David Cullinane
Ceist:1. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [46894/26]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Cabinet Committees
Ruth Coppinger
Ceist:2. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet [46895/26]
Mark Ward
Ceist:3. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [46911/26]
John Lahart
Ceist:4. Deputy John Lahart asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [46912/26]
Johnny Guirke
Ceist:5. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [46930/26]
Martin Daly
Ceist:6. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [23618/26]
Michael Cahill
Ceist:7. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [23619/26]
Pádraig O'Sullivan
Ceist:8. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [23620/26]
Louis O'Hara
Ceist:9. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [32050/26]
Jennifer Whitmore
Ceist:10. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [47366/26]
Marie Sherlock
Ceist:11. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [47939/26]
Peter 'Chap' Cleere
Ceist:12. Deputy Peter 'Chap' Cleere asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet [48149/26]
David Cullinane
Ceist:13. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [48668/26]
Darren O'Rourke
Ceist:14. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [48682/26]
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:15. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [49215/26]
Marie Sherlock
Ceist:16. Deputy Marie Sherlock asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [49327/26]
Conor D McGuinness
Ceist:17. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [49328/26]
Rose Conway-Walsh
Ceist:18. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [49340/26]
Paul Lawless
Ceist:19. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [49357/26]
Barry Heneghan
Ceist:20. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [49362/26]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 20, inclusive, together.
The Cabinet committee on health last met on 30 April 2026 and is due to meet again shortly. The Cabinet committee oversees implementation of programme for Government commitments in relation to health, receives detailed reports on identified policy areas and considers health reforms, including Sláintecare, the reform of public health and health system preparedness for future health threats. It also receives reports in relation to programme for Government commitments in the areas of mental health and drugs policy. In addition to me, it is attended by the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, the Minister for public expenditure, and the Minister for Health.
Sláintecare 2025+, our latest Sláintecare strategy, published in May 2025, aims to forge the way towards accessible, affordable, high-quality healthcare for the people of Ireland when they need it and where they need it. For the fourth year in a row, Ireland has the highest self-perceived health status in the EU, with 80.4% of males and 79.9% of females rating their health as good or very good. Our life expectancy is continuing to increase and is above international averages. Life expectancy in Ireland has increased by two years for males and one year for females since 2015. We are treating more people, with better outcomes than ever before. We continue to reduce mortality rates from cancer, circulatory system diseases and respiratory system diseases, and report positive trends in preventative health. Our overall mortality rate has fallen by 16.1% since 2015. The Government will continue to invest and reform, changing the way health services are delivered this year and into the future.
The Waiting Time Action Plan 2026, published on 30 January, represents the Government's continued commitment to improving access to hospital care. Since the commencement of the multi-annual action plan approach, significant progress has been made in reducing the length of time hospital patients are waiting.
The new regional structures within the HSE have been established, with six new health regions and 20 integrated healthcare areas, IHAs. Health and social care services are planned and delivered around the specific needs of local populations, leading to better co-ordination of care and access to services.
The public-only consultant contract, POCC, is central to the transition towards a more consultant-led public health service and represents a significant structural reform in the delivery of public hospital services. The POCC was introduced to strengthen clinical decision-making capacity within the public system and to improve patient access to timely care. It also aims to ensure access to treatment is based on medical need, not ability to pay, in line with the Sláintecare vision.
I will read the rest of the reply into the record.
One of the biggest health issues that arose in this country related to Children's Health Ireland, CHI, scoliosis and child surgery. Now we find that four out of the eight groups have withdrawn from the scoping exercise that was to draw up the terms of reference for the inquiry.
It includes the spina bifida and hydrocephalus paediatric advocacy group and many others. Another group has also reportedly left but not yet publicly. The reason for this is 12 unpublished reports to do with CHI since 2017, including the Dixon report. The groups are afraid that the issues in these reports will not be investigated by the inquiry. Parents are being asked to participate in these groups but they are not being given all of the information in order to allow them to participate. How will the inquiry function when half of the groups involved are having nothing to do with it? When will they get the information they are asking for?
Once again I want to ask about Roscommon University Hospital and the promised neurorehabilitation unit. It was promised in 2015 with an attached budget of €8 million. It was twice removed from the HSE's capital plan without any discussion and twice put back on after lobbying by me and my office. Now there is a real lack of urgency about providing those places. Neurorehabilitation looks after acquired brain injuries, stroke, traumatic Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, motor neurone disease, spinal injuries and a host of other things. There is a dearth of beds in the HSE west and north-west region and this is recognised. It is something that is needed and desired and has been promised with a budget but there seems to be lack of urgency by HSE to progress this unit.
I want to raise again the chronic shortage of respite for children with profound disabilities in County Kerry. Families are waiting seven or eight months for one or two nights' break and they are at breaking point. The same applies with regard to adults with profound disabilities in Kerry. The issue of respite for these individuals and their families must be of the very highest priority. There is a wonderful centre at St. Mary's of the Angels in Beaufort that should be developed into a centre of excellence for respite. There is also the excellent St. Francis Special School along with many services located there. I wish to avail of this opportunity to invite the Taoiseach to visit the centre, which is just outside Killarney.
I want to raise with the Taoiseach once again the issue of rare diseases. It is something on which we have made considerable progress in recent months. We had the very effective campaign run by Senator Costello and others on the reimbursement of givinostat. On foot of this, the Minister has also ordered an end-to-end review on drug reimbursement as a whole. These are very much welcome. In relation to comments made by a member of the NCPE over a week ago on RTÉ radio, does the Taoiseach think is appropriate that a member of the NCPE was on the airwaves disagreeing with the Minister's direction, insofar as he admitted he was against an early access scheme? Is there an update on the next drugs group meeting? Ordinarily it is on the second Tuesday of every month. Is there any possibility of bringing the meeting forward?
There is still no PET scanner operating in the public system in Galway or across the wider western region. We are being told it will be at least 2033 before a PET scanner will be provided for University Hospital Galway. This is completely unacceptable because this imaging technology is vital for monitoring cancer patients for cancer diagnosis. Patients are being forced to travel long distances to access these scans. They are often referred to private operators at significant cost to the State. They cost millions of euro each year. Patients in the west should not have to travel for essential diagnostic services that are available on-site in other major hospitals. We should have equal access to care across the country. We need a PET scanner, and we need the promised new cancer centre at UHG as well as other infrastructural improvements. Will the Taoiseach intervene to expedite the delivery of this critical infrastructure and equipment for the west to ensure there is equality of care for cancer patients across the State?
Today nurses and midwives are protesting at University Maternity Hospital Limerick. The HSE pay and numbers strategy cut approximately 30 to 35 front-line nursing and midwifery posts, imposing new staff ceilings, recruitment limits and pay spend caps. Many areas of the hospital are running rosters at 50% below safe levels. The neonatal unit is beyond safe capacity while awaiting HSE approval for service expansion. The labour ward has a daily deficit of midwives. This has been raised repeatedly with management. A HIQA review found the situation to be unsustainable. The HSE must uphold the agreement on staffing from 2015. The neonatal unit expansion must be funded. Safe staffing is needed and the hospital needs to be protected from the HSE pay and numbers strategy.
Endometriosis impacts more than 300,000 women in Ireland, with 30,000 of them being very complex cases. This is a condition that is absolutely crippling for any woman who has it. There have been efforts by the Government to bring in a new framework to deal with endometriosis but access is still very difficult. A treatment abroad scheme was set up but a number of countries are not included in it, namely, Greece, Romania, the UK and France. There were plans to look into expanding it to these countries. I also want to raise the fact that in many instances women have to fund this treatment upfront. This would exclude an awful lot of women from accessing the treatment abroad scheme for endometriosis because it is a considerable amount of money. Will the Taoiseach and the Minister look into this?
For people living with Friedreich's ataxia time is something they simply do not have. Every delay means more mobility lost, more speech lost and more independence taken away. Families such as Emily Felix and her family in Kilkenny, Oisín Pollard and his family in Carlow and many others have campaigned with huge dignity and courage for access to Skyclarys, the first treatment approved for this condition but unfortunately they continue to face delay and uncertainty while the disease continues to progress. Will the Taoiseach update the House on what the Government's position is on reimbursing Skyclarys? What message does he have for the young people and families who feel they are being asked to wait while an irreversible disease takes more and more from them every day?
In the past there was a system of phased dispensing that was paid for by the State. It evolved into patients getting blister packs. In disadvantaged areas and areas of low income many people who had blister packs had the cost covered by the Government. The Government recently brought in changes to the way this is to be paid for. It did this without discussing it with pharmacists on the ground and there was no consultation with doctors or patients. Now there are no payments for phased dispensing or blister packs for those receiving one on a weekly basis. A lot of home help providers do not deal with medication unless it is in a blister pack. All of this adds to the massive increase in the cost of living that families are enduring at the moment. It means people coming into the system will pay between €20 and €30 extra on a monthly basis for this. Will the Taoiseach delay the process that is costing so much money? Will he ensure the process is reviewed? Will he listen to doctors, pharmacists and patients on the ground?
The Taoiseach was in Mayo recently and I hope he enjoyed his trip. There are major issues with the hospital, however. Recently a young man was waiting three days for emergency surgery following breaking his leg. This was a result of a lack of staff. The theatre was ready, as was the consultant. Everything was ready but the nursing staff to facilitate the surgery. This is causing major difficulty. It is happening as a result of an over-reliance on agency staff. It is very important that we prioritise recruitment in the HSE for staff and pay them the wages they deserve.
I thank all Deputies for raising the various issues they have raised. Deputy Coppinger raised the issue of the Children's Health Ireland inquiry. This is a scoping inquiry in the first instance, essentially to scope out the terms of reference and what will be covered by an inquiry, and to look at the statutory format the inquiry will take. I would encourage all groups to participate and engage with Remy Farrell.
In terms of the issues raised concerning unpublished reports, it would be my assessment that any statutory inquiry would get any report it would need. Given the powers that would be given to a statutory inquiry, it would obviously have the power to procure documents in the possession of CHI. In the context of this scoping inquiry, the independent facilitator, Remy Farrell, has written to all involved. He wrote to the Minister for Health last week requesting an extension to conduct his scoping exercise and, in particular, to attempt to further re-engage with stakeholders. The Minister has granted this request until 18 August.
I understand that the facilitator will be engaging with the advocacy groups over the coming days regarding this extension of time and seeking to re-engage with them. He has also been engaging with CHI in respect of those unpublished reports or any particular material that might be in those reports. It is very important that engagement would continue to enable us to get to a position where the Government can have a decision presented to it to establish a statutory inquiry. Otherwise, it could get delayed unnecessarily, in my view. Having had a lot of experience of establishing various inquiries, I urge everyone to engage with the facilitator.
Deputy Martin Daly raised, not for the first time, the issue of the promised rehab unit in Roscommon University Hospital and the lack of urgency attending to it. I will talk to the Minister again and to HSE estates to see if we can progress this, and I will come back to the Deputy. One of the values of Roscommon University Hospital has been the degree to which it can provide a range of services outside of the acute tertiary centres. That makes life far easier for people in the region to access these services. Rehab is so important, particularly for neurological issues or accidents and so on. It can do an awful lot in enabling a person to get back into participating in society and work, depending on the circumstances governing an individual who requires access to a rehab unit of that kind.
Deputy Cahill spoke about the chronic shortage of respite, which is more of a national issue but is an issue in Kerry. We have placed this very high on the agenda of the Cabinet subcommittee on disability. There has been good development of late between the Minister for housing and the Minister for disability, who have come together. The Minister for housing has undertaken to build housing for people with disabilities. This is so we will not be dependent on waiting for the HSE but can get on and instruct every local authority to build a quota of units and to reserve a quota of any new builds in local authority housing to be made available for people generally with disabilities and particularly for those adults with disabilities. Respite is perhaps a separate issue to some degree although we believe housing can have a role there, too, with provisions. I will take the Deputy up on the offer to visit St. Mary of the Angels. I would be interested in doing that. I do think there is an issue with how we are progressing what is called decongregation. We are trying to get new places and allocate resources for new respite and residential places, yet a lot of resources have gone to decongregation, which takes resources from new places. I think there needs to be a more balanced approach about that, particularly where people are satisfied with the level and quality of care. I made this point to the HSE already at the Cabinet subcommittee, and we are working on that issue.
Deputy Pádraig O’Sullivan spoke about rare diseases. Generally speaking, I am not comfortable with people disagreeing with the Minister in respect of decisions that ultimately get taken in respect of an end-to-end review. Personally, I think it was long required and not before its time. We do need a more fundamental look at rare diseases generally, because more and more companies are producing orphan drugs, as they were once called, to meet the needs of rare diseases. That will create challenges for funding for for health services - there is no question about that - but we need to look at this issue in its entirety in terms of how we provide for rare diseases in future.
Much of this is positive. There was a time when companies were not producing drugs for rare diseases. They were going for the blockbuster drugs. Now that they are producing drugs for rare diseases, it is positive for the patients and cohorts involved. It is giving them hope that there is some prospect of moderating the disease or even ultimately getting to a cure. It is only when you are on a journey of medical discovery that you can get medicines that ultimately can achieve significant and transformative results. On the next drugs meeting, it is due in July, but I know the Minister was trying to bring it forward a bit, in particular in consideration of key drugs such as Skyclarys and so forth.
I will raise with the Minister the issue Deputy O’Hara brought up in respect of a PET scanner for University Hospital Galway. I do not have the specifics behind that. A PET scanner is about more than just a machine, of course. It is about the entire team needed to support that machine. That is a critical issue there. These are substantial investments in people, technology and so on. I will get the background to this issue and see where we are in respect of access to it in terms of University Hospital Galway.
Deputy Sheehan raised nurses and midwives and the particular issue in University Maternity Hospital Limerick and the neonatal unit there as well. Again, we have been through a period of significant workforce growth in the health service, with the addition of about 30,257 staff from January 2020 to the end of May 2026. That is about a 30% increase in the number of staff. It includes over 11,000 extra nurses and midwives, which is an increase of over 32%. There are over 5,100 more health and social care professionals, which is an increase of over 40%. Over 4,400 doctors and dentists have been added, which is an increase of over 40% in the last six years. It is quite substantial. We do have to ask questions in terms of how people are being deployed. There is an issue with the use of agencies. The Deputy raised that. There is no question about it. The Minister is very focused on that issue as well, regarding the use of full-time employees instead of agency staff.
Turning to Deputy Whitmore on endometriosis and the new framework, to be fair to the Ministers, previously Stephen Donnelly and now Deputy Carroll MacNeill, there has been progress on this issue but we are not there yet, of course. Is the Deputy talking about the cross-border directive or the treatment abroad service?
It is the treatment abroad service. There are a number of countries that are-----
We do not really do this.
On treatment abroad, that applies to the entirety of the European Union. It is meant to.
No. No.
Again, I will talk to the Minister in respect of that. Generally speaking, across the board, treatment abroad has not had an issue in terms of its funding. That has never proved to be a problem in the past.
There are three more Deputies to go.
This is a specific treatment scheme for endometriosis.
I will come back to the Deputy on it.
Deputy Cleere's question was on Friedreich’s ataxia. I think I referenced this earlier. I fully appreciate what the Deputy said. I think he mentioned Emily Felix and Oisín Pollard. I have met quite a number of people as well. It is very distressing, difficult and challenging for the families and for Emily, Oisín and their contemporaries who want access to Skyclarys as quickly as possible. Early on, there were issues in getting the material from the company and so on, but all that has been overcome. I would hope that we will get a decision on that. Obviously, the Minister is trying to progress it as quickly as possible. I will come back to the Deputy after I talk to the Minister on this issue.
I do not think the way Deputy Tóibín presented the issue regarding blister packs was probably as accurate as the real story behind it. I think the Minister has been quite robust and has revealed a lot in terms of her own work on this issue. I will put it this way. There was a different practice in many different areas. There were different patterns of behaviour and different things being done by different pharmacists in that respect. It is not all as the Deputy articulated. We want to help those who need help, and the Minister will continue to target resources. The Minister already had an agreement with the Irish Pharmacy Union, IPU, in respect of this issue.
Regarding Deputy Lawless's question, I had a very good day in Mayo. It is a great hotel. Two pharmaceutical companies are doing very well in Mayo, namely, Vantive and AbbVie in Westport. Huge investment is under way over the next while in Castlebar further education and training college. In terms of the hospital, I do not have the specifics on that individual surgical experience of the person who broke their leg. That three-day period is not good, but I do not know what the background to it is.
I thank the Taoiseach.
Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements
Ruth Coppinger
Ceist:21. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump. [46896/26]
Johnny Guirke
Ceist:22. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump. [46931/26]
Naoise Ó Cearúil
Ceist:23. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his St. Patrick’s Day visit to the US. [22422/26]
Malcolm Byrne
Ceist:24. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his St. Patrick’s Day visit to the US. [22423/26]
Shane Moynihan
Ceist:25. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his St. Patrick’s Day visit to the US. [22424/26]
Martin Daly
Ceist:26. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his St. Patrick’s Day visit to the US. [45337/26]
Liam Quaide
Ceist:27. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump. [48680/26]
Darren O'Rourke
Ceist:28. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump. [48683/26]
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:29. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49216/26]
Conor D McGuinness
Ceist:30. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump. [49329/26]
Jennifer Whitmore
Ceist:31. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his St. Patrick’s Day visit to the US. [49335/26]
Paul Lawless
Ceist:32. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent meeting with US President Donald Trump. [49356/26]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 21 to 32, inclusive, together.
I undertook a four-day programme of engagements in the United States, visiting Philadelphia and Washington DC to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. My programme began in Philadelphia, where I met Irish community and business representatives, as well as Congressman Boyle, with whom I participated in the St. Patrick's Day parade. While there, I laid a wreath at a statue of Commodore John Barry, who founded the US Navy, and visited Independence Hall, where the US Declaration of Independence was signed 250 years ago. I also attended a gala dinner of the Friendly Sons and Daughters of St. Patrick, and I cut the ribbon on the Irish Diaspora Center's new premises, which carries out excellent work on behalf of the Irish community in Philadelphia and is supported by the Irish Government's immigrant support programme.
In Washington DC, I attended the embassy's St. Patrick's Day reception, which was attended by a large number of people from political, business, diplomatic and community backgrounds. I also attended the Ireland Funds' annual gala dinner. The Secretary of Transportation, Sean P. Duffy, was an honouree at this year's event.
On St. Patrick's Day itself, I met Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, who hosted me and my wife, Mary, for breakfast in his residence. I met President Trump for a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office, where we discussed the contribution of Irish and Irish-American people to the development of the US, current bilateral relations, including our strong economic ties, and global issues. The meeting was also attended by Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.
I also presented President Trump with the traditional bowl of shamrock to mark St. Patrick's Day at a ceremony and reception in the White House. The attendance included a number of senior representatives of the Administration, including members of the Cabinet, with whom I had the opportunity to engage.
I attended a Friends of Ireland lunch on Capitol Hill, hosted by Speaker Mike Johnson, with whom I also had a bilateral meeting at which we discussed bilateral relations, political developments in the US and international issues. While on Capitol Hill, I also met the Friends of Ireland Caucus, co-chaired by Representatives Richie Neal and Mike Kelly. The meeting was attended by a number of other representatives, including Mary Gay Scanlon of Philadelphia.
While in Washington, I also had a programme of economic engagements, including a breakfast hosted by Enterprise Ireland and a business leaders' lunch hosted by Ireland's enterprise agencies, at which I presented the Research Ireland academic and enterprise medals. I met the Strategic Economic Advisory Panel and discussed recent trade and economic developments. I also attended an event hosted by Stripe.
We already debated the issue of the Taoiseach's St. Patrick's Day meeting with Donald Trump, a misogynist, homophobe, transphobe, genocider, funder of genocide in Palestine and convicted rapist but-----
Deputy, please. That is in the Deputy's opinion. I ask that-----
That is an actual fact.
He is still a world leader.
I am going to go on because I am not having my time cut short.
The Taoiseach now seems to find and be able to separate out reasons why he should do these things. The latest is that he says sport and politics should not mix, and he has said that in relation to the Irish team playing Israel. Yet four of his MEPs obviously do think sport and politics mix because they have signed a complaint about Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, and the farce of a World Cup that is being held right now, where a Somali referee was turned away, the Iranian team had to go to Mexico and three other teams were refused entry into the country and had to locate elsewhere because of the travel bans.
The US is descending towards fascism. That is the reality of it. I do not know if the Taoiseach has any regrets about his visit. Nobody has any issue with him meeting the diaspora - we are all in favour of that - but there is an issue with normalising somebody like Donald Trump in the current climate.
A few weeks ago, we saw the AI company, Claude, switching off its Fable and Mythos models after engagement with the US Government. We are particularly vulnerable in Ireland because many of the public services are aligned with, and using, Microsoft and Copilot, which is AI software. There is a fear that something like what I have mentioned could happen with the likes of Microsoft in the future. I am not saying it will but it could. What we need to be considering from a European perspective, and I ask that the Taoiseach consider this during the EU Presidency, is the development of sovereign AI between the EU, Canada and the UK, with which we have shared values. That is a way we can move forward on artificial intelligence, particularly in a European context.
As part of his visit, the Taoiseach visited Villanova University, a critical university in terms of Irish athletics. For the past number of years, I have had an intern from Villanova working with me. Part of the success has been around the exchanges that have happened over many years.
There had been a threat to the Fulbright programme. I am glad to say it is back on schedule. Recently, as the Taoiseach knows, the de Chastelain programme allowed for exchanges with Canada. I hope we can continue to build long-term relationships with the likes of the Fulbright and de Chastelain programmes. Would the Taoiseach consider extending some of the programmes to second level schools in the same way as schools in Ireland can exchange with European schools under the Erasmus programme? I refer to extending the possibilities to North America as well.
I welcomed the Taoiseach's visit to the US. He represented Ireland's interests extremely well. He reminded America that it is a two-way street in terms of economic collaboration, with Ireland being the fifth largest source of foreign direct investment, FDI, in the US, investing close to $390 billion in the American economy, with 200,000 people directly employed there, and $476 billion in FDI coming from the US.
The Taoiseach defended the EU and European values, and he countered the false narrative that Europe was being overrun by migrants. He won respect for his defence of Keir Starmer, who has done so much to restore UK–Ireland relations after a very difficult UK–EU Brexit negotiation process. In saying all that, he also identified the fact that the EU needs to develop indigenous new technologies such as in AI, social media and pharma, and increase competitiveness to enable research and growth to develop self-reliance and resilience.
The Taoiseach originally told us the occupied territories Bill could not be enacted because of legal constraints. More recently, he admitted that the real obstacle, in his eyes, is the fear that American companies might abandon Ireland. This is despite the fact that his own party not only voted for this Bill in 2019 but actually introduced it to the Dáil on behalf of Senator Frances Black. He promised voters during the general election campaign of 2024 that he would enact it.
Is there any level of mass murder, State terror, forced displacement or land theft visited upon Palestinians by the Israeli state that would move him from words of condemnation and appeals for a unified European approach that may never materialise to meaningful trade sanctions and the proper enactment of that 2019 Dáil vote? What exactly is he asking us to believe? Is it that companies operating in Ireland for commercial advantage, access to talent and access to the EU market and tax purposes will forfeit all of that just because Donald Trump might throw a tantrum about Ireland refusing to facilitate illegal settlement trade with a genocidal apartheid state?
The vast majority of data centres in Ireland are owned by American technology multinationals. As the Taoiseach knows, data centres are swallowing up increasing amounts of our electricity. They are putting the grid under enormous pressure. The costs in relation to constraints and bottlenecks are so high now that energy companies have to switch off their turbines and energy users have to pay those energy companies to switch off their turbines. Network stabilisation is now one of the biggest elements of electricity bills.
Data centres' insatiable thirst for gas means that we are always pushed into the marginal pricing that gas increases. The Government's policy is part of that problem. Tomorrow we will see massive hikes in the cost of electricity. Will the Taoiseach ensure that the price of electricity for data centres is increased so domestic users will get a reduction in price? Have data centres played any part in his discussions with Donald Trump or the American regime in terms of foreign direct investment?
Over the past week or two, we have seen a fast-tracking of the liquefied natural gas, LNG, Bill through the Dáil.
This is a big mistake. There are still a lot of questions about the rationale for this particular project. I understand that when the Taoiseach met with Donald Trump in the Oval Office, he said, "... I'm hopeful that we'll soon reach a deal to sell American liquefied natural gas - and that’ll bring down your deficit a lot - so I think you have to make this deal with us, you better do something." Did those comments by Donald Trump have any impact on the speed at which the Government is putting through the liquefied natural gas, LNG, facility? Have any of the Taoiseach's Ministers or officials had any conversations with US representatives in relation to an LNG deal with the US?
Deputy Coppinger put words into my mouth. I did not use those specific words about sport and politics but I did say that I do not think the Irish football team should be disadvantaged by the issue of the Israeli-Ireland game.
It could have been one of the Taoiseach's Ministers.
I did not use that phrase so let us be clear about that. I do not want Irish football to be the victim. There are issues with FIFA, as we know. It would not cost FIFA a thought the Irish football team were to be relegated or whatever, and if there were consequences for seedings and if Irish football was set back by potentially a decade. That is an issue.
On the visit, the relationship with Ireland is significant for a number of reasons. In terms of the economic relationship, it is extremely important. It puts a lot of bread on the table. It is very important for Irish jobs. President Trump is the democratically elected President of the United States. Whether the Deputy likes that or not is beside the point. He is democratically elected. Successive taoisigh have visited successive presidents of the United States as a way of symbolising the historic and deep relationship between our two countries. The 250th anniversary coming. America will celebrate the Declaration of Independence. Three of the signatories of that declaration were born in Ireland. Approximately 12 had Irish connections. Our relationship is deep and familial, diasporic, economic, cultural and artistic. Visiting the White House and the President is a symbol of all of that, and is an important moment. All the agencies of the State are engaged that week in particular, right across the United States and right across the world. That has strong outcomes for Ireland in job creation, tourism and investment globally as well as in the United States.
Deputy Ó Cearúil raised a significant issue about the decision about Fable and Mythos and the restriction put on it. There is an issue around sovereign AI. I met representatives of companies in Canada who made that point to me. There are issues about how we deal it because it is not simple. There is a real issue coming down the tracks if that practice were to continue. I discussed it with Prime Minister Carney. It could lead to a two-tiered scenario, which could have negative implications globally. It is a very significant and serious issue.
Deputy Malcolm Byrne is correct about the importance of scholarship programmes between the United States and Ireland. I visited Villanova University. The head of coaching at Villanova is a former schoolmate of mine, Marcus O'Sullivan. He is a world champion from Turner's Cross. He was the year behind me. I saw him as a young guy running in Corca Dhuibhne when we were down there for a month with Coláiste Chríost Rí. I did not realise he subsequently became a world champion but he did. He now heads the coaching operation in Villanova University. I met a chap called Charlie O'Donovan, an ex-Coláiste Chríost Rí youngster, who has run a sub four-minute mile. The Villanova connection with Ireland is long-standing, with Eamonn Coughlan, Ronnie Delaney and all the milers, in particular. It has been phenomenal in its impact on Irish athletics, so it was very good to visit. It is famed in song and story and in athletics, in particular.
On extending it to second level schools, that is a very good idea. I will talk to the ambassador and others to see how we could progress that. I have always looked for legal channels of engagement with the United States. I would never recommend that any young person should go to the United States illegally. It is not a journey that a young person should even contemplate because its lifelong implications can be difficult and challenging. We should open as many legal channels of engagement as possible. I was involved with the former deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte, in doing the graduate working holiday agreement back in 2008 or 2009. I would certainly look at that second level exchange.
I thank Deputy Martin Daly for his affirmative comments in respect of my visit to the United States. The economic relationship, as the Deputy outlined well, is enormous. Sometimes it almost amuses me the degree to which it is simply dismissed by certain Deputies in the House as something of no value and that should not feature at all in our consideration of what we do on occasions such as 17 March every year. Thumbing your nose at people and ignoring various people elected to office on the basis of their politics, and not taking on board the damage and consequences for Irish people, is another form of irresponsibility. I appreciate the comments that the Deputy has made. We used the occasion, as the Deputy said, to affirm Europe, European values and the European lived experience, which some in the United States continue to decry. Europe is a good place in which to live. It is a very positive place in its diversity, multiculturalism and freedom of speech. We should never be afraid to champion the positives of what Europe has to offer.
On our side, our companies and SMEs are doing well in the United States. Those who engage or scale up in the United States are doing particularly well and many of our companies are exporting and creating jobs in the United States.
Deputy Quaide ignored completely the significant work the Government has been doing over recent years, at a European level and globally, on the question of Palestine and the appalling Israeli war on the people of Palestine. The Government recognised the State of Palestine, along with Spain and then Slovenia. We were the only EU member state, although Spain eventually joined, to participate in the South African case. We joined that case, which went for judgment in the International Court of Justice, ICJ. We have moved resolutions at the United Nations. The Deputy ignored all of that. He asked how much more murder it will take.
How about enacting a Bill that you voted for?
I mean no disrespect but what a horrible way to put it.
What about enacting a Bill that you voted for?
The Deputy has had his time.
It is as if the Deputy has a monopoly on moral rectitude in respect of this. The Irish Government is known internationally for its strong stance in defending Palestinians and self-determination. The occupied territories Bill is the latest issue that has arisen. It will not be of any consequence in actuality and will impact less than €200,000 worth of goods. However, it is symbolic. That is largely its import and impact. That is the reality.
The Taoiseach voted for the Bill and then gutted it.
The Minister is bringing the legislation forward. It is going through the House at the moment and I presume it will be passed. It is another advance on ten to 15 decisions we have taken. Ireland was foremost in defending the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, for example, when it was under real threat from some within the previous European Commission at the time. We intervened to stop the haemorrhaging of funds from UNRWA. We doubled down by doubling our contribution to UNRWA. We have done a fair bit. Most Palestinians accept that, and not only just accept it, they thank us every time we meet them. What is happening is still horrendous. The killing of innocent children and women is shocking. We cannot get agreement at European level. Different member states have different positions, and still do, in respect of the atrocities that are occurring, and continue to occur, in particular with the prevention of humanitarian aid getting into Gaza and the lack of proper implementation even of phase one of the recent peace deal and cessation of violence.
Deputy Tóibín raised data centres. Over the past five years, we have slowed down the development of data centres a lot. Data centres are vital for the digital world in which we live. That is just the reality. We have to develop significant capacity on the energy front to be able to deal with the AI revolution and further growth of any data centres.
The CRU has produced a large energy user policy. It creates a framework to allow for further data centres to be built in circumstances where they use 80% renewable energy. We are some distance away from where we were in the growth of data centres, but they are not the great evil that people, including the Deputy, portray them to be.
I did not have any discussions with President Trump about data centres. America is just ploughing ahead and getting them done in six to nine months. It is a very different scene in, for example, Texas. We have to measure this. Data centres use up a lot of electricity - the Deputy is correct about that - and there are issues, but they are also an important part of the broader technology area and in the growth of investment in the country. They cannot be dismissed. Moratoriums on their own would not be positive, but we have to proceed in a measured way from here on.
For Deputy Whitmore to conflate the LNG Bill with the visit to America-----
Where he told the Taoiseach to buy LNG.
The Deputy is scraping the barrel with that one. Excuse the pun.
The LNG facility is an energy security issue. It was raised under the last Government and documentation exists from the Department warning the last Government that if anything were to happen to gas interconnections with Britain, our economy would be in trouble within ten days. It would be totally irresponsible of any Government not to act on that advice. This is not a climate issue; it is an energy security issue. There is a need for honesty in the House about this matter. People in the Opposition keep saying it is an anti-climate measure, and deliberately so. That is not the case. We are not deliberately doing this to be anti-climate. We are doing it because we will need an alternative storage facility in the event of any disruption to the gas supplies to the country. Deputy Whitmore would be the first Deputy to attack the Government, if anything were to happen, for not attempting to provide for this.
It will take time, even at the pace we are going, to get this facility in place to give us the security we require. We need it. There is no other way out. It has been recommended by officials with responsibility for energy security. That is the context for it.
Questions Nos. 1 to 32, inclusive, answered orally.
Questions Nos. 33 and 34 taken with Written Answers.
Questions Nos. 35 to 49, inclusive, resubmitted.
Question No. 50 taken with Written Answers.
Questions Nos. 51 to 56, inclusive, resubmitted.
Question No. 57 taken with Written Answers.
Questions Nos. 58 to 61, inclusive, resubmitted.
Question No. 62 taken with Written Answers.
Questions Nos. 63 to 68, inclusive, resubmitted.
Question No. 69 taken with Written Answers.
Questions Nos. 70 to 73, inclusive, resubmitted.
Question No. 74 taken with Written Answers.
Questions Nos. 75 to 88, inclusive, resubmitted.
Question No. 89 taken with Written Answers.
Questions Nos. 90 to 94, inclusive, resubmitted.
Question No 95 to 99, inclusive, taken with Written Answers.
Is féidir teacht ar Cheisteanna Scríofa ar www.oireachtas.ie.
Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.