Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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Later today, thousands of taxi drivers will take part in a slow drive protest against Uber's new maximum pricing feature. Taxi drivers say this move is a blatant attempt to undermine the National Transport Authority, NTA, regulations and that it will be absolutely devastating to their incomes and for the future of the industry. They also tell us, and we know from other places where Uber has introduced this model, that it has resulted in a bad deal for taxi drivers, who end up being forced to pay much higher commission, and also higher prices for customers as choice dries up. Taxi drivers have been left with no option but to take to the roads of the capital to confront what they see as a big threat to their livelihoods. They are calling for the NTA regulations to be updated to capture the impact of dispatch apps on the industry and on income of taxi drivers. The Government needs to get involved now and sort this out. This is a serious issue for taxi drivers right across the State, but it is also a very serious issue for customers who could see higher prices as choice dries up, as we have seen in other jurisdictions where this happened.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Doherty. I am aware of this issue and the significant concern of taxi drivers in relation to this. The factual position given by the Department is that dispatch operators are required to provide bookings to small public service vehicle, SPSV, licensed drivers using SPSV licensed vehicles only. Where taxi drivers choose to affiliate with a dispatch operator, they are free to contract with a dispatch operator of their choice. However, I do understand there is genuine concern and worry in relation to this. The Minister for Transport did issue a letter to the NTA on 19 November asking it to engage and clarify the regulatory position for SPSV operators. I will certainly take the Deputy's request back to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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It is my first opportunity to wish the Tánaiste well in his new role. I wish to speak on the secretaries and caretakers talks, which have broken down again, in relation to their pension entitlements and leave entitlements. Mr. Andy Pike from Fórsa said:

The Department’s refusal to table a constructive proposal on this point has now brought the process to an impasse. School secretaries and caretakers have shown extraordinary patience. Their determination to secure a just and long-overdue resolution remains unwavering. But if progress continues to be blocked, we cannot – and will not – rule out further strike action.

We do not want to see more secretaries and caretakers outside our door. We do not want to see schools operating with no secretaries and no one at the front door or to do the maintenance work in the schools. This is now an opportunity for the Government and the Tánaiste, as the new Minister for Finance, to step in and make a clear indication to all secretaries and caretakers across this country that he will stand up for their entitlements and give them those entitlements.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. I congratulate him on his first year in the Dáil. I think I heard him say the other day that he is the first TD born in the 21st century-----

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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Absolutely.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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-----which is a significant milestone.

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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We got elected at the same age.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Did we? There you go. Well, comhghairdeas, and-----

Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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Maybe I will be Tánaiste some day.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Maybe you will. I would highly recommend it most days.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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At the rate this Government is going, yes.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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We will have a discussion offline about that. We used to be in government with the Labour Party. You have to be careful not to get too close to that crowd - I jest.

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a really serious matter because school secretaries and caretakers are the beating heart of our community. We know them; we know them by name. We all want to see this issue resolved. Conscious of my new position, I do not want to over-comment on discussions between parties that remain confidential other than to say that this matter has been referred to the Labour Court. A resolution needs to be found. I understand the Department and the Government remain committed and ready to engage with Fórsa to reach a resolution to this important matter, which, as I said, has been referred to the Labour Court.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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I am hugely concerned about the lack of ambition in the national transport plan that was issued yesterday. Luas Finglas, which received planning permission this month, will not start construction until 2029. This is not a complicated project; it is a 4 km extension. Earlier this year, the Taoiseach promised to accelerate the Cork Luas. There is no funding for it in this plan. Similarly, DART+ South West is also now on the long finger. That has had full planning permission but it will not start construction until 2030. There is no funding for Luas to Lucan, Poolbeg or, indeed, Bray in our constituency. There is no funding for the reopening of the Waterford to Rosslare rail line, which is a critical project for the development of the south east. That has been ignored.

Incredibly, funding for active travel is not inflation-proofed in this plan, which really just amounts to an effective cut across the next five years. This failure to prioritise public transport means increasing gridlock, longer commutes and higher emissions. We all know why this is happening, and it is primarily so that money can be given to roads over public transport. The last Luas project was delivered in 2017. It will now be at least 13 years before there is a new one, and that is the short extension. How can the Government stand over this plan while claiming it wants to prioritise public transport?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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There have been eye-watering amounts of public funding allocated to capital, including to the Department of Transport.

I would make the point, as I made earlier but I want to make it again, there are lots of projects that will be advanced over the lifetime of this Government and beyond that are not included in yesterday's sectoral investment plan. They are generally projects of below €200 million and TII will publish an annual capital plan, likely in and around January, and the Minister will be in a position to publish this also. I know I am being argumentative but I would make the point that I am a big believer in building roads. Public transport needs roads, there are road safety issues, and the electric vehicles we are trying to get people to switch to need to drive on roads. Far too many road projects, including the N11 in our constituency-----

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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The N81 did not get a mention.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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A minute ago you did not want to spend the money on roads and you criticised us for spending too much money.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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That is a safety issue.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Exactly. Roads funding is important and I agree with Deputy Whitmore on this. This is why we have made sure the N11 will advance and I assure Deputy Whitmore that the N81 will too. The N81 is not a project that is expected to reach the threshold there would have been in the sectoral investment plan. I have discussed this with the chief executive of Wicklow County Council also. My broader point is that I will ask the Minister to come back specifically on the public transport projects, including the Luas projects, to which Deputy Whitmore referred.

Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)
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School secretaries and caretakers are at the heart of all school communities up and down the country. In September, 2,600 secretaries and caretakers were forced to take industrial action to deal with long-standing inequities, whereby they are excluded from pension parity with other school-based public service staff, including teachers and special needs assistants. They have shown extraordinary patience. They agreed to suspend their strike action and enter talks at the Workplace Relations Commission on the basis of assurances that they would receive pensions comparable to other public sector workers. The Departments of public expenditure and education have now reneged on these assurances and have failed to engage in any meaningful way with the workers' union, Fórsa. The talks have now broken down and schools up and down the country face further strike action and, indeed, closure. We have heard statement after statement from the Government, and from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Deputies, in support of school caretakers and secretaries but talk is cheap. I ask the Tánaiste today to instruct the negotiators to honour the commitments given and grant the comparable public service pensions to school secretaries and caretakers.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Healy for raising a very important matter. Sometimes when you are in my position talk is not cheap and it can be detrimental to very important processes that need to be followed in our labour relations and industrial relations mechanisms in the country. I agree with Deputy Healy's analysis on the hugely positive contribution our school secretaries and caretakers, and the SNAs he referenced in an earlier discussion, make. On Friday, 5 September we had constructive engagement under the auspices of the WRC and agreement was reached that the Department and Fórsa would engage in a process to resolve the issues in dispute. Officials from the Department engaged several times with Fórsa under the auspices of the WRC. The matter has now been referred to the Labour Court. From my experience, in this House and in public life, I hope both sides can get into the Labour Court and engage in a meaningful way to try to find a resolution to this dispute, which we all want to see resolved.

Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)
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Two weeks ago hundreds of people peacefully protested outside Dáil Éireann against CPOs being used to force greenways and walkways through the middle of their farms and property. They included people from Galway, Kinsale and Cooley in County Louth. The Oireachtas transport committee meeting heard evidence from TII, which admitted it was not aware CPOs were being forced on landowners to take their land from them for greenways or walkways for recreational use. At this meeting TII promised a review will take place on the roll-out of greenways for the thousands in Ireland affected. For those affected throughout the country, living in fear that lands would be taken from them, this was some relief. Fast forward a week later, and much to their horror more than 500 landowners on the Cooley Peninsula in County Louth received the dreaded letter through the letterbox stating the greenway was railroading through their ground. Is Ireland losing its democratic status as TII and the local authorities give themselves ever-increasing powers over the land and property rights of private citizens? Will the Tánaiste communicate with TII and local authorities, especially regarding Cooley in County Louth, on stalling progress on walkways where there is no agreement until the review TII is commissioning is completed and CPOs are taken off the table?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am sympathetic to some of the points the Deputy makes. I have had discussions with colleagues on this also. CPO is a very important tool but it should be used in very specific instances. I am not certain I am comfortable with its use in relation to greenways. The State should not overcomplicate the situation in relation to greenways. They are good things, and they are things that communities generally want, but there does need to be a bit of common sense in terms of the routes. There has been a degree of complexity, perhaps, injected into it. Greenways are great and they have transformed many parts of our country but we do not want to see them become in any way divisive. I will seek an update from the Minister on where the TII's review of the use of CPO is at.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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We have heard all the talk about a 12-month anniversary for many TDs but I would like to talk about a 64-year anniversary which was commemorated yesterday. A group of us met the Irish Thalidomide Association in Leinster House. It was a cross-party meeting with Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, the Labour Party and Independents all represented, and they universally acknowledged the hurt and pain those survivors have experienced for 64 years. I spoke here last year and asked for a State apology. A State apology was given by the British nearly 15 years ago and by the Australians in a similar timeline. For the life of me, I will never understand the legal jiggery-pokery we hide behind inside here and, specifically in this case, in the State Claims Agency. It is universally acknowledged that what happened was wrong and deeply regrettable. To forego the pain the few remaining survivors are experiencing, I am begging again today and pleading with the Tánaiste. A meeting is coming up on 9 December between the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach and the survivors and their legal representatives. I ask the Tánaiste for once and for all to bring it to a head. Do what is right and do what is expected. I could not attend the funeral of 95-year-old Peggy Murphy earlier this year because I felt ashamed as a public representative. I beg the Tánaiste, with the Taoiseach, to bring this to a conclusion once and for all.

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

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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That is genuinely what I want to happen and I know it is really what the Taoiseach wants to happen. I acknowledge and pay tribute to him for the work he is investing in this personally. He and I had a meeting circa three weeks ago, maybe four, and we are due to meet with the representative group again very shortly. It will be either next week or the week after but it is in the month of December. A huge amount of work is under way to try to get this where it needs to get to. I thank many of the people we know for coming around here, all too frequently, and feeling they have to come around here, such as Finola and others, because this has dragged on a long time. I also want us to get to a point where an apology can be offered in the House. We have seen ways it has been done in the past for a lot of issues and it would be entirely appropriate. I know the Taoiseach is working very intensively on this. I am very eager to work with him on it. We are both directly engaging on it and I really do want us to make progress on this for once and for all.

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Rathdowney fire station has been waiting for more than two decades for a replacement. A site was acquired in 2003, Part 8 approval is complete and Laois County Council has prioritised Rathdowney for the 2026 to 2030 fire service capital programme. The current station is outdated, overcrowded and lacks proper facilities for female staff, despite having the largest number of female fire fighters in the county. Rathdowney crews continue to provide an excellent service to a wide area of homes, schools, farms and businesses. A new station is essential to provide proper training conditions, adequate facilities and a stronger response capacity. Will the Tánaiste commit to prioritising and funding the construction of the new Rathdowney fire station? Will he provide a clear timeline for when its long overdue funding will be released? The Tánaiste mentioned that today is our first anniversary of being elected. Would it not be lovely for him to stand up in his response to say "Yes" to me and that he has a clear timeframe for doing something?

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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No pressure, Tánaiste.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Aird for all the work he has been doing over the course of the past year, keeping us under pressure in terms of many projects that are important to the people of Laois, who gave him such a resounding mandate a year ago and I acknowledge this. I thank him for raising this important matter with me. I know it is an issue he has been campaigning on, not only as a TD but during his time on Laois County Council. As Deputy Aird knows, Laois fire service indicated that a new fire station at Stradbally was the council's number one priority, and a replacement fire station for Rathdowney was the second priority. This is the factual position. We saw a situation where the Stradbally fire station project was progressed and has now been approved to tender for the construction phase, and it will have a closing date for submissions on 20 January 2026.

The reason I say that is it now means Rathdowney has become the number one priority in this regard for Laois County Council and the Laois fire service.

I am pleased to say that Laois County Fire and Rescue Service has now identified a proposed site that it believes is ideally situated with regard to the road network, traffic flow and central location. Here is the rub, though. The fire service capital programme 2026 to 2030 is being finalised and once it is, we will have a better idea of the timeline. Let me be clear, though. We are absolutely committed, as are the Department of housing and Laois County Fire and Rescue Service, to progressing the proposed new Rathdowney station. The next time we are in Laois, perhaps we will visit it and talk about timelines and moving that forward.

William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)
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And the Tánaiste will be able to make an announcement.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Bhí sé geallta go dtabharfaí cumhachtaí nua d’Údarás na Gaeltachta. Bhí sé geallta ó 2021 go bhfoilseofaí treoirlínte pleanála do thithe sa Ghaeltacht chomh maith. Dúradh linn ag an am go raibh na treoirlínte sin beagnach réidh, ach fós níl siad ann. Níl ceachtar de na gealltanais sin comhlíonta agus tá muintir na Gaeltachta thíos leis dá bharr gan tithíocht do lánúineacha nó clainne nua. Cén fáth ar gá dúinn fanacht go dtí 2027 ar ráiteas náisiúnta phleanáil Ghaeltachta? Cén uair a bheas Céim na Tuarascála don Bhille um Údarás na Gaeltachta (Leasú), 2024 againn? An mbeidh cumhachtaí breise aige maidir le ceist na tithíochta sna Gaeltachtaí?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will have to check with the relevant Minister on the status of that and will revert to the Deputy directly.

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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The alignment of route 80 away from the quays on O'Connell Bridge has been identified as the cause of many of the operational issues affecting the operation of that route and the commuters who use it, including my constituents in Palmerstown. While I understand from the belated statement from the NTA yesterday that a review of the route is now underway, something that has been called for by elected representatives for some time now, it may take months. We need to arrive at a sustainable solution much faster, which is something the Tánaiste and the Minister for Transport will support.

This goes to the heart of an issue we have correctly identified in the programme for Government. We have promised to review the structures and operation of the NTA to strengthen its engagement with local authorities, communities and stakeholders. This now needs to happen as a matter of urgency, as it has come to a head in light of the reaction and the way in which the issues around route 80 have been dealt with. While I have engaged with individual operators on individual service matters, I understand that they operate within the parameters set by the NTA.

We need to build confidence in our public transport system. The NTA's statement yesterday that operational data for route 80 showed no major issues did not match the experience of commuters in Palmerstown and Chapelizod, who have been let down in recent weeks. Does the Tánaiste agree that we should make more granular performance data on our public transport systems available for all routes in order to build that public confidence and, as I have previously suggested, enable a traffic light system to show daily performance of individual bus routes around the country? That transparency can only build confidence.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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That is a very good idea because we need to do two things. As the Deputy has rightly said, for his constituents in Palmerstown, Chapelizod and in general, we need to build the confidence he has talked about but we also need to be able to track performance in terms of return of investment. We have just announced as a Government a major increase in public transport funding and a major increase in capital funding in general. It is right and proper that agencies of the State are able to account not just to their elected representatives, but also to the people on how they are performing in return for that capital. That level of data makes sense.

I will specifically talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, in respect of the issues the Deputy has raised regarding the review of the route and the need to arrive at a sustainable solution.

Micheál Carrigy (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I wish to raise the issue of the upcoming DEIS plus programme that has been announced. I am fearful that it will just be for the major cities. I want to highlight a number of schools, particularly those in Longford town. I ask that schools in towns like Longford, where there are many issues on the ground, are prioritised for the DEIS programme, particularly the national schools of St. Joseph's, St. Michael's and St. Emer's.

Another issue I have raised previously is the lack of special school places. We have several families who have been on a waiting list for nearly 12 months due to the lack of places in the special school within Longford town, which covers not just the town, but the whole county and the counties surrounding it. I ask that we prioritise special school places being made available immediately for those families who do not have them and but badly need them.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Carrigy for raising this issue. The roll-out of DEIS and DEIS plus, as we have committed to in the programme for Government, is linked to an educational measure but also a child poverty measure. We all know one of the best ways of lifting people out of poverty, including intergenerational poverty, is through our education system. Tackling educational disadvantage moves children out of poverty in the short, medium and long terms. I am determined, as is this Government, that the roll-out of DEIS plus is based on need, evidence and analysis, not just picking certain parts of the country. Absolutely, Longford will be considered in that context.

As the Deputy will know, there are already 23 schools in Longford in the DEIS programme, with six urban band 1 primary schools, one urban band 2 primary schemes, ten rural DEIS primary schools and six post-primary schools. My understanding is that schools in Longford are now participating in the consultation process to inform the development of a new strategy, and this report will be published shortly. Regarding the special school places issue, I will specifically ask the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, to look at the issues in Longford and link with the Deputy to try to make progress on this.

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North-West, Sinn Fein)
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The Tánaiste's colleague, the Minister for housing, James Browne, has pulled the plans to build nearly 500 units within the Dublin City Council area under public-private partnerships. A total of 1,000 new homes have already been delivered under public-private partnerships and a further 3,500 were in the process of being delivered across the country. However, the Minister pulled the plug on the delivery of these additional homes. These units will primarily not be built because of opposition from the Department of public expenditure two days before construction on the project was to commence. Companies had already put substantial investment into the project in terms of both staff and resources.

We have a lame duck Minister. We need to now redirect moneys to the local authorities, which will deliver housing more cost-effectively than the public-private partnership schemes. Local authorities need to be the lead developers in delivering these badly needed homes.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Let me correct the record: we have an excellent Minister who is working very hard but housing is also a whole-of-government issue. The Minister, Deputy Browne, recently published, with me, the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, a new national housing plan that involves every part of the State, realising everybody has a role to play in the housing emergency, including our local authorities and State agencies.

On this specific project, I am not familiar with it but I will speak to the Minister-----

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North-West, Sinn Fein)
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It is being pulled. It does not make sense.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will speak to the Minister because we all want to see more supply and I will ask him to revert to the Deputy directly.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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In the bigger picture, the NTA is not fit for purpose. We have heard about route 26 turning into the route 80 disaster that is affecting Palmerstown and especially Chapelizod. This may be reviewed, but I did a survey of 2,700 bus users who were all wary of it from day 1. I had a meeting with the chief executive but nothing was done at the time. The C2 bus spent so long down a temporary route that all the new houses were built alongside it and a new route is needed that incorporates the L25. The abolition of route 13 in Clondalkin is causing major concerns for certain estates, especially for school kids.

It goes on and on but the big picture is the NTA has absolutely no accountability. You raise an issue with the Minister for Transport, who says it is an operational matter for the NTA, but if you are trying to have political input and do not want political patronage, you need an input and an NTA that listens to the elected representatives who are representing the people on the ground and makes changes. However, it is not making the changes and it is not listening. There is an arrogance there.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for highlighting that. Ultimately, State agencies must always remember that they are agencies of the State. The people in this building and those in local authority chambers are the democratically elected representatives of that State. I am sorry to hear the Deputy is highlighting a real issue in terms of a lack of engagement on this. I will certainly take this back and discuss it with the Minister for Transport more broadly and I will ask him to revert to the Deputy.

Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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The Tánaiste has a pensions double-header coming up from the Labour Party here.

I will be returning to the issue of the An Post pensioners. The Tánaiste will be aware that, in September of this year, An Post management agreed with the Communications Workers' Union, CWU, an increase of pensionable pay by 7%, with 6% backdated to 1 January and 1% to 1 June. The current code of practice for the governance of State bodies requires An Post to obtain ministerial approval before paying the increases mandated by the superannuation scheme rules and for Ministers to consider a review by NewERA before approving the increase. This completely unnecessary review process has been underway since 23 October. As Ministers and NewERA have no authority to disregard the rules of the scheme, why is it taking so long to approve the increases and will the Tánaiste give an unequivocal undertaking that pensioners will receive their increases before Christmas?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I will not give any undertaking until I get on top of the facts of it. I will certainly get on top of the facts now and will revert to the Deputy on the issue. I can only imagine the frustration of those An Post pensioners. Allow me to seek the latest update and I will revert to the Deputy on it in writing.

George Lawlor (Wexford, Labour)
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I want to raise the issue of pension abatement. Quite a number of retired public servants who were encouraged back into the service following their retirement are now in receipt of rather large pension abatement bills, so to speak. Retired public servants who had already earned their pensions were basically told that if they worked a certain number of hours, cumulative over the full year, they would not be penalised in any way. However, one man showed me a bill for €18,000 and said that a colleague of his had a bill for in excess of €40,000. These are people who were encouraged back into the service and, to be fair to them, came back into the service at a time when we were really under pressure, which is often still the case. The irony of it is that, if he went to work for an agency supplying work to the public service, there would be no implication for his pension. This is on foot of Circular 24/2022 from the Department of public expenditure. I urge the Tánaiste to intervene with the Department of public expenditure to realistically look at this and to ensure that people who have come back in to give their service to the State again are not penalised.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Lawlor for highlighting this issue. Anecdotally, I have come across this as well. We are asking people who have accrued significant experience and expertise to come back and help out with a specific project, maybe when there are particular times of pressure, such as during Covid and many other occasions. Often, it can be quite a challenge to get people to come back, not necessarily because they do not want to, but because of that interplay in relation to their pensions and pension abatement. It is a complex area, as the Deputy knows, but I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Chambers, in relation to it and ask him that he revert to the Deputy on it.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC gave a very stern warning to the Government yesterday about our level of expenditure. What I want to raise is an important project that the Government could get behind to try to grow our domestic enterprise and entrepreneurial activity in Ireland. I gave a presentation to our parliamentary party in relation to having a national, fully supported accelerator grown and developed in a newly redeveloped IFSC. The country needs this to happen. Given my own party leader's disinterest in it, maybe it is something the Tánaiste might take up. It is important because it could grow our tax base in Ireland and support young entrepreneurs, and we could be proactive about how we grow our domestic tax base.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his constructive contribution and the idea of an accelerator project for the IFSC. If the Deputy sends me on the details of it, I will be very happy to engage with him on it. I suggest that my colleague in the Department of Finance, the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, who has responsibility for international services, and I could have a discussion in relation to that. I would be happy to facilitate that.

IFAC has a really important role today. Groupthink brought us to a moment of economic ruination before. It is important to have critical voices but the big learning from IFAC is the need to get the medium-term fiscal framework nailed down before Christmas so that we anchor our spending and taxation plans for the next number of years.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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I want to raise the issue of building childcare facilities, which are conditional on a lot of planning permissions, especially in major developments. We are finding that facilities are not being built. Even if they are, the rent being demanded for them is too high for people to go in and for it to be viable. It is time now that we looked at this as a Government to see what can be done to make sure we have adequate childcare facilities built, especially in new housing estates. Where planning permission is granted for 40 or 50 houses, there should be co-ordination about putting in place adequate childcare facilities because parents are now finding it extremely difficult. They cannot access childcare facilities, and people who want to provide childcare cannot afford the rents that are being demanded. We need to tackle this immediately.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As is often the case, Deputy Burke is correct on this. There is a real blockage here, which is that it cannot all be left to the market. I meet people in my constituency and around the country, often young professional people, who they want to open a childcare facility. They are well up for it, ready and qualified but they gave to face upfront costs, startup costs, rents and capital costs. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Foley, to specifically consider the Deputy's comments in the context of the new action plan on childcare that will be published early next year. Today, the Minister has, or is about to, announce our capital funding plan for childcare, which will see very significant funding, for the first time really at scale, for State-led childcare facilities. Perhaps we can fold the Deputy's comments into that conversation as well.

Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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I want to raise the crisis facing families seeking special class places in Kildare South. Cian attends St. Conleth's Infant School in Newbridge and ready to start primary school in a special class. His family applied everywhere - Newbridge, Kildare, Kilcullen and Naas - but were refused in all. Harry is 12 years old and despite his family applying to every available ASD class in the Newbridge-Kildare area, he has no suitable secondary school place. Last week, I heard the case of another young boy, 15 years of age, who has never been able to attend a secondary school. His family told KFM that they were heartbroken and felt that they had exhausted every option. The young boy himself has said he feels useless and wants to die.

These children are simply asking for the right to education alongside their peers. South Kildare is clearly and seriously underserved when it comes to ASD provision. Will the Tánaiste ensure that these young people have appropriate school places for September and will he engage with the NCSE to urgently expand capacity in south Kildare? I find it very insulting to these parents that the NCSE is out there practically boasting about the number of free spaces it has when this does not match the reality on the ground.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I try to stop myself doing it as well, because I can stand here and point to there being X number of more places. That might be true, but it is also only a cause of frustration for a parent who does not have a place. I take that point, which is a fair one.

In relation to the three specific cases the Deputy raised, I will notify the Minister for education and the NCSE of her intention to follow up on those. On the broader point in relation to the capacity in Kildare South, I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, to revert to the Deputy.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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On Monday night, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Labour, the Green Party and right-wing Independents all voted to raise rents on the poorest households in Dublin city. These are council tenants, AHB tenants, HAP and RAS tenants who do not even get any maintenance from the council and who are all set to have their rents increased from April. There are plans to do the same across the country. This is pointed towards in the Government's housing plan, including in South Dublin County Council. The rent is being increased for cold, damp, uninsulated and overcrowded homes. This is forcing families with adult children trapped in their childhood bedrooms to pay higher rents. Some 43% of council tenants and almost 60% of HAP and RAS tenants already live in poverty. These increases will put them over the edge. The Tánaiste could stop this. He could talk to his councillors across the country and tell them not to vote for these rent increases. The Government could properly fund our councils. If it does not, it will face a mass campaign of resistance to this. The issue of the rent hikes will become a central issue and the by-election in Dublin Central will potentially become a by-election about these unfair rent hikes.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Murphy for raising this matter. These are always sensitive and important issues to try to get right. I know local councillors try to grapple with what the right approach is on this. I note that different parties, including some Opposition parties, have voted in different ways on this on different councils. I think the lead Opposition party voted one way on South Dublin County Council and voted a different way on Dublin City Council. I am not sure what the policy difference was in terms of why it voted in two different ways. We are trying to get the balance right. We are taking a number of measures to try to assist people with housing and poverty. We will continue to trust our councillors to monitor this on a case-by-case basis per local authority.