I welcome Margaret Loftus from Mayo who is here with Deputy Mary Lou McDonald.

Ní féidir deireadh a chur leis an tseirbhís monatóireachta CCTV i Luimneach. Is cosaint thábhachtach í don phobal agus caithfidh an Rialtas leanúint ar aghaidh ag cur an maoiniú buan atá ag teastáil ar fáil chun an tseirbhís ríthábhachtach seo a choimeád ar oscailt.

The country is still reeling from the horrific murders of four members of the English family, including two precious young children, in a petrol bomb attack on their home last month. This catastrophic and barbaric incident in Waterford put focus on the devastating consequences of violent organised crime and the escalating scourge of drug debt intimidation. In the early hours of yesterday morning, five adults and two children were rushed to hospital following yet another arson attack on a family home, this time here in Dublin. Families are held to ransom by drug gangs through threats, extortion and violence. They live every day with a sense of fear in communities across Ireland. There is anger that Government is not responding with force or purpose to keep communities safe.

Limerick has suffered the torment, violence and consequences of organised drug crime and drug debt intimidation. The community spent decades working to overcome this scourge. Limerick understands how investing in community safety can really turn the tide, yet as communities look to Government for greater support and protection, it provides the exact opposite. It removes funding for one of Limerick's most important and most successful community protection services. The Limerick CCTV monitoring service was established in response to the violence that plagued communities. It monitors hundreds of cameras across the city and county. It is a vital resource for An Garda Síochána and for the community. It prevents crime and allows for incidents to be responded to. It is a proven and highly successful initiative that has taken years of work to develop. It is at the very core of Limerick's safety infrastructure.

The service faces a funding shortfall of approximately €660,000 for 2027. The Department of local government is cutting the funding it has provided for years. The Department of justice refuses to take on funding responsibility. As things stand, just two days before Christmas, the doors will shut, hundreds of cameras will shut down and this vital crime prevention service will be lost to the people of Limerick. The Taoiseach should make no mistake; the big winner here will be the organised crime gangs that are seeking any opportunity to reassert themselves.

Stripping the people of Limerick of this vital community safety service is a dangerous and disgraceful dereliction of the Government's duty. The Government has funded Limerick's CCTV monitoring service for decades. It must continue to fund it. There can be no excuses. We need a crystal clear commitment from the Taoiseach today. Does he accept that the closure of Limerick's CCTV service would be devastating? Does he accept that it cannot happen? Does he accept that the Government has a responsibility to provide the funding to keep it open? Will he now intervene directly and guarantee the €660,000 required to keep this service operational for 2027? Furthermore, will he commit to establishing a permanent multi-annual funding arrangement for this community's safety?

Tá gach iarracht á déanamh ag an Rialtas maidir leis an méid dúnmharaithe agus foréigin atá ar siúl ar fud na tíre ag daoine áirithe. Tá níos mó áiseanna agus airgid curtha ar fáil arís i mbliana don Roinn dlí agus cirt agus do na Ranna eile chun pobal na tíre a choimeád slán. Níl aon amhras ach go bhfuil brú ar dhaoine agus go bhfuil deacrachtaí agus dúshláin faoi leith ann.

People are extremely angry, frustrated and shocked at the level of recklessness with which some criminals, particularly those involved in the area of drugs, behave in murdering, injuring and intimidating people and in endeavouring to undermine cohesion within communities. The Government is very clear that there will be no tolerance of that kind of behaviour. As the Deputy will know, An Garda Síochána implements a national anti-drugs strategy through Operation Tara. The focus of that operation is to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute drug trafficking networks at the local, national and international levels. The Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau leads in tackling all forms of drug trafficking and the supply of illicit drugs in Ireland. The consumption of drugs is a societal issue. It is far more widespread than it should be. There is an onus on all those who take drugs to realise that there is a very sordid, murderous and violent background to the provision and supply of drugs in our society.

We have initiatives such as Operation Fógra, the drug-related intimidation reporting programme, and the Drug Related Intimidation and Violence engagement, DRIVE, programme, which is a national inter-agency initiative funded by the Departments of Health and justice. An Garda Síochána and the Minister for justice are extremely focused on dealing with the levels of intimidation that certain drug criminals are engaging in. The DRIVE programme brings together law enforcement, health services, social services and community organisations to address drug-related intimidation through a co-ordinated and victim-centred approach. Since its launch, more than 800 individuals have received training across 24 drug and alcohol task force areas.

The Deputy raised the issue of the CCTV system in Limerick. She indicated that it has been in operation for quite a number of years now.

It is decades.

Exactly. At national level, there has been no pulling back from funding CCTV-----

There has.

There has.

You are closing it.

I can look at the specifics of the case but, on the €660,000, in my view, it is within the remit of the local authority and others to ensure that does not happen by Christmas. Funding to Government Departments, local authorities and across the board has now increased. CCTV systems have been in place for a long time and are included in the base funding allocations. There should not be an issue in respect of it.

Last year, the local authority bailed this service out but the reality is that for all of the rhetoric, words, tea and sympathy that the Taoiseach will offer to communities in Waterford, Limerick and elsewhere, he is not serious about resourcing communities and community safety. It is beyond shocking and scandalous that the Limerick CCTV service, which has been so successful and has kept communities that have really suffered safe for so long, will be shut down for the sum of €660,000, yet that is what the community is facing two days before Christmas. Will the Taoiseach make it clear that he is intervening in this and that he will speak to the Departments, exercise his authority and make sure that Limerick, the community and people are not left at the hands of violence and intimidation-----

The Taoiseach will respond.

-----because the Government could not come up with €660,000?

Hear, hear.

The Government is supporting community safety very strongly. The community safety fund, for example, plays a key role in helping communities become more resilient to crime, and an allocation of €4.84 million was recently distributed through the community safety fund to 56 community safety projects nationwide.

Invariably, on a whole range of issues, local authorities will make the case for additional funding and invariably it will come to the floor of this House, and I will be asked to intervene in every local authority area and on every issue. I will get the backdrop to this, but let us be very clear too that €660,000 is a very realisable sum of sum of money-----

Of course it is. That is the point.

-----and there is no need for anything to close by Christmas.

Is the Taoiseach committing to it not closing?

Two weeks ago, I asked the Taoiseach to stand up for Cork University Hospital, CUH, and end the unworkable and unsafe recruitment restrictions that are undermining patient care. The Taoiseach responded with barely controlled outrage. He said to me, "You have some nerve". I have reflected since on why the Taoiseach had that reaction. I do not doubt his personal and political attachment to CUH. As Minister for Health, he oversaw major investment there. I have my own connection with the hospital. The legendary cardiac surgeon Aonghus O'Donnell treated my father and extended his life by many years. My children were born in the maternity hospital. I worked in CUH as a psychologist.

Nobody questions the Taoiseach's attachment to CUH, but it is fair to question how in touch he is with what is happening there now because increasingly he looks detached, weak and defensive on this issue. He is unwilling to challenge a Minister for Health who discredits CUH at every opportunity and is using selective recruitment and trolley figures stripped of context about demand, complexity and long-standing staffing and bed shortages. Rather than challenging the Minister, the Taoiseach is providing her with political cover. It is relatively easy to scapegoat a hospital CEO who has sounded the alarm about what is happening at CUH, but it is much harder when nine clinical directors reinforce her account, writing to the Taoiseach about the Minister's misrepresentation of CUH, the damage to staff morale, recruitment and retention, and the need for an independent staffing assessment.

I have received an extremely disturbing account of what happened at CUH last Thursday and Friday. With emergency capacity overwhelmed, cancer operations were cancelled at short notice. Women admitted for mastectomies, some already in hospital gowns, were sent home. Colon, brain and prostate cancer operations were also cancelled. Imagine the distress of those patients. These are the consequences of the Minister's hardline attitude to CUH and her refusal to reckon with the reality of staffing shortages and overcrowding.

The Government's plan has identified CUH as having the country's largest adult inpatient and critical care bed deficit. The hospital's CEO and clinical directors have urgently sought 172 priority posts. According to the clinical directors' letter to the Taoiseach last week, only seven had been approved, yet the Minister berates CUH for underperforming while the Government restricts recruitment. The Taoiseach helped develop this hospital and now he is standing by while the Minister repeatedly undermines it. The Taoiseach told me that I had "some nerve" for asking him to stand up for CUH. It takes considerably more nerve to dismiss nine clinical directors while defending a Minister publicly attacking their hospital and ours.

Patient safety is at risk. Will the Taoiseach meet the CEO and clinical directors, commission an independent staffing assessment, and immediately approve the outstanding priority posts?

First of all, I want to acknowledge the tremendous work being done and that has been done by people working in Cork University Hospital over many years providing a strong and exceptional service to the people of the region. My objective and aim is to ensure that the hospital can work effectively and smoothly but we need to establish some fundamentals. The Deputy used the phrase "scapegoating the CEO" and I know the Deputy issued statements last week and yesterday in respect of a certain account of a meeting. I made a statement yesterday that this account was false and I would appreciate it if the Deputy accepted that statement. The HSE should clarify things and give the background to the entirety of that situation. My understanding is that the regional executive officer, REO, is very clear that at no stage did he make any reference to instructions from the Taoiseach's office or anybody from the Taoiseach's office. I want that to be clear because false assertions were made about my office. I want to absolutely clear about that.

Second, all is not well at CUH. That is very clear to me for different reasons but equally, as the Deputy said, he has been involved in the hospital, and I have been involved in supporting it for many years. Prior to the formation of the HSE, it was a Southern Health Board hospital. It has always been an integrated part of the public health acute hospital system in the Cork area. It still is now within the HSE. Whatever way these issues are going to get resolved, it has to be within that structure. It is a HSE hospital. It is not outside the HSE. It has got to work through the structures within the HSE. There cannot be alternative pathways and I will not be overriding the HSE. I will not be overriding the Minister in respect of this. I want to see a resolution of the issue, but trying to go directly over the head of the Minister either by meeting clinicians or whatever will not work. That is not the pathway to resolving these issues, nor is presenting inaccurate and untrue accounts of meetings people had locally. That is not a good way to do business either. I want to be very clear about that.

In terms of the safety issue, and I do believe that CUH, the Mercy, South Infirmary, Victoria, Mallow and Bantry all have to be looked at as an integrated public hospital service that complement each other and provide a service to the public and patients, there has been significant investment in CUH. I outlined it yesterday. It has gone from about €300 million to about €600 million between 2019 and 2025. The staffing has increased significantly.

Deputy Quaide to respond.

I do not think it is feasible that you would have an independent assessment-----

The Taoiseach will be back in.

-----of every single hospital. If you do it for one hospital, the next hospital will want it. That is not the way to do it either. I will come back to it.

The Taoiseach is not standing up for CUH. He is falling back on the same lines the Minister spins to deny the reality of what is happening there. The nine clinical directors who wrote to the Taoiseach have laid out that reality in stark terms: two CT scanners closed because of staffing shortages, patients waiting four weeks for essential access procedures for cancer treatment, 20 neuro-rehabilitation beds in Blarney unable to open because the Minister will not fund the staff, and now we are hearing of cancer operations cancelled and patients sent home at the last minute. This is a matter of life or death for some patients. We know that prolonged emergency department delays expose patients to serious harm and increased risk of death. The Taoiseach cannot keep defending the Minister while ignoring these warnings from senior clinicians. Will the Taoiseach intervene now, lift these recruitment restrictions and put patient safety ahead of defending the Minister?

Patient safety is paramount. What happened in respect of those cancer patients should not have happened, but the hospital needs to be managed as well.

It does not have the staff.

By that I mean, in terms of the scanners, for example-----

It does not have the staff.

Sorry, the staff has increased dramatically over the last number of years.

Did the Taoiseach read the letter that was sent to him?

Deputy, you were not to interrupt.

I did not interrupt the Deputy and I allowed him to ask the question. I respectfully ask him to allow me to answer. We went up 41% in staff between 2019 and 2025, from 3,456 to 4,870. That is what I am told and this year, we went from 4,870 to 5,194, and also-----

We need an independent assessment.

Deputy.

This is CUH. Also, CUH recruited more than any other hospital in 2026.

That is the background to it. HIQA is going into the hospital. The chief clinical officer, Colm Henry, has visited the hospital again recently in terms of patient safety.

That is not independent.

Patient safety is paramount in respect of any hospital and also in the context of CUH. It has to be.

I remind Deputies that each Member of the House, regardless of which side, has the opportunity and right to speak and be heard without interruption.

Before I begin, my thoughts are with the seven people impacted by the terrible arson attack off Clanbrassil Street yesterday. I commend the first responders who took brave action and I send my very best wishes to those still recovering in hospital.

Turning to better news, following the recent great election results in Brazil and Serbia, the Democrat surge in the US mid-terms last night has given us all reason to hope again. American voters have pushed back against Trump’s warmongering, his attacks on civil rights and his economic policies that back billionaires over working people. It is now up to the Democrats in congress and the senate to take on the mammoth task of tempering Trump’s worst tantrums before he and his acolytes do any more damage to the world. It is good to see those acolytes damaged by these elections. Indeed, to quote his occasional boss and long-time frenemy, Donald Trump, the perennial “bullshit artist” Elon Musk has wasted half a billion dollars in these elections. Despite this, he was not able to buy the race in Texas or elsewhere.

There is a lesson for the Taoiseach following the US results too. American voters have swung decidedly against tech oligarchs like Musk and against data centres. They are questioning the power of the AI technology furrowing deeper and deeper into everyday life. They are questioning how far from fulfilling its potential for good, AI is threatening democracies, economies and our planet. It is generating mass-scale sexual abuse imagery of the kind my colleague, Deputy Alan Kelly, hopes to tackle with our new Labour Party Bill amending Coco’s Law to be heard here tomorrow. Private sector bosses are citing alleged AI productivity gains in cutting jobs and freezing recruitment of our graduates and young people. Households plagued by the cost of living are watching data centres moving into their communities and further driving up bills. Those factors undoubtedly swung voters against Trump in the US but the same concerns exist here in Ireland.

Our country is home to nearly 150 data centres already although the numbers are difficult to establish due to lack of transparency. We know that nearly a quarter of our electricity goes to data centres, which is the highest per capita rate in the world. Energy costs are soaring. The ESB announced today it will hike the price of EV charging. One in seven households are already in arrears on their electricity bills; a shocking increase of more than 60% in just three years. The Taoiseach cites foreign wars as the reason for this but data centres are directly driving prices up. Friends of the Earth estimates that data centres added more than €715 million to household electricity bills nationally and people are feeling the pinch. On Saturday, we will have the first national protest against data centre expansion. That is one of many taking place across Europe on the same day. However, in June, the Government voted against our Labour Party motion to halt construction of new data centres and levy existing data centre operators. When will the Taoiseach wake up and smell the coffee? When will he act to curb the power of tech oligarchs and end unsustainable data centre growth?

I appreciate the Deputy's observations on the US mid-term elections. Many people will analyse and study the trends and factors underpinning that change. From my initial reading of accounts, I would have thought the war in Iran was a real factor in terms of the consideration of American voters and the high prices and inflation in the US for a number of reasons. Any anecdotal interviews all refer to the high prices. I am not so sure you can neatly characterise the election as just one area around technology and oligarchs.

We are not.

The foreign wars.

I sound a note of caution in terms of how one interprets the outcome of any given election. That is a matter for America and the people of America. The people have given their verdict in these mid-term elections. They have voted for the various candidates in the various races.

From our perspective, the situation between the United States and Europe is much different. We have an AI Act in Europe, for example, which regulates AI. In fact, US authorities and others would criticise Europe for what it terms over-regulation. I do not think we are over-regulated but we are regulated. We should acknowledge that and not give the impression we are not. On the digital side, we also did the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act. Both represent a very substantial edifice of the regulation of the digital world, which the Deputy should acknowledge, that is not present in the US. You cannot compare like with like in respect of European regulatory frameworks vis-à-vis the US, China or other areas of the world. In Ireland, we have established our own structures and powers to support safe, transparent and responsible AI.

The Deputy also referenced data centres. Again, we have a stronger regulatory framework governing the construction of data centres than elsewhere and particularly than the United States. How many data centres were connected to the grid in the last six or seven years?

That is rhetorical.

Yes, it is. I thank the Ceann Comhairle. We need a proper analysis of this with less heat and less emotion. There was literally a de facto moratorium on data centres from 2020 onwards. You have to go to before 2020 and I think there were only one or two connections to the grid. Prior to 2018 or 2017, there was a very substantial increase in data centres in the country. Relative to other countries, we do not have heavy industry or other large energy users. I would be interested to know if the Deputy thinks we should just abandon AI altogether. What is the ultimate objective she is putting forward in terms of how we should approach it?

I absolutely agree with the Taoiseach. There were multiple factors in the US elections and there is no doubt Trump's disastrous war in Iran played a huge part in the Democrat surge and people turning against him. I acknowledged that in my opening remarks. I know the Taoiseach watched these elections closely and that he will be aware the proliferation of data centres played a significant role, particularly in states like Michigan. People really stood out against Trump's policies on AI and against tech oligarchs. Of course, we can harness the power of AI for good. Of course, there is such a thing as ethical tech. It is really important that we speak up for that.

I agree with the Taoiseach about the different context here and strong EU frameworks and regulation. However, that makes it all the more extraordinary that the Government voted against our Labour Party proposals in June to provide better regulation of data centres. Our Deputy, Ciarán Ahern, put forward sensible proposals for regulation to ensure greater transparency. One of the issues the Taoiseach mentioned himself is a simple lack of knowledge about figures and how many data centres are operating. Just one in six are apparently submitting data to the EU energy efficiency directive, according to Friends of the Earth. There is a huge gap here in our knowledge and, therefore, a gap in regulation. Meanwhile, energy costs are soaring and being driven up causing real distress to households across the country.

I question the Friends of the Earth assessments. Some would as well. The organisation itself questions it as well in that the authors acknowledge it has limitations and is "extremely difficult to predict with any certainty". We will park that for a moment. The digital economy is important to Ireland. I presume the Deputy acknowledges that. It is important globally too. In fact, the position in Europe and elsewhere was that this era and the era to come is a digital and green era in terms of going to net zero and so on. The new large energy user action plan, LEAP, which was published only in January of this year, moves us to a more plan-led system in terms of data centres and greater certainty for people all round, reinforced by unprecedented grid investment. The criteria set out by the CRU are strong and stringent in respect of seeking new connections to the electricity system. That is the reality of it.

I welcome Independent Ireland Councillor Noel Thomas who in the Visitors Gallery today, along with Kyle Lohan. Kyle is 16 and he is on transition year work placement. I thank him for all the work he has done for Independent Ireland at 16 years of age. He has knocked on every door in Galway in the previous by-election and every other election to date. I thank him and acknowledge him for that.

He is welcome to Dáil Éireann.

Today, I have to talk to the Taoiseach about An Garda Síochána and our new Garda station in Newcastle West.

The fears I am hearing from An Garda Síochána regarding our new station in Newcastle West is that there are not enough gardaí to put into it.

The Government's proposal is to get to 15,000 gardaí. To be honest, I think we need 15,000 more. We have a population now hitting 6 million and criminal levels are at an all-time high. In the parishes surrounding me, there were 16 robberies in two days and in the parishes adjoining them, 12 robberies were recorded in one place and 14 in another place, all of them done by criminal gangs. I was targeted last Friday when the keys of one vehicle, which were locked into a solid box, were taken, equipment worth €1,000 belonging to a carpenter was stolen and the lock was pulled off another van. We have the criminals, members of a well-known criminal gang, on CCTV, coming in and doing their work. They were gone within eight minutes.

Gardaí need cameras with registration recognition technology in places where there are criminal gangs. If cars belong to criminal gangs are in an area, the Garda would then be notified automatically. That can be done. We have had cameras turned off in Kilmallock and Croom for data protection reasons. People who are doing nothing wrong should not be worried about a camera that is there to protect good people against criminals. Repeat criminals are being brought to court multiple times and left off. There is no place to put them or hold them, so what does the Government do? It lets them back out and they do the same thing over and over again. Garda resources are being used to build a case against them and by the time the Garda builds a case, they are only given a slap on the wrist. It is a case of "Out you go to do it again" and within a week, they are in with gardaí again. It is a waste of resources.

I also welcome the young 16-year-old, Kyle Lohan, to the House. I commend his interest in politics, and I advise him to keep an open mind into the future-----

He is with the best party possible.

-----as I did when I was 16 years of age. He is welcome to the House.

Do not forget Councillor Noel Thomas.

The Taoiseach, without interruption, please.

Sure you might get him back.

This is a new device, where Deputies bring their aspiring candidates into the House to get them mentioned.

He is really one of yours.

He is indeed.

There has been very consistent recruitment of gardaí in the past two years. We had a significant setback during Covid, with the closure of Templemore and so on. However, we should reach about 15,000 in the near future. At the end of August, the figure was about 14,600 and we have had a further attestation of 207 recently. I think we will make the 15,000 figure by the end of the year. We then want to go higher than that because there are also retirements, which we acknowledge. There are about 3,616 additional Garda staff who work alongside the gardaí. That has enabled about 900 gardaí to be freed up for front-line duties. We have made changes to the Garda trainee recruitment process, through an increased recruitment age and training allowance, shortened recruitment timeframes and reform of the physical competency test, construction of the assessment centre, approaches to elements of recruitment and regular recruitment competitions. There is healthy interest in joining An Garda Síochána, which is positive.

As regards the Garda station, I presume the Deputy welcomes the investment into Newcastle West, which is significant. With this recruitment, we will be in a position to staff the station. The Commissioner has been progressively allocating additional gardaí, first to cities like Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and so on, and then to others. We have to get them out to rural Ireland, and the Minister for justice is very conscious of that. We will endeavour to get gardaí to west Limerick as well. We also note the passing of the late former Minister, Gerry Collins, who was a household name in Abbeyfeale and west Limerick more generally, and whose funeral is tomorrow. He was a former Minister for Justice. We are very conscious of the needs in the area.

On criminal gangs, I regret what has happened in the Deputy's own situation, which he has articulated to the House, as well as the other robberies he referenced. They will be convicted and will not be left out again if they are well-known criminal gangs. Gardaí use cameras and information provided by the public to prosecute these people. They need to be prosecuted and brought to justice.

I also extend my sympathies to the family of former Minister, Gerry Collins, who will be laid to rest tomorrow in Abbeyfeale. I acknowledge everyone in politics and the contributions they make.

We had a justice Minister in County Limerick, which covers east and west Limerick. All the criminal gangs know to target rural areas. All the Garda presence, as the Taoiseach just mentioned, is being put into Dublin city, Cork city and Limerick city. It is almost an hour and 40 minutes from one end of my constituency to the other. That is how far it is. We need Garda resources because criminals now know it is easy pickings. I welcome the Garda resources, the technology and the extra recruitment of gardaí, but the Government needs to stop putting all the gardaí into the cities. When you have a lot of people in one area, you can maintain them in it. However, in scattered places in rural Ireland, including rural Limerick, we deserve the same protection as people have in the cities. I would like to see that change.

There are gardaí being provided to rural Ireland, and there will be more allocated to rural Ireland as we continue to ramp up and get recruits into and out of Templemore in the time period.

We are also investing in prisons, with close to €500 million. We want to create about 1,500 more spaces and we need to do this by 2031. It is the largest ever building programme in the prison estate. Some people are objecting to it but we have to drive ahead. The Deputy is correct in respect of the need. If someone is convicted, they do their time. That has to be the objective.

In respect of technology, this Government has provided the technology required by An Garda Síochána. The previous Government had a different composition and others did not agree with giving gardaí the technology they needed to identify and convict criminals. As far as this Government is concerned, we will provide the technology and resources to procure that technology to An Garda Síochána because we have to stand behind it in facing up to this criminal element.