Garret Ahearn
Administrative Panel · Fine Gael · Ireland
“The Order of Business is No. 1, motion regarding Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2022 (Section 9(2)) (Amount of Financial Contribution) Order 2025 (Revocation) Order 2026, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business without debate; No.”
“I am very conscious that No. 10 is to be taken at 11.30 a.m. and it is now 11.30 a.m. I will be brief. I will make a note of any contributions relating to debates for when we come back in September. There were a lot of calls for debates.”
“We have been here for a number of years and she is correct; a lot of it has come through in July. Technically, it is for the Leader to set out the timeline of debates but I understand the frustration when it comes late or when there is little scope for debate. The motions, in fairness, were referred to committee for debate.”
“9, whichever is later, and the proceedings thereon shall, if not previously concluded, be brought to a conclusion after 75 minutes by the putting of one question from the Chair, which shall, in relation to amendments, include only those set down or accepted by the Government, the time allocated to the opening remarks of the Minister at th…”
“5, motion regarding Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No. 4) Regulations 2026, back from committee, to be taken on conclusion of No. 4 without debate; No. 6, motion regarding Planning and Development (Exempted Development (Act of 2000)) (No.”
“We will have a busy time coming back in September with an expected by-election to this House, which will create more work for them. To all colleagues across the House, on a personal level, I thank them for the last number of weeks since I took over as Leader of the Seanad. It has been a busy number of weeks for all of us.”
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“With the right alignment, Irish firms can scale, develop, export potential and contribute more effectively to national security objectives. We are increasing defence spending. We are already committed to buying major capabilities. The question is why would we not ensure Irish companies and our research and innovation sector benefit from that investment. We should be making absolutely sure that a proportion of this expenditure remains within the Irish economy, supporting Irish businesses, skills and local communities. That can only be achieved through a clear and dedicated local participation policy framework. We have heard positive statements from the Government on the floor of the Dáil and in the media. The Tánaiste stated: While Ireland does not have a traditional defence industry ...”
“As these negotiations progress, there must be clarity on how industrial participation measures are being embedded and how Irish SMEs and third level institutions can play a meaningful role in these programmes. This approach is also fully aligned with Ireland's obligation to contribute to the European defence technology and industrial base. Bringing non-traditional dual-use Irish companies into European defence supply chains strengthens not only Ireland's position but Europe's collective security and resilience. There is a strong case for ensuring that Enterprise Ireland supports are aligned with the specific needs of defence and security-related innovation, including support for research and development collaboration with the Defence Forces and European partners.”
“There is a clear need to strengthen local participation within defence procurement policy in a manner fully consistent with EU procurement rules. We must ensure Irish firms are engaged early in capability planning and delivery whether through maintenance, training, logistics, research and development, systems integration or long-term life cycle support. Early engagement with domestic industry delivers three clear benefits. First, it strengthens national resilience by ensuring critical knowledge, skills and support capacity exist within the State. Second, it delivers better long-term value for the taxpayer by reducing life cycle costs and dependency risks. Third, it de-risks the delivery of major programmes at a time when the Defence Forces increasingly require private sector expertise to support complex systems.”
“I welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome the opportunity to raise the issue of defence and security procurement, in particular the importance of ensuring meaningful local participation as Ireland increases its investment in this area. It is clear that public understanding of Ireland's defence and security environment is evolving. There is growing awareness of our vulnerabilities, our responsibilities within the European Union and the reality that decades of underinvestment in defence capability must now be addressed. As this expenditure increases, it must be seen as an opportunity not only to strengthen sovereign capability but to deliver tangible economic and regional benefits across the State. Ireland already has a growing number of indigenous SMEs operating in these areas.”
“If an expert in the field states that an individual poses a threat to vulnerable babies or children in a family home or to members of an extended family, how could people be of the view that they thought that expert opinion should not be taken seriously and that the individual who has a condition should not be given help in a hospital on an involuntary basis?”
“I support the Minister of State in how she outlined her concerns. While I agree that there is a stigma attached to it, many organisations, including Shine and SeaChange, have done a lot of good work in trying to break that stigma in mental health. Most of the contributions on this amendment have been about the most vulnerable, and people who are suffering from mental health conditions are vulnerable. When the Minister of State speaks about the possibility of other people being vulnerable, we are talking about are children and babies in many respects. We read stories in the newspapers. I will not name anyone, but we know of situations where, unfortunately, as a result of other people's mental health issues, children, young people and babies have suffered.”
“We hear on a daily basis the challenges faced by councillors representing their communities and defending decisions we make here that they have to deal with on the ground. We will do everything we can to support them. It is a huge honour for all councillors to be elected. It was the greatest honour I ever had to be elected by my community and to be elected mayor of Clonmel. We recognise that and Senator Fitzpatrick recognises that because it is such a proud thing, to be elected by one's own community to represent one's own community. When people stand up in this Chamber talking about how they are representing councillors and speaking on behalf of councillors, they should learn the facts. They should recognise what has been done.”
“It is right we do more to support councillors and the amendment was tabled to see what can be done from the Government's perspective to support councillors. We in the Government side will work with LAMA and AILG, and with anyone who realistically wants to make changes to support councillors, to encourage more people to get into local government and to encourage women, in particular, to be able to get into it. Let us have a realistic conversation rather than just saying that nothing is being done, there has been no increase for councillors and that nothing has been done on this side. Never in the history of the State has more been done than in the past five years to support councillors but we certainly need to do more. I will work with my colleagues and with Members in opposition to make sure that is done.”
“They did not talk about how the work for councillors now is so difficult in a modern society where there are challenges in terms of security and the abuse they get. There was no mention of the Minister of State, Deputy Cummin's, increase in security allowances to €10,000 they can claim, because we recognise that nowadays for councillors it can be very challenging. There was no mention of allowances, gratuity payments, payments for service after 20 years where councillors now receive €94,000 if they do a full term of service. An awful lot has been done by this Government and the previous Government, particularly by the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, and the Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, has followed up on it. That does not mean that what Senator Black is talking about is wrong. It is right that we discuss it.”
“Just to put on the record what we have actually done, because the Opposition does not want to recognise it, we have introduced maternity leave. Senator Black was talking about how we need to support women but failed to mention we have introduced maternity leave and the opportunity for co-option to positions temporarily while councillors are on maternity leave. No one mentioned anything about the hybrid meetings that are now possible for people who cannot attend a meeting in person but still want to be there but because of other work, family or private commitments cannot be there. Hybrid meetings are now available. They did not talk about the current remuneration and allowances.”
“-----of €14,000. I suggest the Senator talks to Councillor Malone who was invited here tonight. He will confirm it because LAMA played a key role in increasing that. When we talk about actually wanting to do things to support councillors we need to recognise that over the past five or six years from previous Ministers, the Minister, Deputy Burke, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins at the moment, there has been more changes in support for councillors than ever before. That is not recognised by Senator Flynn's side. We who were councillors and proud to be councillors, know the work involved in being a councillor and are not surprised by it because we did it ourselves, know that more needs to be done. We have done an awful lot but more needs to be done.”
“I second the amendment. The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber. I also welcome Councillor Joe Malone. I thank him for the work he is doing, along with his colleagues in LAMA, which represents councillors right across the country. I listened to the contributions at the start from Senators Black and Flynn. They had 16 minutes to speak and, in the space of that 16 minutes, they gave no acknowledgement or recognition of what has been done in the last number of years. Amazingly, as well as giving no recognition of what is being done for councillors, they put out incorrect information at the end of the contribution about pay for councillors. Just so-----”
“Local authorities play a key role in being out first, front and centre, to support local communities, but they need to be supported by the Department and Minister. Could the Leader speak to the relevant Minister to find out when the local authorities are going to be paid? Are they going to be paid before the end of this year, or are they going to have to wait until 2026?”
“In my county, Tipperary, Councillor Declan Burgess, who was cathaoirleach at the time, showed great leadership along with the chief executive in ensuring funding of €650,000 from Tipperary County Council would be made available to quickly restore services to the people of the county. The problem we have is that, ten months later, or almost 11, Tipperary County Council has not received a penny of that back. It is my understanding that no local authority across the whole country has received any funding back after Storm Éowyn. The storm was a long time ago, almost a year. We have had other storms since and I do not want the affected areas to feel as if they will have to wait almost a year until their local authority receives funding.”
“On 24 January of this year, Storm Éowyn hit our shores and caused considerable devastation right across the country. If our incredible public servants, from gardaí and members of the Civil Defence to staff of the ESB and local authorities, had not been on the scene in the many affected counties to restore power and support people and communities at a very difficult time, things might have been very different. Local authorities, in particular, played a key role in putting money in place as quickly as possible to fund the restoration of key services. It was agreed by the Department and the Minister that the money would be returned to the local authorities.”
“While it is welcome that something will be published next year and we will work with the EU, it is vital for businesses across our country, particularly small businesses, that fairness is put in place as quickly as possible. I ask the Minister of State and the Department to prioritise this. We had a budget a number of weeks ago that was, essentially, focused on retaining and supporting local businesses. This is another element where we can play our part to support them.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his response. As he said during his contribution, it is important he recognises there is unfairness within the marketplace at the moment. Is it is possible to get further detail from the Minister's office on the legislative proposal that will be published next year? It is important we work with our EU market. This is essentially about fairness. We are talking about small and medium-sized businesses in Ireland that have a competitive disadvantage in relation to other businesses across the world. Obviously, we are heading into the Christmas period. More people spend money during this time of year, whether it is online for Irish companies or abroad. That disadvantage is increasing year on year.”
“Amazon, for example, already integrates pay-on-behalf-of compliance services into its platform, which proves it is both practical and scalable. Is the Department actively assessing the feasibility of introducing a pay-on-behalf-of model or similar solution in Ireland and, if so, what timeframe is envisaged for the consultation on, design of and roll-out of such a system?”
“There is a straightforward, proven and fair solution, namely, the pay-on-behalf-of model. This approach, already implemented in France, Germany, Italy and Spain ensures online marketplaces take responsibility for registering, reporting and paying environmental compliance fees on behalf of distance sellers who fail to do so. In practice, this means any seller unable to provide an Irish registration number is automatically enrolled in the marketplace pay-on-behalf-of scheme. The marketplace then reports and pays the relevant compliance fees to Irish authorities. This model delivers fairness, simplicity, competitiveness and environmental progress. France’s experience shows such systems can be implemented smoothly.”
“A new nationally representative survey of 1,000 consumers commissioned by Digital Business Ireland and conducted by Amárach shows six in ten shoppers say they would be less likely to buy from an online retailer that does not contribute to Ireland’s environmental and circular economy targets. Some 80% of consumers expressed at least one concern regarding distance sellers. Cross-border e-commerce is widespread. Some 55% of consumers made at least one online purchase in the past month that required shipping from outside the State. These findings reinforce what Irish businesses have been saying, which is that the public want a level playing field where everyone who profits from the Irish market contributes fairly to its sustainability and where responsible Irish retailers are not subsidising free riders.”
“The first is a deep competitive imbalance, as domestic retailers, especially small and medium enterprises, are shouldering the financial and administrative burden of compliance while global sellers escape equivalent obligations. The second problem is the risk to Ireland’s environmental targets. Our national recycling rate has stagnated at 41% for the past decade. This is well short of the EU’s 55% target for 2025. Without decisive action we risk missing those binding targets and exposing the State to significant EU penalties, while damaging consumer confidence in our recycling system. There is strong public support for closing this compliance gap.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber. Ireland's whole-of-government circular economy strategy commits us to reducing waste, extending product lifespan and embedding reuse and recycling in every aspect of how we consume and do business. These are ambitious though necessary goals, but in reality our current system is being undermined by global e-commerce. Irish consumers now make more online purchases than almost any other nation in Europe, yet too many of those goods come in from distance sellers who fail to meet Irish recycling and take-back obligations. Compliant Irish retailers are left carrying the cost by paying for recycling and recovery schemes that overseas competitors are simply avoiding. This creates two major problems.”
“I do not know what we can do to try to get other countries on board and encourage them to stop being inward looking in terms of the political decisions they are making and be outward looking and realising they can benefit from further investment. I look forward to working with the Minister of State in this Chamber and at the foreign affairs committee in the context of helping all the people who work for organisations in various countries around the world on behalf of Ireland. They do phenomenal work. We can never give them enough money to do the work that is needed. We must always recognise that the work they do is hugely significant and plays a massive and positive role in terms of the respect we are shown as a country.”
“Councillor Ward is doing an awful lot of work on this at the moment in terms of the positive impact that overseas aid can give and how, politically, that can be provide an impetus going forward. This is an important debate. The Minister of State has done really good work in terms of trying to get the narrative out there in the context of what we do, how we do it and how we oversee every single penny the Irish people put into this. It is not just given and nothing is known about where it goes. We are seeing positive impacts. If the Minister of State could expand on that a bit more, it would be helpful.”
“The Minister of State outlined that this has a positive impact on those countries, but it also has a positive impact on us. There are conversations happening at every dinner table about pressures on investment, infrastructure, healthcare, education and security in Ireland. We have a rapidly growing economy, and people are coming into this country. We welcome the vast majority of them, but they are leaving countries because they are not developed and are not getting the investment they need to develop. When we talk about the concerns regarding so many people coming into this country, some of the best money the State is spending is that relating to overseas development. Such development gives people the option of staying in their own countries if they choose to do so. I was talking with Councillor Ben Ward before this debate began.”
“At the moment, we only have funding to target one third of those. In that context, is our aid targeted in terms of countries or at situations across all countries? What essentially happens to the other two thirds? America is an obvious case but we all know of countries that have pulled back from providing support. America is the most high-profile example because it gives the most money. The impact from its reduction is almost impossible to counteract in the context of other countries increasing their investment. What kind of impact is that having? Has enough time passed to allow us to see the negative impact of that lack of investment? From a diplomatic perspective, what can the Irish State do to try to convince the countries to which I refer to reinvest in overseas aid?”
“As a committee, we always try to travel to one of the developing countries every year. Next year, members of the committee will hopefully be visiting Sierra Leone and Libya. Can the Minister of State provide some further information in terms of what exactly is done to support the Rainbo Initiative? The funding we give has a positive impact in countries. It is something we should be very proud of. Irish people in general are very proud of what is done with that money. The investment we are giving - and we are one of the highest investors per capita globally - is really significant. The Minister of State talked about overseas development aid and the projects we are spending this money on. He mentioned that there are 305 million people across the world who need humanitarian assistance.”
“We invest in women's healthcare, whether it is in the context of maternity issues, blood pressure or gender equality. It seems to be that much of our investment predominantly goes to women and childcare. That is incredibly important. The Minister of State has visited a number of countries and he has seen at first hand the impact our investment makes. When responding to the debate, can he provide examples of the timeline relating to our investment, what is being done to support the people to whom I refer and the positive outcomes from our investment that have been seen in communities in the countries he has visited? He mentioned Sierra Leone and the Rainbo Initiative. Could he elaborate on that, particularly as the foreign affairs committee has met with an awful lot of organisations.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome. It is very important to have him here to outline the work that has been done in the area of overseas aid. Obviously, it is welcome that we are increasing our annual funding up to €840 million. Hopefully, over the lifetime of this Government, that money will continue to increase. It is important to have a debate for the benefit of the Irish public. We know that the money is going to overseas aid but many people do not really know where it is being spent, who is benefiting or whether we actually oversee where it is invested. The Minister of State referred to a number of countries and to projects that support people in those countries. That was quite interesting, because we predominantly invest in women in some of those countries he mentioned.”
“They have had a difficult number of years, but what has been done in the budget is pretty significant, and if we can deliver on that as quickly as possible, it will hugely benefit them. It has a knock-on effect on the whole area as well. I welcome the debate and thank the Minister of State for being here. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak, having run up from the committee.”
“I will be very brief. I am just coming from the sports committee, so I am slightly out of breath. On a serious note, I wanted to speak on this really important debate. I welcome the Minister of State here. Post offices are the lifeblood of the community. I see that in Tipperary on a daily basis. I see the work they do and the support that they give to their communities. We have a very good post office in Cahir town. The postmaster there, Henry, does incredible work. Postmasters really appreciate what was done in the budget. I have spoken to a number of people who work in the sector and the real message they have is that the funding must be delivered as quickly as possible, ideally in January 2026.”
“In our area, when the water is out, it essentially means that a lot of the childcare providers in Clonmel have to close because they do not have any water and for health and safety reasons, they cannot have young kids on the premises all day with no water and no toilets working. This means that everyone has to change their schedule for the whole day and pick up their kids and bring them home. They have to tell their boss they cannot stay at work because childcare facilities are closing. It is having a huge impact on the whole region. We have not had the Minister for housing in the House for a while to talk about water and water infrastructure. Taking into account the plan for investing in infrastructure, we also need to look at upgrading and improving the infrastructure we have in place.”
“This is having a huge impact on locals there. Over the last three months, we have had serious issues with the Goatenbridge water treatment plant. Thousands of people from the Goatenbridge area, Ardfinnan, Grange, Cahir and that area have been on boil water notices for four months. Then, almost on a weekly basis, the water is out for a number of hours. Tomorrow, it will be out all day for what Irish Water claims are minor works or minor upgrades. This is happening on a weekly basis, with very little clarity on when it might end. It is causing huge disruptions to homes and businesses.”
“I wish to be associated with the fine comments of Senator Kennelly in relation to the late Jim Finucane. He was an absolute gentleman and a pleasure to meet. As the Senator said, he did incredible work supporting Ukrainian citizens coming to Ireland initially. I extend my condolences to his family and friends. I ask that we have a debate with the Minister for housing on wastewater treatment. In Tipperary, we have ongoing problems with water quality and capacity. Huge investment is being made in Irish Water to build new infrastructure across the country and in cities. In Clonmel, we have had problems for years because we are at capacity and cannot develop for that reason. Changes are being made whereby the water system is being moved to Monroe. The quality of water is not as good as it was originally.”
“If you want authentic Ireland, Tipperary is the place to go. I encourage everyone, including those from Finland, to visit Tipperary if they are coming to Ireland because it presents an authentic view of the country. For a county that does not have the traditions of Kerry and Galway, this is very welcome. Does the Leader agree that when we talk about tourism and people coming to Dublin, Kerry and Galway, we should acknowledge that we also have some local gems? Now that Tipperary is on the list, will he encourage people to look beyond the traditional locations and go there as well?”
“When people read the reasons Lonely Planet highlighted Tipperary, aside from its scenic views, mountains and lakes, they will see it refers to the quality of the food and locally produced food. This has not happened by accident; it is because an awful lot of work was done by volunteers to build up the reputation. I am very conscious that I am talking to a Cathaoirleach from Kerry and a Leader from Galway, in which counties there is a tradition of tourism, but we in Tipperary have certainly noticed the number of tourists coming in. The numbers for Cahir and Cashel have been very positive, particularly last summer. This has a knock-on effect on the local economy, which brings a huge benefit. One reason Lonely Planet recommends Tipperary as a place to visit is that there is nothing fake about it.”
“I, too, welcome the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland. Funnily, I was actually talking this morning to a Finnish citizen who lives in Ireland. She came back from Finland only yesterday. We are lucky to have her. I wish the delegates well on their visit. There was some very welcome news for my home county, Tipperary, this morning. Lonely Planet came out with its annual review of destinations to visit across the world and it recommended 25, including Botswana, Peru and Mexico. Tipperary was also on the list. This is a genuine success for us. It has not happened by accident. Incredible work has been done, particularly by the county council, led by Sinead Carr, and particularly in conjunction with the food producers of Tipperary.”
“While we also need to look east and look for more opportunities in areas we have not before, it is important that we protect the livelihoods of people working in that sector as best we can in conjunction with the European Commission, making sure it is fully aware of the challenges Ireland has with these tariffs.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his response. When the Tánaiste and our diplomats have discussions with the European Commission, I hope it takes on our concerns particularly in relation to medtech and pharmaceuticals. As the Minister of State said, there are still possibilities for lower tariffs in certain areas. Medtech is one that needs to be highlighted on behalf of Ireland. A lot of work has been done in the past ten years or so to try to develop our economy. We have built it into the fastest growing economy in Europe, and a proportion of that is dependent on FDI and businesses we have in America.”
“It is important that we protect these well-paid and good jobs. I welcome many of the measures announced by the Minister for enterprise in the budget to protect jobs and companies, particularly investment in research and development to attract those companies to remain in Ireland regardless of changes made in America. When we talk about tariffs and decisions made in America, we cannot forget that this has a direct impact on people in our own individual counties. That is why the conversations the European Commission is having on behalf of us and all countries in the European Union are critical to ensure that some sort of consistency or some sort of comfort and clarity can remain.”
“I spoke to a delegation from Switzerland and they were talking about the negotiations they had with America on tariffs. Everything had been agreed up to the morning that the agreement went to the White House, but within three hours everything changed and the tariffs were massively increased. The same has happened with Japan to a lesser extent. As the Minister of State comes from Limerick, he will be very well aware of this. I speak about it in the context of my home town of Clonmel. Over the past 40 or 50 years, Clonmel has been very fortunate in having significant foreign direct investment for its size, particularly Merck Sharp and Dohme, which came 50 years ago. It now has Abbott, Boston Scientific and many more. They employ thousands of people in Tipperary and surrounding areas.”
“I thank the Minister of State for being here this morning. I am looking for an update on conversations that have been happening with the European Commission on tariffs with America. As we are all aware, an agreement had been reached a number of weeks or months ago of a 15% tariff for the EU with America. There had been a certain level of fear that that might change for pharmaceuticals and the medtech sector. Thankfully we have got clarity that it will remain at 15% even though other countries seem to be up at 100%. I am asking about this because of the volatility in America where things can change very quickly. What conversations is the European Commission having? What is its strategy for dealing with America with the constant fear of things changing almost overnight?”
“Although a number of people are still struggling, an awful lot of people have seen the benefit over the last four or five years of the measures that have been taken by the Department in reducing costs, opening up access, setting up schemes that support people from disadvantaged areas and children with additional needs, and providing funding to educate those who want to work in this sector. All of these things will have a knock-on impact. As a Senator said at the start, a number of people who have worked in this sector, having been educated and trained to do so, have decided to leave because financially it is not viable for them to remain. I know the Minister has an action plan and I am interested in hearing its timeline. We need to have an action plan in place to ensure these teachers can see a long-term future and career in this sector.”
“Although there has not been a reduction this year, there has been an increase in funding of about €125 million. One of the main aspects of that increase in funding is that it allows for the building of new facilities. When we build new facilities, we reduce the cost and open up access. There is a long-term ambition to reach a cost of €200 a month, which hopefully can be done within the lifetime of this Government. If we do not have enough childcare places, however, parents cannot find providers to which to send their children and there is no point in having a maximum of €200 a month. This is an important debate. If we are going to talk about childcare, we must recognise that a lot has been done in the last five or six years.”
“It has reduced dramatically but this is not to take away from the fact there are problems with the cost and certainly problems in terms of access. One of the big changes I have noticed in rural Ireland, and I presume Senator Nicole Ryan has noticed this as well, is that a number of primary schools have taken on after-school care. This has made a dramatic difference for parents because when their children can attend school and avail of after-school care in the same school, they can stay at work until 5 o'clock. My wife and I could not do it. Either my wife or I would have to collect our child at 2.30 p.m., which just is not possible if you have a full day's work. The increase in after-school care has made a big difference. There have been significant cost reductions over the last four or five years.”
“There are certainly challenges in terms of places. The second person you need to tell that a child is due in nine months' time is the owner of a childcare service. What I have realised in the past six years, and what I have certainly noticed, is that the cost has dramatically reduced. When we speak about costs Senator Tully is right that there are people in the country who are spending an awful lot of money, up to €1,500, on childcare. This is a startling amount but it is not the vast majority of people in the country. The fees people pay now have dramatically reduced compared with four or five years ago. To take my example, if I had my two children now, childcare per month would cost less than half of €1,500 and this is the same for anyone in Tipperary. Four or five years ago the cost would have been over €1,000.”
“My youngest son Daniel has just started the ECCE and the education he is receiving before he starts primary school is phenomenal. When we speak about funding childcare and places we also need to recognise in the long term that the people who work in childcare are, in my view, teachers. They are no different from primary school teachers or secondary school teachers. From my experience with my two boys, the staff provide an education. I genuinely think my boys are geniuses and it has nothing to do with what I have done as a parent. I give the childcare staff all the credit for it. On a serious point, today's discussion is welcome. It is very good and important to recognise there are real challenges for people. There are real challenges in terms of costs, particularly here in the capital city.”
“I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and I welcome the opportunity to speak on the motion. About six years ago if I were told I had to stand up to talk about childcare, I would not have had a clue what I was talking about. Now that I have two boys who are five and three I feel like I am an expert on childcare, the cost of childcare and, particularly, the thing I learned very quickly, childcare providers. The two providers I know very well are the Play and Learn creche in Clonmel and the Busy Bees after-school service in Grange. The staff are educators and teachers and they are not just minders. My perception six or seven years ago was that a child is just put in and minded, they play away, hopefully they are safe and then they come home and all is good but they learn so much it is phenomenal.”
“Will the Taoiseach give us an update in his response, if he can, on where we are with this legislation and what the likelihood is of a decision from the Attorney General?”
“I have to say I found the testimony of all the witnesses on all sides incredibly compelling about delivering the occupied territories Bill, preferably with trade and services included. It is important that we acknowledge we have to await the advice of the Attorney General. There was a strong argument within the committee at the time that we should not fear a case being taken against us if we included services and that we should actually welcome it. If a case were to be brought against us for the inclusion of services and we were to win it, that would give leadership to all other countries to be able to follow suit. On the other hand, if the case were not to be won, the law could literally be changed overnight within 24 hours to just have a reference to trade and not services.”