Anne Rabbitte
Nominated by the Taoiseach · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“On Ireland's most popular pornography website, almost two thirds of the video titles indicate content of concern, including sexual violence, extreme misogyny and material that mimics child sexual abuse. This is not on the fringes of the Internet; this is mainstream, free and one click away from every child in this country.”
“I also acknowledge the role of Deputy Cathal Crowe in the Lower House and that of Senator Rónán Mullen whose Bill, which was before Seanad Éireann last week, spoke to this very issue. It is something we should all get behind and support to ensure we have the law to protect our young people. I also wish to bring up Skyclarys.”
“I am wearing sandals today. Good afternoon to everybody. I warmly welcome the Minister for justice's bringing his memo to Cabinet where he seeks to criminalise extreme violent pornography. For too long, this has been a glaring gap in our criminal law.”
“He said that we should not deny his son the chance to hold onto his voice, even if it is just to be able to ask for a glass of water. That is the parent of a child with Friedreich's ataxia, who has already lost a child to Friedreich's ataxia. We have 200 such patients in this country.”
“Where we have rural depopulation - and there are great reports coming from the GAA - the one thing we want to do is ensure a sense of community. That sense of community circles around a few things. It can be the church, school, post office or the pub.”
“The Senator also said, as did Senator Murphy O'Mahony, that if we can be anything in this world, we should be kind, and that is one thing Martin Naughton was, and it is one thing we should always remember. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. We think of him today. Senator McCormack raised the issue of active travel.”
The complete record
Every one of 482 lines we hold for Anne Rabbitte, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 10.
“What you see when you look at the map of Ireland with the delivery of HSE equine therapy is a complete gap from Limerick to Donegal all the way over to the banks of the Shannon. My advocacy relates to how, on 7 November 2024, the consultant engineer sent feedback and site layout drawings to the HSE estates section. I am wondering what progress we have achieved at this stage. We know that, in 2025, there was €27 million in funding for disability capital projects. I am trying to understand where we are with developing the regional centre of excellence for equine therapy. To explain to people who are watching the value of equine therapy, equine therapy is where a child has a sensory need met from rubbing the horse. A child can also have an occupational therapist like what we see out in Clondalkin.”
“I thank the Minister of State for being here this morning to take this important Commencement matter on Toghermore House. Toghermore is a HSE site in County Galway. It used to provide valuable mental health support services, but it has now moved into a more community setting within the town of Tuam. The site is still under the ownership of the HSE. Proposals have been made to transform the site into a centre of excellence for equine therapy, combined with putting in football pitches for the local ladies and incorporating a cross-country running track for the local athletic club. All of this would be combined in a centre of excellence with a disability-led model for equine therapy. We have seen the wonderful work that has gone on in Liskennett on the Limerick-Cork border. We see the work that is going on in Kanturk and in Stewarts Care.”
“However, it is intended that this area be kept under review and, in particular, if an implementation of codes of practice approach does not result in efficiencies expected, alternative options will be visited in the future. I thank the Senators for bringing the motion forward.”
“Several options with varying degrees of enforceability were considered with a view to delivering better information at the earliest stage in a conveyancing process, legislation, regulation and best practice. Arising from these discussions it was agreed that the two relevant regulatory bodies, the Property Services Regulatory Authority, PSRA, and the LSRA, would be asked to embark on delivering regulatory codes of practice within the measures already provided in their respective governing legislation for the regulatory process. Other measures already completed included public awareness, a publication of a best practice charter and a number of other actions to reduce the key known delays in the provision of third party information.”
“The implementation group has given further consideration to the types of issues that can either collapse or significantly delay a conveyancing process and concluded that efforts should be aimed at mechanisms to ensure a key essential baseline of information on properties for sale is collected at the pre-sale stage, there should be a means to prevent property from going to the market unless this information has been collected, and the three parties likely to have most control in ensuring the necessary information is collected are vendors, estate agents and vendors' solicitors. The group identified nine specific categories of pre-sale information that is not collected early in a conveyancing process and is more likely to cause delays beyond the target of the eight-week conveyancing process.”
“The group concluded that several measures should be tried first before going down a legislative route, for example, stated obligations and-or professional regulatory measures to require solicitors and estate agents to alert sellers to the necessity for pre-sale preparation, including obtaining the necessary documentation and certification.”
“The Government also approved the establishment of a new conveyancing and probate implementation group, tasked with beginning the implementation of short-term recommendations, as well as developing a detailed programme, including assigned ownership and committed timelines to implement the full set of recommendations. The group, comprised of an independent chair alongside key stakeholders including the IPAV, relevant Departments, agencies and statutory bodies, met for the first time on 23 September 2024 and has subsequently met on eight occasions. The group agreed that actions need to be taken to ensure that much more is done regarding the collection of information, necessary certification, title deeds, etc., early in the sale process, at its earliest point of engagement with the estate agent and the vendor's solicitor.”
“All of that said, the Government has a counter-motion. In December 2023, the expert group was established under the Housing for All action plan to review the conveyancing and the probate process in Ireland from a user perspective, and recommend changes to be implemented quickly and easily to reduce costs and delays for home purchasers. The group comprised a strong mix of legal, policymaking, operational and hands-on consumer experts, and they reported at the end of June 2024. The report of the expert group on conveyancing and probate was approved by the Government on 16 July 2024.”
“I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “That Seanad Éireann:”, and substitute the following: “recalls that: - a Housing for All Expert Group on Conveyancing and Probate was established in late 2023 to review the processes in Ireland and recommend changes to reduce costs and delays for home-purchasers; - this group published its Final Report and Recommendations in July 2024; - the associated Implementation Group was established in September 2024 to oversee the implementation of recommendations; - it is independently chaired and comprises professionals, industry bodies (including the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV)) and government agencies to reduce the delays and costs associated with conveyancing and probate processes; acknowledges that: - the group is working towards a national target of an eight-week turnaround for conveyancing and has supported initiatives like the eProbate project and amendments to the Central Bank Consumer Protection Code to achieve these goals; - that there has been significant progress achieved to date including: - the creation of a public information pack (available online) to improve knowledge of the process, minimise delays and equip home-buyers with the information required to engage efficiently with professional conveyancing services; - the provision of a Best Practice Charter, setting out principles of best practice for the main professions involved in the delivery of conveyancing services; - an initial baseline survey run by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to gauge experience of consumers in conveyancing process; - a revised Consumer Protection Code published by the Central Bank, requiring banks, retail credit firms and credit servicing firms to provide title deeds within ten working days of a request for the purposes of a conveyance; - options to get more titles registered in the Land Registry more quickly and to expedite the registration of properties/transfer of deeds; - the prioritisation of draft legislation to support increased use of Statements of Truth to replace certain hard copy affidavits or statutory declarations in the conveyancing process; - greater efficiencies in response times for information requests from the various stakeholders; - the development of a proposal for a national conveyancing system; - the Courts Service roll-out of a reform programme to the probate process, which has already seen significant reduction in processing times, including the implementation of eProbate; - the extensive work by the Expert Group and Implementation Group into identifying areas in conveyancing processes, where the lack of key information and certification/confirmation on a timely basis is causing delays and has instigated a regulatory process via both the Property Services Regulatory Authority and the Legal Services Regulatory Authority; this will directly address the necessity for early collection of categories of pre-sale information such as those identified in the Seller's Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021; - in June of 2025, the Government agreed that the work of the Group will continue, to further progress the recommendations identified by the Expert Group and that this work remains ongoing; resolves that: - good progress has been made in respect of the work of the Interdepartmental Group, which is progressing many of the issues of concern and that the principles contained in the Seller's Legal Pack for Property Buyers Bill 2021 can initially be realised on a non-statutory footing; - there are many advantages to this approach, notwithstanding the speed in which the measures can be progressed, as well as the in-built flexibility it provides in terms of quickly adjusting to any issues of concern arising; - this work continues through the medium of the Interdepartmental Group to ensure measured improvements in the availability of pre-sale information and ensuring that the targeted eight-weeks conveyancing process is fully realised in Ireland.” I acknowledge the presence of former colleague, former Senator Higgins, and the work that former colleague, Marc McSharry did on what has been proposed here this evening.”
“When there are two clubs in one county being asked €300 for a 15-minute warm-up, 15 minutes at the end and to play the game, on top of €500 to hire a bus and €50 for the referee, is it any wonder we have a decline in sport in Ireland? It was great to have the GAA before the housing committee the other day. "Let's stop now" is one of its campaigns. Let us stop what we are doing to our schools as well. Let the clubs which have resources and which got good funding from the State and the taxpayer open their gates and let in the young people to develop and promote their sport, whatever it is, during daylight hours. I understand the need for lights, the charge for the bus and the charge for the referee, but preventing children participating in school games because of charges is wrong.”
“I raise an issue relating to schools, particularly secondary schools, which at this time of year have an awful lot of games on. They have hurling and football matches they need to complete in a timely fashion. Like everything else, there are finite resources of Astroturf pitches for games to be played on. Under the last two iterations of the sports capital fund, all funding released to clubs around the country came under four pillars: community, schools, diversification and disabilities. It is disappointing to hear that clubs in small parishes that do not have proper, full-sized Astroturf pitches and which need to travel to neighbouring parishes in the county to hold games are being asked exorbitant prices for the use of those pitches in daylight hours. This is not about turning on the lights; this is about getting in the gate.”
“The reason they cannot help is because there are no by-laws and issues are no one's responsibility. Those issues might include antisocial behaviour or illegal parking. In actual fact, in many of our vibrant towns and small villages, there are really good Tidy Towns groups. They are totally and utterly frustrated. They go out, day in and day out, to keep the place tidy. They are part of that competition. However, they are doing that work in isolation without support from the arms of the State, whether the local authority or An Garda Síochána. Those two entities cannot assist because the issue is outside their jurisdiction. In the new year, the Deputy Leader might invite the relevant Minister to discuss by-laws and how we can address an issue that in some cases appears to be over 100 years old.”
“I wish a good morning to the Deputy Leader. I, too, want to be associated with the good wishes for the season of goodwill. I thank the Deputy Leader, the Leas-Chathaoirleach, the staff of the Seanad Office and the ushers for the support they have given not just me, but everybody here for the past 12 months. It is greatly appreciated. I have something for us to put in the calendar for when we come back in the new year. Can we have the Minister with responsibility for local authorities - perhaps it is a matter for the Minister for justice - before the House? In many old towns around Ireland, we do not have by-laws. When you ask a local authority to address a particular issue, its representatives sometimes say it does not fall under their jurisdiction. If you talk to An Garda Síochána, its members tell you that they cannot help.”
“I have no doubt the Leader will ensure the relevant Minister will come to the House for statements on this issue. I have spoken in the past about the Brandon case in Donegal. We had the Grace case in Waterford. We have many cases and we have to put these learnings into action. There is no point in having reports if we do not have proper frameworks. This is a really positive step but we now need to understand what is the meat that will go on the bone to ensure there is proper protection and a proper rulebook for how people can flag issues if they identify where a person is at risk.”
“We have seen it addressed in Children First and we are now seeing the first step now in adult safeguarding. I take this issue very seriously. I would actually go one step further and say we should have an adult safeguarding office, independent of the HSE and the Department, in order that we would have full oversight to completely protect the vulnerable adults in our community.”
“Adult safeguarding is an issue that I raised for a long number of years, along with an awful lot of other people, with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. It protects people in vulnerable situations. It protects people who are in nursing homes and those who are in residential care. We have a really good element of safeguarding already in Children First but adult safeguarding involves measures to protect not just the individual, but also the staff. It sets out a very principled framework as to what the triggers are and how one goes about doing one's job to protect individuals who are vulnerable or at risk. For far too long, we have had a legacy, involving far too many adults and children, of not having the policy framework documents to protect the staff who protect them.”
“This morning I want to raise the issue of safeguarding. We saw a very positive development last week from the Department of Health and led out by all of the Ministers involved in safeguarding. It was the publication of a policy framework for adult safeguarding. For far too long we have been looking for a framework when it comes to adult safeguarding. The real reason I am standing here is, first and foremost, I would love for us to have statements on adult safeguarding when we come back in the new year. There are really good commitments made within the framework that within six months a lot of the implementation work will have begun. I would love the Minister to come before us here to outline and make us all aware of the changes we can expect when it comes to adult safeguarding.”
“I call the Minister for his closing remarks. It is great to have a Minister in the House who uses the word "agile", which means that they are prepared to make changes as they see fit. Not every Minister has that in their speech so it is important to acknowledge it.”
“Before I move on to Senator Tully, I welcome to the Gallery the visitors from Naas Women’s Shed. They are led by Barbara Hennessy, I believe. They are guests of the Minister, Deputy Lawless, so they are seeing him in operation here today. I hope they have a lovely trip around this beautiful building.”
“It is also very off-putting for employers because they know the process and know that, when they start recruiting, they might have to wait six, eight or up to ten weeks before having a positive outcome. I am suggesting that the Minister responsible for Garda vetting would come before us and tell us of his or her plans to ensure that we can have a more seamless process for Garda vetting for the future of the workforce in this country.”
“I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on the Order of Business. Garda vetting is an age-old problem here in Ireland. Unfortunately, we do not have a straightforward system approach. If someone applies for a number of posts and is being offered the opportunity of work, unfortunately, an application for each has to be submitted to the Garda vetting office. What I am proposing is no different from what we are looking at in relation to age verification for children online. Can we have a verification system that is universal in its support but reviewed regularly? We need a more seamless process to ensure that people are not held up because the waiting list at the moment for Garda vetting is quite lengthy.”
“There is also the notice period, which will mean employees know where they stand. There is good communication between the employer and the employee, which is very welcome. I am nothing but supportive, as are my colleagues in Fianna Fáil, of the work the Minister has brought forward on social welfare and auto-enrolment. I will be supporting the Bill and encourage everyone to do so.”
“The child support payment comes under section 13, which the Minister referenced. It sees a weekly increase of €16 to €78 for children of 12 and over, which will mean an annual payment of €4,056, and of €8 to €58 for children under 12, which will mean an annual payment of €3,016. Auto-enrolment is a new and exciting development, and very welcome for so many. Although I might have taken it down wrong, I believe 35,000 employers and 408,000 employees have registered on the portal. Given it is only a few days since the portal opened, this shows there is an appetite among employers, but also among employees. The measures the Minister has brought through to safeguard employers are very welcome, particularly in relation to the fixed notices. This will mean it does not get tied up in bureaucracy. It can just be dealt with, and people can move on.”
“I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank him for the work and effort he has put into bringing forward a comprehensive social welfare and auto-enrolment Bill. I compliment him again, as I did before, on the new funds of €1.15 billion that he has added as new measures across this area. It is important to say that due to the €10 increase in all core social welfare payments, no one got left behind. There is a €5 increase in the fuel allowance, which goes from €33 to €38 from January 2026, and the expansion of the fuel allowance to 50,000 families in receipt of the working family payment. As the Minister said, there is the largest-ever increase to the carer's allowance income disregard from July 2026, which will see an increase of €375 to €1,000 for a single person, and of €750 to €2,000 for a couple.”
“We now have an opportunity, with Coimisiún na Meán and the various online safety codes, to go further. We have age ID cards for children who are old enough to go in to pubs and purchase alcohol. We have a provisional driving licences for people who are learning to drive. We need IDs for children in order to ensure that their digital age of consent is established properly and validly online. It is incumbent on tech companies to put in place a mechanism such that we can age verify everybody online. We have all the tech companies here. There is an opportunity to work collaboratively will all of them. If they are not prepared to work with the Government, it is incumbent on the Government to take control.”
“Today in Australia, there is an outright ban on children under the age of 16 accessing certain apps on mobile phones and smartphone devices. They ran a campaign to protect their children and to ensure their mental health. Various forms of online abuse that children are subjected to on a daily basis are now treated equally in law. What the authorities in Australia have done is harvest the data and left it there. As young people turn 16, they will be able to access it again. I am not in favour of outright bans on phones, but I am certainly in favour of protecting our children online. A number of years ago, we in these Houses passed a Bill to make 16 the digital age of consent. The digital age of consent means that a person ticks a box and says that they have told their parents. That is it. That is the digital age of consent.”
“I have been listening to the debate and, on the back of Senator Stephenson's contribution, I heard something different. What I heard the Minister of State say - I hope she will correct me if I am incorrect - is that this period is to ensure that the medication has worked and that the person has had time to recuperate so that any decisions made are made in the best interests of the individual. If I have heard the Minister of State incorrectly, I ask her to please clarify.”
“Can we be more responsive to current-day mechanisms of technology where we can read the levels, increase our spill rate and put no lives, livelihoods or businesses at risk? That is the nature and the essence of it. It comes from that space. I do not want to undervalue how simple this is. I am just asking that we take it out, give us the conversation and we can find a solution in practical and real terms. As Senator Conway said, the summer is a good goal to set for ourselves. I thank the Minister of State.”
“There is an opportunity with this to say we can review and reflect. We have the science and the data. We do not need to turn on the tap extra heavy when we have had three weeks of it in late December, early January, when it will happen and when decisions need to be made. That can happen because we have ten-day weather forecasts. Last night, in Portumna, we had 6 cm of rainfall, but when you go further upstream they only had 3.2 cm. All the water that comes through the gates in Drumshambo or in Jamestown sluices has to come down to us in Portumna and it still has to go all the way today. The ESB is only tasked with measured it from Athlone down. All I am asking is that we have that honest conversation and just review the levels.”
“The ESB is only legislatively tasked with doing one thing and that is ensuring the levels are kept at the level that is in legislation. That means, at all times, we mark the bank of the Shannon. We will always bring it to the top but we will only increase our spill level when we are at a flood-risk mitigation spot. What that will then do is put pressure on the people downstream in Senator Dee Ryan's area. It will go through Parteen recklessly and through Ardnacrusha. Whatever we can get it out, we will get it out. Today, the spill level is about 400 cu. mm per second. However, in November, when we had heavy rain, we went to 607 cu mm. Therefore, they can spill. My Bill is about whether we can spill responsibly. Can we ensure that we review the levels, protect the environment, the biodiversity and the land, and ensure navigation happens?”
“The farmers are more than willing to play their part along the banks of the Shannon. When they speak to me they say, if they had one flood they could manage it, but it is the two floods that are catching them. That is very honest. We have to look at this. I have no doubt that advisers and the ESB are watching this today and I really hope they are listening in to my contribution. I am like a dog with a bone on this for the simple reason that this is very simple. I am saying I want to take out set levels. I want to review the set levels. I have not prescriptively said what set levels I want. One thing for certain is that the levels of 1934 and the levels in 2025 are not comparable because we have had a huge amount of peat extraction and a huge amount of stuff has gone into the basin of the Shannon. Therefore, the level has come up.”
“I can only speak? Okay. I thank the Minister of State for his genuine response and for bringing the human element into his response as well. I had read through the speech and I am glad that he blended our contributions into his response as an acknowledgement of the richness of the contributions that were made here today. This is only a start. This is opening a conversation. The conversation that was brought to the floor today in response to this amending Bill on Second Stage was around flooding and about the two floods we have now come to live with on the River Shannon, be it winter or summer. It was also about our responsibility to protect humans but also to protect our environment. Nobody wants to be reckless and it is to acknowledge we must work within the various frameworks.”
“The message we are getting from the people along the River Shannon now after the summer floods of 2023, on top of those in 2009 and 2015 and 2016, is that waiting is no longer acceptable.”
“It puts water level control and not just historical electricity storage at the heart of the statutory mandate. It clarifies that the works may include dredging new channels and deepening existing channels where works are appropriate and pass all environmental and planning tests. We are very clear that the Bill does not override planning law, environmental law or any protections we might rightly have in place. It does not say we should go and dredge everything in sight. It updates the core powers so that where works are needed to protect communities and manage the river safely, the ESB is not constrained by archaic wording drafted before most of the current population was born. Earlier attempts to do this in 2017 and 2021 fell with the dissolution of the various Governments.”
“Our Bill is trying to undertake a human-centred first step. This is the background to the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025 that Senator Daly and I are bringing to this House. This Bill is not about clever legal words for their own sake but about starting to bring the law into line with the reality people are living with. The Bill amends Schedule 1 of the 1934 Act to remove rigid outdated level bans for Lough Derg and Lough Allen that no longer reflect how the system operates and that do nothing to help us with climate change-driven flood risks. It updates Lough Ree’s provision so it clearly states the ESB’s purpose is to control the level of the water in the lake and, for that purpose, to execute works. This may sound technical but it is crucial.”
“Those internal documents are where we find the normal operating bands for Lough Allen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg, the seasonal target curve for Lough Ree, the drawdown protocols for Lough Allen before winter and the detailed gate rules for Athlone, Meelick and Parteen. For a family whose kitchen has flooded twice or a farmer who lost fodder in 2023, this feels like a black box. They cannot see the rules clearly. They cannot see the trade-offs, and they cannot see where their voice fits into the decision making. Alongside the guidelines to which I refer sits a 1934 Schedule full of level bands in feet, ordnance datum, OD, written at a time when the river was mainly seen as a reservoir for electricity generation as opposed to a living system to support communities, farming, navigation, tourism, biodiversity and changing climate.”
“That is okay. We have to speak honestly about the financial cost and how it feeds into the fear. Dealing with or getting insurance can be impossible for homeowners. When we strip everything back, we have the uncomfortable answer about the laws from the 1930s and the related guidelines. In 2025, the Shannon is still being managed by means of a legal framework that was written in the 1920s and 1930s. I refer, in particular, to the Electricity Supply Board (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1934. The real day-to-day rules are internal ESB regulations and guidelines and protocols observed by the ESB, Waterways Ireland and the OPW.”
“It is not only the big headline floods that cause damage; there is a constant attrition when the waters in rivers and tributaries are sitting level with the banks week after week. Drains and ditches cannot empty. Septic tanks back up. Lovely riverside gardens are now too risky to invest in. Farm entrances need to be raised again and again. People are living with permanent low-level anxiety because they know how little slack there is in the system. Once the river is full, the next downpour has nowhere to go but sideways. I am beginning to lose my place.”
“All the people who remember the 1950s and 1960s tell us they have never seen the patterns of water they see now. Middle-aged couples show brick lines on the gable ends of walls. If we are in Portumna where they keep the boats, they can show us where the water came up to in 2009 and again in 2015 and 2016. Young families trying to raise children wonder if they are being fair to those children by staying living where they are. The mental health impact is real. People flinch at the alerts from Met Éireann or the alert tone on the radio. They check river levels more than they check their own blood pressure. Even heavy rainfall is accompanied by a knot in the stomach, even if at the end the water stays just below the top of the bank.”
“There is a cost to moving stock, replacing damaged fences and water troughs, repairing lanes and paying for contractors at short notice in bad conditions. All of that is before we even get to the cost of the State emergency services, road repairs, relief schemes and ad hoc compensation. When communities ask who is actually responsible, what the rules are and what the plan is, they are not just asking an academic question, they are asking about the future of their homes, their businesses and their farms. There is an emotional toll, not just of one event but of a lifetime of events. We often talk about resilience as if it is endless, and people can absorb shock after shock. What I see along the Shannon is that the reservoir of resilience is running low.”
“There is a constant question mark over their whole way of life. We also speak honestly about the financial cost and how it feeds into people's fears. Insurance can be impossible or only available with massive excesses. Every new flood or near miss undermines the value of property, which is perhaps people's only asset. Those thinking about renovating or improving a house wonder if they should spend the money if the river is going to flood again. Repeated closures mean that businesses lose a lot of customers. Staff cannot get to work and deliveries cannot get in or out. Banks look nervously at premises in known flood areas and tighten credit. A summer like 2023 is not just an annoyance, it can throw into chaos the whole year's cash flow and feed plans for farmers. It is not just that extra fodder is expensive; sometimes it is scarce.”
“For people who live along the Shannon, that felt like a turning point - flooding in July when the fields should have been at their best. Hay and silage that had been planned and budgeted for was wiped out. The ground habitat of the curlew, which is a nesting bird, was destroyed in the middle of the breeding season. Children asked why the fields were covered by lakes in the summer. I have spoken to farmers who say that they can manage a winter flood - that they were used to that - but that they cannot rely on the summer any more. They ask what kind of life is that and how they are supposed to plan anything. That is not just an inconvenience; it is deep, grinding stress. It leaves them wondering if they should keep farming at all. It is all about if they are able to insure or sell their homes.”
“I have spoken to families who still describe the sound a flood makes - the dull quiet sound when water first seeps in and onto the concrete floor. They talk about living upstairs for weeks, using makeshift paths made out of pallets and blocks in order to move around outside their homes. The farmers with land on the callows tell us about watching the cattle standing on the last bit of high ground in their fields and about moving stock in the dark and rain, with water already lapping around their yards. They also talk about the sick feeling when they realised that the land was gone for the year and that every bale of silage would now have to be bought. Then, as if the winters were not enough, came the summer flood of 2023.”
“It is not just about water levels, it is about the fear and uncertainty year in and year out, living beside a river that is unpredictable. In 2009 and again in 2015 and 2016, the Shannon rose into people's lives in a way they will never forget. We can measure those events in metres on a gauge or in cubic metres per second as the water passed out at Parteen. We have all those numbers, but the people who lived through those events measure them differently. They measure them by the number of nights they did not sleep, the number of times they checked the back door at 3 a.m., the number of days that they could not get to work or school and the photos of the furniture that they did not get upstairs in time.”
“My colleague Deputy Paul Daly and I are glad of the opportunity to speak to the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025. I want to start far away from Acts and Schedules. I want to start in a kitchen along the Shannon on a wet night when the rain is hammering on the roof and the phone pings with another yellow or orange warning. The first thing people do is check the OPW app and the Waterways Ireland app and then ring a neighbour to ask what it is like at the bridge in Portumna. They might look out across the field and find the waters are well up and wonder if a flood is coming this time. That is the reality for so many families that live near Lough Allen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg, and right down to the Shannon.”
“We need a collective conversation about what we have on offer within our communities and the indigenous businesses. Only last week we saw the wonderful work that was done in relation to the crafts industry. We can do a revitalisation but we need to be able to market all our towns and villages. We need to give them the belief in themselves that they can market and be on that national stage. That digital world and digital marketplace ensures they can be exposed but you need to have the Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland branding supporting and endorsing your community and branding. I really would welcome it. However, I compliment the Minister and his Department on the work they have done.”
“It is good to see the Acting Leader in the chair. I concur with my colleague, Senator Conor Murphy, in relation to having a debate or conversation on the new national tourism policy that was launched during the week in Mullingar. I compliment the Minister, Deputy Burke, on the work that he and his Department have put into it. Coming from Portumna, as I always tell Senators, on the banks of the Shannon, I am on the fringes of the Hidden Heartlands, but just inside in the city I have the Wild Atlantic Way. I jokingly say that sometimes the people in the west do not know about the Hidden Heartlands and the people in the Hidden Heartlands forget we exist. I would really welcome a conversation and a debate because there is so much to offer, not just within Ireland but on the platform of Europe and on a wider level as well.”
“A person who has sold their property and gone through the court proceedings is excluded from it. I have no doubt the Minister of State will take this on board and bring it back to officials.”
“This exclusion is illogical and unfair and the person cannot legally remain married to a deceased spouse. The marriage has ended by operation of law. Widowed persons should not have to satisfy a statutory definition of the end of their marriage. Today is not the day for it but there is an anomaly. It needs to be addressed. The Minister of State it not the first I have raised it with. I have raised it with numerous people. On the interpretation of insolvency exemptions, section 10(5) of the Act provides another exemption for those affected by insolvency, stating "as part of a personal insolvency or bankruptcy arrangement or proceedings or other legal process consequent upon insolvency". This provision has been interpreted narrowly so that only individuals who went through formal bankruptcy, divorce or dissolution are included.”
“It is hard to believe that under the first home scheme, if a person becomes widowed and at the same time loses their property due to insolvency and has gone through that whole process, they cannot apply for the first home scheme. It is unfortunate but it is an anomaly. Cases have been sent forward to the first home scheme, but because of how the Act is constituted, they could not be approved. It is hard to believe people like that are excluded. The current interpretation of the fresh start principle does not extend to widowed applicants. This creates inequity. Where a marriage ends by divorce or dissolution, the applicant is deemed single and may qualify for supports. Where a marriage ends by death, the surviving spouse is de facto unmarried yet is excluded from the scheme because of their status.”