Cathal Byrne
Cultural and Educational Panel · Fine Gael · Ireland
“I join other Senators in urging the Government, including the Minister for local government, to produce the action plan on local democracy and make it a key priority to work on it over the summer so that the hard-working councillors up and down Ireland can have clarity about what exactly the changes will be as they face into another round…”
“I join colleagues in thanking so many of the staff here who make it possible for us to do our day-to-day work. That includes not only Martin Hughes and the team here in the Seanad, but also the ushers and all those who make the day-to-day life of Leinster House possible, including those who work in the restaurant, the canteen and behind t…”
“The Senator also raised the situation of the artist Emily Conway from County Mayo, who received an Arts Council bursary in recognition of her important contribution as an artist but which has created a scenario whereby her application for a blind pension has run into difficulty. I encourage him to put that down as a Commencement matter.”
“I feel there is also a responsibility on Dublin City Council to allow for that and to support local residents in the area. In fairness to Senator Andrews, he has spoken about this before in the House. I am happy to take it up with the Leader.”
“However, because the consultation with the consultant took place initially in Monaghan, the HSE refused that application. I encourage Senator Tully to perhaps raise this as a Commencement matter. There is an appeal mechanism through the HSE and the ombudsman. Perhaps that is an avenue for her constituent to pursue.”
“The Order of Business is No. 1, Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 - Committee Stage (resumed) and Remaining Stages, to be taken at 12.45 p.m., with the proceedings thereon, if not previously concluded, to be brought to a conclusion at 3.45 p.m.”
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Every one of 555 lines we hold for Cathal Byrne, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 12.
“When this legislation was originally proposed, given the enormous challenges we have had in Enniscorthy in delivering the Enniscorthy flood relief scheme, it was my view that there may need to be amendments, which I would have put down myself, to designate flood defences as critical infrastructure. However, based on the Minister's correspondence and the proposed wording of the legislation, I am now satisfied that those projects and other critical projects in the areas of housing, health, transport, energy, water supply and wastewater can be captured by the legislation as currently presented. I fear that, if we get too prescriptive as to what exactly we can do, we will be tying the hands of the Minister or future Ministers in this regard. Making our definitions too broad could result in projects not having flexibility to adapt.”
“Section 3(3)(b) states that among the matters the Minister must consider, whether now or in the future, as to whether a project can be deemed critical is "whether delay to, or disruption of, the delivery of a project or programme, or failure to deliver a project or programme, may have adverse economic or social consequences for the State". The provision of housing, healthcare, transport, energy, water and wastewater management systems can all be captured within that as failure to deliver these may have adverse economic or social consequences for the State.”
“I see the Enniscorthy flood relief scheme in my own town as critical infrastructure. I have raised this with the Minister previously and, in fairness to him, he wrote back to me saying that there is flexibility within the legislation as currently presented to designate various projects as critical infrastructure. He stated that, rather than having a prescriptive list, there must be flexibility to account for what might be considered critical in the future. I am particularly drawn to the wording in section 3, which speaks about how a project can be designated as critical infrastructure.”
“The Minister is most welcome to the Chamber this evening. I have said on the record of the House before that I believe this to be among the most important legislation that Senators will debate and discuss during the entire term of this Seanad. It is really important that, from the outset, we acknowledge the work the Minister and officials in his Department have done, together with the various task forces the Minister has also established. I am a member of the Oireachtas infrastructure committee. Over the past 13 or 14 months, we have examined a number of the key challenges the State is facing in delivering critical infrastructure projects. On the amendment, I accept that there will always be projects that are considered critical, depending on where you are and how you look at things.”
“I call for a debate here on CLÁR in general and specifically on the measure to ensure that first-responder groups, which are recognised under CLÁR funding, can get access to pads and funding towards their cost. Those first responders use their own cars and vehicles to get out there quickly. A first-responder vehicle would not benefit them if they have to go from their home to a base, change vehicle and then respond. There is a mechanism here that could be rolled out across the country. There are many good groups across the country that do similar work and a tweak in the programme would benefit groups like the Kilmore Area Community First Responders.”
“Unfortunately, the CLÁR scheme that currently exists for first responders prioritises vehicles and large-scale machinery. While they will make an application for some defibrillator machines, it does not cover their day-to-day costs. When they arrive on site and someone requires a defibrillator, they need to use pads that for obvious reasons cannot be reused. Every time there is a cardiac event, a new set of pads needs to be purchased and those pads can cost up to €300 per use. That is a considerable cost for a voluntary group. Everyone in the area wants to make sure more than sufficient pads are available and that they are able to be used when necessary.”
“I raise the need for some amendments to be made to how the CLÁR programme is being operated. There is a call out requesting CLÁR funding from various different groups. Last Friday, I met a voluntary group, the Kilmore Area Community First Responders who are trained and work in a co-ordinated manner to be the first responders on site, particularly for people who are suffering from cardiac issues, strokes and heart attacks. They are volunteers and all of them live locally in the community. They explained to me that they are often the first people on site, even arriving ahead of paramedics and the National Ambulance Service. When someone rings 999 and says they are having a cardiac event, the group will be notified as well.”
“It does not make sense that simply because an individual has been searched, they will be required to give over all this information to the gardaí in circumstances where they have not carried out any offences. I appreciate and understand the rationale and points that Senators Ruane, McDowell and others are making. I am particularly conscious that people are innocent until proven guilty. It seems a disproportionate barrier to place on people who have not committed any offence that this information could be demanded from them simply because they are a passenger in a car that got stopped. This does not seem proportionate or practical either. The gardaí should not be doing that.”
“I suggest that in such a situation, the garda should not take the people out of the car and start going through these requirements line by line. Instead, the garda should simply say, "Thanks for stopping, now go on your way", and they could move on. I have massive concerns that a member of An Garda Síochána, who carries out a search on people who will not be prosecuted or found guilty of carrying out any offence, will still be obliged to record their gender, nationality, place of birth, occupation and religion. In a Bill that is seeking to streamline, modernise and reform the powers of An Garda Síochána to make the jobs of individual gardaí out on our streets and out on the beat stopping people and vehicles easier, this will create a disproportionate real-world barrier to the very thing we are trying to achieve.”
“However, if we insert this amendment as it is currently constituted, we will place an onus on the member of An Garda Síochána to go out and record their nationality, gender, place of birth, occupation and religion. These are people who find themselves in a situation where they are getting searched, but they could now also find themselves being asked about their nationality, gender, place of birth, occupation and religion. If we insert amendment No. 26 b into the Bill, it will become a requirement for the garda who carries out the search to ask these questions. A failure to comply with the requirement of a garda will carry the maximum penalty of 12 months' imprisonment on summary conviction, or on conviction on indictment a maximum fine of €30,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.”
“Senators Ruane and McDowell spoke about the situation where a car is stopped by a member of An Garda Síochána. Let us say that there are four occupants in the car and it is searched. With the way the Bill is currently drafted, the garda will request the occupants' names, addresses and dates of birth. If they fail to comply with that instruction, it will be an offence, under section 15 in Part 2, to fail "to comply with a requirement of a member acting under the powers conferred by this Part". Senator Ruane spoke about how the individuals in that car will now have their records kept on the PULSE system, and these are people on whom nothing was found in this instance. There were no drugs, knives, guns or anything consequential. In the ordinary course of action, they would be permitted to continue on their way.”
“26 b that we want to record their nationality, gender, place of birth, occupation and religion. If somebody says he or she is not telling us what religion he or she is, what would be the answer?”
“In my own hometown of Enniscorthy this morning, a search was carried out of a vehicle, which involved that vehicle ramming the Garda car. That is going go before the courts. It is important to remember that when are discussing searches that it is the gardaí on the front lines who are carrying these out and they are at risk. When incidents like what we saw this morning in my hometown take place, there is always a risk to the members of An Garda Síochána. On the amendments, the one question I have about the amendments is what will happen if you ask somebody their religion as part of the search and he or she responds that he or she is not answering that question? Will it just be written down that they did not answer? I am just working through it. It says in amendment No.”
“I wish to raise a query in relation to subsection (3), which provides that "The person or driver who is the subject of a search referred to in subsection (1) may, at any time, make a request in writing to a superintendent of An Garda Síochána in the Garda Síochána district in which the search was carried out for a copy of the record." In circumstances where that person's agent, representative or solicitor acting on their behalf makes that request, I assume that would be permitted. While the section does not refer to agents, representatives or solicitors, I assume that somebody acting on their behalf would be permitted to request that record. I note that when we are discussing searches, some of the searches that take place involve members of An Garda Síochána placing themselves in harm's way.”
“Those are some practical things I ask the Minister of State and his officials to take back. I support the work he is doing. I welcome the publication of the new rural guidelines.”
“I support local need rules and the idea that we cannot have a situation whereby people who do not have a genuine connection to a local area secure planning permission. I encourage the Minister of State to base decisions on social and socioeconomic factors. For example, a teacher who has moved to teach in a small rural school should be encouraged and supported in securing planning permission in that local community setting. I think in particular of difficulties I have had with constituents who are farm labourers, milking herds of daily dairy cows in several local parishes around the one area. For whatever reason, they have not been recognised as having made a contribution to the local economy worthy and meritorious of them securing local planning permission.”
“The reality is that we have an ageing population in this country. Many people seek to downsize. At the moment, in my area in Wexford if people want to downsize they have to build a unit that can be connected to a main house. I do not think that makes sense. People want independence and to be able to live separately from the family member to whom they might gift the main family house. At the same time, they want to stay close to them. If we are to support and encourage people in making their own choice to downsize, we have to allow for houses to be built at the back of existing houses which are not required to be connected. That acts as an artificial barrier to a lot of people choosing to downsize.”
“I very much welcome the changes the Minister of State has made to allow modular houses to be built in people's backyards and to remove planners from people's backyards. That is very much to be welcomed. It also recognises the real world realities, namely that people choose to buy and live in modern, well-constructed and professionally built backyard units. If we support changes in rural planning guidelines, we have to be serious and consider changing the five-in-a-row rule and ribbon development. Why is it the case that anywhere else in the country five houses in a row are allowed, but a family member who wants to build a fifth house is not currently permitted to do so? That is my experience in Wexford. It is wrong and should be changed. I would very much encourage the Minister of State to change that.”
“I welcome the opportunity to engage with the Minister of State on what is a vital and crucial issue for rural Ireland. My county of Wexford is a predominantly rural county. For the five and a half years I served on Wexford County Council, not a week went by without engagement from somebody making an application for rural planning permission. My view on this is very simple. We have to allow local people from the local area to be able to build on local land. With that in mind, I very much welcome the commitment of the Minister of State to ensuring we will have houses built in the countryside and allow people to build on their own land. That, in turn, will support our local schools, shops and GAA and soccer clubs. To me, that is what keeps a healthy and vibrant rural Ireland.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her response. I welcome the fact that the Minister will engage with the athletic therapists’ representatives. Perhaps, after that meeting, we can see progress on it. This is a unique opportunity to assist in tackling the waiting lists. I am particularly struck, as I said earlier, that people living in Wexford or Waterford will be ten times longer on the list than those living in Carlow, Kilkenny or Tipperary. Something has clearly broken down in the HSE model when it comes to providing physiotherapist services in Wexford and Waterford. I urge the Minister of State to take this issue back to the Department and her officials and to engage with the HSE to see what exactly has gone wrong, how it can be fixed and how the waiting list in Wexford, comprising 4,404 people, can be reduced.”
“They are recognised, certified athletic therapists and they have told me through their representative body, Athletic Rehabilitation Therapy Ireland, that there has been engagement with the HSE about allowing them to work within the HSE structures, but the engagement has not successfully led to them being allowed to work. Given the enormous waiting lists in my area, the south east, and in general, a review of this should be carried out. I would be interested in hearing the Department of Health's position about allowing these professionals to work in the health service, particularly given that they have four-year degrees and are approved and qualified as having a regulated, recognised position. Also, currently the NHS allows them to play an important role in the UK.”
“Unfortunately, we do not have a further breakdown of how long these people have been waiting. The figures are capped at waiting more than 52 weeks. The reason I tabled this Commencement matter today is to offer a solution to this, which is to allow qualified athletic therapists, who are regulated by Athletic Rehabilitation Therapy Ireland, to engage with the HSE to free up physiotherapists by allowing athletic therapists to do work coinciding with, not replacing, physiotherapists by working alongside them. These people are qualified, having studied for a level 8, four-year degree from DCU, SETU in our area, or ATU. At the moment, approximately 150 graduates are coming out of colleges having done a four-year degree.”
“I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, for coming in. This is a serious and profound issue I will raise, based on the latest figures from the HSE for people awaiting physiotherapist services in the south-east health region. The figures show 6,693 people have been waiting for those services for more than 12 months. In the Minister of State's area of Carlow, Kilkenny and Tipperary, there are 295 people. In the south Dublin and County Wicklow area, there are 100 people, but in the Waterford and Wexford area - Wexford is my county - 4,404 people have been waiting more than 12 months. Something has clearly broken down in the HSE if two thirds of all the people in the Dublin and South East health region who are waiting more than 12 months for physiotherapy are based in Waterford or Wexford.”
“I ask that the Minister for Transport come to the Chamber and explain when the emergency money and the catch-up money committed to the programme for Government will be released and when there will be certainty for Wexford County Council. The summer will be over soon, the winter will come quickly and then we will back into another storm cycle.”
“The real impact of this is being felt by the Wexford economy, with farmers unable to access some fields, milk lorries unable to enter parlours, hauliers unable to bring goods to businesses and families where a member's carer cannot access the home because they are unable to get up the road. I spoke the other day to a man who told me that the carer who comes to his grandmother has to get out of the car and walk 600 m up the road to get into the house and 600 m back down the road after leaving the house at the end of the shift. That man is terrified about what could happen if an ambulance needs to be called and cannot get up the road. This is the type of experience being lived through by people in Wexford.”
“I refer to the lack of roads funding provided to Wexford County Council in the aftermath of Storm Chandra. We are now 120 days on from the storm, which occurred on 27 January. Unfortunately, despite a request for an emergency budget of €22 million, Wexford County Council has not received any funding to date. I am seeking answers in this regard. The council has identified 157 roads in the county as damaged to the point of being in an immediate and dangerous state of disrepair as a result of the storm. It is the largest number of roads so affected in any county. The council does not have the resources out of its ordinary roads budget to address this issue. We have been waiting 120 days and we are still waiting.”
“The section states that references to material being privileged: shall be construed as a reference to the material being, by or under any enactment or rule of law— [...] (b) the subject of privilege, other than legal professional privilege, where, under the enactment or rule of law concerned, the holder of the material is obliged to disclose it to another person only where a court has directed such disclosure Where journalists find themselves in situations where they are under pressure to disclose sources, is their privilege already protected by section 2(2)(b)? Will the Minister confirm whether that is the case?”
“I recognise the purpose behind the amendment being put forward by the Senators. Recognising the importance of the protection of journalists' sources and the recognition afforded to it by the courts over many years, will the Minister clarify whether this matter is already addressed by section 2(2)(b)?”
“I note the specific importance of this legislation and recognise the work that was done by the Minister and his officials in the Department of justice. Many different viewpoints were expressed during the debate, but the main viewpoint here is to try to get the truth and a proper sense of accountability for what was done in the past. It is important that this legislation has passed. I encourage a speedy implementation on behalf of the Fine Gael Senators.”
“In his contributions as Leader while responding on a daily and weekly basis to the Order of Business, I always felt that he took up those issues and that there was a balance in the debates that led from the Order of Business here, recognising the various different groupings that we have here. I congratulate him, his family and the Fine Gael Party and organisation in Galway, including the very hard-working team of Galway councillors who played a very important role in the election campaign. I also congratulate Daniel Ennis on his election as a representative for Dublin Central. This is very much a day for them and their families. I hope that they both have the opportunity to reflect on the big moment that it is to take a seat in the Lower House.”
“I join with colleagues today in expressing congratulations to our former colleague and former Leader of Seanad Éireann, Seán Kyne, on his election to Dáil Éireann. One of the big things that stands for me about Seán is his interest in public service, his decency and also the respect he had for the institution that is Seanad Éireann. In the time that he was the Leader of the Seanad, he recognised the important role we do here as a legislative Chamber made up of different groupings, parties and people who have very different policy beliefs, but all of whom believe in the importance of democracy and the importance of this institution as a legislative Chamber and a Chamber for discussion and debate.”
“Why can both of those not be applied for simultaneously, with one contingent on the other? If there is a condition in one, then it also has to be a condition in the other. When that point was made at the infrastructure council by the chief executive of Wexford County Council, it struck me as common sense. That is maybe something the Minister and his officials can look at. The Fine Gael group will be supporting this legislation, and I encourage my colleagues in the Opposition to support this legislation as well. It is one of the largest, most significant, most impactful and key pieces of legislation the Government will bring forward this term. I would appreciate if we could get through it as quickly as possible so we can start implementing it as soon as possible.”
“I encourage the Minister, his colleagues in Government and the accelerating infrastructure task force to look at the planning process for these major projects. While this will move things a significant way forward, there is always more that can be done. It was recently highlighted to me that a local authority looking to develop a project involving water from the river or the sea must apply for a marine area consent licence but cannot apply it for simultaneously with the planning permission application. They have to be done one after the other. That means you apply for your marine area consent licence. That could take anywhere between three months to a year. Once you get that, you apply for planning permission, which could take anywhere from three months to two years.”
“The other thing I want to speak about is the enormous challenges we will have, as we learned at the Oireachtas infrastructure committee, with the balance being struck with the metro north project. It was said that the application for planning permission in that case could have been up to 3,500 pages. If we are going to deliver some of these key national infrastructure projects, we have to simplify even further. It is one thing to say to all State bodies that certain infrastructure is critical and must be prioritised, but the rules and structures we have in place to get planning permission on any of these major projects in and of themselves create a difficulty. If a single page is wrong in such a large document, the whole application fails and has to be done again.”
“I have been in correspondence with the Minister on the interpretation in this legislation of what does and does not qualify as critical. I hope flood schemes like that in Enniscorthy, which is part of the national development plan, will be labelled as critical infrastructure. I would like the Minister to commit on the record that not only this project but flood schemes in general in those circumstances can be labelled as critical infrastructure, and where the overriding needs of the public and the national development plan align that the Government will view these as key projects. It is important to have on the record that it is possible to designate certain flood schemes as critical infrastructure under this legislation.”
“However, I am somebody who recognises there is always going to be a contest between environmental protections and the public interest in delivering infrastructure projects and sometimes a balance has to be struck, where the needs of the public, the economy and society at large means that we have to disallow certain environmental protections. I support that. I know the protections existing in this legislation give a sufficient balance between those two competing interests. I am also somebody who comes from a county that has seen the impact these delays in planning can bring. In Enniscorthy, as the Minister is aware, we have had devastating flooding. A fully funded flood scheme of €55 million was allocated 11 years ago, but because we cannot get through the planning process, we have not been able to deliver on that.”
“The impact of that legislation on my area has been the delay by a year and a half of the key motorway we are trying to get built from Oilgate to Rosslare Harbour, which would ensure a motorway runs right from Belfast all the way to Rosslare Port, while the impact of that court case was reviewed in all aspects of our planning permission. This is the real, tangible impact. We are a year and a half behind because of the impact of that section. The Minister is asking us to support certain projects labelled as critical having that section disapplied. I am not somebody who denies that climate change is having a real impact on the country, nor am I somebody who denies climate change is real.”
“As regards motorways, and looking at my own area, the Minister spoke about how this legislation is going to disallow, in certain instances, section 15 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act. I remember when that legislation was taken in a judicial review by the Friends of the Irish Environment all the way up the ladder into the High Court, where the planning for the Galway ring road was quashed as a result of the courts feeling the application did not take sufficient account of section 15 of that legislation and that not enough consideration had been given to reducing how many vehicles would travel on that road.”
“Over the past year, we have engaged with many different stakeholders, representatives of industry and the various State bodies and boards, who have all spoken about the need for the public good to be put right at the heart of our planning process. I have no doubt this legislation is part of the overall process the Minister has brought forward with his colleagues to ensure the red tape gets cut and delivery can happen faster and swifter. In making it possible to have infrastructure designated as critical, we are following what other countries have done in recent years in putting in place a hierarchy of projects where certain projects are above others, which is the right way to go. There is no doubt in my mind that certain projects are critical to the infrastructure needs of the country.”
“I welcome the Minister to the Chamber on behalf of the Fine Gael group, as Fine Gael spokesperson on infrastructure. The Bill before us is probably one of the most important pieces of legislation that will be brought forward by this Government over the entire course of this term. It gets to the core point of delivery and ensuring this Government can deliver on the key infrastructure challenges we have. It also ensures some of the largest key infrastructure projects we are talking about bringing forward, such as the metro, airports, ports, major motorways and hospitals, are able to get through the planning process to be delivered as swiftly and quickly as possible. I am a part of the Oireachtas infrastructure committee.”
“I am back here again to raise the issue with a view to it being addressed and solved for students who are starting out again in September. We must reflect on this for a moment. These students wanted to attend secondary school in Wexford town. They did not have any choice but to go outside the town. While they are attending Good Counsel College in New Ross, the reality for them and their families is that there is no bus that can get them there. This issue must be ironed out. It is a wrinkle that exists under the current rules and it needs to be resolved. Unfortunately, many of those students did not receive a concessionary pass and, therefore, were not able to get any sort of school bus transport.”
“There was a bit of confusion, but there is no need to worry. I raise an important point for this time of year, which is the issue of school transport and bus passes. Last year, I raised what I felt was a very unfair situation for students who live in Wexford town but are unsuccessful in securing a secondary school place in the town because of capacity issues. They were forced to apply outside the town and ended up attending Good Counsel College in New Ross, which is in a different part of County Wexford. As those students were not attending their local secondary school, they were refused access to a bus pass. I felt that was very unfair. Last year, we had engagement with the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, but, unfortunately, we were not able to resolve the problem.”
“It is bearing the brunt of coastal erosion, with up to 3 m a year disappearing into the sea. It will shortly be too late for the families, businesses and houses there. The Department has significantly funded an area slightly upstream from where I am talking about, at Seaview. I am working closely with Councillor Frank Staples to access funding for works that could be done at the Ballyhealy site. I encourage the Minister of State to visit the site. An application will be made shortly by Wexford County Council. It is to be hoped that can be supported and the businesses and the residents who live on that piece of ground will have their property and land protected.”
“As somebody who knows the people whose houses were flooded and the business owners whose businesses were flooded and who were directly affected, I very much welcome that. The Minister of State has my full support for the work he is doing there. The OPW does fantastic work in Wexford at some of the public sites. I encourage people to come and see sites such as Ferns Castle and the work that has been done at the JFK Arboretum and Tintern Abbey near New Ross. These are fantastic resources that are kept for the public good through the work the Minister of State and his officials do. I want to raise one specific point, which is an application for coastal erosion flood relief measures that will be made shortly by Wexford County Council for a site at Ballyhealy in south Wexford.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming before us today. I am very familiar with his work in Wexford. I thank him for the work he did with the team in the OPW during the latest floods in Enniscorthy, Bunclody and Bridgetown. I very much welcome the €2.6 million, the interim measures that are coming and the fact that officials from the Department and Wexford County Council will be available in Enniscorthy tomorrow afternoon to meet with local residents and businesses about the interim measures. I am aware of the work the Minister of State is doing in proposing new legislation, through amendments to the Arterial Drainage Act, for how flood schemes can get planning permission.”
“It should never be the case that a garda who puts on the blue lights and goes after a suspect in a chase would find themselves up before the courts being prosecuted for dangerous driving. There are always examples of where there is a need to have that on the Statute Book but my first priority would be to support the men and women and to prevent them from being prosecuted from dangerous driving when they are pursuing suspects fleeing from a crime. We need clear, legislative change in this area. I call on the Minister of State, the Department and all of us in this House to support that change. There is a vacuum in the law and we have an opportunity to fix it. That is what we should be doing. I support this motion.”
“I also think of Garda Seamus Quaid who was killed 45 years ago by members of the Provisional IRA when he apprehended a van filled with explosives following the IRA robbing a bank. He was killed in the line of duty as a member of An Garda Síochána. He was shot in a gunfight. The reality for gardaí up and down the country is that they put their lives first into harm's way. They are the ones who go into the danger. The reality for all of us in this Chamber is that there an obligation and an onus on us to support the men and women of An Garda Síochána. The motion proposes a number of real, practical measures on behalf of the Fine Gael group of Senators that would allow us to do that. There is a real need to support the men and women who pursue in vehicles suspects of crime.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I commend my colleagues Senator Kelleher, and former Garda, Senator Noel O'Donovan, on bringing forward the motion. It is a welcome and opportune motion for the time we have with the various serious criminality that is, unfortunately, finding its way into our streets. It is an issue that has been discussed up and down the Chamber this evening and the real need to support our gardaí. I am thinking of the 597 gardaí who are stationed in the Wexford-Wicklow Garda division. In particular, I am thinking about the four gardaí from Wexford, including Garda Roe, Garda Fogarty and Garda Nolan, who lost their lives in the line of duty.”
“I am asking that we bring the Minister to the House to have a debate on the issue so that the people who are caring at the moment have certainty on when the means test will be gone and the higher payment of €325 will come in.”
“It is important that we recognise the contribution of these carers, the work they are doing in saving money for the State by caring for people who otherwise would be in a nursing home or a hospital bed. The party of which I am a part, namely, Fine Gael, and the Government as a whole, agreed that we would abolish the means test and that we would increase the amount paid to carers from €270 to €325. Changes have been made to the level of savings and income people can have before the full means test kicks in, and I know those changes will be introduced in July. However, the Minister for Social Protection must come in here and give us a clear timeline for when the means test will be abolished fully and when the €325 payment will be made available to all those people who are saving the State hundreds of millions of euro every year.”