I thank the Senator for his question and I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. I wish to clarify that the National Transport Authority, NTA, is the independent transport regulator of the small public service vehicle, SPSV, sector,, that is, taxis and hackneys. The Minister for Transport is not involved in the day-to-day operation of that sector and notes recent developments regarding taxi protests. Ireland has a …

As previously mentioned, the regulation of the SPSV industry, including the setting of fares, is a matter for the independent transport regulator, the NTA, to which Senator Craughwell alluded. Section 24 of the Consolidated Taxi Regulations Acts 2013 and 2016 vests power in the NTA board to make a maximum fares order that fixes the maximum fares that may be charged by a taxi driver. The NTA conducts fare reviews approximately every two years. The current maximum fares order took effect in December 2024. Taxi fixed …

This section provides for a temporary 9% VAT rate on the supply and construction of apartments and apartment blocks as part of our social policy. The temporary 9% rate of VAT on the supply of apartments came into effect on budget night. The extension to the construction of apartments and the supply and construction of apartment blocks, including student accommodation, came into effect on 26 November 2025, which was the date of Report Stage in the Dáil. The 9% rate will apply until 31 December 2030. The Government's…

The Senator has recommended a report on the fiscal and housing market effects of tax reliefs and incentives available to property developers and on alternative approaches to achieving housing supply objectives without such tax expenditures. I reiterate that the commencement of reports is not a matter that should be dealt with within legislation. It is important to note that all decisions regarding taxation measures must have regard to the sound management of the public finances and the Department of Finance's tax e…

This section amends section 86 of the Value-Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 which deals with special provision for tax invoiced by flat rate farmers. It confirms the budget reduction in the farmers flat rate addition from 5.1% to 4.5% with effect from 1 January 2026. The new 4.5% rate will continue to achieve full compensation for farmers under the flat rate scheme. The farmers flat rate scheme is reviewed each year in the run-up to the budget in accordance with criteria set down in the EU VAT directive. The rate …

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I thank Deputy Mac Lochlainn for raising this matter. It gives me an opportunity, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Naughton, to outline to the Dáil the current position in relation to the school project for St. Eunan’s College in Letterkenny. This project is included in the Department of Education and Youth’s construction programme, which will be delivered under the national development plan as part of the Project Ireland 2040 framework. St. Eunan’s College is a single-sex, Catholic seconda…

I will bring the Deputy's concerns back to the Minister and ask her, if she is in Donegal, to put in a tour of St. Eunan's College. Since 2020, the Department has invested over €6 billion in schools throughout the country under the national development plan, involving the completion of 1,300 school building projects. In addition, repurposing and optimising existing accommodation capacity across the school estate has been a key enabler of timely local provision of special class capacity in a way that supports best p…

I thank Deputy Moynihan. The Government has committed to deliver up to 5.7 TWh of indigenously produced biomethane per annum by 2030. Delivery of this target and the use of biomethane within our energy system will have multiple cross-sectoral benefits for Ireland’s economy, energy security and emissions profile. In response to this ambitious target, the Department, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, published the national biomethane strategy in May 2024. Implementation of the na…

I thank the Deputy for raising very valid and informed concerns. The Deputy talks about the absence of guidelines. The Government remains committed to the production of up to 5.7 TWh of biomethane, which is a little over 10% of our current natural gas, and the development of Ireland's anaerobic digestion of biomethane on an industrial scale. This will serve to diversify our sources of gas, improve our energy security and deliver the carbonisation options for Ireland to meet its 2030 climate and energy targets. Biom…

I thank Senator Lynch for raising this important matter before the House, which I am taking on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I hope the Senator is settling in well here in the Seanad. It is a wonderful forum. I was here twice - from 2002 to 2007 and from 2016 to 2020. It is a great forum to raise issues of national importance and local importance such as this. It is important to note that, under section 159, of the Local Government Act 2001, the chief executive is responsible f…

I thank Senator Lynch for raising this very important issue and for her remarks. I agree it is important that we enhance the opportunities for disabled people who can earn a living to do so. It is important that we lead by example and maximise opportunities and access for disabled people to get meaningful work in the Civil Service and the public sector. The recently published national human rights strategy for disabled people from 2025 to 2030 recognises this and includes compliance with the 6% minimum statutory em…

I thank Senator Tully for her question. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this important topic with Members of the House today on behalf of the Minister for Transport. I understand Senator Tully’s question is on the funding provided to local authorities for the maintenance of local roads, with a particular emphasis on the Cavan region. It is a region I am very familiar with as I represent Sligo, Leitrim and south Donegal and, at one stage, I represented west Cavan. They are the same type of area and they have al…

The Irish road network consists of over 100,000 km of road. While the national road network carries about 45% of total traffic, there is a very extensive network of regional and local roads. Regional roads comprise approximately 13% of all roads and local roads about 82% of all roads. This year, regional and local road grants were notified to local authorities on 14 February. Cavan County Council has been allocated €19.2 million, which is an increase of €1.7 million on its 2024 allocation. The Senator made a very v…

I thank Senator Reilly for raising this issue. I hope she is enjoying her stay in the Seanad. It is great to see people who have been on local authorities coming into the Seanad. I know that Members come from diverse backgrounds, but people like her bring that experience and knowledge in here. I can see that she is familiar with what is happening in her county and constituency. It is great that she can bring that knowledge here to the floor of the Seanad. I was a member of my local authority when I got elected to t…

Our vast and interconnected road network is essential to connecting people, businesses and communities, so we must continue to protect it. We have come a long way. When I was elected in 1999, the road network was particularly bad. I remember travelling on one national road and changing my tires every three months. We are in a much better place but the Senator is right that more needs to be done. She raised the increase in the price of bitumen, which went up by 62%. This has to be factored in. That is what this is a…

I hope the Senator is settling in well in the Seanad. A Commencement matter is a great way to raise issues of local and national importance. The Minister for Children, Disability and Equality would like to thank the Senator for raising this important issue and for offering her the opportunity to respond. Childminding and childminders constitute a hugely important part of early learning and care and school-age childcare provision and continue to be the option of choice for many families. Ireland is one of the few co…

I thank the Senator for raising this very important issue. It is a priority for the Minister and the rest of the Government. The programme for Government firmly commits to retaining childminding as a valued and important part of the provision of both early learning and care and school-aged childcare. It states, "Childminding plays a significant role in the provision of early years and school aged care and should remain a viable choice for parents." The continued implementation of the national action plan for childm…

It was great to see the Senators in the Dáil yesterday for the visit of President Zelenskyy. It was nice to see the Acting Chairperson, Senator Nicole Ryan, name-checked by the political commentator Gavan Reilly. The Minister thanks the Senator for raising this important matter for discussion. As we are all aware, the Red Door Project is a community-based organisation in Drogheda, County Louth, providing assistance and support to those individuals, families and the wider community affected by drug use. As the Senat…

Again, I praise the great work done by the Red Door Project, other agencies and all stakeholders to put Drogheda in a much better place after the horrific events of a number of years ago. I assure the Senator that the Government is committed to building stronger safer communities and is deeply aware of the impact that drugs and drug-related crime can have on communities. The Government's approach to the misuse of drugs is set out in Ireland's national drugs strategy, Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery. It is a heal…