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corporate commodity. Sinn Féin believes that the answer to Ireland’s energy security must be State-led and guided by the public interest and not the corporate bottom line. This legislation is not fit for purpose. It disapplies the planning Act, strips local communities of their democratic rights … this? It is to impress international developers and not to serve the Irish people. This Bill will hike up household bills. The estimated €60 million annual running costs will be socialised through a levy on energy bills. Ordinary workers and families are already struggling with the cost

scheme obtained by the Irish Daily Mail and published last Wednesday by Craig Hughes show officials in the Department of public expenditure are concerned about the knock-on effects as there is a risk that it will end up costing more than it saves. A memo from … transferred from homes to hotels. The Minister of State should confirm if a business case was produced for the decision. It is estimated the current system is saving the State €1 million to €2 million every day based on current numbers. It takes pressure off the private rental

their suggestions. We are going to be heading fast into the budgetary cycle when we are going to be preparing for the Estimates for next year. I would like to hear the practical ideas of how people feel that town centres and city centres can be improved both … Many people often refer to things that are outside the scope of the Department in terms of arts and culture - it might be public realm - or it might be local authority-related matters - but there is no reason that our role cannot be used as a conduit

weir. This threatened to scour the channel and undermine part of Fermoy's flood defences. It required urgent intervention by the Office of Public Works, OPW, to stabilise part of the foundation. This breach, unfortunately, had the effect of lowering the river level upstream, which significantly impacted upon … also constructed. The proposal for the installation of a fish pass, in addition to the full repair of the weir, is currently estimated at around €6 million. Planning permission for these remedial works was approved in February 2024 but, unfortunately, we are no closer to works beginning

essential to contain freight transport costs to limit wider inflationary pressures. This Government has acted quickly and decisively to support our hauliers and public transport providers. On 24 March, the Government allocated €250 million in targeted supports to assist those experiencing real and immediate financial pressure including reductions … further reduce excise rates on fuel and it announced additional supports for the transport sector and the farming and fisheries industries at an estimated cost of €505 million. In total, this is a package of over €755 million. This is proportionately the largest package of supports provided

outlines their ineffective decision-making and failure in the areas of housing policy and strategy. The latter all resulted in what the commission estimates, on the basis of the information in the 2022 census, as a deficit of between 212,500 and 256,000 homes in this country … managed by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the years. In the run-up to the election in November, the Government misinformed the public by claiming that housing completions would reach 40,000. In fact, only just over 30,000 houses were completed. A construction consultancy group predicted

supply of new homes for purchase and rent. In that respect, simplifications are not constructive. They do not build homes and they set public opinion against channels that do. We must be clear on our purpose in attracting private capital; it is to increase the supply of housing … investment capital. The Government cannot deliver on this programme alone. Through the updated modelling undertaken by the Department of Finance, it is estimated that €20 billion of development funding per annum, comprising both debt and equity, will be required to develop the 50,000 homes per year that

Wednesday) Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Blister Packs, selected by Sinn Féin. Wednesday's business shall be: - Public Health (Single-Use Vapes) Bill 2025 (Second Stage) (to adjourn after 90 minutes) - Statements on Fisheries (not to exceed 3 hours and 32 minutes) - Appropriation … Dáil Éireann of the Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No. 2) Regulations 2025* - Motion re Presentation and Circulation of Revised Estimates 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately) *Back from Committee; to be debated together and brought to a conclusion within

implementing cost controls in respect of Departments, it is all about efficiency, how we improve productivity, digitalise more and, ultimately, build better public services for people who want to see them improve. People want to see the endpoint of the increased expenditure the Deputy referenced to ensure that … used in previous years to one that better serves a focus on efficiency and reform. That will be a key part of the Estimates process

undermine the damage that was done to the ecosystem of the river but I want to identify and thank people for that. We estimate that around 20,000 fish have been lost, including Atlantic salmon, eels, brown trout, pike, minnow and coarse fish species. That, of course, will … putting together the details of what has happened and will prepare a file that will go to the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, and then a decision will be taken on whether or not to prosecute based on the evidence that has been procured. The Deputy raised

agree 100%, especially if you look at how the public view any other government waste. We now have a chance at the start of this Government term to bring this in as fast as possible and save us hundreds of millions. I refer especially to projects like … should be a wake-up call for us. We need resilience. The North-South transmission line will also help lower prices by an estimated 5%. That is huge for a family that is struggling. We also need to make sure that data centres do not use private wire

that would have been neither fair nor sustainable. The Government has listened to these concerns and engaged with stakeholders, local authorities and the public to ensure that the system remains balanced, equitable and fit for purpose. This Bill addresses these challenges head on. It contains a number … their current bands despite increases in the property values. This is a crucial intervention that ensures that the vast majority of homeowners - an estimated 96% - will not see their LPT liabilities jump by more than one band. Many will see no change at all. To put this

households. I welcome the news that hauliers and bus companies will benefit from the diesel tax rebate scheme. I encourage the public to contact the CCPC if they are not satisfied that these reductions are being passed on. We need to look at the agriculture sector. These measures … night follows day that this will lead to food price inflation as farmers simply try to recoup their fuel price increase. Many experts estimate that this will lead to a 10% increase on the supermarket shelves. If there is one thing that we have learned from this crisis

reflected on the increased population in their contributions. That is the case. The population grew from 4.4 million people in 2007 to an estimated 5.4 million people at the end of 2024. When we consider the need in the context of the appointment of the Minister of State … welcome consequence of the growth of our economy and the job opportunities. Nevertheless, this growth requires an increased focus on delivery of public services and ensuring that we develop a cross-governmental approach to this matter. Many of the emerging challenges we face are interdisciplinary and necessitate cross

mile and last mile of any journey are as important as the middle. We know there are people who would like to get public transport to work but the time it takes them to get from their house to the bus stop or station at either … than 600,000 journeys, while car sharing services facilitated over 500,000 journeys last year. These numbers are expected to grow substantially, with estimates suggesting that expanding car sharing alone could take demand for 300,000 private cars off our roads completely. The national policy statement on shared

address high and persistent levels of deprivation through targeted, locally-led initiatives and approaches. The programme encourages partnerships between people, community organisations, and public sector agencies to address diverse community needs. The current SICAP programme commenced in 2024 and will run until 2028. I thank the Deputy … city, Cork county and the west Cork Islands. While SICAP is a multi-annual funding programme, it is subject to the annual budgetary Estimates process. The total SICAP funding allocations for last year and this year for the seven companies in Cork came

budget 2026, which was a 43% increase on the previous year. This significant investment provides a robust foundation to ensure that existing public transport services are delivered reliably and sustainably throughout the year, enabling the system to meet rising passenger demand and assist in absorbing growing operational costs … additional resources, and all are subject to funding, readiness and capacity. Funding for new services in 2027 will be determined through the annual Estimates process, which we will be entering into shortly. Within the constraints of the reliable resources available, the NTA will be responsible for prioritising

this year, the ESRI published its report, entitled "Exploring investment requirements for energy efficiency upgrades in the private rental sector". The report is publicly available on the ESRI website. This study was commissioned by my Department so that we would have the independent information needed to further … over 260,000 properties out of a total of 330,000 dwellings in the private rental sector, using the 2022 figures. The report estimates over 45,000 rented dwellings have low energy efficiency ratings with BERs of E, F or G. Under this Bill they would

Appropriation Bill is a technical piece of legislation that authorises in law all the expenditure that has been agreed by way of Estimates during the year. The House will be aware the passage of the Bill is required to ensure it is possible to make payments … funded from voted money, payment of suppliers for goods and services, including SMEs. Of fundamental importance to those who depend on our essential public services is the passage of the Appropriation Bill which will allow for the payments required to deliver these public services to continue

record, then letting it be known - that the position is not tenable for them. Those issues must be addressed. What the public at large wants to see is an improvement in Garda visibility in their communities. We need a clear plan for putting more gardaí, particularly community gardaí … members attested in 2025. He said the maximum would be 800. I do not know if the Minister can give us an estimated total for this year yet, but what we do know is that Garda numbers have declined in relative terms over the past number of years

independent economic and sustainability impact assessment, ESIA, which both my Department and Teagasc fed into. The ESIA, which was published in July 2021, estimated that beef imports from the Mercosur countries into the EU would increase by approximately 53,000 tonnes. The study noted that, assuming the additional … value of Irish beef output of between €44 million and €55 million based on export figures available at the time of publication. On sanitary and phytosanitary, SPS, standards, the study notes that the implementation of the agreement does not in any way lower EU standards regarding market access

look forward because new trends and products will continue to come on the market. We cannot be left trying to catch up again. Public policy must be balanced. Vaping should not be made as expensive or penalised as much as smoking. Nor should it be made more attractive … such as lead and mercury and flammable lithium-ion batteries. They pollute waterways, hurt wildlife and harm people. In Ireland in 2022, an estimated 12.5 million disposable vapes were sold. With use on the rise, we must ask where these devices are. They are being binned, thrown

Ireland study shows a 12% increase in youth drinking since 2018. That should concern the Minister of State, as the person responsible for public health. It should concern the officials in the Department as well. We know that, according to Alcohol Action, 50,000 children take up drinking … Ireland from alcohol-related harm. It is costing the health service a huge amount of money; according to the Government's own estimates, it is costing the health service €1.5 billion. We talk here all the time about cost savings, efficiencies and doing things better

factor and access is a factor. We cannot take this sector for granted. In my constituency of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, tourism generates an estimated €126 million a year, according to the council's tourism strategy. It supports more than 3,000 jobs locally. At the centre … restaurants from April right through to September. The town has invested in itself. The DLR Lexicon, for example, is now the most visited public library in Ireland, welcoming around 1,300 people a day. The restored Dún Laoghaire baths facility has been brought back to life

propose to take Question Nos. 10, 53, 55 and 61 together. As Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitisation, I am responsible for setting the overall expenditure allocations and monitoring it at Departmental level. In the programme for Government, there is a clear prioritisation … Maritime Area Regulatory Authority, MARA, has made progress with granting fit and proper designations to Uisce Éireann and local authorities. This move is estimated to have reduced the average time relating to the granting of new consents and licences by more than 30%. Changes that have been made