Tom Brabazon

I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate. I welcome John Lynch from Howth, who is the CEO of the Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation. I thank him for the hard work that he does in this area. Ireland has a very proud fishing tradition right across our island. I was glad to see that a stand-alone Minister of State for fisheries was re-established as part of the programme…

Tá scoláirí, tuistí, oidí agus an pobal máguaird gar do Ghaelcholáiste Reachrann ag fanacht ar bhuanfhoirgneamh le 24 bliain anuas. Tháinig an t-Aire amach chun na scoile i mí an Mheithimh agus fágadh gach duine leis an tuairim go mbeadh foirgneamh na scoile ag dul amach le haghaidh tairiscintí an mhí seo caite. In ainneoin ceisteanna parlaiminte, táimid ar fad ag fáil na freagraí ceannann céanna.…

Tá mé ag éisteacht le leithscéalta ón Roinn le blianta fada anuas agus níl sé maith go leor. Tá freagraí dearfacha i scríbhinn ag teastáil.

This is not a utopian budget. It is not a budget that solves every problem. Despite what the Opposition proclaims, no budget ever could. The budget serves two main purposes. The first is to rein in public expenditure, which has been on the rise significantly since 2020. I welcome the budget's approach to reducing the trajectory of the spending of taxpayers' money. It is a prudent budget. The secon…

I commend Deputy Gogarty on tabling the motion, which is very timely. It reflects a lot of the commitments in the programme for Government, which the Minister is very committed to implementing. Much of the behaviour we see around north Dublin is not antisocial behaviour. We should call it what it is - crime. Changing the term to antisocial behaviour seems to downgrade it and dilutes effective resp…

I wish to raise an issue relating to Howth Harbour. Howth has been a harbour and fishing village since the Middle Ages. Boats are experiencing an issue with the harbour's depth. It has not been dredged since the 1970s. That is almost half a century ago. Boats, especially the larger boats, which have a clearance of 5 m or less have a much narrower window to get in and out of the harbour than they u…

I thank the Minister of State for the positive outline of the general scenario in regard to the fishing industry, which I of course welcome. I have spoken to the Minister of State directly on the EPA consent regarding Howth and he is aware of it and of the urgency of the issue. I wanted to raise it with the Minister of State on the record, that it is much wider than that. The leisure sector is aff…

4. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [46850/25]

Last week, the Minister for housing, James Browne, approved significant equity loan funding for the development of 85 new cost-rental homes in Belmayne in Dublin 13 in my constituency. As the Taoiseach knows, many renters find themselves earning too much to qualify for social housing and are not able to afford the market rents. This project and funding, therefore, is very welcome and I would love …

14. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Taoiseach the Cabinet committee on children and education will next meet. [46851/25]

Since my election to this House, I have been contacted by numerous principals, teachers and parents of primary school children who say they are finding the management of the capitation grant of €224 per pupil becoming increasingly difficult. The increasing energy costs, insurance costs and other operational costs have increased the financial burden on schools and stress on school principals, in pa…

46. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his assessment of the EU review of the EU-Israel association agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38058/25]

84. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the engagement his Department has had with Foras na Gaeilge to ensure the group has long-term funding into the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38163/25]

5. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the actions his Department is taking to provide additional prison places to meet current and future demand. [36720/25]

I warmly welcome the provision in the programme for Government for the construction of Thornton Hall and the additional places the Minister mentioned. The current prison population is 14% over capacity. The Irish Penal Reform Trust, IPRT, has expressed serious concern about the current situation. The Minister is doing his absolute best in that regard. I have concern about the appearance of a revol…

I warmly welcome the Minister's comments in relation to alternatives to custodial sentences and that he is reviewing the alternatives. Community service is something that could benefit society more widely.

The Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 was introduced in the aftermath of the Omagh bombing. That terrible and cruel atrocity by the Real IRA took the lives of 29 people, including a woman pregnant with twins, and injured more than 300 others. The review group tasked with examining the Offences against the State Acts stated: [W]hile the threat from republican paramilitary groups has…

The programme for Government contains a commitment to reduce class sizes to 19. Two schools in my constituency, Belgrove Infant Girls' School in Clontarf and Scoil Mhuire in Howth, have classes amalgamating due to falling numbers. This will result in pupil-teacher ratios of 35:1 in both classes. Can the Taoiseach expedite the programme to introduce the 19:1 ratio in these schools as soon as possib…

15. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Taoiseach if he will provide details on the implementation of the Dublin city task force recommendations through his Department. [32469/25]

I also wanted to raise this matter. I welcome that the task force is there and has been proposed. There is some concern at city council level about the task force's level of funding to achieve the goals it sets for itself, which are welcome, including the creation of an attractive, safe streetscape and a desirable location to live, work and do business in and visit. Many of my constituents on the …

21. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the progress of the national security strategy. [29818/25]

As the Taoiseach will be aware, in 2019 the Government proposed to develop a national security strategy. The new strategy at that time aimed to set out a whole-of-government approach on how the State could protect its national security and vital interests. Over a period of five years, from 2020 to 2025, the current and emerging threats have changed significantly and the threats have increased sign…

5. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence the actions his Department is taking to ensure that Casement Aerodrome is fit for purpose in terms of infrastructure, capacity, and operational efficiency. [31286/25]

Like other speakers this morning, I wish to raise the issue of the aerodrome at Baldonnel and the problems that have manifested in respect of air traffic controllers. We note that there have been problems with air traffic control on three occasions since 2010 and that a report was done internally in 2021. It does not appear to have been acted on in a meaningful way to date. I know the Minister mad…

I welcome all the additional promised investment in the Air Corps. When the Garda Commissioner was before the justice committee earlier this week, he pointed out that one of the main methods for tackling the scrambler scourge in the city is through deploying the Garda helicopter, which principally operates out of Casement Aerodrome. In circumstances where it is only operational half of the week, h…