Micheál Martin

The bottom line is the licence creates significant revenue, notwithstanding that it has come down somewhat. The Deputy just cannot have it each and every way. Saying "scrap it" sounds good - it is populist; it is grand. However, the Government cannot be paying for everything all the time and that reality needs to sink in as well. The licence fee is there and it complements what the Government has …

People cannot be looking for extras everywhere across the board-----

----and saying we should just get rid of this model and do this and that.

I disagree with the Deputy. I think we have a strong Minister for justice who is making sensible decisions. Some people will perhaps not like it because they liked the old system. We should not be having multiplicities of hearings. That is not tenable or sustainable. There is going to be no reduction in the cost to the State of providing criminal legal aid because of the reform. The Minister is pr…

Whose analysis?

Apologies, a Cheann Comhairle, I should not have asked.

It is important though because-----

I certainly will consider meeting with Lisa Phillips.

Any information she has in respect of those visits, if they involved criminal activity, should be referred to the Garda. I do not know whether that has occurred. I have no issue meeting with Lisa Phillips. I got a very late request to do so in Washington but it was not possible to schedule a meeting.

First, I agree with the Deputy that if this is true, it would be scandalous and unacceptable. However, I do not have the details behind it and I do not know who gave him the tip-off. If he gives me the details, I certainly will pursue the matter because there can be no justification for that.

I thank the Deputy for his question but I think he is conflating separate matters. This is not a cut in adult education. A total of 16 ETBs provide free English language classes for speakers of other languages. Demand rose sharply after the war in Ukraine broke out, going from approximately 9,000 learners in 2019 to more than 30,000 last year, 61% of whom were international protection applicants o…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Department is saying it has received more applications for the school-based scheme this year than the number that ran it in 2025, with increases across primary, post-primary and special schools. In addition, the number of home-based applications has significantly increased since last year. Officials in the Department are engaging with schools on an in…

The Minister, Deputy Calleary, has already met branch managers. The Department of Social Protection has offered all branch managers a 10% increase in their remuneration with effect from 1 June 2026. This has been sanctioned and my understanding is that a number of branch managers have accepted the increase, but the Branch Managers' Association has refused the increase. I am told the Department is …

That might be a similar issue to the one that Deputy Collins raised. I will talk to the Minister in respect of it. The scheme for English language classes was quite expansive because of the arrival under the international protection order-----

I will follow it up with the Minister.

With the O'Malley report and so on, right across the board, there have been significant reforms in respect of support for victims through the criminal justice system. We will continue to have victims as a core focus of our policy. I will speak to the Minister in respect of-----

I will speak to the Minister about Sharon's request for a meeting. I appreciate it is a traumatic situation. The Minister has met many victims over the last while. As the Deputy knows, Jennie's Law is coming in because of his engagement with TDs, families, Deputy Paul McAuliffe and others, so the Minister is responsive to situations. I will alert him that the Deputy raised this.

As we know, there are agreements about public service pay. There have been agreements with the section 39 workers. I understand from the Minister that about €35 per hour is the rate for tendering for services. I believe every effort should be made to try to resolve this. Regarding this company, it seems that how this is all being structured is an anomaly. I might be wrong but that is my sense of i…

As I said earlier, and this is just a general view, I think we need to review this. The scheme has expanded beyond any original parameters, which is a good thing. Funding has increased from about €12 million in 2016 to about €62 million now, supporting 70,800 students across 2,000 schools. Funding has increased by €42 million in the last five years alone. The programme is open to all schools, with…

The fact is that supports have been provided. On the specifics of the organisation the Deputy referenced, I do not have the details here. I will alert the Minister for justice that the Deputy has raised that specific case and ask him to revert to the Deputy on it.

Every allocation to local authorities also had contingency provision for events. That said, the Ministers concerned are still engaging on that issue. I will revert to the Deputy. I will alert the Ministers that she has specifically raised Carlow, but I think it is a more nationwide issue as well. Capital expenditure has increased fairly significantly year on year. I accept that the storms created …

Let us not conflate the two issues. I think the Ryder Cup is a good event for Limerick.

I am sure the Deputy acknowledges that. I am a great supporter of CCTV. I think it does help security and helps with the detection of crime in many instances. It can be a deterrent to committing crime. There probably should be a tripartite contribution or at least the council and the Department of justice should make a contribution to schemes. I do not have the specifics on the Limerick CCTV schem…

I did not realise people were coming into the Public Gallery. I am not in a position to meet today. I have checked this out and I have to be careful in what I say. I understand it is not down to the European Union Presidency and there may be other issues - I do not know. I do not know if it is up for tender. Sorry, when I say I do not know, there have been indications that there are wider issues b…

I was told the reason for the six-month closure was the Presidency. I do not think that is a fair argument either. I would not want any facility to have to close for six months because of the EU Presidency. It does not merit that from a security point of view. The main activities at Dublin Castle are to the latter part of the Presidency. There will be ongoing events but there has to be balance and…