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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“The ongoing and very real impact on the community in Passage East in County Waterford and the serious shortcomings in response to recent flooding events must be to the forefront of the Minister's mind having visited there last weekend. My colleagues, Councillor Pat Fitzgerald and Deputy David Cullinane, and many residents have raised the need for an effective early warning system with timely and accurate information. This must be addressed as a matter of urgency. Probably the most frustrating issue that locals raise is the long-standing underinvestment in storm water and drainage infrastructure in Passage East. Without significant and sustained investment, flooding will remain a recurring threat.”
“It has done serious damage to the confidence they have in this Government or whatever is left of it. His evasiveness in his answers at the committee last week might have seemed like a masterclass to people who observe this particular bubble but I think that farmers who are used to speaking plainly and listening saw it for what it was. Will the Taoiseach apply the Whip to his Fianna Fáil councillors who are being lobbied at the moment by the IFA and the ICSA, like in Waterford and Kilmacthomas this evening where the IFA calls councillors in to meet them?”
“Farmers feel undermined, ignored and taken for granted. They are angry – in fact, they are livid – because the importation of Brazilian beef represents not only an existential threat to their livelihoods but the way Brazilian beef is produced runs completely contrary to the standards to which they are held. The Government’s late-in-the-day opposition and lukewarm approach to Mercosur exposed its real attitude to it. The regulations that Irish farmers must adhere to ensure our beef and dairy products are the best in the world, and the fact that Bord Bia benefits directly from this and promotes this message around the world, while at the same time the chair, Larry Murrin, imports Brazilian beef through his private company has destroyed the confidence farmers have in Bord Bia.”
“We have had a number of violent incidents, particularly in towns and villages in west Waterford in recent months where response times were just too slow. People do not feel safe in their communities. We need to get to grips with this. People in places like Cappoquin, Clashmore, Tooraneena, Ballymacarbry, Kilmacthomas, Dungarvan and Ardmore tell me that they do not see a garda from one end of the week to the next. When are we going to get real about this and ensure that rural areas have the policing response that they need?”
“To continue with that theme, as the Taoiseach knows, the report of the Policing and Community Safety Authority report at the end of last year the continuing failure of the Government to address Garda recruitment and retention and rural policing in particular. It identified serious risks to policing performance from staffing shortages due to missed recruitment targets and increasing pressures on gardaí. People I have talked to in rural areas of County Waterford are experiencing the sharpest impact. Too few gardaí are covering large areas. There is limited visibility on the ground. Gardaí have indicated that they the supports or resources to do their jobs. People across County Waterford refer to understaffed stations, empty stations and slow response times.”
“Going back to the rural development piece, we really do need to see that €10 million in additional funding being made available. I look forward to that and will be keeping a close watch on it because it is crucially important to the communities I represent.”
“Indeed, Deputies from the Minister's side of the House mentioned that the GAA is very quick to point to, and has the statistics and evidence to back it up, instances where teams cannot pull sufficient players together to compete, where young people are being forced to go abroad or to larger urban areas or the cities to find housing solutions, where schools are struggling to keep children enrolled, where public services are bare on the ground and where people cannot access dentists or GP services. There is huge disillusionment in rural Ireland and if we in this Chamber are unable to acknowledge that, if we do not see and if our ears are open but we are not picking up on that, we have a difficulty. I am not filled with a huge amount of confidence a corner will be, or has been, turned.”
“I will start by agreeing with the Minister that there is definitely ambition in rural communities. There is no shortage of ambition and self-awareness within these communities but on my travels and in my engagements, I do not see the confidence the Minister speaks of because rural communities are reeling. They are reeling from the demographic crisis that has already been spoken about this morning.”
“I do not need to tell him about the crisis in the Irish fishing industry. As part of the wider rural development issue, what LEADER crucially does is support economic diversification, creating opportunities in rural communities. It is concerning that €10 million has been taken out of it this year.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire for confirming that. I understand that the LEADER programme is a five-year programme and that there may be peaks and troughs, but a €10 million reduction in the budget this year compared with last year is still €10 million of a reduction. I welcome the fact that that money is not lost. It is not out of the budget and the Minister will bring it back. However, there is a growing sense of disillusionment in rural communities, that it is on the back foot and its days are numbers, and that there seems to be indifference from Government to the plight of rural Ireland. There is a growing need for diversification. I do not need to tell the Minister about the debate in this House last night and over the past number of weeks, and the crisis in confidence that exists in Irish agriculture.”
“I am taking this question for Deputy Clarke. It relates to rural development funding, which is an issue close to my heart. We see all around us in our communities the impact it has on creating and sustaining employment and sustaining community initiatives. Last year, we saw a €5 million cut to the rural development spend in the budget. That seems to be on trend for this Government, and for successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Administrations when it comes to rural Ireland. Is it something we are likely to see replicated in budget 2027?”
“I am quite keen that there be ongoing engagement and liaison at the highest level, Minister to Minister, to ensure that the final objectives and goals laid down in that plan, which we all eagerly await, will be measurable and there will be a level of accountability. That is something the Minister needs to bring back to Cabinet and to Government to make sure that not only is the plan read, at the very least, but its actions are understood at the highest level in each of the Departments and agencies responsible and at local government level.”
“One of the concerns and worries I have on this, and I am not entirely sure if the Minister shares this but it is realistic, is the level of engagement he will get from his colleagues in government around the Cabinet table and from State agencies in the local government sector. That is why I am so keen to see clear, responsible persons or agencies attached to every single action and timeline within the plan. The biggest one is the Department of housing, as it covers housing and local government, but there is also the Department of enterprise, when looking at employment and tourism as well.”
“My contention is slightly different from his in that I do not accept that the previous iteration included very concrete and defined goals that could be used as a yardstick to any great extent. There was a lot of aspiration but it lacked substance, vision and, crucially, as I have discussed with the Minister in the Chamber, an emphasis on housing. I imagine that came through very clearly to him in his engagement with young people, as did the demographic collapse, as mentioned in the previous question, that is affecting so many rural communities precisely because of housing.”
“I do not doubt the level of engagement that took place, which I welcome. It is the right way to do consultation and engagement. When a plan such as this that is of such importance to the future of rural Ireland is being put together, it is vitally important to go out and take the views of people. It is then more important, and the Minister knows this, to ensure that those views are captured in the final document and the recommendations therein are concrete, actionable and, crucially, have timelines and responsible parties attached to them, by which I mean Departments and State agencies. Does the Minister have a timeline? Notwithstanding the volume of work and analysis required following that process of engagement, does he have a timeline for the publication of the document this year?”
“My question relates to the old chestnut of Our Rural Future, which we have discussed many times in the Chamber and outside it. When does the Minister intend to publish the successor document? I understand there was a period of consultation late last year. I participated in that consultation, as did many others around the country. Will that new strategy include clear, measurable targets for rural services, rural employment, ensuring population sustainability, addressing the demographic crisis and, crucially, the issue of rural housing?”
“Bheadh sé iontach dul chun cinn a dhéanamh maidir le Naíonra Philib Barún agus Naíonra Gharbháin. Ba bhreá liom cruinniú a dhéanamh leo, leis an Aire agus lena oifigigh chun é sin a phlé. Más féidir linn, ba mhaith an rud é obair a dhéanamh leis an Aire, an Teachta Foley, chomh maith chun an maoiniú caipitil sin a chur ar fáil dóibh. Tá na suímh acu, ach is éard atá ag teastáil uathu anois ná píosa airgid chun dul ar aghaidh agus foirgnimh a thógáil ar na suímh sin ionas go mbeidh spás mar ba cheart ag na páistí atá fós ag feitheamh ar spásanna sna naíonraí sin.”
“Táim ag smaoineamh ar dhá bhaile i mo thoghcheantar féin: Trá Mhór in oirthear Phort Láirge agus Dún Garbhán in iarthar Phort Láirge. I dTrá Mhór, tá Naíonra Philib Barún taobh le scoil náisiúnta Gaeilge. Níl spás ceart acu. Tá siad istigh in dhá prefab. Tá suíomh ceannaithe ag an naíonra agus táthar ag iarraidh áit a thógáil. Táim ag smaoineamh ar Naíonra Gharbháin chomh maith, atá sa riocht céanna. Tá an-éileamh ag teacht ar an naíonra áirithe sin.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as an bhfreagra sin. Mar is eol dó, tá tábhacht ar leith ag baint leis an tumoideachas agus an deis do dhaoine óga freastal ar oideachas d'ardchaighdeán trí mheán na Gaeilge ó aois an-óg, ó dhá bhliain agus naoi mí nó trí bliana suas go dtí an coláiste nó ollscoil, más maith leo. Is rud an-tábhachtach é sin agus tosaíonn sé i gcónaí leis an naíonra. Is dócha go bhfuil naíonraí mar bhunchloch an oideachais sin. Nuair a théann páistí isteach sa naíonra, b'fhéidir go gcloiseann siad an Ghaeilge ó pháistí eile don chéad uair agus foghlaimíonn siad scileanna sóisialta agus píosa neamhspleáchais. Tá sé an-tábhachtach go dtarlaíonn sé sin trí mheán na Gaeilge. Mar sin, tá sé tábhachtach go bhfuil naíonraí ar fáil.”
“Tá sé iontach níos mó daoine a chloisteáil ag caint mar gheall ar ghéarchéim thithíochta na Gaeltachta. Is maith an rud é sin. Baineann an cheist atá agam le naíonraí. Tá an-chuid daoine ag éileamh anois ar shaol trí Ghaeilge, mar shampla ar oideachas trí Ghaeilge dá bpáistí, laistigh den Ghaeltacht ach lasmuigh den Ghaeltacht chomh maith. An srian atá i gceist anseo ná srian caipitil chun foirgnimh a thógaint agus spás a chruthú do pháistí atá ag freastal ar naíonraí fud fad na tíre.”
“We in Sinn Féin stand with Irish farmers. Larry Murrin must go and the Government must quit the charade and get serious about opposing Mercosur.”
“This controversy sits squarely in the context of Mercosur and the Government's double standard on trade, food safety, the environment and rural livelihoods. Fine Gael is at the centre of this. They are shielding one of their own and hoping this will blow over. Fianna Fáil and the Lowry and Healy-Rae Independents are content to stay quiet and let Fine Gael give two fingers to farmers and to rural Ireland. They say one thing at home and do another in Europe. Trust has been destroyed because people can see the hypocrisy so clearly. The Minister, Deputy Heydon, has the power to end this today. He can restore confidence in Bord Bia or he can continue to protect the indefensible. Larry Murrin's position is now untenable and if this Government votes against this motion next week farmers will hear that message again loud and clear.”
“Yet, the chairman of that organisation imports Brazilian beef produced to standards that would be illegal here. There is no ambiguity in that. We all get the message. Farmers hear us clearly and so does the public. Farmers are angry because they are being undermined. The public is livid because we are being treated with contempt. The chairman of Bord Bia importing Brazilian beef while holding Irish farmers to the highest standards is a brazen double standard. When we put that in the context of Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Independents preparing to open the door to beef produced with hormones and banned antibiotics and linked to deforestation, the hypocrisy is obvious and farmers can see it clearly. They can smell the bull.”
“Sinn Féin is proposing this motion because the Minister has allowed this scandal to fester and because Fine Gael in particular has circled the wagons to protect their man instead of standing up for farmers. Larry Murrin should have resigned weeks ago. He has not. Instead he has dug in with the blessing of the Government, with the blessing of the Minister, and with the blessing of the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, and the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin. He seems intent to brazen it out. It is two fingers to farmers, to the public, and to anyone who believes public bodies should operate with integrity. An Bord Bia demands the highest standards from Irish farmers. It inspects them, audits them, penalises them and markets their products on the basis of stringent quality checks and traceability.”
“Sinn Féin will oppose it because renters cannot absorb any more pressure. The people I represent, the people we represent, cannot take any more. Government policy should be focused on reducing rents, not driving them up even further in the interests of those who tell the Minister what to do, and who designed this approach and this legislation.”
“Over time, even tenants who have already endured no-fault evictions will face market resets after fixed periods. The direction of travel is very clear. It behoves the Minister to be open and honest about that, something that he and his colleagues in government, including the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, have failed to be thus far. Concerns about this legislation are not confined to Sinn Féin and the Opposition parties. Organisations working on the front line of homelessness, including the Simon Communities of Ireland, have warned that unaffordable rents are a direct driver of homelessness, and that the Minister's upward rent resets risk undermining security of tenure in practice. The Bill rips off renters, with higher rents, weaker security and more people pushed to the edge.”
“It means the Government choosing to side, as always, with large investors seeking higher returns, rather than renters trying to keep a roof over their heads. The impact of this approach will be widespread. The private rental sector has high turnover and relatively short tenancies. As a result, these resets will not be confined to a small group, as the Minister tells the media and anybody who will listen, but will over time become the default experience for most renters. If this shadowy legislation is forced through - it looks like it will be, despite there being none of the Government backbenchers present to hear the debate - from next year, new tenancies will increasingly be exposed to immediate resets. Students entering the private rental sector will be caught by the same approach.”
“Supply is constrained because of decisions of the Minister and his predecessors in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over many years. Instead of acting to stabilise the market and building homes, the Government is embedding a mechanism that will ensure that rents rise again and again. The Bill will not reduce rents. It will not deliver stability. It will not prevent homelessness. It locks in higher rents into the future and leaves renters carrying all of the risk and all of the pain. It means a rental system designed to push rents higher, not lower. It means workers and families facing sudden rent hikes that they cannot plan for or absorb. It means insecurity built into the system as a feature, not treated as a failure.”
“The Minister's rip-off rent Bill changes how renting is regulated. It is a shift that will make an already broken system even worse, if people could credit that. It will shaft renters. At a time those renters are facing record rents and intense cost-of-living pressures, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the Healy-Rae group and the Lowry group have chosen to gut controls when they should be strengthening them. The central change in the Minister's legislation is the introduction of these market rent resets. Under his model, rents can be reset to prevailing market levels at the start of new tenancies and again after fixed periods. That is a clear move away from rent restraint and towards a system that ensures sharp increases become routine for renters. Rents are already far beyond what many households can afford.”
“Tá géarghá le tithe inacmhainne agus sóisialta sna ceantair Ghaeltachta. Mar sin, i bhfianaise na bhfíricí seo, cad go díreach atá an Rialtas chun a dhéanamh anois? An dtarraingeoidh an Taoiseach le chéile go práinneach na hAirí cuí maidir le tithíocht, pleanáil agus an Ghaeltacht chun treoirlínte pleanála Gaeltachta a fhoilsiú gan a thuilleadh moille, agus freagra comhordaithe a chur i bhfeidhm sula mbeidh sé ródhéanach do na pobail thábhachtacha seo?”
“De réir anailíse ó thionscadal One Million Homes, atá foilsithe inné, tá easnamh de 12,635 teach sna ceantair Ghaeltachta. Tá pobail Ghaeltachta gan a dhóthain páistí chun scoileanna áitiúla a choinneáil oscailte, gan trácht ar chumainn spóirt a choimeád beo. Ó 2015 i leith, níor tógadh ach 1,250 teach ar fud na Gaeltachta. Ag an ráta sin, léiríonn an anailís chéanna go mbeidh easnamh de thart ar 32,000 teach sa Ghaeltacht faoi 2036. Le deich mbliana anuas, tógadh díreach 36 teach i nGaeltacht na nDéise i bPort Láirge. Tá sin idir trí agus ceithre theach sa bhliain, cé go bhfuil timpeall 550 páiste faoi bhun 18 mbliana d'aois sa cheantar. Mar thoradh air sin, tá clanna óga á mbrú amach as a bpobal féin agus tá an Ghaeilge á cailliúint dá bharr. Is géarchéim pobail agus teangeolaíochta í seo.”
“Almost 90 homes on a group water scheme are facing doubled annual fees this week and instability and constant uncertainty when it comes to their water supply. The Government needs to fix the basics before launching more glossy plans and congratulating itself. Delivery is what people need and not another brochure, report and round of backslapping”
“Tá an easpa infheistíochta seo ag cur isteach ar an saol laethúil agus ar an teanga féin. Tá sé ag cur isteach ar thodhchaí na Gaeltachta. Water infrastructure in Waterford is in crisis daily. Outages, low pressure, boil water notices and do not consume notices have become routine. Kilmeaden and Ballyduff are currently without water, Touraneena is left without an adequate supply and crumbling infrastructure is holding back home building in Lismore and creating uncertainty for businesses, schools, childcare facilities and care homes there. We need to see a dedicated fund to deal with legacy failures regarding water and wastewater. Estates built with inadequate supply or sewage capacity must be upgraded and taken in charge. Woodlands estate in Portlaw is one example.”
“Waterford Airport was shamefully denied Government support. South East Technological University receives the lowest level of capital investment of any technological university. Dunmore East fisheries harbour waits while opportunities are lost. Even basic maintenance of regional and local roads is falling behind. Schools, childcare facilities and naonraí are left without sufficient capital funding and are falling far below projected population growth and actual population demand. The failure in this regard has consequences for the real communities, families and people I represent. It is holding back housing in our towns and villages and choking off development where services simply cannot cope. Tá sé fíor go háirithe sna ceantair Ghaeltachta. Gan bhonneagar ceart, ní féidir tithíocht a thógáil nó pobal a choinneáil beo.”
“Once again, the Government is talking about reports and plans while treading water when it comes to developing infrastructure. It is a case of more glossy documents, little in the way of targets and timelines and more false dawns. People roll their eyes because what communities need is delivery as opposed to brochures and concrete progress rather than press launches. In Waterford, the gaps are obvious and long-standing. Deputy Cullinane and I have been raising them consistently. The safety upgrades to the N25 and the N72 are long overdue. Upgrades to the N24 linking Waterford to the mid-west and the west have been talked about for decades but still drift, with no funding or prospect of funding. The Waterford to Rosslare rail line has been dropped entirely from the national rail strategy.”
“There is a gap here and it is something the Government needs to address. In effect, these agents for State services are being put out of business when the sector is already in freefall.”
“In effect, they are agents of the State and their existence and their provision of the ECCE service is precisely because they are filling a gap the State has left in rural communities in places such as Lemybrien, Kilmacthomas, Lismore, Abbeyside and Touraneena. They are facilitating people, particularly women, to have their children looked after in order that they can go to work in rural Ireland, contribute to the local economy and have that level of independence. They are providing a service the State has never provided, paid for by the State, yet they are being hit with rates bills of €12,040 in some cases. I take it from the Minister of State's answer that there has been a change in policy and it happened several years so but is only now being executed and put into effect in Waterford, where it is creating havoc.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his response. It clarifies the situation in that he stated explicitly that for-profit childcare providers are liable for rates. However, there has been a change of policy. It may have taken place several years ago but there has been a change of policy and that policy was not executed in County Waterford. These businesses were not liable for rates in the past but they have now been hit with these bills. Nobody has communicated this change of policy to them. Several of them, if forced to pay these rates bills, will have no option but to shut down. The Government is missing a trick here. These might be private commercial operators in one way but, on the other hand, they are providing exclusively a State service that is paid for exclusively by the State.”
“What has changed, when was that policy changed, by whom and for what reason, and how was it communicated, or if there has been no such change in policy, how will the issue be resolved in order that these businesses can keep providing the services that are so badly needed?”
“Those rates will put them out of business, thereby reducing a level of service in rural areas and small towns in County Waterford, much-needed employment in those communities and a vital service for parents who may have to commute to work in Clonmel, Waterford or as far as Little Island in Cork. I am hoping to hear that the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, have a plan of action. I am seeking clarification as to whether there has been a change of policy and whether these businesses that were previously exempt from rates are now rateable.”
“These were that the property be used exclusively for the 38-week sessional ECCE-funded preschool services and for no other purpose, such as childminding, creche services funded by private fees or any other commercial use, and that the expenses incurred in providing this ECCE preschool sessional service must be defrayed wholly or mainly out of moneys provided by the Exchequer. The providers satisfy those criteria and have always done so. Nothing in their business operation or service provision has changed, yet Tailte Éireann took it upon itself at the end of last year to conduct valuations of their premises and then to issue notice to Waterford City and County Council, which was duly bound to issue bills to them seeking what I would say are extortionate rates.”
“Every provider that leaves the industry places a greater burden on parents seeking to access childcare. That is before we get into the costs of running these businesses and the affordability for parents of having their children cared for in those settings. The rates bills came as a surprise, as I said, because these businesses had never before been liable for rates or received such a bill. They operated on the legitimate understanding that they were exempt from rates because they provided purely ECCE services. They did not operate additional childcare services or, indeed, any other commercial operation from their premises. They were operating on the basis of a circular issued by the Valuation Office in 2010, which stated that to be exempt from rates required compliance with certain qualifying criteria.”
“These are private businesses solely providing the early childhood care and education scheme, funded entirely by the State, which were never liable for rates in the past and did not expect to be so liable. Three days before Christmas, they were hit with rates bills, of €4,280 in some cases and, in other instances, of an eye-watering €12,040. I am glad the Minister of State is sitting down for that figure. These operators are telling me they cannot continue if they have to pay these rates bills. There has been discussion in the Chamber in the past few weeks about the issues affecting the childcare sector, how many providers are closing their businesses, letting staff go and leaving the industry, and how many parents are finding it hard to get childcare spaces.”
“Ar dtús báire, tá an cheist seo an-dáiríre. Baineann sé le gnólachtaí a chuireann seirbhísí cúnamh linbh ar fáil ar fud Contae Phort Láirge. Tá sé thar a bheith deacair dóibh leanúint ar aghaidh ag cur na seirbhísí sin ar fáil de dheasca billí a bhfuaireadar roimh an Nollaig ó Chomhairle Cathrach agus Contae Phort Láirge ag eascairt ó athluacháil de chuid Tailte Éireann. This is a really serious issue affecting childcare providers in County Waterford. I have no doubt similar issues, if they have not arisen, will arise in other counties. Almost a dozen childcare providers I have been in touch with received astronomical rates bill from Waterford City and County Council just before Christmas.”
“The Minister of State is aware of that particular issue. There has been a dogged refusal by Government to fund much-needed safety upgrades on the N25, N24 and the N72. Intercity bus stops such as Grange in west Waterford, have been removed. Every year, the school transport system is in chaos. At the same time, people are told to get back to offices they do not need to be in. Flexible work will not solve congestion on its own but it is an immediate and practical step. Now is the time for a serious programme that protects worker flexibility, reduces commute times, invests properly in transport and delivers a modern, low-emission Ireland.”
“Supporting flexible and remote work would immediately reduce congestion, cut emissions and give people back hours of their lives every week. The question is: who is policy designed for? Is it for ordinary workers trying to balance their lives or powerful interests pushing a return to the old system? The CSO shows average commute times rising, with many people travelling an hour or more each way. The National Transport Authority has confirmed that remote working reduces peak demand, lowers costs for commuters and reduces carbon emissions. Despite this evidence, workers face refusals, withdrawn arrangements and constant pressure to return to offices. Across rural Ireland, people are paying the price for top-down decisions and chronic underinvestment. In Waterford, we have seen Local Link routes altered without local input.”
“There is massive demand for flexible hours and remote work because people know it works. It saves time, reduces stress and allows people to manage work alongside family, caring and community responsibilities. Yet, every morning, workers are still forced intro traffic and onto overcrowded buses and trains, travelling at the same hour to the same place, even when the job does not require it. That lost time is taken directly from people's lives. In counties like Waterford, thousands of people are being forced back into long commutes, even though their work can be done remotely. This is a political choice, in many cases. The Government is responding to corporate pressure instead of listening to workers and families.”
“I want to acknowledge the work of my colleague, Deputy Mark Ward, who has been raising this issue for years and has shown leadership where Government has not in bringing this Bill before the Dáil. Do not wait nine months to take action. We do not need to wait for other EU member states. If we were to wait for EU member states at every juncture, there would be nothing done. That strikes me as the attitude of this Government to any issue that arises in working-class and rural communities. I am calling on the Minister to support the Bill, to withdraw his amendment and to finally act to protect children, public health and community safety. I urge him to do the right thing here, withdraw his amendment and support this common-sense piece of legislation.”
“Tallaght hospital has reported multiple neurological diagnoses following inhalation of this gas. The HSE's adolescent addiction service reported that 22% of young people attending the service admitted to using nitrous oxide. That is a startling figure in anybody's language, that so many children are disclosing that as part of their treatment. Those are the children who can avail of that treatment, who are in services, who are connected with the HSE. There are serious public safety implications, too. Driving ability can be impaired, as was stated earlier. This is why this legislation matters. The Bill introduces licensing for wholesalers and a register for retailers. It bans sales to and by under-18s, tightens online sales and, crucially, gives gardaí clear powers to seize and dispose of products that are being misused.”
“Young people are being told this is harmless when doctors are now treating nerve damage, frostbite and long-term neurological harm. Communities once again are left dealing with the damage. Gardaí are left without clear powers and without a steer. The Government is sitting, once again, on its hands. This Bill shuts down that trade, protects children and gives gardaí the tools they need. The question is whether the Government is prepared to act. The Minister's amendment suggests it is not; it is happy to wait another nine months. The medical evidence is now stark. Consultant neurologists have warned of a clear rise in nerve damage linked directly to nitrous oxide misuse. Young people are presenting with numbness in their hands and feet, balance problems, heart rhythm issues and serious mental health effects.”