Tá Fianna Fáil agus Fine Gael ag brú ar aghaidh lena bplean náireach fáil réidh leis an nglas triarach agus deireadh a chur le neodracht na hÉireann. Má tá an Taoiseach muiníneach go dtacaíonn muintir na tíre lena phlean, ba chóir dó é a chur faoi bhráid an phobail i reifreann.

In 2013 here in the Dáil the Taoiseach said the triple lock, which is the requirement to have a mandate from the UN, the Government and the Dáil for the deployment of Irish troops, was the core of our neutrality. Why is he now pushing ahead with his plan to dismantle Irish neutrality? Tomorrow he wants to force through his Bill to abolish the triple lock and he wants to shut down debate here. He wants to force the Bill through because he does not want proper scrutiny of this legislation and the consequences of a Bill which, if passed, will fundamentally move Irish foreign policy away from neutrality and towards military entanglement, and away from peacekeeping and towards military adventurism.

We know what is at stake here. Scrapping the triple lock opens the door for Ireland to be dragged deeper into EU military structures aligned with NATO strategy. The triple lock is core to our neutrality. It is a strength that has allowed Ireland to be a credible voice for peace and diplomacy for generations, to use our experience of colonisation and oppression to always speak up for justice and to champion a better world in a way that is unequivocally, unapologetically and powerfully Irish.

Neutrality is not only a policy; it is deeply connected with the values of the Irish people and who we are. This is why special neutrality protections were given for the Nice and Lisbon treaties. It is why we have the triple lock protection. Now the Taoiseach wants to walk away from these commitments and protections. Piece by piece, with no mandate and without honesty, the Government is dismantling neutrality. The Taoiseach claims he does this because the world has changed and it is now more dangerous and volatile but these are precisely the reasons that defending Ireland's neutrality matters more than ever.

Adherence to international law and the requirement of a UN mandate for the deployment of Irish troops are the safeguards against military adventurism.  Dysfunction at the UN must be dealt with by reform and by strengthening the United Nations, but it should not be used as a pretext for scrapping our neutrality.  The Irish people want no part of the military might-is-right agenda where international law is repeatedly shredded, with catastrophic consequences, and where the European Union now pours hundreds of billions of euro into an arms race.  Our neutrality keeps Ireland outside this dangerous military race to the bottom.  It allows us to speak for freedom, human rights and justice, and to uphold the vision and possibility of a better, safer world.

The Government's attempt to abolish the triple lock is an enormous step. It is literally inconceivable that any Taoiseach or Government would push ahead with this without first seeking the permission of the Irish people, because Irish neutrality belongs to the people, not to any Government. If the Government is intent on abolishing the triple lock, it must have the permission of the Irish people. It must put this question to a referendum and let the people have their say.

Hear, hear.

Ar dtús báire, ní aontaím leis an Teachta in aon chor. Nuair a fheiceann tú siar ar stair na hÉireann, go háirithe nuair a bhuamar ár neamhspleáchas, is léir gurb é an téama is mó a thagann amach ná cé chomh dílis is atáimid sa tír seo maidir le cúrsaí síochána, coimhlintí ar fud an domhain a réiteach agus a bheith páirteach i misin síochána ar fud an domhain. Is é sin an téama is mó atá le feiceáil, go háirithe in an-chuid tíortha san Afraic, sa Liobáin agus in a lán áiteanna eile. Níl an méid atá á rá ag an Teachta fíor in aon chor. Ní bheidh aon athrú air. Níl ár dtír ag lorg aon choimhlint. Nílimid ag lorg aon chogadh.

Fág é mar atá sé, mar sin.

Tá sé áiféiseach ar fad é sin a chur san áireamh. Is é sin atá á dhéanamh ag an Teachta McDonald agus ag daoine eile. Fundamentally, peacekeeping has been one of the great manifestations of Ireland's outreach to the global world. It is not the only one, but by any yardstick it is one of our most significant commitments to the rule of law and to many marginalised people in conflict and humanitarian crises all over the world. The idea that we are about to abandon that is outrageously hyperbolic.

Hear, hear.

There is no balance to what Deputy McDonald is saying. She uses language such as "military adventurism" and "military entanglement".

We are just repeating your language back to you.

Answer the question.

Who is going to engage in military adventurism? Does Deputy McDonald think Dáil Éireann is? Does she think an Irish Government is?

Yes, it would.

I do not take lectures from the Deputy on the conduct of foreign policy.

He is good at giving them.

I have been Minister for foreign affairs on two occasions. I invite the Deputy to go back over my record and my engagement from 2007 onwards.

Frank Aiken, a member of the Fianna Fáil Party-----

A south Armagh man.

-----was an architect of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and was an extraordinary Minister for External Affairs. Fianna Fáil does not take lectures from Sinn Féin, and neither does Fine Gael nor any other member of the Government, a party that once supported Nazism during the Second World War.

Ah, go away out of that.

That is an outrageous slur.

What did De Valera do after Hitler passed away? He sent condolences on the death of Hitler.

But you did.

The Fianna Fáil party leader-----

You cannot take it.

Taoiseach, I am sorry. Please, Deputies.

When Éamon de Valera-----

These are facts.

Please allow the Taoiseach to respond. I call the Taoiseach, please.

I am sorry, but I am not going to be shouted down.

Nobody is going to be shouted down.

The Deputy's leader got her time. Now, allow the Taoiseach to respond.

The Taoiseach-----

End of. Allow the Taoiseach to respond.

The Taoiseach-----

The Taoiseach does not even know the history of his own party.

Deputy Ó Broin, please. Your leader will respond to the Taoiseach. It is Leaders' Questions.

She absolutely will.

When Éamon de Valera affirmed the policy of Irish neutrality during the Second World War, Sinn Féin leaders colluded with the Hitler regime-----

Ah here-----

Not true. It is not factually true.

-----and Seán Russell was the key person.

It is simply not true. It is utter-----

The Sinn Féin party leader, Deputy Mary Lou McDonald, unveiled a statue to Seán Russell. How dare the Deputy lecture me about Irish neutrality?

He has not an inch of credibility in respect of it-----

Talk about revisionism.

-----nor has the Deputy's entire party, because, for a long time-----

Please co-operate with the Chair.

Talk about revisionism. The Taoiseach does not even know the history of his own party.

For a long time, Sinn Féin saw-----

What a disgrace.

Through the Chair, please.

-----any conflict Britain was involved in as Ireland's opportunity, right beyond World War Two. Therefore, it could not have given a continental about Irish neutrality for many, many decades. Furthermore, I would say this: I was in the House when Russia-----

Answer the question. What has changed about the triple lock? The Taoiseach should answer the question.

Russia has changed fundamentally.

Avoiding the question, as always.

Russia has changed. Again, the Deputy does not want to hear it.

Avoiding the question, as always.

Fundamentally, what his party is now saying is that Russia, which, on a daily basis, is bombing the civilians of Ukraine, should have a veto-----

Nonsense.

-----on Irish participation in peacekeeping.

Absolute nonsense.

Oh, God, the Taoiseach is so defensive.

Answer the question.

We also know that the Lebanon UNIFIL mission-----

Ask the people.

-----is about to end, with no prospect of our participation in it-----

Calm down.

I call Deputy Mary Lou McDonald. I thank the Taoiseach. His time is up.

-----because of the US decision not to support the continuation of peacekeeping in Lebanon.

I thank the Taoiseach. Deputy McDonald is on her feet.

And a referendum?

We should be in control of our own destiny when it comes to participation in peacekeeping missions.

Deputy McDonald is on her feet. I thank the Taoiseach. His time is up.

The people should be in control.

I call Deputy McDonald.

Is fíor go bhfuil siad ag iarraidh ár neodracht a scriosadh. Sin an rud atá á gceist againn inniu. The idea of abandoning our neutrality is absolutely outrageous. The Taoiseach is quite correct. The triple lock remains at the core of our neutral position. The Taoiseach was quite correct to state that in 2013 but what we are now seeing is a very dangerous political sleight of hand. The Government is attempting to force through, by means of a guillotine, legislation that will have the most profound consequences for the positioning of this country for generations to come. Frank Aiken was an outstanding man, an outstanding Irish patriot, an outstanding south Armagh man-----

And a member of Fianna Fáil.

-----and fair play to him. He carried the torch for what was right for this country. For many decades, the Taoiseach's party did defend neutrality but it has moved away from that.

The Taoiseach should respond now.

I am simply advancing to the Taoiseach the idea that a matter of this importance must be put to a referendum, and the Irish people, not the Taoiseach, must make this call.

Hear, hear.

The Irish people want us to continue to participate in peacekeeping. The bottom line is that the amended legislation-----

The Lisbon and Nice treaties. That is the message-----

I am sorry but I did not interrupt. Why can the Deputies not allow people opposite to speak?

Hear, hear.

That is the essence of parliamentary democracy.

Stop calling them Nazis here-----

The Nice treaty-----

The point I was making is this: if this legislation does not go through, we will not be in a position, for example, if we wanted to have some participation in Lebanon, to be a voice, to be there as a witness to what is transpiring.

That is a red herring.

Allow the Taoiseach to continue.

Nonsense.

In other areas as well, we would simply not be able to do so. Why? It is because the party opposite and others would prefer Russia to have that decision-----

No.

Nonsense. We want the people to decide.

-----or the US, or indeed China. The world has changed dramatically.

Fianna Fáil has changed. That is for sure.

I know Sinn Féin does not want us to support Ukraine. It did not want us to allocate €90 billion for Ukraine to defend itself. That is where it is.

Bring that debate to the people and I will have it with the Taoiseach in the full public gaze.

It was the same when the Russians invaded Crimea. I, for one, and I think the vast majority of people, want us to be involved in peacekeeping. Our military forces want to be involved in peacekeeping.

Then put it to the people.

I call Deputy O'Callaghan.

What Sinn Féin is endeavouring to do-----

The Taoiseach is scared of democracy.

Deputy Cian O'Callaghan is on his feet.

He is scared of the view of the people. Shame on him.

Deputy Cian O'Callaghan, please.

Last month, a man who was alleged to have threatened to rape and kill his former partner was allowed to cross-examine her in court. This is a man who was accused of trying to kick in her front door and break into her home while young children were present. He is accused of sending her an image of a handgun and saying he would rip her teeth out with pliers and stick a gun down her throat. He was allowed to cross-examine this terrified woman because no solicitor was available to represent him.

On Friday, a woman who had taken out a barring order against her son was verbally abused by him as he cross-examined her. The man had to be removed from court by prison officers. This woman had to sit in court while a man she lived in fear of harangued and abused her. This woman, who had shown immense courage by taking out the barring order and going to court, has been utterly failed.

Yesterday in the Central Criminal Court, half of the rape and serious sexual assault cases due to go on trial were adjourned because of the dispute. Six of the 13 cases were affected. These vulnerable complainants are now in limbo. They have no idea when these cases will be heard. This is not the first time this has happened. Back in July, the Social Democrats’ leader, Deputy Holly Cairns, raised this very issue with the Taoiseach. She told the Taoiseach that just two out of the 12 rape cases in the Central Criminal Court were able to proceed. Most of them were adjourned because of this row between the Minister and solicitors, and nothing effective has been done since then to resolve this.

I do not need to tell the Taoiseach how difficult it is for victims of rape and sexual assault to come forward and how few of these cases are prosecuted. It is a scandal and outrage that this disruption is being allowed to continue. The open warfare between the justice Minister and solicitors has to end. Victims of crime are being caught in the crossfire. Both sides need to talk to each other. The last time the Minister met with the Law Society was in July. Today, hours before his justice committee appearance, he sent a letter saying he is open to a meeting. The Minister is treating this dispute like it is a game. It is now time for the Taoiseach to intervene and show leadership. There is no good reason not to. He did so with the public sector dispute last week, and he needs to do it again now. He needs to step up, take action and protect victims of crime from further trauma. Will the Taoiseach show leadership and personally intervene to ensure this dispute is resolved?

I thank the Deputy for raising a very important issue. In my view, the cases he raised are harrowing. I have, perhaps, a slightly different perspective to the Deputy in that I think solicitors should attend those cases. The dispute, and the nature of it, does not justify the absence from such cases. That is my perspective.

I also put it to the Deputy that, perhaps, he and others in the Opposition should show some leadership on this issue. For years, people have questioned and complained about the absence of reform within our legal system and our legal service. People have raised serious issues at various committees, in the public accounts committee and everywhere, about value for money. To go back nearly 20 years ago to early on when the Personal Injuries Assessment Board was established, where did the attack come from to undermine that, which continues to this very day? It came from the legal profession. I do not say that with any joy, but that is the reality. That was a reform to deal with personal injuries.

From looking at the Department of justice’s review of the old system of criminal legal aid, which necessitated the reforms the Minister introduced, it appears to me that it raised serious issues. The review highlighted, for example, more appearances and longer trials due to an appearance-based fee structure. That is at the kernel. This is, fundamentally, a money dispute. Multiple payments were being granted for no stated reason and multiple solicitors were being assigned to the same defendant for charges heard on the same day, resulting in multiple payments for the same case. These are serious issues that, collectively in this House, we should be engaged with, rather than saying that it is all the Minister’s fault and that no one else has any contribution to make to what represents a more sensible reform of the legal system, with better value for money for the taxpayer who is paying for it.

The investment that has taken place is quite significant. Criminal case volumes in the District Court have decreased over the years but the expenditure on criminal legal aid in the District Court has increased from about €19 million in 2015 to over €41 million in 2025. The Minister, Deputy O’Callaghan, has introduced an 8% increase in criminal legal aid fees payable to the solicitors and barristers in the Circuit Court and higher courts from 1 July 2026. That represents the total restoration of the criminal legal aid fees cut under FEMPI. So, it is very regrettable. I believe it to be unnecessary that some solicitors are choosing to withdraw their services. The overall budget for the-----

Thank you, Taoiseach. I call Deputy O'Callaghan to respond.

-----legal area has increased dramatically also.

This is not reform; this is chaos that has been created. Why has the Minister for justice not met with the Law Society, given how serious this is? Since July there have been no meetings. Only now is he saying that he will meet it. Why has he let this go on for so long? What is the Taoiseach going to do about this? Surely he agrees that what has happened and what people have been put through - people who have gone through hell are now being retraumatised - is not acceptable. Is he going to intervene to stop this happening any more? There is a role for him; he is the Taoiseach of the country. What has happened to people is utterly unacceptable and I am sure he can agree about that. What is he going to do? This cannot keep on dragging on. We cannot have people, who have gone through hell, being put through more trauma in the courts. It has to stop. Will the Taoiseach stand up and do something about this?

First of all, I support the Minister's reform initiative. That is the first point. I would make the point that more than 3,385 certificates have issued. These are invoices for payment for legal aid, with an approximate value of €1.7 million since 1 July. That just represents payments for the District Court alone. There has been ongoing engagement. The Minister met with the Law Society twice. There have been further meetings between officials in the Department of justice, the Minister, the Law Society and the Bar Council in relation to the changes to the criminal legal aid fee structure. The Minister wrote to the president of the Law Society today to indicate that he is happy to engage on any minor changes required to the new scheme, particularly in the area of the children's court. The Minister has already changed aspects of the scheme since it was first introduced. He has increased the flat fee from €455 to €520. He has agreed to split the payment of the fee and has confirmed that separate and distinct cases appearing for the first time on different days would attract a new legal aid certificate for the same accused person.

Just one note of caution - there is competition law around all of this too, in terms of who has responsibility collectively to represent any groups-----

Thank you, Taoiseach. The time is up. Deputy Bacik is next.

It is a point that people should not lose sight of either.

For victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual offences the experience of undergoing a criminal trial and being subject to cross-examination as a witness in a criminal trial as a complainant has been described as a second victimisation. Even more deeply traumatising is where the cross-examination is not carried out by a lawyer but by the defendant - the accused or the alleged abuser - in person. That is why we were all so shocked last week to hear about the horrendous ordeal of the woman complainant in the District Court whose partner had allegedly threatened to rape and kill her in the most graphic and horrendous terms. He was unrepresented legally in court due to the criminal legal aid dispute and he subjected her to personal cross-examination in the court room. For any complainant in a case like that to have to face the accused in person across the court is unthinkable. My heart goes out to her and to all of those victims, survivors and complainants who have been affected by the withdrawal of legal representation, including those whose cases were adjourned yesterday in the Central Criminal Court.

These cases illustrate the sharpest impact of the criminal legal aid debacle, a crisis in the courts that is the direct creation of the justice Minister. Despite his insistence that his new criminal legal aid scheme is working, the courts are at a standstill. There is chaos since he introduced the change in July and that is the reality. It is a change he justified by relying on statistics showing a high rate of adjournments. He ploughed on with this, even when it was pointed out that the law requires an adjournment in many criminal cases and that adjournments are given very frequently where the State is running late and has not yet served the book of evidence. Now the worst impacts of this stalemate are being felt by the most vulnerable people involved in the system.

The Minister calls the latest withdrawal of criminal solicitors unnecessary and regrettable. It is deeply regrettable but he appears to be in denial about his own role in escalating this situation. Yesterday he said, when asked, that he was happy to tweak the new regulations. Why has he not acted before now to defuse matters? He has not met the Law Society since 27 July. He has just sent a letter at 1 p.m. today to the Law Society saying that he will engage with it, which is very little, very late.

It is cynical.

It is very cynical. We saw the same pattern in the public sector pay dispute with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, waiting for strikes to bring the country to a halt before committing to meaningful engagement and the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, similarly waiting for escalated action. This has become the modus operandi of Fianna Fáil in government. Ignore the warnings, dismiss concerns, engage in denial and only engage meaningfully when crisis is reached while denying all responsibility.

This will only get worse. Vulnerable people are at risk. Victims of crime cannot be collateral damage in a proxy war between Jim O'Callaghan and the Law Society or indeed, a proxy battle for the leadership of Fianna Fáil. We are seeing one arm of the State, this Government, effectively hamstringing another, our justice system.

Will the Taoiseach take responsibility for the actions of a Minister in denial and instruct the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, to engage meaningfully with the legal profession to ensure that vulnerable people in the justice system are protected?

As I said, I support the reforms. Not once has the Deputy mentioned the need for reform. Not once has she said there is an onus and a responsibility on solicitors either. She referenced cases that are indeed harrowing and horrific. I put it to her that in such serious cases, solicitors should attend. The substance of this dispute does not justify solicitors not attending the cases she has movingly and eloquently articulated. That is my position.

The Deputy has said a number of things are not correct. First, the Minister has an obligation to act when a report and review indicate a significant need for reform. It has always struck me over the years that the most difficult area in which to implement reform is the legal arena. There are always plenty of defenders in the House of that particular area. I believe a legal system is vital to our democracy. A criminal justice system is vital to our democracy. However, that does not mean it is immune from reform initiatives. We need reform in this area.

As I said, the review highlighted significant issues. For example, it showed that cases with criminal legal aid took an average of 313 calendar days to complete, compared with 133 days for cases without. These are significant issues and governments have an obligation to do reform. Investment and reform come together. The weighted average appearances for cases with criminal legal aid is five while the weighted average appearances for cases without criminal legal aid is just over three. Deputy Bacik wants the Minister to just ignore that. She has not referenced that at all. She said it is all the Minister's creation. On another day, if the Minister ignored a report, others would come into the House and ask why he left that report sitting on his desk.

I genuinely make the point that we need reform in this area. The Minister did change. The Deputy is saying he did not make any changes or whatever. He increased the flat fee from the original €455 to €520. He agreed to split the payment of the fee. He confirmed that separate and distinct cases appearing for the first time on different days would attract a new legal aid certificate for the same accused person. He has written to the Law Society indicating that, particularly in the context of children's court, he is prepared to make further changes. I do not want to make the thing more complicated but there is an issue around the degree to which the Law Society can represent, and I may be wrong here, solicitors in the collective in terms of the competition authority's perspective on all this and individual entities. Some of these firms have significant turnovers. That needs to be acknowledged. They are entitled to that and to earn a good living. They are entitled to fair earnings and a fair living.

Thank you, Taoiseach. I call Deputy Bacik.

Surely the Government on behalf of the taxpayer is entitled to reform systems to get better value for money.

With respect, of course we support reforms that will make the system run better for everyone involved. However, it is how you carry out the reform that is the point here. The Minister has simply refused to engage and is in denial about the impact of the change, the current debacle and the stalemate. Last week the Taoiseach lectured public sector workers. He is lecturing us today in the Chamber. The reality is that in order to make reforms work you need to engage meaningfully and that is what the Minister has patently failed to do. He has not met the Law Society since 27 July. He has just, at 1 p.m. today, issued a letter to the Law Society saying he will engage. I think he will instruct his officials to engage with the Law Society. That is welcome but it is very little, very late. Meanwhile, the impact is being felt. In June there were 10,300 legal aid certificates issued and a 90% drop the following month at 702. There are real concerns that future prosecutions are being put at risk. Not alone are those currently before the courts facing enormous delays, and impacts if you are a victim, a survivor or a witness who has taken time off work, but there are also future prosecutions and people held in detention.

The Taoiseach to respond.

Just as the Taoiseach eventually engaged meaningfully and was brought to the table last week, let us see engagement that is meaningful now.

First of all, I do not lecture. I am not lecturing the Deputy, and I did not lecture public service workers. Since I came back into Government in 2020, we have expanded-----

What were they striking for?

-----the public service significantly. We have had two national pay agreements. We will have a further national pay agreement following, hopefully, good negotiations that are under way between the public service trade unions under the WRC with the Government under the aegis of the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers.

In respect of this issue, the Minister has engaged. I have said this to the Deputy already. Just because she keeps on saying the opposite does not mean it is true. The Minister has engaged and he has changed the scheme. He has written to the Law Society as of day again but he also had met it twice, in May and in July, and made changes, and is prepared to make further changes but the essence of the reforms are here to stay because we do owe it to the taxpayer.

The Deputy said she is in support of reform but I had to drag that out of her. The Deputy has made one phrase in four minutes.

We have always said it.

Thank you, Taoiseach.

The Deputy said that she supports reform as well, but not now please, and that this is too good for her in opposition to turn.

Thank you, Taoiseach. I call Deputy Michael Collins.

Deputy Bacik has to take a particular position.

The people of this country are looking on with disbelief. At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, the Government has approved a pay increase of approximately €118,000 for the CEO of Uisce Éireann, bringing his overall remuneration package to almost €392,000. That is more than €2,270 extra every week. That is a 43% increase. The CEO of ESB received a pay increase of almost €92,000, up 29% to €410,000 a year. Bord na Móna's CEO's pay rise of up to €75,000 brings his pay to €300,000. Dublin Bus's CEO pay rise of €60,000 brings it to €260,000. Meanwhile what did the nurse, special needs assistant, teacher, garda and firefighter get? The people on the front line of the country received a pay increase measured on around 1% while semi-State executives receive increases worth tens of thousands of taxpayers' euros. The firefighter who runs into every burning building when everyone else is running out, the nurse working throughout the night in an overcrowded emergency department, the special needs assistant helping a child with additional needs and the garda answering an emergency call are the people who keep Ireland functioning yet this Government tells them there are limits, that affordability matters and that the books have to balance but somehow there is always money available at the top.

Today, petrol costs almost €1.98 a litre, diesel is over €2.14 a litre and home heating oil is around €1.49 a litre. Families feel those costs every day. When they walk into the supermarket, the basics costs more and more. Bread, milk, butter, meat, vegetables and household essentials have all become expensive.

Working families, factory workers, farmers, fishermen, hauliers and pensioners are counting every euro before they fill the car, heat the house or buy the groceries yet while ordinary people are struggling with the cost of living, the Government signs off on a pay rise worth more than €2,200 a week for the head of Uisce Éireann. Which Minister looked at these figures and thought they represented value for money, while communities across the country are still dealing with water infrastructure failures, wastewater capacity problems and inadequate public services? In fact, the sewerage systems are collapsing into our rivers all over the country and Uisce Éireann's CEO gets rewarded with a €118,000 increase a year and is accountable to no one. What message does this send to the ordinary working people of Ireland? From where they are standing, it looks like there is one set of rules for hard-working families, home helps, carers, council workers and rural social scheme, RSS, workers and another set of rules entirely for those at the top. Can the Taoiseach explain to the people of middle Ireland why they are expected to tighten their belts while the Government rewards semi-State executives with pay increases greater than many workers earn in an entire year? Who signed off on this? Did the Taoiseach sign off on it? Did the Tánaiste sign off on it? Did the Independents supporting the Government know about these increases and support them? Who sanctioned these immoral and unpatriotic payments?

Prior to the work of the senior posts remuneration committee, SPRC, in 2025, there had been no systematic review of CEO pay in commercial State bodies since 2011. The issue had not been looked at since 2011 and it was creating issues comparable in terms of recruiting people for these bodies of a particular calibre, experience and expertise relative to what was happening in the private sector.

The Government agreed a framework for the remuneration of CEOs in commercial State bodies based on the findings of a report by the independent SPRC Therefore, an independent body was created and asked to look at this, independently and outside of Government, to ascertain what would be levels of pay for CEOs.

The Government only accepted the findings of the report in part, limiting pay to the market mean of comparable roles. We did not take on board the full recommendations of this independent committee. The Government agreed the introduction of a banded salary structure for CEOs, ranging from their current salary to the market median of the relevant band.

Basically, the report said that we need to have fair, appropriate remuneration as a key element in the recruitment and retention of CEOs of commercial State bodies, which are critical to the State’s future development and economic performance. These are enormous organisations now, with huge budgets, huge turnover and very significant projects under their remit. Over the next five to six years, in particular, Uisce Éireann and ESB - you name them - will be overseeing very substantial investment, delivering very significant projects and managing the funding and financing of those.

That is the issue. The easier, populist political position would be to do nothing, but that in itself would not serve the State either, if the truth be told. We could enter into an era of complete mediocrity in terms of how commercial State bodies would be administered, governed and dealt with. The Government did not come up with these increases itself and it did not decide on them. Ultimately, a decision has to be made in terms of approving them, but the work was done independently of the Government and independently of the relevant Ministers, on balance. That is the background to it.

More broadly, we have systems in terms of the public service and we have national pay agreements. What should happen here is that there should be annual increases, in my view, linked to inflation and so on. It should not have to wait for another decade or decade and a half before an area like this gets reviewed.

The Taoiseach said that independent bodies outside of the Government made a decision and the Government accepted that in part. Is the Taoiseach saying the Government accepted these increases? The Taoiseach is saying that the other side here is saying we should do nothing. I do not agree with that. Everybody deserves an increase, but an increase of €118,000 a year is outrageous. The people of Ireland deserve accountability. They deserve answers. I am not getting them here. What does the Taosieach think these immoral increases to the CEOs of Uisce Éireann, ESB, Bord na Móna and Dublin Bus mean to every hard-working taxpayer in Ireland, to every person on a pension who cannot afford to put home heating oil in the tank, to all those who have disabilities, to those 350,000 who cannot pay their electricity bills and to the highest number of people ever in this country who cannot pay their mortgages? I will tell him what it means. It was simply put to me by a tax-paying woman last night:

If you're not at the top in this country, the only way it pays to exist is to stay in bed. This is no longer a country for the hard-working man and woman.

Again, I ask: was it the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Independents supporting this Government who signed off on this shocking deal for those at the very top?

I would make the overall point that it was decided independently to assess the post, the office or the position, not any individual, because individuals come and go, but for the position at the head of a given commercial State body, what would be a fair increase. The Deputy said there should be increases. This had not been looked at since 2011. In my view, that should not happen again. It should be looked at far more regularly than it has been. We have reduced. By the way, people on higher incomes will pay far more in higher tax, and that is right. We have a very progressive tax system in this country, which is one of the most progressive in Europe, where those on higher incomes get taxed far more than those on middle and low incomes. That is the way it should be, and it will continue that way. We have also done a lot on the cost of living, by the way. Over the past five years in particular, we have intervened significantly every year to try to protect people, including working people. In next year's budget, we have reduced income tax, we have now reduced childcare costs and we have brought in a new cost-of-disability payment. We have taken a lot of measures on the cost-of-living side.

In accordance with Standing Order 35, I call on the Chief Whip, Deputy Butler, to move the arrangements for this week's business.

I move:

Tuesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment in Food and Beverage Services Sector) Regulations 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the

Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2026 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Marine Planning Policy Statement (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Motion re Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform "Oral Questions to the Taoiseach and Topical Issues" (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Motion re Report of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach under Dáil Standing Order 142 on COM(2026) 560 (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to conclude at the end of the first speaking round; not to exceed 3 hours and 34 minutes)

Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Drug Debt Related Intimidation and Community Safety, selected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday's business shall be:

- State Apology to the family of the late Brian Stack (to conclude within 2 hours and 20 minutes)

- Defence (Amendment) Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to conclude at the end of the first speaking round; not to exceed 3 hours and 34 minutes)

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 as regards the extension of the timeframe for the establishment of the Eurojust case management system*

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 as regards digital information exchange in terrorism cases*

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann for Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the

European Parliament on combating terrorism*

*Three separate motions to be debated together and brought to a conclusion within 60 minutes, with questions to be put on each motion separately; any divisions claimed to be taken immediately)

Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Second Stage of the Non-Binary and Intersex Recognition Bill 2026, selected by Independent and Parties Technical Group.

Thursday's business shall be:

- Statements on Children’s Health Ireland (to conclude within 2 hours and 25 minutes)

Thursday evening business shall be the Motion re Report entitled "Report on Civil Legal Aid", sponsored by the Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

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 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

(b) private members’ business shall be taken following Government Business with consequential effect on the commencement times for the items following in the ordinary routine of business;

2. the proceedings on the Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment in Food and Beverage Services Sector) Regulations 2026 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately;

3. the proceedings on the Motion re Referral to Joint Committee of Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2026 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately;

4. the proceedings on the Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Marine Planning Policy Statement shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately;

5. the proceedings on the Motion re Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform "Oral Questions to the Taoiseach and Topical Issues" shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately;

6. the proceedings on the Motion re Report of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach under Dáil Standing Order 142 on COM(2026) 560 shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; and

7. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion 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) on conclusion of the first speaking round or 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.

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.; and

(b) the SOS, pursuant to Standing Order 25(1), shall be taken immediately following the State Apology to the family of the late Brian Stack, which shall be taken at the time when the SOS would normally be taken;

2. the State Apology to the family of the late Brian Stack shall not exceed 2 hours and 20 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;

3. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion 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) on conclusion of the first speaking round or 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; and

4. the proceedings on the Motions on Protocol 21 opt-in to EU Counterterrorism and Eurojust measures shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 60 minutes and the following arrangements shall apply thereto:

(a) the three motions shall be debated together, with separate questions put on all proceedings thereon;

(b) the order of speaking and allocation of time shall be in accordance with the table below;

(c) members may share time; and

(d) any divisions 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 Motion re Report entitled “Report on Civil Legal Aid”, and on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil;

(b) the Dáil on its rising shall adjourn until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 3rd November 2026; and

2. the Statements on Children’s Health Ireland 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.

An Ceann Comhairle

Are the proposed arrangements agreed to?

Not agreed.

Do the Deputies have points to raise?

The Deputies know that is not in order.

I ask Deputies, except those who are entitled to speak, to resume their seats.

The Taoiseach has proposed-----

The signage is out of order.

-----the Defence (Amendment) Bill, which proposes getting rid of the triple lock, not to amend it or not to adjust it, but to get rid of it.

The Ceann Comhairle should suspend. That is in breach of Standing Orders.

The Taoiseach's response earlier was quite desperate. He looked to me like he was flapping, to be totally honest. It reflects the fact he knows the public does not support getting rid of the triple lock. He knows that-----

The Deputy's party members are not in order. I ask them to put down those signs. They know they are not in order. I ask them to co-operate with the Chair. We need proper decorum in the Chamber. They know the signs are not in order. Please co-operate with the direction of the Chair.

I am entitled to raise-----

Yes you are but your time is up-----

The Taoiseach is constraining the time because he knows a considerable number of his own party have significant reservations about his proposal on the triple lock.

I am afraid Deputy Ó Laoghaire's time is up.

There is no reason the debate should not be adjourned tomorrow and continued next week.

No respect for the Chair.

I ask Deputy Ó Laoghaire to resume his seat. The Chair is on her feet. Deputy O'Laoghaire's time is up. I am resuming my seat and I ask Deputies to co-operate with the direction of the Chair. They know they are out of order. Please put down the signs.

The Government is out of order.

Everybody with the sign up is out of order. I ask Deputies to co-operate with the Chair, who needs to run the Chamber efficiently. The clock is being run down.

The guillotine is out of order.

In all jurisdictions, Sinn Féin decides what the rules are.

Taoiseach, I am in the Chair.

I ask the Taoiseach to co-operate as well.

No respect for democracy. The Government is selling out the people.

The Deputy does not care about the people.

I am asking Members for the last time. I am on my feet. I am asking for co-operation with the Chair. I thank Deputies for their co-operation. All Deputies, please put the signs down.

I will tell the Ceann Comhairle what is also out of order. It is the fact that the Taoiseach is hell-bent on breaking a commitment given to the Irish people to pass the Nice treaty and the Lisbon treaty. Has he any recollection of the Seville declaration? Does he not feel he is a custodian of a commitment given to the Irish electorate? It is shameful that he is rolling through the breaking of the triple lock.

There is a modest ask today before the debate takes on its full volume. We ask the Chief Whip not to end the debate on the Defence (Amendment) Bill tomorrow but instead to adjourn it. We can then have a proper Second Stage debate on the Defence (Amendment) Bill instead of ramming it through.

Irish neutrality does not belong to any single government. It belongs to the people. A commitment was made in the Nice and Lisbon treaties about the triple lock and the Taoiseach is in breach of that. When we stick up these signs, we are holding the Government to account for commitments that were made to the Irish people about neutrality, which is their property, not yours.

I support fellow Deputies who have spoken. We do need extra time. We need this to be debated properly. Irish neutrality cannot be thrown out the window. The whole country is upset and concerned about this and I ask the Taoiseach to reconsider this and give the people the extra time they need. That is what we need to do tomorrow.

Did Deputy Ó Laoghaire propose an amendment?

The amendment is that the debate be adjourned tomorrow.

No guillotine.

No guillotine. That is the proposition.

The question is that the proposed arrangements for the week's business be agreed to and the proposed amendment be negatived.

Can we hear a response from the Chief Whip? Allow us to have a debate.

We are having a debate.

No guillotine.

The Chief Whip has not responded.

I am now calling the Chief Whip.

Just adjourn it. We will debate it the following week.

Deputies can absolutely hear from the Chief Whip if they allow me to speak and do not try to shout me down. What is shameful about having a debate? The Bill to reform the triple lock will get a full three hours and 34 minutes of debate here on Second Stage tomorrow. It was explained by the Clerk of the Dáil at the Business Committee yesterday that voting has to be completed by 9 o'clock because of the work to rule that we are under orders on.

It is nothing to do with the work to rule.

Adjourn Second Stage.

Allow the answer.

The Dáil is being censored.

The Government is respecting industrial relations now.

Maybe I will hold up the sign. Will that do?

Yes, hold this one up.

Please continue, Chief Whip.

The Bill will then be referred to committee-----

So, last week's strikes were not warranted and industrial action was not warranted but now it has to be respected. Now, industrial action has to be respected.

-----where there will be opportunity for further debate. I reject the assertions the Government is in any way rushing this through.

You are.

The Order of Business stands.

Are the proposed arrangements for the week's business agreed to and the proposed amendments negatived?

Ceann Comhairle, that is absolutely disgraceful. All we are asking for is to allow this Dáil to debate it. This should be put to the people.

Are the arrangements agreed to?

Not agreed.

This should be put to the people. The people should be able to vote on this. At the very least, the debate must not be guillotined.

They are agreed to. I cannot hear objections because I cannot hear the Deputies. Are the proposed arrangements agreed to?

They are not agreed to.

Not agreed.

I am putting the question, Deputy Murphy.

Not agreed.

I am now putting the question. The question is, "The amendment proposed to the arrangements on the Order of Business is hereby negatived and the proposed arrangements for the week's business are hereby agreed to."

Not agreed.

What is the Government so afraid of? Why are they opposed to a debate? They are afraid of their own backbenchers.

Thirty-six people from Depaul's Rendu Apartments in my constituency face eviction on 27 November. Of those, 15 are children. One is a newborn baby, one is a woman undergoing cancer treatment and another is recovering from cardiac arrest. Why are these 36 people facing eviction? The reason is funding of about €450,000 that is required to make the buildings where they live safe was refused by the Department of housing - by the Taoiseach's colleague, the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. I would like an explanation for that. I would like to know why women and their children are facing eviction on the brow of Christmas because the Government could not come up with such a modest sum of money in the grander scheme of things. We know the Government is pretty indifferent to the issues around homelessness but this is a pretty callous-----

The time is up now, Deputy-----

-----example of it and one that is entirely-----

-----and we have to stick to time.

-----avoidable. Can the Taoiseach-----

The Taoiseach, please.

-----ask the Minister to come up with the money-----

Deputy, we are sticking to time.

-----to save these people from eviction.

A minute is a minute. The Taoiseach, please.

First of all, we are not indifferent to homelessness. That is an outrageous assertion. I do not have the specifics of this case. I will speak to the Minister for housing, Deputy James Browne. It is not Darragh O'Brien; James Browne is the Minister for housing.

I did not notice.

I will come back to the Deputy.

Today's The Irish Times reports on the horrific sexual exploitation of a 14-year-old girl, who has an intellectual disability, in Tusla's care by multiple men. The High Court has ordered the girl be moved to a special care setting but the Government has failed to ensure Tusla can provide the protection and support she desperately needs. The court also heard of another teenage girl being sexually exploited by men and a 16-year-old boy being drawn into drug trafficking by adult criminals. These cases are so serious the judge took the extraordinary step of ordering that the Ministers, Deputies Foley, O'Callaghan and Chambers, be informed of them. Nearly half the State's 26 special care beds remain closed because of staffing shortages. It is utterly shameful that in 2026 children who have already suffered extreme adversity are being subjected to appalling abuse and exploitation while in State care. What immediate action will the Taoiseach's Government take to protect these children and when will all 26 special care beds be safely operational?

The case reported this morning is very serious and deeply worrying. The Minister, Deputy Foley, and other Government colleagues are engaging on this case. The fundamental issue is, as the Deputy said, a shortage of staff in terms of being in a position to open all 26 special care beds. At the moment 15 of the 26 special care beds are staffed. These are for children with particularly complex needs who need sufficient and significant staffing resources. Sometimes it can be as high as 14 staff to an individual child or young person. It is not for the want of funding or supports but in a very core, complex number of cases the recruitment of staff has proven to be extremely difficult. However, the Government is continuing to work on this and on this case.

I want to again express my deepest sympathy to the family and community of Kim, Philip, Callum and Jayden English, whose funerals took place in Waterford yesterday. I know our thoughts are also with the two surviving children who are receiving care in Crumlin children's hospital. We must ensure that the horrific crime carried out against this family becomes a pivotal moment in the national response to drug debt intimidation because we know that families and entire communities across the country are being terrorised. As a constituency TD, I regularly hear from and support those who are being targeted by drug gangs. Gangs are taking over entire neighbourhoods and flat complexes. They extort from innocent people and vulnerable drug users. As has occurred in Waterford, they even take the lives of people. Tackling this violence will require a great deal of work but we do owe it to the memory of the English family. One commitment I ask the Taoiseach to make today is to ensure adequate funding for the DRIVE project - the drug related intimidation and violence engagement programme, which is a national interagency programme. The funding increase announced last month is well short of what is needed.

I call on the Taoiseach to respond.

Could we see a commitment to adequate funding?

First of all, I agree 100% with the Deputy. We are all still shocked at what transpired in Waterford last week and our hearts go out to the family of Kim and Philip English and their children who lost their lives and the two more who are in hospital. We have significantly increased the resources for An Garda Síochána. The DRIVE initiative is strongly supported. Since its launch, more than 800 individuals across the 24 drug and alcohol task force areas have received training to support those impacted by drug-related intimidation. I will talk to the Minister again in terms of anything additional. I think it is the right approach. A multidisciplinary, multi-pronged approach is probably the correct one to deal with this issue of intimidation.

The current income limits for council housing are completely outdated. They are too low and they need to be increased urgently. These low limits have the effect of locking large numbers of low and middle income families out of both public housing and of private home ownership. Families do not qualify for council housing or for the housing assistance payment nor do they qualify for a mortgage, so they are condemned to rent privately at enormous rents forevermore. They cannot save for a deposit because of that. Some of these families have been on council lists for anything up to ten years only to be removed on review. I know the Taoiseach is going to tell me about various schemes, like help to buy, affordable housing and rent to buy, but these categories of families do not qualify for these schemes. They live from week to week and cannot afford a deposit. These income limits need to be increased urgently.

I agree with the Deputy. The Minister for housing is undertaking a review of this and is giving very serious consideration to some related issues that have to be dealt with as well in the context of increasing the thresholds but he is certainly actively looking at it.

The murder of Detective Garda Colm Horkan in 2020 shocked the nation. In Mayo it brought back very painful memories of when two gardaí from Mayo were killed in the line of duty - John Morley and Henry Byrne - in 1980. In recent days the family has come forward and called for a full independent public inquiry into the circumstances of Colm's death and the role the holster may have played. I have spoken to the family, whose request for transparency into what happened that night has been ignored. Today the Irish Examiner reports that Garda management was aware of the holster as far back as a year before the death of Colm Horkan. Does the Taoiseach support the family's call for a full, independent public inquiry?

A horrendous trauma was visited upon the Horkan family following the murder of Colm Horkan. We should not lose sight of the fact that a person has been convicted of that murder. We should not make assertions yet that there may be other factors involved. It was referred to Fiosrú but my understanding is that it is not being actively engaged with. The Minister is anxious to be as responsive as possible to the Horkan family but we are not convinced that a public inquiry is necessarily the way to provide transparency, information and the facts to the family, to which they are entitled.

I will talk to the Minister in respect of this but the Minister is engaging with it.

My constituency of Dublin Mid-West is one of the constituencies in the State in which hundreds and thousands of new homes are being built for families. It is important that infrastructure keeps up with this rapid housing growth and one particular area is public transport. Congestion is now a feature of life for people in Lucan, Clondalkin, Adamstown and Clonburris. This is why it is important that we bring forward the funding for DART+ South West as a priority, to enable the building of new houses and to enable a quality of life, and, in the interim period, to fund the bus services that are needed to connect people in Adamstown and Clonburris to the city centre, taking pressure off existing services in the constituency and to see whether additional carriages can be put on the train lines to support commuters in Clondalkin, Kishoge, Adamstown and Hazelhatch. This is a priority to bring people with us as we zone land for housing and to show them that housing growth should not impact on the overall quality of life in the communities we all represent.

I fully agree with Deputy Moynihan in respect of the centrality of infrastructure. The DART+ South West project is key enabler in the overall programme that would quadruple peak-hour capacity on the line from 5,000 passengers to 20,000 passengers. It would be a significant game changer. Since the Deputy first raised this issue with me, I have been in touch and I have been advocating very strongly with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney. Funding has been allocated to DART+ South West to progress to planning and design and procurement between 2026 and 2030. I hope the Minister will be in a position to confirm realising the project. Deputy Moynihan is right in terms of the bus services. Hopefully the Minister will be in a position to expand public transport services in particular in 2027. A total of 140 services are due to be expanded and hopefully Clonburris will be part of this.

I warmly welcome the Government's arts capital investment fund announced in budget 2027. My concern is for the towns and villages that do not have existing entertainment venues. I feel they are simply being excluded. Arklow, for example, is a case study for lack of investment. It has a proud tradition of arts, music and culture but it has no entertainment venue. It does not even have a community hall to hold such events. Do not get me wrong: Arklow will be transformed in the next decade with huge investment in the green energy park, offshore wind turbines and great progress on the greenway. However, as it stands we do not have entertainment venues. If there were to be a concert tonight in Arklow, a town of 14,000 people, the school, the church or the local hotel would have to be used. It is simply wrong. It is a missed opportunity. The lack of investment in the town in the past ten years has simply been deplorable.

I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this issue. I am very fond of Arklow and have been there on a number of occasions. The wastewater treatment plant is the latest investment we officially opened. It has a beautiful design, which received some celebrated colourful coverage which I cannot repeat in the House. I take the Deputy's point. There is an arts capital investment fund. It is a new €6 million scheme that delivers on the Government's commitment to explore a dedicated capital scheme for the arts and cultural facilities. There are three categories. I wonder whether it could be of some help to the local authority if there was a particular initiative coming from Wicklow County Council for the Arklow area that we could respond to. If the local authority could come forward with a specific proposal, I would be hopeful that the Government might be in a position to respond.

Since the Taoiseach took office, he has been hell-bent on dismantling our neutrality. His first step on this is dismantling and scrapping the triple lock. Before he was Taoiseach, he believed in the centrality of the triple lock in terms of our neutrality and I completely agree with him on that. Since becoming Taoiseach, he has changed his mind. I find this very convenient. I ask him to ask the people whether they have changed their minds on the triple lock, something that was promised to them. Irish neutrality does not belong to the Taoiseach or to me, but to the people and the people should have their say on it. Will the Taoiseach put it to the people and ask them whether they want him to scrap the triple lock?

Hear, hear.

I am not going to be intimidated or browbeaten by campaigns of untruths-----

I am 5 ft.

A 5 ft woman.

-----and falsehoods. I am not on any campaign that is intent on dismantling Irish neutrality. The triple lock is not in the Irish Constitution.

We are aware of that.

There is no need for a referendum to amend something that is not in the Constitution in the first instance.

You know the promise you made.

The Deputies knows this but they ignore it. This is about the campaign.

No, it is about Irish neutrality.

It is not about the truth and it is not about objectivity. I also have to say, through the Chair, that it is unacceptable the degree to which people on the Government side are constantly interrupted when we speak whereas we allow Members of the Opposition to speak without interruption, as I have on all occasions this afternoon.

I did not interrupt.

The reality of this is that there seems to be one rule for Sinn Féin and a different rule for everybody else in the House.

It is the same rule for everyone, Taoiseach.

It is not actually.

Well, it is.

In Northern Ireland we witnessed it during Covid-19 and so on like that.

I have an issue with that.

What I want to say is that my only commitment is-----

You abandoned the nationalist community. As Fianna Fáil leader-----

My only commitment is to peace-----

-----like all that came before you, you abandoned them. Now neutrality.

Sorry, Deputy. We have a problem here, a Cheann Comhairle.

We do; you are out of time.

It is not "out of time". The problem is the constant heckling-----

You accused our party of being Nazi sympathisers.

The problem is the constant heckling and interruption when I endeavour-----

I appreciate that, Taoiseach.

There is no point appreciating it. There should be no Order of Business if this continues.

I have asked-----

If this continues, there will be no Order of Business. I will not be turning up if I cannot say what I have to say. Just be on notice, a Cheann Comhairle.

I did not interrupt the Taoiseach, to be very clear. It was a question that I asked-----

Deputy, resume your seat.

-----and I am not intimidating. I have an issue with the Taoiseach saying that.

We have had good news on housing in County Roscommon, with a planning proposal approved in Monksland in south Roscommon this morning. It will follow a number of housing developments that have happened in the area. Similarly in Ballinasloe I attended a meeting last Thursday night with regard to a number of housing developments, all of which are very welcome. We have a need for affordable housing in Roscommon and Galway for those people who cannot get on the council list and cannot get a mortgage very easily. There is also the infrastructure in the communities to be built around this housing. Residents who already live in the area are coming to me to say they are happy for more houses to be built, and they want them, but they also want the amenities, services, supports and supermarkets, in the case of Monksland, to follow. Will the Taoiseach please direct the local authorities once again, via the Minister for housing, that it is about communities, and services should go hand-in-hand with the housing developments, particularly in rural communities?

Yes, I will talk to the Minister in respect of this. I am glad Deputy Kerrane has welcomed the significant housing that is happening now in Roscommon in Monksland. She also mentioned Ballinasloe. Affordable housing is a key issue for people, particularly those above the social housing income thresholds. I will certainly engage with the Minister in respect of the issues the Deputy has raised. The optimal position is that we have community services going hand-in-hand with housing developments.

Given the lengthy waiting times under the warmer homes scheme, will the Government bring forward or amend existing legislation so that vulnerable applicants, especially older people living alone, are prioritised? Recently I dealt with an 89-year-old lady, a constituent of mine, who has been approved for the scheme. She has been told it may take up to two years before her works are even started or completed. Her home is cold and damp but her age, her health or the condition of her home cannot be taken into account when determining the priority. I appreciate that clear criteria must apply to any national scheme to ensure fairness and accountability but there must be scope for exceptional cases and common sense must prevail. The warmer homes scheme is essential for vulnerable isolated people. Flexibility would ensure the benefit reaches those who need it most when they need it most.

Perhaps we do not need legislation to make this accommodation or to make these changes. In terms of broader retrofitting schemes, the Minister is more going directly to the person, with the grants going directly to the contractors, to get the job done and to try to bypass some of the bureaucratic processes. This is different, in the context of the warmer homes scheme. I will talk to the Minister about this because he is an open kind of guy and he is into reform and doing things as expeditiously as possible. Certainly in the case of the 89-year-old which Deputy Aird has outlined, it seems very clearly urgent and the kind of case we want to support. We have to understand, to be fair to the scheme itself, that people have to try to administer it.

I will talk to the Minister to see what he can do in respect of that, if the Deputy will give us the details of the case.

On Sunday, republicans in Cork and London will remember two republicans who died on hunger strike. Ard-Mhéara Chorcaí Terence MacSwiney began his hunger strike in the detention centre, the old Cork Prison, a building that the Government now intends to demolish. He spent his first night there with the chain of office that the Taoiseach once wore as Ard-Mhéara of Cork. Seventy-four days later, he died on hunger strike in Brixton Prison. Now the Government wants to demolish that prison building. That prison is Cork's Kilmainham and it must be saved. On the same day, on Sunday, we will remember Joe Murphy, who died in Cork Gaol. That was demolished. Republicans and Irish people need to remember their history. Will the Taoiseach give a commitment today not to demolish the old Cork Prison? If other prisons need to be built, they should be on greenfield sites. Cork's history and republican history must be remembered.

Hear, hear.

I think we have had a noble and historic tradition in Cork never to create division over the legacy of the two martyred Lord Mayors of Cork, Terence MacSwiney and Tomás Mac Curtain. I am a republican. I come from a republican family, members of which served in the IRA and in Cumann na mBan contemporaneously with Terence MacSwiney and Tomás Mac Curtain. I know full well the necessity and importance of conserving and preserving their legacy and heritage, as we have done by naming various parts and dimensions of our city after both Lord Mayors. Indeed, as the Deputy knows, they are very well remembered in Cork City Hall, which was burned during the War of Independence. My late grandfather was in de Valera's guard of honour when the new building was opened in 1932. We all share a heritage, Deputy, and I do not think we should-----

Will the Taoiseach commit not to demolish the old Cork Prison?

Deputy Michael Murphy is on his feet, Deputy.

He never answered my question.

The closure of the memory clinic in Cashel came as a huge blow to my constituency and the wider region, and it was a particular blow to the families of loved ones suffering from dementia. As of July this year, there was a waiting list of more than 450. I suspect that figure is now more than 600. I acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, is in the Chamber. I acknowledge his work. We urgently need both a short-term solution, whether that is some type of blitz clinic, and a medium- to long-term solution, which is the establishment of a memory assessment and support service. Best practice in dementia care is very clear. Referrals should be seen within six weeks. At present, we have people waiting more than three years. I think our elderly people, particularly those in south Tipperary, deserve better. As I said, I acknowledge the work of the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. I look forward to working with him on that short-term and long-term solution.

I know the Deputy's interest in this on behalf of his constituents. The south Tipperary memory clinic has been paused, but I want to see it reopened as quickly as possible. I have met HSE personnel in the region. I have been in touch with them, and I had a formal meeting on 29 September. I had a further meeting scheduled for last week. I am rescheduling it for this week because it had to be deferred. I understand the real concerns of people in the area regarding waiting times. The situation is unacceptable. I want to get the clinic up and running as quickly as possible. There are some alternative options. People can go to GP services and the integrated care programme for older persons, ICPOP, teams. Fundamentally, we want to get the south Tipperary memory clinic reopened. We then want to examine the en masse rollout in the region. I look forward to working with the Deputy and the HSE locally to get this reopened.

The HSE acquired the old Blarney golf links hotel and has developed a 50-bed unit there. Some 30 beds are currently managed by Mercy University Hospital. People are discharged from hospital and follow-up rehabilitation care is provided there. The remaining 20 beds are idle because funding is not available to staff them. Those 20 beds are for neurorehabilitation. Will a commitment be given to provide the necessary funding in 2027 so that those 20 beds can become operational and we can move people out of Cork University Hospital? The beds being provided for neurorehabilitation are an extremely important development. The 20 beds are lying idle at present, and it is important that they are brought into use.

I thank the Deputy for the question. As he knows, the Mercy regional rehabilitation unit, MRRU, is under the governance of Mercy University Hospital and provides 30 level 2 older persons rehabilitation beds, of which 24 are operational. HSE South West can confirm that a regional strategic rehabilitation group is reviewing rehabilitation services across the region. The MRRU is part of that group, and a workstream has been established to increase neurorehabilitation services. It is co-chaired by the chief executive officers of Mercy University Hospital and Cork University Hospital. This group will review the various workstreams, including governance, workforce and operational guidelines. The aim is that, following the national service plan 2027, HSE South West will deliver 20 level 2 neurorehabilitation beds in 2027, subject to funding.

Thirteen days ago, we had a saltwater intrusion into the groundwater source for the Ballyheigue public water supply. It also affects the western Clanmaurice group water scheme and parts of Ardfert and Kilmoyley. This is very serious, as it affects more than 4,000 customers, including businesses, schools, residents, and older people and vulnerable people. The unusual thing about this is that it is probably the most serious effect we have had on a public water supply in my living memory. The long-term outlook is very worrying. I commend Irish Water on identifying the problem and trying to deal with it. There are what I would call communication difficulties. Even as late as today, there have been difficulties with the delivery of bottled water. Not enough is happening quickly enough. We need to do more and have a more organised approach. I want the Government to support us in dealing with this problem.

I thank the Deputy very much for raising this issue. I was alerted to it this morning by the Minister from your constituency. This is a very serious issue. I was taken aback when I heard about it. Uisce Éireann issued a do-not-consume notice for the public water supply in Ballyheigue, Kilmoyley, Causeway and surrounding areas on 7 October. Uisce Éireann has mobilised operational and water-quality teams to respond to the issue. Investigations remain ongoing, and extensive monitoring and testing of the raw water source continue. Current investigations are focused on suspected saltwater ingress affecting the source water, with teams working around the clock to determine the precise cause and implement any necessary corrective measures. I hear what the Deputy is saying, namely, that not enough has been done quickly enough. I will revert to Uisce Éireann on that question. Uisce Éireann is providing alternative water supplies, bottled water and bulk-water arrangements, with supports available for customers and ongoing engagement with schools, businesses and other key stakeholders.

Lipoedema is a painful and chronic condition affecting one in 11 women. If men were affected like this, there is no doubt that full treatment would be available in Ireland. However, because it is a women's health issue, like endometriosis, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, PMDD, and abortion, lipoedema has been neglected, with women waiting years for a diagnosis, never mind treatment. Until the end of last year, the HSE was reimbursing lipoedema surgeries carried out abroad under the cross-border healthcare directive within four to six weeks. This year, women are waiting ten months after borrowing money in the belief that they could repay it quickly. The HSE promised to tell the support network if reimbursement was being stopped and is still saying there is a backlog. I am now told that an HSE staff member has let slip to one of the women that the HSE has paused the applications. What is going on? It is outrageous. I have a photograph here of the legs of a woman affected by this debilitating condition. How dare the HSE and the Minister mess her around? What is the Government going to do about it?

I do not accept the Deputy's first point about women's health. Over the past five years, in particular, there has been very significant investment in women's health across the board. The former Minister, Stephen Donnelly, was particularly proactive in providing a range of services. We have more to do, particularly when one considers the Women's Health Action Plan and the progress to date. There is now approximately €180 million in specific funding. There are four additional postnatal hubs, bringing the national network to 13. We have the free contraception scheme. There are also see-and-treat ambulatory gynaecology clinics, of which there are now 19 across the country, established in rapid time. There are six specialist menopause clinics, free HRT medications, dispensing fees and so on, and six regional fertility hubs. I could go on.

On the specific issue, the cross-border directive is in place and we have to abide by and adhere to that. I will follow up with the HSE in respect of the specific issue.

The Deputy and Taoiseach may correspond further, should they wish.

I move:

That the proposal that Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft:

Protection of Young Persons (Employment in Food and Beverage Services Sector) Regulations 2026,

a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 24th September, 2026, be referred to the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, in accordance with Standing Order 103(5), which, not later than 11th November, 2026, shall send a message to the Dáil in the manner prescribed in Standing Order 110, and Standing Order 109(2) shall accordingly apply.

I move:

That the proposal that Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft:

Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2026,

a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on the 9th October, 2026, be referred to the Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food, in accordance with Standing Order 103(5), which, not later than 18th November, 2026, shall send a message to the Dáil in the manner prescribed in Standing Order 110, and Standing Order 109(2) shall accordingly apply.

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

— approves the adoption and publication of the Marine Planning Policy Statement, which has been prepared by the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment in accordance with Part 1, Section 6, subsection 4 of the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021, as amended;

— notes that a copy of the Marine Planning Policy Statement and associated statutory environmental reports, in addition to the public consultation report, were laid before Dáil Éireann on 25th August, 2026; and

— welcomes the marine planning policies and priorities outlined therein, which will enhance the marine planning system, and assist the State in delivering its climate, environmental and renewable energy objectives.

Given the week that is in it, I welcome a special group from Waterford, namely, the Waterford ladies from the Waterford Farm Family. They are most welcome.

I ask the Chief Whip, Deputy Butler, to move the motion.

I move:

That Dáil Éireann adopts the Report of the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform entitled "Oral Questions to the Taoiseach and Topical Issues", a copy of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 16th October, 2026.

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

(1) notes the agreed Report of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach under Standing Order 142 on the following proposal: Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE amending Directives 2003/49/EC, 2009/133/EC, 2011/96/EU, (EU) 2016/1164, (EU) 2017/1852, (EU) 2025/50 as regards the simplification of the Union framework on direct taxation and supporting growth and competitiveness of the EU, COM(2026) 560;

which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 16th October, 2026 in accordance with Standing Order 142(3)(b);

(2) having regard to the aforementioned Report, and in exercise of its functions under section 7(3) of the European Union Act 2009, is of the opinion that the proposal does not comply with the principle of subsidiarity for the reasons set out in paragraph 4 of the Report; and

(3) notes that, pursuant to Standing Order 142(4), a copy of this Resolution together with the Reasoned Opinion and the aforementioned Report shall be sent to the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

We are here today to begin our consideration of the Finance Bill (No. 2) 2026, which gives legislative effect to the taxation measures announced in budget 2027, along with other necessary changes to our tax code. On 6 October, the Government announced tax policy changes with a total cost of €1.6 billion. Budget 2027 was framed against a backdrop of significant global uncertainty but underpinned by the continued strength of the Irish economy. With record employment, sustained economic growth and budget surpluses forecast for both this year and next, this Bill strikes a careful balance between supporting people with the cost of living today, investing in our future prosperity and strengthening our public finances for the challenges ahead.

The Government has a strong and consistent track record of supporting those most in need when they need it most. The measures contained in this Bill are no different. The Bill provides a package of income tax measures to support households and working people, including increases to standard rate income tax bands, personal tax credits and the USC threshold, alongside an enhanced rent tax credit for 2027 and 2028. It also provides additional supports through childcare services relief, rent-a-room relief, microgeneration income and third level education fees. Together, these measures will help workers and families to retain more of their hard-earned income and ease the day-to-day costs they face.

This Bill goes beyond supporting people today. It also puts us in a stronger position to build the Ireland we need for tomorrow, by helping more people onto the property ladder and bringing more homes into use. The Bill enhances the help-to-buy scheme by increasing the maximum relief available to qualifying purchasers, helping more families take the first step towards homeownership. It also expands rent-a-room relief to qualifying auxiliary dwellings, giving homeowners greater flexibility and helping them to make better use of existing housing.

Alongside these measures, the Bill introduces further changes to the residential zoned land tax, improving how the tax operates and helping to bring more land forward for housing development. A particularly important measure is the introduction of a new derelict property tax. Dereliction is a scourge on towns and communities across this country. Properties lying empty and falling into disrepair serve neither the people who need homes nor the communities around them. By combining the expertise of local authorities with Revenue's capacity to administer and enforce taxation, this measure will help to bring derelict properties back into use, creating more homes and breathing new life into towns across Ireland.

The Bill also takes an important step towards helping Ireland to move from a nation of proud and prudent savers to one where more people can benefit from the opportunities that investment offers. Through the introduction of the new savings and investment account, the public will have access to a simple and accessible way to invest.

This will provide people with a new opportunity to build their financial future, while helping to develop a stronger culture of investment in Ireland. Unlike many of our European neighbours, Ireland’s fiscal position remains strong, but we cannot take that strength for granted. Our ability to support people depends on maintaining a strong economy, supporting Irish businesses and ensuring Ireland remains an attractive and competitive place to invest.

That is why this Bill introduces a number of measures to encourage investment, reward entrepreneurship and support businesses to grow. It reduces the tax rate on life assurance products, investment funds and certain offshore funds from 38% to 35%, making investment more attractive and supporting long-term savings. It also reduces the capital gains tax rate from 33% to 31% for disposals made from budget day - the first such reduction in many years - to reward entrepreneurship and encourage home-grown businesses to grow and scale. Alongside these changes, the Bill strengthens supports for innovation and enterprise through enhancements to the research and development tax credit, extensions to start-up tax relief and the knowledge development box, and changes to corporation tax rules to reduce uncertainty and administrative burdens. Together, these measures will help to maintain Ireland’s competitiveness, encourage investment and support businesses to create jobs and opportunities across the country.

The Bill also recognises the importance of our agricultural sector, with measures to support farm safety, succession and long-term productivity. These include an extension of accelerated capital allowances for farm safety equipment and enhancements to succession farm partnerships, supporting the next generation of farmers and the continued strength of Irish agriculture.

I now turn to the contents of the Bill itself, which is substantial, running to 79 sections and 238 pages.

Section 2 increases the entry point to the 3% universal social charge, USC, rate from €28,700 to €30,300, ensuring lower and middle-income earners benefit from wage growth and minimum wage increases without facing a higher tax burden.

Section 3 increases the standard rate income tax bands by €2,500, raises the personal, employee and earned income tax credits by €125 and increases the home carer tax credit by €100.

Section 4 increases the rent tax credit by €150 for 2027 and 2028, from €1,000 to €1,150 for individuals and from €2,000 to €2,300 for jointly assessed married couples or civil partners.

Section 6 enhances tax relief for third level tuition fees by aligning the disregard amount with the student contribution fee rate, effective from the 2026-27 academic year.

Section 7 increases the income tax exemption for qualifying childminders under childcare services relief by €5,000 to €20,000 and removes the limit on the number of children covered by the scheme.

Section 10 extends existing tax provisions for termination payments to cover the full range of modern pension arrangements.

Section 11 allows amendments to reporting obligations for benefits under the enhanced reporting requirements.

Sections 13, 14 and 15 amend sports donations tax reliefs. Section 13 allows approved fundraising bodies to receive donations for sports capital projects, introduces limits on tax-relieved donations and strengthens reporting. Section 14 makes equivalent changes for donations to national governing bodies, including electronic tax repayment claims. Section 15 brings these donations within the high-income individuals' tax relief restriction, preventing them from reducing taxable income for the purposes of that restriction.

Section 16 extends rent-a-room relief to rooms in auxiliary dwellings within the grounds of a principal residence until 31 December 2030. It also increases the annual tax-free limit from €14,000 to €16,000 from 1 January 2027 and protects entitlement to principal private residence and mortgage interest relief on the main residence.

Section 17 increases the maximum help-to-buy relief for qualifying first-time buyers from €30,000 to €35,000. This applies where a purchase contract is entered into, or the first mortgage tranche for a self-build is drawn down, on or after 7 October 2026.

Section 20 exempts certain payments under the work and access scheme from tax.

Section 21 increases the income tax disregard for microgeneration from €400 to €600.

Section 22 extends accelerated capital allowances for farm safety and disability-adaptation equipment until 31 December 2029 and adds 12 new qualifying items to the list of eligible equipment.

Section 23 increases the annual succession farm partnerships tax credit from €5,000 to €10,000 for partnerships registered from 1 January 2027. It also removes the three-year asset-holding requirement before transfer for applications to register made from that date.

Section 24 updates tax provisions by changing the benchmark used to define certain preference shares.

Section 25 enhances the research and development tax credit by increasing limits on qualifying subcontracted expenditure to third level institutions and unconnected parties, allowing companies to claim 105% of qualifying research and development payroll costs subject to conditions, and increasing the first instalment from €87,500 to €105,000.

Section 26 establishes the new savings and investment account framework. Irish residents aged 18 years or over may invest up to €12,000 annually through one account with an approved provider. A €50,000 tax-free threshold applies, with a 1% annual tax on the average asset value above that threshold. Income, gains and profits within the account are exempt from other taxes, with the provider administering the tax.

Section 27 makes consequential amendments across the tax code to support the new regime and disapply certain related taxes and reporting obligations.

Section 28 introduces a stand-alone tax regime for Irish-resident investors in investment undertakings held through recognised clearing systems.

Section 29 reduces the tax rate on income and gains from life assurance policies, Irish investment funds and equivalent offshore funds from 38% to 35% from 1 January 2027. This applies to domestic and certain foreign life policies, Irish-domiciled funds and equivalent funds in qualifying EU, EEA and OECD jurisdictions.

Section 30 extends start-up company relief until the end of 2030.

Section 32 extends the knowledge development box, KDB, relief for a further five years, to accounting periods commencing on or before 1 January 2032. From 2027, existing claimants may irrevocably opt out for one accounting period, subject to conditions. It also clarifies the treatment of carried-forward KDB losses.

Section 33 simplifies interest relief rules for borrowings used in certain lending and investment activities.

Section 34 extends the deadline for certain interest limitation rule elections to two years after the relevant accounting period and makes technical amendments to improve their operation.

Section 35 introduces a capital gains tax deferral where an unincorporated approved sporting body transfers its assets to an approved sporting body incorporated as a company limited by guarantee. This applies to bona fide incorporations involving the transfer of all activities. Section 58 provides a related stamp duty exemption, subject to conditions, while section 63 addresses the associated capital acquisitions tax treatment.

Section 36 reduces capital gains tax by two percentage points to 31% for asset disposals from 7 October 2026.

Section 37 extends the enhanced diesel rebate scheme rates for qualifying road transport operators until 31 December 2026.

Section 38 confirms mineral oil tax changes, including deferred carbon tax increases and extended reduced fuel tax rates.

Section 39 reduces natural gas carbon tax from 14 October 2026, while section 40 postpones solid fuel carbon tax increases until 1 May 2027, maintaining existing rates until then.

Sections 41 and 42 implement budget 2027 changes to tobacco products tax and e-liquid products tax.

Sections 43 to 47, inclusive, align the betting duty regime with the Gambling Regulation Act 2024.

Sections 48 and 49 amend vehicle registration tax and extend electric vehicle supports for two years.

Section 51 implements VAT modernisation measures in line with the EU’s VAT in the digital age directive.

Section 52 increases the flat-rate farmer addition from 4.5% to 4.8%.

Section 55 introduces a reduced VAT rate for certain livestock respiratory vaccines.

Sections 59 and 60 amend the health insurance levy.

Section 61 extends the bank levy for another year.

Section 64 broadens the capital acquisitions tax exemption for maintenance, support and education payments to qualifying children following a parent’s death.

Section 66 increases capital acquisitions tax thresholds by €20,000 for group A, €4,000 for group B and €2,000 for group C, applying to gifts and inheritances from 7 October 2026.

Section 69 raises the annual threshold for tax relief on heritage item donations to Irish national collections from €8 million to €12 million.

Section 71 enhances stock relief for registered farm partnerships, including young, trained farmers, and makes related changes to stamp duty relief for certain farmland leases.

Section 72 updates Ireland’s pillar 2 legislation to reflect recent OECD administrative guidelines and agreements.

Section 74 amends preliminary corporation tax rules.

Section 75 provides another opportunity for landowners whose land appears on the revised residential zoned land tax maps published by 31 January 2027 to seek rezoning by the relevant local authority. It also provides for data sharing between Tailte Éireann and Revenue.

Section 76 introduces a new Part 22C into the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, establishing the legislative framework for the derelict property tax.

While I have not covered every aspect of the Bill, further details are available in the explanatory memorandum published with it. I can confirm that it is currently intended to introduce the following amendments on Committee Stage: measures relating to the reform and modernisation of the professional services withholding tax arising from the joint public consultation earlier this year; amendments to the age-related valuation factors which apply to the standard fund threshold regime; the extension of the employment investment incentive, the start-up capital incentive, the start-up relief for entrepreneurs, and the relief for investment in innovative enterprises, also known as angel investor relief, to align with the general block exemption regulation; and, with regard to the research and development tax credit, the introduction of a new measure to provide that, where a clinical trial is regulated, this fact may be used to satisfy the science test to recognise research and development work undertaken by Irish companies as part of global trials and to reduce administrative burden. It may also prove necessary to introduce further amendments as the Bill progresses.

The Bill implements the taxation measures announced in the budget and seeks to support households, enterprises, employment and economic growth. I look forward to working with colleagues in advancing this legislation and I commend the Bill to the House.

Dúirt an Rialtas gur cháinaisnéis d’oibrithe a bhí ann, ach is a mhalairt atá fíor. Anuraidh, ní bhfuair oibrithe rud ar bith as an cháinaisnéis agus, i mbliana, níor thug an Rialtas ach na grabhóga ón tábla do chuid mhór d'oibrithe na tíre seo. Ní bhfuair an chuid is mó d’oibrithe ach laghdú cánach ar fiú €4 in aghaidh na seachtaine é agus géarchéim chostas maireachtála ar siúl. Dúirt mé go bhféadfainn hachoimre a dhéanamh ar an cháinaisnéis i gcúig fhocal – "Imithe sula bhfaigheann tú é". Is é sin go díreach an rud atá le feiceáil. D;iarr Sinn Féin ar an Rialtas oibrithe agus teaghlaigh a chur chun cinn agus chun tosaigh sa cháinaisnéis seo. Ina áit sin, áfach, d’fhág an Rialtas daoine le billí agus costais níos airde agus a thuilleadh brú orthu.

This Bill gives effect to the financial aspects of the budget. It was a budget that laid bare the Government's priorities. The Government called this "a budget for workers", but nothing could be further from the truth. Last year, we know that workers were completely abandoned. They got nothing from last year's budget and in this year's budget the Government gave most workers scraps. Most workers got a tax cut that is worth about €4 per week. Think about that: €4 per week in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. I have said that the budget could be summed up in five words: "Gone before you get it". That is exactly what has happened. Whether it is the little bit back in tax that has been eaten up by the cost of living, renters left handing over more and more of their pay cheques in rent, people on fuel allowance actually getting less this winter than they got last winter, the tiny reduction in the cost of home heating oil that was already wiped out by immediate increases in prices, or people who rely gas being given even less support, it was all eaten up by price increases the very same week.

Sinn Féin called on the Government to put workers and families first in the budget and in the Finance Bill. Instead, the Government left people with higher bills, higher costs and more pressure. Just days before the Government introduced the budget, the Tánaiste stood up in this Chamber and told the Irish people, families and workers out there that "help is on the way". He said those words. Workers, families and pensioners waited and the help never came. This Finance Bill confirms what every worker right across the State already knows, which is that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil look out for those at the very, very top. Where is the proof of that? It is all over this Bill. Workers get €200 of a tax cut in the year but if you are an investor who made a profit of €1 million this year, you get a tax cut of €20,000 in this Bill. Vulture funds are dancing at this Bill. They go on not paying a single penny of tax on the rental income they charge when they rip off young and old renters across this city and elsewhere by charging astronomical rents. Not a single cent of tax are they being asked to pay on this rent despite the Department of Finance saying that loophole could be closed. The renters get a pittance again. There is no doubling of the rent tax credit as we called on the Government to do.

Even though the Government knows that we have seen record numbers of people being unable to pay their electricity or gas bills, there is no sign of energy credits being introduced again by this Government. There is also no sign of the windfall tax Sinn Féin and others are demanding to make sure the very companies that are ripping off those same customers are actually taxed properly. The priorities of this Government are clear for everyone to see.

Since the Government announced this budget, I have been contacted by loads of people. I want to recount the words of one person who wrote to me recently and told me her story, because the Finance Bill is not just about numbers or text on a piece of paper. It means something to people's lives. When the Government decides to prioritise the very top over ordinary, decent Irish workers and families, people suffer. Listen to the words of the 60-year-old who reached out to me recently. She works part time and she said:

I am 60 ... I live alone. In recent years I had to cancel my home alarm. I had to cancel my ... TV and internet. Last winter I was cold [and] I had to ration my heating to the bare minimum. I ... go to bed early to be warm and I use electric blankets on my couch. Here we go again; another winter to dread.

I could stand here until midnight tonight reading to the Minister of State letters that contain stories and testimonies of ordinary, decent people right across this State who feel so let down by the budget and who feel that, once again, the Government is not listening and not delivering the action and leadership that is needed.

We in Sinn Féin told the Government time and again what we needed to see in this Finance Bill. We needed to see real action to get prices down. We needed to see real action on fuel costs. We needed to see energy credits in the form of €400. We needed to see the Government tackle the vested interests. We needed to see the Government stop allowing banks to make billions of euro in profit and only pay 1% in tax. At the same time that this Bill removes mortgage interest relief from people right across this State, people are now seeing interest rates increase and are finding it more difficult to pay their mortgage costs and the Government will not even extend mortgage interest relief.

This Bill goes nowhere near far enough to helping people with crippling energy costs. Section 39 reduces the carbon tax on natural gas by a fraction. People were told that help was on the way. Instead, what has the Government delivered? It has delivered what amounts to as little as €30 off the annual bill. In the real world, in the very same week, what happened?

These same companies jacked up their prices for customers, charging them multiples of what the Government offered people as help. Bord Gáis, SSE Electricity and others - I could go on and on - all pushed up their prices before families saw a cent in support. Let us remember the reality for people across the State. In this State, under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael one in four people cannot pay their gas bill as we speak. There are 230,000 families across the State in arrears. We would fill Croke Park multiple times with the number of families who cannot pay their electricity bills, yet the Government thinks it is okay to hand out tax cuts to the wealthiest in Irish society while still denying people the support they need in terms of energy credits or taking on the companies which are ripping off those people.

The reduction in the price of home heating oil, worth just €43 for a 1,000 litres fill, was immediately wiped out by rising prices. On budget day, the Tánaiste corrected the reporter in RTÉ when she claimed it was only about €40 of a benefit. He said, "No, no, no, it is €86". We know that is not true. It is in black and white in section 38 of the finance Bill. The benefit is €43. Did the Tánaiste genuinely believe his budget offered double the support he thought it did? Did he just not care? Did he take no interest in the real lived experience of any people?

We know the €43 relief does not last long; only a matter of weeks. In December, the Government plans to increase the cost of home heating oil again by reintroducing the NORA levy, increasing the cost of petrol, diesel and green diesel and putting more pressure on workers and families across the State. The reduction of €43 in home heating oil will only last a couple of weeks and will be reduced to €23 by the end of December, a 1% cut for families who are struggling to keep their homes warm. The Tánaiste stood where the Minister of State is sitting now and told the Irish public on budget day, "I want to be very clear there will be no increase in any form of tax either at the pump or in your home during this winter period".

We all know that is not true. Can we all admit in this House that that is not true, because he did not say that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will jack up the prices of petrol, diesel and home heating oil come the end of December and make life just a little bit harder for all of those who are just trying to get by? That is the reality. The Government is doing that at a time when people are being charged nearly €2.20 cent for diesel.

If we had a Government that understood where ordinary people were at, the finance Bill would have introduced a further reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel. The Bill should have completely removed carbon tax from home heating oil. We continue to demand that the Government understands, listens and acts because people are under serious pressure.

Section 48 increases VRT. That makes it more expensive for working people to own a car. For many families, a car is not a luxury. The people who sit around and make these decisions have drivers and do not have to pay to put fuel in their cars. They have State cars and are making decisions to make life more difficult by pushing up the price of petrol and increasing the cost of VRT. People in my community and elsewhere need their cars to get to work, drop their kids to school and make a hospital appointment. Petrol is not a luxury for them and the Government keeps finding ways to make driving more expensive. It needs to stop. The Government needs to stop targeting the motorist and rural Ireland and start doing the right thing. Of course we need to incentivise people in terms of climate action but making life harder for people who have no other option and do not have the money lying about is not the right way to go about it.

I will go through a lot of detail in the Bill on Committee Stage. It is a 242-page Bill. It set out the parameters of the savings and investment scheme the Tánaiste has been focused on since budget day. I have no objection whatsoever to incentivising people to save for the future but I am concerned that this bears the hallmarks of a policy that was rushed. The fact the finance Bill includes an economic impact assessment shows that it is a case of having the ass before the cart. It is ridiculous. The Government is getting this the wrong way round. Experts and economists have repeatedly warned that a badly designed scheme could undermine the tax base. Any economic assessment has to include the cost to the Exchequer over the medium to long term.

The Bill also contains changes to the research and development tax credit for corporations. We have seen substantial changes to this tax area in recent years. There will be changes to capital acquisitions tax. We need to analyse this on Committee Stage in terms of the cost and the fact only 0.3% of the population will benefit from the change to the tax rate in any given year. We also know that 60% of those who benefit from this are concentrated in Dublin. The cut to capital gains tax in section 36 was barely mentioned in the speech on budget day by the finance Minister, yet it removes €200 million from the tax base over the lifetime of the Government. That is €1 billion gone.

There are tax cuts throughout the budget most people would not have heard about. There is a reduction in investment undertaking tax, the life insurance exit tax and the taxes equivalent on offshore funds. The Commission on Taxation and Welfare was very clear. It recommended moving away from an over-reliance on taxing workers and towards greater taxation on wealth and capital, yet the Government is moving in the opposite direction. The residential zoned land tax is once again being kicked down the road without any real solution. The derelict property tax will not be collected until the middle of 2028. For years, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, now backed by the Independents, have failed to tackle land hoarding and dereliction. As a housing crisis deepens, the Government continues to delay.

The increase in the renter's tax credit stands out as very small, given that this is the year the Government pushed through the rent tax Bill which allows landlords to jack up rents on tenants across the board. The Government knows well that the €150 will end up in the pockets of landlords because it refused to ban rent increases. The Government should ban rent increases and double the renter's tax credit to €2,000, which would give renters real relief. The rent a room relief also seems to be designed to allow people to increase the rents they are charging as much as to incentivise people to enter the scheme.

The Minister, Deputy Harris, got it right on help to buy when he said he did not want to increase the scheme because, in his own words, the worst one can do is help somebody trying to buy house is to accidentally push up house prices. He was right but he buckled under pressure from Fianna Fáil and has jacked up the amount involved. Therefore, house prices will increase further.

It is shameful that mortgage interest relief was not extended. The Government knows the ECB has increased its rates and is likely to increase them further. People are under serious pressure and that amounts to putting more pressure and costs on households across the board. I will deal with this in detail on Committee Stage. Again, the Government failed the test of the finance Bill. It should have been about putting workers and families first. Instead, the Bill puts bankers, vulture funds, developers and those with significant wealth first, as only Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael do every time.

There were choices to be made in this budget and they are reflected in the finance Bill today. Above all, what is galling is that the Minister of State and Government will say this a budget for workers. Let me tell the House about a few workers I have met since the budget. I will confine my remarks to nurses, healthcare assistants and other workers in Mayo University Hospital. I understand health comes under the appropriation Bill but what the Government could have done in the finance Bill in terms of taxing vulture funds would have resulted in €335 million.

I want the Government to know the problem that a sum of €335 million taken from vulture funds would mean to the workers the Government purports to stand up for. Today's Connaught Telegraph front page article by Caoimhín Rowland describes the situation for one cohort of workers in a headline stating, "Mayo graduate nurses left in limbo over jobs uncertainty".

These are young nurses who have invested in their education and qualified, who got jobs in Mayo University Hospital and who were even told which ward they would be working on and the number of people they would be working with. Since the budget they have been told that has all been put on hold because of the allocation for the health service, which our spokesperson Deputy Cullinane told the Government was not enough for the existing levels of service in the health service. We are therefore left in a situation where there are 85 vacancies in Mayo University Hospital. That is not 85 new jobs, new measures or anything but existing jobs that are not covered because there is a halt on recruitment to fill those posts. Of those, 50 are for nurses and midwives.

This budget is purportedly for workers but how can the Government say that when it put the workers who were in that hospital in that situation? I heard all kinds of talk last week about productivity and everything else and I asked several times what productivity the Government is looking for from nurses and healthcare assistants. They are already covering many jobs. One nurse may be covering the jobs of three or four other nurses and the same with healthcare assistants. They cannot be more productive and the Government is sucking the life out of these workers. Many of the workers have been there for decades. They have come through Covid and through the harshest times, including austerity. They came through it when the Minister of State’s party collapsed the economy in 2008 into 2009. Somehow they got through it and held everything together but they have never seen it so bad. I commend them on speaking out and ask them to continue to do so about what is happening in this situation because the consequence of not putting the money from the vulture funds into the hospitals and the care system is that people are left on trolleys and workers are left burned out. I will quote what a person who was in a hospital over the weekend with her mum said:

Honestly Rose it's like a War zone , trolleys on every little nook and cranny of A& E. One man was with neighbour. This 93 year old man had dementia. It was so under staffed the neighbour was telling me that he would have put sudo cream on the man's bed sores if he could, there was no privacy. There was only one carer on the A& E for all these people. People helped me move my mum as the trolley was hard on her too. Another poor lady with some type of dementia on her own and clearly limited verbally. Rose these people aren't going to email or complain even though there 10+ hours in A& E were real and horrendous.

These are the people who are bearing the burden of the choices the Government made in the budget and that it is making in the Bill.

Hear, hear.

The Tánaiste said help was on the way in this budget but who has been helped by the budget and this Bill? It is the asset holders who are getting a tax cut, it is the developers who are getting another top-up and it is the banks that pay virtually no corporation tax despite making billions of euro in profits. They all did well but there is very little in the Bill for struggling families, pensioners, disabled people or the hundreds of thousands of workers who are trying to stay afloat in the cost-of-living crisis. The legislation before us shows the Government’s priorities.

I will start with income tax because that is where most workers will fail to feel the budget. The Minister of State’s officials in the Department of Finance examined the impact of this budget’s income tax measures. They described these measures as "regressive" and said the tax package "disproportionately benefits higher-income households". That is not me or the Social Democrats talking but what the Minister of State’s Department said in its budget documents. According to those documents, people earning between €30,000 and €40,000 will get significantly less than those who earn more. People earning between €30,000 and €40,000 are paying exorbitant rent, very high childcare fees and the most expensive electricity bills in Europe. How can the Government justify that? So much for helping those who need it most. Those were more hollow words and empty promises.

The Government had choices and it has resources. Never has a government had so many resources at its disposal. Unfortunately, the Minister for Finance was more concerned with grabbing headlines than with the State’s financial health. Nowhere is that clear than in section 26, which outlines the new investment scheme. The Department of Finance says the economic impact assessment will only be published in the coming weeks. After the scheme was announced – not just in the budget because it was announced all year long on multiple occasions – it was put in this Bill, which beggars belief given the economic analysis has not even been done. There are billions of euro sitting on deposit in Irish bank accounts and any serious government would look at how that money could be used to do something useful. We have put forward proposals on that. Instead, it is being put into a risky scheme without even basic due diligence being done.

This Bill follows the same failed housing policy we have seen for the past 15 years, which is to hand taxpayers’ money over to the private sector and hope for the best. Section 4 throws a bit more at the renter’s tax credit and section 17 expands the help to buy scheme. This is more money going to property developers and landlords, and for what? How many affordable homes have been built due to these measures to date? It is zero. How many more will be built due to their continued expansion? It is zero. When supply is short and more money is pumped in to feed demand, prices are pushed up. The Minister of State knows that. It is basic economics. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have been trying to subsidise their way out of the housing crisis for well over 15 years. The consequences have been catastrophic. It has led to record homelessness, record rents, record house prices, record numbers of people in their twenties and thirties still living in their childhood bedrooms and a generation locked out of housing. There are now nearly 20,000 derelict homes countrywide in addition to a huge number of vacant homes. They are a blight on communities and a slap in the face for every family searching for a home. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have stood over this for years. At last section 76 introduces a derelict property tax but local authorities will not even draw up the registers until 2027 and nobody will pay a cent under these new proposals until 2028. In the first year, it will only apply in towns of 4,000 people or more and it will never apply to derelict properties outside built-up areas of 2,000 people. Thus the derelict house at the end of a village street in rural Ireland is left out altogether, which is unjustifiable. Where is the urgency? Why is this Government so patient with those who let homes rot in the middle of a housing crisis?

Fuel prices have hit people very hard this year. What was desperately needed was a targeted energy credit of €400 for households with an income of up to €70,000. What was also really needed was investment in the solar for all plan we in the Social Democrats put forward to permanently bring down cost-of-living and energy bills for households on a permanent basis, not just for those who can afford the cost of solar panels upfront but for people and families on lower and middle incomes who could really do with that measure to have a permanent reduction in their household bills. However, that was missing, as was the windfall tax we have put forward but which the Government has voted down that could be used to fund these much-needed measures. Bringing down people’s bills and tackling climate change share the same solutions. That is why we have put forward our solar for all proposals and why we need to have measures that will help us meet our climate targets, avoid massive fines and protect households from this energy shock and this cost-of-living crisis but also from the next energy shock. The Bill raises the tax-free limit on selling solar power back to the grid from €400 to €600.

That is a welcome step, but it only helps people who can already afford the solar panels. That is the difference between our approach and the Government's. We want to fix things for people on all incomes and not just throw money around.

I want to turn to who really does well out of the Bill. The taxpayer bailed out the banks at enormous cost, a cost future generations will still be paying off. Today, those same banks make billions of euro in profits every year. In fact, the sector has never done better, and it still pays virtually no corporation tax. What does section 61 do? It does not increase the bank levy. It does not triple the bank levy like we have advocated. It freezes it for another year despite their eyewatering profits. Tripling the bank levy would have been the best way to ensure that the banks pay their fair share. Is that too much to ask? It would have paid for our solar for all plan, bringing cheap, clean electricity to homes all over the country.

Section 12 closes one of the loopholes in the domicile levy. That is welcome. However, the €200,000 charge is meant to make sure Irish tax exiles pay something towards this country. As the Minister of State well knows, compliance in recent years has been laughable. In 2010, 37 people paid the domicile levy. By 2024 that had fallen to just 13. The money raised has more than halved. The Government has known for years that this levy has been avoided. Proactive government would not stop at one loophole but would carry out a full review of the levy and ensure that all those who benefit from this country pay their fair share.

Section 66 raises the inheritance threshold. Section 36 cuts capital gains tax from 33% to 31%. Together, they are going to cost the taxpayer €234 million in the first full year. That is €234 million for people who are inheriting wealth and selling assets. This money could have been used to help kick-start a public high-quality and affordable model of childcare that we desperately need. It would be an investment back into communities that would benefit generations of Irish families. Instead, it goes where it is needed least.

While the Government found €234 million in tax cuts for asset holders, communities have been told there is no money. Some of the allocations in this year's budget are simply not enough to run the services that they cover. Overruns are not a risk; they are a certainty. We know this from the way the Minister has budgeted his allocations. They are an absolute certainty. Nothing has been done to ensure the gap between what Departments need and what they have been given is closed. This year, when the Department of Education and Youth's budget overran, the Government's answer was to impose a levy on every other Department. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, has called this "savings", "reform" and "efficiencies". That sounds good in theory. Who could be against it? However, in reality it has meant a cut to services on the ground that are badly needed in our communities.

I want to give the Minister of State one example from my constituency. Darndale is a great community with an exceptional level of need. Two applications for funding were recently refused. One was to expand play therapy to schools in the area. When the applications for funding were refused, the Department made it clear that it was not because the applications did not have merit and were not valid and the projects did not need funding but it was due to the levy that was levied on the Department and budgetary constraints. This is a direct result of that levy. It is not an efficiency. The Minister cannot call it that. It is not a reform. It is taking money out of a community and projects that desperately needs them, and that would have been funded in the past up until this levy was imposed.

Let us look at what is missing altogether from the Bill. There is no levy on data centres. Despite them pushing our electricity grid to the brink and driving up people's bills, they are not asked to pay 1 cent more. There is no windfall tax on energy companies, despite them making huge unanticipated profits, while over half a million households are in arrears. Why will the Government not ask them to pay their fair share? It is because households are being made to pay. Meanwhile, data centres and energy giants are making millions of euro. That is the choice the Minister and the Government are making.

The public are asking where the help is that they were promised in the lead-up to this budget and Bill. We now have the answer. Help is there, just not for the people who really need it, including the income tax package that the Minister's own Department called regressive, the tax cut for people with valuable assets and bigger subsidies that push up house prices for developers. Energy companies, big banks and data centres can all continue to make billions of euro without paying their fair share. The Social Democrats would make different choices. We would target resources at those who need them most, invest in infrastructure, homes and public services that this country is crying out for and fix things instead of throwing money around. This, however, is a Finance Bill for those who need help the least. Our country deserves far better.

This Bill is deeply disappointing from a number of angles. My colleague has just gone through some of them. In particular, what is frustrating about the Bill is what it does not contain and what it should contain. When we look at the scale, in particular, of issues such as child poverty, households in arrears, and families who are literally struggling to cover the basics; elderly people turning off the heat and climbing into the bed in the middle of the afternoon to try to stay warm, what we are seeing at the moment is people really struggling. The Government utterly failed to put in place things that could help them, like we in the Social Democrats had proposed.

The Government always goes on about us not having solutions. We put forward a very clear proposal for a targeted energy credit. The Government did not introduce it. Why not? Because it said it was operating within this framework when it could have put in place measures that could be in this Bill right now such as a windfall tax on energy companies, a levy on the banks or a levy on data centres that could fund a second tier of child benefit that it was told by the ESRI could lift tens of thousands of children out of child poverty. What this Bill and the budget show is what the Government is willing to do and what it is not willing to do. It shows the lack of priority for children who are growing up in poverty, many of them in my constituency from Ballymun to Finglas. They are in places across Dublin city and across the country. They are children whose lives have literally been damaged. Their development has been delayed and impacted not because of any other reason than a failure of this economy and society to ensure that they have the basics. It is a failure of the Government. It is incredible that one of the things the Government refused to do - one of the things it could have done - was to put in place a second tier of child benefit, which the evidence shows would radically reduce child poverty. There are measures that could have been brought in to address it in the Bill.

I want to specifically address the derelict property tax. The Minister made a big thing of this and said that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael were going to really tackle the issue of dereliction, but it is more smoke and mirrors. The tax is not coming in until 2028. Why is that? What is the reason for the delay? Why is it not being brought in immediately? Why is the derelict property tax being delayed? There is no logic to that. It is also a fact that fewer derelict buildings and sites are going to be eligible for this tax than the previous local authority derelict property fine it is replacing. That is absolutely scandalous. The Minister is reducing the proportion of buildings that will be subject to the derelict property tax. Rather than tackling dereliction, the Bill will reduce the level of fines. The Government is also setting out that local authorities will remain responsible for identifying the buildings and properties and putting them on the register. We know that one of the most fundamental problems with tackling dereliction has been the failure of local authorities to put buildings and sites on the register. What is going to change? How is the Bill going to change that? Are local authorities suddenly going to start adding loads of buildings and sites that they were not adding previously? We know some of the issues they face. I have come from the housing committee where the issue was being discussed by the local authorities themselves. They say one of the big reasons is they do not know who owns the buildings.

They cannot find the owners. Dealing with this requires resourcing and time to chase up issues such as ownership. The local authorities do not have these resources, so there will be no significant increase in the number of derelict buildings that are liable for the tax. This is really problematic. It represents more spin than substance from the Government with regard to tackling the issue.

The position gets even worse for local authorities because they will see their funding reduced as a result of the introduction of the derelict sites and buildings tax. In taking this function away from local authorities, the funding is not being ring-fenced to be returned to them. Local authorities will have less money to deal with dereliction after the tax is introduced because it will go to Revenue. We have asked the question and the money will go to Revenue, and it will not be ring-fenced and returned to local authorities. Will the Minister of State set out how local authorities will be properly funded? Will the Government ring-fence the money raised from the derelict sites tax so it goes straight back to local authorities and they can address this issue?

Local authorities have raised the big issue that an owner of a derelict property can be served with a fine but then turn around and put a lick of paint on the outside of the building, after which it is no longer deemed derelict. This cannot be tolerated or accepted. We need local authorities to be able to compulsorily purchase these buildings and turn them into homes or put them to community use. It is unfair and disingenuous to say that the Government is tackling dereliction because this tax does not do so and will not do so.

Another issue missing from this Finance Bill is a levy on data centres. It is incredible how the Government is rolling over backwards to facilitate data centres. It removed the moratorium on them despite the evidence showing how they guzzle energy and add to household energy costs. Research shows that growing data centre demand added €715 million to household electricity bills between 2015 and 2023, equivalent to €360 per household, while more than 300,000 electricity customers are in arrears. Data centres now consume 23% of Ireland's electricity but support just 3,300 direct permanent jobs. They are going to add hundreds of millions of euro more to people's electricity bills.

Research by Dr. Seán Fearon, Dr. Patrick Bresnihan and Dr. Patrick Brodie at Maynooth University shows that the investment resources directed towards data centre construction between 2019 and 2024 were equivalent to the investment needed to build nearly 50,000 homes. Data centres have been built while we cannot and will not fund and build homes for our young people, who are leaving the country. The Government is putting data centres for billionaire big tech corporations ahead of young people in this country. It is becoming more and more clear that what is going on here is not beneficial for people. These data centres are producing AI slop and will add to household energy costs. It is completely unfair. We need a moratorium and a levy on data centres to ensure our resources go into proper infrastructure development.

I want to speak about wealth tax. A wealth tax should have been introduced in the budget. We have massive wealth inequality. There is huge wealth in this country but it is deeply unequally distributed. The Government should have introduced a wealth tax to address this and to enable tackling child poverty and the cost of living. This would have made a difference.

I listened to Deputy Hearne speak about dereliction but I could not understand his position. Do the Social Democrats want Revenue to collect a derelict site tax? He did not spell this out. He spent so much time doing verbal gymnastics with himself that at one point I felt he was arguing against himself with regard to local authorities. He said local authorities were not doing enough to put sites on the register and then gave out to the Government for saying that Revenue should collect the tax that local authorities around the country had lost, in order to fund dealing with dereliction. What is the position?

It is a very positive move that the Government has decided to give Revenue the power to collect the taxes on derelict properties. We saw that, once Revenue was given responsibility for collecting the local property tax, the initial challenges with the collection of charges effectively evaporated overnight. We know Revenue is good at one thing and that is collecting taxes.

Having Revenue administer this charge of 7% will achieve the exact thing that Deputy Hearne cannot seem to get his mind around. The objective is not to collect tax. We do not want the derelict property tax to be a hugely successful revenue-raising measure for the State. We want it to be used as a stick because the Government has presented many carrots, including the vacant property refurbishment grant, the living city initiative and the other measures that are out there. I would be the first to say, and Deputy Hearne might agree with me, that we can probably do more and be even more ambitious, particularly in the city centre with the city centre task force. It has great ideas for developing over-the-shop living and cost-rental housing on Middle Abbey Street and Frederick Street North. There is also the question of economic viability. Does the living city initiative go far enough as an incentive, for example? Could we go further?

Let us not row about the stick. Surely the Social Democrats, and I presume the Labour Party and Sinn Féin, agree that it is a good idea for Revenue to collect a tax that deals with the question of dereliction as a way of incentivising people who own properties in our cities, towns and villages to activate the properties in their ownership. I understand that, in the Chamber, Members have to criticise and oppose but when good ideas come along, it does not take much to acknowledge that they are good ideas.

The measure addresses a challenge that perhaps should have been addressed much sooner, namely, that local authorities were not collecting the tax on sites on the derelict sites register to the level that they should have been. I agree with Deputy Hearne that they have not done enough to put sites on the register, but to simply throw up your hands and say that local authorities cannot be putting sites on the register is, frankly, ridiculous. Local councillors on every local authority throughout the country should be examining how many premises their local authority has put on the register. I know some local authorities have taken a narrow view that investing in personnel to go from door to door to assess whether a property should be on the register is not a good use of resources and that personnel resources should be invested elsewhere. However, this goes to the vitality of villages, towns and cities and to the whole question of social cohesion. In the situation we are in, whereby we are continuing to try to drive up the amount of housing supply we have in the country, nothing is more frustrating for families walking into a village when looking for a home than seeing a boarded-up premises that has remained so for a number of years without being activated. This is a form of vandalism. It may not involve graffiti or smashed windows, but the failure by the people and companies that own these properties in our cities, towns and villages to put them into active use is a form of social vandalism, which becomes even more pronounced when we have housing challenges such as those we have in this country.

I commend the introduction of the vacant property tax in the Finance Bill. I also commend the other measures we have introduced, particularly in the previous budget, most of which were extended in this budget, to act as a carrot. When Revenue comes looking, the owners of these properties will know that we are not all about trying to tax them to the hilt; we are trying to encourage those who own a property. They will know that, in a number of months, there will be a deadline by which local authorities must have newly updated registers. Equally, local authorities know that, at national level, we are setting policy. The elected Government, which is the democratic Government of the country, has viewed as an absolute priority the tackling of vacancy and dereliction.

We know that the carrots we have introduced, the grants, have borne fruit. For example, more than 7,000 previously vacant and derelict properties have been restored to residential use through the vacant property refurbishment grant, backed by more than €396 million in grant funding. Almost 20,000 applications have been received and more than 15,000 approvals have been granted since the scheme was launched in 2022. In the third quarter of this year, the scheme maintained its strong performance, supporting the refurbishment of 809 vacant and derelict homes between July and September. My local authority, Dublin City Council, had one of the largest numbers of homes restored under the scheme, bringing 554 homes back into use to date under the grant.

The upper floors of buildings, above shop premises, can be an important part of the solution. I already cited the example of the Dublin city task force, which is examining properties on Middle Abbey Street and North Frederick Street. Converting upper floors into homes can increase the number of people living in our towns, villages and city centres and help to support businesses by bringing more residents into the heart of the community. The vacant above-the-shop grant, which offers up to €135,000 to property owners willing to breathe new life into empty upper floors, continues to gain traction. Some 78 applications have been submitted since the scheme was launched earlier this year. This reflects increasing interest in town-centre living and the reuse of vacant upper-floor space as a means of expanding housing supply.

I know it is not within the domain of the Minister of State but we must keep the success of these carrot measures under review in bringing over-the-shop buildings into use. We should be as innovative and ambitious as possible, particularly in supporting the Dublin city task force, in getting people living in our city. Transforming older, complex commercial structures into compliant living spaces is rarely straightforward. Such conversions can be complicated. Owners may need to understand the condition of a building and its design, access, fire-safety, planning and other requirements before deciding whether a project is viable. The expert advice grant is a useful companion measure. To bridge that gap and to ensure projects are viable before major construction starts, the grant, worth up to €5,000, is specifically earmarked to help property owners cover the cost of professional guidance on the conversion process. It is very important that property owners know about these grants and that they are available, particularly as we approach the introduction of the collection by Revenue of taxes on properties placed on this register.

The Government also introduced a targeted top-up of the vacant property refurbishment grant for entire former commercial or public buildings being completely converted fully into multiple homes. Figures show that there are 1,001 derelict properties across Dublin, making up approximately 0.2% of the overall housing stock. Collection of the derelict sites levy is currently the responsibility of local authorities but more than one third of Ireland's local authorities failed to collect a single cent of the levy in 2024, leaving an estimated €26 million uncollected. The introduction of a derelict property tax will bring more properties back into communities across the country. The finance Bill published by the Department of Finance has outlined the introduction of the new tax at 7% of a property's value. The tax is being introduced on a phased basis. In its first year of operation, the tax will apply in towns and cities recorded as having populations of 4,000 or more. In its second year, it will expand to towns with populations of 2,000 or more.

By placing greater responsibility on property owners to address dereliction, the new tax sends a clear message that buildings should not be allowed to deteriorate indefinitely when they could be restored and returned to productive use. Our towns, villages and city centres must be places where people can live. Regenerating neglected buildings can help breathe new life into local streets, protect the character of our communities and create more welcoming environments for residents and visitors alike. This is about making the best use of places that already have a history, identity and community around them. Reusing existing buildings can help retain that character while adapting spaces to meet today's needs. This regeneration must be about more than the appearance of a building. It should help create active streets, support local services and make our communities places where people feel they belong. We also recognise that successful implementation will be essential. Local authorities must be adequately supported to identify derelict properties, maintain accurate registers and ensure the policy is applied fairly and consistently. Ultimately, the success of this measure should be measured by the number of derelict properties brought back into use, the homes made available and the lasting improvements delivered to communities.

The need for housing remains our greatest challenge as a country and a society, and every effort should be made to utilise the housing stock available. The housing challenge demands that we use every practical option available to us. Building new homes is essential but so too is bringing suitable vacant and derelict properties back into use. We should not allow buildings to stand empty and deteriorate when they can provide homes, support local businesses or help revitalise our town centres. The new levy outlined in this finance Bill will encourage owners to take action and make use of the buildings we already have.

I walked around Shandon yesterday where I held my clinic. Shandon is one of the most historic areas in the State. It has the Shandon Bells and the old butter market. The history and culture there are unbelievable. If any other European city had an area like Shandon, with its restaurants and shops, the whole area would be a magnet for tourism. Instead, when I come out of my office, I look up the hill at the old Connie Donovan's pub, which has been a shell of a building for 25 years. Next to it is the old Róisín Dubh pub, which has been boarded up for another 20 years. Approximately 20 yd from my office is a building that used to be a family home. It is falling down and has a tree growing out of it. There is also an empty shop that used to have a family living above it. The amount of dereliction and vacancy allowed to occur in an area that should be a diamond in Cork's tourism industry is extraordinary. The area is important not only for the city but also for the county and the State because it is so historic. Instead of promoting the area and tackling dereliction and taking on vacancy, this Government has stated in the finance Bill that it will not start collecting the derelict sites levy until June 2028. I must be honest: the Government must have no shame at all. The Minister, Deputy James Browne, said earlier in the year that he would have a war on dereliction but he is not going to collect the derelict sites levy until June 2028.

I have just come from a housing committee meeting. Most local authorities have one derelict sites officer. Most do not have an up-to-date and complete derelict sites register, and no local authority has collected all amounts due for the outstanding derelict sites levies. At the start of the year, the outstanding figure was €32 million. It will probably be closer to €40 million by the end of the year. It is not being collected. Instead of having a war on dereliction, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are having an amnesty for the vulture funds and speculators that allow these buildings to rot and destroy communities. I think it was the Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, who said at the time of the budget that the Government had probably implemented too much carrot and not enough stick. What an understatement. The Government has been all carrot and no stick. It is time these people who are destroying our villages, towns and cities were taken to task.

Why will the Government not take them to task? When it comes to the derelict sites levy and the vacant homes tax, there is self-assessment. Only a couple of thousand people have self-assessed. The vast majority, tens of thousands of people, have not. Does the Government think that is acceptable? The derelict sites levy and the vacant homes tax are a joke. The thing about it is that it would be funny if it were not so serious. We have tens of thousands of houses, both derelict and vacant, blighting every community in the State, and the Government is doing nothing about it. Why is this? It is because the Government would sooner look after its buddies, the investors and speculators.

The Minister of State is nodding his head at me. If he is nodding his head at me, why is the Government not collecting the levy now? Why is the derelict sites levy not being collected? Why is the vacant homes tax self-assessed? I ask the Government to give the Revenue the permission and the decision-making power to take on these people. They are destroying our communities. Does the Minister of State know who is protecting them? It is Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. They are protecting the people who are destroying our towns, villages and cities. The Minister of State is there nodding but he will not do anything about it.

I am pleased to speak on the Finance (No. 2) Bill on behalf of the Labour Party. On the face of it, Ireland is a country that is doing well. From the outside looking in, though, the headline numbers paint an incomplete picture. As someone who is proud of his country, it would be churlish of me not to recognise some important facts and some progress that has been made. In a few short years, we have gone from jobless rates heading for 20%, going in the wrong direction, to sustained technical full employment, and from the loss of economic sovereignty and public finances torched by populist politics and reckless economic management to the point where we have established savings funds to act as a buffer against future shocks.

However, this tells only part of the Potemkin Ireland variation of the story that this Government likes to tell. As someone who has pride in his country and who tries to practise responsible politics, I have an obligation to point out that all is not well. All the outward signs of success mask the real Ireland, where manifest economic success, record Exchequer revenue and all of these achievements still coexist with shameful levels of child poverty and homelessness, and infrastructure levels and standards way below what this rich country should be entitled to expect. We have had 13 years of continuous growth, unparallelled in this State's short history, growth that we hope will be sustained in the future, but with frustratingly little to show for it. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have, as I have said time and again, wasted a boom. It used to be the case that having no money was our persistent problem. That was the traditional problem. That was what held this country back over generations. Now, what is holding us back is a lack of vision, ideas and ambition. In fact, money has made this Government lazy.

It is always said that you can discern a government's philosophy and agenda from its budget. On the evidence of the budget two weeks ago and this Finance Bill, the only agenda seems to be to double down on the Government's base with cuts to areas like capital gains tax and capital acquisitions tax and the introduction of new savings and investment schemes, which have been soft-launched about 1,029 times by the Tánaiste, in the hope that they just do enough to get back into government after the next election.

It is important that, when we are debating the Finance Bill, we take a closer look at the backdrop and the overall health of the public finances. It does look like the economy will continue to grow strongly. Modified domestic demand is likely to be at 3% next year. That is impressive, especially when set against a very uncertain global environment. We can say with a good degree of hope that full employment will be maintained and that wages will grow. Not every European country can say that. That said, the risk is that inflation may come in at close to 4% and could outpace wage growth, and the limited PAYE tax changes proposed in this Bill risk leaving many working people even less well off next year, when taken alongside the massive anticipated hikes in energy bills, the cost of the weekly shop and so many other factors outside of the control of households. Indeed, many of those factors, as the Minister of State will know and as he has said, are outside the control of the current Government, or any other government, for that matter.

Talking of risks, and there are risks on the downside, we are duty-bound to keep reminding the Government of the vulnerabilities of the public finances arising year after year from our now notorious reliance on transitory corporation tax receipts. The headline surplus of over €9 billion masks an underlying deficit of over €13 billion when the windfall element is stripped out. Not only are we relying on tax revenues from less than a handful of mega foreign direct investment, FDI, firms for half of our business tax haul, but we are also depending on a small number of products and patents from less than a small handful of companies. In short, Ireland is the only place in the world that is getting fat on Mounjaro. I shudder to think what the withdrawal symptoms would be like for public spending and the country's finances if something were to go wrong.

We know that half of all corporation tax paid in 2025 was from only three firms. This is the stamp duty of the 2020s. The way in which these moneys landed in the national accounts is, by some measure, less connected to the real economy than even the construction madness of the 2000s was. The risks are clear. The estimate of transitory receipts is €22.9 billion for 2027. We should think about that. We are funding permanent spending here. We will also end up borrowing by the end of the decade to put money into the savings funds. The Labour Party supports the savings funds and it is the only Opposition party to have done so, but of course we have no real clue where bond yields will be at the end of the decade. This is a risky strategy when borrowing to save.

Time and again, the warnings continue to be ignored and, at some point, if we keep going in this direction, the price, like the last time, will be paid not by the supporters of this Government who will benefit from capital gains tax, CGT, and inheritance tax cuts but by the people who do not, namely the people with few assets beyond their own home, if they have a home at all, and who rely on public services and not the private market for health and education services. Those who will benefit will be insulated; they always are. They were the last time and they will be again.

The pace of spending growth is higher here than in peer countries but with the underlying balance in deficit. We are paying for increased spending with cash that might not be around in a few years. Rest assured that what I propose is not a prescription to arrest the necessary investment in services we need and that have suffered over many years from underinvestment. Rather, it is a call to diversify and deepen our sources of tax revenue to fund the State we need and to service this economy and rapidly changing society. Classically, any economist will tell you that the time to do this is when the economy is doing well and, when tax revenues are buoyant. That is when you broaden the tax base and make the changes we ought to be making.

I wish to say to the Tánaiste in his absence that I was dismayed when he said the following to the Business Post in his post-budget interview with it two weeks ago: "I don't have any immediate plans to broaden the tax base." A comment like that from a Minister for Finance is the height of irresponsibility and recklessness, knowing full well, as he does, the vulnerabilities involved in the public finances in Ireland. It is a sign of the absolute intellectual poverty at the heart of the Irish political system. The fact is that we have a Government that has never met a tax it did not want to introduce, and some in opposition have never met a tax they did not want to cut.

I accuse the Government of dishonest budgeting, and I stand over that. We saw it, as others said earlier, with the deliberate underfunding of the education budget last year and the imposition of levies in various Departments this year to pay for that. We see it in the consistent lowballing from Ministers, who will come in here routinely, on a rinse-and-repeat basis, towards the back end of every year and seek Supplementary Estimates to cover their tracks and make up for their mistakes. Those Supplementary Estimates added up to an average of €2 billion per year over the last few years. That cannot continue. We need to stop the dishonest budgeting and underfunding and be honest and realistic about what it costs to run quality public services in this country.

I said in my budget response that it is about time we had an honest debate in this Chamber, or in the people's Parliament, about tax and spending and what these involve. The budget did not represent that honest conversation, debate, discussion or dialogue, and this Bill does not represent it either.

When we talk about dishonest budgeting, we should just take a look at the tax package contained in the budget and in this Finance Bill. The full-year cost is not €1.6 billion but €2.2 billion if we include, for example, the excise cuts, the carbon cuts and so on that are funded from the surplus. This is the kind of accounting that would make Manchester City blush. What is more, the Government has only managed to raise over €200 million in additional tax revenue. The idea of extracting €200 million from the bank levy and a few bob on cigarettes and vapes is hardly novel or revolutionary. Again, it suggests a poverty of thinking at the heart of the Government and a poverty of ambition for this country. As the saying goes, "I hope it stays well for you", because there are risks. Those risks are simply not being taken into account.

It is beyond time that the Government took the report of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare seriously. The perpetual ghosting of the commission and its recommendations is tantamount to this Government's "[we] have had enough of experts" moment.

The commission showed that there is a menu of revenue-raising options which would have no impact on the productive enterprise economy, to the tune of about €13 billion. That menu of options could be implemented to broaden, deepen and widen the tax space to address the vulnerabilities we all know about. The Minister and his colleagues need to take a closer look at those recommendations.

It would also be useful, as the Committee on Budgetary Oversight recommended in its pre-budget report, for the Government to finally produce, some four years on, an assessment on the report of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare and identify the areas in that report it is considering implementing and introducing. To date, all the Government has done is ignore it. Just as it ignored the warnings of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, it ignores the expert Commission on Taxation and Welfare. This is neither sustainable nor responsible.

I note the report of both the Department of Finance and the ESRI on a wealth tax. It is a report on which I hope we can have a comprehensive debate in this House. Believe it or not, some four years after the publication of the report of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare, we still have not had a full debate on it in this House. The Government is running away from it. I have been calling for such a debate, and I get the impression that some on this side of the House do not want to have it either.

On the subject of broadening the tax base and wealth taxes, the reduction in inheritance tax and CGT in this Bill makes no sense to me. Inheritance tax is the definition of a minority sport. I note the recent comments from Professor Barra Roantree, outlining that just one in ten of us will ever receive an inheritance that will attract the attention of the taxman. The issue of inheritance tax attracts an outsized proportion of media and political attention, mostly from people in this House on the political right. I understand how some people feel about this. I understand it is an issue that is personal to many people. I get that. I am not callous. However, it is not the biggest issue of social equity facing us in this House. It is not the biggest issue of social equity, fairness or economic justice facing anyone in this country, quite frankly. It has to be said that to inherit a sum of money or assets is a privilege in itself, and it should be taxed as such. I am not sure what evidence-based case can be made for the changes proposed in this Bill beyond the thresholds keeping pace with asset inflation. In the end, this is the transfer of close to €50 million next year from one group of taxpayers to another. This has not received sufficient interrogation.

On the CGT changes, I also advise the Minister to proceed with caution. This seems to me to be nothing more than an ideological change. There is no sign in the market of any issues with the selling of assets and so forth. We know that the market is robust, so what behaviour is this proposal trying to change or promote? If there is ever a case for any form of cuts to CGT, there is an arguable one to be made when business activity is low and the Government needs to boost it. This, however, seems to be a sop. There is no evidential basis for it. Looking at this change and the inheritance tax changes, it is fair to say that there is a certain profile of voter who will benefit from this above all else. In fact, there is a certain profile of voter who will benefit from both changes. It is not the people who get up early in the morning – to use the hackneyed Fine Gael phrase of lore – but, rather, the people who can afford a bloody good lie-in. These are the people who, proportionally, may have done the best from this month’s budget. They have, once again, found themselves in the winners' enclosure.

Turning to the income tax changes proposed in this Bill, we were told by the Tánaiste in the run-up to the budget that we would have a workers' budget, but it was nothing of a sort. I agree with Owen Reidy, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, that the budget tax package contained in this Finance Bill was a half-hearted apology for last year's deliberate gaslighting of PAYE workers. The seeds of much of the discontent felt now go back to last year’s notorious decision imposed on this House and the Government by the now Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Deputy Harris, to lash out over €700 million to the hospitality sector at the expense of tax adjustments for working people. This was an ill-conceived decision and it will come back to haunt the Government parties.

What also fed into this was last April’s protests that closed the country down. We know the Government made the decision to, essentially, sign the cheque for those who brought the country to a standstill while, at the same time, telling public sector workers, whose collective bargaining agreement - the national pay agreement - expired in June, that they and their trade unions, the people who play by the rules, should go to the back of the queue. We know there was an eleventh-hour opportunity represented by the budget to try to shift the dial and make a last-minute effort to try to avoid last Wednesday’s eminently avoidable dispute. Working people, however, took one look at the budget and rightly decided that it was not for them. For nurses on €50,000, they will have about €750 more in their purse next year. A clerical officer in Louth County Council who is just starting out will have next to nothing at the rate of pay he or she enjoys.

The Tánaiste, with a straight face, tried to tell people that this was a workers' budget against the backdrop of the performative crap from Fine Gael about whether they were going to accept the Low Pay Commission’s recommendation on increases to the national minimum wage next year. We have a Government that has decided to bury the ambition that this country should have for all working people to have a living wage. That is absolutely astonishing. What we should be doing - we will propose this by way of amendments on Committee Stage - is automatically indexing PAYE tax bands and credits to take into account wage inflation, as they do in many other rich countries across the European Union, as well as indexing social welfare rates in order to take those issues off the table every year. Then, at future budgets when we would be debating the finance Bill or the social welfare Bill, it would allow us to discuss real politics and real bread-and-butter issues about how we tax and spend. That is a debate that we cannot seem to have in this country, however.

It is extraordinary that the Government has decided not to impose a windfall tax on the supernormal profits of energy companies. We know the template is available. It was used a short number of years ago. The story of this budget will be the absence of the kinds of energy credits that we in the Labour Party have been proposing for the 1.2 million households with incomes of less than €80,000. If we had the ambition to do it, they could qualify for an energy credit that would help them through what is going to be a difficult winter. That is markedly absent from this budget. It would come at no expense to the Exchequer. Supernormal profits are being posted by the energy companies not through their own genius but, rather, as a result of international circumstances. A case can be made for such a tax. We do not need to wait for the European Commission or anyone else to tell us that we can do it; it is within the power of the Tánaiste. I ask him to reflect on that ahead of Committee Stage of the Finance Bill.

In the short period of time remaining, I will draw attention to some of the issues that will undoubtedly arise from the derelict sites tax. I have campaigned for this for years. It is important that the Revenue Commissioners collect the derelict sites tax. We know that local authorities are finding that derelict sites levies are being routinely ignored by those who are captured by it. There are issues in this regard, however. There is a resourcing issue for local authorities. They will require additional staff to be able to manage this. There are also two different definitions of dereliction, one in this Bill and another in the Derelict Sites Act 1990. That must be addressed.

We need to find a way to ring-fence the resources that local authorities will be managing as a result of this levy. They get the levy now, while Revenue will be sending the revenue back through the derelict sites tax to central Exchequer funds. A way ought to be found to ensure that the resources collected will go right back to the local authorities. One way of doing that would be, for example, to increase the block grant by the equivalent amount of the derelict sites tax and send that right back to the local authorities. That is an area I hope we can address on Committee Stage.

Finally, I will briefly touch on the Tánaiste's savings account scheme.

One thing that has not been looked at yet and ought to be looked at on Committee Stage - I would like to hear from the Tánaiste on this - is the issue of annual management charges. If it is the case that some of the same providers who are providing pensions and so on across the country will be charging the same forms of annual management charges, that will cause real difficulty in terms of take-up of the scheme.

I want to speak specifically about home support services, which some people call home help or home care. In budget 2027, €1.043 billion was allocated to this, which is a very large sum of money. It is up on 2026 and 2025. Indeed, it goes up every single year. This provides for 28.5 million hours of home support, which sounds fantastic. There is plenty of money allocated to it but the reality is that year on year, there are issues. Different Deputies will eventually put down parliamentary questions in 12 months time because a lot of this budget will not get used up. If a family has a loved one coming home from hospital in acute need of support in the home environment, it is nigh on impossible to get someone in the locality who can fulfil those hours. I know of many examples but one that came in last Friday was someone who has been approved for ten hours of home support but can only get 1.5 hours. That person is now questioning whether it was right to come home from hospital in the first place. This happens time and time again. It could be any county but it is particularly felt in rural counties. We just cannot get the workforce. Too often we are accused in government of not pledging enough money to schemes but the opposite is the case here. The money has been pledged but we cannot get the workers. This has consequences for people's quality of life. It can lead to unnecessary stays in nursing homes and to bed blocking because a lot of people feel that they cannot leave the hospital environment because things are not set up at home for them to be supported. An estimated 42,123 acute bed days were lost in the first quarter of this year due to bed blocking, which costs acute hospitals over €20 million each year.

I have written a policy paper on this and have pitched it this evening to colleagues. In the Finance Bill we should be looking at a community care income exemption. Such an exemption exists for people who provide child care. At the moment people can provide child care in their own home and receive an income across a 12-month period of up to €20,000 without having to pay additional income tax. It is incentivising people who ordinarily need to be available in the morning to do the school drop-off and to be back at the school gates in the afternoon to pick up kids. There are four hours during the day when they could fulfil a working role in their community, but at the moment they are disincentivised from doing so. I am pitching the idea that we bring in an income tax exemption that would cater for them.

There are five areas within the remit of the Finance Bill that this could cater for. Again, the template is there already when it comes to child care and I am asking that the same consideration be given to home support. In the context of the Finance Bill, we could first allow qualifying people to earn a tax-free income of €20,000 from approved care work. Second, we could exempt that income from the USC. Third, we could disregard qualifying earnings when calculating the home carer tax credit. Fourth, we could limit the qualifying work to prescribed care organisations. Fifth, we could introduce annual earnings and working hour limits. What this proposal involves is activating a greater workforce - people who are in the community who can fulfil a role in the community. I am referring here to a certain amount of hours. We are not trying to displace people from full-time employment. We are trying to activate more people. We are trying to ensure that people who need home support and home care in their home can get it. I do not want to be here in 12 months time looking at over €1 billion of funding not used up because we could not get enough home carers and home support workers to fulfil those hours. It is an idea that I have pitched to the Taoiseach and to colleagues in the Fianna Fáil Party in the last ten or 15 minutes. I hope the Minister and colleagues, as they prepare and work their way through the Finance Bill, can factor for this because we need to be innovative here. We need to activate a workforce that is currently disincentivised from working at all.

I welcome many of the measures within this Bill, particularly the research and development tax credits. I note that there are provisions here to tighten some of the rules around high net worth individuals making donations, for instance, for sporting purposes. There is an anomaly that exists, almost at the other end of the scale, if somebody chooses to donate a piece of land to a sporting or cultural organisation. If someone donates a piece of land to the State, a local authority, a university or certain charities or cultural organisations, they will be exempt from CGT, but if they donate it to a sporting body or certain other cultural organisations, it will be assessed at the notional market value of the land and subject to CGT. Let us say I have a field that I want to donate for a peppercorn rent to my local soccer club or GAA club. I know of instances of this. If I donate that land, which is valued at €100,000, I will then be subject to the current rate of CGT of 33%, which is a bill of €33,000 or the new rate of 31%, which is a bill of €31,000. This does not incentivise the donation of land for sporting purposes or for certain cultural organisations. If I wanted to donate land to a university for its sports club, for instance, I would not be subject to CGT but if I wanted to donate it to a sports club down the road, I could be subject to CGT. In the context of some of the changes that are happening here around high net worth individuals - I understand why that is being done - I am asking that consideration be given to being able to support community facilities. If an individual within any of our communities wants to make a donation of land, he or she should not be subjected to a financial penalty for doing that. I appreciate that there are rules and restrictions that may be put in place but it is something I have raised previously with the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance. I ask that the Minister of State, in his response, would provide clarity as to why the matter is not being considered or if, on Committee Stage, it could be examined in detail.

I want to make a final comment in response to Deputy Nash. I do not think there should be any apology from this side of the House for saying that when people work hard, they should be in a position to get some of their taxes returned. If people work hard, they are entitled to be able to choose how to spend their own money. I was disappointed with the budget last year. We did not sufficiently protect workers in terms of the tax reliefs that were given. I was happy that we were able to do some more this year. In the context of future budgets we need to protect low- and middle-income workers further, which means addressing issues around the USC. However, I make no apologies for saying that we need to invest in services but at the same time, we have to ensure that it pays to work and that we reward people who choose to go to work.

To follow on from a point made by Deputy Byrne, the people who have probably worked the hardest and have been ignored by the budget are the people from other generations. They are elderly now. Many are living alone but some are still together as couples. They have been abandoned by a lot of the budgets. They worked hard and they knew what hard work was. They now want from the State some form of recognition in terms of their pensions and other entitlements because they still have a desire to live well and have a decent quality of life. I do not know how many of the elderly and those who are retired actually exist on some of the payments they are in receipt of. The payments have not kept pace with the serious cost-of-living issues that are now faced by those in that category.

One might also say that the people who work for themselves, in family-run businesses, have not been looked after well by the State for a long time. It was always the case that this sector, employing almost 1 million people at one stage, would be understood and be given the opportunity to remain in business. Down through the years they would have made an argument around commercial rates having no regard for the profitability of the business and around businesses having to pay the commercial rates continually. The commercial rates system is completely and utterly out of date. No Government has an appetite to deal with it, even though it is cited as the single thing that people in business are absolutely annoyed about. Likewise with insurance costs - be they for transport, households or public liability - the Oireachtas finance committee detailed very strongly in a report the reforms that are needed.

However, they did not happen, and all of that work went to one side.

It is the same way with energy bills. We can take any business that has closed down in any of the shopping streets throughout our communities and they will tell us the same story, which is a story of neglect of their input into a local community. It is neglect in the Government's understanding of where they are in supporting communities and in creating local employment. That is why more and more of those businesses are closing. We are saying let us have a derelict property tax. That is fine, but we are creating the dereliction ourselves because we are not understanding what is required in a local community and on a local high street. Our answer as a Government is that there are too many of them in it, so we will tax the site itself. That is causing further problems for the business that closed in the first place. It does not make any sense whatsoever.

It is similar to the case I made last week for foster carers. They do a massive job for the country at great cost to their own families, yet none of the reforms they identified have been acted upon. There is just lip service. There is no actual acknowledgement. We have the elderly being abandoned, small businesses being abandoned and all of us are talking about the big profits from the big digital companies. Will they be there forever, or will we just take those profits and not support a society that we should have a vision for? If we want the country to be in a certain place and in a certain way then we have to make plans for that and we have to structure our tax regime to reflect what we are trying to achieve. The whole system seems to be top heavy with bureaucracy and red tape and no real appetite to deal with it. The Government has put billions of euro into the different Departments. It should make sure it gets value for money and not be afraid of reform.

Our universities are teetering on a cliff edge, and this Government cannot continue to ignore the warning signs. For years, the Government and its predecessors have presided over chronic underfunding of higher education and as a result of this, institutions are expected to do more for less. Students are paying the price, and our higher education system is being pushed towards breaking point. State funding for students is now 34% lower than it was in 2008. Let us think about that. Student numbers have soared. Operating costs have surged, expectations on our universities have grown and yet funding has failed to keep pace. The Government's response is a paltry €10 million in additional core funding against a crisis estimated by the Irish Universities Association to exceed €250 million. That is a drop in the ocean and a failure to acknowledge the magnitude of the problem, never mind address it.

In 2022, a commitment was made to provide €25 million annually towards closing that funding gap. What has happened to that commitment? There seems to be no ambition and none of the investment our students were promised. Resourcefulness, which our universities are having to put up with, cannot substitute for a properly funded system. The student accommodation crisis is one of the biggest barriers facing students, and students are being priced out, forced into long commutes or left wondering if they can afford to attend university at all. Rhe new student accommodation strategy proposes handing public land to private investors while student unions raise serious concerns about this and universities question whether these plans are even feasible without Government funding. Private investors are all about making money. That is what they do, so why should public land be handed over to build student accommodation that may not even be affordable to those who need it? How many more students must struggle before higher education is treated as a public good rather than a budgetary afterthought? It is time to end the broken promises, stop kicking the can down the road and properly fund our universities and our students. Where is the promise of abolishing student fees? Students are now paying more in fees than they were when the promise to abolish fees was first made. Is it any wonder that slogan, "We have the dearest free education in the world", resonates with so many?

Newly qualified nurses and midwives cannot get contracts. In the mid-west we have a hospital that has few elective surgeries taking place. They do not have the capacity. They do not have the staffing, and this hospital serves more than 400,000 people. Suspending necessary surgeries is not only outrageous but is dangerous. We are spending millions of euro on agency staff yet newly qualified nurses and midwives cannot get contracts. The HSE in the mid-west has not received any additional staff since June. The issue of overcrowding and capacity remains a significant concern for staff and patients. With winter approaching, there is also real concern for patient and staff safety. We are seeing trolley numbers rising and this is an issue that both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael failed to take any meaningful action on. The people in the mid-west who have lost family members will attest to that. When will we see a lifting of the recruitment cap with proper investment in staff? When will we see the recommendations from the HIQA report, presented more than a year ago, implemented? There seems to be no urgency in this. We do not even have a sexual assault treatment unit in the mid-west because we cannot get staff for it. That is deplorable. The people of north and west Clare are being put at risk because their nearest emergency department is too far from where they live. When will the people of Clare and the mid-west have the health services they depend on and deserve? We need action in the mid-west. We do not need to see another year where patient and staff lives are put at risk.

I address the question of vacancy and dereliction and the derelict properties tax. This tax has now been pushed out for almost another two years until June 2028. That is much too long and should be shortened during the passage of the legislation. There may of course be a case for a single property owner in difficult circumstances but there is no case to be made for large property owners, some with multiple derelict properties across the country. Such a property is Market Place, Clonmel, which has been largely vacant and derelict for more than ten years. It has been described as a ghost town. Vacancy and dereliction accelerated after the closure of SuperValu in 2016, but it was the subject of a distressed auction as far back as 2012. Big developers and property owners must not be allowed to sit on this property and properties like it a minute longer and it should be subject to the 7% tax immediately on the passing of this legislation. The main streets of all our towns across the country have high vacancy rates. Clonmel is no exception with a vacancy rate of 18.8%, which is above the national average of 14.5% but lower than many other towns of its size across the country. The living city initiative, a tax incentive scheme aimed at refurbishing vacant properties, was originally introduced for Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Limerick and Galway. The updated scheme introduced in budget 2026 extended that to some larger towns but Clonmel was excluded. I ask the Minister to amend the scheme during the passage of the legislation to include Clonmel. Another scheme aimed at tackling vacancy is the over the shop scheme and that should also be revised. Currently, only individuals can apply for support under this scheme. However, many town centre shops are owned by long established small family companies, effectively micro companies. These small companies are not eligible for support. This change would give the scheme a significant impact on town centres across the country.

The Bill has dozens of measures to amend the Taxes Consolidation Act, the cumulation of finance Bills for years and years. When we look at it in the round of what this budget has done and how it adds to the existing situation in this country, it primarily consolidates. It is also well-named. What the Taxes Consolidation Act does is consolidate the gross inequality in the distribution of wealth and income in this country. Every year it either consolidates it as it is or worsens the inequality in the distribution of wealth and income.

What is in it is one thing. I will talk a little about that, and what is not in it or what it fails to change to address the accumulation of wealth and income inequality that previous Finance Bills have built into the system.

Taking this year - maybe following on from Deputy McGettigan as I am on the same committee for further education as her - I will contrast three of the big tax giveaways in the budget: the research and development tax credit extension, which is worth €118 million, the capital gains tax changes worth €186 million and the investment in corporate trades tax change which is worth €58 million. Those three measures are worth €354 million in total. That will only benefit a tiny group, not ordinary workers but capitalists. These are people who make money by investing the already vast amount they have and then the money makes money. That is, of course, what our tax system does. It reinforces that, allowing people who already have vast amounts of wealth and money to make more money off the vast amount of wealth and money that they have. This will add to that. That figure, if you contrast it, would also fill the gap mentioned by Deputy McGettigan. The funding gap for further and higher education, according to the Association of Irish Universities, is €360 million. We have seen the amount of investment per student in third level and higher education drop by more than 30%. This is the amount of investment going into the individual students in our further and higher education system who are our future. They are the people who will make better in this country. We have decided to give the money that could close that funding gap to the owners of the tech companies, the investors in corporate trades, and people who have large amounts of commercial property and commercial assets. That is the choice the Government has made - €360 million to the capitalists or €360 million to close the gap in further and higher education. I know what I think is the priority and what I think we would find was that of the vast majority of people in this country. If asked which choice they would prefer, we can safely say that most of our students and most of those working in further and higher education and, I suspect, probably most people would say, "Let us go for funding third level and further education properly", instead of letting the investment per student collapse to the point it has, which has massively detrimental effects.

Forget about us radical socialists or revolutionary socialists who want to turn the system upside down, which, by the way, we do. Even the mainstream economists are worried about our over dependence on foreign direct investment, and that we are vulnerable because of it, because too much of our tax revenue is now reliant on a tiny group of companies who we have decided to give more money too in the previous budget.

While I mention the research and development tax credit that would close the funding gap in further and higher education, that €118 million extra they are getting is on top of the €976 million they already get annually. It is now over €1 billion a year in just one tax relief, overwhelmingly going to companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Google and Meta, which I will mention incidentally are also the people who are using what soon will be 30% of our electricity and driving up all our electricity bills. To mention a few of their headline Irish profits, Apple's are €34 billion; Microsoft, €47 billion; Google, €4.5 billion; and Meta, €2.9 billion, but apparently, they need a tax break. They need even more incentives. We are increasing our reliance on them when what we should be doing is diversifying our economy and developing a sustainable economy that will not be dependent on these people by investing in our students in further and higher education. We are going to give them another tax handout on top of the massive tax handouts they are getting.

I will make another couple of comparisons. A total of 10,000 PhD researchers are going to be protesting tomorrow outside the gates of the Dáil. The vast majority of them are on stipends of €25,000 a year or less, working, teaching and doing research in our third level and higher level institutions for less than the minimum wage. It is shocking, when we think of the obscene salaries of the CEOs of the companies I am talking about. If, however, we were to give them a stipend of the grand total of €30,000 a year, which is not exactly a lot of money, that would cost €330 million or approximately the same amount as the Government gave away in tax breaks to the capitalists in the previous budget, those who are already making obscene profits and beneficiaries of massive tax breaks every year. The sheer scale of the tax breaks is unbelievable.

Here is another one relief that has built up as well. I submit these questions every year and sometimes the figures of what certain minimum tax measures being imposed on the capitalists might surprise me. Here is one that has been costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office - a financial transaction tax, FTT, which exists in quite a few other countries. Just so people know how minimal it is, an FTT would be a 0.1% tax on the trading in shares and a 0.01% on the trading in derivatives - an infinitesimal tax on those who are not going out to work hard early in the morning but who are benefiting from that fact that they can trade shares and derivatives on their computers because they are already millionaires and multimillionaires making money off money, which, by the way, is not a victimless crime because when these guys' shares go up in value, that money is coming from the workers' pockets.

If we put a financial transaction tax of 0.1% on the trading of shares, the Parliamentary Budget Office tells us that would raise €6.5 billion in extra tax revenue in one year. People should think about that figure in the context of the public sector strikes and the demands workers are making for pay increases. Let us remind ourselves what the workers got in the budget in USC and income tax changes. They got an increase of between 0.5% and maybe 1.5% in their net income. It was miserable, when they have lost, according to the public sector unions, approximately 5%, another 2% or 3% this year because of inflation and not getting a pay agreement, and what they are going to lose in the next year because of projected inflation. To give every single public sector worker in the country 10% to compensate for lost income as a result of the cost-of-living crisis inflation would cost €3.1 billion or half of an FTT, of that tiny amount on those who speculate in shares and derivatives, so we would have another €3 billion left over to do something else. Does the House know what we could do with the other €3 billion? We have also costed that.

We could put price controls on petrol, diesel, home heating oil, electricity and gas to bring them back to the levels they were at before the inflation crisis started. Therefore, for a 0.1% tax on the trading of shares by capitalists in this country, we could give every single public sector worker who was on strike last week a 10% pay increase. We could put price controls on electricity, gas, home heating oil, petrol and diesel to address the energy price hikes that are crippling people to the extent that 500,000 people in this country cannot pay their bills and are going to be afraid to turn on the heating this winter. Some elderly people will die as a result because we get higher mortality rates for elderly people due to conditions like hypothermia during the winter. For a little tax on the capitalists who speculate in shares and derivatives, we could solve all of those problems for the hundreds of thousands of workers and vulnerable people being crucified by the companies that the Government has chosen to give the money away to, and, by the way, that are also helping to drive up energy prices in the first place because they are hoovering up all of our electricity. That is the consolidated impact of the various tax changes the Government has made over many years, and which it is building on this year to give away more money to those who already have it in tax breaks on their wealth and their profits. I find it sickening.

Regarding the wealth tax that was mentioned, even the ESRI is now talking about this. It is something we have been advocating for for many years. If we put a 2% tax on the wealth that people have from €3 million up to €50 million, a 3% tax on wealth between €50 million and €1 billion and a 5% tax on wealth over €1 billion, that would raise €9 billion. That is multiples of what I have just talked about. Imagine what we could do with that. This is a tax on those who already have vast amounts of wealth. They would not even feel it. However, it would make a huge difference to working people who are struggling to pay their bills and extortionate rents or house prices and to the many young people who are just deciding they cannot afford this and are going to leave. Some 68% of young people are considering leaving the country because it is too expensive. A relatively minimal tax on the wealth of the multimillionaires and billionaires in this country could produce billions of euro that would help resolve so many of the problems we face in our society.

Section 481, the film tax credit, is not in the Bill this year. However, I always raise it at this time of the year because there have been successive changes to the section 481 film tax credit. Like all of these tax expenditures, it continues to be a giveaway. They are a sort of shadow budget that is not really talked about because these tax credits were brought in in previous budgets. Estimates vary as to their worth, but the tax expenditures of various kinds given away to various sectors are at least €20 billion a year, although they are not even talked about. They are just from previous budgets - they are tax loopholes.

The one that I have a particular interest in is now worth over €100 million a year to the film industry in this country. By the way, I want to see investment in the film industry, and I think it is right that our tax system is used to try to support the development of things like the film industry. What I find shocking and unacceptable is that, year in, year out, when it is raised by those who work in film, like actors, performers, directors and the film crew who work behind the cameras, it is said that the tax credit worth €100 million and various other handouts that come from other areas of public funding to the film industry are supposed to be conditional on the provision of quality employment and training. At a minimum, that should mean things like the application of fixed-term workers legislation or the application of European directives on copyright for the royalties that actors and performers are supposed to derive from their performances but are taken from them - robbed from them, in my opinion - by film producers who are recipients of the tax giveaway in the film tax credit. We give the film tax credit to the film producers, but they refuse to comply with their obligations under that tax credit to provide quality employment and training, the royalties they should be giving to the actors and performers, and the vindication of the rights of the film crew who work on those film productions but never accumulate rights as workers. The Government should do something about that. It should crack the whip. It should stop giving money to people who refuse to comply with the law or vindicate the rights of actors, performers and film crew.

I dtús báire, cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille. Nuair atá muid ag féachaint ar an mbuiséad, cé go raibh fadhbanna ann agus go raibh daoine ag gearán faoi, is buiséad iontach é. Is buiséad den scoth é. Rinne muid a lán rudaí do mhuintir na hÉireann sa bhuiséad seo. Caithfidh muid féachaint air agus a rá go soiléir go bhfuil sárobair déanta ag an Rialtas, cé go bhfuil fadhbanna fós ann agus nach bhfuil gach rud déanta againn fós.

Bhí mé ag léamh an Bhille, agus is doiciméad mór atá ann. Tá sé ar fáil i mBéarla amháin, áfach. Go bhfios dom, níl aon Bhille airgeadais ar fáil againn trí Ghaeilge. Tuigim é sin. B’fhéidir go mbeidh athrú ann i rith an phróisis agus an Bille seo ag dul trí Thithe an Oireachtais. B’fhéidir go bhfuil obair mhór aistriúcháin i gceist le doiciméad chomh mór seo. Ag an am céanna, áfach, má fheiceann muid ar an Acht Airgeadais, 2025, níl aon leagan Gaeilge den Acht sin. Nil na hAchtanna céanna ó 2024 ná 2023 ar fáil i nGaeilge ach oiread. Bíonn muid ag labhairt an t-am ar fad sa Teach seo faoin teanga náisiúnta agus ár dteanga dhúchais agus araile, ach ní bhíonn na doiciméid thábhachtacha seo ar fáil trí Ghaeilge. Ag tosú leis an mbuiséad agus leis an mBille seo, ba cheart go mbeadh siad ar fáil trí Ghaeilge. Ba cheart go mbeadh an Bille seo agus na hAchtanna a luaigh mé ar fáil do mhuintir na Gaeltachta le léamh agus le tuiscint trí Ghaeilge. Cuireann sé sin díomá orm. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil obair ag baint leis ach, ag an am céanna, is obair thábhachtach í. Ba cheart dúinn í a dhéanamh. Bíonn daoine ag obair sna Ranna Rialtais agus i dTithe an Oireachtais a bhíonn in ann an t-aistriúchán sin a dhéanamh. Is cinnte go bhfuil muid in ann é a dhéanamh, agus ba cheart go ndéanfaí é.

This is good legislation. It does a lot of good things for people in Ireland, and it takes a step forward. That does not mean it is perfect or not worthy of criticism in some respects, and I want to go through a couple of things. The first point is really a drafting point that I make quite often. This Bill, which is enormous, is largely illegible to ordinary people. If a citizen picks up this Bill, first, he or she cannot read it without reference to myriad other pieces of legislation that went before it. If I can use an example, section 4, which is the rent tax credit section, is entitled “Amendment of section 473B of Principal Act (rent tax credit)”. In order to properly understand what section 4 of this Finance Bill does, we have to first go back to the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 and look at section 473B of that. However, when we go back to section 473B, that in itself is an amendment. Therefore, it is impossible to read the contents of the Finance Bill, or the Finance Act when it becomes that, without reference to significant other pieces of legislation. The point I make all the time is that in 1997, we managed to pass the Taxes Consolidation Act.

On that occasion, although I am sure it was a mammoth piece of work, all of the tax legislation came together in one document. A citizen in 1997 who picked up the Taxes Consolidation Act and read it, because they surely had nothing better to do, could actually read and understand what it said. You cannot do that with modern legislation, and it is true of legislation across these Houses that is being passed all the time. If one reads section 4(1), it states:

Section 473B of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1), in the definition of “specified amount”—

(i) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “€11,500” for “€10,000”, and

(ii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “€5,750” for “€5,000”,

We know what that means because it is a relatively straightforward section, but actually reading it in isolation, you have no idea what it means. It is a real shame that we cannot get ourselves together in this House to pass consolidated legislation every year because there are only small changes from one Act to the next, and it should be within the capacity of these Houses to change them.

There are a couple of things in this Bill that are absolutely worthy of mention. I am broadly in favour of it. I welcome the provisions that it puts in place. One of the things that I had called for a couple of weeks ago was provision to be made for the shingles vaccine to be made available free of charge, particularly for vulnerable people over 65 who are immunocompromised. I welcome the fact that it was announced as part of the budget process that the Bill would make provision for the shingles vaccine, which is incredibly expensive for an individual, to be covered under the scheme. I know that it will start with immunocompromised patients. That is really good. The possibility of contracting shingles is not just incredibly painful and uncomfortable for the patients involved, but will also seriously compromise their ability to live their lives for a period when they are suffering from shingles. I welcome that and the work that was done on that by my colleague, Deputy Colm Burke, in the health committee.

HVO, or hydro-treated vegetable oil, is another issue. It is a perfectly adequate substitute for diesel motor oil, the thing that we put in our diesel cars, but it produces 90% less carbon. It does not produce soot, carbon monoxide or nitrous oxides the way diesel does. It is a progressive, sustainable fuel, yet a litre of HVO costs exactly the same as a litre of diesel. I do not understand why we cannot build into this legislation a genuine tax incentive for people who are driving diesel cars to use HVO instead of diesel. It is much better for the air, but it should be better for their pockets as well, and we cannot expect them to do it, and we cannot expect the companies that supply that product to roll it out across the country when there is not the demand for it, when the incentives have not been put in place for it. The last time I put HVO into my car, it was exactly the same price as diesel. Notwithstanding that, I raised this as a Topical Issue in the House previously, and I was told that the carbon tax would be the difference, in that it would not apply to HVO because HVO was a biofuel, yet there it is at the pumps and it is exactly the same price. It is not beyond us to create an incentive for something that we know is good for the environment as well as for vehicles. There is no need for new infrastructure, modification of vehicles or anything like that.

Section 17 of the Bill deals with the help to buy scheme. I make the same criticism of how it is drafted. It amends section 477C of the principal Act and is totally illegible in the absence of section 477C and the other amending legislation that brought us to that in the 1997 Act. The help to buy scheme is obviously important and I welcome it. It is capped at €500,000. I understand why that is, because the purpose of the help to buy scheme is not to provide help for people to buy big, expensive houses around the country. I represent the constituency of Dún Laoghaire. I do not believe there is a family home in my constituency for less than €500,000. I hear people in this House saying "pity about you" and so on, but pity about the young people who were born and grew up in Dún Laoghaire and want to live near their parents and their support networks. The cost of property is keeping them out, yet the help to buy scheme that we put in place to help first-time buyers, particularly all over the country, is not available in Dún Laoghaire. People in Dún Laoghaire cannot use it, and it is a real blind spot here in the legislation that we do not recognise the documented, statistical fact that in certain areas of the country like Dún Laoghaire, property prices are higher. That should be recognised in many ways, but the obvious one is in the help to buy scheme, to acknowledge the fact that we need to put more resources into it in places like Dún Laoghaire than places where property prices are lower. I regret that section 17 makes no provision whatsoever for the people I represent in Dún Laoghaire. It is unfortunate and a missed opportunity.

Childcare is important and I welcome that we are introducing the cap of €550. I welcome the progress that has been made in that respect, bringing it down from over €700. We are on the way, I hope, to €200, as promised by multiple parties in this House during the last general election. We need to make more progress but I welcome this particular step along the journey. What about parents in band F centres who do not benefit from this cap? We have a problem in Dún Laoghaire and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown generally where there are more and more centres - some 25% of childcare providers - that are outside the scheme. We need to support all families, not just families who happen to live near a childcare facility that is within the scheme. We need to look at this very carefully. I have raised this time and again. If we are not designing a scheme that actually works for the childcare providers, we are not going to achieve the promise that we made to the voters of Ireland to provide childcare for them at reasonable rates.

I welcome the changes relating to capital acquisitions tax. They are something I have been asking for. It is important and disproportionately affects people in my constituency because of the cost of houses. Often, children whose parents die cannot assume the family home because of the tax burden that comes with it, particularly if they are only children. The increase from €400,000 to €420,000 in the group A increase is welcome progress. We were at €500,000 before the crash. Property prices are back to where they were at that time and above, so let us get back up to where they were then. That is group A, and that ignores the fact that for group B and group C, although there are also increases, there is still significant discrimination against people who do not have children. This is something that other Members here have raised before. I have raised it. There is a gap in the provision if there is to be a discount in capital acquisitions tax for people who are close to the person who has died. That person worked and paid for the property with a taxed income, and if they pass it on to somebody, we recognise that there are times that that is appropriate and we afford a reduction in the case of groups A and B. Although we have changed the threshold for group C, there is discrimination against people who, for whatever reason, do not have children, nieces, nephews or immediate family members to whom they can pass on a property. That is something that we should be looking at in earnest with a view to addressing that disparity in the law.

I have been listening to this debate both today and around the time of the budget, and I listened to the talk about consolidating wealth inequality. It is important to recognise that we have what is widely recognised as one of the most progressive taxation systems in Europe. That should not be ignored. It is good. I heard reference to tax breaks for investors who already had vast sums of money. That is to totally and fundamentally misunderstand, for example, the investment scheme that has been put into this budget. It will allow people - not those with vast sums of money, but much smaller investors - to get on the investment ladder and join that community, which is good for them as individuals, but it is limited to €12,000 per year. It is also good for the country, because we lag way behind Europe in the amount of money that private individuals have invested here, which is therefore money that is actually working for them. That is the misunderstanding in criticising any tax break that might be in it for an investor. What investing is is using your money to actually work for you, whereas Deputy Boyd Barrett appears to think that it is something that is only for the uber-wealthy. That is not true. There is a lot of good here, but there is also a lot more to do, and I hope we will do that next year.

At a time when households across the State face rising costs, budget 2027 was an opportunity for the Government to prioritise the needs of workers and families over the greed of vested interests. In this budget, the Government could have delivered supports to households who most need it through tax measures that put money directly in their pockets, but instead the Government has chosen to prioritise those on the highest incomes. In the weeks before budget 2027, the Tánaiste was flat-out telling everybody that help was on its way, but the reality is that this turned out to be yet another empty promise. In the Finance Bill, the Government has decided that people on the lowest incomes - over 1.5 million workers - should receive the least out of budget 2027 while the likes of the banks, the vulture funds and the big energy companies remain untouched. These vested interests make extraordinary profits off the backs of ordinary Irish people, yet the Government continues to make sure that they are looked after.

This year, the Government has also made sure to look after the CEOs of State companies. This Government has been happy to give CEOs massive pay rises, with the likes of the CEO of Uisce Éireann getting a €118,000 pay rise this year alone. However, the Government is now telling low-income workers to be happy with a €250 increase to their tax credits, which works out at less than €5 a week, which will be gone before they even get it with the rising cost of everyday essentials.

Clearly the Government has its priorities all wrong, but this is the track record of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, and budget 2027 is just another chapter in this record.

I also want to raise the new derelict property tax that has been announced and that will see collection powers transferred to Revenue. While I welcome this aspect of the legislation, I am extremely concerned that this will only apply to population centres of more than 4,000 people. I have raised here with the Tánaiste on multiple occasions the case of the former Shannon Oaks Hotel in Portumna, County Galway. That hotel has been left in a dangerous, derelict condition for the past 15 years. It is not secured. It is a serious safety hazard. It is attracting antisocial behaviour and it is a real eyesore in that village. As it stands, the planning permission the owners had in place to redevelop it has now run out which means there are no plans to redevelop the hotel as it stands. Under the population requirement rules that have been introduced for the derelict property tax, this hotel would be exempt from that tax. That is an outrageous proposition for people in Portumna.

The Government needs to ensure that property owners are penalised and actually held accountable for as long as they allow this building to be left in an appalling and unsafe condition right in the town centre. The local community is fed up with this being allowed to continue indefinitely. We need a derelict property tax with real teeth that is going to tackle property hoarding and incentivise owners to redevelop homes and buildings or, at least, if they are not willing to do that, to move them on to somebody who will. I want to use this opportunity to encourage the Government to engage on this site. The members of Galway County Council have put forward suggestions for acquiring the site to make it safe and to seek out new owners. I ask the Government to examine this and offer any support necessary for the council to deal with this and, hopefully, find a suitable person to redevelop the hotel.

As Deputy Ward said, I think this budget may have been a missed opportunity. To me, it was a missed opportunity. To Independent Ireland, it was a missed opportunity. We put forward many positions that were different from what would be the usual rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul type of budget, and they were not listened to. It could have been a bold budget that looked after young families and was mainly concerned with young people who are thinking of leaving the country. They are leaving in droves out of this country as we speak. Some 68% of them are talking about leaving. It is hard to blame them because they know in a few years' time, following this budget, they will not have a home. They will not be able to afford a home and will not be able to afford to stay here.

Obviously, the details of the budget will come out as we go on. I have concerns that perhaps the Minister of State will be able to clarify. In relation to respite, we had a protest for adults with intellectual disabilities, where a couple of hundred people walked the streets of Bantry on Sunday, fighting for what I see as the basic human right that is respite. Protests took place in Bantry and Skibbereen in west Cork. The funding is not factored into the budget. Funding for staffing is not factored in there. It is not being delivered and these people are suffering. I have told them I have raised this issue in Dáil Éireann and I will continue to raise it on a more frequent basis.

We need to understand that people with intellectual disability are treated appallingly in this country, whether it is in relation to respite or in relation to transport, because they are left at home. They have no voice bar their parents, and their parents are burnt out from being loving and caring carers who have not been looked after by this Government that promised it would deliver a non-means-tested carers payment in the budget. That has not happened again this year. The Government is raising the bands, and I accept that, but it is not good enough. Just because the husband might have two or three extra cows that takes him across the means threshold and they cannot get carer's allowance. They are at home minding a loved one and they still cannot get this funding.

The same is true of housing. If you have an intellectual disability, you are left behind in this country when it comes to housing. You have to fight for everything. That is why the Before We Die campaign was set up by a lot of families of people with intellectual disabilities. It puts extra pressure on them. They are delivering the care service and they are now trying to deliver the service that the Government should have delivered for them and that has not happened.

I want to move on to the budget and how it relates to stem cell treatment. There is €27 million needed for a stem cell unit in Cork University Hospital, and I am not sure whether that is factored into the budget this year. It is very important. There was a big get-together in the audiovisual room recently. I am calling on the Minister for Health to outline where her budget is going to be spent. It cannot always go into the children's hospital here in Dublin. There has to be more spent equally around Ireland, so the rest of the country gets benefits. A campaign for a stem cell unit has been fronted by Mags McCarthy and many more who are desperately trying to get it across the line. It is available in Dublin and Galway, and rightly so, but it should also be available in the south and south-west. We need it in Cork University Hospital, and I would like to know if that is in the budget. The Minister of State might let us know about that.

We know the Government gave Uisce Éireann's CEO €118,000. We are well aware of that nice little pat on the back for God only knows, because I do not know. He is not accountable to anybody in here, bar maybe one or two Ministers, but he certainly is not accountable to the TDs here. We are contacting Uisce Éireann in relation to issues such as the one in Ballydehob, where there is stinking sewage going into the tide, and at Goleen, Rosscarbery and Shannonvale, and we get nothing. We get no response. It is a disgraceful carry-on, and then the Government rewards somebody for that instead of making them accountable and seeing that they deliver.

What about the roads budget in west Cork? It has been absolutely starved of funding for passing bays and for bypasses at Innishannon, Bantry and Bandon. All these are proposed bypasses over the last 20 years and there is no tar laid on the ground. There are plenty of plans. Every year there are a couple of million euro thrown into a plan to top up the other plan. Are there passing bays provided for in the budget? Is there a budget for west Cork other than walkways, cycleways and greenways, which people are not looking for? The majority of people do not want them going through their farm, but they do want proper roadways so they can pass vehicles coming and going in a natural, fair and safe manner, and not have a situation where they are holding onto their steering wheel going into potholes left, right and centre on main arteries going into Cork like the N71.

What about the fishing industry? What is in the budget for the fishing industry? I know we spoke about the farming industry, but the fishing industry is on its knees. Is there a budget set aside for the people who lost their quota? They have not been able to go out fishing for the last six or 12 months in some cases. They have huge trawlers. Those smaller fishermen should be looked after in the budget. We would like to know all that.

I was watching the debate from my office on the monitors. It was interesting to listen to the contribution from Deputy Boyd Barrett, in particular about Apple, which is in my constituency and employs over 6,500 people. He mentioned EMC in Ballincollig, which is also in my constituency. He mentioned Dairygold and a number of companies that operate in Little Island. Again, they are all big employers that operate in my constituency. To listen to him vilifying international companies, there are times when I am in the Chamber that I often think of people buying tickets to the Gaiety Theatre who could come to sit in the Visitors Gallery and have the entertainment for free.

What went on over there in the socialist party and their grouping was nothing short of a pantomime performance. To say that we do not need these companies such as Apple, employing 6,500 people, or EMC, ignores the sheer number of people dependent on those businesses. There are 200,000 jobs in this country from foreign direct investment alone and there are an additional 150,000 jobs that come with them. Does Deputy Boyd Barrett ever worry or think about the fact that the guy who works in Apple, who is my constituent, comes back and buys his coffee in Cork North-Central, buys his shopping in the local shop, goes out and has his few pints on a Friday night in the local pub and spends his money locally in the economy?

Deputy Boyd Barrett talks with great ambition about encompassing diversity and the rest of it on a regular basis in this House, but he forgets about the fact that 95 languages are spoken in Apple every day on the northside of Cork city. That is something I am immensely proud of. I am immensely proud of the foreign direct investment we have been able to attract into Cork North-Central, and of the hard work done by various TDs over the years to get that investment. They talk about these big companies and the profits they are making but forget about the number of Irish people they are employing and the number of businesses that are dependent on those foreign direct investment companies. We should not be letting people get away with that, because it is a pantomime.

There are things I want to welcome in the budget. One, which was mentioned earlier, is the shingles vaccine. That is very welcome. I remember on one of my first days in this House I mentioned that in a Leaders' Question, and I am delighted to see that somebody listened to me on that side of the House.

Every now and again I have a good idea. Maybe the Government might take on a few more of them over the next couple of weeks.

I am disappointed we have not moved more quickly on GLP-1 medication. It is vitally important. As we look to the next 20 years and what we are spending in this country on medication for diabetes, and on preventative measures for heart disease and the rest of it, we are missing a beat. We are not looking to the next generation. If we made GLP-1 medication more readily available and much cheaper to the general public, we would be looking at a far healthier Ireland in the next 20 years. I ask the Minister of State to consider that in the coming budgets.

I will call out the good things and I will call out the bad things, which I think is being fair with the Minister for State. There are parts of this budget which giveth with one hand and taketh away with the other. There are plans for excise cuts but they only last until 28 February 2027 and after that they come back in, in stages, in February, April, May, and October 2027. We will see an increase in the price of petrol from 50 cent to 74 cent. We will see an increase in diesel from 37 cent to 60 cent per litre by October 2027. The reality for commuters who live in my constituency and in the Minister of State's constituency and use an average of 1,200 litres per year is they will be paying an extra €420 for petrol and diesel. That is the average.

I want to touch on something else that was said in this House regarding the 7% of market value going to Revenue when it comes to derelict properties. I have been banging the drum about derelict properties for the past 18 years when I was on Cork City Council and I welcome this, but I have questions around it. How is the local authority going to take it on? Will moneys be provided to each local authority to employ staff who will be dedicated to the collection of those moneys for derelict properties? I have concerns about the 4,000 plus and we should look at that as well.

This Finance Bill is another example of a Government living in a bubble. The Ministers do not stay awake during the night wondering what bills they can afford to pay this year. This Finance Bill is another ignorant example of ignoring the lives of real people in Ireland. I would like to introduce the Minister of State to some real citizens and I will read out some of the letters that have been sent to me since the budget:

Hi Peadar, I have seen you many times sticking up for the ordinary people and I would like to give you another insight into a young family in 2026. My partner and I have two children on earth. One is four and the other is a newborn child. I recently lost two children to stillbirth and miscarriage. I am on maternity and as such I am trying to give my body some time to recover after years of pregnancy. We do not own a home. We got evicted last year from our rented accommodation, after we lost our child through stillbirth, due to the landlord selling it. We moved into a relation's abandoned house which has no insulation, thick cavity walls and only has had its first kerosene boiler fitted after we moved in. Without kerosene, there is no hot water. We have to buy a drum on a weekly basis just to wash the dishes, which costs us €50 per drum and it lasts for only a few days. A 300 litre buy of kerosene lasts for a few weeks but our house is still cold and I cannot afford to fill it, even after the fuel payment. The roof needs to be fixed and every room needs replacing. It would cost up to €200,000 to do so. We can't get a mortgage, we can't get grants because we don't own the house, and we can't get loans because I was bitten during the recession by college loans, which never amounted to a job.

Our generation has no hope. My daughter realises we have nothing; not even proper floors in some rooms. The owner of the house wants more rent money but we cannot afford it. We live week to week buying groceries and clothes for the children. I do not eat because it costs so much. I drink coffee. I have yogurts and maybe a dinner every day. I closed my seven-year hair business because there was no crèche place for my daughter and I will not be able to return until God knows how long. For now, we live on little money, running out every week in a house that is falling apart, full of mould. I am 40 soon. My partner is 38. Sometimes I can't tell if I'm so stressed or that I've ended up with postnatal depression, trying to survive. I love my children but it's hard to be able to look after them properly. Trying to keep a newborn warm, clean and fed is hard in 2026.

We have been failed by this Government. We did not cause the recession. We are victims to it and we will be paying the price until we retire. Neither of us have careers that will last until retirement. I dread the future for the children of this country. I believe that the Government should put the shoe on the other foot and see how it is for us to live, to see if they could live on social welfare or the minimum wage. It would boost the RTÉ ratings at least. I understand the money has to come from somewhere but while the Government squanders money other people like us would do great things with it. Please don't mention my name.

This is not from the 19th century. This is Ireland under this Government. This is an Irish citizen today. I will read out correspondence from another individual.

I write this email from my bedroom in my parents' home which I share with my two children. Do I work? Yes, I work for the public sector. We are one of those forgotten families of Ireland. I get up at 5 a.m. in the morning to go to work and I am lucky if I get back at 9 p.m. I work hard in the public sector and have two amazing children. I fall into the category of being too rich for social housing and too poor to have a mortgage. Did I mention that my child has autism, which I pay privately for therapies because the Government cannot provide this and does not provide therapies for my child. A family can earn €2,300, get carer's allowance, working family payment and the one parent family payment but I can't because I have to work, because I have to afford the therapies for my child and just to survive the cost-of-living crisis. I do not have the luxury of not working. It is an absolute insult to call this budget one for the working families.

I heard from another family:

I am a 31-year-old homeowner from County Meath, a father of one, soon to be married and I work in the public service. I write to you because I want to express my genuine frustration with the current tax system and the financial pressure being placed on ordinary, hard-working people in this country. Every morning, I leave my house at approximately 5.30 a.m. and travel to the Dublin area, often arriving between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., depending on the traffic. My journey involves going from Meath towards Dundrum and then onto Clondalkin. Along the way I pass through three tolls: two at €2.70 and one on the M50 which I understand is approximately €4.90 for my vehicle. That means I am paying up to €51 a week on tolls. I do not take the tolls on the way home because I simply can't afford them, but if forces me to drive further which means I am burning more diesel. I accept that working comes with expenses and I understand that taxation is necessary to fund public services. However, increasingly I feel that people who get up early in the morning, who work hard and try to provide for their families are being squeezed in every single direction.

This budget confirms the squeeze of middle-income earners. Many people with two incomes coming into the family home are unable to make ends meet because on one side, the Government is engineering a cost-of-living crisis by overtaxing energy. Today, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, put €41 extra on electricity.

Looking at the Second Stage of this Finance (No. 2) Bill, anyone with a smidgeon of social conscience and even a basic understanding of fiscal prudence would say that we are going about things the wrong way. We are considered to be in full employment but the core strategy of this Bill, as I said in previous contributions, is to inject lots of euros into stimulating demand, when we have a choice to actually take on board the repeated warnings of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council.

By pushing ahead with what I would call untargeted tax cuts and short-term similarly untargeted cash boosts, this budget is giving with one hand but inflation will take it back with the other. I suggest that even allowing for the absolute need to give a dig-out to those impacted by fuel increases and price hikes, the real fiscal responsibility at a time when we do have some revenues to spare and we have to help people means acknowledging the bottlenecks in the system. The greatest threat to the cost of living for ordinary families is not necessarily tinkering with the tax bands and saying here is a few extra quid for them, but by tackling the structural deficits in our public infrastructure. Otherwise, we are reusing this term "voodoo economics" coined back in the day during Reagan's time because if a marginal increase in workers' take-home pay is given, from a tax perspective, it is wiped out instantly if they have to pay for private childcare, private healthcare, private assessments of need and private grinds, all because our public services are understaffed and, in many cases, overwhelmed. We are talking about childcare.

People have no choice but to drive and pay high fuel prices because they cannot suddenly switch to an EV if they have a petrol or diesel car, and that is if they have a car. Others will have to get a taxi because in many cases no decent public transport is available. Instead of giving general money to spend, our funding should be used to build long-term economic resilience through services.

As I have mentioned before, in the medium term we have to guard against data centre progression using so much of our capacity, which increases our reliance on gas and pushes up the price even as renewables increase. I have mentioned the significant investment needed to upgrade our grid and be energy self-sufficient and a net exporter, something which has huge revenue potential. That is a multi-annual project and we need to get moving on it now, using windfall receipts, borrowing strategically and partnering to increase capacity and cut costs.

We need to focus on the annual budget side. Specifically, we have to invest directly in the permanent recruitment of critical front-line staff, most notably teachers, gardaí, social workers, occupational therapists and bus drivers. When a school has enough teachers to function and a hospital has enough nurses to clear its waiting lists, we lower the structural cost of living in a sustainable manner. Instead, we are adding to costs by failing to keep our homegrown staff. They are going abroad. Nurses, for example, are going abroad because they are not offered permanent posts. We are leveraging expensive agency services. When our best and brightest emigrate, we import staff to do the same work but increase our costs overall due to strains on housing and education through family reunification, etc. It is a regressive strategy. We should instead provide upfront investment in our own people and protect our public servants by index-linking pay rather than relying on cute hoor budgetary adjustments that look good on paper but add to inflation. We have to protect services and our front-line workers and keep our costs down. That is what should be done.

I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate the Minister, Simon Harris, on his first budget presentation to the House. Last year, we emphasised that we were taking care of and trying to support businesses, and rightly so. A permanent change took place. There was a debate here on the reduction in VAT for hospitality and other areas.

This year, the emphasis is clearly on trying to help workers and families by giving them back more of their money. The increase in the threshold is important and welcome. Over the coming budgets, we need to move towards a €15,000 threshold for people to hit the higher rate of tax. As I always say, if we do not increase the thresholds regularly, more and more people will pay the higher rate of tax. If we do not increase them at all, eventually the majority of people will, year on year, pay the higher rate of tax. That needs to be acknowledged.

I have heard people use the term "tinkering around". I do not believe that is fair. It is about increasing the thresholds to allow people to keep more of their money so that they can spend it on themselves and their families and pay for some additional costs in the economy at present because of the goings-on in the Strait of Hormuz and decisions elsewhere. We have tried to respond to the challenges elsewhere as part of this budget.

We have also accepted the increase in the minimum wage. It is fair for those workers on the lowest level to get assistance. It is a cost to business, and we should not pretend it is not. As I always say, you cannot have employees without employers and you cannot have employers without employees. They go hand in hand. It is right that where we give on the one hand in terms of assistance to low-paid workers through increases in the minimum wage, we also consider support for businesses. That was done through the change to PRSI.

The budget thresholds were important. There is an increase in the higher rate income tax threshold to €46,500 from €44,000 and an increase in the main tax credits by €125, saving the average worker €750 and a couple €1,500 per year. That is important and should be welcomed. As I said, I hope to see progression on that in the coming budgets.

I want to talk about section 17 of the Bill, the help to buy scheme. It gives a refund of income tax and DIRT that people have paid in this country for the previous four years. The maximum people can claim under the scheme increased from €30,000 to €35,000 in the budget, and applies from 7 October 2026. It relates to people who sign a contract for a new house between 7 October 2026 and 31 October 2029 or draw down on a self-build mortgage between 7 October 2026 and 31 December 2029. This is hugely important assistance that has been provided by the Government and needs to be acknowledged. In Galway, to the third quarter of this year, some 3,316 individuals and families have benefited, with claims totalling €77.3 million. That demonstrates the benefits of the scheme and the value it has in supporting families who are trying to buy or build their first home.

I want to touch on section 75, the residential zoned land, RZL, tax. I have heard anecdotally that it is working in forcing certain parcels of land to be put on the market or developed. That is the intent of the scheme. In his budget speech this year, the Minister stated he is now providing another opportunity for landowners in 2027 whereby if they seek to have their land rezoned to reflect the genuine economic activity being carried out, an exemption will be considered by local authorities. Again, there is some confusion because people have gone through processes to get their land rezoned and have been unable to do so. Do they now have another opportunity to do so or does the provision relate to additional zonings? Perhaps we could get some clarity on that. It is causing a certain amount of stress. I know of individuals affected by this, one of whom is in his late 80s. He is not worried about what happens after he is gone because that will not bother him, but he has a great love for a small piece of land that is zoned. People are facing difficulties and I know the importance of land. The State has invested in servicing land with water and sewerage and, therefore, parcels of land have to be built on. That is what the scheme is trying to address. There is some confusion about the announcement of another opportunity in 2027. Does that relate to the same people or different people?

Section 76 deals with the derelict property tax. Again, I welcome the initiative because we have had the carrot approach and the stick approach, and the carrot has worked in terms of the croí cónaithe scheme and above-the-shop grants have benefited. It is not necessarily about collecting money. Rather, it is about bringing properties back into use as homes, turning bigger properties into apartments and making use of other buildings. We all want more homes built and more people living in properties. Local authorities have faced challenges in collecting that money. The move will see the Revenue Commissioners given such powers. Most people accept a letter from Revenue as a stronger threat or stick than a letter from a local authority. It is hoped the change will get some parcels moving, not necessarily in terms of collecting tax but encouraging people to avail of grants and get properties back to life or incentivising individuals to sell properties to realise some capital and allow others to develop them.

In a recent meeting with the city manager and officials, one issue raised was the fact that Revenue, as it stands, will keep the moneys collected, and whether that should remain the case. Local authorities would like that money to be reimbursed to them to assist in the administration of the scheme and for their work and the services they provide. Is the policy in the Finance Bill set in stone? Perhaps it is something we could reflect on over the next period of time. Local authorities have been blamed and some have been better than others. If the tax could be retained locally, that would be of benefit.

I refer to supporting older people and the new cost-of-disability payment of €500.

We all know the additional costs that families of children with disabilities have. I welcome the payment and also that we have taken another step on the carer's allowance income disregard. Again, this was a commitment I think all parties made before the previous election. We moved substantially last year and there has been another increase in this budget, meaning the disregard is now €1,150 for single people and €2,300 for a couple. I also welcome the increase in the renter's tax credit to €1,150 for single people and €2,300 for couples.

Another area that is hugely important and linked to the growing economy is capital investment. While construction inflation has impacted the value of that investment, we need to continue to invest in infrastructure for our growing economy. I welcome the commitment to the Galway city ring road. It is at the stage where the judicial review appeal will be held next month. There were four applicants to that review and three have been withdrawn and have been sorted. I hope for a speedy decision on the remaining one before the end of the year and that we can get that project moving. We have been talking about it for nearly two decades in various guises. It has had its ups and downs, refusals, quashings and everything else, but it was finally granted and we are now coming to the end of the judicial review process. I hope, with a continued strong economy, we can look at projects like this. This is obviously about making Galway a more attractive place to invest, especially in the west of the city, and also improving the quality of life of people in the city and Connemara as well.

Public transport is another area that is continually raised. Strangely, though intuitively it makes sense, the more you invest in bus routes and frequency, the more demand grows because it is a more reliable and better service. As demand grows, you have to invest in capacity, which is a challenge we are experiencing. We see it with the 424 route and Barna, on which, fortunately, there is good news coming. We need to see continued investment in commuter areas in and around Galway city, for example, the 419 service to Moycullen, Oughterard and Clifden. There are new bus shelters in Moycullen, where there is a growing population, and in the last seven or eight years there has been increased frequency. We need to see even greater frequency and more capacity, so we do not have full buses passing people by.

A strong economy is not just about the big projects, but also the day-to-day issues that improve people's lives. Fortunately, we are in a better position and we can now look at these projects and continue to invest in them.

I am particularly worried about energy costs. Kerosene has been a big issue for rural Ireland. We have done a bit. I am not sure we have done enough. Time will tell. If we get a particularly hard winter, the temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS. will have to revisited in some guise. I advocated for an increase in the living alone allowance, which increased for the first time in five years. It would have been nice to see a slightly larger increase because filling a tank of oil costs a couple the same as it does a single person, widow or widower who must bear it on one income instead of two. This is a concern and I had hoped for a lump sum or a greater increase in the living alone allowance, although I certainly welcome the first increase in about five years.

While the Finance Bill is being praised by the Government, along with the tax cuts made in the budget, and we heard statements that the budget was for those who get up early in the morning, the truth is that the working person is still struggling to make ends meet. Many minimum wage workers are telling me they would be better off staying at home as they would qualify for the medical card, free travel, fuel allowance, supplementary welfare payments and a social house.

While the carbon tax applied to kerosene home heating oil and natural gas has been reduced to €48.50 and paused at this rate, it should be removed completely as many people are struggling to keep up with the payments for heating their homes. The Government should not be profiting from the increases in cost. I made clear previously that the Government was able to manage with the amount of tax it was collecting before the cost went up, so it should still be able to manage with that. It also needs to be highlighted that while the tax has been reduced on natural gas, the same reduction has not been extended to liquid gas. There is no reduction for the fellas who are buying tanks of gas at €50 a go, and a lot more for the bigger ones. That is very unfair. While the farmers' fuel relief scheme is being extended, it is only for those who qualified in the summer. Surely it should be available to all those who would be entitled to it, if it were not for this clause that is preventing that. Action on green diesel for construction vehicles was promised back in May by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste but nothing has been done since. Words do not mean much.

Pensioners were on to me this morning very early saying they cannot manage if they are on their own. The increase in the living alone allowance was shameful. I said here before that €3 would not buy a cup of coffee or a bar of chocolate and if you showed it to a young fella of eight or nine, he would be looking at you wondering where you were going with it.

Families who have students attending third level education where both parents and the student are working may qualify for €500 from SUSI or nothing at all. That is not enough. With the third level fees and the mere €150 increase in the rent tax credit a parent can claim for a student near college, these working families tell me every day they are getting no help from the Government when they have been paying taxes for years.

I extend my sympathies to the English family in Waterford which has lost four members, with two others seriously injured. I understand they were targeted due to a drug debt of a family member. This is a terrible outrage and we must get to grips with it because there are a lot of drugs coming to our shores. We are not manning our shores and many rural Garda stations were closed down. When a family member gets addicted to drugs they cannot pay their debt and then family members, including mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, are targeted. This is an awful situation and I appeal to the Government to do its best.

It has been highlighted by other Members that Ballyheigue does not have any drinkable water. This has gone on for two weeks. Has the Government an emergency budget to address this water contamination? Apparently seawater has got into the supply. I have been told by many locals what happened there. They stopped taking water from the Glenderry area to the west on Kerry Head and left Ballyheigue supplying water to the entire area. Ballyheigue was not able to keep its supply full and people are saying that is how the saltwater got in. People are asking that this well be closed for a fortnight or three weeks to see if it will clear because it is still supplying toilets, cattle and everything. Otherwise it will never come up to the level it needs to come up to in order to see whether it will clear. If it does not clear, it will have to be forgotten about. To that end, we need to open up Glenderry again. People are saying it is not suitable for drinking but it could be used for toilets, washing and everything else and give the Ballyheigue supply a chance to clear.

Killarney water comes as far as the village of Ardfert, which is 5 miles or 6 miles down the road from Ballyheigue. Could this water supply be extended to Ballyheigue? This will take a bit, but Irish Water must have a plan. Water could be brought from the Listowel area. There is plenty of water, but Irish Water needs to get working and laying pipes and that will cost money. The Government says it has no problem in giving it money. I appeal to the Minister of State to ensure that the people in this massive catchment area are not left behind any longer. Let us suppose they bring the water from Ardfert - the Killarney water as we call it - from Lough Guitane. There is no problem in laying the pipes as there is a grand wide margin from Ardfert out to Ballyheigue. There are link roads so that the road will not be blocked or anything. It could be done in two weeks if there were two crews at it day and night. It could be done if the Government gives the money.

On top of that, Kerry has fallen well behind the standards we were used to for the provision of water. The Lough Guitane supply comes grand as far as Coolcorcoran in the heart of Killarney, but the pipe going from Coolcorcoran to Scartaglin reservoir needs to be increased and expanded so that there will be enough water for the hospital in Tralee and all the places it has been providing water to for many years. This scheme was put in place about 60 years ago and it is an asbestos pipe. The pipe needs to be taken out of there. I am sure they could lay a new pipe alongside it or go a different way so that there would not be too much interruption. A lot of work needs to be done. Could the Minister of State talk to the Minister, Deputy Browne, the Taoiseach and all the other members of the Government who are linked in any way to this problem and could help to sort it out? This has to be a priority. I appeal to the Minister of State. I got the flu in recent days but I still came up because I wanted to highlight this serious issue on behalf of the people of Ballyheigue, Causeway, Kilmoyley, Linderry and Kerry Head – all those places cannot be left without water. It is two weeks' now today. What progress has been made? I will be back here next week with the help of God and I will ask again to see what progress has been made. I will ask about it tomorrow. Nothing could be more serious than to leave people without potable drinkable water.

The other question that farmers are asking is if it is safe for the animals to be drinking the salt water because they have nothing else apart from a few streams here and there. All these things need to be teased out. I appeal to the Minister of State to sort this out. We must start by closing down Ballyheigue and getting water somewhere else. We can see if the salt will clear in Ballyheigue and if it does not, it will have to be completely forgotten about. This happened with wells in the past. People had to move on. It is hard to understand it, as the Ballyheigue well is high above the strand and the ocean, but anything can happen, and that is what has happened. I appeal to the Minister of State.

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for granting me the indulgence to raise it with him. Nothing could be more serious than to be without water. The people of Kerry whom I represent in Ballyheigue, Causeway, down as far as Ardfert and up as far as Linderry – all those places need water as good as anywhere else. Like I have said before, the people in those places are entitled to everything that the people in Dublin 4 get. I appeal to the Minister of State's good offices and to the Taoiseach to sort this out because it needs to be sorted out today before tomorrow.

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions to the Finance Bill this evening. To be fair to Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, he did acknowledge that I am not responsible for the water in Kerry. I will pass on the points that he raised this evening to the relevant Minister.

I know that the Minister of State is not responsible but I hold him responsible with the Government.

If Deputy Healy-Rae had waited until I finished responding, to be fair, I was saying that I would raise it with the person responsible. I will do that. If the Deputy had stayed supporting the Government he might have a little bit more influence, but anyway that is not the case.

Deputy Collins raised the point that it is not a budget for west Cork. It is not a budget for any particular area; it is a national budget that brings about taxation measures and gives effect to the budget. I agree with Deputy Flynn, who says that on occasion here it could be The Gaiety, but some might say that he plays it up on occasion himself also.

The core of this budget is about supporting people who need help today while ensuring the Government retains the fiscal capacity to support those who may need help tomorrow. Every decision we make in respect of public finances has a direct impact on our ability to respond to future crises. We must treat public finances with respect, especially given the heightened international uncertainty we face. Across Europe, governments are being forced to make difficult decisions on spending and taxation. Ireland, by contrast, enters this period with record employment and budget surpluses. This position did not happen by accident. It reflects decisions taken over many years to maintain a competitive economy, support employment and manage our public finances responsibly. We cannot take that strength for granted. I acknowledge that we have an issue in relation to our over-reliance on corporation tax. That is why the Government established two future funds and why in this budget alone we put an additional €1 billion on top of the €4.8 billion that is committed this year, recognising that we must put away our excess corporation tax and also put excess corporation tax into capital expenditure. It was a record budget for roads and housing.

I am somewhat amazed at some of the contributions by Deputies over the course of the debate here this evening. Some Deputies criticised people who create wealth and foreign direct investment companies who choose to invest in Ireland, who create not tens of thousands of jobs, but hundreds of thousands of jobs. They do not just create jobs directly in their own workplaces but they also give the people who work in them a real and meaningful income that they can go out and spend in the domestic economy, supporting shops and the hospitality sector. These are real jobs. I do not think any government should make an apology for ensuring that we remain attractive and competitive as an economy and not only retain the FDI that is located in Ireland but attract new FDI that could potentially come to Ireland. I acknowledge the incredibly good work the IDA does in this regard. Next year we will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the International Financial Services Centre, IFSC - a vision set out by Charles J. Haughey back in 1987. Who would have thought 40 years later that there would be 61,000 jobs in the international financial services sector? Of the 61,000 jobs that are directly created in this sector, 25% of them are in the regions. They are real, quality jobs across the regions of Ireland supporting people to create a life for themselves and they ensure that we support regional economies as well.

It is important that we continuously look at the taxation measures that we have as a country so we can continue to remain competitive and to fight above our weight in terms of our ability to attract foreign direct investment. That is why it is important to make changes to the research and development tax credit also. Some Deputies took issue with the amendment to the research and development tax credit. In 2023, some 1,804 companies availed of it. They are companies that are providing real, quality jobs right throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. The 1,804 companies that availed of the research and development tax credit in 2023 paid €10 billion in corporation tax.

The taxation measures we introduce have a direct consequence. When we remain competitive, it helps us increase our tax take. Because we have a competitive and strong economy and full employment, we have been in a position to respond to people who need help with the cost of living. We have been able to increase the fuel allowance, reduce VAT on gas and electricity, increase the temporary fuel excise, increase income tax and personal tax credits and reduce USC thresholds. We have been able to do all this investment because we have a strong and stable economy, full employment and are running budget surpluses.

The contradictory remarks regarding the derelict property tax were a bit surprising. Some people were ultra critical of the councils for their inability to collect the tax in recent years. Deputy Gould criticised the Government for Cork County Council's inability to collect it over 20 years and criticised us for not handing it over to the Revenue quickly enough but also asked why we are taking it away from the local authorities. The reason for the delay in moving it from the local authorities to Revenue is that it is being done through negotiation with Revenue, with the Department of housing and with local government to ensure they will have a proper list compiled by the time it is handed over to Revenue. When a new tax is being introduced, you need to ensure it is fair and is consistently applied throughout the jurisdiction. We cannot have any differences in the tax charged in Westmeath, west Cork or Kerry.

We need to ensure people take corrective actions to bring derelict properties into a habitable state. If this is to work properly, it should not be a revenue-generating exercise. It should be about bringing derelict properties back into habitable use. The Government has a strong record in supporting people to do this in recent years, with croí cónaithe, the vacant house grant, the SEAI grants and the living above the shop initiative grants. That has worked in some instances but, unfortunately, in other instances, it has not worked. That is why it is important this measure be transferred to Revenue and that will be done over the course of the next number of years.

Deputy Conway-Walsh was critical of the Government and looked for greater efficiencies in provision of public services. This is an example of where we need to see greater efficiencies. We need to see new measures being implemented in a timely fashion so they can have an impact on the communities we represent. She talked about supporting public sector workers and I agree wholeheartedly they need to be supported. That is why it is great to see the wage negotiations taking place.

A point raised a number of times related to the new personal investment account. Deputies were somewhat critical of a Government that is introducing an account that will help people become more financially resilient. We have €180 billion on demand deposit in Ireland. We are a nation of savers. The people who are saving are not making their money work well for themselves. We want to bring in an investment account that will support people in becoming more financially resilient, planning for the future and doing so in an easy, accessible way. By encouraging people to invest in the markets, we will also support job creation and people who want to create jobs - again, that is something that was criticised in a number of contributions.

I thank the Deputies for contributing to the debate. I look forward to the opportunity to engage in more detail as the finance Bill goes through the various Stages in the Oireachtas.

I move:

That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach, pursuant to Standing Orders 103(2)(b) and 188(1).

I move:

notes that:

— drug dealers and organised criminal gangs are terrorising families, exploiting vulnerable young people and holding entire communities to ransom through intimidation, threats, extortion and violence;

— the activities of these criminal gangs represent a direct assault on community safety, with residents, families and local businesses forced to live in fear in their own neighbourhoods;

— drug-related intimidation extends far beyond those involved in drug use, with parents, grandparents, siblings and innocent family members frequently threatened and targeted over alleged drug debts;

— criminal gangs deliberately exploit vulnerable children and young people, drawing them into drug dealing, debt, criminal activity and cycles of intimidation and violence;

— recent deaths and serious incidents of drug-related violence have demonstrated the devastating consequences of allowing criminal gangs to establish a foothold in communities;

— drug dealers must not be allowed to exercise control over streets, housing estates or neighbourhoods, and no community should be abandoned to organised criminality; and

— recognises that while drug-related intimidation affects all communities, its impact is often most acute in areas already experiencing persistent poverty, social exclusion, educational disadvantage, unemployment and historic underinvestment, where organised criminal gangs can exploit existing vulnerabilities;

further notes that:

— any effective response must tackle these root causes alongside law enforcement measures, residents, community activists, youth workers and local organisations have repeatedly demonstrated leadership and courage in standing up to drug dealing and intimidation, often without adequate support or protection from the State;

— the Garda Drug Related Intimidation Reporting Programme and community-based initiatives such as Drug Related Intimidation and Violence Engagement (DRIVE) provide important mechanisms for responding to intimidation, but require greater investment, coordination and public awareness;

— tackling drug-related intimidation cannot be left to An Garda Síochána alone and requires a comprehensive, community-led response involving policing, addiction services, youth organisations, local authorities, schools and community representatives;

— restoring community safety requires both an uncompromising response to the criminal gangs responsible and sustained investment in the communities and families they target; and

— Local Community Safety Partnerships provide an important opportunity to put communities at the centre of tackling drug dealing, intimidation and violence, but must be backed by meaningful resources, clear responsibilities and measurable outcomes;

condemns:

— the criminal gangs and drug dealers who prey on vulnerable people, threaten families, recruit children into criminal activity and use violence to control communities;

— the use of drug debts as a means of extortion and coercion, including threats against innocent family members;

— the targeting of community workers, residents and others who challenge drug dealing and criminal behaviour; and

— the failure to ensure that every community affected by persistent drug-related criminality has the policing, public services and community supports necessary to confront it; and

calls on the Government to:

— launch a major crackdown on drug gangs and intimidation, providing dedicated Garda resources to identify, investigate and prosecute those responsible for drug dealing, extortion, threats and violence, and to target the finances and assets of organised criminal gangs;

— establish a comprehensive community-led response to drug-related intimidation, bringing together An Garda Síochána, local residents, community organisations, drug and alcohol task forces, local authorities, youth services and other statutory agencies to develop coordinated local action plans;

— increase the number of Gardaí being trained annually so that there are sufficient members available to tackle drug related intimidation and keep communities safe;

— place drug-related intimidation at the centre of Local Community Safety Partnerships, requiring targeted action plans in affected areas, with dedicated funding, meaningful community participation and clear accountability for delivery;

— strengthen the Garda Drug Related Intimidation Reporting Programme, providing specialist resources, greater public awareness, confidential reporting pathways, timely Garda intervention and effective protection for victims and their families;

— expand and fully resource the DRIVE programme, ensuring every community affected by drug-related intimidation has access to trained community workers, specialist family supports and coordinated Garda and community interventions;

— introduce dedicated community safety investment programmes in areas experiencing persistent drug dealing and intimidation, including additional community Gardaí, improved public spaces, youth facilities, sporting amenities and community-based services;

— provide immediate and practical protection for families targeted by drug gangs, including emergency accommodation, relocation where necessary, counselling, family support and access to appropriate legal assistance;

— develop a national programme to prevent the recruitment and exploitation of children and young people by drug gangs, including early intervention, outreach youth work, education, mentoring and targeted support for those at risk;

— provide sustainable, multiannual funding to frontline community organisations, recognising their central role in challenging drug-related intimidation, supporting families, building community resilience and creating safer neighbourhoods;

— strengthen accountability across Government, requiring the Ministers responsible for Justice, Health, Housing, Children and Community Development to deliver a coordinated response, with annual reporting to the Oireachtas on Garda enforcement, victim protection, community investment and progress in reducing drug-related intimidation; and

— commit to sustained, long-term investment in communities that have experienced persistent disadvantage, recognising that tackling drug-related intimidation requires not only effective policing but also action to reduce poverty, inequality and social exclusion and to expand access to education, employment, healthcare, housing, sport, recreation and community development opportunities.

Tá daoine feargach. Tá daoine scanraithe. Caithfidh na gardaí dul i ngleic go dian leis na dronganna drugaí. Drug debt intimidation is destroying lives. It is leaving individuals and families living in fear. People are angry and frightened and, in too many communities, people feel abandoned. The horrific murders in Waterford of Philip and Kim English and their sons Callum and Jayden shocked us all. I want to express my deepest condolences to the English family and send our best wishes to the two children who remain in hospital. What happened to the family was horrific. It is our duty as elected representatives to not only say such a thing must never happen again but to work to that end.

Many colleagues who will speak tonight have been supporting those dealing with drug debt intimidation for years. What they will tell us is what our communities have been telling us: the situation is getting worse, with increased fear, despair and violence, families forced to leave their homes in the dead of night, people who pay alleged drug debts for family members and tell no one and people who feel they can barely breathe because drug gangs are taking control of their communities and, in some cases, their lives. We are talking about homes being attacked, petrol bombed, vandalised; cars being burnt out; people being violently assaulted. We are talking about lives destroyed and, in some tragic cases, lives lost. Communities are asking when enough is enough.

Many victims feel they have no choice but to pay. The majority of instances go unreported because people are terrified to go to An Garda. There needs to be a public awareness campaign so people know where to turn if this happens to them. The supports need to be there for them when they do so. Support alone is not enough. There must a be a two-track approach: a long-term investment and focus on prevention that includes significant investment in tackling deprivation, poverty and inequality, combined with an immediate and determined crackdown on the criminal gangs responsible for this intimidation. There needs to be a particular focus on stopping young people being groomed by drug gangs into a life of criminality.

Right now, affected communities need high-visibility policing on their streets. That involves significant increases in community gardaí. There needs to be a concerted, sustained and resourced Garda operation cracking down on those involved in drug debt intimidation. Those engaged in this criminality have to be identified, arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned. We need to get these people off our streets and out of our communities. The Criminal Assets Bureau should establish a dedicated operation to identify and target those responsible for drug debt intimidation, seizing the assets of gangs and individuals who terrorise and communities.

While drug debt intimidation can affect anyone, we know working-class communities have been disproportionately impacted. That is why investment in these communities is so important. Communities need properly funded outreach workers, youth services, addiction supports and diversion programmes. They need practical supports, including investment in community safety measures such as CCTV. Communities deserve to feel safe and families deserve to live free from fear.

Those who think that they can hold entire communities to ransom through intimidation and violence must know that the full resources of the State will be deployed against them. I implore and plead with all Members of the House to support this Sinn Féin motion, but more importantly, to work together to put its provisions into effect.

Trauma, sadness and heartbreak; that is what happened in Waterford over the last number of days, as I am sure the Minister is aware. A family has been utterly devastated. I attended the funeral yesterday, as did Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and Deputy Conor McGuinness. We saw four coffins lined up, including two white coffins for the children. Philip, Kim, Callum, and Jayden were murdered in their home and young Nadia and Elliot are still fighting for their lives. It was violent criminality and drug intimidation that caused this. People were looking for money from an innocent family, and their lives were taken.

Drug intimidation has consequences. It destroys lives. It destroys communities, and we have seen the utter devastation that it has had in Waterford. There have been many attacks on many families over the course of the last number of years. Many of them go unreported. Some of them have been raised in this House. Those families live in fear, and those criminal gangs and thugs thrive on fear and silence.

It is very difficult for people to come forward. I have genuinely spoken to hundreds of people in Waterford who said that the English family lived in fear. For any family to have to live in that fear is unimaginable, but they ask what to do in these circumstances, if the State is not there to protect them.

This is because those gangs thrive on fear and silence. There can be no fear and silence in this House and from the State. The State has to stand up in a really forceful way, and say it is going to crack down on these criminal gangs; that there will be no hiding place for the people who carry out attacks, or for the people behind them and those who give the orders.

I spoke to Philip's father, Paddy, and he said to me, "If you are talking to the Minister, tell him to change the law". If the law needs to be changed, that is what needs to be done. We have to do absolutely everything possible to protect those families and anybody who is a victim of drug intimidation.

I never want to see anything like the scene I saw in Waterford. I never want to go into a community again and have to look people in the eye, and see that trauma and sadness, but also that anger that is there as well. The politicians from Waterford understand this. It was palpable. People are seething about what happened. There is that deep anger because what happened was so outrageous and wrong. Those four people should still be alive today.

I am appealing to the Minister. Everything possible that can be done should be done to, first, bring these people to justice and that means the people who gave the orders. There can be no hiding place for them. I do not care where they are or in what country. Wherever they are, they have to be brought to justice. It is the same for any of these gangs who are perpetrating this type of violence in our communities.

I again offer my condolences to the English family. I hope, and it has been said time and again in Waterford over the course of the last number of days, that this is a turning point. This has to be a point where the State says enough is enough; these criminal gangs will be brought to justice; that there will be that crackdown and families will not have to live in fear like the English family had to do.

Yesterday, we said goodbye to Jayden and Callum, to their mother, Kim, and to their father, Philip, and the sadness of their funerals will stay with me. It was, and it is, utterly heartbreaking. We offer the Companjen and English families our condolences again. As we stand here discussing this, there are two children still fighting for their lives in hospital. They and their family remain in our prayers.

In conversations across Waterford one message kept coming through loud and clear: this cannot happen another family. This must be the turning point. As the cameras leave Waterford and the news cycle moves on, the political focus has to remain.

Drug-related violence and intimidation affect families in every city, town, village and townland in the country. I personally know young men who have taken their own lives under the weight of that intimidation and those threats against them and their families, and that devastating consequence often goes unseen and unspoken. This really must be that moment of change.

The first national report on drug-related intimidation recorded 1,017 cases across every county in the State, and we know that is the tip of the iceberg. Many more go unreported. We need to see a determined Garda crackdown, not just on those carrying out those crimes, as Deputy Cullinane said, but on those directing, orchestrating and profiteering from them. The people at the top must be faced down and brought to justice.

The Government has to ensure that gardaí have the resources to dismantle these gangs, confiscate the proceeds of their crimes, protect threatened families, invest in community supports, actually resource drug and alcohol strategies, prevent young people from being exploited in this way and ensure social inclusion, youth and mental health services have the money to do their essential work. Our motion sets out practical measures, and the Government must give the issue the priority it now demands.

If we are being honest, that priority has never been given. It has not happened to date. Today must be that turning point. It must be the watershed moment. Those impacted deserve more than words of sympathy. We have to turn their despair into a lasting action.

The tragedy that was inflicted on an innocent family in Waterford must not go unanswered. I also offer my sincerest condolences to everybody impacted by this attack.

Drug debt intimidation, open drug dealing and gang-related violence have no place in our communities. The people who are doing this offer nothing to our communities. They suck the lifeblood out of them, and they have no place whatsoever in them.

I listened to the Minister's statements during the week. He said that this should be a watershed moment. I agree, but when this was relayed to people in my community, there was a bit of anger there in relation to that.

Our communities have been crying out for support and protection for years. I have been raising drug debt intimidation and gang-related crime in this Chamber since I was elected. I have been speaking about an ongoing feud in my area for a long time.

The firebombing of homes is becoming a modus operandi for these thugs. Over a dozen homes were set ablaze during the feud in one estate alone in my constituency, leaving ordinary workers and people, decent residents, terrified. Why was this not a watershed moment? An 11-day-old baby had to be evacuated from a home because the house next door was targeted by these thugs and was firebombed. Why was this not a watershed moment? A teenager was attacked with a machete in broad daylight on the main road in Neilstown. Why was this not a watershed moment?

Separate to the feud, we also had another incident where a woman opened her door and had flammable liquid thrown at her. She was set ablaze, leaving her with life-changing injuries and an area absolutely traumatised. Why was this not a watershed moment?

My area is not unique. The Minister is going to hear similar stories about their own areas from my colleagues. Our communities are terrified and have collective trauma. At the time, I called for a local task force to deal with the issues, and I felt those pleas fell on deaf ears.

We got help after a young man was murdered. I told the Dáil that if my community did not get the help that it needed, somebody was going to lose their life, and that happened. We called for help and got it from the gardaí after that.

The gardaí have done a decent job, but there are not enough of them. There are less community gardaí in my area today than there was this time last year.

However, we are not just going to police our way out of this situation. This motion calls for a trauma-led response and a co-ordinated response between the gardaí, stakeholders and community groups, but they have to be resourced. We have to resource our communities. We have to give our communities the ability to have resilience against these thugs.

We must also send out the message today that these thugs have no place in our communities. They are not wanted in our communities, and the days when they can operate with impunity in our communities are numbered.

My thoughts this evening are with the English family and the wider community in Waterford; a community devastated by violent crime.

Families and communities have had to face terror on their own and in silence for too long. I have spoken to the Minister directly about drug-related intimidation. I have sat with families who live in constant fear of violence.

I have met and listened to communities that have been traumatised by regimes of terror. There is not a town or village in this State that is unaffected and our working-class communities - areas that are deprived of adequate public services - are, as always, disproportionately affected. In my constituency of Dublin Fingal East, I have supported many families suffering intimidation and violence. One young man who ran up a drug debt was assaulted and ended up in hospital, and his elderly parents were threatened. Their car was burned out and their home was vandalised. They could not borrow to pay off what started off as €15,000 debt and ended up becoming a €40,000 debt. I worked with the family and they engaged with DRIVE and the matter was successfully resolved but they still live in constant fear.

A mother who sadly lost her daughter because of an overdose was approached during her child's funeral and told she was responsible for her daughter's debt. She cleared the drug debt but had to borrow to cover the costs of her daughter's funeral. There are young women being forced into sexploitation to clear their debts or those of loved ones. These are just some examples. We can no longer ignore or turn a blind eye to this scourge on families and communities. Government must prioritise tackling the violence just as it rightly prioritised tackling the drug crisis following Veronica Guerin's murder in 1996. This must be a similar movement that demands a similar all-of-government response. Tackling violence cannot be left to drug projects, the drug task force and youth services. These services are already underfunded and overstretched. Reducing it to a drugs issue only stigmatises and marginalises all the victims. It is deeper and more complex. It involves child grooming, sexual exploitation, taking over and occupying people's homes and forcing families to hold on to weapons and drugs. Women are particularly vulnerable, with mothers and grandmothers bearing the brunt of the violence and shouldering the cause of drug debts. Tackling intimidation and violence cannot be left to An Garda Síochána alone. It requires a comprehensive community-led response involving policing, addiction services, youth organisations, local authorities and education and community leaders.

I am urging the Minister to support Sinn Fein's motion and to work cross-party to make our community safer. I met the Minister at recovery events in September. Many of those families are dealing with drug intimidation and debts. I invite people to support a vigil being organised by Family Addiction Recovery Network, FARI, to highlight the plight of families facing violence, which will be held outside the Dáil on Tuesday, 3 November at 1 p.m.

I want to begin by sending our thoughts and prayers to the English family - Philip, Kim, Callum and Jayden - and to Nadia and Elliott, who at this moment are fighting for the lives in hospital. It is absolutely heartbreaking stuff. However, this is not without warning as my colleagues have outlined.

I have here some correspondence sent to Cork City Council in the past couple of months about families who have been burnt out or who are under threat. I have some of the correspondence sent to the gardaí in Anglesea Street and Mayfield. I have made telephone calls to them. I have documents on the policing forum and the old policy we did in Cork because we knew how dangerous it was. I have correspondence from the Minister who I contacted a number of times with questions but specifically on 31 August because two families in my constituency were petrol bombed out of their homes. There were four petrol bombings in five weeks. People are living in fear. There is a woman right now watching this debate tonight who lives alone in her home. She has been petrol bombed twice. She is a widow and she is terrified. Does the Minister know what she said? She said that the gardaí are lovely and they are doing the best. However, the Garda does not have the power or the resources. There should be a zero-tolerance approach to these people. The gardaí know who they are. I have spoken to the gardaí. They know who is doing this.

In my community, there are families that have been destroyed because young people have died by suicide. Six young men died by suicide in the past couple of years, although it may be more, but they are the ones I personally know of. Can the Minister imagine the thoughts of those families when they heard what happened in Waterford? All I would say is that we need action now.

Hear, hear.

Sinn Féin is bringing forward this motion for a major crackdown on drug debt intimidation, an end to drug gangs terrorising families and long-term investment in our communities. I have heard from families in Kildare town, Athy, Derrinturn and Newbridge who are all living with threats, fear and violence. They have been left to fight this battle themselves. If we are to get serious about tackling drugs, we must be clear that drug use and addiction are first and foremost issues of healthcare. If we do not have serious, robust community supports and interventions, then we are abandoning some of our most vulnerable. The link between the communities most affected by austerity and communities suffering the most from drugs is clear for all to see. Every community deserves to feel safe, secure and protected.

Alongside effective services, policing also plays a role in the fight against drug-related intimidation. While not the only part of the solution, it is a basic foundation of our communities that they be serviced by effective and visible policing. I am sure the Government would share my disappointment that Kildare South has experienced a net loss of gardaí this year when we take into account resignations and retirements.

Our local authorities have a role to play here. I meet with individuals and families all the time who are facing serious dangerous intimidation in their homes and local authorities and approved housing bodies have been dragging their feet in arranging housing transfers for these people. Tackling drugs and drug-related intimidation is not confined to one Department, one agency or one body. Every Government Department, from housing to health to justice and beyond, has a role to play here.

The heart of this motion is simple. Communities deserve to feel safe, protected and free from intimidation. This is the very bedrock of our society but in order for us to achieve and protect this, we need to ensure our communities are serviced by sustained effective supports and interventions and this needs to be in conjunction with community-backed, properly staffed policing.

Hear, hear.

I am sharing time with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler.

The first thing I want to do is thank Sinn Féin for putting down this motion, which the Government will be supporting. I also want to join my colleagues in expressing my condolences to the English family arising from the harrowing arson attack that was perpetrated on them. Part of the reason the Government is supporting the Sinn Féin motion is that it is extremely important there is a united response from Dáil Éíreann to the public at large stating that we are united in terms of our ambition, commitment and dedication to ensure that we combat drug-related intimidation and violence.

It is regrettably the case that drug-related intimidation and violence exist throughout our society. No particular section of society is safe from it. We need to state together that there is no place for such intimidation in this country, in a civilised society, and any persons who seek to terrorise families for their own financial gain will be pursued relentlessly by An Garda Síochána.

Deputy Cullinane asked who is there to protect people. I want to say to the Deputy the State and An Garda Síochána are there to protect people. The only way that we can combat this scourge of drug-related intimidation is if An Garda Síochána combats it. To do that, and I know it is extremely difficult for families who are subject to intimidation, the Garda needs to be given the information. I would urge people - anyone in this country who at present is facing intimidation in a drug-related context - to go to An Garda Síochána. I appreciate that may strike some terror into them because of the consequence and the fear they have of the person intimidating them but I would tell them, and I think this House would agree, that the only way to combat it is through An Garda Síochána being informed and involved.

The drug-related intimidation and violence programme that was launched last year by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, seeks to put together a co-ordinated response by the State so that we can get a response to these acts of violence and intimidation that are ongoing. I fully appreciate that this is not solely a policing issue and it is essential that social services and the health services are involved and that we recognise the addiction that can give rise to these intimidatory practises on the part of criminals. I also have to point out, as I pointed out last Friday, that when it comes to people who make a decision early on to use drugs, they need to be informed and told that this is going to bring a load of misery on to them as a result of a decision to get involved in taking drugs. Not only does it bring misery on them individually but it can bring terrible intimidation on their families.

I repeat that the only way to resolve this issue is through An Garda Síochána. I want the Deputies to know that I will resource An Garda Síochána to ensure it is able to meet this threat. The force has investigated many such cases of drugs intimidation and has secured convictions. That is a significant step and a significant measure of the Garda's success. There is no way we can solve this on our own. Individuals on their own will not be able to stand up to the intimidatory practices of drug dealers, but with the presence of An Garda Síochána and its investigative ability, I believe they will be able to do so.

Looking at the resources within the force, the most important aspect of An Garda Síochána is the men and women who are members of the force. We achieved a milestone last Friday when we reached the largest number of members of An Garda Síochána in the history of the State, with the number of sworn members now standing at 14,820. Those extra resources provide an opportunity and an ability to the Commissioner to direct gardaí to combat this terrible and frightening ongoing activity.

Through Operation Tara, the Garda's national anti-drugs strategy, gardaí are disrupting, dismantling and prosecuting those involved in drug trafficking and organised crime. Intelligence-led operations, co-ordinated investigations and targeted enforcement activity have led to criminal networks being deprived of drugs, cash, assets and the profits that sustain their activities. We have seen the success of the Garda when it comes to combating some of the biggest drug gangs not just in Ireland but in the world. For that success to continue, we need to come together as a society and recognise that the only way to combat this is through the work of our gardaí. I ask people to put their faith in An Garda Síochána.

The work of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, together with regional Garda units and CAB, sends a clear message to those involved in intimidation and violence that no one is beyond the reach of the law. Through targeted responses such as Operation Fógra, the Garda is further putting that commitment into action by tackling drug-related intimidation through a victim-centred approach that pairs targeted law enforcement activity with practical supports for victims and their families. I encourage victims to seek support through their continued investment in our confidential reporting pathway, the Garda drug-related intimidation reporting programme. The Garda has the expertise, resources and powers to provide support and protection to victims. I appeal to victims, notwithstanding that I know it can be very intimidating for them and they can be fearful of doing it, to put their faith in An Garda Síochána.

Yesterday, people in Waterford came together to lay to rest Philip and Kim English and their young sons, Callum and Jayden. People watched online and turned out in person, standing quietly along the route, united in sorrow and wanting to show solidarity with the family. It is difficult to express what losing so many members of the English family has done. It has shaken not just Waterford but the country as a whole. The sight of four coffins side by side, two of them holding the remains of two beautiful young children who had lost their lives, is something I never again want to witness.

What happened in Birchwood last week has not just left people heartbroken. People are, rightly, angry and they are searching for answers. Let us not forget that along with the four innocent lives taken, two children, 14-year-old Nadia and six-year old Elliot, continue to fight for their lives in Crumlin hospital tonight. Over the past week, I have met the neighbours, friends, teachers, community workers, voluntary organisation staff and others who have been profoundly affected by the events of last week. In the midst of this horrendous tragedy, we saw decency, compassion and kindness shown by the people of Waterford and this great country as a whole. I particularly acknowledge Ms Amy Maguire and the team at the Butler Community Centre and also the Sacred Heart Family Resource Centre, which became support hubs to help people to deal with the shock, trauma and disbelief following this awful tragedy. We in this House must acknowledge that in the worst of circumstances, communities have rallied together to offer support, counselling, practical assistance and comfort to those who need it.

As Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan told mourners at the funeral yesterday, "anyone taking drugs recreationally is feeding an evil machine". It is those behind that evil machine who are responsible for four beautiful souls being laid into the ground yesterday. The realty we all must face is that the majority of people taking drugs are doing so by choice. They see it as a weekend or weekday recreation in which there is no harm. However, the results are devastating, not just for the English family but for countless families and communities up and down the country. The scourge of drugs is impacting on every village, town and city in the country.

Tonight, let us be unified in sending a message from this House that we have had enough and that we are coming after the criminal thugs responsible for wreaking havoc, despair and death on communities. Let this be a watershed moment. Let us honour the memory of Kim, Philip, Callum and Jayden English not only with our words but with a clear message to the criminals that we will not stand for the extortion, threats, violence and the ending of lives. Enough is enough. This has to stop.

I extend my deepest condolences to the extended English family and Companjen family, who have known unbearable grief and loss this week. As Deputies Cullinane and McGuinness said earlier, one had to be there to experience what it was like, with the silence in the church broken only by tears and seeing four coffins going into the ground, with two children laid to rest on their mother and father while two other children fight for their life tonight in Crumlin hospital. This has to stop. I thank the Minister for supporting this motion and Sinn Féin for putting it forward.

I extend my sympathy and solidarity to the English family, who suffered such horrendous loss in last week's vicious murders in Waterford. A family has been utterly destroyed, communities across Waterford are devastated and the entire nation is grieving because of the barbaric criminal actions of a drugs gang.

Drug debt intimidation takes many forms, from threats and criminal damage to assaults and sexual exploitation. The drug gangs exploit the most vulnerable, who, too often, are unconnected to drugs, including parents, grandparents, siblings, other relatives and friends. They become the targets when drug payments are not made. Last week's murders have, of course, focused minds but drug intimidation and violence is not new. In Limerick, families have experienced those threats and the accompanying violence for many years.

I have raised the issue of drug intimidation and violence in this Chamber many times over the years. In February 2021, I spoke of a particular estate in Limerick city where it seemed drug gangs had taken over and, what is worse, continue to operate with impunity. Without aggressive State intervention, these gangs have the resources and propensity for violence to suppress any community. In Limerick, they have built unauthorised structures and claimed public land without challenge. The structure I mentioned in 2021 remains in situ, with the local authority unable, unwilling or afraid to have it removed.

Last week's murders serve as a tragic reminder of the danger of letting these gangs act with near impunity. They must be a wake-up call, as other crimes have not been to date, and the moment when citizens of the State say "no more". The murder of these children and their parents must be a starting point for aggressive action against drug gangs across the State. Our motion today sets out what is needed. We need a Garda operation to target these gangs aggressively, continued increased use of the Criminal Assets Bureau to target their ill-gotten gains, money seized by CAB to be returned to the communities most affected by this crime and a return to a community policing model to promote safer neighbourhoods. Finally, and most importantly, we must address the conditions that allow these gangs to thrive. We must offer hope to these communities by combating exclusion and poverty and implementing a targeted campaign to stop the gangs from recruiting vulnerable youths through prevention and intervention.

Behind every drug debt is a mother living in terror, a father struggling in silence and a family wondering when the knock will come to the door, or worse. The lessons from the Drogheda feud as far back as 2017 have still not been acted on by the Government. We saw drug debt being bought up by drug gangs acting like vulture funds more than a year before the feud even started. In the following years, many of those indebted addicts were the ones throwing petrol bombs, pouring petrol through letter boxes and being used as cannon fodder by unscrupulous organised criminal gangs.

We saw the under-resourced Garda run out of cars and personnel trying to deal with nightly incidents of fire bombings and other attacks. I pay tribute to retired Garda Chief Superintendent Christy Mangan for his leadership and his commitment to the communities affected by the Drogheda feud.

He engaged directly and worked closely with the public at a time when fear and intimidation were part of daily life. His leadership helped bring several dangerous criminals to justice. As elected representatives, there were many times when we felt helpless. We could see the fear in our communities and the damage being done. We knew more resources were urgently needed.

The former chief superintendent has since revealed that as the feud escalated out of control, Garda Headquarters refused requests for the extra resources he needed to prevent an all-out bloodbath. He said he was so concerned these two drug gangs would destroy the town that at one stage, he seriously considered requesting the assistance of the Army on the streets. The Government did not take the threat of the feud seriously. It did not pay heed to the destruction being wrought and it did not allocate the necessary resources until after the brutal murder and dismemberment of a local teenager, Keane Mulready-Woods, in 2020.

Although the feud has been curtailed, nearly a decade on, I am still dealing with people displaced from their homes and families affected by drug debts that are not going away. Young people are being robbed of their futures. Criminal gangs are organised, intimidation is relentless and, sadly, the resources in An Garda Síochána and community-based supports in affected areas are not sufficient. Words in this Chamber mean nothing if families do not feel safe in their own homes at night and this will not happen until we see real investment in community policing and supports.

Our streets belong to our communities, not to drug gangs. We need to invest to build up these communities, not stand and watch as scumbags tear them down, taking innocent lives along the way.

I thank my colleagues in Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion.

For years, the actions of the Minister and his counterparts have been solely reactionary. They wait until a crisis point has been reached before putting adequate resources in place and, all too often, it is only in response to an incident of great tragedy that we see meaningful action. Drugs are devastating families across Ireland. Teenagers and younger people are being groomed by these gangs and the simple fact remains that we do not have a significant number of gardaí in our communities. After 16 years of either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael in power, they have only managed to add around 400 gardaí nationally, despite our population increasing by over one million people. That is an utter disgrace. Are they not embarrassed that other police forces are openly coming to Ireland and poaching some of our most experienced officers?

The drugs units across four counties in my region, an area of over 540,000 people, have less than 40 gardaí assigned to them. How are we seriously expected to stop the growth of these gangs when gardaí are operating on a shoestring? Operation Fógra has been successful in tackling drug-related intimidation, but why is it that Dublin gets these specialised units while communities outside it are left to watch this crisis worsen and pick up the pieces? Where is the Operation Fógra for the south east? Will we finally see it now?

Last week, Ireland was united in grief at the devastating news of the deaths of Philip, Kim, Callum and Jayden English. Equally, we were united in horror at the circumstances of their deaths and how this brutality could occur. I think I speak for all of us when I say our thoughts remain with the two children injured in this horrendous attack.

Our shared anger, shock and grief must mean that we in this Dáil do something about the scourge of drug-related intimidation happening in all our communities. They say there is not a county that is not impacted by drug intimidation, but I would say it runs far deeper than that. There is not a community that is not impacted by drug-related intimidation. For some, it is felt and seen by their community and neighbours but many others are suffering in silence and alone. This evening, while we discuss this motion, there are families in Galway and elsewhere who are terrified because they are suffocating under the weight of this burden. This is a burden that should fall on all of us collectively. It should not fall on an individual or family to deal with, who are suffering from this intimidation. It is incredibly difficult for families who are suffering from this type of intimidation not to do so in silence.

I am sure a lot of us have witnessed this type of intimidation. It is nasty and scary. It is frightening for people. We need to make sure the Garda has the resources to tackle this issue head-on, whether that is through legislation or funding. We should have the burden here on us collectively and not on our communities and people individually. Our drug units and community gardaí need to have the resources.

Why have we allowed the term "life is cheap" to occur? The lack of a good response is causing an awful lot of despair throughout the country and those communities I and many of my colleagues deal with and try to help. Four years ago, I helped a mother find a safe space to receive help. She reached out following the suicide of her son and what she told me still gives me chills. He owed a drug debt and the drug gang told him either he kill himself or they would kill him. She lost her son to hanging. There is never going to be peace for this mam. It haunts her and her family forever.

Arson is increasingly being used now as the tool of intimidation. Like fire itself, it knows no boundaries. It seems to have become the go-to tool of terror and murder, with deadly results. Many communities are trying to deal with this, and families are terrified, intimidated and live in fear. In the past three weeks, the Minister of State will be aware three petrol bombs were burning homes in our constituency of Dublin South-Central due to feuds and drug debts. Families were targeted and young and old - they do not discriminate. They had to leave their homes. A raging fire terrifies like nothing else and the drug lords know this. The increase in mistaken identity for fires is also a feature of this criminality. Fire is indiscriminate; it is not controlled and it is fatal.

Little ones talk to their teachers about their estates that have experienced this and they are traumatised. The whole estate is traumatised, like those neighbours and firefighters in Waterford when they heard the distress, screams and terror of those trapped. This will forever remain with them. We need to act.

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. I begin by extending our deepest sympathies and support to the English family in County Waterford; Kim, Philip, their sons Callum and Jayden and the two children who remain in hospital. I agree this has to be a watershed moment for which we finally as a State collectively agree to get in the face of those who are perpetuating violence, intimidation and terror in communities the length and breadth of Ireland.

However, I do not understand why that very moment was not last year at Christmas time, when a child of four years of age watching "The Late Late Show", Tadhg Farrell, and his great-aunt Mary Holt, were equally killed in their own home. That was the moment I expected the whole resources of the State and the collective will of Dáil Éireann to have stepped up and got in front of these thugs because we knew this violence and franchising of thuggery and terror were happening all over Ireland. The stats and figures were there and that should have been the moment. I will lament forever that it was not, but now has to be the moment.

One figure stuck in my head when the Minister referred to the will of the State to confront these drug gangs. The DRIVE programme was referenced, which is run by the Department of Health. That programme was funded last year to €280,000, with an increase in funding of €65,000 announced in September. Just under €350,000 went into that programme from the State. The DRIVE programme stats show that over 1,100 people made representations seeking help from DRIVE in 2025. Effectively, this equates to just over €3 per person per family seeking help and solace. The Minister should reflect on that. There is a lot of merit in the DRIVE programme but it needs greater additional resourcing. The Minister's own Department should, at minimum, match what the Department of Health gives. Clearly, there is a significant gap there.

I am someone who talks about the need to understand the causes of crime and how we get in the face of those who perpetuate it. I look around not only at my own constituency. I imagine every single speaker who stands up here tonight, including the Minister, represents a constituency where they have had families come to them asking for help because they are genuinely terrified of a knock on their door that is going to come.

This is at levels I have never seen. I have been around and known violence in communities for my whole life. I have never known it to the extent that is there at the moment. It is insidious. It has a multitude of forms that I do not think this State is quite ready to recognise. The Minister referred to the legislation introduced in 2024 concerning the coercion of children into criminal activity. There have been about 17 investigations under that Act so far. The most obvious problem, and it is absolutely a problem with that Act, is that a child has to step forward in court and say, "Yes, I am being groomed, and that individual over there is the one who is grooming me into criminality." The Minister has to know, as much as everybody else, that the expectation, pressure and afterwards terror that is placed on that child is a burden too far. We need to look at how we can amend that legislation so that the one good adult who may exist in their life can step forward and take that.

There are far more areas relating to drug-related deaths, crime and intimidation. That we do not have an Act on the Statute Book by which a person can be prosecuted for enforcing intimidation and coercion of a ransom by way of a threat or an act of violence is grotesquely flawed given that this is so prevalent now. I stood up in the Dáil a couple of months ago and held up a copy of the Irish Farmers Journal where the front page highlighted that farming families were having to sell off farming equipment to pay debts. I do not believe for a second, regardless of the will, that we fully understand the extent of this problem. I do not believe that the full will and the force of the State is coming down on the thugs who perpetuate this terror. There are solutions. We need to reorientate our focus.

I am conscious that the Minister and the Chief Whip argued that those who purchase drugs are fuelling this. It is hard to disagree with that. I understand what they mean. Last week, however, the Department of Health launched a health-led approach to drug addiction. On one arm, therefore, the Government is telling us that it recognises that drug addiction requires a health-led approach, and I fundamentally believe that with every fibre of my being. However, when it comes to those who are perpetuating violence and those who are poisoning their communities rather than those who are impacted by the poison, it just moralises and says, "If you don't do this, they won't get that." There is an old slogan that came from the drugs marches of the nineties: "Addicts We Care - Pushers Beware". Pushers, drug dealers and gangs no longer fear this State. This State does not have a monopoly on violence when it comes to these gangs. I ask the Minister to get in front of them. We need to see more prosecution of mid- and high-level ranking members of these gangs who are perpetuating violence. Stop going after those who suffer from the poison and start going after those who poison them, because we are failing grotesquely.

Hear, hear.

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this motion forward. Everyone in this country was absolutely horrified and shocked by what happened with the loss of life suffered by the English family. As Deputy Gannon did, I extend my sympathies. It truly is horrific to think that those parents and children died in a petrol bomb attack of their house. Those children deserve to be waking up. They deserve to be having a Christmas. I am sickened by it and we all should be. It should be the turning point. There should have been other turning points, but this has to be the one where this does not happen again. Unfortunately, in my constituency, just two days after that attack, there was a petrol bomb attack on a house in Finglas and a family managed to escape. This State is not ensuring that children can go to sleep at night knowing that they are safe. That is a very serious indictment of the failure of this State to ensure that communities are safe. I cannot help but contrast the way in which the resources of this State were mobilised and continue to be mobilised for the EU Presidency. Yet what can we do? We cannot ensure our communities are safe.

In my constituency, as I mentioned, the issue in Finglas is still there. In Ballymun, in particular, which the Minister is familiar with, there are serious issues. There are endemic levels of intimidation and violence. Shootings are going on. Children are picking up firearms in playgrounds. This is going on, but we are not seeing a sufficient response. We need to see visible Garda operations. We need to see interventions that tackle it at all levels, including diversion. I am part of the Ballymun local drugs and alcohol task force and it has asked me to raise this issue. As my colleague mentioned, the national DRIVE programme is waiting for funding from the Department of justice to match what the Department of Health has put in. The Minister should guarantee that funding is given immediately to ensure they can make the interventions that are needed.

A report has been produced by the Ballymun implementation board, which the Minister has met. This is very recent. Its big concern, having talked to local groups, is that children as young as 11 years old are being groomed into criminal gangs. It details the way young people are being drawn in, gradually and often by economic vulnerability, before incurring drugs debts that are then transferred to the wider family. We need serious action on this.

I welcome Sinn Féin's work on this Private Members' motion. I am sure what I will say has been echoed in many constituencies around this country. People are terrified in their homes because of drug intimidation. Not only are they terrified in their homes of the threat of violence and petrol bombs, as Deputy Hearne in the context of his constituency, but also their neighbours are terrified because they are wondering if they will pick the wrong house and whether they and their children will die in their beds. I wish to give my sympathies to the English family. I really do not have the words. I cannot imagine what that family are going through and the poor children who are in Crumlin tonight. My thoughts are with them. Three children have died as a result of petrol bombs in the last number of months in this country. This has got to be the moment where we say "No". Even three children are too many. Even a threat to any child's safety because of drug intimidation or any type of violence is absolutely out of order.

In my constituency of Dublin South-Central, things are very much on edge at the moment. Especially coming up to Hallowe'en, the level of violence, intimidation and antisocial behaviour is off the Richter scale. I wish to pay tribute to the community gardaí, who are doing everything that they can, but there are not enough of them. They are not resourced enough. They need vastly more investment in the number of gardaí who are in the constituency. The community safety partnerships need to be advertised so well. Despite all the years we had the community safety forums, lots of people still do not even they exist. Many TDs are saying if people have issues, they should go to that meeting and raise them. The more we raise what is going on in the community, the more pressure the Government will be under to put more resources in our community. However, that has to be advertised. People are being trapped in their homes by this intimidation. One of things that I found recently is that not only are they trapped in their home, but if they did want to move to have a place of safety, there is nowhere to move to because of the housing crisis in this country. They are stuck there. They are stuck in that situation.

As someone who worked with young people such as those Deputy Hearne talked about, I know that Fagin's law does not go far enough. The school completion programme, youth services and schools around this country are losing children and young people every single day to crime. Even when a child is being groomed and Tusla wants to put them in a special care place, we do not have that place. We have a lot of work to do. This is the time when it needs to happen.

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. It was very timely and important that a motion was put down. I am glad because across politics we all need to come together, particularly in light of what has happened.

We need to come together, particularly in light of what has happened. Everyone has said this is going to be a watershed moment. I have heard that about many things down through the years. It has happened at times. It happened with Veronica Guerin and with other issues down through the years when it came to criminality. This probably needs to be the Minister's moment to make the changes that need to be made. Changes were made back then by the Minister for Defence and Ruairí Quinn when he was the Minister for Finance. We need to make a lot of changes, some relating to resources, some of them legislative and some of them involving collective campaigning and leadership.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I acknowledge the loss of the members of the English family. Prayers and thoughts go out to the two young children who are in hospital. I also acknowledge the community in Waterford for the way it has rallied around. I spoke to people down there, who are so badly affected. They have come together. It is not every time that someone will stand up in the Dáil Chamber and say this, but I also acknowledge the public representatives from Waterford. They have even exemplary across the board, at all levels and from all parties and none. This is a time when leadership is needed. This was an example where everybody in public life showed huge leadership and I hope that will continue because we need to deal with this issue.

I also acknowledge An Garda Síochána, which has my full support in bringing to justice not alone those who are responsible for this but also those who made the decision for this to happen. That is critical. It is nearly more important that we root out those who planned this. It was not their first rodeo. We must also root out those above them who are bringing the drugs into communities, and those above them again.

The scourge of drugs is everywhere in our communities. It is in here. When I said that previously I did not realise how much attention it would get. This is a workplace. A large number of people work here. Recreational drug use happens in our midst. It happens not far from where we are sitting and standing. It happens everywhere. That is how prevalent drug use is in this country. It is in every community and sporting organisation. It is everywhere. I do not believe that we realise, or are acting to, the scale of what is out there. It is everywhere. If we are going to deal with this issue, we have to acknowledge the scale of the problem. It is not just a matter of dealing with those who are at high and medium levels of criminality and those who are pushing drugs on the ground. I believe in a health-based system for dealing with those who are users. The Minister might want to reflect on that. I was a little disappointed with what he said recently in that regard. I thought we had all moved on. I respect that we all have a journey to travel. I had to do so. I had to be educated and change my views. I have no problem admitting that. As it comes closer and closer to you as a person, when you become a parent and see this going on all over the country and all over our communities, you have to reassess your views. We have to deal with those who are using drugs through a health-led approach, in the main.

A multifaceted approach is needed. We need to help those who are using drugs, cut the supply lines into our country and intercept the international gangs. We need to manage how our police force is funded and resourced to deal with this issue. We need to consider the intelligence the Garda is receiving. There is a serious cross-Border element that we need to consider. There are also issues with the access points around the country for drugs coming in. We also have to consider how those who are carrying out the intimidation and criminal activities are able to do so openly in our towns and villages and in the countryside. I represent a rural area. For many people who come from rural backgrounds and work in agriculture, on farms, on large-scale agricultural projects and in various food-related activities in many rural areas and economies, drug use is as much an issue as it is in urban areas. It is not so obvious to the eye, but it is there.

I had to deal with a grandfather who has since passed away. He secretly had to pay off his grandson's debt. Otherwise, it was possible he would have been killed. He paid off debts twice because they came back a second time. That was not in an urban area. It was an isolated house in a rural area of Tipperary. It was not in the inner city of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford or Galway. The person who was affected got health-related help and has recovered. He is now living quite a good and productive life.

If we are going to deal with this, resourcing the Garda is essential. I am supportive of youth diversion and the resourcing of the DRIVE project. I completely agree with my colleague that these are under-resourced. I am supportive of the various organisations in communities. All of that is important. We need a campaign and an educational process. There are organisations in this country that are massive and have impact. My local publican has multiple signs in his pub stating, "We sell Coke behind the counter. If we catch you, you'll be barred for life." It is clear and impactful. He runs his premises in such a way and events are managed in such a way that nobody will try to take cocaine. They might try, but I doubt they are going to get away with it.

The point I am getting to is this. We have sporting and cultural organisations and a whole range of other organisations that we need to mobilise. I would love to do so as part of the committee I chair. I would love to see those organisations mobilised in a campaign to denormalise drug-taking in this country and to denormalise its social acceptability. In many social settings, whether in a house, a pub or wherever else, it is okay to take cocaine and other serious drugs. It is simply not okay. However, for some reason, among our middle classes, in particular, it seems to be okay.

The Government should lead on the issue.

We should ask the powerful large-scale sporting, cultural, industry and agriculture organisations in the country to leverage their memberships and capacity to help us to make it the watershed moment that everyone in this Chamber has spoken about. As politicians, we cannot do this on our own. The Government cannot do this on its own. The Government, working with the Opposition, can help but unless we get all of these organisations and all of these people to work with us, we will not be able to address the root cause of what happened in Waterford. The root cause of what happened in Waterford is that people want to take these drugs. Some of them are in very vulnerable situations and they need health-related help, but others are taking them for different reasons. Young people are taking cocaine because they believe it does not give them calories, does not impact them from a health perspective and does not give them a hangover. This is all utter bull. In the long term, it is still doing them damage and creating an addictive capacity, which is changing their lives. I have seen it. I have seen so many of them in trouble. I have seen people from families who no one would have expected to be affected in the way in which they are. Let this be a watershed moment. As the political class of 2026 in this Chamber, we cannot do it on our own.

Across urban and rural Ireland, in all counties, drug barons are using extortion, blackmail and intimidation. It is happening in every parish in Laois, the county I represent. Drug barons are trapping often vulnerable young people into drug use, drug dealing and criminal activity. It is the case that middle-class people use drugs for recreational purposes, but vulnerable young people are also using them. Those people who are using them for recreational purposes should stand back and take a look at themselves. These drug dealers ensnare young people through addiction and debt. These debts are collected through fear, intimidation and extortion. They are often collected outside post offices, banks and places where people receive social welfare payments and pensions.

Parents and grandparents, as has been said, are targeted to pay off loans. Loans are got from moneylenders, credit unions and friends to clear drug debts. Layers of interest are added on by dealers and often by illegal moneylenders to pay these debts. In the past week, we have again seen the methods used by these thugs, with tragic consequences for the English family in Waterford. Our thoughts are with them, particularly the two boys in hospital. I hope they recover.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have seen a situation like this. We had the terrible case of Mary Holt and her little grandson in Edenderry. What happened there was scandalous. Other victims have been brought to isolated areas and shot dead or suffered serious injury. Young people have been stabbed in rows over drug debts in houses and in alleyways. The silence these thugs have created around their despicable criminal activity has to be broken. The Government or the Dáil Chamber cannot do this alone. This requires a whole-of-society approach. The Garda DRIVE initiative is a very good one. It is very welcome but it needs to be beefed up and expanded. I ask that this be done. We need to create a greater awareness of this initiative so that people will go to An Garda a lot earlier. We should prioritise this.

We have to get to the point where victims go sooner and share as much information as possible confidentially with An Garda. The Minister will have heard that it is estimated that only one in ten is coming forward, and that is probably a best-case scenario. I welcome the fact that the Minister and the Minister of State are here. It shows that the Department is taking this matter seriously, which some Ministers, unfortunately, do not do. We have to come at this very strongly. Dealers have to be treated as pariahs in local communities, not people with status. The local drug units, which do good work, need to be resourced properly and we need to launch a major crackdown targeting dealers. There is good work ongoing, but we need to add to that work with more Garda units. Responses need to be co-ordinated at local level with gardaí, communities and community groups.

I want to raise a pressing issue in this regard. We need to create good joint policing committees. I and other Deputies were on joint policing committees and they worked reasonably well. The only argument I ever made about them was that we should strengthen them further and enhance their role, but the Government abolished them. I do not get any pleasure from saying this, but unfortunately, we have created toothless talking shops called community safety partnerships. These are little more than harmless talking shops. We need proper community safety committees. I do not care what they are called but we need proper committees at local level, with gardaí, community representatives, elected representatives and other interested parties involved.

We need to provide support for victimised families and they need protection, where necessary. In serious cases, and as a last resort, that may mean relocation. Obviously, we are failing when we get to that point, but where it has to be done, it should be done.

The big message is that we need to break the silence the dealers have created. We need to treat them as unwanted in communities. We need well-resourced Garda drugs units to create a serious crackdown and to step up the crackdown on dealers. We cannot allow these thugs to have any level of local or national control and instil terror in families and communities. We have seen in recent months that even those who are in faraway places and at the top of the tree have been brought to justice, and all of that is welcome. The Government is going after the money and when it does so, it catches people. Everybody needs to pull together in this. We need an all-of-society approach. I hope we can step it up. There has to be a change in gear in terms of how we address what has happened and the terrible events in Waterford. We now need to step up a gear and get on top of this problem.

I express my condolences to the English family, their relatives and friends and to the Birchwood community in Waterford arising from the awful events last week. I hope that the two children still in hospital will recover quickly and go home safely.

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this very timely and detailed motion. I also thank the Minister for accepting it. It is important that there is cross-party support for the motion from all parties and none in the House. This issue is widespread across the country. Every TD in the Dáil knows that drugs and drug intimidation are a scourge in every corner of the country, not just in cities and towns but in rural areas as well.

I also welcome the DRIVE initiative, which, as the Minister indicated, commenced last year. It is a particularly important development because it is a culture change within An Garda. Maybe I should not say this but I feel I have to. It is not too long ago that I had families coming to me looking for support in this area and telling me that they were being advised by gardaí to pay these debts. Thankfully, that has changed and I hope this initiative will bear fruit in the future.

I also agree with previous speakers' points about recreational drug taking. These people bear a heavy responsibility for drug-related crime and intimidation and they need to stand back and take a good look at themselves.

The full prevention of drug crime intimidation and antisocial behaviour requires a wide range of social, economic and community actions. These include things like education and training, employment, income, social inclusion, community facilities, policing and addiction and rehabilitation services. Garda policing is one of the most essential and basic elements in tackling this type of crime and antisocial behaviour. There are at least three elements to this Garda involvement. First, of course, is adequate Garda numbers to enable high visibility policing by gardaí on the beat, adequately staffed Garda drug units and a comprehensive community policing service. Community gardaí are absolutely invaluable in building up relationships with communities and with individuals within communities. Crucially, they build up a relationship, trust and friendship with young people. They become involved with local activities, youth clubs, sports clubs and resident associations. They are seen and are active in areas and, thus, prevent crime and, importantly, they identify young people at an early age who might tend to stray. Locals know these gardaí. They know their names and they have their contact details. Unfortunately, all that has been lost and the few community gardaí who are left work above and beyond and are stretched to the limit.

The community Garda service has, effectively, been dismantled, especially since the introduction of the new Garda districts. The statistics do not lie. In 2010, we had 1,082 community gardaí. In August of this year, we had 592. In Tipperary, in 2010 we had 108 community gardaí. In August 2026, the Clare and Tipperary Garda division had 18 community gardaí. The community Garda service must be re-established and staffed up to at least the 2010 levels. The small number of Garda drug units and gardaí attached to these units would appear to suggest that the Government is not really taking the whole drug threat seriously. Garda statistics show that nationally there are only 339 attached to these units as of February 2026. The Clare and Tipperary division has only 17 gardaí in these units. That is for an area stretching from Limerick city up to the Galway border and from the bridge in Portumna down to Carrick-on-Suir - an impossible task.

The policy in recent years of prioritising Dublin, Cork and Galway for the allocation of newly attested gardaí has made matters considerably worse in rural Ireland and in places like south Tipperary. Last week, 207 gardaí were attested and 160 of those went to Dublin and the east. South Tipperary got the crumbs. It got five gardaí: two in Nenagh, two in Clonmel and one in Tipperary town. That leaves Clonmel Garda station with nine fewer gardaí than it had in 2024. We need to beef up the Garda presence throughout the country.

Bogfaimid ar aghaidh go dtí an Teachta O'Flynn.

Philip and Kim English, Callum, aged 12, and Jayden, nine years old, were killed in their own home in Waterford over a debt that was not theirs. In Edenderry, we had a four-year-old child, Tadhg Farrell, and his grand-aunt Mary being killed. I use those names because there are a lot of people out there who would ask that we would not use those names or that we would not to mention them, in particular those gangs that are involved. They want us to forget those names. It is vitally important that these names, and the tragedy that happened in Waterford, in Edenderry, and other events that have happened around the country, leave an indelible mark upon this House.

Like everybody on all sides of the House, I have witnessed it in my constituency. I have sat in kitchens with mothers and fathers in floods of tears, not just because their child had a drug problem but because their child was in so much debt. Some of them were serving prison sentences in Cork Prison, some had moved out of the house and some were in homeless accommodation or in homeless services. The then family gets a knock on the door from thugs. That is all they are - absolute thugs. In the case of one particular family in Cork North-Central, who I will not name for obvious reasons, they are using an enforcement group or gang from Dublin to come down. These gangs are working out deals with mothers and fathers, people in their 50s. They are saying to them that if they cannot pay the debt, they will work off the debt, and will either have to get involved in intimidation themselves or start running drugs for the gang, driving cars and delivering here and there. I have had people in floods of tears who have been on to local authorities. They spoke to local authorities to say they need to get out of their property. Local authorities cannot help them because they say they cannot move people because of antisocial behaviour. I have seen gardaí upset and perturbed because they feel under-resourced and not listened to, in particular the liaison gardaí who are working their fingers to the bone.

It is all very well for us to get up in this House to say what a shame and what an awful tragedy this is but we need to be moving quicker and stronger. We have to get stronger with the Criminal Assets Bureau. We have to move more powers over to it. These guys are quite often going in collecting their dole on a Wednesday, wearing €500 sneakers, bracelets, Rolex watches and so on. Why are we not going after them when they have the missus in the car with a designer handbag and no real way of proving how they are on the dole and living a lifestyle like that? They are involved in intimidation. We know them. We have seen them. I have seen them at the doors. Then they are using kids under the age of 18 to firebomb houses, to attack and to threaten people. We have to go after these people. We have to strengthen the powers of the Criminal Assets Bureau to go after those particular small-time drug dealers. What I mean by a small-time drug dealer is a guy who is intimidating for €20,000 or €30,000. I had a situation recently in Cork where a young man told me that his dad bailed him out of €30,000 worth of debt. His father had to borrow, beg and steal to try to find that €30,000. It is not acceptable. We need to move faster on that.

I will start by extending my sincere sympathies to the English family on the deaths of Philip, Kim, Callum and Jayden in the horrific happenings of last week. I also extend my sincere sympathies to Kim's family who are from Courtmacsherry in my constituency. It opened our eyes to the dangers of drugs, having being brought up in times when drugs were not a huge issue. It shows the crisis it is now. I was listening to the radio during the week when the intimidation was being spoken about. I listened to a doctor who deals with people in relation to drugs issues. Some Deputies are talk about encouraging small-time drugs here but I wonder is that ever the right road to travel. I think it is clear now that it is not. When you start small, you unfortunately end up in the big game. I heard a doctor say that they go as far as seeing the person they are chasing dead and they continue to try to get their money in whatever way. When the person has passed away, they go to the funeral and threaten the family either in the church or at the funeral home. That is an astonishing situation in which we find ourselves. It tells you that law and order has broken down when people are terrified, afraid to open their mouths and fight back.

We need more Garda resources. There is no doubt about that. I have very serious concerns that my constituency has been overlooked for the last three times. I have brought this up with the Minister on numerous occasions, including last week. It has been overlooked in relation to gardaí being appointed to it. We have gardaí who have retired and who are out sick. There are genuine reasons. I do not understand for the life of me why a costal community in the south west where drugs are continuously coming in should be overlooked. There is no point in saying they are not. It is foolish person who would say here, or anywhere else, that this is not happening. We are being left wide open. For some reason, whether because of the Garda Commissioner or the Minister, the allocation of gardaí to west Cork was zero this time. It was zero the last time, the time before and the time before that.

I do not understand how anybody thinks a chief superintendent is supposed to fill positions. Is the attitude for Drimoleague and places like that to keep them closed and move on? Scale them down or move on and let the drug guys haul them in left, right and centre and then move on because we do not police our coast. I do not know where the Government is sending them but it is certainly not sending them down to us. For the likes of Kinsale, Bandon, Clonakilty, Bantry, Macroom, Skibbereen, Castletownbere and Schull, our communities deserve the same level and protection and policing as other parts of the country.

Rural crime, burglary, drug related offences, antisocial behaviour and road safety concerns do not disappear simply because people live outside our cities. West Cork is a large geographic coastal area with scattered communities and long travel distances. Our gardaí are working hard but they cannot be everywhere. They need support at once and they need reinforcement. I am calling on the Minister for justice and the Garda Commissioner to explain to west Cork why this continues to be overlooked.

I send my deepest sympathies to the English family in Waterford. There are two children and their parents dead, with two more children fighting for their life. An innocent family was targeted for a debt that was not theirs. It is the most shocking situation. We will be supporting the Bill and will also support Deputy O'Flynn's amendments on CAB and the child trafficking element too.

I am aware of situations in my own constituency of Mayo where young people get addicted to drugs, build up a debt and have then emigrated. The gangs are targeting their families and parents. I am aware of one case where the gangs have targeted a vulnerable aunt and uncle in the family. They arrived at night time into their house with balaclavas and so on. What is happening is absolutely frightening. The saddest thing is that so many families live in fear and do not report for fear of repercussions for their loved one. That is frightening and is happening in so many cases all over this country. We absolutely need to tackle it. We need to address it.

We need to introduce a new law as a stand-alone piece of legislation. We absolutely need tougher sentencing. It has been reported that the suspects involved in this case were on temporary release. There have been 1,600 individuals on temporary release in the first six months of 2026. Why is this happening? Because there is no prison capacity. It is operating at 120% capacity. What does it mean to the gardaí who are working so hard to put these individuals behind bars and see them out on temporary release? Sentencing must mean something and crime must have consequences. We are treating the criminal thugs far too leniently. When will there be a new prison? We need to build a new prison and it is high time we treat crime and thugs with the full consequences of the law.

The divisional drugs unit does tremendous work but it is simply under-resourced. In the region I am from, the divisional unit of Mayo, Longford and Roscommon has in the region of 12 members of the divisional drug squad across three counties and a massive coastline. I attended an event in Belmullet last year where I was told stories from the drugs squad and all of the other agencies about the drugs that are coming in because of the massive coastline Mayo has. This is simply unacceptable because drugs are terrorising families in terms of drug intimidation but destroying the lives of young people. I believe we also need to tackle this on a societal level. We need to tackle it in schools and clubs. We need to denormalise drug-taking in this country because all of these people are responsible and fuelling what is happening across this country.

Before we move on to Deputy Gogarty, has Deputy O'Flynn moved his amendment?

Now there is consensus in the House and the Government is not challenging the motion, I am happy to leave it go ahead at the moment. I ask the Minister to have a read of it when he has a chance.

I presume some of that time is coming back to me?

Yes.

Gabhaim buíochas. The Minister will be aware of the drug related intimidation and violence engagement, DRIVE, report that found there were over 1,000 cases of intimidation in every county between 2024 and 2025. Almost two thirds of the victims lived with family members. Drug debt was a factor in over two thirds of cases, with amounts between €100 and €20,000. As Deputy Lawless said before me, a lot of cases are not reported. Recently, I heard through the grapevine of someone over on the northside of the city - not in my constituency - where there were five or six teenagers who rushed into a house past the two grandparents looking for a young lad who owed money for drugs. The grandfather said something and got a whack in the face. He basically got beaten up. They did not report it, to my knowledge, because they were absolutely afraid. That situation is happening across the country.

We know there are no consequences for low level antisocial behaviour to catch the hangers-on but this is a higher level of stuff. There need to be serious consequences for those who are abusing young children in this way. There need to be consequences for the young children who think it is the flash thing to do but we obviously need juvenile resources from that point of view as well. Equally, those who can afford to and the more affluent groups in our society who think it is okay to have a social go of cocaine bear responsibility and the Minister said it on media interviews himself. I would like to see consequences for their responsibility because these people should know better and if they are involved in taking cocaine, they are responsible for families like the English family. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and relatives. They are equally as responsible and they need consequences as well so they are not actually buying into this market.

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this very important motion. I also offer my deepest sympathies to the English family. What happened was absolutely horrific. It is difficult to even find words to describe such an appalling attack, particularly when you think of the young people who were caught up in such terrifying violence. Over the past 90 minutes, I have listened to contributions from Members across this House and what struck me was how many families and communities across this country, rural, urban and everywhere, have been living in fear of criminal gangs. As previous speakers highlighted, this attack was not the first and sadly, unless we take stronger action, it will not be the last. What concerns me is the sheer level of control these criminal gangs have over people's lives.

I thank the Minister for coming to Dublin Bay North in relation to the action programmes earlier in the year. I know he sees what the youth diversion programme can do and the change it can make if it gets a person at that critical point in their life. In my area, there are families afraid in their homes. Parents are worried about their children. These are decent, law-abiding citizens in north Dublin and this intimidation is not just linked to drugs. We also hear about people being threatened over debts and intimidation extends to relatives who have absolutely nothing to do with those debts. This is an absolute scourge on our society and I am glad to hear the Government is accepting and not opposing this motion.

We need to ask ourselves how such gangs are allowed to grow, develop and exercise such power over our communities. I firmly believe part of that is answered in strengthening community policing, roles and gardaí and diversion programmes. I really welcome the allocation of the 18 newly attested gardaí but my one question is over just one garda having been sent to Coolock. I have written to the Minister about this because Coolock Garda station does not just cover Coolock. It covers a lot the areas around it, such as Belmayne, Clongriffin and Artane. Just one additional garda was assigned ahead of Halloween for additional numbers. Speaking to gardaí and families in the area, I urge it be prioritised for the next garda allocation.

Criminal gangs cannot be allowed to decide how people live their lives, where they go and whether they feel safe in their own homes. I welcome announcements that the Minister's Department, in conjunction with gardaí, have been tackling the HHC vape scourge that is also being sold across north Dublin. We cannot accept a situation where decent families are living in fear while criminals responsible believe they can act with impunity. I welcome that the HHC vapes which are being sold are being tackled. There are 12-, 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls smoking these vapes, rotting their brains and getting them into that criminal gang. This needed to be tackled and I welcome the work the Minister has done on that.

Above all, we need to send a very clear message. It is the criminals who should be leaving in fear of the law, not the ordinary families leaving in fear of the criminals.

I wish to begin by expressing my deepest condolences to the extended English family on the deaths of their family members due to an arson attack. I also remember the two children who are critical in hospital at this time and the grief-stricken community in Waterford.

Unfortunately, as has been said here by many TDs, this is too common. It is across the country. My own county of Offaly knows only too well what happens when violent criminality is allowed to take root in a community. The horrific deaths of Tadhg Farrell and Mary Holt in Edenderry remain etched in the memory of our county. While criminal proceedings are ongoing and must take their course, we cannot stand over a situation where communities are left feeling abandoned while criminals spread fear and misery. That is why people will be astonished to learn that County Offaly has received just one additional garda from the most recent allocation. At a time when concerns about drug-related intimidation are increasing, unfortunately, that is all we are being offered. It is not right. I ask for a much bigger allocation and further engagement with the Garda Commissioner because County Offaly needs more resources and gardaí. Areas like Edenderry, which have been left under-resourced for too long, need to be looked after, as do many other areas in the county.

Criminal gangs do not operate with one hand tied behind their backs, as we know. Yet, the State continues to ask gardaí to police our communities with inadequate numbers and stretched resources. I am mentioning Edenderry again because it does not have a full-time Garda station and that is not acceptable. A town of its size, a huge town with a growing population, should have a full-time Garda station and I have committed to the people of Edenderry that I would raise that here today. Again, I call on the Minister of State to look at Edenderry Garda Station, and more resources for it and for gardaí across County Offaly.

The first duty of any Government is to protect its citizens. Families should not live in fear in their own homes. Parents should not have to worry that their children are being targeted by drug gangs. Elderly people should not have to look over their shoulder because criminals believe they own a housing estate, a street or an entire community. Unfortunately, that is what is happening. The message from this House must be absolutely clear: we will not surrender our towns, villages and housing estates to drug gangs or thugs. We need more gardaí, tougher enforcement, stronger victim supports and real consequences for those who prey on vulnerable families. Fine words are no substitute for action and, of course, the basics have to be in place. The hours of Garda stations have to be increased and there needs to be more visibility. The only way the Garda can ensure increased visibility is by having the resources and the numbers. It is shameful that County Offaly was given just one additional garda, despite what happened in Edenderry last year.

Deputy Ken O'Flynn's amendment rightly acknowledges a reality that many families face. The people being terrorised are often not those who incurred the debt but their innocent parents, grandparents or children, and that is what we have seen. The State must ensure that these families can access immediate protection, housing support and a rapid Garda response when criminal gangs come calling. I am calling again here tonight for law and order. People in communities deserve to feel safe; it is a basic right. Unfortunately, they do not and we need increased resources.

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this debate this evening. I am glad this motion has been accepted because I think the Minister and Minister of State can hear, across the Chamber and across the political divide, that there is a common view here. It is a shared experience in every constituency.

Like others, at the outset, I wish to express my deepest sympathies to the English family in Waterford. It is absolutely heartbreaking to see four coffins but, in particular, the coffins of those two perfect young boys gone to an early grave. They should be heading into the Hallowe'en break from school next week and enjoying all that would have promised for them. To be going to an early grave is absolutely disgusting. It is so upsetting for the nation and I think it is right that this is all debated here in the House tonight.

We must finally shatter the comfortable illusion that casual drug use is a victimless lifestyle choice. It is not harmless. Every single line of cocaine or recreational pill bought in this country directly funds and sustains a multimillion euro criminal enterprise. That casual transaction is a direct investment in a trade that takes many innocent lives with it. The horrific tragedy we witnessed in Waterford shocked the entire nation, as I said, but let us be painfully honest in this Chamber tonight. What happened in Waterford could have happened anywhere in Ireland. Indeed, as the last speaker said, it happened in County Offaly just a few months ago.

In my own constituency of Clare, I am told of harrowing, stomach-churning accounts. I have been reliably informed of one gang operating in the west of Ireland that has now resorted to using sexual violence to enforce drug debts. They rape men and women or threaten to rape family members if the debts are not paid. This barbaric cruelty goes entirely unreported because families fear that if they report the rape, they will be murdered.

I also know of an equally depraved case of a young man in my own county who had successfully beaten his addiction. He went in for four or five weeks' rehabilitation in a treatment centre. That was successful but because of his recovery, it meant that a lucrative customer was lost to the drug dealer. A few days after returning home, his door was beaten down, he was held down in the hallway of his house and he was injected with heroin because by injecting the heroin, the lucrative customer was back again. That is absolutely disgusting and it is an illustration of the sheer, unadulterated evil we are dealing with here.

Meanwhile, in towns and villages across Clare, and this could be anywhere in Ireland, we see dealers living large. They do not hold down employment, yet hard-working residents are expected to ludicrously accept the flashy cars in their driveways, the bling jewellery and the multiple sun holidays. Members of the public are not fools. While there is a really good Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB, that investigates those on the front page of the Sunday World and the big-name crime families in Ireland, we are going to need a regional, sub-layer of CAB that looks at that village housing estate and the small-town criminal who is taking his community for a ride.

We also need to start treating deaths as a direct consequence of the illicit drug trade as homicide. I refer to people who have died as a result of the direct use of drugs but also people who have taken their lives. I know of several funerals in different parts of the country where someone took their life because they knew if they did not, it was going to be taken for them by thugs within a matter of days. That needs to be treated as homicide when it is being investigated by the Garda.

The families and friends of these individuals need to do some deep soul-searching. They need to look at the incredible gifts that are showered on them and ask themselves what is really funding them. Is your son really the great lad you think he is, or is he a monster, wrecking lives and taking young people's lives with him? Some politicians also need to stop fraternising with the drug-dealing community. We must take back our communities and resource our Garda. We need to expand CAB and reclaim our streets.

I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion today. I have listened to the debate in this House and to Members' sincerity and informed contributions. As the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and other Deputies stated, we are seeing a united approach to these egregious crimes being committed across our constituencies.

I wish to send my condolences to the English family and the wider Companjen family on the deaths of Kim, Philip, Jayden and Callum. Our immediate thoughts are with Nadia and Elliot, who are in Crumlin children's hospital fighting for their lives.

These serious arson attacks are becoming more rampant across our communities. Many of us have spoken to constituents who have either been victims of these crimes or are dealing with family members who are the victims of these crimes. In our own constituency, Deputy Ó Snodaigh and I have seen people who have been the victims of mistaken identity whose houses were petrol-bombed. We had three instances of petrol-bombing in Dublin South-Central in the past four weeks. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and I know the seriousness, and the insidious and hidden nature of this issue.

As was pointed out, not everyone is reporting these crimes; they are afraid to report them. A message that has to come out of the House today is that people should please report the crimes. An Garda Síochána is there and is resourced. It wants to hear about these crimes and act on them. Please trust An Garda Síochána to act on these crimes. We know that drug-related intimidation extends far beyond those directly involved in drug use. I have dealt with parents, grandparents, siblings and other innocent family members who have been threatened and targeted over alleged drug debts. Organised crime groups deliberately use fear, violence and intimidation to exert control over our communities, but we will have zero tolerance for drug debt-related intimidation. It is our aim that no family, community or person should live in fear of this. I hope this will be a watershed moment.

We will and have been targeting top-level criminals. We are determined to target the gangs that are thriving in our communities, the organisers and financiers at a much higher level. We have to ensure that the victims and families are at the centre of everything we do in terms of victim protection. As others have said, we have to follow the money. We have been really successful. It was after Veronica Guerin's tragic death that we established the Criminal Assets Bureau, CAB. It is something other countries look at and it is hugely successful, but it has to be extended. We have to consider a mini-CAB because we are seeing people going around wearing designer handbags and driving luxury cars in a manner clearly associated with a life of criminality. We have to ensure we break the cycle. The message has to come from this House that we stand with victims and will not tolerate this type of egregious crime. We are determined to ensure that those who are involved in criminality are relentlessly pursued by An Garda Síochána, prosecuted and convicted, and deprived of all the profits they sustain from these awful and harrowing activities that have destroyed families across the country and those living in our communities. There is absolutely no place in our country for this type of uncivilised behaviour. We will absolutely not accept it.

As the Minister pointed out, law enforcement is central to our response, but enforcement alone cannot address the harm caused by drug-related intimidation. That is why the Government is pursuing a dual strategy, relentlessly targeting organised crime groups while ensuring individuals and families affected by intimidation can access practical support and protection. I reiterate our call to please report these terrible crimes and intimidation. In addition, we are building resilience, strengthening trust and ensuring people know that support is available when they need it. Just last month, Operation Tara, an intelligence-led operation involving the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and regional Garda units, resulted in the seizure of cocaine worth approximately €1.6 million, heroin valued at over €500,000, cash and vehicles, along with multiple arrests. Operation Tara is just one example of the ongoing work taking place every day across our country. The Government's message is clear. Those who engage in intimidation, extortion or violence will face the full force and rigour of the law.

Resourcing is reflected in our recent budget. The commitment provides an additional €167 million for An Garda Síochána, bringing the overall Garda budget to €2.7 billion. There is support for the recruitment of up to 1,000 new gardaí next year, and to strengthen both front-line and specialist policing capabilities. This brings our force to a total of nearly 14,828, including 27 gardaí for Waterford last Friday. While enforcement is critical, we also have to recognise that drug-related intimidation presents unique challenges. It inflicts profound harm on individuals and communities. Victims often feel isolated, frightened and unaware. The Government's national drugs strategy provides a comprehensive framework for tackling the harms associated with drug use, including drug-related intimidation and violence. Other Members referred to drug-related intimidation and violence engagement, DRIVE. This is one of the central elements of the Government's drug-related intimidation response. It is a national interagency initiative that supports individuals and communities affected by drug-related intimidation and drug threats. The Government remains fully committed to expanding this work, and budget 2027 provides an additional €300,000 in recurring funding, doubling investment in the programme and supporting its continued expansion across the country.

One of the most disturbing aspects of organised crime is the exploitation of children and young people. As many Members know, I have responsibility for youth justice. We know that criminal gangs deliberately target vulnerable young people and seek to draw them into criminality, including intimidation, and debt. This exploitation of our beautiful children, mostly boys, will not be tolerated. The Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Act provides new tools to target those who groom, recruit or exploit children for criminal purposes. Alongside this, the response includes continued investment in youth justice, with youth diversion receiving an extra €11.5 million in the recent budget, bringing the total funding to over €50 million. This includes funding the nationwide network of 92 youth diversion projects and four specialised youth diversion projects around the country, including two further targeted youth diversion projects. These services have practical interventions for young people. We know that youth diversion works and it will be supported.

We must also recognise that community safety cannot be delivered by just one agency. We must see an intergovernmental approach. We are working with local community safety partnerships, the Garda, the HSE, Tusla, community organisations, residents, communities and education to bring that all together. By bringing together local knowledge, public services and community leadership, we can develop responses that are tailored to meet local needs and focus on prevention as well as enforcement.

The Government also wants to send a clear message to victims and families that help is available. No family should feel abandoned. No parent should feel they have nowhere to turn. Anyone who becomes the target of drug-related intimidation should immediately report it to An Garda Síochána. As the Garda Commissioner has repeatedly emphasised, gardaí have the expertise, powers and resources to support and protect victims, but they can only act on the information they receive.

Finally, I would like to address to the issue of casual drug use. As others have stated, casual drug use is not a victimless crime. I urge anyone who uses illegal drugs to reflect carefully on the consequences of their choice. Let me be absolutely clear. Those who purchase illicit drugs are helping to fund the very criminal network that inflicts fear, harm and devastation on our communities. Such purchasing bankrolls the organised crime groups that prey on vulnerable people and children. It undermines our community safety, and profits from other people's human misery.

The Government condemns those who use violence, threats and intimidation to control communities. We stand with victims and families affected by these crimes all across the country. They do not discriminate. We remain committed to a comprehensive response that combines strong law enforcement with practical supports, prevention measures, community resilience and sustained investment. Together we can ensure that organised criminal groups do not dictate the future of our communities, that victims receive the support they deserve and that every person can feel safe where they live, work and raise a family.

I offer my condolences to the English family and express my hope that the two children who are fighting for their lives will recover. No matter what, their lives will never be the same again.

In my community over the past two years, over 15 homes have been burned to the ground. Many others have been damaged, shot at, attacked or had windows smashed. Thankfully, we have not had what we have seen in Waterford. I personally know of a family who have had to pay over €50,000 to drug dealers. Many others are paying up to hundreds of euro every single week. I have met families who have had to uproot themselves from their communities after living in them for 40 years. Others who cannot leave have to sit night after night with fire extinguishers at the ready, sleeping in shifts. It is becoming normalised. Drug debt intimidation is nothing new in our communities. It is a daily occurrence and has been for years. Those of us who have worked on the front line in family support, drug services and rehabilitation know that we cannot police ourselves out of this situation, but for now we need a dedicated policing response to help our communities feel safe. While we are calling for a Garda response, I note that hundreds of gardaí are brought in from stations across Dublin to police the EU Presidency and no overtime has been spared. Our community would love to see that sense of urgency and unlimited overtime on our streets.

I have again and again in our community raised the issue of a gang dealing openly in broad daylight, sucking younger and younger people into drug dealing and criminality. We are watching this every day. Across Dublin West, drug gangs feel untouchable and are operating with impunity.

In the long term, we need a trauma-led response and to get in there early to work with families and young people through our youth and counselling services. We need to keep young people in school and provide decent housing and jobs. The youth service in Blakestown and Mountview spent a huge amount of time and energy looking for funding to work with young people and was a few weeks ago denied it for the very outreach teams we are looking for. I urge that we look at that type of funding for those projects.

We have had the slaughter of a family, Philip, Kim, Callum, and Jaden, and all our thoughts are with Nadia and Elliot. We need to ensure that both the caring and policing resources required are provided.

This is not the first time any of us has had to deal with the issue of organised drug criminality and the violence that stems from it, whether we are talking about intimidation, threats, violence, destruction of property, injury or death. In Waterford, what we had was a family wipeout. It happened so somebody could profit off the back of drug dealing and a debt that they allowed a family member to rack up. That is actually better business than straight drug dealing. We have all seen it too many times before.

I welcome the Minister's statement that this is a watershed moment. We can all talk of what happened to Tadhg Farrell and Mary Holt when they were slain in Edenderry. Maybe that and many other cases should have been the starting point, but we have to start from somewhere. This is not the first time I have brought up the issue of drug criminality with the Minister, yet we have got nowhere in relation to it. We need to have a very real conversation.

I am fully into trauma-informed, health-led harm reduction and making sure we do not jam our courts with young people with serious addiction problems when we need to give them support. However, we are talking about people who engage in sexual exploitation who have been able to operate for years, and huge criminal networks and muscle. In most cases, they have become much cleverer and much more discreet in how they operate. We all know this goes on in every estate and every one of our towns. We know this is across the board. We know people who have been dealing drugs for years, and while I have seen great work done by the Garda, we are nowhere near dealing with this. We need wider family supports and all of the other things I have spoken before about.

Drug-related deaths and intimidation in areas like Finglas and Ballymun have been going on for years. Criminal gangs are targeting families over drug debts acquired by a member of the family or a close relative. The intimidation tactics include physical assaults, property damage and attacks on the family home, with windows being broken, cars being burnt out and homes being petrol-bombed. Criminal groups are increasingly shifting the burden of a relative's drug debt onto parents, spouses and even grandparents, and are using threats and fear tactics to extract money to pay for their relative's drug debt. Parents have gone as far as having to remortgage their homes to pay off a drug debt. Many incidents of intimidation go unreported for fear of repercussions and are not even recorded.

What compounds this is the low number of prosecutions of those involved in the intimidation. Often, young people with drug debts are exploited by drug gangs and pressurised into holding and delivering drugs, collecting money and carrying out acts of intimidation. There have also been cases where families are targeted in a case of mistaken identity. Recently, a house in Meakstown was petrol bombed and the family, who had no connection with drugs or the drug trade, barely escaped with their lives, having to make their escape by climbing out the windows of the house.

Even after the tragedy in Waterford, a house was targeted in Finglas and firebombed. Areas like Finglas and Ballymun suffer from a lack of visible, dedicated policing. This has a real impact in areas where drug dealing is visible and pervasive and it negatively impacts on the confidence local communities have in An Garda Síochána to tackle this criminal activity. The tragedy in Waterford should be a wake-up call to the Government and also to those who buy and use drugs. Drug dealers have shown time and again that they do not care who gets in their way.

Far too many lives have been lost or destroyed due to drug-related intimidation and it is my firmly-held belief that each and every one of those deaths should have been a watershed moment. Across counties Longford and Westmeath, I see individuals and communities being absolutely terrorised. There is no other way of describing it. Our Circuit Court in Mullingar recently heard of teenagers trapped in drug debt. They were being used to attack homes, burn cars and fire a shotgun. The judge in that case likened those exploiting these young people to Fagin, though he described them as being far more sinister and a lot more dangerous. No area is safe from these predators and anybody who thinks that they are safe is delusional. It is happening everywhere. I have met families who have taken out loans, emptied savings accounts and sold their homes in order to pay drug debts. These people tell me they feel preyed upon and alone and that they do not have trust that the judicial system will be there to have their back.

We absolutely need a crackdown by An Garda Síochána on those at the top to go after the profits and assets they have made out of this trade, but we will not police our way out of this. We need stronger communities. We need better investment in the Garda and in addiction, as well as family supports and youth services, particularly in areas where there is that additional vulnerability of deprivation.

I will finish with another reflection on a court case in my area involving alleged attacks to crack the skull of a 70-year-old woman. This woman's daughter was also threatened and her car vandalised. Hundreds of euro of damage was done to her home. That woman suffers from heart failure. The alleged perpetrator in that instance is 16. He was given bail. The debt was €50. That lady stood in court and spoke very clearly when she said, "I am afraid." Those three words are going to be repeated in every single one of our constituencies until we put a hard stop to drug-related intimidation. Nobody should be living in fear. No 70-year-old woman should stand in court and say, "I am afraid."

The Minister of State said in her closing remarks that the Government wants to send the clear message to victims and families that help is available and that no family should feel abandoned and no parent should feel they have nowhere to turn. She said that anyone who becomes the target of drug-related intimidation should report it to An Garda Síochána. I echo the call that people should come forward to An Garda Síochána and report any crime, including, of course, drug-related intimidation. However, the problem is that families feel abandoned and that is because of fear. Even when families come forward to the Garda, that fear is heightened because they feel they may be targeted. The Minister of State said no parent should feel they have nowhere to turn but many families feel exactly that because they have watched as other families were victimised and terrorised, with their homes targeted. As we tragically saw in County Waterford, people have lost their lives. While the Government has to send a very clear message to the victims of crime, we have to send a much tougher message to the perpetrators of those crimes. That message has to be very clear, that there is no hiding place for them, the full force of the law will be brought to bear on all of those criminal gangs and the State will hunt them down, if that is what is necessary, and make sure they are brought to justice.

I finish by commending An Garda Síochána and the superintendent and chief Superintendent, whom I spoke to at the funeral yesterday. They said there will be more arrests, no stone will be left unturned and An Garda Síochána will do everything and anything to bring the perpetrators of those four murders to justice. That is what we all want to see, but we want to see it for every single one of those criminal gangs that are doing what they are doing across the State.

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case:

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - To discuss the proposed closure of the dementia unit at St. Stephen's Hospital, Glanmire, Cork.

Deputy Micheál Carrigy - To discuss issues in healthcare services in Longford-Westmeath.

Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss measures to tackle the rate of youth unemployment.

Deputy Seán Kyne - To discuss funding for increased capacity on Galway commuter bus routes.

Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin - To discuss the differential rent scheme.

Deputies Cian O'Callaghan, Tom Brabazon, Barry Heneghan and Naoise Ó Muirí - To discuss delays in the new school building project at Gaelcholáiste Reachrann.

Deputy Conor D. McGuinness - To discuss primary care in Waterford.

Deputy Jen Cummins - To discuss the improvements needed for diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss the need for electric vehicle, EV, charging infrastructure to be located in developments.

Deputy Donna McGettigan - To discuss calls for women to be told their breast density and for further tests to be made available.

Deputy Claire Kerrane - To discuss the need for more gardaí in Ballinasloe, County Galway.

Deputy Maurice Quinlivan - To discuss the failure to implement the recommendations of the HIQA review on urgent and emergency healthcare services in the HSE Mid West region.

Deputy Ryan O'Meara - To discuss the need for a full review of trespass laws in rural Ireland.

Deputies Michael Murphy and Mattie McGrath - To discuss the need to strengthen Uisce Éireann's accountability to Dáil Éireann.

Deputies Danny Healy-Rae and Michael Cahill - To discuss issues with contaminated water in north Kerry.

Deputies Aidan Farrelly and Mark Wall - To discuss staffing issues and patient and staffing safety issues at Naas General Hospital.

Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty - To discuss extending the Liffey Valley special amenity area.

The matters raised by Deputies Carrigy, Quinlivan, Ó Súilleabháin, Gogarty and Cathal Crowe have been selected for discussion.