I thank the Deputy. I will indeed. The first job of government is to not make anything worse so when there is a global energy crisis and real cost-of-living pressures we need to make sure we try to pull policy levers that are going to help and not chase inflation. The measures we have taken on energy already have had a positive impact on the economy. I am not saying petrol and diesel prices are not extraordinarily hi…
TDs / Simon Harris
0
questions asked
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
566,209
words spoken in the chamber
566,201 as a minister, 8 as a TD
140
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Contributions to debates 2,972 in all
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|---|---|
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| May 2025 | 249 |
| June 2025 | 175 |
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| August 2026 | 2 |
| September 2026 | 83 |
| October 2026 | 53 |
Debates they spoke in most
Plus 2,685 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Wicklow 29 November 2024 to now
- office Taoiseach 29 November 2024 to 22 January 2025
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
- office Minister for Defence 23 January 2025 to 25 March 2025
- office Minister for Foreign Affairs 23 January 2025 to 25 March 2025
- office Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade 26 March 2025 to 18 November 2025
- office Minister for Defence 26 March 2025 to 18 November 2025
- office Minister for Finance 18 November 2025 to now
What we will see next week in the first instance is an ability to make sure we keep our country safe. When I came into this House, unemployment was around 15% and the IMF was in town and not just as visitors. We have all worked really hard to get our country back to a place of full employment where we are having discussions on how best to reduce tax and to increase public expenditure. We should never take that for gr…
I fully agree with the Deputy. I know she sees it in Balbriggan and Skerries and across her constituency in Fingal. It is the Minister for children's intention to produce that road map. A lot of work is going into it because as the Deputy rightly says, there are lots of moving parts here. We have to address affordability, accessibility and how we support the workforce. We have made some good progress on that. We have…
First, I join with the Deputy in welcoming residents of the Garvaghy Road to Dáil Éireann today. I am very much aware of the concerns of residents in the area. I am also very much aware of the very painful and traumatic history in relation to that community and what they endured. I want to assure the Deputy that Government officials are monitoring the situation closely. Like him, I am mindful of the role of the Parad…
The Deputy has been at this for a long time. A very long time, in fact. Let us not rewrite geopolitical history as to why energy prices have risen. It is not due to any decision taken in Dáil Éireann. It is because the Strait of Hormuz is closed. It is because there has been bombing of Iran.
Neither the Deputy nor I took a decision. Let us not blow up the egos of people in this House. There is a geopolitical energy shock going on. It is the greatest energy shock in the history of the globe, according to the International Energy Agency. This has nothing to do with energy credits in the last domestic budget.
May I answer the question?
I know the Deputy likes to blame me for everything but the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a stretch.
That is what has happened with the global energy market. The Deputy asked whether the Government would use some of the surpluses to assist the people. We have the largest intervention in the European Union. It is eight times larger than the intervention in France.
That is one of the reasons, when we look at petrol and diesel prices across the European Union, that Ireland is not in the top ten. Help is on the way. There will be more help in 12 days.
I join Deputy Whitmore in welcoming our constituents from Blessington Educate Together National School. It is good to have them all here.
There are a couple of points I want to respond to. I believe there is significant merit in a windfall energy tax. This is not just me commenting on it, as I chaired a meeting on it in Dublin Castle last week with all of my European counterparts. We have tasked the European Commiss…
I agree, and then I have a point of difference. I agree that there are lots of people out there who want to make the transition in their own lives and are still finding the gap too large. I was at the ploughing championships and met representatives of the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, in the IFA tent on this. Often, farmers are pitted against climate action but there are many farmers saying they want to put solar o…
I am slightly confused. On the one hand the Deputy is chastising me for talking about what might be in the budget and on the other he is asking me to give it all out today. Those two things are a little bit contradictory even for me to justify in my own mind. I certainly make no apology nor do I need any permission from the Opposition to talk directly to the people of Ireland about the Government's intentions and not…
I have direct responsibility in government for taxation policy, excise tax, and the application of tax on carbon. Therefore, when I am asked a direct question, I answer it. The issue in relation to energy credits and energy supports in general is a matter for the broader Government to consider in the round. I genuinely believe, and I think the Deputy does deep down too, that people are less concerned about the modali…
I thank Deputy O'Gorman very much. I understand that nobody welcomes a fare increase but we are making a choice here to continue the progress that we have made in public transport because a low fare is no good if there is not a bus. There are a hell of a lot of parts of this country where people are still waiting for bus routes, Local Link services, and where people want to see the roll-out of a better public transpo…
They are wrong.
Deputy O'Gorman is continuing his dogma of trying to pit one part of society against the other. The Government has to do more than one thing at a time. We have to continue to improve public transport and we make absolutely no apology for trying to help people in terms of excise cuts. If it was up to Deputy O'Gorman, he would not reduce the cost of petrol or diesel. In fairness, unlike some, he is very honest in relat…
I thank Deputy Neville for raising this issue. I also thank him for his ongoing work on infrastructure and for being my party's spokesperson on infrastructure. I was pleased that we visited Intel recently in his county. Intel has shown a real vote of confidence in Kildare but also in the Irish economy.
Deputy Neville is right that we are investing an extraordinary amount in capital. More than a quarter of a trillion…
I fully agree. The housing activation office and Garret Doocey are doing a very good job, along with the team and the seconding in of people from other State agencies. The Deputy is right that we have allocated a lot of money and communities now want to see those projects delivered quickly. Each of those projects are enablers for housing right across the country as well.
I personally believe there are two ways the G…
I thank the Deputy. I spoke with his party leader on this issue yesterday. I am very much aware of the concerns of residents in the area. I too remember the scenes on our television screens and the likes of the real, painful, traumatic and extraordinarily upsetting and divisive scenes that community lived through and experienced. I am also conscious that we are all working for a better future for this island and a sh…
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and acknowledge her ongoing work on this. I obviously have not seen the programme but I have seen the promotional clips for the programme and I will of course watch the programme and also discuss the matter with the Minister for education and Minister of State with responsibility for special education.
Objectively, we have seen a very significant increase in special classes, …
I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of the need for additional train carriage capacity serving his hometown of Athy on that Waterford to Dublin line. I thank Eimear for contacting Deputy Wall and providing that live lived experience from a train service this morning.
I will certainly speak with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and ask that he engage with Irish Rail on the matter and come back to the Deputy directl…
I deplore the ongoing genocidal activities that we are seeing in Palestine. I am conscious, in making these comments, that it is the UN General Assembly's high-level week and that the Taoiseach, the Minister for foreign affairs, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, and a number of other representatives of the Government are present at the United N…
I will make two points. First, in the context of the final detail of the scheme, we will have an opportunity to thrash all of that out in the debate on the Finance Bill post the budget, including how the new accounts will interact with other investment opportunities. I will be happy to consider all of the issues the Deputy raises then.
On deemed disposal, I am on record in this House - I am certainly on the record i…
I thank Deputy McGreehan for raising this really important and timely issue. The Government is very conscious, as the Deputy is, of the pressure on farmers and fishers and is determined to provide supports. Today, the Ministers, Deputies Heydon and Chambers, will meet. The Taoiseach, the Deputy and I were all at the ploughing last week. We heard very clearly three issues, namely fuel, fodder and fertiliser. I call th…