Jennifer Whitmore
Wicklow · Social Democrats · Ireland
“The Minister for justice recently brought in reforms for the criminal justice legal aid system. While we all recognise that there is a need for reform within the system, the reforms that the Minister has brought in are ill-considered, not backed up by data or evidence and have led to absolute chaos in the courts system.”
“Hundreds of jurors were recently told that their services were no longer required. Many vulnerable people in the legal system are falling through gaps.”
“A hosepipe ban will come into force in a number of counties on the east coast from tomorrow. I completely understand that because we are seeing record temperatures and are in the middle of dealing with the climate crisis and climate change.”
“In 2024, 1,000 incidents of antisocial behaviour were recorded on Dublin Bus. That was nearly double the figure recorded just a few years earlier. Unfortunately, this is not just limited to Dublin. We are also seeing instances of this in my constituency, Wicklow, on Go-Ahead services.”
“More than 1,000 people died in Spain due to heat-related causes in June of this year alone. By early July, Spain had 14 major forest fires and 50,000 ha of land had been burned. Across Europe, more than 10,000 excess deaths associated with the recent heatwave were recorded in a single week. These warnings have to be taken seriously.”
“As a family member, you wonder if the person is getting care, whether they are being fed properly and whether they are being looked after. There is no visibility. There is a dementia care home in Shankill that a lot of people from my constituency use, St. Joseph's. It is incredible. I visited it recently.”
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“The Minister mentioned the habitats directive has been a key part of these negotiations and that he had discussions in the summer with the Commissioner regarding incorporating the habitats directive into the plans. Can he give more information on exactly what that will mean for farmers, and what supports will be provided to ensure they can comply with that? The habitats directive is a robust compliance measure, so this is going to be very hard. This has been one of my arguments all along. We have had the derogation for 20 years but we have never once met any of the environmental conditions placed by Europe. Our water quality has never improved. Certainly, in the last report from the Environmental Protection Agency, they had not improved. What conditions will be placed on us as regards the habitats directive?”
“A week is a long time in politics and it seems my question could be out of date. It is on whether the Department has developed a contingency or plan B in the event that Ireland is not granted a further extension of the nitrates derogation.”
“It is very important to us as a party that public money is spent for the good of the public and not on a very small group of people, a huge number of whom cannot look after the animals they purport to love.”
“This is about where we put our money, what value we put on that money and what we prioritise in this country. My preference, and that of the Social Democrats, would be that money is used for the public good, and that we look particularly at vulnerable people in our country to see where the gaps are and what we need to do to support them and put that money there instead. It should not be going to a dying industry like greyhound racing. The Social Democrats, year in, year out, will vote against this motion. We express our concerns about the industry. We call on the Government to do something about it and ask that it not waste public money here. We are one of the very few Opposition parties that have called for this to end. I know People Before Profit and Solidarity have also.”
“It could be something simple like making sure that hospital parking is free for people who need it regularly. There is so much good that could be done every year with €20 million and there are so many people who need it. To the Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae, I know many of the greyhound owners love their animals but not all of them do. There are inherent problems in this industry that are not getting any better. I agree with my colleague, Deputy Duncan Smith, that this is not a rural-urban divide. I grew up on a working-class estate and you would often see the greyhound owners out walking their dogs. They loved their dogs as well. There is a difference between accepting that people can love greyhounds and handing over €20 million to support an industry that should not exist anymore in this country. It simply should not.”
“This is another year where we have this debate about greyhound racing and the use, indeed the wastage, of €20 million of public money on this industry. It is an industry that is cruel, that is not supported by the public and that belongs in the past. Twenty million euro is such an enormous amount of money. Can you imagine the good that €20 million could do? That €20 million could be used to fund hospices for children because at the moment those hospices have to fundraise to keep their doors open. That money could be used to build refuges for women. We have International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women this week and there are nine counties in this country that do not have refuges for women who face domestic violence. That money would go a long way to supporting women who face that horror at home every day.”
“The Jim Power report included hare coursing litters and dogs from Northern Ireland, and it used incorrect assumptions about racing and retirement ages. How can we justify this level of public funding without current and credible data? For everything I have laid out I cannot support this motion, and the Social Democrats will not be supporting it. We will also not be supporting the Labour Party amendment because that in itself is giving an out for the industry. The funding for this industry needs to stop. I cannot understand how the Minister could possibly put forward this motion or whose interests he is really lobbying for with it. He is clearly not here on behalf of greyhounds, and he is not representing the views of the Irish public.”
“We are one of only seven countries in the world where commercial greyhound racing is still legal, and that industry does not even enjoy public support. Tracks are between 70% and 91% empty. Attendance dropped by 25,000 last year alone. Why are we spending millions to sustain a system that produces broken bones and early death? It is a system within which animals are treated as commodities rather than living beings. I cannot possibly support this motion when we do not have up-to-date or reliable data to prove its need. The economic justification for this funding rests on the Jim Power report, published in 2021 and based on figures from 2019. That report claims the industry is worth €132 million and supports 4,500 jobs. However, an alternative professional's review found that the report overstated the industry's value by €68 million.”
“According to Greyhound Racing Ireland's own system, of the greyhounds born in 2021, 41% are dead or unaccounted for. These dogs are not even five years old. RTÉ's 2019 documentary, "Greyhounds: Running for their Lives", revealed the same mortality rate. Six years on nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. Does that look like an improvement in welfare to the Minister? Then there is the cost. GRI claims to spend millions on welfare, but the figures tell a different story. In 2024, more than €1 million was spent on care homes for retired greyhounds. That was over €8,000 per dog and only ten dogs at a time can be cared for. We are being asked to approve a motion that allocates almost €20 million to prop up a declining industry.”
“The Minister has claimed that animal welfare standards are rising all the time. How can that claim stand against the overwhelming evidence? Last year was the worst year ever for track deaths and injuries since records began. Some 202 dogs died and 187 were injured. In the first eight months of this year alone, 242 injuries were recorded, and 134 dogs were euthanised by track vets. Since 2014 there have been 3,938 injuries and 1,534 deaths have occurred during races. That is only what is recorded. There are no comprehensive figures for trial events and there no vets present at those events, so the real figures are undoubtedly much higher. Traceability was presented as the solution, but instead it has just exposed the depth of the crisis.”
“It will come as no surprise to the Minister that I and the Social Democrats will not be supporting this motion. I am speaking specifically about the greyhound industry. This is not a technical matter, it is a question of ethics, accountability and the use of public money. The cruelty in the greyhound industry is well documented and undeniable. While on Irish tracks these dogs are regularly recorded with broken legs, crushed vertebrae, ruptured tendons and catastrophic spinal injuries. Some of these injuries are so severe that the dogs are euthanised on-site. Some can be treated but they are not economically worth it for the industry. Greyhounds are routinely killed simply because they cannot run fast enough. How could I support this motion to approve €20 million in public money for Greyhound Racing Ireland?”
“I am seeking a meeting with the Minister of State to go through this with him. It is really important that he understands how this is impacting parents on the ground. This is not just a Wicklow issue. I was raising it on social media, and I had parents coming back to me from counties Kilkenny, Kildare and all over the country saying their children are in a similar situation. It is important that the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, understands the impact this is having.”
“The NCSE say it is important for people who come forward after 1 October to be assured they are not forgotten or excluded from the system and that it will continue to support them. That has not happened. Parents who did not make the 1 October deadline have had no contact from the NCSE or SENOs. The NCSE portal stated guidance would be provided but seven weeks later, there is no update on that website. It is not fair on parents. Many children in my constituency of Wicklow have not been able to apply for a special class in the school in this enrolment period because they did not have that letter of eligibility and they are not going to get the support they need. This is a big problem that has been ignored for far too long. I ask that Deputy O'Sullivan brings that back to the Minister of State.”
“I absolutely understand the need to forward plan and it is welcome. I have spoken to school principals who say that when this process is up and running properly, it will be a huge help to them, but as the Minister of State said, in the first year of this process, there are clear flaws and gaps in it and, unfortunately, children with additional needs or special needs are falling through those gaps and their parents are absolutely stressed to the eyeballs trying to figure out how they can get their children into a special class or get them the supports they need in education. I am finding the language used in the Minister's replies to parliamentary questions and, indeed, the language in this reply so frustrating.”
“A child on a waiting list in any area where there are capacity issues is not getting a place. Parents are really worried about this. Two things need to happen. There has to be immediate communication from the NCSE to parents in this regard. The SENOs need guidance. There seems to be a lot of confusion among the SENOs as to what is happening and that communication absolutely must happen. The Department or the NCSE must reopen that portal so that those parents who have received additional information can submit it. This issue has to be addressed. It cannot be the case that children who have additional needs are not being catered for or accounted for. This is not even for education this year; this is for September 2026. There seems to be a major gap in that process.”
“The NCSE provided the following update: Details of the process to be followed by parents and guardians who have not used Parents Notify to make contact with the NCSE when seeking a special class/school placement will be published on the NCSE website and social media accounts in the coming weeks. That was seven weeks ago and there has been no update. I have been contacted by a number of parents in my constituency. This is a nationwide issue, and not just a Wicklow issue. It would appear that there's large-scale confusion over how those parents can be catered for. They are not hearing from their SENOs and there has not been any contact with the Department. Unfortunately, the guidance the NCSE sent out to all the schools states that a child who does not get into the first enrolments will go onto the waiting list.”
“They did not have the final paperwork required because of how long it takes for assessments in this country. Unfortunately, the portal is now closed and those parents are absolutely unable to apply for a special class for their child. I have repeatedly raised this with the Department and with the Minister. I keep being told not to worry and that the NCSE is going to manage this. The council is aware that for some children the parents did not have the information up in time and support will be given to them. However, that has not actually happened yet.”
“I want to raise the issue of the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, portal. The council has a new process in place to identify and ensure there is capacity for children who need special classes as part of their education. In moving to this new system, there has been a major gap in the process, which I am really worried about. Essentially parents were to upload the information and medical reports about their child's diagnosis into the Parent Notify portal on the NCSE website. Once that was assessed by the council, a letter of eligibility was given to the parents and the parents could use that to apply for a special class in the school. The NCSE closed that portal on 1 October. Many parents were not aware that this portal existed and what they needed to do to get the letter of eligibility.”
“I have been working with these three solicitors over the last number of months to prepare this Private Members' Bill. I ask the Minister to consider the recommendations in this Bill. I believe we will be getting to debate it. I really hope he could give good consideration to it. It is something everybody in the Chamber, I would hope, will be able to stand behind and give support to.”
“I want to mention Wicklow animal rescue, where I got my gorgeous dog Dolly, and Mollie Moo's Pet Farm where I got Poppy recently, A Dog's Life and Pauline's Rescue, which I have also rescued dogs through. This is where all my lovely doggies came from. I want to give credit to the pro bono team at Fieldfisher Ireland, who dedicated an enormous number of pro bono hours to prepare their report entitled Key Reforms to Dog Breeding in Ireland, which was published on their website last year. Many of the changes referred to in this Private Members' Bill come from the Fieldfisher paper and it was hugely helpful in my research, so I want to thank them. I also give credit to Dog Law Ireland, founded by three amazing solicitors who absolutely adore dogs and are doing everything they can to help them.”
“It will mandate a 10:1 animal-staff ratio for proper care. It will outlaw surgical artificial insemination and other harmful practices and update fee structures to reflect new welfare standards. I take this opportunity today to pay tribute to the hundreds of rescues around this country that pick up the pieces of this broken system. These are often volunteers who just have to fundraise for their own rescues. They put all their love and passion into caring for these dogs and pups. They take it all on board themselves. The Minister knows the work they do and how hard it is for them. Despite being overwhelmed by the numbers of dogs and puppies needing help, they do their best to re-home these dogs and show them the care and love they have never had before.”
“It would not be unusual to have 300 female breeding dogs on site with potentially thousands of puppies. Females as young as four months old can be bred, when they are just pups themselves. There is no maximum age on a breeding female. They can have up to six litters in their lifetimes. There is no mandated staff-animal ratio and harmful practices such as surgical insemination remain legal. The door is left open to unregistered breeding. The Bill that I am introducing today, the Dog Welfare (Amendment) Bill 2025, will cap the number of breeding females at 30 per site. It will introduce a 16-month minimum age and an eight-year maximum age for breeding. There will be a maximum of one litter per year per breeding female; a maximum of four litters per breeding female during her lifetime; and a minimum age of ten weeks for pup separation.”
“It is estimated that approximately 100,000 pups are bred each year in Ireland, with buyers paying thousands of euro per pup. Many of these pups are now being sold overseas to buyers in the UK, Europe and Asia. Some people are making an awful lot of money on the misery of these poor animals. When the female dogs get too old to breed any more or when puppies get too old and have outgrown their cuteness and their best-before date passes, these dogs are often dumped or indeed just left to die. Ireland is a nation of animal lovers, but I believe that most in the Irish public assume that there are regulations of puppy farms to protect these pups and dogs. It really could not be further from the truth. What are the rules at the moment? There is no cap on the number of dogs that are bred in a breeding establishment.”
“They are often caged with no room to move, lying in their own faeces and urine, matted, cold, dirty, often without water, without food, without bedding, with no access to light or to fresh air and certainly no access to love or kindness. They often have serious health conditions or are covered in sores. They are just bred over and over again until they serve no further purpose. It is a truly miserable existence and most people in this country would be horrified to know exactly what these poor animals are put through. That is why I am introducing today the Dog Welfare (Amendment) Bill. The reality is that puppy farm owners do not care about these dogs because all they care about is money. All they see when they see these dogs are euro signs and it is a very lucrative business.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for animal welfare considerations in the operation of dog breeding establishments, including but not limited to a cap on the number of breeding bitches, the age of bitches allowed to breed, the age of pups when removed from their mothers, a staff-to-bitch ratio, and to prohibit the use of surgical artificial insemination; and to provide for related matters. There really is nothing cuter than a little puppy - all big paws, big ears, wet noses and just a bundle of energy and pure love. However, the horrible reality behind that cuteness is often an absolute horror story for the mammy dog living in the most inhumane conditions that produced that puppy.”
“There should be no more talk in the papers, no more press releases, no more fluffy language or pretending the Government is going to do something, treating farmers like they have not a notion what it is doing. They know exactly what the Government is doing. They know they are not being represented by it. They know they are not being represented by the Independents on those benches and by that kind of behaviour we have seen here tonight.”
“Ratifying Mercosur would erode that trust and put our consumers at risk. This deal is not inevitable and the Government can stand against it. This motion stands up for Irish farmers, food safety and environmental integrity. I strongly urge the Government to support this motion and to formally object to the Mercosur free trade deal. When I say "formally object", I mean formally object. I do not mean the Government should go to the newspapers and talk about how it does not think it should go through. I do not mean standing up here in the Dáil and pretending or using rhetoric to suggest it is objecting to it. I mean it should actually go to the table and say this Government will not support it. That is what is necessary.”
“The quality of meat produced under Mercosur standards raised serious concerns. Brazil's beef farmers are known to use pesticides banned in the EU and reports have highlighted carcinogenic residues, antibiotic overuse, with poor traceability. Indeed, the use of hormones, such as estradiol, are used in some Mercosur production systems. This is a hormone that is banned in the EU due to cancer risks. How can we stand by our children consuming that? Overuse of antibiotics in intensive production contributes to antimicrobial resistance, weaker pesticide control and increases the risk of carcinogenic residues. In 2017, the EU banned Brazilian meat for a period because of these systemic failures. Has that been completely forgotten by this Government? We are so lucky in Ireland to have a high level of trust in our food system.”
“Okay, if we are let get back to it. Meanwhile imports produced with lower environmental safeguards effectively undercut these efforts. That is not fair competition; that is regulatory hypocrisy. Embedding references to the Paris Agreement into the text might provide political signalling but without binding enforceable environmental conditionality, it will not close the gap. If we are serious about protecting farmers, defending environmental standards and asserting food sovereignty, we must insist on treaty language that goes beyond rhetoric. This means concrete, enforceable obligations, automatic remedies for demonstrated competitive distortions and a transparent independent monitoring regime with teeth. Anything else will leave Irish producers paying the price of diplomacy dressed up as progress. There is then the issue of health.”
“It is hard to miss the bitter irony of COP 30 being hosted in the heart of the rain forest as it disappears before our very eyes. The optics are bleak but the reality is much worse. While global leaders meet to discuss climate action, the ecosystems those negotiations rely on are being actively degraded around them. Approving a trade deal that increases market access for commodities linked to that degradation risks locking in supply chains that perpetuate high emissions and environmental harm. Irish farmers are being asked to meet ever stricter sustainability standards, adopt climate-smart practices and absorb the cost of decarbonisation. Meanwhile, imports produced with lower environmental safeguards-----”
“Adding Mercosur volumes risks flooding the market with cheap imports and will devastate local producers and seriously undermine our food sovereignty, something becoming more and more important in an increasingly unstable world. This deal is not just bad for our farmers, however. I will always speak up for the environment when it needs someone in here to speak for it. This deal is bad for the environment and our planet. Mercosur countries, especially Brazil, have been the focus of intense international concern over deforestation, land conversion and weak enforcement of environmental laws. Large areas of the Amazon rain forest have been cleared at alarming rates to make way for cattle ranching and soya production, releasing vast stores of carbon and destroying biodiversity.”
“The deal allows 180,000 tonnes of poultry into the EU under a five-year transition period. In one year alone, 30,000 tonnes will enter. This is equivalent to the entire annual Irish chicken breast meat production of 1.2 billion fillets. To put it plainly, a single year of Mercosur imports could wipe out the domestic market for a cornerstone product of our poultry sector. Brazilian poultry is sold at less than half the price of its EU equivalent. That price differential reflects very different input costs, regulatory standards and production practices. In essence, that price differential reflects a significantly lower-quality product. Irish producers cannot compete on price with imports produced under such conditions nor should they have to. The EU already imports 400,000 tonnes of poultry meat annually.”
“Meat Industry Ireland, MII, estimates that Mercosur could cost our beef industry between €100 million and €130 million annually. This represents a loss of between €75 and €95 per head of cattle. Suckler farmers are already operating on razor-thin margins and will now be pushed to the brink. Family farms will be lost and rural Ireland will suffer. No amount of plámasing from the Healy-Raes or the Ministers will make up for that loss. I also want to mention that it is very important Sinn Féin has included poultry in this motion because sometimes I think we do not have the debate in relation to poultry and the impact Mercosur will have on poultry producers. They are often sidelined in this debate. They will, however, face immediate and severe exposure under Mercosur.”
“I am not specifically talking about the Minister of State. I am talking about the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. Where is he tonight? He is not here for this debate. Where is his support for rural communities when it comes to Mercosur? Is he just going to roll over and accept it because Europe says so? In relation to this deal, the numbers speak for themselves. The Mercosur trade deal will allow 99,000 tonnes of beef into the EU annually at a reduced tariff rate of 7.5%. These will not just be low-value cuts. They will be premium steaks and striploin fillets, the very products Irish farmers rely on to fetch to fair prices in European markets. Ireland exports roughly 440,000 tonnes of beef every year, which is worth €2.8 billion.”
“That is exactly what we needed to hear from the Minister tonight. It is what people in the Gallery needed to hear. Instead, it is wishy-washy language. In May this year, I raised this issue with the Tánaiste. I asked specifically what countries he was talking with to ensure we can have a minority blocking group on this matter. I asked him who he was working with. Similarly, I got fluffy language back but nothing definite. I was told we were having meetings. Where are the results of those meetings? Why is the Minister not able to say we are absolutely 100% against this deal and we will fight hard for our rural communities when it comes to it? Turning to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and, indeed, the Independents, who have been lambasting me recently-----”
“I have often wondered what kind of conversations would have happened in this Chamber when we were talking about the Common Fisheries Policy. What kind of discussions, debates and arguments were put forward when Ireland was signing away our sovereignty when it came to our fishing resources? I must say that reading this speech from the Minister today, I would imagine it was very similar. The Minister has seven pages here in this speech about Mercosur and, my goodness, there is vague and watery language. There is talk of "repeatedly emphasising", "the text did not go far enough", "the Government has concerns", and "examining the final package". Nowhere in this speech does he say this Government is opposed to Mercosur. Nowhere in this speech has he stated that Ireland will formally or has formally opposed this deal.”
“I welcome this motion and the opportunity to speak on this really important issue. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing it forward. The Social Democrats will be 100% supportive of this motion. Objection to the Mercosur free trade agreement is not just a matter of trade but of principle, sovereignty, environmental integrity and protecting our indigenous industries. This deal is a direct threat to our beef and poultry sectors, to our rural communities and to the standards we have fought so hard to uphold in food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection. I begin by expressing a deep concern I am sure others in this Chamber share. I am sure many people in the Gallery do so too. The Government is not fighting this deal with the urgency or strength it demands.”
“It is their future we are speaking about and we are locking them out of the debate. When we speak about these issues and make these decisions, it is important that young people's voices are heard and that their futures are debated as part of this. We cannot be making these decisions without thinking of the young people in the Gallery and young people all over the country, because it is their futures we are debating.”
“I appreciate the Minister of State's positivity on this but I would ask him to use that and hopefully direct a bit of positivity from the Government benches towards the Bill. I want to talk about COP30 briefly. Climate change is an existential crisis. The reality is that the Minister of State, many others in this Chamber and I will probably not be impacted by climate change to the same extent as young people. The decisions that are currently being made in this Chamber are being made by people who will not face the full brunt of climate change if we get it wrong. I include biodiversity loss in there as well. It is vitally important that young people are involved in those discussions and that they get a chance to say who is representing them in this Chamber when those decisions are being made.”
“I ask the Minister of State to please take that passion and belief back to his colleagues because it would appear to me that the Minister of State very much believes that this would be a positive motion or development if the Bill was put through. I ask that he express this and have the discussions with them. Do not kick this down to the Electoral Commission. The Minister of State talked about the commission as being the body that could take this complex Bill and look at it. We are employed and voted in to do that very job. We are well able to handle complex legislation. We are well able to engage with people. We are well able to talk to young people and have those discussions. Let us do our job. The commission can be involved in that as well but please do not kick this down the road for another 12 months. It is too important.”
“I am pleased that the young people in the Gallery today got to see the Minister of State's passion when he was talking at the end of his speech. It is clear that it is so important to who he is and who he has become to have that participation in democracy and to be involved. What we want is to bring that passion forward a little bit more so that it is not a tokenistic involvement in democracy, and that 16- and 17-year-olds are being given the vote so that what they believe and what they want to see happen is mattering at the ballot box and will make a difference in who is on these seats in five or ten years' time.”
“Until those gaps are dealt with, we are going to continue to force people into cars and make them incur incredible costs and pressures because of that. I wanted to pass that on to the Minister of State. I did not want to let the opportunity to discuss public transport pass, particularly as it is a key part of the issue we are debating. Public transport needs to be affordable, reliable and efficient.”
“How can we expect people to get out of their cars and onto more sustainable forms of transport, like buses, in order to make the journeys they need to make? They cannot do that. As a result, they are stuck in their cars and facing huge costs - including those relating to insurance, fuel and tolls - because the State has not provided sufficient public transport for them. What I have outlined impacts my constituents on a weekly basis. I recently heard about several primary and secondary students who were waiting for a bus that never arrived. They eventually got to school on three separate buses. They were absolutely soaked when they arrived to school late. That was just going from Greystones to Kilcoole. Obviously, there are many gaps in our public transport system.”
“There are only two trains on that line that will get people into Dublin for their morning shift. The conditions people are being forced to travel in are unacceptable. I have raised this multiple times with the Minister, but we have not seen any improvement. In the context of our bus service, the towns of Wicklow and Greystones are 20 minutes apart. However, there is not a single bus that runs between them. Greystones has the DART and Wicklow has the very poor rail service to which I refer. You would think the one thing that could be quickly delivered without the need for major infrastructural development is a bus that would bring people from Wicklow town to the DART station in Greystones. Yet, the NTA will not deliver that simple thing.”
“We do not have that as of now. We need a public transport system that is efficient, affordable, frequent and reliable. There are clearly still many difficulties with that, and it is not just in rural areas. Many people in rural areas assume that public transport in Wicklow and other places in the greater Dublin area is really good, but that is far from the truth. I want to talk about public transport in Wicklow for a moment. The rail system in Wicklow is not fit for purpose. I have been contacted multiple times by constituents who commute each morning from Wexford through Wicklow town and into Dublin and who are forced to stand for the majority of the journey. People are fainting on the train because the carriages are so overcrowded. That is completely unacceptable.”
“This is one area that clearly demonstrates that. The reality is that when you are talking about private versus public, private operators have one thing in mind - and it is their fiduciary responsibility to have one thing in mind - and that is making a profit for their shareholders. They do not think about public good or about any of those other issues that public entities have to consider when rolling out road projects. The State should be delivering specific and fundamental pieces of infrastructure, and we should not be relying on public operators to do so. Ultimately, private sector involvement only costs the public more. Tolls are just one aspect in that regard. Fundamentally, what we need is people to have the ability to move away from private cars. In order to do that, we need a properly functioning public transport system.”
“They should serve the public interest as opposed to the interests of private shareholders. We need a serious conversation about how to unwind these contracts and bring toll roads back into public control. That will not happen overnight, but it must be part of any long-term strategy to reduce motoring costs, otherwise we will keep having this debate every year while private operators continue to profit. There has been quite a lot of discussion in the media regarding private operators, public entities versus private entities and how private operators are much more efficient and can deliver projects quicker and at less expense. This is the narrative that is coming from large corporate owners who are indicating that this is how we should deal with our infrastructure deficits. That is not always the case.”
“These public-private partnerships were sold as a way to deliver infrastructure quickly, but the reality is that they have locked the State into gold-plated deals that guarantee private profits for decades. These contracts are a legacy of bad policy decisions, and ordinary motorists have been paying the price for them for many years. Last year alone, private toll operators made €234.45 million in Ireland. That is up by about €30 million since 2022. Every January, toll charges rise again. These increases are not about improving roads or services; they are solely about increasing private profit. Meanwhile, the housing crisis continues to push workers further away from our cities and towns, forcing longer commutes and higher toll costs just to get to work. This is fundamentally wrong. Roads are public infrastructure.”
“The issue of motoring costs is exacerbating the stress and frustration people feel. The reality is there are some structural issues that need to be addressed in the context of these costs for motorists. Unless we look at those issues, which have been baked into the system - and have been there for a number of years - we are not going to get to the crux of the matter. There is a real opportunity to look at those issues to see if we can somehow address them. One of the biggest examples of these issues is the privatisation of the toll roads. Year after year, motorists pay millions in tolls. The profits from those tolls flow to private companies under the terms of contracts that were signed during the Celtic Tiger era.”
“Deputy Cummins will not be contributing, so Deputy Hearne and I will share the time. I will take eight or nine minutes and Deputy Hearne will take the remainder. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue. There are many very valuable points made by Sinn Féin in its motion. There is no doubt the cost of motoring is a real pressure for households. Rural households are hit particularly hard by this cost. Where public transport options are limited or where they are not keeping pace developments in society, is also very problematic for some households. I will come back to that matter later. People feel trapped by rising costs. It is not just the transport or motoring costs they face in driving to and from work and school; there are also electricity costs and mortgage costs. Everything is going up and up.”