Leaders' Questions

Léiríonn an tuairisc a d'fhoilsigh Bonkers.ie inniu go mbeadh aon socair a chuirfear ar fáil sa bhuiséad slogtha suas ag arduithe praghsanna. Tá go leor daoine óga ag smaoineamh ar imeacht thar lear ar thóir saol agus todhchaí níos fearr. Is í an cheist mhór ná cad a dhéanfaidh an Rialtas sa bhuiséad chun an saol a dhéanamh níos inacmhainne? We are now less than two weeks to budget day. The main thing on people's minds is the runaway cost of living, and the big question is what the Government will do to get costs under control and help households keep their heads above water. Prices keep going up, the bills keep coming in and people are really sick of being ripped off. This morning we hear that the pressure on workers and families is set to increase in the next few weeks. An analysis published by Bonkers.ie shows that households will have to pay out over €1,000 just to cover the list of price hikes that have already been announced. I refer to hikes in gas and electricity costs, health insurance, PRSI, mortgage repayments and streaming services. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, and Simon Harris therefore simply cannot come in here on 6 October and roll out yet another budget that fails to tackle the cost of living and leaves working people behind. To be clear, the Government's failure to tackle the affordability crisis has real consequences. Yesterday, the National Youth Council of Ireland published a startling report. It revealed that seven in ten of our young people are considering leaving Ireland. The biggest factor driving this sentiment among our young people is their inability to live an affordable life here. That is a damning indictment of more than a decade of Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael partnership Governments - budget after budget, decision after decision, short-changing working people and short-changing our young people. Young people have had it with being left at the back of the queue because our young people are smart and they get it. They hear from the Government that the economy is strong and the surpluses are large, yet they cannot get their start. They know also that while they are losing out, people at the very top are benefiting. They need to know that things can be different, that this is where they belong, that this is their country, that this is their home and that things can be better. Life can be affordable in Ireland, and this has to start with the budget. The Government is floating and leaking a lot, but last night, in real terms, it faced its first test. It had the chance to back a Sinn Féin proposal to cut the cost of home heating oil by removing carbon taxes but it blocked that proposal and it failed that first test. It chose instead to let 700,000 households keep taking the pain. Does the Minister accept or even recognise that the Government's policies have left young people behind? Does he accept or even recognise that its decisions leave working people behind? Does he accept or even recognise that households simply cannot afford another Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael budget that delivers simply more of the same?

Hear, hear.

I completely reject the Deputy's constant failed state narrative, which Sinn Féin has been propagating for years now, from trying to break the State to then propagating a narrative that we have a failed State.

A failed Government.

I reject that in the hardest terms. We have a country of full employment-----

There are 17,000 people homeless.

-----with continued resilience of our economy, despite the multiple shocks of recent years, and a Government that is motivated to give young people hope when it comes to housing, when it comes to their future and in terms of their employment and their wages. That is our central motivation as part of budget 2027. It is to drive better affordability in our economy and, yes, to respond to the serious pressures that we recognise many families and households face when it comes to the cost of living. That is why there will be a targeted income tax package prioritising low- and middle-income workers to reward work in our economy and give them a break. It is why we want to make significant interventions and further progress when it comes to housing and delivering greater housing supply across our economy because, yes, the challenges and the pressures faced by young people are concentrated in affordability of homes and of rent. That is why areas like the renter's tax credit are under further consideration by the Government. Third, it is about ensuring we build a country that continues the levels of employment we have and continues to attract jobs and grow our economy into the medium term. While Sinn Féin just attacks the Government two weeks out from the budget, we are preparing a sensible, responsible and affordable budget that we can sustain into the medium to long term. Sinn Féin makes commitments and promises that would break our economy and undermine the public finances. That is the challenge with Sinn Féin. It proposes higher taxes and massive increases in expenditure. That does not give young people the longer term hope or prospects to live and build a life here. Everything we are doing is to protect capital investment in housing and infrastructure, so we prioritise investment in transport infrastructure, reduce congestion and build the social infrastructure and the communities that are required right across the country. Let me be absolutely clear: the central objective of this Government is to respond to that immediate pressure. That is why we will take further decisions when it comes to the pricing of energy in our economy on budget day. It is why we will respond to affordability challenges that young couples with children face when it comes to progress on childcare, for example. We want to ensure that the sentiment of young people is responded to in this budget with, again, improved housing supply and further progress in the delivery of social and affordable homes in 2027. That is the central motivation of the Government. Instead of just criticising, attacking and continuing with its negative dialogue day in, day out, Sinn Féin should come up with some suggestions or solutions for once-----

-----that would actually build hope in our economy, because all young people hear from Sinn Féin is higher taxes on work. How will that work for young people? They hear higher taxes on businesses that employ young people. How would that work for young people? How does that give them a greater prospect of a job in the medium term? There is also a level of objectionism to housing supply, which would not help housing supply in our economy. How would that help young people who need homes and want to buy homes across communities in our country? We will respond to the issues with the cost of living, but we also need to be mindful that we are living with multiple conflicts internationally, a significant level of uncertainty in terms of the geopolitical position with the conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. I think people understand that that is impacting pricing in our economy and that the Government can insulate to some extent but cannot insulate all elements of how pricing is changing. That is reflected not only in Ireland but also internationally. We will prioritise interventions to help people. That is the focus of the next few weeks.

There are absolutely solutions to all this. There is a constructive way forward. There is absolutely hope, especially for our phenomenal young people and for working families everywhere. Last night, we brought forward just one of those solutions, which could have had an immediate effect for 700,000 households, a solution to remove carbon taxes and make home heating oil in some way affordable for those families that were struggling. We will never apologise for shouting out for working people right across this land and for our young people, who have to be listened to, who have to be given hope and who have to see the solutions in concrete terms. That means a Government making the right choices. We need to choose working families, we need to choose our young people and we need to choose hope in the future and not to continue with the Government's track, which is to look after the better-off and the developers and not to upset the banks. That is what will give people hope, those concrete choices. Last night, the Government made its position clear. It chose not to intervene and not to support our solution.

We did not acquiesce with Sinn Féin's classic political opportunism, which they repeat here every week. They are all about shouting out and giving no solutions to anybody. The higher level of tax they would impose across our economy would break it and it would not be able to accommodate half of the spending demands they continually repeat here. We did not agree to the Bill because we have a budget in two weeks. We have a budget that will help working people and reward work but also address some of the cost pressures families face, specifically with home heating oil. We have been clear that is a specific consideration in our tax policy measures and will be considered, as well as further deferral of excise on petrol and diesel.

We will use our budget with the Tánaiste, specifically focusing on the energy issues families are facing. Sinn Féin is just seeking to bring that forward and score political points. That is not a solution or a constructive-type of opposition when we have a global conflict and significant international uncertainty. It is just populism, opportunism and a reckless imposition of taxes.

It is the Sinn Féin approach. It does not work. It would break our economy, and it will give no hope to young people who want that certainty into the long term.

Says the party that broke our economy, the actual party that broke our economy.

Honest to God, the Deputy has got a brass neck.

Minister-----

Fianna Fail actually broke the economy.

There is only party in here-----

-----that broke the economy, and it is over there on the other side of the Chamber.

No pointing fingers now, Pearse.

This morning, I spoke with a mother about her 13-year-old son. He is autistic and non-verbal. In July he was told he had a place in Belmayne special school. I am sure the Minister can imagine the sheer relief and excitement of hearing that news. Starting a new school is a huge moment. One can imagine the logistics, planning and emotional preparation. Now, I want the Minister to imagine what it must feel like to be told you will be starting school in September, only for September to roll around and you are still stuck at home. When I spoke to this child's mother this morning she was at her wits' end. She told me her child is now going backwards. He is not sleeping. He woke four times last night. She spoke of her utter heartbreak watching children walk by the front window on their way to school while her child languishes at home with no solution in sight. This Government claims disability services are a priority. However, despite all of its pre-election commitments and promises, disabled people and their families continue to be failed. Every day they must battle with a State that is supposed to be there to help them just to get the bare minimum. Every day they learn that is too much to ask. The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, has been a champion of special schools. He has called them "the future" but he has not been so vocal on the serious issues these schools and their pupils are grappling with, even though it is in the Government's gift to resolve them. These schools need proper staffing levels, proper resources and multi-disciplinary teams. I know some families watching this have children who do not have a school place. There are others attending special schools who are provided with just a few hours per day. Their children are denied the support they need to make their education a success. I want to be clear that these issues are not the fault of the staff, who are trying their best in difficult circumstances. The fault lies with the Minister's Government. It is only too happy to get the positive media coverage when announcing these new schools but behind the scenes it is failing to resource them with the staffing levels they need. Behind these headlines are young children sitting at home while their peers move on with their lives. I have two simple questions. Does the Minister think any of this is acceptable, and when will the children promised a start in school this September, actually be able to take up a school place?

I thank the Deputy. As a constituency TD like him, I regularly deal with many children who have in some instances not gotten a place. To be fair to the work of the Minister, Deputy Naughton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, that has improved significantly at the start of September this year compared with previous years. I do not have the specific case details of the child in Belmayne the Deputy mentioned and I regret they do not have a place. We will take that up with the Department of education and the NCSC afterwards. Every child should have their educational rights vindicated in this State, including children who have special educational needs. What we have sought to do over the past number of years is to respond to the level of demand we have seen increase for special education across our State. We have 34,000 children who will be enrolled in special classes and special schools in this school year, which is an 86 % increase since 2020. In fairness to the NCSC and the Department of education, they have responded to that level of demand. Most children are being accommodated in special classes, and we have ramped up provision of special schools as well. On the parent and child the Deputy is speaking about, that step change in investment, staffing and provision has not delivered for them. I will ask the different arms of the Department of education and others to respond to that. We have prioritised our wider budgetary provision on special education, which we have also engaged on at the Oireachtas committee. There is a €3 billion investment in special education for 2026, the highest annual provision in the history of the State and a 58% increase since 2020. You can see the front-line delivery of that. Special classes have increased by more than 136% since 2020 with more than 4,000 classes supporting more than 34,000 students. I turn to the Deputy's question on staffing and supports. SNA numbers have increased by 45% with 26,000 SNAs expected to be working in schools by the year end. There will be 22,500 special education teachers in place by the year end. We have sought to prioritise this area because as constituency TDs we all recognise that no child should be at home when they should be in a school place, in a special class or a special school. The position and work of the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and the Minister, Deputy Naughton, have improved that with the portal established to give much better forward planning 12 months ahead of schedule, so there is better ability for the NCSC to plan and respond to that demand. I will ask the respective State agencies to respond to the Deputy's specific case.

The motivation of Government for next year-----

-----is to continue to resource special education in a way that meets the level of demand that is there.

Every child has a right to an education, and this Government is failing to deliver on their rights. As we speak there are children sitting at home without a school place. I have raised with the Minister that this is not isolated. There are children who were given school places and who were meant to start in September. They and their families were told at the beginning of July that they had a school place in September. At the end of August, after they kept chasing and chasing, they found out that the place they had been given and promised does not actually seem to exist at the moment. Why is that happening? Why are families being put through the trauma and stress of being promised a place and told their child has a place, and yet here they are coming towards the end of September, and the child is sitting at home regressing? The Government has promised them a place. Why are they at home? Why are they not in school? When is the Minister going to give these families some certainty about when their children can start school? They have been given no information at all - nothing. When is the Minister going to give them answers?

I thank the Deputy. I just spoke with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, about this issue. He said he will follow up on this particular case. The cohort of children who may be waiting this year is far smaller than in previous years because of the level of investment. However, it is incumbent to the Deputy's point that the NCSC and the Department of education ensure that where a commitment is made, it is delivered on. From my perspective, we have provided a prioritisation of this in our budgetary process to vindicate every person's educational rights, as should be the case. It is important that the respective bodies and structures there to deliver that do so for the children involved. In my constituency in previous years there was acute pressure in September of any given year and that has been reduced significantly in 2026 compared with previous years through the success of the portal and the forward planning structure. Obviously, in the case the Deputy raised, that has not worked for them thus far. We will take up the case with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, and engage directly with the Deputy about it.

The whole country owes a debt of gratitude to Nikita Hand. We thank Nikita for the bravery she has shown. So many other people have felt emboldened to speak up about abuse they have experienced because Nikita's courage gave them courage. Speaking about her new book in recent days, Nikita Hand has talked with extraordinary dignity about suffering the trauma of rape and sexual violence. She has also spoken about the long-term impacts on her: PTSD; hours-long panic attacks; and experiencing her own body - in her words - being "turned into a crime scene". As she said, powerfully: "You do lose a huge part of yourself when something so traumatic happens to you after being raped, or sexually assaulted". The multimillionaire sportsperson who was found liable in a civil court is responsible for causing this loss to Nikita Hand, and his violation has continued long after the assault was over. Nikita should be, and is, the national treasure, not him. As a Dáil, we have responsibility to show perpetrators that we reject them and their horrific conduct - that they are to blame. But this is not Nikita Hand's ordeal alone. Tragically, there is an epidemic of sexual, domestic and gender-based violence in our society, and a culture of misogyny, which feeds the proclivities of perpetrators, who, frighteningly, walk among us every day. The Government's policy on gender-based violence is described as one of no tolerance but that zero-tolerance approach still sees parts of Irish society and the State tolerating the intolerable. Why should a victim be made to feel responsible for the reputation of the perpetrator or the well-being of his family? Why is it that domestic abusers can still use our courts system to wage further torment on the people to whom they cause such suffering? Why is it that, in just six months, nearly 2,000 women were turned away from domestic violence services due to a lack of State-funded beds? For that matter, why is it that victims, usually women and children, still have to leave their own homes to seek safety? Why does the abuser get to stay in the family home? That is still the reality all too often. The stakes are high. Women's Aid records that nine women have been killed this year, already more than the total number of femicide victims last year. A quick escape can make the difference between a life saved and a life lost but, sadly, the difference between escape and remaining trapped can be heartbreakingly mundane: money for a taxi, a deposit for a flat or a new phone. That is why the Labour Party has proposed the safe fund - a three-year, €3 million, non-means-tested fund for immediate financial support to survivors of domestic violence when they need it, to be administered by Women's Aid, which I met recently to discuss this. The Taoiseach has previously expressed warm words about our proposal, but the budget is in just two weeks and we have heard nothing from the Minister. He controls the purse strings. I have a simple question for him: will he commit today to save lives and fund the safe fund in budget 2027?

I thank Deputy Bacik for raising this important issue. I echo what she said about the bravery, courage and leadership of Nikita Hand, who has done the State some service in her wider leadership over the last number of months. From all of what she has said, we must ensure that we continue to support many victims of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has led a number of initiatives in this area through some of his legislative reforms across the last 12 months. As Deputy Bacik said, the Government is taking a zero-tolerance approach to this and to ensuring that survivors can access the support, protection and justice that they need. Any such behaviour has no place in a modern society. To repeat, those engaged in domestic violence will be investigated and prosecuted. The work of the previous Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, over the last number of years has shown that we are taking an unprecedented whole-of-government approach to the scourge of violence, which we are seeing too often in our communities. That was reflected in unprecedented funding of €80 million across the range of service provision in budget 2026. To speak to the delivery of some of the accommodation, we are accelerating delivery of safe accommodation with a commitment to provide 287 safe spaces by the end of 2026, significantly strengthening capacity. As the Deputy knows, the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, has progressed Jennie's Law, Valerie's Law and other important initiatives and has prioritised this in the context of the EU Presidency overall. In response to Deputy Bacik's point on the budget, we will obviously continue our engagements as part of the Estimates process. We need to continue to make further progress in this area around the funding of the different initiatives that are involved, including accommodation, which is essential in communities where in some instances there is the gap that the Deputy referenced. We will continue to work to support Cuan, which provides leadership, oversight and accountability for delivery as well. We will consider that in the Estimates process overall. It will be a priority for the Government to continue supporting the co-ordinated response across many of the strategies that have been published and to make further progress in this area; that victims be supported not only at the point of crisis, but right the way through the justice system; and the different parts of the State are there to support them and have the respective funding streams to continue making progress in 2027. We will consider the Deputy's specific suggestion. I appreciate her raising this important issue today.

I thank the Minister for his positive words. As he says, Nikita Hand has indeed done the State some service in speaking out and I acknowledge the progress that has been made, but there are still far too many gaps in provision for victims and survivors, as I think the Minister has acknowledged. Clearly, there are still serious gaps in the provision of refuge spaces. This is something we in the Labour Party have been speaking out on for many years now. We need to see that addressed urgently. The proposal we make - I will supply the Minister with more information on it - is a very practical one to address another very practical gap in support. To be clear, we believe that perpetrators should be the ones removed from a violent home, but so long as that is not always the case, State inertia is currently making it really difficult and sometimes impossible for those who experience domestic abuse to escape from violence, which puts lives in danger. Where do survivors go if they have no money? How do they get the immediate funds necessary to resource that escape, often with small children and sometimes in the middle of the night, as Women's Aid will tell the Minister and anyone who listens. That is why we have proposed the safe fund. It is a simple, straightforward proposal. It has been done elsewhere. We appeal again to the Minister to introduce the safe fund in this budget.

You will hold us to account on the time, a Cheann Comhairle. I appreciate Deputy Bacik raising this. We will consider that with the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, in the context of the Estimates. I know he is keen to ensure that there is further progress in 2027. We obviously want to give effect to the wider recommendations in the O'Malley review, which is all about seeking to supporting the victim's journey right through the criminal justice system and from the point of crisis right the way through. That speaks to the further progress we have to make with Cuan and the different State bodies and agencies that co-ordinate the response. We will give consideration to that. It is important as well to ensure that the broader State agencies are prioritising this in how we fund them, and that is something we want to continue to make progress on. The Minister is working on a new five-year strategy from 2027 to 2031 in terms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, which is to give further progress and momentum to this area and to develop that across the coming years.

I beg your indulgence, a Cheann Comhairle, for a few seconds to welcome all the councillors from Independent Ireland, from all over the country, that have come up to the Dáil today, especially Councillor Mark Casey, who is joining Independent Ireland. He is our 27th councillor. We welcome him. I want to talk about what is happening to families all over the country when it comes to the debacle that is school transport, because you could not make some of this up even if you tried. I will give the Minister a sample of the thousands of school bus ticket problems throughout Ireland. We have children who have held concessionary school bus tickets for the last number of years. Their paperwork describes them as priority concessionary applicants. This year, they have no seats on the bus, yet we are dealing with cases where people who have applied more recently for concessionary places have received tickets on the same buses. Will the Minister explain to me what "priority" means if a family that has held those seats for years suddenly loses them while fewer applicants are accommodated? We have students waiting for concessionary tickets yet we are informed that there are ten empty seats on the bus. These children have no proper way of getting to school while the bus is passing their door with empty seats. Then we have another young family who made the major decision recently to return home from Australia with their children. Their children are eligible for school transport, yet because of the timing of their application, they have been told their request will not be reviewed now. They may be accommodated in the 2027-28 school year, but even that is not guaranteed. What are they supposed to do? Is one parent to give up work? Is that how we welcome a young Irish family back to rural Ireland? Then there is communication with Bus Éireann. Parents become desperate and frustrated. They come to our offices because they cannot get an answer. The public representatives themselves are then left waiting far too long for responses. I also want transparency on the allocation of concessionary tickets where a lottery or random selection process is used. Who conducts this? Who oversees it? How is it recorded? How can parents be satisfied that the system is fair? The 2020 programme for Government committed to reviewing the school transport scheme to achieve better outcomes and reduce car journeys. The review was done. At the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis in 2024 the then Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, stated the Government was going to reduce the distance rule to 1 km for primary schools and 2 km for post-primary school so that more children could gain access. She also stated the Government was going to introduce a system whereby the nearest school rule would be removed to give greater choice and greater flexibility. Why has the Government not delivered? Why are children being left on the side of the road? Why are parents stressed out of their minds trying to get their kids to school? Parents are trying to get out to work in a cost-of-living crisis so why is the Government not delivering on the promises it made in 2024? Fianna Fáil went into the 2024 general election promising 100,000 additional students on school transport by 2030. Similar promises were made in the 2025 programme for Government. What is the Government waiting for? When will the Government implement the school transport review it has already committed to? Does the Government still stand over the commitment made by the then Minister, Deputy Foley, to reduce the distance criteria to 1 km for primary pupils and 2 km for post-primary pupils? Will the Government remove the nearest school rule?

I thank Deputy Collins. As he knows, the wider organisation and the operation of it is managed by Bus Éireann and the Department of Education and Youth sets the wider policy and the funding profile. To answer the question, if we stand back and look at the funding of the school transport scheme from 2019 or 2020 to this year, it has expanded significantly. We had 120,000 children using the service in 2019 and this number is now at over 180,000 pupils in 2026. This is a 50% growth in a very short number of years. This speaks to a Government that has prioritised this and is funding it at a greater level. The funding for school transport in 2019 was approximately €219 million and this will rise to more than €600 million this year. This is a scheme that is heavily subsidised, and rightly so, and supports many families throughout the country. With this level of growth there are certain constraints in areas where the demand has risen. This is managed, as Deputy Collins knows, by Bus Éireann and the current terms of the scheme are continuing to apply for the 2026-2027 school year. This means children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 km from and attend their nearest school and at post-primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 km and attend the nearest school. As eligible children have to be facilitated in the first instance, the available of concessionary transport varies from year to year and cannot be guaranteed for the duration of the child's time at a particular school. Bus Éireann has always arranged for the service to be full based on the capacity of the vehicle and there can be instances where a given bus may have empty seats. As we know, some people do not always use their ticket for various reasons during a particular year. Bus Éireann can only reallocate tickets that have been handed back by a family. We have the Estimates process upcoming. What we have had to do over the past 12 months in particular is to manage a level of demand that has increased significantly to absorb it with additional capacity. Every year we have to assess what the projected demand will be in the next school year and what the capacity constraints are in the system to deliver against this. This will be the same for this year. Obviously we want to see more children using school transport. This speaks to the level of funding, which we have increased in the last number of years. Any further changes to be considered as part of the Estimates process will come down to the extent to which the funding support can grow, the demands projected by the Department of education and Bus Éireann's capacity to put it into operation.

I thank the Minister. The school transport scheme has been reviewed and promises have been made yet children are still being left behind. This is the major issue we have. How can a child have no transport while a bus passes their door with ten empty seats? Why are priority concessionary pupils receiving no apparent priority? When will the nearest school restriction, and this is a very serious question on which the Government has promised but not delivered, be changed? Have the promised 100,000 additional places been delivered? The Minister has said that 60,000 or 70,000 have. When will extra buses be rolled out for children who need to go to school? We also need a fair electronic system to detect non-use and to reallocate seats that are persistently unused to children who desperately need them. Basically it should be a case of use it or lose it. These are children trying to get to school. They are not numbers on a spreadsheet. If Bus Éireann and the Department cannot administer the scheme properly and make sensible use of empty seats, is it time to hand its administration to somebody who can?

The challenge is that if we were to follow through on Deputy Collins's suggestion and remove the system we have today, it would be far more challenging for many of the pupils and students who use it. It is a very complex system built up over many years, which has significant organisation to it across many parts of rural Ireland. If we were to follow through on what Deputy Collins suggested, we would have significant disruption to service capacity right across the country and we need to be cognisant of that. What we will seek to do in the budget is, obviously, to assess the wider demand projection for 2027-28. Also, we know there is increased demand, particularly at second level, which has to be accommodated and obviously different distances are required there. We will assess that. What we are saying is that we will have to assess the demand profile and what the consequences are in terms of what is required in direct Exchequer funding. That is our wider assessment around how we would phase any changes to the existing criteria, to answer Deputy Collins's question. We will continue to keep this under review as we assess the wider dynamics of school transport.