Peter Burke

I thank the Deputy for her very important question on tourism. Since December, we have had a new plan, A New Era for Irish Tourism, which seeks to increase employment to 250,000 from 228,000, bring our domestic revenue up to €5.8 billion annually and bring our overseas revenue up to €9 billion, which will be significant growth for the tourism sector. Mayo will be front and centre to that developme…

I acknowledge the Deputy and the work we are trying to do on this significant asset. As he knows, we had a meeting with the key players who have the decision on this - the Department of Transport, Galway County Council and my Department through Fáilte Ireland. At that juncture, I advised them that our capital expenditure schemes would open from September of this year but I need a proposal that I c…

The Deputy has raised an important area. I will have to revert to the Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, to get a timeline because it is not under my jurisdiction. It has progressed through the Houses significantly. We will find out where it is at for the Deputy.

I will forward the query to the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, but I am not aware that we underfunded any local authority. We give local authorities funding, particularly for roads, but they have to, essentially, prioritise their budget on where the acute need is. It is important that Dublin City Council has a budget to repair roads. To have it committed this early is pretty alarming. I will talk to th…

I thank the Deputy for raising an important point around the support for people with muscular dystrophy. It is a very debilitating condition. Obviously, from the interest and number of people who turned up to the audiovisual room, the will to support can be seen. I will raise it with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. A significant amount of resources went into the Health Products Regulatory A…

I absolutely know the value of our Local Link services. I see it clearly in my constituency in bringing people of all ages to their destination, be it for education, appointments or just to bring people into their local town to do their grocery shopping. I will raise the issue of the 199 service with the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, and ask him to get a response from the NTA. In good faith, I hope th…

I am happy to raise it with the Department of agriculture and the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, to get a response for the Deputy. I am not fully appraised of the situation and, therefore, I do not want to put anything on the record that I may not be fully aware of. If it was suckler cows, I might have been able to come back to the Deputy directly. When it comes to poultry, I cannot do s…

I thank Deputy Burke for raising this important issue. I know he is a strong supporter of healthcare, particularly through his work on the health committee, to ensure that people of all ages get the adequate care they deserve. I will raise the concerns he has with the Minister for Health. Hopefully, we will have a capital programme. The Deputy quite rightly pointed out the saving that we have emba…

I thank the Deputy for his important question. I know the Minister for justice is linked in with the Garda Commissioner in this area because adequate cover for An Garda Síochána to do the enforcement work that is necessary in this area to fulfil the requirement to ensure communities are safe has been raised. I will bring it to his attention that the Deputy raised it. I know the Minister is working…

I thank the Deputy. I do not propose to engage in "He said, she said" on the floor of the Dáil because I am not-----

I am not aware of the debate myself in connection with-----

I am not aware of the debate. I am not a witness to have heard what was said where and when between the two individuals the Deputy referred to. I cannot be because I was not there. He is asking me an absolutely impossible question.

I cannot imagine the trauma that Paudie and his family are going through. It is a very distressing case that the Deputy has outlined, particularly on a number of fronts. I will raise it with the Minister for Health. I do not have the knowledge of the individual case to give a substantive response, but I will raise it as a priority with the Minister. I hope things get better and that approval does …

I will revert to the Minister in relation to the Deputy's query. Crucially, we have seen through negotiations over the past number of weeks the very significant budget that the Department of education has right now to support families across our country and to ensure that children get the education they need and deserve. I will raise the Deputy's concerns with the Minister and ask her to revert to…

Tourism is one of Ireland's most important economic sectors. It supports 229,000 jobs, helps sustain 46,000 businesses and generates significant economic activity in every county. Few sectors have such a broad regional footprint with an estimated seven out of every ten jobs located outside of Dublin. Tourism supports employment and enterprise in our cities and towns along the Wild Atlantic Way, t…

I thank all the Members for their contributions and you can see by the varied nature and degree of contributions how important the tourism sector is for the Irish economy. It is our largest indigenous sector, with 228,000 people employed in it, which is about 300,000 people on an all-island basis. Some 46,000 businesses right across our country really offer that authentic céad míle fáilte and are …

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to bring the Industrial Development (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill before the Dáil. This is a short but important Bill which further empowers IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to accelerate investment, employment and regional development. My Department keeps the statutory framework of the enterprise agencies under rev…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "recognises that: — Ireland has experienced significant global inflationary pressures arising from international shocks, including energy price volatility, supply chain disruption and geopolitical instability, which have increased pressures on households and businesses; and — protecting jobs, sustain…

I can put the rest on the record of the House.

I thank the Deputy for the question. It is very important that we all acknowledge the importance of having vibrant towns and villages and that local shops and the retail sector are an important part of achieving that aim. The retail sector provides highly important employment, with over 220,000 people directly employed in retail, contributing to the economy of every city, town and village in Irela…

The town centre first policy has 33 actions right across government to enhance our town centres and villages. It is from the ground up and is community-led, to really accelerate those resources. The grant that I referenced of €135,000 will be of assistance in bringing on accommodation over the shop. We established our small business unit within the Department just a year ago and it has introduced …

I would argue that we have a number of new schemes, particularly the one announced this month, which will make a difference to dereliction and reduce costs for businesses. We know from the evidence that traditional retail and hospitality are under significant pressure due to costs. What I have tried to do in the Department is bring about significant simplification measures. I have also tried to ge…

The preparation of the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, which was published on 10 September 2025, was a commitment under the programme for Government. Its delivery was expedited in response to international economic developments. The overarching objective of the action plan is to maintain and improve Ireland's position as a competitive and productive economy capable of withstanding…

First, I go by evidence and fact. We are the second most competitive economy in the eurozone, which is a very strong value proposition. Since the report was brought forward in relation to the action plan, we have had a number of advances. Our semiconductor plan has commenced, which is significantly attracting investment in that space. Our action plan for market diversification is building on the r…

I have pointed out how we are improving the competitiveness of the economy, which is critical to ensuring we keep attracting jobs. We have about 2.83 million people working in our economy right now, which is a record. All 13 sectors of the economy are growing. That is not me saying that. It is the CSO, which is the gold standard. Real wage growth increased past inflation last year. Again, that is …