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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“Instead of the amendment to this motion that has been tabled tonight, if the Government takes responsibility and takes action to remediate the issue we are raising here, will the issue still remain for the new entrants to the service? Our motion seeks something really straightforward and overdue, which is to stop the unsafe factoring practice, to record hours honestly and fairly, to comply with Irish and EU law, and to ensure that the people who risk everything to protect the public are themselves protected and not undermined.”
“When a previous Minister for Transport tried to cut the search and rescue base from the tender document for the new contract, the people of the south east - fishermen, coastal workers, volunteers and families - mobilised because they knew exactly what was at stake. They forced that Minister into a reversal, and they saved the service. They did it because they understand what search and rescue is. They know it is not something you play around with, and not something you denigrate or diminish. Another issue must now be confronted. Will newly recruited staff who are not part of the CHC transfer and are not protected by transfer of undertakings face different, potentially inferior, working conditions?”
“Tá sábháilteacht ár bhfoirne tarrthála á chur i mbaol ag an Rialtas seo go mídhleathach agus go mímhórálta. Tá na foirne seo ar dualgas ar feadh 20 uair an chloig, réidh le dul san aer i gceann nóiméid. Ní fhéadfadh siad a láthair a fhágáil agus ní féidir "am scíthe" a ghlaoch ar an am seo. Mar Theachta ó cheantar cósta le ceangal láidir le saol na mara, tuigim go deimhin an tábhacht a bhaineann leis an tseirbhís seo. Sheasamar i bPort Láirge chun ár mbonn tarrthála a chosaint toisc gur ceist beatha agus báis atá inti. Ní oireann na foirne seo ach meas, sábháilteacht agus comhlíonadh an dlí. In Waterford, we know what happens when the Government takes its eye off the ball.”
“These crews work 24-hour shifts in constant readiness, living on a base and prepared to launch in minutes, yet the State pretends that one quarter of that time does not count. As a representative of a proud coastal region shaped by generations who have worked the seas, I know what this service means. The message from these crews and from our coastal communities is clear: the current system is unsafe, unsustainable and unlawful. The State must act, not when another tragedy forces its hand, but now. European working time rules are clear. When workers are required to remain in immediate readiness, bound to strict response times and unable to use their time freely, that time is working time. Courts across Europe have reinforced this again and again. What the IAA is doing goes against best practice and against the law.”
“We know that these crews are on their way to a medical evacuation from a fishing boat or a ship offshore, to a road traffic incident on the N25, to a coastal cliff rescue or to a medical transfer. The Government is presiding over a system that pretends that 24 hours of continuous readiness amounts to just 16.5 hours of work. It is not a technical adjustment, an accounting error or a matter of differing interpretations. It is a downgrading of the lived reality of the job. It is a direct threat to crew safety through increased fatigue and further stretching of already heavy rosters. This Government is knowingly endangering our search and rescue crews and, by extension, that means they are endangering every coastal community they protect and serve.”
“Every community that depends on our Coast Guard air crews knows the truth. This State, our maritime nation and our coastal communities would be lost without the people who go out when everyone else comes in. They answer calls in the darkest hours and in the worst weather. They travel over sea and land when lives hang in the balance. They do all of that while working some of the most demanding 24-hour duty systems anywhere in the public service. I represent a coastal constituency that has been shaped by generations who have lived and worked close to the sea. I know how essential this service is. In Waterford and across the south east, when we see the helicopters overhead and hear them at night, we understand exactly what they mean. We know that someone somewhere, often at sea and often in bad conditions, is in trouble.”
“Tá Coimisinéir Teanga nua ceaptha sna Sé Chontae, Pól Deeds. Is coiscéim chun tosaigh é seo i ndiaidh tréimhse an-fhada ag feitheamh dá leithéid. Tá Gaeilge agus pobal na Gaeilge faoi ionsaí sna Sé Chontae faoi láthair. Conas a dhéanfaidh an Taoiseach cosaint ar an bpobal seo, ar lucht labhartha na Gaeilge ó Thuaidh? While I am on my feet, I want to raise the situation of Jordan Devlin, an Irish citizen from County Antrim who is on remand in Britain awaiting charges relating to pro-Palestinian activism there. I see this in the wider context of a crackdown on political dissent and political protest in Britain. Has the Taoiseach raised, or will he raise, this situation with the British authorities to ensure he is treated fairly in prison and will be afforded a fair trial?”
“We urge the Minister of State to bring back to the Government the strength of the arguments on this issue he is hearing in the Chamber, from all parties and none, and to withdraw the Government amendment to the motion, which seeks to undermine it in the way many whistleblowers across the State have been undermined. I urge him to do the right thing and support a functioning democracy and a functioning public service that has protection for whistleblowers, those who do the right thing and display courage and a strong dedication to public service.”
“They were harassed, harangued and bullied. Attempts were made to bribe them and blacken their names, blacklist them, hurt their families, take their children from them, take their livelihoods from them, do them into the ground and bury them by this State, agencies of the State, people operating on behalf of the State and successive Governments. That needs to be reckoned with, but the best way we can do so is by ensuring it never happens again to another whistleblower. God knows, there will be misdeeds and illegality, cutting corners and corruption within elements of the public service. It is a feature of human endeavour, unfortunately, but I thank God there are people who have the courage to stand up and do the right thing. Sinn Féin strongly supports the Independent Technical Group's motion today.”
“I will begin by addressing the whistleblowers in the Gallery who have come to watch this debate. They are watching, listening and taking stock of everything that has been said by the Minister of State's colleagues. I thank them for the service they have done the State and I thank the many people behind them who did not make it here and cannot be here, the families, and those who lost opportunities because of issues of corruption, illegality, theft and crime within elements of the public service, going back decades, that would never have come to light were it not for the courage, strength, dedication and public service of the people who blew the whistle, said enough was enough, that they could no longer have this on their conscience and decided to bring it out in the open. By God, they paid the price.”
“It is about ensuring that our search and rescue air crews are at their very best when they are answering a call, be it to an offshore island, be it to a fishing trawler in trouble off our coast, be it to a road traffic accident along the N24 the N25 in Waterford, or any of the issues they are asked to respond to. Communities like mine in Waterford know the value of a search and rescue presence but we are concerned when we are hearing from crews themselves that their lives and their ability to do their work have been put in jeopardy by the Government's failure to act.”
“With respect, the Minister of State provided a lot of information that we already knew about the service provided. We know it because we have met air crews, because we have been following this case and because we do our jobs and keep abreast of these issues. The question we are putting to the Minister of State and his colleagues in government is whether the Government will act to resolve this issue to ensure compliance with the working time directive and aviation regulations so that the working time that search and rescue crews are actually doing is recorded as such. This is about safety and combating fatigue.”
“We already saw a preceding Minister, former Deputy Eamon Ryan, try to cut Waterford's search and rescue base out of the tender documents for the new contract. A popular campaign locally on the ground in Waterford and across the south east forced a U-turn on that. We do not want to see a diminution of safety standards. We do not want to see workers' rights under attack in this way. We certainly do not want to see a service that is not fit for purpose and where crew safety and the safety of those they serve is jeopardised.”
“It would be bad enough if that was just a misunderstanding by the operator but it is a deliberate reclassification of active duty as standby. European working time law and the Irish regulations that give effect to it are absolutely clear. There should be no ambiguity about this. When a worker is under the employer's control and required to maintain readiness for immediate deployment, that is working time. Across Europe, the courts have repeatedly affirmed that where a worker's freedom is severely restricted in terms of keeping them on site and being in a state of readiness, as a search and rescue crew's freedom clearly is, that time must be counted in full. In Waterford, this is not an abstract issue. It is something that is a matter of life and death.”
“Before I get into the substance of the issue, I add our support to the matter that was just under discussion. My colleague, Deputy David Cullinane, and I both co-signed that Topical Issue to lend our support to it because it is an issue that affects the whole south east. I know Deputies from Tipperary, Waterford and Kilkenny are supportive of that and working in unison to get the Government to do the right thing by the N24. To the substance of the issue that Deputy Cullinane and I are raising, the working time arrangement that is now applied to the Coast Guard helicopter crews is unsafe, unlawful and utterly unsustainable. We have a situation where full 24-hour duties, during which crews must be in immediate readiness and are confined to strict response times on site, are being logged as only 16.5 hours of work.”
“If the EU will not impose sanctions, Ireland must. The injustice continues because the impunity continues and that cannot remain Europe's position and it certainly must not remain Ireland's.”
“Israel has never stopped its assault, not for a single day, despite the so-called ceasefire. Killing continues in Gaza. Displacement and siege continue in the West Bank. The machinery of apartheid, land seizures, settlement expansion and economic repression advance openly with the stated intention of closing the door forever on a two-state future. Twice in recent months, hundreds of retired EU and European diplomats have made the legal position unmistakable. When the EU fails to act on sanctions - and it has failed catastrophically; it has looked humanity in the eye and failed it - member states can, and are obliged to, act unilaterally or with willing partners. Ireland cannot hide behind collective paralysis. The Government can no longer wring its hands and say, "Europe will not move so we cannot either".”
“They elected a President who has championed neutrality throughout her political life and they did so by an unprecedented majority. This result is a signal and the Government must listen. People are deeply uneasy about the steady political drift towards military alignment being pushed by a small group of commentators and politicians with a clear agenda. Neutrality is neither symbolic nor outdated. It is the backbone of our independent foreign policy, peacekeeping credibility and capacity to act as honest brokers in a world defined by conflict. People see what is happening with the softened language, blurred commitments and the slow normalisation of military integration. The Government must end the ambiguity and reaffirm that neutrality is not optional. It is a democratic mandate and demands protection.”
“For years, the Irish fleet has absorbed the impacts of Brexit, shrinking quotas and entrenched inequity in EU allocations and next month's negotiations cannot be another exercise in accepting the least and giving up the most. The Hague preferences were created precisely for countries like ours that are highly dependent, acutely exposed and have long been denied fair treatment. The Government must now stand up for our coastal communities. Ireland cannot walk away empty-handed again. These negotiations must deliver a fair correction. Anything less will accelerate the collapse of coastal livelihoods that have already given more than they can bear. The Irish people have just delivered the strongest defence of neutrality in decades. The mandate for neutrality is unquestionable.”
“Tá ár n-iascairí ag dul thar imeall na haille agus beidh na cainteanna cuóta iascaireachta ina nóiméad cinniúnach. Tá na cainteanna nua maidir le cuótaí ag tosú an mhí seo chugainn agus tá ár bpobail chósta ag éileamh toradh atá cóir agus buan. Leis an drochscéal is déanaí faoi pelagic quotas agus titim tubaisteach i stoc cloicheán i Muir Éireann, tá géarghá anois go seasfaidh an Rialtas go daingean ar son na hÉireann agus go n-éileoidh sé go gcuirfear na Hague preferences i bhfeidhm. In recent weeks, our coastal communities have suffered another hammer blow with the collapsing pelagic prospects and devastating outlook for Irish sea prawns. These warnings are not theoretical; they are existential for our industry.”
“Connecting these homes would require just a short bore under a regional road but Uisce Éireann has refused to fund it and instead told residents to apply for a private well grant. Unfortunately, the land in the area they live in is not suitable for a private well and they have that on good authority from several professional well drillers. Will the Taoiseach please act in the interests of these two households and instruct Uisce Éireann? I will show the Taoiseach, very briefly, a bottle with a sample of water they provided me with recently. It illustrates the depth of what their public water supply is.”
“Go raibh maith agat. I want to raise with the Taoiseach the situation of two households living in Lyre, Mahon Bridge, County Waterford. They live in two adjoining council-built cottages constructed in 1949. At the time, the local authority installed a water supply from an open stream flowing off the Comeragh Mountains, and that is still their only source of water 75 years later. It is untreated and coming from a roadside stream. The water runs black and is full of silt, filth and worse. Each of the men has pulled dead rats and badgers from it on occasion. The supply is so unsafe that the health authorities have warned them not to even wash their hands with it. I have raised this directly with the Minister for housing and with Uisce Éireann. A brand new public mains runs just 500 m from the townland of Fews across from these men's homes.”
“We are asking the Government to stop hiding behind excuses, to grow a backbone and to stand up for our family farmers and rural communities, and to work with those European states that are also opposed to this when we come to the Council meeting in December. The Government can still choose to defend Irish agriculture. It is not too late to defend Irish standards and Irish jobs. It should support this motion, stand with farmers, and reject Mercosur.”
“It is not just unfair; it is a threat to public health and food security. We are told to trust the so-called safeguard clause but it is nothing more than a political smokescreen. It will not protect Irish farm incomes and will not reverse the structural damage this agreement will cause. Environmentally, the consequences are devastating. As mentioned, the impact on the Amazon at a time of runaway climate change cannot be overstated. Tonight, Sinn Féin is asking this House to send a clear, united message, that Ireland says "No" to the Mercosur trade agreement. We are asking the Minister and his Government to send a clear message to the European Union, the Council and the Commission that we oppose the Mercosur trade agreement and that the Irish State will not accept it as a deal.”
“Every farmer who depends on a fair price, strong standards and a level playing field knows exactly what this agreement will mean. The EU will allow 99,000 tonnes of beef and 180,000 tonnes of poultry to flood into the European market, much of it produced under standards that would be illegal here. Irish farmers meet the highest levels of traceability, animal welfare and environmental regulation anywhere in the world. There is no equivalent system in Mercosur countries. There are no checks. There is no transparency and no balance. Cattle are not even tagged in many cases. Hormones, pesticides and antibiotics that are banned here and are illegal to use in the European Union are routinely used in production in Mercosur countries; yet the Government will allow that product to compete directly with Irish beef.”
“Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael sold out the Irish fishing industry and are set now to sell out Irish agriculture. The Government faces a simple but serious choice. Will it stand with Irish farmers, rural communities and our domestic food sector or will it allow the Mercosur trade deal to sell them out? Much was said by the Government in the past year and in the run-up to the general election about opposing the Mercosur deal, but the real test is upon it. Let us call the Mercosur deal what it is. It is a bad deal for our beef and suckler farmers, for the environment, for the world and for Ireland. I welcome those in the Public Gallery from the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, ICSA, the Irish Farmers Association, IFA and other organisations. Every farming organisation in this country opposes the Mercosur deal.”
“ArcLabs, the Walton Institute and other parts of SETU are driving cutting edge research in information and communication systems, emerging technologies and artificial intelligence. SETU has enormous potential to lead nationally in these fields but potential without investment will not deliver the step change our region needs. We need a fair funding model for TUs, a fast-track capital programme for SETU and urgent progress on the promised pharmacy and veterinary medicine courses to support regional growth. The south east has waited long enough. The Government must finally deliver the resources and respect that our students, our regional economy, the researchers in these institutes and our communities deserve.”
“The Government must explain how this is consistent with any credible strategy for balanced regional development or indeed any strategy for investment in innovation and science. Science Week should also prompt a discussion about the chronic underfunding of higher education more generally. Colleges are operating with 38% less funding per student than in 2008. That reduction has had serious consequences for quality, for research capacity and for staff conditions. The Government has spent less on research and development as a share of modified GNI in every year since 2011, leaving us below the EU average and below its own stated targets. That trajectory undermines the future of innovation and economic development. Yet, in Waterford, despite these constraints, remarkable work continues to happen.”
“Figures released by the Department show that since the establishment of the TUs Dublin has received almost €56 million in capital funding, the Atlantic TU, €52 million, Munster TU almost €47 million and the Technological University of the Shannon €41 million. In stark contrast, SETU has received just €27 million of funding. That is a full one third less than the next lowest university. This pattern reflects a deeper problem. When choices are made the south east is routinely treated as an afterthought. Waterford and the wider south-east region is mid-table for student numbers among the technological universities, yet bottom of the list for investment by a considerable distance.”
“Science Week is an important opportunity to highlight the value of research, innovation and STEM education throughout the State. It is also an opportunity to look very honestly at the structural failures in how Government supports science, third level education and regional development. For those of us in Waterford and the south east, these failures are not abstract. They are stark and lived realities. The potential of the South East Technological University, SETU, is extraordinary, yet Government decisions have placed it firmly at the bottom of the pile when it comes to funding for technological universities.”
“We in Sinn Féin will continue to fight for a fair, modern system of social protection that values carers, protects families and tackles poverty head-on.”
“Families in rural Ireland pay more to get by and receive less support in return - that is the reality of Government neglect by both this Government and its predecessors. On the second element of this Bill, the Government's auto-enrolment scheme, Sinn Féin supports the principle of workers saving for retirement but rejects this design. Taking money from low-paid workers and locking it away for six months during a cost-of-living crisis is unfair. We believe the State, through the NTMA, should manage these funds safely and transparently for the public good - not hand them to private pension firms. Poverty is rising, inequality is deepening, and the Government is standing still and watching from the sidelines.”
“Behind those numbers are exhausted parents and anxious children and a whole body of trauma that will last for decades to come. Tá bochtaineacht agus eisiamh sóisialta ag dul i méid ar fud na tíre. Tá costais bhia, bhreosla, tithíochta agus iompair ag cur brú dochreidte ar theaghlaigh. Tá cúramóirí agus oibrithe ísealioncaim á bhfágáil ar lár ag an Rialtas seo, atá rófhada ó réaltacht an tsaoil. Tá spriocanna maidir le bochtaineacht leanaí caillte agus á mbrú siar arís agus arís eile in ainneoin go bhfuil acmhainn airgeadais ag an Stát chun dul i ngleic leis an bhfadhb seo. Rural communities are under severe pressure too. Higher heating and transport costs, limited public transport and lower incomes mean deeper hardship.”
“I believe that “within 100 days” was some of the language used yet we have seen zero progress on that. These are people who save the State billions through unpaid care and who sacrifice their own incomes to look after loved ones. They do it out of love but it saves the State a huge amount of money. Instead of recognition of that fact, they are forced to prove their poverty every year to qualify for that modest support. That is indefensible. Child poverty is worsening. The Government has missed its own targets and quietly pushed them further out of reach. One in five children, that is, over 225,000 children, live in poverty once housing costs are counted. One in five parents now skip meals in order that their children can eat and among lone parents, that figure is one in three.”
“More than 300,000 households are in electricity arrears and almost 175,000 are in arrears in respect of gas. Food costs are still soaring, and families cannot keep up. We in Sinn Féin set out a stronger and fairer alternative that would make a real difference in people's lives. We proposed a €25 increase in the domiciliary care allowance, a €450 set of energy credits and a boost of almost €300 to the fuel allowance. We also called for €2.2 billion in additional funding for social protection - double what the Government provided - to lift families out of poverty, protect real incomes and give struggling households a fighting chance this winter and into next year. Carers continue to be treated disgracefully. The carer's allowance remains means-tested, despite repeated promises from multiple parties to end that test.”
“This Government has had every warning and every opportunity to act yet it continues to ignore the depth of poverty and social exclusion growing across communities and the State. The measures in this Bill fall far short of what is needed. After years of record surpluses and headline promises, families are still being left behind and are struggling with food, energy, housing and transport costs while the Government congratulates itself on token increases that barely touch the size of this crisis. Core welfare payments are falling behind inflation once again. There was no increase in child benefit, no credible plan to tackle child poverty and no urgency in confronting the cost-of-living emergency. Energy prices are rising again; by more than 12% this winter.”
“We need to get to grips with the early intervention classes and increase them dramatically so that there is availability for parents to get their children that much-needed timely intervention.”
“The Government is failing children in Waterford with additional needs over the stagnation in early intervention classes. Five years ago, there were two early intervention classes across Waterford city and county. This year, there are still two. That is despite an increasing need and a demand that is there but unmet. These early interventions are critical for children’s educational and social outcomes. It is something that the Taoiseach’s Government needs to grapple with. Over the last nine or ten months, we have seen issues around special education spaces and classes in schools. While the Government did belatedly do some work to fill some of those gaps in service provision, there is a lot more to do. That situation is still there and I think there will be problems next year.”
“She said she sleeps with a hurley on the bed beside her, keeps the yard light on all night and is petrified. At the weekend, I spoke to an older gentleman who lives in Portlaw. He told me he has not seen a garda in the town or its environs in the past couple of months. That is the reality on the ground. There have been a number of appalling incidences of violence and disorder, especially in places in west Waterford like Dungarvan, Cappoquin and Clashmore in recent weeks, including one in which a number of gardaí were injured. This is putting further strain on resources. What is the Government going to do? When is it going to take this matter seriously and ensure that people living in rural communities can feel safe in their homes?”
“We already know that there is an overreliance on overtime to deliver routine policing. There has been so little progress in tackling the recruitment and retention crisis in An Garda Síochána that problems are manifest across the State. Sinn Féin has put forward a range of proposals to deal with this, including a significant increase in the Garda training allowance to make it a more attractive prospect for new entrants, service payments for those with 30 or more years of service and increasing the compulsory retirement age to 65. These are practical solutions that could have outworkings on the ground. I am thinking especially of my constituency of Waterford, particularly the rural parts. On Monday, I spoke with an older woman who lives on her own in Cappoquin.”
“When will the Government address the real issues around transport, particularly for rural communities and the people of Waterford, and get serious about investing in our roads infrastructure and the N25?”
“This evening, Sinn Féin will move a motion on the cost of motoring and transport. It is a particular issue for rural communities and the communities I represent. We will ask the Government to take action to address the spiralling increase in the cost of insurance and fuel. We also need targeted and sustained investment in our roads infrastructure, in particular in my constituency of Waterford where the N25 has been overlooked for funding. There is no funding for the N25 in the national development plan as it passes through Waterford, the N24 or the N72. There are significant safety concerns about the N25, particularly in Cois Chaim outside Dungarvan and Grange, where Bus Éireann has removed a number of stops due to safety concerns.”
“It should not be the norm and our district courts should not be full to overflowing with these cases. Convictions for possession should be treated as spent and ultimately expunged. We do not need this following people around for the rest of their days. For those who repeatedly offend, dissuasive sanctions such as restorative justice, community service or diversion programmes are probably the most appropriate avenue. The courts – potentially specialist courts – and professional regulatory bodies should apply these sanctions fairly and proportionately. This is a really important debate. It is something that will continue to happen on Committee Stage but it is something we will need to return to in the House.”
“To give credit where it is due, the assembly was a vital democratic process. That was very important and the findings bear that out. It brought together experts, families and service users to look at international best practice and to learn from it. Our policy position is clear. We support the de facto approach that has been referenced already. The offence of simple possession should remain in law, but we should have a much more pragmatic response where cautions and health interventions are the order of the day, rather than court appearances and convictions. The Garda caution scheme must be reviewed and modernised. Prison sentences for simple possession should remain technically possible, perhaps, but used only in the most exceptional of circumstances.”
“The State would respond to drug use and misuse primarily as a public health issue and this model would ensure those struggling with addiction are met with support and opportunity, not the stigma and criminal records that can further entrench addiction, hamper recovery and have lifelong impacts for them. We also acknowledge the assembly left the detailed legislative and policy design to the Oireachtas, and that work is now under way through the re-established joint committee. I commend my party colleagues for their engagement on that and the leadership they are showing. The assembly identified key issues we must balance, including health diversion, decriminalisation and dissuasive sanctions. We believe that balance is possible. It will take some work to design but it is work that is under way and needs to continue.”
“It is rooted in compassion, is supported by evidence, is pragmatic and aligns with international best practice which, as Deputy Gould said, we must rely upon the mistakes and successes of. The Government established the Joint Committee on Drugs Use following the citizens' assembly’s report. The focus of that committee is to implement the assembly’s findings, especially in relation to a health-led diversion approach. We are actively involved in supporting that process. We want to ensure Ireland moves away from criminalisation and punishment towards prevention, treatment and recovery. A health-led approach means while controlled drugs would remain illegal, people found in possession for personal use would be diverted into health services rather than the criminal justice system.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and thank the Labour Party for proposing it. I restate Sinn Féin’s support for the recommendations of the Citizens’ Assembly on Drugs Use. That report was crystal clear. It said Ireland must adopt a comprehensive health-led response to drug use, one that treats addiction and substance misuse not as a criminal issue or set of criminal issues but as a public health issue. We in Sinn Féin support recommendation 17 of the report, which calls for the introduction of a health-led approach to possession of drugs for personal use. This recommendation represents a major step forward in reforming how the State responds to drug use.”
“The school was told in February, when that planning permission came through, that its representatives would hear from the technical team within six weeks to progress the project. Nine months later, they are none the wiser. Children are still being crammed into partitioned-off parts of a sports hall. It is utterly unsatisfactory.”
“I thank the Minister of State. I will engage with him further on this matter, and in writing, because I am dumbfounded and none the wiser. As the Minister of State was speaking, I checked the website of Waterford City and County Council. Planning permission was finally granted on 7 February 2025. Planning permission is in place. The land is acquired. The application was submitted in good time and there was formal approval. I have seen the correspondence and have shared it with the Minister of State. I will share it again. It is correspondence with the Department. This is simply not satisfactory and I will be taking it further. I will be bringing that documentation to the Minister of State. The school has approval from the Department. I have seen the documentation.”
“It was purchased by Waterford City and County Council, as a local agent, on behalf of the Department. It was a really good scheme and I welcomed it at the time I was involved. That land is there. Talking about the demographic, the analysis and all that is, to be quite frank, rubbish. Children are being educated in partitioned areas in the sports hall, which is the one indoor facility the school has for recreation. It is not good enough. That is on top of the prefabs that are already there. This is the only Irish-language-medium education in a town that is a baile seirbhíse Gaeltachta. The situation stands in contrast to the Minister's response to Deputy Ward about the importance of Irish-medium education, nuair nach bhfuil spás sa scoil seo gur féidir leis freastal ar an éileamh i nDún Garbhán.”