Barry Heneghan
Dublin Bay North · Independent · Ireland
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an bPáirtí an Lucht Oibre. This highlights what many families are experiencing right now. Many people have been in contact with me. Even today, I met parents who were under enormous pressure because of the cost of uniforms, books, transport and school activities.”
“I refer to the hundreds of vacant spaces over shops in Dublin, the capital city in which I grew up. I welcome the above-the-shop grant but could we re-examine it in terms of microcompanies or SMEs availing of that grant? It can be difficult for them to avail of the above-the-shop grant.”
“They deserve to know how that supplier was selected, whether public procurement guidance has been followed and why students cannot use an equivalent device that they may already own. Technology undoubtedly has an important role in education. I do not dispute that fact. I came through education while the technology was developing.”
“Anois sa choiste fuinnimh táimid ag caint faoi plug-in solar. In 2024 there was a consultation done by the Department in which Bord Gáis Energy said that plug-in solar systems should be mounted on roofs where possible and hardwired into a dedicated circuit.”
“That contradiction leaves parents and students whom I represent caught in a middle ground. On one hand, the Department is saying they are not mandatory and, on the other, schools are telling parents that they must purchase one. I understand that the Minister of State was in north Dublin.”
“My granny drank raw milk and she lived to 98. We need to look into alternative ways to have locally sourced food. In that regard, I will point to what is happening at EU level and how it ties into this.”
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“We constantly discuss in the climate and energy committee the curtailment we will face with the ORE being built across Ireland at the moment. It is great to see. There was a €90 million investment in Cork Port. It was great but many experts say we need to put more than €90 million in for when these large vessels come in to develop offshore renewable energy projects. To make it as effective as possible, more needs to be going in. I asked two weeks ago for the maritime law to be changed so the Department could put this on. It would be very good if this could be looked at and fast-tracked.”
“These small local issues will be the things that help. At the moment, it is not only that there is a housing crisis. Where somebody is waiting for a connection to build houses, if someone else can easily build a solar farm and have a direct line link to those houses, it will speed up everything. Germany, the UK and Denmark are doing it. I understand the Government is bringing forward a policy and I welcome the fact the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, announced that, but it needs to be fast-tracked. When I knock on doors in my constituency, I find people are struggling with energy bills. Private wires will reduce bills because of the demand on the grid being used by big energy. If they can take that off, this will reduce the demand and the cost per unit.”
“When I entered this House, one of the reasons the Ceann Comhairle ruled I was not a Member of the Opposition was that I claimed private wire policy was a win for me and my team. That policy is something I have been working on since January and I met with the OPLA today to review the Bill I am working on. The Bill is for small-scale local issues, to help eco-villages and small industry; it is not going to help big industry.”
“The owners and engineers told me they are turning off solar farms because the grid cannot take it due to curtailment. I understand the Bill is trying to tackle that but it needs to be fast-tracked because it does not make sense that we are turning off Irish solar farms to then import, as the previous Deputy mentioned, electricity from the UK that is from nuclear plants and other projects that they have, and buying off them when we have our own solar farms. It does not make sense to the public or to me. It is just bureaucracy and outdated policy. We saw this before with the North-South interconnector. It was identified in 2008 and is still not built. That critical infrastructure is delayed not by technology but by indecision.”
“I love how we call it a transition; it is not a transition but the complete scrapping of our current energy system and the building of a new one. We are changing, like the entire world is. This scale of investment, with the hundreds of projects and the substations, has been needed for years. I welcome the funding and the fact the ESB is getting reduced rates. It is helping to secure Ireland's energy future. We will face huge fines running into billions of euro regarding our energy. That is not 100% confirmed by the EU but if it is the case we need to do everything now. I have spoken about this in the House multiple times. That is why we cannot ignore the wider truths. It is a fact that our energy system is not keeping pace. I recently visited multiple solar farms across Ireland during the break.”
“Ba mhaith liom comghairdeas mór a dhéanamh le Catherine Connolly, an Uachtarán-elect. What I say in this contribution is not directed at the Minister of State; it is directed at the entire system I have been facing ever since being elected to this House. I welcome the Bill and the opportunity it provides. The billions of euro in investment in ESB Networks are badly needed. I am a member of the climate and energy committee and we are constantly discussing how Ireland's electricity system will be developed over the next four years we are in government. This is essential infrastructure. It underpins huge issues we face across Departments, from the housing crisis to economic growth gridlocks and the renewable energy transition.”
“I was on the phone to a local fisherman today. It is essential that this infrastructure be upgraded. Returning to the dredging, the issue of boat access is linked in that there have been cases where it is inefficient at low tide on certain channels. Other Members have commented on EU fishing laws. We saw how the fishermen spoke to the Minister of State that day. I know that he engaged with them and that we do have our hands tied when it comes to EU laws. Is there a way he could look into the matters those fishermen asked him to expedite? I look forward to welcoming him back to Howth to open a new boat lift in the next month or two.”
“of material needs to be removed. We have to do that sensitively as there is a lot of marine life around the area. Clearance of this material would restore depth and safety and ensure navigation of all craft. Residents in Howth are saying there have been incidents where the lifeboat was having difficulties in certain areas of the port. Could the Department look at ways to expedite the environmental authorisation along with the rigorous safeguards? I also want to reinforce the long discussion we had on the Syncrolift boat lift that is currently there. It is 40 years old and sadly the parts for that lift are not available any more. If that lift was out of service, all the local fishermen, boats and businesses, the fishmongers, restaurants and boat developers would not be able to work and the local economy would be damaged.”
“Táim buíoch don Aire Stáit as a thuras chuig Bhaile Átha Cliath thuaidh. It was great to see him with the local fishermen and the people who are engaged with local businesses i mBinn Éadair. It is very important to have been at that table to talk to the local fishermen. He witnessed how greatly the local economy is based on fishing. Howth is a huge tourist attraction. Americans come to this beautiful capital city, get the bus out to Howth, go on the walk, see the fishermen and eat the fresh fish. There are so many jobs based on that. The main thing the Minister of State heard about from that meeting is the dredging of the harbour. There is a serious delay at the moment. I understand the EPA has a reason and there are issues that need to be examined. Can the Department speed that up? Some estimates show that nearly 220,000 cu. m.”
“Tá sé deas é sin a chloisteáil ach, lena bheith ionraic, we have to really look at what the NCSE says it is doing. It says that it wishes to expand provision to schools that do not yet have special classes. I commend Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, for engaging with me on this matter. I know he has a huge body of work but the fact is he is getting through it and did visit four schools in Dublin Bay North. We were lucky to get the Minister of State out and he has responded to a lot of my emails to help them. As I said, when he was there, he was blown away by what the staff were doing to cope with funding. Both goals can be pursed together. We have a situation where children with eligibility letters are sitting in mainstream classes. The programme for Government says that we want every single child to not only survive but to thrive.”
“I also ask that the Minister renews the SENO guidance and decision-making to ensure recommendations are based on children's assessed needs rather than absence of available places.”
“In light of this demand the school is ready and eager to open two additional autism classes. We visited with the Minister of State. He was blown away by the resources and the resourcefulness of the staff and SNAs as they help children develop successfully. I commend Deputy O'Callaghan on the work he has done with the school before I entered this House. Its autism classes are only in their third year and yet in that short time they have built a great model of excellence. My main asks on behalf of the school are for the Minister to sanction two additional autism classes for the 2026-2027 school year to meet demand and to ensure that with its proven capacity and clear success it is prioritised along with other schools when allocating special classes.”
“Today, my constituency colleague, Deputy Cian O'Callaghan, and I are speaking on behalf of a school that we both visited with the Minister earlier in the year. I hope the staff and children who are watching this debate in the school today are having a lovely morning. At present, Stapolin Educate Together National School has two autism classes and one developmental language disorder, DLD, class. Despite this, there are currently multiple children in mainstream classes with eligibility letters for placement in autism classes and waiting lists of around 50 children still seeking places. My colleagues and I across Dublin Bay North are hearing this consistently. I know this is not the Minister of State's responsibility, but I hope he relays this to the other Ministers.”
“I welcome that, and my office and Senator Andrews will definitely be in touch with the Tánaiste's officials about organising that. Resolution 377(V)A of the UN Charter bypasses a veto and is brought by vote through the General Assembly, not the Security Council, so it avoids P5 members. It cannot be voted against. Members can only vote for it or abstain as it ensures peace and security. The Tánaiste has spoken about this before. It has been used in Korea. The UN needs to be able to avoid vetoes. If the UN can continuously be vetoed by one of the P5 members, that goes against the original reason the UN was set up, which was to prevent genocides and humanitarian catastrophes from occurring. I urge the Irish Government to join multiple other UN governments and officials who have called for the Uniting for Peace Resolution 377(V)A.”
“What is unique about this is that it can be passed by a two-thirds majority of the UN members in an emergency special session of the General Assembly, outside of a Security Council. Other governments are calling for this and I urge the Irish Government to do the same.”
“I welcome the fact that the Tánaiste spoke to me while I was on the flotilla and spoke to a Member of the other House, Senator Chris Andrews. I know that the Tánaiste and the Department over there and here did a lot of work. The Irish media sometimes portrays this as our having been detained. We were not. We were illegally captured in international waters. We have international law protecting us. That clearly was not even taken into account by the Israeli Government. On preserving the ceasefire, 45 UN experts called for the Uniting for Peace Resolution 377(V), part of the UN Charter, to be invoked on 5 September, before the UN General Assembly in New York, which the Tánaiste and the Minister of State attended. It will ensure lasting peace and can be enforced by the international military presence of the UN.”
“Ba mhaith liom labhairt faoi rud éigin atá i mbéal an phobail agus is é sin go raibh go leor daoine ó Éirinn ar an turas ar an flotilla go dtí Gaza, where the Israeli Government illegally captured us all in international waters, completely broke international law and obtained Irish citizens. I am in a group chat with many of these Irish citizens and they would love to meet the Tánaiste to discuss this and the current, very delicate ceasefire, which I have heard him talk about. Will the Tánaiste be willing to meet these Irish citizens, who left their mothers, fathers and sons and daughters to risk themselves to break an illegal siege?”
“It is no surprise that I am bringing up the issue of private wires again. This is something that is going to reduce energy costs and speed up housing supply. It is a win-win for the Irish people. It will bypass bottlenecks in grid connections. I have recently been contacted by people who have solar farms that are waiting 18 to 24 months for connection. It will help businesses with large roof spaces to allow the loads and reduce their carbon footprints. It will also reduce the grid connection. It will enable large batteries for long-term energy storage to be more easily built out for our grid. With our offshore renewable energy, ORE, development, we are going to have huge curtailment. Electrolysis factories can easily be built for green hydrogen with private wires legislation.”
“As I said about Intel, it needs to treat its own wastewater rather than leaving our taxpayers to fund it through the greater Dublin drainage strategy. The ringfencing of oysters - I like that the Tánaiste mentioned the oysters - needs to be done. Nature-based solutions are the way forward, backed by hydromorphological studies and seasonal public spending. I also thank the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Moran, for his visit and the work he has done on the flood defence in Clontarf. It is great to see Dublin Bay getting attention.”
“I do not understand why the private wires Bill is taking so long. It is two lines in the SI need to be removed and we need 5 megawatts to be removed from planning. It is very simple. Denmark has done it and the UK has done it. This needs to be done as fast as possible. We have established a committee but we need to establish a multi-agency Dublin catchment control group with clear accountability. As we saw in Bantry with the river, the EPA and everyone went in but no one knew who was responsible for the overflow. Second, we need to publish the monitoring of the 390 overflows into Dublin Bay. At present, we are not monitoring nearly enough and if we do not monitor all the overflows, we do not know how much wastewater we will be treating.”
“Intel treats its own water abroad in the US. Why can it not do it here? When we bring in the private wires Bill, it will help industry to create green energy onsite and have their own wastewater treatment plants. I urge that to be brought through as quickly as possible. The other opportunity is oyster farms. I was elected with my literature mentioning oyster farms. The UK, US, China and Australia are all using oyster farms as a nature-based solution. It is there, it is proven and it is better than any man-made solution. After the oyster farms are complete, they can be ground up and used as fertiliser.”
“We have seen in Dublin's Ringsend wastewater treatment plant what happens when it rains. The plant's hydraulic capacity gets overwhelmed and there is a run-off into the bay. We have all seen that famous drone photo of a huge run-off that was not able to be stopped and reached up to 3,000 parts per million E.coli in the water, which is seven times the recommended safe amount. When rainwater flows into the combined sewers, it overwhelms that capacity and, as I said, already, this is not being taken into account. That is why there is a judicial review and why it needs to be taken into account. The other issue that is very important for the public to know is that the greater Dublin drainage plan has a 150,000 population equivalent and nearly a third of the load is for Intel. That is for industry, not for housing.”
“The HA 08 is the catchment of all of Dublin Bay - the Tolka, the Santry, the Liffey and every tributary. We need to look at the whole system or we will never fix the bay. Right now, and the Tánaiste has spoken about judicial reviews, there is a judicial review going on the wastewater treatment plant. Judicial reviews are there for a reason, that is, when the State is not doing the correct thing. It did not check every single one of the 380 inflows into Dublin Bay. The biggest problem with this drainage strategy is it is not taking into account these run-offs and the two types of capacity with this wastewater treatment plant are not being taken into account. There is the treatment capacity of the plant, which is at 2.4 million, but there is also hydraulic capacity.”
“I want to express my deepest sympathy at the tragic loss of life in Donaghmede in my constituency. I express my hope that all those injured have a quick and speedy recovery. I am aware the gardaí and emergency services responded swiftly and it is an ongoing investigation. I raise something I have spoken about since entering this House, which is water quality in Dublin Bay. I have heard multiple TDs across this House mention it and many of my constituents in Clontarf, Raheny, Sutton and Howth have emailed me about getting sick due to swimming in Dublin Bay. This is not acceptable. Dublin Bay is supposed to be a UNESCO biosphere and an EU-protected bathing water. It is a complex issue. I have met with Uisce Éireann, which did have a huge body of work but what it is doing at present is not acceptable.”
“Gabhaim buíochas le gach Teachta Dála sa Teach. Mar a dúirt an tAire Stáit, tá sé iontach go bhfuil gach duine ag obair le chéile. To reiterate what colleagues have said, it is disappointing. We will all be making phone calls to parents of children in the school to tell them there is no definite answer. Is there anything the Minister of State can do to get a definite answer and a concrete timeline? It is very important.”
“Níl aon rud greanta i gcloch. Táimid fós ag fanacht. Tá sé deas go bhfuil gach Teachta Dála ó Cuan Bhaile Átha Cliath Thuaidh anois ag cur brú air seo ach táimid ag fanacht naoi mhí ar an Rialtas nua freagra a thabhairt. Tá sé deas go raibh an t-Aire sa scoil. I appreciate everything the Aire Stáit has done for Dublin Bay North and I urge him to put pressure on to get an answer for those parents and students. Tá sé an-tábhachtach go bhfuil Gaeilge i Cuan Bhaile Átha Cliath Thuaidh ag feabhsú. Is é sin an rud is tábhachtaí.”
“It would make a huge difference. If we allowed Members to access schemes like that, we would have more people with disabilities who could work right here in Leinster House, giving them their voice at the highest level we can achieve for people with disabilities. My time is running out. We need clear, measurable targets and for deadlines for waiting lists to be addressed. Deputy Lawless mentioned bringing back our talented therapists. I spoke about this recently and how there is a huge waiting list with Coru of those who qualified in the UK. This needs to be fast tracked. They should not have to wait 18 months or two years. I wholly support the motion.”
“I have seen this first-hand with my parliamentary assistant Michael who has a disability. This is his first ever job. Since entering this House on day one, he has shown the difference being included makes. He has never felt let down. He has never let his disability hold him back and I have never been let down by him. I have a huge amount to thank him for. However, when our office looked to the wage subsidy scheme to help with his disability for when he does find it difficult we were told it does not apply to Members of the Oireachtas. That is a missed opportunity. I have heard Members from both sides of the House raise the wage subsidy scheme. It is important that we look at bringing it into the Houses of the Oireachtas because it would bring more people with disabilities working right here with policymakers.”
“People with disabilities and their families have been crying out for this for years and have been promised it again and again but people with disabilities cannot live on these broken promises. They need delivery. They need for these promises to be delivered. I welcome much of the strategy that was recently announced. I welcome that we dealt with a lot of DPROs. I have mentioned how one or two of the DPROs that were engaged in this strategy cannot be classified as DPROs since the UN convention. This is not what they are due to the enrolment process that they have. Ireland has one of the lowest disabled employment rates in Europe and the gap remains among the widest. This is why we must set and meet binding targets but unless every Department and agency is held to account, these targets will just remain words.”
“Now she fears she will lose her medical card when she gets married, I have met her future husband, as she thinks she will be means-tested as part of a couple. Her disability does not disappear because she goes to work. Now she wants to stop working. Ciarán knows this case and has been working with me on it. We should not have to work on this case. It should not even be a case. People with disabilities should not have to face the higher cost of living but they do. They face a way higher cost of living than most of us. The should not fear losing supports for medical needs, equipment and personal supports by going to work. When I was on the phone to her 30 minutes ago, Saoirse asked me to share her words: This is supposed to be a happy time planning but it is not. I am worried about what I am going to lose.”
“I hope she knows that what I am saying is not directed at her but at the current system, which I know she agrees needs to be changed. For years, Saoirse Smith, a 34-year-old wheelchair user from Clontarf who works full time in the public sector, has wanted what every citizen wants. She wants to work, contribute to society and live with dignity and respect but since the first time I met Saoirse, that has not been the case. She is struggling and since going back to work she feels like she is being punished. Because she is in full-time employment, Saoirse has lost her full disability allowance and her mobility allowance. There was a recent article about this case in The Irish Independent .”
“It is about making disability and carers a real priority, not an afterthought, but we need to make sure this increase in money in the budget is spent well and efficiently . This is not just about figures on a page; it is about giving families and carers the support they deserve. As I was in my office, I heard other Members speak about emails they have received and I rang a constituent who I have been working with since I entered politics as a councillor. I welcome to the Public Gallery Ciarán Delaney, my disability adviser, who has been working with me tirelessly on this case. This is the Minister of State's first year in her post and we have spoken in depth about this while she has been in her ministerial role.”
“I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion and the Government for not opposing it. All of us, on the doors and in our email inboxes, have heard and read the same stories time and again. It is a huge part of why I got involved in politics and I think that would resonate with a lot of people here. They are the shocking cases of families, young children and adults left behind by the system and of people with disabilities denied the support they deserve. That is why I welcome the increase of €620 million in disability funding in budget 2026. It is a step forward, and I thank my colleagues in the regional Independents and all members of the Government who pushed for it.”
“Bhí mé ag caint leis an Taoiseach faoi seo cheana féin. Given the clear deficiencies in port capacity which threaten our ability to meet Ireland's offshore wind targets, as we discussed earlier, what are the plans to bring forward legislation amending the functions of the Irish Maritime Development Office to include a statutory mandate for planning, prioritising and advising of the funding for offshore wind energy port infrastructure? There is a clear bottleneck there. Can we commit to a concrete timeline for budget and oversight mechanisms to ensure that it becomes operational within the next 12 months?”
“We need a future that gives young Irish people a real alternative. I hope Deputy Brabazon will support me in looking for more investment in the northside. I see him nodding to me. It is something I have heard him talk about with e-scooters and antisocial behaviour - information coming to both our email addresses. The budget is coming. We need more funding for youth diversion projects, funding for technical and trade education on the northside and proper resourcing for community policing. The parents emailing are right to expect better. Our communities deserve better.”
“I was talking to an elderly lady who asked me to target these scooters and e-bikes. I asked her what sparked this issue and she told me a horrifying story of a young man who lost his life coming through Fairview Park four or five years ago. This cannot be ignored. It is something we need to target. From speaking to police, I know there is legislation in place but police are struggling to enforce it so we need to support gardaí. Communities will also play a role. Investment in local community groups across Dublin Bay North needs to be fair. Sanctions need to be there. The northside has been neglected for too long. It is something I have spoken about constantly in this Chamber. Members have heard me time and time again. I will sum it up as prevention where we can and firm actions when we must.”
“It would be great to see it being used as an extension of the Coolock Development Centre to give young people who have left school early the option to get into the trades. Some people are not designed for school and that is very evident. We should give them the option of getting into the trades, entering apprenticeships and setting up their own businesses to keep them away from trouble. Scramblers and e-bikes are another issue. I was driving two nights ago when a young lad came down a one-way street towards me on an e-scooter who was easily going 50 km/h or 60 km/h. It was dark and rainy. These children are not just putting other people at risk; they are also putting themselves at risk. I would be very upset if I heard another story like the one I heard when I knocked on a door last week.”
“It is horrible to see. I have spoken to young mothers in Artane, Raheny, Clontarf and Coolock who do not know what to do with their children who have left school. Significant developments are taking place in Coolock Development Centre and I congratulate everyone involved in it. Great things are happening in youth work in north Dublin but they are underfunded and understaffed. Sphere 17 in Darndale is really struggling so I ask the Minister of State to give it the funding it deserves. I will bring people from Sphere 17 to the House next week and I look forward to speaking to them. We spoke about immigration and migration earlier and the significant matter of the Crown Paints site in Coolock. I look at that site now and ask what could be done to it to help the community and target antisocial behaviour.”
“We want to see prevention officers going out on the streets, talking to these young people and giving them other options. I bring it back to the analogy that is constantly used for homelessness but could also be used for antisocial behaviour. If we constantly see people floating down the river, we take them out eventually. Eventually we go to the top of the river and ask why they are jumping in in the first place. We need to prevent people falling into the river of crime and antisocial behaviour and give them options other than going into drug dealing or robbing houses. I will push the Government to do this. It always starts with prevention. Too many young people in north Dublin are involved in antisocial behaviour. It is because they have nothing to do after school. They leave school too early - at the age of 16, 17 or even 14.”
“Go raibh míle maith ag Deputy Gogarty for bringing the motion to the House. It concerns something we all see across this Chamber in emails we constantly get about antisocial behaviour. The people of Dublin Bay North are raising it with me every single week. Just this week, a parent in Raheny wrote to me to tell me about masked teenagers on e-scooters and scramblers and open drug dealing outside a crèche. I am being told by different representatives that nothing can and will be done. The sense of powerlessness this parent had when I called to their house was not acceptable. On another occasion, across the constituency, we saw vigilante gangs of people. I do not blame these young people. They have nothing else to do. That is the real issue. We are not investing in young people's futures.”
“I call for a full inquiry to understand how the situation was so grossly mishandled so that the mistakes that occurred are never repeated. Previous speakers talked about solidarity with the Indian community. When I was in Beaumont Hospital recently, I heard of the exact same experience with nurses and doctors being attacked leaving the hospital. Another Deputy mentioned it too. I stand with that community and show solidarity with them. I believe in a country where immigration in Dublin and elsewhere is managed with respect and where communities are included.”
“I have had engagement on this matter with the Minister previously. When I stood for election as an Independent in Dublin Bay North, the constituency where the former Crown Paints site is located, this issue came up on the doorsteps. The public want to know. I was one of the only candidates who had immigration on my election literature. The platform I was elected on was based on a more dignified, proactive approach to immigration focusing on dialogue between communities and the Government. We know this was not the case with the Crown Paints site. That is why what happened at the site was so disappointing. I know this did not happen during the Minister's term in office but during the term of his predecessor.”
“The founding mothers and fathers of this State would be turning in their graves if they knew only 0.01% of the budget was going to the Department with responsibility for the Gaeltacht. We need to put more money into that. It is something we need to get down. There will be more jobs and opportunities for people. I was a presenter for TG4 before I was a politician. Let us put more money into TG4. Let us put more money into the Irish language. Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí. It is important we nurture our native language because that is it. Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam.”
“I wish to join in condemning any violence that the Tánaiste has faced. No one from any side of this House should experience that. I stand with anyone experiencing that. He has my complete solidarity. Is mian liom labhairt faoi rud atá i mbéal an phobail faoi láthair, is é sin, an méid airgid atá ag dul don Ghaeilge. It is a shame that more than 100 years after the foundation of this State Irish speakers and members of the Gaeltacht will be protesting outside these Houses this Saturday for basic rights for our native language. During the formation of Government, the regional Independents showed our priority for more funding for the Irish language. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil an tAire ar an eolas faoi seo. Bhuail mé leis ag an gcruinniú sin.”
“That said, this strategy deserves strong backing. It is going to give us the framework that is needed. However, while frameworks and reports are one thing, the next step is delivery. We must now turn the commitments into action. I welcome that the Minister of State has published the network and that there are major commitments in the programme for Government regarding disabilities. It was great to see Joan Carty, advocacy manager at the Irish Wheelchair Association, at the launch. I look forward to working tirelessly with Joan when the voices of disabled people are heard and acted upon. That is what we must do. The strategy sets the direction. The challenge for us now is to match it with action and delivery to make an impact.”
“I welcome the publication of the strategy, which is anchored in human rights and our obligations under the UNCRPD. It is worth remembering that when this was ratified, it was my predecessor, the former Minister of State, Finian McGrath, who got it delivered. The progress was slow but I am delighted to see it has been made. I want to raise one concern that was brought to me by multiple DPOs, which was that engagement in the design of the strategy was restricted to the DPO network. While disabled persons organisations must be central in everything we do in government, multiple DPOs have reached out to me to say they were not consulted, including two in my constituency. I feel the net was drawn too tightly. One of the organisations within the network cannot, under the current structure, be considered a true DPO.”
“In the meeting I was at last week, LDA officials were very informative, but they need support from the Minister's Department, so I ask him for it. We need joined-up planning that includes not just bricks and mortar, but the services and amenities that turn housing into real, sustainable communities. They deserve no less.”
“I thank the Minister for his response. I urge his Department to take a more active role in identifying and responding to the key areas and needs left in Clongriffin, Belmayne and all of north Dublin in my constituency. This community has 15,000 people, with more moving in each year. The area does not even have a supermarket; people have to leave. The area has one of the highest rates of car ownership in Ireland. A recent study has shown that. This is because people do not have the ability to do otherwise. Infrastructure is something they really need. I note the recent announcement by Dublin City Council in relation to the L-shaped land development in Belmayne. Clongriffin also needs infrastructure.”
“The Minister of State visited the site and the residents are really thankful. While I am following up, the consequences of the poor co-ordination of infrastructure in Clongriffin and Belmayne in my constituency are being felt every day by residents. It is an extremely densely populated area, but there are no community facilities, including no library, no primary healthcare and an undersupply of school places. A submission has been made by Dublin City Council and I hope it will be looked at by the Minister. I was recently at a meeting with the Land Development Agency, LDA, and the residents groups, and the communication had nothing about how the deficit would be addressed. I really hope the Minister will bring in these reforms and we will see visible change in north Dublin.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. Is deas é sin a chloisteáil. I am delighted to see that, this week, the Government announced the private wires policy. This was something we discussed during the formation of the Government and I am delighted to see the Minister is supporting it, too. I appreciate the response from him and I look forward to him finishing his contribution, but I heard Deputy McCarthy talk about flood defence. I hope the Minister of State will not forget north Dublin's flood defences as well.”