Results 61-80 of 47,691 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: -----is going to court. One of its elected representatives has rushed to the courts to try to block those changes to apartment standards.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: I ask Deputy Sheehan respectfully, as his party's spokesperson on housing-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: -----to pick up the phone to his councillor and tell him to stop weaponising the use of the courts to try to delay changes we need to make to apartment standards. There will be students in Limerick who need more apartments and student accommodation to be built and the Labour Party councillor is actively delaying that in my respectful opinion.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: Today is a significant day in terms of housing policy in Ireland. It comes after a number of decisions the Government has already taken. This plan today needs to be seen in the context of the national development plan published this summer, where we significantly increased the level of investment directly in house building. After listening to people across the country, local authorities...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: That is welcome news.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: There is also an additional €100 million, specifically in 2026, to get families out of emergency accommodation, particularly children-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: -----and into homes. It is new money of €100 million that has not yet been spent in 2026. Do not mislead the people. The Deputy will accept it is €100 million for 2026 that has not yet been spent. That will need to be repeated each year during the lifetime of this plan. There is a new performance fund to incentivise local authorities to exceed their annual own-build social...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: I have.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: They are.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: I agree there is certainly one fundamental difference between Sinn Féin and the Government when it comes to housing. Sinn Féin wants this plan to fail because it believes it will do well if our housing plan fails. We intend to work every night and day to build housing but Sinn Féin thrives on the misery-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: -----and exploiting the intergenerational anxiety of others.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: It needs this plan to fail-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: -----so it can exploit the challenges people face. Of course, the Government is not going to fail because the Government has already delivered. The Deputy talks about my record in government. We delivered over 137,000 new homes during the lifetime of Housing for All.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: I will only unilaterally agree on behalf of the Government but it is a very sensible suggestion. This is certainly not a new area but it is a relatively new area that Members in this House, people in local authorities, citizens and people new to our country are all trying to grapple and engage with. I am not seeking to be divisive here but the debate should not be hijacked by anybody nor...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: What I would say to them is that love is love and they live in a Republic where equality must be at the core of all that we do. Homophobic attacks and violence are crimes and there needs to be zero tolerance of them. The Minister for education reminds me that this week is Stand Up Awareness Week, an important initiative by Belong To in our schools. I thank it for the work it is doing....

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: We have been working on this together over the past while. We meant what we said during the election. Having a childcare system that is fit for purpose, empowers parents, is affordable and accessible, and has quality at its heart is a core priority for this Government. If we can get this right over the course of this Government, we can transform childcare in a way that other parts of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I was familiar with this in times gone by and would have had engagement with the family, as I know so many representatives over the years have, both in Wicklow and in government. I will ask the Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries, Deputy Dooley, to update me on the matter, to come back to the Deputy directly and to see if we can...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: Yes.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I know it is an issue of importance to many people, including people in Dublin West, commuters and people going about their business and encountering these toll charges. The Deputy has made some very interesting suggestions that merit further examination. As she knows, TII has a role in this. She has called on it to give consideration to this. I...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Nov 2025)

Simon Harris: I will speak directly to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill on this matter. We have made good progress on cancer care and cancer treatment in recent years in this country and it is important we build on that. We have a national cancer strategy. We are increasing our capital investment in health as well. I will try to understand the rationale around those timelines and whether there is...