Cian O'Callaghan
Dublin Bay North · Social Democrats · Ireland
“Unification presents distinct challenges that need to be carefully planned for and managed. The analysis done by Professor Doyle shows that the cost of pensions would be unlikely to transfer to a united Ireland straight away. Following Brexit, the UK and Ireland signed a bilateral convention on social security in 2019.”
“Ireland spends less than that defending a much larger territory and has decades of underinvestment to catch up on. We need increased investment, particularly in systems and technologies, including sonar and air surveillance radar.”
“I welcome this important discussion on the topic of Irish unity and its fiscal implications. It deserves analysis and fundamentally respect for the people, who will ultimately decide the future of this island. There are real challenges in any transition to unity but there are also very significant opportunities.”
“These are highly skilled jobs with union representation and apprenticeship programmes. They are of fundamental importance to the local economy and community. They should never have been left exposed in this way.”
“The Tánaiste must surely know that these exports are feeding Putin's war machine. Does he not think it is unusual that Ireland is one of the very few European countries where our exports to Russia have increased since Russia invaded Ukraine? That has been driven by the exports of alumina that have more than doubled.”
“We know from the investigation carried out by The Irish Times and the organised crime and corruption reporting project that alumina from Ireland is ending up in Russian owned smelters in Krasnoyarsk. Krasnoyarsk is Russia's only smelter producing high purity aluminium.”
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Every one of 897 lines we hold for Cian O'Callaghan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 18.
“I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, to delete lines 22 to 26 and substitute the following: “(4) A draft of the designation order shall be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas, and the order shall be made only after a resolution approving the draft has been passed by each House of the Oireachtas.”. I want to talk about the concentration in the hands of the Minister of huge power under this Bill. I am generally supportive of the intention of this Bill and what the Minister is trying to achieve. However, there is not sufficient oversight of this or transparency about it. As I have said before, any legislation has to be drafted keeping in mind any Minister and indeed any Government being in that role. What is being proposed in my amendment and in a similar amendment from the Labour Party is very reasonable.”
“It is worth noting that the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women has called on the Irish Government to abolish this mandatory three-day waiting period. It is also worth saying that middle-ground voters in the referendum were particularly concerned about women who needed terminations for medical reasons being forced to travel abroad, and they wanted to change this. Despite the review commissioned by the Government, which was published more than three years ago, what we have is inaction. It is clear today from the Minister's comments that this inaction will continue.”
“She said that a lack of action on the many legislative recommendations in her report meant that some pregnant women are being left to face profoundly sad conditions. The review found a number of very serious flaws in the legislation, including that doctors find the law unclear and fear clear criminal sanction, leading to defensive medicine and denial of care. The prospect of criminal sanction and adverse media scrutiny has likely led to women being denied care. Criminalisation is not theoretical; it is actively harming patients. The mandatory three-day waiting period has a physical and psychological impact on women. It is particularly onerous for people in marginalised groups and those living in rural areas. The waiting period is not neutral. It causes measurable harm and pushes women past the 12-week limit.”
“The Minister said that the situation of women being forced to travel abroad would not be fixed for every situation. She did not say that she would fix the very grave situation of fatal foetal abnormalities where women are still being forced to travel to the UK in the most horrific circumstances, as my colleague Jennifer Whitmore spoke about earlier. I want to summarise the current situation. In 2018, an overwhelming majority of Irish people voted to repeal the eighth amendment. This explicitly gave the Oireachtas the remit to legislate for abortion. It also explicitly included a commitment from the Government to review the legislation. The barrister Marie O'Shea, who conducted the review, said that vulnerable women who continued to be forced abroad for terminations were being treated like criminals.”
“Gabhaim buíochas le Holly Cairns as an reachtaíocht seo a thabhairt chun cinn. I thank Holly Cairns for bringing forward this legislation. I thank all the Deputies who have spoken during this debate. I take the earlier contribution by the Minister for Health in good faith. However, what is missing from what the Minister said is any commitment to bring forward legislation to address the very serious flaws in the existing legislation that were identified in the review. Also missing from what the Minister said was any commitment that these legislative flaws and gaps would actually be addressed. We have received no firm commitments from the Government today that it will actually do anything to fix the very serious issues identified in the review.”
“Ireland is the largest exporter of alumina, the key component of aluminium, to Russia. We are exporting almost 1 million tonnes of it a year. This is being used by Russia to make the drones and missiles that are being used to kill Ukrainian men, women and children. Ukrainian civilians are being murdered with weapons and missiles made using materials supplied by Ireland. Why is Ireland supplying this key war component to Russia? Was the Taoiseach aware that the Irish State has lobbied for these exports to be shielded from sanctions? What action will he take about this matter?”
“A particular issue that I brought up, which I raised with the Taoiseach previously, is cross-Border taxation, particularly for those who are remote working or who cannot remote work, or companies which cannot facilitate cross-Border remote working. It requires a bilateral agreement with the British Government. It should be on the agenda of Government. I also said we should actually deal with the biggest issue, which is the Border, but the Taoiseach has a bit of work to do on that himself.”
“It is 18 years since CIÉ pensioners received an increase in their pensions. There was agreement between CIÉ and the unions in May of last year. A year later the Government has still not signed off on this increase. When I asked the Taoiseach about this in February, he said that the sign-off was imminent. We are now in May, and it has still has not been signed off. When will the CIÉ pensioners get the increase for which they have been waiting for 18 years? It is absolutely necessary that we look at the fact that Irish people are paying 40% more for electricity. We need to find the solution to this. It is not okay. Recently, a number of us met the House of Commons business and trade committee.”
“How, when it has the resources available to invest in targeted energy credits to lift people out of fuel poverty and invest in solar energy, does it continue to sit on its hands and not act or use the resources at its disposal to really help the people who need help the most?”
“To put that in context, this country, the Government, has €39 billion sitting in cash yet it decided to take €1,400 off disabled people, putting people further into poverty. It means that, for example, people who were in receipt of some of those supports who were getting dialysis at home can no longer afford the electricity bills for their dialysis and are having to go back to hospital to get dialysis every day, causing massive disruption and having a huge impact on their health and well-being. What sort of Government does that? How can its members justify that to themselves? How can they make those decisions?”
“First I want to mention the Northside Home Care workers. This is a group of low-paid workers, earning just above the minimum wage, who do incredibly important care work. As the Government has failed to intervene and make sure they get paid the going rate the same as HSE care workers and failed to ensure there is a sectoral pay agreement for care workers, they are a group that is particularly vulnerable and disadvantaged during this cost-of-living crisis. I urge the Minister of State and his colleagues to back them and sort them out and ensure that every care worker gets paid the same, fair going HSE rate. What sort of Government cuts the income of disabled people by €1,400? That is what the Government did in this year’s budget.”
“Will the Minister bring it to the Dáil in the next few weeks? Will it be passed before the summer recess? Will the Minister act urgently now? We cannot afford to wait on this any longer. When will this Bill, which we have been waiting eight and a half years on, be brought to the Dáil to get it passed?”
“We have to act because the situation is too extreme not to act. It is absolutely horrendous that school children are being murdered standing outside their school. That is taking place while Ireland still trades with companies that profit and operate in the occupied territories. That has to stop and it has to stop now. This Bill was initiated more than eight years ago. Fine Gael has been in government for all of that time. It has had ample time to get legal advice and do all of that. Eight and a half years later, it must act on the occupied territories Bill. The Minister said she has received the advice and subsequently sought clarification on that advice. Now all we are waiting on is for the Minister to make a decision. That is what she said. When will the Minister make a decision to progress this Bill?”
“While he was standing at the gate outside his secondary school in the West Bank, he was shot dead by an Israeli settler. This was part of a wave of settler violence in the occupied West Bank, primarily targeted at schools and children. Palestinian children are being murdered as they go to school while Ireland is still doing business with the companies profiting from this illegal occupation. We have a duty to stand up for the Palestinian people. We have a legal obligation to act when a genocide is taking place. Why does Fine Gael keep on making and breaking promises? When will the occupied territories Bill be brought to the Dáil?”
“Instead, in the last budget, it cut the income of disabled people by up to €1,400. The Minister's party leader, Simon Harris, promised to pass the occupied territories Bill within the first year of the Government and yet, days, weeks and months pass with no sign of the Bill in the Dáil. The occupied territories Bill was initiated in 2018. We are waiting more than eight years for the Government to progress this Bill. Last year, the Tánaiste promised that the occupied territories Bill would be brought to the Dáil by the end of November. We are now half a year past that deadline. That is yet another promise made by Fine Gael that has been broken. The horrors in Palestine continue. The killing has not stopped and the illegal occupation is intensifying. Two weeks ago, Aws al-Nasaan, a 14-year-old boy, was murdered.”
“Tá gealltanais bhriste. There are broken promises. Ar fud na tíre, tá daoine tuirseach de níos mó agus níos mó gealltanas briste. Bhris Fine Gael roinnt gealltanas a rinne sé sa toghchán deireanach. Fine Gael has broken promise after promise that it made in the most recent general election. Parents, students and disabled people were all told that help was on the way, but those election commitments were swept under the rug once the Government was formed. There is palpable anger and frustration with the Government’s failure to deliver on its word. At the 2024 election, Fine Gael promised affordable childcare costing €200 per month. It quickly forgot that promise. Fine Gael promised to phase out third level fees. Does the Minister remember that? Instead, those fees were increased. Fine Gael promised a €500 cost-of-disability payment.”
“Is mian liom ceist a chur ar an Taoiseach faoi thaighde an Bhainc Ceannais. Research from the Central Bank published today shows that one in three adults has experienced fraud or scams. At the same time, social media companies earned an estimated €32 million last year from scam advertisements aimed at people in Ireland. These social media giants are turning a blind eye in order that they can profit off the misery of their customers. One couple from north Dublin were preparing for their dream wedding. They booked what they believed was a legitimate villa advertised on Facebook. They paid €2,800 for accommodation that did not exist. These scams are being operated on an industrial scale. Why are these social media companies allowed to make millions in advertising fees from these false, fraudulent advertisements?”
“Cuirim ceist ar an Tánaiste faoi Ospidéal Beaumont. Despite the very best efforts of nurses and doctors in the emergency department it is often severely overcrowded. For over a decade, the Tánaiste's Government has been promising a new emergency department at Beaumont Hospital. What is causing the delay to this much-needed new emergency department? When is it actually going to be delivered?”
“If people see how and why the decision was made, it provides a bit of protection to both the Minister and the Government, as well as proper accountability and transparency. We will obviously look at this on Committee Stage but I ask the Minister to consider what I am putting forward.”
“The point I always make about legislation is that it has to be drafted not just for this Government but the governments that come after. It has to be drafted for Ministers who will take these responsibilities in the absolute public interest but also for Ministers who may not do that. My concern is having that concentration of power without information around the process. If we have information as to how the decisions will be made on each project, at least we will be able to understand the rationale as to why a certain project was prioritised and another was not. Without that information provided to the Oireachtas, the Dáil and the public, it will lead to people questioning why a project in Cork, for example, was prioritised but one in Galway was not. It will create a problem.”
“It does not work if everything worthwhile is prioritised. Decisions have to be made. I accept that but we will be in the dark as to why one good project was prioritised and another was not. If there is no transparency around this, it will lead to a situation where people will question why one project was picked over another important project.”
“I accept there is no mystery about these projects. They are all good projects. I cannot see why anyone would want to bring a motion to the Dáil to annul prioritisation of any of the projects under consideration. That is not really the issue. The issue is the bit of mystery about how the prioritisation will be carried out. What will and will not be prioritised? How will that be decided? That is the bit the Minister and the Cabinet will have information on but the Dáil, Oireachtas and public will not. That is the missing part. How will prioritisation be carried out? Where is the transparency in that regard? The Bill is silent on this. It gives the power to the Minister, subject to Cabinet approval and laid before the Oireachtas but there is no information about how that decision will be made.”
“On the Critical Infrastructure Bill, it is good that there is a focus on trying to speed up these processes. We have heard from the Minister with responsibility for the OPW that it takes about ten years to deliver a Garda station. That is just one of many examples of how slow these processes are. It is not just about legislation, though. The Bill would give the Minister significant powers in terms of designation. What safeguards, oversight mechanisms or process would be in place to ensure that those significant powers the Minister is assigning to himself will be exercised in a transparent, proportionate and accountable manner?”
“I welcome his work on this, his commitment to it and his interest in it. That is very welcome. It is also welcome that genuine attempts to move this on are now being made. The Minister of State is right that this is a growing community with a huge population. That community was bitterly disappointed that this was announced in 2019 and that nothing then happened for seven years. The fact that we have the date of 2028 is positive, as is the fact that the Minister of State is engaging with the Department of justice on it. I welcome that. However, I urge that we all collectively keep at this and get this much-needed new Garda station delivered. The area needs other facilities and community infrastructure as well but this is a key component of it.”
“It is welcome that we are making some progress in that there is a commitment that construction will start in 2028. Is the Minister of State confident that timeline will be adhered to? If construction begins in 2028, what is the timeline for finishing? I am concerned that we are still talking about identifying a suitable site for this new Garda station when it was announced not by the last Government, but by the Government before it in 2019, and when a site had been identified for it at that time. I do not really understand that part of it because a site was identified and even announced seven years ago. Why are we still talking about identifying a suitable site when one was identified seven years ago? Is the Minister of State confident that construction will start in 2028?”
“The legislative basis is there but we need the Government to put it into action. Net contribution clauses would make public contracts more attractive, stabilise insurance costs and help ensure that engineering firms remain willing to tender. It would really help us to deliver the housing and infrastructure that we need. Will the Minister look further into this? Does he accept that there is a problem here?”
“I think, based on the Minister's comment, that he accepts there is a problem here and I ask him to look into it further. The engineers are not raising this for no reason; it is because they are experiencing a very real problem. There is a solution to this which is to insert net contribution clauses into public contracts. That would not increase risk for the State and would simply prevent smaller contributors from being forced to absorb the full cost of defects caused by others. It would not remove any liability but it would ensure fairness in how liability works. England, Scotland and Northern Ireland use these clauses routinely. The Civil Liability Act already allows for it. Section 35(1) explicitly recognises that parties may enter contracts limiting liability to their just share.”
“These costs are ultimately passed on to the taxpayer when it comes to these big public projects if they are not able to bid or if their costs have increased. Insurers already exit the Irish market because of this exposure. The insurer AIG told an Oireachtas committee that the 1% rule was the key reason it withdrew from engineering professional indemnity cover. The result is higher premiums, reduced competition and engineering firms avoiding these public contracts. I urge the Minister to act on this.”
“I know this issue has been looked at and some work has been done on it, but it has not been addressed to the degree that is necessary for architects, engineers and small firms. They are still being caught by this. They are still not able to go in for projects, cannot get insurance and insurance costs are prohibitive. I recently met with representatives of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland who told me how this is driving up costs and driving small firms away from public projects. As the Minister knows architects and engineers do not operate using special purpose vehicles to avoid accountability. They are usually small to medium-sized businesses and are being pushed to the brink because of crippling costs.”
“Ba mhaith liom ceist a chur ar an Aire faoi thionscadal tógála poiblí. When multiple parties contribute to a project but only one still exists years later and when something goes wrong, that party can be held liable for 100% of the cost even if it is only 1% responsible. Developers nearly always use special purpose vehicles and then wind them up, which means they are let off the hook, meaning architects and engineers are sometimes left to pick up the bill that could put them out of business. Has the Minister looked into this structural issue? Does he have any plans to address it?”
“The Social Democrats' solar for all plan put forward by my colleague, Deputy Jennifer Whitmore, would bring down people's bills while also helping us to reach our climate targets. Our proposals are targeted, fully costed and would make an immediate impact while protecting us from future shocks. If the Government is serious about this crisis, it would adopt our proposals.”
“People are crying out for help from the Government but are being ignored. There is a real prospect of continued energy price shocks over the coming months and years. This means that to make the best use of possible resources, the response from the Government must be to target resources to help those who need them most and, crucially, to build resilience and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Our proposals get to the root of the cost-of-living crisis. A €400 targeted energy credit would provide much-needed relief for those who need help most. A supplementary mileage scheme for essential workers is also needed as well as a roll-out of solar panels across the country. Every home, every business and every farm building in Ireland should have solar panels.”
“There are home care workers protesting outside the Dáil right now who are at the coalface of this cost-of-living crisis. Workers from Northside Home Care Service do long and hard hours taking care of our sick and elderly. They provide professional and compassionate care but are not paid properly for their Trojan work. Most are paid just above the minimum wage. This is simply not enough to survive on. They deserve a fair wage for the essential role they play in our community. I urge the Minister of State to speak to his Government colleagues and ensure this pay dispute is resolved. There must be a sectoral wage for care workers and there must be full pay restoration. The Northside Home Care Service workers are just one example of hard-pressed workers struggling to keep their heads above water.”
“I thank my colleague, Deputy Gary Gannon, for bringing forward this motion and, indeed, everyone who has contributed to the debate. The price increase for every day basics are relentless. Rents, food, heating, electricity, petrol and diesel are all through the roof. People's wallets do not stretch indefinitely when their wages stay the same. We are reaching a breaking point. People contact me every day who are unable to cope. Could the Government not see that the country was already in crisis before the tractors had arrived in Dublin? Home heating oil jumped nearly 70% in a single month - the biggest increase ever recorded. Irish households are paying some of the highest electricity and gas prices in Europe. People are stretching every euro just to heat their homes, drive to work, keep the lights on and put food on the table.”
“Of course it is not all about the legislative process but outsourcing so many functions to the private sector has reduced State capacity and has been costly and inefficient. Alongside this Bill, it is important that much stronger capacity is developed in really good community engagement. If there is efficient legislation and good community engagement, we could do much better in delivering the critical infrastructure we desperately need. We will table amendments. I hope the Minister considers them constructively.”
“This Bill does not give any safeguards and there is no real transparency around designation. Laying it before the Oireachtas does not give proper democratic insight or input. The lack of safeguards needs to be addressed. We have not had any analysis from the Minister, and of course we did not have pre-legislative scrutiny, on why previous critical infrastructure legislation has not worked so there is a lack of potential learning. It was promised, for example, that the strategic housing development legislation would fast-track housing; it did the opposite. It created delays. The Bill fails to address many acute challenges and fundamental problems such as the need to build up State capacity.”
“That does not necessarily serve us well but some of the key challenges in this legislation seem to have been sidestepped by the Government. It is as if it does not know how it will define them or lay out the criteria strongly or clearly or have transparency around the decision-making process and so just will not cover them in the Bill at all. I am not asking for a complex process but there are no provisions or safeguards in the Bill, for example, to stop a Minister prioritising projects that would benefit their own constituency over other projects that serve the national interest. It is critically important that legislation holds water no matter who is in government or what sort of a Minister we have. We have had decades of Ministers favouring projects in their constituencies - not all Ministers but we have had decades of it.”
“Judicial activism has been given a bad rap by this Government. As for a lot of the rights we enjoy, such as workers' rights, equal pay for women, equality for the LGBT community, disabled people, the environment and the clean air we breathe, some came from civil society campaigning over the years. Some came from the Oireachtas but some were driven by judicial activism. We live in a better country and a better world because of it and we should not try to write that out of our history. In this legislation there is a lack of transparent process around designation of what is or is not critical infrastructure. This is an issue with the Bill. I am a fan of quite simple legislation. It does not always have to be incredibly long and complex.”
“I think there is an over-provision and over-concentration of data centres in this country but I would not say that if people engaged in data centre lobbying or businesses wanted to have access to justice, they should be denied it because of their ideological position. I would not say that about anyone. Who decides what is an ideological position that is acceptable or not? The Minister has decided that some of the people taking court cases have ideological positions and therefore should not have these provisions in law. That is quite an extraordinary approach to take. Access to justice is a fundamental part of our process. Independent judicial arbitration and who has access to it should not be decided on by the Minister withdrawing these rights because he thinks some people have ideologies. That is very arbitrary.”
“I am paraphrasing but my read of what the Minister said was to not worry because the Government will be doing the climate stuff anyway. He did not get into the point that it will not be required by law and if the Government does not do it or make serious mistakes, there will be no recourse to the courts or justice system. When the Minister gave a rationale for that exemption, he said it is because the Government does not agree with the motivations, beliefs and ideology of some of the people taking challenges in the courts. He stated "It is abundantly clear that some of these reviews are being taken for ideological reasons". That is quite an extraordinary comment for the Minister to make and I would like to know the basis for that. Who decides what is an ideological judicial review and what is not? Obviously the Minister has decided.”
“For housing, healthcare, education, the climate infrastructure we need, public transport and reducing the cost of living and of doing business, it is important that critical infrastructure is delivered efficiently. However, what rings more alarm bells for me is the section to exempt public bodies from climate laws. There has been no scrutiny of this so far. It really says something stark about the Government's approach in terms of climate action. Why is it that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in the previous Dáil were all for this but now they are no longer in government with the Green Party, they think they can ditch these provisions? It shows a real lack of ongoing commitment to climate action. I found the Minister's comments quite extraordinary in his opening remarks.”
“Why would you want to bother with a regulatory impact assessment for a Bill like this on critical infrastructure that is all about regulation and regulatory processes? The Government just does not bother to do one. Pre-legislative scrutiny was brought in as a reform after the crash to make this Oireachtas much better at doing its job because there was a recognition across the Dáil and the Oireachtas that we needed to do our job as legislators better yet here we go - we will not bother doing it. Either you will not bother doing it or you do not want the assessment to be done. Overall, we strongly support the intention of the Bill. It is very important that we deliver critical infrastructure as efficiently and effectively as possible. We absolutely agree with that intention.”
“If you are coming up from Wicklow into Meath, Kildare and west Dublin, what really strikes you as the things that have been developed in the past ten years or so? What has been the priority of the country? You will not see it in other countries; it is data centres. The Government in its addiction to over-provision of data centres has shown where its priorities lie. That has resulted in higher energy prices for people and small businesses and in part in the crisis we are in at the moment. A more efficient process in terms of legislation is important but the priorities of the Government are important as well. Not only was there no pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill, there was no regulatory impact assessment.”
“While that is important, it is also about the overall strategic priorities of the Government. The Government's overall strategic priorities when it comes to critical infrastructure have been wrong. Tá na tosaíochtaí míchearta ag an Rialtas. I will give an example. If you fly into any airport, you get a good sense of the priorities in that country or city. If you fly into Vienna, you see a lot of affordable housing. If you fly into London at night-time, you see a lot of lights around all-weather sports facilities they have invested in. If you fly into places in Spain, you see all the wind farms which mean they have cheaper electricity bills and are not as impacted by the energy crisis now as other European countries. If you fly into Dublin Airport, what you see?”
“Deputy Fleming said that the designations the Minister makes will be laid before the House and there will be an opportunity to debate them in the House. That is technically correct but it is a bit of stretch because to be able to debate in the House, we have 21 days to get a motion in. Most Opposition parties and groups may not have any Private Members' time in those 21 days and if we did, as the Minister knows well, we have hundreds of competing strong demands for that one time slot. To get a slot to actually debate any of these designations in the Dáil, while technically possible, will be extremely difficult to exercise. Before I get into the detail of the Bill, I will make a point about critical infrastructure. It is not just about process being more efficient.”
“I want to respond to a couple of points made by Deputy Fleming. Alarm bells ring for me when the explanation for why we cannot do pre-legislative scrutiny is because we cannot do it efficiently and it might take us six months, when we are talking about a Bill that aims to make processes efficient. I did pre-legislative scrutiny in the previous Dáil when it needed to be done quickly on the housing committee and it was done in a matter of a couple of weeks. We were able to do it quickly and efficiently. The Government is saying to us that we will have an efficient process around critical infrastructure but we cannot even manage the pre-legislative scrutiny efficiently. It does not really speak to confidence in the Government's ability. I do not buy that, to be frank.”
“Our proposals to double the grants for these should be taken on board. Ní foláir don Rialtas éisteacht. Ní foláir don Rialtas gníomhú. The Government must listen and the Government must act.”
“A full-time nurse, who has not taken holidays in three years as she uses her annual leave to do agency work, should not be in this situation regarding buying food, turning on the heating and meeting friends. For some time now, the Social Democrats have been putting forward proposals and asking the Government to implement them. We have been asking for a €400 energy credit for the 50% of households with lower incomes. This measure would help people who are really squeezed. Even before the current crisis, there were already 320,000 households in electricity bill arrears. Disabled people were up to €1,400 worse off after the budget. I really would ask the Government to look at these and at our proposals for rolling out solar panels. Every home, farm building and small business in the country should have them.”
“I haven't taken a week off in that time as I work agency shifts during my annual leave. My commute to work is 100km each way. I have €200 in my bank account to do me until the end of the month but will need €400 just to drive to work. I'm contemplating sleeping in my car between shifts just to save some money. I don't know what to do, me and my partner are very frugal. We only buy our meat from the 75% off section and freeze it, We don't eat out, We've cut our food portions smaller, We've agreed that when we run out of oil we won't be refilling it. I look online and see my fellow nurses living it up in Australia wondering if we made the right decision to stay and work in Ireland. These are real people who are massively struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.”
“Well, it is true. A couple of people have been in contact with me and I want the Tánaiste to listen when I outline their experiences. A constituent who contacted me this morning said: Now what about the rest of the people Pensioners like myself Every time l go into the supermarket items are going up. I can't afford to buy meat anymore. Maybe you could ask Michael Martin to walk around the supermarket with me to see the price of food. This is her experience. For the first time in her life she is not able to buy the very basics in the supermarket. She wants to know what the Government is going to do to address the cost-of-living crisis for her and for people like her. I want to read the words of another nurse who, despite doing everything right, cannot keep her head above the water. I work on average 60 hours a week for the last 3 years.”