Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin
Wicklow-Wexford · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“This is Groundhog Day in terms of school transport. It is the same as last year. The only thing that has changed in the school transport system is the families affected. We are still inundated with emails from frustrated parents from Rathdrum to Kilmuckridge. Children who have always qualified have suddenly been refused tickets.”
“Children in Coláiste Bhríde, Carnew, who had always received transport were told no service was available, but when we contacted the provider, it said that a service was available. The waiting time to hear back from Bus Éireann is unacceptable.”
“Irish author Emma Donoghue stated, "They are robbing us in hopes of replacing us." That is a shocking statement. Irish artists, writers, musicians, actors, composers and performers are being ripped off by big tech billionaires through plagiarism or, to give it the proper term, theft.”
“They tell our stories and shape national identity. However, they are now forced to take on some of the world's largest tech companies simply to vindicate their rights. It is creating a dystopian nightmare. We have to stop it.”
“Higgins, Joseph O'Connor, Gerry Adams, Anne Enright, Colm Tóibín and Sally Rooney. We need to see action on this in Ireland and at a European level to protect artists' rights and income, respect their creativity and defend their livelihoods. It has to stop now.”
“I highlight the serious case of a ten-year-old called Poppy, whose experience is a compelling example of a wider service failure for children in my constituency of Wicklow-Wexford, which covers south Wicklow and north Wexford.”
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“Children in Coláiste Bhríde, Carnew, who had always received transport were told no service was available, but when we contacted the provider, it said that a service was available. The waiting time to hear back from Bus Éireann is unacceptable. When will the Government introduce the policy recommendations on eligibility and distance that were outlined previously?”
“This is Groundhog Day in terms of school transport. It is the same as last year. The only thing that has changed in the school transport system is the families affected. We are still inundated with emails from frustrated parents from Rathdrum to Kilmuckridge. Children who have always qualified have suddenly been refused tickets. Others received tickets but no service is available. In other cases, one sibling got a ticket while another sibling attending the same school did not, so the parent drives behind the bus. We submitted 12 names during the year for Castletown National School and 21 for a service from Camolin to the Gorey Educate Together school. Families are still waiting for certainty.”
“Higgins, Joseph O'Connor, Gerry Adams, Anne Enright, Colm Tóibín and Sally Rooney. We need to see action on this in Ireland and at a European level to protect artists' rights and income, respect their creativity and defend their livelihoods. It has to stop now.”
“They tell our stories and shape national identity. However, they are now forced to take on some of the world's largest tech companies simply to vindicate their rights. It is creating a dystopian nightmare. We have to stop it. Sinn Féin is strongly opposed to public bodies and services opting for AI-generated content instead of supporting the work of human creators. Public arts funding should support human-made art - it sounds bizarre to even talk about "human-made art" - and not subsidise the replacement of these same artists with machines in this new dystopian world. We are talking about artists such as Fontaines D.C., The Script, Sinéad O'Connor, Dermot Kennedy and Kneecap, many of whom have identified their work being used by AI generators. It is similar for authors such as Michael D.”
“Irish author Emma Donoghue stated, "They are robbing us in hopes of replacing us." That is a shocking statement. Irish artists, writers, musicians, actors, composers and performers are being ripped off by big tech billionaires through plagiarism or, to give it the proper term, theft. Their copyrighted creative work is being used to train AI systems to spew out "art" without the consent of the creators and in many cases without any remuneration whatsoever. The life's work of artists is being fed into systems that generate content in seconds for big tech billionaires while the people who created that work, often struggling artists, musicians, writers and photographers, receive nothing in return. Irish artists like many others were the driving force behind the 1916 Rising and represent the soul of this nation.”
“In north Wexford and south Wicklow, if a child needs specialist care, say, in the area of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, OT, speech and language, psychology or with a dietitian, if they are in desperate need, what procedures are in place if the necessary specialist intervention is not available due to staffing shortages? Does the HSE consider it acceptable that children remain without these services? If they are unavailable, is there an emergency plan B to deal with desperate cases like these? There are many of them. I know of so many people who cannot access any service, so what is plan B?”
“The family have funded assessments and therapies privately due to the lack public services. Poppy's case highlights the lack of such services for children in south Wicklow and north Wexford. There are many long-term vacancies in the north Wexford CDNT, there is no current occupational therapy service and only limited physiotherapy is available. Families are experiencing significant delays, there is poor communication and unclear referral pathways and parents are reporting extensive waiting lists. I want to know what is going to be done about it.”
“I highlight the serious case of a ten-year-old called Poppy, whose experience is a compelling example of a wider service failure for children in my constituency of Wicklow-Wexford, which covers south Wicklow and north Wexford. Poppy has complex feeding difficulties and has been referred between the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, the children's disability network team, or CDNT, primary care and the complex feeding clinic for over three years. Despite CAMHS advice that Poppy needs specialist dietary input, north Wexford CDNT has not had a dietician for the past five years. This is shocking and it means Poppy does not get the type of support she needs. Her condition has deteriorated to the point where anti-anxiety medication and possible PEG tube placement or force-feeding have been discussed.”
“Despite that, the Government is yet to commit to a structured multi-annual investment that would safeguard the services into the future. We really need assurances that there is a clear plan for sustainable income for postmasters and expanded services. Most important, we need a commitment that the post office services, which are absolutely essential to every local community, will continue.”
“Post offices provide essential services in those communities, as they do in other places where they exist, such as Ballyfad, Ballycanew, Bunclody, Kilanerin, Kilmuckridge, Courtown, Camolin, Ferns and Gorey. Communities deserve to know whether this funding will simply slow the decline in the network or protect it. Post offices are doing more than ever before. In 2022, they processed 6.5 million everyday banking transactions, with a value of €2.7 billion, for AIB and Bank of Ireland customers. Those transactions generate approximately €3.2 million in commission payments to postmasters. At the same time, bank branches continue to disappear from towns and villages, including many in my local area, thereby making post offices even more important, yet many postmasters tell us their businesses remain financially vulnerable.”
“We welcome additional funding for the post office service. Sinn Féin has committed to major investment in the post office network as part of our alternative budget. Communities across counties Wexford and Wicklow have had to endure many post office closures over recent years, with 11 closing in Wexford in 2018 and five local communities in Wicklow losing their services or seeing them consolidated. Each of those closures represents a major loss of an essential community service. It is a huge blow to rural Ireland. The Government is now providing funding over five years to support the network. That investment is very welcome. However, nowhere in the Bill is there a guarantee that post offices will remain open. I am thinking of towns and villages near me, including Aughrim, Arklow, Avoca, Rathdrum, Carnew, Tinahely and Shillelagh.”
“I compliment those involved. There was a big emphasis on EU enlargement, which will allow 36 million and, eventually, 136 million from non-EU countries to have free movement into Ireland and elsewhere. Have we considered the practical implications of all this in terms of Ireland's infrastructure and people's access to housing, healthcare and education? We need to. Unfortunately, I do not hear much emphasis on EU enlargement into counties Fermanagh, Armagh, Tyrone, Derry, Antrim and Down and the use of our Presidency as a unique opportunity to garner support for Irish reunification, just as we did with German reunification.”
“There are also double standards whereby we strongly sanction Russian aggression in Ukraine but adopt a kid glove approach to the maniacal State of Israel, while we watch the world's first live-streamed genocide yet do very little about it. That represents rank EU hypocrisy. The sovereignty of national parliaments can be superseded by a federal superstate, such as with the EU migration pact, if a government rolls over and kowtows to Ursula von der Leyen and hands control over to unelected bureaucrats in Brussels. There has undoubtedly been much progressive legislation coming from Europe, such as the area of workers' rights and other dimensions. However, there is no reason that any national parliament should not be capable of enacting the same legislation. I attended and enjoyed today's ceremony in Dublin Castle. It was very well run.”
“Many Irish people have mixed emotions on the European project. It is a love-hate relationship of sorts. I spoke in the European Parliament recently as part of the Erasmus programme. I certainly love the element of mutual co-operation and cultural exchange with countries with which we have had links since the time of the monks shining a light into the dark Continent. However, many people dislike the increasing militarisation of a federal superstate that appears to prioritise the interests of corporations over communities. Ireland should be a voice for peace. Only today, we saw how hard-pressed consumers were hit with a charge of €3 per non-EU product, which should have been passed on to billionaire corporations that produce the products and flood the market with them.”
“The Minister of State needs to publish a real action plan to cut the waiting lists fast, modernise the DTSS, restart school screening immediately, integrate this with the GP visit card, invest properly in public dental services, expand access to dental nurses and hygienists and introduce a dental Act. I ask him to vote for our motion to bring about these changes.”
“Following a parliamentary question I submitted last year, in 2025, the HSE admitted that the public dental service was still only targeting children who were in second or sixth class in 2019. That means many children in counties Wicklow and Wexford have simply been left behind, and could be in their leaving certificate cycle before being seen by a dentist, instead of having been seen in sixth class in primary school. This is unbelievable in a super-wealthy country in 2026. Meanwhile, the number of dentists available locally under the dental treatment services scheme has collapsed by 50% in County Wexford and 25% in County Wicklow over the past seven years. That is not an accident; it is a failure of planning, investment and political will. Let us be clear about what needs to happen.”
“Once again there is a crisis for families and primary school children in Counties Wicklow and Wexford and across the State. From Bunclody right up to An Bhearn Dearg, from Rathdrum to Kilmuckridge, children are waiting not months but years to have their teeth checked and attended to. My background is in primary school teaching and half of children at primary school level are not receiving dental screening appointments, something that was standard 50 years ago when this country was supposed to have been poor. More than 11,000, mostly children, are waiting on dental treatment, with over 8,000 for more than a year. Some 40% of children are on a waiting list two years for braces. In counties Wicklow and Wexford, almost 900 young people are waiting between three and four years for orthodontic treatment. It gets worse.”
“It is absolutely shocking that those of us who live in rural Ireland and drive on small country roads have to have our cars wrecked and are unable to drive on safe roads. When will the funding be delivered?”
“When will the long overdue emergency funding for rural roads in Wicklow and Wexford be delivered? The Tánaiste may have driven on some in the south-west of Wicklow. It is absolutely disgraceful that we are now in June, in the middle of a dry period, when it is perfect to do works. We have waited since November, when Storm Claudia struck. Wicklow County Council sought between €15 million and €20 million and Wexford sought a similar amount. These counties have historically had the worst rural roads in Ireland. I have been driving on them all of my life. In Wexford, €194 million is needed to bring the roads up to what is classed as an acceptable standard. It is a perfect time to do the work. I have repeatedly requested funding since November, and for the past 12 years.”
“Last year, I attended the launch of the long-awaited Arklow wastewater treatment plant which should facilitate desperately needed housing in the Arklow area. I attended the Echelon launch an hour later. The Taoiseach was at both. We cannot ever tolerate data centres taking precedence over young families and new home owners when both are competing for connections to the electricity grid. That would be unconscionable as I am sure the Minister of State would agree.”
“Echelon's two data centres in Arklow are supposed to be the first of such centres to open which must generate renewable energy to run their own systems. It will be exceptional if this happens. Currently, there are 89 centres in Ireland which is straining the national grid. I attended a meeting on this with Professor Hannah Daly in the audiovisual room. She highlighted how they are straining power grids enormously, gobbling up 22% of the grid and that may become just under one third shortly. This can affect home connections to the electricity grid which need to be the number one priority. If the new data centres in Arklow do go ahead, I hope they will be the exception to the other 89, as claimed.”
“I visited the new data centre in Clondalkin last month at the invitation of Echelon which is installing two centres outside Arklow. I heard extraordinary and fantastical claims of the benefits in terms of employment and income for Arklow and the wider area. We shall see about that. Even if I was to believe it all, once the plant is operational the benefits to the community of Arklow and south Wicklow in local employment may be minimal. I am sure their electricity will not be any cheaper. On my visit, I stressed that local contractors and local labour from south Wicklow and north Wexford must be a priority in the building of the two centres and that a large community fund should be made available to local community groups.”
“Incinerating half-starved children with white phosphorous, which they are doing in Gaza, the occupied territories and now Lebanon. In Lebanon, Israel is now searching for Muslims being hidden and sheltered in the attics of their Christian neighbours. This is not like Europe 1944. They have taken the Nazi doctrine, they have refined it and they have made it for themselves.”
“It was a great privilege for me to stay among these lovely hospitable people in several places across the West Bank and Gaza. Unfortunately, I could not get into Lebanon at the time. The world can plainly see what an evil, violent, warped, deranged and depraved society Israel has become. I do not want to be graphic but it is one that rapes children in mass concentration camps, trains dogs to perform unspeakable acts on detainees - this is all coming out now – bulldozes children into large pits, deliberately starves children, forcing them to run the gauntlet and then shoots them for sport in a sick kind of a “Squid Game”. They proudly post that on their social media. This is celebrated in Israeli society. It is mainstream. People who shoot babies through the head for target practice.”
“Can the Minister imagine being an Irish person who had been farming their land for hundreds of years when violent, entitled, deluded thieves from Brooklyn, New York, Ukraine or Russia crossed the world, having decided they wanted to come to her community to terrorise her off her land, set dogs on her sheep, raze her ancestors’ olive groves to the ground, rob her farm at gunpoint and then want to trade its fruit with us here in Ireland? Ireland knows about dispossession better than anyone. Trading with the occupied territories represents blood money. I think of the beautiful song “Strange Fruit” popularised by Nina Simone: “Blood on the leaves and blood at the root”. We do not need Israeli blood money, nor their strange fruit nor their services. Services must be included in any Bill or otherwise it is meaningless.”
“Other barriers identified were the lack of awareness and poor promotion in our secondary schools; a cultural bias in favour of the university pathway; the complexity of the system, with multiple bodies such as SOLAS and the ETBs; and the lack of a centralised system like the CAO, which we need to have. As regards access and inclusion, there were barriers for those in minority groups, childcare responsibilities and a difficulty in matching up employers with apprentices. There are 48 recommendations and I encourage the Minister of State to look through them. I could go on all evening on it, but it is a key area we need to look at because otherwise we are going to be lost as a country. We can talk all we like about AI but if we do not have the practical skills we will be lost.”
“We looked at areas like the shortage of skills in areas such as housing delivery, infrastructure and climate transition. We need to put a great focus on resourcing Youthreach programmes and the ETBs. We identified many barriers to these apprenticeships in Ireland. There were financial barriers due to low pay, insufficient allowances and high up-front costs for tools; barriers for those with disabilities and low incomes; travel and accommodation issues in terms of long commutes and accommodation support if people have to live away from home. There were also employer-related barriers, especially for SMEs, with difficulties in having apprenticeships, training blocks for apprentices, the administrative burden and a lack of financial support for small businesses to employ apprentices.”
“It is grand talking about AI and upskilling in this area but if you do not have plasterers, builders, plumbers, carpenters or retrofitters - areas in which young people can make a great amount of money - Ireland is going to be paralysed. We can see that in the delivery of our infrastructure at the moment. I am on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, as is Deputy McGettigan who is sitting here in front of me. We produced a 59-page document recently following eight meetings with a vast range of groups, basically to come up with practical recommendations for the next apprenticeship strategy for 2026-30. It examined how the system is working or, should I say, how it is not working.”
“Many may be fixated on upskilling in AI but Ireland is at crisis in another way, with the lack of practical skills. There are shortages in a whole range of craft areas, with a lack of builders, the lack of upskilling and training in building or construction, including plastering, plumbing, retrofitting, electrical services, carpentry and I could go on. These are all practical skills we desperately need. Unfortunately, Ireland moved away from this as a society. We started to look down our noses at training and apprenticeships in these vocational areas. There was an overprioritisation, with all young people having to have a university degree. That happened over the last couple of decades and Ireland is very much paying the price for it now. It was a very short-sighted approach.”
“I am somewhat reassured that the Minister of State indicated that it was at a particular time that the applicant did not meet the criteria and that she will continue to engage with the HSE. I would hate to think the door is closed on this because it is very much not closed. This is time sensitive and I am pleading with the Minister to act on it. The family and community are also pleading with her to do so. They cannot waste more time waiting. Who knows when they are next, if they wake up the following morning. I will not embarrass the Government by going through a list of projects in the country, or even in County Wicklow, where State money has been wasted. This is most definitely pin money to the Government, which could save someone's life and make a massive difference.”
“With respect, that is very similar to a stock answer the family has been given over the past few months. I will not accept the answer and I know Eímear, her family and the community in south Wicklow will not accept this answer from the Government or the Department. It is a stock answer and it is simply not good enough. This involves tiny money. The Minister of State said I referenced the EU and the EEA. I did not. I know that the treatment abroad scheme has certain confinement. What I am talking about is the exceptional clause circumstances for going to the USA. That clause exists, and it is within the power of the Minister to implement it. That can happen if the will is there. I am just not sure the will is there and I want to know if it is on the part of the Department.”
“Third, is the exceptional circumstances clause, which is what I am asking about. Patients have historically received and secured funding to go to US-based medical centres for rare conditions and for extremely complex procedures when an Irish public consultant provides strong clinical justification that this care is essential and proven. Eímear's case fits the criteria. I have gone through it with HSE personnel. It fits the criteria. All I want to know is whether the Government will step in. It is small money in the greater scheme of things in terms of expenditure. This has to be done as a matter of urgency. I hope the Minister of State and the Department will have a positive answer for us, the people of Arklow and the family.”
“Will the Department of Health and the Government now do their part and make up the shortfall for an Irish citizen in her time of need for life-saving surgery? We got answers about the treatment abroad scheme. I realise that the treatment abroad scheme covers only the European Union and the European Economic Area. I know that. However, there is the facility for the Department to fund treatment in the US under exceptional circumstances if it cannot be done in the EU, which is on guidance from Eímear's consultants. The Government already funds patients to travel to the US for specialised medical treatment but on an exceptional basis. An exceptional basis, as the Minister of State knows, can be made under three specific conditions. There is the high-cost drugs treatment protocol. Second, there is the out-of-State policy application.”
“This is why my family have had to look for community support by setting up a GoFundMe page. There is a GoFundMe page for Eímear Byrne in Arklow. Dozens of fund-raising events around the town over recent months have so far raised €230,000 of the required €600,000. People had to dig deep because the Government just was not doing anything. Last Friday, I attended an event in Pearse Park, Arklow. It made the Guinness Book of Records. There were 254 people patting each other on the back as a reference to the community having Eímear's back because the Government has not had her back to date but the community has. Local people have been tremendous, absolutely inspiring. However, they can only be expected to do so much. They have done their bit.”
“Considering the complexity of Eímear's condition and the risks involved, the surgery needs to be carried out urgently in a specialised clinic such as Johns Hopkins in the US, which has the necessary medical experience and the facilities to treat patients like Eímear. Surgery in this hospital will reduce the rate of mortality during the procedure and reduce potentially life-altering complications such as a second stroke. The operation and rehabilitation in America will give Eímear the best chance of survival so she can live a long, happy and fulfilling life and continue educating the children of Arklow in their native language, as she loves to do. In terms of fund-raising, Eímear states: I have been looking for help with the Government for funding since October 2025 and to no avail.”
“I once more raise the case of a young Arklow Gaelscoil teacher, Eímear Byrne, with the Minister of State and the Government. As the Minister of State knows, Eímear urgently needs life-saving treatment in the US that costs €600,000. Recently, Eímear received devastating news. Doctors discovered three more aneurysms and she now needs a third open-heart surgery procedure. This one is even more complex and urgent, so time is critical and the family and the community of south Wicklow need and want the Government to intervene to get Eímear to the USA as soon as possible. Life-saving treatment can be done there immediately if the money is available. I plead with the Government again to make an intervention under the exceptional circumstances clause, which does exist.”
“These people are the new working poor; the proverbial squeezed middle or, should we say, the screwed middle. The State has completely lost its way and its priorities. Its housing policies prioritise institutional investors and big developers rather than renters and hard-working families. I ask the Minister of State to support Sinn Féin's Bill, which would cut rents, ban rent increases and no-fault evictions, and accelerate the provision of social, affordable and private for-purchase homes.”
“These are two self-employed people who have not been looking for anything from the State. They work hard and pay taxes and VAT at the end of every month. Now, in their hour of need, all doors are being slammed in their faces. They were even told they do not qualify for emergency accommodation. Can the Minister of State believe that? The family say they have fallen through a cruel gap in our totally broken system. They are considered too well-off on paper for help, but in reality they are struggling to survive under impossible pressure. This pressure has also affected their other daughter, Kendall, who is suffering from depression due to all of the stress. Ireland’s rigid means-test system is failing ordinary working families who suddenly find themselves in crisis through no fault of their own.”
“I ask the Minister of State to address the shocking case of a self-employed couple in Coolboy near the Wicklow-Wexford border, Ciarán and Jessie Redmond, and their two daughters Kendall and Chanelle. Chanelle has recently been diagnosed with leukaemia. Her father, Ciarán, a Gorey man, has been forced to give up his work as a painter and decorator to care for her. As they battle one unimaginable crisis, another has now emerged: homelessness. Their landlord is selling the house, as is their right. However, the Government classes Ciarán and Jessie as too rich for social housing - they are above the low threshold - but too poor to get mortgage approval. They were told that there is not a chance and that they might get €40,000, which is probably enough for a hen house. Jessie has a barber’s business in Arklow.”
“The Government missed a huge opportunity with the recent auction of Lugnaquilla, the highest mountain in Leinster and County Wicklow. The State could have bought the mountain and developed it as a national park with real benefits for biodiversity. It is still not too late. Hopefully, the declaration of an emergency will focus our minds on enacting policies locally, which will help to tackle the crisis in our midst.”
“The aim is to have 110 million trees planted throughout the ancient island of Ireland, including at Kilmichael Point, Kilpatrick, Castletown, Moneygarrow, near Arklow, Servier Industries in Arklow, Clogga, and Gorey district park. Unfortunately, our Government has the worst record in Europe for developing deciduous forest cover and this has to change. We have the beautiful Blackstairs Mountains overlooking Bunclody, with unique biodiversity. We should take the opportunity to develop this as a national park. I would like to see that happening during this term. We have a beautiful gem in Tara Hill, close to the coast near Gorey. The local development association, which is encouraging biodiversity on the hill, needs to be given every support possible.”
“We are also home to some of the truly special national and natural treasures in Ireland, such as the last remaining oak forest at Tomnafinnoge near Tinahely, close to where I live. There are also two wonderful deciduous forests in Courtown and Ballyfad, which are vital rich habitats for birds, insects, fungi and wildlife found nowhere else. These ancient woodlands remind us of what Gaelic Ireland once looked like before it was plundered and pillaged and why protecting our natural environment matters so much in terms of reclaiming the Irish nation. I commend voluntary groups such as those behind the 100 Million Trees Project, the Mulcahys, who live close to where I live.”
“The World Bee Sanctuary is near Coolafancy, which is close to the Wicklow-Wexford border, run by Paul Handrick and his wife Clare-Louise Donelan. It is particularly commendable. I am also proud that Wexford and Wicklow were the first two counties to declare a biodiversity emergency, recognising that urgent action is required to protect wildlife and natural habitats for future generations. I also commend Wexford County Council on its efforts to clean up the heavily polluted Our Lady’s Island lake. In both counties, we are very fortunate to live beside some of the most beautiful landscapes in Ireland, from forests and mountains to our beaches, from Brittas Bay down to Morriscastle, Curracloe and beyond.”
“Across Ireland, we can see the absence of a lot of wildlife, nature and biodiversity that was commonplace when we were all growing up or even 20 years ago. Rivers that were teeming with fish are now polluted and butterflies are a rare occurrence. We are witnessing the destruction of natural habitats. The warning signs are there and clear for everybody to see. One third of Ireland’s 99 bee species, the main pollinators of all plant life, are now threatened with extinction. I pay a particular tribute to the Irish beekeeper and writer, Bruce Copeland, who lives in Tinahely. He is publicly advocating for the enactment of the Protection of the Native Irish Honey Bee Bill in this Oireachtas. We need to pass this Bill during this term.”
“However, due to lack of forward planning the special school now needs to expand further and it will need to expand further in subsequent years, going by projections. There is a lot of concern in the area about this. Could the Taoiseach give a commitment that he or his Ministers will come down to Gorey to discuss this with all parties concerned and come to a conclusion that is suitable to both parties?”
“I understand the Taoiseach is aware of the situation where Gorey Hill special school, which was put in on a temporary basis on the campus of Gaelscoil Moshíológ, where I worked prior to starting here, is now expanding across the remaining green areas of the Gaelscoil. It is basically a problem which has arisen due to the lack of forward planning by the Department and casual indifference. It is having a huge impact now on special education in north Wexford, as well as on Gaelscoil provision. There is a massive demand for both in north Wexford and south Wicklow. My school was happy to facilitate special education to cater for the huge demand, even giving up play areas, parking, storage, green spaces and full access to the hall.”
“I advise homeowners who suspect that they have defective blocks to engage with Wexford County Council and, potentially, to seek independent advice as they can be very difficult to detect. I reiterate Deputy Ó Broin's points that we need 100% redress. Nothing less than that will do.”
“I welcome the inclusion of County Wexford in the scheme for homes affected by defective blocks, which are unmortgageable, uninsurable and unsellable. I was on Wexford County Council in 2022 when a motion was passed in light of concerns raised by people in the areas of Bunclody and Ferns. Sean and Rachel Murphy first noticed small cracks in their brand-new homes near Ferns six months after they moved in 19 years ago. Due to the nature of mica, it took a few more years for them to realise the scale of the problem. Sean says it is almost like an earthquake took place underneath the house. Another victim noted that on seeing the report, an official commented that the house was pretty much made with river mud. These blocks were made by an unregulated concrete industry and passed off as meeting EU quality standards.”
“There are so many areas I could focus on. Glossy documents are pointless without concrete action and timelines. I want to see proper commitment to delivering infrastructure, wastewater treatment and rural housing in north Wexford and south Wicklow. The document means nothing without action and timelines.”
“Last Saturday, I was in the lovely village of Carnew in south-west Wicklow. A playground there is still closed. There is a lovely building in the middle of the main street on a prime site, the old Bank of Ireland branch that closed in 2021. Along with one in Tinahely and another in Rathdrum, it was allowed to close and they are all still locked up despite groups and enterprises badly needing spaces. Why is that the case? Ballycanew only got high-speed broadband in mid-2024 thanks to a local group, Whizzy Internet, that stepped in and provided a great service. We all rely on the rural road network but despite all of the damage recently Wicklow is still waiting on €15 million in emergency funding and Wexford is waiting on €20 million. There is not a cent yet. It also still needs €194 million to upgrade the road infrastructure.”