Emer Higgins

The Bill is being opposed.

I thank the Deputies for their feedback. As set out in my opening statement, the reason the Government is opposing this Bill is due to the fact that we have already set up the commission on an administrative basis, and we want it to get on with the work we have tasked it with and we then want to review that to see whether it is working. At that point, once we have the review, we will be making a d…

I thank the Deputy for this question. I am pleased to advise that officials are actively discussing the launch of the Irish component of the EU critical communications system with the European Commission with a view to Ireland becoming an early adopter of this. I hope the Deputy will be pleased to know that six weeks ago Government launched a new mission critical communications system that was bu…

I thank the Deputy for that feedback. I will double-check but it is my understanding that they would well be able to use it. I met with members of the Civil Defence based in Mayo who were already part of that active trial and it is great to see that the community initiatives are also built into it. For the Deputy's information, the European Commission is proposing to bring in legislation next yea…

Absolutely. It was fantastic to meet public health nurses from the HSE who advised that they had clients in rural island communities who were badly impacted by people's inability to communicate directly with emergency services or the ability of emergency services to co-ordinate. That is what this initiative will help to resolve. Any systems deployed for the emergency services have strict requirem…

Migration, when managed well and planned well, works well. We see that in the people who staff our hospitals and care homes, those working on our building sites and buses, in our restaurants and hotels and across the local services we all depend on, and in entrepreneurs running businesses and employing people in our communities. I am truly grateful for the contributions many of those people make t…

I acknowledge that at the centre of this issue is heartache. This is personal for children with scoliosis on waiting lists and their families. It should not be a moment of division or political point scoring. It needs to be a moment of doubling down on our efforts to deliver for them. The tragic death of Harvey Morrison Sherratt touched the lives of people across Ireland. We think of his parents, …

Every year Government is faced with the challenge of balancing finite resources with infinite ambition to make things better for the people of Ireland. No single budget can deliver that in full but budget 2026 certainly rises to the challenge. I thank everyone involved in putting together this budget, in particular officials in my Department and the Department of Finance who worked around the cloc…

I am happy to provide a response from my colleague, the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Helen McEntee, and to contribute on behalf of the Government to the debate on special education. As a public representative, I meet many parents of children with additional needs who experience huge challenges in securing appropriate places for their children. They should not have to deal with that le…

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter, not just for his own city but for all of us across Ireland. As Ireland’s second city, Cork occupies a very important position in the economic, social and cultural life of the nation. I would go so far as to say that Ireland’s overall success is closely bound to the success of Cork city. The Government is very aware of the challenges faced…

I thank the Deputy for his observations and his support for the desire to work together on the rejuvenation of Cork city to make it a better place to live, work and experience its wonderful culture. The people of Cork have an immense and justifiable pride in their beautiful city but even the proudest Corkonian will admit there are a number of areas where we could do better to enhance the city's vi…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter in the House today. As he is aware, capital acquisitions tax is a tax on inheritances or gifts on an amount over a particular tax-free threshold. It is a beneficiary-orientated tax, which means it is payable by the recipient of the gift or inheritance as opposed to the person providing that gift or inheritance. Capital acquisitions tax, CAT, plays an impo…

I thank the Deputy for his constructive engagement on this. I really hope the information that has been provided on the record of the Dáil tonight is of use to his constituents and many other of our constituents, too. Just to clarify and confirm, the Minister for Finance and his Department are satisfied to the constitutionality of the existing CAT legislation. This matter was considered earlier th…

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this issue. The Government places great value on culture and the arts sector. As outlined in the programme for Government, we recognise that they are essential to a well-rounded society, providing opportunities for education, expression and community engagement. Deputy Byrne gave a very interesting statistic, for the want of a better word, when he said that…

One of the key recommendations is to develop an arts capital and equipment programme for investment in local and community arts of a similar scale and structure as its sports capital and equipment programme. As part of that, we will look at the feasibility of a minor capital works scheme under the Arts Council.

I thank Deputy Byrne for raising this important matter. It is timely that we are discussing it a couple of days in advance of Culture Night. I also thank the Deputy for his obvious passion for this subject matter and the active role he plays in the amateur arts world in his community. Ireland is renowned for producing world-class art, both amateur and professional. That is why it is this Governme…

I thank Deputy Gannon for his Topical Issue on this subject. I was born in the Rotunda Hospital and my mother used to work there, so I appreciate the opportunity to address the concerns relating to the expansion of neonatal facilities at the Rotunda Hospital. I do so on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. As the Deputy said, the Rotunda is one of the busiest mater…

It is my understanding that at this point no objection has been lodged. I hope the Deputy's passionate plea tonight has an influence on whether it will be lodged. I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Increasing capacity at the Rotunda Hospital to ensure it can meet the needs of women, infants and families is a priority for the Government. The health needs of women and infants pres…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke. We were all very concerned to learn of the difficulties being experienced by Leprino Foods in Portlaoise. The Minister extends his sympathies to all employees and their families who may be affected by this decision taken by the company, and he knows that this news will be very concerning fo…

Ireland has seen very positive jobs growth in recent years, and we are now at virtually full employment. However, announcements like this show that we can never become complacent and take any jobs for granted. It shows that there are challenges in certain markets that are beyond the State's control at times. Inflationary pressures, energy costs and the recent increase in US tariffs have created ad…

I thank the Deputies for giving me the opportunity to discuss the Government’s position on Second Stage of this Private Members’ Bill, the Ministers and Secretaries (Attorney General) Bill 2023. At the outset, I remind Deputies, as Deputy Bacik has done, that the Attorney General is a constitutional officer appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Taoiseach under Article 30 of the C…

I think it is here. Is it not here?

I am so sorry.

Somebody can provide that. In the meantime, do you want to photocopy my one?

I thank the speakers who have contributed. We all agree that the State should act in the public interest, broadly construed, in pursuing litigation and should consider the broader public interest before taking certain procedural steps in litigation. This is the reason the Government approved the adoption of State litigation principles two years ago. They serve as guidelines in the conduct of litig…