Niamh Smyth

I thank Deputy Cooney for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne. I am happy to do so. I will pass on Deputy Cooney's thoughts and concerns about the tenant in situ scheme to the Minister. Tenancy sustainment, also known as tenancy in situ, is not a stand-alone programme or scheme. It is a priority category under the Department of housing's social housing …

I will absolutely relay the Deputy's suggestions to the Minister. I will now read the remainder of the reply from the Department. Local authorities may also draw on their respective internal capital receipts, and the Department of housing's planned maintenance and voids programme, energy efficiency retrofit programme, and disabled persons grants scheme, to support non-essential works that can be …

I am here on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O’Brien. Waste management is a statutory executive function of local authorities. The phase-out of bags for the collection of waste is an initiative being taken by Dublin City Council, as the Deputy outlined. Under section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act, the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment is precluded from exercising any power or con…

It is widely recognised there are difficulties with the collection of household waste in bags, including the littering caused as a result of bags being ripped, which we often see. There are health and safety issues for collectors whereby sharp objects are placed in bags, litter caused by fly-tipping on streets in areas where bag collections take place, little or no segregation of recyclables or fo…

I thank the Deputy for raising this incredibly important matter. I am here to respond on behalf of the Minister for Defence, who unfortunately cannot be here, but she sends her apologies to the House. I welcome the opportunity to respond on this matter. I acknowledge Deputy Ó Fearghaíl’s long-standing interest in the protection, conservation and preservation of the Curragh Plains and his ongoing e…

The Deputy's passion about this is obvious. The statement from the Minister, Deputy McEntee, acknowledges the contribution he has made over the years working with the Department of Defence and the National Wildlife and Parks Service as an entity that may take on the management of this beautiful, scenic, historic and important piece of landscape that we have on the island of Ireland. As I have alre…

I thank the Deputy very much. I acknowledge the incredible work he does on rare diseases campaigning. The issue the Before We Die group campaigns on is another incredibly important one. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, had hoped to be here but unfortunately she was not able to be. She acknowledges the great work the Deputy is doing and his raising of this important issue. The Minister, Depu…

I again thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which is a priority for the Ministers, Deputies Foley and Browne, and the wider Government. The Government recognises that there is more to do to improve the lived experience of those with disabilities. The increase in the disability budget for 2026 further demonstrates the multiple commitments made in the programme for Government to impro…

I thank colleagues for their contributions. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Health. I welcome the Deputies' intention with this Bill and thank those who have contributed to the debate this afternoon. What has been said here makes a lot of sense; however, the Government is opposing the Bill. This is primarily on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence at this time to determine…

I thank the Deputy for his important question. The Government is committed to ensuring Irish businesses can adopt and benefit from Al. Many firms, particularly at an early stage of adoption, are seeking practical guidance on applying Al across core business functions. In response, my Department works closely with the enterprise agencies to develop practical guidance, case studies and sector-specif…

We have work to do to ensure that the whole SME sector is open to and embracing AI tools. If they are not embracing it and looking at digitalisation in their companies, they are set to lose and the divide between the successful and businesses that will fall behind and may ultimately fall off will come down to their ability to adopt technology. We have a suite of measures to try to make that job ea…

It is true there will be disruption in the labour force and in business because of AI. The disruption and impact will be greater if businesses do not embrace AI. We have the observatory piece in our Department, OBAIR, which is looking at mitigating that. The AI will impact the workforce required. We will look at how to retrain and upskill staff so they are not left facing redundancy or anything li…

I thank all colleagues who have made such personal contributions, not only about their own experiences but also facilities and gaps that remain on the island within cancer services. If I could be indulged, I wish to acknowledge a wonderful young girl from Bailieborough, Orlaith Lennon. At 24 years of age, she has lost both of her parents, her dad only a month ago. She had the bravery to go out on …

I thank Deputies Gibney, Gogarty, Healy-Rae and Dolan, who spoke so eloquently about this issue. I also thank People Before Profit and Deputies Boyd Barrett and Murphy for tabling this incredibly important Bill. It comes with a backdrop where we have all been subjected to abuse, as Sinéad was last night. I have been subjected to it myself, as has everybody in the House and particularly women. I do…

We have had an interesting debate. I will begin by acknowledging a very special lady in Mullagh, County Cavan, Jane Duffy, who was lovingly known as a postwoman for 38 years. She recently retired and I want to wish her and her lovely husband, Peter Duffy, the very best of luck. The night she retired epitomised what has been said across the House during this debate. The community came out in force …

The programme for Government commits to the Government partnering with An Post and local communities to identify and preserve heritage post office buildings that are no longer in operation, respecting their historical value and exploring potential new uses. The Department is working in the first instance with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to discuss possible options. An …

I welcome the opportunity to address the House. I sincerely thank Deputy Byrne, as Cathaoirleach of the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence, and the overall committee for the important work they have undertaken in their first interim report, which is the subject of this motion. The extensive engagement by the committee that informed this work, including the range of views and perspectives g…

I thank each and every Deputy for their measured, considered contributions. We are all striving and working towards the same thing. I might specify two particular issues that have been raised overall. On simplification, I know how Deputy Gibney in particular feels, but we all feel passionate about it. The idea of simplification does not in any way diminish our protection of citizens and our funda…

I thank the Acting Chair. If I could be given a little bit of latitude to conclude.

In November 2024 the Government designated a list of national public bodies that protect fundamental rights. We need to just keep that in our minds. These are nine national bodies to protect fundamental rights, including the right to non-discrimination in relation to certain high-risk uses of AI systems specific to the AI Act. In addition, once established the national AI office of Ireland will en…

I thank the Labour Party and colleagues on all sides of the House who made really important contributions. It is has been a very fair and balanced debate on the pros and cons, as there always are with these matters, of the proposals before the House. As set out by the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, in moving the amendment to the motion, the Government is committed to delivering sustainable t…

I thank all the Deputies on the committee because we had some robust debates on this matter, which I appreciate. I welcome the representatives of RAAP, who are in the Gallery. I thank them for the engagement they have had with the officials in my Department on this. I know they were sincerely meant and very meaningful. I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for these amendments. The sharing of equitable remun…

I have listened to Deputy Ó Snodaigh's arguments but, on this occasion, I cannot accept the amendment.

I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for his amendments - amendments Nos. 3 and 7 to which I will speak, as well as to the Government amendments Nos. 4 and 5 . I also thank Deputy Gogarty for his contribution. Amendments Nos. 3 and 7 were discussed at length during Committee Stage. I do not support them. The Bill sets out a new process to decide how equitable remuneration is shared if this cannot be agreed …

I thank both gentlemen for their contributions. To reiterate the point, there had been no referrals to the controller before the most recent dispute arose. The adjudication of such matters does extend into the judicial remit. The courts are therefore best placed to deal with this. I take on board the point that it is certainly not pleasant and not a financial direction anyone wants to take but, if…