Dee Ryan
Nominated by the Taoiseach · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“Employers cannot take on people unless they have a car because their particular place of employment is not serviced by public transport. Workers are frustrated that they cannot get to work on a bus. They would like to be saving some money with the cost of living by using public transport.”
“Having heard my account of what is going on the ground in Limerick, the Minister of State will understand why I am really disappointed with that response. The NTA will be publishing an implementation plan by the end of this year. Is she joking me? What in the name of God is going on in the NTA? Clearly, it has no interest in Limerick.”
“I am nearly even afraid to say it out loud but in the last month, I have heard that it could be 2030, which is unthinkable. Can the Minister of State please tell us what is holding us back and the reason for the delay? Has the local authority completed all the works it needs to do to run the system?”
“I am out on the doors in Limerick every week and frustration with the public transport service in Limerick comes up everywhere and repeatedly. I have parents complaining that they cannot give their teenagers a little bit of freedom and let them off to go somewhere on the bus, so they have to play taxi.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in to take my question. She is very welcome. I am standing here to ask her if she can, and I really hope she will be able to, clarify for the people of Limerick what is going on with Limerick BusConnects.”
“I thank the Minister of State for that excellent update. It is great to hear that the Department envisages that the pilot will be live before the end of this year.”
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“The screenings are incredibly important because they help identify issues early and support better long-term dental health but in Limerick, there were more than 8,500 children due to receive school dental screenings in second, fourth and sixth classes in 2023 and only approximately 1,600 were actually seen. That means fewer than one in five eligible children received the check-up. Government policy is clear; they should be getting their screenings, so I call on the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill and the Department of Health to address this regional disparity and work with the HSE mid-west to address the capacity, recruitment and retention issues that it faces.”
“I raise the issue, once again, of dental care for children of schoolgoing age in the mid-west. I asked two weeks ago if we could have the Minister for Health in for a debate on healthcare in general but there are a number of issues specific to Limerick that I would like to raise with her. It has come to my attention that Limerick children are now leaving primary school without ever receiving dental screening. The legislation provides that primary school children are supposed to be offered free dental check-ups in second, fourth and sixth classes.”
“I commend everybody involved in that, especially Superintendent Andrew Lacey who really drove the project for us in Limerick. Councillor Cillian Keane in Galway West is calling for it to be implemented in Galway. Will the Minister of State get an update for us on when this initiative will move from pilot phase to be assessed and considered for roll-out across the country? I would also like to make a call out for the CCTV camera and security monitoring facility in the Moyross Community Enterprise Centre. It is a crucial piece of policing infrastructure in Limerick. It has kind of fallen between two stools in the last year. It was initially part of the regeneration funding in Limerick. It has live feeds from 400 cameras right across the county. It is used daily by the Garda.”
“It is a pioneering initiative that places gardaí and mental health professionals in the same squad car. When a 999 call comes in and a response is sent out it means that a more diverse response is enabled with the CAST team. In other words, a policing response is not always the most appropriate response in some particular situations, for example in some domestic violence incidents or where people are having a moment of mental health crisis. To have that mental health professional in the car to be able to assist in de-escalating the situation, and crucially, for them to be able to go back and follow up in the days after the initial crisis moment, has in the view of the Garda in Limerick and the HSE in Limerick not only significantly reduced presentations to the hospital in UHL but also has been instrumental in saving lives.”
“People know they are being recorded and it helps to de-escalate situations, to improve behaviour and to change the tone of engagement straight away. In that respect it is perceived to be a huge success already. In Limerick we are proud that we were the first in the country to secure a conviction in the courts using body-worn camera footage so congratulations to everybody involved in that. I strongly support the Minister's ambition to roll out body-worn cameras to every front-line garda across the country. The second innovation I want to highlight is the community access support team initiative, which is the CAST pilot programme. I have spoken about it in this House many times, as has my colleague, Senator Maria Byrne. It is something we are very proud of in Limerick.”
“Could the Minister of State possibly seek an update for us on that selection? The people of Castletroy, Monaleen and Annacotty deserve that visible permanent Garda presence in our community and I urge the Minister of State to advocate for us on that. There is a lot of positivity and innovation in Limerick and in the force to highlight. I want to name three projects. There is the body-worn camera pilot, which Limerick is proud to be involved in together with Dublin and Waterford. Feedback from members of An Garda Síochána themselves is that it is making an impact in their interactions with people in their job. They report that once the cameras are switched on there is a screen underneath the camera that displays to the person they are talking to what the garda is recording.”
“I know that being a Limerick man the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, is well aware that Castletroy is one of the fastest growing urban centres in the country. It has a major student population during term time. It is the site of two business parks with a number of people going in to work there daily. During term time it is estimated that the population of Castletroy is 40,000 people and yet it does not have its own Garda station. Castletroy is covered from Castleconnell by the Garda station there, which covers from Castleconnell all the way right into the city and the city limits. In my view and in the view of many public representatives and Fianna Fáil councillors in the area, it is long overdue. A commitment was made in the previous Government and the OPW was requested to identify a site that would be a suitable location.”
“There is a huge sense of added security and safety when you come into Limerick city centre. I congratulate everyone involved on the success of the initiative. I thank the Minister for upholding a commitment by both parties in the programme for Government to increase the visibility of gardaí in our city centres and urban centres. The reports are that it not just improving public confidence but is also acting as a strong deterrent to antisocial behaviour and criminality. In fact, the success of the initiative is, if anything, increasing the demand we have been seeing anyhow in the east of Limerick in Castletroy for our own Garda station in Castletroy and that increased visibility in the area.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber. I thank our Fine Gael colleagues for bringing forward this motion, which I wholeheartedly support. I thank them for this opportunity to discuss matters as they pertain to the Garda and recognise the strong and good work that is being done right across the country, and, in particular, to recognise the work and innovation that I see in the Garda force in Limerick. I congratulate everyone involved on the success of the high-visibility policing initiative that came to Limerick in March. It has increased the visibility of gardaí on our streets throughout the day, in the evening and through the night. I am hearing positive comments from business owners, people coming to the city to shop, people coming to the city to socialise and people who live in the city centre.”
“I will continue to look at this. In France the law allows judges to combine GPS monitoring with protection orders in criminal proceedings. Portugal also uses electronic monitoring to enforce no-contact and exclusion areas. We have an opportunity here, with the Minister's support, to make the shift that needs to be made, to take the responsibility and the onus off the victims and place it on the perpetrator. Victims should not have to be keeping themselves safe and hidden away. They should not have to be reporting a breach of an order. The onus should be on the perpetrator of the violence to comply with a court order.”
“I have been doing a lot of work on this and would like to thank the Minister and his special adviser for being supportive of the draft legislation that I hope to bring forward, with his support and that of my colleagues, at a future point. That legislation is about protection for the victims of domestic violence, home security and protection in their own homes. I have been looking at what is happening in comparable jurisdictions, including France, Portugal and Spain, which are incorporating elements of electronic tagging on perpetrators of violence to ensure that there is greater protection for the victims of violence. We have to reconsider why barring orders are the only orders that exclude the perpetrator of violence from the family home. Why are we not also offering that protection to people through safety orders or protection orders?”
“It is developing further spaces for its outreach programme, including facilities for play therapy and group therapy. The demand is so large in the area that Adapt House could not possibly accommodate everyone who might seek a refuge space. While I am hugely supportive of Senator Comyn's work on move-on accommodation and giving the local authorities a greater role in developing such accommodation, we need a radical shift in how we approach this issue. Why are we placing the burden of making oneself safe on the victim of the crime? Why is that the perspective through which we approach this issue when we know from speaking to Women's Aid, Adapt House and others that the greatest barrier to women coming forward and reporting this issue is that lack of move-on space?”
“Last year, it supported 124 families in need of refuge places and 700 women in outreach services, both in their own homes and in the spaces at Adapt House for therapies, counselling and meetings. It also handled 2,500 calls on its help-line. That demand is just in our small part of the world. We know how large this issue is from the figures mentioned in many Senators' contributions today. When he was in Limerick, the Minister heard about Adapt House's plans for expansion of its services and I welcome the support and co-operation of the HSE, Tusla and Cuan in advancing those ambitions. The HSE owns a parcel of land in Limerick that it is trying to hand over to enable that expansion to happen. Interestingly, the facilities that Adapt House is going to be developing will not be further refuge spaces.”
“I thank the Minister for coming to the House for this important debate. I support many of the views expressed across the House today and thank my colleagues for bringing the issue forward. I thank the Minister for the work he has done on Jennie's law, Valerie's law, the reform of the use of therapy notes and the expansion of refuge places. I would also like to commend the fine work being done by those in the protective services units right across the country, who are dealing with this issue day in, day out in a very sensitive and responsive way. When the Minister was in Limerick before Christmas last year, we brought him to see Adapt House, which is the only refuge service in Limerick city and county. It accepts referrals from the hinterland as well.”
“We had very interesting and informative session in the audiovisual room last Thursday with the FND Ireland group, which told us that FND is the second most common reason for someone to present to a neurologist in this country. Yet, there is no clear treatment pathway and only one centre, which was hard fought for. We require centres for FND treatment around the country.”
“Will she also update us on whether she has yet decided on a location for option C in the HIQA report, which is for a new model 4 hospital, complete with an accident and emergency department, for the mid-west region? I would also like to know about dentistry services for the mid-west. There is a chronic shortage of dentists in the mid-west. I have been contacted by parents whose children are leaving sixth class in primary school without ever having been called for a dental appointment. There has been a shocking decline in services. On the basis of recent reports, I understand that the mid-west is once again an outlier and has the lowest level of services in this regard. I would like the Minister to give us an update on functional neurological disorder, FND.”
“Will the Acting Leader please write to the Minister for Health and ask her to come to the Chamber so that we can have a debate on all matters of healthcare? I am particularly interested in receiving an update on the development of the new hospital site at Raheen. It was announced a number of months ago that we had purchased the site but I am eager to know what further progress has been made. As the Acting Leader knows, we have a chronic need for expanded healthcare facilities in Limerick and the wider mid-west, with over 440,000 people relying on just one emergency department, so I would like an update from the Minister on the expansion of that particular site.”
“We have a long legacy in Lebanon at Camp Shamrock of Irish troops contributing, not only in their peacekeeping efforts. I have spoken to many soldiers who spoke about teaching children English at the weekends or in their time off, so much so that we hear reports that some children speak English with a Cork accent in south Lebanon because of the work the Irish troops have put in. I take this opportunity to wish them well and to wish them a safe and successful tour in Lebanon.”
“Last week in Limerick, Irish Army troops gathered with their families and friends for a good luck and farewell event, which brought them all together as they prepared to go on the latest mission to Lebanon next week - I believe they will go in mid-May - to serve in difficult and uncertain circumstances. It was a moving occasion for the families. There were reports on local radio about the troops going out. They spoke about how much they were looking forward to it, and how they had either been previously or had heard about it from other officers. They spoke about the pride they had in going out there to be peacekeepers and how they expected to use their strong skills in communication and engagement to de-escalate where they can any threats of violence and to be the wonderful peacekeepers we are so proud of.”
“Border crossings must remain open and humanitarian aid must not be obstructed. In particular, I echo his remarks on the strength of a Europe-wide response to the actions of Israel. Unfortunately, Israel is now also in Lebanon. While we could welcome the extension of the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, it is still very fragile. The situation on the ground is deeply concerning. Israeli forces remain in parts of southern Lebanon and tensions along the blue line continue. At the same time, the issue of Hezbollah's military activity and disarmament remains central to any lasting peace.”
“At the same time, we will just have to pull out the west coast. That is where the greatest amount of energy exists. We must fast-track a west coast plan for floating offshore wind energy generation. What the past few months and years have shown us is that Ireland's energy supply is very exposed to the whims of dictators and narcissists when they act in their own interests and casually upend global peace. I welcome Senator Kelleher's assessment of the ongoing and worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Families are without food, water, shelter and medical care and the suffering of civilians is intolerable. I join him in calling for Israel to immediately remove restrictions on aid access and to allow essential supplies and services to reach people across the Gaza Strip.”
“International humanitarian law must be upheld without exception. The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has also highlighted once again just how vulnerable global energy supplies remain and, in these volatile times, how vulnerable the Irish energy supply is. We must accelerate our transition to green energy and, in particular, shake off the cautious approach we have been taking to harnessing green energy on the west coast using floating offshore wind, with the capacity we have to generate more than three times our current requirement for the country. We must move forward at a faster pace to harness that. We have to shift our focus and fast-track a plan to develop that on the west coast. At the moment, we are developing a plan to zone the seas around the coast from the southern region to the north.”
“As it stands, reports are coming through that the US proposal for a peace deal has been delivered to the Iranians, who are reviewing it. They will give their response to Pakistan, which is acting as intermediary. The reports of that diplomatic engagement are welcome, as is the pause of the naval escort operations in the Strait of Hormuz President Trump announced yesterday. It is potentially a sign we are now moving into a space where diplomacy can actually make some progress. However, they are fragile steps. We hope the current pause in hostilities can be maintained and that talks can move towards a lasting agreement and a permanent political solution born from dialogue and diplomacy. Ireland has consistently called for restraint from all sides and for the protection of civilians at all times.”
“I thank the Minister of State for the clear way in which he said that. I will speak predominantly about the situation in the Middle East and the gulf. As the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, said, we are living through a period of serious instability with devastating consequences, predominantly for the people who are living in those war zones with the life and death impacts they are experiencing. We are feeling the ripple effects of these conflicts around the world in energy prices and the knock-on impacts on inflation, right through to migration. It is a precarious time for international peace and security. Ireland remains deeply concerned by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond said. We continue to follow the developments closely. They are changing at pace.”
“The Minister of State is welcome. I thank him for giving us his time this afternoon in the Chamber. I compliment the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, on the comprehensive and informative update he gave us. I support the comments he made about disinformation and the cyber war that is going on at the moment, which we believe is predominantly propagated by Russian actors, who are minded to sow division in peaceful democracies such as ours and will use opportunities of internal conflict and protest to sow further seeds of disharmony. I would like to be associated with the Minister of State's comments in that regard. It is important we invest strongly in our cybersecurity and recognise that there are malicious actors who are trying to manipulate our domestic situation at times for their gain.”
“It would mean that we would not have to increase the expenditure on the SUSI grant but that more people are allowed to support themselves, as they are able to, through their third-level experience. Those are my suggestions. I look forward to talking to the Minister of State and our party colleagues further as we approach the budget for 2027. We have to keep families with small mouths to feed at the forefront of our minds when we are developing that budget.”
“In light of the increased popularity of these devices in secondary schools and the fact that we want our children to be digitally enabled, we need to introduce some sort of scheme to cover the cost of those devices for families. We need to consider reform of the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, means-testing to exclude the earnings of the student. While I welcome that we broadened the threshold for eligibility for a SUSI grant and, in fact, a household can be earning up to €120,000 now and be eligible for a SUSI grant, the catch is that the student's earnings are taken into consideration. We should free up the students altogether, exclude them from the determination of the means test for the household, and allow them to juggle their school requirements with some part-time work.”
“It is up to each individual secondary school to do that but they are trying to follow the Department's guidance on keeping pace with technology and ensuring children are digital ready, and to access resources that are available for secondary school students online and for uniformity, schools are bringing in a one-to-one policy where the parents are asked to get Chromebooks or a particular type of device, usually at lower cost or as low as possible. For some parents, if they have two children in their household with that required in September, they are facing an additional bill of nearly €1,000 before the put a shirt on the child's back going to school.”
“The two peak costly times for any working family are pre-back-to-school in August and the November-December period around the Christmas season. We should broaden eligibility for the back-to-school allowance for those in receipt of social welfare and just outside of the social welfare eligibility category. While there is no Department of Education and Youth mandated school device policy, I am hearing from constituents right across Limerick that more and more schools are bringing in a one-to-one device policy.”
“All of those pressures exist for the average family in Ireland today alongside the rise in the basic cost of living such as grocery bills, electricity bills, fuel and transport costs. Parents are racing from pillar to post working very hard to bring in the income to cover what feel like everyday bills and everyday bills are growing. We have to deliver further supports for working families in our upcoming budget. I will use my time to propose five targeted interventions that we could look at, and I would ask the Minister of State to look at, to support ordinary families with school children and those with third-level students that they are supporting. We have to look at the reintroduction of energy credits if we face into another winter with soaring energy costs. We must consider double child benefit payments.”
“These are families who may not qualify for social welfare supports but are under intense pressure raising children and trying to keep the lights on and food on the table. The impact on parents is exponential and it is felt across everyday costs such as school shoes, uniforms, jackets, schoolbooks, hair cuts, sports gear, activities fees, voluntary school contributions, transition year school fees, the cost of taking children to school where parents cannot get them on a school bus or there is not a school bus route in their area, school-mandated digital devices, third-level costs including the now-reduced but still substantial fees, transport, accommodation and student living expenses, teenage clothing and lifestyle expectations. Thank God for Vinted.”
“While it is important to acknowledge the suite of measures that Senator Casey has outlined and to acknowledge the particular struggles of those on lower incomes and pensions that the Government strove to address in budget 2026, including improvements to the working family payment, extension of the fuel allowance season, increase in the pension, and the expansion of the free school books scheme and school meals programme, I will use the my time implore of the Minister of State in advance of budget negotiations this year, and in the ongoing monitoring that his Department and our senior colleague are doing of the situation as it unfolds, to put working families to the forefront of their minds.”
“I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I echo the sentiments that were so eloquently delivered by my colleague Senator Casey recognising the significant suite of measures the Government has brought forward in response to the unforeseen and outside-of-our-control war instigated by America and Israel on Iran and the knock-on impact that is having around the world, and particularly here in Ireland, on the cost of energy and, in the first instance, fuel. If the fuel protests and the blockades were instructive in anything, it is that the Irish public is triggered. We are recalling the reverberations of the illegal war in Ukraine that the Russians instigated in 2022 and the knock-on cost inflation, the knock-on impact in all of our pockets and the stress that it brought to all of our lives.”
“I would ask if we could have at an appropriate time a debate on suicide prevention and mental health challenges across our country with our young people and to bring the Minister in so that she can update us on the work that she and her Department are doing in this area.”
“Last Friday, the family of Scarlett Faulkner brought her remains to St. Munchin's Church in Clancy Strand in Limerick and they said their goodbyes. Tragically, two days later, the body of her brother, Jason Faulkner, was recovered from the Abbey river in Limerick. It is a second devastating blow for the family and friends of the tight-knit community and I would like to extend my deepest condolences to them. The HSE Mid-West is very involved in supporting the wider group and family group. The local resource officer for suicide is on site with the family, the Limerick Traveller Network is on site and the National Office for Suicide Prevention is supporting. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is co-ordinating closely with the HSE Mid-West lead, Sandra Broderick, on this matter.”
“Before Senator Tully recommences, I welcome to the Public Gallery the students and teachers from St. Mary’s Holy Faith school, who are guests of Deputy Johnny Guirke. They are very welcome and I thank them for joining us. I call Senator Tully.”
“I welcome the Bray School Project primary school group. They are guests of Senator Craughwell. Enjoy your visit to Leinster House. It is tradition in Leinster House that visiting school groups get the day off from homework, so enjoy your evening as well.”
“I once more raise the issue of trolley numbers at University Hospital Limerick, UHL. Today, according to the INMO, there are 105 patients in UHL who do not have beds. That is double the number in next nearest hospital, University Hospital Galway, where 54 people are waiting for beds. Unfortunately, the numbers in this regard have been tracking upward again in recent weeks. I ask that the Minister for Health come before the House to provide an update on the welcome news regarding the site that has been acquired near Dooradoyle in Limerick at which more acute beds are to be delivered. The first step to bring this forward would be for the hospital project board to be constituted. I would like an update from the Minister on progress in that regard.”
“I welcome the students from Donabate Community College to the Seanad Chamber. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their visit to Leinster House today. They are just arriving as we are concluding what we call the Order of Business. It happens on every sitting day in the Chamber. At the beginning, the Leader of the House comes in and sets forth what Senators will be discussing and debating for the day. We then usually have an hour assigned to allow Senators to come into the Chamber to raise any other matter that is of interest and important to them that they would like to see included in any future Order of Business. We have just concluded that and we have had Senators coming in and out for the last hour. We will move on now and conclude the Order of Business.”
“I believe that there is cause for an increase in resources - human resources and operational expenses - and then a capital investment into local authority cleansing departments around the country.”
“The environment in which we live in is very important to all of us. It supports our mental health and ensures that the hard work that people are doing within their homes and within their lives to try to raise their families, do the best they can and live their best lives is also reflected in the good work that is been done on their behalf in the local authorities right around the country I would like to invite in the Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, for a discussion on funding specifically for cleansing departments in local authorities around the country. I note that while funding has not remained static but has seen some increases in recent years, it has not kept pace with inflation and so, unfortunately, local authorities are left with less buying power with similar resources.”
“I rise to raise the important issue of funding for local authorities' cleansing departments. Throughout the course of my duties, I am in contact with our councillor colleagues around the country and I am also out on the doors in Limerick weekly meeting people. One of the more frequent requests I get is for a new bin or for a road to be swept or general concerns expressed to me about rubbish, including disposable vapes, which have recently been found around people's otherwise lovely estates. I am in regular contact with my cleansing department in Limerick City and County Council, which has a team of 36 and does an excellent job. However, we feel in Limerick that greater resources should be allocated from national government to cleansing departments in local authorities around the country to support them in the important work they do.”
“In parallel, we should, of course, to continue focus on all the other necessary forms such as turning off recommender systems by default, disabling autoplay and introducing meaningful ID verification to tackle bots as we are doing ourselves here in Ireland or trying to do. My second point concerns regional connectivity and economic competitiveness. As a Senator living in Limerick, I am highly aware of the importance of regional access to the EU marketplace through Shannon Airport and the disadvantage that lack of daily business connectivity from Shannon into the EU market hub places on businesses in the mid-west region. Cynthia Ní Mhurchú mentioned Mario Draghi's report in support of competitiveness and our SMEs across the country. Should we not legislate for or support regional connectivity at an EU level?”
“If big tech is today's big tobacco then banning one platform at a time for those under 16 is like tackling vaping one flavour at a time. By the time we regulate one app, three new ones will have appeared. We simply will not be able to keep pace with every new trendy platform, every update and every workaround so I want to put the question to MEPs: Are we focusing on the wrong end of the problem? Instead of chasing platforms, should we not focus on the gateway, which is the hardware itself? Just as we introduced age restrictions on alcohol and cigarettes, should we now seriously consider EU-wide age restrictions on the sale and use of smart and instant messaging-enabled devices for those under 16 in a co-ordinated European approach?”
“They fear their child will be the only one without a device, the odd one out in a new school environment and subject to ridicule. At the same time, evidence of harm from social media and instant messaging platforms continues to mount. It includes relentless pure comparison, addictive design and the very real dangers of grooming and sexual abuse, particularly on platforms such as Snapchat, where disappearing messages and private channels make oversight extremely difficult. I welcome the leadership shown through the Digital Services Act and the AI Act. They demonstrate that Europe can regulate powerful technologies in the public interest. I also welcome the European Commission's investigation into Grok and Temu regarding the reported sale of childlike sex dolls but now we must go further.”
“Fáilte go léir to the representatives of Ireland South. On behalf of Fianna Fáil, I thank them for their addresses. I look forward to continued engagement as the afternoon progresses. I wish to raise three issues that touch upon contributions some of the MEPs made. The first is the pressing matter of social media accounts and instant messaging platforms, particularly with regard to our young people and our children. The single biggest pressure facing parents today and their greatest worry is the moment they feel compelled to give their child a smartphone. It usually comes after confirmation in sixth class just before they move into first year of secondary school. Parents tell me they do not want to do it yet they feel intense pressure.”
“We absolutely need a debate on this matter and I would like to ask the Minister for enterprise to come into this Chamber and to tell us what measures he can take to ensure that businesses in the mid-west and in the regions in Ireland are given the same opportunity to develop, thrive and succeed that businesses in the east are given.”
“How can we expect our young start-ups in Limerick and the mid-west, and our fine businesses in the mid-west, to develop, expand and to reach their potential when we do not offer them daily business connectivity into our EU marketplace? We are members of the EU. Companies come to this country and invest in this country because of our EU membership. Yet, for the businesses in Limerick there is no daily connectivity into our EU marketplace. That is a disgrace. It means that the hands are tied behind the backs of the businesses in the mid-west. Does the Government expect the entirety of the population of the mid-west to up and move to Dublin to get a job or to develop a business?”
“I raise my very serious concerns about the lifting of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport without parallel measures to divert non-core traffic and develop new routes into regional airports and in particular into Shannon Airport. Dublin now accounts for the overwhelming majority of passenger traffic into the country. In 2025, Dublin handled 83% of all flights into the country in quarters 1, 2 and 3. We do not have the final statistics in quarter 4 yet. Some 8% went to Cork and only 5% went to Shannon. Shannon Airport is underutilised by approximately 2.5 million passengers per annum so we have capacity to handle a further 2.5 million passengers. Dublin, already at an estimated 36 million passengers, wants more. This is not simply about tourism route development. This is about regional economic imbalances.”
“I have no doubt that the Minister of State will continue that strong trajectory and that we will see even an higher level of female participation and participation across all sectors of society, and an increase in our numbers overall in apprenticeships in the years to come.”