Cormac Devlin
Dún Laoghaire · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“That brings me to the fiscal implications. Members will have noticed that the estimates vary enormously. In 2025, researchers at Dublin City University and Ulster University published the first peer-reviewed study of the cost of unity over its first ten years. They put the cost in year one at approximately €3 billion.”
“There are also gaps that we can start closing now through greater co-operation and engagement. Second, we should build prosperity in the meantime. The Government has announced €377 million in new shared island investment across 12 cross-Border projects.”
“It benefits communities North and South today, irrespective of the constitutional future people choose tomorrow. It is important that we recognise the success of that co-operation today. The third point is that we must keep asking the right questions.”
“I welcome the debate and the contributions from all Members of the House, as well as the varying views. As Cathaoirleach of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, I believe this is exactly the type of debate and discussion that we should be having in this House.”
“The studies make different assumptions about pensions and the UK national debt, and very different assumptions about how quickly the Northern economy could grow and converge with our own. That is the honest position. The true scale of the cost is yet unknown. Anyone who claims certainty on the figure is not being straight with anybody.”
“We should certainly do what we can now, and I am suggesting three things. First, we should build an evidence base. Much reference has been made today to the shared island unit in the Department of the Taoiseach, which has published extensive research on two economies, two labour markets, education, health and other areas.”
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“I welcome the opportunity to examine the disability policy and support for people living with disabilities and their families. Improving the rights of and support for people living with a disability is a priority for me and the new Government. I wish the Minister, Deputy Norma Foley, well in her role; I worked closely with her in her role as Minister for Education. I know at first-hand her commitment and dedication to improving the lives of others, particularly vulnerable citizens. I look forward to the finalisation and publication of the new national disability strategy, which will set out Government priorities up to 2030. I welcome the Minister’s commitment to a whole-of-government approach to advance the long overdue implementation of the optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.”
“Last Monday, Aircoach unexpectedly withdrew services from large parts of south County Dublin. I have been inundated with complaints since then about the lack of service on the 700 route, which impacts Cabinteely, Cherrywood and Galloping Green, as well as the 702 route impacting Loughlinstown and Shankill, which will take effect from 2 March. I ask the Minister to raise this issue as a matter of urgency with the National Transport Authority, which issues these licences with a view to opening up competition along these routes, and to ensure the continuation of a service to and from Dublin Airport for the impacted areas.”
“I will be working closely with the new Ministers to deliver progress on education and childcare facilities, particularly the various school building projects being planned and those under way. It is worth underlining that progress and investment are underpinned by our successful economic model, which has served us well and which, if not derailed, will continue to do so. Under the leadership of our Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, and with the support of Members across the House, I am confident that we can work with our partners in Europe and further afield to ride out prospective challenges and protect our shared future.”
“Energy security is also an issue that needs to be prioritised, with alternative supplies being made available to ensure redundant energy generating capacity in the event of a crisis. Turning to my constituency of Dún Laoghaire, I would like to see further investment in important, large projects such as the extension of the Luas green line to Bray, the next phase of the national rehabilitation hospital and a new Garda station for Cherrywood. I would also like to see progress on smaller projects which make a big difference, such as the expansion of disability respite services and further national funding for sports clubs and community organisations. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown has one of the highest levels of residential construction in the State and services must follow suit.”
“We need to see urgent progress on the roll-out of the light rail, investment in DART capacity, and the continued roll out of reliable, safe and affordable bus services here in the capital. In this regard, I was delighted to see the Fianna Fáil commitment to establish a dedicated transport police unit included in the programme for Government. As Dublin spokesperson for Fianna Fáil, I have, along with my colleagues here, been campaigning for this for many years. We saw during Storm Éowyn that our energy infrastructure, in terms of its resilience, has not been maintained and kept up to date. This must change. There needs to be investment in energy infrastructure, with the grid being upgraded and progress made on offshore wind generation, particularly off the west coast.”
“The programme for Government will provide an ambitious framework for the next five years, but it will also facilitate the flexibility needed in uncertain times. At the core of the programme is massive investment in infrastructure, particularly housing, but also critical areas such as transport, schools and utilities. If one were to reflect on the achievements of the previous Government, one could see that strong progress was made on housing, education, health services and continued management of the economy. However, progress in areas such as public transport, energy security, roads and other infrastructure, left much to be desired. There must now be massive investment in public transport and roads.”
“I welcome the opportunity to examine the programme for Government that has been adopted by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the non-party Members of this House. Over the past five years we have seen an unprecedented level of geopolitical upheaval and challenges to the norms that were established after the Second World War. These challenges and their impact, combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, have tested our social and economic models. The previous Government provided strong, calm leadership which ensured that Ireland rode out the worst of these challenges and, in many cases, outperformed other countries. As we have seen in recent weeks, challenges brought about by uncertainty and unexpected events have not passed. The new Government has its work cut out for it.”
“The Government should also establish a scheme to support key services such as GP services, clinics and pharmacies in isolated parts of the country to ensure they have sufficient generation or battery backup power. We must also improve practical efforts to ensure people can access increased emergency funding more quickly. I thank the Ministers for their support in their rapid response to the needs of people in the affected areas. I pay tribute to everyone involved in the response from our front-line workers, including the Garda and Civil Defence, other front-line workers throughout Ireland, and the teams from abroad, to the community groups, such as Meals on Wheels and local authority teams, which have worked night and day over the past two weeks to alleviate the hardship caused by these terrible events.”
“They need to fell or prune trees where they pose a danger. We have seen a great effort to establish 335 emergency response hubs across 17 local authority areas as well as local co-ordination groups in 16 local authority areas. However, it is clear we need to improve our emergency preparedness ahead of the next very significant weather event. Each community across the country should have designated emergency shelters to which households at risk of or impacted by a natural disaster can evacuate. GAA halls, community centres, schools and hotels could be ideal. Future developments of these types should be supported by Government to ensure they are fit for purpose for use in emergencies. These centres should be fitted out with emergency facilities and generators.”
“This has caused great hardship for many people, particularly vulnerable households, which we have heard about this afternoon. While we can be thankful that almost all homes, farms, schools and businesses have seen their power and water restored, a reported 25,000 homes are still without power. Elements of the national response have been very effective but there are lessons to be learned and I welcome the commitment from an Taoiseach today that national regulations will be amended to ensure human safety will be put first at all times. We have seen how trees that were too close to homes, roads and power lines caused significant damage and interruption to utilities. This is an issue impacting both urban and rural areas. Local authorities must be instructed to introduce regulations and policies that put safety first.”
“To put it in context, it was one of the worst winter storms to hit Ireland since oíche na gaoithe móire, the night of the big wind, in 1839, which itself was reported at the time to be the worst storm in 300 years. It has been noted by Professor John Sweeney of NUI Maynooth that the night of the big wind is considered to be the worst scenario for insurance purposes here in Ireland. While instruments were relatively rudimentary in 1839, it should be noted that maximum gusts recorded from the night of the big wind were reported to be just 2 km/h more than the 183 km/h recorded at Mace Head, Connemara, two weeks ago. The aftermath of Storm Éowyn saw over 1 million households on the island lose power, 743,000 of these in the Twenty-six Counties.”
“I thank my constituents in Dún Laoghaire for their support in the most recent election. Déanaim comhghairdeas leis an Teachta O'Meara on his maiden speech. I welcome the opportunity to examine the Government response and national response to Storm Éowyn. I acknowledge the exceptional efforts of our front-line workers, including those in the ESB and Irish Water who have helped non-stop since Storm Éowyn hit Ireland on the morning of 24 January. I also acknowledge the efforts of teams from abroad. Skilled technicians fromAustria, Finland, France, Britain, Germany and Norway are on the ground in the worst-impacted areas, supporting over 2,500 local ESB Networks crews. Storm Éowyn was a record-breaking extra-tropical cyclone.”