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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“In other European countries where significant investment goes into housing, whether through tax expenditure or more direct investment, which is, of course, better value for money, it is always done with the aim of securing affordability. Here, we see subsidy after subsidy that boost the profits of developers and do not make housing more affordable. There is a key problem with this in terms of productivity in the housing construction sector. Tax incentives are not addressing the capacity constraints in the sector, the infrastructure challenges or the workforce shortages. We have had warnings previously from the ESRI that these kinds of tax expenditures are dead weight and should not be pursued by the Government. It is not just the ESRI saying that.”
“The profits of the publicly listed companies are approximately 21%. How much higher does the Government think developers' profits need to go? They are at an extremely high level as it is. According to the former Minister, these subsidies will make them higher again. He said in February this year: "What I am not going to do is reintroduce or propose the very tax reliefs that did such harm to our economy...". In the battle that went on during the year, those within the Government pushing for these reliefs clearly won. VAT for developers is being slashed, at a full-year cost in future years of €390 million. That is without any affordability conditions, no price caps and no guarantee that a single home will be more affordable as a result. This is an unheard of kind of measure in a European context.”
“With these resolutions, the Government is giving more money to developers at a time when their profits are already booming. Profits at Glenveagh Properties, for example, more than doubled last year. Rinne an tAire na roghanna míchearta. The CEO of Glenveagh had his salary increased by 80% in 2024 to a whopping €2.7 million a year. That is not a struggling developer in need of taxpayer subsidies. Just over 5,000 children are homeless in this country and there is an entire generation locked out of home ownership. Yet, the Government is intent on prioritising boosting the profits of developers. That is what is happening. When we brought this up in committee, the former Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, admitted it would have the effect of increasing profits further. We put it to him that profits of developers are already extremely high.”
“These resolutions are to fix the serious flaws in the financial resolutions brought forward on budget night. Those mistakes the Government made just a few weeks ago were highlighted to it on budget night but it ploughed ahead regardless with its flawed financial resolutions. The effect of the resolutions before us today will be to put more money into the pockets of developers. This is another example of the policy capture of the Government by developers and their lobbyists. People are struggling to keep food on the table. Disabled people are €1,400 worse off as a result of the budget, according to the Disability Federation of Ireland. A recent report by Barnardos found four in ten parents are either skipping meals or eating less to enable their children to eat. As we speak, there are people in cold homes afraid to turn on their heating.”
“The situation in Gaza remains dire. The attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have been relentless. A year ago, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael promised to pass the occupied territories Bill. The Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris, promised it would be brought to the Dáil by the end of November. It is the end of November and there is no sign of the Bill. When is it going to be brought to the Dáil?”
“Will the Government reverse its decision to push more people into poverty? Will it bring in a targeted energy credit to help those who need it most?”
“Met Éireann has issued a status yellow weather warning for ten counties, with temperatures expected to fall to -3°C in parts of the country. People are now facing freezing conditions with some of the highest heating bills in Europe. The Government had a clear opportunity in the budget to target energy credits to those who need them the most. Instead, it decided to scrap them outright leaving vulnerable households afraid to turn the heating on. It is as if the cost-of-living crisis was forgotten about and ended by Fine Gael as soon as the election was over. The budget was a disaster for those already struggling to get by but the Tánaiste should not take my word for it. Social Justice Ireland, the ESRI and the Parliamentary Budget Office have all concluded that the budget is pushing more people into poverty.”
“There is absolutely no reason for the Government to abandon questions to the Taoiseach and accountability by the leader of the country today. Why is the Taoiseach not taking questions as he should be today? Just because of events, it should not mean abandoning Leaders' Questions and Questions on Policy or Legislation. There is no reason for the Taoiseach not to take questions.”
“Would it not be great if everyone voted centre left because they were young? It turns out, however, that young people vote centre left, left, centre right and everything in between, the same as the rest of the population.”
“Climate change, housing and the lack of investment in public transport often affect young people the most. Having the voice of young people in the political system through voting will help to bring about change in core areas that will benefit all of us. It will help to get more pressure to have the action we need on housing, the action we need on addressing climate, the action we need on mental health, and the action we need on investment in public transport. Getting that younger participation through voting will drive critical change. That will be good for all of us. In Scotland, we have seen how this has worked. We have seen the research from Scotland and other countries on how this has worked and is successful. As the Minister of State said, if there is a fear that this leads to different outcomes, the research shows it does not.”
“The evidence shows very clearly that, where a younger voting age of 16 is introduced, it leads to higher levels of engagement and participation in the years thereafter when people go to vote. One gets higher levels of turnout. All of us want to see higher levels of turnout and we are in agreement on that. That is what this would do. It really is a win-win measure for democracy, civic participation, engagement and safeguarding our democracy. The more people who are involved, the more who are engaged and the more who are looking at what we are doing and holding us to account - everyone in government, everyone in opposition and every different party, including the Independents - then the stronger our democracy and the better the outcomes will be for everybody. That is what it boils down to.”
“We are delighted to see him take on that role. The crux of the issue is that, collectively in this Dáil, there is a strong view that voting and civic engagement are positive. I think we all have that view. We all value our democracy and we want to see as much civic participation and engagement in the political process as possible. That is absolutely fundamental in a democracy. A weakness in our democracy is when we have low levels of engagement and low levels of participation. We know that the current situation, where there are low levels of participation, which can happen in particular cohorts or particular communities where people feel left behind, is not healthy for our democracy and we want to have that addressed.”
“It is welcome to hear the Aire Stáit's passion and interest in this area. I have something in common with him, in that I spent a lot of time having discussions with my poor dad. He did not agree with me on anything. Perhaps if we had done an exchange at that stage, there might have been more in common. I welcome the leadership that my colleague Aidan Farrelly has shown on raising this issue. I also welcome the young people in the Public Gallery. I especially want to welcome the young people from the National Youth Council of Ireland, NYCI, and BeLonG To. I will take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Mick Ferron on his recent appointment as NYCI director. Mr. Ferron is known well to me in terms of the Trojan work he has done for the last 20 years in Sphere 17 in Darndale in my and Deputy Mitchell's constituency.”
“That is where some of these subsidies are going, to those kinds of outrageous levels of remuneration. Why should anyone believe anything the Tánaiste says now will be different?”
“Fine Gael promised 40,000 homes in the last election campaign. That was a complete and utter fabrication and now it is making its annual housing target disappear because it cannot stand over its record and it does not want accountability on it. Since Fine Gael took office, rents and house prices have soared to record levels, home ownership levels have collapsed and now more than 5,200 children are growing up without a home. That is more than the overall number of people who were homeless when Fine Gael took office. At the same, it has given away billions in tax subsidies to developers, with no link to affordability measures. Last year the CEO of Glenveagh Properties, one of the largest developers in Ireland, saw his salary balloon by 80% to €2.7 million.”
“It could have given the Land Development Agency, LDA, the power it needs to assemble land banks and deliver homes quickly. It could have fast-tracked a vacant homes tax with teeth to get tens of thousands of vacant homes back into use. Instead, the Government has reverted to type with sweetheart deals for developers, tax breaks for investment funds and a doubling down on failure. Given Fine Gael's track record of failure in housing, why should people believe this plan will be any better than the ones that came before it?”
“All of a sudden, it thinks they are a bad idea. I have news for the Tánaiste. The latest desperate attempt to disguise the Government's terrible record in housing will not work. No sleight of hand can hide the mess Fine Gael Governments have made. That annual targets have disappeared from this plan is damning. If the Government had any confidence in its plan, or in its housing Minister, that would not have happened. The housing Minister who has delayed the launch of this plan for almost a year will not even hang around to debate it this evening. He is running scared. This plan could have been different. It could have been radical. The Government could have announced plans to build a modular homes factory to turbo-charge the delivery of affordable homes.”
“The housing crisis is a daily struggle etched into the lives of tens of thousands of people. Generations of families are crammed into overcrowded houses. Entire families are living in box rooms. Toddlers are growing up in homeless accommodation without the physical space to learn how to crawl. Adults are stuck in their childhood bedrooms, putting their lives on hold year after year. The mental toll this is taking is immense. Stress, anxiety and hopelessness are becoming the norm for people who are stuck in this housing limbo. People's lives are being ruined. In the run-up to the last election, Fine Gael promised that 40,000 homes would be built last year. This has been exposed as a complete and utter fabrication. What is the Government's response? It has scrapped annual targets from its housing plan.”
“On behalf of the Social Democrats, I extend sympathies to Deputy Lawlor. Fine Gael has been in government for nearly 15 years. That is 15 years of promises, plans and press conferences with Ministers donning hard hats, 15 years spent turning the housing crisis into a housing disaster. Under the Tánaiste's watch, house prices have almost doubled, skyrocketing rents have more than doubled and the number of people who are homeless has increased by more than 400%. This morning Fine Gael's fourth housing plan was launched. This time, we are told, it will be different. How can it be? The plan contains the same recipe for failure. There is no sign of the radical policy changes called for by the Housing Commission. Worse, there is no hope for the locked out generation that anything will get any better.”
“The Government has said time and again that there should be an appropriate school place for every child. I am contacted constantly by parents who are desperately trying to get a place for their child in an autism class. The same as any other parent, they just want their child to be able to thrive. Stapolin Educate Together National School in Baldoyle has asked to open two additional new autism classes. The school has the space for the modular units required. It also has experienced staff who can support the opening of these two additional classes. All that is required is for approval to be granted. Is the Minister for education going to meet the school principal about this and when is approval going be granted for these two much-needed classes?”
“I want to raise the issue of the redress scheme for the survivors of the fire at the Stardust. It has been more than 44 years since the devastating fire at the Stardust when 48 young people never came home. The State apology and the redress scheme for the families who lost loved ones are very welcome. However, there is growing frustration that the redress scheme for survivors is not yet up and running. Survivors have endured lifelong trauma, as the Taoiseach knows. Many are living with very serious health conditions as a result of the fire that night. They have had to fight all their life for this redress. After waiting more than 44 years, why are they still waiting? When will the redress scheme go to Cabinet and when will the survivors be able to access it?”
“We are talking about cutting off some of the supply of workers that we need in different parts of our economy. I have listed off a range of areas where migrants are essential. I challenge the Tánaiste to say where he will reduce the supply of migrant workers. Is it in housing, health, pharma or tech? What area of the economy does the Tánaiste think can do with fewer migrant workers? Let us stick to the facts. Where does the Tánaiste think there is an oversupply in the workforce at the moment?”
“We do need to look at the facts, and the Tánaiste knows them well. The Government published a report this week saying that to meet housing demand alone, we need at least 50,000 additional construction workers. The Tánaiste also knows the facts about our ageing population. Again, the report pointed to the situation that we will soon have a reduction in the numbers in our workforce who will be able to support people who are retired, to pay for pensions and to care for our elderly. The Tánaiste knows these facts. Unless there is a miraculous baby boom, we are going to need more and more migrant workers to help support our public services and our economy, to care for our elderly and to contribute to society, and that is a good thing. Migrant workers have played a very positive role in Ireland and we are going to continue to need that.”
“We need these workers to keep our public services running, to ensure our elderly are cared for, to keep businesses open and to keep tax revenues flowing. Has the Tánaiste thought this through? Which sectors of the economy will he be targeting for reductions in migrant workers?”
“In his victory speech on Tuesday night he said, "New York will remain a city of immigrants: a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, as of tonight, led by an immigrant." It is a powerful reminder that immigration is not a threat; it is a source of strength. As the Tánaiste will know, many of the immigrants who built New York came from Ireland. We should show the same pride in the people helping to build and power our country now. We have an ageing population, which means that our reliance on migrant workers will only increase in years to come.”
“Which major infrastructure projects would the Tánaiste shelve? It is migrants who do essential work as security guards, cleaners and shop workers. Does Government think we can somehow do without these essential workers? Migrants play a critical role in our economy and our society. It is not just as doctors, nurses or carers - they bring skills and expertise to a wide range of sectors and contribute significant levels of taxation that fund our public services. Migrants are not just critical to our economy; they contribute to communities, culture and sport. They are our friends, our family members and our neighbours. I welcome the news that Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York.”
“The Tánaiste knows well that these sectors provide a huge amount of employment and taxation which funds our public services. Will the Tánaiste be targeting the health and care sectors? If it was not for migrants working as doctors, nurses and carers, these services would crumble. Will the Tánaiste be targeting the large number of migrant workers that our food processing sector relies on? How would a shortage of workers in this sector impact on grocery prices? I doubt somehow that the Tánaiste will target the hospitality and tourism sectors. Which cafés, pubs, restaurants or hotels would the Government close? Is the Government thinking of reducing the supply of construction workers? This would have a detrimental effect on our ability to build the homes that are needed, the schools and hospitals.”
“Ireland should be a country where every child is safe going to bed at night. The attack on the home of the women and children in Drogheda at the weekend shocked the nation. People are asking how has it come to this, and how could anyone try to burn and kill children while they sleep. It is vitally important that all of us show leadership. Words matter. The Tánaiste's words matter. Where misinformation is spread, we must challenge it. Where there are attempts to sow hate and division, we must build cohesion. Leadership means bringing calm to a debate, not inflaming it. The Tánaiste has said that migration, outside of the number of international protection applicants, is too high. What sectors will he be targeting to reduce the number of migrant workers? Will he be targeting multinationals, pharmaceutical and tech companies?”
“How many spending reviews were carried out in 2025 that have not been published? That is the nub of my question. That is what I want to know. We have been told at the budgetary oversight committee that in the region of 50 spending reviews across Departments - a very significant body of work - have not been published. Can the Minister tell us how many spending reviews have been carried out this year, how many remain unpublished and when will he publish these spending reviews? They can provide an invaluable insight and analysis. There can be huge learnings from them. It is important information is shared with the public and that it is not suppressed. How many spending reviews have been carried out this year that the Minister has not published and when will he publish them?”
“Is there something in these spending reviews the Minister does not want us to see? If not, will he commit now to publishing all spending reviews that have been carried out in 2025?”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Aire, but let us focus on spending reviews and 2025, and not all the other things that have happened. The Government has a track record of wasting public money. We need look no further than the bike shed for an example of that. In previous years, spending reviews were published in the run-up to the budget. That did not happen this year. Why not? Why is the Minister suppressing these reports? At the budgetary oversight committee, we were told by the Parliamentary Budget Office that about 50 spending reviews were carried out this year and that these were not published. Some 250 IGEES personnel worked on these spending reviews in every Department. It is a significant amount of work but we have not seen what is in these reviews. The public has a right to know what is in them. When will the Minister publish them?”
“I ask the Minister about the spending reviews carried out this year that were not published, as had been the practice in previous years. Why were no spending reviews published in the run-up to the budget? How many spending reviews were carried out this year that were not published? Why has the practice of publishing these reviews been abandoned? Does the Minister agree the public has a right to know what is in these reviews? Will he publish all spending reviews that have been caried out? When will he publish them?”
“It needs the Government to act on this. This is an area with a huge amount of new residential accommodation built over the past number of years. There is also a huge number of families with young children. It is a thriving area with a massive need. We need the Minister to act on this now. Will the Minister of State ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to meet with the school principal? Will he pass that request on?”
“I want to read from correspondence from the school principal. She says: Our autism classes are now in their third year, and in that short time, we've gained extensive experience in setting them up and supporting our pupils to thrive. The success of our model has been widely recognised with teachers and SNAs from other schools regularly visiting us to observe and learn from our approach. We have developed a reputation as a well-run and highly effective setting, something we are deeply proud of. We should all be proud of that. That is such a good model to build on. When there is school with that success that is willing to provide the additional classes that are needed, it makes no sense not to grasp that opportunity. The Minister of State said that the school should be commended. It does need a commendation.”
“However, given the level of need there is why can that objective and the provision of additional classes where there is the demand, need and capacity not be provided at the same time? Why not build on the very successful provision of autism classes that are already in the school?”
“There are eight children in the mainstream classes who have been issued eligibility letters for autism class placement. In addition, the school has a waiting list of over 50 children looking for a suitable place. All that is required is approval. No immediate action is being taken to progress the provision of these two much-needed additional classes. Why not? This is urgent. It requires action and approval and requires them now. Why is the provision of these two much-needed classes being held up? When will approval be granted? Will the Minister, Deputy McEntee, meet with the school principal who has requested this? The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has told the school that priority is being given to schools that do not yet have any special classes. That is a laudable aim.”
“I thank Deputy Heneghan for his contribution. I also want to acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, visited the school - Stapolin Educate Together National School - a few months ago. The Government has said time and again that every child that needs an appropriate school place should have one. Stapolin Educate Together National School has asked to open two additional autism classes. There is huge demand for places in autism classes and here we have a school that is offering to open two more classes. Suitable space is available on the school site for the modular units required. There is experienced staff in the school who can support the establishment of two additional classes and the school is willing and able to meeting the need in the area. There is substantial need.”
“The Government could have backed families struggling with energy bills, abolished the means test for carers, introduced a cost-of-disability payment, reduced childcare costs and lifted 40,000 children out of poverty but it chose not to do that.”
“The Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, the ESRI, the Nevin Institute, and the Commission on Taxation and Welfare have all warned the Minister but instead of broadening the tax take this Finance Bill narrows it again. Sections 40, 67 and 68 take over a billion euro out of the State finances. This is money that could be used to build houses, hospitals and wind farms. The Government is playing fast and loose with Ireland's future just to keep its friends in the golden circle happy in the present. We have seen this before. Fianna Fáil did it and it crashed the economy. History is repeating itself; it just wrapped up in new language and old arrogance. I will talk on Committee Stage about what we need to do on research and development. This budget has been a series of bad choices and missed opportunities.”
“I believe that, as a Government, you are making that choice. The Government is making a choice to underfund domestic violence refuges and needs to fund them properly so we meet our obligations and meet the need that is there. That is absolutely the case and I make no apology for saying that. I stand over that.”
“You say politics of the worst kind. This is coming from a party that has just attacked basic rule-of-law principles during the campaign that has been going on this week. That is politics of the worst kind.”
“You are underfunding them. Why are we not at Istanbul Convention levels? Why not? You, as the Minister for Finance, and the entire Government should ensure that we have sufficient funding for enough refuge spaces so that no one is turned away. We are way below the amount of funding that we need and you know that. I recognise serious work has been done in this area by the Government.”
“Instead of tackling gender-based violence, the Minister has continued to fund the cruel and dying sport of greyhound racing. Women and children across the country are still being turned away from refuges because there are not enough beds. The Istanbul Convention says we need one family place for every 10,000 people but we are nowhere near that. Yet, somehow the Minister has found more money for greyhound racing than for domestic violence services. There was more money for racing dogs than for refuges. That is shameful.”
“People experiencing homelessness are among the most at risk of loneliness, as are people with disabilities, people with reduced mobility, carers, and especially people who are older and who have lost a loved one. For someone suffering a bereavement, being able to afford a cup of coffee with friends can make the world of difference. It is the difference between staying at home and seeing no one or getting out and meeting people. When more older people are pushed into poverty, more older people are pushed into hardship and loneliness. That is the reality of what the Minister is doing and what he has chosen to do through the budget and the Finance Bill. This Government, this budget and this Finance Bill have their priorities all wrong.”
“This is what Government is doing - creating more poverty and hardship and leaving more people behind. There are real people behind these numbers, namely pensioners afraid to turn on the heating, parents skipping meals and disabled people struggling to keep the lights on. The Government could have lifted 40,000 children out of poverty. Instead, it lifted profits for developers and fast-food chains. That was its choice. That is what the Finance Bill represents: greed over decency. An excellent report by Oisín Gilmore of TASC on inequality in Ireland in 2025 was recently published. It focuses on the link between poverty and loneliness. The report states that Ireland has the highest rate of loneliness in the European Union and that poverty is closely linked to loneliness.”
“At a time when families cannot afford childcare, when carers are still means-tested and when 5,000 children are growing up homeless, the Minister and the Government are bending over backwards to feather the nests of those at the top. Who is this Finance Bill supposed to help? The developers and fast-food chains are clearly delighted, but what about people who are actually struggling to get by? The withdrawal of cost-of-living measures is pushing more people into poverty. There should have been targeted cost-of-living measures. The Parliamentary Budget Office has done the math on this and has shown how people are being impacted. Income poverty rates are increasing, child poverty is increasing and elderly poverty is surging, from 13.3% last year to 19% now as a result of this budget.”
“This Bill is going to line the pockets of multinational corporations. That is what it does. It does nothing to address the root causes of skyrocketing costs for small businesses and households. Section 22 shows once again where Government priorities lie. It has extended the special assignee relief programme, SARP, to 2030. SARP is a tax break for people who fly in from abroad and who earn more than €125,000 per year. It is an outrageous scheme which even includes one tax-free trip home every year and discounted private school fees. Instead of asking those on six-figure incomes to pay their fair share, the Government is now making it even easier to qualify for this ridiculous hand-out. This is a tax break for the rich, plain and simple.”
“To make sure nobody sees just how much they are going to pocket, the Government voted against the Social Democrats' Developer Profits Transparency Bill. If it genuinely believed that it is doing is the right thing, the Government would let the public see the numbers. It will not do so, however, because it knows they are indefensible. Section 68 of the Bill makes for happy reading for the likes of McDonalds and Starbucks. These are not small struggling cafés on the corner; they are global giants with billionaire shareholders. The Government has just gifted them a 4.5% VAT cut worth millions. McDonald’s alone is set to pocket €20 million next year on the back of this taxpayer-funded gift. Does Government honestly believe McDonald's is going to pass that saving on to customers?”
“VAT for developers will be slashed at a cost of €390 million in the year ahead, with no affordability conditions, no price caps and no guarantee that a single home will be cheaper. Is the Government for real? Who benefits? It is the big developers that tell the Government they cannot make any money. The CEO of Glenveagh Properties had his salary increased by 80% in 2024 to a whopping €2.7 million a year. This is not a struggling developer in need of a taxpayer handout. There are disabled people struggling to pay their bills, pensioners afraid to turn the heating on, parents skipping meals, over 5,000 children homeless and a generation locked out of home ownership. Is the Government seriously telling people it is the big developers who need a helping hand? This Bill reads like a developer’s wish list.”
“That is not fiscal responsibility; it is cruel and unjust. The Government made promises to get elected and followed up with a budget and a Finance Bill that abandon the lot. No expenses were spared in this Finance Bill when it came to looking after developers. There is a giveaway of millions in VAT reductions to big developers that are already making huge profits. Fianna Fail’s obsession with developer tax breaks is back, and Fine Gael have bought into it hook, line and sinker. It seems incredible that it was only in February that the Minister stated, “What I am not going to do is reintroduce or propose the very tax reliefs that did such harm to our economy.” Yet, eight months later, and he is doing exactly that with the Finance Bill.”