Micheál Martin

Deputy Crowe opened proceedings with a heartfelt plea for the mid-west in the aftermath of having met with the Limerick Chamber of Commerce. I outlined earlier the progress that we have made in terms of auctions, planning permissions and applications that are in progress. I would be positive about this but, obviously, we have to work on the port there in terms of it being ready and capable and hav…

We were not in government for 20 years. We have been in government for the six years since 2020. There has been a significant change since 2020.

I pay tribute to the Green Party's contribution to that as well. The three parties involved in the previous Government all contributed to moving the dial completely in the context of offshore wind. There still are a lot of challenges with offshore wind. Some of these have to do with supply chains, costs and inflation. Someone referenced the fact that the position of the United States in terms of w…

We are rolling it out. We have a plan. That plan has been published, but, let us be honest, it has met roadblocks from all Opposition Deputies. Politically, these are difficult issues. Onshore wind is a difficult issue, but we are all saying that we have to replace fossil fuels. There are tough political choices to be made, but there is a plan for that. We will continue to work on it. Deputy Joan…

-----they indicated that there were difficulties of a technical nature which could delay the project somewhat. There was not a single planning objection to the interconnector because of the work that Eirgrid did in terms of meeting with communities and so forth. We will get an update in respect of the matter in order that we are all fully and properly informed in relation to it. I take the Deputy'…

There had been engagement with fishers and the representative organisations. I am not aware of the specifics Deputy Boyd Barrett referenced but I will check out the background to it. Deputy Murphy raised a point. I do not accept that this model would work at all. There would be a huge risk to the taxpayer. There are issues around the capacity of the public service to do it and so on. Right now, w…

Deputy Conway-Walsh raised the Corrib gas project. The Corrib gas project has been very impactful and very successful, although everyone opposed it at the time. Sinn Féin opposed it - not the Deputy personally-----

Sinn Féin always has an excuse to say no to something.

The State does not do oil discoveries on its own and never has.

Deputy Lawless raised a question about the clearing house for offshore wind, not onshore wind.

That was the question that was tabled. On the onshore guidelines, I think the indication was that they would be produced in the autumn of next year. The Minister has done a number of planning statements on a number of issues to do with housing, which took priority, not least the planning exemptions. He is now looking at rural planning guidelines for housing also. Deputy Ó Murchú raised Cork port.…

I just did.

As a result of the budget last year, public expenditure will rise by 8.6%. That is not failing anybody. That is a very high increase in investment in public services that all workers benefit from - families and people generally. It is investment in education, health, childcare and right across the board but most critically in housing. Housing remains the number one issue facing our country. We put…

We have free school books and free hot school meals across every single school in the country-----

-----which benefits workers, working families and society at large.

Tá cogadh ar siúl. Tá a fhios ag an Teachta é sin. Níl aon amhras ach go bhfuil brú faoi leith ar theaghlaigh ar fud na tíre agus ar mhuintir na tíre de dheasca an chogaidh atá ar siúl agus ardú praghsanna de dheasca an chogaidh sin. The Deputy has ignored and failed to mention the fact that the war in the Middle East has been a significant factor in the increase in fuel prices. Everybody knows t…

She had a similar approach to Liz Truss on the energy question.

We have-----

Sorry but I did not interrupt the Deputy. She has always had an inability to allow other people to speak because she does not like the truth.

All I am saying is that we know people are under pressure.

That is why we introduced the €750 million package.

That is why we introduced the €2 billion-----

-----social protection package to protect pensioners and workers who needed support.

We will do more, and we will do more in the next budget, just as we did in previous budgets.

I thank the Deputy for raising what is an extremely important issue. There is a child poverty unit within my Department which actually had a significant impact on the last budget but everybody attacked it because it just targeted those most in need. I hope the Deputy will agree with me that what was done with the child support payment was going in the right direction to deal with poverty among chi…