Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 26 May 2026

Vol. 1086 No. 3

• Díospóireachtaí
• Aimsigh díospóireacht
  • Díospóireachtaí na Dála
  • Díospóireachtaí an tSeanaid
  • Díospóireachtaí Coiste
• Aimsigh vótáil
  • Vótálacha na Dála
  • Vótálacha an tSeanaid
  • Vótálacha Coiste
• Ceisteanna Parlaiminte
  • Ceisteanna scríofa
  • Ceisteanna ó bhéal
• Leideanna cuardaigh
• Nuair a bhíonn tionchar tromchúiseach ag aithrisí

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Deputy Mary Butler)

I move:

Tuesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Appointment of Ordinary Members of An Coimisiún Toghcháin (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Motion re Twelfth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate)

- Dublin Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (if not previously concluded, to adjourn at the end of the first speaking round)

Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Cost of Disability, selected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday's business shall be:

- Statements on Ensuring our Skills, Training and Innovation systems keep pace in a changing world (not to exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes)

- Motion re Extension of Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 (to conclude within 1 hour)

- Motion to Instruct the Committee on the Gas Safety (Amendment) Bill 2026 (to commence no earlier than 5 p.m. and to conclude within 1 hour; any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Gas Safety (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Committee and remaining Stages) (to conclude within 2 hours)

- Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill 2024 (Report and Final Stages) (to conclude within 2 hours)

- Motion re Leave to Introduce Supplementary Estimates for Public Services 2026 [Votes 30 and 31] (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Fiscal Planning Framework for Economic Certainty, selected by Independent Technical Group).

Thursday's business shall be:

- Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (if not previously concluded, to adjourn at the end of the first speaking round)

Thursday evening business shall be the Public Health (Alcohol) (Amendment) Bill 2025 (Second Stage), sponsored by Deputy Pádraig Rice.

Proposed Arrangements for this week’s business:

In relation to Tuesday’s business, it is proposed that:

1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders:

(a) the Dáil shall waive its instruction that not more than two Select Committees shall meet to consider a Bill on any given day in the case of the proposed meetings of the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Sector Reform, Digitalisation, and Taoiseach, and the Select Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, to consider the following three Bills, respectively: National Treasury Management (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 and the Central Bank (Amendment) Bill 2025; and the Media Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2026;

(b) the time allocated to Government business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business and the Dáil may sit later than 10.48 p.m.; and

(c) private members’ business shall be taken following proceedings on the Second Stage of the Dublin Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill 2026 with consequential effect on the commencement times for the items following in the ordinary routine of business;

2. the proceedings on the Motion re Appointment of Ordinary members of An Coimisiún Toghcháin shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately;

3. the proceedings on the Motion re Twelfth Report of the Committee of Selection shall be taken without debate; and

4. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Dublin Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned at the end of the first speaking round and the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) the first-round speeches shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across);

(b) where speeches conclude before the 3 hours and 24 minutes have elapsed and no other member is offering, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, whereupon proceedings shall be brought to a conclusion; and

(c) members may share time.

	Gov	SF	Lab	Gov	SF
Mins	20	20	20	12	4
	SD	Gov	SF	IPTG	Gov
Mins	20	12	4	20	12
	SF	ITG	Gov	SF	OM
Mins	4	20	12	4	20
Total: 3 hours 24 mins

In relation to Wednesday's business, it is proposed that:

1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders:

(a) the time allotted for Government Business shall be extended in accordance with the arrangements for that business and the Dáil may sit later than 9.30 p.m.;

(b) in the event proceedings on the Motion re Extension of Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 concludes before 5 p.m., the sitting shall stand suspended until 5 p.m., when the order of business shall resume with the Motion to Instruct the Committee on the Gas Safety (Amendment) Bill 2026;

(c) the Order of the Dáil of 14th January 2026 referring the Gas Safety (Amendment) Bill 2026 to the Select Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy is hereby discharged and Third Stage of the Bill shall be taken in Committee of the whole Dáil;

(d) any motions to be taken without debate shall be taken on the conclusion of proceedings on the Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill 2024; and

(e) the weekly division time shall be taken on the conclusion of proceedings on any motions without debate;

2. the Statements on Ensuring our Skills, Training and Innovation systems keep pace in a changing world shall not exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) the statements, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the sequence contained in the table immediately below (to be read across);

(b) following the statements, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a statement in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and

(c) members may share time;

	Gov	SF	Lab	Gov	SF
Mins	25	15	10	10	3
	SD	Gov	SF	IPTG	Gov
Mins	10	10	3	9	10
	SF	ITG	Gov	SF	OM
Mins	3	9	10	3	5
Total: 2 hours 15 mins

3. the proceedings on the Motion re Extension of Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto:

(a) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:-

— opening speech by a Minister or Minister of State – 10 minutes;

— speeches by representatives of Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, Social Democrats, Independent and Parties Technical Group, and Independent Technical Group – 7.5 minutes per party or group;

— speeches by non-party/group members – 7.5 minutes in total; and

— a speech in response by the Minister – 5 minutes; and

(b) members may share time

4. the proceedings on the Motion to Instruct the Committee on the Gas Safety (Amendment) Bill 2026 shall commence no earlier than 5 p.m. and shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto:

(a) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be as follows:-

— opening speech by a Minister or Minister of State – 10 minutes;

— speeches by representatives of Sinn Féin, the Labour Party, Social Democrats, Independent and Parties Technical Group, and Independent Technical Group – 7.5 minutes per party or group;

— speeches by Other Members – 7.5 minutes in total; and

— a speech in response by the Minister – 5 minutes;

(b) members may share time; and

(c) any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately

5. the proceedings on Committee and Remaining Stages of the Gas Safety (Amendment) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 2 hours by one question, which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment;

6. the proceedings on Report and Final Stages of the Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill 2024 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 2 hours by one question, which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht; and

7. The proceedings on the Motion re Leave to Introduce Supplementary Estimates for Public Services 2026 [Votes 30 and 31] shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately.

In relation to Thursday's business, it is proposed that:

1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders:

(a) topical issues may be taken earlier than 7.24 p.m. with consequential effect on the commencement time for Second Stage of the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2025, and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil; and

(b) the Dáil on its rising shall adjourn until 2 p.m. on Tuesday 9th June, 2026; and

2. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be interrupted and stand adjourned at the end of the first speaking round and the following arrangements shall apply:

(a) the first-round speeches, not including the Ministerial response, shall be in accordance with the table below (to be read across);

(b) where speeches conclude before the 3 hours and 24 minutes have elapsed and no other member is offering, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes; and

(c) members may share time.

	Gov	SF	Lab	Gov	SF
Mins	20	20	20	12	4
	SD	Gov	SF	IPTG	Gov
Mins	20	12	4	20	12
	SF	ITG	Gov	SF	OM
Mins	4	20	12	4	20
Total: 3 hours 24 mins

An Ceann Comhairle

Are those arrangements agreed? Not agreed.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

I remember when Niall Collins and Billy Kelleher toured the country with Senator Black around the occupied territories Bill. Does the Taoiseach remember that?

The Taoiseach

I do.

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

It was back in 2019. Fianna Fáil then went into government with Fine Gael and that Bill was scrapped. Here we are now and the Government has gutted the Bill. Will it publish the Attorney General's advice? Will the Minister come urgently before the Dáil and take questions from the Opposition about why the Government has gutted this Bill after years of abandonment?

Deputy Duncan Smith

The Taoiseach is making a charge of some kind of economic illiteracy in opposition in terms of the implications of the occupied territories Bill when he knows that during pre-legislative scrutiny last summer we had a number of chapters interrogating the economic impact of the occupied territories Bill. Still, there was cross-party Government and Opposition consensus on that committee to bring forward the occupied territories Bill with goods and services yet the Government is bringing forward this watered-down, unacceptable Bill.

Deputy Gary Gannon

It is absolutely not shallow rhetoric or sloganeering to say the Irish State should adhere to our obligations under the prevention of genocide Act, which we signed willingly. If you recognise a genocide is happening to the people of Gaza inflicted by the State of Israel, why are we still debating whether it is just services or goods? It should be everything in our power to prevent that but if this is what we have in our possession, let us do it to the maximum. We need a debate on that in this House this week.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

Not only is the Taoiseach gutting the occupied territories Bill but, according to The Currency, which put in an FOI about the investigation into overflights as to whether weapons are going across our airspace to help Israel commit its crimes, that investigation has effectively ground to a halt. The Government is not serious about ending the potential complicity of this country with the genocidal horror being imposed on the Palestinians.

Deputy Michael Collins

The summer programme or July provision is essential for children with special educational needs. This year, schools were given just one week to apply with late notice from the Department. Many schools missed the deadline through no fault of their own. I call for a debate on this issue and for an extension to ensure no child loses out.

Deputy Mary Butler

The occupied territories Bill passed Cabinet this morning. It will be published this week. It will be included in the next Order of Business, which will be finalised on Thursday. There will be a full debate on the Bill with the Minister present.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

What about the Attorney General's advice?

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

The Attorney General's advice.

Deputy Mary Butler

In relation to the Deputy's issue, we can discuss that on Thursday. The Order of Business stands.

An Ceann Comhairle

Are the proposed arrangements agreed to?

Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Not agreed.

Question put: "That the proposed arrangements for this week's business be agreed to."

The Dáil divided: Tá, 80; Níl, 68; Staon, 0.

Tá

• Aird, William.
• Ardagh, Catherine.
• Boland, Grace.
• Brabazon, Tom.
• Brennan, Brian.
• Brophy, Colm.
• Browne, James.
• Burke, Colm.
• Butler, Mary.
• Buttimer, Jerry.
• Byrne, Malcolm.
• Cahill, Michael.
• Callaghan, Catherine.
• Canney, Seán.
• Carrigy, Micheál.
• Carroll MacNeill, Jennifer.
• Chambers, Jack.
• Cleere, Peter 'Chap'.
• Clendennen, John.
• Collins, Niall.
• Connolly, John.
• Cooney, Joe.
• Crowe, Cathal.
• Cummins, John.
• Currie, Emer.
• Daly, Martin.
• Dempsey, Aisling.
• Devlin, Cormac.
• Dillon, Alan.
• Dolan, Albert.
• Feighan, Frankie.
• Fleming, Sean.
• Foley, Norma.
• Geoghegan, James.
• Grealish, Noel.
• Harkin, Marian.
• Healy-Rae, Michael.
• Heneghan, Barry.
• Higgins, Emer.
• Keogh, Keira.
• Kyne, Seán.
• Lahart, John.
• Lawless, James.
• Lowry, Michael.
• Martin, Micheál.
• Maxwell, David.
• McAuliffe, Paul.
• McCarthy, Noel.
• McConalogue, Charlie.
• McCormack, Tony.
• McEntee, Helen.
• McGrath, Séamus.
• McGreehan, Erin.
• McGuinness, John.
• Moran, Kevin Boxer.
• Moynihan, Aindrias.
• Moynihan, Michael.
• Moynihan, Shane.
• Murnane O'Connor, Jennifer.
• Murphy, Michael.
• Naughton, Hildegarde.
• Neville, Joe.
• O'Brien, Darragh.
• O'Callaghan, Jim.
• O'Connell, Maeve.
• O'Connor, James.
• O'Donovan, Patrick.
• O'Meara, Ryan.
• O'Shea, John Paul.
• O'Sullivan, Christopher.
• O'Sullivan, Pádraig.
• Ó Cearúil, Naoise.
• Ó Fearghaíl, Seán.
• Ó Muirí, Naoise.
• Roche, Peter.
• Smith, Brendan.
• Smyth, Niamh.
• Timmins, Edward.
• Toole, Gillian.
• Ward, Barry.

Níl

• Ahern, Ciarán.
• Bacik, Ivana.
• Bennett, Cathy.
• Boyd Barrett, Richard.
• Brady, John.
• Buckley, Pat.
• Byrne, Joanna.
• Cairns, Holly.
• Clarke, Sorca.
• Collins, Michael.
• Conway-Walsh, Rose.
• Coppinger, Ruth.
• Cronin, Réada.
• Crowe, Seán.
• Cummins, Jen.
• Daly, Pa.
• Devine, Máire.
• Doherty, Pearse.
• Donnelly, Paul.
• Ellis, Dessie.
• Ennis, Daniel.
• Farrelly, Aidan.
• Farrell, Mairéad.
• Gannon, Gary.
• Gibney, Sinéad.
• Gogarty, Paul Nicholas.
• Graves, Ann.
• Guirke, Johnny.
• Hayes, Eoin.
• Healy, Seamus.
• Hearne, Rory.
• Kelly, Alan.
• Kenny, Eoghan.
• Kenny, Martin.
• Kerrane, Claire.
• Lawlor, George.
• Mac Lochlainn, Pádraig.
• McDonald, Mary Lou.
• McGettigan, Donna.
• McGuinness, Conor D.
• Mitchell, Denise.
• Murphy, Paul.
• Mythen, Johnny.
• Nash, Ged.
• Newsome Drennan, Natasha.
• Ní Raghallaigh, Shónagh.
• O'Callaghan, Cian.
• O'Donoghue, Richard.
• O'Donoghue, Robert.
• O'Hara, Louis.
• O'Reilly, Louise.
• O'Rourke, Darren.
• Ó Broin, Eoin.
• Ó Laoghaire, Donnchadh.
• Ó Murchú, Ruairí.
• Ó Snodaigh, Aengus.
• Ó Súilleabháin, Fionntán.
• Quaide, Liam.
• Quinlivan, Maurice.
• Rice, Pádraig.
• Sheehan, Conor.
• Sherlock, Marie.
• Smith, Duncan.
• Stanley, Brian.
• Tóibín, Peadar.
• Wall, Mark.
• Ward, Mark.
• Whitmore, Jennifer.

Staon

Tellers: Tá, Deputies Mary Butler and Emer Currie; Níl, Deputies Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Michael Collins.

Question declared carried.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

I am struck by the Taoiseach's boastful approach regarding the so-called metrics on housing. Those metrics are record and skyrocketing rents, record evictions and record homelessness. Last year, the State spent almost €500 million on emergency accommodation. Over the past decade, almost €5 billion has been spent on managing homelessness. All the while, homelessness continues to rise. Families are in hotel rooms, single people have nowhere to go, pensioners are facing homelessness, children are growing up without homes and taxpayers are footing an extraordinary bill for the Government's failure. When is the Taoiseach going to be honest? Where is this honesty he is bragging about? When will he honestly accept that his approach to housing is driving crisis after crisis? When will he have the honesty and integrity to accept that and change course?

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

Hear, hear.

The Taoiseach

The solution to the housing issue is supply. We need far more supply than we are getting, notwithstanding the fact we are building more social houses than we ever have per annum. We will continue to build social houses over the next ten years because the investment is being made. There is massive State investment in housing, and there is additional, discrete ring-fenced funding for emergency housing but also to deal with those on the emergency housing lists and provide them with homes. In the budget, the Minister secured ring-fenced funding to enable him to do that. We will continue our work on supply. We will not be out there objecting, as the Deputy is doing in respect of apartment after apartment in her constituency.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

The Taoiseach is so glib about people who have no homes.

The Taoiseach

She talks about being honest but she is objecting left, right and centre.

Deputy Mary Lou McDonald

The Taoiseach is so glib.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

Just an hour ago, the special advocate for survivors of institutional abuse, Ms Patricia Carey, strongly condemned what she describes as State failures in providing redress to victims of institutional abuse. She has recounted the negative experiences of survivors engaging with the Government's statutory schemes, including retraumatisation and exclusionary terms of reference. Survivors have spoken of a pattern of exclusion. I urge the Taoiseach to engage with Ms Carey at the earliest opportunity to see that survivors are treated right by the State.

I also ask the Taoiseach to engage on another matter, namely the treatment of survivors by the religious orders, which even now are evading justice by moving their assets to lay-run trusts. Clearly, we cannot appeal to religious orders to ensure, on the basis of their moral duty, that survivors receive justice and redress. I have spoken to the Taoiseach before about the need to have a statutory scheme or some provision in law to enable survivors to access redress from religious orders. On 25 June, the Dáil will debate my Private Member's Bill to provide a clear pathway to justice for survivors. I ask the Taoiseach to engage with me on that also.

The Taoiseach

Over the past 25 years, or from any historical perspective, the State has done more on redress than has ever been done before. That needs to be acknowledged. Very substantial funds have been allocated for redress. It is taxpayers' money. It is not our money; it belongs to the people, but I would not be as dismissive of what the State has done so far.

Deputy Ivana Bacik

I am not, but-----

The Taoiseach

Sorry, but I did not interrupt the Deputy. Redress is more than just financial. Many supports, from those of the National Counselling Service to educational supports, have been provided for survivors.

Trauma brought about by abuse is lifelong, and there has to be continuous and consistent engagement with survivors in respect of both that trauma and the most effective way of responding to it on a continuing basis. The Government has engaged substantially right across the board and has allocated very substantial resources to address it.

Deputy Sinéad Gibney

It is not often I find myself aligned with the Pope. Yesterday, the leader of the Catholic Church released an encyclical, his first, called Magnifica Humanitas, calling for greater guardrails on the use of AI and greater ethical consideration and dialogue around its implementation. One of his key points relates to the culture of power, which means the control of the AI tools, which are having such a far-reaching impact on each of our lives, is in the hands of a few private actors. The way to resolve this is through dialogue, but, mostly, it is through regulation. The Government has proved that it supports a very light-touch response to regulation. We have seen that through the failure to regulate online social media platforms. Will the Government please commit to supporting the AI Act in full and not the digital omnibus package that is currently being pushed through, which essentially guts the approach and brings it back to self-regulation? Will it support a greater regulatory framework and the enforcement of the existing framework in order that we can feel safer about the implementation of these tools?

The Taoiseach

I commend the Pope on the publication of his encyclical, which is a very important document in the context of how he sees the dehumanisation of people as one of the significant potential consequences of AI. We have not engaged in any light-touch regulation. We have adopted the AI Act. We have also adopted the Single Market Act and the Digital Markets Act. Why is the Deputy talking about light-touch regulation? European legislation has been strong. We have strong domestic and European legislation in respect of online platforms. In fact, a big criticism of Europe, including Ireland, is that it has over-regulated. That is a debate in terms of technology more generally. I do not accept the criticism that we have a light touch.

Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett

I have asked the Taoiseach repeatedly about the social housing income thresholds, which have not been increased since 2023. Every year - indeed every month and every week - working people who have got a pay increase and who in some cases just get the working family payment are pushed over the limit. They might have been five, ten or 15 years on a housing list, and it is all gone. They are left in limbo. Most of the time when they go just over the threshold, their income is not sufficient to qualify for cost rental accommodation, so they are left nowhere.

It is completely unfair. It is a stealth cut by the Government when there is real housing need in this country. It is massaging the figures. The situation is perverse because if you actually get a social home, or indeed if you are in a housing assistance payment, HAP, tenancy, when your income goes up, you do not get evicted, you just pay more rent. People who are homeless are now getting thrown off-----

An Ceann Comhairle

The Taoiseach to respond. I ask the Deputy to be fair to his colleagues.

The Taoiseach

I said to the Deputy last week that the Minister for housing was considering this and would be coming back to the Government with proposals to increase the threshold. Three years ago, we did it. In 2023, it went up by approximately €5,000. I would support the increase in the threshold at which people would be entitled to social housing.

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty

The run-up to the Residential Tenancies Act 2026 was overshadowed, as we debated, by a massive increase in evictions. We will see if the Act delivers stronger protections going forward. In the meantime, I will highlight again a loophole that becomes more attractive now. It concerns overcrowding and refurbishment. Overcrowding complaints still fall under the Housing Act 1966 and the 2019 housing standard regulations, and not the new legislation. The definition of "unsuitable for habitation" is quite broad. In a tight rental market, tenants currently stay silent about poor conditions. With landlords able to reset rents after refurbishment, there is a real risk that some will seek out inspections and use any issue as grounds for substantial renovation, such as extra rooms, and then hike the rents once the original tenants have moved on. I know those tenants have first refusal but the landlord can offset the cost of the works by resetting the rent and refilling the property. Will the Government enact legislation to defeat this loophole?

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising a potential loophole. I will talk to the Minister for housing in respect of it. There are significant protections in the legislation the Minister introduced, particularly the six-year rule, which have probably had some short-term consequences but in the overall provide good protection. The legislation provides probably the strongest protection yet given in terms of security of tenure. I will follow up with the Minister in respect of the issue raised by the Deputy.

Deputy Paul McAuliffe

Paddy Fagan is a gentleman who came to my clinic yesterday evening. He is a retired Dublin Airport Authority, DAA, worker. He has been coming to my clinic for many years. Those retired workers have not received an increase since 2007 because the scheme has effectively been frozen. It was worth 82% of the minimum wage in 2007. They are now on only half of the minimum wage as retired people. The real value of their pensions has decreased. They hoped that the Bill introduced by former Deputy Bríd Smith, the Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Bill, might have helped. There were valid reasons the Government moved a money message on that legislation. Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister for Social Protection, who has responsibility for the Pensions Authority, to meet those retired workers? The money message indicated that was the Department with responsibility for the Pensions Authority and for representing retired workers in pension schemes.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising an important issue for the DAA pension scheme and workers. I hear what he is saying and will ask the Minister for Social Protection if he will meet the workers. Perhaps the Deputy could liaise with the Minister, too, but I will raise the issue. I understand the negative impact on the workers concerned if its value has gone down to 50% of what the wage was.

Deputy David Maxwell

"This Budget builds up our resilience and will help us to adapt at a time of historic challenge for our economy." That was what the then Minister for Finance, Pascal Donohoe, told the House last October. That budget still raised day-to-day spending in 2026 by over 6%. That is lower than the 8% to 9% increase in the past few years, with a slower increase intended to protect the foreign investment-focused economy from US trade policies. Last year's budget, with its business and job focus, was needed. What we have heard since, however, is that it does relatively little for low-income earners and other workers, including those who earn too much to qualify for welfare payments but too little to significantly benefit from the higher 40% tax bracket. These workers feel that these adjustments fail to help with them housing and living costs. Can we argue for wider tax credits and perhaps the creation of a middle tax band, rather than just pushing up the 40% entry point, year on year? These people who get up every day to go out and better their lives and those of their families need to feel they are getting reward for their work and not feel that staying at home and claiming benefits is worth more. Can we work over the summer months to bring forward a progressive budget for workers in 2027?

The Taoiseach

Last year's budget was one of five budgets and people need to realise that. We were strong on infrastructure in the first year, which was the right thing to do because if we do not invest in infrastructure now, it does not get completed any time soon. That was why we had to do that. Of course, disability featured strongly, as did supports for children and housing, which is the number one priority. We will be examining the full range of supports we can give to families in what is a very pressurised environment in terms of the cost-of-living pressures. Obviously, part of that is the tax framework and I have no doubt but that the various Deputies and political parties that make up the three pillars of the Government will bring forward proposals following consultation with their members and consider the most effective way of giving workers a break.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

I have just attended a press conference held by my colleague, Kathleen Funchion MEP, Patricia Carey, the special advocate for survivors, and two survivors who spoke at the conference and who are excluded from the mother and baby institutions payment scheme. It is hard to look at a survivor in his 70s who recounted the abuse that he faced when bordered out and that he lived with for so many years of his childhood. The other survivor was from Temple Hill, one of the institutions excluded and an institution that I have referenced in this House many times. We have a pot of €800 million for this institutional payment scheme. Some €78 million has been spent and we are two and a half years into a five-year scheme. Can the scheme now be expanded, as the special advocate has looked for, to include those survivors who have been excluded? One of the survivors said today they feel that from the State, it is a case of, "We're sorry, but not that sorry." There are so many survivors excluded from the scheme. Can we please look to expand it?

The Taoiseach

I was not at the press conference, which the Deputy said was attended by Kathleen Funchion and Patricia Carey. As I said earlier, it is not that there is a pot. There is no pot anywhere.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

Some €800 million was set aside.

The Taoiseach

A scheme was outlined and there were estimates as to what it would cost. It is not as if there is a pot of money over there. We have, over the years, supported different categories of people in terms of redress relating to specific areas. Industrial schools were the most significant and over €1 billion was allocated at that time. That was just the financial support but there was much more to it, including counselling, educational support and housing support. We continue to keep issues under review.

Deputy Claire Kerrane

These people got nothing.

Deputy Donna McGettigan

Trolley figures at University Hospital Limerick, UHL, to this point of the year in 2025 were 9,446. To date in 2026, the figure is 9,341, including today's figures. The figures are down 1% on last year, and with the new bed block having little impact. We and the Taoiseach know that more must be done in the mid-west, and in Clare, in particular.

Talking of the new block, I will bring up the Johnston family. As the Taoiseach knows, Aoife Johnston lost her life in UHL after waiting for 13 hours for sepsis treatment. There was a proposal that the new 96-bed block at UHL would be memorialised in Aoife's memory. Letters were exchanged with Aoife's family and the family had selected photos and poems to be incorporated in the memorial. There was then radio silence. Much to the hurt and distress of the family, the new block was then opened without consultation with the family. This was even more distressing for Aoife's dad, James, who was in the final months of his life. The family has been disrespected in every way, and they want to know when or if there will be a statutory inquiry into Aoife's death, as requested by the family. Unfortunately, that will come too late for Aoife's dad.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I met the Johnston family. What happened to Aoife was extremely and profoundly difficult and traumatic for the family. It should not have happened and the HSE has apologised. The Minister has met the family. There was an investigation and examination of it, which yielded a lot in terms of what went wrong. I will speak to the Minister. I did not realise there were issues around the naming of that new block. I will talk to the Minister about that to see if we can get that rectified.

Deputy Barry Heneghan

I acknowledge the devastating tragedy on Burrow Beach in north Dublin at the weekend when a 15-year-old teenager sadly lost her life. My thoughts are with her parents, family and friends and the wider community. I want to respect the family's wish for privacy as they grieve their daughter. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis.

This tragedy raises a serious public concern that we cannot ignore which is affecting areas in north Dublin and across Ireland. Summer is arriving earlier and lasting longer each year. In that context, the current seasonal pattern on the basis of which lifeguards are provided by councils is not acceptable. The reality is that weather patterns are changing. Beaches are now packed as early as March and as late as October during hot spells. Will the Government examine a national protocol for weather-triggered beach safety responses in conjunction with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Coast Guard and all the hardworking men and women of our emergency services? If a proactive approach can save even one life, surely we have a responsibility to act.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very sad situation. It is devastating for the family to lose such a beautiful young daughter in circumstances that no one can comprehend. It was a wonderful day. Everyone headed to the beach and the unthinkable happened.

In terms of the emergency preparedness group, risk assessments and the idea of a national protocol that could be triggered in anticipation of a change in weather of the kind we have experienced this week, which has been relatively sudden and quite dramatic in its impact. The Deputy makes a fair point. I will ask the emergency group to consider it. I will come back to the Deputy.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

The Government introduced the Re-Turn scheme. Since 2024, that scheme has made €103 million on unredeemed deposits. That is €103 million of citizens' money resting in the scheme's account, most of it permanently. The operator of the Re-Turn scheme also made money through the sale of aluminium cans that we collected for it. It also gets money from the producers of the drinks, but still refuses to pay the shops that handle those cans in the first instance. This is like a tax, except that it does not go towards paying for hospitals, education and housing. Instead, the money goes to the company involved and to its CEO's salary, details of which that company refuses to publish.

The Government's scheme has given rise to another mess and a new phenomenon, namely bin-raiding or bin-scavenging. In the name of cleaning up the country, the Government has incentivised people to dump the contents of bins onto the streets. This is costing Dublin City Council €500,000 per year.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Taoiseach to respond.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

That is incredible.

An Ceann Comhairle

Time is up.

Deputy Peadar Tóibín

Will the Government look to reform or end this shambolic scheme?

The Taoiseach

In many respects, the scheme, which was introduced by the then Minister, Eamon Ryan, has had a strong impact in the context of recycling and so on. There have been positives to the scheme. There is no doubt about that. We keep all schemes under review. Bin-scavenging needs to be examined more in terms of scale, prevalence and how we deal with it.

Deputy Erin McGreehan

We have a problem. I am deeply concerned that our health service is falling behind when it comes to access to advanced cancer treatments, modern medicine and orphan drugs. Science innovation, as the Taoiseach knows, is moving at an extraordinary pace. New oncology medicines are helping people to live longer and survive cancer. In the context of diseases that once involved devastating outcomes, people now retain a far better quality of life after treatment. However, in Ireland, access depends far too often on whether people have private health insurance. This is not the health system we want. It is not the health system Sláintecare envisioned either. We are increasingly seeing a two-tier system in cancer care. If people have private cover, they can often access new treatments earlier. On the other hand, those who rely on the public system may face delays and fewer options. I accept that more money is going into access to drugs than ever before. However, the next cancer strategy has to keep pace with science. The reimbursement schemes have to improve.

The Taoiseach

I thank the Deputy for raising what is a pertinent and important issue. There is no question but that medicines are advancing at a rapid pace. In the context of therapeutics and more generally in the area of oncology, there are new drugs, perhaps every five years in some instances. Health systems all over the world are struggling to keep pace with the rapidity of change. Thankfully, survival rates relating to cancer are increasing all round because of the advances that have been made.

I have engaged in discussions with the Minister on this matter. Working with the national cancer control programme, we need to look at how we can deal with the rapidity and volume of new drugs coming on stream. Orphan drugs, which may not relate to cancer alone and which may be used to treat a range of other conditions, are going through similar technology assessments. The process is taking a long time. We need the co-operation of the companies involved in terms of dealing sensibly and practically with this, but there is no doubt that it is a growing issue.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Sherlock.

The Taoiseach

Our public cancer centres are good. The Deputy is making a point about private access to medicine and new drugs. That is where the differential happens.

Deputy Marie Sherlock

What exactly did the Taoiseach mean when he said migration has hugely impacted homelessness? When people hear that, they think the Taoiseach is in some way trying to minimise or dismiss the problem that is affecting more than 12,500 people in Dublin and thousands more who are couch-surfing, who are suffering and who do not have homes at this time. The people coming to my clinic are both Irish born and individuals who have made their lives here. Their stories are harrowing. The family of a Dublin Bus driver are being forced to live in emergency accommodation. A customs officer - someone who came here from another country many years ago and who wants to get citizenship - has received a notice to quit. These are real people with real jobs. We need to hear that the Taoiseach's sympathy and understanding are as much with Irish people who are homeless as it is with those who come to this country to make their lives here, and that action will be taken accordingly.

The Taoiseach

That is a fair point except, but we all need to be honest about it. We need to understand the problem and the challenge. When I refer to migration, I am not blaming anyone. I am simply stating the fact that more than 50% - it is even higher in the Dublin area - are non-Irish citizens. That is just the reality. The composition of homelessness has changed. That is all I am saying. That realisation then informs different responses. When, for example, we came forward with the exemptions for developments in gardens and so on, our proposal was lampooned. However, that proposal could provide a solution for a certain group of people. Everything that increases supply will help us to deal with this matter. Some Europeans who have come here have an entitlement to emergency homes without being entitled to local authority houses or social housing. There are issues here.

The Deputy can attack us for even mentioning what I referred to. She cannot attack us just for mentioning the unmentionable.

An Ceann Comhairle

Thank you, Taoiseach.

The Taoiseach

We need to understand the composition of homelessness.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy Aird.

The Taoiseach

It is much different from what it was ten years ago-----

An Ceann Comhairle

Time is up, Taoiseach

The Taoiseach

-----but we still have to support those in emergency accommodation. That is what I am saying.

Deputy William Aird

The fuel allowance scheme is a critical support for many pensioners who are on limited incomes. I acknowledge that must be clear eligibility criteria in respect of payments of this nature. However, an inconsistency in the current system has been brought to my attention. In the case of a pensioner whose adult child has moved back into the family home, if that child is not dependent and is working, the pensioner is deemed ineligible for the fuel allowance under the current rules. At the same time, an eligible person can rent a room to a stranger and earn up to €14,000 per year under the rent-a-room scheme without it affecting their eligibility for the fuel allowance. In the context of the housing crisis, the Taoiseach and I know of many cases where adult children have had to move back in with their elderly parents. It is unfair that these families are being penalised. I ask that this matter be reviewed in order to ensure pensioners will not be disadvantaged because they are providing accommodation to their children.

The Taoiseach

This is a complex matter, particular as it relates to those who are dependent. Where would the Deputy draw the line in devising a scheme for fuel allowance? It could be broadened exponentially. We have already expanded it to those on the working family payment. Approximately 470,000 people are now entitled to the fuel allowance. We have expanded it significantly from where it was.

I will raise the point the Deputy made with the Minister for Social Protection, but it is not easy. The Deputy is introducing the idea that people working in a house would be entitled to the fuel allowance.

Deputy William Aird

No, I am talking about a person who had to come home. The individual involved is a nurse.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy, please.

The Taoiseach

I know, but that person would be working.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy, we do not allow back and forth.

The Taoiseach

How can we differentiate between-----

An Ceann Comhairle

We do not allow it.

Deputy William Aird

Two thousand euro a month for a house in Portlaoise.

The Taoiseach

I hear the Deputy.

An Ceann Comhairle

Deputy, the rules are the rules.

Deputy Brian Stanley

I again with to raise the issue of the shortage of GPs again, particularly in the context of Laois. There is a shortage of GPs in the main towns across the county. There is a problem for medical card and non-medical card patients, including families with children.

In the past few days two families tried to get a GP in Portlaoise, Portarlington and Mountmellick. One parent had to take time off work to go to a practice in Dublin. People are going to the accident and emergency unit with common illnesses for treatment. That is what is happening. There is a public health issue here. We have had a huge population increase. A HSE reply of one sentence stated that the HSE was not in a position to advise on the number of private GP practices providing primary care in County Laois. I am not blaming the HSE but because of the system, we rely solely on the private ones and that kind of an answer does not suffice. It cannot be a hands-off approach.

I am aware a strategic review is under way. That review is supposed to be considering directly employed GPs. Where there are areas of serious population growth such as County Laois, I ask that the Government employ a few directly employed GPs to provide care.

An Ceann Comhairle

The Taoiseach to respond.

Deputy Brian Stanley

The Minister was down last week. We had the opening of the accident and emergency unit but it is getting clogged with people who should be getting treated in primary care.

The Taoiseach

Basically, we are spending about €1 billion annually in general practice to support patients. Some 43% of the population now has access to free GP care and Government investment has significantly increased. There is a strategic review of general practice currently under way, and I presume it will take on board some of the issues the Deputy has raised in terms of growth areas in population and the need for greater access to GPs more generally. There has also been increased access to pharmacy capacities in respect of some conditions. There are about eight conditions pharmacists can now diagnose and prescribe treatment for. We have to become more flexible in how we enable people to access primary care services. We have invested significantly in general practice. Under the 2019 GP agreement, an extra €211 million was put in and a further €130 million under the 2023 GP agreement.

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