Dáil contributions June to December 2025

Where I could not get a video, I've inserted the text of my contribution. As of now my Committee contributions have not been uploaded, or hundreds of parliamentary questions...

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Measures to keep our key workers at home and Christmas wishes - 18th December (last day Dáil sat in 2025)

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Debate on motion to ban fox hunting - 17th December 2025 [I voted for a ban]

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Terrorist attack in Sydney and measures to protect our own citizens - 16th December 2025

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Follow-up query on spiking of drinks legislation - Wednesday 10th December 2025

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A couple of months ago, we had a discussion on the fact that the Government was working on the so-called spiking Bill, the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person (Amendment) (Spiking) Bill 2023. I asked whether it would progress beyond Second Stage to Committee and Report Stages. At present, the sinister offence of the spiking of drinks is covered only under legislation on poisoning or drugging, such as the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, the Misuse of Drugs Act and the Intoxicating Liquor Act. Is this Bill going to come before these Houses shortly? Spiking is an important issue. It is an ongoing, systemic problem in society and proper penalties are needed.

Taoiseach:

I thank the Deputy. He has a point but the legislation is not in the current legislative programme. We will have a meeting in early January on the new legislative programme for the next session. We will talk to the relevant Minister as well and hopefully we can provide some clarity on the matter of the reintroduction.

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EU co-operation and mutual assistance on criminal matters - Wednesday 10th December

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Further debate on defective concrete blocks - Wednesday 10th December

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I do not claim to have a great knowledge of this area, especially in terms of how it impacts families along the western seaboard, in particular. I have spoken in support of my colleague Deputy Ward and I want to show solidarity once again.

In Leinster, including in Dublin, where there were defective apartments the levels of redress were much higher. There is huge inequality in terms of what families on the western seaboard in counties like Donegal, Sligo and Mayo are receiving. It is an issue that affects the country as a whole, but in particular the western seaboard. I note my colleague has tabled a lot of amendments which I will support, but the Government is still defective, for want of a better word, in what it is putting forward.

We had a chance for 100% redress and I cannot see why we cannot have it. The Government is putting things on the long finger and causing future heartache. Problems will continue down the road. The Bill was an opportunity to sort this out once and for all. Ultimately, many of those responsible for causing the issue in the first place have got away scot-free. It is up to the Government to try to support people. Families have not been adequately supported. In this context, I support my colleague's amendments and want to put myself on the record as supporting 100% redress.

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Online Safety statements - Wednesday 10th December

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Shortage of radiographers and problems with diagnostic imaging capacity - 10th December 2025

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Delays in Assessments of Needs - Tuesday 9th December 2025

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Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2025 Second Stage [Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement with Canada]

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Tonight, and in the past, this has been contentious legislation. On the one hand, there is always the situation where, if you join an organisation like the European Union, which still has massive support among the people, you give something up in return for getting something. The CETA agreement is like that. The question was whether we were giving up too much. There is the overarching issue of sovereignty. There is the fear the system would allow foreign corporations to bypass Irish courts and challenge laws in international tribunals. As previous speakers mentioned, there is also the idea of having less power, in that certain Irish governments may not pass legislation going forward because it might offend these corporations. There is a worry about subtle threats or that decisions will be made that prioritise investors over the common good.

Valid criticisms were made that the ratification of CETA was rushed. Under the 2022 Supreme Court ruling, CETA could only be ratified following changes made via the Arbitration Act, highlighting the constitutional sensitives around it. The question is where we are now with the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. A lot has changed and, as I will discuss briefly shortly, a lot changed following the US presidential election. Safeguards have been brought in. Unlike the old ISDS models, the investment court system recognises states' rights to regulate in the public interest. Some would argue the ICS better balances investor protection with our public policy safeguards because of the permanent tribunal of judges appointed by the EU and Canada, and we are a member state of the EU.

Decisions made are subject to an appeal mechanism, which is better than the appeal mechanism in place previously, hearings are to be made public and documents are to be published. There is also more transparency and third parties, for example, environmental NGOs, can make submissions. Investors can only challenge discriminatory or unfair treatment, not the general policy decisions. There is explicit recognition that governments retain the right to regulate in areas like health, environment and labour.

I am a firm believer in the European project, as supported by the people. The European Union's principle of subsidiarity holds that the EU should only act in areas where it does not have exclusive competence if the objectives or actions can be better achieved at a lower level. I have said before that our local government system is flawed. There is not enough power at local level to uphold this EU principle. Trade agreements are done at European level. The Germans have had issues with this proposal, as have the Belgians. It is good to put it through scrutiny. On balance, given the fact that the Trump administration is playing a dangerous game with our future in Ireland and given that Canada is a more reliable partner, we have to look at the pros and cons. On balance, I support the legislation as proposed for that reason and because it meets those thresholds.

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Planning and Development legislation modifications - Wednesday 3rd December 2025

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Earlier on, I was talking about the fact that all newly development rezoned areas should be SDZs to try to tie in facilities and infrastructure. As regards taking away some community input by fast-tracking the process, I see the need to fast-track the process but we still have to have the input and we still have to allow it in some way. A lot of the times that An Bord Pleanála, now An Coimisiún Pleanála, dragged on were not because of any particular objection, but because the objection process and the planning process would be nine weeks together. People should be able to have their say.

In looking at developments going forward, there needs to be some sort of tie-in with facilities and infrastructure that makes it mandatory on Government agencies and Departments to guarantee that train stations will be open, capacity will be provided, schools will be built and bus routes will actually be planned on the map, ready to go with the NTA, before any housing construction commences. We had a situation where €4 million was spent redeveloping Kishoge train station because it never opened in 2009 as was planned. A car park that was supposed to be put in place ended up being developed instead. This was a complete waste of taxpayers' money, whereas if they had made sure that no house could be built until the train station was open, I guarantee that train station would have been opened straight away.

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Statements on the Government's Housing Plan and reference to lack of infrastructure and facilities - Wednesday 3rd December

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NTA Accountability and Bus Routes such as 80 - 27th November 2025

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Deansrath Family Centre - 27th November 2025

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Funding of Horse and Greyhound Racing - 26th November 2025

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Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 (outdoor seating extension of legislation) - 26th November

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Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Union support for asylum, migration and integration for the period from 2028 to 2034 - 26th November

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Whistleblower Protection debate - 26th November 2026

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Victims of Sexual Violence - 25th November 2025

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Hearing Care Plan Working Group report delay - 20th November 2025

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Water Quality - 19th November 2025

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Post-European Council Meeting: Statements - 19th Nov 2025

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Paediatric Spinal Surgery Waiting Lists - 19th November

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Call for a public inquiry into Lucan Swimming Pool - 19th November 2026

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Occupied Territories Bill - 19th November 2025

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Paschall Donohoe appointment to World Bank - 18th November 2025

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Statements on Ukraine - 18th November 2025

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Contribution on Science Week - 13th November 2025

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It is fair to say that over the last decade in particular, Ireland has made some commendable efforts to foster a culture of scientific creativity and collaboration within the academic institutions and industry, and also in terms of policy development.

You have to give credit where it is due. Obviously, it could be said that Science Week lies at the heart of this movement because it is a flagship initiative that predated the foundation of Science Foundation Ireland and its merger with the Irish Research Council to form Research Ireland. From these humble beginnings, Science Week has grown into a national celebration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As the Minister of State mentioned, this year marks its 30th anniversary. It is good to see that in 2025, the Government has allocated almost €850,000 to support 36 projects in 14 regional festivals, engaging communities across the country. The theme of Science Week - "Then. Today. Tomorrow" - invites everyone to reflect on past achievements, current challenges and future possibilities. Just opposite the gates of this institution, the Houses of the Oireachtas, we have one of the Science Week exhibitions, the Museum of the Moon exhibition, by the artist Luke Jerram. It is taking place in Merrion Square from today, 13 November, until 15 November. It entails an internally lit 7 m diameter sphere featuring a 120 dpi NASA map of the moon's surface. The scale is approximately 1:500,000, meaning each centimetre represents 5 km of the moon's terrain. It looks like a very interesting feature and I would encourage anyone to pop across and have a look. It is going to be more interesting when it is dark. There are so many other interesting events around the country.

Science Week is more than just a series of events, however. It is supposed to be a strategic tool for public engagement, especially with our young people. Through exhibitions, school visits and community initiatives, it brings science into everyday life. It is supposed to demystify research and showcase our innovation, and it encourages young people to imagine themselves as the scientists, engineers and inventors of the future.

It is also very important at a time of misinformation and disinformation where science is not just questioned but blatantly ignored, manipulated by opportunistic charlatans for self-promotion and financial gain, politicised and often used as a tool, as I have said in previous speeches, by bad actors and rogue states to threaten our way of life. You have only to look at Facebook to see the stuff that is spouted, along with the so-called YouTube experts. Deputy Hayes mentioned the climate change deniers, those totally against vaccines without looking at and balancing up the research, and the chemtrail conspiracists – you name it. People go down the rabbit hole one way or another and then they jump into other echo chambers.

I welcome the input of successive Governments in the development of Science Week. Beyond Science Week, Ireland has invested in research and infrastructure through innovation hubs, public engagement initiatives for funding calls and strong partnerships with academic institutions. These efforts align with current national goals to position Ireland as a global leader. The question remains as to whether Ireland is a global leader in research and development. The answer is mixed. We have shown leadership in some ways. According to the UK Science and Innovation Network country summary, we are first in the world for knowledge diffusion, third for knowledge impact, sixth for university–industry research and development collaboration and 15th for overall scientific research quality. With regard to subject-specific excellence, we are second globally for agricultural sciences, fourth in immunology and neuroscience behaviour, sixth in microbiology and seventh in pharmacology and toxicology. Of course, we have also been successful in securing EU funding, such as the €1 billion from the EU's Horizon 2020 programme.

Like others, I welcomed the news earlier this year that Ireland had officially joined the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN, as an associate member. I was honoured to be able to pair with the relevant Minister, Deputy James Lawless, so he could attend the launch. It is very important to be an associate member.

We have a lot done but we do have more to do because, despite the successes we have had, there are many areas where policy commitments and financial commitments fall short. In this regard, compare investment levels with those of other countries. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett, mentioned an average rate of 3% across the EU. Ireland invests less than 1.5%, or maybe 1.7%, of GDP on research and development, depending on the year. This is below the EU average and it is significantly lower than the rates of countries like South Korea, Israel, Germany and the US, whose rates are 4.8%, 5.4%, 3.1% and 3.5%, respectively. Even though the US is regressing owing to its anti-science agenda, it is still investing over twice as much as we are in research and development.

Other speakers have mentioned various areas where we are falling down. An example is our outdated equipment. I will not go too much into this subject but it is certainly an issue as part of the overall investment deficit, as are the pay and conditions of academic staff, particularly researchers and PhD students, who need better allowances and stipends.

Let us consider schools. While funding for Science Week has increased, it still represents a small fraction of the broader science budget, which itself, as I referred to in terms of research and development, could do with an increase, based on the figures in other developed countries. Long-term investment in science education at primary and secondary levels needs to be increased because it remains inconsistent. Many schools still lack access to modern laboratory facilities or dedicated STEM educators, especially but not exclusively in rural areas.

Ireland continues to face challenges in gender equality in STEM areas, which I focused on a lot when I was mayor of South Dublin County Council back in 2017–2018. While we have initiatives like Smart Futures and STEM Passport for Inclusion to try to close the gender gap, girls in Ireland are still less likely to pursue science subjects at leaving certificate level than peers in countries like Finland or Estonia, and especially the likes of South Korea, which I have referred to. The uptake of physics and computer science among Irish girls lags behind the EU average and female representation in engineering and technology courses is still very much disproportionately low. It is not just about numbers; it is about the system, cultural issues, stereotypes, the lack of visible female role models and the lack of career guidance. We have to do more to challenge all these norms and create a new norm – a new inclusive pathway for STEM for girls.

One issue I am looking at now is that of same-sex schools, which I believe are now outdated. While there is a model for parental preferences, it should be like Australia, where you have to go to a private school if you want to go to a same-sex school. All schools in the country should be co-educational. We have a historic issue, in that the religious were the instigators of the education system in this country. Boards of management are autonomous but every single same-sex boys' or girls' school in the country should consider merging with another. Science is one angle, but so too is access to playing pitches and other facilities. There is a huge imbalance and it is very unfair on our girls.

Science Week is a welcome event but it needs to be more wide-ranging. We possibly need a Science Month for starters and then progress to sustained year-round engagement through curriculum reform, teacher training and appropriate industry partnerships. Science should not just be subject to a once-a-year celebration. So, what can be done? We need to increase the funding for STEM education, as I have said, expand the mentorship and outreach programmes that connect girls with female scientists and engineers and integrate science and critical thinking into the national curriculum.

There are proposals to increase public research and development investment, which are welcome, and I have a few ideas in this regard that I would like considered. We could be a leader in artificial intelligence and definitely in the field of renewable technology, especially as we have seen some movement in offshore wind. We need to investigate wave energy as well, along with all other types of climate technology. We must also consider pharmaceuticals and particularly the making of new inventions from scratch.

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Debate on reducing voting age to 16 - 13th November 2025

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I thought I was sharing time with Deputy Lawless. If he comes in, I will try to finish up quickly. Otherwise, I would like the opportunity to spend some time on this very important issue. I thank Deputy Farrelly for tabling the Bill, which is hugely important. We have had others in the past push towards it. Maybe society has changed and maybe we are getting to the point where we are ready to make this leap. It is a momentous leap, if we make it and it is a very important motion.

First, I will address the Government's suggestion about coming back to this in a year. If we take that at face value rather than as a political stunt, as Deputy Paul Murphy suggested, there is an argument in support of taking time to discuss it. Deputy O'Gorman mentioned the local and European elections as a first step. Some individuals and parties would like to go for the full leap and I can see the merits in that as well. If it was parked for a year and we got all of this research and it came back again, where would we be? We would probably have to spend another year getting to the point where we would have to hold a referendum. At that stage, we would have the debate all over again. It is better, if we are being honest with ourselves and if this Bill is passed - and I will support it - to facilitate having a proper debate and working towards a decent referendum where we can have an open and honest discussion about the pros and some of the cons.

I will turn to Austria first. Various countries have been mentioned but Austria was the first country, to my knowledge, that actually brought this in for full elections. We had it for municipal elections in Germany and Scotland came a year or two after Austria. A study entitled "Lowering the Voting Age to 16 in Practice: Processes and Outcomes Compared" by Jan Eichorn from the School of Social and Political Science/Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh and Johannes Bergh from the Institute for Social Research in Oslo, Norway made specific reference to Austria and Scotland. In all of the countries for which data is available researchers could not find any negative effects of lowering the voting age on young people's engagement or their civic attitudes. They said that in many instances, the opposite was the case and that enfranchised 16- and 17-year-olds were usually more interested in politics, more likely to vote and demonstrated pro-civic attitudes such as institutional trust, which is hugely important these days. People have lost trust in politicians and religious institutions because of systemic abuse over the years, in the legal profession and more and more in the so-called mainstream media, wrongly as it may be in some instances. Young people who were able to vote from the age of 16 onwards were found - not just in the first year but over their voting lives - to be more likely to be engaged. This was found in Austria, Scotland and Latin American countries. While there were different experiences, at the very least this interest in voting was partially retained. Where we have the data, it shows that it works.

There are arguments that suggest that younger people are not as mature as others, as has been mentioned in this Chamber. We know, for example, in the context of motor insurance that those under 24 are more likely to be involved in road traffic accidents than older cohorts. Sometimes it is suggested that this is because the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed, leading to greater impulsivity and so on. My wife suggests that men in particular probably do not mature until the age of 50 or older. I will not comment on that. All I can comment on is the genius of young people in mock elections, fifth and six years who consistently elected me in mock elections. I was just being facetious for a second, but I do take young people’s voices very seriously. Young people see through the waffle that political parties and candidates often try to spin to get votes in elections. They ask the pertinent and hard questions, albeit not everyone. Sometimes I have gone into a school and faced a wall of silence. That is often a confidence issue. People do not feel they should ask a particular question so the first thing I say is, “Say whatever you want, however stupid you think it is and be as impolite as you'd like”. Usually that gets the juices flowing.

Younger people have a greater social conscience. When we look at the Fridays for Future school protests, for example, and the Gaza protests as was mentioned, we see that young people are fearless. This is also about having a stake in society. Rates of voting are higher among the older generation. Let us take the example of Brexit in the UK. Obviously, we need a proper and open debate on immigration and I have called for a citizen's forum on that but in the Brexit discussion, the people who were most afraid of immigrants were from areas with an older population that had no immigrants. It was older people who were stuck in their ways. There is a lot of value among our older voting cohort. They have been through a lot and have seen the way our society has developed over the years. There is a lot of wisdom there, but equally, there is wisdom among our youth and we have to hear their voices more and get more of them engaging.

It has been shown time and again in society that social movement comes through young people. Everyone else tends to go towards the status quo. In one sense it is human nature. In another, it is about trying to preserve the best of the past and being a little afraid to move forward. Young people are not afraid to ask the new questions and put in the new challenges and the time has come for their voices. However, I caution to some degree, with the amount of misinformation that is going out, what I describe as the Andrew Tate-ification and misogyny that reaches into our primary schools. There is a need, alongside, for the general population, but also for our young people, given they are the subject of this discussion and cannot even contribute to the debate but that is another story. Politics and society should be a compulsory subject for everyone and we should give time to critical thinking and analysing what is in the media, where it comes from, why the likes of RTÉ sometimes seem to be a day or two behind on stories. It is because it is afraid of being sued. It wants to have the facts right and it cannot report on something that is hearsay and allegation. My background is in journalism. I am all too aware of what can and cannot be said. Meanwhile, we have so-called dog-kicking citizen journalists who were in far-right parties bringing young people up hills to try to indoctrinate them. They go around asking "Why are you doing this? Why are you doing that?" with no moral compass and no fact-checking whatsoever. This is what is on TikTok, YouTube and Discord. It is all over the place and we need fact-checking filters.

I have three teenage kids. I have worked with a lot of transition year students. I have been involved in local GAA clubs and I was involved in youth groups in the past. I have found that, as social media has developed, the tendency for people to be taken in by it has begun to diminish, especially among younger cohorts and those who are more likely to be duped and take stuff at face value are older people. At the same time, when most of the news for young people comes through social media and other online platforms, we need to mix in the political filter that is education. I am not talking down to young people saying they need to be educated. We all need to be educated. When a process is being brought in and, I hope, a referendum is being held on bringing the national voting age down to 16, a lot of people in society, as they did with the question about the age of 35 in the Presidency, will bring in a lot of red herrings and ask some valid questions and those questions need to be answered. We need to have the checks and balances, when the debate comes, to say this is not a problem, that it has happened in other countries, why it will be good in Ireland, that we take on board what is being said and what we will do to ensure that when the voting age is reduced, people with fears will be placated.

In my last few seconds, I again thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this Bill. They have my wholehearted support. I hope the Government will consider passing it now, or that at least in 12 months' time it will live up to its word and get it moving to a referendum as soon as possible.

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Auto-Enrolment Scheme - 12th November 2025

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We have had several discussions on this and related legislation associated with the budget. In some ways, we have tended to go around in circles. We are repeating the same things time and again because there have been no efforts to make any efforts to do what Opposition Deputies have suggested. On the one hand, I am not surprised but, at the same time, I am disappointed.

I will look at the auto-enrolment section first. I agree with what colleagues have said about auto-enrolment and lower earners. Sometimes those who cannot work because of family care issues or healthcare issues work part-time. They are able to work 20 hours a week or less. They make a contribution and pay tax at a certain level. For such people not to be able to get into this scheme is patently unfair. As other people have mentioned, the same applies to low-paid workers. If you are in any way a taxpayer, you should be able to contribute to the scheme.

I have raised issues before regarding the guarantees that are in place to copper-fasten the contributions, especially the Government element because, during the downturn, the Government did claw back what were thought to be sacrosanct moneys reserved for people. We could see that happen again. A lovely flashy ad started in the summer about the cherry on the top but there is a reason this is called a savings scheme rather than a true pension scheme. It should be geared more towards being a pension scheme than a savings scheme to guarantee the State and employer contributions and to ensure that we will not see it being taken away in the future because of some unforeseen circumstances.

As I have said before, budget 2026 overall did not include sufficient measures for the poorest and most vulnerable. I take on board what the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council said on the need to be mindful of windfall revenues but, to go back to the previous budget, in many ways, it was excessively generous compared with this one. If we had a more balanced structure, we would be in a better position. The €12 rise in core welfare rates does not offset inflation, leaving recipients with under a quarter of the average weekly earnings. Social Justice Ireland has said that a €25 increase was needed to meet the Government's benchmark. I am looking for money while saying we need to be fiscally responsible, but there are ways of getting that money. One of the ways of getting the money, especially for the likes of people with disabilities, as other Deputies have mentioned, is not to be giving little cuts to USC. I know this is controversial but we need a wider tax base and so should not take away little bits and bobs, preventing us from then being able to gain revenue down the line or requiring us to bring stuff back in again, which will have an even greater impact on society. We should be careful about taking away ways of getting revenue when we still have vulnerable people who are not getting enough.

I have mentioned the €250 million housing measure, which I do not believe will work. I am not going to go into it now due to time constraints but there were areas where we could have supported those facing poverty or those who are more vulnerable within the existing tranche of funding and have had a more equitable budget, but we did not grasp that opportunity.

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Cost of Motoring - 12th November 2025

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I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate, however briefly. I agree with colleagues that the motor insurance rip-off has to end. I was calling for action on this issue 25 years ago and it is still going on. We have to increase competition. That is something we can do from an EU perspective. We also need measures to encourage better behaviour because, whether we like it or not, most accidents do involve younger drivers, especially male drivers. We need carrots and sticks. We need incentives. There was an interesting radio debate about Gen Z being influenced by incentives. We need incentives. If you do extra driving courses, you should get a reduction. If you are a fraudster or repeat offender of any age, you should have to pay, as other Deputies have said. You should not be let on the road in the first place if you continue with that.

Many people have no choice but to drive, which costs them a lot of money, because we do not have the investment we need in public transport. That is clear in my constituency of Dublin Mid-West. It is clear around the country. One solution to reduce costs is to give more incentives to purchase and use electric vehicles. Unfortunately, the grants are not enough. You can get them quite cheaply second hand. I have driven one for nearly ten years now and it saves an absolute fortune. However, there are people in new estates who cannot get proper parking and who are not allowed to charge using cheap home rates. That needs to be looked at.

M50 tolls need to be scrapped in areas where there is high congestion. In my constituency, there is a rat run down through Lucan and across the Liffey because of the toll heading towards Blanchardstown.

On the carbon tax debate, the Government is not doing enough and some Opposition parties are using it as a populist tool. To be clear, it is not about the carbon tax in itself but about how you use it. If it is applied fairly, it incentivises good environmental behaviour. We are facing massive fines down the road.

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Need for Citizens' Forum on Migration and Immigration - 6th November 2025

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International Protection and Enforcement - 5th November 2025

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Residential Tenancies Board updates for complainants - 4th November 2025

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Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill 2025: Second Stage - 4th November 2025

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Men's Health and Movember - 22nd October 2025

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Debate on how President is elected - 22nd October 2025

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Debate on Irish Unity - 21st October

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Finance Bill 2025: Second Stage - 21st October

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Holy Family School Rathcoole school general query about hand-dryers - 22nd October 2025

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Citywest violence - 22nd October 2025

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Attack in Saggart and independent oversight of Tusla - 21st October 2025

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National Training Fund (Amendment) Bill, apprenticeships, dental students etc - 16th October 2025

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Call for dedicated traffic police - 15th October 2025

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Motion of confidence in Tanaiste Simon Harris and call for inquiry on Scoliosis - 15th October 2025

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Defective Concrete Products Redress - 15th October 2025

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Costs of Disability - 14th October 2025

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Housing Funding and Approved Housing Bodies - 14th October 2025

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Written - no video

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this legislation. As others have said, it is a little bit of tweaking to keep us going until next year. As the Minister said, it will allow sufficient headroom to continue lending to mid-2026, after which there could be a new national housing plan and a new national development plan. We know that the €13.5 billion threshold is a holding position. Like the speakers from all the other groupings so far, I will support it - it is extra money - while emphasising that we still need to look at the fundamentals of the housing situation. As this is such a small Bill, this debate gives us a bit more scope to do that. I have six minutes, but if I confine my remarks to the small couple of lines that constitute this legislation I could be finished after one minute. We need to look at the bigger picture. Obviously, the lion's share of this money is going to the AHBs. It is like motherhood and apple pie; nobody can criticise money going to the AHBs because that widens out the funding channels, ostensibly to try to get housing built more quickly. However, I lament the money that used to go to local authorities. More and more, they seem to depend on getting their 10% through Part 8. They are not involved in many major housing projects. My own council, South Dublin County Council, owns a large tract of the Clonburris strategic development zone, SDZ, and is more proactively involved in that. As I said before, any kind of medium-scale housing in the country should be an SDZ because we need to tie in facilities and infrastructure alongside the housing. We cannot look at housing in isolation; we have to look at what sorts of communities we are building.

An issue I have with AHBs concerns the governance side and how they relate to tenants. As the number of AHBs spreads out, as an elected representative it becomes hard to deal with them on behalf of constituents who raise issues. I refer, for example to the stringent no-pets policy that many AHBs seem to have. When a house or an apartment is given as a forever home to someone who has a pet that is staying with a relative while they are in emergency accommodation, and that person is then told that the pet has to go, it is not conducive to family living.

Similarly, and this is not limited to AHBs but is relevant, Government policy in relation to car ownership is ludicrous. We have to get more people out of cars and onto public transport, but many people in SDZs with a lot of social housing, such as the Adamstown and Clonburris SDZs in my local area, have been told that no car parking is available in their apartment blocks. They are parking on footpaths because there is nowhere else to park. They cannot get a bus to where they work. Is it expected that everyone will depend on the State, live off social welfare and walk within a five-minute radius? People must be given the option to get from A to B efficiently. The public transport service is not there. That applies to the local authorities and the AHBs.

I spoke in January about allowing people to build homes in gardens either as starter homes or retirement homes. I am glad to see it was taken up to some degree, although I am still waiting for the finer details. I recall a young lady with a child who has severe autism whose family members are totally occupying the main house.

The parents work from home. There is nowhere to build other than where they did in the back garden. The building was more than 40 sq. m, so the local authority sent a cease-and-desist letter and told them to tear it down. The situation is that the lady is on the medical priority housing list, which, as everyone knows, is time based. A parent with a severely autistic child who cannot be placed in a lot of emergency accommodation could end up being told to leave their home in the garden and live somewhere else. That does not make sense, so the sooner this legislation comes forward, the better. I am not talking about an opportunity for unscrupulous landlords to make a killing by building houses. There have to be proper rules, but it is one part of the solution, as is, as I mentioned in my budget contribution, the living cities legislation under which buildings can be refurbished. I mentioned the Croí Cónaithe rural towns and villages scheme as well, which does not really cover over-the-shop units but there is a lot of scope.

I reiterate that we should try to get software companies with software localisation jobs to move out of Dublin. Often they have hybrid working systems whereby people can work from home. Although we do not have enough public transport in general and the bus services in Dublin do not have enough drivers, it is good and reassuring to see that places like Thurles will be as close to Dublin city as Greystones if people need to commute to and from work. That will be the case in the next two years, as per recent news reports. There is scope for housing developments and for companies to be located in the countryside, in rural towns and villages, and if they need to access a city centre hub at some stage, it will be within commuting distance. We need to think outside the box and look around.

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In Camera Rule in family law courts - follow-up queries with Minister 9th October 2025

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Budget Contribution 3 of 3 - Comments on specific aspects of Budget - 8th October 2025

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Budget 2026 Contribution 2 of 3 - VAT on gas/electricity and VAT on apartment building - 7th October 2025

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Budget 2026 Contribution 1 of 3 - Macro situation - 7th October 2025

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Sports Funding - 1st October 2025

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Gaza Peace Plan and Flotilla - 1st October 2025

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Scoliosis Treatment - 25th September 2025

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Vapes and Nicotine Products - 25th September

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Auto-Enrolment Scheme 24th September 2025

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Child Poverty24th September 2025

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School Transport and availability of drivers aged over 70 23rd September 2025

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Occupied Territories Bill - 23rd September 2025

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Littering - Cigarette butts 15th July 2025

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European Council Meeting 9th July 2025

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Supermarket Pricing 9th July 2025

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Student Fees 8th July 2025

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Planning Development Amendment 8th July 2025

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Citywest Hotel Purchase 2nd July 2025

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Housing Delivery 25th June 2025

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Nursing Homes 24th June 2025

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Rent Pressure Zones 18th June 2025

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E-Scooters 18th June 2025

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Public Transport Experience 18th June 2025

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