Cathal Crowe
Clare · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“The Oireachtas education and youth committee, which I chair, recently compiled a report on school meals. It is a fantastic scheme led out by our colleague, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and was hugely supported by the Minister, Deputy Foley, when she was at the Department of education.”
“If I can illustrate what imbalanced regional development looks like in the aviation realm, tomorrow, starting early in the morning and right up to about 9.30 p.m., 13 direct flights will depart from Dublin Airport heading to Amsterdam Schiphol, which is recognised as one of the principal and most important European airport hubs.”
“Although it is not in the spine of this legislation, I think there need to be addendums and a new national aviation strategy brought in in the autumn, because the current one is outdated and deals with a time, pre-pandemic, when aviation was going well. It has floundered since and recovered since.”
“There have been some major events in Irish aviation over the past four or five months while this legislation was evolving. I believe there was scope for those to be added in by way of miscellaneous provisions. Perhaps the Minister might bright other legislation before the House in due course.”
“We now need to get to a point where Shannon Airport's and other airports' primary radar and secondary radar are protected by insisting that all wind energy zonings within a five- to eight-kilometre radius must be removed. It is not safe. It has been deemed that by the aviation regulator and by AirNav Ireland.”
“In nearly every Government decision, whether it is on the provision of healthcare, housing, water or sanitary services, there is usually a reference to balanced regional development and other hubs outside of the capital. There is not in this legislation.”
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“We would be facilitating people to build one-off rural homes and we would be facilitating developers to build small developments. The Minister has done really good work on developer-led sewerage infrastructure recently. If policy is right, I think a lot of the housing builds itself organically without too much State intervention, so I hope all of that can happen. I concur with what others have said about developer-led infrastructure. I bought my own home in 2006. At the time, in my small community, there were three housing estates all being finished around the same time. All had show houses and there was a choice. With that, the market was buoyant and people could get a bit of value and could negotiate, but there has been no development there ever since. All developments in 2006 in my area had developer-led sewerage infrastructure.”
“In some counties, it is enough to have a herd number and to be actively farming, while in others it must make up a majority of the household income. This does not recognise the fact that, in many farm families, one or two people have to go out and work in the PAYE sector or the private environment to supplement income. There is a total lack of uniformity in terms of what policy areas are and there is a lack of uniformity on the definition of ribbon development. Across the board, I think it would be wonderful to see uniformity brought to all of this. I have often been bemused when I hear people talking about the number of houses that need to be built. If policies were right and the climate was right and development was right, a lot of these houses would not be built on the buck of the Government, so to speak.”
“I am glad to have the opportunity to speak here this evening. There are a few points I would like to make. First of all, I think the Minister is doing a good job. It is a very difficult Department. I think everyone would acknowledge this, including predecessors who have held the position. The Minister has made a good start and I hope he succeeds in all areas that he is seeking to lead out on. I want to speak about the lack of uniformity in council development plans. I was a county councillor in Clare for 16 years before getting elected to Dáil Éireann. There is a total lack of uniformity in terms of how different counties and jurisdictions classify a local, rural person or a social need. Even the definition of what is a farmer can be different.”
“I own a farm and I applied for planning permission to build on it but a solicitor in Ranelagh, for €20, objected to that and blew it apart. That is not right. In the same spirit, what Deputy Coppinger did in Clonsilla was not right. If someone is going to object to something, the fee should be commensurate with the actual cost of the project. There has to be something more than a €20 fee for holding up a Clonsilla apartment block worth millions of euro that would have housed 211 families. There has to be an equal playing field.”
“I also want to mention the villages of Broadford and Cooraclare in County Clare. They have been funded for two years today to have sewerage schemes. More money was topped up last week but we do not see it happening quick enough. That needs to happen. I am looking for the Minister's intervention at this time, two years on, to get the logjams moving. I hope Deputy Coppinger is up in her office watching the TV. She might come down later and answer why in 2020 she objected to 211 apartments in Clonsilla, not just apartments but homes for families. She can throw her little grenades in this Chamber and get nice little clips for TikTok but it does damn all to house families. Speaking of grenades, the objection fee is €20.”
“I have said many times that we need to follow the lead of countries like Australia and Canada where there are specific visas to bring back tradespeople that are domiciled overseas, as well as tradespeople from other countries, to work in their countries to help build houses and other critical infrastructure. We need to have such a policy. We have critical work visas for urban town planners and architects but we have no critical work visas for the people who build. We have all the people who will design houses, talk about them and engineer their way through a solution but nobody to actually build, plumb and wire them. They are the people I would like to see in this country, whether they are Irish people enticed to come home or people from other countries with skills we need here. I would really like to happen.”
“I apologise to my colleague. I was on the wrong clock and I was thinking, "He has gone a minute over time" but he was within time. He will be looking back at the video asking, "What was your man doing there behind me?" I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this. The Minister and Minister of State, Deputies Browne and O'Donnell, are two good men leading the Department. This plan is ambitious and I want it to succeed. Everyone wants it to succeed; the country needs it to succeed. There will be 300,000 new homes over the lifetime of the plan, major investment in water, energy and transport with over €9 billion committed to housing alone in 2026. The plan is good, the money behind it is good but how it is delivered is what we will really be tested on here. I am concerned we may not have the workforce to do this.”
“Sadly, they are usually the houses of older people. They do not want the heating on. They are trying to siphon off a few bob each week to leave something as a legacy to their children. That is very sad. I often visit households and tell the homeowners to, for God's sake, switch on the heating or throw a briquette on the fire to keep themselves warm. Those worries will be for another day, but on dark, cold nights such as this, everyone needs a warm house.”
“I welcome the €3.5 billion plan to upgrade the national grid, but in the part of the country I am in, sections of power lines have only recently been fixed after Storm Éowyn. Huge work was undertaken by the ESB. It is a cause of hurt that the power was out for so long and it took so long for it to come back. People find it hard this year to see the rising costs on their bills. During the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic crisis that followed, the previous Government was very agile. That was a term used often in the House. We were able to respond to the needs of households, families and businesses. I hope that this can stay under active review and that as we go through these tough winter months, this will be considered. As all TDs do, I often make house calls in my constituency. You sometimes go into very cold houses.”
“It is right that Ireland shows solidarity and support, but I am being asked in emails how we can be giving €125 million to Ukraine and not be giving supports to our own people for the energy costs they will meet this winter. I have often seen people make unfair comparisons over the years and perhaps I can now be accused of doing that, but we must be cognisant that people had credits factored into their household budgets. In winter 2022, the Government brought in a windfall tax where excessive profits were being made by energy companies and the Government was able to take some of those profits back as a deterrent to raising prices further. Something like that must be considered again.”
“They had factored energy credits into their household budgets for the winter of 2025 and the spring of 2026 so that the shock of the bill landing in the post every eight weeks or so would not be as stinging as it was in previous years. I appreciate that energy prices peaked in 2022, largely due to the war in Ukraine, and there was a shortage of some supplies coming across continental Europe. We were trying to transition away from fossil fuels. As others have said in respect of our pathway to renewables, we are getting there but there is a long way to go. I appreciate that the peak season was in the winter of 2022, but three years on, we have gone from a period of relative stability to the energy companies raising prices again. It is the worst time for that support to be pulled. I mentioned our distinguished guest, President Zelenskyy.”
“Before I speak to this subject, I congratulate the Ceann Comhairle and the staff of Leinster House for the event yesterday. We have all seen the analysis of our distinguished guests, as has been well covered in the media, but it is important to pay tribute to the ushers, the administrative office and the office of the Ceann Comhairle. It was a special and historic day and it passed off quite well. I am glad for the opportunity to speak on this debate. The debate takes on a whole new context in light of the front pages of today's newspapers where it is reported that there will be no energy credits this winter. Many people have emailed and phoned me throughout the day. Indeed, a few people called into my office but I am here in Dublin today.”
“The tapestry is on a tour of key sites in Korea and on St. Patrick's Day will be brought to one of the state buildings, where it will hang permanently in exhibition. Overall, this is a good measure we should opt into. It makes sense. The more the EU can co-operate with third countries, the better. I note there is an agreement like this with Australia and other countries. The more of these arrangements we have, the better. We live in a global society these days. Many people growing up nowadays will not live in their local communities, towns or villages when they are older but will live in the four corners of the earth and it is important that we are able to share details about people who move across borders, particularly those who try to live beyond the law. The more data-sharing we have with other countries in that regard the better.”
“I do not intend to use all my speaking time here but I wish to make one point because it is important that it gets read into the Dáil record. The most beautiful tapestry, which was shown here in the Houses at some point - I believe the Ceann Comhairle has seen it - commemorates seven Irish priests who were martyred during the Korean War. They were seven Columban missionary priests, one of whom, Father Tommie Cusack, was from my county of Clare. Very little is known about these priests in Ireland but they are revered in Korea, where there are shrines and streets named after them. Now they will finally be recognised in state buildings there with a tapestry presented yesterday. I know I have gone off on a tangent but it is important that the event that took place yesterday is recognised.”
“I note that Ireland is bound by the EU passenger name record directive so it makes full sense for us to opt in. What is at stake here is data exchange. In time, it will lead to increased police co-operation, prevention, detection, powers of investigation and, ultimately, one would hope, prosecution where terrorist offences and serious crimes are concerned. Overall, this is a very good measure and I hope there will be no opposition to it. I see it as a very positive measure. I am convenor and chairman in the Houses of the Oireachtas of the Ireland-South Korea parliamentary committee. We had a meeting yesterday attended by the South Korean ambassador. We had an excellent meeting. There are many areas of co-operation.”
“When I hear people saying we will undershoot our climate actions, it is not congruent that the two villages are still without a sewerage scheme. Can the Taoiseach give us any good news in terms of how these projects can be progressed?”
“Two beautiful villages in County Clare are Broadford and Cooraclare. They are fabulous villages but have one major problem. When one flushes a toilet in those village the sewage percolates through some gravel but will ultimately end up in drains. It will end up in Doon Lough in Broadford and in a river in Cooraclare. On 7 December 2023, almost two years ago, there was a wonderful announcement from Government that each village was to get €5 million for pilot sewerage schemes. They had waited 40 years for this. In fact, Broadford acquired land in 2004, the year I became a councillor. We have waited a lifetime for this. Since December 2023, not a blade of grass has been cut or a shovel put in the ground, yet the two projects are being dubbed shovel ready.”
“It is very important that Harvey's family are not locked out of the process. When inquiries are set up, parameters become very rigid. This needs to be delicately handled and Harvey's family needs to be front and centre in everything that happens over the coming months. Ultimately, there also needs to be a strategy that is effective, that does not involve arduous waits and that ensures children who have scoliosis have a pathway to treatment.”
“One issue mentioned to me was that at an Oireachtas health committee meeting that took place on 8 July 2022 someone shone a spotlight on a €90 million scoliosis fund, which was misused. These parents believe that this issue has been used as a stick to beat a certain surgeon. It is important to say that on the record. In the Minister's summing-up at the end of this debate, I ask that she gives the House any additional detail she is able to regarding the statutory public inquiry. It would be very much appreciated. She has been in this job for nine or ten months and, like my colleague who spoke previously, I have full faith in her to fulfil her duties. This problem was not of her making but she will be the Minister who oversees the establishment of the statutory inquiry and please God the outcome of it.”
“A whole other body of inquiry and investigation is also under way. CHI has suspended surgeons and so forth. I do not want to get into the depths of all of that. However, that there are two sides to this. Unapproved medical springs were used and that has been well-documented. There has been an in-depth investigation into that issue and the Minister and her Department were very much involved in that. While I am not going to name people here today, there is a body of parents, whom I and many other Members from both sides of the House have met, who feel aggrieved that one of the key surgeons that their children was on the list to see is no longer performing surgery in Ireland for many reasons. This issue has to work its way through due process and all of that.”
“Do not get me wrong: these public inquiries are very important. This campaign ran across the summer. Justice for Harvey trended on X, formerly Twitter, for several weeks and it was also front and centre of all newspapers in this country. A statutory inquiry is crucially important. It is central to the ask of the family and has been a central political ask in these Houses for a long time. How long will it all take? Unfortunately, there are many Harvey Morrison Sherratts in queues in Ireland. Their families do not know when their children will get this all-important medical care. They also do not know what it will look like, when it will happen or where it will take place. A statutory inquiry is important, but timelines and some parameters would also be helpful at this point.”
“I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this issue. I apologise; I was gathering notes when I came into the Chamber. I want to join others by referring to poor little Harvey Morrison Sherratt and all that he endured, as well as the arduous campaign his family have waged for justice ever since his death. It is very important to recognise that there is going to be the statutory public inquiry that they have long sought. I look forward to that getting under way. I know these are statements, but at the end of these statements, the Minister gets to respond to some of the points raised. I hope she will give some detail. We have certain briefing notes on what is at stake and we have read about it in the media, but it is important that the Minister gives whatever additional detail she can about the statutory public inquiry.”
“It requires a qualified majority. I beg your pardon. That is important to establish. The more assurances given to the farming community, the better. Prices at the mart last weekend were around €5.50 to €6 per kilo, which has not been seen in years. It was €3.70 or so this time last year. Without European Union grants, farming in Ireland for most people would not be viable. This is the first time they can go to the mart and get something good out of this. People will say this is good for the dairy sector, Irish butter, Irish dairy produce sold overseas and Irish whiskey. In the west of Ireland, in counties like Clare, Galway and Limerick, 85% of farming is based on the suckler herd, so it is important clarity is brought to that. The timeline for Mercosur would be interesting to know. I think it could be brought up just before Christmas.”
“In the interests of transparency, I have to declare I am a suckler farmer in County Clare. Beef prices have never been as high. Many farmers would say it is not that prices have spiked but that farmers are being paid what they should rightly be paid. It is probably a stabilising of the market that we have never seen before. If the fear is unwarranted, that needs to be clarified by Government, but there is a real fear among farmers that prices will be destabilised if there is a signing-up to the Mercosur deal. I would like to know how Mercosur would be ratified. I think it requires a simple majority decision to sign up to it.”
“I recently attended a conference in the University of Limerick that brought the Commissioners of Irish Lights, the Naval Service and stakeholders from the offshore wind energy sector together in one room. I had discovered before I left that we are the laggards in Europe. Every other European Union country has a national laboratory for robotic excellence but we do not have one in Ireland. It is a relatively cheap, modern and innovative way to monitor our territorial waters and our skies and protect our country from bad actors. We need to embrace the idea of a national laboratory for robotics and all that could do. Others have mentioned the Mercosur deal and it is something I have been following quite closely in recent months. I will give my slant on it.”
“It is important that we look at new forms of technology to track what is off our shore and how safe our undersea cables are. I ask the Minister of State to visit the centre for robotic and intelligent systems, CRIS, operating out of the University of Limerick. It is incredible what they have there. They have undersea drones capable of going 300 km or 400 km off the Irish coast. They can be manned and controlled from shore and have the ability to track gas leaks, interference, bad actors at sea and what they might be trying to do to our undersea network of cables and infrastructure. This is far cheaper than commissioning new frigates for the Naval Service or having more aircraft patrolling our skies. There is a whole space here that other countries have embraced but that we, as a nation, have not embraced yet.”
“In the past 24 hours, a Russian spy ship, as it has been dubbed, has been carrying out surveillance in British territorial waters and is tracking in a southerly direction from Scotland towards Wales. It is being tracked all the time by the British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Lasers have been used from the ship to blind the eyes of pilots trying to track it. It is important during our Presidency of the European Union that we have increased capacity to patrol our territorial waters and ensure Ireland, Inc. and the European Union are safe and defended from rogue elements and the Russian defence forces, which are quite malignant forces at the moment. This Government is committed to ramping up investment in the Defence Forces but it is a big ask for any country to match the might of a superpower.”
“It is not all in the eastern flank of the country but it is important that the European Union reflect on the temporary protection directive and refine it geographically. I do not know if someone who is 893 km from the front line requires the same level of protection within the EU bloc as someone living on the eastern flank. The war has gone on a lot longer than everyone expected and that should be a discussion point at this time. Ireland will host the EU Presidency next year. With that comes great pride in our country. There are certain policy areas we can lead out on. I had a good meeting with the Minister of State last week to discuss some of those areas. With this also comes risk.”
“Ireland in the early days and months of the war was proud to play a major role in providing accommodation to beneficiaries of temporary protection. At one point, 3,000 or 4,000 Ukrainian refugees who had fled war in their country lived in County Clare and that was replicated throughout the country. In preparing for today's speech, I looked and discovered that Ukraine is a very broad and wide country. From the west to the east, it measures 893 km as the crow flies. From Dublin, 893 km would take in cities like Bordeaux and Genoa. If there was conflict in Genoa or Bordeaux, I would like to think Dublin would be somewhat safe and removed from that. As the war in Ukraine continues, attacks happen in various cities.”
“In terms of the war in Ukraine, I join others in condemning the ramping-up of acts of aggression against humanity in Ukraine in the past couple of days. I do not believe President Putin is a man who wants peace. He has totally played other leaders in peace negotiations for what he really wants out of them. He is hellbent on getting more territory. It seems his country, economically at least, will be able to see out this war. For that reason, it is important that the European Union bloc significantly ramps up restrictions and sanctions on Russia. Frozen financial assets and aircraft confiscated during the early days of the war should be seen as European assets that can be used to fund humanitarian efforts in Ukraine. I do not think they should be held in reserve indefinitely.”
“Of course, they have historic hang-ups relating to how they treated the Jewish population of Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. They should have shame and historic hang-ups about that but those hang-ups should not determine how they govern and the right actions to be taken for humanity in the year 2025. It is reprehensible that some European countries continue to stifle and block things that should happen in Gaza and the Middle East to restore peace and, more important, protect humanity there. I do not think Ireland, Spain and some other countries have been found wanting but I hope there will be a common position. The more that people can see the suffering there, the more their conscience should be attuned to what should happen, rather than what happened 70 years ago and how wrong that was. Things need to be done right in the year 2025.”
“I am glad to have the opportunity to speak here today. At the outset, I say well done to the Minister of State. I am following his work in Europe and he has acquitted himself very well and is representing Ireland, Inc. very well while in Brussels and other locations. There is a whole national debate about the occupied territories Bill, and it is very important legislation that we must pass. Indeed, it was the focus of some of the debates in the presidential election and it was said flippantly in one of those debates that it could be just a symbolic Bill. It is important that it be far more than that. If the occupied territories Bill is to have full effect, there should be some European-wide approach. There are far too many countries in the European bloc stifling what really needs to happen in terms of Gaza.”
“If the Government is paying good taxpayers' money, it should certainly have some oversight of how it is being spent. I have faith in the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, and I look forward to his Bill being progressed in due course.”
“It is also important to note that schools very quickly played a major supporting role and welcomed young children into their classrooms, but now as those children have moved on to other accommodation centres, those schools are being told by the Minister for education that their enrolment on 30 September dropped by two or three pupils so a teacher will be taken from them. We should show the same good spirit to those schools that they showed to the little children who arrived at their front door because it has to work both ways. We need to have scrutiny on how centres are managed. It is built into their contracts that there should be good food and transport but also 24-7 security. That is not being fulfilled in a lot of centres.”
“We will need people from other countries to come here to fill our workforce and provide critical skills, but if people are coming here and saying there is a war in their country when they are in fact here for economic reasons, that is flouting the system. It is really important that towns like Lisdoonvarna which have played a disproportionate role are reflected on during the next phase of planning. Lisdoonvarna in County Clare, more than any town in Ireland, has played a role. Its population has increased fourfold during the past two and a half years and yet the Government and agencies of the Government did not backfill that with fourfold support.”
“I also welcomed his suggestion during the week that if someone is staying in an accommodation centre and earning a salary, which people are allowed to do after a six- or eight-week period, they should rightly be paying for that because every other person in this country, be they accommodated in emergency accommodation, social housing or any form of accommodation, pays a contribution that is appropriate and equal to what they are able to pay. There is a certain cohort that is coming to our country seeking work. They should be coming here through the work visa system. We do need people with critical skills and that was laid bare yesterday in a Government report.”
“If you have come here for economic reasons, told lies, with false documentation or have destroyed your documentation after you have come through the port or airport, you have totally flouted all of the rules of international protection and you should be deported. I commend the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. What I have seen in him is more guts, courage and conviction than in many of his predecessors because what we are seeing is deportation happening in real time. There is not just talk about it; it is happening.”
“It was the first time ever that we had nine people from a certain ethnic community come to a clinic and say they fear for themselves and the community they live in. I had never heard that before. I have had people come to clinics to talk about the taxation of cars, medical cards and housing but I had never heard a group of people say they live in fear in the community that is their home. That is very worrying. It is really important that our international protection system is both fair and robust. If you have come from a situation in a country where there is war, persecution or famine and your life is at risk, you should come to Ireland with dignity, respect and knowing this country will care for you, listen to your case and how worthwhile it is, and protect you during that period.”
“I join others in expressing outright condemnation of the horrible scene we saw in Drogheda the other night. I did not realise until yesterday morning that there was actually footage of it online. How disgusting to see someone bring a flammable liquid into the hallway of that premises, pour it up along the stairway and set it on fire, putting the lives of children upstairs at risk. It is disgusting and I hope when that person is identified and brought before the court system, he will not be tried for manslaughter or an arson attack or anything like that. He should be tried for attempted murder as that is what it was on the night. I have been 21 years in politics and on Monday evening I had a first. I was hosting a local advice clinic in my community along with Councillor Rachel Hartigan, who is in the Public Gallery this evening.”
“I spoke to an official in the Department recently and he told me that back in the recessionary years, gateways were introduced. It was a way of slowing down projects without killing them off. Let us take out the gateways for all the public projects. There should be only three or four stages from conception and planning to funding and, eventually, building. We do not need additional gateways involving analysing and re-analysing. What these inevitably do is raise the cost, and that is the last thing we want. I thank the Minister for his engagement. I have faith in him. He is going make proposals in the coming weeks but they need to be practical ones that address this matter.”
“The whole system is very impractical. When you want to build a new 96-bed block, it is not just foundations you are building; you are digging down, tanking out a whole basement floor and then going up five or six storeys. The upper floor must be load-bearing, so it can take more units and wards if required. All the services, including sewerage, water and electricity services, are then introduced but then you have to stop because the ceiling is reached. That is totally impractical. It does not meet patient needs and is not achieving the value we should obtain from public expenditure. One has to go all the way through the planning process again and build another block. From public healthcare and public spending points of view, we need to deal with this.”
“I take some hope and solace from the fact that the Minister has not finalised his plans yet. When it comes to healthcare, particularly in the mid-west region where there is a healthcare apartheid, I appeal to the Minister to raise the cap so that when we are building a new block, we go higher, we go bigger and we build as many wards with as many beds as we need, not just as many as we can afford to do at that particular time.”
“They say every day is a learning day. Recently, I was back in University Hospital Limerick with other politicians looking at a new ward system, a new 96-bed block, a five-storey building. Angela Coll of the Ennis hospital committee was recently in the Minister's office, where the three of us had a good discussion. When I spoke to clinicians that day, they were delighted with this five-storey building and the 96-bed block. However, they made the point that another one is needed and probably even three. I made the point that we should build up and instead of going to five stories, go to ten or 12 storeys. I wrongly believed that there was some planning barrier to this. They told me it was because of the €200 million spending cap. That is just ludicrous because it becomes more costly to go back and build a new one and another one.”
“Why should we go outside the country and take on private contractors? Why would we overlook the HSE or any State body? Why would we overlook the Irish Aviation Authority when it raises red flags for aviation concern? Why would we go beyond our jurisdiction and pay a lot of taxpayer money to bring in a private contractor?”
“A few weeks ago I stood here and highlighted the fact that whilst An Coimisiún Pleanála has much expertise in the realm of planning, it has no in-house expertise when it comes to aviation. I flagged that here in the Dáil and an upshot of that in the days that followed was we were notified that Sagentia, a British company, has been taken on as an independent consultant. Why is it that the Irish Aviation Authority, the taxpayer-funded State body for aviation safety on D'Olier Street, is being overlooked and undermined by An Coimisiún Pleanála? It is the authority for air safety in this country. I have asked An Coimisiún Pleanála this and await a response. I want to know what was the cost, due diligence and procurement process and whether there were any conflicts of interest. This needs to be laid bare because we have a State body.”
“I stand over that assertion and belief. It is certainly how the nationalist community sees things. The Good Friday Agreement should not be seen as the finish line, but rather a stepping stone for unity. The shared island unit has done some fantastic work to build positive relations beyond the Border. It makes good sense to explore what a united Ireland could look like, vis-à-vis intertwined public services like healthcare, housing provision and judicial systems. This work must continue. I will conclude with a quote from Pádraig Pearse, whose basalt bust looks over this Chamber each and every day: You cannot extinguish the Irish passion for freedom. If our deed has not been sufficient to win freedom, then our children will win it by a better deed. The deeds of our children will be peaceful and diplomatic, but they will be unifying.”
“Achieving a united Ireland, which I am confident will happen in our lifetime, will be somewhat different to what these two men and many generations of Irish nationalists and republicans envisage. A united Ireland can now only be achieved through peaceful means in accordance with the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement. While I very much want there to be a border poll at some stage, I fear if we move with too much haste we may not get the result that we so desperately yearn for. The Scottish independence referendum of 2014 failed miserably and we cannot risk failure in what would likely be a once-in-a-lifetime ballot. The partition of our island has been a failure and must be ended. I was lambasted in some quarters last year when I said that the fact Northern Ireland exists is a source of hurt and pain for many people.”
“I am glad we are having this debate in the Dáil. The uniting of all people of this island in a shared state is, beyond all else, the founding value of the Fianna Fáil Party. In politics, we more often than not work in here-and-now situations and the long-term vision we as parliamentarians have for our country and its people is not always expressed. In this debate, I wish to state on the record of Dáil Éireann that my bedrock belief has always been and will always be that there should be a united Ireland. On the wall of my office in Leinster House, I have a picture of my great-great-grandfather, John Hargrove, a prominent Land League leader and nationalist from Cratloe, County Clare. On the other wall, I have a prison letter written by Tom Barry while interned in Arbour Hill.”
“The authority's staff are the experts on air safety and the Government should insist that when An Coimisiún Pleanála does not have in-house expertise, it should listen, especially where safety is concerned, to the expertise of the likes of the Irish Aviation Authority.”
“The way radar interacts with aircraft is that a little ping signal goes up and back, positioning at all times the aircraft on a vertical and horizontal axis on an air traffic controller's screen. The Irish Aviation Authority has said very clearly in recent planning files that it is unsafe to put wind farms in close proximity to radar. It distorts the signal of where those aircraft are. It jeopardises passenger safety. It also puts at risk the national asset our radar infrastructure is. A huge number of flights from America to Europe pass over Irish skies, including Woodcock Hill in Clare, every day. An Coimisiún Pleanála has decided to flatly ignore this safety advice from the Irish Aviation Authority.”