Cian O'Callaghan

I thank Deputy Gibney for her work on this motion and congratulate Deputy Ennis on his maiden speech. I want to remember Trevor Dietz, the Fontaines DC manager. He was someone I knew for 30 years who was a strong advocate for and steadfast supporter of the Palestinian people throughout his life. My thoughts are very much with his family and friends today. The Minister of State, the Taoiseach and …

26. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on disability will next meet. [39721/26]

I ask the Taoiseach about St. Francis Junior School in Dublin 17. It is a DEIS+ school that is losing a teacher this year. This is based on pupil numbers on 30 September last year. It is just one pupil short. This coming year, it will be over the threshold of pupil numbers, so this cut makes no sense at all. In 2020, in a similar situation, the Minister for Education intervened and a teacher was k…

While we are broadly supportive of the measures in this Bill, I have to say that this is not a sustainable approach. The Social Democrats believe there needs to be targeted measures and investment that will permanently bring down the cost of living. That has completely failed in the Government's approach. The Government has failed to take action to help the pensioners who are unable to heat their …

2. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the action he has taken to protect public service provision in light of recent levies put on other Departments to make up for overspends in the Department of Education and Youth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40991/26]

My question is related and asks the Minister what he is doing to protect public service provision in light of the levies he has put on other Departments. We keep hearing about efficiencies and reform, and we are all for that, but it is quite vague. There has been strong criticism of his budgetary process from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. Has he taken on board its criticisms and what changes …

I appreciate that, but this is what the Minister has been saying publicly for the past number of weeks. What I am seeking to address with him is strong criticism of him and his Department in terms of their budget allocation process. For example, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council points out that the Minister's Department got the allocations and estimations in terms of what we would spend on doctor…

I thank the Minister. What we are lacking here is any clear information from him or the other Ministers about what is actually going on, why this is happening, what he and his Department are going to do correct it in terms of their budgeting process and where these savings, efficiencies and reforms are going to come about. A senior economist at the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council said: A better and…

Nurses' and teachers' pay is fixed though.

It will not drive down wage growth.

6. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will provide an update on reform of the ethics in public office legislation, given that the review of the statutory framework was completed in December 2022; the reason for the delay in publishing the heads of a Bill; if he expects this Bill to be introduced this yea…

As the Minister knows, the ethics in public office legislation is very important in terms of public confidence in officeholders and public bodies. The review of the statutory framework was completed in 2022, almost four years ago. The heads of Bill should have followed quickly after that, yet here we are, in the middle of 2026, and there are no heads of Bill. What is causing the delay? When are we…

With respect, the Minister has talked a lot about the need to speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure, which I support. Yet here he is, giving an answer about how he is slowing down this process. The statutory review was completed almost four years ago, and the heads of Bill were promised by the Minister’s predecessor, Paschal Donohoe, as almost ready in May two years ago. These processe…

When the Minister issued a press release on it this week, I was genuinely delighted. I thought this was finally coming to fruition and completion but then I read the press release and saw that was not the case. The rationale the Minister is giving is that we are going to move from a paper-based system to an online system, which is absolutely correct but at the same time, we are not able to get on …

It is Government TDs who do not turn up.

There is a brutal truth at the heart of our disability system. Families have been forced to say it out loud because the Government is not listening. The reality is the State is waiting for parents to die. Parents in their 70s, 80 and 90s must continue to act as full-time carers for sons or daughters with intellectual disabilities. Regardless of their age, health and ability to care for another adu…

I welcome that the Tánaiste is being frank about how appalling the situation is and is acknowledging that it has to change and is not acceptable. If the Government is serious about not-for-profit providers being able to play a better role, it must provide ring-fenced multi-annual funding in order that they can plan for services. I will provide an example. Before the Tánaiste's party took office, …

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom a rá go bhfuil rudaí an-deacair do dhaoine anois. I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward this motion and giving us the opportunity to talk about these very important issues regarding the cost-of-living pressures people are facing day in and day out. We would take a different approach to dealing with this crisis from the one outlined in the motion, because we belie…

Ban evictions and-----

Where are the 40,000 homes the Government promised two years ago?

24. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will meet next. [39719/26]

143. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance the steps he is taking to ensure that the Government and the Central Bank are acting in accordance with the recommendations set out in the report on the Israeli bond programme of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach; and if he will make a statem…

Israel is still issuing war bonds across the EU and using this money to fund a genocide. While our role in approving these bonds has been moved to Luxembourg, Ireland remains the home member state for Israeli bonds. We have a legal and moral obligation to do everything we can to stop genocide when it is taking place. What action is the Minister taking to ensure we are not complicit in the sale of …

I thank the Tánaiste for his response and for the work that has been done on this. What he said earlier, in response to a different question from a different Deputy, was that while we are part of the EU, we do not simply do what it tells us. Rather, we are part of shaping what it does. Clearly, therefore, the response from the European Commission is not satisfactory and is not in line with what we…

I thank the Tánaiste. Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, clearly stated, “International law says that all financial actors have to abstain from being directly linked to human rights crimes”. That applies to the financial actors and authorities in Ireland, Luxembourg and across the European Union. I welcome the Minister saying he is going to rais…