Ní aontaím leis an Teachta mar-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
Admhaím go bhfuil brú. Gan amhras, tá brú ar dhaoine agus ar chosmhuintir na tíre maidir leis an gcostas maireachtála. Tá an-chuid déanta ag an Rialtas go dtí seo chun an brú sin a ísliú. An rud is tábhachtaí sna míonna atá le teacht ná cinneadh a dhéanamh infheistíocht a chur isteach in infreastruchtúr, cúrsaí tithíochta agus a lán nithe eile chun an brú sin a ísliú. Beidh sé sin á dhéanamh againn sa cháinaisnéis a bheidh againn i mí Dheireadh Fómhair. I dealt with this again yesterday. Deputy McDonald's assertion that the Government does not get it is wholly wrong. The Government understands there has been pressure since peak inflation of 10% coming out of Covid and as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This Government intervened, more than any other government in Europe, to alleviate pressures on households through cost-of-living packages and also through additional measures within budgets. We are facing a very difficult scenario in terms of the economic situation globally. The Deputy seems to be oblivious to the threats that are coming our way in respect of tariff wars or a dislocation in the global economy.
Sentiment score: -0.34
We are well-placed to deal with it because of the surpluses we have and so on. We have taken fundamental measures such as the free book scheme, which Sinn Féin never mentions for some reason. That was a game-changer in terms of the costs that people have going back to school.
Sentiment score: 0.17
We did that a number of years ago and the finality of it will be this September. Every school now has free school meals. These were things that, up to three years ago, were not on the agenda and Sinn Féin ignores that. We have improved the situation regarding carer's allowance. What we intend to do in the next budget is to mainstream provisions that will help people to deal with what is a high-cost of living, particularly in food prices. That said, inflation is coming down. It is at about 1.6% or 1.7%. We have the third lowest inflation rate in the European Union. We are mid-table in the European Union in respect of food prices, even though prices are still high and very high for beef and various other essential products people have to buy on an ongoing basis. That is acknowledged. It is also important, however, that we invest in people's future. We are going to transform infrastructure in this country because people need it with the population growth we have, which has been phenomenal in this country over the last two decades. For the first time ever now, we are back to the pre-Famine population on the island of Ireland.
Sentiment score: 0.14
That is a positive but we have to provide for that as regards our water infrastructure, housing, energy infrastructure, public transport and roads. We are going to do that but there are limits to what any government can do.
Sentiment score: 0.30
Sinn Féin is a party of Opposition with no limits on what it would spend. In terms of expenditure, it does not matter. It is just whatever turns up on any day, it will spend a billion or two billion euro on it. That is its philosophy and mindset.
Sentiment score: 0.03
Yesterday, in Dáil Éireann, I challenged the Deputy's party to say whether it would support the EU-Canada free trade deal, which has enhanced Ireland's exports.
Sentiment score: 0.81
We were doing about €900 million in exports in 2016. We are now doing €4.1 billion, which is bread on the table of Irish working families. That is how you deal with cost of living, not being against trade deals of that importance and scale, which have real impact on the working lives of people.
Sentiment score: 0.12
In the forthcoming budget, this Government will respond to those most in need. We will test Sinn Féin. This morning, I heard Sinn Féin's spokesman talking about universal benefits for the high rollers. That is what its spokesman, Deputy Doherty, said this morning, that he wants universal energy credits for the high rollers. I will test you and your commitment and principles. Will Sinn Féin agree to targeting and prioritising those in child poverty in the forthcoming budget? We will target and prioritise those most in need.
Sentiment score: 0.16
More fundamentally, the Deputy ducked and dived on the question of the free trade deal between Europe and Canada. It has brought huge benefits to working people in multinationals and Irish-owned companies.
Sentiment score: 0.56
Jobs ultimately put bread on people's tables.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Sinn Féin's economic approach to trade matters in particular - it has opposed this trade deal for years and yesterday, it could not agree if it supported it or not - is a fundamental point.
Sentiment score: 0.07
If we do not continue to expand and grow trade, we will reduce the capacity of ordinary working people-----
Sentiment score: -0.24
-----to deal with the cost of living.
Sentiment score: 0.00
The fundamental difference between the Government and the Opposition is that we are action-focused and get things done on housing. I do not like to put this to the Deputy but I have seen nothing in the Labour Party's policy proposals on housing that would build anything extra. All the policy instincts of the Opposition is to oppose any measure the Government has introduced in the past six months. The same pattern happened in the past two or three years. I put the more fundamental point to the Deputy that if we want to get to 50,000 or 60,000 houses a year, we need about €20 billion, made up of public sector and private sector finance. No one on the Opposition side has come forward as to how to deal with that.
Sentiment score: -0.06
The Government is simply saying we are maintaining and increasing public investment in housing from the State, the largest actor in housing right now, while also creating the conditions to facilitate far greater private sector investment in house building and apartment building in particular, which needs to increase. The fundamental way to deal with housing is to increase supply significantly over the next number of years. We have gone from a situation pre-2020 when about 20,000 houses were being built per annum, which was too low, to about 33,000 now. We need to get to 50,000. That will not happen with tinkering or spending a year or two setting up a new State agency, as the Labour Party wants to do.
Sentiment score: 0.25
You do; you said it in your manifesto and you doubled down on it only last week.
Sentiment score: 0.00
If one looks at first-time buyers, for example, the percentage of first-time buyers has been steadily increasing, from about 25% of all purchases in 2015 to just under 40% in April 2025. Real progress has been made, through the help to buy scheme and first home scheme, in enabling first-time buyers to get into the market and get their first homes. About 119,000 first-time buyer mortgages were drawn down in the five years to the end of quarter 1 of 2025. In the first quarter of this year, there was an 8% year-on-year increase in first-time buyer drawdowns, at 5,308 for the period. That represents progress. In the past six months, an additional €700 million has been allocated, €325 million of which is for the tenant in situ scheme. That scheme needs to be targeted and focused on those in imminent danger of homelessness. It cannot become a mechanism to be deployed more generally for acquisitions, with a view to moving the emphasis in local authorities away from new builds to just acquisitions. We will allocate further funding for social housing to increase the record level of social housing we are already providing.
Sentiment score: 0.17
I have not even started yet on the range of measures we have taken in the past number of months.
Sentiment score: 0.08
First, we do take responsibility. We are leading and have taken measures. The Deputy does not like the new planning design standards for apartments but that is addressing-----
Sentiment score: -0.05
-----a viability gap. There will have to be a range of house and apartment types built. There will simply have to be to cater for different elements of the market. Some people have said outside of Government that this will be positive with regard to single people seeking housing and apartments also.
Sentiment score: 0.14
The single-stage approval process for all social housing projects under €200 million has been decided on by the Minister and also the RPZ reforms, which the Deputy opposed. That is an action the Government took that increased, by the way, protection nationally but that will also increase greater investment for the private sector.
Sentiment score: 0.63
The Deputy just said, "No, no, no". Any measure designed to bring any private sector investment into the market the Deputy says "no" to.
Sentiment score: -0.15
The Deputy does. She consistently says "no" to that. The review of the national planning framework-----
Sentiment score: 0.00
----enables us to zone more land and guess what? Some of you people will be out there opposing all of that too when it comes to the local authorities.
Sentiment score: 0.00
First, I take strong exception to the Deputy's assertion that the Irish Government is funding genocide. It most certainly is not and never has.
Sentiment score: 0.46
Hold on, now; do not be twisting. The Deputy knows full well that ISIF was established as a separate organisation in terms of all of its investment decisions.
Sentiment score: 0.14
The Deputy knows Government does not get involved in investment decisions by any fund that is established. He knows that is the case. In terms of this specific issue the Deputy raised this morning, I will follow through on that. I ask him not to make the assertion because he must understand and know that this Government is fundamentally opposed to the Israeli war in Gaza.
Sentiment score: -0.15
Surely the Deputy knows that.
Sentiment score: 0.44
Surely Deputy O'Callaghan knows that when he meets Palestinian representatives in this country. The Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, met the deputy foreign minister yesterday in Europe, and what was the response of the Palestinian deputy foreign minister? To thank Ireland for the role it has played in terms of the Palestine question.
Sentiment score: 0.35
I met Mr. Filippo Grandi this morning, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. What did he say to me? He said: "Your voice matters. We thank you for how you have articulated in respect of the Middle East and other issues." That is what international people are saying about Ireland - that Ireland has taken a strong position in respect of the Israeli war in Gaza, and also a strong position regarding the atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 October against innocent people and civilians. We have been very consistent approaching this through the lens of humanitarian law and we will continue to do so. We are the only country that has initiated legislation to ban goods coming from the illegally occupied territories. We have sponsored UN resolutions in respect of decisions at the International Court of Justice, ICJ. We have intervened legally in the South African case-----
Sentiment score: 0.21
-----before the ICJ under the Genocide Convention. Very few countries in the world have done that. The record is there with regard to the decisions taken by the sovereign Irish Government at every single forum, be it the European Union or the United Nations itself. That is fundamentally where we are as a Government, and we will continue to do that. The more fundamental issue is how we get Israel to stop the war, and it is very clear to me-----
Sentiment score: -0.01
The United States has a key role-----
Sentiment score: 0.42
-----in getting Israel to stop the war. The European Union has influence but because of divided historic positioning-----
Sentiment score: -0.36
-----on Israel and the Middle East, Ireland has pushed for the suspension of the Israel-European Union association agreement.
Sentiment score: 0.49
We got traction on that in recent times but it still remains to be seen-----
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-----whether we can get a majority to support measures on that.
Sentiment score: 0.40
We need perspective here as well. From my perspective, the ISIF has confirmed that at the end of 2024 it held €3.6 million in Israeli sovereign debt.
Sentiment score: -0.04
That is not going to fund any war. Let us have a sense of perspective.
Sentiment score: -0.30
The Deputy can argue that it is not right or proper and I take that point.
Sentiment score: -0.34
No, but the Deputy said we funded genocide. That is an outrageous, exaggerated assertion-----
Sentiment score: -0.34
-----and the Deputy lacks credibility in putting a point like that but he does it for political gain only.
Sentiment score: 0.75
It has been a constant hobby. By the way, the ISIF also held €5.2 million in Egyptian sovereign debt and €2.3 million in Jordanian sovereign debt.
Sentiment score: -0.31
They made a decision off their own bat and for their own commercial reasons. I would not approve of some of this either, particularly in terms of divesting and all of that.
Sentiment score: 0.00
In terms of divesting from Jordanian and other debt, we are talking about small amounts of money which could not fund any genocide. I ask the Deputy to withdraw the assertion that the Irish Government has funded genocide. That is wrong.
Sentiment score: -0.28
First, I welcome James Maloney, who is in the Gallery with his wife Deirdre. James is an elected member of the Parliament of Canada and is affectionately known there as "the minister for Ireland". I had the pleasure of meeting with him when I was last in Canada. I hope he enjoys his visit to the Oireachtas and to Ireland, particularly as he has been a great friend to Ireland in Canada. Every child is entitled to and has a constitutional right to an education. It is the Government's job to vindicate that right, especially for children with additional educational needs. Schools and parents consistently highlight the value of special schools and classes, particularly where there are challenges in the system with the provision of a broader range of disability supports. This is a key priority of the Government. I have established a Cabinet subcommittee on disability more generally. I have also established a disability unit within my Department to drive change and transformation in respect of all aspects of disability in Irish society. More specifically, in terms of special education, 407 special classes are being created this year, with close to 2,700 new special education placements for the 2025-26 school year. An additional 1,200 places are available due to student movement, bringing the total number of available places close to 4,000 for the 3,275 students who are seeking them. The key issue will be in terms of geography and making sure that children have access to schools close to them. That is an important consideration. The Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, have both been working extremely hard on this matter. As the Deputy knows, we are close to establishing an in-school therapy service. This will begin in special schools in the country and will provide in-school therapists for children in special schools. We will then expand it to the entire cohort of special schools and to mainstream education after that. A huge effort has been made to get places in position by September. This is being done in conjunction with the NCSE, which, in turn, works with and liaises with schools. Five new special schools are being established. Some will not be entirely ready by September, although temporary alternatives are being provided in respect of those where building works are being carried out. For next year and the year after, we are looking at bringing forward the application dates to make sure that there is better identification of need earlier in order to plan for the subsequent year. A pilot programme is under way in respect of the common application system that would ease the burden for parents.
Sentiment score: 0.36
Of course they do. In Cork schools, they do.
Sentiment score: 0.00
In Carignavar in Cork, alterations are being made to an older school building to facilitate a new special school. In the interim, the Gaelscoil, which is no longer in use, is being used as an alternative location until the building is complete. It will be completed before the end of the year. That is my understanding. That is what I referred to in response to the Deputy. I reiterate that five new special schools are being established. It is our aim that no child will be without an appropriate place by September. That is what we want to do. We are going to work might and main to make sure that becomes the reality. We will work with parents, schools and the NCSE to attend to those children who do not yet have definite clarity in terms of school places. We want every child to have a school place by September. The Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, along with the NCSE, met recently with parents and advocates from the Equality in Education campaign in order to address a number of key issues. I understand parents have been kept updated on available places for the year ahead. The whole objective is to help parents to secure the right place for their child as quickly as possible.
Sentiment score: 0.11