Simon Harris

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. While I do not believe I have had the pleasure of meeting with the Coventry centre, I have had the pleasure to meet with many centres working in the UK. I share his view that they are doing incredible work. I visited one in Camden Town in London relatively recently and I am aware of the work it is doing with survivors of residential abuse and mother and b…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I take from his contribution the depth of feeling there obviously is in his community in relation to this and all of the sports clubs, autism families and others that he highlighted. In light of his raising it I will ask the Minister for housing, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, to take a specific look and to come back to him with …

I could not agree with the Deputy more. I have been with her in Balbriggan. It is a great town but I know how fast growing it is and how important this appointment is. Indeed, she has chatted to me about it in recent days as well. I have made inquiries. I am informed that, as we will recall, the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 changed how the Garda fills its vacancies at senior ra…

It is very fitting the Deputy should raise this because while we have been in the Chamber the play-off draws for the World Cup have taken place. I believe we will face the Czech Republic - that is the "check" I have been thinking about most in the Department of Finance today - with a possible home final against Denmark or North Macedonia. That is just the latest soccer information. The Deputy is r…

That is exactly the point I am making. I will make immediate inquiries with the Minister for sport, Deputy Patrick O'Donovan, about the Oscar Traynor Centre and will ask him to talk to the Deputy directly.

I thank the Deputy. Both he and Paschal would be disappointed if he did not point out their significant political differences while doing so in such a courteous way. I am going on my memory here but I believe we did increase the income thresholds for social housing in the previous Government. I acknowledge that we probably need to do more on this over the lifetime of this Government. I see it in …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue in the House, as he has done on many occasions. I will not, for understandable reasons, comment on matters that are the subject of a commercial dispute before the courts. I understand that the Minister for justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, has agreed to meet with the Deputy next week to discuss the broader matter he raises on behalf of the people of Dundrum. Wh…

In my new role I must be even more disciplined in commenting on various tax changes and the likes. I have been watching Paschal do this for a few years. I am committed to the programme for Government, of course, as is the Government. The sequencing and advancement of various initiatives in the programme will be a matter for individual budgets. The Deputy is entirely right: this was put into the pr…

I am glad the Deputy reminded me of that Bill because we should try to make progress on it. I will seek an update on that. On the library issue, we have a public library strategy 2023 to 2027. We are genuinely committed to continuing to invest in our libraries. The evolution of our libraries has been a source of collective national pride at a time when other countries are reducing their investment…

When the Deputy asked Paschal to follow Leo's lead, I thought she was going to ask him to write a book.

I think it would be a very interesting one, but that is for another day. The Deputy raised a very serious matter about the wait times for psychology services in County Mayo. She also highlighted the very serious issue of death by suicide in her county. I will ask both the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, who has responsibility for mental health, to come…

I thank Deputy Murphy for raising it. I have been around long enough to know that disputes are generally resolved by engagement and consultation so I would encourage everybody to engage intensively with Dublin Fire Brigade, which does an incredible public service, and indeed with the ambulance service. I know that from quite a while back, in my memory, these issues with ambulance and fire brigade …

The Dáil meets today at a time of change within the Government, but equally at a moment of continued cohesion. This is made possible because we live in a country with a stable Government that has a collective commitment to a programme for Government and a clear mission to build and secure a prosperous future for the people of Ireland. My friend and colleague, Paschal Donohoe, has served with unpa…

No chance of that.

Defence and Taoiseach, too.

I was only in justice for five months.

Today is a significant day in terms of housing policy in Ireland. It comes after a number of decisions the Government has already taken. This plan today needs to be seen in the context of the national development plan published this summer, where we significantly increased the level of investment directly in house building. After listening to people across the country, local authorities and people…

That is welcome news.

There is also an additional €100 million, specifically in 2026, to get families out of emergency accommodation, particularly children-----

-----and into homes. It is new money of €100 million that has not yet been spent in 2026. Do not mislead the people. The Deputy will accept it is €100 million for 2026 that has not yet been spent. That will need to be repeated each year during the lifetime of this plan. There is a new performance fund to incentivise local authorities to exceed their annual own-build social house targets. Targets a…

I have.

They are.

I agree there is certainly one fundamental difference between Sinn Féin and the Government when it comes to housing. Sinn Féin wants this plan to fail because it believes it will do well if our housing plan fails. We intend to work every night and day to build housing but Sinn Féin thrives on the misery-----

-----and exploiting the intergenerational anxiety of others.

It needs this plan to fail-----