Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:1. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach the number of persons in employment in County Meath for each of the past ten years. [4460/25]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Economic Data
The exact information requested by the Deputy is not available. The labour force survey, LFS, carried out by the CSO, is the official source of estimates of employment in the State. The most recent figures available are for the fourth quarter of 2024. The figures for this response use the second quarter as the reference period for the year. Due to the methodology and sample size of the survey, it is not possible to produce reliable county estimates from the LFS. Regional estimates of employment are produced at the NUTS 3 level. NUTS are the geocode standard developed and regulated by Eurostat. The NUTS 3 mid-east region includes counties Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow. I will give a sample of the number of persons aged 15 to 89 in employment in the mid-east between the second quarter of 2014 and the second quarter of 2024. I will not go through all the figures because the Deputy will get them in writing. In 2014, there were 284,200 persons in employment. In 2024, there were 405,600 people in employment. While this region covers the counties of Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, it does not give a specific breakdown. The Deputy can have a copy of this information. These figures and further data relating to the Irish labour market, with a regional breakdown, can be accessed on the CSO website.
Ar dtús, gabhaim comhghairdeachas leis an Aire Stáit ar a post nua. Is bean láidir í agus guím gach rath uirthi sa phost nua.
Go raibh maith agat.
There is a problem with the spatial development of the country. The main driver of spatial development currently is the system whereby young people who go to college cannot get a job other than in Dublin. The reality is most young people cannot afford to live in Dublin. What happens then is that they live 30 km, 40 km or 50 km from Dublin and they join the commuter belt. Evidence of this is that the average age in Killarney is now ten years older than in Balbriggan. We are changing the spatial picture in the country because of the lack of spatial development.
This is putting an awful lot of people in a difficult position. County Meath, for example, has the highest number of commuters in the country. Well over 45,000 people leave the county every day to go to work. It happens in no other local authority area that such a large number of people leave. At least 17,000 people are commuting for well over one hour daily and many of them for up to two and three hours. They are in commuter hell. It has a massive effect not just on the environment and the cost in people's pockets but also on families. I have no doubt that many mothers and fathers are getting home so late in the evening they hardly have a small window of time during which they can put their children to bed. Everything is squeezed into an hour and a half of family life. I have no doubt as well that this is leading to significant levels of anxiety among small children because of them not having access to their parents at all during the day. Significant problems, therefore, are occurring in this regard. We either need jobs in County Meath or we need a proper transport system into Dublin. We do not have it. We have been promised the rail line, but it is not going to be built until 2036. It is too long to wait. We need the rail line speeded up as soon as possible.
The local enterprise office, LEO, supports the creation of many jobs in County Meath. The 2024 annual employment survey of LEO clients once again shows positive job creation across most LEOs. In 2024, the local enterprise office in County Meath provided grant assistance to 259 small businesses, thereby helping them to support 1,455 jobs and to create 255 new jobs. The plan the Deputy mentioned has five clear strategies to balance regional development. Highlights from the mid-east region include the Boyne Valley food hub having opened in May 2023 and Meath County Council participating in a pan-European programme to determine circular economy best practices for small businesses.
Funding of €5.2 million was awarded under rural regeneration development for the development of the Athy Food, Drink & Skills Innovation Hub. I understand we are covering a total area in that regard. Clermont Screen Hub officially opened on 26 October 2023. Currently, we have full employment, and there are often unintended consequences. I take on board the point the Deputy makes about parents having a long commute and family time being affected by that.
Small and Medium Enterprises
Paul Lawless
Ceist:2. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Taoiseach if his Department collates statistics on the number of SMEs that have closed down in County Mayo in the past five years; and if so, to outline the figures that reveal how many SMEs closed in Mayo over each of the past five years. [6361/25]
The Central Statistics Office, CSO, has responsibility for collating information on the number of enterprises that close each year as part of its work in developing and maintaining the CSO's central business register, CBR. The CBR is developed using data provided by the Companies Registration Office, CRO, and the Revenue Commissioners. The most recent data available on enterprise closures from the central business register, published as part of Business in Ireland - Insights on the Lifecycle of Businesses 2022, is for 2021, for preliminary enterprise closures.
This is due to the CSO's approach whereby an enterprise is recorded as having ceased trading where no tax returns have been filed for two successive years, with one year of no returns being recorded. There are a lot of complicated details on the number of SMEs involved. The number of SMEs that closed in 2017 was 687. In 2018, it was 718. The preliminary figure for SME closures in 2021 is 740. I will come back with more detail after the question.
I thank the Minister of State for the response. I am surprised by the lack of data on insolvencies in recent years. The issues and the crisis facing the SME sector are getting increasingly worse. A Deloitte study recently found that almost 900 insolvencies occurred in 2024, an increase of almost a third on 2023. It predicted that the increase will continue, as will the issues affecting SMEs. The worst affected sectors are the hospitality, fitness and beauty industries. Since the Government hiked VAT, more than 700 restaurants have closed. This is having a major impact.
Dereliction is an issue right across Mayo. The antidote to dereliction must be to first stem the tide of businesses closing. The fact that the Government has no idea how many businesses have closed and it does not collect that data is of major concern. We need to address this issue. We need to show the same proactive and pro-business approach that the Government has shown to the foreign direct investment sector.
This is a major concern. Businesses in Mayo are struggling - restaurants, shops, pubs, the fitness and beauty sectors and many other areas. It is important we understand that to address dereliction in towns, we must first stem the tide of business losses.
The reason information is not available is that European business statistics regulation requires data to be transmitted with a two-year time lag. For example, 2022 data were transmitted in June 2024. The CSO is always trying to enhance the timelines of its publications. It is examining new products relating to signs of life for businesses, which it is hoped will provide a timelier picture of enterprise activity.
There is some good news for County Mayo in terms of information on new enterprises that have been created there. County Mayo ranked eighth out of 26 in 2019 for SME births. This is the first time I ever heard that term. It refers to the birth of small and medium enterprises. It was ranked 25th out of 26 in 2020. It was second out of 26 in 2021 and 24th out of 26 in 2022. However, we must put it into context. Much of the country was closed between 2020 and 2022 during the time of Covid. The figure of 740 SME closures in 2021 is preliminary. The statistics also show that as many new businesses started up at the same time.
Legislative Programme
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:3. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach for an update on the legislative programme. [7685/25]
The Government's legislation programme, which was published on 18 February 2025, sets out the Government's legislative priorities for the current parliamentary session. We all understand that it is a shorter session than usual, but we will have a new programme again just after Easter.
This is the first legislative programme of the new Government, which includes 50 Bills for priority publication and drafting during this Dáil session. There are 14 Bills at various Stages across both Houses of the Oireachtas. These include legislation that will amend the Mental Health Acts, amend the law on defamation and provide for sufficient and effective access to cash. I will work with all Members to progress legislation through both Houses of the Oireachtas.
This aims to advance important legislation around updating employment and equality Acts, the national cybersecurity Bill, licensing of professional home support providers and legislation on housing. All Government Departments were consulted on the preparation of the spring legislative programme. The Government Legislation Committee, which I chair and is attended by the Attorney General, met on Thursday 13 February 2025 to finalise the programme. The committee will meet on a regular basis throughout the session to ensure that the key legislative priorities are progressed.
The Department of the Taoiseach will continue to play a central role in supporting effective co-ordination and prioritisation of policy and legislation across government through Government meetings, the Cabinet committee structures and the Government legislation committee. Currently, some Bills are held up because the committee structure is not yet in place and, as a result, pre-legislative scrutiny of certain Bills will be pushed back.
I want to briefly focus on the lack of committees. That is a massive point. It is significant that we currently have a pinch point in terms of the Opposition and the Government and how speaking time is allocated in this Chamber. As a result, that is slowing down the development of committees, which are a major tool of oversight of Government activities and also necessary for the delivery of the legislative programme. It is important that this issue gets resolved ASAP. We need Standing Orders that reflect the multiparty system we have, that clearly defines the difference between an Opposition TD and a Government TD and assigns speaking times on that basis.
Members who are outside the technical group system should also have the right to speak. Everybody is here on the basis of democratic mandate and they should be able to represent their constituents on an equal basis with everybody else. Standing Orders are historical and they are no longer fit for purpose.
There certainly is a delay with the committees and the business of the House is being stalled because of that. That is solely the responsibility of the Government for trying to overstep the mark of all previous convention and trying to muddy the waters between the Government and the Opposition for its own advantage, and to neuter the Opposition. It is not good enough for it to have a majority, to control the Dáil schedule and to have a majority on all committees; it also wants to populate the Opposition benches and quieten the voice of the Opposition.
I want to ask about one specific Bill, namely, the Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, by means of which the Government is planning to get rid of the triple lock and launch an attack on our neutrality. When will it come to the House? Is the Government planning to have pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill or is it planning to ram it through? Could we have a timeline and dates? Could we get a commitment that there will not be an attempt to impose a guillotine?
The Government has it in its power to deal with the committee issue. That just involves making it clear that a Member is either in government or he or she is not.
I want to bring up an issue that falls into the Minister of State's own bailiwick - the Mental Health Act and the proposals to amend it. I have come across a number of unfortunate cases relating to an issue that lies with the Garda. Gardaí are constantly arresting individuals they come across, but under the Mental Health Act they cannot get a person signed in for treatment. They can get them signed in on a voluntary basis and they cannot commit a person.
I thank the Deputy. The time is up. I call on the Chief Whip to respond.
They are a danger to themselves and others.
I thank the Deputies very much. The Government, and me as Chief Whip, believe the best way to address changes to Standing Orders is within the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform. This process should be respected. A meeting of the committee will take place this evening. It is imperative that the Dáil can function and that Oireachtas committees can be established as soon as possible. I am sure we will have a robust session later.
In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett's question, the Department of Defence has prioritised one Bill for publication and one Bill for drafting. The Defence (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill is prioritised for publication and drafting of the general scheme is ongoing. The Bill will amend the Defence Acts to reform the existing provision concerning the dispatch of members of the Defence Forces for services outside the State. I reiterate that it is a priority for publication and drafting of the general scheme is ongoing at the moment.
Will there be pre-legislative scrutiny?
One would assume pre-legislative scrutiny will take place in committee, when we get the committees up and running.
I am very anxious to progress the Mental Health (Amendment) Bill. A lot of work has been done on it in the past six months.
I thank the Minister of State.
With the help of the Ceann Comhairle and the House, I hope we can take Committee Stage on the floor of the Dáil in a couple of weeks, given that we currently do not have the option to do it in committee.
I thank the Minister of State. The time is up.
Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 1.30 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 2.30 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 1.30 p.m. and resumed at 2.30 p.m.