Holly Cairns
Cork South-West · Social Democrats · Ireland
“At the end of the day, there are a few things that we know and a few things that we do not know. We know the commission of investigation found that it is highly likely there are babies buried on the grounds. We do not know why it made that recommendation. Why? Because the archives are sealed.”
“He now seems to be using that as an excuse for inaction, when what he should be doing is moving heaven and earth to find these children and 19 women who disappeared. Two weeks ago, the Taoiseach told me that Cork City Council should have placed a compulsory purchase order on the land.”
“It knows the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes said it was highly likely that burials had taken place on this land. It has all the evidence of abuse, suspicious deaths, disappeared women and children and likely burial, and the Taoiseach is telling us he is powerless to act because legislation his previous Government d…”
“I want to take up where we left off yesterday. When explaining why the Government was not going to buy Bessborough the Taoiseach said: Excavation without evidence of location is neither feasible nor lawful [because] Under the Institutional Burials Act 2022, the Government can only [start an excavation] where it is satisfied that burials h…”
“The decision by An Coimisiún Pleanála to grant planning permission for apartments at Bessborough is disgusting. This represents yet another failure, a betrayal by the State of the thousands of women and children who were incarcerated and abused there and of the 859 children and 19 women who remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead.”
“I take it from the Taoiseach's reply and his talk about respecting An Bord Pleanála's decision that the answer is that the Government will not be issuing a CPO for the land. The Taoiseach may correct me if I am wrong because I hope the Government is going to make moves to compulsorily purchase the land.”
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“Never before has it been so exposed how vulnerable we are because we are so reliant on fossil fuels. The Government's investment in solar predominantly benefits data centres as opposed to ordinary people. There are 1 million homes eligible for solar. Only 10% have it. They are the households that can afford to meet the impact of price shocks. We are asking the Government to extend grants to people who need to be protected from price shocks.”
“It is undoubtedly welcome that the Government engaged with the hauliers and farmers. That was obviously desperately needed. What is unbelievable is that the Government still does not seem to be listening or engaging with people who are struggling. I asked about home heating oil. There are 700,000 households reliant on home heating oil, the price of which has gone up 70% in the space of a month. I asked about disabled people who are out protesting because they simply could not afford to live before any of this happened. I asked about single parents and ordinary families who are so hard-pressed, but all the Taoiseach does is come back and try to attack the Social Democrats. He talks about investment in solar. It is unbelievable that the Government is not focusing on investment in solar.”
“Some 700,000 households are reliant on home heating oil. The cost has soared by 70% in just a month and nothing has been done to bring that cost down. The Taoiseach constantly says we have no solutions but the Social Democrats has been consistently asking him to introduce targeted supports to those who need them the most. Today, we gave the Government another opportunity on our proposals. The Dáil debated a Social Democrats motion this morning which proposed a targeted €400 energy credit for low and middle income earners, the creation of a supplementary mileage scheme for essential workers and a doubling of solar grants to help people reduce their energy costs by hundreds of euro per year. The Government is voting against those proposals, refusing to listen and refusing to act.”
“There seems to be no understanding of the level of stress and worry people have endured for years. Week after week, we come in here and highlight the need for an emergency payment for disabled people, for investment in renewable energy and for targeted supports to the people struggling the most because the cost of simply existing in this country is growing and growing and it is crushing people. There is no let up, no relief and little to no help from Government. That is why people were on the streets last week. Everybody understands that the Government does not control international oil prices but these fuel price shocks were a tipping point for so many people. The package of measures the Government brought forward will be of very little comfort to many of them. Incredibly, it does nothing to bring down the cost of home heating oil.”
“This Government was totally unprepared for the protests that swept the country last week, but how? After all, this did not erupt spontaneously overnight. The signs were there. They were not even subtle. There is a lack of empathy at play. I know the Taoiseach will take great exception to the fact that I am saying this. He will claim we do not have a monopoly on empathy or compassion but I ask him to reflect on what happened last week and his Government's reaction to it. There was, unquestionably, a deficit of empathy and a lack of foresight. What transpired what foreseeable, predictable and avoidable. The fact that the Taoiseach did not foresee, predict or avoid it calls into question his competence. The Government talks about the cost-of-living crisis as if it suddenly emerged six weeks ago when Trump invaded Iran.”
“Imagine how they have felt for the past week, seeing the crushing effect rising costs have had on farmers, their own families and their loved ones, seeing the toll that they are taking on people's mental health and hearing the Government patronise and dismiss people who have been driven to the brink. People are not protesting because they want to; they are protesting because they feel they have no choice. The protests are a symptom of a larger problem. The protesters deserve to be listened to and deserve a Government that is finally willing to act.”
“It should be practical, fair and focused on improving people's lives. This transition must bring everyone with us. The pressure being placed on farmers right now is unbelievable. The nature of the job means that the weight on their shoulders is immense. There is responsibility for livestock and a job that never lets up, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Alongside that, there is often loneliness, isolation and a mental health crisis that we do not talk about nearly enough. When I meet representatives of Macra na Feirme, one of the core issues they raise with me is generational renewal, which is hardly surprising if you imagine being a young person who is thinking right now about taking over the family farm.”
“Ireland should be a leader in climate action. We have the resources to build an energy system that is cleaner, cheaper and more secure. Take solar energy. There are close to a million homes in this country suitable for solar panels, yet only a fraction have them installed. Why? For too many people, it is still too expensive. That is why the Social Democrats have put forward the plan Solar for All. It would double grants, expand access and make solar a real option for ordinary households, not just those who can afford large upfront costs. It would cut bills by hundreds of euro each year and give people real protection from future energy shocks. I refer to real solutions that, if implemented, could meaningfully help people. That is what we need and what climate action should look like.”
“First of all, I thank Deputy Gannon for all of his work on this motion. No matter how hard people work, it is becoming more and more difficult to stay afloat. People are holding their breath before opening their energy bills. Small businesses are staring at their accounts wondering how much longer they can keep going, and workers who rely on diesel to do their jobs are trying to figure out how they can absorb another price shock. That deep crushing anxiety is what brought people onto the streets. What the protests alongside the war in Iran have made clear is just how vulnerable we are to sudden and dramatic price spikes because we have not built the energy resilience we need at home. Successive Governments have failed to invest in renewable energy and to protect from exactly this kind of crisis.”
“The Social Democrats have an alternative vision for this country and a plan for immediate targeted financial supports for those who are struggling the most right now, which would deliver a €400 energy credit for households earning up to €70,000, and a real, tangible solution to help people who are struggling the most, including a solar for all scheme to double grants to €3,600 and cut people's bills by €450 each year.”
“It is the result of political choices: a political choice to cut the incomes of disabled people by €1,400 per year; a political choice to sit back while 315,000 households go into energy arrears; and a political choice to fail to make sources of renewable energy like solar accessible. This Government's political choices have failed to protect people from exactly this kind of price shock. That is a failure of vision. That failure is all the Government's.”
“It shows the complete arrogance of the Government and its complete inability to read the room. It is proposing a package of measures that will be of little assistance to the vast majority of people. There are 700,000 households all over the country reliant on home heating oil. The cost of it has soared 70% in just under a month. There is nothing in the Government's proposal to address this. It is further evidence, not that we needed it, that no lessons have been learned. We all know these latest price shocks are the fault of Trump and his illegal war with Iran. However, the scale of the impact here is not inevitable.”
“They do not want to be out on the streets; they want their Government to listen to them and to help them. The Government's failure to do so created a vacuum that has allowed a small number of far right actors to try to hijack the protest for their own agenda. The Taoiseach played right into their hands. Now, instead of reflecting on its complete mishandling of this crisis, the Government is engaged in a blame game. The communications Minister is even blaming the media. The Government has come in here today, the first occasion the Opposition has had to ask questions, and ripped up the Dáil schedule to prevent us from doing so, showing contempt for this House as well as for the people who elected us to hold the Government accountable. It is shameful.”
“Last week, as protests began to grow, instead of recognising that frustration and that desperation and engaging with people, the Government refused to listen. A succession of senior Ministers issued combative, patronising and dismissive statements. The Minister for justice spoke about sending out the Defence Forces before anyone had even spoken to the protesters. That is not leadership; it is a failure of leadership. The vast majority of protesters are farmers, hauliers and ordinary people who simply cannot keep up with the rising cost of living. One of the most stressful things is the thought of not being able to put food on the table. The mental health impact on people who rely on diesel to do their jobs does not seem to register with this Government. People are terrified.”
“People working long hours every week, barely seeing their families, are really struggling just to pay for the basics. Pensioners spend long evenings in freezing homes because they cannot afford to turn on the heat. Disabled people choose between heating their homes and charging their mobility aids. The pressure is relentless and it is draining. The cost of groceries, energy and housing have all skyrocketed with no end in sight. For many the fuel increases were a tipping point and these protests were a way to express that. I want to be clear that the Social Democrats do not agree with blockades of critical infrastructure but I do understand people's frustration and their growing sense of desperation.”
“We are here today because this Government does not listen. It does not listen to the Opposition, it does not listen to its own backbenchers and, most importantly, it does not listen to the people. The cost-of-living crisis did not suddenly emerge six weeks ago when Trump attacked Iran but it has been growing and growing for years. This Government has had the resources to provide meaningful support to people but refused to do so. Instead people have watched while it wasted countless billions and failed to deliver critical public services, housing and infrastructure, all while giving sermons about the importance of fiscal prudence. That is the backdrop to these protests. Life in this country has become totally unaffordable for an ever-increasing number of people.”
“Children in need wait years for necessary works, excluded from parts of their own school. Teachers turn down roles they want because they know they cannot access the schools. Will the Department review its approach to accessibility works, and will Leap National School's application be reassessed?”
“Accessibility in our schools should be a basic right but the Department is not treating it like that. In Leap National School in my own constituency, there have been repeated incidents where a wheelchair user could not enter the building because the door is inaccessible and the school does not have a mobile ramp. The principal rightly took this very seriously and applied for accessibility works, but that application was rejected because no student or teacher currently needed it and because the lack of access was not sudden or unforeseen. For some reason, the Department refuses to conduct accessibility works outside of an emergency. By waiting until a child or a teacher needs the work, disabled people suffer and parents and visitors simply cannot access the school.”
“All of the criminal and legal processes would follow, and rightly so because the family of that child would deserve justice. Why do the families of the 829 unaccounted for and disappeared children not deserve that whereas the families of the children in Tuam do?”
“It is incorrect to say that there is not specific or strong enough evidence. The commission saying that it is likely that there are remains of children on the grounds is specific and strong enough evidence to prove that there probably is. At the very least, it warrants an examination. There seems to be a perception that this is a normal planning application, that there is no sensitivity and that there is no criminal aspect to the situation. The Government is treating it like that, claiming it cannot do anything now that planning permission has been granted. If a child were to disappear today and it was suspected that they were buried in a particular plot of land, it is safe to say there would be a forensic examination and, following that, the coroner would be called.”
“Twenty-eight years since the Bessborough mother and baby home closed we still do not know where they are because the State has not bothered to look. Unbelievably, planning permission has now been granted to build an apartment complex on the grounds of Bessborough. Can the Minister imagine how empty the apology to mother and baby home survivors must feel when five years later planning permission has somehow been granted to build apartments on a mass grave? I do not think the Minister needs me to tell him that ordinarily if there were any number of children buried somewhere there would be a criminal investigation. There would never be a question of just concreting over it.”
“A few years ago when it was suggested some of the children had not been baptised, the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary was quick to correct the record. They wanted to " ... state categorically that all children born in Bessborough were baptised within the rites of the Catholic Church and canon law." However, when it comes to the burial records of babies who died there, they apparently have no idea where they are. They disappeared without a trace as if they never existed. The Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes was "perplexed and concerned at the inability of ... the Congregation ... to identify the burial ... [places]." and concluded it was "... highly likely that the burials did take place in the grounds ...".”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Cheann Comhairle. In 1940 Ireland's infant mortality rate was 6.5%. In the Bessborough mother and baby home, it was 61%. In 1943 a Department inspector, Alice Litster, said: "The greater number[s] ... were miserable scraps of humanity, wizened, some emaciated and almost all had rash and sores all over their bodies, faces, hands and heads." Many of those children died of starvation. The State was fully aware but the institution remained open and women and children continued to be incarcerated and abused there. Between 1922 when it opened and 1998 when it finally closed 923 children died in Bessborough but burial records exist for just 64. It seems no one even cared enough to record where they were buried. The nuns who ran Bessborough did keep meticulous records about one thing: baptisms.”
“I agree with the Taoiseach that many people who voted "Yes" to repeal, voted "Yes" because of women who needed terminations for medical reasons, yet they are still forced to travel. Inaction on this is cruel. I ask the Taoiseach to act and to act fast. He says the Government is going to review this. Can he elaborate on the timeline for this? Will he will allow a free vote on this in the Dáil?”
“Ultimately, when we voted on repeal, we voted to take women's healthcare out of the Constitution and put it into the hands of doctors, the Members in this House and women themselves. No legislation is set in stone, and everybody who voted on this knows that. A review was also baked into that. With all the other things the Taoiseach has spoken about which people voted on, we also voted that there would be a review. It took five years for that review to happen and a lot of people suffered in that time. Then, we finally got the review and the recommendations were clear: the criminalisation of doctors, cases of fatal foetal abnormalities and the three-day mandatory waiting period all needed to go. The Government has had three years to act on that and it has not.”
“An expert report recommending clarity on the provision of care in cases of foetal abnormality and the end to criminalisation of doctors was published in April 2023. For three years, the Government has ignored these recommendations-----”
“This legislation is inhumane. If it were not for a kind worker at the ferry terminal allowing them to travel, they would not have been able to bring Éadha home to meet her three-year-old brother and the rest of her family. Denise's trauma did not end there. Despite having major surgery in the UK, there was zero follow-up care for her in Ireland. Even when she presented to a bereavement midwife to get counselling, she was told it was not available. Denise and her family were on their own. Every year, 240 women have to travel to the UK to access abortion care; each one with their own story of grief, trauma and sheer horror at what they are forced to go through. It is a complete and utter disgrace.”
“Once they were at the hospital, doctors stopped the baby's heart and Denise prepared to give birth, but she began to haemorrhage. She lost five units of blood, causing her body to go into shock. Doctors were forced to do an emergency C-section, and they had to warn Denise in advance that they may need to do a hysterectomy to stop the bleeding. When Éadha was born, Denise and Mark spent some time with their daughter in the hospital. As if all of this was not hard enough, they then had to think about the legality of getting home. A consultant in Liverpool warned them to put Éadha's body in the boot of their car and smuggle her back to Ireland, but they could not bring themselves to do that. When they got to the ferry, Mark declared they were bringing their daughter home, and they were gripped by fear that they might be arrested.”
“Denise Whitmore was absolutely devastated when she learned at a routine scan in November 2024 that her baby's brain had not developed and that the condition was fatal. After a lot of consideration, Denise and her husband Mark made the heartbreaking decision to terminate the pregnancy but because doctors could not be absolutely certain her baby would die within 28 days, as is required by current legislation, Denise was forced to travel to the UK for treatment. To say it was not an easy journey is an understatement. Denise was six months pregnant and was bleeding from an additional complication of a low-lying placenta. On the day they were due to travel, their ferry to Holyhead was cancelled. This meant travelling to Pembroke instead, followed by a five-hour car journey to Liverpool.”
“For a time Bessborough mother and baby home was not just a place where children were born; it was where they died. In 1943, three out of every four babies there died. One of the leading causes of death was starvation. The mother and baby homes commission report stated that 923 children died in Bessborough but burial records only exist for 64. The commission concluded it was highly likely some of those children were buried on the grounds. The State either does not care or does not want to know because there has never been a proper, forensic examination of Bessborough. Unbelievably, Cork City Council has granted planning permission for 140 apartments on the site. Survivors of Bessborough have never received justice. The very least the Government owes them is to find the bodies of their children.”
“We have had reports of the price of home heating oil skyrocketing, which will be devastating for people all over the country who are already struggling, not least the disabled people who are protesting at the weekend because they simply cannot afford to live in this country. What will the Taoiseach do about energy price-gouging that is already under way? What supports will be made available to people who simply cannot take any further rising costs? Will the Taoiseach at least consider the Social Democrats' proposal for a €400 energy credit for those who need it the most.”
“That was a long-winded way of the Taoiseach saying that he will not condemn the breach of international law. We can all agree that the UN is not perfect but it is the best that we have got. The Taoiseach should be doing much more to try to defend that. The Taoiseach cannot just say that we support international law. He has to defend it when it matters. He has to call out the US when it tramples all over it. First and foremost, the people of the Middle East will suffer as a result of this illegal war but the effects will be global. Energy companies are already cynically capitalising on this crisis with blatant price-gouging.”
“The structures are there to prevent all hell breaking loose on the international stage and those structures are being completely dismantled. Trump has bombed seven countries since taking office and has faced no consequences for his actions. The strategy of appeasing the Trump Administration has not worked. It is past time for European leaders, including the Taoiseach, to stand up for international law. Will the Taoiseach condemn this attack? Will he rule out any use of Shannon Airport by the US military? Will he outline the steps he is taking to ensure the repatriation of Irish citizens stranded in the Middle East?”
“Their families need to be assured that they will be pulled out if the situation deteriorates further. Does the Irish Government now believe that large countries can simply ignore international law and launch attacks on other countries whenever they feel like it? The fact is that the Trump Administration changes its rationale for going to war day by day and European leaders, including the Taoiseach, are just stepping back and allowing that to happen, refusing to outright condemn the US as it continues to dismantle international law. I cannot emphasise enough my condemnation of the Iranian regime and its treatment of women in particular, but where does this end? International law does not just apply to countries we agree with.”
“Tens of thousands of people have been killed in recent protests, and an unknowable number have been imprisoned, but this attempted regime change by the US and Israel, supported by European allies, is not just reckless; it is dangerous. As President Connolly has said: The normalisation of war, including the invasion at will of sovereign states, is a path that only leads to destruction and loss of life. The entire Middle East is already a tinderbox, and this war is spiralling out of control. More than 780 people, including 168 schoolgirls, have already been slaughtered in Iran and the death toll is rising across the region. This escalation in violence has caused huge distress and anxiety for thousands of Irish citizens now stranded in Gulf countries and it has also exposed our 358 peacekeepers in Lebanon to significant danger.”
“It is nearly 23 years since the beginning of the Iraq war. That was started with a “pre-emptive” strike on Saddam Hussein’s presidential palace. More than two decades later, and it is clear no lessons have been learned from that disaster. The United States and Israel have labelled their strikes on Iran as “pre-emptive”. They have done that purely for propaganda purposes to try to give their violent attacks a veneer of legality. But let us be clear: this military action is a clear breach of international law. It should be strongly condemned by the Taoiseach and the rest of the Government. Instead, we get words of “concern” and “dismay”. From reading the Taoiseach's statement, you would not even know the US was involved. We all agree that the Iranian regime is brutal, authoritarian and repressive.”
“I hope the brave people who went on hunger strike are not failed by this Government too. I know they feel very angry and let down that supports they were promised have not materialised. To have survivors consulted about the apology 30 minutes beforehand and to have the dates of their coming and going from the institutions wrong today is insulting. It is disrespectful and the very least they deserve today is respect. I hope this does not continue beyond today.”
“The redress scheme for survivors of mother and baby homes is the perfect example of this. It limits support and services to as narrow a group as possible for entirely arbitrary reasons that have no scientific or logical basis, causing further pain and trauma to survivors, who have already suffered so much, in the process. The State did not do this in the dim or distant past. It was a decision by the previous Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Green Party Government. It excluded children who had spent less than six months in one of these institutions and children who had been boarded out, even if those children had been forcibly separated from their mothers, illegally adopted or treated like slave labour and abused in the places they were boarded out to. They got nothing.”
“Ahern lamented the "piecemeal approach" the State had taken to protecting children and commended the "bravery of individual victims determined to tell their stories and seek justice". Back then, the current Taoiseach was education Minister and chair of a Cabinet subcommittee tasked with designing supports for victims. Since then, there have been apologies by a further three taoisigh: Brian Cowen, Enda Kenny and, in 2021, Micheál Martin himself. Here we are again today, still forcing victims to go public, to advocate and to fight the State for recognition and services, still taking a legalistic approach to redress, in which the overriding priority is limiting access and eligibility, once again trying to protect the State's finances rather than trying to protect victims.”
“We are still in this Chamber failing them today, decades later, forcing them to beg for supports that should be easy to access, forcing them to jump through hoops just to get the basics, making them feel like they have no other choice but to go on hunger strike. These are survivors of depraved abuse, forced to endure further trauma and pain, just to get what they should already be entitled to. Today's apology marks the fifth time the State has apologised for what children and women endured in institutions run by religious orders. Those apologies now stretch back nearly 30 years. They started in 1999, when Bertie Ahern apologised to children who had been abused in residential institutions. At the time Mr.”
“These are people who have already been repeatedly failed by the State, who were placed in these terrible institutions when they were just children, only to be beaten, starved and sexually abused, treated like prisoners and slaves, denied a childhood, denied compassion, denied care, denied everything a child needs. They were tortured for years by religious orders and a complicit State. The State knew this was happening and did not stop it and did not help - quite the opposite. It continued to send children to these awful places. These children had suffered trauma and needed love and support and were denied it. Instead, all they received was brutality and terror. Every waking minute was marked by fear, anxiety and horror. Lives were destroyed.”
“I give a very warm welcome to all the survivors in the Public Gallery. We are here today because of their tireless efforts to get justice. I welcome the State apology today for survivors of industrial and reformatory schools as well as the clarification on criminal records. I do, however, want to talk about what it took to get here. Survivors of these nightmarish institutions, Mary Donovan, Mary Dunlevy Greene, Maurice Patton O'Connell and Miriam Moriarty Owens, went on hunger strike for 51 days, sleeping on the street outside Leinster House, in the bitter cold and rain, in the winter, just to be listened to, to be taken seriously, to be heard.”
“An eating disorder does not disappear on your 18th birthday. Our services cannot either. Will the Minister implement a mandatory standardised transition pathway from child to adult services?”
“Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental health condition. Eating disorder services in this country do not reflect the seriousness of this. Young people with eating disorders face a medical cliff-edge when they reach adulthood. Their care can simply stop. They are discharged from CAMHS and placed on a waiting list for adult services that are understaffed, under-resourced and, in 14 counties, are non-existent. Families describe it as being cut loose. The care stops dead and there is little to no continuity. With eating disorders, the gap in treatment can cause rapid regression. We know what works: early intervention and seamless transition, colocated child and adult mental health service teams, clear national pathways, stepdown care and mandatory handover planning before a young person turns 18.”
“It would introduce a DEIS for GPs scheme with deprivation-weighted capitation rates so practices serving disadvantaged communities are properly funded for the higher level of need and a nationwide HSE locum bank, so GPs can take annual leave, parental leave and sick leave like any other worker while ensuring continuity of care for the community. To have a comprehensive out-of-hours service to access the care you need should not be a postcode lottery.”
“It is a clear, achievable pathway to ending financial barriers once and for all. Expanding access must go hand in hand with expanding capacity. A significant number of rural GPs are approaching retirement. Many practices rely on one or two doctors covering huge geographical areas often without proper locum support. When one retires or even takes well-deserved leave, the impact on their community is immediate. One of the main barriers to attracting young doctors into rural practice is the cost and administrative burden of setting up a business, so we need a new approach. The Social Democrats are calling for a new GP contract and the introduction of salaried GPs directly employed by the HSE starting an underserved rural communities and offshore islands. This would remove the financial risk for doctors and give communities security.”
“Infuriatingly, Ireland continues to cling to a two-tier model of health where access, speed and quality of care can depend on your income. Nine years ago, and lead by Róisín Shortall, we achieved cross-party agreement this could not continue. Sláintecare set out a ten-year plan for universal healthcare with free GP access for all by year five. It is nine years on and we are nowhere near delivering it. When cost remains a barrier people delay care. They wait a week then another and hope symptoms pass. Minor infections become more serious, manageable conditions escalate and inevitably pressure then shifts to already-overcrowded emergency departments. Extending GP care is not radical but logical. Our motion calls for free GP care for under-12s this year and for universal free GP care by 2030.”
“I thank my colleague, Deputy Rice, for all of his hard work and passion on this issue. Our GP services are stretched beyond their limits. In most areas of my constituency of Cork South-West GP practices are no longer taking on new patients. People ring practice after practice only to be told there is no room. Families who move to the area cannot access primary care locally. Young people ageing out of paediatric care struggle to find a GP of their own. This is not unique to west Cork and is happening all across the country, particularly in rural areas. This is about basic access to healthcare - to fundamental vital care that should be available locally without charge. There is no justification and no excuse for people being priced out of a GP visit. It is the bare minimum the State should provide and it is the norm across western Europe.”
“I sat on the disability matters committee in the previous Dáil term. Week after week, people told us how often impossible their lives were made by a system that does not listen to them, does not include them-----”
“The Taoiseach asked what I mean by the change of approach and I will elaborate on that. I mean a change from this, where the Government comes in and uses language like "progress", "investment" and "increases" and all of these big, grand words whereas the reality for disabled people on the ground is a nightmare. The reality of the language in your own Government's reports is very different from your own - go from "progress" and "investment" to "wasted lives". That is the difference. The approach of successive Governments up until now has been piecemeal and threadbare and it has been ruining people's lives. That is the reality. The Taoiseach said he speaks to parents of disabled children all the time. If so, then he knows they are the people he meets in his constituency who are the most at the end of their tether.”