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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“Again, I would point to some reforms we have brought in that are bearing fruit. If we were having a debate in this House on this matter not that long ago, we would have been talking about huge backlogs in An Bord Pleanála, as it was then. We are seeing real progress with An Coimisiún Pleanála. There is real progress in decision times and the reduction in wait times. I am hearing that, and the Deputy must be hearing it.”
“However, that was the decision we made. The Deputy referenced a variety of statistics. I am not disputing them, but, of course, it is a case of lies, damned lies and statistics. The Deputy picked some areas of challenge in the context of the statistics. He referenced planning permissions and the like. I can reference the fact that completions are up and that we saw a huge number of commencements happen when we made the changes to development levies. Our job now is to work with industry to make sure that these are converted into actual homes for people to live in. The number of first-time buyers is also up. The Deputy will accept that as a statement of fact. The cost of a home is expensive, but we have seen the highest number of first-time buyers this year since 2007. I agree with the Deputy about the planning issue.”
“As is often the case, I agree with the Deputy on some things and disagree with him on others. I will try to take him through that. Rents in this country are too high. That is why we have taken a number of measures to try to increase supply. I am of the view that when you increase the supply of housing, there is a demand-and-supply effect. I also believe that we need to do other things in the here and now. That is why we have taken the decision in the budget to extend the rent tax credit for the next number of years. It is also why we rolled out the rent pressure zones nationwide. When this Government came to office in January, parts of this country were not covered by rent pressure zones. Donegal comes to mind in that regard. We fixed that as well. I do not think many people thought this Government was going to do that.”
“There is a thing called the common good or the public good and we need to deliver infrastructure much more quickly and I look forward to debating those points.”
“We will be judged on the delivery of this plan. It is a good plan and it is only part of the jigsaw. The national development plan is an equally important part in which we took the decision this summer to significantly increase investment. From memory, there will be over €50 billion extra for the enabling infrastructure such as transport, water, wastewater and energy. That will be key. The next instalment will be at the end of this month, when the Minister, Deputy Chambers, will bring forward proposals to accelerate infrastructure delivery. I hope the Deputy will support proposals that require emergency powers to deliver critical infrastructure more quickly. There is too much running to the courts. People have a right to access the courts. It is not a natural extension of the planning process.”
“Deputies will continue to see the quarterly commencement figures, the completion figures, the planning permission figures and the mortgage drawdown figures, which show there are more first-time buyers now than at any point since 2007. However, just like the approach we took on the action plan for jobs, we will provide an opportunity for a pipeline over the lifetime of the Government and we will be judged on that. We have been clear in our commitment for 300,000 homes over the lifetime of the plan. That is the target. It is the commitment and it is not the ceiling.”
“It has an important role to play in the delivery of an increasing supply and I am encouraged by what I heard from those responsible for building apartments; that the decision we took, which we voted for and the Social Democrats voted against, will make a real difference in reducing the cost of building an apartment. If we are to reach or exceed 300,000 units we need a lot more apartments to be built. I am also encouraged by the fact that while we have a long way to go, we have seen the highest completion figure for apartments this year so far between the first quarter and third quarter, in any time since 2011 when my party first came into government in the midst of a financial crisis. On targets, let me be clear. All the data points will continue to be published.”
“I disagree but it is a legitimate political view to have. Perhaps he believes that when we look at the ledger we should only use the spending side. We in the Government do not. We believe we should use the spending side to invest massive amounts of the people's money in building infrastructure, whether it be for water, wastewater, electricity or the transport projects that are needed in all our constituencies to open up sites, and directly in housing, including social housing that is being built at record levels. However, we also believe we should use the tax side to reduce the cost of building and there have been encouraging signs since we made that change only a few weeks ago in the reaction of the market. I value the market.”
“The Deputy said it was the fourth housing plan. Of course, it is because the housing plan needs to be replaced every few years. It has a deadline. He also suggested that Fine Gael and Fine Gael alone wrote the last four housing plans. Fine Gael has been in government during that time with Fianna Fáil, the Labour Party, the Green Party and Independents. Many political parties in this House have had an opportunity during that period to feed in their constructive suggestions to the housing plan and this is the latest instalment. On the one hand the Deputy criticised us for having a fourth housing plan while on the other he said it was delayed. I am genuinely intrigued by the Deputy's political position on tax. Perhaps it is his view that tax should not be used as a viability measure in housing.”
“I always think phrases such as "donning hard hats" are a bit pejorative. People put on hard hats when they visit building sites because of health and safety. It is the law of the land. Ministers go out and about to meet people who build homes. I am proud to do that and to listen directly to the people who build homes, including at the LDA site I visited with the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, the Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Taoiseach this morning, where more than 500 homes are being built, which will come on stream in 2027. It is a real partnership between Dublin City Council, a developer and the LDA, making a real difference. We will not be prisoners of ideology. We will work in every pragmatic way we can to increase the amount of housing and, as a practical example of that, I will always wear a hard hat on a building site.”
“-----to pick up the phone to his councillor and tell him to stop weaponising the use of the courts to try to delay changes we need to make to apartment standards. There will be students in Limerick who need more apartments and student accommodation to be built and the Labour Party councillor is actively delaying that in my respectful opinion.”
“I do not agree with the assertion around the Land Development Agency. I have just come from Donore, a site here in Dublin city, where we are delivering with the LDA, in partnership with Dublin City Council, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. I would ask the Labour Party to reflect on this. We are trying to make changes to apartment standards so we can have flexibility to deliver more accommodation and one of its elected representatives-----”
“Some of them are, and some are better than others. I do not think it is uniform across the country. I have got to be very honest. I have a league table that the Minister for housing has published, which shows some local authorities well exceeding their council targets for social housing, including the county of Wicklow that I represent, and others making a paltry contribution. When national targets are missed, they are not missed at a national level. They are missed by local authorities. I do not believe that every local authority is doing everything possible. I do not believe there is a consistent approach, whereby every hospital equally performs and every council equally performs. That is why we should incentivise good behaviour, good practice, good policy and political courage to do more and deliver more in communities.”
“I am being clear that this is going to need to be repeated each year. That needs to really ramp up, to resource and fund our local authorities in a ring-fenced way to help to get children out of homelessness and get a roof over their heads. The second step - and I have heard Focus Ireland and others seek this - is changes to the social housing allocation scheme to prioritise homeless children. That is also in the plan.”
“I do not accept this idea of arbitrary deadlines, whether something is finished on 31 December or 1 January, or the idea that somebody can sit back and say they have done their bit for this county for this year and will wait until next year. We need a constant pipeline over the lifetime of this plan and we need people hungry to do more. That is why, as the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, have made clear, we are putting a fund in place to reward and incentivise local authorities that go above and beyond their so-called target in terms of either social or starter homes. In relation to children, and child homelessness in particular, we are taking two very significant steps. One is the fund to help get families out of homelessness, with €100 million next year to be ring-fenced.”
“That is why I reject the assertion that there is nothing in this plan that is going to make a material difference. We are investing hugely in the enabling infrastructure around water and wastewater. We are enabling small developers on small sites to put in their own infrastructure which will help rural and regional communities right across the country. In relation to the targets, just to be clear on this, the target is very clear. It is 300,000 more homes over the lifetime of the plan. When we were in government with Deputy Sheehan's party, we had a target for the action plan on jobs of 100,000 new jobs. We did not break it down every year, and the Labour Party did not look for that either, but we exceeded the target. We have got to be clear here.”
“I think the Deputy and I can agree on that. There is a target of delivering 300,000 more homes over the lifetime of the plan. Roughly speaking, from memory, around 162,000 of those homes will either be social homes, local authority homes or will be homes that are part-funded through a variety of Government schemes. That is a very significant proportion. In fact, I would argue that this country is investing more Exchequer funding relative to the market than many, if not most, other European countries. Even doing that, I think the Deputy and I will also agree that we are still going to need the private sector to build more homes as well. That is where we are going to get the bulk of delivery. To do that we have to open up sites and listen to those who build homes and the local authorities in terms of the feedback they are getting as well.”
“First, I want to extend my deepest sympathy to Deputy Sheehan's colleague Deputy George Lawlor on the passing of his mum, Betty. I understand he delivered a very heart-warming tribute to her yesterday and I join Members across the House in extending my sympathy to him and all of his family at this difficult time. I thank Deputy Sheehan for raising these issues. I accept that he does not want the plan to fail. I also accept that generally our engagements in relation to housing are constructive. We have different perspectives and different views on occasion but I appreciate that point. I have to reject or disagree with a number of the assertions the Deputy has made. Yes, the State needs to do more in terms of direct building but there is no way the State is going to build all of the homes that our country requires.”
“The people at home actually want to know what we are going to do and what we are going to do is very clear. We are going to deliver a plan that has a record level of funding, that breaks down silos, that puts a new focus on starter homes, and that sets targets for local authorities. The Deputy tells people there are no targets; that is simply untrue. The target is over 300,000 homes in the lifetime of the plan.”
“-----so it can exploit the challenges people face. Of course, the Government is not going to fail because the Government has already delivered. The Deputy talks about my record in government. We delivered over 137,000 new homes during the lifetime of Housing for All.”
“I agree there is certainly one fundamental difference between Sinn Féin and the Government when it comes to housing. Sinn Féin wants this plan to fail because it believes it will do well if our housing plan fails. We intend to work every night and day to build housing but Sinn Féin thrives on the misery-----”
“Under Sinn Féin, the help to buy and first home schemes would be gone, first home owners would be abandoned, restrictions would be applied to the vacant and derelict property grant, the Land Development Agency would be abolished despite the fact it is now delivering real homes for real people across our country. Restrictions Sinn Féin would put in place would mean a garda married to a nurse in the fourth year of their jobs would not be able to access supports under Sinn Féin’s so-called affordable home scheme. We had the election and Sinn Féin’s proposals were rejected. We are getting on with the job.”
“-----and into homes. It is new money of €100 million that has not yet been spent in 2026. Do not mislead the people. The Deputy will accept it is €100 million for 2026 that has not yet been spent. That will need to be repeated each year during the lifetime of this plan. There is a new performance fund to incentivise local authorities to exceed their annual own-build social house targets. Targets are not the ceiling. They need to go further, drive on and do more. There is a starter home programme delivering an average of 15,000 affordable home supports per year for families, including many schemes which, quite frankly, the Deputy would scrap.”
“There are many new things in this plan, including a new €1 billion infrastructure investment fund to help to de-risk the development of sites in towns and cities to maximise their potential opportunities. There are measures to enable developers to deliver new stand-alone wastewater treatment plants in rural Ireland. Across my constituency and the country I have heard of parts of our country where it has not been possible to build any homes because of the inability to allow a developer to deliver a wastewater treatment plant, albeit to an Irish Water standard. There is a new fund, which I presume the Deputy will welcome, of €400 million over the next three years for small developers. I do not think he does welcome it.”
“For quarter 1 to quarter 3 of this year, we saw the highest completion figure of apartments for any time since 2011 when data started to be gathered. Something that is never said in this House from the Opposition benches is that we have seen the highest number of first-time buyers draw down their mortgage since 2007. We have seen more than 11,000 properties being approved under the vacant property refurbishment grant. The scale of challenge in relation to housing and ramping up housing supply is real and acute, but these are also real statistics that are having real benefits in the lives of people across our country. The Deputy said today, as I expected him to say, no matter what was in the plan - I could have said it for him - that there is nothing new in the plan. Of course, that is not true.”
“There are too many communities in which it is taking too long to deliver vital projects. We were very clear during the election that fixing this would be a key priority for the Government. It is also important to say that, yes, we are living through a housing emergency, and the purpose of the plan today is to make real progress and deliver 300,000 more homes during the lifetime of the plan, but it is also important for people watching at home to know there are some encouraging signs too. In the first half of this year, we saw the completion of new homes at the highest rate since 2008. We saw the number of new dwellings completed in the first three quarters of this year increase by 13% on the same period last year. These are additional new homes completed compared with the same period last year.”
“Today is a significant day in terms of housing policy in Ireland. It comes after a number of decisions the Government has already taken. This plan today needs to be seen in the context of the national development plan published this summer, where we significantly increased the level of investment directly in house building. After listening to people across the country, local authorities and people who build our homes, we also significantly increased the funding for the enabling infrastructure, investing more than €50 billion between water, transport and energy to enable housing supply. The plan also needs to be seen in the context of a piece of work that will conclude at the end of this month, which will speed up the delivery of infrastructure. Something we can all agree on is that we need to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure.”
“I will only unilaterally agree on behalf of the Government but it is a very sensible suggestion. This is certainly not a new area but it is a relatively new area that Members in this House, people in local authorities, citizens and people new to our country are all trying to grapple and engage with. I am not seeking to be divisive here but the debate should not be hijacked by anybody nor should anybody be shouted down. There should be an opportunity to really look at this. How we involve our citizens in this discussion is something I have been grappling with too. I will take away the Deputy's suggestion and I will consider with Government colleagues and come back to him. It is made in a constructive and helpful way and I appreciate it.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I was familiar with this in times gone by and would have had engagement with the family, as I know so many representatives over the years have, both in Wicklow and in government. I will ask the Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries, Deputy Dooley, to update me on the matter, to come back to the Deputy directly and to see if we can have some engagement with the Gaffneys as well. I will talk to the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley.”
“Early in 2026, she will publish the comprehensive action plan that knits together the 22 commitments in the programme for Government and looks at how we get to the €200 per month per child, which is doable, and how we also make sure there are places, how we use our planning system to drive that, and how we empower parents, recognising it cannot be one-size-fits-all. Childminding works for some people, private crèches or community crèches work for others. A whole variety of situations can happen and we have to empower the parent as well. I am very excited about the work we can get done over the lifetime of this Government, with a comprehensive action plan published in early 2026.”
“We have been working on this together over the past while. We meant what we said during the election. Having a childcare system that is fit for purpose, empowers parents, is affordable and accessible, and has quality at its heart is a core priority for this Government. If we can get this right over the course of this Government, we can transform childcare in a way that other parts of society and our education system have been transformed in years gone by. The first step is that the Minister will before the end of the year publish an action plan for 2026, detailing what she believes we will be able to get done in 2026, what immediate measures can be taken with the allocations she received in the budget.”
“I am very proud of the progress we have made on things like marriage equality but we clearly have more work to do. The idea that anybody would feel unsafe expressing their love in public or on our streets is not acceptable.”
“What I would say to them is that love is love and they live in a Republic where equality must be at the core of all that we do. Homophobic attacks and violence are crimes and there needs to be zero tolerance of them. The Minister for education reminds me that this week is Stand Up Awareness Week, an important initiative by Belong To in our schools. I thank it for the work it is doing. Perhaps this is something we could discuss on a cross-party basis. I would certainly be very happy, on behalf of my party, to arrange for party leaders or representatives to sit down. If the Deputy would like to put that in train, perhaps all representatives of political parties could sit down and discuss this. We have made good progress in this country but I sometimes think that when we have a referendum, people think that is it done.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is a really important one and particularly important in her constituency. I am proud of the work we have done together to try to bring some level of closure at this point to families who were quite frankly abandoned for far too long in terms of the State apology and the initial phase of compensation. The Deputy is absolutely right that there was to be a phase 2 for survivors and it is important that it progresses. In fairness to the Minister, I understand he is finalising proposals for next steps but that piece around communications is important. If the Deputy will allow me, I will seek an update from the Minister for the representatives of the Stardust victims and families and come back to her.”
“There is too much bureaucracy, too much red tape, too many processes and even when we allocate the money, it is still taking too long to deliver it. That is why we have set up an accelerating infrastructure delivery task force. It is why I campaigned with the Deputy in the election on the need for a Department of infrastructure. It is not just about counting the money any more; it is about driving delivery. We will have proposals from the Government on how we can bust through some of that bureaucracy in the coming weeks. I think the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will support that. We will look forward to having a chance to debate that. There is too much critical infrastructure, and there are not too many things more critical than water, that is taking too long to deliver. I will keep in touch with the Deputy on Castlecomer in that context.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter for her constituents in Castlecomer. The Deputy and Councillor Michael Doyle have been working on this issue of greater water capacity in Castelcomer and the wider area so I thank them for that. Uisce Éireann can confirm, as the Deputy and her constituents know, that there are supply and demand issues on the Castelcomer water supply zone. This has resulted in supply disruption impacting customers at times when supply does not meet demand. I understand over the summer months Uisce Éireann took measures to maintain everyday daytime supplies through interventions such as tanking to reservoirs. The long story short, though, is we have given a hell of a lot more money to Uisce Éireann. It needs to get on with it now. We in this House need to empower it to get on with it.”
“I will speak directly to the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill on this matter. We have made good progress on cancer care and cancer treatment in recent years in this country and it is important we build on that. We have a national cancer strategy. We are increasing our capital investment in health as well. I will try to understand the rationale around those timelines and whether there is anything that can be done to expedite them. I will ask the Minister to come back to the Deputy. While we are on the issue of cancer, I missed the opportunity yesterday but I also welcome Deputy Boyd Barrett back to this House. Many people right across the country were inspired by his interview this week. I know it has been an extraordinarily difficult time for him. He might not believe it but we missed him in this House.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I know it is an issue of importance to many people, including people in Dublin West, commuters and people going about their business and encountering these toll charges. The Deputy has made some very interesting suggestions that merit further examination. As she knows, TII has a role in this. She has called on it to give consideration to this. I will certainly bring her views to its attention. I am also aware TII officials is due to appear before the transport committee in the coming weeks. Perhaps it could be flagged as part of that engagement that they could discuss and consider that issue too.”
“I certainly will. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and no doubt he will engage with the Garda Commissioner, who decides the allocation of gardaí across the country, on that matter. I was at a Cabinet committee discussion on justice and Garda recruitment issues this week. There are some encouraging signs. The programme for Government commits to further increase the capacity of Garda training infrastructure. The Minister has started work on that and potentially moving training projects from Templemore to create more space for new recruits, which should help get an even larger pipeline of gardaí through Templemore. There is increased interest in becoming a garda, which is important. I take the point around Cork city and will feed it back to the Minister.”
“I have not yet had the opportunity to see the programme but I intend to see it. I have heard quite a bit about it over the course of the week. The Deputy can be assured the Government will be looking into the issues raised on the programme. I will ask the Minister for Finance to directly respond to the Deputy. I am not aware of any such issues, nor would I necessarily be. The point about the Central Bank of Ireland and Minister being satisfied is an important one so I will ask the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to come back to the Deputy directly.”
“We have provided the health service with funding which will enable it to increase the numbers of people working in the health service, including in community healthcare, like healthcare assistants. I will ask the Minister for Health and the HSE to directly revert to the Deputy on the situation in south Tipperary and see what can be done to assist. The HSE should be in the business of seeking to recruit more people. Sometimes there can be challenges in identifying appropriate people but I know the human consequences of waiting times for people trying to access home help. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the HSE to come back to the Deputy directly.”
“I understand a mediator met the group this week and there was to be follow-up work and then further engagement. Let me see if there can be any steps to give people the confidence to come off that hunger strike but I would really urge people to do that. We want to see engagement in good faith to try and resolve this and that is why a mediator has been appointed.”
“I assure the Deputy this is receiving a lot of attention, as it should, from Government and the State. We want to see this resolved. I understand a mediator met with the group this week - I think on Wednesday. There is work following on and flowing from that. I really understand the emotion and sensitivity of this but I would urge - I think it is the responsible thing for me to urge - people to come off hunger strike. I understand the depth of feeling, the pain and suffering. I get that, but if people could come off hunger strike we are wanting to see engagement in good faith. We want to see the health and well-being of the people. On the issue of a written update, I will just need to check on that. I am not certain of where that is at.”
“I have been working to highlight this issue, as has Ireland, at EU and international level. We have asked that it be a specific agenda item at the Foreign Affairs Council due to take place in Brussels this month. I will raise the views of the Deputy, this House and the Government on the need to do more to support the people of Sudan. We have provided €14.3 million in humanitarian support this year to people in Sudan and refugees in neighbouring countries. Irish Aid support is making a difference on the ground but the Deputy is right to highlight this. It is not getting nearly enough attention. The level of slaughter is quite horrific. I will update the Deputy after I attend the Foreign Affairs Council.”
“This is the largest and most horrific humanitarian crisis in the world right now. It is also the one that is probably spoken about least, so I particularly thank the Deputy for raising it. This country has called for an immediate cessation of the atrocities in Sudan, following the takeover of the city of El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces. I am horrified by recent reports that the RSF has carried out large-scale, ethnically motivated atrocities, summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence and detention of civilians. These criminal acts must end. All parties to the conflict need to adhere to their commitments and obligations. They need to enable humanitarian access in line with their international humanitarian and human rights obligations.”
“It is a very important and sensitive matter. The Government wants to see the matter resolved. That is why it wants to see a facilitator in place. That has happened. There is engagement with the group. There is daily medical attention as well, which is important. I hope this matter can be resolved quickly.”
“I assure Deputy O'Rourke the Government takes this matter extraordinarily seriously. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, initially met the group on 29 September to engage with them personally and listen to their concerns. The Taoiseach met the group on 3 October and both the Minister and the Taoiseach met the group again last Wednesday, 29 October. I understand meetings with a mediator or facilitator have taken place this week. We are very eager to assist and I will seek an update from the facilitator today.”
“I will certainly speak to the Minister, Deputy Burke, in relation to this. Such is the sensitivity and importance of the issue, I want to make sure all of these matters are considered thoroughly and appropriately. I will ask the Minister to engage directly with Deputy McCormack and other Offaly TDs on this matter. We are keen to provide as much support and assistance as we can in what is a very difficult time. Based on what the Deputy has said, I feel that more work will need to be done in relation to some of the important issues he has put on the record of the House today.”
“The State will guarantee eligible employees statutory redundancy and certain outstanding wage entitlements via the redundancy and insolvency payment schemes. These schemes pay impacted workers a maximum of €600 per week for up to eight weeks where arrears are due in wages, holiday pay or minimum notice entitlements. Other creditors, including self-employed contractors, should make contact with the receivers in order to submit proof of debt and to file a claim regarding unpaid moneys. I just wanted to put those issues on the record of the Dáil. The Government, the Minister, Deputy Burke, and the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, will continue to monitor this very closely. We will continue to work with Deputy McCormack and the other Oireachtas representatives from Offaly in the time ahead.”
“It is important to note that receivers are independent in the execution of their roles and neither the Government nor a Minister can intervene in such matters. The Department of Social Protection is now engaging directly with the receivers and the affected employees to provide them with necessary information and support at this time. There are robust protections in place for employees of an insolvent employer and it is important that these are made clear to everybody involved. The receivers submitted a collective redundancy notification to the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment on 31 October. I understand the receivers are currently undertaking the 30-day consultation with the employees' representatives required by law.”