2026-02-25

There were 80 submissions and 30 were chosen. If you cannot ask your question within the one-minute timeframe, do not ask for a slot in Questions on Policy or Legislation.

I have heard the Minister and the Taoiseach say dozens of times that Ireland is military neutral but not politically neutral on Ukraine. That is a good position. I agree with it. There is no doubt in my mind that Russia is the aggressor in the conflict. Last night, the Taoiseach's office put out a statement that Ireland was committed politically, militarily and diplomatically. This comes at a time when the Government is dumping the much-valued triple lock neutrality protection. The Irish people believe in neutrality. Many wonder why the Government wants to get rid of this central part of our neutrality, the triple lock. Now for the very first time we have a Government saying that it is not militarily neutral. I want the Minister to tell the Irish people if the Irish Government no longer believes in Irish neutrality. I want him to give a direct answer to that question because the Irish people deserve an answer. Does this Government believe that Ireland should be militarily neutral?

The Government has set out very clear priorities in terms of the reform of the triple lock legislation, which is central to the world as it has been changing in political and geopolitical contexts. We have been very clear that we are absolutely militarily neutral but we are not----

Why did we not say that yesterday?

We are not politically neutral.

I agree.

Do not interrupt again.

To see Sinn Féin oppose the €90 billion going to Ukraine-----

Why did that statement say what it said?

-----shows what side is Sinn Féin on when it comes to the aggression----

You know what side we are on. I was very clear. Why did you make that statement?

Deputy, if you interrupt again, I will cease the answer.

---and some of the votes it has had in the European Parliament and so on. We are very clear-----

You do not believe a word you are saying.

Deputy Ó Laoghaire, respect the Chair.

-----around our position and we should not have a veto on our deployment of troops by Russia, China or others. We want to ensure that this evolves in the context of the reforms we are setting out.

Why did the Government say that?

Figures released by Eurostat today show that households are paying twice as much as data centres for their energy in Ireland. Data centre expansion is putting huge pressure on our energy grid and soaking up all the new, renewable energy that we are generating. Not only that but they are not even paying their fair share for the pleasure. This is just the latest in a series of examples where this Government is bending the knee to data centres and big energy companies. It is costing the rest of us. It has failed to properly regulate data centres or energy providers. It wants to import fracked gas now from America, primarily so energy supply to 300 or so large energy users can be protected in the event of an emergency. It is pouring money into grid updates, not for the benefit of ordinary households but in order that they can cope with the huge energy demands of these data centres and large energy users. Ultimately it is going to be paid for by ordinary consumers. To add insult to injury, the energy task force the Government has held up as the answer to the ever-increasing energy bills and which will supposedly solve energy poverty has only met three times. What is it going to do about the cost of energy?

The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is advancing the work of the energy affordability task force. We are engaging on it regularly at Cabinet committee level. Separately, the pricing system in the energy market is defined by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. The pricing is not set by Government. We also need to ensure we protect overall economic investment into the country. Digital infrastructure will play a role in terms of job creation and overall employment growth for Ireland into the medium to long term. We need to have an honest conversation about that. Just attacking data centres and digital infrastructure would undermine our wider economic growth into the long term. The facts are that the pricing system is decided independent of Government. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is advancing significant investment into our energy system and grid. We have the PR6, price review 6, which will allow for multi-billion investment into the grid and into our energy system over the next five years, all of which will help our wider renewable energy ambitions. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, will be bringing forth further actions around energy affordability.

Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental health condition. Eating disorder services in this country do not reflect the seriousness of this. Young people with eating disorders face a medical cliff-edge when they reach adulthood. Their care can simply stop. They are discharged from CAMHS and placed on a waiting list for adult services that are understaffed, under-resourced and, in 14 counties, are non-existent. Families describe it as being cut loose. The care stops dead and there is little to no continuity. With eating disorders, the gap in treatment can cause rapid regression. We know what works: early intervention and seamless transition, colocated child and adult mental health service teams, clear national pathways, stepdown care and mandatory handover planning before a young person turns 18. An eating disorder does not disappear on your 18th birthday. Our services cannot either. Will the Minister implement a mandatory standardised transition pathway from child to adult services?

I thank the Deputy for her question. In fairness, she has always been a strong advocate for supports for those with eating disorders. It is the most debilitating mental health illness that you can have. We have made progress over the past five years. Some 95% of all those with an eating disorder are treated in the community. We have 14 of the 16 teams funded; 11 of them are in place and we are recruiting the other five. Two more were announced in budget 2026. I know the Deputy will be happy to hear that yesterday, as part of the capital plan, a provision was made for adult eating disorder beds, 20 beds in total. We will base eight of them in St. Vincent's. We have agreement from the board of St. Vincent's do to that. Six will be in the south east, more than likely Cork, and six in the north west, maybe around the Roscommon area. We are making progress but I do appreciate that it is very difficult. We have looked specifically at children coming out of CAMHS teams into adult teams. That is a challenge in some areas where the teams are not in place. There are over 100 dedicated clinicians working in eating disorder teams now, with a ring-fenced budget.

The Minister may have heard the case of a UCD medical student who was raped and had image-based sexual abuse used against her. As a result of being raped, she became pregnant. She had to have a termination and missed some of her medical exams due to having to schedule that. She asked UCD if she could resit her exams over the summer but UCD said no. It attempted to make her drop back a year, into the year in which her rapist was also a student. She was then forced to take High Court action to try to stop UCD putting her into the assailant's year. UCD fought the case, won and, two weeks after the second case of image abuse against her, it pursued the rape victim for a couple of hundred thousand in costs against her. She has not been able to continue her medical degree since 2023, as UCD has blocked her from doing so. Is it good enough that UCD is happy or okay to have a rapist studying medicine but not a rape victim? What can be done to make UCD help this student finish her degree as soon as possible, so she is not further punished for being a victim?

I have seen some of the reporting on this online and it is shocking what that particular student experienced. UCD or, indeed, any third level institution should work with a student who has undergone shocking circumstances. Any third level institution or education institution should be working in a way that allows such a student to finish her studies, in a way that would reflect all of our institutions in second or third level. I would call on UCD to work with the student to allow her to complete her studies. She has gone through enough. I was shocked, as indeed everyone in this House has been, about what she has been subjected to in the recent period. It is incumbent on every public institution to work with her, so she can complete her studies. She has gone through enough.

I had hoped to speak to the Taoiseach but he had to leave. Following up on an issue I raised with the Taoiseach on 27 January last, it appears that a lot of forensic psychiatrists in Ireland do not want to get involved in cases involving the killing of family members by loved ones. It appears to be related to calls for a review of processes and the whole uncertainty around that. This was reflected at a recent Central Criminal Court hearing where Mr. Justice Paul McDermott said there were serious deficiencies in obtaining consultant psychiatric reports, and repeated delays in seeking appropriate forensic experts, leading to situations where families were forced to return to court over a dozen times because the State could not appoint a suitable forensic specialist. He said this was completely unacceptable and I am sure the Minister would agree. Will he also agree to write or get the Taoiseach to write to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions asking if it has a formal review mechanism for examining the processes by which forensic psychiatric opinions are compiled, whether consideration has been given to establishing clearer standards or oversight structures and to seek clarity as to whether the DPP is satisfied international best practice is being implemented in these situations?

I do not have the facts or background on the particular matter relating to forensic psychiatrists but I will ask the Taoiseach and his office to respond comprehensively to the Deputy. I know he raised the importance of this matter and the comments of the judge in the past month with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, in the context of forensic psychiatry. There is a Department of justice context as well. I will ask them to respond comprehensively to the Deputy.

I raise the local bus service in Cork city and suburbs and the failure of bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority to provide a reliable and dependable service. I should not have to raise this issue on the floor of the Dáil but I am forced to because countless efforts by me and other public representatives over many years are simply not being addressed in terms of the National Transport Authority and Bus Éireann. We are tired of excuses at this stage regarding the poor quality of the bus services in Cork city and suburbs. We all know the issues - buses running late, timetables becoming meaningless, a travel app showing a bus will arrive and then it disappears and so on. Passengers are sick and tired of the excuses. I ask the Minister to ask the Department of Transport to intervene to ensure the public bodies that have a responsibility to provide a dependable bus service fulfil their duties. While I am raising issues about the bus service, I want to acknowledge the staff and drivers who are doing their level best. They are on the front line and dealing with very frustrated customers on a daily basis. We hear about BusConnects but we need immediate solutions. I ask the Minister to intervene.

I appreciate the huge frustration in the Cork community with this commuter service. People should expect, with a properly funded service, that it is punctual, reliable and frequent. The National Transport Authority has clear oversight responsibilities for bus operators to ensure that happens. There are various penalties and fines that can be imposed if a particular service does not run properly. I will ask our colleague, the Minister for Transport, to engage with Bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority to ensure the repeated issues the Deputy referenced are dealt with. We are funding our transport system at a record level but performance is critical. As the Deputy said, it is not necessarily a budgetary issue; it is an issue of performance. We will ask for strengthened oversight from the National Transport Authority and the Department of Transport relating to that issue.

I want to put the spotlight on the primary certificate criteria. I understand there have to be criteria but they are very rigid. There are people with profound autism issues and sensory processing difficulties and people who are visually impaired. I dealt with a young gentleman recently who lost his arm as a consequence of a cancer diagnosis. To be refused the primary certificate is quite insulting. I ask for the criteria to be revisited with regard to those who would be eligible, taking into account all of the areas I mentioned.

I acknowledge for particular individuals there is a high threshold or bar for the primary medical certifcate. It can be extraordinarily difficult. I think we all, as constituency TDs, deal with that frequently. I will ask the Minister for Health to respond to the Deputy on the feedback he has given and any changes that will come of it. It is important to have a framework and parameters. I know that can create difficulties for particular individuals but I will ask her to engage and reflect the feedback.

Is it the case women's health is less of a priority for this Government? If not, why is there a delay in the delivery of a new maternity hospital for University Hospital Kerry which can offer safe access to theatre from the delivery suite? As it is at the moment, if a woman has a caesarean section, she is taken from the suite, down to the ground floor through a public corridor and up an unstable lift. It adds time to what is already an emergency procedure. There was an approved capital submission in 2018 which was put on hold to allow for a submission for a new maternity and neonatal unit. It was part of the development control plan but it has been removed from the priority list. What is the Government going to do about it?

What I agreed with the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, was that there would be record capital funding for healthcare overall over the next five years. That is to underpin significant investment and development for women's' health, maternity healthcare and much more across the system. I am sure the Deputy is referencing the HSE capital plan. I do not have the specific feedback relating to University Hospital Kerry but we want to modernise our health infrastructure. A clear part of that relates to maternity care. The Minister for Health can perhaps come back to the Deputy on that particular capital project. I do not have the detail about why it might not have received the level of funding the Deputy expects for 2026. We are clear that we want to advance a significant number of projects across the maternity system in the capital plan over the next number of years.

I have a constituent who worked in a healthcare setting during Covid, meeting patients face to face and taking care of them while others stayed at home. This was until she got Covid in January 2021 following an outbreak in her workplace. She ended up in hospital with clots on her lung and pneumonia. This lady is now 52 and she has not been able to work since 2021. There are many days when she cannot even leave the house. It is important that long Covid for healthcare staff who worked in our healthcare system during Covid is recognised as a critical illness. There are currently 159 healthcare staff who received the special leave pay until it ceased on 31 December last. On the public service sick leave scheme, this healthcare worker is experiencing a 71% drop in her net income per month. This is not right. Will something be done to correct this very unfair situation?

I acknowledge the contribution so many members of our health system made during Covid. The special scheme for long Covid which was established in July 2022 and extended on a number of occasions. As the Deputy knows, this entered into a Labour Court process which the Government accepted at the time. Following several extensions, the final extension in June last year meant the scheme concluded on 31 December 2025. It does not mean supports will end. Staff who remain unfit to work will move into the public service sick leave scheme. That provides for payment of 92 calendar days on full pay in a rolling one-year period followed by 91 calendar days on half pay. There is significant protection through the public service sick leave scheme. The Government accepted the recommendation of the Labour Court.

Earlier the Taoiseach stated again that every child is constitutionally entitled to an education. What happens when the main contractors to the State for school bus transport fails to bring children from their local village or town to the school to get that education? That is this case in a number of places in Kilkenny, including Mullinavat and Ballyhale and in particular Gowran where 50 families are affected. The Minister sanctioned the bus service through Bus Éireann in 2024. To date, there has been a stop-start approach to the provision of that service. I ask the Minister to directly intervene to ask why the contact is not being operated. Why has it failed the children of Gowran? Will he insist that the contract be fulfilled? Will he put the overall scheme to tender?

I regret that the 50 students have not had their school transport provided for despite sanction to do so. This is a performance and management issue between the Department of education with Bus Éireann and whoever the particular operator is. I will ask the Minister for education to engage on that matter. Where a service has been provided for, it should be delivered. I do not know the background as to why that has not happened for the students the Deputy referenced. I will ask the Department of education to follow up on that in the context of providing the particular service for the children involved.

On wastewater infrastructure, planning permission has been granted for in excess of 60 houses at different sites in Mountbellew on the basis of the condition that they cannot be occupied until they are connected to the upgraded Mountbellew wastewater treatment plant. There is still no clarity on when construction on the plant will begin. In Craughwell and Clarinbridge, funding was announced for wastewater upgrades three years ago, but there has been no progress on these projects. As the Minister knows, we have a serious barrier to delivery of that infrastructure because the Department has told Galway County Council that it is expected to make a co-funding contribution of at least €2 million towards those projects. This is money that the council has not budgeted for. I have raised this matter with the Minister a number of times. It needs to be addressed. There are many more towns and villages I could mention where we do not have capacity and where there are no plans for investment. What is the Government going to do to accelerate delivery of this infrastructure and ensure that badly needed homes can be built?

There are two primary ways in which we are trying to accelerate the development of water infrastructure. The first is to fully fund Irish Water over the next five years by providing it with €12 billion. This is a record level of investment to unlock and deliver a lot of the wastewater treatment plants that have been on lists for too many years. The second way is to cut a lot of the process out of Irish Water's delivery system prior to construction, which we are doing, and out of many of the infrastructure reforms we are advancing. The Deputy raised this with me at the infrastructure committee. I wrote to the committee in recent days, but I do not know if it has received my letter. The letter makes specific reference to Clarinbridge, a matter to which the Deputy has referred previously. I will ask Irish Water to respond to him on the situation in Mountbellew. We will try to organise that.

There is a cost to having a disability, which is in the region of €15,000 per year. Despite this, payments to people with disabilities were cut by up to €1,400 in the most recent budget. I asked the Minister on several occasions why these supports were removed. The answer I received indicated that it was because there are further supports coming. When I speak to people with disabilities, they do not see this happening. It is a very curious form of compassion to make cuts today on the basis of promises of supports next year or the year after. The Minister has responsibility for the public purse. I ask him to prioritise people with disabilities. The Government failed them in the context of the budget. This matter was a priority before the general election. The Government has forgotten about that priority. That is a fact. It has removed up to €1,400 in payments from these people. However, it is promising them things for next year and the year after. This payment must be reintroduced.

The Deputy will know that the Minister, Deputy Calleary, has set up a consultation process on a cost-of-disability payment and how that would be structured. We have not had a permanent payment of that sort in the past. We are trying to structure it in the context of negotiations for next year's budget. However, it is not only about direct income support; it is also about improved services. That is why there was a 20% increase in terms of disability service, which the Minister, Deputy Foley, secured. There was increased resourcing for the Department of education. Social protection payments increased significantly as well. Those payments would support some individuals with disabilities. We are clear on working with the disability stakeholders on designing a permanent annual cost-of-disability support payment. That work is ongoing in advance of budget 2027. The Government is committed across all areas, including employment overall, the education sector and the Department of disability, on strengthening services and income supports over the period ahead.

According to the annual report of PDD Holdings - the company that owns Temu, a discount e-commerce platform that I am sure the Minister is familiar with - its jurisdiction of incorporation is the Cayman Islands. On the same form, it is stated that the company's principal executive office is here in Ireland. A company incorporated in a foreign jurisdiction and managed from Ireland is tax resident here. The subsidiary which operates Temu, namely Whaleco Technology Limited, is also Irish registered. We need clarity about whether tax residency and incorporation arrangements like this impact the taxation of financial flows between large parent companies and subsidiaries. I am concerned that this structure of tax residence between two jurisdictions allows tax avoidance by multinational corporations in the same way that the so-called double Irish, which was discontinued in 2015, did. Is this being looked into? Are we applying a withholding tax on payments from Ireland to PDD Holdings, given that the company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands?

I do not have the individual taxpayer information, nor should I comment on any company's individual tax information in the Houses of Oireachtas. We have very clear legislation that sets out the tax arrangements for corporations, businesses and individuals.

What about the broader picture?

If the Deputy has a particular question, both the Revenue Commissioners and the tax division of the Department of Finance can clarify any interpretation of general policy. Individual taxpayer information is a matter of either personal or corporate confidentiality. It is important that we uphold that principle.

Last week, the Government made announcements in relation to regional, national and local roads. In the context of County Tipperary, €57.7 million in funding was announced. Some €12.5 million was announced for Latteragh, which is a very important road between Thurles and Nenagh. That funding is welcome. However, Councillor Fiona Bonfield of the Labour Party and Fianna Fáil's cathaoirleach of the council got a breakdown of the funding. It turns out that €8.3 million is for local and regional roads. That is nearly €1 million less than what was provided last year. The cathaoirleach of the council, Councillor John Carroll of Fianna Fáil, was very critical of the Government and the allocation. He said that the county is going backwards. Is there a way in which the Government can do something about this? As we all know, the recent storms and heavy rain have destroyed local and regional roads, particularly those in north Tipperary. We have a large proportion of roads in the county. Will there be supplementary funding in this regard? It is desperately needed. When the cathaoirleach of the council, who is from the Minister's party, is criticising the Government, we know it is desperately needed.

I do not have the specific breakdown relating to the various counties in front of me. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, has secured a record level of capital investment in transport-----

It has gone down.

-----of €24 billion over the next five years. He has also sought to reprofile some of that funding towards investment in local, regional and national roads in order that we can build out our road network further. There is contingency in some of the funding allocations to ensure that some of the issues relating to storm damage will also be addressed. We are trying to have a wider assessment of recent storm damage in the context of potentially providing-----

Will there be more money?

-----additional funding from the overall contingency for road infrastructure that has been badly damaged. Obviously, councils have to be supported in remedying that damage. I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to come back to the Deputy on the annualised figures. I do not have them here.

I concur with Deputy Kelly in relation to roads and the condition they are currently in. Roads have taken an absolute pounding in recent months as a result of relentless bad weather. We received funding last week, which is very much welcome, but the pace of the provision of funding and the pace of deterioration are at two very different levels. Will the Government consider a special supplementary allocation in light of the level of damage that has been done? Damage has been done to roads the like of which I have never seen before. It is not just local county roads; it is all categories of roads. I ask that more discretion and autonomy be given to local engineers. There are far too many programmes that have to be referred to Dublin for approval. It makes zero sense that a mason repair job of €10,000 on a boreen in the back-end of Offaly has to be referred to Dublin for approval. Give the money to the engineers. Challenge them at the end of the year to see if they spent it all and if projects came in under budget. Let us get more efficiency into the system.

On the latter point, I support more autonomy, as we have discussed at the infrastructure committee, and cutting out some of the process. If there are any suggestions from the Deputy's local authority as to how we can improve the turnaround time for decisions, I am more than open to hearing them. An overall assessment of the storm damage done to roads is taking place. We will obviously have to examine what that assessment finds and consider it in the context of the additionality that might be required. There already is contingency given to local authorities in their core budgets in this regard. Some of the immediate work might involve temporarily remedying damage to roads. It might be next year before issues relating to the damage done by the storms will be fully rectified. There is work ongoing across Government to see what the amount required might be this year. We are engaging with local authorities as part of that.

In October 2025, An Post wrote to the Department of communications requesting consent for an increase to pensions of 6% from 1 January 2025 and a further increase of 1% from 1 June 2025. Last year, the Department of communications received a request for a pension increase of 2.5% for Eir, formerly Telecom Éireann, pensioners with effect from 1 January 2025. As both Ministers will know, these pensioners do not receive increases in the State pension. They rely on the agreed adjustment mechanisms. The pension schemes are private, well regulated and in strong financial health. Our retired An Post and Eir workers have worked incredibly hard to connect generations of people in this country. They deserve these increases. They are affordable. They need them now. When will the Government sign off on the pension increases for An Post and Eir pensioners?

I acknowledge Deputy O'Meara for raising this matter. These are important workers who have given a huge amount of service to the State through the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, An Post, Eircom and, latterly, Eir, which is now a private company. The Department of communications has signed off on its element of this. The other element is with the Department of public expenditure and reform. We can provide a more comprehensive reply by email later on.

I signed off on the An Post one on Monday, so it should be concluding.

We are out of time, but I propose to take the two remaining speakers offering. They will have 30 seconds each.

What is the Government planning to do about the devastation of the coastline in north Wexford and south Wicklow? I am talking about Cahore, Glascarrig, Courtown, Castletown, Arklow and right up to Brittas Bay. There are few people in Dublin who do not have fond memories of Courtown. The beautiful and historic Courtown Woods have lost an area equivalent to 18 football pitches over the past few decades. The Kiltennel walking trail is being swept away and the Arklow walking trail all the way up to Brittas is being devastated. These coastal walks are very important for health and well-being. They are being absolutely devastated. What measures is the Government taking?

I appreciate the Deputy raising this. I know the devastation that has been caused all across the south east, both to community infrastructure and to many people's homes. Significant work is ongoing across Government, led by the Taoiseach's office and the Cabinet committee on coastal erosion, to provide better support for areas affected by coastal erosion. We are working with the OPW. The Deputy will have seen the recent announcement in respect of Donabate. We want to make more interventions to support community infrastructure and address the damage that has been done. I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, to respond to the Deputy directly.

Will the Minister explain how it is fair for Irish consumers to pay almost double what data centres pay for electricity? At a time when energy costs are still a cause of real financial hardship for many households across the country, data centres are paying almost half what households pay per kilowatt hour of electricity. They also pay dramatically less in network standing charges, so householders are actually being done over twice. Will the Minister explain why it is fair that data centres get energy at such discounted prices in comparison with Irish households?

As Deputy O'Gorman knows, the pricing system is decided by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, which sets the pricing parameters for individual consumers and for large energy users, including data centres. We need to move away from this polarising argument regarding households and digital infrastructure. Ultimately, we need to support households more. That is the work of the energy affordability task force. The argument to which I refer really shows a degrowth philosophy to try to undermine digital infrastructure in our State. That will undermine growth capability in the longer term. AI and digital infrastructure will play a critical role in that growth. We need to be cognisant of that in the context of the attacks on digital infrastructure we see from some Members.