Peter Burke
Longford-Westmeath · Fine Gael · Ireland
“I thank Deputy Ó Broin for raising this important matter. I cannot imagine the trauma many families are going through right now as a result of the conclusion of An Coimisiún Pleanála on this file. This was a dark time in our past.”
“I thank Deputy Nash for his question on this very important issue. I will say clearly and unambiguously that I share his concerns in relation to ensuring that no product produced in Ireland ends up in the Russian military complex. We are very firm in that belief.”
“I have heard suggestions in some outlets that the Irish Government was in that company's corner at key European forums. That is not true. The European Commission has brought forward 20 sanctions packages and Ireland has supported them all 100%. It is very important to put that on the record.”
“I thank Deputy Wall for his very important intervention. I heard part of the interview this morning, which was exceptional and very courageous, showing leadership in an area which affects so many people in our society. I know the Minister for Health is supportive of the Deputy's initiative and remains so.”
“We have enacted the Family Courts Bill, establishing a dedicated family court to look at very sensitive items for victims. We have introduced an offence for non-fatal strangulation, reflecting the seriousness of the abuse and the stress and harm it causes.”
“I thank Deputy Murphy for being proactive and bringing forward a solution to try to operationalise a group of the Oireachtas and showing leadership to do that for Tipperary. I will absolutely bring that to the attention of the Minister for justice, particularly considering the cross-party aspect.”
The complete record
Every one of 870 lines we hold for Peter Burke, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 18.
“I know it has been very successful at getting additional funding under the regional airports fund and it will be important to keep up that commitment from Government. I assure the Deputy of my support and I look forward to the announcement later in the summer. Last year, on a trade mission, as the first time ever for an Irish Minister, I visited the top Irish-born companies in Ireland over two days and sought what their issues and challenges were. Right now in this country, the top ten Irish-born companies employ 450,000 people globally, which is a very strong testament to Irish-born companies and the indigenous economy.”
“This will be a strong testament to the work of the Government in providing the key infrastructure but also in ensuring that we have a highly skilled workforce, and that we are getting key training opportunities into our workforce to meet the challenges of artificial intelligence, getting our skills observatory up and running, and ensuring that the high-performance in Enterprise Ireland that looks after our homegrown entities is excelling. We see right now that of the 196 high-performance graduates, half of them are grounded in AI. That is where we need to be as a country to take those key opportunities. I assure Deputy Cooney of my purpose and delivery and we will work very hard together to ensure we are delivering for the west and Shannon as a key economic hub and a driver for the mid-west and our country, as the Deputy has pointed out.”
“I again thank Deputy Cooney. I had a great visit with him to County Clare and Shannon focusing on some of the key businesses that are there. We visited the Roche site, where there is huge potential, and we saw the works that are being carried out to remediate that site. We also visited Beckman Coulter, another exciting life sciences company, and we will see significant investment from other companies in the region, like Jaguar Land Rover, which is really working to invest significantly, and also PPG and Zimmer Biomet. There is huge opportunity. Working with Deputy Cooney and the key support he has provided to me and the Government, we hope we will have a very significant announcement during the summer by a leading Irish-born company in relation to Shannon.”
“Some of the major FDI companies have expanded their operations here, citing access to talent, quality infrastructure, and Government support through IDA Ireland as key factors. Adjoining Shannon International Airport, Shannon Free Zone remains a cornerstone of international investment, hosting one of the largest clusters of North American investment in the State, with continued growth in traded services and technology investment also accelerating. Looking ahead, continued investment, infrastructure and collaboration will ensure the Shannon region can fully capitalise on its key advantages.”
“In May 2025, Enterprise Ireland announced the high potential start-up, HPSU, class of 2024 in which €27.6 million was invested in Irish start-ups, supporting over 157 start-ups in 2024 through HPSU or pre-seed funding, of which six were in the mid-west. The region is already delivering strong results. There are 158 IDA client companies in the mid-west region employing 28,125 people, with employment among IDA clients increasing by 18% in recent years. Key sectors include technology, life sciences, international financial services and engineering. The strategic location, excellent connectivity through Shannon Airport, and a skilled workforce supported by the UL and TUS make the mid-west region an attractive environment for multinational corporations.”
“The LEOs play a vital role at grassroots level, supporting job creation in small businesses across the region, providing targeted grants for scaling and exporting firms, including support for specialist hires, and driving digital, green and lean transformation across sectors. Enterprise Ireland also supports over 700 client companies across the mid-west region, with employment growing in 2025 to almost 27,000. This growth is driven by strong performance in key sectors like medtech and healthcare, as referenced by Deputy Cooney. We are seeing this in major announcements, including Aerogen, lreland's largest indigenous medtech company, announcing this year the creation of 725 jobs between its two manufacturing sites in Shannon and Galway and Vitalograph's expansion in Clare and Limerick which will see it take on an extra 200 employees.”
“My Department contributes to this agenda through the work of IDA lreland, Enterprise Ireland, the local enterprise offices, LEOs, and nine regional enterprise plans, REPs. The regional enterprise plans have proven effective in fostering regional collaboration, bringing together key stakeholders to identify challenges and opportunities and to take action in areas such as cluster development, manufacturing and knowledge economy. Since 2017 my Department, through Enterprise Ireland, has made available over €150 million in regional enterprise development funding. Looking ahead, Enterprise 2035, as set out in the programme for Government, will build on this progress. It will support long-term enterprise growth and job creation, focusing on key enablers such as skills, infrastructure, digital connectivity, access to finance and sustainability.”
“I thank Deputy Cooney for raising this very important Topical Issue on the mid-west region, Shannon Airport and County Clare. The mid-west region is uniquely positioned to drive balanced regional development, with assets including Shannon Airport, Foynes Port, excellent road and rail connectivity and a highly skilled workforce. There are strong links to leading education institutions. The region has all the fundamentals required to support sustained industrial growth and job creation. Government policy is fully aligned with unlocking this potential. Through the White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 and our regional development agenda, we are focused on ensuring every region, including the mid-west region, can realise its full economic and employment potential.”
“I mentioned what our colleagues in the IDA are doing in making a database of 300,000 employees and making those jobs more sticky and targeting them before they come under pressure. The key thing we are trying to do is predict the cohorts that are under pressure and get that training in, get in with our employers and offer them the training so employees can benefit from it and ultimately secure the jobs rather than leaving them exposed to artificial intelligence.”
“We have updated our digital and AI strategy, which has 80 deliverables, while working right across our skill partners to ensure our citizens are getting that transformational training that makes those jobs sticky. We also have done a huge amount of work on establishing our national skills observatory with the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and his Department of further and higher education to profile those skills and to ensure we are having the output from our tertiary education partners that really reflects a changing labour force. It is going to be a big challenge for someone who started a course in third level two or three years ago as the labour market has changed significantly, particularly at entry level. We have a huge amount of training and skills profiling in relation to that.”
“Of 196 new businesses this year, half of them are grounded in AI. That shows the opportunity there. We are working with the expert group on future skills. Our new national skills observatory, which will be profiling and matching the skills and work our skills partners will be doing, has been established. We will have our AI office up and running from 1 August and it will be building capacity and ensuring our citizens are fully trained to grasp the opportunities that are presented.”
“We are working very closely with all our skills partners and enterprise agencies to ensure training is being delivered in the key sectors that are at risk, namely, graduates, as well as particular cohorts of the employment market like ICT, professional services and legal and financial services. We have a huge amount of skills upgrading to do in those areas. Take the IDA for example. We set out an ambition to train 40,000 people over the four-year strategy and in year one we have hit 33,000. That demonstrates the capacity and training we are doing. There is also a huge amount of opportunity. It is not a period of decline for the labour market but a period of transition in which old functions will change and new opportunities will emerge. Take, for example, our high-performance growth unit in Enterprise Ireland.”
“It notes that employment growth among 15- to 29-year-olds in sectors at risk to AI declined by 2.5% between 2023 and 2025, despite overall employment increasing. This was particularly pronounced in the ICT sector. More broadly in respect of the labour market, activity levels remain strong, despite a difficult international environment. The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office show that employment growth was effectively flat in quarter 1 of 2026. However, the overall employment levels remains exceptionally high at 2.8 million people.”
“This work is currently being updated, which is important given the fluid situation that exists. Furthermore, work published in conjunction with the Department of Finance highlights that the labour market here is highly exposed to AI, given the composition of employment, specifically in relation to ICT, financial and professional services. The work also noted that AI may already be affecting employment patterns, with sectors more exposed to AI, such as ICT and financial services, recording significantly weaker employment growth in recent years. In terms of graduate or entry-level jobs, we are monitoring developments closely and working closely with the Department of Finance. Its latest annual progress report from April 2026 is informative in this regard.”
“I thank Deputy Moynihan for his question. My Department is continually monitoring the labour market and the impact of artificial intelligence. We have a number of relevant pieces of research I can cite, including research from the expert group on future skills needs published last year, How AI is transforming the Irish Labour Market. This work highlights the speed at which Ireland is moving in relation to AI, noting the strong demand for AI jobs but also the robust supply pipeline in relation to AI. Ireland has a track record of producing very skilled workers and this is also happening with AI, as work in my Department has shown. Ireland has seen a doubling in AI jobs and usage since 2023. While this is a fast-changing field, it shows the inherent dynamism and resilience of the Irish labour market.”
“Ireland has been at the forefront of the European Union in standing with the people of Gaza, in calling for the EU-Israel Association Agreement to be suspended - we were at the forefront of doing that - and supporting the people of Gaza financially. No country has called out as much as Ireland has and the Palestinian Authority recognises that clearly in all our meetings with it.”
“Very clearly, it is because it is in compliance with the law and with the criteria set down by the EU. We do not assess applications on the basis of made-up criteria. The criteria are grounded in the EU framework, which has eight clear measures, and the Control of Exports Act set down by this House in 2023. As I said in my substantive response, we have to satisfy ourselves that the end user will not bring any unintended consequences and that citizens are not being harmed by its actions. That is what we have to do. The criteria are clear. The robust procedures we have in the Department for doing that are crystal clear.”
“The number of applications went down. That is not a change in policy by the Department. We do not control who comes to the Department seeking a licence. When the number of applications goes down, the value goes down. I assure the House there has been no change in policy whatsoever and no review has taken place either.”
“As I said, there has been no policy change. The law is clear in the Control of Exports Act 2023, as set out by these Houses of which the Deputy is a Member, and in our European obligations under the framework and the eight criteria that have been established. Ireland has been firm and strong in recognising the State of Palestine. We have supported the people of Gaza through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, the competent authority which provides aid. We strongly supported it when Commissioner Várhelyi tried to unilaterally withdraw key supports to vulnerable citizens. We joined the ICJ case with South Africa and have called out the genocide in Gaza. That is where we are clear. It is all about where the end user is and what the purpose is. There has been no significant increase or decrease in applications being denied.”
“Ireland’s decisions are guided by the EU position and its eight criteria, which include respect for human rights, international obligations, regional stability and risk of diversion to another end user or end use. The risk profile of an application is impacted by current geopolitical factors, the end user, the items in question and their ability to be misused. This risk profile can change on a case-by-case basis. If an application is deemed high risk and the exporter is unable to provide strong assurances to mitigate the risks identified, the application will be denied. As each application is treated on a case-by case basis, the available verifiable information at the time and associated risk assessments can change from application to application.”
“The primary purpose of export controls is not to block trade or exports, but to enable the free movement of legitimate goods, while ensuring that certain sensitive categories are subject to appropriate regulation. All export licence applications are considered by my officials in accordance with criteria set out in the relevant dual-use and military EU and national regulations and Ireland’s international obligations and responsibilities as members of non-proliferation regimes and export control arrangements. Each application is assessed individually by considering the nature of the items, the destination country, the identity of the end user and the intended use.”
“First, there is no policy change in this area. My Department’s responsibilities centre around the control of exports of dual-use and military items under EU and national legislation. Controls on the export of dual-use items are administered by my Department in accordance with EU Regulation 2021/821 of the European Parliament and the Council setting up an EU regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items. The bulk of dual-use exports from Ireland, including those to end users in Israel, are mainstream business ICT products, both hardware and software. They are categorised as dual-use items as a consequence of the fact that they incorporate strong encryption for ICT security purposes.”
“That is reducing the price of groceries on tables and reducing the cost of production, critically, for businesses. In budget 2027, we will provide further supports. We had the national economic dialogue, which included a breakout session on agriculture, as well as one on tourism, to discuss the challenges for all the sectoral interests.”
“I could not agree more with the Deputy and the proposals she is bringing forward. I look forward to working with her to grow our tourism sector. I particularly look forward to working with our businesses. There are 46,000 businesses across the country that provide a genuine, authentic céad míle fáilte. We will come forward in September or October with a number of supports, capital grants, for attractions and businesses to help them with digitalisation to ensure they can grasp the opportunity that is ahead. Many of our visitors now use generative AI to plan out their itineraries, book and research online. I am working closely with the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, to ensure that farmers are supported. Right now, for every 200 litre fill of diesel, farmers get €55 to support them in the production of food.”
“It will be front and centre and will absorb huge resources. We will put in €400 million over the next five years. The culinary industry is unique, genuine and authentic food production that will put us in a good space to attract visitors.”
“Critically, as the Deputy pointed out, the Louth strategy for tourism up to 2031 has key performance indicators, KPIs, to measure exactly the performance and ensure our objectives are realised. I took the view in our tourism plan that if it cannot be measured, it cannot be managed. That is why we have 71 objectives with clear KPIs attached to each. That is why Tourism Ireland has approximately €71 million for 2026 for marketing, and the culinary industry is key to that. We will develop our culinary strategy over this year. It will have a job of work in advancing the proposition that so many of our businesses have. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, there is a vineyard in Louth. There are oysters. There is an incredible offering from the distillery. There are so many attractions to bring people to County Louth.”
“This group will be supported by targeted delivery streams, including a dedicated culinary stream, to ensure alignment across national and local government. All the key sectors will provide strategic oversight of the strategy's development and delivery. Tourism Ireland is implementing a refreshed culinary tourism approach overseas, addressing outdated perceptions of Irish food and showcasing the quality, freshness and diversity of food and drink across the island as a key driver of destination choice, particularly among European visitors.”
“It will support the strengthening and promotion of authentic, sustainable experiences alongside the development of food trails and festivals that drive demand and help sustain over 46,000 tourism-related businesses. These objectives also clearly align with wider Government measures to support competitiveness, which include the reduction in VAT to 9% for food and catering services from next month. Delivering on these commitments requires strong co-ordination and a clear focus on outcomes. In this context, I established a tourism policy oversight group, which will meet for the first time on 8 July. This group will bring together representation across government, agencies, local authorities and industry stakeholders to oversee, monitor and support the delivery of the 71 policy objectives.”
“I thank the Deputy for a very important question relating to tourism, which is our largest indigenous sector. The programme for Government includes a clear commitment to support and expand food and drink tourism, reflecting its importance in shaping visitor experiences. Food and beverage accounts for approximately 34% of all visitor expenditure. A New Era for Irish Tourism, the Government's national tourism policy, focuses on sustainable development of our tourism sector and increasing the regional and seasonal spread of tourism activity. It includes a commitment to develop a new national culinary strategy to strengthen the quality and reputation of Ireland's food offering. This strategy will build on and complement destination experience development plans that place a strong emphasis on food at a local level.”
“There is also our own fintech sector with Fenergo and others that have grown exponentially in recent years. I assure the Deputy of my full attention, and I am working closely with the Department of Finance and the Central Bank on this issue.”
“I am constantly engaging with stakeholders. Indeed, I meet many of them during my weekly business with the Department. I have had some very exciting job announcements in the financial services sector and have discussed this issue in detail with it and in relation to the work the Department of Finance has undertaken. It has been present for some of those announcements, so we are very much aware of the opportunity here. Ireland will absolutely be at the forefront to grasp that opportunity with both hands. I should also point out the highly skilled workforce we have and the capacity to ensure that grows is so important for the sector as well. We are well set, therefore, to grow it further. The IDA has a number of exciting companies growing in this space.”
“We will support the growth of the sector in that regard because we have seen how much it has contributed to our economy in terms of jobs and this being a highly regulated sector that has a pathway into the European market that is significant for Ireland. I can, therefore, assure the Deputy of my full attention to this matter.”
“I am very much aware of how important the funds sector is to our employment landscape. Over 60,000 jobs and, as the Deputy pointed out, trillions in assets are domiciled here. As I said, the Department of Finance has the lead policy responsibility for the area. Distributed ledger technology, as the Deputy pointed out, provides a game changer for the sector. It records transactions, and transactions that are recorded in multiple places at the same time. This can provide a huge opportunity for Ireland. What is happening here now is that submissions have been sought. They have been coming into the Central Bank. The Department of Finance will communicate to our Department what changes are needed in the company law code, because our Department is responsible for this area.”
“This is in tandem with other work involving negotiations by the Department of Finance as policy lead in this area, such as work at EU level involving financial services regulation. The Deputy may also be aware that, in line with recommendation 17 of the report, the Central Bank published a discussion paper on tokenisation last March, with submissions being invited by 5 June. I understand the intention now is for the Central Bank to publish a feedback statement following this consultation period.”
“The report included a recommendation that the industry continue to engage with the Central Bank of Ireland and the Department of Finance, as necessary, "with a view to mapping out a pathway for adoption of tokenisation". I am advised that the Department of Finance fully supports and encourages the work that industry has undertaken thus far to assess what can be done within the current legislative and regulatory frameworks. Officials from that Department are considering submissions from industry regarding proposed changes to the current legislative framework. This work is being done and led by that Department, and following this work my Department will examine any proposed legislative amendments to the Companies Act put forward by the Department of Finance, as is the current practice in the normal course of events.”
“I thank Deputy Brennan for his question on a very important sector for the Irish economy. Tokenisation, the process whereby an underlying asset or pool of assets, tangible or intangible, is converted into digital tokens that act as its proxy, could fundamentally reform how capital markets operate, enabling real-time trades, increasing transparency and liquidity, expediting clearing and ultimately providing for atomic settlement. As the Deputy is aware, the Minister for Finance, who has lead policy responsibility for this area, published a funds sector 2030 report in October 2024. The report, titled Funds Sector 2030: A Framework for Open, Resilient and Developing Markets, is a wide-ranging review of the funds and asset management sector.”
“There will be a simplified application process for such operators to go through and there will be a two-year window for them to regularise once the register comes into operation.”
“I have had significant negotiations with the Minister, Deputy James Browne, to achieve a balance. Obviously, it is critical that we have accommodation in our cities, where there is acute pressure on housing units - we are in a housing crisis - and that those units are made available for wider society. Equally, in areas where the tourism sector is very important, and tourism drives economic activity in rural Ireland, it is important that short-term lets that have already been in operation are able to continue. The planning statement will be published and it will state that there will be a presumption of planning to be approved on all short-term lets in areas with a population of less than 20,000.”
“There are areas that need short-term lets to absorb the capacity because there is no hotel accommodation available. We will also bring forward an accommodation strategy this year to try to incentivise the growth of high-quality hotel accommodation as well, which will be another weapon in our armoury.”
“I know the Deputy has done a lot of work on this matter. In towns with a population of less than 20,000 in areas of the south and west coast where it is not viable to build a hotel and where short-term lets for tourism are needed, we will have a simplified administrative process for providers who have been in operation for more than seven years. We have issued a planning statement which will have a presumption for those operators to be granted planning. It will be a simplified process and there will be a presumption they will be granted planning to ensure they can continue in operation. As Minister, I want to see short-term lets continue in areas where they are needed, such as the west coast and the south. Kerry is a prime example, as are counties Mayo, Leitrim and Longford and rural County Galway.”
“Permission will generally be favoured where a dwelling has been used continuously for short-term letting for at least seven years without enforcement action, in line with established use rights. A simplified administrative version of the application process for retention specifically for short-term lets will be introduced. Short-term let accommodation providers in towns with a population of less than 20,000 have two years to meet planning compliance and additional provisions are being included in the Bill to give effect to this measure. This work will be completed shortly. I intend to bring the Bill to Government in the coming weeks to seek approval for publication, and to advance the Bill to enactment by early autumn.”
“The statement provides a balanced framework that supports sustainable tourism, protects communities, maintains housing supply and enables clear, consistent decision-making for both property owners and planners. The new housing policy restricts the approval of new planning permissions for short-term lets in cities and larger towns with a population of over 20,000 in the last census. However, planning permission for short-term letting can be granted to preserve heritage or traditional buildings unsuitable for the long-term housing market. Upper floors in mixed-use buildings or small structures beside an owner-occupied home can also be approved, provided neighbours are not adversely affected.”
“I thank the Deputy for this very important question. In April last year, I obtained Government approval for the general scheme of the short-term letting and tourism Bill. Once enacted, this Bill will provide a statutory framework for regulating the short-term letting sector, including the establishment of a national register. This register, which has been broadly welcomed by the tourism sector, will be implemented and managed by Fáilte Ireland in compliance with the EU short-term rental regulation. The register will launch on 1 December 2026, with a legal obligation on all operators to register by 31 December 2026. The new housing policy for short-term let activity was set out today at Cabinet by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne, in a national planning statement.”
“I know a lot of meetings are taking place this week in respect of it. I hope to have the report very shortly. The investigation will not go on for months or years. It will be a quick investigation and I hope it will begin a process of ascertaining whether the supply chain is concealed, or not. What I am trying to establish here is whether there is a concealed supply chain and whether the company can prove that to the independent investigation and the Commission.”
“As the Deputy said, jobs must be saved. It is hard to reconcile that with his further statement in relation to Russia. We have to be clear that products are being exported to Russia that are being used in the Russian military complex, action will have to be taken. There are no easy answers to this. There are a huge number of jobs involved. The plant is responsible for a critical raw material. Any action would have big implications for Europe in the context of its security, for our grid, given that approximately 200,000 homes are powered by the plant, and for the Port of Foynes. There are serious implications but, as a country that upholds the rule of law and takes its obligations to citizens and human rights very seriously, we have to be to the fore on this. I do not want to pressure those doing the investigation.”
“Ireland has supported robustly and unanimously every one of the 21 rounds of sanctions against Russia for its illegal invasion of Ukraine. We will not tolerate it if it is proven that alumina is ending up in the Russian military complex. The Government of Ireland will take action in that regard.”
“We need to ascertain where that 45% is going because there are many aspects of the economic model of every country that requires alumina. The material is used for making medical devices and in the food processing and automotive sectors. Obviously, the EU is a very significant importer of alumina as it is a critical raw material. It is important to put that on record. I refute the statement that we were slow to commence an investigation. Once this report was published in The Irish Times and other authorities came forward with information, we immediately opened an investigation. We are in contact with the Swedish authorities and the Ukrainian authorities about the evidence they have received. We are updating the European Commission weekly on the investigation.”
“Officials within my Department are working independently on this investigation. Upon its conclusion, engagements will be had at official and political level with the European Commission to discuss, as appropriate. I am not in a position to comment on specifics of the investigation while it is ongoing because to do so could adversely affect its outcome. I must allow due process to be adhered to. I recognise the high-profile nature of this investigation. The Government will make a statement once it is completed. I cannot give a timeframe for the conclusion of my Department's investigation. While the Department is working as quickly as possible, it is crucial that this investigation is carried out thoroughly and in line with due process where all aspects are considered.”
“Since it began production in 1983, the Aughinish plant has also been a supplier of energy to the national grid and is a significant employer in the Limerick area. My Department is currently investigating the matters raised in a recent report in The Irish Times report about Aughinish Alumina and its exports to Russia. I take the matter of potential sanctions violations very seriously. The report indicates the potential for the alumina being refined and ultimately processed into aluminium for use by the Russian military and sourced through a sanctioned entity. Therefore, the Deputy will appreciate that this is a highly complex investigation with multiple strands. It has necessitated my Department's engagement with other bodies within the State and with other member states, as well as with the company itself.”
“I thank the Deputy for this important question. I will first make a clarification. I never said the CSO was incorrect. I said the management of Aughinish Alumina had furnished incorrect information to the CSO and that the company was working with the CSO to rectify same. I want to be clear. The CSO is the gold standard and I never implied it was incorrect in any way. Ireland remains unequivocal in its continuing support for Ukraine after Russia's unjustified invasion. I remind the Deputy that Aughinish Alumina is not subject to any sanctions by the EU and alumina is not a sanctioned good. Therefore, its export to other countries, including Russia, is not restricted. For context, the Aughinish Alumina plant is Europe's largest refinery and one of the most important suppliers to the EU aluminium sector.”