Ciarán Ahern
Dublin South-West · Labour Party · Ireland
“What we are asking for today is simply that the Government lives up to the commitment made in the programme for Government to carry out a new, independent feasibility study for an extension of the MetroLink from where it is currently due to end in Charlemont, out to Dublin south west.”
“It examined quite a nonsensical route that finished abruptly in Knocklyon, and therefore it significantly underestimated the cost benefit of the project.”
“This all comes back to funding our schools. All too often, despite the much publicised overspend in the education budget, schools still have to fight tooth and nail to get the resources they need. I never predicted that so much of my time as a TD would be spent working with local schools on funding and resourcing issues.”
“As the capitation grant is not covering basic operating costs, many school boards feel that to avoid running deficits, which they will get into trouble for from their governing bodies, they have to find funds elsewhere.”
“As the Minister knows, parents are paying hand over fist for ancillary school costs, be it for school uniforms, laptops, school transport or the so-called voluntary contributions. We cannot say we have free education in this country if the whole architecture that enables proper participation is hugely expensive for parents.”
“Some parents are now having to pay hundreds of euro for devices if their children are to just fully participate in school. As this motion states, we are at risk of creating a digital divide and new inequalities in our education system unless we put further supports in place for low-income families. Kevin Shortall, principal of St.”
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“Now it is imperative that the reductions in urban areas and on national secondary roads come in on schedule later this year. Funding for signage should be made available for that immediately. We know from evidence in Wales that when the Labour Party there introduced lower speed limits in built-up areas, there was a 30% drop in casualties of the roads. Therefore, I am optimistic. However, we cannot allow ourselves to think that simply lowering speed limits is a panacea, or that harsher penalties for infringements of those limits or other offences, like drunk driving or phone use, comprise a panacea. Ultimately, the determining factor in the success of any of these initiatives will be enforcement, and that means significant investment. We need to need to consider numbers in the Garda traffic corps, for example.”
“Every single one of the deaths is a horrendous tragedy for family members, friends and communities, who will forever grieve the loss of their loved one in what in most cases was a preventable incident. We also need to acknowledge that while road deaths may grab the headlines, many more people acquire life-changing injuries as a result of road collisions. Serious injuries to cyclists are actually increasing in Dublin. Very worryingly, the number of injured child cyclists recorded by hospitals is actually six times higher than on Garda records. I acknowledge the positive initiatives taken on road safety in recent times. Speed kills – simple as. In recent days, we have seen the first tranche of reduced speed limits coming into effect under the new Road Safety Act. The Labour Party welcomes this.”
“I congratulate the Minister and the Minister of State on their new appointments. I look forward to working with them on these important issues. I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on this very important issue. The Labour Party introduced a motion in the Dáil on this very topic in May last year. We did so in the context of a really concerning increase in the number of fatalities on our roads. Last year up to May, 73 people had been killed in road accidents and collisions, representing a 30% increase over the same period in the previous year. As has been mentioned previously, Ireland is an outlier in Europe because our road deaths increased between 2019 and 2023. There is no acceptable number of fatalities on our roads.”
“Only the State can ensure the type of joined-up thinking that delivers the level and mix of housing that we need but that also allows communities to develop and flourish. The private sector, developer-led approach has failed on all these counts. The State must take a more active role in the housing market through a beefed-up Land Development Agency so that we can deliver the houses we need and bring this joined-up thinking that enables communities to grow and thrive. We must treat housing as a social good and a right rather than a commodity. That is the solution to this housing crisis, not Fianna Fáil's Bertie-era tax cuts for developers.”
“The Housing Commission was clear that a radical reset of housing policy is required if we are to have any hope of fixing the issue. Forgive me if I find it hard to believe that a slew of tax cuts for wealthy developers was what the Housing Commission had in mind. None of this was included in the manifestos of Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, nor did it any of it appear in the programme for Government. Coupled with the total misrepresentation of the housing completion figures for last year, voters have been sold a pup. As my party colleagues outlined, the Labour Party is clear in its position. The State has to take the lead on housing. That is what this motion is about. It is about the State taking a more active role in the delivery of homes.”
“The Taoiseach's comments in recent days will be extremely concerning to these people because not only did the Government seem to be offering more of the same, but it also seems to want to turbocharge the worst elements of its failed policies which have put home ownership even further out of reach for workers and families, caused rents to skyrocket, given us record levels of homelessness and left a generation bereft of hope and looking to emigrate. Who exactly is the Government listening to when it comes to housing policy? Who is it loyal to? It appears that wealthy developers who view housing as an investment asset rather than a public good have the ear of the Taoiseach over the Government's own Housing Commission.”
“When I am out knocking on doors in Dublin South-West and speaking with constituents, housing is undoubtedly the issue that is raised with me most often. Whether it is young people stuck in a rental trap handing over extortionate amounts of their hard-earned income to a landlord and unable to save for a deposit, parents whose child is unable to move out of a childhood bedroom or older people looking to downsize in their community, I do not recall a single instance in which anyone has ever proposed more of the same as a solution to our housing catastrophe.”
“I fear that many of the proposals in the programme for Government and even some of the individuals involved in this Government contradict any notion of positive climate action. What hope have we of reducing transport emissions and increasing the use of public transport and cycling as viable options if the major policy change of this Government is to pour more Tarmac and induce more private traffic? This new Government has also opened the door to more data centres, but bowing to the needs of the tech billionaires without a net increase in renewable electricity is irresponsible, contradicts our climate obligations and increases electricity costs for ordinary people. We must secure Ireland's energy future. We must provide thousands of new green jobs.”
“First, I thank the people of Dublin South-West for placing their trust in me, and particularly thank my parents, Mary and Maurice, my wife, Maeve, and our son, Fionn, for all their support, without which I just would not be here. I also extend my personal congratulations to the Taoiseach and all the Ministers appointed today. Their success will be our success. However, I must say I am deeply concerned at the lack of ambition on climate in the programme for Government and, indeed, the lack of priority in their speeches today for it. The Greens may be gone from Government but the climate emergency remains the greatest collective challenge facing our country and facing this world.”