Séamus McGrath
Question:1. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Taoiseach when the Cork city task force will be established. [64215/25]
View answerUrban Development
Questions (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
Pádraig O'Sullivan
Question:2. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cork city task force will be established. [64217/25]
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Paul McAuliffe
Question:3. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [67575/25]
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Catherine Ardagh
Question:4. Deputy Catherine Ardagh asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [67576/25]
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Tom Brabazon
Question:5. Deputy Tom Brabazon asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [67577/25]
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Pádraig Rice
Question:6. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Taoiseach when the Cork city task force will be established. [68413/25]
View answerPádraig Rice
Question:7. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Taoiseach when the Cork city task force will be established. [70179/25]
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Barry Heneghan
Question:8. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [72004/25]
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Mary Lou McDonald
Question:9. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [74324/25]
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Ruairí Ó Murchú
Question:10. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [1832/26]
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Thomas Gould
Question:11. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Taoiseach when the Cork city task force will be established. [3471/26]
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Mark Ward
Question:12. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Taoiseach the position regarding the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [3645/26]
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Liam Quaide
Question:13. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach when the Cork city task force will be established. [3649/26]
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Eoghan Kenny
Question:14. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Taoiseach when the Cork city task force will be established. [3797/26]
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Peadar Tóibín
Question:15. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [3829/26]
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Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:16. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [3920/26]
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Paul Murphy
Question:17. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [3923/26]
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Marie Sherlock
Question:18. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Taoiseach for an update on the implementation of the Dublin city task force report. [4022/26]
View answerOral answers (30 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 18, inclusive, together.
In May 2024, the Government appointed a task force to take a holistic view of the measures required to rejuvenate Dublin city centre, north and south, to make Dublin city centre a more thriving, attractive, and safe cityscape and a desirable location to live, work, do business and visit. Following the task force report and recommendations, as agreed by the Government, the Department of the Taoiseach convened an interdepartmental group to examine the recommendations made by the Dublin city task force. The group, chaired by my Department, submitted a report to the Government with a ten-year roadmap for delivery setting out a comprehensive implementation path for the task force report. Through this roadmap for delivery, we will see implementation of the task force report across three phases, over ten years, at the heart of Dublin city. Central to this will be a special purpose vehicle to drive delivery and to support the specific capital developments relevant to the project. The council is currently working on the establishment of this new legal entity. A ten-year integrated area strategy for Dublin city centre will optimise funding and investment and tackle vacancy and dereliction. There will be accelerated delivery of landmark capital projects in the city centre through additional funding in the URDF under the NDP review. Redevelopment of the GPO complex as an ambitious and historic flagship project will be managed by the Office of Public Works.
In addition, the roadmap creates an enabling environment designed to build confidence with business, landholders and investors to get involved in achieving a new vision for Dublin city centre and to drive private sector investment. An oversight board comprising all of the relevant Departments and agencies has been established to oversee and provide strategic direction for delivery of the roadmap. It is chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach. The board has been meeting regularly since its establishment in July. In line with the roadmap, Dublin City Council is currently recruiting staff with the required technical skills for an interim programme management unit, which will drive delivery while work is advancing to set up a special purpose vehicle. Changes to the living city initiative announced as part of budget 2026 will also support regeneration and efforts to tackle vacancy and dereliction in the city.
The programme for Government commits to applying the Dublin city task force model to other cities, towns and regions in need of revitalisation, starting with Cork city. Recognising Cork city’s unique character and potential as our second city, implementation of this model will demand a tailored response in line with the specificity of Cork city and with stakeholders in Cork. We have met with the council, universities and others. Following meetings between my officials and Cork City Council, draft terms of reference for Cork city are at an advanced stage. A follow-up meeting with the council’s chief executive has been scheduled for next week, and I expect the terms of reference to be finalised and submitted to the Government in the near future. There will be regular reports to the Government on developments in both Dublin and Cork cities from then on.
I know the Taoiseach is familiar with the Cork city issue. His Department and the Government have had significant contact with Cork City Council and others in relation to the establishment of this group. I understand it may not be called a task force and that is fine. What we want is a group of organisations and individuals in Cork with the sole purpose of trying to improve Cork as a place to live, work, do business and visit. There are critical themes. We need to invest in our public spaces and streetscape in the city, address issues with vacancy, and continue to ensure we have a proper transportation system which can focus on issues such as BusConnects, Cork Luas and improving connectivity to our airport, which is an ongoing issue. There has been a recent increase in Garda visibility in Cork and that is welcome. This would also be a key focus. I welcome the Taoiseach's update and ask him to give us an indication of when he hopes this group will be formally established.
I broadly support what Deputy McGrath has said. We are in and out of here for the best part of 12 months talking about this issue. Everybody is talking about getting the task force together expeditiously. I think the Taoiseach said in an Irish Examiner article before Christmas that he hoped to come to a decision about the formulation of it by the end of January. I know we still have a week of so left for that timeline to transpire. People just want certainty for the reasons Deputy McGrath has outlined. To be fair, the Cork Business Association and Cork Chamber have done good work over the past few years, particularly in rolling out those patrols the Cork Business Association was involved with. Going forward, that model could be replicated in other areas and cities across the country. Most importantly it is about tackling dereliction, particularly in the North Main Street and South Main Street area. It is about time we give people that certainty and get on with the work of the task force.
The Dublin city task force produced a comprehensive report with clear recommendations to improve safety, footfall and confidence in Dublin city. However, many residents, retailers and workers across Dublin South-Central, including the Liberties, the Coombe, Inchicore and the wider south-west inner city area, are still not seeing the tangible impacts on the ground. Antisocial behaviour in particular and persistent petty theft continue to place real pressures on small shops, supermarkets and small retailers. Crucially, this behaviour puts people off visiting local streets and neighbourhood centres, reduces footfall and undermines community confidence and some local businesses. People want to feel safe when they are walking, jogging, shopping and using public transport. Increased visible policing, including transport police on the Luas and bus networks alongside stronger Garda visibility, is essential to restore that confidence. Ultimately, will the Taoiseach provide a clear update on where implementation of the task force stands, including governance, timelines and, more importantly, funding?
As the Taoiseach is aware, the task force recommended ten big moves for regeneration, which focused on renewing O'Connell Street and the surrounding areas, dealing with dereliction and increasing security in the city. The increased presence of gardaí in the city is welcome and has improved matters but it has not fully solved them. The issue of dereliction in the city persists. Will the Taoiseach update the House on the actions being taken to address dereliction and vacancy in the city?
In my constituency of Dublin Bay North there are similar issues of crime and antisocial behaviour to those we see in the city. Ironically, the additional Garda presence in the city centre has displaced some of that antisocial behaviour towards the northside. The programme for Government commits to using the task force model in other parts of the country. Will the Taoiseach advise if a similar approach will be taken to the suburbs of north Dublin, which also require renewal and regeneration with an improved policing presence?
To be clear, I support better public transport, but in the task force we speak about the changes. Everyone in this House will have heard hundreds of people speaking about ghost buses. The NTA now wants to merge and extend routes in north Dublin. The NTA has said that ghost buses are due to longer routes and cross-city routes. The 130 route has been told it will be changed, but there was not enough consultation with the people of north Dublin. At the same time the 123 service has been changed. It no longer finishes at O'Connell Street. Now, elderly people, those with disabilities and those who are vulnerable are asked to walk hundreds of metres to an area they are not familiar with. People have contacted my office. They have learned the route. They are not used to changes in their routine. It made a huge difference to those people who were not consulted. I would love the Taoiseach to examine this. They deserve reliable buses before redesigned routes. I acknowledge the work of Independent Councillor Breen on Dublin City Council on this.
I put to the Taoiseach that the actions on the ground in the inner city in particular starkly contradict the aspirations of the task force plan. I will give two examples. The task force has an aspiration to expand artistic spaces and develop new cultural hubs, yet in Smithfield in the north-west inner city, The Complex, a critical hub and piece of community and artistic infrastructure, has been shut down. Will he explain that contradiction? The task force lauds the importance of community facilities for children's sports to foster a healthy and well community. Therefore, all plans must include well-designed public spaces, green spaces, playgrounds and recreational areas. However, at this moment the community at Portland Row in the north inner city faces the imminent closure of a playing pitch, one of the few community facilities available in the entirety of the inner city and the only one available to this community. How can that stack up? How can that be right? The community has to be heard. The Taoiseach has to be as good as his word if he is going to produce these reports.
Regardless of whether we are talking about the Dublin city task force, there is not much point having a report unleashed unless we see implementation. We know that across this State there is a huge issue with drug debt, intimidation and violence.
We saw the absolutely brutal killing of Tadhg Farrell and Mary Holt in Edenderry. We all remember the brutal killing of Keane Mulready-Woods. We have heard from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau that there are 169 organised crime groups operating in Ireland, with 65% of them involved in drug trafficking. Many of us have seen the work that youth diversion programmes have done. I have seen it in Cox's Demesne and those operating out of The House and the TEAM project. I have seen the early intervention and the piece of work it has done. We have seen projects, such as Greentown, that have intervened with young people who have fallen into criminality. We need to see a lot more of that. It is about having a real conversation about all of the interventions that are necessary and also about the police acting so that we do not allow drug dealers to operate for years upon years.
The Tánaiste said in 2024 that within 100 days of Government formation, Cork city would have a task force. It is 362 days later and there is still no sign of the task force, but what we have are broken promises and all the talk out of the Tánaiste. This Government made promises to the people of Cork, but does the Taoiseach know what it is like? It is like the promises made about the events centre, which still has not been delivered. Some €2.2 million has been spent and a contractor has not even been appointed. I love being from Cork. As the Taoiseach knows, people from Cork love where we are from. Does the Taoiseach know what we do not love? It is this Government not investing in Cork. There is a shortage of gardaí, a bus service that does not work and gridlock around the city. When will this task force be delivered for Cork? Will the funding and the resources be there to deliver for Cork?
Let us be honest: many parts of this great capital are now in decline. Moore Street, one of the most important battlefield sites in the country, the headquarters of the 1916 Rising and the ground zero of the independence struggle, was supposed to redeveloped ten years ago in time for the 1916 centenary commemorations. Maybe the bicentenary will be a better timescale for the Taoiseach's Government to do anything in relation to Moore Street. Instead of being a cultural or historic quarter, Moore Street is now a location for drinking, drugs, defecation and urination. Many parts of O'Connell Street, our main street, are in serious decay. It is the location for crime and antisocial behaviour, with many people now uncomfortable being on O'Connell Street at night. Dereliction is rife in many parts of the city. Heavy-handed transport policies have significantly reduced footfall because of the lack of public transport. When will the Government invest in Dublin? When will it make parts of Dublin, especially the central core, safe again for people?
I want to bring up again the privatisation of waste management in Dublin. The Dublin city task force and Dublin City Council recommend that a single waste management company should provide bin collection services, with a further recommendation that, in the long term, it should be taken under the control of Dublin City Council. The privatisation of the bins has failed. The environmental impact of multiple trucks going down the same road at multiple times during the day is having a detrimental impact on our communities. It is a wild west situation. Bin companies are operating like a cartel and bringing up their prices in unison and in a co-ordinated approach, and the consumer is paying the price. Will the Government's task force for Dublin tackle the privatisation of waste management and bring back the bins to public ownership?
I am stepping in for my colleagues, Deputies Liam Quaide and Pádraig Rice, who are both asking about the task force for Cork. I caution my colleagues and the other Deputies around the Chamber who are asking similar questions. We have the report from the Dublin task force, which was released in October 2024 - a full year after it was announced by the then Taoiseach, Deputy Simon Harris, to great fanfare - and there still has not been a button given over from this Government to those plans. Dublin City Council is doing the work. It has a special purpose vehicle. My colleagues, Councillors Cian Farrell and Daniel Ennis, are on the working group, but all it is missing is the €140 million that was promised by the Taoiseach's Government last year. My simple question is this: when will that €140 million be given to the Dublin city task force because everyone else has fulfilled their roles?
There is an incredible disconnect between the supposed aspirations of the Dublin task force and the actuality. As has already been mentioned, it is absolutely shocking that The Complex, a vibrant space across all the arts disciplines which provided direct employment for about 30 or 40 people and had about 250 artists operating out of it, is gone for the lack of €6 million from the Government. That is all it asked for. I note that seven of our leading actors have written a letter to The Irish Times in the past week saying that the lack of core and multi-annual funding for theatre companies has had a devastating effect on the ability of actors to produce good theatre. A central part of Dublin's identity and reputation is being decimated essentially because of a neoliberal funding model for theatre. What is the Taoiseach going to do about these things?
This morning, a powerful piece on "Morning Ireland" about drug-related intimidation described how families are confronted by drug dealers who say that their child owes them a certain amount of money and the family now owes this money and they will terrorise the family until it gives them the money. One woman said that 50% of the time, she feels a knot in her stomach as a result of stress. Another woman said that every time a car comes down into her cul-de-sac at night-time, she thinks: "Are they coming for me?". In another case, these gangsters turned up at a person's door with crowbars and tried to break in when she was there alone. This is a thing that is happening across the city. The report highlighted the work of the Whitechurch addiction support project, which is supported through the Drug Related Intimidation and Violence Engagement, DRIVE, initiative. It has done excellent work supporting 75 families in the past year. However, the kicker came at the end of the report when we heard that the funding for this DRIVE project is now over and this work will end in the next month. It seems incredible that at a time when the Government is promoting this project nationally, funding is being taken away from local projects to assist families in dealing with this intimidation.
I listened carefully to what the Taoiseach said at the start. He spoke about what Dublin City Council and the OPW are doing with regard to the Dublin task force, but we heard little or nothing about what the Government itself is doing. We still have no legal implementation body. We still have no budget funding, which was called for by the chair of the task force. There is a bitter irony here because others have spoken about The Complex. The task force report talks about the need to create a cultural hub. The Complex was actually pictured in the report, which was launched back in October 2024, yet the Government could not stump up a small few million euros. The Government is talking about supporting Dublin city, but is it really strangling the recommendations of the task force and the miserly implementation plan devised by the interdepartmental working group, which is only seven months old? We are not seeing any action on the ground by the Government.
There were over 99 people arrested and over 82 have been prosecuted in relation to the Dublin riots, a dark day that was the pretext for the creation of the Dublin city task force. It has resulted in a more visible police presence in our city to deliver a safer city. The way in which waste is presented by commercial operators in parts of our city has changed to deliver a clean city. We are trying to get more people living in our city. As part of the task force there is a project under way, in combination with the measures we have introduced in terms of the living city initiative, to get people living above shops in places like Middle Abbey Street and North Frederick Street. My question relates to ensuring that central government holds a grip over the measures that lots of Members acknowledge are being delivered by Dublin City Council. We have to ensure that it continues to be supported and equally that the level of transparency that was demanded from the task force continues under the stewardship of the Taoiseach.
Deputy Séamus McGrath raised the issue of a task force for Cork city, as did Deputies Pádraig O'Sullivan and Thomas Gould. First of all, we have not been awaiting the establishment of the task force in respect of investment in Cork city. The most significant investment recently was the up to €90 million announced for the Crawford Gallery, which is a national institution. It is very substantial and will transform that aspect of the city centre. The refurbishment of the Shandon area, for example, has received very significant multi-million funding. Most recently, it was announced that the Tyndall national research institute, which is vital for inward investment, has been allocated well over €100 million by the Government. This is really setting the future solid for the Cork area and region and, indeed, nationally in respect of the area of semi-conductor research, photonics and other vital areas, such as frontier technologies, which will bring in further investment.
Of course there is also the investment in the universities, MTU and UCC. Above and beyond anything else, Cork city is an education city and continued investment in education will be there. As I said, there is a meeting this week with the CEO. I hope we conclude that work and, in the next two to three weeks, we go to the Government and we establish the group, which will focus on the city centre.
The visibility of the gardaí has improved very significantly with the recent out-take from Templemore which saw up to 30 gardaí appointed. We saw over Christmas, just as we saw in Dublin city, the impact of greater visibility of gardaí on the street in terms of confidence in security in the city centres. Many traders and citizens have articulated the psychological impact alone of that visibility. That presence, both in Dublin city and in Cork city, cannot be overstated.
Regarding the events centre, Cork corporation is overseeing the tender processes for that and is making progress. Because of the way that had escalated, it needed to go out to tender in a proper, formal way that is legally watertight and so on. That simply had to happen.
Deputies Séamus McGrath and Pádraig O'Sullivan were focusing on the city centre itself. We have to look at residential and we have to look at commercial. It is a different type of city into the future. The living cities initiative applies to Dublin, Cork, Galway and others. The Revenue Commissioners will be engaging with the councils to make sure they can get the proper maps. We have dramatically changed the impact of that initiative now. The older one was very limited and restrictive to pre-1915 buildings. Good sizeable grants are available for development over shops, and there is no date in terms of the building. Likewise for residential, we are looking at up to 1975 now, so there are opportunities in terms of some of the buildings in the cities and the extended areas that were captured and outlined in the budget.
The Railyard project will be the tallest building in the country, with social housing and cost rental. It is a significant development in the core of the city but also pointing to the docklands. The investment in the docklands has been very significant so far. In the areas north and south of the River Lee, the LDA is doing good work with the city council. This is a good example of how State agencies working together can deliver a lot. Iarnród Éireann has also been very facilitative. I remind Deputy Gould that the Kent Station transformation reflects very significant investment in infrastructure in the region. The key thing with the light rail project is to get the route selection finalised and then to get it started.
Deputy Ardagh raised the south-west inner-city area of Dublin - the Liberties and so on - in terms of security, policing, community confidence and transport policing, which I accept is a significant issue. I believe that a greater investment in amenities, such as playing facilities, is an absolute imperative in those parts of Dublin. Dublin City Council needs to really work hard at that. Other councils across Dublin need to work particularly hard - and, I would argue, more effectively - to provide facilities for clubs and communities in the sporting area. When we compare Dublin to other parts of the country, we see different models outside of Dublin which are far more widespread and more effective in terms of councils leasing land to clubs and so on. It is something that has struck me in terms of how Dublin is organised for playing amenities and playing facilities more generally. Policing will improve as we continue to have more recruits coming out of Templemore, which is producing a significant number of graduates on a very regular basis.
I hear what Deputy Brabazon said about Dublin regarding policing and the improved presence of gardaí. Clearly, that is something we are working on in dealing with antisocial behaviour. I hear what he has said about the north Dublin suburbs. For the moment we have to work on the city task force and its implementation.
Deputy Heneghan raised the issue of the NTA and BusConnects. We cannot get into the specifics of every route here, but nonetheless there is an obligation on the NTA to work with public representatives and the communities to make sure that the service is people-centric and that those who are infirm or senior, in particular, are looked after in respect of bus routes.
Deputy McDonald spoke about facilities on the ground, be they arts facilities or playing facilities.
The lost facilities.
Again, the city council has a key role to play here, particularly as I said earlier in terms of playing facilities. That applies in terms of arts facilities and cultural facilities as well. Many facilities have been provided, but it is very disappointing in terms of The Complex.
That is not a good enough answer.
Sorry, I am speaking now. What is important is that for those areas and premises that we can control, the local authorities should identify and prioritise those for community and artistic engagement. In terms of the recommendations, the establishment of a special purpose vehicle, SPV, under section 66 of the Local Government Act 2001-----
I raised Portland Row as well.
-----is a matter for the elected members of Dublin City Council. The council is taking the required steps to set up the legal entity. The SPV is key. We have seen in the past that when SPVs get established, they can get things done in respect of buildings and having control and agency in a lot of areas. It is expected that the legal entity will be established by the end of quarter 2 of 2026.
The OPW is leading on the redevelopment of the GPO in a manner that will be consistent with the historic nature of the building and its national significance. It will work with Dublin City Council and other key stakeholders in that regard. The OPW has established a steering group to manage this flagship project, which will consider all related property matters and potential interim uses. It will carry out a non-statutory consultation and engagement process with the general public, which is expected to commence this year. This will be carried out over a period of nine months and will reach local, regional, national and international audiences. There is an oversight board, as Members know, on the roadmap for delivery of the Dublin city task force to which the OPW will be reporting. We have an oversight board, which is chaired by my Department. A number of meetings have taken place since its establishment in July. Subgroups have been established to examine issues including services, locations for vulnerable groups, financial resources and communications. As part of the development of an integrated area strategy for the city, the council is holding workshops with key stakeholders to ensure an aligned approach to managing the rejuvenation of the city's main street, in addition to the co-ordination work being carried out by the council's rejuvenation action group. The process of transferring the ownership of the GPO to the OPW has commenced. As I said, the OPW is preparing a nationwide public consultation process. A lot is happening but we really have to get the SPV established.
What about Moore Street?
As the Deputy knows, work is under way on Moore Street under the aegis of the OPW. I have been there. This will also form part of the overall rejuvenation of O'Connell Street, respecting the ethos and the historic nature of Moore Street, in particular. A previous Government designated it as a national monument. We are very clear about its importance historically. We will preserve and make available that heritage for future generations to see at first hand.
Deputy Ó Murchú raised the issue of drug trafficking and intimidation. Deputy Murphy raised a similar issue. I heard the piece this morning on "Morning Ireland" about the intimidatory tactics deployed by criminal gangs against young people in particular, and how young people can get caught up, for small amounts of money, in situations that can have appalling impacts on their lives. Without question, An Garda Síochána is working hard and effectively on this. I will check up on the programme Deputy Ó Murchú identified. There may be the potential to extend or expand it.
Projects like that on the ground have an impact and can give great solace and support to people when they most need it such that they do not fall prey to the intimidatory nature of these gangs and have their lives destroyed. It is important to try to get their lives back on track.
Deputy Tóibín raised Moore Street, which I have discussed, and the drugs issue in the city centre.
Deputy Ward, I think, raised the privatisation of waste. Again, Dublin City Council has a key role in respect of that. I may ask for a report in terms of its perspective on it because there are different perspectives on it. I think Deputy Geoghegan felt it was working. One has to tread carefully such that we do not create further difficulties and further challenges.
Deputy Gannon raised the SPV issue and the working group. I think I have dealt with that comprehensively. It will be established by the end of quarter 2.
The money.
The funding will be allocated as required. You do not just send a dollop straight up.
Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett referred to The Complex also and the core and multi-annual funding for theatre. He described the model as a neoliberal model. I think we have a thriving arts and cultural situation in Ireland. The Arts Council is important in that regard. The arts departments of city councils are very important in supporting theatre companies and, in particular, production companies.
Did the Taoiseach read the letter from the actors?
This is not back and forth.
I will. I did not catch it but I will now that the Deputy has drawn my attention to it. I will have a look at that. I am always very open to supporting production, drama and so on. The question is what the most effective way of doing it is. It is a core part of any city in terms of quality of life, which is important. We do not just live in an economy; we live in a society. We have strengths in that regard.
In response to Deputy Sherlock, the implementation bodies, as I said, are key. I have given her a timeline as to when that will be established. As regards my previous experience of SPVs, Temple Bar in its day was very effective in pulling the property together and getting things developed. SPVs can work.
Deputy Geoghegan referred to the living city initiative. We have transformed that programme, that tax facility or, more accurately, that urban regeneration facility, which can be facilitated by tax and grants and supports. We need to keep an eye on that to make sure we deliver it and drive it. I know Revenue will be waiting for the city council to come with maps and so on, but I think that should be okay for Dublin. I would have thought the maps were in. Department of Finance officials are saying this could take time. In my view, it should not take time in Dublin and it should not take time in Cork because the areas are already well known. The newer areas might take a bit of time, but in Cork and Dublin we should now really drive the application of the living city initiative and the changes we have brought in in the budget, which I think will have a significant impact.
Departmental Reports
Questions (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
Ryan O'Meara
Question:19. Deputy Ryan O'Meara asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [65889/25]
View answerRuairí Ó Murchú
Question:20. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [71903/25]
View answer
Rose Conway-Walsh
Question:21. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [1829/26]
View answer
Darren O'Rourke
Question:22. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [3647/26]
View answerLiam Quaide
Question:23. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [3650/26]
View answerPádraig O'Sullivan
Question:24. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [3743/26]
View answerSéamus McGrath
Question:25. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [3744/26]
View answer
Ruth Coppinger
Question:26. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [3746/26]
View answerRichard Boyd Barrett
Question:27. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [3921/26]
View answerPaul Murphy
Question:28. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach for an overview of his Department’s annual report for 2024. [3924/26]
View answerOral answers (32 contributions)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 to 28, inclusive, together.
The Department of the Taoiseach's annual report for 2024 was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas in October of last year. I hope everybody has read it. The report sets out the work of the Department in 2024 to achieve the strategic priorities identified in its statement of strategy and to support the implementation of the programme for Government, including: delivering the executive functions of the Taoiseach and the Government; supporting the Taoiseach in carrying out his duties as Head of Government, including in relation to the Oireachtas, constitutional issues, protocol and civic policy, the European Council, the North-South Ministerial Council and the British-Irish Council; working with the Office of the President and with the Oireachtas; engaging with the formulation and implementation of Government policy, mainly through the system of Cabinet committees, senior officials groups and the parliamentary liaison unit; supporting the offices of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Government Chief Whip and the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs; providing the Government secretariat; providing the Government Information Service; providing briefing and advice for the Taoiseach and the Government on the full range of domestic policy issues and on European Union and international affairs; and co-ordination roles in various cross-government initiatives, including Housing for All, climate action, child poverty and well-being, migration, the national digital strategy, the national risk assessment, the well-being framework, policing reform and community safety, the National Security Analysis Centre and the Dublin north east inner city initiative.
In terms of metrics illustrating its outputs during 2024, the Department supported 46 meetings of Government, which dealt with 1,130 memorandums to Government; supported 52 meetings of Cabinet committees, generally chaired by me, as well as meetings of associated senior officials groups; supported attendance by the Taoiseach at eight meetings of the European Council and attendance by the Minister of State with responsibility for European Union affairs at nine meetings of the General Affairs Council; and supported five visits by my good self to Northern Ireland. Through the work of the shared island unit within the Department of an Taoiseach, the Government committed to building consensus around a shared future. For example, six shared island dialogue events were held in 2024, while the Government announced the largest ever single package of island-wide investment commitments, of more than €800 million, including €600 million towards the A5 road upgrade for the north west, as well as funding for the iconic Narrow Water Bridge at Carlingford Lough. We laid the groundwork for a major overhaul of children's services, through the Cabinet committee on children and education and disability, and began the development of the new national disability strategy. My Department also supported an extensive round of engagements at EU and international levels that focused on issues of significance for Ireland, including climate and energy. I have since then established an offshore wind energy clearing house group, which brings together key players from the public and private sectors to tackle issues that are causing delays to the delivery of offshore energy infrastructure. We have delivered a number of important State ceremonial events, including the Stardust commemoration, the 1916 Easter Rising commemoration and the national day of commemoration. We have transferred 583 files to the National Archives; facilitated and managed 150 media events; issued 243 press releases; responded to numerous media queries and updated gov.ie on an ongoing basis; prepared responses to 801 parliamentary questions; drafted 199 speeches; dealt with more than 140,000 items of correspondence; and processed 275 freedom of information requests.
The Department's 2024 annual report is published, in English and in Irish, on gov.ie.
We have ten speakers and we are tight on time. I ask people to make their points in maybe 30 seconds, starting with Deputy Séamus McGrath.
This is ridiculous. Thirty seconds. This is happening every second slot. We warned about this when the Government cut Taoiseach's questions.
I take your point. I have just come into the Chair. We could start with-----
It is happening every week.
-----Deputy Ryan O'Meara.
Twenty-five seconds.
The Department of the Taoiseach's 2024 annual report states that 7,126 affordable homes were built, but none of those affordable homes was built in my constituency of north Tipperary and north-west Kilkenny. I will give some examples of areas where we need housing. Towns like Nenagh, Thurles, Roscrea, Borrisokane, Ballina and Newport, Templemore, Borrisoleigh, Urlingford, Freshford, Toomyvara, Cloghjordan and Cappagh White are just examples of towns and villages across north Tipperary, mid-Tipperary, west Tipperary and north-west Kilkenny where young people and families need an affordable home and a start in life, those abroad want to come home, those living at home want a place of their own, and those with unsustainable rents want to afford to live. I want my constituency of north Tipperary and north-west Kilkenny to get real affordable housing schemes in our towns and our villages. I gave just some examples; I could give many more. What will the Government do to deliver affordable homes for north Tipperary and north-west Kilkenny?
I want to talk about the section of the report on building consensus on a shared island. The Taoiseach will be aware that, last week, there was the launch in Belfast of the public media Ireland report. This is the first time I have seen a report in preparation for the media around this subject. Academics from DCU and Ulster University considered what would happen to the public service media in a reunified Ireland. The report rightly highlights the important role the public sector and broadcasting will have in the reunification process of our island.
It makes 13 recommendations. What will the Taoiseach's Department do to advance the research of projects like this from DCU and Ulster University on an all-island public service media and begin Government preparations for Irish unity? Can we have a debate in the Chamber about the recommendations made in this report, so everybody will have their say and we can make this really valuable work count as a first step?
We want to see delivery in relation to special education and autism classes. Two schools that have delivered as necessary are Monksland National School in Cooley and Ardee Educate Together. I have brought up these issues before. A TD in the Taoiseach's own party brought up Monksland National School. She could not have been happy with the answer given. I certainly was not happy with it. Monksland National School was given two prefabs. It got permanent plans for a general purpose room and for a canteen. People are eating in their cars or in a shipping container at the minute, which is hardly acceptable. There were plans for special education teaching, SET, rooms and autism spectrum disorder, ASD, rooms. It is asking for contact from the Department. I request that an official from the Department contact me. We could resolve this issue. There is an even simpler issue with Ardee Educate Together. It is about parking spaces and delivering before further works are done. We are getting down to the wire on the timeline. I need somebody from the Department of education to make contact so we can resolve this. Louth County Council is the project manager but there is a serious requirement for action.
The Department of the Taoiseach's annual report talks about values of treating the public fairly and promptly. I question whether the Government has treated the survivors of industrial and reformatory schools who were on hunger strike outside the gates of Leinster House fairly and indeed promptly because they are very angry at the lack of progress on the commitments the Government entered into over two months ago when they came off their hunger strike. They tell me that they have no communication from the Department of education. They say that no services are in place and they are still suffering physically and psychologically, with no access to services. They say there is still no State apology. There is a commitment that a State apology be given. It was supposed to be given promptly. We are now told that it will be given before the end of January. The end of January is next week. Will the Taoiseach confirm to them at the very least that there will be a State apology next week on this? When will the other commitments that the Government entered into over two months ago be fulfilled for these vulnerable and determined individuals?
I read the Taoiseach's 2024 report, although it is 2026 now. I specifically read the social policy and equality section. Within that is a broader discussion about disability inclusion in a wider context. Under that, the Taoiseach set up the Cabinet subcommittee on disability, which he has referred to on numerous occasions here and in his dealings with me. I bring to the Taoiseach's attention that if people are looking for residential care or an independent living environment for their son or daughter in Cork, which is the only place I can speak to, they have virtually no chance of securing that right for them. It could be an adult with an intellectual disability or whatever the case may be. It is so difficult to get that type of service delivered in our CHO at the moment. I am saying that in the context of meeting a group called the Before We Die group. I know they will be contacting all TDs in our area over the coming months. They have a group in Dublin too. I am asking the Taoiseach to meet them because that group needs to be heard about the day-to-day travails that they have to go through to secure services for their children, specifically residential care for their children.
On the theme of sustaining the economy, I raise the need for an updated support strategy for retailers across this country on our main streets, high streets and towns and villages. We want our towns, villages and cities to be vibrant, busy and attractive places but many retailers are under severe pressure, whether it is due to the increased cost of doing business, the ongoing challenge of online shopping, or, of course, changing consumer habits. They need support and while the Government has invested in things like town and village renewal, the urban regeneration and development fund, URDF, and so on, a specific, focused strategy needs to be put in place to support our retailers, or I fear that many of our towns and villages will be hollowed out and will become places with increased vacancy, dereliction and so on. We need to address this issue and support our retailers. I ask the Taoiseach to please take this on.
A huge amount of resources went from the Department of the Taoiseach last year into trying to strategise and manage the visit to the White House for St. Patrick's Day. I am wondering what the hell level will be needed this year for the Taoiseach to manage such a visit if it goes ahead because we have a demagogue, dangerously unleashed at this point. I was never a fan of the shamrock at the White House. There are other ways of meeting important people without giving that photo opportunity to somebody like Donald Trump. What is the Taoiseach's red line? Trump is a racist who has unleashed ICE to kill people, to strike fear into people of colour, who cannot go into the US right now. He is a tyrant who has invaded Venezuela and kidnapped its leader. That leader will be on trial on 17 March, if the Taoiseach is planning to go. Now Trump is emboldened to attack Greenland. He is a misogynist who has promoted the sexual assault of women and the demeaning of female journalists. He is a known rapist. He was convicted in a civil trial. I know women's lives do not matter much but do children matter because he is obviously a paedophile as well? He is listed in the Epstein files. He is pictured with very young girls constantly. He spied on the dressing rooms at teen pageants. Does any of this matter at all? Will we continue to talk about bread on the table and allow a dangerous demagogue like this to operate on the world?
The mission statement for the Department of the Taoiseach in its report says it is about ensuring a sustainable economy and a successful society. Neither of those things is possible unless we address the lack of social and affordable housing and the housing crisis that is faced in this country. Recently, in my area, an area called Old Connaught, on the border of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Wicklow, there was a local area plan discussion about building social and affordable housing. Our councillors, Melisa Halpin and Dave O'Keeffe, proposed that we should have a condition that all the housing, much of it on public land, should be social and affordable, because we do not need more unaffordable housing. The Government's councillors laughed and scoffed at that, then proposed and voted through plans to cut the developer levies, in other words to give a handout to the developers. How is that compatible with the aspirations of the Department of the Taoiseach?
The Taoiseach's Government and governments around the world have an important choice to make. The choice is whether the profits of big tech corporations are going to come before the health and safety of our children. For now, these interests are counterposed. We saw it in a stark way in the mass production of child sexual abuse imagery and sexual abuse imagery of women on Grok. There was a protest outside the offices of X at the weekend. I know the Taoiseach previously heralded AI as akin to the industrial revolution or the printing press. This is how it is being used by the big tech corporations. A big question is whether we will follow the original advice from Coimisiún na Meán to turn off the toxic algorithms on social media. They are algorithms made to maximise eyeballs on the screen, to maximise profits, and which push hateful, misogynistic, suicidal material, and eating disorders on young people. Does the Taoiseach agree that we should turn off the toxic algorithms? We will introduce a Bill to do that on Thursday.
I thank all the Deputies who raised a variety of issues. Deputy O'Meara raised the issue of affordable housing, specifically in Tipperary and north-west Kilkenny in a variety of towns. There is a variety of schemes to help people to afford housing. Lots of people have used the help to buy and first home schemes. The local authority affordable scheme has had applications in some counties more effectively than others. Some of that is to do with valuations and so on. We will see what we can do to make sure that every county benefits from those schemes. I was in Wexford last week, where plenty of affordable houses were built with subsidies through the local authority affordable scheme. I will talk to the Minister for housing about what is happening in Tipperary, north-west Kilkenny and those areas. Affordable housing is the significant issue because we are making progress on social housing.
Deputy Conway-Walsh raised the issue of the public service media. Again, I know there is a conference but we are actually doing work on that under the shared island initiative. We have allocated very substantial investment through the shared island initiative to media to increase reporting North and South and to have a more seamless interaction across both. This has not been happening to the degree it should have been in the past number of years, either with Southern media covering Northern Ireland or Northern Ireland media covering the Republic. We have put substantial funding through the shared island endeavour. Public service media in the modern era is critical for societal cohesion and it has to operate to very high standards of impartiality and with the public interest at the core.
On Deputy Ó Murchú and special education, again, this is a matter for the Minister for education. I know Deputy McGreehan has been raising these issues also. We will relay that back to the Department. The Deputy is saying, and I have no doubt he is in contact with the Department-----
Yes, but there is a time delay-----
We will keep going. Deputy Doherty raised the issue of those who were on hunger strike. We have made very good progress in respect of that. I have communicated in respect of that to those involved. I have written but they may not have received anything.
They have received it.
Fine. It is very clear from that correspondence that we are very close now-----
Is there an apology next week?
-----to bringing that to finality, including the issue of an apology.
Turning to Deputy O'Sullivan, again in terms of disability and inclusion, we have since this report and the general election, established a disability unit in the Department, which manifested itself in the budget in terms of the domiciliary care allowance, the monthly allowance, going up another €20, and in terms of the income disregard for carers being significantly enhanced and the level of increases going up. In terms of the residential and respite area, the investment in the budget was an extra 20% in services. There are issues in the residential and respite areas. There is no doubt about that. We were at the Horizons centre last Saturday morning. I was there as was the Deputy and we heard first hand the issues facing many parents of children. There is then the issue of adults with disabilities and the future for them and how their elderly parents worry about that. A lot of our work in the coming months will be focused on residential and respite. There is the changing nature of respite as well, which I thought was an important point made by the Horizons group last weekend. I will certainly meet the Before We Die group and see how best we can address the issue. We do need to take the anxiety and the undoubted worry and stress from the parents and those who are going through that uncertainty and lack of clear knowledge as to the future.
Moving to Deputy McGrath, specifically on retailers, there is a lot of pressure on them. I think we have to work more with local authorities again in respect of the cost framework and cost environment. A lot of good work has happened on the public realm investments in terms of facilitating footfall and making city streetscapes pleasant so people will want to come into a town or city centre. There is also the active travel dimension but that too can restrict other aspects of access to city centres as well in terms of traffic. It is about trying to get the balance right there.
Deputy Coppinger said we had deployed huge resources last year. We did not. It was just human capital.
I am sorry. It was what?
Human capital.
Just human capital. Myself and a couple of others.
Yes. That is what I mean. That takes money.
There were no huge resources. No huge resources are allocated to strategising about how we engage and meet with other leaders.
The Taoiseach is not named.
I will say this to the Deputy on where our focus always is. The economic relationship is critical. I would not undermine that. It is not about the profit of companies but that critical economic relationship is about employment for a lot of people in this country. It works both ways, by the way. Irish companies have access to the market there and do well in the United States, and want to continue to do well. We are in a very difficult situation - Europe is and Ireland is. I outlined earlier during Leaders' Questions the approach we are going to take.
Turning to Deputy Boyd Barrett, yes, we do need a sustainable society. We need social and affordable housing. I do not believe our councillors scoff at anything to do with housing. They take it very seriously.
They did.
They want more housing. They want more affordable and social housing and to enable people to either buy or rent at affordable prices. We need to get supply up. I think some of Deputy Boyd Barrett's policies would depress supply. That is where we differ. We need to get supply to 50,000 or 60,000 per annum. I think a lot of what the Deputy has articulated over the years would depress supply. It is not possible to do it all through social housing. We need private sector investment as well as public sector investment on a huge scale.
Turning to what Deputy Murphy talked about, nothing can come before the health and well-being and safety and security of our children. No company can. The 1998 Act is very clear. Any sharing or any generation or possession of child abuse images, child sexual abuse images, is illegal and must be prosecuted. The Garda is pursuing it. The European Commission has responsibility for very large online platforms like X. Coimisiún na Meán is working with the European Commission in respect of what has transpired with the Grok app. It is a very serious situation. I would point out that comments are made very generally about Ireland and the regulatory environment. The Data Protection Commission, DPC, levied €4 billion in six years on technology companies. That is not evidence of people taking a light-handed approach.