Charles Ward
Donegal · 100% RDR · Ireland
“I thank Deputy Kenny for bringing forward this motion. As a parent, I have seen the costs relating to sending children to school skyrocket over the past ten years. The situation is absolutely out of control.”
“Uniforms are supposed to represent equality, but they have become another financial burden on families who are already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis that has been going on for a very long time.”
“Those who were previously on particular school bus routes no longer have the option of using those routes. As a result, parents are forced to engage in long commutes and to cover the costs incurred in this regard. I welcome the motion.”
“She did not receive the substantial person-centred supports she desperately needed to rebuild her life. Support has to be extended beyond crisis intervention.”
“Domestic abuse is increasing and becoming more and more complex. I spoke in depth with Jessica Gallagher, who is clinical director of the Uplift Project. She works alongside women who are affected by domestic abuse, coercive control and sexual violence in Donegal. She said that demand for the service demonstrates the scale of unmet need.”
“I welcome Jennie's law. The publicly available register of judgments will be a life-saving resource, as people in relationships or considering relationships will be able to see whether people have histories of domestic violence convictions.”
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“Those who were previously on particular school bus routes no longer have the option of using those routes. As a result, parents are forced to engage in long commutes and to cover the costs incurred in this regard. I welcome the motion. However, in the context of the funding model for schools, including DEIS schools, I see examples of instances where schools are struggling. We need to improve this down the line. Families are struggling and their needs are not being met.”
“Uniforms are supposed to represent equality, but they have become another financial burden on families who are already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis that has been going on for a very long time. Families are being squeezed from every angle, but particularly in Donegal where families, already living with a burden of defective concrete, are being forced to face additional hidden costs as a result of situations they had no part in causing. I refer, for example, to additional travel costs in circumstances where families are often forced to leave their crumbling homes and move to completely different areas while their children have to travel back to their own communities to attend school. Commuting costs are adding to the burden people must bear and to the pressure on family life, particularly in Donegal.”
“I thank Deputy Kenny for bringing forward this motion. As a parent, I have seen the costs relating to sending children to school skyrocket over the past ten years. The situation is absolutely out of control. The recent back-to-school survey carried out by the Irish League Of Credit Unions shows that 59% of parents find covering back-to-school costs a major financial burden, with more than one in four getting into debt. I would say that number is rising now in view of the cost-of-living crisis. Technology is emerging as a pressure point, but uniforms remain the main pressure point. Some 15% of parents have had to avail of second-hand uniforms, while 43% of the lower cost options such as supermarket alternatives are not available due to the fact that more schools are introducing expensive branded items such as bags, coats and PE gear.”
“These services should be recognised as essential public services and should be fully funded to allow people to continue this life-saving work.”
“She did not receive the substantial person-centred supports she desperately needed to rebuild her life. Support has to be extended beyond crisis intervention. Full and proper recovery requires long-term support and giving women the opportunity to truly rebuild their lives, yet organisations that provide essential life-saving services are often forced to continue to operate in uncertainty regarding funding, forcing them to devote valuable time and energy to securing resources instead of expanding supports to be available to victims and survivors. Vital services supporting victims should not have to compete for funding. Fundraising should not have to happen. It is a ridiculous situation that they rely on short-term grants to remain open. Domestic abuse funds should not be relocated and unspent funds in Donegal should remain in Donegal.”
“Domestic abuse is increasing and becoming more and more complex. I spoke in depth with Jessica Gallagher, who is clinical director of the Uplift Project. She works alongside women who are affected by domestic abuse, coercive control and sexual violence in Donegal. She said that demand for the service demonstrates the scale of unmet need. The service receives 20 contacts from service users each day and five new referrals every week. It is clear that there is a significant gap between the crisis intervention and long-term recovery, with many victims shockingly being left to source their own support. I was particularly struck by the case in Donegal of a woman in her 60s who had been left with intergenerational trauma, depression and PTSD and had repeated suicidal crises, having suffered prolonged domestic abuse and sexual violence.”
“I welcome Jennie's law. The publicly available register of judgments will be a life-saving resource, as people in relationships or considering relationships will be able to see whether people have histories of domestic violence convictions. I thank Jennie Poole's family, particularly Jason, for the work they have done on this in recent years. I have no doubt that, without them, we would not be where we are today. This could not come at a more crucial time. We are only halfway through 2026 and the number of women killed in Ireland has already overtaken the figure for all of last year. Today's events in Ballymena echo this as it continues. There is an epidemic of violence against women. It is not stopping. It is clear that there has been a demand for domestic violence services in Donegal in recent days.”
“During the Celtic tiger construction boom, Ireland experienced unprecedented building activity. Rural development schemes, farm modernisation grants and many co-funded EU agricultural and rural development programmes supported investment in farm infrastructure. The funding itself was legitimate and well-intentioned but the materials used in these construction projects on farms were defective concrete materials. We are talking about thousands of buildings potentially affected. What is clear is that the State is now facing long-term liability for construction decisions made during this period of weak regulation and no oversight. Rapidly developing issues are constantly coming forward. Will the Minister ask the Minister for housing to include agricultural buildings in the remediation scheme?”
“When we talk about defective concrete the national conversation quite rightly centres on family homes, but across rural Ireland the same materials were used in farm sheds, milking parlours, storage units, boundary walls and, critically, slurry tanks. They are not minor structures but central to functioning farms, animal welfare and environmental protection. The environmental impact is serious. There are failing slurry tanks, structural issues and environmental risks throughout the country. What makes the situation more difficult is that there are schemes for homes but there is absolutely nothing for farmers. Farmers are effectively left on their own and they are having a tremendously difficult time. The gap in policy is becoming more visible the more rural farmers are coming into this. They feel abandoned.”
“Will the Minister consider supporting farm agricultural buildings impacted by defective concrete? We are seeing a rise in the number of these buildings. Defective concrete has no discriminating factors. It is in tanks, slurry tanks and farm buildings. That is often overlooked as part of the defective concrete crisis. The impact on these buildings, particularly the environmental impacts on slurry tanks and cattle sheds, is disastrous for farmers. The crisis does not discriminate. We need a multi-departmental approach to this. It should not just be the Department of housing.”
“Adults with intellectual disabilities are living in homes that are crumbling and they have nowhere to go. I thank the HSE in Donegal, which recently expanded the community inclusion services in Buncrana, but the local services we need are multiples. We need this spread throughout and it is just not good enough at the moment.”
“A home represents far more than accommodation. It provides security, privacy, independence and a sense of belonging and community. Planning for the future and living arrangements should begin before a family reaches out at crisis point, as is currently happening. Ensuring people can decide where they can live into the future and who they live with should be planned well in advance. However, many families feel unable to make such arrangements in advance because of the system. Instead, they are forced to wait until a space becomes available. Greater transparency is needed. We are unaware of the numbers of people on waiting lists and out-of-area placements. The absence of a national waiting list is another issue. It remains unclear. People have nowhere to go, particularly in Donegal, where we have a defective concrete crisis.”
“I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this very important motion. It calls for the Government to publish a five-year national strategic community living strategy for adults with intellectual disabilities. We are in desperate need of a strategic outline project for regional planning and annual targets to reduce waiting lists. Inappropriate placements for those with intellectual disabilities are happening throughout. The private model is benefiting from what should be a duty of care to our citizens. Disabled people, families and advocacy organisations have continuously called for progress towards community inclusion and away from the institutional model of care. Home support services must be designed around individuals rather than determined by available vacancies, which is the current model in Donegal.”
“However, I have yet to receive clarification on this. Can the Tánaiste confirm that those homeowners will be entitled to a technical review?”
“Last week, I asked the Taoiseach when homeowners could expect the review of the remediation of dwellings Act, following the publication of IS 465, to be completed. His response was that it could take approximately three months to report to the committee and that the homeowners already know this. Will the Tánaiste provide a clear timeline as to when the necessary amending legislation will be published, enacted, communicated and commenced? Given that the science is now clear, the Government must ensure long-outstanding appeals for downgraded homeowners are determined without any further delay. They have been waiting over 18 months. Replies to parliamentary questions suggest that homeowners who were recommended remediation measures under the original scheme, such as outer leaf replacement, may be entitled to a review under the new IS 465.”
“In time, there will be nowhere for these children to go if we do not do anything about it. The loss of these facilities will have an impact on the population of Donegal. This will be only the beginning of the childcare crisis in Donegal unless the Minister steps up. We have been saying for years that 25 facilities are facing closure because of defective concrete, yet she does nothing about it.”
“These buildings will not be around in ten years' time. Even our President, Catherine Connolly, has taken time out in the past six months of her Presidency to visit many of these community facilities which have been impacted by defective concrete. Yet, not a single Minister has made it their priority to address this. Even the Minister for children has tried to wash her hands of the responsibility. She has refused to answer a question I submitted regarding children impacted by defective concrete. Multiple community playgroups in Donegal face closure because they have been affected by defective concrete. Yet, under the current redress scheme, these childcare facilities do not qualify for demolition. The loss of these vital resources throughout Donegal will have serious consequences.”
“The Government must finally deliver on its promise of €200 per month childcare and take the decisive action needed to fix this crisis. The Tánaiste must also deliver on his promise to address early-years facilities that are impacted by defective concrete. We know there are over 25 childcare facilities in Donegal impacted by defective concrete. When the Minister was here she talked about urgency. There is absolutely no urgency coming from her regarding defective concrete in buildings with children in those buildings. Not only this, but we are forcing children and early-years educators to go into these buildings every year. This would not be allowed to happen in County Dublin but it is allowed in Donegal. I have raised this issue time and again but still the Government refuses to do anything about it.”
“I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Kerrane for bringing forward this motion on childcare, which I will be supporting. Ireland is in the grip of a serious childcare crisis which has been allowed to continue for far too long. Parents are not only struggling to afford childcare but they are also struggling to access it at all. Finding a crèche in places has become an enormous challenge for families across the country, but particularly in Donegal where thousands of children are left without a place. The latest figures from Pobal show there were over 2,000 children on a waiting list for childcare places in Donegal, with childcare costing, on average, €180 per week. It is unacceptable that families are competing for just a handful of places.”
“The reason I raised this issue is that right now, as we speak, there will be people going in with foundations with levels of ISA in them. They will potentially be building on top of a foundation that may fail in the future. I am talking about being fiscally responsible. As the revised IS 465 has been published, there is now a trigger. Can the Taoiseach give me dates for this? I do not want people to be building on top of foundations that contain an ISA and then, in a year or two years' time, the foundations on which their brand-new home is built are tested and shown to be damaged. It is about fiscal responsibility and doing things right. Is it possible to get some kind of timeframe for when this will happen? As the Taoiseach said, there are homeowners progressing through the scheme.”
“Will the Taoiseach ensure that interpretation of sulphate-related damage under IS 465 is led by independent materials science expertise in order that evolved internal chemical deterioration is properly recognised, rather than leaving decisions to be based primarily on scheme engineers' assessments of present-day sulphate readings?”
“Flames may no longer be seen and there may be little smoke remaining but the damage to the structure is still there. It cannot be concluded that there was no fire simply because the active stage has passed. There was a fire once upon time. This raises deeper concerns. Should decisions under IS 465 rest mainly with engineering interpretations and threshold readings or should they be grounded in a full materials science analysis of how these chemical systems evolve? There is a risk that homes are being judged on what chemical traces remain rather than the scientific reality of how the damage actually developed.”
“The conclusion drawn was that the sulphates are likely externally sourced and not linked to defective blocks. This is where the core issue is now arising, with decisions driven by a heavily focused but narrowly presented one-day snapshot of sulphate content. The most recent research, by Leemann, Münch and Dunlop in 2026, demonstrates that internal sulphate attack, ISA, can occur even where sulphate content is low because the sulphates have consumed, transformed, distributed and leached over time. The damaging chemistry does not remain static. It evolves, which means a low sulphate reading today does not mean sulphate-driven damage was never present. It may simply mean the reaction has already run its course and the sulphates have been used up. It is like arriving at a house that has been burnt out.”
“When IS 465:2026 was introduced, I welcomed the intent behind it but had reservations about how it might be interpreted by engineers. Reading several reports tells me I was correct. I reference one report where a house was given a group 4 classification, indicating the worst possible level of structural damage, with widespread deterioration and a clear finding of evidence of chemical damage. There is evidence of sulphate attack gypsum replacing binder secondary eclogite formation, mobile sulphates within the concrete system and full carbonisation of the concrete metrics. This describes concrete systems that undergo significant internal change and ongoing failure. Yet, despite this, the home in question is excluded from remediation.”
“That decision does not end with this vote; it begins there. I stand with the families, like all my colleagues in opposition today who have stood. I say to the homeowners that we are fighting for them night and day and we will not forget. I will not move the burden onto those who did not create it. I am asking this House to remember where the weight of this situation has occurred. The Government and the State have a responsibility.”
“They have to go back to their constituents when it is in their area, and tell them why they did not vote to help. I hope Deputies will realise in the years to come what has gone on and that we have a catastrophic situation on our hands. The responsibility for this cannot be ignored. The time is now. We have to address this. There is a choice before us, it is a responsibility we cannot keep avoiding: families or system. I am clear. The uncertainty does not belong in family homes. This belongs now to the State. It is the State that has a responsibility to carry this burden, not the families, the people who did nothing wrong or the children growing up underneath the shadow of the defective concrete. When the bell rings for the vote this evening, this House will decide something very simple: where the burden sits.”
“No homeowner or child caused this crisis, yet they are the ones that are carrying it. We are told the scheme is improving. We are told progress is being made, but uncertainty is still in people's homes. It is still at the kitchen table, and it is still in their lives. I ask the House one question. Who is carrying the uncertainty? It is not being carried in here. It has been carried elsewhere by the families, by the children. People who stood should never have been asked to carry this burden at all. Never should this have happened. I recognise that many Members will vote under party instruction, but this Chamber has also seen Members break that. I ask that safety and security, and the future of children and their families, be on Deputies' conscience when they are voting.”
“I thank my colleagues who stood with me today and those who took the time to go beyond the briefing material and the political framing and had the empathy to understand what families are living through on the ground. Before we vote, I want to speak plainly, not in a language of schemes, standards or reassurance, but in a language that explains what is happening to people on the ground. I have sat in homes where families are in this crisis, and I have heard things that have never appeared in reports. People are lying awake at night wondering if their home is safe. Parents are trying to hide this fear from their children. Families are trying to hold ordinary life together while carrying on in an uncertainty that they did not create. This is the reality. There is no data and there are no summaries and no briefing. It is reality.”
“The cost will not be simply financial; it will be measured in homes requiring further remediation, families forced to go through a process for a second time and properties that become difficult to finance, insure and sell. In a housing system already struggling to meet demand, the State's first failure contributed to this crisis. It would be unforgivable if, in attempting to resolve it, we were to spend public money in a manner that risked creating an even greater housing crisis. When uncertainty remains, caution is not an expensive option. Caution is a reasonable option. It is important to be clear what this means in practice. These are not abstract issues. They affect a home and whether a home can be sold, remortgaged or insured. They affect whether families can rely on their homes as stable, long-term assets.”
“We are being asked to make long-term foundation decisions in circumstances where the Government standard acknowledges limitations in current knowledge, where the evidence base continues to evolve and where there is uncertainty regarding long-term performance of retained foundations. If the scale of defective properties is significantly greater than previously understood, then potential consequences will be enormous. Saving money today by retaining foundations where reasonable doubt remains may reduce immediate expenditure but if those assumptions are proved incorrect in the years ahead, the cost will dwarf any short-term saving.”
“Where the State accepts scientific knowledge is not yet complete in certain foundation conditions, should the consequences and uncertainty be carried by the homeowner by default? If the answer is "Yes", then this is a clear policy choice. If the answer is "No", the system must adjust to reflect the reality of what is going on. This matters because the decision before us is not simply about foundations; it is about the consequences of being wrong. The State has got this badly wrong once already. We are 14 years into this. Poor quality materials entered homes across affected counties and families are still paying the price today.”
“This motion is not a criticism of the scientists, engineers or researchers who have worked on and informed IS 465 - quite the opposite. Good science identifies not only what is known but also what is not yet known. The research has been transparent about the limits of current evidence. We need ongoing testing and expectations that understanding will continue to develop. The question before the House is, therefore, whether we trust a science. The question is whether policy is responding appropriately to what the science is telling us. We have remaining uncertainty. This policy question is not a scientific one. This motion does not challenge the standard. It accepts what it states. It asks straightforward questions of policy coherence.”
“The classification approach in the standard reinforces this structure. It states that foundation concrete should be classified in accordance with samples of foundation concrete from the highest risk classification. That would be the core sample taken with the most damage. Where multiple indicators exist, the highest classification must apply. Risk is not averaged. In determining the strongest identifying factor, where uncertainty is not fully resolved, it is not eliminated at the point of decision. It is deferred. This is the issue. Deferred uncertainty returns later as further remediation works, higher public costs and increased complexity as scientific understanding develops over time. What is not resolved does not disappear; it re-emerges later on. It will be more costly.”
“The distinction is extremely important. When we hear a figure of 12,000 homes, we are not looking at the full housing picture. It is a baseline. We are looking at only one segment of it. For years the State has pointed at figures of approximately 10,000 affected homes nationally, yet we have scientific analysis to suggest Donegal alone will exceed that figure. If that analysis is proven correct, the scale of this crisis has been profoundly underestimated. We must ask ourselves whether future risk has also been underestimated. The position is clear. The science is incomplete in defined areas. The standard acknowledges this directly. Decisions are still required within a framework. When that happens, uncertainty does not disappear. It is carried forward by the system and, in practice, the homeowners.”
“This is a technical engineering standard and is not designed for conveyancing or property transactions but, in practice, it is now influencing mortgage assessments, insurance decisions and property values in affected areas. This is not theatrical. This is already reflected when homes are valued, financed and traded. In places like Donegal, defects and uncertainty are already visible in the housing market. The House should reflect carefully what was presented at the scientific briefing. The research did not present an estimate for all homes in Donegal. Analysis indicated a minimum of 12,000 homes in Donegal alone may ultimately fall within the high-risk category. That does not include social homes, of which there are 2,400, or community buildings, of which there are hundreds. It does not include commercial premises or mixed-use buildings.”
“When an evidence base is still developing, public policy must be designed to accommodate the reality, rather than assume all future outcomes are already known. It also states the purpose of foundation concrete testing is to identify, first, aggregate types, second, deleterious materials, and, third, potential future deterioration. Testing identifies risk factors but it does not resolve how these factors behave over time in every case. Importantly, foundation testing does not provide a full evaluation of a foundation's current conditions, which would necessitate more extensive sampling for inspection. Even after testing, there are recognised limits to what is known about the structure.”
“Since tabling this motion, I hosted a scientific briefing in Leinster House attended by researchers directly involved in investigating defective concrete deterioration mechanisms across Ireland. The purpose of the briefing was not to challenge the science. It was to listen to the science, which was presented. It reinforced a point already acknowledged in IS 465, that is, that understanding continues to evolve as more testing is undertaken and long-term evidence becomes available. The research highlighted that the scale of the affected properties will continue to expand significantly as testing progresses and deterioration becomes visible on properties that may not yet exhibit symptoms. This is precisely why this motion matters.”
“The real issue is how known limits in technical knowledge become policy decisions. The governing standard says that the state of knowledge relating to foundations is insufficient to provide guidance for certain combinations of aggregate and active internal sulfate attack, ISA, risk factors. This is the precise limitation written into the standard. It acknowledges there are defined foundation conditions where scientific knowledge is insufficient for decision-making. The standard continues that undertaking sampling, testing and analysis of foundation concrete is expected to strengthen the knowledge base and inform future editions of the document. Therefore, the framework is not final. It is expected to evolve as more evidence becomes available.”
“These decisions determine remediation, housing security and the level of uncertainty families are left carrying for decades. At the centre of this is a simple question. When the science is not complete and the State must still act, who carries what remains unresolved? Is it the State or the homeowner? I should inform the House that I am directly affected by this matter and I deal with it every day. I am living with a defective concrete crisis. I am not relying on this at this stage of the argument but I mention it because it requires me to examine engineering reports and technical matters in great detail. What these reports make clear is not a disagreement about whether the risk exists. It is how the uncertainty is defined in the system and how it is carried into decisions that affect homes, finance and long-term security.”
“465:2026 remains with the State and not individual homeowners; and — report to Dáil Éireann within six months on the implementation of these measures and on any revision required to I.S. 465:2026 in light of emerging scientific evidence. I thank all those who worked on this motion, particularly my staff and 100% Redress party councillors who work every day on the ground dealing with owners of homes with defective concrete. I thank Dr. Chris Brough and Professor Paul Dunlop for their extremely important research on this topic. I also thank all the Opposition TDs and their parties for supporting this motion. The motion is about the State making decisions about people's homes in circumstances where its own technical standard accepts the science is not fully developed in certain foundation cases.”
“465:2026, with specific focus on sulphide-related deterioration mechanisms in foundation concrete and their long-term behaviour; — publish in full the evidential basis, assumptions and uncertainty ranges used to justify foundation retention under I.S. 465:2026; — amend the operation of the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme to ensure that no homeowner is required to retain foundations where there is material engineering uncertainty regarding long-term durability; — provide an explicit entitlement for homeowners to opt for full foundation replacement where reasonable doubt exists as to future performance; — ensure that responsibility for residual long-term structural risk arising from application of I.S.”
“465:2026 as the governing technical standard for remediation decisions, despite acknowledged scientific uncertainty in its underpinning evidence; — where the State adopts a Standard in conditions of uncertainty, it must bear responsibility for managing resulting long-term structural risk and not transfer it to individual homeowners; — homeowners should not be exposed to future liability or repeated remediation costs arising from limitations in the scientific evidence base underpinning the Standard; and — in circumstances where failure mechanisms may be latent, progressive and not fully observable within assessment timeframes, policy must err decisively on the side of homeowner protection; and calls on the Government to: — commission an independent international review of the scientific basis of I.S.”
“(Irish Standard) 465:2026; — research underpinning I.S. 465:2026 has identified pyrrhotite and other sulphide minerals in the concrete foundations of affected homes, with evidence of oxidation and early-stage internal sulphate attack in some cases; — the scientific basis underpinning I.S. 465:2026 remains limited in duration, scale and longitudinal evidence, and does not conclusively establish long-term foundation performance; — as a result, I.S. 465:2026 operates in circumstances of acknowledged material scientific uncertainty regarding long-term structural durability; and — affected homeowners are being required to make decisions about retaining or remediating foundations in conditions of that uncertainty, with significant financial, legal and psychological consequences; recognises that: — the State is relying on I.S.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — thousands of homeowners affected by defective concrete have spent years living with uncertainty regarding the safety of their homes, the adequacy of available remediation options and the long-term security of their families; — many affected families have experienced repeated changes in engineering advice, evolving scientific understanding and revisions to the redress scheme throughout that period; — for homeowners undertaking remediation works, decisions regarding whether existing foundations should be retained or replaced are among the most significant and irreversible choices they will make; — the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme permits the retention of existing foundations in affected dwellings in accordance with the updated National Standards Authority of Ireland I.S.”
“Access to timely legal advice is critical in family law and I am concerned that the current arrangements may be creating unnecessary barriers for vulnerable people and assistants. Why can information not be provided to organisations such as Lifeline Inishowen and other organisations on this issue?”
“Concerns have been raised by a local charity, Lifeline, about being able to access family law under the legal aid scheme in Donegal. I understand there are significant delays in processing legal aid applications at the moment. During this period, organisations supporting vulnerable individuals and families often need to identify solicitors who may be able to assist in urgent family law matters. However, it appears that information on solicitors participating in the Legal Aid Board’s law panel is not readily available to organisations such as Lifeline Inishowen and other organisations. This creates difficulties in attempting to assist individuals who are experiencing family breakdown, domestic abuse, child access issues and guardianship access issues.”
“I have raised this multiple times over the past few months. I welcome that the Minister of Health has signed off on the end-to-end review for funding of new drugs in Ireland but we have said on many occasions that for children suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, DMD, time is muscle and children with DMD face a blatant inequality under the current system. I am sure the Taoiseach will be aware of two boys in Donegal. Diarmuid O’Sullivan has DMD, as does has his brother. His brother is on a trial and has access to the medicine, but Diarmuid does not. Aaron Langan lives in Laghey, ten minutes from Belleek, County Fermanagh, where the drug is readily available. Can the Taoiseach give us a timeline on the review of Ireland's approval system for drugs such as givinostat? The families cannot wait. We need to make sure we get on this now.”
“That is a shocking statistic, which is down to a regime that is out of control and Benjamin Netanyahu, who is a war criminal. Every time this happens, it is normalised because we do not say anything about it. This was an opportunity the Government had to have the courage that Spain and Slovenia had but it is a missed opportunity. History will dictate on this. History will say we had the opportunity to stand up and do the right thing but we failed. We did not fail; the Government failed.”
“The Government's decision to exclude services from the Bill is devastating and it means that the Bill loses any sort of meaningful impact and accountability. There is no legal justification for this. The decision appears to be purely political rather than actual legal necessity. The Government is trying to pass this Bill as meaningful action, and is just living up to its pre-election promise and ticking the box to say it produced a document. Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 70,000 people and 20,000 of them are children in Gaza. One out of every 33 people in Gaza has been killed. Let us think about those numbers. The equivalent of five TDs in this House, when it is filled up, have been taken out and killed. One child has been killed every hour 24 hours a day for two years.”
“I share the disappointment of my colleagues with what has been produced before us today. This Bill falls far short of what was promised and what is required, despite delays repeatedly over the years and despite Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael promising in the last election that this would be a priority. As far as I am concerned, the Government parties' election promises were nothing more than a box-ticking exercise. For years, campaigners in this House have tried to push forward this occupied territories Bill and today I think about the Opposition TDs who have been pushing for this for years, Senator Francis Black and the person who used to sit in the chair beside me, Catherine Connolly. I cannot help but feel disappointment when I look at this and the original occupied territories Bill has been diluted to the point now where it is ineffective.”