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 Deputy O'Callaghan. I wish him, his family, his Social Democrats colleagues and everybody a happy Christmas. I think the broadcasting issue he mentioned is a matter for the Oireachtas rather than directly a matter for the Government. As the leader of a political party in the Oireachtas, I am happy to engage with other parties in relation to the issue of the Oireachtas broadcast workers. It is hard to disagree with the Deputy's analysis of the situation. I would be happy to have follow-up conversations with him on that. When you started doing the report card and you said you were going to do achievements and critiques, I thought you would give us a few on the plus side. Considering you did not, I will mention one or two.”
“That is why James Browne and I are working to have an equity finance scheme working with ISIF and Irish banks to make more loans available for small builders; it is why we are changing how water treatment facilities can be delivered by allowing developers to deliver them for small schemes in rural Ireland; it is why we have a new national planning framework; and it is why we brought forward an accelerating infrastructure task force with radical recommendations to deliver infrastructure in a faster way. Yes, there is a lot more work to do on housing but as we end 2025, it is a statement of fact that planning permissions are up, completions are up and the number of first-time buyers is up this year on last year.”
“You went into last year's election promising people an average €300,000 home in Dublin, but you could not tell us how you were going to pay for it or make it happen. We are all working to try to improve the housing situation. Here are some facts: planning permissions are up this year and last year; there have been more first-time buyers this year than last year; and there have been more home completions so far this year than last year. These are positive signs that the investment this State is making, coupled with the reforms in infrastructure delivery, are delivering more homes for our people. Yes, there is much more to do.”
“There is a lot of work to do but there are more first-time buyers - talking about people living in box bedrooms - drawing down mortgages now than at any time in recent years, up 22% year on year.”
“It is why even today the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, has signed an order to continue planning exemptions for the conversion of vacant commercial properties into homes, extending it to 2028 before making it ultimately a permanent exemption. We have seen some encouraging figures. Yes, there are too many people in box bedrooms, of that there is no doubt, but completions are up. The latest CSO figures released only on 23 October showed 9,235 new dwellings completed in July, August and September, a rise of 4%. We saw 24,325 new dwellings completed in the first three quarters of the year, up 13% on the same period last year. More apartments have been completed this year than last year. Figures from the CSO last week show a very significant increase in planning permissions.”
“It is one of the reasons that, in the ESRI report today, it is expecting consumer spending to grow further in 2026, even though it has already grown in 2025. Housing remains the biggest challenge this country faces, of that there is no doubt. We are working to fix housing once and for all. We actually have to do it rather than just make barbs. That is perhaps the difference between us and you. It is why we have already taken a number of steps, extended the lifetime of planning permissions and brought in measures to make developments viable again which Sinn Féin opposes at each and every opportunity.”
“In relation to the disposable incomes question, he made the very clear point, which I would echo, that when we look at the fact that wages are growing in Ireland, and, thankfully, on average, wages are finally growing ahead of prices, that will have a positive impact on people's spending power and ability in 2026. That is not just my view. It is the view of my Department. It is the view of the ESRI. Yes, we have had to disentangle one-off measures. Yes, we have had to get back to a normal budget period. Yes, we cannot have a situation where we are running two budgets every year. One budget each year and to make progress over five budgets is what we have to do. Wages are now rising faster than prices for the first time in quite a while. That will help consumers. It will help families.”
“In relation to the ESRI report today, first, I welcome the report. We should take its advice very seriously. Of course, it does not just say what Deputy Doherty says it says, because it says quite a few things. It is very much ad idem with the Government on the need for a massive capital injection and acceleration of housing supply. It talks about the importance of delivering and implementing our infrastructure reforms as key enablers to deliver the housing. It also talks about the Irish economy continuing to perform robustly, and the fact that there will be more jobs in Ireland in 2026 than there were in 2025. It absolutely does highlight the need to do more in relation to housing. I should say, in case Deputy Doherty did not hear it, that the author of the report was on “Morning Ireland” this morning.”
“I particularly thank all of the people who are behind the scenes but who work so hard, the staff who keep the place running, day in, day out - the ushers, the clerks, the secretaries, the chefs, the gardaí, the cleaners and so many people who think their work goes unseen. I want them to know that we see it, and we appreciate it as well. Christmas is a time of great excitement for children and a time of great celebration and joy for many. It is also a time when those experiencing grief and trauma can find it particularly lonely and painful. This Christmas, I think of all of those who find the Christmas period difficult. I wish everybody a happy break. Nollaig shona daoibh go léir. I thank Deputy Doherty. I wish him a good break too, and I look forward to normal back-and-forth commencing in January.”
“I begin by welcoming the British ambassador, H.E. Ms Kara Owens, to Leinster House. I wish her and all at the British embassy a very happy Christmas. I look forward to working with them, as our nearest and closest neighbours, in the time ahead. I join with my colleague, Deputy Timmins, in welcoming the sixth year history class students from Blessington Community College, County Wicklow, who are in the Visitors Gallery today. We look forward to progress on their much-awaited major school capital project in the time ahead. In the spirit of Christmas, I join with Deputy Doherty in wishing you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, and every Member of the House, their families and everybody who works in the House a very happy Christmas.”
“Extra funding is going directly into every primary school and every secondary school, and more funding is going into special education as well. We have a way to go on student fees but we are making a €500 permanent reduction. It will no longer be a question of "Will the Government, won't the Government?" before every budget. It is a permanent reduction. We are trying to build on that in the time ahead. I look forward to all of the debates we will have. Those are just some of my responses.”
“If we continue to keep our economy on the straight and narrow, continue to make sure that it is competitive and continue to be fiscally prudent, I believe we will be in a position to get back into that rhythm of being able to implement key commitments in the programme for Government around income tax and also other key areas around childcare. I will make a final point on public services. By any objective measure and reading of this budget, we have made conscious decisions to very significantly increase our funding of public services. To take disability alone, hundreds of millions of euro more have gone into disability services, and rightly. I see school children in the Gallery. Capitation fees are being increased for every school in Ireland from next year as well.”
“It is being used in the cities and we are now extending it to a number of other areas, including Athlone, Drogheda, Dundalk, Letterkenny, Sligo and others listed in the national planning framework. That will make a real difference. This budget needs to be seen, through the Finance Bill, in the round. It is instalment one of five. There will be four more budgets delivered in the lifetime of this Government. I am very conscious of the fact that we need to get back to a rhythm of a normal income tax packages in future budgets.”
“We cannot on the one hand say we need more rental properties and on the other demonise our landlords. We have to support people to continue to rent out homes and we have obviously taken a number of measures in terms of extending rent pressure zones, bans on no-fault evictions and the like, which are appropriate too. This Bill also extends mortgage interest tax relief in its current form for another year and makes sure the help to buy scheme is available in respect of properties that are built under the reduced VAT rate. It also extends the living city initiative. I had a debate in the other House in relation to the latter. The living city initiative is a scheme on the tax side to try to help bring derelict and vacant properties back into use.”
“Interestingly, approximately 89% of the applications - not the amount but the applications for the research and development tax credit - now come from Irish SMEs, which is really good. We need to do more to encourage Irish businesses to avail of that. As for the old landlords chestnut, I see that in a very different way. It is very hard to have a rental market without landlords. I see measures to help small landlords as a good thing. We recently heard from the County and City Management Association, CCMA, how hard it is to get things like the housing assistance payment to get properties outside of Dublin in particular. It is hard in Dublin but it is harder outside it. When we tease through that, one of the reasons is the lack of small landlords.”
“For a sector that employs approximately 150,000 people, and when we are seeing some softening in the labour force data, it is an appropriate thing to do. We have taken a number of measures in relation to research and development. There is always a good debate to be had about how we can make them as effective as possible and I genuinely look forward to engaging with this House on that in the time ahead. Yes, many of the research and development measures we have taken benefit FDI. That is a really good thing. Particularly in a world where there is such a high level of geopolitical and geo-economic headwinds, we want to continue to make this country a really competitive place in which to invest and create jobs that all our constituents benefit from.”
“I gave a clear commitment to them during the election, as did others, that if we were back in government we were going to do this. We were going to get out of the annual cycle of whether the Government would reduce the VAT rate to 9% and all the speculation that goes on for weeks and all the energy businesses have to put in to trying to lobby the Government. We are going to provide clarity and certainty because businesses need that clarity and certainty. I have absolutely no doubt, from talking to coffee shop owners and restaurateurs across the country, particularly in rural regional Ireland, that this measure will help them sustain employment and literally keep the lights on and doors open.”
“Last week the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland issued a report which said that before the measures we have introduced to try and make apartments viable there were six categories of apartments and only two were viable. Five are now viable. We are doing this not for developers or for anyone other than the young people we hope will be able to buy or rent an apartment. The 9% VAT rate on hospitality is about making sure businesses in the hospitality sector are viable too, and trying to reduce their costs. It is not an affordability measure; it is a measure to try to help keep the doors open and the jobs going. In many rural towns and villages that I, Senator Ryan and all other Senators visit, at every crossroad there might be a café, a restaurant or a rural pub serving lunch, and their business costs are too high.”
“If we did not take decisions in the Finance Bill - that is what we are voting on today - the 9% VAT rate on people's electricity bills would go back up. It is not a good situation when people's bills are far too high. We are making that reduction permanent, at least for a number of years, at a significant cost to the Exchequer, but it is absolutely the right thing to do. If we did not do a 9% VAT rate on apartments, the cost of building an apartment would be 4.5% higher than it is today. I have never built an apartment but we are already hearing from people who do build apartments and we are reading about it and indeed the Oireachtas housing committee heard the benefits of that in terms of projects that were viewed as unviable now being viewed as viable.”
“I thank Senator Daly for drawing our attention to what is a serious issue and one that has been raised by people affected. This is my first time to have an exchange with Senator Nicole Ryan. It is good to formally meet her and, while we may not agree on some things, I wish her well in Seanad Éireann. When it comes to the budget, she and I frame the budget debate in very different ways. Senator Byrne has framed the budget and the Finance Bill. As I see it on behalf of my party and Government, we see this budget as being about trying to do things to protect jobs, stimulate the building of homes and keep our economy safe. When I think of the budget I think of the three nines: the 9% VAT rate on electricity, the 9% VAT rate on building new apartments and the 9% VAT rate on hospitality.”
“First, what would the direct benefit be to the business when VAT is neutral from a business perspective because businesses can reclaim it? Second, while we will obviously take the views of the marts seriously and work our way through this together, the benefit of linking it to the flat rate might seem appealing when that flat rate is going down but what if it is going in the other direction? Could there actually be an unintended consequence? Do they want to link it in all circumstances? These are just two issues that I am putting out for discussion. We have the tax strategy group, which can certainly tease through all of these issues in advance of the next budget. I would very much welcome an opportunity to engage with Government Senators and Senator Daly on this issue along with ICOS and anybody else who has an interest in it.”
“The business making this payment, be it a meat processor, a cattle mart or another VAT-registered business, can claim a deduction in its VAT return in respect of the amount of the flat-rate addition payable to the flat-rate farmer. This is then subject to the normal rules in relation to reclaiming VAT. When a VAT-registered business makes its VAT returns, the inputs and outputs are calculated and where a business has paid more VAT than it received, its VAT return will result in a refund from Revenue. Where a business receives more VAT than it pays, this will require payment to Revenue. As such, VAT is ultimately only paid by the final consumer and not by VAT-registered businesses. From the perspective of a business, VAT is a neutral tax. There are two points that I would put out there for further discussion.”
“That rate is based on macroeconomic data relating to agricultural inputs and production and the prevailing VAT rate structures averaged over the preceding three years. Revenue's calculations, based on data from 2023 to 2025, indicate that full compensation can be achieved by decreasing the rate to 4.5%. As overcompensation is not permitted under EU law, the change must be introduced in line with the relevant macroeconomic data. Under the special scheme for farmers' flat rate, a farmer, on supplying agricultural produce or services to a VAT-registered business, is entitled to receive from that person, in addition to the amount payable for the supplies, an additional amount known as the flat-rate addition.”
“Perhaps we could sit down with ICOS, have a conversation and tease this through. What I will do now, for the benefit of the House because this is a technical area, is read into the record some initial feedback from the Department, which might help to inform those follow-up meetings that we can have in the weeks ahead. The proposed recommendation, should it be tabled, would move the 4.8% rate currently applied to livestock in Ireland to 4.5%. This is the rate that is applied when livestock is sold by a VAT-registered business. As Senators will be aware, the farmers' flat rate addition will be reduced from 5.1% to 4.5% from 1 January of next year. The farmers' flat rate scheme is reviewed, as Senator Daly correctly said, each year in the run-up to the budget in accordance with criteria set down in the EU VAT directive.”
“I thank Senators for their contributions. I will start with Senator Daly's recommendation. As he said, it was not procedurally in order but the point he was making was very much in order and I thank him for making it. I assure him that I have heard him and his views on the matter can be considered as part of the normal budgetary process for future years. I have asked my officials to consider this as part of the tax strategy group in advance of the budget. Every year, as Members will know, we have a tax strategy group that considers various issues, produces papers and makes recommendations. Perhaps this is something we could look at as part of that process. I would also be very happy to sit down with Senator Daly and other interested Senators. I know Senator Casey has an interest, as do many of my own party colleagues in Fine Gael.”
“-----with which the EU has an agreement. There is also the issue of what has transpired. The Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, has apprised me of this in terms of how the industry has changed in the Netherlands where it is now conglomerates essentially running the industry. They are clearly winning a lot of influence to get the outcome they got last week.”
“We have a housing emergency. Everyone wants to build more houses but everyone opposes every single effort that we bring forward to address viability. It is utopian to suggest there is not a need to address the viability gap and to support the private sector. We call them developers and use other sorts of words because we like to think there is a certain tone attached. These are people who get up in the morning and build homes and apartments for our people to buy. I support them in their work and I think these measures in the budget, in the round, will help to increase housing supply. Housing is priority one, two and three for this Government.”
“The cost of a disability payment is an important issue. It is one we are committed to developing in collaboration and co-operation with groups and organisations, and with people with disabilities. The Minister, Deputy Calleary, was involved in those meetings in the Department. There is a degree of evidence in relation to this. I have never built an apartment. I am not sure if anyone present has done so. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland came out with a report today. It stated that before we started taking the measures in the budget, which everybody on the Opposition side of this House and the Dáil has condemned, that only two of the six categories classified by the society were deemed viable. Five of the six categories are now deemed viable. These are real homes that people in our constituencies will be able to rent and buy.”
“In a housing emergency, you prioritise building houses. The idea that the State can do everything is not true and is not a good use of public money. If the State were to do everything, we would not meet the type of housing that is needed by many people in this country. There is demand from many people for privately owned homes and apartments. It would not be a good use of our resources to constantly say that every single euro needed for housing will come from the Exchequer because that would mean we would not have the same amount of money to invest in education, health, disability, childcare and other areas. I know it is not related to the Bill, but I acknowledge the point about disability made by the Senator. Only last week, there was a meeting at the Department of Social Protection with representative groups of people with disabilities.”
“It is targeted at employees who, prior to relocating to Ireland, acquired specialist knowledge and skills relevant to their company. In that capacity, upon relocation such workers are uniquely positioned and qualified to contribute to the expansion or the development of that business, thus creating further opportunities for the Irish economy. At such a perilous and turbulent time globally, with so many headwinds, it would be utterly irresponsible to start reducing the offering we provide to people who seek to invest in our economy and our country and who provide significant employment.”
“That is why the Government delivered a budget that was by any objective standard, and in fact by objective measures, a progressive budget. Sometimes we try to differentiate in conversation between corporations, foreign direct investment and the people of Ireland. The people of Ireland are working in the companies that have set up here in all of our constituencies across Ireland. The people of Ireland, including the very people the Senator mentioned, are benefiting directly from the revenues those investments bring in. I refer to our ability to pay out a Christmas bonus, to deliver and expand social welfare, and to be able to invest more in childcare, children, disability, education and health, as this budget has done. SARP is actually a very targeted scheme. This is often misrepresented, although not necessarily by Senator Murphy.”
“It is based on a combination of small and medium enterprises and indigenous Irish companies, and also an ability to attract foreign direct investment and highly skilled people into this country to do those jobs. That is why we have decided to refine the SARP. I know we have a policy difference in relation to this, but that is the policy rationale behind it.”
“Senator Byrne summed up Fine Gael's position very well. It is always right that the issues are scrutinised, but we have an economy that is very reliant on people coming in and investing in our country, on the jobs that brings to our country, and indeed on the corporation tax and the revenues that creates in our country. One only has to look at last week's November Exchequer returns to realise how important a part it is. With respect to everybody in this House and the other House, every day there are more demands to spend more money on health and education, etc. That money does not fall from the sky; it comes from the very successful economic model we have built up.”
“We also made the decision to reduce VAT on the construction of apartments. I am pleased today, in the context of the Society of Chartered Surveyors of Ireland's report, to see that this is already having objectively a big difference in terms of apartment construction. They estimate that in respect of six categories of apartments, only around two out of the six were viable before the Government made viability changes. They now believe five out of the six categories are viable. As a new Minister for Finance, I want to say that we are determined to deliver on our tax commitments in the programme for Government over the lifetime of this Government.”
“I hear the Senator's points on this budget and the decisions that were made in relation to it. We will no doubt debate and have different views on some of them. The Government decided, in its first budget of five, to prioritise a variety of measures on the tax side. The first measure was to extend the renters' tax credit that was due to expire. Sometimes that gets forgotten. It was due to expire. That is worth a bit to quite a few people. It makes a big difference. We have extended that for a number of years. We also made the decision to deliver on a commitment that I know the Senator agrees with, which is the reduction of the VAT rate to 9% for the hospitality sector. I think that is really important. Too many people take full employment, the domestic economy, the hospitality sector and rural Ireland for granted.”
“Therefore, this would be a policy choice that would create a fiscal vulnerability and would weaken the original policy intention. We should say - indeed, we have published papers on this in recent days - that Ireland has one of the most progressive personal income tax systems. This plays a crucial role in the process of income redistribution. Our redistributive tax system has been acknowledged by the IMF, the OECD and the ESRI. Senators will recall that during the economic crisis, it reached a point where 45% of all income earners were exempt from any income tax and that was clearly, as we saw with the financial crash, unsustainable. It placed an unfair burden on those earners who were contributing to the income tax base and it exposed the vulnerability of the income tax system to economic shocks.”
“The USC yield last year was around €5.7 billion, with a yield of around €5.6 billion forecast for 2025. If USC were to be significantly altered, it would be necessary to consider how this yield could be generated from alternative sources. In regard to the Senator's recommendation, Revenue advises that it would be estimated to cost around €1.44 billion in the first year and €1.65 billion on a full-year basis. Not only would this measure be costly, it would also have the effect of further hollowing out the USC base by removing an additional 1.17 million taxpayer units from the charge. It is estimated that 29% of all taxpayer units will not be liable for USC in 2026. This proposal would significantly narrow the tax base, as it would mean that around 2.2 million or 63% of taxpayers would not be liable to pay the USC in 2026.”
“I thank the Cathaoirleach for his good wishes. I very much look forward to working with Seanad Éireann in the time ahead. I thank Senator Murphy for the recommendation, which, as he outlined, seeks a report on removing USC from the first €40,000 a person earns. We all know that USC was designed and incorporated into the Irish taxation system in 2011 to replace two other charges, namely the health levy and the income levy. The primary purpose of USC is to widen the tax base and provide a steady income to the Exchequer to provide funding for public services. USC is a more sustainable charge than those it replaced, and it is applied at a lower rate on a wide base. It is important to acknowledge the significant contribution that USC makes in contributing to the many expenditure demands placed on the Exchequer.”
“We can have the discussion. The Deputy is asking me in parliamentary question time. The second point I want to make, amidst the heckling on a serious issue, is that I do not need to be lectured on how to support the people of Palestine. Ask the Palestinian President, Prime Minister or ambassador how they have found our levels of support. I do not need a lecture from the Deputy. Is it his position that ISIF should not have any ability to invest in massive global companies that have presence right across the world, in many countries, including European countries, some which might even have headquarters in Ireland, if they have a presence in-----”
“Does Dáil Éireann understand that under the NTMA Acts, the investment decisions of ISIF are completely and utterly independent? Deputy Doherty tried to do this to my predecessor, suggesting that he was making decisions in relation to it. It was not true then and it is not going to be true now. The Deputy is not going to do it to me. If the Deputy wants to bring forward legislative proposals to change things, bring them forward.”
“The Deputy has been at this a long time. He knows the law of the land under the NTMA Act. Does he accept that the NTMA Act allows ISIF full independence in relation to its investment decisions? Does the Deputy accept that the Minister for Finance-----”
“Do not shout me down. I do not know how long this bully-boy routine of shouting me down is going to go on but if the Deputy could just ask me a question and allow me to answer it, it is how a democracy works. Stop shouting me down. It is a bit of basic respect.”
“That is not just independence that I say but independence under the law of the land, the NTMA Act, and under the investment committee that reports to the NTMA.”
“I will discuss and get an overview on a variety of issues with the NTMA at a first sit-down meeting. ISIF has divested from six companies on the UN database. The NTMA also divested from directly held sovereign bond holdings with a global portfolio across Egypt, Israel and Jordan in July 2025. It is important to note, as my notes suggest, that companies can come onto and off the UN database. Many of these companies are large, global companies. There needs to be that context too. These are large, global companies which can have a presence right across the world. Ireland's position on the occupied Palestinian territories has been clear and consistent in relation to their illegality. ISIF obviously has independence in relation to its investment strategy.”
“Our focus must remain on strengthening the ceasefire and bringing about peace. ISIF has taken a decision to divest from six companies, all of which remain on the updated UN database and with a total value at the time of divestment of approximately €2.95 million. The six companies are Bank Hapoalim BM, Bank Leumi Le-Israel BM, Israel Discount Bank Ltd., Mizrahi-Tefahot Bank Ltd., First International Bank Ltd. and Rami Levi Chain Stores Ltd. I will provide the Deputy with the list in writing. ISIF does not comment on individual investments but a list of ISIF investments is available in the 2024 NTMA annual report. I have been informed that ISIF will continue to monitor its holdings to ensure investments remain aligned with its risk profile and investment parameters, but it does not comment on individual investments.”
“The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, ISIF, has complete independence in implementing its investment strategy under the NTMA Acts through an investment committee that reports to the NTMA's board. ISIF has taken a decision to divest from six companies, all of which remain on the updated UN database. While divestment from these companies does not mean that Israel will stop maintaining its presence in the occupied Palestinian territories, sadly, ISIF will continue to monitor its investments. It is important to state the companies are ones that operate all over the world. ISIF's investment in them represents a very small proportion of its overall investments. More broadly, as the Deputy knows, efforts to secure a just resolution to the Israel–Palestine conflict and to the genocidal activity taking place in Palestine are ongoing.”
“I thank the Deputy for this question, in which he has rightly asked me to outline the progress that has been made in divesting State moneys from companies that derive profits from their activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Government is clear in its opposition to illegal Israeli settlements, which are contrary to international law and damaging to the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. Ireland has not been found wanting in its support of the Palestinian people and has taken practical steps at national, EU and international levels. Indeed, we have been recognised internationally as a leading voice on this. Ireland has provided over €100 million in support of the people of Palestine since 2023.”
“He has introduced a plan on digital services and the use of digital technology in the public service. Of course, there have to be guardrails and all of that. AI is not going away, as has been said. It is actually a tool that can be used for good, subject to having a proper system of safeguards in place, including in the area of speeding up assessment times. Let us consider the progress we have been able to make using technology for passports. When we read Future Forty, as the Deputy has done, we see that the use of technology to increase productivity is a key component in addressing some of the challenges we will face in the time ahead and ensuring the costs of the delivery of public services will remain manageable.”
“I agree with Deputy Neville on the importance of continuing to run budget surpluses and invest in our Future Ireland Funds – the Future Ireland Fund and the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund – and the importance of continuing to be prudent in our spending of public money. That is why the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, and I will bring to the Cabinet next week the medium-term fiscal framework, which will anchor our spending and tax plans not just for a year but also for the five years ahead. That is important for guarding our economy and for planning the delivery of public services that we get on with implementing the programme for Government. I agree with Deputy Ó Cearúil on the use of technology, including AI. I am aware that the Minister for public expenditure, Deputy Chambers, is very strong on this.”
“Although there is considerable uncertainty about the future cost of climate change, Ireland must prepare in advance to lower adaptation costs in the future. Additionally, I point to the cost of servicing our national debt. While this might appear relatively minor at present, Future Forty points to its becoming a growing burden if deficit and debt are used to cover rising costs elsewhere. Future Forty outlines hypothetical issues. Of course, there are also positive outcomes and opportunities. The decision on automatic enrolment, as the Deputy rightly said, is one whose immediate benefit people will not see in the short term, but they absolutely will see it in the future when they retire with better pensions.”