That is just objectively not fair or true. The Government is committed to further reform of the insurance sector. We have demonstrated this with clear commitments in our programme for Government and in developing a new action plan for insurance reform that would build on the actions delivered in previous reforms. Since the establishment of the Injuries Resolution Board, we have delivered direct savings of more than €1.26 billion in avoided legal fees through the assessment service where these awards have been accepted-----
Sentiment score: 0.13
-----and 95% of the actions were delivered by the previous Government under the action plan on insurance reform. That included the strengthening of the Personal Injuries Resolution Board, rebalancing the duty of care, the establishment of an insurance fraud co-ordination office and the introduction of the personal injury guidelines.
Sentiment score: -0.03
No, we are not.
Sentiment score: -0.30
I thank the Deputy. I am sure it is a proud day for him to have his former students from St. Joseph’s Secondary School in the Dáil. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis and I welcome them. I will follow up on those two issues with the relevant Ministers in regard to the progress on the new school build for St. Joseph’s Secondary School and how we can move that forward and expedite it. Second, I will talk to the Minister for Transport, Deputy O’Brien, regarding the bus capacity issue both for the students and commuters in his constituency and we will revert to the Deputy on those matters.
Sentiment score: 0.39
I agree with every word the Deputy has uttered. We should never take for granted the progress we have made on certain issues. There is a rolling back in certain countries. There is no doubt about that. Ireland should continue, even more so at this turbulent time, to speak up and speak out in defence of our values. I am alarmed that the Hungarian Parliament has passed legislation to further restrict the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Hungary. The EU is founded on fundamental values and that action is not compatible with European fundamental values. I will certainly be raising this issue with my Hungarian counterpart. Ireland, and I am sure the European Union, keep all options on the table in terms of how we can best make progress on this issue.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue on behalf of this couple and her constituents in Galway and also for her representations to the Minister for Justice, Deputy O’Callaghan, on this matter. I will speak to the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and ask them to come back to the Deputy directly on this. I obviously do not know the circumstances directly but I will certainly take an active interest. Either I or one of the Ministers will come back to the Deputy on this matter.
Sentiment score: 0.41
The Deputy makes an interesting point. As we move beyond what has had to be an emergency response to migration, we need to get a much more sustainable, managed approach, one that involves not just the focus on accommodation but also on rules. That means for people who do not have a right to be here, we ensure they leave more efficiently. For people who have a right to be here, it is about getting that right more quickly, allowing them to work, make a contribution, pay taxes and make their way in our country. When it comes to accommodation, we need a full re-examination of the tools we use. We have a new Minister of State with responsibility for migration, Deputy Brophy, and a new Minister for Justice, Deputy O’Callaghan. The Taoiseach and I intend to sit down shortly with the both of them to discuss the approach we will take. Planning will be a part of that discussion.
Sentiment score: 0.16
The Deputy is so right and I thank him for the question. This is an important topic for all of society. The programme, “Adolescence”, has provided a glimpse into how toxic influences are filling a void in young men’s lives. I believe it should be compulsory viewing in all our secondary schools throughout this country. Social media has such an influence on young lives. That is why in Europe and Ireland we need to be true to our values, even if others in other parts of the world decide to go a different way. These so-called influencers are feeding young men a warped view of what it is to be a man. Let us be clear: the likes of Conor McGregor and Andrew Tate should not be social media influencers; they should be social pariahs.
Sentiment score: 0.24
Their behaviour is wrong, retrograde, degrading and damaging. They are normalising behaviour that is totally and utterly unacceptable. Everyone in this House should speak with one voice in this regard. They are social media pariahs, not social media influencers.
Sentiment score: -0.36
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We can all agree that we want to see our schools fully funded and supported. I welcome the Department of Education’s intervention to advance funding to Sacred Heart Junior National School. My understanding is there has been quite a lot of engagement between the school and the Department going back a number of months. The Deputy is right, however, that this highlights the need to get to a point where we can increase capitation grants to provide that certainty. While I will ask the Minister for Education, Deputy McEntee, to come back to the Deputy on the specifics on some of those questions he asked, I am pleased that Sacred Heart Junior National School has made that progress. I know it wants to move to more certainty than just a bit of advanced funding.
Sentiment score: 0.55
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I certainly do not want him, as an elected Member of this House, to have to go down the road of FOIs to try to establish information that should be freely given to him. Working with the Minister, Deputy Foley and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, I will undertake to make progress on this. The sum of €5 million is a lot of money in the lives of people in the country but in the context of the HSE budget, I get really frustrated when I hear about these initiatives, particularly when I know that the transport initiative would have made such a fundamental difference to the organisations and the people they serve, as the Deputy outlined. I undertake to raise the matter with the Minister and the Minister of State and get the Deputy the required information, and more importantly, see if we can find out where that €5 million went and get it allocated.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue for her constituents in Dublin Bay North regarding the need for progress on the long-awaited new Garda station. I will speak to the Minister for Justice and ask that he comes back to her with an update.
Sentiment score: 0.63
I hope when we do get the clarification that the Deputy will come back. Let me be clear: we are helping people from Ukraine who fled a war.
Sentiment score: 0.21
The Deputy asked a question and I am going to answer. We should be not give a widespread sense that people from Ukraine are getting new cars, new tyres and repairs----
Sentiment score: 0.00
I am sorry; I know the Deputy is new to the House but we have rules. He speaks and then I speak, so let me do so. I will get him more information regarding any such payments. People fled here from very difficult situations and I am proud of the level of support we provide them. I do not want to give a sense to people watching that there are widespread repairs of people's cars going on. Let us have a sense of perspective about this. The people who I know from Ukraine who have come here are making a bloody great contribution to the economy. Their kids are making a great contribution in our schools and the people are working hard and they are very welcome here. They are Europeans and we look forward to welcoming them into the European Union very shortly.
Sentiment score: 0.21
Shame on the Deputy. He was dog-whistling.
Sentiment score: -0.24
There is a lot there but I take very seriously the point the Deputy made on behalf of the people in CHO 8 and more broadly the point she made regarding HCCI and its very worthwhile and constructive report, which was published recently. I undertake to comprehensively respond to and engage with that organisation and with others. I am lucky enough to be sitting beside the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who worked in this area for a number of years. The Department of Health was not pleased with the approach that was taken regarding CHO 8. This was articulated to the HSE in writing. A total of 24 million hours were provided last year and we doubled the budget during the lifetime of the previous Government. I accept that there is still unmet demand. We are going to need to get to that point of delivering the major reform of a statutory homecare scheme but let me ask the Minister to come back directly to the Deputy on CHO 8.
Sentiment score: 0.13
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for the interesting suggestion he offered. I will ask the Minister to respond to it. There is no doubt that this is a serious issue. Since the end of 2024, the good news is that the RSA has been providing a monthly average of 19,111 test slots. This is up from a monthly average in the previous year of 18,300. However, let us not fool ourselves; I fully accept that a serious challenge exists. The waiting time is meant to be ten weeks. That is the commitment that was given but in some parts of the country I hear that it can be up to 22 weeks, on average, for many people. The good news is that we are in the process of trying to employ extra testers. My understanding is that the Department sanctioned 70 permanent additional driver testing posts. This would bring the permanent sanction to 200. That is a doubling of the number of posts since 2022. As a quid pro quo, the RSA has been asked to put in place a plan to restore waiting times to ten weeks. I am told that recruitment is under way for those extra testers. I am told that 300 applicants have been brought through to the final assessment stage.
Sentiment score: 0.14
I thank the Deputy. She is right. I hear this feedback a lot throughout the country, as she does in County Louth. We have taken a number of measures to try to make some progress. We have now brought in what we call an SME test on all Cabinet memos. Before any Minister brings an idea to Cabinet, it has to go through the SME test to see what the impact on small businesses will be. The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, is leading for us on that. The process to establish the small business unit for enterprise, tourism and employment in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is under way. The purpose of that is to ensure we have a real focus on the policy needs of small business. We intend to prioritise competitiveness and simplifying regulation at EU level and during our Presidency. The Government intends and has agreed to reduce the VAT rate on hospitality in the budget. We keep an open mind on how we can support sectors of the economy in any trade war. We will have our trade forum meeting, at which industry, including small businesses, will be represented, on Friday.
Sentiment score: 0.09
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I recall him raising it in the House previously. I know it is an important issue for his constituents in Milford. I will certainly talk to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, about the delivery of that new school building for Scoil Mhuire. I welcome the fact that a site has been provided free of charge. There is an eagerness to progress this. I will ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to come back to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: 0.33
The Deputy is dead right. I hear these complaints as well. I also hear about the significant contrast, for want of a better word, between the service provided by the ESB in local communities and the approach taken by some private operators. I will not name companies, but I have heard criticism of particular companies regarding their lack of responsiveness. My understanding is that my colleague the Minister for communications, Deputy O'Donovan, has had engagement with these companies. However, on foot of what the Deputy raised, I will ask him to specifically follow up in respect of Connemara and to come back to the Deputy directly.
Sentiment score: -0.01
I thank the Deputy. I will add the communications situation she outlined to that raised in connection with Connemara. Just under 23,000 claims have been awarded and more than €5.2 million paid under the humanitarian assistance scheme. More money has been paid out under this scheme in respect of Storm Éowyn than any previous storm. That is because the storm was so bad compared with previous storms. To be genuinely helpful, I ask the Deputy to provide my office with details of any specific cases. I will link with the Minister, Deputy Calleary, regarding them. There are two issues. We want to make sure that if someone has an entitlement to support, he or she is getting it and, as regards the review of the storm, it would be good to see specific examples of any changes to the scheme that may be required. My understanding is that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, has put a process in place so that people can seek a review if they are not happy with a decision. If the Deputy sends me her examples, I will be happy to engage with her.
Sentiment score: 0.19
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue for his constituents. As he said, it concerns not just people who need to go to the airport to go on trips but those who need to get to the airport on a very frequent basis for work, and the impact the withdrawal of the Airport Hopper service has had on them. From what the Deputy said, I am particularly concerned about what seems to be a lack of proper communication with his constituents, and the lack of awareness on the part of the NTA. He certainly got my attention when he said that. In the first instance, I will ask the Minister for Transport to speak to the NTA on this to find out how that happened - it should not have happened - and to see what can be done to fill the gap along the lines of the suggestions the Deputy made.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I also acknowledge the excellent work in County Kerry that is being led by St. Francis Special School in Beaufort. I very much take the points he made about the need to look at respite provision in County Kerry, and the proposals he and his community have on the need for a respite centre. I will ask the Minister for disability to engage with him on this matter. I am happy to talk to him further on it too.
Sentiment score: 0.45