Leaders' Questions

Cuirim fáilte roimh Liam Conlon chuig an Teach inniu. I want to mark the heartbreaking passing of the wonderful Ciara Mageean. She was a remarkable person and an amazing athlete gone too soon. Her heroics on the track were matched by such grace and strength. Ireland has truly lost an incredible young woman. Our sympathies to Ciara's husband, Thomas, and all who loved her. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam dílis.

Hear, hear.

Tá oibrithe san earnáil phoiblí ag pleanáil dul ar stailc don dara huair an tseachtain seo chugainn. Táimid ag an bpointe seo mar gheall gur theip ar an Rialtas comhaontú pá réasúnta a bhaint amach, mar gheall ar an easpa ceannaireachta ón Rialtas. Tá sé in am deireadh a chur leis na cleasa agus comhréiteach pá cothrom, atá tuillte go maith ag na hoibrithe seo, a chur i gcrích. The Government's lack of respect forced public sector workers onto the picket line three weeks ago. That same lack informs the Government's refusal to deliver a fair pay deal. I will cite a figure for the Taoiseach that captures what is the stark unfairness at play here. That figure is €95,000. That is the pay hike that the Minister, Deputy Chambers, has signed off on for the CEO of Dublin Airport Authority. It is an increase far above the total salary of a young teacher or nurse. It was granted with no problem, no drawn out talks and signed off on with the stroke of a pen. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael deliver for those at the top but it is a very different story if you are a nurse, a teacher, an SNA or a firefighter. After ten days of talks, the Government has failed to hear their concerns, failed to deliver a credible pay offer and failed to respond to the cost of living that is devouring their wages. That pressure has hit home again today as the CSO reveals that energy bills have increased by over 18% in the past year. Where is the Government's urgency to deliver a fair deal? What the public sees is a distracted Government with its eye off the ball, not treating this dispute seriously. It is a Government unable and unwilling to get the job done. It allows drift and continues to pick a fight with public sector workers. The result is the prospect of another strike next week. If this strike goes ahead, every cancelled hospital appointment, every school closure and every disruption to vital services is on the Government. That is the Taoiseach's responsibility. He refused to put himself in the shoes of a nurse, working long shifts in an overcrowded hospital, and wondering how she will pay her bills, or of the teacher who goes above and beyond but stresses out on how he builds a future. I visited the picket line three weeks ago. The workers told me very clearly that they do not want to be on strike, yet we face another strike because of a failure of leadership by the Government. On the eve of the last strike, I told the Taoiseach that playing a game of chicken with public sector workers was short-sighted, unfair and wrong. I told him it would lead to a longer dispute and here we are. Can he now accept it is time to change tack? Will he stop the brinkmanship? Will he respond to the cost-of-living pressure on these workers and finally deliver a fair pay deal?

Hear, hear.

First of all, I again articulate our deep sadness at the very untimely passing of Ciara Mageean. As we stand here at this moment, her family and community are gathering at St. Patrick's Church, Ballyphilip, Portaferry, to honour a truly special person who left a truly special legacy in Irish life. As a European champion and an Olympian, she inspired so many with her outstanding performances, bringing immense pride to her family, her native Portaferry and the entire country. The great dignity and quiet courage she showed during her health challenge only added to her legacy and Ireland's affection for her. Our heartfelt sympathies and those of the entire Government and Oireachtas go to her husband Thomas and to her family and friends. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis. I would not accept at all the Deputy's characterisation of the Government's approach to a public service pay agreement or, indeed, to the public service. This Government and the previous Government have invested hugely in the public service. The sheer numbers have increased exponentially since about 2019. Public service employment has grown by about 85,000 since 2019. That does not indicate a lack of respect for the public service, rather, it represents a significant expansion. On average, 13,000 additional staff were recruited each year. We are looking at a significant increase in the Civil Service, now up to 50,000, and at 31,000 additional healthcare staff, over 11,000 more nurses and midwives, and 16,800 more teachers. The expansion of the public service has been very significant. The last pay agreement, which expired in June, provided increases of about 9.6% cumulatively, greater than inflation of 6.6% over the same period. Between 2019 and 2025, there were pay increases totalling 22.5%, broadly in line with inflation. For the lowest paid public servants, pay was increased by 36% over this period, significantly in excess of inflation. To give some examples of how public service pay has increased, the starting pay for a teacher and a nurse increased by 23.6% and 28.3% respectively between 2019 and 2025. The population has grown and there are additional pressures on the public service. That is acknowledged. The Government wants a public service pay agreement. We entered into talks in good faith and continue to engage in good faith. We agreed at the outset a template for the conduct of these talks under the aegis of the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. An overseeing panel was created, which trade unions sought, at the commencement of the talks. That overseeing panel, working with the WRC, is now engaging with both sides. In my view, we should allow the talks to continue. The Government is very clear we want to arrive at a public service pay agreement that is sustainable and fair. There is no brinkmanship here and there is no lack of respect here. The expansion of the public service over the last five to six years has been far in excess of anything in the previous ten years because we have been in a position to do it across all sectors, and we will continue to do so in terms of education, health and all areas of the public service. Also, there is a local bargaining dimension and a low-pay element to this that we want to prioritise and focus on.

The last pay deal, as the Taoiseach says, ran out in June and the Government dithered and delayed for months. It ran things literally to the wire and literally to the eleventh hour. It dithered, delayed and played a game of chicken with public sector workers and drove them onto the picket line. Now, after ten days of talks, it has failed to bring forward a credible offer in respect of pay. That is the Taoiseach's track record. If that is not brinkmanship, the very definition of a delay tactic, designed to face these workers down, well then I do not know what it is. Now we face the prospect of more industrial action and of more strikes next week with all of the attendant disruption and hardship that will bring. That is on the Taoiseach. I am asking him now to change that approach, to come to the table in real good faith with real honesty, recognising that inflation and the cost of living have devoured the salaries of public sectors workers.

The contrast between how the high-flyers are-----

-----treated, with massive pay increases, and the average public sector worker-----

-----is astonishing and unacceptable.

It is not on me actually. We had no hand, act or part in any decision by the trade union movement to make the announcement it made yesterday. That was its decision. From our perspective, we committed to a template governing the pay negotiations and we are adhering to that template. We want to arrive at a fair and sustainable pay agreement for public servants. Government is committed to its role as a good employer. As I said, we have expanded the number of public servants. We believe that the terms and conditions of employment generally in the public service are competitive, right across the board from pay and increments to pension entitlements and a range of other things. As an employer, we want to be a good employer of public servants and to continue to expand the public service. In the budget, we made a decision on a significant tax package, which will help workers and public service workers in particular. The decision to reduce childcare costs will help public service workers as well as related cost-of-living measures in terms of rent credits and so on-----

-----and cost-of-disability payments-----

-----which will be significant all round.

On behalf of the Social Democrats, I want to extend our condolences to the family and friends of Ciara Mageean and especially to her husband Thomas. Ciara was one of Ireland's greatest athletes. Despite her illness she showed immense courage and bravery, sharing her story and raising awareness of bowel cancer. She remained deeply concerned about others and was outspoken against the genocide in Gaza. We have lost an amazing person. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam. Taoiseach, your Government's handling of the talks with public service workers has been an unmitigated disaster. For most of the year, you ignored them, barely bothering to engage before the current pay deal expired in June. This intransigence and arrogance blew up in your face and resulted in the biggest public service strike in nearly two decades. Up to that point, your Government had refused to countenance talks in which the issue of pay was front and centre. It took more than 300,000 workers joining picket lines before you climbed down. Now, just a few weeks later, there will be another day of strike action because your Government has failed to make a credible pay offer. This mess begs an important question: what is your Government at? You have been all over the place all year. You have treated public service workers with barely disguised contempt, allowed the previous deal to expire, refused to discuss pay first and then you eventually climbed down on that. Your intransigence achieved absolutely nothing. There are public service workers who are barely keeping their heads above water - nurses, gardaí, teachers, SNAs and local authority workers, delivering essential services across the country. They keep us safe, teach our children and look after us when we are not well. Then they go home and wonder how they will put food on the table or pay their soaring energy bills. Let us be clear - if there is another strike next week, it will be the fault of your Government. Your Government has spent more time on internal bickering and rivalries than addressing the country's problems. You sleepwalked your way into an industrial relations crisis. The question for the Taoiseach now is: what are you going to do to avert next week's strike? Will you personally intervene? Will you ensure a credible offer on pay is finally made?

I think your language is completely over the top, genuinely. The Deputy said "barely disguised contempt".

This has gone on for months.

He said we treat public service workers with "barely disguised contempt".

They do not even want to strike.

I attended the annual conference of Fórsa earlier this year. Does that suggest to the Deputy that I treat them with contempt? It was actually a very agreeable conference. We got on very well.

It does if you talk out both sides of your mouth.

For example, we will have expanded the number of special needs assistants to about 23,000 by the end of this year. Is that treating the public service with contempt? We have expanded the public service very significantly over the past four to five years. Is that treating the public service with contempt? I know you have to do what you have to-----

You will not do what you should do.

I know the old line, which is not that imaginative or creative, that "if a strike happens, it is your fault". It is a great line and that is what the Deputy has to say. That is what he is going to say and will continue to say but from our perspective, we entered into the talks in good faith. We agreed a template for these talks with the trade union movement in advance of the talks commencing. By the way, we were available for talks all along prior to that. We made that very clear before any strike happened. We did not have to wait for a strike to say we wanted to get into talks. The template was agreed and it involved the overseeing panel under the aegis of the WRC and Kevin Foley engaging with both sides if an impasse arose. That is all that is happening now. That was agreed over the weekend. We should allow the talks to continue. The Deputy is not a party to the talks. The offers that have been made are not small offers.

They are not credible either.

You have had your say. There is sustainability involved here. We have to think of the wider picture as a Government. We have responsibilities and that is it. We will continue to engage in the talks in good faith with the trade unions. There is no need for a strike next week. With a will, there is a way to resolving this.

Taoiseach, you have been around Government and politics for decades. You know what normally happens here. When a pay deal expires, a new one is agreed. Under your Government, that has not happened. You have not made a credible pay offer. The media reports are of pay offers below inflation. How is that credible in a cost-of-living crisis? How is that not treating public sector workers with contempt? You owe it to the people working hard to deliver public services and to the public who need those services to resolve this quickly. Make a credible pay offer. Get on with this. Instead, Taoiseach, you let weeks and months go by months before talks even began because you would not agree that pay would be the first item on the agenda? Where did that get you? It got you nowhere except delays. The Government is too busy with Ministers briefing against each other and Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael trying to outvie each other. You have your eye off the ball. When will you actually make a credible pay offer and get this resolved?

First of all, earlier this year I did offer an enhanced social dialogue to the trade union movement. We circulated a paper to that effect-----

They need credible pay offers.

-----in the context of the LEEF.

They said address pay first.

You are characterising Government as not respecting the trade union movement and not engaging with it; I am just laying out the facts. They said, "Not yet".

It is about pay in a cost-of-living crisis.

You only see it through one dimension. I cannot be responsible for how others engage or deal with things. All I can simply say is that the Government wants a national pay agreement. It does not believe there is any need for a strike next week. Where there is a will, there is a way. In our view, we should allow the negotiation process to conclude and to enable that agreement to be arrived at.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for welcoming our visitor, Liam Conlon MP to the Gallery. On behalf of the Labour Party, I extend my deepest sympathies to the husband and family of Ciara Mageean as she is laid to rest today. Ciara inspired a generation of young women to embrace sport. By speaking publicly about her diagnosis, she will also have saved many lives. I echo calls for bowel cancer screening to be extended in her memory. May she rest in peace. Here we go again Taoiseach - another public sector work stoppage next week, potential strike action on one of the most important days of our EU Presidency. It is just in time for Friday the 13th - unlucky for some, they say, but this is not back luck; this is bad government. Your Government let the last pay deal expire in June, on the eve the start of the EU Presidency, a massive undertaking you knew would place huge demands on public servants. The Taoiseach may not like us saying it but it is the truth that his Government's failure to engage then is what brought about the strike last month by 300,000 public service workers. Now he is doing it again. Instead of showcasing our country at its best, the EU Presidency is being overshadowed by a pay dispute of the Taoiseach's making. On his way into Cabinet today the Tánaiste encouraged everyone to dig deep in good faith. The Government might think of engaging deeply and in good faith itself. We understand that one of the sticking points in talks with the unions is the lack of provision for the lowest paid workers. There is nothing meaningful, it seems, for those on less than €50,000 per year. How can the Minister, Deputy Chambers, claim to be pursuing a fair deal for workers while leaving behind those who need the most help? Meanwhile, the same Minister has been busy approving inflation-busting pay rises for the heads of semi-State agencies. Many of these rises are multiples of the rate of inflation. Let us take a few examples. Uisce Éireann’s CEO got a pay rise of 43%. The chief executives of Bus Éireann and the Land Development Agency each received top-ups of €50,000. That increase alone matches the total salary a teacher can expect to earn after six years’ service. The CEO of the Dublin Airport Authority will draw a wage of €380,000. That is a €95,000 increase compared with his predecessor. These are eye-watering amounts. Of course we need competitive salaries to attract people to lead our public bodies, but what message does it send to public servants when chief executives receive increases of this magnitude while the Government is reportedly asking those delivering essential front-line services to settle for less than 2% for now? Is it any wonder they are preparing to down tools or looking beyond our shores? The impact is being felt across the country already. The Ombudsman for Children tells us of children missing vital developmental checks because we cannot retain or recruit public health nurses. The public sector is not a charity case. As engagement continues today, will the Government put a serious offer on the table, including meaningful increases for the lowest paid public servants, so that we can resolve the dispute now?

I disagree with the Deputy's narrative in terms of how this negotiation has unfolded. The Government engaged very early on with the trade union movement in respect of public service pay. This issue about whether pay was first or last was a complete red herring, if you want my honest opinion about it. The national pay agreement talks are about a national pay agreement. In the name of God, what did you think we were going to be discussing? Let us bring a bit of common sense into the debate now as well. A national pay agreement is about pay, fundamentally. That is what always happens. That is what happened the last time - it was about pay. The last agreement that expired in June provided increases of about 9.6% cumulatively, greater than inflation over the same period of 6.6%, but for the lowest paid public servants pay was increased by 36% over this period, significantly in excess of inflation. The Government shares the Deputy's view of a prioritisation of lower-paid workers. Again, I do not want to pre-empt the negotiations. Those talks are under way in accordance with the template that had been agreed with the trade union movement at the commencement of the latest phase of the talks with an overseeing panel that was sought by the trade union movement, which was agreed and under the aegis of the WRC. Those talks are ongoing and we should allow those talks to continue. We are not responsible for people making decisions to set a further strike day. We cannot allow that to undermine our approach to the talks or influence us either. The Presidency is for six months. We have achieved a lot already on a whole range of files and issues from competition in terms of One Market, One Europe, particularly with the Capital Markets Union, a new corporate legal framework for SMEs, enlargement of the European Union and real progress with Montenegro, Moldova and Ukraine. We will continue to work extremely competently and in a focused and ambitious way for the remainder of the Presidency. Parallel with that we want to achieve a fair and sustainable pay agreement. As I said, talks are continuing. We should allow the talks continue between the unions and Government under the aegis of the WRC. That is the logical way to proceed here and that is what we intend to do.

I am glad the Taoiseach said he would be willing to prioritise the lowest paid public servants. That is really welcome and is a very positive sign but nobody can accept his assertion that his Government engaged early in meaningful talks. He keeps referring in his responses today to the last pay deal but that ran out in June. What nobody can understand, least of all nurses, gardaí and teachers on the front lines, is why the Government let that pay deal run out and did not seek to renew it before the expiry date and before the EU Presidency began. There is a passivity that is characterising the Government's response to public servants. That is what is bringing about the anger and people's desperation. People are really struggling out there with inflation running now at 4% and families not being able to afford to keep food on the table or to pay energy bills. We know hundreds of thousands are in arrears on energy bills. Public transport fares are set to increase. People are really hard-pressed. It is welcome to hear a willingness to prioritise the lowest paid public servants. That is positive. We know in the Labour Party about negotiation. We know nobody wants to withdraw labour. Nobody-----

-----does it on a whim, but this is now being seen as a last resort in the face of Government passivity and inaction.

I do not think that is a fair characterisation at all. The Government's engagement in the talks in the last week has been very proactive-----

It is not a characterisation at all. It is a fact.

-----and very fair in terms of seeking an agreement. Second, the cost of living is the big issue and in the budget we responded to that. Again, in terms of low-paid and low-income groups, and do not take our word for it, objective data shows that we looked after the lowest income groups more than anybody else. They were the biggest beneficiaries of the budget. We brought in significant tax cuts, which will take effect early next year, in the form of a €1.3 billion income tax package for both private sector and public service workers. The reductions in childcare costs, which were significant, will impact on workers and other measures in the budget will take pressure off workers. This is necessary given the cost-of-living pressures people are undoubtedly under. If the Deputy compares the tax cuts in our budget to any other budget across Europe, there is not a comparison. That is the reality. We have expanded the public service very significantly as well.

There is no question about that either.

On behalf of the Green Party I would like to join with the tributes paid to Ciara Mageean. She is a loss to athletics and a loss to our country. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity has been meeting in Yerevan in Armenia for the last two weeks under the theme of taking action for nature. The conclusions from this annual meeting were stark. In its State of Biodiversity Action report, the secretariat of the convention determined that fewer than half of national biodiversity improvement targets were reported as being on track. Here in Ireland we see similar threats to nature. Last year, the Central Statistics Office found that between 2006 and 2019, 2.7% of species were no longer found to exist in the State. They are described now as being "regionally extinct". It also found that 14.7% of species were considered "at risk of extinction". Bees were among the most endangered. About 3% of bee species were regionally extinct and 30% were threatened. It is bees I want to focus on today. In the last government, the Green Party took steps to protect one species of bee, the native Irish honey bee. With the agreement of the government, which the Taoiseach was part of, a Green Party Private Members' Bill, the Protection of the Native Irish Honey Bee Bill passed all stages in the Seanad. That Bill is now awaiting its Second Stage debate here in the Dáil. The Taoiseach may recall that at the centre of the law is a proposal to stop the import of non-native honey bee queens into Ireland to prevent the hybridisation of the native Irish honey bee. Recent research shows that up to 25% of honey bees in Irish are now non-native - a big jump in a short period of time. Research was commissioned by the Department of agriculture to support the Bill, with the final report delivered to the Minister's desk in September 2025. That is over a year ago now. I raised the matter with the Minister for agriculture three weeks ago and he was not able to give me clarity on when that research will be published. There is also no clarity on whether the Government will continue the policy of the last government, support the ban on the importation of non-native honey bees and protect the unique characteristics of the Irish honey bee. There is a lot of support for this Bill from Deputies and Senators in government and also in opposition. I want to work with the Taoiseach and the Minister for agriculture to get this important proposal over the line but it would help to have clarity on two specific points. First, when will the research about the native Irish honey bee, which is sitting on the Minister for agriculture's desk, be published? Second, does the Taoiseach support the central plank of my Bill, to protect the native Irish honey bee, and will he work with me to get this Bill passed during this Dáil?

I pay tribute to the Minister of State, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan, who was in Yerevan in respect of the biodiversity COP and led the way in respect of a number of issues there. He has done a fine job, generally speaking, such is his love for all things to do with nature, and he shows his enthusiasm for that. Over the past five years - Deputy O'Gorman was in the Government - we have substantially enhanced the National Parks and Wildlife Service. I think we have more than doubled the team working there. We have developed and designated a number of new national parks, and I hope that over the next year or two we will be in a position to designate more national parks and to enhance our resources for biodiversity more generally. It is a subject I am very keen on and interested in and one I have overseen with a particular focus on the well-being of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and I continue to do so as Taoiseach. In respect of the native Irish honeybee Bill, I share, generally speaking, the Deputy's objectives and aspirations. A memo came to the Government last week on the matter. I better be careful. I was going to say the matter is not black and white but, as the Deputy knows, that is the unique characteristic of the native Irish honeybee.

Can it sting?

In any event, there are about 330 imports, I think, into the Republic. We have thousands into the North of Ireland. That creates a problem for us. If things continue for the next 50 years, we potentially face the extinction of the native Irish honeybee. We will have to watch the legal framework and make sure anything we do is in conformity with EU frameworks and so on. In short, I am willing to work with the Deputy. I sought the research on the native Irish honeybee myself and read it very quickly over recent days. I am concerned about its prospects over a 50- to 70-year timeframe. We need to do something in respect of protecting it. The imports have come a way down. There was a substantial increase during the Covid-19 pandemic, which is interesting, but they have come back down to what might be called manageable levels for the moment. We have no control over that into the future in terms of higher volumes of imports. We should increase consumer awareness of our native honeybee and the product from it, which is far better honey, health-wise and well-being-wise, for all of us, as opposed to imports. My understanding is that the research will be published without delay. I will talk to the Minister for agriculture on that. The deliberative process is not totally over but effectively over. I will work with the Deputy to see how we can progress this issue.

I welcome the Taoiseach's concern on the issue. Having read the research, he is clearly even more up to date with the real threat that exists to the Irish honeybee. This is not just a question of protecting nature; it is a question of our country's food security. As regards the Irish honeybee and its hybridisation, which we see at the moment, this process risks ending a unique genetic resource that has evolved very specifically towards the Irish climate. This process puts our bee population at risk, and there are consequences of that for food production and plant diversity. Those consequences are absolutely enormous, and even if they are over a 50- to 70-year timeframe, that is still hugely consequential. There is a proposal on the table. There is actually legislation drafted. It has passed the Seanad; it just has to pass this House. I ask the Taoiseach specifically on my Bill whether he is willing to support it. I am not precious - we can amend it - but will he use that as a vehicle to face this real threat to the native Irish honeybee?

As I said, I am very concerned about it in terms of the future. I agree 100% with the Deputy that it is inextricably bound up with our overall sustainability, biodiversity, food chain and so on. There are some issues and hurdles we would have to jump. I would be prepared to work with the Deputy and I will ask our colleague, the Minister, Deputy Heydon, as well to engage with Deputy O'Gorman in relation to this and how we can navigate this particular issue. I pay tribute also to our former ambassador in Paris, Niall Burgess, who has been a great champion of the native Irish honeybee and who briefed me quite a number of years ago on the intricacies of this issue. It is a very serious issue, so I am very much focused on helping.