Micheál Martin

Energy efficiency is always something that should be focused on. It should not be just dismissed as the Deputy potentially did there. I recall what supermarkets did during the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the terrible crisis we had at the time. They put doors on their fridges, a simple thing that saved massive amounts of energy and was money well spent. Prior to the crisis, it was whatever. Wha…

It is a matter for each political party to decide when the whip applies and when it does not. If we changed all our processes, the Deputy would love for us to divide and fragment. That would suit her fine but there is a reason for political parties too. I would argue that we have had a democracy for 100 years because we have had strong cohesive political parties that were stable and able to delive…

We have made good progress on these issues over the past number of years in respect of section 39 in terms of the application and subsequent negotiation in the context of the public pay agreements. Some organisations have been moved out of section 39, particularly hospices, to achieve the pay parity mentioned by the Deputy. It is a very big area with many organisations, some big, some small, so it…

I will certainly pursue this matter in terms of additionality and services in primary care. Recruitment has been challenging. I might take the opportunity to engage with the Deputy and the Minister in terms of what we can do to add services, support recruitment and retention and have a better impact into the future.

I thank the Deputy very much indeed for raising this issue. As he said, Merck made the decision last month to wind down operations at its Arklow facility by the end of 2028 following a strategic portfolio product review. Other operations in Ireland are unaffected. The IDA has activated internal processes for responding to the potential and actual job loss situation with the client company. That in…

I will do that. This is extremely unsatisfactory. Is the Deputy saying that the building is half up?

Heads need to come together from different Departments to make sure something can be done. I will talk to the Minister for Justice, the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and the Minister for Health. I will ask officials in my Department to bring a report to me as quickly as possible. This is not good enough.

The Government will use very lever at its disposal to support the Irish fishing industry. It seems to me that the most effective one we have right now is what we can do nationally to support the industry because of the research outcomes. It is the research outcomes that have the most devastating impact. Let us be clear about that. What is happening with the Hague preferences is wrong and we have p…

Historically, our Jewish community has made a very significant contribution to the formation of the Irish State during the War of Independence and afterwards for many decades. We have to protect our Jewish community from any violent acts or increase in antisemitism. An Garda Síochána and the Garda Commissioner are very aware of this, as is the Minister for justice. Across the board, we review all …

Again, this is an issue that has to be resolved at the correct level, between the county council and Uisce Éireann. They should resolve it but we will see what we can do to prod it along. These are basic issues on the ground that should be dealt with by the council and Uisce Éireann.

I was in Templemore recently with Deputy O'Meara, who raised the issue of the need for more gardaí in Tipperary more generally. There is good recruitment now. The largest class came in recently and it is really buoyant in Templemore in respect of the investment there and the gardaí coming through. The next stage will be-----

We will try to increase and expand and do what we can with Templemore.

The point is we will get there. I am afraid to say it to the Deputy but there was a big allocation to Cork recently. We are going to do it in stages and Roscrea and Tipperary will get a good allocation.

It is wrong to say it is discrimination. Instead of giving dribs and drabs all over the country, what is happening in terms of-----

-----Dublin is correct. It has worked and is demonstrable. It will be repeated across the country.

I will follow up with the Minister for children and endeavour to ascertain what the current state of play is in that situation and the background to it. I will revert to the Deputy on it.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 15, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on housing last met yesterday, Monday, 15 December. The committee works to ensure a cross-Government approach to the implementation of our commitments regarding housing policy. This week’s meeting was specifically focused on our homelessness challenge, in particular the national housing plan commitments in this r…

There were quite a number of questions there, beginning with Deputy Séamus McGrath. I welcome also the good initiative we have announced today, namely the extension of the vacant refurbishment grant to 2030, but specifically on the commercial properties and the €140,000 plus a €5,000 grant for assistance to support the owner to design a project. The Deputy is right in saying that we need to make s…

Has the Deputy moved across?

The Deputy has a wide compass. He is national now. I ask him to give me the details and I will follow through. It should not happen. I do not know the background to that. I appreciate the Deputy's comments about the Jewish community in Ireland and the impact that what happened in Bondi Beach has had on the Jewish community globally and in Ireland. The murder that took place was quite shocking. Ot…

How could I forget Deputy Ó Murchú? He spoke about estate management powers to deal with what he described as "chaotic tenants". There are powers. I am not sure that the AHBs have different powers. They just have a different way of operating.

They have a different way of operating. They lay it down from the beginning.

Local authorities have struggled with this for quite a long time. My own belief is that persistent misbehaviour and so on should mean you lose the tenancy. That is what should happen. It is hard. We know of housing estates that have awful tensions, difficulties and challenges. I would be glad to work with the Deputy on the issue. I will talk to the Minister about it. Deputy Quaide spoke about the…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 to 24, inclusive, together. I attended the leaders’ summit at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, on 6 and 7 November. Coming a decade after the Paris Agreement and during a period of enhanced geopolitical turbulence, my attendance at the summit was an important opportunity to show Ireland’s continuing commitment to the objectives of the UN Framework Convention on Climate …

I thank Deputy Byrne for acknowledging that it was important to attend the COP, even though it was a long distance to go. We needed to send a signal given that we are at a point at which the issue of climate change is receding in terms of political prioritisation. This is a real concern. Some people are pulling back from their commitments. On hosting a future COP in Ireland, next autumn we will h…