On behalf of the entire Government, I sincerely congratulate and offer my best wishes to President-elect Catherine Connolly following her election victory. It is an enormous victory for her, her family, all of her supporters and many people across County Galway and beyond. Catherine commanded a huge vote following a really successful campaign. President-elect Connolly served with distinction in these Houses as Leas-Cheann Comhairle. In all her contributions, she demonstrated enormous integrity and professionalism. When I previously held the brief as Minister of State with responsibility for the Gaeltacht, she was someone who was always constructive in her contributions. She will be a President that we can all unite behind and I wish her well as she commences her new role in the coming days. I will speak to the loss of Sr. Stan, who had such a positive impact on so many people for so long. Sr. Stan dedicated her life to working with care and compassion on behalf of the poor and the vulnerable across the country. She showed that innate desire and unflinching determination to support those who needed the most help. Hers was a voice of charity, of care, of compassion and of devoted service to people and our thoughts are with her family on her loss today. On Deputy McDonald's question, this Government did take action in the budget when it came to the issue of energy. That is why the work the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, did in keeping the 9% VAT rate on gas and electricity is a significant part of our overall tax package. The fuel allowance being increased by €5, and expanded for those in receipt of the working family payment, made it a targeted approach to those who are feeling the pressure of energy prices across our economy. As a result of another Government intervention, an additional 50,000 households will be eligible for fuel allowance, which will mean that 460,000 households, or 26% of all households, are now eligible for fuel allowance. We have made wider interventions in supporting children and families, including the increase in the child support payment, and there are other measures in the context of the Department of Social Protection. Next year, that Department will have an overall allocation of over €28 billion. On our overall broader spending across our economy, this Government made a €2 billion package in social protection in budget 2026 to respond to the pressure many households face and target it to those most in need. That is the context in which we set about trying to help to mitigate the impact of energy prices. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has done extensive work as part of the national energy affordability task force. That has set out a number of recommendations in the context of the programme for Government, where we have set out changes in assessment of the overall regulatory model for energy prices in our economy. That is work he will undertake. In the national development plan, there is our continued investment in the warmer homes scheme, with hundreds of millions of euro to support families, and many other interventions to support low-income households. We made significant interventions in the budget as part of our social protection package, including the retention of the 9% VAT rate on gas and electricity. We made a decision not to continue one-off temporary payments because we have to be honest about managing the overall budgetary parameters and the need to manage expenditure policy out to the medium term. We want every decision we make to be sustainable, affordable and permanent. It is not sustainable to continue one-off payments over the existing allocations. That is why we made specific and targeted interventions in the context of our social protection package.
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I fully understand the issues and pressures families face. I reject the Deputy's assertion of jargon and waffle talk. We absolutely understand the pressure. That is why the social protection package was significant in this budget when it came to fuel allowance, the changes in rates we made and the changes the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, made when it came to the 9% VAT rate on gas and electricity. I will not take lectures from the Deputy on the economy. A magic money tree-----
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-----does not work.
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The Deputy's alternative budget amounted to nearly €16 billion. Her party's economic approach would wreck our economy, lose jobs-----
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-----and deplete our country of resources. Its false promises and its reckless approach to economic management would not provide any future for any family and would seriously exacerbate poverty for many people.
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I will not take any lectures from Deputy McDonald on economic management.
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We make changes that are progressive, fair and targeted at the lowest income households and the social protection package reflects that.
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The shocking and disgraceful recent attacks, including in Drogheda over the weekend and in City West before that, should serve as a stark reminder to everyone in this House how careful and responsible we must be when discussing and debating immigration policy. These disgraceful attacks are not reflective of the views of the overwhelming majority of our people whose first instinct is one of compassion for those people being subjected to intimidation and of revulsion towards those carrying out these attacks. People across our country are proud that Ireland is a tolerant multicultural and diverse country. They recognise how reliant our economy, our public services and our communities are on the contribution of those from migrant backgrounds. I see it in my constituency, which is one of the most diverse constituencies in the country. I thank the many people who have come here for the enormous contribution they make to our economy, our communities and our society. We need to be clear on that in all of our discussions when it comes to migration. Today the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is publishing the Future Forty report, which speaks to the huge contribution that many people from the migrant community make to our economic growth. Our continued success as an economy is dependent on attracting the talent and the people who make that contribution. It is also important to be clear that everybody in this House should be able to have a broader debate on what system of migration we have. Everyone on this side of the House shares the Deputy's view that we should have a compassionate, caring approach to anyone who comes here and treat them with humanity and dignity. We should be clear that many of them come from places where they would be vulnerable. In his remarks, the Tánaiste said migration is a good thing, but he was just making broader remarks on the system we have. We should be able to have a mature debate about the type of system we have. We are clear that it should be a rules-based system with enforcement. It is important that we have that in the context of managing a complex issue globally. That is why there is constant evaluation of the various factors that are contributing to overall migration into our country. The Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, is being proactive across a number of measures he has introduced, while also sending a strong message on the contribution that many people who have come here make to our economy. On the Deputy’s question, there is a security review, and that is part of the wider work that goes on with any centre that becomes applicable under IPAS. To be clear, this Government shares the Deputy’s perspective on how we treat people, but it is important that we can also have a debate on how we can have a balanced approach that is fair and also manages the consequences for those who are not given status. There need to be consequences for those who are not given status. If they have appealed and are not allowed to stay, they need to be managed in the context of a functioning migration system. That is the broader context in which this debate should be had.
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The Deputy is conflating lots of different things-----
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-----unfairly and inappropriately.
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It is important that everyone in this House be able to have an honest, open debate about migration policy.
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The Government needs to examine incentives, disincentives and push and pull factors in the context of migration policy in Europe and internationally. Every policy should be evaluated and recalibrated to manage the various factors that contribute to the overall level of migration to an economy, while also acknowledging the huge contribution people continue to make to our economy and communities. It is just unfair to take a particular sentence and try to conflate what has happened, in a shocking manner, in certain instances.
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That is why the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, is correct in continuing to evaluate our migration policy and examine the wider factors contributing to significant increases. Those who are working and in centres should make a contribution. That is fair and proportionate, and that is the right policy approach. Anyone in this House would agree that if you have income and the means to make a contribution, you should make a contribution. Most people across the country would support that.
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I think Deputy Cairns heard me respond to Deputy Bacik in the context of the shocking and disgraceful attacks that have happened in Drogheda and Citywest. I am very clear to anyone listening about the positive contribution that many members of the migrant community make to our country, economy, society and communities. That is the position of this Government, and all members of this Government, in terms of wider integration and migration policy. To the Deputy's question, the Cabinet committee considers wider matters. That is why, and this goes to the point I raised to Deputy Bacik, we should be able to assess overall migration policy continuously and evaluate it to look at European norms. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is constantly doing that in his engagement with colleagues across the European Union to look at the wider incentives and disincentives and the push and pull factors. That is a normal part of migration policy across Europe. We should be able to have a separate, honest evaluation of that continuously so that we are able to manage the overall numbers that are coming into our country. That is not dismissing the need for migrants and their ongoing contribution to our economy, but we need to be able to have an honest debate about that. I am clear in my absolute condemnation of what has happened. The Garda did an excellent job. There is constant community engagement happening on the ground across many of these centres. If you take the response in Citywest and in Drogheda, the gardaí did an excellent job. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Minister for justice and others were universal in their condemnation of what happened in these recent attacks. Deputy Cairns did not say that in her opening remarks. She ignored that in her opening remarks and sought to cloud this issue-----
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-----trying to conflate two separate-----
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Everybody in government condemns what happened in Drogheda.
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That is very unfair.
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Everyone in this Government and in this Parliament should be able to have an overall assessment of migration policy. That is what I am saying. We need an honest debate about that continuously because there are various factors which contribute to a surge in applications and we need to be able to evaluate that. I reject what the Deputy has said in trying to conflate these issues. It is unfair. The work the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is doing is as focused on community engagement through An Garda Síochána and the various supports that we have on the ground as it is the wider issues in terms of migration policy. The attacks have been disgraceful. I reiterate my view and acknowledge the ongoing contribution that many people continue to make in communities across our country. We value their contribution and their continued work and presence in our country. They need to feel safe and welcomed. We will be doing everything we can to protect that.
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I reject that completely. If the Deputy listened to what I have said, I have rejected the politics of the far-right, of Farage-----
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----- and of anyone who gives an inflammatory response or weaponises this issue to divide people. Our focus is on community, on building harmony between people and on supporting and investing in communities while also ensuring that we have a migration system and policy which works. That is why we should have an ongoing evaluation of it. It is unfair to continue to conflate this, as the Deputy has. The experience of the women and children in that house and the threat that was brought on them is shocking and is universally condemned by this Government. That is why the work the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, is doing in terms of the Garda's security reviews, which happen for IPAS centres, is really important. It is why community engagement is centrally important. I am disgusted, as everyone is, with what has happened. Even over the summer, there were some the attacks on certain members of the Indian community as well. In my community in west Dublin, there was fear among many of the migrant members of our community. We need to reinforce the need to support them and promote safety in all aspects of our response. Community is at the centre of that.
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I thank the Deputy. What I would say about transport specifically is that there has been a big uplift in the transport allocation for the next five years. Some €22 billion of the over €100 billion being invested in the next five years will be in transport, specifically to build more roads and ensure our public transport objectives are delivered. There is going to be a serious transformation of transport investment over the next five years. The Deputy is correct in saying that additional allocations in themselves will do very little to change how we deliver infrastructure across our economy. That is why over the coming weeks we will publish a series of actions, to be implemented in 2026, which will accelerate the delivery of infrastructure across our economy. It means rebalancing regulation in our economy and reassessing a lot of the rules, processes and structures that are not working and are delaying decision-making and adding cost, rather than value, to the cost of projects when they come to be delivered and procured. We will introduce reforms from a legislative perspective on critical infrastructure and on trying to advance that in a greater and quicker way. We will also be examining the roles of our regulators and ensuring there is a duty to co-operate across many of our regulators, which at the moment are a part of the sequencing of delays that undermine the delivery of infrastructure across our economy. I will, in the coming weeks, be able to show the difference that will make to the delivery of infrastructure. The Deputy referenced the Navan rail line. There was a reduction in capital expenditure when the economy contracted and that contributed to delays for many of the projects the Deputy referenced. That was a part of the previous national development plan. Part of what we are trying to do now is to match sectoral investment plans in transport and other areas with new short timelines so we can better deliver transport infrastructure. The Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, is working with the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, on a sectoral investment plan for transport in our economy. That will seek to match this very serious allocation. Nearly €1 of every €4 we will spend on capital over the next five years will be spent on transport, which is one of the biggest investments in public transport and our road network for many years. Part of that is to try to match that with a credible pipeline of projects which we can deliver over a period of years while also trying to set out a new delivery mechanism into the early 2030s for projects that needs to go through planning and procurement. He will be able to set out further detail in terms of the transport sectoral investment plan. This new approach to infrastructural delivery is about rebalancing risk. The Deputy is often in here attacking public servants, politicians and others. People have a role in ensuring accountability where there is excessive spend on particular projects but it is also important we rebalance the risk appetite so that we address risk aversion in decision-making. That means we have to take extra-----
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-----risks when it comes to delivery of infrastructure and other projects across our economy.
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I acknowledge that in some instances there is excessive bureaucracy and red tape and we need to cut it, remove it and reform it. That is central to my work beyond what is happening in the national development plan. The Deputy is correct that we do need to radically reduce the timelines it takes to deliver critical projects and housing across our economy. There are too many layers and too many barriers to the delivery of that, and I acknowledge that in many of the commuter counties. I work with my colleague, Deputy Dempsey, on this, when it comes to the Navan rail line, and work on other priorities in Meath, Kildare, Wicklow, Louth and other commuter belt regions where many people have a long commute to work. Part of the transformation of our transport system in the next five years will be to ensure the project pipeline gets delivered more quickly because we have put a record level of allocation beside transport when it comes to the prioritisation we have given it. When it comes to tolls, the contribution tolls make is to the maintenance of our national road network. Our national road network needs to be maintained to a standard and there is a cost to doing that. That is part of the position when it comes to the toll rates TII sets every year.
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