Cian O'Callaghan
Dublin Bay North · Social Democrats · Ireland
“Unification presents distinct challenges that need to be carefully planned for and managed. The analysis done by Professor Doyle shows that the cost of pensions would be unlikely to transfer to a united Ireland straight away. Following Brexit, the UK and Ireland signed a bilateral convention on social security in 2019.”
“Ireland spends less than that defending a much larger territory and has decades of underinvestment to catch up on. We need increased investment, particularly in systems and technologies, including sonar and air surveillance radar.”
“I welcome this important discussion on the topic of Irish unity and its fiscal implications. It deserves analysis and fundamentally respect for the people, who will ultimately decide the future of this island. There are real challenges in any transition to unity but there are also very significant opportunities.”
“These are highly skilled jobs with union representation and apprenticeship programmes. They are of fundamental importance to the local economy and community. They should never have been left exposed in this way.”
“The Tánaiste must surely know that these exports are feeding Putin's war machine. Does he not think it is unusual that Ireland is one of the very few European countries where our exports to Russia have increased since Russia invaded Ukraine? That has been driven by the exports of alumina that have more than doubled.”
“We know from the investigation carried out by The Irish Times and the organised crime and corruption reporting project that alumina from Ireland is ending up in Russian owned smelters in Krasnoyarsk. Krasnoyarsk is Russia's only smelter producing high purity aluminium.”
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“What is the Taoiseach doing to sort this out? It is not acceptable that parents have to protest again this Saturday in Cork to highlight this. What is the Taoiseach doing to sort this situation out?”
“Does the Taoiseach see something wrong with parents who have a huge amount on their hands being cast into the role of project managing to try to get a school place for their child? There is something fundamentally wrong with that. What is the Taoiseach doing to sort this out? Parents should not be put in that situation. The Taoiseach said 400 special classes have been promised to be opened this year but he has also said that only 218 have been sanctioned. There is a huge gap between sanctioning places and classes for children and them actually being delivered. Parents are being told it will take between 12 and 18 months for modular classrooms to be delivered and they are trying to manage this process. Children have a right to education and it is the Taoiseach's role to ensure they get the education they require.”
“This is incredibly frustrating for parents and families who are already facing huge pressures and responsibilities and it is grossly unfair on children who may not have the school places they need in September. Where is the co-ordination on this? Where is the drive? Why are parents being left to try to sort this out? It is the Government's job to ensure every child receives an education. It is the Taoiseach's role to sort out this issue, whether it is a lack of co-ordination or a lack of drive . Charlotte Cahill, one of the parents at the protest on Friday, summarised her experience as follows: "They designed the system so that a door closes at every opportunity." When will these doors start opening? Does the Taoiseach accept the Government is failing these families and their children?”
“I attended a protest outside the Department of Education on Friday where parents were sleeping out to try to get places for their children with additional needs. No one should have to do this. Speaking to families at the protest, their deep frustration was clear. Parents told me they had been cast into the role of project manager in trying to secure a place for their children. They are co-ordinating between school principals, boards of management, builders, the NCSE and the Department of Education. They are desperately trying to get classrooms delivered in time for their children to start school. Despite all their efforts, days, weeks and months go by without progress being made.”
“The Taoiseach says there will have to be forward planning in the future. Why is that forward planning not taking place under this Government? Why did it not take place under the previous Government? The crisis in special education is simply getting worse under the Taoiseach's watch. There are now hundreds of parents who do not know if their children will have a school place in September. One mother in north Cork, Sheila Casey Jones, told the Irish Examiner that her son Patrick has received 29 rejections for a school place. The situation is now so desperate that Sheila is contacting schools as far away as Laois, Kilkenny and Donegal to find a place. How has the Taoiseach and the Government let a situation like this happen, whereby a family in Cork is desperately looking for school places as far away as Donegal?”
“I recently met the campaign group Access for All and one of the issues they raised with me was how the housing crisis is affecting disabled people in particular. As the Taoiseach will be aware, the Ombudsman has said that more than 1,200 disabled people under the age of 65 are living in nursing homes. Nursing homes are a completely unsuitable setting for younger people. It affects their independence and mental health. What is the Government doing to address the scandal of the 1,200 disabled people under the age of 65 living in nursing homes?”
“Will the Taoiseach ensure that CIÉ pensioners who dedicated their lives to public service get the pension increases they deserve?”
“I want to ask the Taoiseach about the well-being of CIÉ pensioners. For decades, former CIÉ workers had their pension payments rise in line with wage increases. However, when the economic crash happened, CIÉ halted both pay and pension increases. While pay rises for current staff have been restored, pensioners have had their income frozen for over 16 years. This is leaving pensioners out of pocket following an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. Independent actuarial analysis carried out by Willis Towers Watson found that the CIÉ pension scheme can award increases without impacting on its long-term sustainability. There is no reason these pensioners should not get increases and should be punished by austerity measures.”
“This is what the Taoiseach told the Dáil when he was in opposition: Earlier this year, the Minister for Defence signalled that he would try to water down Ireland's commitment to the triple lock, which is at the core of our neutrality. He presented the idea it was contradictory and that we were giving unsavoury countries a veto over our actions. This argument has been behind the efforts of a wing of Fine Gael to erode neutrality over the years. This is what the Taoiseach said. I could not put it better myself. He went on to say: My party and I completely reject this. The United Nations is not working as it should [be] but we must not abandon it as an essential part of the international system.”
“The UN mandate gives a legitimacy to peacekeeping missions which would be impossible to replace. The blue beret our troops have worn with pride offers them a huge level of protection, and instead of acknowledging that, the Government is undermining this. In the election, Fianna Fáil promised reform of the triple lock, not to tear it to shreds. Yet another election promise is in tatters. On Friday, as parents of children with additional needs without a school place slept out on the streets, the Tánaiste advocated spending billions on buying fighter jets. Meanwhile, there are only enough navy personnel to crew one ship to patrol our extensive coastline. What other multilateral body can confer the same legitimacy as UN-mandated missions, and where does the Taoiseach want to send Irish troops that they cannot already go to?”
“It seems they have all drunk the Fine Gael Kool-Aid and are now singing off the same hymn sheet. There have always been aggressors on the world stage, always those who seek to carve up the world and its resources. Ireland has always stood strong against these malign forces. In today's world, Putin and Trump are leading the charge to rip up multilateralism and we should never, ever follow them down that path. The response should be to stand strong in defence of peace and the United Nations. Instead, the Taoiseach is seeking to ditch Ireland's commitment to a multilateral approach.”
“Since the United Nations was founded, Ireland has stood steadfast for peace, multilateralism and acting only through a United Nations mandate. These have been core pillars of our international policy. This was something the Taoiseach used to recognise. He said attempts to dismantle the triple lock were "an out-of-touch ideological obsession on the part of Fine Gael which ignores the facts of Ireland’s international standing". Fianna Fáil has now been in government with Fine Gael for so long that their ideological obsessions have merged. Back then, the Taoiseach was clear the triple lock was at the core of our neutrality. He lambasted Fine Gael for its attempts to undermine it. Today a succession of Fianna Fáil Ministers are joining the Fine Gael chorus stating that the triple lock has nothing to do with our neutrality.”
“There continues to be a huge level of vacancies that need to be filled. The Taoiseach keeps on blaming the 2022 High Court judgment which found the Government to be in breach of legislation. When will the Government get children the access to what they urgently require rather than blaming that judgment? This Friday, a group of 50 parents will hold a sleep-out outside the Department of Education because their children cannot get the school places they need. Parents should not have to sleep out in order to assert the rights of their children to access an education they desperately need. When is this going to change? When will there be enough school places for children with additional needs? When is the Government going to stop failing children with additional needs?”
“Radie and Dan were speaking not only about their experience but about the experience of thousands of children and families in similar situations. Some 14,221 children are overdue for an assessment of needs and a further 12,920 children are on waiting lists for children's disability network teams, CDNTs. The Taoiseach is aware that early intervention is key and that there is no time to lose. Children with additional needs are being left behind while their parents jump through hoops to try to access basic services and supports. Last May, I asked him about the 700 vacancies in CDNTs, with some areas experiencing staff shortages as high as 60% and even 70%. How many of these vacant posts have been filled? When will children with additional needs get the access to basic supports and services they urgently need?”
“They were told their child would get better support in any other European country and that they would be better off leaving Ireland. They were told they would have to battle continuously to get access to basic supports and that nothing would happen at the appropriate time. All this resulted in them feeling completely overwhelmed. Radie spoke of how she had to cry and beg as she navigated a grossly under-resourced system and how trying to figure out how the systems work is like a full-time job. She spoke about fighting and battling to get to the next step in the process, only to realise when she got there that there is nothing there and about how doing all this while working and supporting a child is completely and utterly exhausting.”
“Radie Peat of Lankum and Dan Lambert, manager of Kneecap, recently spoke about their experiences as parents of a child with additional needs. Speaking with Oliver Callan on RTÉ radio, they described the challenges that they, and thousands of families like them, face in battling to get supports for their child. Since their child was 17 months old, Radie and Dan realised she was autistic and non-verbal. Despite this, she will not get the supports she urgently needs until she is six and a half years old. The story Radie and Dan have shared mirrors the experience of thousands of other families. After looking for help, their belief that they would get the necessary supports was quickly shattered. From the outset, they were told their child would not get what she needed in a timely manner. They were advised to leave Dublin.”
“As the Taoiseach knows, section 39 workers do incredibly important work in home care, disability care, elder care and support services in our communities. Despite their Trojan work, they receive poor levels of pay. There is also the very serious issue of a lack of sustainable funding for this sector with increased costs, such as for auto-enrolment, coming down the line. SIPTU is now balloting its members for strike action. Last week I met with the Irish Wheelchair Association which described the impact that this would have on its members in the vital services they run. The SIPTU ballot closes tomorrow so there is no time to be lost on this. When will section 39 workers get the pay they deserve which the Taoiseach promised during the election campaign?”
“It absolutely is. We have one of the strongest executives. In other parliaments, the executives do not always get everything passed by virtue of the majority they have. We have one of the strongest Whip systems in western democracy, which makes it one of the strongest executives. We need to have more accountability, not less.”
“The Social Democrats are strongly opposed to the proposals the Government is bringing forward. It is very important that the Opposition can hold the Government to account. The Dáil is already one of the comparatively weaker parliaments in terms of its ability to hold the Government to account.”
“However, there has been a dramatic increase in the level of homelessness over the past few years. I will repeat my question. What specifically is the Government going to do to turn this around? Month after month, the situation is getting worse. We need new action from the Government. Will it ban no-fault evictions? If not, what is it going to do?”
“I appreciate that the Taoiseach did not see the programme. If he had, he would have seen the family in question applied for medical priority and had been refused. That decision is under appeal. They are in the same situation that thousands of other families with real medical needs who are not able to have their housing needs met and who are not prioritised. The Taoiseach dismissed a ban no-fault evictions as if it could not work. In fact, such a ban is the norm in most European countries. Not only is it the norm, but these are countries with much larger rental sectors than ours. Those sectors are successful and have lots of supply. They are the subject of good rent regulation and offer good security for renters. Of course, it could be done here. The Taoiseach referred to increases in social housing numbers.”
“Instead of improving, the situation is getting worse. Where is the urgency to address this? Two of the families featured in last night's programme were made homeless when they were evicted from private rental accommodation. We know that this is the biggest cause of homelessness. In the midst of this crisis, however, the Government will not improve security for renters. Can the Taoiseach explain why a child who is scheduled for open heart surgery is living in a homeless hub? What can he say to the thousands of families in emergency homeless accommodation, some of whom have been there for years? What is the Government doing to address this disaster? Will it bring Ireland into line with other European countries by introducing a ban on no-fault of evictions?”
“If nothing changes, Jackson will have open heart surgery and will then be discharged back to the hub in question. There are 300 people, including 220 children, living in this hub. It is clearly not a suitable place for a very sick child to live. Why are Chloe and her son trapped there? Lisa is living in the same hub, Houben House Family Hub, with her four children, who are aged between nine months and seven years. Lisa is extremely concerned about the mental health impacts on her children. Their attendance at school has already been impacted. She is afraid that they will get depressed. The homeless crisis is a national scandal. Children and families are not just spending short periods in these hubs; some can be there for up to four years. The damage this is doing, especially to children, is enormous and can be lifelong.”
“There are now 14,864 people living in emergency homeless accommodation. This includes 4,510 children who are growing up without a home. Almost every month the numbers climb higher, but record levels of homelessness are now so commonplace that these numbers no longer seem to shock. They rarely appear on the front pages of newspapers. This is because the numbers do not tell the stories of the thousands of people whose lives are being damaged and destroyed. Last night, thanks to some excellent public-service journalism by Katie Hannon, we heard some of those distressing stories. Chloe Coffey is living in homeless hub with her four-year-old son Jackson. Jackson has complex medical needs. He has already had two surgeries and a third is planned to take place in a month.”
“A total of 90% of assessments of need are being done outside of the legal timeframe. This is the law. It is not an optional extra for the Taoiseach or the Government. I am not clear from the Taoiseach's answer if the Government is going to meet the legal requirements of the Disability Act. Is it going to take action so that 90% turns to 0% so the Taoiseach and his Government are compliant with the law on this? Is it the intention of the Government not to meet the requirements of the Disability Act? Will the Taoiseach be clear on that? Is the Government going to take action to meet the requirements of the Disability Act or is it intending not to do so and allow the current situation to continue?”
“When will the Government meet the six-month legal timeframe for completing the assessment of needs, and when will the multidisciplinary teams that were promised be put in place?”
“This typically results in the HSE providing an assessment of need through contracting a private service. Families who do not go down this route are left at the back of the queue while legal costs for the State are mounting. Instead of the State forking out money on legal fees, would it not be much better to instead spend the money on ensuring the legal timeframes are met in the first place? During the election campaign, the Taoiseach said the establishment of multidisciplinary teams in schools, including speech and language and occupational therapists, would be a red-line issue for Fianna Fáil if it were returned to Government. He also said work would begin on this on day one. Will the Taoiseach tell the 14,221 children and their families who are overdue an assessment of need what this Government is doing about it?”
“Even more, when a child gets their assessment of need, they can be left waiting years for services and supports which often never materialise. The State is failing children and their families. This is creating huge stress and pressure. Children are being left behind during these critical early years of their development. To make matters worse, we cannot even rely on these figures. In some areas, manipulation of waiting lists is taking place. Some families have been told their child has been put on a waiting list to be put on a waiting list. Not only is this completely disingenuous, it adds to the significant stress and pressure families experience. The situation is so bad that there are now several law firms who will issue a legal complaint to the HSE on a family's behalf after three months and initiate legal proceedings after six months.”
“Growing numbers of children and their families across Ireland are being left waiting for assessments of need well in excess of the legal timeframes permitted. According to the Disability Act 2005, an assessment of need must be completed within six months of the date the application is received. I have received new figures from the HSE which show that, at the end of 2024, there were 14,221 children overdue an assessment of need. That is an increase of nearly 60% compared with 2023. That is 60% in just 12 months. As the Taoiseach knows, early intervention is key. Getting a quick assessment followed by services and supports means the child can reach their full potential. According to the HSE, the average duration of the assessment period is now more than two years - two years.”
“The Taoiseach was clear last week that he has not read the report and it still has not been read. There are solutions to the housing disaster. The Government could introduce affordable housing zoning to ensure that land is available for affordable homes at affordable prices. It could introduce savings schemes such as Livret A in France. That scheme has leveraged billions of euro of savings into affordable housing. The Government could also consider those proposals from Housing Europe. Instead, the response of this Government is to offer tax breaks to developers and garden sheds to everybody else. We need a more serious approach from the Government. The senior Minister should attend housing debates and engage constructively with us.”
“They are being financed through the State and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund is one of the main sources of finance. Those homes, however, are going to be sold to an international fund instead of being made available to people at affordable prices. Why is public money being used to build homes to be sold to international funds? The idea that it is all being used for forward funding is simply incorrect. The Minister of State said that EU funding streams are already being accessed. Whoever wrote his reply clearly has not read the report by Housing Europe, which was commissioned by a Fianna Fáil MEP. The report goes into great detail about the EU funding streams that could be accessed but are not being accessed by the State. Those funding streams could be used to help to build affordable homes.”
“What we have said is that the private sector on its own is not delivering, that there is a large affordability gap and that there is a greater role for the State and the not-for-profit sectors. If it does not see that and thinks its housing policy is working, that shows how deluded the Government is. It is disingenuous to say that 100% stamp duty on bulk purchase of homes would prevent forward funding. It does not. As the Minister of State must understand, stamp duty on bulk purchases is on purchase transactions. That does not prevent forward funding. It does prevent the buying up of existing homes. A report published last year by the Central Bank found that 78% of the homes bought by investment funds were existing properties. That is the problem we are seeking to address. For example, 500 new homes are being built in my constituency.”
“I will proceed. The Minister of State said in his response that the Government would not support the motion because the State alone cannot achieve what is needed in housing. We have never said that the State alone needs to achieve what needs to be done in housing.”
“Is this what democracy in the Dáil is reduced to? The senior Minister responsible does not turn up but we are meant to be okay with him being aware the debate is taking place. Is that the situation with this Government? It has happened two weeks in a row for debates on housing motions that the senior Minister-----”
“In the context of the Dublin city centre task force, I wish to ask the Taoiseach about motorbike theft. A total of 787 motorbikes were stolen in Dublin in 2023 - a 100% increase on the previous year. This means that for every 100 motorbikes bought, 44 were stolen. It is completely out of control. Will the Government follow the example of London, which launched Operation Venice and introduced a range of measures to clamp down on moped theft? Within a year, moped theft had fallen by 36% and moped-enabled crime had fallen by 47% across London. Will we follow the example of London and take action on this?”
“Is the Taoiseach saying they are still on the table, that he has not learned his lesson? Is the Taoiseach trying to bring us back to that reckless type of policy?”
“We have put forward a number of alternatives to tax incentives for private developers to finance the construction of housing and, significantly, the construction of housing that is affordable for people. Am I to take it from the Taoiseach's answer that tax incentives for developers are on the table? Does the Taoiseach accept the view that the section 23 tax incentives that Fianna Fáil brought in led to economic collapse, a banking collapse, a bank bailout, unemployment and emigration and ruined people's lives? Does the Taoiseach accept the damage they did or is he now telling us that the Government intends to reintroduce something similar to those highly damaging section 23 tax reliefs that were championed by Fianna Fáil? The finance Minister and Fine Gael at least seem to have the good sense to realise the damage that was done.”
“Will the Government vote for and implement the constructive solutions put forward by the Social Democrats in our motion tomorrow?”
“One of our proposals is to use some of the €160 billion that is on deposit in Irish banks to fund the construction of affordable homes. This has been done successfully for decades in France. Why not do it here? We also want to use EU funding streams to deliver affordable homes. When I said this to the Taoiseach last week, he dismissed it out of hand even though a report commissioned by one of his MEPs goes into great detail about how this can be done. That report was done by Housing Europe, which is the leading expert in how to fund the construction of affordable housing in Europe. The Taoiseach dismissed it out of hand. I do not know if anyone in the Government has even read the report. I have two questions for the Taoiseach. Has he now dropped his proposals for tax incentives?”
“Last week, Accord released a survey which found that 84% of people are putting off getting married and having a family due to the housing crisis. This is not just a housing disaster - it is a housing catastrophe. There are people the length and breadth of this country who feel locked out and left behind because the Government and previous governments have failed them. Every time I raise the housing disaster, the Taoiseach tells me that the Social Democrats have no solutions or are not being constructive. That is just lazy spin. Tomorrow in the Dáil, we will discuss a Social Democrats motion on housing that puts forward real change and real credible solutions. The Taoiseach asked about how to finance housing construction.”
“If the Taoiseach cannot even win over his colleagues in Fine Gael, he is in big trouble. This is the party that transcribed developer lobby documents and turned them into government policy. Fine Gael was also the first to roll out the red carpet for investment funds and it has consistently failed to close tax loopholes exploited by international investors. However, even Fine Gael Ministers are baulking at the suggestion that enriching developers and funds even further is a solution to the housing disaster. The Taoiseach is actually very close to understanding the problem in housing: he has acknowledged that his plan is not working and he has identified that there needs to be radical change, but doubling down on failed policy is not a change. It is more of the same and people out there cannot afford five more years of failure.”
“Since last June, we in the Opposition have been seeking a serious debate on the Housing Commission's proposals and the Government has yet to facilitate that. I hope it does so soon. It is hard to know where to start with the Taoiseach's rapidly unravelling housing plan. The Taoiseach cannot even convince his Fine Gael colleagues that his new approach is a good one. Yesterday, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, publicly slapped down some of the Taoiseach’s proposals. He recalled all the harm that was done by section 23 incentive schemes, a pointed reminder that Fianna Fáil tax incentives helped to bankrupt the country not so long ago.”
“The Minister has been very selective in the years he quoted in relation to taxation. The Minister knows well that the tax decreased. In fact, he said that there was aggressive behaviour to avoid tax. The purpose of the review conducted by Revenue was to look at how those loopholes could be shut down. Has there been any action on foot of that review, the results of which have not been published? Will the Minister be taking action? In 2017, the sector was much smaller and, of course, was paying less tax. This is a selective use of data.”
“I will come back to the Minister on the source of that figure. So that I am clear, is the review commissioned by Revenue in 2022 published? The Minister referred to the other reports and reviews that are going on but will he clarify if that review is published? A report published by the Central Bank last year found that 78% of the homes owned by investment funds were bought as existing properties. The report also found that institutional landlords increased monthly rents by about 4.1% more than other landlords. These funds are driving up rents, increasing house prices and locking out first-time buyers. Will the Minister, at very least, close down these loopholes that are allowing them to get away with tax evasion? Was the Revenue review published?”
“I start by congratulating Deputy Brabazon both on his election and on his maiden contribution. I know he has been a very hardworking, committed public representative for many years. In 2020, the Minister said that investment funds were engaging in aggressive behaviour to avoid tax. He introduced a range of measures that were supposed to clamp down on this tax avoidance. Since then, these property investors have seen their tax halved despite growing the size of their portfolios by more than €8 billion during the same period. A review was commenced by Revenue in 2022 to investigate this tax avoidance. Where is this review? How many more years will the Minister allow this to continue?”
“As the Taoiseach knows, according to the Ombudsman there are more than 1,200 disabled people under the age of 65 living in nursing homes. They are an unsuitable setting for most of these people. It can affect their mental health and it infringes on their independence. What is the Government doing to address the scandal of more than 1,200 disabled people under the age of 65 living in nursing homes?”
“On competitiveness, the Taoiseach knows housing is a key challenge. The Taoiseach said himself there are issues with the refurbishment of long-term voids on a large scale. There is something that could be done to change this. On the cost of refurbishing long-term voids, the assumption is that it is spread over ten years. For other capital projects, it is usually spread over 30 years. If the Taoiseach wants to do something positive, that could be changed. There is no evidence base for it being restricted to ten years. It is holding up many of those projects. I recently met members of a campaign group, Access for All Ireland. An issue they raised with me is how the housing crisis is affecting disabled people.”
“On the issue of infrastructure and education, I recently visited Gaelcholáiste Reachrann along with my constituency colleagues. It is an incredibly impressive Gaelcholáiste with a brilliant atmosphere. The staff are hugely dedicated and students achieve brilliant results both academically and on the sports field. Most of the school has been housed in prefabs for the last 20 years. The school has been promised permanent buildings. I raised this issue multiple times in the previous Dáil with the then Taoiseach, Deputy Simon Harris. When will the school get the permanent school buildings it has been promised and needs?”
“This makes a mockery of the promises that were made to them in the context of the dedication they have given, in their working lives, to public service. Will the Taoiseach ensure that the cap on the An Post pension increases is lifted without delay?”
“In relation to the programme for Government and what it says about pensions, I want to ask the Taoiseach about the pension entitlements of retired postal workers. As the Taoiseach knows, when An Post was founded in 1984, postal workers were promised at that stage that they would not lose their pension entitlements. That promise was copperfastened by the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act of 1983, which guaranteed that their pensions would never be less favourable than those of other civil servants. The retired postal workers have had pension increases capped since 2013 even though their pension fund now has a surplus of €500 million. Retired postal workers are being left out of pocket during the cost-of-living crisis.”