Séamus McGrath
Cork South-Central · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“I thank the Taoiseach for the update about the Cork city futures group. As he mentioned, transport is a key theme within that reference. As the Taoiseach probably knows, I have been calling for a strategic integrated transportation office to be established in Cork.”
“To do that, we need local decision-making in a powerful transportation office established in Cork which can engage with the relevant stakeholders at a local level. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, seems positive about this idea. I ask the Taoiseach to try to support it. I am sure he would, given that it is Cork.”
“Budget preparations will be intensifying over the summer period. With that in mind, I want to take this opportunity to raise the issue of stamp duty and first-time buyers. As the Taoiseach knows, first-time buyers have to pay 1% in stamp duty when they are purchasing a new or second-hand home.”
“When I raised this matter as a Topical Issue just over six months ago in December 2025, the reply at the time was very much focused on the fact that there was an issue with the site. I reiterate that there is absolutely no issue with the site.”
“I do not want to be disingenuous, and I hope work is progressing on the tender process, but the reply seems to be the exact same, which is very frustrating. To reiterate, the project is vital for these two school communities. The conditions they operate in at present are not acceptable. It has been promised for many years.”
“I thank the Minister of State for being here to take this Topical Issue debate. I want to raise the matter of the proposed amalgamation of two schools in the lower harbour area of Cork. These are Ringaskiddy national school and Shanbally National School.”
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“We need to look at social housing and the interaction between assessments and social housing. There are families out there whose social housing application is stalled while they are waiting for an assessment, and that is not fair. The whole interaction between assessments and access to services from other State agencies is something that needs to be looked at very carefully as well. The introduction of therapists in schools is very welcome and something that should have happened a long time ago, so there are positives. Of course, we now have a Minister at the Cabinet table who will work alongside the Minister of State to try to drive change in this area. That is welcome. The Taoiseach also mentioned in the Dáil today that there is a finite number of therapists and professionals out there. We all know that. That is the bottom line here.”
“That is a very high figure and we need to drill down into it because the system clearly does not have the capacity to deal with assessments that are not necessarily required in the first place. It is also unfair on children to go through those assessments. Of course, there will always be a percentage that result in no diagnosis and that is right and proper but 30% is a very high figure. We need to investigate that properly to see what is behind the figure. As I said, the system simply cannot cater for those numbers of assessments. There are things to welcome from the Government. I know there is a real commitment to this area. There is a significant increase in funding, which is very welcome, and the Minister recently announced an assessment will no longer be required to access the domiciliary care allowance and so on. That is positive.”
“Within that broken system, however, there are positives. What organisations like Rainbow Club Cork - I know the Minister of State is very familiar with that organisation - do in providing services is absolutely astounding. That is an organisation that grew from the voluntary sector through the outstanding work Karen O'Mahony and her team are doing there. We have to look at that model in the context of the assessments and see how we can learn from it because they are doing Trojan work in providing the actual services and supports that are required. In the Dáil earlier today, the Taoiseach stated that 30% of those assessments result in no actual diagnosis.”
“I thank the Minister of State for facilitating this debate, which we badly need to have. I do not want to repeat everything that has been said. The position is stark with 15,000 children waiting for assessments and very poor figures for those who get assessments within the six months. The overwhelming majority do not get assessments within the six months, which is a requirement under the 2005 Act. As we all know as constituency TDs, families have to fight for everything. We are talking about assessments of need in the House this evening. The same debate could be had about supports and services following assessments, school places and, of course, school transport and so on. It is a broken system at present and it needs radical change to bring about the kind of improvements that are necessary in the system.”
“It is to be welcomed that there were more than 6,000 expressions of interest in joining An Garda Síochána, as are the moves by the Minister to speed up the recruitment process in the interview process and so on. It needs to be curtailed as much as possible to fast-track the delivery of extra gardaí on our streets. I also welcome that three more classes will enter Templemore this year. A lot of good work is being done. It is important that visibility on the streets is increased and that we fulfil our commitment in the programme for Government to recruit additional gardaí. It is what the public and businesses in city and urban areas want. I thank the Minister for his work. I urge him to ensure this proceeds as quickly as possible.”
“I ask the Minister to ensure he keeps as much pressure on as possible to get a high number of gardaí into Templemore so we can get them out on our streets.”
“I appreciate the Minister's commitment to this issue. The programme for Government sets out an ambitious target in relation to the recruitment of gardaí. I know the Minister is committed to increasing the visibility of gardaí on our streets. One can see in Dublin that there has been an improvement in that respect but we need to see it across the country. The Minister visited Cork recently, which I welcomed. He took on board what he was told in Cork regarding the number of gardaí. It is important that we get a fair share of the allocation of gardaí when there are new graduates from Templemore. Unfortunately, only last weekend, there was a serious incident in Cork city where a woman was violently assaulted in broad daylight in the city centre. That highlights the need for strong visibility of gardaí on the streets.”
“Non-essential work can wait, essential work needs to be done and we need to get the houses reoccupied. I appreciate many local authorities take the opportunity to do deep retrofits and so on, including energy retrofits, but these can be done at another time. We need to get the houses reoccupied. That has to be our highest priority.”
“As the Minister said, there is a significant difference between some of the local authorities. He referred to counties Laois and Kerry, for example, between which there is a significant disparity. That is something we certainly have to delve into because how some local authorities can do it much faster than others needs to be examined to see how best practice can be applied across the local authority sector. The longer a house is vacant, the more disrepair it falls into and the more problematic it becomes. It is unsightly in an area and can result in antisocial behaviour. For a multitude of reasons we need to turn these properties around quickly, not least because we have a large number of people waiting for properties and allocations. It really is critically important.”
“It really is inexcusable in a housing crisis that there are properties lying vacant for up to 12 months and in some cases beyond that. I welcome the Minister's commitment and hope we can make progress in the near future.”
“I thank the Minister and welcome his commitment to vacant housing and the voids. The figure of more than €300 million since 2014 is very significant. I very much welcome the Minister's statements on a commitment to a prompt turnaround of properties, ensuring only essential work is carried out so those houses can be re-let quickly and that any other work that is non-essential can be done through a planned maintenance programme. That is critically important. The Minister knows full well nothing frustrates people more than seeing vacant housing in local authority areas. We need to continue to work hard to ensure it does not happen. It was debated in the Dáil earlier this week and the Taoiseach addressed the issue also.”
“I acknowledge the progress that has been made in Cork, both by Cork City Council and Cork County Council in the delivery of affordable purchase houses in particular. That is very welcome and I note the strong ambition in the programme for Government under the starter homes theme, which is important. Again, I reiterate that when one looks at the delivery of housing, the quantum of social housing is critically important and we all want that to increase but have to look at the disparity between social and affordable. We need to ensure that we bridge that gap and continue to increase our delivery of affordable housing as well as social housing and, of course, cost rental housing. I know that the Minister is personally committed to this and would ask him to give it every priority possible in the coming months.”
“In many local authorities and approved housing bodies, it seems to be the last resort in terms of proposals that come before them and that needs to change. I ask the Minister and his Department to ensure that affordable housing gets the proper recognition and priority it deserves. I appreciate that there are significant supports for buyers, such as the first home scheme and the help to buy scheme, and that there is a lot of delivery taking place in the cost-rental area through the Land Development Agency but we need to do more in relation to affordable housing.”
“I thank the Minister and I know he very much values affordable housing. I thank him for the figures he provided indicating that 6,400 units will be provided this year, which is very welcome. Prior to the election I strongly committed to individuals and couples that I would be a strong voice in relation to affordable housing. We all know the cohort of people who are above the social housing income limits but not in a position to acquire a house in their own right. We need to support those individuals and couples but unfortunately, at present, there is a gap in the supports that are available. Unfortunately, in general, affordable housing does not get the recognition or priority it deserves.”
“I ask the Minister of State to continue trying to improve the situation. As well as plans for recruitment and so on, we have to look at short-term measures to get the reset in place and clear the huge backlog.”
“People send us emails outlining their circumstances and the reasons they desperately need a driving test for health, personal or family reasons. I know the Minister of State understands this and is doing everything he can. I welcome the initiatives that have been undertaken: the push for recruitment, the full-time contracts and the overtime. We have to look at shorter term solutions. There has to be a reset and we have to clear the delays currently in the system so people have a reasonable waiting time. I understand ten weeks is the objective of the RSA. The application process needs to be looked at. It is quite cumbersome. I have had several contacts from people saying they have received numerous invitations to try to get a slot but when they look for one, there is none available. That can be very frustrating.”
“I thank the Minister of State for facilitating this debate. I have heard him debating the topic in the Dáil previously and I appreciate he gets the severity of the problem. It is difficult to understand how we are still in this position. Over two years ago, in my previous role as councillor, I had a motion on delays in driving tests. At the time I got a response from the RSA which indicated recruitment was taking place and it was working hard to address the issue. Unfortunately, it has got worse rather than better. The impact it has on people's lives has been outlined. It disproportionately impacts young people because they are, by and large, the people seeking a driving test. Many of them do not have access to public transport so it is putting their lives on hold in terms of plans for work, travel, personal endeavours and so on.”
“The programme for Government sets out ambition in this respect but I ask the Taoiseach to prioritise it and bring forward incentives in order that we might better utilise our existing buildings and incentivise the so-called over-the-shop occupation model.”
“I thank the Taoiseach for his report on NESC. He made reference to its important report on compact growth. As we know, development within urban boundaries is a far more sustainable form of development, with access to key infrastructure, services and utilities. It lends itself more to public transport use and active travel use. It is a far more environmental and sustainable form of development. Making better use of our existing buildings has to be a key part of our housing strategy. The croí cónaithe vacant homes scheme does a lot of good work in this area, and we are making good progress on vacant buildings. The underutilisation of buildings and partial occupation of buildings is another issue. This so-called over-the-shop or over-the-office usage is something on which we need to do a great deal more work.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his response, which I welcome, particularly the section towards the end where confirmation is provided about engagement with the school in the past few days and the positive funding decision for the provision of temporary accommodation. I particularly welcome the commitment to engagement over the coming weeks with the school. It is important that active engagement takes place to ensure that this can be put in place for the coming school term starting at the end of August. That is where the concern lies. I will leave the Minister of State with one request, which is that he relays that concern back to the Department. There will be a need for active engagement to make this happen in time.”
“I seek reassurance from the Minister of State that every effort will be made by the Department to work with the school to ensure that this will be up and running so that parents, school management, staff and the principal can have a degree of certainty. I will not use all of the time allotted but would appreciate whatever level of assurance the Minister of State can give on this.”
“I ask that every effort be made by the Department to ensure that the school will be assisted in ensuring that it can have this additional accommodation for the new school term. This essentially will allow the school to have a second junior infant class. The demand is there. As a public representative, I have had a lot of parents contact me who are deeply concerned about the uncertainty relating to the provision of this second class. They need to be sure that they can send their child to this particular school in their local community, which is what they want to do. Unfortunately, the decision from the Department was slow in coming. When it did come it was very welcome but there is huge concern about timing and the ability to make this happen for the new school term.”
“I thank the Minister of State for being here to answer this question. I wish to raise the issue of an additional accommodation scheme application from Ballinora National School in County Cork. I previously submitted parliamentary questions on this issue and the responses indicated that a decision was awaited. I understand that a positive decision has been issued to the school that funding will be made available. The question now relates to the timing of this. We are now in the month of May and need to have this ready for the new school year. The school community, parents and school management are very concerned about the time available to them to get this up and running, to secure temporary accommodation and so on.”
“I welcome the Tánaiste's response. As I outlined earlier in terms of the importance of defence and protecting our territorial waters, the role of the Naval Service has expanded quite a lot in recent years in terms of maritime surveillance, protecting our marine assets, deterring criminal activity and smuggling and so on. It is welcome that we have a number of vessels at our disposal. I heard earlier that the direction of travel regarding recruitment and so on seems very positive, even though we are a bit short in terms of our overall headcount. The priority this Government is giving defence is very welcome, and I welcome the Tánaiste's role in that. I ask that he continues to prioritise defence, particularly the Naval Service, as we are an island nation and it is critically important for us.”
“My key question relates to the number of vessels available, the staffing requirements and where exactly we stand with regard to being able to deploy those vessels on a day-to-day basis.”
“I thank the Tánaiste for his presence today. Much of what I was intending to ask has already been discussed with regard to the number of vessels at the disposal of the Naval Service, the number in actual deployment and the number we are capable of resourcing and staffing to commission them into deployment. I am very fortunate to live within a couple of miles of the Naval Service HQ in Haulbowline and to represent the area nearby, and we are very proud of the great work that the Naval Service has done and is doing. As the Tánaiste has said a number of times during this discussion, the importance of defence is an area that is increasingly becoming important for us as a nation. We all know the great work that the Naval Service does in protecting our territorial waters.”
“I refer to the safety of pedestrians on our roads. Between 2019 and 2023, 164 pedestrians were tragically killed on our roads and more than 1,400 sustained serious injuries. The provision of safe pedestrian crossings in our urban areas is critical to reduce this number. Unfortunately, the local authority in my constituency really is strapped for funding to provide new pedestrian crossings or retrofit older crossings to make them safer by installing raised platforms as a traffic-calming measure. I ask the Tánaiste to champion within the Government the provision of extra funding to local authorities to provide safe crossings for pedestrians throughout the country.”
“The alignment with the ICOB grant has continued that problem for many businesses. I am not sure if there is scope in the appeals mechanism to look at the issue now, but can it be examined for future grants? Many businesses are doing their best creating employment but are not eligible on that basis.”
“I welcome the Minister's announcement this morning on the appeals mechanism that is being worked through. As outlined by the other Deputies, this will give hope to some businesses that for some reason were categorised incorrectly in their applications for the power up grant. To make a brief wider point, the alignment with the ICOB grant has presented difficulties for many businesses. This is going back to the 2023 rate payment. There are many businesses that entered into business since that time, so they have not received any support. Another point is that, in the case of many businesses, their landlords pay the rates on their behalf and the businesses pay an amount to their landlords that includes rent and rates. Unfortunately, those businesses did not qualify for any grant, neither the ICOB nor the power up grant.”
“Will the Minister of State outline the number of applicants for the power up grant who were disqualified because they did not indicate an eligible category of business, the number of applicants that appealed the disqualification decision in total, the number that appealed on the basis of mistakenly indicating the incorrect business category, whether the matter is still being reviewed and whether there will be an appeals mechanism?”
“This scheme has proven to be a success. I ask the Taoiseach to use every means in his office and the new housing activation office, which I welcome, to ensure we fulfil the commitment in the programme for Government as soon as possible.”
“I thank the Taoiseach. I have a sore throat, so please excuse me being brief. Regarding the first home scheme, the programme for Government sets out the intention to extend that scheme to second-hand homes. It is a critical provision. I would like it to happen as soon as possible. The first home scheme has been incredibly successful for newly constructed homes. It has helped many individuals and couples bridge the gap between what they could raise through mortgages and so on and what the properties actually cost. It has helped to create the necessary bridge, providing family homes for thousands of people. It needs to be extended to the second-hand market. There has been debate about inflationary pressures that may result. We do not have the luxury to debate these issues endlessly. We need to get on with it.”
“This is an existential threat and we have to stand together politically so we have one voice on this and face the threat in the strongest possible way.”
“It is important that as a Government we renew our strategy in foreign direct investment and engage very actively with the sector and send a very strong message to it that we will take a step-by-step approach with businesses to support them through the choppy international economic waters ahead. It is important that we restate and reiterate the attractiveness of Ireland as a location for foreign direct investment. Obviously, our well-educated and capable workforce, our access to EU markets without tariffs, our English-speaking country and the very pro-enterprise Government are important. Above all, it is critical we have a strong political consensus in the country to face this threat. Together we are stronger.”
“That is something we all want to do our best to prevent. My constituency of Cork South-Central has a very strong foreign direct investment sector. These tariffs will affect all sectors - food and drink, engineering, construction, agriculture and so on - but they will be particularly damaging in pharma, biopharma, medical devices and life sciences as a whole. In my constituency, there are a lot of US companies in these areas. Unfortunately, the US President has said the tariffs on pharma will be coming very soon. That is worrying. We do not know what to expect but it is not good.”
“It is important that we give space, take a cool level-headed approach, give dialogue a real opportunity to succeed and do our best to negotiate our way through this particularly difficult situation. That is in no way a sign of weakness - it is the right thing and smart thing to do – but we must also send a clear message that if discussion and negotiation do not work then we will respond as an EU bloc. That has already been made clear in the response to the earlier tariffs on steel and aluminium. The EU is now responding and that is the right thing to do. We know tariffs are counterproductive. They only result in dampening economic growth and expectations, as well as increased consumer prices, inflation and unemployment and have significant potential to cause a major international and worldwide recession.”
“I too welcome this debate and the opportunity to speak. The stakes are very high, as mentioned earlier. We now have some more clarity on President Trump’s announcements. He is upending decades of international trade norms and relationships in a matter of weeks. That is extremely serious. For Ireland it presents a real threat. We are a small open trading economy with a very strong foreign direct investment sector so we know the consequences can be very grave. We now see the back and forth between China and the US. Unfortunately, it is becoming a runaway train in terms of increasing tariffs. I fully support the Irish Government and the EU position on this.”
“I ask for urgent intervention on this issue. I know recruitment is taking place as is the training of new testers but, unfortunately, the situation is quite grave at present. I ask for further urgent intervention. I ask the Taoiseach to follow up on this.”
“I want to raise the issue of driving tests and the unacceptable delays in securing an appointment. This issue has been raised numerous times but, unfortunately, it does not seem to be improving. If anything, it is worsening. Someone applying for a driving test in the Wilton test centre in Cork this morning will be given an estimated date for the end of November 2025. This is a wait of more than seven months. I have heard stories from constituents who have been waiting more than eight months in reality. If people are unfortunate enough to fail, they will face a longer unknown wait for a second test. This issue disproportionately affects young people. It interferes with their plans for study, work and travel. It is impossible for them to plan their lives. In many cases their lives are on hold while they are waiting for a test.”
“I ask for an improved ring-fenced fund to be set aside under the active travel heading specifically to improve access for those with disability issues and mobility challenges in our towns and villages throughout the country.”
“I welcome the establishment of the subcommittee on infrastructure. I want to raise the issue of the accessibility of our towns and villages for people with disabilities. I acknowledge a lot of funding has been spent under the active travel heading to improve accessibility but many challenges remain and we need to continually improve this funding. Recently, unfortunately, I heard the story of a wheelchair user who became dismounted and ended up on the footpath because of the poor condition of the footpath. This was in a large town. This is something that is not acceptable to any of us. We need to ensure we have sufficient funding to address these issues.”
“I know the EU will respond as a collective but Ireland is particularly exposed. Within Ireland, the region I represent is particularly exposed. I urge the Minister to ensure every effort is made to find solutions and negotiate our way out of this. Obviously, the EU will respond in due course in terms of potential reciprocal tariffs.”
“I appreciate that the Minister will keep this under review. I acknowledge the change in income thresholds, which is welcome. I will speak on the tariffs for a moment. As a Deputy representing Cork South-Central, we have a large concentration of US companies. I live only a couple of miles from Ringaskiddy, a large industrial base. I welcome the Minister's comment earlier that our first and foremost priority is negotiation and finding ways forward but it is critical we have a strong strategy for our multinational and FDI sectors to show them the Government will take a step-by-step approach with them in addressing the economic challenges we face. It is vital we show that support to them and show that we will be shoulder to shoulder with them so that we can navigate these difficult times. They are unprecedented times.”
“I note in the changes announced that local authorities will have the option of increasing the property tax by up to 25%. That will allow scope for these households to be exposed to even greater liability. I ask the Minister to consider, in time, looking at the penalty again.”
“I thank the Minister for that information. I accept 0.6% is a low figure. That suggests the cost to the State would not be significant if there were to be a further reduction in the interest penalty. I acknowledge there was a change in 2021 from 4% to 3%. One of the flaws with the LPT is it is not based on a household's income; it is based purely on evaluation of the property. We know there will be properties in certain locations with high value but very often those households have a low income. It may be a household reliant on the State pension. It is unfair to charge a penalty of 3% to those households if they opt to defer the property tax based on income threshold grounds or hardship grounds. We should consider a reduction.”
“I ask the Minister to outline the percentage of households that opted to defer payment of the local property tax in the years 2023, 2034 and 2025 and if he will consider a further reduction in the penalty on the amount that has been deferred.”
“The consequences of poor allocations to Cork city and county are now being shown in an operational matter locally in the Togher district, where there is a proposal to amalgamate the Garda unit serving large urban areas of Douglas, Carrigaline, Bishopstown and Ballincollig. This will remove the gardaí from serving in their local areas. They will now have to travel up to ten to 15 miles to respond to a call. That is simply not acceptable. I ask the Minister to engage with the Garda Commissioner to ensure that there is a fair allocation of gardaí across our country and that there is equality in terms of the numbers serving our population bases.”
“The programme for Government sets out an ambitious target of 5,000 new gardaí, which is very welcome. As well as increasing the overall headcount of gardaí, we need to ensure there is a fair allocation across the country. Unfortunately, only a tiny fraction of previous classes that graduated from Templemore have gone to Cork city and county. This is simply not sustainable. Dublin, to be fair, has got the lion's share, and, having been in Dublin in recent weeks, one can see the increased visibility of gardaí on the ground. That is very welcome, but we need to replicate that across our country, particularly in our second largest city, Cork.”
“The State is already subsidising the delivery of affordable housing to a large extent but we have to do more to give hope to those individuals and families who are trying to gain home ownership. I thank the Minister of State for making specific reference to the schemes in south Cork. They are schemes I am very aware of and I am putting a strong focus on trying to ramp up delivery. It is good to hear the commitment this morning.”
“The Minister of State's words of commitment are welcome. Issues relating to additional staff for local authorities are very important. There is a fundamental issue in respect of affordable housing that very often when proposals come to local authorities, the default position seems to be to fall back on social housing delivery rather than affordable housing. That mindset needs to change. We have to build the systems so that affordable housing becomes a reality. The cost to the State of affordable housing is a lot less. It is providing a mechanism for the cohort I described to gain home ownership. We need to ramp it up. Affordable housing needs to be affordable and, at present, in many cases, it is not.”