Cian O'Callaghan

With respect, we do not need the Government to continue to monitor events closely. We need it to act and we have needed it to act for a long time. The Society of St. Vincent de Paul has told us that almost 50% of the people who ring them do so about groceries - almost 50%. The Barnardos report published yesterday showed that almost one fifth of children are missing out on school trips and activit…

What is the Government at when it comes to personal injury awards? For weeks now we have been hearing about a memo that the Minister for justice is bringing to Cabinet. It concerns a review of awards by the Judicial Council which recommended a 17% increase. Initially it was reported that the Minister was going to rubberstamp that increase. This memo was due to go to Cabinet last week. Then it was …

The Taoiseach has clarified that there will not be an increase of 17%. He is giving that commitment to the Dáil now that the Government will not be putting forward an increase of 17%. I welcome that if that is the case. Awards here are four times higher than in the UK, so it would be a regressive move. If the Government is not doing that, that is welcome. The Taoiseach gave a history lesson on the…

Looking at strengthening the powers of the CCPC is no good. You have to actually act when you are in government. The Government has been looking at strengthening its powers for years but it has not done it. The Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, asking it to do a review like it did in 2023, which did not achieve anything as the Government had not given it extra powers, will not produce anything dif…

Does the Taoiseach have the political guts to make supermarkets publish their profits and have full transparency? This is what I asked him about. Does he have the political guts to actually answer the question I put to him? We are talking about parents skipping meals so their children can eat. We are talking about situations where a child cannot go to a friend's birthday because there is not mone…

Why have you not done it?

It does not have enough powers.

Does it have enough powers?

Does it have the powers to do its job?

16. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [32570/25]

I extend our sympathies to all the family and colleagues of Brother Kevin Crowley. He is someone who gave his life to serve others. The Minister did not tell people during the general election campaign that a vote for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael would be a vote to increase college fees. The Minister has been asked twice about this issue. I will ask him a third time. What fees will students have to …

There is now complete disarray and open revolt in the Government over student fees. Last night, the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, announced he was not happy about this mess. He said he signed up to a programme for Government that clearly promised to reduce fees. He described the threat to increase them by €1,000 as a scud missile nobody was expecting. Can the Minister stop the prete…

We have heard enough bluster on this issue. The Government made a commitment in writing, in black and white, to reduce student fees. Will the Government uphold that commitment?

Will the Minister answer the question concerning what fees will be in September?

What will fees be in September? Will they be €2,000 or €3,000? This is the fourth time the Minister has been asked that question so could he give a direct answer to that question? What will students and their families be hit with in September? Can the Minister answer that question? In terms of dismissing things, it seems as if this Government is dismissing what it promised students and their famil…

During the election campaign, Fianna Fáil and its coalition partners, Fine Gael, promised to phase out student fees. That is what they promised in their manifesto. The programme for Government promised to reduce student fees. The Government is now breaking the promises it made and is saying the reason it is doing this is because of economic uncertainty. I do take economic uncertainty and risks ver…

Did the Minister only discover the economic risks and threats posed by the Trump Administration after the election in Ireland took place? That is a very serious question. To justify breaking promises on the basis of the threats posed by the Trump Administration, when it was already in place and we knew that Administration posed huge threats to our economy by the time of our election, and then use …

I move amendment No. 3: In page 3, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “Report into differential rates for owners of multiple properties 3. The Minister shall within six months from the passing of this Act prepare and lay before Dáil Eireann a report on the potential introduction of differential rates of local property tax on residential properties under this Act and the Principal…

I thank the Minister for explaining to me the difference between a parliamentary question and an amendment to legislation. I understand the difference but I thank him very much for his generous explanation. This amendment is not a parliamentary question. I am not solely seeking the information the Minister outlined. I am seeking a report on the potential introduction of rate changes in line with …

I thank the Minister for being helpful. I assure him that there was absolutely nothing in his tone that caused any offence whatsoever. I am very grateful for the clarification. I am also grateful to the Minister for being very helpful in making my case for me in his response. The exact point that he has made is that there is less volatility in taxation on fixed property than in other forms of taxa…

I thank the Minister for getting to his feet to make arguments to support what I am putting forward for a second time. I thank him very much for that. Will he now accept the amendment?

I move amendment No. 5: In page 4, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following: “Insertion of new section 10E into Act of 2012 5. The Act of 2012 is amended by the insertion of the following new section after section 10D: “10E. A residential property that is in an area that has yet to be taken in charge by a local authority shall have a 50 per cent reduction applied to its local property …

I thank the Minister for his response. I get the overall rationale in terms of not wanting to have an endless list of exemptions because, of course, that would undermine this funding stream. I am not looking for an exemption. What this amendment proposes is a 50% reduction, in the full acknowledgment that in an area where an estate or a development has been built and is not yet taken in charge the…

A key function of the local property tax is not simply to collect revenue, but to fund local services. That has been clear from the outset. If the point is to fund local services but people do not get those services where they live because the local authority has not taken their area in charge, then of course there is a strong rationale for the way the local property tax is designed to reflect tha…

That would be telling. People move in and think it might be a year or two. There is a lot of frustration at local meetings in my constituency that I have attended. People moved in when they had no children and their children are now getting to the stage where they will be moving out soon and there has been no progress. This has to be tackled.