Joanna Byrne
Louth · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“Irish artists and writers have given their labour, blood, sweat, tears and dreams to creating something uniquely human - songs, stories, music and paintings that mean so much to many - only to see their labour being fed to AI systems without their consent and without being financially compensated for their loss.”
“A couple of days before my tenth birthday, I came home from school to once again find my mother beaten to a pulp and our home smashed to pieces. The bravery of my mother that day changed the course of our lives forever.”
“The basic income for artists scheme was only made permanent after it proved it could boost the economy. Many of our beloved cultural events are based on Irish artists having the backing to be able to hone their craft and share their art.”
“As a nine-, eight-, seven-, six- and five-year-old girl, I used to sit at the top of the stairs and pray to hear my mam scream or cry because it was the only way I knew she was surviving another beating.”
“We have the Presidency at the Council of the EU for the next six months and this is the opportune time to act. Whether by accident or design, putting protections in place has been non-existent or has been moving at a snail's pace.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion on protecting the copyright of Irish artists in the era of artificial intelligence. It is important to note this is a nuanced and targeted motion to protect Irish artists across the entire spectrum of the arts.”
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“This was entirely as a result of the school's determination and the support of the school community of Marymount National School. Resources were drained for another appeal in a school already overstretched. For the Minister of State's credibility, he should not only support this important motion, but implement the proposals in it. I call on him to pay particular attention to the call for a review of the national cap on SNAs so that families and schools in Drogheda and beyond do not find themselves in another fight for supports down the line. The fact is that the failure to invest, plan and deliver adequate school infrastructure and supports has left many hundreds of children with additional needs without appropriate education.”
“After meeting the school principal and vice principal, I raised this matter directly with the Minister for Education and Youth who passed the buck to the Minister of State. Neither appeared willing to meet the school or address these concerns. Despite the school doing everything expected of it, it was let down by the Minister and her Government. Sadly, the story can easily be replicated across many other constituencies. Parents and principals can relate countless examples of their continuing fight for school places, SNAs and special classes. In recent weeks ,the school principal has informed me that the appeal of the appeal of the SNA allocation has been allowed by the NCSE. Thankfully, it will move from 2.5 SNAs to four in the mainstream school.”
“I will use my time to highlight an unbelievable situation. A DEIS school in my constituency was originally denied the recommended SNA allocation. The reason given to the school for this decision was a freeze or cap on SNA recruitment. When the Minister was questioned in March about this ridiculous freeze, we were told that if the school feels it has insufficient SNA support to meet the needs of its students, an application can be submitted to the NCSE requesting a review of its allocation. This school had undergone a thorough review with the NCSE. The special educational needs organiser, SENO, recommended the increase. The children's needs had been clearly outlined and the school was effectively denied this increase in SNAs because the Department did not sanction it. This was all under the watch of this Government.”
“I am proud of the strides made by Drogheda Pride and Outcomers in offering awareness, integration and advocacy for LGBTQI+ communities throughout the wee county of Louth.”
“The then chief executive said there was no agreement on providing the rainbow Pride crossings, which minutes of meetings proved false, and at a full county council meeting, she refused point-blank to allow any further discussion on the matter. This led the majority of Louth county councillors of all parties and none to walk out in protest. That was only a few years ago. It showed all those who followed that Pride is still needed. There are many challenges facing the LGBTQI+ community, such as those relating to youth homelessness, mental health and violence. These are things we all need to redouble our efforts to address. Pride seeks to address those issues as an unbelievably happy and positive social justice movement that is quite unique. Everyone who supports Pride should be proud of it. I know I am.”
“In 2022, I put forward a motion to Louth County Council asking for a rainbow Pride pedestrian crossing in my hometown of Drogheda. We have seen them all over Ireland and throughout Europe, and other Deputies referred to those in their areas. I had the support of all other councillors from all parties and none and council officials informed me they were supportive of the rainbow Pride crossing. Councillors from Ardee and Dundalk asked for the same rainbow Pride crossings in their municipal districts too. We were waiting to hear from the then chief executive of Louth County Council about how and when we would proceed when they stopped answering our calls and emails. There was a stone wall of silence.”
“In my first year as a county councillor in Louth in 2016, I cut the ribbon to officially start the first ever Drogheda Pride celebration and did so each year afterwards until this year. I have marched in Drogheda Pride’s parades, attended its events I was and am keen to show our LGBTQI+ family, friends and neighbours modern Ireland is friendly, welcoming and accepting. I campaigned for the “Yes” vote that the people enthusiastically gave in the marriage equality referendum in 2015. Friendships and connections were made with social justice campaigners at that time and these carried into the referendum to repeal the eighth, which resulted in another enthusiastic “Yes” from the people. Some people may think the battles are all won and there is no need for Pride any more, but, unfortunately, that could not be further from the truth.”
“We welcome the progress secured by the LGBTQI+ community in recent years. The rights obtained were hard fought for over many decades by activists who refused to be deterred in their fight to be recognised as equal before the law. Despite the clear progress we have seen, in many areas the struggle for full LGBTQI+ equality is far from over. Many areas of inequality remain and more work is required in order to ensure that true equality is achieved. It is as important we have statements like this in 2025 as it has ever been. It is only fitting we have allocated time in the schedule to allow us to stand up and say what Pride is and what it means to us. Pride is a movement close to my heart.”
“I'm now on the waiting list for another surgery, which will be more complex and will involve the urology and colorectal team. In March this year, I had to leave my job as a Clinical Nurse Specialist nurse. I would love to move home and have more support from my family around me... This, however, is not an option for Gemma without the adequate healthcare women require in Ireland. Gemma is the voice tonight for the women in Louth and Drogheda who have contacted me. I commend their bravery and thank them for their courage and trust in us to be their voice. The Government needs to listen to these voices tonight and end the suffering and silence. Shame on it if it does not.”
“During this appointment, I was told I was too young to have endometriosis and that a D & C would probably fix me. This was a completely unnecessary procedure. I moved to London for work, saw my GP and was booked in to see the Gynaecology Team at a specialist centre. I received my diagnosis, it all made sense. I am almost 8 years into my diagnosis. I've had multiple extensive surgeries. I've completely lost the function of my bladder and have been catheter dependent since 2019. My bowel stopped working a year ago and I needed urgent surgery in May of this year to create a stoma. I'm under the care of a specialist pain team and receive infusions every 12 weeks to help manage the pain. I regularly need admissions to hospital where I am treated with dignity and care over here.”
“In May, I hosted a public endometriosis meeting in Drogheda. Since then, my office has been inundated with women contacting me by phone, email and in person. Gemma, a 32-year-old nurse from Louth, is one of these women. She asked me to share her story. Gemma says: My symptoms of endometriosis were prevalent from the first period I had. The bleeds were heavy, excruciatingly painful, causing me to regularly miss days at schools. I had scans, there would be cysts, I would be sent home and told to take more pain relief. I would vomit, faint from pain and was told that this was normal and part of being a woman, so this is what I believed. [...] Working as a qualified nurse in Dublin, my symptoms worsened, and I paid privately to see a gynaecologist.”
“The report highlighted how families are scrambling to gather an additional €3,000 per year just to put food on the table. It highlighted that 40% of parents are skipping meals, that 12% of parents are using food banks, that 40% of parents are borrowing money and that 19% of families cut back or go without food. Let that sink in for a minute. This is the reality of where we are in 2025. The Government’s response to this motion is not reality. Stop sitting on your hands and get up and make the changes that are needed now. Childhood is the first thing poverty steals from any child, and this is rampant in our society. Unfortunately, it is under the Government’s watch.”
“Because it is the general public, however, that is affected most by the huge increase in grocery prices, the Government is taking its usual hands-off approach, citing some obscure report that backs its reasons for sitting on its hands and ignoring the facts that shoppers see weekly in their grocery bills. The Government has abandoned households as prices continue to soar. One hundred and 12 weeks ago, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, gave the major supermarket groups a six-week ultimatum to bring down the cost of groceries. We are still waiting and the consequences of that are stark. The damning Barnardos cost-of-living 2025 report released yesterday shows that Government policies are failing families and, worse still, are failing children.”
“I thank the Social Democrats for putting forward this timely and worthwhile motion. This is an important issue that affects everyone in the State at this time. Everyone knows that Ireland is one of the most expensive states in Europe for groceries. The gap between us and our European neighbours looks to be growing year on year. Some prices could be understandable but when we look at the EU Commission website and see that non-alcoholic beverages are the most expensive in Ireland, at 40% above the EU average, it makes no sense. It is the epitome of the rip-off Ireland that faces us today. We all see it. Grocery prices have increased at three times the rate of general inflation over the past year alone. If that were a cost to the great and the good, as the Government sees them, then the Government would act.”
“The International Court of Justice has stated Israel should stop settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza and end its illegal occupation of those areas as soon as possible. Scores of UN resolutions have condemned the Israel Government's and the IDF's actions, yet none of these are being acted upon. Do we really want a world where international law is meaningless? We can take a stand in Ireland. We can pass the occupied territories Bill and include goods and services. We can use our voice in the EU to end the EU-Israel association agreement. We raise our voices against an apartheid state engaging in genocide and ethnic cleansing. Our history will judge us all if we continue to remain silent.”
“Israel does not confirm it has nuclear weapons, but anyone with a knowledge of history will remember reading about the Apollo affair, where the CIA believed that Israel's first bombs may have been made with the highly enriched uranium stolen in the mid-1960s from the US Navy nuclear fuel plant in Pittsburgh. Great friends they are. Israel has not signed the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, which is an international treaty. We know Israel does not abide by international treaties or laws unless they are of some benefit to it. The International Criminal Court has issued warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, and Yoav Gallant, the former Minister of Defense of Israel.”
“It is militarily occupying the sovereign and internationally recognised territory of Syria and Palestine and makes regular incursions into Lebanon, which have also endangered Irish peacekeepers there. The latest aggression was against Iran. In 2013, a news report in the Times of Israel quoted a study by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security that stated Iran could have a nuclear bomb in a month. We are hearing the same rhetoric 12 years later from the world's warmongers as justification for Israel and its chief weapons and finance supplier, the US, attacking its neighbours. Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, nor is it close to developing one. If it had one, the US and Israel would not have attacked it as it would have meant mutual destruction. That is a polite way of saying the end of the world.”
“The same report quoted unnamed IDF soldiers who said they were ordered to shoot at unarmed civilians near aid distribution sites to drive them away or disperse them. The Israeli Government disputes this, but we are in the 21st century and there is ample video evidence and witness testimony to show it is lying about deliberately murdering innocent, starving and desperate civilians on a daily basis. Israel has weaponised aid. Those words should never go together. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid system has been condemned by the UN agencies. UN Secretary General António Guterres branded it inherently unsafe. Even if I welcome that statement, it is a gross understatement. Israel has conducted thousands of attacks on five countries, namely, the occupied Palestinian territory, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran, in the last two years.”
“This week, we read more reports of starving Palestinians in Gaza being fired upon and murdered by the IDF as they made their way to Israeli and US-run aid centres for food. It really is the lowest of the low and I cannot think of another conflict where this has happened on a daily basis, with no consequences for the perpetrators or any real possibility of consequences. Israeli officials sought to shut down the pre-existing aid system run by 15 UN agencies and 200 NGOs and partners, and introduced the US and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. There is nothing humanitarian about it. It goes against common sense, best practice and the lived experience of genuine humanitarian workers and agencies to set up aid centres away from the population and then to tell civilians to come and get the aid.”
“I ask that the Government not repeat the mistakes of Wood Quay, and instead supports the motion as it is and stands up and be counted for our history that makes us proud to be Irish.”
“Moore Street in its entirety, including the terrace comprising 10-25 Moore Street, should be conserved and sensitively developed as a cultural historic quarter, cherishing its 1916 Rising heritage and street trading tradition in line with the vision of the Moore Street Preservation Trust. This, combined with the GPO and a 1916 cultural quarter, would honour our past, preserve it for the future and give our capital city a place that Dubliners and every Irish person could be proud of, a place where visitors would want to visit and a place worthy of its history. I am not a Dubliner by any means, but I am a proud Irish woman and like many others I am proud of our history and heritage and am outraged by the Government's blatant betrayal of our rebel history.”
“The protesters at Wood Quay included the late great poet Thomas Kinsella, who told the crowd that this was the birthplace of our own city, but it was still bulldozed. The Government is now moving to tear the heart out of the birthplace of our Republic. Dublin city centre does not need more offices and shops. There is a vacancy rate of almost 20% at present and empty retail units on every street. What O'Connell Street, the GPO, Moore Street and all of Dublin city centre needs is what the motion calls on the Government to do. Among the points we are raising is to ensure the GPO remains in full public ownership and control and that no part of it is made available for private commercial profit.”
“The O'Rahilly house at 40 Herbert Park in Ballsbridge was knocked down despite Dublin City Council councillors voting unanimously to support a motion by Sinn Féin councillor Mícheál Mac Donncha to add the building to the list of protected structures. That is one example in Dublin. In my home town, Drogheda, Drogheda Grammar School, which was over 250 years old and protected by a High Court order and a ruling of An Bord Pleanála, was demolished in the early hours of the morning. For those who think that a Government, including the Government parties currently in power, would not tear the heart out of such a historic site need only remember the destruction of the Viking settlement at Wood Quay to make way for new civic offices despite tens of thousands of citizens marching against the plan and years of legal challenges.”
“I rightfully expected the Government’s response in the amendment to this Private Members' motion to be the same dismissive smokescreen which has been thrown up whenever the future of the GPO and our historic buildings on Moore Street where the leaders of 1916 made their last stand is raised. However, let us be clear: this Private Members' motion is only in response to the Taoiseach’s statements. His plan is to turn the GPO into a mixed-use development and Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry-Independent group will support that plan and desecrate the GPO. It will not be the first time that it has done the unthinkable and bulldozed our historical sites or not pursued developers who knocked down historical buildings in a dawn raid.”
“The delays are regrettable. They are, unfortunately, a sign of the times in which we live. None of us wants this opportunity to slip away and to be left looking back with regret in the years to come having made no progress. I note and appreciate the Minister of State's collegial tone. I look forward to working with the Department and both the Minister and Minister of State to assist in any way I can, going forward.”
“I also welcome the comments of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste last Friday following the North-South Ministerial Council meeting reiterating the Irish Government's commitment to this project and that they stand ready to assist it. I urge the Government to do all it can to support this project through to completion.”
“I welcome the Minister of State's comments about North-South co-operation and striving to build cross-community relationships. The amount pledged by the Government has been broadly welcomed in all corners of our country, along with the £50 million from the UK Government, the £62 million from Stormont and the £15 million from the GAA. Although the project is still some way short of the £260 million price tag and we expect that to rise due to inflation, the progress in recent weeks is welcome, despite the many delays. The critical thing now is to bring everyone together to ensure that work is started on the stadium as soon as possible. This will not be just beneficial to the GAA but will be of huge social and economic benefit to Belfast and to all of us in creating jobs and attracting investment.”
“It is time for the Minister for housing and the Government to stop living with their heads in the clouds and engage with the Opposition parties to address this crisis once and for all.”
“According to Daft last month, average rents across the State have surpassed €2,000 per month and are climbing faster than at any stage in the past 20 years, which includes the Celtic tiger period. The Government's housing policies and lack of action are causing another exodus of Irish people when they should have an opportunity to have a home, raise a family and live, work and play here. It is reasonable for them to seek opportunities to own a home elsewhere but it is utterly unreasonable for this Government to follow the same housing policies for a decade and to continue down the path that is forcing Irish people to leave this country. We are not complaining, as those on the opposite side have put it, but offering well thought-out and costed alternatives to the Government's failed housing plans.”
“I thank the Independent Technical Group for bringing this Private Member's motion to the House. I have to ask directly whether the Minister for Housing and this Government understand why all the Opposition parties are continually putting forward motions on housing so early in this new Dáil term. Why do the Government's amendments to those many motions on housing all say the same thing? Why do the amendments to the many housing motions always deny the fact there is a housing crisis, which is in fact a housing emergency, ignore the fact housing lists are getting longer and ignore the causes that have made over 15,000 people, including thousands of children, require emergency accommodation? Why do the Government's amendments do nothing to address high rents?”
“Based on those meetings and agreeing with the concerns raised about geo-blocking, I hope that all in government will support this Bill as it moves through the various stages to passing and becoming an Act. If additions are needed, I am sure we can address them by way of amendment along the way, but one thing is certain, that the Bill is needed. This Bill would put in legislation what is in our national broadcaster's guiding principles. It would build bridges with northern audiences and correct the wrongs that are a major source of annoyance to viewers in the North of Ireland.”
“The RTÉ Public Service Broadcasting Charter outlines RTÉ's commitment to serving the needs of the entire community on the island of Ireland. This commitment is further reinforced by the Broadcasting Act 2009, which mandates that RTÉ make its services available to the whole community. RTÉ's guiding principles also emphasise its role in bringing Irish people together and providing programming of interest to all, including those in the North of Ireland. It is simply not good enough for RTÉ to say that there is a broadcasting rights issue and then just forgetting about our northern counties and the people there. I understand there were discussions and meetings between the Irish and British Governments and broadcasters RTÉ and BBC to find a solution to geo-blocking of sporting events last year, and that is very welcome.”
“Up to today, the continued geo-blocking of RTÉ programming, including the broadcast of GAA and other sporting fixtures, is a source of deep frustration for so many people. Sinn Féin is a 32-county party committed to the ending of partition and all the vestiges of partition, such as the North of Ireland not being properly represented on maps on our national broadcaster. The Broadcasting (All-Ireland Service) (Amendment) Bill before us would place an onus on RTÉ and TG4 as our national broadcasters to proactively make every reasonable effort to end the exclusion of audiences in the North from their services. These services range from the geo-blocking of programming, to access to audience competitions and the insulting exclusion of the North's Six Counties from maps depicting Ireland.”
“I thank my party colleague Aengus Ó Snodaigh for introducing this Bill, which he submitted to the Bills Office in the previous Dáil. He has done tremendous work on this Bill and the many others he has introduced to the House. I also welcome our party colleague the MP for Newry and Armagh, Dáire Hughes - he is here with us today - who raised the issue of geo-blocking last year and highlighted how unfair it was when RTÉ stopped broadcasts of its news bulletins in the North of Ireland, including news from the 2024 Olympic Games. Despite RTÉ News resuming broadcasting in the North, it was simply not good enough that RTÉ continued to geo-block coverage of team Ireland competing in the Olympic Games despite more than 30 northerners representing team Ireland, a 32-county team of competitors that did the entire nation proud.”
“This week, local media are reporting that chunks of the building are falling down, exposing holes where the rain is causing further electrical problems and that paramedics in this base, believe it or not, have to wear a raincoat to work. It is wholly unacceptable that front-line workers in my constituency, or anywhere else for that matter, are left to work in such unsafe, unsanitary conditions. What is worse is that this has been known by senior figures in the National Ambulance Service and, indeed, by the Minister for some time and yet the situation is deteriorating by the day. We need urgent intervention here. Any risk posed to the paramedics working in this station is risk posed to the lives of the people of Drogheda and beyond whom they serve. I ask the Tánaiste to follow up with the Minister directly as a matter of urgency.”
“I wish to raise the substandard and dangerous state of disrepair Drogheda ambulance station is currently in. I have over recent months raised this directly with the Minister and during a Topical Issue debate several weeks ago, I elevated major concerns around subsidence, mould, electrical faults and security and safety concerns among other things. I requested that the Minister engage with the National Ambulance Service on immediate works. I also asked her to seek an update on the long-mooted new base for paramedics in Drogheda. I also requested that she visit the station to see this dire situation for herself. To my knowledge, I do not think any of this has been actioned just yet.”
“All of this could be served by a north-side train station. The land at Aston Village that was originally earmarked is still owned by Iarnród Éireann and this is where the train station should go. For Drogheda to reach its full potential, the long-awaited north-side train station is crucial and no obstacle is insurmountable if the Government really wants to deliver it. I ask that the Minister of State take that on board this morning.”
“Almost 20 years ago, a proposed train station was included in the Drogheda northern environs plan. The plan foresaw a huge rise in the population of Drogheda and the need for a train station on the north side. The proposed site of the train station was in housing brochures. Commuters eagerly bought houses that were highly valued because they would be so close to the train station but this changed when Iarnród Éireann said it had no plans to proceed. The north side of Drogheda is getting an extra 20,000 people along the port access-northern cross route over the next five years. The centre of town is choked with traffic around the current train station on the south side. A new IDA business park is being developed on the north side. Drogheda United is developing a new stadium along the port access-northern cross route.”
“There are many things I could speak about under this Private Members' business but I will stick to trains. Public transport will play a major role in the development of our regions. People must be able to work, live and commute from all over the country and that is why Sinn Féin is determined to deliver major rail projects that have stalled, fallen by the wayside, been left in a Minister's desk drawer or gone hugely over budget. The all-island strategic rail review includes the electrification of the line, new lines to Clongriffin in Dublin and an extension of the DART to Drogheda. While I remain sceptical of a positive impact on commute times when the DART comes to Drogheda, I will wait in hope that it happens. Government policies have made Drogheda a commuter town and commuters need a new train station on the north side of the town.”
“Rents would stabilise due to greater housing supply being available and our towns and cities suffering from dereliction would benefit. It is simple and effective and it would take great pressure off local authorities, such as Louth County Council, which have to chase rogue developers who sit on properties and allow them to go derelict until they see the opportunity for perfect profit regardless of housing needs, homelessness and the urban eyesores they have created. A wee change could do so much good, and for Louth, the wee county I represent, I implore the Minister to take emergency action.”
“Louth, which is the 12th most populous of the 26 counties in the State, has the sixth highest level of homelessness, according to the latest figures available on the Department's website. I spoke previously to the Minister about the 35% increase in those needing emergency accommodation in just a year in my home county of Louth. It gives me no pleasure to state these facts. Solutions are being put forward to the Minister if he would just hear them and accept them. According to the 2022 census, there are 163,000 vacant dwellings in Ireland. The housing list would be cleared and homelessness could be ended if the Government accepted our proposals and introduced stronger taxes on vacancy and dereliction and greater use of compulsory purchase orders to bring empty homes back into use.”
“I will begin by reiterating that, for the common good, I want every Government housing and homelessness policy to work. For every person on a housing list, for every one of the hidden homeless, for every family in a homeless hub and for all of those in emergency accommodation, I want the Government's policies to work. However, I do not know what way it needs to be communicated to the Minister for him to accept there is a housing and homelessness crisis and to the Government for it to understand that the housing and homelessness crisis will not go away and for it to acknowledge the housing and homelessness crisis will not resolve itself. It needs a change in direction from the Government. The Government's failed housing policies have caused a big homelessness problem in the wee county.”
“Given everything I have detailed - and I understand the Minister of State gave a preprepared response - I ask for some positive interest from the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in considering this school or, at the very least, a commitment to engage with the school directly to find a pathway forward for all concerned. Funding for minor works and emergency works is just not touching the surface of what is required in this school.”
“On top of everything I outlined regarding the issues with mould, damp, leaks, insulation, heat and so on, I have not even scratched the surface on flooring replacement, painting and decorating, security access upgrades, toilet upgrades, tree maintenance, general maintenance and all the day-to-day issues that need to be addressed but that minor works grants do not come anywhere near covering, to be frank. We have a very passionate and dedicated team of staff in this school trying to enhance the facilities there to provide a basic fit-for-purpose education setting for the children served. I already outlined that the school meets the criteria the Minister of State outlined in his response for the pathfinder programme, but the school is in desperate need of major assistance from the Minister of State's Department.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. The school has applied for emergency works funding. It is also in the process of applying for the climate action summer works scheme this year. However, getting multiple grants at various times and doing the required works piecemeal is time consuming for primary school teachers who are already overloaded. It is almost unfair to ask them to take that route, but they are actively doing so. Work that fixes one thing in one part of the school risks being undone by not having an all-encompassing plan of works carried out to resolve the issues in these very old school buildings. That is why the school is looking at the bigger picture of the pathfinder programme. My contribution today probably only touched the surface of the issues in this school and what the dedicated team of staff is trying to keep at bay.”
“It is up-to-date on its SEAI monitoring and reporting and has an energy team that is actively looking at ways to reduce energy usage. It is participating in the energy in education programme and doing its best to solve these problems. Considering it meets all the benchmarks set out by the Department to be considered for the pathfinder programme, I hope we can collectively assist the school in having the recommendations in the energy audits put into action as soon as possible.”
“Work is needed on the building fabric, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems and the school needs help to move to renewables as there are no renewable energy systems currently in the school. It is estimated that €1 million would be required to get the school to a building energy rating, BER, of B. It is not a lot of funding for a Government that will have a budget surplus. If there is no prospect of this primary school being included in the pathfinder programme, I would greatly appreciate if the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, and the Minister, Deputy McEntee, could offer assistance and funding to resolve the problems I have listed here this morning. I am happy to forward the energy audits and reports the school has had carried out and pictures of the state of disrepair the school is in.”
“There is mould and moss caused by the water ingress in addition to the lack of ventilation and heat in the fire escape. There are mould, leaks and dampness in the fourth- and fifth-class classrooms and when I was walking the corridors, there were buckets and basins at various points collecting water that was leaking in. A recent energy audit conducted by Codex Energy on behalf of Dunleer Energy Team found that, at best, the two oil boilers were only working at 65% efficiency. When I saw the boilers I gasped. I could not believe anything that old was still in operation. The school is burning through money trying to keep the entire school warm.”
“Although from reading the reports I see that the findings are concerning, they are also fixable and the possibilities if funding is given are positive. Another report was done by a specialist mould removal company. The list is so long that the school had to engage another company to prioritise the recommendations that they should look at putting into action. The school is doing everything it can and desperately needs financial assistance to implement those recommendations. I went on a tour of the school, which is populated by happy and engaged children who are a credit to the teachers and principal, but I have to admit I was shocked at the conditions. Water is settling on the flat roof and leading to leaks. Calcium deposits from water ingress can be seen in the fire escape.”
“It has two buildings: the green building, which was built in the 1950s, and the red building, which was built in the 1980s. I was contacted by the school's climate action officer, a young teacher who has taken on the additional workload of detailing and attempting to deal with a long list of problems caused by the age of the school and the lack of funding to deal with the problems over many years. The pathfinder programme would deal with many of the issues the school faces and be a real lifeline in bringing it up to the standard expected of 21st century learning and working facilities. The school had an energy audit completed under the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI support scheme for energy audits, SSEA, and an energy analysis report was done by another company.”