Edward Timmins
Wicklow · Fine Gael · Ireland
“I thank the Minister for his response. We have interacted quite a bit at committee level on the same topic and will continue to do so. The starting point is a detailed, accurate and complete budget.”
“I will list some specific items, but the list is not exhaustive. Regarding funding given to quangos, can we review whether there is overlap between these organisations and if the Government is funding them to do the same things?”
“We should use data and KPIs to monitor the cost and outcomes of services, encourage the use of shared buildings and dispose of underused properties to reduce overheads and waste.”
“The 132 bus service is the only bus to Dublin for most of west Wicklow. A year ago, I was told by the National Transport Authority, NTA, that the frequency of the service would be doubling. Nothing has happened since then. How do different Departments and Government bodies talk to one other?”
“Never has it been so important to highlight the close relationship we have with the United States. This trail would promote our close ties. It is a perfect example of the use of soft power.”
“I thank the Minister of State. I am glad that progress is being made. The actions announced are the start of what will, hopefully, be a fully-fledged tourist route. I strongly believe that this proposal could be a positive North-South project.”
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“We should use data and KPIs to monitor the cost and outcomes of services, encourage the use of shared buildings and dispose of underused properties to reduce overheads and waste. Finally, there are any number of things that can be done and I am sure some are already being done, but we must strive to continuously improve and motivate the wonderful people who work in our public service to reduce spending that is growing too quickly.”
“I will list some specific items, but the list is not exhaustive. Regarding funding given to quangos, can we review whether there is overlap between these organisations and if the Government is funding them to do the same things? Can we use the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, to do more work on bid rigging prevention? Do all Departments publish reports on overtime, the cost of agency staff and consultancy costs? This should be the norm. Is there a cost control champion in each Department? Can we expand digital services to reduce processing times, paperwork and costs, increase the use of electronic records and reduce unnecessary printing and brochure costs?”
“I thank the Minister for his response. We have interacted quite a bit at committee level on the same topic and will continue to do so. The starting point is a detailed, accurate and complete budget. This must be prepared on a zero-waste budgeting model where all costs must be justified and it is not just assumed that last year's budget funding is a given. This, then, must be closely monitored on a month-by-month basis so that cost overruns are discovered early and action is taken. How do we incentivise managers to save money? Today, I met a constituent in my clinic who told me of two school buses going from one town to a special class in another town, both of which were less than half full. What is the motivation to stop this waste of money?”
“It may not be the most interesting subject, but it is probably the most important subject in the Minister’s brief, and that is the issue of cost control. What actions are being taken to implement cost control in Departments?”
“The 132 bus service is the only bus to Dublin for most of west Wicklow. A year ago, I was told by the National Transport Authority, NTA, that the frequency of the service would be doubling. Nothing has happened since then. How do different Departments and Government bodies talk to one other? The NTA made that announcement without even having a timetable from Bus Éireann. How will communication be improved between Departments and different bodies? Second, the much-needed 199 bus service promised for last September from Glendalough to Bray was all ready to go before being canned at the last minute. How can we ensure Departments and State bodies talk and work better together? There seems to be a complete breakdown in communication. They are telling us different stories.”
“We hear a lot of divisive talk about North and South, but this is the perfect opportunity where we can bring North and South together, build relationships and unite people.”
“Never has it been so important to highlight the close relationship we have with the United States. This trail would promote our close ties. It is a perfect example of the use of soft power. Soft power is something we have in the context of the US and we need to constantly remind ourselves of this fact, develop it and not take it for granted. It has contributed to the massive investment in this country by the US. The trail would also fit perfectly, as the Minister of State said, with the goals of the shared island unit. It would boost the economy of Northern Ireland and deliver benefits that we cannot predict. It would also improve co-operation between both parts of this island and develop relationships that currently do not exist. This is the best way to unite our island.”
“I thank the Minister of State. I am glad that progress is being made. The actions announced are the start of what will, hopefully, be a fully-fledged tourist route. I strongly believe that this proposal could be a positive North-South project. It could also be a major attraction for US visitors, especially those with Irish links, and could be comparable to the Wild Atlantic Way. I have pinpointed several key counties to consider with a suggested route. Ultimately, however, this map would benefit all parts of Ireland. This project should be a part of a national strategy for Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland.”
“A total of 23 US Presidents have had Irish heritage, with many coming from Northern Ireland. As the Minister of State knows, I floated the idea of an American Presidents trail in the House early last year. I thank the Minister for his great support. I ask the Minister of State for an update on the progress of this project.”
“There are nine hill forts in the vicinity of the town and it is described by experts as the hill fort capital of Ireland. This is by far the biggest cluster in the country. Research work and archaeological digs have been carried out and this work was widely reported on national television and radio earlier this year. This has further revealed many other ancient sites and lead-researchers have now described the area and the archaeological capital of Ireland. I bring this to the Minister's attention today and ask for him to support and develop this huge part of our heritage and history and bring it to a wider audience.”
“I strongly believe my proposal could be hugely positive for a North-South project and would fit with the whole reason for the shared island fund. It would boost the economy of the island and deliver benefits that we cannot predict. I am pleased that the project has been approved by Cabinet and I want to thank the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, for his great support in this project and ask the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to support it as well. I look forward to the development of the project over the coming years. I also believe that Tourism Ireland and Bord Fáilte should be building this into their tourism strategy. My final point relates to hill forts. Baltinglass, where I hail from, is a small town in west Wicklow.”
“On average, 93% of hosts cannot or will not release their property to long-term letting. Hosts have no issue with a register. The impact of releasing extra rental accommodation will be negligible but the impact on tourism, people's incomes and rural Ireland is clear. My second point is on the American Presidents trail. Twenty-three US Presidents have Irish heritage, with many coming from Northern Ireland. As the Minister will know, I first floated the idea of an American Presidents trail early last year in this House. I strongly believe this proposal could be a huge positive for a North-South project. It could also be a massive attraction for US visitors, especially those with Irish links and could be comparable to the Wild Atlantic Way.”
“I want to raise three topics under tourism. The first is short-term lets. Short-term lets provide the only form of tourist accommodation in many parts of rural Ireland. They bring tourists from all over the world to places that would never otherwise receive tourists. I know because I live in a village in rural west Wicklow and have witnessed what these short-term lets bring. These industries were here before the housing shortage and they will be here long after the housing shortage is gone. They supply accommodation where hotels will never be built. They offer a unique and authentic experience to the tourist and show Ireland at its best. We cannot destroy an industry on the basis that it may increase the housing supply by some small amount. I know a poll was carried out across a number of host groups across the country.”
“I want to raise the issue of the residential zoned land tax and how it applies to county councils. Councils were originally led to believe that they would not have to pay this tax. In Wicklow in the past year, the council paid €1 million in residential zoned land tax, which impacts on reducing services in County Wicklow. This does not work correctly because it penalises forward-looking councils like Wicklow that purchased land and had lands zoned. They are now being penalised for doing that. I ask that this be reviewed. Councils were originally told that it would not apply to them. I ask that the residential zoned land tax be abolished for county councils because it is encouraging them not to purchase land and not to hit their housing targets. It contradicts everything we are trying to do to improve housing.”
“I understand this is a tall order because the position has not changed since 2002. That is 24 years. It has been an issue every year since then but various finance Ministers have chosen not to act. I would also argue that capital gains tax is different from income tax, gift tax and inheritance tax. In fact, tax credits and bands have increased considerably over the past 20 years. The exception has been capital gains tax, where there has been no indexation whatsoever, unlike all other taxes. When indexation was abolished, one of the reasons was capital gains tax was 20% at the end of 2002 and for a few years prior to that. That was given as a reason - we did not need taxation because it was being taxed so little. Since then, it has steadily increased, as the Tánaiste said in reply to an earlier question, and is now up at 33%.”
“I will give a simple example to illustrate this better. If you had €10,000 in savings, you bought shares today and they gained by 20% over the next five years, say, 4% per annum, that would mean they would be worth €12,000 in five years' time. If inflation is a similar rate, which may well happen - 20% over the next five years - your €12,000 in five years is worth the same as €10,000 today because the 20% inflation has wiped out that 20% gain. You have no real gain, in effect, but if you go to sell those shares in five years' time, you are deemed to have made a gain of €2,000 because you bought the shares for €10,000 and sold them for €12,000. However, you are actually no better off because the €12,000 in five years' time is worth the same as the €10,000 today. Yet, you have to pay a tax on that €2,000. That is my whole point.”
“Indexation for capital gains tax relief was abolished in 2003. Will the Minister of State consider reintroducing this indexation, something that, at the moment, is effectively an annual stealth tax because there is no indexation?”
“Third, the national definition of "under urban pressure" should be removed. This is far too restrictive and stops many genuine applicants. I have seen applicants appealing to An Coimisiún Pleanála and being refused on that basis.”
“I want to raise the issue of rural planning. It is an issue I have raised here previously with the Taoiseach. I am pleased that the guidelines are to be amended and I ask the Taoiseach to support any proposed changes that will help genuine applicants. This is an important component in dealing with the housing challenge. I have worked through four county development plans in Wicklow over 20 years and made many changes but was often restricted due to national guidelines. There are many aspects that are making it difficult. I will list three of the many proposals I have made. First, social or economic need must trump views and prospects in planning decisions. Second, we need to allow people to downsize from one rural area to another. This is especially important for elderly people who live in unsuitable accommodation.”
“While regulation may be justified on a one-by-one basis, taken together it has stopped business development and has made us dependent on the US. We must look to implement the Draghi report. Ireland has a proud European history and we are European but we have a unique perspective in Europe and we have a unique link to the US. We should use these factors to foster continued prosperity in Europe.”
“There was a phrase used in Europe called "realpolitik". The realpolitik of today is that Europe is under threat and it must be prepared to defend itself. With Ireland holding the EU Presidency shortly, we need to stamp our mark on European policy. For me, the stand out one is to push for implementation of the Draghi report, which addresses the European Union's lagging productivity and economic growth relative to the US and China. As the most successful economy in the European Union, we are well placed to push for the implementation of the Draghi report. Europe is lagging behind and has become enormously dependent on the US. We rely on Amazon and Microsoft for cloud services. We have very few at the forefront of AI.”
“I shared an apartment with a young man who was caught trying to escape over the Berlin Wall only to be caught and imprisoned for a year and then allowed to leave. This division ended in 1990 and eastern Europe was freed but today that freedom is under serious threat. Vladimir Putin, who lived in Dresden in East Germany in the 1980s, wants to recreate that totalitarian world. The evidence is there. This can only be stopped by European countries being prepared to defend themselves. If this does not happen, our way of life may disappear. It is especially important that Germany, always the political and strategic focal point of Europe, builds its defence capability. This is not anything like the 1930s. This is Germany using its economic strength to defend European values and deter an aggressor.”
“Gall, after whom the city is called. Ireland has contributed enormously to the common European culture, heritage and values that go back a very long way. We were known as the island of saints and scholars. St. Columban and other monks founded monasteries all over Europe. One of the founders of the European Union, the French statesman Robert Schuman, in 1950 described St. Columban as the patron saint of all those who wish to build a united Europe. I lived in Hanover in what was then West Germany during the Cold War. Nearby was the so-called German Democratic Republic, more accurately called East Germany. I crossed over the Iron Curtain, as it was called then, a number of times and visited the totalitarian states on the other side.”
“Ireland has benefited enormously from our membership of the European Union. From the huge value of structural funds to the attraction for American multinationals of having an English-speaking base in the EU, Ireland has been transformed for the better by this membership. This has led to a standard of living our grandparents could never have imagined, not only economically but also culturally, socially and educationally. Witness the enormous success of the Erasmus programme. I will refer to the huge positives I have experienced personally in Europe. As a young man, I lived for a number of years in the 1980s on mainland Europe in France, Germany and Switzerland. I experienced the extraordinary culture and history of many European countries. In Switzerland, I lived in St. Gallen, a city founded by the Irish monk St.”
“I met with the NTA in April 2025 and I was advised that the 132 bus service would double from four to eight buses a day at the end of April 2025. Since then, nothing has happened. I still have no clear explanation as to why. Expanding the bus service is part of the programme for Government. I ask that the current service, the only public transport for most of west Wicklow, be at least reliable. It is regularly cancelled. Second, on the proposed 199 bus from Glendalough to Bray, I was told last autumn that it was planning for commencement shortly. I was told in January that the procurement process was complete. My colleague on Wicklow County Council, Councillor Shane Langrell, has been constantly raising the proposed 199 bus from Glendalough to Bray. We owe him and the people of Wicklow an answer and a solution.”
“On school transport, some secondary schools' feeder primary schools are a longer distance away from them than other primary schools. This means that when children are in a feeder school that is further away than another school, they are not allowed tickets and have to rely on concessionary tickets. That anomaly needs to be resolved. Turning to tourism, in February last year, I proposed the development of an American Presidents trail to develop the sites that the ancestors of 23 American Presidents hailed from. I am pleased to say it has been approved by the Cabinet. Such projects increase tourism in many parts of the island and they need to be developed all over rural island, especially using the shared island fund. With the cost of business in rural areas,-----”
“I have seen it in a town in west Wicklow where the money was allocated in 2019 and there still is no shovel in the ground. Consultancy fees have been clocked up but nothing has changed. LEADER funding has helped many rural projects from employment to playgrounds and is a really successful operation. I will focus on the reliability of public transport. We need more of it, but we first need to get the reliability right. For example, the 132 bus from west Wicklow to Dublin is not reliable. People will not use an unreliable service. There is an extraordinarily poor service on the Wicklow to Rosslare line. There have been no improvements in 40 years in the train down the east coast to Rosslare. This train is the Cinderella of train services in Ireland. Wicklow town and towns further south have all increased hugely in population in that time.”
“We should not sacrifice the wonderful service Airbnb is to tourism and the funding of small operators in rural Ireland on the altar of an over-reaction, thinking it will lead to long-term lets. More than 90% of them, according to various surveys, will not lead to long-term lets, so they are not a significant solution to the housing crisis. They should be left to operate. The RRDF is a great fund and I have seen it work well, but I have also seen it not work so well. It needs to come with funding for a dedicated person to oversee it in the councils. In my experience, no one in the council takes responsibility and nothing gets done. Money is not being spent and it loses value over years because of inflation. It is incredibly frustrating.”
“Therefore, land should be left zoned until it becomes economically viable rather than be dezoned. Airbnb is another important issue in rural Ireland. It should be encouraged in rural areas and villages and no development levy should be applied where a unit is being changed to an Airbnb. Current operators should be exempt from planning. They bring tourists to parts of Ireland that would otherwise never have tourists. I live in a small village in west Wicklow where a number of Airbnbs operate. They bring tourists to that village. Otherwise, it would never see tourists. These properties are not a solution to the housing challenge, which will, please God, dissipate in the next few years.”
“Fourth, housing need criteria should not be applied if people own a house in an urban area and want to move back to their rural area. I could make a range of other points, but I do not have time this evening to go through all of them. On housing in villages, we need investment in villages, including in water and wastewater schemes. This would reduce the pressure on rural planning and help to make villages vibrant. The residential zoned land tax, RZLT, is suitable for cities but is not appropriate in rural Ireland and should be abolished outside the main cities. It mitigates against housing development in rural areas because sometimes it is economically viable, but a lot of the time it is not economically viable to build because build costs often exceed the selling price.”
“I will raise a broad range of issues affecting rural Ireland. I will start with one close to my heart, that of rural planning. This is an important component of dealing with the housing challenge. I have worked through four county development plans in Wicklow and made many changes to help with rural planning. There are currently many aspects of it that make it difficult and we must make changes. First, social and economic need must trump views and prospects in planning decisions. Second, we need to allow people to downsize from one rural area to another. This is especially important for elderly people who live in unsuitable accommodation. Third, we need to identify hamlets to allow clustering of houses in rural areas and broaden the qualification for building in hamlets to include nearby villages and towns.”
“They are being refused tickets because they are not the nearest school, yet it is a feeder school and the only option they have to get in because they are not feeder schools of other closer schools. A feeder school should automatically qualify for the ticket.”
“School bus services in County Wicklow are critical, especially in west Wicklow where public transport is limited. Some schools are on narrow roads with limited parking and no footpaths. School bus travel is essential and will make school drop-off and collection time safer, reduce traffic congestion and will be more environmentally friendly. It also allows parents to continue working, as many have given up employment or reduced working hours due to the logistical challenge of getting children to and from school where transport is not available. It is also important that the process considers the community links for students choosing to attend a particular school. The full implementation of the 2030 review is required to permanently fix the eligibility status for families, whose nearest school is not their feeder school. This is an anomaly.”
“In west Wicklow, St. Brigid's National School in Manor Kilbride is a feeder school to Blessington Community College. Some families attending Manor Kilbride school are told they cannot receive bus tickets to Blessington. This is because five other secondary schools in County Dublin are closer but they cannot get into those schools as it is not a feeder school to those schools. This is a crazy anomaly. It is important that this criterion be reviewed. Many families have been left relying on the concessionary ticket system, which creates uncertainty. This distance calculation is also sometimes done on roads that may not be safe or suitable for a bus carrying students to travel on.”
“As part of the programme for Government, we set out to implement the terms of the school transport review to reduce distance criteria and expand eligibility. I want to raise the importance of recognising feeder schools as part of this criteria.”
“Second, will they ensure the scheme is simple and pays out quickly so that those who are suffering see an immediate benefit?”
“Last night, in Baltinglass in rural west Wicklow, I met a group of 12 people. These were small businesspeople ranging from contractors to farmers. What they all had in common was the massive impact of the fuel crisis on their livelihoods. These were very reasonable people whose livelihoods are under threat. The package announced ten days ago will not solve their problem. It does not cover all contractors, such as those working on building sites, and there is little confidence the rebates proposed will happen quickly. I urge the Taoiseach and his Government officials to do two things. First, will they engage with the contractors not benefiting from the scheme to ensure they are included? Many of these are working on house building sites, which we know is so important in this country.”
“I will raise the issue of flood damage to roads in County Wicklow caused by Storm Chandra. The recent floods caused severe damage to many rural roads. The council has costed the repairs needed at several million euro. Wicklow County Council has submitted a detailed report to the Department seeking emergency funding assistance to facilitate the timely delivery of the required remedial works and to ensure continued safety and serviceability of the county's road network. I have seen the extent of the damage. It is truly shocking. The roads budget does not cover one-off events like this so I ask that special consideration be given to supporting these repairs. This would represent a much-needed investment in the roads and would actually save money in the long term.”
“I wish to raise the issue of spending control, cost control and improved outputs in various Departments. This issue does not get enough of a hearing in this Chamber. We should not assume spending increases should automatically match economic growth. Often when we spend more, we feed inefficiencies. All increased spending must be matched by improved outputs and all existing spending should be justified. This will automatically lead to better public services. In terms of overall spending growth, I want to draw a clear distinction between current and capital expenditure. There are parallels between capital spending and a company making investments in, say, equipment, machinery or automation. There are real returns. If the electricity grid, rail network or broadband network is upgraded, the economy will run more efficiently.”
“If they do 11.2 hours, they are doing more than half. Any other employee in any other job would qualify straightaway. Teachers are a unique case and I ask the Minister to examine that.”
“I will expand a bit more in relation to teachers. Teachers do much more than 22 class-contact hours. They are required to do many more hours outside the 22 hours and this was outlined in the Croke Park agreement. It includes yard supervision duties and class supervision. There are many other requirements, including planning and setting exams, contact with parents on many issues and continuous professional development. The actual hours worked by someone doing 11.2 hours is actually more than the 16-hour requirement but this is not recognised in some cases while it is in others. I ask that teachers, who work over half the week, be considered to qualify. The 16 hours is the cliff edge but that is not fair on teachers because their week is different. There is the 22 class-contact hours but they do additional hours.”
“They must work over 16 hours a week to qualify but that is well over half what a teacher does. I know of a case of a teacher who does 11.2 hours and they do not qualify but anyone else working half their normal week of 35 to 40 hours - that is, 17.5 to 20 hours - would qualify. I will give other reasons in my next contribution about extra hours teachers do that are not taken into account.”
“I thank the Minister for that. I am aware of all that information but I am focusing on something different. I refer to the qualification based on the number of hours carers work. Sixteen hours is the number. I will explain this briefly. There are two particular circumstances in relation to teachers and even if one were applied in the qualification process, then a teacher on fewer than 16 hours would qualify. At the moment, for a teacher who works 11.2 hours a week, this represents over half the number of hours of a full-time teacher who has 22 class-contact hours. This person works over half a full-time week. In any other full-time role, a person who works half-time will work between 17.5 and 20 hours and, therefore, will qualify for the carer's benefit. There is a distinction with teachers.”
“The carer's benefit scheme allows people who are working to take time off to care for family members, often children. It is not means tested and it is based on PRSI contributions. It has a requirement that people must work a minimum of 16 hours per week in the period prior to their claim. This is patently unfair to teachers who work, say, 11 hours per week and are deemed not to qualify.”
“I have a constituent who worked in a healthcare setting during Covid, meeting patients face to face and taking care of them while others stayed at home. This was until she got Covid in January 2021 following an outbreak in her workplace. She ended up in hospital with clots on her lung and pneumonia. This lady is now 52 and she has not been able to work since 2021. There are many days when she cannot even leave the house. It is important that long Covid for healthcare staff who worked in our healthcare system during Covid is recognised as a critical illness. There are currently 159 healthcare staff who received the special leave pay until it ceased on 31 December last. On the public service sick leave scheme, this healthcare worker is experiencing a 71% drop in her net income per month. This is not right.”
“How are these programmes increasing the participation rate, particularly as Ireland ranks lowest in the EU for the participation of persons with disabilities in the workplace? What are the targets to show progress in this area over the next five years?”
“I compliment the Minister of State on the very successful disability conference that was held in Galway a couple of weeks ago. What is the Government doing to upskill people across the board in recruitment and employment services? These are the people who find the people with disabilities and put them into jobs. There are potentially over 100,000 people available to work who could be living more fulfilling lives and contributing to the tax base but who are now unemployed, with many receiving social welfare payments at a cost to the country when that is not necessary. We are not being fair to these people and giving them the opportunity to succeed. Having these programmes is great but I do not see their impact or their targets.”
“I thank the Minister of State. I commend him on those actions. However, what is missing here are some of the numbers as this hides the scale of the problem. These figures can never be totally accurate as people tend not to disclose due to stigma or fear of discrimination or may answer differently depending on who is asking the questions. Based on labour survey data, there were 181,700 people with disabilities in employment in 2024. With a 32% employment rate for persons with disabilities in Ireland, this potentially means that there are 386,000 unemployed persons with disabilities. Based on these figures, Intreo centres need to engage with these unemployed people. Even by contacting 35,000 in early engagement, this is only 10% of the total.”
“Employment opportunities are vital for the well-being of our population. This Government and the previous ones since 2011 have had remarkable success in giving our people employment opportunities. However, we have one of the lowest participation rates in the western world for people with disabilities at 32%. What actions are being taken to increase this number?”
“Is this country prepared for the threats posed by Russia to our national security? These are real threats to this country and must be taken seriously. There was an increase in Russian shadow fleet activity recently in Irish controlled waters. Our geography no longer protects us as it once did. We are very dependent on other countries to support us regarding maritime and air defences. We need to take steps to move away from these dependencies. This will actually help our independence and support our neutrality, which we treasure so much. We live in a rapidly changing world and we must respond to these changes in order to protect our way of life and our democracy which we value so much.”