Simon Harris

I thank Deputy Hearne and wish him and his party the very best for the recess as well. I will miss him over the next few weeks but I look forward to these robust exchanges again in September. I will be in training for them between now and then. On the issue he raised, I will certainly ask the Minister, Deputy Browne, to engage with the bodies the Deputy suggested and also with Dublin City Council…

I hear whispers of "I concur" behind me as well from Deputy Currie. I thank Deputy O'Gorman for raising the issue of the extension of the Luas green line. I have heard this case be made pretty compellingly over the last while. In fairness to the Minister for Transport, I am conscious that he has a capital envelope to live within. I am also conscious there is a medium-term fiscal framework that all…

I sincerely welcome the fact we are having this debate. Colleagues will recall that the matter to which it relates arose during questions to me in my role as Minister for Finance a number of months ago. A view was expressed to the effect that it would be worth having a debate on the matter. I am very pleased that we have been able to facilitate that debate in Government time today. I apologise tha…

Hear, hear.

I join the Taoiseach in the State apology to the survivors of the abuser Bill Kenneally. This moment has come about because of their bravery, their tenacity, their motivation to protect others from the horrors they endured, and their willingness to relive the trauma of the horrendous abuse inflicted upon them to ensure that justice was finally done. I acknowledge the work of Mr. Justice Michael W…

Let me say at the outset that I want to see our island united, I want to see our people united and I want to see a united Ireland. I want to work across party lines in this House, across this island North and South and, indeed, east-west, to build the durable consent that would make a new Ireland possible. I believe that is an aspiration shared in one form or another by an overwhelming majority of…

We did not say that. We said that we should all work together.

That is nasty and is not going to unite anyone.

How the Deputy characterised Government spending does not tally with the reality of the situation. More than €10 billion has been allocated for public transport projects across the country. The overwhelming majority of those projects are on budget, on time and making a real and meaningful difference. The list of projects delivered on time and on budget by this Government includes the national broa…

Of course, it is not and, of course, that is not what I am doing but it will make a great clip on the Deputy's Instagram. It is not the truth. I hope he plays the full-----

It is a very serious issue.

When I am asked about a serious issue, it is nice to be allowed to respond without a cacophony trying to shout me down, as happens every time in this House. I have made a very serious point that Deputy Doherty should not come into this House and make the point that €50 million is lost to the taxpayer when the State is doing its job in making sure that terms and conditions of contracts are scrutini…

That Department is led by a Sinn Féin Minister and it has wasted £140 million. Thank God the SDLP highlighted that terrible waste of money.

Are you getting upset? There was the £300,000 as well.

I do not need to, Pearse.

Sinn Féin wasters.

I thank the Deputy. The first thing we must do here is be very careful in our language. There is no pretence from the Government of Ireland to the people of Ireland or any party in this House in relation to the horrific, illegal and brutal war Russia is carrying out on Ukraine. President Zelenskyy certainly did not feel any pretence when he was here yesterday; quite the opposite, in fact. We decid…

Australia is obviously not in the European Union, so it has taken its own decisions on measures and sanctions imposed on Russia. We have imposed sanctions as part of the European Union, not on one, two or three occasions, but on 21 occasions. We have been very clear that, during the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, we want to work with other member states on developing furthe…

I thank the Deputy for the question. Let me assure him and the people of the country that while the Government is very pleased that Ireland has the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the next six months, we take seriously the Deputy's point about the domestic agenda. I would make two points on this. Governments have to do more than one thing at a time. There are 97 days until the …

That is a very fair question. Europe can often seem something remote, so it is our collective job to do as the Deputy said and bring it home in terms of the real impact it makes. I think workers' rights were mentioned, but if they were not, they should have been because they are very much a core part of competitiveness. We cannot make our economies more competitive and grow our wealth without the …

I thank Deputy O'Donoghue. It is not the first time he has raised this issue. I acknowledge his genuine interest and active involvement in this issue. I am consistently on the record on the importance of publishing new guidelines in relation to wind energy and wind farms. I am a believer, as I believe the Deputy said he was, in the switch to renewable energy. It is really important. We have seen …

I am at this long enough to know not to start making diary commitments on the floor of the Dáil. However, the Government will continue to engage with communities on this issue. Indeed, the Deputy has referenced some of my own constituents. Obviously, I engage with my own constituents. I am happy to do that also. I am not across the level of detail the Deputy has just given me - let me reflect on …

-----I expect that to happen this year. I will certainly arrange for a meeting to take place with the Government in terms who the appropriate people are. I will revert to the Deputy.

I thank Deputy Ó Fearghaíl and I join with him in congratulating and commending those involved in the Sullivan Cup and the success they brought to themselves and our country. I acknowledge not just Deputy Ó Fearghaíl's interest in our Defence Forces, but his long-standing advocacy on behalf of them, which is coloured in part, I am sure, by the community and constituency in which he lives and, ther…

I take that point because I hear it often. You see it in Garda numbers as well - the number of people who initially apply and how "serious" the applications are if only a very small percentage turns into inductions. There must be something in it, in the sense that the gap between the level of applications and inductions is very high. The Defence Forces is working through its strategic workforce pl…