Tom Brabazon
Question:1. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Taoiseach for a report on the national security strategy. [58233/25]
View answerNational Security
Questions (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
Ruairí Ó Murchú
Question:2. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the national security strategy. [65331/25]
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Ruth Coppinger
Question:3. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach for a report on the national security strategy. [65603/25]
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Albert Dolan
Question:4. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Taoiseach for a report on the national security strategy. [65712/25]
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Darren O'Rourke
Question:5. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach for a report on the national security strategy. [65716/25]
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Paul Murphy
Question:6. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach for a report on the national security strategy. [65782/25]
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Ryan O'Meara
Question:7. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Taoiseach for an update on progress of the national security strategy. [65888/25]
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Ivana Bacik
Question:8. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach for a report on the national security strategy. [67608/25]
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Rose Conway-Walsh
Question:9. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach for a report on the national security strategy. [67794/25]
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Peadar Tóibín
Question:10. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the national security strategy. [67809/25]
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Paul Lawless
Question:11. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the national security strategy. [67916/25]
View answerOral answers (66 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, together.
The Government is committed to the delivery of a national security strategy and work is ongoing in finalising the strategy, co-ordinated by the national security secretariat in my Department and integrating inputs from a range of relevant stakeholders, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department of Defence, the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and the National Cybersecurity Centre.
The programme for Government, securing Ireland's future sets out a number of national security commitments, acknowledging that this is a time of upheaval, in particular geopolitical upheaval, with threats and challenges arising from a rapidly changing global geopolitical landscape. The preparation of a draft strategy covers a broad range of national security issues. There is necessarily a focus on the State’s internal security, including the evolving challenges we face from terrorism and extremism and from cyber threats, and a focus on the need to increase our investment in security and to modernise our legislation in the security field, notably in the investigatory powers available to our services. It will include also the implications of recent security, defence and international developments and their related impacts, notably the deteriorating security situation in Europe given Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and the growth in cyber and hybrid threats in Europe. It will combine an enhanced maritime domain awareness with a prioritised focus on ensuring protection of critical maritime infrastructure, especially critical undersea infrastructure. The ongoing implementation of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces and the modernisation of aspects of our defence legislation is also included in the preparations.
The National Cyber Security Centre has been placed under the remit of the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. This is an important element of the realignment of our national security infrastructure, and a project has been initiated to establish this new statutory national security authority, led by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. Earlier this year, I established the Ministerial Council on National Security, which comprises me as chair, the Tánaiste, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and for Defence, and the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. The council will ensure that at the highest level there is a structured, ongoing review of our strategic national security interests and systematised monitoring of progress on delivering the Government’s commitments over the coming months, including the finalisation of the draft national security strategy.
As the Taoiseach is aware, drone sightings in Dublin Bay during the recent Zelenskyy visit underline and underscore the scale of our vulnerabilities and the urgency and need for preparing a strategic national security package. There are reports that international anti-drone units were deployed to Dublin during the visit to assist the emergency response unit. While we welcome the assistance of other states, we should not have to rely on others for our own defence. We should be self-reliant in the first instance. It should be expected that such activity will continue when Ireland takes over the EU Presidency next year, and a national security strategy would allow us to assess risks facing the State, including emergency aerial and technological threats, and set clear goals to guide Government and law makers. Can the Taoiseach provide an update to the House on the development of Ireland's national security strategy and an update on the drone sightings during the Zelenskyy visit?
When we are talking about national security, it is vital we also give people confidence at a local level in our local security, particularly with regard to An Garda Síochána. In Galway East we have towns that are booming, thriving and growing such as Gort, Loughrea, Tuam and Athenry. Those towns are all feeding into Galway city. They have seen massive population increases and for those people to feel secure in those towns, we need an increase in our gardaí allocation and our gardaí numbers. More importantly, as the populations continue to grow in these towns, we need gardaí that become community gardaí, that the people know and connect with and can build relationships with into the future. These gardaí will serve the area. Our gardaí on the ground right now are working really hard but they need to be supported to handle the large caseloads right across the country but particularly in Galway East, we need additional gardaí.
Does the Taoiseach think there is any national security implications for the significant decline in basic civil liberties that is happening in Britain, such as the proscription of organisations of Palestine protestors like Palestine Action, the denial of the right to a jury in the vast majority of trials and what is happening with the Palestine protesters who are charged with nothing more than property damage and who have been held for over a year without trial and without access to bail? The consequence is there are now eight protesters on hunger strike for over 30 days. This is the longest, most significant hunger strike since the H-block hunger strikers. Their demands are minimal, namely, the right to a fair trial, the right to access bail, the right to access medical care in prison and for the ending of the proscription of Palestine Action. There is an almost total media blackout on this in Britain, leading people to suspect there is a so-called D-notice in relation to this. Is the Taoiseach concerned about the decline of civil liberties and the fact that people are forced to go on hunger strike in Britain?
Next year we will hold the Presidency of Europe. During that time, as the Taoiseach is more than aware, our national security will be of paramount importance. Given what has happened with drone activity and interference in Denmark, there is a fear the same will happen in Ireland. With President Zelenskyy's visit last week, we saw drones off the coast of Dublin. It is one thing for us to be a militarily neutral country, and that is right, but it is another thing for us to be able to say whether we can patrol our own skies and protect our own airspace. In light of the Presidency coming up in the middle part of next year, what will our national security strategy do? When will we see it? What will be in it regarding the protection of our skies and airports from rogue actors operating drones?
The very serious incident of five drones endeavouring to intercept the plane carrying President Zelenskyy last week brought our unpreparedness on defence and national security into sharp focus. Was the C70 form completed to ensure that a Garda defence co-ordinated response was put in place? Were all protocols followed? Why did the navy ship not have drone-disabling equipment? Why were airlines not informed that there was drone activity in the vicinity into which they were flying?
Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy told John Mooney of The Sunday Times that the military needs more personnel, intelligence and high-tech capabilities to navigate these uncertain times. Why is the Taoiseach so reluctant to allow the defence and national security committee to do what its title suggests and have oversight of national security?
Can the Taoiseach categorically say that the Government is able to protect all of the EU leaders who will come to this country during the EU Presidency? Who launched the drones that were seen off Dublin Bay during the Zelenskyy visit? Why were those drones not dealt with? Where did these drones come from? Where did they retreat to? How come none of that information is known at this stage? Who was behind the drones? We have heard statements that it is likely that they may have come from Russia, but what evidence is there of this? One of the more memorable answers the Taoiseach gave to a question on national security in the previous Dáil, when the issue of the so-called Russian spy was discussed, was that he did not receive those briefings. He quite pointedly said he did not receive the information he should be receiving on that. How can people in Ireland have confidence, given the fact that our Defence Forces have been run down for so long and we can only staff one ship on the seas at any given time?
The national security strategy consultation launched in 2019 was intended to guide our strategy on security for the past five years, from 2020-25. Despite this, no strategy was published during this timeframe. During that timeframe we had a huge ransomware attack on the HSE which put a significant number of people's lives and health in jeopardy and cost the State several million euro. What is happening on this? When will the strategy be published? It is costing the State a significant amount of money.
We need some sort of detail and we need to know there is a plan to address cybersecurity and hybrid warfare. The HSE attack brought to light what was probably happening to a lot of businesses which did not provide information. There has been increased funding for the National Cyber Security Centre, NCSC, but we need to get down to brass tacks. There have been drone attacks over the past while and we need to make sure that we have the capacity and technological know-how to be able to deal with these issues. There has been a failure to date in respect of funding to ensure we have the full capacity required.
One of the biggest atrocities and national security breaches was the Dublin-Monaghan bombing carried out by the Glenanne gang. There were headlines yesterday stating that there was no collusion in the Dublin-Monaghan bombing. First, the Kenova report yesterday dealt with Stakeknife, not the Dublin-Monaghan bombing. The Denton report will not be published until January.
It was a summary of Denton.
The report states that the British Army had the names of the killers on the night of the bombing but nobody was ever arrested. The representatives of the families think that smacks of collusive behaviour. The authors were also extremely critical of the Irish authorities, including the Garda, and the British authorities for destroying much of the files and evidence so that the people compiling the report could not gather conclusive evidence. The whole thing stinks to high heaven. The representatives of the families have asked for a public inquiry. Will the Taoiseach listen to them?
I thank all Deputies who raised issues in terms of national security and the national security strategy. It reflects a growing awareness and engagement with this House, not before time, in respect of security and defence issues. There has been a wilful ignoring of these issues for far too long in the House. Particular perspectives have been taken on this. Even this morning, there were references to the United Kingdom, Europe or America as being threats. The clear threats right now in this era include a Russian threat to our security and security infrastructure. We have had engagement between Iran and Russia and North Korea and Russia. North Korean soldiers have been on European soil during a period of war, seeking to violate the territorial integrity of Ukraine and its sovereignty. These are the realities we face. We wish we were not facing these realities and we would prefer a Continent at peace and so on.
The strategy will be completed. Deputy Brabazon was the first to speak and referred to self-reliance. We will develop radar capacity, and that is very close to action in terms of procurement – a lot of work has gone into that. We need to co-operate and co-ordinate with other member states in the European Union and the United Kingdom in respect of all of these issues because a pattern has developed in terms of the emergence of these drones and the violation of the airspace of EU member states. The most notable incident occurred in Copenhagen at the time of the European Political Community meeting. Denmark sought help and advice from other EU member states at that time. There were incidents in Belgium, France, Poland, in terms of train tracks and so on, and in the Baltic Sea. We are agreed that, on the drone issue, disabling technology is important.
The visit of President Zelenskyy was very effective from a security perspective. I want to make it clear to everybody that an incident did occur on that night. A small number of unidentified drones were observed in the vicinity of a Naval Service vessel on patrol off the coast of Dublin. The drones were not a threat to President Zelenskyy's aircraft - that needs to be clear - because it had safely landed quite some time prior to the incident, nor were they a threat to his departure. An operational response was put in place that was appropriate to the circumstances by the commander of the naval vessel at the time and, subsequently, by the police and military authorities working in close co-operation. They worked closely together in advance of the visit and so on.
The Garda liaised with its Ukrainian partners throughout the visit of the President on the security arrangements, including with regard to this incident. The Garda special detective unit is carrying out an investigation of the circumstances of the incident with input from the Defence Forces. It is a very concerning incident, as I said, like other similar incidents in other European states. The circumstances are suggestive of this being part of an ongoing Russian-inspired hybrid campaign against European Union and Ukrainian interests.
I would like the Taoiseach to present some evidence. He said the circumstances are suggestive-----
Of course the Deputy would. Could I say to Deputy Brabazon-----
The circumstances are contested. It might well have been the Russians but I would like to see some evidence if this will be used as an agenda to undermine our neutrality.
We just cannot have this, Deputy Murphy.
The gardaí-----
We cannot have this interaction.
I will come back to the Deputy.
I thank the Taoiseach.
An Garda Síochána is substantively enhancing and has enhanced its anti-drone capabilities. It has significant capabilities on land, and the navy likewise. The military generally has the capabilities throughout all three strands: air, sea and land. We will continue to enhance that and harness all technology available in the country, both private sector but also on our university campuses that can assist in that regard.
All politics is local and Deputy Dolan asked about gardaí in east Galway and the expanding towns. We have seen good progress in the recruitment of gardaí through Templemore. It has seen its highest intake this year. The Commissioner has been allocating significant numbers to given areas. Dublin benefited initially. Cork is benefiting now, to be quite frank, in terms of the city centre. The idea is to get around to the rest of the country but to do it in significant numbers so it really has impact. I understand we are pleading for patience on the Deputy's behalf and others but we are making progress. Funding is there to keep the throughput at the level it currently is in Templemore.
On the remarks made by Deputy Murphy, the United Kingdom does not present a national security threat to Ireland.
The Taoiseach should have read the Denton report.
On the issue he raised in terms of the civil liberties issue within the UK, it is an issue the UK has to challenge and deal with. I noted his comment, "nothing more than property damage". That was interesting. I do not believe people should be-----
Interned for property damage.
No one should be interned and there should be trials. I love the Deputy's casual approach to property damage. It is fine. It is grand. Do not worry about it. Let us continue doing it.
That is not what I said.
It is what he implied.
No, it is not.
Ah, come on.
The point I was making is it is not normal to hold people-----
We discussed this-----
Deputy Murphy made his point already.
-----without trial for over a year for property damage.
We are not doing this, Deputy Murphy. We are not doing this.
That is the point I was making and the Taoiseach knows it.
There are other Members to be regarded.
Can I just say to Deputy Murphy that Deputies in this House have had their property damaged. I do not believe that should lead to internment or anything like that.
Exactly.
No, no.
Allow the Taoiseach to answer.
Let us be very clear. In dealing with protest, there are different levels of protest. The right to protest and to free speech is absolutely inviolable. It has to be allowed and facilitated in any true democracy. When protests get too extreme, you then impact on other people's rights to personal safety, life and property. I respectfully suggest that is something the Deputy does not pay much attention to.
Israeli weaponry property? No.
In terms of the other issue Deputy O'Meara raised, I have dealt with some of the aspects of what happened on the night and so forth. In terms of the EU Presidency, which people have raised, there is a lot of work under way to prepare for that. An Garda Síochána is central to the security planning and preparation. It has established a dedicated European Union Presidency co-ordination office, led by the deputy commissioner of policing operations to oversee all aspects of operational planning, logistics and inter-agency engagement. There is ongoing interdepartmental engagement through a whole range of forums. Close co-operation with European policing and security partners concerning the Presidency is ongoing, as per the norm.
In the modern security arena, you have to co-ordinate, co-operate and share intelligence with other agencies. That is absolutely key. Otherwise, you are at nothing in terms of protecting the State or protecting our people. I do not want to go into all of the details here. Some of this is security sensitive. I have a report about the drone situation. When we are discussing security, there has to be an understanding there are limits to what can be put into the public domain. That impacts further gathering and garnering of intelligence. It also impacts on our capacity to withstand further threats and so on like that. There will be a lot of planning for VIP protection, venue security, transport management, cyber resilience and public order contingencies. All of that is being worked on. It is a mammoth task. It is a huge operation. Other member states have had to do something similar. It is symptomatic of where we are in terms of the threats to European security and so forth.
I think I have dealt with most of the issues Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh raised and I was responding to her in respect of that.
Sorry, the Taoiseach has not-----
Absolutely not, Deputy. The Deputy has to take the answer.
I just want to put it on the record the Taoiseach has not answered.
I am not finished yet. No member state yet, bar France in the past 48 hours or so, has attempted to disabled drones or bring them down, for different reasons. That is a matter we have to leave to the operational people in charge. We cannot dictate that sort of a response here.
Do we have the capacity?
Deputy, no.
We have the capacity.
If the Deputy needs to raise a Topical Issue, she can put one down. This is not a back and forth.
Once again, it is a matter for those on the ground and in the theatre to decide the best and most appropriate response at the time.
I have dealt with some of Deputy Tóibín's questions. The national security council has been established. There is a clear structure emanating from that in terms of awareness, being briefed and so forth. I was briefed on this incident. I sought a briefing immediately on it and I received it. Obviously, it is something that will be discussed at the national security council later.
In terms of Deputy Lawless-----
The Taoiseach has not categorically-----
No. If the Deputy is not happy with the answer, put down-----
-----stated that EU leaders will be safe during the Presidency.
Deputy Tóibín, you know you are wrong.
He also has not stated where those drones came from and where they went.
I am asking the Deputy to stop addressing the Taoiseach until he finishes his answers,
He has not answered those questions.
The Deputy might not like the answer but it is the Taoiseach's answer. Do not interject again, please.
I was just about to make the point in terms of the cybersecurity attacks. Sorry, we will protect those who are coming into this country. There is no question. Do not always be so fast to denigrate ourselves. Do not listen to all the noise out there. What happened during President Zelenskyy's visit was a good security operation by our Defence Forces and by an Garda-----
Why will the Taoiseach not answer the question about the drones?
Deputy, please have respect for the other Members.
Through the Chair, we need to acknowledge that and the very effective work of An Garda Síochána and our Defence Forces. There is a lot of noise which suits other interests to portray Ireland in a certain light. The Deputy should be wary of that, too.
Deputy Lawless raised the issue of cybersecurity. Cyber threats and attacks have increased significantly since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some have been by criminal elements, some have been by professionals. There are also third party state actors in respect of cybersecurity threats. It is a very serious issue for both public utilities and private sector companies. It is costing a lot of funding to deal with that. We have brought the National Cyber Security Centre under the Department of justice. It is a very strong centre and has grown in capacity very significantly in the past five years. I remember when we started it. It has developed a really strong capacity under Richard Browne. Credit needs to be given in respect of that.
I make the point to Deputy Ó Murchú that there is not a failure in funding, frankly, and finance will not be an issue here. What is an issue is the procurement timelines, both within the European defence industry and more generally. We are working to see if we can accelerate procurement. We are doing that with the radar. That is why we took a joint country approach to procurement - to fast track it. In other words, we use the experience and expertise of countries that have experience of procuring the radar we are now seeking. Everyone will be about how fast we can procure. It will also be about taking an intelligent approach in terms of what we procure. The nature of modern warfare or security threats has changed radically. We are all witnessing the drone technology change, as well as the cybersecurity. What can we do undersea? How do we protect cables? How do we protect gas connectors? It is a whole-of-society security approach that is required here. It is not the traditional, conventional approach to defence and security. We need to consider and explore that point more, perhaps.
On the Dublin-Monaghan bombing, Deputy Boyd-Barrett is correct insofar as the summary of the Denton report was produced yesterday. It is regrettable that we do not have the full Denton report. I think there was some legal action taken to try to prevent it being published in full. The Kenova report has been published. We should have a debate on the Kenova report in this House in the new year. It reveals very sordid activity by state actors but also by paramilitaries, including the Provisional IRA. The Kenova report does not pull its punches in saying it was a threat to its own community or attacked its own community. What went on is quite unbelievable.
The Denton report stated that 120 people were murdered by a network of loyalist paramilitaries and RUC and UDR personnel, including those killed in the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. It is a very sordid story and both the Kenova and Denton reports cover it. I pay tribute to Jon Boutcher, who is now the head of the PSNI, for his leadership on Kenova, and also to Iain Livingstone. They withstood a lot of pressure. We will have two comprehensive reports, if we can get the latter one published.
That is it, Taoiseach. We move to questions Nos. 12 to 28, inclusive. With 16 Members and a remaining 18 and a half minutes, it is highly unlikely we will get to the third group of questions. I ask Members to be brief.
Cabinet Committees
Questions (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
Aindrias Moynihan
Question:12. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [63425/25]
View answerRuairí Ó Murchú
Question:13. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [65332/25]
View answer
David Cullinane
Question:14. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [65605/25]
View answerAlbert Dolan
Question:15. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [65711/25]
View answerDarren O'Rourke
Question:16. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [65717/25]
View answerPaul Murphy
Question:17. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [65783/25]
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Cian O'Callaghan
Question:18. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [65859/25]
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Séamus McGrath
Question:19. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will meet next. [65887/25]
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James O'Connor
Question:20. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will meet next. [67601/25]
View answerIvana Bacik
Question:21. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [67609/25]
View answerPeadar Tóibín
Question:22. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [67810/25]
View answerPaul Lawless
Question:23. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [67917/25]
View answerRuth Coppinger
Question:24. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [68212/25]
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James Geoghegan
Question:25. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [69534/25]
View answerRose Conway-Walsh
Question:26. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [69659/25]
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Barry Heneghan
Question:27. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will meet next. [69690/25]
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Conor D McGuinness
Question:28. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will next meet. [69835/25]
View answerOral answers (44 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 to 28, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on infrastructure last met on 3 November and will meet again early in the new year. The Cabinet committee works to drive infrastructure delivery and the implementation of the revised national development plan. As Members know, last week, we brought to Government the essence of that plan. The reform of the delivery of critical, growth-enhancing infrastructure is a key commitment in the programme for Government. Last week marked a major milestone on this agenda with the publication of the accelerating infrastructure report and action plan.
This plan sets out 30 high-impact and time-bound reforms to speed and scale up delivery of homes, roads, public transport, wastewater plants and energy infrastructure. Actions include legislative reforms to balance individual rights and public good, simplify regulation and consenting systems, cut administrative burden and red tape and build public acceptance and a delivery culture. The reforms align with broader housing, climate and competitiveness goals. These will be achieved by streamlining approvals to allow concurrent processing, introducing statutory timelines for major project decisions, rationalising delivery guidance to reduce duplication and complexity, enhancing procurement practices through clearer project pipelines, and fostering a delivery-focused culture that balances safeguards with urgency.
We are at a critical juncture. We have a strong economy and growing population, but our infrastructure delivery is too slow. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform this. The Government, private sector and communities must align behind delivery. The plan is underscored by the largest capital investment in the history of the State, with over €275 billion planned over the coming ten years.
Over recent weeks, Departments have published their ambitious sectoral investment plans for the next five years. Areas such as energy, transport and water will see a significant scale-up in funding and delivery, all of which will support us to address our infrastructure deficit and scale up housing. There will also be robust oversight of the Government’s performance in achieving these actions with regular reports on progress to the Cabinet committee on infrastructure. In the period ahead, the Cabinet committee will, therefore, oversee both the investments and reforms required to ensure that infrastructure is delivered as efficiently and quickly as possible.
There are 12 Deputies present. They will have 30 seconds each, which means there will be six minutes for questions and six minutes for a response. That is as fair as I can be.
The recently published national development plan update sets out an ambitious plan for key infrastructure for the years ahead. Many of the capital works are due to get under way by 2030 and others thereafter. Having a pipeline of projects ready is vital because there is so much background work involved with them. I am particularly focused on the ones after 2030. We have seen how the N22 Macroom bypass took many years to advance through the earlier stages, such as the background works, planning and design and so on. The next phase of that road is the piece between Macroom and Ballincollig. It needs to continue in the background and get through the various background stages so that we have a pipeline of projects ready to roll as soon as possible.
We have all seen a huge amount of flood damage and the danger of nature. While a huge amount of work has been done by local authorities and emergency services, this brings to light the need to deal expeditiously with CFRAM protections that are necessary throughout Louth. With regard to the south part of the Dundalk and Blackrock project, the promise is quarter 2 of 2027 for planning application submission. There have been promises and we have been waiting years.
Is that CFRAM?
It is CFRAM. There are five particular projects throughout Louth, in Drogheda, Carlingford, Greenore, Baltray and Ardee. The lack of wastewater capacity is also causing issues.
We need to double-track the rail line from Galway city to Athenry. The passing loop at Oranmore is under construction now. Ceannt Station is moving to be a station with five platforms. Huge investment has gone in but we must continue it because we are going to wait years for the Galway city outer bypass and the reality is that rail is the lever we can pull. We can build a double track from Athenry to Galway city which would greatly improve the quality of life for all commuters in east Galway.
We need updated wind and solar farm guidelines. The wind farm guidelines are in draft form since 2019 and the last full version was in 2006. There is a commitment in the programme for Government for solar farm guidelines but recent responses say they are at a very early stage of a scoping process. When will they be ready?
The new roll-out of BusConnects routes has been a disaster in my constituency. Constituents report that buses on the F spine route, which were supposed to provide a more direct route to the city centre and greater connectivity, are taking 20 to 30 minutes longer to get into town and providing fewer options for people trying to get to work or school. It is made worse by the frequent delays and cancellations seen across nearly all routes in Dublin South-West, including the S and W spines operated by Go-Ahead Ireland. Elsewhere, the NTA has been forced to change routes in Finglas and Chapelizod due to protests and people making their voices heard. Will the NTA do the same here or will people be forced to protest?
Central to a good infrastructure system is a good public transport system. I welcome the approval of BusConnects Cork by Cabinet to proceed to the planning phase. That is very welcome but we cannot wait years for improvements to the local bus service. I am sure the Taoiseach, like other public representatives in Cork, is inundated with unreliability issues relating to local bus services, such as buses not turning up, disappearing buses and inaccurate information on the travel app. It is simply not good enough and it has been going on for years. People are tired of excuses from the National Transport Authority and Bus Éireann. I ask the Taoiseach to please take this issue up and look for immediate improvements.
While we prioritise electricity, water and transport, digital connectivity must now be treated equally. It is essential for Ireland's competitiveness. Europe has fallen behind the US and China. 5G stand-alone is under 2% in the EU and 0% in Ireland, compared with 20% in the US and 80% in China. AI, ehealth and advanced manufacturing cannot run on yesterday’s networks. If we want future investment in next-generation technology, connectivity must be prioritised. Will the Cabinet committee on infrastructure evaluate 5G stand-alone as a national priority? During Ireland's EU Presidency, will the Government push for strong, pro-investment digital policy under the digital networks Act?
The Navan to Dublin rail line is not included in the national development plan review as a project that will start to be built before 2030. It has no start date for construction at all at the moment. It is up to a future government to fund the construction of a Navan to Dublin rail line. No money has been assigned or ring-fenced for that particular project, despite the fact there are 90,000 people commuting from Meath at the moment, 60,000 of whom travel by car and add to the M50 crisis. The M50 is currently grinding to a halt. If the Government wants to help fix the M50 crisis, allow people in Meath to use public transport to get to work without pushing them into cars every single day.
Ireland faces an emergency crisis in terms of infrastructure, housing, energy and water. According to the ESRI, an additional 40,000 construction workers will be needed for the housing plan and an additional 40,000 will be needed for infrastructure. That is 80,000 construction workers who are required to meet the Government’s plan. Indeed, the Dublin metro will require 8,000 construction workers. What is the Taoiseach’s plan in order to achieve this? I speak to construction workers in Australia all the time. They want to come home but they are simply totally disenfranchised and disengaged. The Government has no interest in bringing them home.
I know the Taoiseach will agree that the people in Mayo deserve to have proper road infrastructure. I want to specifically talk to him about the R312, which is the main road connecting Erris to the county town of Castlebar. I want it to be designated a regional strategic road because that is the only way it will get the funding it needs. It is a dangerous road. People have put up with it for years but it is time for it to be fixed.
Which one is that?
It is the R312. I thank the Taoiseach.
Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur ar an Taoiseach faoin flooding we saw in Clontarf yesterday. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Boxer Moran, for coming down and sorting out the dreaded sandbags, but households and businesses were very worried yesterday. I had tens of people-----
Where was that?
Clontarf. Does the Taoiseach not know I am a Clontarf man? The flood defence is critically needed. Will flood defences be included in critical infrastructure with the recent announcement last week? This needs to be fast-tracked and people and businesses need assurance.
Finally, Deputy Conor D. McGuinness.
Once again, I am raising with the Taoiseach the N25, which is the transport spine of Waterford's infrastructure and long regarded as the most dangerous national road in the State. There has been no funding for safety improvements. Routine maintenance, resurfacing and line painting are not good enough at this stage. Bus stops are being withdrawn. There was another HGV incident this morning just outside Dungarvan. We need to see serious investment in safety improvements on the N25 right from Rosslare to Cork city, but particularly in Waterford where there has been no funding for safety improvements.
Taoiseach, the floor is yours for five minutes.
I love the demarcation lines. The "Rosslare to Cork city, but particularly in Waterford" part of it. I am sorry. I get it. Do not worry.
There have been no safety upgrades. There was a serious incident there this morning.
It is just an observation. I will start with Deputy Aindrias Moynihan, who made a very good point. Hopefully, with this national development plan and the allocation of ten years, we will avoid this stop-start where we get a project from A to B but C is not provided for at all. We had that over the last two decades, I suppose. I recall how the Cork-Limerick road had planning in an earlier era and then that was all shelved after the financial crash and so on. If they had kept the planning going, they would have been in a much better position now to actually start. I do accept that, and particularly on the N22. The Macroom bypass has been extremely effective but there is the problem that you go along a great road into Ballincollig if you are coming from the Kerry side but then you are suddenly into what, as the Deputy was saying to me the other day, is like a parking lot for the next 20 to 40 minutes. It is a very good point that we should encourage Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, and others to keep thinking of the next stage and to have the planning ready and preparatory work done. I will work on that particular stretch the Deputy has referenced.
Deputy Ó Murchú raised the flood damage, CFRAM and the five projects in Louth. Deputy Barry Heneghan had a similar point. In general, flood protection schemes take a long time. Some of that is due to stakeholder engagement and public engagement, and there can be objections and so on. If any projects are of such imperative, these are. We do know that when these projects happen, they are effective in protecting against flooding. Towns that had historical flooding events have stopped them because of good infrastructure being put in. These projects invite a lot of objections. We had it in Cork city and it went the whole way to the top courts. It is only now that work is under way and all of that. There was flooding in Cork city this week. It was there because of the tidal levels, but one could argue that if you had the protections in, then businesses and people would have been protected and people could have gone in and out of town. I am very conscious of that.
With regard to Deputy Dolan's question, I will come back to the Minister. It was a good point. I do no know where we are on it in terms of the national development plan but there is no question that Galway city is facing enormous congestion, including all the areas feeding into Galway city. It is a real problem. Public transport, including rail, does give us an option, but not the whole option. We have to get the ring road done. Equally, though, the rail infrastructure is critical. I will talk to the Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien, about that.
Deputy O'Rourke raised the issue of the updated wind farm guidelines. The Deputy is correct that they have been a long time coming and technology has changed in the intervening period. I have asked the Minister, James Browne, to accelerate the work on the guidelines. The unit in his Department is also working on planning exemptions. There is a lot of work there. The Department is also working on rural guidelines for housing and one-off housing. There is a lot of work in that Department but I accept that we do need to bring this to a conclusion. At some stage, we need some collective debate on energy. We are all dealing with individual cases of objections to solar, objections to gas generation, objections to wind onshore, and objections to wind offshore potentially. We desperately need the offshore wind. This is something we have got to progress through planning. I am hoping we can get wind farms built, certainly through 2030 to 2031. If we do not, then we are in trouble from an energy perspective. As a collective - when I say "collective", I mean the entire Oireachtas - we have to try to stand back and say that there are huge challenges. We discussed security earlier. We are very dependent on the importation of fossil fuels through the interconnectors. There are real issues here that we need to be clear-eyed about. We can then take decisions once everybody realises that there are pluses and minuses in all of this.
Deputy Paul Murphy raised BusConnects, which he said was a "disaster"-----
Some of it.
That is okay. It is a word that is not uncommon. Anyway, I have had my issues with BusConnects down through the years. There have been issues for habitual users of bus services who feel the changing of services or the reorientation of scheduling and so on has eroded what they would have had prior to it. Then we had all the issues around what were, in my view, over-the-top initial plans, which then got rolled back. This seems to have been a pattern throughout the BusConnects journey and I think lessons could be learned from that. A lot of heat built up that perhaps was not necessary in the first place because a lot of stuff that was proposed was then taken away. We will engage with the National Transport Authority, NTA, in terms of what is happening. It has made a lot of progress now on BusConnects. We need a good bus transport system.
That brings me to Deputy Séamus McGrath's point. Yes, I have heard similar reports in terms of reliability. Originally, a year and a half ago, the shortage of drivers was blamed, but we definitely need to improve reliability. There had been very good stuff happening in public transport growth and so on.
I will talk to Deputy McCormack again. The Deputy is absolutely correct that America, China and others are way ahead of us in some of this in the digital space. We need to catch up fairly quickly. I will look at the 5G stand-alone issue.
Deputy Tóibín mentioned the NDP. The Navan rail line is in the NDP review-----
It is not a Bill.
The Deputy has a great capacity. He is brilliant at it, actually. From a political agitation perspective, the Deputy has a great capacity to turn what others would see as success into defeat. For the Deputy in opposition to say that we are not releasing-----
That-----
Do not interrupt.
I have to, a Cheann Comhairle.
No, Deputy Tóibín, do not even dare.
The Deputy is trying to ask how I can-----
Deputy Tóibín will have to look for it afterwards.
I spoke to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, about this and he is very clear that the Navan line is going ahead.
There is no date for construction.
Do not even think about it.
The Government is absolutely committed to it.
On Deputy Lawless's question, there is a huge increase in apprenticeships. We are recruiting people back. We are anxious for people to come back into the country, and people are coming back into the country. The construction industry is confident enough in terms of the numbers for getting the housing done, for example, and the huge retrofit programme that is going on as well.
I will talk and engage with the Minister in respect of Deputy Conway-Walsh's query on the R312.
Regarding Deputy Heneghan's question, I have discussed that in terms of Clontarf and flood relief generally. It will be part of critical infrastructure, absolutely. I see it as critical infrastructure because it is a big threat to us. The storms are worse and they are more severe. We need to accelerate the protection of people, households and businesses in that respect.
On the N25, we need to get the bypasses along that road. That is a section of the road that definitely needs improvement.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle.
I thank the Taoiseach and Members. For future reference, if there needs to be back and forth, this is not the forum in which to pose a question.
In the review-----
We have a Dáil reform committee today at which it will be discussed.
We need a bit of entertainment and lively engagement, too.
This is not the forum, Taoiseach.
Is féidir teacht ar Cheisteanna Scríofa ar www.oireachtas.ie.
Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.
Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 2.09 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 3.08 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 2.09 p.m. and resumed at 3.08 p.m.