Results 1,341-1,360 of 47,419 for speaker:Simon Harris

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I extend my sympathy to the family of the young man, Evan Fitzgerald. He was a countyman of mine. The incident was a great shock in the local community and County Wicklow. I understand this is a complex case. Obviously, I am not privy, nor should I be, to when the Garda Commissioner does or does not use the provision in the Act. That is a matter between the Commissioner and the Minister,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: We are treating this as an emergency. It is a housing emergency and that is why we are taking big decisions each and every week to try to increase housing supply. We have increased housing supply from the floor to around 30,000 homes each year. We need to increase that significantly to deliver 300,000 more homes by the end of 2030. We have been following the evidence base of the Housing...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: The Deputy said homeless.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: He said homeless lists.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: Who is incompetent?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: There was not as much pirouetting and spinning at my daughter's ballet recital compared to what I just saw there. The reality is this is far too serious to engage in conspiracy theories.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: The Deputy suggested I went around counting people. The reality is we have robust, politically independent, impartial structures in our State-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: Sorry, no. The Deputy can wave his sheets of paper but I want to know who in the public service he is calling incompetent?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: It is our public service. It is ours, we live in a Republic. It is our public service and it does a bloody good job and I want to know-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: Just wait a second now, Mr. Angry. Wait.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I want to know who in our public service or what agency Deputy Tóibín believes is wrong in relation to our housing figures. I made the point about duplication and how you can report homelessness in more than one area. That did not suit the Deputy so he switched his argument for the next stage. The Deputy is right. We are coming from a very low base after a very difficult, deep...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this issue. I join with him in sending best wishes to the local gardaí he referenced who experienced assault. An attack on a member of An Garda Síochána is an attack on our democracy and should rightly be condemned. Indeed, in this House in recent years and under the leadership of the then Minister, Deputy McEntee, we significantly...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: It seems the Taoiseach stole my line, because I was going to say I would find out. I thank Deputy O'Gorman for raising a very important issue. I will answer the questions directly, but I join with him in talking about the importance of a science-led, evidence-based approach to vaccination. I am very proud that largely, but not exclusively, in this House we have taken an approach across...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I give that commitment. We will come back in three weeks with a definitive plan on that. While I am on my feet, I suggest, as this relatively new Dáil commences, that every Member of this House would publicly commit to supporting the vaccination programme. There is no room for pseudoscience or wannabe doctors who are not doctors. I want to know if every single elected representative...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I hate to burst the Deputy's gotcha moment but I suggest he might wish to interrogate his numbers. I am not sure whether we should do a show of hands, but I imagine there is not a Member of Dáil Éireann, other than himself perhaps, who is not aware of the fact that there can be duplications. There can, of course, be people involved with more than one local authority. There can...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: -----and there are no two ways about it. At least have the decency to stand by your policy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: You are in favour of reference rent. We are in favour of rent pressure zones. It is a balanced package. We are taking measures-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: -----to expand rent pressure zones. We are taking measures to make them permanent. We are also making sure we can deliver more supply, because do you know what renters need? Places to rent.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I thank Deputy Whitmore for raising this issue. She is right.. It is a real challenge in lots of communities, including the ones we are proud to represent in Dáil Éireann. I am grateful for the capacity review report she referenced in terms of the ESRI and the detailed work it has done, which will assist in workforce planning and which shows the growth in GP capacity that will be...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2025)

Simon Harris: I assure the Deputy that my head is firmly up in the air. There is a lot of work going on in this area. However, as the she and I know from talking to GPs, not just in our county but also across the country, it is not just about the number of GPs. It is also about the supports they want to allow them to hire more nurses, the triaging of patients and out-of-hours services. The Deputy...