Simon Harris
Wicklow · Fine Gael · Ireland
“There are more than 10,000 routes and thousands of buses involved and the number of students using the services is not a million miles away from 200,000. The current terms of the scheme are going to continue to apply for the 2026-27 school year.”
“I thank Deputy McDonald for raising what is genuinely an important issue. I do take the point that when we talk about this in the abstract or from a process point of view in here, that for people watching this is their real lived experience.”
“There number of children who have been supported by means of the school transport scheme, as Deputy Fitzmaurice knows and has alluded to, has grown significantly in recent years. Since 2018, the number increased from 120,000 in 2018 to more than 181,000 now. Included in that figure are 24,000 pupils with special educational needs.”
“I knew the Deputy would have to mention the GAA, especially with Galway and Limerick playing at the weekend. I wish everybody involved the best of luck. We are very committed to the school transport scheme. If the Deputy wants to see our commitment, he should look to our budget.”
“An ageing population, increasing healthcare needs, the transition to net zero and the need for continued investment in housing, energy and infrastructure will place a significant demand on public resources.”
“There is also a legitimacy to the point the Deputy made about how it is a legitimate form of transport for some people. We see this working in other European countries. We see it in our nearest neighbours. I do not want to get the regime wrong, but I think they have registration at the point of purchase that allows people to track this.”
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“We need to continue to drive that forward. It is factually true that Garda numbers in Dublin city are increasing again and we remain committed to the target of 1,000 gardaí.”
“I remember that day well. I think the Deputy was at the launch with me. It might be the day the Deputy suggested the date of the general election. I remember it was a busy day but I am very pleased we launched that report and that we have taken a number of decisions recently in terms of resourcing the Dublin city centre task force, including the appointment of Robert Watt to oversee the office to deliver that as part of Dublin City Council. He is a very experienced public and civil servant. The plan has been fully endorsed by the Government and by Dublin City Council. We are seeing Garda numbers increasing in Dublin. We are not allowed to mention the "B" word but I am sure as he is out and about in Dublin, the Deputy is seeing recognition from the community in Dublin around high-visibility policing and more Garda numbers.”
“The Minister for justice is not accountable in terms of where gardaí are deployed, which is only my best guess as to why that question would have been ruled out of order but, of course, the Government has an active interest in policing, Garda numbers and working with communities. I am very conscious that the community in Saggart - good decent people in Saggart - have asked Government for a number of investments in differences in their community, with high-visibility policing being just one. I will certainly follow that up with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and ask him to come back directly to the Deputy.”
“I certainly will. It is a very important issue. The National Ambulance Service plays a literally life-saving role right across our communities. I am proud of the work that we have done together in Government where we increased overall funding for the National Ambulance Service by 41% between 2022 and 2025. We increased staff, with 588 more staff to a total number of 2,655, and we invested €126 million in the ambulance fleet in those years as well. I will raise the ambulance service in Youghal and the commitment to the new ambulance training college there with the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and ask that she come back to the Deputy directly.”
“I fully do and I thank Deputy Currie for raising this issue. People who work hard should be able to get ahead and not just get by. Work must always pay. There are far too many people in this country who feel they play by the rules, do everything they possibly can, spend long times commuting, have childcare costs and the like and at the end of the month, they say "Is that it?" when they look at their payslip. We need to do better on that. We have a proud record on this. In 2015, you paid the higher rate of tax at just over €33,000. It is now €44,000. I want to see a personal income tax package in the next budget and in the next four budgets.”
“I thank the Deputy for her contribution and for acknowledging the additional gardaí, who are badly needed. We need to continue to increase the number of gardaí through Templemore. The Deputy is right that as we increase the number of gardaí, we need to make sure we have modern fit-for-purpose stations. The population of Swords is now much closer to the population of a city than that of a village. I welcome the fact that the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, said that he will visit. I certainly follow up with him on that.”
“I will certainly work with our colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and others on this to see if there is more we can pursue. I will come back to the Deputy on it.”
“I thank Deputy Roche for raising this issue. It is an interesting point. The primary focus of investments in the regional local road network is on the protection and renewal of them, which obviously plays a crucial role for communities, local economies and the likes. We have very significantly increased our funding on that. There is a discretionary grant under the regional and local road grant that can be used by councils for a wide range of works, including footpaths. Local authorities have that discretion from that grant allocation. I know some local authorities decide to do footpath programmes from that grant. The broader point the Deputy is making, when we are trying to encourage people to be active and the safety issues in rural Ireland in particular, is a valid one.”
“I know that traditionally Iarnród Éireann has chosen bank holiday weekends to undertake projects of significant scale because the extra weekend day allows it to achieve more progress more efficiently, rather than doing it over multiple weekends or inconveniencing weekday passengers and people who are going to work. Iarnród Éireann tells me it is standard international railway practice for bank holiday weekends to be used for works. I will ask the National Transport Agency, NTA, to work closely with Iarnród Éireann and Dublin Bus to see if any measures could be put in place to help mitigate that, including maybe increased capacity on bus routes. I will follow up with the Minister for Transport on that.”
“I thank Deputy Brabazon. I am a bit frustrated to hear they have not made progress more speedily on those Uisce Éireann works. I really appeal to Uisce Éireann, when Members of the Oireachtas, Government or Opposition, raise issues in this House to please take them seriously. Please, just take them seriously. Uisce Éireann is a State body and TDs raise issues here in good faith. When they raise them on the floor of the national Parliament, if Deputies could receive a comprehensive and meaningful response I would appreciate that. In regard to DART works more generally, it is a statement of the obvious that upgrade works and the likes cause a level of inconvenience. I accept and acknowledge that.”
“I have been at this long enough to know I never instruct my MEPs. They will each consider and scrutinise these issues well, but the Deputy highlights an important issue I will not pretend to be across all the details of. I will make myself familiar with it now on foot of the Deputy raising this and will engage with my own party MEPs in advance of that vote on Monday. I am happy to come back to the Deputy on this.”
“There is a need for fairness and if there are some rents local authorities do not believe meet that fairness test, there is a case to make sure they are set at an appropriate rate.”
“As the Deputy knows, the setting of rents is a matter for each local authority, quite rightly. We either believe in local democracy or we do not. We fund it well enough. We have set it up well enough. We have councillors elected right across the country and there are chief executives. It is up to each local authority to decide their situation. There is also a need for fairness in relation to rent. We provide a lot of social housing in this country and there is a need to make sure people are paying a fair rent as well. That is an important part of the social contract. There are many people looking for a home and trying to buy a home. There are many people in private rental accommodation. There are many people who have scraped and saved to buy their own home too.”
“I absolutely accept that when we live in a housing emergency people experience trauma. I also accept that we need to get private investment in to build houses and that not every house will be built by the taxpayer in this country. Private investment is a really important part of any sustainable housing market. We have a difference of view on that.”
“I do not accept that at all. What I accept is that we are seeing more tenancies in this country now than we did last year. We are seeing more landlords in the market now than we did last year. Yes, we did see a spike in notices of termination. That is a statement of fact. There are other statements of fact in the report the Deputy has not mentioned, including the very significant-----”
“I believe that with four budget left to go for this Government, the next budget needs to deliver a roadmap to get us from A to B and show how we will make that progress. I want childcare to be a major priority in the forthcoming budget.”
“I thank the Deputy. I believe that a proper publicly supported childcare system that works and has enough places, access and affordability is key, not just as an equality issue or a social issue - though it is both - but as an economic issue. It is an important issue. There is a consensus in this House, at least on the destination we want to get to. We have made progress. Any parent who uses the national childcare subsidy scheme knows that scheme provides more funding and support now than it used to. People know that core funding has increased. People know we are now investing more. For the first time, the State is now investing directly in publicly funded State facilities as well.”
“We have accountability. We have oversight as well. When the Deputy quotes selectively, it leads us to one view. When you look at the thing in the round, we see that many projects come in on time and on budget. Many come in under budget as well. We must continue to call out and highlight those areas where they do not and continue to ensure that they do better. The Deputy likes to create the view that every bit of investment in cycling or somewhere to park a bike is waste.”
“The Deputy says "no oversight, no accountability", but is that not exactly the role of the public accounts committee and is that not exactly why that information is in the public domain? It is because we have oversight.”
“I welcome the Deputy's legislation on facilitating that discussion on why that prohibition is there and if it needs to change. I note that the International Energy Agency, IEA, looked at some of this and published in December 2025 an independent expert assessment of our energy system with a specific focus on the role of the power sector to 2035. It is called Powering Ireland's Energy Future. It said Ireland had an opportunity to be a global leader in integrating variable renewable energies, particularly wind, into our energy system. It did not consider nuclear technology as feasible for inclusion in the Irish energy system in the timeframe out to 2035. However, let us have the debate. The Deputy's legislation is a constructive part of that.”
“Nobody in this House is irrelevant and we should all play a constructive role in debating. There are different views on this issue. Everyone brings their view. I said we did not have enough experts. My constituency colleague, Deputy Whitmore, may be much more expert on this, given her professional background, than I am. We should be hearing one another's ideas. That is the point I am making. We do not serve the people well when we shut down debates around issues as crucial as energy security and reduce those debates just to what we can do in the short term and the here and now. It is important to help people in the here and now, but people also want to know where we will get to. I have given my view on the primary prohibition in legislation. I do not think that serves the debate well.”
“I believe the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, is leading on developing an evidence base - that is helpful - for a pathway to decarbonise the Irish electricity system after 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The SEAI is considering a number of technologies, including small modular nuclear reactors, as part of that consideration of an evidence base. We need all the evidence and information. The first question is whether we want a primary legislative prohibition of that. There is some merit in debating that.”
“However, I am told that the development of traditional nuclear power plants can take many years and require the creation of an entire new regulatory system that does not exist in Ireland, and that there can be issues around construction, procurement, safe demolition and disposal of waste. I am not saying that I have fully bought into this idea but debating and considering ideas around energy security is not a bad thing. I am told by the Department of communications and energy that nuclear power might not practically be part of our national electricity production in this decade or, indeed, the next decade. I say that just to put these opinions on the table.”
“We can debate that, but I am not sure primary legislation in the 21st century needs to prohibit nuclear energy. Why can we not assess, consider and debate rather than having that legislative prohibition? That is my position. I do not believe we should have a legislative prohibition on nuclear technology and I do not think that serves policy debate well. In fact, it shuts down policy debate. Different people will have different views. That is my view and I am entitled to it. The programme for Government is clear on renewables. That has been the path we have been pursuing as a country. We are making good progress on that and need to make more progress. Here is where we get to the evidence piece. I am not an expert on energy. In fact, I think we could do with more expert voices on energy in the debate.”
“We can all commentate on what leaders of other countries do - that is not inconsequential - but we cannot necessarily change that. A conversation about energy security is extraordinarily important. We have a tendency - I am sure none of us is innocent of this - to list everything we are against: we are against this interconnector, that or the other. There is an onus on all of us to stop saying what we are against in terms of energy security and start saying what we are in favour of. Different people will have different views on that but I take that point, too. My gut feeling on this is I do not understand why we have a legislative prohibition on nuclear energy. There might be policy reasons why people do not wish to pursue it and practical reasons why it is not efficient.”
“I thank the Deputy for the question and I genuinely thank him for the positive contribution he is making to this debate. This is what politics is about. He made the point about the different views the Labour Party might have. It is a good thing to have debate on policy. We do not do enough of it in this House. Politics has become far too performative, shouty and headline-grabbing. The fact that the Deputy is coming forward with a Bill, has engaged with us on it and is asking people for their views on it is a good and positive thing that we should be doing as legislators. Comhghairdeas and gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta on that. Energy security is an important point because we have found ourselves, particularly in Ireland but more broadly across the European Union, very exposed to what happens very far away from our country.”
“However, the Deputy referenced specific issues, including storm damage and the impact of the war. We need to work our way through these in a methodical fashion. However, I have to make the point - and it is not specific to Tipperary - that we cannot have a situation where local authorities find themselves surprised by adverse weather, climate change and storms. Sometimes things can be worse than we expect but we need to get better at planning and factoring into our roads budget and other budgets that damage can happen to infrastructure due to adverse weather. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy.”
“I can confirm this morning that we are working our way through the various impacts of the storm damage and we will continue to engage on that. I also acknowledge that the Government has been increasing public funding. I am not directing this at the Deputy but I hear public bodies speaking as though they are speaking at a time of reduction, while public spending has only gone in one direction and that is up. I absolutely assure the Deputy that Tipperary County Council has received more support across a variety of funding heads from this Government than it did in previous years. I also acknowledge the funding we provided for the main street in Tipperary town and the ongoing works on the N24 from Cahir to Limerick. I think €2.7 million was allocated to that.”
“We cannot chase inflation. We need to be careful that we do not do anything to worsen the situation but we will continue to do all we can to support State agencies and local authorities in the delivery of projects. On foot of the Deputy raising this, I will specifically ask that the Minister for Transport consider the submissions made by Tipperary County Council and come back to the Deputy directly.”
“In my county, significant damage was done to roads as well. There is often a churn, if I can describe it as that, in capital spending, where there is often an ability to allocate and reallocate capital spending to these areas. We will have to have an honest conversation. I do not mean this to be critical of councils at all but unfortunately rare weather events are not very rare any more. Therefore, as we set out our budgets each year for roads, we will need to be conscious of the proportion set aside or ring-fended for the inevitability of some adverse weather. We need to get a bit better at doing that so we do not find ourselves somewhat surprised by the sadly more frequent adverse weather events. More broadly, on the issue of the impact of the war on costs, this is something the Government is having to review right across the system.”
“Some parts of the country were more impacted by that than others. On top of that, there is the absolute truth that when commodity prices rise, inflation rises and the cost of doing something increases. We have seen figures out today that show the consumer price index rising again. The war on Iran, apart from to the horrific humanitarian consequences of war and conflict, is not consequence free in terms of economics and costs. I accept that local authorities through no fault of their own are having to deal with this as well. As a Government, we will continue to keep these issues under review. At the moment we are working with local authorities specifically on the issue of storm damage and have asked for submissions to be sent in by local authorities. They will be assessed as speedily as possible.”
“I thank Deputy Healy for raising the issue of roads, road maintenance, the quality of roads and, quite rightly, the implications that can have on road safety. The Government has increased the level of funding provided for roads. I will follow up specifically with the Minister on what the Deputy said about Tipperary and the council's submission to the Department. The budget for regional roads is around €718 million, which is higher than in previous budgets, and I think we allocated to Tipperary County Council just over €49 million as part of that. Quite a lot of it is for the renewal and protection of regional and local roads. However, the Deputy is not wrong to highlight two challenges that councils are facing through no fault of their own. The first is the significant periods of adverse weather we had.”
“They are a very important part of our economic model, literally fuelling jobs, economic growth and taxation across the country, and the Deputy will come in next week with an idea for how I should spend the taxes. Before we spend money in Ireland, we have to generate it. The National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, gave a very significant warning to the Oireachtas today. When was the last time anyone came into the House with an idea as to how to grow the economy rather than just spend more money? We will look at more ideas around solar in the time ahead. We have already taken action. There are more people qualifying for fuel allowance and household benefits than ever before. We are reducing the excise on diesel and petrol and there are support schemes for farmers and hauliers. We are not having a mini-budget every Thursday.”
“I have loads to say for myself, I can assure the Deputy. I am in a Government and leading a party in a Government that is managing to see emissions fall in this country for three years in a row while growing the economy, creating more jobs, seeing wages rise and seeing more homes built. It is entirely possible to do more than one thing at a time in government. It is not fair to say that we are not making progress when it comes to climate. We objectively are. We are proving that despite the ideology of some, it is possible to grow the economy in a sustainable way. I have never bought into the view that it is a choice between one or the other. Yes, we need to protect the planet but we also need to make sure that people have jobs. These data centres are not the bogeyman the Deputy likes to paint them as.”
“We have to continue to grow our economy and not suggest it is a choice between being on the side of the planet or of economic growth. It is possible to do both. This country is proof of that. The Social Democrats have put forward constructive ideas on what more we could be doing around solar power, and we will give consideration to them in the time ahead.”
“Ireland now has its lowest level of greenhouse gas emissions in 35 years, which is notable, given the fact that our population has increased by 1.5 million people in that time, there are 1 million new homes and there are 1 million extra vehicles on our roads. We are making progress. We have seen electricity generation from renewables increase fivefold since 2005. In February, which was only a couple of months ago, wind energy provided a record 50% of our electricity and Ireland has reached a record circa 8 GW of renewable generation capacity, up from only 4.8 GW in 2020. We are objectively making real progress in terms of our switch to renewables. That is true. The Deputy is not saying it, but all too often, it is a question of do we want this or that.”
“There has been a very significant increase this year and last year in the number of people looking to get windows or doors replaced or to get solar panels. That is going in the right direction. I am not suggesting that the Deputy is, but we can sometimes be fatalistic about climate, climate action and our ability to make progress. We saw the most recent emissions report of the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, in recent days confirming progress for this country. Ireland's recorded overall greenhouse gas emissions have reduced for a third consecutive year. We have managed to grow the economy and reduce our carbon emissions, proving that it is not a choice between economic growth and climate sustainability. We saw a decrease of 6.8% in 2023 and a further decrease of 2% in 2024.”
“Some of the Social Democrats’ ideas around solar - I think I said this last week - merit further consideration. We as a Government will be looking at what more can be done in the budget in October to assist with what is an energy crisis for the world and an energy affordability crisis for many people. We have taken a number of measures in the here and now to try to assist people with fuel prices. The Minister, Deputy Heydon’s fuel support scheme for farmers is an example, with more than 3,000 people applying so far. There is the scheme for hauliers and the reduction in the cost of fuel at the pump. There have also been the changes made by the Minister, Deputy O’Brien, in terms of retrofitting grants, which we are seeing good responses to.”
“I thank Deputy O’Callaghan. I will come back at a time when we have longer than three minutes to debate my party’s record in government, but I will debate it anywhere, with anybody, at any time in terms of the state we inherited this country in in 2011, the progress we have collectively made with our coalition colleagues since then, and the progress this country has seen across a whole variety of economic and social issues. Perhaps that is for another day, but I am not going to have a widespread, snide slur made on the record of my party. The Deputy is right on the need to do more when it comes to renewable energy. I have already said in this House that, to be fair, the Deputy’s party has put forward ideas that definitely merit consideration.”
“However, that is different to making comments grouping people based on race, religion or ethnicity. I am quite sure it was unintentional but those comments have caused significant hurt to a significant number of people who make a very fine contribution to our public services and society. It is up to individuals what they wish to do, but I am quite sure, knowing Bertie Ahern, that he did not intend that harm and, therefore, he should reflect on it further.”
“Are there by-elections on, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle? Sorry - I will certainly respect the rules of the House and take that point, but I also take the serious point the Deputy made because it is a serious issue. There are people feeling hurt today and we have to acknowledge that. I feel very strongly that we have to facilitate – the Deputy suggested ways we could do this and it is worth exploring those – ways of being able to debate migration in this country. That is a legitimate and important part of our democracy. We will all have different views, for example, on whether we should opt into the EU asylum pact. We believe we should, some people do not. We have different views and that is fine. That is politics and policy. It is evidence and debates that we will follow and work our way through. That is what we should be doing in this House.”
“I am sure that was not the intention. I certainly hope it was not the intention. I am sure it was not. It is important that everyone in this House, of all parties and none, is united in terms of being very clear on our views in this regard.”
“He said it is important to discuss the challenges facing the country openly and honestly, that it is important to do so in a democracy and that we should always be willing to do it but that we should avoid the kind of rhetoric that would seek to scapegoat an entire community. We benefit hugely from people who come here and make Ireland their home. They are working in our public services, including, as Deputy Bacik mentioned, as nurses, doctors and healthcare assistants. Hospitals would not function without people coming here. We are a better country as a result of people coming here. As I said, it is perfectly legitimate to debate migration policy and the systems we have. However, we should never group people based on religion, nationality or race. The former Taoiseach's comments have caused hurt and harm.”
“Having people come here to work or study contributes to our country and makes our republic better and more complete. Of course, as I said, we can have sensible and rational discussions on migration policy. The same is happening in every country in the world. That is different. However, it is never acceptable to single out an entire group of people based on their race, ethnicity or religion. That only serves to demonise or stigmatise a group of people and it is not a helpful contribution; in fact, it is hurtful. I was struck by the comments by the chief imam of the Islamic Centre of Ireland, Shaykh Dr. Umar Al-Qadri, that Mr. Ahern's remarks were offensive to all immigrants.”
“Anyone who comes to Ireland seeking asylum from outside the EU or outside the EEA should be treated humanely and in accordance with international law. They have a right to be here and their application should be processed quickly. We have been trying to do our bit to ensure faster processing times. Of course, as per the point the Deputy is making, most people who come to Ireland do not come through the international protection system. They come through a whole variety of other ways, legitimately and legally, to play a positive role in our country. I take up the opportunity the Deputy has afforded, as I hope will everyone in the House, to recognise the very positive contribution those people make to Irish society and the Irish economy.”
“At the outset, while respecting the rules of the House in relation to by-elections, let me say that I absolutely deplore, condemn and abhor any racism directed towards any candidate in this democracy. I want to be very clear in relation to the comments of the former Taoiseach: they were not appropriate and they were wrong. It absolutely is perfectly legitimate in this country - in fact, I would even go so far as to say it is essential - that we debate migration policy. No one has an issue with that. It is important to debate it. We might have different views and perspectives on it, and that is okay. It is important that we debate the laws and systems around migration. No one has an issue with that. The policy of the Government has been clear.”
“Whatever way the wind blows, Pearse goes. The problem is it does not add up. He wants to get rid of all the taxes and he wants more spending. He wants a mini-budget every week. Sinn Féin says it wants more affordable and available rental supply, yet Deputies opposite vote against every measure we bring forward. They are not even capable of responsible Opposition, which is why the people have never put them in government.”
“No, I do not accept it. Of course, Deputy Doherty wants people to give up hope and to give up on this country because his politics thrives on that negativity and divisiveness. However, the people are much more reasonable than him. They know we are building more homes than the EU average. They know that Ireland delivered the strongest rate of new housing completions across 19 countries in the EU in 2024. They can see the homes and the cranes. They can see the figures. They know there are more first-time buyers than at any time since 2007. They know there are more tenancies and that we are making progress. The reality is that all Deputy Doherty does each and every week is hop on the latest headline. While we are making serious policy decisions across a spectrum of housing challenges, he has no sense of direction.”
“More than 500 first-time buyers buy a first home every single week. When it comes to helping people in need of social housing, we have added over 85,000 new homes to the active social housing stock since 2016. We are building more social housing, with an additional 55,600 new-build social homes since 2016. Alongside that, we continue to keep supports in place, including the help-to-buy scheme, which the Deputy would get rid of, and the first home scheme, which he would get rid of as well. We have serious issues when it comes to housing but we are now seeing more homes being built. We see more people being able to access tenancies. We are seeing more landlords in the market. We see encouraging figures when it comes to commencement of planning. We will continue to drive that agenda forward and get 300,000 homes delivered by the end of 2030.”
“He knows that since 1 March last, there is a rent increase restriction in place nationwide on all tenancies and that rent increases are capped at the level of inflation to a maximum of 2% for existing tenancies. He also knows that we strengthened tenancy protections, improved security of tenure, introduced tenancies of minimum duration involving rolling six-year tenancies and effectively ended no-fault evictions by larger landlords. A point I would agree with the Deputy on is that it is about supply. We need to continue to build and provide more homes. We are doing just that. We have built 241,000 homes since 2016, 36,000 of them last year alone. The Deputy talked about first-time buyers and people having the right to buy their own home. More than 27,500 people bought their own home in 2025, which was the highest number since 2007.”