James O'Connor

20. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [33856/25]

I wish to raise with the Government the rapid development of major solar installations across the east Cork area, part of my constituency. There are large numbers of developments in planning, under discussion or in negotiation that represent very significant land volumes, amounting to thousands of acres. Not to identify any one development but across the region north of Midleton, north of Youghal …

83. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is engaging with the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment regarding the use of good agricultural land for solar farms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36654/25]

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Deputy John McGuinness, for allowing me some of his time. I wish to speak on this issue because Cork East is receiving the largest single investment in an active rail project anywhere in the country now, with a €1.6 billion investment into the Cork area metropolitan transport strategy. I note Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan from Cork North-Central is in the Chair. Both…

9. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will outline his strategy to address the rising cost of doing business, particularly for small and medium enterprises; if he will detail any planned interventions aimed at improving cost competitiveness in areas such as energy, insurance, labour and regulatory compliance; and if he will make a statement on the…

20. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Finance if his Department will revise the help to buy scheme to include those who purchased houses that were built in the past two years but were previously occupied and the original occupants have paid the moneys back to Revenue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28175/25]

13. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on the economy, trade and competitiveness will next meet. [22203/25]

I want to raise with the Taoiseach the issue of energy prices in Ireland. We now have the most expensive non-residential electricity in Europe and we are third in terms of household prices. This is not sustainable from the point of view of competitiveness. I have raised here previously that Irish energy policy is deeply unsustainable. I have seen a growth in solar. with hundreds and hundreds of ac…

Tá ceist amháin eile agam don Taoiseach.

272. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Transport the plans to address the long driving test wait times in County Cork and nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23107/25]

137. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if he will outline the plans for the next round of sports capital funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22898/25]

I want to raise the issue of Youghal District Court being removed from the town. Youghal has lost much of its public services over a protracted period. I want to raise the matter of retaining a District Court. There was a previous attempt to remove it. Unfortunately, moving those services to Dungarvan also brings Garda resources from Youghal, outside County Cork, half an hour's drive away, to anot…

87. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will remove inconsistencies and anomalies in the current jobseeker's allowance scheme which discourage people from taking up employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21699/25]

Will the Department of Social Protection remove the inconsistencies and anomalies in the current jobseeker's allowance scheme that discourage people from taking up employment. Will he give some further information on that? It is an important issue. It is something we have previously discussed. I would appreciate it if the Minister could advise the House on whether his Department plans any moves on…

I appreciate the response. This is an important issue that has been raised by the Citizens Information Board. It was highlighted that the working-age payments scheme should be based on the working family payment model, whereby a person receives a payment based on a percentage of the difference between his or her income and the specified threshold for his or her family type. However, the board also…

The programme for Government states that we must ensure the social protection system is work friendly and that welfare traps which inhibit people from taking up work are removed. At present, a person on jobseeker's allowance who receives an offer of part-time work may actually end up worse off financially if their hours are spread across the whole working week rather than being concentrated over t…

I appreciate the opportunity to raise this important matter regarding my constituency. It is about Kilcredan National School, which is located in the peripheral regions of Youghal and Midleton towns. It is a rural school but it is also a very large school. It came about because of the merger of three existing primary schools in that parish into one. Although it was a very good idea and the school …

I welcome the Minister of State's statement. He understands rural Ireland and the issues I am raising because our constituencies are not that dissimilar. We share a county after all. I welcome the inclusion of Kilcredan in the pilot project by the Department of Education. I would appreciate if the Department would share that information with me so I can bring it back to the parents and the school …

With your kind permission, a Cheann Comhairle, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan will be sharing some of my time. I appreciate the opportunity to raise issues pertaining to my constituency and nationally relating to Irish Water. In particular, I want to raise the case of what is going on in Ballyhooly, a small village outside of the town of Fermoy. Ballyhooly has had ongoing significant problems with wat…

I express my gratitude that this topic has been selected for discussion. It is incredibly important. It relates to the rapid development of solar across my constituency and in Cork North-Central and Cork South-Central. This is about what I see as the wholesale changing of the function of agricultural lands in my constituency and their use as solar farms. We are starting to see what these solar far…

I thank the Minister of State. In my opening statement, I referred to what is happening with the solar development in the Killeagh-Inch area and Mountuniacke, but there are others, north of Midleton, in Leamlara, and Lisgoold, and towards Watergrasshill, more are being proposed in Kilquane around Knockraha. What is also disturbing, as the Minister of State highlighted, is the lack of regulation, w…

In the context of the tariffs, I raise what we are doing here in Ireland and what we can control. So much of what is going on in the United States, no matter what Ireland says and no matter what Minister we dispatch to Washington, is not going to be able to reverse what the Trump White House intends to do. I was there a few weeks ago, and it was interesting. The Acting Chair was there and we got t…

22. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will meet next. [8515/25]

I raise with the Taoiseach the issue of energy security ahead of the infrastructure meeting. I want to bring forward the idea that Ireland follow suit and join other countries in the EU which use nuclear technology as part of their energy production. Ireland has the highest non-residential electricity prices in the European Union as of 2024, according to Eurostat. Finland has the cheapest because …

Household electricity prices in the EU in 2024 were the highest in Ireland and the lowest in Finland. The reason for this is that Finland generates 35% of its energy from nuclear power. Ireland has a growing economy of more than 5.3 million people. Do we need another Ardnacrusha Shannon scheme moment a century on where we decide how we are going to power our economy? In my constituency of Cork Eas…