Simon Harris

I thank the Deputy. I am sure it is a proud day for him to have his former students from St. Joseph’s Secondary School in the Dáil. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis and I welcome them. I will follow up on those two issues with the relevant Ministers in regard to the progress on the new school build for St. Joseph’s Secondary School and how we can move that forward and expedite it. Second, I will talk t…

I agree with every word the Deputy has uttered. We should never take for granted the progress we have made on certain issues. There is a rolling back in certain countries. There is no doubt about that. Ireland should continue, even more so at this turbulent time, to speak up and speak out in defence of our values. I am alarmed that the Hungarian Parliament has passed legislation to further restric…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue on behalf of this couple and her constituents in Galway and also for her representations to the Minister for Justice, Deputy O’Callaghan, on this matter. I will speak to the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and ask them to come back to the Deputy directly on this. I obviously do not know the circumstances directly but I will certainly take…

The Deputy makes an interesting point. As we move beyond what has had to be an emergency response to migration, we need to get a much more sustainable, managed approach, one that involves not just the focus on accommodation but also on rules. That means for people who do not have a right to be here, we ensure they leave more efficiently. For people who have a right to be here, it is about getting …

The Deputy is so right and I thank him for the question. This is an important topic for all of society. The programme, “Adolescence”, has provided a glimpse into how toxic influences are filling a void in young men’s lives. I believe it should be compulsory viewing in all our secondary schools throughout this country. Social media has such an influence on young lives. That is why in Europe and Ire…

Their behaviour is wrong, retrograde, degrading and damaging. They are normalising behaviour that is totally and utterly unacceptable. Everyone in this House should speak with one voice in this regard. They are social media pariahs, not social media influencers.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We can all agree that we want to see our schools fully funded and supported. I welcome the Department of Education’s intervention to advance funding to Sacred Heart Junior National School. My understanding is there has been quite a lot of engagement between the school and the Department going back a number of months. The Deputy is right, however, that thi…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I certainly do not want him, as an elected Member of this House, to have to go down the road of FOIs to try to establish information that should be freely given to him. Working with the Minister, Deputy Foley and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, I will undertake to make progress on this. The sum of €5 million is a lot of money in the lives of peop…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue for her constituents in Dublin Bay North regarding the need for progress on the long-awaited new Garda station. I will speak to the Minister for Justice and ask that he comes back to her with an update.

I hope when we do get the clarification that the Deputy will come back. Let me be clear: we are helping people from Ukraine who fled a war.

The Deputy asked a question and I am going to answer. We should be not give a widespread sense that people from Ukraine are getting new cars, new tyres and repairs----

I am sorry; I know the Deputy is new to the House but we have rules. He speaks and then I speak, so let me do so. I will get him more information regarding any such payments. People fled here from very difficult situations and I am proud of the level of support we provide them. I do not want to give a sense to people watching that there are widespread repairs of people's cars going on. Let us have…

Shame on the Deputy. He was dog-whistling.

There is a lot there but I take very seriously the point the Deputy made on behalf of the people in CHO 8 and more broadly the point she made regarding HCCI and its very worthwhile and constructive report, which was published recently. I undertake to comprehensively respond to and engage with that organisation and with others. I am lucky enough to be sitting beside the Minister of State, Deputy Bu…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for the interesting suggestion he offered. I will ask the Minister to respond to it. There is no doubt that this is a serious issue. Since the end of 2024, the good news is that the RSA has been providing a monthly average of 19,111 test slots. This is up from a monthly average in the previous year of 18,300. However, let us not fool ourselves; I fully…

I thank the Deputy. She is right. I hear this feedback a lot throughout the country, as she does in County Louth. We have taken a number of measures to try to make some progress. We have now brought in what we call an SME test on all Cabinet memos. Before any Minister brings an idea to Cabinet, it has to go through the SME test to see what the impact on small businesses will be. The Minister of St…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I recall him raising it in the House previously. I know it is an important issue for his constituents in Milford. I will certainly talk to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, about the delivery of that new school building for Scoil Mhuire. I welcome the fact that a site has been provided free of charge. There is an eagerness to progress this. I will ask the Min…

The Deputy is dead right. I hear these complaints as well. I also hear about the significant contrast, for want of a better word, between the service provided by the ESB in local communities and the approach taken by some private operators. I will not name companies, but I have heard criticism of particular companies regarding their lack of responsiveness. My understanding is that my colleague the…

I thank the Deputy. I will add the communications situation she outlined to that raised in connection with Connemara. Just under 23,000 claims have been awarded and more than €5.2 million paid under the humanitarian assistance scheme. More money has been paid out under this scheme in respect of Storm Éowyn than any previous storm. That is because the storm was so bad compared with previous storms.…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue for his constituents. As he said, it concerns not just people who need to go to the airport to go on trips but those who need to get to the airport on a very frequent basis for work, and the impact the withdrawal of the Airport Hopper service has had on them. From what the Deputy said, I am particularly concerned about what seems to be a lack of …

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I also acknowledge the excellent work in County Kerry that is being led by St. Francis Special School in Beaufort. I very much take the points he made about the need to look at respite provision in County Kerry, and the proposals he and his community have on the need for a respite centre. I will ask the Minister for disability to engage with him…

It is not.

I welcome this opportunity to brief the House on matters relating to international security and international trade. With the agreement of the House, I will share time with the Minister, Deputy Burke. The two issues we are discussing are at the core of Ireland’s foreign relations at a time of great turbulence and change in the world. We are at a critical juncture in terms of the trajectory of the…

No, I will not, as we have already had a very extensive process. Let me agree with the Deputy on one thing: the people of Ireland expect this place and the people who show up to do their work to start talking about the issues that matter to them and addressing issues around housing, special needs education and disability. What they certainly do not expect is this sort of immature behaviour whereby…

A Cheann Comhairle, I could do without the cacophony.