Catherine Connolly
Galway West · Ireland
“We must zone in on the smaller businesses because that was the problem; the smaller companies and businesses could never avail of the research and development tax credit. This morning, I had the privilege of listening to the organisation, ALONE. It pointed out that older people living alone are €300 worse off compared to last year.”
“Those patients are human beings and they are being left on trolleys. There are some good things in this budget, which I welcome. I welcome the increase in social welfare, but when it is matched with the increase in the cost of living, it is worth absolutely nothing. I welcome that the money for artists has been extended.”
“Maybe the hint for what has happened with this budget is captured in the words of the Minister, Paschal Donohoe, who said, "Our schools, our hospitals and our public services are responsible for so much good in society." They certainly are, but that is not their function.”
“We have given a reduction in VAT down to 9% for developers with absolutely no evidence that this will help in any way and no context given. Today I attended a presentation in Buswells in relation to derelict properties all done on a voluntary basis.”
“There is 2% less funding at a time when we need balanced rural and regional development more than ever. I welcome the commitment to diversifying our economy. It should have happened years ago. Again, it is lacking in detail.”
“I preface my remarks by using a few seconds to talk about the four people who are outside here on the 18th day of their hunger strike. We have passed a budget in one of the richest economies in the world and we have four people who have been 18 days on hunger strike outside. They have survived the industrial schools.”
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“I would like to make more general points in the context of the looming change of legislation on the triple lock. If we have learned anything it is, as Deputy Richard Barrett has just said, that there are countries we certainly cannot trust. America is one of those and England and France are others. What is behind their motivation is simply an arms industry, more war, ongoing war, normalising war and making huge profits. That needs to be called out over and over. The Government is now using what Russia has done while not calling out America. In the speech today Trump was called our friend, Trump who has trampled on international law, supporting Israel trampling on international law and reducing Gaza to nothing.”
“It is right that we had a minute's silence today and that we have statements on the illegal invasion by Russia of Ukraine. It is important that we continue to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine. I welcome the visitors to the Gallery and also those who have left. The figures are indeed shocking, with 12 million people displaced from their homes in Ukraine. As of 31 January, the UN has advised that there had been 12,605 deaths and 29,000 people had been injured. I am sure the figures are much higher. It is really important that we call out what Russia has done and what Ireland has done in welcoming over 120,000 Ukrainians into our country. They set an example of how to integrate with their ability with languages, and indeed with traditional Irish music and the Irish language. All that is to be praised.”
“In the context of troops going through Shannon Airport, the Tánaiste has never once inspected those troops. Repeatedly, he has got information about arms and soldiers carrying arms. Never once did he engage in an inspection. He reassured us. I am never reassured by institutions nor Governments. I like to see evidence. There is no progress on the occupied territories Bill, which goes to the core of our credibility in relation to how we deal with different aggressors, be it Russia, the US or Israel. The Government is bowing to American interests. There are any number of examples, including the Lisbon treaty and the Nice treaty. We were forced to vote twice. We got reassurances and we got civil declarations and guarantees that we were not going in the direction of a military-industrial complex and a European army.”
“Micheál Martin, the current Taoiseach has repeatedly said that the triple lock is at the core of our neutrality. As a neutral independent sovereign State, we should use our voice to champion the UN structures, to reform the UN structures and to get away from the language of rule-based order and talk about international law which has been hard won following two world wars. Then we come to Putin. On this side of the House, we are all on record as condemning the illegal invasion. I do not hear the condemning of America for its encroachment - to put it mildly - it is taking over and destabilising of a number of countries in South America. I do not hear the Government condemn the new US President at the moment because it suits its purposes. Our credibility is at stake in relation to being neutral. We need our credibility.”
“It is one of the clearest objectives in the programme for Government. As opposed to the other wishy-washy language, you will change the triple lock and you are changing the triple lock against the wishes of the people of Ireland.”
“The Tánaiste talks about respect and trust. That is exactly what the people of Ireland do not have for on in him. There has been a carefully choreographed campaign to get rid of our neutrality. The current Taoiseach, back in 2013, clearly spelled out what Fine Gael was up to. At that point, we were told the triple lock was an integral part of our neutrality and so on. You have turned language on its head. If you want respect and trust, then you should have done what you promised in respect of neutrality and let it go to a citizens' assembly. That did not happen. What we got was Dame Richardson in charge of a carefully choreographed, so-called consultative forum, and even then the people of Ireland made their views known and the vast majority said we hold neutrality dear. Now you have come back with this.”
“I say that with caution because Safe Ireland - and I am somebody who has called for more refuges and will continue to do so - has called on the Government to imbed a full infrastructural response to domestic abuse at local level, rather than prioritising new refuge spaces. The CEO said: "We are very, very concerned that there will be a focus on refuge building at the expense of the real response to new refuge spaces." More has to be done and the Government must take it seriously. I am almost out of time so I do all of that to emphasise we are beyond talking. Refuges are the most basic thing we can provide but they should be redundant in the future if we are to seriously tackle and deal with domestic and gender-based violence.”
“The figures are shocking; 63% of women were killed in their own home, 53% were killed by a partner or ex-partner and almost nine out of ten women know their killer. My difficulty when we have debates like this - and I am really appreciative that Deputy Coppinger has used her time - we are talking and talking; I have been talking since 2016. I am very familiar with the services on the ground. Back in 2002, SAVI produced a groundbreaking report called Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland. We utterly ignored it. The prevalence of violence against women was clearly set out and then we fast forward to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland telling us it is hidden in plain sight. We then begin to ask ourself as legislators; what is happening here? What do we mean when we say we want zero tolerance? We never rolled out enough refuges.”
“The Government produced a number of reports finally before it got to the zero strategy and what was produced was an audit of refuge services by Tusla, which was completely inadequate, and then the Department did a review of the structures and services there, which said there was an absence of data, an absence of funding, fragmentation, gaps and deficits. That was in 2021 or 2022. In 1974, Scream Quietly or the Neighbours Will Hear was published and we cam fast forward to a report telling us to there is a lack of data, lack of funding, deficits and complete gaps. All of the time, the numbers for violence are increasing and increasing and the world is becoming a more unsafe place for women and for families. The Minister referred to a figure and said unfortunately most of it is within families; it absolutely is.”
“It reduces the importance, the seriousness and the significance of criminal activity. I would like to get rid of the word "domestic" and treat violence for what it is. I am also unhappy with words like "epidemic" and "pandemic". This is not an epidemic. These are serious crimes committed, for the most part, by men. Since 2016, we have fought and fought and pushed the Government. My worry is there has been no proactive action on behalf of the Government. It has all been reactive, pushed from the Opposition, and we have been pushed from the organisations on the ground. Women's Aid, in particular, this week have come out and I will come back to that in a minute but we have pushed the Government.”
“In 1974, a groundbreaking book about a women's refuge in Chiswick, London entitled Scream Quietly or the Neighbours Will Hear was published. Fast forward 49 years to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland publishing an article entitled, "Why is sexual violence still hidden in plain sight in this era of oversharing?" about domestic violence and gender-based violence. Forgive me if I am sceptical because, as Deputy Coppinger said, we have listened to the news this morning about what seems another murder of another woman, this time in her 80s. Since I entered the House in 2016 along with all my colleagues on this side of the House, and with some of Government backbenchers, we have repeatedly spoken on the failure to deal with domestic violence and gender-based violence. Actually, I am most uncomfortable with the word "domestic".”
“I thank Deputy Coppinger for bringing this issue and setting it out so clearly in the motion and to the visitors in the Gallery. I wish the Minister best of luck in his new role and I welcome that he is not opposing the motion, which is often the death knell - but I will give him the benefit of the doubt that it is not the death knell and he will take this matter seriously.”
“Cúpla lá ó shin, bhí cruinniú agam i m'oifig maidir leis an ábhar seo agus an easpa airgid - airgead suarach i ndáiríre - chun na bailte a dhéanamh níos sábháilte.”
“Is cuid den tsábháilteacht é go mbeadh na tiománaithe in ann tiomáint agus ceadúnas a bheith acu. Tá taobh eile den scéal, agus sin é go bhfuil freagracht ar na córais áitiúla scéimeanna a chur ar siúl. Táim ag smaoineamh ar Bhearna agus ar an Spidéal i gContae na Gaillimhe. Tá easpa áiseanna chun a chinntiú go bhfuil daoine in ann an bóthar a thrasnú. Níl rud chomh bunúsach le bóthar a thrasnú sábháilte sna bailte sin agus i mbailte beaga eile ar fud an chontae. Fad is atá fadhbanna á gcruthú againn anseo ó thaobh liosta fada, ag an am céanna tá fadhbanna eile maidir le cúrsaí sábháilteachta agus easpa acmhainní ag dul i dtreo na gcóras áitiúil chun na scéimeanna cuí agus na scéimeanna tábhachtacha a chur ar fáil.”
“Unusually, as I understand it, the city and county councillors are of one view, namely that the driving test centre needs to be in the area where it was previously. Different sites were looked at and were not deemed acceptable, such as a business park that seemed unable to accommodate the centre because it was outside of what was allowed, and so on. We need a guarantee from the authority that this centre that is temporarily with a "how long is a piece of string" period of 12 to 18 months or longer until it comes back. That just would not be acceptable for Galway. Tá gá le ceadúnas tiomána a bheith ag tiománaithe, ach chomh maith leis sin, tá gá go mbeidh daoine sábháilte ar an mbóthar i mbailte agus in áiteanna a bhfuil daoine ina gcónaí iontu.”
“I echo Deputy Farrelly’s comments. I wish we were talking about an integrated public transport system. We have failed utterly to create such a system in as many places as we should, so we push people to drive. Obviously, they need to sit driving tests, and then this is what happens. There is very little I can say about the motion, so I am going to use this opportunity to refer to two matters. The second is a local matter. John Connolly, recently elected on behalf of Fianna Fáil, raised the issue in question, and I thank him for that. I refer to the temporary moving of a driving test centre in Galway city out to Knocknacarra because of development commitments. There is no certainty that it will come back.”
“It calls on the Government to acknowledge its responsibility to ensure that when demand for public services increase, this must be matched by additional resources to meet demand, instruct the Minister for Transport to take immediate action, end the over-reliance on hiring temporary driving test instructors – a temporary over-reliance that affects possibly every public service - conduct an urgent review of the capacity of the RSA and address the shortfall in driving test centres across the country. It is welcome that the motion is not being amended. Perhaps the Minister of State will confirm whether it is going to be implemented and the timeframe within which this will be done. Various figures were referred to by previous speakers, including that 72,414 people have been waiting longer than necessary. They are in limbo.”
“Gabhaim mo bhuíochas le Sinn Féin as an rún seo a chur os comhair na Dála. Tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach agus tá mé buíoch dóibh go bhfuil an deis tugtha dúinn páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht. On the previous occasion, I wished the Minister of State the best. On this occasion, I note that he and the Minister are not amending the motion. That is good. He might confirm whether the motion, which is quite basic, is going to be implemented. Very little is being requested. It is the most practical motion I have seen.”
“This was best captured recently Oliver Callan's radio show and in a newspaper article, when Lankum singer and multi-instrumentalist Radie Peat took her courage in her hands and agreed to be interviewed. She said it was not for herself because it was too late for her and her child. She spoke for all those other mothers who are sitting waiting and whose children have no service. Radie Peat was told it would be 2028 before her child would be seen. The family's GP, Dr. Austin O'Carroll, said in the newspaper article that the system is broken and needs to be addressed at a political level. In the same article, Dr. Anna Beug, an inner-city GP and medical educator said that staffing shortages are causing the system to collapse. We are breaking the law.”
“I am not personalising anything, but the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, is sitting across the Chamber. It is impossible to stand over this system. It is broken. I will give the figures and I will then come back to Radie Peat, who encapsulated this issue. There are 91 CDNTs in nine CHOs. I put it to the Minister of State that our CHO distinguishes itself by having a vacancy rate of approximately 30%. I have all the figures in respect of the failure to employ physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists, but my time is limited. In December 2024, there were 12,920 children on the waiting list for the CDNT. There are 14,200 children waiting for assessments of needs. Those figures are just astronomical.”
“I will preface my remarks by saying that if the Government is seriously interested in helping to empower people with disabilities, it would abolish the means tests for carers immediately and it would bring in a cost of disability payment immediately. I will pick up where my colleague left off when she spoke about breaking the law. The Government is blatantly breaking the law. Twenty years ago - 20 - we brought in the Disability Act to give rights to people in a very limited way that an assessment would be carried out within six months of referral. Not only has the Government failed to do that, but it brought in an appalling discriminatory approach called the standard operating procedure. Again, families had to go to court and again the Government was caught and told it was not compliant with the Act of 2005.”
“It is seven years since the Government decided to bring in a very good policy at the end of December 2018 to stop trawlers over 18 m in length fishing within the six-mile limit. A significant part of that policy was to stop the unsustainable fishing for sprat. This is the seventh year of the policy. Unfortunately, because of the Government's or the Department's failure to carry out the consultation process properly, the policy was held void. We were promised by the previous Minister and Government that another policy was imminent and would be rolled out. It is absolutely unacceptable and unsustainable that trawlers are still fishing unsustainably and catching sprat.”
“I certainly do not take them at face value when it comes to what Israel is doing in Palestine. The time of reassurance has gone. We need to know exactly how the decisions are made and how they are refused.”
“I tabled a very similar question that is further down the Question Paper. I was taken unawares as the questions were not grouped. That is the Department's decision, but the two questions are on the exact same issue. I have the most serious concerns about the increase, with seven times the amount of exports within a year. Could we get some explanation for that? How are the decisions made? Which licenses were refused? On what basis were they refused? Were licences refused in respect of exports to Israel? We are told about the ones that were given and we know they have increased exponentially, but what is the breakdown? How are the decisions made? We are reassured that the decision is made in a robust manner. I have been here since 2016; I do not take reassurances.”
“Front Line Defenders, a very respected organisation, has reported 401 killings of human rights defenders in 2022 compared with 358 in 2021. Imagine that we are comparing the numbers of deaths of human rights defenders while there is no plan of action.”
“I thank the Minister. I would love it if the Minister could give me a date on that. Why? It is because we are talking about embedding respect for human rights, and protecting, respecting and remedying human rights. While we fail to do that, this is the report from Trinity College, which is now dated, in relation to failure to embed human rights. I could cite various examples. As I understand it, the ESB is still importing coal from north-east Colombia - I will not insult anyone by attempting to pronounce the names of the mines - despite well-documented human rights abuses associated with the actions of that business. We are importing that. Airbnb Ireland allows tourism-related businesses based in illegal Israeli settlements to use its platform to advertise their services.”
“They are certainly committed to bringing this plan forward but where is the delay? The Minister is talking about a meeting of the stakeholders in a few months and yet he is talking about a plan that will be published soon. Will the Minister clarify that for me?”
“I thank the Minister. I appreciate that the Department met me. It was a very helpful meeting and it is a way to work. There is, however, no progress in relation to the plan and we are into our fifth year. Trinity College did a report that was a snapshot of large firms operating in Ireland. The embedding of human rights principles received the lowest score. Embedding respect for human rights and conducting human rights due diligence was the theme on which companies, on average, scored the lowest. While some of the actions the Minister reports have been implemented from the last plan, no specific goals were delivered. There is an urgent need to publish this report based on human rights. We know that. I know from meeting personnel in the Minister's Department that they are absolutely doing their best.”
“My question specifically relates to the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. Unfortunately, the first action plan we had, from 2017 to 2020, has now been out of date for five years. I ask specifically about the stakeholder forum that was set up. I know how often it met. When will we have the plan? It is to follow on the guiding principles that were accepted by the UN in 2011. Now, more than ever, in today's world, we need to embed human rights.”
“Tá muid réidh le tosú le ráitis maidir le hintleacht shaorga, IS, a bharrfheabhsú don mhaith choitianta sa ghnó, sa gheilleagar agus sa tsochaí i gcoitinne. We are now moving on to statements on maximising AI for our greater good in business, in the economy and in wider society. I call the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, to make the opening statement.”
“The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act was passed in 2017. Under that Act, there was not merely a promise but a legal obligation to carry out a review. That Act was brought in ostensibly to provide better protection for sex workers on the ground. There was much debate at the time so the review is essential to see if the legislation is achieving what it was set up to do. We were promised it in 2020, 2021, mid-2022 and on into 2023 but no review has been completed, although I am given to understand that it may have been completed. Has the report been completed and, if so, when will it be published? If it has not been completed, when will it be completed?”
“The Government encourages the councils, like the city council in Galway, to buy houses to protect the tenant when the house is being sold and then with a phone call, it says it is suspended. I have desperately tried both Ministers of State. I have asked the Taoiseach. I have used every parliamentary method to try to get an answer - parliamentary questions, standing up under promised legislation, a Topical Issue last night and again now. Is the tenant in situ scheme suspended or not, pending the new scheme? Will the Ministers of State answer that to make language mean something?”
“Even now when we talk about that, it is a sleight of hand with regard to social housing. HAP is not social housing. Social and public housing is local authorities, which should be properly funded, building public housing on public land. I read the Simon report every quarter, which tells us there are no properties available in Galway under any HAP scheme. I am here as somebody from Galway where people daily come into my office begging me to do something as a TD. We have a tenant in situ scheme. I have often described the Government's policy and previous policies as a jigsaw with no overall picture. It relies on the market. When the market fails to provide, it bolsters the market with a jigsaw of schemes. One of them is the tenant in situ scheme, and then like that it just stops it.”
“I thank the Social Democrats for bringing this motion. There are six basic asks in their motion. They are pretty basic when we have a housing crisis with just under 15,000 people homeless. Homeless accommodation in Galway is at capacity and people are waiting between 15 and 20 years. People are living in tents. People are living in cars. People are sleeping on couches. I have talked more on this subject than any other subject since I came in here in 2016. This Government and previous governments have absolutely created this crisis with their policies. One of the worst was the HAP, and the legislation for it, which twisted language on its head and called the housing assistance payment - money straight into the landlord's pocket - social housing. Another was our utter failure to build public housing on public land.”
“Mine is a simple question that requires a simple reply. If the Minister of State cannot give me that reply tonight, I would appreciate it if I could get one tomorrow in order that we will where this local authority and other local authorities stand.”
“I would be delighted if the Minister of State would confirm that it has not been suspended and that the council can go ahead and complete the contracts relating to the 15 accommodation units and their 11 sitting tenants. I am a little confused as a result of the reply. The Minister of State indicated that the programme for Government contains a commitment to continue the tenant in situ programme and that there are annual targets in place. The reply also states: "A decision on a tenant in situ programme for 2025 is expected to be made by Government shortly." Nowhere in the two pages of the detailed reply is it stated whether the existing scheme - not just for the city council in Galway but also for the Minister of State's local authority and other local authorities - has been suspended pending a decision on the new scheme.”
“I thank the Minister of State. I have given the details. I gave them to the Taoiseach when he took the question. There are 15 units with 11 sitting tenants. I wish the Minister of State the best, but when we get an answer like this that contains a lot of padding, it really is unhelpful. If the Minister of State was standing on this side of the House, she would be saying the same thing to me. Let us look at my very specific question. Has the tenant in situ scheme been suspended pending a decision to be made very soon? We are informed that a decision will be made shortly. Do I take it from this that the existing scheme has been suspended pending said decision? Should I believe what the city council told me in writing and during a phone call, namely that it has been informed that the tenant in situ scheme has been suspended?”
“Speaking without exaggeration, the housing crisis in Galway is worse than in Dublin. We are dealing with people who have been on a housing waiting list for between 15 and 20 years with little hope. On top of that, we are repeatedly told that the homeless services have no places. What decision has been made? Has a decision been made to suspend the tenant in situ scheme? If not, will the Minister of State clarify that? If it has been suspended, when will it be reinstated and what targets will be set? We just want clarity urgently, particularly as it relates to the 15 units I cited.”
“Then, a press release from the Department to Raidió na Gaeltachta stated that the scheme had not been suspended. After Christmas, contact with the council was resumed and it confirmed it could not proceed with the purchase of a number of properties - 15 units that were in danger - and bring closure to those because the council had been informed by the Department that the tenant in situ scheme had been suspended, not just in Galway city, but in other local authorities as well. There were 15 units ready to close but their purchase was in danger of not being completed due to lack of clarity about the scheme. There were 12 units in one particular place, one unit in another, one in another and so on. Most significantly, 11 units had tenants in situ . If the contracts are not completed, those tenants will be homeless.”
“I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue. It is extremely important. I have tried to get clarity on it every way I can. I have tabled parliamentary questions and raised it under Questions on Policy or Legislation. I am referring to the tenant in situ scheme that was introduced on 1 April - perhaps that might give us some idea - 2023 as one of the many schemes brought in by the Government to help with the housing crisis. It was meant in particular to protect tenants who were in receipt of HAP, RAS or other payments. If the landlord was selling the house, he or she would give first choice to the council so that the tenant would be protected. Unfortunately, the council contacted me around 13 or 14 December to say it had been informed verbally by the Department that the scheme had been suspended. That is what we were informed.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle as ucht an cheist seo a phiocadh. Tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach do Ghaillimh agus do chórais áitiúla ar fud na tíre. Tá an scéim seo ann chun cosaint a thabhairt do thionóntaí atá i dteach agus é ar intinn ag an tiarna talún an teach a dhíol. I gcásanna mar sin, is féidir leis an tiarna talún dul chuig an chóras áitiúil agus an chéad rogha a thabhairt dó an teach a cheannach. Mo léan géar agus faraor géar, de réir mo thuisceana, roimh an Nollaig, cuireadh an scéim seo ar fionraí. Dar leis an údarás i nGaillimh, bhí deireadh leis an scéim. Tá a fhios agam go dtuigeann an tAire Stáit gur chruthaigh sé seo deacrachtaí ollmhóra don chomhairle cathrach agus do na hoifigigh a bhí i mbun conarthaí tithe a chríochnú. I wish the Minister of State the best in her new career.”
“On a general level, the mental health Bill was to take us onto a new level with a human rights-based approach in recognition of our international obligations in respect of how we treat people with what are now being referred to as psychosocial disorders, moving away from involuntary detentions, which are at an all-time high, how we treat young people aged between 17 and 18, and regarding an increased monitoring role for the Mental Health Commission to take in community care facilities and so on. I notice there is going to be a second implementation plan. As the previous speaker for the Labour Party or the Social Democrats pointed out, the first one has failed to reach its targets. I will be closely monitoring the enactment of the Bill and then the implementation plan meaning something.”
“The Minister of State and I have been here before and I have already congratulated her. There is an urgent need for the mental health Bill to be enacted. It was an absolute damming indictment of the last Government that it failed. I have praised the Minister of State for her work and I fully supported her with that Bill, but it fell. That Bill was the culmination of years of consultation and recognition that the system had utterly failed in respect of mental health. We go forward from the eighties and Planning for the Future. Then we go forward to A Vision for Change and then Sharing the Vision. What did not change was the system on the ground, which is the revolving door we see in Galway and in other institutions in the context of suicide, and then the failure to provide beds for people with eating disorders.”
“I am also very concerned that our stand on Palestine, which I am proud of and which reflects the Minister’s words, will be used in this. We are setting up a consultative forum and an advisory panel because industry in America will have a major influence on policy. I do not expect the Minister to answer my question in the minute available, but I am anxious that we remain an independent, sovereign State and diversify our employment.”
“I would be delighted to clarify my views on anything if I had a little more time. Specifically on the question, I am asking the Minister what analysis has been done and he is clarifying he is undertaking it and that it will be published in April. I understand the dilemma because there might be no tariffs tomorrow and it is all changing. We are dealing with a bully here. I asked about the exposure of Ireland specifically. It is exposed for many reasons. One is that we are utterly reliant on one type of policy and approach. This has brought wealth to the country, but for a long time we have been warned that we must examine that, develop indigenous industry and consider other sources of employment. That is the part I am concerned about in the first instance.”
“However, we have been warned repeatedly that we are in serious danger of relying on a small few companies bringing in a substantial amount of tax. For a long time, we have been under pressure in respect of developing a different type of policy. Extending our policy might be better.”
“The figures on our trade with the US, including our exports there, are something else, not to mention the figures on the services we import, which are even double those figures. The figure I have for exports to the US in 2024 is €103 billion. I am not arguing over figures at all; the enormity of the figures speaks for itself. My question is on the analysis that has been done by the Minister. He is saying it has been undertaken and that the results will be published in the economic outlook in April. I would have thought we would have been considering this more acutely now, given that what we are talking about what happened before – in 2019, I believe – when tariffs were introduced and subsequently suspended by Mr. Biden. What did we learn from that? I agree with the Minister that our policy has brought enormous benefit to the country.”
“Baineann an cheist le taraifí agus an rud atá beartaithe ag na Stáit Aontaithe don Aontas Eorpach, Éire go háirithe. My question relates specifically to the tariffs. What analysis has been done on the impact of the proposed tariffs on the EU, given that Ireland, within the Union, is uniquely exposed, and in light of the policies we have adopted and our stance on Gaza. I realise things are changing by the minute regarding tariffs; they are promised and then not promised. What analysis has been done?”
“We have had no clear answer from the Taoiseach as to what he is going to do when he meets that president. We talk about the international rules order-----”
“I will use every single minute that I have in this Dáil to convey to the Government that the people on the ground have a completely different version of what the Government is telling us and that we hold a very active policy of neutrality as a cornerstone of our republic to be a voice for peace in the world, moreso now than ever. I will have no truck with a Government that is meeting in secret in relation to the arms industry and forcing us down a road where we spend less and less on public services and health, and ever more on an arms industry led by that complex. We have a Taoiseach who is going to the US to meet with the President of the United States who met with somebody for whom a warrant for his arrest has been issued and who is committing genocide in Gaza as we speak.”