Conor D McGuinness
Waterford · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“Vincent de Paul, both of whom, to be fair, are stepping up but that is not the way it should be. I have also spoken to principals who are told to stretch their ICT budgets, and, in fact, that is the response I got from the Minister of State’s colleague, the Minister, Deputy Naughton, when I queried this. Those budgets have been cut.”
“Every July and August, families steel themselves for the cost of children going back to school, including uniforms, books, and shoes, and, as the Minister of State well knows, school transport. Now, for thousands of parents, there is another bill waiting on the kitchen table. It is one for hundreds of euro for a digital device.”
“It is simply passing responsibility on to families and calling it policy. A child's education should never depend on his or her parents' ability to buy a digital device, and no student should be disadvantaged because they cannot afford the device his or her school requires.”
“I dtaobh chúrsaí Gaeltachta, ní aontaím leis an Aire in aon chor go bhfuil dearcadh nó aighneachtaí na ndreamanna éagsúla atá ag obair sa spás seo iniata leis an gcáipéis seo. Is léir go ndearna an Roinn agus an bheirt Airí sa Roinn tithíochta neamhaird air sin.”
“Today is a very important day because the State has finally and formally apologised to the survivors of Bill Kenneally's abuse. Those who should have been protected were instead failed in the most profound and devastating way. No apology can undo the harm that was done.”
“It is a recognition of the persistence and bravery of you men who are here in the Distinguished Visitors Gallery and those who are not here today. Those of you who refused to give up in your pursuit of truth and justice, I thank you for what you have done. I thank you for your courage and for your power.”
The complete record
Every one of 843 lines we hold for Conor D McGuinness, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 12 of 17.
“Inshore and island fishing communities have been systemically starved of opportunity, denied a fair share of the fish in their own waters, and Government policy has failed them again and again but they are not asking for handouts. These are proud people. They are asking for a viable future. They are asking for proper financial support or a subsidy scheme of some sort that reflects the reality of that situation. The Minister of State and I know it is needed. Will the Minister of State engage with the Minister for Social Protection on foot of this question and debate and collectively take action?”
“I thank the Minister. The figures are glaring. There are 13,000 active fishermen in the State and the idea that only 52 of them are in need of support is absurd. There is a disconnect. No one can seriously claim the sector is not under pressure. My understanding and sense of it from the figures, which back this up, is the fish assist scheme is too restrictive and limited. It is not that fishermen and fisherwomen are not aware of it - they know about it - but it is too limited and restrictive and it is not fit for purpose. That is why they are not applying but the need is there. The need is in every coastal community and we see it.”
“I ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is aware that only 52 persons have availed of fish assist across the State as of 31 May 2025; and if the Minister of State with responsibility for the marine and his Department officials will now engage with the representative producer organisations, POs, for inshore and islands fishermen to discuss a financial support or subsidy scheme for the sector.”
“The Government needs to catch up with the people. History will remember the countries that failed to take action. The Government must ensure that this State is not among them.”
“Let us talk about the shameful decision by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to block legislation that would have prevented the Central Bank of Ireland from facilitating the sale of Israeli genocide bonds, financial instruments issued specifically to fund the slaughter. That was a choice made in this Chamber and it was the wrong one. There is credible evidence that Irish airspace is being used to transport weapons and military components to Israel. That cannot continue. The Government must act, investigate and put a stop to it. Our neighbours in Britain, a totally normal island, are at it again. Artists are hounded for chanting "Death to the IDF", while Ministers turn a blind eye to the literal death dealt out by the IDF every single day. We cannot be neutral in the face of genocide. Ireland stands with Palestine.”
“It is failing catastrophically. A country does not atone for its crimes by backing those of another. The past cannot be cleansed with more blood. Guilt cannot be outsourced. Germany must stop. The world is watching. The hypocrisy and moral cowardice of the German Federal Republic must be called out forcefully. Ireland must do more. The Dáil must enact the occupied territories Bill in full and include services, not just goods. The Government drags its feet, asking whether it is legal to include services. The right question to ask is whether we are in contravention of international law by not including services.”
“This is an army that has fired at Irish peacekeepers and endangered our diplomats. Yet it is funded, armed and defended by nations we call partners. The Irish people have not been silent. Their solidarity with Palestine is deep, instinctive and unwavering. Intellectually, we stand for justice and international law, but instinctively, we know what this is. We recognise it. Israel's presence in Palestine is our past - a brutal colonial regime, collective punishment, starvation and brutality. A people should not need to have lived through colonialism to see that it is wrong. All they need is a conscience. Yet some of our EU partners - I use that word with the bitter irony it deserves - provide not just cover but weapons. Germany, a country with which I have deep personal connection, has a particular responsibility.”
“What we are witnessing in Palestine is the systemic destruction of a people, their land, homes and children and their very future. Israel has been emboldened by decades of impunity. It is armed by the United States, Germany and Britain. This is not confined to Gaza. In the West Bank, the expulsions, land theft and apartheid continue. In Gaza, Israel has turned an open-air prison into a graveyard of children and humanity. More than 80,000 people are dead. Starvation is being used as a weapon. Hospitals have been bombed to dust. Orphaned children are emaciated and amputated. Mothers are giving birth in tents under fire from one of the world's most sophisticated militaries. A nuclear armed power has been unleashed on a besieged civilian population. The IDF is not a defence force. It is a terrorist organisation led by war criminals.”
“It would take cars off the road. The physical corridor is intact and runs beside the existing greenway. The community is on board. There is broad support across business and communities for this. Once again, however, we see no plan, no funding commitment, no engagement from the Government. That is not good enough. This is exactly the kind of strategic investment that could deliver real change for regional communities. I am calling on the Government to support the extension of the Cork-Midleton rail line into Youghal.”
“A functioning balanced rail network is essential for rural sustainability, economic development and regional balance. The Youghal to Midleton railway is a community-led project that deserves Government backing. There is a wide campaign in east Cork, but also in west Waterford. Somebody might ask why a TD from west Waterford is supporting an additional rail line stretching from Midleton to Youghal. It is crucial, not just for east Cork, but for west Waterford and the wider region, as it will take cars off the road, assist commuters travelling into Cork, including Little Island and Cork city, for work, and provide options to people for either park-and-ride at Youghal or to drive on less congested roads. Reopening this line would allow those travelling from Waterford to Cork to get to work on time with minimal stress.”
“The all-island strategic rail review is a positive step. We have to acknowledge that, but only if it leads to real delivery across the whole island and not just around Dublin. As Sinn Féin spokesperson for rural and community development, I have to say the current approach to transport planning is failing our regions. The national planning framework in inadequate. It continues to prioritise the capital while neglecting infrastructure for rural and regional communities. The review cannot become another glossy document that locks in underinvestment west, south and north of the M50. We need rail to connect communities not just to Dublin, but across the regions. That means serious investment in regional rail, frequent and reliable services, and the reopening of disused lines where there is demand.”
“The work has not been done or it has not been done quickly enough. There is a real fear among parents that, come September, their children will be at home or in overcrowded or inappropriate classroom settings. Parents are telling us that they do not want spin, they want answers, delivery and the proof of that delivery come September. While this review has been a useful exercise and the report is welcome, schools do not want reports. They want resources. They are telling us what they want. The Government must take responsibility and heed what is in the report. It must also heed what parents, schools and my colleagues are telling it. It must deliver the classrooms, confirm the placements and start treating this for what it is - a crisis, not a communications exercise.”
“It took parents marching on the streets and sleeping outside this building and Teachtaí Dála from all parties and none raising it on the floor of the Dáil for the Government to pay attention. Families need certainty and children need places. Action is needed now. It is not just mismanagement but a systemic failure and it did not happen overnight. Demand has been growing steadily for years. All the statistics, evidence and feedback show that. The Government should have known that this was coming but it failed to plan, build or deliver. What followed the protests and the activism by parents, who should not have to take to the streets to fight for a school space for their kids, was a flurry of announcements before the Easter break. The problem has not gone away and those announcements have not solved it.”
“The schools are raising them repeatedly, but are getting no response. The anxiety for parents is overwhelming. It is July now and families still do not know if their child will have a school space when September comes. Right now in Waterford, children with special educational needs still do not know if they will have that school space in September. Parents are being told they will hear in quarter 4, which runs from October to December but school starts in September. St. John's Special School in Dungarvan is doing everything asked of it, but the Government still has not delivered the classrooms or supports. This crisis did not come from nowhere. The Government ignored the warning signs and acted too late.”
“The report shows very clearly that the Government has lost control of special education and it is families and children who are paying the price. Instead of support, they are met with silence. Instead of certainty, they are met with delays. Parents in schools are being forced to fight for basic entitlements and children with additional needs are being left in limbo. In Waterford alone, seven schools have contacted my office in the past three months. One had funding approved and then refused with no explanation. Another submitted a SENO report for increased support, which was ignored. One school is still waiting on a design team to make contact about a special class meant to open this September. Emails are being sent weekly. I have raised these with the Department and the Taoiseach on the floor of the Dáil.”
“Irish Water told the Government 18 months ago that it needed investment to meet the Government's own housing targets, and it ignored them. Now, real deliverable housing is being blocked in towns like Lismore because the pipes and the planning system cannot cope. The Government's legacy is delay, dysfunction and zero delivery. We need a multi-annual investment plan for rural water systems, a proper rural housing strategy that includes towns and villages, and real co-ordination between planning and infrastructure. That is the only way we will get homes delivered, not with more spin or delay, and certainly not with announcements but with action.”
“That is 36 homes in a small rural town in west Waterford blocked, in the Minister of State's constituency and mine, not by red tape, not by local objection, not because Government has not rolled out enough red carpet for investment funds and vultures, but by crumbling underfunded infrastructure and its failure over more than a decade to invest. In Ardmore, west Waterford, affordable housing for locals has been on the waiting list so long that people are losing hope. Every year it is delayed, people choose and vote with their feet. They go to the larger urban areas, leaving that village and many other coastal villages in County Waterford facing a demographic cliff edge. This is what the Government's failure looks like; families unable to build, councils unable to approve and rural communities being hollowed out.”
“Earlier in the debate, the Minister of State acknowledged that the Government is not doing enough on housing, but the truth is that it has not been doing enough for decades, and from what we see it does not intend to start now. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael benchmark themselves against their previous failures. They routinely confuse announcements with delivery and think nothing of misleading the Irish people on housing. This week in Lismore, west Waterford, a planning application for a private development of 20 much-needed homes, 16 apartments and four houses, was refused just because Irish Water cannot provide a viable connection to the town's water or wastewater systems. There is another site just behind it where 16 family homes are in jeopardy too.”
“Almost ten years ago the Taoiseach stood outside University Hospital Waterford with a billboard promising 24-7 cardiac care for Waterford and the south-east. Ten years on, the people of the south-east are still waiting. Cabinet approval was announced two months ago but since then there has been no detailed plan, timeline or staffing strategy. Announcements are cheap and it is delivery that matters. We have lost years waiting for that announcement and that go-ahead. Without urgent action, lives remain at risk in Waterford and the wider south-east. Will the Taoiseach confirm if recruitment is completed, and when we will see a full implementation plan with timelines, staffing targets and guaranteed delivery of 24-7 cardiac care at UHW?”
“The people of Waterford are being failed by this Government when it comes to jobs and investment. In the past five years, Waterford has received just a third of the number of IDA visits to Galway, Cork and Limerick. Even counties like Westmeath and Clare are getting more attention than Waterford. This is shown in the figures. Last year, Waterford gained just two new IDA-supported jobs. Over the past two decades, Cork averaged nearly 1,400 jobs created a year through the IDA, Galway 600, Limerick 300 and Waterford just 92. These figures come directly from replies to parliamentary questions I received this week. It is clear we are not seeing balanced regional development in the south east and Waterford; it is neglect. Will the Taoiseach finally admit the IDA strategy is failing in Waterford?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as sin. I welcome his commitment to keep these under review and to look at them in the round because there is a lot of crossover. With regard to the RSS, I would like to know the Minister's opinions on reform of that and the pilot scheme and moving it to the rural dwellers scheme or bringing more of that in. At present, as the Minister knows, you need either a fishing licence or a herd number to qualify for that scheme. It would be suitable to many more people living in rural Ireland who could avail of it and for whom a placement through that scheme would be very valuable and very important to them and could lead to really positive change in their lives. I would like to hear a little more about that from the Minister, if he does not mind.”
“There needs to be a broader approach to training for those on Tús schemes. We must also be clear that Tús schemes are not always suitable for community groups because the right supports are not available for participants and community groups when people with particular needs or difficulties are being taken on. It may be a little difficult for a community group to take that on.”
“I welcome that and gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an bhfreagra cuimsitheach sin. Is cinnte go bhfuil an-éileamh ar an scéim seo i measc na ngrúpaí pobail. Níl sé díreach mar gheall ar dhaoine a chur ar ais ag obair nó traenáil chuí a thabhairt dóibh. Tá sé chun tacú leis na pobail ina bhfuil siad ag maireachtáil agus ina gcónaí. Regarding the CE and Tús schemes, part of the issue is that there does not seem to be a great deal of joined-up thinking between the two. There is no easy avenue to go from one to the other. While somebody who is on a Tús scheme for 12 months can join a CE scheme, the reverse is not true. There are disparities between the training available to people on a Tús scheme and that available to people on a CE scheme. That needs to be brought into line.”
“On behalf of my colleague Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh, I ask the Minister for Social Protection the current strategy for community employment, the number of sponsor groups, participants and supervisors, and whether any changes to the scheme are planned this year. Will he make a statement on the matter? This relates to community employment in the round, including CE schemes, Tús, RSS and others.”
“They are now paying differential rents for housing assistance payment, HAP, properties plus cash top-ups to the landlords. The resilience to deal with such situations is gone from families and households. I want to see an all-of-Government approach, involving the Departments of housing, health and children, as well as the Minister's Department, to get to grips with this issue.”
“I share Deputy O'Reilly's concerns. Looking at the child poverty monitor, we see the failure of the 2020 roadmap for social inclusion, which included a target of reducing consistent poverty among adults and children from 5% to 2%. Five years later, we are still at 5%. The roadmap has been an abject failure. One of my concerns when it comes to child poverty and poverty within families is their lack of resilience to deal with emergencies and other issues that arise for them. I have in mind the inability, because of the assessment of need crisis, to access the special education supports that are needed. There is also the issue of people who, were there no housing crisis, would be paying differential rents on council houses.”
“212 is to ensure that the complaints process is working, that it is available to people who need to make a complaint, and that it is robust and accessible to people who might be very vulnerable, to people who might find it challenging to advocate for themselves for myriad reasons, and to people whose families might find it quite difficult to advocate on their behalf. The Minister of State might consider accepting the amendment, which proposes that there be a report within the first 12 months.”
“A child and youth mental health service would avoid this. It would allow treatment to continue into early adulthood as that young person finds other services or finds their way through recovery. The other proposal we are making in amendment No. 211, that staffing levels have a legislative basis, would be very helpful to the Minister of State when it comes to budgets and making the argument internally within government on the budget allocation to mental health services. The Minister of State could point to a legislative basis for the staffing levels in the services. I ask the Minister of State to consider that this could be a help rather than a hindrance for her in her role. On this basis I ask her to consider accepting it. The purpose of amendment No.”
“I will speak on amendment No. 211 on child and youth mental health services. Sinn Féin's policy for a considerable amount of time has been to change CAMHS to a broader service and to increase the upper age limit to 25. This would be an important step if it were to be adopted. I note what the Minister of State said earlier about listening to the Opposition and working with us but I also note that no amendment has been accepted from the Opposition at this point. If the amendment were to be accepted, child and youth mental health services would have an upper age limit of 25. This would stop the practice whereby young people who receive very important treatments, and who are recovering well and perhaps have been engaging with CAMHS for a long period of time, age out of services as they enter adulthood.”
“It will hand another massive pay day to vulture funds, developers and the big landlords who already dominate the rental market. Taken together, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and some of their Independents have had 12 years to get this right. In that time, we have seen spiralling rents, broken promises and the shame of increasing homelessness. It is time to say "Enough". While I welcome the extension of the RPZs, the Minister should leave it at that. It is enough. Let that be the positive move this Government makes and do not hollow out those modest protections any further.”
“Almost 15,500 people are officially recorded as homeless, but we know the truth is that there are many more. At the current rate, child homelessness will hit 5,000 by the end of September. It is the most visceral indicator of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael's systemic failure in housing. I would really like to know how they handle the shame of it. I do not mean to personalise it, but I would really like to know how those supporting this Government and its predecessors handle the shame of 5,000 children being homeless by the end of the summer if the trends continue, and all the signs are they will. This approach will hammer healthcare workers, students, construction workers, gardaí, pensioners, those on HAP and those whose modest wish is that, someday, they might be able to begin putting some money away to be able to afford a home of their own.”
“The average tenancy, and the Minister knows this, lasts 3.4 years, so all this talk of six years is not fooling anybody. Anyone who moves for work, study or family reasons runs the risk of being fleeced. It is adding fuel to the fire already raging across the State. In quarter 1 of this year, as the Minister knows, average rents across the State rose by 7.3%. In County Waterford, the situation is far worse. It is far above the average, with rents having gone up by an eye-watering 12.1%. These are not just numbers. Real people are being priced out of their communities, forced to move, forced into debt or forced into the trauma of homelessness. What happens when people are pushed out of secure housing? Well, we see it all around the State.”
“Many of these tenancies are due to expire and what the Minister is proposing - in the round and not the Bill in front of us - gives landlords every incentive to remove tenants and jack up the rent. It gives renters little to no protection at all. Meanwhile, the Taoiseach is wringing his hands, the Tánaiste briefs the media and the Minister seems to be scratching his head. It has been blunder after blunder all week. He botched the announcement, forgot to mention the RPZ extension at the beginning and changed the line three times in three days. One minute, he was waiting until March and the next it had always been his plan to move now. The real plan, and the only consistent thread in this mess, is to push up rents. Every single renter will be hit eventually - maybe not today but soon.”
“The policy the Government is now pursuing when it comes to rent is a cynical attempt to drive rents even higher for tens of thousands of people already struggling to keep a roof over their heads. There is no denying that the Minister has chosen to side with corporate landlords, institutional investors and developers and to throw renters under the bus. I want to see RPZs - those modest protections - extended to the 17% of tenancies not currently covered. We know what will follow, however, because the Minister has told us. This one protection that renters have will be gutted and replaced with chaos. It is a reckless policy. The Minister can shake his head, but it is a reckless policy and dangerous. The Government is opening the door to a surge of evictions, especially for renters with pre-2022 Part 4 tenancies.”
“The Our Rural Future strategy is silent on housing. It barely mentions it; there is only superficial mention. There is no ambition. There are no plans and no delivery. Virtually no affordable housing has been delivered in rural areas. In many towns and villages, no social home has been built in 30 years.”
“The housing crisis is not just an urban crisis. It is also tearing out the very heart of rural Ireland. Young people are being priced out or locked out. They are being pushed into the larger towns or cities or, more often than not, they are being pushed abroad. GAA clubs and county boards are raising the alarm on this. Some are now appointing demographic officers to deal with rural youth depopulation. This week in my role as Sinn Féin spokesperson on rural affairs, I will be meeting with GAA president, Jarlath Burns, to discuss the very real impact on clubs, parishes and communities across the State. The national planning framework that the Government pushed through the House actively promotes urban concentration at the expense of rural Ireland, deepening pressure on cities and depopulating the rest.”
“I ask the Minister of State and the Minister to intervene. I will raise a concern about bus stop infrastructure funding. Funding has been announced and I welcomed that announcement. However, local authorities tell me they have not been given the staff or capacity to develop projects to draw that funding down. The funding is left unspent for lack of resources to administer it. If the resources are not there to deliver new and upgraded stops, then it is not real investment. When will the Minister act on this?”
“My colleague, Councillor Donnchadh Mulcahy, and I have worked hard to secure a long overdue Local Link service for Ballyduff Upper. Councillor Kate O'Mahoney has delivered a new connection from Ballinameela to Dungarvan and Councillor Pat Fitzgerald and his community in Ballymacaw ensured the Tramore to Waterford service now includes their area. There is more to do. There is huge frustration in Portlaw and Kilmacthomas that a service to Dungarvan still has not been approved. Councillor Catherine Burke and I will keep fighting for that. Critically, local input has to be central. Route 361 Waterford Local Link was altered over a year ago after no consultation with the local community. That top-down decision removed stops serving Ardmore, An Sean Phobal agus An Rinn and loyal passengers have been left behind. This has to be addressed.”
“Public transport is essential for rural communities. It connects young people to education and training, older people to services and workers to jobs. It keeps our rural towns and villages alive and links people to public services, which unfortunately have become ever more concentrated in urban areas at the expense of rural accessibility. Local Link provides an excellent service in County Waterford and across the State. I acknowledge the management, staff, bus companies and drivers who go above and beyond. However, the service must be properly resourced and empowered to make decisions and respond to local needs. I am not convinced the current structure allows that. It is too slow and too centralised. That said, we have seen progress.”
“Let us be honest about this, in that the planning framework the Government has instituted and presided over is doing nothing to address the depopulation crisis in our rural communities”
“Out on the streets tonight, including the streets of Cork and Dublin, people are waking up to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael lining the pockets of speculators, investment funds and institutional landlords at the expense of Irish people, the future of Irish families and Irish children who are in homelessness or only a minute away from it. I dtaobh cúrsaí Gaeltachta, tá ár gceantair Ghaeltachta ag fáil bháis mar gheall ar an easpa tithíocht inacmhainne agus shóisialta, agus níl an Rialtas seo ag déanamh faic mar gheall air. Níl sé maith go leor. The Government has turned its back on rural Ireland. The national planning framework is a disgrace of a document. It wants to end rural housing.”
“In my constituency of Waterford, the message going out is on the slow pace of housing delivery and the fact that a sod has still not been turned on applications made six or seven years ago. This will be the legacy of the Government and of the Minister unless he changes and, as Deputy Gould said, unless he admits the policies are not working. I suspect that they are working for some. They are working for those who are speculating, hoarding and profiteering from the housing crisis. That is who they are working for and it is time that people understood this.”
“Throughout the State, families are crying out for housing. If they are not crying out for housing, they are in our clinics crying to us because they are facing eviction or watching their children raise their families crammed into their childhood bedrooms, sometimes multiple families in the one home. They are the hidden homeless who are never counted in the figures and never make it into the headlines but they are homeless nonetheless. Others are only a paycheque or an eviction notice away from becoming homeless. People are in fear. The trauma in this country because of the decisions of this Government and successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments is very real and will be felt for generations.”
“We should have the same right to benefit from our waters as other EU member states and, indeed, third countries. In totality, we need an ambitious and assertive national fisheries policy. This means a fair share of quota for Irish vessels, serious investment in ports and harbour infrastructure, including local authority harbours like Cé Heilbhic, and a strategic attitude to seafood production and promotion. I am not talking about one-off grants but a long-term plan to rebuild the industry and the communities around it. We must also ensure that coastal and island communities are included and not excluded in the transition to offshore renewables. Marine spatial planning must respect fishing and not displace it. Above all, we need a change in culture and attitude at the heart of Government.”
“I am asking the Minister of State to do three things. First, to recognise the true value of Ireland's fishing industry, not just economically but socially and culturally. It is not just an economic sector, it is a way of life. The second thing I am asking the Minister of State to do is to show respect for those who go to sea. The fishers, crews, processors, harbour staff and families who work and live with the risk and hardship deserve support and not spin and hand-wringing, if we are being honest. The third thing I am asking the Minister of State to do is to assert Ireland's national interest in this area. Within the EU and every international forum, we must fight for fair treatment and fair quota share. We are an island nation with some of the richest waters in Europe and we should be treated accordingly.”
“That is the most telling statistic in our report. The Government tells us broadly that things are fine because BIM is issuing reports that tell us all is well in the industry. The Minister of State said he welcomed the certainty that the EU-Britain trade deal brings but certain loss is effectively what we have. It locks in the loss of 26% of Ireland's fishing opportunity and a financial hit of €800 million at current prices, doubtless to go up over the lifetime of the agreement. It is not certainty. I believe it is an act of surrender. We have an eighth of European fishing grounds and just 6% of the quota. Coastal communities that once depended on fishing, from Ros an Mhíl to Waterford, from Castletown to Greencastle, they know it. They are despondent, lack hope and have little faith in Government to change course.”
“Sadly, as I mentioned earlier to the Minister of State, they are not surprising and nobody is shocked, no matter how shocking they actually are. Across the country we heard from fishermen and fisherwomen, processors, harbour workers, coastal communities and fishing families. The stories are truly heartbreaking. They speak of deep frustration and fear, not just about today but about the future. They do not believe this Government has their back. That is the truth of it. If we look at the events of recent decades, we cannot fault them for believing that. This was once a proud and thriving industry. It sustained whole communities for generations but what was handed down with pride is now being lost with despair. As Deputy Mac Lochlainn said, 90% of people engaging in fishing do not want their children to enter the industry.”
“The Minister of State and I have had a number of engagements at the committee and at a number of different events. I echo Deputy Mac Lochlainn's wishes for him. I do not think I could wish more for success for him. This is crucial. Our industry and the coastal communities it sustains are facing existential crises. I really hope the Minister of State does well and succeeds, and that he can deliver on the items he has been raising over the last few months as he begins this role. The Government must finally give coastal communities the respect and support they deserve and bring an end to decades of neglect, mismanagement and policy failure in the fishing and maritime sectors. The findings of Sinn Féin's fisheries and seafood survey are devastating and show the devastation.”
“I add to what Deputy Clarke has said. Whatever the proposals will be, we need to see action on that and an uptake in authorised officers across the State.”
“I support Deputy Clarke. This is an issue that mental health professionals and gardaí are bringing to us regularly. I know last year, in response to a parliamentary question, as the Minister of State knows, there was only one authorised officer between the city and county in Waterford. I have a number of questions submitted but I do not know if that situation has improved. I hope to God it has, but that will remain to be seen. It proves the point that the debate we have been having over the past 40 minutes or so is about looking after people when they are at their lowest ebb, when they are in crisis and when there is the greatest need and the greatest risk of harm. When we do not have the personnel in place to help that process, we all, unfortunately, see the outworkings of that in our respective constituencies.”