Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate – Dáil Éireann (34th Dáil) – Thursday, 27 Nov 2025

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Heritage Sites

Deputy Louis O'Hara

Dunguaire Castle is an iconic cultural and heritage landmark in Kinvara on the Wild Atlantic Way. However, it remains closed off to the public and stuck in limbo. The castle was a real asset and a significant benefit to the community. Its continued closure is a real missed opportunity for the village of Kinvara and the region as a whole. The castle is on the edge of the village, within walking distance from it. Its closure is most definitely impacting on footfall in Kinvara. Throughout the summer months, and even today, we have busloads of tourists driving past the site and they can stop and take photos but that is it. They cannot enter. In the past there were tours, banquets, performances and so on. It really enhanced the tourism offering of the local area and provided a lot of employment.

The fact is that Galway County Council is willing to take ownership of this castle from the Shannon Group, and wants to do so, but requires significant funding to bring the castle up to a safe standard. The council has gone to the Government with a request for the necessary funding but so far it has been turned down. There have been rubbish excuses from Government about there being no specific funding stream available from any of the Departments. The reality is that when Clare and Limerick county councils were acquiring sites from the Shannon Group, they received significant support from Government. In the case of Clare County Council, it received €6 million. Why then are the people of Kinvara and County Galway being treated as second-class citizens in this regard? Why is one of our most cherished heritage assets being left to crumble? Providing the funding to Galway County Council is not an expense; it would be an investment in Kinvara - in local jobs and businesses, tourism and preservation of a heritage site. Can the Minister of State give a commitment today that the necessary funding to reopen Dunguaire Castle will be provided to Galway County Council?

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (Deputy Niamh Smyth)

I thank the Deputy for his question and the discussion we are going to have on a much-loved and treasured architectural building in his own county of Galway.

In 2020, the Shannon Airport Group informed Government that it was necessary to consider a comprehensive readjustment to its structure in order to ensure the long-term future of the Shannon Heritage business. A number of challenges had presented themselves, including a lack of capital investment and the essential expertise required to maintain the heritage sites. As a consequence of these challenges, the Shannon Airport Group engaged extensively with the relevant local authorities on the transfer of its heritage sites. For instance, King John’s Castle was successfully transferred to Limerick City and County Council in April 2022 and the Shannon Heritage business and four sites in County Clare transferred to Clare County Council in May 2023.

Dunguaire Castle is now the only remaining site under the ownership of the Shannon Airport Group, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, understands that Galway Country Council has had engagement with the group in relation to a possible transfer of the castle. A funding request was received by the National Monuments Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage from Galway County Council in November 2024 in relation to the castle, wherein the local authority sought funding to acquire the castle. The National Monuments Service wrote to the CEO of Galway County Council in December 2024, advising that a voted funding stream to facilitate the purchase of heritage sites by local authorities is not available. The National Monuments Service offered to meet with relevant officials from the local authority to explore options that might be available to secure funding to acquire the castle. However, this offer has not yet been availed of.

As Members may be aware, the Department funds a range of relevant grant schemes intended to support local authorities and other owners in respect of the repair and conservation of archaeological and built heritage sites. Where the structures concerned are protected or within a designated architectural conservation area, the built heritage investment scheme and the historic structures fund can provide support for repair and conservation works. The built heritage investment scheme provides grants of between €2,500 and €50,000, while the historic structures fund offers funding of between €50,000 and €200,000 for works on larger scale projects. Where the structure in question is an archaeological monument, the community monuments fund can provide grants of up to €100,000 for conservation works, where eligible. In 2025, the community monuments fund awarded 122 projects a total of €7.5 million in funding.

The community monuments fund supports a range of initiatives to conserve, maintain, protect and promote local monuments and historic sites. Such investment benefits communities and the public by future-proofing and safeguarding monuments through the funding of conservation works and repairs, building resilience by protecting monuments from the effects of extreme weather and climate change, in addition to supporting public access to monuments and improvements in the presentation of local monuments. These grants help owners and custodians of archaeological monuments and built heritage assets alike to safeguard them into the future. Over the past number of years, these conservation schemes have allocated in excess of €50 million for works to archaeological monuments, historic buildings and public realm schemes. This is a testament to the dedication and hard work of all involved, including local authorities, community groups, private owners, the professional heritage sector and officials in the Department to ensure the ongoing protection, conservation and maintenance of our heritage sites for the continued enjoyment of generations to come.

In addition to the conservation schemes described above, local authorities seeking funding should, depending on the exact circumstances of the structures and buildings in question, engage with the urban regeneration and development fund, the rural regeneration and development fund, the LEADER and Thrive programmes, and Údarás na Gaeltachta funding schemes.

Deputy Louis O'Hara

I cannot emphasise enough that this castle is an iconic cultural and heritage landmark and it cannot be left closed any longer. The Government has to recognise the importance of this site to the local community in terms of heritage, tourism and employment. When the Minister of State talks about grant schemes in the region of €50,000, €100,000 or €200,000, those are going to come nowhere near meeting the cost of what is required.

The Minister of State's response is not based in reality. She said there was no voted funding stream available from the Department. That is absolute rubbish. The Government can get these things done if it wants to. That is the reality and people know it. The Minister of State's response is very disappointing.

Representatives of Galway County Council will meet the Department in the coming weeks. They have a specific request for €5 million. They have put together a strong business case. The ball is in the Government's court. It needs to step up to the plate. This is a huge blow to Kinvara. It is very damaging to our tourism reputation locally.

The question that people in Kinvara and across County Galway have is why funding can be made available to other local authorities to allow them to take control of the Shannon group's heritage assets but not to Galway County Council. It is absolutely outrageous. Our local authority is totally underfunded as it is. This is a further insult to the people of County Galway.

People in Kinvara feel neglected in the context of the castle. They have been waiting for years for road safety improvements, including very basic things such as pedestrian crossings. There is very little housing and the local school needs improved facilities. The boardwalk has been held up for a very long time. Our Government needs to start delivering for Kinvara. I ask the Government and the Minister of State to stop the excuses and deflection and to give Galway County Council the capital funding it requires to bring Dunguaire Castle back into use.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As noted by the Government in its decision of January 2021, the Shannon Airport Group operated Shannon Heritage on a commercial basis, in line with its commercial mandate, meaning that sites were only likely to open on a seasonal basis and where a commercial business case existed. Dunguaire Castle was operated by Clare County Council on a goodwill basis for the summer 2023 season. The group has advised that, given its commercial mandate, it was not feasible to reopen the castle in subsequent seasons.

As discussed today, a wider range of supports is available to assist and support local authorities and private owners to discharge their responsibilities in respect of archaeology and building heritage sites. Investment in our heritage sites delivers broad public benefits by enhancing the character and amenity within our towns, villages and landscapes, bringing back into use buildings and other assets which currently lie vacant and closed.

On a more human level, I appreciate what the Deputy is saying. I appreciate that he feels the community of Kinvara feels alienated over this particular issue. I will convey the Deputy's thoughts and views to the Minister, Deputy James Browne.

Schools Building Projects

Deputy Mark Wall

I want to talk about the village of Allenwood, which is in my constituency in County Kildare. It is a beautiful village, not far from Naas, Clane and Rathangan. It is right in the middle of the county. It is a country village, or perhaps I should say that it was a village in 1991, when 303 people were living in it. The latest census, taken in 2022, showed 1,685 people living in the village of Allenwood.

The reason I have raised this Topical Issue is to talk to the Minister of State about Scoil Mhuire Allenwood, an amalgamation of two primary school schools, that opened in 2017. The census taken in 2022 told us there were 142 children in the village of Allenwood between the ages of zero and four. The problem we have with Scoil Mhuire Allenwood is that there are 42 applicants for a school place in September next year but only 28 places available. Unfortunately, that leaves a deficit for a number of families. We have spoken previously about the stress that many of those families are under. Many of them also have a child - a sibling of the applicant child- already in the school. That is causing distress for parents. Where will their second child go to school?

The school is trying to do everything it can to facilitate new children and to facilitate those who do not have a school place at the moment. It previously put prefabs onto the school grounds. It is using every part of the existing school to accommodate children. There are waiting lists for every class in Scoil Mhuire Allenwood.

The school was granted an extension, which was announced a number of years ago. We have been told lately that the process is at stage 2b. That is where it sits at the moment. That leaves us with a deficit of school places for next September. It leaves us with problems for all those families. At this stage, Scoil Mhuire Allenwood is getting up to 40 applications for primary school places per year. That has been the case for the past four to five years and it has created a problem for the school management. The school management wants to work with the Department of education and the local community to ensure that no child who lives in the Allenwood area is without a school place this coming September.

The school also applied for a prefab to allow it to accommodate those children without a place in September while the new extension is being built or when construction starts. My request is for the Department to allow that prefab to be placed on the grounds. The management will work with that. A prefab would allow those children without a place to have a much-needed place for September while we still wait for the various stages of the new build to go ahead. I ask the Minister of State, on behalf of the Minister for education, to confirm that the Department will allow that prefab to be placed on site to allow those children to have places and to take the stress off working families who do not have that place at the moment and are contacting me and, indeed, every public representative in south Kildare. As the Minister of State knows, the most important thing for children is that they know what school their friends are going to come next September. At the moment, there is too much stress on families in Allenwood and too many families do not have a school place.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. It gives me the opportunity to set out for the House the position with regard to school places in Scoil Mhuire Allenwood, County Kildare. The Deputy is aware that Scoil Mhuire Allenwood is a coeducational primary school with a Catholic ethos under the patronage of the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin. The school had an enrolment in September 2025 of 263 pupils. This represents an increase of 7% in the past five years.

I can confirm that Scoil Mhuire Allenwood recently submitted an application for temporary accommodation under my Department's additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme. This application is currently under assessment by the officials in the Department. I know the Deputy wants a concrete answer today, but I can tell him that the application is certainly under consideration.

I am pleased to confirm that the Department approved funding in 2022 to provide three mainstream classrooms, including two replacement classrooms, two special education classrooms and the reconfiguration of four undersized rooms to create two larger mainstream classrooms. This project is currently devolved to the school authority for delivery and approval was given for this ASA project to progress to stage 2b, planning, in November 2024. The Department now awaits a post-planning developed design report from the school for review. The school also received funding in 2022 to purchase a modular classroom to accommodate the 11th mainstream post. In 2024, funding was approved to repurpose a mainstream classroom to accommodate the opening of a special educational needs class, pending delivery of the permanent build project.

Scoil Mhuire Allenwood is located in the Prosperous-Clane school planning area. The Department's projections of primary school place requirements for that area indicate that enrolments at primary level peaked in 2019 and are decreasing, year on year. Given the general downward direction of overall enrolments in the area, the Department's focus for the assessment of such additional accommodation applications will be to analyse the extent to which enrolments at this school and neighbouring schools are serving the local area in the first instance. This will identify if some of the pressures on local capacity are arising from the enrolment of pupils from outside the local area where there may be other school provision opportunities available to them. That is the information I have been provided with. I am sure the Deputy will have more to say.

Deputy Mark Wall

I thank the Minister of State for the reply, with which I do not agree and with which the school management will not agree. I have talked in the Chamber previously about schools in south Kildare. As we know, it is one of the fastest growing areas in the whole country. Sometimes, I wonder what statistics and census the Department is looking at. I have just told the Minister of State what has happened in Allenwood over the past four to five years. There have been 40 applications for school places each of the past four years.

That is the difference when it comes to what is happening in Allenwood where the population has increased to the extent it has. It is not a downward trend; it is an upward one. I am sure the Department is receiving emails, because I have seen it copied on the emails I am getting from stressed parents and the school management . The latter does not know where to turn next because it is also getting the calls from parents who do not know where their children will go to school next September. Will the Minister of State bring my request back to the Minister for Education and Youth? I intend to follow up on this matter again - as I am sure, will every public representative in Kildare - namely that the prefabricated building requested, which the Minister of State said is under consideration, be allocated to Scoil Mhuire in Allenwood. We cannot have the number of children involved not having school places in September.

As stated previously, families meet up with other families whose children have school places. Children are in GAA clubs. There are excellent ones in Allenwood and the surrounding district. The children speak to one another. One child says they are starting in September and the other, as I have stated in this House on other occasions, says they are not. That causes a serious problem for families.

The statistics I have, which were provided by the school management, tell me the school averaged 40 applications for primary school places per year for the past four years. That is not a downward trend. We all welcome the fact that a new school building is on the way, but that will take a number of years. In light of that, will the Minster of State bring back to the Minister the request to allow the provision of this prefabricated building in order to ensure that those who need school places will have them and that the stress of family life will not come down to the fact there are no school places for many families in the Allenwood area?

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I am slightly concerned about the difference between the information the Deputy has and the information the Department has, because the figures do not lie. Enrolments are either increasing or decreasing year on year. I do not for one minute question the Deputy's bona fides regarding the information he has brought to the Dáil today, so I ask him to liaise directly. I will reflect what he said today to the Minister for education because the facts are the facts in terms of enrolments. If the facts show that there is an increase in the enrolment and it is not that there is a duplication of applications going into a lot of local schools, that should certainly make a strong case for the school to get the building - the bricks and mortar - it deserves in order to be able to accommodate students and make sure they have school places. We do not want to see parents under the stress of having uncertainty about whether their children will have places in schools.

The Department is aware of enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in some areas. It is important to note that enrolment pressures can be driven, as I said, by duplication of applications, applications from outside a catchment area and school-of-choice factors. Notwithstanding that, in some areas the demographic pressures and other factors are driving a requirement for additional school places. Major new residential developments - perhaps that is happening in the Deputy's area - have the potential to alter the demand for school places at local level. That can happen quite quickly. In this regard, as part of the demographic demand analysis, the Department monitors planning and construction activity in the residential sector in the local area. This involves the analysis of data sources from local authorities and the Central Statistics Office, alongside engagement with local authorities and the construction sector. In this way, up-to-date information on significant new residential developments is obtained and factored into the analysis that is conducted by the Department. It is necessary to ensure that school infrastructure planning is keeping pace with those changes at local level in circumstances where it is a consistently evolving picture in the context of planned new residential developments.

I appreciate what the Deputy said and will reflect it to the Minster for education.

Deputy Mark Wall

I thank the Minister of State.

Family Resource Centres

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

Deansrath Family Centre has been serving children and families in Clondalkin and beyond for more than 20 years. It is located in an area of ongoing socioeconomic disadvantage, characterised by high levels of unemployment and poverty, a lot of single-parent households and lower than average levels of education. The centre has evolved over time to cater for these needs and has expanded from solely providing childcare to delivering a range of services under the general headings of prevention and early intervention. It has built up a lot of experience in identifying needs in families early and providing co-ordinated support before problems become more complex. It is the living epitome of the research done in the Highscope/Perry Preschool Project, which showed that for every €1 invested there is a €7 return. The centre focuses on targeted responses at an early stage and is doing a good job.

Families can access a range of services and supports alongside the early childhood care and education programme, which caters for children, including those with special educational needs. There are parenting programmes, child therapeutic interventions and a range of wraparound supports which ensure that families receive appropriate supports to help to improve outcomes. The centre is not just totting up figures; it is doing something of value and adding value to the community. It has grown substantially over a 20-year period. It is a victim of its own success in one sense. It has consistently adapted its response to the increasing socioeconomic challenges. A greater number of parents have benefited year on year from the centre because of the excellent levels of care it offers and the education, counselling and support that are available for children. The key challenge now is that it has insufficient physical space to accommodate the increased number of families going to the centre, in a single location. It has had to spread out and that involves long walks so it urgently needs adequate premises to extend service provision. Although it does a good job, the service is fragmented.

The centre put in place a plan to enable it to maintain a consistent level of support and increased on-site service provision going forward. South Dublin County Council has provided land for a new centre in the St. Cuthbert's Park area. The park has been separately upgraded by South Dublin County Council. It is a fantastic resource on which to locate such a centre. The centre has been designed to accommodate needs well into the future. At 500 sq m, it would be three times the size of the existing premises and would provide an excellent amount of space to facilitate the delivery of supports and enhance the supports already provided. It would get rid of the need for families and staff to travel to and from other venues. In some cases, these families do not have cars and the bus service is not reliable. It is a long walk. The centre would have additional supports for early years care, family support, staff rooms and a multipurpose recreation and family-focused space. It is a fantastic plan for a one-stop shop of supports. There would be a large early years facility, dedicated rooms, including parent and baby, child and parent, and teenager rooms, therapy rooms, family-staff consultation rooms, family spaces and child cooking facilities and communal areas where families with young children can meet and connect with others. There would be stuff like CoderDojo, an academy space, a staff training room, a parent outdoor space and an outdoor playground.

The centre has written to various Departments looking for funding. That is why I originally put this question to the Department of the Taoiseach. I believe channels of funding may be available through various Departments, but there is no one-size-fits-all scenario. The centre has not been able to get access to someone who will tell the centre how to get the various channels together to provide the funds for the centre. Is the Minister of State in a position to identify credible channels of funding today?

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I am familiar with the family resource centres the Deputy spoke about in my constituency. They are a valuable gem in any community. They take a holistic approach. They think of every demographic in a family and are a huge resource to have in an area.

The building blocks extension grant scheme was launched in late 2024, and successful applicants are working with the Department in delivering their projects. An application for funding under the scheme was received from Deansrath Family Centre and subsequently that application was deemed ineligible on the basis that the proposed project did not fall within the scope of the building blocks construction strand, due to the value of the project being significantly in excess of the allowed maximum.

As announced in the context of budget 2026, €36 million will be available next year for early learning and childcare capital programmes. This will include acquisitions of new buildings through the State-led early learning and childcare programme, investment in expansion of existing early learning and childcare operators through the building blocks scheme and a number of quality initiatives, including supports for childminders. The Department is currently examining options for future building blocks schemes and the Minister expects to announce details of that in early 2026. The family resource centre programme is a community development programme that is financially supported by many State agencies in a partnership approach. The programme for Government commits to increasing funding and expanding the capacity and network of family resource centres over the Government's term, given the important role these centres play in local communities.

Recent developments in respect of the family resource centre programme include the Department’s securing of additional funding of €800,000 in budget 2025, to allow for an expansion of the programme from 121 members to 126. In this context, we have recently welcomed five new members to the programme. Additionally, neither the Department or Tusla currently have capital funding to support the building of new or refurbishment or extension of existing family resource centres. Tusla does not have a dedicated budget for capital or building works for third-party organisations, such as family resource centres. This is the situation where these third-party organisations are members of the national family resource centre programme, or an organisation, such as Deansrath Family Resource Centre, which is not a programme member and separately funded. I hope that answers the Deputy's question in some way. It may not be favourable, but it in some way answers it.

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

It is partially answered but the Departments still does not have the big picture because those behind the centre need funding to build a model of excellence in what will be a first of its kind family and early childhood centre. It will be the first whole-of-government strategy for babies, young children and their families, which is in the State's long-term programme. So far, their vision has been enabled through the land disposal agreement with South Dublin County Council, a bequest of €200,000 from a deceased chairperson of the board of management and some fundraising, including support by the architect who continued to work pro bono to secure the planning permission, which has been secured. It is a fantastic plan but it only remains a plan until funding is provided.

Page 147 of the National Development Plan 2021-2030 states that a funding route needs to be found for building like this, which epitomises the first five early childhood and family centres. The build cost was estimated at €4 million last year. They have been able to indicate that they would get some funding. They were informed that the building block strand 2 extension fund has a maximum grant of €650,000 for an individual organisation. That leaves a huge deficit. The services at Deansrath are resourced through service level agreements largely with Tusla, but also through the HSE and Pobal early years funding. The services are spread across quite a number of buildings. They need to find out where they can get that several million euro. While applying to one channel is welcome, I would like the Minister of State to pass on her colleagues the need to create a pathway because there are similar groups around the country who have similar problems. Can the Government identify a pathway where they can apply for the funding through various Departments and channels because of the multifaceted aspect of the work? They are coming up against a brick wall. They need help from Government sources. I would appreciate if they could get that.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

In my limited knowledge on the funding streams that are available to the centres I know in my constituency, the model is that there is a maximum of what the Department can fund towards it. Any of the projects I am aware of they have had to source other funds. In the Border region, we have had the opportunity to source PEACE and local authority funding. There has always been a jigsaw approach to it to have that overall figure that the Deputy referenced. Was it €4 million?

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

That was last year. It has probably gone up slightly.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I appreciate the request for a pathway to be put in place whereby other agencies can contribute to the overall cost. The Deputy can be sure I will reflect that to the Minister. I thank him again for raising this important issue. It is a priority for the Minister and the Government. The programme for Government commits for the first time to providing capital investment to build and purchase State-owned early learning and childcare facilities to create additional capacity in areas where unmet needs exist. State ownership of facilities is a substantial and significant development and offers the potential for much greater scope to influence the nature and volume of provision available and to ensure better alignments with estimated demand. This work will be supported through our capital investment under the revised national development plan. As part of the recent NDP review, published in July this year, the allocation for the Department has increased to €795 million over the next five years. This increased funding will be used in part to provide additional early learning and childcare places through future capital programmes, including potentially operating a further scheme similar to building blocks to support the expansion of provision by existing operators as well as implementing the commitment to capital investment in State-owned facilities. Once details of the future capital schemes are finalised, the Minister will communicate them with the sector. I will reflect the Deputy's request in finding that multiagency approach to funding projects at the scale he referenced.

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

Will the Minister of State ask the Minister to try to give me a written response on that?

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I will, of course.

Taxi Regulations

Deputy John Lahart

I thank the Minister of State for her presence. I raised this issue with the Minister for Transport last night. I understand that at short notice he cannot be here, but I would be very much obliged if the Minister of State can convey the importance of this issue, which I know he is aware of. There is going to be industrial action by taxi drivers or as close as they can get to it today either outside at Merrion Square and at the airport on an issue they feel strongly about. I support them on this. I hate to see Dublin city disrupted. I hate to see people who are going about their work, trying to their travel and get home after a busy day disrupted in this way. It is a pity that it has had to escalate this quickly without them being met. The issue is a just issue.

The National Transport Authority, NTA, reviews fares for taxis every two years roughly. Those fares are reviewed and a new fare is brought up relating to the type of car, the cost of the car and those kinds of issues. The NTA arrives at a figure and the taxi meter is recalibrated accordingly. The taxi drivers pay a fee for that. I welcome the apps we all have access to now, including Freenow and Uber, particularly in cities and urban areas. They provide security, a certain amount of predictability and certainty, identification for the drivers and security for vulnerable users and women, especially younger women passengers. They know who their driver is. There is a record kept of the journey. Freenow guesstimates a fare. A person orders a taxi. If he or she wants to go from Rathfarnham to Leinster House, Freenow offers them a guesstimate of how much that will cost, which is useful because passengers the know roughly how much it will cost. They also know that if there is congestion or something like that it is going to cost more than that. Uber wants to move to an accurate fee. If I order a taxi from Knocklyon to Croke Park, it will outline a fare and come what may, it wants me to pay that fare. It means that if the taxi is delayed in traffic or if there are some other circumstances that cause a delay, the taxi driver is not getting paid for that They want to dictate the fare and circumvent the existing agreement that has been arrived at between the NTA and taxi drivers.

At the moment, Freenow has a taxi saver. If I order a taxi, I pay a €3 fee between the time of ordering and the time it takes for the taxi to come to my house. That into account the distance the taxi driver has to travel to arrive. I may cancel. There is time and fuel used. Through this app, the taxi driver gets €3 before the pick-up. However, now the customer can choose not to pay the €3 fee. They can choose a discount to discount the fare by that €3. This is not part of the deal that was negotiated between the NTA and taxi drivers. We can give out sometimes about the cost of them but we all know traditionally that a taxi fare is about time, distance and pick-up cost. What the taxi drivers are justifiably exercised about is that the new system was introduced, if it can be called a system, without the agreement of taxi drivers. It has caused widespread anger within the industry. Taxi drivers feel that is a kind of divide and rule approach. Under this model, Uber pays the lower of the metered fare or the company's preset fixed price. This means that if there are delays, diversions or traffic issues, the driver loses income even though the meter reflects the legally regulated fare. That is the bones of it.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I thank Deputy Lahart for raising this important issue and will certainly reflect his observations to the Minister for Transport. The Deputy will be aware that neither the Minister for Transport nor his Department are involved in the day-to-day operation of the small public service vehicle, SPSV, sector. The National Transport Authority, NTA, the independent transport regulator, has responsibility for setting taxi fares under the provisions of the consolidated Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016.

On 3 November 2025, Uber Ireland introduced a new option on its platform providing its customers with a single maximum price for a trip before requesting a taxi. This option is referred to on the platform as a "tax fixed price”. Usually, when booking a taxi with Uber or other dispatch operators a price range of the approximate cost of the journey is shown, but the Minister understands that with the Uber taxi fixed price option, the customer is now provided with a maximum guaranteed price upfront. If the final price on the taxi meter is less than the initial maximum price provided, users pay the lower price on the meter. If the final price on the taxi meter is greater than the maximum price, users pay the maximum price.

From a legislative perspective, section 24 of the consolidated Taxi Regulation Acts 2013 and 2016 empowers the NTA board to make a maximum fares order fixing the maximum fare that may be charged by the driver of a taxi for any journey. The current maximum fares order took effect in December 2024 and a maximum fare review is carried out approximately every two years. The NTA has conducted these reviews since 2011. Hackneys and limousines agree their fares in advance and do not use a meter. The NTA's most recent fare review was undertaken between November 2023 and March 2024. During this review, the NTA took account of the most significant economic issues that were relevant to the SPSV sector, which included inflation, the cost of living, fuel prices, energy supply, geopolitical uncertainty and increased public transport availability. Following this review and a public consultation on the matter, the NTA introduced the Taxi Regulation (Maximum Fares) Order 2024, which increased taxi fares by an average of 9%. This came into operation on 1 December 2024 and ensures that taxi fares continue to reflect the rising costs associated with operating a taxi in Ireland. This increase includes a special rate for the weekend peak from 12 midnight to 4 a.m. on Friday night into Saturday morning and Saturday night into Sunday morning, year round, to incentivise more drivers to service the night-time economy. This followed on from the 2022 order in which a 12% increase on fares was introduced.

As set out in the legislation, charging more than this maximum fare can lead to a prosecution. However, charging below the maximum fare is permitted. The Minister understands that the Uber fixed price offer does not breach the maximum fare regulatory provisions for taxis or constitute an offence associated with the misuse of taxi meters. SPSV operators are self-employed and may decide whether to sign up with a licensed dispatch operator such as Uber. They are not obliged to be affiliated with any dispatch operator but, where they choose to do so, taxi drivers are free to contract with a dispatch operator of their choice. Unfortunately, neither the Minister nor the NTA is a party to the commercial or contractual arrangements between SPSV drivers and their dispatch operators. Accordingly, the Department and the NTA have no role in the approval of such matters.

Deputy John Lahart

The piece of the reply that the Minister of State did not reach states that the Minister for Transport issued a letter to the NTA on 19 November last asking it to clarify the regulatory position on the Uber fixed price fare for the information of taxi operators and public representatives alike. We await that clarification because the taxi drivers who have been in touch with me and with colleagues across the House and who have come to my clinics do not recognise the part of the reply which asserts that there is a maximum price that cannot be exceeded. Their interpretation of this is that if a price of €23 for a journey is sent through the app as a guesstimate, that is what the customer will pay, even if the journey is delayed or diverted, resulting in an increase in the fare. In other words, the taxi driver cannot claim that but the answer the Minister of State has given seems to suggest the opposite. However, it is only referring to Uber. It is not referring to Freenow, for example, another app that is very widely used.

The NTA needs to move very quickly. Another part of the ministerial response states, with reference to the Uber taxi fixed price option, that the Minister understands that the customer is now provided with a maximum guaranteed price upfront. That seems to be the case with one of the apps and while obviously I am in favour of value for money for customers, taxi drivers also need to make a living. Customers are guaranteed a maximum price upfront, and that is fine, but as taxi drivers point out, it does not take into account delays in the journey or other issues.

The Minister is very clear in his reply that neither he nor the NTA is a party to the commercial or contractual arrangements but it is impossible for a taxi driver in Dublin to avoid using the apps now. Otherwise, they will just disappear as taxi drivers, so perhaps the NTA needs to get involved in that. The big piece that is exercising taxi drivers is that this was not negotiated. This has been foisted on them. That is why they are going to be outside the gates at 4.30 p.m. and blocking Dublin Airport as well, creating a bit of a fuss to bring this to the attention of the public.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

As I said, I will certainly bring the Deputy's views to the Minister. As Deputy Lahart quite rightly said, the Minister issued a letter on 19 November to the NTA and we await its response. He also met this morning with the advisory committee on SPSVs, whose role is to provide advice to the Minister and the NTA in relation to issues relevant to SPSVs and their drivers, where the matter was discussed. I have no doubt that meeting will have given the Minister cause for concern and perhaps fuller engagement on the issue is needed to see if it can be resolved.

Social Welfare Payments

Deputy Martin Kenny

Deputy Smyth is a representative of a Border constituency, the same as I am, so she will very much understand this particular issue. A constituent of mine called Majella contacted me. She was born in Leitrim and lived there practically all of her life. She started her career working in the health services. Then she married a man from Fermanagh and moved six miles up the road. She continued to cross the Border every day to work and worked all her life. Now her mother has become ill towards the end of her life and needs care. Majella got carer's benefit based on the stamps she had accumulated during her working life. However, after 104 weeks she was told to apply for the carer's allowance, which is not stamps based but assessed. When she applied she was refused because of the habitual residency condition as she does not live within the State. This is very unfair. It is an anomaly that comes up for a tiny number of people in certain circumstances who are living in the Border area. People in these circumstances are not travelling 50 or 100 miles to care for somebody. It is only people in a small corridor that this would affect. In that context, resolving this issue would not result in a big cost to the State. This needs to happen as quickly as possible.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I agree with my party colleague that given the Minister of State's position as a representative of a Border county, she will be more familiar with this issue than some in the House. Not that one would guess it from listening to me, but I also grew up in a Border town and I know that people who live along the Border do not recognise it in the same way as those who live elsewhere because they go back and forth across the Border all of the time.

In response to a parliamentary question, I was told that there are only three people resident in the North who are in receipt of carer's benefit at this point. We are not talking about massive numbers here. There are no floodgates opening or anything like that coming down the line. This is also about the fact that the people taking on caring responsibilities are saving the State an absolute fortune. This woman is caring for her mother and then going home to where she lives, which is only up the road.

I am interested in hearing what the Department is prepared to do about this. In our view, it is amenable to resolution by statutory instrument. I ask the Minister of State to request this of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Calleary, who is aware of this issue. As I understand it, there is no hostility towards resolving it; the question is whether we can. As it stands, people who have worked all of their lives and paid stamps are now falling foul of the habitual residency rule. It is very simple. For the purposes of habitual residency, the island should be regarded as one. I am not trying to make a massively political point but it would make sense to regard the island as one.

However, there is also a need to resolve these individual cases as well as getting the resolution for us into the future.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I thank the Deputies. I am delighted, as Deputies Kenny and O'Reilly are, that when we live in a Border county like Monaghan and Cavan, we can cross over the jurisdiction. That invisible crossing happens many times. A person could be living 1 mile up the road and be in a different jurisdiction. Deputy Kenny was quite right when he said carers are never going to be living a million miles away from the person they are caring for. I would imagine it could be easily managed. I take the point. I understand the Minister, Deputy Calleary, is very familiar with this and is open and compassionate about the issue. He will certainly be open to trying to resolve this.

I thank both Deputies for raising this important issue. The Government acknowledges the vital role that family carers play in Irish society - that goes without saying - and remains fully committed to supporting them in the role they do. This commitment is reflected both in the programme for Government and in the recent budget, and the Department of Social Protection provides a comprehensive range of income supports for family carers. In 2026, spending on these supports is expected to exceed €2.2 billion, with almost 104,000 carers currently receiving carer's allowance payment.

Carer’s allowance is the main scheme through which the Department provides income support to carers in the community. There is no money that would pay them enough for the work that they do. It is so valuable. The allowance only acknowledges, in some small way, how valued they are. It is a means-tested social assistance payment for people on low incomes who are providing full-time care to someone who requires ongoing support due to age, disability or illness. The person being cared for must require full-time care and attention. As part of budget 2026, we are increasing the income disregard for a single person to €1,000 per week and for a couple to €2,000 per week. These are the largest ever increases to the carer’s allowance income disregard and will mean that even households with relatively high incomes will qualify for a carer’s payment for the first time.

Like all social assistance schemes provided by the Department of Social Protection, carer’s allowance is subject to a habitual residency requirement, which requires the carer to have habitual residence in the Irish State. Where a carer resides in Northern Ireland, they cannot qualify for the carer’s allowance because they do not meet that particular condition or tick that box. Carers residing in the North of Ireland may be eligible for the non-means-tested carer’s allowance payment but in the particular case Deputy Kenny quite rightly mentioned, the carer has already exceeded that. This scheme is payable to carers over 16 who are providing full-time care of at least 35 hours per week to someone who is in need of care and is in receipt of a specified payment.

To answer the Deputy's question as directly as I can, he has referred to a very specific case. Deputy O'Reilly has a given very low number in terms of the number of people it affects. As I said, my understanding is that the Minister is open to providing a way to give that allowance and to seeking a resolution to this. I will reflect the case study the Deputy has presented here and ask the Minister to consider it further.

Deputy Martin Kenny

I thank the Minister of State. I am aware of all of these circumstances. Yes, there is a payment in the North but the person who is living in the North and can apply for the carer's benefit in the North has to be caring for a person in that jurisdiction.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

It is the same problem.

Deputy Martin Kenny

The fact that they live in two different jurisdictions, although they are only a couple of miles apart, is what gives rise to this peculiarity. This is a carer's case. There are other similar cases where habitual residency comes into play which may affect people's pensions and things like that on both sides of the Border. These are small numbers. We are talking about dozens of people in total. It is something that should be looked at across the whole social welfare code to see if a number of small statutory instruments or amendments can be put in to deal with these circumstances and to sort them out for the people involved. As I say, they are very small numbers. We are talking about people who have, generally, paid into the State because they have been working on this side of the Border. As we know, many people live in the South and work in the North, or live in the North and work in the South. It happens all the time up and down across the Border region. Sometimes, people have two jobs - one in the North and one in the South. It depends on those circumstances. In all of those situations, all we need to do is put something into the regulation that takes care of the problem we have and deals with it efficiently and effectively. This can be done very speedily. I ask the Minister to look at it between now and Christmas and come up with something to resolve the situation before the new year. Go raibh maith agaibh.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

Very briefly, to echo the sentiment expressed by my colleague, this impacts a number of social welfare payments but in real life the numbers are tiny. I sent in a parliamentary question about it. I did not expect the numbers would be big. I did not think they would be as low as three but that is where we are at. We are not talking about big numbers but these people are paying into a system. If this cannot be facilitated, then the mother does not get to be cared for by her daughter, which is her choice, and then someone is going to have to care for her. At the end of the day, a bill is coming one way or the other. It strikes me that the person themselves, the elderly person in this instance, has a right to chose their carer. The carer is available and the only crime that anyone has committed is living 3 miles or 4 miles up the road.

Deputy Martin Kenny

She married the wrong man-----

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

I am not getting into that.

Deputy Martin Kenny

-----on the wrong side of the Border.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

She married a Fermanagh man now so that is where she is at. In all seriousness, it is something that will not take the Minister a long time. These are cases that are very real and very live now so I would appreciate if, when Deputy Smyth brings this back to the Minister, she could emphasise that we are talking about small numbers, statutory instruments, co-operation from the Opposition and possibly getting this resolved by Christmas if we could.

Deputy Niamh Smyth

I will not commit to it being resolved by Christmas but as we all work and strive towards a united Ireland, this is a very pragmatic request and we should take a very pragmatic approach to it. As I said, I will certainly reflect the views of the Deputies, the particular instances they have outlined today and the facts they have to back them up regarding the small numbers in question that we have to address. Going back to Deputy Kenny's point, we need to look at this broadly in terms of social protection. There are probably a number of payments that are affecting a very small number of people. As we work towards that united Ireland, we should certainly look at this in a pragmatic way.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Paula Butterly)

I thank the Deputies.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 27 Nov 2025