Joe Cooney
Clare · Fine Gael · Ireland
“The Minister said that budget 2026 money is tied to reducing disease and I commend him on that. It is having a positive effect. Reactor numbers are down significantly year on year to June and the herd incidence rate is also down. That is welcome.”
“I compliment the Minister on the great work he is doing. With respect, farmers battling with this disease cannot live on engagement or reviews with no end date. Every month this drags on, more and more reactors are being removed at values set three years ago, while cattle prices continue to climb, which is good.”
“The scheme designed to compensate farmers for animals lost to TB is simply not fit for purpose. The market value caps are totally out of step with the real world and farmers are being left thousands of euro out of profit. The Minister has publicly stated that he is monitoring and reviewing these caps.”
“Pharma, medtech, ICT, financial services, aviation, agrifood, and green energy sectors all have a natural home in the Shannon region. The Roche site in Clarecastle is a prime example of the region's industrial capacity.”
“I thank the Minister for his update and his commitment to Shannon and the wider mid-west region, which is very much appreciated. The overdevelopment of Dublin is not a Dublin problem, it is a national failure of planning and political will. Shannon and the wider region are not asking for charity.”
“Ireland is at a crossroads. Dublin is bursting at the seams, housing is scarce, costs are out of control, infrastructure cannot cope and commuters spend hours of their lives on packed roads every day but two hours west of this Chamber, we have an asset of great national potential, Shannon and the wider region.”
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“I compliment the Minister on the great work he is doing. With respect, farmers battling with this disease cannot live on engagement or reviews with no end date. Every month this drags on, more and more reactors are being removed at values set three years ago, while cattle prices continue to climb, which is good. The scheme also has a significant negative impact on farmers who are producing the best animals. I ask the Minister to consider a modest allocation from his existing budget now to increase the cap to demonstrate to farmers that he has been listening to them; and for a commitment that he will seek a special allocation for compensation from Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, reform in budget 2027. Farmers are entitled to that. Fairness delayed is fairness denied.”
“The Minister said that budget 2026 money is tied to reducing disease and I commend him on that. It is having a positive effect. Reactor numbers are down significantly year on year to June and the herd incidence rate is also down. That is welcome. However, this disease reduction policy does absolutely nothing for farmers who have animals who are reactors. The Minister can clearly accept there is a problem with the scheme. The farmers I represent are already carrying a heavy burden. Asking them to accept compensation based on valuations that are years out of date is neither fair nor sustainable. Engagement with farmers and organisations is fine but the talking must stop and a decision must be made. Farmers now need clarity and something concrete they can take to the bank, not an endless review.”
“The scheme designed to compensate farmers for animals lost to TB is simply not fit for purpose. The market value caps are totally out of step with the real world and farmers are being left thousands of euro out of profit. The Minister has publicly stated that he is monitoring and reviewing these caps. A review without an end date provides farmers with no commitment. When will the review be completed? Can we expect the caps to be increased?”
“The Shannon Chamber, which I have worked with on raising this issue, the Shannon Airport Group, Clare County Council and the wider business community in the region are willing to support the Government in delivering on its commitment to balanced regional development. We need the political will to match.”
“I thank the Minister for his update and his commitment to Shannon and the wider mid-west region, which is very much appreciated. The overdevelopment of Dublin is not a Dublin problem, it is a national failure of planning and political will. Shannon and the wider region are not asking for charity. They are asking for the investment and commitment to do what they have always been able to do: contribute in a meaningful way to Ireland's economic future. Let us stop managing congestion in Dublin and start building prosperity in the west, which is important. Let us recognise the strategic importance of Shannon and the wider region by investing in our airport, in the roads and in the public transport network and in public services that will ensure its future growth.”
“Pharma, medtech, ICT, financial services, aviation, agrifood, and green energy sectors all have a natural home in the Shannon region. The Roche site in Clarecastle is a prime example of the region's industrial capacity. It is a flagship location that is perfectly placed to attract the next generation of global life sciences and clean-tech investment directly into County Clare. With Ireland's offshore wind potential off the Atlantic coast, Shannon is ideally placed to be the industrial hub for new energy-intensive and net-zero industries. The national planning framework commits to regional balance in principle. Successive Governments have promised balanced regional development but promising it and actively delivering it are two very different things. What steps is the Minister taking to back up those promises?”
“The Shannon Airport Business Park is the largest outside Dublin with hundreds of companies employing thousands of people across a range of businesses. It has 130 acres of land available for new development, doubling the park's current capacity and driving the economy of the entire region. What Shannon offers that Dublin cannot is space, which is vital. Physical space for companies, space in the housing market for workers who can afford homes within reach of their workplaces, and space in the planning system to move with ambition and speed. There are 9,000 students graduating every year from the University of Limerick, UL, and the Technological University of the Shannon, TUS. Shannon itself is home to the Shannon College of Hotel Management.”
“Ireland is at a crossroads. Dublin is bursting at the seams, housing is scarce, costs are out of control, infrastructure cannot cope and commuters spend hours of their lives on packed roads every day but two hours west of this Chamber, we have an asset of great national potential, Shannon and the wider region. Developing Shannon as Ireland's second economic engine is not just good for County Clare, it is essential policy for Ireland. With excellent road and rail connections and port access at Foynes, Shannon has the freight and logistics capacity that any foreign direct investment team would find compelling. Shannon Airport is the only airport outside Dublin that can handle long-haul flights. It is critical national infrastructure that needs to be used more.”
“I thank the Minister. My question today is important. Will rural counties such as Clare receive an equal share of the BIA scheme? The randomised selection model is fair in principle as it ensures no bias in individual selection. However, fairness in process is not the same as equity of outcome. Clare has a proud professional arts community but artists in rural counties often lack access to the institutional networks, residencies and funding bodies that provide the proof of professional practice needed for the scheme. The structural disadvantage is real and will result in the pool of eligible applicants being skewed toward urban centres with large populations. Therefore, a random draw will still produce an urban-heavy result. How will this structural issue be resolved?”
“I welcome the basic income for the arts, BIA, scheme and commend the Minister on securing funding to make it permanent. This is a genuinely progressive policy and is especially important to County Clare, with our rich arts tradition, from traditional music to visual arts and literature. I ask for an update on the application process, a breakdown by county and an outline of how rural counties such as Clare will be treated equally when faced with other more populated counties and urban centres.”
“Will the Minister of State outline clearly how the Government will ensure that the burden of grid investment is distributed fairly and does not fall unequally on the domestic consumer who it is pushing to do the right thing?”
“The electrification of our economy is the right policy direction but it will only succeed if ordinary households are not priced out of it. Ireland already has some of the highest electricity prices in Europe. The scale of grid investment required over the coming decade is enormous and there is a real concern that the cost of that infrastructure will be loaded onto domestic electricity bills through network charges. If this continues, the people we are asking to switch to EVs and heat pumps are also the people being hit hardest by the cost of investing in the infrastructure needed to support our transition to full electrification.”
“Ireland has set an ambitious decarbonisation target of a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030, which is nearly full electrification of heat and transport. I heard from constituents who have recently undertaken works to electrify their homes and from others who are considering it. The price of electricity means the payback calculations, unfortunately, no longer stack up. We face a situation where, unfortunately, the technologies required to meet our reduction targets are being undermined by the cost of energy that powers them. We cannot afford to set targets and then allow market conditions to quietly hollow them out. What plans does the Minister of State have in place to ensure the public have confidence in making investments into these technologies for the future?”
“I welcome the opportunity to raise this important matter. Has the Department looked into the impact of high electricity prices in Ireland on the uptake of technology like heat pumps, electric vehicles, EVs, and home batteries that are needed to meet our decarbonisation target, and how that might impact on our 2030 targets?”
“As far as I can see, the scheme is not working as well as previously. I ask the Minister of State to consider a number of things to make it work better in the future. Reinstate the scheme to its original state. Failing that, reinstate it for properties where refurbishment costs are proportionate to a purchase which is often worse value. Provide county-level data on acquisitions that have been declined or not pursued since March 2005 due to the refurbishment cost barrier. Provide data from each local authority about the number of tenants who have presented as homeless, following the refusal to purchase the property under this scheme. Let us all see the scale of this problem. The tenant in situ scheme was built on a simple principle of keeping families in their homes. The refurbishment exclusion has undermined that principle.”
“I personally know of several cases where the council would not purchase the house because of the cost of refurbishing it to modern rental standards. This scheme was one of the State’s most effective tools for preventing homelessness. There should be no difference to the public purse whether this is achieved through the purchase and renovation of a property a tenant already lives in or moving them into a new build and renovating it afterwards. People in houses should be the measure of success, not the number of houses built. Preventing homelessness is the goal, regardless of what we do.”
“In County Clare, this matter is particularly serious. Our private rental stock is older than the national average. Properties in our more rural and coastal locations often need more refurbishment before they can be let as social housing. We can see the impact in the numbers. In 2023, this scheme delivered 1,830 acquisitions. In 2024, it was 1,501. Last year, 2025, there were only 775 houses delivered. At its peak, the tenant in situ scheme accounted for 46% of all homelessness prevention activity nationally. By December of last year, that figure had fallen to 11%. According to a recent media report, Clare County Council has only spent €1.45 million out of its €4 million allocation, which is very disappointing.”
“Changes to the tenant in situ scheme are of significant concern for some constituents who face the very real prospect of homelessness because a scheme that was working has been effectively dismantled. When a landlord decided to sell, the local authority could step in, buy the property and keep the family in their home. It was straightforward and cost-effective and it worked, but last year the Department made a critical change. Local authorities cannot reclaim the cost of refurbishing properties they buy under the scheme. That might sound like a minor detail, but it is not. It is a decision that is making the scheme unworkable. The result is that councils are walking away from these purchases. They are not walking away because the family does not need the home but because the scheme is financially unsustainable for them.”
“If the Minister is not willing to give me a commitment to extend the programme-level designation to all wastewater projects regardless of scale or location today, maybe he would respond to me within three months with an update.”
“I thank the Minister. Again, this question is not about Uisce Éireann’s capital programme. It is about whether the Minister will look at the current status of wastewater treatment as a national scandal, one that has huge negative consequences for the environment and all our communities, whether rural, coastal or urban. The Minister accepts that wastewater is critical infrastructure. All that remains is for him to determine whether a large project in a city has more virtue than a smaller one in rural communities. I hope he will also give that consideration. It is about the Government using its own Bill to put the solution to this problem front and centre. It would be a significant statement of our commitment to finally take this problem seriously.”
“I thank the Minister. I have to be direct with him. Wastewater treatment is named in the Government's own Bill as critical infrastructure. Logic dictates, then, that individual rural schemes should not have to make their own separate case for designation under the Bill. As far as I am concerned, they should all be included. The communities I represent in County Clare are not asking for special treatment. They are asking that a common application of this Bill will be applied to them. A programme-level designation for outstanding wastewater schemes, regardless of their scale, would cost the Exchequer nothing and could profoundly affect the delivery timeline. Can the Minister give this serious reconsideration? Will he reconsider that all these small schemes be included.”
“Many towns and villages lack adequate wastewater treatment, with a significant number discharging raw sewage every day. The planning process is one aspect where long delays can occur in the delivery of wastewater treatment plants. Given the huge issues we have with water quality and our failure to comply with EU legislation, will the Minister consider a national designation for all wastewater treatment plants across the country, regardless of their size, under the Critical Infrastructure Bill?”
“Compensation values are totally outdated and do not reflect the true value of animals in 2026. It appears that increased costs and values are being accommodated across many sectors except for farmers with TB. The defective concrete blocks scheme is one example, where we have rightly gone back to affected homeowners and increased compensation values for rebuilding their homes. I appreciate the work the Minister is doing on TB eradication. The increase in the budget is very welcome and clearly shows a commitment to that goal. However, the compensation ceiling for farmers must be reviewed urgently and indexed to reflect current market prices. Anything less is asking farmers to subsidise a disease control programme through their own losses.”
“I compliment the Minister on his great work on this issue, but, unfortunately, I hear from farmers in Clare every week who are losing thousands of euro in comparison with what they would get on the open market. Independent valuers assigned by the Department are valuing animals well above the Department ceiling of €3,000. With the high costs at the moment, this means that farmers, through no fault of their own, are losing real money out of their pockets. The gap between compensation and value is causing serious financial stress and anxiety. Thousands of farm families across the country are affected by this. When will they get a compensation scheme that reflects the market value of the animals they are losing?”
“As the Minister is well aware, TB is an issue that is hitting farm families very hard across the county, including my county of Clare. Could he provide information on where we are with the eradication strategy? Does he think eradication is a realistic goal? What are his plans to evaluate the current compensation cap?”
“Does the State carry the full cost of such a visit, even where it involves a privately owned business such as Doonbeg golf club? Communities across west Clare should not lose out on day-to-day Garda services because of a high-profile international visit.”
“There is also a possibility of a visit this time by President Trump who owns Doonbeg golf club. We saw in previous visits the scale of the operation required for a presidential visit, including road closures, major security arrangements, co-ordination with the US Secret Service and the redeployment of Garda personnel from across the region. An Garda Síochána in Clare simply cannot do this with existing resources without causing serious disruption to normal policing services across the county. Rural communities in Clare, where there are already concerns about response times and Garda visibility, would feel the impact sharply. Can the Minister of State give an assurance that if President Trump were to visit Clare, none of the cost of the resource burden would fall on the existing Garda allocation for the county?”
“I thank the Minister of State. I congratulate everyone who has helped to bring this event to County Clare. It will provide a major boost to the local economy, particularly during the shoulder season of the year, but it will also place additional pressure on Garda resources, especially in west Clare. Gardaí will have to be reassigned from other duties, including community policing, to deal with crowd management, traffic and public safety. That will have an impact on communities across Clare that would normally rely on those Garda resources. Can the Minister of State assure me that this event will not affect Garda resources allocated to County Clare in 2026? Will the organisers make a financial contribution towards policing and public services? Will the overall cost to the State for this event be fully covered?”
“I raise the issue of resourcing gardaí in County Clare for the Irish Open in September. This is a huge event coming to County Clare and it will bring tens of thousands of visitors to our county. I ask the Minister what additional resources both human and financial will be made available by his department to Clare Garda division for this event.”
“If we want climate projects, roads and housing developments to proceed more quickly and with less public opposition, we need proper national standards that every developer must follow before applying for planning permission. At present, too many communities feel that consultation begins only after the real decisions have already been taken. That damages trust from the very start and can cause much avoidable concern in communities. It is my intention to bring forward a Private Members' Bill to create national statutory standards for community engagement that all public bodies and private developers will have to follow. I hope the Minister of State will support it.”
“I thank the Minister of State. Every one of us in this House knows of a local project, very often an energy project, in respect of which communities were angry about how developers engaged with them, or about whether they engaged with them at all. Instead of constantly dealing with these disputes, should we not create a clear set of standards that every public and private body must follow, whether it involves a major infrastructure project, a Department policy, the allocation of public funding or a county development plan? This is not about giving communities a veto; it is about making sure that when a project is to have a major impact on people's lives, engagement happens early enough to shape it before all the important decisions are made.”
“Will the Government consider introducing a national legal standard for community engagement in planning, policy decisions and grant funding? Will projects have to show that engagement was meaningful before planning permission or final approval is granted? Right now, we are spending public money on consultation that communities do not trust, reports they do not believe in and decisions they feel they have no real say in. That is not good planning and it damages trust between people and the State. We do not need to start from the beginning. There are already good examples that could help create an Irish standard but we need the political will to make it a requirement instead of just a nice idea.”
“It just looks like community engagement, and people can see through that. There are already some good examples of how proper engagement can be delivered. They involve people being generally included, consultations happening early enough to influence decisions and public feedback actually being listened to. These are not radical ideas. They are basic common sense, but the problem is they are voluntary. As we all know, in planning voluntary rules mean nothing. When a community in east or west Clare is being consulted about a wind turbine project that will affect its area for years to come, it deserves to know the process meets a proper recognised standard, not whatever the developer decides is good enough for the area. My ask is simple.”
“I raise an issue that communities all over the country can relate to, namely, proper community engagement. These are three very important words. We hear the phrase all the time. It is in development plans, policy documents and Government reports. Developers talk about it while councils and other State bodies say they are doing it. It even came up in two Oireachtas reports that I worked on this week. However, what does "community engagement" really mean and does it actually make any difference? Many communities feel that the answer is "No" because there are no proper standards to judge whether engagement was real and meaningful or whether it was just a public meeting followed by a report that backed a decision that was already made. This is not real community engagement.”
“I thank the Taoiseach. Clare is a county with one of the fastest growing older populations and avoiding serious challenges for those elderly people is very important. Its rural nature and the remoteness of many of its areas are especially challenging to provide home help to older people, given the travelling distance. In addition, support for more home help and nursing homes in Clare would help in a big way to alleviate the overcrowding in UHL. I am aware of families who have been told patients in the hospital could have to travel, 30, 40 or 50 miles to get a nursing home bed, which is not good enough for those families and those people. It is a serious concern and a serious issue in our county and it needs to be addressed. We have a rural county and we have serious problems as regards the elderly, nursing homes and home help.”
“Will he commit to providing support for existing rural nursing homes so they can cope with the rising demand and encourage new entrants into the market to ensure there are enough beds into the future?”
“The fair deal rate does not match the rising cost of care, unfortunately, and smaller rural homes are struggling the most. People in Clare are stuck with a problem. There are not enough carers to let them stay at home and there are unfortunately not enough nursing home beds available for those people to go into. Families are under huge pressure. People in Clare want to grow old at home where possible and have dignified care in a nursing home when the time comes. The Government has the power and the vision to make that happen. I ask that Clare be not left behind. Will the Taoiseach commit to a plan to increase home support in counties like Clare where waiting lists are the longest and putting serious pressure on families?”
“I want to raise an issue that is a real worry for people, not just in County Clare but across the country. I hear every day from older people and their families who are struggling to get home care or a place in a nursing home. Clare has the longest home-support waiting list per person in the country. Even though the Government is spending more on home support nationally, Clare is not getting its fair share. This needs to be fixed so waiting times can be brought down quickly. Because of this, more people are going into nursing homes, unfortunately, but nursing homes in the county are also under severe pressure. Private and voluntary homes, which provide most of the beds in rural counties like Clare, face real financial problems.”
“Unfortunately, in the time of a housing crisis, it is putting a lot of pressure on families and it is time for more action and to try to get these families confident going forward.”
“There is a lot of work to be done going forward and they are concerned about the costs and whether they will be able to afford to rebuild or redevelop their house, as the case may be. There is also a serious concern about the technical review that is going on at the moment. When will that be published? That could also be holding up these appeals. Will the Minister of State give the House an update on when the outcome of the technical review will be published? Also there are a number of people living in houses in social housing schemes, which are unfortunately badly affected. Is there an update on a scheme to carry out work on those houses going forward? We have a serious issue on our hands.”
“I thank the Minister of State. I agree that we must respect the independent appeals board but it is important that people get the information, at least get updated information about what is happening in the appeals board. I am aware of householders who have been waiting almost 12 months and have heard nothing whatsoever. Their appeals went in. They were notified they were received but did not get any further information whatsoever. That is not good enough. These people are under enough stress at the moment without having this stress, with the cost of inflation. The cost of building materials is increasing and it is putting additional pressure on them. When they get the result of their appeals, they will have to get a contractor.”
“It is in the interests of the people who have appeals in the system to have them dealt with as fast as possible. It is not too much to ask that they might have some guideline as to how long the appeal will take. It is also in the public interest to know that a body doing work on behalf of the State is held accountable for it. We cannot manage what we do not measure. If there is no obligation for the panel to provide such regular updates, then there is little hope this work will be delivered in a timely manner. I am not asking for a State secret to be shared. I would just like for the work of the panel, the number of appeals submitted and decided and the length of time taken to reach the decisions, which is important, to be published on a monthly or quarterly basis, as the affected householders deserve.”
“While I fully agree the appeals panel should be independent of the Minister, the Department and the Housing Agency, that does not mean they should not ask for and receive regular updates on the work being delivered. When elected Members such as me ask for that information, I should get it without any delay. The fact that I do not raises questions. I understand there were up to 180 appeals at the end of 2025, with a number of them coming from my county of Clare. Some of them have no idea as to when they will get a decision, which is disappointing. One family who were in touch with me lately are ready to start but can do nothing until their appeal is heard. They surely have a right to know when that will happen so they can make plans.”
“The defective concrete block issue is causing huge concern for those affected. The process is long, complicated and stressful. Those who have been approved but who have appealed that decision also find themselves in no man's land, with no information on how their appeal is being dealt with. In January I submitted a parliamentary question asking for the number of appeals made to date under the defective concrete blocks scheme, the number of appeals that had been heard by county and by year, and the current timeline for determination on appeals lodged. All of these would appear to be a reasonable ask of a body tasked to do this work. Nobody asked for personal details, just a breakdown of the work of the panel on a regular basis. The reply I received was not good, which is why we are here today.”
“The difference between this scheme and the current private rental market is something we should look at closely. The private rental sector sees a lot of RTB disputes, complaints and at times poor relationships between landlords and tenants. The ARP scheme shows a different way of doing things. When property owners are offered a fair, simple and worthwhile arrangement, they respond well. Over 20,000 have already done this. There are lessons here that could bring more homes into use, ease pressures on rents and improve things for many people who depend on the rental market. It would be a very positive outcome from this programme. Has there been any discussion between the Department of justice and others on how a model like this could be expanded?”
“I believe this scheme shows that trust, along with fair financial support, can bring thousands of homes into the rental market. Over 42,000 people are currently housed in more than 20,000 properties, mostly without formal inspection or registration. That is a lot of people willing to rent out their properties under the right circumstances. I am not against proper oversight, but this scheme clearly shows that a system that is simple, fair and works for both sides can be effective. There also appear to be very few complaints about conditions or arrangements. Is there any data that gives way to this?”
“I believe that a lot of people in County Clare have been housed through the accommodation recognition payment scheme. From what I can see, it is working well and I have not heard of any major issues from house owners or tenants. It is important that we have a clear picture of how many people are supported under this scheme nationwide. With that in mind, will the Minister of State provide an overall number and county-by-county breakdown of the properties receiving the accommodation recognition payment?”
“Clare has lost thousands of tourist bed nights each month over the past four years, with the vast majority in north and west Clare, where tourism is a key part of the local economy. While I understand that tourism is not directly within the Minister of State's brief, the return of this bed stock is both vital and important. It must be managed to ensure that it delivers the maximum benefit quickly. Will the Minister of State outline whether there is any engagement with local authorities, Fáilte Ireland or Tourism Ireland to make the most of this capacity returning to the market? Are any targeted promotional campaigns planned to boost visitor numbers, where returning to our capacity will make a real and welcome difference?”
“I thank the Minister of State for the reply and welcome the reduction in the hotel contracts. This is a positive step, showing that many people are moving on from emergency accommodation by finding homes, entering work and moving elsewhere. We should recognise the support of Clare communities and the contribution many Ukrainians have made in return. Hotels returning to serving visitors is an important opportunity for tourism and the hospitality sector. It will support local businesses, boost occupancy and protect jobs, which is important. Will the Minister of State provide data on how many businesses have exited contracts and are now operating again as tourist accommodation?”
“County Clare has welcomed significant numbers of Ukrainian people fleeing the war, just as it did with Hungarian and Kosovan refugees in the past. Our communities opened their schools, organisations and workplaces to them. Now, four years on, many Ukrainians are moving on from emergency accommodation and hotel contracts are ending. Will the Minister of State confirm how many contracts have been concluded and how many beds may return to their original purpose?”