I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. The Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland's Future was approved by the Government on 23 January 2025. We will be working to establish an office in my Department to ensure the full implementation of the programme for Government over the lifetime of the Government. The programme sets out policy and legislative proposals for the full term of this Government across a number of priority areas, namely, growing our economy; delivery and reform; accelerating housing supply; protecting our environment; investing in our future; a caring society; thriving communities; safe and secure communities; enriching our society and culture; Ireland’s place in the world; and political reform. The programme for Government also includes details on the functioning of Government, which includes the office to which Deputy Moynihan refers. Over the lifetime of this Government, we will work hard to implement the commitments that have been set out. The Department of the Taoiseach will, via the Cabinet committee system, play a key role in the monitoring and implementation of the programme for Government and ensuring that a whole-of-government approach is taken to delivery. We are in the first weeks of this Administration and the Government will shortly put in place a refocused system of Cabinet committees which will be central to the policy development, oversight and implementation of the programme for Government commitments.
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The Deputy will be aware that in my capacity as Minister for Defence we had significant discussions on this issue in this House. I outlined substantially the amendments that we were considering, essentially to end the veto. I do not accept Deputy Murphy's point about the General Assembly. I dealt with that before as well. Essentially, it is the Security Council that has the veto. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused a fundamental change in the world order and the way Russia is behaving. China and all the members of Security Council have a veto. It was very evident to us when we were on the Security Council that we had to work extremely hard and with great challenges to get humanitarian corridors opened, for example, to northern Syria during that war to make sure that millions of people would get access to humanitarian aid and, likewise, in respect of Ethiopia. We took a lot of heat for insisting on humanitarian corridors to Ethiopia during the war in Tigray. The Deputy may recall that during our time on the Security Council, when we fought to bring a resolution that would link climate and security together, it was vetoed by Russia. I do not think any decisions we take in respect of a peacekeeping mission should be subject to a veto by the likes of Russia. It is crazy.
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Yes, but things have changed dramatically. Russia's behaviour, which has always been challenging in terms of human rights and compliance - you guys say that in a pro forma way but you do not really deal with it to the same extent as others-----
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The point I make is about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, for example. We are involved in KFOR, a NATO-mandated peace initiative. The European Union may be involved in conflict resolution, in line with the Seville Agreement. We have been involved in that regard as well, where people try to reach peace agreements. The UN itself has been supportive of regional approaches. For example, the African Union may want peacekeepers to keep the peace in certain conflicts on the African continent. Russia has been sending the Wagner Group to these places. Russia has been manipulating administrations all across the Sahel, promising security in return for coups d'état and so on, and the exploitation of minerals. Is Deputy Murphy really suggesting that Russia should have a veto on whether we participate in a peacekeeping mission?
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It does. It is the Security Council that approves peacekeeping missions. That is the reality and the Deputy knows that. The triple lock is essentially about taking the Security Council out of the decision making. The Dáil has to decide and the Government of the day has to decide and anything we decide has to be in accordance with military neutrality and our Constitution.
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I thank all of the Deputies for raising issues with me. Regarding Deputy Boyd Barrett's comments, that is a matter for the entire Oireachtas. It is not a Government issue as such because the Oireachtas Commission presumably-----
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Let me finish. I do not have the full background to this. I do not know whether these are self-employed contractors or how the company won the contract but it seems to me to be fundamentally an issue that the Deputy should raise in the context of the Oireachtas Commission and the organisation of the House. I do not know whether he has done that or not in the context of the House but-----
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I know but I do not think this issue has been raised with me in the past. It never has been-----
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Yes, but I am just wondering if he has raised it. He has been in the House a long time. I am just wondering whether he has-----
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Fair enough. Okay. Anyway, it is a matter for the commission and we will certainly check it out-----
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-----and examine it to see what has happened. In response to Deputy O'Callaghan, there is a very real issue with regard to the entitlements of retired postal workers. I will be talking to the Minister for public expenditure in relation to that and to wider issues in terms of agreements of this type that happened in the past and people feeling that their pension entitlements have not stayed at par or have reduced in real terms. I met quite a number of people in the last while who were in quite a distressed state as a result of this reality. I anticipate that these issues will be examined in a considered way because they do not just apply in one area but could have consequences in and read across to other areas. Deputy Byrne raised the extremely important issue of artificial intelligence. This is as profound as the industrial revolution of the late 19th century in terms of the level of impact and the profundity of change in social lives, business and the economy. Ireland has a strategy but we have to proactively work on delivering it. That means talking about issues like how we get the energy to drive on the huge computational demands that arise from AI and how we get sustainable energy to enable us to do that. We cannot stand still. We cannot have moratoriums for five years and hope everything will be grand in five years' time. That just will not work for the country. We have a technology lead as a country at the moment and we need to maintain that. AI is going to have to be a part of that and that is the reality. The issue raised by Deputy O'Sullivan is in the programme for Government because of his insistence and persistence, to be fair to him. It is an issue about which he has long had concerns. I will work to make sure we get a timely review of the drug reimbursement scheme. I appreciate the work the Deputy has been doing on rare diseases, orphan drugs and so forth. He has been ploughing a somewhat lonely furrow, although I know the last Minister engaged with him and I engaged with him on it. It has been a long haul but we have got to keep at it for the benefit of the people who receive such medicines.
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 6, inclusive, together. The new programme for Government underscores our commitment both to solving the housing crisis and to providing the infrastructure to sustain a growing economy and society. Delivering infrastructure effectively is necessary to continue to attract foreign investment to Ireland, grow our economy, foster regional development, deliver on our housing commitments, meet social needs and achieve our very ambitious climate goals. The programme for Government sets out an extensive range of new actions in relation to infrastructure and housing in particular, building on the progress achieved in recent years. These commitments include the creation of a dedicated infrastructure division in a reconfigured Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. This new division will be tasked with working with stakeholders on strategic project selection, prioritisation and delivery and will align with national priorities. It will develop a sustainable pipeline of projects to support delivery of the ambition under the national development plan, while expediting delivery and ensuring projects represent value for money. There will be an updating of the NDP in the early months of this year, out to the summer. Equally, the programme for Government sets out our ambition to accelerate housing supply, recognising housing as a major social and economic challenge. The programme sets out our intention to ramp up construction capacity, implement the Planning and Development Act, increase the quantum of zoned and serviced land, remove unnecessary red tape, increase innovation, and provide predictable policy which attracts private investment side by side with State investment. These commitments build on achievements over the past five years where there has been a record level of more than €65 billion invested in capital infrastructure projects across the country. In budget 2025 we also allocated, on top of the existing funding, an additional €3 billion from the sale of shares in AIB to support further investment in water, energy and housing. The forthcoming review of the NDP will update the allocations for the years ahead, reflecting the priorities in the programme for Government. There have already been unprecedented levels of State investment in housing under the Housing for All plan. Budget 2025 dedicated a record €6 billion in capital investment to housing for the current year, with about 130,000 homes delivered since 2020. There is a significant pipeline of commencements. The Cabinet committees will be important now in terms of policy development, overseeing its work. We will be establishing a reformed structure of Cabinet committees within 30 days of this new Government. This will include a new Cabinet committee on infrastructure as well as re-establishing the Cabinet committee on housing. I expect both of these committees to meet in the coming weeks, with the housing committee meeting next week.
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Where is this?
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Regarding Deputy Shane Moynihan's comments, it is true that his constituency is a rapidly growing one. In the considerations for the updated and renewed national development plan, we will look at what can be included and what types of developments can be done, particularly in respect of rail services more generally, public transport and roads infrastructure, particularly in new areas. Very often, the necessary road infrastructure follows too late after the construction of very large housing areas. Recently, while visiting clubs with the Deputy I have been struck by the fact that the recreational amenity and supporting infrastructure of Dublin is much different from and way behind the rest of the country in terms of sports facilities that clubs can enjoy and sustain for a longer period. The leases seem to be very short. The councils seem to have a very unacceptable and unsustainable relationship with many of the clubs and organisations. It is very different from the rest of the country, and we discussed that. I would like to see that developed over the lifetime of this Government, with better facilities created, but I get the main point the Deputy is making about roads, the Luas to Lucan and the infrastructure in Adamstown and Clonburris. To respond to Deputy Cleere, the Kilkenny extension of the northern ring road is extremely important. Kilkenny is a growing city and is very attractive to many people. Many people visit Kilkenny, including many Corkonians, but it needs the infrastructural development that goes with that. The Deputy spoke a great deal about road safety. There is no doubt enhancing roads enhances road safety and has eliminated a lot of injury and death on our roads. The transformation on our roads over the past 25 years was one of the factors that has brought our death rate way down. We are at a moment in time when the numbers are creeping back up, so we need to nip all that in the bud and get deaths back down again. Investing in roads will enable us to do that. I appreciate the focus the Deputy has put on the road safety aspect of the Waterford to Cahir road. On the various schemes he mentioned, we are committed in the programme for Government to expanding those and getting some traction on them. Turning to Deputy Conway-Walsh, again, we have made no proposals to end RPZs. We want to help and support renters. The Deputy's party has proposed a no-fault eviction ban. If we get into that area, we will reduce supply in time. That is the type of intervention that will hit any chance of getting more people into the rental market. This is all a balance but I think that over recent years, people have been unsure of what the Government will do next. There needs to be a stable environment to get more people into the rental market - both individuals and funds and so forth.
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To respond to Deputy Boyd Barrett, the local authority needs to take action. Increasingly, people are asking the Government to get into the workings of local councils. They should be rehousing people-----
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They should be rehousing people who are in the conditions the Deputy outlined. In many local authorities across the country, that has happened. Many of the regeneration schemes in Dublin seem to be very slow compared with those in other areas, which have been more extensive and focused. I do not know why that is. Some of the flat complexes and so on should have been refurbished a long time ago.
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I know. That is what I am saying, but the council should do it. More social housing has been built to facilitate rehousing people who are living in those conditions.
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To respond to Deputy Murphy, I mentioned during Leaders' Questions that the Government will put in about €6 billion in 2025. It is estimated that what is required to reach the targets everybody agrees with will be between €15 billion and €20 billion. The Government will not be able to do €15 billion to €20 billion on an ongoing basis. It can do €6 billion and might even do more than that but, without question, we have to get substantial investment going in the private sector as well. That is the reality, despite all the noise and the politics that has been played with this. I am more focused on solution-driven approaches. All I have received in the past three or four days is a great opportunity to have a go or to try to associate the Taoiseach or his comments with certain positions and so on-----
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The Housing Agency has been conducting a review of RPZs since last year. It will finish its review at the end of quarter 1. The Housing Commission asked that we would do a detailed, evidence-based examination of this German reference pricing system. That should happen because that is what the commission recommended. We do not have to go with it but at the very least we should examine it and understand what the pros and cons of such a scheme are. I simply said we were going to examine it and, apparently, we cannot even do that. This is a bit like the Deputy's approach to everything. Banks do need to lend more to builders, including smaller builders. The financing of housing has been an issue for the past number of years. There is no point in saying it has not been. It is the number one priority in society and, therefore, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Government officials and people working with the banking system to see how we can develop products that can enable people to start building more houses in a financially viable way that will enable people to be able to afford to buy houses at affordable rates and get more supply because it is all about more supply, at the end of the day. Deputy O'Callaghan raised Gaelcholáiste Reachrann. I will talk to the Minister for Education in respect of that to see where we are. If it has been 20 years, there must have been issues in the early years relating to site acquisition. I do not know but I will get on to the Minister and see where it is at.
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 8 together. The Government's response to the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council's competitiveness challenge report 2024 was published on 5 November last. The Government's response was co-ordinated by the Department of An Taoiseach, drawing together material from relevant Departments. This was the fifth year in which a formal response was issued by the Government to the council's annual competitiveness challenge report. The response addressed the 20 recommendations made by the council to the Government. These recommendations included: enabling stronger productivity growth through research, development and innovation; reducing the burden of regulation and the cost of doing business in Ireland; accelerating progress on the usage and generation of energy in line with our climate targets; and improving the planning, development and delivery of infrastructure. In its response, the Government welcomed the advice and views of the council and agreed on the importance and relevance of its recommendations to Ireland's continued competitiveness. For a significant majority of the recommendations made by the council, meaningful action is under way and this is outlined in the formal response. These actions include the allocation in budget 2025 of a record €14.9 billion for capital investment and the decision to allocate an additional €3 billion from the proceeds of share sales to boost public investment in housing, energy and water infrastructure; the introduction of an initiative to minimise the regulatory burden on SMEs, including by rigorously applying the new SME test across Departments; and the phased commencement of the Planning and Development Act 2024 to enhance efficiency and certainty in the planning system. Additionally, for the first time, a competitiveness summit was held on 2 December last to consider Ireland's competitiveness challenge, drawing on presentations from the chair of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council and the OECD. That ensured a focus on competitiveness concerns in advance of budget 2025. As outlined in the programme for Government, the principal aim of the new Government is to protect the future security of our economy through increasing the productivity and competitiveness of our domestic and international business. This work will continue to be informed by the analysis and recommendations of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council.
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The Deputy is fairly competitive in here.
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I am conscious that Deputy Shane Moynihan and-----
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Dúirt an Teachta Shane Moynihan go raibh fonn air béim a chur ar na mionchomhlachtaí agus aontaím leis. Phléigh sé conas is féidir linn iad a threisiú agus a dhéanamh níos láidre diaidh ar ndiaidh agus an tslí ar féidir linn é sin a dhéanamh. On competitiveness, the scaling up of smaller companies has been a key agenda item for Enterprise Ireland for quite a long time. It takes a great deal to form a company and grow it. After ten to 15 years, many entrepreneurs, if they have developed a fine product and company, may sell to a larger international company and call it a day because of the exertion involved. That is not often appreciated in this House. That is what I said during the election campaign about the economic model in Ireland. It has to support entrepreneurial activity and small to medium-sized companies. That economic model is worth protecting, which is why it is important to go to the United States, be global and be involved with all others. On the digital side, I agree 100% on sustainability around green skills. Deputy Moynihan had a great idea, but it is embedding it widely across the workforce, not just in specific areas; we tend to say we need it here or there. Deputy Byrne raised some key issues. On service-based companies and those supported by local enterprise, sometimes it takes a while for them to get into the Enterprise Ireland slipstream. Our support systems are primarily for export-oriented companies. That is an issue. Good work has been done by the LEOs but there needs to be greater synergy and connectivity between the LEOs, Enterprise Ireland and the supports we offer. The importance of free trade is the most important point that was made this morning. The era of free trade has been responsible for the greatest rise in prosperity in the world ever. It is under threat, however. There has been growing protectionism across the world from different countries and major states. The Government is committed to ratifying the Canada-European Union deal. That was opposed in this House by Deputies opposite who were all against it because of investor clauses. Business has gone up 30% for Irish companies exporting to Canada. It has worked. It is provisionally in place. We now need to ratify it and get on with matters in that respect.
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On the EU capital markets union, I discussed that with President Costa. Ireland will have a key role. That needs to happen for the future of Europe and releasing capital on European -----
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