Having no clock is a gift to all Members of the House. Could I say at the outset, ar dtús báire, ní aontaím in aon chor leis an méid atá ráite ag an Teachta. Níl aon amhras, sa bhuiséad a bhí againn le déanaí, go raibh muid ag súil go háirithe leis na daoine is boichte sa tír. Is iad príomhaidhmeanna an Rialtais ná níos mó tithe a chruthú, fostaíocht a choinneáil agus an méid fostaíochta sa tír seo a ardú. Tá sé sin á dhéanamh againn agus tá sé sin soiléir ó na figiúirí is déanaí atá tar éis teacht ar an bhfód. Is mian linn cabhair agus tacaíocht a thabhairt do dhaoine atá ag brath ar leas sóisialta, go háirithe leanaí, agus bhí sé sin le feiscint. I do not agree with the Deputy's assessment of the Government's priorities. Our overarching priority has been to sustain a very strong and robust enterprise economy, and particularly employment, because the most effective thing we can do is to create opportunities for people to gain meaningful employment in this country. By any yardstick, we have achieved that as a Government over the past number of years. We have the largest ever number of people working in this country, with over 2.8 million people working. We equally have had substantial growth in the numbers working in our country over the past number of years. That is key in terms of living standards and enabling people to cope. There are 2.825 million workers and that is a record for the Irish labour market. There is an increase of over 550,000 people between 2020 and 2025. That is a staggering achievement. When Ireland is compared with other EU member states in respect of the creation of employment and a robust economy, I think you will not find an equal. Under the IMF, in terms of the world economic outlook, the Irish economy is the fastest growing among the world's most advanced economies. That is why, in the budget, we focused on services and a substantial increase in allocations to education, disability and health. Those increases will make a difference and are making a difference in respect of those key areas. Looking at the analysis by the ESRI and others in respect of the investment in children, you will see that those on the lowest decile of income gained the most from the budget. That was our priority in the budget, particularly in regard to children and child poverty and the analysis bears that out. Equally, in respect of disability, we have made substantial progress both in terms of a record number of additional special classes for 2026 and earlier notification so children can get appropriate offers at the appropriate time and so forth. There has been a 20% increase in disability services expenditure and that is where we have put the focus. There has been a huge allocation for capital infrastructure in the budget and over the past number of years to deliver the water, energy and critical infrastructure needed to sustain the employment I spoke about earlier and to sustain our economy. Real wage growth this year will be about 3%. Wages will increase by about 5.5% and with 2% plus of inflation that means real income growth. The growth in consumption expenditure will be more than 3%. That does not reveal the type of scenario the Deputy created. We acknowledge there are cost-of-living challenges to people - there clearly are - but we have worked hard, through a range of supports and free schemes that I could list, from free books to hot school meals, that we have introduced to cushion people against the undoubted pressures of cost-of-living increases. In relation to semi-State CEOs, the Deputy knows full well that an independent body got together. There had been few increases in recent times. It was becoming difficult to recruit people to key positions within the semi-State sector, which is important for the economy also. That underpins the figures the Deputy outlined.
Sentiment score: 0.21
As the Deputy knows, we have public service pay agreements, where we work with the social partners in agreeing on a regular basis. We have had effective agreements with the public service unions in respect of workers in the public service. We will continue to do that. Because of what have been very good outcomes in terms of the fiscal situation and surpluses that we have managed to sustain, that will enable us in future budgets in terms of personal taxation and so on. We decided in the last budget to invest in services. I would have thought that is something the Deputy's party would want us to do. There would have been a time when the Deputy would have argued for that but she keeps flip-flopping all over the place in terms of her policies. I do not know where Sinn Féin is coming from or going to in respect of any sustained consistent policy or philosophical position in terms of where Irish society should be. We are investing in services. We make no apology for investing in special education or in disability services and we make no apology for investing in childcare or, indeed, disability and other services and particularly in infrastructure, which we need to do for the future of this society and the economy.
Sentiment score: 0.24
I thank Deputy Bacik for raising a very important issue and for wishing me a happy new year. I reciprocate and wish her a very happy new year also. The showdown at the moment has been Russia versus Europe. That is the real showdown of substance. I do not like using the word “showdown” – it is conflict. It is an illegal invasion of Ukraine, which has been going on for four years, an appalling attack on the infrastructure of Ukraine, incredible loss of life, deliberate killing of innocent civilians and endeavouring to render Ukraine non-viable into the future in terms of the attack on the energy infrastructure. The losses of life on the battlefield are beyond comprehension - both Russians and Ukrainian men and women at young ages. It calls for an immediate cessation. That is the real conflict going on in Europe right now. I know the Deputy does not mean this but I am struck in this House that we always end up with the US as the big baddie. We have spent precious little time on Iran in this House for quite a number of years. It has always struck me that Iran has been invisible in any discussions on the Middle East if you go through all the debates in this House, bar the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, raising it on a previous occasion on the Order of Business, I think, in the previous Dáil. It is interesting. That has been the prism through which many people look at the world. That is notwithstanding some of the legitimate criticisms Deputy Bacik made, which I acknowledge. We need a sense of perspective here. Iran has been, fundamentally, a malign influence in the Middle East through Hezbollah, Hamas and its behaviour in Syria in support of the Assad regime. We stand with the people of Iran in terms of their right to freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and freedom to associate and the need for a new form of government in Iran that is democratically based and facilitates the flourishing of those freedoms. On Venezuela, Ireland is very committed to the UN Charter and the international rules-based order. Maduro was a very repressive ruler. Unfortunately, the international rules-based order has not been in a position – I say this as a factual observation as opposed to a value judgment – to restrain some of these very authoritarian leaders across the world. There is a problem at the top in terms of the authority and credibility of the international rules-based order. I worry we are at a similar period to that which pre-dated the Second World War when the authority of the League of Nations was eroded. We know what happened then. The world got a chance after the Second World War. We will not get another chance after any confrontation that may arise if the geopolitical situation gets worse.
Sentiment score: -0.05
Ireland's unequivocal position is to support the international rules-based order and the United Nations. We want reform of the United Nations to make it more substantial and authoritative, particularly in terms of the under-representation of many parts of the world. In our view, Africa, for example, should be represented on the Security Council, and other major blocs should be as well. The Security Council is outdated in terms of composition and membership. We believe in full participation at all multilateral forums. That has always been Ireland’s position and will continue to be. We support the peaceful resolution of disputes through the multilateral frameworks without question. That will be our position when we have the Presidency of the EU. It is also a case of strengthening the EU's own self-reliance and capability. In this regard, the Deputy is correct that Europe cannot always rely on others. That is why there is now additional expenditure on defence and military capability in Europe. Europe in many ways agrees with what the Deputy is saying, and many EU member states feel Europe itself has to develop its own capability and self-reliance in many fields.
Sentiment score: 0.30
First of all, I thank the Deputy for raising the issue because it is a very grave and serious issue that the Government will respond to. In terms of specific prosecutions, as the Deputy knows, gardaí investigate any breaches of the law or any criminal activity, and the DPP decides whether prosecutions take place or not. I believe the public should report these incidents in the first instance to An Garda Síochána so the full range of the law can be applied. I have asked the Attorney General, and the Attorney General is providing advices. I am convening a meeting of a number of Government Ministers who are relevant to this issue with the Attorney General. There is existing legislation. There is the AI Act, which may not cover all aspects of this. I want a rigorous examination of that, and then, if there are any gaps at all in the law, and there may be, for those to be addressed quickly. It is a very serious issue, and one on which we have to engage with the platforms. The friendship of any owner of the platform with anybody else is irrelevant to the Government’s consideration of this. It is about protecting our children, protecting women and protecting citizens generally from unacceptable images, unacceptable activity and manipulation of AI tools for wrong purposes. We have to be very clear and forthright with the platforms in respect of this. It is not just Grok or AI tools. It is in respect of any platform that, in any shape or form, facilitates abusive images to be portrayed on that platform, or any illegal material. We have to be ruthless across the board in respect of these issues to protect our people. There is zero necessity for this. It is outrageous and shocking. We will deal with it as a Government. Existing law enforcement should be applied. As the Deputy knows, we have the Digital Services Act. The European Commission has powers with respect to the proliferation of illegal content on online platforms, including X, and there is the protection of fundamental rights and protection for minors. Coimisiún na Meán has been established. The public can report illegal content to Coimisiún na Meán, which has to react. It is our online safety and media regulator, and is at the heart of the online safety framework here in Ireland. An Garda Síochána is also there. Reports can be made to the Irish national reporting centre at hotline.ie, and there are fines and so on. The AI Act is also there. We will examine it again because this is a fast-moving area in terms of the advance and movement of technology. We want to make absolutely sure that all angles are covered and that we deal with this robustly.
Sentiment score: -0.02
The Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, has spoken very frankly and robustly to me in respect of this issue. She clearly has very strong views on it and how we engage both with the platforms and how we should legally respond. Because there are a number of different Departments with responsibility for different dimensions of this, we want to develop and formulate a co-ordinated response that will be there on an ongoing basis to respond to issues that may arise from time to time as technology develops; as AI develops. I think that is sensible and it is the right thing to do. In terms of the investigations, that is a matter for the investigating authorities and it always has been in respect of any illegality or breach of the law. I am not aware of a specific investigation yet by An Garda Síochána but it does not alert us to every investigation that takes place. It has to observe due process. I presume that is how this issue will be dealt with also.
Sentiment score: 0.21
I thank the Deputy for raising a very important issue and one which is under constant review and attention by the Government. Storm Éowyn was probably the worst storm we ever experienced in terms of severity - wind strength - and it had enormous impacts in terms of power outages and people being without water for quite a considerable period of time. An overarching review was undertaken by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management under the Department of housing which focused on a range of areas. Its findings were submitted to the Government on 21 October. The key recommendations related to humanitarian support, communication with the public, co-ordination of the response, resilience of critical infrastructure and essential services. A number of those measures have been taken in advance of this winter. Community supports centres, for example, were identified as a priority at the start. When I went out and about after Storm Éowyn, the community-based response was mixed. It was particularly strong in some locations and weak in others. We wanted to standardise the response and we wanted a rapid activation of community support centres that would co-ordinate with local authorities to support communities impacted by severe storms. For example, in Donegal on 4 to 6 October, eight community centres were activated in response to Storm Amy. We are improving that area. In addition to that, all those areas will, as soon as the tender is over, have the generators in place so they can respond to the needs of individual households in a given community where a storm might occur. Likewise, the Department of Transport is working with local authorities and Transport Infrastructure Ireland to confirm winter planning arrangements for all the road networks. Agreements between local authorities and local contractors are now formalised in terms of forestry and agriculture, so they could be stood up quickly for road clearing. The normal routine stuff - sandbags, salt road treatments and so on - has all been well prepared in advance, and likewise with TII. The procurement process for mobile generators had to be entered into by the Department of Rural and Community Development but those generators can now be deployed rapidly when required to support community support centres. There have been a series of ongoing meetings. One of the issues with Uisce Éireann during Storm Éowyn was there were very few generators in place at many of its facilities. It has now made significant progress on the installation of circa 30 new permanent standby generators. I will come back in on the legislation.
Sentiment score: 0.17
There are two things on that. I am instructing and driving Ministers to push and push to get many of these issues resolved because of the experience of Storm Éowyn. The legislation has been drafted. On the mutual aid agreements, we had very strong support from Europe, in fairness.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I would not agree, actually.
Sentiment score: -0.28
Many of them came very quickly to our aid, just as we go their aid. We might not have a formal legal agreement but there are strong informal agreements and they have worked. I do not want to go through the statistics. The impact of that storm was devastating but 70% of customers had their power restored after 72 hours, 90% after seven days and, in 18 days, all remaining customers. The issue is with the corridors. That is critical. In the future, we should not have a domino effect when trees fall and destroy the power lines. That has been complex and was probably left too long to be worked out between the various players. I am saying, "No more of that". It has to be very clear. We have to protect the grid at all costs.
Sentiment score: 0.05