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.”
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“I think we are both aware of cases in which people were told go and address that diagnosis or issue before coming to mental health services.”
“I speak in support of the amendment. Both the Minister of State and I have dealt with situations where people have sought the help of mental health services and have been effectively told they need to address the other issue, go elsewhere before they go to them or not to come to them at all. That is not good enough in the modern age. As Deputy Clarke said, there should be no wrong door. When somebody presents looking for help be it at mental health services or any other healthcare service, they need to be looked after. This is an important amendment. The principle of no wrong route to service needs to inform every activity in the mental health system, in dual diagnosis in the case of addiction and also in the case of people who have been or have yet to be diagnosed with ASD, for example.”
“This would provide a space for young families to build a home in their own area when they cannot get planning permission on a site that may be available to them and cannot afford to purchase a site that would have planning permission. It is a litany of failure after failure. Into that context we have the scenes we saw earlier in this Chamber where the Taoiseach had not read the-----”
“Families are being priced out of this and the village is facing a demographic cliff edge because the Government will not pull the trigger and get affordable housing delivered there. I nGaeltacht na nDéise, the crisis is deeper. The community is facing an existential threat. It is not just about supply. It is about the survival of this unique language community. Young families cannot get a home, they cannot set up a place to live, they cannot build a home if they have the wherewithal to do it and the Government has not grasped the reality of that. We are still waiting for the treoirlínte pleanála Gaeltachta, the planning guidelines. On affordable sites, local authority chief executives are telling us there just is not enough money there to make it feasible for a local authority to develop affordable serviced sites in rural communities.”
“Take the social housing development in An Sean Phobal that entered the Department's own fast-track process in 2021. It is now mid-2025 and nothing has happened. It still has not commenced. In Dungarvan, an affordable and cost rental housing scheme I proposed back in 2022 has received no approval from the Department yet and no green light. A recent parliamentary question to the Minister's Department has confirmed what I feared which is that those homes will not be ready until 2028 at the absolutely earliest. That is six years later and that is at the best rate of progress the Department can deliver. In Ardmore, a beautiful seaside village in County Waterford which is a victim of its attractiveness, young people are being priced out by short-term lets and holiday homes.”
“The snail's pace at which vacant council homes are being brought back into use is a disgrace and it tells a wider story about the Government's other failure in housing delivery. In communities right across the State we see the consequences of this every day in vacant homes gathering dust while families sit on waiting lists, dereliction, antisocial behaviour and the crassness of people walking past these houses knowing that they would provide lovely homes for their families while they languish on waiting lists and raise their children in their childhood bedrooms. In Waterford, like other counties, we see projects held back and frustrated by a lack of resourcing for local authorities and crucially, if we are being honest, by a lack of political will from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.”
“Sustained political will is needed. It will not happen by itself. The announcements are great but on their own they are nothing. I mentioned seven schools in west Waterford which have written to me in the past two months. We need to see concerted political action from the Government to ensure those spaces are available in September.”
“A modular option would take two years at the minimum and would push back the prospect of a permanent building with additional mainstream classrooms and the school is forced into an unenviable choice. Extra space was sanctioned in St. John's Special School in Dungarvan by the Minister earlier this year. There is no sign of delivery or impetus from the Government to get those spaces. Ballycurrane National School in west Waterford is still waiting for a reply from the Department to a letter sent in January asking for its views on provision of a special class.”
“September is just around the corner. Despite a flurry of announcements earlier this year, there is still no sign of delivery on special education. I say that because Knockmahon National School in Bunmahon in my county, Waterford, received approval from the NCSE in 2023 to provide an autism class but was refused funding this April. St. Mary's nationals school in Grange also in County Waterford was given no answer as to why the Department has ignored a SENO report asking for an increased SNA allocation. Scoil Gharbháin in Dún na Mainistreach, Dún Garbhán, was granted funding by the Department in December 2024 for space needed this September. Contact from the design team which was promised in February has not come. Garranbane National School just outside Dungarvan needs a second autism class immediately.”
“In many cases, they are denied collective bargaining or trade union recognition. School secretaries and caretakers are currently balloting for industrial action. Wage theft remains a live issue that is not legislated for. Union recognition is denied as a right across all sectors. That is why we need more than piecemeal progress and why Sinn Féin has led with action in the North through the good jobs Bill put forward by the Minister, Caoimhe Archibald, which Deputy Bennett has already mentioned. We need something like that. We need a step change when it comes to respecting workers' rights. We believe in a fair economy where workers are not the last to be paid or the first to be forgotten. As I have said, this Bill is a step in the right direction but the real test will be how this State treats workers when the next crisis hits.”
“They need a guarantee that their rights will come first and not last and that, when businesses go under, wages, redundancy and collective agreements will not be treated as disposable. That is what we in Sinn Féin stand for. We have stood with workers on the picket line. I have stood with the Debenhams workers in Waterford. We have also stood with the Clerys workers, the Tara Mines workers and many others. We are clear that workers should never again have to fight for what they are owed from the side of the street while company directors swan off, moving on with impunity. As others have said in this Chamber, this is part of a wider issue. Across the community and voluntary sector, thousands of workers are delivering essential public services but are underpaid and undervalued.”
“We now have recognition in that the Government has finally seen the light and is moving this legislation. Will the Minister of State apologise in this Chamber to the Debenhams workers for what happened to them on the State's watch? The Bill accepts that informal or tactical insolvency must be treated as what it is, a way of avoiding paying what is owed. It creates a mechanism to deem employers insolvent and allows workers to access the insolvency payment scheme even if an employer has not gone through a formal court process. That is overdue and welcome. It also provides a path for historical claims, recognising that many have already lost out. However, legislation alone is not enough. Workers need more than a pathway to partial redress.”
“In 2020, more than 1,000 Debenhams workers were thrown to the wolves when their employer folded, not in an unavoidable liquidation but through an orchestrated tactical wind-down aimed at avoiding the payment of collective redundancy. In Waterford, those workers, who were mostly women, occupied and picketed their store for almost 400 days and nights. They spent 400 days defending their rights while this State defended the liquidator and the company that wriggled off the hook for paying these women. Over 30 gardaí were deployed to forcibly remove workers at midnight so that stock could be cleared from a shuttered store. The stock, Debenhams and the liquidator were protected but the workers were not. Will the Minister of State and this Government apologise?”
“I see we have skipped over the Government slot. Time and again, workers in the State have been left high and dry when companies collapse, not only through sudden unforeseen insolvency but, all too often, through a deliberate and tactical decision to shut down, to strip assets, to walk away from obligations to staff, to hide assets in corporate mazes, to deny workers what they are owed. Workers, who in many cases gave decades of loyal and long service, are left without wages, without redundancy, without any recognition and without answers. This Bill is a necessary response to a long-standing injustice. As my colleagues have already pointed out, Sinn Féin will support it on Second Stage. However, let us be honest; it should never have taken this long to come before us.”
“I know there is a Minister of State with responsibility for older people and this cuts across a number of Departments but is this something the Minister might raise in his discussions with colleagues in government, namely, a concerted strategy which looks at the post office network, the Local Link transport network, the voluntary and community network, including in my area of west Waterford, mental health awareness, the daycare centre networks, meals on wheels and the men's and women's sheds? In my area of Tallow, Cappoquin, Lismore, Dungarvan and Portlaw, this could come together in localised strategies to combat isolation, particularly among older people in rural Ireland.”
“I thank Deputy McCormack for bringing this up because it is an issue very close to my heart and one I have been considering for a while. I had the opportunity to meet with the Irish Postmasters' Union yesterday morning. Speaking to it, a topic that came up was the impact and availability of the post office network, particularly in rural Ireland, to offset some of that exclusion and isolation that happens to all sorts of people living in rural communities but particularly older people.”
“That social fabric and social support and infrastructure are not where they should be, and they should be the cornerstone of our rural communities. This is the cost of Government inaction over the last five to ten years. We cannot continue in that same vein. I welcome the Minister's comments today that this will be a major focus of the next rural development policy, but he can understand a little of my cynicism when we passed in this House a number of weeks ago the national planning framework, which had zero ambition. It had so little to say about rural communities, rural development and rural housing.”
“I look forward to having those discussions with the Minister both at committee and in the Chamber and, indeed, offline because this is an issue that is not going away any time soon. Much time has been wasted over the last five to ten years when we should have been developing housing, but it is never too late to start doing the right thing. It needs to be focused on keeping rural communities alive because the consequences of an action are playing out before our eyes in my constituency, which I am more familiar with, in An Rinn, Bunmahon, Dunmore East and Ardmore, which I mentioned. GAA clubs cannot field teams. Schools are losing pupils and are at risk of closure in some cases. Families are under huge emotional and financial distress and are being taken apart from each other.”
“While the Minister is right that much of the responsibility lies with the housing Minister, the Department of Rural and Community Development needs to step up. The recently passed national planning framework offers zero ambition. It remains to be seen what Our Rural Future mark 2 will promise and actually deliver when it comes to rural housing.”
“The Minister mentioned Our Rural Future. While I am glad to hear that the next iteration of the Government's rural development policy will look at housing, the previous one did not do so in any meaningful sense. In fact, it had more to say on rural broadband than on rural housing. I believe that is part of the fundamental problem. This Government and its predecessors have wasted years when housing should have been developed. Rural communities need action on housing. They need delivery of affordable and social homes and provision of affordable serviced sites. Coastal villages like Ardmore are facing a demographic cliff edge. Tá ár gceantair Ghaeltachta, cosúil leis An Rinn i bPort Láirge, ag feitheamh le blianta i gcomhair tithíochta inacmhainne agus sóisialta. Families are crying out for help.”
“Rural communities are in crisis. Young families who cannot find homes in their communities are being pushed into larger urban centres, which are already under pressure. Rural communities, ár gceantair Ghaeltachta san áireamh, are facing an existential threat. What specific steps are the Minister and his Department taking to support rural and coastal communities facing decline due to the total lack of housing opportunities and availability?”
“If there is any shred of humanity, the Government should take tangible, strong actions, enact the occupied territories Bill, close our airspace to those transiting weapons and components, and lead the UN General Assembly.”
“Solidarity marches, rallies and vigils are growing in size and are happening in cities, towns and villages all across Ireland. That is patriotism. Solidarity is part of our DNA. Our history is the Gazans lived reality. We know right from wrong and we stand with Palestine. In this context, it is beyond infuriating that the Irish Government refuses to follow words with tangible, concrete actions. Despite the review and the progress of recent days, the EU–Israel trade deal still stands. Israel enjoys preferential trade with the EU while committing genocide. The Government is still blind – wilfully, if we are being honest – to the use of our airspace to equip the genocide. The Irish Central Bank is used as a conduit for Israel’s so-called war bonds, financing the horrors unleashed on the captive civilian population of Gaza.”
“He has pointed a path forward: the UN General Assembly. It can demand and approve an urgent UN-mandated humanitarian and peace support operation. Ireland is uniquely placed to lead in this regard as a neutral voice and former colony that is respected and valued internationally in Europe and the global south. In Waterford, groups such as Gaeil ar son Gaza and Waterford for Palestine demand sanctions against Israel and organise rallies, which are growing ever larger. Waterford is twinned with Ramallah in the West Bank and many towns and cities are following suit. South East IPSC organises aid convoys and Irish Healthcare Workers for Palestine sends vital supplies. Even children are acting here in Ireland. Scoil Náisiúnta na Rinne has, along with others, fundraised to send water tankers to Gaza, teaching us that empathy knows no age.”
“What we are witnessing in Gaza is not just a failure of diplomacy but also a moral collapse of the international order. The bombardment, forced starvation and displacement of Palestinians are not abstract tragedies; they are livestreamed horrors etched into our collective conscience. Ireland, with its history of colonial oppression and enforced starvation, cannot look away as mams and dads – those few who are left alive after 19 months of bombardment – watch their babies die of hunger in their arms. We need action, not words or statements. We need concrete, tangible actions. Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D. Higgins, in his address at the national Famine commemoration, correctly stated that the UN Security Council is blocking action and thereby facilitating the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people.”
“There is a fantastic organisation called Laochas on the ground in Waterford promoting emotional and mental well-being among young children. Those need to be supported, but this is about equality as well. Waterford and the south east is the only region in the State without access to Jigsaw services. We all know, particularly after Covid, the need for face to face, physical services to be available. I ask the Minister of State to make the commitment that we will drive this on.”
“I agree that young people in particular are under huge stresses in this day and age. There is of course a need to constantly improve our acute mental health services, particularly for young people - children and adolescents. As I said, there is a need for early intervention and that wellness piece. There are great organisations working on the ground across Waterford and I met Pride of the Déise recently with Deputy Cullinane and understand the needs of the LGBTQI community. That is important. There is also Waterford and South Tipperary Community Service and Foróige, which the Minister of State mentioned. They are all making the case for additional youth mental health services, both in the community and on the acute side.”
“As the Minister of State will know, I have submitted a parliamentary question on this every month since being elected. We know the HSE is broadly supportive. I know from the press that the Minister of State received an application at the start of May. The response I got from the HSE just last week did not mention that. It did not seem to be aware of it. Is there a breakdown in communication? The other issue that is really important to raise and discuss here is the issue of a premises. What work has been done to engage with the local authority, HSE estates and other agencies or bodies that might have access to property in Waterford to find a home for a Jigsaw service?”
“They presented to Deputy Cullinane and me, to the Minister of State herself and perhaps to the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, a petition calling for this service to be initiated in Waterford. It is not just Comhairle na nÓg, although it has been driving this campaign. Parents are also saying it to us day in and day out. Practitioners in the mental health space and advocates across the city and county are calling for this and have been for many years. As Deputy Cullinane has said, early intervention is key. We know of the issues in CAMHS, which primarily revolve around recruitment and retention and the inability of children in need to get a foot in the door and that first appointment. Community-based early intervention is really important. We are told that the HSE is important.”
“The Minister of State will agree it is unacceptable that Waterford is the only city, and the south-east region is the only part of the State, that does not have a Jigsaw youth mental health service. These services are not only physically based in premises but also offer outreach services. People I am dealing with right across Waterford city and county and also those in parts of south Tipperary, south Kilkenny and Wexford would be able to avail of this. There would be outreach services in towns like Dungarvan, Tallow, Kilmacthomas, New Ross and Clonmel. As Deputy Cullinane has mentioned, we very recently met Comhairle na nÓg. I know the group went on to meet the Minister of State afterwards.”
“In Waterford, there is not a single educational welfare officer in post. Three out of three positions are still vacant. It is not a pattern. It cannot be an accident. It is a systemic failure to plan, fund or deliver for children. Tá na mílte páiste ar fud na tíre ag fanacht ar mheasúnú riachtanais. Céard atá de dhíth orthu don saol, don oideachas agus don chúram? Tá gníomh ag teastáil anois.”
“Not opposing this motion is not enough. The Government needs to take action and it needs to make it stop. Budget 2025 allocated some extra funding, namely, €4.5 million on top of €5 million in core funding but we have seen no real change. Just 7% of assessments are completed within the legal timeframe. That is not progress; it is collapse. What is worse is that this is not just about assessments. It is part of a litany of Government failures when it comes to children. Children are left in pain for years waiting on scoliosis surgery. There were unsafe and unnecessary operations on vulnerable children and there is still no accountability. There is a crisis in special school and autism class spaces that is left unresolved year after year. CAMHS is in chaos. Child homelessness is rising again. School absenteeism is on the rise.”
“In Waterford, 147 children are waiting for an assessment of need and some have been waiting for nearly two years. That is illegal. That is the Government breaking its own laws. As the Government knows, under the Disability Act children are entitled to an assessment within six months. That is not optional. That is the law. Yet, the Government breaks that law every single day. Across the State, more than 15,000 children are now overdue their assessment. That number could rise to almost 25,000 by the end of next year. Across the State, more than 15,000 children are being denied their rights under the Disability Act and families are being abandoned. They feel abandoned because they are. They are forced to pay privately or in many cases, go without. It is not just failure. It is a systemic denial of care and it has to stop.”
“Sin an fáth go rabhamar ag iarraidh go mbeidh gach comhalta tofa, nach mbeadh double jobbing nó dual mandate i gceist agus go mbeadh an pá céanna ag dul leis chun an tsaoirse sin a thabhairt do chomhaltaí bheith ag freastal ar an bpobal, ag éisteacht leo, ar fáil dóibh agus ag bualadh leo. Cé gur rialaíodh an leasú as ord, is é sin an fáth ar mholamar é agus is fiú an pointe é a dhéanamh. Sa spirit den mhéid a bhí á rá cheana féin agus muid ag impí ar an Aire glacadh lenár leasuithe, mar a dúirt mo chomhghleacaí taobh liom, tacóimid le leasú Uimh. 52. Déanann sé ciall. Baineann sé leis an méid seo a dhéanamh oscailte. Go háirithe agus muid ag caint mar gheall ar chúrsaí fiontraíochta agus daoine atá ag iarraidh poist a chruthú agus fiontar a bhunú, uaireanta teipeann orthu agus bíonn orthu tosú as an nua arís.”
“Tá dainséar i bheith beag i gcomparáid le Gaeltachtaí na Gaillimhe, Thír Chonaill agus Chiarraí. Is slí é seo le déanamh cinnte go bhfuil an guth sin cloiste ag leibhéal an bhoird. Arís mura bhfuil an tAire chun glacadh leis an leasú ag an bpointe seo, agus glacaim leis nach bhfuil, b'fhéidir is féidir féachaint ar conas is féidir déanamh cinnte de go bhfuil an guth sin le cloisteáil. Mar a dúirt an Teachta Ó Snodaigh faoi leasú Uimh. 53, is é an meon a bhí againn ón tús ná go mbeadh an stádas céanna ag Údarás na Gaeltachta faoin mBille seo le húdarás áitiúil, agus go mbeadh deis againn ardú stádas nó ardú cumhachta a thabhairt, cé go mbeadh na cumhachtaí difriúil; go mbeadh an t-údarás ar chomhleibhéal, cé nach mbeidh sé riamh ina húdarás áitiúil. Ní bheadh na cúraimí céanna ann ach bheadh an stádas céanna i gceist.”
“B’fhéidir nach dtuigimid os rud é nach bhfuil aon duine anseo ina gcónaí ar oileán. Tá sé difriúil. Cé gur ceantair Ghaeltachta iad i go leor cásanna, i gCorcaigh, i dTír Chonaill, ar Oileán Acla mar shampla agus i gcontae na Gaillimhe, is gur cuid iad na hoileáin de na contaetha agus na ceantair Ghaeltachta sin, is áiteanna ar leith iad agus tá dúshlán ar leith ag na pobail ar na hoileáin. Ar shlí amháin, tá níos mó de ghaol idir na hoileáin Ghaeltachta is na hoileáin Ghalltachta agus caithfimid aitheantas a thabhairt do sin i slí amháin nó slí eile. Seo slí leis an aitheantas sin a thabhairt, mar aon le cosaint do na ceantair is lú daonra. Tuigim sin mar dhuine ó Ghaeltacht na nDéise. Tuigimid daoine ó Ghaeltacht Chontae na Mí agus Contae Chorcaí chomh maith.”
“Sin an fáth go bhfuil muid ag iarraidh go mbeidh sé curtha sa reachtaíocht is go bhfuil an leasú seo curtha os ár gcomhair ag na Teachtaí Quaide, Ní Chonghaile, Ó Snodaigh agus mé féin. Tá an téarmaíocht agus cuid den fhoclaíocht ag teacht ó Chonradh na Gaeilge. Léiríonn sé an suim agus an meon atá ag an Aire agus atá ag an Roinn i dtaobh an saghas duine gur ceart a cheapadh. Bheadh sé an-úsáideach má tá an t-údarás le dul chuig PAS, an Public Appointments Service, chun daoine a aimsiú, go mbeadh sé sa reachtaíocht nach féidir a rá nach bhfuil rud éigin ar fáil nó sa mhargadh, toisc go bhfuil sé sa bhunreachtaíocht agus caithfimid go léir cloí leis, idir an Aire, an Roinn, PAS nó pé duine a bheadh ag déileáil leis. Tuigimid uilig go bhfuil an méid i leasú Uimh. 51 difriúil.”
“Gan athrá a dhéanamh ar an díospóireacht, bhí muid ag iarraidh go mbeadh gach comhalta tofa agus ní hé sin an cás. Dóibh siúd atá le bheith ceaptha ag an Aire, ba cheart go mbeadh sé leagtha síos go beacht sa bhunreachtaíocht na scileanna, an taithí agus an cumas a bheadh acu, ionas nach bhfuil aon dul as - táim cinnte nach ndéanfadh an tAire reatha an méid seo ach ní hé sin le rá nach ndéanfadh Aire amach anseo é – agus nach mbeadh sé úsáidte mar political patronage. Is é sin an dainséar agus an bhuairt a bheith ar dhaoine. Sin an bhuairt atá orainne agus ar dhaoine sa phobal mar gheall ar na ceapacháin seo. Táim cinnte de nach ndéanfaidh an tAire reatha é sin, ach caithfimid reachtaíocht maith a chur i gcrích chun nach féidir sin a dhéanamh agus nach bhfuil an saoirse céanna ag Airí amach anseo an méid sin a dhéanamh.”
“Cé gur bord Stáit é i slí amháin, is fóram daonlathach é chomh maith. Táthar ag cur srian ar an nguth daonlathach. Cé gurbh fhearr liom dá mbeadh gach uile chomhalta tofa, glacaim nach n-éireoidh linn leis an argóint sin mar tá an tromlach ag an Aire agus an Rialtas sa Seomra Dála seo. B’fhéidir gurb í an tslí timpeall air seo ná go mbeidh srian ama ar na comhaltaí atá ceaptha ag an Aire agus nach mbeidh aon srian ar na comhaltaí tofa. B’fhéidir gurb í sin an tslí timpeall air. Glacaim leis nach bhfuil an tAire chun glacadh leis an leasú. Why break the habit of what seems like a lifetime don díospóireacht áirithe seo? B’fhéidir gurb í sin an tslí timpeall air, áfach. Impím ar an Aire féachaint air sin le go mbeidh cosaint ann don daonlathas agus nach mbeidh aon srian á chur ar ghuth na ndaoine.”
“Beidh mé an-ghasta mar tá sé ráite go beacht agus go soiléir ag mo chomhghleacaí, an Teachta Ó Snodaigh, atá in éineacht liom. Tá m’ainm ar an leasú agus aontaím go huile is go hiomlán lena bhfuil ráite ag an Teachta Ó Snodaigh. I slí amháin, is féidir léamh a bheith agat ar an srian seo gur ardú céime é do bhord Údarás na Gaeltachta agus a chomhaltaí mar beidh siad ar chomhchéim le hUachtarán na hÉireann. Mar a dúirt mo chomhghleacaí cúpla nóiméad ó shín, is iad seo an t-aon dream, agus is é seo an t-aon toghchán, a bhfuil srianta ama ag baint leo. Tuigim an dea-chleachtas, áfach. I dtaobh bhord an fhorais, mar shampla, tá dhá théarma i gceist. Tuigim é sin. Sa chás seo, áfach, níl muid ag caint ar bhord Stáit amháin. Tá muid tar éis an díospóireacht seo a bheith againn arís is arís eile.”
“Bheadh sé i bhfad níos éasca don Aire agus dá oifigigh glacadh i slí amháin leis an leasú ciallmhar, réasúnta agus proifisiúnta seo atá curtha faoina mbráid anois ná teacht ar ais agus cruinnithe a dhéanamh agus comhráite a bheith acu chun leasú eile a dhéanamh a bheadh an-chosúil leis i ndáiríre díreach chun an Príomh-Aoire a choimeád sásta. Sin í mo thuairim. B'fhéidir go nglacfadh an tAire leis an gcomhairle.”
“Ní dóigh liom gur ghlac sé le hoiread agus leasú amháin. Ní thuigim. An bhfuilimid ag imirt na polaitíochta leis an gceist seo? Tá leasuithe ciallmhara againn a rialaíodh as ord. Ní ghlacaim leis sin agus ní dóigh liom go bhfuil sé i gceart. Is maith an rud go bhfuil an doras oscailte. Cuirim fáilte roimh sin, ach tá an deis againn glacadh leis an leasú. B'fhéidir gur cóir don Aire triail a bhaint as. Ní dóigh liom go dtitfeadh an díon nó an spéir isteach orainn. Seans go bhfaigheadh an tAire glaoch feargach ón Chief Whip. Ba chóir don Aire triail a bhaint as.”
“Is maith an rud é go bhfuil an doras oscailte ag an Aire, ach tá an leasú anseo. Tá an leasú os ár gcomhair ag an bpointe seo. Tá ciall ag baint leis. Tá an-mheas agam ar an Aire, mar is eol dó, ach tá sé ag rá go bhfuil ciall leis, go dtuigeann sé, go bhfuilimid ag caint sa tslí chéanna agus go dtuigimid go léir ar an dá thaobh den díospóireacht seo na fadhbanna céanna agus go gcaithfimid ar an dá thaobh den Teach bheith tiomanta agus déileáil leo. Ach, i ndáiríre, tá leasuithe ciallmhara curtha síos againn. Ní leasuithe uaim agus ó na Teachtaí Ó Snodaigh, Connolly agus daoine eile nach iad amháin, ach atá ag teacht ó Chonradh na Gaeilge atá ag déileáil leis na hoifigigh phleanála teanga agus atá ag éisteacht agus i mbun comhráite fud fad na Gaeltachta tríd an bhfeachtas TINTEÁN agus uile. Níl an tAire ag glacadh ceann díobh.”
“Aontaím go hiomlán leis na Teachtaí Connolly agus Ó Snodaigh sa mhéid a dúirt siad. Seo iad na daoine go bhfuil an dualgas orthu na pleananna atá pobalbhunaithe agus atá curtha le chéile le hionchur an pobal Gaeltachta a chur i bhfeidhm. Is iad siúd na daoine atá ag caint leis na tuismitheoirí, na daoine óga, na daoine níos sine, na daoine atá i mbun fostaíocht a chruthú agus na daoine atá ag déileáil leis an ngéarchéim tithíochta go háitiúil. I mo chás féin, i dtaobh Chomhlucht Forbartha na nDéise, is é atá tar éis an cháis seo a ardú arís agus arís eile agus atá ag déileáil leis an údarás, leis an gcomhairle áitiúil agus an Roinn tithíochta agus atá ag cur pleananna le chéile. Ba cheart go mbeadh oifigeach pleanála teanga agus ionadaithe ón bhfoireann sin iniata sna comhráite seo ar a laghad.”
“Mar a dúirt mo chomhghleacaí, an Teachta Ó Snodaigh, ní thuigim cén fáth a bhfuil leasú Uimh. 22, a chuir Conradh na Gaeilge isteach ach a bhfuil ár n-ainmneacha air, as ord ach go bhfuil leasuithe an-chosúil ón Aire ceadaithe. Is dócha go bhfuil double standard de shaghas éigin i gceist. Nílim, mar Theachta Dála agus ionadaí poiblí, sásta leis sin. Ní thuigim é. Is dócha gur ceart míniú a thabhairt ar sin mar tá daoine ag féachaint air seo. Níl a lán Teachtaí sa Seomra anois, ach tá daoine ag féachaint agus beidh daoine ag féachaint siar ar an díospóireacht seo. Is dócha go mbeidh sé á phlé sna ceantair Ghaeltachta, ar Raidió na Gaeltachta, ag na hoifigigh phleanála teanga agus ag na ceanneagraíochtaí amach anseo. Ba mhaith liom an deis roinnt aiseolais a fháil air sin. Táim ag teacht go dtí ár leasú, Uimh. 24.”
“Ní dóigh liom go bhfuil roinnt mhaith daoine laistigh d’Údarás na Gaeltachta sásta, le bheith macánta. Tá daoine le fís laistigh den eagraíocht sin atá ag iarraidh níos mó a dhéanamh chun freastal ar na pobail Ghaeltachta. Ní dóigh liom go bhfuil siad sásta. Tá seans nach bhfuil siad á rá é sin i gcruinnithe leis an Aire agus nach bhfuil sé fíor do gach uile dhuine laistigh den údarás ach caithfimid éisteacht leis na daoine a bhfuil an saineolas agus an taithí acu agus an rud ceart a dhéanamh leis an leasú seo agus leis an mBille ina iomláine.”
“An tslí is fusa chun é sin a dhéanamh ná bord iomlán daonlathach a bheith ann ina bhfuil baill thofa freagrach dá bpobail. Níor glacadh leis na leasuithe sin. Tá sé sin déanta, ach anois an leasú atá againn ná go mbeadh an fóram nó tionól sin ann laistigh de bhliain amháin ionas gur féidir le daoine teacht isteach agus úinéireacht nó smacht a bheith acu ar an eagras atá bunaithe díreach chun freastal orthu. Sin an leasú atá os ár gcomhair. Tá an Teachta Ó Cearúil imithe ón Teach anois, ach teastaíonn uaim a chur ar an taifead go nguím rath air agus é ceaptha anois mar urlabhraí Gaeilge agus Gaeltachta Fhianna Fáil. Impím air dul i dteagmháil leis na pobail Ghaeltachta mar níl siad pioc sásta leis an mBille seo. Níl na ceanneagraíochtaí, Conradh na Gaeilge nó na hoifigigh pleanála teanga sásta.”
“Is é sin an fáth go bhfuil an taobh seo den Teach ag iarraidh go mbeadh níos mó feidhmeanna ag Údarás na Gaeltachta chun dul i ngleic leis na rudaí eile sa tslí a bhfuil sé tar éis dul i ngleic le cúrsaí fostaíochta agus fiontraíochta thar na blianta nuair a bhí sé sin mar an baol nó riosca ba mhó dár bpobal Gaeltachta. Ba chóir go mbeadh sé anois in ann dul i ngleic le seirbhísí poiblí, cúrsaí tithíochta agus cúrsaí pleanála. Níl sé sin le rá go mbeadh sé ag déanamh obair an fheidhmeannas sláinte, obair na ngardaí nó obair na n-údarás áitiúil, ach go mbeadh sé ag comhoibriú leo, ag cur brú orthu, go mbeadh sé ag déanamh stocaireachta agus ionadaíochta ar ár bpobal agus go mbeadh sé ag cinntiú go bhfuil cás na Gaeltachta cloiste go láidir ag na heagrais Stáit maidir le pé pleananna atá á ndéanamh acu.”
“Nílim ag rá nach amhlaidh, ach an ganntanas is mó atá ann do dhaoine ná cúrsaí tithíochta. Is é sin an pointe a raibh á dhéanamh agam. Má táimid chun Údarás na Gaeltachta a choimeád mar eagras atá dírithe ar aonaid Gteic a chruthú, tacú le monarchana teacht isteach sna ceantair, páirceanna gnó a bhunú agus tacú le hábhar fiontraíochta agus fostaíochta amháin - cé go bhfuil sé sin go léir an-tábhachtach, ní cheart go mbeadh sé mar an t-aon sprioc amháin nó an fheidhm is mó ag Údarás na Gaeltachta - an bhfuilimid i ndáiríre ag freastal ar ár bpobal Gaeltachta? Ní dóigh liom go bhfuilimid.”
“Tá an t-údarás ann ar an tuiscint go raibh cás ar leith sna ceantair Ghaeltachta, agus go bhfuil tábhacht ar leith dár náisiún agus dár dtír na ceantair Ghaeltachta a choimeád beo. Tá siad ag díriú isteach ar fhadhb a bhí ann sna 1980idí agus 1990idí cur leis an méid fostaíochta agus fiontraíochta sna ceantair seo. Tá obair fós le déanamh ina leith sin i gceantair áirithe. Is é an pointe a bhí á dhéanamh agam níos luaithe ná go bhfuil an deacracht tar éis athrú. Níl ár gceantair Ghaeltachta i mbaol de dheasca easpa fostaíochta agus fiontraíochta; tá siad i mbaol de dheasca easpa tithíochta, seirbhísí poiblí agus na rudaí a ndéanann áiteanna tarraingteach do chlanna óga cur fúthu sna ceantair sin. Is cinnte go bhfuil áiteanna Ghaeltachta ina bhfuil tuilleadh fiontraíochta agus fostaíochta de dhíth.”