Simon Harris

Any local TD will always have a view that their constituency should or should not receive additional things.

Hang on a second. The Deputy used very emotive language when he asked whether this is "a box-ticking exercise". Let me be very clear that as of yesterday, for the very first time in the history of this State we now have a DEIS plus programme. I do not usually do this, but I remember Aodhán Ó Ríordáin looking for this when he was in this House. He is now Labour Party MEP for Dublin. This is somethi…

The former education Minister, Deputy McEntee, worked on it, as did the current Minister, Deputy Naughton. This Government delivered it yesterday. There are 121 schools - 96 primary schools and 25 post-primary schools - that will get enhanced support. They are the most disadvantaged of the disadvantaged, factually. This is a start. It is an important start that will make a real difference in tackl…

-----but he should not be so populist.

Sinn Féin should not be opposing for the sake of opposing. This is a really positive development.

It is a really positive development.

Some 700 schools will benefit overall and 121 will get enhanced supports. It is not box-ticking; it is transformational.

The criteria are very clear.

Do not try to taint a programme that has so much scientific support behind it in terms of educational advantage.

I thank the Deputy for flagging this important issue. I will make some further inquiries on foot of her raising it with me. My initial sense and awareness of this issue is that the Department of Social Protection was extraordinarily proactive in promoting auto-enrolment, not just with private sector employers but also with the public service. There was a very long lead-in time for individual Depar…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It has also been raised by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, who represents Sligo. There are a specific set of circumstances in that a private owner of a facility has decided to sell. I do not mean to call it a facility; it is people's home. It would be worth inquiring whether there are any solutions that can be explored through local a…

There are clear rules and laws that need to be followed. There is also the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB. We have seen some examples of where people tried to deviate from the law. That cannot be allowed either and was not allowed in the case that was highlighted in this House recently. The RTB has a very important role to play in this too.

I thank Deputy McCormack for raising this issue about his constituents and Blue Ball, the impact that is having on them and his concerns regarding the delay in terms of the restoration of the service and the understandable anxiety that is creating in the community as to whether the service will be reinstated. On foot of the Deputy raising it here today, I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, w…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue again. I know it is one he is very keen to see progress on - as am I - and I assure him that work is under way to ensure this. We cannot be in favour of a savings and investment union at an EU level, which we passionately are, and not make sure our citizens are able to benefit from that here. There are so many people in this country who are trying to do th…

For families who are most in need, the protections remain in place and I want to say that. The protections are in place for any student with a full medical card, anybody covered under their parent's or guardian's card will continue to be fully exempt-----

I get confused sometimes as to the Sinn Féin economic position. Is it everything must be free or is it that we should we target supports at those most in need? If it is that we should target supports at those most in need-----

Do not tut-tut at me, please. If it is that we should target supports at those most in need and if it is Sinn Féin's position that every cost-of-living measure that was in place pre-Covid should remain in place post-Covid, that is a very different sort of Ireland. We made it very clear we were moving to sustainable, permanent reductions in core areas; the permanent reduction in college fees, the p…

These fees were last charged in 2019. They will be at the same level they were since 2012 which means in real terms, they will be a lot less. Crucially, protections for students in need financially, through that medical card system which means they are fully exempt, remain in place.

So do I and so does my colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, sitting here beside me. I know Deputy Lawless does too. When I think of Knock Airport, I always think of two things. One is the visit I had there during the election campaign. It was a very good visit with Deputy Dillon, former Taoiseach Enda Kenny and others. I think it was also the place where the late Pope visited when he ca…

I thank Deputy Michael Collins for raising this important issue, which I know he regularly raises. I will specifically speak to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, about the issues in west Cork and what further actions can be taken there on the issues the Deputy raised. Evidence shows that around 2% of children and young people should require the support of CAMHS but referrals are continuing to …

I move: (1) THAT for the purposes of the tax charged by virtue of section 95 of the Finance Act 1999 (No. 2 of 1999), that Act be amended, with effect as on and from 25 March 2026, by the substitution of the following for Schedule 2 to that Act (as amended by section 52 of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2023 (No. 39 of 2023)): SCHEDULE 2 RATES OF MINERAL OIL TAX (2) IT is hereby declared that it is e…

What is the Deputy's answer then?

Not in the North.

Do your job in the North.

It will be on Tuesday. The Deputy said Tuesday, Wednesday or whenever, but there is quite a lot of clarity from Government in relation to that. We intend to bring forward an appropriate intervention at our next Cabinet meeting, which will be on Tuesday. Work is under way in relation to that right now. As recently as the past hour or so, the Minister for energy and transport met with the Irish Road…