Simon Harris

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We continue to have a big focus on the whole issue of vacancy and how to bring vacant properties and stock back into use in general. He made the point that even within the local authority stock, more could be done in terms of funding and timelines for the conversion of that stock back into use. I will raise that directly with the Minister, Deputy Browne, …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue for his constituents in Palmerstown and across Dublin Mid-West. He is right that this is an issue more broadly. People may feel anxiety in terms of everything moving to a digital or online world and will ask, "What about my needs and the needs of my community?". I assure those people the Government is conscious of this and that we intend to restore the acc…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue as it relates to his constituency of Kildare North. I am very much aware that there are operational challenges in Celbridge, including at Hazelhatch, and that the water network is under pressure. The good news is Uisce Éireann has water main rehabilitation works approved for design and construction in 2025, involving 5.3 km of new water mains. Site investi…

As the Deputy knows, at the moment, around 80% of our gas supply comes from two pipelines with the UK. If anything were to happen with one of those pipelines, we would all know about it in terms of very serious consequences. We need to have an insurance policy in place. That is the responsible thing to do. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is examining this area and will bring proposals to the Governm…

I thank the Deputy and Councillor Johnston for raising this important issue of reduced capacity on the northern commuter rail and the impact it is having on their constituents. The Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Deputy Canney, has heard what he said. We will raise this issue within the Department, with Irish Rail and with bus providers to see whether that case can be made. Deput…

I agree with the Deputy on the school inclusion model. We have got to be honest when the model is not fit for purpose. I really believe this and I say this when I talk to parents. There are often issues that if there is more money allocated, it can make great progress. Of course, we will allocate more money to children's disability services but reforming the system will be as important. That is wh…

No, because we have already done that. A Dáil reform committee has been established. As the Deputy rightly said, we had a Dáil committee that fully engaged. As the Deputy rightly said, it was not possible to reach agreement. I accept the Deputy engaged. Everyone engaged in good faith. I am not having a go here but at some point, we have to say we have talked this as much as we can. It is about eig…

I thank the Deputy. He is entirely correct. I know it from my time as health Minister. We all know it and the Deputy knows it well. It is an issue of great stress and concern to people in Galway and the west and, indeed, to people having to work in the hospital, and do amazing work but in substandard infrastructural conditions. The Government will respond in kind to the good work that has been do…

I thank the Deputy for this important question. I want him, the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann and the people of Ireland to know that as Minister for Defence, I am deeply committed to the transformation of the Defence Forces into a modern, fit-for-purpose organisation to defend the State and meet the challenges of today and the future. Across Europe, all countries including Ireland, are exp…

I have given a timeline for when we expect to reach LOA2, namely, by 2028. I will work constructively with the Deputy on this to see if there is potential to accelerate this process. That will be a matter for engagement with Government colleagues, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform. We are taking action on this and any objective examination of Defence Fo…

We will map that out in terms of the progress we need to make between now and 2028. The figures show that last year was the first year in a long time that we saw stabilisation and very small growth, which I do not overrate, in the number of men and women in our Defence Forces. We expect to see this trend continue. Let us look at this in the round. The budget increased each year from 2020 to 2025. …

There is often time for argy-bargy in the House but I want to acknowledge the constructive way the Deputy has engaged with me and my office in passing on the views and concerns of ACCAS. I will endeavour to also engage on this constructively in return. The health and well-being of the men and women working in the Air Corps and the wider Defence Forces is of the utmost priority for me, both as Tána…

I want to reflect on what Deputy Ó Laoghaire has said to me today, and what he conveyed to me by email on behalf of ACCAS last night. I say this without prejudice or conflation with any other ongoing issues, be they issues before the courts or issues that will rightly be examined by the tribunal in terms of how complaints are handled. The point Deputy Ó Laoghaire is making is that regardless of bo…

Yes.

I will take advice on this. Generally I like to engage in politics and in public life. I will take advice on this because I am conscious of being a defendant in legal proceedings. I will check this, and if it is possible to find a mechanism or a way to do this I am certainly open to it. I am very conscious of the sensitivities around this and the realities for people's health and lives regardless …

I thank Deputy Gibney for this important and timely question. I have absolutely no doubt that as this issue goes through the Houses and draft legislation gets published there will quite rightly be a lot of debate and scrutiny. There should be time and space to get it right. I hope Deputy Gibney accepts my bona fides, because it is my genuine view, that I value Irish military neutrality. There is n…

I would like to see the Security Council reformed. I have said this at the Security Council, at the Munich security conference at the G20 last week. The Security Council urgently needs to be reformed but I cannot imagine Putin or others being open to this. We have to deal with the reality of a Security Council that in my view does not function the way it should and is badly in need of reform. I do…

Yes, there have been. Consistently, for years, there have been efforts by Irish diplomats and our permanent representative in the UN. Every Irish Government for many years has put forward the idea that the UN Security Council needs to be reformed. As recently as last week, I was articulating this in international fora. We should be clear on this. The proposals to amend the triple lock came about …

I thank Deputy Wall very much for raising this issue and the issue of the Curragh Camp, which he knows well. I, too, appreciate the historical importance of the Curragh Camp to many members of the Defence Forces and their families. I am sympathetic to the sense of attachment many serving and former members of the Defences Forces have to the camp. It is no longer a location where significant number…

I thank Deputy Wall for raising this matter. I share his view that the Curragh is the jewel in the crown. There is a particular affinity and connection felt by many serving and former members of the Defence Forces and their families. I hope to visit the Curragh in the coming days. I would be delighted if Deputy Wall could join me when I do that. We can engage with people on the ground. I will ende…

I very much look forward to it too. Deputy Wall is right because not only is the Curragh, to use his phrase, the jewel in the crown from a Defence Forces point of view and a valuable resource for the Defence Forces, but more broadly it is also an incredible resource for the people of Kildare and Ireland. If we look at some of what we have managed to achieve together as a country in recent years in…

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire for raising this issue. As he rightly said, there is huge potential in further expanding the Reserve Defence Force and the already incredible work done by its members. I remain committed to bolstering the numbers in the Reserve Defence Force. I am very much aware that the ability to increase its strength is fundamental to the regeneration of the force. The strength of th…

I thank the Deputy. I agree with some of what he said. It certainly would be factual to say that the Reserve Defence Force went through a rocky period in terms of recruitment and retention. This was through no fault of its own. We have been working in line with the commission on the Defence Forces to get that to a much better place. I acknowledge the Deputy's welcoming some of the progress that ha…

To be clear, the target in terms of what the effective strength of our Reserve Defence Force should be remains the same. We do not disagree on that figure in terms of where we need to get to. When the regeneration and development plan was published in July 2024, one of the four operational objectives was to get us to that effective strength of at least 80% by 2028. If we were to map out exactly wh…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 15, 44 and 45 together. I reject the Deputy's assertion. That will not come as any surprise to him. As set out in the programme for Government, this Government intends to reform the legislation relating to the triple lock also ensuring that amendments to it are in keeping with our values and our policy of military neutrality. I might be shouting into a black ho…