Séamus McGrath

I thank the Taoiseach. I welcome his response and I fully accept what he said about the Government supports for first-time buyers. They have been quite significant and the proof of that is in the figures on mortgage drawdown. There are a high number of first-time buyers in that position to draw down a mortgage and that is welcome. The Taoiseach is also correct on the simplifcation of the system in…

At the outset, I thank the Minister and Government for facilitating these statements today. They are absolutely necessary. As we all know, Bessborough represents a very long dark chapter in our past. It extended from 1922 to 1998. It was a very recent chapter. It is not that long ago since Bessborough closed its doors. Some of the history of what went on in Bessborough is known and some is unknown…

I welcome confirmation of an intervention to address rising fuel costs. This is critical for diesel, petrol and home heating oil in particular. Our motorists, businesses, householders and hauliers need support and need intervention. I know it is being finalised at present and the Tánaiste cannot reveal the details today. I ask that it be brought in place as early as possible next week after the Ca…

140. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport when the large-scale sports infrastructure fund, LSSIF, is likely to open for applications. [16500/26]

I will try to be shorter than the allotted time, if possible. I ask the Minister of State when the next LSSIF is likely to open for applications.

I thank the Minister of State for his response in respect of the LSSIF. He has outlined the statistics, including the number of applications, the number of projects and so on. Receiving up to €500,000 in public money is significant for projects. As the Minister of State said, it has allowed a large number of projects to progress. We are at the implementation phase of the previous rounds. That is a…

As the Minister of State knows, many large projects are moving towards a multi-use and partnership model. In my hometown of Carrigaline, County Cork, there is one such project in the pipeline involving a number of different clubs. The local rugby, athletics and basketball clubs are involved, along with Owenabue Special Olympics Sports Club. There will also potentially be a swimming element. This t…

I thank the Minister of State for being here. Both the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and the Minister of State will be aware that we have very significant transportation projects in the pipeline for Cork city and county, which are very welcome. Many of these projects are urgently needed in terms of progress. We have the Cork Luas project, which is significant, the BusConnects project, the commuter rail …

I do not have to tell the Minister of State that Cork is the second city. It is the fastest growing city in Ireland and that is likely to continue for the coming decade. The population of Cork is expected to increase by between 50% and 60% by 2040, bringing the overall population of the county to 770,000 people, which is very significant. I repeat what I said earlier. The projects in Cork should …

9. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Social Protection to increase the living alone allowance in recognition of the significantly lower income available to qualifying single householders relative to couples. [15159/26]

I ask the Minister to increase the living alone allowance in recognition of the significantly lower income available to qualifying single income householders relative to couples. It is widely acknowledged that the household costs and cost-of-living challenges for people living alone are quite significant. When we compare a couple, for example, versus a single income household, there is quite a sig…

I accept we are very early in terms of the budgetary cycle. I did raise this issue with the Minister last year. I appreciate he is under significant pressure in terms of what he can prioritise with the resources available to him. Again, however, I would strongly argue that this receives strong consideration and that is why I am flagging it at this early stage. A couple who are both on the contrib…

As I outlined earlier, the difference between a couple, for example, on social welfare and an individual can be over €300 of a difference per week. That is very significant. When we look at the advocacy groups, such as Alone, which is advocating on behalf of older people, they indicate that over 100,000 people are potentially in poverty. The vast majority of those would be individuals living alone…

I raise the local bus service in Cork city and suburbs and the failure of bus Éireann and the National Transport Authority to provide a reliable and dependable service. I should not have to raise this issue on the floor of the Dáil but I am forced to because countless efforts by me and other public representatives over many years are simply not being addressed in terms of the National Transport Au…

I thank the Minister and Minister of State for facilitating this debate. I thank them both for their efforts in recent days and weeks in securing the additional funding to ensure that SNA numbers in our schools will not be reduced. This will allow the space to plan for the future properly. We all know the important work that SNAs do. It has been referred to many times this afternoon during this de…

I want to raise an issue under the Tánaiste's remit as Minister for Finance, namely the help to buy scheme and the property price ceiling of €500,000. Despite some reservations about this scheme, I am a strong supporter of it. It has benefited over 60,000 first-time buyers, to purchase homes since its introduction and given them their tax back up to the maximum of €30,000. However, the Tánaiste wi…

66. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her assessment of the current situation in Belarus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8282/26]

I thank the Ministers of State for being here to facilitate this important discussion on road safety. Looking at road safely overall in the past few decades, significant progress has been made and that has to be acknowledged. We went from 472 lives lost in 1997 to 137 lives lost in 2021. However, unfortunately, the progress has halted and we have seen an increase in fatalities on our roads in rec…

This is critical because enforcement has to be a key part of road safety. I ask the Ministers of State to take that back.

3. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Taoiseach for an update regarding the programme for Government. [71593/25]

The programme for Government commits that the Government will work to facilitate an easier return to Ireland for emigrants, including reciprocal driving licence arrangements with the USA, Australia and Canada and the creation of a one-stop shop to support and assist with obtaining PPS numbers and other administrative issues. As the Taoiseach knows, we need some of our Irish citizens to come back a…

I thank the Minister of State for being here and facilitating the discussion this evening. I commend him and the Minister, Deputy Browne, on having the courage to undertake a fundamental reform of the rental sector, which was long overdue. It is critically important that reform has taken place in accordance with what is proposed here. As we know, there is a chronic shortage of properties in the r…

I thank the Minister for being here and for facilitating this discussion today. I commend him and his Department on the work done to date in trying to speed up the delivery of key infrastructure projects. Setting up the accelerating infrastructure task force and the action plan that emerged from that with 30 specific action points are very welcome. This progress is welcome. I want to focus today …

I thank the Minister for being here. I raise the issue of section 254 licence applications, under the Planning and Development Act 2000, which permits the installation of telecommunications masts in communities. I believe this is a fundamentally flawed process and I will explain that in a moment. Of course, we need to improve our telecommunications infrastructure. There is no doubt about that. Ho…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I respect the fact that he is here this evening but, unfortunately, that reply does not in any way address the issues I raised in relation to these telecommunications masts being installed and erected close to residential properties and the fact that there is no provision whatsoever in the rules and regulations to ensure there is a safe and respectable …