I will revert to the Minister in relation to the Deputy's query. Crucially, we have seen through negotiations over the past number of weeks the very significant budget that the Department of education has right now to support families across our country and to ensure that children get the education they need and deserve. I will raise the Deputy's concerns with the Minister and ask her to revert to him directly.

Tourism is one of Ireland's most important economic sectors. It supports 229,000 jobs, helps sustain 46,000 businesses and generates significant economic activity in every county. Few sectors have such a broad regional footprint with an estimated seven out of every ten jobs located outside of Dublin. Tourism supports employment and enterprise in our cities and towns along the Wild Atlantic Way, throughout Ireland's Ancient East, in our coastal communities and increasingly across the Hidden Heartlands and other emer…

I thank all the Members for their contributions and you can see by the varied nature and degree of contributions how important the tourism sector is for the Irish economy. It is our largest indigenous sector, with 228,000 people employed in it, which is about 300,000 people on an all-island basis. Some 46,000 businesses right across our country really offer that authentic céad míle fáilte and are central to delivering that product for an indigenous sector. That is why I really welcome the fact that tourism is now a…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to bring the Industrial Development (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill before the Dáil. This is a short but important Bill which further empowers IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland to accelerate investment, employment and regional development. My Department keeps the statutory framework of the enterprise agencies under review as the Government's enterprise policy objectives evolve. The purpose of this Bill is to ensure the enterprise agencie…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "recognises that: — Ireland has experienced significant global inflationary pressures arising from international shocks, including energy price volatility, supply chain disruption and geopolitical instability, which have increased pressures on households and businesses; and — protecting jobs, sustaining economic competitiveness, and supporting living standards must be progressed in a balanced and sustainable manner; notes…

I can put the rest on the record of the House.

I thank the Deputy for the question. It is very important that we all acknowledge the importance of having vibrant towns and villages and that local shops and the retail sector are an important part of achieving that aim. The retail sector provides highly important employment, with over 220,000 people directly employed in retail, contributing to the economy of every city, town and village in Ireland. As the Deputy will be aware, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Rural an…

The town centre first policy has 33 actions right across government to enhance our town centres and villages. It is from the ground up and is community-led, to really accelerate those resources. The grant that I referenced of €135,000 will be of assistance in bringing on accommodation over the shop. We established our small business unit within the Department just a year ago and it has introduced a number of supports which are really targeted at our small business sector. As evidenced by Central Statistics Office d…

I would argue that we have a number of new schemes, particularly the one announced this month, which will make a difference to dereliction and reduce costs for businesses. We know from the evidence that traditional retail and hospitality are under significant pressure due to costs. What I have tried to do in the Department is bring about significant simplification measures. I have also tried to get additional grants in to small family businesses, which provide two thirds of employment across our economy. We can see…

The preparation of the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, which was published on 10 September 2025, was a commitment under the programme for Government. Its delivery was expedited in response to international economic developments. The overarching objective of the action plan is to maintain and improve Ireland's position as a competitive and productive economy capable of withstanding shocks, building on our strengths and developing our indigenous enterprise base while continuing to attract investment …

First, I go by evidence and fact. We are the second most competitive economy in the eurozone, which is a very strong value proposition. Since the report was brought forward in relation to the action plan, we have had a number of advances. Our semiconductor plan has commenced, which is significantly attracting investment in that space. Our action plan for market diversification is building on the risks that are there geopolitically, taking advantage of the 41 free trade agreements across the European Union with 72 c…

I have pointed out how we are improving the competitiveness of the economy, which is critical to ensuring we keep attracting jobs. We have about 2.83 million people working in our economy right now, which is a record. All 13 sectors of the economy are growing. That is not me saying that. It is the CSO, which is the gold standard. Real wage growth increased past inflation last year. Again, that is the CSO report, which is there for everyone to see. That shows there are very strong opportunities within the economy th…

I thank Deputy Murphy for his very important question and the work he is doing on the ground for our enterprise areas in Tipperary. Balanced regional development is a key focus of the work of the Department through our development agencies. In this regard, IDA Ireland is continuing its strong commitment to promoting foreign direct investment, FDI, in regional locations as part of our 2025–29 strategy, Adapt Intelligently, and is targeting 550 investments of FDI projects outside Dublin over the strategy’s lifetime. …

I hear Deputy Murphy's frustration and I assure him I will leave no stone unturned in getting a client for this very exciting opportunity in Ballingarrane, which is an exceptional site that has full planning permission. We have approximately 16 IDA clients in County Tipperary such as Boston Scientific, Abbott, Merck, Sharp and Dohme, MSD, and Waystone. These are all exceptional clients providing high-quality employment across the sector. We have approximately 95 Enterprise Ireland clients in Tipperary that employ 6…

I assure the Deputy of my intention to continue to work very hard with the IDA to try to secure a client for that. It is important to note IDA employment increased 30% over the past five years in Tipperary as a whole. When we consider the region it is linked with, it has outpaced it by a very significant margin. Those exceptional clients in Clonmel and Tipperary as a whole create a solid ecosystem that makes it attractive for other clients to come into the region. We will work very closely with the Deputy to have a…

I thank the Deputy for his very important question. Enterprise Ireland supported the owners of the factory in Carrickmacross over a number of years as they sought to establish themselves as an infant formula and nutrition providers manufacturer. In March 2025, the company informed Enterprise Ireland that the business was no longer viable in Ireland due to inflationary pressures and market conditions. The company had intended to produce infant formula for the Chinese market. A number of factors have impacted on dema…

First, Enterprise Ireland is working hard. It is the Government agency responsible for procuring a good client for the site in partnership with the owners. As I pointed out, this is a company whose business model was no longer viable. It is not fictitious; it did happen. The prima facie evidence is there. The owners engaged with Enterprise Ireland and were hoping to employ 60 people. This is obviously a very strong asset and Enterprise Ireland will work closely with national and international clients and the IDA to…

I am not aware of whether the owners availed of the programme in question. Obviously, they availed of some significant Enterprise Ireland funding but the majority of that was repayable and has been repaid under the terms of the original agreement. Again, that demonstrates that a significant business was put forward at that juncture. As I said, there is significant employment in the region. There are, as we heard from Deputy Michael Murphy, many sites that require good clients in them but the Realpolitik is that we …

I thank the Deputy. The tourism sector entered the year with positive momentum. There were consecutive months of growth in overseas visitors from August through to February, the most recent period reported by the CSO, indicating that tourism was performing strongly prior to the escalation of the conflict. The Government, however, recognises that geopolitical instability, including the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, can have implications for international travel and tourism. Tourism is a vital pillar of Irelan…

We have had strong growth this year, which is important to recognise, particularly since we brought in a new tourism policy in December, A New Era for Irish Tourism, which looks at bringing new strategies to lengthen the season and at ensuring we have a strong culinary strategy this year that will enhance the value proposition across the country, and, hopefully, an accommodation strategy that will look at viability for hotels. I want to be careful in terms of airlines. Many airlines are consolidating their routes. …