I thank the Deputy. I listened carefully to the points he raised. I am aware that this is an area of concern for many people. Indeed, James Sexton, whom we mentioned earlier, has led a well-documented campaign, End Discrimination in Inheritance Tax. He will be presenting to our parliamentary party tomorrow evening on it, and he has been presenting in the audiovisual room at Leinster House as well. This issue has been raised by many people in this House. As I mentioned before, the Government increased the thresholds…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am pleased to introduce, on behalf of the Tánaiste, Second Stage of the National Treasury Management Agency (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026. The legislation marks an important step in bringing the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, and the special liquidation of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, IBRC, to a close. It provides for the transfer and consolidation of the remaining activities of both NAMA and the special liquidation of the IBRC within th…

I thank all the Members for their contributions. I will endeavour to reply to all the points that were raised. I will do it just to myself and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle by the looks of things, but the Leas-Cheann Comhairle did contribute. I say that somewhat in jest because I acknowledge that many Deputies are tuned in in their offices and that not everyone can sit in the Dáil for hours at a time. The question "why now?" has been asked a number of times. The reason is that NAMA and the IBRC special liquidators have…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach pursuant to Standing Orders 103 and 188.

I move: That Standing Order 194 is modified in accordance with Standing Order 241(2) to provide that it be an instruction to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach in relation to the Central Bank (Amendment) Bill 2025, that the Committee has power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing subject matter of the Bill in order to make provision for: (a) the establishment of a statutory obligation o…

I thank all Deputies who contributed to the debate this evening. I acknowledge patients, survivors and families for whom cancer has impacted their lives. There is not a family in this country that have not been impacted by cancer, my own included. I think of my two siblings who I lost to cancer many years ago. Perhaps that was one of the driving forces that meant I wanted to do something positive when I was in a role to do something that can make a difference to cancer survivors. Deputy Ardagh has been very generou…

I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the action plan for insurance reform 2025-29 and provide an update on progress since its publication in July 2025. The objective of the current reform programme is clear, namely to support an insurance market that is more transparent, competitive and affordable. There are challenging conditions globally that impact on insurance costs locally, yet I am committed to continuing to make a difference to people's insurance premiums. The current plan builds on the progress…

I thank all the Senators for their contributions today. The issues raised reflect the continuing importance of insurance reform for households, businesses, farms, voluntary organisations and community groups. They also reflect the reality that, notwithstanding progress in recent years, insurance remains a matter of significant concern for many people, as well as for the Government. Senator Casey hit the nail on the head when he said we can build on the progress and that reform is not a singular event but is an ongo…

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — the conflict in the Middle East has, once again, exposed the vulnerability of the Irish economy, and Irish society more generally, to imported fossil fuels; — these strategic dependencies have major macroeconomic implications, and the risks to macroeconomic and fiscal stability cannot be ignored; — at a minimum, the large upward shift in energy prices is likely to impart a stagflationary impulse to the glob…

It is jammy when things are going right and when things are going wrong, it is the fault of the Government. That is a very simplistic approach. lf the economy remains strong, we will stand by the programme for Government commitment to make progressive changes to personal income tax rates. We have full employment. I suppose that is jammy and good luck too. From my perspective, as a Minister of State in the Department of Finance, this budget should be about rewarding work. In budget 2026, it was about supporting jobs…

I thank Senators Casey and Ryan for bringing this motion before the House this evening. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the recently published annual progress report and the Government’s response to recent energy price pressures. The annual progress report is a key part of both the annual budgetary cycle and the European fiscal framework. It sets out the Department of Finance’s latest assessment in respect of the economic and fiscal outlook, as well as the risks we face in the years ahead. Before turning to t…

Here is the storm.

I thank Senator Crowe for raising this important issue. It is a matter that has been brought to the attention of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science on a number of occasions over the past few years, but Senator Crowe makes valid points in his contribution. The main financial support available to students is the student grant scheme. The scheme is administered by Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, on behalf of the Department. In order to qualify for a grant, all app…

SUSI processes more than 100,000 grants annually. Some 110,000 students applied for support in this academic year with the Government investing €350 million to support students. A significant number of people are availing of Government support. I think we all agree that the Minister, Deputy Lawless, is engaged with the student unions, the bodies, students and their families, and is continuously looking at ways to challenge the costs of college. He is conscious of that, and we will see positive changes in the upcomi…

I thank the Senator. We get visitors in Mullingar and Athlone as well. When she was going through all the regional towns, she forgot to mention some of mine. I thank her for once again giving me the opportunity to update the House today on behalf of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on local authorities’ powers to raise revenues annually. I know this is an issue on which the Senator has been extremely active and vocal. The system of funding local government in Ireland is a complex one, as loc…

I thank Senator Fitzpatrick very much. While it is fair that we acknowledge that the Government's funding to local authorities has increased considerably over the last number of years, it is also important to recognise that local authorities need the power and autonomy to be able to raise their own money to invest in the provision of services and to build out and develop the offering that each local authority has. The Senator makes very valid points. There is agreement in terms of the line of direction we are going…

We, as a Government, across all our Departments, need to be much clearer when we commission a report on the timeframe for when that report will be published and, more importantly, the implementation of recommendations. We need to be much more efficient as a Government in doing that. I will take on board what the Senator said today and relay it back, in the first instance, to the two Departments that are working on this, namely, Department of enterprise and tourism and the Department of local government.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it gives me the opportunity, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, to outline to the Dáil the current position in relation to the school building project for St. Mary's Oldtown, County Dublin. This project was approved to enter the Department of Education and Youth’s pipeline under the additional school accommodation scheme and is devolved for delivery to the school authority. The project will provide three mainstream classrooms, one special education tuiti…

Deputy O'Donoghue will appreciate that I am answering on behalf of my colleague. He has made a strong and compelling case for additional works at this school in the very near future. We were all disappointed when the announcement was made some months ago if schools that we articulate on behalf of in our respective constituencies were excluded. The amount of resources is always finite, so there has to be prioritisation. From my perspective, and even from the Deputy’s perspective, I am happy to see in this reply that…

I am taking this matter on behalf of Deputy Michael Moynihan, Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth, who sends his apologies because he cannot be here today. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter and giving me the opportunity to outline the Department of Education and Youth’s plans to address the accommodation needs for Gorey Hill School. Gorey Hill School is one of four special schools established for the 2024-25 school year. The school operates under the patronage of Waterford and Wexford…