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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“Má leanaimid ar aghaidh leis an mBille seo agus an t-aon mhír atá ann ó thaobh cúrsaí tithíochta, beidh sé go dona because, sa mhír sin, níl i gceist ach cumhacht shoiléir a thabhairt d'Údarás na Gaeltachta talamh a dhíol do approved housing bodies. Is é sin an t-aon rud atá curtha isteach ag an Rialtas ó thaobh cúrsaí tithíochta. Ní leor é sin. I ndáiríre, níl mé sásta leis sin a bheag nó a mhór. Más rud é go mbeimid in ann, tar éis na gcruinnithe, leasuithe a chur chun cinn le chéile chun an Bille a láidriú agus aitheantas a thabhairt don ghéarchéim atá ar an talamh, bheinn sásta. Ba mhaith liom obair as lámh a chéile leis an Aire ach braitheann sé ar an bpróiseas as seo amach.”
“Tuigim. Tá tábhacht leis sin. Bhíomar sásta géilleadh le cuid de na leasuithe. Bhí an formhór acu curtha isteach ag Sinn Féin agus bhí cúpla ceann agam féin. Aontaím le formhór na leasuithe. Bhíomar go léir sásta géilleadh le cuid acu mar thug an tAire a bhriathar go dtiocfadh sé ar ais agus go mbeadh tuilleadh deiseanna againn sa Fhreasúra ag Céim na Tuarascála. I ndáiríre, braitheann sé ar an méid atá le rá ag Údarás na Gaeltachta faoi na fadhbanna agus constaicí atá aitheanta aige. Dar liom, tá neart cumhachtaí ann ach ní saineolaí mé. Ba mhaith liom a fháil amach ón Aire cad iad na fadhbanna atá ag an údarás agus cad é an bealach chun dul chun cinn a dhéanamh agus an t-údarás a láidriú ó thaobh cúrsaí tithíochta.”
“Is é sin an rud atá ag teastáil. Dhiúltaigh an tAire leis an leasú roimhe seo, a bhain le cruinniú poiblí, agus araile. Rinne an tAire pointí ginearálta agus gabhaim buíochas leis astu. Chuaigh sé i dteagmháil le hÚdarás na Gaeltachta agus beidh sé ag dul ar ais. Beidh sé ag bualadh le TINTEÁN agus BÁNÚ agus ag dul ar ais go dtí na húdaráis áitiúla. An mbeidh sé sin déanta roimh Chéim na Tuarascála because is é sin an rud-----”
“I dtús báire, níor thug an tAire aon chúis nach bhfuil sé sásta glacadh leis an leasú sin. Is dócha go bhfuil eagla ag an gcóras roimh thuilleadh daonlathais. Níor glacadh le leasú a chinnteodh go mbeidh cruinniú poiblí ag an údarás gach uile mhí. Leis an leasú seo, bheadh cruinniú amháin in aghaidh na bliana chun cluas éisteachta a thabhairt do dhaoine. Níl aon fhreagracht eile i gceist. Níl aon dualgas eile i gceist. Níl muid ag cur tuilleadh brú ar an údarás seachas chun éisteacht le daoine ar an talamh agus fóram mar sin a thabhairt dóibh. Is dócha go bhfuil eagla ar an Rialtas roimh thuilleadh daonlathais ach b'fhéidir go bhfuil mé mícheart. Má tá, cuirfidh mé mo lámha suas ach is é sin an chuma atá ar an scéal. Ag dul tríd an bpróiseas seo, níl an Rialtas sásta le haon leasú a thugann tuilleadh trédhearcachta don phróiseas.”
“Maidir leis an leasú seo, ní thuigim an fáth a bhfuil an Rialtas in aghaidh leasuithe mar seo. Is rud thar a bheith simplí é go mbeidh tionól ann bliain tar éis an Acht a bheith achtaithe chun cluas éisteachta a thabhairt do chosmhuintir na Gaeltachta ar an dtalamh. Is dócha gurb í an teachtaireacht is láidre atá cloiste againn ná go bhfuil an cluas bhodhar faighte acu go dtí seo, go háirithe ó thaobh chúrsaí pleanála agus tithíochta. I gcomhthéacs phleanáil teanga, tá easpa cinnteachta agus rudaí mar sin. Tá an cluas bhodhar á tabhairt. Is bealach dearfach é seo chun fóram a chur ar fáil ionas go mbeidh muid in ann éisteacht leo, go háirithe i gcomhthéacs Údarás na Gaeltachta agus an bhoird. Stopfaidh mé ag an bpointe seo. B’fhéidir go bhfuil freagra dearfach ag an Aire.”
“D'oibrigh muid as lámha a chéile go dtí seo ag iarraidh an Bille seo a chur chun cinn. Bhí agus tá muinín agam as an Aire. An uair dheireanach nuair a bhí sé anseo, d’éist sé linn agus muid ag caint, tríd ár nguthanna sa Dáil, maidir le cúrsaí tithíochta agus na chumhachtaí atá nó nach bhfuil ag an údarás. Bhí an tAire chun cruinniú a bheith aige leis an údarás, le BÁNÚ agus le cibé eagraíocht eile. Thug sé gealltanais shollúnta dúinn go ndéanfadh sé sin. Chuir mé mo mhuinín san Aire. Maidir le cuid de na leasuithe seo, is dócha go raibh Sinn Féin sásta gan iad a chur chun cinn mar chuir muid ár gcuid muiníne san Aire. Ba mhaith liom go ndéarfadh an tAire cúpla focal faoin méid a tharla idir an uair dheireanach a bhí sé os ár gcomhair agus anocht.”
“On the point raised by my colleague from Galway West regarding the moving of the driving centre to Knocknacarra from Westside, I ask for an assurance that it will go back to Westside as soon as possible.”
“Why did it not look at the service level agreement and what was necessary, given the backlog and the increase in the number of people? People are waiting nine or ten months for a driving test, with awful consequences, and there are also about 8,000 who are not showing up. I realise that certain changes have been made for the good, and that people can get a test if somebody cancels at short notice and so on. However, this is a public service that should operate in a very positive way. It should be the good side of the public service, where trained people are given tests to enable them to be more independent. Instead, we are talking about a debacle.”
“The Minister of State in his speech took pride in the fact that we have sanction for temporary driving testers on a two-year contract and we now have sanction for 200 permanent driving testers. I have no idea how this could not have happened in a proactive manner given the service level agreements between the Government and this entity. What happened? What was the fault with the service level agreement? What were the penalties if the targets were not reached? It is not that I am big into penalties; I am more into doing it correctly and learning from our mistakes. How did this happen? If the Road Safety Authority back in March pointed out that it needed extra driving testers and the Government responded by sanctioning two-year contracts, how was it not seen then that this service was in trouble?”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak. As has already been pointed out, the consequences of the debacle are that younger people and those without a full licence are paying huge insurance costs. On top of that, it is limiting people from taking the opportunities that are there for work and education, and it is also contributing to isolation. Having said that, I reiterate what Deputy Paul Murphy said about the need for integrated public transport. I welcome the Minister of State's speech and that he is taking a hands-on approach, but I find it difficult to understand how this happened. I know we have had an independent review of the Road Safety Authority and that there will be changes. However, it seems to me that the Road Safety Authority had been shouting for some time that it did not have enough staff.”
“Deputy Paul Murphy - To discuss the need for a public inquiry into conduct in care facilities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Deputy Cathy Bennett - To discuss services available in Monaghan Hospital. The matters raised by Deputies Pat the Cope Gallagher, Alan Kelly, Pádraig O'Sullivan, David Cullinane and Conor D. McGuinness, and Barry Ward have been selected for discussion.”
“Deputy Liam Quaide - To discuss plans for a group of Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection in Cork. Deputies David Cullinane and Conor D. McGuinness - To discuss if the Minister will fund the extension of Waterford Airport. Deputy Pa Daly - To discuss plans to reform the system for the appointment of coroners. Deputy Roderic O'Gorman - To discuss progress with the commitment to extend the Laura Brennan HPV catch-up vaccination programme. Deputy Thomas Gould - To discuss the closure of the tenant in situ scheme in Cork city. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire - To discuss the shortage of school places, particularly for children with additional needs. Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss the need to facilitate transfers between housing lists in cases of domestic abuse.”
“Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the provision of a new coastguard building at Courtown Harbour, County Wexford. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss the need to invest in the maintenance and refurbishment of heritage harbours; specifically Dún Laoghaire Harbour. Deputy Jen Cummins - To discuss the impact bus changes are having on Inchicore. Deputy Marie Sherlock - To discuss the process to review the basic income for the arts scheme. Deputy Shane Moynihan - To discuss route finalisation on the Lucan Luas project. Deputy Donna McGettigan - To discuss the planned changes to the ambulance service in Clare. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - To discuss the pilot scheme for the reintroduction of therapists to special schools and all schools in Cork. Deputy Alan Kelly - To discuss the need for a new taxi or hackney licence to service rural Ireland.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the need for a new maternity unit at University Hospital Kerry. Deputy Joanna Byrne - To discuss additional funding for local authorities for housing adaptation grants, mobility aid grants and housing for older persons. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil - To discuss the lack of crèche places in areas of growing population in Kildare North. Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher - To discuss coastal search and rescue helicopter services. Deputy Pat Buckley - To discuss with the Minister for Health waiting times for hip operations. Deputy Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin - To discuss the case of an individual owner of a fishing vessel.”
“For the past five years we have been given a jigsaw approach to this and finally we are hearing now with a master plan, but there is no sign of it.”
“We have 31 people in there with nowhere to go due to delayed discharges. We have a serious problem with privacy and dignity. We have a problem with lack of staff and lack of clinical leads, notwithstanding the progress. I pay tribute to the staff. Let us go back to Savita Halappanavar in 2012, and forward. This is a hospital seriously under pressure, a congested site with not enough staff and not enough beds. It is short 232 beds according to its own press release. I pay tribute to the staff. What I do not pay tribute to is all of the Governments that have let this happen. There was an options appraisal way back where the hospital was to move to Merlin Park, and I foolishly relaxed thinking we were getting a brand new hospital.”
“I welcome it, but she should listen to what I am saying. Back in 2015, it was not fit for purpose. We had Leo Varadkar down there telling us it was not fit for purpose, then we had Deputy Micheál Martin as Taoiseach, and here we are in 2025 and we are getting more and more plans. I welcome that there is something at the end of this month.”
“Hopefully, when she is there on Thursday, she will find out which plan has been completed and why I have been told that this one was done last year by HIQA; that was its answer to HIQA. I will not go over time; I will go under time actually.”
“I welcome that the Minister is going to Galway. The reason I put my hands up is that we had the former Taoiseach back in 2017 tell us it was not fit for purpose. It is now 2025. I am looking at a HIQA report from last year that states that a strategic assessment preliminary business case had been completed, approved by the Health Service Executive board and submitted to the Department of Health, so forgive me if I am little frustrated. I was born, bred and reared in Galway. I have been in and out of that hospital for many reasons. I know it on every level, professionally and personally. It has not been fit for purpose for a very long time. I heard what the Minister read out to me; I appreciate they are her answers. I have all of those answers I am getting.”
“I am not sure which Minister is answering, but I am asking about the regional university hospital in Galway, a master plan we have been waiting on for a long time and a control development plan. I have in my hand the HIQA report from its last unannounced visit. There is a shortage of 232 beds and a huge difficulty in treating patients with dignity and respect and privacy, notwithstanding the improvements that have been made and good comments from the patients. We are talking about a hospital that is under serious pressure. The Minister might give me an update, please.”
“It is mockery to turn it into a boxing match involving Uisce Éireann when it was designated, without funding and without guidance from Dublin, that this infrastructure was critical to implementing our national planning framework and national plan and to give meaning to our words. There are no plans for the east side of Galway, so that part of the city cannot be developed. In Connemara, there is absolutely nothing in the context of a wastewater treatment plant for Carraroe, with séarachas amh ag dul díreach isteach san uisce. Raw sewage is going in. Since I was elected in 1999 - this is my 25th year as an elected representative, unfortunately - that has been the position. I watch with absolute dismay.”
“The wastewater treatment that is there is defective. I previously quoted from an engineer's report that refers to two syphons under the Corrib Estuary, which is in the middle of the town, one of which is in imminent danger of collapse. That is another issue I have repeated ad nauseam. I also repeat that we cannot have balanced regional development within the county because we have no wastewater treatment plant in Carraroe. There are no plans for any type of small or medium estate in the Gaeltacht area because there is no wastewater treatment plant. That was something Uisce Éireann inherited but I do not know why it has not prioritised it. To talk about building houses in a planned and sustained way without the basic infrastructure is a mockery.”
“I have asked repeatedly to be corrected if I am incorrect, but that is the figure that has been used repeatedly by different bodies on the ground. Imagine trying to run an effective planning system with 500 vacancies nationally. The Minister of State might address that point. On infrastructure, I will speak parochially to illustrate a point. Galway is one of five cities destined to grow. The Minister of State is familiar with it. However, the city cannot grow. It has been identified as a growth city in the national planning framework and has the capacity to provide regional development. I will home in on those two issues. Galway city cannot grow, as was pointed out by my Sinn Féin colleague from Galway. There is no plan in existence for a wastewater treatment plant on the east side of the city.”
“I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion and providing us with an opportunity to speak on it. Sinn Féin is asking for three basic things. The first is clarification from the Government on its plan for funding the infrastructure that is necessary, as has been identified by so many organisations on the ground. The second is the implementation of the Housing Commission report, at least in respect of the housing delivery oversight executive, underpinned by legislation. The third is the adequate resourcing of the planning system. I will start with that last issue. I understood, from listening to the many debates on the planning legislation that the Government put through the House, that at any given time, there are approximately 500 vacancies in the planning system throughout the country.”
“Galway was an example where the foundation included members from Goldman Sachs and Coca-Cola. That foundation is still there, determining the agenda in the college, as opposed to providing student accommodation and education for education's sake.”
“I have a concern about the universities not speaking out on issues they should speak out on and about the need to create an atmosphere where questions are allowed without being seen as disloyal. I see there is a commitment to look at funding, which is a huge problem for the universities. They are forced into other roles, such as the private foundation role. I have seen this in Galway, where the foundation determined which buildings went up on the campus. Clearly, they were not student accommodation. The problem of student accommodation was thrown out onto the town and still is a major problem because it is all based on profit. The sites are being picked in unsuitable areas because there is no overall thinking that student accommodation, by and large, should be on campuses.”
“The vulnerability of the third level education sector in general was brought into acute focus with Trump’s recent announcements about third level education. We realise how vulnerable something that we take for granted is. We then have the Government announcement that it is going to look at paying higher salaries to attract leading academics. While I might welcome that on one level, maybe we could look at the talent within our own universities that we are wasting because people are on precarious hours, have no security and cannot shine. We will go forward and pay enormous salaries, and the Government will pay up to half the salary, yet we do not see the irony that our PhD students and master’s students are struggling because of insecurity and having no contracts.”
“In the debate on the last occasion, when we employed the new president, it was said that the Irish language was a limiting factor and we could not have a condition that the president would have Irish because that would limit the availability of the talent. The irony is that when we got the new president, he was a fluent Irish speaker, although it went against everything that had been said. The Minister of State might have an update on that. If she has any influence with regard to adult education at the campus in Galway, I would appreciate her using that. I know she comes from a background of teaching. It makes absolute sense to go with a full vision. The number of buildings being rented by the GRETB in Galway is shocking but it is trying to provide a service at every level.”
“There are wonderful students coming forward with a questioning mind. If I were to employ somebody in the morning, it would not be on the basis of their CV or somebody telling me how great they are. It would be on their ability to say, “I do not know that but I am willing to learn, and I have an open mind.” That is what I would put a premium and a value on, even in my own work in my office here: somebody who has the courage to say, “I do not know but I am willing to learn.” I do not know if the Minister of State has information on the vacancy in Galway. The previous president has been gone for almost a year and there is no new president.”
“The Government, notwithstanding its sweet words about apprenticeships and so on, told the GRETB to go back and submit another plan, reducing it to 10,000 sq. m and reducing the whole vision. Apprenticeships went into the second phase, although they should be top of the list. This was due to the fact that those involved had to restrict their vision. Under Government direction, apprenticeships have gone into phase 2 and God knows when that will be. It is similar with the Irish language despite the possibilities and obligations under Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla to upskill everyone, but particularly public and civil servants and all of our services. That has now gone into phase 2. With regard to the technological universities, I was at ATU in Castlebar and I have been in Galway.”
“We need to bridge the gap that exists between town and gown, as it was called in Galway, so the universities are open to everybody. As the House knows, I come from a large family in Galway. We had the benefit of having the university beside us and we also had the benefit of a whole range of skills in our house as it was a large family. I have seen it from every point of view. With regard to Galway city, which was mentioned by a previous speaker from east Galway, the new campus in Galway is a matter of disappointment to me. First, it is a fantastic concept that we need an adult campus in Galway and it should have been done years ago. The Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, GRETB, has the land and there is no obstacle whatsoever. It has the vision and it came forward with that vision.”
“Nobody stood out from the crowd or said that this was wrong. I am very worried that this consensus mentality is being enshrined in our third level institutions. Maybe I am a little too cynical but I remember my time on the Committee of Public Accounts, and the seven presidents coming before us - the magnificent seven, as I called them. They happened to all be men. They did not inspire me with what I would have expected. I understand that things have changed slightly and, in Galway, we got a new president who sorted out the gender inequality cases. We remember the Sheehy Skeffington book and the three conditions. The new president sorted that out. Unfortunately, he left early and is gone. I will not spend any more time on that. Nonetheless, as a society, we need to discuss what our universities are there for.”
“The third is expanding pathways to skills and apprenticeships. That is wonderful in theory, and I will come back to its operation on the ground. Then there is "to promote curiosity [that is certainly very weak] and the pursuit of knowledge as a public good." I suppose we are getting there a little with that language but I would like to see education for education's sake within third level institutions. That ultimately will benefit society by making us critical thinkers. If we have learned anything from the banking inquiry, it is that we need critical thinkers. The last thing we need is a consensus mentality. We see that in relation to Europe and the inability to call out genocide in Gaza, and I am just picking one area of the world. A consensus mentality is what Nyberg said was behind the financial crisis in Ireland. Nobody spoke out.”
“I am from Galway and I want a thriving city and recognise the importance of industry. However, there must be a better and more enabling vision if we are to really make words mean something. We declared a climate emergency. I think it was 2019 - that long ago. We have supposedly learned from Covid and we have supposedly learned the ongoing consumption model - the neoliberal model - is endangering our planet. Within that, third level must be looked at in a completely different way. I welcome that the Minister set out four things but he has put research as an economic enabler at number one. High-quality, accessible higher education is second - absolutely. If I have a chance I will come back to access because that is a huge problem in terms of cost and accommodation and the Minister acknowledges that further on.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this topic. The last occasion I spoke on it was, I think, February 2022 in relation to the Higher Education Authority Bill. I had a lot of time then to discuss where we were going with third level education. I welcome the Minister's speech and the priorities it set out. However, I have a huge problem with the title, "Power of Higher Education, Research and Skills as an Economic Enabler in a Changing World". That is certainly a factor but I would not have it as the title of a speech I would give on the importance of third level education in enabling our people to develop their full potential in whatever sphere they go into. That will drive the economy rather than the other way round. This shows a narrow focus on the economy.”
“Notwithstanding the good things the Government has done, we need now more than ever to take action when the UN itself is in serious danger because of the complete diminution of its importance by Israel and America.”
“I am going to return to the genocide that is taking place in Palestine. The Taoiseach said the problem was that Israel was riding roughshod over the world. That is not entirely accurate because most of Europe is behind Israel and America is certainly behind Israel. In practical terms, despite the very good words the Taoiseach has used and his describing what has happened lately as a war crime, we are still failing to take action. Now more than ever, we need to show leadership. We cannot say we are the best boys in the class if we are allowing Shannon Airport to be used, if we fail to pass the occupied territories Bill, if we are still trading with Israel through the European bloc and so on. It is not possible to stand on both sides.”
“It has no moral conscience and exists for profit. Its weapons are being used to murder people and to commit genocide. As a neutral sovereign State, if our Department of Defence is meeting a lobbying group, at the very least it should be open, transparent and accountable about it. When the people who are involved are on TV shows or the radio, they should make declarations as to their background and interests.”
“The arms industry is supplying arms for genocide to be carried out in Palestine. The Tánaiste knows that. He has spoken about it. This group represents the arms industry, it lobbies for the arms industry and it has an open door to the Department. I know of a series of meetings. Is the Tánaiste confirming that the minutes, or whatever we are going to call them, of all 11 meetings that have been held are available? He should be able to confirm that. He should be able to tell me the nature of those meetings, where they were held, how long they lasted, who attended and so on. None of that is apparent. It is completely opaque. If the Tánaiste wants transparency, the least he can do is to give us an accurate record of the meetings and to tell us their purpose, who called them, their outcomes and so on. This is the arms industry.”
“Let us look at this organisation. It was set up in 2021. Ben Tonra is a member. He is on record declaring that he had been volunteering to set up this organisation for some time. This is a man who has serious views on neutrality being selfish. He is part of this organisation that lobbies for the international arms industry. That is how I see it. The Tánaiste can correct me if I am wrong. I am over time.”
“I did not see those minutes. Perhaps we did not look properly. I do not know. I welcome that they are there. I will take back the word "minutes" because these are not minutes. What I have are two notes. To describe them as "minutes" is utterly wrong. In the notes of one meeting that was held in Newbridge, we see that a person took the notes in October 2024. We have no idea of the agenda or of the outcome other than that "It was agreed that ... and some of his team" and so on. It is vague and opaque and we have no idea of the purpose of the meeting. We also have a note dating from 12 December. Again, there is no agenda laid out. This one only tells us where the meeting was held when we go down into the text. They are very opaque as notes of meetings. It is like somebody wrote them up because the question was asked.”
“My question is very specific and relates to a specific organisation. It is about a specific series of meetings the Department of Defence has had with the Irish Defence and Security Association. This is my third time asking for the minutes of these meetings. On the last occasion, whoever was in the Tánaiste's place told us it was his intention to publish these minutes. I have two notes here. To say they are opaque would be extremely generous. Will the Tánaiste answer my question?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Is maith an rud é go mbeidh cruinniú idir an t-údarás agus an tAire mar beidh an Bille um Údarás na Gaeltachta (Leasú), 2024 os ár gcomhair arís an tseachtain seo. Bhí cruinniú le bheith ann idir BÁNÚ agus an tAire freisin. Tá súil agam go mbeidh an cruinniú sin ann sula dtagann an Bille os ár gcomhair arís. Arís, níl aon chúis tugtha ag an Aire nó ag an Roinn cén fáth nach bhfuil siad ag baint úsáid as an mír seo. Tá sí ann agus tá cumhacht ag an Roinn agus ag an Aire deontais a chur ar fáil chun daoine a chumasú chun athchóiriú a dhéanamh ar a gcuid tithe. Ní thuigim é. Tá muid ag caint faoi Údarás na Gaeltachta, údaráis áitiúla agus an Roinn. A fhad is atá muid ag caint, agus gach duine ag obair i mbealach nach bhfuil tagtha le chéile, beidh géarchéim tithíochta againn. Ní féidir glacadh leis.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Tuigim nach luíonn an cúram seo leis. Tuigim a chás. Tá sé ag seasamh anseo in ionad an Aire, an Teachta Calleary. Is cúis díomá agus imní go bhfuil sé ráite go neamhbhalbh ag an Rialtas anois nach bhfuil sé chun scéim na ndeontas a thabhairt ar ais. Ní thuigim cén fáth mar bhí sé sin ag feidhmiú go maith. In 2009, cuireadh €4 milliún ar fáil don scéim seo. Mar is eol don Aire, tá géarchéim thithíochta sna Gaeltachtaí uilig. Is í an Ghaeltacht i nGaillimh an Ghaeltacht is mó sa tír. Tá BÁNÚ ar an dtalamh agus i dteagmháil le gach Teachta Dála go rialta le cur in iúl cé chomh deacair is atá sé tithe a thógáil sa Ghaeltacht agus na himpleachtaí atá ansin don teanga. Is bealach éifeachtach é seo. Tá an reachtaíocht agus an mhír ann ach níl an Rialtas ag baint úsáid astu.”
“Baineann mo cheist go sonrach le cúrsaí tithíochta sa Ghaeltacht agus go háirithe le mír 9 d’Acht na dTithe (Gaeltacht) (Leasú), 2001. Faoin mhír sin, tá cumhacht ag an Aire agus ag an Roinn airgead agus acmhainní deontais a chur ar fáil do chainteoirí Gaeilge chun tithe a athchóiriú nó tithe a thógáil. Níl an mhír sin á húsáid faoi láthair ó 2009 ar aghaidh, áfach. Is mian liom soiléiriú a fháil cén fáth nach bhfuil sí in úsáid.”
“I do not think, in all honesty, the Minister of State could disagree with that given the amount of money that is going into the military industrial complex. A lot more than a shaking of the head is necessary when we are standing as a neutral country and not using one word of condemnation in the same way we have against Russia. It goes to our credibility as an independent country. It goes to our very being if we can criticise one injustice and not another injustice. It goes to the heart of our neutrality.”
“The figure of €800 billion has been given to build up a war machine. We are an independent sovereign State, a neutral republic that should use our voice for peace in the world if we are seriously interested in following the legacy of Schuman and taking his words at their highest level for a peace project, which I had serious concerns about from day one because I think it was a veneer behind something else. We are in a Europe that is now building up - to paraphrase the words of the financial columnist Ganesh - to run down "the welfare state to build [up] a warfare state."”
“I am here to use my very short time to say that I am ashamed to be European, with its current leadership and with von der Leyen standing shoulder to shoulder and in solidarity with a war criminal. She is somebody who said Netanyahu "made the desert bloom" while the Israeli army moves in under our watch and with our permission to kill, maim and destroy Gaza. Surely in the Minister of State's 11 page speech he might have used some words of condemnation in relation to genocide. I am ashamed to be here looking at this speech and what I am reading about Palestine and I do not use my own words because they do not suffice any more. According to the Red Cross, the situation in Gaza "will haunt us" for decades because nobody will be able to say we were not aware. Europe has become a military industrial complex.”
“Some 51,000 Palestinians killed, 70% of whom were women and children, and we got 11 pages of a speech where the Minister of State, and the Government, urge Israel to show restraint. There was no condemnation. I do not know who is writing the speeches but to present an 11 page speech and not have a word of condemnation for Israel, which is in the middle of committing genocide on an ongoing basis, what level of bloodshed is required before we move on from where we struggle for diplomatic words to actually doing something? When we look at Europe, I have said repeatedly I am a proud European. I have intimate connections with Germany through my family and the German language. I am not here to protest that I am European.”
“He pointed out he has visited Kyiv and said, "I saw the determination, the dignity, and the resilience of the Ukrainian people." There is not a mention of the resilience of the Gazan people in Palestine. There was not a mention that journalists cannot enter the country. There was not a mention of what is happening. In my brief speaking time, I will quote the World Health Organization: We are breaking the bodies and minds of the children of Gaza. We are starving the children of Gaza because if we do not do something about it we are complicit in what is happening before our ... eyes ... As a doctor, as a physician, as someone watching more than 1,000 children without limbs ... My time does not allow me to do this but it is really important to use words and use them appropriately.”