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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“I thank the Deputy for raising this. As he said, this is an issue I know affects his constituency and my own, the Minister of State's, Deputy Butler, and a lot of the south east. This is an issue that everybody wants to see resolved. I know it is an evolving situation but it is my understanding that further mediation is scheduled to take place today and it is possibly even happening now. It was scheduled to take place this morning. I am pleased that both Caredoc and the HSE have confirmed their attendance. It is important that everybody puts their shoulder to the wheel to find a resolution here. Everybody, including those on the Government and HSE side, needs to show a bit of common sense in trying to find a way forward. I urge every party to the dispute to work really hard in the hours ahead through mediation to try to resolve this.”
“The Deputy is one of the over 60 TDs who are here for their first Christmas and through their first calendar year as well. I wish her a happy Christmas. Politics aside, I know everybody works very hard in the Oireachtas and it has been a busy first year. I thank the Deputy for bringing the facility on the South Circular Road to my attention. I will raise that directly with the Minister for housing and the Minister of State with responsibility for planning, Deputy John Cummins. The Deputy's point is valid. People are trying to get back on their feet and we have to make sure standards and designs reflect that as well. I will ask either the Minister or the Minister of State to come back to the Deputy directly.”
“Truthfully, there has not been a change I am aware of but obviously, the Deputy is seeing a reality in the system in terms of the cases he has outlined. I will send a transcript of what Deputy said to the Minister for housing and ask that he looks at it and comes back to the Deputy directly.”
“Very respectfully, on three or four occasions in the House today, I have outlined the Government's position as the Taoiseach did this morning as well. The programme for Government is clear. We have significant concerns about the agreement in its current form. We will work with like-minded countries to oppose it in its current form. Those two pieces of work are ongoing. It is not prudent or sensible to have a vote on this in advance of Christmas. I share the position of French on that. I was in the Deputy's constituency very recently and I visited Kylemore Farmhouse. I met a number of farmers, including the chair of Galway IFA, and discussed this with them. I know the concerns of farmers are real and serious about this.”
“I thank the Deputy and Nollaig shona dó. On the points he made about the Mercosur deal, they are points made by the Taoiseach, myself, the Minister for agriculture and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. Farmers in Ireland have expressed very serious views. The Irish Farmers' Journal has revealed concerning information, as the Deputy said, following its trip to Brazil as well. As the Taoiseach said this morning, we now see safeguards have been published. We need to have a greater understanding of them but also of any additionality or further work that can be done about that. There should not be a rush into a quick vote on this. We are continuing to work with like-minded countries that share our significant concerns. We continue to ascertain if a blocking minority exists as well. Our programme for Government commitment remains.”
“I recall during my time in the Department of higher education, I visited the Drogheda Institute of Further Education, DIFE. There are big plans for expansion there with the apprenticeship centre so lots of good work is happening. The direct answer to the Deputy's question, in terms of driving it forward and continuing to bring the agencies together, is that will now fall to the auspices of the new Louth local community partnership to make sure it builds on that progress. Perhaps in the new year, we could engage and meet with the partnership or relevant State agencies on how to take that forward.”
“I thank Deputy Butterly for raising this issue. I have seen at first hand the benefit of the work that was done by the Drogheda Implementation Board, which formally came to an end on 31 December 2024, having had its term extended. The board produced a very good report, Drogheda: Creating a Bridge to a Better Future, which had 74 recommendations. They were really under two headings: the need for improved interagency co-operation and the need to resource additional services. I am pleased that over the lifetime of the board, 70 posts were created to drive forward implementation. Twenty three of these are permanent posts while others are funded on a long-term basis by a variety of Departments. In addition to this, €31 million of direct funding was committed to support the posts or capital projects.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue relating the Navan Road schools. I can hear the frustration in his voice on behalf of those schools. I will certainly speak with the Minister, Deputy Naughton about timelines and next steps and ask her to revert to him directly.”
“The Garda authorities have confirmed that there were 52 instances in 2024 and 67 instances to date in 2025 where the detention or seizure of an e-scooter was linked to a crime incident other than a road traffic offence. We have the regulations. We need to see enforcement. We also need commonsense here. People need to stop purchasing these for minors.”
“The Road Traffic Act 1994 (Detention of Powered Personal Transporters) Regulations 2024 came into operation on 20 May 2024. These regulations give gardaí the power to detain, remove and store powered personal transporters such as e-scooters that are in contravention of road traffic laws. E-scooters can be legally used on public roads only if they meet the technical and usage requirements. The requirements for an e-scooter to be used on public roads include that it has a maximum design speed of 20 km/h, a maximum contentious rated power output of 400W or less and a maximum weight of 25 kg. Since the introduction of the regulations 1,002 fixed-charge notices have been issued for e-scooter-related offences, as of 13 November this year. Gardaí had seized, as of the same date, 744 e-scooters this year as compared to 326 last year.”
“I wish the Deputy a happy Christmas too and thank him for raising this very serious issue. It is very timely because when we turn on our radios at the moment, we all hear the very chilling advertisements from emergency department consultants and ICU consultants in children's hospitals reminding us of the law in relation to e-scooters but also, on a purely human level, of the absolute devastation that children and others can experience as a result of accidents involving e-scooters. A report by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland published earlier this month found that e-scooters are now the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries to children at Temple Street hospital. That needs to be a stark and worrying reminder for all of us this Christmas. I am particularly conscious of that, as we approach Christmas.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge that this is something that has been going on for quite a significant period and it is understandable that people want to a resolution to this as quickly as possible. When I leave the Chamber I will ask the Minister for communications for a direct update on the timeline in relation to that and he will make contact with the Deputy on that later today.”
“That is just a detail in terms of how we grapple with these things but what we are considering, and what we are committing to, is helping to provide housing for key staff, starting in Dublin. Some work has been done on that. For example, hospitals have land banks and partnering with the likes of the LDA could provide opportunities to assist with housing pressures for key workers, starting with our capital city. Any allowances are a matter for public sector pay talks.”
“I thank the Deputy for making the effort today with his Christmas jumper and for injecting a degree of Christmas cheer into this place. I wish him, his family, colleagues and staff a very happy Christmas too. The factual answer in relation to a Dublin allowance is that all of these issues are matters for pay agreements. It is for the unions and the Government side to bring proposals to the table. While I tend not to comment on public pay policy outside of those agreements, I would just say, as a Wicklow TD, that one of the reasons that I often hear pushback is that if one lives on the border of where an allowance is in place, it all of a sudden becomes a lot more attractive to be a teacher in Dublin than in Kildare, for example, represented by the Minister, Deputy James Lawless, or Wicklow.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. Nobody wants to see anybody on hunger strike or to see anybody get ill arising from that. I note he took the opportunity of the presence of the British ambassador in the House today to raise his concerns in relation to this. I will also relay those concerns to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.”
“As a policy measure, without getting into the legality of the politics, we continue to see homeless numbers rise and that is why we are taking a different approach now in terms of child and family homelessness, social housing allocation and in relation to the scheme the Minister, Deputy Browne, has put in place to acquire larger homes from local authorities and a ring-fenced fund. We will continue to do this work every day and in the days, weeks and months ahead.”
“The rules of the House are one thing but Deputy Hearne is rightly highlighting a very important issue. As a constituency TD, I absolutely do consider this. I also consider it as the Tánaiste. Everybody in this House considers what more we can and must do in relation to child and family homelessness. We have different policy perspectives that we debate in this House. It is not a question of people ignoring each other. I hope it is not. We all need to be better than that. When we had the eviction ban in place, we did still see homelessness rise.”
“We will work on that, and we should work across this Dáil to see how we can use the opportunity of having the EU Presidency to really put a focus on housing. Housing is an emergency in Ireland. That is absolutely the case but it is also very interesting when we all engage at a European level to see that it is also an emergency in many European countries. There is a role for the European Union to play in dealing with the emergency and it is also a very sensible suggestion that we learn from each other as member states.”
“I wish a happy Christmas to the Deputy, her family and her Labour Party colleagues. I too welcome the developments at an EU level this week. I acknowledge the contribution of her party colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. She will also understand why I acknowledge the contribution of Regina Doherty, who is on that committee in the European Parliament. We now have a housing Commissioner and a committee of the Parliament on housing. We do have plans to host an EU housing summit. The jury is still slightly out on whether that will fall to the Cypriot Presidency or the Irish Presidency, but the main thing is that it be held. I would like it to be held during the Irish Presidency if at all possible. The Government would like that as well.”
“We are establishing a Food Vision seafood group for a whole-of-government mechanism to assess what sustainable supports for the sector look like. The Department of Finance will engage constructively with the work as it progresses. We need to look at short-term resilience and long-term sustainability measures in coastal communities. There is also a broader issue involving looking at the European fisheries policy as well. We were talking about qualified majority and minority voting. The Irish text on the Hague preferences did not even make the final compromise text because of a blocking minority led by France, supported by the Netherlands, Germany, Poland and Belgium. We will work very closely on this. I am happy to work on a cross-party basis too.”
“It has been, but it is important we are honest with fishermen. I would like to know which fishing representative body does not feel that I showed up or that the Taoiseach showed up, considering I met them, and I was in touch directly with the European Commission. The Taoiseach met them, as did the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, a dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries, and the senior Minister, Deputy Heydon. Deputy Doherty is right that this is a devastating blow for fisheries but it is also a devastating blow we should try and work collaboratively on. The Deputy represents a constituency that is very significantly impacted by this, as are other constituencies, but I do acknowledge the particular impact in Donegal. We must and we will examine all options available.”
“On foot of the Deputy raising this today, I will ask the Minister, Darragh O'Brien, and TII to engage with him and other Oireachtas Members from Roscommon, and also perhaps to engage with Roscommon County Council, on what more can be done in the time ahead to build on a number of projects that we have, thankfully, already funded and some that are under construction.”
“I thank Deputy Daly. He has outlined to us quite correctly a number of the challenges being faced in terms of the road infrastructure in Roscommon, Boyle and the region, whether the heavy volume of traffic or the safety issues, which are really important. I am struck by how every morning, including today, we wake up, look at our newspapers and news bulletins and see more fatalities and tragedies on Irish roads. We think today of all of those people, in particular the families at Christmas as well. Investing in roads should always be seen as a safety issue, as well as the congestion issues that arise, as outlined by the Deputy, in towns, including the pinch points in Roscommon town and Boyle.”
“There are more opportunities to look at how we can make more investment in the road network in Roscommon and, indeed, the west.”
“This year funding was allocated for a number of road safety improvement schemes on the N61, including in Boyle, Castlerea and Strokestown. In addition, funding was allocated for junction improvement works at a number of other locations. I also welcome and acknowledge the continued progress that is being made on the N5 project, which intersects with the N61. Construction of this project is now progressing at pace and is currently on track for completion in 2027. While we have published the national development plan and sectoral investment plans that is not the final word in terms of investment in transport or, indeed, any area. Sectoral plans highlight some of the major plans from a funding point of view. For example, each year TII publishes an annual investment plan as well.”
“The national secondary route is categorised as being of medium length, serving as a connecting road between the principal towns and linking the national primary routes together to form a homogenous network. The N61 route is of technical medium length and functions such as the connection between the principal towns in the regions and links to an existing network of national primary routes, including the N6 in Athlone, the N5 at Tulsk, which I am pleased to say is currently undergoing significant upgrade works, and the N4 at Boyle. The N61 performs the role of a national secondary route. I am informed by the authorities they believe it is correctly classified as such. I do, however, recognise the importance of the N61 for people in Roscommon. The Deputy has made that point very clear to us today.”
“Projects listed in the sectoral investment plan include the N4 Carrick-on-Shannon bypass and traffic management project and the N17 Knock to Collooney project as well. Specifically, on the issue of the N61 classification, I am informed the Department of Transport and TII have previously discussed the N61 Athlone to Boyle road passing through Roscommon town. It was agreed that the N61 from Athlone to Boyle performs the function of a national secondary road and does not warrant reclassification. I am happy to tease through that with the Deputy and engage with the Minister on that. For context, a national primary road is categorised as being a long-distance through route providing connection with principal cities and large towns or providing access to category 1 commercial sea ports and State airports.”
“I thank Deputy Daly for raising this important matter. I assure him, as he knows, that this Government is absolutely committed to ensuring high-quality regional connectivity in the west. We have demonstrated that by the progression of a number of projects, including the project on the N5 in recent years. The recently published sectoral investment plan for transport reaffirms the NDP commitment to deliver many new roads across the State. The era of not building roads is over and the national development plan shows that. Even electric vehicles need roads to go on as do buses. There are road safety issues. The mothballing of road projects is ending and the building of new road projects is commencing alongside a very significant and important investment in public transport which also matters. It should not be a case of either-or.”
“That work is ongoing. The Deputy has a job to do and he does it well, I do not say that critically. However, the Irish Government has to work behind the scenes diplomatically and engage with those like-minded countries. I can absolutely assure the Deputy that work is under way.”
“Sure. We have very serious concerns about the Mercosur agreement. Some of what we have seen in the Irish Farmers’ Journal heightens that concern. The Deputy is right. However, to be honest to farmers, we have always said that Ireland on its own cannot stop Mercosur. It is about like-minded countries and whether there is critical mass.”
“First, if we have not let me join with France in saying I do not believe the vote should take place in the calendar year 2025. I also do not believe it will because unless everybody is saying very different things in different countries, I believe there is currently a blocking minority in relation to Mercosur. I share the French position that there should not be a vote on Mercosur this side of Christmas. I do not see the issue as one of sides but in terms of what is the outcome. Is the outcome that there is enough of a qualified majority vote to stop the agreement being passed or not? Ireland certainly will not be the one to dissolve that blocking minority - far from it.”
“Will that be their position when it ultimately comes to a vote in Europe? The programme for Government states that we should oppose it in its current form and work with like-minded countries, and that is what we are going to continue to do. We are working on a variety of issues for farmers and for the fishery sector at European level. We had a disastrously negative outcome on fisheries in Europe last week. The Government is going to have to respond as to how we can support that sector too. Our position on the Mercosur deal remains as per the programme for Government.”
“Ireland is working with like-minded countries, which currently have a blocking minority on the Mercosur deal. We have significant concerns about the deal in its current form. We do not intend to do anything that ends the blocking minority. However, I am obliged to ask whether everybody in that group of like-minded countries remains resolute in their opposition. It is absolutely appropriate that the Taoiseach, the Minister for trade, the Minister for agriculture, myself and everybody else in the Government should continue to work with those like-minded countries to ascertain when a vote actually comes what way we, Italy, France and other countries will vote. While I do not mean this rudely, the Deputy is saying with great certainty that we should join with Italy, join with France and join with others.”
“The idea that there could be a vote today or tomorrow does not seem to be the case. The Deputy asked - I do not doubt that he did so in all sincerity - asked if we will stick with this, that and the other country. The God's honest truth is, and I have said this to farmers in Galway, Clare and elsewhere - I would say it to farmers anywhere - whether the blocking majority still exists is the key question. Unlike others in this House, the Deputy never engages in performative politics. Is there a blocking minority? The Deputy picks up on newspaper reports that this country is thinking of changing its position. I have read in international media that maybe Italy or France are going to vote a particular way. Neither country has indicated that it is changing its position.”
“Let me try. I thank Deputy Fitzmaurice for raising the issue. It is highly unlikely that there will be a vote before the end of the year. That is indicative of the fact that I do not believe that the blocking minority has disappeared. The programme for Government sets out two things. It states that Government will oppose the Mercosur deal in its current form and, I am paraphrasing here, that we will work with like-minded countries in relation to that. The Government has significant concerns regarding the Mercosur deal in its current form. In Brussels this morning, the Taoiseach made it clear that while there have been some safeguards produced, we need to see more. I believe he used the word "additionality" in that regard. The work continues. That is the first point.”
“The issue relating to three-and four-bedroom homes is a legitimate one. The local authorities and the Government recognise that. The release valve for that is the €100 million in 2026 and €50 million in 2025. The Deputy's argument that we should do more is one we can keep under review. The bigger issue, though, is that should we build more in order to make sure there is a better composition and mix of the number of bedrooms in each home built.”
“A whole series of new measures will be coming into place for 2026, as the Deputy knows. On the 9% VAT rate for apartments, we debated these financial resolutions here. That measure does not just benefit developers - although I am pleased it is benefiting people who are building more private apartments because we need more private supply and private investment - it also benefits AHBs. It will benefit people in the Deputy's constituency and mine who want to build apartments which will be made available to approved housing bodies and which will take people off the housing lists. I accept we have lots more to do, but it is not question of whether we should spend money on our national security or spend money on housing. This is a wealthy country which has an ability and obligation to do both. I will finish on a note of harmony.”
“I find myself conflicted. I agree with the Deputy on some points but some of the others are not of a fair reflection. We have taken a number of measures to try to protect people in their tenancies. When this Government, albeit a different version, came to office in January, I do not think many people on the Opposition benches predicted that we were going to extend the rent-pressure zones, make them permanent and make them nationwide. We did that. We also brought in a very comprehensive suite of protections-----”
“The amounts we have invested in homelessness prevention have prevented very many families from entering homelessness. We need to continue to do all we can on this.”
“There are some signs that the initiative is having a positive impact in that families in long-term homelessness are now being provided with homes by their local authorities. As we develop social housing, local authorities need to ensure that the mix, in terms of the number of bedrooms, is correct too. We have provided the largest ever housing budget in the history of the State for next year. The housing plan refers to the provision of 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable housing supports, along with the overall figure of 300,000 homes. When it comes to capital, to trying to remove blockages and to instructing, demanding, working and collaborating with local authorities in terms of zoning and providing more land, we are engaging. We are providing substantial financial support.”
“From memory, it is a statement of fact that the huge need was in relation to one-bedroom units. It is also a statement of fact, however, that a family in homelessness requires more than one bedroom. In fairness, that is why the Minister, Deputy Browne, has put in place the ring-fenced fund to allow local authorities to acquire, at least in the first instance and here and now, larger properties. Figures I have to hand indicate we are beginning to see the benefit of this already. Fifty million euro has been allocated to eight city and county councils with the highest numbers of homeless families – people who have been in emergency accommodation for 24 months or longer, as said by the Deputy. In addition, a further €100 million will be allocated in this regard in 2026.”
“It is a stain on our society owing to the need to do much more. The issue of people experiencing domestic violence was raised in this House not that long ago, perhaps by Deputies Farrell and O'Reilly. Reference was made to people fleeing domestic violence who seek to move from one local authority area to another. The Deputies were right that it is bizarre that someone could not take their place on the list with them. That has now been fixed, or is certainly in the process of being fixed, by way of a letter from the Minister to the local authorities. This is an example of a constructive measure we can take together. I thank the Deputies for that. What I want people to know is that we are taking a number of measures to try to assist people in the here and now. The Deputy's point on one- and two-bedroom houses has some validity.”
“My apologies. Many groupings are represented, and I am sure the voices of the Deputies opposite will be heard. That is the forum at which this needs to be resolved. The Government may have corresponded previously on this with the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. We should engage on this and we are happy to do so. I thank the Deputy for putting a human face on the issue of homelessness. He was right to do so because we can lose sight of the human faces during the debate or in statistics. Mentioning the stories of Saoirse, Julianne and Caoimhe makes this matter very real to us. All of us, as TDs living in a country going through a housing emergency, could name people we know in our constituencies who are experiencing the scourge or stain of homelessness, including family homelessness.”
“On the Oireachtas TV unit, we should work together on this issue. To be clear, however, it is one for the Oireachtas Commission, on which all political groupings are represented. It is not an issue of Government-----”
“We have to consider all these issues in the round. Yes, we have seen far too many children in homelessness and emergency accommodation. That is a statement of fact. We are not where we need to be. That is why I have outlined how we intend to take specific actions under the new national housing plan. It is why the Minister, Deputy Browne, has taken measures to provide ring-fenced funding to local authorities in order that they can specifically buy homes, but only on the understanding that those homes will be allocated to families experiencing homelessness. We are trying innovative things. While the numbers are still too high, we have seen more children exit homelessness this year than in previous years. We are working to get more people out of homelessness. This is a major issue.”
“My apologies if the Deputy thought I had not acknowledged the damaging effect of homelessness on a child. Of course I acknowledge it. It is a statement of fact. The Government works constructively with local authorities and others night and day to try to remove children from homelessness. I wish to make a statistical point, but I do not make it to take away from the seriousness of the issue, because all children must be protected and all people in homelessness need to be supported. The point is that the growth of our population has also had a direct impact on the numbers. That can be seen in the published monthly data. We have to have a serious debate about this. The population of this country has grown by around seven times the EU average at a time when we have an acute supply issue in relation to housing.”
“The national development plan, read alongside the material on the new reforms around infrastructure delivery and the housing plan, will make a real and meaningful difference. We are seeing some encouraging signs in relation to housing supply, completions, planning permissions and first-time buyers. There are positive indicators regarding all of these metrics. However, I certainly do not stand here this Christmas suggesting that we are anywhere near where we need to be on homelessness, particularly in relation to children. The social housing allocation model should be revised in accordance with action 5.7 of the housing plan. That is something I genuinely want to see prioritised in the weeks and months ahead.”
“However, I do not believe we are seeing enough of those homes allocated to children and families in long-term homelessness. Some local authorities have tried some innovative things in this area. There is a lot more work that needs to be done. I say to everybody requiring a home and wanting to see progress on the housing emergency this Christmas and as we go into 2026 that this Government is putting an extraordinary level of public funding behind the delivery of housing. Our new national housing plan and the national development plan show just that. We must ensure that we have zero tolerance for the bureaucracy and red tape that delay the delivery of much-needed homes and the infrastructure to provide them.”
“We had a meeting of the Cabinet committee on housing this week. At it, we heard directly from the CCMA, the representative group with responsibility for representing chief executives of local authorities. I specifically referenced to them at that meeting action 5.7 of the Government's housing plan, which talks about social housing allocations needing to prioritise children in long-term homelessness. It is due back through the Department of housing early in 2026. I urge all of us - I make this as a non-partisan point - with our network of councillors across the country to look at how social allocation schemes for local authorities prioritise children in relation to homeless. I accept that we need to build more social homes, and we will do so, but we are also now providing more social homes than at any time since the 1970s.”
“We have delivered in less than a year of the Government being in office a record national development plan of €275.4 billion that can be invested in projects across the country that will protect our country now and into the future, planning reform, rent protection nationwide, expansion of vacant property grants, free schoolbooks, hot school meals, funding for DEIS plus to help our most vulnerable children, the national broadband plan rolled out ahead of time and on budget, surgical hubs, free HRT and the national education therapy service now established. I wanted to reference some of them to balance the ledger. The Deputy is also right to highlight this Christmas that there are still far too many people who are homeless in this country, and particularly far too many children.”