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:

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

Deputy Michael Cahill - To urgently intervene and treat the Ballyheigue water contamination issue as a state of emergency.

Deputy Cathy Bennett - To discuss efforts to secure a public sector pay deal.

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

Deputy Aidan Farrelly - To discuss the sports capital grant programme in respect of soccer clubs in County Kildare.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss gaps in support for widows and bereaved partners.

Deputy Shane Moynihan - To discuss the need to ensure full provision of NEPS in schools across Lucan, Clondalkin, Palmerstown, Rathcoole, Newcastle and Saggart.

Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú - To discuss the way in which local specialist music retailers can become approved suppliers to schools.

Deputies Mark Wall and Brian Stanley - To discuss the ongoing overcrowding on train lines serving Kildare South and the mid-west.

Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh - To discuss the loss of essential clerical support staff from Belmullet Community Hospital and Swinford District Hospital.

Deputy William Aird - To discuss staffing matters within the HSE, particularly the issue of graduate nurses' contracts.

Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire - To discuss the need for footpaths from Waterfall village to Bishopstown.

The matters raised by Deputies Michael Murphy and Mattie McGrath, Rose Conway-Walsh, William Aird, Malcolm Byrne, Mark Wall and Brian Stanley have been selected for discussion.

We will now move to Leaders' Questions under Standing Order 38. I call Deputy Mary Lou McDonald.

On Thursday, the French President, the German Chancellor and the leaders of other EU states that are also members of NATO are coming to Dublin. Europe's direction of travel is clear: greater militarisation, deeper defence integration and even closer alignment with NATO. It is little wonder, therefore, that leaders and the Minister's Government will be joined by the secretary general of NATO. His presence further underlines the increasingly militarised political environment taking shape across Europe. The European Commission has made that direction very explicit in its rearming Europe plan, which aims to mobilise up to €800 billion for defence investment, including €150 billion in EU-backed loans. These are vast sums being directed towards building up Europe's military capacity and, of course, the arms industry.

That is the context in which this Government is seeking to ditch the triple lock, rush legislation through the Dáil and undermine Irish neutrality with absolutely no reference to the people. The Government's position flies in the face of commitments made to the Irish people during the Nice and Lisbon referendum campaigns. Explicit guarantees had to be secured that EU defence co-operation would not compromise Ireland's military neutrality. The triple lock is at the very heart of that guarantee, so the Government cannot now dismiss it as a technicality. It is, in fact, the mechanism designed to protect our neutrality or, as Micheál Martin said in this House in 2013, it is at the core of our neutrality.

Let us be clear: the triple lock does not prevent Irish peacekeeping. What it does is anchor Irish overseas deployments in international legitimacy and democratic scrutiny.

Under it, our soldiers, their families and the Irish people know that they are acting in accordance with international law, under a UN mandate, and honourably fulfilling their duties as soldiers of an independent Irish State. Tá muintir na hÉireann bródúil as ár neodrachas. Tuigeann siad an tábhacht agus luach a bhaineann leis. Pé rud a cheapann an Rialtas, ba chóir go mbeadh an seans ag na daoine a gcuid tuairimí a chur in iúl. Mar sin de, ní mór reifreann a reáchtáil ar an neodracht.

Whatever the Government may think, Irish people want Ireland to remain neutral. They understand the value of that policy even if the Government does not. Neutrality has allowed us to make an independent contribution to peace and to speak with our own voice rather than following the military priorities of others. The Government now wants to force the Dáil to ditch this key safeguard. It is doing so with its eyes wide open to Europe's direction of travel, with increased militarisation, closer alignment to NATO, hundreds of billions of euro being committed to arms and a clear disregard for the views and wishes of the Irish people. I believe this to be a profound betrayal of commitments made to the Irish people and a direct assault on Ireland's neutrality. The Government has no mandate and no right to abandon Irish neutrality or to ditch the triple lock without explicit reference to the people. What is it afraid of? It should put the question to the people and make its case. Bring the issue to a referendum.

Hear, hear.

This is more misleading nonsense from Sinn Féin with a flavour of Euroscepticism, which is what we have heard from the party for many years. The Deputy's presentation is completely disingenuous. This legislative change is all about reform and keeping alive the Irish tradition of peacekeeping. The Deputy is willing to abandon that proud tradition of peacekeeping. As a Government, we are not. That is the fundamental difference between us.

Without the reform we are proposing, Ireland will no longer have the capacity in many instances to participate in peacekeeping around the world. Without the reform we are proposing, our military will no longer have any meaningful international role. Does the Deputy understand that? Does she have any heed of or care for what that would do to recruitment and retention in the military? She needs to be honest with military personnel and their families at this point.

With the illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, the element of the triple lock that requires Russian approval for the deployment of Irish peacekeepers became unfit for purpose. The Government will not allow Russia, China, Britain, the US or anyone else to have a veto over our independent foreign and security policy. To whom does Sinn Féin want to give that veto?

The Irish people.

Deputy McDonald is casually throwing around accusations about Ireland's neutrality. Of course, she has form in that regard. For years, she has been making the claim that our neutrality is being attacked. In fact, Sinn Féin declared it dead in 1972, 2003, 2008 and on many other occasions. Neutrality is about Ireland's ability to act independently and not to have legal obligations to participate in any conflict. That will not change. If we really value our independence when it comes to foreign policy and defence, our decisions on whether to participate in peacekeeping initiatives should not be subject to the veto of any other country.

My party was clear in our manifesto before the last general election on the need for reform in this area, and that is reflected in the programme for Government. The Defence (Amendment) Bill will provide for the removal of any foreign veto in relation to the dispatch of Defence Forces members for service outside the State as part of an international peacekeeping force. Any modification to the triple lock continues to require the Government of the day and a majority in this House to approve the dispatch of Defence Forces personnel to take part in peacekeeping and any similar missions. The proposed changes are a reassertion of our neutrality and of our right to make our own independent decisions and to act as an independent country. This reinforces Ireland's ability to pursue an independent foreign policy by removing the power of the UN Security Council's permanent members to veto our national sovereign decisions and will allow the Defence Forces to respond to crisis situations affecting our citizens with more agility and effectiveness.

Stop being disingenuous. The Deputy's mask has slipped again in trying to attack the European political community meeting. What is it that Sinn Féin has against the European Union? It is a union that has shown incredible solidarity against the illegal invasion of Ukraine and in many other areas of policy that matter to people across this country.

Focus on the question.

The reform being made here is simply to reinforce the sovereign decisions of the Dáil and also of the decisions of the Government in the context of the veto within the UN Security Council, which is a change that does have a mandate, was reflected in the general election, and is something that the Government wants to progress.

Let me be explicit for the Minister. We will challenge the €800 billion of proposed spending in defence, armaments and warfare. Every day of the week we will challenge the European Union and the Government on that. This is the only honourable thing to do. The Government chooses a different course but does not even have the integrity to be honest about what it is at. Just so the Minister knows, peacekeeping missions by definition require a UN mandate. In the absence of a UN mandate, it is no longer a peacekeeping mission. It is actually as simple as that. The Minister knows well the direction of travel of the European Union towards NATO, towards armaments and towards warfare. We wish to keep Ireland out of that. We wish to retain our noble tradition of neutrality, the very thing that has allowed us to make our contributions to the world.

The Minister, Deputy Chambers, to respond.

The Minister asks about the veto. The Irish people have the veto on this and the Minister has no right to ditch our neutrality-----

Sinn Féin Members are the only ones-----

Deputy McDonald's time is up.

-----without going and asking for the democratic permission of the Irish people to do so.

Hear, hear.

Deputy McDonald's time is up. I call the Minister.

We are not proposing any sort of military alliance. The Deputy is completely misleading the Dáil in what she is suggesting. We have no intention of joining NATO. There is no plan to join NATO and there is no mandate to join NATO. That is not what we are doing.

There is no mandate to get rid of the triple lock.

Deputy McDonald is completely misrepresenting the position of the Irish Government, day in and day out.

No, I am not.

This is a reform to remove the veto of Sinn Féin's friends in Russia and others. What does it have against that? Why does it want to acquiesce to major powers and give them the right to decide or veto where we deploy our troops?

Is the Minister actually that ignorant or naive?

This is a reinforcement of the democratic position of this Parliament, it reinforces the democratic position of the Irish Government, and we have no plan to join any military alliance. We co-operate with other EU member states, primarily in the interests of peacekeeping-----

Then put the case to the people.

That is our central focus. That is where we have a strong record and we want to continue that record for the years to come.

The Deputy should speak to military families. Speak to them when-----

They live in my constituency.

Are you telling them that they will be deployed nowhere into the future because of your policy on this position?

They want fair pay.

People are not joining because you are not paying them properly.

I remind Members to speak through the Chair and allow all contributions without interruption. Deputy O'Callaghan, please.

There were almost 70 patients on trolleys and in chairs at Cork University Hospital, CUH, yesterday morning, most of them elderly. Trolley to trolley, they were backed up against one another in bright noisy corridors, some of them beside drafty windows, making rest and recovery impossible. On the "Today with David McCullagh" show this morning, the professor of emergency medicine, Conor Deasy, described conditions as tantamount to torture. The staff in CUH are under immense pressure. They are trying their very best to treat their patients in overcrowded and unsafe conditions.

None of this should come as surprise to the Government because it has been on notice of a developing crisis in CUH all year. Staffing shortages were first raised by the hospital back in April. In August, in desperation, the CEO of the hospital Jennifer Kearney wrote to HSE in very stark terms. She said that conditions at the hospital were unsustainable and it was not safe to enter the winter period with the current level of staffing shortages. Instead of being listened to, her concerns were dismissed and at a meeting with HSE officials she was threatened with performance management. Jennifer Kearney did her best to warn the Government of what was coming but instead of listening to her, the Minister for Health went on the attack. She lambasted CUH and said appeals for additional staff were unrealistic.

Now look where we are. Surgeries for cancer patients have been cancelled at short notice. Women admitted for breast cancer surgery, some already in hospital gowns, were sent home. Imagine enduring the anxiety, fear and emotional strain that comes before a major surgery, only to be told at the last minute that it would not go ahead. No patient should ever be put through this type of ordeal. Nine clinical directors at the hospital have written to the Taoiseach to outline their serious concerns. They said that of the 172 priority posts that are urgently required, just seven have been approved.

The winter is just beginning and the pressure on the hospital is going to increase. What will it take before the Government acts and will the Minister agree to an independent assessment of staffing needs at CUH as a matter of urgency?

I acknowledge the tremendous work being done across our health system by staff in all of our acute hospitals, particularly as we get into the winter period, which brings additional challenges and demand. Since 2020, there has been a record level of investment and staffing increases right across the system - more staff, more beds and more services available universally. We have embedded reforms with the public-only consultant contract and many other benefits are being brought to patients and staff, with a focus on community healthcare in particular. The Minister for Health has led in driving reform, with requests coming in for additional spending.

The pressures facing CUH are facing all hospitals across the HSE as we head into the winter period. This pressure arises from increased demand. Between 2019 and 2025, emergency department attendance has increased by 28% while inpatient day case and outpatient activity has also increased. Emergency department attendances in CUH increased by 11% from September last year to September of this year. Successive Governments in recent years have supported CUH. Look at the staff increases and the low overall level of investment. Between 2019 and 2025, funding increased by 98% from €303 million to €600 million. This has driven notable growth in staffing levels. Some 107 additional beds have been added since 2020, an increase of 19%. Staffing increased by 41% from 3,500 to over 4,870. In this year alone, CUH has recruited and grown its staff complement by 324 from 4,870 to 5,194, which is an increase of over 6% compared to a 3% growth more generally across Department of Health-funded HSE services.

The Government's investment in CUH is clear, but there has to be evaluation of where the staffing decisions were made within management in terms of where they were prioritised and allocated and what those allocations have achieved in the context of significant increases in expenditure and-----

It is 1,000 staff short.

-----significant increases in investment in recent years. The context here cannot just be about more spending, more staffing and additionality everywhere.

It is 1,000 staff short.

Deputy Quaide did not ask the question.

We need to balance that genuine request that comes, at times, from management with a focus on reform and the need to strategically deploy staffing in the best way, as the Minister for Health has reflected in recent years.

In terms of the Deputy's wider question, based on an assessment received from the HSE on quality and patient safety, the overall position regarding patient safety in CUH is reassuring, notwithstanding pressures associated with increased demand. The Minister for Health is continuously monitoring this issue. It is reflected in the broader staff increases we have made in recent years and the huge investment in CUH as a critical hospital in the southern region.

Has the Minister nothing to say to the almost 70 people who were on trolleys and chairs yesterday, most of them elderly? He did not even acknowledge them in his response, or what they were going through. Has he nothing to say to the patients with cancer, some of whom were in their gowns ready for surgery and who had to be sent home? He did not even acknowledge them in his answer. Has he nothing to say to them? All he can do is come in here and blame the hospital management, the very management that has been crying out for help to deal with the staffing shortage.

The request is for an independent assessment of staffing need. What has the Government got against such an independent assessment? Why will it not support that? Why will it not action that? An independent assessment is a very reasonable request. There are 1,000 vacant posts in the hospital. There are 172 urgently required to be filled and all the Government is allowing are seven of those to be filled.

I absolutely acknowledge the specific circumstances of patients. There is a responsibility in the hospital and in the HSE region to meet the respective demands with the staffing increases that we have funded and budgeted for in recent years.

On the Deputy's question about HIQA conducting an announced inspection in CUH to monitor against the national standards for safer and better healthcare on 5 and 6 November, of course there has to be evaluation of patient safety in all hospitals and funded healthcare regions. That is a standard that absolutely must be met. There is also the need within the HSE regions to prioritise posts within their budgets.

We obviously have a new control environment in the Department of Health-----

Where should the money go?

Deputies, please.

-----and the Minister for Health is authorising specific posts where they are strategically placed in the context of the region. The facts are clear, however. Funding is up in CUH. In addition to many other hospitals,-----

The Minister should answer the question.

I thank the Minister. Time is up.

-----it is up relevant to the investment in recent years, and that will continue to be the case in the next few years.

I call Deputy Bacik.

We are at the eleventh hour again as Government and union representatives return to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. I want to express my solidarity with public sector workers facing the prospect of another strike on Thursday, potentially. All they want is fair pay and respect. We all know that the talks are ongoing. We hope for a speedy resolution. I will say this, however. It was not respectful for the Government to wait so long to engage meaningfully with unions when the last pay deal ran out months ago.

This morning, we heard stories from one group of public sector workers on the front line, with a shocking report from Cork University Hospital on David McCullagh's radio show. We heard a harrowing account of conditions at CUH for healthcare workers and patients alike, with 70 patients on trolleys in corridors and waiting areas in emergency departments. One woman described her elderly mother asking for help to go to the bathroom for two hours. All resuscitation beds are full and there is no capacity for fresh admissions. One medic said patients were experiencing a form of torture, while staff are working in intolerable conditions compounded by a severe staffing crisis.

As we know, the hospital CEO, Jennifer Kearney, said the hospital was short more than 1,000 staff coming into the winter period. That is a shocking figure. Doctors are now warning that people will die because the hospital cannot deliver timely, quality care due to the Government's recruitment freeze. Indeed, we learned that CUH may now face quarterly fines of €300,000 for non-compliance with labour laws on breaks and hours. Yet, the Minister for Health has the temerity to insist that CUH is operating on par with other hospitals. In today's The Irish Times, Beaumont emergency consultant Dr. Peadar Gilligan points out that the ordinary state of affairs in Irish hospitals is unsafe. Unsafe conditions have become the norm, so CUH being on par with other hospitals is of no reassurance, not to nurses preparing to strike again when they know their best efforts are no guarantee of safe care. It is not reassuring for patients either now being told they may not receive treatment until the new year. It is not reassuring for sick people in chairs in emergency departments, deteriorating while they wait to be seen.

This is not just the case for patients and staff in Cork. Trolley numbers across the country are up 12% on last year. This September was the worst on record for overcrowding nationally, with more than 12,000 patients treated in inappropriate locations. The Minister boasted earlier about levels of investment in Cork and in the national health service but as Deputy Sherlock, Labour's health spokesperson, said, there is a huge gap here between the reality of healthcare budgets and the sort of wishful thinking in which the Government is engaging. She points out the gap between funding allocation for health services and the budget. She points out that the HSE is on course to record the second largest health deficit ever of over €1 billion. The Minister is telling us the HSE broke even last year when it actually recorded a deficit of close to €250 million.

I thank the Deputy. The Minister to respond.

People are asking where the reality is. Will the Minister admit that the Government underfunded the health service this year? Will the Government lift what is a recruitment freeze in all but name to guarantee patient safety?

The Minister to respond, please.

It really is just such a lazy narrative from the Deputy.

It is really not.

More spending; that is Labour. It just wants more spending.

Spend the money; it is understaffed.

It is understaffed.

I am sorry; through the Chair and without interruption.

The Government is lowballing here.

By any metric, the Irish health system is well funded compared internationally. We have a €27.4 billion budget in 2026. It has increased in the last few years by €10 billion. That is underpinned by workforce growth in terms of the number of whole-time equivalents by over 30,000. The workforce was at 133,000 as of September 2026, a 30% increase since 2019. The health system has been a central priority for this Government in terms of public investment and the expansion of public services and that has been reflected over the last series of budgets. However, it is important that we balance the big increase and expansion in the service with the need for a control environment that is sustainable. That is what the Minister for Health is doing with the Department of Health in respect of the different regions. If we look at the facts around CUH, we see that funding has grown from €303 million in 2019 to €600 million, with a notable increase in staffing levels and 107 additional beds.

It is 341 beds short.

Of course, there are going to be requests. In debates around health spending, the Opposition always looks for more. Ultimately, it comes down to the wider investment, what way it is organised and how it is delivering across our system. What is the balance between investment in acute care and investment in community healthcare when there is always demand within our hospital system? That underpins the wider policy when it comes to Sláintecare. The same is true of the budget in 2027, where we have continued to prioritise investment in our health system.

Just saying that it is not enough is not a policy position in itself, which is what we hear repeatedly from Deputy Bacik. The facts speak for themselves around investment and staff expansion and that will continue, particularly as we have seen increased demographic demand in recent years.

I will speak briefly to the Deputy's question and point around the public service pay talks. I am not going to comment any further except to say that negotiations are confidential. It was positive to see a conclusion and resolution at the independent group, chaired by Kevin Foley. We want to see intensive engagement continue through the day so that we have a successful outcome for all parties. That underpins a Government that wants to prioritise public service expansion, support workers on the front line and ensure that the health system continues to be well funded in the years to come, but it is about how we organise that in the context of the budgetary growth in recent years.

With respect, the response there was laughable. The figures speak for themselves. The health service is in deficit, the HSE is in deficit and the Supplementary Estimates give lie to the figures the Minister has quoted. We know that the health budget is not a reality. It is a work of fiction. Patients and healthcare workers deserve a budget based on reality and on an acknowledgement that there is chronic short-staffing across the system.

Quite apart from the psychodrama that we are seeing playing out between the Taoiseach, the Minister and hospital management, the most disturbing feature of the CUH controversy is the patient safety issue. That is the real core of this. The warning bells have been ringing loudly for some time now, yet the Government's response has been to focus on how concerns were communicated instead of looking at how to fix the problem by addressing the chronic shortfall in staffing. We have seen a bombastic, arrogant reaction, just as we saw from the Minister for justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, in his response to concerns about the legal aid scheme and in the Government's response when the public sector unions signalled how badly the cost of living was hitting their members.

Thank you, Deputy. I call the Minister.

What we need is a budget for the health service that is rooted in reality-----

Your time is up, Deputy.

-----and enables hospitals to recruit enough staff to treat patients and ensure patient safety.

The Minister to respond.

The reality of the health budget is that it has increased by over €10 billion in a short number of years. That is an exponential increase. The reality of the health budget is that we have nearly 30,000 more staff working in the health system in the last number of years. We have to ensure that the health budget is sustainable and affordable into the long term. What is the Deputy suggesting? Is it just endless exponential increases that ultimately are not sustainable?

Look at the actual need honestly.

We have prioritised funding our health system and by any metric, the expansion has been unprecedented in the last five to six years, particularly coming out of Covid when we had to increase capacity in our acute hospitals. That has happened with the significant staff increases universally.

The Government takes patient safety very seriously. That is why the HSE's quality and patient safety team carried out an assessment at CUH, and there is obviously work being done by HIQA to ensure that safety standards are upheld.

We need to ensure as well that the overall funding envelope in health has a control environment that works and is sustainable, and prioritises community healthcare in the context of Sláintecare.

The gathering of European leaders and, significantly, the head of NATO in Dublin this weekend highlights the misguided priorities of this Government and European leaders. It seems that European leaders and this Government think there are endless billions for weapons, militarism and war. However, the treatment of working people looking for a pay increase that matches inflation is much less of a priority. The same can be said of the patients in CUH whom a consultant has described as being tortured in that hospital because of the lack of staff and resources. Is it not a stark contrast? I do not know how much money is being spent but the Minister might tell us. I would say millions are being spent to roll out the red carpet for all of these EU leaders and the head of NATO, and to wine and dine them in the National Gallery.

Regardless of what happens with the pay increases, workers have had to go out on strike to get a pay increase from a Government that is trying hold back on them. It refuses to give them a pay increase that will keep pace with inflation unless they go out on strike and threaten another strike. That is really my question to the Minister. How come there are endless billions for weapons of war, but we get contemptuous treatment of working people who are just fighting for a decent pay increase, or indeed of people looking for our hospitals to be properly staffed and resourced? This Government signed up to these priorities of rearming Europe. Let us remember that the European Union is the biggest trading partner of the Israeli regime, which is committing genocide against the Palestinian people. It is arming that regime to the teeth, but this Government wants to involve us in the plans for more militarisation. Many of those countries are selling weapons to Israel to massacre Palestinians. There is even dual-use technology going from this country to the Israeli military while it is committing genocide. This Government wants to do more of that, but it is holding out on ordinary working people who are just looking for a pay increase that will ensure they are not losing income and working for less because of the cost-of-living crisis caused by the warmongering of the United States, Israel and many of the powers that want more money spent on weapons. The Government is going to do away with the triple lock and deal another blow to our neutrality in order to serve that agenda. Do its priorities not need to be re-evaluated?

Thank you, Deputy. The Minister to respond.

The Deputy raised a number of points. As I have said, I want to respect the confidentiality of the process under way at the Workplace Relations Commission. We want to have a credible and fair deal for workers, particularly prioritising the low paid. I am limited in what I can say, except to say that negotiations are ongoing. We had positive engagement yesterday through Kevin Foley, who chaired that process. We want to see a pay deal for workers. A lot of what the Deputy has said is a complete misrepresentation of the position. He knows clearly that we are absolutely independent in our foreign policy and our reforms of the triple lock. Like Deputy McDonald, Deputy Boyd Barrett wants to continue to hand a veto to Russia-----

No, he does not.

-----China, Britain, the US and many others. Why he would not support a reform that involves this House deciding on the independent deployment-----

Because the Government cannot be trusted.

-----of troops to continue and sustain our proud record of peacekeeping is extraordinary.

They do not trust themselves.

It is extraordinary.

It is not peacekeeping if it is not in the UN, is it?

Deputy Murphy, please.

He throws about the issue of NATO here and there.

He can call it peacekeeping, but it does not make it peacekeeping.

Members, please.

We have no intention of joining NATO. We have no intention of joining any military alliance. The Deputy knows as well as I do that the Constitution prohibits such an act. European Political Community meetings are important in the context of Ireland's role within the European Union. I know that like Sinn Féin, Deputy Boyd Barrett is Eurosceptic and would take a much different approach to Ireland's role in the European Union.

That is not something the broader Irish public would support either-----

Go and check with the people in a referendum.

-----in terms of the Deputy's position with the European Union. Ireland's defence spending is set out. We have moderately increased our defence spending in recent years, again supported by the work of the Commission on the Defence Forces in supporting expansion of equipment and a lot of respective improvement to pay and conditions for people who work across the Defence Forces. A lot of what the Deputy has said is just rhetoric and a complete misrepresentation of the Irish Government, which is well respected, by the way, in the European Union, led by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, the Taoiseach and others, in terms of what we have said about Gaza-----

That is not complimentary.

-----and the shocking atrocities there and elsewhere. We have been consistent. We have been recognised in the European Union and the UN for how we have spoken up on behalf of the people of Gaza and elsewhere. That will continue within the European Political Community and all other European Union engagements.

Anybody who cares about our neutrality, opposes war and militarisation, and is concerned about the ongoing complicity of the European Union with the genocide being perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinians should be on the streets at 5 o'clock at The Spire, where we will be marching to the National Gallery, where, among others, the head of NATO will be. Which bit of what I have said is not true? Is it not true that the head of NATO is going to be there? It is not true that the European Union is the biggest trading partner of Israel that is committing a genocide? Is it not true that the policy of ReArm Europe is to double arms expenditure in Europe from €400 billion, which has already increased by multiples over recent years, up to €800 billion? That is not true, apparently, is it not?

That is NATO. It is not the EU.

Is it not an attack on neutrality that we will be sent on military missions - our sons and daughters, potentially - which are not authorised by the United Nations?

Thank you, Deputy. You time is up. The Minister will respond.

By whom are they authorised - NATO or the European Union?

It is complete and utter nonsense-----

It is all true.

-----to talk about sending our sons and daughters away because of some decision by some other military alliance. It is a complete mistruth.

Read the legislation.

It is a complete and utter mistruth. Stop scaremongering.

Why are you scrapping the guardrails then?

You can continue to engage in your street politics and your division, but you know it is not true. You know there is no mandate for it. You know there is no intention to do it. Stop misrepresenting the actual position of the Government to the people of Ireland.

Then take your case to the people.

What is the Minister talking to Mark Rutte about?

There is a growing budget for defence spending by many European member states. Does the Deputy know why? It is because of Russia and because of the risk of what Russia is doing in Ukraine and the risk across the eastern area. Deputy Boyd Barrett did not mention Russia. He rarely mentions Russia in all his contributions.

I do.

The Deputy rarely mentions Russia, except he is willing to keep Russia's veto-----

Nobody is proposing an alliance with Russia. The Minister is proposing an alliance with NATO.

-----when it comes Ireland's foreign policy and Ireland's position in the context of deciding our own affairs.

If you are that sure, bring the case to the Irish people in a referendum.

It is complete inconsistency and hypocrisy and a complete misrepresentation of the truth. Deputy Boyd Barrett knows our consistent position in all international affairs.

Put it to the people.

The focus of our reform is on upholding our strong role in peacekeeping.

Put the question to the people.

Why are you scared of democracy?

Even Sinn Féin met NATO when they went to Kosovo.

Bring your case to the people.

Your Sinn Féin colleagues met NATO in Kosovo.

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

I move:

Tuesday's business shall be:

- Motion re Sixteenth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection (without debate and any division claimed to be taken immediately)

- Social Welfare Bill 2026 (Second Stage) (to adjourn at the end of the first speaking round; not to exceed 3 hours and 24 minutes)

Tuesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Toll Charges and the Cost of Living, selected by Sinn Féin.

Wednesday's business shall be:

- Social Welfare Bill 2026 (Second Stage, resumed) (to conclude at the end of the second speaking round, not to exceed 1 hour and 52 minutes; any division claimed shall be taken immediately)

- Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2026 (Committee and remaining Stages) (to conclude within 4 hours)

- Motion re Proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment in Food and Beverage Services Sector) Regulations 2026 (back from Committee) (any division claimed to be taken immediately)

Wednesday's private members' business shall be the Motion re Reversing Planned Increases to Public Transport Fares, selected by Social Democrats.

Thursday's business shall be:

- Statements on Drug-Related Intimidation (not to exceed 2 hours and 25 minutes)

Thursday evening business shall be the Second Stage of the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person (Amendment) (Spiking) Bill 2023 [Seanad], sponsored by Deputy Barry Ward.

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 Sixteenth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection shall be taken without debate and any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately; and

3. the proceedings on the Second Stage of the Social Welfare Bill 2026 shall be interrupted and stand adjourned at the end of the first speaking round, which shall not exceed 3 hours and 24 minutes, and the following arrangements shall apply:

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

(b) where first-round speeches conclude before the 3 hours and 24 minutes have elapsed and no other member is offering, the debate shall stand adjourned; and

(c) members may share time.

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

1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders:

(a) any motions to be taken without debate shall be taken on the conclusion of the Short-Term Letting and Tourism Letting Bill 2026; and

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

2. the resumed proceedings on the Second Stage of the Social Welfare Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion at the end of the second speaking round, which shall not exceed 1 hour and 42 minutes, and the following arrangements shall apply:

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

(b) on the conclusion of the second speaking round, or where speeches conclude before the 1 hour and 42 minutes have elapsed and no other member is offering, a Minister or Minister of State shall be called upon to make a speech in reply which shall not exceed 10 minutes, whereupon proceedings shall be brought to a conclusion;

(c) members may share time; and

(d) any division claimed thereon shall be taken immediately;

3. the proceedings on Committee and Remaining Stages of the Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2026 shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 4 hours by one question, which shall be put from the Chair, and which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment; and

4. the proceedings on the Motion re 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.

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

1. notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, Thursday evening business pursuant to Standing Order 169 may be taken earlier than 8.24 p.m. with consequential effect on the time for the adjournment of the Dáil; and

2. the Statements on Drug-Related Intimidation 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.

Are the arrangements agreed to?

Not agreed. The Government is on notice of a proposed strike action by public servants on Thursday. That is not reflected in the Dáil schedule. Of course, public sector workers might be forced for the second time onto the picket lines because of the Minister's dithering, delaying and failure to deliver a fair pay settlement thus far. To be clear, and to put the Government on notice, if there are picket lines and if public servants are on strike, we will not be crossing those picket lines and there will not, in fact, be any Dáil business done.

All across the world, communities are pushing back against power-hungry data centres. It was a major component in the mid-west elections. Norway is introducing a moratorium on data centres yet in Ireland, we are still being seen as a soft touch. Thousands of people were out protesting data centres in Dublin over the weekend. They are calling for a moratorium. We need an urgent debate in the Dáil. We need a moratorium on data centres.

I am not sure if it is pure ignorance or a lack of understanding. A senior clinician within Cork University Hospital, CUH, has said that people will die if they are not staffed appropriately. I am requesting that the Government, the Minister for Health and the Taoiseach facilitate statements and questions in the Dáil on the deeply disturbing revelations concerning CUH. The audio recording completely contradicts the record of this House last week given by the Taoiseach.

We must have these statements and questions.

I call Deputy Boyd Barrett.

The people of the southern region deserve much better.

Deputy Kenny, your time is up.

It is totally inappropriate that while strike action by public sector workers on Thursday is still scheduled, we have a schedule for the Dáil to sit. Until this Government gives workers a decent pay increase, which they have demanded, and workers accept that, there should be no question that it should be scheduling Dáil business on the day they are being forced to take strike action because of their shoddy treatment by this Government.

Absolutely.

In relation to short-term lets, it was agreed - and we were long enough looking for it - that there would be full committee pre-legislative scrutiny. We now hear the Bill is going to be railroaded through the Dáil tomorrow. It is totally and utterly unacceptable for the people of rural Ireland who are fighting hard for the little bit of business they have while the Government railroads this through to put them out of business in relation to the planning aspect of short-term lets.

I thank the Deputy.

I ask for proper pre-legislative scrutiny.

I thank the Deputy.

This is hugely important. It was promised to us and needs to be delivered.

I note all of the comments from the Opposition Whips but in respect to this week's business, and without prejudice the ongoing negotiations, I propose that the Order of Business agrees the three-day schedule outlined to the committee last Thursday. If necessary, I will return to the House tomorrow with a further business proposal in relation to Thursday’s sitting and I will continue to engage with the Opposition Whips and the Business Committee, as required, in regard to the sitting on Thursday and whether it will happen. The Order of Business stands.

Are the proposed arrangements of this week’s business agreed to? They are not agreed.

I understand that in the Gallery we have Ms Shauna Browne, a champion professional boxer from County Tipperary. We have a few in here from Tipperary. She is most welcome. She is a guest of Deputy Mattie McGrath. We wish her all the best.

Given your last words, a Cheann Comhairle, I feel moved to say the following for the Dáil record: Up Tipp, the premier county. My mother would be proud and happy.

I appreciate that.

Deputy McGrath is welcome any time.

The clock is running.

The LucidTalk polling over the weekend again reflects opinion north of the Border and the fact that not alone is the conversation around Irish reunification live but momentum is building towards that and therefore preparation for constitutional change in a referendum is absolutely necessary. I welcome the Taoiseach's initiative and the initiative by the Fine Gael Party at its Ard-Fheis over the weekend. Will the Government's actions now include the production of a Green Paper and some form of assembly, whether it is a constitutional forum or a citizens' forum? I am less worried about what it is called but I am very concerned that we would now see tangible actions taking place to engage people on this crucial question.

I thank Deputy McDonald. Her party and other parties of Government have all reflected positive proposals in this area. What the Taoiseach has said is that there are three priority areas: first, how we can continue to develop and deliver on the shared island initiative, independent of any discussion of constitutional frameworks; second, how we can seek to begin discussions on reform of strand one of the Good Friday Agreement; and third, how we can develop and establish a new initiative to develop the evidence base for a debate on future constitutional frameworks on which we want to get broader engagement. All of those respective initiatives reflect the broader public opinion which is evolving across the island.

The Government is ignoring the cost-of-living crisis that is crippling families. It is ignoring the climate crisis that is crippling communities. It is ignoring its own just transition commission by deciding to increase the cost of using public transport from January 2027. It beggars belief that this Government is choosing to negatively impact our pockets, thus sending people back to their cars. More cars mean more congestion. The Social Democrats are using its Private Members' business time this week to call on the Government to reduce and reverse the public transport fare increases. Will the Minister use his position as Minister for public expenditure to do a U-turn on this political decision and reverse the public transport fare hikes?

There has to be sustainability in terms of our public transport system. The level of subvention from central government to the National Transport Authority to support the public transport network is continuing to increase and will again in 2027. We want to significantly expand services. That is striking the right balance between continued expansion of the subvention from the Government but also having sustainability across our fare system. We have had a series of years of reductions and retention at a particular rate. In most European economies, there are some increases of transport fares. That is to ensure that we protect services but also expand them. In the communities I represent, they are as focused on a big expansion of transport services as well. We have to ensure that is balanced, both with the fares and the subvention from the State.

Speaking of boxing, we saw the Tánaiste pushing down this weekend with comments about jobseekers and more punching down, unfortunately, by the State of carers this week. I am grateful to the Every Child Matters campaign and Labour Party's Councillor Ali Field for bringing to my attention this email that was sent by Intreo to recipients of carer's allowance this week. It said:

Dear customer, as a carer's allowance recipient, we recognise that your caring responsibilities are your priority. However, if you would like to learn more about a flexible, short-term employment opportunity that may fit around your circumstances the following role may be of interest.

It is seeking to recruit for a specific role, and it is causing enormous distress and concern to carers. It sounds as if parents caring around the clock are assumed to have spare hours to fill. As Ali said, it is an absolute disgrace. They really have no idea what being a carer entails. Carers are exhausted from filling gaps in State services.

A question, Deputy.

When will the Government stop treating carers as a workforce to be mobilised and start treating them as people who deserve to be supported? They are facing the sharp cut off the cruel means test and-----

Time is up, Deputy.

-----this really adds insult to injury.

If we look at the record of the previous two budgets in terms of the income disregard, we have made significant progress for carers in line with what we set out in the programme for Government, and rightly so. We know the huge contribution that carers make in communities across the country. I am not aware of the specific example the Deputy has given. The Department of Social Protection has always worked in a very sensitive way with different recipients of different supports. We acknowledge the huge contributions carers make to their families and their loved ones. That will continue to be a priority for us through the next series of budgets.

A patient was admitted to Connolly Hospital last Wednesday with a significant brain bleed. The consultant recommended an MRI to figure out what was wrong but the MRI machine has been broken for a week. The man with very complex and other medical conditions as well has not been able to get an MRI in Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown. They were not able to outsource his care to get the MRI needed. How can a hospital with a stroke unit and other medical needs have a broken MRI machine for nearly a week? It is not the first time I have raised Connolly Hospital. I raised the CT scanner, which was broken. Now, we have an MRI machine. This is causing huge stress for the relative who contacted me, and who I have just spoken to, but also to staff who do not know what to do with the backup of patients. Lives are being endangered by this. It is the Minister's local hospital. He really ought to be ashamed of himself that this is continuing to happen in a major Dublin hospital in his own back yard.

I thank the Deputy for raising that. I will find out what is happening with the MRI machine and get back to the Deputy directly.

The Government is going to stop the short-term lets Bill going to committee for an open discussion on it. That is what it thinks of the people in the hospitality sector providing short-term lets. The housing Minister has not released the up-to-date guidelines on planning permissions. Our local authorities are waiting for them, the people who are building their own houses are waiting for them and the people who want to put a roof over their children's heads are waiting for them but the Government has not done that either. However, it has said it is not even going to discuss the short-term lets Bill, that it is going to guillotine it and that it is going to be put to a vote. The Government has no alternatives to even giving planning permission to people who want to build their own houses. They are not depending on the State. The Government cannot even come up with the guidelines for that in a timely fashion.

The Chief Whip has informed me there will be four hours of debate tomorrow around the short-term lettings legislation.

It is not going to committee.

There will be four hours of debate for Committee and Remaining Stages here. The Deputy will have plenty of time to reflect his position and the Minister will respond to any queries he has.

Two weeks ago, the Minister and I attended the commencement of the works on DART+ West, which is extremely welcome news. The medium to long-term solution is DART+ West and South West, in particular for commuters in Kildare. However, in the short term a lot of commuters in Maynooth, Leixlip, Hazelhatch and Celbridge are complaining of overcrowding on trains, in particular in the mornings and evenings. I ask that additional carriages are afforded onto the train lines, including the Maynooth line, which goes on to Sligo, and the Hazelhatch and Celbridge lines to ensure overcrowding does not continue. DART+ will help in the medium to long term but we need immediate solutions.

I thank the Deputy. It it is great that both of our constituencies will see the real benefit of this transformative public transport project. It will make a huge difference in terms of frequency, capacity and the modernisation of the line, which has been promised for 20 years. The Government is getting it started and will get it done. I will reflect that issue, which I know is a pressing issue in the Deputy's constituency as well as mine. There are particular points in the day where there are capacity issues and constraints where there is a strong uptake in public transport. I will reflect that to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien.

I very much welcome the enhanced grants for solar panels and battery storage. There has been strong interest from households in my area of Dublin Fingal. However, many older homes require electrical upgrades before they can be installed safely. Issues include undersized electrical meter tails and outdated wiring, the cost of which can be significant. As a result, people who qualify for the grants cannot afford to upgrade the electricity requirements in order to install solar batteries and solar panels. Will the Government consider a targeted grant to support a essential electrical works where they are required for solar or battery installation? I have written to the Minister on this but I would appreciate the support of the Minister, Deputy Chambers.

I thank Deputy Boland. I appreciate it may be an issue for many homes which were built a number of decades ago and where there is a specific requirement for electrical upgrades. In all grants we have, whether with respect to SEAI for solar or other matters, there is a need to prioritise and target particular areas. We need to be careful. If we were to go down a new avenue, as the Deputy suggested - there is a good rationale behind why she would suggest such a change - ultimately we have to consider whether that has an impact on core grant support in existing schemes through the SEAI. We have had significant expansion by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to try to have improved absorption of that particular grant support. We need to be careful that measures are targeted at the particular area we want to address, that is, the direct uptake of solar. If we get into other areas of intervention, that could have an impact on our support for grants.

I have been contacted by families across Waterford, from Tallow to the Comeraghs, about the lack of transport for those attending adult day services. Many people who availed of school transport when attending St. John's Special School in Dungarvan have been left without any transport as they transition to adult day services. Some parents are paying privately hand over fist for inappropriate transport to get their children to adult day services and others are considering giving up their employment. I raised this matter with the Department of Health and HSE. They have advised me, in response to a parliamentary question, that no new funding has been provided to the HSE for the running costs of providing transport, including drivers for individuals to and from day services. Will the Minister for public expenditure work to address that shortfall?

I thank Deputy McGuinness. I regret that people have not seen their service continue as he has described. I will reflect that to the HSE in respect of the particular transport service. I do not have the details before me. The HSE is well funded, as I said in an earlier contribution. It is important that specific health regions plan services where they know there is a demand in any given year. I will reflect that and ask the HSE to respond to the Deputy comprehensively.

I again want to speak about dereliction.

I welcome the Government's many initiatives on this subject, especially in relation to the collection of derelict property tax by Revenue. However, this can only happen if properties are registered. Take Arklow for example. It is a town where billions of euro of investment in industry is due over the coming years but the residents and businesses are totally frustrated by the lack of action on dereliction on its main streets.

On 8 July, there were only two properties listed in Arklow and only four properties listed in the whole of County Wicklow. I am calling on the Government to ensure action is taken by the county councils on dereliction, as this is a scourge and cancer on the social fabric of so many towns and villages throughout Ireland.

I thank Deputy Brennan. I share the goal of ending dereliction in terms of the wider policy objective of Government, and a new derelict property tax will make a real impact on this. It is legislated for in the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026. The aim is absolutely focused on regeneration, not on revenue, and success will be measured by properties restored and homes created, not tax collected. It replaces the local authority derelict sites levy, which we know was not working properly across the country, at the same 7% rate with Revenue now administering the charge for the first time. It will make a real impact on delivering across our shared objective of reducing a lot of the dereliction we see in too many towns and villages across the country.

I want to raise the case of Dealz stores nationwide. As the Minister may be aware, its UK parent company, Poundland, has gone into administration. This is causing a lot of concern for the 70 Dealz stores in Ireland. There are about 3,000 employees who are impacted. The Dealz stores in Ireland, by all accounts, seem to be viable. My local Dealz store in Gorey has 17 people employed. I spoke at the weekend with Grace and Pippi, who are there. The Minister will understand the lack of certainty in the run-up to Christmas. Can the Minister assure us that the Government will engage fully and will try to provide any support to anyone who may be interested in buying the Irish stores?

I thank Deputy Byrne. I understand that Poundland has filed notice of its intention to appoint an administrator to the company in the UK but I can confirm the Minister for enterprise has not received a notification of collective redundancies from Poundland or Dealz in Ireland. As per the legislation, if an employer does become insolvent, the State ensures there are strong protections in place for affected workers. I appreciate coming up to Christmas is a particularly uncertain time for all involved. I do not want to speculate on media reports given the evolving position but I wish to set out the factual position relating to the Minister for enterprise at this point.

Too many households in Mayo and across the State are living on a week-to-week basis, crippled by the relentless cost-of-living crisis. As we head into Christmas and into winter, families are stretched to breaking point, juggling soaring grocery bills with energy and fuel costs, childcare, tolls, insurance, and I could go on and on. Budget 2027 supports barely scratch the surface. Sinn Féin proposed a €500 everyday essentials card to help households put food on the table and ease the pressure of the frightening grocery costs. That was costed at €500 million in our alternative budget. I am asking the Minister whether the Government will reconsider this proposal and support 1 million struggling households before the winter hardship deepens even further. People cannot afford to live.

We absolutely recognise the serious cost-of-living pressures facing many families. That is why we have had targeted supports through the social protection system with a €2 billion allocation there. Specific changes have been made to the taxation of energy around home heating oil and around the continued reduction of excise across fuel, and also other supports related to fuel allowance. We have made specific interventions and targeted many working families.

On what Sinn Féin has come up with, is that where it is when it comes to policy development - a card for everybody - as if that is going to resolve the issues relating to the cost of living? To say that would be administered within the next number of weeks is not being honest with people. We have continued the Christmas bonus and a significant social protection package that is targeted at low-income families, and the changes we have made to taxation are progressive as well.

You think people have enough.

A damning new report on greyhound racing in Ireland shows that this industry is based around the premature death of thousands of dogs.

The report does not come from an animal welfare NGO or an Opposition party; it comes from the Parliamentary Budget Office. Greyhounds should live for ten to 15 years but the report shows that 10,000 have died in Ireland before their sixth birthday and 20,000 are exported out of the jurisdiction, where we have no control over their welfare standards. For how long will the Government continue to allow this carnage? Is the Minister satisfied with €20 million of taxpayers' money being spent to prop up an industry that is based upon the premature death of thousands of dogs?

I acknowledge the report to which the Deputy referred. For the Minister, Deputy Heydon, animal welfare remains an absolute priority for the sector. It absolutely is a focus for him and for the Department of agriculture. The wider fund that is there is associated with the need to support the economic and geographic importance of greyhound racing in certain communities in Ireland. There has been a real focus in the Department on animal welfare and it is a specific focus of the Minister in the context of the greyhound fund. He will be able to set out further details and information in that regard.

My question is for the Minister for Health. There are concerns regarding the planned hospital development at Raheen in Limerick. In March this year, the Minister announced that the HSE had secured a 44-acre site in Raheen to progress option B of the HIQA recommendations and expand University Hospital Limerick, UHL, to a two-site hospital campus. However, the recently published terms of reference for the mid-west health planning board make no reference whatsoever to a new acute hospital or additional inpatient beds. Instead, they refer to the future development of the site, including the relocation of outpatient services in the first instance. Patients groups such as Friends of Ennis Hospital, chaired by Ms Angela Coll, are understandably questioning whether the original ambition for the site will be realised. I am sure the Minister will agree that people in Clare and the wider mid-west region have endured years of overcrowding at UHL and cannot put up with it any longer. The language is really important. Are we going to get a new acute hospital or is this some in-between solution? Will she clarify what the Government intends to be done with the site?

The Government set out the greatest ambition in embracing options A, B and C and purchasing a very significant site, which is slightly larger than the Dooradoyle site, for the development of extremely important new healthcare facilities for the region. What is particularly important for the good people of County Clare, whom the Deputy represents so well in this House, is that it is not only about a hospital in Limerick but also about all the services right across Clare, including the community hospital in Ennistymon and the excellent hospital in Ennis.

Is the plan still to build a new acute hospital?

The development board has been tasked with delivering all of those things rather than having a singular focus on Limerick. We have an ambitious plan for the region, which very specifically includes the development of an additional hospital. However, I do not want it to be limited to that. Having the dialogue exclusively about Limerick is unhelpful to the excellent people of Clare and Tipperary, who also need to have all of their services lifted.

Seven weeks have elapsed since I last raised in here the CCTV system for Limerick city and county. During that seven-week period, hardly a day has passed when I have not been involved in imploring, pleading with and begging Ministers to bring the matter to a resolution and put a sustainable system in place. It is extremely disappointing that nothing has happened so far. I cannot overemphasise the catastrophic consequences for crime detection and prevention in Limerick if the system ceases to exist. Given that public safety is the first responsibility of any government, will this matter be resolved and, if so, when? The deadline is upon us. The people who operate the cameras have been given their notice and the system is about to come to an end.

I appreciate that the Deputy raised this with me a number of weeks ago. My office has been engaging directly with both the Departments of housing and justice and their Ministers to bring a positive resolution to this matter. I understand the importance of this system, as the Deputy properly and comprehensively described, for crime prevention and detection. We need to bring about a positive resolution that gives certainty to its future and ensures it is protected. We are working on that and we hope to bring it to a conclusion shortly.

In last weeks midterms AI data centres proved to be a potent political and electoral force. Similarly, people took to the streets this last weekend, including myself, to ask for moratorium. I hosted a briefing last week on a separate but connected issue relating to a specific data centre in Ireland. This was based on a report from Ekô on the Almunasseq app, the data for which is hosted here in Irish data centres. This is the system of permissions that is used to restrict the movements of Palestinian people, to decide when they can go to the doctor, when they can visit their families, and when they can go to work. An independent review found that it has incredibly invasive permissions that are tantamount to full surveillance where they track users around the clock even when the GPS is off and where they can silently copy their files. This is not possible without the companies which provide it, in this case Microsoft and the data centres that host the data, which are here in Ireland. We have duties under GDPR-----

A question, Deputy.

-----and under our signatory to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Is the Department of enterprise or the Data Protection Commission going to act on this? Will the Minister's Government act to investigate the enabling of the crime of apartheid on Irish soil as a matter of urgency and hold these tech companies to account?

As the Deputy will know, the Data Protection Commission is totally independent of Government-----

The Department of enterprise is not.

Deputy.

-----and it is a matter for it to investigate any matter that the Deputy wishes to report to it.

I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for the transparency of public expenditure; to require that public spending be capable of being traced from tender, through contract award, contract, purchase order and invoice, to final payment; to establish a Public Spending Ledger linking those stages; to require the standardised, structured and machine-readable reporting of public expenditure by public bodies, including in respect of public procurement, grant disbursements and transfers between public bodies; to provide for a unique supplier identifier and for a basis to be recorded for every payment, including recurring and non-order payments; to provide for the linking of payments to the authority under which they arise; to provide for aggregated reporting of public funding received by non-public bodies; to provide for disclosure obligations in respect of special purpose vehicles; to provide for the interoperability of the Ledger with the public procurement data infrastructure of the European Union; to provide for oversight, audit, assurance and sanctions; to make consequential amendments to the Freedom of Information Act 2014 and the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993; and to provide for related matters.

The first duty of Government is to serve its people. That carries a responsibility to manage public money with care, with competence and with accountability. We cannot meet that responsibility if we cannot reliably account for how that money is spent. This is what this Bill seeks to make possible. Over the past two years, I have spent considerable time examining public procurement and how the State records and reports its expenditure. What surprised me most was how many basic questions we still cannot reliably answer. How much does the State spend on procurement each year? How much does it spend with individual suppliers? When a contract is awarded how much is ultimately paid under that contract, and was what we paid for actually delivered? These are questions that any organisation should be able to answer. We have procurement systems, we have financial management systems and we have contract award notices and purchase order reports. We have the pieces but we cannot reliably put them together.

This Bill would establish a public spending ledger, creating a golden thread from the original tender, contract award, purchase orders and invoices, right through to the final payment. It would require public bodies to report regularly, linking payments to the contracts, grants or other authorities under which they were made, and recording changes to contracts. If a public body was to receive or to award a contract for €10 million, we should be able to see who received it, what was agreed, whether the contract changed, and how much was ultimately paid.

The Bill does not require public bodies to replace their existing financial systems. It requires them to report information in a consistent way so that it can be connected and understood. This would help us identify where payments exceed agreed contract values, compare what public bodies pay for similar goods and services, and ask whether what we paid for was actually delivered.

I want to acknowledge the people of Galway East who gave me the privilege of representing them in this House. I know how hard they work for their money and I believe it is my responsibility in this House to make sure their money is spent well. This Bill builds on decades of work by people who have sought to make the State more open and accountable, from freedom of information and open data to the work of public servants, campaigners and ordinary citizens. Over the past two years, I have learned that even relatively small changes can take considerable time, effort and persistence. I have seen public bodies respond constructively and make real improvements. I have also learned that change is possible. The progress we make today builds on the work of those who came before us. We have a responsibility, not just to maintain the institutions we inherit but to improve them for the generations that follow.

Seán Lemass and T.K. Whitaker understood that Ireland could not build a modern economy by continuing to do things as they had always been done. They helped to change how the State thought, planned and acted. Our generation should bring that same ambition to modernising the State itself, how it manages public money, how it learns from its experiences and, above all, how it serves its people.

This Bill will not on its own solve the challenges facing public spending. Better information does not automatically produce better decisions but without good information, we condemn ourselves to repeat mistakes we should have learned from. The State needs to buy better, manage its contracts better and, above all, deliver better for the people it exists to serve. I commend the Bill to the House.

Is the Bill opposed?

No.

Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to enable local authorities to make charges in respect of the occupation of rooms in hotels and guesthouses, and of certain other premises used for holiday or guest accommodation, and to provide for related matters.

This is a straightforward Bill. Its intention is to provide local authorities with a clear legislative framework within which they can be enabled to introduce an accommodation levy. While tourism growth benefits local economies, the associated infrastructure costs, maintenance of public spaces, waste management, transport, cultural and recreational facilities fall on local authorities without a dedicated revenue stream linked to the volume of visitors. The Bill addresses this gap by providing a legal basis for a locally determined accommodation charge, commonly referred to as a tourist tax or bed tax, a standard feature of the fiscal architecture in most European countries. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria all operate accommodation levies of one kind or another, typically at municipal or regional level and typically ranging from €1 to €5 per person per night, depending on the category of accommodation. In the UK, Manchester introduced a city visitor charge in 2023.

In Ireland, the matter has been the subject of recurring policy discussion. The Tourism Action Plan 2023-2025 identified an accommodation levy as a potential revenue instrument for local authorities. Proposals were considered by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media. The Bill does not require any local authority to adopt the scheme, nor does it specify the rate of the charge. Instead, the scheme enables each local authority to decide whether to set a rate in the first place, or different rates for different categories of accommodation, appropriate to its own circumstances.

The charge as envisaged in the Bill is imposed on the room provider rather than directly on the occupant. It is recoverable by the local authority as a simple contract debt. The amount of the charge, the area to which it applies and the return on payment dates are all matters for determination by the local authority under its adopted scheme. The Bill also provides for the Revenue Commissioners to share relevant VAT registration and returns information with local authorities to assist them in identifying room providers operating within their areas and in verifying the accuracy of charges paid. The charge as designed would be applied to hotels, guesthouses and self-catering accommodation let on a short-term basis. It does not apply to caravan parks or camping sites.

I note that similar legislative proposals have been published, for example, by Deputy McAuliffe, who is in the Chamber this afternoon. However, there appears to be no common Government position on the principle of an accommodation levy. We in Labour see the legislation proposed today through the lens of our commitment to broadening the revenue base. We also see the principle of a room charge as a potential, fair and sustainable revenue-raising measure that would allow cash-starved local authorities to generate more of their own income to improve services and the environment for local residents. We have one of the most centralised forms of decision-making in Europe, and a local authority system that is better described as local administration than as local government. We should trust good local elected representatives who are prepared to be held accountable on the generation and spending of locally sourced revenue.

As the derelict sites levy transitions to a tax collected by Revenue, something for which I have been advocating for years, this income stream will be lost by local authorities, as envisaged by the finance Bill. A way needs to be found to ring-fence the tax collected and to ensure its full value is returned to the local authority area within which the subject properties lie.

The Bill before us today would also allow a local authority to define an area within its administrative area in terms of where it chooses to deploy such a levy or charge.

In other words, a local authority can identify some areas within its own administrative area to target or deploy the charges envisaged in this legislation. For the avoidance of doubt, this legislation does not force any local authority to introduce room charges. Such a move would be, as envisaged under this Bill, at the local authority's democratic discretion entirely.

I thank the Deputy. Is the Bill being opposed?

It is not opposed.

Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I move:

That Dáil Éireann, pursuant to Standing Order 33, and with effect from 11th November, 2026—

(a) approves the Sixteenth Report of the Standing Committee of Selection in accordance with Standing Order 33, copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 6th November, 2026, and appoints members to a Committee accordingly; and

(b) appoints Deputy Ruth Coppinger to be Cathaoirleach of the Committee on Preventing and Responding to Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.