----- and the Deputy should do that too.

I appreciate this issue as a fellow colleague in Dublin. We need to make sure there is law and order on our streets and that is why the Minister, Deputy McEntee, has ensured Garda funding has increased by more than €500 million in total and is up 27% since 2020, with €2.48 billion in budget 2025. Budget 2025 will provide for the recruitment of between 800 and 1,000 new gardaí along with 150 Garda staff and move towards 1,000 Garda Reserve members. All of that work is about supporting front-line policing in communit…

I will ask the respective line Minister to respond to the Deputy on that.

I regret that constituent had to do that for that particular appeal. I will ask my officials to engage with this particular case. More generally, the primary medical certificate has not been working for many years as everyone in the House would agree. That is why intensive work is ongoing to try to reform it and bring about a new scheme to help those who need it. That is part of our wider work, presently, and we have been engaging across Government Departments to try to put a new scheme in place. I will engage on t…

I appreciate the points the Deputy has raised on the behalf of those with dyslexia, dyscalculia or other challenges who are engaging in State examinations. I will ask the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, who I am sure the Deputy has engaged with, to respond to this campaign. The Department of Education is responsive to the needs of many students in how it supports them, for example, through the school day, and in the wider provision we are making within our education system. I will ask the Minister to engage w…

As I have said in reply to others, the Government is hugely committed to supporting the nursing and midwifery workforce. There are over 27,000 more staff working in our health system than there were at the beginning of 2020. That is a 23% increase over this period and includes more than 9,000 additional nurses and midwives. OECD statistical data shows that Ireland has more practising nurses per 1,000 of the population than nearly all other European countries and has the second highest among the reported EU countrie…

As the Deputy will be aware, the Central Bank and the Department of Finance have advanced significant reforms in this area to support households that face difficulties with their mortgages. There is a clear framework for how that engagement is meant to occur. If there are specifics that the Deputy wants to raise with my office, we will engage with him on the issue.

As a Government, we introduced temporary reductions in excise rates of 21% and 16% per litre of petrol and diesel, respectively, in 2022, when energy prices in our economy were very high. That was worth approximately €1.2 billion to consumers. We gradually changed excise rates as the global price of petrol and diesel fell. Fuel prices in our economy have fallen significantly. They were at highs of €2.10 per litre and €2.20 per litre and are now just over €1.64 or below €1.70, depending on the fuel station. The deci…

I thank the Deputy. The area of road safety is one over which I previously had responsibility. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Lawless, and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, are putting intensive work into supporting a lot of road safety policy areas. That is being advanced in the context of the road traffic legislation this year and other reforms intended to support pedestrians and cyclists in communities across our country. The Road Safety Authority encourages the use of high-visibility clothing for pedestria…

I thank the Deputy. I am not familiar with the specific operational matters that may have been set out by the OPW. I appreciate the point the Deputy has raised for residents and the wider community in the area. I will reflect that to the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW. It is important that the OPW responds to the concerns and needs of residents and the wider community in its work.

A Cheann Comhairle, is onóir dom é buiséad 2025 a thíolacadh, buiséad deireanach théarma an Rialtais seo, don Teach seo inniu in éineacht le mo chomhghleacaí, an tAire, an Teachta Donohoe. INTRODUCTION When this Government took office in June 2020, we were still dealing with Brexit and in the midst of a global pandemic that was having an unprecedented impact on our society and economy. The effect on families, businesses and our way of living was devastating. While only emerging from that pandemic, we were then conf…

-----until the end of 2029. PRE-LETTING EXPENSES EXTENSION To continue to help owners of vacant property to bring that accommodation into the rental system, increasing the overall supply of rental accommodation, I am extending the relief for pre-letting expenses for landlords. This means that the relief will continue for a further three years to the end of 2027 in support of Housing for All. REDUCED VAT RATE OF 9% FOR GAS AND ELECTRICITY To continue supporting households and businesses as part of the Government’s c…

I will introduce a financial resolution on this matter later this evening. MORTGAGE INTEREST RELIEF Mortgage interest tax relief was announced in last year’s budget and provided relief for mortgage holders who experienced increased interest rates in 2023 over 2022. In light of the impact high interest rates continue to have on households, I am extending this relief for one further year. This extension means that the relief will also be made available to assist mortgage holders in respect of the increase in interest…

-----with immediate effect. BANK LEVY I will extend the bank levy for a further year, with a target yield of €200 million. It remains appropriate that the sector continues to make a contribution to the Irish economy following the support it received during the financial crisis. STAMP DUTY ON HIGH VALUE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY I have decided to increase the rate of stamp duty applicable to residential property valued above €1.5 million to 6% with effect from tonight. The existing rate of 1% will continue to apply to va…

-----to part fund a socially progressive national retrofitting and energy efficiency programme, and to encourage and support farmers in the green transition. HEAT PUMPS I have decided to lower the VAT rate charged on the installation of heat pumps from the standard rate at 23% to the 9% reduced rate. This measure will complement the Government's national retrofit plan to transform Ireland's housing stock by retrofitting homes and installing heat pumps to replace older, less efficient heating systems. MOTOR INSURERS…

This budget is about the future. It reflects a commitment and resolve to responsible politics, economic resilience and a fairer society ensuring that together we can build a prosperous future imbued with optimism and hope. I believe budget 2025 provides the ways and means for continuing to deliver many more, bright and hopeful days for us all. All this, and more, can be achieved because of the decisions we are taking today for our people, our communities and our country. Tá lánmhuinín agam as ár ndaoine agus as cum…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The Department of Finance's retail banking review, published in November 2022, concluded that despite a decline in its usage, cash remains an important element of the payments system and the broader economy and that it is essential that cash remains readily available to customers through ATMs and other means across the country. The review recommended that the Department of Finance develop access-to-cash legislation with the initial objective of developing criteria …

Last week, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgment, the final milestone in what has been a long-running legal process, beginning in 2013 when the Commission began their investigation into a number of tax arrangements across the EU. I want to take this opportunity to outline the history of the case and reiterate the importance of taking this case, notwithstanding that the final judgment last week was not in Ireland’s favour. I will discuss the recovered state aid and the significant changes…

As Deputies will be aware, in order to comply with the 2016 decision of the Commission, while the litigation process was ongoing, in 2018, the state aid identified by the Commission was placed by Apple into an escrow fund, with the proceeds to be released only when there had been a final determination in the European courts. A detailed confidential legal document, the escrow deed, was agreed to govern the operations of the fund both while the case was ongoing and following the final judgment from the European court…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 70 together. As has been stated on numerous occasions, the Government is committed to the reform of the TV licence. A long-term funding model is needed to deliver effective reform and ensure that a secure, sustainable model of funding is put in place for our public service media. The Government is committed to the introduction of a new sustainable and fair funding model in its term of office. The Future of Media Commission was established to, among other things, consider sust…