We absolutely recognise the challenges many are facing at the moment, the degree to which some charges within our economy are going up and the effect of so many years of very high levels of inflation within our economy. However, we also must be very honest about the environment we are in and the need to not add to risks that are made here at home. Of course the Government wants to look at supports we can put in place to deal with the various price changes that are taking place. What we cannot do at this stage, and what we will not be able to do come the budget, is commit to the kinds of packages that were there in the past, for the simple reason that spending many billions of euro when inflation is now down at a lower level could create problems and risks for us in the future in terms of our ability to afford them and what effect that could have on our public finances at a time when we need to keep them safe. I know this will be a complex argument to make in the time ahead. I am aware of the difficulties so many households and businesses are facing. However, at a time of international risk, we do not want to create additional risks that could arise in the months ahead for our country.
Sentiment score: -0.01
I absolutely accept the importance of the individual issues the Deputy has raised, but his statement regarding schools that are unable to provide education does not tally with the quality of education and teaching that happens across our schools in this country. I am not denying for a moment that there are issues that many schools confront but what we have seen is, with regard to the funding that is available to the Department of Education, the money they spend and the teachers that are available to them, the investment levels have gone up year after year. I know the Minister, Deputy McEntee, will continue to do all she can with the funding available to her to respond to the important issues many schools are facing at the moment. We have never spent so much on our schools as we are spending at the moment because we have never had so many reasons to be reminded of how important our schools are at the moment.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I know the Rutland Street school as well as the Deputy does. I am not denying the fact that bills have gone up but I go into the school and I see the degree of special and additional education that is made available. I stand over my point regarding the value of the work it does and how it is funded. I could go around the corner to the Rutland Street community centre which is now being built at a cost of many tens of millions of euro to support that community. I could go down Sheriff Street and look at the new St. Laurence O'Toole's National School building. I could go up to Parnell Square and see the new school that is being built there at the moment for Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire. The Deputy is making a charge regarding our support for schools in a constituency that both of us are lucky enough to represent. I will point to the work that is happening as well. With regard to the question Deputy Gannon planned to ask me and what is happening at the moment with regard to the two points he Deputy raised, the Government will prioritise the city centre that the Deputy and I are lucky enough to represent for additional gardaí. We accept the Deputy's point that the city needs that Garda presence. With regard to additional funding that needs to be made available to support the Dublin city task force, the Government is aware of the need to respond to that, and I will certainly play my part in it.
Sentiment score: 0.38
It is because of the kinds of issues the Deputy referred to that the Minister, Deputy Chambers, will be looking at what additional funding can be made available to meet the energy and water needs that our country has and in order to deal with those kinds of issues we know are developing across many communities at the moment. I do not agree with the description the Deputy has offered of Irish Water and I am certain that if we were to begin a process of disentangling Irish Water and bringing it back into local authorities, after having spent many years going in the other direction, that would only add to our problems and not make them any easier. I appreciate the upset that would have been caused to the Deputy's constituents by this. It demonstrates the need for us to invest more in our infrastructure and the work Irish Water is doing, which the Government is aiming to do.
Sentiment score: 0.08
We are all reminded, either as parents or in the work we do in here, of how demanding life can now be for young students, and the critical role our schools can play in equipping them with the tools they need to deal with the issues the Deputy has described. The plans that are under way to do that at the moment refer to a post-primary well-being team that is now rolling out a two-day professional learning experience for the curriculums the Deputy referred to. I understand what the Department of Education is doing is making additional training and support available to those teachers who are delivering the curriculums the Deputy referred to, but we do need to continue to look at whether that is working and whether it is adequate. The Deputy is right. It is becoming harder and harder and more demanding for young students. They get support from their families but we know our schools can help too, and we know our teachers want to play a part in that.
Sentiment score: 0.14
I congratulate the Deputy Maxwell on his election to the House. I thank him for raising an issue that I know is really important for the people he represents. I know much work was done by his great predecessor, the former Minister, Heather Humphreys, with regard to this issue too and he wants to continue to build on this work. Regarding what the Deputy said, I understand that in his community, since 2017, 155 roads have now been completed under the local improvement scheme. The recent allocation that was made available was just under €1 million for the Deputy's community to respond to the issues he has raised. I know the Minister, Deputy Calleary, is looking at what funding he can provide under the local improvement scheme. I also know every Deputy will be making the case for his or her constituency, but we know it is a good scheme that plays a role in lanes and roadways in rural Ireland. I am sure the Minister, Deputy Calleary, will do his best to make additional funding for the Deputy because we all know there is a demand for it.
Sentiment score: 0.51
I am not aware of that issue being raised by Dublin City Council, but I take on board the importance of the issue to which the Deputy referred. I will have to raise the funding for individual programmes with the Minister for housing, but I know what the Minister wants to do is to see more and better homes delivered through our local authorities. I know that with these kinds of issues not everything can always be done at once, but I know that funding that is made available to local authorities is now at the highest level it has been for some years. I will follow up with the Deputy regarding the individual schemes to which he has referred.
Sentiment score: 0.29
I know the cost of childcare is still very high for many, but I also meet many people who acknowledge the reduction that has happened in childcare fees under the last Government, a reduction that we want to continue to deliver in the time ahead. However, as is the case with all of these commitments, they are dealt with budget by budget. I know the Minister for children will be raising this issue as the budget approaches in October, and we will be aiming to make progress on it. It is something we want to continue to make progress on. We know there is a need for it. Progress has happened. What will then happen is the Minister for children, with the Minister for public expenditure, will look at what further measures can be put in place next year. We are well aware that this is something families want to see progress on.
Sentiment score: 0.28
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of Aughrim. He has raised with me in the past the need for further investment in water in his constituency and the issues that the lack of that investment is having at the moment. I know the Irish Water plan currently sits with the regulator and it is currently being evaluated. The issues to which the Deputy referred are the reason we need to make more money available to Irish Water. I know the Ministers, Deputies O'Brien and Chambers, are aware of that, as are the Tánaiste and Taoiseach. We will be doing our best in the coming months to make that funding available because, without it, we cannot deliver the homes we need, we cannot support the businesses in the way they want and we cannot meet the needs of communities that are growing. The Deputy has provided another example of the further work we need to fund Irish Water to do.
Sentiment score: 0.09
I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this issue. While there has been an exchange here about Dublin, I absolutely appreciate that our cities such as Cork also face issues and need adequate policing to be in place. I have a note here regarding national garda levels and the recruitment ambitions that we have, but I know what the Deputy is particularly concerned about is that local issue, the organisation of gardaí within Cork and the need for Cork to get the gardaí it needs. I will make sure the Minister for Justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, is aware of the issue that the Deputy has raised. I am sure he will do his best, and I am sure he will be encouraged to do so by the Taoiseach, to deal with the issue to which the Deputy has referred.
Sentiment score: 0.51
I thank the Deputy for raising that with me. I am not sure what influence the Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority have on the conduct and level of fees on the toll road that the Deputy referred to.
Sentiment score: 0.10
All I can commit to doing is raising that issue with them, which I will do. I know well how important that road is and the fact that it is used more and more to get around parts of Dublin as opposed to beyond Dublin. I will make sure the Minister for Transport is aware of the issue the Deputy raised.
Sentiment score: 0.35
I think there is a world of difference between me producing a document that Deputy Farrelly's party published and a report in a newspaper. I produced a document that the Social Democrats published about economic policy and the role of jobs in our economy. Any engagement on the future of health spending and the allocation of the capital budget is taken very seriously by the HSE. It aims to respond to health needs. There are health needs in Tipperary. Government TDs will be raising those just as they are in other parts of the country, but these decisions are always made in a careful way to try to make sure the country's money is used in the right way.
Sentiment score: 0.21
The Deputy is not frequently a voice for calmness and moderation in this House. I did not notice him being one during the week either.
Sentiment score: 0.20
There is no doubt but that the Minister for Justice wants to engage with the Dáil on this issue. He gained Government agreement about the steps that are needed to implement the pact. He will of course come into the Dáil to answer questions on it but the aim of the pact is to reduce processing times for migration applications, which we all know in turn can help to reduce the pressures that we face from migration and those who are looking to move to our country. I will couch all this and end this on a positive note, that the openness of our economy and society and the contribution that those who come and work here make is positive and makes such a difference to our economy and the running of our public services. I look forward to a calm and moderate intervention from the Deputy next Tuesday.
Sentiment score: 0.56
I thank Deputy Boland for raising this issue regarding the importance of special education and additional education for those who are beginning their lives in our schools and who need additional support and help. I know the Deputy is aware that we have more than 3,300 special classes available across our country but, out of all those, there are 14 specifically available for children with dyslexia and we have four special schools in the country to deal with the most acute levels of reading difficulty and those who have very severe levels of dyslexia. I will certainly take on board the point that the Deputy made. I know we are looking to find additional ways in which we can support our special schools and special classes. I will raise with the Minister for Education the importance of the issue of dyslexia because we know early intervention can make a big difference and we all know how the gift of reading and being able to do it is such an important passport on one's way through the world. We can help those with dyslexia, who deserve it.
Sentiment score: 0.49
I thank Deputy Ó Fearghaíl. That is why the work of Home Building Finance Ireland, HBFI, is important. As the Deputy does, I absolutely support the need for our banks to be safe and well regulated. During the awful time of the pandemic, I had many reasons to be reminded of the value of a financial sector in Ireland that is safe and well capitalised. The point the Deputy makes regarding how we can support smaller builders is the reason HBFI was put in place. It has been there for a few years and we do need to look at its work and if it needs to be supported further to deal with the issues he raises. The Deputy is correct that while every individual set of homes, of themselves, might not be huge, they still matter to the families and homeowners that go into them and, cumulatively, they can make a difference. I thank him for raising the issue.
Sentiment score: 0.34
All I can tell the Deputy is that I am aware the issue is being addressed. He is not the first person I have heard make the point. I know he is aware, as I am, of the need to make sure that whoever is driving a bus with our kids in it is able to do it safely. I know he agrees with that. That is not in doubt. The Road Safety Authority wants to ensure that if we do change the age at which you can drive a school bus, it does not create additional risks for those who are driving the buses or those who are in them. The matter is being looked at but I do not know when the evaluation will conclude. I will ensure that the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is aware of this issue and see if it can be concluded because we do need to bring it to an end.
Sentiment score: 0.28