Conor Sheehan
Limerick City · Labour Party · Ireland
“If a student does not have access to one of these devices or access to one at home, there is often no alternative and that could leave them excluded. Many families are forced to pay hundreds and thousands, particularly with the rising cost of microchips, for these devices.”
“I thank the Minister for her considered response. We need to get rid of voluntary contributions and move to generic school uniforms. This is something that has been done in the UK.”
“This digital divide is resulting in a severe and growing level of inequality where so many communities, students and families are unable to purchase the devices they desperately need for their children's education.”
“I raise the issue of the community access support team, CAST, in Limerick, which has prevented 133 detentions under section 12 of the Mental Health Act and reduced the number emergency department presentations. It has responded to over 1,000 incidents.”
“Do not worry. We need to have a debate this week before the House rises about the imminent report on Aughinish Alumina. There are up to 2,000 direct and indirect jobs at stake in Limerick. We cannot have a situation where the State is inadvertently complicit in the export of alumina to Russia. Where there is a will, there is a way.”
“It is absolutely reprehensible that planning permission has been granted for apartments on the site of the former mother and baby home at Bessborough. We have 19 mothers and 859 infants associated with Bessborough still missing. Now 140 apartments are going to be built on a mass grave. We need statements on this next week.”
The complete record
Every one of 808 lines we hold for Conor Sheehan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 12 of 17.
“I thank the Ceann Comhairle for her latitude. I want to raise again - this is about the fourth time - the issue of policing in Limerick city. In the last pass-out from Templemore, we received one extra Garda and lost one Garda to retirement. We have had 17 shootings so far this year. This week, we had the terrible situation where a retail worker was assaulted and bitten by somebody who claimed when she attacked this person that she had HIV. This retail worker is now out of work. I am pleading for an increased allocation from the next pass-out from Templemore. At the moment, our city is like a tinderbox. We are also still waiting for the Garda Commissioner to approve a CCTV scheme in Garryowen. The joint An Garda Síochána and Limerick City and County Council business case for CCTV funding is with the Commissioner at the moment.”
“In a reply to my party leader during Leaders' Questions on the issue of GAA Palestine, the Taoiseach said he would say no more. We need answers on this, however. This is perplexing for us in opposition too. The necessary documentation was supplied. The appeals mechanism allowed no real mechanism for the trip to go ahead due to the timeframe. The inconsistency-----”
“I support this amendment. It is extremely important because we know that, with the development levy waivers that lapsed last year, a lot of the commencement data we have at the moment is very unreliable. That is why this amendment is important.”
“This is done in other jurisdictions and it should be publicly available. The public should be able to see the schedule and construction costs so there is full transparency and accountability. This would mean someone could go for a planning extension because, for example, they need certainty in terms of financing but not because they know the longer they sit on the land, the more value it will accrue.”
“I thank the Minister for his response. I go back to what I asked about residential zoned land tax. When will we be able to quantify whether that tax is working to prevent land speculation and hoarding? Will the Minister come back and seriously look at this again? As I understand it, EY was tasked by the Department of housing to look at the issue of uncommenced planning and that report was pulled in 2023. I will also speak to the amendment in the names of Deputies Ó Broin and Gould on the call for a viability assessment. I believe it is a prudent amendment. It makes sense that if a developer has not commenced a development within a set period, it should have to come back and tell the planning authority, if it is granted an extension, what has materially changed that would allow it to commence that development.”
“From our point of view, I welcome that is finally being collected, despite having been delayed until this year. The Minister said in his reply to Deputy Hearne that he believes the residential zoned land tax will deal with these issues and there is no need for a use it or lose it clause, but if the tax does not deal with this and we do not see the results of that over the coming period, will the Minister give us an idea if this is something he will look at revisiting?”
“I move amendment No. 10: In page 12, line 18, to delete “2 years” and substitute “1 year”. These amendments relate to the Minister's proposals to enable an extension of three years for developments that have not yet commenced and have less than two years in the permission. I proposed these amendments because, while I believe a short extension may be necessary in extremely limited circumstances, it must be short and caveated to prevent land hoarding and speculation. We have huge problems with land hoarding and speculators sitting on planning permissions in this country while land increases in value. We believe a much tighter approach needs to be taken in terms of use or lose it. That is why we have moved these amendments to tighten the limit. I noticed before the vote that the Minister was talking about the residential zoned land tax.”
“I move amendment No. 9: In page 12, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 40 of Act of 2000 16. Section 40 of the Act of 2000 is amended, in subsection (3)(b), by the substitution of “the period of three years beginning on the date of the grant of permission” for “the period of five years beginning on the date of the grant of permission”.”.”
“It is extraordinary to see this level of uncommenced planning. While there are multiple reasons, including viability as to the delay, we believe land speculation remains a key issue. We continue to perpetuate. We have a system in this country where we have a lengthy period within which developers can hoard land. We have seen sites with planning being on again and again, and we believe the planning permission should not be used as a means to increase the value of land for sale. We believe that it is essential for our planning and housing systems that speculative planning should be reduced and land should not be left sitting idle.”
“I brought forward these amendments because they relate to the whole issue of use it or lose it, namely, the issue of duration of planning permissions. While I accept what the Minister is doing in terms of existing planning permissions that have commenced, I believe we need a tighter regime around duration of planning. We are seeking to reduce the normal duration of a planning permission from five to three years. Five years is too long, and three years seems a reasonable period. The purpose is to incentivise the commencement of active planning permissions to reduce the likelihood of speculation or abuse on sites that have active planning. The point is that throughout the country there is a huge issue with uncommenced planning permissions. There are between 80,000 and 100,000 nationally.”
“I move amendment No. 2: In page 9, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 177 of Principal Act 13. Section 177 of the Principal Act (“Duration of permission granted under Part”) is amended by the substitution of “3 years” for “5 years” in each place where it occurs.”. This was submitted as one amendment, but it has been split in two because the 2024 Act has been passed but not enacted. What we are attempting here is to amend both the 2000 and 2004 Acts with regard to duration of planning permission. I will come back in again after the Minister's response.”
“People are going around supermarkets around this country like eejits trying to buy "X" amount of products to get a fiver or a tenner off the shopping or buying particular products and scanning the app so the price will drop. Research in 2022 found that Irish shoppers are spending €500 annually chasing voucher deals. I bet that figure has doubled since then. They are causing people to waste money. In Germany, Aldi was found to have breached EU consumer law by claiming fake discounts on bananas. This is insane. Supermarkets here are charging double UK prices. It costs €6 for a jar of mayonnaise here when it costs £4 in the North. Tesco made a profit of €3 billion with sales of €3.4 billion. Dunnes Stores have a market share of 25% while SuperValu has a 20% market share and Tesco has a 24% market share.”
“I have the humble Snack bar in my hand. Its price has doubled. People used to be able to get 12 of them for €1 a decade ago. The price is now €5. It is not the farmers in Africa who grow the cocoa who are benefiting from this. Supermarkets should have to tell people if they are paying more for less. Supermarkets are gouging people. They must be forced to publish their profit margins. I second the amendment tabled by Deputy Nash. Tesco and its Clubcard prices constitute a scam while Dunnes Stores and its vouchers constitute another scam. What I would say to these supermarkets is forget about these vouchers and drop their prices.”
“The matters raised by Deputies Michael Cahill, Marie Sherlock, Rory Hearne, Seán Crowe, and Conor D. McGuinness have been selected for discussion.”
“Deputy Danny Healy-Rae - To discuss the issues of food security and production. Deputy Marie Sherlock - To discuss the need for a special school in Dublin 1. Deputy Aidan Farrelly - To discuss resourcing and governance at the Corporate Enforcement Authority. Deputy John Connolly - To discuss the omission of a bus corridor along the Western Distributor Road in Galway. Deputy Rory Hearne - To discuss the wait times for a primary care psychology assessment for children in Dublin North-West. Deputy Mattie McGrath - To discuss the role of whistleblowers making protected disclosures on health related matters. Deputy Thomas Gould - To discuss the need for specific funding to reinstate playgrounds that have been subject to antisocial behaviour and vandalism.”
“Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss social welfare supports for separated parents who co-parent. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss the treatment of thalidomide survivors. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness - To discuss provision of a suitable premises for Naíonra Philib Barún in Tramore, County Waterford. Deputy Colm Burke - To discuss the need for a national nursing home care policy. Deputy David Cullinane - To discuss funding for capital developments at ports and fishery harbours in Waterford. Deputy Seán Crowe - To discuss the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Deputy Alan Kelly - To discuss the regulations in place for the importation of firearms, ammunition and related materials by An Garda Síochána. Deputy James Geoghegan - To discuss Ireland hosting an AI summit.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - To discuss the dog breeding national register. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss respite services at St. Mary of the Angels and St. Francis Special School, Whitefield, Beaufort, County Kerry. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue - To discuss the need to ensure adequate safeguards for animal welfare as part of the screening for upcoming legislation. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan - To discuss the crisis of capacity at University Hospital Limerick. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss the levels of State support available to amateur drama and musical theatre. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss the need for updated wind energy development guidelines.”
“Time and again I have been in this House and listened to the Taoiseach talk about the need to fund things properly. The fact of the matter is politics is about choices. We would prioritise bringing down the student contribution over additional paltry tax cuts because we are fiscally responsible and we always have been. I urge the Minister to please put this all to bed because the CAO is closing very soon and students want, need and are begging the Government for certainty as to what they will pay when they go to university in September.”
“The university only owns 2,900 beds. The university purchased properties for twice the market rate and came before the Committee of Public Accounts last year with little or no consequence. We have students commuting from south Kerry and all the way down the west coast to Limerick. People are staying in hotels. We have even had people sleeping in cars. I live near UL and get a letter through my door twice a year pleading with me to rent a room to some poor student. In the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2024 that was passed last week, the stuff around security of tenure was good but the stuff allowing landlords to reset rents to market rates will disproportionately screw students. This often feels like ideological warfare against the youth of this country.”
“When the Minister let the genie out of the bottle, he should have grabbed it by the neck and put it straight back in. We know - the Minister alluded to it and the Taoiseach said it earlier - that this country has been transformed by the power of education. The Minister's party, Fianna Fáil, has a good legacy when it comes to education but that was then and this is now. The Minister has an opportunity to have his Donogh O'Malley moment and move, as committed to in the programme for Government, to get rid of college fees. That starts to recommitting to €2,000 for next year and phasing it out on an annual basis from the following year. We have had report after report tell us about the hardship for students. One in five students said they are skipping meals to be able to afford to live. In my city of Limerick, there are 18,000 students in UL.”
“Sometimes I wonder what this country has against young people and, in turn, what this Government has against young people. Young people always pay the price: they paid the price for the sins of the crash, for the banks and for the property developers. This whole calamity has been really badly handled. The Minister opened a can of worms on the radio the other week and unleased a political football that has, unfortunately, led to students, many of whom join us in the Gallery, being kicked around the place by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Many students are being gouged. We have students on Cork Street in this city paying €19,000 per year for purpose-built private student accommodation. The bottle works student accommodation in Cork costs €18,000 per year. The panic and stress caused by the way this has been handled has been terrible.”
“I regret that this Bill is being, as I said at the outset, rammed through in such a short period with minimal time to consider properly the implications and the ramifications of this and to take pre-legislative scrutiny, which would have made this a stronger piece of legislation.”
“I believe that nobody wants to take judicial review cases. We need to make good decisions that reflect proper, open and transparent public participation where the public can have their say as well as reflecting our obligations under national and international law and if this is done correctly, we will make better decisions and, in general, we will not end up in court. There is a case for a very short extension of time in limited circumstances but this Bill is far too broad, with minimum consequences for developers for delaying development on land with planning permission.”
“Even with projected increases in 2026 and 2027, output is likely to remain nearly 50% below estimated need. There is evidence there are a number of permissions for housing that are due to expire shortly that have not yet been commenced and there have been calls for an extension to all current permissions, and this is effectively that. I am worried about the approach of ramming through the Bill with only two days to consider the amendments, in particular in the context of the Aarhus Convention, which, the Government says, the 2024 Act is compliant with. I note an amendment in relation to this, because there are other outside bodies and interests that say the 2024 Act is not compliant with the Aarhus Convention. I particularly welcome the amendment in relation to that. People do not go to court for the fun of it.”
“JR is a fundamental function of the court under the Constitution and there is a dangerous perception in Irish public commentary to exaggerate the scope of judicial decisions and to perceive that court decisions are driven by ideology. In fact, JR is more often used by elected officials, in this House and beyond, as a scapegoat to excuse people from the consequences of their ill-advised policies. While the aim of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill might be to preserve the viability of thousands of dormant housing permissions by introducing additional flexibility for developers, it will not materially affect the delivery of housing in this country. Completions in 2025 are expected to decline by 40% compared with 2023 levels.”
“We also know that the main barriers to housing delivery are primarily those involving viability, financing and infrastructure, which brings me to my next point, relating to the provision in the Act to suspend the duration of permission due to judicial review. The number of homes being objected to due to judicial review is estimated at only 7,000 spread over approximately 250 cases, which is a relatively small amount compared with the 80,000 to 100,000 homes permitted but unbuilt. Flawed legislation, such as the strategic housing development legislation, has clogged up the system and, in turn, made judicial review almost another stage in the planning process.”
“Much of the uncertainty around planning in this country has been caused by successive Governments that have introduced new national plans with new or different objectives that an application to extend or alter the original permission may contravene. We know undeveloped sites with planning permission appreciate as time passes, with many being bought and sold over and again. We also know that there was a 50% drop in planning applications across three Dublin local authorities last year, with commencements for new homes falling to the lowest level in nearly a decade earlier this year. That is despite a skewing of the data arising from a surge in commencements in 2024 due to developers rushing to avail of water and sewage connection waivers.”
“While this Bill allows holders of permissions to apply for an extension in advance of a commencement of the development claiming that it will address the issues that exist whereby permissions effectively lapse because they do not have sufficient time left to commence and be substantially complete, it does not require developers to submit any reasoning as to why they have not developed the site. Once sites have been granted permission, developers should be forced to build on them. They have every reason to resist this because they do not want house prices to fall but the Government must force their hands. The former Minister, Deputy O'Brien, mooted introducing a use-it-or-lose-it clause in the previous Dáil during the debate on the Planning and Development Bill 2023 but quietly shelved the proposal in the 2024 Act.”
“Developers should have to furnish more detail and agree a timeline with the planning authority as to why, first of all, they did not commence the development and when the development will be finished to avail of an extension. For generations, developers have been happy to accumulate land and sit on it. The residential zoned land tax was the measure that we were told would stop this but it was delayed repeatedly, and not by evidence. If it had been implemented as and when intended instead of being delayed, quite possibly we would not have found ourselves here. Let us be clear. This Bill is being introduced at the behest and for the benefit of property developers.”
“Section 16 of Part 3 of the Bill amends the 2000 Act to enable an extension of three years for developments that have not commenced, with less than two years remaining on the duration of the permission. However, it does not set out any specific provisions beyond that the development must commence within 18 months of the commencement of the legislation. While I agree that there may be a need for a short extension of remaining planning to guarantee certainty for financiers, there is nothing within this Bill that will oblige developers to explain or account for why they have not commenced the development or, more importantly, when it will be completed.”
“While there is evidence that there are several permissions that are due to expire shortly, the fact is that in most cases this Bill will not do what the Minister claims it will. The primary barriers to the delivery of housing in this country will not be solved by an extension of planning permissions and this Bill will do little other than allow developers a blanket extension of time with no incentive or otherwise to force them to commence within that period. Certain sites with a short remaining planning duration that are earmarked for housing delivery should have the ability to apply for a planning extension for an extremely limited duration.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his statement, although, unfortunately, I did not hear it. The Bill is not in the summer legislative programme. We have not had any pre-legislative scrutiny, which is a missed opportunity. We should have had more time to hear from the planning experts in this regard. Given that we are taking Second Stage of the Bill today and Committee and Remaining Stages tomorrow, we believe this is far too little time to consider the ramifications of legislation with this amount of detail. Much damage has been done to the planning system in this country by rushed and flawed legislation rammed through by Governments in order to clear the decks, either before a recess or before an election. The Minister stated in his press release that this Bill is about getting things moving.”
“I second what Deputy Mac Lochlainn said. We also need to have a debate in this House around the proposed changes regarding apartment sizes. This is the fourth or fifth time that we have attempted to do this in the past decade, going back over various Ministers, and none of it has actually worked. We believe that these proposals are not evidence based and they are not going to deal with the substantial issues that are there.”
“We need to deliver a direct train from Limerick to Cork and get the rest of the commuter rail network in Limerick activated again. The plan is there. It needs to be included in the NDP review. It is the solution to all our traffic problems in Limerick because none of this infrastructure was ever taken away. The rights of way are there. There is no compulsory purchase order, CPO, involved. It has been transformational to see how quickly Limerick to Foynes has gone from being a litany of derelict sites to the point that signalling equipment is being put in, which is happening at the moment. That can be done with the rest of the network. Let us get the suburban rail network in Limerick, as is being done in Cork at the moment. I imagine there is some political pressure there because of the Taoiseach being a Cork man.”
“As a public representative from the west of Ireland, I want to talk to the Minister of State as another public representative from the west of Ireland about the need to connect Shannon Airport to the rail network. This can be done within five years. It needs to be included in the NDP review. What a testament it would be to the Minister of State and what a legacy he would leave if he was the person to deliver it and get it over the line. It could even be named "the Canney train". There is existing commuter rail infrastructure in Limerick. The line from Limerick to Ennis and on to Galway works well. It was said the western rail corridor would be a flop. It is not a flop. It works so well that on trains from Athenry to Galway people are like sardines at the moment.”
“This was announced in 2015 by the then Government, representing €450 million of a capital injection into publicly owned nursing homes. Since 2009, we have spent €15 billion subsidising private for-profit nursing homes through the fair deal scheme. Much of that money would have been better spent on investing in building capacity in the public system. Public nursing homes have higher staffing levels and a lower turnover of staff and are generally better run. I feel that HIQA is failing people here. It is nothing really but a report-writing, box-ticking entity. It is time now for the State to step in and to step up where these private nursing home providers are failing. We need to pass adult safeguarding legislation as a matter of urgency. We have the template. The Law Reform Commission has drafted two Bills.”
“We have the most private nursing home beds in Europe. In 1990, public nursing homes provided nearly 50% of all beds. By 2023, that had plummeted to 16%. My sister is a nurse. While in college, she worked in many private nursing homes as a healthcare assistant. I remember vividly - it has never left me - her saying to me once that, during the pandemic, she would not have been shocked if nearly every single patient in a private for-profit nursing home in which she worked had died of Covid-19, such was the shortage of staff and the lack of care. We know the difference a good, well-run public nursing home makes to a community. In our own city, we have the recently redeveloped and enlarged 75-bed St. Camillus's nursing home.”
“My grandad was actually in one of these affected nursing homes in 2024. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, would know this nursing home very well. It backs onto our constituency. My grandad was there for over a week when he was discharged from hospital. He said the staff were lovely, and they were, but there were not enough of them evidently. He was often left to go to the toilet on his own. My mum, who is his primary carer, said that when she collected him from the nursing home, the main thing that she took away from it was that he was not washed at all while he was there. He had been there for over a week. The creeping privatisation of elder care, the warehousing of people and the complete disregard for their basic human rights is one of the worst things that we have done in this country.”
“McGuinness - To discuss funding for capital developments at ports and fishery harbours in Waterford. Deputy Thomas Gould - To discuss the closure of the tenant in situ scheme in Cork city. Deputies Ruth Coppinger and Roderic O'Gorman - To discuss provision of places in the newly opening ASD classes in St. Mochta's National School, Clonsilla. Deputy Darren O'Rourke - To discuss the current and estimated future shortage of GPs. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú - To discuss the SNA allocation at Rampark National School, County Louth. Deputy Mattie McGrath - To discuss funding for local training initiatives through the Tipperary ETB. The matters raised by Deputies Louise O'Reilly, Alan Kelly, Mattie McGrath, Michael Murphy and Aidan Farrelly have been selected for discussion.”
“Deputy Colm Burke - To discuss the need for a national nursing home care policy. Deputy Donna McGettigan - To discuss issues affecting students, including fees, the accommodation crisis and the cost-of-living crisis. Deputy Alan Kelly - To discuss the need for regulations and planning guidelines for biogas plants. Deputy Erin McGreehan - To discuss making Louth County Hospital a location for a surgical hub for the north east. Deputy Eoghan Kenny - To discuss a review of the policy on the provision of incontinence products by the HSE. Deputy Michael Murphy - To discuss the closure of a swimming pool at the Ferryhouse complex, outside Clonmel. Deputy Rory Hearne - To discuss the roll-out of multidisciplinary teams in Ballymun. Deputies David Cullinane and Conor D.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss the limitations of the supplementary welfare allowance. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss the need for improved respite services at St. Mary of the Angels and St. Francis Special School, Whitefield Beaufort, County Kerry. Deputy Pat Buckley - To discuss the flood relief programme for Rathcormac, Castlemartyr, Killeagh and Mogeely, County Cork. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss the need for updated wind energy development guidelines. Deputy Aidan Farrelly - To discuss the development of a new suicide reduction policy and related matters. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae - To discuss planned roads infrastructure changes in Killarney.”
“I thank the Minister. From my point of view and that of the local authority, this entire project is essentially being held up because of €5 million, which is a very small sum of money in the grand scale of things. This project has been in planning since last year and was first announced in May 2024. We have had the highest percentage increase in house prices in Limerick in the past year because we have such a shortage of housing. From the Minister's response, it sounds like the release of the €5 million will be delayed until after the review of the NDP. Will he confirm whether the funding will be released soon or if it will be deferred until the NDP review is published?”
“I sincerely urge the Minister to clarify whether this has been delayed until the infrastructure fund is up and running or to release the funding soon.”
“From the substance of the Minister's reply, it sounds like this funding is being delayed until the new infrastructure fund is active. Is there a way he can frontload the delivery of the infrastructure fund to release the funding? As far as I understand, there was a proposal from the LDA that the €5 million shortfall would be added to the purchase price of the affordable homes, which is totally unacceptable. Through the framework, there is potential to deliver 1,950 homes in Mungret. From talking to the local authority, as far as I understand, a funding ask has been with the Department, the Department of public expenditure, and it has even been sent to the Department of the Taoiseach, since March.”
“When will €5 million of funding be released for infrastructure at the Mungret site in Limerick? This is a partnership between Limerick City and County Council and the Land Development Agency, LDA. Essentially, it is funding for a plaza and a link road to allow them to proceed to tender and construction for 250-plus homes.”
“The Minister did not address the recommendation from the Housing Commission to increase social and affordable housing to 20% of all stock. This badly needs to be done. It is a key plank of the commission's recommendations. I hope the Minister might be able to give us an outline of when each section of the Planning and Development Act will be enacted, including timelines, and whether he intends to look at tweaking the croí conaithe and secure tenancy affordable rental investment schemes to make them more viable for developers in smaller cities outside Dublin.”
“The plan was supposed to be published in July. I understand from what the Minister said and what we have seen in the media that it will be delayed until September. We know the Government has a target to deliver 303,000 homes by 2030 and that the target will be missed again this year by around 10,000. Will the Minister give the House an outline of what measures to scale up delivery are being considered and what he will do about uncommenced planning permissions? Can he guarantee in line with the NDP review that the funding needs of the utilities such as Uisce Éireann will be met on a multi-annual basis? A key recommendation of the Housing Commission was that social and affordable housing be scaled up to 20% of all housing stock. Will that recommendation be heeded in the new plan?”
“Many men live with the trauma inflicted upon them by a society that told them they should not exist. Despite an apology in 2018, no action has been taken by Government to put a process in place to disregard these convictions. Many men are living with the shame and stigma of these convictions. The shame and trauma drove many people to their graves. Gay men were driven underground by this criminalisation. This Bill is long overdue and I urge the Government to support it. I stand here as a gay man. I am fortunate to live at a time when I can openly express who I am.”
“After a very successful Pride at the weekend, and given the fact that we are coming up to ten years of the Gender Recognition Act being passed, I am calling for statements on Pride, particularly regarding the issues in trans healthcare and the fact people have to go abroad when they should not have to.”
“This is the biggest crisis that we face and it is not being treated with the appropriate level of seriousness by this Government.”