Matt Carthy

10. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Finance the total amount by which he intends to increase the carbon tax, by category, in each year until 2030. [28015/25]

Will the Minister outline the amount by which he intends to increase the carbon tax during the course of the Government's term, setting out clearly what that will mean for families and workers facing a cost-of-living crisis?

The carbon tax is unique. There is nowhere else we can point to in the current budget where we can say with certainty, "This is what the Government plans to do". We cannot tell pensioners where their pension will be in five years' time but we can tell them by how much precisely Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and those champions of rural Ireland, the Healy-Raes et al., are going to increase the cost of hea…

I really would appreciate a bit of honesty from the Government. It is not true to say that the carbon tax is ring-fenced. The Comptroller and Auditor General confirmed that he could account for about 61% of it and be assured that it was going towards environmental measures. As with all Government decisions, taxes are collected and decisions are made as to how they are spent, so to say that we need…

I thank the Minister of State for being here. Last week, the Dáil debated the motion in respect of the assessment of need scandal, as I would describe it, where Government is flagrantly breaching the law on a daily basis in terms of providing assessment of need for children with disabilities in particular. What might have got lost in that scandal is that for many families of children who have rece…

I thank the Minister of State. The truth of the matter is that disability services in my constituency are an actual embarrassment. I am embarrassed, as an elected representative, when dealing with parents who are at their absolute wits' end trying to be all things to their children. As well as being parents, they are also expected in some cases to be teachers. They are absolutely expected to be OT…

The Ceann Comhairle may have seen reports that two directors of Igo Café, which is one of the largest beneficiaries of State contracts for the provision of IPAS accommodation, paid themselves €4.6 million last year. It appears these revelations may be just the tip of the iceberg in terms of some of the profiteering happening in the provision of IPAS accommodation. People are literally becoming mil…

We always argued against profiteering.

We never argued that two people would be able to draw down €4.6 million in one year.

Why does the Taoiseach not just answer the question?

Does the Taoiseach think that is acceptable?

The Taoiseach is allowed to say whether he thinks it is acceptable that two people are drawing down €4.6 million of taxpayers' money.

To use that Irish phrase, I knew Shane O'Farrell to see but I had never spoken with him. It is one of my regrets that I did not get to know the man in life that I now feel I know well - the good-looking, talented, popular young man from my home town of Carrickmacross. Conversely, I regret that I have had to get to know his family so well. I regret that because it is only because of what happened t…

I have said on multiple occasions in this House that Israel would continue to do what it is doing until the world forces it to stop. I was actually so far wrong, it is unbelievable. Israel has not continued to do what it was doing. What we are actually finding out is that the failure of the world to say "Stop" has resulted in Israel becoming even more depraved, gruesome and inhumane in its actions…

The deposit return scheme is the scheme through which people pay extra for their drinks in bottles and cans, to be reclaimed afterwards from machines that are usually in supermarkets. It is described as a circular economy initiative. We are told it is about helping the environment. Why then is so much of the plastic that is collected needlessly shipped out of Ireland? There is a company in this St…

The capacity is there.

I move amendment No. 1: to insert after "on 14th May, 2025": "provided that future financial contributions under Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP) Scheme shall only be paid after the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 has been amended to provide for the following: — existing recipients with respect to the beneficiaries of temporary protection currently benefitting from the sche…

As the Minister said, the motion regarding the further Revised Estimates for public services, Vote 24, just relates to the transfer of functions to the Department of Justice. Had committees been established in a more timely manner, as they should have been, this motion would have been properly dealt with by the justice committee. Ach buíochas le Dia tá an coiste dlí agus cirt bunaithe anois agus b…

Absolutely.

It is all financial- and budget-related.

The Government you support.

This is a bizarre debate full of contradictions and contortions. Essentially, we are discussing a motion endorsed by the combined Opposition that, in its most simple terms, asks the Government to stop breaking the law. The Government states it will not oppose the motion but no, it will not actually stop breaking the law. Anyone who has interacted with disability services in Ireland will understand…

Tonight, we are once again treated to all the contradictions and contortions. The message is very clear: for all the rhetoric, the message from the Government is that the families of children with disabilities will have to keep fighting every day. The message back is equally clear: fight they absolutely will and we will stand with them every single step of the way. Disability rights were hard won.…

Well said.

117. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Justice if the selection competition for identifying and recommending to the Government a person for appointment as Garda Commissioner has commenced; if he expects that a new Garda Commissioner will be in place when the extension of the current Commissioner's contract ends on 1 September 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24687/25]