Cormac Devlin

2. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach for a report on his recent meeting with the UK Prime Minister. [50002/25]

I welcome today's statements. Households and businesses have been through a brutal energy shock. Russia's invasion of Ukraine weaponised gas, drove up wholesale prices and exposed how dependent Europe had become on imported fossil fuels. Prices have come down from the 2022 peak but nobody at home feels as if the crisis is over. Prices are still too high and people are anxious opening their emails …

I welcome these statements on the Government’s updated housing plan, which rightly sets a minimum target of 300,000 homes, including 72,000 social and 90,000 affordable homes. The plan is backed by €9 billion in housing capital for next year alone. It focuses on activating land, clearing blockages and expanding housing first and family homelessness measures. This is essential if we are serious abo…

12. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade her views on whether there can be no peace agreement imposed on Ukraine without its support and the support of the European Union; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66597/25]

I offer comhghairdeas to the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, formally on the record of the House. I welcome the opportunity to speak on Sudan. It is very important and my colleague, Deputy Shane Moynihan, and others have raised it several times. It is very important that this discussion happens. The ongoing situation in Sudan is one of the gravest humanitarian emergencies in the world. It is a…

With the busy Christmas season almost upon us, will the Taoiseach ask the NTA to confirm the arrangements for late-night DART, bus and Luas services? More generally, the new 24-hour services are extremely welcome, such as the E1 and E2 along the N11. However, I have received several complaints about insufficient, overcrowded and delayed services, phantom buses and full buses passing by at peak tim…

3. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [50001/25]

I thank the Taoiseach for the update on the work of the Cabinet subcommittee. As Cathaoirleach of the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, we have had good engagements North and South. That is continuing next week with visiting MPs from Westminster. Dialogue is important in terms of the Government's good relationship with London as well as Belfast. May I also raise the ca…

No, he did not.

83. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Health the funding being provided for mental health crisis supports and suicide prevention in 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [64090/25]

I welcome the opportunity to speak on haulage costs for SMEs. If you run a small business in this country, nothing reaches your customer without a truck somewhere along the line. Every pallet into a supermarket, every consignment into a chemist and every online order delivered to a home in Dún Laoghaire depends on a haulier who is watching diesel, tolls, insurance and wages every day. When their c…

19. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach for a report on the work of the shared island unit. [50000/25]

I thank the Taoiseach for the reply and in particular the announcement of €50 million for the new projects, which is very welcome. We need to see more of the practical people-focused projects like those. The Taoiseach mentioned the Dublin-Derry link among other initiatives. The Enterprise rail link between Dublin and Belfast has proven very popular. I ask that it be considered to extend that furth…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to these statements on Ukraine as we approach the fourth winter since Russia launched its full-scale illegal invasion. I again acknowledge the Ukrainian ambassador, H. E. Larysa Gerasko, and community representatives, who are very engaged with all of us in the House. I put on record our solidarity with them, rooted in the principles of the UN Charter and in …

I am pleased to speak in support of the Social Welfare and Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System (Amendment) Bill 2025. The Bill introduces significant and welcome changes. It finalises the arrangements for the new automatic enrolment system, which will ensure that all employees have access to a pension, and also gives effect to the improvements set out in the budget. It is important to …

I welcome back my constituency colleague, Deputy Boyd Barrett, and wish him well in the rest of his recovery. I would like to raise the status of the long-promised primary healthcare centre for Loughlinstown and the surrounding communities. The HSE confirmed earlier this year that the operational lease process for the new Loughlinstown primary care centre collapsed when the preferred operator with…

I thank the Minister for that reply and acknowledge what the HSE states about the regional health areas and the single point of access. However, this primary care centre is nearly a decade in the making. I understand it has planning permission, or did at one stage, and it beggars belief how long this has taken to redesign and redevelop the existing site where primary care is being administered at …

Go raibh maith agat.

I welcome today’s debate on men’s health. Ireland was the first country in the world to adopt a national men’s health policy in 2009 and we have followed through with action plans in 2017 and again in 2024. We have seen progress, with the number of premature deaths down, stronger partnerships across voluntary, academic and health sectors and a far better evidence base to guide what works for men. …

Given that Ireland is a maritime nation, our waters are a strategic asset. Our fishing communities are a living heritage and our policy choices now will decide whether the next generation will be able to make a livelihood from the sea. I welcome today’s debate and the Government’s continued investment in the sector. Since 2020, over €180 million has been invested in seafood, with a further €50 mi…

With all the shouting and roaring, I thought there was an election happening this week. This debate involves examining the Finance Bill and many of those concerns have already been raised but are being rehashed here today. I welcome the opportunity to examine the Finance Bill, which gives effect to the budget’s targeted tax measures and supports for businesses, jobs and housing while modernising …

I welcome this debate to mark World Mental Health Day. The simple truth is still the strongest line: there is no health without mental health. Today is about removing stigma, yes, but also about showing that the services are there, close to home and getting stronger year-on-year. Since 2020, funding has risen sharply and budget 2026 builds again on that. I want to commend the Minister of State, D…

I welcome the opportunity to examine measures taken in budget 2026 on Tuesday, the first of five budgets expected in this new Dáil term. It aims to steady the economy in challenging times, invest for the future and improve services that families rely on. It attempts to balance day-to-day pressures with long-term capital investment in housing, hospitals, schools and safer streets. Housing funding …

I welcome the opportunity to raise the ongoing situation in Gaza and the West Bank. Gaza is enduring a man-made humanitarian catastrophe. Civilians, children, health workers and journalists have been killed in unconscionable numbers. Hospitals and UN facilities have been struck. Food, water and medicine have been used as levers of war. Starvation and disease are not collateral, they are the predic…

I welcome the debate. Investing in sport and sports infrastructure is one of the wisest choices a state can make. It pays back in terms of public health, safer communities and confidence in young people, a confidence they carry into schools and their working lives. In Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, we are already seeing the benefits. Our area received €1.5 million under the community sports facilities fu…