Brendan Smith
Question:1. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach for a report on his recent meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. [49999/25]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Official Engagements
Cormac Devlin
Question:2. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach for a report on his recent meeting with the UK Prime Minister. [50002/25]
Ruth Coppinger
Question:3. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. [63183/25]
Ruairí Ó Murchú
Question:4. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach for a report on his recent meeting with the British Prime Minister. [63259/25]
Darren O'Rourke
Question:5. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach for a report on his recent meeting with the British Prime Minister. [63268/25]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:6. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach for a report on his recent meeting with the UK Prime Minister. [65778/25]
Peadar Tóibín
Question:7. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with the British Prime Minister. [65833/25]
Liam Quaide
Question:8. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach for a report on his recent meeting with the British Prime Minister. [67526/25]
Shane Moynihan
Question:9. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Taoiseach for a report on his recent meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. [67573/25]
Ivana Bacik
Question:10. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach for a report on his recent meeting with the British Prime Minister. [67607/25]
Rose Conway-Walsh
Question:11. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach to report on his recent meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. [67792/25]
Peadar Tóibín
Question:12. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with the British Prime Minister. [67808/25]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 12 together.
The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and I both attended the recent G20 Summit in South Africa. We had a number of conversations in the margins of meetings there, including on the situation in Ukraine, on which an informal meeting of the coalition of the willing took place. Previously, I met with Prime Minister Starmer at Chequers on 12 September. We discussed a broad range of matters, including the positive state of bilateral relations between Ireland and the UK. We also discussed the legacy framework - this was one of the reasons I went to Chequers - which was published subsequently on 19 September. The Prime Minister and I took note of progress on the UK-Ireland 2030 programme of strategic co-operation since the summit on 6 March on implementation across each of the programme’s four pillars of security, justice and global issues; climate, energy and innovation; growth, trade and investment; and culture, education and people-to-people links. We looked ahead to the second UK-Ireland summit, which Ireland will host in the spring of 2026. This work complements that undertaken under the British-Irish Council, which will meet in Wales later this week, and the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, which took place in Dublin on 17 November.
The Prime Minister and I also discussed a range of international issues, including the catastrophic situation in Gaza. We agreed in particular on the then urgent need for a ceasefire, the release of hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid at scale, as well as finding a pathway to a two-state solution for a lasting peace. We committed to continue to work together with the coalition of the willing to strengthen support for Ukraine and increase pressure on Russia to stop its war of aggression on the people of Ukraine.
Deputies may wish to be aware that the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, was in Ireland last week to mark the agreement of a new bilateral co-operation framework between Ireland and Scotland. The new framework includes six broad areas for future co-operation, including in the context of a strengthened Ireland-UK relationship. I also met with First Minister Swinney in Government Buildings during his visit.
I have had numerous opportunities in this House to welcome in general terms the legacy framework that was agreed between the British and Irish Governments and published in early September. There is an urgent need to enact legislation to give effect to the provisions outlined in the framework. Did the Taoiseach detect an urgency or a very strong commitment from the UK Prime Minister on the need to get this issue dealt with? Many families have waited for justice for decades and decades. We have to move on and get progress on the rights, the concerns and the grief that engulfs so many families of victims for many decades now. At the end of this month, we will mark the 53rd anniversary of the Belturbet bombing, which cost the lives of two young teenagers. We also have had significant dates in relation to commemorations, for example marking the terrible atrocities in Monaghan and Dublin in May 1974. There are so many atrocities for which nobody has been brought to justice. We cannot ever attach enough urgency to trying to deal, once and for all, with legacy issues.
The right to protest against the genocide in Palestine is being severely undermined the UK and this is being carried through to the North as well. I want to raise a case with the Taoiseach that he could raise with the Prime Minister. This is the case of Saoirse Wagner, a student at Queen's University in Belfast, who is being threatened with expulsion for taking part in a peaceful, calm and non-threatening protest on the issue of Palestine. The Palestine assembly in the college protested at the careers fair to highlight companies that are participating in the genocide. I think the Taoiseach will agree with me that taking part in student protest is a fundamental right and so important in our democracy. To threaten a student with their whole third level education being completely taken away for participating in a peaceful protest is something we should take a stand against. I ask the Taoiseach to make representations to the college. Saoirse is known to me. I know that she would not participate in anything violent. I ask the Taoiseach to take this case on board.
We are coming up to the 50th anniversary of the Dundalk bombing, which happened on 19 December 1975. Dundalk lost Hugh Watters, who was a local tailor and a well-respected man, and Jack Rooney, a fireman and a man who worked for the council. Obviously, this was devastating for their families. A memorial event has been organised by the families. It is going to happen near the courthouse, where there is a plaque, at 6.15 p.m. on Friday, 19 December. I think it is very important that we commemorate this 50th anniversary. It was the same night as the attack on Donnelly's Bar in Silverbridge where three people were killed. This was carried out by the Glenanne gang. We know this was a UVF gang which had members of the UDR and the RUC within it and obviously, the British state was up to its neck in relation to it. I would ask about the engagement around producing a framework that will actually deliver for families like these that have been failed and that Britain does not walk away from its role and its dirty war that it fought in Ireland.
The Taoiseach said he discussed Gaza and Palestine with Keir Starmer. A standard tactic of the Israeli state has been to say that anybody who criticises Israel for genocide, apartheid, ethnic cleansing or the persecution of Palestinians, is somehow antisemitic. Keir Starmer, of course, has a record of going along with that nonsense and attacking people like Jeremy Corbyn, who is one of the most long-standing anti-racists and an absolute opponent of antisemitism. It is an outrageous accusation. We have now seen an instance of our own ambassador being dressed down by an Israeli minister, who accused the Irish people and the Irish Government of antisemitism. I would like to know what the Taoiseach thinks about that. Is he capitulating to that bullying by the Israeli state by intervening on the proposal to rename Herzog Park? This is an entirely justified proposal, given Chaim Herzog's history of involvement in ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
A series health crisis is arising in the North of Ireland at the moment. Sinn Féin, the DUP, the UUP and the Alliance Party are closing down key hospital services in Daisy Hill Hospital, Enniskillen and Causeway Hospital in Derry. These closures are having a significant effect on services. Patients in Craigavon hospital are waiting for 19 hours to see their emergency doctor. The waiting time at the emergency department in the Royal Victoria Hospital is nine hours.
One day, there were 40 ambulances stuck at hospitals trying to deliver their patients. The longest waiting time was 13 hours. I pay tribute to the SOS Causeway Hospital campaign and Gemma Brolly, who is involved in that.
The boss of the British Medical Association in the North stated that an all-Ireland GP service would be a way to help resolve these crises. Daisy Hill, Enniskillen and Causeway all have hinterlands that feed into the South of Ireland in areas where there is great need for hospital services too. Is the Taoiseach speaking to the British Prime Minister about developing an all-Ireland health service?
When I asked the Taoiseach about flood relief for east Cork villages last week, he accused me of being sly in how I had raised the question. That adjective could be more fairly levelled at his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, who built his political career on the basis of being a human rights lawyer and unifier of the left. In power, he has enthusiastically supported the imprisonment of people for years who protest against climate inaction, along with the designation of protesters of genocide as terrorists. I fully appreciate that the UK makes its own political decisions and that we have to maintain good relations with political leaders with whom we often might have major disagreements, but it is also true that Irish citizens are affected by Starmer’s authoritarian crackdown on peaceful protests. Acclaimed novelist Sally Rooney has been prevented from collecting a prestigious Sky Arts award in person due to fears of arrest for her support of Palestine Action. Great-grandmother Máire Ní Mhurchú, originally from Douglas in Cork, was arrested in London in September, along with her sisters Gráinne and Olga, for a peaceful protest against genocide. When the Taoiseach met Keir Starmer, did he raise with him his government's aggressive and authoritarian approach to peaceful protest and its impact on Irish as well as British citizens?
With reference to the Taoiseach’s meeting with British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, I note the progress made by the UK Government with regard to dealing with legacy, and I compliment Deputy Smith on his work in this area in particular.
I note the publication this week by the House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee around legacy. One of the more interesting recommendations was that Ireland needs to do more with regard to legacy. I would love to hear the Taoiseach's thoughts on that given that all of the legacy investigations of this country have been ECHR compliant, which is not necessarily something that can be said in the case of the UK.
I call for increased and accelerated action on, in particular, the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. That has been raised many times in this House and it needs to fall under the ambit of the legacy issues as well.
What engagement has the Taoiseach had with the Prime Minister on the ongoing humanitarian disaster of a crisis in Sudan, somewhere the international community needs to step up and pay attention? I wish to hear his thoughts on their engagement on that matter.
There can be no watering-down of the commitments made in the British and Irish Governments' joined legacy framework. There are parts of that framework I question but it is very important. I welcome the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee report on this legacy legislation. The primary legislation underpinning the political framework is moving through Westminster. The bottom line is that the legislation must command the confidence of the families and be human rights compliant in order for it to properly deal with the legacy of the past. Reports that the legislation, which is already weak in parts, could be watered down are extremely concerning and will not be accepted. It is deeply concerning that any legislation would provide the British Secretary of State with the power to veto disclosure on national security grounds for family reports from the information retrieval body, the ICIR and the new legacy commission. All families and survivors have the right to have an Article 2-compliant investigation into the deaths of their loved ones.
A new defence co-operation agreement with Britain is to be signed soon. Members of the House of Lords are saying it will mean a stronger defence relationship between Ireland and the UK. The Taoiseach himself has said there must be very close co-operation with the British when it comes to security. Does he really think that is what Irish people want? Has he forgotten that our neutrality originates from an anti-imperialist struggle against Britain, a struggle Fianna Fáll once fought for? Can he tell us what will be in this new military agreement? Britain is increasing its military expenditure by £67.7 billion. It is an active participant in the genocide in Gaza. Are we going to be expected to massively increase our military expenditure, too, as part of this new agreement?
I thank all of the Deputies for raising a range of issues. Deputy Smith was the first to raise the issue of legacy. I believe there is a sincere commitment on behalf of the British Government as to the implementation of the legacy framework. That is shared by Prime Minister Starmer and, indeed, Secretary of State Hilary Benn, who has acted honourably in all of the negotiations and discussions in respect of the legacy framework. I visited Chequers last September specifically on legacy, along with other issues. It was important to meet with Keir Starmer on that. He has experience of the North from a former role there.
I know the Deputy has been a strong advocate on Belturbet and Monaghan and Dublin. From our perspective, it is important that the Denton report may shed some light on the Monaghan bombing and related issues Deputy Ó Murchú raised. This is relevant also to the activities of the Glennane gang and we eagerly await its publication. Operation Kenova was quite good, in my view, particularly in terms of the victims, who were very impressed with Jon Boutcher when he was in charge of Kenova. They articulated to me that he was one of the first people they met who understood where the families of the victims are coming from.
Deputy Moynihan also raised legacy. We have responsibilities in our jurisdiction. If assertions are made about us, we need to robustly deal with them, but the most effective way to do it is to make sure we respond properly to legacy. As part of the framework agreement, the British Government has, with speed, produced its legislation. That demonstrates the seriousness with which it is approaching this essential work. We are also producing legislation once the UK legislation is enacted. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has said he is hopeful the general scheme of the Bill will be published in April or May of next year. Enabling reciprocal co-operation between the two jurisdictions is at the heart of the agreed joint framework on legacy.
Additionally, as part of the joint framework agreement, the Garda Commissioner has agreed to the establishment by the end of this year of a dedicated unit as a central point of contact in relation to Troubles-related investigations undertaken by An Garda Síochána. That is an important step forward. Unionist communities in the North have always had a view. We did the Smithwick tribunal and we dealt with it quickly as part of the commitment of earlier agreements, but we do also have to be upfront in terms of the legacy framework and respond properly and comprehensively in relation to that.
I say to Deputy Ó Murchú and all those concerned about legacy that it is not about British state violence alone. It is about that, but it is also about the role of the paramilitaries, such as the Provisional IRA. I have met families of victims who have had no closure at all in terms of atrocities committed by the Provisional IRA or the Ulster loyalist groups. The focus has to be broad-based. There is an opportunity in this legacy framework to give closure to families once and for all, after decades of a lack of closure.
Deputy Coppinger raised the issue of Saoirse Wagner and asked me to talk to the Queen's University authorities. The right to protest is sacrosanct. A number of Deputies have raised this issue. Sometimes protests impede other people from doing their normal work, which is a problem. People are entitled to protest. When the war in Gaza started, I was addressing a group of 100 law students, but the objective of a protest was to stop me and to interfere with the exercise and engagement with about 100 law students. People were shouting internally, security asked them to leave and eventually they did. I was in no doubt that the whole purpose was that I would not have that engagement. Where is the balance of rights there in terms of my freedom to speak as a public representative or the freedom of people in the community to hear me? A lot of protests have crossed the line, in my opinion, with a view to stopping things happening. During a consultative forum on security challenges that I hosted as Minister for foreign affairs two years ago, the protests at that were not about protests. They were deliberately calculated to disrupt the event.
The forum was not about consultation either, was it?
It was a legitimate consultation. If the Deputy believes in freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, what he and like-minded people were about was stopping that from even happening.
They never complain about that. It is fair play for them to do that. There is balance here.
I do not know about the protest.
Of course the Deputy knows about the protests. She knows all about them.
I have no idea what the Taoiseach is on about.
They were on the public television, for God's sake.
I do not organise every protest in Ireland.
They were on the public television, in the media and everywhere. In this House-----
That does not make it terrorism.
-----assertions were made. I am not calling it that.
The Deputies are only delaying the next question.
The point I am illustrating is that there are different forms of protest on the continuum and some of those forms are unacceptable-----
We did not organise-----
Deputy, stop engaging, please.
-----as an infringement of the rights of people generally. That is the point I am making.
The time has elapsed.
I am just correcting a mistruth there.
It is not a one-way street-----
It does not matter.
-----all of the time. That is the point I am making. Ramming gates at Shannon Airport is not a legitimate form of protest. Stopping trade through Dublin Port is not a legitimate form of protest-----
We are not.
-----because people's livelihood depends on it. Eighty per cent of trade in this country goes through Dublin Port. Having a problem with a company is not a justification, in my view, for disrupting the entire port. I have no problem having a debate. I participated in protests as a student. I think student protests are important.
Did you?
This is not a debate.
I did, actually
Okay, I will look that one up.
The Deputy can do that. Joe Duffy was put in prison as a result of that protest. It was to do with medical cards. There you are now. Students in this country automatically had medical cards at one time. That was taken away in the eighties. The point is that legitimate protests-----
Which party was that?
Ah please, Deputy, we have to get through this.
I think it was the Deputy's former colleagues in the Labour Party.
Taoiseach, are we moving on?
That is history. Protests happen, and I have no issue with that, but there is a continuum. I will take the Ceann Comhairle's advice.
To Deputy Ó Murchú, I have dealt with some of the legacy issues, which Deputy Conway-Walsh also raised. I will talk to Queen's University on that point. In terms of the Dundalk bombing and the Glennane gang, I hope Operation Denton will shed light on that.
What about the health services?
I will come to that. On Deputy Boyd Barrett's question, there is no relationship between the strategy and policy of the Israeli Government and my views on the renaming of Herzog Park. I have a very basic view. Throughout the history of the State, there have been namings and renamings. I am, and have been, a student of history and I taught students. I always showed them that the names of parks could be the remnants of empire or anything, but they are windows to explain the history of a given subject or personality. If we keep shutting down everything that is named after somebody, there will be no history left.
When was it named Herzog Park?
There will not be a history left.
When was it named Herzog Park? It was ten or 20 years ago.
Please move on, Taoiseach.
That is not the point.
That is not history.
It is, actually, if you go back through his father and before that and examine how Jewish communities came to Ireland in the first instance. There is huge history there, for God's sake.
But not the park.
Deputy-----
It is still history if you change the name of the park.
As a historian and someone who is interested in history, I would be very careful.
-----you are verging on disruptive.
Breandán Ó hEithir wrote in Lig Sinn i gCathú about the thirties when places were being shut down left, right and centre.
Seven more Deputies, Taoiseach.
There is a lot more to it than that, but it has nothing to do with this. I can put Deputy Boyd Barrett at ease in that regard.
There are seven more Deputies to answer, Taoiseach.
By the way, I object, like the Deputy does, to Israel's consistent messaging that if you are not onside, you are offside or antisemitic. That is wrong. You are entitled to be against Israeli Government policy and criticise it and not be labelled antisemitic. That is absolutely correct and I support it.
Deputy Tóibín should talk to his former colleagues in Sinn Féin in earnest and engage with them on the health services in Northern Ireland. That is one issue. There are broader problems with the National Health Service generally, but there are real issues in Northern Ireland. There is no question about the pressures on the health service there.
There are benefits to an all-Ireland health service.
Deputy, this is not a continuous back-and-forth. I am not allowing that. This is Taoiseach's Questions. The Deputy has asked a question and is getting an answer.
Under the shared island initiative, we are trying to do specific projects and programmes, for example in paediatric and cardiovascular health, cardiac surgery and the cancer centre at Altnagelvin hospital. Those are good programmes that have worked very well.
Deputy Quaide referred to Prime Minister Starmer. I do not see him as an authoritarian person when I meet him. I spoke about the continuum of protest. I am not au fait with British security services or why they came to do what they did in respect of Palestine Action. We have proceeded differently in this country. When I meet Prime Minister Starmer, I will have an opportunity to deal fundamentally with a range of issues although we cannot deal with every single issue. The UK has had challenges on both sides of the political spectrum in respect of protests and the nature of those protests.
I dealt with the points raised by Deputy Shane Moynihan about Operation Denton. The Sudan issue is one I have raised consistently with leaders, including publicly, at the G20 summit and at the Africa-European Union summit. It is catastrophic. It rarely gets mentioned in this House, but 12 million people have been displaced. Genocide against the civilian population is happening there. Some of the rebel forces are being supported by neighbouring countries with arms and so forth.
To respond to Deputy Conway-Walsh, the framework is Article 2 compliant. It is far stronger than its predecessor as a legacy Bill.
Deputy Murphy raised the new co-operation agreement. It absolutely makes sense that we co-operate very closely with the United Kingdom on the gas connectors, for example. Those are a huge security vulnerability for both the UK and Ireland, but particularly for Ireland. Within a week, our economy would come to a standstill if anything untoward were to happen to those interconnectors. I hope the Deputy would agree that we should have close defence co-operation for our economic security, in particular, and for our subsea cables. That will mean a lot of technological co-operation. When a Russian shadow fleet crosses over those pipes or subsea cables, very often divers have to go down and check that the pipes are okay. That is co-operation. Letting people know that somebody who might be up to not good is in your terrain is co-operation. Intelligence services sharing information about terrorists or potential attacks is co-operation. There should be no big deal about co-operation.
By the way, on the origin of our neutrality, it was not an anti-imperialist origin. In fact, at the consultative forum, there was a very good seminar on our neutrality and its origins. Obviously, the Second World War was at the core. We were neutral in not having issues with Britain and the occupation of Northern Ireland and so on, but the more fundamental issue was that it was a neutrality of survival. No one was in a position to defend Ireland in 1939, 1940 or 1941. There were good presentations made at that consultative forum but Deputy Murphy boycotted it because he felt it was not worthwhile. It would have been informative had he gone. It would have provided a more nuanced view-----
It is a shame the Taoiseach scrapped the idea of a citizens' assembly.
-----of the origins of our neutrality.
I thank the Taoiseach and ask him to move to the next question.
I apologise. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for her tolerance.
It is not my tolerance. I get complaints at the Business Committee that this forum is not working. We are going to take it to the Dáil reform committee for change.
Regulatory Reform
Tony McCormack
Question:13. Deputy Tony McCormack asked the Taoiseach for an update on his Department’s plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [50582/25]
Albert Dolan
Question:14. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Taoiseach for an update on his Department’s plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [58232/25]
Ruairí Ó Murchú
Question:15. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach for an update on his Department's plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [63260/25]
Darren O'Rourke
Question:16. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach for an update on his Department's plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [63269/25]
Malcolm Byrne
Question:17. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach for an update on his Department’s plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [63479/25]
Cian O'Callaghan
Question:18. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach for an update on his Department’s plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [63906/25]
James O'Connor
Question:19. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Taoiseach his Department's plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [65261/25]
Ruth Coppinger
Question:20. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach for an update on his Department’s plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [65601/25]
Paul Murphy
Question:21. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach about his Department’s plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [65781/25]
Liam Quaide
Question:22. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach for an update on his Department’s plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [67527/25]
Rose Conway-Walsh
Question:23. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach his Department’s plans to co-ordinate a range of actions aimed at regulatory reform. [67793/25]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 to 23, inclusive, together.
Regulation, and the extent of any regulatory or administrative burden, has recently become a greater focus at European Union level and nationally as a means to further enhance competitiveness. At a European level, both simplification and implementation are important Commission priorities. The Commission is striving to simplify and lighten the administrative burden of European Union regulations to ensure they are proportionate, stable, coherent and technologically neutral.
Likewise, our national regulatory framework is a central focus for the Government as we strive to support competitiveness at a time of international economic uncertainty. In line with the programme for Government, we published an action plan on competitiveness and productivity on 10 September this year. The action plan includes actions across government to ensure the development of a more effective regulatory system which will support economic growth.
These actions reflect priority areas where targeted public policy intervention can have the greatest impact. These include a red-tape challenge to reduce regulation for SMEs; the application of the SME test by Government Departments to all measures, in particular policy initiatives where it is proposed to increase costs on small businesses; expediting the Environmental (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill; commencing reforms, as we have done, under the Planning and Development Act 2024 to enhance delivery of infrastructure; and implementing the outstanding recommendations from the review of the administration of civil justice review group report.
Increased regulatory burden has also been identified as a barrier to infrastructure development and delivery. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, supported by the work of the accelerating infrastructure task force, this morning, with Government colleagues including me, the Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, published a plan which will include extensive regulatory reforms aimed at accelerating the delivery of critical infrastructure.
Today's plan provides the blueprint to reduce complexity and blockages in the system and deliver infrastructure with urgency. The changes we are initiating today are vital if we are to maintain our competitive position in an ever uncertain world. They are also necessary to support our citizens with top class public services, job security, access to housing and all other facilities necessary to enjoy the stability and good quality of life we are all entitled to expect.
The actions are ambitious but achievable, and delivering them will require commitment and co-operation across a broad and diverse range of stakeholders, from political, legal and public sectors, industry and society as a whole. We have established a cost-of-business advisory forum where business owners and representative bodies can speak directly to decision-makers about the real-world impact of regulations, fees and operational challenges. The work of that forum is under way. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, is working on the simplification omnibus packages put forward by the European Commission in a range of policy areas, most recently the Commission's digital simplification omnibus package, which was published last month.
My Department will play a co-ordinating role across these different regulatory reform initiatives, as outlined in the action plan on competitiveness and productivity, including the establishment of a central economic regulators' forum, and we will work with the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and other Government colleagues on that agenda.
I thank the Taoiseach for his response. I acknowledge the significant work he, the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and their two Departments are doing on infrastructure reform, particularly the steps being taken to modernise planning, reduce delays and ensure major projects move forward. Infrastructure reform is vital, but businesses and especially SMEs are also calling for a more streamlined regulatory environment. These firms consistently cite overlapping rules, slow approvals and heavy administrative demands as major obstacles to growth. Building on the work already happening on infrastructure, will the Taoiseach update the House on what specific measures his Department is pursuing to simplify compliance for SMEs, reduce unnecessary paperwork and make it easier for businesses to operate and expand? How will these reforms help to lower costs for employers and the taxpayer by making the system more efficient overall?
It is vital that when we speak about regulatory reform, we talk about the administrative operations of existing systems in the function of the State. I will specifically reflect on the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, and the roll-out of grants. We are about to have a debate in this Chamber on energy costs. One thing that is vital is that the best way the Government can help to reduce energy costs in homes is to retrofit them for the future so that they simply do not need as much energy. That is the number one way to reduce the cost and it facilitates homes to be more efficient and takes pressure off the grid. The Government needs to do something to accelerate the rate at which homes can be retrofitted by the SEAI. For many constituents in my constituency, it is taking too long to get through the process of approval of the grant to construction.
We all accept there are huge issues with bureaucracy and red tape in planning. We should have seen simplification and streamlining. Conversations about this are occurring across Europe, but we know about the home-grown issues. It is an issue I have brought up previously, even within the planning systems involving State authorities. For example, Louth County Council is involved in the Ardee Education Together National School build and a particular issue has arisen. We do not have enough agility in the system. Multiple requests have gone in stating that there are not enough parking spaces. There are 21 spaces, including three disability spaces. There are only two set-down spaces for minibuses and there is a need for five as there are five autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classes and there is not even room for a full-size 52-seater bus to turn. There are 21 spaces for staff and there is a need for something closer to 40.
Thank you, Deputy.
It is possible to get this work done at this time, but if the works continue as planned, the problem will still need to be fixed but it could take more than €100,000, so we need something to be done.
I raise the regulation of social media companies in the online space, particularly as it relates to children. The criticism that has been levelled at Coimisiún na Meán's online safety code is that an earlier draft had a recommendation that social media companies turn off recommender systems and it has been removed. Recommender systems profile people who are using apps and then drive them down often hateful and dangerous rabbit holes. It is not healthy for them or society. Will this be looked at?
I raise regulatory reform of immigration and particularly family reunification. It is now being made much harder for many essential workers to be unified with their families, in particular migrant healthcare assistants who were brought over here on a visa programme and are working in private nursing homes. Last week on RTÉ radio, the Minister for justice was asked by the presenter whether these people are not entitled to a normal family life. They are caring for our older people and we have to show we care for them. The Minister's reply was that no one is forcing them to come here. That is absolutely heartless, shows zero empathy and is also completely counterproductive because many of them are nurses. They could go to other countries, but they have come to Ireland and are working below their grades or qualifications, giving huge added value to the nursing homes. I urge the Taoiseach to have a heart. We had a briefing here a few years ago, which Deputy Michael Healy-Rae attended because he knew the value of those healthcare assistants in nursing homes. These are essential workers and they will go elsewhere.
Thank you, Deputy.
Please entitle them to have a normal family life. These mothers should not be separated from their kids.
The programme for Government says the Government will move responsibility for the Multi-Unit Developments, MUD, Acts to the Department of housing from the Department of justice and establish a unit in the Housing Agency to regulate owners' management companies, OMCs, to ensure effective governance. That is important work that needs to happen. The problem is that it is not happening currently, but it has been agreed. Effectively what is holding it up is that, as a result of the Mulcreevy judgment, the primary legislation needs to be changed. At the moment, the MUD Act refers to the Minister for justice and not the Minister for housing. A simple amendment is needed to change the reference to the Minister for housing. Until that happens, all this work of regulatory oversight of OMCs and so on is simply not taking place. There was a meeting of the housing committee to discuss these issues. It invited various officials from the Department of housing and was told they could not come yet because their line Minister is not yet responsible for this.
Thank you, Deputy.
The Housing Agency has not been allocated funding for doing any regulatory work as a result. This needs urgent action.
There was a health committee session last week on the regulation of counselling and psychotherapy. In standards it has published, CORU has adopted a position that is entirely at odds with the main representative groups of those disciplines, which will reduce supervision requirements and remove mandatory personal therapy for trainees. These changes, if implemented, will degrade professional standards and undermine patient safety. CORU is showing a remarkable level of intransigence on these fundamentals of safe practice. Practitioners and representative bodies have warned that the proposals could also jeopardise recognition and mobility across the EU for counsellors and psychotherapists. We must protect high-quality training, preserve public confidence and ensure regulation strengthens, not weakens, these services.
I am not expressing some fringe opinion. The health committee was unanimous in supporting the counselling and psychotherapy representative groups and the session included some strong and insightful contributions from the Taoiseach's party colleagues, including Senator Costello. Will the Government immediately pause the CORU process, bring representative bodies and practitioners into full consultation and commit to reforms that prioritise client safety and high professional standards?
I will talk about the regulation of quarries. The Taoiseach knows the price we have paid in this country and the price that families affected by the defective concrete blocks scandal have paid due to a lack of regulation.
Many of the homeowners I have spoken to in Mayo are not satisfied with the current regulations of quarries and in particular, that geologists are not examining the aggregate within the quarries that are being used to build homes now. I ask the Taoiseach to have a look at this area to see what can be done in that regard. It can be easily fixed by engaging and employing geologists to do the job and to make sure that people have confidence in the materials that are coming out of quarries.
The Taxi Regulation Act 2013 clearly gives the Minister the power to impose regulations around the activities of dispatch companies. Today, for the third time in two weeks, taxi drivers in Dublin are protesting. There is a widespread protest against this across the country by taxi drivers over the behaviour of Uber, a multimillion euro company, that is trying to undermine the livelihood of nearly 20,000 taxi drivers by introducing a fixed fare system. This will undermine the regulated fare structure and therefore the livelihoods of taxi drivers and ultimately the industry itself. In the long run, as is clear from Uber's behaviour elsewhere in the world, it will not benefit the customer. Once the company gets hold of a market, fares and charges go up and the livelihoods of taxi drivers get smashed. Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister for Transport to impose such regulations to prevent Uber destroying the industry and livelihoods of taxi drivers around this fixed fare system and enforce the taxi regulation and meter stuff?
Deputy McCormack raised infrastructure reform, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses. Some of the measures we have taken in respect of deferring the alignment of the minimum wage with the national living wage will help to avoid the escalation of costs because the SME sector has borne the brunt of a lot of additional costs over the past five years. There is no doubt the reduction in VAT on hospitality will help a lot of SMEs in the hospitality sector and hairdressing as well. The number of sick days leave is going to be quickly expanded. We have expanded it to three days. The cumulative cost of everything has been fairly excessive. The Small Business Forum is there to try to balance imposition on small business as well as the cost.
The other issue is the sequential approach to planning and regulations as opposed to a concurrent approach whereby instead of waiting for the planning to be done, agencies do the procurement. Instead of waiting for environmental assessments, doing them all in parallel would speed up a lot of activity. In many instances, we are constantly looking at the avoidance of increased cost for SMEs and trying to slow down the increased costs that have come their way. It is interesting the rate of youth employment has crept up in the past six to nine months. I believe that is related to costs on SMEs.
Deputy Dolan is correct that retrofitting is the most effective way to reduce costs. Between 2019 and September 2025, the Government provided over €1.5 billion in support to homeowners for over 228,000 upgrades, including 30,000 fully funded retrofits under the warmer homes scheme. It is estimated that if a deep retrofit is done, it can save a household up to €1,100 per year in energy costs. I get the Deputy's point that the administration of it needs to be faster. There is also resource demand in respect of it as well with some people not being able to afford to do retrofits because of the cost.
On Deputy Ó Murchú's issue, I do not have the specifics on Ardee Educate Together National School. I do not know what the interaction with the county council is, but in any event-----
The refusal to change-----
They should sort it out. A school is an important facility. The county council should be facilitative in the building of a school.
It is not just the council.
Deputy O'Rourke raised regulation online. We have now established the regulatory framework governing online. There is ongoing review in respect of it. Children must be protected. That has to be the optimal.
Deputy Coppinger raised healthcare assistants and family reunification. We have significant reunification in Ireland under our migration system, in particular when people leave direct provision who have residency. The Minister will bring forward legislation in respect of this and these are issues we can discuss in greater detail at that stage.
On Deputy Murphy's point, I will talk to the Ministers responsible. There has to be proper regulation of management companies. There are fundamental rights involved in terms of those complexes. I will pursue that with the Minister and see where we are in terms of amendment to primary legislation.
Deputy Quaide raised the issue of counselling and psychotherapy. On qualification frameworks and regulators generally, we want more therapists, but they have to be highly qualified. Public health is number one and the protection of the consumer. In some instances, they can be quite protectionist as well. The judgment called for regulators and I would like CORU to get the judgment right in terms of not having the bar so high that there are only highly qualified, and others are not. That is not just in terms of therapy and counselling; that is in terms of teaching and a range of other issues.
Deputy Conway-Walsh raised the regulation of quarries. I will talk to the Minister involved in that. We can overregulate too but I take the Deputy's point about the quality of aggregate and quality of the product. There are existing systems to deal with that. The SEAI is there. There are various regulatory bodies to deal with the quality of materials, but I will talk to the Minister in respect of that. New bodies were set up after the defective blocks scheme.
Deputy Boyd Barrett raised taxi regulation. I will talk to the Minister about the issues that the Deputy raised. There is a balance between consumers, those availing of taxis and the regulation of same. We had regulation a long time ago; it did not work. There was always an imbalance between supply and demand. I will look at this and will talk to the Minister for Transport in respect of it. He is fully aware of it.
We have a delegation of students visiting from Ukraine as our part of our EPAS programme hosted by Maynooth Post Primary School. They are most welcome. We had their president here yesterday, which we enjoyed immensely.