to pass on the full reductions in wholesale costs. Families are being squeezed from every direction - by suppliers, by inflation and by the Government's decisions. Let us be clear. These arrears figures only go up to July. That was before we had the cold weather we now have, before the last round of price hikes and before people even turned on their heating so God only knows what the numbers are going to look like this Christmas if this crisis continues.

This Government cannot plead ignorance. It refuses to take on the energy companies; it refuses to empower the regulator; it refuses to reform hedging prices; it refuses to deal with a pricing system, the PSO and the network charges; and it refuses to stop more and more data centres driving up costs. It will not act. It will not intervene for customers so here we are with the worst period of energy arrears since records began in this State. I will ask the Tánaiste plainly because he cannot deny the fact that we have never seen so many people who cannot meet their basic bills of electricity and gas. How can he justify cutting energy credits when bills are higher now than they were this time last year and are rising even more? How can he justify taking away those energy credits people were dependent on when 300,000 households are behind on their electricity bills, over one in four households cannot pay their gas bills and arrears are rising faster than records have ever shown? Does the Tánaiste acknowledge that the number of families in energy arrears is increasing under his watch and that unless the Government intervenes, we will see a serious winter of discontent for so many families?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am very conscious of the cold weather in the past number of days and the fact that a cold weather alert issued from Met Éireann in the past hour or so but I want people at home - I want to speak specifically to people at home - to know that unlike the assertions made by Deputy Doherty, this Government is intervening and taking real actions to help people with fuel poverty this winter and in the here and now. We have done a number of things to help. In the budget only a few weeks ago, we took the decision to increase the fuel allowance. The fuel allowance is now worth over €1,000 per year for that fuel allowance period we are now in. More people, families and households than ever before are getting access to direct assistance with their fuel bills from the Government. This is an action we took. I would encourage everybody to look at the broadened criteria and put in their application for the fuel allowance.

Second, not only have we increased the fuel allowance, we also expanded it to those receiving the working family payment. The Deputy talks a lot about working people and working families in this Dáil. This is why we have decided to make sure that people who are in receipt of the working family payment are able for the first time to receive the fuel allowance. This means that over 450,000 households or roughly one quarter of all homes in this jurisdiction will qualify for the payment.

We are supporting over 500,000 households, many of them pensioners, with an allowance of €420 towards their gas or electricity bills.

Under the household benefits package, 532,000 homes are receiving support, another practical measure being funded by this Government. We took the decision in the budget only a few weeks ago to freeze VAT at the lower 9% rate on gas and electricity bills for the next five years to provide that reduced VAT rate not just in the here and now but for the lifetime of the mandate of this Government. We have reduced the PSO levy to directly help people save money on their bills. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has met the four largest energy companies and they have confirmed they each have hardship funds in place and are working to support vulnerable customers.

I want to be very clear that this winter, nobody should be afraid to turn on their heat during the cold weather. I hope everyone will help us amplify the message that any person under serious financial pressure can seek an additional needs payment, in addition to what I outlined already, for heating costs through their community welfare officer. On top of these direct financial supports, we are also investing record funding in retrofitting to help people upgrade their homes, make them more energy efficient and make sure people's homes are warmer. The budget for the warmer homes scheme has increased to €280 million, which is an elevenfold increase since 2020. I want to specifically address the issue of disconnections. A disconnection moratorium is in place for registered vulnerable customers from the start of this month until 31 March, and indeed for all customers for the winter period in a few short weeks' time.

Yes, there is always more to do, yes, the cost of energy is a real cost and, yes, we need to look at how we can drive down the cost of energy, move more quickly to renewable energy and how we can do even more to support people, but please do not mislead people, particularly people who might be tuning in to this debate, in terms of the fact that there are supports available to them. There are decisions we have taken that are available to people in the here and now. I would encourage people to know that, to not be cold this winter and to seek the supports and assistance that are in place.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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That is going to be cold comfort to people who are listening to this.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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They are real people.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Do not be cold this winter. Does the Tánaiste listen to the facts? Does he not listen to what is being said by the CRU and the hard, unvarnished facts? Seventy thousand more households, more families, more individuals - real people - could not pay their electricity bill in the first six months of this year. The record number we are seeing is from the middle of July, the warmest month of the year. There are not just more people than ever before who are in electricity and gas arrears, but the amount by which they are in arrears has also increased. This has happened even with the energy credits supplied last year. The Government's response has been to withdraw those energy credits. How in the name of God does the Tánaiste think these families are going to survive? How does he think they are going to meet their needs this winter? He is telling them not to go cold this winter but people are cold today. People are making these real-life decisions today not to turn on the heat in their house.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Deputy.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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People have had to make the decision not to pay their gas and electricity bills because of the decisions of the Tánaiste's Government. I put it to him the Government has consciously made it impossible for people to stay warm this winter and I ask him to bring forward energy credits-----

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Deputy Doherty.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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-----to support these families and provide them with a lifeline during these winter months.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am sure Deputy Doherty accepts that in those numbers - those large numbers - are many people who are benefiting, and will benefit, directly from the financial assistance from this Government towards energy costs that I have just outlined, but he never makes those points. His party has a partitionist approach when it comes to energy policy.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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And health.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Sinn Féin does not think it is enough for somebody in County Louth to have €1,000 in fuel allowance but thinks someone up the road in Armagh should get by on just £100.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Exactly.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Doherty's party leads the Executive. The First Minister of Northern Ireland is from Sinn Féin. The finance Minister in Northern Ireland-----

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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How come Fine Gael is not running candidates in the Six Counties?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Sinn Féin Deputies get upset when I bring this up.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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They do not like it, do they?

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Why does Fine Gael not run a candidate up there?

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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We do not like partition; that is the problem.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The finance Minister in Northern Ireland is from Sinn Féin.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Fine Gael could not find it on a map.

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Shout, shout, shout.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The economy Minister in Northern Ireland is from Sinn Féin. The Executive is headed up by Sinn Féin. It is the largest party in the Assembly.

Thomas Gould (Cork North-Central, Sinn Fein)
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Fine Gael is not even up there.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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It has not brought forward a cost-of-living package. The fuel allowance is a paltry £100 to £300 compared with €1,000 here.

Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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We do not control the fiscal policies in Northern Ireland.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To the people at home this winter, access our supports but do not fall for Sinn Féin's hypocrisy.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Mark Ward.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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Fine Gael and partition.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Does he think that washes with people?

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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They do not like the truth.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Where is the Sinn Féin plan?

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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Why does Fine Gael not stand in the North?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Where is Michelle O'Neill's energy plan?

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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They do not like the truth.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle agus go raibh maith agaibh go léir.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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You have had your opportunity, Deputy Doherty. Deputy Ward, will you please put your question?

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I tried.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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There is no election so the Tánaiste does not care. Simon Harris, true to form.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Doherty. Deputy Ward, please.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Cold in Armagh. No plan for Armagh. Sinn Féin wants more for Louth.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Go raibh maith agat arís, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I raise the car parks the motorways into Dublin have become, especially the M7 and N7.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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I am clear in my support for increased public transport for Kildare South, but we know this extra capacity will take years. Commuters on the M7 and N7 cannot wait that long. Since I first raised this, I have been inundated with messages from commuters across Leinster and north Munster. Thousands of people are spending their lives stuck in daily traffic for up to three hours as they try to get to work. They are leaving their family homes at 6 a.m. to barely make it into work for 9 a.m. It is not just workers who are affected. People are missing critical medical appointments like chemotherapy because of these delays. Cancer patients are telling me they are having to pull over to the side of the road because they are so unwell and cannot make their appointments. Can this House imagine what it is like to be undergoing cancer treatment and be trapped in traffic for hours on end?

The problems for commuters are because of the pressure and availability of housing, the lack of timely and fit-for-purpose public transport, a Government flexible working policy that is simply not fit for purpose and an inadequate response to minor accidents and breakdowns compounded by driver frustration and education and a lack of transport gardaí on our roads. Last week, I called for Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the Minister for Transport to set up an emergency response unit for the N7, M7 and other major motorways that are experiencing massive traffic delays. This is already in place on the M50. It is, of course, not a silver bullet but it would allow for better responses to minor road traffic incidents and would help prevent traffic coming to a standstill at rush hour.

Many people in rural Ireland south of the capital cannot get a public bus or train because there are too few options. For many the times of public transport will not allow them to get to work on time. In many parts of rural Ireland, people have no choice but to use their cars to get to work. Where public transport does exist, people are crammed onto trains and are ringing their public representatives to say the bus did not show up. In Kildare South, I am fighting for an hourly train service along the Waterford to Heuston line. This would make a massive difference to people living in Athy, Carlow, Kilkenny and other places along the line. The first train from my hometown of Athy is at 6.41 a.m., with many commuters failing to get to work for 8 a.m. and having to revert to their cars.

The Government’s code of practice on flexible and hybrid working is not working. The call back to the office and the workplace is a problem highlighted by many commuters who have contacted me over recent days. The Government needs to legislate for a real right to flexible and hybrid working. Will it launch a new Operation Freeflow and instruct Transport Infrastructure Ireland to provide an emergency response to accidents and breakdowns on the car park that is the N7 and M7 to reduce the congestion for so many commuters?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Wall very much for raising this issue. The N7-M7 corridor is, of course, a critical part of Ireland’s national road and motorway network. I will get to some of the challenges, but there has been significant investment in recent decades, most recently the completion of a major upgrade to the motorway between Naas and Newbridge in 2021, which also included a bypass for Sallins. The Deputy is also right that since 2019, traffic levels on the M50 have grown by at least 11%, which equates to about an extra 50,000 trips per day. We are seeing the impact of that congestion on our road and motorway network. The Deputy was also right to highlight the fact there are real-life impacts from this. He gave the very harrowing reality of a cancer patient stuck in traffic trying to get to a crucial hospital appointment. I can think of the impact for people trying to get to an from childcare providers and meet school collection times. That is stress, as well as, of course, the environmental impact of being stuck in congestion and the impact that can have on air quality. We are very much aware of the congestion. I am aware of the regular accidents on the route and the safety issues as well. We intend, through our national development plan, to invest a huge amount in transport via upgrades to the road network but also to address the points Deputy Wall made on making public transport work more effectively for more people who wish to use it, once it works for them.

The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, will shortly outline the sectoral investment plan, which is basically the outworking of the new national development plan funding in terms of the advancement of projects. I will ask the Minister to take on board the comments Deputy Wall has made here today and the constructive suggestion he has made in relation to TII and what more it might be able to do.

The Deputy has rather cleverly and appropriately linked this to the debate and discussion on the development of policy with regard to remote working. As he will remember, we gave a commitment that there would be full public consultation in relation to the policy on remote working. A lot of good work has been done in this area. I am informed that there are now more than 400 connected hubs. Indeed, I opened a remote working hub in my own hometown very recently. The roll-out of our national broadband plan, which was opposed by many but which has worked and been delivered on time and on budget, has made a real difference in giving people that crucial infrastructure to work remotely. Only on Tuesday of this week, my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, launched a public consultation as part of a legislative review of the right to request remote working. I inquired as to how that review was going the other day and was told that over 2,000 people had already made submissions. That is quite incredible. Roughly 1,600 of those 2,000 responses came from workers while around 400 came from employers. I encourage the Deputy and everybody else to make their views known. We will consider what legislative steps to take, what to review and what amendments to make to legislation on the back of that public consultation.

Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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The Tánaiste said my comment was clever and deliberate but it is the reality. The commuters who are coming to me are asking for remote work and flexible working. There is a public consultation. I believe the closing date is 9 December. We need that discussion and we need new legislation.

However, I am today asking the Tánaiste for a new Operation Freeflow for the M7 and the N7 because that is what is needed for the thousands of people who are trapped there every day. Will the Government commit to additional signage and to deploying additional gardaí on the road to assist with the flow of traffic? Will the Tánaiste commit to hourly trains to Dublin as part of the Government's housing plan, through which it plans to build thousands of much-needed homes in the commuter belt? Will consideration be given to the use of hard shoulders for public transport? Many issues are being raised with me. TII needs to act. We cannot continue with the way things are. Productivity is down and the mental health of commuters and those travelling into Dublin is affected every day. It is simply not good enough. I ask the Tánaiste to revert to the Minister for Transport and TII as quickly as possible. This is urgent.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will certainly ask the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to take on board all of those sensible suggestions. I will ask him to come back directly to the Deputy and to engage with TII and the NTA with regard to Operation Freeflow, signage, gardaí and the frequency of the trains. I join with Deputy Wall in encouraging people to make their views known on the consultation on remote working. We should remind ourselves that remote working at scale in Ireland arose very quickly during the Covid-19 pandemic. The pace at which people, employers, public services and, to some degree, education changed their work practices was huge. However, if we are honest, it was also somewhat unplanned. There was a global pandemic and people were trying to keep the show on the road. We then legislated for the right to request remote working arrangements. That came into force for all employees on 6 March 2024. This was a big step forward in terms of entitlements and having a legislative framework for the first time. It is right and proper that we now consider it. If we get remote working right, it will result in huge opportunities, including the opportunity to expand access to the labour force and to address issues of congestion. However, we must also get it right as regards supporting our economy and making sure our public services work in the way our constituents expect. This consultation is an opportunity for everyone to have their say.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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Survivors of gender-based violence have just held a press event calling for Government action and for people to attend global marches taking place on Tuesday, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. I welcome Natasha O'Brien and Becca Clarke to the Gallery. They are among the survivors who just spoke. I also send solidarity to the loved ones of Stella Gallagher, who was killed in Cork this week.

Violence against women and LGBT people is a global epidemic. The UN recognises it as such. Even ten minutes, a woman or girl is killed by a family member. The femicide report in the UK says that more women are killed by their sons than by strangers. There are no riots or calls for debates in here when we hear statistics like that but it is the actual reality. Across the globe, women and people of all genders will march. There is going to be a shutdown in South Africa. In Ireland, ROSA is calling for protests at City Hall in Dublin at 5.30 p.m. next Tuesday and in Limerick and Cork, also on Tuesday.

The UN is highlighting online violence and online misogyny this year. There is no doubt that spreading misogyny is the bedrock of violence against women. This week, the US President said to a reporter "Quiet, piggy." The New York Post is asking whether women ruined the workplace. We are seeing a huge backlash against women's rights. Companies that are based here and enjoy huge tax breaks are participating in the grooming of young boys and the spreading of the manosphere and of misogynistic ideas such that traditional attitudes, as they are called, are re-emerging.

What is in the Tánaiste's control is the justice system. I will quickly raise two issues. The first is the fact that, over the last decade, the DPP has opted not to prosecute 13,000 cases of sexual violence. People like Nikita Hand and Becca Clarke, who is here today, had their cases turned down even though they were among the 5% of people who actually try to prosecute a case. The other issue I will raise with the Tánaiste is that of the Bill regarding counselling notes that is being drafted by the Minister for justice. This is something I have raised with the Tánaiste before. The fact that their therapy notes can be used by the defence has been identified as a misogynistic and traumatising issue for many survivors. The justice committee, the National Women's Council, the Rape Crisis Centre, all of the professional therapists and psychologists and all survivors want a complete ban on this. The Tánaiste needs to tell his Minister to go back to the drawing board and to find a way to make it impermissible to introduce counselling notes as evidence. They are third-party notes. In fact, they are hearsay. They are not evidence fit for a trial. We need a complete ban on this now. There must be no more messing around and no more retraumatising people who actually have the gumption and stamina to take a court case in this country, which is very rare.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Coppinger for raising this really important issue. I also thank those in the Gallery for being here today. Domestic, sexual and gender-based violence is a global epidemic and it is an epidemic in Ireland. We should call it out for that. We should acknowledge the advocacy and bravery of those who come forward and seek to bring about much-needed change in this area. It should not be seen as an issue to be addressed by women alone. It involves leadership from all of us in all political parties right across this Dáil, across these Houses and across society.

I do not mean to be argumentative but the Deputy said there are no debates in this House. I beg to differ. Perhaps there is an argument that we could have more debates in the House, and we should, but I certainly welcome the fact that there is now much more discussion on legislation, in Oireachtas committees and in Cabinet committees with regard to issues of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. I will also inform the House that it was agreed at the North-South Ministerial Council that we will work on this on a North-South basis. I thank the First Minister and deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland for their engagement with us on this. That is an indication of how seriously this issue is being taken, as it should and must be, across the island of Ireland.

I will not use all of my time to let people know what we are doing in this area.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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Please do not.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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We are doing things. We have established Cuan, the national agency. We have a zero-tolerance strategy. We are seeing funding for additional safe spaces. The Minister for justice is taking this matter extraordinarily seriously. He has secured Government approval to progress the criminal law (sexual violence, domestic violence and international instruments) Bill 2025, which includes measures to allow perpetrators of domestic violence to be included on a new register run by the courts and to strengthen the law further in relation to sexual consent, which is a very important step to take. I will not comment on the work of the DPP for fear of challenge in respect of the separation of powers but I take the Deputy's point on our criminal justice system and legal system needing to take this extraordinarily seriously.

Instinctively, I agree with what the Deputy has said about counselling notes. Cases should be heard on the evidence before them. When somebody goes to seek counselling or therapy, that confidentiality, privacy and sensitivity matters. I will not say something in this House that turns out to be legally wrong but the Government will try to get as close to what the Deputy suggests as is possible. We will take very seriously the recommendations of the justice committee and the recommendations and work of the likes of the Rape Crisis Centre, which has a very significant degree of expertise. I will commit the Government to working collaboratively and closely across the House on this matter and will specifically engage with the Minister for justice on the issues the Deputy has raised.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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I was here on a Thursday for the last debate on gender-based violence. It was pretty empty and it was many months ago. I get Leaders' Questions once a month, so I would appreciate if the Tánaiste could focus on the issue of the counselling notes and the DPP. He did at the end there; fair play.

On the counselling notes, the Minister has drafted a Bill under massive pressure and after campaigning by survivors who should not have to do this. Sarah Grace told the world she would nearly rather be attacked again than go back into our courts system. That should be a cause for real concern. One of the issues has been therapy notes being used by the defence. The Minister has drafted a Bill but it leaves the option open. A judge will decide if they can be included. Even the fact that such a decision could be made is traumatic. It is forcing many people to choose between therapy or a trial. What the Minister is proposing is the easy route but not the correct route. I ask the Tánaiste to ask him to go back to the drawing board. With his legal acumen and all the legal expertise the Government has, he should be able to come up with a way to rule out counselling notes as evidence in a fair trial in line with the Constitution.

Maybe we could return later to the question of the DPP, if not today. It is a real problem for Nikita Hand, who had to take a civil case - God knows the difference she made by doing so - and people like Becca, who did every single thing right but did not get her day in court.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Nikita Hand is an incredible woman who I have had the honour of speaking to. I think our media need to reflect on the amount of coverage they give to some people who represent the very worst of us - vile individuals - versus the attention and focus they give to courageous, incredible people like Nikita Hand. How these issues are framed in the media should also be considered. I am not disagreeing with the Deputy on this. I do not think anybody in this House, regardless of party politics, will disagree with the idea that counselling notes should not be part of a criminal trial. I accept fully the logic of the point about the chilling effect of the possibility of notes being used. I agree with the Deputy on that point. I accept her challenge in terms of understanding the legal advice available to the Minister as to why the Bill as currently drafted is the way it is, and seeing if there is the possibility of making further changes. I do not want to make a commitment on the floor of the House that I cannot deliver on, but I am committed to having that conversation with Government colleagues and coming back to the Deputy directly.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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Last week in the Dáil, I spoke of how two of my constituents were refused an exchange of their Belgian driving licences and will have to get provisional licences and retake the test. As they live in rural west Cork, they are essentially going into Covid lockdown for five months, unable even to get to the shops for a bottle of milk. This is the case the length and breadth of this island for many people. It is demeaning, distressing, unfair, extremely expensive and an unnecessary burden.

Irish citizens left Ireland in the difficult times to find work in the USA. Many are now looking to return to Ireland to raise their families or retire, bringing with them their skills and wealth. We are telling these Irish citizens, many of whom have been driving for over 40 years and originally held Irish licences, that they now need to get L-plates to drive in their own country. Our younger citizens have been driven abroad in a time of full employment by the high costs of housing. Now we are trying to attract back the skilled doctors, nurses, construction workers and engineers the country badly needs but when they come back, they cannot drive to their jobs.

The IDA has been working tirelessly in this difficult global environment to attract and retain companies from the USA to invest in our economy and create high-paying jobs, but the senior executives of those companies are being told they have to put L-plates on their company BMWs. This country should be better than that. Many in the Dáil may be familiar with former GAA president Larry McCarthy, who returned to Ireland in 2021 and had to hire a driver so he could do his job, despite having originally held an Irish licence and then a US licence for 37 years.

As an immediate action, will the Tánaiste direct the Minister for Transport to require the Road Safety Authority, RSA, and the National Driver Licence Service, NDLS, to revise their policy and recognise previous Irish driver licences without the ten-year limit? This is a straightforward action that would have zero impact on road safety. It would immediately support the Irish diaspora and returning Irish citizens. In parallel, as a solution to the broader problem, will the Tánaiste request the RSA and the NDLS to develop a proposal for a pragmatic and risk-based process for exchange of foreign driving licences, building on best practices and precedent from other EU countries?

The current RSA approach of seeking reciprocal driving licence agreements with individual US states is getting us nowhere. I am not surprised as I have not been able to find a single example where an EU country has a reciprocal driving licence exchange agreement with even one US state, most likely because US state licensing regimes are incompatible with EU standards. I expect the Minister and RSA are well familiar with that fact. I know we are unlikely to meet the commitments made in the programme for Government. Instead, Ireland can and should follow the example of many European countries such as Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Austria and Portugal, which have a unilateral licence exchange process, which includes the USA, operating in tandem with these reciprocal agreements. The RSA should leverage practices and precedents from our EU partners in a risk-based manner to revise our current restrictive system.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. There are probably two parts to the question. The first part relates to the ten-year limit after which the licence expires. My understanding is that because our Irish driving licence operates within a framework of EU law, the driving licence legislation is EU legislation which all member states must comply with. I always get nervous saying that as though we are blaming the EU. We are part of the EU so we can always explore these issues with partners. However, the standards for testing drivers are set at an EU level. The benefit for all of us is that opting into this EU system enables us to have a driver's licence that works across the European Union. Rather than it being an impediment to an Irish citizen, it is a great gift with the primary benefit of allowing a universal EU licence. That is of huge benefit to people from Ireland and across the 27 member states. I understand an Irish driving licence can be renewed in Ireland up to ten years after the date of expiry; after this time, the licence cannot be renewed and the person is no longer considered a qualified driver. On foot of the Deputy raising this today, I will explore this further but that is the best information available to me.

The second point relates to our diaspora. I have to acknowledge this comes up a lot. In my past posting, when I met Irish people abroad who were considering coming home, the issue of the driving licence came up time and again. The Deputy is right to highlight it. Our colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, is leading for the Government on this in the context of the new diaspora strategy. I was going to say that we are working through this and trying to reach agreement on it with a number of US states, but the Deputy has expressed concerns about the speed of that. I will ask the Minister of State to come back to him directly on that. He is doing some very good, focused work with our embassy and consular network in the US. They have started with states where there is a high number of Irish people, which makes sense. I will also ask the Minister of State to reflect on what the Deputy said about learning from other EU countries which, he perceives, do this in a more efficient or effective way. He mentioned Belgium and a number of others. The way we do it at the moment is this: Ireland may make bilateral licence exchange agreements with non-EU jurisdictions. It is a technical and independent process. Reaching agreement is therefore not just a matter of political will; it has at its core competency around road safety, which is something we all take very seriously. I am told that on average the technical independent assessment process takes approximately two years. On foot of the Deputy raising this matter today, and given that we will have a new diaspora strategy next year, which the Minister of State is currently finalising and will bring to the Government next year, I will ask that he specifically reflect on the issue of reciprocal arrangements in relation to driving licences.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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I thank the Tánaiste very much for his reply. I ask the Government to get rid of the ten-year limit on Irish licences for returning emigrants.

These are people who passed a test in Ireland, held an Irish licence and currently have a valid driving licence. To now deny them a licence is arbitrary, unjust and indefensible. This is a slap in the face to Irish citizens returning home. This is not how we should be treating our people.

It has zero impact on road safety. This straightforward action would immediately support the Irish diaspora and returning Irish citizens. The ten-year-old limit is not required under either Irish law or EU law.

It is in the programme for Government to resolve that, so the Government has discussed this around the table. Last week I sent this correspondence to the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Canney, and he forwarded it to the NDLS. That is kicking the can down the road. We cannot kick the can down the road on this issue. It is hugely important that we deal with that issue immediately. As far as I am concerned, the senior Minister could amend this requirement tomorrow with the stroke of a pen. Can that happen?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Without being argumentative, I am not sure he can, based on the information available to me on the importance of anything we do in Ireland being in line, in relation to that ten years, with European legislation, but let me check on foot of the Deputy raising it here today. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond.

What we certainly can do, though, is look at how we can get those reciprocal arrangements in place. We are determined, not only at a political level but from the Irish ambassador to the United States down in terms of our diplomatic network there, that there is real work going on in terms of trying to reach those agreements.

The Deputy is right to identify the issue, as the programme for Government does, because we want Irish people back in this country. We want their ingenuity. We want their contribution. We want to bring people home. Often we need their skills as well. Their families want them back. This is something that comes up as a barrier in the long list of things people are trying to work through when planning on relocating to Ireland, perhaps with a family and the likes, and if there are hurdles we can remove here, we certainly should. I will speak to the relevant Ministers on foot of the Deputy raising this and in the background of our new national diaspora strategy.