Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 12 Feb 2025

Vol. 1062 No. 7

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Business Supports

Deputy Mattie McGrath

Ar an gcéad dul síos, gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle, an Teachta Ní Mhurchú.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for choosing this Topical Issue this morning. The power up grant was introduced following budget 2025 as an apparent replacement for the Government's refusal to reduce VAT rates. However, the criteria the Department laid down to local authorities for this grant have proven unworkable and unfair and leave many businesses locked out of the scheme. It is ironic that this scheme is called power up when so many businesses are struggling to keep their power on, pardon the pun. I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, on his appointment. I hope he will change this.

Simple issues like the classification of businesses at application stage should have been changed by now. The first roll-out of this grant scheme was known as the increased cost of business, ICOB, grant. When issues arose with that, they should have been addressed by the Department before the second scheme. Now, the power up scheme has been rolled out. Why will the Department not simplify these schemes? They are rolled out with a big fanfare - they are welcome, and I welcome them - but they need to be accessed by businesspeople who are struggling, many of whom are locked out of them. For example, some post offices in my constituency got three rounds of cost of business support grants while others have been excluded purely because of misleading information on the application forms. The Department has not reopened the portal to allow businesses to reclassify their business correctly and avail of the grants. That is unfair to the people who are locked out just because of a name or a criterion.

Another issue in cases with which I have engaged are instances where a business pays its rates to the business property owner. That property owner in turn pays rates to the county council, as is correct, but there is no way for the person renting the businesses, who pays their rent and rates, to access the grant. That is totally unfair. The developer does not need it because he gets his rates anyway but the businessman is struggling to keep the doors open. He pays his rates to the property owner; sometimes there might be joint tenants in different parts of the building, so it is common. Surely, that must be tweaked to allow those people to get access to the scheme. A plethora of businesses, such as launderettes, hair and beauty salons, post offices, filling stations and small hotels, are disallowed completely. These are just some examples of the businesses in my constituency that have been in touch with me about the scheme. It is not fair either to the good officials on Tipperary County Council and councils across the country who are trying to manage this scheme. They deal with frustrated business owners who are struggling to keep the lights on and the doors open, pay wages, VAT, tax and insurance and also pay rent to landlords. They are upset and annoyed, and often their disappointment and frustration can be taken out on the officials in question. It is unfair across the board.

The Minister, Deputy Burke, said before the election that this scheme would have to be reviewed and that it would be up to the new Government to review it. The ball is in the Minister or State's court now. I know he has an understanding of this issue. I have worked with him in the past. It needs to be simplified and made fair and accessible for all types of businesses. It must not be a case of one post office, shop or hotel getting access to the scheme and others being excluded. That is discriminatory and unfair. It beggars belief that in three roll-outs of this scheme, the Department has not corrected the anomalies or made an effort to ensure fairness, transparency and honesty for ordinary, hard-pressed businesspeople.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Deputy Alan Dillon)

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising the important issue. I know how important SMEs and small businesses are in his constituency in County Tipperary. I fully recognise the cost pressures SMEs are facing and the impact this is having on their ability to keep their doors open. As the Deputy stated, the programme for Government contains several important commitments, including with regard to VAT reductions and adjustments to PRSI, in respect of improving the business environment to make matters easier for Ireland’s hardworking business owners.

Last year, the Government introduced two business support schemes that were designed by the Department and administered by local authorities. The increased cost of business scheme was launched in March 2024 and was delivered in two phases. The first phase was a broad scheme that distributed €154 million to 75,000 SMEs in all sectors of the economy in recognition of the higher cost of doing businesses. The second phase was targeted specifically at businesses operating in the sectors most impacted by increasing costs such as energy, which were mainly retail, hospitality and beauty businesses. Almost 39,000 SMEs in those sectors received a second ICOB payment, and a total of €90 million was paid out through this second phase of ICOB in 2024. As part of budget 2025, which was introduced in October, and in recognition of high energy costs, the Department introduced the power up grant, which was again delivered by the local authorities. Under this scheme, almost 39,000 SMEs in the retail and hospitality sectors received a flat grant of €4,000 in the final months of the year. In total, more than €158 million has been paid out through the power up grant. Taken together, these grant schemes paid out more than €400 million in a very short space of time.

I express my appreciation to all workers in local authorities for getting these important grant supports out to businesses so quickly. A business must have received the second phase of the ICOB to be eligible for the power up grant. This was to ensure businesses were able to get payments as quickly as possible. The Department is aware of the issue the Deputy raised in the power up registration process where businesses were ineligible for the grant due to incorrect classifications. The Department is actively working on this issue with businesses in relation to registration during the ICOB process. It is reviewing the issues. I will take the specific points raised around post offices into consideration in the next steps in the consultation.

We are engaging with the Department of public expenditure and reform and local authorities on this in order to arrive at a swift resolution.

Deputy Mattie McGrath

I welcome the positive response from the Minister of State, but it needs to be dealt with. It is simply unfair that, for instance, the post office in Clonmel is getting the grant, while those in Fethard, Ballingarry or Killenaule are not. Small businesses in Ardfinnan and Clogheen might be getting it while those in Caisleán Nua, Ballyporeen and Cahir are not. I welcome the amount of money involved and the number of businesses that got the grant, but there is little solace for those who have been locked out of the scheme. The power up grant is a turn-off for those people. They are trying their best to access it. They are dealing with the county council. I again thank the officials who are helpful to them.

People's frustration is palpable. They have been locked out because of a reclassification and incorrect criteria in the first instance. They did what they were asked to do. Across the board, this should be clear-cut. I wonder whether some of these schemes are designed to ensure that we hold on to the money. Obviously, the pot of money is not big enough and we make it more difficult for people. Businesspeople are at their wits' end trying to do the books, keep their places safe and clean, meet health and safety and other regulations, pay wages, PRSI, VAT and insurance and meet the rising costs.

These schemes only tinker around with the costs involved. The real problem is that the Government is not tackling the ESB or the energy companies. We have the second highest energy prices in Europe. That is unbelievable. We know the difficulties with the ESB, and I compliment everyone on their sterling work to get power back on for people. The CEO of the company has stated that it might increase prices. This is another body blow to the businesses to which I refer. The ESB cannot be allowed to increase prices. It has insurance to cover its costs. It also has massive profits, which we have seen over the past decade. It has made gigantic profits. Business owners must have a fair and palatable scheme that is easily accessible. They are busy people. Many times they make these applications at night or when they are supposed to be having downtime with their families. They are trying to keep the doors open ag obair go han-chrua ar fad. It is very difficult for them to get onto these schemes. Some of them just give up and instead of being a power up grant, it is a complete turn-off.

Deputy Alan Dillon

I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this important issue and for his contribution here today. I reiterate and fully appreciate the important role Irish SMEs play, and their contribution to towns and villages throughout the country. I recognise the increased pressure of doing business. I would point to the speed at which this power up grant was delivered, with more than €150 million distributed through the local authorities in a two-month period. It has been of enormous benefit, with the flat rate of €4,000 representing an enormous cash injection for many of these businesses that desperately need it. It does alleviate some of the pressure, although not all of it. We paid out more than €400 million in 2024 to the businesses most affected. I take on board the issues Deputy McGrath raised in respect of the registration period for the power up grant. As I said earlier, businesses were unable to amend a mischaracterisation of their sector, and this needs to be rectified. I will review this in consideration with Deputy McGrath.

Housing Provision

Deputy Paul McAuliffe

I take this opportunity to congratulate the Ministers of State, Deputies Dillon and Cummins. Deputy Cummins served on the housing committee, which sets him up well for the question I am about to put before him. The site on Oscar Traynor Road is incredibly important in the overall Housing For All programme and the overall programme of State construction of public housing on public land. There are more than 800 houses, comprising cost-rental, affordable purchase and social housing. It was hoped we could get rapid delivery.

As we move into the second term of Housing For All, delivery has to be the key objective on every site where we have made investment. Unfortunately, when I visited the Oscar Traynor Road site on Friday, no activity was taking place. There is no activity on the entire site, although the road network has been laid out, the parks and landscaping are already in place and many of the houses are either under construction or, in some cases, finished. There would appear to be an impasse between Dublin City Council's building control unit, Glenveagh, which is the provider of the houses, and Dublin City Council, which is the client.

I welcome the fact there are frequent, regular and unannounced checks on housing development. This is an important step that will prevent the mistakes of the past being repeated. Whatever the issue is on site, Dublin City Council and Glenveagh need to come together to ensure that construction gets back up and running and that we have timely and rapid delivery of homes at the site. Yesterday, Dublin City Council's assistant city manager for housing made a report to councillors and referred to issues with radon barriers, dormer windows, plaster rendering and moisture. These are all issues that would, I imagine, be readily resolvable if we could get everybody around the table. At this stage, that is what we need.

The tricky position for Dublin City Council is that it is the regulatory authority. It is responsible for building control and, separately, it is the client on the site. It is not only Dublin City Council that is the client because the State and the Department are funding the overall development on the site. There is an onus on everyone to get around the table to try to resolve whatever issues are there and ensure we can continue construction on the site.

The other angle is that many people did not support this project and voted against it when it came before the council. They have deliberately misconstrued the very heavily subsidised prices on the site. One of the biggest misnomers I found during the election was that houses were for sale on this site for €500,000. Those were the prices before reductions of more than €100,000 in some cases. There were also further reductions when we take into account other subsidies under Housing For All. In many cases, we had three-bedroom homes coming in at €360,000 or €370,000. There will be more details on this as the site develops. This is why people want to buy homes on the site. These will be affordable homes. They are in a part of the city where there is not a great deal of private development because it is mostly apartment development in the city. This is why homes are required and why we need to make sure the site is delivered. Regardless of what happens on the site I ask that it be a continuing priority of the Minister of State and the Minister. This is a flagship project for Housing For All and for the State in the context of being involved in the provision of housing. We have to make sure it is a good example and not a bad one.

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy John Cummins)

As this is my first contribution in the House, I ask for its indulgence for a moment as I thank my wife, my family, my friends, my supporters and the Fine Gael members who have assisted me in recent years and, in particular, during November's election campaign. Most importantly, I wish to place on record my thanks to the people of Waterford, who have placed their trust in me, and to the Tánaiste for appointing me as Minister of State with special responsibility for planning and local government. I very much look forward to working with everybody in the House in a collaborative fashion in the coming years.

I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this very important issue. It is one we often spoke about when I was a member of the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The development of the lands at Oscar Traynor Road has the potential to provide significant additional housing in a strategically important part of our capital city, involving the delivery of 853 homes, with accompanying community and créche buildings in multiple phases. It is intended that 340 of these will be cost-rental homes, 343 will be social homes, and 170 will be affordable purchase homes, giving a 40:40:20 tenure mix.

The project commenced on site last March, and work is being undertaken by Glenveagh developments. Considerable experience and resources are being deployed by the developer on the project, with the appointment of an assigned certifier, project architects, structural engineers, fire safety consultants, access consultants and other specialist technical advisers. All building works of this nature are subject to the requirements of the building control regulations and regulations made under the Building Control Acts 1990, as amended, to ensure the safety and well-being of persons in the built environment.

Dublin City Council advised that due to the scale and importance of this large housing development, it has been prioritised for inspection by the city's building control team. During the course of several building control inspections last year, concerns regarding compliance of the works with relevant parts of the building regulations were identified and in line with standard operating procedures were brought to the attention of site management and the assigned certifier. Given its statutory, regulatory and enforcement role under the Building Control Acts, this is a matter for the building control office in Dublin City Council and the Government. I have to respect its independent statutory role in this matter.

I understand that the developer is engaging with Dublin City Council regarding resolution of these issues and is actively working to ensure that all homes in this development will be finished to a high standard in order to achieve full compliance with building regulatory standards. Building control officers will continue regular routine inspections over the coming weeks and months through to the completion of this project in order to ensure both adequate public oversight and the necessary confidence that the requirements of the building regulations will be achieved.

I note the Deputy's comments that works are no longer happening on the site. The information I have been provided with is that other works in relation to the public realm of the development have been brought forward in order to try to minimise any further delays of the overall project timeframe and that it is still on course for delivery on a phased basis between 2025 and 2028.

Deputy Paul McAuliffe

I thank the Minister of State. The point he makes in regard to the current status of the project is important because it would appear that yesterday Dublin City Council was also unaware that there was no activity on site. While there appear to be some attempts to bring forward some of the public realm elements, a site such as this should be heaving. It should be a hive of activity. More than 200 people were on site at one point, which is very far from the situation I encountered when I visited it on Friday.

The important point is that of course issues will arise on a site. Dublin City Council has every right to make interventions. The provider of the housing should be reaching the client's expectations and also the statutory expectations. All of that should be taken as read. However, whatever is happening on the site would appear to be the beginning of a prolonged period of inactivity. That is what I fear. We have to make sure that whatever is happening is resolved quickly, that we get people around the table and that we ensure that the issues are resolved. I say that because it is not just about this site. In my constituency, we are starting to see more and more Housing for All sites opening up. More than 2,000 units across the constituency are at different levels of design and planning stages. Many of those are now proceeding to the construction phase. We must make sure that where Dublin City Council is the client and, ultimately, where the State and the Department are providing homes, that delays cannot be tolerated or allowed and that where they arise, issues are resolved in a way that ensures timely delivery.

This is very important to the community and the people who want to live there. Value for money, State spending and how we deliver projects are also important, as is the competency of Dublin City Council to deliver. The Department needs to do everything it can to support Dublin City Council, which needs to get around the table with the provider. Glenveagh Homes needs to step up and provide the solutions that need to be provided.

Deputy John Cummins

I again thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising this important issue. I assure him that, from the information I have been provided with, a dialogue is occurring in order to try to find a satisfactory resolution. As he is aware, this is a very important development for the area. It is being delivered under Housing for All. We are committed to ensuring that it will be delivered in good time and in full compliance with the building standards. Doing so will ensure that the best outcome will be achieved for the taxpayer and prospective homeowners and tenants, which is so important.

Dublin City Council is confident that any of the compliance issues previously identified can be resolved appropriately and without any undue delay to the overall project timeframe. It is worth noting as well that Dublin City Council has already advertised 16 of the affordable purchase homes. The council remains confident that these will be delivered during the first phase of delivery before the end of this year. I also note that Dublin City Council reconvened its Oscar Traynor Road consultative forum on 24 January in conjunction with the developer. It will continue to engage with stakeholders. A meeting of public representatives, to which the Deputy referred, took place on site on 10 February.

I assure the Deputy that this project is a high priority for the Government. We want to see these quality homes being delivered in order that families and individuals can be moved into them as early as practical in line with the timeframes and, obviously, in full compliance with standards.

Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence

Deputy Cathy Bennett

There has been a long-standing issue regarding the lack of domestic violence refuges in counties Cavan and Monaghan. In its submission to the justice committee on refuges in August 2021, Safe Ireland, the national policy service support and development hub for 39 specialist domestic violence services, many of which provide refuge, highlighted that there were nine counties without refuge accommodation. Almost three years later, the Sinn Féin leader, Deputy Mary Lou McDonald, highlighted that nine counties still lack refuges. She did so in the context of a report from Women’s Aid which showed the highest levels of domestic violence disclosures to its organisation across its 50-year history.

I welcome that Monaghan and Cavan were identified as a priority for the development of services. Let us be real, however. The fact that these services are badly needed in a community of nearly 150,000 people hardly necessitated the years of analysis, especially in the context whereby half of the existing refuges in the State were already full. I welcome the Government's intention to support the opening of a refuge in the Cavan-Monaghan region. Given the dire need for such crucial services across the State, however, does the Minister of State not agree that it would be prudent that refuge spaces be provided in both counties? A journey between, for example, Dowra in west Cavan and Castleblayney in east Monaghan would take the best part of two hours by car. The journey would take the best part of a day if a person were to use public transport.

The Minister for Justice's predecessor set a target of delivering 280 spaces across the State by 2026. This is far shy of the more than 500 places recommended by the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. Our State has a long history of failing women and children. Much work remains to be done in order to ensure that all women and children in our society are unafraid, without anxiety and free to enjoy the safety and security we are all entitled to. A starting point must be that where women and children are not safe in their homes or where they experience or have fear of violence and abuse, refuge is available to them. Responsibility in this regard falls on the Government. I genuinely ask it to make real progress and be ambitious as to what it can achieve for survivors of domestic abuse in Ireland.

Does the Minister of State acknowledge that we have to be more ambitious with our targets than was the case with the previous Minister for Justice? As an indication of that ambition, will the current Minister commit to opening a refuge in Cavan and Monaghan which will only be a precursor to delivering adequate refuge services in both counties?

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Deputy Thomas Byrne)

I am speaking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, who is at the Cabinet meeting.

One of the overarching goals of Zero Tolerance: Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence, is to ensure that everyone who needs a refuge space will get one. The strategy, which was published in June 2022, included a commitment to doubling the number of refuge units throughout the country.

This represents the fastest ever expansion of refuge accommodation in this country. Cuan, the domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agency, was established at the beginning of last year and is working in partnership with local front-line services providers, local authorities, the Department of housing and the Housing Agency to streamline processes in order to accelerate the delivery of refuges. There were 147 refuge units across the country at the end of 2023, with 12 new units delivered in 2024, including the state-of-the-art refuge in Wexford. This year a further 54 units are set to be under construction or due for refurbishment. This will bring the total units, including those under construction, to 213 at the end of 2025.

A key priority for the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and Cuan is the development of a domestic violence refuge in the Cavan-Monaghan region. Cavan-Monaghan is identified as a phase 1 priority for refuge development under the zero tolerance strategy. Cuan is working with the key stakeholders, including Safe Ireland, the Department of housing, Cavan and Monaghan county councils and the Housing Agency, to progress the development of an eight-unit refuge in this region. This will include community-facing ancillary support services. Cuan has worked with Safe Ireland to fund and resource a project manager post and a change manager post, in addition to supporting the organisation to form the local partnership needed to drive the project.

Last year, a site selection process for the building of a domestic violence refuge in the Cavan-Monaghan area was started, marking a key step in the delivery of a new domestic violence refuge in the region. In addition to identifying suitable locations for refuge development, the process will focus on identifying potential locations for safe home development, reflecting the strong commitment from all partners to protecting survivors, preventing further victimisation and ensuring they have the stability to rebuild their lives.

I am aware that the Castleblaney area of Monaghan is supported by a number of Cuan’s funded services, including the national 24-hour domestic violence helpline operated by Women’s Aid. Outreach supports are provided to the Castleblaney area by Tearmann Domestic Abuse Service, now operating as Safe Ireland Cavan-Monaghan. The TLC Kidz recovery programme is delivered by Barnardos, which supports children recovering from their experience of domestic violence. Emergency refuge accommodation services are available in Dundalk, County Louth.

Deputy Cathy Bennett

I thank the Minister of State. It is disappointing the Minister for Justice is not here, as we could have had a more substantive engagement. I reiterate that Cavan and Monaghan are only being considered for one refuge and ask that the Minister considers two refuges, one for each county. Why are we being treated unfairly in those counties?

As well as enduring emotional, psychological and physical abuse, all too often the victims of domestic abuse bear the additional burden of their lives being torn asunder, in particular regarding being effectively put out of their family home. This can compound suffering, further upend lives, and penalise victims for having been abused, especially in situations where a victim of domestic abuse is the primary childcare provider. It is morally unacceptable that a woman can be forced into homelessness for having been abused by her partner, but that is what is happening. Cases have been highlighted in national media where women have been forced to stay in refuges for more than a year, have fallen afoul of already insufficient protections for renters or have little recourse due to fear of the potential consequences of seeking a barring order. Would the Minister be willing to examine this with a view to introducing legislative changes, if necessary, to ensure that the victims of domestic abuse do not see their homes taken away from them and their children at a time they are at their most vulnerable?

Deputy Thomas Byrne

As I noted earlier, the Minister is at a Cabinet meeting. That is why he cannot be here and it is only fair to put that on the record.

A key overarching goal for the zero tolerance strategy is to ensure every woman and child who needs a refuge space gets one and the Government continues to work towards that. In the most recent budget, domestic, sexual and gender-based violence funding was increased to €70 million. This is more than treble what was available at the start of the previous Government's term and is a further significant increase for this year.

The increased funding for Cuan to almost €67 million includes additional funding for refuge spaces. The review of the provision of accommodation for victims of domestic violence published by Tusla in February 2022 highlights that almost three quarters of the population of the State is within 30 minutes of a refuge location. Cuan is acutely aware of the need to improve on this and ensure services are accessible to everybody, including those living in rural areas and in Cavan and Monaghan. Achieving this, including through the completion of a national services development plan, is a core objective of Cuan's plan for 2025 to 2027, which was published at the end of last year. Alongside refuges, a further 20 safe homes are in the pipeline for development. Once complete, they will bring the national total to 72.

Road Safety

Deputy Michael Collins

I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment. Speed limits have been reduced on many roads in the past week. All these roads were deemed local roads and most people I have spoken to have no issue in the wide, earthly world with that. Where I am living, one of the roads had a limit of 80 km/h but motorists could not do 80 km/h unless they were out of their minds. The best they could do was 60 km/h in the first place, so there is no issue there.

The problem in west Cork relates to the regional roads, R586 and R585, and the national road, N71. Many people got involved in the first rounds of the consultation thinking this was it. The drop in the local roads would be made and other roads would be left as they are. Now it seems there is a second round of speed limit drops and no consultation will be made with the general public or public representatives.

There are three main routes into west Cork: the N71 through Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Ballydehob; the R586 through Bandon, Ballyneen, Dunmanway and Drimoleague; and the R585 through Keelkill, Coosane and Cappeen. Will the N71 have a drop in speed limits? It is at 100 km/h. In some parts, it goes down to 80 km/h. That is around towns and other areas where it is accepted. Will the R586 go from 100 km/h to 80 km/h ? In some parts it is 80 km/h or 60 km/h already. Will the 80 km/h limit be reduced to 60 km/h and will the 60 km/h be reduced to 40 km/h? The speed limit on the R585 is 100 km/h. Will it go down to 80 km/h? Some parts are at 60 km/h already. Will they go down to 30 km/h or 40 km/h? This will cause nothing short of chaos and anarchy.

I mentioned this issue in the Dáil yesterday to the Minister, Deputy Chambers, and he showed the mindet of a Dublin city Minister with no clear understanding of how rural Ireland works. We advocate for safety on the road and if there is a blackspot or a dangerous road, the local authority should reduce speed limits. There is no question or argument about that. That should be done in consultation. The way things are going, there will soon be no point in having a TD, councillor or Senator because they will have no say in anything. It is dictation from the top. We need to be careful and to make sure roads are safe but blanket drops will not work.

One of the main and only routes we have is the Bandon-Ballyneen-Dunmanway-Drimoleage to Bantry road. The speed limit is going to go down from 80 km/h, and in some parts from 60km/h. It is astonishing. It will be an absolute disgrace. There is a public meeting on Friday night, which is guaranteed to be packed with angry people asking public representatives what they are doing and if they are asleep in the Dáil, making blanket decisions like this without a proper consultation. It does not matter what constituency is involved. It must be affecting other constituencies too.

I ask for clarity on the N71, R586 and R585. Can we work towards a solution? Some of these areas need drops, but not a blanket drop because that would destroy businesses in these towns and areas. The roads are in shocking condition. That is the problem. Roads are massively wide, wide enough to take passing bays or whatever, but the Government has forgotten all that, put it on motorists' backs and is trying to destroy businesses in rural communities where there is plenty of safe travelling going on as it is. Some of the roads I mentioned have had, thanks be to God, no serious car accident. On the odd one there is; that could happen anywhere. I am only asking if there will be consultations or will it be dictation from the top.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I thank the Deputy for the good wishes. I apologise that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, cannot be here this morning. He is attending the Cabinet meeting.

The Government Road Safety Strategy 2021-2030 seeks to improve road safety in Ireland and make our roads safer for all road users. The strategy is based on vision zero, which is an aspiration to have zero deaths or serious injuries by 2050 and it has been adopted across the European Union. The introduction of more consistent and appropriate speed limits will help to improve road safety in Ireland in pursuit of this objective. In September 2023, the Department of Transport published a speed limit review which made key recommendations, including that the default speed limit on national secondary roads should be reduced from 100 km/h to 80 km hour, on local roads from 80 km/h to 60 km/hand on roads in built-up areas from 50 km/h to 30 km/h. We legislated for these changes in the Road Traffic Act 2024, which was voted on in the Dáil and signed into law in April last year.

The Deputy will recall that national legislation sets default speed limits for different classes of roads but devolves responsibility for setting the individual speed limit on any given road to local authorities within parameters defined in the legislation. Local authorities can leave speed limits at the default or apply different limits through what are called special speed limit by-laws. This is quite right, because local authorities are best placed to assess the characteristics of each road and apply the appropriate limits in light of safety and traffic management considerations. The setting of special speed limits by local authorities must be carried out in accordance with the statutory guidelines for setting and managing speed limits in Ireland. Implementing the changes called for by the legislation and review requires local authorities to assess the roads in each of the three classes affected and to consider whether the default or another limit might be appropriate. It is a big task and, therefore, the implementation of the changes is being undertaken in phases, with local roads being addressed first. The Department has worked closely with the local authorities on this first implementation phase and has issued new guidelines to help them in the process. In light of the complexity of the work, the Department agreed that the new local default limit, originally intended to come into effect last November, would come into effect on 7 February 2025.

I understand the Deputy is also concerned about the question of developments along national secondary roads. Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TIl, and the local authorities engage on the setting of speed limits on national secondary roads, with TII having the final say. I expect that the Deputy and his constituents will consider what the relationship will be between new developments and possible speed limits, particularly on the N71. We can all imagine scenarios where a new development beside a road will lead to a significant increase in traffic and would have an impact on what is the appropriate speed limit. I assure the Deputy that in these cases TII and the local authorities engage closely to ensure the proposed speed limit alterations are appropriate. Formal requests for consent for the making of a special speed limit by-law involve a public consultation phase and are processed by TII on an ongoing basis. Speed limits are designed to be appropriate to current road requirements, including traffic levels, and can be changed when the requirements change. Local authorities can change the speed limits to fit new developments. Speed limits which currently exist do not act as a barrier to future development.

The timeline for the implementation of phases two and three of the speed limit changes on national secondary roads and roads in urban cores will be informed by the roll-out of the local rural road speed limit change and will take cognisance of the reaction, behavioural response and quantified impacts on metrics such as collisions. I encourage the Deputy to stay in touch with his local authority and councillors, as I am sure he does, about queries on specific roads and the implementation of safer default speed limits as the Minister does not have any power to intervene on the decisions local authorities make on this issue.

Deputy Michael Collins

I thank the Minister of State. He said this decision was delayed and we know why. It was because a general election was coming. It is a hugely unpopular decision about our regional and national roads. Our councillors made queries about local roads and were told that it was basically dictated from the top. That is what the Independent Ireland councillors were told when they raised concerns. That is what politicians do. They raise concerns.

I look at the roads. I have the whole thing here. It relates to the R586 and the R585 Bantry, Kealkill to Cousane, Coppeen, Bandon, Enniskean, Dunmanway and Ballineen. The speed limit on the Bandon to Timoleague road is 80 km/h. People do not see any issue with it. There is a whole lot of them where people do not see any issues. The Bantry to Kilbrittain road has been reduced to 80 km/h. Clonakilty to Dunmanway has been reduced to 80 km/h, as well as Clonakilty to Timoleague, Clonakilty to Enniskean, Dunmanway to Macroom, Skibbereen to Baltimore, Skibbereen to Castletownshend, Skibbereen to Timoleague and Skibbereen to Cork. People do not have any issue with the speed limits on those roads being reduced to 80 km/h because the roads are not suitable for anything faster. However, I am talking about the main three routes into west Cork: the R585, R586 and N71. These are the concerns we have. If the speed is being reduced to 80 km/h and 60 km/h on the R585, Charlie the dog will run out beyond the cars. That is what will happen and the cyclists will as well. It is an insane proposal and it has to be negotiated.

If there are dangers on the roads, by all means bring the speed down, but do not put a blanket drop on speed. Someone has got to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. He is not here. He should be here to discuss this as it is a serious issue. It will be detrimental to businesses and tourism and to drivers on the roads who will be frustrated and angry. We do not need that. We need to bring drivers with us to make sure roads are safe. This is an area where local authorities seem to have no say; they say it has been dictated from the top and they have to go with it and that is it. If the Minister of State said the local authorities do have a say, I accept that, but I will take it back to the local authority and I will come back to the Government again if it is not the case.

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I reiterate that the Minister, Deputy O'Brien is at the Cabinet meeting so he cannot be here. He would like to be here.

In my previous remarks, I outlined the roles of TII and the local authorities, which are significant in all this. It is important that people work with TII and the local authorities on this. The Department is already doing so. It is important that we provide speed limits that will improve safety for all road users and that is what is happening. The Government is confident that the new limits will help to reduce the number of deaths on our roads, which grew alarmingly after the pandemic. That is a fact. While there was a slight decrease in the number of lives lost on our roads in 2024 in comparison with 2023, it is vital we continue to build on that and do our part to ensure fewer lives are lost this year. If we are to reach our goal of vision zero by 2050, which is also a European objective, all road users must come together and drive safely. It is our duty as citizens to take responsibility for our actions and reduce the chance of death or serious injury. Every death has a devastating effect on families and communities and we must minimise the chance of them occurring.

The Department of Transport, along with Cork County Council in the case of the Deputy's constituency, will review the roll-out of phase 1 of the safer default speed limits, prior to implementing phases 2 and 3. This iterative approach will allow us to learn from each implementation phase, helping to deliver a smooth and measured approach to the other phases. This was all legislated for in Dáil Éireann. The whole system was passed by the Dáil in the Road Traffic Act 2024.

The Minister for Transport has asked us to thank his officials, the local authorities, the Road Safety Authority, members of An Garda Síochána and other key stakeholders who all worked hard to deliver the recent changes on local roads and thereby increase safety for road users. The Government is committed to ensuring that we deliver a multifaceted approach to reducing road fatalities and serious injuries on the path to vision zero.