Simon Harris

I wish the Deputy a happy Christmas too and thank him for raising this very serious issue. It is very timely because when we turn on our radios at the moment, we all hear the very chilling advertisements from emergency department consultants and ICU consultants in children's hospitals reminding us of the law in relation to e-scooters but also, on a purely human level, of the absolute devastation t…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue relating the Navan Road schools. I can hear the frustration in his voice on behalf of those schools. I will certainly speak with the Minister, Deputy Naughton about timelines and next steps and ask her to revert to him directly.

I thank Deputy Butterly for raising this issue. I have seen at first hand the benefit of the work that was done by the Drogheda Implementation Board, which formally came to an end on 31 December 2024, having had its term extended. The board produced a very good report, Drogheda: Creating a Bridge to a Better Future, which had 74 recommendations. They were really under two headings: the need for i…

I thank the Deputy and Nollaig shona dó. On the points he made about the Mercosur deal, they are points made by the Taoiseach, myself, the Minister for agriculture and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Farmers in Ireland have expressed very serious views. The Irish Farmers' Journal has revealed concerning information, as the Deputy said, following its trip to Brazil as well. As the Taois…

Very respectfully, on three or four occasions in the House today, I have outlined the Government's position as the Taoiseach did this morning as well. The programme for Government is clear. We have significant concerns about the agreement in its current form. We will work with like-minded countries to oppose it in its current form. Those two pieces of work are ongoing. It is not prudent or sensibl…

Truthfully, there has not been a change I am aware of but obviously, the Deputy is seeing a reality in the system in terms of the cases he has outlined. I will send a transcript of what Deputy said to the Minister for housing and ask that he looks at it and comes back to the Deputy directly.

If the Deputy could send on those details as well, that would be great.

The Deputy is one of the over 60 TDs who are here for their first Christmas and through their first calendar year as well. I wish her a happy Christmas. Politics aside, I know everybody works very hard in the Oireachtas and it has been a busy first year. I thank the Deputy for bringing the facility on the South Circular Road to my attention. I will raise that directly with the Minister for housin…

It does.

I thank the Deputy for raising this. As he said, this is an issue I know affects his constituency and my own, the Minister of State's, Deputy Butler, and a lot of the south east. This is an issue that everybody wants to see resolved. I know it is an evolving situation but it is my understanding that further mediation is scheduled to take place today and it is possibly even happening now. It was sc…

I thank Deputy O'Rourke for raising this serious and important issue. I think we would acknowledge on all sides of the House that this is something that was done for a good reason, which is the idea of trying to get sight of the number of children who would require a special educational needs place earlier because it is not fair, and it is far too stressful to leave it too late. It was the germ of…

As is often the case, Deputy Clendennen has made a valid, logical point that would make a real difference to patients, patient care, congestion and life. It works on a lot of levels. I join with him in saying it is a very significant week for the midlands and for Offaly in relation to the news of Offaly County Council's decision regarding the new hospice facility. We often highlight rightly here t…

I thank Deputy McGreehan very much for highlighting this issue as we approach the 50th anniversary. We think of Jack Rooney and Hugh Watters and their families and all those injured and all the families impacted. This is an issue that both the Minister for justice and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade are working on raising at every opportunity, including with the British Government. Indeed, …

I hope it is a good one.

I thank Deputy Farrell for raising this important issue, which was rightly raised in this House today. The British ambassador was present here today, as Deputy Farrell and others have raised this issue. I know the ambassador will convey the depth of feelings and concerns of Members of this House to the British Government. I will also raise the issue with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade …

At the outset, I pass my sympathies, and those of everyone, to the Minister of State, Deputy Robert Troy, whose father, Paddy, has passed away. Robert is, obviously, a Minister of State in the Department of Finance and we think of him and his family at this time of loss. I thank Deputy Doherty for his question. The programme for Government, Securing Ireland’s Future, sets out a range of commitmen…

I will speak to the Central Bank as part of my regular engagement, raising the points the Deputy has raised. I am very happy to do that. The establishment of the National Claims Information Database, NCID, has greatly improved oversight of claims' costs and trends in the insurance market. Indeed, it is one of the most comprehensive and respected insurance data sources internationally. The Central …

I can provide them. I am very happy to do that now if the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach will bear with me for one second. In terms of the operating profits for the liability insurance market before interest and tax is deducted, it should be noted that in 2020 a loss of 15% was recorded, a profit of 11% in 2021, a profit of 15% in 2022, a profit of 16% in 2023 and an operating profit before interest and…

I am conscious that I put a lot of information very quickly on the record of the Dáil in the interests of the finance spokespeople here and Deputy Doherty. I will perhaps put it in a letter to the finance committee. I did not get a chance to go through all of the data in the brief time available in these back and forth exchanges. I would just make a couple of points to the Deputy. First, I will en…

Yes, it has been approved and it will be published tomorrow. I am very happy, of course, to provide any advices or technical briefings that are required by Opposition spokespeople early in the new year, whenever required and in the appropriate forum. The medium-term fiscal structural plan will be published tomorrow. In line with all relevant European regulations and procedures, the plan will be su…

I take the point. It would have been optimum to have an opportunity to debate it before the recess. We did make an intentional decision not to publish this earlier in the year. I was not the Minister of Finance but I was involved in the decision as a party leader. The rationale behind it, which I think was correct, was to wait and see what the international environment looked like from a tariff po…

I did.

Without being smart, it depends on how you define multi-annual budgeting. What this will enable us to do is set out a horizon for spending levels out to the end of the decade. That provides greater certainty for the Department of public expenditure and others to engage multi-annual funding, which interestingly is something IFAC is very supportive of. It made a very positive difference when we intr…

I engaged with my Department as recently as yesterday on this because we had previous engagements in certain forums in respect of it. The Department's clear view is that an uptick in inflation was anticipated in its forecasts. In that context, it points to the issue of base effects. It has provided a graph that I can send to the Deputy. These effects need to be factored in. While the headline figu…

I accept that cost-of-living pressures are real for people. This House regularly debates what the different policy proposals to address that should be. In my Department's projections, which are obviously provided independent of the political system, inflation was estimated to average 1.8% in the autumn forecasting round. Between January and November, it has averaged 2%. On the forecasting provided…